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<p>Iran's navy has begun war games Friday in the Gulf of Oman, next to the sensitive waterway the Strait of Hormuz.</p>
<p>Iran's state news agency reported that the games will cover a 400,000-square-mile area and will test out combat ships, surface-to-air missiles and reconnaissance methods.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/middleeast/irans-navy-begins-war-games-near-the-strait-of-hormuz.html?_r=0" type="external">The New York Times reported</a>that Iranian officials have said the show of strength were to display the power of their armed forces as well as being a message of friendship to the country's neighbors.</p>
<p>"Among the aims of the drill is to display the capabilities of Iran's Armed Forces and the Navy to defend our country's water borders and interests in line with establishing durable security in the region and conveying the message of peace and friendship to the neighboring states," said&#160;Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, <a href="http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107130967" type="external">according to the Fars News Agency</a>.</p>
<p>Iran has previously threatened that any military action against its nuclear facilities may mean closing the Strait - a move that would likely mean a spike in oil prices.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/iran/121204/iran-us-drone-iranian-airspace-persian-gulf-revolution-boeing-warship-carrier" type="external">Iran claims to have shot down another US drone in Persian Gulf (VIDEO)</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/28/us-iran-military-drill-idUSBRE8BR03A20121228" type="external">Reuters reported</a> that Iran conducted a similar 10-day drill last December and sent a submarine and destroyer into the Persian Gulf.</p>
<p>US and other navies have been conducting exercises in the region to keep the Strait, where it is estimated that 40 percent of the world's sea-borne oil exports pass, open.</p>
<p>Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari denied that the most recent exercise would block foreign vessels from entering the Strait.</p>
<p>"The Navy has issued no warnings (about the closure). Under international regulations, notification is to be sent to ships passing by during any military drill in order to prevent potential damage," Press TV quoted Rastegari as saying, <a href="http://twocircles.net/2012dec29/iran_denies_blocking_strait_hormuz.html" type="external">according to TwoCircles.net</a>.</p> | Iran begins war games near the Strait of Hormuz | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-12-29/iran-begins-war-games-near-strait-hormuz | 2012-12-29 | 3left-center
| Iran begins war games near the Strait of Hormuz
<p>Iran's navy has begun war games Friday in the Gulf of Oman, next to the sensitive waterway the Strait of Hormuz.</p>
<p>Iran's state news agency reported that the games will cover a 400,000-square-mile area and will test out combat ships, surface-to-air missiles and reconnaissance methods.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/29/world/middleeast/irans-navy-begins-war-games-near-the-strait-of-hormuz.html?_r=0" type="external">The New York Times reported</a>that Iranian officials have said the show of strength were to display the power of their armed forces as well as being a message of friendship to the country's neighbors.</p>
<p>"Among the aims of the drill is to display the capabilities of Iran's Armed Forces and the Navy to defend our country's water borders and interests in line with establishing durable security in the region and conveying the message of peace and friendship to the neighboring states," said&#160;Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, <a href="http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9107130967" type="external">according to the Fars News Agency</a>.</p>
<p>Iran has previously threatened that any military action against its nuclear facilities may mean closing the Strait - a move that would likely mean a spike in oil prices.</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/iran/121204/iran-us-drone-iranian-airspace-persian-gulf-revolution-boeing-warship-carrier" type="external">Iran claims to have shot down another US drone in Persian Gulf (VIDEO)</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/12/28/us-iran-military-drill-idUSBRE8BR03A20121228" type="external">Reuters reported</a> that Iran conducted a similar 10-day drill last December and sent a submarine and destroyer into the Persian Gulf.</p>
<p>US and other navies have been conducting exercises in the region to keep the Strait, where it is estimated that 40 percent of the world's sea-borne oil exports pass, open.</p>
<p>Navy spokesman Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari denied that the most recent exercise would block foreign vessels from entering the Strait.</p>
<p>"The Navy has issued no warnings (about the closure). Under international regulations, notification is to be sent to ships passing by during any military drill in order to prevent potential damage," Press TV quoted Rastegari as saying, <a href="http://twocircles.net/2012dec29/iran_denies_blocking_strait_hormuz.html" type="external">according to TwoCircles.net</a>.</p> | 599,900 |
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<p />
<p>World-class shows include SITE Santa Fe’s “More Real? Art in the Age of Truthiness” through Jan. 6 with works by 27 artists and art groups as well as the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History’s “La Caprichos,” 80 etchings by Francisco Goya that included “Satire and Commentary” from the museum collection.</p>
<p>As if that weren’t enough, the Albuquerque Museum and 516 ARTS unveiled a joint exhibition titled “ISEA 2012 Albuquerque: Machine Wilderness” through Jan. 6, a jaw-dropping and inspirational multimedia installation re-visioning art, technology and nature as a part of a multi-venue statewide extravaganza of exhibitions to celebrate the International Symposium of Electronic Artists.</p>
<p>“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” by Christiaan Zwanikken at 516 ARTS shares a kinship with Paul Klee’s “Twittering Machine.”</p>
<p>The ISEA organization is a worldwide body of artists, curators and administrators who choose a different host city each year. Our gratitude goes out to Albuquerque Museum director Kathy Wright, curator Andrew Connors, 516 ARTS director Suzanne Sbarge and many other members of the arts community for attracting such high-quality contemporary art to Duke City.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Participants include the Richard Levy Gallery, the University of New Mexico Art Museum and the UNM Harwood Museum of Art in Taos.</p>
<p>Also showing at the Richard Levy Gallery was the knockout solo effort by John Chervinsky that wowed this viewer with inter-dimensional reality play. The May exhibit at Richard Levy followed “Skirts” with Sabine Dehnel and Heidi Lender , who told autobiographical stories through elegant visual poems in February.</p>
<p>516 ARTS invited Los Angeles critic Peter Frank to assemble “New Mexico Showcase” with works by 80 area artists. The ratio of 52 female to 28 male artists reflected the enormous contribution women make toward the success of the arts in New Mexico.</p>
<p>Sally Condon had several pieces in “New Mexico Showcase” that attracted my attention as well as a jaw-dropping solo show at Matrix Fine Art in May. Condon is my pick for artist of the year.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Art League completely rebuilt its gallery spaces with new walls, paint and an excellent lighting system that wowed this viewer while visiting the nicely executed “Going Places” exhibition featuring Maggie Price and Bill Canright. The NMAL gets two thumbs up for Albuquerque’s most improved gallery space.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The already beautiful 1629 Club at the Casa Rondeña Winery featured “Exploring My West” by David Schwindt, a perennial landscape painter who delivers solid craftsmanship and a vision dedicated to the western scene. The solo installation was curated by Joshua Franco.</p>
<p>The 5G Gallery hosted “Far Flung,” a wonderful show featuring Lauren Greenwald, Brook Steiger and Cedra Wood in a celebration of nature and lament for human impact.</p>
<p>There were a string of stunning solo shows that included Isaac AlaridPease and Janet Hoelzel at the Mariposa Gallery, Laura Pope and Carol Chamberland at the Weyrich Gallery and “Inner Constructs,” an exciting collection by Patrick Carr at Gallerie Imaginarium that will reopen this coming spring in the East Mountains.</p>
<p>Iva Morris showed nicely painted pastel landscapes and drop-dead-gorgeous figurative oils at the Sumner and Dene Gallery. The gallery also featured painters Angus Macpherson, Frank McCulloch, Jeannie Sellmer and others while celebrating owner Roy Johnson’s 31st year in business.</p>
<p>The Dartmouth Street Gallery hosted “The Necessity of Water” featuring well-wrought paintings by Dennis Liberty and Leo Neufeld.</p>
<p>Palette Contemporary Art and Craft hosted several bold shows including “Dialed In: a Vintage Radio Show” that reminded us of the breadth of the American imagination before the advent of television where pictures obscure truth.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Several more solo shows drew our attention with Depy Adams and Paul Rodenhauser at Framing Concepts and a beautiful exposition of mixed-media works by Martie Zelt at the Land Gallery.</p>
<p>The Oro Fine Art Gallery showcased an eye-popping and gob-smacking array of new paintings by Ricardo Chavez Mendez inspired by the artist’s curvism style.</p>
<p>To celebrate 31 years in business the Weems Galleries featured a broad spectrum group show titled “Fun, Funky, Fantastic Sculpture Show” that featured a gaggle of heavy hitters like Nancy Young and Fred Yost.</p>
<p>Matrix Fine Art with the adjacent New Grounds Gallery showed “In Broad Sunlight” by Condon, “Little Pieces of the Heart” by Jacklyn St. Aubyn and “Organic” by Pamela Wesolek. All three shows were visual knockouts.</p>
<p>Last spring Exhibit 208 invited artists’ agent Bethany (Buffy) Nelson to showcase a dozen of her “House of Figs” stable of artists. Exhibit 208 ended the year with “Black to White,” a wonderful gallery artists’ show full of well known area artists. Co-founders Kim Arthun and Russell Hamilton have found a good formula to attract great talent.</p>
<p>Assuming the Mayan calendar was grossly misunderstood we can look forward to an exciting 2013 and if the Mayans were right a new series of heaven cycles.</p> | Sally Condon’s solo showcase stole the show | false | https://abqjournal.com/156615/sally-condons-solo-showcase-stole-the-show.html | 2012-12-30 | 2least
| Sally Condon’s solo showcase stole the show
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<p />
<p>World-class shows include SITE Santa Fe’s “More Real? Art in the Age of Truthiness” through Jan. 6 with works by 27 artists and art groups as well as the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History’s “La Caprichos,” 80 etchings by Francisco Goya that included “Satire and Commentary” from the museum collection.</p>
<p>As if that weren’t enough, the Albuquerque Museum and 516 ARTS unveiled a joint exhibition titled “ISEA 2012 Albuquerque: Machine Wilderness” through Jan. 6, a jaw-dropping and inspirational multimedia installation re-visioning art, technology and nature as a part of a multi-venue statewide extravaganza of exhibitions to celebrate the International Symposium of Electronic Artists.</p>
<p>“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” by Christiaan Zwanikken at 516 ARTS shares a kinship with Paul Klee’s “Twittering Machine.”</p>
<p>The ISEA organization is a worldwide body of artists, curators and administrators who choose a different host city each year. Our gratitude goes out to Albuquerque Museum director Kathy Wright, curator Andrew Connors, 516 ARTS director Suzanne Sbarge and many other members of the arts community for attracting such high-quality contemporary art to Duke City.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Participants include the Richard Levy Gallery, the University of New Mexico Art Museum and the UNM Harwood Museum of Art in Taos.</p>
<p>Also showing at the Richard Levy Gallery was the knockout solo effort by John Chervinsky that wowed this viewer with inter-dimensional reality play. The May exhibit at Richard Levy followed “Skirts” with Sabine Dehnel and Heidi Lender , who told autobiographical stories through elegant visual poems in February.</p>
<p>516 ARTS invited Los Angeles critic Peter Frank to assemble “New Mexico Showcase” with works by 80 area artists. The ratio of 52 female to 28 male artists reflected the enormous contribution women make toward the success of the arts in New Mexico.</p>
<p>Sally Condon had several pieces in “New Mexico Showcase” that attracted my attention as well as a jaw-dropping solo show at Matrix Fine Art in May. Condon is my pick for artist of the year.</p>
<p>The New Mexico Art League completely rebuilt its gallery spaces with new walls, paint and an excellent lighting system that wowed this viewer while visiting the nicely executed “Going Places” exhibition featuring Maggie Price and Bill Canright. The NMAL gets two thumbs up for Albuquerque’s most improved gallery space.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The already beautiful 1629 Club at the Casa Rondeña Winery featured “Exploring My West” by David Schwindt, a perennial landscape painter who delivers solid craftsmanship and a vision dedicated to the western scene. The solo installation was curated by Joshua Franco.</p>
<p>The 5G Gallery hosted “Far Flung,” a wonderful show featuring Lauren Greenwald, Brook Steiger and Cedra Wood in a celebration of nature and lament for human impact.</p>
<p>There were a string of stunning solo shows that included Isaac AlaridPease and Janet Hoelzel at the Mariposa Gallery, Laura Pope and Carol Chamberland at the Weyrich Gallery and “Inner Constructs,” an exciting collection by Patrick Carr at Gallerie Imaginarium that will reopen this coming spring in the East Mountains.</p>
<p>Iva Morris showed nicely painted pastel landscapes and drop-dead-gorgeous figurative oils at the Sumner and Dene Gallery. The gallery also featured painters Angus Macpherson, Frank McCulloch, Jeannie Sellmer and others while celebrating owner Roy Johnson’s 31st year in business.</p>
<p>The Dartmouth Street Gallery hosted “The Necessity of Water” featuring well-wrought paintings by Dennis Liberty and Leo Neufeld.</p>
<p>Palette Contemporary Art and Craft hosted several bold shows including “Dialed In: a Vintage Radio Show” that reminded us of the breadth of the American imagination before the advent of television where pictures obscure truth.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Several more solo shows drew our attention with Depy Adams and Paul Rodenhauser at Framing Concepts and a beautiful exposition of mixed-media works by Martie Zelt at the Land Gallery.</p>
<p>The Oro Fine Art Gallery showcased an eye-popping and gob-smacking array of new paintings by Ricardo Chavez Mendez inspired by the artist’s curvism style.</p>
<p>To celebrate 31 years in business the Weems Galleries featured a broad spectrum group show titled “Fun, Funky, Fantastic Sculpture Show” that featured a gaggle of heavy hitters like Nancy Young and Fred Yost.</p>
<p>Matrix Fine Art with the adjacent New Grounds Gallery showed “In Broad Sunlight” by Condon, “Little Pieces of the Heart” by Jacklyn St. Aubyn and “Organic” by Pamela Wesolek. All three shows were visual knockouts.</p>
<p>Last spring Exhibit 208 invited artists’ agent Bethany (Buffy) Nelson to showcase a dozen of her “House of Figs” stable of artists. Exhibit 208 ended the year with “Black to White,” a wonderful gallery artists’ show full of well known area artists. Co-founders Kim Arthun and Russell Hamilton have found a good formula to attract great talent.</p>
<p>Assuming the Mayan calendar was grossly misunderstood we can look forward to an exciting 2013 and if the Mayans were right a new series of heaven cycles.</p> | 599,901 |
<p>Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar has been suspended for three games after displaying a gay slur in Spanish on his eye black during a game Saturday against the Boston Red Sox. Escobar came out onto the field with “tu ere maricon” written on his eye black, which translates to “you are a faggot” in English.</p>
<p>Players are prohibited by the league from displaying any derogatory words or symbols on their uniforms, which would include their eye black.</p>
<p>Escobar, who will not be paid during the suspension, has apologized. “I’m sorry for the actions of the other day,” he said through a translator. “It was not something I intended to be offensive. It was something I just put on the sticker on my face as a joke. There was nothing intentional directed at anyone in particular.” He added that he would never do something like that again.</p>
<p>ESPN: Considering Escobar makes about $5 million this season, he will lose over $92,000 during his suspension.</p>
<p />
<p>Escobar’s forfeited salary during his suspension will be directed by the Blue Jays to You Can Play, a Denver-based organization promoting peaceful and conflict-resolving lifestyles, and the Gay &amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the team announced.</p>
<p>Escobar also will participate in an outreach initiative to help educate society about insensitivity and tolerance to others.</p>
<p><a href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8395863/toronto-blue-jays-yunel-escobar-suspended-three-games-gay-slur-eye-black" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement: “I consistently say that baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities and that I expect those who represent Major League Baseball to act with the kind of respect and sensitivity that the game’s diverse fan base deserves. Mr. Escobar has admitted that his actions were a mistake, and I am hopeful he can use this unfortunate situation as an opportunity to educate himself and others that intolerance has no place in our game or society.”</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Tracy Bloom</a>.</p> | Major League Baseball Player Suspended Over Gay Slur | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/major-league-baseball-player-suspended-over-gay-slur/ | 2012-09-19 | 4left
| Major League Baseball Player Suspended Over Gay Slur
<p>Toronto Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar has been suspended for three games after displaying a gay slur in Spanish on his eye black during a game Saturday against the Boston Red Sox. Escobar came out onto the field with “tu ere maricon” written on his eye black, which translates to “you are a faggot” in English.</p>
<p>Players are prohibited by the league from displaying any derogatory words or symbols on their uniforms, which would include their eye black.</p>
<p>Escobar, who will not be paid during the suspension, has apologized. “I’m sorry for the actions of the other day,” he said through a translator. “It was not something I intended to be offensive. It was something I just put on the sticker on my face as a joke. There was nothing intentional directed at anyone in particular.” He added that he would never do something like that again.</p>
<p>ESPN: Considering Escobar makes about $5 million this season, he will lose over $92,000 during his suspension.</p>
<p />
<p>Escobar’s forfeited salary during his suspension will be directed by the Blue Jays to You Can Play, a Denver-based organization promoting peaceful and conflict-resolving lifestyles, and the Gay &amp; Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the team announced.</p>
<p>Escobar also will participate in an outreach initiative to help educate society about insensitivity and tolerance to others.</p>
<p><a href="http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8395863/toronto-blue-jays-yunel-escobar-suspended-three-games-gay-slur-eye-black" type="external">Read more</a></p>
<p>MLB Commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement: “I consistently say that baseball is a social institution with important social responsibilities and that I expect those who represent Major League Baseball to act with the kind of respect and sensitivity that the game’s diverse fan base deserves. Mr. Escobar has admitted that his actions were a mistake, and I am hopeful he can use this unfortunate situation as an opportunity to educate himself and others that intolerance has no place in our game or society.”</p>
<p>— Posted by <a href="" type="internal">Tracy Bloom</a>.</p> | 599,902 |
<p>Because words, tears and prayers are not enough to salve the racial wounds ripped bare this week with police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota and the killing of five police officers in Dallas July 7, Baptists around the country are calling for&#160;action — personal and corporate — to promote healing.</p>
<p>In Dallas, a diverse group of local church leaders held a Together We Stand prayer service July 8&#160;at the Legacy Center of Concord Church.</p>
<p>George Mason</p>
<p>George Mason, pastor of another Dallas congregation, Wilshire Baptist Church, led an interfaith clergy prayer service the same day&#160;at Thanks-Giving Square in the city’s downtown at noon and opened the church parlor to host counselors to comfort and pray with those who are grieving.</p>
<p>“The church is a first responder,” Mason said in a Facebook post. “We will be careful with our words. We will lead laments and mourning before we find fault or fix blame.”</p>
<p>Mason said that Christians gather to console, lament and pray “because every act of coming together is another stitch in the torn fabric of our community.”</p>
<p>Wilshire, already in a working relationship with New Baptist Covenant partner Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, will nurture more such partnerships toward racial reconciliation, Mason said, adding that he and Friendship West pastor Freddy Haynes will work together “to determine how to practice the peace of Christ in this moment and beyond.”</p>
<p>“Today,” he encouraged his readers, “we can begin by showing up and praying up.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://newbaptistcovenant.org/" type="external">New Baptist Covenant</a>, which owes its birth to efforts inspired by President Jimmy Carter for racial reconciliation, distributed a “litany for a mourning people” for use on Sunday morning.</p>
<p>Elijah Zehyoue</p>
<p>“There is not a choice between standing with protestors or standing with police,” said Elijah Zehyoue, director of programs and communications for the NBC. “Violence anywhere and everywhere breaks the heart of God just as injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”</p>
<p>After two black men were shot by white officers, Jeff Roberts, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., spent July 7 reaching out to black pastors “who are my friends,” he said in a Facebook post July 8. On the day after the Dallas shooting, he reached out to police officers connected with his congregation.</p>
<p>“In both cases I had the same message,” he said. “I love you and support you and God is with you. We are all hurting.”</p>
<p>Roberts encouraged others to reach out, to “make that call or send that text. Let them know they are loved and supported and you are praying for them.”</p>
<p>“Ultimately that’s what is going to make the difference, reaching out to people we know and trying to support them,” he said in a later interview.</p>
<p>Cameron Jorgenson, associate professor of Christian theology and ethics at Campbell University Divinity School in Buie’s Creek, N.C., whose student population is about 40 percent black, had a simple message to all: You matter.</p>
<p>He drew parallels between police officers and Catholic priests who labor in their duties under a cloud of suspicion, the former because of perceived racism, the latter because of sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.</p>
<p>“In both cases good, even heroic, people have their difficult job made harder as they are presumed guilty by virtue of their profession,” he said. “The Christian tradition has a handful of words that are relevant to the crisis we’re in right now: repentance, reconciliation, love, resurrection. Rather than despair, today I’m forcing myself to think on these things. Lord, have mercy.”</p>
<p>Suzzi Paynter</p>
<p>Suzii Paynter, executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, asked member congregations to pray for peace through justice in their communities.</p>
<p>“Out of love for God and neighbor, we are commanded to seek peace through justice,” she said in a posted message.</p>
<p>Because the church is a “convening place” she encouraged churches in every community to join with others to host community forums that include representatives of the community and law enforcement.</p>
<p>“Reach out to African-American churches in your town and be a partner congregation in convening the community. We know that dialogue and resolution at times can begin and flourish in a sanctuary beyond what we can achieve in the streets.”</p>
<p>Ironically, Dallas has a reputation of commitment to working on race relations, and of a police department strong on community policing and well trained in appropriate use of force.</p>
<p>It has entrenched community organizations like Unite Dallas and Dallas Faces Race and initiatives from City Hall. So Mason noted efforts in the immediate aftermath of the killings are not the first steps in deepening relationships.</p>
<p>“Dallas has already been highly at work in that regard,” he said. But no city is immune “when lunatics decide to exploit the moment.”</p>
<p>“No matter what we do to build all these trusts and work together in significant ways, it’s almost impossible to reach every deranged, angry and isolated individual and get them to do the right thing.”</p>
<p>A weary Mason added, “At some point we need to look at each other and say, “Damn, we’re trying. It’s terrible that it’s like this.”</p>
<p>Related content:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Texas minister leading Dallas protest pushes people to safety, using 10-ft cross</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Black Christian leaders voice anger, lament over deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Empowering youth to speak when racism, discrimination loom</a></p> | When prayers, tears and words fall short: religious leaders call for action | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/when-prayers-tears-and-words-fall-short-religious-leaders-call-for-action/ | 3left-center
| When prayers, tears and words fall short: religious leaders call for action
<p>Because words, tears and prayers are not enough to salve the racial wounds ripped bare this week with police shootings in Louisiana and Minnesota and the killing of five police officers in Dallas July 7, Baptists around the country are calling for&#160;action — personal and corporate — to promote healing.</p>
<p>In Dallas, a diverse group of local church leaders held a Together We Stand prayer service July 8&#160;at the Legacy Center of Concord Church.</p>
<p>George Mason</p>
<p>George Mason, pastor of another Dallas congregation, Wilshire Baptist Church, led an interfaith clergy prayer service the same day&#160;at Thanks-Giving Square in the city’s downtown at noon and opened the church parlor to host counselors to comfort and pray with those who are grieving.</p>
<p>“The church is a first responder,” Mason said in a Facebook post. “We will be careful with our words. We will lead laments and mourning before we find fault or fix blame.”</p>
<p>Mason said that Christians gather to console, lament and pray “because every act of coming together is another stitch in the torn fabric of our community.”</p>
<p>Wilshire, already in a working relationship with New Baptist Covenant partner Friendship West Baptist Church in Dallas, will nurture more such partnerships toward racial reconciliation, Mason said, adding that he and Friendship West pastor Freddy Haynes will work together “to determine how to practice the peace of Christ in this moment and beyond.”</p>
<p>“Today,” he encouraged his readers, “we can begin by showing up and praying up.”</p>
<p>The <a href="http://newbaptistcovenant.org/" type="external">New Baptist Covenant</a>, which owes its birth to efforts inspired by President Jimmy Carter for racial reconciliation, distributed a “litany for a mourning people” for use on Sunday morning.</p>
<p>Elijah Zehyoue</p>
<p>“There is not a choice between standing with protestors or standing with police,” said Elijah Zehyoue, director of programs and communications for the NBC. “Violence anywhere and everywhere breaks the heart of God just as injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”</p>
<p>After two black men were shot by white officers, Jeff Roberts, pastor of Trinity Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., spent July 7 reaching out to black pastors “who are my friends,” he said in a Facebook post July 8. On the day after the Dallas shooting, he reached out to police officers connected with his congregation.</p>
<p>“In both cases I had the same message,” he said. “I love you and support you and God is with you. We are all hurting.”</p>
<p>Roberts encouraged others to reach out, to “make that call or send that text. Let them know they are loved and supported and you are praying for them.”</p>
<p>“Ultimately that’s what is going to make the difference, reaching out to people we know and trying to support them,” he said in a later interview.</p>
<p>Cameron Jorgenson, associate professor of Christian theology and ethics at Campbell University Divinity School in Buie’s Creek, N.C., whose student population is about 40 percent black, had a simple message to all: You matter.</p>
<p>He drew parallels between police officers and Catholic priests who labor in their duties under a cloud of suspicion, the former because of perceived racism, the latter because of sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church.</p>
<p>“In both cases good, even heroic, people have their difficult job made harder as they are presumed guilty by virtue of their profession,” he said. “The Christian tradition has a handful of words that are relevant to the crisis we’re in right now: repentance, reconciliation, love, resurrection. Rather than despair, today I’m forcing myself to think on these things. Lord, have mercy.”</p>
<p>Suzzi Paynter</p>
<p>Suzii Paynter, executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, asked member congregations to pray for peace through justice in their communities.</p>
<p>“Out of love for God and neighbor, we are commanded to seek peace through justice,” she said in a posted message.</p>
<p>Because the church is a “convening place” she encouraged churches in every community to join with others to host community forums that include representatives of the community and law enforcement.</p>
<p>“Reach out to African-American churches in your town and be a partner congregation in convening the community. We know that dialogue and resolution at times can begin and flourish in a sanctuary beyond what we can achieve in the streets.”</p>
<p>Ironically, Dallas has a reputation of commitment to working on race relations, and of a police department strong on community policing and well trained in appropriate use of force.</p>
<p>It has entrenched community organizations like Unite Dallas and Dallas Faces Race and initiatives from City Hall. So Mason noted efforts in the immediate aftermath of the killings are not the first steps in deepening relationships.</p>
<p>“Dallas has already been highly at work in that regard,” he said. But no city is immune “when lunatics decide to exploit the moment.”</p>
<p>“No matter what we do to build all these trusts and work together in significant ways, it’s almost impossible to reach every deranged, angry and isolated individual and get them to do the right thing.”</p>
<p>A weary Mason added, “At some point we need to look at each other and say, “Damn, we’re trying. It’s terrible that it’s like this.”</p>
<p>Related content:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Texas minister leading Dallas protest pushes people to safety, using 10-ft cross</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Black Christian leaders voice anger, lament over deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Empowering youth to speak when racism, discrimination loom</a></p> | 599,903 |
|
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>On December 8, Chinese and French news services reported that Iran had stopped billing its oil exports in dollars.</p>
<p>Americans might never hear this news as the independence of the US media was destroyed in the 1990s when Rupert Murdoch persuaded the Clinton administration and the quislings in Congress to allow the US media to be monopolized by a few mega-corporations.</p>
<p>Iran’s oil minister, Gholam Hossein Nozari, declared: “The dollar is an unreliable currency in regards to its devaluation and the loss oil exporters have endured from this trend.” Iran has proposed to OPEC that the US dollar no longer be used by any oil exporting countries. As the oil emirates and the Saudis have already decided to reduce their holdings of US dollars, the US might actually find itself having to pay for its energy imports in euros or yen.</p>
<p>Venezuela’s Chavez, survivor of a US-led coup against him and a likely target of a US assassination attempt, might follow the Iranian lead. Also, Russia’s Putin, who is fed up with the US government’s efforts to encircle Russia militarily, will be tempted to add Russia’s oil exports to the symbolic assault on the dollar.</p>
<p>The assault is symbolic, because the dollar is not the reserve currency due to oil exports being billed in dollars. It’s the other way around. Oil exports are billed in dollars, because the dollar is the reserve currency.</p>
<p>What is important to the dollar’s value and its role as reserve currency is whether foreigners continue to consider dollar-denominated assets sufficiently attractive to absorb the constant flow of red ink from US trade and budget deficits. If Iran and other countries do not want dollars, they can exchange them for other currencies regardless of the currency in which oil is billed.</p>
<p>Indeed, the evidence is that foreigners are not finding dollar-denominated assets sufficiently attractive. The dollar has declined dramatically during the Bush regime regardless of the fact that oil is billed in dollars. Iran is dropping dollars in response to the dollar’s loss of value. This is a market response to a depreciating currency, not a punitive action by Iran to sink the dollar.</p>
<p>Oil bills are only a small part of the problem. Oil minister Nozari’s statement about the loss suffered by oil exporters applies to all exporters of all products.</p>
<p>A quarter century ago US oil imports accounted for the US trade deficit. The concerns expressed over the years about “energy dependence” accustomed Americans to think of trade problems only in terms of oil. The desire to gain “energy independence” has led to such foolish policies as subsidies for ethanol, the main effect of which is to drive up food prices and further ravage the poor.</p>
<p>Today oil imports comprise a small part of the US trade deficit. During the decades when Americans were fixated on “the energy deficit,” the US became three to four times more dependent on foreign made manufactures. America’s trade deficit in manufactured goods, including advanced technology products, dwarfs the US energy deficit.</p>
<p>For example, the US trade deficit with China is more than twice the size of the US trade deficit with OPEC. The US deficit with Japan is about the size of the US deficit with OPEC. With an overall US trade deficit of more than $800 billion, the deficit with OPEC only comprises one-eighth.</p>
<p>If abandonment of the dollar by oil exporters is not the cause of the dollar’s woes, what is?</p>
<p>There are two reasons for the dollar’s demise. One is the practice of American corporations offshoring their production for US consumers. When US corporations move to foreign countries their production of goods and services for American consumers, they convert US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) into imports. US production declines, US jobs and skill pools are destroyed, and the trade deficit increases. Foreign GDP, employment, and exports rise.</p>
<p>US corporations that offshore their production for US markets account for a larger share of the US trade deficit than does the OPEC energy deficit. Half or more of the US trade deficit with China consists of the offshored production of US firms. In 2006, the US trade deficit with China was $233 billion, half of which is $116.5 billion or $10 billion more than the US deficit with OPEC.</p>
<p>The other reason for the dollar’s demise is the ignorance and nonchalance of “libertarian free market free trade economists” about offshoring and the trade deficit.</p>
<p>There is a great deal to be said in behalf of free markets and free trade. However, for many economists free trade has become an ideology, and they have ceased to think.</p>
<p>Such economists have become insouciant shills for the offshoring interests that fund their research and institutes. Their interests are tied together with those of the offshoring corporations.</p>
<p>Free trade economists have made three massive errors: (1) they confuse labor arbitrage across international borders with free trade when nothing in fact is being traded, (2) they have forgot the two necessary conditions in order for the classic theory of free trade, which rests on the principle of comparative advantage, to be valid, and (3) they are ignorant of the latest work in trade theory, which shows that free trade theory was never correct even when the conditions on which it is based were prevalent.</p>
<p>When a US firm moves its output abroad, the firm is arbitraging labor (and taxes, regulation, etc.) across international borders in pursuit of absolute advantage, not in pursuit of comparative advantage at home. When the US firm brings its offshored goods and services to the US to be marketed, those goods and services count as imports.</p>
<p>David Ricardo based comparative advantage on two necessary conditions: One is that a country’s capital seek comparative advantage at home and not seek absolute advantage abroad. The other is that countries have different relative cost ratios of producing tradable goods. Under the Ricardian conditions, offshoring is prohibited.</p>
<p>Today capital is as internationally mobile as traded goods, and knowledge-based production functions have the same relative cost ratios regardless of the country of location. The famous Ricardian conditions for free trade are not present in today’s world.</p>
<p>In the most important development in trade theory in 200 years, the distinguished mathematician Ralph Gomory and the distinguished economist and former president of the American Economics Association, William Baumol, have shown that the case for free trade was invalid even when the Ricardian conditions were present in the world. Their book, Global Trade and Conflicting National Interests, first presented as lectures at the London School of Economics, was published in 2000 by MIT Press.</p>
<p>While free trade economists hold on to their doctrine-turned-ideology, the US dollar and the American economy are dying.</p>
<p>One of the great lies of the offshoring interests is that US manufacturing is in trouble because of poor US education and a shortage of US scientists and engineers. Pundits such as Thomas Friedman have helped to spread this ignorance until it has become a dogma. Recently, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt lent his weight to this falsehood. (See “The US No Longer Drives Global Economic Growth,” Manufacturing &amp; Technology News, Nov. 30, 2007.)</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that the offshoring of US engineering and R&amp;D jobs and the importation of foreign engineers and scientists on work visas have combined with educational subsidies to produce a surplus of American scientists and engineers, many of whom are unable to find jobs when they graduate from university or become casualties of offshoring and H-1b visas.</p>
<p>Corporate interests continue to lobby Congress for more foreign workers, claiming a non-existent shortage of trained Americans, even as the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology concludes that real salary growth for American scientists and engineers has been flat or declining for the past 10 years. The “long trend of strong US demand for scientific and technical specialists” has come to an end with no signs of revival. (See “Job and Income Growth for Scientists and Engineers Comes to an End,” Manufacturing &amp; Technology News, November 30, 2007.)</p>
<p>What economist has ever heard of a labor shortage resulting in flat or declining pay?</p>
<p>There is no more of a shortage of US scientists and engineers than there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The US media has no investigative capability and serves up the lies that serve short-term corporate and political interests. If it were not for the Internet that provides Americans with access to foreign news sources, Americans would live in a world of perfect disinformation.</p>
<p>Offshoring interests and economic dogmas have combined to create a false picture of America’s economic position. While the ladders of upward mobility are being dismantled, Americans are being told that they have never had it better.</p>
<p>PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of <a href="" type="internal">The Tyranny of Good Intentions.</a>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Shrinking the US Dollar from the Inside-Out | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/12/12/shrinking-the-us-dollar-from-the-inside-out/ | 2007-12-12 | 4left
| Shrinking the US Dollar from the Inside-Out
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>On December 8, Chinese and French news services reported that Iran had stopped billing its oil exports in dollars.</p>
<p>Americans might never hear this news as the independence of the US media was destroyed in the 1990s when Rupert Murdoch persuaded the Clinton administration and the quislings in Congress to allow the US media to be monopolized by a few mega-corporations.</p>
<p>Iran’s oil minister, Gholam Hossein Nozari, declared: “The dollar is an unreliable currency in regards to its devaluation and the loss oil exporters have endured from this trend.” Iran has proposed to OPEC that the US dollar no longer be used by any oil exporting countries. As the oil emirates and the Saudis have already decided to reduce their holdings of US dollars, the US might actually find itself having to pay for its energy imports in euros or yen.</p>
<p>Venezuela’s Chavez, survivor of a US-led coup against him and a likely target of a US assassination attempt, might follow the Iranian lead. Also, Russia’s Putin, who is fed up with the US government’s efforts to encircle Russia militarily, will be tempted to add Russia’s oil exports to the symbolic assault on the dollar.</p>
<p>The assault is symbolic, because the dollar is not the reserve currency due to oil exports being billed in dollars. It’s the other way around. Oil exports are billed in dollars, because the dollar is the reserve currency.</p>
<p>What is important to the dollar’s value and its role as reserve currency is whether foreigners continue to consider dollar-denominated assets sufficiently attractive to absorb the constant flow of red ink from US trade and budget deficits. If Iran and other countries do not want dollars, they can exchange them for other currencies regardless of the currency in which oil is billed.</p>
<p>Indeed, the evidence is that foreigners are not finding dollar-denominated assets sufficiently attractive. The dollar has declined dramatically during the Bush regime regardless of the fact that oil is billed in dollars. Iran is dropping dollars in response to the dollar’s loss of value. This is a market response to a depreciating currency, not a punitive action by Iran to sink the dollar.</p>
<p>Oil bills are only a small part of the problem. Oil minister Nozari’s statement about the loss suffered by oil exporters applies to all exporters of all products.</p>
<p>A quarter century ago US oil imports accounted for the US trade deficit. The concerns expressed over the years about “energy dependence” accustomed Americans to think of trade problems only in terms of oil. The desire to gain “energy independence” has led to such foolish policies as subsidies for ethanol, the main effect of which is to drive up food prices and further ravage the poor.</p>
<p>Today oil imports comprise a small part of the US trade deficit. During the decades when Americans were fixated on “the energy deficit,” the US became three to four times more dependent on foreign made manufactures. America’s trade deficit in manufactured goods, including advanced technology products, dwarfs the US energy deficit.</p>
<p>For example, the US trade deficit with China is more than twice the size of the US trade deficit with OPEC. The US deficit with Japan is about the size of the US deficit with OPEC. With an overall US trade deficit of more than $800 billion, the deficit with OPEC only comprises one-eighth.</p>
<p>If abandonment of the dollar by oil exporters is not the cause of the dollar’s woes, what is?</p>
<p>There are two reasons for the dollar’s demise. One is the practice of American corporations offshoring their production for US consumers. When US corporations move to foreign countries their production of goods and services for American consumers, they convert US Gross Domestic Product (GDP) into imports. US production declines, US jobs and skill pools are destroyed, and the trade deficit increases. Foreign GDP, employment, and exports rise.</p>
<p>US corporations that offshore their production for US markets account for a larger share of the US trade deficit than does the OPEC energy deficit. Half or more of the US trade deficit with China consists of the offshored production of US firms. In 2006, the US trade deficit with China was $233 billion, half of which is $116.5 billion or $10 billion more than the US deficit with OPEC.</p>
<p>The other reason for the dollar’s demise is the ignorance and nonchalance of “libertarian free market free trade economists” about offshoring and the trade deficit.</p>
<p>There is a great deal to be said in behalf of free markets and free trade. However, for many economists free trade has become an ideology, and they have ceased to think.</p>
<p>Such economists have become insouciant shills for the offshoring interests that fund their research and institutes. Their interests are tied together with those of the offshoring corporations.</p>
<p>Free trade economists have made three massive errors: (1) they confuse labor arbitrage across international borders with free trade when nothing in fact is being traded, (2) they have forgot the two necessary conditions in order for the classic theory of free trade, which rests on the principle of comparative advantage, to be valid, and (3) they are ignorant of the latest work in trade theory, which shows that free trade theory was never correct even when the conditions on which it is based were prevalent.</p>
<p>When a US firm moves its output abroad, the firm is arbitraging labor (and taxes, regulation, etc.) across international borders in pursuit of absolute advantage, not in pursuit of comparative advantage at home. When the US firm brings its offshored goods and services to the US to be marketed, those goods and services count as imports.</p>
<p>David Ricardo based comparative advantage on two necessary conditions: One is that a country’s capital seek comparative advantage at home and not seek absolute advantage abroad. The other is that countries have different relative cost ratios of producing tradable goods. Under the Ricardian conditions, offshoring is prohibited.</p>
<p>Today capital is as internationally mobile as traded goods, and knowledge-based production functions have the same relative cost ratios regardless of the country of location. The famous Ricardian conditions for free trade are not present in today’s world.</p>
<p>In the most important development in trade theory in 200 years, the distinguished mathematician Ralph Gomory and the distinguished economist and former president of the American Economics Association, William Baumol, have shown that the case for free trade was invalid even when the Ricardian conditions were present in the world. Their book, Global Trade and Conflicting National Interests, first presented as lectures at the London School of Economics, was published in 2000 by MIT Press.</p>
<p>While free trade economists hold on to their doctrine-turned-ideology, the US dollar and the American economy are dying.</p>
<p>One of the great lies of the offshoring interests is that US manufacturing is in trouble because of poor US education and a shortage of US scientists and engineers. Pundits such as Thomas Friedman have helped to spread this ignorance until it has become a dogma. Recently, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt lent his weight to this falsehood. (See “The US No Longer Drives Global Economic Growth,” Manufacturing &amp; Technology News, Nov. 30, 2007.)</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that the offshoring of US engineering and R&amp;D jobs and the importation of foreign engineers and scientists on work visas have combined with educational subsidies to produce a surplus of American scientists and engineers, many of whom are unable to find jobs when they graduate from university or become casualties of offshoring and H-1b visas.</p>
<p>Corporate interests continue to lobby Congress for more foreign workers, claiming a non-existent shortage of trained Americans, even as the Commission on Professionals in Science and Technology concludes that real salary growth for American scientists and engineers has been flat or declining for the past 10 years. The “long trend of strong US demand for scientific and technical specialists” has come to an end with no signs of revival. (See “Job and Income Growth for Scientists and Engineers Comes to an End,” Manufacturing &amp; Technology News, November 30, 2007.)</p>
<p>What economist has ever heard of a labor shortage resulting in flat or declining pay?</p>
<p>There is no more of a shortage of US scientists and engineers than there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The US media has no investigative capability and serves up the lies that serve short-term corporate and political interests. If it were not for the Internet that provides Americans with access to foreign news sources, Americans would live in a world of perfect disinformation.</p>
<p>Offshoring interests and economic dogmas have combined to create a false picture of America’s economic position. While the ladders of upward mobility are being dismantled, Americans are being told that they have never had it better.</p>
<p>PAUL CRAIG ROBERTS was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration. He was Associate Editor of the Wall Street Journal editorial page and Contributing Editor of National Review. He is coauthor of <a href="" type="internal">The Tyranny of Good Intentions.</a>He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,904 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that climate change is real, breaking with both the president-elect and his own past statements.</p>
<p>In response to questions from Democrats during his Senate confirmation hearing, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he disagreed with Trump’s earlier claims that global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese to harm the economic competitiveness of the United States.</p>
<p>“I do not believe climate change is a hoax,” Pruitt said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The 48-year-old Republican has previously cast doubt on the extensive body of scientific evidence showing that the planet is warming and man-made carbon emissions are to blame. In a 2016 opinion article, Pruitt suggested that the debate over global warming “is far from settled” and he claimed that “scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind.”</p>
<p>At the hearing before the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee, Pruitt conceded that human activity contributes “in some manner” to climate change. He continued, however, to question whether the burning of fossil fuels is the primary reason, and refused to say whether sea levels are rising.</p>
<p>Pruitt’s testimony came shortly after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a joint statement affirming that 2016 was officially the hottest year in recorded history. Studies show the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass, while the world’s oceans have risen on average nearly 7 inches in the last century.</p>
<p>Pressed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to answer in detail about his beliefs about climate change, Pruitt responded that his personal opinion was “immaterial” to how he would enforce environmental laws.</p>
<p>In his current post, Pruitt joined a multistate lawsuit opposing the Obama administration’s plan to limit planet-warming carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. Pruitt also sued over the EPA’s recent expansion of water bodies regulated under the Clean Water Act. It has been opposed by industries that would be forced to clean up polluted wastewater.</p>
<p>The lawsuits are among at least eight pending cases Pruitt has joined against the agency he is in line to lead.</p>
<p>Under questioning from Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., Pruitt said he has “every willingness to recuse” himself on a case-by-case basis if directed to do so by the EPA’s ethics office. Markey said that was not enough to reassure Americans of his objectivity, adding that Pruitt should commit to a blanket recusal.</p>
<p>Pruitt said that if were confirmed by the GOP-run Senate, he would work with states and industry to return the federal watchdog to what he described as its proper role.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Environmental regulations should not occur in an economic vacuum,” Pruitt said. “We can simultaneously pursue the mutual goals of environmental protection and economic growth.”</p>
<p>Environmentalists opposing Pruitt’s nomination cite his cozy relationships with oil and gas industry executives who have donated to his political campaigns.</p>
<p>As the hearing got underway, shouting could be heard from people who were not allowed in. The room accommodated fewer than 100 people; most seats were taken by congressional staff, reporters and others who were allowed in early. Only a few seats remained for the public.</p>
<p>One woman was quickly wrestled out of the room by three police officers as she pulled out a roll of yellow crime scene tape and shouted “We don’t want EPA gutted!”</p>
<p>Later, a group of coal miners wearing hard hats were allowed in to show support for Pruitt. Trump has pledged to bring back tens of thousands of lost coal mining jobs once inaugurated, though he has not yet detailed how. The president-elect has also said he will “renegotiate” the international accord to reduce carbon emissions signed in Paris at the end of 2015.</p>
<p>Senate Republicans uniformly praised Pruitt what they described as his robust record of enforcing environmental laws “when appropriate.” Court records show scant evidence of Pruitt acting to protect the environment in years as a state regulator.</p>
<p>Shortly after Pruitt took office in Oklahoma in 2011, he disbanded the unit responsible for protecting the state’s natural resources. He reassigned his staff to file more than a dozen lawsuits challenging EPA regulations.</p>
<p>Senate Democrats focused on Pruitt’s record of siding with polluters in court as he collected campaign contributions from them.</p>
<p>Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., pressed Pruitt on money he raised from energy companies such as Exxon Mobil and Devon Energy, as well as the corporate “dark money” raised by groups with which he is involved that are not required to disclose their donors.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Pruitt resigned from the board of the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a Washington-based group supporting the legal agendas of GOP attorney generals that Whitehouse described as “a complete black hole into which at least $1 million goes.” In his response, Pruitt declined to provide details about whether the group’s donors included fossil fuel companies or utilities with regulatory issues before EPA.</p>
<p>Though Pruitt ran unopposed for a second term in 2014, public campaign finance reports show he raised more than $700,000, much of it from people in the energy and utility industries.</p>
<p>Pruitt has also faced criticism from environmentalists for failing to take any action to help curb a dramatic spike in earthquake activity in Oklahoma that scientists have linked to the underground disposal of oil and gas wastewater.</p>
<p>Pruitt said his support for legal positions advocated by oil and gas companies was in the best interest of Oklahoma, which is economically dependent on the fossil fuel industry.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP environmental writer Michael Biesecker at Twitter.com/mbieseck</p> | In break with Trump, EPA pick says climate change isn’t hoax | false | https://abqjournal.com/930227/trump-epa-pick-pledges-more-cooperation-with-industry.html | 2017-01-18 | 2least
| In break with Trump, EPA pick says climate change isn’t hoax
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Donald Trump’s choice to head the Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that climate change is real, breaking with both the president-elect and his own past statements.</p>
<p>In response to questions from Democrats during his Senate confirmation hearing, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt said he disagreed with Trump’s earlier claims that global warming is a hoax created by the Chinese to harm the economic competitiveness of the United States.</p>
<p>“I do not believe climate change is a hoax,” Pruitt said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The 48-year-old Republican has previously cast doubt on the extensive body of scientific evidence showing that the planet is warming and man-made carbon emissions are to blame. In a 2016 opinion article, Pruitt suggested that the debate over global warming “is far from settled” and he claimed that “scientists continue to disagree about the degree and extent of global warming and its connection to the actions of mankind.”</p>
<p>At the hearing before the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee, Pruitt conceded that human activity contributes “in some manner” to climate change. He continued, however, to question whether the burning of fossil fuels is the primary reason, and refused to say whether sea levels are rising.</p>
<p>Pruitt’s testimony came shortly after NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a joint statement affirming that 2016 was officially the hottest year in recorded history. Studies show the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have decreased in mass, while the world’s oceans have risen on average nearly 7 inches in the last century.</p>
<p>Pressed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to answer in detail about his beliefs about climate change, Pruitt responded that his personal opinion was “immaterial” to how he would enforce environmental laws.</p>
<p>In his current post, Pruitt joined a multistate lawsuit opposing the Obama administration’s plan to limit planet-warming carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants. Pruitt also sued over the EPA’s recent expansion of water bodies regulated under the Clean Water Act. It has been opposed by industries that would be forced to clean up polluted wastewater.</p>
<p>The lawsuits are among at least eight pending cases Pruitt has joined against the agency he is in line to lead.</p>
<p>Under questioning from Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., Pruitt said he has “every willingness to recuse” himself on a case-by-case basis if directed to do so by the EPA’s ethics office. Markey said that was not enough to reassure Americans of his objectivity, adding that Pruitt should commit to a blanket recusal.</p>
<p>Pruitt said that if were confirmed by the GOP-run Senate, he would work with states and industry to return the federal watchdog to what he described as its proper role.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Environmental regulations should not occur in an economic vacuum,” Pruitt said. “We can simultaneously pursue the mutual goals of environmental protection and economic growth.”</p>
<p>Environmentalists opposing Pruitt’s nomination cite his cozy relationships with oil and gas industry executives who have donated to his political campaigns.</p>
<p>As the hearing got underway, shouting could be heard from people who were not allowed in. The room accommodated fewer than 100 people; most seats were taken by congressional staff, reporters and others who were allowed in early. Only a few seats remained for the public.</p>
<p>One woman was quickly wrestled out of the room by three police officers as she pulled out a roll of yellow crime scene tape and shouted “We don’t want EPA gutted!”</p>
<p>Later, a group of coal miners wearing hard hats were allowed in to show support for Pruitt. Trump has pledged to bring back tens of thousands of lost coal mining jobs once inaugurated, though he has not yet detailed how. The president-elect has also said he will “renegotiate” the international accord to reduce carbon emissions signed in Paris at the end of 2015.</p>
<p>Senate Republicans uniformly praised Pruitt what they described as his robust record of enforcing environmental laws “when appropriate.” Court records show scant evidence of Pruitt acting to protect the environment in years as a state regulator.</p>
<p>Shortly after Pruitt took office in Oklahoma in 2011, he disbanded the unit responsible for protecting the state’s natural resources. He reassigned his staff to file more than a dozen lawsuits challenging EPA regulations.</p>
<p>Senate Democrats focused on Pruitt’s record of siding with polluters in court as he collected campaign contributions from them.</p>
<p>Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., pressed Pruitt on money he raised from energy companies such as Exxon Mobil and Devon Energy, as well as the corporate “dark money” raised by groups with which he is involved that are not required to disclose their donors.</p>
<p>Earlier this month, Pruitt resigned from the board of the Rule of Law Defense Fund, a Washington-based group supporting the legal agendas of GOP attorney generals that Whitehouse described as “a complete black hole into which at least $1 million goes.” In his response, Pruitt declined to provide details about whether the group’s donors included fossil fuel companies or utilities with regulatory issues before EPA.</p>
<p>Though Pruitt ran unopposed for a second term in 2014, public campaign finance reports show he raised more than $700,000, much of it from people in the energy and utility industries.</p>
<p>Pruitt has also faced criticism from environmentalists for failing to take any action to help curb a dramatic spike in earthquake activity in Oklahoma that scientists have linked to the underground disposal of oil and gas wastewater.</p>
<p>Pruitt said his support for legal positions advocated by oil and gas companies was in the best interest of Oklahoma, which is economically dependent on the fossil fuel industry.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP environmental writer Michael Biesecker at Twitter.com/mbieseck</p> | 599,905 |
<p>THE PROBLEM-SOLVING VOTER:&#160;No Labels has released a new poll about the problem-solving voter. More than half the American electorate are problem-solvers, and as&#160; <a href="http://thepage.time.com/2012/06/14/problem-solvers/" type="external">Mark Halperin writes</a>, “Problem Solving Voters feel that it is very important for problem solving candidates to work with members of the opposing party to find solutions (84%)…They also want problem solving candidates to be inventive in coming up with new ideas (71%) and to not feel bound by pledges (67%).”&#160; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu3iy8Fft8w" type="external">Click here to watch No Labels Co-Founder Mark McKinnon talk about what the problem-solving voter can do in November on Morning Joe.</a></p>
<p>BACK TO THE NORM:&#160;The last three elections have resulted in massive waves of change in Congress. These swings should be seen as the exception, not the rule. The election results this year will be narrower, meaning Capitol Hill could be home to even more gridlock:&#160; <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com//columns/on-the-trail/the-senate-and-the-old-normal-20120614?page=1" type="external">Reid Wilson for&#160;National Journal: The Senate and The Old Normal</a></p>
<p>MEET THE SPONSOR:&#160;No Budget, No Pay sponsor Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) is running for re-election this November. He often wears a No Labels pin on the Senate floor and is running to attract the problem-solving voters. Meet the Senate sponsor of No Budget, No Pay:&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77406.html" type="external">Manu Raju for&#160;POLITICO: Dean Heller: Tea partier or independent populist?</a></p>
<p>SITTING TOGETHER:&#160;Bipartisan seating, one of the reforms featured in our&#160;Make Congress Work!&#160;action plan, is now being used to help solve problems in the Senate Agriculture Committee:&#160; <a href="http://goog_210517567/" type="external">Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Pat Roberts in&#160;</a> <a href="http://goog_210517567/" type="external">POLITICO:&#160;</a> <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/?shva=1#inbox/137eba194c50920e" type="external">Agriculture Panel Germinates Ideas at the Table</a></p>
<p>LAYOFF THREATS:&#160;With the sequester approaching, defense contractors are fighting back. The plan is to deliver hundreds of thousands layoff notices right before the election. If the sequester take place, projections are that 1 million jobs will be lost. Congress needs to find solutions:&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77400.html" type="external">Austin Wright for&#160;POLITICO: Layoff threats put Congress on notice</a></p>
<p>ACTION OF THE DAY:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Click here to call your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor No Budget, No Pay.</a></p>
<p>STAT OF THE DAY: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has announced his intention to invoke the so-called "Thurmond Rule," a custom within the Senate not to allow judicial nominations to go through within six months of a presidential election. In spite of this, there are still 75 unconfirmed judicial vacancies that may have to wait until after the next swearing-in to be filled:&#160; <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_151/GOP-Begins-Judge-Blockade-215369-1.html?pos=hftxt" type="external">John Stanton for&#160;Roll Call: GOP Begins Judge Blockade</a></p>
<p>Written &amp; edited by&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Collin Berglund</a>,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Lauren Gilbert</a>,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">John Thornburgh</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Jack McCullough</a></p>
<p>Tips, questions or ideas? Email the Problem-Solver's Daily team at&#160; <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a>&#160;or tweet at us ( <a href="" type="internal">@nolabelsorg</a>)</p> | Are you a problem-solving voter? | false | https://nolabels.org/blog/are-you-a-problem-solving-voter/ | 2012-06-14 | 2least
| Are you a problem-solving voter?
<p>THE PROBLEM-SOLVING VOTER:&#160;No Labels has released a new poll about the problem-solving voter. More than half the American electorate are problem-solvers, and as&#160; <a href="http://thepage.time.com/2012/06/14/problem-solvers/" type="external">Mark Halperin writes</a>, “Problem Solving Voters feel that it is very important for problem solving candidates to work with members of the opposing party to find solutions (84%)…They also want problem solving candidates to be inventive in coming up with new ideas (71%) and to not feel bound by pledges (67%).”&#160; <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu3iy8Fft8w" type="external">Click here to watch No Labels Co-Founder Mark McKinnon talk about what the problem-solving voter can do in November on Morning Joe.</a></p>
<p>BACK TO THE NORM:&#160;The last three elections have resulted in massive waves of change in Congress. These swings should be seen as the exception, not the rule. The election results this year will be narrower, meaning Capitol Hill could be home to even more gridlock:&#160; <a href="http://www.nationaljournal.com//columns/on-the-trail/the-senate-and-the-old-normal-20120614?page=1" type="external">Reid Wilson for&#160;National Journal: The Senate and The Old Normal</a></p>
<p>MEET THE SPONSOR:&#160;No Budget, No Pay sponsor Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) is running for re-election this November. He often wears a No Labels pin on the Senate floor and is running to attract the problem-solving voters. Meet the Senate sponsor of No Budget, No Pay:&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77406.html" type="external">Manu Raju for&#160;POLITICO: Dean Heller: Tea partier or independent populist?</a></p>
<p>SITTING TOGETHER:&#160;Bipartisan seating, one of the reforms featured in our&#160;Make Congress Work!&#160;action plan, is now being used to help solve problems in the Senate Agriculture Committee:&#160; <a href="http://goog_210517567/" type="external">Sens. Debbie Stabenow and Pat Roberts in&#160;</a> <a href="http://goog_210517567/" type="external">POLITICO:&#160;</a> <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/?shva=1#inbox/137eba194c50920e" type="external">Agriculture Panel Germinates Ideas at the Table</a></p>
<p>LAYOFF THREATS:&#160;With the sequester approaching, defense contractors are fighting back. The plan is to deliver hundreds of thousands layoff notices right before the election. If the sequester take place, projections are that 1 million jobs will be lost. Congress needs to find solutions:&#160; <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77400.html" type="external">Austin Wright for&#160;POLITICO: Layoff threats put Congress on notice</a></p>
<p>ACTION OF THE DAY:&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Click here to call your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor No Budget, No Pay.</a></p>
<p>STAT OF THE DAY: Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has announced his intention to invoke the so-called "Thurmond Rule," a custom within the Senate not to allow judicial nominations to go through within six months of a presidential election. In spite of this, there are still 75 unconfirmed judicial vacancies that may have to wait until after the next swearing-in to be filled:&#160; <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_151/GOP-Begins-Judge-Blockade-215369-1.html?pos=hftxt" type="external">John Stanton for&#160;Roll Call: GOP Begins Judge Blockade</a></p>
<p>Written &amp; edited by&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Collin Berglund</a>,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Lauren Gilbert</a>,&#160; <a href="" type="internal">John Thornburgh</a>&#160;and&#160; <a href="" type="internal">Jack McCullough</a></p>
<p>Tips, questions or ideas? Email the Problem-Solver's Daily team at&#160; <a href="" type="internal">[email protected]</a>&#160;or tweet at us ( <a href="" type="internal">@nolabelsorg</a>)</p> | 599,906 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A small line of mourners filed into the Vaughn Green East funeral home for a wake held for Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died a week after an encounter with police left him with grave spinal injuries. Mourners passed by Gray's silk-draped, white coffin.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>About 20 people sat inside the chapel as a steady stream of people filed inside, waiting their turn to view the body.</p>
<p>Mourners also gathered outside. Some held up signs that read, "We remember Freddie" and "Our Hearts Are With The Gray Family."</p>
<p>Gray's funeral is planned for today.</p>
<p>At a church service earlier Sunday, Pastor Jamal Bryant told the congregation at Empowerment Temple AME Church that "somebody is going to have to pay" for Gray's death.</p>
<p>Bryant said that if "you're black in America your life is always under threat." Bryant also addressed the violence that erupted Saturday night during what began as a peaceful demonstration attended by more than a thousand people.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some 34 people were arrested, according to Baltimore Police Department, and six police officers suffered minor injuries. After services were over, Bryant, whose church will pay for Gray's funeral, met with the family. He said after the meeting that they are "holding on" and that they don't want violence.</p>
<p>Bryant said marches and demonstrations would continue but that "violence never leads to justice."</p>
<p>Roughly 1,200 protesters gathered at City Hall on Saturday afternoon, officials said, to protest Gray's death, which has prompted near-daily demonstrations since he died April 19. Gray was arrested one week before that when officers chased him through a West Baltimore neighborhood and dragged him into a police van.</p>
<p>However, a smaller group splintered off and looted a convenience store and smashed storefront windows. A protester tossed a flaming metal garbage can toward a line of police officers in riot gear as they tried to push back the crowd. Earlier, a group of protesters smashed the windows of at least three police cars.</p>
<p>Police acknowledged Friday that Gray should have received medical attention at the spot where he was arrested - before he was put inside a police transport van handcuffed and without a seat belt, a violation of the Police Department's policy.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gray was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran away, police said. Officers held him down, handcuffed him and loaded him into the van. While inside, he became irate and leg cuffs were put on him, police have said.</p>
<p>Gray asked for medical help several times. After a 30-minute ride that included three stops, paramedics were called.</p>
<p>Authorities have not explained how or when Gray's spine was injured.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Family, friends in Baltimore mourn death of arrested man | false | https://abqjournal.com/575483/arrested-man-who-died-mourned.html | 2least
| Family, friends in Baltimore mourn death of arrested man
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>A small line of mourners filed into the Vaughn Green East funeral home for a wake held for Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old black man who died a week after an encounter with police left him with grave spinal injuries. Mourners passed by Gray's silk-draped, white coffin.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>About 20 people sat inside the chapel as a steady stream of people filed inside, waiting their turn to view the body.</p>
<p>Mourners also gathered outside. Some held up signs that read, "We remember Freddie" and "Our Hearts Are With The Gray Family."</p>
<p>Gray's funeral is planned for today.</p>
<p>At a church service earlier Sunday, Pastor Jamal Bryant told the congregation at Empowerment Temple AME Church that "somebody is going to have to pay" for Gray's death.</p>
<p>Bryant said that if "you're black in America your life is always under threat." Bryant also addressed the violence that erupted Saturday night during what began as a peaceful demonstration attended by more than a thousand people.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Some 34 people were arrested, according to Baltimore Police Department, and six police officers suffered minor injuries. After services were over, Bryant, whose church will pay for Gray's funeral, met with the family. He said after the meeting that they are "holding on" and that they don't want violence.</p>
<p>Bryant said marches and demonstrations would continue but that "violence never leads to justice."</p>
<p>Roughly 1,200 protesters gathered at City Hall on Saturday afternoon, officials said, to protest Gray's death, which has prompted near-daily demonstrations since he died April 19. Gray was arrested one week before that when officers chased him through a West Baltimore neighborhood and dragged him into a police van.</p>
<p>However, a smaller group splintered off and looted a convenience store and smashed storefront windows. A protester tossed a flaming metal garbage can toward a line of police officers in riot gear as they tried to push back the crowd. Earlier, a group of protesters smashed the windows of at least three police cars.</p>
<p>Police acknowledged Friday that Gray should have received medical attention at the spot where he was arrested - before he was put inside a police transport van handcuffed and without a seat belt, a violation of the Police Department's policy.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Gray was arrested after he made eye contact with officers and ran away, police said. Officers held him down, handcuffed him and loaded him into the van. While inside, he became irate and leg cuffs were put on him, police have said.</p>
<p>Gray asked for medical help several times. After a 30-minute ride that included three stops, paramedics were called.</p>
<p>Authorities have not explained how or when Gray's spine was injured.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,907 |
|
<p>A look at Nasdaq 10 most-active stocks at 1 p.m.:</p>
<p>Apple Inc. rose 1.2 percent to $95.12 with 32,254,400 shares traded.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>BlackBerry Ltd. rose 5.1 percent to $11.16 with 23,160,000 shares traded.</p>
<p>Cisco Systems Inc. fell .2 percent to $25.15 with 10,427,000 shares traded.</p>
<p>Facebook Inc. fell 1.2 percent to $65.51 with 17,443,700 shares traded.</p>
<p>GT Advanced Technologies Inc. fell 13.5 percent to $16.91 with 19,802,700 shares traded.</p>
<p>Intel Corp. fell .4 percent to $31.01 with 10,827,200 shares traded.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Micron Technology Inc. fell 2.1 percent to $33.04 with 13,920,000 shares traded.</p>
<p>Microsoft Corp. rose .7 percent to $42.09 with 11,538,500 shares traded.</p>
<p>NewLead Holdings Ltd. fell 6.2 percent to $.14 with 50,396,100 shares traded.</p>
<p>Sirius XM Radio Inc. fell 1.2 percent to $3.42 with 24,527,700 shares traded.</p> | Nasdaq's 10 most active stocks at 1 p.m. | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/01/28/nasdaq-10-most-active-stocks-at-1-pm.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Nasdaq's 10 most active stocks at 1 p.m.
<p>A look at Nasdaq 10 most-active stocks at 1 p.m.:</p>
<p>Apple Inc. rose 1.2 percent to $95.12 with 32,254,400 shares traded.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>BlackBerry Ltd. rose 5.1 percent to $11.16 with 23,160,000 shares traded.</p>
<p>Cisco Systems Inc. fell .2 percent to $25.15 with 10,427,000 shares traded.</p>
<p>Facebook Inc. fell 1.2 percent to $65.51 with 17,443,700 shares traded.</p>
<p>GT Advanced Technologies Inc. fell 13.5 percent to $16.91 with 19,802,700 shares traded.</p>
<p>Intel Corp. fell .4 percent to $31.01 with 10,827,200 shares traded.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Micron Technology Inc. fell 2.1 percent to $33.04 with 13,920,000 shares traded.</p>
<p>Microsoft Corp. rose .7 percent to $42.09 with 11,538,500 shares traded.</p>
<p>NewLead Holdings Ltd. fell 6.2 percent to $.14 with 50,396,100 shares traded.</p>
<p>Sirius XM Radio Inc. fell 1.2 percent to $3.42 with 24,527,700 shares traded.</p> | 599,908 |
<p>The number of Australian home building permits rose by 10.9% in June, rebounding from a fall in the previous month.</p>
<p>Approvals to build or renovate houses and apartments declined by 2.3% from a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Permits to build houses rose by 3.4% from a month earlier, while approvals for apartments and other dwellings rose by 20%.</p>
<p>Australian residential building construction has begun to slow after years of strength that was led by a surge in the building of apartments.</p>
<p>Rising home loan interest rates and regulatory clamps on lending to property investors are also curbing housing demand and dampening recent price growth.</p>
<p>The cooling of housing construction is expected to become a bigger drag on GDP growth in the coming year.</p>
<p>More broadly, conditions in the housing market nationally vary considerably from city to city. House prices have been rising quickly in some markets, where weakness in evident in others.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In the eastern capital cities, a considerable additional supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years, weighing on prices growth.</p>
<p>-Write to James Glynn at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 01, 2017 21:47 ET (01:47 GMT)</p> | Australian Home-Building Approvals Rose Strongly in June | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/08/01/australian-home-building-approvals-rose-strongly-in-june.html | 2017-08-01 | 0right
| Australian Home-Building Approvals Rose Strongly in June
<p>The number of Australian home building permits rose by 10.9% in June, rebounding from a fall in the previous month.</p>
<p>Approvals to build or renovate houses and apartments declined by 2.3% from a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Permits to build houses rose by 3.4% from a month earlier, while approvals for apartments and other dwellings rose by 20%.</p>
<p>Australian residential building construction has begun to slow after years of strength that was led by a surge in the building of apartments.</p>
<p>Rising home loan interest rates and regulatory clamps on lending to property investors are also curbing housing demand and dampening recent price growth.</p>
<p>The cooling of housing construction is expected to become a bigger drag on GDP growth in the coming year.</p>
<p>More broadly, conditions in the housing market nationally vary considerably from city to city. House prices have been rising quickly in some markets, where weakness in evident in others.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>In the eastern capital cities, a considerable additional supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years, weighing on prices growth.</p>
<p>-Write to James Glynn at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>August 01, 2017 21:47 ET (01:47 GMT)</p> | 599,909 |
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<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Someone took a Tommy gun from the Lincoln County Courthouse early Thursday, and New Mexico State Police are investigating.</p>
<p>According to a State Police news release, a thief gained access to the courthouse around 5 a.m. by breaking a window and subsequently stole a 1921 Thompson submachine gun, also known as a Tommy gun, which was part of a lawman's exhibit.</p>
<p>State Police are reviewing surveillance video and their investigation continues.</p>
<p>The Lincoln County Courthouse is one of several historic properties that compose the Lincoln Historic Site in the southeastern New Mexico community of Lincoln. It is one of eight New Mexico Historic Sites and a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Thief takes Tommy gun from Lincoln County Courthouse | false | https://abqjournal.com/638881/thief-takes-tommy-gun-from-lincoln-county-courthouse.html | 2least
| Thief takes Tommy gun from Lincoln County Courthouse
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Someone took a Tommy gun from the Lincoln County Courthouse early Thursday, and New Mexico State Police are investigating.</p>
<p>According to a State Police news release, a thief gained access to the courthouse around 5 a.m. by breaking a window and subsequently stole a 1921 Thompson submachine gun, also known as a Tommy gun, which was part of a lawman's exhibit.</p>
<p>State Police are reviewing surveillance video and their investigation continues.</p>
<p>The Lincoln County Courthouse is one of several historic properties that compose the Lincoln Historic Site in the southeastern New Mexico community of Lincoln. It is one of eight New Mexico Historic Sites and a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,910 |
|
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is ready to block U.S. imports of seafood — as well as any other goods — produced by North Korean laborers who work in China.</p>
<p>An Associated Press investigation tracked salmon, squid and cod processed by North Koreans working at Chinese factories and shipped to American stores, including Walmart and ALDI. The North Korean workers found in Chinese factories aren't allowed to leave, and receive only a fraction of their pay — most goes straight to the North Korean state. This means that American consumers buying seafood labeled "Caught in the USA, Processed in China" may inadvertently be subsidizing the government of Kim Jong Un as it builds nuclear weapons, and also supporting forced labor.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it is reviewing the allegations and if warranted, would "pursue all enforcement actions and prohibit goods from importation as appropriate." The companies that responded also vowed to investigate ties with suppliers.</p>
<p>At this point anything made by North Korean workers anywhere is presumed to be made with forced labor, the State Department said in a statement Friday.</p>
<p>"North Koreans sent overseas do not have a choice in the work; the government ultimately assigns them and they are not free to change jobs," said the statement, noting that wages and passports are typically withheld by North Korean supervisors.</p>
<p>GOP Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey, who has repeatedly called for tougher enforcement, said the Labor Department has already identified trafficking in 12 sectors of goods exported by China.</p>
<p>"CBP should be stopping every shipment from those sectors — and now trafficking-tainted salmon too," he said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A White House National Security Council spokesman said the North Korean government's scheme to outsource its labor underscores why the United States has pushed for restrictions on North Korean foreign workers. The spokesman said all countries should, at a minimum, ban companies from bringing in North Korean crews, as pledged in recent United Nations sanctions.</p>
<p>China is among the countries that have promised to comply, already banning imports of North Korean seafood, and saying no more North Korean workers will be allowed starting next year.</p>
<p>"But all nations must go further and reject what is clearly a despicable practice that only serves the regime's nuclear ambitions," said the NSC spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment.</p>
<p>Walmart said its supplier has addressed the problem, although it did not specify how. Walmart and ALDI said they are committed to human rights and fair labor practices, and expect the same from their business partners.</p>
<p>At a time when North Korea faces sanctions on many exports, the government is sending tens of thousands of workers worldwide, bringing in revenue estimated at anywhere from $200 million to $500 million a year. That could account for a sizable portion of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, which South Korea says have cost more than $1 billion.</p>
<p>North Koreans overseas work in construction in the Gulf states, shipbuilding in Poland, logging in Russia. In Uruguay, authorities told AP, about 90 North Koreans crewed fishing boats last year.</p>
<p>"I am not surprised at all," said Anthony Talbott, who directs the University of Dayton's Human Rights Center. "North Korea has probably the single highest level of state-sanctioned slavery in the world, it's a major source of income for them."</p>
<p>Among those North Korean laborers in China, roughly 3,000 are believed to work in the northeast industrial hub of Hunchun, just a few miles from the borders of both North Korea and Russia. AP documented North Koreans in several Hunchun seafood processing plants, and tracked their supply chains to importers, including Sea-Trek Enterprises in Rhode Island, where managers said they are being inundated with phone calls from customers and suppliers since the AP story.</p>
<p>Sea-Trek's owners said that they hadn't visited China and were unaware of the makeup of the workers, but would immediately cease dealings with the plant until the situation is resolved.</p>
<p>"Sea-Trek will not purchase product from any company using forced labor," said vice president Mitch Sarnoff.</p>
<p>Mark Liszt, owner of Lawrence Wholesale, a national food distributor in Southern California, said it would investigate its suppliers as well.</p>
<p>"We're middlemen," said Liszt. "We do make a practice of trying to go and visit the plants that we buy from in person, but it's not a perfect world that we can see into every single one."</p>
<p>Some U.S. brands and companies had indirect ties to the North Korean laborers in Hunchun, including Chicken of the Sea, owned by Thai Union. Trade records show shipments came from a sister company of the Hunchun factory in another part of China, where Thai Union spokeswoman Whitney Small says labor standards are being met and the employees are all Chinese. Small said the sister company should not be penalized.</p>
<p>AP observed North Korean workers in Chinese factories building hardwood flooring, sewing garments and manufacturing electronics. Fordham University economics professor Giacomo Santangelo said he doubts it's just fish processed by North Korean workers that reaches the U.S. markets.</p>
<p>"Now we need to ask, how many other products imported from China are made with North Korean labor?" he said.</p>
<p>Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York said U.S. officials must keep products made by North Koreans out of the United States.</p>
<p>"The administration needs to ramp up the pressure on China to crack down on trade with North Korea across the board," he said.</p>
<p>Ohio's Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who helped pass North Korea, Iran and Russia sanctions this summer, said corporations also have a responsibility to make sure they are abiding by U.N. sanctions and U.S. laws.</p>
<p>However, Bucknell University political science professor Zhiqun Zhu said a sanction-based approach that cracks down on imports isn't going to solve the problem.</p>
<p>"It has so many loopholes," he said. "All sticks and no carrots will not make the North Korea problem disappear."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Read earlier story in seafood investigation — http://bit.ly/2kof26j — and more in the series: https://www.apnews.com/tag/RepublicofKim</p> | US Customs vows to block imports made by North Korea workers | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/10/05/us-customs-vows-to-block-imports-made-by-north-korea-workers.html | 2017-10-06 | 0right
| US Customs vows to block imports made by North Korea workers
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is ready to block U.S. imports of seafood — as well as any other goods — produced by North Korean laborers who work in China.</p>
<p>An Associated Press investigation tracked salmon, squid and cod processed by North Koreans working at Chinese factories and shipped to American stores, including Walmart and ALDI. The North Korean workers found in Chinese factories aren't allowed to leave, and receive only a fraction of their pay — most goes straight to the North Korean state. This means that American consumers buying seafood labeled "Caught in the USA, Processed in China" may inadvertently be subsidizing the government of Kim Jong Un as it builds nuclear weapons, and also supporting forced labor.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it is reviewing the allegations and if warranted, would "pursue all enforcement actions and prohibit goods from importation as appropriate." The companies that responded also vowed to investigate ties with suppliers.</p>
<p>At this point anything made by North Korean workers anywhere is presumed to be made with forced labor, the State Department said in a statement Friday.</p>
<p>"North Koreans sent overseas do not have a choice in the work; the government ultimately assigns them and they are not free to change jobs," said the statement, noting that wages and passports are typically withheld by North Korean supervisors.</p>
<p>GOP Congressman Chris Smith from New Jersey, who has repeatedly called for tougher enforcement, said the Labor Department has already identified trafficking in 12 sectors of goods exported by China.</p>
<p>"CBP should be stopping every shipment from those sectors — and now trafficking-tainted salmon too," he said.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A White House National Security Council spokesman said the North Korean government's scheme to outsource its labor underscores why the United States has pushed for restrictions on North Korean foreign workers. The spokesman said all countries should, at a minimum, ban companies from bringing in North Korean crews, as pledged in recent United Nations sanctions.</p>
<p>China is among the countries that have promised to comply, already banning imports of North Korean seafood, and saying no more North Korean workers will be allowed starting next year.</p>
<p>"But all nations must go further and reject what is clearly a despicable practice that only serves the regime's nuclear ambitions," said the NSC spokesman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment.</p>
<p>Walmart said its supplier has addressed the problem, although it did not specify how. Walmart and ALDI said they are committed to human rights and fair labor practices, and expect the same from their business partners.</p>
<p>At a time when North Korea faces sanctions on many exports, the government is sending tens of thousands of workers worldwide, bringing in revenue estimated at anywhere from $200 million to $500 million a year. That could account for a sizable portion of North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs, which South Korea says have cost more than $1 billion.</p>
<p>North Koreans overseas work in construction in the Gulf states, shipbuilding in Poland, logging in Russia. In Uruguay, authorities told AP, about 90 North Koreans crewed fishing boats last year.</p>
<p>"I am not surprised at all," said Anthony Talbott, who directs the University of Dayton's Human Rights Center. "North Korea has probably the single highest level of state-sanctioned slavery in the world, it's a major source of income for them."</p>
<p>Among those North Korean laborers in China, roughly 3,000 are believed to work in the northeast industrial hub of Hunchun, just a few miles from the borders of both North Korea and Russia. AP documented North Koreans in several Hunchun seafood processing plants, and tracked their supply chains to importers, including Sea-Trek Enterprises in Rhode Island, where managers said they are being inundated with phone calls from customers and suppliers since the AP story.</p>
<p>Sea-Trek's owners said that they hadn't visited China and were unaware of the makeup of the workers, but would immediately cease dealings with the plant until the situation is resolved.</p>
<p>"Sea-Trek will not purchase product from any company using forced labor," said vice president Mitch Sarnoff.</p>
<p>Mark Liszt, owner of Lawrence Wholesale, a national food distributor in Southern California, said it would investigate its suppliers as well.</p>
<p>"We're middlemen," said Liszt. "We do make a practice of trying to go and visit the plants that we buy from in person, but it's not a perfect world that we can see into every single one."</p>
<p>Some U.S. brands and companies had indirect ties to the North Korean laborers in Hunchun, including Chicken of the Sea, owned by Thai Union. Trade records show shipments came from a sister company of the Hunchun factory in another part of China, where Thai Union spokeswoman Whitney Small says labor standards are being met and the employees are all Chinese. Small said the sister company should not be penalized.</p>
<p>AP observed North Korean workers in Chinese factories building hardwood flooring, sewing garments and manufacturing electronics. Fordham University economics professor Giacomo Santangelo said he doubts it's just fish processed by North Korean workers that reaches the U.S. markets.</p>
<p>"Now we need to ask, how many other products imported from China are made with North Korean labor?" he said.</p>
<p>Top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York said U.S. officials must keep products made by North Koreans out of the United States.</p>
<p>"The administration needs to ramp up the pressure on China to crack down on trade with North Korea across the board," he said.</p>
<p>Ohio's Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who helped pass North Korea, Iran and Russia sanctions this summer, said corporations also have a responsibility to make sure they are abiding by U.N. sanctions and U.S. laws.</p>
<p>However, Bucknell University political science professor Zhiqun Zhu said a sanction-based approach that cracks down on imports isn't going to solve the problem.</p>
<p>"It has so many loopholes," he said. "All sticks and no carrots will not make the North Korea problem disappear."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Read earlier story in seafood investigation — http://bit.ly/2kof26j — and more in the series: https://www.apnews.com/tag/RepublicofKim</p> | 599,911 |
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<p />
<p>King says the rule approved in September by the state’s Water Quality Control Commission violates state law, because it allows groundwater at copper mine sites to be contaminated at levels above water quality standards.</p>
<p>“Ninety percent of New Mexicans rely on groundwater for drinking water, and this new rule, if allowed to be implemented, could render our water undrinkable for hundreds of years,” King said in a statement.</p>
<p>King filed a notice of appeal Thursday; environmental groups and Ted Turner’s Turner Ranch Properties, which owns the Ladder Ranch in Sierra County, had filed a day earlier.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The rule, which the Water Quality Control Commission approved 9-1, was proposed by the state Environment Department and endorsed by Freeport-McMoRan Copper &amp; Gold – which has the Chino and Tyrone mines in southwestern New Mexico – and the New Mexico Mining Association.</p>
<p>The rule is scheduled to take effect Dec. 1.</p>
<p>The Environment Department said the industry-specific regulations – which include requirements for monitoring wells, contamination containment and cleanup when mines close – would provide greater protection for groundwater and bring more consistency to permitting decisions.</p>
<p>The department said Thursday that the new regulations “are the most stringent and environmentally protective regulatory requirements in the country, and we are confident the rules will be upheld.”</p>
<p>It also said through spokesman Jim Winchester that the environmental groups that are appealing “have proven to oppose the extractive industries as a whole for decades in New Mexico.”</p>
<p>Bruce Frederick, an attorney with the Environmental Law Center representing Turner Ranch Properties and the Gila Resources Information Project, objected that the new regulations expressly allow water pollution.</p>
<p>“We are appealing the rule, because we think it’s unconstitutional and diametrically opposed to the (Water Quality Control) Commission’s express statutory mandate, which is to prevent water pollution,” he said.</p>
<p>King said the adoption of the rule flies in the face of 36 years of interpretation of the state’s water quality law and regulations under Democratic and Republican administrations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The AG’s position is based on a plain reading of the Water Quality Act, not politics,” said King, a Democrat who has announced he will run for the party’s nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Susana Martinez next year.</p>
<p>King also said the composition of the Water Quality Control Commission “has changed dramatically” under the Martinez administration, with members who were viewed as too environmentally friendly replaced by gubernatorial appointees “viewed as willing to serve the administration’s interests.”</p>
<p>The only member of the Water Quality Control Commission to vote against the new copper regulations, geologist Doug Bland, resigned this week. He notified the commission in an email Monday that “due to other commitments” he will not attend future commission meetings. Bland could not be reached for comment.</p>
<p>Bland, who works for the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at New Mexico Tech, also resigned over the weekend from the Mining Commission, which he chaired, citing other obligations. He was the geology bureau’s appointee on both panels.</p>
<p>Frederick said Bland stood up for environmental and public interests on the two commissions.</p>
<p>Martinez, whose administration has made it a priority to roll back environmental regulations it says hamper businesses and economic development, came under criticism this week for her newest appointment to the Mining Commission – Democratic former state Rep. John Heaton of Carlsbad – as a designated environmental representative.</p>
<p>“He has a decidedly anti-environmental record,” said Leanne Leith, political director of Conservation Voters New Mexico, which does an annual scorecard and gave him an overall score of 46 percent for the last six years he was in the Legislature, through 2010.</p>
<p>Knell said Heaton brings “a balanced environmental perspective as we regulate energy production in New Mexico.”</p>
<p>Heaton, a retired pharmacist, said he has been a strong supporter of clean air and water, recognizing the public health implications.</p>
<p>“I think my record was … very pro-environmental, so I guess that’s a matter of interpretation,” he told the Journal .</p>
<p />
<p /> | AG appeals copper mine water rule | false | https://abqjournal.com/279392/attorney-general-appealing-copper-mine-water-rule.html | 2013-10-11 | 2least
| AG appeals copper mine water rule
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<p />
<p>King says the rule approved in September by the state’s Water Quality Control Commission violates state law, because it allows groundwater at copper mine sites to be contaminated at levels above water quality standards.</p>
<p>“Ninety percent of New Mexicans rely on groundwater for drinking water, and this new rule, if allowed to be implemented, could render our water undrinkable for hundreds of years,” King said in a statement.</p>
<p>King filed a notice of appeal Thursday; environmental groups and Ted Turner’s Turner Ranch Properties, which owns the Ladder Ranch in Sierra County, had filed a day earlier.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The rule, which the Water Quality Control Commission approved 9-1, was proposed by the state Environment Department and endorsed by Freeport-McMoRan Copper &amp; Gold – which has the Chino and Tyrone mines in southwestern New Mexico – and the New Mexico Mining Association.</p>
<p>The rule is scheduled to take effect Dec. 1.</p>
<p>The Environment Department said the industry-specific regulations – which include requirements for monitoring wells, contamination containment and cleanup when mines close – would provide greater protection for groundwater and bring more consistency to permitting decisions.</p>
<p>The department said Thursday that the new regulations “are the most stringent and environmentally protective regulatory requirements in the country, and we are confident the rules will be upheld.”</p>
<p>It also said through spokesman Jim Winchester that the environmental groups that are appealing “have proven to oppose the extractive industries as a whole for decades in New Mexico.”</p>
<p>Bruce Frederick, an attorney with the Environmental Law Center representing Turner Ranch Properties and the Gila Resources Information Project, objected that the new regulations expressly allow water pollution.</p>
<p>“We are appealing the rule, because we think it’s unconstitutional and diametrically opposed to the (Water Quality Control) Commission’s express statutory mandate, which is to prevent water pollution,” he said.</p>
<p>King said the adoption of the rule flies in the face of 36 years of interpretation of the state’s water quality law and regulations under Democratic and Republican administrations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“The AG’s position is based on a plain reading of the Water Quality Act, not politics,” said King, a Democrat who has announced he will run for the party’s nomination to challenge Republican Gov. Susana Martinez next year.</p>
<p>King also said the composition of the Water Quality Control Commission “has changed dramatically” under the Martinez administration, with members who were viewed as too environmentally friendly replaced by gubernatorial appointees “viewed as willing to serve the administration’s interests.”</p>
<p>The only member of the Water Quality Control Commission to vote against the new copper regulations, geologist Doug Bland, resigned this week. He notified the commission in an email Monday that “due to other commitments” he will not attend future commission meetings. Bland could not be reached for comment.</p>
<p>Bland, who works for the Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources at New Mexico Tech, also resigned over the weekend from the Mining Commission, which he chaired, citing other obligations. He was the geology bureau’s appointee on both panels.</p>
<p>Frederick said Bland stood up for environmental and public interests on the two commissions.</p>
<p>Martinez, whose administration has made it a priority to roll back environmental regulations it says hamper businesses and economic development, came under criticism this week for her newest appointment to the Mining Commission – Democratic former state Rep. John Heaton of Carlsbad – as a designated environmental representative.</p>
<p>“He has a decidedly anti-environmental record,” said Leanne Leith, political director of Conservation Voters New Mexico, which does an annual scorecard and gave him an overall score of 46 percent for the last six years he was in the Legislature, through 2010.</p>
<p>Knell said Heaton brings “a balanced environmental perspective as we regulate energy production in New Mexico.”</p>
<p>Heaton, a retired pharmacist, said he has been a strong supporter of clean air and water, recognizing the public health implications.</p>
<p>“I think my record was … very pro-environmental, so I guess that’s a matter of interpretation,” he told the Journal .</p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,912 |
<p>Write us at [email protected] to tell us of other events/actions taking place.</p>
<p>6:00 PM - 9:00 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BLACKLIVESMATTERDMV/?fref=ts" type="external">Teach-In on Trump's Plans</a>, Black Lives Matter DC &amp; Institute for Policy Studies. At the Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Road NW.</p>
<p>7:00 PM - 12:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1858934107728859/" type="external">Disrupt J20 Concert</a> ft. Immortal Technique, Rebel Diaz, Evan Greer, Taina Asili, Samus, Jeff Rosenstock. $15 tickets, proceeds go to the Diverse City Fund. Show begins at 8:00 pm. Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H Street NE.</p>
<p>6:00 AM - 10:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1114075848690917/" type="external">J20 Resist!</a>, Monica Moorehead &amp; Lamont Lily 2016. 6 AM convergence in front of Union Station NW, 10 AM March on the White House.</p>
<p>7:00 AM - 11:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/776453025841344" type="external">#J20 Resistance at the Inauguration</a>, Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), Metropolitan Police Department HQ, 300 Indiana Avenue NW.</p>
<p>7:00 AM <a href="http://answercoalition.nationbuilder.com/protest_on_inauguration_day" type="external">#InaugurateTheResistance</a>, ANSWER Coalition. Rally at Freedom Plaza, 1355 Pennsylvania Ave NW (14th Street &amp; Pennsylvania Ave). Checkpoints along parade route open from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM.</p>
<p>7:00 AM - 10:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/764142167083262/" type="external">Labor Direct Action</a>, Labor @ DisruptJ20. 555 New Jersey Avenue NW. Blockade of inaugural checkpoint.</p>
<p>7:00 AM - 12:00 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/741657509320629/" type="external">The Future is Feminist</a>. See facebook for more details.</p>
<p>7:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/384322481917992/385673721782868/?notif_t=admin_plan_mall_activity&amp;notif_id=1484513749904453" type="external">Communities Under Attack Fight Back</a>. Franklin Square, 1332 I Street, NW.</p>
<p>4:00 AM - 8:00 PM Showing Up for Racial Justice <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1790827594512231/" type="external">#DisruptJ20 Creative Inaugural Action</a>, SURJ-DC (?anti-racist white folks?). See facebook for more details.</p>
<p>8:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1776123452652684/" type="external">Trade Justice march</a>, Popular Resistance. Sixth Street &amp; I Street NW.</p>
<p>9:00 AM <a href="http://www.disruptj20.org/" type="external">Outdoor Convergence/All-day Rally</a>, McPherson Square Park, 15th Street &amp; K Street, NW.</p>
<p>9:30 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/863566453778925/" type="external">#OccupyInauguration: Critical Mass Rally</a>, Malcolm X Park, 2400 15th Street NW.</p>
<p>10:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2049083171985269/" type="external">Stand Against Trump</a> Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). McPherson Square.</p>
<p>10:00 AM <a href="https://itsgoingdown.org/fierce-anti-capitalist-anti-fascist-bloc-inauguration/?utm_content=buffer15f67&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" type="external">Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Fascist Bloc</a>. Wear all black. Logan Circle, 13th Street &amp; P Street, NW.</p>
<p>12:00 PM - 2:00 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1314396565278023/" type="external">Festival of Resistance</a> (fully permitted march). From Columbus Circle (in front of Union Station), end at McPherson Square.</p>
<p>6:30 PM - 11:30 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/239861329772280/" type="external">No Thanks: A Night of Anti-Fascist Sounds</a>. $20 cover, proceeds go to Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center and ONE DC. Black Cat DC music venue, 1811 14th Street, NW</p>
<p>10:00 AM <a href="https://www.womensmarch.com/" type="external">Women's March on Washington</a>. Independence Avenue &amp; Third Street SW.</p>
<p>Related</p>
<p><a href="Washington-D-C" type="external">Washington D.C.</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="Inauguration" type="external">Inauguration</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="US-Elections" type="external">US Elections</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="Donald-Trump" type="external">Donald Trump</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="United-States" type="external">United States</a></p> | Resistance Against Trump: Inauguration Actions in DC | true | https://leftvoice.org/Resistance-Against-Trump-Inauguration-Actions-in-DC | 2017-01-16 | 4left
| Resistance Against Trump: Inauguration Actions in DC
<p>Write us at [email protected] to tell us of other events/actions taking place.</p>
<p>6:00 PM - 9:00 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BLACKLIVESMATTERDMV/?fref=ts" type="external">Teach-In on Trump's Plans</a>, Black Lives Matter DC &amp; Institute for Policy Studies. At the Potter's House, 1658 Columbia Road NW.</p>
<p>7:00 PM - 12:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1858934107728859/" type="external">Disrupt J20 Concert</a> ft. Immortal Technique, Rebel Diaz, Evan Greer, Taina Asili, Samus, Jeff Rosenstock. $15 tickets, proceeds go to the Diverse City Fund. Show begins at 8:00 pm. Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H Street NE.</p>
<p>6:00 AM - 10:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1114075848690917/" type="external">J20 Resist!</a>, Monica Moorehead &amp; Lamont Lily 2016. 6 AM convergence in front of Union Station NW, 10 AM March on the White House.</p>
<p>7:00 AM - 11:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/776453025841344" type="external">#J20 Resistance at the Inauguration</a>, Movement for Black Lives (M4BL), Metropolitan Police Department HQ, 300 Indiana Avenue NW.</p>
<p>7:00 AM <a href="http://answercoalition.nationbuilder.com/protest_on_inauguration_day" type="external">#InaugurateTheResistance</a>, ANSWER Coalition. Rally at Freedom Plaza, 1355 Pennsylvania Ave NW (14th Street &amp; Pennsylvania Ave). Checkpoints along parade route open from 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM.</p>
<p>7:00 AM - 10:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/764142167083262/" type="external">Labor Direct Action</a>, Labor @ DisruptJ20. 555 New Jersey Avenue NW. Blockade of inaugural checkpoint.</p>
<p>7:00 AM - 12:00 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/741657509320629/" type="external">The Future is Feminist</a>. See facebook for more details.</p>
<p>7:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/384322481917992/385673721782868/?notif_t=admin_plan_mall_activity&amp;notif_id=1484513749904453" type="external">Communities Under Attack Fight Back</a>. Franklin Square, 1332 I Street, NW.</p>
<p>4:00 AM - 8:00 PM Showing Up for Racial Justice <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1790827594512231/" type="external">#DisruptJ20 Creative Inaugural Action</a>, SURJ-DC (?anti-racist white folks?). See facebook for more details.</p>
<p>8:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1776123452652684/" type="external">Trade Justice march</a>, Popular Resistance. Sixth Street &amp; I Street NW.</p>
<p>9:00 AM <a href="http://www.disruptj20.org/" type="external">Outdoor Convergence/All-day Rally</a>, McPherson Square Park, 15th Street &amp; K Street, NW.</p>
<p>9:30 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/863566453778925/" type="external">#OccupyInauguration: Critical Mass Rally</a>, Malcolm X Park, 2400 15th Street NW.</p>
<p>10:00 AM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/2049083171985269/" type="external">Stand Against Trump</a> Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). McPherson Square.</p>
<p>10:00 AM <a href="https://itsgoingdown.org/fierce-anti-capitalist-anti-fascist-bloc-inauguration/?utm_content=buffer15f67&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_campaign=buffer" type="external">Anti-Capitalist, Anti-Fascist Bloc</a>. Wear all black. Logan Circle, 13th Street &amp; P Street, NW.</p>
<p>12:00 PM - 2:00 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1314396565278023/" type="external">Festival of Resistance</a> (fully permitted march). From Columbus Circle (in front of Union Station), end at McPherson Square.</p>
<p>6:30 PM - 11:30 PM <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/239861329772280/" type="external">No Thanks: A Night of Anti-Fascist Sounds</a>. $20 cover, proceeds go to Casa Ruby LGBT Community Center and ONE DC. Black Cat DC music venue, 1811 14th Street, NW</p>
<p>10:00 AM <a href="https://www.womensmarch.com/" type="external">Women's March on Washington</a>. Independence Avenue &amp; Third Street SW.</p>
<p>Related</p>
<p><a href="Washington-D-C" type="external">Washington D.C.</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="Inauguration" type="external">Inauguration</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="US-Elections" type="external">US Elections</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="Donald-Trump" type="external">Donald Trump</a>&#160;&#160;&#160;/&#160;&#160;&#160; <a href="United-States" type="external">United States</a></p> | 599,913 |
<p>The James Madison Institute, in collaboration with the Lou Church Educational Foundation and AFP-Florida, is bringing the <a href="https://www.fee.org/publications/detail/ftlauderdale2013#axzz2LAkTJA2l" type="external">Freedom Academy</a>to Fort Lauderdale, hosted by the Foundation for Economic Education.</p>
<p>The event will be held on Saturday, March 9, on Las Olas Boulevard. As a co-sponsor, the James Madison Institute is encouraging its supporters and partners to attend.</p>
<p>The Freedom Academy will present an opportunity to join other adults and students for a weekend of learning about the foundations of liberty and free-market economics. Speakers will include Lawrence W. Reed, John Blundell, Jack Chambless, Anne Bradley, Audrea Taylor and more. Space is limited, so register early.</p>
<p>This is an excellent event for both adults and students. Discounted registration is available for students.</p>
<p>Saturday, March 9, 2013, 8:00am – 9:00pm</p>
<p>Riverside Hotel, 620 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301</p>
<p>For questions on registration or sponsorship opportunities, contact Ellen Hughes at [email protected] or 512-476-4403.</p> | James Madison Institute to co-host Freedom Academy in Fort Lauderdale | true | http://bizpacreview.com/2013/02/17/james-madison-institute-to-co-host-freedom-academy-in-fort-lauderdale-51164 | 2013-02-17 | 0right
| James Madison Institute to co-host Freedom Academy in Fort Lauderdale
<p>The James Madison Institute, in collaboration with the Lou Church Educational Foundation and AFP-Florida, is bringing the <a href="https://www.fee.org/publications/detail/ftlauderdale2013#axzz2LAkTJA2l" type="external">Freedom Academy</a>to Fort Lauderdale, hosted by the Foundation for Economic Education.</p>
<p>The event will be held on Saturday, March 9, on Las Olas Boulevard. As a co-sponsor, the James Madison Institute is encouraging its supporters and partners to attend.</p>
<p>The Freedom Academy will present an opportunity to join other adults and students for a weekend of learning about the foundations of liberty and free-market economics. Speakers will include Lawrence W. Reed, John Blundell, Jack Chambless, Anne Bradley, Audrea Taylor and more. Space is limited, so register early.</p>
<p>This is an excellent event for both adults and students. Discounted registration is available for students.</p>
<p>Saturday, March 9, 2013, 8:00am – 9:00pm</p>
<p>Riverside Hotel, 620 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301</p>
<p>For questions on registration or sponsorship opportunities, contact Ellen Hughes at [email protected] or 512-476-4403.</p> | 599,914 |
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<p>PHOENIX — Jake Lamb hit his second career grand slam in the seventh inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat Los Angeles 6-3 on Tuesday night, handing the major league-leading Dodgers their eighth loss in the last 52 games.</p>
<p>Lamb, who also connected for a solo homer in the sixth, was hitting .143 against left-handers this season when he drove Tony Watson’s 1-2 pitch off the right-field foul pole to put Arizona up 6-3.</p>
<p>Justin Turner homered twice for the Dodgers, who led 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh. Watson (5-4) was charged with the loss.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>David Hernandez (2-0) got one out for the win and Fernando Rodney worked the ninth for his 26th save in 31 tries.</p>
<p>RED SOX 2, RAYS 0</p>
<p>ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chris Sale struck out 13 in eight innings, and the Red Sox earned their seventh straight victory.</p>
<p>Sale (14-4) reached double digits in strikeouts for the 15th time this season. He allowed two hits, and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save.</p>
<p>The win pushed Boston’s AL East lead over the New York Yankees to four games.</p>
<p>Dustin Pedroia, who returned to the lineup as the designated hitter after a stint on the disabled list with left knee inflammation, scored Boston’s first run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth. A bad throw by Austin Pruitt (6-3) prevented a possible inning-ending double play on Rafael Devers’ chopper to the mound.</p>
<p>It was the only run allowed by Pruitt in his fourth major league start. He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a win at Houston last Wednesday.</p>
<p>INDIANS 4, ROCKIES 1</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>CLEVELAND — Yan Gomes hit a three-run homer off Greg Holland with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Corey Kluber and Cleveland to the victory.</p>
<p>After Austin Jackson tied it with a two-out bloop RBI single, Gomes connected on the first pitch from Holland (2-3), driving it into the seats in center field to touch off a wild celebration in Progressive Field.</p>
<p>Gomes flung his helmet and skipped around the bases as the Indians players danced out of their dugout at the improbable walk-off win.</p>
<p>Kluber (10-3) struck out 11 in his second straight complete game. He allowed three hits and walked none.</p>
<p>Charlie Blackmon homered for the Rockies.</p>
<p>BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 2</p>
<p>TORONTO — Josh Donaldson hit two two-run homers for the Blue Jays, and J.A. Happ won his sixth straight decision against the Yankees.</p>
<p>Donaldson connected twice against CC Sabathia (9-5), who came in with an AL-best 2.29 ERA in 10 road starts. The 2015 AL MVP hit a drive to right-center in the first, and hooked one down the left field line in the third.</p>
<p>It was Donaldson’s 12th multihomer game and his second this season, both coming against the Yankees.</p>
<p>Happ (5-8) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, improving to 6-0 in 10 starts against the Yankees since 2014.</p>
<p>Roberto Osuna got three outs for his 29th save in 36 chances.</p>
<p>MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 3</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit his career-high and major league-leading 38th homer of the season and drove in three runs.</p>
<p>Stanton crushed a first-pitch fastball from A.J. Cole (1-2) deep into the center-field stands in the fifth for a 4-1 lead following singles by Miguel Rojas and Dee Gordon.</p>
<p>Derek Dietrich also homered and drove in three runs for the Marlins. Gordon’s RBI double and Dietrich’s two-run single put Miami up 7-1 in the seventh.</p>
<p>Vance Worley (2-2) beat the Nationals for the second time in nine days. He allowed one run in six innings after holding Washington to two hits while pitching seven innings in Miami’s 7-0 win on July 31.</p>
<p>CARDINALS 10, ROYALS 3</p>
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yadier Molina, Jedd Gyorko and Randal Grichuk homered, leading St. Louis to its fourth straight win.</p>
<p>Michael Wacha (9-4) allowed a three-run double to Cheslor Cuthbert but otherwise kept the Royals in check, surrendering six hits over six innings to win for the sixth time in seven decisions.</p>
<p>Molina connected against Jason Vargas (13-6) in the fourth and Grichuk and Gyorko connected to highlight the six-run fifth, when the crown-shaped videoboard at Kauffman Stadium suddenly went dark.</p>
<p>About half of it came back online in the seventh, when the Cardinals were tacking on runs.</p>
<p>WHITE SOX 8, ASTROS 5</p>
<p>CHICAGO — Rookie Kevan Smith homered and drove in four runs, and the last-place White Sox stopped a six-game losing streak.</p>
<p>Left-hander Derek Holland (6-11) earned his first win since June 13, despite issuing seven walks in 5 2/3 innings. He had been 0-5 in eight starts and one relief appearance since beating Baltimore.</p>
<p>Dallas Keuchel (9-2) allowed a season-high eight runs and 10 hits in four innings for AL-leading Houston. He had a 1.67 ERA when he went on the disabled list for the second time with a neck injury, on June 8. The All-Star left-hander has a 10.50 ERA in three starts since his return.</p>
<p>Tyler Clippard pitched the ninth for his second save.</p>
<p>METS 5, RANGERS 4</p>
<p>NEW YORK — Rookie Chris Flexen got his first big league win and hit, and the Mets stopped a four-game losing streak.</p>
<p>Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud homered for New York, which led 4-0 after two innings. Cespedes went deep at Citi Field for just the third time this season, his first since June 17. D’Arnaud hit his first at home this year after nine on the road.</p>
<p>Joey Gallo, Adrian Beltre and Robinson Chirinos homered for Texas.</p>
<p>Flexen (1-1) allowed three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings in his third big league start. A.J. Ramos gave up Chirinos’ two-out homer in the ninth, then retired Drew Robinson on a groundout for his 21st save.</p>
<p>Texas’ A.J. Griffin (5-3) allowed four runs and four hits in five innings.</p>
<p>PADRES 7, REDS 3</p>
<p>CINCINNATI — Jose Pirela had four hits and Yangervis Solarte had a homer among his three hits, powering the Padres to the victory.</p>
<p>San Diego’s Luis Perdomo (6-6) escaped threats by inducing three ground-ball double plays — his specialty — while pitching into the seventh.</p>
<p>Cincinnati catcher Tucker Barnhart hit a three-run homer off Jose Torres.</p>
<p>The Padres improved to 4-1 against the Reds, who haven’t won a season series from them since 2012. The Reds have gone 7-18 since the All-Star break.</p>
<p>San Diego piled up nine hits and five runs off Sal Romano (2-4), who was in trouble in each of his six innings. Austin Hedges homered for a 5-0 lead in the sixth. Solarte connected for a two-run shot an inning later.</p>
<p>TWINS 11, BREWERS 4</p>
<p>MINNEAPOLIS — Brian Dozier hit his first career grand slam and Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario each homered twice, powering Minnesota to a two-game sweep of Milwaukee.</p>
<p>Matt Garza (5-6) turned in his shortest and worst start of the season with eight hits and eight runs allowed in 3 1/3 innings for the Brewers, who fell to 4-11 in their last 15 road games.</p>
<p>Twins starter Adalberto Mejia was pulled with one out in the fourth inning with pain in his upper left arm, after allowing seven hits and three runs. Tyler Duffey (1-3) relieved with two innings for his first victory of the season, and Dillon Gee struck out five over four scoreless innings for his first career save.</p>
<p>PIRATES 6, TIGERS 3</p>
<p>PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen hit his 23rd homer, leading Pittsburgh to its fifth win in six games.</p>
<p>Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl (5-7) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings in his second straight win. He also picked up the first two RBIs of his big league career on a two-run single in the fourth off Matthew Boyd (5-6).</p>
<p>McCutchen took Boyd to the seats in center field leading off the fourth for his franchise-record 13th interleague home run. David Freese added two hits for the Pirates, and Felipe Rivero worked a perfect ninth for his 10th save.</p>
<p>Detroit has dropped four in a row.</p>
<p>PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 2</p>
<p>ATLANTA — Odubel Herrera hit a two-run homer, Zach Eflin pitched seven strong innings following his recall from the minors, and the Phillies continued their season-long mastery of the Braves.</p>
<p>After Maikel Franco drove in Freddie Galvis with a line-drive single to right field in the fifth inning, Herrera reached down to pull a low pitch from Julio Teheran (7-10) into the restaurant behind the right-field wall.</p>
<p>Freddie Freeman hit a first-inning homer off Eflin, who was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the game and earned his first win of the season. Eflin (1-3) allowed two runs and seven hits.</p>
<p>The Phillies have won 10 of 12 against Atlanta this season.</p>
<p>Hector Neris pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.</p>
<p>ANGELS 3, ORIOLES 2</p>
<p>ANAHEIM, Calif. — Parker Bridwell, a right-hander the Angels picked up simply for cash in mid-April from the Orioles, came back to haunt his former team in a victory for Los Angeles over Baltimore.</p>
<p>Bridwell (6-1) went seven strong innings, holding the Orioles to one run and six hits. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. The Angels are 10-1 this season in games started by Bridwell.</p>
<p>Jeremy Hellickson (7-6) was matching Bridwell until running into trouble in the seventh. He had retired 10 straight in the 1-1 game when the Angels chased him with four consecutive hits.</p>
<p>MARINERS 7, ATHLETICS 6</p>
<p>OAKLAND, Calif. — Leonys Martin homered in the top of the 10th inning as the Mariners rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat the Athletics.</p>
<p>Martin hit a high arcing shot to right off a 2-1 94 mph fastball from Josh Smith (2-0) with two outs.</p>
<p>His second home run of the season pushed the Mariners’ record on their nine-game road trip to 5-3.</p>
<p>Tony Zynch pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the 10th for his second save.</p>
<p>Marc Rzepczynski (2-0) pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the ninth.</p>
<p>The A’s had runners at first and second with one out but Zynch struck out Chad Pinder swinging and got Matt Chapman to fly out to right.</p>
<p>GIANTS 6, CUBS 3</p>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey hit a three-run homer in the first that was upheld after review and later stole a base, Ty Blach won his second straight start and the Giants beat the Cubs.</p>
<p>Replay showed Posey’s drive to left-center had just enough to clear the wall and left fielder Jon Jay’s outstretched glove before being caught by a fan.</p>
<p>Blach (8-7) hit an RBI single to help his cause and the Giants snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cubs with just their third win in the last 10 against Chicago, which rallied to win Game 4 of the NL Division Series and eliminate the Giants last October on the way to a World Series title.</p>
<p>Blach also beat the Cubs again after a May 22 win at Wrigley Field, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings Tuesday with three strikeouts and a walk.</p> | Baseball Capsules | false | https://abqjournal.com/1045277/baseball-capsules-18.html | 2017-08-08 | 2least
| Baseball Capsules
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<p>PHOENIX — Jake Lamb hit his second career grand slam in the seventh inning and the Arizona Diamondbacks rallied to beat Los Angeles 6-3 on Tuesday night, handing the major league-leading Dodgers their eighth loss in the last 52 games.</p>
<p>Lamb, who also connected for a solo homer in the sixth, was hitting .143 against left-handers this season when he drove Tony Watson’s 1-2 pitch off the right-field foul pole to put Arizona up 6-3.</p>
<p>Justin Turner homered twice for the Dodgers, who led 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh. Watson (5-4) was charged with the loss.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>David Hernandez (2-0) got one out for the win and Fernando Rodney worked the ninth for his 26th save in 31 tries.</p>
<p>RED SOX 2, RAYS 0</p>
<p>ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Chris Sale struck out 13 in eight innings, and the Red Sox earned their seventh straight victory.</p>
<p>Sale (14-4) reached double digits in strikeouts for the 15th time this season. He allowed two hits, and Craig Kimbrel struck out the side in the ninth for his 28th save.</p>
<p>The win pushed Boston’s AL East lead over the New York Yankees to four games.</p>
<p>Dustin Pedroia, who returned to the lineup as the designated hitter after a stint on the disabled list with left knee inflammation, scored Boston’s first run on a fielder’s choice in the fourth. A bad throw by Austin Pruitt (6-3) prevented a possible inning-ending double play on Rafael Devers’ chopper to the mound.</p>
<p>It was the only run allowed by Pruitt in his fourth major league start. He pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings in a win at Houston last Wednesday.</p>
<p>INDIANS 4, ROCKIES 1</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>CLEVELAND — Yan Gomes hit a three-run homer off Greg Holland with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Corey Kluber and Cleveland to the victory.</p>
<p>After Austin Jackson tied it with a two-out bloop RBI single, Gomes connected on the first pitch from Holland (2-3), driving it into the seats in center field to touch off a wild celebration in Progressive Field.</p>
<p>Gomes flung his helmet and skipped around the bases as the Indians players danced out of their dugout at the improbable walk-off win.</p>
<p>Kluber (10-3) struck out 11 in his second straight complete game. He allowed three hits and walked none.</p>
<p>Charlie Blackmon homered for the Rockies.</p>
<p>BLUE JAYS 4, YANKEES 2</p>
<p>TORONTO — Josh Donaldson hit two two-run homers for the Blue Jays, and J.A. Happ won his sixth straight decision against the Yankees.</p>
<p>Donaldson connected twice against CC Sabathia (9-5), who came in with an AL-best 2.29 ERA in 10 road starts. The 2015 AL MVP hit a drive to right-center in the first, and hooked one down the left field line in the third.</p>
<p>It was Donaldson’s 12th multihomer game and his second this season, both coming against the Yankees.</p>
<p>Happ (5-8) allowed one run and four hits in 5 2/3 innings, improving to 6-0 in 10 starts against the Yankees since 2014.</p>
<p>Roberto Osuna got three outs for his 29th save in 36 chances.</p>
<p>MARLINS 7, NATIONALS 3</p>
<p>WASHINGTON — Miami slugger Giancarlo Stanton hit his career-high and major league-leading 38th homer of the season and drove in three runs.</p>
<p>Stanton crushed a first-pitch fastball from A.J. Cole (1-2) deep into the center-field stands in the fifth for a 4-1 lead following singles by Miguel Rojas and Dee Gordon.</p>
<p>Derek Dietrich also homered and drove in three runs for the Marlins. Gordon’s RBI double and Dietrich’s two-run single put Miami up 7-1 in the seventh.</p>
<p>Vance Worley (2-2) beat the Nationals for the second time in nine days. He allowed one run in six innings after holding Washington to two hits while pitching seven innings in Miami’s 7-0 win on July 31.</p>
<p>CARDINALS 10, ROYALS 3</p>
<p>KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Yadier Molina, Jedd Gyorko and Randal Grichuk homered, leading St. Louis to its fourth straight win.</p>
<p>Michael Wacha (9-4) allowed a three-run double to Cheslor Cuthbert but otherwise kept the Royals in check, surrendering six hits over six innings to win for the sixth time in seven decisions.</p>
<p>Molina connected against Jason Vargas (13-6) in the fourth and Grichuk and Gyorko connected to highlight the six-run fifth, when the crown-shaped videoboard at Kauffman Stadium suddenly went dark.</p>
<p>About half of it came back online in the seventh, when the Cardinals were tacking on runs.</p>
<p>WHITE SOX 8, ASTROS 5</p>
<p>CHICAGO — Rookie Kevan Smith homered and drove in four runs, and the last-place White Sox stopped a six-game losing streak.</p>
<p>Left-hander Derek Holland (6-11) earned his first win since June 13, despite issuing seven walks in 5 2/3 innings. He had been 0-5 in eight starts and one relief appearance since beating Baltimore.</p>
<p>Dallas Keuchel (9-2) allowed a season-high eight runs and 10 hits in four innings for AL-leading Houston. He had a 1.67 ERA when he went on the disabled list for the second time with a neck injury, on June 8. The All-Star left-hander has a 10.50 ERA in three starts since his return.</p>
<p>Tyler Clippard pitched the ninth for his second save.</p>
<p>METS 5, RANGERS 4</p>
<p>NEW YORK — Rookie Chris Flexen got his first big league win and hit, and the Mets stopped a four-game losing streak.</p>
<p>Michael Conforto, Yoenis Cespedes and Travis d’Arnaud homered for New York, which led 4-0 after two innings. Cespedes went deep at Citi Field for just the third time this season, his first since June 17. D’Arnaud hit his first at home this year after nine on the road.</p>
<p>Joey Gallo, Adrian Beltre and Robinson Chirinos homered for Texas.</p>
<p>Flexen (1-1) allowed three runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings in his third big league start. A.J. Ramos gave up Chirinos’ two-out homer in the ninth, then retired Drew Robinson on a groundout for his 21st save.</p>
<p>Texas’ A.J. Griffin (5-3) allowed four runs and four hits in five innings.</p>
<p>PADRES 7, REDS 3</p>
<p>CINCINNATI — Jose Pirela had four hits and Yangervis Solarte had a homer among his three hits, powering the Padres to the victory.</p>
<p>San Diego’s Luis Perdomo (6-6) escaped threats by inducing three ground-ball double plays — his specialty — while pitching into the seventh.</p>
<p>Cincinnati catcher Tucker Barnhart hit a three-run homer off Jose Torres.</p>
<p>The Padres improved to 4-1 against the Reds, who haven’t won a season series from them since 2012. The Reds have gone 7-18 since the All-Star break.</p>
<p>San Diego piled up nine hits and five runs off Sal Romano (2-4), who was in trouble in each of his six innings. Austin Hedges homered for a 5-0 lead in the sixth. Solarte connected for a two-run shot an inning later.</p>
<p>TWINS 11, BREWERS 4</p>
<p>MINNEAPOLIS — Brian Dozier hit his first career grand slam and Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario each homered twice, powering Minnesota to a two-game sweep of Milwaukee.</p>
<p>Matt Garza (5-6) turned in his shortest and worst start of the season with eight hits and eight runs allowed in 3 1/3 innings for the Brewers, who fell to 4-11 in their last 15 road games.</p>
<p>Twins starter Adalberto Mejia was pulled with one out in the fourth inning with pain in his upper left arm, after allowing seven hits and three runs. Tyler Duffey (1-3) relieved with two innings for his first victory of the season, and Dillon Gee struck out five over four scoreless innings for his first career save.</p>
<p>PIRATES 6, TIGERS 3</p>
<p>PITTSBURGH — Andrew McCutchen hit his 23rd homer, leading Pittsburgh to its fifth win in six games.</p>
<p>Pirates right-hander Chad Kuhl (5-7) allowed three runs and five hits in six innings in his second straight win. He also picked up the first two RBIs of his big league career on a two-run single in the fourth off Matthew Boyd (5-6).</p>
<p>McCutchen took Boyd to the seats in center field leading off the fourth for his franchise-record 13th interleague home run. David Freese added two hits for the Pirates, and Felipe Rivero worked a perfect ninth for his 10th save.</p>
<p>Detroit has dropped four in a row.</p>
<p>PHILLIES 5, BRAVES 2</p>
<p>ATLANTA — Odubel Herrera hit a two-run homer, Zach Eflin pitched seven strong innings following his recall from the minors, and the Phillies continued their season-long mastery of the Braves.</p>
<p>After Maikel Franco drove in Freddie Galvis with a line-drive single to right field in the fifth inning, Herrera reached down to pull a low pitch from Julio Teheran (7-10) into the restaurant behind the right-field wall.</p>
<p>Freddie Freeman hit a first-inning homer off Eflin, who was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley before the game and earned his first win of the season. Eflin (1-3) allowed two runs and seven hits.</p>
<p>The Phillies have won 10 of 12 against Atlanta this season.</p>
<p>Hector Neris pitched a perfect ninth for his 12th save in 15 chances.</p>
<p>ANGELS 3, ORIOLES 2</p>
<p>ANAHEIM, Calif. — Parker Bridwell, a right-hander the Angels picked up simply for cash in mid-April from the Orioles, came back to haunt his former team in a victory for Los Angeles over Baltimore.</p>
<p>Bridwell (6-1) went seven strong innings, holding the Orioles to one run and six hits. He struck out four and did not walk a batter. The Angels are 10-1 this season in games started by Bridwell.</p>
<p>Jeremy Hellickson (7-6) was matching Bridwell until running into trouble in the seventh. He had retired 10 straight in the 1-1 game when the Angels chased him with four consecutive hits.</p>
<p>MARINERS 7, ATHLETICS 6</p>
<p>OAKLAND, Calif. — Leonys Martin homered in the top of the 10th inning as the Mariners rallied from a four-run deficit to defeat the Athletics.</p>
<p>Martin hit a high arcing shot to right off a 2-1 94 mph fastball from Josh Smith (2-0) with two outs.</p>
<p>His second home run of the season pushed the Mariners’ record on their nine-game road trip to 5-3.</p>
<p>Tony Zynch pitched out of a jam in the bottom of the 10th for his second save.</p>
<p>Marc Rzepczynski (2-0) pitched a scoreless inning in the bottom of the ninth.</p>
<p>The A’s had runners at first and second with one out but Zynch struck out Chad Pinder swinging and got Matt Chapman to fly out to right.</p>
<p>GIANTS 6, CUBS 3</p>
<p>SAN FRANCISCO — Buster Posey hit a three-run homer in the first that was upheld after review and later stole a base, Ty Blach won his second straight start and the Giants beat the Cubs.</p>
<p>Replay showed Posey’s drive to left-center had just enough to clear the wall and left fielder Jon Jay’s outstretched glove before being caught by a fan.</p>
<p>Blach (8-7) hit an RBI single to help his cause and the Giants snapped a four-game losing streak to the Cubs with just their third win in the last 10 against Chicago, which rallied to win Game 4 of the NL Division Series and eliminate the Giants last October on the way to a World Series title.</p>
<p>Blach also beat the Cubs again after a May 22 win at Wrigley Field, allowing two runs on seven hits in seven innings Tuesday with three strikeouts and a walk.</p> | 599,915 |
<p>Janine Jackson interviewed Patty Lovera about GMO labeling for the <a href="" type="internal">August 12, 2016, episode</a> of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.</p>
<p>Patty Lovera: “If we’re going to tell people that they are voting with their dollars and they’re making decisions, you have to give them all the information. And when we came to that line, the industry wasn’t willing to do that.” (image: <a href="https://youtu.be/PwZz3E4Supo" type="external">FoodForward TV</a>)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p>Janine Jackson: “Obama Signs Bill Requiring Labeling of GMO Foods” was the headline in the Washington Post. But then why are many of the activists who’ve been fighting for the labeling of genetically engineered foods calling the legislation the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/house-passes-dark-act-banning-states-from-requiring-gmo-labels-on-food-1882075093.html" type="external">DARK Act</a>, for Denying Americans the Right to Know?</p>
<p>We’re joined now by Patty Lovera. She’s assistant director of Food and Water Watch. She joins us by phone from Washington, DC. Welcome back to CounterSpin, Patty Lovera.</p>
<p>Patty Lovera: Hi. Thanks for having me.</p>
<p>JJ: What does this bill that Barack Obama signed late last month—and to very little fanfare; there were a lot of other things going on—what does the bill say it does?</p>
<p>Activist for GMO labeling (cc photo: Alexis Baden-Mayer)</p>
<p>PL: This has been a fight for a while. This is the end of one phase of a very long fight about whether or not people get to know if there’s generally engineered ingredients in the food that they’re buying. Several states—Connecticut, Maine and Vermont—have passed laws saying, in our state, you’re going to have to label these GMO ingredients. So there’s things like corn and soy, some sugar comes from GMO sugar beets, so it’s a lot of ingredients in processed foods. And Vermont’s law went into effect on July 1.</p>
<p>This caused a lot of angst in the biotech industry that makes GMO seeds, and the food-processing industry, that they didn’t want to label at all, and they really didn’t want to label for one state. And they created, we think, a false crisis that we were going to have a patchwork of laws around the country, that they couldn’t handle that, they couldn’t deal with differing state laws, and they came to Washington to make Vermont’s law go away. That’s what this bill actually does, and it replaces Vermont’s law with a yet-to-be-defined, incredibly weak standard, that we’re afraid is not going to give people real labeling.</p>
<p>JJ: That expression “patchwork of laws,” I came across that more than once, and it made it sound as though that really was the concern, a kind of “process” concern, that different states would have different rules. But different states have different rules for things in other situations, and, of course, for many activists, working at the state level has been a place where they can have more effectiveness.</p>
<p>PL: Absolutely. And I can’t even convey the sense of hysteria that was created in the halls of Congress by these companies that is not accurate. We were not embarking on a crisis in Vermont or anywhere else. Vermont was the first state whose law went into effect. Connecticut and Maine had waiting periods. And folks have been working all over the country in lots of states to pass these laws, and they were working together, and they were using very similar language. There wasn’t ever going to be a patchwork these companies couldn’t live with. It was a very convenient talking point for them to block a requirement that they didn’t want to comply with.</p>
<p>JJ: Well, it’s interesting, because it’s not about even the safety of GMOs. I mean, we have labels about gluten and vitamins and heart-healthiness. It’s an argument against information.</p>
<p>Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (yes, they’re GMO)</p>
<p>PL: It is. And these same companies, these are big—the biggest proponent of the bill that the president signed was the Grocery Manufacturers Association, so they’re representing huge food processing companies who operate all over the world. You know, Kellogg’s is not just making cereal here and selling it here, they’re selling it all over the world, and over 60 countries around the world have some kind of GMO labeling law. We’re actually very late to this issue in the United States.</p>
<p>And meanwhile, the GMO producers, the companies Monsanto and DuPont that make GMO seeds, maintain they’re different enough that they should be able to patent those seeds. But when it comes to us eating the finished product, it’s not different at all and you don’t need to know that it’s there. So they’re trying to have it both ways. And it’s really an absurd amount of money and effort that we just spent having this fight, like a ridiculous amount of money. And if you’re so proud of this technology and the products that it makes, put it on the label and make your case. Tell us how great it is, and we can choose it.</p>
<p>JJ: Absolutely. Or failing that, from media’s perspective, to not call that out? Then, in trade, I want to never hear about the glories of unfettered capitalism again.</p>
<p>PL: [laughs]</p>
<p>JJ: Because that relies on an informed consumer making economic choices.&#160;But now, in terms of some of the information that we have about the labeling solution that this legislation calls for, my understanding is that there’s a class bias implicit in it as well, or just a kind of class cluelessness, in that it’s going to rely on information that you get through your smart phone? What’s happening there?</p>
<p>PL: I know, it sounds made up. So there were many attempts to pass this bill. The House passed a version last year that pretty much just blocked the state bills and didn’t do much else. Then we moved to the Senate, and the Senate tried in the spring to bring a bill forward that kind of looked like that, just pretty much blocking the states. And we were able to defeat that, and that’s when the really behind-the-scenes negotiating began. And with lots of Democratic support, unfortunately. Because lots of Democrats in the Senate drew the line in the right place in March, and they said no, you’re taking away these state labels and people need them.</p>
<p>And then the negotiating began.&#160;And Sen. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan was involved in that with Sen. Pat Roberts from Kansas. And they came out with a deal that we know was supposed to be a compromise we were all supposed to live with. And a key part of that was that companies get to choose how they’re going to make a disclosure.</p>
<p>QR code (image: Wikipedia)</p>
<p>And one of the choices is one of those QR codes, which is that box with the black-and-white squiggly print that you’re supposed to scan with an app on your smartphone. And we know that big companies will take that when they’re given the choice, because they lobbied for it. They spent the last year saying we don’t want a mandatory requirement, but if you do a mandatory requirement, we should be able to do it with these codes.</p>
<p>That’s not labeling. You have to have a smartphone, have a data plan that you’ve paid up for the month, have a signal in the store—which is not a given in most urban areas, when stores are in basements of apartment buildings and things like that—and, really, have an extra hand. If you’ve got a shopping cart and a kid and a couple boxes of cereal you’re looking at, I don’t know how you’re supposed to hold the smartphone and scan the code and look at a website and see if it contains GMOs. It’s not a label, but yet that’s where all those headlines came from that they created this national standard for labeling.</p>
<p>JJ: It sounds very much like turning information into a luxury, and I can’t think of anything more anti-democratic than that.</p>
<p>But I want to pull you back to a point that you made that’s fascinating, that GMO makers patent these things because they are different enough for them to be able to patent, and yet when it comes to labeling… And I understand that the back story here is that the FDA decided decades ago that GE foods didn’t need to be labeled because they weren’t “materially different.” Is that the idea, that industry’s run a long way with that?</p>
<p>PL: Right. The GMO experiment began in the mid-’90s, when the first GMO crops came onto the market. And the FDA was the one that said yes, they’re acceptable, you can put them in the market, people can eat them. And they made a decision at that point not to require labeling, and we’ve been in a hole ever since, trying to get some labeling requirement.</p>
<p>So this starts with the federal government’s failure to require labeling, which is in large part why people went to the states, you know, to get a better response from a legislative process and a democratic process that was working better for them than the feds who dropped the ball on this for 20 years.</p>
<p>So it’s very frustrating, it’s a very frustrating issue. And when you get right down to the core concept you mentioned earlier—people making an informed choice—that’s all we’re asking for.</p>
<p>We have a whole other list of critiques and concerns about how GMOs are regulated. We don’t think they’re the same; when you look at the whole food chain that uses them, we think there’s a lot of differences.</p>
<p>But if we’re going to tell people that they are voting with their dollars and they’re making decisions, you have to give them all the information. And when we came to that line, the industry wasn’t willing to do that.</p>
<p>JJ: Let me ask you, finally, what now for activists? There is a large community of people who care very much about this set of issues. I can’t imagine everyone’s just going to lay down for this. Where does the fight go next?</p>
<p>PL: The first thing is, there’s still accountability to be had on this, so people need to go look at how their members of Congress voted on this issue. And despite the headlines and what comes out of the food industry, voting for this bill was a mistake, and people need to let their members of Congress know that. There are steps that the USDA is going to take, to take this bill and put it into action. They have to define some of the terms. We’re going to do the best we can in that process, and we’re going to need the public to help us with that.</p>
<p>But in terms of the immediate thing of what do I do as a consumer, the things to keep an eye out for are certified organic foods. Organic farmers cannot use GMOs; they’re not allowed to grow them. And there’s also a label called the <a href="http://www.nongmoproject.org/" type="external">Non-GMO Project</a>; it’s a third party saying, this product doesn’t have GMOs in it. So those are options for people, in the meantime, if they’re looking to avoid GMOs.</p>
<p>But we would prefer to say where they are. That was the whole point of this, not to label around it, but in the meantime, that’s kind of what we’re left with.</p>
<p>JJ: All right, then. We’ve been speaking with Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch. You can find their work on this and other issues on line at <a href="http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/" type="external">FoodAndWaterWatch.org</a>. Patty Lovera, thank you so much for joining us today on CounterSpin.</p>
<p>PL: Thanks for having me.</p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p> | ‘If You’re So Proud of This Technology, Put It on the Label’ | true | http://fair.org/home/if-youre-so-proud-of-this-technology-put-it-on-the-label/ | 2016-08-19 | 4left
| ‘If You’re So Proud of This Technology, Put It on the Label’
<p>Janine Jackson interviewed Patty Lovera about GMO labeling for the <a href="" type="internal">August 12, 2016, episode</a> of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.</p>
<p>Patty Lovera: “If we’re going to tell people that they are voting with their dollars and they’re making decisions, you have to give them all the information. And when we came to that line, the industry wasn’t willing to do that.” (image: <a href="https://youtu.be/PwZz3E4Supo" type="external">FoodForward TV</a>)</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">MP3 Link</a></p>
<p>Janine Jackson: “Obama Signs Bill Requiring Labeling of GMO Foods” was the headline in the Washington Post. But then why are many of the activists who’ve been fighting for the labeling of genetically engineered foods calling the legislation the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/house-passes-dark-act-banning-states-from-requiring-gmo-labels-on-food-1882075093.html" type="external">DARK Act</a>, for Denying Americans the Right to Know?</p>
<p>We’re joined now by Patty Lovera. She’s assistant director of Food and Water Watch. She joins us by phone from Washington, DC. Welcome back to CounterSpin, Patty Lovera.</p>
<p>Patty Lovera: Hi. Thanks for having me.</p>
<p>JJ: What does this bill that Barack Obama signed late last month—and to very little fanfare; there were a lot of other things going on—what does the bill say it does?</p>
<p>Activist for GMO labeling (cc photo: Alexis Baden-Mayer)</p>
<p>PL: This has been a fight for a while. This is the end of one phase of a very long fight about whether or not people get to know if there’s generally engineered ingredients in the food that they’re buying. Several states—Connecticut, Maine and Vermont—have passed laws saying, in our state, you’re going to have to label these GMO ingredients. So there’s things like corn and soy, some sugar comes from GMO sugar beets, so it’s a lot of ingredients in processed foods. And Vermont’s law went into effect on July 1.</p>
<p>This caused a lot of angst in the biotech industry that makes GMO seeds, and the food-processing industry, that they didn’t want to label at all, and they really didn’t want to label for one state. And they created, we think, a false crisis that we were going to have a patchwork of laws around the country, that they couldn’t handle that, they couldn’t deal with differing state laws, and they came to Washington to make Vermont’s law go away. That’s what this bill actually does, and it replaces Vermont’s law with a yet-to-be-defined, incredibly weak standard, that we’re afraid is not going to give people real labeling.</p>
<p>JJ: That expression “patchwork of laws,” I came across that more than once, and it made it sound as though that really was the concern, a kind of “process” concern, that different states would have different rules. But different states have different rules for things in other situations, and, of course, for many activists, working at the state level has been a place where they can have more effectiveness.</p>
<p>PL: Absolutely. And I can’t even convey the sense of hysteria that was created in the halls of Congress by these companies that is not accurate. We were not embarking on a crisis in Vermont or anywhere else. Vermont was the first state whose law went into effect. Connecticut and Maine had waiting periods. And folks have been working all over the country in lots of states to pass these laws, and they were working together, and they were using very similar language. There wasn’t ever going to be a patchwork these companies couldn’t live with. It was a very convenient talking point for them to block a requirement that they didn’t want to comply with.</p>
<p>JJ: Well, it’s interesting, because it’s not about even the safety of GMOs. I mean, we have labels about gluten and vitamins and heart-healthiness. It’s an argument against information.</p>
<p>Kellogg’s Corn Flakes (yes, they’re GMO)</p>
<p>PL: It is. And these same companies, these are big—the biggest proponent of the bill that the president signed was the Grocery Manufacturers Association, so they’re representing huge food processing companies who operate all over the world. You know, Kellogg’s is not just making cereal here and selling it here, they’re selling it all over the world, and over 60 countries around the world have some kind of GMO labeling law. We’re actually very late to this issue in the United States.</p>
<p>And meanwhile, the GMO producers, the companies Monsanto and DuPont that make GMO seeds, maintain they’re different enough that they should be able to patent those seeds. But when it comes to us eating the finished product, it’s not different at all and you don’t need to know that it’s there. So they’re trying to have it both ways. And it’s really an absurd amount of money and effort that we just spent having this fight, like a ridiculous amount of money. And if you’re so proud of this technology and the products that it makes, put it on the label and make your case. Tell us how great it is, and we can choose it.</p>
<p>JJ: Absolutely. Or failing that, from media’s perspective, to not call that out? Then, in trade, I want to never hear about the glories of unfettered capitalism again.</p>
<p>PL: [laughs]</p>
<p>JJ: Because that relies on an informed consumer making economic choices.&#160;But now, in terms of some of the information that we have about the labeling solution that this legislation calls for, my understanding is that there’s a class bias implicit in it as well, or just a kind of class cluelessness, in that it’s going to rely on information that you get through your smart phone? What’s happening there?</p>
<p>PL: I know, it sounds made up. So there were many attempts to pass this bill. The House passed a version last year that pretty much just blocked the state bills and didn’t do much else. Then we moved to the Senate, and the Senate tried in the spring to bring a bill forward that kind of looked like that, just pretty much blocking the states. And we were able to defeat that, and that’s when the really behind-the-scenes negotiating began. And with lots of Democratic support, unfortunately. Because lots of Democrats in the Senate drew the line in the right place in March, and they said no, you’re taking away these state labels and people need them.</p>
<p>And then the negotiating began.&#160;And Sen. Debbie Stabenow from Michigan was involved in that with Sen. Pat Roberts from Kansas. And they came out with a deal that we know was supposed to be a compromise we were all supposed to live with. And a key part of that was that companies get to choose how they’re going to make a disclosure.</p>
<p>QR code (image: Wikipedia)</p>
<p>And one of the choices is one of those QR codes, which is that box with the black-and-white squiggly print that you’re supposed to scan with an app on your smartphone. And we know that big companies will take that when they’re given the choice, because they lobbied for it. They spent the last year saying we don’t want a mandatory requirement, but if you do a mandatory requirement, we should be able to do it with these codes.</p>
<p>That’s not labeling. You have to have a smartphone, have a data plan that you’ve paid up for the month, have a signal in the store—which is not a given in most urban areas, when stores are in basements of apartment buildings and things like that—and, really, have an extra hand. If you’ve got a shopping cart and a kid and a couple boxes of cereal you’re looking at, I don’t know how you’re supposed to hold the smartphone and scan the code and look at a website and see if it contains GMOs. It’s not a label, but yet that’s where all those headlines came from that they created this national standard for labeling.</p>
<p>JJ: It sounds very much like turning information into a luxury, and I can’t think of anything more anti-democratic than that.</p>
<p>But I want to pull you back to a point that you made that’s fascinating, that GMO makers patent these things because they are different enough for them to be able to patent, and yet when it comes to labeling… And I understand that the back story here is that the FDA decided decades ago that GE foods didn’t need to be labeled because they weren’t “materially different.” Is that the idea, that industry’s run a long way with that?</p>
<p>PL: Right. The GMO experiment began in the mid-’90s, when the first GMO crops came onto the market. And the FDA was the one that said yes, they’re acceptable, you can put them in the market, people can eat them. And they made a decision at that point not to require labeling, and we’ve been in a hole ever since, trying to get some labeling requirement.</p>
<p>So this starts with the federal government’s failure to require labeling, which is in large part why people went to the states, you know, to get a better response from a legislative process and a democratic process that was working better for them than the feds who dropped the ball on this for 20 years.</p>
<p>So it’s very frustrating, it’s a very frustrating issue. And when you get right down to the core concept you mentioned earlier—people making an informed choice—that’s all we’re asking for.</p>
<p>We have a whole other list of critiques and concerns about how GMOs are regulated. We don’t think they’re the same; when you look at the whole food chain that uses them, we think there’s a lot of differences.</p>
<p>But if we’re going to tell people that they are voting with their dollars and they’re making decisions, you have to give them all the information. And when we came to that line, the industry wasn’t willing to do that.</p>
<p>JJ: Let me ask you, finally, what now for activists? There is a large community of people who care very much about this set of issues. I can’t imagine everyone’s just going to lay down for this. Where does the fight go next?</p>
<p>PL: The first thing is, there’s still accountability to be had on this, so people need to go look at how their members of Congress voted on this issue. And despite the headlines and what comes out of the food industry, voting for this bill was a mistake, and people need to let their members of Congress know that. There are steps that the USDA is going to take, to take this bill and put it into action. They have to define some of the terms. We’re going to do the best we can in that process, and we’re going to need the public to help us with that.</p>
<p>But in terms of the immediate thing of what do I do as a consumer, the things to keep an eye out for are certified organic foods. Organic farmers cannot use GMOs; they’re not allowed to grow them. And there’s also a label called the <a href="http://www.nongmoproject.org/" type="external">Non-GMO Project</a>; it’s a third party saying, this product doesn’t have GMOs in it. So those are options for people, in the meantime, if they’re looking to avoid GMOs.</p>
<p>But we would prefer to say where they are. That was the whole point of this, not to label around it, but in the meantime, that’s kind of what we’re left with.</p>
<p>JJ: All right, then. We’ve been speaking with Patty Lovera of Food and Water Watch. You can find their work on this and other issues on line at <a href="http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/" type="external">FoodAndWaterWatch.org</a>. Patty Lovera, thank you so much for joining us today on CounterSpin.</p>
<p>PL: Thanks for having me.</p>
<p>Subscribe: <a href="" type="internal">Android</a> | <a href="" type="internal">RSS</a></p> | 599,916 |
<p>Healthcare legislation is hanging by a thread in the Senate, and no one is under more pressure than Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada.</p>
<p>Heller was already seen as the most endangered GOP incumbent senator in next year’s midterm elections. He is the only one running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump lost to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Against that backdrop, it’s hard to envision a more difficult political choice for Heller than whether to support the health legislation expected to come to a vote next week in the Senate. There are already two GOP senators opposed to the legislation, so one more “no” vote would kill the bill outright in a Senate divided 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats.</p>
<p>Over the next several days Heller must decide whether to defy Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by becoming that third “no.”</p>
<p>Yet if he sides with the president and Senate leader and supports the bill, Heller would likely be parting ways with Nevada’s popular GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has already expressed deep concerns about the legislation’s cuts to the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled.</p>
<p>For Heller, it looks like a no-win situation.</p>
<p>“There is no sweet spot in healthcare,” said Heller’s fellow Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei. “So if somebody’s looking for it, they’re going to be a pretty frustrated person.”</p>
<p>The normally affable and low-key Heller had no announced public events Friday, and a spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. On Thursday Heller released a terse statement saying that “Conversations are continuing and I’m going to read the new bill and weigh its impact on Nevada.”</p>
<p>Heller, 57, took Senate GOP leaders by surprise with his outspoken opposition to an earlier version of the bill last month. He appeared at a press conference with Sandoval where both denounced the bill crafted largely in secret by McConnell. “I cannot support a piece of legislation that takes insurance away from tens of millions of Americans,” Heller said at the time.</p>
<p>McConnell was forced to withdraw the bill in face of certain defeat. But the new version he unveiled Thursday also unravels the Medicaid expansion under former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which has allowed more than 200,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable Nevadans to gain coverage.</p>
<p>Sandoval, who made the decision to accept the Medicaid expansion, expressed serious reservations Friday about the latest version of the bill, though without expressing outright opposition.</p>
<p>“My concern all along has been with the expansion population, the newly eligibles. There are approximately 210,000 of those in Nevada who are having a dramatically better quality of life and are living healthier and happier, and I just, those are the lives I want to protect,” Sandoval told reporters at a conference of governors in Providence, R.I.</p>
<p>Sandoval, who appointed Heller to the Senate in 2011 after a scandal forced his predecessor to resign, said he planned to talk with the senator later in the day.</p>
<p>“I’m doing my job and he’s doing his job,” Sandoval said. “It’s a new bill. It’s less than 24 hours old. He has said he’s going to spend the weekend reading it, and so I hope I can better inform him with regard to its impacts on Nevada.”</p>
<p>After Heller announced his opposition to the initial bill in June, a group linked to Trump launched a hard-hitting ad campaign against him. From the other side Democratic groups have already signaled they will use the issue against him in his re-election campaign, a fate Heller probably can’t escape no matter how he votes.</p>
<p>And Heller’s predicament is all the more notable in that it was a fellow Nevadan, former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who pushed Obamacare to passage in 2010, including by securing the votes of some very vulnerable Democratic senators who subsequently lost their seats over the issue.</p>
<p>One of those lawmakers, former Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, expressed little sympathy this week for the Republicans who now find themselves in a position similar to the one that ultimately ended her political career.</p>
<p>Noting that Trump had promised better health insurance for all, Landrieu said: “They have not put a bill together that meets their own promise, and that is their problem. And I’m not sure how they can fix that right now.”</p> | Heller Facing Hot Seat on GOP Healthcare Bill Decision | false | https://newsline.com/heller-facing-hot-seat-on-gop-healthcare-bill-decision/ | 2017-07-15 | 1right-center
| Heller Facing Hot Seat on GOP Healthcare Bill Decision
<p>Healthcare legislation is hanging by a thread in the Senate, and no one is under more pressure than Republican Sen. Dean Heller of Nevada.</p>
<p>Heller was already seen as the most endangered GOP incumbent senator in next year’s midterm elections. He is the only one running for re-election in a state President Donald Trump lost to former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.</p>
<p>Against that backdrop, it’s hard to envision a more difficult political choice for Heller than whether to support the health legislation expected to come to a vote next week in the Senate. There are already two GOP senators opposed to the legislation, so one more “no” vote would kill the bill outright in a Senate divided 52-48 between Republicans and Democrats.</p>
<p>Over the next several days Heller must decide whether to defy Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell by becoming that third “no.”</p>
<p>Yet if he sides with the president and Senate leader and supports the bill, Heller would likely be parting ways with Nevada’s popular GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval, who has already expressed deep concerns about the legislation’s cuts to the Medicaid program for the poor and disabled.</p>
<p>For Heller, it looks like a no-win situation.</p>
<p>“There is no sweet spot in healthcare,” said Heller’s fellow Nevada Republican Rep. Mark Amodei. “So if somebody’s looking for it, they’re going to be a pretty frustrated person.”</p>
<p>The normally affable and low-key Heller had no announced public events Friday, and a spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment. On Thursday Heller released a terse statement saying that “Conversations are continuing and I’m going to read the new bill and weigh its impact on Nevada.”</p>
<p>Heller, 57, took Senate GOP leaders by surprise with his outspoken opposition to an earlier version of the bill last month. He appeared at a press conference with Sandoval where both denounced the bill crafted largely in secret by McConnell. “I cannot support a piece of legislation that takes insurance away from tens of millions of Americans,” Heller said at the time.</p>
<p>McConnell was forced to withdraw the bill in face of certain defeat. But the new version he unveiled Thursday also unravels the Medicaid expansion under former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, which has allowed more than 200,000 of the poorest and most vulnerable Nevadans to gain coverage.</p>
<p>Sandoval, who made the decision to accept the Medicaid expansion, expressed serious reservations Friday about the latest version of the bill, though without expressing outright opposition.</p>
<p>“My concern all along has been with the expansion population, the newly eligibles. There are approximately 210,000 of those in Nevada who are having a dramatically better quality of life and are living healthier and happier, and I just, those are the lives I want to protect,” Sandoval told reporters at a conference of governors in Providence, R.I.</p>
<p>Sandoval, who appointed Heller to the Senate in 2011 after a scandal forced his predecessor to resign, said he planned to talk with the senator later in the day.</p>
<p>“I’m doing my job and he’s doing his job,” Sandoval said. “It’s a new bill. It’s less than 24 hours old. He has said he’s going to spend the weekend reading it, and so I hope I can better inform him with regard to its impacts on Nevada.”</p>
<p>After Heller announced his opposition to the initial bill in June, a group linked to Trump launched a hard-hitting ad campaign against him. From the other side Democratic groups have already signaled they will use the issue against him in his re-election campaign, a fate Heller probably can’t escape no matter how he votes.</p>
<p>And Heller’s predicament is all the more notable in that it was a fellow Nevadan, former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, who pushed Obamacare to passage in 2010, including by securing the votes of some very vulnerable Democratic senators who subsequently lost their seats over the issue.</p>
<p>One of those lawmakers, former Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, expressed little sympathy this week for the Republicans who now find themselves in a position similar to the one that ultimately ended her political career.</p>
<p>Noting that Trump had promised better health insurance for all, Landrieu said: “They have not put a bill together that meets their own promise, and that is their problem. And I’m not sure how they can fix that right now.”</p> | 599,917 |
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<p />
<p>“It’s been a very quiet season or tax year” in terms of congressional action, says Bob Meighan, vice president of customer advocacy at TurboTax, the tax-preparation software company.</p>
<p>Sure, there have been adjustments for inflation in the tax tables, standard deduction and value of each exemption. But what could have been a stunner — the expiration of a series of popular tax breaks — was forestalled by Congress in a last-minute move before it adjourned last month. For individuals, that was the only major piece of tax</p>
<p>Unlike last year, there will be no delay to the start of the tax season, despite the late congressional passage of the tax extenders. The Internal Revenue Service said it would begin accepting electronic returns and processing paper ones as scheduled on Jan. 20.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We have reviewed the late tax law changes and determined there was nothing preventing us from continuing our updating and testing of our systems,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a statement.</p>
<p>So gather up those W-2s, 1099s, receipts and other data needed to file; you have about three months. The deadline remains April 15, although extensions are possible.</p>
<p>If you’re due a refund, however, you might be in for a wait.</p>
<p>Noting that “people have gotten very used to being able to file their return and quickly getting a refund,” Koskinen said at a news conference in December that “this year we may not have the resources, the people to provide refunds as quickly as we have in the past.”</p>
<p>He blamed budget cuts, and declined to predict how long refunds would take. In previous years, it was about 21 days for those who filed electronically.</p>
<p>Last year, the IRS processed nearly 150 million individual tax returns, up about 1 percent from 2013. The average refund was $2,792.</p>
<p>Electronic filing continues to gain popularity; only about 16 percent of last year’s returns were on paper.</p>
<p>“Filing electronically is the most accurate way to file a tax return and the fastest way to get a refund,” the IRS said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The biggest change for tax filers this year concerns the Affordable Care Act and the requirement that everybody have health insurance.</p>
<p>“The first year truly will be the hardest” in dealing with ACA, said Dave Duval, vice president for consumer advocacy at TaxAudit.com.</p>
<p>If you got insurance through an employer, from the private marketplace, or through a federal or state exchange without a subsidy, you simply check a box on line 61 of Form 1040 affirming that you had full coverage. “You don’t send in documents for review,” said Greg Rosica, tax partner at Ernst &amp; Young.</p>
<p>But there are new forms to deal with, from the exchanges confirming your coverage and from the IRS.</p>
<p>Form 8962 will help determine if you got the right advance payment of the premium tax credit, or if it was too large because you underestimated income or had a life change, such as a new job with a higher salary. In that case, you might have to pay back some or all the advance payment. If you lost your job, you might be entitled to more in the form of an additional tax credit.</p>
<p>“This year many people did not go back to update their information,” said Kathy Pickering, executive director of the Tax Institute at H&amp;R Block.</p>
<p>Form 8965 will help you figure out whether you qualify for an exemption to the mandatory health coverage and can avoid a penalty. Tax experts advise people who didn’t have coverage to look through the list of more than 30 coverage exemptions.</p>
<p>Penalties and lower subsidies could lead to a larger tax bill — or a smaller refund.</p>
<p>“We are working to ensure that whatever their experience, consumers can easily access clear information, since this is the first year they will see certain changes to their tax returns” because of the health care law, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement.</p>
<p>Tax rates for 2014 remain the same as in 2013, ranging from 10 percent to 39.6 percent for the wealthiest taxpayers.</p>
<p>But the value of a personal exemption edged up slightly to $3,950 because of inflation, and the standard deduction is now worth $12,400 for married people filing jointly, $9,100 for heads of households and $6,200 for single taxpayers.</p>
<p>The patch on the alternative minimum tax holds, also adjusted for inflation to prevent more middle-class people from being drawn in.</p>
<p>The legislation passed by Congress in December extends a series of popular tax breaks that help a broad range of taxpayers, from schoolteachers to college students and their parents, residents of states without income taxes and people who made energy-efficient improvements to their home. People who had debt forgiven on bad mortgages usually will not have to consider that as income. And required IRA distributions by seniors 70½ and older directly to a charity are tax-free.</p>
<p>Some affluent taxpayers could be in for sticker shock because of a surcharge on investment income, said Meighan, of TurboTax. “It’s exacerbated by the market being at record levels. People who are buying and selling are likely to see very large gains,” he said.</p>
<p>At the other end of the wealth spectrum, he said, “people who most need the money” are overlooking things like the earned income tax credit. About a quarter of those eligible are not claiming it, he said.</p>
<p>The IRS says that more than half of taxpayers hire a tax preparer to do their returns, and the agency urges caution in choosing one. Check preparers’ credentials, and make sure they have an IRS preparer tax-identification number and file electronically, the agency says. “Never sign a blank return” and be wary of those who promise large refunds, it advises.</p>
<p>What about dealing with the IRS itself?</p>
<p>The agency has adopted a Taxpayer Bill of Rights covering 10 principles, from the right to get quality service from the IRS to the right to appeal IRS decisions, including penalties. The final principle covers the “right to a fair and just tax system.”</p>
<p>National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, whose agency helps taxpayers navigate dealings with the IRS, commended the agency for adopting the bill of rights.</p>
<p>“If taxpayers believe they are treated, or can be treated, in an arbitrary and capricious manner, they will mistrust the tax system and be less likely to comply of their own volition,” she said in her semiannual report to Congress last summer. “By contrast, taxpayers will be more likely to comply if they have confidence in the fairness and integrity of the tax system.”</p>
<p>—-</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>IRS Publication 17, Tax Guide 2014 for Individuals: <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf" type="external">http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf</a></p>
<p>—-</p>
<p>Follow Carole Feldman on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/CaroleFeldman" type="external">http://twitter.com/CaroleFeldman</a></p> | Quiet year in terms of tax changes, but ACA provides twist | false | https://abqjournal.com/525477/quiet-year-in-terms-of-tax-changes-but-aca-provides-twist.html | 2least
| Quiet year in terms of tax changes, but ACA provides twist
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<p />
<p>“It’s been a very quiet season or tax year” in terms of congressional action, says Bob Meighan, vice president of customer advocacy at TurboTax, the tax-preparation software company.</p>
<p>Sure, there have been adjustments for inflation in the tax tables, standard deduction and value of each exemption. But what could have been a stunner — the expiration of a series of popular tax breaks — was forestalled by Congress in a last-minute move before it adjourned last month. For individuals, that was the only major piece of tax</p>
<p>Unlike last year, there will be no delay to the start of the tax season, despite the late congressional passage of the tax extenders. The Internal Revenue Service said it would begin accepting electronic returns and processing paper ones as scheduled on Jan. 20.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We have reviewed the late tax law changes and determined there was nothing preventing us from continuing our updating and testing of our systems,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in a statement.</p>
<p>So gather up those W-2s, 1099s, receipts and other data needed to file; you have about three months. The deadline remains April 15, although extensions are possible.</p>
<p>If you’re due a refund, however, you might be in for a wait.</p>
<p>Noting that “people have gotten very used to being able to file their return and quickly getting a refund,” Koskinen said at a news conference in December that “this year we may not have the resources, the people to provide refunds as quickly as we have in the past.”</p>
<p>He blamed budget cuts, and declined to predict how long refunds would take. In previous years, it was about 21 days for those who filed electronically.</p>
<p>Last year, the IRS processed nearly 150 million individual tax returns, up about 1 percent from 2013. The average refund was $2,792.</p>
<p>Electronic filing continues to gain popularity; only about 16 percent of last year’s returns were on paper.</p>
<p>“Filing electronically is the most accurate way to file a tax return and the fastest way to get a refund,” the IRS said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The biggest change for tax filers this year concerns the Affordable Care Act and the requirement that everybody have health insurance.</p>
<p>“The first year truly will be the hardest” in dealing with ACA, said Dave Duval, vice president for consumer advocacy at TaxAudit.com.</p>
<p>If you got insurance through an employer, from the private marketplace, or through a federal or state exchange without a subsidy, you simply check a box on line 61 of Form 1040 affirming that you had full coverage. “You don’t send in documents for review,” said Greg Rosica, tax partner at Ernst &amp; Young.</p>
<p>But there are new forms to deal with, from the exchanges confirming your coverage and from the IRS.</p>
<p>Form 8962 will help determine if you got the right advance payment of the premium tax credit, or if it was too large because you underestimated income or had a life change, such as a new job with a higher salary. In that case, you might have to pay back some or all the advance payment. If you lost your job, you might be entitled to more in the form of an additional tax credit.</p>
<p>“This year many people did not go back to update their information,” said Kathy Pickering, executive director of the Tax Institute at H&amp;R Block.</p>
<p>Form 8965 will help you figure out whether you qualify for an exemption to the mandatory health coverage and can avoid a penalty. Tax experts advise people who didn’t have coverage to look through the list of more than 30 coverage exemptions.</p>
<p>Penalties and lower subsidies could lead to a larger tax bill — or a smaller refund.</p>
<p>“We are working to ensure that whatever their experience, consumers can easily access clear information, since this is the first year they will see certain changes to their tax returns” because of the health care law, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a statement.</p>
<p>Tax rates for 2014 remain the same as in 2013, ranging from 10 percent to 39.6 percent for the wealthiest taxpayers.</p>
<p>But the value of a personal exemption edged up slightly to $3,950 because of inflation, and the standard deduction is now worth $12,400 for married people filing jointly, $9,100 for heads of households and $6,200 for single taxpayers.</p>
<p>The patch on the alternative minimum tax holds, also adjusted for inflation to prevent more middle-class people from being drawn in.</p>
<p>The legislation passed by Congress in December extends a series of popular tax breaks that help a broad range of taxpayers, from schoolteachers to college students and their parents, residents of states without income taxes and people who made energy-efficient improvements to their home. People who had debt forgiven on bad mortgages usually will not have to consider that as income. And required IRA distributions by seniors 70½ and older directly to a charity are tax-free.</p>
<p>Some affluent taxpayers could be in for sticker shock because of a surcharge on investment income, said Meighan, of TurboTax. “It’s exacerbated by the market being at record levels. People who are buying and selling are likely to see very large gains,” he said.</p>
<p>At the other end of the wealth spectrum, he said, “people who most need the money” are overlooking things like the earned income tax credit. About a quarter of those eligible are not claiming it, he said.</p>
<p>The IRS says that more than half of taxpayers hire a tax preparer to do their returns, and the agency urges caution in choosing one. Check preparers’ credentials, and make sure they have an IRS preparer tax-identification number and file electronically, the agency says. “Never sign a blank return” and be wary of those who promise large refunds, it advises.</p>
<p>What about dealing with the IRS itself?</p>
<p>The agency has adopted a Taxpayer Bill of Rights covering 10 principles, from the right to get quality service from the IRS to the right to appeal IRS decisions, including penalties. The final principle covers the “right to a fair and just tax system.”</p>
<p>National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson, whose agency helps taxpayers navigate dealings with the IRS, commended the agency for adopting the bill of rights.</p>
<p>“If taxpayers believe they are treated, or can be treated, in an arbitrary and capricious manner, they will mistrust the tax system and be less likely to comply of their own volition,” she said in her semiannual report to Congress last summer. “By contrast, taxpayers will be more likely to comply if they have confidence in the fairness and integrity of the tax system.”</p>
<p>—-</p>
<p>Online:</p>
<p>IRS Publication 17, Tax Guide 2014 for Individuals: <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf" type="external">http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p17.pdf</a></p>
<p>—-</p>
<p>Follow Carole Feldman on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/CaroleFeldman" type="external">http://twitter.com/CaroleFeldman</a></p> | 599,918 |
|
<p>Miami Beach authorities <a href="" type="internal">started spraying for Zika-carrying mosquitoes</a>Friday, and spraying’s expected to continue for weeks.</p>
<p>Authorities in other states are also cracking down on mosquitoes as the Zika threat worsens. It is the peak of mosquito season in the U.S., and the insects can be expected to continue biting until October in warmer states.</p>
<p>Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main carrier of Zika virus — as well as dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya — and they’re hard to fight because they bite during the day, live in or near houses and can breed in tiny amounts of water.</p>
<p>Here are some of the weapons available to fight disease-carrying mosquitoes:</p>
<p>Mosquito repellents let people move around with their own, personal mosquito protection. The most effective types interfere with a mosquito’s ability to sniff out a victim, usually by gumming up the receptors on their antennae.</p>
<p>Three top picks <a href="" type="internal">tested by the nonprofit group Consumer Reports</a> this year use DEET, picaridan or a synthetic derivative of eucalyptus.</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says DEET is safe even for young children and pregnant women.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="http://www.today.com/health/consumer-reports-tests-reveal-best-insect-repellents-t20756" type="external">Consumer Reports Rates the Bug Repellents</a></p>
<p>The CDC <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html" type="external">cautions</a> that products with oil of lemon eucalyptus should not to be used on children under 3. They can cause a painful rash.</p>
<p>And while the chemical-sounding names may be off-putting, tests show they’re more effective than "natural" alternatives. "Five of the six plant-oil-based repellents we tested lasted an hour or less against Aedes mosquitoes, the kind than can spread Zika," Consumer Reports said.</p>
<p>They’re controversial and frighten many people, but the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/zika/" type="external">CDC says</a>sometimes they’re the best solution for controlling large, disease-carrying populations of mosquitoes.</p>
<p>Widely used in the U.S. is a pesticide called naled, an organophosphate chemical that kills adult mosquitoes. Like most organophosphates, it's a nerve agent. It kills most flying insects so it should be used at night to spare bees and other beneficial insects.</p>
<p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says when applied ultra-low volumes, naled doesn’t harm people — even toddlers playing in or eating grass in an area that’'s been sprayed.</p>
<p>Pyrethrins or pyrethroids are another widely used class of insecticides and are based on chemicals made by chrysanthemum flowers. They also are toxic to a wide range of flying insects and currently are not favored for fighting Aedes mosquitoes because the insects have developed resistance to them.</p>
<p>DDT works very well against mosquitoes but its use has been largely abandoned because it was so toxic to other insects and to birds. It's sometimes used to control malaria in Africa, Asia and South America and despite its bad reputation, studies have shown it is not very toxic to humans.</p>
<p>These are agents that kill the developing mosquito larva — those squiggly little creatures that spring up in rain barrels, ponds and other pools of water during mosquito season. Aedes mosquitoes are notoriously hard to fight because they lay their eggs in small containers and the larvae can grow in just a small amount of water.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol/controlling-mosquitoes-larval-stage" type="external">Larvicides include natural agents</a>such as Bacillus bacteria, whichinterfere with the ability of the larvae to digest food. That's often what's in mosquito "dunks" sold at hardware stores.</p>
<p>One larvicide called methoprene mimics developmental hormones found in insects but not in birds or mammals. It’s sometimes fed to cattle to stop flies from breeding in their dung.</p>
<p>These range from the sophisticated to the low-tech but the premise is the same in most: A scent is used to attract female mosquitoes, which are trapped when they enter to pay their eggs.</p>
<p>The CDC’s excited about <a href="" type="internal">one new trap</a> that employs water and hay in a small barrel. It seems effective when a couple are set around a home in an Aedes-infested area.</p>
<p>Screens and air conditioning are very effective at protecting people from mosquitoes and the CDC says not to underestimate their benefits.</p>
<p>The best known is the Oxitec mosquito, genetically engineered to lay eggs that develop into faulty larvae.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Here's Why Scientists Are Not Afraid of GM Mosquitoes</a></p>
<p>The Food and Drug Administration says they’re <a href="" type="internal">safe to test</a>but Oxitec has had trouble getting residents of Key West to buy into a plan to test them there. The company’s tested them in Brazil and other sites and say they can reduce local mosquito populations by as much as 90 percent.</p>
<p>The company says the GM mosquitoes would be safer for the environment and for people than the wide use of insecticides.</p>
<p>Another group has genetically modified mosquitoes so they <a href="" type="internal">only produce male offspring.</a> Male mosquitoes don't bite. It's the females that need blood to produce healthy eggs.</p>
<p>A <a href="" type="internal">bacteria called Wolbachia</a> can infect mosquitoes and for reasons that are not fully understood, it makes them sterile.</p>
<p>The University of Kentucky has licensed technology for breeding Wolbachia mosquitoes to <a href="http://mosquitomate.com/zap-males/" type="external">MosquitoMate</a> — a company founded by some of the university’s researchers. They’re working to test the mosquitoes to get EPA approval to use them. "We breed ZAP Males by infecting male mosquitoes with specific Wolbachia bacteria. When a female Tiger mosquito in your yard mates with a ZAP male, none of her eggs hatch," the company says.</p>
<p>Other groups are working on ways to make mosquitoes that carry destructive hormones or chemicals in or on their bodies.</p>
<p>The basic defense against mosquitoes is dumping the water they can breed in.</p> | Sprays, Traps, and GM Bugs: A Look at Our Tools to Fight Zika | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/zika-virus-outbreak/here-s-look-our-tools-fight-zika-n645766 | 2016-09-09 | 3left-center
| Sprays, Traps, and GM Bugs: A Look at Our Tools to Fight Zika
<p>Miami Beach authorities <a href="" type="internal">started spraying for Zika-carrying mosquitoes</a>Friday, and spraying’s expected to continue for weeks.</p>
<p>Authorities in other states are also cracking down on mosquitoes as the Zika threat worsens. It is the peak of mosquito season in the U.S., and the insects can be expected to continue biting until October in warmer states.</p>
<p>Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the main carrier of Zika virus — as well as dengue, yellow fever and chikungunya — and they’re hard to fight because they bite during the day, live in or near houses and can breed in tiny amounts of water.</p>
<p>Here are some of the weapons available to fight disease-carrying mosquitoes:</p>
<p>Mosquito repellents let people move around with their own, personal mosquito protection. The most effective types interfere with a mosquito’s ability to sniff out a victim, usually by gumming up the receptors on their antennae.</p>
<p>Three top picks <a href="" type="internal">tested by the nonprofit group Consumer Reports</a> this year use DEET, picaridan or a synthetic derivative of eucalyptus.</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says DEET is safe even for young children and pregnant women.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="http://www.today.com/health/consumer-reports-tests-reveal-best-insect-repellents-t20756" type="external">Consumer Reports Rates the Bug Repellents</a></p>
<p>The CDC <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/westnile/faq/repellent.html" type="external">cautions</a> that products with oil of lemon eucalyptus should not to be used on children under 3. They can cause a painful rash.</p>
<p>And while the chemical-sounding names may be off-putting, tests show they’re more effective than "natural" alternatives. "Five of the six plant-oil-based repellents we tested lasted an hour or less against Aedes mosquitoes, the kind than can spread Zika," Consumer Reports said.</p>
<p>They’re controversial and frighten many people, but the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/zika/" type="external">CDC says</a>sometimes they’re the best solution for controlling large, disease-carrying populations of mosquitoes.</p>
<p>Widely used in the U.S. is a pesticide called naled, an organophosphate chemical that kills adult mosquitoes. Like most organophosphates, it's a nerve agent. It kills most flying insects so it should be used at night to spare bees and other beneficial insects.</p>
<p>The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says when applied ultra-low volumes, naled doesn’t harm people — even toddlers playing in or eating grass in an area that’'s been sprayed.</p>
<p>Pyrethrins or pyrethroids are another widely used class of insecticides and are based on chemicals made by chrysanthemum flowers. They also are toxic to a wide range of flying insects and currently are not favored for fighting Aedes mosquitoes because the insects have developed resistance to them.</p>
<p>DDT works very well against mosquitoes but its use has been largely abandoned because it was so toxic to other insects and to birds. It's sometimes used to control malaria in Africa, Asia and South America and despite its bad reputation, studies have shown it is not very toxic to humans.</p>
<p>These are agents that kill the developing mosquito larva — those squiggly little creatures that spring up in rain barrels, ponds and other pools of water during mosquito season. Aedes mosquitoes are notoriously hard to fight because they lay their eggs in small containers and the larvae can grow in just a small amount of water.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.epa.gov/mosquitocontrol/controlling-mosquitoes-larval-stage" type="external">Larvicides include natural agents</a>such as Bacillus bacteria, whichinterfere with the ability of the larvae to digest food. That's often what's in mosquito "dunks" sold at hardware stores.</p>
<p>One larvicide called methoprene mimics developmental hormones found in insects but not in birds or mammals. It’s sometimes fed to cattle to stop flies from breeding in their dung.</p>
<p>These range from the sophisticated to the low-tech but the premise is the same in most: A scent is used to attract female mosquitoes, which are trapped when they enter to pay their eggs.</p>
<p>The CDC’s excited about <a href="" type="internal">one new trap</a> that employs water and hay in a small barrel. It seems effective when a couple are set around a home in an Aedes-infested area.</p>
<p>Screens and air conditioning are very effective at protecting people from mosquitoes and the CDC says not to underestimate their benefits.</p>
<p>The best known is the Oxitec mosquito, genetically engineered to lay eggs that develop into faulty larvae.</p>
<p>Related: <a href="" type="internal">Here's Why Scientists Are Not Afraid of GM Mosquitoes</a></p>
<p>The Food and Drug Administration says they’re <a href="" type="internal">safe to test</a>but Oxitec has had trouble getting residents of Key West to buy into a plan to test them there. The company’s tested them in Brazil and other sites and say they can reduce local mosquito populations by as much as 90 percent.</p>
<p>The company says the GM mosquitoes would be safer for the environment and for people than the wide use of insecticides.</p>
<p>Another group has genetically modified mosquitoes so they <a href="" type="internal">only produce male offspring.</a> Male mosquitoes don't bite. It's the females that need blood to produce healthy eggs.</p>
<p>A <a href="" type="internal">bacteria called Wolbachia</a> can infect mosquitoes and for reasons that are not fully understood, it makes them sterile.</p>
<p>The University of Kentucky has licensed technology for breeding Wolbachia mosquitoes to <a href="http://mosquitomate.com/zap-males/" type="external">MosquitoMate</a> — a company founded by some of the university’s researchers. They’re working to test the mosquitoes to get EPA approval to use them. "We breed ZAP Males by infecting male mosquitoes with specific Wolbachia bacteria. When a female Tiger mosquito in your yard mates with a ZAP male, none of her eggs hatch," the company says.</p>
<p>Other groups are working on ways to make mosquitoes that carry destructive hormones or chemicals in or on their bodies.</p>
<p>The basic defense against mosquitoes is dumping the water they can breed in.</p> | 599,919 |
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Yahoo</a> (NASDAQ:YHOO) is finally showing its support for the Do Not Track security preference that allows users to hide their browsing activity from advertisers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The search giant said the feature will be rolled out across its global network by early summer.</p>
<p>Do Not Track requests web sites disable tracking cookies used by advertisers to follow the preferences and search activity of people surfing the Internet. Users can choose to opt-out of it on certain sites by changing their security preferences.</p>
<p>The move by Yahoo comes days after the U.S. <a href="" type="internal">Federal Trade Commission</a> recommended ways online companies can improve their protection of user privacy on the Internet, including the endorsement of Do Not Track.</p>
<p>In a statement, Yahoo said the technology has been in development at Yahoo since last year.</p>
<p>The company follows several major browsers that already offer Do Not Track, including &#160;&#160;&#160;Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Safari, <a href="" type="internal">Microsoft</a>’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Internet Explorer and Firefox.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Google</a> (NASDAQ:GOOG) has yet to implement Do Not Track, but the leading search engine is expected to roll it out for <a href="" type="internal">Chrome</a> by the end of this year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Yahoo Finally Backs Do Not Track | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/03/30/yahoo-finally-backs-do-not-track.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| Yahoo Finally Backs Do Not Track
<p />
<p><a href="" type="internal">Yahoo</a> (NASDAQ:YHOO) is finally showing its support for the Do Not Track security preference that allows users to hide their browsing activity from advertisers.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The search giant said the feature will be rolled out across its global network by early summer.</p>
<p>Do Not Track requests web sites disable tracking cookies used by advertisers to follow the preferences and search activity of people surfing the Internet. Users can choose to opt-out of it on certain sites by changing their security preferences.</p>
<p>The move by Yahoo comes days after the U.S. <a href="" type="internal">Federal Trade Commission</a> recommended ways online companies can improve their protection of user privacy on the Internet, including the endorsement of Do Not Track.</p>
<p>In a statement, Yahoo said the technology has been in development at Yahoo since last year.</p>
<p>The company follows several major browsers that already offer Do Not Track, including &#160;&#160;&#160;Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) Safari, <a href="" type="internal">Microsoft</a>’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Internet Explorer and Firefox.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Google</a> (NASDAQ:GOOG) has yet to implement Do Not Track, but the leading search engine is expected to roll it out for <a href="" type="internal">Chrome</a> by the end of this year.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 599,920 |
<p>SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — What does President Barack Obama’s visit to California this week on behalf of embattled Sen. Barbara Boxer have to do with passage of the financial reform bill? Far more than you’d imagine.</p>
<p>That Boxer is in any trouble says much of what you need to know about this year’s election. California has become a Democratic bastion and Boxer has been a liberal institution who never before faced a serious re-election challenge.</p>
<p>Now she is seen as sufficiently vulnerable that Obama will come to the state for another fundraiser for her next month. The threat to Boxer is grim news for Democrats.</p>
<p>Is this sense of the election about to be overtaken? That’s where financial reform comes in. If health care legislation had to fight uphill against a public mood that is skeptical of government’s capacities, the financial reform bill Democrats are pushing has the advantage of flowing with a public view devoutly critical of Wall Street, bankers and all their works.</p>
<p />
<p>And for the first time in Obama’s presidency, Republicans are uncertain as to whether resolute opposition to a Democratic idea is in their political interest. There are strong indications that the GOP would prefer to avoid an all-out confrontation over re-regulating the financial system, and several Republican senators are saying that they would like to negotiate with Democrats on this one. Suddenly, it’s Democrats — and, in particular, the often conflict-averse Obama — who are relishing a fight.</p>
<p>This raises what may be the essential question for the campaign: Can Democrats finally put the Republicans on the defensive?</p>
<p>Obama is betting that they can. His speech at a fundraiser for Boxer in Los Angeles on Monday offered a template for a new Happy Warrior president. After a year in which he repeatedly and almost apologetically insisted that he was — really, really — trying as hard as he could to work with Republicans, he turned the beat around and asked why Republicans weren’t willing to work with him.</p>
<p>He used his praise of Boxer — “she wants to cooperate with folks on the other side of the aisle where she can, but she’s willing to fight where she has to” — as a pivot to what he hopes will be a central theme of this year’s national election campaign. His words about Boxer, he said, were “not a bad adage … for the Democratic Party.”</p>
<p>“In this entire year and a half of cleaning up the mess, it’s been tough because the folks very responsible for a large portion of this mess decided to stand on the sidelines,” Obama declared. “It was as if somebody had driven their car into the ditch and then just watched you as you had to yank it out, and asked you, ‘Why didn’t you do it faster — and why do I have that scratch on the fender?’ And you want to say, why don’t you put your shoulder up against that car and help to push? That’s what we need, is some help.”</p>
<p>In one paragraph, Obama did what many of the dispirited in his party have long been urging him to do: He linked the economic mess to past Republican policies — much as Ronald Reagan blamed the economic downturn of the early 1980s on Democrats and liberals — and turned the tables on bipartisanship by asserting that it is Republicans who are blocking concord.</p>
<p>And then he connected this argument to the struggle over financial reform, aimed at changing “a situation where people are allowed to take wild risks and all the downsides are socialized even as the profits are privatized.” Obama said that “some of the rhetoric that’s coming out of the other side of the aisle” suggested that Republicans “so far, at least, don’t seem to acknowledge that we’re going to have to make some tough decisions and reform the system.”</p>
<p>Note the words “so far, at least.” Democrats clearly see financial reform as a winner either way. With Republican cooperation, they have a bill. With Republican obstruction, they have an election issue. For once, Democrats are negotiating from strength.</p>
<p>No one doubts the Democrats are in a deep electoral hole. But Obama has now joined the battle with a strategy to transform the election from a referendum on his own party into a contest with a Republican Party the public doesn’t much like, either. Boxer’s fate, but also the fate of a lot of other Democrats, hangs on its success.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2010, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | Why Financial Reform Will Be Easier Than Health Care | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/why-financial-reform-will-be-easier-than-health-care/ | 2010-04-22 | 4left
| Why Financial Reform Will Be Easier Than Health Care
<p>SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — What does President Barack Obama’s visit to California this week on behalf of embattled Sen. Barbara Boxer have to do with passage of the financial reform bill? Far more than you’d imagine.</p>
<p>That Boxer is in any trouble says much of what you need to know about this year’s election. California has become a Democratic bastion and Boxer has been a liberal institution who never before faced a serious re-election challenge.</p>
<p>Now she is seen as sufficiently vulnerable that Obama will come to the state for another fundraiser for her next month. The threat to Boxer is grim news for Democrats.</p>
<p>Is this sense of the election about to be overtaken? That’s where financial reform comes in. If health care legislation had to fight uphill against a public mood that is skeptical of government’s capacities, the financial reform bill Democrats are pushing has the advantage of flowing with a public view devoutly critical of Wall Street, bankers and all their works.</p>
<p />
<p>And for the first time in Obama’s presidency, Republicans are uncertain as to whether resolute opposition to a Democratic idea is in their political interest. There are strong indications that the GOP would prefer to avoid an all-out confrontation over re-regulating the financial system, and several Republican senators are saying that they would like to negotiate with Democrats on this one. Suddenly, it’s Democrats — and, in particular, the often conflict-averse Obama — who are relishing a fight.</p>
<p>This raises what may be the essential question for the campaign: Can Democrats finally put the Republicans on the defensive?</p>
<p>Obama is betting that they can. His speech at a fundraiser for Boxer in Los Angeles on Monday offered a template for a new Happy Warrior president. After a year in which he repeatedly and almost apologetically insisted that he was — really, really — trying as hard as he could to work with Republicans, he turned the beat around and asked why Republicans weren’t willing to work with him.</p>
<p>He used his praise of Boxer — “she wants to cooperate with folks on the other side of the aisle where she can, but she’s willing to fight where she has to” — as a pivot to what he hopes will be a central theme of this year’s national election campaign. His words about Boxer, he said, were “not a bad adage … for the Democratic Party.”</p>
<p>“In this entire year and a half of cleaning up the mess, it’s been tough because the folks very responsible for a large portion of this mess decided to stand on the sidelines,” Obama declared. “It was as if somebody had driven their car into the ditch and then just watched you as you had to yank it out, and asked you, ‘Why didn’t you do it faster — and why do I have that scratch on the fender?’ And you want to say, why don’t you put your shoulder up against that car and help to push? That’s what we need, is some help.”</p>
<p>In one paragraph, Obama did what many of the dispirited in his party have long been urging him to do: He linked the economic mess to past Republican policies — much as Ronald Reagan blamed the economic downturn of the early 1980s on Democrats and liberals — and turned the tables on bipartisanship by asserting that it is Republicans who are blocking concord.</p>
<p>And then he connected this argument to the struggle over financial reform, aimed at changing “a situation where people are allowed to take wild risks and all the downsides are socialized even as the profits are privatized.” Obama said that “some of the rhetoric that’s coming out of the other side of the aisle” suggested that Republicans “so far, at least, don’t seem to acknowledge that we’re going to have to make some tough decisions and reform the system.”</p>
<p>Note the words “so far, at least.” Democrats clearly see financial reform as a winner either way. With Republican cooperation, they have a bill. With Republican obstruction, they have an election issue. For once, Democrats are negotiating from strength.</p>
<p>No one doubts the Democrats are in a deep electoral hole. But Obama has now joined the battle with a strategy to transform the election from a referendum on his own party into a contest with a Republican Party the public doesn’t much like, either. Boxer’s fate, but also the fate of a lot of other Democrats, hangs on its success.</p>
<p>E.J. Dionne’s e-mail address is ejdionne(at)washpost.com.</p>
<p>© 2010, Washington Post Writers Group</p> | 599,921 |
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<p />
<p>Imagine finding out the rape kit was never processed. You might feel violated again - by the system.</p>
<p>It is reasonable to assume that when a rape kit is taken, it is processed, at least in most cases. However, as the New Mexico Department of Public Safety found in a recent law enforcement survey, there are at least 5,341 sexual assault kits (some dating back to the 1980s) sitting in police evidence rooms around the state, untested for a match to a criminal suspect's DNA. The Albuquerque Police Department had 3,476 kits untested and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office had 472.</p>
<p>"We knew there was a problem - but we had to get some idea of how many were out there," DPS Secretary Greg Fouratt said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>While DNA evidence from the kits may not be definitive in a case where the parties know each other and consent is alleged as a defense, it can be critical when the suspect is unknown or denies there was a sexual encounter. DNA can be entered into a national database to be checked against DNA evidence gathered in sexual assaults around the country.</p>
<p>It was DNA evidence that tripped up the "ether man" rapist who preyed on women in New Mexico and Colorado for years.</p>
<p>Connie Monahan, the statewide coordinator for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners. says the problem of untested rape kits has "been building over time."</p>
<p>According to FBI statistics, in 2014 more than 1,400 rapes were reported to New Mexico police agencies, and trained nurses administer more than 1,000 sexual assault evidence kits each year.</p>
<p>There can be good reasons why some kits are not processed - suspects confess and plead guilty or victims decide not to cooperate, for instance. And a lack of testing doesn't necessarily mean the case has not been prosecuted.</p>
<p>The survey and creation of a working group to try to come up with solutions to the rape kit backlog arose out of complaints from victims' advocates and unsuccessful efforts in the last legislative session to address the problem.</p>
<p>Kudos to Fouratt for starting the process. Clearing the backlog will take money and time - and lots of both. The Legislative Finance Committee has put it on its agenda for the upcoming budget session. Now it's up to lawmakers to find the money to make it happen.</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: Make clearing rape kit backlog a state priority | false | https://abqjournal.com/680047/make-clearing-rape-kit-backlog-a-state-priority.html | 2least
| Editorial: Make clearing rape kit backlog a state priority
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<p>Imagine finding out the rape kit was never processed. You might feel violated again - by the system.</p>
<p>It is reasonable to assume that when a rape kit is taken, it is processed, at least in most cases. However, as the New Mexico Department of Public Safety found in a recent law enforcement survey, there are at least 5,341 sexual assault kits (some dating back to the 1980s) sitting in police evidence rooms around the state, untested for a match to a criminal suspect's DNA. The Albuquerque Police Department had 3,476 kits untested and the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office had 472.</p>
<p>"We knew there was a problem - but we had to get some idea of how many were out there," DPS Secretary Greg Fouratt said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>While DNA evidence from the kits may not be definitive in a case where the parties know each other and consent is alleged as a defense, it can be critical when the suspect is unknown or denies there was a sexual encounter. DNA can be entered into a national database to be checked against DNA evidence gathered in sexual assaults around the country.</p>
<p>It was DNA evidence that tripped up the "ether man" rapist who preyed on women in New Mexico and Colorado for years.</p>
<p>Connie Monahan, the statewide coordinator for Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners. says the problem of untested rape kits has "been building over time."</p>
<p>According to FBI statistics, in 2014 more than 1,400 rapes were reported to New Mexico police agencies, and trained nurses administer more than 1,000 sexual assault evidence kits each year.</p>
<p>There can be good reasons why some kits are not processed - suspects confess and plead guilty or victims decide not to cooperate, for instance. And a lack of testing doesn't necessarily mean the case has not been prosecuted.</p>
<p>The survey and creation of a working group to try to come up with solutions to the rape kit backlog arose out of complaints from victims' advocates and unsuccessful efforts in the last legislative session to address the problem.</p>
<p>Kudos to Fouratt for starting the process. Clearing the backlog will take money and time - and lots of both. The Legislative Finance Committee has put it on its agenda for the upcoming budget session. Now it's up to lawmakers to find the money to make it happen.</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 /> | 599,922 |
|
<p />
<p>The Norwegian island of Finnoey has the highest density of electric cars in the world. The reason? They are exempt from the $6,000-a-year toll charges for the tunnel to the mainland.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>There has been a surge in sales of fully electric cars like Teslas (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Nissan Leafs since the tunnel opened in 2009 and they now account for one in five cars on Finnoey, compared with less than 1 in 100 globally.</p>
<p>Twenty-nine percent of all new car registrations in Norway were fully electric or plug-in hybrids last year, according to the International Energy Agency, far ahead of the Netherlands in second on 6.4 percent and Sweden in third on 3.4. China had almost 1.5 percent and the United States less than one.</p>
<p>State subsidies support sales of electric cars around the world, and Norway has the most electric cars per capita thanks to the most generous handouts.</p>
<p>It offers nationwide tax breaks for users of electric cars than can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, plus various local incentives like exemptions from road tolls and parking fees.</p>
<p>“Economic incentives work, especially if they are very, very, very strong as in Finnoey,” said former Norwegian central bank governor Svein Gjedrem, who grew up on the western island chain of 3,250 people which is famous for its fish farms and tomatoes.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A reliance on state handouts complicates efforts in nations like Britain and France to phase out combustion engines in favor of battery-powered vehicles, which are far costlier, have limited ranges and often have long charging times.</p>
<p>It means the technology will have to become significantly cheaper if those governments are to meet pledges to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 without having to hand out crippling levels of subsidies to millions of buyers.</p>
<p>A tale of two contrasting Norwegian municipalities - Finnoey and neighboring Hjelmeland on the mainland - starkly illustrates the power of financial incentives on consumer behavior.</p>
<p>A Finnoey resident driving to work in nearby oil hub Stavanger with an electric car can save 40,000-50,000 crowns ($5,500-$6,500) a year in tunnel tolls compared with drivers of fossil-fueled cars.</p>
<p>Hjelmeland, by contrast, bucks the Norwegian trend by offering no local perks at all for battery-powered cars.</p>
<p>Almost one in 10 people on Finnoey have electrics cars, compared with fewer than one in 100 in Hjelmeland, which is much bigger and has a similar population, according to a previously unpublished ranking of all regions from state-run Statistics Norway that was provided to Reuters.</p>
<p>“It’s all about the economics, not about ideology,” Wictor Juul, head of administration for the Hjelmeland municipality, said of the contrasting ownership rates.</p>
<p>Withdrawal symptoms</p>
<p>Norway is among the world’s richest countries because of its oil and gas exports - yet even there electric car incentives are being curbed because of the strain on public finances and a faster-than-expected adoption of battery-powered cars.</p>
<p>For example, it has just scrapped nationwide directives that parking, transport by state-owned ferries and road tolls should be free for electric vehicles, instead leaving it to local authorities’ discretion. It is also reviewing tax breaks for the most expensive luxury electric cars.</p>
<p>So far the reversals have had no apparent impact on sales. “I‘m not too worried,” said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, because other benefits such as an exemption from value-added tax are staying in place.</p>
<p>There are, however, examples elsewhere in the world of the consequences of withdrawing electric car benefits.</p>
<p>Sales of Nissan Leafs in the U.S. state of Georgia, for instance, plunged after authorities revoked a $5,000 tax break in 2015.</p>
<p>Electric car imports to Denmark fell sharply last year, bucking a European trend, after Copenhagen cut subsidies. Sales of Teslas fell to 176 from 2,738 the year before.</p>
<p>Musk loves Norway</p>
<p>In Norway, a Tesla Model S electric sedan costs 636,000 crowns pre-tax, almost double the 320,000 crowns pre-tax cost of an Audi A7 gasoline car, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association says.</p>
<p>But the Audi ends up costing more when sold - 697,000 crowns - after an array of taxes led by sales tax (140,000 crowns), carbon dioxide tax (125,000 crowns) and a special tax on the weight of the vehicle (110,000 crowns).</p>
<p>By contrast, a Tesla buyer is charged only a small fee for end-of-life scrapping and pays 638,000 crowns in total.</p>
<p>It’s little wonder that Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in June: “I love Norway, which is the world leader in EV (electric vehicle) adoption!” His company has invested heavily in Norway, for instance with fast charger networks.</p>
<p>The Norwegian finance ministry says basic tax breaks totaled about a cumulative 12 billion crowns by the end of 2016. There are now about 140,000 fully electric cars on the road.</p>
<p>Britain and France, the only two countries to announce deadlines for phasing out combustion engines, also offer generous subsidies to electric car buyers.</p>
<p>Buyers in Britain get a grant of up to 35 percent of the purchase price, while in France someone selling a diesel car and buying electric receives thousands of euros in benefits.</p>
<p>Norway’s Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen, part of a minority right-wing government that won re-election on Sept. 11, acknowledged that the country’s subsidies model was expensive.</p>
<p>But he predicted advances in the technology would mean electric cars would be competitive in price with combustion engine cars in the early 2020s.</p>
<p>His sentiments are echoed in Finnoey by Mayor Henrik Halleland who thinks battery-powered car sales could ultimately survive without large financial incentives.</p>
<p>The island’s tunnel toll charges for combustion engines go toward paying the 550 million crown cost of building the tunnel. Once the debt is paid, the tunnel will be free for all.</p>
<p>“Electric cars are getting so good that people will buy them anyway,” said Halleland.</p>
<p>Still, he now wants electric car owners to pay 50 percent of the rate paid by diesel and gasoline cars. And he’s not planning to buy electric himself, saying he has to keep his combustion engine Mazda to pay the tolls and do his bit to pay off the tunnel.</p>
<p>Electric car owners are unapologetic though.</p>
<p>“It’s all about political choices,” said Arne Nordboe, a teacher and part-time stand-up comedian who drives a Nissan Leaf. “I think it would be reasonable when electric cars get cheaper and cheaper and more useful, then I can pay more.”</p> | Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/21/road-to-electric-car-paradise-paved-with-handouts.html | 2017-09-21 | 0right
| Road to electric car paradise paved with handouts
<p />
<p>The Norwegian island of Finnoey has the highest density of electric cars in the world. The reason? They are exempt from the $6,000-a-year toll charges for the tunnel to the mainland.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>There has been a surge in sales of fully electric cars like Teslas (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Nissan Leafs since the tunnel opened in 2009 and they now account for one in five cars on Finnoey, compared with less than 1 in 100 globally.</p>
<p>Twenty-nine percent of all new car registrations in Norway were fully electric or plug-in hybrids last year, according to the International Energy Agency, far ahead of the Netherlands in second on 6.4 percent and Sweden in third on 3.4. China had almost 1.5 percent and the United States less than one.</p>
<p>State subsidies support sales of electric cars around the world, and Norway has the most electric cars per capita thanks to the most generous handouts.</p>
<p>It offers nationwide tax breaks for users of electric cars than can be worth tens of thousands of dollars, plus various local incentives like exemptions from road tolls and parking fees.</p>
<p>“Economic incentives work, especially if they are very, very, very strong as in Finnoey,” said former Norwegian central bank governor Svein Gjedrem, who grew up on the western island chain of 3,250 people which is famous for its fish farms and tomatoes.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A reliance on state handouts complicates efforts in nations like Britain and France to phase out combustion engines in favor of battery-powered vehicles, which are far costlier, have limited ranges and often have long charging times.</p>
<p>It means the technology will have to become significantly cheaper if those governments are to meet pledges to ban sales of petrol and diesel cars from 2040 without having to hand out crippling levels of subsidies to millions of buyers.</p>
<p>A tale of two contrasting Norwegian municipalities - Finnoey and neighboring Hjelmeland on the mainland - starkly illustrates the power of financial incentives on consumer behavior.</p>
<p>A Finnoey resident driving to work in nearby oil hub Stavanger with an electric car can save 40,000-50,000 crowns ($5,500-$6,500) a year in tunnel tolls compared with drivers of fossil-fueled cars.</p>
<p>Hjelmeland, by contrast, bucks the Norwegian trend by offering no local perks at all for battery-powered cars.</p>
<p>Almost one in 10 people on Finnoey have electrics cars, compared with fewer than one in 100 in Hjelmeland, which is much bigger and has a similar population, according to a previously unpublished ranking of all regions from state-run Statistics Norway that was provided to Reuters.</p>
<p>“It’s all about the economics, not about ideology,” Wictor Juul, head of administration for the Hjelmeland municipality, said of the contrasting ownership rates.</p>
<p>Withdrawal symptoms</p>
<p>Norway is among the world’s richest countries because of its oil and gas exports - yet even there electric car incentives are being curbed because of the strain on public finances and a faster-than-expected adoption of battery-powered cars.</p>
<p>For example, it has just scrapped nationwide directives that parking, transport by state-owned ferries and road tolls should be free for electric vehicles, instead leaving it to local authorities’ discretion. It is also reviewing tax breaks for the most expensive luxury electric cars.</p>
<p>So far the reversals have had no apparent impact on sales. “I‘m not too worried,” said Christina Bu, head of the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association, because other benefits such as an exemption from value-added tax are staying in place.</p>
<p>There are, however, examples elsewhere in the world of the consequences of withdrawing electric car benefits.</p>
<p>Sales of Nissan Leafs in the U.S. state of Georgia, for instance, plunged after authorities revoked a $5,000 tax break in 2015.</p>
<p>Electric car imports to Denmark fell sharply last year, bucking a European trend, after Copenhagen cut subsidies. Sales of Teslas fell to 176 from 2,738 the year before.</p>
<p>Musk loves Norway</p>
<p>In Norway, a Tesla Model S electric sedan costs 636,000 crowns pre-tax, almost double the 320,000 crowns pre-tax cost of an Audi A7 gasoline car, the Norwegian Electric Vehicle Association says.</p>
<p>But the Audi ends up costing more when sold - 697,000 crowns - after an array of taxes led by sales tax (140,000 crowns), carbon dioxide tax (125,000 crowns) and a special tax on the weight of the vehicle (110,000 crowns).</p>
<p>By contrast, a Tesla buyer is charged only a small fee for end-of-life scrapping and pays 638,000 crowns in total.</p>
<p>It’s little wonder that Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted in June: “I love Norway, which is the world leader in EV (electric vehicle) adoption!” His company has invested heavily in Norway, for instance with fast charger networks.</p>
<p>The Norwegian finance ministry says basic tax breaks totaled about a cumulative 12 billion crowns by the end of 2016. There are now about 140,000 fully electric cars on the road.</p>
<p>Britain and France, the only two countries to announce deadlines for phasing out combustion engines, also offer generous subsidies to electric car buyers.</p>
<p>Buyers in Britain get a grant of up to 35 percent of the purchase price, while in France someone selling a diesel car and buying electric receives thousands of euros in benefits.</p>
<p>Norway’s Environment Minister Vidar Helgesen, part of a minority right-wing government that won re-election on Sept. 11, acknowledged that the country’s subsidies model was expensive.</p>
<p>But he predicted advances in the technology would mean electric cars would be competitive in price with combustion engine cars in the early 2020s.</p>
<p>His sentiments are echoed in Finnoey by Mayor Henrik Halleland who thinks battery-powered car sales could ultimately survive without large financial incentives.</p>
<p>The island’s tunnel toll charges for combustion engines go toward paying the 550 million crown cost of building the tunnel. Once the debt is paid, the tunnel will be free for all.</p>
<p>“Electric cars are getting so good that people will buy them anyway,” said Halleland.</p>
<p>Still, he now wants electric car owners to pay 50 percent of the rate paid by diesel and gasoline cars. And he’s not planning to buy electric himself, saying he has to keep his combustion engine Mazda to pay the tolls and do his bit to pay off the tunnel.</p>
<p>Electric car owners are unapologetic though.</p>
<p>“It’s all about political choices,” said Arne Nordboe, a teacher and part-time stand-up comedian who drives a Nissan Leaf. “I think it would be reasonable when electric cars get cheaper and cheaper and more useful, then I can pay more.”</p> | 599,923 |
<p>The head of Atlantic City's main casino workers' union says billionaire investor Carl Icahn is "a malignancy that needs to be cut out" from the city's casino industry.</p>
<p>Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, made his comments before a scheduled protest Wednesday outside the Trump Taj Mahal casino, which Icahn is acquiring in bankruptcy court.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The union objects to the elimination of health insurance and pension coverage by a bankruptcy judge last October. Icahn, who also owns Atlantic City's Tropicana casino, has promised to close the casino and end the jobs of its nearly 3,000 workers if an appeals panel reinstates the benefits, calling them unaffordable in the current economic climate in Atlantic City.</p>
<p>"We're here to stand up to the biggest bully in the New Jersey casino industry, Carl Icahn," McDevitt told The Associated Press. "He's a malignancy that needs to be cut out from the Atlantic City casino industry."</p>
<p>Icahn says the union cares more about fees for its health care plan than the jobs of its workers, and he renewed his accusation that costly union rules contributed to the closing of three casinos last year.</p>
<p>"It's absurd that instead of working to improve Atlantic City at a time when the city is down on its luck, this union spends time, effort and money to purposefully destroy one of the few remaining employers in town," Icahn replied. "I'm baffled by how they don't see that their destructive efforts may well result in 3,000 less jobs."</p>
<p>He said that even with the savings from the cuts, the casino is still losing "millions every month."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The union's planned demonstration outside the casino Wednesday evening is to be its ninth public protest against Icahn or the benefit cuts since last year.</p>
<p>The Delaware bankruptcy judge also allowed the Taj Mahal's parent company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, to unilaterally impose new work rules including increasing performance quotas for room cleaners, using more outsourcing and eliminating paid lunch breaks.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC</p> | Casino union: Soon-to-be-Taj Mahal owner Carl Icahn is 'a malignancy' in Atlantic City | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/06/17/casino-union-soon-to-be-taj-mahal-owner-carl-icahn-is-malignancy-in-atlantic.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| Casino union: Soon-to-be-Taj Mahal owner Carl Icahn is 'a malignancy' in Atlantic City
<p>The head of Atlantic City's main casino workers' union says billionaire investor Carl Icahn is "a malignancy that needs to be cut out" from the city's casino industry.</p>
<p>Bob McDevitt, president of Local 54 of the Unite-HERE union, made his comments before a scheduled protest Wednesday outside the Trump Taj Mahal casino, which Icahn is acquiring in bankruptcy court.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The union objects to the elimination of health insurance and pension coverage by a bankruptcy judge last October. Icahn, who also owns Atlantic City's Tropicana casino, has promised to close the casino and end the jobs of its nearly 3,000 workers if an appeals panel reinstates the benefits, calling them unaffordable in the current economic climate in Atlantic City.</p>
<p>"We're here to stand up to the biggest bully in the New Jersey casino industry, Carl Icahn," McDevitt told The Associated Press. "He's a malignancy that needs to be cut out from the Atlantic City casino industry."</p>
<p>Icahn says the union cares more about fees for its health care plan than the jobs of its workers, and he renewed his accusation that costly union rules contributed to the closing of three casinos last year.</p>
<p>"It's absurd that instead of working to improve Atlantic City at a time when the city is down on its luck, this union spends time, effort and money to purposefully destroy one of the few remaining employers in town," Icahn replied. "I'm baffled by how they don't see that their destructive efforts may well result in 3,000 less jobs."</p>
<p>He said that even with the savings from the cuts, the casino is still losing "millions every month."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The union's planned demonstration outside the casino Wednesday evening is to be its ninth public protest against Icahn or the benefit cuts since last year.</p>
<p>The Delaware bankruptcy judge also allowed the Taj Mahal's parent company, Trump Entertainment Resorts, to unilaterally impose new work rules including increasing performance quotas for room cleaners, using more outsourcing and eliminating paid lunch breaks.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Wayne Parry can be reached at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC</p> | 599,924 |
<p>It’s the first day of the Chicago Debate League’s mid-season tournament, and Christina Marin of Kelvyn Park High is stuck “going maverick,” or debating solo. While her partner visits Champaign-Urbana on a college tour, Marin’s on her own crafting the arguments she’ll present on this year’s topic, national ocean policy. And she’s on her own devising strategy for the moment when her opponent might make an argument she’s never heard before, yet must refute within minutes.</p>
<p>But if Marin is worried, she doesn’t show it, putting a relaxed smile on her game face. She and her partner, senior Veronica Casteneda, are considered pros in the debate world, trading tips with fellow debaters when they’re not going head-to-head against them. The two are among five young women on Kelvyn Park’s 17-member squad.</p>
<p>“I can see they were the students who weren’t fierce competitors when they started, but now they are,” says Chicago debate alum Perry Green, a recent graduate of Jones College Prep who now debates for the University of Louisville and is a judge for this tournament at DePaul University, the largest in urban debate league history.</p>
<p>Debate is catching fire in urban school districts around the country, and nowhere more so than in CPS, which now has the largest league; 31 schools have teams, and 19 offer an elective course in debate. And young women like Marin have flocked to sign up; 55 percent of Chicago debaters are female, compared to only 40 percent in the National Forensic League, the national high school debate society.</p>
<p>Marin missed three years of school while living on a farm in Mexico but nevertheless is at the top of her junior class. She’s taking extra courses in hopes of graduating a year early, and scored an above-average 25 on an ACT practice test. Always a conscientious student, Marin credits debate with helping sharpen her skills in reading comprehension and analysis, writing and even math.</p>
<p>“In any class or any reading, you’re asked to interpret what the author is saying, like Shakespeare.</p>
<p>Shakespeare is tricky,” says Marin. “I used to read a hard chapter of a book twice, but now I can only read it once. We are reading college-level information [in debate]. It not only helps in English, but in science and any class you do reading. It helps in understanding word problems in math.”</p>
<p>Her skills and those of her debate colleagues have been honed this year by reading and analyzing some 200 pages of government and policy documents, scholarly and scientific articles and other material supplied by The National Association of Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL) on national ocean policy.</p>
<p>Once students digest that material, they build research skills by doing their own original research. At a debate camp last summer at Northwestern University, Marin did just that, using the Internet to find policy documents from think tanks such as The Brookings Institution, and studies from specialized web sites like ScienceDirect, a clearinghouse of journal articles. Marin also practiced detecting bias in sources and analyzing arguments.</p>
<p>By providing these kinds of experiences, debate addresses the lack of intellectual challenge and rigor that young people often experience in urban high schools. “I know Kelvyn Park’s not the greatest high school in the world,” Marin says. “But there are bright people here.” Urban debate was created to reach them.</p>
<p>Chicago’s debate league got its revival in the mid-1990s, thanks to a small group of former debaters (including former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Seymour Simon), who banded together to bring back the league after a lapse of more than 30 years. The Community Renewal Society administered the Chicago Debate Commission until CPS stepped in to support the league through its Office of High School Programs. (The Community Renewal Society publishes Catalyst.) Around the same time, billionaire philanthropist George Soros’ Open Society Institute began funding urban debate leagues, hoping to reach young people like Marin.</p>
<p>“The competitive dimension of debate prods kids to learn about things they wouldn’t otherwise learn,” says Eric Tucker, director of publications for NAUDL and a Rhodes Scholar who is researching urban debate as part of his doctoral studies at Oxford University in England. “[Debaters] learn how to research and come to terms with problems in public policy. They learn not to be intimidated by technical language. They learn how to familiarize themselves with subjects with which they have no prior experience.”</p>
<p>Many of Kelvyn Park’s debaters face an extra challenge and gain an added benefit—their first language is Spanish, and many say participating in debate has improved their English.</p>
<p>Last year, Kelvyn Park’s junior varsity debaters dominated their league, taking first and second place at city championships. Those debaters have now leapt to varsity—joining Marin and others who were already at that level—in the tougher AA conference.</p>
<p>Coach Mark Mouck gives a blunt assessment of how the team will fare: “This year, I knew we would get our butts handed to us,” he says. Still, he emphasizes that students must learn from each round no matter what the outcome; after tournaments he requires them to write an analysis of why they won or lost.</p>
<p>His relaxed yet relentless attitude has helped forge tight relationships among the team members and between the team and coaches. Their camaraderie is evident in the tournament, where Marin helps teammates strategize, and during practice, where she and other varsity debaters coach less experienced teammates.</p>
<p>“We haven’t hauled as much hardware home yet this year,” assistant coach Darren Tuggle admits. “Our team’s going through some growing pains. The level of competition’s been raised, but we’ll only get better as we go on. Our kids can compete with anybody. I mean that as a larger statement about Kelvyn Park kids generally.”</p>
<p>Carrot and stick</p>
<p>Early in the first round, Marin is cross-examining one of her opponents, a young woman from Kelly High. Her questions are aimed at helping her to get a better handle on her opponent’s arguments. As she explains later, “You want to understand their argument and also how they interpret it” in order to craft a sound counter-argument.</p>
<p>Marin says debate has taught her not just how to plan strategy in advance, but also to think quickly on her feet. “It’s good to have a pre-set strategy, but it’s even better to have a strategy in the situation,” she says.</p>
<p>After the round, some of her teammates are waiting outside to thank her for a tip and tell her how they used it in the round that just ended. Like Marin, some debaters are hardworking students. But others have far less interest in schoolwork, although plenty of smarts. Sophomore Joshua Rodriguez, who reports scoring a 26 on a pre-ACT test, readily admits to being lazy about his classes. But he says debate is his incentive to keep his grades up to the C average required citywide to participate in extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Mouck and Tuggle regularly ask the team about their grades and use a carrot-and-stick approach to motivate slackers. The two barred several debaters from today’s tournament because of poor classroom performance. And they’re dangling the prospect of debate camp to encourage team members to strive for high GPA’s that will help them earn scholarships to attend.</p>
<p>On the second day of the tournament, Marin is maverick no more. Castaneda is back, and the two are fired up in their round against two girls from Orr High, which includes plenty of “clash,” or point-by-point argument. While waiting to give her team’s last rebuttal, Marin bounces impatiently in her seat before offering a spirited review of her main points to persuade the judge that she and Casteneda should win the round.</p>
<p>After lunch, a thorny question regarding equity in the league surfaces when two debaters make a pitch for their peers to join a new student leadership council. Some debaters say the league’s structure reinforces inequality among the city’s high schools. Schools are placed in conferences yearly based on a mix of factors that include overall academic performance as well as debate record. As a result, college preps and other top-scoring schools end up dominating the top A conference, leaving less academically prestigious schools in the second- and third-tier AA and AAA conferences.</p>
<p>But schools do have some veto power, says Les Lynn of NAUDL. He adds that the three conferences each end up including roughly one-third of schools, and “We have not put a school in a conference they’ve made a persistent objection to.”</p>
<p>“It’s institutionalized racism,” counters Green. When quarterfinal winners are announced, Marin and Casteneda learn they didn’t make the cut, despite the judges’ praise. No one else from Kelvyn Park does either. On the bus home, they read the judges’ ballots and reflect on their rounds. Marin won two of five—one going maverick, another with Castaneda.</p>
<p>Marin believes she will have to do a better job of presenting her materials and using some of the strategies she learned at Northwestern’s debate camp. Noting that the rounds she won were judged by college debaters, she theorizes her approach may have gone over the heads of judges who did not have high-level training in debate strategy.</p>
<p>But soon, in keeping with Kelvyn Park’s penchant for having fun as well as learning, she and her teammates shift gears. Shooting off the bus and scooping up a handful of snow, she instigates a snowball fight and steps back to watch. Debate strategy ends, snowball-fight strategy begins.</p>
<p>Editor’s Note: At Catalyst press time, two pairs of debaters from Kelvyn Park were heading to the semi-finals in another Chicago Debate League tournament. Christina Marin and her partner were not among them.</p> | Debate helps Christina Marin soar | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/debate-helps-christina-marin-soar/ | 2005-08-03 | 3left-center
| Debate helps Christina Marin soar
<p>It’s the first day of the Chicago Debate League’s mid-season tournament, and Christina Marin of Kelvyn Park High is stuck “going maverick,” or debating solo. While her partner visits Champaign-Urbana on a college tour, Marin’s on her own crafting the arguments she’ll present on this year’s topic, national ocean policy. And she’s on her own devising strategy for the moment when her opponent might make an argument she’s never heard before, yet must refute within minutes.</p>
<p>But if Marin is worried, she doesn’t show it, putting a relaxed smile on her game face. She and her partner, senior Veronica Casteneda, are considered pros in the debate world, trading tips with fellow debaters when they’re not going head-to-head against them. The two are among five young women on Kelvyn Park’s 17-member squad.</p>
<p>“I can see they were the students who weren’t fierce competitors when they started, but now they are,” says Chicago debate alum Perry Green, a recent graduate of Jones College Prep who now debates for the University of Louisville and is a judge for this tournament at DePaul University, the largest in urban debate league history.</p>
<p>Debate is catching fire in urban school districts around the country, and nowhere more so than in CPS, which now has the largest league; 31 schools have teams, and 19 offer an elective course in debate. And young women like Marin have flocked to sign up; 55 percent of Chicago debaters are female, compared to only 40 percent in the National Forensic League, the national high school debate society.</p>
<p>Marin missed three years of school while living on a farm in Mexico but nevertheless is at the top of her junior class. She’s taking extra courses in hopes of graduating a year early, and scored an above-average 25 on an ACT practice test. Always a conscientious student, Marin credits debate with helping sharpen her skills in reading comprehension and analysis, writing and even math.</p>
<p>“In any class or any reading, you’re asked to interpret what the author is saying, like Shakespeare.</p>
<p>Shakespeare is tricky,” says Marin. “I used to read a hard chapter of a book twice, but now I can only read it once. We are reading college-level information [in debate]. It not only helps in English, but in science and any class you do reading. It helps in understanding word problems in math.”</p>
<p>Her skills and those of her debate colleagues have been honed this year by reading and analyzing some 200 pages of government and policy documents, scholarly and scientific articles and other material supplied by The National Association of Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL) on national ocean policy.</p>
<p>Once students digest that material, they build research skills by doing their own original research. At a debate camp last summer at Northwestern University, Marin did just that, using the Internet to find policy documents from think tanks such as The Brookings Institution, and studies from specialized web sites like ScienceDirect, a clearinghouse of journal articles. Marin also practiced detecting bias in sources and analyzing arguments.</p>
<p>By providing these kinds of experiences, debate addresses the lack of intellectual challenge and rigor that young people often experience in urban high schools. “I know Kelvyn Park’s not the greatest high school in the world,” Marin says. “But there are bright people here.” Urban debate was created to reach them.</p>
<p>Chicago’s debate league got its revival in the mid-1990s, thanks to a small group of former debaters (including former Illinois Supreme Court Justice Seymour Simon), who banded together to bring back the league after a lapse of more than 30 years. The Community Renewal Society administered the Chicago Debate Commission until CPS stepped in to support the league through its Office of High School Programs. (The Community Renewal Society publishes Catalyst.) Around the same time, billionaire philanthropist George Soros’ Open Society Institute began funding urban debate leagues, hoping to reach young people like Marin.</p>
<p>“The competitive dimension of debate prods kids to learn about things they wouldn’t otherwise learn,” says Eric Tucker, director of publications for NAUDL and a Rhodes Scholar who is researching urban debate as part of his doctoral studies at Oxford University in England. “[Debaters] learn how to research and come to terms with problems in public policy. They learn not to be intimidated by technical language. They learn how to familiarize themselves with subjects with which they have no prior experience.”</p>
<p>Many of Kelvyn Park’s debaters face an extra challenge and gain an added benefit—their first language is Spanish, and many say participating in debate has improved their English.</p>
<p>Last year, Kelvyn Park’s junior varsity debaters dominated their league, taking first and second place at city championships. Those debaters have now leapt to varsity—joining Marin and others who were already at that level—in the tougher AA conference.</p>
<p>Coach Mark Mouck gives a blunt assessment of how the team will fare: “This year, I knew we would get our butts handed to us,” he says. Still, he emphasizes that students must learn from each round no matter what the outcome; after tournaments he requires them to write an analysis of why they won or lost.</p>
<p>His relaxed yet relentless attitude has helped forge tight relationships among the team members and between the team and coaches. Their camaraderie is evident in the tournament, where Marin helps teammates strategize, and during practice, where she and other varsity debaters coach less experienced teammates.</p>
<p>“We haven’t hauled as much hardware home yet this year,” assistant coach Darren Tuggle admits. “Our team’s going through some growing pains. The level of competition’s been raised, but we’ll only get better as we go on. Our kids can compete with anybody. I mean that as a larger statement about Kelvyn Park kids generally.”</p>
<p>Carrot and stick</p>
<p>Early in the first round, Marin is cross-examining one of her opponents, a young woman from Kelly High. Her questions are aimed at helping her to get a better handle on her opponent’s arguments. As she explains later, “You want to understand their argument and also how they interpret it” in order to craft a sound counter-argument.</p>
<p>Marin says debate has taught her not just how to plan strategy in advance, but also to think quickly on her feet. “It’s good to have a pre-set strategy, but it’s even better to have a strategy in the situation,” she says.</p>
<p>After the round, some of her teammates are waiting outside to thank her for a tip and tell her how they used it in the round that just ended. Like Marin, some debaters are hardworking students. But others have far less interest in schoolwork, although plenty of smarts. Sophomore Joshua Rodriguez, who reports scoring a 26 on a pre-ACT test, readily admits to being lazy about his classes. But he says debate is his incentive to keep his grades up to the C average required citywide to participate in extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>Mouck and Tuggle regularly ask the team about their grades and use a carrot-and-stick approach to motivate slackers. The two barred several debaters from today’s tournament because of poor classroom performance. And they’re dangling the prospect of debate camp to encourage team members to strive for high GPA’s that will help them earn scholarships to attend.</p>
<p>On the second day of the tournament, Marin is maverick no more. Castaneda is back, and the two are fired up in their round against two girls from Orr High, which includes plenty of “clash,” or point-by-point argument. While waiting to give her team’s last rebuttal, Marin bounces impatiently in her seat before offering a spirited review of her main points to persuade the judge that she and Casteneda should win the round.</p>
<p>After lunch, a thorny question regarding equity in the league surfaces when two debaters make a pitch for their peers to join a new student leadership council. Some debaters say the league’s structure reinforces inequality among the city’s high schools. Schools are placed in conferences yearly based on a mix of factors that include overall academic performance as well as debate record. As a result, college preps and other top-scoring schools end up dominating the top A conference, leaving less academically prestigious schools in the second- and third-tier AA and AAA conferences.</p>
<p>But schools do have some veto power, says Les Lynn of NAUDL. He adds that the three conferences each end up including roughly one-third of schools, and “We have not put a school in a conference they’ve made a persistent objection to.”</p>
<p>“It’s institutionalized racism,” counters Green. When quarterfinal winners are announced, Marin and Casteneda learn they didn’t make the cut, despite the judges’ praise. No one else from Kelvyn Park does either. On the bus home, they read the judges’ ballots and reflect on their rounds. Marin won two of five—one going maverick, another with Castaneda.</p>
<p>Marin believes she will have to do a better job of presenting her materials and using some of the strategies she learned at Northwestern’s debate camp. Noting that the rounds she won were judged by college debaters, she theorizes her approach may have gone over the heads of judges who did not have high-level training in debate strategy.</p>
<p>But soon, in keeping with Kelvyn Park’s penchant for having fun as well as learning, she and her teammates shift gears. Shooting off the bus and scooping up a handful of snow, she instigates a snowball fight and steps back to watch. Debate strategy ends, snowball-fight strategy begins.</p>
<p>Editor’s Note: At Catalyst press time, two pairs of debaters from Kelvyn Park were heading to the semi-finals in another Chicago Debate League tournament. Christina Marin and her partner were not among them.</p> | 599,925 |
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<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, upon his arrival at a hotel in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Xi landed in Modi’s home state of Gujarat on Wednesday for a three-day visit expected to focus on India’s need to improve worn out infrastructure and reduce its trade deficit. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)</p>
<p>AHMEDABAD, India — Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in the Indian prime minister’s home state of Gujarat on Wednesday for a three-day visit expected to focus on India’s need to improve worn out infrastructure and reduce its trade deficit.</p>
<p>Xi was greeted on the tarmac by state officials carrying fringed umbrellas to guard him from the sun in Gujarat’s main financial city of Ahmedabad.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to court Chinese business and seek investment to upgrade creaky infrastructure, banking on China’s track record at building highways, railways, and industrial zones. India is also eager to address the imbalance in their annual trade, which now totals around $65 billion but is skewed toward imports of Chinese electrical equipment and parts.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Modi and the Gujarat government are staging a lavish welcome for Xi, with billboards across Ahmedabad showing a smiling Modi and Xi. A banquet dinner was being held Wednesday night on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad. Modi was also celebrating his 64th birthday.</p>
<p>Xi has been equally effusive in expressing excitement for the visit.</p>
<p>“China-India relations have become one of the most dynamic and promising bilateral relations in the 21st century,” Xi wrote in an article published Wednesday in The Hindu newspaper.</p>
<p>The choice of Gujarat as Xi’s first stop in India, rather than the capital New Delhi, marked a departure from protocol that some saw as a sign of warming ties between China and India. Relations had been tested by a decades-old border dispute and fears of China’s growing military and economic might. Xi will meet officials in New Delhi on Thursday.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, Xi visited Sri Lanka and Maldives, both traditional allies of India who have unnerved New Delhi by growing closer to Beijing.</p>
<p>Modi appeared to be unbothered by those visits, alluding Tuesday to ancient Sino-Indian ties dating to a Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuan Zang, who spent time in Modi’s village in Gujarat in 600 AD.</p>
<p>“Through the medium of Buddhism, India and China, especially China and Gujarat have developed very close relations,” Modi said, addressing Chinese media.</p>
<p>India, with its 1.2 billion population surpassed only by China’s 1.4 billion, has also long aimed at becoming the next massive cheap labor economy. Modi has pledged to streamline business and build up industry to make that happen.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“India and China today constitute almost 35 percent of the world’s population. From a purely arithmetic point of view … that they decide to work together will open big gates for progress and development in the world,” Modi said.</p>
<p>But not everyone in Gujarat was excited about the Chinese leader’s visit.</p>
<p>Traders and small business owners have grown increasingly nervous about the calls for warmer relations and increased trade between India and China, fearing they’ll be sidelined by Chinese competitors.</p>
<p>“We need to tread with care since China is a global manufacturing hub itself, which sees us as a market for their goods,” said Bhagyesh Soneji, chairwoman of the Gujarat branch of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.</p>
<p>She hoped the two leaders would take “one small step at a time to ensure that there is no threat to the nascent local industry.”</p>
<p>Small business leaders said industries such as pharmaceuticals, solar panel manufacturing, software and agriculture were already struggling to compete with Chinese companies who were benefiting from subsidies and soft loans.</p>
<p>In solar panels, “we stand very disadvantageously placed because their product is almost 20 percent cheaper,” said Ashok Jain, a director with solar panel manufacturer Gujarat Borsil Ltd.</p>
<p>But for India’s vast numbers of poor, there are some clear benefits from Chinese imports.</p>
<p>Low-end Chinese mobile phones have flooded the Indian market and beaten domestic brands on affordability, Hina Telecom shop owner Kaushik Kamdar said.</p>
<p>“For the poor among the consumers, if it lasts a year and serves their basic needs, it is more than enough,” Kamdar said. “Patriotic concerns don’t weigh heavily on the minds of people living by the day.”</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Daigle reported from New Delhi.</p> | Trade, investment hopes as China’s Xi visits India | false | https://abqjournal.com/463653/trade-investment-hopes-as-chinas-xi-visits-india.html | 2least
| Trade, investment hopes as China’s Xi visits India
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<p>Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping, upon his arrival at a hotel in Ahmadabad, India, Wednesday, Sept. 17, 2014. Xi landed in Modi’s home state of Gujarat on Wednesday for a three-day visit expected to focus on India’s need to improve worn out infrastructure and reduce its trade deficit. (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)</p>
<p>AHMEDABAD, India — Chinese President Xi Jinping landed in the Indian prime minister’s home state of Gujarat on Wednesday for a three-day visit expected to focus on India’s need to improve worn out infrastructure and reduce its trade deficit.</p>
<p>Xi was greeted on the tarmac by state officials carrying fringed umbrellas to guard him from the sun in Gujarat’s main financial city of Ahmedabad.</p>
<p>Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to court Chinese business and seek investment to upgrade creaky infrastructure, banking on China’s track record at building highways, railways, and industrial zones. India is also eager to address the imbalance in their annual trade, which now totals around $65 billion but is skewed toward imports of Chinese electrical equipment and parts.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Modi and the Gujarat government are staging a lavish welcome for Xi, with billboards across Ahmedabad showing a smiling Modi and Xi. A banquet dinner was being held Wednesday night on the banks of the Sabarmati River in Ahmedabad. Modi was also celebrating his 64th birthday.</p>
<p>Xi has been equally effusive in expressing excitement for the visit.</p>
<p>“China-India relations have become one of the most dynamic and promising bilateral relations in the 21st century,” Xi wrote in an article published Wednesday in The Hindu newspaper.</p>
<p>The choice of Gujarat as Xi’s first stop in India, rather than the capital New Delhi, marked a departure from protocol that some saw as a sign of warming ties between China and India. Relations had been tested by a decades-old border dispute and fears of China’s growing military and economic might. Xi will meet officials in New Delhi on Thursday.</p>
<p>Earlier this week, Xi visited Sri Lanka and Maldives, both traditional allies of India who have unnerved New Delhi by growing closer to Beijing.</p>
<p>Modi appeared to be unbothered by those visits, alluding Tuesday to ancient Sino-Indian ties dating to a Chinese Buddhist monk, Xuan Zang, who spent time in Modi’s village in Gujarat in 600 AD.</p>
<p>“Through the medium of Buddhism, India and China, especially China and Gujarat have developed very close relations,” Modi said, addressing Chinese media.</p>
<p>India, with its 1.2 billion population surpassed only by China’s 1.4 billion, has also long aimed at becoming the next massive cheap labor economy. Modi has pledged to streamline business and build up industry to make that happen.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“India and China today constitute almost 35 percent of the world’s population. From a purely arithmetic point of view … that they decide to work together will open big gates for progress and development in the world,” Modi said.</p>
<p>But not everyone in Gujarat was excited about the Chinese leader’s visit.</p>
<p>Traders and small business owners have grown increasingly nervous about the calls for warmer relations and increased trade between India and China, fearing they’ll be sidelined by Chinese competitors.</p>
<p>“We need to tread with care since China is a global manufacturing hub itself, which sees us as a market for their goods,” said Bhagyesh Soneji, chairwoman of the Gujarat branch of the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India.</p>
<p>She hoped the two leaders would take “one small step at a time to ensure that there is no threat to the nascent local industry.”</p>
<p>Small business leaders said industries such as pharmaceuticals, solar panel manufacturing, software and agriculture were already struggling to compete with Chinese companies who were benefiting from subsidies and soft loans.</p>
<p>In solar panels, “we stand very disadvantageously placed because their product is almost 20 percent cheaper,” said Ashok Jain, a director with solar panel manufacturer Gujarat Borsil Ltd.</p>
<p>But for India’s vast numbers of poor, there are some clear benefits from Chinese imports.</p>
<p>Low-end Chinese mobile phones have flooded the Indian market and beaten domestic brands on affordability, Hina Telecom shop owner Kaushik Kamdar said.</p>
<p>“For the poor among the consumers, if it lasts a year and serves their basic needs, it is more than enough,” Kamdar said. “Patriotic concerns don’t weigh heavily on the minds of people living by the day.”</p>
<p>——</p>
<p>Daigle reported from New Delhi.</p> | 599,926 |
|
<p>Official U.S. crude oil <a href="http://ir.eia.gov/wpsr/wpsrsummary.pdf" type="external">data Opens a New Window.</a> for the week ending July 29 revealed that crude oil refinery inputs averaged approximately 16.852 million barrels a day. This was 266,000 barrels per day higher than the 16.586 million recorded in the preceding week. Following the release of the data, crude oil prices spiked to a session low of $39.19. However, they rebounded quickly to trade above the $40 level.</p>
<p>United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) (NYSE:USO) did not have any impact after the release of the oil inventory data and traded about 1.39 percent higher. The energy sector as well appeared unaffected by the data, as the majority of the sector's stocks traded in the green.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The government data pointed out that refineries operated at 93.3 percent of their operable capacity in the same week. Gasoline production slipped last week, averaging 10.0 million barrels a day. However, distillate fuel production grew averaging more than 4.9 million barrels a day.</p>
<p>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/08/8297962/plains-all-american-gets-a-goldman-upgrade-on-improving-" type="external">Plains All American Gets A Goldman Upgrade On Improving Fundamentals Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Crude oil imports averaged 8.738 million barrels a day last week, which was higher by 301,000 barrels a day over the preceding week. The official data suggested that crude oil imports averaged 8.288 million barrels a day in the last four weeks. This was 10.4 percent more than the same period last year.</p>
<p>While total motor gasoline imports averaged 637,000 barrels a day last week, distillate fuel imports averaged 96,000 barrels per day in the same period, including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Significantly, the data indicated the crude oil inventories were at a historical high level of 522.5 million.</p>
<p>At time of writing, crude oil traded $0.37 (0.94 percent up) at $39.88, while USO traded higher by $0.08 (0.86 percent) at $9.41. Similarly, in the energy sector, nine companies traded in the green whereas six in the negative territory. A notable gainer was SM Energy Co (NYSE:SM), which advanced $2.79 (10.64 percent) to $29, and the notable loser was CGG SA (ADR) (NYSE:CGG), which shed $0.70 (3.35 percent) to $20.29.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a> with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!</p>
<p>2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.</p> | Oil Stages Mid-Day Selloff; Quickly Rebounds Following Large Build In Crude Oil Inventories | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/03/oil-stages-mid-day-selloff-quickly-rebounds-following-large-build-in-crude-oil.html | 2016-08-03 | 0right
| Oil Stages Mid-Day Selloff; Quickly Rebounds Following Large Build In Crude Oil Inventories
<p>Official U.S. crude oil <a href="http://ir.eia.gov/wpsr/wpsrsummary.pdf" type="external">data Opens a New Window.</a> for the week ending July 29 revealed that crude oil refinery inputs averaged approximately 16.852 million barrels a day. This was 266,000 barrels per day higher than the 16.586 million recorded in the preceding week. Following the release of the data, crude oil prices spiked to a session low of $39.19. However, they rebounded quickly to trade above the $40 level.</p>
<p>United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) (NYSE:USO) did not have any impact after the release of the oil inventory data and traded about 1.39 percent higher. The energy sector as well appeared unaffected by the data, as the majority of the sector's stocks traded in the green.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The government data pointed out that refineries operated at 93.3 percent of their operable capacity in the same week. Gasoline production slipped last week, averaging 10.0 million barrels a day. However, distillate fuel production grew averaging more than 4.9 million barrels a day.</p>
<p>Related Link: <a href="http://www.benzinga.com/analyst-ratings/analyst-color/16/08/8297962/plains-all-american-gets-a-goldman-upgrade-on-improving-" type="external">Plains All American Gets A Goldman Upgrade On Improving Fundamentals Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Crude oil imports averaged 8.738 million barrels a day last week, which was higher by 301,000 barrels a day over the preceding week. The official data suggested that crude oil imports averaged 8.288 million barrels a day in the last four weeks. This was 10.4 percent more than the same period last year.</p>
<p>While total motor gasoline imports averaged 637,000 barrels a day last week, distillate fuel imports averaged 96,000 barrels per day in the same period, including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Significantly, the data indicated the crude oil inventories were at a historical high level of 522.5 million.</p>
<p>At time of writing, crude oil traded $0.37 (0.94 percent up) at $39.88, while USO traded higher by $0.08 (0.86 percent) at $9.41. Similarly, in the energy sector, nine companies traded in the green whereas six in the negative territory. A notable gainer was SM Energy Co (NYSE:SM), which advanced $2.79 (10.64 percent) to $29, and the notable loser was CGG SA (ADR) (NYSE:CGG), which shed $0.70 (3.35 percent) to $20.29.</p>
<p><a href="" type="external">Full ratings data available on Benzinga Pro. Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>Do you have ideas for articles/interviews you'd like to see more of on Benzinga? Please email <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a> with your best article ideas. One person will be randomly selected to win a $20 Amazon gift card!</p>
<p>2016 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.</p> | 599,927 |
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<p>The wireless phone carrier filed suit in federal district court in 2013 after the Village Council denied a request to construct the tower at 325 Academy Drive, which AT&amp;T Mobility Services LLC claimed effectively prohibited personal wireless services, in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The district court ordered the village to approve the necessary permits, a decision the appeals court affirmed.</p>
<p>The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order dated March 8 explains that, while the act gives local governments authority over the placement and construction of wireless service facilities, they cannot make decisions that "prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services."</p>
<p>KOMINIAK: We're disappointed, but "accept it"</p>
<p>"Well, we're disappointed with it, of course," Corrales Mayor Scott Kominiak said of the ruling. "We accept it."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He said the village does not plan to file an appeal and will approve AT&amp;T's application for the tower.</p>
<p>In February 2013, AT&amp;T first submitted to the village an application for a site development plan, special use permit and height variance to permit the construction of the tower, according to court documents.</p>
<p>The village Planning and Zoning Commission denied the special use permit and, when AT&amp;T appealed that decision to the Village Council, the council did, too.</p>
<p>The council concluded that the company didn't show that the facility would fill a significant gap in coverage or that the improvements could not be achieved with a shorter tower. Councilors also decided that the tower would be visually intrusive and detrimental to the rural, agricultural character of the area.</p>
<p>When AT&amp;T applied for the special use permit, the village already had two 65-foot cellphone towers, one permitted to AT&amp;T.</p>
<p>The district court found that, while the village had not completely prohibited the provision of wireless service, the rejection prevented AT&amp;T from closing a significant gap in coverage. The court also determined that the proposed facility was the least intrusive means of closing that gap. AT&amp;T reported that an 80-foot tower would be optimal, but the 65-foot monopole would reduce the visual impact, while meeting technical requirements to alleviate the gap, court documents explain.</p>
<p>In its appeal, the village questioned whether the district court erred first in finding that the village's rejection of the facility was a prohibition of service and second in finding that the proposed facility was the least intrusive way to remedy the coverage gap.</p>
<p>But the appeals court order states that the district court properly considered the level of in-building and in-vehicle coverage within the gap. It further states that AT&amp;T "made a good-faith effort" to decide whether a smaller tower would be sufficient.</p>
<p>Asked for comment Tuesday, AT&amp;T public affairs representative Alarie Ray-Garcia said simply that "AT&amp;T agrees with the ruling" on the cell tower issue in Corrales. She said now that a decision has been made, the company can evaluate how to move forward.</p>
<p /> | Court: Corrales must OK tower | false | https://abqjournal.com/746657/court-corrales-must-ok-tower.html | 2least
| Court: Corrales must OK tower
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<p />
<p>The wireless phone carrier filed suit in federal district court in 2013 after the Village Council denied a request to construct the tower at 325 Academy Drive, which AT&amp;T Mobility Services LLC claimed effectively prohibited personal wireless services, in violation of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. The district court ordered the village to approve the necessary permits, a decision the appeals court affirmed.</p>
<p>The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals order dated March 8 explains that, while the act gives local governments authority over the placement and construction of wireless service facilities, they cannot make decisions that "prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the provision of personal wireless services."</p>
<p>KOMINIAK: We're disappointed, but "accept it"</p>
<p>"Well, we're disappointed with it, of course," Corrales Mayor Scott Kominiak said of the ruling. "We accept it."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>He said the village does not plan to file an appeal and will approve AT&amp;T's application for the tower.</p>
<p>In February 2013, AT&amp;T first submitted to the village an application for a site development plan, special use permit and height variance to permit the construction of the tower, according to court documents.</p>
<p>The village Planning and Zoning Commission denied the special use permit and, when AT&amp;T appealed that decision to the Village Council, the council did, too.</p>
<p>The council concluded that the company didn't show that the facility would fill a significant gap in coverage or that the improvements could not be achieved with a shorter tower. Councilors also decided that the tower would be visually intrusive and detrimental to the rural, agricultural character of the area.</p>
<p>When AT&amp;T applied for the special use permit, the village already had two 65-foot cellphone towers, one permitted to AT&amp;T.</p>
<p>The district court found that, while the village had not completely prohibited the provision of wireless service, the rejection prevented AT&amp;T from closing a significant gap in coverage. The court also determined that the proposed facility was the least intrusive means of closing that gap. AT&amp;T reported that an 80-foot tower would be optimal, but the 65-foot monopole would reduce the visual impact, while meeting technical requirements to alleviate the gap, court documents explain.</p>
<p>In its appeal, the village questioned whether the district court erred first in finding that the village's rejection of the facility was a prohibition of service and second in finding that the proposed facility was the least intrusive way to remedy the coverage gap.</p>
<p>But the appeals court order states that the district court properly considered the level of in-building and in-vehicle coverage within the gap. It further states that AT&amp;T "made a good-faith effort" to decide whether a smaller tower would be sufficient.</p>
<p>Asked for comment Tuesday, AT&amp;T public affairs representative Alarie Ray-Garcia said simply that "AT&amp;T agrees with the ruling" on the cell tower issue in Corrales. She said now that a decision has been made, the company can evaluate how to move forward.</p>
<p /> | 599,928 |
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<p>The International Monetary Fund, the darling lending institution of neoliberal capitalists, believes that the U.S.’s current mortgage crisis is dragging down the world economy. The IMF is predicting at least a two-year global economic downturn, led by the U.S. credit crunch, that also has a gambling chance of turning into a “global recession.”</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>In its latest economic forecast, the IMF says that world economic growth will slow to 3.7% in 2008 and 2009, 1.25% lower than growth in 2007.</p>
<p>The downturn will be led by the US, which the IMF believes will go into a “mild recession” this year.</p>
<p />
<p>The IMF admits that the global downturn might be still more severe than it is currently predicting, and says that there is a one in four chance of a “global recession” when world growth falls below 3%.</p>
<p>“The financial market crisis that erupted in August 2007 has developed into the largest financial shock since the Great Depression,” the report says.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7338326.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | It Ain't Argentina This Time | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/it-aint-argentina-this-time/ | 2008-04-09 | 4left
| It Ain't Argentina This Time
<p>The International Monetary Fund, the darling lending institution of neoliberal capitalists, believes that the U.S.’s current mortgage crisis is dragging down the world economy. The IMF is predicting at least a two-year global economic downturn, led by the U.S. credit crunch, that also has a gambling chance of turning into a “global recession.”</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>In its latest economic forecast, the IMF says that world economic growth will slow to 3.7% in 2008 and 2009, 1.25% lower than growth in 2007.</p>
<p>The downturn will be led by the US, which the IMF believes will go into a “mild recession” this year.</p>
<p />
<p>The IMF admits that the global downturn might be still more severe than it is currently predicting, and says that there is a one in four chance of a “global recession” when world growth falls below 3%.</p>
<p>“The financial market crisis that erupted in August 2007 has developed into the largest financial shock since the Great Depression,” the report says.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7338326.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 599,929 |
<p>Vice President Mike Pence has left the 49ers-Colts game after about a dozen San Francisco players took a knee.</p>
<p>The former Indiana governor flew in so he could watch Peyton Manning’s jersey retirement ceremony on Sunday. Manning will become the first Indianapolis-era player in Colts history to have his number retired and also will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor.</p>
<p>But Pence didn’t stick around long.</p>
<p>Pence said on Twitter: “I left today’s Colts game because POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”</p>
<p>The White House also issued a statement from Pence, in which he says Americans should rally around the flag. Pence said: “I don’t think it’s too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem.”</p>
<p>Pence is a noted sports fan and it’s the second major event he’s attended in his home state since taking office in January. He also attended May’s Indianapolis 500, a family tradition.</p>
<p>But Pence couldn’t come to Manning’s statue unveiling Saturday afternoon, which was attended by a number of luminaries including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.</p>
<p>Instead, Pence spent most of Saturday honoring victims of the Las Vegas shooting before returning to his home state.</p>
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<p /> | Vice president leaves 49ers-Colts game after players kneel | false | https://reviewjournal.com/news/politics-and-government/vice-president-leaves-49ers-colts-game-after-players-kneel/ | 2017-10-08 | 1right-center
| Vice president leaves 49ers-Colts game after players kneel
<p>Vice President Mike Pence has left the 49ers-Colts game after about a dozen San Francisco players took a knee.</p>
<p>The former Indiana governor flew in so he could watch Peyton Manning’s jersey retirement ceremony on Sunday. Manning will become the first Indianapolis-era player in Colts history to have his number retired and also will be inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor.</p>
<p>But Pence didn’t stick around long.</p>
<p>Pence said on Twitter: “I left today’s Colts game because POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.”</p>
<p>The White House also issued a statement from Pence, in which he says Americans should rally around the flag. Pence said: “I don’t think it’s too much to ask NFL players to respect the Flag and our National Anthem.”</p>
<p>Pence is a noted sports fan and it’s the second major event he’s attended in his home state since taking office in January. He also attended May’s Indianapolis 500, a family tradition.</p>
<p>But Pence couldn’t come to Manning’s statue unveiling Saturday afternoon, which was attended by a number of luminaries including NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.</p>
<p>Instead, Pence spent most of Saturday honoring victims of the Las Vegas shooting before returning to his home state.</p>
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<p>Illumina Inc. shares surged in the extended session Tuesday after the DNA sequencing company's quarterly revenue topped Wall Street estimates. Illumina shares rallied 9.5% to $188.50 after hours. The company reported second-quarter net income of $128 million, or 87 cents a share, compared to $120 million, or 82 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 82 cents a share. Revenue rose to $662 million from $600 million in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 82 cents a share on revenue of $642.2 million. For the year, Illumina estimates adjusted earnings of $3.60 to $3.70 a share. Analysts expect $3.63 a share.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | Illumina Shares Rally As Revenue Tops Street View | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/01/illumina-shares-rally-as-revenue-tops-street-view.html | 2017-08-01 | 0right
| Illumina Shares Rally As Revenue Tops Street View
<p>Illumina Inc. shares surged in the extended session Tuesday after the DNA sequencing company's quarterly revenue topped Wall Street estimates. Illumina shares rallied 9.5% to $188.50 after hours. The company reported second-quarter net income of $128 million, or 87 cents a share, compared to $120 million, or 82 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 82 cents a share. Revenue rose to $662 million from $600 million in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 82 cents a share on revenue of $642.2 million. For the year, Illumina estimates adjusted earnings of $3.60 to $3.70 a share. Analysts expect $3.63 a share.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2017 MarketWatch, Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p> | 599,931 |
<p>Sheldon Adelson.Photo by Color China Photos/Zuma Press</p>
<p />
<p>It’s the least Mitt Romney could do for his biggest backer.</p>
<p>Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, will attend Romney’s election night party in Boston Tuesday evening, <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/06/first-on-cnn-sheldon-adelson-to-attend-romney-election-night-event/?cid=sf_twitter" type="external">CNN reports</a>. The Adelsons are the largest donors of the 2012 election cycle, giving <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topindivs_overall.php" type="external">more than $53 million</a> in disclosed donations to candidates and super-PACs. That includes a staggering $20 million (that we know of) to Restore Our Future, the record-setting super-PAC devoted solely to electing Romney president.</p>
<p>The Adelsons’ entire record of giving in this election cycle is likely far greater. In April, Sheldon Adelson <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2012/apr/27/adelson-going-underground-political-money-i-smell-/" type="external">said</a> that he planned to give millions more to dark-money nonprofit groups that don’t disclose their donors. Adelson <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2012/06/13/exclusive-adelsons-pro-romney-donations-will-be-limitless-could-top-100m/" type="external">later said in June</a> he could give as much as $100 million to defeat Obama, and insiders familiar with Adelson’s giving told CNN that the Adelsons will come “very close” to meeting that goal.</p>
<p>Forbes puts Adelson’s net worth at $20.5 billion, making him the 14th-richest American. Ironically, no other American <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/sheldon-adelson-casino-magnate-mega-donor-is-a-man-of-many-motives/2012/10/23/926d031e-0744-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html" type="external">has gotten richer</a> during Obama’s first term in office than Sheldon Adelson.</p>
<p>To better understand Adelson’s influence on the 2012 elections, <a href="" type="internal">check out these nifty charts</a>.</p>
<p /> | Sheldon Adelson Is Partying With Mitt Romney on Election Night | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2012/11/sheldon-adelson-mitt-romney-boston-election-night/ | 2012-11-06 | 4left
| Sheldon Adelson Is Partying With Mitt Romney on Election Night
<p>Sheldon Adelson.Photo by Color China Photos/Zuma Press</p>
<p />
<p>It’s the least Mitt Romney could do for his biggest backer.</p>
<p>Casino tycoon Sheldon Adelson and his wife, Miriam, will attend Romney’s election night party in Boston Tuesday evening, <a href="http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/11/06/first-on-cnn-sheldon-adelson-to-attend-romney-election-night-event/?cid=sf_twitter" type="external">CNN reports</a>. The Adelsons are the largest donors of the 2012 election cycle, giving <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/overview/topindivs_overall.php" type="external">more than $53 million</a> in disclosed donations to candidates and super-PACs. That includes a staggering $20 million (that we know of) to Restore Our Future, the record-setting super-PAC devoted solely to electing Romney president.</p>
<p>The Adelsons’ entire record of giving in this election cycle is likely far greater. In April, Sheldon Adelson <a href="http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2012/apr/27/adelson-going-underground-political-money-i-smell-/" type="external">said</a> that he planned to give millions more to dark-money nonprofit groups that don’t disclose their donors. Adelson <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenbertoni/2012/06/13/exclusive-adelsons-pro-romney-donations-will-be-limitless-could-top-100m/" type="external">later said in June</a> he could give as much as $100 million to defeat Obama, and insiders familiar with Adelson’s giving told CNN that the Adelsons will come “very close” to meeting that goal.</p>
<p>Forbes puts Adelson’s net worth at $20.5 billion, making him the 14th-richest American. Ironically, no other American <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/sheldon-adelson-casino-magnate-mega-donor-is-a-man-of-many-motives/2012/10/23/926d031e-0744-11e2-858a-5311df86ab04_story.html" type="external">has gotten richer</a> during Obama’s first term in office than Sheldon Adelson.</p>
<p>To better understand Adelson’s influence on the 2012 elections, <a href="" type="internal">check out these nifty charts</a>.</p>
<p /> | 599,932 |
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<p>Melissa Reeves of Los Lunas was the grand prize winner of the new Abrazo home valued at $275,000 as part of El Ranchito de los Niños’ annual House Raffle Giveaway. (Courtesy of El Ranchito de Los NiÑos)</p>
<p>A Los Lunas resident was the winner of a new home in Rio Rancho as El Ranchito de los Niños recently announced the winners of its annual House Raffle Giveaway.</p>
<p>Melissa Reeves won the grand prize: a new Abrazo home valued at $275,000, according to an event news release.</p>
<p>“It’s been surreal. I’m so excited, I haven’t slept all weekend. I knew the drawing was on Saturday and told my kids that we have to pray extra hard. What a blessing,” Reeves said after the drawing held on Nov. 18.</p>
<p>The 1,750-square-foot home in the Mariposa community was built by Abrazo Homes and a team of local businesses. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit El Ranchito de los Niños, a nonprofit children’s home “dedicated to keeping brothers and sisters together who would otherwise be separated in foster care.”</p>
<p>According to event officials, a maximum of 4,000 tickets were sold for $75 each.</p>
<p>“This year’s house raffle was one of our most successful ever,” Abby Eden, special events coordinator with El Ranchito de los Niños, said in the release. “Abrazo Homes was amazing to work with and the public was so supportive purchasing tickets.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tickets were sold out several days before the drawing, she said.</p>
<p>Officials said the building lot was donated by 4 Sisters LLC, while construction materials and labor were donated by Abrazo Homes, Builders Source Appliance Gallery, Community Sciences Corporation Land Surveying and Planning, Interior Specialists, Inc., JLK Construction, Longhorn Construction, Otero &amp; Sons Roofing, Builders FirstSource and United Stoneworks. Cliffdweller Digital, Su Casa Magazine and KRST radio provided marketing and advertising assistance for the event.</p>
<p>Other raffle winners were: Andamo Sanchez of Questa, who won the first place prize of $7,500; Debora Caputo of Rio Rancho, who won the second place prize of $5,000; and LeRoy P. Garcia of Albuquerque, who won the third place prize of $2,500.</p>
<p>For more information about El Ranchito de los Niños, go to <a href="http://www.elranchitonm.org" type="external">www.elranchitonm.org</a>.</p>
<p /> | Woman wins new Rio Rancho home | false | https://abqjournal.com/1100850/woman-wins-new-rio-rancho-home.html | 2least
| Woman wins new Rio Rancho home
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<p>Melissa Reeves of Los Lunas was the grand prize winner of the new Abrazo home valued at $275,000 as part of El Ranchito de los Niños’ annual House Raffle Giveaway. (Courtesy of El Ranchito de Los NiÑos)</p>
<p>A Los Lunas resident was the winner of a new home in Rio Rancho as El Ranchito de los Niños recently announced the winners of its annual House Raffle Giveaway.</p>
<p>Melissa Reeves won the grand prize: a new Abrazo home valued at $275,000, according to an event news release.</p>
<p>“It’s been surreal. I’m so excited, I haven’t slept all weekend. I knew the drawing was on Saturday and told my kids that we have to pray extra hard. What a blessing,” Reeves said after the drawing held on Nov. 18.</p>
<p>The 1,750-square-foot home in the Mariposa community was built by Abrazo Homes and a team of local businesses. Proceeds from ticket sales benefit El Ranchito de los Niños, a nonprofit children’s home “dedicated to keeping brothers and sisters together who would otherwise be separated in foster care.”</p>
<p>According to event officials, a maximum of 4,000 tickets were sold for $75 each.</p>
<p>“This year’s house raffle was one of our most successful ever,” Abby Eden, special events coordinator with El Ranchito de los Niños, said in the release. “Abrazo Homes was amazing to work with and the public was so supportive purchasing tickets.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Tickets were sold out several days before the drawing, she said.</p>
<p>Officials said the building lot was donated by 4 Sisters LLC, while construction materials and labor were donated by Abrazo Homes, Builders Source Appliance Gallery, Community Sciences Corporation Land Surveying and Planning, Interior Specialists, Inc., JLK Construction, Longhorn Construction, Otero &amp; Sons Roofing, Builders FirstSource and United Stoneworks. Cliffdweller Digital, Su Casa Magazine and KRST radio provided marketing and advertising assistance for the event.</p>
<p>Other raffle winners were: Andamo Sanchez of Questa, who won the first place prize of $7,500; Debora Caputo of Rio Rancho, who won the second place prize of $5,000; and LeRoy P. Garcia of Albuquerque, who won the third place prize of $2,500.</p>
<p>For more information about El Ranchito de los Niños, go to <a href="http://www.elranchitonm.org" type="external">www.elranchitonm.org</a>.</p>
<p /> | 599,933 |
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<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state gave $3.5 million last year to support municipal recycling projects across the state and the donation of wholesome food as officials strive to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>State officials continue to encourage food donations and the recycling of food waste.</p>
<p>It's estimated the state's supermarkets, restaurants, colleges, hospitals and other large food scrap producers generate more than 210,000 tons of wasted food and food scraps each year.</p>
<p>Much of that is edible and could be donated to food banks instead.</p>
<p>There's also a financial benefit. A state report finds that, collectively, those food scrap producers could reduce costs by up to $12 million per year by recovering and recycling their food waste.</p>
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state gave $3.5 million last year to support municipal recycling projects across the state and the donation of wholesome food as officials strive to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>State officials continue to encourage food donations and the recycling of food waste.</p>
<p>It's estimated the state's supermarkets, restaurants, colleges, hospitals and other large food scrap producers generate more than 210,000 tons of wasted food and food scraps each year.</p>
<p>Much of that is edible and could be donated to food banks instead.</p>
<p>There's also a financial benefit. A state report finds that, collectively, those food scrap producers could reduce costs by up to $12 million per year by recovering and recycling their food waste.</p> | New York gave $3.5 million to support recycling projects | false | https://apnews.com/amp/4e7a471274d547a1bd0c71509760a057 | 2018-01-15 | 2least
| New York gave $3.5 million to support recycling projects
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state gave $3.5 million last year to support municipal recycling projects across the state and the donation of wholesome food as officials strive to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>State officials continue to encourage food donations and the recycling of food waste.</p>
<p>It's estimated the state's supermarkets, restaurants, colleges, hospitals and other large food scrap producers generate more than 210,000 tons of wasted food and food scraps each year.</p>
<p>Much of that is edible and could be donated to food banks instead.</p>
<p>There's also a financial benefit. A state report finds that, collectively, those food scrap producers could reduce costs by up to $12 million per year by recovering and recycling their food waste.</p>
<p>ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York state gave $3.5 million last year to support municipal recycling projects across the state and the donation of wholesome food as officials strive to cut down on greenhouse gas emissions.</p>
<p>State officials continue to encourage food donations and the recycling of food waste.</p>
<p>It's estimated the state's supermarkets, restaurants, colleges, hospitals and other large food scrap producers generate more than 210,000 tons of wasted food and food scraps each year.</p>
<p>Much of that is edible and could be donated to food banks instead.</p>
<p>There's also a financial benefit. A state report finds that, collectively, those food scrap producers could reduce costs by up to $12 million per year by recovering and recycling their food waste.</p> | 599,934 |
<p>MADISON, Wis. — House Speaker Paul Ryan took questions for the first time since a flurry sexual assault allegations against GOP nominee Donald Trump came to light this week but actively avoided any queries about the GOP presidential nominee.</p>
<p>Indeed, during the course of the hour-long event, Ryan made no mention of Trump’s name.</p>
<p>The questions, offered by a group of college Republicans following a speech by Ryan targeting Hillary Clinton, were submitted in advance, said Alex Walker, chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans, and screened by the campaign. Ryan’s campaign spokesman said the campaign “didn’t filter out any questions about Trump” and that Ryan "answered as many as he was able to in the time allotted."</p>
<p>The Speaker ignored questions shouted by the press on his way out. And none of the seven questions the students asked were directly focused on Trump — the closest was a student asking for advice on advocating for Republican candidates on a “liberal campus…given the challenges in this election.”</p>
<p>In response, Ryan acknowledged “the kind of election we really want to have, it's not the one we're necessarily having right now,” but encouraged the students to focus on substance rather than “the latest twitter storm.”</p>
<p>“Talk about what you believe and why you believe it and why you think it's important to keep our country's core principles, stick to the constitution, and fight for these beliefs,” he said. “You have to have an agenda.”</p>
<p>And that’s what Ryan himself tried to lay out during his speech on Friday, in which he framed the election as a "debate between two governing philosophies" — rather than the nasty, personal battle between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton it's become.</p>
<p>"Beneath all the ugliness lies a long-running debate between two governing philosophies: one that is in keeping with our nation's founding principles — like freedom and equality — and another that seeks to replace them," Ryan said.</p>
<p>He went on to deliver a piercing indictment of the Democratic agenda and Clinton’s campaign, charging the “the left does not just seek a continuation of the last eight years … they intend to make it into a reality — an arrogant, condescending, and paternalistic reality."</p>
<p>And he attacked Clinton’s campaign slogan — "Stronger Together" — telling the audience it amounts to a case for government dependence and control.</p>
<p>"What she means is, we are stronger if we are all subject to the state. What she means is, we are stronger if we give up our ties of responsibility to one another and hand all of that over to government," Ryan said.</p>
<p>"But there is no strength in that. Only hubris. Only the arrogance to assume we are better off if we fall in line and bow down to our betters."</p>
<p>In contrast, Ryan offered the GOP as the choice that would be “positive and inclusive, bring people together and reclaim our founding principles.”</p>
<p>The speech is yet another attempt by Ryan to refocus an election that's gone wildly off the rails as Trump this week lashed out at both Democrats and Republicans — even Ryan himself — for what he says is a <a href="" type="internal">conspiracy against him</a>. That's how Trump has explained the flurry of sexual assault allegations he's faced this week, prompted by the release of a 2005 tape of a private conversation in which he bragged about groping women against their will.</p>
<p>That video sparked an <a href="" type="internal">exodus of GOP support</a> from the nominee over the weekend, culminating in Ryan telling Republican lawmakers Monday that while he still plans to vote for the GOP nominee, he won't defend or campaign with him.</p>
<p>Instead, Ryan said he'd focus all of his energies on electing Republicans down-ballot. His speech Friday — along with a policy-oriented speech he gave the day before — appears to be part of that effort, as the speaker is attempting to build a more positive, substantive image of the GOP that may appeal to Republican voters turned off by Trump.</p> | Ryan Lays Out a Conservative Vision, Avoids Mention of Trump | false | http://nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/ryan-lays-out-conservative-vision-avoids-mention-trump-n666626 | 2016-10-14 | 3left-center
| Ryan Lays Out a Conservative Vision, Avoids Mention of Trump
<p>MADISON, Wis. — House Speaker Paul Ryan took questions for the first time since a flurry sexual assault allegations against GOP nominee Donald Trump came to light this week but actively avoided any queries about the GOP presidential nominee.</p>
<p>Indeed, during the course of the hour-long event, Ryan made no mention of Trump’s name.</p>
<p>The questions, offered by a group of college Republicans following a speech by Ryan targeting Hillary Clinton, were submitted in advance, said Alex Walker, chairman of the Wisconsin College Republicans, and screened by the campaign. Ryan’s campaign spokesman said the campaign “didn’t filter out any questions about Trump” and that Ryan "answered as many as he was able to in the time allotted."</p>
<p>The Speaker ignored questions shouted by the press on his way out. And none of the seven questions the students asked were directly focused on Trump — the closest was a student asking for advice on advocating for Republican candidates on a “liberal campus…given the challenges in this election.”</p>
<p>In response, Ryan acknowledged “the kind of election we really want to have, it's not the one we're necessarily having right now,” but encouraged the students to focus on substance rather than “the latest twitter storm.”</p>
<p>“Talk about what you believe and why you believe it and why you think it's important to keep our country's core principles, stick to the constitution, and fight for these beliefs,” he said. “You have to have an agenda.”</p>
<p>And that’s what Ryan himself tried to lay out during his speech on Friday, in which he framed the election as a "debate between two governing philosophies" — rather than the nasty, personal battle between Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton it's become.</p>
<p>"Beneath all the ugliness lies a long-running debate between two governing philosophies: one that is in keeping with our nation's founding principles — like freedom and equality — and another that seeks to replace them," Ryan said.</p>
<p>He went on to deliver a piercing indictment of the Democratic agenda and Clinton’s campaign, charging the “the left does not just seek a continuation of the last eight years … they intend to make it into a reality — an arrogant, condescending, and paternalistic reality."</p>
<p>And he attacked Clinton’s campaign slogan — "Stronger Together" — telling the audience it amounts to a case for government dependence and control.</p>
<p>"What she means is, we are stronger if we are all subject to the state. What she means is, we are stronger if we give up our ties of responsibility to one another and hand all of that over to government," Ryan said.</p>
<p>"But there is no strength in that. Only hubris. Only the arrogance to assume we are better off if we fall in line and bow down to our betters."</p>
<p>In contrast, Ryan offered the GOP as the choice that would be “positive and inclusive, bring people together and reclaim our founding principles.”</p>
<p>The speech is yet another attempt by Ryan to refocus an election that's gone wildly off the rails as Trump this week lashed out at both Democrats and Republicans — even Ryan himself — for what he says is a <a href="" type="internal">conspiracy against him</a>. That's how Trump has explained the flurry of sexual assault allegations he's faced this week, prompted by the release of a 2005 tape of a private conversation in which he bragged about groping women against their will.</p>
<p>That video sparked an <a href="" type="internal">exodus of GOP support</a> from the nominee over the weekend, culminating in Ryan telling Republican lawmakers Monday that while he still plans to vote for the GOP nominee, he won't defend or campaign with him.</p>
<p>Instead, Ryan said he'd focus all of his energies on electing Republicans down-ballot. His speech Friday — along with a policy-oriented speech he gave the day before — appears to be part of that effort, as the speaker is attempting to build a more positive, substantive image of the GOP that may appeal to Republican voters turned off by Trump.</p> | 599,935 |
<p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-01-26-senator-office-landrieu_N.htm" type="external">Four charged in phone scheme at Sen. Landrieu's office – USATODAY.com</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="external">James O’Keefe, the rightwing activist who tried to punk ACORN by dressing as a pimp</a>, was endorsed in a resolution by 31 Republican congressmen as a role model. Yes, the very model of an upright gentleman.</p>
<p>So the political right wing ruled the United States for 8 years, holding all three branches of government during some of the W. era, and the result was a Democratic landslide in 2008. The more the Right is in power, the less it is liked.</p>
<p>But the Right in the US wants its way no matter what, and is constantly anxious that maybe the people will wake up to the scam that is being pulled on them by people who actually represent big corporations but claim to speak for the “people.” Politics nowadays is about fatally crippling Obama and rolling back the Democratic surge, by any means possible.</p>
<p>Thus, you had the Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations to defame at will candidates who don’t kowtow to them, deploying all the billions at their disposal. This overturning of a hundred years of precedent by five far-right Republicans on the court was a deliberate attempt to undo the 2008 Democratic victory.</p>
<p>And now you have a Watergate-style break-in by James O’Keefe and associates at the Louisiana offices of Senator Mary Landrieu, seeking to bug her office.</p>
<p>O’Keefe played a role in attempting to discredit ACORN, an organization that aims at increasing voting rates among the poor (and therefore an object of hatred on the part of the Right, which thinks you shouldn’t feed ‘stray animals,’ much less encourage them to vote.)</p>
<p>Ironically, O’Keefe is now charged with a felony, whereas it was never proven that, despite unprofessional trash talking in O’Keefe’s videotape, the ACORN employees he sought to entrap ever actually did anything illegal.</p>
<p>Dirty tricks are nothing new from the Right, and are necessary, since they don’t offer good governance and their main argument is that the Market will magically take care of everyone if only unscrupulous businessmen are left completely unregulated by the government.</p>
<p>This ideology is what got us into the present mess. So since the platform of the Right is obviously untrue, what is left but scummy attack videos and illegal office break-ins and bugging. The public after all has an extremely short memory or mostly doesn’t much care about politics, so why not try to manipulate them? Maybe you could even convince them in the midst of a Depression that the Market loves them and will put them to work if only the super-rich can be unleashed on their behalf again and the bad Government can be handcuffed.</p>
<p>Why, we should even let Bernie Madoff out of jail to vindicate himself– the pyramid really does work if only you let it go on, you know.</p>
<p>End/ (Not Continued)</p> | Four charged in phone scheme at Sen. Landrieu’s office ; Or, Rightwing Politics is Mostly Dirty Tricks | true | http://juancole.com/2010/01/four-charged-in-phone-scheme-at-sen.html | 2010-01-27 | 4left
| Four charged in phone scheme at Sen. Landrieu’s office ; Or, Rightwing Politics is Mostly Dirty Tricks
<p><a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2010-01-26-senator-office-landrieu_N.htm" type="external">Four charged in phone scheme at Sen. Landrieu's office – USATODAY.com</a></p>
<p><a href="" type="external">James O’Keefe, the rightwing activist who tried to punk ACORN by dressing as a pimp</a>, was endorsed in a resolution by 31 Republican congressmen as a role model. Yes, the very model of an upright gentleman.</p>
<p>So the political right wing ruled the United States for 8 years, holding all three branches of government during some of the W. era, and the result was a Democratic landslide in 2008. The more the Right is in power, the less it is liked.</p>
<p>But the Right in the US wants its way no matter what, and is constantly anxious that maybe the people will wake up to the scam that is being pulled on them by people who actually represent big corporations but claim to speak for the “people.” Politics nowadays is about fatally crippling Obama and rolling back the Democratic surge, by any means possible.</p>
<p>Thus, you had the Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations to defame at will candidates who don’t kowtow to them, deploying all the billions at their disposal. This overturning of a hundred years of precedent by five far-right Republicans on the court was a deliberate attempt to undo the 2008 Democratic victory.</p>
<p>And now you have a Watergate-style break-in by James O’Keefe and associates at the Louisiana offices of Senator Mary Landrieu, seeking to bug her office.</p>
<p>O’Keefe played a role in attempting to discredit ACORN, an organization that aims at increasing voting rates among the poor (and therefore an object of hatred on the part of the Right, which thinks you shouldn’t feed ‘stray animals,’ much less encourage them to vote.)</p>
<p>Ironically, O’Keefe is now charged with a felony, whereas it was never proven that, despite unprofessional trash talking in O’Keefe’s videotape, the ACORN employees he sought to entrap ever actually did anything illegal.</p>
<p>Dirty tricks are nothing new from the Right, and are necessary, since they don’t offer good governance and their main argument is that the Market will magically take care of everyone if only unscrupulous businessmen are left completely unregulated by the government.</p>
<p>This ideology is what got us into the present mess. So since the platform of the Right is obviously untrue, what is left but scummy attack videos and illegal office break-ins and bugging. The public after all has an extremely short memory or mostly doesn’t much care about politics, so why not try to manipulate them? Maybe you could even convince them in the midst of a Depression that the Market loves them and will put them to work if only the super-rich can be unleashed on their behalf again and the bad Government can be handcuffed.</p>
<p>Why, we should even let Bernie Madoff out of jail to vindicate himself– the pyramid really does work if only you let it go on, you know.</p>
<p>End/ (Not Continued)</p> | 599,936 |
<p />
<p>Eighteen months in the making, DARPA's Gremlins program to develop a <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/09/06/official-darpa-will-build-flying-aircraft-carrier.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">flying drone "aircraft carrier" Opens a New Window.</a> is still on track -- and forging ahead.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>We first told you about Gremlins back in 2015, when DARPA -- the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -- announced the start of an effort to build a new drone capable of deploying from a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) C-130, performing its mission, then returning to its mother ship to land -- a dance conducted 100% midair.</p>
<p>DARPA deploys Gremlins from the sky. Image source: DARPA.</p>
<p>Six months after the project was announced, DARPA tapped four industry teams -- Lockheed Martin itself, Kratos Defense (NASDAQ: KTOS), and privately held Dynetics and General Atomics -- to investigate whether Gremlins was a workable idea or a pipe dream. Last week, that $16 million, one-year-long <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/16/darpa-prepares-to-unleash-storm-of-gremlins-us-fo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">"phase 1" study Opens a New Window.</a> finally wrapped up, with DARPA narrowing the field of contractors that would proceed to phase 2.</p>
<p>In this next phase,which begins this month and will last for a similar 12-month term, Lockheed and Kratos have both been knocked out of their "prime contractor" positions. Only privately held Dynetics and General Atomics will proceed in lead roles.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Their job will be to "mature two system concepts to enable 'aircraft carriers in the sky' using air-recoverable UASs that could carry various payloads." Designed to be semi-expendable, each Gremlin will be expected to fly at least 20 missions before needing replacement. In phase 2, Dynetics and General Atomics must complete "preliminary designs for full-scale technology demonstration systems" of their offerings, and begin developing the "individual system components" that will go into them.</p>
<p>Then, at the end of a year, DARPA will narrow the field once again and pick a single prototype to flight-test -- with testing slated to begin in 2019.</p>
<p>So what does all of this mean to investors? At first glance, probably not much. With both Lockheed Martin and Kratos knocked out of the race to serve as prime contractor on Gremlins, only privately held Dynetics and General Atomics remain. Yet there's still at least one team investors can root for: Dynetics.</p>
<p>This is because Dynetics boasts a whole "team" of subcontractors supporting its bid, several of which are publicly traded. (General Atomics may or may not include partners on its team as well, but the company has not mentioned any.) Be that as it may, Dynetics' team includes TransDigm (NYSE: TDG) subsidiary Airborne Systems, Moog (NYSE: MOG-A), and even Kratos, which thus remains in the competition,albeit not in a lead position. And while the money involved in this contract remains small -- and will be smaller still when broken down among several contractors -- Gremlins' pot of gold is already growing.</p>
<p>Whereas one year ago, phase 1 funding on the program amounted to less than $4 million per team, phase 2 funding has already increased to at least $21 million, although it's not clear if this is $21 million total,or $21 million for each bidder. How much bigger might the winner's pot get in phase 3, and after that, in an eventual production contract?</p>
<p>That depends a lot on how successful the teams are at building their respective flying aircraft carrier systems. But for a subcontractor as small as Kratos, for example, with less than $76 million in annual revenue from its drones business, every $1 million in extra revenue from a Gremlins contract win works out to more than a 1% increase in sales.</p>
<p>For Kratos, at least, it won't take a very big contract to move the needle. And a really big contract could move the needle a lot.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Kratos Defense and Security SolutionsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=b72cc9e0-bb2f-4a8d-8651-56ba4a0d8501&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=b72cc9e0-bb2f-4a8d-8651-56ba4a0d8501&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends TransDigm Group. The Motley Fool recommends Moog (A shares). The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Air Force Gremlins Program Gets Go-Ahead for Phase 2 | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/03/25/air-force-gremlins-program-gets-go-ahead-for-phase-2.html | 2017-03-25 | 0right
| Air Force Gremlins Program Gets Go-Ahead for Phase 2
<p />
<p>Eighteen months in the making, DARPA's Gremlins program to develop a <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/09/06/official-darpa-will-build-flying-aircraft-carrier.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">flying drone "aircraft carrier" Opens a New Window.</a> is still on track -- and forging ahead.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>We first told you about Gremlins back in 2015, when DARPA -- the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency -- announced the start of an effort to build a new drone capable of deploying from a Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) C-130, performing its mission, then returning to its mother ship to land -- a dance conducted 100% midair.</p>
<p>DARPA deploys Gremlins from the sky. Image source: DARPA.</p>
<p>Six months after the project was announced, DARPA tapped four industry teams -- Lockheed Martin itself, Kratos Defense (NASDAQ: KTOS), and privately held Dynetics and General Atomics -- to investigate whether Gremlins was a workable idea or a pipe dream. Last week, that $16 million, one-year-long <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/04/16/darpa-prepares-to-unleash-storm-of-gremlins-us-fo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">"phase 1" study Opens a New Window.</a> finally wrapped up, with DARPA narrowing the field of contractors that would proceed to phase 2.</p>
<p>In this next phase,which begins this month and will last for a similar 12-month term, Lockheed and Kratos have both been knocked out of their "prime contractor" positions. Only privately held Dynetics and General Atomics will proceed in lead roles.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Their job will be to "mature two system concepts to enable 'aircraft carriers in the sky' using air-recoverable UASs that could carry various payloads." Designed to be semi-expendable, each Gremlin will be expected to fly at least 20 missions before needing replacement. In phase 2, Dynetics and General Atomics must complete "preliminary designs for full-scale technology demonstration systems" of their offerings, and begin developing the "individual system components" that will go into them.</p>
<p>Then, at the end of a year, DARPA will narrow the field once again and pick a single prototype to flight-test -- with testing slated to begin in 2019.</p>
<p>So what does all of this mean to investors? At first glance, probably not much. With both Lockheed Martin and Kratos knocked out of the race to serve as prime contractor on Gremlins, only privately held Dynetics and General Atomics remain. Yet there's still at least one team investors can root for: Dynetics.</p>
<p>This is because Dynetics boasts a whole "team" of subcontractors supporting its bid, several of which are publicly traded. (General Atomics may or may not include partners on its team as well, but the company has not mentioned any.) Be that as it may, Dynetics' team includes TransDigm (NYSE: TDG) subsidiary Airborne Systems, Moog (NYSE: MOG-A), and even Kratos, which thus remains in the competition,albeit not in a lead position. And while the money involved in this contract remains small -- and will be smaller still when broken down among several contractors -- Gremlins' pot of gold is already growing.</p>
<p>Whereas one year ago, phase 1 funding on the program amounted to less than $4 million per team, phase 2 funding has already increased to at least $21 million, although it's not clear if this is $21 million total,or $21 million for each bidder. How much bigger might the winner's pot get in phase 3, and after that, in an eventual production contract?</p>
<p>That depends a lot on how successful the teams are at building their respective flying aircraft carrier systems. But for a subcontractor as small as Kratos, for example, with less than $76 million in annual revenue from its drones business, every $1 million in extra revenue from a Gremlins contract win works out to more than a 1% increase in sales.</p>
<p>For Kratos, at least, it won't take a very big contract to move the needle. And a really big contract could move the needle a lot.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Kratos Defense and Security SolutionsWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=b72cc9e0-bb2f-4a8d-8651-56ba4a0d8501&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Kratos Defense and Security Solutions wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=b72cc9e0-bb2f-4a8d-8651-56ba4a0d8501&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of February 6, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFDitty/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Smith Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends TransDigm Group. The Motley Fool recommends Moog (A shares). The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,937 |
<p />
<p>Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has quit President Donald Trump's council of business leaders, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Kalanick wrote to his employees that he'd spoken with Trump on Thursday to "let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that."</p>
<p>His departure came on the eve of the first meeting of the group at the White House, planned for Friday.</p>
<p>Disney CEO Bob Iger won't attend either; instead he will be at a company board meeting in California, according to a person close to Iger who requested anonymity to discuss the CEO's schedule.</p>
<p>White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>Led by Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive of the private equity group Blackstone, the council has about 15 members, including the leaders of Wal-Mart, Tesla, the Cleveland Clinic and Pepsi.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The council is "designed to provide direct input to the president from many of the best and brightest in the business world in a frank, non-bureaucratic, and nonpartisan manner," according to a Blackstone press release in December announcing its formation.</p>
<p>Yet public outcry about Trump — specifically his executive order suspending the country's refugee program and halting other aspects of immigration — has put some business leaders in an uncomfortable spot.</p>
<p>Uber, a ride-sharing company popular in urban, largely Democratic areas, has been buffeted all week by boycott campaigns that began when people perceived it as trying to break a taxi strike to and from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport that was in response to the executive order.</p>
<p>Kalanick condemned the executive order and has contributed to relief groups, but calls for a boycott had continued. One woman urging boycotts for all companies tied to Trump said only total resignation from the Trump business forum would satisfy her.</p>
<p>"This is not a 'seat at the table' moment. This is a flip-the-table moment," said Shannon Coulter, one of the organizers of the anti-Trump social media campaign "Grab Your Wallet."</p>
<p>Other forum members said they'd keep their commitment.</p>
<p>Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, is planning to attend.</p>
<p>"He has an opportunity to talk directly to the president, and that is a good opportunity," said spokeswoman Eileen Sheil.</p>
<p>Sheil said the clinic employs doctors and caretakers from many countries, and was directly affected by the travel ban. She said a Sudanese citizen who is a first-year resident at the Cleveland Clinic is stuck in Sudan and unable to return to work.</p>
<p>General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra remains a member of the advisory group and plans to attend the Friday meeting, spokesman Patrick Morrissey said.</p>
<p>Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk said in a statement that he'd attend. He said he and others on the council "will express our objections to the recent executive order on immigration and offer suggestions for changes to the policy."</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington, Bernard Condon in New York and Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.</p> | Uber CEO backs out of joining Trump's business council | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/03/uber-ceo-backs-out-joining-trump-business-council.html | 2017-02-03 | 0right
| Uber CEO backs out of joining Trump's business council
<p />
<p>Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has quit President Donald Trump's council of business leaders, according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Kalanick wrote to his employees that he'd spoken with Trump on Thursday to "let him know that I would not be able to participate on his economic council. Joining the group was not meant to be an endorsement of the president or his agenda but unfortunately it has been misinterpreted to be exactly that."</p>
<p>His departure came on the eve of the first meeting of the group at the White House, planned for Friday.</p>
<p>Disney CEO Bob Iger won't attend either; instead he will be at a company board meeting in California, according to a person close to Iger who requested anonymity to discuss the CEO's schedule.</p>
<p>White House officials did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p>Led by Stephen Schwarzman, chairman and chief executive of the private equity group Blackstone, the council has about 15 members, including the leaders of Wal-Mart, Tesla, the Cleveland Clinic and Pepsi.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The council is "designed to provide direct input to the president from many of the best and brightest in the business world in a frank, non-bureaucratic, and nonpartisan manner," according to a Blackstone press release in December announcing its formation.</p>
<p>Yet public outcry about Trump — specifically his executive order suspending the country's refugee program and halting other aspects of immigration — has put some business leaders in an uncomfortable spot.</p>
<p>Uber, a ride-sharing company popular in urban, largely Democratic areas, has been buffeted all week by boycott campaigns that began when people perceived it as trying to break a taxi strike to and from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport that was in response to the executive order.</p>
<p>Kalanick condemned the executive order and has contributed to relief groups, but calls for a boycott had continued. One woman urging boycotts for all companies tied to Trump said only total resignation from the Trump business forum would satisfy her.</p>
<p>"This is not a 'seat at the table' moment. This is a flip-the-table moment," said Shannon Coulter, one of the organizers of the anti-Trump social media campaign "Grab Your Wallet."</p>
<p>Other forum members said they'd keep their commitment.</p>
<p>Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, is planning to attend.</p>
<p>"He has an opportunity to talk directly to the president, and that is a good opportunity," said spokeswoman Eileen Sheil.</p>
<p>Sheil said the clinic employs doctors and caretakers from many countries, and was directly affected by the travel ban. She said a Sudanese citizen who is a first-year resident at the Cleveland Clinic is stuck in Sudan and unable to return to work.</p>
<p>General Motors Co. CEO Mary Barra remains a member of the advisory group and plans to attend the Friday meeting, spokesman Patrick Morrissey said.</p>
<p>Tesla Inc. CEO Elon Musk said in a statement that he'd attend. He said he and others on the council "will express our objections to the recent executive order on immigration and offer suggestions for changes to the policy."</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington, Bernard Condon in New York and Tom Krisher and Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit contributed to this report.</p> | 599,938 |
<p>Facebook Inc. is scheduled to announce its second-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday. Here is what you need to know:</p>
<p>EARNINGS FORECAST: Facebook is expected to report quarterly earnings per share of $1.12, up from 71 cents a year ago. In May, Facebook said it would only provide key financial metrics based on generally accepted accounting principles, following the path of Alphabet Inc. Previously, Facebook also reported non-GAAP figures, which excluded stock-based compensation and other expenses.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>REVENUE FORECAST: Analysts predict Facebook will report quarterly revenue of $9.2 billion, up 43% from the prior year's $6.4 billion.</p>
<p>WHAT TO WATCH:</p>
<p>SHRINKING GROWTH, RISING COSTS: Last year, Facebook warned that it would stop squeezing more ads in users' news feeds in mid-2017, at which point ad revenue growth would shrink "meaningfully." At the same time, Facebook also plans to spend as much as 50% more in 2017 on building new data centers, recruiting new engineers and content moderators, and buying original content. Investors will want a sharper picture of what the one-two punch of slowing ad growth and rising costs will do to Facebook's bottom line. Macquarie Research expects Facebook's ad revenue growth in 2017 will shrink to 36% while operating expenses will rise 44%.</p>
<p>NEW AREAS OF AD GROWTH: Investors are eager for details about Facebook's growth plans beyond the news feed. "It increasingly feels like Facebook is under some pressure to find its next leg of growth," said MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson in a recent note. Facebook has made some moves on that front. This month, it started showing ads in its Messenger chat app and testing ads in Marketplace, a Craigslist-like feature in the core Facebook app. Facebook has also been testing "ad breaks" in the middle of Facebook videos and ramping up ads in its photo-sharing app Instagram. But analysts say it remains to be seen if these new ads can command news-feed level prices.</p>
<p>VIDEO-FIRST: A year ago, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was on its way to becoming "video-first." Nearly all its product teams are incorporating video across Facebook's features and apps; Facebook also is on the hunt for TV-quality original programming for its video tab and has indicated it could spend up to $3 million an episode in some cases. Analysts want to know how much Facebook is spending on video right now, its importance to the company's bottom line and the size of the future opportunity.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Write to Deepa Seetharaman at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 26, 2017 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)</p> | Facebook Earnings Preview: What to Watch | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/26/facebook-earnings-preview-what-to-watch.html | 2017-07-26 | 0right
| Facebook Earnings Preview: What to Watch
<p>Facebook Inc. is scheduled to announce its second-quarter earnings after the market closes Wednesday. Here is what you need to know:</p>
<p>EARNINGS FORECAST: Facebook is expected to report quarterly earnings per share of $1.12, up from 71 cents a year ago. In May, Facebook said it would only provide key financial metrics based on generally accepted accounting principles, following the path of Alphabet Inc. Previously, Facebook also reported non-GAAP figures, which excluded stock-based compensation and other expenses.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>REVENUE FORECAST: Analysts predict Facebook will report quarterly revenue of $9.2 billion, up 43% from the prior year's $6.4 billion.</p>
<p>WHAT TO WATCH:</p>
<p>SHRINKING GROWTH, RISING COSTS: Last year, Facebook warned that it would stop squeezing more ads in users' news feeds in mid-2017, at which point ad revenue growth would shrink "meaningfully." At the same time, Facebook also plans to spend as much as 50% more in 2017 on building new data centers, recruiting new engineers and content moderators, and buying original content. Investors will want a sharper picture of what the one-two punch of slowing ad growth and rising costs will do to Facebook's bottom line. Macquarie Research expects Facebook's ad revenue growth in 2017 will shrink to 36% while operating expenses will rise 44%.</p>
<p>NEW AREAS OF AD GROWTH: Investors are eager for details about Facebook's growth plans beyond the news feed. "It increasingly feels like Facebook is under some pressure to find its next leg of growth," said MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson in a recent note. Facebook has made some moves on that front. This month, it started showing ads in its Messenger chat app and testing ads in Marketplace, a Craigslist-like feature in the core Facebook app. Facebook has also been testing "ad breaks" in the middle of Facebook videos and ramping up ads in its photo-sharing app Instagram. But analysts say it remains to be seen if these new ads can command news-feed level prices.</p>
<p>VIDEO-FIRST: A year ago, Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook was on its way to becoming "video-first." Nearly all its product teams are incorporating video across Facebook's features and apps; Facebook also is on the hunt for TV-quality original programming for its video tab and has indicated it could spend up to $3 million an episode in some cases. Analysts want to know how much Facebook is spending on video right now, its importance to the company's bottom line and the size of the future opportunity.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Write to Deepa Seetharaman at [email protected]</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 26, 2017 06:14 ET (10:14 GMT)</p> | 599,939 |
<p />
<p>As the possibility that the Las Vegas mass shooting was some sort of false flag operation increases on an hourly basis, new video has emerged that seems to directly contain audio confirmation that a shooter was firing an automatic weapon from ground level.</p>
<p>In the&#160;video, which is amazingly over an hour long, you can not only hear gunfire and its echo in the distance for much of the time, you can also hear shots fired literally right near the frightened couple who filmed their entire escape from the concert.</p>
<p>Near the 49:50 mark you can hear the beginning of the ground level shots being fired.</p>
<p />
<p>Take note that this footage has NOT been addressed by any of the authorities who have seemingly totally ignored its existence while continuing to claim that only one shooter operated from the 32nd floor of the hotel.</p>
<p>Most likely, the same officials (and media outlets for that matter) who are covering up the obvious possibility of multiple shooters are the very people who directly lied about when Stephen Paddock actually checked into the hotel in the first place.</p>
<p>As I&#160; <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/confirmed-authorities-lied-about-las-vegas-shooters-hotel-check-in-date-what-else-are-they-hiding_10062017" type="external">reported for SHTFPlan.com</a>, new photos released by investigative reporter&#160;Laura Loomer prove that authorities absolutely lied about at least two different aspects of the case.</p>
<p>Now, new information released by&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer" type="external">investigative reporter Laura Loomer</a>&#160;proves that authorities have directly lied to the American people about the case at least once by claiming that supposed shooter&#160;Stephen Paddock checked into the&#160;Mandalay Bay Hotel&#160; <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/02/stephen-paddock-suspected-las-vegas-gunman-stashed-weapons-in-room-police-say.html" type="external">on September 28th</a>&#160;when valet records (with photos) prove he actually arrived three days earlier.</p>
<p>According to Loomer, she obtained the image from a source which shows that Paddock's car first arrived September 25th. The photo even has a handwritten note that was reportedly written by an FBI agent - proving that the FBI specifically lied to the country.</p>
<p>The picture "proves FBI misled public about #StephenPaddock's check in date," Loomer Tweeted.</p>
<p />
<p>Obviously the official narrative surrounding the Las Vegas mass shooting is completely falling apart with any information put out by so-called official sources being possible disinformation.</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>Does the above video prove that there were shooters on the ground? Is a cover-up currently underway?</p>
<p>Alex Thomas is a staff writer and reporter for <a href="http://www.thedailysheeple.com/video-automatic-gunfire-heard-at-ground-level-during-las-vegas-mass-shooting-as-cover-up-continues-to-unravel_102017" type="external">The Daily Sheeple</a>. Wake the flock up - follow Alex's work at our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thedailysheeple/" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;or&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDailySheeple" type="external">Twitter.</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | VIDEO: Automatic Gunfire Heard at Ground Level During Las Vegas Mass Shooting as Cover-Up Continues to Unravel | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/08/video-automatic-gunfire-heard-at-ground-level-during-las-vegas-mass-shooting-as-cover-up-continues-to-unravel/ | 0right
| VIDEO: Automatic Gunfire Heard at Ground Level During Las Vegas Mass Shooting as Cover-Up Continues to Unravel
<p />
<p>As the possibility that the Las Vegas mass shooting was some sort of false flag operation increases on an hourly basis, new video has emerged that seems to directly contain audio confirmation that a shooter was firing an automatic weapon from ground level.</p>
<p>In the&#160;video, which is amazingly over an hour long, you can not only hear gunfire and its echo in the distance for much of the time, you can also hear shots fired literally right near the frightened couple who filmed their entire escape from the concert.</p>
<p>Near the 49:50 mark you can hear the beginning of the ground level shots being fired.</p>
<p />
<p>Take note that this footage has NOT been addressed by any of the authorities who have seemingly totally ignored its existence while continuing to claim that only one shooter operated from the 32nd floor of the hotel.</p>
<p>Most likely, the same officials (and media outlets for that matter) who are covering up the obvious possibility of multiple shooters are the very people who directly lied about when Stephen Paddock actually checked into the hotel in the first place.</p>
<p>As I&#160; <a href="http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/confirmed-authorities-lied-about-las-vegas-shooters-hotel-check-in-date-what-else-are-they-hiding_10062017" type="external">reported for SHTFPlan.com</a>, new photos released by investigative reporter&#160;Laura Loomer prove that authorities absolutely lied about at least two different aspects of the case.</p>
<p>Now, new information released by&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/LauraLoomer" type="external">investigative reporter Laura Loomer</a>&#160;proves that authorities have directly lied to the American people about the case at least once by claiming that supposed shooter&#160;Stephen Paddock checked into the&#160;Mandalay Bay Hotel&#160; <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/02/stephen-paddock-suspected-las-vegas-gunman-stashed-weapons-in-room-police-say.html" type="external">on September 28th</a>&#160;when valet records (with photos) prove he actually arrived three days earlier.</p>
<p>According to Loomer, she obtained the image from a source which shows that Paddock's car first arrived September 25th. The photo even has a handwritten note that was reportedly written by an FBI agent - proving that the FBI specifically lied to the country.</p>
<p>The picture "proves FBI misled public about #StephenPaddock's check in date," Loomer Tweeted.</p>
<p />
<p>Obviously the official narrative surrounding the Las Vegas mass shooting is completely falling apart with any information put out by so-called official sources being possible disinformation.</p>
<p>What do you think?</p>
<p>Does the above video prove that there were shooters on the ground? Is a cover-up currently underway?</p>
<p>Alex Thomas is a staff writer and reporter for <a href="http://www.thedailysheeple.com/video-automatic-gunfire-heard-at-ground-level-during-las-vegas-mass-shooting-as-cover-up-continues-to-unravel_102017" type="external">The Daily Sheeple</a>. Wake the flock up - follow Alex's work at our&#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/thedailysheeple/" type="external">Facebook</a>&#160;or&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/TheDailySheeple" type="external">Twitter.</a></p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,940 |
|
<p />
<p>Last night (Weds) brought the surprise announcement that Lou Dobbs will be stepping down. Other important missions call him, presumably. While we stay tuned, certainly with bated breath, we must acknowledge his important place in the pantheon of the few in American history who are truly his peers.</p>
<p /> | Brodner’s Cartoon du Jour: Loose Nuts | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2009/11/brodners-cartoon-du-jour-loose-nuts/ | 2009-11-12 | 4left
| Brodner’s Cartoon du Jour: Loose Nuts
<p />
<p>Last night (Weds) brought the surprise announcement that Lou Dobbs will be stepping down. Other important missions call him, presumably. While we stay tuned, certainly with bated breath, we must acknowledge his important place in the pantheon of the few in American history who are truly his peers.</p>
<p /> | 599,941 |
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Texas Lottery’s “Two Step” game were:</p>
<p>02-06-27-31, Bonus: 20</p>
<p>(two, six, twenty-seven, thirty-one; Bonus: twenty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $200,000</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Texas Lottery’s “Two Step” game were:</p>
<p>02-06-27-31, Bonus: 20</p>
<p>(two, six, twenty-seven, thirty-one; Bonus: twenty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $200,000</p> | Winning numbers drawn in ‘Two Step’ game | false | https://apnews.com/c238d1a16fb34b61a9603d7b211ac406 | 2018-01-19 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in ‘Two Step’ game
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Texas Lottery’s “Two Step” game were:</p>
<p>02-06-27-31, Bonus: 20</p>
<p>(two, six, twenty-seven, thirty-one; Bonus: twenty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $200,000</p>
<p>AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ The winning numbers in Thursday evening’s drawing of the Texas Lottery’s “Two Step” game were:</p>
<p>02-06-27-31, Bonus: 20</p>
<p>(two, six, twenty-seven, thirty-one; Bonus: twenty)</p>
<p>Estimated jackpot: $200,000</p> | 599,942 |
<p>For the last few days, a letter written by Walt Sheasby of California has been making the rounds in which the author discounts and seeks to discredit the ordeal faced by Green Party USA co-coordinator Nancy Oden at the Bangor Maine International airport. A press release issued by GPUSA reported the story: “‘An official told me that my name had been flagged in the computer,’ a shaken Oden said.”</p>
<p>Without bothering to check with Oden, Sheasby termed Oden’s statement a “fib”, and therein severely hindered gathering the support that Oden (and many others) need. He wrote: “Nancy Oden was apparently not barred because of a computer check, but because she did not comply with standard screening for weapons.”</p>
<p>How did Sheasby arrive at this conclusion? Did he call Nancy Oden? Did he even call the FBI and ask about the existence of such a list of individual activists?</p>
<p>Sadly, the answer is no. He relied solely on a public relations official’s denial to a Bangor newspaper, which read: “She [Oden] was uncooperative during the screening process. … Obviously if they can’t submit to screening, [Federal Aviation Administration] regulations require that they not be allowed to board the plane.”</p>
<p>From this, Sheasby concluded: “it appears that her [Oden’s] name was not flagged by a computer search of potential terrorists or their supporters.”</p>
<p>Is Sheasby really that gullible?</p>
<p>In fact, Oden was targeted as soon as she gave her name to pick up her ticket. She was told this was NOT a random procedure. A uniformed soldier with automatic rifle started lecturing her about terrorism. Oden — a woman alone at the airport surrounded by armed military men — was indeed searched, as were her bags. She was deemed “clean.” Nevertheless, as has occurred in numerous venues across the country, she was banned from her flight, and from ALL flights from that airport.</p>
<p>Sheasby knew all of this but omitted it from his report, choosing instead to rest his case on the spin of a corporate flak — a statement Sheasby knew to be wrong.</p>
<p>Why did Sheasby do this, and cast doubt about Oden’s story at a time when she most needed support? And why did a few people who should know better accept and repeat Sheasby’s smear, without investigating for themselves?</p>
<p>One person who refused to accept Sheasby’s report is Fred Myers, an antiwar activist and Green in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Myers, who is often critical of Oden and the Green Party USA, nevertheless had the integrity to challenge Sheasby’s account. He wrote:</p>
<p>“Wait a minute…. This doesn’t add up. Why was she not allowed to board the flight? If she allowed the completion of the search of her person and baggage, then what grounds were there to deny her right to fly? “Furthermore, the Bangor Daily article did indeed say that agents would not confirm or deny that her name is on a list. … [T]here’s no denying the last point in the Bangor article: If she did something wrong, then she should be charged. If not, then denying her right to fly is absolutely unjustified. And posting a headline implying she ‘fibbed’ is quite sleazy to say the least.”</p>
<p>Another person who did her homework is Amy Goodman, host of the “Democracy Now” radio show. Unlike Sheasby, Goodman made the appropriate calls and featured a phone interview with Nancy Oden on her show. Oden explained how the whole incident started at Bangor airport. She said she gave her name and the ticket agent immediately recognized it and did not even ask for additional identification.</p>
<p>Many rank-and-file greens have expressed their outrage at the treatment of Oden, first at the hands of the authorities and secondly by Sheasby and his faction. Sure, there are many worse things happening in the world. But they all start somewhere. This is one such instance.</p>
<p>So Sheasby has now issued another statement. Without in any way apologizing for the harm he caused, he reverses field and now writes that he ACCEPTS the fact that Oden was indeed barred, as she reported, from getting on an airplane to Chicago to attend the GPUSA national board meeting because of her political work — this, after 4 days of bombarding listserves asserting the contrary. But, peering once again into his crystal ball, Sheasby now claims that the military barred Oden because of her involvement with anti-genetic engineering work, not her antiwar activity.</p>
<p>Oden’s name “is certainly familiar to the authorities in Maine,” he argues, “and the association with the corn field incident [in which Oden defended activists who had torn out genetically engineered corn at an experimental field at the University of Maine] may be the precipitating cause of her victimization. It now does not appear that her connection with Greens/Green Party USA had anything to do with her harassment at the airport, but it does seem that her other activities had brought some unwanted attention.”</p>
<p>Uh, excuse me, but who can know this for sure, and WHO CARES? The point is that Oden (and many people, including other Greens) are being targeted because of their politics.</p>
<p>“Oden had announced the day she planned to fly out, and of course everybody concerned knew which airport and her destination in advance,” writes GPUSA gadfly Paul Prior, whose <a href="http://www.globalcircle.net/" type="external">website</a> has been instrumental in questioning the bombardment of Afghanistan, the connections between the Bush family and the Bin Ladens, and the quest to control oil in Asia.”</p>
<p>The Green Party USA, which has for years condemned US’s gluttonous reliance on oil and which has organized around its program for shifting energy consumption to one based on sustainable and renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.), has been very active in opposing the bombardment of Afghanistan. You can view GPUSA’s oil-related antiwar statements by linking to <a href="http://www.greenparty.org/" type="external">http://www.greenparty.org</a>.</p>
<p>“In fact,” Paul Prior continues, Oden’s “opposition to military presence in the Mideast is public at <a href="http://www.greenparty.org/911.html" type="external">http://www.greenparty .org/911.html</a>. She has enemies and the party has enemies. Nobody doubts the party has informants in its ranks and that they have an inside line to airport security and anybody else they need in intelligence. Anyone who would use that incident to try to discredit her and the party is only helping the fascist takeover,” Prior rightly scolds.</p>
<p>Just this week, the FBI has finally admitted to having arrested 1,147 people under the new anti-terrorism laws for “crimes” having nothing whatsoever to do with terrorist attacks. Not a single one of them is charged with any connection to the Sept. 11 horror.</p>
<p>Among the organizations the FBI admits to targeting is the anti-globalization Reclaim the Streets, which is actually listed as a terrorist group on the FBI’s lists.</p>
<p>Many activists are learning for the first time that the FBI is actually compiling and distributing lists of American citizens — some are called “terrorist profiles,” others are more explicit lists — and people have reported many instances at airports (and elsewhere) in which their civil liberties have been violated. It is often by someone “in charge” abusing their authority; at other times it occurs because they “fit” a profile; and still other times it happens because their name appears on one of the FBI’s lists.</p>
<p>The Oden case exposes some of this; it serves as a wakeup call to all Greens and others to put their sectarian differences aside and work to restore the Bill of Rights. With more than a thousand people in jail, no one knows who or where they are. The FBI is not releasing their names, nor are they charged with any terrorist-related crimes. Most are charged with overstaying their visas by a few weeks. And others are just picked up for “breathing while looking Arab.” The situation is outrageous, and we need to expose what’s really going on. Nancy Oden’s situation is but the harbinger of far more repressive times to come, unless we act quickly and stand united.</p>
<p>Mitchel Cohen is a member of the Brooklyn Greens and Green Party USA.</p> | Screwing the Greens? | true | https://counterpunch.org/2001/11/08/screwing-the-greens/ | 2001-11-08 | 4left
| Screwing the Greens?
<p>For the last few days, a letter written by Walt Sheasby of California has been making the rounds in which the author discounts and seeks to discredit the ordeal faced by Green Party USA co-coordinator Nancy Oden at the Bangor Maine International airport. A press release issued by GPUSA reported the story: “‘An official told me that my name had been flagged in the computer,’ a shaken Oden said.”</p>
<p>Without bothering to check with Oden, Sheasby termed Oden’s statement a “fib”, and therein severely hindered gathering the support that Oden (and many others) need. He wrote: “Nancy Oden was apparently not barred because of a computer check, but because she did not comply with standard screening for weapons.”</p>
<p>How did Sheasby arrive at this conclusion? Did he call Nancy Oden? Did he even call the FBI and ask about the existence of such a list of individual activists?</p>
<p>Sadly, the answer is no. He relied solely on a public relations official’s denial to a Bangor newspaper, which read: “She [Oden] was uncooperative during the screening process. … Obviously if they can’t submit to screening, [Federal Aviation Administration] regulations require that they not be allowed to board the plane.”</p>
<p>From this, Sheasby concluded: “it appears that her [Oden’s] name was not flagged by a computer search of potential terrorists or their supporters.”</p>
<p>Is Sheasby really that gullible?</p>
<p>In fact, Oden was targeted as soon as she gave her name to pick up her ticket. She was told this was NOT a random procedure. A uniformed soldier with automatic rifle started lecturing her about terrorism. Oden — a woman alone at the airport surrounded by armed military men — was indeed searched, as were her bags. She was deemed “clean.” Nevertheless, as has occurred in numerous venues across the country, she was banned from her flight, and from ALL flights from that airport.</p>
<p>Sheasby knew all of this but omitted it from his report, choosing instead to rest his case on the spin of a corporate flak — a statement Sheasby knew to be wrong.</p>
<p>Why did Sheasby do this, and cast doubt about Oden’s story at a time when she most needed support? And why did a few people who should know better accept and repeat Sheasby’s smear, without investigating for themselves?</p>
<p>One person who refused to accept Sheasby’s report is Fred Myers, an antiwar activist and Green in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Myers, who is often critical of Oden and the Green Party USA, nevertheless had the integrity to challenge Sheasby’s account. He wrote:</p>
<p>“Wait a minute…. This doesn’t add up. Why was she not allowed to board the flight? If she allowed the completion of the search of her person and baggage, then what grounds were there to deny her right to fly? “Furthermore, the Bangor Daily article did indeed say that agents would not confirm or deny that her name is on a list. … [T]here’s no denying the last point in the Bangor article: If she did something wrong, then she should be charged. If not, then denying her right to fly is absolutely unjustified. And posting a headline implying she ‘fibbed’ is quite sleazy to say the least.”</p>
<p>Another person who did her homework is Amy Goodman, host of the “Democracy Now” radio show. Unlike Sheasby, Goodman made the appropriate calls and featured a phone interview with Nancy Oden on her show. Oden explained how the whole incident started at Bangor airport. She said she gave her name and the ticket agent immediately recognized it and did not even ask for additional identification.</p>
<p>Many rank-and-file greens have expressed their outrage at the treatment of Oden, first at the hands of the authorities and secondly by Sheasby and his faction. Sure, there are many worse things happening in the world. But they all start somewhere. This is one such instance.</p>
<p>So Sheasby has now issued another statement. Without in any way apologizing for the harm he caused, he reverses field and now writes that he ACCEPTS the fact that Oden was indeed barred, as she reported, from getting on an airplane to Chicago to attend the GPUSA national board meeting because of her political work — this, after 4 days of bombarding listserves asserting the contrary. But, peering once again into his crystal ball, Sheasby now claims that the military barred Oden because of her involvement with anti-genetic engineering work, not her antiwar activity.</p>
<p>Oden’s name “is certainly familiar to the authorities in Maine,” he argues, “and the association with the corn field incident [in which Oden defended activists who had torn out genetically engineered corn at an experimental field at the University of Maine] may be the precipitating cause of her victimization. It now does not appear that her connection with Greens/Green Party USA had anything to do with her harassment at the airport, but it does seem that her other activities had brought some unwanted attention.”</p>
<p>Uh, excuse me, but who can know this for sure, and WHO CARES? The point is that Oden (and many people, including other Greens) are being targeted because of their politics.</p>
<p>“Oden had announced the day she planned to fly out, and of course everybody concerned knew which airport and her destination in advance,” writes GPUSA gadfly Paul Prior, whose <a href="http://www.globalcircle.net/" type="external">website</a> has been instrumental in questioning the bombardment of Afghanistan, the connections between the Bush family and the Bin Ladens, and the quest to control oil in Asia.”</p>
<p>The Green Party USA, which has for years condemned US’s gluttonous reliance on oil and which has organized around its program for shifting energy consumption to one based on sustainable and renewable energy (solar, wind, etc.), has been very active in opposing the bombardment of Afghanistan. You can view GPUSA’s oil-related antiwar statements by linking to <a href="http://www.greenparty.org/" type="external">http://www.greenparty.org</a>.</p>
<p>“In fact,” Paul Prior continues, Oden’s “opposition to military presence in the Mideast is public at <a href="http://www.greenparty.org/911.html" type="external">http://www.greenparty .org/911.html</a>. She has enemies and the party has enemies. Nobody doubts the party has informants in its ranks and that they have an inside line to airport security and anybody else they need in intelligence. Anyone who would use that incident to try to discredit her and the party is only helping the fascist takeover,” Prior rightly scolds.</p>
<p>Just this week, the FBI has finally admitted to having arrested 1,147 people under the new anti-terrorism laws for “crimes” having nothing whatsoever to do with terrorist attacks. Not a single one of them is charged with any connection to the Sept. 11 horror.</p>
<p>Among the organizations the FBI admits to targeting is the anti-globalization Reclaim the Streets, which is actually listed as a terrorist group on the FBI’s lists.</p>
<p>Many activists are learning for the first time that the FBI is actually compiling and distributing lists of American citizens — some are called “terrorist profiles,” others are more explicit lists — and people have reported many instances at airports (and elsewhere) in which their civil liberties have been violated. It is often by someone “in charge” abusing their authority; at other times it occurs because they “fit” a profile; and still other times it happens because their name appears on one of the FBI’s lists.</p>
<p>The Oden case exposes some of this; it serves as a wakeup call to all Greens and others to put their sectarian differences aside and work to restore the Bill of Rights. With more than a thousand people in jail, no one knows who or where they are. The FBI is not releasing their names, nor are they charged with any terrorist-related crimes. Most are charged with overstaying their visas by a few weeks. And others are just picked up for “breathing while looking Arab.” The situation is outrageous, and we need to expose what’s really going on. Nancy Oden’s situation is but the harbinger of far more repressive times to come, unless we act quickly and stand united.</p>
<p>Mitchel Cohen is a member of the Brooklyn Greens and Green Party USA.</p> | 599,943 |
<p>The Texas governor will almost certainly <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rick-perry-2012-20110809,0,6915700.story" type="external">launch</a> a broadside against current GOP front-runner Mitt Romney this weekend when he takes the wraps off his campaign for president.</p>
<p>Perry has been the governor of Texas since George W. Bush handed over the reins in 2000 and currently presides over a catastrophic drought and a rather embarrassing budget deficit.</p>
<p>He is said to appeal to social conservatives and tea party types and could make a big splash in a GOP pool without many strong swimmers. — PZS</p>
<p>Los Angeles Times:</p>
<p />
<p>Perry “would have at least a 50-50 shot at beating him,” said Curt Anderson, a GOP consultant who worked for Romney previously but is not involved in his campaign.</p>
<p>The Texan has strong ties to both social conservatives and the party establishment, through his work as head of the Republican Governors Assn. He preached to more than 30,000 fundamentalist Christians over the weekend at a Houston stadium rally that showcased his religious beliefs.</p>
<p>He would be the only sitting governor in the GOP race and could count a lucrative fundraising base in his home state to get his campaign launched. Among the questions facing his candidacy, including his ability to perform on the national stage, will be the degree to which financial backers of former President George W. Bush, whose relations with Perry are cool, at best, will open their wallets to him.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rick-perry-2012-20110809,0,6915700.story" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Rick Perry to Run for President Starting This Weekend | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/rick-perry-to-run-for-president-starting-this-weekend/ | 2011-08-09 | 4left
| Rick Perry to Run for President Starting This Weekend
<p>The Texas governor will almost certainly <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rick-perry-2012-20110809,0,6915700.story" type="external">launch</a> a broadside against current GOP front-runner Mitt Romney this weekend when he takes the wraps off his campaign for president.</p>
<p>Perry has been the governor of Texas since George W. Bush handed over the reins in 2000 and currently presides over a catastrophic drought and a rather embarrassing budget deficit.</p>
<p>He is said to appeal to social conservatives and tea party types and could make a big splash in a GOP pool without many strong swimmers. — PZS</p>
<p>Los Angeles Times:</p>
<p />
<p>Perry “would have at least a 50-50 shot at beating him,” said Curt Anderson, a GOP consultant who worked for Romney previously but is not involved in his campaign.</p>
<p>The Texan has strong ties to both social conservatives and the party establishment, through his work as head of the Republican Governors Assn. He preached to more than 30,000 fundamentalist Christians over the weekend at a Houston stadium rally that showcased his religious beliefs.</p>
<p>He would be the only sitting governor in the GOP race and could count a lucrative fundraising base in his home state to get his campaign launched. Among the questions facing his candidacy, including his ability to perform on the national stage, will be the degree to which financial backers of former President George W. Bush, whose relations with Perry are cool, at best, will open their wallets to him.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-rick-perry-2012-20110809,0,6915700.story" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 599,944 |
<p>Six years ago the Social Security Administration embarked on an aggressive plan to replace outdated computer systems overwhelmed by a growing flood of disability claims.</p>
<p>Nearly $300 million later, an internal report says the new system is nowhere near ready and agency officials are struggling to salvage a project racked by delays and mismanagement.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The project is still in the testing phase, and the agency can't say when it will be completed or how much it will cost.</p>
<p>In the meantime, people filing for disability claims face long delays at nearly every step of the process — delays that were supposed to be reduced by the new processing system.</p>
<p>The report was commissioned by Social Security to save the project. It was done by consulting firm McKinsey &amp; Co.</p> | Internal report: Social Security spent nearly $300M on new computer system that doesn't work | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2014/07/23/internal-report-social-security-spent-nearly-300m-on-new-computer-system-that.html | 2016-03-09 | 0right
| Internal report: Social Security spent nearly $300M on new computer system that doesn't work
<p>Six years ago the Social Security Administration embarked on an aggressive plan to replace outdated computer systems overwhelmed by a growing flood of disability claims.</p>
<p>Nearly $300 million later, an internal report says the new system is nowhere near ready and agency officials are struggling to salvage a project racked by delays and mismanagement.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The project is still in the testing phase, and the agency can't say when it will be completed or how much it will cost.</p>
<p>In the meantime, people filing for disability claims face long delays at nearly every step of the process — delays that were supposed to be reduced by the new processing system.</p>
<p>The report was commissioned by Social Security to save the project. It was done by consulting firm McKinsey &amp; Co.</p> | 599,945 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Reverend Horton Heat is returning to its rockabilly sound with its new album, “Rev.”</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jim Heath is going back to his roots.</p>
<p>It’s been nearly three years since Reverend Horton Heat’s last album, “Laughin’ &amp; Cryin’ with Reverend Horton Heat.” That album was more traditional country and a bit of a stray from Heath’s roots.</p>
<p>But Reverend Horton Heat, which also consists of Jimbo Wallance and Scott Churilla, is back with a new album called “Rev,” and it hits stores in January. The album is a nod back to the band’s rockabilly roots.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s been time for us to get back here,” Heath says. “It was quite a journey for us and we’re excited to be back.”</p>
<p>Reverend Horton Heat formed in 1985, playing its first gigs in Dallas’s Deep Ellum neighborhood. The band is currently signed to Victory Records and describes its sound as “country-fed punkabilly.”</p>
<p>While the new album isn’t out yet, the trio will begin a nationwide tour in support of it.</p>
<p>Heath says after nearly 30 years of touring, having the opportunity to perform on stage is still as exciting as ever.</p>
<p>“There’s no feeling like it,” he says. “That’s the reason all of us have endured the traveling and horrible living. To get on stage and connect with an audience is priceless.”</p>
<p>For this album, Churilla rejoined the band. Heath says getting him back in the lineup was great.</p>
<p>“He didn’t miss a beat,” he says. “It was like he had never left in the first place. It was very comforting to feel that kind of love.”</p>
<p>“Rev” will be coming out soon, but the band has been making headlines for its collaboration with Motörhead’s Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister for his upcoming solo album. Heath says it was a great experience working with Lemmy, though the songs were recorded years ago.</p>
<p>“We worked with Lemmy about eight years ago,” he says. “We were bummed that the music never got released. I guess Lemmy is ready for his next solo album and the songs have been resurrected. It’s going to be great to have two styles of music out at the same time.”</p>
<p /> | The Reverend returns: The rockabilly band hits the road in support of its upcoming release | false | https://abqjournal.com/323677/albuquerque-rockabilly.html | 2least
| The Reverend returns: The rockabilly band hits the road in support of its upcoming release
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<p>Reverend Horton Heat is returning to its rockabilly sound with its new album, “Rev.”</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Jim Heath is going back to his roots.</p>
<p>It’s been nearly three years since Reverend Horton Heat’s last album, “Laughin’ &amp; Cryin’ with Reverend Horton Heat.” That album was more traditional country and a bit of a stray from Heath’s roots.</p>
<p>But Reverend Horton Heat, which also consists of Jimbo Wallance and Scott Churilla, is back with a new album called “Rev,” and it hits stores in January. The album is a nod back to the band’s rockabilly roots.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“It’s been time for us to get back here,” Heath says. “It was quite a journey for us and we’re excited to be back.”</p>
<p>Reverend Horton Heat formed in 1985, playing its first gigs in Dallas’s Deep Ellum neighborhood. The band is currently signed to Victory Records and describes its sound as “country-fed punkabilly.”</p>
<p>While the new album isn’t out yet, the trio will begin a nationwide tour in support of it.</p>
<p>Heath says after nearly 30 years of touring, having the opportunity to perform on stage is still as exciting as ever.</p>
<p>“There’s no feeling like it,” he says. “That’s the reason all of us have endured the traveling and horrible living. To get on stage and connect with an audience is priceless.”</p>
<p>For this album, Churilla rejoined the band. Heath says getting him back in the lineup was great.</p>
<p>“He didn’t miss a beat,” he says. “It was like he had never left in the first place. It was very comforting to feel that kind of love.”</p>
<p>“Rev” will be coming out soon, but the band has been making headlines for its collaboration with Motörhead’s Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister for his upcoming solo album. Heath says it was a great experience working with Lemmy, though the songs were recorded years ago.</p>
<p>“We worked with Lemmy about eight years ago,” he says. “We were bummed that the music never got released. I guess Lemmy is ready for his next solo album and the songs have been resurrected. It’s going to be great to have two styles of music out at the same time.”</p>
<p /> | 599,946 |
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<p>The positive news was junior Alex Lapeyrolerie returned to practice after missing two games because of a concussion. Barring a setback, Lapeyrolerie is expected to play when the Lobos (8-6, 4-0 Mountain West) visit UNLV (11-5, 2-2) on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>Less encouraging was that sophomore Emily Lines did not practice Monday and will not play Wednesday. Lines injured her right knee during practice last week and was scheduled to undergo an MRI late Monday.</p>
<p>Neither Lapeyrolerie nor Lines played in UNM’s 69-63 victory Saturday at Nevada.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I was down two players,” Bradbury said, “now I’m minus one, so I’ll take it as a positive. It’s good to see Alex back out there.”</p>
<p>Despite their bumps, bruises (senior Kianna Keller was sporting a shiner under her right eye Monday) and injuries, the Lobos are an upbeat bunch these days. They’re riding a four-game winning streak and can match the program’s best-ever conference start with a victory Wednesday. UNM started 5-0 in Western Athletic Conference play in 1998-99.</p>
<p>It’s a dramatic turnaround for UNM, which finished November 2-4 and mired in a four-game losing streak.</p>
<p>“I just think we’re playing harder and following the game plan better,” junior Cherise Beynon said. “(Bradbury) never lets up on us, but I think we’re starting to understand what he wants and doing a better job executing it.”</p>
<p>Wednesday’s game could be a matchup of shorthanded teams, as UNLV has been hit with injuries and could be facing one or more suspensions. The Rebels were involved in brawl during Saturday’s home game against Utah State. Eight players were ejected (four from each team) after UNLV’s Katie Powell and USU’s Antoina Robinson came to blows in the third quarter. Powell and Robinson were tossed for fighting, while the other players were ejected for leaving their respective benches.</p>
<p>The Mountain West made no announcement regarding the brawl or possible suspensions Monday. Bradbury and his players were aware of the fight but chose not to comment on it.</p>
<p>“We’re just preparing like everyone’s a full go,” Bradbury said.</p>
<p>UNLV had just six available players after Saturday’s ejections but pulled out a 55-53 overtime win. Rebels guard Nikki Wheatley is out for the season with a knee injury, and sophomore Jordyn Bell was in concussion protocol after taking a blow to the head Jan. 4 at Boise State.</p>
<p>GAME ADDED: UNM will host Northern New Mexico on Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. to make up for a cancelled home game against Eastern Illinois. The Panthers could not make the Dec. 18 game because of weather-caused flight delays and cancellations. UNM offered Jan. 1 and 2 as possible makeup dates but Eastern Illinois opted not to play then, Bradbury said. Northern New Mexico was added instead.</p>
<p>“I think our kids deserve to play a full allotment of games,” Bradbury said. “We were already playing the minimum, I’d rather play the maximum.”</p> | UNM women gain Lapeyrolerie, lose Lines | false | https://abqjournal.com/924206/unm-women-gain-lapeyrolerie-lose-lines.html | 2least
| UNM women gain Lapeyrolerie, lose Lines
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<p>The positive news was junior Alex Lapeyrolerie returned to practice after missing two games because of a concussion. Barring a setback, Lapeyrolerie is expected to play when the Lobos (8-6, 4-0 Mountain West) visit UNLV (11-5, 2-2) on Wednesday night.</p>
<p>Less encouraging was that sophomore Emily Lines did not practice Monday and will not play Wednesday. Lines injured her right knee during practice last week and was scheduled to undergo an MRI late Monday.</p>
<p>Neither Lapeyrolerie nor Lines played in UNM’s 69-63 victory Saturday at Nevada.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“I was down two players,” Bradbury said, “now I’m minus one, so I’ll take it as a positive. It’s good to see Alex back out there.”</p>
<p>Despite their bumps, bruises (senior Kianna Keller was sporting a shiner under her right eye Monday) and injuries, the Lobos are an upbeat bunch these days. They’re riding a four-game winning streak and can match the program’s best-ever conference start with a victory Wednesday. UNM started 5-0 in Western Athletic Conference play in 1998-99.</p>
<p>It’s a dramatic turnaround for UNM, which finished November 2-4 and mired in a four-game losing streak.</p>
<p>“I just think we’re playing harder and following the game plan better,” junior Cherise Beynon said. “(Bradbury) never lets up on us, but I think we’re starting to understand what he wants and doing a better job executing it.”</p>
<p>Wednesday’s game could be a matchup of shorthanded teams, as UNLV has been hit with injuries and could be facing one or more suspensions. The Rebels were involved in brawl during Saturday’s home game against Utah State. Eight players were ejected (four from each team) after UNLV’s Katie Powell and USU’s Antoina Robinson came to blows in the third quarter. Powell and Robinson were tossed for fighting, while the other players were ejected for leaving their respective benches.</p>
<p>The Mountain West made no announcement regarding the brawl or possible suspensions Monday. Bradbury and his players were aware of the fight but chose not to comment on it.</p>
<p>“We’re just preparing like everyone’s a full go,” Bradbury said.</p>
<p>UNLV had just six available players after Saturday’s ejections but pulled out a 55-53 overtime win. Rebels guard Nikki Wheatley is out for the season with a knee injury, and sophomore Jordyn Bell was in concussion protocol after taking a blow to the head Jan. 4 at Boise State.</p>
<p>GAME ADDED: UNM will host Northern New Mexico on Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. to make up for a cancelled home game against Eastern Illinois. The Panthers could not make the Dec. 18 game because of weather-caused flight delays and cancellations. UNM offered Jan. 1 and 2 as possible makeup dates but Eastern Illinois opted not to play then, Bradbury said. Northern New Mexico was added instead.</p>
<p>“I think our kids deserve to play a full allotment of games,” Bradbury said. “We were already playing the minimum, I’d rather play the maximum.”</p> | 599,947 |
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<p />
<p>Yesterday, McClatchy <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/16931329.htm" type="external">reported</a> that new evidence indicates the firing of former San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam could have been related to a CIA corruption probe. Dianne Feinstein, one of the Democrats spearheading the Senate investigation into the mass purge of eight U.S. Attorneys preoccupying Washington right now, said that Lam notified the Justice Department that she had “intended to execute search warrants on a high-ranking CIA official as part of a corruption probe the day before a Justice Department official sent an e-mail that said Lam needed to be fired.” The motivation behind the firings of these federal prosecutors has been central to both the House and Senate investigations of the cases (the DOJ has flip-flopped numerous times over why exactly the prosecutors were forced to resign) and the motivation behind Lam’s firing has been even more mystifying. As I <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/03/3852_prosecutor_purg.html" type="external">wrote</a> last week, new evidence revealed that Lam may not have been fired for her successful prosecution of Duke Cunningham, which was widely been believed to have been the reason she was forced to resign.</p>
<p>This week the DOJ is <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1600469,00.html" type="external">set to release</a> more documents thought to have further information related to the firings and the Bush administration will announce whether it will assert its executive privilege and not allow Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and other officials to testify. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy has made clear that whether the administration asserts this privilege or not, the committee will subpoena them and that “he is ‘sick and tired’ of the administration’s changing rationale for the firings.”</p>
<p /> | U.S. Attorney Firing May Be Connected to CIA Corruption Probe | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/03/us-attorney-firing-may-be-connected-cia-corruption-probe/ | 2007-03-19 | 4left
| U.S. Attorney Firing May Be Connected to CIA Corruption Probe
<p />
<p>Yesterday, McClatchy <a href="http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/16931329.htm" type="external">reported</a> that new evidence indicates the firing of former San Diego U.S. Attorney Carol Lam could have been related to a CIA corruption probe. Dianne Feinstein, one of the Democrats spearheading the Senate investigation into the mass purge of eight U.S. Attorneys preoccupying Washington right now, said that Lam notified the Justice Department that she had “intended to execute search warrants on a high-ranking CIA official as part of a corruption probe the day before a Justice Department official sent an e-mail that said Lam needed to be fired.” The motivation behind the firings of these federal prosecutors has been central to both the House and Senate investigations of the cases (the DOJ has flip-flopped numerous times over why exactly the prosecutors were forced to resign) and the motivation behind Lam’s firing has been even more mystifying. As I <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/03/3852_prosecutor_purg.html" type="external">wrote</a> last week, new evidence revealed that Lam may not have been fired for her successful prosecution of Duke Cunningham, which was widely been believed to have been the reason she was forced to resign.</p>
<p>This week the DOJ is <a href="http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1600469,00.html" type="external">set to release</a> more documents thought to have further information related to the firings and the Bush administration will announce whether it will assert its executive privilege and not allow Karl Rove, Harriet Miers and other officials to testify. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy has made clear that whether the administration asserts this privilege or not, the committee will subpoena them and that “he is ‘sick and tired’ of the administration’s changing rationale for the firings.”</p>
<p /> | 599,948 |
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<p>Cat Trap, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, is trained by David Wolochuk, who co-owns the Florida-bred daughter of Cowtown Cat. The filly has won both of her starts this season.</p>
<p>Diabolical Dame faces open company for the first time in her career. Racing solely against New Mexico-breds, the filly by Diabolical has won seven of 11 races and has earned $209,060.</p>
<p>Also today, The Downs will play host to the three 6-furlong Camino Real Futurity trials for New Mexico-bred thoroughbreds.</p>
<p>FRIDAY: Wahoo Raider, a homebred son of Jess A Chicks racing for Jacob J. Simmons III, is the fastest qualifier for the Sept. 26, $250,000 Downs at Albuquerque Futurity (RG3) for New Mexico-bred 2-year-olds. The 13-10 favorite in the third of five trials, Wahoo Raider covered 400 yards in 19.737 seconds while defeating fourth-fastest qualifier Chickaloni by a neck.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Other qualifiers: RG Miracle (19.739), A Blazin Flash (19.756), CRocky El Roble (19.801), Lil Moonshiner (19.872), Miss Ravens Wood (19.876), First Note Medley (19.882), Major Bites (19.905) and My Mojito (19.918).</p>
<p />
<p /> | Diabolical Dame, Cat Trap top field in 1st stakes race | false | https://abqjournal.com/643016/diabolical-dame-cat-trap-top-field-in-1st-stakes-race.html | 2least
| Diabolical Dame, Cat Trap top field in 1st stakes race
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<p>Cat Trap, the 5-2 morning-line favorite, is trained by David Wolochuk, who co-owns the Florida-bred daughter of Cowtown Cat. The filly has won both of her starts this season.</p>
<p>Diabolical Dame faces open company for the first time in her career. Racing solely against New Mexico-breds, the filly by Diabolical has won seven of 11 races and has earned $209,060.</p>
<p>Also today, The Downs will play host to the three 6-furlong Camino Real Futurity trials for New Mexico-bred thoroughbreds.</p>
<p>FRIDAY: Wahoo Raider, a homebred son of Jess A Chicks racing for Jacob J. Simmons III, is the fastest qualifier for the Sept. 26, $250,000 Downs at Albuquerque Futurity (RG3) for New Mexico-bred 2-year-olds. The 13-10 favorite in the third of five trials, Wahoo Raider covered 400 yards in 19.737 seconds while defeating fourth-fastest qualifier Chickaloni by a neck.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Other qualifiers: RG Miracle (19.739), A Blazin Flash (19.756), CRocky El Roble (19.801), Lil Moonshiner (19.872), Miss Ravens Wood (19.876), First Note Medley (19.882), Major Bites (19.905) and My Mojito (19.918).</p>
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<p>Following the Vegas shooting that left 58 people dead, people offering their "thoughts and prayers" while not offering their support for gun control are being routinely mocked on Twitter by a bunch of snarky SJWs.</p>
<p>The trending #Thoughtsandprayers hashtag was formed as a satirical response to mock conservatives who genuinely have offered their "thoughts and prayers" following the attack, and judging by what people are saying, "thoughts and prayers" mean nothing unless you support a political agenda.</p> | Trending #ThoughtsAndPrayers Hashtag Mocks Conservative Responses To Vegas Shooting | true | https://dailywire.com/news/21829/trending-thoughtsandprayers-hashtag-mocks-paul-bois | 2017-10-02 | 0right
| Trending #ThoughtsAndPrayers Hashtag Mocks Conservative Responses To Vegas Shooting
<p>Following the Vegas shooting that left 58 people dead, people offering their "thoughts and prayers" while not offering their support for gun control are being routinely mocked on Twitter by a bunch of snarky SJWs.</p>
<p>The trending #Thoughtsandprayers hashtag was formed as a satirical response to mock conservatives who genuinely have offered their "thoughts and prayers" following the attack, and judging by what people are saying, "thoughts and prayers" mean nothing unless you support a political agenda.</p> | 599,950 |
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<p>It might help to restore reputations to know that the $11,900 shortfall in Volcano Vista High School’s show choir account has nothing to do with fraud and everything to do with bad management and poor math skills.</p>
<p>But it won’t restore the account. Taxpayers, via Albuquerque Public Schools, get the privilege of doing that.</p>
<p>So here’s to a resounding chorus of APS fiscal oversight for school clubs. That doesn’t mean the district should try to call the shots on what kinds of activities boosters want to pursue or finance. If that happened, they would no longer be booster clubs, and you could predict lots of parents would drop out. Yet if the district’s audit of the Volcano Vista booster club account shows anything, it’s that cost calculations and travel expenditures can be beyond volunteers’ areas of expertise, and routine financial oversight by the district that keeps accounts in the public eye and on the public record is essential to ensuring errors are innocent and relatively small, rather than criminal or record-breaking.</p>
<p>Like in Sunland Park. And Jemez Mountain Schools.</p>
<p>Show choir booster club treasurer Suzanne Muller says trip expenses were calculated by designated trip coordinators and the required documentation was turned in. But that won’t do much to make taxpayers feel good about their $11,900 being used to backfill the Volcano Vista account.</p>
<p>As the 2013-14 school year starts in a district that says it is perennially strapped for cash, it’s unfortunate that money is being spent to rectify incompetence. And it shows a tutorial on fiscal policies, procedures and the high cost of not following them would be a good first lesson for boosters and club organizers.</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>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Editorial: Boosters’ incompetence validates fiscal oversight | false | https://abqjournal.com/244934/boosters-incompetence-validates-fiscal-oversight.html | 2013-08-10 | 2least
| Editorial: Boosters’ incompetence validates fiscal oversight
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<p>It might help to restore reputations to know that the $11,900 shortfall in Volcano Vista High School’s show choir account has nothing to do with fraud and everything to do with bad management and poor math skills.</p>
<p>But it won’t restore the account. Taxpayers, via Albuquerque Public Schools, get the privilege of doing that.</p>
<p>So here’s to a resounding chorus of APS fiscal oversight for school clubs. That doesn’t mean the district should try to call the shots on what kinds of activities boosters want to pursue or finance. If that happened, they would no longer be booster clubs, and you could predict lots of parents would drop out. Yet if the district’s audit of the Volcano Vista booster club account shows anything, it’s that cost calculations and travel expenditures can be beyond volunteers’ areas of expertise, and routine financial oversight by the district that keeps accounts in the public eye and on the public record is essential to ensuring errors are innocent and relatively small, rather than criminal or record-breaking.</p>
<p>Like in Sunland Park. And Jemez Mountain Schools.</p>
<p>Show choir booster club treasurer Suzanne Muller says trip expenses were calculated by designated trip coordinators and the required documentation was turned in. But that won’t do much to make taxpayers feel good about their $11,900 being used to backfill the Volcano Vista account.</p>
<p>As the 2013-14 school year starts in a district that says it is perennially strapped for cash, it’s unfortunate that money is being spent to rectify incompetence. And it shows a tutorial on fiscal policies, procedures and the high cost of not following them would be a good first lesson for boosters and club organizers.</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>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,951 |
<p>New York prison worker Joyce Mitchell told her husband she was in over her head as part of a plot to free two killers who remain on the run, he told NBC News in an exclusive interview.</p>
<p>Speaking to TODAY's Matt Lauer, Lyle Mitchell revealed the moment he said his wife admitted she gave fugitives Richard Matt and David Sweat tools to saw through their cells. However, Joyce Mitchell denied she had a sexual relationship with either of the them.</p>
<p>He said Matt even gave her pills that would knock him out so that she could flee with the pair. Authorities allege she later backed out of the plot when she had a change of heart.</p>
<p>“She said: ‘I love my husband, I am not hurtin' him’,” Lyle Mitchell recounted on Monday. “She said, "Then I knew I was over my head.”</p>
<p>He added: "When it came down to her hurtin' me, that's when she said something was wrong. She said she was in too deep, she didn't know how to get out of it."</p>
<p>Joyce Mitchell <a href="" type="internal">has been charged</a>with bringing the tools into Clinton Correctional Facility, where she worked alongside Sweat and Matt in the tailor shop.</p>
<p>An intense manhunt was launched after the pair managed to escape through a tunnel on June 6.</p>
<p>Lyle Mitchell said he knew nothing about the alleged plot. He recalled how his wife of 14 years was repeatedly interviewed by police — raising his suspicions — until she finally told him of her initial alleged role.</p>
<p>"Do I still love her? Yes. Am I mad? Yes."</p>
<p>At the police station, “an investigator comes out and says, ‘Mr Mitchell, your wife is more involved than what she's lettin' on’,” Lyle Mitchell said. “I asked her what was going on. She said, ‘I just — I did some things … and I got over my head.’ I didn't know what to say. I was just … disbelief, shock.”</p>
<p>According to her husband, Joyce Mitchell alleged that Matt had tried to kiss her "a couple times" but she insisted things never went further.</p>
<p>Lyle said he believed his wife’s assurances that she had shown “a little affection” for Matt but that nothing sexual had taken place with either of the murderers.</p>
<p>“She swore on her son's life that definitely, ‘Never have I ever had sex’ [with Matt or Sweat].”</p>
<p>The couple’s marriage had seemed “excellent” until the revelations, he added.</p>
<p>“We never fight," Lyle Mitchell said. "We're together, I'll bet you, 95 percent of the time. We work together, we never leave the house unless we're together."</p>
<p>Lyle Mitchell added that his wife has been fully co-operating with investigators.</p>
<p>“She’s told 'em every single thing that’s possible,” he said. “She said, ‘I'm tryin' to make this right. I know what I did was wrong. I need to make this right.'"</p>
<p>Lyle Mitchell also revealed that he had not yet decided whether to testify against his wife.</p>
<p>And when asked by Lauer if he was standing by her, Lyle Mitchell said: "As of right now, I don't know what to think. I do not know."</p>
<p>He added: "Do I still love her? Yes. Am I mad? Yes. How could she do this? How could she do this to our kids?"</p> | New York Prison Escape: Joyce Mitchell’s Husband Breaks His Silence | false | http://nbcnews.com/storyline/new-york-prison-escape/prison-escape-joyce-mitchells-husband-recounts-her-confession-n380131 | 2015-06-23 | 3left-center
| New York Prison Escape: Joyce Mitchell’s Husband Breaks His Silence
<p>New York prison worker Joyce Mitchell told her husband she was in over her head as part of a plot to free two killers who remain on the run, he told NBC News in an exclusive interview.</p>
<p>Speaking to TODAY's Matt Lauer, Lyle Mitchell revealed the moment he said his wife admitted she gave fugitives Richard Matt and David Sweat tools to saw through their cells. However, Joyce Mitchell denied she had a sexual relationship with either of the them.</p>
<p>He said Matt even gave her pills that would knock him out so that she could flee with the pair. Authorities allege she later backed out of the plot when she had a change of heart.</p>
<p>“She said: ‘I love my husband, I am not hurtin' him’,” Lyle Mitchell recounted on Monday. “She said, "Then I knew I was over my head.”</p>
<p>He added: "When it came down to her hurtin' me, that's when she said something was wrong. She said she was in too deep, she didn't know how to get out of it."</p>
<p>Joyce Mitchell <a href="" type="internal">has been charged</a>with bringing the tools into Clinton Correctional Facility, where she worked alongside Sweat and Matt in the tailor shop.</p>
<p>An intense manhunt was launched after the pair managed to escape through a tunnel on June 6.</p>
<p>Lyle Mitchell said he knew nothing about the alleged plot. He recalled how his wife of 14 years was repeatedly interviewed by police — raising his suspicions — until she finally told him of her initial alleged role.</p>
<p>"Do I still love her? Yes. Am I mad? Yes."</p>
<p>At the police station, “an investigator comes out and says, ‘Mr Mitchell, your wife is more involved than what she's lettin' on’,” Lyle Mitchell said. “I asked her what was going on. She said, ‘I just — I did some things … and I got over my head.’ I didn't know what to say. I was just … disbelief, shock.”</p>
<p>According to her husband, Joyce Mitchell alleged that Matt had tried to kiss her "a couple times" but she insisted things never went further.</p>
<p>Lyle said he believed his wife’s assurances that she had shown “a little affection” for Matt but that nothing sexual had taken place with either of the murderers.</p>
<p>“She swore on her son's life that definitely, ‘Never have I ever had sex’ [with Matt or Sweat].”</p>
<p>The couple’s marriage had seemed “excellent” until the revelations, he added.</p>
<p>“We never fight," Lyle Mitchell said. "We're together, I'll bet you, 95 percent of the time. We work together, we never leave the house unless we're together."</p>
<p>Lyle Mitchell added that his wife has been fully co-operating with investigators.</p>
<p>“She’s told 'em every single thing that’s possible,” he said. “She said, ‘I'm tryin' to make this right. I know what I did was wrong. I need to make this right.'"</p>
<p>Lyle Mitchell also revealed that he had not yet decided whether to testify against his wife.</p>
<p>And when asked by Lauer if he was standing by her, Lyle Mitchell said: "As of right now, I don't know what to think. I do not know."</p>
<p>He added: "Do I still love her? Yes. Am I mad? Yes. How could she do this? How could she do this to our kids?"</p> | 599,952 |
<p>Kevin Boyd was in his mid-20s when he first grasped what it meant to be serving life without parole. It happened when a couple of longtime inmates who’d mentored him died of old age in prison and he watched them carted off on gurneys. He couldn’t help but think about his own future.</p>
<p>“It really started to dawn on me: You’re looking at a black hole and there’s no way out of it,” Boyd says from Thumb Correctional Facility in eastern Michigan. “You start thinking, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ And you don’t know.”</p>
<p>In August 1994, Boyd was 16 when, according to prosecutors, he and his mother, Lynn, hatched and carried out a plot to kill his father, Kevin Sr., who was stabbed more than 20 times and beaten with a baseball bat. The couple were divorced. Boyd maintains he wasn’t at the crime scene, but he knew his mother’s plans, told her when his father would be sleeping in a chair and gave her keys to get into his apartment. She was convicted in a separate trial.</p>
<p>Now 40, Boyd is one of the juvenile lifers Michigan prosecutors say should never walk free again. When the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, it didn’t completely eliminate the punishment but said it should be confined to “the rarest of children” whose crimes reflect “irreparable corruption.” In Michigan, prosecutors have applied that definition to nearly two-thirds of its juvenile lifers — about 235 inmates — according to Deb LaBelle, an attorney who is among many who believe that flouts the high court’s ruling.</p>
<p>In Oakland County, north of Detroit, Boyd is among 44 of 49 juvenile lifers whom prosecutors are seeking to keep locked up. Their cases won’t be argued until the Michigan Supreme Court decides whether judges or juries will hear them.</p>
<p>At the heart of those cases lies one central question: Who is and is not irredeemable? That’s stirred fierce debate between prosecutors and defense attorneys, with some juvenile justice experts arguing the best solution would be for the U.S. Supreme Court to ban outright all life-without-parole sentences for those under 18 at the time of their crimes.</p>
<p>“Most experts would tell you it’s an undefinable concept but for the sociopath, like Charles Manson. ... But he’s one in how many? Those people are incredibly rare and unusual,” says Marsha Levick, deputy director of the Juvenile Law Center, a nonprofit that advocates for youth offenders.</p>
<p>In Boyd’s case, the prosecution contends his crime was so heinous, the planning so detailed and the motive so cruel — he and his mother hoped to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy — that it clearly fits the category of rare cases. “It was premeditated, calculated and cold. It weighs in favor of irreparable corruption,” says Paul Walton, an assistant Oakland County prosecutor.</p>
<p>Boyd’s lawyer, Dave O’Brien, tells a different story: He says there was no physical evidence Boyd was at the murder scene. Boyd’s confession — in which he said he was there and participated in the killing — followed a six-hour interrogation during which investigators made false promises of leniency and Boyd provided inaccurate details of the crime, the lawyer adds.</p>
<p>O’Brien also says Lynn Boyd, who is serving life without parole, testified at her son’s trial that she committed the murder with her girlfriend, who was not charged.</p>
<p>“If you want to look at culpability, it was his mother who recruited him,” O’Brien says. “Rather than teaching him right from wrong, she’s enrolling him in a murder scheme.” Under Michigan law, aiding and abetting a killing, such as providing keys, can result in a murder conviction.</p>
<p>O’Brien also challenges the prosecutor’s characterization of Boyd. “I don’t think you should judge a 16 year old as irreparably corrupt based on one hour that took place in his life 25 years ago,” he says. “They’re not looking at how he got there or what he’s done since.”</p>
<p>Boyd’s life was troubled from the start.</p>
<p>The only child of alcoholic parents, he was physically abused, tried to commit suicide and bounced around in 10 different schools before dropping out as a sophomore, according to court records. His parents divorced when he was 12, and he had a stormy relationship with both of them. Boyd says that four years later, when he and his mother discussed the murder plot and she told him his life would improve after his father’s death, “I have to say that I think that was appealing to me.”</p>
<p>Boyd says he now knows he could have prevented a tragedy. “There was no point in time to where my hands were tied that I couldn’t have picked up the phone and warned my dad what was coming his way or called the police,” he says. “I created my own bed. I fully admit that.”</p>
<p>Oakland County prosecutor Jessica Cooper says a dysfunctional childhood is no excuse for committing murder and notes that many teens have terrible upbringings but don’t resort to crime.</p>
<p>“What do we say? Oh, that’s too bad and rap you on the hand and say, ‘It’s OK you killed a human being ... you came from a bad background and that’s acceptable,’” she said in an interview earlier this year.</p>
<p>Boyd points to his two-decade prison record as evidence of his rehabilitation. He earned a high school equivalency diploma, completed vocational programs, worked as a painter, a tutor and sanitation worker and hasn’t had a misconduct violation in 15 years.</p>
<p>“I’ve demonstrated no violent behavior,” he says. “I’ve had no substance abuse issues. ... I am not even a reflection of who I used to be.”</p>
<p>But does a clean record warrant freedom?</p>
<p>“There are parts of me that say ... I’ve done all the things that anybody could have asked me plus a hundred more,” Boyd says. “But at the same time, I don’t know where you say that there’s been enough retribution, because a human being is dead. ... This isn’t a stolen credit card. It’s not even an armed robbery. It’s a person who is no longer with us, and I struggle with that. I struggle with that a lot.”</p>
<p>When his resentencing hearing comes, Boyd says he plans to explain what he claims was his limited role in his father’s death. “I couldn’t defend myself at 16, but I’m not 16 anymore. (I’ll say) ‘Here’s where you got it wrong. Will you sit down and listen so we can fix it?’ If I get natural life again, it’s because they wouldn’t listen.</p>
<p>“If it doesn’t happen,” he says, “well, I’m used to the world of prison. That’s what life will be. That’s just how these things go.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sharon Cohen, a Chicago-based national writer, can be reached at [email protected]</p>
<p>Kevin Boyd was in his mid-20s when he first grasped what it meant to be serving life without parole. It happened when a couple of longtime inmates who’d mentored him died of old age in prison and he watched them carted off on gurneys. He couldn’t help but think about his own future.</p>
<p>“It really started to dawn on me: You’re looking at a black hole and there’s no way out of it,” Boyd says from Thumb Correctional Facility in eastern Michigan. “You start thinking, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ And you don’t know.”</p>
<p>In August 1994, Boyd was 16 when, according to prosecutors, he and his mother, Lynn, hatched and carried out a plot to kill his father, Kevin Sr., who was stabbed more than 20 times and beaten with a baseball bat. The couple were divorced. Boyd maintains he wasn’t at the crime scene, but he knew his mother’s plans, told her when his father would be sleeping in a chair and gave her keys to get into his apartment. She was convicted in a separate trial.</p>
<p>Now 40, Boyd is one of the juvenile lifers Michigan prosecutors say should never walk free again. When the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, it didn’t completely eliminate the punishment but said it should be confined to “the rarest of children” whose crimes reflect “irreparable corruption.” In Michigan, prosecutors have applied that definition to nearly two-thirds of its juvenile lifers — about 235 inmates — according to Deb LaBelle, an attorney who is among many who believe that flouts the high court’s ruling.</p>
<p>In Oakland County, north of Detroit, Boyd is among 44 of 49 juvenile lifers whom prosecutors are seeking to keep locked up. Their cases won’t be argued until the Michigan Supreme Court decides whether judges or juries will hear them.</p>
<p>At the heart of those cases lies one central question: Who is and is not irredeemable? That’s stirred fierce debate between prosecutors and defense attorneys, with some juvenile justice experts arguing the best solution would be for the U.S. Supreme Court to ban outright all life-without-parole sentences for those under 18 at the time of their crimes.</p>
<p>“Most experts would tell you it’s an undefinable concept but for the sociopath, like Charles Manson. ... But he’s one in how many? Those people are incredibly rare and unusual,” says Marsha Levick, deputy director of the Juvenile Law Center, a nonprofit that advocates for youth offenders.</p>
<p>In Boyd’s case, the prosecution contends his crime was so heinous, the planning so detailed and the motive so cruel — he and his mother hoped to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy — that it clearly fits the category of rare cases. “It was premeditated, calculated and cold. It weighs in favor of irreparable corruption,” says Paul Walton, an assistant Oakland County prosecutor.</p>
<p>Boyd’s lawyer, Dave O’Brien, tells a different story: He says there was no physical evidence Boyd was at the murder scene. Boyd’s confession — in which he said he was there and participated in the killing — followed a six-hour interrogation during which investigators made false promises of leniency and Boyd provided inaccurate details of the crime, the lawyer adds.</p>
<p>O’Brien also says Lynn Boyd, who is serving life without parole, testified at her son’s trial that she committed the murder with her girlfriend, who was not charged.</p>
<p>“If you want to look at culpability, it was his mother who recruited him,” O’Brien says. “Rather than teaching him right from wrong, she’s enrolling him in a murder scheme.” Under Michigan law, aiding and abetting a killing, such as providing keys, can result in a murder conviction.</p>
<p>O’Brien also challenges the prosecutor’s characterization of Boyd. “I don’t think you should judge a 16 year old as irreparably corrupt based on one hour that took place in his life 25 years ago,” he says. “They’re not looking at how he got there or what he’s done since.”</p>
<p>Boyd’s life was troubled from the start.</p>
<p>The only child of alcoholic parents, he was physically abused, tried to commit suicide and bounced around in 10 different schools before dropping out as a sophomore, according to court records. His parents divorced when he was 12, and he had a stormy relationship with both of them. Boyd says that four years later, when he and his mother discussed the murder plot and she told him his life would improve after his father’s death, “I have to say that I think that was appealing to me.”</p>
<p>Boyd says he now knows he could have prevented a tragedy. “There was no point in time to where my hands were tied that I couldn’t have picked up the phone and warned my dad what was coming his way or called the police,” he says. “I created my own bed. I fully admit that.”</p>
<p>Oakland County prosecutor Jessica Cooper says a dysfunctional childhood is no excuse for committing murder and notes that many teens have terrible upbringings but don’t resort to crime.</p>
<p>“What do we say? Oh, that’s too bad and rap you on the hand and say, ‘It’s OK you killed a human being ... you came from a bad background and that’s acceptable,’” she said in an interview earlier this year.</p>
<p>Boyd points to his two-decade prison record as evidence of his rehabilitation. He earned a high school equivalency diploma, completed vocational programs, worked as a painter, a tutor and sanitation worker and hasn’t had a misconduct violation in 15 years.</p>
<p>“I’ve demonstrated no violent behavior,” he says. “I’ve had no substance abuse issues. ... I am not even a reflection of who I used to be.”</p>
<p>But does a clean record warrant freedom?</p>
<p>“There are parts of me that say ... I’ve done all the things that anybody could have asked me plus a hundred more,” Boyd says. “But at the same time, I don’t know where you say that there’s been enough retribution, because a human being is dead. ... This isn’t a stolen credit card. It’s not even an armed robbery. It’s a person who is no longer with us, and I struggle with that. I struggle with that a lot.”</p>
<p>When his resentencing hearing comes, Boyd says he plans to explain what he claims was his limited role in his father’s death. “I couldn’t defend myself at 16, but I’m not 16 anymore. (I’ll say) ‘Here’s where you got it wrong. Will you sit down and listen so we can fix it?’ If I get natural life again, it’s because they wouldn’t listen.</p>
<p>“If it doesn’t happen,” he says, “well, I’m used to the world of prison. That’s what life will be. That’s just how these things go.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sharon Cohen, a Chicago-based national writer, can be reached at [email protected]</p> | Should a man in prison for dad’s murder get another chance? | false | https://apnews.com/b000711475cd48828762dc0036552fb5 | 2017-12-31 | 2least
| Should a man in prison for dad’s murder get another chance?
<p>Kevin Boyd was in his mid-20s when he first grasped what it meant to be serving life without parole. It happened when a couple of longtime inmates who’d mentored him died of old age in prison and he watched them carted off on gurneys. He couldn’t help but think about his own future.</p>
<p>“It really started to dawn on me: You’re looking at a black hole and there’s no way out of it,” Boyd says from Thumb Correctional Facility in eastern Michigan. “You start thinking, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ And you don’t know.”</p>
<p>In August 1994, Boyd was 16 when, according to prosecutors, he and his mother, Lynn, hatched and carried out a plot to kill his father, Kevin Sr., who was stabbed more than 20 times and beaten with a baseball bat. The couple were divorced. Boyd maintains he wasn’t at the crime scene, but he knew his mother’s plans, told her when his father would be sleeping in a chair and gave her keys to get into his apartment. She was convicted in a separate trial.</p>
<p>Now 40, Boyd is one of the juvenile lifers Michigan prosecutors say should never walk free again. When the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, it didn’t completely eliminate the punishment but said it should be confined to “the rarest of children” whose crimes reflect “irreparable corruption.” In Michigan, prosecutors have applied that definition to nearly two-thirds of its juvenile lifers — about 235 inmates — according to Deb LaBelle, an attorney who is among many who believe that flouts the high court’s ruling.</p>
<p>In Oakland County, north of Detroit, Boyd is among 44 of 49 juvenile lifers whom prosecutors are seeking to keep locked up. Their cases won’t be argued until the Michigan Supreme Court decides whether judges or juries will hear them.</p>
<p>At the heart of those cases lies one central question: Who is and is not irredeemable? That’s stirred fierce debate between prosecutors and defense attorneys, with some juvenile justice experts arguing the best solution would be for the U.S. Supreme Court to ban outright all life-without-parole sentences for those under 18 at the time of their crimes.</p>
<p>“Most experts would tell you it’s an undefinable concept but for the sociopath, like Charles Manson. ... But he’s one in how many? Those people are incredibly rare and unusual,” says Marsha Levick, deputy director of the Juvenile Law Center, a nonprofit that advocates for youth offenders.</p>
<p>In Boyd’s case, the prosecution contends his crime was so heinous, the planning so detailed and the motive so cruel — he and his mother hoped to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy — that it clearly fits the category of rare cases. “It was premeditated, calculated and cold. It weighs in favor of irreparable corruption,” says Paul Walton, an assistant Oakland County prosecutor.</p>
<p>Boyd’s lawyer, Dave O’Brien, tells a different story: He says there was no physical evidence Boyd was at the murder scene. Boyd’s confession — in which he said he was there and participated in the killing — followed a six-hour interrogation during which investigators made false promises of leniency and Boyd provided inaccurate details of the crime, the lawyer adds.</p>
<p>O’Brien also says Lynn Boyd, who is serving life without parole, testified at her son’s trial that she committed the murder with her girlfriend, who was not charged.</p>
<p>“If you want to look at culpability, it was his mother who recruited him,” O’Brien says. “Rather than teaching him right from wrong, she’s enrolling him in a murder scheme.” Under Michigan law, aiding and abetting a killing, such as providing keys, can result in a murder conviction.</p>
<p>O’Brien also challenges the prosecutor’s characterization of Boyd. “I don’t think you should judge a 16 year old as irreparably corrupt based on one hour that took place in his life 25 years ago,” he says. “They’re not looking at how he got there or what he’s done since.”</p>
<p>Boyd’s life was troubled from the start.</p>
<p>The only child of alcoholic parents, he was physically abused, tried to commit suicide and bounced around in 10 different schools before dropping out as a sophomore, according to court records. His parents divorced when he was 12, and he had a stormy relationship with both of them. Boyd says that four years later, when he and his mother discussed the murder plot and she told him his life would improve after his father’s death, “I have to say that I think that was appealing to me.”</p>
<p>Boyd says he now knows he could have prevented a tragedy. “There was no point in time to where my hands were tied that I couldn’t have picked up the phone and warned my dad what was coming his way or called the police,” he says. “I created my own bed. I fully admit that.”</p>
<p>Oakland County prosecutor Jessica Cooper says a dysfunctional childhood is no excuse for committing murder and notes that many teens have terrible upbringings but don’t resort to crime.</p>
<p>“What do we say? Oh, that’s too bad and rap you on the hand and say, ‘It’s OK you killed a human being ... you came from a bad background and that’s acceptable,’” she said in an interview earlier this year.</p>
<p>Boyd points to his two-decade prison record as evidence of his rehabilitation. He earned a high school equivalency diploma, completed vocational programs, worked as a painter, a tutor and sanitation worker and hasn’t had a misconduct violation in 15 years.</p>
<p>“I’ve demonstrated no violent behavior,” he says. “I’ve had no substance abuse issues. ... I am not even a reflection of who I used to be.”</p>
<p>But does a clean record warrant freedom?</p>
<p>“There are parts of me that say ... I’ve done all the things that anybody could have asked me plus a hundred more,” Boyd says. “But at the same time, I don’t know where you say that there’s been enough retribution, because a human being is dead. ... This isn’t a stolen credit card. It’s not even an armed robbery. It’s a person who is no longer with us, and I struggle with that. I struggle with that a lot.”</p>
<p>When his resentencing hearing comes, Boyd says he plans to explain what he claims was his limited role in his father’s death. “I couldn’t defend myself at 16, but I’m not 16 anymore. (I’ll say) ‘Here’s where you got it wrong. Will you sit down and listen so we can fix it?’ If I get natural life again, it’s because they wouldn’t listen.</p>
<p>“If it doesn’t happen,” he says, “well, I’m used to the world of prison. That’s what life will be. That’s just how these things go.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sharon Cohen, a Chicago-based national writer, can be reached at [email protected]</p>
<p>Kevin Boyd was in his mid-20s when he first grasped what it meant to be serving life without parole. It happened when a couple of longtime inmates who’d mentored him died of old age in prison and he watched them carted off on gurneys. He couldn’t help but think about his own future.</p>
<p>“It really started to dawn on me: You’re looking at a black hole and there’s no way out of it,” Boyd says from Thumb Correctional Facility in eastern Michigan. “You start thinking, ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ And you don’t know.”</p>
<p>In August 1994, Boyd was 16 when, according to prosecutors, he and his mother, Lynn, hatched and carried out a plot to kill his father, Kevin Sr., who was stabbed more than 20 times and beaten with a baseball bat. The couple were divorced. Boyd maintains he wasn’t at the crime scene, but he knew his mother’s plans, told her when his father would be sleeping in a chair and gave her keys to get into his apartment. She was convicted in a separate trial.</p>
<p>Now 40, Boyd is one of the juvenile lifers Michigan prosecutors say should never walk free again. When the U.S. Supreme Court banned mandatory life-without-parole sentences for juveniles, it didn’t completely eliminate the punishment but said it should be confined to “the rarest of children” whose crimes reflect “irreparable corruption.” In Michigan, prosecutors have applied that definition to nearly two-thirds of its juvenile lifers — about 235 inmates — according to Deb LaBelle, an attorney who is among many who believe that flouts the high court’s ruling.</p>
<p>In Oakland County, north of Detroit, Boyd is among 44 of 49 juvenile lifers whom prosecutors are seeking to keep locked up. Their cases won’t be argued until the Michigan Supreme Court decides whether judges or juries will hear them.</p>
<p>At the heart of those cases lies one central question: Who is and is not irredeemable? That’s stirred fierce debate between prosecutors and defense attorneys, with some juvenile justice experts arguing the best solution would be for the U.S. Supreme Court to ban outright all life-without-parole sentences for those under 18 at the time of their crimes.</p>
<p>“Most experts would tell you it’s an undefinable concept but for the sociopath, like Charles Manson. ... But he’s one in how many? Those people are incredibly rare and unusual,” says Marsha Levick, deputy director of the Juvenile Law Center, a nonprofit that advocates for youth offenders.</p>
<p>In Boyd’s case, the prosecution contends his crime was so heinous, the planning so detailed and the motive so cruel — he and his mother hoped to collect on a $500,000 life insurance policy — that it clearly fits the category of rare cases. “It was premeditated, calculated and cold. It weighs in favor of irreparable corruption,” says Paul Walton, an assistant Oakland County prosecutor.</p>
<p>Boyd’s lawyer, Dave O’Brien, tells a different story: He says there was no physical evidence Boyd was at the murder scene. Boyd’s confession — in which he said he was there and participated in the killing — followed a six-hour interrogation during which investigators made false promises of leniency and Boyd provided inaccurate details of the crime, the lawyer adds.</p>
<p>O’Brien also says Lynn Boyd, who is serving life without parole, testified at her son’s trial that she committed the murder with her girlfriend, who was not charged.</p>
<p>“If you want to look at culpability, it was his mother who recruited him,” O’Brien says. “Rather than teaching him right from wrong, she’s enrolling him in a murder scheme.” Under Michigan law, aiding and abetting a killing, such as providing keys, can result in a murder conviction.</p>
<p>O’Brien also challenges the prosecutor’s characterization of Boyd. “I don’t think you should judge a 16 year old as irreparably corrupt based on one hour that took place in his life 25 years ago,” he says. “They’re not looking at how he got there or what he’s done since.”</p>
<p>Boyd’s life was troubled from the start.</p>
<p>The only child of alcoholic parents, he was physically abused, tried to commit suicide and bounced around in 10 different schools before dropping out as a sophomore, according to court records. His parents divorced when he was 12, and he had a stormy relationship with both of them. Boyd says that four years later, when he and his mother discussed the murder plot and she told him his life would improve after his father’s death, “I have to say that I think that was appealing to me.”</p>
<p>Boyd says he now knows he could have prevented a tragedy. “There was no point in time to where my hands were tied that I couldn’t have picked up the phone and warned my dad what was coming his way or called the police,” he says. “I created my own bed. I fully admit that.”</p>
<p>Oakland County prosecutor Jessica Cooper says a dysfunctional childhood is no excuse for committing murder and notes that many teens have terrible upbringings but don’t resort to crime.</p>
<p>“What do we say? Oh, that’s too bad and rap you on the hand and say, ‘It’s OK you killed a human being ... you came from a bad background and that’s acceptable,’” she said in an interview earlier this year.</p>
<p>Boyd points to his two-decade prison record as evidence of his rehabilitation. He earned a high school equivalency diploma, completed vocational programs, worked as a painter, a tutor and sanitation worker and hasn’t had a misconduct violation in 15 years.</p>
<p>“I’ve demonstrated no violent behavior,” he says. “I’ve had no substance abuse issues. ... I am not even a reflection of who I used to be.”</p>
<p>But does a clean record warrant freedom?</p>
<p>“There are parts of me that say ... I’ve done all the things that anybody could have asked me plus a hundred more,” Boyd says. “But at the same time, I don’t know where you say that there’s been enough retribution, because a human being is dead. ... This isn’t a stolen credit card. It’s not even an armed robbery. It’s a person who is no longer with us, and I struggle with that. I struggle with that a lot.”</p>
<p>When his resentencing hearing comes, Boyd says he plans to explain what he claims was his limited role in his father’s death. “I couldn’t defend myself at 16, but I’m not 16 anymore. (I’ll say) ‘Here’s where you got it wrong. Will you sit down and listen so we can fix it?’ If I get natural life again, it’s because they wouldn’t listen.</p>
<p>“If it doesn’t happen,” he says, “well, I’m used to the world of prison. That’s what life will be. That’s just how these things go.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Sharon Cohen, a Chicago-based national writer, can be reached at [email protected]</p> | 599,953 |
<p>One of the reasons Donald Trump has become so popular with many Americans lies in his gut-level pro-Americanism. Trump doesn’t make blue collar Americans feel bad about themselves; he tells them they’re not racists or sexists. Trump doesn’t make those who earn feel rotten; he tells them that he’s earned too, and he’s proud of it. Most of all, Trump doesn’t tear down law enforcement.</p>
<p>That last fact was on full display on Tuesday, when the president-elect called the family of San Antonio police officer Benjamin Marconi, who was murdered on Sunday morning during a traffic stop. Police Chief William McManus said the “uniform was the target” in the murder.</p>
<p>Marconi’s son, Dane, posted on Facebook, “Just got off the phone with future president Trump, he sends his condolences to our family.” Trump’s team has said nothing about the call thus far.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first such call for Trump post-election. Shortly after the election, Trump called the widow of murdered NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo to offer condolences. “I’m very sorry I cannot be there with you today. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time,” Trump reportedly said.</p>
<p>That’s classy.</p>
<p>It’s also necessary. President Obama sometimes called the families of slain cops; he routinely called the families of black people shot by cops under disputed circumstances. When he spoke at the funeral service for targeted Dallas police officers, he used the dais to rip police across the country as suffering from implicit bias. Americans rightly got the impression that Obama didn’t care nearly as much about targeted officers as he did about his misguided crusade to slander officers as the source of anti-black racism.</p>
<p>That’s not the message from Trump. Trump isn’t standing by bad police officers. But he’s making clear that he stands by police officers across the country, and that he takes their lives seriously. That’s a hell of a change from the current occupant of the Oval Office.</p> | CLASSY: Trump Calls Family of Slain San Antonio Officer | true | https://dailywire.com/news/11014/classy-trump-calls-family-slain-san-antonio-ben-shapiro | 2016-11-22 | 0right
| CLASSY: Trump Calls Family of Slain San Antonio Officer
<p>One of the reasons Donald Trump has become so popular with many Americans lies in his gut-level pro-Americanism. Trump doesn’t make blue collar Americans feel bad about themselves; he tells them they’re not racists or sexists. Trump doesn’t make those who earn feel rotten; he tells them that he’s earned too, and he’s proud of it. Most of all, Trump doesn’t tear down law enforcement.</p>
<p>That last fact was on full display on Tuesday, when the president-elect called the family of San Antonio police officer Benjamin Marconi, who was murdered on Sunday morning during a traffic stop. Police Chief William McManus said the “uniform was the target” in the murder.</p>
<p>Marconi’s son, Dane, posted on Facebook, “Just got off the phone with future president Trump, he sends his condolences to our family.” Trump’s team has said nothing about the call thus far.</p>
<p>This isn’t the first such call for Trump post-election. Shortly after the election, Trump called the widow of murdered NYPD Sgt. Paul Tuozzolo to offer condolences. “I’m very sorry I cannot be there with you today. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this difficult time,” Trump reportedly said.</p>
<p>That’s classy.</p>
<p>It’s also necessary. President Obama sometimes called the families of slain cops; he routinely called the families of black people shot by cops under disputed circumstances. When he spoke at the funeral service for targeted Dallas police officers, he used the dais to rip police across the country as suffering from implicit bias. Americans rightly got the impression that Obama didn’t care nearly as much about targeted officers as he did about his misguided crusade to slander officers as the source of anti-black racism.</p>
<p>That’s not the message from Trump. Trump isn’t standing by bad police officers. But he’s making clear that he stands by police officers across the country, and that he takes their lives seriously. That’s a hell of a change from the current occupant of the Oval Office.</p> | 599,954 |
<p />
<p>The arrest of Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius for the <a href="" type="internal">alleged murder</a> of his girlfriend sparked renewed debate over the issue of athletes who overnight go from hero to villain. Here's a look at athletes who've lived double lives as wife-beaters, murderers, and car thiefs.</p>
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<p>South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was arrested for the alleged murder of his girlfriend Thursday after authorities discovered her dead in his home. The 26-year-old Paralympic gold medalist and double amputee—nicknamed “Blade Runner”—was a fan favorite during the 2012 London Olympics. Responding to reports of gunfire near Pistorius's home, police arrived on the scene to find his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, dead. The bubbly 30-year-old blonde was a cover model for FHM and the face of Avon South Africa. In an eerie message posted just hours before her death, Steenkamp posed a Valentine's Day question to her followers. “What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???” the tweet reads. Although Pistorius was initially set to appear in court Thursday, sources close to the scandal say the legal proceedings have been put on hold.</p>
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<p>Two days after Kansas City Chiefs linebacker <a href="/content/dailybeast/cheats/2012/12/02/friend-belcher-suffered-memory-loss.html" type="external">Jovan Belcher</a> killed his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins, and then committed suicide, it still wasn’t clear exactly what motivated his violent actions. Could it have been the fact that Perkins was out until 1 a.m. the night before at a Trey Songz concert? The couple, who had a 3-month-old daughter together, had an “on again, off again” relationship and reportedly had <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2012/12/01/jovan-belcher-kansas-city-chiefs-football-player-snaps.html" type="external">argued</a> frequently. While things weren’t perfect, Belcher had no history of domestic assault, and Perkins moved from her native Texas so they could raise their daughter together.</p>
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<p>In August 2010, Lance Stephenson <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jeff_benedict/08/18/krod.stephenson/index.html" type="external">was arrested</a> in New York for felony assault and harassment for allegedly attacking the mother of his child. Stephenson, an Indiana Pacers rookie at the time, reportedly pushed his girlfriend, Jasmine Williams, down a flight of stairs. Prosecutors also said Stephenson smashed her head into a step.</p>
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<p>Former Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez had a couple of run-ins with the law. In 2010, he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend’s father after a verbal altercation turned physical. Rodriguez reportedly had been yelling at Daian Pena, the mother of his infant twins, when Pena’s dad stepped in to protect his daughter. Two years later, Rodriguez was <a href="http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/178988101.html" type="external">charged</a> <a href="https://webmail.iac.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=cjnf8TcHm0-g-su6n-OoEICaBxY4pc8Ih53tFYeLDdo42ij8L3ouS6gmZIx7H0977Ayf5cK7WQM.&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwebmail.iac.com%2fowa%2fredir.aspx%3fC%3dgB92NR8UuUul4I0MXeM2tgtDo35SpM8IbQIB4xT6fKWwxpFkMi2XL8wAHk9hLZFGwUfcYkHIlFE.%26URL%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.620wtmj.com%252fnews%252flocal%252f178988101.html" type="external" /> with disorderly conduct for striking a woman in the head and then grabbing her by the hair and throwing her. The charges were dropped.</p>
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<p>In 2003, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman allegedly <a href="http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/07/Tampabay/Player_s_wife_said_ab.shtml" type="external">rammed</a> his Hummer into his wife’s Mercedes-Benz while she, their 2-year-old son, and their babysitter were in it. The couple had been fighting about Pittman’s supposed infidelity. When his wife tried to leave, Pittman used his SUV to block her exit, smashed into the passenger-side door, and pushed the Mercedes to the curb, according to police reports. It wasn’t the couple’s first altercation. Melissa Pittman estimated she had been subjected to at least 30 incidents of domestic violence.</p>
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<p>Jason and Joumana Kidd had a rocky 10-year marriage. In 2001, the NBA star was arrested for hitting her on the face during an argument over feeding their son. He pleaded guilty to spousal abuse and paid a $200 fine. When the pair divorced in 2009, Joumana <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500290_162-2489764.html" type="external">alleged</a> that he attacked her numerous times and once gave her a concussion after hitting her with a candlestick. One of the last incidents, according to Joumana, occurred in December 2006, when, she said, Jason choked her and caused her to stop breathing. Jason denied the allegations in the divorce filings.</p>
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<p>NFL running back Lawrence Phillips <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2140010" type="external">was arrested</a> in August 2005 after he drove a stolen car into three teenagers he had been arguing with during a football game. The teenagers survived with minor injuries, but police charged Phillips with attempted murder. He was already wanted by the authorities for two incidents of domestic violence. The former University of Nebraska player allegedly had attacked his girlfriend and at one point choked her into unconsciousness.</p>
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<p>George Huguely was <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/uva-lacrosse-killer-george-huguely-sentenced-23-years/story?id=17107533#.UL06G2cUMhW" type="external">sentenced</a> to 23 years in prison for beating his ex-girlfriend, <a href="/content/newsweek/blogs/the-human-condition/2010/05/12/turns-out-yeardley-love-couldn-t-have-gotten-a-restraining-order-if-she-wanted-to.html" type="external">Yeardley Love</a>, to death in May 2010. Huguely kicked in Love’s bedroom door and killed her in a violent, drunken rage, leaving her to die in a pool of her own blood. Both were star lacrosse players at the University of Virginia. Defense attorneys tried to argue that he didn’t intend to kill Love, who was just two weeks away from graduation, but jurors convicted him of second-degree murder.</p>
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<p>Professional wrestler Chris Benoit <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286840,00.html" type="external">asphyxiated</a> his wife and their 7-year-old son in June 2007 before hanging himself on gym equipment in their home. The reason Benoit, who began his career in 1985, killed his family and then himself remains shrouded in mystery. Investigators found prescription steroids in the wrestler’s system, leaving open the possibility Benoit suffered from ’roid rage. But later, Benoit’s father <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286840,00.html" type="external">blamed</a> the tragedy on life-altering brain injuries that were discovered after his son’s death.</p>
<p /> | Oscar Pistorius, Jovan Belcher, Chris Benoit & Other Athletes Who Snapped (PHOTOS) | true | https://thedailybeast.com/oscar-pistorius-jovan-belcher-chris-benoit-and-other-athletes-who-snapped-photos | 2018-10-05 | 4left
| Oscar Pistorius, Jovan Belcher, Chris Benoit & Other Athletes Who Snapped (PHOTOS)
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<p>The arrest of Paralympic champion Oscar Pistorius for the <a href="" type="internal">alleged murder</a> of his girlfriend sparked renewed debate over the issue of athletes who overnight go from hero to villain. Here's a look at athletes who've lived double lives as wife-beaters, murderers, and car thiefs.</p>
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<p>South African sprinter Oscar Pistorius was arrested for the alleged murder of his girlfriend Thursday after authorities discovered her dead in his home. The 26-year-old Paralympic gold medalist and double amputee—nicknamed “Blade Runner”—was a fan favorite during the 2012 London Olympics. Responding to reports of gunfire near Pistorius's home, police arrived on the scene to find his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, dead. The bubbly 30-year-old blonde was a cover model for FHM and the face of Avon South Africa. In an eerie message posted just hours before her death, Steenkamp posed a Valentine's Day question to her followers. “What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow???” the tweet reads. Although Pistorius was initially set to appear in court Thursday, sources close to the scandal say the legal proceedings have been put on hold.</p>
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<p>Two days after Kansas City Chiefs linebacker <a href="/content/dailybeast/cheats/2012/12/02/friend-belcher-suffered-memory-loss.html" type="external">Jovan Belcher</a> killed his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kasandra Perkins, and then committed suicide, it still wasn’t clear exactly what motivated his violent actions. Could it have been the fact that Perkins was out until 1 a.m. the night before at a Trey Songz concert? The couple, who had a 3-month-old daughter together, had an “on again, off again” relationship and reportedly had <a href="/content/dailybeast/articles/2012/12/01/jovan-belcher-kansas-city-chiefs-football-player-snaps.html" type="external">argued</a> frequently. While things weren’t perfect, Belcher had no history of domestic assault, and Perkins moved from her native Texas so they could raise their daughter together.</p>
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<p>In August 2010, Lance Stephenson <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/writers/jeff_benedict/08/18/krod.stephenson/index.html" type="external">was arrested</a> in New York for felony assault and harassment for allegedly attacking the mother of his child. Stephenson, an Indiana Pacers rookie at the time, reportedly pushed his girlfriend, Jasmine Williams, down a flight of stairs. Prosecutors also said Stephenson smashed her head into a step.</p>
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<p>Former Milwaukee Brewers relief pitcher Francisco Rodriguez had a couple of run-ins with the law. In 2010, he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend’s father after a verbal altercation turned physical. Rodriguez reportedly had been yelling at Daian Pena, the mother of his infant twins, when Pena’s dad stepped in to protect his daughter. Two years later, Rodriguez was <a href="http://www.620wtmj.com/news/local/178988101.html" type="external">charged</a> <a href="https://webmail.iac.com/owa/redir.aspx?C=cjnf8TcHm0-g-su6n-OoEICaBxY4pc8Ih53tFYeLDdo42ij8L3ouS6gmZIx7H0977Ayf5cK7WQM.&amp;URL=https%3a%2f%2fwebmail.iac.com%2fowa%2fredir.aspx%3fC%3dgB92NR8UuUul4I0MXeM2tgtDo35SpM8IbQIB4xT6fKWwxpFkMi2XL8wAHk9hLZFGwUfcYkHIlFE.%26URL%3dhttp%253a%252f%252fwww.620wtmj.com%252fnews%252flocal%252f178988101.html" type="external" /> with disorderly conduct for striking a woman in the head and then grabbing her by the hair and throwing her. The charges were dropped.</p>
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<p>In 2003, Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Michael Pittman allegedly <a href="http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/07/Tampabay/Player_s_wife_said_ab.shtml" type="external">rammed</a> his Hummer into his wife’s Mercedes-Benz while she, their 2-year-old son, and their babysitter were in it. The couple had been fighting about Pittman’s supposed infidelity. When his wife tried to leave, Pittman used his SUV to block her exit, smashed into the passenger-side door, and pushed the Mercedes to the curb, according to police reports. It wasn’t the couple’s first altercation. Melissa Pittman estimated she had been subjected to at least 30 incidents of domestic violence.</p>
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<p>Jason and Joumana Kidd had a rocky 10-year marriage. In 2001, the NBA star was arrested for hitting her on the face during an argument over feeding their son. He pleaded guilty to spousal abuse and paid a $200 fine. When the pair divorced in 2009, Joumana <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-500290_162-2489764.html" type="external">alleged</a> that he attacked her numerous times and once gave her a concussion after hitting her with a candlestick. One of the last incidents, according to Joumana, occurred in December 2006, when, she said, Jason choked her and caused her to stop breathing. Jason denied the allegations in the divorce filings.</p>
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<p>NFL running back Lawrence Phillips <a href="http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2140010" type="external">was arrested</a> in August 2005 after he drove a stolen car into three teenagers he had been arguing with during a football game. The teenagers survived with minor injuries, but police charged Phillips with attempted murder. He was already wanted by the authorities for two incidents of domestic violence. The former University of Nebraska player allegedly had attacked his girlfriend and at one point choked her into unconsciousness.</p>
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<p>George Huguely was <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/uva-lacrosse-killer-george-huguely-sentenced-23-years/story?id=17107533#.UL06G2cUMhW" type="external">sentenced</a> to 23 years in prison for beating his ex-girlfriend, <a href="/content/newsweek/blogs/the-human-condition/2010/05/12/turns-out-yeardley-love-couldn-t-have-gotten-a-restraining-order-if-she-wanted-to.html" type="external">Yeardley Love</a>, to death in May 2010. Huguely kicked in Love’s bedroom door and killed her in a violent, drunken rage, leaving her to die in a pool of her own blood. Both were star lacrosse players at the University of Virginia. Defense attorneys tried to argue that he didn’t intend to kill Love, who was just two weeks away from graduation, but jurors convicted him of second-degree murder.</p>
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<p>Professional wrestler Chris Benoit <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286840,00.html" type="external">asphyxiated</a> his wife and their 7-year-old son in June 2007 before hanging himself on gym equipment in their home. The reason Benoit, who began his career in 1985, killed his family and then himself remains shrouded in mystery. Investigators found prescription steroids in the wrestler’s system, leaving open the possibility Benoit suffered from ’roid rage. But later, Benoit’s father <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286840,00.html" type="external">blamed</a> the tragedy on life-altering brain injuries that were discovered after his son’s death.</p>
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<p>Art Streiber/NBC</p>
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<p>Paula Deen kills Trayvon Martin. That’s the premise of an upcoming episode of the long-running NBC drama Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit. The series doesn’t return for its 15th season until September 25, but news of its third episode has already generated some buzz—and whipped right wingers into a frenzy.</p>
<p><a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/08/21/law-and-order-svu-trayvon-martin/" type="external">According to</a>&#160;Warren Leight, the show’s executive producer, the upcoming episode is about “a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/entertainment-us-pauladeen-people-idUSBRE97M0ZK20130823" type="external">very high-profile celebrity woman chef</a> who thought she was being pursued by a rapist and [when she] turned around it <a href="" type="internal">was a teenager</a>.” The chef is a fictionalized version of Paula Deen, the Savannah, Georgia-based cooking personality and author who was recently embroiled in a <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/06/paula-deen-racial.php" type="external">racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit</a>. The minor she fatally shoots is clearly <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/adriancarrasquillo/the-inevitable-trayvon-martin-inspired-law-and-order-episode" type="external">inspired by Trayvon Martin</a>.</p>
<p>On Fox News’ The Five, co-host (and <a href="" type="internal">sworn enemy of Muppets</a>) Eric Bolling described the episode’s plot as “ <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/the-five-slams-nbc-for-trayvonpaula-deen-law-order-episode/" type="external">yanking America’s race scab right off</a>,” with the rest of the panel then tearing into&#160;SVU and NBC. (NBC is a popular target of conservative pundits on Fox; they seem to be <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-oreilly-defends-nbc-drone-coverage-claim-by-denying-he-said-what-he-said/" type="external">perpetually mad</a> at NBC, NBC News, and MSNBC, and are beside themselves over the impending Hillary Clinton <a href="" type="internal">miniseries</a> starring Diane Lane.)</p>
<p>“The only thing missing is a George Bush or Dick Cheney character in there engaging in a serial killing spree of some Muslim characters,” <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2013/08/23/law-and-order-svu-episode-feature-paula-deen-killing-trayvon-mart" type="external">opined</a> NewsBusters’ Matthew Sheffield.</p>
<p>“There should be a way for Paula Deen to sue these people for slander,” <a href="http://www.caintv.com/law-and-order-svu-to-have-paul" type="external">declared</a>&#160;Dan Calabrese over at <a href="" type="internal">Herman Cain</a>‘s website.</p>
<p>“The Law &amp; Order franchise, the brainchild of <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/dick-wolf-9542277" type="external">Dick Wolf</a>, has a history of retelling recent history through a progressive lens,” <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2013/08/22/law-order-trayvon-deen" type="external">wrote</a> Christian Toto for Breitbart.com.</p>
<p>It’s no secret that SVU has a liberal streak. The show built an <a href="http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/law-order-svu-plot-spawned-from-todd-akin-story/" type="external">episode</a> around Rep. Todd Akin’s “ <a href="" type="internal">legitimate rape</a>” comment, and not flatteringly so. Back in the sixth season, the assistant district attorney <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629659/" type="external">subpoenaed Donald Rumsfeld</a>. The series is also consistently <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629607/quotes" type="external">critical</a> of gay-bashers. And in the forthcoming Paula Deen-Trayvon Martin episode, “There’s a lot of <a href="" type="internal">stop and frisk</a> elements to [the SVU story], as well,” according to Leight.</p>
<p>If you know anything about the Law &amp; Order <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_%26_Order_%28franchise%29#The_franchise" type="external">universe</a>, you know that SVU fashions many storylines using this&#160;“ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/21/nyregion/20100523-ripped-slideshow.html?_r=0" type="external">ripped from the headlines</a>” approach in a bid for relevance, publicity, and higher ratings. Other examples include SVU‘s Michael Jackson- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629732/" type="external">inspired</a> episode, or a 2012 <a href="http://gawker.com/5866688/occupy-wall-street-occupies-law-and-order-occupy-wall-street-set" type="external">episode</a> that combined elements of Occupy Wall Street and the <a href="" type="internal">Jamie Leigh Jones gang-rape allegations</a> into one narrative.</p>
<p>This is also not the first time that SVU has directly pissed off Fox News. In a 2009 episode titled “ <a href="http://www.tv.com/shows/law-order-special-victims-unit/anchor-1301968/" type="external">Anchor</a>,” a defense attorney explains why he’s chosen to defend man who murdered the kids of undocumented immigrants. The lawyer puts most of the blame on conservative media figures, rather than the killer himself: “ <a href="" type="internal">Limbaugh</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Beck</a>, <a href="" type="internal">O’Reilly</a>, all of them. They’re like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate. I mean, they have convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system.”</p>
<p>This did not sit well with Fox host Bill O’Reilly. “That is simply defamatory and outrageous, and Dick Wolf is a coward for putting it out there,” he <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/12/11/law-order-out-control/" type="external">complained</a> on The O’Reilly Factor. “Dick Wolf, the executive producer of Law &amp; Order, is a despicable human being for distorting and exploiting this very complicated situation. I mean, enough is enough with these network pinheads who shove propaganda down our throats under the guise of entertainment.”</p>
<p>The Trayvon Martin-inspired episode, still several weeks from airing, stars&#160; <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cybill_shepherd/" type="external">Cybill Shepherd</a> as the famous chef (Shepherd has previously played <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=881050n" type="external">Martha-Stewart-in-prison</a>) and <a href="" type="internal">Jeffrey Tambor</a> as her attorney. <a href="https://twitter.com/SonjaSohn" type="external">Sonja Sohn</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1502434/" type="external">Leslie Odom, Jr</a>. will also appear.</p>
<p>NBC and representatives for the series did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p /> | Conservatives Freak Out About a Fictional Paula Deen Killing Trayvon Martin on “Law & Order: SVU” | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2013/08/paula-deen-trayvon-martin-law-and-order-svu-fox-news/ | 2013-08-27 | 4left
| Conservatives Freak Out About a Fictional Paula Deen Killing Trayvon Martin on “Law & Order: SVU”
<p>Art Streiber/NBC</p>
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<p>Paula Deen kills Trayvon Martin. That’s the premise of an upcoming episode of the long-running NBC drama Law &amp; Order: Special Victims Unit. The series doesn’t return for its 15th season until September 25, but news of its third episode has already generated some buzz—and whipped right wingers into a frenzy.</p>
<p><a href="http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/08/21/law-and-order-svu-trayvon-martin/" type="external">According to</a>&#160;Warren Leight, the show’s executive producer, the upcoming episode is about “a <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/23/entertainment-us-pauladeen-people-idUSBRE97M0ZK20130823" type="external">very high-profile celebrity woman chef</a> who thought she was being pursued by a rapist and [when she] turned around it <a href="" type="internal">was a teenager</a>.” The chef is a fictionalized version of Paula Deen, the Savannah, Georgia-based cooking personality and author who was recently embroiled in a <a href="http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/06/paula-deen-racial.php" type="external">racial discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit</a>. The minor she fatally shoots is clearly <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/adriancarrasquillo/the-inevitable-trayvon-martin-inspired-law-and-order-episode" type="external">inspired by Trayvon Martin</a>.</p>
<p>On Fox News’ The Five, co-host (and <a href="" type="internal">sworn enemy of Muppets</a>) Eric Bolling described the episode’s plot as “ <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/the-five-slams-nbc-for-trayvonpaula-deen-law-order-episode/" type="external">yanking America’s race scab right off</a>,” with the rest of the panel then tearing into&#160;SVU and NBC. (NBC is a popular target of conservative pundits on Fox; they seem to be <a href="http://www.mediaite.com/tv/bill-oreilly-defends-nbc-drone-coverage-claim-by-denying-he-said-what-he-said/" type="external">perpetually mad</a> at NBC, NBC News, and MSNBC, and are beside themselves over the impending Hillary Clinton <a href="" type="internal">miniseries</a> starring Diane Lane.)</p>
<p>“The only thing missing is a George Bush or Dick Cheney character in there engaging in a serial killing spree of some Muslim characters,” <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2013/08/23/law-and-order-svu-episode-feature-paula-deen-killing-trayvon-mart" type="external">opined</a> NewsBusters’ Matthew Sheffield.</p>
<p>“There should be a way for Paula Deen to sue these people for slander,” <a href="http://www.caintv.com/law-and-order-svu-to-have-paul" type="external">declared</a>&#160;Dan Calabrese over at <a href="" type="internal">Herman Cain</a>‘s website.</p>
<p>“The Law &amp; Order franchise, the brainchild of <a href="http://www.biography.com/people/dick-wolf-9542277" type="external">Dick Wolf</a>, has a history of retelling recent history through a progressive lens,” <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Hollywood/2013/08/22/law-order-trayvon-deen" type="external">wrote</a> Christian Toto for Breitbart.com.</p>
<p>It’s no secret that SVU has a liberal streak. The show built an <a href="http://www.deadline.com/2013/03/law-order-svu-plot-spawned-from-todd-akin-story/" type="external">episode</a> around Rep. Todd Akin’s “ <a href="" type="internal">legitimate rape</a>” comment, and not flatteringly so. Back in the sixth season, the assistant district attorney <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629659/" type="external">subpoenaed Donald Rumsfeld</a>. The series is also consistently <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629607/quotes" type="external">critical</a> of gay-bashers. And in the forthcoming Paula Deen-Trayvon Martin episode, “There’s a lot of <a href="" type="internal">stop and frisk</a> elements to [the SVU story], as well,” according to Leight.</p>
<p>If you know anything about the Law &amp; Order <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_%26_Order_%28franchise%29#The_franchise" type="external">universe</a>, you know that SVU fashions many storylines using this&#160;“ <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/05/21/nyregion/20100523-ripped-slideshow.html?_r=0" type="external">ripped from the headlines</a>” approach in a bid for relevance, publicity, and higher ratings. Other examples include SVU‘s Michael Jackson- <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629732/" type="external">inspired</a> episode, or a 2012 <a href="http://gawker.com/5866688/occupy-wall-street-occupies-law-and-order-occupy-wall-street-set" type="external">episode</a> that combined elements of Occupy Wall Street and the <a href="" type="internal">Jamie Leigh Jones gang-rape allegations</a> into one narrative.</p>
<p>This is also not the first time that SVU has directly pissed off Fox News. In a 2009 episode titled “ <a href="http://www.tv.com/shows/law-order-special-victims-unit/anchor-1301968/" type="external">Anchor</a>,” a defense attorney explains why he’s chosen to defend man who murdered the kids of undocumented immigrants. The lawyer puts most of the blame on conservative media figures, rather than the killer himself: “ <a href="" type="internal">Limbaugh</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Beck</a>, <a href="" type="internal">O’Reilly</a>, all of them. They’re like a cancer spreading ignorance and hate. I mean, they have convinced folks that immigrants are the problem, not corporations that fail to pay a living wage or a broken health care system.”</p>
<p>This did not sit well with Fox host Bill O’Reilly. “That is simply defamatory and outrageous, and Dick Wolf is a coward for putting it out there,” he <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/2009/12/11/law-order-out-control/" type="external">complained</a> on The O’Reilly Factor. “Dick Wolf, the executive producer of Law &amp; Order, is a despicable human being for distorting and exploiting this very complicated situation. I mean, enough is enough with these network pinheads who shove propaganda down our throats under the guise of entertainment.”</p>
<p>The Trayvon Martin-inspired episode, still several weeks from airing, stars&#160; <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/cybill_shepherd/" type="external">Cybill Shepherd</a> as the famous chef (Shepherd has previously played <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=881050n" type="external">Martha-Stewart-in-prison</a>) and <a href="" type="internal">Jeffrey Tambor</a> as her attorney. <a href="https://twitter.com/SonjaSohn" type="external">Sonja Sohn</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1502434/" type="external">Leslie Odom, Jr</a>. will also appear.</p>
<p>NBC and representatives for the series did not respond to requests for comment.</p>
<p /> | 599,956 |
<p>Companies in nearly every industry have realized the value of keeping and analyzing information, and using the power of the cloud has become extremely important for those looking to make the most of their data. Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) has used an <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/24/how-arista-networks-is-succeeding-in-the-battle-fo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">open-source philosophy to fight against big-tech rivals Opens a New Window.</a>, and many clients appreciate the company's different approach to helping them get more value from their information technology efforts.</p>
<p>Coming into Thursday's third-quarter financial report, Arista shareholders believed that the solid growth the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/13/why-arista-networks-inc-stock-rose-18-in-august.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">cloud and data center business has seen lately Opens a New Window.</a> would continue. Arista didn't disappoint on that front, blowing past expectations and seeing a better performance ahead.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Let's look more closely at Arista Networks to see how its results are making people more optimistic about its future.</p>
<p>Arista Networks' third-quarter results included some unprecedented growth. Sales were up by more than half to $437.6 million, and that was far better than even the ambitious 44% growth rate many investors were looking to see. Adjusted net income doubled from year-ago levels to $128.2 million, and adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share dramatically exceeded the consensus forecast for $1.19 per share among those following the stock.</p>
<p>Arista continued to see growth from across its business. The key product line saw revenue climb 50%, while the services side of the business posted an even faster growth rate approaching 60%. Gross margin held up well, falling by just a tenth of a percentage point to remain above the 64% level. Most importantly, Arista kept its expenses in check. Even with much faster revenue gains, Arista spent just 14% more on research and development expenses, 22% more on sales and marketing costs, and identical amounts on overhead compared to the third quarter of 2016. Interest expense was also down for the period, adding to the boost in Arista's bottom line.</p>
<p>CEO Jayshree Ullal kept things very simple. "I am proud of our record results and profits in Q3 2017," Ullal said. "Our performance validates our meaningful traction with customers as they evolve from legacy to universal cloud networking designs." CFO Ita Brennan was also happy with the way Arista performed and executed during the quarter.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A key part of Arista's future success will come from its efforts to help enterprises simplify the way they take advantage of all of the new capabilities in information technology. The Arista Any Cloud software platform will make it easier for users to integrate and manage hybrid clouds across both private cloud data centers and public cloud providers. By allowing users to go beyond the boundaries of any one network, Any Cloud provides for consistent operations, security, and telemetry for a user's entire IT system in an orchestrated and well-managed way.</p>
<p>Arista's growth has been noteworthy. The company made the top 10 in the list of 100 fastest-growing companies from Fortune in September, joining a long list of accolades that Arista has brought home in recent years.</p>
<p>Guidance for the fourth quarter showed Arista's ongoing trajectory. Sales of between $450 million and $465 million would be above the current consensus forecast. Although Arista doesn't give explicit earnings guidance, calls for adjusted gross margin of 63% to 65% and operating margin of 30% to 32% mark improvements from previous guidance and suggest greater levels of efficiency within the tech company.</p>
<p>Arista Networks investors celebrated the news, and the stock soared 10% at midday Friday following the announcement. With no end in sight to the upward path toward adoption of cloud computing and data center optimization technology, Arista has carved out a lucrative niche that could pay off for years to come.</p>
<p>Find out why Arista Networks is one of the 10 best stocks to buy now</p>
<p>Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner have spent more than a decade beating the market. (In fact, the newsletter they run, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market!*)</p>
<p>Tom and David just revealed their ten top stock picks for investors to buy right now. Arista Networks <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-sa-bbn-eg%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000450%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6313%26ftm_veh%3Darticle_pitch&amp;impression=a09e0d90-cb16-456a-bf57-9abf06ed72b7&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">is on the list Opens a New Window.</a> -- but there are nine others you may be overlooking.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-sa-bbn-eg%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000450%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6313%26ftm_veh%3Darticle_pitch&amp;impression=a09e0d90-cb16-456a-bf57-9abf06ed72b7&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here to get access to the full list! Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Arista Networks. 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=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Arista Networks Keeps Enjoying Soaring Sales | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/03/arista-networks-keeps-enjoying-soaring-sales.html | 2017-11-03 | 0right
| Arista Networks Keeps Enjoying Soaring Sales
<p>Companies in nearly every industry have realized the value of keeping and analyzing information, and using the power of the cloud has become extremely important for those looking to make the most of their data. Arista Networks (NYSE: ANET) has used an <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/24/how-arista-networks-is-succeeding-in-the-battle-fo.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">open-source philosophy to fight against big-tech rivals Opens a New Window.</a>, and many clients appreciate the company's different approach to helping them get more value from their information technology efforts.</p>
<p>Coming into Thursday's third-quarter financial report, Arista shareholders believed that the solid growth the <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/13/why-arista-networks-inc-stock-rose-18-in-august.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">cloud and data center business has seen lately Opens a New Window.</a> would continue. Arista didn't disappoint on that front, blowing past expectations and seeing a better performance ahead.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Let's look more closely at Arista Networks to see how its results are making people more optimistic about its future.</p>
<p>Arista Networks' third-quarter results included some unprecedented growth. Sales were up by more than half to $437.6 million, and that was far better than even the ambitious 44% growth rate many investors were looking to see. Adjusted net income doubled from year-ago levels to $128.2 million, and adjusted earnings of $1.62 per share dramatically exceeded the consensus forecast for $1.19 per share among those following the stock.</p>
<p>Arista continued to see growth from across its business. The key product line saw revenue climb 50%, while the services side of the business posted an even faster growth rate approaching 60%. Gross margin held up well, falling by just a tenth of a percentage point to remain above the 64% level. Most importantly, Arista kept its expenses in check. Even with much faster revenue gains, Arista spent just 14% more on research and development expenses, 22% more on sales and marketing costs, and identical amounts on overhead compared to the third quarter of 2016. Interest expense was also down for the period, adding to the boost in Arista's bottom line.</p>
<p>CEO Jayshree Ullal kept things very simple. "I am proud of our record results and profits in Q3 2017," Ullal said. "Our performance validates our meaningful traction with customers as they evolve from legacy to universal cloud networking designs." CFO Ita Brennan was also happy with the way Arista performed and executed during the quarter.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>A key part of Arista's future success will come from its efforts to help enterprises simplify the way they take advantage of all of the new capabilities in information technology. The Arista Any Cloud software platform will make it easier for users to integrate and manage hybrid clouds across both private cloud data centers and public cloud providers. By allowing users to go beyond the boundaries of any one network, Any Cloud provides for consistent operations, security, and telemetry for a user's entire IT system in an orchestrated and well-managed way.</p>
<p>Arista's growth has been noteworthy. The company made the top 10 in the list of 100 fastest-growing companies from Fortune in September, joining a long list of accolades that Arista has brought home in recent years.</p>
<p>Guidance for the fourth quarter showed Arista's ongoing trajectory. Sales of between $450 million and $465 million would be above the current consensus forecast. Although Arista doesn't give explicit earnings guidance, calls for adjusted gross margin of 63% to 65% and operating margin of 30% to 32% mark improvements from previous guidance and suggest greater levels of efficiency within the tech company.</p>
<p>Arista Networks investors celebrated the news, and the stock soared 10% at midday Friday following the announcement. With no end in sight to the upward path toward adoption of cloud computing and data center optimization technology, Arista has carved out a lucrative niche that could pay off for years to come.</p>
<p>Find out why Arista Networks is one of the 10 best stocks to buy now</p>
<p>Motley Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner have spent more than a decade beating the market. (In fact, the newsletter they run, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market!*)</p>
<p>Tom and David just revealed their ten top stock picks for investors to buy right now. Arista Networks <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-sa-bbn-eg%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000450%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6313%26ftm_veh%3Darticle_pitch&amp;impression=a09e0d90-cb16-456a-bf57-9abf06ed72b7&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">is on the list Opens a New Window.</a> -- but there are nine others you may be overlooking.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-sa-bbn-eg%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000450%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6313%26ftm_veh%3Darticle_pitch&amp;impression=a09e0d90-cb16-456a-bf57-9abf06ed72b7&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here to get access to the full list! Opens a New Window.</a></p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of October 9, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;referring_guid=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Arista Networks. 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=90552964-c0b5-11e7-ad9d-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 599,957 |
<p />
<p>The United States’ war on terror is “bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle” and amounts to “the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years.”</p>
<p>That’s the verdict of Amnesty International’s <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=A41FBB92A536608380256E7C0062B8AF" type="external">annual report on human rights abuses</a>. The document, released on Wednesday, surveys human rights conditions in 155 countries and finds no shortage of violations — running the gamut from extrajudicial execution, reckless killing of civilians, torture, and detention without judicial process, to “disappearances” and hostage-taking — committed by armed groups and governments alike. But it singles out the U.S. for particular criticism, citing the extralegal incarceration of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, among other human rights lapses.</p>
<p>William F. Schulz, Amnesty’s executive director, <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=1B232FA21B96AA9B85256EA0004F265C" type="external">says that</a> “the ‘war on terror,’ which President Bush says has made America more secure, has devolved into a global street brawl with governments and armed groups duking it out, as innocent civilians suffer severely,” and the <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=A41FBB92A536608380256E7C0062B8AF" type="external">report itself</a> claims that “the USA and its allies purported to fight the war in Iraq to protect human rights – but openly eroded human rights to win the “war on terror.”</p>
<p>In part the sin has been one of omission. Irene Khan, the secretary general of Amnesty International, says that the war in Iraq — the “central front, as George Bush would have it, in the war on terror — not only led to a new wave of abuses, but has diverted attention from other troubled areas.</p>
<p />
<p>“While governments have been obsessed with Iraq they have allowed the real weapons of mass destruction – injustice and impunity, poverty, discrimination and racism, the uncontrolled trade in small arms, violence against women and children – to go unaddressed.”</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,1224821,00.html" type="external">another report</a>, this one by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, says that occupied Iraq is a breeding ground for Al Qaeda and worldwide terrorism. The report says that Al Qaeda claims more than 18,000 potential terrorists and a presence in more than 60 countries. IISS also warns that Iraq is facing a “security vacuum.”</p>
<p>The IISS report is also concerned that the money directed toward “security” efforts could be going toward efforts to improve basic living standards and to improve quality of life. The report says:</p>
<p />
<p>“Iraq and the “war on terror” have obscured the greatest human rights challenge of our times. According to some sources, developing countries spend about US$22 billion a year on weapons and, for $10 billion dollars a year, they would achieve universal primary education. These statistics hide a huge scandal: the failed promise to attack extreme poverty and address gross economic and social injustice.”</p>
<p>In addition, <a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&amp;c=Article&amp;cid=1085523608981&amp;call_pageid=968332188854&amp;col=968350060724" type="external">government repression and brutality</a> continues against the Uygurs in China and Islamists in Egypt, while gross violations of human rights go unchecked in “forgotten conflicts” such as Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nepal.</p>
<p>The Amnesty report also addresses the human rights violations occurring in the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3749055.stm" type="external">Israel/Palestinian conflict</a>. The toll of killings, including killings of children, continued to rise – around 600 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army; around 200 Israeli victims, many the victims of suicide bombings.</p>
<p>Another crisis at hand is the pattern of massive human rights violations found in the far western region of Sudan. The U.N.’s commission on Human Rights documented the abuses and reported them at the annual meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. The commission decided to suppress the report. Eric Reeves, a professor at Smith College who has appeared several times before Congress on the ongoing crisis in Sudan writes in <a href="http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/genocide_in_sudan/" type="external">In These Times</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>“But the end result was that the commission released an innocuous and meaningless statement that failed to condemn the government of Sudan for its role in orchestrating the vast human destruction in Darfur. This continues a pattern of callous failures that have rendered the U.N. Commission on Human Rights hopelessly irrelevant in fulfilling its nominal mandate. But willful ignorance can do nothing to diminish what U.N. aid officials are now describing as “the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&amp;c=Article&amp;cid=1085523608981&amp;call_pageid=968332188854&amp;col=968350060724" type="external">One positive outcome</a> the report identifies is that human rights activists have managed to form a “worldwide web of solidarity” to globalize the struggle of victims of abuses, and it is increasingly difficult for perpetrators to go unchallenged.</p>
<p /> | The Abuse Excuse | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2004/05/abuse-excuse/ | 2004-05-27 | 4left
| The Abuse Excuse
<p />
<p>The United States’ war on terror is “bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle” and amounts to “the most sustained attack on human rights and international humanitarian law in 50 years.”</p>
<p>That’s the verdict of Amnesty International’s <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=A41FBB92A536608380256E7C0062B8AF" type="external">annual report on human rights abuses</a>. The document, released on Wednesday, surveys human rights conditions in 155 countries and finds no shortage of violations — running the gamut from extrajudicial execution, reckless killing of civilians, torture, and detention without judicial process, to “disappearances” and hostage-taking — committed by armed groups and governments alike. But it singles out the U.S. for particular criticism, citing the extralegal incarceration of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and the mistreatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, among other human rights lapses.</p>
<p>William F. Schulz, Amnesty’s executive director, <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=1B232FA21B96AA9B85256EA0004F265C" type="external">says that</a> “the ‘war on terror,’ which President Bush says has made America more secure, has devolved into a global street brawl with governments and armed groups duking it out, as innocent civilians suffer severely,” and the <a href="http://www.amnestyusa.org/news/document.do?id=A41FBB92A536608380256E7C0062B8AF" type="external">report itself</a> claims that “the USA and its allies purported to fight the war in Iraq to protect human rights – but openly eroded human rights to win the “war on terror.”</p>
<p>In part the sin has been one of omission. Irene Khan, the secretary general of Amnesty International, says that the war in Iraq — the “central front, as George Bush would have it, in the war on terror — not only led to a new wave of abuses, but has diverted attention from other troubled areas.</p>
<p />
<p>“While governments have been obsessed with Iraq they have allowed the real weapons of mass destruction – injustice and impunity, poverty, discrimination and racism, the uncontrolled trade in small arms, violence against women and children – to go unaddressed.”</p>
<p>Indeed, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/alqaida/story/0,12469,1224821,00.html" type="external">another report</a>, this one by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, says that occupied Iraq is a breeding ground for Al Qaeda and worldwide terrorism. The report says that Al Qaeda claims more than 18,000 potential terrorists and a presence in more than 60 countries. IISS also warns that Iraq is facing a “security vacuum.”</p>
<p>The IISS report is also concerned that the money directed toward “security” efforts could be going toward efforts to improve basic living standards and to improve quality of life. The report says:</p>
<p />
<p>“Iraq and the “war on terror” have obscured the greatest human rights challenge of our times. According to some sources, developing countries spend about US$22 billion a year on weapons and, for $10 billion dollars a year, they would achieve universal primary education. These statistics hide a huge scandal: the failed promise to attack extreme poverty and address gross economic and social injustice.”</p>
<p>In addition, <a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&amp;c=Article&amp;cid=1085523608981&amp;call_pageid=968332188854&amp;col=968350060724" type="external">government repression and brutality</a> continues against the Uygurs in China and Islamists in Egypt, while gross violations of human rights go unchecked in “forgotten conflicts” such as Chechnya, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nepal.</p>
<p>The Amnesty report also addresses the human rights violations occurring in the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3749055.stm" type="external">Israel/Palestinian conflict</a>. The toll of killings, including killings of children, continued to rise – around 600 Palestinians killed by the Israeli army; around 200 Israeli victims, many the victims of suicide bombings.</p>
<p>Another crisis at hand is the pattern of massive human rights violations found in the far western region of Sudan. The U.N.’s commission on Human Rights documented the abuses and reported them at the annual meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. The commission decided to suppress the report. Eric Reeves, a professor at Smith College who has appeared several times before Congress on the ongoing crisis in Sudan writes in <a href="http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/main/article/genocide_in_sudan/" type="external">In These Times</a>:</p>
<p />
<p>“But the end result was that the commission released an innocuous and meaningless statement that failed to condemn the government of Sudan for its role in orchestrating the vast human destruction in Darfur. This continues a pattern of callous failures that have rendered the U.N. Commission on Human Rights hopelessly irrelevant in fulfilling its nominal mandate. But willful ignorance can do nothing to diminish what U.N. aid officials are now describing as “the world’s greatest humanitarian crisis.”</p>
<p><a href="http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&amp;c=Article&amp;cid=1085523608981&amp;call_pageid=968332188854&amp;col=968350060724" type="external">One positive outcome</a> the report identifies is that human rights activists have managed to form a “worldwide web of solidarity” to globalize the struggle of victims of abuses, and it is increasingly difficult for perpetrators to go unchallenged.</p>
<p /> | 599,958 |
<p>A bill that will allow homes to be searched without a warrant was passed with overwhelming support by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Trump—and it happened with no media coverage and very little fanfare.</p>
<p>On the surface,&#160; <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-joint-resolution/76/text" type="external">House Joint Resolution 76</a>&#160;looks harmless. The title of the bill claims that its purpose is&#160;“Granting the consent and approval of Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into a compact relating to the establishment of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.”</p>
<p>“Whereas the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, an interstate compact agency of the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland, provides transportation services to millions of people each year, the safety of whom is paramount; Whereas an effective and safe Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system is essential to the commerce and prosperity of the National Capital region; Whereas the Tri-State Oversight Committee, created by a memorandum of understanding amongst these 3 jurisdictions, has provided safety oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.”</p>
<p>The proposal for a safety commission to act as a wing of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority may sound logical, when its power includes thing such as the ability to&#160;“Adopt, revise, and distribute a written State Safety Oversight Program” and to “Review, approve, oversee, and enforce the adoption and implementation of WMATA’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.”</p>
<p>However, there is one major red flag buried within the text of the bill that stems from the list of “powers” given to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, and it violates one of the basic tenets of the U.S. Constitution.</p>
<p>“In performing its duties, the Commission, through its Board or designated employees or agents, may:Enter upon the WMATA Rail System and, upon reasonable notice and a finding by the chief executive officer that a need exists, upon any lands, waters, and premises adjacent to the WMATA Rail System, including, without limitation, property owned or occupied by the federal government, for the purpose of making inspections, investigations, examinations, and testing as the Commission may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this MSC Compact, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass.”</p>
<p>The text gives the Commission the authority to enter property near the Metro Rail System&#160;“without limitation”&#160;and without a warrant, for the purpose of&#160;“making inspections, investigations, examinations, and testing.”</p>
<p>This clearly goes against the Fourth Amendment, which&#160; <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fourth_amendment" type="external">states</a>&#160;that Americans’ rights&#160;“to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.”</p>
<p>When the bill was brought to a vote in the House of Representatives, there were only five Congressmen who voted against it: Representatives Justin Amash, a Republican from Michigan; Walter Jones, a Republican from North Carolina; Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky; Alex Mooney, a Republican from West Virginia; and Mark Sanford, a Republican from South Carolina.</p>
<p>Amash&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/887129371965886464" type="external">called out</a>&#160;the hypocrisy surrounding the fact that even though this legislation is in clear violation of the Constitution, it was passed by Congress with overwhelming support.&#160;“Only 5 of us voted against bill allowing govt to enter/search private property in parts of VA, MD &amp; DC w/o warrant,”&#160;He wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p />
<p>This is not the first time Congress has quietly passed a bill that will take away some of the most basic rights from law-abiding citizens in the U.S., and it won’t be the last. One of the most important things to remember about this legislation is that it was ignored by the media, and while it may only affect the Washington D.C. metro area now, it could be laying the blueprint for future legislation across the country.</p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/congress-passes-bill-allowing-homes-searched-without-warrant/" type="external">The Free Thought Project</a></p>
<p>Rachel Blevins is a Texas-based journalist who aspires to break the left/right paradigm in media and politics by pursuing truth and questioning existing narratives.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Congress Quietly Passed a Bill Allowing Warrantless Searches of Homes—Only 1% Opposed It | true | http://dcclothesline.com/2017/08/25/congress-quietly-passed-a-bill-allowing-warrantless-searches-of-homes-only-1-opposed-it/ | 0right
| Congress Quietly Passed a Bill Allowing Warrantless Searches of Homes—Only 1% Opposed It
<p>A bill that will allow homes to be searched without a warrant was passed with overwhelming support by the United States Congress, and signed into law by President Trump—and it happened with no media coverage and very little fanfare.</p>
<p>On the surface,&#160; <a href="https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-joint-resolution/76/text" type="external">House Joint Resolution 76</a>&#160;looks harmless. The title of the bill claims that its purpose is&#160;“Granting the consent and approval of Congress for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the State of Maryland, and the District of Columbia to enter into a compact relating to the establishment of the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission.”</p>
<p>“Whereas the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, an interstate compact agency of the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the State of Maryland, provides transportation services to millions of people each year, the safety of whom is paramount; Whereas an effective and safe Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority system is essential to the commerce and prosperity of the National Capital region; Whereas the Tri-State Oversight Committee, created by a memorandum of understanding amongst these 3 jurisdictions, has provided safety oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.”</p>
<p>The proposal for a safety commission to act as a wing of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority may sound logical, when its power includes thing such as the ability to&#160;“Adopt, revise, and distribute a written State Safety Oversight Program” and to “Review, approve, oversee, and enforce the adoption and implementation of WMATA’s Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan.”</p>
<p>However, there is one major red flag buried within the text of the bill that stems from the list of “powers” given to the Washington Metrorail Safety Commission, and it violates one of the basic tenets of the U.S. Constitution.</p>
<p>“In performing its duties, the Commission, through its Board or designated employees or agents, may:Enter upon the WMATA Rail System and, upon reasonable notice and a finding by the chief executive officer that a need exists, upon any lands, waters, and premises adjacent to the WMATA Rail System, including, without limitation, property owned or occupied by the federal government, for the purpose of making inspections, investigations, examinations, and testing as the Commission may deem necessary to carry out the purposes of this MSC Compact, and such entry shall not be deemed a trespass.”</p>
<p>The text gives the Commission the authority to enter property near the Metro Rail System&#160;“without limitation”&#160;and without a warrant, for the purpose of&#160;“making inspections, investigations, examinations, and testing.”</p>
<p>This clearly goes against the Fourth Amendment, which&#160; <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/fourth_amendment" type="external">states</a>&#160;that Americans’ rights&#160;“to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause.”</p>
<p>When the bill was brought to a vote in the House of Representatives, there were only five Congressmen who voted against it: Representatives Justin Amash, a Republican from Michigan; Walter Jones, a Republican from North Carolina; Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky; Alex Mooney, a Republican from West Virginia; and Mark Sanford, a Republican from South Carolina.</p>
<p>Amash&#160; <a href="https://twitter.com/justinamash/status/887129371965886464" type="external">called out</a>&#160;the hypocrisy surrounding the fact that even though this legislation is in clear violation of the Constitution, it was passed by Congress with overwhelming support.&#160;“Only 5 of us voted against bill allowing govt to enter/search private property in parts of VA, MD &amp; DC w/o warrant,”&#160;He wrote on Twitter.</p>
<p />
<p>This is not the first time Congress has quietly passed a bill that will take away some of the most basic rights from law-abiding citizens in the U.S., and it won’t be the last. One of the most important things to remember about this legislation is that it was ignored by the media, and while it may only affect the Washington D.C. metro area now, it could be laying the blueprint for future legislation across the country.</p>
<p>Courtesy of <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/congress-passes-bill-allowing-homes-searched-without-warrant/" type="external">The Free Thought Project</a></p>
<p>Rachel Blevins is a Texas-based journalist who aspires to break the left/right paradigm in media and politics by pursuing truth and questioning existing narratives.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 599,959 |
|
<p>Tens of thousands of spectators gathered Saturday to watch more than a thousand actors dance, jump and drum their way through Mexico City, in a celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a traditional holiday honoring friends and family who have passed away.</p>
<p>Hundreds of municipal workers led the parade. They were the ones who for weeks helped clear debris caused by the major earthquake that struck Central Mexico on September 19th.</p>
<p>This year's parade also remembered the 370 people who died in the earthquake, and the thousands more made homeless because of it.</p>
<p>"We must not forget that the country is in mourning because there are many who do not have a home," said Guadalupe Perez, whose apartment was badly damaged in a quake. "But this is a beautiful party, unique in the world."</p>
<p>It's the second year in a row that Mexico City has turned the expression “art imitates life” on its head. A scene from Spectre, the 2015 James Bond movie, inspired the now annual event. The film's opening sequence features Bond chasing a villain through a massive parade in Mexico City, bobbing and weaving between skeletons, floats and festival-goers. Many Hollywood movies employ CGI to create crowd scenes, but Spectre's opening sequence involved 1,500 extras. Parade organizers recycled costumes and props from the film.</p>
<p />
<p>That the scene was filmed in Mexico City was no accident. Before "Spectre" hit theaters, leaked emails showed that studio executives decided on Mexico City partly because of $14 million dollars worth of incentives provided by the Mexican government. The idea was that by investing in mainstream, positive exposure (Bond), Mexico City would reap economic benefits.</p>
<p />
<p>For years Mexico's capitol city suffered from a reputation as a dangerous, crime-ridden place. Today, the city is having a renaissance, emerging as a cosmopolitan economic and cultural hub.</p>
<p>If you liked this story check out, <a href="" type="internal">This canary in Mexico City will tell you your fortune</a></p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | At Mexico's Day of the Dead Parade, lives lost in the 7.1 earthquake are remembered | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/10/28/world/mexico-citys-dia-de-los-muertos-parade-is-inspired-by-a-james-bond-movie | 2017-10-28 | 1right-center
| At Mexico's Day of the Dead Parade, lives lost in the 7.1 earthquake are remembered
<p>Tens of thousands of spectators gathered Saturday to watch more than a thousand actors dance, jump and drum their way through Mexico City, in a celebration of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a traditional holiday honoring friends and family who have passed away.</p>
<p>Hundreds of municipal workers led the parade. They were the ones who for weeks helped clear debris caused by the major earthquake that struck Central Mexico on September 19th.</p>
<p>This year's parade also remembered the 370 people who died in the earthquake, and the thousands more made homeless because of it.</p>
<p>"We must not forget that the country is in mourning because there are many who do not have a home," said Guadalupe Perez, whose apartment was badly damaged in a quake. "But this is a beautiful party, unique in the world."</p>
<p>It's the second year in a row that Mexico City has turned the expression “art imitates life” on its head. A scene from Spectre, the 2015 James Bond movie, inspired the now annual event. The film's opening sequence features Bond chasing a villain through a massive parade in Mexico City, bobbing and weaving between skeletons, floats and festival-goers. Many Hollywood movies employ CGI to create crowd scenes, but Spectre's opening sequence involved 1,500 extras. Parade organizers recycled costumes and props from the film.</p>
<p />
<p>That the scene was filmed in Mexico City was no accident. Before "Spectre" hit theaters, leaked emails showed that studio executives decided on Mexico City partly because of $14 million dollars worth of incentives provided by the Mexican government. The idea was that by investing in mainstream, positive exposure (Bond), Mexico City would reap economic benefits.</p>
<p />
<p>For years Mexico's capitol city suffered from a reputation as a dangerous, crime-ridden place. Today, the city is having a renaissance, emerging as a cosmopolitan economic and cultural hub.</p>
<p>If you liked this story check out, <a href="" type="internal">This canary in Mexico City will tell you your fortune</a></p>
<p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p> | 599,960 |
<p>As we approach the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it might be useful to see how far an ordinary citizen’s knowledge has progressed one year on. So here, in the way of a summing-up, based on journalistic documentation, is a list of things we Americans have learned since last September — some of which might prove useful in the run-up to the November elections.</p>
<p>1. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co.’s “war on terrorism” has morphed from finding and destroying those responsible for the 9/11 mass-murders to a worldwide campaign to install a Pax Americana, by force if necessary. In other words, neo-imperialism, reminiscent in many ways of the old Roman Empire or, closer to our own time, the British Empire.</p>
<p>2. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co. has no desire to rethink any of its policies abroad, the same policies that isolate it and that generate hatred, suspicion and terrorism in so many regions of the globe. Rather than reconsider its pol icies, or try to accomplish its ends through diplomacy and alliances and cultural/economic initiatives, in its arrogance it continues to bully and threaten others, insult its European and other allies, disregard international treaties and courts, engage in unilateral actions without regard to the national interests of others, and, in general, simply throw its massive weight around. The prevailing attitude seems to be: We are the one Superpower, get used to bending to our will.</p>
<p>3. We’ve learned that Bush’s national-security leadership was alerted months ahead of 9/11 (and, it has admitted, no later than August 6) that a major air attack from al-Qaida was in the works, along with the likely targets, but did nothing to try to prevent those attacks or warn anyone about them. Caught in their own lies, they blame “the system,” especially elements in the FBI, for “not connecting the dots.” More than 3000 Americans died as a result of this malfeasance.</p>
<p>4. We’ve learned that plans already were in the works prior to 9/11 for the evisceration of Constitutional guarantees of due process of law. The White House hustled the so-called USA PATRIOT Act through a frightened Congress in a patriotic blur, just a few days after the attacks, with few, if any, of the legislators having had time to read the final version.</p>
<p>5. We’ve learned that prior to September 11, the Bush Administration was negotiating with the Taliban about a pipeline desired by a &lt;U.S.-led&gt; energy consortium that would cross through Afghanistan. When the Taliban balked, the U.S. negotiators told them they either could accept a “carpet of gold” or face a “carpet of bombs.” The Taliban backed away from the deal and refused to hand over Osama bin Laden; shortly after the terror attacks of 9/11, the U.S. began bombing in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>6. We’ve learned that now with the Taliban having been overthrown, and a &lt;U.S.-friendly&gt; regime installed in Kabul, the pipeline project is back on track, designed to carry energy supplies across Afghanistan from the Caspian Sea area to near India. Hamid Karzai, the new leader of Afghanistan, formerly was a consultant on the payroll of the pipeline folks; likewise, the new U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan.</p>
<p>7. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co.’s Homeland Security Act includes programs that bear an amazing resemblance to totalitarian programs from the fascis/communist end of the spectrum: getting the military (restricted heretofore to activity outside the U.S.) involved in domestic policing, signing up neighborhood and block snoops to work for the central government, investigating what books citizens are checking out and buying, denouncing those deemed insufficiently patriotic or suspicious because of their views, etc. Remind you of Stalin’s Russia, Castro’s Cuba, Hitler’s Third Reich, the Stasi of East Germany? (There also are prototypes of patriotic youth leagues being tried out in cities, which could become a national program.) A kind of martial-law coming to a neighborhood near you.</p>
<p>8. We’ve learned that Ashcroft/Bush are shredding Constitutional due-process guarantees in their move toward total control: already they have compromised attorney-client privilege, removed habeus corpus protections, locked up folks with no charges, secreted citizens at military installations which puts them out of reach of the judicial system, violated privacy in rifling through personal telephone and email communications, etc. etc. When the ambiguously-worded PATRIOT Act was first brought up, Ashcroft and Bush told us not to worry, promising that these rules would affect only non-citizens. Since that time, American citizens have been handled in similar fashion. Coming to a neighborhood near you.</p>
<p>9. We’ve learned much about the dangers of religious fundamentalism in Islam, but we’ve also learned about dangers posed by our own religious fundamentalists — eager for a Christian theocratic society, symbolized most recently by a Secret Service agent scrawling on a Muslim suspect’s refrigerator “Islam Is Evil, Christ Is King” — and the extraordinary power they wield within the Bush Administration, represented most openly by John Ashcroft, who in frame-of-mind resembles a Taliban mullah.</p>
<p>10. We’ve learned that the FBI, focusing now on foreign terrorists, doesn’t seem energized with the same zeal to catch domestic terrorists, such as abortion-clinic arsonists — and especially the anthrax-dispenser. Though the FBI seems to know that the anthrax villain probably worked at a government bio-lab, nobody has been arrested, or even targeted as a prime suspect. It may not be likely, but the unsaid is finally being asked: Could this dangerous terrorist actually be working for the government?</p>
<p>11. We’ve learned that the HardRight of the Republican Party has taken control — of the House leadership, of the Supreme Court, of the White House, of much of the conglomerate-owned media — and has demonstrated its willingness to do nearly anything to maintain that power. (Only the courageous defection of Sen. Jim Jeffords from GOP ranks is standing in the way of HardRight total control of all three branches of government.) More and more truly objectionable HardRight judges are being nominated by Bush in an e ffort to stack the judiciary for decades to come. This by a man who lost the election by more than half-a-million votes, coming into his White House residency, with no popular mandate, only because his supporters on the Supreme Court installed him there.</p>
<p>12. We’ve learned that to break the momentum of the HardRight, all energy for the upcoming November elections (less than 90 days away, let us not forget) must be expended in electing Democrat candidates and defeating Republican ones. The objective conditions are just not ripe yet for anything more than trying to move the country back toward the middle of the political spectrum. We progressives more in tune with the Greens (Green candidates are being supported secretly in many states by the Republicans, to try to defeat Democrats) will have to wait. The difference between Democrats and Republicans may seem small to Greens and others, but, as we’ve learned in a painful way under Bush&amp;Co., that difference is immense when it comes to foreign and domestic policy and its actual effects on real people, here and abroad.</p>
<p>13. We’ve learned that Cheney is up to his ears in Halliburton irregularities, and may well be liable for indictment for participating in financial fraud. In addition, we’ve learned that Cheney, who was the head of the task force that came up with a corporate-friendly rather than a consumer-friendly energy policy, has refused to turn over to Congress the requested documents that will reveal how that policy was arrived at and which industry leaders (other than Enron’s Kenny Boy) helped shape it.</p>
<p>14. We’ve learned that Bush knew in advance, as a member of the Harken Audit Committee, that Harken Oil was going to release negative financial news, and sold his shares before that, reaping a fortune. He may be liable for indictment for insider-trading and other Harken irregularities. (Even if Bush and Cheney are not indicted, they are the last people on earth who should be speaking about corruption in the corporate financial world, as these hypocrites benefitted from that very corrupt system. As did most of Bush’s corporate-derived cabinet.)</p>
<p>15. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co. were mightily opposed to any reform of corporate financial reporting, but when more and more companies were caught in such corrupt practices and the mood of the country shifted — mainly because so many folks, especially seniors, lost huge chunks of their pensions and portfolio holdings when the Stock Market tanked as a result of investors’ losing confidence in the numbers provided by corporations — they jumped on the bandwagon and pretended they were reformers all along. In the background, they are trying to help their corporate supporters water down, and otherwise get around, the new rules. To that end, Bush&amp;Co. have appointed Harvey Pitt and Larry Thompson, two tainted corporate types, to head up the “investigations” of corporate wrongdoing. Break out the whitewash.</p>
<p>16. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co., having placed its chips on Ariel Sharon, continues to have no real desire for a just peace in the Middle East. All it wants is for the area to be quiet and controlled (thus giving carte blanche to the Israeli Army’s police-state occupation and oppression), so that it can continue its plans for overthrowing Saddam Hussein in Iraq. And, of course, there has been no declaration of a State of War by the Congress, neither against Afghanistan nor against Iraq, and no real debate about the wisdom of a war against Saddam — even when the top brass at the Pentagon and in Great Britain have expressed their opposition to such military adventurism.</p>
<p>17. We’ve learned that there will be no peace now in the Middle East because the U.S. is not fully engaged in the peace process, also because neither extreme in the area wants peace: Sharon thrives on war and brutality, Hamas needs Sharon’s bloody policies to justify its campaign of terror. There are signs that moderate Palestinians finally are starting to speak out in favor of a peaceful solution, and there are plenty of land-for-peace Israelis (supported by many liberal Jews in the U.S.), so the outlines of a peace are out there. But until the U.S. and U.N. make the commitment to separate the warring extremists and arrange an equitable treaty both Israel and the Palestinians can live with — secure borders for Israel (and an end to suicide bombing), a viable state for the Palestinians, abandoning of the settlements by Israel, reparations for Palestinians who lost their homes and property — there will be only more bloodshed. And more fertile ground for new generations of terrorists, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Islamic world.</p>
<p>18. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co. has been a total disaster for the environment, in every way: from reneging on its campaign promise to cut carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse emissions, to backing away from higher fuel-efficiency in cars (we could cut our dependence on foreign oil 20% just by increasing fuel efficiency by 5%), to giving breaks to corporate polluters all across the country, to permitting increased arsenic levels in the water, etc. etc.</p>
<p>19. We’ve learned that Secretary of State Colin Powell — who sees the world in something other than simplistic black-and-white, us-versus-them dichotomies — is a man imprisoned in the Bush Cabinet, forced to alter his principled opinions in the service of Bush&amp;Co.’s stupidly aggressive and ultimately self-defeating foreign policies. Powell, a moderate conservative, looks like a raving progressive when measured against his masters. He should resign but probably won’t.</p>
<p>20. We’ve learned that the tax-cuts provided to the most wealthy are not only payoffs to the corporate sector that provides support for Bush&amp;Co. By locking in those tax cuts for ten years (and with humongous chunks of the budget spent on the “war on terrorism”), Bush&amp;Co. have ensured that innumerable social programs that aid the less well-off will be cut or eliminated. In short, a rollback of New Deal/Great Society programs, so hated by the HardRight. (The HardRight movement to detach prescription drugs for seniors fr om the Medicare program, and, especially, to privatize Social Security — even in the face of recent stock-market disasters — is part of this same desire.)</p>
<p>Even after all the above shorthand summaries, no doubt I’m leaving out lots of Bush&amp;Co. dirt, but this list can provide a starting point, and a handy compilation of enough low and high crimes and misdemeanors to warrant their removal from power, either through the ballot box or by resignation or impeachment.</p>
<p>Finally, as we enter August, we know that one of two things will happen in the summer-doldrums, with the Congress on vacation: Either Bush&amp;Co. will start its Iraq war and carry out more under-the-radar attacks on important American programs, or the media, bereft of their usual Beltway stories, will use the down time to engage in hard-hitting investigative reporting that will reveal in even more stark relief the machinations of Bush&amp;Co. illegalities and other scandalous behavior. But, given the corporate nature of our corporate-owned media, don’t count on it. Instead, we’ll probably be flooded with this summer’s Condit-like sex scandal.</p>
<p>Bernard Weiner, Ph.D., has taught American politics and international relations at Western Washington University and San Diego State University; he was with the San Francisco Chronicle for nearly 20 years.</p> | 20 Things We’ve Learned After 9/11 | true | https://counterpunch.org/2002/07/29/20-things-we-ve-learned-after-9-11/ | 2002-07-29 | 4left
| 20 Things We’ve Learned After 9/11
<p>As we approach the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, it might be useful to see how far an ordinary citizen’s knowledge has progressed one year on. So here, in the way of a summing-up, based on journalistic documentation, is a list of things we Americans have learned since last September — some of which might prove useful in the run-up to the November elections.</p>
<p>1. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co.’s “war on terrorism” has morphed from finding and destroying those responsible for the 9/11 mass-murders to a worldwide campaign to install a Pax Americana, by force if necessary. In other words, neo-imperialism, reminiscent in many ways of the old Roman Empire or, closer to our own time, the British Empire.</p>
<p>2. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co. has no desire to rethink any of its policies abroad, the same policies that isolate it and that generate hatred, suspicion and terrorism in so many regions of the globe. Rather than reconsider its pol icies, or try to accomplish its ends through diplomacy and alliances and cultural/economic initiatives, in its arrogance it continues to bully and threaten others, insult its European and other allies, disregard international treaties and courts, engage in unilateral actions without regard to the national interests of others, and, in general, simply throw its massive weight around. The prevailing attitude seems to be: We are the one Superpower, get used to bending to our will.</p>
<p>3. We’ve learned that Bush’s national-security leadership was alerted months ahead of 9/11 (and, it has admitted, no later than August 6) that a major air attack from al-Qaida was in the works, along with the likely targets, but did nothing to try to prevent those attacks or warn anyone about them. Caught in their own lies, they blame “the system,” especially elements in the FBI, for “not connecting the dots.” More than 3000 Americans died as a result of this malfeasance.</p>
<p>4. We’ve learned that plans already were in the works prior to 9/11 for the evisceration of Constitutional guarantees of due process of law. The White House hustled the so-called USA PATRIOT Act through a frightened Congress in a patriotic blur, just a few days after the attacks, with few, if any, of the legislators having had time to read the final version.</p>
<p>5. We’ve learned that prior to September 11, the Bush Administration was negotiating with the Taliban about a pipeline desired by a &lt;U.S.-led&gt; energy consortium that would cross through Afghanistan. When the Taliban balked, the U.S. negotiators told them they either could accept a “carpet of gold” or face a “carpet of bombs.” The Taliban backed away from the deal and refused to hand over Osama bin Laden; shortly after the terror attacks of 9/11, the U.S. began bombing in Afghanistan.</p>
<p>6. We’ve learned that now with the Taliban having been overthrown, and a &lt;U.S.-friendly&gt; regime installed in Kabul, the pipeline project is back on track, designed to carry energy supplies across Afghanistan from the Caspian Sea area to near India. Hamid Karzai, the new leader of Afghanistan, formerly was a consultant on the payroll of the pipeline folks; likewise, the new U.S. special envoy to Afghanistan.</p>
<p>7. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co.’s Homeland Security Act includes programs that bear an amazing resemblance to totalitarian programs from the fascis/communist end of the spectrum: getting the military (restricted heretofore to activity outside the U.S.) involved in domestic policing, signing up neighborhood and block snoops to work for the central government, investigating what books citizens are checking out and buying, denouncing those deemed insufficiently patriotic or suspicious because of their views, etc. Remind you of Stalin’s Russia, Castro’s Cuba, Hitler’s Third Reich, the Stasi of East Germany? (There also are prototypes of patriotic youth leagues being tried out in cities, which could become a national program.) A kind of martial-law coming to a neighborhood near you.</p>
<p>8. We’ve learned that Ashcroft/Bush are shredding Constitutional due-process guarantees in their move toward total control: already they have compromised attorney-client privilege, removed habeus corpus protections, locked up folks with no charges, secreted citizens at military installations which puts them out of reach of the judicial system, violated privacy in rifling through personal telephone and email communications, etc. etc. When the ambiguously-worded PATRIOT Act was first brought up, Ashcroft and Bush told us not to worry, promising that these rules would affect only non-citizens. Since that time, American citizens have been handled in similar fashion. Coming to a neighborhood near you.</p>
<p>9. We’ve learned much about the dangers of religious fundamentalism in Islam, but we’ve also learned about dangers posed by our own religious fundamentalists — eager for a Christian theocratic society, symbolized most recently by a Secret Service agent scrawling on a Muslim suspect’s refrigerator “Islam Is Evil, Christ Is King” — and the extraordinary power they wield within the Bush Administration, represented most openly by John Ashcroft, who in frame-of-mind resembles a Taliban mullah.</p>
<p>10. We’ve learned that the FBI, focusing now on foreign terrorists, doesn’t seem energized with the same zeal to catch domestic terrorists, such as abortion-clinic arsonists — and especially the anthrax-dispenser. Though the FBI seems to know that the anthrax villain probably worked at a government bio-lab, nobody has been arrested, or even targeted as a prime suspect. It may not be likely, but the unsaid is finally being asked: Could this dangerous terrorist actually be working for the government?</p>
<p>11. We’ve learned that the HardRight of the Republican Party has taken control — of the House leadership, of the Supreme Court, of the White House, of much of the conglomerate-owned media — and has demonstrated its willingness to do nearly anything to maintain that power. (Only the courageous defection of Sen. Jim Jeffords from GOP ranks is standing in the way of HardRight total control of all three branches of government.) More and more truly objectionable HardRight judges are being nominated by Bush in an e ffort to stack the judiciary for decades to come. This by a man who lost the election by more than half-a-million votes, coming into his White House residency, with no popular mandate, only because his supporters on the Supreme Court installed him there.</p>
<p>12. We’ve learned that to break the momentum of the HardRight, all energy for the upcoming November elections (less than 90 days away, let us not forget) must be expended in electing Democrat candidates and defeating Republican ones. The objective conditions are just not ripe yet for anything more than trying to move the country back toward the middle of the political spectrum. We progressives more in tune with the Greens (Green candidates are being supported secretly in many states by the Republicans, to try to defeat Democrats) will have to wait. The difference between Democrats and Republicans may seem small to Greens and others, but, as we’ve learned in a painful way under Bush&amp;Co., that difference is immense when it comes to foreign and domestic policy and its actual effects on real people, here and abroad.</p>
<p>13. We’ve learned that Cheney is up to his ears in Halliburton irregularities, and may well be liable for indictment for participating in financial fraud. In addition, we’ve learned that Cheney, who was the head of the task force that came up with a corporate-friendly rather than a consumer-friendly energy policy, has refused to turn over to Congress the requested documents that will reveal how that policy was arrived at and which industry leaders (other than Enron’s Kenny Boy) helped shape it.</p>
<p>14. We’ve learned that Bush knew in advance, as a member of the Harken Audit Committee, that Harken Oil was going to release negative financial news, and sold his shares before that, reaping a fortune. He may be liable for indictment for insider-trading and other Harken irregularities. (Even if Bush and Cheney are not indicted, they are the last people on earth who should be speaking about corruption in the corporate financial world, as these hypocrites benefitted from that very corrupt system. As did most of Bush’s corporate-derived cabinet.)</p>
<p>15. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co. were mightily opposed to any reform of corporate financial reporting, but when more and more companies were caught in such corrupt practices and the mood of the country shifted — mainly because so many folks, especially seniors, lost huge chunks of their pensions and portfolio holdings when the Stock Market tanked as a result of investors’ losing confidence in the numbers provided by corporations — they jumped on the bandwagon and pretended they were reformers all along. In the background, they are trying to help their corporate supporters water down, and otherwise get around, the new rules. To that end, Bush&amp;Co. have appointed Harvey Pitt and Larry Thompson, two tainted corporate types, to head up the “investigations” of corporate wrongdoing. Break out the whitewash.</p>
<p>16. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co., having placed its chips on Ariel Sharon, continues to have no real desire for a just peace in the Middle East. All it wants is for the area to be quiet and controlled (thus giving carte blanche to the Israeli Army’s police-state occupation and oppression), so that it can continue its plans for overthrowing Saddam Hussein in Iraq. And, of course, there has been no declaration of a State of War by the Congress, neither against Afghanistan nor against Iraq, and no real debate about the wisdom of a war against Saddam — even when the top brass at the Pentagon and in Great Britain have expressed their opposition to such military adventurism.</p>
<p>17. We’ve learned that there will be no peace now in the Middle East because the U.S. is not fully engaged in the peace process, also because neither extreme in the area wants peace: Sharon thrives on war and brutality, Hamas needs Sharon’s bloody policies to justify its campaign of terror. There are signs that moderate Palestinians finally are starting to speak out in favor of a peaceful solution, and there are plenty of land-for-peace Israelis (supported by many liberal Jews in the U.S.), so the outlines of a peace are out there. But until the U.S. and U.N. make the commitment to separate the warring extremists and arrange an equitable treaty both Israel and the Palestinians can live with — secure borders for Israel (and an end to suicide bombing), a viable state for the Palestinians, abandoning of the settlements by Israel, reparations for Palestinians who lost their homes and property — there will be only more bloodshed. And more fertile ground for new generations of terrorists, in the Middle East and elsewhere in the Islamic world.</p>
<p>18. We’ve learned that Bush&amp;Co. has been a total disaster for the environment, in every way: from reneging on its campaign promise to cut carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse emissions, to backing away from higher fuel-efficiency in cars (we could cut our dependence on foreign oil 20% just by increasing fuel efficiency by 5%), to giving breaks to corporate polluters all across the country, to permitting increased arsenic levels in the water, etc. etc.</p>
<p>19. We’ve learned that Secretary of State Colin Powell — who sees the world in something other than simplistic black-and-white, us-versus-them dichotomies — is a man imprisoned in the Bush Cabinet, forced to alter his principled opinions in the service of Bush&amp;Co.’s stupidly aggressive and ultimately self-defeating foreign policies. Powell, a moderate conservative, looks like a raving progressive when measured against his masters. He should resign but probably won’t.</p>
<p>20. We’ve learned that the tax-cuts provided to the most wealthy are not only payoffs to the corporate sector that provides support for Bush&amp;Co. By locking in those tax cuts for ten years (and with humongous chunks of the budget spent on the “war on terrorism”), Bush&amp;Co. have ensured that innumerable social programs that aid the less well-off will be cut or eliminated. In short, a rollback of New Deal/Great Society programs, so hated by the HardRight. (The HardRight movement to detach prescription drugs for seniors fr om the Medicare program, and, especially, to privatize Social Security — even in the face of recent stock-market disasters — is part of this same desire.)</p>
<p>Even after all the above shorthand summaries, no doubt I’m leaving out lots of Bush&amp;Co. dirt, but this list can provide a starting point, and a handy compilation of enough low and high crimes and misdemeanors to warrant their removal from power, either through the ballot box or by resignation or impeachment.</p>
<p>Finally, as we enter August, we know that one of two things will happen in the summer-doldrums, with the Congress on vacation: Either Bush&amp;Co. will start its Iraq war and carry out more under-the-radar attacks on important American programs, or the media, bereft of their usual Beltway stories, will use the down time to engage in hard-hitting investigative reporting that will reveal in even more stark relief the machinations of Bush&amp;Co. illegalities and other scandalous behavior. But, given the corporate nature of our corporate-owned media, don’t count on it. Instead, we’ll probably be flooded with this summer’s Condit-like sex scandal.</p>
<p>Bernard Weiner, Ph.D., has taught American politics and international relations at Western Washington University and San Diego State University; he was with the San Francisco Chronicle for nearly 20 years.</p> | 599,961 |
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<p>DENVER — North Carolina wants to know if marijuana could one day replace tobacco as a cash crop. Louisiana is wondering how pot holds up in high humidity. And Washington state has questions about water supplies for weed.</p>
<p>Colorado agriculture officials this week briefed officials from about a dozen states — some that have legalized weed, others that joked their states will legalize pot “when hell freezes over” — on the basics of marijuana farming and swapped stories about regulating a crop that the federal government still considers illegal.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Colorado Department of Agriculture also is working on the world’s first government-produced guidelines on growing marijuana. There’s no shortage of how-to books catering to pot growers both in and out of the black market, but Colorado’s forthcoming guidebook aims to apply established agronomy practices to the production of marijuana.</p>
<p>“When you start with no knowledge at all, it’s rough,” said Mitch Yergert, head of Colorado’s Division of Plant Industry, an agency within the Agriculture Department that regulates marijuana production.</p>
<p>Yergert conceded that Colorado agriculture officials ignored marijuana entirely for more than a dozen years, from the time voters in the state approved medical pot in 2000 until recreational pot shops started opening in 2014.</p>
<p>“Nobody in our agency ever grew marijuana, so how are we supposed to develop best practices?” Yergert said.</p>
<p>But marijuana’s commercial popularity, coupled with increasing concern over pesticides and unsafe growing conditions, forced the department to stop considering marijuana a running joke and start seeing it as a commercial crop in need of regulation.</p>
<p>Colorado sold about a billion dollars’ worth of marijuana last year, making it a cash crop, the same as many others.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Now, the agriculture department is sharing what it has learned about weed with other agencies.</p>
<p>Speaking at a recent soil-conservation conference in Denver, Yergert briefed other state agriculture officials on how to inspect marijuana and hemp growers, and just as important, how to regulate a plant that’s illegal under federal law.</p>
<p>“You kinda gotta get your mind around it,” Yergert said.</p>
<p>The visiting agriculture officials toured a large Denver pot-growing warehouse, where a grower showed them the plant’s entire cycle, starting as clones in one room before getting transplanted to bigger tubs.</p>
<p>The grower, Tim Cullen, also showed the officials how the plant is trimmed and its psychoactive buds dried for smoking. Finally, the farm regulators saw how marijuana waste — errant leaves and such — are rendered unusable before being thrown away.</p>
<p>“This is blowing my mind right now,” said Erica Pangelinan of the Northern Guam Soil and Water Conservation District. Pangelinan was using her cellphone to snap photos of wooden frames used to hold drying marijuana.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Guam allows medical marijuana, but many states on the tour don’t. Still, the visiting agriculture officials say they need to be prepared in case laws change to allow pot-growing at home.</p>
<p>“We’re just looking to see what’s ahead,” said Pat Harris, director of North Carolina’s Division of Soil &amp; Water Conservation.</p>
<p>Some states on the tour plan to grow pot themselves.</p>
<p>“We’re getting in the marijuana business in Louisiana, so we need to know what we’re doing,” said Brad Spicer of the state’s Office of Soil &amp; Water Conservation, where the Legislature has authorized two universities to grow the plant for medical use and research.</p>
<p>Yergert warned the agriculture officials that regulating weed still isn’t easy and that they should be prepared for pushback from their own staffs.</p>
<p>“Our guys were saying, ‘I can’t pick my kids up from school because I smell like pot,'” Yergert said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Another problem? Stony silence from federal agencies that agriculture offices usually turn to for help.</p>
<p>“It hasn’t gotten a lot more warm and fuzzy,” Yergert said. “I think they look at us as, ‘What an annoyance!’ I mean, they deal with drug smugglers and international cartels, and here’s the Colorado Department of Ag coming wanting a permit for something.”</p>
<p>Cullen, the pot grower, urged the agriculture officials to look past the hurdles and see pot growers as farmers thirsty for guidance on growing healthy, profitable crops.</p>
<p>“We want your help. We’d rather not rely on the 19-year-old at the grow shop,” said Cullen, who is one of Colorado’s largest pot growers and is advising the Agriculture Department on its forthcoming pot guidelines.</p>
<p>The agronomists standing in the room of pot nodded, saying they’re open to sharing advice — though their knowledge must remain academic.</p>
<p>“I can tell you how to grow it. But I can’t use it. I’m drug-tested for the state department of agriculture,” joked Max Jones of North Carolina.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Kristen Wyatt can be reached at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the Colorado Division of Plant Industry official did not take part in the tour.</p> | Weed 101: Colorado agriculture agency shares pot know-how | false | https://abqjournal.com/942278/weed-101-colorado-agriculture-office-shares-pot-know-how.html | 2017-02-03 | 2least
| Weed 101: Colorado agriculture agency shares pot know-how
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>DENVER — North Carolina wants to know if marijuana could one day replace tobacco as a cash crop. Louisiana is wondering how pot holds up in high humidity. And Washington state has questions about water supplies for weed.</p>
<p>Colorado agriculture officials this week briefed officials from about a dozen states — some that have legalized weed, others that joked their states will legalize pot “when hell freezes over” — on the basics of marijuana farming and swapped stories about regulating a crop that the federal government still considers illegal.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The Colorado Department of Agriculture also is working on the world’s first government-produced guidelines on growing marijuana. There’s no shortage of how-to books catering to pot growers both in and out of the black market, but Colorado’s forthcoming guidebook aims to apply established agronomy practices to the production of marijuana.</p>
<p>“When you start with no knowledge at all, it’s rough,” said Mitch Yergert, head of Colorado’s Division of Plant Industry, an agency within the Agriculture Department that regulates marijuana production.</p>
<p>Yergert conceded that Colorado agriculture officials ignored marijuana entirely for more than a dozen years, from the time voters in the state approved medical pot in 2000 until recreational pot shops started opening in 2014.</p>
<p>“Nobody in our agency ever grew marijuana, so how are we supposed to develop best practices?” Yergert said.</p>
<p>But marijuana’s commercial popularity, coupled with increasing concern over pesticides and unsafe growing conditions, forced the department to stop considering marijuana a running joke and start seeing it as a commercial crop in need of regulation.</p>
<p>Colorado sold about a billion dollars’ worth of marijuana last year, making it a cash crop, the same as many others.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Now, the agriculture department is sharing what it has learned about weed with other agencies.</p>
<p>Speaking at a recent soil-conservation conference in Denver, Yergert briefed other state agriculture officials on how to inspect marijuana and hemp growers, and just as important, how to regulate a plant that’s illegal under federal law.</p>
<p>“You kinda gotta get your mind around it,” Yergert said.</p>
<p>The visiting agriculture officials toured a large Denver pot-growing warehouse, where a grower showed them the plant’s entire cycle, starting as clones in one room before getting transplanted to bigger tubs.</p>
<p>The grower, Tim Cullen, also showed the officials how the plant is trimmed and its psychoactive buds dried for smoking. Finally, the farm regulators saw how marijuana waste — errant leaves and such — are rendered unusable before being thrown away.</p>
<p>“This is blowing my mind right now,” said Erica Pangelinan of the Northern Guam Soil and Water Conservation District. Pangelinan was using her cellphone to snap photos of wooden frames used to hold drying marijuana.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Guam allows medical marijuana, but many states on the tour don’t. Still, the visiting agriculture officials say they need to be prepared in case laws change to allow pot-growing at home.</p>
<p>“We’re just looking to see what’s ahead,” said Pat Harris, director of North Carolina’s Division of Soil &amp; Water Conservation.</p>
<p>Some states on the tour plan to grow pot themselves.</p>
<p>“We’re getting in the marijuana business in Louisiana, so we need to know what we’re doing,” said Brad Spicer of the state’s Office of Soil &amp; Water Conservation, where the Legislature has authorized two universities to grow the plant for medical use and research.</p>
<p>Yergert warned the agriculture officials that regulating weed still isn’t easy and that they should be prepared for pushback from their own staffs.</p>
<p>“Our guys were saying, ‘I can’t pick my kids up from school because I smell like pot,'” Yergert said.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Another problem? Stony silence from federal agencies that agriculture offices usually turn to for help.</p>
<p>“It hasn’t gotten a lot more warm and fuzzy,” Yergert said. “I think they look at us as, ‘What an annoyance!’ I mean, they deal with drug smugglers and international cartels, and here’s the Colorado Department of Ag coming wanting a permit for something.”</p>
<p>Cullen, the pot grower, urged the agriculture officials to look past the hurdles and see pot growers as farmers thirsty for guidance on growing healthy, profitable crops.</p>
<p>“We want your help. We’d rather not rely on the 19-year-old at the grow shop,” said Cullen, who is one of Colorado’s largest pot growers and is advising the Agriculture Department on its forthcoming pot guidelines.</p>
<p>The agronomists standing in the room of pot nodded, saying they’re open to sharing advice — though their knowledge must remain academic.</p>
<p>“I can tell you how to grow it. But I can’t use it. I’m drug-tested for the state department of agriculture,” joked Max Jones of North Carolina.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Kristen Wyatt can be reached at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt" type="external">http://www.twitter.com/APkristenwyatt</a></p>
<p>___</p>
<p>This story has been corrected to show that the Colorado Division of Plant Industry official did not take part in the tour.</p> | 599,962 |
<p>Across the country on Friday, thousands of people will be volunteering as part of National Service Day,&#160;a way of commemorating the victims and first responders&#160;on Sept. 11,&#160;2001.</p>
<p>We’re likely to be hearing more about national service over the next few months, as it’s often an easy and uncontroversial topic for presidential candidates to float (who doesn’t like volunteering?) Recently, Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley put out a position paper detailing his plans to expand national service programs like AmeriCoprs and the Peace Corps.</p>
<p>But a look at the history of national service around the world shows a more complex, and sometime dharhow the rest of t? Many of the countries that still have military conscription face clear existential threats in their neighborhood,&#160;like Israel or&#160;Taiwan, or have a history of conflict with a country on their border, like Armenia or South Korea. These countries tend to operate national service programs as an alternative to the draft, often meant as a way for conscientious objectors to fulfill the requirement without violating their beliefs. &#160;</p>
<p>In other countries, like Malaysia, Nigeria or Rwanda, national service programs aren’t an alternative to the military, but are rather seen a policy tool — meant to help promote development in neglected areas, and foster understanding in ethnically and religiously diverse populations.</p>
<p>A few examples:</p>
<p>Every last Saturday of the month, Rwandans are required to come together for a morning of mandatory community service called umuganda.</p>
<p>Every able-bodied person age 18 to 65 is expected to participate. Neighborhoods are organized by a community leader, who assigns groups to different tasks such as cleaning streets, cutting grass or building houses.</p>
<p>Rwanda President Paul Kagame participates in "Umuganda" in 2011.</p>
<p>Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Umuganda%22Rwandan_community_work%22.jpg" type="external">Wikimedia Commons</a>user&#160;Smish60.</p>
<p>Umuganda’s history is complex. Community service has always been a part of Rwandan culture, but the more structured version was established by colonial rulers to maximize free labor.</p>
<p>The meaning and purpose of umuganda was twisted during the 1994 genocide, when Hutu extremists gave participants a gruesome task: Hunt down Tutsis and Hutu moderates and kill them.</p>
<p>Since the genocide, the government has repurposed umuganda. Initially, it was a way of organizing communities to clean up the carnage from the genocide, but it’s also been key in rebuilding ties between Hutu and Tutsi neighbors. Today, <a href="http://www.rgb.rw/governance-innovations/umuganda/" type="external">the government estimates</a>&#160;that close to 80 percent of the population comes together each month.</p>
<p>National service programs are often touted as a way of promoting national unity, by bringing together young people from different backgrounds. Malaysia takes a direct approach in this regard, using a lottery system to select tens of thousands of youth to participate in a boot camp. Each of the dorms has the same ethnic breakdown as the country itself: 60 percent Malays, 28 percent&#160;Chinese, 10 percent&#160;Indian and 2 percent&#160;from other ethnic minorities.</p>
<p>The program was <a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/national-service-frozen-this-year-to-save-rm400m-pm-says-in-budget-2015-rev" type="external">suspended this year</a> due to budget cuts, though authorities have said it will be resumed after a “re-examination”. The camps have been plagued by poor conditions and bad management since they launched in 2004. At least 22 participants have died, and there have been reports of sexual assaults, a murder, rapes and one mass racial brawl.</p>
<p>A blistering op-ed in Freemalaysiatoday.com <a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/09/26/time-to-admit-ns-is-a-failure/" type="external">detailed the camp’s problems</a> in 2013:</p>
<p>Besides maggots in their food, the trainees had to suffer clogged sinks, toilets and broken toilet locks. They also complained of having to sleep on broken beds with filthy pillows and were not given enough food to eat.</p>
<p>One hopes that if the camps are restarted, they will at least have decent beds.</p>
<p>Nigeria requires universty students to spend a year in a service program before graduating. As with the Malaysian case, the object was largely to to help foster national unity: The program was started in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war, the Biafran War, in the 1970s. To that end, participants are posted in areas far from their homes and encouraged to learn the local culture.</p>
<p>As one of the oldest and biggest volunteer programs in Africa, the NYSC has a host of <a href="http://www.nysc.gov.ng/about/programs.php" type="external">international partners</a>, including USAID, John Hopkins University, UNESCO and UNICEF. The program begins with a three-week boot camp. The experience is a&#160;popular topic of discussion among Nigerian youth on social media.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Corps volunteers do face risks in carrying&#160;out their missions. In 2013, a bomb attack <a href="http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/116447-ex-nysc-members-victims-of-suleja-bomb-blast-accuse-jonathan-administration-of-neglect.html" type="external">killed nine NYSC members</a> who were preparing to volunteer at a polling station in Suleja, a city in the north of the country that has faced attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist group.</p>
<p>Sherut Leumi is a volunteer program in Israel for&#160;young women between the ages of 18-21 — though some men also participate — who cite religious reasons for opting out of the requirement to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. It's also a popular for way for young Jewish volunteers from abroad to spend time in Israel, as this slick marketing video shows:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Volunteers are matched with charitable organizations, like hospitals or orphanages, and live together in a dorm-like setting. They serve for one to two years and are paid a minimal salary. While most of the participants are Jewish girls, <a href="http://resources.gale.com/speakingglobally/the-view-from-here/the-view-from-israel-national-service-sherut-leumi/" type="external">at least one recent report</a> indicated that the number of Arab volunteers is increasing, which is notable because non-druze Arab citizens of Israel&#160;do not face mandatory conscription.</p>
<p>One organization that Israelis can no longer volunteer with as an alternative to military service is the human rights group B'Tselem. Government officials removed the prominent rights group as an option over its <a href="//www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/israel-btselem-service-aid-gaza-human-rights" type="external">opposition to the 2014 conflict in Gaza</a>.</p>
<p>Taiwan, with its history of <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/china/21646571-chinese-leaders-send-warnings-taiwans-opposition-party-ahead-elections-next-year-chinas-bottom" type="external">tension with the mainland</a>, requires males over the age of 18 to serve two years in the military, though there have been on-going calls for the country to adopt an all-volunteer army.</p>
<p>There are several alternative options to military service available, including the <a href="http://www.icdf.org.tw/ct.asp?xItem=4226&amp;ctNode=29877&amp;mp=2" type="external">Overseas Alternative Service program</a>, which sends volunteers to work on Taiwanese aid programs abroad, including in Africa, across the Asia-Pacific region, in the Caribbean, or Central and South America.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to get into, but once accepted, recruits must first undergo basic military training and are then given specialized training in medicine or agriculture, as well as intensive language classes — the kind of skills that typically prove more useful when the participants enter the job market.</p>
<p>Armenia’s alternative service program is fairly standard, but there was a long legal struggle behind its creation.</p>
<p>With a relatively recent history of conflict with Azerbaijan, as well as historically tense relations with Turkey, Armenia has a two-year military service requirement for males. Avoiding the draft can result in jail time and a fine. Until 2013, conscientious objectors were not allowed to apply for alternative service. The result was hundreds of objectors, particularly Jehovah’s Witness, were jailed each year.&#160;</p>
<p>That changed&#160;when Armenia applied to join the European Council in 2001, which requires members to respect the rights of conscientious objectors. Armenia did not immediately change its laws, and that same year an 18-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who had been imprisoned for 10 months for refusing to serve in the military <a href="" type="external">submitted a complaint</a> to the European Court of Human Rights. He&#160; <a href="http://armenianweekly.com/2011/08/09/%E2%80%98conscientious-objection%E2%80%99-european-court-sides-with-jehovah%E2%80%99s-witness-in-bayatyan-v-armenia-case/" type="external">won his case</a> in 2011.</p>
<p>In 2013, Armenia <a href="http://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/armenia/alternative-service-conscientious-objectors/" type="external">amended its laws for alternative service</a>, allowing Jehovah’s Witness to participate. The program requires a 36-month term, with 48 hours of work a week. Participants can serve close to their homes and do non military work. &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>It’s not an isolated case. Jehovah’s Witness still face persecution for avoiding conscription in other countries. For instance, while South Korea has an alternative service program, it still requires participants to undergo basic military training and learn to fire a gun, which goes against Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs. According to CNN, about 550 conscientious objectors were <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/20/asia/korean-military-conscientious-objectors/" type="external">jailed last year in South Korea</a>, the majority of them Jehovah’s Witnesses.</p> | As US marks 9/11 with national service, here's how other countries do national service | false | https://pri.org/stories/2015-09-10/heres-look-how-other-countries-do-national-service | 2015-09-10 | 3left-center
| As US marks 9/11 with national service, here's how other countries do national service
<p>Across the country on Friday, thousands of people will be volunteering as part of National Service Day,&#160;a way of commemorating the victims and first responders&#160;on Sept. 11,&#160;2001.</p>
<p>We’re likely to be hearing more about national service over the next few months, as it’s often an easy and uncontroversial topic for presidential candidates to float (who doesn’t like volunteering?) Recently, Democratic candidate Martin O’Malley put out a position paper detailing his plans to expand national service programs like AmeriCoprs and the Peace Corps.</p>
<p>But a look at the history of national service around the world shows a more complex, and sometime dharhow the rest of t? Many of the countries that still have military conscription face clear existential threats in their neighborhood,&#160;like Israel or&#160;Taiwan, or have a history of conflict with a country on their border, like Armenia or South Korea. These countries tend to operate national service programs as an alternative to the draft, often meant as a way for conscientious objectors to fulfill the requirement without violating their beliefs. &#160;</p>
<p>In other countries, like Malaysia, Nigeria or Rwanda, national service programs aren’t an alternative to the military, but are rather seen a policy tool — meant to help promote development in neglected areas, and foster understanding in ethnically and religiously diverse populations.</p>
<p>A few examples:</p>
<p>Every last Saturday of the month, Rwandans are required to come together for a morning of mandatory community service called umuganda.</p>
<p>Every able-bodied person age 18 to 65 is expected to participate. Neighborhoods are organized by a community leader, who assigns groups to different tasks such as cleaning streets, cutting grass or building houses.</p>
<p>Rwanda President Paul Kagame participates in "Umuganda" in 2011.</p>
<p>Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Umuganda%22Rwandan_community_work%22.jpg" type="external">Wikimedia Commons</a>user&#160;Smish60.</p>
<p>Umuganda’s history is complex. Community service has always been a part of Rwandan culture, but the more structured version was established by colonial rulers to maximize free labor.</p>
<p>The meaning and purpose of umuganda was twisted during the 1994 genocide, when Hutu extremists gave participants a gruesome task: Hunt down Tutsis and Hutu moderates and kill them.</p>
<p>Since the genocide, the government has repurposed umuganda. Initially, it was a way of organizing communities to clean up the carnage from the genocide, but it’s also been key in rebuilding ties between Hutu and Tutsi neighbors. Today, <a href="http://www.rgb.rw/governance-innovations/umuganda/" type="external">the government estimates</a>&#160;that close to 80 percent of the population comes together each month.</p>
<p>National service programs are often touted as a way of promoting national unity, by bringing together young people from different backgrounds. Malaysia takes a direct approach in this regard, using a lottery system to select tens of thousands of youth to participate in a boot camp. Each of the dorms has the same ethnic breakdown as the country itself: 60 percent Malays, 28 percent&#160;Chinese, 10 percent&#160;Indian and 2 percent&#160;from other ethnic minorities.</p>
<p>The program was <a href="http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/national-service-frozen-this-year-to-save-rm400m-pm-says-in-budget-2015-rev" type="external">suspended this year</a> due to budget cuts, though authorities have said it will be resumed after a “re-examination”. The camps have been plagued by poor conditions and bad management since they launched in 2004. At least 22 participants have died, and there have been reports of sexual assaults, a murder, rapes and one mass racial brawl.</p>
<p>A blistering op-ed in Freemalaysiatoday.com <a href="http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/opinion/2013/09/26/time-to-admit-ns-is-a-failure/" type="external">detailed the camp’s problems</a> in 2013:</p>
<p>Besides maggots in their food, the trainees had to suffer clogged sinks, toilets and broken toilet locks. They also complained of having to sleep on broken beds with filthy pillows and were not given enough food to eat.</p>
<p>One hopes that if the camps are restarted, they will at least have decent beds.</p>
<p>Nigeria requires universty students to spend a year in a service program before graduating. As with the Malaysian case, the object was largely to to help foster national unity: The program was started in the aftermath of the Nigerian civil war, the Biafran War, in the 1970s. To that end, participants are posted in areas far from their homes and encouraged to learn the local culture.</p>
<p>As one of the oldest and biggest volunteer programs in Africa, the NYSC has a host of <a href="http://www.nysc.gov.ng/about/programs.php" type="external">international partners</a>, including USAID, John Hopkins University, UNESCO and UNICEF. The program begins with a three-week boot camp. The experience is a&#160;popular topic of discussion among Nigerian youth on social media.&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Corps volunteers do face risks in carrying&#160;out their missions. In 2013, a bomb attack <a href="http://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/116447-ex-nysc-members-victims-of-suleja-bomb-blast-accuse-jonathan-administration-of-neglect.html" type="external">killed nine NYSC members</a> who were preparing to volunteer at a polling station in Suleja, a city in the north of the country that has faced attacks from the Boko Haram terrorist group.</p>
<p>Sherut Leumi is a volunteer program in Israel for&#160;young women between the ages of 18-21 — though some men also participate — who cite religious reasons for opting out of the requirement to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. It's also a popular for way for young Jewish volunteers from abroad to spend time in Israel, as this slick marketing video shows:</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Volunteers are matched with charitable organizations, like hospitals or orphanages, and live together in a dorm-like setting. They serve for one to two years and are paid a minimal salary. While most of the participants are Jewish girls, <a href="http://resources.gale.com/speakingglobally/the-view-from-here/the-view-from-israel-national-service-sherut-leumi/" type="external">at least one recent report</a> indicated that the number of Arab volunteers is increasing, which is notable because non-druze Arab citizens of Israel&#160;do not face mandatory conscription.</p>
<p>One organization that Israelis can no longer volunteer with as an alternative to military service is the human rights group B'Tselem. Government officials removed the prominent rights group as an option over its <a href="//www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/15/israel-btselem-service-aid-gaza-human-rights" type="external">opposition to the 2014 conflict in Gaza</a>.</p>
<p>Taiwan, with its history of <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/china/21646571-chinese-leaders-send-warnings-taiwans-opposition-party-ahead-elections-next-year-chinas-bottom" type="external">tension with the mainland</a>, requires males over the age of 18 to serve two years in the military, though there have been on-going calls for the country to adopt an all-volunteer army.</p>
<p>There are several alternative options to military service available, including the <a href="http://www.icdf.org.tw/ct.asp?xItem=4226&amp;ctNode=29877&amp;mp=2" type="external">Overseas Alternative Service program</a>, which sends volunteers to work on Taiwanese aid programs abroad, including in Africa, across the Asia-Pacific region, in the Caribbean, or Central and South America.</p>
<p>It’s difficult to get into, but once accepted, recruits must first undergo basic military training and are then given specialized training in medicine or agriculture, as well as intensive language classes — the kind of skills that typically prove more useful when the participants enter the job market.</p>
<p>Armenia’s alternative service program is fairly standard, but there was a long legal struggle behind its creation.</p>
<p>With a relatively recent history of conflict with Azerbaijan, as well as historically tense relations with Turkey, Armenia has a two-year military service requirement for males. Avoiding the draft can result in jail time and a fine. Until 2013, conscientious objectors were not allowed to apply for alternative service. The result was hundreds of objectors, particularly Jehovah’s Witness, were jailed each year.&#160;</p>
<p>That changed&#160;when Armenia applied to join the European Council in 2001, which requires members to respect the rights of conscientious objectors. Armenia did not immediately change its laws, and that same year an 18-year-old Jehovah’s Witness who had been imprisoned for 10 months for refusing to serve in the military <a href="" type="external">submitted a complaint</a> to the European Court of Human Rights. He&#160; <a href="http://armenianweekly.com/2011/08/09/%E2%80%98conscientious-objection%E2%80%99-european-court-sides-with-jehovah%E2%80%99s-witness-in-bayatyan-v-armenia-case/" type="external">won his case</a> in 2011.</p>
<p>In 2013, Armenia <a href="http://www.jw.org/en/news/legal/by-region/armenia/alternative-service-conscientious-objectors/" type="external">amended its laws for alternative service</a>, allowing Jehovah’s Witness to participate. The program requires a 36-month term, with 48 hours of work a week. Participants can serve close to their homes and do non military work. &#160;&#160;&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>It’s not an isolated case. Jehovah’s Witness still face persecution for avoiding conscription in other countries. For instance, while South Korea has an alternative service program, it still requires participants to undergo basic military training and learn to fire a gun, which goes against Jehovah’s Witnesses beliefs. According to CNN, about 550 conscientious objectors were <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/20/asia/korean-military-conscientious-objectors/" type="external">jailed last year in South Korea</a>, the majority of them Jehovah’s Witnesses.</p> | 599,963 |
<p>DUBLIN, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Plans for a potential new Boeing mid-sized jet are gaining momentum and Airbus looks set to respond by beefing up its strong-selling A321neo model, Air Lease Corp Chief Executive John Plueger said on Monday.</p>
<p>“I think they (Boeing) feel they have momentum from the customers and that they are building momentum internally for the business case,” Plueger told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual Airline Economics conference, referring to a project for a 220-260-seat jet known as New Mid-Sized Airplane (‘NMA’).</p>
<p>“I think that they ... are feeling better about the NMA, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some time this year we saw a decision about a launch or not a launch,” he said.</p>
<p>Airbus is developing a new version of its 185-seat A321neo capable of lifting more weight, he said. Extra carrying capacity typically allows airlines to carry more payload or fly further.</p>
<p>Plueger said Airbus appeared for the time being to favour increasing the maximum takeoff weight of the A321neo over more radical developments such as investing in a new carbon wing.</p>
<p>Neither Boeing nor Airbus could be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai visited her hometown in Pakistan’s Swat Valley on Saturday for the first time since she was shot by a Taliban gunman as a teenager.</p> Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai pauses during an interview with Reuters at a local hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Saiyna Bashir
<p>Roads leading to the 20-year-old education activist’s childhood home in Mingora were blocked off earlier in the day, and a helicopter was seen landing at a government guest house about 1 km (half a mile) from her house.</p>
<p>“I was told by the family that it was very moving when Malala visited her home.” said Jawad Iqbal Yousafzai, who is from the same Pashtun clan as Malala and said he had spoken to her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai.</p>
<p>He said that the family was expected to also visit a local army cadet college as well as a tourist resort.</p>
<p>With its scenic mountains and rivers, Swat is popular with holiday makers in Pakistan.</p>
<p>Yousafzai has been visiting Pakistan since Thursday, her first trip home since she was shot and airlifted abroad for treatment. The government and military have been providing security.</p>
<p>It had been uncertain whether Yousafzai would be able to visit Swat, parts of which spent nearly two years under the Pakistani Taliban militants’ harsh interpretation of Islamic law, due to continued concerns for her safety.</p> A helicopter carring Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai takes off after visiting her home in Mingora in Swat Valley, Pakistan March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
<p>“I miss everything about Pakistan ... from the rivers, the mountains, to even the dirty streets and the garbage around our house, and my friends and how we used to have gossip ...to how we used to fight with our neighbors,” she told Reuters in an interview on Friday.</p>
<p>Two security officials told Reuters the trip by helicopter would likely be just for one day.</p>
<p>The Pakistani army wrested control of Swat back from the Taliban in 2009 and the area remains mostly peaceful, but the Taliban still occasionally launch attacks including one on the military a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed responsibility in 2012 for the attack on Yousafzai for her outspoken advocacy for girls’ education, which was forbidden under the militants’ rule over Swat.</p>
<p>She wrote an anonymous blog for the BBC Urdu service as a schoolgirl during the Taliban rule and later became outspoken in advocating more educational opportunities for girls.</p>
<p>In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel laureate, honored for her work with the Malala Foundation, a charity she set up to support education advocacy groups with a focus on Pakistan, Nigeria, Jordan, Syria and Kenya.</p>
<p>This month, a new girls’ school built with her Nobel prize money opened in the village of Shangla in Swat Valley.</p>
<p>Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Kim Coghill</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - In the Pakistani hometown of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, reminders are frequent of the daughter of scenic northwestern Swat Valley who survived a gun attack – and so are memories of harsh rule by the Taliban.</p> Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai adjusts her scarf as she speaks during an interview with Reuters at a local hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Saiyna Bashir
<p>Yousafzai flew into Swat on Saturday by helicopter during her first visit to Pakistan since the Pakistani Taliban - now on the run but still able to launch attacks - shot her in the head in 2012 over her advocacy for girls’ education and opposition to Islamist militancy.</p>
<p>Yousafzai’s return to her hometown was eagerly awaited by admirers and family friends.</p>
<p>“We’re very happy that Malala has come to Pakistan. We welcome Malala,” said Arfa Akhtar, a third grade student in a school where Yousafzai once studied. “I’m also Malala. I’m with Malala in this mission.”</p>
<p>Barkat Ali, 66, says he remembers holding Malala in his lap when she was a child in Mingora. He is proud of the 20-year-old’s struggle to promote girls’ education, just as he is of his refusal 10 years ago to turn over his son when the Taliban demanded new fighters.</p>
<p>“They were the old illiterate people who would say that our daughters will not go to schools,” Ali said, recalling two mortar shells landing in his street, often patrolled by the Taliban.</p>
<p>“Now people have become sensible. They educate their girls.”</p>
<p>The Taliban took over much of the valley starting in 2007, banning girls’ education, killing people, flogging women and hanging bodies from electric poles to enforce their harsh interpretation of Islamic law before the Pakistani army drove them out in 2009.</p> A helicopter carrying Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai prepares to land at her hometown of Mingora in Swat Valley, Pakistan, March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
<p>Not everyone in Swat, though, has such reverence for Yousafzai, who became the youngest Nobel laureate in history in 2014 at age 17.</p>
<p>Resident Mohammad Nisar Khan says the international celebrity and official protection given to the young woman overshadows the sacrifices made by others in Swat.</p>
<p>“We were the ones who stood up against the Taliban...&#160;My four uncles and two cousins were slaughtered by the Taliban in Matta. They were brutally martyred. Yet, no one has asked about me,” Khan said.</p>
<p>“Can someone show me one brave deed that Malala Yousafzai has performed ... that we have not performed&#160;at age 50?”</p>
<p>Elsewhere in parts of Pakistan, her arrival was met with outright hostility from those who accuse her of building a career abroad by painting a negative picture of her homeland.</p>
<p>In the eastern city of Lahore, a group of private schools staged a protest on Friday with teachers and their students chanting “I am not Malala”, some wearing black armbands.</p>
<p>The organizer of the protest, Kashif Mirza, said dozens of private school chains participated and teachers told students in classes “that Malala does not represent true Pakistan”.</p>
<p>“She maligned Pakistan, Islam and the Pakistani army after going abroad,” said Mirza, who leads the President of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation. He said his group condemned the gun attack on Yousafzai but said since going abroad she had been influenced by foreign powers.</p>
<p>Other private schools, however, declined to join the anti-Malala protest.</p>
<p>“No such day was observed in any of our branches, because we don’t support any event which spreads hatred,” said Tabraiz Bokhari, spokesman of Beacon House School System, with 200 affiliates across Pakistan.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>In the nine years since the army drove out the Taliban, Swat has become mostly peaceful, though there are still occasional militant attacks including one several weeks ago targeting the military.</p>
<p>Many Swat residents, including family friend Jawad Iqbal, were hopeful Malala would be able to return on this trip.</p>
<p>“The people of Swat and the whole of Pakistan are with Malala,” Iqbal said standing in front of a portrait of Yousafzai with her father, who is a teacher.</p>
<p>“God willing, we will counter the terrorism and extremism in our region with the weapon of education, with the weapon of a pen, with the weapons of teachers and with the weapons of books.”</p>
<p>Along the road where Malala was shot on her school bus, resident Amir Zeb also said he hoped Malala will visit.</p>
<p>“Malala Yousafzai is the daughter of Pakistan,” he said, adding. “We’re proud of her.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in LAHORE, Pakistan; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Peter Graff and Kim Coghill</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia expelled 59 diplomats from 23 countries on Friday and said it reserved the right to take action against four other nations in a worsening standoff with the West over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain.</p>
<p>Russia said it was responding to what it called the baseless demands for scores of its own diplomats to leave a slew of mostly Western countries that have joined London and Washington in censuring Moscow over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.</p>
<p>A day earlier, Moscow ordered the expulsion of 60 U.S. diplomats and the closing of the U.S. consulate in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city, in retaliation for the biggest ejection of diplomats since the Cold War.</p>
<p>Preparations appeared to be under way on Friday to close the St Petersburg mission down, with a removals truck making repeated journeys to and from the consulate which took delivery of a large pizza order for its staff.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-russia/russia-expels-four-french-diplomats-after-uk-poisoning-affair-idUSKBN1H61MH" type="external">Russia expels four French diplomats after UK poisoning affair</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-diplomats-reaction/russias-response-to-expulsion-of-diplomats-is-regrettable-says-britain-idUSKBN1H6197" type="external">Russia's response to expulsion of diplomats is 'regrettable', says Britain</a>
<p>Russia summoned senior envoys on Friday from most of the other countries that have expelled Russian diplomats and told them it was expelling a commensurate number of theirs.</p>
<p>Russia has already retaliated in kind against Britain for ejecting 23 diplomats over the first known use of a military-grade nerve agent on European soil since World War Two. British ambassador Laurie Bristow was summoned again on Friday.</p>
<p>The Russian Foreign Ministry said Bristow had been told London had just one month to cut its diplomatic contingent in Russia to the same size as the Russian mission in Britain.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office did not say how many British diplomats would be affected, but said Russia’s response was regrettable and Moscow was in flagrant breach of international law over the killing of the former spy.</p>
<p>The poisoning, in southern England, has united much of the West in taking action against what it regards as the hostile policies of President Vladimir Putin. This includes the United States under President Donald Trump, who Putin had hoped would improve ties.</p>
<p>Russia rejects Britain’s accusation it stood behind the attack and has cast the allegations as part of an elaborate Western plot to sabotage East-West relations and isolate Moscow.</p>
<p>The hospital where she is being treated said on Thursday that Yulia Skripal was getting better after spending three weeks in a critical condition due to the nerve toxin attack. Her father remains in a critical but stable condition.</p>
<p>The BBC, citing sources, reported on Friday that Yulia was “conscious and talking”.</p> EXPULSIONS
<p>During the course of Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned senior embassy officials from Australia, Albania, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Croatia, Ukraine, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada and the Czech Republic.</p> The Russian foreign ministry building is reflected in an ambassadors' car in Moscow, Russia March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
<p>All were seen arriving in their official cars at the Foreign Ministry’s gothic building in Moscow.</p>
<p>“They (the diplomats) were handed protest notes and told that in response to the unwarranted demands of the relevant states on expelling Russian diplomats ... that the Russian side declares the corresponding number of staff working in those countries’ embassies in the Russian Federation persona non grata,” the ministry said in a statement.</p>
<p>Four other countries — Belgium, Hungary, Georgia and Montenegro — had only “at the last moment” announced that they too were expelling Russian diplomats over the Skripal affair, and Moscow reserved the right to take retaliatory action against them too, it said.</p>
<p>Emerging from the Foreign Ministry building, German ambassador Rudiger von Fritsch said Russia had questions to answer about the poisoning of Skripal, but Berlin remained open to dialogue with Moscow.</p> Slideshow (13 Images)
<p>The U.S State Department said after Russia announced the expulsions on Thursday evening that it reserved the right to respond further, saying the list of diplomats designated for expulsion by Russia showed Moscow was not interested in diplomacy.</p>
<p>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a conference call with reporters on Friday, disagreed with that assessment, saying that Putin still favored mending ties with other countries, including with the United States.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Maxim Rodionov and Christian Lowe in Moscow, Toby Sterling in The Hague, Elisabeth O'Leary in Edinburgh, Steve Scherer in Rome and Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Edmund Blair and Peter Graff</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday asked a judge to sentence Macau billionaire Ng Lap Seng to more than six years in prison, after his conviction last July for bribing two U.N. ambassadors to help him build a multi-billion dollar conference center.</p> Macau billionaire real estate developer Ng Lap Seng (R), accused of bribing former United Nations General Assembly president John Ashe, exits the Manhattan U.S. District Courthouse in New York, U.S. April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ashlee Espinal
<p>Prosecutors made their request in a filing with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and are also seeking a $2 million fine.</p>
<p>The request came four weeks after Ng’s lawyers urged that their 69-year-old client be sentenced to time served, and allowed to return to his family in China.</p>
<p>Lawyers for Ng did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ng’s sentencing by U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick is scheduled for May 11. Probation officials recommended a six-year prison term.</p>
<p>Ng was convicted on all six counts he faced, including bribery, money laundering and corruption, after a four-week trial and less than a day of jury deliberations.</p>
<p>Prosecutors accused him of paying more than $1 million of bribes to officials including the late former U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe.</p>
<p>They said Ng hoped the conference center, which was never built, would pave the way for luxury housing, hotels, a shopping mall, marinas and a heliport, turning Macau into the “Geneva of Asia” and winning himself fame and greater riches.</p>
<p>“The defendant, a sophisticated, international businessman, repeatedly used his wealth and power to seek to corrupt decision-making at the United Nations,” prosecutors said in Friday’s filing. “That was a choice. It warrants substantial and meaningful punishment.”</p>
<p>Defense lawyers have said Ng’s goals were consistent with the types of public-private partnerships that the United Nations favors, and that other diplomats abused Ng’s trust.</p>
<p>In their sentencing request, they called it “far more reasonable” to conclude that Ng’s motivations were patriotic and philanthropic.</p>
<p>They also said there was “no chance of recidivism,” and that Ng could assure the court that once in China, he would not seek to return to the United States or conduct business there.</p>
<p>Ng has been allowed to live in his Manhattan apartment under 24-hour guard on $50 million bail. He was arrested in 2015.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | Air Lease CEO says momentum building for new Boeing mid-sized jet Nobel winner Malala visits hometown in Pakistan for first time since shooting Joy in Nobel winner Malala's hometown, though some Pakistanis decry her Russia, in spy rift riposte, expels 59 diplomats from 23 countries U.S. seeks over six years prison for Macau billionaire in U.N. bribery case | false | https://reuters.com/article/aviation-finance-airlease/air-lease-ceo-says-momentum-building-for-new-boeing-mid-sized-jet-idUSL8N1PH3IY | 2018-01-22 | 2least
| Air Lease CEO says momentum building for new Boeing mid-sized jet Nobel winner Malala visits hometown in Pakistan for first time since shooting Joy in Nobel winner Malala's hometown, though some Pakistanis decry her Russia, in spy rift riposte, expels 59 diplomats from 23 countries U.S. seeks over six years prison for Macau billionaire in U.N. bribery case
<p>DUBLIN, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Plans for a potential new Boeing mid-sized jet are gaining momentum and Airbus looks set to respond by beefing up its strong-selling A321neo model, Air Lease Corp Chief Executive John Plueger said on Monday.</p>
<p>“I think they (Boeing) feel they have momentum from the customers and that they are building momentum internally for the business case,” Plueger told Reuters on the sidelines of the annual Airline Economics conference, referring to a project for a 220-260-seat jet known as New Mid-Sized Airplane (‘NMA’).</p>
<p>“I think that they ... are feeling better about the NMA, so I wouldn’t be surprised if some time this year we saw a decision about a launch or not a launch,” he said.</p>
<p>Airbus is developing a new version of its 185-seat A321neo capable of lifting more weight, he said. Extra carrying capacity typically allows airlines to carry more payload or fly further.</p>
<p>Plueger said Airbus appeared for the time being to favour increasing the maximum takeoff weight of the A321neo over more radical developments such as investing in a new carbon wing.</p>
<p>Neither Boeing nor Airbus could be immediately reached for comment. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai visited her hometown in Pakistan’s Swat Valley on Saturday for the first time since she was shot by a Taliban gunman as a teenager.</p> Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai pauses during an interview with Reuters at a local hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Saiyna Bashir
<p>Roads leading to the 20-year-old education activist’s childhood home in Mingora were blocked off earlier in the day, and a helicopter was seen landing at a government guest house about 1 km (half a mile) from her house.</p>
<p>“I was told by the family that it was very moving when Malala visited her home.” said Jawad Iqbal Yousafzai, who is from the same Pashtun clan as Malala and said he had spoken to her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai.</p>
<p>He said that the family was expected to also visit a local army cadet college as well as a tourist resort.</p>
<p>With its scenic mountains and rivers, Swat is popular with holiday makers in Pakistan.</p>
<p>Yousafzai has been visiting Pakistan since Thursday, her first trip home since she was shot and airlifted abroad for treatment. The government and military have been providing security.</p>
<p>It had been uncertain whether Yousafzai would be able to visit Swat, parts of which spent nearly two years under the Pakistani Taliban militants’ harsh interpretation of Islamic law, due to continued concerns for her safety.</p> A helicopter carring Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai takes off after visiting her home in Mingora in Swat Valley, Pakistan March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
<p>“I miss everything about Pakistan ... from the rivers, the mountains, to even the dirty streets and the garbage around our house, and my friends and how we used to have gossip ...to how we used to fight with our neighbors,” she told Reuters in an interview on Friday.</p>
<p>Two security officials told Reuters the trip by helicopter would likely be just for one day.</p>
<p>The Pakistani army wrested control of Swat back from the Taliban in 2009 and the area remains mostly peaceful, but the Taliban still occasionally launch attacks including one on the military a few weeks ago.</p>
<p>The Taliban claimed responsibility in 2012 for the attack on Yousafzai for her outspoken advocacy for girls’ education, which was forbidden under the militants’ rule over Swat.</p>
<p>She wrote an anonymous blog for the BBC Urdu service as a schoolgirl during the Taliban rule and later became outspoken in advocating more educational opportunities for girls.</p>
<p>In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel laureate, honored for her work with the Malala Foundation, a charity she set up to support education advocacy groups with a focus on Pakistan, Nigeria, Jordan, Syria and Kenya.</p>
<p>This month, a new girls’ school built with her Nobel prize money opened in the village of Shangla in Swat Valley.</p>
<p>Writing by Kay Johnson; Editing by Kim Coghill</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MINGORA, Pakistan (Reuters) - In the Pakistani hometown of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, reminders are frequent of the daughter of scenic northwestern Swat Valley who survived a gun attack – and so are memories of harsh rule by the Taliban.</p> Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai adjusts her scarf as she speaks during an interview with Reuters at a local hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Saiyna Bashir
<p>Yousafzai flew into Swat on Saturday by helicopter during her first visit to Pakistan since the Pakistani Taliban - now on the run but still able to launch attacks - shot her in the head in 2012 over her advocacy for girls’ education and opposition to Islamist militancy.</p>
<p>Yousafzai’s return to her hometown was eagerly awaited by admirers and family friends.</p>
<p>“We’re very happy that Malala has come to Pakistan. We welcome Malala,” said Arfa Akhtar, a third grade student in a school where Yousafzai once studied. “I’m also Malala. I’m with Malala in this mission.”</p>
<p>Barkat Ali, 66, says he remembers holding Malala in his lap when she was a child in Mingora. He is proud of the 20-year-old’s struggle to promote girls’ education, just as he is of his refusal 10 years ago to turn over his son when the Taliban demanded new fighters.</p>
<p>“They were the old illiterate people who would say that our daughters will not go to schools,” Ali said, recalling two mortar shells landing in his street, often patrolled by the Taliban.</p>
<p>“Now people have become sensible. They educate their girls.”</p>
<p>The Taliban took over much of the valley starting in 2007, banning girls’ education, killing people, flogging women and hanging bodies from electric poles to enforce their harsh interpretation of Islamic law before the Pakistani army drove them out in 2009.</p> A helicopter carrying Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai prepares to land at her hometown of Mingora in Swat Valley, Pakistan, March 31, 2018. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood
<p>Not everyone in Swat, though, has such reverence for Yousafzai, who became the youngest Nobel laureate in history in 2014 at age 17.</p>
<p>Resident Mohammad Nisar Khan says the international celebrity and official protection given to the young woman overshadows the sacrifices made by others in Swat.</p>
<p>“We were the ones who stood up against the Taliban...&#160;My four uncles and two cousins were slaughtered by the Taliban in Matta. They were brutally martyred. Yet, no one has asked about me,” Khan said.</p>
<p>“Can someone show me one brave deed that Malala Yousafzai has performed ... that we have not performed&#160;at age 50?”</p>
<p>Elsewhere in parts of Pakistan, her arrival was met with outright hostility from those who accuse her of building a career abroad by painting a negative picture of her homeland.</p>
<p>In the eastern city of Lahore, a group of private schools staged a protest on Friday with teachers and their students chanting “I am not Malala”, some wearing black armbands.</p>
<p>The organizer of the protest, Kashif Mirza, said dozens of private school chains participated and teachers told students in classes “that Malala does not represent true Pakistan”.</p>
<p>“She maligned Pakistan, Islam and the Pakistani army after going abroad,” said Mirza, who leads the President of All Pakistan Private Schools Federation. He said his group condemned the gun attack on Yousafzai but said since going abroad she had been influenced by foreign powers.</p>
<p>Other private schools, however, declined to join the anti-Malala protest.</p>
<p>“No such day was observed in any of our branches, because we don’t support any event which spreads hatred,” said Tabraiz Bokhari, spokesman of Beacon House School System, with 200 affiliates across Pakistan.</p> Slideshow (3 Images)
<p>In the nine years since the army drove out the Taliban, Swat has become mostly peaceful, though there are still occasional militant attacks including one several weeks ago targeting the military.</p>
<p>Many Swat residents, including family friend Jawad Iqbal, were hopeful Malala would be able to return on this trip.</p>
<p>“The people of Swat and the whole of Pakistan are with Malala,” Iqbal said standing in front of a portrait of Yousafzai with her father, who is a teacher.</p>
<p>“God willing, we will counter the terrorism and extremism in our region with the weapon of education, with the weapon of a pen, with the weapons of teachers and with the weapons of books.”</p>
<p>Along the road where Malala was shot on her school bus, resident Amir Zeb also said he hoped Malala will visit.</p>
<p>“Malala Yousafzai is the daughter of Pakistan,” he said, adding. “We’re proud of her.”</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Mubasher Bukhari in LAHORE, Pakistan; Writing by Asif Shahzad; Editing by Peter Graff and Kim Coghill</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia expelled 59 diplomats from 23 countries on Friday and said it reserved the right to take action against four other nations in a worsening standoff with the West over the poisoning of a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain.</p>
<p>Russia said it was responding to what it called the baseless demands for scores of its own diplomats to leave a slew of mostly Western countries that have joined London and Washington in censuring Moscow over the poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.</p>
<p>A day earlier, Moscow ordered the expulsion of 60 U.S. diplomats and the closing of the U.S. consulate in St Petersburg, Russia’s second city, in retaliation for the biggest ejection of diplomats since the Cold War.</p>
<p>Preparations appeared to be under way on Friday to close the St Petersburg mission down, with a removals truck making repeated journeys to and from the consulate which took delivery of a large pizza order for its staff.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-russia/russia-expels-four-french-diplomats-after-uk-poisoning-affair-idUSKBN1H61MH" type="external">Russia expels four French diplomats after UK poisoning affair</a>
<a href="/article/us-britain-russia-diplomats-reaction/russias-response-to-expulsion-of-diplomats-is-regrettable-says-britain-idUSKBN1H6197" type="external">Russia's response to expulsion of diplomats is 'regrettable', says Britain</a>
<p>Russia summoned senior envoys on Friday from most of the other countries that have expelled Russian diplomats and told them it was expelling a commensurate number of theirs.</p>
<p>Russia has already retaliated in kind against Britain for ejecting 23 diplomats over the first known use of a military-grade nerve agent on European soil since World War Two. British ambassador Laurie Bristow was summoned again on Friday.</p>
<p>The Russian Foreign Ministry said Bristow had been told London had just one month to cut its diplomatic contingent in Russia to the same size as the Russian mission in Britain.</p>
<p>A spokeswoman for the British Foreign Office did not say how many British diplomats would be affected, but said Russia’s response was regrettable and Moscow was in flagrant breach of international law over the killing of the former spy.</p>
<p>The poisoning, in southern England, has united much of the West in taking action against what it regards as the hostile policies of President Vladimir Putin. This includes the United States under President Donald Trump, who Putin had hoped would improve ties.</p>
<p>Russia rejects Britain’s accusation it stood behind the attack and has cast the allegations as part of an elaborate Western plot to sabotage East-West relations and isolate Moscow.</p>
<p>The hospital where she is being treated said on Thursday that Yulia Skripal was getting better after spending three weeks in a critical condition due to the nerve toxin attack. Her father remains in a critical but stable condition.</p>
<p>The BBC, citing sources, reported on Friday that Yulia was “conscious and talking”.</p> EXPULSIONS
<p>During the course of Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned senior embassy officials from Australia, Albania, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, the Netherlands, Croatia, Ukraine, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Romania, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada and the Czech Republic.</p> The Russian foreign ministry building is reflected in an ambassadors' car in Moscow, Russia March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
<p>All were seen arriving in their official cars at the Foreign Ministry’s gothic building in Moscow.</p>
<p>“They (the diplomats) were handed protest notes and told that in response to the unwarranted demands of the relevant states on expelling Russian diplomats ... that the Russian side declares the corresponding number of staff working in those countries’ embassies in the Russian Federation persona non grata,” the ministry said in a statement.</p>
<p>Four other countries — Belgium, Hungary, Georgia and Montenegro — had only “at the last moment” announced that they too were expelling Russian diplomats over the Skripal affair, and Moscow reserved the right to take retaliatory action against them too, it said.</p>
<p>Emerging from the Foreign Ministry building, German ambassador Rudiger von Fritsch said Russia had questions to answer about the poisoning of Skripal, but Berlin remained open to dialogue with Moscow.</p> Slideshow (13 Images)
<p>The U.S State Department said after Russia announced the expulsions on Thursday evening that it reserved the right to respond further, saying the list of diplomats designated for expulsion by Russia showed Moscow was not interested in diplomacy.</p>
<p>Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, in a conference call with reporters on Friday, disagreed with that assessment, saying that Putin still favored mending ties with other countries, including with the United States.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Maria Kiselyova, Maxim Rodionov and Christian Lowe in Moscow, Toby Sterling in The Hague, Elisabeth O'Leary in Edinburgh, Steve Scherer in Rome and Jussi Rosendahl in Helsinki; Writing by Andrew Osborn; Editing by Edmund Blair and Peter Graff</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Friday asked a judge to sentence Macau billionaire Ng Lap Seng to more than six years in prison, after his conviction last July for bribing two U.N. ambassadors to help him build a multi-billion dollar conference center.</p> Macau billionaire real estate developer Ng Lap Seng (R), accused of bribing former United Nations General Assembly president John Ashe, exits the Manhattan U.S. District Courthouse in New York, U.S. April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ashlee Espinal
<p>Prosecutors made their request in a filing with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, and are also seeking a $2 million fine.</p>
<p>The request came four weeks after Ng’s lawyers urged that their 69-year-old client be sentenced to time served, and allowed to return to his family in China.</p>
<p>Lawyers for Ng did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Ng’s sentencing by U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick is scheduled for May 11. Probation officials recommended a six-year prison term.</p>
<p>Ng was convicted on all six counts he faced, including bribery, money laundering and corruption, after a four-week trial and less than a day of jury deliberations.</p>
<p>Prosecutors accused him of paying more than $1 million of bribes to officials including the late former U.N. General Assembly President John Ashe.</p>
<p>They said Ng hoped the conference center, which was never built, would pave the way for luxury housing, hotels, a shopping mall, marinas and a heliport, turning Macau into the “Geneva of Asia” and winning himself fame and greater riches.</p>
<p>“The defendant, a sophisticated, international businessman, repeatedly used his wealth and power to seek to corrupt decision-making at the United Nations,” prosecutors said in Friday’s filing. “That was a choice. It warrants substantial and meaningful punishment.”</p>
<p>Defense lawyers have said Ng’s goals were consistent with the types of public-private partnerships that the United Nations favors, and that other diplomats abused Ng’s trust.</p>
<p>In their sentencing request, they called it “far more reasonable” to conclude that Ng’s motivations were patriotic and philanthropic.</p>
<p>They also said there was “no chance of recidivism,” and that Ng could assure the court that once in China, he would not seek to return to the United States or conduct business there.</p>
<p>Ng has been allowed to live in his Manhattan apartment under 24-hour guard on $50 million bail. He was arrested in 2015.</p>
<p>Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Susan Thomas</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 599,964 |
<p>Chicago and Illinois aren’t the only places trying to minimize the impact of No Child Left Behind during the first year of implementation. Here is a glimpse at what’s happening in other cities and states, according to recent newspaper reports.</p>
<p>BALTIMORE</p>
<p>Only 200 get to go. Only 11 elementary and middle schools met the School Board’s criteria for receiving schools. The criteria included distance limits, a minimum achievement level and excess capacity that, contrary to federal directives, took class size into consideration. Baltimore has 83 failing schools enrolling 30,000 students. The 11 receiving schools have fewer than 200 open seats.</p>
<p>NEW YORK CITY</p>
<p>Little early interest. The nation’s largest public school system put relatively loose limits on school choice for the some 400,000 students attending the almost 400 schools, a third of the total, deemed to be failing under NCLB. Children who want to transfer must choose another school in the same subdistrict, which typically have about 30 schools each. In one subdistrict, parents of only 20 children expressed an interest.</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS</p>
<p>One school loses 70. Only 109 children asked to transfer out of this city’s five failing schools, but 70 were from the same school. Some 4,500 students were eligible. Officials gave parents just one choice, based on proximity and available space. Two of the five failing schools are managed by the for-profit Edison Schools Inc.</p>
<p>CAMDEN, N.J.</p>
<p>Do it yourself. The district told parents that no schools had available slots and that they should scout their own options at charter schools and schools in neighboring districts. No open slots were found.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.</p>
<p>Choosing blind. Initially, the district gave parents at 17 failing schools four days to indicate whether they wanted to transfer their children, but it did not identify the receiving schools. Instead, the district planned to assign children to new schools later in the summer. “Low-income kids and families should have the same opportunities for choosing what schools their kids go to as anyone else in Albuquerque,” a critic told the Albuquerque Tribune. The district subsequently paired each of the 17 with three receiving schools. It also gave parents a choice of any school with openings, so long as they transported their children. The district would reimburse them at 35 cents a mile. These children got priority over students wanting to transfer from non-failing schools.</p>
<p>GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C.</p>
<p>Pressure expands choice. Initially, the School Board restricted transfers to just two receiving schools. Following criticism from the community, it increased the number to six. Four schools were deemed to be failing in this district of 62,000 students.</p>
<p>KENTUCKY</p>
<p>January transfer. For Kentucky, the U.S. Department of Education used scores from two years ago to identify failing schools. The state protested and won permission to use more recent scores. However, those scores will not be released until September. As a result, the state would like to hold off on student transfers until semester break in January, but does not know whether the feds will permit that, according to a spokesperson. Kentucky was one of the first states to set long-term goals for bringing all students to proficiency.</p>
<p>GEORGIA</p>
<p>High standards. Georgia set a relatively high standard, requiring improvement among various demographic subgroups, not just the student body as a whole. As a result, 437 of its 1,607 elementary and middle schools, or 27 percent, were found to be failing under NCLB.</p>
<p>LOUISIANA</p>
<p>Recalibrating standards. In Louisiana, the state renamed the performance levels on its required graduation test. The highest level had been “advanced,” followed by “proficient,” “basic,” “approaching basic” and “unsatisfactory.” The state had set a goal of bringing all students to basic in 10 years and to proficient in 20 years, meaning by 2019. The federal legislation requires that students be “proficient” in 12 years. To maintain its own timetable without risking the loss of federal money, Louisiana converted “proficient” to “mastery.”</p>
<p>ARKANSAS, WYOMING</p>
<p>No failing schools. There is wide variation among states on the number and percentage of schools deemed to be failing under NCLB. For example, Arkansas and Wyoming have none this year. Michigan has the most, 1,513. The reason is that the federal law allows states to set their own standards. To discourage states from setting low standards, NCLB requires them to administer the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to a sample of students every two years. By comparing those scores with NCLB results, judgments can be made on the rigor of state standards. In the most recent round of testing, Arkansas scored below the national average of NAEP, and Wyoming scored above.</p> | Slow starts, false starts abound across country | false | http://chicagoreporter.com/slow-starts-false-starts-abound-across-country/ | 2005-07-28 | 3left-center
| Slow starts, false starts abound across country
<p>Chicago and Illinois aren’t the only places trying to minimize the impact of No Child Left Behind during the first year of implementation. Here is a glimpse at what’s happening in other cities and states, according to recent newspaper reports.</p>
<p>BALTIMORE</p>
<p>Only 200 get to go. Only 11 elementary and middle schools met the School Board’s criteria for receiving schools. The criteria included distance limits, a minimum achievement level and excess capacity that, contrary to federal directives, took class size into consideration. Baltimore has 83 failing schools enrolling 30,000 students. The 11 receiving schools have fewer than 200 open seats.</p>
<p>NEW YORK CITY</p>
<p>Little early interest. The nation’s largest public school system put relatively loose limits on school choice for the some 400,000 students attending the almost 400 schools, a third of the total, deemed to be failing under NCLB. Children who want to transfer must choose another school in the same subdistrict, which typically have about 30 schools each. In one subdistrict, parents of only 20 children expressed an interest.</p>
<p>LAS VEGAS</p>
<p>One school loses 70. Only 109 children asked to transfer out of this city’s five failing schools, but 70 were from the same school. Some 4,500 students were eligible. Officials gave parents just one choice, based on proximity and available space. Two of the five failing schools are managed by the for-profit Edison Schools Inc.</p>
<p>CAMDEN, N.J.</p>
<p>Do it yourself. The district told parents that no schools had available slots and that they should scout their own options at charter schools and schools in neighboring districts. No open slots were found.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.</p>
<p>Choosing blind. Initially, the district gave parents at 17 failing schools four days to indicate whether they wanted to transfer their children, but it did not identify the receiving schools. Instead, the district planned to assign children to new schools later in the summer. “Low-income kids and families should have the same opportunities for choosing what schools their kids go to as anyone else in Albuquerque,” a critic told the Albuquerque Tribune. The district subsequently paired each of the 17 with three receiving schools. It also gave parents a choice of any school with openings, so long as they transported their children. The district would reimburse them at 35 cents a mile. These children got priority over students wanting to transfer from non-failing schools.</p>
<p>GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C.</p>
<p>Pressure expands choice. Initially, the School Board restricted transfers to just two receiving schools. Following criticism from the community, it increased the number to six. Four schools were deemed to be failing in this district of 62,000 students.</p>
<p>KENTUCKY</p>
<p>January transfer. For Kentucky, the U.S. Department of Education used scores from two years ago to identify failing schools. The state protested and won permission to use more recent scores. However, those scores will not be released until September. As a result, the state would like to hold off on student transfers until semester break in January, but does not know whether the feds will permit that, according to a spokesperson. Kentucky was one of the first states to set long-term goals for bringing all students to proficiency.</p>
<p>GEORGIA</p>
<p>High standards. Georgia set a relatively high standard, requiring improvement among various demographic subgroups, not just the student body as a whole. As a result, 437 of its 1,607 elementary and middle schools, or 27 percent, were found to be failing under NCLB.</p>
<p>LOUISIANA</p>
<p>Recalibrating standards. In Louisiana, the state renamed the performance levels on its required graduation test. The highest level had been “advanced,” followed by “proficient,” “basic,” “approaching basic” and “unsatisfactory.” The state had set a goal of bringing all students to basic in 10 years and to proficient in 20 years, meaning by 2019. The federal legislation requires that students be “proficient” in 12 years. To maintain its own timetable without risking the loss of federal money, Louisiana converted “proficient” to “mastery.”</p>
<p>ARKANSAS, WYOMING</p>
<p>No failing schools. There is wide variation among states on the number and percentage of schools deemed to be failing under NCLB. For example, Arkansas and Wyoming have none this year. Michigan has the most, 1,513. The reason is that the federal law allows states to set their own standards. To discourage states from setting low standards, NCLB requires them to administer the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to a sample of students every two years. By comparing those scores with NCLB results, judgments can be made on the rigor of state standards. In the most recent round of testing, Arkansas scored below the national average of NAEP, and Wyoming scored above.</p> | 599,965 |
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<p />
<p>Memorial organizers released a final design Friday and said they continue to raise money from private donors.</p>
<p>The Jan. 8, 2011, shooting left six dead and 13 wounded, including Giffords, who was the target. Others killed included 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, U.S. District Court Judge John Roll and Giffords aid Gabe Zimmerman, who was 30.</p>
<p>Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, founded an advocacy group after the shooting that helped persuade President Barack Obama to take executive action on gun control.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Shooter Jared Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges and will spend the rest of his life in prison.</p>
<p>The memorial will be at downtown Tucson's historic El Presidio Park and will cost about $4 million. That price includes a large-scale renovation of the park that will add an amphitheater and a cafe.</p>
<p>The nonprofit January 8th Foundation, responsible for getting the memorial built, has already raised about $1 million in private donations and recently received a $50,000 pledge match from an anonymous donor, executive director Crystal Kasnoff said.</p>
<p>"The memorial is more than a place to remember what we lost, but it's a place to remember how we came together as a community," Kasnoff said.</p>
<p>Symbols carved in the red steel wall, which will have a diamond-like shape, will tell stories about the shooting, its victims, survivors, first responders and general Tucson history.</p>
<p>For example, the symbols used for Zimmerman might be a saguaro cactus and a mountain because he was an outdoorsman who loved the desert. The symbol for one of the shooting survivors may be an apple on a book because he is a teacher who grew up on an apple orchard.</p>
<p>The renovated park will be outside the memorial wall. Part of that upgrade will include an overhaul of a fountain in the middle of the park.</p>
<p>Architect Marc Salette said the memorial will provide a place for the community to reflect on its history.</p>
<p>"And you can then be in a very special place while you're still in the view of the city," he said.</p>
<p>Organizers also plan to incorporate items left as makeshift memorials at the shooting site into the park. Thousands of items including teddy bears, flowers and posters displayed last year at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson are being stored in a warehouse.</p>
<p>Tucson-area public memorials already exist for some victims. A trail was named after Zimmerman, and a park for 9-year-old Christina-Taylor.</p> | Final design for Tucson shooting memorial released | false | https://abqjournal.com/706805/final-design-for-tucson-shooting-memorial-released.html | 2least
| Final design for Tucson shooting memorial released
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>Memorial organizers released a final design Friday and said they continue to raise money from private donors.</p>
<p>The Jan. 8, 2011, shooting left six dead and 13 wounded, including Giffords, who was the target. Others killed included 9-year-old Christina-Taylor Green, U.S. District Court Judge John Roll and Giffords aid Gabe Zimmerman, who was 30.</p>
<p>Giffords and her husband, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, founded an advocacy group after the shooting that helped persuade President Barack Obama to take executive action on gun control.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Shooter Jared Loughner pleaded guilty to 19 federal charges and will spend the rest of his life in prison.</p>
<p>The memorial will be at downtown Tucson's historic El Presidio Park and will cost about $4 million. That price includes a large-scale renovation of the park that will add an amphitheater and a cafe.</p>
<p>The nonprofit January 8th Foundation, responsible for getting the memorial built, has already raised about $1 million in private donations and recently received a $50,000 pledge match from an anonymous donor, executive director Crystal Kasnoff said.</p>
<p>"The memorial is more than a place to remember what we lost, but it's a place to remember how we came together as a community," Kasnoff said.</p>
<p>Symbols carved in the red steel wall, which will have a diamond-like shape, will tell stories about the shooting, its victims, survivors, first responders and general Tucson history.</p>
<p>For example, the symbols used for Zimmerman might be a saguaro cactus and a mountain because he was an outdoorsman who loved the desert. The symbol for one of the shooting survivors may be an apple on a book because he is a teacher who grew up on an apple orchard.</p>
<p>The renovated park will be outside the memorial wall. Part of that upgrade will include an overhaul of a fountain in the middle of the park.</p>
<p>Architect Marc Salette said the memorial will provide a place for the community to reflect on its history.</p>
<p>"And you can then be in a very special place while you're still in the view of the city," he said.</p>
<p>Organizers also plan to incorporate items left as makeshift memorials at the shooting site into the park. Thousands of items including teddy bears, flowers and posters displayed last year at the Arizona State Museum in Tucson are being stored in a warehouse.</p>
<p>Tucson-area public memorials already exist for some victims. A trail was named after Zimmerman, and a park for 9-year-old Christina-Taylor.</p> | 599,966 |
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<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — In the face of an unyielding Congress, President Barack Obama said Monday he will no longer wait for Republicans to act on immigration and will move on his own to make policy changes in what has been a top second-term priority of his presidency.</p>
<p>Obama said he will refocus immigration enforcement onto a Mexican border that has seen a tide of <a href="" type="internal">children crossing illegally</a> from Central America. That means putting resources into deporting people who are the most recent border-crossers or individuals who pose a threat to public safety and national security.</p>
<p>“I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue, and Congress chooses to do nothing,” Obama said. “And in this situation, the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, it’s bad for our economy and it’s bad for our future.”</p>
<p>Obama said he decided to bypass Congress after House Speaker John Boehner informed him last week that the House would not vote on an immigration overhaul this year. A congressional leadership aide said Obama and Boehner spoke privately before an event last week at the White House honoring U.S. golfers who won last year’s Presidents Cup.</p>
<p>Obama said there are enough Republicans and Democrats in the House to pass an immigration bill today and that he would sign it.</p>
<p>But Obama said he’s waited for more than a year to give Boehner space to act.</p>
<p>Obama said the thousands of unaccompanied children showing up on the border underscore the need to drop the politics and act on immigration.</p>
<p>Obama’s decision effectively declares that a broad based change in immigration policy is dead for the year, and perhaps for the remainder of his administration. Changing immigration laws and providing a path to citizenship for about 11 million immigrants in the country illegally has been one Obama’s top priorities as he sought to conclude his presidency with major second-term victory.</p>
<p>Obama’s ability to undertake changes on his own is limited.</p>
<p>He is instructing Homeland Security Department Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to present him with executive actions he can take without congressional approval by the end of the summer.</p>
<p>On Facebook, several grassroots groups which work on immigration either questioned or openly criticized Obama’s comments. Some groups said they need to see what White House plans surface in the coming months.</p>
<p>On its Facebook page, <a href="http://floridaimmigrant.org/" type="external">Florida Immigrant Coalition</a> wrote that the president “told the country that he’s expecting to implement new administrative policies on immigrants beginning at the end of the summer. He’s disappointed with Congress for their lack of action on comprehensive legislation for this issue.&#160;We continue to be disappointed in him for the ways our families continue to be separated every day.”</p>
<p>“There are still no details to what he will do,” the <a href="http://www.acij.net/" type="external">Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice</a> said on Facebook.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.chirla.org/" type="external">Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles</a> also chimed in on the popular social media site, calling out Republicans and Democrats, in general, for not passing immigration reform by this year: “We will continue pushing for a legislative solution and will make this summer a hot one for Republicans for failing us miserably.”</p>
<p>“We hope that now that the facts are straight, President Obama will do the job Congress failed to do,” <a href="http://www.piconetwork.org/" type="external">PICO National Network’s Campaign for Citizenship</a> said in a statement.</p>
<p>Texas-based&#160; <a href="http://lupenet.org/" type="external">La Union del Pueblo Entero</a> (LUPE), which works with farmworkers and immigrants, posted a note on its Facebook page, telling followers that a closer look at the yet-to-be released recommendations is crucial.</p>
<p>“It could be that the recommendations, coming from a department that has caused so much suffering in our communities, are not so beneficial for our families and communities. Or it could be that the recommendations are a combination of help — like protections from deportation for some,” LUPE said.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, immigration reform groups pledged <a href="" type="internal">“electoral punishment”</a> of any lawmaker who blocks policy progress in Congress. Groups defined that as constant confrontation on the issue.</p>
<p>Exactly what policy proposals the White House will release at the end of this summer will be the center of much speculation in coming weeks.</p>
<p>In May, Johnson hinted that <a href="" type="internal">“Secure Communities,”</a> the controversial immigration program that permits local law enforcement officials to hold individuals wanted for immigration matters, needs a “fresh start.”</p>
<p>He also has <a href="" type="internal">considered limiting deportations</a>.</p>
<p>As the nation’s top chief law enforcement officer, Holder has taken what many view as bold policy steps in recent months, especially in terms of criminal justice reform and voting rights.</p>
<p>All of this – of what has happened or has not occurred – is a reminder that immigration remains a controversial issue in the country.</p>
<p>The last major overhaul of immigration policy occurred in 1986. Some groups argue that people who have entered the country without authorization should not be offered a pathway to citizenship or legal status.</p>
<p>In responding to the influx of unaccompanied children, Obama plans to concentrate immigration resources on the border areas. The move will effectively further reduce the number of deportations in the country’s interior by stressing enforcement action on individuals who are either recent unlawful border crossers or who present a national security, public safety, or border security threat.</p>
<p>The decision coincides with a White House request to Congress for new powers to deport newly arrived immigrant children traveling without their parents.</p>
<p>As such, Obama’s actions represent a delicate balancing act between responding to what the White House has called a “humanitarian crisis” over unaccompanied children and a demand from immigration activists to reduce the administration’s record number of deportations.</p>
<p>Deportations have spiked under the Obama administration to a total of around 2 million so far — the same number removed during the full eight years of the Bush administration. At the same time, formal removals from the interior have decreased each year of the Obama administration, while the number of deportations from the border has increased.</p>
<p>The Obama administration also has taken steps already to focus deportations on people with more serious criminal records or those who pose a threat. But this so-called “prosecutorial discretion,” while harshly criticized by Republicans, never succeeded in calming concerns in immigrant communities about how deportations are conducted.</p>
<p>Obama on Monday was dropping by a meeting at the White House among immigration overhaul advocates and Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.</p>
<p>Many of those advocates reacted harshly to Obama’s plan Monday to seek emergency money from Congress that would, among other things, help conduct “an aggressive deterrence strategy focused on the removal and repatriation of recent border crossers.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Erica Werner co-wrote this article. Equal Voice News contributed to this report.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Contact author</a></p>
<p>&#160;&#160; <a href="" type="internal">comprehensive immigration reform</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Obama immigration speech</a></p> | Lack of Immigration Reform Comes Under Intense Scrutiny | true | http://equalvoiceforfamilies.org/immigration-groups-question-obamas-planned-actions/ | 4left
| Lack of Immigration Reform Comes Under Intense Scrutiny
<p>WASHINGTON (AP) — In the face of an unyielding Congress, President Barack Obama said Monday he will no longer wait for Republicans to act on immigration and will move on his own to make policy changes in what has been a top second-term priority of his presidency.</p>
<p>Obama said he will refocus immigration enforcement onto a Mexican border that has seen a tide of <a href="" type="internal">children crossing illegally</a> from Central America. That means putting resources into deporting people who are the most recent border-crossers or individuals who pose a threat to public safety and national security.</p>
<p>“I take executive action only when we have a serious problem, a serious issue, and Congress chooses to do nothing,” Obama said. “And in this situation, the failure of House Republicans to pass a darn bill is bad for our security, it’s bad for our economy and it’s bad for our future.”</p>
<p>Obama said he decided to bypass Congress after House Speaker John Boehner informed him last week that the House would not vote on an immigration overhaul this year. A congressional leadership aide said Obama and Boehner spoke privately before an event last week at the White House honoring U.S. golfers who won last year’s Presidents Cup.</p>
<p>Obama said there are enough Republicans and Democrats in the House to pass an immigration bill today and that he would sign it.</p>
<p>But Obama said he’s waited for more than a year to give Boehner space to act.</p>
<p>Obama said the thousands of unaccompanied children showing up on the border underscore the need to drop the politics and act on immigration.</p>
<p>Obama’s decision effectively declares that a broad based change in immigration policy is dead for the year, and perhaps for the remainder of his administration. Changing immigration laws and providing a path to citizenship for about 11 million immigrants in the country illegally has been one Obama’s top priorities as he sought to conclude his presidency with major second-term victory.</p>
<p>Obama’s ability to undertake changes on his own is limited.</p>
<p>He is instructing Homeland Security Department Secretary Jeh Johnson and Attorney General Eric Holder to present him with executive actions he can take without congressional approval by the end of the summer.</p>
<p>On Facebook, several grassroots groups which work on immigration either questioned or openly criticized Obama’s comments. Some groups said they need to see what White House plans surface in the coming months.</p>
<p>On its Facebook page, <a href="http://floridaimmigrant.org/" type="external">Florida Immigrant Coalition</a> wrote that the president “told the country that he’s expecting to implement new administrative policies on immigrants beginning at the end of the summer. He’s disappointed with Congress for their lack of action on comprehensive legislation for this issue.&#160;We continue to be disappointed in him for the ways our families continue to be separated every day.”</p>
<p>“There are still no details to what he will do,” the <a href="http://www.acij.net/" type="external">Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice</a> said on Facebook.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.chirla.org/" type="external">Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles</a> also chimed in on the popular social media site, calling out Republicans and Democrats, in general, for not passing immigration reform by this year: “We will continue pushing for a legislative solution and will make this summer a hot one for Republicans for failing us miserably.”</p>
<p>“We hope that now that the facts are straight, President Obama will do the job Congress failed to do,” <a href="http://www.piconetwork.org/" type="external">PICO National Network’s Campaign for Citizenship</a> said in a statement.</p>
<p>Texas-based&#160; <a href="http://lupenet.org/" type="external">La Union del Pueblo Entero</a> (LUPE), which works with farmworkers and immigrants, posted a note on its Facebook page, telling followers that a closer look at the yet-to-be released recommendations is crucial.</p>
<p>“It could be that the recommendations, coming from a department that has caused so much suffering in our communities, are not so beneficial for our families and communities. Or it could be that the recommendations are a combination of help — like protections from deportation for some,” LUPE said.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, immigration reform groups pledged <a href="" type="internal">“electoral punishment”</a> of any lawmaker who blocks policy progress in Congress. Groups defined that as constant confrontation on the issue.</p>
<p>Exactly what policy proposals the White House will release at the end of this summer will be the center of much speculation in coming weeks.</p>
<p>In May, Johnson hinted that <a href="" type="internal">“Secure Communities,”</a> the controversial immigration program that permits local law enforcement officials to hold individuals wanted for immigration matters, needs a “fresh start.”</p>
<p>He also has <a href="" type="internal">considered limiting deportations</a>.</p>
<p>As the nation’s top chief law enforcement officer, Holder has taken what many view as bold policy steps in recent months, especially in terms of criminal justice reform and voting rights.</p>
<p>All of this – of what has happened or has not occurred – is a reminder that immigration remains a controversial issue in the country.</p>
<p>The last major overhaul of immigration policy occurred in 1986. Some groups argue that people who have entered the country without authorization should not be offered a pathway to citizenship or legal status.</p>
<p>In responding to the influx of unaccompanied children, Obama plans to concentrate immigration resources on the border areas. The move will effectively further reduce the number of deportations in the country’s interior by stressing enforcement action on individuals who are either recent unlawful border crossers or who present a national security, public safety, or border security threat.</p>
<p>The decision coincides with a White House request to Congress for new powers to deport newly arrived immigrant children traveling without their parents.</p>
<p>As such, Obama’s actions represent a delicate balancing act between responding to what the White House has called a “humanitarian crisis” over unaccompanied children and a demand from immigration activists to reduce the administration’s record number of deportations.</p>
<p>Deportations have spiked under the Obama administration to a total of around 2 million so far — the same number removed during the full eight years of the Bush administration. At the same time, formal removals from the interior have decreased each year of the Obama administration, while the number of deportations from the border has increased.</p>
<p>The Obama administration also has taken steps already to focus deportations on people with more serious criminal records or those who pose a threat. But this so-called “prosecutorial discretion,” while harshly criticized by Republicans, never succeeded in calming concerns in immigrant communities about how deportations are conducted.</p>
<p>Obama on Monday was dropping by a meeting at the White House among immigration overhaul advocates and Chief of Staff Denis McDonough and Obama senior adviser Valerie Jarrett.</p>
<p>Many of those advocates reacted harshly to Obama’s plan Monday to seek emergency money from Congress that would, among other things, help conduct “an aggressive deterrence strategy focused on the removal and repatriation of recent border crossers.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Erica Werner co-wrote this article. Equal Voice News contributed to this report.&#160;</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Contact author</a></p>
<p>&#160;&#160; <a href="" type="internal">comprehensive immigration reform</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Obama immigration speech</a></p> | 599,967 |
|
<p />
<p>"Ask Brianna" is a Q&amp;A column from NerdWallet for 20-somethings or anyone else starting out. I'm here to help you manage your money, find a job and pay off student loans — all the real-world stuff no one taught us how to do in college. Send your questions about postgrad life to [email protected].</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Q: I'm in my 20s, and my partner and I are thinking about becoming parents, but the potential expenses seem overwhelming. How can I afford to have kids?</p>
<p>A: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's handy, terrifying Cost of Raising a Child Calculator told me that the average two-parent household in the U.S. earning less than $61,530 a year spends $11,850 to raise a child in his or her first year. Such a big number might make you think that having a baby is impossible financially.</p>
<p>But don't get discouraged. I'd guess that very few parents went to the trouble of saving every penny they'd need before the baby arrived, especially since 37 percent of U.S. pregnancies were unplanned between 2006 and 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p>"Ideally everyone's loaded by the time they have their kids, but that's hardly ever the case," says Rachel Podnos, a certified financial planner at Wealth Care LLC in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>If you're able to spend several months planning for your baby's arrival, you can make small changes now that will prepare you to budget more strictly when he or she arrives. Here's how to wrangle your finances before you become a parent.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>MASTER YOUR CASH FLOW</p>
<p>If you haven't monitored your expenses and how they stack up to your income, commit to getting a handle on that now, says Douglas Boneparth, a New York-based certified financial planner specializing in millennials. Your monthly budget will soon include a lot more ongoing costs, such as diapers, formula and child care, plus one-time costs such as furniture, a stroller and a car seat.</p>
<p>Use a budgeting app to track how much you spend, or keep a close eye on your bank or credit card statement each week, so you can plan how you'll divert money to those new expenses. The good/bad news is that you probably won't go out as often as a new parent, making saving on entertainment a little easier, Boneparth says. You'll likely have family members clamoring to buy cute baby gear, so take them up on it with a gift registry.</p>
<p>Research the average cost of big-ticket expenses, such as child care, in your area so you know what to expect, Podnos says. The Economic Policy Institute found that child care for a 4-year-old isn't cheap anywhere, but the cost varies a lot by location: It costs $344 a month in rural areas of South Carolina and $1,472 a month in Washington, D.C. Find your local average cost using the institute's Family Budget Calculator .</p>
<p>PUT EMERGENCY SAVINGS INTO OVERDRIVE</p>
<p>You always need a rainy-day fund, but the amount you save should increase now that you'll have a baby to feed and house if you or your partner loses a job. If you've gotten by with just $500 or $1,000 saved for emergencies, boost it to at least three months' worth of expenses. Now's the time to make saving a priority, even if you don't get to that massive $11,850.</p>
<p>You'll need to save more money if you or your partner won't have any income during family leave. The Family Medical Leave Act allows employees of private companies with 50 or more workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, meaning you can keep your job but won't get a paycheck. Some states provide a more generous benefit: California, New Jersey and Rhode Island offer paid family leave, as will New York starting Jan. 1, 2018, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . Ask your employer about your company's leave options, too.</p>
<p>PLAN FOR THE FUTURE</p>
<p>As new parents, you and your partner must do some tedious but important financial prep to make sure your child will be taken care of if you're no longer around. You likely need life insurance, which will help cover your child's expenses and replace your income if you die. Create a will with the help of an attorney. It should identify your child's legal guardian if you and your partner die while he or she is a minor, Podnos says. Consider starting to save for college in a 529 plan, too, which is a state-sponsored, tax-free investment plan to help pay for education expenses.</p>
<p>This is serious stuff. But along with saving and budgeting, it's crucial to get it done early so you can spend precious time enjoying your little one.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet.</p>
<p>Brianna McGurran is a staff writer at NerdWallet. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @briannamcscribe.</p>
<p>RELATED LINKS:</p>
<p>United States Department of Agriculture: Cost of Raising a Child Calculator http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/tools/CRC_Calculator/</p>
<p>Economic Policy Institute: Family Budget Calculator http://www.epi.org/resources/budget/</p>
<p>National Conference of State Legislatures: State Family and Medical Leave Laws http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-family-and-medical-leave-laws.aspx</p>
<p>NerdWallet: Saving for College: 529 Plans: http://nerd.me/6-nerdwallet-investing</p> | Ask Brianna: How can I afford to have kids? | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/10/11/ask-brianna-how-can-afford-to-have-kids.html | 2016-10-11 | 0right
| Ask Brianna: How can I afford to have kids?
<p />
<p>"Ask Brianna" is a Q&amp;A column from NerdWallet for 20-somethings or anyone else starting out. I'm here to help you manage your money, find a job and pay off student loans — all the real-world stuff no one taught us how to do in college. Send your questions about postgrad life to [email protected].</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Q: I'm in my 20s, and my partner and I are thinking about becoming parents, but the potential expenses seem overwhelming. How can I afford to have kids?</p>
<p>A: The U.S. Department of Agriculture's handy, terrifying Cost of Raising a Child Calculator told me that the average two-parent household in the U.S. earning less than $61,530 a year spends $11,850 to raise a child in his or her first year. Such a big number might make you think that having a baby is impossible financially.</p>
<p>But don't get discouraged. I'd guess that very few parents went to the trouble of saving every penny they'd need before the baby arrived, especially since 37 percent of U.S. pregnancies were unplanned between 2006 and 2010, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p>"Ideally everyone's loaded by the time they have their kids, but that's hardly ever the case," says Rachel Podnos, a certified financial planner at Wealth Care LLC in Washington, D.C.</p>
<p>If you're able to spend several months planning for your baby's arrival, you can make small changes now that will prepare you to budget more strictly when he or she arrives. Here's how to wrangle your finances before you become a parent.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>MASTER YOUR CASH FLOW</p>
<p>If you haven't monitored your expenses and how they stack up to your income, commit to getting a handle on that now, says Douglas Boneparth, a New York-based certified financial planner specializing in millennials. Your monthly budget will soon include a lot more ongoing costs, such as diapers, formula and child care, plus one-time costs such as furniture, a stroller and a car seat.</p>
<p>Use a budgeting app to track how much you spend, or keep a close eye on your bank or credit card statement each week, so you can plan how you'll divert money to those new expenses. The good/bad news is that you probably won't go out as often as a new parent, making saving on entertainment a little easier, Boneparth says. You'll likely have family members clamoring to buy cute baby gear, so take them up on it with a gift registry.</p>
<p>Research the average cost of big-ticket expenses, such as child care, in your area so you know what to expect, Podnos says. The Economic Policy Institute found that child care for a 4-year-old isn't cheap anywhere, but the cost varies a lot by location: It costs $344 a month in rural areas of South Carolina and $1,472 a month in Washington, D.C. Find your local average cost using the institute's Family Budget Calculator .</p>
<p>PUT EMERGENCY SAVINGS INTO OVERDRIVE</p>
<p>You always need a rainy-day fund, but the amount you save should increase now that you'll have a baby to feed and house if you or your partner loses a job. If you've gotten by with just $500 or $1,000 saved for emergencies, boost it to at least three months' worth of expenses. Now's the time to make saving a priority, even if you don't get to that massive $11,850.</p>
<p>You'll need to save more money if you or your partner won't have any income during family leave. The Family Medical Leave Act allows employees of private companies with 50 or more workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a child, meaning you can keep your job but won't get a paycheck. Some states provide a more generous benefit: California, New Jersey and Rhode Island offer paid family leave, as will New York starting Jan. 1, 2018, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . Ask your employer about your company's leave options, too.</p>
<p>PLAN FOR THE FUTURE</p>
<p>As new parents, you and your partner must do some tedious but important financial prep to make sure your child will be taken care of if you're no longer around. You likely need life insurance, which will help cover your child's expenses and replace your income if you die. Create a will with the help of an attorney. It should identify your child's legal guardian if you and your partner die while he or she is a minor, Podnos says. Consider starting to save for college in a 529 plan, too, which is a state-sponsored, tax-free investment plan to help pay for education expenses.</p>
<p>This is serious stuff. But along with saving and budgeting, it's crucial to get it done early so you can spend precious time enjoying your little one.</p>
<p>_____</p>
<p>This column was provided to The Associated Press by the personal finance website NerdWallet.</p>
<p>Brianna McGurran is a staff writer at NerdWallet. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @briannamcscribe.</p>
<p>RELATED LINKS:</p>
<p>United States Department of Agriculture: Cost of Raising a Child Calculator http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/tools/CRC_Calculator/</p>
<p>Economic Policy Institute: Family Budget Calculator http://www.epi.org/resources/budget/</p>
<p>National Conference of State Legislatures: State Family and Medical Leave Laws http://www.ncsl.org/research/labor-and-employment/state-family-and-medical-leave-laws.aspx</p>
<p>NerdWallet: Saving for College: 529 Plans: http://nerd.me/6-nerdwallet-investing</p> | 599,968 |
<p />
<p>China's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter as industrial output and consumption picked up and investment remained strong, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The economy grew 6.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the same rate as the first quarter, but analysts expect slower growth over the rest of the year as policymakers seek to reduce financial risk. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the economy to expand 6.8 percent in the April-June quarter.</p>
<p>On a quarterly basis, growth picked up to 1.7 percent from 1.3 percent in the first quarter, in line with expectations.</p>
<p>Growth in China's economy this year has beaten expectations as exports recover and property construction remains strong, though many analysts expect the world's second-largest economy to lose steam later in the year as policy measures to rein in red-hot housing prices and a rapid build-up in debt take a greater toll on growth.</p> | China 2Q GDP growth tops forecasts | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/07/17/china-2q-gdp-growth-tops-forecasts.html | 2017-07-17 | 0right
| China 2Q GDP growth tops forecasts
<p />
<p>China's economy grew faster than expected in the second quarter as industrial output and consumption picked up and investment remained strong, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The economy grew 6.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, the same rate as the first quarter, but analysts expect slower growth over the rest of the year as policymakers seek to reduce financial risk. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the economy to expand 6.8 percent in the April-June quarter.</p>
<p>On a quarterly basis, growth picked up to 1.7 percent from 1.3 percent in the first quarter, in line with expectations.</p>
<p>Growth in China's economy this year has beaten expectations as exports recover and property construction remains strong, though many analysts expect the world's second-largest economy to lose steam later in the year as policy measures to rein in red-hot housing prices and a rapid build-up in debt take a greater toll on growth.</p> | 599,969 |
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<p>HOUSTON - Houston police say a stabbing suspect faces charges of stealing a patrol car and trying to run over an officer.</p>
<p>Police say 37-year-old William L. Rhodes was being held Friday on charges of aggravated assault against a public servant and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.</p>
<p>No officers were hurt Thursday when responding to a fight outside a bar and a man stabbed. The victim was hospitalized Friday in stable condition.</p>
<p>Two officers drove to an apartment complex and got out of their patrol car. Rhodes allegedly stole the vehicle and tried to run down an officer, who opened fire but missed.</p>
<p>The vehicle hit a light pole and went into a ditch.</p>
<p>Jail records didn't list bond or an attorney representing Rhodes, who was treated for hand lacerations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Man charged after Houston police patrol car stolen | false | https://abqjournal.com/649498/man-charged-after-houston-police-patrol-car-stolen.html | 2least
| Man charged after Houston police patrol car stolen
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>HOUSTON - Houston police say a stabbing suspect faces charges of stealing a patrol car and trying to run over an officer.</p>
<p>Police say 37-year-old William L. Rhodes was being held Friday on charges of aggravated assault against a public servant and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle.</p>
<p>No officers were hurt Thursday when responding to a fight outside a bar and a man stabbed. The victim was hospitalized Friday in stable condition.</p>
<p>Two officers drove to an apartment complex and got out of their patrol car. Rhodes allegedly stole the vehicle and tried to run down an officer, who opened fire but missed.</p>
<p>The vehicle hit a light pole and went into a ditch.</p>
<p>Jail records didn't list bond or an attorney representing Rhodes, who was treated for hand lacerations.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 599,970 |
|
<p>AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT, Women's Liberation is "in." Its advocates get wide publicity in the mass media, and there is talk, mostly not very serious, about what "those women" want. On campuses, as in professional organizations, there has been mounting pressure to hire and promote more women, to provide child-care facilities for married women students and employees, and to offer courses on the history and the status of women. The voicing of these demands will increase significantly at professional conventions. I predict comparable increases in the political and economic realms, as women organize and demonstrate to change laws and employer practices that discriminate on the grounds of sex. Among activist women there is clearly a new note of optimism.</p>
<p>This optimistic sense does not, however, seem to be shared by many men. The majority of American men appear to be convinced that if they wait out the storm, activism will die down and they can then continue to run government agencies, businesses, and universities. I do not share the view that the women's rights movement is a passing thing. Indeed, I think the movement has not yet reached its crest, though I also believe it faces hard times. What follows is an attempt to sketch both the encouraging and discouraging developments that may mark the women's movement in the next decade.</p>
<p>At the outset I shall draw on my personal experiences in academic and private life, upon participation in several reform movements in recent years, and upon a commitment to fundamental change in American society.</p>
<p /> | Women? Terms of Liberation | true | https://dissentmagazine.org/article/women-terms-of-liberation-2 | 2018-11-01 | 4left
| Women? Terms of Liberation
<p>AT LEAST FOR THE MOMENT, Women's Liberation is "in." Its advocates get wide publicity in the mass media, and there is talk, mostly not very serious, about what "those women" want. On campuses, as in professional organizations, there has been mounting pressure to hire and promote more women, to provide child-care facilities for married women students and employees, and to offer courses on the history and the status of women. The voicing of these demands will increase significantly at professional conventions. I predict comparable increases in the political and economic realms, as women organize and demonstrate to change laws and employer practices that discriminate on the grounds of sex. Among activist women there is clearly a new note of optimism.</p>
<p>This optimistic sense does not, however, seem to be shared by many men. The majority of American men appear to be convinced that if they wait out the storm, activism will die down and they can then continue to run government agencies, businesses, and universities. I do not share the view that the women's rights movement is a passing thing. Indeed, I think the movement has not yet reached its crest, though I also believe it faces hard times. What follows is an attempt to sketch both the encouraging and discouraging developments that may mark the women's movement in the next decade.</p>
<p>At the outset I shall draw on my personal experiences in academic and private life, upon participation in several reform movements in recent years, and upon a commitment to fundamental change in American society.</p>
<p /> | 599,971 |
<p>A U.S. judge on Monday denied Apple Inc's request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics' smartphones, depriving the iPhone maker of key leverage in the mobile patent wars.</p>
<p>Apple had been awarded $1.05 billion in damages in August after a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The Samsung products run on the Android operating system, developed by Google.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute that mirrors the struggle for industry supremacy between the two companies, which control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.</p>
<p>For most of the year, Apple had been successful in its U.S. litigation campaign against Samsung. Apple convinced U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California to impose two pretrial sales bans against Samsung -- one against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the other against the Galaxy Nexus phone.</p>
<p>Apple then sought to keep up the pressure after its sweeping jury win. It asked Koh to impose a permanent sales ban against 26 mostly older Samsung phones, though any injunction could potentially have been extended to Samsung's newer Galaxy products.</p>
<p>Yet the jury exonerated Samsung on the patent used to ban Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales, and Koh rescinded that injunction. Then, in October, a federal appeals court reversed Koh's ban against the Nexus phone.</p>
<p>In her order late on Monday, Koh cited that appellate ruling as binding legal precedent, ruling that Apple had not presented enough evidence that its patented features drove consumer demand for the entire iPhone.</p>
<p>"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple's patents," Koh wrote.</p>
<p>"Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple," she continued, "it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions."</p>
<p>An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on Koh's ruling, and a Samsung representative could not immediately be reached.</p>
<p>In a separate order on Monday, Koh rejected a bid by Samsung for a new trial based on an allegation that the jury foreman was improperly biased in favor of Apple.</p>
<p>The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc. vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Judge Tosses Apple's Injunction Bid vs. Samsung | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/12/18/judge-tosses-apple-injunction-bid-vs-samsung.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| Judge Tosses Apple's Injunction Bid vs. Samsung
<p>A U.S. judge on Monday denied Apple Inc's request for a permanent injunction against Samsung Electronics' smartphones, depriving the iPhone maker of key leverage in the mobile patent wars.</p>
<p>Apple had been awarded $1.05 billion in damages in August after a U.S. jury found Samsung had copied critical features of the iPhone and iPad. The Samsung products run on the Android operating system, developed by Google.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Apple and Samsung are going toe-to-toe in a patents dispute that mirrors the struggle for industry supremacy between the two companies, which control more than half of worldwide smartphone sales.</p>
<p>For most of the year, Apple had been successful in its U.S. litigation campaign against Samsung. Apple convinced U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh in San Jose, California to impose two pretrial sales bans against Samsung -- one against the Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the other against the Galaxy Nexus phone.</p>
<p>Apple then sought to keep up the pressure after its sweeping jury win. It asked Koh to impose a permanent sales ban against 26 mostly older Samsung phones, though any injunction could potentially have been extended to Samsung's newer Galaxy products.</p>
<p>Yet the jury exonerated Samsung on the patent used to ban Galaxy Tab 10.1 sales, and Koh rescinded that injunction. Then, in October, a federal appeals court reversed Koh's ban against the Nexus phone.</p>
<p>In her order late on Monday, Koh cited that appellate ruling as binding legal precedent, ruling that Apple had not presented enough evidence that its patented features drove consumer demand for the entire iPhone.</p>
<p>"The phones at issue in this case contain a broad range of features, only a small fraction of which are covered by Apple's patents," Koh wrote.</p>
<p>"Though Apple does have some interest in retaining certain features as exclusive to Apple," she continued, "it does not follow that entire products must be forever banned from the market because they incorporate, among their myriad features, a few narrow protected functions."</p>
<p>An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment on Koh's ruling, and a Samsung representative could not immediately be reached.</p>
<p>In a separate order on Monday, Koh rejected a bid by Samsung for a new trial based on an allegation that the jury foreman was improperly biased in favor of Apple.</p>
<p>The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is Apple Inc. vs. Samsung Electronics Co Ltd et al, 11-1846.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 599,972 |
<p>Eric Sikola has been looking at expense report data long enough to know the most-extravagant items that employees actually get approved on their expense reports.</p>
<p>Mr. Sikola is chief executive of ExpenseCloud, a privately held provider of software that allows employees to file expense reports by snapping photos of receipts with mobile phones.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>He can't help but look at trends in the data his company collects. And topping his list are--you guessed it--strip clubs.</p>
<p>No recession, no sluggish recovery, no looming fiscal cliff has been powerful enough to stop guys from taking their best clients out for a really good time.</p>
<p>"It happens all over the place," Mr. Sikola said, "but it happens in Texas more than anywhere else."</p>
<p>He has no explanation for this regional spike in expensed strip-club visits. It may be that some towns in the Lone Star State offer no better place for lunch.</p>
<p>"You can go there and have a good steak. Sit there and watch a football game," Mr. Sikola said. "It's not just a place to go and get a lap dance. Theoretically, that's what we may be seeing expensed."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Yeah, sure. Unfortunately, his data doesn't break down what's spent on food, what's spent on drinks, and what's spent on gyrating naked women. But another extravagance on Mr. Sikola's list are receipts from Victoria's Secret.</p>
<p>"What the heck is somebody expensing at Victoria's Secret?" he said. "These aren't just $5 gift cards."</p>
<p>He doesn't have an explanation for this either. It's just in the data.</p>
<p>"It's just funny that this goes on in America," he said.</p>
<p>I have expensed some odd things over the course of my career, including a $395 heart scan. (And no a stripper didn't break my heart.) I had this imaging procedure done in 2004 after President Clinton had his heart attack. I wrote about the calcium buildup in my own pump.</p>
<p>What I learned is that I will never live long enough to expense tens of thousands of dollars worth of wine. Maybe it's because I'm a Bud man. But unfathomable wine tabs are also on Mr. Sikola's list.</p>
<p>"It could be they closed a million-dollar deal and decided to buy five or ten grand worth of wine for the client," he explained, "but it kind of makes you go, wow, that's a lot of wine."</p>
<p>This isn't even what they do at big companies. Mr. Sikola's clients are mostly firms with 1,000 or fewer employees. They are professional services providers, consultants, attorneys, and sales people who are wining, dining and lap-dancing their way into deals.</p>
<p>Besides those from Victoria's Secret, Mr. Sikola said he sees a lot of receipts from Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) and Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE:MW). Perhaps folks spill some of that $10,000 wine order on themselves, then they have to buy a new suit or two on the company's tab.</p>
<p>Some people will expense anything no matter how well they are paid, nickeling and diming their companies for sport. One recent example: Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) employee Greg Smith has a tell-all book out that complains of an executive expensing a $1 tube of ChapStick for a client while out on a ski trip.</p>
<p>Don't worry. The ChapStick is on me.</p>
<p>What an employee can expense starts with the culture of a company, Mr. Sikola said. Some companies seem to believe they have to spend more to make more. Others, not so much.</p>
<p>"Some companies could care less about a receipt," he said. "Some require a receipt for a penny."</p>
<p>Another item on his list: parking tickets.</p>
<p>Imagine being able to violate parking laws with abandon, knowing the fines will go to your employer. Pull up to any Victoria's Secret or strip club you like. Leave the car there all night. Who cares? The boss is paying.</p>
<p>"We are not judging it," Mr. Sikola said. "We just know people are submitting it."</p>
<p>(Al's Emporium, written by Dow Jones Newswires columnist Al Lewis, offers commentary and analysis on a wide range of business subjects through an unconventional perspective. Contact Al at <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a> or <a href="http://tellittoal.com" type="external">tellittoal.com Opens a New Window.</a>)</p> | I Can't Believe You Just Expensed That | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/10/24/cant-believe-just-expensed-that.html | 2016-03-03 | 0right
| I Can't Believe You Just Expensed That
<p>Eric Sikola has been looking at expense report data long enough to know the most-extravagant items that employees actually get approved on their expense reports.</p>
<p>Mr. Sikola is chief executive of ExpenseCloud, a privately held provider of software that allows employees to file expense reports by snapping photos of receipts with mobile phones.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>He can't help but look at trends in the data his company collects. And topping his list are--you guessed it--strip clubs.</p>
<p>No recession, no sluggish recovery, no looming fiscal cliff has been powerful enough to stop guys from taking their best clients out for a really good time.</p>
<p>"It happens all over the place," Mr. Sikola said, "but it happens in Texas more than anywhere else."</p>
<p>He has no explanation for this regional spike in expensed strip-club visits. It may be that some towns in the Lone Star State offer no better place for lunch.</p>
<p>"You can go there and have a good steak. Sit there and watch a football game," Mr. Sikola said. "It's not just a place to go and get a lap dance. Theoretically, that's what we may be seeing expensed."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Yeah, sure. Unfortunately, his data doesn't break down what's spent on food, what's spent on drinks, and what's spent on gyrating naked women. But another extravagance on Mr. Sikola's list are receipts from Victoria's Secret.</p>
<p>"What the heck is somebody expensing at Victoria's Secret?" he said. "These aren't just $5 gift cards."</p>
<p>He doesn't have an explanation for this either. It's just in the data.</p>
<p>"It's just funny that this goes on in America," he said.</p>
<p>I have expensed some odd things over the course of my career, including a $395 heart scan. (And no a stripper didn't break my heart.) I had this imaging procedure done in 2004 after President Clinton had his heart attack. I wrote about the calcium buildup in my own pump.</p>
<p>What I learned is that I will never live long enough to expense tens of thousands of dollars worth of wine. Maybe it's because I'm a Bud man. But unfathomable wine tabs are also on Mr. Sikola's list.</p>
<p>"It could be they closed a million-dollar deal and decided to buy five or ten grand worth of wine for the client," he explained, "but it kind of makes you go, wow, that's a lot of wine."</p>
<p>This isn't even what they do at big companies. Mr. Sikola's clients are mostly firms with 1,000 or fewer employees. They are professional services providers, consultants, attorneys, and sales people who are wining, dining and lap-dancing their way into deals.</p>
<p>Besides those from Victoria's Secret, Mr. Sikola said he sees a lot of receipts from Brooks Brothers, Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE:JWN) and Men's Wearhouse Inc. (NYSE:MW). Perhaps folks spill some of that $10,000 wine order on themselves, then they have to buy a new suit or two on the company's tab.</p>
<p>Some people will expense anything no matter how well they are paid, nickeling and diming their companies for sport. One recent example: Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) employee Greg Smith has a tell-all book out that complains of an executive expensing a $1 tube of ChapStick for a client while out on a ski trip.</p>
<p>Don't worry. The ChapStick is on me.</p>
<p>What an employee can expense starts with the culture of a company, Mr. Sikola said. Some companies seem to believe they have to spend more to make more. Others, not so much.</p>
<p>"Some companies could care less about a receipt," he said. "Some require a receipt for a penny."</p>
<p>Another item on his list: parking tickets.</p>
<p>Imagine being able to violate parking laws with abandon, knowing the fines will go to your employer. Pull up to any Victoria's Secret or strip club you like. Leave the car there all night. Who cares? The boss is paying.</p>
<p>"We are not judging it," Mr. Sikola said. "We just know people are submitting it."</p>
<p>(Al's Emporium, written by Dow Jones Newswires columnist Al Lewis, offers commentary and analysis on a wide range of business subjects through an unconventional perspective. Contact Al at <a href="http://mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected] Opens a New Window.</a> or <a href="http://tellittoal.com" type="external">tellittoal.com Opens a New Window.</a>)</p> | 599,973 |
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<p>Truth be told, the only reason I buy coffee at Mocha Mudd is so I can try to answer their question.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, the coffee is great and the owner, Kim Clayton, probably has the world’s best and most infectious laugh. She’s delightful.</p>
<p>But I’m just there for the trivia.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Mocha Mudd is a coffee hut in the parking lot of the Blake’s Lottaburger, near Southern and NM 528. While I wait, I wrack my brain to come up with an answer for the trivia question of the day.</p>
<p>You get a discount if you get the question right, which amounts to about 50 cents off a large coffee. I’ll admit, I sometimes want to reach for my smart phone. Just think of all that money I could save, not to mention that glorious moment when I, quite casually, toss out the right answer.</p>
<p>“No Googling,” Clayton warns.</p>
<p>Fine. Maybe I can come up with a good answer on my own.</p>
<p>“What are the five rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?”</p>
<p>There’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion, that’s easy.</p>
<p>Hopefully, most people will remember freedom of the press, which is certainly important for all the people who work at the newspaper you’re reading.</p>
<p>And number four is freedom to assemble. Most people wouldn’t have gotten that one, I assured myself.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I always think of a scene from the classic 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk movie “Akira,” where, in a dystopian future, people are gassed by the police for holding an illegal gathering.</p>
<p>And freedom to … Nope. I couldn’t remember the last one.</p>
<p>“Freedom to petition,” Clayton said. “That’s the one everyone forgets.”</p>
<p>Damn. I take my coffee, remove the little sticker she puts over the sippy cup hole in the lid — it’s always something different like a green clover, a sketch of an anthropomorphic coffee cup or a globe — and I drive away to start my day.</p>
<p>Another day, another shot of caffeine, trivia and failure.</p>
<p>“Which state has the lowest rate of divorce with ‘only’ 113 divorces per 1,000 marriages?”</p>
<p>Florida? The retirees are settled, no need for divorces, right?</p>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>“Nevada,” Clayton said. “You’ve got to think outside the box on that one.”</p>
<p>People go to Vegas and get hitched, but they get divorced in their home state. Clayton said lots of people said Utah, thinking maybe plural marriage would figure in somehow. Clever, but wrong.</p>
<p>I could list more questions I got wrong, but I’d rather give only questions I’ve ever answered correctly.</p>
<p>“What is the name of the poison Socrates drank?”</p>
<p>Hemlock! Gimme my discount.</p>
<p>Whether I get the answer right or not, the visit to the little coffee hut always brightens my day.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The pursuit of trivia with a morning cup of coffee time in pursuit of trivia | false | https://abqjournal.com/300207/the-pursuit-of-trivia-with-a-morning-cup-of-coffee-time-in-pursuit-of-trivia.html | 2013-11-13 | 2least
| The pursuit of trivia with a morning cup of coffee time in pursuit of trivia
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<p />
<p>Truth be told, the only reason I buy coffee at Mocha Mudd is so I can try to answer their question.</p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, the coffee is great and the owner, Kim Clayton, probably has the world’s best and most infectious laugh. She’s delightful.</p>
<p>But I’m just there for the trivia.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Mocha Mudd is a coffee hut in the parking lot of the Blake’s Lottaburger, near Southern and NM 528. While I wait, I wrack my brain to come up with an answer for the trivia question of the day.</p>
<p>You get a discount if you get the question right, which amounts to about 50 cents off a large coffee. I’ll admit, I sometimes want to reach for my smart phone. Just think of all that money I could save, not to mention that glorious moment when I, quite casually, toss out the right answer.</p>
<p>“No Googling,” Clayton warns.</p>
<p>Fine. Maybe I can come up with a good answer on my own.</p>
<p>“What are the five rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?”</p>
<p>There’s freedom of speech and freedom of religion, that’s easy.</p>
<p>Hopefully, most people will remember freedom of the press, which is certainly important for all the people who work at the newspaper you’re reading.</p>
<p>And number four is freedom to assemble. Most people wouldn’t have gotten that one, I assured myself.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I always think of a scene from the classic 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk movie “Akira,” where, in a dystopian future, people are gassed by the police for holding an illegal gathering.</p>
<p>And freedom to … Nope. I couldn’t remember the last one.</p>
<p>“Freedom to petition,” Clayton said. “That’s the one everyone forgets.”</p>
<p>Damn. I take my coffee, remove the little sticker she puts over the sippy cup hole in the lid — it’s always something different like a green clover, a sketch of an anthropomorphic coffee cup or a globe — and I drive away to start my day.</p>
<p>Another day, another shot of caffeine, trivia and failure.</p>
<p>“Which state has the lowest rate of divorce with ‘only’ 113 divorces per 1,000 marriages?”</p>
<p>Florida? The retirees are settled, no need for divorces, right?</p>
<p>Nope.</p>
<p>“Nevada,” Clayton said. “You’ve got to think outside the box on that one.”</p>
<p>People go to Vegas and get hitched, but they get divorced in their home state. Clayton said lots of people said Utah, thinking maybe plural marriage would figure in somehow. Clever, but wrong.</p>
<p>I could list more questions I got wrong, but I’d rather give only questions I’ve ever answered correctly.</p>
<p>“What is the name of the poison Socrates drank?”</p>
<p>Hemlock! Gimme my discount.</p>
<p>Whether I get the answer right or not, the visit to the little coffee hut always brightens my day.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,974 |
<p>Two years ago, the top honchos at the Fed, Treasury and the Wall Street banks were running around like Chicken Little warning that the world was about to end. This fear mongering, together with a big assist from the elite media (i.e. NPR, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, etc.), earned the banks their $700 billion TARP blank check bailout. This money, along with even more valuable loans and loan guarantees from the Fed and FDIC, enabled them to survive the crisis they had created. As a result, the big banks are bigger and more profitable than ever.</p>
<p>Now, the same crew that tapped our pockets two years ago is eagerly pitching the line that their bailout was good for us. It may be the case the history books are written by the winners, but that doesn’t prevent the rest of us from telling the truth.</p>
<p>Let’s step back to where we were two years ago. The huge investment bank Bear Stearns had collapsed. So had Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants. Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank had also gone down. AIG, the country’s largest insurer had been put on life support by the government.</p>
<p>At this point, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the three remaining independent investment banks, all faced runs that would quickly sink them absent government intervention. Citigroup and Bank of America, two of the three largest commercial banks, were also almost certainly insolvent. Many other banks also faced insolvency, especially if they took big losses on their loans to other institutions that were about to go bankrupt.</p>
<p>This was when the Wall Street boys made their mad rush for the public trough. They enlisted everyone that mattered in the effort, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner, then the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.</p>
<p>The line was that the economy would collapse if Congress did not immediately rescue the banks. They were prepared to make up anything to save the banks in their hour of need. Bernanke was probably caught in the biggest fabrication when he told Congress that the commercial paper market was shutting down.</p>
<p>If true, this would have been disastrous, since most major companies rely on selling commercial paper to meet their payroll and other routine expenses. If this market shut down, it would mean that even healthy businesses could not pay their workers and suppliers, which quickly cause the whole economy to grind to a halt.</p>
<p>Bernanke did not bother to inform Congress and the public that he had the ability to single-handedly support the commercial paper market. He waited until the weekend after Congress approved the TARP to announce that he would establish a special Fed lending facility to buy commercial paper.</p>
<p>In reality, the Fed almost certainly had the ability to keep the economy going by sustaining the system of payments even if the chain of bank collapses was allowed to run its course. In the 80s Latin American debt crisis, the Fed had an emergency plan to seize the money center banks, and keep them operating, if a default by a major Latin American country pushed them into insolvency.</p>
<p>By the time of the Lehman crisis the financial markets had been severely stressed for over a year. The first major bank collapse had occurred more than 6 months earlier. It would have required a degree of unbelievable incompetence and/or irresponsibility for the Fed not to have devised a similar emergency plan to keep the systems of payments operating in a worst-case scenario.</p>
<p>Furthermore, even if the Fed had been as incompetent as many claim, it would not have taken long for it to improvise a system whereby certain payments would be prioritized and the system of payments would again be up and running. The notion that we would be sitting in a 21st century economy and reduced to barter payments was an invention of the bank lobby to get the taxpayers’ money.</p>
<p>The first Great Depression was the result of a decade of failed policies, not a single bad mistake at its onset. There was absolutely nothing that we could have done back in September-October of 2008 that would have required that we experience a decade of double-digit unemployment. The specter of a “second great depression” is a fairy tale invented by the bank lobby to make the rest of feel good about having given them our money.</p>
<p>We are also supposed to feel good that the vast majority of the TARP money was repaid. This is another effort to prey on the public’s ignorance. Had it not been for the bailout, most of the major center banks would have been wiped out. This would have destroyed the fortunes of their shareholders, many of their creditors, and their top executives. This would have been a massive redistribution to the rest of society – their loss is our gain.</p>
<p>It is important to remember that the economy would be no less productive following the demise of these Wall Street giants. The only economic fact that would have been different is that the Wall Street crew would have lost claims to hundreds of billions of dollars of the economy’s output each year and trillions of dollars of wealth. That money would instead be available for the rest of society. The fact that they have lost the claim to wealth from their stock and bond holdings makes all the rest of us richer once the economy is again operating near normal levels of output.</p>
<p>Instead, we have the same Wall Street crew calling the shots, doing business pretty much as they always did. The rest of us are sitting here dealing with wreckage of their recklessness: 9.6 percent unemployment and the loss of much of the middle class’s savings in their homes and their retirement accounts. And the lackeys of the Wall Street crew are telling us that we should be thankful that we didn’t have a second Great Depression. Maybe we don’t have the power to keep the bankers from picking our pockets, but we don’t have to believe their lies.</p>
<p>DEAN BAKER is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He is the author of <a href="" type="internal">Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy</a>and <a href="" type="internal">False Profits: Recoverying From the Bubble Economy.</a></p> | The Terrible Tale of TARP | true | https://counterpunch.org/2010/09/21/the-terrible-tale-of-tarp/ | 2010-09-21 | 4left
| The Terrible Tale of TARP
<p>Two years ago, the top honchos at the Fed, Treasury and the Wall Street banks were running around like Chicken Little warning that the world was about to end. This fear mongering, together with a big assist from the elite media (i.e. NPR, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, etc.), earned the banks their $700 billion TARP blank check bailout. This money, along with even more valuable loans and loan guarantees from the Fed and FDIC, enabled them to survive the crisis they had created. As a result, the big banks are bigger and more profitable than ever.</p>
<p>Now, the same crew that tapped our pockets two years ago is eagerly pitching the line that their bailout was good for us. It may be the case the history books are written by the winners, but that doesn’t prevent the rest of us from telling the truth.</p>
<p>Let’s step back to where we were two years ago. The huge investment bank Bear Stearns had collapsed. So had Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the mortgage giants. Lehman Brothers, the fourth largest investment bank had also gone down. AIG, the country’s largest insurer had been put on life support by the government.</p>
<p>At this point, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, the three remaining independent investment banks, all faced runs that would quickly sink them absent government intervention. Citigroup and Bank of America, two of the three largest commercial banks, were also almost certainly insolvent. Many other banks also faced insolvency, especially if they took big losses on their loans to other institutions that were about to go bankrupt.</p>
<p>This was when the Wall Street boys made their mad rush for the public trough. They enlisted everyone that mattered in the effort, including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke, and Timothy Geithner, then the head of the New York Federal Reserve Bank.</p>
<p>The line was that the economy would collapse if Congress did not immediately rescue the banks. They were prepared to make up anything to save the banks in their hour of need. Bernanke was probably caught in the biggest fabrication when he told Congress that the commercial paper market was shutting down.</p>
<p>If true, this would have been disastrous, since most major companies rely on selling commercial paper to meet their payroll and other routine expenses. If this market shut down, it would mean that even healthy businesses could not pay their workers and suppliers, which quickly cause the whole economy to grind to a halt.</p>
<p>Bernanke did not bother to inform Congress and the public that he had the ability to single-handedly support the commercial paper market. He waited until the weekend after Congress approved the TARP to announce that he would establish a special Fed lending facility to buy commercial paper.</p>
<p>In reality, the Fed almost certainly had the ability to keep the economy going by sustaining the system of payments even if the chain of bank collapses was allowed to run its course. In the 80s Latin American debt crisis, the Fed had an emergency plan to seize the money center banks, and keep them operating, if a default by a major Latin American country pushed them into insolvency.</p>
<p>By the time of the Lehman crisis the financial markets had been severely stressed for over a year. The first major bank collapse had occurred more than 6 months earlier. It would have required a degree of unbelievable incompetence and/or irresponsibility for the Fed not to have devised a similar emergency plan to keep the systems of payments operating in a worst-case scenario.</p>
<p>Furthermore, even if the Fed had been as incompetent as many claim, it would not have taken long for it to improvise a system whereby certain payments would be prioritized and the system of payments would again be up and running. The notion that we would be sitting in a 21st century economy and reduced to barter payments was an invention of the bank lobby to get the taxpayers’ money.</p>
<p>The first Great Depression was the result of a decade of failed policies, not a single bad mistake at its onset. There was absolutely nothing that we could have done back in September-October of 2008 that would have required that we experience a decade of double-digit unemployment. The specter of a “second great depression” is a fairy tale invented by the bank lobby to make the rest of feel good about having given them our money.</p>
<p>We are also supposed to feel good that the vast majority of the TARP money was repaid. This is another effort to prey on the public’s ignorance. Had it not been for the bailout, most of the major center banks would have been wiped out. This would have destroyed the fortunes of their shareholders, many of their creditors, and their top executives. This would have been a massive redistribution to the rest of society – their loss is our gain.</p>
<p>It is important to remember that the economy would be no less productive following the demise of these Wall Street giants. The only economic fact that would have been different is that the Wall Street crew would have lost claims to hundreds of billions of dollars of the economy’s output each year and trillions of dollars of wealth. That money would instead be available for the rest of society. The fact that they have lost the claim to wealth from their stock and bond holdings makes all the rest of us richer once the economy is again operating near normal levels of output.</p>
<p>Instead, we have the same Wall Street crew calling the shots, doing business pretty much as they always did. The rest of us are sitting here dealing with wreckage of their recklessness: 9.6 percent unemployment and the loss of much of the middle class’s savings in their homes and their retirement accounts. And the lackeys of the Wall Street crew are telling us that we should be thankful that we didn’t have a second Great Depression. Maybe we don’t have the power to keep the bankers from picking our pockets, but we don’t have to believe their lies.</p>
<p>DEAN BAKER is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He is the author of <a href="" type="internal">Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy</a>and <a href="" type="internal">False Profits: Recoverying From the Bubble Economy.</a></p> | 599,975 |
<p>Yesterday, in New York, Michael Eisner shared his thoughts on the WGA (Writers’ Guild of America) strike. As the keynote speaker at a “Media and Money” conference, hosted by Dow Jones and the Nielsen Corporation, the former Disney CEO, Eisner described the strike as “stupid.”</p>
<p>Although it’s no surprise that such an opinion would be expressed at a Dow Jones function (What else is one going to hear at a DJ affair? That strikes are brilliant tactical moves?), or that a business executive expressed it, Eisner’s observations turned out not to be as harsh or demeaning as they seemed.</p>
<p>Eisner explained that he was speaking only of the union’s timing. Indeed, he had no problem with the WGA’s ambitions. In fairness to Eisner it should be noted that when he ran Disney he was viewed as an “enlightened” boss. Instead of forcing the NLRB to hold elections, he allowed employees to join unions by using the card-check method (if a majority signs cards they automatically get to join), which is a huge advantage for labor. Compared to Lee Scott, Wal-Mart’s CEO, he was Walter Reuther.</p>
<p>Eisner argues that the new technology the WGA is quibbling over hasn’t been given ample time to define itself or show its full potential, and that it’s too early to demand a showdown with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers) over this issue. Insisting that the Alliance share the bounty now is like a greedy or panicky commodities speculator forcing farmers to pick their crops before the majority of them have had time to ripen.</p>
<p>Eisner’s premise isn’t entirely wrong. It’s an axiom among negotiators that when a union goes on strike (actually pulls the pin, and not just waves a grenade and makes scary noises), the membership needs to be certain the timing is right. They need to know, despite their exuberance and storm-the-Bastille mentality, that they’re hitting the bricks at the opportune moment.</p>
<p>For most corporations, a strike is tantamount to a declaration of war. The Alliance is no exception. From management’s perspective, a strike is a bewildering, unprovoked and, frankly, self-destructive attack by gullible and wildly ungrateful workers. And even though strikes never come as complete “surprises’ (Taft-Hartley requires the union to give 10-day written notice before shutting down), they’re still treated as horrifying mutinies.</p>
<p>In fact, one reason companies wait several weeks before finally agreeing to sit down with a striking union and begin the sticky re-negotiation process is because they’re determined to “punish” the traitors. They want to force the Great Unwashed and their union leadership to simmer in their own juices before rewarding them with rationale dialogue.</p>
<p>That recent GM-UAW strike, the one that lasted barely two days, was more than an anomaly; it was a freakish footnote to labor history. A strike ending before the paint on the picket signs has time to dry? That definitely falls into the 1% category.</p>
<p>But why is timing so important? It’s a simple truth: You can’t expect union members to go out twice in a row. Strikes are simply too debilitating, too draining and frightening to be inflicted consecutively. So if you call one, you damn well better get it right. Since the 1980s, the number of unions that have gone out on back-to-back strikes is probably as rare as those who stayed out only as long as the UAW did against GM.</p>
<p>And when a union is perceived as unlikely to strike, it makes them dangerously vulnerable to a management power play. Knowing that the members don’t have the stomach for another war encourages companies to pile on. Another union axiom: The bargain that follows a protracted strike invites mischief. That’s why timing is so critical.</p>
<p>But this doesn’t mean Eisner is correct. His advice that the union wait until the full potential of new technology is clear before making its move sounds good, but it ignores two facts. First, because technological innovations are constantly being introduced into the marketplace, there will never be a static point of reference; there’s always a “revolution” around the corner. If the WGA waits until everything gets invented before making their move, they may as well call in the dogs and piss on the fire.</p>
<p>Second, if the union doesn’t take the initiative right now, at this juncture, while things are still in flux, the producers will grab up all scientific goodies for themselves. What’s that old saying about possession being nine-tenths of the law? In five years it will be significantly harder trying to pry the AMPTP loose from something it now regards as proprietary.</p>
<p>It happened with fiber optics and the advent of cable television, and with the VHS. Not seeing these innovations coming, the union was late and unfulfilled in sharing in the revenue. From the WGA’s standpoint, their best tactic is to hook up as soon as possible, and take their chances. Given recent history, who can blame them?</p>
<p>DAVID MACARAY, a Los Angeles playwright and writer, was president and chief contract negotiator of the Assn. of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Local 672, from 1989 to 2000. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Empire Strikes Back | true | https://counterpunch.org/2007/11/09/the-empire-strikes-back-4/ | 2007-11-09 | 4left
| The Empire Strikes Back
<p>Yesterday, in New York, Michael Eisner shared his thoughts on the WGA (Writers’ Guild of America) strike. As the keynote speaker at a “Media and Money” conference, hosted by Dow Jones and the Nielsen Corporation, the former Disney CEO, Eisner described the strike as “stupid.”</p>
<p>Although it’s no surprise that such an opinion would be expressed at a Dow Jones function (What else is one going to hear at a DJ affair? That strikes are brilliant tactical moves?), or that a business executive expressed it, Eisner’s observations turned out not to be as harsh or demeaning as they seemed.</p>
<p>Eisner explained that he was speaking only of the union’s timing. Indeed, he had no problem with the WGA’s ambitions. In fairness to Eisner it should be noted that when he ran Disney he was viewed as an “enlightened” boss. Instead of forcing the NLRB to hold elections, he allowed employees to join unions by using the card-check method (if a majority signs cards they automatically get to join), which is a huge advantage for labor. Compared to Lee Scott, Wal-Mart’s CEO, he was Walter Reuther.</p>
<p>Eisner argues that the new technology the WGA is quibbling over hasn’t been given ample time to define itself or show its full potential, and that it’s too early to demand a showdown with the AMPTP (Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers) over this issue. Insisting that the Alliance share the bounty now is like a greedy or panicky commodities speculator forcing farmers to pick their crops before the majority of them have had time to ripen.</p>
<p>Eisner’s premise isn’t entirely wrong. It’s an axiom among negotiators that when a union goes on strike (actually pulls the pin, and not just waves a grenade and makes scary noises), the membership needs to be certain the timing is right. They need to know, despite their exuberance and storm-the-Bastille mentality, that they’re hitting the bricks at the opportune moment.</p>
<p>For most corporations, a strike is tantamount to a declaration of war. The Alliance is no exception. From management’s perspective, a strike is a bewildering, unprovoked and, frankly, self-destructive attack by gullible and wildly ungrateful workers. And even though strikes never come as complete “surprises’ (Taft-Hartley requires the union to give 10-day written notice before shutting down), they’re still treated as horrifying mutinies.</p>
<p>In fact, one reason companies wait several weeks before finally agreeing to sit down with a striking union and begin the sticky re-negotiation process is because they’re determined to “punish” the traitors. They want to force the Great Unwashed and their union leadership to simmer in their own juices before rewarding them with rationale dialogue.</p>
<p>That recent GM-UAW strike, the one that lasted barely two days, was more than an anomaly; it was a freakish footnote to labor history. A strike ending before the paint on the picket signs has time to dry? That definitely falls into the 1% category.</p>
<p>But why is timing so important? It’s a simple truth: You can’t expect union members to go out twice in a row. Strikes are simply too debilitating, too draining and frightening to be inflicted consecutively. So if you call one, you damn well better get it right. Since the 1980s, the number of unions that have gone out on back-to-back strikes is probably as rare as those who stayed out only as long as the UAW did against GM.</p>
<p>And when a union is perceived as unlikely to strike, it makes them dangerously vulnerable to a management power play. Knowing that the members don’t have the stomach for another war encourages companies to pile on. Another union axiom: The bargain that follows a protracted strike invites mischief. That’s why timing is so critical.</p>
<p>But this doesn’t mean Eisner is correct. His advice that the union wait until the full potential of new technology is clear before making its move sounds good, but it ignores two facts. First, because technological innovations are constantly being introduced into the marketplace, there will never be a static point of reference; there’s always a “revolution” around the corner. If the WGA waits until everything gets invented before making their move, they may as well call in the dogs and piss on the fire.</p>
<p>Second, if the union doesn’t take the initiative right now, at this juncture, while things are still in flux, the producers will grab up all scientific goodies for themselves. What’s that old saying about possession being nine-tenths of the law? In five years it will be significantly harder trying to pry the AMPTP loose from something it now regards as proprietary.</p>
<p>It happened with fiber optics and the advent of cable television, and with the VHS. Not seeing these innovations coming, the union was late and unfulfilled in sharing in the revenue. From the WGA’s standpoint, their best tactic is to hook up as soon as possible, and take their chances. Given recent history, who can blame them?</p>
<p>DAVID MACARAY, a Los Angeles playwright and writer, was president and chief contract negotiator of the Assn. of Western Pulp and Paper Workers, Local 672, from 1989 to 2000. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:[email protected]" type="external">[email protected]</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,976 |
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Firearms manufacturer Weatherby Inc. is relocating its manufacturing operations and corporate headquarters from California to Wyoming, marking another catch by Wyoming of a company abandoning a state that isn't as gun friendly.</p>
<p>Weatherby's move to Sheridan is expected to create 70 to 90 jobs and more than $5 million in annual payroll over the next five years.</p>
<p>Company and state officials, including Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, announced the move Tuesday at a gun industry trade show in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>"We wanted a place where we could retain a great workforce, and where our employees could live an outdoor lifestyle," Adam Weatherby, chief executive officer of the company, said in a statement. "We wanted to move to a state where we can grow into our brand. Wyoming means new opportunities. We are not interested in maintaining; we are growing."</p>
<p>Founded in 1945, Weatherby, which is now based in Paso Robles, California, produces various rifles, ammunition and shooting accessories for hunting and range shooting.</p>
<p>Mead said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas that the move by Weatherby helps the state's goal of diversifying its economy, which is heavily reliant on the volatile minerals industry.</p>
<p>"We're down here trying to recruit some more," Mead said.</p>
<p>Weatherby is the latest gun industry manufacturer to move its operations to Wyoming in the last five years from states that were not seen as friendly to the gun industry. Several companies, including Magpul Industries, moved their manufacturing operations to Wyoming from Colorado after Colorado lawmakers enacted stricter limits on the sale of firearms accessories.</p>
<p>California has some of the nation's strictest gun laws and has recently adopted new restrictions on certain ammunition purchases, gun owners convicted of a felony or violent misdemeanor and concealed carry guns on school grounds.</p>
<p>Mead said the situation in other states has allowed Wyoming, a strong pro-gun state, to "recruit some of these companies that may be not satisfied where they are."</p>
<p>The announcement Tuesday also revealed the name of the company that had gone through a process of obtaining financial assistance from the state of Wyoming over the last few months for its move without the company's name being publicly identified.</p>
<p>Last week, the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board approved a $12.5 million grant to a Sheridan economic development organization to construct a building to house an unnamed company's operations.</p>
<p>Under the terms of the state grant, the local Sheridan economic development organization will use the grant money to construct a building for Weatherby and then lease it to the company for 20 years with an option to buy. The lease payments will eventually cover the cost of the grant, and the state and the Sheridan organization will each receive about $6 million in return from the lease payments.</p>
<p>Weatherby also has committed to investing an estimated $2 million in relocation costs and capital investment in the building.</p>
<p>No one could be reached immediately for comment Tuesday at the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce.</p>
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Firearms manufacturer Weatherby Inc. is relocating its manufacturing operations and corporate headquarters from California to Wyoming, marking another catch by Wyoming of a company abandoning a state that isn't as gun friendly.</p>
<p>Weatherby's move to Sheridan is expected to create 70 to 90 jobs and more than $5 million in annual payroll over the next five years.</p>
<p>Company and state officials, including Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, announced the move Tuesday at a gun industry trade show in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>"We wanted a place where we could retain a great workforce, and where our employees could live an outdoor lifestyle," Adam Weatherby, chief executive officer of the company, said in a statement. "We wanted to move to a state where we can grow into our brand. Wyoming means new opportunities. We are not interested in maintaining; we are growing."</p>
<p>Founded in 1945, Weatherby, which is now based in Paso Robles, California, produces various rifles, ammunition and shooting accessories for hunting and range shooting.</p>
<p>Mead said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas that the move by Weatherby helps the state's goal of diversifying its economy, which is heavily reliant on the volatile minerals industry.</p>
<p>"We're down here trying to recruit some more," Mead said.</p>
<p>Weatherby is the latest gun industry manufacturer to move its operations to Wyoming in the last five years from states that were not seen as friendly to the gun industry. Several companies, including Magpul Industries, moved their manufacturing operations to Wyoming from Colorado after Colorado lawmakers enacted stricter limits on the sale of firearms accessories.</p>
<p>California has some of the nation's strictest gun laws and has recently adopted new restrictions on certain ammunition purchases, gun owners convicted of a felony or violent misdemeanor and concealed carry guns on school grounds.</p>
<p>Mead said the situation in other states has allowed Wyoming, a strong pro-gun state, to "recruit some of these companies that may be not satisfied where they are."</p>
<p>The announcement Tuesday also revealed the name of the company that had gone through a process of obtaining financial assistance from the state of Wyoming over the last few months for its move without the company's name being publicly identified.</p>
<p>Last week, the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board approved a $12.5 million grant to a Sheridan economic development organization to construct a building to house an unnamed company's operations.</p>
<p>Under the terms of the state grant, the local Sheridan economic development organization will use the grant money to construct a building for Weatherby and then lease it to the company for 20 years with an option to buy. The lease payments will eventually cover the cost of the grant, and the state and the Sheridan organization will each receive about $6 million in return from the lease payments.</p>
<p>Weatherby also has committed to investing an estimated $2 million in relocation costs and capital investment in the building.</p>
<p>No one could be reached immediately for comment Tuesday at the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce.</p> | California firearms manufacturer moving to Wyoming | false | https://apnews.com/amp/a1c3a3d9a60d4a72995ab550cb58302e | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| California firearms manufacturer moving to Wyoming
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Firearms manufacturer Weatherby Inc. is relocating its manufacturing operations and corporate headquarters from California to Wyoming, marking another catch by Wyoming of a company abandoning a state that isn't as gun friendly.</p>
<p>Weatherby's move to Sheridan is expected to create 70 to 90 jobs and more than $5 million in annual payroll over the next five years.</p>
<p>Company and state officials, including Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, announced the move Tuesday at a gun industry trade show in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>"We wanted a place where we could retain a great workforce, and where our employees could live an outdoor lifestyle," Adam Weatherby, chief executive officer of the company, said in a statement. "We wanted to move to a state where we can grow into our brand. Wyoming means new opportunities. We are not interested in maintaining; we are growing."</p>
<p>Founded in 1945, Weatherby, which is now based in Paso Robles, California, produces various rifles, ammunition and shooting accessories for hunting and range shooting.</p>
<p>Mead said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas that the move by Weatherby helps the state's goal of diversifying its economy, which is heavily reliant on the volatile minerals industry.</p>
<p>"We're down here trying to recruit some more," Mead said.</p>
<p>Weatherby is the latest gun industry manufacturer to move its operations to Wyoming in the last five years from states that were not seen as friendly to the gun industry. Several companies, including Magpul Industries, moved their manufacturing operations to Wyoming from Colorado after Colorado lawmakers enacted stricter limits on the sale of firearms accessories.</p>
<p>California has some of the nation's strictest gun laws and has recently adopted new restrictions on certain ammunition purchases, gun owners convicted of a felony or violent misdemeanor and concealed carry guns on school grounds.</p>
<p>Mead said the situation in other states has allowed Wyoming, a strong pro-gun state, to "recruit some of these companies that may be not satisfied where they are."</p>
<p>The announcement Tuesday also revealed the name of the company that had gone through a process of obtaining financial assistance from the state of Wyoming over the last few months for its move without the company's name being publicly identified.</p>
<p>Last week, the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board approved a $12.5 million grant to a Sheridan economic development organization to construct a building to house an unnamed company's operations.</p>
<p>Under the terms of the state grant, the local Sheridan economic development organization will use the grant money to construct a building for Weatherby and then lease it to the company for 20 years with an option to buy. The lease payments will eventually cover the cost of the grant, and the state and the Sheridan organization will each receive about $6 million in return from the lease payments.</p>
<p>Weatherby also has committed to investing an estimated $2 million in relocation costs and capital investment in the building.</p>
<p>No one could be reached immediately for comment Tuesday at the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce.</p>
<p>CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Firearms manufacturer Weatherby Inc. is relocating its manufacturing operations and corporate headquarters from California to Wyoming, marking another catch by Wyoming of a company abandoning a state that isn't as gun friendly.</p>
<p>Weatherby's move to Sheridan is expected to create 70 to 90 jobs and more than $5 million in annual payroll over the next five years.</p>
<p>Company and state officials, including Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead, announced the move Tuesday at a gun industry trade show in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>"We wanted a place where we could retain a great workforce, and where our employees could live an outdoor lifestyle," Adam Weatherby, chief executive officer of the company, said in a statement. "We wanted to move to a state where we can grow into our brand. Wyoming means new opportunities. We are not interested in maintaining; we are growing."</p>
<p>Founded in 1945, Weatherby, which is now based in Paso Robles, California, produces various rifles, ammunition and shooting accessories for hunting and range shooting.</p>
<p>Mead said in a telephone interview from Las Vegas that the move by Weatherby helps the state's goal of diversifying its economy, which is heavily reliant on the volatile minerals industry.</p>
<p>"We're down here trying to recruit some more," Mead said.</p>
<p>Weatherby is the latest gun industry manufacturer to move its operations to Wyoming in the last five years from states that were not seen as friendly to the gun industry. Several companies, including Magpul Industries, moved their manufacturing operations to Wyoming from Colorado after Colorado lawmakers enacted stricter limits on the sale of firearms accessories.</p>
<p>California has some of the nation's strictest gun laws and has recently adopted new restrictions on certain ammunition purchases, gun owners convicted of a felony or violent misdemeanor and concealed carry guns on school grounds.</p>
<p>Mead said the situation in other states has allowed Wyoming, a strong pro-gun state, to "recruit some of these companies that may be not satisfied where they are."</p>
<p>The announcement Tuesday also revealed the name of the company that had gone through a process of obtaining financial assistance from the state of Wyoming over the last few months for its move without the company's name being publicly identified.</p>
<p>Last week, the Wyoming State Loan and Investment Board approved a $12.5 million grant to a Sheridan economic development organization to construct a building to house an unnamed company's operations.</p>
<p>Under the terms of the state grant, the local Sheridan economic development organization will use the grant money to construct a building for Weatherby and then lease it to the company for 20 years with an option to buy. The lease payments will eventually cover the cost of the grant, and the state and the Sheridan organization will each receive about $6 million in return from the lease payments.</p>
<p>Weatherby also has committed to investing an estimated $2 million in relocation costs and capital investment in the building.</p>
<p>No one could be reached immediately for comment Tuesday at the Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce.</p> | 599,977 |
<p>Virtual reality is one of the most exciting industries out there right now, and entertainment as we know it is changing rapidly before our eyes. The future is basically here, right? But how did it get to this point? This slideshow examines some of the biggest inventions that led to today's technology!</p>
<p>Like many of us, you might have spent lots of time playing video games. But have you ever wondered which video game you actually are? There are so many different games out there, but deep down, only one of them is truly representative of your personality. So that's why we're here to tell you exactly which classic video game you would be.</p>
<p>There are so many TV shows out there that choosing one can be a little overwhelming. After endlessly scrolling through Netflix, have you ever just settled on rewatching an episode that you've seen a million times? Yes? We've all been there. It's so much easier than trying out something new.</p>
<p>But once you find yourself able to quote every line of every episode, it might be time to watch something different. So we're here to help you choose. Take the quiz, and we'll tell you what to binge watch next!</p> | Let's take a look back at some of the major milestones in virtual reality | false | https://circa.com/story/2017/11/09/science/lets-take-a-look-back-at-some-of-the-major-milestones-in-virtual-reality | 2017-11-09 | 1right-center
| Let's take a look back at some of the major milestones in virtual reality
<p>Virtual reality is one of the most exciting industries out there right now, and entertainment as we know it is changing rapidly before our eyes. The future is basically here, right? But how did it get to this point? This slideshow examines some of the biggest inventions that led to today's technology!</p>
<p>Like many of us, you might have spent lots of time playing video games. But have you ever wondered which video game you actually are? There are so many different games out there, but deep down, only one of them is truly representative of your personality. So that's why we're here to tell you exactly which classic video game you would be.</p>
<p>There are so many TV shows out there that choosing one can be a little overwhelming. After endlessly scrolling through Netflix, have you ever just settled on rewatching an episode that you've seen a million times? Yes? We've all been there. It's so much easier than trying out something new.</p>
<p>But once you find yourself able to quote every line of every episode, it might be time to watch something different. So we're here to help you choose. Take the quiz, and we'll tell you what to binge watch next!</p> | 599,978 |
<p>An explosives-strapped diesel tanker blew up near a Damascus hotel used by the United Nations today, wounding at least three people, Syrian state media and United Nations (UN) officials said, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/world/middleeast/explosion-in-damascus-syria.html?pagewanted=all" type="external">reported The New York Times</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>The blast damaged the Dama Rose hotel and a nearby building, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/world/middleeast/explosion-in-damascus-syria.html?pagewanted=all" type="external">said NYT</a>. It was not immediately clear, however, if the hotel was the target of the attack, with <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128156451195915.html" type="external">Al Jazeera citing</a> the country's main rebel group as claiming the attack but saying they were trying to hit the central security command.&#160;</p>
<p>The explosion, which was also near the ministry of defense and a club for military officers, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-near-hotel-used-by-un-in-syrian-capital-injures-three/2012/08/15/a4c91828-e6c3-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_story.html" type="external">reported The Washington Post</a>, can be seen here:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A Free Syrian Army (FSA) brigade spokesperson, Abu al-Noor, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128156451195915.html" type="external">told Al Jazeera today</a> that the "operation was targeting the central security command in response to murders perpetrated by the security forces nationwide," later vowing,&#160;"[w]e will continue to carry out similar operations in the capital until we reach him [Assad] in the presidential palace."&#160;</p>
<p>Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad denounced the attack as "a criminal act aimed at distorting Syria's image," according to a Syrian state TV broadcast <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/972681/series-of-explosions-follow-damascus-bombing" type="external">cited by SKY News</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120815/iran-helping-syria-build-militia-the-pentagon" type="external">Iran helping Syria build militia: the Pentagon</a></p>
<p>Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has been locked in a battle for control triggered by an over year-long armed insurrection against his rule. The violence has left some 20,000 people dead, activists say, bloodshed that has prompted international outrage. Today's bombing comes amid a two-day emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is expected to focus on the Syria crisis (and <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/saudi-arabia/120813/organization-islamic-cooperation-moves-suspend" type="external">possibly suspend its membership</a>).&#160;</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear whether visiting UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos was near the hotel -- where the UN's Syria mission head held a press conference on Monday -- at the time of the blast, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-near-hotel-used-by-un-in-syrian-capital-injures-three/2012/08/15/a4c91828-e6c3-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_story.html" type="external">said The Washington Post</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>The UN has 100 observers currently stationed in the country, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-near-hotel-used-by-un-in-syrian-capital-injures-three/2012/08/15/a4c91828-e6c3-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_story.html" type="external">according to the Washington Post</a>, and is set to meet Thursday about the future of the mission, whose mandate expires August 19, <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/972681/series-of-explosions-follow-damascus-bombing" type="external">said SKY</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Also today, the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120815/iran-helping-syria-build-militia-the-pentagon" type="external">US accused Iran of helping the Syrian regime</a>&#160;build and train a milita.</p> | Damascus hotel used by United Nations bombed (VIDEO) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-08-15/damascus-hotel-used-united-nations-bombed-video | 2012-08-15 | 3left-center
| Damascus hotel used by United Nations bombed (VIDEO)
<p>An explosives-strapped diesel tanker blew up near a Damascus hotel used by the United Nations today, wounding at least three people, Syrian state media and United Nations (UN) officials said, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/world/middleeast/explosion-in-damascus-syria.html?pagewanted=all" type="external">reported The New York Times</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>The blast damaged the Dama Rose hotel and a nearby building, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/16/world/middleeast/explosion-in-damascus-syria.html?pagewanted=all" type="external">said NYT</a>. It was not immediately clear, however, if the hotel was the target of the attack, with <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128156451195915.html" type="external">Al Jazeera citing</a> the country's main rebel group as claiming the attack but saying they were trying to hit the central security command.&#160;</p>
<p>The explosion, which was also near the ministry of defense and a club for military officers, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-near-hotel-used-by-un-in-syrian-capital-injures-three/2012/08/15/a4c91828-e6c3-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_story.html" type="external">reported The Washington Post</a>, can be seen here:</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>A Free Syrian Army (FSA) brigade spokesperson, Abu al-Noor, <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/20128156451195915.html" type="external">told Al Jazeera today</a> that the "operation was targeting the central security command in response to murders perpetrated by the security forces nationwide," later vowing,&#160;"[w]e will continue to carry out similar operations in the capital until we reach him [Assad] in the presidential palace."&#160;</p>
<p>Syrian deputy foreign minister Faisal Mekdad denounced the attack as "a criminal act aimed at distorting Syria's image," according to a Syrian state TV broadcast <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/972681/series-of-explosions-follow-damascus-bombing" type="external">cited by SKY News</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120815/iran-helping-syria-build-militia-the-pentagon" type="external">Iran helping Syria build militia: the Pentagon</a></p>
<p>Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has been locked in a battle for control triggered by an over year-long armed insurrection against his rule. The violence has left some 20,000 people dead, activists say, bloodshed that has prompted international outrage. Today's bombing comes amid a two-day emergency meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is expected to focus on the Syria crisis (and <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/saudi-arabia/120813/organization-islamic-cooperation-moves-suspend" type="external">possibly suspend its membership</a>).&#160;</p>
<p>It was not immediately clear whether visiting UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos was near the hotel -- where the UN's Syria mission head held a press conference on Monday -- at the time of the blast, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-near-hotel-used-by-un-in-syrian-capital-injures-three/2012/08/15/a4c91828-e6c3-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_story.html" type="external">said The Washington Post</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>The UN has 100 observers currently stationed in the country, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/blast-near-hotel-used-by-un-in-syrian-capital-injures-three/2012/08/15/a4c91828-e6c3-11e1-8f62-58260e3940a0_story.html" type="external">according to the Washington Post</a>, and is set to meet Thursday about the future of the mission, whose mandate expires August 19, <a href="http://news.sky.com/story/972681/series-of-explosions-follow-damascus-bombing" type="external">said SKY</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Also today, the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120815/iran-helping-syria-build-militia-the-pentagon" type="external">US accused Iran of helping the Syrian regime</a>&#160;build and train a milita.</p> | 599,979 |
<p>Ask most Americans about terrorist attacks committed by foreigners on US soil and there’s more than a good chance they’ll point to the September 11, 2001 bombings of the World Trade Center, or the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. At a push, they might even point to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which, while not a case of terrorism, was until September 11 the worst foreign attack on US soil in the country’s history.</p>
<p>Few are likely to talk about the time an ostensibly friendly government — one partially installed by the United States in an act of <a href="" type="internal">covert regime change</a>, no less — murdered one of its own dissidents in a car bombing in the heart of the nation’s capital, killing a US citizen in the process. Yet forty years ago today, that’s precisely what happened when Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean diplomat and outspoken critic of the Pinochet dictatorship which had come to rule the country, and his two coworkers prepared to travel to work.</p>
<p>On a rainy fall morning&#160;on September 21, 1976, as Letelier’s car traveled down the block of 2300 Massachusetts Avenue,&#160;just past Sheridan Circle and along Washington, DC’s Embassy Row, a plastic explosive attached to the underside of the vehicle detonated, killing Letelier and one of his occupants, twenty-five-year-old Ronni Moffitt. Passers-by watched as the flaming wreck crashed into a nearby Volkswagen,&#160;and Michael Moffit, Ronni’s husband, crawled out of the back. They had been married only 113 days.</p>
<p>As became clear in the succeeding years, the incident was a clear-cut case of state-sponsored terrorism carried out in the beating heart of American power. Yet whether due to intentional obfuscation by sections of the US national security state, or because of other factors, justice was largely dodged by the true perpetrators of the attack, who presided at the highest levels of Chile’s government.</p> | The Murder of Orlando Letelier | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2016/09/orlando-letelier-pinochet-nixon-kissinger/ | 2018-10-03 | 4left
| The Murder of Orlando Letelier
<p>Ask most Americans about terrorist attacks committed by foreigners on US soil and there’s more than a good chance they’ll point to the September 11, 2001 bombings of the World Trade Center, or the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. At a push, they might even point to the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which, while not a case of terrorism, was until September 11 the worst foreign attack on US soil in the country’s history.</p>
<p>Few are likely to talk about the time an ostensibly friendly government — one partially installed by the United States in an act of <a href="" type="internal">covert regime change</a>, no less — murdered one of its own dissidents in a car bombing in the heart of the nation’s capital, killing a US citizen in the process. Yet forty years ago today, that’s precisely what happened when Orlando Letelier, a former Chilean diplomat and outspoken critic of the Pinochet dictatorship which had come to rule the country, and his two coworkers prepared to travel to work.</p>
<p>On a rainy fall morning&#160;on September 21, 1976, as Letelier’s car traveled down the block of 2300 Massachusetts Avenue,&#160;just past Sheridan Circle and along Washington, DC’s Embassy Row, a plastic explosive attached to the underside of the vehicle detonated, killing Letelier and one of his occupants, twenty-five-year-old Ronni Moffitt. Passers-by watched as the flaming wreck crashed into a nearby Volkswagen,&#160;and Michael Moffit, Ronni’s husband, crawled out of the back. They had been married only 113 days.</p>
<p>As became clear in the succeeding years, the incident was a clear-cut case of state-sponsored terrorism carried out in the beating heart of American power. Yet whether due to intentional obfuscation by sections of the US national security state, or because of other factors, justice was largely dodged by the true perpetrators of the attack, who presided at the highest levels of Chile’s government.</p> | 599,980 |
<p />
<p>On Monday, Matt Barber, founder and Editor-in Chief of <a href="http://barbwire.com" type="external">BarbWire.com</a> and Associate Dean of the Liberty University School of Law, announced an explosive new book that reveals how the radical left is working to undermine and destroy Christianity.</p>
<p>In his book, “Hating Jesus,” Barber “reveals how secular progressives are waging an unrelenting fight against Christianity in America, and then explains what Christians can do about it.”</p>
<p>A post at <a href="http://barbwire.com/2016/05/23/hating-jesus-matt-barbers-explosive-new-book-exposes-liberals-trying-wipe-christianity-u-s/" type="external">Barb Wire</a> adds:</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hating-Jesus-American-Lefts-Christianity/dp/1927684374?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1464008414&amp;ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&amp;sr=8-1" type="external">Hating Jesus</a>, Matt Barber documents how American leftists have co-opted every elite institution: schools, government, the media, Hollywood and the arts, many conservative organizations, and even much of what passes for the Church in America. With growing power, the progressive movement wages its relentless War on Christianity—and they are winning. The ultimate goal? Conform to their pagan demands, or face financial ruin or even incarceration.</p>
<p>But, he adds, with Christ, “it’s never too late to win this escalating war.”</p>
<p>Fox News’ Todd Starnes raved about his book, and said Barber “delivers a masterful blow-by-blow investigation of how the Left sucker-punched people of faith.”</p>
<p>David Limbaugh, brother of talk show host Rush Limbaugh, agrees: “In his ‘must read’ book, Hating Jesus, my friend Matt Barber persuasively argues that anti-Christian facets of the organized Left have placed the Christian faithful squarely in their crosshairs. Accordingly, Matt … provides a realistic and effective action plan [to fight back].”</p>
<p>If you’ve read and enjoyed Barber’s posts here, you’re certain to enjoy this book.&#160; And you don’t have to wait for it, because it’s now available in both <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hating-Jesus-American-Lefts-Christianity/dp/1927684374?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1464008414&amp;ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&amp;sr=8-1" type="external">paperback</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hating-Jesus-American-Lefts-Christianity/dp/1927684374?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1464008414&amp;ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&amp;sr=8-1" type="external">Kindle version</a> through Amazon.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a> page, please go <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a> and do so.</p> | New book, ‘Hating Jesus,’ unmasks the left’s war on Christianity | true | http://conservativefiringline.com/new-book-hating-jesus-unmasks-lefts-war-christianity/ | 2016-05-24 | 0right
| New book, ‘Hating Jesus,’ unmasks the left’s war on Christianity
<p />
<p>On Monday, Matt Barber, founder and Editor-in Chief of <a href="http://barbwire.com" type="external">BarbWire.com</a> and Associate Dean of the Liberty University School of Law, announced an explosive new book that reveals how the radical left is working to undermine and destroy Christianity.</p>
<p>In his book, “Hating Jesus,” Barber “reveals how secular progressives are waging an unrelenting fight against Christianity in America, and then explains what Christians can do about it.”</p>
<p>A post at <a href="http://barbwire.com/2016/05/23/hating-jesus-matt-barbers-explosive-new-book-exposes-liberals-trying-wipe-christianity-u-s/" type="external">Barb Wire</a> adds:</p>
<p>In <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hating-Jesus-American-Lefts-Christianity/dp/1927684374?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1464008414&amp;ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&amp;sr=8-1" type="external">Hating Jesus</a>, Matt Barber documents how American leftists have co-opted every elite institution: schools, government, the media, Hollywood and the arts, many conservative organizations, and even much of what passes for the Church in America. With growing power, the progressive movement wages its relentless War on Christianity—and they are winning. The ultimate goal? Conform to their pagan demands, or face financial ruin or even incarceration.</p>
<p>But, he adds, with Christ, “it’s never too late to win this escalating war.”</p>
<p>Fox News’ Todd Starnes raved about his book, and said Barber “delivers a masterful blow-by-blow investigation of how the Left sucker-punched people of faith.”</p>
<p>David Limbaugh, brother of talk show host Rush Limbaugh, agrees: “In his ‘must read’ book, Hating Jesus, my friend Matt Barber persuasively argues that anti-Christian facets of the organized Left have placed the Christian faithful squarely in their crosshairs. Accordingly, Matt … provides a realistic and effective action plan [to fight back].”</p>
<p>If you’ve read and enjoyed Barber’s posts here, you’re certain to enjoy this book.&#160; And you don’t have to wait for it, because it’s now available in both <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hating-Jesus-American-Lefts-Christianity/dp/1927684374?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1464008414&amp;ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&amp;sr=8-1" type="external">paperback</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hating-Jesus-American-Lefts-Christianity/dp/1927684374?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1464008414&amp;ref_=tmm_pap_swatch_0&amp;sr=8-1" type="external">Kindle version</a> through Amazon.</p>
<p>Related:</p>
<p>If you haven’t checked out and liked our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a> page, please go <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConservativeFiringLine?fref=ts" type="external">here</a> and do so.</p> | 599,981 |
<p />
<p>It’s a long way to the Dem’s August convention in Denver, but it’s hard to see how Clinton can save herself from herself and her husband now. Her MLK vs LBJ Freudian slip was her last chance to stop the Billary <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/27/AR2008012701612.html?referrer=emailarticle" type="external">race-baiting train</a>and…she chose not to. Pissing on the South Carolina vote and the annoying little Negroes who dared to vote against her sealed her fate, it seems. Or it should have. We’ll see. But, in any event, Obama is far from home free. Now that he’s all but won the battle against old school white supremacy he can move on to new school black-Latino hostility. Are Latinos the new whites, the people who refuse to vote for blacks? The pundits are torn. From the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/28/MNH1UL57Q.DTL" type="external">SF Gate</a>:</p>
<p>Sen. Barack Obama easily won the African American vote in South Carolina, but to woo California Latinos, where he is running 3-to-1 behind rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, he is taking a giant risk: spotlighting his support for the red-hot issue of granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>It’s a huge issue for Latinos, who want them. It’s also a huge issue for the general electorate, which most vehemently does not. Obama’s stand could come back to haunt him not only in a general election, but with other voters in California, where driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants helped undo former Gov. Gray Davis.</p>
<p>Clinton stumbled into that minefield in a debate last fall and quickly backed off. First she suggested a New York proposal for driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants might be reasonable. Then she denied endorsing the idea, and later came out against them.</p>
<p>Asked directly about the issue now, her California campaign spokesman said Clinton “believes the solution is to pass comprehensive immigration reform.”</p>
<p>“Barack Obama has not backed down” on driver’s licenses for undocumented people, said Federico Peña, a former Clinton administration Cabinet member and Denver mayor now supporting Obama. “I think when the Latino community hears Barack’s position on such an important and controversial issue, they’ll understand that his heart and his intellect is with Latino community.”</p>
<p>But what of blacks’ hearts and intellects? Not only must Obama woo Latinos he must do so without alienating blacks who, as a group, have little interest in Latino preferences. When, it must be said, they’re not actively hostile to them as with immigration and job competition.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.earlofarihutchinson.blogspot.com/" type="external">Earl Ofari Hutchinson</a> is not optimistic about Obama’s ability to appeal to Latinos though he will desperately need to. He notes:</p>
<p>Since [black Mayor Tom Bradley’s lack of appeal to LA’s Latino voters] then the political polarization between Latino voters and black candidates has been a virtual trademark in every other race where a black candidate has squared off against a white or Latino candidate. In 1993, Rudolph Giuliani, a tough law and order, conservative Republican running in heavily Democratic New York city against liberal African-American Democrat David Dinkins got nearly forty percent of the Latino vote. Nearly a decade later, Lee Brown, the former New York City police commissioner, got less than 30 percent of the Latino vote in his run-off race against Orlando Sanchez for Houston mayor. The even more popular, veteran former Congressman Ron Dellums received barely thirty percent of the Latino vote in his race for mayor in Oakland against a Latino challenger in 2005.</p>
<p>My friend Gregory Rodriguez though is trying to flip the script on the notion that Hispanics won’t vote for blacks and makes me reconsider my unexamined ideas about their anti-black feelings. He writes in <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1707221,00.html" type="external">Time</a>:</p>
<p>I imagine he said it as if he were confessing a deep, dark secret. And, of course (wink, wink), he had no idea his little confession would make the rounds. But when Sergio Bendixen, Hillary Clinton’s pollster and resident Latino expert, told the New Yorker after her win in New Hampshire that “the Hispanic voter–and I want to say this very carefully–has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates,” he started a firestorm of innuendo that has begun to shape how the media are covering the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in the heavily Hispanic Western states.</p>
<p />
<p>After the Jan. 19 Nevada caucuses, in which Latino voters supported Senator Clinton by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1, some journalists literally borrowed Bendixen’s analysis word for word before going on to speculate about Barack Obama’s political fortunes in such delegate-rich states as California and Texas. Ignoring the possibility that Nevada’s Latino voters actually preferred Clinton or, at the very least, had fond memories of her husband’s presidency, more than a few pundits jumped on the idea that Latino voters simply didn’t like the fact that her opponent was African American.</p>
<p>The only problem with this new conventional wisdom is that it’s wrong. “It’s one of those unqualified stereotypes about Latinos that people embrace even though there’s not a bit of data to support it,” says political scientist Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount University, an expert on Latino voting patterns. “Here in Los Angeles, all three black members of Congress represent heavily Latino districts and couldn’t survive without significant Latino support.”</p>
<p>Whatever the truth, we can know for a fact that a new storm front is forming now as Obama continues trying to be all race transcendant. God help him as he tries to reconcile all the intra-black rivenings (e.g. rap v Cosby, black social conservatism v. civil unions and abortion), whilst simultaneously trying to make blacks and browns learn to coexist.</p>
<p>The real mystery is why he even wants this job.</p>
<p /> | “Mexican Americans…take Spanish…in Summer School…And Get B’s”…: Or are we Buying Into The Hype? | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2008/01/mexican-americanstake-spanishin-summer-schooland-get-bs-or-are-we-buying-hype/ | 2008-01-29 | 4left
| “Mexican Americans…take Spanish…in Summer School…And Get B’s”…: Or are we Buying Into The Hype?
<p />
<p>It’s a long way to the Dem’s August convention in Denver, but it’s hard to see how Clinton can save herself from herself and her husband now. Her MLK vs LBJ Freudian slip was her last chance to stop the Billary <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/27/AR2008012701612.html?referrer=emailarticle" type="external">race-baiting train</a>and…she chose not to. Pissing on the South Carolina vote and the annoying little Negroes who dared to vote against her sealed her fate, it seems. Or it should have. We’ll see. But, in any event, Obama is far from home free. Now that he’s all but won the battle against old school white supremacy he can move on to new school black-Latino hostility. Are Latinos the new whites, the people who refuse to vote for blacks? The pundits are torn. From the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/28/MNH1UL57Q.DTL" type="external">SF Gate</a>:</p>
<p>Sen. Barack Obama easily won the African American vote in South Carolina, but to woo California Latinos, where he is running 3-to-1 behind rival Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, he is taking a giant risk: spotlighting his support for the red-hot issue of granting driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.</p>
<p>It’s a huge issue for Latinos, who want them. It’s also a huge issue for the general electorate, which most vehemently does not. Obama’s stand could come back to haunt him not only in a general election, but with other voters in California, where driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants helped undo former Gov. Gray Davis.</p>
<p>Clinton stumbled into that minefield in a debate last fall and quickly backed off. First she suggested a New York proposal for driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants might be reasonable. Then she denied endorsing the idea, and later came out against them.</p>
<p>Asked directly about the issue now, her California campaign spokesman said Clinton “believes the solution is to pass comprehensive immigration reform.”</p>
<p>“Barack Obama has not backed down” on driver’s licenses for undocumented people, said Federico Peña, a former Clinton administration Cabinet member and Denver mayor now supporting Obama. “I think when the Latino community hears Barack’s position on such an important and controversial issue, they’ll understand that his heart and his intellect is with Latino community.”</p>
<p>But what of blacks’ hearts and intellects? Not only must Obama woo Latinos he must do so without alienating blacks who, as a group, have little interest in Latino preferences. When, it must be said, they’re not actively hostile to them as with immigration and job competition.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.earlofarihutchinson.blogspot.com/" type="external">Earl Ofari Hutchinson</a> is not optimistic about Obama’s ability to appeal to Latinos though he will desperately need to. He notes:</p>
<p>Since [black Mayor Tom Bradley’s lack of appeal to LA’s Latino voters] then the political polarization between Latino voters and black candidates has been a virtual trademark in every other race where a black candidate has squared off against a white or Latino candidate. In 1993, Rudolph Giuliani, a tough law and order, conservative Republican running in heavily Democratic New York city against liberal African-American Democrat David Dinkins got nearly forty percent of the Latino vote. Nearly a decade later, Lee Brown, the former New York City police commissioner, got less than 30 percent of the Latino vote in his run-off race against Orlando Sanchez for Houston mayor. The even more popular, veteran former Congressman Ron Dellums received barely thirty percent of the Latino vote in his race for mayor in Oakland against a Latino challenger in 2005.</p>
<p>My friend Gregory Rodriguez though is trying to flip the script on the notion that Hispanics won’t vote for blacks and makes me reconsider my unexamined ideas about their anti-black feelings. He writes in <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1707221,00.html" type="external">Time</a>:</p>
<p>I imagine he said it as if he were confessing a deep, dark secret. And, of course (wink, wink), he had no idea his little confession would make the rounds. But when Sergio Bendixen, Hillary Clinton’s pollster and resident Latino expert, told the New Yorker after her win in New Hampshire that “the Hispanic voter–and I want to say this very carefully–has not shown a lot of willingness or affinity to support black candidates,” he started a firestorm of innuendo that has begun to shape how the media are covering the race for the Democratic presidential nomination in the heavily Hispanic Western states.</p>
<p />
<p>After the Jan. 19 Nevada caucuses, in which Latino voters supported Senator Clinton by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1, some journalists literally borrowed Bendixen’s analysis word for word before going on to speculate about Barack Obama’s political fortunes in such delegate-rich states as California and Texas. Ignoring the possibility that Nevada’s Latino voters actually preferred Clinton or, at the very least, had fond memories of her husband’s presidency, more than a few pundits jumped on the idea that Latino voters simply didn’t like the fact that her opponent was African American.</p>
<p>The only problem with this new conventional wisdom is that it’s wrong. “It’s one of those unqualified stereotypes about Latinos that people embrace even though there’s not a bit of data to support it,” says political scientist Fernando Guerra of Loyola Marymount University, an expert on Latino voting patterns. “Here in Los Angeles, all three black members of Congress represent heavily Latino districts and couldn’t survive without significant Latino support.”</p>
<p>Whatever the truth, we can know for a fact that a new storm front is forming now as Obama continues trying to be all race transcendant. God help him as he tries to reconcile all the intra-black rivenings (e.g. rap v Cosby, black social conservatism v. civil unions and abortion), whilst simultaneously trying to make blacks and browns learn to coexist.</p>
<p>The real mystery is why he even wants this job.</p>
<p /> | 599,982 |
<p>Patrick Caldwell/Mother Jones</p>
<p />
<p>“I almost had a Joe Wilson moment at the last State of the Union,” Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) said, referencing his colleague from South Carolina who shouted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgce06Yw2ro" type="external">“You lie!”</a> at President Obama during his address in 2009. What had so rankled Roe? Obama saying that the Republican Party was bereft of new policy ideas.</p>
<p>Roe was speaking at a panel on health care reform during yesterday’s <a href="http://heritageaction.com/policysummit/" type="external">Conservative Policy Summit</a> hosted by Heritage Action, a daylong effort to rebut the Democrats’ charge that Republicans lack constructive proposals. Heritage Action, the lobbying division of the conservative Washington, DC, think tank known for creating intraparty strife anytime a Republican strays from right-wing dogma, invited tea party favorites from Congress to present legislation they’ve proposed. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sold a bill he’s going to introduce to promote coal and oil projects. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) talked about a bill to give states more control over their transportation budgets. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) described his bill to bolster for-profit and online higher education. “I think the conservative movement is at its best when it’s all about ideas,” Lee said, noting that a new conservative agenda was overdue.</p>
<p>The event <a href="http://heritageaction.com/policysummit/" type="external">promised</a> “to show Americans what a bold, forward-looking, winning conservative reform agenda looks like.” Yet while the day was full of broad ideological strokes about reforming the federal government and defeating Democrats, the details were lackluster. The speakers failed to mention many of the issues Congress has focused on during the last few years: None of the 10 sessions focused on <a href="" type="internal">immigration reform</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gun regulation</a> was ignored, and the <a href="" type="internal">long-term unemployed</a> were largely cast aside. When an audience member asked Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who was there to talk about welfare reform, how the jobless could be brought back to work, he cited Obamacare as the problem. Cruz spent 35 minutes talking about the need to reform energy policy without mentioning <a href="" type="internal">climate change</a>—except for a joke about the chilly weather in the capital. “It’s cold. Al Gore told me this wouldn’t happen,” Cruz quipped, to much laughter from the crowd.</p>
<p>Roe, the almost Joe Wilson, was a good example of how lackluster the tea partiers were when it came to policy specifics. A former doctor who entered Congress in 2009, Roe littered his speech with folksy tales and mannerisms. A former OB-GYN, he cracked that he had delivered most of the voters in his district. Roe complained about how his current insurance plan contains pediatric care, even though both he and his wife had been “fixed.” He already had plans for how he’d celebrate the repeal of Obamacare: “I suggest we all join for a massive weenie roast and burn it.”</p>
<p>His actual proposal lacked that same oomph. Joined by fellow Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Roe pushed the <a href="http://rsc.scalise.house.gov/solutions/rsc-betterway.htm" type="external">American Health Care Reform Act</a>, which would repeal the Affordable Care Act while largely maintaining the pre-Obamacare system that shut millions out of the insurance marketplace. “Can’t you just tweak Obamacare? Yeah, with a nuclear bomb,” Roe said. He proudly claimed that his bill wasn’t much longer than a Sears, Roebuck catalog—adding that many in the Heritage crowd were too young to know what that meant.</p>
<p>Earlier in the morning, Jordan presented his take on welfare reform as an effort to aid those who receive government assistance by pushing them toward employment, glossing over the structural problems that have left so many people without work after the Great Recession. “You want to get at what causes poverty, it’s disincentivizing work,” he said. Jordan claimed that the “cure” for poverty was pushing people toward jobs, strong families, and free-market principles: “Less work and more help from government is now part of the Democrat platform.” But the extent of his reforms was to cut spending on means-tested programs and adding a work requirement to the food stamp program, a move that would leave millions of the long-term unemployed to go hungry.</p>
<p>Cruz’s energy speech contained the most specific details, and was received by a rapturous, standing-room-only crowd. And those details would gall anyone who considers themselves an environmentalist. Cruz’s bill, the American Energy Renaissance Act, would prevent the federal government from regulating <a href="" type="internal">fracking</a>, repeal the current ban on exporting crude oil, and put any future EPA regulation of coal up for a vote in Congress. One of the primary components of Cruz’s bill would be to approve the proposed <a href="" type="internal">Keystone XL pipeline</a>. “If you are a Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging Greenpeace activist, you should love the Keystone pipeline,” he said.</p>
<p /> | Ted Cruz: “It’s Cold. Al Gore Told Me This Wouldn’t Happen.” | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2014/02/heritage-action-policy-summit-ted-cruz-phil-roe/ | 2014-02-11 | 4left
| Ted Cruz: “It’s Cold. Al Gore Told Me This Wouldn’t Happen.”
<p>Patrick Caldwell/Mother Jones</p>
<p />
<p>“I almost had a Joe Wilson moment at the last State of the Union,” Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) said, referencing his colleague from South Carolina who shouted <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgce06Yw2ro" type="external">“You lie!”</a> at President Obama during his address in 2009. What had so rankled Roe? Obama saying that the Republican Party was bereft of new policy ideas.</p>
<p>Roe was speaking at a panel on health care reform during yesterday’s <a href="http://heritageaction.com/policysummit/" type="external">Conservative Policy Summit</a> hosted by Heritage Action, a daylong effort to rebut the Democrats’ charge that Republicans lack constructive proposals. Heritage Action, the lobbying division of the conservative Washington, DC, think tank known for creating intraparty strife anytime a Republican strays from right-wing dogma, invited tea party favorites from Congress to present legislation they’ve proposed. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sold a bill he’s going to introduce to promote coal and oil projects. Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) talked about a bill to give states more control over their transportation budgets. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) described his bill to bolster for-profit and online higher education. “I think the conservative movement is at its best when it’s all about ideas,” Lee said, noting that a new conservative agenda was overdue.</p>
<p>The event <a href="http://heritageaction.com/policysummit/" type="external">promised</a> “to show Americans what a bold, forward-looking, winning conservative reform agenda looks like.” Yet while the day was full of broad ideological strokes about reforming the federal government and defeating Democrats, the details were lackluster. The speakers failed to mention many of the issues Congress has focused on during the last few years: None of the 10 sessions focused on <a href="" type="internal">immigration reform</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gun regulation</a> was ignored, and the <a href="" type="internal">long-term unemployed</a> were largely cast aside. When an audience member asked Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who was there to talk about welfare reform, how the jobless could be brought back to work, he cited Obamacare as the problem. Cruz spent 35 minutes talking about the need to reform energy policy without mentioning <a href="" type="internal">climate change</a>—except for a joke about the chilly weather in the capital. “It’s cold. Al Gore told me this wouldn’t happen,” Cruz quipped, to much laughter from the crowd.</p>
<p>Roe, the almost Joe Wilson, was a good example of how lackluster the tea partiers were when it came to policy specifics. A former doctor who entered Congress in 2009, Roe littered his speech with folksy tales and mannerisms. A former OB-GYN, he cracked that he had delivered most of the voters in his district. Roe complained about how his current insurance plan contains pediatric care, even though both he and his wife had been “fixed.” He already had plans for how he’d celebrate the repeal of Obamacare: “I suggest we all join for a massive weenie roast and burn it.”</p>
<p>His actual proposal lacked that same oomph. Joined by fellow Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), Roe pushed the <a href="http://rsc.scalise.house.gov/solutions/rsc-betterway.htm" type="external">American Health Care Reform Act</a>, which would repeal the Affordable Care Act while largely maintaining the pre-Obamacare system that shut millions out of the insurance marketplace. “Can’t you just tweak Obamacare? Yeah, with a nuclear bomb,” Roe said. He proudly claimed that his bill wasn’t much longer than a Sears, Roebuck catalog—adding that many in the Heritage crowd were too young to know what that meant.</p>
<p>Earlier in the morning, Jordan presented his take on welfare reform as an effort to aid those who receive government assistance by pushing them toward employment, glossing over the structural problems that have left so many people without work after the Great Recession. “You want to get at what causes poverty, it’s disincentivizing work,” he said. Jordan claimed that the “cure” for poverty was pushing people toward jobs, strong families, and free-market principles: “Less work and more help from government is now part of the Democrat platform.” But the extent of his reforms was to cut spending on means-tested programs and adding a work requirement to the food stamp program, a move that would leave millions of the long-term unemployed to go hungry.</p>
<p>Cruz’s energy speech contained the most specific details, and was received by a rapturous, standing-room-only crowd. And those details would gall anyone who considers themselves an environmentalist. Cruz’s bill, the American Energy Renaissance Act, would prevent the federal government from regulating <a href="" type="internal">fracking</a>, repeal the current ban on exporting crude oil, and put any future EPA regulation of coal up for a vote in Congress. One of the primary components of Cruz’s bill would be to approve the proposed <a href="" type="internal">Keystone XL pipeline</a>. “If you are a Birkenstock-wearing, tree-hugging Greenpeace activist, you should love the Keystone pipeline,” he said.</p>
<p /> | 599,983 |
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/t/saturday-night-live/" type="external">Saturday Night Live</a>” will continue its live simultaneous airings in all time zones as it enters Season 43, <a href="http://variety.com/t/nbc/" type="external">NBC</a> announced Tuesday.</p>
<p>Each episode will air live at: 11:30 p.m. Eastern, 10:30 p.m. Central, 9:30 p.m. Mountain, and 8:30 p.m. Pacific. For the Mountain and Pacific time zones, “SNL” will be repeated at 11:30 p.m. “SNL” experimented with simultaneous airings last season, when the final four episodes were broadcast in the same fashion. The move came as the show was experiencing a major ratings renaissance thanks to regular appearances by Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy as now ex-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.</p>
<p>The long-running sketch comedy series picked up nine Emmys this year out of their 22 nominations, including wins for Baldwin, McCarthy, cast member Kate McKinnon, and Dave Chappelle, who hosted the post-election episode in November.&#160;The series also picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series.</p>
<p>Speaking backstage at the Emmys, Baldwin said that he believes his portrayal of Trump caught on because so many people are frustrated with the administration and he provides some measure of relief.</p>
<p>“I think people are overwhelmed,” he said. “A critical mass of people don’t accept where we are. Every day the thoughts and words and deeds are reinforced by this person, and I am a conduit for them. They’re suffering, they love their country as anyone around the world, they’re confused and they’re in pain. And they walk up to me and slap me on the back all day long and say, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’”</p>
<p>The season averaged approximately 11 million viewers per episode, making it the most-watched season since 1993-1994. It also averaged a 3.5 rating in adults 18-49, its best performance in that measure since the&#160;2009–2010 season.</p>
<p>The “Saturday Night Live” Season 43 premiere is set for Sept. 30 with host Ryan Gosling and musical guest Jay-Z.</p> | ‘Saturday Night Live’ to Continue Airing Live Coast-to-Coast | false | https://newsline.com/saturday-night-live-to-continue-airing-live-coast-to-coast/ | 2017-09-19 | 1right-center
| ‘Saturday Night Live’ to Continue Airing Live Coast-to-Coast
<p>“ <a href="http://variety.com/t/saturday-night-live/" type="external">Saturday Night Live</a>” will continue its live simultaneous airings in all time zones as it enters Season 43, <a href="http://variety.com/t/nbc/" type="external">NBC</a> announced Tuesday.</p>
<p>Each episode will air live at: 11:30 p.m. Eastern, 10:30 p.m. Central, 9:30 p.m. Mountain, and 8:30 p.m. Pacific. For the Mountain and Pacific time zones, “SNL” will be repeated at 11:30 p.m. “SNL” experimented with simultaneous airings last season, when the final four episodes were broadcast in the same fashion. The move came as the show was experiencing a major ratings renaissance thanks to regular appearances by Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump and Melissa McCarthy as now ex-White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.</p>
<p>The long-running sketch comedy series picked up nine Emmys this year out of their 22 nominations, including wins for Baldwin, McCarthy, cast member Kate McKinnon, and Dave Chappelle, who hosted the post-election episode in November.&#160;The series also picked up the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series.</p>
<p>Speaking backstage at the Emmys, Baldwin said that he believes his portrayal of Trump caught on because so many people are frustrated with the administration and he provides some measure of relief.</p>
<p>“I think people are overwhelmed,” he said. “A critical mass of people don’t accept where we are. Every day the thoughts and words and deeds are reinforced by this person, and I am a conduit for them. They’re suffering, they love their country as anyone around the world, they’re confused and they’re in pain. And they walk up to me and slap me on the back all day long and say, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’”</p>
<p>The season averaged approximately 11 million viewers per episode, making it the most-watched season since 1993-1994. It also averaged a 3.5 rating in adults 18-49, its best performance in that measure since the&#160;2009–2010 season.</p>
<p>The “Saturday Night Live” Season 43 premiere is set for Sept. 30 with host Ryan Gosling and musical guest Jay-Z.</p> | 599,984 |
<p>AT&amp;T, Inc. (T) will report its next earnings on Oct 24 AMC. The company reported the earnings of $0.74/Share in the last quarter where the estimated EPS by analysts was $0.75/share. The difference between the expected and actual EPS was $-0.01/share, which represents an Earnings surprise of -1.3%.</p>
<p>Many analysts are providing their Estimated Earnings analysis for AT&amp;T, Inc. and for the current quarter 23 analysts have projected that the stock could give an Average Earnings estimate of $0.65/share. These analysts have also pr</p> | Revenue Estimates Analysis Of AT&T, Inc. (T) | false | https://newsline.com/revenue-estimates-analysis-of-att-inc-t/ | 2017-11-30 | 1right-center
| Revenue Estimates Analysis Of AT&T, Inc. (T)
<p>AT&amp;T, Inc. (T) will report its next earnings on Oct 24 AMC. The company reported the earnings of $0.74/Share in the last quarter where the estimated EPS by analysts was $0.75/share. The difference between the expected and actual EPS was $-0.01/share, which represents an Earnings surprise of -1.3%.</p>
<p>Many analysts are providing their Estimated Earnings analysis for AT&amp;T, Inc. and for the current quarter 23 analysts have projected that the stock could give an Average Earnings estimate of $0.65/share. These analysts have also pr</p> | 599,985 |
<p>FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Point guard Jaylen Fisher could miss the rest of the season for No. 24 TCU after injuring his right knee. It is the second time in less than six months he hurt a knee in practice.</p>
<p>Fisher is scheduled to have surgery Thursday, two days after the latest injury.</p>
<p>After using crutches to come into the arena soon after tipoff Wednesday night, Fisher sat in a chair near the TCU bench while the No. 24 Horned Frogs played Iowa State. He was wearing long sweat pants, but it was obvious by a bulge that his right knee was either in a brace or heavily wrapped.</p>
<p>TCU fans gave Fisher a nice round of applause when he was shown on the video board above the court during a timeout with about 7 minutes left in the first half.</p>
<p>The sophomore guard previously tore the meniscus in his left knee when the team was preparing to go to Australia in August, a trip Fisher missed for surgery.</p>
<p>Fisher was ready for the start of the season, and played all 17 games before Wednesday. He was <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082251" type="external">averaging 12.1 points and was fifth in the Big 12 with 5.4 assists</a> per game.</p>
<p>He had a career-high 22 points in an overtime loss Saturday at No. 4 Oklahoma. He made 11 of 20 shots from 3-point range his last four games.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Point guard Jaylen Fisher could miss the rest of the season for No. 24 TCU after injuring his right knee. It is the second time in less than six months he hurt a knee in practice.</p>
<p>Fisher is scheduled to have surgery Thursday, two days after the latest injury.</p>
<p>After using crutches to come into the arena soon after tipoff Wednesday night, Fisher sat in a chair near the TCU bench while the No. 24 Horned Frogs played Iowa State. He was wearing long sweat pants, but it was obvious by a bulge that his right knee was either in a brace or heavily wrapped.</p>
<p>TCU fans gave Fisher a nice round of applause when he was shown on the video board above the court during a timeout with about 7 minutes left in the first half.</p>
<p>The sophomore guard previously tore the meniscus in his left knee when the team was preparing to go to Australia in August, a trip Fisher missed for surgery.</p>
<p>Fisher was ready for the start of the season, and played all 17 games before Wednesday. He was <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082251" type="external">averaging 12.1 points and was fifth in the Big 12 with 5.4 assists</a> per game.</p>
<p>He had a career-high 22 points in an overtime loss Saturday at No. 4 Oklahoma. He made 11 of 20 shots from 3-point range his last four games.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p> | TCU guard Fisher has another knee injury, may miss season | false | https://apnews.com/amp/f2fb573d6ca3426e858ec5a66bf68960 | 2018-01-18 | 2least
| TCU guard Fisher has another knee injury, may miss season
<p>FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Point guard Jaylen Fisher could miss the rest of the season for No. 24 TCU after injuring his right knee. It is the second time in less than six months he hurt a knee in practice.</p>
<p>Fisher is scheduled to have surgery Thursday, two days after the latest injury.</p>
<p>After using crutches to come into the arena soon after tipoff Wednesday night, Fisher sat in a chair near the TCU bench while the No. 24 Horned Frogs played Iowa State. He was wearing long sweat pants, but it was obvious by a bulge that his right knee was either in a brace or heavily wrapped.</p>
<p>TCU fans gave Fisher a nice round of applause when he was shown on the video board above the court during a timeout with about 7 minutes left in the first half.</p>
<p>The sophomore guard previously tore the meniscus in his left knee when the team was preparing to go to Australia in August, a trip Fisher missed for surgery.</p>
<p>Fisher was ready for the start of the season, and played all 17 games before Wednesday. He was <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082251" type="external">averaging 12.1 points and was fifth in the Big 12 with 5.4 assists</a> per game.</p>
<p>He had a career-high 22 points in an overtime loss Saturday at No. 4 Oklahoma. He made 11 of 20 shots from 3-point range his last four games.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p>
<p>FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — Point guard Jaylen Fisher could miss the rest of the season for No. 24 TCU after injuring his right knee. It is the second time in less than six months he hurt a knee in practice.</p>
<p>Fisher is scheduled to have surgery Thursday, two days after the latest injury.</p>
<p>After using crutches to come into the arena soon after tipoff Wednesday night, Fisher sat in a chair near the TCU bench while the No. 24 Horned Frogs played Iowa State. He was wearing long sweat pants, but it was obvious by a bulge that his right knee was either in a brace or heavily wrapped.</p>
<p>TCU fans gave Fisher a nice round of applause when he was shown on the video board above the court during a timeout with about 7 minutes left in the first half.</p>
<p>The sophomore guard previously tore the meniscus in his left knee when the team was preparing to go to Australia in August, a trip Fisher missed for surgery.</p>
<p>Fisher was ready for the start of the season, and played all 17 games before Wednesday. He was <a href="http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22082251" type="external">averaging 12.1 points and was fifth in the Big 12 with 5.4 assists</a> per game.</p>
<p>He had a career-high 22 points in an overtime loss Saturday at No. 4 Oklahoma. He made 11 of 20 shots from 3-point range his last four games.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP college basketball: <a href="http://www.collegebasketball.ap.org" type="external">www.collegebasketball.ap.org</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/AP_Top25" type="external">https://twitter.com/AP_Top25</a></p> | 599,986 |
<p>A few weeks ago, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was largely expected to survive an impeachment effort against her.</p>
<p>That all changed Tuesday, when the nation’s biggest political party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6752422/2016/03/29/rousseff-government-finished-brazil-opposition-leader" type="external">split from the governing coalition</a> that has so far kept Rousseff afloat.</p>
<p>Without its&#160;support, Rousseff looks increasingly unlikely to stave off the two-thirds vote of both houses of congress <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6752537/2016/03/29/factbox-brazils-presidential-impeachment-process" type="external">needed to impeach her</a>.</p>
<p>So, how did this turnaround happen?</p>
<p>Well, for starters, Rousseff has been terribly unpopular for at least a year. Opinion polls show her public approval hovering around 10 percent. And the last 12 months have been spectacularly brutal for her: The <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6715140/2016/01/05/brazil-risk" type="external">economy is imploding</a>; multiple corruption investigations&#160;are ensnaring&#160;— and jailing&#160;—&#160;rich&#160;and powerful politicians and business execs; and the <a href="" type="internal">Zika crisis</a> is exposing&#160;drastic problems with health care.</p>
<p>The president faces numerous impeachment efforts, including for allegedly&#160;manipulating the budget to boost public spending in order to&#160;look good for&#160;the 2014&#160;elections, which she denies.&#160;But that’s not all.</p>
<p>What analysts say really&#160;tipped the balance was Rousseff’s&#160;attempt in mid-March to <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6747093/2016/03/16/brazil-lula-cabinet-prosecution" type="external">appoint her predecessor</a>, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,&#160;to&#160;cabinet chief of staff.&#160;The former&#160;president, popularly known as&#160;Lula, is being investigated for suspected&#160;links to the huge corruption scandal surrounding the state oil company Petrobras. So, many Brazilians got angry about the possibility that he was merely trying to dodge prosecution with the&#160;special privileges enjoyed by government ministers. (Rousseff and Lula deny this.)</p>
<p>It&#160;set off <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6747363/2016/03/16/protests-brazil-after-release-rousseff-lula-recording" type="external">massive protests</a>, and&#160;even prompted the Brazilian Bar Association&#160;to file yet <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6752087/2016/03/28/brazil-lawyers-file-new-impeachment-case-against-rousseff" type="external">another impeachment request</a>. It also apparently angered&#160;Rousselff's big governing party partner.&#160;And so it&#160;split.</p>
<p>Rousseff's&#160;own vice president, Michel Temer,&#160;belongs to&#160;the&#160;party that just dumped her.&#160;If Rousseff is impeached, Temer&#160;will be her successor.</p>
<p>The fear among government supporters&#160;and, more broadly, Brazil’s left wing, is that her&#160;impeachment could therefore usher in more fiscally conservative leaders, of whom Temer would be the first.&#160;According to recent media reports, Temer’s&#160;party is&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6751646/2016/03/27/brazils-pmdb-plans-policies-new-government-if-rousseff-be-ousted-report" type="external">already planning</a>&#160;drastic reforms, including cutbacks to the hefty social spending and benefits of&#160;Lula and Rousseff.</p>
<p>But guess what:&#160;the veep himself is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/17/world/americas/corruption-scandals-in-brazil-reach-all-the-way-to-the-top.html" type="external">being investigated</a> for alleged corruption, too.</p>
<p>Let it be noted, although&#160;Rousseff is&#160;accused of fiscal impropriety, it’s not for padding out her personal finances&#160;from corruption. The accusations against&#160;Rousseff make her appear&#160;pretty clean in comparison with some of the people&#160;calling for her ouster, as the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-brazil-impeach-20160328-story.html" type="external">LA Times reports</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>That’s&#160;led commentators <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/18/brazil-is-engulfed-by-ruling-class-corruption-and-a-dangerous-subversion-of-democracy/" type="external">including Rio-based journalist Glenn Greenwald</a>, to liken her impeachment to a de-facto coup by Brazil’s right-wing power-brokers.</p>
<p>Perhaps fueling that theory, the country’s main stock and currency exchanges have <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-28/ibovespa-leads-global-gains-as-real-climbs-on-political-outlook" type="external">rejoiced</a> with&#160;each development seeming to&#160;inch&#160;Rousseff&#160;closer to&#160;her downfall.</p>
<p>Heloisa Galvão, a Brazilian resident in Boston, is afraid of what she’s seeing in her home country, whose democracy is little more than 30 years old.</p>
<p>“I hear from a lot of people who are advocating for impeachment that they miss the dictatorship. I don’t understand that,” Galvão told PRI's The World on Wednesday.</p>
<p>“So far there is no proof that she is involved in the corruption. And I think this a struggle for power. I don’t think she’s a strong president but I think she was elected,” said Galvão,&#160;who co-founded the Brazilian Women's Group in Boston.</p>
<p>All this is happening just&#160;months before&#160;the world turns its&#160;attention to Rio de Janeiro, host of the Summer&#160;Olympic Games. Despite the political and economic turmoil, several experts recently <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6749334/2016/03/21/brazil-olympics-prospects" type="external">said</a>&#160;that the Olympics should not be impacted. While things seem&#160;chaotic, they said, the country’s major institutions are holding up.</p>
<p>If the past few months have shown anything, however, it’s that political fortunes in Brazil can turn on a dime. And with more than three&#160;out of&#160;five&#160;federal politicians under some form of criminal investigation, the rest of 2016 looks&#160;crucial.</p>
<p>Nina Porzucki contributed to this report.</p> | Dilma’s doom: Why Brazil’s leader is inching toward impeachment | false | https://pri.org/stories/2016-03-30/dilma-s-doom-why-brazil-s-leader-inching-toward-impeachment | 2016-03-30 | 3left-center
| Dilma’s doom: Why Brazil’s leader is inching toward impeachment
<p>A few weeks ago, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was largely expected to survive an impeachment effort against her.</p>
<p>That all changed Tuesday, when the nation’s biggest political party, the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party, <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6752422/2016/03/29/rousseff-government-finished-brazil-opposition-leader" type="external">split from the governing coalition</a> that has so far kept Rousseff afloat.</p>
<p>Without its&#160;support, Rousseff looks increasingly unlikely to stave off the two-thirds vote of both houses of congress <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6752537/2016/03/29/factbox-brazils-presidential-impeachment-process" type="external">needed to impeach her</a>.</p>
<p>So, how did this turnaround happen?</p>
<p>Well, for starters, Rousseff has been terribly unpopular for at least a year. Opinion polls show her public approval hovering around 10 percent. And the last 12 months have been spectacularly brutal for her: The <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6715140/2016/01/05/brazil-risk" type="external">economy is imploding</a>; multiple corruption investigations&#160;are ensnaring&#160;— and jailing&#160;—&#160;rich&#160;and powerful politicians and business execs; and the <a href="" type="internal">Zika crisis</a> is exposing&#160;drastic problems with health care.</p>
<p>The president faces numerous impeachment efforts, including for allegedly&#160;manipulating the budget to boost public spending in order to&#160;look good for&#160;the 2014&#160;elections, which she denies.&#160;But that’s not all.</p>
<p>What analysts say really&#160;tipped the balance was Rousseff’s&#160;attempt in mid-March to <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6747093/2016/03/16/brazil-lula-cabinet-prosecution" type="external">appoint her predecessor</a>, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva,&#160;to&#160;cabinet chief of staff.&#160;The former&#160;president, popularly known as&#160;Lula, is being investigated for suspected&#160;links to the huge corruption scandal surrounding the state oil company Petrobras. So, many Brazilians got angry about the possibility that he was merely trying to dodge prosecution with the&#160;special privileges enjoyed by government ministers. (Rousseff and Lula deny this.)</p>
<p>It&#160;set off <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6747363/2016/03/16/protests-brazil-after-release-rousseff-lula-recording" type="external">massive protests</a>, and&#160;even prompted the Brazilian Bar Association&#160;to file yet <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6752087/2016/03/28/brazil-lawyers-file-new-impeachment-case-against-rousseff" type="external">another impeachment request</a>. It also apparently angered&#160;Rousselff's big governing party partner.&#160;And so it&#160;split.</p>
<p>Rousseff's&#160;own vice president, Michel Temer,&#160;belongs to&#160;the&#160;party that just dumped her.&#160;If Rousseff is impeached, Temer&#160;will be her successor.</p>
<p>The fear among government supporters&#160;and, more broadly, Brazil’s left wing, is that her&#160;impeachment could therefore usher in more fiscally conservative leaders, of whom Temer would be the first.&#160;According to recent media reports, Temer’s&#160;party is&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6751646/2016/03/27/brazils-pmdb-plans-policies-new-government-if-rousseff-be-ousted-report" type="external">already planning</a>&#160;drastic reforms, including cutbacks to the hefty social spending and benefits of&#160;Lula and Rousseff.</p>
<p>But guess what:&#160;the veep himself is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/17/world/americas/corruption-scandals-in-brazil-reach-all-the-way-to-the-top.html" type="external">being investigated</a> for alleged corruption, too.</p>
<p>Let it be noted, although&#160;Rousseff is&#160;accused of fiscal impropriety, it’s not for padding out her personal finances&#160;from corruption. The accusations against&#160;Rousseff make her appear&#160;pretty clean in comparison with some of the people&#160;calling for her ouster, as the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-brazil-impeach-20160328-story.html" type="external">LA Times reports</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>That’s&#160;led commentators <a href="https://theintercept.com/2016/03/18/brazil-is-engulfed-by-ruling-class-corruption-and-a-dangerous-subversion-of-democracy/" type="external">including Rio-based journalist Glenn Greenwald</a>, to liken her impeachment to a de-facto coup by Brazil’s right-wing power-brokers.</p>
<p>Perhaps fueling that theory, the country’s main stock and currency exchanges have <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-03-28/ibovespa-leads-global-gains-as-real-climbs-on-political-outlook" type="external">rejoiced</a> with&#160;each development seeming to&#160;inch&#160;Rousseff&#160;closer to&#160;her downfall.</p>
<p>Heloisa Galvão, a Brazilian resident in Boston, is afraid of what she’s seeing in her home country, whose democracy is little more than 30 years old.</p>
<p>“I hear from a lot of people who are advocating for impeachment that they miss the dictatorship. I don’t understand that,” Galvão told PRI's The World on Wednesday.</p>
<p>“So far there is no proof that she is involved in the corruption. And I think this a struggle for power. I don’t think she’s a strong president but I think she was elected,” said Galvão,&#160;who co-founded the Brazilian Women's Group in Boston.</p>
<p>All this is happening just&#160;months before&#160;the world turns its&#160;attention to Rio de Janeiro, host of the Summer&#160;Olympic Games. Despite the political and economic turmoil, several experts recently <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/article/6749334/2016/03/21/brazil-olympics-prospects" type="external">said</a>&#160;that the Olympics should not be impacted. While things seem&#160;chaotic, they said, the country’s major institutions are holding up.</p>
<p>If the past few months have shown anything, however, it’s that political fortunes in Brazil can turn on a dime. And with more than three&#160;out of&#160;five&#160;federal politicians under some form of criminal investigation, the rest of 2016 looks&#160;crucial.</p>
<p>Nina Porzucki contributed to this report.</p> | 599,987 |
<p />
<p>Swedish measurement technology and software firm Hexagon defended the time it took to announce the arrest of its Chief Executive Ola Rollen over alleged insider trading in Norway.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company said on Monday that Norway's economic crime authority had accused Rollen of insider trading in connection with an investment in Norwegian company Next Biometrics ASA in October last year, a transaction which did not involve Hexagon.</p>
<p>Rollen, who is now being held in Oslo, has denied wrongdoing in a statement issued by his lawyers.</p>
<p>A Nordic arrest warrant was issued by Norway on Oct. 23, a copy of the warrant obtained by Reuters showed.</p>
<p>Hexagon, a company Rollen turned from a sprawling conglomerate into one of Sweden's most valuable companies, said it had learned of his arrest late on Oct. 26, the day he was detained in Stockholm.</p>
<p>"But at that point we only had very summary and conflicting information. During Thursday and Friday we learned that a detention hearing would take place on the Saturday in Oslo," Hexagon said in e-mailed comments.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"We then took the decision to delay the publication of this information until we had a more complete picture."</p>
<p>Rollen was allowed to present Hexagon's third-quarter financial results in a conference call on Friday, Oct. 28, conducted in the presence of Swedish authorities.</p>
<p>He canceled a planned telephone call with media, including Reuters.</p>
<p>The company issued a statement about his detention only on Monday, Oct 31.</p>
<p>Hexagon shares fell 10 percent on Monday after the news of Rollen's detention was published. Its shares fell a further 1.9 percent by 0825 ET on Tuesday.</p>
<p>A district court in Norway has ordered Rollen to be detained for a week and he has been transferred to the Norwegian capital.</p>
<p>Hexagon's decision to delay making the information public was possible under European Union regulations and the rules of the Stockholm stock market, said Joakim Strid, Head of European Surveillance at the Nasdaq exchange, which owns the stock market. However, he added that the timing would be looked at.</p>
<p>"That is the company's decision. However, it is our responsibility to follow up how the company handles its provision of information," Strid told Reuters.</p>
<p>"On the basis of that we will now be asking the company questions about what deliberations they had ... We have a continuing dialogue with the company and the company is aware that it will need to provide information about this."</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Mia Shanley; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Keith Weir)</p> | Hexagon defends delay in disclosing CEO investigation | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2016/11/01/hexagon-defends-delay-in-disclosing-ceo-investigation.html | 2016-11-01 | 0right
| Hexagon defends delay in disclosing CEO investigation
<p />
<p>Swedish measurement technology and software firm Hexagon defended the time it took to announce the arrest of its Chief Executive Ola Rollen over alleged insider trading in Norway.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The company said on Monday that Norway's economic crime authority had accused Rollen of insider trading in connection with an investment in Norwegian company Next Biometrics ASA in October last year, a transaction which did not involve Hexagon.</p>
<p>Rollen, who is now being held in Oslo, has denied wrongdoing in a statement issued by his lawyers.</p>
<p>A Nordic arrest warrant was issued by Norway on Oct. 23, a copy of the warrant obtained by Reuters showed.</p>
<p>Hexagon, a company Rollen turned from a sprawling conglomerate into one of Sweden's most valuable companies, said it had learned of his arrest late on Oct. 26, the day he was detained in Stockholm.</p>
<p>"But at that point we only had very summary and conflicting information. During Thursday and Friday we learned that a detention hearing would take place on the Saturday in Oslo," Hexagon said in e-mailed comments.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>"We then took the decision to delay the publication of this information until we had a more complete picture."</p>
<p>Rollen was allowed to present Hexagon's third-quarter financial results in a conference call on Friday, Oct. 28, conducted in the presence of Swedish authorities.</p>
<p>He canceled a planned telephone call with media, including Reuters.</p>
<p>The company issued a statement about his detention only on Monday, Oct 31.</p>
<p>Hexagon shares fell 10 percent on Monday after the news of Rollen's detention was published. Its shares fell a further 1.9 percent by 0825 ET on Tuesday.</p>
<p>A district court in Norway has ordered Rollen to be detained for a week and he has been transferred to the Norwegian capital.</p>
<p>Hexagon's decision to delay making the information public was possible under European Union regulations and the rules of the Stockholm stock market, said Joakim Strid, Head of European Surveillance at the Nasdaq exchange, which owns the stock market. However, he added that the timing would be looked at.</p>
<p>"That is the company's decision. However, it is our responsibility to follow up how the company handles its provision of information," Strid told Reuters.</p>
<p>"On the basis of that we will now be asking the company questions about what deliberations they had ... We have a continuing dialogue with the company and the company is aware that it will need to provide information about this."</p>
<p>(Additional reporting by Mia Shanley; Editing by Niklas Pollard and Keith Weir)</p> | 599,988 |
<p>UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — A man accused of setting off “bottle bombs” at Washington-area movie theaters on six days earlier this year has pleaded guilty to charges in one Maryland incident and is expected to resolve other charges within months.</p>
<p>Manuel Joyner Bell Jr., 21, pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a May incident. Authorities said after his arrest earlier this year that he confessed to setting off bottle bombs on six occasions at five different theaters. The incidents, which took place from March through May, panicked moviegoers and led to evacuations of the theaters but caused no serious injuries.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell’s attorney, Warren Price, said Friday after a court hearing in the case that his client is “remorseful about any harm he may have caused.” But Price also said he viewed his client’s actions as a “misplaced childhood prank,” and said prosecutors had over-charged the crime.</p>
<p>Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks disagreed, calling Joyner Bell’s actions “no joke.” Speaking outside the courthouse she said Joyner Bell enjoyed causing fear and that her office expects to ask for at least six years in prison at his scheduled March 5 sentencing. Alsobrooks also said that at sentencing he will enter pleas in two other Maryland bottle bombings. Sentencing guidelines recommend he spend six to 21 years in prison, Alsobrooks said.</p>
<p>Court documents show authorities charged Joyner Bell after learning he used the movie ticket website Fandango to purchase tickets corresponding with the theaters and days of five of the bottle bombings. He also Tweeted updates on the media coverage around the incidents.</p>
<p>Prosecutor Michael Wallace said in court Friday that Joyner Bell made the bombs by combining an acid and aluminum inside a sealed plastic bottle, causing the bottle to explode. The containers included a bottle of Gatorade and bottles of Lipton Brisk iced tea, which Joyner Bell had as one of his “likes” on his Facebook page. Wallace said the movies he targeted included “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” ″Captain America,” ″Spider-Man 2" and “Godzilla.”</p>
<p>The charges Joyner Bell pleaded guilty to on Friday stemmed from a bottle bombing on May 24 at the AMC Magic Johnson Theater in Largo, which is east of Washington. The other Maryland bottle bombings took place in Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties. Joyner Bell also faces charges in Virginia, where he is said to have set off bottle bombs in the city of Alexandria and at the AMC Tysons Corner, the one theater he is said to have hit twice.</p>
<p>Also facing charges as a result of the incidents is Michael Hollingsworth of Takoma Park, Maryland, who authorities have said was Joyner Bell’s driver. Hollingsworth’s attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, said Friday that the men went to movies together but that Joyner Bell acted alone.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell is from Bowie, Maryland.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jessica Gresko at <a href="http://twitter.com/jessicagresko" type="external">http://twitter.com/jessicagresko</a></p>
<p>UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — A man accused of setting off “bottle bombs” at Washington-area movie theaters on six days earlier this year has pleaded guilty to charges in one Maryland incident and is expected to resolve other charges within months.</p>
<p>Manuel Joyner Bell Jr., 21, pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a May incident. Authorities said after his arrest earlier this year that he confessed to setting off bottle bombs on six occasions at five different theaters. The incidents, which took place from March through May, panicked moviegoers and led to evacuations of the theaters but caused no serious injuries.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell’s attorney, Warren Price, said Friday after a court hearing in the case that his client is “remorseful about any harm he may have caused.” But Price also said he viewed his client’s actions as a “misplaced childhood prank,” and said prosecutors had over-charged the crime.</p>
<p>Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks disagreed, calling Joyner Bell’s actions “no joke.” Speaking outside the courthouse she said Joyner Bell enjoyed causing fear and that her office expects to ask for at least six years in prison at his scheduled March 5 sentencing. Alsobrooks also said that at sentencing he will enter pleas in two other Maryland bottle bombings. Sentencing guidelines recommend he spend six to 21 years in prison, Alsobrooks said.</p>
<p>Court documents show authorities charged Joyner Bell after learning he used the movie ticket website Fandango to purchase tickets corresponding with the theaters and days of five of the bottle bombings. He also Tweeted updates on the media coverage around the incidents.</p>
<p>Prosecutor Michael Wallace said in court Friday that Joyner Bell made the bombs by combining an acid and aluminum inside a sealed plastic bottle, causing the bottle to explode. The containers included a bottle of Gatorade and bottles of Lipton Brisk iced tea, which Joyner Bell had as one of his “likes” on his Facebook page. Wallace said the movies he targeted included “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” ″Captain America,” ″Spider-Man 2" and “Godzilla.”</p>
<p>The charges Joyner Bell pleaded guilty to on Friday stemmed from a bottle bombing on May 24 at the AMC Magic Johnson Theater in Largo, which is east of Washington. The other Maryland bottle bombings took place in Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties. Joyner Bell also faces charges in Virginia, where he is said to have set off bottle bombs in the city of Alexandria and at the AMC Tysons Corner, the one theater he is said to have hit twice.</p>
<p>Also facing charges as a result of the incidents is Michael Hollingsworth of Takoma Park, Maryland, who authorities have said was Joyner Bell’s driver. Hollingsworth’s attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, said Friday that the men went to movies together but that Joyner Bell acted alone.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell is from Bowie, Maryland.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jessica Gresko at <a href="http://twitter.com/jessicagresko" type="external">http://twitter.com/jessicagresko</a></p> | Man accused of setting bottle bombs takes plea | false | https://apnews.com/4fe1f7a1edd74ef29a6857ff65ef0780 | 2014-12-12 | 2least
| Man accused of setting bottle bombs takes plea
<p>UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — A man accused of setting off “bottle bombs” at Washington-area movie theaters on six days earlier this year has pleaded guilty to charges in one Maryland incident and is expected to resolve other charges within months.</p>
<p>Manuel Joyner Bell Jr., 21, pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a May incident. Authorities said after his arrest earlier this year that he confessed to setting off bottle bombs on six occasions at five different theaters. The incidents, which took place from March through May, panicked moviegoers and led to evacuations of the theaters but caused no serious injuries.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell’s attorney, Warren Price, said Friday after a court hearing in the case that his client is “remorseful about any harm he may have caused.” But Price also said he viewed his client’s actions as a “misplaced childhood prank,” and said prosecutors had over-charged the crime.</p>
<p>Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks disagreed, calling Joyner Bell’s actions “no joke.” Speaking outside the courthouse she said Joyner Bell enjoyed causing fear and that her office expects to ask for at least six years in prison at his scheduled March 5 sentencing. Alsobrooks also said that at sentencing he will enter pleas in two other Maryland bottle bombings. Sentencing guidelines recommend he spend six to 21 years in prison, Alsobrooks said.</p>
<p>Court documents show authorities charged Joyner Bell after learning he used the movie ticket website Fandango to purchase tickets corresponding with the theaters and days of five of the bottle bombings. He also Tweeted updates on the media coverage around the incidents.</p>
<p>Prosecutor Michael Wallace said in court Friday that Joyner Bell made the bombs by combining an acid and aluminum inside a sealed plastic bottle, causing the bottle to explode. The containers included a bottle of Gatorade and bottles of Lipton Brisk iced tea, which Joyner Bell had as one of his “likes” on his Facebook page. Wallace said the movies he targeted included “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” ″Captain America,” ″Spider-Man 2" and “Godzilla.”</p>
<p>The charges Joyner Bell pleaded guilty to on Friday stemmed from a bottle bombing on May 24 at the AMC Magic Johnson Theater in Largo, which is east of Washington. The other Maryland bottle bombings took place in Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties. Joyner Bell also faces charges in Virginia, where he is said to have set off bottle bombs in the city of Alexandria and at the AMC Tysons Corner, the one theater he is said to have hit twice.</p>
<p>Also facing charges as a result of the incidents is Michael Hollingsworth of Takoma Park, Maryland, who authorities have said was Joyner Bell’s driver. Hollingsworth’s attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, said Friday that the men went to movies together but that Joyner Bell acted alone.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell is from Bowie, Maryland.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jessica Gresko at <a href="http://twitter.com/jessicagresko" type="external">http://twitter.com/jessicagresko</a></p>
<p>UPPER MARLBORO, Md. (AP) — A man accused of setting off “bottle bombs” at Washington-area movie theaters on six days earlier this year has pleaded guilty to charges in one Maryland incident and is expected to resolve other charges within months.</p>
<p>Manuel Joyner Bell Jr., 21, pleaded guilty Friday to charges stemming from a May incident. Authorities said after his arrest earlier this year that he confessed to setting off bottle bombs on six occasions at five different theaters. The incidents, which took place from March through May, panicked moviegoers and led to evacuations of the theaters but caused no serious injuries.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell’s attorney, Warren Price, said Friday after a court hearing in the case that his client is “remorseful about any harm he may have caused.” But Price also said he viewed his client’s actions as a “misplaced childhood prank,” and said prosecutors had over-charged the crime.</p>
<p>Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Alsobrooks disagreed, calling Joyner Bell’s actions “no joke.” Speaking outside the courthouse she said Joyner Bell enjoyed causing fear and that her office expects to ask for at least six years in prison at his scheduled March 5 sentencing. Alsobrooks also said that at sentencing he will enter pleas in two other Maryland bottle bombings. Sentencing guidelines recommend he spend six to 21 years in prison, Alsobrooks said.</p>
<p>Court documents show authorities charged Joyner Bell after learning he used the movie ticket website Fandango to purchase tickets corresponding with the theaters and days of five of the bottle bombings. He also Tweeted updates on the media coverage around the incidents.</p>
<p>Prosecutor Michael Wallace said in court Friday that Joyner Bell made the bombs by combining an acid and aluminum inside a sealed plastic bottle, causing the bottle to explode. The containers included a bottle of Gatorade and bottles of Lipton Brisk iced tea, which Joyner Bell had as one of his “likes” on his Facebook page. Wallace said the movies he targeted included “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” ″Captain America,” ″Spider-Man 2" and “Godzilla.”</p>
<p>The charges Joyner Bell pleaded guilty to on Friday stemmed from a bottle bombing on May 24 at the AMC Magic Johnson Theater in Largo, which is east of Washington. The other Maryland bottle bombings took place in Anne Arundel and Montgomery counties. Joyner Bell also faces charges in Virginia, where he is said to have set off bottle bombs in the city of Alexandria and at the AMC Tysons Corner, the one theater he is said to have hit twice.</p>
<p>Also facing charges as a result of the incidents is Michael Hollingsworth of Takoma Park, Maryland, who authorities have said was Joyner Bell’s driver. Hollingsworth’s attorney, J. Wyndal Gordon, said Friday that the men went to movies together but that Joyner Bell acted alone.</p>
<p>Joyner Bell is from Bowie, Maryland.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow Jessica Gresko at <a href="http://twitter.com/jessicagresko" type="external">http://twitter.com/jessicagresko</a></p> | 599,989 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Chris Hemsworth, left, and Jessica Chastain appear in a scene from "The Huntsman: Winter's War." (Universal Pictures/Giles Keyte)</p>
<p>How do you solve a problem like Kristen (Stewart)? If you're the filmmakers of "The Huntsman: Winter's War," you write Snow White entirely out of the sequel to "Snow White and the Huntsman."</p>
<p>It's no wonder that Universal would return to that well with a sequel, this time directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, the visual effects supervisor on the first film.</p>
<p>But the script acrobatics result in a bizarre prequel/sequel mash-up where Snow White doesn't show up in her own fairy tale.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The film focuses on two of the best elements from the first film: Charlize Theron's wickedly beautiful and scheming Ravenna, a queen who desires power and to be the fairest of them all, and Chris Hemsworth's ruggedly hunky ax-throwing huntsman, Eric. Added to the mix is Ravenna's sister Freya (Emily Blunt), a literal ice queen; and Sara (Jessica Chastain), a fellow huntsman and Eric's true love.</p>
<p>In the prequel portion, Freya suffers a devastating loss that causes her to spontaneously transform into ice. She retreats to the North to rule as the Ice Queen, wearing fabulously glittery gowns, and building an army by kidnapping children and forcing them to become her huntsmen (and women). Eric and Sara fall in love there, but Freya, jaded, has only one rule: no love.</p>
<p>In the sequel part, Eric and Sara have been driven apart, Ravenna's been dispatched and Freya is on a kingdom-conquering, kid-snatching roll. The tricky mirror-mirror has gone missing, too, and Eric has to get his hands on it before Freya does.</p>
<p />
<p>The film feels disjointed and lackluster. The scenes and character introductions feel random, the time jump implausible and no one is all that compelling. The huntsman is the least interesting part of this movie, though there's some entertainment in Hemsworth's accent - his best impression of Gerard Butler.</p>
<p>It also seems as if the writers of "The Huntsman: Winter's War" have been catching up on "Game of Thrones" - Chastain's arrow-slinging Sara sports a ridiculous Scottish accent to match Jon Snow's girlfriend Ygritte and the stormy lovers have to scale ice walls.</p>
<p>One bright spot are the dwarves used for comic relief. Once you get past the digital shrinking of the actors and the low-brow humor, they inject a much-needed levity, and Sheridan Smith almost steals the whole show as the sassy Mrs. Bromwyn. The visual effects, naturally, are truly amazing, particularly the shape-shifting liquid gold of the mirror.</p>
<p>Every time Charlize Theron is on screen, the movie gets at least somewhat interesting. Ultimately, the film presents a message that emotional vulnerability can be a source of strength.</p>
<p>Shockingly, it's not through the relationship of Eric and Sara, but through the feuding sister queens as the resentments and revelations between them feel authentic.</p>
<p>However, and despite all the talent involved, this "Huntsman" wildly misses its target.</p>
<p /> | A bizarre mashup: 'The Huntsman: Winter's War' misses the target | false | https://abqjournal.com/761307/a-bizarre-mashup.html | 2016-04-22 | 2least
| A bizarre mashup: 'The Huntsman: Winter's War' misses the target
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Chris Hemsworth, left, and Jessica Chastain appear in a scene from "The Huntsman: Winter's War." (Universal Pictures/Giles Keyte)</p>
<p>How do you solve a problem like Kristen (Stewart)? If you're the filmmakers of "The Huntsman: Winter's War," you write Snow White entirely out of the sequel to "Snow White and the Huntsman."</p>
<p>It's no wonder that Universal would return to that well with a sequel, this time directed by Cedric Nicolas-Troyan, the visual effects supervisor on the first film.</p>
<p>But the script acrobatics result in a bizarre prequel/sequel mash-up where Snow White doesn't show up in her own fairy tale.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The film focuses on two of the best elements from the first film: Charlize Theron's wickedly beautiful and scheming Ravenna, a queen who desires power and to be the fairest of them all, and Chris Hemsworth's ruggedly hunky ax-throwing huntsman, Eric. Added to the mix is Ravenna's sister Freya (Emily Blunt), a literal ice queen; and Sara (Jessica Chastain), a fellow huntsman and Eric's true love.</p>
<p>In the prequel portion, Freya suffers a devastating loss that causes her to spontaneously transform into ice. She retreats to the North to rule as the Ice Queen, wearing fabulously glittery gowns, and building an army by kidnapping children and forcing them to become her huntsmen (and women). Eric and Sara fall in love there, but Freya, jaded, has only one rule: no love.</p>
<p>In the sequel part, Eric and Sara have been driven apart, Ravenna's been dispatched and Freya is on a kingdom-conquering, kid-snatching roll. The tricky mirror-mirror has gone missing, too, and Eric has to get his hands on it before Freya does.</p>
<p />
<p>The film feels disjointed and lackluster. The scenes and character introductions feel random, the time jump implausible and no one is all that compelling. The huntsman is the least interesting part of this movie, though there's some entertainment in Hemsworth's accent - his best impression of Gerard Butler.</p>
<p>It also seems as if the writers of "The Huntsman: Winter's War" have been catching up on "Game of Thrones" - Chastain's arrow-slinging Sara sports a ridiculous Scottish accent to match Jon Snow's girlfriend Ygritte and the stormy lovers have to scale ice walls.</p>
<p>One bright spot are the dwarves used for comic relief. Once you get past the digital shrinking of the actors and the low-brow humor, they inject a much-needed levity, and Sheridan Smith almost steals the whole show as the sassy Mrs. Bromwyn. The visual effects, naturally, are truly amazing, particularly the shape-shifting liquid gold of the mirror.</p>
<p>Every time Charlize Theron is on screen, the movie gets at least somewhat interesting. Ultimately, the film presents a message that emotional vulnerability can be a source of strength.</p>
<p>Shockingly, it's not through the relationship of Eric and Sara, but through the feuding sister queens as the resentments and revelations between them feel authentic.</p>
<p>However, and despite all the talent involved, this "Huntsman" wildly misses its target.</p>
<p /> | 599,990 |
<p>Call it a Santa Claus Rally -- <a href="" type="internal">stocks surged to new highs on Tuesday</a> with the Dow hitting its 32nd record close of the year. Energy was the top performing sector for a second day straight.</p>
<p>It was a November to remember for automakers. Overall, the industry saw its best November sales in more than a decade. Leading the way was Fiat-Chrysler, which saw a 20% year-over-year rise in sales. And how about this stunner: One of its best performing brands, Jeep, was up over 25%. <a href="" type="internal">Mark Allen, Chrysler head of Jeep design, told FBN</a> what the inspiration behind the new Cherokee design is, and why local Jeep customers are loving it.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Now, here's what's coming up tomorrow: We'll get the ADP private sector employment numbers for the month of November at 8:15 a.m. ET. Then we'll get the Fed's latest reading of economic conditions, the Beige Book, out at 2 p.m. ET. We'll also hear from two Fed officials, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher and Philadelphia Fed Chief Charles Plosser.</p>
<p>Be sure to check out all of today's interviews on <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> and tune into Countdown to the Closing Bell every week day at 3 p.m. ET.</p> | Claman on Call: Early Christmas for Stocks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/12/02/claman-on-call-early-christmas-for-stocks.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Claman on Call: Early Christmas for Stocks
<p>Call it a Santa Claus Rally -- <a href="" type="internal">stocks surged to new highs on Tuesday</a> with the Dow hitting its 32nd record close of the year. Energy was the top performing sector for a second day straight.</p>
<p>It was a November to remember for automakers. Overall, the industry saw its best November sales in more than a decade. Leading the way was Fiat-Chrysler, which saw a 20% year-over-year rise in sales. And how about this stunner: One of its best performing brands, Jeep, was up over 25%. <a href="" type="internal">Mark Allen, Chrysler head of Jeep design, told FBN</a> what the inspiration behind the new Cherokee design is, and why local Jeep customers are loving it.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Now, here's what's coming up tomorrow: We'll get the ADP private sector employment numbers for the month of November at 8:15 a.m. ET. Then we'll get the Fed's latest reading of economic conditions, the Beige Book, out at 2 p.m. ET. We'll also hear from two Fed officials, Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher and Philadelphia Fed Chief Charles Plosser.</p>
<p>Be sure to check out all of today's interviews on <a href="" type="internal">FOXBusiness.com/OnCall</a> and tune into Countdown to the Closing Bell every week day at 3 p.m. ET.</p> | 599,991 |
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday morning's drawing of the Georgia Lottery's "All or Nothing Morning" game were:</p>
<p>01-02-05-06-07-12-14-17-19-21-22-23</p>
<p>(one, two, five, six, seven, twelve, fourteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three)</p>
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday morning's drawing of the Georgia Lottery's "All or Nothing Morning" game were:</p>
<p>01-02-05-06-07-12-14-17-19-21-22-23</p>
<p>(one, two, five, six, seven, twelve, fourteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three)</p> | Winning numbers drawn in 'All or Nothing Morning' game | false | https://apnews.com/amp/1b4c5bd14741475385612183a9dafdd9 | 2018-01-01 | 2least
| Winning numbers drawn in 'All or Nothing Morning' game
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday morning's drawing of the Georgia Lottery's "All or Nothing Morning" game were:</p>
<p>01-02-05-06-07-12-14-17-19-21-22-23</p>
<p>(one, two, five, six, seven, twelve, fourteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three)</p>
<p>ATLANTA (AP) _ The winning numbers in Monday morning's drawing of the Georgia Lottery's "All or Nothing Morning" game were:</p>
<p>01-02-05-06-07-12-14-17-19-21-22-23</p>
<p>(one, two, five, six, seven, twelve, fourteen, seventeen, nineteen, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three)</p> | 599,992 |
<p>The majority of the police force in the Mexican town of&#160;Marcos Castellanos resigned on Saturday, after a series of attacks targetted their force during the last days of 2012.</p>
<p>The violence killed four of the force's officers and seriously injured five others, <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/340551" type="external">according to Digital Journal</a>. One of the officers was also kidnapped, and his location remains unknown.&#160;</p>
<p>The police force's director is among those who have resigned.&#160;</p>
<p>"The station is quiet," the mayor of Marcos Castellanos, Jose de Jesus Alvarez Bautista, <a href="http://www.respuesta.com.mx/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=24959&amp;catid=58&amp;Itemid=25" type="external">told Spanish news source Respuesta</a>. "Obviously people are a bit worried after the events of [the 22nd and 23rd of December], morning, but as we know [...] it is a fight between the groups of Michoacan and Jalisco," he added, referring to the frequent bouts of violence, often drug-related, along the border of the two states.</p>
<p>The town's security is now being enforced by Mexico's federal police and the military, <a href="http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_05/All-police-resign-in-Mexican-city/" type="external">according to the Voice of Russia</a>.</p>
<p>"Yes, there are patrols of the various authorities, but they are very sporadic and what we need is permanent security," a female resident who asked to remain anonymous, said, according to Digital Journal.&#160;"The criminals are more armed than the policemen and the cops are not going to lose their lives for the salary they are paid."&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/120924/mexico-35-police-officers-arrested-drug-cartel-links" type="external">&#160;Mexico: 35 police officers arrested for drug cartel links</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | Majority of police force in Marcos Castellanos, Mexico resigns | false | https://pri.org/stories/2013-01-05/majority-police-force-marcos-castellanos-mexico-resigns | 2013-01-05 | 3left-center
| Majority of police force in Marcos Castellanos, Mexico resigns
<p>The majority of the police force in the Mexican town of&#160;Marcos Castellanos resigned on Saturday, after a series of attacks targetted their force during the last days of 2012.</p>
<p>The violence killed four of the force's officers and seriously injured five others, <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/340551" type="external">according to Digital Journal</a>. One of the officers was also kidnapped, and his location remains unknown.&#160;</p>
<p>The police force's director is among those who have resigned.&#160;</p>
<p>"The station is quiet," the mayor of Marcos Castellanos, Jose de Jesus Alvarez Bautista, <a href="http://www.respuesta.com.mx/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=24959&amp;catid=58&amp;Itemid=25" type="external">told Spanish news source Respuesta</a>. "Obviously people are a bit worried after the events of [the 22nd and 23rd of December], morning, but as we know [...] it is a fight between the groups of Michoacan and Jalisco," he added, referring to the frequent bouts of violence, often drug-related, along the border of the two states.</p>
<p>The town's security is now being enforced by Mexico's federal police and the military, <a href="http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_05/All-police-resign-in-Mexican-city/" type="external">according to the Voice of Russia</a>.</p>
<p>"Yes, there are patrols of the various authorities, but they are very sporadic and what we need is permanent security," a female resident who asked to remain anonymous, said, according to Digital Journal.&#160;"The criminals are more armed than the policemen and the cops are not going to lose their lives for the salary they are paid."&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/mexico/120924/mexico-35-police-officers-arrested-drug-cartel-links" type="external">&#160;Mexico: 35 police officers arrested for drug cartel links</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 599,993 |
<p>US Sen. John Kerry, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Thursday that the State Department had "clear warning signs" ahead of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which cost four American lives in September.</p>
<p>Kerry, in the running to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, said "clearly mistakes were made" at the State Department. His remarks followed the release of <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/121219/the-benghazi-report-what-you-need-know" type="external">a report on the attacks</a> conducted by an independent body, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-mistakes-made-state-libya-assault-132537758--politics.html" type="external">according to the Associated Press</a>.</p>
<p>Kerry also said lawmakers were to blame for not providing the State Department with enough money for security at its diplomatic posts. Next year, the department is seeking $1.4 billion to increase security.</p>
<p>Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January, said Kerry, <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/12/kerry-hillary-to-testify-on-benghazi-in-january-152500.html?hp=l4" type="external">according to Politico</a>. She was unable to attend Thursday's hearings due to illness. "All of you who know [Clinton] would know she would rather be here today," he said.</p>
<p>"I assure you, it is not her choice" not to attend, said Kerry. "She looks forward to appearing before the committee in January."</p>
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324461604578191184115612280.html" type="external">The Wall Street Journal noted</a> that the House Foreign Affairs Committee would hold its own hearing later in the day, focusing on the report by the Accountability Review Board.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/121219/the-benghazi-report-what-you-need-know" type="external">The Benghazi report: What you need to know</a></p>
<p>Four State Department officials were disciplined as a result of the report, which was released on Tuesday. One resigned, while three others were placed on administrative leave and relieved of their duties, according to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.</p>
<p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/19/us/state-benghazi-report/index.html" type="external">CNN reported</a> that Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of diplomatic security, resigned, while Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Charlene Lamb was one of the officials placed on administrative leave.</p>
<p>CNN noted that documents showed Lamb had denied repeated requests for additional security in Libya.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121219/gaddafi-sodomy-benghazi-hillary-clinton-us-embassy-libya" type="external">Three State Department staff resign after scathing report blasts State over Benghazi consulate attacks (VIDEO)</a></p> | Benghazi hearings: John Kerry blames State Dept., and Congress | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-12-20/benghazi-hearings-john-kerry-blames-state-dept-and-congress | 2012-12-20 | 3left-center
| Benghazi hearings: John Kerry blames State Dept., and Congress
<p>US Sen. John Kerry, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said on Thursday that the State Department had "clear warning signs" ahead of the attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which cost four American lives in September.</p>
<p>Kerry, in the running to replace Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State, said "clearly mistakes were made" at the State Department. His remarks followed the release of <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/121219/the-benghazi-report-what-you-need-know" type="external">a report on the attacks</a> conducted by an independent body, <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-mistakes-made-state-libya-assault-132537758--politics.html" type="external">according to the Associated Press</a>.</p>
<p>Kerry also said lawmakers were to blame for not providing the State Department with enough money for security at its diplomatic posts. Next year, the department is seeking $1.4 billion to increase security.</p>
<p>Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in January, said Kerry, <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/12/kerry-hillary-to-testify-on-benghazi-in-january-152500.html?hp=l4" type="external">according to Politico</a>. She was unable to attend Thursday's hearings due to illness. "All of you who know [Clinton] would know she would rather be here today," he said.</p>
<p>"I assure you, it is not her choice" not to attend, said Kerry. "She looks forward to appearing before the committee in January."</p>
<p><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324461604578191184115612280.html" type="external">The Wall Street Journal noted</a> that the House Foreign Affairs Committee would hold its own hearing later in the day, focusing on the report by the Accountability Review Board.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/121219/the-benghazi-report-what-you-need-know" type="external">The Benghazi report: What you need to know</a></p>
<p>Four State Department officials were disciplined as a result of the report, which was released on Tuesday. One resigned, while three others were placed on administrative leave and relieved of their duties, according to State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.</p>
<p><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2012/12/19/us/state-benghazi-report/index.html" type="external">CNN reported</a> that Eric Boswell, assistant secretary of diplomatic security, resigned, while Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security Charlene Lamb was one of the officials placed on administrative leave.</p>
<p>CNN noted that documents showed Lamb had denied repeated requests for additional security in Libya.</p>
<p>More on GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121219/gaddafi-sodomy-benghazi-hillary-clinton-us-embassy-libya" type="external">Three State Department staff resign after scathing report blasts State over Benghazi consulate attacks (VIDEO)</a></p> | 599,994 |
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - John Boyega may have a lot in common with Finn, the character he plays in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," but a trip to a London toy store left the actor floored.</p>
<p>Boyega said one of the most surprising experiences he had while making the film was seeing his own larger-than-life likeness at the Toys "R'' Us store he frequented as a kid. The actor had gone to find a gift for his newborn nephew when he came face to face with a giant cardboard cutout of himself as Finn.</p>
<p>"There were toys everywhere, and I was just like, 'Wow,'" Boyega said in a recent interview. "I'm on the shelf. It's strange."</p>
<p>While he has gotten more accustomed to his place in the Star Wars universe after making his debut as Finn in "The Force Awakens," both he and his character remain awed by the scope of that world.</p>
<p>A former Stormtrooper who escapes the First Order to join the Resistance, Finn is now emboldened to discover where he fits into the fight, Boyega said.</p>
<p>"It creates a very brave Finn and he's eager to do anything to find out and prove that this is my position," said Boyega.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old actor is poised to do the same in Hollywood: His work in Star Wars has led to other high-profile roles, including a part in Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" and in next year's "Pacific Rim Uprising."</p>
<p>"I feel like during the filming of 'The Last Jedi,' we were kind of living parallels to our characters in a sense," Boyega said. "Because Finn is now well known in the Star Wars universe, and for me, I'm known within the industry and our planet and whatever. Now he has this reputation and it's hard for him to keep that up while still figuring himself out because he's been labeled as a hero."</p>
<p>Finn's onscreen heroics in "The Last Jedi" include an epic battle with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) that took months of training and preparation.</p>
<p>Off-screen, Boyega was a hero to newcomer Kelly Marie Tran, who plays Rose Tico. The two met while she was auditioning for the role, and he has advocated for her ever since.</p>
<p>"He's so generous in terms of being an actor and really kind of teaching me the ropes because I was new to this," Tran said. "I truly feel like I couldn't have had a better partner in this whole experience."</p>
<p>As for Boyega, he's had some time to get used to the idea of seeing himself as an action figure. But that was only the beginning of "The Last Jedi" branding.</p>
<p>"I recently went to the grocery store and saw myself on water," he said. "That's the biggest it gets for me. Everybody needs water, you know what I mean?"</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/APSandy" type="external">www.twitter.com/APSandy</a> .</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - John Boyega may have a lot in common with Finn, the character he plays in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," but a trip to a London toy store left the actor floored.</p>
<p>Boyega said one of the most surprising experiences he had while making the film was seeing his own larger-than-life likeness at the Toys "R'' Us store he frequented as a kid. The actor had gone to find a gift for his newborn nephew when he came face to face with a giant cardboard cutout of himself as Finn.</p>
<p>"There were toys everywhere, and I was just like, 'Wow,'" Boyega said in a recent interview. "I'm on the shelf. It's strange."</p>
<p>While he has gotten more accustomed to his place in the Star Wars universe after making his debut as Finn in "The Force Awakens," both he and his character remain awed by the scope of that world.</p>
<p>A former Stormtrooper who escapes the First Order to join the Resistance, Finn is now emboldened to discover where he fits into the fight, Boyega said.</p>
<p>"It creates a very brave Finn and he's eager to do anything to find out and prove that this is my position," said Boyega.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old actor is poised to do the same in Hollywood: His work in Star Wars has led to other high-profile roles, including a part in Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" and in next year's "Pacific Rim Uprising."</p>
<p>"I feel like during the filming of 'The Last Jedi,' we were kind of living parallels to our characters in a sense," Boyega said. "Because Finn is now well known in the Star Wars universe, and for me, I'm known within the industry and our planet and whatever. Now he has this reputation and it's hard for him to keep that up while still figuring himself out because he's been labeled as a hero."</p>
<p>Finn's onscreen heroics in "The Last Jedi" include an epic battle with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) that took months of training and preparation.</p>
<p>Off-screen, Boyega was a hero to newcomer Kelly Marie Tran, who plays Rose Tico. The two met while she was auditioning for the role, and he has advocated for her ever since.</p>
<p>"He's so generous in terms of being an actor and really kind of teaching me the ropes because I was new to this," Tran said. "I truly feel like I couldn't have had a better partner in this whole experience."</p>
<p>As for Boyega, he's had some time to get used to the idea of seeing himself as an action figure. But that was only the beginning of "The Last Jedi" branding.</p>
<p>"I recently went to the grocery store and saw myself on water," he said. "That's the biggest it gets for me. Everybody needs water, you know what I mean?"</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/APSandy" type="external">www.twitter.com/APSandy</a> .</p> | John Boyega talks 'Last Jedi,' personal parallels with Finn | false | https://apnews.com/amp/b536791b83d241c380f904fd0024f4a1 | 2017-12-07 | 2least
| John Boyega talks 'Last Jedi,' personal parallels with Finn
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - John Boyega may have a lot in common with Finn, the character he plays in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," but a trip to a London toy store left the actor floored.</p>
<p>Boyega said one of the most surprising experiences he had while making the film was seeing his own larger-than-life likeness at the Toys "R'' Us store he frequented as a kid. The actor had gone to find a gift for his newborn nephew when he came face to face with a giant cardboard cutout of himself as Finn.</p>
<p>"There were toys everywhere, and I was just like, 'Wow,'" Boyega said in a recent interview. "I'm on the shelf. It's strange."</p>
<p>While he has gotten more accustomed to his place in the Star Wars universe after making his debut as Finn in "The Force Awakens," both he and his character remain awed by the scope of that world.</p>
<p>A former Stormtrooper who escapes the First Order to join the Resistance, Finn is now emboldened to discover where he fits into the fight, Boyega said.</p>
<p>"It creates a very brave Finn and he's eager to do anything to find out and prove that this is my position," said Boyega.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old actor is poised to do the same in Hollywood: His work in Star Wars has led to other high-profile roles, including a part in Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" and in next year's "Pacific Rim Uprising."</p>
<p>"I feel like during the filming of 'The Last Jedi,' we were kind of living parallels to our characters in a sense," Boyega said. "Because Finn is now well known in the Star Wars universe, and for me, I'm known within the industry and our planet and whatever. Now he has this reputation and it's hard for him to keep that up while still figuring himself out because he's been labeled as a hero."</p>
<p>Finn's onscreen heroics in "The Last Jedi" include an epic battle with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) that took months of training and preparation.</p>
<p>Off-screen, Boyega was a hero to newcomer Kelly Marie Tran, who plays Rose Tico. The two met while she was auditioning for the role, and he has advocated for her ever since.</p>
<p>"He's so generous in terms of being an actor and really kind of teaching me the ropes because I was new to this," Tran said. "I truly feel like I couldn't have had a better partner in this whole experience."</p>
<p>As for Boyega, he's had some time to get used to the idea of seeing himself as an action figure. But that was only the beginning of "The Last Jedi" branding.</p>
<p>"I recently went to the grocery store and saw myself on water," he said. "That's the biggest it gets for me. Everybody needs water, you know what I mean?"</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/APSandy" type="external">www.twitter.com/APSandy</a> .</p>
<p>LOS ANGELES (AP) - John Boyega may have a lot in common with Finn, the character he plays in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," but a trip to a London toy store left the actor floored.</p>
<p>Boyega said one of the most surprising experiences he had while making the film was seeing his own larger-than-life likeness at the Toys "R'' Us store he frequented as a kid. The actor had gone to find a gift for his newborn nephew when he came face to face with a giant cardboard cutout of himself as Finn.</p>
<p>"There were toys everywhere, and I was just like, 'Wow,'" Boyega said in a recent interview. "I'm on the shelf. It's strange."</p>
<p>While he has gotten more accustomed to his place in the Star Wars universe after making his debut as Finn in "The Force Awakens," both he and his character remain awed by the scope of that world.</p>
<p>A former Stormtrooper who escapes the First Order to join the Resistance, Finn is now emboldened to discover where he fits into the fight, Boyega said.</p>
<p>"It creates a very brave Finn and he's eager to do anything to find out and prove that this is my position," said Boyega.</p>
<p>The 25-year-old actor is poised to do the same in Hollywood: His work in Star Wars has led to other high-profile roles, including a part in Kathryn Bigelow's "Detroit" and in next year's "Pacific Rim Uprising."</p>
<p>"I feel like during the filming of 'The Last Jedi,' we were kind of living parallels to our characters in a sense," Boyega said. "Because Finn is now well known in the Star Wars universe, and for me, I'm known within the industry and our planet and whatever. Now he has this reputation and it's hard for him to keep that up while still figuring himself out because he's been labeled as a hero."</p>
<p>Finn's onscreen heroics in "The Last Jedi" include an epic battle with Captain Phasma (Gwendoline Christie) that took months of training and preparation.</p>
<p>Off-screen, Boyega was a hero to newcomer Kelly Marie Tran, who plays Rose Tico. The two met while she was auditioning for the role, and he has advocated for her ever since.</p>
<p>"He's so generous in terms of being an actor and really kind of teaching me the ropes because I was new to this," Tran said. "I truly feel like I couldn't have had a better partner in this whole experience."</p>
<p>As for Boyega, he's had some time to get used to the idea of seeing himself as an action figure. But that was only the beginning of "The Last Jedi" branding.</p>
<p>"I recently went to the grocery store and saw myself on water," he said. "That's the biggest it gets for me. Everybody needs water, you know what I mean?"</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/APSandy" type="external">www.twitter.com/APSandy</a> .</p> | 599,995 |
<p />
<p>Kiribati <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&amp;search_source=search_form&amp;version=llv1&amp;anyorall=all&amp;safesearch=1&amp;searchterm=kiribati&amp;search_group=&amp;orient=&amp;search_cat=&amp;searchtermx=&amp;photographer_name=&amp;people_gender=&amp;people_age=&amp;people_ethnicity=&amp;people_number=&amp;commercial_ok=&amp;color=&amp;show_color_wheel=1#id=1089610&amp;src=1ba3f96e7509a66229401442ed541415-1-3" type="external">lidian</a>/Shutterstock</p>
<p>In climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, the most urgent calls for action have come from the world’s small island nations. For many of those nations, the negotiations aren’t about some far-off, abstract problem. It’s something they’re already living with, as <a href="http://www.cawcr.gov.au/projects/PCCSP/publications.html" type="external">a new Australian research project</a> on the dramatic climate shifts underway for 15 Pacific nations reaffirmed this week.</p>
<p>Basically, the report finds that the closer one lives to the equator, the warmer it’s going to get. And even in the best-case scenario, oceans will rise up to 12 inches by 2100. It confirms what Pacific islanders have long feared: Home is getting windier, saltier, wetter, hotter and, well, submerged in water.</p>
<p>No wonder the Pacific islanders have banded together in the climate talks. Many negotiate together as the Alliance of Small Island States, or AOSIS. Representatives of those nations have demanded immediate action in Durban, rather than further delay, as some parties have suggested. The group also <a href="" type="internal">issued a joint statement</a> with the European Union and the least-developed countries calling for a legally binding agreement. “We have all that it takes to begin the work right now,” said Karl Hood, the chairman of AOSIS and minister for foreign affairs in Granada. “We believe that waiting is a disaster.”</p>
<p>“Where we live, some say it’s a paradise,” Hood continued. “It’s a paradise when you come to visit. But we live there. We don’t leave after a week and go back home. This is our lives.”</p>
<p>Taito Nakalevu, a climate change adaptation officer with the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, has also been in Durban for the meeting and discussed this latest report. “The soil, the water, is slowly being affected,” he said. “This is our livelihood.” He noted a single flood in his homeland of Fiji in 2009 that did $162 million in damage in just one town, a burden for the country. “The funds that need to be used for development are being used for adaptation,” he said. “We cannot cope with that.”</p>
<p>The Climate Desk’s James West also spoke with one member of the Australian research team via Skype in Sydney—’scuse the poor connection, it’s a long way!—to take the temperature on the report.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | Sinking Feeling: More Bad News for Pacific Island Nations | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/pacific-islands-get-fresh-whiff-disaster/ | 2011-12-09 | 4left
| Sinking Feeling: More Bad News for Pacific Island Nations
<p />
<p>Kiribati <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/cat.mhtml?lang=en&amp;search_source=search_form&amp;version=llv1&amp;anyorall=all&amp;safesearch=1&amp;searchterm=kiribati&amp;search_group=&amp;orient=&amp;search_cat=&amp;searchtermx=&amp;photographer_name=&amp;people_gender=&amp;people_age=&amp;people_ethnicity=&amp;people_number=&amp;commercial_ok=&amp;color=&amp;show_color_wheel=1#id=1089610&amp;src=1ba3f96e7509a66229401442ed541415-1-3" type="external">lidian</a>/Shutterstock</p>
<p>In climate negotiations in Durban, South Africa, the most urgent calls for action have come from the world’s small island nations. For many of those nations, the negotiations aren’t about some far-off, abstract problem. It’s something they’re already living with, as <a href="http://www.cawcr.gov.au/projects/PCCSP/publications.html" type="external">a new Australian research project</a> on the dramatic climate shifts underway for 15 Pacific nations reaffirmed this week.</p>
<p>Basically, the report finds that the closer one lives to the equator, the warmer it’s going to get. And even in the best-case scenario, oceans will rise up to 12 inches by 2100. It confirms what Pacific islanders have long feared: Home is getting windier, saltier, wetter, hotter and, well, submerged in water.</p>
<p>No wonder the Pacific islanders have banded together in the climate talks. Many negotiate together as the Alliance of Small Island States, or AOSIS. Representatives of those nations have demanded immediate action in Durban, rather than further delay, as some parties have suggested. The group also <a href="" type="internal">issued a joint statement</a> with the European Union and the least-developed countries calling for a legally binding agreement. “We have all that it takes to begin the work right now,” said Karl Hood, the chairman of AOSIS and minister for foreign affairs in Granada. “We believe that waiting is a disaster.”</p>
<p>“Where we live, some say it’s a paradise,” Hood continued. “It’s a paradise when you come to visit. But we live there. We don’t leave after a week and go back home. This is our lives.”</p>
<p>Taito Nakalevu, a climate change adaptation officer with the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, has also been in Durban for the meeting and discussed this latest report. “The soil, the water, is slowly being affected,” he said. “This is our livelihood.” He noted a single flood in his homeland of Fiji in 2009 that did $162 million in damage in just one town, a burden for the country. “The funds that need to be used for development are being used for adaptation,” he said. “We cannot cope with that.”</p>
<p>The Climate Desk’s James West also spoke with one member of the Australian research team via Skype in Sydney—’scuse the poor connection, it’s a long way!—to take the temperature on the report.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p /> | 599,996 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Little Red Hamburger Hut, near Old Town, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>On the verge of its 10th anniversary, the Little Red Hamburger Hut, wedged between Old Town and the Sawmill neighborhood on Mountain Road, deserves a big cake with candles.</p>
<p>Not only has it survived off the beaten path, but it has thrived to become a neighborhood gathering spot. If only for a little while, at the Hamburger Hut you can go home again.</p>
<p>Here, simplicity and customer care merge to create an experience you’ll want to return to. Personnel behind the counter of this locals’ local cafe proclaim, “Satisfaction guaranteed!” every time an order is placed and delivered.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>And they mean it.</p>
<p>Although a limited but focused menu recently expanded to include breakfast burritos, burgers are their business: Fresh, handmade burgers as delicious as those you remember from childhood, burgers that taste like burgers, are served here.</p>
<p>I have never tasted a burger that reminds me so much of the taste and heft of the burgers at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in New Brunswick, N.J., that, accompanied by a chocolate milkshake was a downtown shopping trip treat for my 7-year-old self. Until I found the Hamburger Hut, I didn’t realize I have been searching for this burger all my life.</p>
<p>Part of the secret, (we’ll never solve the whole mystery), is that these burgers are made the old-fashioned way, by hand, to order, and are neither too thin nor too thick. They are four-napkin juicy because, and I mean this in all the best ways, they have the right amount of grease.</p>
<p>Alas, the quality of grease does not work as well for the fries. After tasting them once, I passed on ordering them the next visit.</p>
<p>The oil perhaps sizzled through the fryer a time too many. The fries themselves were not greasy; rather, they tasted a bit dank.</p>
<p>So I concentrated on getting my hands around a bigger burger instead by ordering the house special, the large Little Red: two meat patties awash in stupendous red chile, on a toasty bun ($7.95), with garnish, the one item that might cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, look at your watch and count the hours until you can get over there and place your order.</p>
<p>There are variations from the standard burger, in the form of taco burgers (two for $6), the highly recommended burger dog ($7.89) and the tortilla burger.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>There’s also a commendable Frito pie ($5.95). All may be upgraded to combos with fries and a soft drink for a couple dollars more,</p>
<p>The presence of Wimpy, Popeye’s lumbering hamburger-loving comrade, the ever-endearing mooch, and the icon of a hamburger chain every bit as deeply embedded in British consciousness as McDonald’s is in the minds and eating habits of Americans, is inescapable, with his likeness painted floor to ceiling on the dining room wall.</p>
<p>The sunny patio overlooking Mountain Road is a jolly place to meet a friend for lunch; indoors feels like a luncheonette lost in a time warp. You order at the counter and then pick up your lunch when called.</p>
<p>Your meal is served in a plastic basket, and ketchup is squeezed from packets. It’s all basic, minimal, and oh, so good.</p>
<p>Satisfaction guaranteed.</p>
<p /> | Like home: Big, juicy burgers made the old-fashioned way at Little Red Hamburger Hut | false | https://abqjournal.com/871855/like-home.html | 2least
| Like home: Big, juicy burgers made the old-fashioned way at Little Red Hamburger Hut
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Little Red Hamburger Hut, near Old Town, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. (Jim Thompson/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>On the verge of its 10th anniversary, the Little Red Hamburger Hut, wedged between Old Town and the Sawmill neighborhood on Mountain Road, deserves a big cake with candles.</p>
<p>Not only has it survived off the beaten path, but it has thrived to become a neighborhood gathering spot. If only for a little while, at the Hamburger Hut you can go home again.</p>
<p>Here, simplicity and customer care merge to create an experience you’ll want to return to. Personnel behind the counter of this locals’ local cafe proclaim, “Satisfaction guaranteed!” every time an order is placed and delivered.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>And they mean it.</p>
<p>Although a limited but focused menu recently expanded to include breakfast burritos, burgers are their business: Fresh, handmade burgers as delicious as those you remember from childhood, burgers that taste like burgers, are served here.</p>
<p>I have never tasted a burger that reminds me so much of the taste and heft of the burgers at the Woolworth’s lunch counter in New Brunswick, N.J., that, accompanied by a chocolate milkshake was a downtown shopping trip treat for my 7-year-old self. Until I found the Hamburger Hut, I didn’t realize I have been searching for this burger all my life.</p>
<p>Part of the secret, (we’ll never solve the whole mystery), is that these burgers are made the old-fashioned way, by hand, to order, and are neither too thin nor too thick. They are four-napkin juicy because, and I mean this in all the best ways, they have the right amount of grease.</p>
<p>Alas, the quality of grease does not work as well for the fries. After tasting them once, I passed on ordering them the next visit.</p>
<p>The oil perhaps sizzled through the fryer a time too many. The fries themselves were not greasy; rather, they tasted a bit dank.</p>
<p>So I concentrated on getting my hands around a bigger burger instead by ordering the house special, the large Little Red: two meat patties awash in stupendous red chile, on a toasty bun ($7.95), with garnish, the one item that might cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, look at your watch and count the hours until you can get over there and place your order.</p>
<p>There are variations from the standard burger, in the form of taco burgers (two for $6), the highly recommended burger dog ($7.89) and the tortilla burger.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>There’s also a commendable Frito pie ($5.95). All may be upgraded to combos with fries and a soft drink for a couple dollars more,</p>
<p>The presence of Wimpy, Popeye’s lumbering hamburger-loving comrade, the ever-endearing mooch, and the icon of a hamburger chain every bit as deeply embedded in British consciousness as McDonald’s is in the minds and eating habits of Americans, is inescapable, with his likeness painted floor to ceiling on the dining room wall.</p>
<p>The sunny patio overlooking Mountain Road is a jolly place to meet a friend for lunch; indoors feels like a luncheonette lost in a time warp. You order at the counter and then pick up your lunch when called.</p>
<p>Your meal is served in a plastic basket, and ketchup is squeezed from packets. It’s all basic, minimal, and oh, so good.</p>
<p>Satisfaction guaranteed.</p>
<p /> | 599,997 |
|
<p>It's an important week for the Republican-led effort to overhaul the nation's tax code.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://waysandmeansforms.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bill_text.pdf" type="external">bill</a>&#160;cutting corporate taxes, and allowing high-earners to keep more of their pay, has already cleared the House Ways and Means Committee. It could see a vote this week. President Trump has urged Republicans to pass a tax bill quickly.</p>
<p>The proposal would cut many deductions that save money for households in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California. That means the nine Republican Representatives from New York and the five from New Jersey must <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/11/09/562960732/house-gop-tax-plan-is-little-help-to-high-tax-states-like-new-jersey" type="external">choose</a> whether to support their party’s plan, and potentially alienate some constituents.</p>
<p>At a rally on Sunday, Senator Charles Schumer called on Republicans in New Jersey and New York to oppose the bill.</p>
<p>“They…have to choose their states over the rich special interests who are trying to push them around so they can get a tax break,” Schumer said.</p>
<p>Local Republicans are divided. In a statement on his website, Tom Reed of New York, who sits on the committee that sets tax policy, <a href="https://reed.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reed-stands-upstate-new-york" type="external">explained</a> his decision to support the measure: “the bill lowers rates on middle and working class Americans by condensing the number of brackets while keeping the top income tax rate at 39.6 percent for the richest one percent. The legislation also doubles the standard deduction, so people don’t have to waste time and money on accountants.”&#160;</p>
<p>Frank LoBiondo, a New Jersey Republican <a href="https://lobiondo.house.gov/press-release/lobiondo-statement-tax-reform-bill-introduction-house" type="external">said</a> on his website that he supports the bill’s goals, but not the bill itself: “the elimination of state and local income tax deductions and the $10,000 cap on property tax deductions would be detrimental to New Jersey residents. Thus this bill is not something I could support in its current form.”</p> | Decision Time for NY and NJ Republicans on Tax Plan | false | https://wnyc.org/story/decision-time-ny-and-nj-republicans-tax-plan/ | 2017-11-12 | 3left-center
| Decision Time for NY and NJ Republicans on Tax Plan
<p>It's an important week for the Republican-led effort to overhaul the nation's tax code.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://waysandmeansforms.house.gov/uploadedfiles/bill_text.pdf" type="external">bill</a>&#160;cutting corporate taxes, and allowing high-earners to keep more of their pay, has already cleared the House Ways and Means Committee. It could see a vote this week. President Trump has urged Republicans to pass a tax bill quickly.</p>
<p>The proposal would cut many deductions that save money for households in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California. That means the nine Republican Representatives from New York and the five from New Jersey must <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/11/09/562960732/house-gop-tax-plan-is-little-help-to-high-tax-states-like-new-jersey" type="external">choose</a> whether to support their party’s plan, and potentially alienate some constituents.</p>
<p>At a rally on Sunday, Senator Charles Schumer called on Republicans in New Jersey and New York to oppose the bill.</p>
<p>“They…have to choose their states over the rich special interests who are trying to push them around so they can get a tax break,” Schumer said.</p>
<p>Local Republicans are divided. In a statement on his website, Tom Reed of New York, who sits on the committee that sets tax policy, <a href="https://reed.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/reed-stands-upstate-new-york" type="external">explained</a> his decision to support the measure: “the bill lowers rates on middle and working class Americans by condensing the number of brackets while keeping the top income tax rate at 39.6 percent for the richest one percent. The legislation also doubles the standard deduction, so people don’t have to waste time and money on accountants.”&#160;</p>
<p>Frank LoBiondo, a New Jersey Republican <a href="https://lobiondo.house.gov/press-release/lobiondo-statement-tax-reform-bill-introduction-house" type="external">said</a> on his website that he supports the bill’s goals, but not the bill itself: “the elimination of state and local income tax deductions and the $10,000 cap on property tax deductions would be detrimental to New Jersey residents. Thus this bill is not something I could support in its current form.”</p> | 599,998 |
<p>Tencent Holdings Ltd., the rapidly growing Chinese internet giant, is proving a welcome source of capital to America's fledgling companies, with Snap Inc. the latest beneficiary of its deep pockets.</p>
<p>Tencent, slightly bigger than Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and best known in China for its WeChat messaging app, recently purchased a a 12% stake in Snap, becoming one of its largest shareholders, Snap revealed Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, shares of a Tencent unit that operates an online library soared in an initial public offering Wednesday that gave the company, China Literature Ltd., a market value of around $12 billion. And Thursday, Sogou, a search-engine company in which Tencent owns a 44% stake, is expected to start trading in New York, in a deal that could value it at as much as $5 billion, or about 70 times its past earnings.</p>
<p>"Companies like Tencent are seen as unstoppable," said Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors.</p>
<p>Snap's announcement of the investment came on the heels of its report of disappointing financial results for the third straight quarter, sending its shares plunging. The revelation of Tencent's investment did little to cushion investors' disappointment with the Los Angeles company. Snap's shares on Wednesday lost 15% after several analysts cut their price targets for the stock.</p>
<p>Founded almost two decades ago, Tencent stands with e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and search giant Baidu Inc. as three of China's biggest Internet companies. They have diversified beyond their core businesses in recent years, placing big bets on online video-streaming services and other entertainment plays.</p>
<p>Tencent is the largest videogame publisher in the world by revenue but is best known in China for its WeChat and QQ messaging and mobile-payment apps, which are installed on almost every PC and smartphone there. Tencent said in an August filing that WeChat had combined monthly active users of 962.8 million as of June 30, up 19% from a year ago.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Its shares have more than doubled this year as revenue and profit have swelled. Tencent registered $122 billion in revenue through the first six months of the year, up more than 60% from the first half of 2016. For the full year analysts expect $274 billion in revenue. By 2020, that projection is expected to more than double, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>That has helped make Tencent one of the biggest companies in the world, with a market capitalization of around $475 billion. If it were listed in the U.S., Tencent would be the sixth-largest company by market value, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>But while its WeChat business remains largely limited to China, Tencent over the past few years has lifted its international profile with several big deals, including acquisitions of the game developer Epic Games Inc. and minority stakes in electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. and videogame company Activision Blizzard Inc.</p>
<p>In a tweet earlier this year, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was "glad to have Tencent as an investor and advisor to Tesla."</p>
<p>Tencent has invested in more than 40 tech startups in the U.S. since 2011, joining fundraising rounds valued at $3.5 billion, the Journal recently reported, excluding investments in public companies. Recently, it led a $10 million investment round in Academia.edu, a San Francisco-based platform for scientists and academics to publish and review papers online, and it disclosed a $3 million investment in Innovega Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., which is building an augmented reality device into a contact lens.</p>
<p>People close to Tencent have said its investment strategy is driven by a desire to stay current on the latest ideas and products out of the U.S. tech sector.</p>
<p>Snap's relationship with Tencent stretches back to 2013. Tencent first invested in Snap when it was still a small startup operating out of a house on the boardwalk of Venice Beach.</p>
<p>When the Snapchat app was first shown to Tencent's executive team, Tencent's founder, Pony Ma, was bewildered as to why it was a hit, according to people who attended the meeting. Mr. Ma joked that he didn't understand young people, the people said. Nonetheless, Tencent later purchased a small stake in Snapchat.</p>
<p>Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said at a conference in 2013 that he looked to Tencent as a "role model," and was impressed with the company's success in figuring out how to make things their users would buy, rather than relying on display advertising.</p>
<p>Tencent executives began discussing raising the company's stake in Snap in September, after Snap's shares touched a series of lows in August, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent wanted to support its investment in the U.S. company during its weakened state, the person said.</p>
<p>Snap and outside partners have worked on adding features to the messaging portion of the Snapchat app guided in part by the success such features have had for Tencent's WeChat, such as the ability to hail a car from within the app and a scanable QR code on users' profiles.</p>
<p>--Saumya Vaishampayan and Georgia Wells contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Steven Russolillo at [email protected] and Wayne Ma at [email protected]</p>
<p>Tencent Holdings Ltd., the rapidly growing Chinese internet giant, is proving a welcome source of capital to America's fledgling companies, with Snap Inc. the latest beneficiary of its deep pockets.</p>
<p>Tencent, slightly bigger than Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and best known in China for its WeChat messaging app, recently purchased a a 12% stake in Snap, becoming one of its largest shareholders, Snap revealed Wednesday.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, shares of a Tencent unit that operates an online library soared in an initial public offering Wednesday that gave the company, China Literature Ltd., a market value of around $12 billion. And Thursday, Sogou, a search-engine company in which Tencent owns a 44% stake, is expected to start trading in New York, in a deal that could value it at as much as $5 billion, or about 70 times its past earnings.</p>
<p>"Companies like Tencent are seen as unstoppable," said Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors.</p>
<p>Snap's announcement of the investment came on the heels of its report of disappointing financial results for the third straight quarter, sending its shares plunging. The revelation of Tencent's investment did little to cushion investors' disappointment with the Los Angeles company. Snap's shares on Wednesday lost 15% after several analysts cut their price targets for the stock.</p>
<p>Founded almost two decades ago, Tencent stands with e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and search giant Baidu Inc. as three of China's biggest Internet companies. They have diversified beyond their core businesses in recent years, placing big bets on online video-streaming services and other entertainment plays.</p>
<p>Tencent is the largest videogame publisher in the world by revenue but is best known in China for its WeChat and QQ messaging and mobile-payment apps, which are installed on almost every PC and smartphone there. Tencent said in an August filing that WeChat had combined monthly active users of 962.8 million as of June 30, up 19% from a year ago.</p>
<p>Its shares have more than doubled this year as revenue and profit have swelled. Tencent registered $122 billion in revenue through the first six months of the year, up more than 60% from the first half of 2016. For the full year analysts expect $274 billion in revenue. By 2020, that projection is expected to more than double, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>That has helped make Tencent one of the biggest companies in the world, with a market capitalization of around $475 billion. If it were listed in the U.S., Tencent would be the sixth-largest company by market value, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>But while its WeChat business remains largely limited to China, Tencent over the past few years has lifted its international profile with several big deals, including acquisitions of the game developer Epic Games Inc. and minority stakes in electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. and videogame company Activision Blizzard Inc.</p>
<p>In a tweet earlier this year, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was "glad to have Tencent as an investor and advisor to Tesla."</p>
<p>Tencent has invested in more than 40 tech startups in the U.S. since 2011, joining fundraising rounds valued at $3.5 billion, the Journal recently reported, excluding investments in public companies. Recently, it led a $10 million investment round in Academia.edu, a San Francisco-based platform for scientists and academics to publish and review papers online, and it disclosed a $3 million investment in Innovega Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., which is building an augmented reality device into a contact lens.</p>
<p>People close to Tencent have said its investment strategy is driven by a desire to stay current on the latest ideas and products out of the U.S. tech sector.</p>
<p>Snap's relationship with Tencent stretches back to 2013. Tencent first invested in Snap when it was still a small startup operating out of a house on the boardwalk of Venice Beach.</p>
<p>When the Snapchat app was first shown to Tencent's executive team, Tencent's founder, Pony Ma, was bewildered as to why it was a hit, according to people who attended the meeting. Mr. Ma joked that he didn't understand young people, the people said. Nonetheless, Tencent later purchased a small stake in Snapchat.</p>
<p>Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said at a conference in 2013 that he looked to Tencent as a "role model," and was impressed with the company's success in figuring out how to make things their users would buy, rather than relying on display advertising.</p>
<p>Tencent executives began discussing raising the company's stake in Snap in September, after Snap's shares touched a series of lows in August, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent wanted to support its investment in the U.S. company during its weakened state, the person said.</p>
<p>Snap and outside partners have worked on adding features to the messaging portion of the Snapchat app guided in part by the success such features have had for Tencent's WeChat, such as the ability to hail a car from within the app and a scanable QR code on users' profiles.</p>
<p>--Saumya Vaishampayan and Georgia Wells contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Steven Russolillo at [email protected] and Wayne Ma at [email protected]</p>
<p>Tencent Holdings Ltd., the rapidly growing Chinese internet giant, is proving a welcome source of capital to America's fledgling companies, with Snap Inc. the latest beneficiary of its deep pockets.</p>
<p>Tencent, one of the world's most valuable technology companies and that is best known in China for its WeChat messaging app, recently purchased a 12% stake in Snap in the open market, becoming one of its largest shareholders, Snap revealed Wednesday.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, shares of a Tencent unit that operates an online library soared in an initial public offering Wednesday that gave the company, China Literature Ltd., a market value of around $12 billion. And Thursday, Sogou, a search-engine company in which Tencent owns a 44% stake, is expected to start trading in New York, in a deal that could value it at as much as $5 billion, or about 70 times its past earnings.</p>
<p>"Companies like Tencent are seen as unstoppable," said Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors.</p>
<p>Snap's announcement of the investment came on the heels of its report of disappointing financial results for the third straight quarter, sending its shares plunging. The revelation of Tencent's investment did little to cushion investors' disappointment with the Los Angeles company. Snap's shares on Wednesday lost 15% after several analysts cut their price targets for the stock.</p>
<p>Founded almost two decades ago, Tencent stands with e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and search giant Baidu Inc. as three of China's biggest Internet companies. They have diversified beyond their core businesses in recent years, placing big bets on online video-streaming services and other entertainment plays.</p>
<p>Tencent is the largest videogame publisher in the world by revenue but is best known in China for its WeChat and QQ messaging and mobile-payment apps, which are installed on almost every PC and smartphone there. Tencent said in an August filing that WeChat had combined monthly active users of 962.8 million as of June 30, up 19% from a year ago.</p>
<p>Its shares have more than doubled this year as revenue and profit have swelled. Tencent registered $122 billion in revenue through the first six months of the year, up more than 60% from the first half of 2016. For the full year analysts expect $274 billion in revenue. By 2020, that projection is expected to more than double, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>That has helped make Tencent one of the biggest companies in the world, with a market capitalization of around $475 billion. If it were listed in the U.S., Tencent would be the sixth-largest company by market value, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>But while its WeChat business remains largely limited to China, Tencent over the past few years has lifted its international profile with several big deals, including acquisitions of the game developer Epic Games Inc. and minority stakes in electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. and videogame company Activision Blizzard Inc.</p>
<p>In a tweet earlier this year, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was "glad to have Tencent as an investor and advisor to Tesla."</p>
<p>Tencent has invested in more than 40 tech startups in the U.S. since 2011, joining fundraising rounds valued at $3.5 billion, the Journal recently reported, excluding investments in public companies. Recently, it led a $10 million investment round in Academia.edu, a San Francisco-based platform for scientists and academics to publish and review papers online, and it disclosed a $3 million investment in Innovega Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., which is building an augmented reality device into a contact lens.</p>
<p>People close to Tencent have said its investment strategy is driven by a desire to stay current on the latest ideas and products out of the U.S. tech sector.</p>
<p>Snap's relationship with Tencent stretches back to 2013. Tencent first invested in Snap when it was still a small startup operating out of a house on the boardwalk of Venice Beach.</p>
<p>When the Snapchat app was first shown to Tencent's executive team, Tencent's founder, Pony Ma, was bewildered as to why it was a hit, according to people who attended the meeting. Mr. Ma joked that he didn't understand young people, the people said. Nonetheless, Tencent later purchased a small stake in Snapchat.</p>
<p>Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said at a conference in 2013 that he looked to Tencent as a "role model," and was impressed with the company's success in figuring out how to make things their users would buy, rather than relying on display advertising.</p>
<p>Tencent executives began discussing raising the company's stake in Snap in September, after Snap's shares touched a series of lows in August, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent wanted to support its investment in the U.S. company during its weakened state, the person said.</p>
<p>Snap and outside partners have worked on adding features to the messaging portion of the Snapchat app guided in part by the success such features have had for Tencent's WeChat, such as the ability to hail a car from within the app and a scanable QR code on users' profiles.</p>
<p>--Saumya Vaishampayan and Georgia Wells contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Steven Russolillo at [email protected] and Wayne Ma at [email protected]</p>
<p>Tencent reported first-half revenue of $16 billion, up 57% from a year earlier, and analysts expect full-year revenue of $35 billion. "Tencent Continues to Snap Up Stakes in U.S. Startups," at 0029 GMT and the update at 0216 GMT, incorrectly stated Tencent's revenue as $122 billion and the analyst forecast as $274 billion, which are the figures in Hong Kong dollars, and that revenue growth exceeded 60% in the eighth paragraph. (Nov. 9)</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>November 09, 2017 05:52 ET (10:52 GMT)</p> | Correction to Tencent Snapping Up Stakes in U.S. Startups Article | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/08/tencent-continues-to-snap-up-stakes-in-u-s-startups.html | 2017-11-09 | 0right
| Correction to Tencent Snapping Up Stakes in U.S. Startups Article
<p>Tencent Holdings Ltd., the rapidly growing Chinese internet giant, is proving a welcome source of capital to America's fledgling companies, with Snap Inc. the latest beneficiary of its deep pockets.</p>
<p>Tencent, slightly bigger than Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and best known in China for its WeChat messaging app, recently purchased a a 12% stake in Snap, becoming one of its largest shareholders, Snap revealed Wednesday.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, shares of a Tencent unit that operates an online library soared in an initial public offering Wednesday that gave the company, China Literature Ltd., a market value of around $12 billion. And Thursday, Sogou, a search-engine company in which Tencent owns a 44% stake, is expected to start trading in New York, in a deal that could value it at as much as $5 billion, or about 70 times its past earnings.</p>
<p>"Companies like Tencent are seen as unstoppable," said Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors.</p>
<p>Snap's announcement of the investment came on the heels of its report of disappointing financial results for the third straight quarter, sending its shares plunging. The revelation of Tencent's investment did little to cushion investors' disappointment with the Los Angeles company. Snap's shares on Wednesday lost 15% after several analysts cut their price targets for the stock.</p>
<p>Founded almost two decades ago, Tencent stands with e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and search giant Baidu Inc. as three of China's biggest Internet companies. They have diversified beyond their core businesses in recent years, placing big bets on online video-streaming services and other entertainment plays.</p>
<p>Tencent is the largest videogame publisher in the world by revenue but is best known in China for its WeChat and QQ messaging and mobile-payment apps, which are installed on almost every PC and smartphone there. Tencent said in an August filing that WeChat had combined monthly active users of 962.8 million as of June 30, up 19% from a year ago.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Its shares have more than doubled this year as revenue and profit have swelled. Tencent registered $122 billion in revenue through the first six months of the year, up more than 60% from the first half of 2016. For the full year analysts expect $274 billion in revenue. By 2020, that projection is expected to more than double, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>That has helped make Tencent one of the biggest companies in the world, with a market capitalization of around $475 billion. If it were listed in the U.S., Tencent would be the sixth-largest company by market value, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>But while its WeChat business remains largely limited to China, Tencent over the past few years has lifted its international profile with several big deals, including acquisitions of the game developer Epic Games Inc. and minority stakes in electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. and videogame company Activision Blizzard Inc.</p>
<p>In a tweet earlier this year, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was "glad to have Tencent as an investor and advisor to Tesla."</p>
<p>Tencent has invested in more than 40 tech startups in the U.S. since 2011, joining fundraising rounds valued at $3.5 billion, the Journal recently reported, excluding investments in public companies. Recently, it led a $10 million investment round in Academia.edu, a San Francisco-based platform for scientists and academics to publish and review papers online, and it disclosed a $3 million investment in Innovega Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., which is building an augmented reality device into a contact lens.</p>
<p>People close to Tencent have said its investment strategy is driven by a desire to stay current on the latest ideas and products out of the U.S. tech sector.</p>
<p>Snap's relationship with Tencent stretches back to 2013. Tencent first invested in Snap when it was still a small startup operating out of a house on the boardwalk of Venice Beach.</p>
<p>When the Snapchat app was first shown to Tencent's executive team, Tencent's founder, Pony Ma, was bewildered as to why it was a hit, according to people who attended the meeting. Mr. Ma joked that he didn't understand young people, the people said. Nonetheless, Tencent later purchased a small stake in Snapchat.</p>
<p>Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said at a conference in 2013 that he looked to Tencent as a "role model," and was impressed with the company's success in figuring out how to make things their users would buy, rather than relying on display advertising.</p>
<p>Tencent executives began discussing raising the company's stake in Snap in September, after Snap's shares touched a series of lows in August, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent wanted to support its investment in the U.S. company during its weakened state, the person said.</p>
<p>Snap and outside partners have worked on adding features to the messaging portion of the Snapchat app guided in part by the success such features have had for Tencent's WeChat, such as the ability to hail a car from within the app and a scanable QR code on users' profiles.</p>
<p>--Saumya Vaishampayan and Georgia Wells contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Steven Russolillo at [email protected] and Wayne Ma at [email protected]</p>
<p>Tencent Holdings Ltd., the rapidly growing Chinese internet giant, is proving a welcome source of capital to America's fledgling companies, with Snap Inc. the latest beneficiary of its deep pockets.</p>
<p>Tencent, slightly bigger than Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and best known in China for its WeChat messaging app, recently purchased a a 12% stake in Snap, becoming one of its largest shareholders, Snap revealed Wednesday.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, shares of a Tencent unit that operates an online library soared in an initial public offering Wednesday that gave the company, China Literature Ltd., a market value of around $12 billion. And Thursday, Sogou, a search-engine company in which Tencent owns a 44% stake, is expected to start trading in New York, in a deal that could value it at as much as $5 billion, or about 70 times its past earnings.</p>
<p>"Companies like Tencent are seen as unstoppable," said Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors.</p>
<p>Snap's announcement of the investment came on the heels of its report of disappointing financial results for the third straight quarter, sending its shares plunging. The revelation of Tencent's investment did little to cushion investors' disappointment with the Los Angeles company. Snap's shares on Wednesday lost 15% after several analysts cut their price targets for the stock.</p>
<p>Founded almost two decades ago, Tencent stands with e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and search giant Baidu Inc. as three of China's biggest Internet companies. They have diversified beyond their core businesses in recent years, placing big bets on online video-streaming services and other entertainment plays.</p>
<p>Tencent is the largest videogame publisher in the world by revenue but is best known in China for its WeChat and QQ messaging and mobile-payment apps, which are installed on almost every PC and smartphone there. Tencent said in an August filing that WeChat had combined monthly active users of 962.8 million as of June 30, up 19% from a year ago.</p>
<p>Its shares have more than doubled this year as revenue and profit have swelled. Tencent registered $122 billion in revenue through the first six months of the year, up more than 60% from the first half of 2016. For the full year analysts expect $274 billion in revenue. By 2020, that projection is expected to more than double, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>That has helped make Tencent one of the biggest companies in the world, with a market capitalization of around $475 billion. If it were listed in the U.S., Tencent would be the sixth-largest company by market value, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>But while its WeChat business remains largely limited to China, Tencent over the past few years has lifted its international profile with several big deals, including acquisitions of the game developer Epic Games Inc. and minority stakes in electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. and videogame company Activision Blizzard Inc.</p>
<p>In a tweet earlier this year, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was "glad to have Tencent as an investor and advisor to Tesla."</p>
<p>Tencent has invested in more than 40 tech startups in the U.S. since 2011, joining fundraising rounds valued at $3.5 billion, the Journal recently reported, excluding investments in public companies. Recently, it led a $10 million investment round in Academia.edu, a San Francisco-based platform for scientists and academics to publish and review papers online, and it disclosed a $3 million investment in Innovega Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., which is building an augmented reality device into a contact lens.</p>
<p>People close to Tencent have said its investment strategy is driven by a desire to stay current on the latest ideas and products out of the U.S. tech sector.</p>
<p>Snap's relationship with Tencent stretches back to 2013. Tencent first invested in Snap when it was still a small startup operating out of a house on the boardwalk of Venice Beach.</p>
<p>When the Snapchat app was first shown to Tencent's executive team, Tencent's founder, Pony Ma, was bewildered as to why it was a hit, according to people who attended the meeting. Mr. Ma joked that he didn't understand young people, the people said. Nonetheless, Tencent later purchased a small stake in Snapchat.</p>
<p>Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said at a conference in 2013 that he looked to Tencent as a "role model," and was impressed with the company's success in figuring out how to make things their users would buy, rather than relying on display advertising.</p>
<p>Tencent executives began discussing raising the company's stake in Snap in September, after Snap's shares touched a series of lows in August, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent wanted to support its investment in the U.S. company during its weakened state, the person said.</p>
<p>Snap and outside partners have worked on adding features to the messaging portion of the Snapchat app guided in part by the success such features have had for Tencent's WeChat, such as the ability to hail a car from within the app and a scanable QR code on users' profiles.</p>
<p>--Saumya Vaishampayan and Georgia Wells contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Steven Russolillo at [email protected] and Wayne Ma at [email protected]</p>
<p>Tencent Holdings Ltd., the rapidly growing Chinese internet giant, is proving a welcome source of capital to America's fledgling companies, with Snap Inc. the latest beneficiary of its deep pockets.</p>
<p>Tencent, one of the world's most valuable technology companies and that is best known in China for its WeChat messaging app, recently purchased a 12% stake in Snap in the open market, becoming one of its largest shareholders, Snap revealed Wednesday.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, shares of a Tencent unit that operates an online library soared in an initial public offering Wednesday that gave the company, China Literature Ltd., a market value of around $12 billion. And Thursday, Sogou, a search-engine company in which Tencent owns a 44% stake, is expected to start trading in New York, in a deal that could value it at as much as $5 billion, or about 70 times its past earnings.</p>
<p>"Companies like Tencent are seen as unstoppable," said Joshua Crabb, head of Asian equities at Old Mutual Global Investors.</p>
<p>Snap's announcement of the investment came on the heels of its report of disappointing financial results for the third straight quarter, sending its shares plunging. The revelation of Tencent's investment did little to cushion investors' disappointment with the Los Angeles company. Snap's shares on Wednesday lost 15% after several analysts cut their price targets for the stock.</p>
<p>Founded almost two decades ago, Tencent stands with e-commerce titan Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and search giant Baidu Inc. as three of China's biggest Internet companies. They have diversified beyond their core businesses in recent years, placing big bets on online video-streaming services and other entertainment plays.</p>
<p>Tencent is the largest videogame publisher in the world by revenue but is best known in China for its WeChat and QQ messaging and mobile-payment apps, which are installed on almost every PC and smartphone there. Tencent said in an August filing that WeChat had combined monthly active users of 962.8 million as of June 30, up 19% from a year ago.</p>
<p>Its shares have more than doubled this year as revenue and profit have swelled. Tencent registered $122 billion in revenue through the first six months of the year, up more than 60% from the first half of 2016. For the full year analysts expect $274 billion in revenue. By 2020, that projection is expected to more than double, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>That has helped make Tencent one of the biggest companies in the world, with a market capitalization of around $475 billion. If it were listed in the U.S., Tencent would be the sixth-largest company by market value, according to FactSet.</p>
<p>But while its WeChat business remains largely limited to China, Tencent over the past few years has lifted its international profile with several big deals, including acquisitions of the game developer Epic Games Inc. and minority stakes in electric-vehicle maker Tesla Inc. and videogame company Activision Blizzard Inc.</p>
<p>In a tweet earlier this year, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk said he was "glad to have Tencent as an investor and advisor to Tesla."</p>
<p>Tencent has invested in more than 40 tech startups in the U.S. since 2011, joining fundraising rounds valued at $3.5 billion, the Journal recently reported, excluding investments in public companies. Recently, it led a $10 million investment round in Academia.edu, a San Francisco-based platform for scientists and academics to publish and review papers online, and it disclosed a $3 million investment in Innovega Inc., of Bellevue, Wash., which is building an augmented reality device into a contact lens.</p>
<p>People close to Tencent have said its investment strategy is driven by a desire to stay current on the latest ideas and products out of the U.S. tech sector.</p>
<p>Snap's relationship with Tencent stretches back to 2013. Tencent first invested in Snap when it was still a small startup operating out of a house on the boardwalk of Venice Beach.</p>
<p>When the Snapchat app was first shown to Tencent's executive team, Tencent's founder, Pony Ma, was bewildered as to why it was a hit, according to people who attended the meeting. Mr. Ma joked that he didn't understand young people, the people said. Nonetheless, Tencent later purchased a small stake in Snapchat.</p>
<p>Snap Chief Executive Evan Spiegel said at a conference in 2013 that he looked to Tencent as a "role model," and was impressed with the company's success in figuring out how to make things their users would buy, rather than relying on display advertising.</p>
<p>Tencent executives began discussing raising the company's stake in Snap in September, after Snap's shares touched a series of lows in August, a person familiar with the matter said. Tencent wanted to support its investment in the U.S. company during its weakened state, the person said.</p>
<p>Snap and outside partners have worked on adding features to the messaging portion of the Snapchat app guided in part by the success such features have had for Tencent's WeChat, such as the ability to hail a car from within the app and a scanable QR code on users' profiles.</p>
<p>--Saumya Vaishampayan and Georgia Wells contributed to this article.</p>
<p>Write to Steven Russolillo at [email protected] and Wayne Ma at [email protected]</p>
<p>Tencent reported first-half revenue of $16 billion, up 57% from a year earlier, and analysts expect full-year revenue of $35 billion. "Tencent Continues to Snap Up Stakes in U.S. Startups," at 0029 GMT and the update at 0216 GMT, incorrectly stated Tencent's revenue as $122 billion and the analyst forecast as $274 billion, which are the figures in Hong Kong dollars, and that revenue growth exceeded 60% in the eighth paragraph. (Nov. 9)</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>November 09, 2017 05:52 ET (10:52 GMT)</p> | 599,999 |