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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10335 | Jamaica Plain Gazette News
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Full Print Edition Advocate proposes new bus yard location
November 22, 2013By Rebeca OliveiraA member of the Community Planning Committee for the Arborway Yard (CPCAY) has proposed moving the entire bus yard facility a mile away from the Forest Hills area to the American Legion Highway. The state is now studying the feasibility of the move.
Allan Ihrer, a long-time member of the CPCAY, has proposed building the permanent bus yard along American Legion Highway between Walk Hill and Morton streets. The bus yard is slated to replace the temporary facility currently located on the north side of the Arborway at Forest Hills as soon as the MBTA funds the project.
“We have a completely different situation” in the Forest Hills area compared to 15 years ago, when a new bus facility was proposed, Ihrer said. Then, the area was mostly used for industrial purposes. Now, it is being developed mostly for residential and commercial uses. More of that kind of development should go on the Arborway Yard site, he said.
Ihrer told the Gazette that he has shown his idea to the state Department of Transportation (MassDOT), the City’s Department of Transportation (BTD), the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and other City agencies. He has not received official feedback from any of them.
“This proposal is being examined through a feasibility study and the results have not yet been released,” said MassDOT spokesperson Kelly Smith.
According to Ihrer, the American Legion site was suggested when the project was first proposed in the late 1990s. The MBTA, then an independent agency from MassDOT, rejected it. The property is currently owned by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation and used as a composting site.
According to CPCAY head Merlin Southwick, Ihrer’s proposal is not part of CPCAY’s official agenda.
“That’s not something the CPCAY has come up with,” Southwick said. “Allan’s always looking for ways to improve the neighborhood.”
Originally budgeted at $94 million, the Arborway Yard facility is currently expected to cost upwards of $220 million. The facility is not expected to be built in the next five years.
The CPCAY has been fighting for a community-friendly facility on the site for almost 15 years, when the MBTA decided to close Bartlett Yard in Roxbury.
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10353 | Aqueduct honors Preuss, MunozThe Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority takes pride in recognizing long term employees. Such was the case at the June 26 FKAA board meeting, when officials recognized Denise Preuss for 25 years and Nancy Munoz for 15 years of employment with the FKAA. Preuss started her career with FKAA on Jan. 4, 1988, as an account specialist. She was promoted through the administration department and is currently the assistant manager of administration.Munoz started on July 29, 1998, as a mail clerk/cashier in customer service. She is currently the executive assistant for the administration department.Keys Energy honors GonzalezKeys Energy Services recently named Zahny as Outstanding Employee of the Third Quarter for 2013.Gonzalez has worked for the utility for more than four years and currently serves as a customer services representative, helping customers connect, disconnect and transfer services, and assisting with billing complaints and payment processing.Gonzalez was born in Havana, Cuba, and moved to Key West when she was 5 years old. She is a graduate of Key West High School and lives in Key West with her son, A.J.The Employee of the Quarter Committee selects an employee four times a year for the award. Employees are considered after being nominated by their peers. Final selection is based on several factors, which include attendance, attitude, efficiency, initiative, and job performance.The Utility Board will recognize Gonzalez at an upcoming meeting. Her name will be engraved on a perpetual plaque that hangs in the William Arnold Service Building lobby, she will receive a $250 bonus, and an extra vacation day, according to a press release from the utility.Trip Advisor honors 4 businessesFour locally owned Key West properties have been recognized with a 2013 Certificate of Excellence from Trip Advisor. Only 10 percent of the businesses listed on the online travel review site receive the certificate of excellence.Camille's Restaurant, Truman Hotel, Blue Marlin Motel and BEST WESTERN PLUS Hibiscus Motel received the award for their continued excellence in guest service and product, according to traveler and diner reviews."We are very proud of our staff for their efforts to bring this award to our properties." Deborah Branham, general manager of the three hotel properties. "Our owner is local and hands-on, which allows us to provide the best stay for our guests."Camille's owners Denise and Michael Chelekis are at their Simonton Street restaurant every day, proudly greeting guests by name and ensuring everyone has a great meal and a fond memory. Mariners Hospital receives awardMariners Hospital's Imaging Services Department received a 2013 Protecting the Patient award from Nuance Communications, Inc., a leading provider of voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. The award was presented in recognition of the department's Fail Safe procedure, an electronic alert notification system used when results from diagnostic imaging tests indicate a patient requires immediate medical intervention.The hospital was one of seven winners out of 10,000 healthcare institutions using Nuance clinical documentation solutions.The software was called into use recently when a patient had left the hospital after an imaging study. As Dr. Wayne Moccia read the image, he realized the patient had a life-threatening situation. Using the Nuance software, the department started the process to notify the patient's physician. When the physician could not be reached in 15 minutes, the software notified Imaging, which then tried to reach the patient. Failing that, the police were contacted. The police arrived at the patient's home at the same time as the patient, who was brought by ambulance to the hospital. Within one hour of recognizing the patient was in a critical situation, Imaging had provided the patient with appropriate care."This award reflects Mariners' commitment to quality and accountability," said Rick Freeburg, Mariners CEO. "We are proud of the entire imaging team for its efforts on behalf of patients." Home | Legal Classifieds | Privacy Policy | About us | Subscribe | Advertise | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10363 | Mass Funeral Held For Riot Dead In Egyptian Town By editor
Jan 27, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Relatives of the Egyptian policemen who were killed in Port Said grieve during their military funeral in Cairo on Sunday.
Amr Nabil
Originally published on January 27, 2013 5:09 pm Update at 6:10 p.m. ET Morsi Declares State Of Emergency In a televised address Sunday night, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi declared a 30-day state of emergency and night curfew in three provinces hit hard by recent violence. NPR's Leila Fadel says it means that during this time the government can arrest anyone they want if they look "fishy," and they can use the full force of the state to try and quell the city. "Some human rights groups are saying that it's a little concerning that they're employing what they call 'Mubarak-era tactics' to try and calm the protests," Fadel says. The three provinces under the state of emergency are Port Said, Ismailiya and Suez. Update at 1:29 p.m. ET Protests Turn Deadly At least three people are now dead and more than 400 hurt in the mass funerals of those killed in Saturday's violence in Port Said. Al Jazeera is reporting on the story from Port Said. Here's what the news organization says: "Medics said on Sunday that an 18-year-old man and two other people died of gunshots, while 17 others had sustained gunshot wounds after violence erupted at a march of thousands of mourners in the Egyptian city for 31 people killed on Saturday in the canal city." The protests are ongoing. Saturday's protests were in reaction to death sentences handed to 21 people involved in a deadly soccer riot in the city last year. Those riots, which killed 74 people, erupted after the home team scored a rare win against a rival team from Cairo. As NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reported last year: "Many witnesses say rabid Port Said fans charged their Cairo counterparts. Other witnesses blamed unidentified thugs wielding sticks, knives and rocks who hid among the Port Said fans. By most accounts, police and security forces did not intervene." And here's more from Al Jazeera about the riot and the heightened tensions over the verdict: "Many Egyptians believe the deadly stadium violence was orchestrated either by police or by Mubarak supporters, and any verdict was likely to trigger a highly charged response. "Cairo football fans had threatened widespread chaos if justice was not served, and Port Said residents said the ruling was politically motivated." Our original post: Thousands turned out Sunday in the Egyptian city of Port Said for a mass funeral for 35 people killed Saturday in anti-government rioting. As NPR's Dana Farrington wrote on the blog Saturday, the violence broke after an Egyptian court sentenced 21 people to death for their role in a deadly soccer riot last year. NPR's Leila Fadal reported on the events for our Newscast unit. Here's what she says: "The streets of the northeastern city of Port Said erupted with wails and calls for the toppling of Egypt's Islamist-led government. Men carried coffins of the dead killed on Saturday during rioting that was sparked by the death sentence of 21 soccer fans convicted for participating in sport-related violence. "Egypt's President Mohammed Morsi has yet to address the nation since anti-government protests began on Friday and were compounded by the violence in Port Said. More than 30 people were killed in the city yesterday and at least nine people in protests the day before. "Egypt's opposition called for more anti-government demonstrations and demanded early presidential elections. They called for a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections and amendments to Egypt's new constitution." The Associated Press reported that violence broke out briefly during Sunday's funeral when "some in the crowd fired guns and police responded with volleys of tear gas." More than 100 people were injured. There was also a funeral in Cairo, the capital, for two policemen who were killed in the Port Said violence.Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. © 2016 KMUW | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10366 | After Crash, Why Were Asiana Passengers Told To Stay Seated? By Mark Memmott
Jul 11, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Passengers move away from Asiana Airlines Flight 214 on Saturday in San Francisco. This photo was taken by a passenger.
Eugene Anthony Rah
Originally published on July 14, 2013 3:41 pm One of the latest details revealed about Saturday's crash of Asiana Flight 214 in San Francisco likely raises a question in many minds: After tumbling down the runway and coming to rest, why did the flight crew initially ask passengers to remain in their seats rather than immediately start to evacuate the plane? Instead, an announcement was made for everyone to stay put. It was another 90 seconds or so before the evacuation order was given. An initial review of what happened indicates the pilots may have thought it was safer to wait for emergency personnel to get to their crippled jet before having passengers get out. According to what Deborah Hersman, head of the National Transportation Safety Board, told reporters on Wednesday: -- When the Boeing 777 came to a stop, flight attendants asked the pilots if they should begin evacuation procedures. "The pilots indicated that they were working with air traffic controllers," Hersman said, and asked that passengers be told to stay where they were. "We don't know [yet] what the pilots were thinking," Hersman added, "[but] in previous accidents there have been crews that don't evacuate. They wait for other vehicles to come to be able to get the passengers out safely." -- Moments later, however, a flight attendant saw fire outside the aircraft. "Certainly, if there's an awareness that there's fire aboard an aircraft, that's a serious issue," Hersman said. A flight attendant alerted the pilots. "The aircraft evacuation began after that," she said. "Hindsight is 20/20," Hersman also told reporters. But, she added, "pilots are in the front of the airplane. They really don't have a good sense of what's going on behind them. They need to get that information from the flight attendants." And when Flight 214's crew got that information, it appears, the evacuation began. Two people died from injuries they suffered in the crash or immediately after (investigators are looking into whether one person was struck and killed by an emergency vehicle responding to the scene). But all 305 of the other people on board survived. The NTSB has posted video of Hersman's briefing. Bill posted Wednesday about other details from her presentation. She also discusses another piece of information — that, as USA Today reports, the pilot has told investigators he was "temporarily blinded by a bright light when 500 feet above the ground. Asked whether it's possible that someone on the ground aimed a laser light at the aircraft, Hersman said, "we really don't know at this point what it could have been." The potential danger of laser lights aimed at cockpits has been a concern for several years. Update at 6:55 p.m. ET. NTSB: 'No Anomalous Behavior' Hersman, at a news conference on Thursday, said there is no sign that the autopilot failed aboard the aircraft. "There is no anomalous behavior of the autopilot, of the flight director, and of the auto-throttles, based on the FDR data reviewed to date," she said, referring to the 777's flight-data recorder. She said the first internal call to abort the landing came three seconds before impact and the second abort call was made just 1.5 seconds prior to the crash. Hersman also said that the pilot told investigators that the bright light "could have been a reflection from the sun" and that he didn't think it affected his ability to fly the plane.Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 KRWG | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10369 | Wednesday Morning Political Mix By Frank James
Oct 9, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email President Obama gets some support outside the White House, Oct. 8, 2013.
JEWEL SAMAD
Originally published on October 9, 2013 6:18 am Good morning, fellow political junkies. It's Day 9 of the partial federal government shutdown. Global financial markets at this point still appear to expect sanity to eventually prevail in the Washington fiscal standoff. We'll have to see if they're right. The day's big news is expected to be President Obama's choice to head the Federal Reserve of the candidate thought to be his second choice since his first proved politically problematic. Here are some of the more interesting politically related items that caught my eye this morning. Economist Janet Yellen is President Obama's choice to be the next chair of the Federal Reserve, succeeding Ben Bernanke, The Wall Street Journal's Jon Hilsenrath and Peter Nicholas report. If confirmed by the Senate, she would become the first woman to be the world's most powerful central banker. Most of us hope she won't get to be the first U.S. Fed chief to have to pick up the pieces should the federal-government default on its obligations. Lawrence Summers, who was thought to be Obama's preferred candidate, won't have such worries, at least. Some Senate Democrats are warning that the chamber's majority might be forced to change the rules to make it easier for the majority to advance a debt-ceiling raising bill to a floor vote if Republicans decide to filibuster it., Politico's Manu Raju and Burgess Everett report. That move would make the Senate's atmosphere even more toxic. The vast majority of the federal government would remain closed if President Obama and Senate Democrats accepted the House Republicans' approach of reopening government in a piecemeal way, Derek Thompson vividly explains at The Atlantic. Remember the immigration issue? It's kind of gotten lost amid the current fiscal fight. Supporters of an immigration overhaul want to make sure it's not forgotten, however. Hundreds demonstrated at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday with some being arrested, including several congressmen, reports NPR's Hansi Lo Wang. It's easy to lose track of how many times, David Frum has stood athwart history to yell "stop" at his own Republican Party. His latest piece in The Daily Beast is a particularly cogent example of it. Recruiting Democratic candidates to run for House seats in Republican districts has become relatively easier because of the government shutdown for which the GOP gets the greater share of the blame, Greg Sargent writes in the Washington Post's Plum Line. Obama has a Kansas cousin with Tea Party leanings who plans to primary Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) reports Katrina Trinko in the The Corner blog at the National Review Online. House members who workout in the private gym in the Capitol are being forced to reuse their towels because linen service is a casualty of the government shutdown, reports The Hill. Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 KSUT Public Radio | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10375 | See our listening area and KVNF radio frequencies across western Colorado Documentaries Help Amplify Conservative Voice By editor
Mar 17, 2013 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email Phelim McAleer directed the film FrackNation, one of more than 20 documentaries screened at this year's CPAC.
Mike Groll
Originally published on March 17, 2013 12:11 pm A decade ago, there were only one or two documentary films screening at CPAC, the annual meeting of conservative activists. This year, there were more than 20. As independent financing and filmmaking becomes more accessible, conservatives are turning to movies to get their message out to a larger, younger audience. In the main CPAC auditorium Saturday, headliners such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz filled the seats, but it was standing-room only in a smaller room down the hall, too. The conference room had become the convention's theater. Lights dimmed and a quote from Thomas Jefferson flashed onto the screen: "Nothing can now be believed which is seen in a newspaper." The film is called Hating Breitbart. It's a documentary about the polarizing conservative media mogul Andrew Breitbart, who died last year, not long after appearing at the 2012 CPAC. "You need to tell a story," says the film's director, Andrew Marcus. "You need to have a protagonist and an antagonist, just basic storytelling stuff." Marcus says that films like his are the way to get the conservative story out to a broader demographic. Documentary film has long been dominated by directors who lean liberal. Think Michael Moore and Oliver Stone. That's changing, though. Just last year, the conservative documentary 2016: Obama's America got wide distribution and made money. The theme of the film is that President Obama's politics are rooted in 20th century anti-colonialism. "Film offers an opportunity to reach a much wider audience," says Dinesh D'Souza, the writer and director of 2016. He's also the author of Obama's America and The Roots of Obama's Rage. "My book was a best-seller. It sold 100,000 copies. But this film, 3 million people saw it," he says. Not only does film itself have a wider reach, but movies are becoming cheaper to make. Digital cameras and accessible software are allowing filmmakers to bypass traditional barriers that once stood between potential viewers and their product. "There actually is great freedom now to be able to make films that are a lot of fun and are very creative," D'Souza says. "If conservatism doesn't show that kind of creativity, it's going to be confined to a narrow fringe of American life." But some of the attendees at CPAC say conservative films share a problem with their movement in general: difficulty making connections. "Conservatives do a poor job of actually talking about the human element," says Mike Warse, a student from Colorado who watched pro-fracking documentary FrackNation. "We've got economic arguments and statistics and all this other stuff that just isn't really helpful unless you can say, 'This is how what we believe makes somebody's life better,' " he says. FrackNation is an answer to the Oscar-nominated anti-fracking documentary Gasland. Director Phelim McAleer follows a group of Pennsylvania farmers who want to lease their lands to natural gas companies, but can't because of government regulation. "There's a real appetite for these kinds of stories," McAleer says. He funded FrackNation with Kickstarter, a crowd-funding website that's already popular with other independent filmmakers. More than 3,000 people donated an average of $70 to help get the movie made. Hating Breitbart's Marcus says this kind of populist financing can make a big difference for conservative filmmakers. "The walls are coming down, and artists are going to be able to reach their audiences without the traditional gatekeepers in place, so that's incredibly exciting," he says. CPAC may not turn into a film festival anytime soon, but the role of movies is growing, both at the annual gathering and in the conservative movement.Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 KVNF Public Radio | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10393 | « Thank those who allow us to...
No voter values dishonesty...»
That which holds us together...
Save | It's hard to believe that it has been 11 years since terrorists attacked America on Sept. 11, 2001. We watched with horror that Tuesday morning as airplanes flew into each of the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. We were shocked to hear that another plane - thought to be targeting the White House or Capitol - crashed into an open field in Shanksville. Most of us not only remember vividly where we were and what we were doing when we heard the news for the first time, but also how the citizens of this country reacted. It was hard to go anywhere without seeing dozens of American flags flying with pride. Many of us felt compelled to volunteer to help our fellow man by doing things such as donating blood, giving money to help with the cleanup effort or supporting the families of the victims. In the wake of tragedy, our country was the United States. It was a time when we focused on our commonalities instead of our differences. The whole reason the U.S. was sucker-punched that day was because the attackers hated all that America stood for. They wanted to fatally wound our country. But what they accomplished instead was to strengthen the resolve of America and let the world know that this country can do anything. Eleven years later, the World Trade Center is rebuilt, our country's defense is stronger and Osama bin Laden is dead. If the tragic events of that day taught us anything, it's that which holds us together is stronger than that which tries to tear us apart. It's why we're the United States of America. Save | Subscribe to Lewistown Sentinel I am looking for: | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10415 | Grammy nominations 2013: Nods to Kanye, Auerbach, Mumford celebrate diversity of music
The Grammy nominations featured a six-way tie for most nominations with artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun. leading the pack. By Chris Talbott, Associated Press /
The band fun. (pictured) scored the most overall Grammy nominations along with five other artists.
Donn Jones/Invision/AP
The Grammy Awards celebrated the diversity of music as six different artists tied for lead nominee — Kanye West, Jay-Z, Frank Ocean, Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys, Mumford & Sons and fun.Auerbach received five nominations as a member of the Keys and also is up for producer of the year, earning a spot with the others at the top of the list as the Grammy's primetime television special came to his hometown Wednesday night."We're speechless," Auerbach said in a statement to The Associated Press from Germany, where he's on tour with drummer Patrick Carney.
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The rockers little resemble any of the other acts at the top of the list. The nominations for Jay-Z and West, two of hip-hop's most important figures, is a familiar refrain. Each has routinely been at or near the top of the nominations list for the last several years.Indie pop band fun., a featured performer during the show, aired live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on CBS, rode the success of its anthemic hit "We Are Young" featuring Janelle Monae to sweep of the major categories, earning nods for best new artist, song and record for "We Are Young" and album of the year for "Some Nights." The band's producer Jeff Bhasker is up for four nominations."When you call your band fun. with a period at the end of the sentence, you set a very high standard for yourself and for fun itself," Taylor Swift, the concert's co-host, said in introducing them. "Fortunately this band from New York has lived up to the name in the best possible way."R&B singer Ocean, whose mother was in attendance, made a bold social statement earlier this year when he noted he had a same-sex relationship in the liner notes of his new album "channel ORANGE," and The Recording Academy rewarded him with the nominations for best new artist, record for "Thinkin Bout You" and album of the year.And British folk-rock band Mumford & Sons, which made an auspicious debut in front of an international audience during the 2011 Grammys, is up for album of the year for "Babel," one of 2012's best-selling releases.Miguel, who helped Ocean shake up the R&B world this year, and jazz great Chick Corea join the Keys with five nominations apiece. Nas and recording engineer Bob Ludwig join Bhasker at four apiece.
There were no major snubs. Most of 2012's inescapable hits are represented in some way — Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" is up for record of the year and Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe" garnered a song of the year nod. Drake, Rihanna and Nashville residents Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Jack White and best new artist nominee Hunter Hayes were among 16 nominees with three nods.In many ways the nominations reflect a singles-driven year when no album rose to the level of acclaim as Adele's "21" or West's "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy," which dominated the Grammys last February.The best new artist category is a great example of this year's diversity. From the minimalist R&B of Ocean, the pop-influenced sounds of fun. and Hayes, the soulful rock of Alabama Shakes and the Americana swing of The Lumineers, there's little resemblance between the acts."I think people listen to a lot of types of music and Spotify has proven that, and iPod has proven that," Lumineers member Wes Schultz said. "... Every person in that audience tonight, I saw them freaking out about various artists that have no relationship to each other."Alabama Shakes drummer Steve Johnson noted the diversity in the category after the show, then made a surprising statement: "If I were on the other side of the fence, I'd vote Frank Ocean personally."The members of fun. were "dorking it up" as they learned about their nominations, lead singer Nate Reuss said, and were especially excited to show up in the album of the year category, which also included Ocean's major label debut, the Keys' "El Camino," Mumford's "Babel" and White's "Blunderbuss.""It's been an incredible year in music," guitarist Jack Antonoff said. "It feels like alternative music is back, looking at album of the year, especially those nominations. We couldn't be more proud to be in there. ... I think when we were sitting in our chairs out there, when we saw Jack White up there, that's when we really pinched ourselves. We felt so honored to be in the same category."Miguel also had his mind on the forgotten art form of the album. Nominated in the major category of song of the year for "Adorn," he said in a phone interview from New York that he was most excited about another category — urban contemporary album."Of all of the categories to be nominated for, that is the one that means the most to me just because I just, I miss great albums. That's a huge compliment to say that your entire body of work was the best of the year," he said. "I don't know. That's the one that means the most to me. I'm really hoping maybe, just maybe."He'll find out when the 55th annual Grammy Awards take place Feb. 10 in Los Angeles. Trophies will be handed out in 81 categories.The 5-year-old nominations show was held outside Los Angeles for the first time and showcased Music City for its growing role in the music industry. The Bridgestone Arena marked the largest venue the show has been held in and it may have been a dress rehearsal for a chance to host the main awards show sometime in the future.LL Cool J returned as host, sharing duties with Swift, whose hit song "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" earned a nod in the jam-packed record of the year category. She was joined by fun., Gotye, Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)," The Black Keys' "Lonely Boy" and Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You."Song of the year nominees were Ed Sheeran's "The A Team," Miguel's "Adorn," Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe," Clarkson's "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" and fun.'s "We Are Young."Swift and LL Cool J opened the show by putting together a beat-box version of Swift's hit "Mean." Hayes displayed his versatility while announcing the best pop vocal album by singing snippets of each star's hit song. Maroon 5 played headliner, singing three songs mid-show before finishing off the live broadcast. The group stuck around for an hourlong performance afterward for the crowd in attendance.Assisted by Monae, fun. reimagined "We Are Young" with orchestral strings as the crowd sang along, Ne-Yo, in wine-colored bowler, kicked things up with a cadre of dancers on his new club-infused song "Let Me Love You." And the show tipped its hat to Nashville with a salute to Johnny Cash by Dierks Bentley and The Band Perry.
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10416 | Hunt for Christopher Dorner becomes major PR problem for L.A. police (+video)
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck says he will review alleged cop killer Christopher Dorner's charges of racism. It could be an important step in reversing the LAPD’s history of corruption and abuse. By Brad Knickerbocker, Staff writer /
The hunt for alleged cop killer Christopher Dorner has turned into a major public relations challenge for law enforcement officials, in particular the Los Angeles Police Department, working its way back from a history of corruption and abuse.Not only have hundreds of well-trained officers equipped with military-style vehicles – including helicopters with thermal imaging devices one pilot says can pick out a rabbit in a snowstorm – been unable to find the man charged with killing three people and wounding two others on a rampage aimed at police officers and their families, but the LAPD also has been forced to reexamine the reasons for Mr. Dorner’s dismissal as a police officer in 2009 – brought about, Dorner charges in the 11-page manifesto he posted on Facebook, by racism in the department. And the LAPD is having to make amends to the two people – a middle-aged Hispanic woman and her mother delivering newspapers – wounded when police riddled their truck with gunfire. (The women’s truck was neither the make nor the color of Dorner’s pickup, which was later found abandoned.)How much do you know about the Second Amendment? A quiz.
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The search for Dorner continued Sunday in and around the San Bernardino mountains east of L.A., but police were on edge and alert to the possibility that the alleged killer had left California. Police in Las Vegas (where Dorner owns property) are now traveling in pairs, and motorcycle patrol officers have been ordered into less-vulnerable cruisers.Given Dorner’s claims about why he was fired, which detail specific episodes with specific senior officers named, LAPD Chief Charlie Beck has ordered an official review of the case, which occurred before he took over the department."I am aware of the ghosts of the LAPD's past, and one of my biggest concerns is that they will be resurrected by Dorner's allegations of racism within the department," Chief Beck said in a statement Saturday. "Therefore, I feel we need to also publicly address Dorner's allegations regarding his termination of employment."In his manifesto, Dorner warns that the killing will continue until “the department states the truth about my innocence.”But Beck says, "I do this not to appease a murderer…. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do."A special joint task force is being formed to investigate the Dorner case, the Los Angeles Times reports. Participating agencies include the Irvine and Riverside police departments, the FBI, the US Marshals Service, and other law enforcement organizations.
“It is important to acknowledge this history if we are to understand and overcome the disturbing support for Dorner's manifesto from the black community on the Internet and on black radio, and if we are to ever free ourselves from the toxic wake of the LAPD's past,” civil rights attorney Connie Rice writes in a Los Angeles Times op-ed column.But Ms. Rice, who has faced off against the LAPD many times in court, says Dorner “is absolutely wrong” when he states in the manifesto that the department has not changed in the years since officers on patrol were racially segregated and police brutality like the Rodney King episode caused violent riots.“The LAPD has definitely changed at the top and is currently in the process of changing its old guard culture,” she writes. “We're not done; there are decades still of work to be done to change the institutional culture, but … the good guys are now in charge of LAPD culture; it is a huge change and the right beginning to real police reform.”While this may be a generally accepted view among experts and most residents of Los Angeles, this past week’s shooting of innocent bystanders reminds many Angelenos of a darker shoot-first-ask-questions-later past.Hector Villagra, executive director of the ACLU of Southern California, questions Beck’s initial comments following the mistaken shooting of newspaper carriers Margie Carranza and her 71-year-old mother, Emma Hernandez, both of whom are recovering from their injuries.Also appearing in the Los Angeles Times as a guest columnist, Mr. Villagra writes: “When Beck says that it's not difficult to imagine how officers who were already on edge could make the mistake these officers did, even if he is not commenting directly on this shooting, he risks suggesting that he has prejudged their behavior as excusable, a suggestion that is particularly troubling for those who live in communities where officer-involved shootings happen regularly.”The LAPD is investigating the incident, reported to have involved dozens of shots fired by at least seven officers. Meanwhile, Beck has met with the two women in their home to apologize and to promise that their bullet-riddled truck will be replaced with a new one.How much do you know about the Second Amendment? A quiz.
How much do you know about the Second Amendment? A quiz.
Christopher Dorner: Experts look for clues to alleged cop killer’s mental state (+video)
Christopher Dorner manifesto: a guide to ex-cop's alleged rampage
Los Angeles riots: 20 years later, has LAPD reformed?
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10419 | Nose job, lies force Egyptian lawmaker to quit
Monday, March 05, 2012 | 2:02 PM CAIRO, Egypt (AP) — Egypt’s ultraconservative Islamic Al-Nour party said today one of its lawmakers has resigned from Parliament because he got a nose job and then lied about it, claiming he was beaten.
Lawmaker Anwar al-Balkimy told police he was attacked last week during an attempt to steal his car while he was driving on a highway on Cairo’s outskirts. He said his attackers also robbed of him more than US$16,000.
That led to an outcry against Egypt’s government for failing to prevent such crimes, a stream of visitors to the wounded lawmaker in his hospital room and prominent pictures in local newspapers of his heavily bandaged face.
Then it turned out there was no carjacking, no beating and no robbery. Al-Balkimy just had a nose job.
The problem with that is that his party follows a strict line of Islam that forbids cosmetic surgery as meddling in God’s work.
It was especially embarrassing for al-Nour, just weeks after a surprisingly strong showing in Egypt’s parliamentary election, where it captured a quarter of the seats by championing one of the world’s strictest interpretations of Islam, similar to Saudi Wahhabism. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10431 | UN, Aid Officials Plead for End to South Sudan Fighting Date Published: 03/24/2014 Summary: United Nations emergency response officials called on the warring sides in South Sudan to stop fighting to alleviate the suffering of the country's people, who are facing extreme hardship as unrest goes into a fourth month and the rainy season looms. (..) Aid agencies including the World Food Program (WFP) and Doctors Without Borders (MSF) have reported that their offices, hospitals and warehouses have been looted during the fighting in the country. David Kaatrud of WFP said some aid has been held up at checkpoints that have been set up along roads leading to Jonglei and Unity states, two of the states most heavily impacted by the fighting and the resulting humanitarian crisis.
Links: read article Sections | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10444 | USA Today travels 'Back to the Future' with front page from the film
Image: screenshot, Back to the Future II
By Patrick Kulp2015-10-21 11:00:08 UTC
USA Today is welcoming you to the future, as it was envisioned in the time-traveling world of Marty McFly and Doc Brown. The newspaper is marking the date that graced the front page of its appearance in Back to the Future II more than 25 years ago with a wrap-around supplement that features an elaborate recreation of the edition featured in the iconic movie. See also: Marty McFly visits the post-nuclear wasteland in 'Back to the Terminator'
Image: Courtesy of USA TodaySince the copy in the prop version of the front page consists of the same block of text repeated, USA Today had to take some creative liberties and reimagine each article based on the headlines, even adding some new articles editors conceived themselves to fill out the page. The updated version also omits an item about "Queen Diana" visiting Washington — likely because the tragic reality was too depressing for a fun tribute to the movie. As a convenient plot device for marking time and current events amid the flux of time travel, newspapers play a fairly big role in the Back to the Future franchise, though as New York has pointed out, the editorial judgment of the editors behind them often seem a bit suspect. Some glaring gaps and obviously misguided guesses aside, however, the film was impressively prescient about some of the technology that may shape the news industry — though it definitely overestimated the pace of change.
Back to the Future II envisioned that news would be written by automated programs with names like "Compu-Fax" and documented by drone-like hovercams.
While as far as we know, USA Today doesn't employ a staff writer named "Compu-Fax Satelite" (conspicuously misspelled in the film), that sort of technology does exist today. Thankfully for human reporters though, it's not quite adept enough to churn out above-the-fold front page stories (yet). And while hovercams are no where near ubiquitous in today's newsrooms, the movie's predictions about the role of drones in journalism may also prove prophetic, according to some experts. The movie does seem to overestimate the health and resources of today's local press as well as the ascendance of USA Today to the point where it could charge $6 a pop for its own localized editions (the paper currently costs $2 and includes just one national edition). That's no doubt because in the Back to the Future universe, the print industry remains untouched by any disruption from the unforeseen world wide web. Still the creators of the subsequent early '90s animated series recognized that no industry is immune to the unending march of technology: By 2091, USA Today has been ousted from Hill Valley by a publication called the Megabyte Daily — which peddles a print edition for a whopping $86. Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.
Advertising, Business, Media, usa today | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10472 | Townsville pushes for more ETS support
Penny Timms
Thu 26 Nov 2009, 9:06 AM AEDT
The Townsville City Council in north Queensland says it is prepared to lobby the Federal Government to support local businesses affected by the emissions trading scheme (ETS).Operators of Yabulu's nickel refinery, north of Townsville, are concerned the scheme could force it to close unless it is granted Government assistance.Townsville Mayor Les Tyrell says he is prepared to take the issue to the highest possible power."We've only just become aware that there are some issues through the ETS and we're in the process of organising to have discussions with representatives of Queensland Nickel over this over the next few days," he said."There may well be an opportunity for us to take that forward on behalf of any company in the city to the Prime Minister when he visits for the Community Cabinet in December." | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10492 | Red Hook Apocalypse: How Sandy Undid an Up-and-Coming New York City Neighborhood
The hurricane wreaked havoc among the restaurants and businesses in the historic but long ignored Brooklyn area. Now it has to rebuild By Tony Karon / Red Hook, New York City @tonykaronNov. 01, 2012 Share
Seth Wenig / APWorkers dispose of food damaged by Hurricane Sandy at Red Hook's Fairway supermarket in Brooklyn, N.Y., on Oct. 31, 2012 Email
The quirky wooden two-story storefronts of Red Hook’s Van Brunt Street are more reminiscent of a Cape Cod fishing town than the cookie-cutter architecture of the brownstone, townhouse and housing-project symmetry of the Brooklyn neighborhoods that surround it. And the area’s idiosyncratic separateness from much of New York City has long been reinforced by it’s isolation from all the arterial subways that connect Brooklyn with Manhattan and Queens. It’s that quirkiness as well as the gorgeous views across the harbor — Lady Liberty outside your front window and fresh sea air — that has attracted scores of young hipsters and the associated restaurants, coffee shops, artisanal distilleries and other small businesses of the booming Brooklyn-cuisine scene. It has also lately attracted some major retail destination stores — Fairway supermarket, in a 19th century coffee warehouse at the water’s edge, attracts shoppers from throughout the borough on weekends, while a massive Ikea outlet services the whole city — with low water-taxi fees for Manhattanites who want to travel to Red Hook to buy space-saving furniture for their tiny apartments.
(MORE: Is Your Subway Line Running?)
A ghostly silence hung over the normally bustling Ikea on Wednesday, and a few security personnel were the only people to be seen as gulls soared overhead in the gray skies. The store was largely spared water damage, but without power, no business could be conducted. (The city disconnected Red Hook’s electricity on Monday night, having ordered the neighborhood’s residents to evacuate.)
On Tuesday morning, the air was thick with the steady thrumming of sump pumps up and down Van Brunt. Most buildings’ basements were flooded, and the arriviste businesses and longtime residents found one another at a kind of block-party-meets-wake cleanup. People counted the cost of Sandy’s devastation, soldiering on in the knowledge that whatever they had suffered was suffered by their neighbors too. Sometimes it takes a disaster to remind folk that they’re part of a single community, whether they choose to recognize it or not.
Steve Linares, a chef at Fort Defiance, showed TIME the restaurant’s flooded basement. “Our refrigerators are down there, embedded into the concrete. They’re ruined. It’s going to take a long time to pull them out of there and replace them.” He estimated the damage to be $100,000 and said FEMA had been meeting with small-business owners in the area, although he didn’t know what the agency was offering. “We don’t know when we’ll be able to open again, but we’re here helping the owner,” he said. “We like him. He’s a good guy. And it’s in our interests to get him up and running as quickly as possible.”
There was a similar spirit of cooperation throughout the community. “Everybody is helping one another,” said Linares. “People are sharing sump pumps, hoses and generators, doing whatever they can to help their neighbors get through this.”
A couple of doors down, Ben Schneider, who runs the Asian-crossover bistro Good Fork, had a table set up on the sidewalk to provide neighbors and volunteers free coffee and bagels as well as serve as a clearinghouse for generators, pumps and other vital equipment being shared along the street. “Red Hook is like a small town,” said Schneider. “It’s natural that we want to help each other and get through this together.” The water in his dining room reached near table-top height, “but the basement, where pretty much everything happens in these restaurants, is finished.”
Corey Calabrese led a group of volunteers from door to door telling residents and business owners of a planned community meeting later that evening being organized by the Red Hook Initiative. She worried that businesses seemed to have more help at hand than some of the older residents, who needed strong arms and backs to help them move furniture out of flooded basement-level apartments.
(MORE: A Guide to Brooklyn’s Hottest Local Spirits)
Every business along Van Brunt and the pier that juts out into the bay at its end had been devastated, and the water taxis that ply the commuter route along the Brooklyn littoral bobbed uncertainly alongside a pier that was twisted and mangled like wire tie.
Down the street, in Fairway’s parking lot, the store’s fleet of shopping carts were stacked high with goods, which workers in maroon uniforms were cataloging and tossing in a dumpster adjacent to a giant FEMA truck. A security guard who wouldn’t give his name refused to let anyone enter the grounds but allowed that the store had been pretty much destroyed. That assessment was confirmed by a water mark over 7 feet tall on a wall around the side of the building. The store’s pier-side location offers an exquisite view and fresh ocean breeze on a Sunday afternoon, but it also put it directly in the path of what must have been a 15-foot wave cresting the 8-foot breakwater. A stench of meat beginning to rot hung over the muddied rear entrance, and refrigeration trucks were loaded.
Around the corner at Sunny’s Bar, Mike Horenstein, a 26-year veteran of the neighborhood with a salty gray mustache, was undeterred. “We didn’t leave,” he said, “because they told us to evacuate for Hurricane Irene, and nothing happened.” But he’s sardonic: “We’ll rebuild it better. One thing we’ve learned: sandbags don’t make any difference in a storm like this.”
At the nearby headquarters of Steve’s Authentic Key Lime Pies, whose tart treats are legend throughout the greater New York area, Samantha Citrin was only starting to come to grips with the scale of the damage. “We’re all helping each other,” she said. “We’re good like that.” She was not sure when Steve’s will begin baking again.
On the ocean side of the same pier, staff members of the production kitchen at Mile End, whose smoked brisket and other Montreal Jewish fare have made it an instant legend of the Brooklyn food movement, are in DIY hazmat suits, scrubbing bleach onto the floors and wall of a devastated facility that has suffered hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage.
A disconsolate Max Levine showed me around, making sure I saw the brand-new massive smoking ovens that were destroyed by saltwater. One of his partners, Noah Barnamoff, was blunt: “The businesses and residents of Red Hook need help. We’ve come here and invested to help revitalize a historic neighborhood. But after this devastation, everyone should know: we can’t rebuild this community without assistance.”
(PHOTOS: Inside Brownsville, One of Brooklyn’s Most Dangerous Neighborhoods)
Residents and business owners weren’t sure of what sort of assistance they could expect. So far, they were hearing that FEMA will offer low-interest loans. But for many, that won’t be enough.
Outside a flooded duplex apartment on Coffey Street, landlord Gino Vitale helped his tenants pump out water. But it wasn’t only seawater. “There was poo floating in it,” said tenant Elizabeth Freund. “The sewer backed up.”
Vitale estimated the damage his 16 buildings had suffered to be $600,000. Did he have flood insurance? He laughed. He suffered $80,000 of damage from Irene, he said, and his insurance company sent him a check for $4,000.
Much of the furniture from Freund’s basement apartment, which was still under 8 inches of water two days after the storm surge, was stacked disconsolately on the sidewalk. Downstairs, a child’s sneaker and a drumstick float by in murky water. Freund, an artist, and her family evacuated when the surge began, but she soon returned, sleeping on her upstairs neighbor’s sofa. “I needed to be here as soon as possible,” she said. “It’s hard to be anywhere else when all you want to do is get started on fixing your place.”
Mateo Zlatar, who runs a nearby app-design studio near the Gowanus Canal, had thought on the eve of the storm to raise his computers off the floor and place them on a long table, which also held a bowl containing a goldfish. “When I came in on Tuesday morning, the fishbowl was there, still full of water, but the fish was gone,” he said. The water mark on the adjacent wall reaching almost 5 feet suggested that the fish would have enjoyed an hour or two of unprecedented freedom, albeit in water both salty and toxic, before its demise. The canal, after all, is a Superfund site. The computers wouldn’t have lasted as long.
MORE: Brooklyn’s All-Volunteer Ambulance Corps
Tony Karon
@tonykaron Tony Karon is a senior editor at TIME, where he has covered international conflicts in the Middle East, Asia, and the Balkans since 1997. A native of South Africa, he now resides with his family in Brooklyn, New York. Home | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10509 | Last Updated: Monday, 28 February, 2005, 17:12 GMT
Bhutan's smokers face public ban
By Geeta Pandey
BBC News, Bhutan
Thimphu's markets are no longer the place to buy tobacco
A nationwide ban on smoking in public places comes into effect from Tuesday in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
The country was the first in the world to impose a nationwide ban on the sale of tobacco products back in December.
According to a notification from the ministry of trade and industry, the decision to ban smoking in public places has been made "to protect the present and future generations from the devastating consequences of tobacco use".
Bhutan's Health Secretary Dr Sangay Thinley told the BBC: "The use of tobacco is not so enormous, but with the changing times, we felt that the smoking trend was growing.
"So we thought we'd do something immediate. We know what a problem this is worldwide - the number of people tobacco kills every day." But more than two months after the ban on tobacco sales, cigarettes and tobacco products are still widely available and consumed.
Traditional society
It is midnight at the Fusion bar in the capital, Thimphu.
If it becomes difficult to get tobacco and they have to pay more, it may motivate people to give up smoking
Dr Sangay Thinley,health secretary
Groups of young men and women cluster around tables, letting their hair down over cans of Tiger beer and shots of Smirnoff vodka.
Dimmed lights and thick cigarette smoke give the place an unreal feel. Bhutan is a very traditional society and most people here still wear the traditional dress - knee-length, skirt-like robes called gho for men and long skirts known as kira for women. But tonight most of those present at the bar are dressed in jeans and body-hugging T-shirts.
And amid raucous laughter comes a show of defiance. "I'm a smoker and I will always be a smoker," says Anuj. Anuj owns a bar and restaurant in Thimphu.
He says he started smoking when he was 14, mostly to impress girls.
Today, he's 36 and smokes at least 20 cigarettes a day.
But how has he fared since the sale of tobacco was banned in Bhutan two and a half months ago?
"I'm not affected," he says. "I stocked up before the ban. I'll need to buy only when I run out of cigarettes. You could call me a smart smoker," he laughs. Underground
The penalty for those flouting the ban on tobacco sales is 10,000 ngultrums ($200). The shops also stand to lose their licence.
I have to be careful. If I get caught, I'll lose my licence. But the profit margin is now good
Cigarette seller
But the official ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products has driven the market for the products underground. Phuntso Wangde, a resident of Thimphu, says cigarettes are still available.
"It's become more difficult, they are not as readily available. But I get it from some people I know.
"They know I'm a smoker so they sell it to me. But now it's more expensive. A pack of cigarettes that earlier cost 30 ngultrums now costs 40."
I go to Thimphu's main shopping avenue, Norzin Lam, looking for someone who still sells tobacco.
In between the stores that sell woollen jackets, jumpers and long socks for men are tiny window shops that sell candies and various other assorted items. This is where most people bought their tobacco before the ban.
Most take one look at me and say they don't have any cigarettes.
But the owner of one window shop agrees to speak to me on the condition that he will not be identified.
"It's very risky now. Lots of people come looking for tobacco but I sell only to the people I know. I have to be careful. If I get caught, I'll lose my licence," he says. "But the profit margin is now good."
Despite a flourishing black market in tobacco products, the health ministry in Bhutan is quite confident that the ban on the sale of tobacco products and now on smoking in public places will have a positive impact.
The ban is to "protect past and future generations", say ministers
The health secretary, Dr Thinley, says the ultimate goal is to have a healthy, tobacco-free Bhutan.
"If we can restrict supply, it may help people take a decision. They know it's bad for their health and if it becomes difficult to get tobacco and they have to pay more, it may motivate people to give up smoking." Dr Thinley says there will be no penalties for those who light up in public. And it will be left to the community to discourage the offenders. His job may be made easier by the fact that he has many supporters on the streets of Thimphu.
Most people say the government's decision is right.
At the Fusion bar, the smokers continue to light up.
They say they know the ban will apply to this bar too, but they shrug it off, saying they've managed to deal with the ban on sales.
Now, they say, they'll just have to deal with the latest ban too. As one of them said to me, if someone wants to smoke, they will.
But many say it is not really an issue as smoking is confined to Thimphu and other small towns - and even here it is not widespread.
Smoking is stubbed out in Bhutan
22 Feb 05 | South Asia
Bhutan forbids all tobacco sales
17 Dec 04 | South Asia
Bhutan seeks to ban smoking
19 Jan 03 | South Asia
Bhutan health walk nets reward
Bhutan's growing cannabis problem
30 May 02 | South Asia
Country profile: Bhutan
14 Aug 04 | Country profiles
Bhutan government | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10513 | Royal Mail CEO In Line For £500,000 Bonus
Moya Greene to receive payout for steering sharp improvement in postal firm’s performance last year, Sky News learns.
20:44, UK, Thursday 23
Moya Greene is in line to receive a £500,000 bonus
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
The chief executive of Royal Mail is being lined up for an annual bonus worth almost £500,000 just months before the company presses the button on Britain's biggest privatisation for a generation.
Moya Greene, who took over as the boss of the state-owned postal operator in 2010, is expected to receive the payout after nearly trebling Royal Mail's operating profit to £403m last year.
Royal Mail's remuneration committee, chaired by non-executive director Orna Ni-Chionna, has yet to formally agree the pay proposals for the 2012-13 financial year.
Both the pay committee and the wider board will do so ahead of the release of the company's annual report, which will be published by the end of July.
People close to Royal Mail said the forthcoming annual report would show that Ms Greene's base salary had been frozen at £498,000 for the third consecutive year, reflecting the company's state ownership.
Under the terms of her contract, she is eligible for an annual bonus equivalent to a year's salary.
Royal Mail made a £403m operating profit in 2012
One insider said that the terms of Royal Mail's executive pay schemes meant the company's board had little discretion over the size of bonus payouts to Ms Greene and her executive colleagues because they are incentivised according to strict operational and financial targets.
According to last year's annual report, a dozen key metrics include Royal Mail's group operating profit as well as customer satisfaction and employee safety.
Last year, Ms Greene received a cash bonus of £371,000, or 74.5% of her base salary.
Sources said the company's sharply improved performance across the board during the last 12 months meant her bonus was likely to be higher this year.
The payout may provide some ammunition to those opposing the privatisation, although Ms Greene has forged a good working relationship with the CWU, the principal Royal Mail staff union.
Despite the fact that she is one of Britain's highest-paid public servants, one ally of the chief executive said that even with a £1m pay-and-bonus package for 2012-13, Ms Greene's remuneration would be modest compared to the bosses of most FTSE-350 companies.
The Royal Mail boss will also be in line for a long-term bonus award vesting in three years' time that could be worth around £500,000, although she is not expected to earn any additional payment for helping to steer the company through a stock market listing or sale.
A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said: "The Government has not made a decision on the precise form a transaction will take.
"Once we have decided on the type and timing of a transaction we will set out transparently the terms of any incentives ahead of a sale.
"However, it is not our intention to pay deal bonuses."
Ministers are expected to appoint the investment banks that would lead a Royal Mail flotation in the next few days.
A Royal Mail spokesman declined to comment on Thursday.
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Anti-Trump Protests Turn Violent In New Mexico | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10514 | Syrian horror pushes global displacement to record high of 29 mln
by Katy Migiro
| https://twitter.com/katymigiro Monday, 29 April 2013 08:59 GMT
Syrian refugee children play with toys given by Members of the UAE Red Crescent after their arrival at the new Mrajeeb Al Fhood refugee camp 20 km east of the city of Zarqa, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
Report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) says Syria is the fastest evolving internal displacement crisis in the world and that it will continue to accelerate until the conflict is resolved
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – With daily television images of civilians fleeing shelling with children in their arms, allegations of chemical weapon use and 70,000 deaths, it’s no surprise that Syria tops the global list of countries where people were internally displaced last year.
In 2012, 2.4 million people were newly displaced within Syria, taking the number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) worldwide to a record-breaking 28.8 million, according a report released on Monday by the Geneva-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC). “It’s the fastest evolving internal displacement crisis at the moment in the world,” Clare Spurrell, a spokeswoman for the IDMC, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
The report says that displacement will continue to accelerate in Syria until the conflict is resolved.
Syria's uprising began in March 2011 with largely peaceful protests against President Bashar al-Assad but escalated into a civil war pitting mainly Sunni Muslim rebels against the government of Assad, whose minority Alawite faith is an offshoot of Shi'ite Islam.
In the first four months of 2013 – which are not covered by the report – it is estimated that an additional 800,000 Syrians have been internally displaced, taking the number of IDPs in the country to 3.8 million.
At the end of 2011, there were just 589,000 IDPs in Syria – less than one-sixth the current figure.
The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has only been able to reach 430,000 of those in need, Spurrell said.
“Syria has really gone beyond the tipping point where humanitarians are going to be able to adequately respond,” she said. “A political resolution to the conflict is the most important first step now.”
INVISIBLE AND UNAIDED
Overall, global displacement increased to 28.8 million in 2012 from 26.4 million the year before. Over 6.5 million were newly displaced in 2012, almost twice that of the previous year.
Many of the world’s IDPs get little or no emergency assistance. They are often trapped in dangerous places with few access routes, making it hard for humanitarian workers to reach them. Warring parties also try to block aid to people they see as part of the enemy population.
In Syria, most IDPs stay with relatives, friends and host communities. Others are camped out in mosques, universities, parks and schools. They are largely invisible and unaided.
“Incoming IDPs, often devoid of money assets or any means of sustaining themselves, are placing an unavoidable strain on already exhausted host communities... [who themselves are] suffering a lack of food, a lack of access to healthcare,” said Spurrell, adding that tensions have been reported between IDPs and their hosts in 20 percent of the Syrian province of Idlib governorate.
The Syrian Arab Red Crescent has been unable to reach two-thirds of IDPs, international appeals have not been sufficiently funded and the efforts of civil society to smuggle in medicines and food have been limited by their own lack of resources, the report said.
The few camps that exist are in opposition-controlled areas along the Turkish border.
AFRICAN CRISES
Aside from Syria, the other three large-scale displacement crises that the world struggled to respond to in 2012 were all in Africa.
In the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), one million people fled an upsurge in violence. In November, a new rebel group, the M23, displaced 140,000 people from the city of Goma in a single week.
In Somalia, there are still over one million IDPs, despite the end of the famine and a stronger federal government in Mogadishu.
The final trouble spot is Mali. Close to 230,000 people fled northern Mali to escape an uprising by Tuareg rebels early in 2012 and widespread abuses by militant Islamist groups that took control of vast parts of the country in June.
IDMC says 90 percent of IDPs in the countries it monitors live in situations of protracted displacement, defined by UNHCR as having been displaced for five years or more with bleak prospects for an immediate solution.
“You are seeing second and third generations being born into displacement,” said Spurrell. “It is very easy for internally displaced people to become invisible.”
The report calls on governments to do more to help IDPs.
“Most governments would prefer IDPs to go back to their places of origin, but have done very little to create the right conditions for returns,” it said, pointing to continuing social and ethnic tensions and lack of support in accessing basic documents and services."
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Greece starts clearing makeshift migrant camp on border | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10517 | Published on NewsBusters (http://newsbusters.org)
Home > Journalists Out of Work? Resurrect Leftwing Federal Writers Project
Journalists Out of Work? Resurrect Leftwing Federal Writers Project
By P.J. Gladnick | December 8, 2008 | 7:32 AM EST
Mark Pinsky, writing for the New Republic, has an idea of what to do with all the journalists currently being laid off by the dying newspapers around the country: put them on the public payroll by hiring them for a resurrected Federal Writers Project. This was the New Deal project which provided funding for works which were primarily of a leftwing nature. And any current version of this government program is likely to have the same political ideology as its predecessor. Pinksy explains his dream of subsidizing unemployed journalists (emphasis mine):Barack Obama sounds like he wants to reach back to the New Deal's Works Progress Administration to jump start the economy with an economic stimulus proposal featuring infrastructure repair. If so, it may be time for the man who would be FDR to take a look at another successful--but largely forgotten--jobs program from the Depression era: the Federal Writers Project.America's newspaper industry has been imploding in the last few years, a development that predates the Wall Street collapse but has been hugely accelerated by the economic meltdown, forcing thousands of journalists onto the street. Hundreds more have now joined them from retrenching magazines and faltering websites, bringing the year-to-date total to 14,683 according to the tracking website Paper Cuts. Hundreds more have now joined them from retrenching magazines and faltering websites. Every day the journalism clearinghouse Romenesko links to stories of layoffs and downsizing--Gannett has been cutting 2,000 jobs across the chain, and Newsday has just announced another five percent in the last week alone. Any federal effort to put back to work the hundreds of thousands thrown out of work in the nation's hard-hit industrial, construction, airline, and financial sectors should consider displaced news media workers--including those newly laid off from the publishing industry--as well.
And don't forget that the Tribune Co. is about to go bankrupt and the failing Miami Herald is now up for sale. Oops! Sorry for interrupting Mark Pinsky and his fantasies about New Deal writer glories updated for the 21st century:The Federal Writers Project operated from 1935-1939 under the leadership of Henry Alsberg, a journalist and theater director. In addition to providing employment to more than 6,000 out-of-work reporters, photographers, editors, critics, writers, and creative craftsmen and -women, the FWP produced some lasting contributions to American history, culture, and literature......Today, there are many dislocated "old media" journalists from newspapers, radio, and television on the street--here I declare my personal interest, as one of them--who could provide a skilled pool to staff a new FWP. But since these journalists represent only a fraction of the larger displaced workforce, it is fair to ask what the public benefit would be of money spent.This time, the FWP could begin by documenting the ground-level impact of the Great Recession; chronicling the transition to a green economy; or capturing the experiences of the thousands of immigrants who are changing the American complexion. Like the original FWP, the new version would focus in particular on those segments of society largely ignored by commercial and even public media. At the same time, the multimedia fruits of this research would be open-sourced to all media, as well as to academics. As an example, oral history as a discipline has made great strides in the past 70 years, and with the development of video techniques, the forum of the Internet could make these multi-media interviews widely available to schools and scholars, as well as to average Americans.
Yup! It sure sounds like a leftwing project. And anyone who doubts it, check out how Pinsky thinks it should be administered:How would it work? Administering the new FWP as an individual grant program through community colleges and universities could minimize bureaucracy and overhead. In consultation with the Obama administration--perhaps through the National Endowment for the Humanities--and Congress, guidelines could be established and a small staff assembled in Washington to oversee the projects, in the form of grants, rather than hourly wages. Projects could be pitched locally to colleges, or suggested and posted by them, vetted preliminarily and then approved or rejected by the national staff. And "in consultation with the Obama administration and Congress" guess what sort of projects would get the funding? I guarantee you that any writing project casting doubt on Global Warming would be quickly rejected along with any other writings that question liberal ideology. The main result of any new Federal Writers Project would be as a subsidized propaganda arm for liberals.
New Republic Source URL: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/p-j-gladnick/2008/12/08/journalists-out-work-resurrect-leftwing-federal-writers-project | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10524 | More Weather News>Police Blotter Comment
Police BlotterThree charged in armed robbery Three Evans residents have been arrested in connection with an armed robbery in which drugs and cash were taken from a home in the West Lake subdivision. Posted: June 3, 2012 - 12:06am Three charged in armed robbery Three Evans residents have been arrested in connection with an armed robbery in which drugs and cash were taken from a home in the West Lake subdivision. Columbia County authorities charged Joshua Lynn Westover, 23, of the 800 block of Bridgewater Lane, Woodrow Merril Meadows III, 18, of the 900 block of Deercrest Circle, and Andrew Lee Vowell, 16, of the 1400 block of Aylesbury Drive, with burglary, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during commission of a crime.
Meadows and Vowell showed up at a home on the 3700 block of Pebble Beach Drive on May 19 and asked to see the homeowner’s son, according to a Columbia County sheriff’s incident report.
The 61-year-old man allowed the teens inside, where they walked upstairs to his son’s room.
The man went upstairs to check on the teens and saw one of them putting on a hunter’s mask, while the other was holding a rifle.
The teens ran out of the house and jumped into a car when asked what they were doing. Westover was waiting in the car, the report stated.
The man’s son was asleep during the incident.
Sheriff’s Capt. Steve Morris said the incident wasn’t reported until May 25 because the homeowner was uncertain a crime had taken place.
“He, at first, thought that maybe they were there just to play a prank and scare (his son),” Morris said.
An investigation revealed that cash and drugs were taken from the home, and the gun used in the crime was stolen, Morris said.
“This wasn’t a random armed robbery,” he said. “They knew one another or were acquainted at least to some degree.”
No other charges will be filed, Morris said.
All three are being held without bond at the Columbia County Detention Center.
Eight teens cited for underage drinking Columbia County authorities cited eight teens for underage drinking Tuesday at a house party in Evans.
Deputies arrived at a home in the 300 block of Barnsley Drive at about 12:30 a.m. in reference to a loud party and saw several people standing outside, according to a Columbia County Sheriff’s Office incident report.
All were underage and had been drinking alcohol.
The homeowner walked outside and asked for assistance in getting the other underage drinkers out of his home.
Those issued with minor in possession of alcohol are Joseph Nye, 17; Kathleen Tatika Acs, 18; Nathan Reid Lee, 17; Aaron Loy Day, 19; Brandon Daniel Gregoire, 19; Shuntae Hodges, 19; and Paige Alison Jarrard, 18.
A juvenile complaint also was issued on a 16-year-old boy, who was released to his mother.
The following accounts were taken from reports from The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office. Additional reports are available at www.columbiacountyso.org:
Inmate charged with spitting on jailer A South Carolina woman in the Columbia County Detention Center was charged with simple battery Monday after she spit on a jailer.
Lorie Denise MacLean, 41, of Walterboro, had been arrested Monday and charged with misdemeanor shoplifting. About 9:15 p.m., a jailer said she was attempting to get MacLean showered when the inmate spit in her face. A county Magistrate judge issued a simple battery warrant for MacLean. She was being held in the jail Thursday on a $2,200 bond, according to jail records.
Martinez home burglarized as homeowners slept upstairs A Martinez man called authorities Wednesday after discovering someone broke into his home overnight as he and his wife slept upstairs.
The 61-year-old said a loud noise woke him at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. When he checked downstairs, the man said he found the front door unlocked and his garage door partially open. He pushed the garage door button to close the door, which slammed down because the emergency release cord had been pulled. He locked the door to the kitchen and the front door and went back to bed. When he woke at about 7:20 a.m. Wednesday, the man said he found a set of front window blinds up and a pane of glass broken near the locking mechanism. A chair was moved from in front of a liquor cabinet. A $900 laptop computer and four bottles of liquor were missing.
Deputies found a wooden step ladder under the front window. They also found several bags of dirt stacked in front of the garage door, where someone had climbed in through a garage door window. Comment | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10525 | Suspects Con Woman Out Of $4,500 In ‘Pigeon Drop’ Scam
Filed Under: $4500, 68-Year-Old Woman, con artists, Pigeon Drop Scam, Queens, Scam
A surveillance image of a woman who is wanted, along with a man, for allegedly bilking a woman out of $4,500 in a "pigeon drop" scam. (Credit: NYPD)
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Police Sunday evening were searching for two suspects who victimized a 68-year-old woman in Queens with the infamous pigeon drop scam.
The scam generally involves two con artists who claim they have found a large sum of money and convince a victim that he or she can get a cut. They then ask the victim to put down a deposit to show good faith that they will commit to the plan, and make off with the deposit, leaving the victim empty-handed.
Back on Dec. 12, a man and woman targeted a victim for the scam in the 114th Police Precinct, which includes Astoria, Long Island City, Woodside and Jackson Heights in Queens.
The suspects told the woman they had found a large sum of money and could split it, but they would have to pay taxes on it. The victim drove the suspects to the bank, where she withdrew $4,500 and gave it to the male suspect. They then drove to another location, where the victim got out of the car, and the suspects fled the scene in a black sedan with Connecticut plates, police said.
The suspects were described as a black male between 35 and 40 years old wearing a brown suit, and a black female between 35 and 40 years old wearing a blue and white scarf, and a dark blue jacket.
The female suspect was caught on surveillance video.
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10529 | Pssst! We're having a secret drive! No pitching. No interruptions. Secret swag. Click here to make a gift! Obama Declares Emergency As Huge Fires Burn In Washington State By Bill Chappell
Jul 23, 2014 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email A burned-out car sits in front of a ruined house in this photo taken Sunday near Pateros, Wash. Large fires have destroyed hundreds of homes in the state this month.
Stephen Brashear
Originally published on July 23, 2014 5:57 pm Fires are still raging in Washington state, where officials hope rain might help them contain the large fires — but there's also a chance that heavy rainfall could trigger flooding and mudslides. Fire crews have been battling several major fires in central and eastern Washington for the past two weeks. The blazes have destroyed hundreds of homes and caused wide power outages. President Obama declared an emergency in the state today, authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to help local and state agencies with supplies and disaster relief. From Spokane Public Radio, Steve Jackson reports: "Several fires continue to ravage the state, with the Carlton Complex, the largest in state history, now at 250,000 acres. But cooler temperatures and increased humidity have helped firefighters achieve 16 percent containment. "Communications manager for the Department of Natural Resources Janet Piece says rain is actually in the weather prediction for today. " 'However there is lightning coming with the scattered thunderstorms,' she says. 'So, we're going to have to keep an eye on that, but we're hopeful the rain will keep dousing out what the lightning causes.' The temperatures are expected to get back into the 90s by next week. Good progress has been made on the Mills Canyon fire, near the town of Leavenworth, and the Watermelon Hill fire burning near Spokane. Both are at 90 percent containment Wednesday." More than 2,500 people are currently trying to fight the huge Carlton fire, according to the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center. The blaze is larger than the Washington portion of the Yacolt Burn, a 1902 fire that killed 65 people and burned more than 1 million acres of land in Washington and Oregon, Northwest Public Radio reports.Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 New Hampshire Public Radio | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10550 | Share this:FacebookTwitterGoogleWhatsAppEmailCopy ‘Trayvon could have been me’
EMPATHY: In the wake of the Zimmerman verdict, President Obama yesterday said that in his younger years he had been racially profiled. Photo: Family photo/Splash News
(AFP/Getty Images)
EMPATHY: In the wake of the Zimmerman verdict, President Obama yesterday said that in his younger years he had been racially profiled. (Family photo/ Splash News)
President Obama yesterday opened up about the Trayvon Martin verdict with an emotional speech about the racial divide in America — and compared himself to the unarmed black teen who was gunned down on his way home from a Florida store last year. “Trayvon Martin could have been me, 35 years ago,” the president said in a very personal, moving statement that touched on the “understandable” protests in the verdict’s wake.
“If a white male teen was involved in the same kind of scenario, both the outcome and the aftermath might have been different,” Obama said during an impromptu appearance at the White House daily press briefing.
Young black males are “painted with a broad brush,” Obama said. Nearly all of them have been profiled at some point in their lives, he added — himself included.
“There are very few African-American men who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars,” he told reporters.
“That happens to me — at least before I was a senator,” he said.
“There are very few African-Americans who haven’t had the experience of getting on an elevator and a woman clutching her purse nervously and holding her breath until she had the chance to get off,” he said.
“That happens often.”
He said that in speaking to kids across the country, and watching daughters Malia and Sasha as they interact with their friends, he has learned that “they’re better than we are.”
Last Sunday, the day following the acquittal of neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, Obama made just one brief statement, devoid of any mention of race, urging “calm reflection.”
His subsequent silence on the verdict had been seized upon by opinion-makers as an abdication by the nation’s moralist-in-chief; but by speaking, he also risks accusations of “politicizing” the verdict.
Obama warned those enraged by the verdict not to count on satisfaction from the Justice Department, which is conducting a preliminary probe into possible charges of civil-rights violations.
“I know that [Attorney General] Eric Holder is reviewing what happened down there,” Obama said. “But I think it’s important for people to have some clear expectations here.
“Traditionally, these are issues of state and local government,” he said of matters involving criminal laws and their enforcement.
And while Florida’s “stand your ground” law wasn’t used as a defense in the Zimmerman trial, the existence of such laws still sends a message “that someone who is armed potentially has the right to use those firearms, even if there’s a way for them to exit from a situation,” he said.
We should ask ourselves, he said, “Is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we’d like to see?” Had Trayvon been armed and of age, “Could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk?” Obama asked rhetorically.
“And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman, who had followed him in a car, because he felt threatened?”
Today Martin’s mother, Sybrina Fulton, will attend a 9 a.m. rally with the Rev. Al Sharpton at his National Action Network offices at 106 W. 145th St.
A noon rally is planned for the federal plaza near Police Headquarters as part of Sharpton’s multicity “Justice for Trayvon” day of action. With Share this:FacebookTwitterGoogleWhatsAppEmailCopy Share this article:
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10557 | Now, Bloomberg Likes Cuomo
By Azi Paybarah • 03/30/11 4:35pm
One day after expressing his “outrage” at the governor’s proposed cuts to New York City, Mayor Bloomberg said “there’s no fight with the governor.”
Speaking in the Bronx this morning, Bloomberg said he’s “a big supporter of” Cuomo, who “is a doing a great job.”
But Bloomberg, still hoping to get legislative changes approved in Albany that can help the city, added, Cuomo “I think is going to find ways to help us reduce our expenses that don’t cost the state any money.”
Bloomberg said he’s had “long” conversations with the governor, but did not provide more details. Currently, the mayor is seeking to win the right to lay off teachers based on merit, rather than seniority. He’s also looking to gain a greater voice in negotiating with labor unions, who currently deal with state lawmakers on pension issues for which the city picks up the tab.
I asked Bloombrg about the direct mailings he’s begun sending to city residents, defending his proposed budget.
“It’s funny,” Bloomberg said. “Nobody has mentioned to me any of the ads that people have been runing that I think is not exactly representing the real situation. And nobody has mentioned to me the ads where I’ve tried to explain what I think has happened.”
Filed under: Andrew Cuomo, Friendly Fire, Michael Bloomberg | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10562 | 1 (1 Shares) View Stats 5 comments
OpEdNews Op Eds 7/23/2010 at 21:59:16 Should Shirley Sherrod Sue Andrew Breitbart and Fox News?
By John Dean Permalink (Page 1 of 2 pages)
Related Topic(s): Andrew Breitbart; Defamation; NAACP; Shirley Sherrod, Add Tags
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Shirley Sherrod's story was big news this week. If you missed it, the story went like this: Conservative blogger Andrew Breitbart
posted a video clip of Sherrod -- a kindly African-American woman who was the Georgia State Director for Rural Development of the U.S. Department of Agriculture -- giving what appeared to be a racist, anti-white speech to an NAACP audience in March. In the speech, Sherrod appeared to be openly discriminating against a
white farmer. Fox News ran large with the story, with prime-time hosts O'Reilly >and Hannity in red-faced rage over Sherrod's remarks, calling for her head. The Obama Administration quickly, and thoughtlessly, fired Sherrod, and the NAACP foolishly embraced her firing. Turns out everyone except Sherrod got it wrong. Now, many are asking, Should Sherrod sue Breitbart, Fox News, or both? With a Video Clip Distorting the Truth, Should Sherrod Sue for False-Light Invasion of Privacy? Breitbart's video clip (which was 2:38 minutes long) totally distorted Sherrod's redemption talk (which was 43:15 minutes long). Breitbart's blog post characterized Sherrod's point as the exact opposite of what she was, in fact, sharing with her audience. CNN, which
refused to run the initial story, talked with both Sherrod and the farmer, and they explained that, in fact, Sherrod had helped him save his farm. By mid-week, and with the full forty-three-minute speech available online, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs apologized to Sherrod on behalf of the Administration, and Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who had earlier demanded her resignation, was trying to persuade the wronged Sherrod to take a new position with his department.
The NAACP announced that it had been "snookered" by Breitbart and Fox News, and apologized to Sherrod as well. Clearly, a great injustice was done to Shirley Sherrod. So it is not surprising that she is considering -- and many have urged her to file --
a lawsuit to right the wrongs she has suffered. By week's end, Sherrod told the CBS Morning Show that she "would definitely consider" legal action. There have been posts all over the Internet encouraging such action. Here is a small sampling. At CNN: " I'm thrilled that the NAACP has owned up to its mistake and come to her defense. I would hope that this includes legal assistance, and that she files a very loud, very messy lawsuit against all parties involved in this despicable episode," said commenter Julieann Wozniak. A newsvine.com
poll on the question "Should Shirley Sherrod sue Andrew Breitbart over edited video tape or simply move on?" was running eighty-nine percent favoring the suit when I last checked. And George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley wrote an extended blog post asking a more fundamental question: "Can Sherrod Sue Over the NAACP Tape?" - Advertisement - Setting aside the race-baiting politics of Breitbart, and the remarkably inept handling of this matter by the Obama Administration and
the NAACP, since there has been no shortage of commentary on both subjects, I would like to examine the potential of such litigation if Sherrod were to file it, as well as its likely impact. Sherrod's Most Viable Lawsuit -- Based on a "False Light" Claim -- Is Problematic Professor Turley zeroes in on the most viable lawsuit Sherrod appears
to have based on the known facts: a suit for what is called false-light
invasion of privacy. Such a claim is separate from a defamation claim, and in some states, depending on the facts alleged, courts see the two types of action as duplicative and dismiss the false-light claim in order to proceed with the defamation claim. What is interesting here, however, is that the false-light claim seems to more accurately describe
what was done to Sherrod than a defamation claim -- which requires a specific, false factual statement -- would. To explain the nature of the action, Turley cites and quotes the Restatement of Law
definition of the tort known as Publicly Placing a Person in a False Light: "One who gives publicity to a matter concerning another that places the other before the public in a false light is subject to liability to the other for invasion of his privacy, if (a) the false light in which the other was placed would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, and (b) the actor had knowledge of or acted in reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter and the false light in which the other would be placed." Of course, the Restatement is merely a model, without its own legal force. But Georgia, where Sherrod was injured by the false attack, and California, where Breitbart lives, both have laws recognizing a false-light tort along the lines the Restatement describes. - Advertisement - Professor Turley points out the difficulty with respect to Sherrod's succeeding in such a suit: Plaintiffs who are public officials are considered public figures, and held to a different standard. Sherrod appears to be both a public official and a public figure, as an USGA official who has been forced to thrust herself into the spotlight in her
own defense. To be more specific, the U.S. Supreme Court has imposed a First-Amendment standard on all state laws (as well as on federal law) through its interpretation of the Constitution. To protect freedom of speech and the press, the High Court has required extremely high levels of proof and evidence before anyone making a public statement will be held accountable for it. Thus, the offending statement must have been made with "actual malice," a state of mind which, ironically, need not be actually malicious. (This is not the best label the Court has ever selected, as it can thus be very misleading.) Rather, this Supreme-Court- created constitutional requirement has come to mean that for a defendant to be liable when sued by a public person, the statement at issue must have been made with the knowledge that it was false, or with reckless disregard to whether it was true or false. Furthermore, this knowledge -- amounting to "actual malice" -- must be established by clear and convincing evidence. 1 | 2
John Dean was White House legal counsel to President Nixon for a thousand days. Dean also served as chief minority counsel for the House Judiciary Committee and as an associate deputy attorney general in the U.S. Department of Justice. He is author of the book, (more...) Go To Commenting
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10598 | Behind The Fireworks – Interview With Producer Of Country’s Largest Fireworks Display
» Check out the Summer Guide at CBS Local June 18, 2012 10:42 AM
Filed Under: fireworks, Fourth of July, Gary Souza, Interviews, Macy's, Spring Summer
New York (Photo Credit: Yana Paskova/Getty Images)
Fireworks are a Fourth of July tradition, dating back to the first anniversary of Independence Day in 1777. (Fireworks were actually invented centuries before.) Displays are held in cities and towns all across this great land of ours.
The biggest Fourth of July fireworks celebration takes place in New York City each year. The sky lights up over the Hudson River, which divides Manhattan and New Jersey, creating a magnificent spectacle seen for miles around.
We interviewed Gary Souza, vice president of Pyro Spectaculars, the company that stages the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks. He is in charge of designing and producing the event, as well as others along the east coast.
CBS Local: What is you role with Pyro Spectaculars?
Souza: I am one the family member owners of the company and the Vice President, and my main focus is working on the design and production of the Macy’s 4th of July fireworks and all other events that we participate in on the East Coast.
CBS Local: In addition to the Macy’s fireworks, what other ones do you handle?
New York – Statue of Liberty (Photo Courtesy of Pyro Spectaculars, Inc. © 2012)
Souza: I am mostly involved with what we do with the East Coast and the Macy’s contracts. So whenever we do something with the parade, closing bell of the New York Stock Exchange. Those are what I’ve been mostly involved with. And the Macy’s job really takes time… it’s a full year project. So that’s why I am assigned to exclusively work with that show. Macy’s, being biggest show in America, it’s the show that sets the tone for the rest of our displays. We go out and start to acquire product and look for new and exciting products to use in the show. We’re always challenged, and have been for the nearly 30 years we’ve been involved with Macy’s, to find the biggest and the best and the most exciting and the most technologically advanced products and presentation that we can. So we’re always looking for that, and we are shopping around the world. And that process really starts in the fall. It really runs through until today… we are getting ready to send all the trucks out to New York.
See more July 4th fireworks.
CBS Local: So your company started planning the Fourth of July fireworks along about September, October of 2011?
Souza: The actual process starts while we are watching the show from last year… It all is sort of like a dream… It’s a vision in your mind. Right now I have a mind full of visions, scenes that we’ve been working on that tie in with the music of the show. So you play that over and over in your mind and then go back to it and use the computers to try to tweak things to try to make it look more like what you’re envisioning and make sure it’s what you’re wanting to see. And then that dream becomes a movie that you get to watch on July 4. And at that time we can say, the performance could have been better if we did this… Either we had too much or too little or other ways we can put things together and present them in a way that it would be more exciting. And that’s where it starts.
Then we take a couple of weeks off to let your mind relax, and then when you go off in the fall with artwork, drawings and discussions and collaborations with the people that put things together for our company. We’ll then take that information and go out to the manufacturers and start the process of buying and acquiring that product because fireworks take a long time to make… It’s not something that you can go down to the local store and pick up an extra pound or a few more. If you’re out of them, you’re out of them, and you’re out of them for months. The process of making one firework can take two to three weeks. The process of drying the stars that are going to make the effect… you have to mix it, roll it, let it dry, put the next layer on, let it dry, then go to the next layer. And then you take all the stars that are going into the effect, and you put them in the shell casing, wrap that up in paper-maché-type glue and then let it get hard and dry again. And then it has to be shipped and brought to wherever you’re going to use them. So it’s quite a big process that goes into getting to July 4th.
Preview this summer’s movie blockbusters.
CBS Local: Do you go to your suppliers with specific requests or do you go see who has what and then pick from what’s available? Or is it a combination of that?
Souza: It’s a combination of knowing what we would like, knowing what that manufacturer makes. And then it’s presenting those ideas and saying, ‘well, this is how we like it.’ And so it’s giving them the specifications, because what makes the Macy’s show so unique is that it has fireworks, but some of the fireworks we use will last 17 seconds in duration. The less expensive, just booms and bangs and the ones that you might see around town, they burn out very quickly. But when you’re doing a show that is on national television with HD cameras, it really will pick up all of the little things in there that are great if you have them. And if you don’t, it will pick up all the flaws. And you need to get brighteners, because it will show the colors. The stars, they need to burn bright, and they need to last for awhile.
We use a lot of shells that have color that show up well on television. So if you have something that burns out quickly, it doesn’t present very well. So we have the live audience as well as the television audience, so it’s very important that we have the fireworks that have a blend of both. So the fireworks that we use, if you pay attention to them, they have multiple lives. They will burst, sometimes burn out, reignite and come back or sometimes just hang and cascade and burn from a thousand feet all the way down to the water’s edge before they burn out, often times changing color along the way.
So that type of firework, each one of those little things you see burning, is a star that was handmade and it has different layers, almost like a jawbreaker, different layers of powders within so they can have that effect. And the longer the duration, the bigger the star. And that’s where it gets difficult to kinda match and blend. What’s the best for the live audience? What’s the best for telecast? And how do you fit all that onto one barge, which is basically the size of a postage stamp, to make that happen out in the river?
CBS Local: So that leads me to my next question, which I think you just may have answered. What special challenges does the New York display present?
Souza: Certainly there are numerous challenges with any fireworks show. But in New York, in this particular venue, the Hudson River is very wide. It has weather issues, current issues, traffic issues. It’s a major waterway. The Coast Guard does a spectacular job in working with the Macy’s team to help to coordinate how we’re going to access the river at a certain time, allow thousands of boats as spectators to come to certain areas yet not close the entire waterway for an entire evening. It’s a very large national/international waterway. Commerce must go on. They do a spectacular job.
And that’s really a challenge to take these fireworks, get them from wherever they may come from around the world, deal with all the regulatory issues and agencies that are involved to get to that point, assemble a crew of 40 people from around the country that are experts — some have worked on this show for over 25 years. Get them all assembled and pull this off all within the course of about 10 days, given weather issues and humidity and wind and rain and whatever comes your way. You have a finite issue with July 4th happening at exactly one time. You can’t change it. You have to be there. It has to be done. And you have so many hours to accomplish that. With all the design and all the planning that goes in, it allows those 40 people to pull this off in the limited amount of time and on a limited amount of space.
San Francisco – Golden Gate Bridge (Photo Courtesy of Pyro Spectaculars, Inc. © 2012)
CBS Local: It sounds like a logistical nightmare.
Souza: Well it is. It’s very challenging. I’ve been involved with the Macy’s show since 1983. I worked on it with my father when I was much younger. It was one of the first big shows I worked on. Just over the years, gaining experience and working on other logistically challenging events. We just did the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge. And it was a very large show. For the first time, fireworks were actually fired off the bridge and up and down the towers. We had exactly one hour of bridge closure time before the show and during the show. And that’s the only time that one lane was closed. So to pull all that off… and that is logistically challenging as well. Doing shows in other countries and other cities that have other issues. Each venue has its own issues.
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CBS Local: I saw some of the pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge show on your website, and they’re amazing.
Souza: Pulling that off pushed and taxed every element of our technical team, to be able to do some of the digital dancing things. There were 13 computers that all had to be synchronized to do their part in the big performance. The computers had to receive the code. And they had their little segments that they had to do. But when they all went off, it looked like one big event. That’s similar to what we’ve done with the Macy’s show. The technology has developed over the years largely from our experience working with the Macy’s show.
CBS Local: How exactly do you activate a firework?
Souza: Each of the 40,000 shells that will be in this year’s show has an electronic match, or an ignitor. Each shell will then have to be placed within its own mortar or tube, that will range in size from two inches in diameter up to 10 inches in diameter. So each aerial shell will be placed into a mortar. And these mortars with have to be strategically placed about the barge, in the area that will allow it to create the effect we’ve designed in the sky. So once the aerial shell is placed in the mortar, that electronic ignitor will then be connected to various [computer] terminals throughout the barge that will assign it an address. So the computer will then recognize that address. So say it’s position 1A, position 3A might be in the center, position 4A. So if you wanted all the A’s to fire at one time, you could have that. And in some cases in the Macy’s show, we’ll have over 300 aerial shells firing within a one-second period…
Then the computer has a program in it. It picks up a timed code that’s synchronized to the music. So when the musical score is played over the radio or television, that score is also synchronized to the computers on the barge — two computers on each barge. When it picks up that signal, it has a synchronizing time clock, an internal clock that will run, it will stay with the music. … At this given hundredth of a second, it’s going to release power to whatever address we tell it to. So those addresses will then all launch at a maybe a certain angle or maybe all straight up or maybe crisscrossing in the sky and create some of the lower-level effects before they make the burst up above. So that’s it.
There will be about five miles of wire on each barge. And that’s what takes part of the time of that 10 days for those 40 people is that they have to strategically locate all of this equipment, secure it, load each of the 40,000 aerial shells, connect two wires off of each of the aerial shells into terminals, which will then be connected to the two computers, which will recognize the address where they’re located. And that’s how the show is pulled off… There are four barges this year, with two computers on each barge.
CBS Local: What special safety precautions do you have to take?
Souza: Well there are a lot. From the manufacturer’s part of it, there are lots of things to be careful of. Static electricity is always your enemy. Using the electronic match — or the ignitor — has been something that has really allowed us to launch fireworks without having to stand next to them with a highway flare, as you might see at some small-town shows. There are shows that are fired like that all across the country. And we do everything we can to make that as safe as you can. But we are now firing shells, with hundreds of them a second, that you couldn’t do with a highway flare. So the ignitor allows us to have more design occur and makes it more technologically amazing to watch. But it is also one of the more dangerous aspects of it, because basically you’ve added a match head into an explosive device. So if it’s dropped, if it’s dragged, somehow that match head gets enough energy — whether it be a force or heat or electronics — it will make it go off. So you have to be very careful in the management and handling of each firework item.
In addition to that, you’ve got lots of stuff all over a barge, lots of equipment in a finite space. The barges are almost 300 feet long and 40 feet wide, but by the time we get to July 4, it’s pretty well loaded up, with almost every space full of fireworks. So you have to watch where you’re walking and stepping over things, and make sure things are secured down so wind or another explosion of another device doesn’t knock something over. All of the pyrotechnicians are licensed pyrotechnicians. They have a certificate of fitness from the New York City fire department. We work in close cooperation with the New York fire department. They’re always there to help us and work together with us to make this as safe as possible.
CBS Local: How do you decide how to order the fireworks? What goes best with what? What follows what to make the most dramatic effect? New York (Photo Credit: Yana Paskova/Getty Images)
Souza: That’s really where the art form comes into play. You only get one chance, and that’s the frustrating part about fireworks. Doing graphics on a computer, you can hit delete, erase or undo. With the fireworks show, particularly one on live television, you don’t get a second chance. What I touched on earlier is that there’s this dream, this vision in your mind. When I watched last year’s show, there were things that I really liked, and there were some things where I thought, ‘gosh, we could really add this thing to it and enhance that more and make it even better.’
For instance, this year there’s a song called ‘Sparks Fly’ from Taylor Swift. It’s a fun song … a toe-tapping fun song that is in this year’s show… So we wanted fireworks that moved and sort of swayed, like if you were listening to the song, you might sway, sort of dancing. It had color in it. But it had this bright and hot sensation to it. Orange is a new color we’re bringing out this year, and we’re using it for that song. But we’re also blending it with red. So it’s red hot and orange hot. ‘Ignite the Night’ is the theme of the show, and that touches on that, because it’s red hot, orange hot. And the combination of those two is almost like a raspberry sherbet. It was fun. So that’s new this year.
See which music acts are on tour this summer.
There is another scene in there where we do what we call a falling leaves sequence. There’s purple and green and yellow and red and white cascades that are real small, and they hang in the air for about eight seconds. It just makes this falling sequence that is so slow and so gentle, yet it plays well with the music. It’s the beginning of ‘God Bless the USA’ by Lee Greenwood. So this year, we took those falling leaves, and we added this fan of rainbow colors coming up to it. So it’s coming up very slowly below and then from up above slowly cascades down the other complementary rainbow colors. I’m really looking forward to that.
We try to match the music for what the music feels like to us. We try to find the pace of the music and match the firework to that, so that you don’t over-blast the sky. Too much going on is really just blowing up the sky. We want to make a tasteful presentation so you can appreciate the quality of the fireworks. Use the technology and the space and the angles of mortars on the barge to spread the fireworks wider across the sky. We basically will fill over a mile’s length of river with fireworks from four barges. It really opens up this big venue of fireworks for everybody to see that will hopefully match and blend to the feeling of the song, whether it be fun or patriotic or dancing or passionate.
CBS Local: Do you pick the music, or is the music chosen for you?
Souza: What’s really fun this year is that America picked the music. We worked with Macy’s this year. We went back and looked at some of our favorite songs that we’ve ever done fireworks to over the years, and asked America to vote on the website, ‘what songs did you think were the best?’ And actually, the number one song was ‘America the Beautiful’ by Ray Charles. It’s right up there in the beginning after the fanfare in the show. That was the one that America chose. There were a lot of songs in this year’s show that were voted on by the people in America that said that these are the ones that they liked. And we were able to work those into the show. The theme is ‘Ignite the Night,’ and that’s what we’re bringing out there for everybody to see, is the way we’re igniting the fireworks to the Fourth of July and blending that to the music.
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New York – The Golden Mile (Photo Courtesy of Pyro Spectaculars, Inc. © 2012)
CBS Local: What style of music and fireworks do you find go best with the Fourth of July?
Souza: I think you can’t have a Fourth of July show without having a John Philip Sousa march. Songs like ‘The Stars and Stripes Forever,’ it has to be there. And you’ve gotta put ‘God Bless America.’ And this year we have another really exciting moment. Somebody was chosen on the website, who sent in their version of the National Anthem. And that has been put into the show this year. It’s somebody who was given the music online, and they listened, and they sent in their recording. And they were selected to record that for the show this year. We’re going to take somebody from America, who wanted their version out there, and they’re going to have fireworks blended to that.
I think the Fourth of July is not the same without red, white and blue, without whistles and poppers and things that blend to the great patriotic music that we have. I really like the ‘Yankee Doodle’ song, just because it’s kind of crazy. It’s more than just a red, white and blue. We add whistles and noise and swirling serpents and things to go along with the piccolos in the song. So I think that’s fun, and I like fun fireworks. But I also like the really passionate moments.
On the Macy’s show, we’ve always made a big point of building up what we call ‘The Golden Mile.’ And we always find a song each year that will match what we want to do with this Golden Mile, which is a mile-long length of the river that we just fill with about 90 seconds of gold glimmering cascades that burst from 1000 feet down to the water. And it is beyond ‘oh’ and ‘ah’ to people. It just captures you. And to be able to look around and watch people’s faces during that. The whole area, 3 million people on the shore, everywhere you look, they’re mesmerized to the sky. That feeling that you’ve been able to bring to people is really what drives me to want to do this. We capture them with that moment… and then ‘boom,’ into the finale. It’s just so fun to be able to do that, and then see the world sort of stop for that 30 minutes in time and say, ‘wow, that was amazing.’ And the enthusiasm and the patriotism that’s instilled afterwards is beyond description.
Check out the Summer Guide at CBS Local. Comments | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10618 | May 24th, 2010 12:51 PM ET
CNN Poll: Anger at BP as most Americans say spill will affect them Oil washes ashore in Louisiana. Most Americans say that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will personally affect them.
Washington (CNN) - Most Americans say that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will personally affect them, and more than three quarters say they disapprove of how BP has handled the situation, according to a new poll. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Monday also indicates that a slight majority of the public disapproves of how the Obama administration's handling the spill.
Fifty-three percent of people questioned in the poll say the spill will affect them or their familes indirectly, with another 31 percent saying the spill affects them directly. Only 16 percent of people questioned say they and their families will not be affected by the spill.
Full results (pdf)
"Although the spill is limited, for now, to one area, most Americans think its effects will ripple far beyond the Gulf states," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "The number who say they will be directly affected by the spill is highest in the South, but about a third of people who live in the Northeast and Midwest also think they will be directly affected. That figure drops to 26 percent in the western states that are the furthest from the Gulf of Mexico."
The poll's release comes as a BP executive Monday defended his company's attempts to stop a massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico, amid growing frustration and suggestions that the federal government could take over the effort.
More than three quarters of people questioned in the survey say they disapprove of how BP has handled the spill, with 24 percent saying they approve of how the oil company has acted.
"One in four say they are less likely to buy gasoline from a BP station as a result of the spill," adds Holland. "But anger at BP doesn't let the federal government off the hook."
The Obama administration has come under increasing criticism in the past week for its handling of the spill. According to the poll, a slight majority, 51 percent, disapprove of how President Obama has handled the spill, with 46 percent approving of how the White House is dealing with the situation.
Fifty-three percent say the efforts to contain the spill will be unsuccessful, and six in ten are not confident that the government will be able to prevent another big oil spill in the future.
"A majority say they still support offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. But that figure is down 17 points since the days of "drill, baby, drill" during the 2008 presidential election, and the number who say they strongly favor drilling has dropped by nearly half," says Holland.
Since the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon in late April about 40 miles off Louisiana and its subsequent sinking, oil has been gushing into the Gulf at an estimated rate of about 5,000 barrels a day (210,000 gallons). Some estimates have put the amount of oil spewing from the well far higher.
Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead after the sinking. The cause of the explosion has not been determined.
Efforts to shut down the well have failed so far, though BP says it has been able to capture some of the escaping oil and pump it to a ship on the surface.
According to the survey, 55 percent of the public says the possibility of environmental damage as a result of offshore drilling is a very serious problem, with another 28 percent saying it is a somewhat serious problem.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted May 21-23, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report
Filed under: CNN poll • Energy • Popular Posts • President Obama
Ben S. Pauls
The oil spill will eventually effect all of America because the oil is invading the breeding grounds of many species and killing them off. This is all part of the food chain, the simple beginnings of the food chain in many cases.
May 24, 2010 02:43 pm at 2:43 pm | « Previous | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10635 | Listen Live Murdoch's News Corp. Faces New Legal Threats By David Folkenflik
Originally published on April 20, 2012 5:46 am Transcript STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. LYNN NEARY, HOST: And I'm Lynn Neary. Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is facing a series of new threats. The company's British newspaper division stands accused of phone hacking and bribing police officers. That scandal has already cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars. Now News Corp is fending off media reports that one of its companies worked with hackers to harm its competitors' global satellite and cable TV operations. NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik reports. DAVID FOLKENFLIK, BYLINE: News Corp announced last month that it would sell its large stake in a company called NDS. NDS is a little-known, but pivotal unit for News Corp. It focuses on smartcards and encryption to protect satellite TV programming from people who want to watch it without paying. Within days of that announcement, two influential news organizations - the Australian Financial Review and the BBC - alleged that NDS has helped News Corp's pay TV outlets gain an unfair advantage. Those reports are based on 14,000 newly obtained emails and on interviews with hackers, telling of a shady website with a cinematic name. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PANORAMA") VIVIAN WHITE: Whose was the House of Ill compute? LEE GIBLING: It was NDS. It was their baby. And it started to become more their baby as they fashioned it to their own design. FOLKENFLIK: This is from the BBC investigative program "Panorama," which made the case that NDS had cultivated a network of hackers. Hacker Lee Gibling told the BBC that NDS was seeking to spread the secret computer codes for News Corp's pay TV rivals. (SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "PANORAMA") GIBLING: They delivered the actual software to be able to do this with private instructions it should go to the widest possible community. FOLKENFLIK: Emails also referred to a fund for payments to police informants in England, a reference with powerful echoes, given the separate and earlier allegations that News Corp's British newspapers had bribed police officers. News Corp and NDS executives would not speak for this story, but they flatly deny the charges. Officials claim the BBC and the Australian Financial Review have taken emails about intense anti-piracy initiatives and portrayed them as part of an untrue scheme involving pay TV hacking. NDS dismisses the credibility of the computer hackers interviewed and contends there was just a single payment to police: a charitable donation for laptops. Related allegations surfaced in several lawsuits filed against News Corp in the U.S. over recent years. All were dismissed or resolved without any significant finding of wrongdoing by the company. Mark Lewis is the most prominent of the British attorneys suing News Corps in the UK for victims of phone hacking. He says the company sought to discredit those claims when they first arose, as well. MARK LEWIS: Look, with phone-hacking allegations, people dismissed them as being old allegations and know that they'd already been investigated. And what we have to do is to look at them. FOLKENFLIK: Lewis says he's now exploring a suit against NDS and News Corp over the pay TV piracy allegations. Satellite and pay TV represent a primary financial engine for the company. News Corp has a controlling minority stake in the British broadcasting giant BSkyB, for example, which generates well over a billion dollars a year in profits for the company. But British regulators are now weighing whether News Corp is a fit and proper controlling owner of BSkyB, given the criminal investigations of phone hacking and bribery and the concerns of whether executive James Murdoch misled a parliamentary inquiry. So the stakes are high. Rupert Murdoch tweeted, quote, "seems every competitor and enemy piling on with lies and libels. So bad, easy to hit back hard, which preparing." ANDREW NEIL: The Murdoch culture is to take-no-prisoners. FOLKENFLIK: Andrew Neil was the chief executive who launched BSkyB. He left Murdoch's orbit in the mid-1990s, and has no personal knowledge of the NDS allegations. But Neil says he finds them compelling. NEIL: The Murdoch culture is to destroy the competition. It is the end will justify the means. Now, that doesn't mean that you're encouraged to break the law, but it does create a culture where you push things as far as they go. FOLKENFLIK: That culture will again come under scrutiny next week when Rupert Murdoch and his son James are to face several days of questioning at a wide-ranging judicial inquiry in London. David Folkenflik, NPR NEWS. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.Related Program: Morning Edition on 89.5-1 © 2016 Public Radio Tulsa | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10663 | Subscribe TV Listings › Home › Ground water commission issues management report
Submitted by Ruston Leader on Sat, 04/14/2012 - 9:40pm in News
BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Ground Water Resources Commission recently fulfilled a directive made by state legislators in 2010 to provide a report by 2012 on the state’s ground water and surface water to members of the House Natural Resources and Environment Committee and the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Quality committees.
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Secretary Scott Angelle, chairman of the state Ground Water Resources Commission, said that the report — being delivered in accordance with 2010’s House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 1, authored by Rep. Jim Fannin — is not an ending, but a continuation of the state’s efforts to manage its water resources.
Community breakfast brings honor to GSU founder
The final preparations are underway as Grambling State University gears up for the annual Community Breakfast, which brings the community from near and far to Grambling to celebrate the university’s annual Founder’s Day festivities.
As a part of GSU’s Founder’s Week, Interim President Cynthia Warrick is inviting the university community and the general public to attend the annual Founder’s Week Fellowship Breakfast, scheduled for 8-10 a.m. Monday in the Black and Gold Room at the Favrot Student Union on campus.
RHS students provide world event
If residents have ever wondered how other countries celebrate the holidays, Saturday will be their chance to learn.
Piano students capture state honors
Ruston Area Music Teacher’s Association was honored recently to have two local students win honors at the annual state competition. The competition is one of the largest Louisiana piano competitions. More than 100 students competed, representing areas such as New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Lake Charles, Lafayette, Shreveport, Monroe and Ruston.
Madeline Smith, daughter of the Rev. Edward and Mrs. Mildred Smith of Ruston, won Honorable Mention in the third and fourth grade division. Madeline will be a fourth-grade student at A. E. Phillips in the fall and takes piano in the piano program there.
Strutting their stuff
Local boys and girls can compete against themselves and others when they showcase their basic football skills at the annual NFL Punt, Pass and Kick competition.
The Ruston Parks and Recreation event, open to ages 6-15, is the first preliminary for a series of competitions that will culminate with the nation’s top few vying for the winning titles just prior to a New Orleans Saints game. The event is entirely free to enter and will take place in the field in front of Ruston High School. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10666 | This Just In Teen killed in Vermont crash
ENOSBURG — A standout high school basketball player in Vermont has died following a two-vehicle collision.Police said 17-year-old Brandon Gleason of Enosburg was a front passenger in a Jeep when it collided with a pickup Friday night on Route 105 in Enosburg. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office said Gleason later died at a St. Albans hospital. Gleason was a senior at Enosburg Falls High School and was the state’s Mountain Division player of the year this past season.Capt. Jay Sweeny of the sheriff’s office told WPTZ-TV that the driver of the pickup, 53-year old Patrick Prue of Franklin, was charged with driving under the influence, but that it hasn’t been determined who was at fault in the crash.Three other teenagers in the Jeep were treated for injuries. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10669 | 50 Years Later, I Have A Dream Speech Resonates With New Generation
By Ron Jones
Filed Under: Elk Grove, i have a dream, martin luther king jr, News
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — Fifty years after it was delivered, Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic speech continues to inspire younger generations in Elk Grove.
Ron Jones was 5 when the speech was given and he still remembers it today.
Today’s middle schoolers, who obviously weren’t there, say it still resonates with them.
“He helped us kind of fulfill our dreams today,” said Sarah Jordan.
Students in Elk Grove didn’t know King, but they can identify with his message.
“Knowing him as a boy was one thing,” said a student.
Sacramento civil rights leader Marion Woods not only knew King, he grew up with him as a boy in Georgia. He’s sharing the struggles of that era, and the good times he spent with King and his family. Growing up, Woods never imagined Kind would have such a calling on his life.
“Watching him as a man was just absolutely thrilling,” said Woods.
Woods says he was there that day 50 years ago when King delivered his iconic speech.
“He had done the I have a dream speech at other gatherings but not like that,” said Woods. Ms. Tracy Christopher Schilling’s history class is making King’s speech relevant today.
“I can learn about how hurtful it is to discriminate against others,” said Joseph Cravalho, a student.
Woods also says the speech teaches there are rewards for never giving up, even in the face of opposition.
“They need to know what their struggle was all about,” said Woods.
He is also working on a memoir to share with generations to come.
Ron JonesfacebookFollowRon Jones began his television career in 1988 while working as an officer for the Oakland Police Department. Not only did he patrol the streets of Oakland as an officer but he was featured in cable television commercials related to crime preven...More from Ron JonesComments
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10674 | Sheriff Says Abduction By Acquaintance Possible In Sierra LaMar Case
By Mike Colgan
Filed Under: Abduction, Disappearance, Mike Colgan, Morgan Hill, Parkway Lake, Search, Searchers, Sierra Lamar, Uvas Reservoir
15-year-old Sierra Lamar was last seen near Palm and Dougherty avenues in unincorporated Morgan Hill on March 16, 2012. She is described as 5'2" with a thin build and was last seen with carrying a Juicy brand black and pink purse. (CBS)Sierra Lamar (CBS)
MORGAN HILL (KCBS) – About 150 volunteers showed up on Wednesday as the search parameters were extended to include areas north of Palm Avenue and south of Bailey Road in the search for missing Morgan Hill teen Sierra LaMar.
Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said the most likely scenario is that Sierra was abducted by an acquaintance.
KCBS’ Mike Colgan Reports:
“An acquaintance could be anything. It cannot just be someone that she knows,” said Smith. “It can be someone that she’s comfortable seeing in the area that she knows would be there, someone that is really known to the area. But we don’t believe she ran away or left voluntarily.”
Family spokesperson Tonya Miller said they are glad to hear that dive teams are searching Uvas Reservoir and Parkway Lake.
“We need to find her and I’m glad that they’ve upped it to no longer really a runaway, that she’s missing and in danger because that’s what we’ve been saying all along,” said Miller. “We don’t think she ran away. If this is what it takes for increased efforts to get her home, absolutely let’s do it.”
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Department said that they have received more than 500 tips in the case so far.
LaMar was last seen leaving for school on the morning of March 16.
Mike Colgan
Mike Colgan, who has worked in Bay Area radio for more than 40 years, has been at KCBS since 1988. Other stops include a 13 year stint at KFRC, then known as the Big 610.
Mike is assigned to the KCBS Silicon Valley Bureau. He has covered many of t...More from Mike ColganComments | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10675 | 3 Killed In Oakland As City Changes Course On Crime Fighting
Filed Under: Crime, Homicide, Murder, Oakland, Police, Shooting, Stabbing, Violence
Police at the scene of Friday mornings deadly shooting. (CBS)Police at the scene of Friday mornings deadly shooting. (CBS)
OAKLAND (CBS SF) — Three people were killed in two separate incidents in Oakland overnight, just hours after city officials announced the hiring of a high-profile adviser to the force.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 800 block of Mead Avenue around 1 a.m., where they found two people shot to death, according to police.
Police said Darrell Johnson, 21, of Oakland, and Keith Davis, 19, of El Sobrante, were the victims of the shooting.
No arrests have been made and police said they do not know the motive for the shooting.
Oakland Police Investigating 3 Early Morning Homicides, City In Safety Crisisplaypause
Police said that around 2:30 a.m., police were called to a report of a stabbing in the 5800 block of Walnut Street. The victim had been stabbed to death.
The three killings bring the number of homicides in Oakland this year to 130, the highest total since 2006.
According to police Chief Howard Jordan, five of the homicides have been ruled to have been justified, leaving Oakland with 125 criminal homicides so far in 2012.
The latest homicides happened just hours after city officials announced the hiring of William Bratton as an advisor to the police department on Thursday afternoon. Bratton is credited with shaping up New York and L.A.’s police departments resulting in double digit crime drops. Oakland has seen 130-murders so far this year marking a four-year high for the city’s homicide rate.
Civil Rights attorney John Burris, a long time critic of the OPD is encouraged at Bratton’s input but he worries about there being too many cooks in the kitchen.
“We have a police chief. We’re getting ready to hire a compliance director. We have a monitor that’s under the direction of the courts and now we have an additional consultant,” Burris said.
He worries there could be uncertainty or confusion amongst the ranks as to who’s in control. “When you bring someone in who’s very talented, then hopefully their talent can be utilized in a constructive way,” Burris added.
He did commend the city for turning to much needed help to address a more than 20 percent jump in murders robberies and rapes this year. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10677 | Posted December 15, 2015 06:53 am - Updated March 4, 2013 12:08 am By Walter C. Jones Morris News Service ANALYSIS: Act 2 begins in this year's ethics saga ATLANTA — A decision point is approaching for Georgia’s political leaders when it comes to ethics.In the opening act, the Senate made the first appearance by passing a rule on its members that limits gifts from lobbyists to $100. The House responded by passing legislation that bans all gifts — except those given to organized groups of legislators or that can be characterized as part of their official duty.The leaders of the two chambers have publicly criticized each other’s handiwork as weakened by exceptions. For example, is the Senate limit $100 per instance, per session, per day or what? And the House proposal still allows lodging and meals for whatever official duties may be.More than one cynical observer has predicted that the two chambers would hold fast their positions and refuse to pass anything. Members in each could say, “We tried. It was those other guys that blocked it.”The House has recently put the issue back in the Senate’s court. Since Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle presides over the Senate, he’s the one who has to decide whether the cynics are right or not.Cagle’s own career might be an example of how good ethics lead to good politics. After all, he became lieutenant governor by beating Ralph Reed in the Republican primary, partly over questions about Reed’s involvement with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who was under investigation at the time and has since served time in federal prison for fraud.Abramoff was recently in Georgia for what Common Cause called Ethics Week. The week began with the House voting 164-4 for the House proposal, House Bill 142 sponsored by Speaker David Ralston.Abramoff, who ran Washington’s largest, most generous, most successful lobbying firm for 10 years, isn’t impressed by the bill.“If I were a lobbyist here, I would run through that bill in about three seconds,” he said. “There are too many loopholes there.”He made his comments during a luncheon at the Atlanta Press Club, and later he was seen at the statehouse delivering them one-on-one.“It’s like a lobbyist’s Disneyland here,” he said To promote his memoir, he’s already traveled around the state some and concluded that everyone he’s met — other than politicians — is clamoring for tough ethics legislation.He describes what that would look like, something that would have foiled him. Spending many months of reflection in a federal prison provides the opportunity to clarify one’s observations, he said.An effective law would allow no gifts of any sort, under any circumstances from lobbyists, he said. Even campaign contributions from them would be limited, and they and their clients wouldn’t be allowed to bundle donations from others or direct political action committees, he adds.Gifts, lavish dinners and exotic golf trips were the tools he used to win votes from members of Congress, and that’s what gave him an advantage over honest lobbyists and citizen activists, he said, because he tapped into the politicians’ human nature.“When you do me a favor of any kind, if I’m not a jerk, I’m going to be grateful,” he said, noting that gratitude from a politician translates into votes.People who make the lobbying choice would consciously give up some rights to campaign donations, a choice Abramoff figures would pass constitutional muster. But he admits he’s no lawyer.He would classify as a lobbyist anyone who gets paid to influence government officials. He said federal laws are so vague that he would not have fallen under the definition of lobbyist even at the peak of his lobbying activity.His final reform would be a 10-year period after leaving office before engaging in lobbying.We’ll know soon whether or not Cagle and Ralston, or even Gov. Nathan Deal, take the advice of a man who spent a decade exploiting federal ethics rules strong enough to eventually send him to prison. Thirteen days remain in the 2013 legislative session, and another 40 next year before the trio of state leaders face voters again.They have each said they recognize the importance voters attach to ethics reform, and now they’ve had a master thief tell them how to build the foolproof lock. What will they do with the information?Walter Jones is the Atlanta bureau chief for Morris News and has been covering Georgia politics since 1998. Follow him on Twitter @MorrisNews and Facebook or contact him at walter.jones@morris.com and 404-589-8424. Advertisement | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10696 | Archive for Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Second Spring Hill woman dies from Junction crash
Laura Miller, a 19-year-old Spring Hill woman who was injured in a fatality accident April 29 at the Baldwin Junction, has also died.
Miller was a passenger in a car driven by Jennifer Jamison, also 19 and from Spring Hill. Jamison was declared dead at the scene of the accident.
Miller was taken by ambulance to Kansas University Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan., where at last report she was in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit. She died Monday.
The accident happened in the late afternoon of April 29 when, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's office, Jamison was westbound on U.S. Highway 56, stopped at the stop sign, but then pulled in front of a pickup that was northbound on U.S. Highway 59. The driver of the pickup is from Ottawa, but no other information was released about him. He refused treatment at the scene.
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The Tripwire On Flight 370
Posted March 18th, 2014 @ 7:36am by Clive Irving
The fate of Flight MH370 could have been decided in three minutes.
The Malaysians changed more than the clock when they backtracked Monday from their original statement that the last voice contact from the airplane (“All right, good night”) was received at 1:30 a.m., putting it instead at 1:19 a.m.
The need for an absolutely accurate timeline of the Boeing 777’s flight path has always been essential to investigators. It’s the first thing that they request and normally would be instantly retrievable from air traffic control radars and transmissions between the airplane and the ground. It has been severely lacking in this case.
The timeline has big implications for those trying to understand not just the correct sequence of events but what may lay behind them. Critically, it would mean that with the transponder turned off at 1:22 a.m.—three minutes after the final words from the cockpit, the number of suspects grows suddenly larger.
The transponder is really the tripwire for whatever began to unfold on that jet. It identifies the airplane to traffic controllers and confirms its position. As long as it appeared that the transponder was de-activated before the final voice report, it left open the possibility that the pilots lied to air traffic control and were themselves already embarked upon a pre-planned series of actions that would allow the flight to vanish (however bizarre that scenario seemed).
So if the pilots were not covering up a plot, what happened? Was Act One of a skyjacking, and if so, what was Act Two?
The interrogation of the skyjacking theory would start with the choice of airport, and the choice of the flight. Investigators would consider the political context, whether there was any known motivation for taking captive a particular group of passengers and then making political demands in return for their release.
The classic case of this was, of course, in 1976 when four members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked a French Airbus flying from Israel to France and demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. The airplane landed at Entebbe, Uganda, and 105 Jewish and Israeli hostages were taken. The episode ended with a dramatic Israeli raid at the airport to free the hostages.
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10729 | They've got muck; we've got rakes.
Pat Robertson On Washington Monument Crack: 'Is That A Sign From The Lord?' (VIDEO)
Newscom
ByRyan J. ReillyPublishedAugust 25, 2011, 9:30 PM EDT
Television evangelist Pat Robertson suggested on Thursday that a four-foot crack in the Washington Monument caused by Tuesday's earthquake might be a sign from God.
"Ladies and gentlemen I don't want to get weird on this so please take it for what it's worth," Robertson said. "But it seems to me the Washington Monument is a symbol of America's power, it has been the symbol of our great nation, we look at that monument and say this is one nation under God," he continued. "Now there's a crack in it, there's a crack in it and it's closed up. Is that a sign from the Lord? Is that something that has significance or is it just result of an earthquake? You judge, but I just want to bring that to your attention," he said.
"It seems to me symbolic," Robinson said. "When Jesus was crucified and when he died the curtain in the Temple was rent from top to bottom and there was a tear and it was extremely symbolic. Is this symbolic? You judge."
No word on what sign Robertson thinks God was trying to send with the damage to the National Cathedral.
[via Right Wing Watch] | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10733 | More than 400 speeches by women—politicians, scientists, and celebrities.
Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World
Liz Linton Kent, Director
Home » History Content » Website Reviews Gifts of Speech: Women's Speeches from Around the World
Charting changes in women's rhetoric in the public realm from 1848 to the present is possible through this archive of more than 400 speeches by influential, contemporary women. These include prominent female politicians and scientists, as well as popular culture figures. There is an emphasis on the United States (particularly after 1900), including speeches from women as diverse as Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sojourner Truth, Mary Church Terrell, Marie Curie, Helen Keller, Emma Goldman, Eleanor Roosevelt, Betty Friedan, and Ayn Rand. A nearly complete list of Nobel lectures by women laureates provides access to acceptance speeches. The search function is particularly useful for pulling speeches from a diverse collection into common subject groups. It also allows for the study of the language of women's public debate by following changes in the use of particular metaphors or idioms, such as the concept "motherhood."
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10742 | Archive Commentary
PopMusic: Do They Know Its Christmas? Plugged in to public health Published on March 14, 2013 by Lauren Weisenfluh
Written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise awareness and money to combat the 1984-1985 Ethiopian famine, Band Aid’s “Do They Know Its Christmas?” was a joint single by a myriad of popular ‘80s musicians, including David Bowie, Sting, Bono and Adam Clayton of U2, and Phil Collins of Genesis. The song became the best-selling single ever in the United Kingdom until 1997, earning $13.6 million worldwide, every penny of which was donated towards the cause.
Driven by the success of the single, Geldof and Ure organized the 1985 Live Aid concert to keep the famine in the public spotlight. To this day, Live Aid is remembered as ‘the day rock and roll changed the world,’ earning £30 million for famine relief in Africa.
The money brought early-warning systems that prevented an Ethiopian famine in 2003 from spinning into ‘80s-magnitude devastation, said Ure, the song co-author and co-organizer of the Live Aid concert, in an interview with Music OMH. “People are alive today who wouldn’t have been alive had people not stuck their hands in their pockets and bought that record,” she told the magazine. Enough money was raised from the “Christmas” single to send “seven emergency flights and three ships to Africa” containing a wealth of humanitarian aid, such as “one hundred and forty tons of high energy biscuits, one thousand two hundred and forty tons of dried skim milk powder, twenty five tons of full cream milk powder” and more, writes Trócaire, the official overseas development agency of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
The song pleads with the listener to remember that “there won’t be snow in Africa this Christmas time/The greatest gift they’ll get this year is life /Where nothing ever grows, no rain or rivers flow/Do they know it’s Christmas time at all?” After establishing the plight of the Ethiopian people, the ending asks listeners to be generous with their good fortune and remember those less fortunate: “Feed the world/Let them know it’s Christmas time/and Feed the world.”
Today, Ethiopia is green again: “In 1984 the land was parched brown and covered in tents,” writes Peter Gill, one of the first journalists to arrive to the center of the 1984 Ethiopian famine, in his 2012 book “Famine and Foreigners: Ethiopia Since Live Aid.” “Today the site of the camp had a flush of green to it, even four months into the dry season.”
Read our introduction to the PopMusic series, The 2×2 Project’s compilation of some of the most iconic songs tackling topics of public health. Come back to see new songs posted every Thursday.
Edited by Jordan Lite. Additional research by Arti Virkud.
Africaband aiddo they know its christmasfamine reliefpublic health music Public Health Music
Lauren Weisenfluh
Lauren is a 2nd year Mailman student pursuing her Master's in Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology. She's particularly interested in the intersection between ecology and public health—specifically, emerging infectious disease. Follow her @LaurenWeisenflu. Previous Article
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10744 | Home » ArtsLife » ArtsLife » COOKE: Minnikin’s back from abroad
COOKE: Minnikin’s back from abroad
By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter Published December 12, 2012 - 5:45pm Last Updated December 12, 2012 - 8:13pm Former Guthries member Gabriel Minnikin is back in Halifax with a show next Wednesday at the Carleton Music Bar & Grill with Catherine MacLellan. (ADRIEN VECZAN / Staff) PhotoSTEPHEN COOKE
Relaxing in a booth at a favourite old haunt, Quinpool Road’s storied Ardmore Tea Room, Gabe Minnikin seems happy to be home for the holidays.
For most of the past decade, the former Guthries member with the distinctive baritone growl has been working out of Manchester, England, and he marks his current visit back in Halifax with a show Wednesday at the Carleton Music Bar & Grill with friend and recent Canadian Folk Music Award winner Catherine MacLellan.
“It’s flown by, it really hasn’t felt like nine years,” says Minnikin, who arrived from the United Kingdom this week bearing copies of his third solo CD, Parakeets with Parasols.
“This musical family I’ve assembled, the players are just amazing,” he says, describing the circle of roots musicians he has been able to draw from across the pond.
“They’re not into the traditional Manchester kind of music, or indie music, but they’re well-schooled in American country music, and they’re really good at it.
“And they’re young. They were raised by their parents on records by Gram Parsons and the Flying Burrito Brothers, so when someone like me comes along, they think, ‘Oh, this guy’s the real deal!’ I mean, I’m not, believe me, but it’s like, ‘Well, he can walk the walk and talk the talk, and he’s got these songs …,’ so they’re loyal to me.”
Manchester was the most appealing of his initial three choices for setting down new roots in England, followed by London and Glasgow, but he was intrigued by the city’s musical past, from ’60s acts such as the Hollies and the Bee Gees through punk and post-punk bands Buzzcocks and Joy Division, and Britpop icons the Smiths and Oasis.
Minnikin was encouraged to become an honorary Mancunian by a Manchester member of U.K. folk boosters the Cosmic American Music group, and a big fan of his former band the Guthries.
The decision paid off, as Minnikin found a welcoming community to bring his lavish musical vision to life on his latest release. Fans of classic ’60s folk-rock will be surprised to see names of legends such as Neil Young and Chris Hillman in the credits on Parakeets with Parasols, although it should be noted that this Young is a horn player from Colne, north of Manchester, and Hillman is, in fact, a 24-year-old pedal steel player from Stoke-on-Trent.
But having sidemen with similar names to his idols proved to be a good omen for the record, which features lush orchestrations of strings and brass, largely arranged by Halifax’s David Christensen and inspired by the records of Roy Orbison, Randy Newman and Harry Nilsson.
Minnikin notes it took two years and three recording studios to get from start to finish on Parakeets with Parasols, but he is glad he stuck it out to get the sound he wanted.
“The budget was pretty shoestring, and most of the musicians did it out of the kindness of their own heart. But many had never been in a recording studio before, and they were well up for the experience.”
For Wednesday’s show, Minnikin is working on getting as many of his former fellow Guthries as possible to join him at the Carleton (the band’s lineup included Matt Mays, singer-guitarist Dale Murray and his drummer brother, Brian Murray, and bassist Serge Samson).
Unfortunately, sister and fellow Guthries alumnus Ruth Minnikin won’t be joining him, since she is taking a break from performing to teach English on the island of Jeju, off the southern tip of South Korea, between Shanghai and Nagasaki in the East China Sea.
There will be chances for future family get-togethers down the road, though, as brother Minnikin is contemplating a return to Canada in the next year or so, and may be living here by the time his sister returns.
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS at the Carleton in the coming week include tonight’s CD launch by the Band Before Time, with their second disc Other Blunders. A week from tonight, it is a special gathering of young tunesmiths at the Gordie Sampson Songcamp songwriting circle with distinguished campers Molly Thomason, Carleton Stone and Breagh MacKinnon.
For tickets, go to thecarleton.ca or call 422-6335.
(scooke@herald.ca)
By STEPHEN COOKE Entertainment Reporter | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10763 | This Week’s Cold Front Could Be Deadly For The Homeless
by Tara Culp-Ressler Jan 6, 2014 11:33 am
CREDIT: AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin
Four homeless men warm themselves on a steam grate by the Federal Trade Commission, blocks from the U.S. Capitol, on Saturday
Meteorologists are warning of an impending “Arctic blast” that could set record low temperatures across the country this week, dropping to 35 below zero in some parts of the Midwest. Icy wind chills are making the cold snap even more dangerous, driving temperatures down to as low as 50 below zero and increasing the risk of hypothermia. As of Monday, 26 states are under warnings or watches for “severe wind chill,” and health officials are warning that even just a few minutes outdoors without proper layers of clothing could lead to frostbite, particularly among people over the age of 65.
Cities like St. Louis, Chicago, and Milwaukee canceled public school on Monday, encouraging people to stay indoors. Museums, libraries, and zoos are also closed in Chicago. “This winter storm will be one for the record books,” Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn said on Sunday, telling people to remain inside unless absolutely necessary.
But for homeless people across the country, staying inside isn’t always an option. According to the latest government data, more than 600,000 Americans are homeless on any given night. And the low-income individuals who live on the streets are particularly at risk during extreme weather events. Each year, about 700 homeless people die from hypothermia, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. Most of those deaths occur in the Northeast and Midwest, but people also freeze to death in places that aren’t typically prepared to combat cold weather, like the Bay Area.
The recent cold front and winter storms have already led to some deaths. A man froze to death on a sidewalk in Milwaukee on Friday, and an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s froze in upstate New York after wandering out of her home. And anti-poverty advocates are worried about the dangers to come for the homeless population as it gets even colder later this week.
“We’re going to lose a certain amount of them,” Billy Bishop, the co-founder of Homeless Not Hopeless in Cape Cod, acknowledged to a local outlet.
Shelters across the country are currently scrambling to ensure they can accommodate additional people during this week’s cold snap. In Missouri, the Red Cross is on standby to help treat people suffering from extreme cold. Shelters in Tennessee have activated their emergency plans, setting up overflow areas for an anticipated rush. Kansas shelters are extending their hours this week in light of the bitter cold. The Salvation Army is ramping up its outreach in Minnesota, one of the states expected to bear the brunt of the freezing temperatures. Major cities are setting up warming centers to provide relief to extremely poor people who typically spend most of their time outside.
But in some areas, there may not be enough resources to keep everyone healthy. In Camden, New Jersey, shelters are already overcrowded in the aftermath of last week’s snowstorm, and city officials have been accused of being unprepared to serve the homeless. Shelters are also starting to fill up in Iowa and Alabama, where local groups are encouraging individuals to donate warm clothing and blankets to the homeless. Agencies in Pennsylvania warn they’re already stretched too thin and may not have any more space for people suffering from the cold this week.
Health officials are encouraging people to dial a local hypothermia hotline if they see any individuals on the streets this week. And, in light of the fact that government programs to combat homelessness have been slashed because of the sequester, people concerned about the current weather could also be moved to make a more long-term investment to address the issue. “Play the long game. Contribute to a good organization that works with severely poor people in your area,” Harold Pollack, a public health and poverty expert based in Chicago, suggested to Forbes.
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Hopedale Bed & Breakfast to Open In June
By ROBERT A. DEFRANK ,
Save | Post a comment | HOPEDALE A new bed and breakfast is opening its doors to travelers this summer with the promise of home away from home. Sue Snyder of Hopedale is in the last stages of completing the Village Inn, scheduled to open June 25. Snyder said the venture is an ambition she had nursed for years as she observed the unused 3,000 square foot 70s-style house. "I'd driven by here a few times and it was for sale," he said. "I've always liked to cook and take care of other people," she said. "I thought the only reason I could justify living in a giant house like this is if I shared it." There are four rooms to rent, a dining room, showers and den. The rooms are of varying sizes, including a room for five for the convenience of hunters, visitors to area festivals, and other parties. The house was erected in 1952 and was added to in the 1970s. "It's a very nice house that I started with. What I do is just make it back to livable," she said. Renovations included electric work, the installation of part of a roof and copper plumbing, gas and hot water tanks, as well as a geothermal heating system allowing residents to set the temperature of each room to their personal tastes. She added a gas fireplace in the den and a 100-inch television screen. There is also a television in the dining room. The house is equipped with WiFi for high speed Internet use. There is a library stocked with books, DVDs and games for children. "I'm trying to have all the comforts of home," she said, adding that she aims for the creation of a comfortable and relaxed atmosphere. The exterior boasts three patios. Snyder is also in the process of installing fountains internally and externally. The surrounding property also has some wildlife visitors. The work took about a year. This is Snyder's first venture into the bed and breakfast business. "I'm no gambler. This is my big gamble," she said. Snyder noted that the house should prove an ideal stop for workmen on the job and traveling vacationers, including bicyclers and hikers who use the various trails. She added that there is a wealth of good restaurants and sites in the area for travelers to consider. "A bed and breakfast is an absolute trend nowadays," she said, noting that economic worries, travel expenses and turmoil abroad mean many Americans are opting for vacations closer to home. "A lot of people are spending weekends at bed and breakfasts." She is grateful for the community for its support and the enthusiasm generated by the project. "The town really opened up to this," she said. "I really feel this will be successful." In the future, she hopes to expand by installing a tanning salon in the basement as well as an outdoor hot tub and pool, she also hopes to host small banquets and family reunions. Snyder said she plans to employ a daytime cook for when she is out at work, a lawnkeeper, and a cleaner and housekeeper to help maintain the rooms daily. The site is located at 184 East Main Street. For more information, call (740) 937-9988. DeFrank can be reached at rdefrank@timesleaderonline.com. © Copyright 2016 Times Leader. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10784 | 3 Americans Dead After Shooting At Kabul Hospital By Mark Memmott
Apr 24, 2014 ShareTwitter Facebook Google+ Email An Afghan police officer kept watch Thursday at the gate of the Cure hospital in Kabul. Earlier, authorities say, a security guard at the hospital opened fire — killing three American citizens.
Shah Marai / AFP/Getty Images
Originally published on April 24, 2014 6:25 pm Three American citizens were killed Thursday at a Christian organization's hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, when an Afghan security guard opened fire. Another American citizen was reportedly wounded. One of those killed was an experienced pediatrician from Chicago who had been working at the hospital for seven years, according to media reports. The other two killed were a father and son whose names and ages had not yet been released. Government spokesman Sediq Sediqqi says the gunman was shot and wounded and is now under arrest, NPR's Sean Carberry reports from Kabul. His gunshot wound may have been self-inflicted. As Sean tells our Newscast Desk: "Attacks on foreigners have been on the rise this year. Last month, the Taliban attacked the guesthouse of an American aid organization — it turned out the intended target had been a neighboring Christian guesthouse. Earlier this month, an Afghan police commander opened fire on two Associated Press journalists, killing one and seriously wounding the other." The Washington Post writes that: "Over the past three months, as Afghanistan is in the midst of electing a new president, 20 foreigners have been killed in separate attacks targeting civilians. The attacks have occurred at a popular restaurant, an upscale hotel and other venues where foreigners congregate. "The Taliban has taken credit for much of the violence, including one March 20 assault on the Serena Hotel in Kabul, which killed nine people, including two Canadians. "The violence is accelerating the pace at which foreigners are fleeing Kabul, which until recently has provided relative security for aid workers, journalists and civilian contractors. "With Thursday's shooting, the dangers facing foreigners is heightened by what appears to be growing incidents of random attacks by Afghan security officials." The site of Thursday's attack was a hospital run by Cure International, which is based in Lemoyne, Pa. One goal of Cure's hospital in Kabul is to transform the lives "of children with disabilities and their families in Afghanistan through medical and spiritual healing." The Associated Press is referring to those who were killed as "three doctors." Sean reports that according to the Afghan ministry of health the three Americans were a child specialist who has been working in the hospital for seven years and "his two guests," who were a father and son and may also have been medical workers. Sean also reports that the ministry says a woman, an American citizen, was wounded. The U.S. embassy in Kabul says in a statement that "with great sadness we confirm that three Americans were killed in the attack on CURE Hospital." Update at 12:15 p.m. ET. Chicago Health Center IDs One Victim: "A Chicago-area doctor was among those killed Thursday in an attack at a charity-based children's hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan," NBC Chicago and other news outlets are reporting. He's identified as Dr. Jerry Umanos, who before going to Afghanistan was a pediatrician at Lawndale Christian Health Center. "We have lost a dear friend," LCHC's Chief Ministry Officer James Brooks told NBC Chicago. CNN says Umanos "had worked at the hospital in Kabul for seven years, longer than anyone else." CBS Local in Chicago is reporting that "Umanos was shot when he went to the gate to receive his American friends. Those two, who Afghan officials said were father and son, were also killed when the guard opened fire." Update at 7:35 a.m. ET. More On The Attack And The Hospital. In his latest report for our Newscast Desk, Sean says: -- The three "American medical workers" who were killed were arriving to work when the shooting began. -- The wounded American was reportedly a nurse -- Mohammed Zahir, a nearby vendor, says he heard three separate bursts of gunfire. -- Soraya Dalil, the minister of Public Health, says Cure is one of the best hospitals in the city and provides advanced treatment to Afghans.Copyright 2014 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. View the discussion thread. © 2016 Tri States Public Radio | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10791 | Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:08pm BST
Iraqi insurgent leader captured: state television
BAGHDAD Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the purported leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an al-Qaeda-linked insurgent group, has been captured, Iraqi state television said Thursday.The insurgent group is one of a handful of Sunni Arab extremist groups blamed for suicide bombings and other attacks in the northern city of Mosul and other parts of Iraq.Violence has dropped sharply since the height of sectarian killings in 2006-07, but attacks continue. The report came on the same day that two separate suicide bombings killed 68 people in Baghdad and in a town northeast of the Iraqi capital.
Al-Iraqiya television said Baghdadi was believed to have been captured in eastern Baghdad. Security experts have previously speculated that Baghdadi was a character invented by some extremist groups rather than a real person.
U.S. Major-General David Perkins, spokesman for U.S. forces in Iraq, told Reuters Television in Washington the U.S. military had not yet been able to confirm the capture of the insurgent leader, whose detention has been reported before.
Iraqi forces are taking greater responsibility for security in Iraq as U.S. troops, who now number close to 140,000 in Iraq, prepare to withdraw fully by the end of 2011.(Editing by Jon Boyle) | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10797 | HomeNews and StoriesNews
A new home on memory lane in Bosnia and HerzegovinaAt 73 years old, refugee returnee Biserka Vukasinovic is the proud owner of a UNHCR-renovated house full of memories and new friendships.
By: Nefisa Medosevic/Mina Jasarevic, ed. Vivian Tan | 14 April 2011 Biserka Vukasinovic (standing with glasses) hosts a sewing class for other returnee women in Gorazde, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
© UNHCR/N.Medosevic
GORAZDE, Bosnia and Herzegovina, April 14 (UNHCR) - Biserka Vukasinovic has a strong homing instinct, honed from her experience as a refugee twice over, a returnee and an internally displaced person. Every time she lost her home, she found a way back.
The first time she was displaced from her native Bosnia and Herzegovina was during the Second World War, when she was a young girl. "My father and mother prepared an ox-drawn cart and loaded our belongings. With my two sisters, we fled. We found a house without windows and doors, and sought shelter within," she recalls with clarity. "Once, a German soldier came to our door, held me on his knees and began to cry. I reminded him of the daughter he left behind in Germany."
They returned home eventually. Biserka grew up, married and lived with her husband of some 30 years, Aco Vukasinovic, in Gorazde, a city in the eastern part of the country. He passed away shortly before the 1991 conflict, and when war erupted, she became one of 24,000 Bosnians to seek refuge in Serbia.
Biserka fled with a severe case of pneumonia and financial difficulties. "The local Red Cross did not recognize me as a person in need of assistance," she remembers. "I had to find a variety of ways to survive. Many times I went to Romania, Hungary and Bulgaria, where I purchased the goods which I resold in Serbia."
The conflict ended in 1995, and she dreamed of returning to Gorazde to rebuild her damaged home. While in Serbia, she tried unsuccessfully to collect donations for the reconstruction. Eventually, her nostalgia compelled her to voluntarily renounce her refugee status in Serbia and return to Gorazde in 2009. Standing among the ruins of what was once her home, "I was struck when I saw that only walls remained," she recalls.
With help from UNHCR's implementing partner Vasa Prava, Biserka applied for internally displaced person (IDP) status, becoming one of 113,000 IDPs living in Bosnia and Herzegovina since 2006. The municipal authorities allocated accommodation in some barracks in Gorazde, but Biserka's long-time friend Jovanaka, a returnee herself, welcomed Biserka into her home.
Biserka was selected for UNHCR's housing project, which seeks to rebuild homes for vulnerable people such as single mothers, large families with small children and the elderly, and families with socio-economic difficulties. A total of 22 most vulnerable families numbering 80 people were selected to receive assistance for sustainable return to pre-war areas of residence, including support in acquisition of rights to social protection, health care, pension and education.
At the end of last year, Biserka moved into her new home on her old patch of land. With her modest pension, she couldn't furnish it the way she wanted. Nonetheless, the two beds, a table and stove were satisfactory.
For her, the fact of homecoming was more important, as it was for over 1 million other returnees who have reclaimed their homes since 1995. As a group, they represent a return statistic. As individuals, they represent courage. With modest to no support, Bosnia's returnees reclaimed their lives and place of origin, even though in many cases return was unwelcome, and economically or socially strenuous.
Biserka is an example of audacious returnee women who provide a network for one another, without which she herself could not have returned. She offers the same support in return. Most recently, she hosted a gathering in her home where some 15 returnee women drank coffee, joked and made handicrafts while inviting collective laughter into what became again Biserka's home.
While these women seem to be settling in well, thousands of internally displaced individuals and families throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina still have immense needs, 16 years after the conflict ended. The most vulnerable among them need housing, psycho-social support and income-generating projects.
A little help goes a long way, as Biserka can attest. Today, at 73, she is sociable and full of optimism. "I really feel happy to be able to move to my humble home and to host gatherings for a large number of women and alleviate their feelings of neglect and abandonment," she says with a smile.
Biserka and Aco had no children and, although he is dead, she maintains a special bond with her late husband, visiting his grave daily. Some two kilometres from her home she has a garden where she planted ornamental trees, roses and other flowers. This spring, she will begin to cultivate land, adding vegetables to her plot.
On the table of her home is an old photo taken in the 1960s in which Biserka and her husband hug one another, smiling in their youth. She holds an album with photographs of him, family and friends. She says she is happy that these memories remain with her, memories that now give her the strength to live in peace, with dignity.
By Nefisa Medosevic and Mina Jasarevic in Goradze, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Related news and stories
Housing programme to help Bosnians rebuild two decades after the war
Donors pledge more than 300 million euros to help refugees in Balkans
Statelessness: Citizenship hopes draw closer for Roma asylum-seeker News
An unexpected meeting with Angelina Jolie brings joy a year later
UNHCR welcomes latest regional effort to end refugee displacement in Balkans
UNHCR to continue helping Balkans flood victims over the winter | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10840 | SB 5 Affects the Presidential Race in Ohio
Share Share Download Backers of President Obama’s re-election campaign are trying to sway Ohio voters by using a familiar issue. Ohio Public Radio’s Jo Ingles reports. Wednesday, June 27, 2012 at 4:29 pm
Last year, after Republican state leaders passed a controversial collective bargaining bill that slashed the power of public employee unions…. teachers, firefighters, police officers and other labor activists from around the state joined arms with Democrats in an effort to repeal that law.
They paraded through downtown Columbus, past the Statehouse, to the Secretary of State’s office where they unloaded a semi truck full of petition signatures. They only needed fewer than 300,000 valid signatures but they turned in well over one point three million. Their energy was palpable.
Fast forward to now, one year later, a central Ohio police officer and a Democratic State Senator join a couple of organizers for President Obama’s re-election campaign on a sidewalk that, just a year ago, was filled with thousands of protestors. Senator Charleta Tavares issues this warning about Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
TAVARES: "If he had his way, Mitt Romney would make issue two a nationwide problem."
That’s a point Democrats are pounding in a new web ad:
POLICE OFFICER: "For all of the police and firefighters who worked very hard against issue 2, knocking on doors, making phone calls, they would be throwing all of that away if they vote for Mitt Romney."
The police officer who makes that statement in that ad is Central Ohio officer Scott Clinger. He says it’s important to remind Ohioans that Romney supported issue two and that he has come out against hiring more police officer and firefighters. But on this day, Clinger is the only police officer speaking out at this event on the issue though he warns he’s not the only one working to defeat Mitt Romney.
CLINGER: "I am one of those working on the campaign and there are others out there, working on the campaign, making phone calls, knocking on doors and doing the same things that we did on SB 5. We haven’t forgotten."
Ohio’s largest labor federation, The AFL-CIO, says its members are already working, behind the scenes, to insure President Obama’s re-election. In a news release, the AFL-CIO says it, along with other labor groups and an ally group,Working America, has been doing outreach and will do more. The Labor 2012 operation plans to involve more than 70,000 volunteer shifts that will focus on voter registration, voter education and voter turnout in the coming months. Chris Maloney, a spokesman for Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, isn’t worried Democrats will be able to revive the spirit that led to the overwhelming repeal of the unpopular labor issue last year.
MALONEY: "This is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to distract attention away from Joe Biden’s awkward cancellation on Ohio Democrats earlier this week and the President’s failed policies which have left 425,000 Ohioans struggling to find work."
Maloney says he finds some irony when he compares the candidate Barack Obama of four years ago with the President Barack Obama of today.
MALONEY: "And it’s really telling that four years after they adopted the mantra of Hope and Change, it’s these kinds of actions that we’ve come to expect from the President’s campaign whose idea of support for labor and the middle class has been reduced to directing negative web video and holding press conferences."
There are four months left until Ohioans vote. A lot of money has already been spent on ads to persuade Ohioans for or against the candidates…..and most political pundits believe there will be many more ads between now and then. In this swing state, the question might be which issue motivates voters the most. Main Topic
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2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10869 | More Ways to LISTEN What Egyptian State TV Says About The State Of Egypt By Merrit Kennedy
In an image from a video broadcast on Egyptian state TV, President Mohammed Morsi addresses the nation on July 2 — his final speech before the military deposed him.
Ismael Mohamad
/ UPI /Landov
Soldiers stand on an armored personnel carrier positioned outside the state-run television station in Cairo, on July 6.
Louafi Larbi
Originally published on July 9, 2013 8:23 am It sounded like a slip of the tongue. As millions of Egyptians took to the streets calling for President Mohammed Morsi to step down, state TV anchor George Heshmat casually used the word "revolution" instead of "protests." This signaled that state TV was beginning to assert its independence from a government that was never a good fit for it anyway. It was clear that something had changed at the voice of the state — even before Morsi was pushed from power. Now, seven armored personnel carriers are positioned outside the building in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, and soldiers stand at the ready through its corridors. But the soldiers are not in the newsroom. "You can say that we made a war here to deliver our message and to erase all the stereotype images that have been about us in the past," says Samar Mahdi, an editor there. Controlling The Coverage Egypt's state-run television station has now worked under four different leaders in the past 2 1/2 years, following the military's ouster of Morsi last week. State TV lost much credibility with the Egyptian public during the 2011 uprising when it blatantly sided with ousted President Hosni Mubarak. But it is still seen as the source of official information. Mahdi says that she, like much of the news team, decided to sign a petition refusing to follow any directives from the presidency in the week leading up to the June 30 protests. "We said that we, the Egyptian television, we are standing with the people, with the people's opinion, and we will cover in a very professional way what is happening in the Egyptian street," Mahdi says. She also says they aren't going to be the mouthpiece of the Muslim Brotherhood, either. Khaled Mehanni, a supervising editor, says that as rival protests began to escalate two weeks before Morsi was forced from power, the presidency started trying to tightly control the coverage. "We were told to cover pro-Morsi demonstrations and ignore all other squares and parks," Mehanni says. He says that the atmosphere became even more heated when the station aired the military's 48-hour ultimatum to Morsi without the consent of the information minister and disobeyed the directives of top management by sending reporters out to opposition protests. A senior aide to the deposed president adamantly denies that the presidency had tried to control the coverage, pointing out that state TV had never been particularly pro-Morsi. Morsi had trouble winning over many government institutions. Veteran anchor Amr Shennawi read the lead-in to the military statement announcing that Morsi had been pushed from power last Wednesday, and he says he felt incredibly happy and relieved at that moment. "Like we having a big rock over your chest and for long time and all of a sudden it's gone," Shennawi says. No Military Intervention, For Now Rasha Abdulla, a journalism professor at the American University in Cairo, questions why the state TV employees changed the tone of their coverage. "Did they do that because it is the right thing not to follow directives from the regime and then no matter who the regime is, they are not following directives anymore? Or did they do that just because they didn't like that particular leadership?" Abdulla says. "In my opinion, for the most part, it was the latter." She says that she doesn't think Morsi's government ever had full control of state television to begin with. No one from Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood has appeared on state TV this past week. State TV reporters say that they have invited members to appear; a spokesman for the Muslim Brotherhood denied this. On Monday, after clashes between the military and Morsi's supporters killed at least 51 people, State TV's coverage mirrored the military's depiction of the events and ignored the Brotherhood's account. Economics correspondent Nevine Hassan-Nada says that so far, the soldiers in the building have not interfered with coverage. "And believe me, if they try to interfere, they're going to get exactly what President Morsi got. I promise you," Hassan-Nada says, laughing. Other media haven't been so lucky. The military is intervening in other outlets less satisfied with its move against Morsi: It has shut down three private Islamist TV channels since the former president was ousted.Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/. Related Program: Morning Edition on 90.5 WKARView the discussion thread. © 2016 WKAR | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10875 | email: WLU
WLUCarol Shaben named winner of the 2013 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction
Jul 30/13| For Immediate Release
Ute Lischke, Professor Department of English and Film Studies 519-884-0710 ext. 3607 or ulischke@wlu.ca
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WATERLOO � Carol Shaben has won the 2013 Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction for Into the Abyss: How a Deadly Plane Crash Changed the Lives of a Pilot, a Politician, a Criminal and a Cop (Random House Canada, 2012). Award receptions to honour Shaben will take place Nov. 13 at Laurier�s Waterloo and Brantford campuses. In Into the Abyss, Shaben reconstructs a 1984 commuter plane crash in northern Alberta that killed six passengers and wounded four others�including Shaben�s father, a prominent cabinet minister. �It�s a stylishly written, fast-paced tale of redemption that�s more gripping and engaging than you might expect,� said Ute Lischke, award juror and Laurier professor of English and Film Studies. While the story is an expertly researched, detailed reconstruction of the crash and a call for better oversight of small, commuter airlines, its heart lies in the portraits Shaben draws of the crash�s survivors: her father, the pilot and an RCMP officer and the prisoner he was transporting. Through interviews and written documents, she paints a haunting portrait of the bond created among the survivors and how the crash affected their lives. Shaben is a freelance writer who lives in Vancouver with her husband and son. In 2005 she left a business career to focus on her long-time passion for writing, and in 2009 she was nominated for three National Magazine Awards, winning two: a Gold Medal for Investigative Reporting and a Silver Medal for Politics and Public Interest. Into the Abyss is her first book. In addition to Into the Abyss, the shortlist for the 2013 Edna Staebler Award also included: Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes by Kamal Al-Solaylee (HarperCollins, 2012) and A Thousand Farewells: A Reporter�s Journey from Refugee Camp to the Arab Spring by Nahlah Ayed (Viking, 2012). On Wednesday, Nov. 13, the award presentation will take place from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the Senate and Board Chamber on Laurier�s Waterloo Campus, followed by a reception at 8 p.m. A reception will also be held on Laurier�s Brantford campus earlier in the day; details will be available at wlu.ca/staebleraward. About the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-FictionEstablished and endowed by writer and award-winning journalist Edna Staebler, the Edna Staebler Award for Creative Non-Fiction is administered by Wilfrid Laurier University, the only university in Canada to bestow a nationally recognized literary award. The $10,000 award encourages and recognizes Canadian writers for a first or second work of creative non-fiction that includes a Canadian locale and/or significance. Winning books are distinguished by first-hand research, well-crafted interpretive writing and a creative use of language or approach to the subject matter. Previous winners include authors Linden MacIntyre, Wayson Choy and Elizabeth Hay. The award is celebrating its 22nd anniversary this year.
View all WLU news | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10894 | Obama's Plan To Kick-Start Housing Market By editor
Originally published on January 28, 2012 10:46 am Transcript SCOTT SIMON, HOST: The future of the state of the U.S. housing market was a primary focus for the White House this week. On Tuesday's State of the Union address, President Obama unveiled a new plan to try to correct the housing downturn. It would allow qualifying homeowners the chance to refinance their mortgages at historically low rates. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: No more red tape, not more runaround from the banks. A small fee on the largest institutions will ensure that it won't add to the deficit. And we'll give those banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust. (SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING) SIMON: Mr. Obama said his new plan would save homeowners about $3,000 a year on their mortgages. For more, we're joined by our friend from the business world, Joe Nocera, also a columnist for the New York Times. He joins us from New York. Joe, thanks for being with us. JOE NOCERA: Thanks for having me, Scott. SIMON: And what exactly is the president proposing? Who would benefit? NOCERA: Well, anybody who has a mortgage at a higher rate than the current rate - which is pretty much everybody. I mean, we are at historically low rates. And the idea of being able to easily refinance at a lower rate, a get a fixed 30 year at these historic - you know, 4 percent or so, would be pretty wonderful. You know, there are - the devil is in the details, as it has always been with the administration's housing policies. And it's really hard to know exactly who will qualify and how exactly it will work. But in theory, this is what we need to do to get housing back. SIMON: Yeah, and that would free up capital that could be spent elsewhere in the economy. NOCERA: Well, exactly. I mean, you lower your mortgage, you have more money every month and you don't feel as constrained. And you don't feel this overhang of mortgage debt, which the country desperately needs to get down anyway. And people will start spending again, yes. Housing leads the country out of a recovery. That is a historic pattern. It has not happened this time because frankly the federal government's been too busy bickering how to fix housing, and so nothing's happened. SIMON: The other part of the president's housing proposal is this new investigative unit would focus on abusive lending practices. It would be part of the existing Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, which the administration set up in 2009. How do you peg the chances for success of this new agency? NOCERA: Slim, to be honest, Scott. The Justice Department and the various states have done a very, very poor job of prosecuting mortgage fraud. They've only gone after small fries; there's not a single person from Countrywide who's been prosecuted for the millions of fraudulent mortgages that that company made. It's really quite astonishing. So, I'm very skeptical with this new effort will make much of a difference. SIMON: The White House, though, says - the new unit is going to be chaired, by the way, by Eric Schneiderman, the attorney general of New York. And the White House says this new task force will have more jurisdiction and resources than what they've had, and the Attorney General Eric Holder says subpoenas have already been served. NOCERA: Well, let's see. Let's see. Eric Schneiderman is an interesting person to run this. He's been very skeptical of the efforts of the various states to do this big settlement with the banks, which is not yet happened. And he - one of the reasons he's skeptical is he says it's not tough enough, it lets the banks off the hook, and so on and so forth. So, there is a possibility that that could make a difference. And secondly, New York has something called the Martin Act, which other states don't have, which is a very powerful tool for prosecuting financial crimes. So, you know, that is the ray of hope. However, given the Department of Justice's track record in failing to prosecute financial fraud and financial crimes since the crisis, you know, I say, you know, as we say, it remains to be seen. SIMON: This proposal would require congressional approval. How do you see the chances of that? NOCERA: Well, I think the president put it pretty well in the State of the Union address when he said, you know, there are a lot of people who don't think anything's going to happen, and none of these proposals will pass this Congress. I think that's exactly right. So, don't lay your hopes on this one. SIMON: New York Times columnist Joe Nocera, joining us from the studios of the Radio Foundation in New York. Joe, thanks so much. NOCERA: Thank you, Scott. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.Related Program: Weekend Edition on WUKY © 2016 WUKY | 新闻 |
2016-22/0600/en_head.json.gz/10901 | BULLDOG BULLETIN BOARD
Tuesday April 29, 2014
Strong storms damaged homes and businesses in the Harlan County city of Evarts Monday afternoon. Winds ripped the roof off the Dairy Hut and blew a hole in the side of the Marathon gas station. Both businesses are located in downtown Evarts and are owned by Randy Brackett. Winds also damaged several houses, including the home of Evarts mayor Eddie Manning. No injuries were reported in Harlan County because of the storm._____A fire in a Pike County railroad tunnel is causing some concern for folks in the area. Several schools cancelled class on Monday, as the Robinson Creek area fills with heavy smoke and fumes. Monday morning, firefighters from Shelby Valley worked to extinguish the flames inside the tunnel that stretches 700 feet through the mountain. Pike County Emergency Management Director Doug Tackett says the odor is due to the old age of the tunnel and how it was built, using creosote which can emit toxic fumes..Instead of using water, officials are going to use dirt to try to smother it out. In a statement from CSX officials they say there is significant damage to the tunnel and do not have a timeline as to when the line will reopen. CSX is working with the state fire marshal's office to determine a cause._____Developers are halting a three-state underground pipeline project that drew intense opposition in Kentucky from residents, activists and even a group of nuns. Williams Co. and Boardwalk Pipeline Partners said in a web posting Monday that they were not able to assemble a large enough customer base for the natural gas liquids that would be delivered by the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline. They suggested, however, that the project could be resurrected at a later date. The companies said they are no longer seeking to acquire land for the project and offices that housed land acquisition teams have been closed._____A man is in the hospital after being struck by lightning in Powell County. It happened around 8:45 Monday morning at the Powell County Transfer Station on Highway 15 in Clay City. Officials say the man was alert and talking when crews got to the scene. He was taken by ambulance to Clark Regional Hospital in Winchester . The victim's name and condition have not been released._____A Perry County School brought national honors to Eastern Kentucky with rankings out last week. U.S. News and World Report awarded the school a Bronze Medal. Two qualifications earned schools Bronze Medals. Schools had to first perform better than average in the state, and economically disadvantaged students had to perform better than expected. Buckhorn's rate of economically disadvantaged students stood at 78 percent._____Fayette County Public Schools are undergoing big zoning changes for the first time in more than ten years. The district has announced plans to build two new elementary schools, one new high school, and to create new boundaries for school districts. With two new elementary schools set to open in 2016 and a new high school in 2017, school leaders say re-working the map on attendance zones is a necessity. ADVERTISE | 新闻 |
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in Dataset Viewer.
Industry models play a crucial role in driving enterprise intelligence transformation and innovative development. High-quality industry data is key to improving the performance of large models and realizing industry applications. However, datasets currently used for industry model training generally suffer from issues such as insufficient data volume, low quality, and lack of domain expertise.
To address these problems, we constructed and applied 22 industry data processing operators to clean and filter 3.4TB of high-quality multi-industry classified Chinese and English language pre-training datasets from over 100TB of open-source datasets including WuDaoCorpora, BAAI-CCI, redpajama, and SkyPile-150B. The filtered data consists of 1TB of Chinese data and 2.4TB of English data. To facilitate user utilization, we annotated the Chinese data with 12 types of labels including alphanumeric ratio, average line length, language confidence score, maximum line length, and perplexity.
Furthermore, to validate the dataset's performance, we conducted continued pre-training, SFT, and DPO training on a medical industry demonstration model. The results showed a 20% improvement in objective performance and a subjective win rate of 82%.
Industry categories: 18 categories including medical, education, literature, finance, travel, law, sports, automotive, news, etc. Rule-based filtering: Traditional Chinese conversion, email removal, IP address removal, link removal, Unicode repair, etc. Chinese data labels: Alphanumeric ratio, average line length, language confidence score, maximum line length, perplexity, toxicity character ratio, etc. Model-based filtering: Industry classification language model with 80% accuracy Data deduplication: MinHash document-level deduplication Data size: 1TB Chinese, 2.4TB English
Industry classification data size:
| Industry Category | Data Size (GB) | Industry Category | Data Size (GB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Programming | 4.1 | Politics | 326.4 |
| Law | 274.6 | Mathematics | 5.9 |
| Education | 458.1 | Sports | 442 |
| Finance | 197.8 | Literature | 179.3 |
| Computer Science | 46.9 | News | 564.1 |
| Technology | 333.6 | Film & TV | 162.1 |
| Travel | 82.5 | Medicine | 189.4 |
| Agriculture | 41.6 | Automotive | 40.8 |
| Emotion | 31.7 | Artificial Intelligence | 5.6 |
| Total (GB) | 3386.5 |
For the convenience of users to download and use, we have split the large dataset into sub-datasets for 18 industries. The current one is the sub-dataset for the news industry.
Data processing workflow:
- Downloads last month
- 117
Size of the auto-converted Parquet files (First 5GB):
3.09 GB
Number of rows (First 5GB):
1,125,723
Estimated number of rows:
138,949,177