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<p>FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) &#8212; A Sierra Leone military official says the country is withdrawing from the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia after being blocked from rotating its soldiers over concerns about the spread of Ebola.</p> <p>Maj. Gen. Samuel Omar Williams, the chief of defense staff, said Saturday the troops currently in Somalia will be sent back to Freetown in January "and will not be replaced."</p> <p>In a statement Saturday, the African Union mission said 850 Sierra Leone troops deployed for 12 months starting in 2013, but the AU halted their rotation in response to Ebola, which the World Health Organization says has killed more than 2,400 people in Sierra Leone.</p> <p>The mission said Sierra Leone's soldiers will be replaced by soldiers from other countries "until the virus has been fully contained."</p> <p>FREETOWN, Sierra Leone (AP) &#8212; A Sierra Leone military official says the country is withdrawing from the African Union peacekeeping force in Somalia after being blocked from rotating its soldiers over concerns about the spread of Ebola.</p> <p>Maj. Gen. Samuel Omar Williams, the chief of defense staff, said Saturday the troops currently in Somalia will be sent back to Freetown in January "and will not be replaced."</p> <p>In a statement Saturday, the African Union mission said 850 Sierra Leone troops deployed for 12 months starting in 2013, but the AU halted their rotation in response to Ebola, which the World Health Organization says has killed more than 2,400 people in Sierra Leone.</p> <p>The mission said Sierra Leone's soldiers will be replaced by soldiers from other countries "until the virus has been fully contained."</p>

Sierra Leone peacekeepers to leave Somalia mission

https://apnews.com/amp/c9f78f9fcca24b8da4c03bfe4ca54c9b

2014-12-20

<p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) &#8212; Gov. Bruce Rauner&#8217;s state-paid scheduler set up a May 2015 meeting at the Executive Mansion with a former business partner who claims in a lawsuit they discussed a personal business deal, calling into question Wednesday the Republican&#8217;s claims that he ended his day-to-day business dealings when he became governor three years ago.</p> <p>Rauner&#8217;s official calendar, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, shows a 5 p.m. appointment on May 11, 2015, at the governor&#8217;s mansion in Springfield.</p> <p>That&#8217;s one of the days that Harreld &#8220;Kip&#8221; Kirkpatrick&#8217;s lawsuit claims he discussed with Rauner a settlement over a business investment made before Rauner took office. The calendar shows no indication of a meeting on the second date, Sept. 15, 2015.</p> <p>Rauner disagrees over how a $67.5 million settlement in the 2011 investment with Kirkpatrick in a Michigan mortgage company should be divided, according to the lawsuit filed last fall in Cook County Circuit Court and largely sealed until this week.</p> <p>Formerly a private equity investor facing a tough re-election campaign this fall, Rauner said when he was elected in 2014 that he would end day-to-day involvement in managing his investments.</p> <p>Rauner spokeswoman Rachel Bold said Rauner disputes &#8220;Mr. Kirkpatrick&#8217;s allegations, including his characterizations of any conversations,&#8221; adding the investment took place before Rauner took office and &#8220;the governor is not involved in day-to-day investment decisions.&#8221;</p> <p>The calendar for May 11, 2015, blocks out 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for &#8220;Meeting w/Kip Kirkpatrick,&#8221; followed by a redacted section and &#8220;(Executive Mansion/Springfield, IL).&#8221;</p> <p>From 1:20 to 1:30 p.m. that day, Rauner&#8217;s scheduler set up &#8220;Call w/Marty Nesbitt.&#8221; Nesbitt, one of former President Barack Obama&#8217;s closest friends, isn&#8217;t part of the Rauner-Kirkpatrick deal or lawsuit, but the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-rauner-lawsuit-unsealed-20180123-story.html" type="external">Chicago Tribune reported</a> that Nesbitt is now co-CEO of the private equity firm Vistria Group with Kirkpatrick.</p> <p>An assistant told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Nesbitt was out of town. Nesbitt did not return a message that the AP left for him with the assistant.</p> <p>The mansion is the private residence of the governor and first lady.</p> <p>Susan Garrett, chairwoman of the nonpartisan Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, characterized Rauner&#8217;s discussions as falling into a &#8220;gray area.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;He should know better than to conduct any type of business where there&#8217;s a question mark,&#8221; said Garrett, a former Democratic state senator. &#8220;Meetings are being set up by his assistant who is paid by the state and it was on state time. It seems he should have divorced himself from these proceedings or done them someplace else.&#8221;</p> <p>Kirkpatrick also claims he met with Rauner on Sept. 15, 2015, in Chicago, but Rauner&#8217;s calendar shows no indication of a meeting. However, the calendar lists no appointments from 4:30 to 8:45 p.m. The governor and first lady Diana Rauner attended a reception starting at 8:45 p.m.</p> <p>Lawyers for Kirkpatrick did not respond to a request for comment.</p> <p>___</p> <p>Contact Political Writer John O&#8217;Connor at <a href="https://twitter.com/apoconnor" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/apoconnor" type="external">https://twitter.com/apoconnor</a> . His work can be found at <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/search/john%20o&#8217;connor</a> .</p> <p>___</p> <p>Sign up for the AP&#8217;s weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting&amp;#160;from the Midwest and Texas:&amp;#160; <a href="http://discover.ap.org/l/62432/2017-05-12/3m2wh6" type="external" /> <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p> <p>SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) &#8212; Gov. Bruce Rauner&#8217;s state-paid scheduler set up a May 2015 meeting at the Executive Mansion with a former business partner who claims in a lawsuit they discussed a personal business deal, calling into question Wednesday the Republican&#8217;s claims that he ended his day-to-day business dealings when he became governor three years ago.</p> <p>Rauner&#8217;s official calendar, obtained by The Associated Press under the Freedom of Information Act, shows a 5 p.m. appointment on May 11, 2015, at the governor&#8217;s mansion in Springfield.</p> <p>That&#8217;s one of the days that Harreld &#8220;Kip&#8221; Kirkpatrick&#8217;s lawsuit claims he discussed with Rauner a settlement over a business investment made before Rauner took office. The calendar shows no indication of a meeting on the second date, Sept. 15, 2015.</p> <p>Rauner disagrees over how a $67.5 million settlement in the 2011 investment with Kirkpatrick in a Michigan mortgage company should be divided, according to the lawsuit filed last fall in Cook County Circuit Court and largely sealed until this week.</p> <p>Formerly a private equity investor facing a tough re-election campaign this fall, Rauner said when he was elected in 2014 that he would end day-to-day involvement in managing his investments.</p> <p>Rauner spokeswoman Rachel Bold said Rauner disputes &#8220;Mr. Kirkpatrick&#8217;s allegations, including his characterizations of any conversations,&#8221; adding the investment took place before Rauner took office and &#8220;the governor is not involved in day-to-day investment decisions.&#8221;</p> <p>The calendar for May 11, 2015, blocks out 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for &#8220;Meeting w/Kip Kirkpatrick,&#8221; followed by a redacted section and &#8220;(Executive Mansion/Springfield, IL).&#8221;</p> <p>From 1:20 to 1:30 p.m. that day, Rauner&#8217;s scheduler set up &#8220;Call w/Marty Nesbitt.&#8221; Nesbitt, one of former President Barack Obama&#8217;s closest friends, isn&#8217;t part of the Rauner-Kirkpatrick deal or lawsuit, but the <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-rauner-lawsuit-unsealed-20180123-story.html" type="external">Chicago Tribune reported</a> that Nesbitt is now co-CEO of the private equity firm Vistria Group with Kirkpatrick.</p> <p>An assistant told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Nesbitt was out of town. Nesbitt did not return a message that the AP left for him with the assistant.</p> <p>The mansion is the private residence of the governor and first lady.</p> <p>Susan Garrett, chairwoman of the nonpartisan Illinois Campaign for Political Reform, characterized Rauner&#8217;s discussions as falling into a &#8220;gray area.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;He should know better than to conduct any type of business where there&#8217;s a question mark,&#8221; said Garrett, a former Democratic state senator. &#8220;Meetings are being set up by his assistant who is paid by the state and it was on state time. It seems he should have divorced himself from these proceedings or done them someplace else.&#8221;</p> <p>Kirkpatrick also claims he met with Rauner on Sept. 15, 2015, in Chicago, but Rauner&#8217;s calendar shows no indication of a meeting. However, the calendar lists no appointments from 4:30 to 8:45 p.m. The governor and first lady Diana Rauner attended a reception starting at 8:45 p.m.</p> <p>Lawyers for Kirkpatrick did not respond to a request for comment.</p> <p>___</p> <p>Contact Political Writer John O&#8217;Connor at <a href="https://twitter.com/apoconnor" type="external" /> <a href="https://twitter.com/apoconnor" type="external">https://twitter.com/apoconnor</a> . His work can be found at <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/search/john%20o&#8217;connor</a> .</p> <p>___</p> <p>Sign up for the AP&#8217;s weekly newsletter showcasing our best reporting&amp;#160;from the Midwest and Texas:&amp;#160; <a href="http://discover.ap.org/l/62432/2017-05-12/3m2wh6" type="external" /> <a href="http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv" type="external">http://apne.ws/2u1RMfv</a></p>

APNewsBreak: Private business meeting on Rauner’s calendar

https://apnews.com/8e58fd7fbf8b4449b851e16540ab6d9f

2018-01-25

<p>The flautist from the Australian band Men at Work, Greg Ham, has been found dead at his home in Melbourne, Australia.</p> <p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17767264" type="external">The BBC says</a> that the 58-year-old's body was found by two friends who had were concerned that they had not heard from Ham in some time.</p> <p><a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-19/men-at-works-greg-ham-found-dead/3960780/?site=melbourne" type="external">According to 774 ABC Melbourne,</a> the Victorian Homicide Squad is investigating the death and the cause is yet be determined.&amp;#160;</p> <p>"There are a number of unexplained aspects which has caused our attendance here today, and we're assisting the local detectives to determine what has occurred," Detective Senior Sergeant Shane O'Connell is quoted as saying.</p> <p>"At this point in time, because of the early stages of our investigation, we're not prepared to go into the exact details of what has occurred."</p> <p>Ham joined Men at Work in 1979 playing flute, harmonica, saxophone and keyboards.&amp;#160;&amp;#160; The band achieved international fame in the 80s and their album, Business As Usual, topped the Australian,American and British charts.</p> <p>However, <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/flute-riff-left-a-sour-note-for-ham-20120419-1x9kc.html#ixzz1sTbkeejP" type="external">the Sydney Morning Herald reports</a> that Ham feared he would be remembered only for the copyright dispute over the flute riff in the 1983 hit Down Under.</p> <p>A court in 2010 found the riff was unmistakably the same as the song Kookaburra, which was written more than 75 years ago for a Girl Guides competition.</p> <p /> <p /> <p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/120306/australian-economy-wayne-swan-mining-billionaires" type="external">Suite Spot - Occupy, Aussie style</a></p>

Men at Work flautist Greg Ham found dead at home in Australia

https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-19/men-work-flautist-greg-ham-found-dead-home-australia

2012-04-19

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p>Dolores Sanchez, right, a junior at La Academia de Esperanza, chats with sophomore Angelicia Macias during an after school club that encourages social activism. Sanchez says staying in school is not easy with the instability of poverty, but her parents encourage her and the club supports her. (Marla Brose/Albuquerque Journal)</p> <p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - At La Academia de Esperanza, a charter school on Old Coors SW, an after-school program called Circles helps empower students to see beyond their experience of poverty. The program helps them see beyond themselves and band together to address their circumstances as individuals and as a community.</p> <p>The student club helps fulfill some of the mission of the charter school, established for students at risk, to help open students' hearts and minds to life's possibilities, while supporting their self-determination.</p> <p>Psychologist Miquela Rivera of Samaritan Counseling Center says these kinds of clubs deal with issues students are facing and can give them a safe place to work on becoming adults.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Just like toddlers look back to make sure their parents are watching, clubs like this with supportive adults, give teens the sense that the world can be a safe place because someone is still watching out for them. "It's hard for them to separate and pull away when there isn't a super-strong sense of family. They need for there to be a safe place somewhere."</p> <p>The kids in the group have reason for stress.</p> <p>They shared at a recent meeting that they move often because housing isn't secure. They don't know if their families will have enough money for rent, utilities or food. They live in homes that often don't have locking doors and say they don't feel safe because their parents often work two or three jobs to make ends meet.</p> <p>"It's not easy to stay in school," says Dolores Sanchez, a junior. "But our parents tell us not to worry, just to do good in school. I'm doing my best to get good grades and finish school."</p> <p>Teacher sponsors for the group, Kate Smith and Wynell Henson, say students who come to the weekly group meeting and the larger community meetings make huge strides to adulthood, because they learn their opinions matter and they begin to have confidence to speak up for themselves.</p> <p>"They begin to make the connection that we are all in this together and through our partnerships, we can grow together, learn together and support one another," Smith says. "That is probably one of the most important life skills and lessons out there for our youth, who are growing up in a technological world that paradoxically grows more private and more public at the same time."</p> <p>Smith says the students get a better sense of themselves as part of the group because they are invited to join, based on their personality, academics, persistence and resilience.</p> <p>GALLEGOS: Sophomore researching scholarships</p> <p>"I've seen students feel proud; they love to be invited to our community," Henson says. "We make it a big deal. We have kids in Circles who are struggling academically, have terrible attendance, but they always make it to the Circles meetings."</p> <p>Sophomore Kayla Gallegos says she has learned about budgeting through a financial literacy class. "It's a struggle, but it helps to be more efficient at home."</p> <p>Gallegos says she's researching scholarships but hasn't decided what she will study. "That's the next step."</p> <p>Henson says she sees hope building in her students. "There have also been these few, but incredible moments of empowerment, where our students feel like they are important and can make a difference. When I see our students call their state representative or go to city council meetings, I see young people who feel like they can make a change in our world."</p> <p />

Making empowering Circles

https://abqjournal.com/402276/making-empowering-circles.html

<p>Afghan security forces intercepted 11 tons of explosives being moved from Pakistan to Afghanistan for a believed attack in Kabul, officials said today, adding that five militants had been arrested, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-afghan-explosives-20120422,0,4510565.story?track=rss&amp;amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fworld+(L.A.+Times+-+World+News)" type="external">reported The Associated Press</a>.</p> <p>Afghan officials said Saturday they had foiled two plots, including another in which group of militants were planning to kill&amp;#160;Karim Khalili, the country's second vice president.</p> <p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/world/asia/afghan-spy-agency-says-it-thwarts-2-attacks.html?_r=1" type="external">The New York Times reported</a> that the announcement by officials of the foiled plots with aimed at softening criticism of Afghan security officials, which came under fire after attacks last week in the capital.</p> <p>The announcement comes a week after <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/120415/afghanistan-kabul-rocked-blasts-taliban-spring-offensive" type="external">a bold attack shook the capital city and other Afghan towns</a> in an assault claimed by the Taliban.&amp;#160;</p> <p>Afghanistan's National Director for Security spokesman, Shafiqullah Tahiry, told reporters today that the foiled plot included an assassination attempt on Afghan President Hamid Karzai, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-afghan-explosives-20120422,0,4510565.story?track=rss&amp;amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fworld+(L.A.+Times+-+World+News)" type="external">said AP</a>, adding that three of the detained militants were tied to Pakistan's Haqqani network while the other two were Afghan Taliban.</p> <p>More from GlobalPost:&amp;#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia-pacific/afghanistan/120415/afghanistan-kabul-rocked-blasts-taliban-spring-offensive" type="external">Afghanistan: Kabul rocked by blasts in Taliban's 'spring offensive'</a></p> <p>Tahiry did not reveal when the men were arrested but claimed they had confessed they "had planned to carry out a terrorist attack in a key point in Kabul city," <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57418339/afghan-plot-foiled-11-tons-of-explosives-seized/" type="external">according to CBS News</a>.&amp;#160;</p> <p>A photo was released of the men who were charged with the plot.</p> <p>"All the detained individuals confessed their involvement during the preliminary investigations and admitted that they had been dispatched to military, terrorist and suicide training camps in Miran Shah, Pakistan," he said.</p> <p>"Imagine if 10,000 kilograms of explosives, which was already inside Kabul" had been detonated Tahriry said, "what a disaster could have happened," <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fgw-afghan-explosives-20120422,0,4510565.story?track=rss&amp;amp;utm_source=feedburner&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+latimes%2Fnews%2Fnationworld%2Fworld+(L.A.+Times+-+World+News)" type="external">said AP</a>.&amp;#160;</p> <p>The official said the materials were found hidden in 400 bags tucked under a truckload of potatoes, <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162-57418339/afghan-plot-foiled-11-tons-of-explosives-seized/" type="external">said CBS News</a>.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p>

11 tons of explosives seized and 5 militants arrested in Afghanistan: officials

https://pri.org/stories/2012-04-21/11-tons-explosives-seized-and-5-militants-arrested-afghanistan-officials

2012-04-21

<p>TAMPA, Fla. (ABP) &#8212; Two decades after forming as a &#8220;new spiritual home place&#8221; for disenfranchised Southern Baptists, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship now is &#8220;called as a movement of the Spirit,&#8221; the keynote speaker at a 20th anniversary celebration banquet said June 23.</p> <p>&#8220;No longer a denominational behemoth, Cooperative Baptists have learned that small and excellent can be used in the same sentence,&#8221; Molly Marshall, president of Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kan., told more than 1,000 people celebrating the opening of the CBF&#8217;s 2011 General Assembly in Tampa, Fla.</p> <p /> <p>Marshall, a former theology professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary who lost her job because she was unacceptable to new leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention in the late 1980s and early 1990s, said the Fellowship began as a &#8220;ministry of dissent&#8221; for those who recognized that Baptist principles were under attack.</p> <p>&#8220;Reflection is good, but looking forward to what God is calling us to do is our task now,&#8221; Marshall said. &#8220;In this day, I think the greatest need of CBF persons is to trust that God&#8217;s Spirit continues to guide and empower our ministry, calling us to new horizons.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;The Spirit works in freedom, calling the church to new forms of service in the world, and discerning that call is a demanding spiritual practice,&#8221; she said. To help, she outlined seven questions to be answered to gauge whether &#8220;CBF is called as a movement of the Spirit.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8212; Is the pathway that we sense the Spirit to be prompting a way to live the gospel more fully? &#8220;CBF has matured in learning to go as well as send,&#8221; Marshall said. &#8220;Going as learners and friends rather than as experts has allowed sustainable relationships that are both reciprocal and post-colonial.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8212; Will this require more faith, hope and love? &#8220;It is a profoundly hopeful task to start new things and then trust that God will prosper our work,&#8221; Marshall said.</p> <p>&#8212; Are we persuaded that we cannot do this in our own strength? &#8220;We should stretch toward those goals that call us to do our best yet always require the power of the Spirit to accomplish,&#8221; Marshall said. &#8220;Why not water Malawi? Why not make a 20-year commitment to the poorest places? Why not be a voice for justice in immigration?&#8221;</p> <p>&#8212; Will the pathway that the Spirit is nudging challenge all perceptions of how God is at work in the world? &#8220;If we know anything about the Spirit of God, it is that the Spirit of God is God&#8217;s creative impress and dynamic movement in the world, always transgressing boundaries of human invention,&#8221; she said.</p> <p>Marshall said crossing boundaries sometimes makes people uncomfortable. &#8220;That&#8217;s usually a sign that the Spirit is in it, moving us forward,&#8221; she said. Such places currently in CBF life include gender equality in the ministry, interfaith partnership and issues of human sexuality. &#8220;We must talk about how wonderfully and fearfully made humans are,&#8221; she said.</p> <p>&#8212; Will my community of faith grow in maturity as we become more deeply invested in the movement called CBF? &#8220;The old modes no longer work, and we&#8217;re called to a greater depth of trust,&#8221; Marshall said. &#8220;We&#8217;re in that time right now, aren&#8217;t we? What lies before us?&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;We mature as we risk ourselves for God and walk toward in faith what we cannot get,&#8221; she said.</p> <p>&#8212; Will redeemed expressions of grace and mercy flow from following the pathway of the Spirit? &#8220;Poverty and transformation ministries of CBF propel us toward the least of these and help us recognize that we are among them as well,&#8221; Marshall said. &#8220;With the least, we learn God&#8217;s preferential option for the poor, those who know the meaning of grace and mercy.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8212; Will this action be an authentic participation in the way of God? &#8220;God has been making us new over these past 20 years,&#8221; Marshall said. &#8220;We can think differently about collaboration. We can think differently about whom we might serve and who we might become, and the Spirit continues to move us forward so that we transgress the old boundaries and tear down old walls.&#8221;</p> <p>The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship formed in 1991, a year after Daniel Vestal, at the time a pastor in Texas who has served as the CBF&#8217;s executive coordinator since 1996, lost his bid as the last moderate candidate trying to win back the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention. The defeat solidified control of a theological and political machine called the &#8220;conservative resurgence&#8221; that elected a string of presidents committed to the doctrine of biblical inerrancy. Using their power to appoint only like-minded people to key committees, over time SBC presidents shifted the denomination&#8217;s bureaucracy from moderately conservative to fundamentalist.</p> <p>While the SBC, the nation&#8217;s second-largest faith group, dwarfs the 1,800 partnering churches and 3,000 individuals that provide some level of support of the CBF, the breakaway group today helps support 15 theology schools with more than 2,000 students, has 135 missionaries on the field and has endorsed 635 chaplains and pastoral counselors.</p> <p>The movement includes 18 autonomous state and regional Fellowships and numerous partner organizations that serve CBF churches but raise the majority of their own funding.</p> <p><a href="" type="internal">Bob Allen</a> is managing editor of Associated Baptist Press.&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p>

Anniversary speaker labels CBF a ‘movement of the Spirit’

https://baptistnews.com/article/anniversaryspeakerlabelscbfamovementofthespirit/

<p /> <p /> <p>Security has been beefed up at the Eiffel Tower on Friday ahead of Sunday's winner-take-all face-off presidential election in France especially following the stunt pulled off by Greenpeace activists when they scaled the Paris landmark and hung out a huge political banner.</p> <p /> <p>The Paris police chief was forced to call an emergency meeting to decide the new security measures following the stunt of the environmental activists. The early morning ' escapade' involved activists using mountaineering helmets, ropes, and shackles.</p> <p /> <p>Compounding security issues was the separate incident of an arrested " radicalized" former soldier near a military airbase near the town of Evreux northwest of the French capital. Judicial sources said the incident was related to a counter- terrorist inquiry. Sources said a shotgun was found near the undergrowth, in addition to a cartridge and a Koran in the car he had left at the edge of the airbase. He was arrested in the early morning when he returned to the spot.</p> <p /> <p>Security chiefs, after attacks by Islamist militants, have already announced that extra police would be assigned to patrol key areas on voting day on Sunday as Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen face off for the battle for the presidency following an intense, heated, and at times angry campaign.</p> <p /> <p>The past two-and-a-half years have seen more than 230 people killed in terrorist attacks in Paris and other parts of France. Just three days before a first round of voting on April 23, a policeman was fatally shot in central Paris by a gunman. The Islamic state or IS claimed responsibility for the attack.</p> <p /> <p>A dozen Greenpeace activists were arrested for the stunt they pulled off climbing the north face of the vast metal- latticed iconic Eiffel Tower to hang a banner carrying the French national motto, "Liberte, Egalita, Fraternite" ( Liberty, Equality, Fraternity). Police prefect Michel Delpuech said that above and beyond the motives and what can be viewed as an attempt at a publicity stunt, the current climate exposes faults in the security arrangements at the Eiffel Tower. Eiffel Tower is visited by about 19,000 people per day.</p> <p /> <p>Paris City Hall also said it would double the number of the assigned sniffer dog patrols, and improve video-monitoring around the area.</p> <p /> <p>Source:</p> <p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-greenpeace-idUSKBN1810HW" type="external">reuters.com/article/us-france-election-greenpeace-idUSKBN1810HW</a></p>

Eiffel Tower Stunt Exposes Security Concern On Eve Of French Election

http://thegoldwater.com/news/2745-Eiffel-Tower-Stunt-Exposes-Security-Concern-On-Eve-Of-French-Election

2017-05-06

<p>In the <a href="" type="internal">last Republican Debate</a>, the issue of Iran&#8217;s attempt to develop fissile material for a nuclear weapon was brought up as it has been in most of the previous debates. To be certain, this is neither a <a href="" type="internal">Republican</a> nor <a href="" type="internal">Democratic</a> issue, but one of national security. One candidate posited that instead of typical American saber-rattling, the U.S. should instead open a dialogue with Iran. After all he continued, we managed to avoid conflict with a nuclear Soviet Union throughout the entire <a href="" type="internal">Cold War</a>. The main flaw in his argument is that not all governments have the same mindsets, often ingrained by state institutions. I submit that it is these institutions that actually prevent ideological conflicts from ever escalating into wars.</p> <p>When states become bureaucratized, war becomes a proposition of precarious value, an unmanageable risk to institutional integrity. State bureaucracies, fundamentally concerned with the maintenance of the domestic environment, come to view war as a policy more likely to undermine the state structure than to bolster it. It follows that conflict diverts resources away from the domestic environment and endangers the state itself. Modern states thus tend toward risk-aversion and therefore, abstain from international conflict in favor of diplomatic negotiations. Thus, it is these institutional, rather than ideological factors that are central in understanding the outbreak of war, or the maintenance of peace. States are no longer willing to endanger the political order and their own authority through external conflict.</p> <p>The most relevant of examples can be seen in the relations between the U.S. and USSR. As a conflict between two well-institutionalized states, the Cold War exhibited a high degree of risk aversion and low conflict. Despite concern about Soviet willingness to initiate aggression with the West, the general trend of US-Soviet relations from the late 1940s to the late 1980s clearly reflects the mutual caution of the two superpowers, who obviously wished to maintain the status quo. A more specific example can be seen during what many consider to be the pinnacle of the Cold War&#8212;the Cuban Missile Crisis. Once the situation brought the U.S. and the Soviet Union to a crisis level, both sides quickly moved to defuse the situation.</p> <p>Of the countries known or believed to possess nuclear weapons, the U.S., China, France, Russia, UK, Israel, India, and arguably even North Korea, have historically strong state institutions. Nuclear powers have never gone to war with each other, despite their occasional bellicose disputes. When on occasion they do go to war with a non-nuclear power, the use of nuclear weapons has never been a factor, even in defeat&#8212;e.g., USSR/Afghanistan. Can we be assured a nuclear Iran would exercise this same restraint? Except for a very dangerous Pakistan, all other nuclear powers have secular institutions and leaders (Israel like Judaism itself, is non-proselytizing and insular). Iran, however, is a theocracy. As such, the ideology of its leaders overshadows the stability of its political institutions. For all their posturing, North Korea knows the political consequences of ever using a nuclear weapon. Can the same be said for religious ideologues?</p> <p>For this reason, the U.S. foreign policy of supporting stable regimes around the world is often criticized. No doubt, the U.S. would prefer to support democratic regimes, but even stable despots are worth supporting for the sake of regional security. It appears that with the spread of institutional state structures over time, the propensity for war declines, viewed as a policy with little to gain and much to lose. Because of this trend, the bureaucrat may be the real force that ushers in global peace.</p>

Red Tape vs. Red Scare: The Bureaucratic Aversion to War and Iran

https://ivn.us/2012/02/29/red-tape-vs-red-scare-the-bureaucratic-aversion-to-war-and-iran/

2012-02-29

<p>House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said the House would bring up a healthcare bill that repeals parts of Obamacare if the Senate passes it, according to <a href="http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/ryan-says-house-vote-graham-cassidy-senate-passes" type="external">Roll Call.</a></p> <p>&#8220;It would be our intention to bring the matter through,&#8221; Ryan said at a news conference on Monday. The House knows that the Sept. 30 deadline to use a fiscal 2017 reconciliation vehicle does not provide time for a conference committee on the healthcare measure, he&amp;#160;added.</p> <p>Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La., sponsored the bill, which would provide block grants to states for healthcare.</p> <p>&#8220;We hope the Senate does pass Graham-Cassidy. We are encouraged at the development of Graham-Cassidy. And I am encouraging every senator to vote for Graham-Cassidy because it is our last best chance to get repeal and replace done. And I do believe it is a far greater improvement over the status quo,&#8221; Ryan said, according to Roll Call.</p> <p>Mark Meadows, R-N.C., the House Freedom Caucus chairman, said that the Graham-Cassidy bill would pass in the House if the Senate cleared it. &#8220;It&#8217;s fundamentally our last chance to make a legislative fix to Obamacare, and if it doesn&#8217;t happen, then the chances of it happening in the future are slim to none,&#8221; Meadows said Monday, <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/18/obamacare-repeal-house-freedom-caucus-242856" type="external">Politico reported.</a></p> <p>On Monday, Democratic leaders called on the Congressional Budget Office <a href="https://www.newsmax.com/Politics/cbo-democrats-obamacare-repeal-and-replace/2017/09/18/id/814288/" type="external">to analyze the Republican bill.&amp;#160;</a></p>

Ryan Hopes Senate Passes Graham-Cassidy Healthcare Bill

https://newsline.com/ryan-hopes-senate-passes-graham-cassidy-healthcare-bill/

2017-09-19

<p /> <p>Before launching into the hiring process, small business owners need to take into account the full cost of hiring employees, including budgeting for salaries and wages of each employee, in addition to out-of-pocket expense of payroll taxes and processing fees.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>It might be tempting to calculate and track payroll yourself, but be warned that it&#8217;s relatively time consuming and there&#8217;s a learning curve, which can be very expensive if you don&#8217;t know what you&#8217;re doing. It&#8217;s relatively inexpensive to hire a payroll processing company, and many banks also offer the service, which usually includes direct deposit of payroll tax liabilities and direct deposit of employee paychecks as well as preparation of the quarterly and year end reports due to the government and W2s for the employees.</p> <p>To legally hire employees, you must have a federal EIN which can be applied for by completing <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf" type="external">Form SS-4 Opens a New Window.</a>. You may also need to apply for a state identification number as well.</p> <p>For each hire, you must withhold the following taxes from each paycheck: federal income tax (based on tax tables), FICA (4.2%), Medicare (1.45%), state income tax (unless you are in a state that does not levy income taxes), and state disability insurance (again, depending on state requirements). What the employee receives is the net pay after these items are deducted--this is the cost for the employee. The withheld taxes are sitting in your checkbook &#8211; these are called trust funds &#8211; and must be deposited to the government.</p> <p>The employer must match the FICA and Medicare amounts withheld from each employee&#8217;s pay, . Currently the FICA rate is 6.2% of the wage up to $110,100. Medicare is calculated at 1.45% of the employee&#8217;s pay with no upward limit.&amp;#160; These taxes along with the employee&#8217;s share of FICA and Medicare as well as federal income tax withholding must be deposited with the US Treasury Department via electronic funds transfer. Frequency is regulated by the amount of the liability. It could be you must deposit these funds the day after pay day or once a month or twice monthly. All new employers are set up on a monthly deposit schedule unless the payroll liability is greater than $100,000. Each quarter wages and taxes are reported to the IRS on <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f941.pdf" type="external">Form 941 Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> <p>There is no penalty if you pay your liability with Form 941 if the amount is less than $2,500 and you were not subject to the $100,000 next-day deposit rule at any time during the quarter.</p> <p>Advertisement</p> <p>The employer must also pay into the federal and state unemployment funds (FUTA). The rate is 0.8% of the first $7,000 of an employee&#8217;s pay each year. Once you have accumulated more than $500 of FUTA tax, you must make a deposit. Annually, if you pay wages in excess of $1,500 you must report the wages and liability on <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f940.pdf" type="external">Form 940 Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> <p>Each state has different requirements and rates regarding unemployment taxes, so check with the appropriate department in the state in which you do business.</p> <p>If you are a sole proprietor or in a partnership with your spouse and you hire your own child who is under the age of 18, you do not have to withhold and match FICA and Medicare taxes.</p> <p>Some fringe benefits are subject to payroll taxes, so be sure to check out the rules in <a href="http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p15b.pdf" type="external">Publication 15-B Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> <p>The IRS does not take kindly to failure to deposit trust fund taxes &#8211; these are the withholdings from your employee&#8217;s pay and is your employee&#8217;s money. If for some reason you are unable to deposit the entire payroll tax liability by the due date there is a penalty. If you can make a partial deposit, do so and mark it &#8220;Form 941 trust fund taxes.&#8221; If you cannot pay the full amount, always pay the trust fund taxes first.</p> <p>The penalty for failure to deposit trust fund taxes can be levied against the owners, the accountant or employee who controls the payroll tax deposits, and can be as much as 100% of the liability. It is considered a civil penalty. It is next to impossible to reduce the liability via an offer in compromise and it cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. In fact, there is no statute of limitations on the collection of these trust funds.</p> <p><a href="http://mailto:bonnie@taxpertise.com" type="external">Bonnie Lee Opens a New Window.</a> is an Enrolled Agent admitted to practice and representing taxpayers in all fifty states at all levels within the <a href="" type="internal">Internal Revenue Service</a>. She is the owner of Taxpertise in Sonoma, CA and the author of Entrepreneur Press book, &#8220;Taxpertise, The Complete Book of Dirty Little Secrets and Hidden Deductions for Small Business that the IRS Doesn't Want You to Know.&#8221; Follow Bonnie Lee on <a href="" type="internal">Twitter</a> at BLTaxpertise and at <a href="http://www.facebook.com/taxpertise.bonnielee." type="external">Facebook Opens a New Window.</a>.&amp;#160;</p>

Employment Taxes: The True Cost of Hiring an Employee

http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/05/04/employment-taxes-true-cost-hiring-employee.html

2016-03-23

<p>In this segment from the <a href="http://www.fool.com/podcasts/rule-breaker-investing?&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Rule Breaker Investing Opens a New Window.</a> podcast, David Gardner continues to share some of his Foolish thoughts on this divisive political climate. This time, he ponders the idea of conscious capitalism, the non-profit vs. for-profit dichotomy, and the question of organizational purpose. In a perfect world, even non-profits would have a better handle on their bottom lines.</p> <p>A transcript follows the video.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, <a href="http://www.fool.com/mms/mark/ecap-foolcom-apple-wearable?aid=6965&amp;amp;source=irbeditxt0000138&amp;amp;ftm_cam=rb-wearable&amp;amp;ftm_pit=6450&amp;amp;ftm_veh=article_pitch&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">just click here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> <p>This podcast was recorded on Oct. 19, 2016.</p> <p>David Gardner:You know, four years ago, I attended a conference called the Conscious Capitalism Conference in Austin, Texas. It's held every year. In fact, my brother is there this week as we speak. I'm just back here in Alexandria doing my podcast. But Adam Braun (who's the founder of an organization called Pencils of Promise, which The Motley Fool has done some good stuff with in the past), Adam stood up in front of the crowd and said something I thought was wonderful. He said he doesn't like it when people call Pencils for Promise a "non-profit" or a "not-for-profit". He doesn't like that. He thinks of his organization as afor-- in this case,for-purpose.</p> <p>And I like that a lot because I don't tend to frame things up in terms of for-profit and not-for-profit too much. I think that what really unites most organizations is a purpose; whether it's The Motley Fool, whose purpose is to help the world invest better. Whether it's the purpose of the organization that you might work for, or whether it's Adam's Pencils for Promise, every organization has a purpose. And my hope for every organization is when possible (and it's not), when possible to earn a profit in pursuit of its purpose.</p> <p>Advertisement</p> <p>I realize that sometimes, especially when I was going through college, it seemed like for-profit corporate was greedy, and wrong, and you know, lots of my peers in college would not have been voting for that. And by contrast, and somewhat Dickensian comic contrast, in my mind, not-for-profit, so-called, was thought of as really a wonderful, wholesome thing. Save the world. Altruistic. And all the really good people go to work for those. Well, now, 30 years removed from college, I can say with confidence that if every not-for-profit (or for-purpose, in Adam Braun's words) organization could earn a profit; I wish for it that it would, for the dynamics that we just described.</p> <p>In fact, if you think about the difference between owning a house and renting, you'll recognize where I'm headed, here. I think when you are for-profit, you have shareholders (they might be private, or you might be a public company), and they're owners. They have an owner's mentality. When it's really done well (and we try to do that really well as Fools), we're patient, long-term minded, and we feel like owners, and we treat that stock, and the system itself, like a house that we're going to keep clean, because it's our house.</p> <p>By contrast, I think a weakness of things that don't earn profit or can't earn profit is that they are ultimately unsustainable, relying on people to give. Now the good news is, I hope you give. I try to give, too. I hope you try to give to good organizations that you respect and that you want to sustain, but the truth is that if organizations aren't earning a profit, then they rely on your and my altruism. They rely on our generosity, and they hope that we'll be more generous every year. And darn it, when the stock market goes up, I think we can do a good job with that over the course of time (to give a little bit more every year).</p> <p>But it's still a weakness of the model if you are CEO of one organization or the other -- I think I, anyway, I'm not going to choose for you -- I would choose the thing that earns profits, because then you can reinvest in yourself and grow in a sustainable manner.</p> <p>And so, that's one of the things that I love about business, and to get back to my point: At the end of the day, we should be judging all organizations not by whether they're earning a profit or not, but by what their purpose is, how big their purpose is, and how effective they are at fulfilling it. So, that's ultimately how I think I score how any organization has done. But the difference between, I think, the common view (which is that for-profit things are greedy and not-for-profit things are cool); at least in my experience, that doesn't really resonate.</p> <p>Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>

Why Every Organization Needs a Purpose

http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/14/why-every-organization-needs-purpose.html

2016-11-14

<p>Husain Abdulla is director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain</p> <p /> <p /> <p /> <p /> PAUL JAY: Welcome to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Washington. In Bahrain, Saudi troops continue to help the Bahrainian king and government suppress peaceful protesters. Now joining us to talk about how the king came to power in Bahrain is Husain Abdulla. He's the director of Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain. Thanks for joining us again. <p /> <p />HUSAIN ABDULLA: Thank you. <p /> <p />JAY: I should remind people who didn't see our other interview, you're a small business man in Alabama, and you represent this organization, which has members across the United States. So talk a little bit about the history of the Khalifa family, how they came to power, and what keeps them there. <p /> <p />ABDULLA: Al Khalifa came to Bahrain in 1790. So they've been ruling--or close to that period. They've been ruling Bahrain for over 220 years. Since they came to Bahrain, they had this hereditary dictatorship, which mean the father gives the rule to his son. And major government post, actually over 80 percent, held--or 70 percent, held by Al Khalifa ruling family. And it's basically an autocratic, authoritarian rule, where there is no free or fair elections. Human rights are violated. Torture is a policy against political prisoners. Prisons are full of political prisoners. And there is no real freedom of press or expression. And the government brought mercenaries in their security forces so they can attack the majority of the people. <p /> <p />JAY: Let's go back a little bit. They more or less become the British protectorate, if I understand it correctly, in the late 1890s, and for most of the 20th century are really under British control. They're certainly in alliance with Britain. When does that transfer, where the Americans become more dominant? Then when does the Fifth Fleet show up? <p /> <p />ABDULLA: Bahrain became an independent country in 1970, '71. The relationship between the United States and Bahrain started in mid '50s. And then Bahrain was chosen to be the base for the Fifth Fleet. Bahrain and the government of Bahrain, the Al Khalifa ruling family, enjoyed a very strong, robust relationship with different US administration. <p /> <p />~~~ <p /> <p />GEORGE W. BUSH: Tonight I'll have a statement, manage to have a statement, and then we'll ask you all to leave. We've got some business to do. First, Your Majesty, welcome to the Oval Office. It is such an honor to have you here. America has got a great friend in the Kingdom of Bahrain. It's a place where we've had longstanding relations. It's a place where we've had mil-to-mil relations for I think nearly 50 years. And you have been a stalwart when it comes to peace. <p /> <p />~~~ <p /> <p />ABDULLA: [inaudible] the United States going to protect Bahrain from any intervention when it comes to--any intervention from Iran or any other country, while Bahrain give the United States complete access, military, whether it's Air Force or the Navy, to its base in the country. We here in the United States pay annual rent for that base, and also give Bahrain security and military aid every year. <p /> <p />JAY: Oil was found in the late 1930s, I think in 1936, '37. Is that--that's correct? <p /> <p />ABDULLA: Yes. Bahrain was the first country in the GCC, in the Gulf Cooperation Council, where oil was found. <p /> <p />JAY: And after World War II, there's a famous meeting takes place between President Roosevelt and King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia,-- <p /> <p />~~~ <p /> <p />NEWSREEL: Escorted to an American cruiser lying near the entrance to the Suez Canal, one of the most colorful visits to the presidential cruiser was that of the ruler of Saudi Arabia, King Ibn Saud. The 65-year-old monarch leaves his country for the first time to attend this meeting. From Washington to Suez it's a long way, but understanding each other's problems brings East and West together for a better world. <p /> <p />~~~ <p /> <p />JAY: --where there's a deal made, more or less, if I understand it correctly, that the United States will protect the Saudi monarchy, this sort of an alliance between the Saudi monarchy and the Wahhabs. Was Bahrain part of this strategy? <p /> <p />ABDULLA: No, Bahrain was not part of a strategy. Bahrain was a part of a different strategy, where the Fifth Fleet will stay in Bahrain while the regime in Bahrain, the Al Khalifa ruling family, going to enjoy the political backing and the political support of the United States. <p /> <p />JAY: But the strategy of essentially supporting these monarchies and dictators in exchange for secure oil and military alliances, it's one of the pillars of US strategy in the Middle East. So in that sense it's part of the same plan, no? <p /> <p />ABDULLA: Yes, it is the same idea, but it was not in that deal that you mentioned earlier. <p /> <p />JAY: Right. So where do you think things go from here? What is the demand of the Bahrainian people? Do they want an end to the monarchy? <p /> <p />ABDULLA: Well, on February 14, the people of Bahrain came on the street demanding constitutional change, demanding free and fair elections, end of gerrymandering based on sectarian background, demanding the resignation of the prime minister, who's been ruling the country for 42 years. However, when they were faced with brutal force, so many lost their life, the demands elevated to removal of the ruling regime from Bahrain. So right now, despite the invasion, despite the killing, despite the massacres that took place, the resiliency in the people of Bahrain is still there. They're defiant. They are still protesting. They are still calling for their rights to be respected and to be given and for the ruling regime to leave Bahrain, because they don't consider them part of Bahrain. <p /> <p />JAY: Now, in Libya, when the peaceful protests were attacked, people picked up guns. There were desertions from the army. And it fairly quickly became an armed struggle, as far as we understand it, because a peaceful protest wasn't possible. If peaceful protest isn't possible in Bahrain, do you think this is also going to turn into a more violent struggle? <p /> <p />ABDULLA: I don't believe so. The reason for that, the military in Bahrain are full of mercenaries. There are--the minority of the people who work in the military are Bahrainis; the overwhelming majority of them are brought up from neighboring countries like Yemen, Jordan, Syria, Pakistan, and basically they were brought to brutalize the people of Bahrain. So you're not going to see defections there, in the army. However, in addition, guns are not allowed in the country. So normal citizens, normal Bahrainis, Bahraini citizen, don't have access to gun. So the people of Bahrain only have this right, these peaceful protesters, and trying to appeal to the international community to apply pressure and stop the atrocities and the killing in the country. But to turn into an armed conflict between the protesters and the government, it is just not possible in Bahrain. <p /> <p />JAY: Thanks for joining us, Husain. <p /> <p />ABDULLA: Thank you. <p /> <p />JAY: And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network. <p /> <p />End of Transcript <p /> <p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.

Bahrain Monarchy From British Empire to US Fifth Fleet

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D6466

2018-09-28

<p /> <p>Image source: Getty Images.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>According to a report by Forbes, Kinder Morgan Inc (NYSE: KMI) is looking for a buyer for its enhanced oil production business in Texas' Permian Basin. Furthermore, according to Forbes' sources, a potential deal could fetch more than $10 billion, which the company would then use to retire a significant amount of debt. It is an asset sale that would make sense given the weight this business has been on Kinder Morgan's earnings over the past year, though completing the deal is much easier said than done.</p> <p>While known primarily as a natural gas pipeline company, Kinder Morgan is also one of the largest oil producers in the state of Texas. The company currently owns stakes in several legacy oil fields, which produced 53,700 barrels of oil per day last quarter along with 21.7 million barrels of natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company houses the oil production business within its carbon dioxide segment because it produces the bulk of that oil via the enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method of injecting CO2 into the ground to coax the oil out. In fact, the company uses a significant portion of the CO2 it produces to flood these fields.</p> <p>These oil assets generate roughly 7% of Kinder Morgan's earnings, which equates to approximately $560 million of 2016's EBDA. Meanwhile, the CO2 supply and transportation business contributes another 4% of earnings or $320 million of 2016 EBDA. That said, the carbon dioxide segment's contributions to the company's earnings have fallen due to its direct exposure to commodity prices:</p> <p>Advertisement</p> <p>Data source: Kinder Morgan Inc. Chart by author. Note: In millions of dollars.</p> <p>Earnings could continue falling in 2017 unless oil prices rebound sharply because a significant portion of Kinder Morgan's oil hedges expireat the end of this year. In fact, after hedging 83% of its production during the current quarter at $62 per barrel, the company only has 63% of its production hedged in 2017 at $62 per barrel, which leaves it more exposed to the current mid-$50 per barrel price.</p> <p>Image source: Kinder Morgan.</p> <p>The Forbes article lists several potential buyers including leading Permian Basin producer Occidental Petroleum (NYSE: OXY). That certainly makes sense considering it recently completed $2 billion worth of transactions to bolster its Permian position, including an EOR-focused deal. That deal saw Occidental Petroleum acquire working interests in several EOR floods that are currently producing 4,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (BOE/d) as well as related infrastructure. What's worth noting about that acquisition is the value, which analysts peg at $800 million, or $200,000 per flowing barrel.</p> <p>That transaction valuation gives analysts reason to believe Kinder Morgan could fetch more than $10 billion for its properties given how much oil they are producing these days. That said, outside of Occidental Petroleum, few buyers have the financial wherewithal and the focus on EOR to consider bidding. However, that did not stop analysts from tossing out potential candidates, including private equity-backed Windy Cove Energy, led by the former VP of Kinder Morgan's CO2 unit, and Fleur de Lis Energy, which recently bought CO2 properties of Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE: APC). However, both seem to be a stretch given the potential price tag of Kinder Morgan's assets.</p> <p>Meanwhile, Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR) would also appear to be a logical fit given its EOR-focus. However, Denbury Resources' finances are tight right now given its massive debt load, which would make an all-cash purchase impossible for the company. Furthermore, it does not currently own any assets in the Permian, with its focus instead on the Gulf Coast and the Rockies.</p> <p>Because there are not too many obvious buyers, it could be tough for Kinder Morgan to hold out for a premium price for these assets despite the recent rise in oil prices and OPEC's maneuvers to push prices higher. Instead, the company might need to be creative should it decide to part with these assets such as seeking a partial monetization of the unit through a spin-off or IPO. Either option would enable the company to unlock value and pare debt while holding on to some upside to the improving oil market.</p> <p>If true, the reports that Kinder Morgan is considering the sale of its oil properties makes sense. The assets have weighed on earnings due to their direct exposure to oil prices, which made its debt issues worse. That said, finding a buyer will be tough, so investors should not get their hopes up that the company has a game-changing transaction up its sleeve because it seems highly unlikely at the moment.</p> <p>10 stocks we like better than Kinder Morgan When investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p> <p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;amp;impression=9b5ce037-7fc2-4ebc-bc75-fcbf67fde984&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Kinder Morgan wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p> <p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;amp;impression=9b5ce037-7fc2-4ebc-bc75-fcbf67fde984&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p> <p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p> <p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFmd19/info.aspx" type="external">Matt DiLallo Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Denbury Resources and Kinder Morgan and has the following options: short January 2018 $30 puts on Kinder Morgan and long January 2018 $30 calls on Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Kinder Morgan. The Motley Fool owns shares of Denbury Resources. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">free for 30 days Opens a New Window.</a>. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that <a href="http://www.fool.com/knowledge-center/motley.aspx?&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">considering a diverse range of insights Opens a New Window.</a> makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>

Does Kinder Morgan Inc Have a Game-Changing Transaction on the Horizon?

http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/12/12/does-kinder-morgan-inc-have-game-changing-transaction-on-horizon.html

2016-12-12

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>Working-class voters once believed that Democratic-inspired intervention into the economy &#8211; minimum-wage laws, overtime pay, Social Security, Medicare, workers&#8217; compensation &#8211; protected their interests better than unfettered free-market capitalism.</p> <p>Republicans often had trouble selling the argument that an unleashed economy and new technology would relegate poverty to a relative, not absolute, condition &#8211; something like suffering with a cheap outdated iPhone 4 while the better-off afforded an iPhone 6. Why, then, have Democrats lost the working class &#8211; especially white, lower-middle-class voters?</p> <p>There are several obvious reasons.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>For one, high-profile progressives are largely rich, and their relatively small numbers live in a gentrified cocoon. Politicians, academics, media personalities, celebrities and other Democratically aligned professionals had just the sort of academic brands or technological, linguistic, cultural and service skills that were well-compensated during the transition to globalism.</p> <p>Their out-of-touch privilege, however, led to agendas &#8211; radical green politics, hyper-feminism, transgender advocacy, forced multiculturalism, open borders &#8211; that were not principal concerns of the struggling working classes. A techie in Silicon Valley, an actor in Hollywood, a trial lawyer in Washington or a professor at Yale had the income to afford the steeper taxes and higher housing, energy and college costs that were the natural dividends of their own political agendas.</p> <p>High-speed rail, expensive graduate degrees and European-level gas prices are logical aims for elites. They insist that the planet is cooking, that cities are the sole generators of cultural advancement, and that tony academic stamps are proof of knowledge superior to the kind absorbed through religious instruction or pragmatic experience.</p> <p>Liberal elites had little clue how the ramifications of their unworkable ideology always fell on distant others. Before one can damn fracking, guns, traditional religion and tract suburbia, one has to have a high income that allows for expensive energy, exorbitant college tuition and $500-a-square-foot housing. Obamacare, with its higher average deductibles and premiums, is far more of a burden than a bargain for the working class.</p> <p>Race proved a second Democratic Waterloo. The constant push for identity politics, open borders, expanded federal entitlements and inflated government was based on the idea that an increasingly non-white America would soon swallow up the old European majority, and that would ensure a new Democratic century.</p> <p>But class is always a more telling divide than race. In contemporary straitjacket Democratic orthodoxy, there is no concession that a white male mechanic could face more economic difficulty than a Latina journalist, African-American federal employee or Asian dentist. Lockstep obedience to the mantras of diversity, affirmative action and preferential hiring does not allow that race can be increasingly divorced from class.</p> <p>Moreover, race is not always either absolute or easily definable. Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has to emphasize that he is Latino. Otherwise, based on his name, appearance and speech, he appears to be just another successful grandee of unknown lineage.</p> <p>To the working class, Democrats appeared to reward Americans not just on the basis of their race, but also on the assumption that some sections of the population have an easily identifiable racial pedigree, and that it has resulted in a proven need for reparations. In a multiracial America, that orthodoxy appears untenable &#8211; and unfair to those without claims to the correct genealogy or the money and privilege to navigate around such rules.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Finally, Democrats are now easily caricatured as both snobbish and condescending in the same way bluestocking Republicans used to be.</p> <p>The hysteria over Sarah Palin&#8217;s gaffes in comparison to the more frequent lapses of Joe Biden was due to cultural bias. Palin was ridiculed as an ill-informed, working-class Alaskan mom. Good ol&#8217; Biden earned a smile as an occasionally too candid East Coast liberal.</p> <p>Snobbery&#8217;s twin is hypocrisy. For a liberal, when the poor waste money on $300 Air Jordans, such spending should not be criticized. But for the middle class to supposedly squander cash on a shotgun or Jet Ski is gauche. If an undocumented immigrant has seven children, it is not declared to be unwise family planning with the same disdain shown a Mormon blue-collar roofer with a comparably large family.</p> <p>The new bifurcated Democratic Party of rich and poor shows a sort of contempt for those who do not share the privileged tastes of the elites and can&#8217;t earn their easy sympathy by being dependent on liberal government largesse.</p> <p>Democrats&#8217; problem is that the working classes are large and know that they no longer fit into what liberalism has become.</p> <p />

Liberalism has lost working class

https://abqjournal.com/523473/liberalism-has-lost-working-class.html

<p>One of the more amusing internal battles currently raging in the evangelical world is that of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cessationism" type="external">cessationists</a> versus the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuationism" type="external">continuationists</a>, the latter of whom believe in speaking in tongues, annointings, miracles, and human prophets directly spoken to by God. (Think Robert Tilton, Cindy Jacobs, etc.) One of the most prominent critics of continuationism is megachurch Pastor John MacArthur, who says they are all fakers and whose sermon was interrupted this week by a raving Scottish man who screamed that God personally sent him to tell MacArthur to repent of his cessationist sins.</p> <p /> <p />

Cessationism Vs Continuationism [VIDEO]

http://joemygod.com/2015/08/23/cessationism-vs-continuationism-video/

2015-08-23

<p>Americans love to tout the value of waiting until <a href="//www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/marriage" type="external">marriage</a> to have <a href="//www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/sex" type="external">sex</a>. We teach abstinence-only education in schools across the country, and even comprehensive sex-ed programs often point out that "abstinence is best." Pop stars from Britney Spears to Jessica Simpson, to the Jonas Brothers, to Miley Cyrus, to Justin Bieber routinely assert that they're waiting 'til marriage &#8211; putting them into the Good Role Model category (at least, until someone leaks a sex tape). There's a booming "purity industry", complete with jewelry, elaborate events, books, t-shirts and DVDs.</p> <p>Our state and federal tax dollars have long been spent <a href="//www.siecus.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&amp;amp;pageID=1340&amp;amp;nodeID=1" type="external">promoting "chastity"</a>. While conservative commentators are happy to assert that <a href="//www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/09/14/staying-celibate-before%20marriage-was-best-thing-ive-ever-done/" type="external">waiting until marriage is the best choice</a> for everyone and people who don't wait aren't doing marriage "the right way", sex-positive liberals hesitate to say that having sex before marriage is an equally valid &#8211; if not better &#8211; choice for nearly everyone.</p> <p>So here it goes: having sex before marriage is the best choice for nearly everyone.</p> <p>How do I know? Well, first of all, nearly everyone has sex before marriage &#8211; 95% of Americans don't wait until their wedding night. And that's a longstanding American value. Even among folks in my grandparents' generation, nine out of ten of them had sex before they wed.</p> <p>Of course, just because lots of people do a thing doesn't mean it's a good thing. But sex is. In terms of happiness, sex is better than money, and having sex once a week instead of once a month is the " <a href="//www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/sex-and-happiness" type="external">happiness equivalent</a>" of an extra $50,000 a year. People with active sex lives live longer. Sex releases stress, boosts immunities, helps you sleep and is heart-healthy.</p> <p>Sex is good whether you're married or not, and certainly folks who wait until marriage can have a lot of sex once they tie the knot. But waiting until marriage often means both early marriage and conservative views on marriage and <a href="//www.guardian.co.uk/world/gender" type="external">gender</a> &#8211; and people who marry early and/or hold traditional views on marriage and gender tend to have higher divorce rates and unhappier marriages. We know that, on the other hand, there are lots of benefits to marrying later <a href="//www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2011/mar/09/traditional-marriage-us-report" type="external">and to gender-egalitarian marriages</a>. Couples who both work outside the home and also share housework duties have more sex. Financially independent, college-educated women who marry later in life have extremely low divorce rates.</p> <p>It turns out that feminist values &#8211; not "traditional" ones &#8211; lead to the most stable marriages. And feminist views plus later marriage typically equals premarital sex.</p> <p>Most adult human beings naturally desire sex. And despite the rightwing emphasis on concepts like "purity", having sex does not actually make you a dirty or "impure" person. On the contrary, sex is like most other pleasurable things in life &#8211; you can have sex in ways that are fulfilling, fun, good and generous, or you can have sex in ways that are harmful, bad and dangerous. Marriage is not, and has never been, a way to protect against the harmful, bad and dangerous potential of sex (just read the Bible if you want a few examples). Instead of fooling ourselves into thinking that waiting until marriage makes sex "good", we should focus on how ethical, responsible sexual practices &#8211; taking precautions to protect the physical and mental health of yourself and your partner; having sex that is fully consensual and focused on mutual pleasure &#8211; are part of being an ethical, responsible human being.</p> <p>Sexual morality isn't about how long you wait. It's about how you treat yourself and the people you're with.</p> <p>Sex, of course, isn't all ponies and rainbows. The <a href="//www.guardian.co.uk/world/usa" type="external">United States</a> has one of the <a href="//www.usatoday.com/news/health/wellness/pregnancy/story/2011/05/40-of-pregnancies-across-USA-unplanned-study-finds/47316772/1" type="external">highest unintended pregnancy rates</a> in the world. We have one of the highest abortion rates. We have one of the <a href="//www.reuters.com/article/2009/01/13/us-infections-usa-idUSTRE50C5XV20090113" type="external">highest rates</a> of sexually transmitted infections. But our problem with sex isn't that we're having it before marriage; it's that we've cast it as shameful and dirty. And when our collective cultural consciousness says that sex is shameful and dirty, we don't have the incentive &#8211; or the tools&#8211; to plan for sex, to see it as a positive responsibility and to make healthy sexual choices.</p> <p>We're obsessed with sex on television, in music and in advertisements, but we somehow lack the ability to talk about sex as a positive, moral, pleasure-affirming choice that, like any other adult decision, comes with a set of responsibilities. And when government money is going toward telling people to just wait until marriage, we are literally funding an idea that has never worked in all of human history, instead of supporting tried-and-true policies that could mitigate the harm of a sex-obsessed, but pleasure-starved, culture.</p> <p>If waiting until marriage were simply an individual choice with no political consequences or backdrop &#8211; if it were as arbitrary a marker as waiting until the third date, waiting until you knew your partner's middle name or waiting until she wore really awesome high heels &#8211; it wouldn't be a problem. And personally, I don't really care when you, as an individual, choose to have sex. As long as you feel ready and it's consensual, I say you do you. But "waiting until marriage" as a cultural phenomenon &#8211; albeit one that isn't actually happening for nearly everyone in the western world &#8211; has some nasty views about women and sex lurking behind it. Using "purity" as shorthand for "doesn't have sex" by definition means that people, and mostly women, who have sex before marriage are impure, dirty or tainted. <a href="//www.marieclaire.com/world-reports/opinion/jessica-valenti-purity-myth" type="external">As Jessica Valenti says</a> in her book The Purity Myth:</p> <p>"While boys are taught that the things that make them men &#8211; good men &#8211; are universally accepted ethical ideals, women are led to believe that our moral compass lies somewhere between our legs."</p> <p>It's all the more troubling when those beliefs are federally funded.</p> <p>From a more practical standpoint, not everyone is going to get married, or even legally can get married. The instruction to wait forever to experience a fundamental human pleasure is pointless and cruel. And while the old adage tells women that men won't buy the cow if they can get the milk for free, if I'm buying a cow, you can bet I'm going to make sure the milk is to my liking. But our cultural view of premarital sex as morally tainted makes it harder for couples to engage in real talks about their sexual needs and desires before marrying, the same way they would talk about their religious values, how many kids they want or whether the wedding cake will be chocolate or vanilla.</p> <p>Sexually frustrated marriages are both miserable and common &#8211; the inboxes of advice columnists from Dan Savage to Dear Prudie are filled with letters from couples with mismatched sex drives and bad sex lives. We'd be a lot better-off if we recognized that sex is incredibly important to a lot of people, and, for most couples, sexual compatibility is necessary for a great marriage. You really can't tell if you're sexually compatible unless you have sex. The insistence that premarital sex is dirty or perverse makes it a whole lot harder to have necessary conversations. And a worldview that positions sex as shameful and bad also isn't going to evaporate on your wedding night.</p> <p>Purity peddlers construct a false universe where there are pure virgins who wait until marriage, and then there are slutty whores who are going home with different men every night of the week. The truth is that most adults will have a great many important <a href="//www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/relationships" type="external">relationships</a> in their lives &#8211; some of those relationships will be romantic, and some of those will be sexual. That's a good thing: our relationships with other people, sexual or not, are how we grow, evolve and learn about ourselves. They're how we figure out what love is, what we like physically and emotionally, and how to negotiate our own needs with someone else's. Despite the claims of the wait-till-marriage camp, waiting to have sex won't protect you from heartache, frustration or love lost. But a variety of fulfilling relationships, sexual and not, will make you a more well-rounded, compassionate and self-assured person.</p> <p>My point isn't that everyone should have sex before marriage &#8211; people should determine for themselves when they are ready to have sex. For the vast majority of people, that's going to be before they're married. Making that choice isn't a moral failing. On the contrary, it's often a great, healthy, overwhelmingly positive choice. Whenever you choose to have sex, the cultural message that waiting until marriage is the best choice is simply wrong. And it's wrong for almost everyone.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>Jill Filipovic is a lawyer in Manhattan who formerly served as the Gender and Reproductive Justice editor at AlterNet. More of her writing is available online at her blog, <a href="http://feministe.us/blog" type="external">Feministe</a>.</p>

Why Sex Before Marriage Is the Moral Thing to Do

http://alternet.org/sex-amp-relationships/why-sex-marriage-moral-thing-do

2012-09-24

<p>your email</p> <p>your name</p> <p>recipient(s) email (comma separated)</p> <p /> <p>message</p> <p>captcha</p> <p /> <p>The House vote to slow down the union election process was largely symbolic, but one expert emphasizes that how "easily see how this could be signed into law overnight" under a Republican president. (Wikimedia Commons) &amp;#160;</p> <p>In a show of electoral strength by anti-union Republicans in Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives easily passed legislation Thursday to curb an effort by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to ease procedures for union organizing. Passed by the Senate earlier this month, the measure now heads to the White House, where President Barack Obama has promised a veto.</p> <p>The NLRB measure passed on a&amp;#160; <a href="http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2015/roll128.xml#N" type="external">vote</a>&amp;#160;of 232-186, with all but three Republicans voting in favor, and all House Democrats voting against. The vote mirrored the partisan divide on labor issues in the Senate, where 53 Republicans voted in favor, with 44 Democrats and just one Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voting against the bill.</p> <p>Republicans pushed the vote forward as an expression of disapproval of steps by the NLRB to ease worker election procedures in union organizing campaigns at private-sector workplaces. The NLRB had&amp;#160; <a href="file://localhost/14%20True.%20NLRB%20issued%20a%20press%20release%20February%202014.%20http/::www.nlrb.gov:news-outreach:news-story:national-%20%20labor-relations-board-proposes-amendments-improve-representation" type="external">announced last year</a>&amp;#160;that it will change its procedures to allow many union elections to take place more quickly, leading opponents to dub the change the &#8220;ambush rule,&#8221; meaning that labor unions would ambush anti-union employers with quick elections. With the promised veto from Obama, the NLRB rule is currently scheduled to go into effect next month.</p> <p>AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka issued the following statement in response to the vote:</p> <p>Today&#8217;s vote by House Republicans against the NLRB&#8217;s common-sense modernization of its election rules is a direct attack on workers and their right to be heard in the workplace.</p> <p>Working men and women want an agenda from their Congressional leaders that raises wages and grows our middle class. Instead, they have gotten Republican policies that roll back progress and silence workers while protecting their biggest donors.</p> <p>President Obama is right in his commitment to vetoing this harmful legislation, and Congressional Republicans should focus their efforts on lifting workers up instead of shutting them out.</p> <p>The Congressional vote was &#8220;mostly symbolic,&#8221; says Ross Eisenbrey, a labor expert at the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think thank, because Republicans were aware that Obama intends to &amp;#160;veto the bill and anti-labor legislators lack the necessary votes to override the veto.</p> <p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a phony issue, really. Obama will veto it, so it won&#8217;t have any real effect,&#8221; Eisenbrey tells&amp;#160;In These Times.</p> <p>Nevertheless, the vote does signal problems for the future, he says. &#8220;Two years from now, if we have a Scott Walker as president, you can easily see how this could be signed into law overnight. In fact, I think any one of the current Republican candidates for president would be likely to sign something like this, or something even worse,&#8221; Eisenbrey comments.</p> <p>Bill Samuel, Director of Government Affairs at AFL-CIO, says pro-labor groups would have needed about 30 Republican votes in the House to defeat the bill. &#8220;That&#8217;s a tall order in this Congress,&#8221; he says.</p> <p>Instead of 30 Republican votes, just three Republican House members voted on the side of labor unions. They were Rep. Peter King (New York), Chris Smith (New Jersey) and Frank LoBiondo (New Jersey).</p> <p>&amp;#160;According to&amp;#160; <a href="http://thehill.com/regulation/labor/236290-congress-votes-to-roll-back-ambush-election-rule" type="external">a report in&amp;#160;The Hill</a>, strong support for the ant-union legislation came from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the National Retail Federation and the National Federation of Independent Business.</p> <p>&#8220;These are the usual suspects,&#8221; Eisenbrey says. &#8220;They are happy with a system that allows employers to do whatever they want. They hate to give it up.&#8221;&amp;#160;</p>

Obama Promises Rare Veto As House Votes to Slow Down Union Elections, Curb NLRB

http://inthesetimes.com/working/entry/17779/obama_promises_rare_veto_as_house_votes_to_slow_down_union_elections_curb_n

2015-03-20

<p /> <p>President Donald Trump said on Wednesday a foreign leader told him at the United Nations last week that the country would soon announce plans to build or expand five automobile industry factories in the United States.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>"I just left the United Nations last week and I was told by one of the most powerful leaders of the world that they are going to be announcing in the not too distant future five major factories in the United States, between increasing and new, five," Trump said in a speech on tax reform in Indianapolis. He added the factories were in the automotive industry.</p> <p>He did not name the country. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p> <p>Automakers in Japan and Germany have both announced investments in the United States this year, with companies coming under pressure from Trump&#8217;s bid to curb imports and hire more workers to build cars and trucks in the country.</p> <p>Investments to expand U.S. vehicle production capacity also reflect intensified competition for market share in the world&#8217;s most profitable vehicle market.</p> <p>In August, Toyota Motor Corp said it would build a $1.6 billion U.S. assembly plant with Mazda Motor Corp.</p> <p>Advertisement</p> <p>Toyota also said this week it was investing nearly $375 million in five U.S. manufacturing plants to support U.S. production of hybrid powertrains.</p> <p>Last week, German automaker Daimler AG said it would spend $1 billion to expand its Mercedes Benz operations near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to produce batteries and electric sport utility vehicles and create more than 600 jobs.</p> <p>Rival German luxury automaker BMW AG said in June it would expand its U.S. factory in South Carolina, adding 1,000 jobs. And last month, Volkswagen AG&#8217;s brand president Herbert Diess said the company expected to bring electric SUV production to the United States and could add production at its Tennessee plant.</p> <p>(Reporting by Steve Holland and David Shepardson; Writing by David Alexander; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Susan Thomas)</p>

Trump says foreign country plans to build, expand five US auto sector plants

http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/27/trump-says-foreign-country-planning-to-build-five-us-auto-industry-factories.html

2017-09-27

<p>Need to know: The <a href="http://community.nasdaq.com/News/2012-06/forex-flash-we-remain-skeptical-of-next-weeks-eu-summit-ubs.aspx?storyid=150580" type="external">EU brain trust is scheduled to meet this week</a>, and the world is eagerly waiting to hear what they have to say.&amp;#160;</p> <p>In recent days: Spain moved closer to picking up its bank bailout euros. Fitch cut Cyprus' credit rating.</p> <p>Greece got a new coalition government in place that's trying to push back its deadline to meet EU budget deficit targets.&amp;#160;</p> <p>Chatter about a banking union is growing louder, and everyone from George Soros to Mario Monti has been speculating on <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/macro/macro-chatter0622" type="external">how long the euro has to live</a>. &amp;#160;</p> <p>Want to know: There's big currency trouble in emerging markets, <a href="" type="external">Bloomberg reported</a>.</p> <p>Emerging market currencies including Brazil's real, Russia's ruble and India's rupee are quickly losing value as investors are turning a cold shoulder to what were until recently the world's hottest markets.</p> <p>Each of these countries has more than just currency troubles, Bloomberg noted.</p> <p>Brazil's consumer default rate is at its highest level in three years. Prices for Russian oil are at an 18-month low, India's budget deficit is growing as policy continues to hamper growth prospects and even China's economic boom is cooling.</p> <p>Dull but important: India may have a plan to catch its falling rupee.</p> <p>India's finance ministry and central bank are expected to announce efforts to allow companies to invest more in local bond markets to help prop up the currency, <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304870304577487770888893492.html" type="external">the Wall Street Journal reported</a>.&amp;#160;</p> <p>Just because: Victims of Bernie Madoff are <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/business/120624/bernie-madoff-victims-get-405m-hedge-fund" type="external">set to get a little relief</a>.</p> <p>Clients of hedge fund manager J. Ezra Merkin are in line to receive a combined $405 million to cover a fraction of their losses.</p> <p>Merkin's funds lost more than $1 billion dealing with Madoff. Merkin is accused of deceiving clients by collecting management fees on money he handed off to Madoff instead of managing himself.</p> <p>Strange but true: Don't have your own wine cellar? Never fear, a fake is near.</p> <p>Meet the Corkcicle, a $25 gadget that <a href="" type="external">SmartMoney said</a> keeps wines at the ideal 55 degree temperature for about an hour. Just freeze it, slip into the bottle and hope nobody asks for a cellar tour. &amp;#160;</p>

Macro Chatter: The BRICs wobbly currencies

https://pri.org/stories/2012-06-25/macro-chatter-brics-wobbly-currencies

2012-06-25

<p>KYIV, Ukraine &#8212; By Wednesday afternoon, Myroslav Tereshchuk was tired, cold and hungry.</p> <p>But oddly, the affable 47-year-old from western Ukraine was brimming with enthusiasm as he proudly displayed his orange hardhat &#8212; a &#8220;souvenir,&#8221; he said, from a failed police raid earlier in the day on Kyiv&#8217;s occupied city hall.</p> <p>There, and on nearby Independence Square &#8212; the nerve center of the ongoing anti-government protests here &#8212; demonstrators had succeeded that day in fending off an apparent crackdown by security forces they feared would finally mark the end of the protests. For the protesters who have remained dug in for more than two weeks, the symbolic victory provided a boost of renewed energy in what&#8217;s become a protracted political crisis with no end in sight.</p> <p>&#8220;Yesterday, there was only a feeling, but today we see the results,&#8221; said Tereshchuk, a private business owner. &#8220;We have turned our emotions into deeds.&#8221;</p> <p>Only two days earlier, the masses in Independence Square had thinned out considerably amid freezing temperatures and rising tensions as columns of security forces tightened their grip downtown and began choking some central streets.</p> <p>On Wednesday, the nervously anticipated crackdown&amp;#160;seemed finally to arrive: In the early morning hours, police moved in on the square, demolishing makeshift barricades and tents, pressing together groups of protesters and shifting them out.</p> <p>They kept their batons at their side, but their sudden raid was no less frightening.</p> <p>As the sweep dragged on, speakers on stage &#8212; who included Ukrainian pop star Ruslana &#8212; rallied supporters, appealed to police to stand down, and called out to Ukrainians across the country to join the protest.</p> <p>Then, the tide seemed to turn.</p> <p>Facing resistance in some areas &#8212; several clashes were reported, but none serious &#8212; the police drew down. In front of city hall, eyewitnesses reported that demonstrators deterred anti-riot forces by spraying them with freezing water.</p> <p>By midday Wednesday, it was clear that protesters had fully reclaimed their besieged territory. In the dull afternoon glow they flocked into the square in droves, rebuilding shattered barricades &#8212; this time larger and stronger &#8212; and sweeping the pavement of snow and debris.</p> <p>A jovial atmosphere seemed to have returned, as had the broad smiles that once looked in danger of dissipating. As if in celebration, singers on stage led the growing crowd in heartfelt renditions of the national anthem every hour.</p> <p /> <p>&#8220;Last night we were praying to god because all our boys are here, but look how it turned out,&#8221; said Halyna Yurievna, a 62-year-old retiree who was busy preparing food and warm beverages as the activity picked up.</p> <p>&#8220;We&#8217;re standing here and everything is wonderful.&#8221;</p> <p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/europe/131206/ukraine-revolution-protests-what-next" type="external">What next for Ukraine's 'revolution'?</a></p> <p>Sensing an opportunity to pick up momentum, opposition leaders wasted no time in rallying supporters against the police sweep as it unfolded.</p> <p>&#8220;We will not forgive [President Viktor Yanukovych] this,&#8221; Arseniy Yatsenyuk, head of the opposition Fatherland Party, told journalists. &#8220;Tomorrow there will be a million people here and his regime will fall.&#8221;</p> <p>Later, they rejected Yanukovych&#8217;s calls for roundtable talks until their demands &#8212; chiefly the government&#8217;s dismissal over its failure last month to follow through on key accords that would&#8217;ve pulled Ukraine closer to the European Union &#8212; were met. They also said they needed consent from protesters, local media reported.</p> <p>The increasing pressure on the home front was met with intense international criticism of Yanukovych and his government.</p> <p>Amid the dispersal, US Secretary of State John Kerry issued perhaps the strongest condemnation yet by any major Western player, expressing &#8220;disgust&#8221; at the crackdown.</p> <p>&#8220;This response is neither acceptable nor does it befit a democracy,&#8221; he said in a statement.</p> <p>State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki later hinted to reporters that the United States might consider sanctions against the Ukrainian government to register its disapproval of the protesters&#8217; treatment.</p> <p>In Kyiv, meanwhile, Interior Minister Vitali Zakharchenko said Wednesday the police movements were merely an attempt to clear the streets for traffic. But later in the day, his deputy said the minister didn&#8217;t exclude the possibility of another sweep if a court order was secured, news agency Interfax reported.</p> <p /> <p>While the mood on Independence Square appeared transformed, protesters nevertheless remained on their toes.</p> <p>&#8220;Of course we&#8217;re afraid,&#8221; said Maria Butyrina, a 28-year-old from Kyiv.</p> <p>But that didn&#8217;t stop her helping to guard the freshly won turf. On Wednesday afternoon, Butyrina &#8212; a slight brunette dressed in a pink parka &#8212; methodically chipped away at the thick crust of snow and ice that covered the square&#8217;s concrete, piling the debris into sandbags she said would help reinforce the new and improved barricades.</p> <p>&#8220;Plus,&#8221; she said, smiling, &#8220;it helps me warm up.&#8221;</p> <p>Butyrina added that, after hearing news of the crackdown, many of her friends across Ukraine headed to Kyiv in support.</p> <p>&#8220;From both the western and eastern regions &#8212; everyone&#8217;s coming here,&#8221; she said.</p> <p /> <p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/photo-galleries/planet-pic/6017299/ukraine-protesters-kyiv-outlast-police-tense-overnight-standoff" type="external">14 stunning photos from the protests in Kyiv</a></p> <p>Meanwhile, a political solution to the crisis that has dogged Ukraine for more than two weeks still seems far off.</p> <p>While Yanukovych floated the idea in a televised discussion Tuesday of freeing protesters jailed during a previous crackdown and kickstarting plans to sign the sweeping EU political and trade agreements next spring, few here saw that as a compromise.</p> <p>It also didn&#8217;t help that he sought to blame both sides for a November 30 crackdown in which riot police raided Independence Square and violently beat mostly sleeping students.</p> <p>And while Yanukovych reportedly reassured Catherine Ashton, the EU&#8217;s top diplomat, during her visit to Kyiv this week that he was prepared for open dialogue, most protesters &#8212; satisfied with nothing less than a wholesale change of power &#8212; took a dimmer view.</p> <p>It&#8217;s why demonstrators like Tolik Tkach, a 29-year-old musician who was sweeping snow off the steps of city hall on Wednesday morning, are well aware that they&#8217;ll have to be prepared to stick it out for the long haul.</p> <p>But, recalling Wednesday night&#8217;s failed police raid with a smirk, he seems sure of one thing.</p> <p>&#8220;I think the authorities will think twice before they try something like that again.&#8221;&amp;#160;</p>

Ukraine: As a crackdown fails, a protest is reinvigorated

https://pri.org/stories/2013-12-12/ukraine-crackdown-fails-protest-reinvigorated

2013-12-12

<p>President Obama has openly deployed murder as an instrument of foreign policy. Soon after assuming office, Obama authorized the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to plan and execute the murder of terrorists and other enemies, regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens. Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki, and Muammar Gaddafi are the prominent murder victims while numerous others in Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia, Iran, and Pakistan have been purposely targeted and killed. The legitimization of extra-judicial killing is a disturbing development in international law as other nations are certain to follow suit. In pursuit of pre-meditated murders, the collateral damage (the killing of the obviously innocent) has been extensive. The claim that such murders can be executed with electronic precision, though false, serves as an incentive for other nations to develop drones to perpetrate their own surgical assassinations. For now, however, the CIA enjoys the monopoly over drone kills.</p> <p>Covert Murders</p> <p>The 1947 National Security Act created the CIA for the purpose of gathering and evaluating information necessary to protect the nation from foreign threats. &amp;#160;Right from the beginning, however, the CIA assumed a proactive role in promoting U.S. economic and military interests. In 1948, the CIA was transformed into a paramilitary organization, empowered under law to engage in &#8220;propaganda, economic warfare, sabotage, subversion against hostile states through assistance to underground resistance movements and guerillas.&#8221; Ever since, the CIA has engineered world events for U.S. hegemony.</p> <p>The murder policy under the CIA aegis is by no means an Obama invention. Over the decades, the CIA has spearheaded what Vice President Dick Cheney once described as the &#8220;dark side&#8221; of the United States. Previously, however, the murders were covert, not to be openly admitted. In the 1960s, the CIA planned the murders of &#8220;communists who threatened the free world,&#8221; including those of Patrice Lumumba of Congo and Fidel Castro of Cuba. Researchers dispute over whether the CIA participated in Che Guevara&#8217;s murder. The evidence is mounting, however, that the CIA head in Bolivia had a &#8220;prior agreement or understanding with the Bolivians that Che would be killed if captured.&#8221; (See Ratner &amp;amp; Smith, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1875284761/counterpunchmaga" type="external">Who Killed Che?: How the CIA Got Away with Murder</a>).</p> <p>Covert murders were planned to shield the President from the attendant foreign policy fallout and the moral discomfort emanating from cold-blooded strategies. Notably, the President chairs the National Security Council (NSC), the supreme body that empowers the CIA to conduct covert operations. In the early decades, intelligence experts instituted the doctrine of plausible deniability under which the facts of a covert operation were reported to the President in a way that he could deny the knowledge of a murder. The words &#8220;killing&#8221; or &#8220;murder&#8221; or &#8220;assassination&#8221; were rarely used in oral and written memos to the President. For example, Che&#8217;s murder was reported to President Johnson as a &#8220;stupid murder.&#8221; Such wink, wink linguistic deceptions allow the President to occupy the high moral ground and deny that the U.S. &#8220;murders&#8221; foreign enemies or &#8220;tortures&#8221; detainees. The President&#8217;s veil of deniability was considered necessary to safeguard America&#8217;s image as &#8220;the city on the hill,&#8221; &#8220;the beacon of liberty,&#8221; &#8220;the greatest nation in the world,&#8221; etc.</p> <p>Audacity of Murder</p> <p>Since the 9/11 attacks, the policy logistics of murder have been dramatically transformed. The doctrine of plausible deniability has been discarded. Moral constraints on killing enemies, including heads of states and governments, have been cast away. The notion of the U.S. as a &#8220;moral nation&#8221; is now viewed as an impediment in the conduct of international relations. The &#8220;dark side&#8221; freely informs the foreign policy. The audacity of murder has gained depth and momentum. The President does not think twice about the moral implications of boasting a drone kill.</p> <p>In a major policy shift, the murder has been institutionalized. Now, the NSC may itself approve a pending murder. Remember the President and statutory members of the NSC (including Secretaries of State and Defense and the CIA Director) watching bin Laden&#8217;s murder as it was happening. The NSC released the picture for public consumption, implying that watching the murder of a noted enemy is morally acceptable. Imagine barbarism if this practice is writ large in the world. No one would be surprised if the NSC itself has authorized the murder of Anwar Awlaki, a U.S. citizen or if the NSC itself has authorized the drone attack on the Gaddafi motorcade to flush him out for murder in public view.</p> <p>These and similar international murders are no longer the CIA secrets that the Senate needs to investigate as it did in the 1970s. This time, the fascination with murder has metastasized. It is bipartisan. Except Ron Paul, Republican Presidential candidates endorse the murder of &#8220;terrorists&#8221; who threaten &#8220;our way of life.&#8221; (Juxtapose the historical massacres of Indian &#8220;savages&#8221; who too threatened &#8220;our way of life.&#8221;). Upon the execution of a successful murder, President Obama walks to the podium to express joy in a causal tone of voice. Many politicians join the happy hours. Congratulations are exchanged. The corporate media invites the public to celebrate the great news. This is the most vivid moral collapse of a nation that brazenly talks about human rights and universal values. The American people cannot choose to be silent. They must restore the nation&#8217;s moral dignity.</p> <p>Ali Khan is professor of law at Washburn University School of Law in Topeka, Kansas and the author of <a href="" type="internal">A Theory of International Terrorism</a> (2006).</p> <p>Exclusively in the New Print Issue of CounterPunch</p> <p>THE SLOW DEATH OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH&amp;#160;&#8211; Nancy Scheper-Hughes on Clerical Sex Abuse and the Vatican. PLUS Fred Gardner on Obama&#8217;s Policy on Marijuana and the Reform Leaders&#8217; Misleading Spin. &amp;#160; <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">SUBSCRIBE NOW</a></p> <p><a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">Order your subscription today and get</a> <a href="http://www.easycartsecure.com/CounterPunch/Annual_Subscriptions.html" type="external">CounterPunch by email for only $35 per year.</a></p> <p>&amp;#160;</p>

The CIA as Executioner

https://counterpunch.org/2011/11/03/the-cia-as-executioner/

2011-11-03

<p>(Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)</p> <p>The Columbia-Howard County chapter of PFLAG has been selected as one of the two 2015 Chapter Award winners in the category of Support. PFLAG National is honoring the chapter for its work in coordinating the Gender Conference East event in November 2014 in Baltimore.</p> <p>&#8220;Gender Conference East demonstrates the powerful work that PFLAG Columbia-Howard County does to support transgender and gender-expansive children, their parents, their families, and the professionals who work with them,&#8221; PFLAG National said in a statement. &#8220;In partnership with Gender Spectrum and the Ackerman Institute&#8217;s Gender &amp;amp; Family Project, Gender Conference East was a multiple day conference that included a Professional Symposium and a Family &amp;amp; Youth Day. The event was so successful that planning is already well under way for the next conference in November 2015.&#8221;</p> <p>The award will be presented on Oct. 18 as part of the PFLAG National Convention&#8217;s awards luncheon.</p> <p>&#8220;Our chapter is so excited about winning this award for the area of support around our work in putting on Gender Conference East,&#8221; Susan Garner, chapter president, told the Blade.</p> <p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore</a> <a href="" type="internal">Columbia-Howard County PFLAG</a> <a href="" type="internal">PFLAG</a> <a href="" type="internal">PFLAG National</a> <a href="" type="internal">Susan Garner</a></p>

PFLAG chapter to receive award

http://washingtonblade.com/2015/08/27/pflag-chapter-to-receive-award/

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p>BOULDER, Colo. &#8212; Shoot Em Up, a well-known Texas longhorn from Ellicott, was ready for his Twitter performance during the National Western Stock Show parade. The weather, however, was not.</p> <p>That didn&#8217;t faze Melissa Brandao, the woman behind the Longmont startup HerdDogg. The company has developed a small, rugged Bluetooth-enabled device designed to improve herd health and profitability by giving ranchers an easy-to-use, affordable tracking and data gathering system.</p> <p>Instead of the parade, which was clearly going to be a snowy challenge, HerdDogg systems will debut with Shoot Em Up&#8217;s assistance at the Wild West Show on Jan. 14 and 15 at the National Western.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>At the same time, Brandao and her small team of tech gurus are pushing hard to send out the first batch of commercially available smart tags this spring. She describes them as the equivalent of a Fitbit, except for very large, non-verbal mammals, reported the Daily Camera ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2ikBs5b)." type="external">http://bit.ly/2ikBs5b).</a></p> <p>Social media savvy steers</p> <p>When Shoot Em Up, who weighs nearly 1 ton, shows off the new technology during the National Western Stock Show, he&#8217;ll be sending out tweets letting the audience know, for instance, how fast he&#8217;s walking, how many steps he&#8217;s taking and his internal temperature, among other things.</p> <p>This information once was collected manually by ranchers as they physically inspected their animals &#8212; often multiple times a day &#8212; looking for those who were ailing or who were preparing to give birth.</p> <p>The advent of Bluetooth technologies, which allow data to be gathered and stored locally, and cellphones have changed all that, according to Brandao.</p> <p>Now, using HerdDogg, a cow with one of the young company&#8217;s tags implanted in its ear can walk up to a watering trough in a far-flung pasture and take a drink of water. While the animal drinks, the data from the HerdDogg tag is being gathered by a device attached to the trough, which the young company calls a dog bone. The data stays at the trough in the rugged, plastic, bone-shaped device, ready for a rancher to collect it via an app on a cellphone.</p> <p>If the rancher is standing in a field, he or she simply taps the icon on the cellphone that reflects the numbered tag of the cow being monitored, and information on that cow appears. In addition, an LED light in the tag lights up.</p> <p>&#8220;Our goal is to create a technology that is rancher friendly,&#8221; Brandao said. &#8220;The data is stored and transmitted when the rancher needs it.&#8221;</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Ranch animals have been tagged for years. In the early days, the simple plastic tags held a number that was the animal&#8217;s ID. Then, as production became more sophisticated, the United States Department of Agriculture, began requiring radio ID tags.</p> <p>But HerdDogg is helping take the ag tag into a new world of precision agriculture, where animals can be tracked remotely, around the clock, without the use of tall radio towers or expensive networks. With more data, producers can make better-informed decisions that should help them improve herd health and profitability.</p> <p>Brandao said she believes the technology can allow small- and medium-sized producers to grow their herds without having to add staff, a critical factor in an industry in which family farms are shrinking in number and consolidation is rampant.</p> <p>Healthier cows, greener pastures</p> <p>Ryan Rhoades, who is Colorado State University&#8217;s statewide extension specialist for beef producers, said devices such as the HerdDogg tag can help ranchers finely tune their operations, improving the health of herds and saving money by reducing the need for expensive drugs and veterinary visits required when animals go from simply feeling poorly to actually being sick.</p> <p>They can also help improve the sustainability of ranching by, for instance, helping ranchers track which areas of pasture land cattle are using for grazing, and then redistributing the cattle to ensure lands aren&#8217;t overgrazed.</p> <p>&#8220;Producers are looking for strategies to be more sustainable,&#8221; Rhoades said, &#8220;to increase their efficiency and to increase the bottom line. They&#8217;re also looking for tools to improve herd management and health.&#8221;</p> <p>Antibiotic resistance and medication use in feedlots is a big issue, Rhoades said.</p> <p>&#8220;Historically, we&#8217;ve not been very good at diagnosing sickness,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is a consumer perception that we&#8217;re treating everything and mass medicating. This kind of tech allows us to be much more precise. With the price of drugs these days, there is probably a significant reduction in medication cost as well.&#8221;</p> <p>The White House and reality TV</p> <p>Shoot Em Up isn&#8217;t the only one who has been tracking HerdDogg&#8217;s progress, of course. The young company, which relocated to Longmont last summer after launching in Oregon in 2013, has already raised $750,000 and is seeking another $1 million to $2 million this year.</p> <p>It spent much of last year participating in an agriculture-based Techstars program in Minneapolis and Brandao and her team won a visit to the White House in 2015 as part of a demo-days program. They were also featured on Intel&#8217;s reality TV show, &#8220;America&#8217;s Greatest Makers,&#8221; in 2015.</p> <p>Rob Schultz is managing partner of Champaign, Ill.-based Serra Ventures, a venture capital company with an interest in ag technologies.</p> <p>Schultz and his partners invested $500,000 in HerdDogg and plan to participate in the next finance round as well.</p> <p>Prior to backing HerdDogg, Serra had invested in a data-gathering technology used on tractors, an investment that paid off when the company was acquired by the giant Monsanto Corp.</p> <p>&#8220;That was all about creating data sets to allow farmers to be more precise and improve yields. The next great frontier is livestock,&#8221; Shultz said.</p> <p>&#8220;Imagine you&#8217;re a rancher. All of your assets are roaming around outside your immediate access and control, and you have very little information on them. Being here in the Midwest, I talked to friends who are farmers and ranchers and was able to get their perspective. If they could save one cow or even detect illness earlier and treat it with one antibiotic shot rather than a vet visit, these are big deals for these farmers.&#8221;</p> <p>Pilot projects and social media</p> <p>As with all startups, much work lies ahead. For now, the chips that go into the tags are manufactured in Brooklyn, N.Y., and quality control is being done in Longmont.</p> <p>New algorithms are being developed almost weekly, including those that will measure how often a cow is eating, chewing and swallowing, or &#8220;ruminating&#8221; as they say in the ag world.</p> <p>The technology is being tested in California, Oregon, Colorado and Brazil and HerdDogg has several notable partners, including Land O&#8217; Lakes and Shoot Em Up&#8217;s home operation, the Silverado Ranch east of Colorado Springs in Ellicott.</p> <p>Gary Lake, who owns Silverado Ranch with Stan Searle, has 10 Texas longhorns in the pilot program. The full herd &#8212; 150 strong &#8212; graze on roughly 2.5 square miles of open pasture and Lake has attached the plastic dog-bone devices on watering troughs through the range area.</p> <p>While he&#8217;s impressed with the biometric data the tags gather, he loves the novelty of its interface with social media apps such as Twitter and Instagram.</p> <p>&#8220;Most people who buy Texas longhorn cattle have just a few head. They love them for their color and horns. These are the kind of people who will really enjoy getting a tweet from a cow as she is heading up to the house from the pasture,&#8221; Lake said.</p> <p>While Brandao is a big believer in social media, she has her eye on the worldwide livestock market, which is 2 billion animals strong.</p> <p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not a rancher,&#8221; she said. &#8220;But it is so exciting to be around animals who&#8217;ve never had a voice. Maybe this will help ranching become more common again.&#8221;</p> <p>___</p> <p>Information from: Daily Camera, <a href="http://www.dailycamera.com/" type="external">http://www.dailycamera.com/</a></p>

‘Fitbit’ for cows to debut at National Western Stock Show

https://abqjournal.com/925807/fitbit-for-cows-to-debut-at-national-western-stock-show.html

2017-01-14

<p /> <p>TNR has a <a href="http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20070827&amp;amp;s=editorial082707b" type="external">good article</a> about the lack of oversight and transparency in presidential library fundraising, and the potential for abuse it creates. We&#8217;ve seen the problem before:</p> <p>In 1993, George H.W. Bush pardoned Edwin L. Cox, Jr., who had pled guilty five years earlier to bank fraud. Eleven months later, Cox&#8217;s father pledged support for the Bush library and is now listed as a donor in the &#8220;$100,000 to $250,000&#8221; range. Likewise, in the late &#8217;90s, Denise Rich reportedly pledged $450,000 to Clinton&#8217;s library at the same time her ex-husband, Marc Rich, was seeking a pardon for racketeering and tax- evasion charges.</p> <p>Two things make the problem relevant again today. First, Bush is trying to raise a whopping $500 million for this presidential library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, which means tons and tons of fundraising now, while Bush is still in office and capable of being swayed on policy decisions by particularly large donations. (By the way, Methodist ministers <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/01/3288_attack_of_the_m.html" type="external">are appalled</a> at the idea of GWB&#8217;s library being at SMU.)</p> <p>Second, Hillary Clinton is running for president while her husband&#8217;s library is accepting donations. There is a strong system of oversight for presidential campaign fundraising (just see <a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/" type="external">opensecrets.org</a>), but there is nothing you can do if you want to see who is donating to Bill Clinton&#8217;s library. Surely it is time for the FEC to step in.</p> <p />

The Murky Fundraising of Presidential Libraries

https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/murky-fundraising-presidential-libraries/

2007-08-28

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>The data issued Wednesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. showed "gradual but steady improvement" for the banking industry, FDIC Chairman Martin Gruenberg said at a news conference. Still, low interest rates continued to crimp banks' profit margins on loans during the January-March period.</p> <p>The FDIC reported that U.S. banks earned $39.8 billion in the first quarter, up from $37.2 billion a year earlier.</p> <p>Nearly 63 percent of banks reported an increase in profit in the first quarter from a year earlier. Only 5.6 percent of banks were unprofitable - the lowest percentage of unprofitable institutions since the second quarter of 2005.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>The volume of delinquent loans fell by 6 percent, and the average noncurrent loan rate declined from 1.96 percent to 1.83 percent, a seven-year low. Banks also increased by nearly 10 percent, or $756 million, the amounts they set aside to cover losses on loans. Lending grew by 0.6 percent, or $52.5 billion.</p> <p>The number of banks on the FDIC's confidential "problem list" fell to a six-year low of 253 from 291 in the fourth quarter.</p> <p>Community banks scored strong earnings growth in the first quarter, jumping 16.4 percent from the same period last year to $4.9 billion. They showed stronger growth in lending than the rest of the industry, the FDIC said.</p> <p>But continued low interest rates "remains a challenge for banks," Gruenberg said</p> <p>The average net interest margin on loans and other investments fell to 3.02 percent from 3.16 percent from a year earlier.</p> <p>The number of bank failures continues to slow, marking 18 last year. That is still more than normal. In a strong economy, an average of four or five banks close annually. But failures declined from 24 in 2013 and were down sharply from 157 in 2010 - the most in one year since the height of the savings and loan crisis in 1992.</p> <p>So far this year, five banks have failed. Eight had been shuttered by this time last year.</p> <p>The decline in bank failures has allowed the deposit insurance fund to strengthen. The fund, which turned from deficit to positive in the second quarter of 2011, had a $65.3 billion balance at the end of March, according to the FDIC.</p> <p>The FDIC was created during the Great Depression to ensure bank deposits. It monitors and examines the financial condition of U.S. banks. The agency guarantees bank deposits up to $250,000 per account. Apart from its deposit insurance fund, the FDIC also has tens of billions of dollars in reserves.</p>

US bank earnings up 6.9 percent in Q1

https://abqjournal.com/590727/us-bank-earnings-up-6-9-percent-in-q1.html

<p /> <p>When you&#8217;re on the web you might notice the ads seem conspicuously on point. They might be on topics you have searched for or are connected to where you live or work.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>Just in case you thought it was coincidence, be assured that it is quite by design thanks to cookies &#8212; little bits of information collected by your browser &#8212; and other memories your software shares.</p> <p>The idea of companies collecting information about your interests, habits and other details about what you do online has privacy rights advocates pushing for restrictions and disclosures to consumers so you can simply reject the practice when you choose to.</p> <p>Senator John D. Rockefeller introduced a bill consumer advocates are hailing for requiring websites to allow people to opt-out of being tracked.</p> <p>&#8220;Recent reports of privacy invasions have made it imperative that we do more to put consumers in the driver&#8217;s seat when it comes to their personal information,&#8221; Rockefeller said in a statement. &#8220;I believe consumers have a right to decide whether their information can be collected and used online.&#8221;</p> <p>Advertisement</p> <p>The bill has generated excitement among those who advocate for privacy and consumer protection.</p> <p>&#8220;We hear a lot about consumer empowerment, but this legislation would actually give real power to consumers who want to keep their online activities private,&#8221; said Susan Grant, the Consumer Federation of America&#8217;s director of consumer protection.</p> <p>The bill calls for the <a href="" type="internal">Federal Trade Commission</a> to set standards that would give consumers a simple tool to say they don&#8217;t want their information to be tracked, with an exception for services that would require such information to operate.</p> <p>&#8220;Right now, the privacy interests of individuals and the interests of advertisers and others who may want their personal information are woefully out of balance,&#8221; Grant said. &#8220;This legislation would enable the FTC to strike the right balance and ensure that privacy is respected and protected.&#8221;</p> <p>California is considering a similar law that would establish penalties for companies that continue to collect data against the wishes of consumers.</p> <p>Not surprisingly, the web&#8217;s big players are not happy. A large coalition of companies &#8212; including <a href="" type="internal">Google</a> and <a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a> and ranging from <a href="" type="internal">American Express</a> to the Motion Picture Association of America &#8212; banded together in California to oppose that law, saying consumers already have the ability to stop the collection of cookies through their browsers and other means. They produced an opposition letter that says the bill unfairly targets advertising and would be harmful to the economy. The companies also said that it would be inappropriate for a state to try to regulate the web, since it crosses all borders.</p> <p>Plus, the group said, by taking away the targeted advertising, the companies would be losing that revenue and consumers could lose some of the free content they&#8217;ve come to enjoy that has been paid for by those ads &#8212; not to mention the innovations based on the collected information.&#8220;The measure would negatively affect consumers who have come to expect rich content and free services through the Internet&#8230;,&#8221; the letter said. &#8220;Features like automatic spell check, product recommendations, real time traffic mapping and search suggestions were developed using customer data in a safe and unintrusive way. Prohibiting the collection and use of this data would severely harm future innovation in the state and harm consumers.&#8221;</p> <p>Laws like this come down largely to whether the public can trust consumers to honor their choices when they decide against having their information monitored and collected.</p> <p>If you want to limit tracking now, you can set your browser&#8217;s privacy setting to &#8220;private&#8221; or to not collect cookies &#8212; which can cause some problems for you on some sites that you&#8217;ve been using. You can also go to the Network Advertising Initiative to opt out of behavioral advertising networks they&#8217;re affiliated with. And the Digital Advertising Alliance offers its take on collecting cookies and the choice consumers have.</p>

Consumer Groups Embrace 'Do Not Track' Bill

http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/05/11/consumer-groups-embrace-track.html

2016-03-04

<p>By William Astore, TomDispatchThis piece originally appeared at <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175493/tomgram%3A_william_astore%2C_confessions_of_a_recovering_weapons_addict/#more" type="external">TomDispatch</a>.</p> <p>Perhaps you&#8217;ve heard of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CW5GRilRyE" type="external">&#8220;Makin&#8217; Thunderbirds,&#8221;</a> a hard-bitten rock &amp;amp; roll song by Bob Seger that I listened to 30 years ago while in college. It&#8217;s about auto workers back in 1955 who were &#8220;young and proud&#8221; to be making Ford Thunderbirds. But in the early 1980s, Seger sings, &#8220;the plants have changed and you&#8217;re lucky if you work.&#8221; Seger caught the reality of an American manufacturing infrastructure that was seriously eroding as skilled and good-paying union jobs were cut or sent overseas, rarely to be seen again in these parts.</p> <p>If the U.S. auto industry has recently shown sparks of new life (though we&#8217;re not making T-Birds or Mercuries or Oldsmobiles or Pontiacs or Saturns anymore), there is one form of manufacturing in which America is still dominant. When it comes to weaponry, to paraphrase Seger, we&#8217;re still young and proud and makin&#8217; Predators and Reapers (as in unmanned aerial vehicles, or <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175489/" type="external">drones</a>) and Eagles and Fighting Falcons (as in F-15 and F-16 combat jets), and outfitting them with the deadliest of weapons. In this market niche, we&#8217;re still the envy of the world.</p> <p>Yes, we&#8217;re the world&#8217;s foremost &#8220;merchants of death,&#8221; the title of a best-selling expos&#233; of the international arms trade published to acclaim in the U.S. in 1934. Back then, most Americans saw themselves as war-avoiders rather than as war-profiteers. The evil war-profiteers were mainly European arms makers like Germany&#8217;s Krupp, France&#8217;s Schneider, or Britain&#8217;s Vickers.</p> <p /> <p>Not that America didn&#8217;t have its own arms merchants. As the authors of Merchants of Death noted, early on our country demonstrated a &#8220;Yankee propensity for extracting novel death-dealing knickknacks from [our] peddler&#8217;s pack.&#8221; Amazingly, the <a href="http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/merchants_of_death.htm" type="external">Nye Committee in the U.S. Senate</a> devoted 93 hearings from 1934 to 1936 to exposing America&#8217;s own &#8220;greedy munitions interests.&#8221; Even in those desperate depression days, a desire for profit and jobs was balanced by a strong sense of unease at this deadly trade, an unease reinforced by the horrors of and <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175387/tomgram%3A_adam_hochschild,_war_redux" type="external">hecatombs of dead</a> from the First World War.</p> <p>We are uneasy no more. Today we take great pride (or at least have no shame) in being by far the world&#8217;s number one arms-exporting nation. A few statistics bear this out. From 2006 to 2010, the U.S. accounted for <a href="http://www.sipri.org/googlemaps/at_top_20_exp_map.html" type="external">nearly one-third</a> of the world&#8217;s arms exports, easily surpassing a resurgent Russia in the &#8220;Lords of War&#8221; race. Despite a decline in global arms sales in 2010 due to recessionary pressures, the U.S. increased its market share, accounting for <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/24/world/global-arms-sales-dropped-sharply-in-2010-study-finds.html?_r=1" type="external">a whopping 53%</a> of the trade that year. Last year saw the U.S. on pace to deliver <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-11/u-s-projects-over-46-billion-in-foreign-arms-sales-in-2011.html" type="external">more than $46 billion</a> in foreign arms sales. Who says America isn&#8217;t number one anymore?</p> <p>For a shopping list of our arms trades, try searching the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute <a href="http://armstrade.sipri.org/armstrade/page/trade_register.php" type="external">database for arms exports and imports</a>. It reveals that, in 2010, the U.S. exported &#8220;major conventional weapons&#8221; to 62 countries, from Afghanistan to Yemen, and weapons platforms ranging from F-15, F-16, and F-18 combat jets to M1 Abrams main battle tanks to Cobra attack helicopters (sent to our Pakistani comrades) to guided missiles in all flavors, colors, and sizes: AAMs, PGMs, SAMs, TOWs &#8212; a veritable alphabet soup of missile acronyms. Never mind their specific meaning: they&#8217;re all designed to blow things up; they&#8217;re all designed to kill.</p> <p>Rarely debated in Congress or in U.S. media outlets is the wisdom or morality of these arms deals. During the quiet last days of December 2011, in separate announcements whose timing could not have been accidental, the Obama Administration expressed its intent to sell <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/world/middleeast/us-military-sales-to-iraq-raise-concerns.html" type="external">nearly $11 billion in arms</a> to Iraq, including Abrams tanks and F-16 fighter-bombers, and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/world/middleeast/with-30-billion-arms-deal-united-states-bolsters-ties-to-saudi-arabia.html" type="external">nearly $30 billion in F-15 fighter jets</a> to Saudi Arabia, part of a larger, $60 billion arms package for the Saudis. Few in Congress oppose such arms deals since defense contractors provide jobs in their districts &#8212; and <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/1818/chalmers_johnson_the_military-industrial_man" type="external">ready donations</a> to Congressional campaigns.</p> <p>Let&#8217;s pause to consider what such a weapons deal implies for Iraq. Firstly, Iraq only &#8220;needs&#8221; advanced tanks and fighter jets because we destroyed their previous generation of the same, whether in 1991 during Desert Shield/Storm or in 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Secondly, Iraq &#8220;needs&#8221; such powerful conventional weaponry ostensibly to deter an invasion by Iran, yet the current government in Baghdad is closely aligned with Iran, courtesy of our invasion in 2003 and the botched occupation that followed. Thirdly, despite its &#8220;needs,&#8221; the Iraqi military is nowhere near ready to field and maintain such advanced weaponry, at least without sustained training and logistical support provided by the U.S. military.As <a href="http://www.airpower.au.af.mil/article.asp?id=44" type="external">one U.S. Air Force officer</a> who served as an advisor to the fledging Iraqi Air Force, or IqAF, recently worried:</p> <p>&#8220;Will the IqAF be able to refuel its own aircraft? Can the Iraqi military offer adequate force protection and security for its bases? Can the IqAF provide airfield management services at its bases as they return to Iraqi control after eight years under US direction? Can the IqAF ensure simple power generation to keep facilities operating? Will the IqAF be able to develop and retain its airmen?&#8230; Only time will tell if we left [Iraq] too early; nevertheless, even without a renewed security agreement, the USAF can continue to stand alongside the IqAF.&#8221;</p> <p>Put bluntly: We doubt the Iraqis are ready to field and fly American-built F-16s, but we&#8217;re going to sell them to them anyway. And if past history is a guide, if the Iraqis ever turn these planes against us, we&#8217;ll blow them up or shoot them down &#8212; and then (hopefully) sell them some more.</p> <p>Our Best Arms Customer</p> <p>Let&#8217;s face it: the weapons we sell to others pale in comparison to the weapons we sell to ourselves. In the market for deadly weapons, we are our own best customer. Americans have a love affair with them, the more high-tech and expensive, the better. I should know. After all, I&#8217;m a recovering weapons addict.</p> <p>Well into my teen years, I was fascinated by military hardware. I built models of what were then the latest U.S. warplanes: the A-10, the F-4, the F-14, -15, and -16, the B-1, and many others. I read Aviation Week and Space Technology at my local library to keep track of the newest developments in military technology. Not surprisingly, perhaps, I went on to major in mechanical engineering in college and entered the Air Force as a developmental engineer.</p> <p>Enamored as I was by roaring afterburners and sleek weaponry, I also began to read books like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Fallows" type="external">James Fallows&#8217;s</a> National Defense (1981) among other early critiques of the Carter and Reagan defense buildup, as well as the slyly subversive and always insightful Augustine&#8217;s Laws (1986) by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Ralph_Augustine" type="external">Norman Augustine</a>, later the CEO of Martin Marietta and Lockheed Martin. That and my own experience in the Air Force alerted me to the billions of dollars we were devoting to high-tech weaponry with ever-ballooning price tags but questionable utility.</p> <p>Perhaps the best example of the persistence of this phenomenon is the <a href="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/m/military_aircraft/f35_airplane/index.html" type="external">F-35 Lightning II</a>. Produced by Lockheed Martin, the F-35 was intended to be an &#8220;affordable&#8221; fighter-bomber (at roughly $50 million per copy), a perfect complement to the much more expensive F-22 &#8220;air superiority&#8221; Raptor. But the usual delays, cost overruns, technical glitches, and changes in requirements have driven the price tag of the F-35 up to $160 million per plane, assuming the U.S. military persists in its plans to buy 2,400 of them. (If the Pentagon decides to buy fewer, the cost-per-plane will soar into the F-22 range.) By recent estimates the F-35 will now cost U.S. taxpayers (you and me, that is) <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/10/26/3476421/pentagon-takes-a-harder-line-with.html" type="external">at least $382 billion</a> for its development and production run. Such a sum for a single weapons system is vast enough to be hard to fathom. It would, for instance, easily fund all <a href="http://www2.ed.gov/about/overview/budget/index.html" type="external">federal government spending on education</a> for the next five years.</p> <p>The escalating cost of the F-35 recalls the most famous of Norman Augustine&#8217;s irreverent laws: &#8220;In the year 2054,&#8221; he wrote back in the early 1980s, &#8220;the entire defense budget will [suffice to] purchase just one aircraft.&#8221; But the deeper question is whether our military even needs the F-35, a question that&#8217;s rarely asked and never seriously entertained, at least by Congress, whose philosophy on weaponry is much like King Lear&#8217;s: &#8220;O, reason not the need.&#8221;</p> <p>But let&#8217;s reason the need in purely military terms. These days, the Air Force is turning increasingly to <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/blog/175489/tomgram%3A_nick_turse%2C_drone_disasters_/" type="external">unmanned drones</a>. Meanwhile, plenty of perfectly good and serviceable &#8220;platforms&#8221; remain for attack and close air support missions, from F-16s and F-18s in the Air Force and Navy to Apache helicopters in the Army. And while many of our existing combat jets may be nearing the limits of airframe integrity, there&#8217;s nothing stopping the U.S. military from producing updated versions of the same. Heck, this is precisely what we&#8217;re hawking to the Saudis &#8212; updated versions of the F-15, developed in the 1970s.Because of sheer cost, it&#8217;s likely we&#8217;ll buy fewer F-35s than our military wants but many more than we actually need. We&#8217;ll do so because Weapons &#8216;R&#8217; Us. Because building ultra-expensive combat jets is one of the few high-tech industries we haven&#8217;t exported (due to national security and secrecy concerns), and thus one of the few industries in the U.S. that still supports high-paying manufacturing jobs with decent employee benefits. And who can argue with that?</p> <p>The Ultimate Cost of Our Merchandise of Death</p> <p>Clearly, the U.S. has grabbed the brass ring of the global arms trade. When it comes to investing in militaries and weaponry, no country can match us. We are supreme. And despite talk of modest cuts to the Pentagon budget over the next decade, it will, <a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/01/05/remarks-president-defense-strategic-review" type="external">according to</a> President Obama, continue to grow, which means that in weapons terms the future remains bright. After all, Pentagon spending on research and development stands at $81.4 billion, accounting for an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/us/a-hidden-cost-of-military-cuts-could-be-invention-and-its-industries.html" type="external">astonishing 55%</a> of all federal spending on R&amp;amp;D and leaving plenty of opportunity to develop our next generation of <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175155" type="external">wonder weapons</a>.</p> <p>But at what cost to ourselves and the rest of the world? We&#8217;ve become the suppliers of weaponry to the planet&#8217;s hotspots. And those weapons deliveries (and the training and support missions that go with them) tend to make those spots hotter still &#8212; as in hot lead.</p> <p>As a country, we seem to have a teenager&#8217;s fascination with military hardware, an addiction that&#8217;s driving us to bust our own national budgetary allowance. At the same time, we sell weapons the way teenage punks sell fireworks to younger kids: for profit and with little regard for how they might be used.</p> <p>Sixty years ago, it <a href="http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Erwin_Wilson" type="external">was said</a> that what&#8217;s good for General Motors is good for America. In 1955, as Bob Seger sang, we were young and strong and makin&#8217; Thunderbirds. But today we&#8217;re playing a new tune with new lyrics: what&#8217;s good for Lockheed Martin or Boeing or [insert major-defense-contractor-of-your-choice here] is good for America.</p> <p>How far we&#8217;ve come since the 1950s!</p> <p>William J. Astore, a retired lieutenant colonel (USAF), is a <a href="http://www.tomdispatch.com/archive/175477/william_astore_fighting_1%25_wars" type="external">TomDispatch regular</a>. To listen to Timothy MacBain&#8217;s latest Tomcast audio interview in which Astore discusses the thrill of weaponry in pop culture and how it faded for him, click <a href="http://tomdispatch.blogspot.com/2012/01/weapons-r-us.html" type="external">here</a>, or download it to your iPod <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tomcast-from-tomdispatch-com/id357095817" type="external">here</a>.</p> <p>Follow TomDispatch on Twitter @TomDispatch and join us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/TomDispatchcom/140974045945945?ref=ts" type="external">Facebook</a>.</p>

Weapons ‘R’ Us: Making Warbirds Instead of Thunderbirds

https://truthdig.com/articles/weapons-r-us-making-warbirds-instead-of-thunderbirds/

2012-01-26

<p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Another listless performance led Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall to turn to the minors for what he called "needed energy."</p> <p>The plan was foiled, though, by the East Coast snowstorm that stranded Tyrell Goulbourne in Toronto and put his NHL debut on hold.</p> <p>Enter regulars Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny, who gave the Flyers a needed boost with their sticks and - surprisingly - their fists.</p> <p>Ivan Provorov had two goals and an assist, and Couturier had a goal, an assist and participated in one of several fights for the Flyers in their feisty 6-4 victory over the slumping New York Islanders on Thursday night.</p> <p>"It was a big game tonight. They're just ahead of us in the standings," Couturier said. "We knew it was important and there was a lot of emotion out there. Guys responded."</p> <p>Konecny energized his teammates with a first-period scrap, then scored to cap a four-goal second. Wayne Simmonds and Michael Raffl also scored for the Flyers, who overcame a poor third period for their second win in six games.</p> <p>Brian Elliott made 27 saves in his 15th straight start.</p> <p>"It brought us energy," Provorov said of the fisticuffs. "It was great to see guys playing hard."</p> <p>Cal Clutterbuck scored twice, and John Tavares and Ryan Pulock added third-period goals for the Islanders in their season-high fourth straight loss. Thomas Greiss allowed five goals on 31 shots but got little help from a defense that continues to struggle without injured Johnny Boychuk.</p> <p>"We come out, we're not bad, then something goes wrong, it kind of spirals and we can't stop it," Pulock said.</p> <p>Raffl's redirect of Provorov's shot at 1:36 of the second period put the Flyers up 2-1. Simmonds scored 40 seconds later and Provorov added his sixth during a four-minute power play after Tanner Fritz's high stick to the face of Andrew MacDonald drew blood.</p> <p>Konecny made it 5-2 with his fifth goal on a breakaway against a helpless Greiss, who has allowed five or more goals seven times this season.</p> <p>"Yeah, puck is just sliding in, whether it's tips, backdoors or just goalie's not seeing it," said Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, who agreed to a five-year contract extension before the game. "Clear guys out and we just weren't doing it."</p> <p>Before the game, Hextall said the Flyers must become more consistent if they are to reach the playoffs and noted a lack of energy in a 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday that prompted the roster move.</p> <p>"I think our players recognize that it wasn't the most energized game by our club and we need to be better," Hextall said.</p> <p>The 20-year-old Konecny, recently elevated to the top line, had plenty of pep early. He threw Shane Prince to the ice in a fight that drew cheers from the bench in a dominant first period. The Flyers raced to an 8-2 edge in shots and a 1-0 lead when Couturier redirected Jakub Voracek's shot at 8:38 for his 19th goal.</p> <p>The Flyers gave it back when Clutterbuck's deflection of Nick Leddy's slap shot gave him his 200th point at 15:37 of the first.</p> <p>The Islanders were overwhelmed in a sloppy second period. Tavares' 22nd goal and Pulock's third with 5:25 left were not enough.</p> <p>Couturier tangled with Josh Bailey 15 seconds after Pulock's goal to complete his Gordie Howe hat trick (a goal, assist and a fight).</p> <p>Provorov's empty-netter following a line brawl that featured a Scott Laughton bout put it away as the Flyers earned their first win over the Islanders in three tries this season.</p> <p>NOTES: Boychuk (lower body) didn't respond well after practicing Wednesday and didn't travel on the two-game trip. He's missed four straight games. . Voracek got his 39th assist, moving past Bailey for the NHL lead. . Flyers forward Claude Giroux had two assists and was 7 for 8 on faceoffs. . Flyers C Nolan Patrick, the struggling No. 2 pick in last year's draft, got his eighth point with an assist on Provorov's first goal.</p> <p>UP NEXT</p> <p>Islanders: Home vs. Pittsburgh on Friday night.</p> <p>Flyers: Home vs. St. Louis on Saturday.</p> <p>___</p> <p>More NHL hockey: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey</a></p> <p>PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Another listless performance led Philadelphia Flyers general manager Ron Hextall to turn to the minors for what he called "needed energy."</p> <p>The plan was foiled, though, by the East Coast snowstorm that stranded Tyrell Goulbourne in Toronto and put his NHL debut on hold.</p> <p>Enter regulars Sean Couturier and Travis Konecny, who gave the Flyers a needed boost with their sticks and - surprisingly - their fists.</p> <p>Ivan Provorov had two goals and an assist, and Couturier had a goal, an assist and participated in one of several fights for the Flyers in their feisty 6-4 victory over the slumping New York Islanders on Thursday night.</p> <p>"It was a big game tonight. They're just ahead of us in the standings," Couturier said. "We knew it was important and there was a lot of emotion out there. Guys responded."</p> <p>Konecny energized his teammates with a first-period scrap, then scored to cap a four-goal second. Wayne Simmonds and Michael Raffl also scored for the Flyers, who overcame a poor third period for their second win in six games.</p> <p>Brian Elliott made 27 saves in his 15th straight start.</p> <p>"It brought us energy," Provorov said of the fisticuffs. "It was great to see guys playing hard."</p> <p>Cal Clutterbuck scored twice, and John Tavares and Ryan Pulock added third-period goals for the Islanders in their season-high fourth straight loss. Thomas Greiss allowed five goals on 31 shots but got little help from a defense that continues to struggle without injured Johnny Boychuk.</p> <p>"We come out, we're not bad, then something goes wrong, it kind of spirals and we can't stop it," Pulock said.</p> <p>Raffl's redirect of Provorov's shot at 1:36 of the second period put the Flyers up 2-1. Simmonds scored 40 seconds later and Provorov added his sixth during a four-minute power play after Tanner Fritz's high stick to the face of Andrew MacDonald drew blood.</p> <p>Konecny made it 5-2 with his fifth goal on a breakaway against a helpless Greiss, who has allowed five or more goals seven times this season.</p> <p>"Yeah, puck is just sliding in, whether it's tips, backdoors or just goalie's not seeing it," said Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield, who agreed to a five-year contract extension before the game. "Clear guys out and we just weren't doing it."</p> <p>Before the game, Hextall said the Flyers must become more consistent if they are to reach the playoffs and noted a lack of energy in a 5-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Tuesday that prompted the roster move.</p> <p>"I think our players recognize that it wasn't the most energized game by our club and we need to be better," Hextall said.</p> <p>The 20-year-old Konecny, recently elevated to the top line, had plenty of pep early. He threw Shane Prince to the ice in a fight that drew cheers from the bench in a dominant first period. The Flyers raced to an 8-2 edge in shots and a 1-0 lead when Couturier redirected Jakub Voracek's shot at 8:38 for his 19th goal.</p> <p>The Flyers gave it back when Clutterbuck's deflection of Nick Leddy's slap shot gave him his 200th point at 15:37 of the first.</p> <p>The Islanders were overwhelmed in a sloppy second period. Tavares' 22nd goal and Pulock's third with 5:25 left were not enough.</p> <p>Couturier tangled with Josh Bailey 15 seconds after Pulock's goal to complete his Gordie Howe hat trick (a goal, assist and a fight).</p> <p>Provorov's empty-netter following a line brawl that featured a Scott Laughton bout put it away as the Flyers earned their first win over the Islanders in three tries this season.</p> <p>NOTES: Boychuk (lower body) didn't respond well after practicing Wednesday and didn't travel on the two-game trip. He's missed four straight games. . Voracek got his 39th assist, moving past Bailey for the NHL lead. . Flyers forward Claude Giroux had two assists and was 7 for 8 on faceoffs. . Flyers C Nolan Patrick, the struggling No. 2 pick in last year's draft, got his eighth point with an assist on Provorov's first goal.</p> <p>UP NEXT</p> <p>Islanders: Home vs. Pittsburgh on Friday night.</p> <p>Flyers: Home vs. St. Louis on Saturday.</p> <p>___</p> <p>More NHL hockey: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey</a></p>

Ivan Provorov leads feisty Flyers to 6-4 win over Islanders

https://apnews.com/amp/2660174f5ccf4a259e918009b800cf61

2018-01-05

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. &#8212; &#8220;TAPPED OUT&#8221; (Sunday, Aug. 24) was not the first, but is one of the most thorough articles you have printed regarding the drought in California and the West in general.</p> <p>With this having been said, why is &#8220;the drought&#8221; not the key issue in Tesla being considered in New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, and California for a battery plant? Texas has an ongoing battle over water with New Mexico! California has offered to reduce their environmental regulations for this battery plant to come to their state. Are they insane? I have not seen an article about how the Tesla battery factory will impact the quantity or quality of the ground water in any of these drought states.</p> <p>One person wrote into the Journal raising this question, but again I have not seen a reply to his concern. And not only the water issue but the consideration of $500 million from taxpayer dollars to woo Tesla here to New Mexico?</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Tesla and (Tesla founder) Elon Musk should be told to take a hike. They can build their battery plant in China, where &#8230; people have to wear masks to breathe. Native Americans, farmers and cities in New Mexico are fighting over the distribution of water and Gov. (Susana) Martinez wants Tesla?</p> <p>MAUREEN JOHNSON</p> <p>Cochiti Lake</p> <p /> <p>Why hasn&#8217;t UNM called foul on booze?</p> <p>OK, THE UNM women&#8217;s soccer team apologized. (University of New Mexico athletic director Paul) Krebs has given his typical wishy-washy dialogue to the women&#8217;s soccer team hazing incident. To his credit, he has admitted that alcohol was involved and evidence points out that there must have been a lot of it being passed around.</p> <p>Has anyone made any effort to determine who provided the alcohol for those players under the age of 21? To my knowledge if the question was asked, no answer has been provided thus far. Was it players who are old enough to buy it? Was it parents that provided it? Why has no one, including the UNM police, or within the athletic department, asked the question or attempted to determine where the booze came from for those under the age of 21? Why haven&#8217;t the parents of those involved attempted to find out?</p> <p>Oh, I see. Kids will be kids. Personally, I wish some parents would be parents to their kids instead of wanting to be &#8220;best friends.&#8221;</p> <p>GEORGE B. NORWOOD</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Albuquerque</p> <p /> <p>$350K could do a lot for APS students</p> <p>IT IS EASY to imagine why APS is deficient in educating children when we keep getting reminded of what it costs to fire the person responsible for education.</p> <p>The latest episode with (former APS Superintendent Winston) Brooks and his $350,000 firing award is flat-out ridiculous. The board members who agreed with this ludicrous contract need to resign now.</p> <p>Just because it is the norm for superintendents to have buyout clauses does not mean it has to remain that way. It is hard to be sympathetic with APS when they cry for more funds from taxpayers to educate our children, then hire superintendents in this manner.</p> <p>How many computers, teacher raises, books and pencils could that firing award have been used for? It would be nice if APS would operate like a business. You fire someone for irresponsible behavior and you show them the door. A buyout clause only encourages bad and irresponsible behavior.</p> <p>How about hiring a person who, if they produce results, gets a bonus? How about hiring someone who cares more about education than personal gain? We must hold APS and its board members accountable for this kind of financial irresponsibility.</p> <p>It&#8217;s your money being used to send Brooks on his way. What other foolish ways is APS spending your money? Get involved. Elect board members who are not in bed with politicians and unions.</p> <p>GARY HAYS</p> <p>Albuquerque</p> <p /> <p>Food stamp abuse not church concern</p> <p>WHILE IT IS thoughtful of Archbishop (Michael) Sheehan to be concerned about the welfare of families using food stamps &#8211; SNAP &#8211; in New Mexico, he probably doesn&#8217;t have any business voicing his opinion concerning a non-church, state government activity.</p> <p>He also makes it sound as if SNAP is being discontinued for needy families, and that simply is not true. As a result of historic and ongoing abuse of the food stamp program, the state has proposed to tighten up the SNAP distribution by making sure that program participants who are out of work provide proof that they are searching for jobs, or if the situation warrants &#8211; where the individual has an employment/childcare issue &#8212; participate in a volunteer or workplace training program.</p> <p>These are certainly moves in the right direction and do not constitute a blanket or arbitrary cutback of food stamps as the good archbishop implies. Perhaps his time would be better spent cleaning up his own backyard and doing a more thorough job of screening for and removing pedophile Catholic priests.</p> <p>JOHN SCHWEITZER</p> <p>Albuquerque</p> <p /> <p>Spanish gubernatorial debate a stunt</p> <p>PERHAPS SOMEONE can apprise me of the benefits of having Gov. Susana Martinez and Attorney General Gary King debate in Spanish, apparently pursuant to the governor&#8217;s request. Personally, I think it&#8217;s nothing but a political stunt to favor the governor.</p> <p>However, I believe the political trickery could actually backfire. First, it suggests that Hispanics cannot sufficiently speak or understand English, which in effect questions the intellectual ability of virtually all Hispanics in New Mexico. Secondly, the relatively small number of Hispanics that don&#8217;t have full command of speaking and understanding English will learn firsthand from the governor that her policies are hardly conducive to their effort to economically improve their lives by earning less than $8 an hour, just to cite one example of their struggles.</p> <p>Personally, I am eager to hear from the governor in English or Spanish why she, unlike other southern border state governors, has been so conspicuously quiet on penetrable southern border issues, especially now with the international threats of ISIS and other nefarious characters that want to do us harm &#8212; or worse, kill us.</p> <p>In any event, I look forward to lively gubernatorial debates, few as they are.</p> <p>ROBERT E. GURULE</p> <p>Albuquerque</p> <p /> <p>Why ISIS may be a war for U.S to fight</p> <p>THERE ARE A number of good reasons &#8211; in fact better reasons &#8211; for waging a full-fledged military campaign against ISIS (compared to recent campaigns). Most of them are geopolitical.</p> <p>First, unlike Afghanistan, the ISIS territory &#8211; overlaying Syria and Iraq &#8211; has friendly forces on several sides, including Turkey, the Kurds, the existing Syria government, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the Sunni Muslim sect would probably be supportive given the atrocities of ISIS.</p> <p>Depending on how one interprets the breadth of the ISIS territory, there is even potentially access for our forces from the Mediterranean Sea &#8211; definitely something that was missing in Afghanistan. It would give our military an opportunity to establish and fight with a definitive front line, which has not happened since Desert Storm and, to some extent, the Iraq war. Much preferable to fighting from enclaves &#8211; effectively surrounded by enemy and dependent (on) vulnerable supply methods.</p> <p>Should we send in the troops? That depends upon how serious the threat is to the U.S. homeland more so than to U.S. citizens who want to travel to or live in the Middle East. It also depends on our humanitarian principles.</p> <p>There are continuing revolts or terrorist campaigns throughout Africa that do not appear to be of nearly the same concern to the U.S. Is it because they are not quite as brutal or because they are &#8220;local&#8221; without any perceived threat to the United States at the moment? Similarly, North Korea has essentially the same brutal attitude toward its citizens and others, yet there is little talk about invading that country. Why? Fear of China?</p> <p>Perhaps it all comes down to oil? We seem to want to send in the troops if our oil or other essential supplies are threatened, but not otherwise. Afghanistan is not the exception, with extensive deposits of oil and gas, rare earth minerals essential for many electronics, etc.</p> <p>The final consideration should be whether we, as a nation, really think, given centuries of history in that region, that any action we take will be welcomed and will stabilize it. It appears ISIS is just a continuation of religious and tribal hatreds that have flared up many, many times in the past, and we are no more able to stop it altogether than we ever have been.</p> <p>CHRISTOPHER M. TIMM</p> <p>Albuquerque</p> <p /> <p>Wolves a key part of healthy ecosystem</p> <p>CONCERNING MARITA Noon&#8217;s op-ed in the Journal (&#8220;Wolf plan endangers children and our animals,&#8221; Aug. 20), I must counter with a few facts. All of New Mexico was once wolf habitat; as a result, we had a healthier environment. Wolves are an integral part of a healthy land. Every independent scientific study of predator control programs in the past century has found them inefficient, costly and ecologically unsound.</p> <p>If you kill predators, other predators will move into their territory to reap the benefit of explosions of prey species populations. Five jack rabbits will eat as much forage as a sheep; 10 will eat as much as a cow. Killing coyotes and wolves simply reduces grazing for livestock and wildlife.</p> <p>When top predators were eliminated from the Southwest a century ago, deer began starving to death at the rate of 70 per square mile &#8211; after they had eaten all the vegetation they could reach. When will ranchers begin to see the facts of a healthy ecosystem? The wolf belongs &#8211; as has been proven time and again, most recently in Yellowstone National Park, where riparian habitat has improved, biodiversity thrives, and even the streams have benefitted.</p> <p>VERNE HUSER</p> <p>Albuquerque</p> <p /> <p>Local officers do deputy, citizens proud</p> <p>SANDOVAL COUNTY, Albuquerque and Rio Rancho citizens should be proud of the officers that protect this community and the way in which they handle themselves when honoring their fellow officer in death.</p> <p>I witnessed today (Aug. 25) one of the most awe-inspiring acts of love and honor toward Deputy Shannon Key&#8217;s life and memory that I have ever seen. The fire departments of Albuquerque and Sandoval County also displayed themselves very professionally as they placed the American flag between the ladder trucks at the church service and at the grave site.</p> <p>The streets and even Interstate 40 were shut down so that the funeral procession could drive Downtown past the police department and then on to the cemetery. Officers stood blocking streets, many of them standing and saluting as we all drove by.</p> <p>As we drove into the cemetery, veterans were lined up, the K-9 units were there with their dogs, and even a group of mounted patrol officers on horses. As we got to the gravesite, bagpipes played, with a 21-gun salute (and) flag folding, followed by a police helicopter flyover.</p> <p>Near the end, the sheriff gave the family five flags and a heartwarming encouragement and told them he was proud to know their family. Finally, all of the police officers lined up, placing their white gloves on the casket, and then salut(ed Key) one final time. The display and respect given to their fellow officer&#8217;s family was heartwarming during a very heartbreaking situation.</p> <p>Policemen and women are not only people who protect us day and night, they are people with hearts that hurt for their fellow man, whether in the streets or serving beside them. We should do our duty to thank them when we see them, because fighting crime daily wears on the heart and the spirit.</p> <p>Despite the public&#8217;s opinion of these men and women of law enforcement, they are fellow citizens we should respect. Today I believe they have done a service to their community and state that will touch the lives of the Key family and their friends for years to come.</p> <p>Thank you Bernalillo County Sheriff&#8217;s Office, Albuquerque Police Department, and Rio Rancho Police Department for the love you have shown toward Deputy Shannon Key!</p> <p>ERICA ILLSLEY</p> <p>Albuquerque</p>

Talk of the town

https://abqjournal.com/455449/talk-of-the-town-140.html

2014-09-02

<p>FLORHAM PARK, N.J. &#8212; <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New-York-Jets/" type="external">New York Jets</a> head coach <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Todd-Bowles/" type="external">Todd Bowles</a> is notorious as a man of few words, but he didn&#8217;t need to say much to convey his message to players when OTAs ended June 15.</p> <p>&#8220;We got a lot of work done, but we have a lot of work to do when we get back,&#8221; Bowles said.</p> <p>Boy, do they ever.</p> <p>The Jets will convene for training camp on July 28 with a roster almost universally regarded as one of the three worst in the league. For the first time under owner <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Woody_Johnson/" type="external">Woody Johnson</a>, the Jets &#8211; with no quarterback, a barren wide receiver corps and a rebuilt offensive line and secondary &#8211; begin a season in full-on rebuilding mode and with no delusions of grandeur about competing for the franchise&#8217;s first championship in 49 seasons.</p> <p>Instead, the Jets are widely expected to vie, along with the tanking <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/San-Francisco-49ers/" type="external">San Francisco 49ers</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Cleveland-Browns/" type="external">Cleveland Browns</a>, for the top pick in the 2018 draft, when several franchise-caliber quarterbacks are expected to be available in the first round.</p> <p>Of course, Bowles can&#8217;t say that, and nor can he coach the season with 2018 in mind &#8211; especially when he&#8217;s on the hot seat following a 5-11 campaign in which he seemed to lose control of the locker room. Instead, he&#8217;ll attempt to do the impossible: Turn a ragtag bunch into a cohesive unit that has every right to declare it&#8217;s going to try and shock the world.</p> <p>&#8220;My expectations are high and the team&#8217;s expectations are high and that&#8217;s really all that counts,&#8221; Bowles said.</p> <p>&#8220;I&#8217;m trying to get to the playoffs and win a Super Bowl. It&#8217;s no different than any other year.&#8221;</p> <p>TOP THREE TRAINING CAMP GOALS</p> <p>&#8211;Find a quarterback. Whomever wins the quarterback competition will be an underwhelming choice, but the identity of the victor will be telling. If it&#8217;s <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Josh_McCown/" type="external">Josh McCown</a>, it means the Jets will want to maintain a veneer of competitiveness in the early going, as well as that Christian Hackenberg remains incapable of starting for an NFL team. A victory by Hackenberg won&#8217;t mean he&#8217;s suddenly competent &#8211; that sub-50 percent completion percentage in the PRESEASON last year is hard to forget &#8211; but will indicate the Jets see a longer-term upside in taking their beatings and getting a higher 2018 draft pick than by pretending there&#8217;s a chance they can compete this season.</p> <p>&#8211;Build positive chemistry. The Jets went 5-11 last year because most of their older good players got old and not so good in a hurry. But a toxic locker room culture and the perpetual distraction created by <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ryan_Fitzpatrick/" type="external">Ryan Fitzpatrick</a>&#8216;s bizarre offseason-long holdout didn&#8217;t help. Now, with the locker room free of older underachievers as well as the divisive presence of <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Brandon_Marshall/" type="external">Brandon Marshall</a>, head coach Todd Bowles can go about building a &#8220;why not us?&#8221; culture with the young and overlooked players that will comprise the 2017 squad.</p> <p>&#8211;Develop the offensive line: If the Jets are going to be better than awful this year, they&#8217;ll need a mostly new offensive line to protect the quarterback, whomever he is, and open some holes for running backs <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Matt_Forte/" type="external">Matt Forte</a> and <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Bilal-Powell/" type="external">Bilal Powell</a>. The quintet of C <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Wesley_Johnson/" type="external">Wesley Johnson</a>, RG Brian Winters, LG James Carpenter, LT <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Kelvin-Beachum/" type="external">Kelvin Beachum</a> and RT Ben Ijalana has never played a single down together, so expect to see the first-team line plenty during exhibition play.</p> <p>PROJECTED CAMP DEPTH CHART</p> <p>QUARTERBACKS: Starter &#8211; Josh McCown. Backups &#8211; Christian Hackenberg, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Bryce-Petty/" type="external">Bryce Petty</a>.</p> <p>RUNNING BACKS: Starter &#8211; Matt Forte. Backups &#8211; Bilal Powell, Elijah McGuire, Brandon Wilds, Jordan Todman, Romar Morris, FB Julian Howsare, FB Anthony Firkser.</p> <p>TIGHT ENDS: Starter &#8211; <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Austin-Seferian-Jenkins/" type="external">Austin Seferian-Jenkins</a>. Backups -Jordan Leggett, Eric Tomlinson, Brian Parker, Jason Vander Laan.</p> <p>WIDE RECEIVERS: Starters &#8211; Quincy Enunwa, Robby Anderson, ArDarius Stewart. Backups &#8211; Marquess Wilson, Charone Peake, Chad Hansen, Myles White, Jalin Marshall, Devin Street, Frankie Hammond, Deshon Foxx, Chris Harper, Gabe Marks, KD Cannon.</p> <p>OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters &#8211; C Wesley Johnson, RG Brian Winters, LG James Carpenter, LT Kelvin Beachum, RT Ben Ijalana. Backups &#8211; G/C Dakota Dozier, T Brandon Shell, T Brent Qvale, G Craig Watts, OL Alex Balducci, OL Chris Bordelon, OL Ben Braden, OL Jonotthan Harrison, T Jeff Adams, T Javarius Leamon.</p> <p>DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Starters &#8212; DE <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Muhammad-Wilkerson/" type="external">Muhammad Wilkerson</a>, NT Steve McLendon, DE <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Sheldon-Richardson/" type="external">Sheldon Richardson</a>, DE Leonard Williams. Backups &#8211; NT Deon Simon, DL Lawrence Thomas, <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Anthony_Johnson/" type="external">Anthony Johnson</a>, DL Mike Pennel, DL Brandin Bryant, DL Patrick Gamble, DL Claude Peron.</p> <p>LINEBACKERS: Starters &#8211; ILB Demario Davis, ILB Darren Lee, OLB Lorenzo Mauldin, OLB Jordan Jenkins. Backups &#8211; LB Freddie Bishop, LB Bruce Carter, LB Corey Lemonier, LB Josh Martin, LB Julian Stanford, LB Frank Beltre, LB Dylan Donahue, LB Connor Harris, LB <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Spencer-Paysinger/" type="external">Spencer Paysinger</a>.</p> <p>DEFENSIVE BACKS: Starters &#8211; CB <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Morris-Claiborne/" type="external">Morris Claiborne</a>, CB Buster Skrine, FS Marcus Maye, SS <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Jamal-Adams/" type="external">Jamal Adams</a>. Backups &#8211; CB <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Marcus_Williams/" type="external">Marcus Williams</a>, CB Juston Burris, CB Dexter McDougle, CB <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Darryl_Roberts/" type="external">Darryl Roberts</a>, CB Jeremy Clark, CB Xavier Coleman, CB Derrick Jones, CB Bryson Keeton, DB Corey White, S Rontez Miles, S Doug Middleton, S Ronald Martin, S Shamarko Thomas.</p> <p>SPECIAL TEAMS: K <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Chandler-Catanzaro/" type="external">Chandler Catanzaro</a>, K Ross Martin, P Lachlan Edwards, KR/PR ArDarius Stewart, KR/PR Jalin Marshall, LS Tanner Purdum.</p>

New York Jets among favorites — to win top draft pick

https://newsline.com/new-york-jets-among-favorites-to-win-top-draft-pick/

2017-07-20

<p>Conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt called on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speak Paul Ryan to put together a deal with Democrats on a healthcare bill.</p> <p>Hewitt made his comments in a column in <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-ryan-and-mcconnell-should-go-for-a-big-deal-with-democrats/2017/07/18/57908b7a-6c0d-11e7-9c15-177740635e83_story.html?utm_term=.431bf8b1c52e" type="external">The Washington Post.</a></p> <p>&#8220;They (McConnell and Ryan) and their lieutenants could decide to pivot from healthcare to racking up small victories and awaiting reinforcements from the 2018 elections,&#8221; Hewitt wrote. &#8220;Or they could go for a big deal with Democrats. It&#8217;s a tough choice for [Speaker Paul] Ryan and [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell, but I&#8217;m hoping they opt for the latter.&#8221;</p> <p>And he added: &#8220;The GOP Congress has failed. Unless there&#8217;s a Lazarus-like resurrection of the health-care bill, the session is effectively over.&#8221;</p> <p>Hewitt maintained a bipartisan effort is the best available option.</p> <p>&#8220;The alternative to waiting for 2019 is a bipartisan approach &#8212; if Democrats will have it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;A healthcare deal could be done, leaving the fringes of both party caucuses on the outside looking in. Devolution of authority over Medicaid to the states, and repeal of the insurance mandate and absurd taxes such as the medical device tax, are the GOP must-haves. The Democrats will have their list.</p> <p>&#8220;Odds of success increase if the parties go big at the start by removing the sequester&#8217;s limits on defense spending and adding immigration reform to the deal: appropriations for President [Donald] Trump&#8217;s wall paired with legalization of the law-abiding, undocumented population, but no path to citizenship.&#8221;</p> <p>And he maintained congressional leaders from both parties should get together with &#8220;a half-dozen of the smartest members from both parties to work on an expedited basis and go big.&#8221;</p> <p>Hewitt noted both parties have concerns looking ahead to 2018.</p> <p>&#8220;If Republicans score enough small victories between now and November 2018 &#8212; cutting corporate taxes and confirming all Court of Appeals judges and perhaps next summer another member of the Supreme Court &#8212; it may be possible to hold both houses of Congress&#8221; he said. &#8220;Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., is a dead man walking for his role in pulling the first thread that led to the unraveling of &#8216;repeal and replace'&#8221; Obamacare.</p> <p>&#8220;The GOP lacks policy victories, thanks to imprudent Freedom Caucus members and scared moderates,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The Democrats are lost in Trump hatred to the point where a large part of the country thinks that they and the mainstream media are deranged.&#8221;</p> <p>And he claimed citizens are giving up on representative government.</p> <p>&#8220;So why not swing for the fences?&#8221; he said.</p>

Hugh Hewitt: GOP Should Work With Dems on Healthcare Bill

https://newsline.com/hugh-hewitt-gop-should-work-with-dems-on-healthcare-bill/

2017-07-19

<p /> <p /> <p>Looking for buds? U.S. marketer of Corona is diving deep into the marijuana business. The Mexican beer is renowned for its "Find Your Beach" tagline, it's Constellation Brands, which also markets wine and spirits brands, has taken a 9.9% stake in a Canadian marijuana company called Canopy Growth Corp.</p> <p>The marketer has agreed to take a 9.9 percent stake in Canopy Growth, a Canadian marijuana company, and it plans to work with the grower to develop and market cannabis-infused beverages.</p> <p>The market valuation of Canopy Growth stands at $C2.2 billion ($2.2bn) on the Toronto Stock Exchange, this comes from the fact that it's the world's largest publicly traded cannabis company. Constellation will have a strong hold on the industry that the brewer expects to be soon legalized in the U.S.</p> <p>"We think that it's highly likely, given what's happened at the state level," Rob Sands, chief executive of the Victor, New York-based beer, wine, and spirits company, said in an interview. "We're obviously trying to get first-mover advantage."</p> <p>Constellation posted a 13 percent increase in beer sales in its latest quarter and it's still interested in developing drinkable cannabis products that don't contain alcohol. The products that are currently in the market include buzz-inducing sodas, fruit elixirs, and coffees.</p> <p>According to Independent research firm Euromonitor International, the legal marijuana market in 2018 will be $US7.5bn ($9.8bn) in Canada and $US10.2bn in the US.</p> <p>There has been an ongoing debate amongst US beer-industry executives as to whether legalized marijuana could cannibalize sales of beer, even as other consumers migrate from beer to wine and spirits. Some brewers have experimented with cannabis-infused beers, not containing THC but instead a marijuana flavor.</p> <p>"Wine and spirits are not sitting still, and marijuana is being legalized in many states," Heineken USA chief executive Ronald den Elzen said at a beer wholesalers conference earlier this month. "We have to act now, and we have to do it together."</p> <p>Mr. Sands made a statement saying that he doesn't see pot as a threat to booze. However, if a consumer is going to choose a can of beer, a glass of wine, a shot of liquor or a weed-laced elixir, he wants to be able to offer all four.</p> <p /> <p>Source: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-brewer-makes-a-play-for-marijuana-beverages-1509300002" type="external">wsj.com/articles/big-brewer-makes-a-play-for-marijuana-beverages-1509300002</a></p>

"Marijuana Beer" Attracts Beverage Firms: Corona Beer Chasing the New Buzz

http://thegoldwater.com/news/10648-Marijuana-Beer-Attracts-Beverage-Firms-Corona-Beer-Chasing-the-New-Buzz

2017-10-30

<p>(Reuters) &#8211; Jelena Ostapenko overcame a sluggish start to stun world number one Garbine Muguruza in the quarter-finals of the Wuhan Open on Thursday and the Latvian suggested she plays more confidently with less time to prepare.</p> <p>The French Open champion, who won the Korea Open title in Seoul last week, rallied from a set down to beat the Spaniard 1-6 6-3 6-2 and set up a last-four encounter against in-form Australian Ashleigh Barty.</p> <p>By registering her first win over the Wimbledon champion, Ostapenko moved a step closer to her third title of the year and the 20-year-old eighth seed felt that playing in back-to-back tournaments had brought out the best in her.</p> <p>&#8220;Sometimes it&#8217;s actually even better when you don&#8217;t have that much time to prepare,&#8221; she told the WTA website (wtatennis.com) after her victory over the top seed.</p> <p>&#8220;Sometimes you come so many days before, you get prepared really well for the tournament, you go out and lose first round,&#8221; she added.</p> <p>&#8220;When you come from another tournament, especially I won the tournament, I&#8217;m more confident.</p> <p>&#8220;I just came from there. First match I was, &#8216;Okay, how I&#8217;m going to do? Just my best. What happens, that happens.&#8217; Then I won, and now I&#8217;m in the semi-final.&#8221;</p> <p>Muguruza, who took a medical timeout before the final set to treat a thigh injury, said she was undone by Ostapenko&#8217;s all-out attacking game.</p> <p>&#8220;I think she played very aggressively,&#8221; Muguruza said. &#8220;She had a lot of good shots, especially in the right moments I think she picked the good ones and went for it,&#8221; she added.</p> <p>Ostapenko also expects a tough fight from Barty, who upset former world number one Karolina Pliskova 4-6 7-6(3) 7-6(2) in another last-eight clash.</p> <p>&#8220;I played against her this year in Rome,&#8221; Ostapenko said. &#8220;I think she&#8217;s a great player. Still young. Yeah, hopefully if I can show my best we&#8217;ll have a good match.&#8221;</p> <p>In the other semi-final encounter on Friday, Greece&#8217;s Maria Sakkari takes on Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia.</p> <p /> <p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p>

Ostapenko finds busy schedule to her liking after Wuhan win

https://newsline.com/ostapenko-finds-busy-schedule-to-her-liking-after-wuhan-win/

2017-09-29

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>A court-ordered January DNA test indicates conclusively that Jerry Padilla is not the late Johnny Tapia&#8217;s biological father, according to a copy of the test results obtained by the Journal.</p> <p>Padilla was introduced as the five-time world champion&#8217;s long-lost father in 2010 on the strength of a DNA test that reflected a 99.997-percent probability of paternity. But in 2014, Teresa Tapia, the fighter&#8217;s widow, called the 2010 test tainted and submitted to the news media a DNA test that indicated Johnny Tapia and Jeffrey Padilla, Jerry Padilla&#8217;s oldest son, could not have had the same father.</p> <p>Teresa Tapia was married to Jeffrey Padilla in 2014. They later divorced.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>The January DNA test was ordered by State District Judge Clay Campbell in connection with a civil suit filed in 2015 by Teresa Tapia against Padilla.</p> <p>Through his attorney, Pete Domenici Jr., Padilla issued the following statement:</p> <p>&#8220;I have been told &#8230; that there are inconsistent DNA results in regards to my being Johnny Tapia&#8217;s father. I cannot comment on this until the results are verified and examined by a third party.</p> <p>&#8220;This matter is far from over. My relationship with Johnny Tapia, as his father, will never change, or be taken away.&#8221;</p> <p>Whether Padilla actually was Johnny Tapia&#8217;s father was initially tangential to the lawsuit. Teresa Tapia claimed Padilla was attempting to profit from use of the boxer&#8217;s name and image without her permission as sole representative of her late husband&#8217;s estate and sole owner of Johnny Tapia Presents LLC. Teresa Tapia asked for an injunction and $25,000 in damages.</p> <p>Padilla later filed a countersuit, claiming Teresa Tapia had falsified the 2014 DNA test and that her contention that he was not Johnny Tapia&#8217;s father had caused him humiliation and lost business opportunities. He asked for $50,000 in damages.</p> <p>In December 2015, Angelo Artuso, Teresa Tapia&#8217;s attorney, filed a motion requesting that Padilla be required to submit to DNA testing. Jeffrey Squires, Padilla&#8217;s attorney at the time, argued that the 2010 DNA test was valid and conclusive and that Padilla should not be required to submit another sample. Moreover, Squires said, whether Padilla was actually Johnny Tapia&#8217;s father remained irrelevant to the lawsuit.</p> <p>In May 2016, Campbell ruled in Teresa Tapia&#8217;s favor and ordered Padilla to submit to a blood test. Campbell ordered that a reliable sample of Johnny Tapia&#8217;s DNA be acquired from the Office of the Medical Investigator. Johnny Tapia died from heart disease in May 2012.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>On Jan. 4, Padilla had blood drawn at Mobile Medical Associates, 401 Alvarado SE in Albuquerque.</p> <p>&#8220;I was there at the testing facility when he went in and stayed there until he was done,&#8221; Artuso told the Journal. &#8220;I saw the FedEx envelope that they put the test sample in to mail off to the testing lab.&#8221;</p> <p>The results of the test, conducted by Independent Forensics DNA Testing &amp;amp; Technologies of Lombard, Ill., are the following:</p> <p>&#8220;Jerry L. Padilla is excluded as the father of Johnny Tapia.&#8221;</p> <p>In November 2016, Teresa Tapia filed an amendment to the lawsuit, claiming that Padilla had forged the 2010 DNA test document that indicated he was Johnny Tapia&#8217;s father.</p> <p>Padilla denied the allegation, continuing to claim it was Teresa Tapia who falsified the 2014 DNA test.</p> <p>Artuso has not yet filed the new test results with the court.</p> <p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll attach it as an exhibit to a motion when we&#8217;re ready to ask the court to make some rulings as a result of those test results,&#8221; he said.</p> <p>As for the lawsuit itself, a jury trial has been scheduled for Dec. 4.</p> <p>Johnny Tapia, a two-time Golden Gloves national amateur champion as a teenager, compiled a 59-5-2 professional record. He won his five world titles in three classes.</p> <p>Tapia struggled with a cocaine habit throughout his adult life and spent time in jail. Yet, after his death, some 7,000 people attended a memorial service at the Pit.</p> <p>Jerry Padilla is a three-time convicted heroin dealer. He was released from federal prison in 1994.</p> <p>Teresa Tapia, the former Teresa Chavez, married Johnny Tapia in 1993. She later became his manager. Since his death, she has been married briefly to actor-singer Darius McCrary, to Jeffrey Padilla and to former Albuquerque boxer Archie Ray Marquez.</p> <p>Marquez is being held at Clark County (Nev.) Jail on $500,000 bail. He is awaiting trial on multiple charges of domestic battery and sexual assault.</p> <p>On a copy of the criminal complaint from the Henderson, Nev., Police Department obtained by the Journal, the name of the alleged victim has been redacted.</p>

DNA test results rule out Padilla as father of late boxer Tapia

https://abqjournal.com/961077/961077.html

<p /> <p>Karl Rove needs to work on his reading comprehension skills. I can say so because he&#8217;s been disingenuously citing me.</p> <p>During the past week, the Bush-guru-turned-Newsweek-columnist has been on the defensive regarding the claim he made during a <a href="http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/11/21/1/a-conversation-with-karl-rove" type="external">Charlie Rose interview</a> that the Bush White House &#8220;was opposed to voting on&#8221; the Iraq war resolution right before the 2002 congressional elections. He insisted, &#8220;We didn&#8217;t think it belonged within the confines of the election.&#8221; Asserting that &#8220;we thought it made [the vote] too political,&#8221; Rove said that it was the congressional Democrats who pressed for the vote in the middle of the political season.</p> <p>As Michael Isikoff and I reported in our book, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Hubris-Inside-Story-Scandal-Selling/dp/030734682X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;amp;s=books&amp;amp;qid=1196699131&amp;amp;sr=1-2" type="external">Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War</a>, President George W. Bush met at the White House with congressional leaders on September 4 and told them he wanted a quick vote on a resolution that would grant him the authority to use military action against Saddam Hussein. Bush insisted he wanted this vote within six weeks. Senator Tom Daschle, then the majority leader of the Senate, wondered why the rush? He suspected that Rove was orchestrating a fast vote to put the Democrats on the spot right before the mid-term election. In fact, a day earlier, Daschle had been in a smaller meeting with Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. During that get-together, he had asked Bush, wouldn&#8217;t it be better to postpone the vote until after the election and take politics out of the debate? Bush turned toward Cheney, who shot the president a look that Daschle later described as a &#8220;half smile.&#8221; Then Bush told Daschle, &#8220;We just have to do it now.&#8221;</p> <p>Rove now says none of that happened and he will explain all (of course) in a book yet to be written. But not only Daschle <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2005/11/28/daschle-depoliticize/" type="external">has challenged</a> Rove&#8217;s account. Former White House chief of staff Andy Card <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/2007/11/30/card-discredits-rove/" type="external">did the same</a>, quipping, &#8220;Sometimes [Rove&#8217;s] mouth gets ahead of his brain.&#8221; And former White House press secretary Ari Fleishcer also <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/30/AR2007113002256.html" type="external">chimed in</a>, saying, &#8220;It was definitely the Bush administration that set it in motion and determined the timing, not the Congress. I think Karl in this instance just has his facts wrong.&#8221;</p> <p>Despite all this, Rove has stuck with his story and has gone so far as to cite me. I&#8217;ve been reliably informed that Rove has been pointing to an article I posted on September 25, 2002, to defend his remarks. In that piece, <a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/capitalgames?pid=108" type="external">&#8220;Democrats Whine About War Debate&#8221;</a>, I did write that House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt and Daschle were &#8220;pushing for a fast vote on Bush&#8217;s war resolution in order to have a chance to address other subjects prior to the November 5 congressional elections.&#8221; But the article made clear that Bush (and Rove) had pushed them into the corner with a demand for a fast, pre-election vote.</p> <p>The article cited examples of how the Bush gang, in the run-up to the election, was politicizing the war vote:</p> <p /> <p>Days ago, Vice President Dick Cheney attended a fundraiser in Kansas for Republican congressional hopeful Adam Taff, who is running against Democratic incumbent Dennis Moore, and he proclaimed that electing Taff would aid the administration&#8217;s war effort. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat, quickly protested. &#8220;I was chagrined,&#8221; he said, that Cheney would tell people to vote for a Republican because he was a war supporter. &#8220;If that doesn&#8217;t politicize the war,&#8221; Daschle added, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know what does.&#8221; And when GOP chairman Mark Racicot observed that a vote against the war &#8220;could be fair game in the closing days of the campaign,&#8221; Democratic National Committee spokesperson Jennifer Palmieri griped, &#8220;He&#8217;s making a veiled threat, outlining how Republicans would use the Iraq vote against Democrats.&#8221;</p> <p>Another excerpt:</p> <p /> <p>Bush might have (or probably, or definitely) pushed his war against Iraq during election time for crass political reasons&#8211;to squash debate and discussion of economic and health-related issues that tend to benefit Democrats.</p> <p>The piece noted:</p> <p>The Democrats&#8217; problem is that, for the most part, they are unable or unwilling to politicize Bush&#8217;s rush to war, for that would entail fiercely challenging Bush&#8217;s demand for the authority to use force against Iraq&#8211;which is not the Democratic position.</p> <p>A clear&#8211;and honest&#8211;reading of the article is that the Democrats, facing a strong and political push from the White House, were caving and looking to do so ASAP. For Rove to cite this article to defend his self-serving revisionism is an indication he&#8217;s not too careful when it comes to facts. His editors at Newsweek should take note.</p> <p />

Karl Rove, Don’t Spin My Work for Your Historical Revisionism

https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/12/karl-rove-dont-spin-my-work-your-historical-revisionism/

2007-12-03

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>Rather than bury or deny the possibility, Wrinkle, who lives outside Santa Fe, started a unflinching journey to discover the truth.</p> <p>She never found the proof she sought, except for a three-line quote from a former slave describing a tall, isolated and difficult man who was sent away for the weekend.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>&#8220;Nine months later, all these babies were born,&#8221; Wrinkle said.</p> <p>Then she discovered an interview with a former slave describing a man forced to work as what he called &#8220;a traveling Negro.&#8221;</p> <p>Most historians deny slave breeding existed; many African-Americans insist it did, as evidenced in their own oral histories. Wrinkle knows of no other book focused on the topic. Her debut novel, &#8220;Wash&#8221; ($25, Atlantic Monthly Press), is the result. Its release coincides with the 50th anniversary of the civil rights movement and the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation.</p> <p>Already hailed by Publisher&#8217;s Weekly, Kirkus Review and Vanity Fair, the book opens with the voice of Richardson, a once-imprisoned Revolutionary War veteran who heads west to Tennessee from Baltimore to escape slavery and mounting debt. But slavery follows him. As Richardson struggles to stay afloat, Wash (short for Washington) emerges as his breeding sire. A young woman named Pallas encourages the dehumanized Wash to find solace in the spirituality and faith inherited from his shamanic African mother. The book shifts from the heart of whiteness to the shimmering spirituality of ancestral Africa and back again in alternating first-person monologues.</p> <p>&#8220;I kept it to myself for a really long time,&#8221; Wrinkle said. &#8220;I was fearful &#8211;&#8211; I knew it was very politically incorrect to write in Wash&#8217;s voice. But it just came.&#8221;</p> <p>To Wrinkle, the journey to the subject of slavery was a natural arc from her award-winning documentary &#8220;Broken/Ground,&#8221; about the racial divide in her historically conflicted hometown of Birmingham, Ala. Frustrated by the number of stories she believed had been silenced, she attended some of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission&#8217;s post-apartheid amnesty hearings in South Africa.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>&#8220;Birmingham used to be called the &#8216;Johannesburg of the South&#8217; because it was so segregated,&#8221; Wrinkle said. &#8220;I thought a lot of the misunderstandings were because people hadn&#8217;t heard each other&#8217;s stories. That whole process really profoundly affected me.&#8221;</p> <p>Before becoming a filmmaker, Wrinkle had taught in a racially mixed alternative school in Birmingham in the 1990s. She used painting, photography and video to strengthen the literacy of her students from a large nearby public housing community bearing the lowest income, per zip code, in the nation. Fourteen-year-old African-American boys grew up discovering that others feared them simply because they were black, Wrinkle said, adding that many of the teenage boys she encountered informed her portrayal of Wash.</p> <p>When Wrinkle returned to the States in 1998, she stumbled across the rumor that an ancestor may have bred slaves in the same way they bred livestock. She researched the story for years.</p> <p>&#8220;It points out the limitations of the historical record,&#8221; she said. &#8220;A lot of things written down didn&#8217;t go from the families to the libraries.&#8221;</p> <p>If a family did engage in slave breeding, any written evidence would likely be stashed in an attic, burned or buried, she added.</p> <p>&#8220;It raises questions of proof,&#8221; she continued, &#8220;but reminds me that history is just another story.&#8221;</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>The book &#8220;Weevils in the Wheat,&#8221; containing interviews with former Virginia slaves, is one of the few history books to list slave breeding in its index, she added.</p> <p>The character of Wash germinated in Wrinkle&#8217;s mind after reading that single three-line quote. There were some advantages to his heinous job, she said. &#8220;He got extra food. He got to sit in the shade. (But) nobody liked him.&#8221;</p> <p>The conflicted slave-holding patriarch Richardson, in turn, feels like he has little choice to turn slave breeder, given the economic structures of his time.</p> <p>&#8220;A lot of people paid their debts with slaves, so what do you do?&#8221; Wrinkle asked.</p> <p>&#8220;I had to write (Richardson) with compassion because it would make the story more powerful,&#8221; she said. &#8220;It makes it more tragic.&#8221;</p> <p>The story surfaced in three distinct voices. Giving each character an equal footing becomes transformative, revealing the ways our contemporary racial landscape has been scarred by the past, she added.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Wrinkle scoured the South for more information, traveling among abandoned buildings, old plantations and community libraries. She jigsawed these guideposts into composites for the book. She also took photographs, some of which are reproduced in &#8220;Wash.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;The barn is from a place in North Carolina,&#8221; she said, &#8220;and the house is from a place in Tennessee.&#8221;</p> <p>Most white Southerners tend to either demonize or lionize their ancestors, Wrinkle added.</p> <p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t want to live like that,&#8221; she said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t feel responsible, and I don&#8217;t feel guilty. It was just what happened.&#8221;</p> <p>A recent reading and photo exhibit in Birmingham drew a racially mixed crowd of 380, Wrinkle said. &#8220;This is hard. Nobody&#8217;s supposed to talk about it. If Wash lived it, the least we can do is talk about it. It is a haunting.&#8221;</p>

Whispers Become Novel

https://abqjournal.com/166126/whispers-become-novel.html

2013-02-05

<p>Nine years ago, Christopher Mirasolo, 27, raped a woman. She got pregnant as a result of the alleged crime. Now, Mirasolo&#8212;a convicted rapist&#8212;has been&amp;#160; <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/06/rape-victim-attacker-joint-child-custody/106374256/" type="external">awarded joint legal custody of the child</a>&amp;#160;by Detroit Judge Gregory S. Ross following a DNA paternity test which showed him to be the child&#8217;s father.</p> <p>Yes, you read that correctly. The man who made a child through rape, was convicted of rape, and served time for rape, will now be granted joint custody of the child born from rape.</p> <p>The victim&#8217;s attorney, Rebecca Kiessling, is now asking for special protection afforded to her client under the federal&amp;#160; <a href="https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Politics/2015/0604/With-new-US-law-more-funding-to-protect-women-who-have-children-after-rape" type="external">Rape Survivor Child Custody Act</a>. The Act, which President Obama signed the Rape Survivor Child Custody Act into law on May 29, 2015, terminates the parental rights of any parent who raped the opposite sex. The decision to terminate the parental rights must be based on clear and convincing evidence that the resulting child was conceived through rape.</p> <p>Kiessling filed objections last Friday against Ross&#8217; decision to award custody to the parent who&#8217;s believed to have raped the lady whose identity must be kept confidential because of the nature of the crime. Kiessling remarked:</p> <p>This is insane&#8230;Nothing has been right about this since it was originally investigated. He was never properly charged and should still be sitting behind bars somewhere, but the system is victimizing my client, who was a child herself when this all happened.</p> <p>So apparently angered by Ross&#8217; decision, the rape victim&#8217;s attorney continued by accusing the court of implementing deception to make the ruling.</p> <p>An assistant prosecutor on this, Eric Scott, told me she had granted her consent, which was a lie &#8212; she has never been asked to do this and certainly never signed anything</p> <p>In granting parental rights to Mirasolo, Ross has prevented the woman from fleeing the presence of her alleged attacker. In other words, the rape victim now has to be within driving distance of her rapist at all times. And in a bizarre and some would say ironic turn of events,&amp;#160;the rape victim may, in fact, go to jail if she does not comply with the court&#8217;s demands.</p> <p>Kiessling remarked that her client is,&amp;#160;&#8220;not allowed to move 100 miles from where she had been living when the case was filed, without court consent.&#8221; If she does not comply with the order, she can be locked up. &#8220;So the prosecutor told her she had to come home immediately or she would be held in contempt of court,&#8221; the rape victim&#8217;s lawyer said.</p> <p>For anyone who may be wondering about the details of the alleged rape, the lawyer provided a glimpse into the kind of horrific and violent torture the rape victim allegedly endured. She said Mirasolo raped her client when her client was just 12 and the man was 18. She described the incident in detail.</p> <p>She, her 13-year-old sister and a friend all slipped out of their house one night to meet a boy and the boy&#8217;s older friend, Mirasolo, showed up and asked if they wanted to go for a ride&#8230;They thought they were going to McDonald&#8217;s or somewhere&#8230;Instead, he tossed their cellphones away, drove to Detroit where he stole gas from a station and then drove back to Sanilac County, where he kept them captive for two days in a vacant house near a relative, finally releasing the older sister in a park. He threatened to kill them if they told anyone what happened.</p> <p>Instead of prosecuting Mirasolo to the fullest extent of the law, he was offered a plea deal for being a first-time offender and was back on the streets after less than 7 months in jail. He went on to commit another rape on a young teenager in 2010 and served only four years for the second rape. Now, Judge Ross has given him parental rights to his first victim.</p> <p>Barbara Yockey, Mirasolo&#8217;s attorney did not indicate her client had any intention of being a parent to the child who happens to be the product of a reportedly brutal rape. Yockey said the paternity test and subsequent custody proceedings were initiated after the other parent applied for state services.</p> <p>Chris was notified of the paternity matter and an order of filiation was issued last month by the court saying he had joint legal custody and reasonable visitation privileges&#8230;He never initiated this. It was something routinely done by the prosecutor&#8217;s office when a party makes application for state assistance.</p> <p>The Detroit News also spoke with the mother. She, too, was unaware of the court&#8217;s proceedings. She said;</p> <p>I think this is all crazy&#8230;They (officials) never explained anything to me. I was receiving about $260 a month in food stamps for me and my son and health insurance for him. I guess they were trying to see how to get some of the money back.</p> <p>Following the horrific rape, the victim dropped out of school and moved in with relatives in Florida. She went to a government office to change her address and was notified she had a court order demanding her return to Detroit.</p> <p>Part of me didn&#8217;t want to come back home&amp;#160;because I was scared&#8230;I would&#8217;ve got contempt of court if I hadn&#8217;t shown. I would&#8217;ve been thrown in jail.</p> <p>With respect to the rape itself, she said:</p> <p>I didn&#8217;t talk about it, I tried to put it behind me, but that&#8217;s never possible. You never forget what happens.</p> <p>Tiffany, the name she gave to the hosts, which is not her real name, gave her opinion about Ross&#8217; decision to put her rapist&#8217;s name on her son&#8217;s birth certificate.</p> <p>(I&#8217;d been told), he&#8217;d have to fight for any kind of rights&#8230;Then this judge just hands him these rights, like he deserves them.</p> <p>She&#8217;s not alone in her belief that Mirasolo should&amp;#160;be denied parental rights.&amp;#160; <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/09/rapist-child-custody-second-victim-similarities/106482954/" type="external">The convicted rapist&#8217;s second victim</a>&amp;#160;shares her sentiments. She told reporters:</p> <p>When I read&amp;#160; <a href="http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/10/06/rape-victim-attacker-joint-child-custody/106374256/" type="external">the (Detroit News) article</a>, I was disgusted&#8230;I guess there is no way they can do anything to him, because he has already served sentences in both cases. But there is no way he should have custody&#8230;And I don&#8217;t think he should even be allowed around any children without supervision.</p> <p>Yes, America, this is the judicial state of affairs in which many of our residents currently endure. A convicted rapist is given parental rights he didn&#8217;t want, to a woman who didn&#8217;t want him to have any association with her or her child, and who&#8217;d even relocated out of state.</p> <p>The woman was ordered to return to the state where she was raped and forced to live within two hours drive of the perpetrator (100 miles). Worse still, she may actually be forced to confront her attacker when and if he ever wants to spend time with his biological child.</p> <p>Courtesy of <a href="http://thefreethoughtproject.com/court-give-pedophile-rape-custody/" type="external">The Free Thought Project</a></p> <p>Jack Burns is an educator, journalist, investigative reporter, and advocate of natural medicine.</p> <p /> <p />

Michigan Court Grants Parental Rights to Pedophile Who Impregnated 12yo Girl During a Violent Rape

http://dcclothesline.com/2017/10/12/michigan-court-grants-parental-rights-to-pedophile-who-impregnated-12yo-girl-during-a-violent-rape/

<p>"When smart people," Robert Lekachman once said, "say stupid things, the question arises, why is their perception of reality so blurred?" I recalled Lekachman's query when reading a recent New York Times article in which Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs claimed "there are too few sweatshops." And just in case anyone thought he was kidding, Paul Krugman from MIT added that "the overwhelming mainstream view among economists is that the growth of this kind of employment is tremendous good news for the world's poor."</p> <p />

Economists and Sweatshops

https://dissentmagazine.org/article/economists-and-sweatshops

2018-10-02

<p>By Jim Hightower / OtherWords</p> <p>Shutterstock</p> <p>This piece originally ran on <a href="http://otherwords.org/for-profit-colleges-are-scandal-machines/" type="external">OtherWords</a>.</p> <p>The nation's for-profit, private college industry is a study in horror.</p> <p /> <p>Start with the fact that it actually calls itself an "industry." Excuse me, but education is a social investment - not an industrial product.</p> <p>Next, this so-called "private" industry depends almost wholly on government money. It generates practically none of its revenue from the free market. Instead, it cons students into taking expensive government-backed loans to invest in educations that seldom deliver increases in their earning potential.</p> <p>"For-profit" colleges are just that. They maintain that their obligation isn't to serve students or society, but to deliver profits to their corporate shareholders. These things are scandal machines, as proven by the latest for-profit college conglomerate to be exposed as a fraud.</p> <p>Education Management Corporation operates four college systems, offering courses online and in office buildings in 32 states. EDMC gives its recruiters extravagant financial incentives to pressure low-income people into taking-out huge federal education loans in order to pay for courses at the corporation's colleges.</p> <p>EDMC has been sucking up more than a billion dollars a year from these students, who generate some 90 percent of its revenue. But its courses are mediocre to worthless, leaving graduates in unbearable debt and unable to get jobs with salaries high enough to pay off their loans.</p> <p>Bear in mind that this sleazy fraud isn't the work of some fly-by-night hucksters. EDMC is largely owned by Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs.</p> <p>Thanks to some former students and a couple of corporate whistleblowers, EDMC has now been exposed and is <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/16/us/for-profit-college-system-expected-to-pay-millions.html" type="external">paying a price for its extortion</a>. Its stock price has fallen from $22 a share to - get this - 9 cents. And it's also been hit with a $90 million federal penalty for fraud.</p> <p>The whole system of corrupt for-profit colleges ought to be put out of business.</p> <p /> <p>OtherWords columnist Jim Hightower is a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He's also the editor of the populist newsletter, <a href="http://www.hightowerlowdown.org/" type="external">The Hightower Lowdown</a>, and a member of the Public Citizen board.</p>

For-Profit Colleges Are Scandal Machines

https://truthdig.com/articles/for-profit-colleges-are-scandal-machines/

2015-12-30

<p /> <p /> <p /> <p /> HASSAN GHANI, TRNN CORRESPONDENT, RAWALPINDI: We're overlooking Islamabad from the Margalla Hills. It's a beautiful view, especially at night. But see if you can spot what's happening down below. <p /> <p />What you're seeing is the effect of power outages on the city. Sector by sector, the electricity is cut off for an hour at a time, for several hours every day. Pakistan's electricity network is struggling to fulfil the country's power requirements, and it's wreaking havoc with people's lives, destroying jobs and even affecting education. <p /> <p />For those without generators or UPS systems, the high summer temperatures coupled with no power to run fans or air conditioners make it near impossible to sleep at night and difficult to work or study during the day. <p /> <p />To further add insult to injury, as the power outages have grown, electricity bills have also risen sharply over the years, adding further strain to Pakistani household budgets. <p /> <p />Occasionally, the frustration, especially among the impoverished and worst affected, boils over into anger and riots on the streets of Pakistan's cities. This was the city of Faisalabad earlier this month, where furious residents attacked government offices in protest over the situation and were then themselves beaten by the police. <p /> <p />The energy crisis really highlights class divisions in Pakistan. The most affluent areas, like Islamabad, tend to suffer fewer power outages. Here in Rawalpindi, Islamabad's bigger neighbour with many working class areas, the power goes out for around 12 hours a day. But rural areas have it the worst, where the power's off more than it's on, with up to 18 or even 20 hours of load-shedding a day. <p /> <p />This is a printing press in Rawalpindi's Saddar district. Like many small businesses dependent on the mains supply, work comes to a standstill several times a day as the power goes off, the workers left languishing in the heat. <p /> <p />By the time we're ready to start our interview, the power has indeed been cut, to nobody's surprise. For the last few weeks, as the temperature has risen, load-shedding has been even worse than normal here. <p /> <p />M MURSALEN, POLYGON PRINTING PRESS (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): Load-shedding has made life extremely difficult. All printing machinery runs on electricity, so when there's no power, our work suffers a lot. If you have expensive machinery and it isn't working, you're going to suffer losses. It's at the point where we use our savings (to pay workers). God only knows how we're still open. The light is on for 2 or 3 hours, then we suffer without for 3 or 4 hours. We request from the new government that they make load-shedding their first priority. You can see the darkness here in front of you. <p /> <p />GHANI: The power outages have been ongoing for several years, worsening under the last government. They've crippled businesses and industry, particularly those unable to afford to run their own generators. <p /> <p />But there's another destructive consequence to this crisis. This is the University of Management and Technology in Lahore. It boasts more than 6,000 students and an excellent academic record. But here too, life has become an exercise in frustration, as the students find their lessons interrupted and scientific experiments disrupted. <p /> <p />HIRA FAROOQ, LECTURER IN APPLIED PHYSICS, UMT: This happens mostly in the lab, because we have lab for three consecutive hours. Right? And the lab is, like, ongoing throughout, because there are a lot of students, a lot of classes, so a lot of labs going on. So whenever, like, there is a power failure, the students who were already taking the data, they're all lost, because they have to go through the same system again to the forefront, where they started it, and take that data again, because it's, like, consecutive data that is coming, because they have just three hours lab and they have to perform one experiment, and they might be unable to perform that. <p /> <p />Students physically suffer as well, because, you see, when I'm taking a lecture, I suffer myself physically because I'm unable to deliver the lecture with no light or light coming in and out. I have the multimedia on. For one and a half hours, if I teach in a room which is having a temperature of, like, 40, or 41, or 46, like nowadays it's going on, so I will not be able to deliver my lecture with the same energy as I would have with a better environment. Same as with the students. They're going to lack concentration. <p /> <p />GHANI: To help, the University has been working to reduce overall power usage and investing vast sums of money into newer and bigger generators that can match the mains supply. But that's money that would have otherwise gone towards improving educational facilities. <p /> <p />FAROOQ: While the university has to incorporate the research and development scholarships and everything, area like that, their priority would be shifted towards taking control of the electricity and taking control of the energy. When I see the students, they say, this is the thing, how do we study, we don't have light at home, we don't have light over here, so how can we study actually, and they're losing their interest towards studies, because the environment is not friendly at all. So if the environment is not friendly at all, they might be losing more of their interest, and it would be badly, badly affecting our young generation. <p /> <p />GHANI: But of course, it's rural areas that are hit hardest. <p /> <p />This is Maqsood Ilahi, proud grandfather of two. He lives in the village of Sood Gangal, west of Rawalpindi, where the summer temperature sits at around 45&amp;#160;degrees Celsius. He remembers a time when the electricity supply was relatively reliable and the electricity bill reasonable. <p /> <p />MAQSOOD ILAHI, RESIDENT OF SOOD GANGAL (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): There was load-shedding five years ago, but not as much as this. In 24 hours, there was maybe two or three hours of load-shedding. But in those last five years, they've pushed us back into the stone ages. Now it goes for 18 or 20 hours on a daily basis. Neither the children nor the adults can sleep. It's hot during the day and hot at night. You can't relax during the day or at night. In my opinion, these people sitting in Islamabad, under the air conditioning, they only consider themselves human beings, only they are the "public" that deserves facilities. The rest of us in the villages, or the other poor classes, whether in villages or cities, we're just like garbage, just cattle, not human beings; we can just be left like animals. <p /> <p />GHANI: And the chronic energy shortages are not limited solely to electricity. <p /> <p />Many vehicles in Pakistan, especially small ones like this, and public transport like taxis, vans and buses, run on compressed natural gas. It's a much cheaper alternative to petrol. But it too is being rationed. Here in Punjab province, at best, the gas stations are open for three or four days a week, and this is the queue to get in. <p /> <p />This is a quiet period. On Monday mornings, when the gas pressure is first turned on, the queue can stretch for half a mile, leaving drivers standing in line for hours. <p /> <p />The gas shortages also hit domestic supplies, households in rural areas again the worst affected. <p /> <p />Mazhar is a Rawalpindi taxi driver. He doesn't earn particularly much, but he's finding his income being squeezed even further as natural gas is rationed and customers are unhappy about paying more to cover the raised costs of running on petrol. <p /> <p />MAZHAR, RAWALPINDI TAXI DRIVER (SUBTITLED TRANSL.): This time the gas has been closed for a whole week. And this is a real cause of worry for us, and for our customers, for everyone. It especially worries us because this is the only source of income for us and our children. If you look at basic life necessities, the cost of 20&amp;#160;kilograms of flour has gone from 300 to 800 rupees. Oil was 80 rupees per kilogram. It's now 300 rupees. Nothing is cheap anymore. Only humans are still cheap. Nobody drives a taxi by choice, only through necessity. Now it's a become an incredibly difficult job, in fact impossible. If you go back ten years, driving was great work. Now even feeding the kids is difficult. The children don't relax, and we don't relax. Where we used to drive for 4 or 5 hours, we now drive for 16 or 18 hours, and it's still not the same, because the price of everything is so high. <p /> <p />GHANI: It's worth mentioning that in Pakistan vehicles are retrofitted with CNG kits of varying quality, and substandard gas cylinders have led to explosions in the past, with fatal consequences. But its affordability means the working classes have little choice but to use CNG. <p /> <p />So what's going on? Why is Pakistan, a nuclear power that had a surplus of electricity production a decade ago, today unable to fulfil the basic energy needs of its own citizens? Let's start with electricity. <p /> <p />DR. SAMAR MUBARAKMAND, NUCLEAR SCIENTIST AND ENERGY DEVELOPMENT EXPERT: The installed power generation capacity in the country is in excess of 20 thousand megawatts, and the demand is about 16,000 to 17,000 maximum. So if all the installed capacity is in operation, we should be generating more than the required amount of electricity. <p /> <p />GHANI: Dr. Samar Mubarakmand is a well-respected nuclear physicist and energy expert, at one point the head of Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission. He played a leading role in developing Pakistan's nuclear capability. Today, he's working on developing new power projects to secure the country's energy needs in the long term. <p /> <p />He says the failure of previous governments to invest in new energy projects is part of the problem, while existing power plants are not in good health. <p /> <p />On top of that, the government doesn't pay power companies on time, so they don't pay fuel companies on time, who then don't supply enough fuel to run the power plants at full capacity. <p /> <p />MUBARAKMAND: Average power generation cost from our plants, all our sources, is at the moment about 15 cents per unit. The government sells this power to the consumer at ten cents per unit. Now, first problem: there is wastage of electricity down the transmission lines and inefficient transformers, as well as corruption at the collection end, the revenue collection end, where people do not pay their bills, big industrialists avoid paying their bills. People sitting in parliament have large land estates, they don't pay their bills on their tube-wells and their industrial meters, and so on. So this loss of recovery of revenue amounts to about 45&amp;#160;percent. So out of the ten cents per unit, the government only gets five and a half cents. <p /> <p />So when this huge gap per unit is being suffered as a loss by the government, this mounts the circular debt issue very rapidly. <p /> <p />GHANI: Pakistan's circular debt for energy production has now reached $5&amp;#160;billion. The new government came to power promising to resolve the energy crisis and is acutely aware of the public's expectations. It's now announced plans to clear the debt within the next two months. But that alone will not be enough. <p /> <p />MUBARAKMAND: If the government clears their past debt now as they say they will do it within 60 days or so on, the new debt will again pile up. So first of all they have to pull up their socks on the administrative side and recover the full cost of electricity which the people are billed. That is an administrative issue. But secondly, the power generation cost has to come down, from 15 cents to ten cents, or even lower, so that government can make a little profit on the power they sell. <p /> <p />GHANI: But with the cost of electricity now so high, how can the price be brought down to a level that Pakistan's working classes can afford? <p /> <p />MUBARAKMAND: In future we don't want to use furnace oil, which has become very costly, and use coal instead of furnace oil for power generation, because we have our own coal in Thar, which will be mined shortly, and which will be available in three to four years' time. But in the meantime, if we immediately replace those boilers with coal-fired boilers and we import coal and we use imported coal on those boilers up to the time till our own coal from Thar is made available, then we can have about an additional 6,000 to 7,000 megawatts right away, within a period of about two and a half years. <p /> <p />The most important source of renewable energy which I can think of in Pakistan is that the water is coming down from the rivers, down the rivers from a height of something like 6,000 metres to sea-level, and this tremendous source of potential energy, as in physics we call it, is available to us for exploitation which we have not yet exploited. Of course, it's true that we have built very large dams, like the Mangla Dam and the Tarbela Dam, and each of these dams take ten years to build, and the feasibility is five years, and so on, and they cost mammoths, costing tens of billions of dollars. <p /> <p />But in the extreme north of Pakistan, in the Swat area, there are lots of small streams. When the glaciers melt, this water flows down into the Swat River in the valley, at the bottom of the valley, and people over there, on a co-operative basis, have set up small turbines and generators on these small streams of water. And after sunset everybody in their homes, they have free electricity, because they contribute equally to the generators. So this is a concept which is also practiced all over the world, in many countries of the world, where there is fast-flowing water in streams and rivers and canals. And Pakistan has a potential of about 50,000 megawatts to be generated from our fast flowing rivers and streams. And the investment in these projects is not very high. In China they have put rubber buffer dams across rivers, and they inflate them with compressed air and they stop the water, and they have a fall of about 20, 30 metres, and they put up turbines downstream, and this generate power. So it doesn't cost very much. <p /> <p />We have to experiment on these and we have to refine this technology. This is the only way to go. If you keep getting oil from the Middle East, we are going to sink deeper and deeper into the circular debt issue, which ultimately translates into more IMF loans. <p /> <p />GHANI: In terms of Pakistan's gas shortage, experts are divided on how to proceed. But Dr. Mubarakmand believes the answer lies at home. <p /> <p />MUBARAKMAND: By the time the Iranian--if the gas pipeline is commissioned in two years' time and we get gas from Iran, the shortage will be about 2,250&amp;#160;MMCFT per day, and Iranian gas pipeline will provide 750, which is one-third of the shortage. So it'll only meet about 30&amp;#160;percent of our shortage at that time, in two years' time. And at what cost? At the moment our gas is about $5 per MMBTU. Iranian gas is at the moment $15 per MMBTU. It's three times the cost of our own natural gas. <p /> <p />So we have suggested to the government that we go for intensive underground coal gasification in the Thar coalfields, where the coal is very amenable to gasification, which we have in plenty. It's 175 billion tonnes. We may resort to mining of that coal, certainly, for power generation, but we can also do gasification of this coal and utilise this coal-gas for power generation, for diesel production, for methanol production, for fertilizer production, for plastics, for pharmaceuticals. And there are 20 different items you can produce from coal-gas. And of course you can use it for burning in the home, in domestic kitchens. <p /> <p />GHANI: Some environmental groups have expressed concern about burning coal to meet Pakistan's energy needs and are worried about the construction of two new nuclear power plants, which will add to Pakistan's existing three. <p /> <p />But after years of load-shedding and price hikes, the average Pakistani is, for the moment, more concerned with getting the lights back on, and at an affordable price, than with how that power is generated. <p /> <p />It's obvious that administrative corruption, both at lower and higher levels, needs to be tackled; the industrialists, landowners, and even government institutions that refuse to pay their bills brought to book; and ultimately a competent long term plan for Pakistan's energy needs put in place, if things are to get any better. What happens next is down to the new government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. <p /> <p />But back in the village of Sood Gangal, Maqsood Ilahi has a warning for the politicians in Islamabad. <p /> <p />ILAHI: We hope they'll consider us humans, that God softens their hearts, and they work for us. If not, they'll suffer the same fate as the last government. <p /> <p />GHANI: Hassan Ghani, for the Real News, Rawalpindi, Pakistan. <p /> <p />End <p /> <p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.

Pakistan's Energy Crisis: "They've pushed us back into the stone ages"

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D31%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D10391

2013-07-02

<p /> <p /> <p>NASA has made an announcement indicating that there's a likelihood of there being alien life in our solar system. One of the moons that orbit Saturn has been found to have all the essentials that are necessary to support life.</p> <p /> <p>The chemicals on Enceladus are also found on Earth and they indicate the presence of life, suggesting that there's life beneath the freezing shell. Enceladus has been thought of as an ideal and prime candidate for life in the solar system. Scientists support this suggestion due to the subsurface ocean that covers Enceladus.</p> <p /> <p>New research that has been conducted indicates that the moon has a chemical energy source which is capable of supporting life. Cassini space unveiled the new findings after it flew through a huge plume of water that was being shot out of the surface of Enceladus. The spacecraft took readings of the water and sent them back to Earth for further analysis.</p> <p /> <p>The analysis found that there's evidence of molecular hydrogen in those jets of vapor. Researchers claim that molecular hydrogen could only have come from hydrothermal reactions between hot rocks and water underneath the moon's icy crust.</p> <p /> <p>The same process operates on Earth and provides energy for the ecosystems found around hydrothermal vents. The hydrogen is crucial to most of the life forms on Earth since they rely on it for fuel. There's also a likelihood that the life on Enceladus would likely consume that hydrogen and then release methane. It's not a surprise that methane has been found out to be coming from Enceladus.</p> <p /> <p>Large amounts of carbon dioxide were found to be in the material that Cassini flew through. Methanogenesis is a reaction that sustains microbes in similar dark, undersea environments on Earth. The process heavily relies on molecular hydrogen and carbon dioxide.</p> <p /> <p>Scientists have revealed that three ingredients are needed for life on a planet, this includes water, organic molecules and a source of energy. Fortunately, the first two have been detected on Enceladus before, but the new discovery means that all three key components are there, with the addition of a fuel source for keeping that life alive.</p> <p /> <p>Lewis Dartnell, who is an astrobiology researcher at the University of Westminster made a statement saying that its now evident that there's not only a warm, wet environment but now they've also realized that there's food for life on Enceladus. The new findings suggest that all of the pieces are in place for an ecosystem to thrive. A leading scientist branded the new research as an important advance in assessing the habitability of Enceladus.</p> <p /> <p>Source:</p> <p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-announcement-today-alien-life-exist-saturn-enceladus-cassini-hydrogen-plume-hydrothermal-a7681821.html" type="external">independent.co.uk/news/science/nasa-announcement-today-alien-life-exist-saturn-enceladus-cassini-hydrogen-plume-hydrothermal-a7681821.html</a></p>

Alien Life? All Clues Point At Enceladus

http://thegoldwater.com/news/2243-Alien-Life-All-Clues-Point-At-Enceladus

2017-04-14

<p><a href="" type="internal">Julian Bond</a> last night told CNN&#8217;s <a href="" type="internal">Anderson Cooper</a> that gay rights are civil rights and all these rights are &#8220;exactly the same&#8221; and &#8220;universal.&#8221; Cooper was discussing with Bond this week&#8217;s shocking revelation that <a href="" type="internal">NOM</a>, the National Organization For Marriage, published in&amp;#160;internal memos&amp;#160;its &#8220;strategic goal&#8221; is to &#8220; <a href="" type="internal">drive a wedge between gays and blacks, two key Democratic constituencies</a>.&#8221; &amp;#160;Calling that &#8220;scary,&#8221;&amp;#160;Bond, the iconic former chairman of the NAACP, and now its Chairman Emeritus, was speaking about civil rights for the LGBT community in relation to civil rights for the African-American community, and said they are the same.</p> <p>READ:&amp;#160; <a href="" type="internal">Carrie Prejean And David Tyree Were NOM&#8217;s &#8220;Glamorous Non-Cognitive Elite&#8221;</a></p> <p>Dr. Bond, who also was a founder of the illustrious Southern Poverty Law Center, called the revelations of NOM&#8217;s strategy, &#8220;one of the most cynical things I&#8217;ve ever heard of or seen.&#8221; Bond added, &#8220;Now the idea that these people are just pawns that can be played with, the black people who oppose gay marriage, and the black people who support gay marriage, just can be moved around like pieces on a chessboard, it&#8217;s just scary.&#8221;</p> <p>&amp;#160; &amp;#160;</p> <p>Here&#8217;s the transcript, via <a href="http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1203/29/acd.02.html" type="external">CNN</a>:</p> <p>COOPER: I want to read you from some of this internal memo from the National Organization for Marriage. They say, &#8220;The strategic goal of the project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks, two key Democratic constituencies.&#8221;</p> <p>They go on to say that they should recruit African-Americans to oppose gay marriage, to serve as spokespeople, and then provoke the gay marriage base into calling those spokespeople bigots, which would then drive a wedge. What do you make of this?</p> <p>JULIAN BOND, FORMER CHAIRMAN, NAACP: It&#8217;s the most &#8212; one of the most cynical things I&#8217;ve ever heard of or seen spelled out in this way. Now the idea that these people are just pawns that can be played with, the black people who oppose gay marriage, and the black people who support gay marriage, just can be moved around like pieces on a chessboard, it&#8217;s just scary.</p> <p>COOPER: Scary?</p> <p>BOND: Yes.</p> <p>COOPER: They released a statement that said, quote, &#8220;Gay marriage advocates have attempted to portray same-sex marriage as a civil right. Gay marriage is not a civil right.&#8221; You see the push for equal rights for gay and lesbian Americans as a civil rights movement?</p> <p>BOND: Very much so.</p> <p>COOPER: As an extension of the civil rights movement. BOND: Of course. It is exactly the same. It&#8217;s a right that all Americans have, and no reason why gay and lesbian people ought not to have these rights, too. These are universal rights.</p> <p>COOPER: But to those who say, look, this has nothing to do with civil rights, and there are many African-Americans who actually get offended by the comparison to the civil rights movement, among African-Americans.</p> <p>BOND: We ought to be happy that other people, including gays and lesbians, and many other people have imitated the black movement for human rights. They&#8217;ve adopted our songs; we ought to be happy. They&#8217;ve adopted our slogans; we ought to be happy. They&#8217;ve adopted the way in which we went about it, in a nonviolent way, generally speaking. We ought to be proud of that, that we served as examples to others.</p> <p>And when the others imitate what we did to gain their rights, we ought to be first in line to say, &#8220;Can I help you. You helped me. Can I help you?&#8221;</p> <p>COOPER: When this memo went out &#8212; it was 2009 &#8212; polling showed that, among African-Americans, only 32 percent of African-Americans were in favor of same-sex marriage.</p> <p>There&#8217;s a recent NBC News/&#8221;Wall Street Journal&#8221; poll that showed 50 percent of African-Americans are now in favor of it. Do you feel like the tide of history is moving in this direction?</p> <p>BOND: Absolutely. Absolutely. As more and more people think, &#8220;Gee, that guy who sits next to me in church, he&#8217;s gay, and he seems to be OK. The guy who works next to me on the job, I think he&#8217;s gay, and he seems to be OK. So I know all these people who are gay, and they&#8217;re all right with me.&#8221;</p> <p>COOPER: Do you think some people who, African-Americans, who do not like the movement for equality being described as a civil rights movement, do you think they feel that that in &#8212; somehow takes away from the struggle that African-Americans&#8230;</p> <p>BOND: Yes, I think there&#8217;s a &#8212; wrongly so. Wrongly so. But I &#8212; if they knew that Brian Ruskin (ph), a gay man, was the guy who put together the March on Washington, and it wouldn&#8217;t have been the success it was, had it not been for him, I think they&#8217;d feel differently about it.</p> <p>If they knew that throughout the history of the black struggle for civil rights, black and white and Asian and Latino gay people and lesbians participated and sacrificed alongside their black brothers and sisters, I think they&#8217;d feel differently about it.</p> <p>Because this is not &#8212; we don&#8217;t have a patent on rights in this country. Black people don&#8217;t have a patent on fighting for civil rights. This is something all Americans want to do and should do. And we ought to be proud that others have imitated us. COOPER: It&#8217;s interesting to me that in the past, you have not had a lot of straight people championing this cause, and yet you have, sometimes at great &#8212; you&#8217;ve received a lot of criticism for it.</p> <p>BOND: Yes, I have. But I think, you know, I served in the civil right movements beside black people and white people, and gay people and lesbian people, and I often thought to myself, these people are helping me. Can I help them? Shouldn&#8217;t I help them?</p> <p>And when the gay movement, which is an old movement in this country, became more and more prominent, and it became something that people like myself, straight people, could join in and participate, I was eager to play whatever part I could. Because this is something, I think, important to all of us. I don&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re gay or straight. This is something you ought to be concerned about.</p> <p>COOPER: Just on another topic, I&#8217;d just like to get your thought on the shooting of Trayvon Martin. What is your impression of what happened and of the debate that&#8217;s&#8230;</p> <p>BOND: I can only go by what I read in the papers or see on TV, that what seemed to happen is this police wannabe followed him, against the orders of the police, got out of his car, confronted him in some way. We don&#8217;t know what happened then.</p> <p>But we do know that Martin is dead. He&#8217;s shot in the chest. He&#8217;s killed. And I can&#8217;t imagine what he might have done or could have done that would make that happen, that would prompt that. That would make that excusable.</p> <p>COOPER: Julian Bond, thanks for being on.</p> <p>BOND: Thank you.</p> <p>Tagged as: <a href="" type="internal">african american</a>, <a href="" type="internal">attacks</a>, <a href="" type="internal">black people</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Civil Rights</a>, <a href="" type="internal">civil rights movement</a>, <a href="" type="internal">CNN</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Gay</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gay community</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Gay Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Gay Rights</a>, <a href="" type="internal">gender</a>, <a href="" type="internal">homophobia</a>, <a href="" type="internal">human sexuality</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Julian Bond</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lgbt</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lgbt culture</a>, <a href="" type="internal">lgbt rights</a>, <a href="" type="internal">national association for the advancement of colored people</a>, <a href="" type="internal">National Organization for Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Politics</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Same-Sex Marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">Sexual Orientation</a>, <a href="" type="internal">social issues</a>, <a href="" type="internal">support gay marriage</a>, <a href="" type="internal">tells</a></p> <p>Friends:</p> <p>We invite you to <a href="http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001whLQo73KzGhEjdskYG07rHNy_XoDDkSBBO4INZHx6oD9kfp2yeeQAJeMQUu9oTviZa0VEl5k0rNiLifxlZsOFScMz8rVGmIaN-FFOO3GTKc%3D" type="external">sign up for our new mailing list</a>, and&amp;#160; <a href="http://feedburner.google.com/fb/a/mailverify?uri=TheNewCivilRightsMovement&amp;amp;amp;loc=en_US" type="external">subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email</a> or <a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/thenewcivilrightsmovement" type="external">RSS</a>.</p> <p>Also, please&amp;#160; <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-New-Civil-Rights-Movement/358168880614" type="external">like us on Facebook</a>, and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/gaycivilrights" type="external">follow us on Twitter</a>!</p>

NAACP’s Julian Bond Attacks NOM, Tells AC360 Gay Rights Are Civil Rights

http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/naacps-julian-bond-attacks-nom-tells-ac360-gay-rights-are-civil-rights/politics/2012/03/30/37334

2012-03-30

<p>At biannual Summit of the&amp;#160;Americas&amp;#160;in Panama, much of the attention is focused on whether&amp;#160;President Barack Obama will meet with Cuban President Ra&#250;l Castro.&amp;#160;Lilian Tintori couldn't care less.</p> <p>The Venezuelan human rights activist is at the summit for another reason:&amp;#160;to raise awareness about her husband, Venezuelan opposition leader&amp;#160;Leopoldo Lopez. He&amp;#160;has been in jail for 14 months,&amp;#160;accused&amp;#160;of leading a protest against President Nicolas Maduro&amp;#160;in 2014.</p> <p>"We have 80 political prisoners in Venezuela, including a mayor, students and my husband," Tintori&amp;#160;says.&amp;#160;"We don't have a rule of law in Venezuela. We live in constant fear."</p> <p>The&amp;#160;US has&amp;#160;raised concerns about the human rights situation in Venezuela and the country's crackdown on its political opposition&amp;#160;recently,&amp;#160; <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/09/fact-sheet-venezuela-executive-order" type="external">calling it</a>&amp;#160;an "unusual and extraordinary&amp;#160;threat to national security and [the] foreign policy of the United States." But President&amp;#160;Obama later told EFE,&amp;#160;a Spanish international news agency, that he did not see Venezuela as a threat to US.</p> <p>Tintori says officials have taken her plea seriously as she meets with them at the summit.&amp;#160;The UN, for example, has called for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela. But she&amp;#160;wants to see the US, in particular, put more pressure on leaders in her country.</p> <p>"Human rights don't have borders," she says. "We need to work [under]&amp;#160;the same flag."</p>

Wife of jailed opposition leader in Venezuela wants more help from the US

https://pri.org/stories/2015-04-10/wife-jailed-opposition-leader-venezuela-wants-more-help-us

2015-04-10

<p>In most situations, people tend to seek pleasure and avoid pain, which generally makes sense.</p> <p>I want to suggest that at this moment in history, U.S. citizens need to invert that. If we want to become human beings in the fullest sense of the term, if we want to be something more than comfortable citizens of the empire, if we want to be something more than just Americans &#8212; then we have to start seeking pain and reducing pleasure.</p> <p>By that I don&#8217;t mean we must become masochists who live in denial of the joy of being alive. Rather, I mean that to be fully alive we must stop turning away from a certain kind of pain and begin questioning a certain kind of pleasure. I mean this quite literally, and with a sense of urgency; I think the survival of the species and the planet depends on Americans becoming pain-seeking and pleasure-reducing folks.</p> <p>Let me begin to explain what I mean by describing two conversations I had with students recently. One young woman came to my office the day after we had watched a video documentary in class about the Gulf War and its devastatingly brutal effects &#8212; immediate and lingering &#8212; on the people of Iraq. The student also is active in the movement to support the Palestinian freedom struggle, and the day she came to see me came during a period in which Israeli attacks on Palestinians were intensifying.</p> <p>We talked for some time about a number of political topics, but the conversation kept coming back to one main point: She hurt. As she was learning more about the suffering of others around the world, she felt that pain. What does one do about such a feeling, knowing that one&#8217;s own government is either responsible for, or complicit in, so much of it? How does one stop feeling that pain, she asked.</p> <p>I asked her to think about whether she really wanted to wipe that feeling out of her life. Surely you know people, perhaps fellow students, who don&#8217;t seem to feel that pain, who ignore all that suffering, I told her. Do you want to become like them? No matter how much it hurts, I said, would you rather not feel at all? Would you rather be willfully ignorant about what is happening?</p> <p>I could see the tears welling in her eyes. She cried. We talked some more. I cried. She left my office, not feeling better in any simplistic sense. But I hope she left at least with a sense that she was not alone and did not have to feel like a freak for feeling so much, so deeply.</p> <p>A couple of hours later another student who had been in a class of mine the previous semester came by. After dealing with the classroom issue she wanted to address, we were talking more generally about her interests in scientific research and the politics of funding research. I made the obvious point that profit-potential had a lot to do with what kind of research gets done. Certainly the comparative levels of research-and-development money that went, for example, to Viagra compared with money for drugs to combat new strains of TB tells us something about the values of our society, I suggested.</p> <p>The student agreed, but raised another issue. Given the overpopulation problem, she said, would it really be a good thing to spend lots of resources on developing those drugs?</p> <p>About halfway through her sentence I knew where she was heading, though I didn&#8217;t want to believe it. This very bright student wanted to discuss whether or not it made sense to put resources into life-saving drugs for poor people in the Third World, given that there are arguably too many people on the planet already.</p> <p>I contained my anger, somewhat, and told the student that when she was ready to sacrifice members of her own family to help solve the global population problem, then I would listen to her argument. In fact, given the outrageous levels of consumption of the middle and uppers classes in the United States, I said, one could argue that large-scale death in the American suburbs would be far more beneficial in solving the population problem; a single U.S. family is more of a burden ecologically on the planet than a hundred Indian peasants. &#8220;If you would be willing to let an epidemic sweep through your hometown and kill large numbers of people without trying to stop it, for the good of the planet, then I&#8217;ll listen to you,&#8221; I said.</p> <p>The student left shortly after that. Based on her reaction, I suspect I made her feel bad. I am glad for that. I wanted to make her feel bad. I wanted her to see that the assumption behind her comment &#8212; that the lives of people who look like her are more valuable than the lives of the poor and vulnerable in other parts of the world &#8212; is ethnocentric, racist, and barbaric. That assumption is the product of an arrogant and inhumane society. I wanted her to think about why she lived in a world in which the pain of others is so routinely ignored. I wanted her to feel what, for most of her life, she has been able to turn away from.</p> <p>I do not want to overestimate the power of empathy to change the world. But without empathy, without the ability to move outside our own experience, there is no hope of changing the world. Andrea Dworkin, one of the great feminist thinkers of our time, has written, &#8220;The victims of any systematized brutality are discounted because others cannot bear to see, identify, or articulate the pain.&#8221; [Andrea Dworkin, Heartbreak: The Political Memoir of a Feminist Militant (New York: Basic Books, 2002), p. 193.] It is long past the time for all of us to start to see, to identify, to articulate the pain of systematized brutality. It is time to recognize that much of that pain is the result of a system designed to ensure our pleasures.</p> <p>The pain of cluster bombs</p> <p>It is my experience that people can feel empathy for the pain of others in certain situations, such as the pain of a loved one or friend, or in certain cases the suffering of people far away who are hit by a natural disaster or cruel twist of fate. But the key in Dworkin&#8217;s insight is &#8220;systematized brutality.&#8221; Empathy seems less forthcoming for those victims, especially when it is one&#8217;s own government or society or culture that is systematizing the brutality.</p> <p>When that pain is caused by our government, we are channeled away from that empathy. The way we are educated and entertained keeps us from knowing about or understanding the pain of others in other parts of the world, and from understanding how our pleasure is connected to that pain of others. It is a combined intellectual, emotional, and moral failure &#8212; a failure to know and to feel and to act.</p> <p>Let&#8217;s take a simple example, the CBU-87, also known as the cluster bomb, which is a part of the U.S. arsenal. It is a bomb that U.S. pilots drop from U.S. planes paid for by U.S. tax dollars.</p> <p>Each cluster bomb contains 202 individual submunitions, called bomblets (BLU-97/B). The CBU-87s are formally known as Combined Effects Munitions (CEM) because each bomblet has an antitank and antipersonnel effect, as well as an incendiary capability. The bomblets from each CBU-87 are typically distributed over an area roughly 100 x 50 meters, though the exact landing area of the bomblets is difficult to control.</p> <p>As the soda can-sized bomblets fall, a spring pushes out a nylon &#8220;parachute&#8221; (called the decelerator), which inflates and then stabilizes and arms the &amp;lt;bomblet.The&amp;gt; BLU-97 is packed in a steel case with an incendiary zirconium ring. The case is made of scored steel designed to break into approximately 300 preformed thirty-grain fragments upon detonation of the internal explosive. The fragments then travel at extremely high speeds in all directions. This is the primary antipersonnel effect of the weapon. Antipersonnel means that the steel shards will shred anyone in the vicinity.</p> <p>The primary anti-armor effect comes from a molten copper slug. If the bomblet has been properly oriented, the downward-firing charge travels at 2,570 feet per second and is able to penetrate most armored vehicles. The zirconium ring spreads small incendiary fragments. The charge has the ability to penetrate 5 inches of armor on contact. The tiny steel case fragments are also powerful enough to damage light armor and trucks at 50 feet, and to cause human injury at 500 feet. The incendiary ring can start fires in any combustible environment.</p> <p>Human Rights Watch, the source for this description of a cluster bomb, has called for a global moratorium on use of cluster bombs because they cause unacceptable civilian casualties. Those casualties come partly in combat, because the munitions have a wide dispersal pattern and cannot be targeted precisely, making them especially dangerous when used near civilian areas.</p> <p>Even more deadly is the way in which cluster bombs don&#8217;t work. The official initial failure-to-explode rate for the bomblets is 5 to 7 percent, though some demining workers estimate up to 20 percent do not explode. That means in each cluster bomb from 10 to 40 of the bomblets fail to explode on contact as intended, becoming landmines that can be set off by a simple touch. Human Rights Watch estimates that more than 1,600 Kuwaiti and Iraqi civilians have been killed, and another 2,500 injured, by the estimated 1.2 million cluster bomb duds left following the 1991 Persian Gulf War. For decades after the Vietnam War, reports came in of children and farmers setting off bomblets. The weapons were also used in the NATO attack on Serbia.</p> <p>What does that mean in real terms? It means that Abdul Naim&#8217;s father is dead. The family&#8217;s fields in the village of Rabat, a half hour from Herat in western Afghanistan, were sown with cluster bombs, some of the 1,150 reportedly used in Afghanistan. Some of the farmers tried to clear their fields; some of them died trying. Out of desperation, Naim said his father finally decided to take the chance. Using a shovel, the farmer cast three bomblets aside successfully. The fourth exploded. The shrapnel caught him in the throat. [Suzanne Goldenberg, &#8220;Long after the air raids, bomblets bring more death,&#8221; Guardian (UK), January 28, 2002, p. 12.]</p> <p>Or consider this testimony from a 13-year-old boy in Kosovo: &#8220;I went with my cousins to see the place where NATO bombed. As we walked I saw something yellow &#8212; someone told us it was a cluster bomb. One of us took it and put it into a well. Nothing happened&#8230; We began talking about taking the bomb to play with and then I just put it somewhere and it exploded. The boy near me died and I was thrown a meter into the air. The boy who died was 14 &#8212; he had his head cut off.&#8221; The 13-year-old lived, but with both his legs amputated. [Richard Norton-Taylor, &#8220;Cluster Bombs: The Hidden Toll,&#8221; Manchester Guardian (UK), August 2, 2000.] When one brings up these unpleasant facts, a common response is that war is hell, that in war &#8220;people die and things get broken.&#8221; In this case, 14-year-olds die and 13-year-olds get broken. We are supposed to brush that aside. We are not supposed to feel. Dead and broken. Such is war. Such is life during wartime. While it is true that, as Gulf War era Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams put it, &#8220;There&#8217;s no nice way to kill somebody in a war,&#8221; it is also true that there are ways to fight a war without cluster bombs.</p> <p>Let us remind ourselves at this point that one of the central concepts in international law, in the law of warfare, is that civilians shall not be targeted. That means not only a prohibition against the intentional killing of civilians, but as the Geneva Conventions state, against attacks that are indiscriminate. Article 51&#8217;s description of indiscriminate attacks is: &#8220;those which employ a method or means of combat the effects of which cannot be limited as required by this Protocol; and consequently, in each such case, are of a nature to strike military objectives and civilians or civilian objects without distinction.&#8221; That&#8217;s a cluster bomb.</p> <p>It is true that the U.S. military used fewer cluster bombs in Afghanistan than in the Gulf War or Serbia. One U.S. reporter explained that Pentagon was &#8220;more careful&#8221; than in past conflicts. But careful doesn&#8217;t seem to include following international law. Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has said, &#8220;We only use cluster munitions when they are the most effective weapon for the intended target.&#8221; In other words, we will use them when we want to. In other words, the Geneva Conventions don&#8217;t matter.</p> <p>Cluster bombs are made by Alliant Techsystems of Minnesota. I&#8217;m from that part of the country. There&#8217;s a term widely used there about the friendliness of Minnesotans, who are legendary for avoiding conflict (at least open conflict) &#8212; &#8220;Minnesota nice.&#8221; Alliant employs 11,200 people, most of whom are no doubt nice. Many of the military personnel who drop cluster bombs and defend the use of cluster bombs are no doubt nice. Many of the U.S. citizens who don&#8217;t seem to mind that we drop cluster bombs are no doubt nice. Minnesota nice. United States nice.</p> <p>I wonder what the 13-year-old boy in Kosovo with no legs thinks about how nice we are?</p> <p>I want everyone to think about the 13-year-old boy with no legs and his friend whose head was ripped off. Some of you may already know about cluster bombs and about such effects. Some of you may already carry images like this in your head.</p> <p>If you don&#8217;t, I want you to. I want to plant that image, and I don&#8217;t want you to ever forget it. I want you to know that the U.S. government&#8217;s quest for global power, and the U.S. military&#8217;s barbaric efforts to achieve that, leave 13-year-olds with no legs and memories of dead friends. The next time you hear officials and generals say we are fighting for freedom, think of that. Ask whose freedom we are fighting for. Remember they are fighting with weapons that you helped pay for.</p> <p>If the capacity for empathy is part of what makes us human, what are we to do with that image, that boy&#8217;s pain, the pain of the family members? If we had to face them, what would we say? If we had to face them, would we cry with them? Should we have to travel to Kosovo to feel that? Should we feel that simply based on what we know?</p> <p>We know. We feel. The question remains, will we act? More on that later.</p> <p>The costs of our pleasures</p> <p>Most people in the United States take for granted a standard of living that the vast majority of the world can barely imagine and can never expect to enjoy. Most of us can recite the figure that the United States is about 5 percent of the world&#8217;s population yet we consume about 25 percent of the world&#8217;s oil and 30 percent of the gross world product. How is that related to foreign policy and military intervention?</p> <p>The clearest statement of the connection came in February 1948 in a top-secret U.S. State Department document, known as Policy Planning Staff memorandum 23, which defined U.S. post-war policy in Asia, focusing in particular on Japan and the Philippines. The policy paper had been drafted by George Kennan, the first director of the State Department&#8217;s Policy Planning Staff. Kennan wrote:</p> <p>&#8220;We [Americans] have 50 percent of the world&#8217;s wealth but only 6.3 percent of the population. This disparity is particularly great between ourselves and the peoples of Asia. In this situation, we cannot fail to be the object of envy and resentment. Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our national security. To do so we will have to dispense with all sentimentality and daydreaming. &#8230; We should cease to talk about vague, and for the Far East, unreal objectives, such as human rights, the raising of living standards, and democratization. The day is not far off when we are going to have to deal in straight power concepts. The less we are then hampered by idealistic slogans, the better.&#8221;</p> <p>Kennan advocated ditching the idealistic slogans about freedom, but it turned out those slogans were too effective for U.S. policymakers to give up. Still, Kennan&#8217;s statement embodies the philosophy of a small elite sector of the United States whose goal is subordinating the interests of other peoples to the profit needs of American corporations. Most of us are not part of that sector. But while this nation&#8217;s foreign policy and wars are designed to benefit an extremely small sector of the country, the more general affluence of the culture is an important part of how those elites win support for those policies and wars. That is, I think the people in working and middle class America who live comfortably have come to believe that their continued comfort depends on U.S. dominance around the world. I also believe that those working- and middle-class Americans are generally willing to support policies and wars of dominance to protect that comfort.</p> <p>Put differently: If you propose a relatively cost-free way (that is, few American casualties and limited expenditures) to continue that dominance and ensure continued material comfort, it is my experience that most Americans will endorse it, especially when the deeply ingrained mythology about how the United States fights for freedom can be tapped.</p> <p>If I&#8217;m right about that, then in addition to being able to face the pain of the world, we also need to reduce our own pleasures. The level of consumption in this country can only be maintained if people in other places (and increasingly a growing number of people here at home as well) suffer deprivation. The degree to which people believe that they must keep consuming at that level to be happy will tend to distort the ability to see how much pain our pleasures require.</p> <p>I cannot say with great precision what a sustainable level of consumption is, nor can anyone else. I have taken steps to reduce my consumption, but it may turn out that I will have to take far more drastic steps. In fact, it almost certainly will turn out that way. But what is readily evident is that the standard middle-class lifestyle in the United States is unsustainable over the long term and, if it that lifestyle were lived by all people in the world, it would be the end of life on that planet. If everyone in the world lived like we live, the game would be over.</p> <p>I think there are self-interested reasons for reducing our consumption; I think this high-energy, high-consumption lifestyle actually keeps people from being able to experience joy in many ways. I don&#8217;t think there is much authentic joy to be found in a shopping mall. But I am arguing not only that reducing one&#8217;s dependence on those material comforts is a good in itself, but also is part of a political project of creating a world in which most people will not have the motivation to support unjust foreign policy and wars of domination. We need to begin the long process of taking apart a way of living that is grotesquely wasteful and based on unjustifiable disparities not only because it right in itself and in our own self-interest, but because that affluence tends to divert people from seeing how their affluence is made possible by brutal policies abroad (and increasingly at home).</p> <p>At this point, many people will argue that such attention to questions of personal choices is diversionary, or that there are adequate resources for all 6 billion people on the planet to live healthy lives, or that technology will solve the problems that our high-energy, high-consumption lifestyle creates. All that is, I believe, obfuscation based in fear. I do agree that these personal choices will end up being insignificant without engaging in a larger political struggle to change the structure of society. But I think they are complimentary, and I have a hunch one can&#8217;t go forward without the other.</p> <p>Political action</p> <p>I push these questions of pain and pleasure because I believe that knowing and feeling can lead to acting, to collective political action. The goal is not simply to feel, to sink into despair, to allow the pain to paralyze us, or to feel guilty about our affluence and become paralyzed by that guilt. The goal is to transform our society and take the U.S. boot off the neck of people around the world trying to transform their societies.</p> <p>If you think of the boy with no legs and you cry, that is OK. But we should remember the words of the great Cuban writer and revolutionary Jose Marti. Before he was killed by the Spanish for the crime of resisting Spanish rule, he said, &#8220;When others are weeping blood, what right have I to weep tears?&#8221;</p> <p>Maybe we don&#8217;t have a right to weep in the United States. Given how comfortably the vast majority of us live, maybe we long ago forfeited that right. But whether or not I have a right to weep, I do. Virtually every day at some point in the day, I am confronted by some aspect of this pain and I weep. There is nothing noble about my tears; in some sense, they are self-indulgent. They are my way of reminding myself that I am a person, that I haven&#8217;t completely given up my humanity.</p> <p>But our tears can be more than self-indulgent, if they motivate us to act. We cannot stop all the pain of the world. We all know that simply being alive means we will feel the pain of disappointment, disease, death. We all will watch loved ones grow old and die. We will be let down by friends we trust. That is part of the human condition. But cluster bombs are not inherently part of the human condition. Wars for domination, wars to protect privilege, are not inherently part of the human condition. The fact that such wars have been with us for so long does not mean they must be with us forever.</p> <p>These things can be changed by people committed to changing them. We can organize to force the government to stop using cluster bombs. Eventually we can organize to force the government to stop fighting the wars for domination in which cluster bombs are used. Eventually we can organize to change the institutions that drive the wars for domination.</p> <p>There is a better world to be built. It is a world we can get to only if we confront the pain of this world. It is a world in which we will have to learn to experience pleasure in very different ways.</p> <p>Cluster bombs are not an inherent part of the human condition. But empathy is. The capacity for change is, in all of us. But these things are not automatic. The question is whether we will choose to know, to feel, and to act.</p> <p>Robert Jensen is a professor of journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, a member of the Nowar Collective, and author of the book <a href="" type="internal">Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream</a>.</p> <p>His pamphlet, &#8220;Citizens of the Empire,&#8221; is available at <a href="http://www.nowarcollective.com/citizensoftheempire.pdf" type="external">http://www.nowarcollective.com/citizensoftheempire.pdf</a>. Other writings are available online at <a href="http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~rjensen/freelance/freelance.htm" type="external">http://uts.cc.utexas.edu/~r jensen/freelance/freelance.htm</a>. He can be reached at <a href="mailto:rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu" type="external">rjensen@uts.cc.utexas.edu</a>.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p>

Seeking Pain and Reducing Pleasure

https://counterpunch.org/2002/03/20/seeking-pain-and-reducing-pleasure/

2002-03-20

<p>On Saturday I'll be in Normal, Illinois for an event with Mike Flynn, the grassroots candidate I've endorsed in IL18. If you're in the area I'd like to encourage you to come out and meet Mike; also I'm signing copies of my book, Hands Off My Gun, and a limited number of copies will be for sale. I'll also have posters and copies of my June issue of Guns and Ammo Magazine. All funds benefit Mike Flynn for Congress. <a href="http://www.mikeflynnforcongress.com/#!dana-loesch/c1uuq" type="external">Register here</a>, details below:</p> <p /> <p>Dana Loesch will be appearing at a campaign event for Mike Flynn on Saturday June 13th 3:00-5:00pm at CI Shooting Sports, 700 Wylie Drive, Normal, IL 61761.</p> <p>This special event will have three tiers:</p> <p>General admittance is free however we do require that you register online so we're able to accommodate everyone.</p> <p>A signed book and a picture with Dana is $100</p> <p>VIP reception is $250 and includes a private meeting area with Dana and a signed book</p> <p>Please fill out the form below to guarantee yourself a spot, book, or a photo with Dana!</p> <p>We can't wait to see you!</p> <p>- Mike Flynn</p> <p>This is truly a case of grassroots verses the establishment. The LaHoods are an political dynastic family; <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/10/republican-congressman-cr_n_133623.html" type="external">Ray LaHood blasted Sarah Palin</a> and implied that she supports racism during the 2008 elections; LaHood was chosen by President Obama to be his Transportation Secretary in 2009. While LaHood's son, Darin LaHood, claims that every family has different political beliefs, he isn't on record opposing his fathers remarks on Palin or close relationship with Obama, and he has benefitted handsomely from his father's influence. <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/417055/establishment-and-tea-party-face-illinois-john-fund" type="external">Darin LaHood has zero relationship with Illinois grassroots</a>. His last name is the only reason why he's even a contender in this race. Remember: Republicans like these are what plague the party. Illinois voters have an amazing opportunity to install one of their own, Mike Flynn, in office, who simultaneously knows and loathes Washington. Take that opportunity.</p>

Join Me This Saturday In Illinois For Mike Flynn

http://danaloeschradio.com/join-me-this-saturday-in-illinois-for-mike-flynn

2015-06-11

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p>LONDON &#8212; Shares in telecoms giant BT plunged by a fifth Tuesday after the London-based company warned of the cost of an accounting scandal at its Italian business and broad weakness in the global market.</p> <p>BT had said in October that it was investigating the practices of its Italian business, BT Italia, and had taken a charge of 145 million pounds ($182 million.) On Tuesday, it said that it was tripling those charges to 530 million pounds following a more in-depth, independent review of the situation.</p> <p>The investigation, BT says, revealed improper accounting practices that &#8220;have resulted in the overstatement of earnings in our Italian business over a number of years.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;We are deeply disappointed with the improper practices which we have found in our Italian business,&#8221; said Gavin Patterson, CEO of BT Group Plc.</p> <p>Shares in BT closed 21 percent lower at 303 pence in London, cutting the company&#8217;s market value by about 8 billion pounds.</p> <p>BT said it has suspended a number of senior managers in Italy who have now left the company and appointed a new CEO for the unit who will start on Feb. 1.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>The company is due to publish its earnings on Friday but by law is forced to disclose any news that might materially affect the share price as soon as it is confirmed.</p> <p>BT also warned that the outlook for both its international business and its deals with the British public sector has deteriorated.</p> <p>As a result of that and the scandal&#8217;s cost, it reduced its earnings outlook. It said that for the fiscal year 2016-17 it adjusted revenue to be broadly flat. That&#8217;s about 200 million pounds less than previously estimated.</p> <p>It dropped a key estimate for full-year pretax profit to 7.6 billion pounds from 7.9 billion pounds previously.</p> <p>The company provides broadband, mobile and TV cable services and has sought to expand in recent years. It invested heavily in the rights to broadcast European soccer matches and in 2015 acquired mobile operator EE.</p>

BT shares plunge on cost of Italian accounting scandal

https://abqjournal.com/934375/bt-shares-plunge-on-cost-of-italian-accounting-scandal.html

2017-01-24

<p>Donald Trump leads Hillary Clinton among military households by 10 points, 51 percent to 41 percent, according to results from the latest NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking Poll.</p> <p>There has been a lot of speculation about how much support Trump is getting among veterans and those affiliated with the military. Trump himself has spent a considerable amount of effort to secure this important voting bloc. But the candidate generated considerable controversy with his feud with a &#8220;Gold Star&#8221; family that appeared at the Democratic National Convention. Khizr Khan, whose military son was killed in Iraq, criticized Trump&#8217;s call for a temporary ban on Muslim immigration to the U.S. Trump later accused Khan of making false statements about him.</p> <p>Typically, Republicans do well among military households, and past presidential elections have shown the Republican candidate winning veterans by double digits. Mitt Romney won the veterans vote by 20 points in 2012, according to a <a href="http://sda.berkeley.edu/sdaweb/analysis/?dataset=nes2012" type="external">American National Election Studies post-election survey</a>. John McCain carried vets by 10 points in 2008, and George W. Bush won veterans by 16 points in 2004 according to network exit polls.</p> <p>To gauge military households, we asked respondents if they or anyone in their household is currently serving in the military or is a military veteran. Those who said they personally served or live in households with someone who served were included in the analysis. Taking a deeper look at the demographics of military households allows us to better determine who Trump&#8217;s supporters among that group are.</p> <p>The gender gap that exists among all voters still persists in military households, however, the margin is smaller among military households. Women from military households go for Clinton over Trump, 49 percent to 43 percent. The 6-point margin in Clinton&#8217;s favor is narrowed from a 23-point margin among all women voters. Among men from military households, Trump is ahead of Clinton, 58 percent to 34 percent. This 24-point advantage for Trump is much larger than his 6-point advantage among all men voters.</p> <p>In addition to women, non-whites are a key constituency for Clinton, and she has their support among military households too. Black voters from military households support Clinton over Trump, 80 percent to 16 percent. While Clinton is still far ahead of Trump, her 64-point margin among this group is slightly narrowed from her 76-point advantage among all registered black voters. Hispanic voters from military households also support Clinton over Trump, 52 percent to 37 percent. The 15-point margin is a lot smaller than the 49-point margin Clinton enjoys over Trump among all registered Hispanic voters.</p> <p>While Trump does better than Clinton among military households overall, some of the divisions that exist among all voters are clearly reflected among military households as well.</p> <p>The NBC News|SurveyMonkey Weekly Election Tracking poll was conducted online August 1 through August 7, 2016 among a national sample of 11,480 adults who say they are registered to vote, including 3,123 respondents who say they are members of military households. Respondents for this non-probability survey were selected from the nearly three million people who take surveys on the SurveyMonkey platform each day. Results have an error estimate of plus or minus 1.2 percentage points and plus or minus 2.6 percentage points among military households. For full results and methodology, click <a href="https://www.scribd.com/document/321393305/NBC-News-SurveyMonkey-Toplines-and-Methodology-8-8-8-14?secret_password=QguU0pOrFlc6AJ1qsOkw" type="external">here</a>.</p>

Poll: Trump Leads Clinton Among Military Households

http://nbcnews.com/storyline/data-points/poll-trump-leads-clinton-among-military-households-n632106

2016-08-16

<p>Phil Toledano was worried about the future.&amp;#160; So he decided to look it in the face.&amp;#160; He took a DNA test and hired a special effects makeup artist to help him become different versions of his future self.&amp;#160; Then he staged photos.&amp;#160; They're the subject of a new book, MAYBE, and a new film.&amp;#160;</p>

Photographer Faces His Future

https://pri.org/stories/2015-07-09/photographer-faces-his-future

2015-07-09

<p>Detroit Free PressBy David CrummA broad coalition of religious and political leaders is invoking the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. while organizing what it predicts will be one of the largest antiwar rallies in Michigan since the Vietnam era."We're marking the 36th anniversary of that great speech in which King attacked the Vietnam War," said Rudy Simons, spokesman for the Cranbrook Peace Foundation in Bloomfield Hills and an organizer of Saturday's 11 a.m. march through Detroit and rally in Hart Plaza. "We're also marking the 35th anniversary of King's assassination," Simons said Wednesday. The anniversaries of King's anti-Vietnam speech in New York in 1967 and his death in 1968 actually fall on Friday. The planners of Saturday's event are trying to repeat King's practice of linking what he saw as injustices in foreign affairs with domestic concerns, Simons said.</p>

Detroit march to honor King

https://poynter.org/news/detroit-march-honor-king

2003-04-03

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>But they lost the video stream Monday morning, apparently when power to the building near Houston&#8217;s Galleria failed. So it was impossible to assess if any damage was occurring, said Paul Kline, a veterinarian based in and watching from Dallas. To his relief, the video came back Tuesday and &#8220;we could see cars going by on the street outside &#8211; a good sign,&#8221; Kline said. By last Wednesday, with the rains gone, he could see the practice had indeed escaped the flooding in the area.</p> <p>Plenty of small-business owners spent a long five days, waiting to see if the rainfall that totaled more than 50 inches in some places would flood their businesses. Harvey&#8217;s winds and rains damaged or destroyed many small businesses in the storm&#8217;s path along the Gulf Coast.</p> <p>It was a tornado spawned by Harvey that destroyed the office of Kenneth Bryant&#8217;s used-car dealership in Katy, Texas, just west of Houston. The winds Saturday morning picked up the office and slammed it into the building next door.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>&#8220;I lost everything in there: titles to vehicles, keys, paperwork, computers,&#8221; said Bryant, whose business was not insured. Two of the 10 cars in his inventory were destroyed.</p> <p>&#8220;Where do we go from here? I don&#8217;t know. It&#8217;s going to be such a long road ahead,&#8221; Bryant said.</p> <p>For many companies, damage to their premises was just the start. Some lost inventory that would cost them future sales. Workers were stranded or dealing with the devastation of their homes. Companies that couldn&#8217;t operate were losing revenue and profits every day.</p> <p>Fiyyaz Pirani estimates that his Houston-based company, Medology, lost $100,000 in new business. It&#8217;s been operating with six staffers instead of its usual 60 since the storm began, and accommodating only existing customers.</p> <p>&#8220;We had a couple of employees who sustained a lot of damage to their homes, and some people are in shelters,&#8221; he said.</p> <p>The company, which helps patients get low-cost lab tests and other services, moved back to its regular location Tuesday from temporary quarters, with generator power but no air conditioning. Staffers were working around some puddles of water at their top-floor office.</p> <p>Eleanor Rem had several inches of water in her Houston home, which also houses her business. Rem, who helps children with dyslexia learn to read, opted not to try what might have been a difficult evacuation with an 88-year-old relative.</p> <p>The rains that flooded her street, backyard and driveway on Monday began creeping into her home. She and her husband got their first-floor furniture upstairs, but the carpet was soaked. Rem said she was constantly checking to see how bad the damage was.</p> <p>&#8220;We&#8217;re pretty exhausted. You&#8217;re kind of nervous to go to sleep,&#8221; she said Wednesday. She expects she won&#8217;t be able to work for several weeks, in part because her students may not be able to get to her home.</p> <p>Other business owners who tried to keep an eye on their companies by watching the video from surveillance cameras ran into the same problems as the veterinary practice.</p> <p>With all three of Clint Hall&#8217;s Beef Jerky Outlet stores near Houston in danger of flooding, he watched from his home in Cypress. The Galveston Island store got a foot of water as the rains continued Monday and Tuesday, but he could see the Tomball location was safe. The League City shop lost power and its cameras on Saturday, so Hall had to rely on the owner of a nearby pizzeria for periodic updates. When the rains finally stopped, it had suffered one minor leak.</p> <p />

Texas firms face arduous rebuilding

https://abqjournal.com/1057959/small-firms-face-rebuilding.html

<p>This has been a tumultuous week for healthcare reform. First there was the pleasantly quick defeat of the American Health Care Act in the House of Representatives Friday afternoon. Then, that evening, Senator Sanders spoke at a town hall in Vermont with Senator Pat Leahy and Representative Peter Welch where he announced that he would introduce a Medicare for All bill. Medicare for All and Bernie supporters lit up social media with their excitement over the announcement. This should have been great news, but it wasn&#8217;t exactly.</p> <p>Over the weekend, more information was revealed in a series of interviews with Sen. Sanders. Sunday, he said on CNN that single payer legislation wouldn&#8217;t have the votes, so the first priority will be to improve the Affordable Care Act (ACA) with a public insurance, called a public option, and possibly lowering the age of Medicare eligibility to 55.</p> <p>There are a number of reasons why this isn&#8217;t the time for tinkering with the ACA. We have a healthcare crisis now and the means to solve it. The ACA is fundamentally flawed and cannot be tweaked into a universal program. And Sanders&#8217; proposals are exactly the same ones used in 2008-10 to divide and weaken the movement for National Improved Medicare for All. We can&#8217;t be fooled into going down that path again.</p> <p>The Current Crisis and its Solution</p> <p>Right now in the United States, almost 30 million people have no health insurance. On top of that, tens of millions of people who have health insurance can&#8217;t afford health care. When people experience a serious accident or illness, they face a stark choice: seek care and risk financial ruin or go without it and risk disability or death. Hundreds of thousands of families go bankrupt each year due to medical illness and an estimated 29,000 people die each year due to lack of access to care.</p> <p>Think about how the country galvanized when 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on 9/11 or when the 2,000th&amp;#160;soldier was killed in Iraq, but that amount of death happens ten times a year or more in the US and we hardly hear a peep of outrage.</p> <p>Health outcomes in the United States are not very good. A&amp;#160; <a href="" type="internal">recent study</a>&amp;#160;found:</p> <p>&#8220;Notable among poor-performing countries is the USA, whose life expectancy at birth is already lower than most other high-income countries, and is projected to fall further behind such that its 2030 life expectancy at birth might be similar to the Czech Republic for men, and Croatia and Mexico for women. The USA has the highest child and maternal mortality, homicide rate, and body-mass index of any high-income country, and was the first of high-income countries to experience a halt or possibly reversal of increase in height in adulthood, which is associated with higher longevity. The USA is also the only country in the OECD without universal health coverage, and has the largest share of unmet health-care needs due to financial costs.&#8221;</p> <p>Yet, of all of the industrialized nations, the United States spends the most per person on health care, in some cases double the amount and those countries cover everyone. We are already paying for universal comprehensive health coverage, but we aren&#8217;t getting it because the bottom line of the system in the US is profits for a few rather than health for all.</p> <p>The US has the most complex and heavily bureaucratic system in the world because it is a market-based system with a few public programs to try to fill in the gaps. A third of our healthcare dollar goes to administration for the hundreds of different insurance plans with their differing coverage, networks and rules. And we pay the highest prices, by far, for health services and pharmaceuticals because there is no rational system to set a fair price.</p> <p>To begin to solve the healthcare crisis in the US, we need a system that is based on health and the money to pay for it. The proven solution is a universal not-for-profit, publicly-funded system that provides all medically-necessary care. House Resolution 676: &#8220;The Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act,&#8221; which has 72 co-sponsors, is the model for that system. This would address the fundamental causes of the healthcare crisis.</p> <p>The good news is that not only do we have the money to pay for this system, but there is also widespread support for it. For decades many independent polls have shown more than 60% support by the general public, plus more than 80% support by Democratic Party voters, rapidly growing support by Republicans who earn under $75,000 and majority support by health professionals.</p> <p>Why a Public Option and Medicare for Some Plans will fail</p> <p>Steve Bannon, President Trump&#8217;s chief strategist, had an interesting statement in the&amp;#160; <a href="" type="internal">New York Magazine</a>&amp;#160;recently. He criticized the Republican&#8217;s American Health Care Act (AHCA) because it was &#8220;written by the insurance industry.&#8221; That same criticism can be made of the Democrat&#8217;s ACA, which was basically written by Liz Fowler, a former executive for WellPoint. She also oversaw the regulations&#8217; process.</p> <p>The ACA is fundamentally flawed because it treats health care as a commodity, not a public necessity. It has achieved the best that it can do, and similar to other attempts at the state level that don&#8217;t address the roots of the crisis, it is starting to deteriorate with stagnant coverage and rising premiums and out-of-pocket costs.</p> <p>Attempts to improve the ACA with a public insurance or Medicare for some will bring coverage to a few more, but they will similarly fail over time because they will not change the system or control healthcare costs.</p> <p>Sen. Sanders and others are pushing a public option. This would be a public insurance that people could choose instead of private insurance. It sounds good in theory but has not worked in practice because it draws the sickest patients and struggles to cover their care while keeping premiums and out-of-pocket costs affordable. Private insurers are experts at attracting the healthiest enrollees. In fact,&amp;#160; <a href="https://popularresistance.org/newsletter-dont-be-fooled-by-profiteers-option/" type="external">I have argued</a>&amp;#160;that a public insurance is just what the private insurers want (though they are unlikely to admit it) because it serves as a relief valve to take sick people off their hands. That leaves private insurers to focus on the young, employed and wealthy, from which they can collect premiums and who won&#8217;t need much in the way of health care.</p> <p>Sen. Sanders is also raising the possibility of lowering the age of Medicare to 55,&amp;#160; <a href="" type="internal">just as Alan Grayson suggested</a>&amp;#160;in 2010. This is another gift to the insurance industry because it takes a group that is more likely to have health problems off of their books. It will place more of a burden on the Medicare system without bringing the cost savings needed to cover health needs. I call this Medicare for some to contrast it with Medicare for all.</p> <p>The basic reasons that Medicare for all works are because the administrative simplicity of one universal plan provides over $500 billion a year in administrative savings and its ability to negotiate fair drug prices means over $100 billion per year in savings on pharmaceuticals. The savings offset the cost of paying for care and getting rid of out-of-pocket costs that currently keep people from seeking necessary care.</p> <p>Rather than wasting time and effort on a public option or Medicare for some, which will still leave people out and maintain the high costs of health care, we need to mobilize to win national improved Medicare for all. Like other industrialized nations, we need to create a universal high quality health system. It doesn&#8217;t make sense to leave anybody out when we have the resources to achieve it and public support for it. The only thing lacking is support from members of Congress. But as we witnessed last week with the defeat of the AHCA, changing the minds of members of Congress is within the power of the public.</p> <p>The public option and Medicare for some are being used to divide and distract supporters of Medicare for all in order to weaken them and make them believe they are asking for too much, just as happened during the health reform efforts in 2008-10. We can&#8217;t be taken off track again.</p> <p>What is the real purpose of a public option or lowering the age of Medicare when neither is an effective nor a lasting solution? It is only because the Democrats are unwilling to take on the powerful health insurance and pharmaceutical industries. The problem is that we can&#8217;t solve the healthcare crisis until we do.</p> <p>This article originally appeared on <a href="" type="internal">Heath Over Profit</a>.</p>

Why the Public Option and Medicare for Some Will Fail

https://counterpunch.org/2017/03/30/why-the-public-option-and-medicare-for-some-will-fail/

2017-03-30

<p /> <p>Interesting notes from the <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hWizd1oT6LlZuaACWKYt_T8MMLdAD8SA5RD80" type="external">presidential fundraising numbers</a> for the third quarter that were released today:</p> <p>&#8211; When identifying the corporation or other entity that gave most to a candidate, the answer usually turns out to be a finance company, a law firm, or some other major corporate interest. Hillary Clinton, for example, raised an astonishing $207,670 from employees of Morgan Stanley, $186,540 from employees of Goldman Sachs, and $96,015 from employees of <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/10/5638_citigroup_gets.html" type="external">Citigroup</a>. Not Ron Paul. The <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/10/5804_ron_paul_wins_p.html" type="external">oft-slighted</a> Republican congressman from Texas raised more money from members of the U.S. Army than from anywhere else. (This is <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/07/4891_ron_paul_darlin.html" type="external">no surprise</a> to readers of MoJoBlog.) The entity supplying the second most? Google.</p> <p>&#8211; Mitt Romney is also an exception. He gets more money from employees of The Villages, a Florida retirement community, than anywhere else. Romney has loaned a whopping $17.4 million of his own money to the campaign. Meanwhile, he only has $9.2 million in cash-on-hand. Without his own personal wealth propping up the campaign, Romney is in McCain territory.</p> <p>&#8211; Speaking of, John McCain is in debt (and <a href="/mojoblog/archives/2007/03/4028_it_becomes_obvi.html" type="external">I grow sad</a>). The man from Arizona has <a href="http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2007/10/fec_report_highlights_john_mcc_1.php" type="external">roughly $1.6 million</a> to spend in the primary, but $1.7 million in debts. Not. Good.</p> <p>&#8211; Gov. Bill Richardson drew more money from New Mexico state employees than from employees of any other entity.</p> <p>&#8211; Republican Duncan Hunter has yet to top $2 million for the entire campaign. Mike Huckabee, who really checks all the boxes for the Republican base, can&#8217;t get it going either. He&#8217;s only raised $2.3 million for the campaign. When do we get to drop-out territory?</p> <p />

Money, It’s a Gas: Grab That Cash With Both Hands and Make a Stash

https://motherjones.com/politics/2007/10/money-its-gas-grab-cash-both-hands-and-make-stash/

2007-10-16

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>Michigan's primary on Tuesday - and especially what happens that day in the Detroit suburbs that in 1980 were ground zero for a new political species, "Reagan Democrats" - will answer this question:</p> <p>Can Cruz locate and motivate legions of recently nonvoting conservatives, millions of them nationwide, especially whites without college experience, who can be pulled back into voting in numbers sufficient to determine the election in November?</p> <p>But the best-laid plans of mice and men and even senators often go awry, and one problem with Cruz's plan is that it was formulated in olden days, in the world B.D.T. - Before Donald Trump. He, too, is courting this cohort of the disaffected, whose grievances about politicians certainly cannot this year include being ignored by them.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>But although Trump may bestride the political scene mastodon, Patrick Colbeck and Wendy Day are undaunted.</p> <p>Colbeck, 50, was an engineer with no interest in politics until, six years ago, he did something almost unprecedented even among members of the national legislature: He read the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare.</p> <p>He concluded that "this is about control and has nothing to do with care." Now he is a Republican state senator, the first Michigan legislator elected from the tea party, and a thorn in the side of the GOP's legislative leadership on spending and other matters.</p> <p>Which is to say, he is somewhat like Ted Cruz, of whose Michigan campaign Colbeck is chairman.</p> <p>Day, 43, is the wife of a soldier who has a Purple Heart from two tours in the Middle East, and the mother of a 19-year-old soldier just back from his first deployment, in Kuwait. She was working with war widows before becoming state director of the Cruz campaign because "he's been to Babylon and survived." Meaning he's resisted "the seductive nature of Washington."</p> <p>Now she travels with a spreadsheet, supplied by Cruz's national campaign headquarters in Houston, detailing the expected March 8 vote in all of Michigan's 4,500 precincts and the number of votes Cruz needs to get in each in order to win the state.</p> <p>Houston projects that Cruz needs 345,000 of the 1.08 million votes the campaign expects to be cast. Day has on her phone a picture of two of those voters who, with no prompting from the campaign, set up a table outside a tractor supply store to educate voters about Cruz's enthusiasm for the Second Amendment. Other volunteers held a fundraiser at a gun range to pay for a Cruz billboard.</p> <p>Yes, each such anecdote testifies to Cruz's ability to energize a passionate cadre, and, yes, as has been said, the plural of "anecdote" is "data."</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Today, however, much more than when Winston Churchill said so eight decades ago, "We have entered the region of mass effects."</p> <p>In Michigan, as in many of the Super Tuesday states, the Cruz campaign mounted the most ambitious efforts to create telephone-and-shoe-leather get-out-the-vote operations, all of which strengthen the sinews of American democracy.</p> <p>In its approach to Iowa, the campaign identified 150 clusters of Iowans for special attention, including a group of 60 who signed a petition seeking legalization of the sale of fireworks in the state, a group that received a blessing from Cruz in his libertarian mode.</p> <p>But today's saturation journalism about presidential politics - and especially the insatiable appetite of television for the garish sights and sounds of Trump, whose campaign consists almost entirely of feeding this appetite - can raise waves of passion and distraction that wash away more methodical ways of engaging with voters.</p> <p>A Detroit News/WDIV-TV poll, taken Feb. 14-16, after Iowa's caucuses and New Hampshire's primary but before South Carolina's primary and Nevada's caucuses, presented a microcosm of the GOP's national problem: Trump 25.2 percent, undecided 21.3, Cruz 15, Marco Rubio 11.8, John Kasich 10.5, Ben Carson 9, Jeb Bush 5.3.</p> <p>Trump had the highest unfavorable rating (41.3), but the combined 37.3 percent of the three serious Trump rivals still in the race is too fragmented to derail him. And Kasich, from contiguous Ohio, is targeting Michigan.</p> <p>Michigan's primary comes a week - an eternity - after Super Tuesday's 11 primaries altered the political landscape.</p> <p>Michigan is one of the 18 states (and the District of Columbia) - with 242 electoral votes - that Republicans have lost in six consecutive presidential elections, so attention must be paid.</p> <p>Email: <a href="mailto:georgewill@washpost.com" type="external">georgewill@washpost.com</a>; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p> <p />

Michigan is the big test for Cruz

https://abqjournal.com/735448/michigan-is-the-big-test-for-cruz.html

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p>This should bring the foodies out of the woodwork.&amp;#160;</p> <p>Five Star Burgers was recognized Friday by national newspaper USA Today as the &#8220;best burger joint&#8221; in New Mexico, citing the green chile cheeseburger as best in the country.</p> <p>According to a press release sent out by local PR firm The Garrity Group, USA Today said: &#8220;When you talk burgers in New Mexico, you&#8217;re talking green chile cheeseburgers. What distinguishes 5 Star Burgers, with restaurants in Taos and Albuquerque, is quality. Served on a brioche bun from local Fano bakery, their all-natural, hormone- and antibiotic-free Black Angus beef is ground fresh daily and cooked to order. The 8-oz green chile cheeseburgers come in two varieties. Both are delicious.&#8221;</p> <p>Patrons of the ABQ Brew Pub may beg to differ. The Uptown restaurant <a href="../news/metro/16930110998newsmetro09-16-10.htm" type="external">won the Governor&#8217;s Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge</a> at this year&#8217;s New Mexico State Fair.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Naming the &#8220;best&#8221; green chile cheeseburger has become somewhat of a state pastime. So much so, that the New Mexico Department of Tourism has a <a href="http://www.newmexico.org/greenchilecheeseburger/" type="external">map on its web site</a> of the &#8220;good&#8221; ones.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;Five Star Burgers only uses all natural antibiotic free Angus Beef from Harris Ranch in California, according to the press release. Their meat is fresh, never frozen, individually hand crafted, seared to perfection on a steam powered grill and char finished. Five Star Burgers keeps business local and purchases their produce, bread and Hatch green chile from New Mexico. The restaurant also carries beer from local breweries.</p> <p>Five Star Burgers is a well-known Taos restaurant that made its way to Albuquerque in early 2010. Five Star made its mark with locals with popular staples that include fried green chile, green chile mayo and crispy sweet potato fries.</p>

Adding Fuel to the Green Chile Cheesburger Fire

https://abqjournal.com/9597/adding-fuel-to-the-green-chile-cheesburger-fire.html

<p>your email</p> <p>your name</p> <p>recipient(s) email (comma separated)</p> <p /> <p>message</p> <p>captcha</p> <p /> <p>Dec. 7, 2016&#8212;Cars seen traveling in and out of the Oceti Sakowin camp. &amp;#160; (Photo: @crystalwillcuts / Twitter)</p> <p>On Tuesday, following the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) decision not to grant Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) and Sunoco Logistics&amp;#160;the easement necessary to bury the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) under the Lake Oahe reservoir, Standing Rock Sioux Tribal Chairman Dave Archambault II released a statement saying the time had come for water protectors to leave the protest camps when roads are safe and return home.</p> <p>On Monday, the day after the USACE announcement, a blizzard moved through much of central North Dakota. While many had been anticipating the arrival of freezing weather for months, scores of&amp;#160;people who had travelled to Standing Rock to support the tribe over the weekend were caught unprepared by the storm and sought shelter on the reservation at the Prairie Knights Casino and Resort. The general manager of the casino, Everett Iron Eyes Jr., told local reporters 600 to 700 people spent Monday night there&#8212;many happy to sleep in hallways if it meant staying warm.</p> <p>Staying warm in North Dakota this time of year isn't easy.&amp;#160;The projected&amp;#160;high&amp;#160;temperature in Cannonball, N.D., today (Dec. 8, 2016) is 2 degrees. The low is negative 14.&amp;#160;</p> <p>Acknowledging that the fight isn&#8217;t over, but concerned for the safety of all parties involved, Archambault encouraged everyone to leave the campsites as soon as possible&#8212;even, he said, if ETP continues drilling towards federal lands in an effort to provoke campers. &#8220;We do not need to engage them in this; we need to go home,&#8221; wrote Archambault, &#8220;While this phase of the struggle relied largely on the protectors at camp, this next stage will be focused on the legal battles, and keeping the current decision in place.&#8221;</p> <p>The fate of the nearly-completed, $3.7 billion project is uncertain. Though the USACE decision suggests alternate routes be explored while a full environmental impact statement (EIS) is prepared, company executives were quick to reassure their investors they remain &#8220;fully committed&#8221; to finishing the pipeline. Fearing ETP will drill under the reservoir anyway and simply pay a fine after the fact, many water protectors and their supporters are skeptical of leaving.&amp;#160;But Archambault maintains that&amp;#160;the increasing risk of injury or death,&amp;#160;due either&amp;#160;to extreme cold or further confrontations with law enforcement, now jeopardizes&amp;#160;all that has been accomplished.</p> <p>Archambault's&amp;#160; <a href="http://nativenewsonline.net/currents/standing-rock-sioux-chairman-calls-water-protectors-return-home/" type="external">statement</a>&amp;#160;reads:</p> <p>If the camp stays where it is currently located, people are risking their lives. The current weather is severe, making travel impossible. If the camp stays, we run a risk of further provocation from local law enforcement.&amp;#160;Once one person is hurt or property is destroyed, that will lead to more outsized actions by law enforcement. The longer the camp stays, the greater risk we run of seeing further violence at the hands of law enforcement and potential injury to our supporters.</p> <p>Our great leaders of the past would never put the people at risk of harm, especially women and children. I don&#8217;t want anyone to be living in an unsafe environment. We need to stay in prayer, believe in our prayer, and begin our journey home in prayer. I believe in my prayers and in the Creator. Take the lessons we learned here and apply them at home&#8212;unity, peace, prayer.&amp;#160;</p> <p>As the skies began to clear on Wednesday, however, many protestors were still debating&amp;#160;whether&amp;#160;leaving was the best course of action. Rumors that the phrase &#8220;come inauguration day&#8221; had been used in leaked internal ETP emails circulated on social media&#8212;reenforcing&amp;#160;the popular expectation that Donald Trump will reverse the USACE decision the moment he takes office. Mark Tilsen, of South Dakota, told the <a href="http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/with-weather-worsening-nd-tribal-chair-tells-pipeline-protesters-to/article_7806c284-8b6c-5aeb-be3e-c840215853e2.html" type="external">Rapid City Journal</a> that many people were leaving after Monday&#8217;s blizzard, but that he and others planned to stay. Tilsen wrote on his Facebook page: "Ain't over until I'm smoking a cigar on the drill pad.&#8221;</p> <p>Echoing Archambault&#8217;s request, organizers of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1136540643060285/" type="external">Veterans Stand for Standing Rock</a>&#8212;a recent demonstration in which thousands of soldiers travelled to the Oceti Sakowin camp to protect water protectors from police violence and demand action from the federal government&#8212;called for all of its members to respect the wishes of Tribal elders and evacuate as soon as possible:</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p /> <p>(Screengrab: @VeteranStand)</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>The #NoDAPL movement and public support for the Sioux, in some cases, has managed to transcend partisan politics and bring people together. But&amp;#160;there are also those&amp;#160;who feel equally passionate about spending their free time using racist threats to stand up for&amp;#160;faceless multinational oil interests in motel parking lots. On Wednesday afternoon, a <a href="http://www.inforum.com/news/4175352-masked-men-caught-video-threaten-harm-dakota-access-protesters" type="external">chilling video</a> of a Standing Rock Sioux tribal member and his friend getting cut off in their vehicle and threatened by a group of masked men outside a Ramada Inn in Bismarck, N.D., went viral. Those guys either hate Indians or really love oil. It's not fair to speculate who the men behind the masks voted for, but in&amp;#160;42 days&amp;#160;the administration responsible for this temporary pause in pipeline construction will be gone and replaced by President-elect Donald Trump&#8212;a man who while on the campaign trail in North Dakota last May&amp;#160;headlined an annual oil and gas industry conference in Bismarck, hinted&amp;#160;at a bright future for coal&amp;#160;and enthusiastically declared:</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>America has 1.5 times as much oil as the combined proved resources of all OPEC countries. We have more natural gas than Russia, Iran, Qatar and Saudi Arabia combined. We have three times more coal than Russia. Our total untapped oil and gas reserves on federal lands equal an estimated $50 trillion. Think of that. We&#8217;re loaded. We didn&#8217;t even know it. We&#8217;re loaded. We had no idea how rich we were. We&#8217;re richer than all of them, folks.&amp;#160;(See: &#8220; <a href="" type="internal">America First, Planet be Damned: Trump Calls for Orgy of Extraction in North Dakota Energy Speech</a>&#8221;)</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>But Archambault's statement is cautiously optimistic. He says&amp;#160;reversing Sunday&#8217;s historic decision will not be easy for the next administration and that ETP &#8220;will face an uphill battle in trying to dismantle the process initiated by this decision.&#8221; He also reminded&amp;#160;everybody engaged in this fight that&amp;#160;while the Dakota Access pipeline managed to grab the world&#8217;s attention, countless other pipelines&amp;#160;do not. (Coincidentally, on Monday, a <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/crude-oil-spill-north-dakota-2132229574.html" type="external">leaking pipeline</a> was shut down&amp;#160;200 miles west of Standing Rock. For whatever reason, the mainstream media failed to pick up the story.)&amp;#160;</p> <p>For those wondering what comes next, Archambault&amp;#160;in his statement&amp;#160;offers the following:</p> <p>I know this is a victory for this one DAPL battle, but we have not yet won the DAPL war. There will be more battles ahead and we will continue to strategize and win. The camp has brought us this far&#8212;now it is time we pivot to the next phase of this struggle. That will be lead on different fronts like in court, with the new Administration, with Congress, and with the investors.</p> <p>We are establishing a path now to help the world understand that what we asked for and what we got is the right decision. The world is watching us and our behavior will determine the final outcome.</p> <p>In the meantime, he says,&amp;#160;water protectors&amp;#160;need to leave the camps:</p> <p>I am asking each and every one of you to come up with a strategy to close and exit the camp. I respectfully ask that you leave the land as it was when you arrived, and return home before the winter grows more severe. Pass this on&#8212;let everyone know that we are thankful for their passion and commitment and we are thankful for them all standing with us. It&#8217;s time now to enjoy this winter with your families. We need all to respect the host tribe&#8217;s wishes. We are asking all tribes to pass this on to their members.</p> <p>This storm is a glimpse of what is to come as temperatures are still not reaching the winter lows of this region. I understand that folks cannot go at this moment, but as soon as this current storm has passed, we must execute an exit strategy and continue our battles to protect water. These efforts are not only needed in Standing Rock, but they are needed throughout Indian Country, across America and internationally. I want you to know that Standing Rock stands with you as you return home to carry this energy and movement into the future.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p /> <p>Dec. 7, 2016&#8212;Water protectors on foot and horseback travel through camp. (Photo: Johnny Vizcaino / Twitter)</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>Like what you&#8217;ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_RAITT_Article_Footer&amp;amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_RAITT_Article_Footer&amp;amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p>

Standing Rock Tribal Chairman: “Leave Camp When Weather Allows ... More Battles Ahead”

http://inthesetimes.com/rural-america/entry/19705/standing-rock-tribal-chairman-urges-water-protectors-to-leave-camp-NoDAPL

2016-12-08

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. &#8212; A 15-year-old Rio Rancho girl who had been missing for nearly a week has been found with a man in Arizona that she met online, according to Rio Rancho police.</p> <p>Kassandra Junkins&#8217; parents reported her missing Nov. 23. The parents learned she ran away after having conversations with a person over the internet, according to the release.</p> <p>Police said they are investigating the man she was with and haven&#8217;t determined if charges will be filed against him.</p> <p>&#8220;This case serves as a reminder to all parents that they should monitor their children&#8217;s use of the internet, and a realization that there are individuals who use internet interaction to prey upon those whose innocence places them in danger of being exploited,&#8221; the police department said in a news release.</p> <p>In late October, 10-year-old Rio Rancho girl Alexandra Greenwall went missing for several days, prompting an extensive search among local law enforcement agencies. She returned home and has said she spent the days outside and hid from searchers.</p> <p>.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>

Missing Rio Rancho girl found in Arizona

https://abqjournal.com/503147/missing-rio-rancho-girl-found-in-arizona.html

<p>USE OF DRONE WARFARE - The accidental deaths of two innocent hostages in a counterterrorism operation targeting an al Qaeda compound has reignited the debate over drone warfare. It&#8217;s a debate in which even presidential candidates are hesitant to partake, a sign of just how unprepared many of these campaigns are to debate some of the truly heavy issues in the race.</p> <p>SCOTUS TO HEAR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE ORAL ARGUMENTS - As the Supreme Court prepares to hear oral arguments this Tuesday on state-level bans on same-sex marriage, there&#8217;s potential for its June decision to make same-sex marriage a national right.</p> <p>David Boies</p> <p>Co-author, &#8220;Redeeming the Dream; The Case for Marriage Equality&#8221;</p> <p>Ted Olson</p> <p>Former U.S. Solicitor General; Co-author, &#8220;Redeeming the Dream; The Case for Marriage Equality&#8221;</p> <p>Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR)</p> <p>THE WEEKEND OF &#8220;NERD PROM&#8221; - Full of journalists, government officials and celebrities, the audience at the annual White House Correspondents&#8217; Association Dinner is a tough crowd. Chuck will catch up with &#8216;Saturday Night Live&#8217; cast member Cecily Strong immediately after the dinner for her reaction to how her speech fared.</p> <p>Cecily Strong</p> <p>Cast Member of &#8216;Saturday Night Live&#8217;; Host of 2015 White House Correspondents&#8217; Association Dinner</p> <p>&#8220;DOONESBURY&#8221; CREATOR - Garry Trudeau, best known for creating the Pulitzer Prize-winning Doonesbury comic strip, recently made news with remarks that the work of those at Charlie Hebdo &#8220;wandered into the realm of hate speech.&#8221;</p> <p>Garry Trudeau</p> <p>Creator, &#8220;Doonesbury&#8221; and &#8220;Alpha House&#8221;</p> <p>POLITICAL PANEL - As money pours into the 2016 presidential race, all eyes are on the Clinton Foundation, the Koch Brothers, Sheldon Adelson and super PACs as candidates make the rounds in Iowa and New Hampshire.</p> <p>Matt Bai</p> <p>National Political Columnist for Yahoo! News</p> <p>Helene Cooper</p> <p>Pentagon Correspondent for The New York Times</p> <p>Doris Kearns Goodwin</p> <p>American Biographer; Author of &#8220;The Bully Pulpit&#8221;</p> <p>Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR)</p>

Sunday on MTP: America’s Drone War

http://nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/sunday-mtp-americas-drone-war-n348016

2015-04-24

<p>Bad Advice from a Friend&#8230;&#8230;</p> <p>Dahiyeh, SOUTH BEIRUT &#8212; This observer admits that politically speaking, things might appear a bit tough for Hezbollah these days, but will spare the dear reader the tedium of a laundry list of what the Party has experienced over the past 20 months in terms of domestic and foreign attacks, condemnations, calumny, obliquey, sundry plots, and legislative and political wounds, some a result of the Party of God lumbering under the weight of some tawdry political &#8216;allies&#8217; who it must work with in Parliament. Some of the more commonly known and intensifying targeting of the Resistance by its internal and foreign foes who have pledged at all costs to dismantle it but sowing Sunni-Shia discords, include exploiting the chaos in Syria, manipulating the frustrations of the Lebanese public given widespread lack of public services, and attacking Hezbollah&#8217;s success in linking its military power with its growing political power but periodically insisting that it gives up its weapons.</p> <p>Concerned friends of Hezbollah sometimes overreact out of sincere solidarity and friendship and a desire to protect the Resistance from surrounding events that are swirling out of control around them. Perhaps it is in this context that Ibrahim al Amin, the editor in chief of the pro-Hezbollah Beirut newspaper, Al Akbar, is demanding that Hezbollah throw in the towel and withdraw from Lebanese politics.</p> <p>On July 18, the 6th anniversary of Lebanon&#8217;s July 2006 victory over Israel during the latter&#8217;s fifth war against Lebanon which included its brutal 1978, 1982,1993, 1996 aggressions, it was quite normal to discuss and evaluate &amp;#160;where the Resistance is today in terms of its work and goals, not least of which is Hezbollah&#8217;s moral, religious, political, and humanitarian duties to support the Palestinians growing international campaigns to retrieve their country which is still occupied by &amp;#160;a Zionist colonial regime after more than six decades, and their obligation to enact in Parliament right to work and home ownership legislation for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.</p> <p>One interesting proposal&#8212;even provocative, but wrong-headed, in this observer&#8217;s opinion&#8212;was put forward in a July 18 editorial by Ibrahim al-Amin, reputed to be close to some Hezbollah officials.</p> <p>Editor al-Amin did not mince his words, declaring thus:</p> <p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no longer any point in the resistance (Hezbollah) remaining in government. The government is no longer good for anything. No good will come from the current (Hezbollah led) government surviving.</p> <p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no longer any point in the resistance remaining in any branch of Lebanon&#8217;s government, not even in parliament. It&#8217;s impossible for it to play a legislative role given the weird and wondrous partnership between the executive and legislative establishments.</p> <p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no longer any point in the resistance remaining involved in domestic political quarrels or discussions&#8230;There&#8217;s no longer any point in the resistance getting mixed up in political games that tarnish its reputation, undermine its standing, and make it resemble the gangsters who make up most of the political class in this land of the deranged.&#8221;</p> <p>Al-Amin editorializes that</p> <p>&#8220;The system sees the resistance as an alien body which must be ejected by any means: through isolation if possible, sectarian strife if necessary, and treason and the summoning of foreign invaders when desperate.&#8221;</p> <p>Al Amin additionally concluded:</p> <p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no longer any point in the resistance continuing to be involved in government crises which it never had anything to do with, and when there is no real partnership in decision-making. This reduces it to the role of mute witness to daily acts of robbery, waste, sabotage and the destruction of what remains of the hybrid state.</p> <p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no longer any point in the resistance remaining around the table with people who are above the law, however lofty or lowly their ranks. This has become akin to providing cover for the debasement of every family and individual in the country.</p> <p>&#8220;There&#8217;s no longer any point in the resistance remaining a player in a game of appointments and patronage that does nothing to protect the resistance fighters or maintain the dignity of their families. Instead it isolates those who are willing to sacrifice all they hold dear for their people and beliefs but still cannot cross a road un-harassed or provide for their children.</p> <p>&#8220;What use is there in Hezbollah staying in a government, parliament or other state bodies that it cannot trust?</p> <p>&#8220;What is the use of remaining in a government that provides misleading, fabricated or skewed information to sustain an international body which seeks to damage the resistance in the name of justice &#8211; helping Israel achieve what it failed to do by force of arms? It grinds its people to the bone, and will not spend a penny on developing public utility.</p> <p>&#8220;What is the use of remaining in a government that provides misleading, fabricated or skewed information to sustain an international body which seeks to damage the resistance in the name of justice &#8211; helping Israel achieve what it failed to do by force of arms? It grinds its people to the bone, and will not spend a penny on developing public utility.&#8221;</p> <p>Editor in Chief Amin&#8217;s &amp;#160;sunshine-patriot weak-kneed laments and his apparent eagerness to throw in the Resistance towel plus his expressed fears sound at times like they were written by a speech writer last July for Libya&#8217;s &amp;#160;Gadhafi&amp;#160; or Yemen&#8217;s Salah, and he errs with virtually every syllable he pens.</p> <p>Defending its political mantle and participation in government is key for the future of the Hezbollah led Resistance. The Resistance is bigger than Hezbollah and has now become truly international as has its project of supporting the Palestinian cause.&amp;#160; Daily, the Resistance gains strength and support as Israel weakens and US and Western regional implantations and hegemony fades into the pages of history books.</p> <p>Setbacks are surely in store for the Party of God, as with this country, region, movement, era, and culture of Resistance, inspired as it is by the 7th century sacrifices for the commonweal by Hussein bin Ali and the martyrs at Karbala and the 1st century C.E.&amp;#160;Martyred Prophet from Nazareth at Calvary.</p> <p>Were the logic of the no doubt well-meaning Al Akbar editor to prevail, and were Hezbollah to become ostrich-like politically, the predictable result would be nothing less and quite likely rather more than the following consequences.</p> <p>Withdrawing from the political battles in Lebanon&#8217;s government would be an egregious capitulation to the designs of Elliot Abrams and the Bush administration when Abrams requested in 2004 of the Saudi Regime, $50 million in funding to set up the March 14th coalition. Abdicating its legislative duties would be for the Resistance to cave to the likes of Israel&#8217;s Netanyahu, the Zionist controlled US Congress, reactionary despotic Arab regimes and other defenders of the Zionist occupation of Palestine &amp;#160;at the expense of people of goodwill everywhere and supporters of the Hezbollah led Resistance throughout&amp;#160; Lebanon as well as internationally.</p> <p>The suggestion that Hezbollah cannot remain cutting edge in its military preparedness simultaneous with the high quality of its Parliamentary delegation including Mohammad Raad, Nawaf Musawi, Ali Fayad, Hassan Fadallah, and Mohammed Fneish, to name just a few, is faulty.&amp;#160; This stellar Loyalty to the Resistance team is more than capable of continuing to advance the Hezbollah campaign pledges and party platforms in Parliament and get results while Hezbollah remains vigilant and prepared to defeat the coming Israeli aggression.</p> <p>The decision of Hezbollah to participate in Lebanese politics and government was the right decision when it was debated and decided in 1992 and it remains even more so today.</p> <p>Hezbollah is known for its culture of dialogue, analysis, elements of democratic centralism and patience in decision making. &amp;#160;Many supporters of the Resistance, including this observer, believe that proposals for Hezbollah to disengage from Lebanese politics err at best, and at worst they are patently absurd, counter-Resistance, and undermine prospects for a prosperous future for Lebanon and the people of all 18 confessions who Hezbollah seek to serve.&amp;#160; Participating in Lebanon&#8217;s government, and not least in the mundane work of trying to ameliorate scores of local government problems after decades of neglect, is a noble cause.</p> <p>Whether in Palestine or here in Lebanon, the Resistance takes nearly countless forms, paths, protests, operations, from military to academic and social.&amp;#160; Continuing to engage every day, every hour with Lebanon&#8217;s government of which Hezbollah is an essential component and is vital.</p> <p>Now is not the time to throw in the towel just because times are tough, but it would be well for the tough to get a move on and to redouble efforts to serve the people by concrete results from Parliament and through government agencies.</p>

Now’s Not the Time for Hezbollah to Cut-and-Run

http://foreignpolicyjournal.com/2012/07/23/nows-not-the-time-for-hezbollah-to-cut-and-run/

2012-07-23

<p>Bill Fletcher, Jr. is a columnist, activist, author and labor organizer. He is the executive assistant to the national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees. Bill is an editorial board member of BlackComentator.com, as well as the chairman of the Retail Justice Alliance. He is also the co-author of "Solidarity Divided"; and the author of the newly released book, 'They're Bankrupting Us' - And Twenty Other Myths about Unions . He is a co-founder of the Center for Labor Renewal, and has served as President of TransAfrica Forum and was formerly the Education Director and later Assistant to the President of the AFL-CIO.</p> <p>Sam Gindin is the former Assistant to the President of the Canadian Autoworkers Union and currently a Professor of Political Science at York University. He is a frequent contributor to Canadian Dimension, The Bullet, Alternatives, and others. Gindin authored a biography of CAW entitled The Canadian Auto Workers: Birth and Transformation of a Union</p> <p /> <p /> <p /> <p /> PAUL JAY, SENIOR EDITOR, TRNN: Welcome back to The Real News Network. I'm Paul Jay in Baltimore. <p /> <p />We are continuing our discussion in the light or context of May 1 on the state of the working-class movement in North America. <p /> <p />And joining us again, first of all, from Toronto is Sam Gindin. Sam is the former assistant to the president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, adjunct professor in political science at York University. He's the co-author with real planets of The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire. <p /> <p />And joining us from Maryland again is Bill Fletcher Jr., a columnist, activist, author, labor organizer, and executive assistant to the national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees. And he's the author of the book "They Are Bankrupting Us!" And 20 Other Myths about Unions. <p /> <p />Thanks for joining us, both. <p /> <p />BILL FLETCHER JR., AUTHOR AND ACTIVIST: Thank you. <p /> <p />JAY: Okay. Bill, again starting with you, it seems to me part of the issue--and let me just say to our audience, if you haven't watched part one, you've really got to, because we're just picking this up from there. <p /> <p />One of the issues in the United States is how wedded most of the union leadership is with the Democratic Party. Now, I know this isn't a simple issue. If you look at what's happening at the state levels and the federal level, particularly the state level, some of the Republican governments are passing even more draconian laws against unions than there already were. I understand that sometimes unions feel themselves a bit between a rock and a hard place, because if they don't finance and help support the Democratic Party, they can be looking at a far, far worse situation. <p /> <p />That being said, they--certainly at the national level and mostly at state levels, they rarely have put enough pressure on Democratic parties when they do get elected to actually change much in their favor. Certainly with President Obama, they were promised the Employee Free Choice Act, and that never happened, and you hardly hear a word about it from any trade union leaders. And I often--when I see these millions of dollars of donations in television ads, I always wonder to myself: where is the campaign of the unions to try to persuade unorganized workers to get into unions and deal with some of the myths you dealt with in your book? And there doesn't seem to be a heck of a lot of union money spent on that. So what do you make of why the unions, you know, keep getting caught in this same box over and over again? <p /> <p />FLETCHER: Desperation, pure and simple. We are getting squeezed. We're facing annihilation. And the leadership is very desperate, and they believe that the solution actually rests in certain forms of political participation--and I say certain forms because there is a form of political participation in which they could engage that would actually be quite dramatic. You know, you could imagine the unions joining with other groups and developing a platform and forms of organization, running candidates in Democratic primaries, and turning things upside down as the Tea Party did in the Republican Party. It is absolutely doable. This is not rocket science. <p /> <p />The problem is that even if you go that route, that means in many cases clashing with certain leaders in the Democratic Party that much of the leadership of organized labor would like to believe are our friends, for example the Clintons. You know, you have to remember, in the primary that took place a few years ago against then senator Blanche Lincoln, there were incredible attacks against the unions for supporting an insurgency within the primary, and there were many leaders in organized labor that really were shaken by that entire experience. So desperation drives them, they are holding on tight, and they're very reluctant to take the risks that are necessary. <p /> <p />JAY: Right. I once sat at a lunch with some very senior people in one of the biggest unions, and one of their sort of Washington advisers was there. And I asked this exact question: why don't you contend for leadership within the Democratic Party? Why do you cede it, and essentially cede it to Wall Street, certainly in the case of President Obama, but not only President Obama, most of the nominees for a while? They really represent a section of the elite that has--big section of capital. I said, why don't you contend? And the answer was immediate and simple: 'cause they're the ones with the cash, they're the ones who are liquid. If you want to fight the Republicans--and we do--we need their cash to fight. And that was the limit of that vision. <p /> <p />FLETCHER: It's a ridiculous limit. It's a ridiculous vision, I should say. See, Paul, we're in a situation--they talk in military terms of asymmetrical warfare. We cannot fight the other side with the illusion that we have the same resources, under the best of circumstances, as the other side. And we're not going to have the money. And I'm tired of hearing union people complain and cry about we don't have the money of the Koch brothers. We're never going to have the money of the Koch brothers. We're not going to have those resources. We don't have Fox News that is battering people with this right-wing propaganda. So it's an asymmetrical situation. <p /> <p />The challenge for the union movement is to understand that it is asymmetrical, and therefore for us to figure out what sort of strategy corresponds to that situation. What tactical initiatives can we take that will build up strength? How do we position ourselves so the idea of relying on Democrats or anyone else to supply us with the types of resources we need in order to win elections, that is a strategy that is doomed to failure? <p /> <p />JAY: I get a chance to talk to a lot of union leaders, national union leaders, and with the exception of a handful, they're out of steam, they're out of energy. I mean, this discussion and the kind of things both of you are talking about, this isn't going to come from them; it's going to come from younger and other workers in the unions. And so what do you have to say to them, Sam? <p /> <p />SAM GINDIN, PROF. POLITICAL SCIENCE, YORK UNIVERSITY: Well, I think you're absolutely right. I mean, obviously there's differences within the leadership. But generally, if I was looking at what's happening in Canada, a lot of the leaders are just overwhelmed by what's happening. It's difficult. They're not sure what to do about it. Other times, they actually look to suggesting vote NDP, vote social democrat, because if they don't have that to put forth as an alternative, they have to ask--you know, they'd have the members always asking them, well, what are you going to do? And it raises all the questions that Bill is raising. And that raises a very a lot of very uncomfortable questions, because it really does mean changing the whole structure of the unions. <p /> <p />And one of the depressing things to me about what's been happening over the, you know, last three decades, but especially since the crisis, is we aren't even having that kind of serious debate about our limits inside the trade union movement, which is so absolutely crucial to even get started. <p /> <p />And you're right: this is not going to--you know, the dilemma we're in is it isn't going to be changed from the top. I think, you know, it's clear enough that that can't happen. The question is: can it happen from below? And that's also incredibly difficult. You know, the workers have all kinds of pressures on their daily lives. They don't have time. They're fragmented. They don't even have the resources that the leadership have. <p /> <p />And, you know, you make comparisons to the '30s for example. The point is there was a left. There was a left that could actually bring a larger perspective to workers, give them confidence, create structures that they could work through. That's what's missing. <p /> <p />And I think the critical problem is that this isn't going to change. And I'm speaking for Canada, but I think very much for the U.S. as well. Until we have a left that can actually show people that there are structures through which you can fight and make a difference, that can begin to link people across workplaces so they're not so divided, that can say, look, there's all this pressure on you to think about the short-term--that's why you're quickly hoping that if you vote for somebody it will change. But unless you start thinking about the long term, we're always going to be in that short-term bind. And those are the kind of things that a left can do. And that's absolutely critical to thinking about what can change [crosstalk] <p /> <p />JAY: Yeah, it seems to me the unions are to a large extent still very rooted in, you know, what they used to call Gomperism, you know, trade unions pure and simple, that workers should worry about wages and working conditions but leave politics, you know, to the essentially capitalist parties. And, like, just to build on what you're saying, Sam, if there's not a vision for what a different kind of society can look like, can you actually revive these trade unions? <p /> <p />GINDIN: I just want to add that, you know, there are trade union leaders who, you know, have learned certain things about it. They talk now more about social movement unionism, they talk more about alliances. But I think what they're not getting is that if you really want to do this--you know, the extent to which things have been polarized. To do really really do those things isn't just, you know, changing some marginal thing and bringing in some social movements or giving them some funds. And that's the problem. For that to happen, that kind of profound change, I think would actually require the kind of a left that has its feet inside and outside the labor movement. <p /> <p />JAY: Bill, are there signs of that in the United States? <p /> <p />FLETCHER: Well, yeah. Let me--yes. And I just want to qualify something slightly that Sam was raising. <p /> <p />There are no saviors. But the transformation of the union movement is going to necessitate a combination of energy at the base, as well as good leaders. And we can't underestimate the importance of good leaders. If you look at the Amalgamated Transit Union, for example, it makes a difference that Larry Hanley is the president and that he is calling upon people to openly engage in a transformation process. That makes a very big difference. And it makes a difference in reverse when you have unions where the leadership is silent, is complacent, etc. So I think that we're going to need both of these things to happen. <p /> <p />And, yes, I continue to remain optimistic, Paul, that this can actually be turned around. But it does necessitate, in order for that to happen, fervent ferment at the base. The Chicago Teachers Union again I go back to. It's not just the Chicago Teachers Union. You have in Milwaukee, you have in a number of cities around the country these locals that are emerging with new leaders that are posing some very, very provocative questions not only about unionism, but also about education, public education. That is the sort of direction we need. We have--I mentioned the Amalgamated Transit Union. The United Steelworkers that has been entertaining this entire idea of the pact with the Mondragon cooperatives of the Basque region of Spain. There are reasons to be excited and intrigued by various possibilities that are out there. The question is ultimately whether these things will cascade. <p /> <p />And that takes us directly to what Sam was saying about the critical importance of a left. Without a left, without a force that's there that understands the need to actually transcend capitalism, ultimately, and has people dedicated to that, we won't see a fundamental transformation of the union movement. <p /> <p />JAY: Okay. Thank you both for joining us. <p /> <p />GINDIN: Great to be here. <p /> <p />FLETCHER: It's great to be on the program. <p /> <p />JAY: Thank you. <p /> <p />And thank you for joining us on The Real News Network. <p /> <p />End <p /> <p />DISCLAIMER: Please note that transcripts for The Real News Network are typed from a recording of the program. TRNN cannot guarantee their complete accuracy.

Why Aren't North American Workers More Militant? (2/2)

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option%3Dcom_content%26task%3Dview%26id%3D767%26Itemid%3D74%26jumival%3D11807

2014-05-01

<p>Pat DiNizio, founder and lead singer of New Jersey rock band The Smithereens has died at the age of 62, the band announced tonight (Dec. 12) on Facebook. The cause of death is as yet unknown.</p> <p>The Smithereens formed in Carteret, New Jersey in 1980 and were regarded as an influential group in the Garden State, scoring two alternative radio hits with &#8220;Only a Memory&#8221; in 1988 and &#8220;A Girl Like You&#8221; in 1989. The news comes as a shock to Smithereens fans as the band just announced they were about to head out on a tour in January. The trek included a date at the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, NJ with Scandal.</p> <p>The group was forced to cancel three tour dates earlier this fall after the singer sustained injuries from a fall in his home in September. When fans expressed concern on his Facebook page, he calmed fears writing &#8220;Reports of my demise have been greatly exaggerated! Trust me, I am not on my deathbed or anywhere near it.&#8221;</p> <p>DiNizio was previously injured in 2013 after slipping on ice outside of his Scotch Plains home. The injury required surgery to repair damage to his nerves in his right arm and hand, preventing him from being able to play his guitar. Smithereens supporter Victor Erlanger and the group&#8217;s fanbase rallied to help DiNizio pay for his surgery with a <a href="https://officialsmithereens.com/4393/help-keep-pat-dinizio-jamming/" type="external">GoFundMe campaign</a>, an effort that touched the singer, who expressed his feelings in song with a cover of &#8220;Days&#8221; by The Kinks.</p> <p>Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken honored his friend with a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10213417586806966&amp;amp;set=a.1123828008752.20541.1018667186&amp;amp;type=3&amp;amp;theater" type="external">touching post on his Facebook page</a>, remembering how the songwriter had the &#8220;magic touch&#8221; with &#8220;hook-laden three minute pop songs.&#8221;</p> <p>Shortly after the band posted the sad news, several radio personalities and musicians expressed their grief on social media.</p> <p><a href="https://twitter.com/Diane_Warren/status/940829591161237504" type="external">https://twitter.com/Diane_Warren/status/940829591161237504</a></p> <p />

Pat DiNizio of the Smithereens Dies at 62

https://newsline.com/pat-dinizio-of-the-smithereens-dies-at-62/

2017-12-13

<p>After weeks of quarrels, qualms and then eleventh-hour horse-trading, Republicans revealed the details of their huge national tax rewrite late Friday.</p> <p>Republican Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and Marco Rubio of Florida announced their support for the bill after members of the House Freedom Caucus agreed to support it. Those votes all but guarantee President Donald Trump has the support needed to pass the bill next week.</p> <p>The White House praised the Republican tax bill. Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders says President Donald Trump "applauds the House and Senate conferees on coming to an agreement ... and looks forward to fulfilling the promise he made to the American people to give them a tax cut by the end of the year."</p> <p>Below is a review of what is in the GOP tax plan.</p> <p /> <p>The White House and Republicans in Congress say the plan will grow the economy and make the U.S. more competitive. However, the preliminary deficit estimate for the final version of the GOP tax bill says it would add $1.46 trillion to the budget deficit over the coming 10 years.</p> <p>The true deficit cost is likely to be even higher if lawmakers extend the tax cuts for individuals before they expire at the end of 2025. This "sunset" gimmick is used to make the tax cuts more generous over the eight years they would be in force.</p> <p /> <p>Overall, the legislation would <a href="http://wjla.com/news/nation-world/ample-tax-cuts-for-business-wealthy-in-new-gop-tax-accord" type="external">slash tax rates for big business</a> and lower levies on the richest Americans in a massive $1.5 trillion bill. Benefits for most other taxpayers would be smaller.</p> <p>The <a href="https://www.jct.gov/" type="external">Joint Committee on Taxation</a> analysis combines revenue losses from rate cuts with tax increases from repeal of deductions and other preferences. All told, cuts for individuals and businesses taxed under the code for individuals account for $1.1 trillion of the net tax cuts.</p> <p>The <a href="http://wjla.com/news/connect-to-congress/house-republicans-tax-reform-will-be-great-christmas-gift-for-americans" type="external">final version</a> of the GOP tax bill would create seven tax brackets, including a new 37 percent rate for top-end wage earners.</p> <p>The new rates start at 10 percent and rise to 12, 22, 24, 32, 35 and 37 percent.</p> <p>The measure also lowers the top corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. It provides sweeping tax deductions to other businesses lowering their top effective tax rate to about 30 percent instead of 39.6 percent.</p> <p /> <p>The final version of the GOP tax bill would provide a $2,000 per child tax credit to families making up to $400,000 a year.</p> <p>That doubles the child tax credit from the current maximum of $1,000 and makes it available to a greater number of middle- and upper-bracket families.</p> <p>The credit was a top priority of GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, who won a late-stage concession that would make up to $1,400 of the credit available as a tax refund to lower- and middle-income families with relatively small tax bills.</p> <p>It would begin to phase out for families earning above $400,000. That's down from $500,000 in the original Senate measure, which passed earlier this month.</p> <p /> <p>The tax bill barreling toward a final vote in Congress guts the most unpopular "Obamacare" provision, its requirement that virtually all Americans carry health insurance or face fines.</p> <p>Politically, the move is a winner for Republicans, who otherwise would have little to show for seven years of rhetoric and repeated legislative efforts to kill the Affordable Care Act.</p> <p>But if estimates by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office are right, it will lead to more uninsured people and higher premiums for those buying individual health insurance policies.</p> <p>Congress may then find itself considering other ways to nudge people to get health insurance.Other popular parts of the Affordable Care Act would remain in place, including subsidized premiums, "essential" benefits and protections for people with pre-existing medical conditions.</p> <p /> <p /> <p>The Republican tax overhaul would keep a popular deduction for Americans with expensive medical bills.Taxpayers can deduct medical expenses not covered by insurance when they exceed 10 percent of adjusted gross income. The threshold is 7.5 percent for taxpayers who are 65 or older.</p> <p>The bill temporarily expands the medical expense deduction by applying the 7.5 percent threshold to all taxpayers in 2018 and 2019.</p> <p>A return to the 10 percent threshold takes place beginning in 2020.</p> <p>The House bill would have eliminated medical expense deductions, so senators ended up prevailing in negotiations.</p> <p>Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, sought to reduce the threshold for deducting medical expenses, saying it would particularly help seniors and people with chronic conditions.</p> <p /> <p /> <p>Count commuters among the losers in the Republican tax bill that the House and Senate are expected to vote on next week.</p> <p>The final bill agreed to by Republican negotiators and released late Friday eliminates the tax incentive for private employers that subsidize their employees' transit, parking and bicycle commuting expenses.</p> <p>Companies currently can provide parking or transit passes worth up to $255 a month to employees as a benefit to help pay for their commuting expenses, then deduct the costs from their corporate taxes.</p> <p>Businesses would no longer be able write-off $20 a month per employee to cover the expense of commuting by bicycle.</p> <p /> <p>A tax bill moving forward in Congress would open Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas drilling, a longtime Republican priority that most Democrats fiercely oppose.</p> <p>The 19.6-million-acre refuge in northeastern Alaska is one of the most pristine areas in the United States and is home to polar bears, caribou, migratory birds and other wildlife.</p> <p>Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and other Republicans say drilling can be done safely with new technology, while ensuring a steady energy supply for West Coast refineries.</p> <p>Democrats and environmental groups say the GOP plan risks spoiling one of the nation's most pristine areas and is especially unwise at a time when U.S. oil production is booming, with imports declining and exports reaching record levels.</p> <p /> <p>Stocks have finished higher on Wall Street as Congressional Republicans put the final touches on a tax overhaul plan.</p> <p>The gains today more than wiped out the market's losses from the day before and drove indexes to their latest all-time highs. The S&amp;amp;P 500 rose over 23 points to 2,675. The Dow climbed 143 points to 24,651 and the Nasdaq ended the day up 80 points to 6,936. The Russell 2000 index of small cap firms rose 23 points to 1,530.</p> <p>The Associated Press contributed to this report.</p>

Republicans prepare to pass sweeping tax overhaul, here's what's in the bill

https://circa.com/story/2017/12/16/politics/republicans-prepare-to-pass-sweeping-tax-overhaul-heres-whats-in-the-bill

2017-12-16

<p>(Photo by Andreas Praefcke via Wikimedia Commons)</p> <p>F. Scott Black, a longtime fixture in Baltimore theater, will be the speaker at the Prime Timers general meeting on Sunday. His topic will be &#8220;A Personal History of Community Theater in Baltimore.&#8221; The meeting starts at 6 p.m. and will take place at St. Mark&#8217;s Lutheran Church at St. Paul &amp;amp; 20th Streets in Baltimore.</p> <p>Prime Timers of Baltimore is a chapter of Prime Timers World Wide, a group of older gay or bisexual men (and younger men who admire mature men).</p> <p>Black founded the Cockpit in Court Summer Theatre on the campus of CCBC Essex that produces musicals, comedies and dramas as well as children&#8217;s musicals. He also operated the F. Scott Black Dinner Theatre for 20 years and has performed in various community theater productions.</p> <p>For further information, call 410-252-7239, or contact Prime Timers at <a href="mailto:info@ptbalto.org" type="external">info@ptbalto.org</a>.</p> <p><a href="" type="internal">Baltimore</a> <a href="" type="internal">bisexual</a> <a href="" type="internal">CCBC-Essex</a> <a href="" type="internal">Court Summer Theatre</a> <a href="" type="internal">F. Scott Black</a> <a href="" type="internal">F. Scott Black Dinner Theatre</a> <a href="" type="internal">gay</a> <a href="" type="internal">Maryland</a> <a href="" type="internal">Prime Timers</a> <a href="" type="internal">Prime Timers World Wide</a> <a href="" type="internal">St. Mark's Lutheran Church</a></p>

Theater personality to address Prime Timers

http://washingtonblade.com/2016/05/06/theater-personality-to-address-prime-timers/

<p>It was Monday afternoon,&amp;#160;and Kenyan high-schoolers were getting ready to finish up class&amp;#160;for the day, when it happened.</p> <p>About 200 students were in their classrooms when police fired a tear-gas canister over a cluster of tin-roofed houses and directly into Nairobi&#8217;s Silver Spring Secondary School compound.</p> <p>The anti-riot police were attempting to control a group of protesters who set&amp;#160;tires on fire in a road in Kibera, a sprawling informal settlement in the Kenyan capital. It is unclear why the officer fired the canister into the school&#8217;s vicinity, a mostly residential area more than 1,000 feet away from the blocked thoroughfare.</p> <p /> <p>Police attempted&amp;#160;to extinguish burning tires that blocked&amp;#160;a main road in the Kibera slum.</p> <p>Katie G. Nelson</p> <p>Screaming students poured out of the single-story school, overwhelmed by the pungent smell and sting of tear gas. One student carried a female classmate who had fainted (seen above), while others rushed to find water to wash the toxins from their face and eyes.</p> <p /> <p>A student runs from Silver Spring Secondary School after a tear-gas canister landed inside the compound.</p> <p>Katie G. Nelson</p> <p>&#8220;They are throwing the tear gas everywhere,&#8221; said Isaiah Nyongesa, director of Silver Spring Secondary School. &#8220;Our teachers were just inside the classrooms teaching. I don&#8217;t understand why they are targeting the school.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t interfere with the learning process. They are innocent they are students after their education,&#8221; he added. &amp;#160;</p> <p>Police also used tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters in the coastal town of Mombasa on Monday. Several people died during protests in the town of Kisumu near the Ugandan border, <a href="http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000202838/three-die-in-western-kenya-and-scores-injured-in-protests" type="external">according to local media</a>.</p> <p /> <p>Kenyan anti-riot police prepare to approach opposition demonstrators in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya.</p> <p>Katie G. Nelson</p> <p>The demonstrations are part of a growing political movement calling to reform Kenya&#8217;s electoral commission, which faces allegations of corruption and backdoor dealings.</p> <p>Spearheading the movement is Kenya&#8217;s opposition party, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), which claims the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is politically biased and unfit to preside over upcoming elections in 2017.</p> <p>Established in 2011, the commission is responsible for registering voters, regulating political party activities and monitoring the country&#8217;s voting process.</p> <p>Electoral commission members have been accused of widespread corruption after evidence emerged that executives of UK printing company Smith and Ouzman Ltd. paid kickbacks to people in Kenya and various other countries. That company had a lucrative contract to provide ballot materials for Kenya&#8217;s 2013 elections.</p> <p>CORD leader and former presidential candidate Raila Odinga has threatened his party would&amp;#160;boycott&amp;#160;elections unless the electoral commission is disbanded.</p> <p /> <p>Anti-riot police approach demonstrators in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya.</p> <p>Katie G. Nelson</p> <p>The Kenyan government has responded swiftly, and often violently, to the demonstrations &#8212; using tear gas, water cannons and batons to control protesters. Those crackdowns are heightening fears that Kenya could plunge into violence mirroring past presidential votes.</p> <p>Kenya&#8217;s 2007-2008 elections were marred by violence after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki &#8212; a member of the ethnic majority &#8212; claimed victory over opposition leader Raila Odinga. Kibaki&#8217;s contested victory set off a wave of ethnically and politically based fighting that left hundreds of Kenyans dead and as many as 600,000 displaced.</p>

Kenya's riot police fired tear gas into a high school for no apparent reason (PHOTOS)

https://pri.org/stories/2016-05-26/kenyas-riot-police-fired-tear-gas-high-school-no-apparent-reason-photos

2016-05-26

<p>Chad Michaels (Photo courtesy Project Publicity)</p> <p>&#8220;RuPaul&#8217;s Drag Race All Stars&#8221; winner Chad Michaels performs at the La Boum Brunch at Saint Yves (1220 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) on&amp;#160;Sunday, Nov. 5 from noon-4 p.m.</p> <p>Michaels will &#8220;turn back time&#8221; celebrating Daylight Saving Time with a Cher impersonation. Gigi Holliday will join as co-host. DJ Matt Bailer will spin tracks. The brunch party includes a buffet at&amp;#160;noon. Food is not guaranteed after&amp;#160;1 p.m.&amp;#160;Tickets are $45 plus a 20 percent gratuity.</p> <p>For more details, visit&amp;#160; <a href="http://laboumbrunch.com/" type="external">laboumbrunch.com</a>.</p> <p><a href="" type="internal">Chad Michaels</a> <a href="" type="internal">Cher</a> <a href="" type="internal">DJ Matt Bailer</a> <a href="" type="internal">Gigi Holliday</a> <a href="" type="internal">La Boum Brunch at Saint Yves</a> <a href="" type="internal">Ru Paul's Drag Race</a></p>

Champ Chad channels Cher

http://washingtonblade.com/2017/10/28/champ-chad-channels-cher/

<p>Photo by Christopher Michel | <a href="" type="internal">CC BY 2.0</a></p> <p>&#8220;There was a conversion of cultures between the milieu of the underworld and the world of the clandestine operative.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8211; Alfred McCoy</p> <p>&#8220;I would like to say to those who think of my pictures as serene&#8230; that I have imprisoned the most utter violence in every inch of their surface.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8213; Mark Rothko</p> <p>Recent writing on CIA&#8217;s role in the kulturkampf against the Red Menace paints an image of debonair spooks recruiting the most interesting Western artists and using them, unbeknownst, as a liberal wedge against radical movements at home and abroad. The Agency created cultural institutions, magazines and, most importantly, a financial market to support movements such as Abstract Expressionism; it penned articles in favor of a liberal-leftish ideology of self-expression that could exist only in the &#8216;democratic&#8217; West; it organized exhibits, printed books, organized press conferences and it paid grants. <a href="" type="internal">Episodes</a> from the operations resemble the work of a paranoid comic programmer with sinister preoccupations. It is as if Thomas Pynchon, MK GRVTI 49, was behind the whole thing, perhaps working both sides against the middle, like one of his characters.</p> <p>The Dec 4 Guardian <a href="" type="internal">piece</a> on the Berlin House of Cultures of the World, an incubus created by Allan Dulles&#8217; sister Eleanor, even credits the CIA with excellent taste in art. What the hell is &#8216;taste&#8217; anyway? Perhaps the spooks were a little chic, in the sleek and slippery manner of The New Yorker, proficient at the recall of provenance and dates, at now-dated art terminology; semi-professional bullshitters able to fool other bullshitters &#8211; just the opposite of the way a bright child might think about art. It&#8217;s more likely that the CIA merely trolled the galleries and &#8216;signed&#8217; anything marked controversial or edgy in the press, in the same way that record companies signed late &#8216;60s rock bands, carte blanche. Simply pinpoint a trendy controversial critic like Clement Greenberg and there you have a list of accessible properties for use in the cultural Cold War.</p> <p>In addition to Black Sites, CIA also has an abstract art trove. Apparently, it is just down the hall from The Intelligence Art Collection and the stiff portraits of dead Agency czars. Information on the collection and its supposed &#8216;secrecy&#8217; devolves into the usual smoke-and-mirrors labyrinth like anything connected with Langley. It&#8217;s now available online for the first time ( <a href="https://hyperallergic.com/294142/a-visit-to-the-the-cias-secret-abstract-art-collection/" type="external">Here</a> is a typically ridiculous account of visiting the installation itself). They got their artwork through third parties. Perhaps. &#8220;Personally, I would never have sold a painting to the CIA&#8221;, said Secret Agent Barnett Newman. Inside Orange, Agent Orange&#8230;</p> <p>Long before the first spook-art revelations appeared, communist and Poet Kenneth Rexroth identified the angle of the CIA&#8217;s rabidly self-obsessed assets. In his introduction to Mai Mai Sze&#8217;s <a href="" type="internal">The Tao of Painting</a>, an extraordinary manual of Classical Chinese painting, he wrote that: &#8220;Nothing could be a better answer to the problems and dilemmas of modern abstract expressionism. Nothing could be a better antidote to the enervating poisons which have debilitated modern painting.&#8221; The counterfeit self-expression of contemporary American art simply mirrored the dark proposition that each human being is a solitary economic actor, an autonomous spec in the vast sea of capital whose &#8216;freedom&#8217; is best expressed through voting for crooks and the fetishized relations of commodities. This grim worldview was what the CIA offered the Vietnamese when its hired counterinsurgency guru, David Galula, suggested that they might want to come up with something as a counterweight to Ho Chi Minh&#8217;s socialism. When Vietnam didn&#8217;t embrace Milton Friedman, the CIA ran amok; finally, they simply ran.</p> <p>The tricky nihilism of Mark Rothko is a perfect case of the happy confluence between the anti-pictorial umbra of the times and CIA&#8217;s mission to fabricate an idea of the Artist as a lonely intelligence operative. It matters not at all that CIA had a hand in creating such a desperate landscape, that Rothko&#8217;s paintings may be its most accurate reflection, or if the artist&#8217;s inner life was tormented by outer reality (Like almost all of these artists, Rothko was a leftist &#8211; a great asset for the Agency, which was embarrassed by the anti-intellectual rants of Joe McCarthy and the Right). The death of the image announced by Rothko&#8217;s school was a projection of Western power in decorative matter: full-spectrum dominance depicted in a triumphant haze over the world, over the collapsed images of previous millennia, especially potent because this Edward Teller-like display appeared to be a critique. If there is no image in a painting, then something must take its place as a focal point. This something resembled nothing more than a RAND data chart &#8211; equal parts suicide, threat, and ruinous space. Wooly phantasmagoria projected onto a canvas-palimpsest map of the world where zones of influence are rendered in watered-down ochre, a near-transparency of the old Pauline picture of corrupted matter. Rothko&#8217;s admitted goal was to make audiences cry: the manipulative trigger-game of Leni Riefenstahl and Schindler&#8217;s List, the management of tears from above. A ghostly sentimentality hovers over these paintings like a bad conscience waiting to be extracted.</p> <p>Who paid the ferryman? It was done by money laundering, which connected the CIA&#8217;s art milieu to the French Connection, their Congress of Cultural Freedom to Lucky Luciano, Jackson Pollock to the rate of cut in unadulterated coke and the end of the image to narcolepsy, imprisonment, necrosis. The cast of characters includes witting agents like Julius Fleischmann (among many things, on the board of Diaghilev&#8217;s Ballet Russe), unwitting properties like socialist Stephen Spender (who quit editing Encounter after he found out where the dough came from), Nelson Rockefeller (inevitably), and the usual nexus of front organizations, critics paid and unpaid (Operation Mockingbird), soft-power mind control, weird ideologues and the chronically available. In the end, perhaps all these revelations do is convince us of the CIA&#8217;s efficiency and its total control over all areas of life, which is itself a Company plot. But the failure of an art movement is always at least debatable, like the historical failure of counterespionage projects in Vietnam and Syria. Perhaps Motherwell, Pollack and Phoenix were all successes, erasing the difference between art and espionage and between espionage and life once and for all. Perhaps the art market was actually bilking the CIA and it is hysterical collectors who run the world&#8217;s underworlds, chasing rare pieces with a devotion far beyond that of salaried hacks killing time in safehouses in Beirut or Bratislava.</p> <p>In their gentler poolside moments, maybe the CIA even dreamed of painting as the symbol of an all-enveloping socio-political purity which would make national liberation struggles irrelevant. In the mirror of self-expression (which is itself a product of advertising, strategical psy-ops, and the monetization of seer and the thing seen), all images become interchangeable. That which is interchangeable must also vanish with its object of exchange, which leaves an abhorrent vacuum. Rising to fill this void of an image now disappeared is the global art market, the &#8216;personal&#8217; expression of wealthy collectors which is concealed behind the ressentiment of slashing brushstrokes, foreign &#8216;police actions&#8217;, landscapes which generate despair in both onlooker and creator, just like the decaying industrial landscape. But look around the world for a moment. While Rothko obliterated everything in a vast overexposure which echoes the aftermath of a hydrogen bomb, the contemporaneous masters of Haitian art evoked figures from the past and made them present in a flash of revolutionary intransigence. Hypolite contra Rothko: An overfull world in the face of the void; a void of a world once seen as overfull of possibilities. Why does it matter at all if the Abstract Expressionist &#8216;vision&#8217; of our hopeless state was &#8216;accurate&#8217;? Of course it is. For whom was it accurate? For both the dominant power and its internal critics. After all, they were starting to speak in very much the same language. Addendum: It is an old maxim in intelligence work that the perfect agent is one who doesn&#8217;t know that he is an agent.</p> <p>The analysis offered by former CIA agent Donald Jameson, that Abstract Expressionism &#8220;was the kind of art that made Socialist Realism look even more stylized and more rigid and confined than it was,&#8221; might sound a little shallow, but Jameson&#8217;s intuitive feel for these paintings is undeniable. He is a thousand times the superior of the critical school which (he funded?) proclaimed Abstract Expressionism as the true final position painting must take. It is precisely because there is nothing that can really be said about these paintings other than the processes of how they were made &#8211; the splotches or washes or endless points or strict bands of color resembling nothing more than aerial bombardment maps, human intelligence graphs and indices, ideological pictographs, spatial coordinates &#8211; that Jameson was quite right to give the them the benefit of a secret ideology. He must give them something because in them, outside of them, beneath them and by them, there is literally nothing. Jameson was the only one who truly understood these works because they were not art, but the unruly chrysalis out of which the covert practices of a dismal philosophy would emerge. This secret remained hidden from the painters and their partisans for quite some time, a fact which Philistine outsider like Jameson must have relished.</p> <p>But can&#8217;t it also be said that Abstract Expressionism recruited the CIA? In order for the motion of the paintings to remain perpetual, they need that eerie American stamp of authenticity known as the Epic Sweep or the Grand Gesture. The &#8216;real&#8217; must be sought precisely in the den of illusions, the cavern of ghosts, spies, false identity, and mammoth contrivance. Haven&#8217;t Americans always been partial to the mystical initiatory journey which satisfies the old European need for a history one can grasp? This gnostic romanticism, however, precludes a sense of failure and guilt. The flat landscape finally retreats into the interior when Rothko is tragically found with his arms sliced open and his bloodstream full of anti-depressants on Feb 25 1970. CIA reprisals included a coup in Cambodia and the assassination of Salvador Allende.</p> <p>Continuing its action paintings using the primary tones of mud and viscera, CIA works in Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, and El Salvador (to name a random few) started to look rather outmoded once the craze for non-representation had died down. The necessity of real life and a crafty Realism invaded the intelligence community; trite old concerns from the 19th Century like Gesamkunstwerk and Neo-classicism irritated the CIA&#8217;s now-pass&#233; ideas about art and life. They began to be troubled again by the demons of art pour l&#8217;art, quite moorless and confused until their recent film co-productions with the ISIS movement launched a profitable wave of Orientalist nouveaux snuff. These are stark, almost pop-art scenarios, mixed with the frozen CCTV mystery of a Michael Snow. And in the realms of the Dark Web, social media, and surveillance, the Agency still micromanages the avant-garde. They may yet convince us that this is the only world which truly matters.</p> <p>In contrast, an <a href="http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/revolutsiia-demonstratsiia-soviet-art-put-test" type="external">ongoing exhibition</a> at the Chicago Art Institute shows the early Soviet arts in all their bustling contradiction and coming-to-be. The CIA could not have produced anything on this scale, which required a world-shaking collision of forces and a belief uncomfortably close to the religious. Malevich, Dziga Vertov, El Lissitzky, Lenin, Mayakovsky&#8230; The US, too, had considerable forces at its disposal (Buster Keaton, first and foremost). The strange thing is that this exhibition, mounted in a refreshingly no-nonsense and rather cool style, still manages to inspire, as if the past was waiting for the present to catch up to it. This power lies not so much in the myriad forms of the works, which may be bound in time, but in the pure electricity of their still-disarming presence. Against the morose ideas of ends, the grand mortuary they call &#8216;history&#8217;, against the relegation of past works of art to nostalgia and price, something else appears beside the collages, constructivist paintings, fabrics and living spaces constructed for the great new socialist world. We are always told that Stalin was the culmination of this moment in time. Who says? And who paid him to say it? The answer is obvious. They say that here is only one modernism; that there is only one history (and one power able to declare that it is over); that there is only one self to express; that there is only one public and one art which can express it (sometimes fearfully, it has to be admitted). If this sums up the most banal kinds of socialist realism, it is equally applicable to the art the CIA promoted in the middle of last century. Behind the paintings was the logic of pacification.</p> <p>Alan Dulles&#8217; influence extends far beyond his admittedly meagre artistic output. The CIA&#8217;s most recent work of criticism is the destruction of San&#8217;a and Aleppo, where the Agency has taken to task outmoded theories of architecture in an imperial inversion of the Situationists&#8217; support for the Watts riots. And The Intercept <a href="" type="internal">informs</a> us that Erik Prince, infamous Blackwater capo, and that old has-been Oliver North are setting up a parallel intelligence agency to defend the embattled President against a rogue CIA. Thus, the old rivalry between Classical and Romantic has returned with a swinging post-modern, mercenary twist. Although painting seems to be off the radar for now, the ideas behind the Abstract Intelligence school await resurrection in another form whose inelegance may delight or offend, depending on the myths necessary for the murder of both the Image and its reflection.</p> <p>From The CIA Black Book of Art:</p> <p>&#8220;The constant repetition of falsehood is more convincing than the demonstration of truth.&#8221; &#8211; William Colby</p> <p>&#8220;The habits and language of clandestinity can intoxicate even its own practitioners.&#8221; &#8211; William de Kooning</p>

Assassins of the Image: the CIA as Cultural Gatekeeper

https://counterpunch.org/2017/12/15/assassins-of-the-image-the-cia-as-cultural-gatekeeper/

2017-12-15

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>Given that small population, it was easy to believe that, as the zoo said, of all the birds and beasts in its collection, the bird, a Guam Kingfisher, belonged to the &#8220;most endangered species&#8221; there.</p> <p>On Saturday, the zoo said, the bird died. He was 17 years old, the zoo said, making him a survivor among survivors, a long-lived member of the small band who were his avian brethren.</p> <p>In the words of the announcement made Monday by the zoo, he was &#8220;geriatric for his species.&#8221;</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>In Washington, this Guam Kingfisher made his home at the zoo&#8217;s Bird House. Before coming to the zoo in July of 2013, he had been spending his blue-backed time at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute in Front Royal, Va.</p> <p>Members of the species often measure about 10 inches in length, with a prominent, pointed bill that is as long as two inches.</p> <p>Although the kingfisher had enjoyed a longer life in which to display his cinnamon- colored belly than many of his species, his death was nevertheless sad, the zoo said.</p> <p>He was not the only Guam kingfisher at the zoo or the Front Royal facility. A report in Smithsonian magazine a little more than five years ago placed the population at the two places at 10. It noted that at the time of its 2011 publication, two new ones had just been born at the conservation institute.</p> <p>Breeding has been painstaking, and difficult. Population growth has been slow.</p> <p>With the 17-year-old gone, the zoo said, only 145 Guam kingfishers remain throughout the world.</p> <p>Even that low-three-figures number is far more than had once existed.</p> <p>By accident, the brown tree snake was introduced to Guam shortly after the second World War, specialists said.</p> <p>That brought doom to many of the island&#8217;s species. Evolution had not equipped them to elude the reptile. The kingfishers made easy prey, according to the zoo. It was estimated that by the early 1980s, their numbers had dwindled alarmingly, and only about 30 remained.</p> <p>The threat of extinction touched off vigorous efforts at conservation, which entailed removing the birds from their native haunts, with the hope of some day reintroducing them.</p> <p>However, at present, specialists say, they exist only in captivity.</p> <p>The elderly bird that died last week did not contribute to the breeding program, the zoo said. But it said, he was &#8220;a terrific ambassador for his species.&#8221;</p>

Rare bird dies at Washington National Zoo

https://abqjournal.com/924626/rare-bird-dies-at-washington-national-zoo.html

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>In a presidential election year woefully short on civility, the cloning attempt 17 years ago hasn&#8217;t been used against Mark Hunt once in the contest.</p> <p>Hunt only talks about it when asked, but he&#8217;s not ashamed to tell the story.</p> <p>Hunt&#8217;s baby boy still beams a smile down over his dad from a framed picture in his office in the law firm he&#8217;s run for 22 years. Andrew died at 10 months old, and would have been 18 years old in October.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>&#8220;That&#8217;s that child right there, with those blue eyes that you could look in and see eternity,&#8221; Hunt said.</p> <p>Hunt said Republican Rep. Alex Mooney won&#8217;t revisit the issue because polls show people will sympathize with him as a grieving parent. Mooney said he doesn&#8217;t think cloning is right, but he doesn&#8217;t plan to bring the issue up in the race for the 2nd Congressional District, which stretches across the middle of the state, through Charleston and the Eastern Panhandle&#8217;s Washington suburbs.</p> <p>Hunt, who served 14 years in the House of Delegates, pointed out that he was elected multiple times after the cloning episode. It&#8217;s gut-wrenching every time the topic comes up, Hunt said.</p> <p>&#8220;My son died. We would&#8217;ve done anything to save him. We would&#8217;ve done anything to create a twin of him, if it were possible. We tried,&#8221; Hunt said. &#8220;We broke no laws. We spent our money. And maybe we were taken advantage of by people. But finally we had to let him go.&#8221;</p> <p>After Andrew died from complications after surgery to correct heart defects in 1999, Hunt and his wife, Tracy, spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to quietly set up a laboratory inside a Nitro, West Virginia community center, and hired Brigitte Boisselier, the chief executive of Clonaid, to clone their son&#8217;s DNA.</p> <p>The lab never came close to actually cloning a human. Hunt shut it down within months under pressure from the Food and Drug Administration, and cut ties with the founders of Clonaid, who also promoted what they called the Raelian Movement and claimed extraterrestrial scientists created life on Earth. For scientific, ethical, and commercial reasons, no reputable experts have tried to clone a complete human since.</p> <p>Outside the Legislature, Hunt has become wealthy suing drug and insurance companies over faulty product claims, and he and his wife are raising two other sons.</p> <p>This election contest instead has focused on issues more relevant to the duties of a congressman. Hunt is painting Mooney as missing-in-action, particularly for taking a trip to Egypt and Jordan in June while floods ravaged the state and killed 23 people.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Mooney said he was visiting the troops, and cut that trip short to return home for the floods. &#8220;I left on the Friday, the same day unfortunately the floods started, and I made the decision to keep my commitment,&#8221; he said.</p> <p>Mooney is running on his record of trying to limit the Environmental Protection Agency&#8217;s power, promote gun rights and oppose abortion. Hunt says jobs are his primary goal; he promises to secure federal infrastructure funding and draw businesses and tourism to West Virginia.</p> <p>Mooney rode into office on a wave of GOP support in 2014, when longtime Democratic Rep. Nick Rahall lost in another district and the state Legislature flipped to Republican control for the first time in more than eight decades. Sen. Joe Manchin is now the only Democrat left in West Virginia&#8217;s five-member congressional delegation.</p> <p>Hunt topped a crowded field in the Democratic primary, has put $270,300 of his own money into the campaign, and expects to have contributed $500,000 by Election Day. Mooney had spent $762,400 through late October, about double Hunt&#8217;s spending.</p> <p>Mooney has cast his lot with Donald Trump, popular in West Virginia for making broad-stroke promises to put coal miners back to work. His yard signs call for a Trump-Mooney ticket.</p> <p>Hunt called Trump and Hillary Clinton &#8220;thorny choices.&#8221; Like many West Virginia Democrats plagued by their nominee&#8217;s unpopularity in the state, Hunt is publicly neutral in the presidential race.</p> <p>Even with Trump atop the ballot, Hunt sees an opportunity after the GOP-led Legislature in 2015 eliminated straight-party voting, where clicking one box picks all candidates from one party. The option heavily favored Republicans in 2014 after it largely only aided Democrats in previous elections.</p> <p>&#8220;That was one of their promises to the electorate, that they would change straight-line voting,&#8221; Hunt said. &#8220;By George, they did it, to their detriment, I think.&#8221;</p> <p>Hunt is dogging Mooney for seeking office quickly after moving into the state from Maryland, where he was a state lawmaker and GOP chairman. Issues like that are relevant &#8212; not the cloning story, he said.</p> <p>Mooney &#8220;doesn&#8217;t have the guts&#8221; to revisit it, Hunt said. &#8220;It would backfire on him so badly, it&#8217;s unbelievable.&#8221;</p>

Dem’s attempt to clone dead son not an issue in WVa race

https://abqjournal.com/879704/dems-attempt-to-clone-dead-son-not-an-issue-in-wva-race.html

2016-11-01

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>Yet when it comes to talking about the larger, long-term implications of the weather &#8211; that is, climate change &#8211; our leaders shy away from the issue. The economy is the top issue on many Americans&#8217; minds this fall, and rightly so. But we understand that when a majority of the nation&#8217;s counties &#8211; including all 33 counties in New Mexico &#8211; are declared drought zones, there&#8217;s a direct tie between disruptive weather, jobs and even our food supply.</p> <p>A recent poll by the Yale University Project on Climate Change Communication found that 61 percent of undecided voters said they see global warming as an &#8220;important issue&#8221; they&#8217;ll consider when making their choice in this fall&#8217;s presidential election. An even higher share of the undecided electorate &#8211; 64 percent &#8211; said the president should take action to address climate change.</p> <p>Yet during the first presidential debate on domestic policy on Oct, 3, neither moderator Jim Lehrer nor candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney even mentioned the topic.</p> <p>Pundits and politicians may shy away from talking about climate, but as people of faith, we cannot be silent.</p> <p>The member congregations of New Mexico Interfaith Power &amp;amp; Light recognize that God calls us to be good stewards of Creation and to care for our neighbors. Climate change is a moral issue. We can&#8217;t ignore the growing reality of weather havoc, and we owe it to our kids to act now for their future.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Houses of worship generate big utility bills, and congregations would rather put resources into mission work and programs to serve our communities. That&#8217;s why New Mexico Interfaith Power &amp;amp; Light is working with congregations to reduce energy use.</p> <p>For example, First Unitarian Church of Albuquerque won a national Cool Congregation Award in 2011 for installation of solar panels, energy efficiency, educational programs and encouraging numerous parishioners to install solar in our land of sunshine.</p> <p>We also feel called to support measures that will mean cleaner air for the coming generations. For example, we are currently advocating for an extension of the Production Tax Credit for wind energy, which will expire at the end of this year unless Congress takes action and we are working for clean air, energy efficiency and a renewable energy future.</p> <p>As people of faith, we see great potential in the gifts the Creator has given to us collectively in New Mexico. We have so many choices for life that highlight energy efficiency, renewable energy, employment, health and stewarding our precious resources of water, air and land. We must address climate change and the future.</p>

Future Can’t Depend Only on Strong Faith

https://abqjournal.com/138424/future-cant-depend-only-on-strong-faith.html

2012-10-14

<p>In what may well be a temporary aberration, the Obama Administration appears to be&amp;#160;sticking by Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory Jaczko, even though the nuclear industry most definitely wants him out.&amp;#160; The current assault on Jaczko has come in the form of&amp;#160;a &#8220;confidential&#8221; letter from Jaczko&#8217;s four fellow commissioners sent in October &amp;#160;to White House Chief of Staff William Daley complaining that the NRC Chairman pays scant attention to their views and generally runs the Commission as a one man show.&amp;#160; Should the attack succeed, the new Chairman will most likely be William Magwood, long a tireless promoter of nuclear power as Director of the Department of Energy&#8217;s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy where he promoted the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, a program to restart reprocessing of nuclear waste.</p> <p>Obama himself has had a long and unpleasing record of engagement with the nuclear industry, notably the Exelon Corporation, which has been making generous provision to Obama&#8217;s campaign chest ever since his days in the Illinois Senate, where he performed various&amp;#160;useful services on the corporation&#8217;s behalf.&amp;#160; It should therefore have come as no surprise that when a vacancy arose on the NRC board early in his administration, Obama nominated Magwood.</p> <p>The nomination was opposed by over a hundred organizations which vainly cited Magwood&#8217;s shameful record as a tout for the industry he was now supposed to regulate.&amp;#160; Once installed early in 2010, he showed every sign of a zealous commitment to advancing the priorities of the nuclear power industry.</p> <p>Back in those happy pre-Fukushima days, the future appeared bright for nuclear power . The public obloquy that followed Three Mile Island, condemning the <a href="http://www.americancasinothemovie.com/" type="external" /> industry to years of stagnation, was at last dissipating, thanks to artful invocation of the specter of global warming and concurrent recasting of nuclear power as a &#8220;clean&#8221; energy source and toast of the environmental movement.</p> <p>One problem remained: longterm disposal of high level nuclear waste.&amp;#160; In 1987 it had seemed that this particular issue had been settled with the passage in Congress of the &#8220;Screw Nevada&#8221; bill nominating Yucca Mountain, 80 miles northwest of Las Vegas, as the sole suitable site that could be considered for the permanent interment of 72,000 tons of lethal waste currently stored at reactors around the country.&amp;#160; The selection had little scientific validity, given that the site marks the juncture of two seismic fault lines and in any case is volcanically active and composed of porous rock, through which flows drinking water for one of Nevada&#8217;s most important farming areas, as well as an Indian reservation.&amp;#160; The mountain is also sacred to the Western Shoshone people.</p> <p>Opposing the infamous bill was freshman Senator Harry Reid.&amp;#160; Outraged and humiliated by the way that legislators from Washington state and Texas, the two other nominees for a waste site, had effectively consigned Nevada to be the radioactive trash dump, Reid, a former amateur boxer, remarked that &#8220;sometimes you have to go round the back of the bar&#8221; to finish a fight.</p> <p>In ensuing years, as the construction crews tunneled away into the depths of the mountain, Reid took several initiatives to ensure that Yucca Mountain never opened for business.&amp;#160; First, he advanced through the Democratic leadership to become Majority Leader in 2006.&amp;#160; Second, he maneuvered successfully to move Nevada&#8217;s Democratic caucuses to January, thus rendering them potentially crucial in the nomination race.&amp;#160; This had the natural consequence of generating fervent pledges from Barack Obama and Hilary Clinton in 2008 that, so long as there was breath in their bodies, Yucca Mountain would never hold nuclear waste.&amp;#160; Thirdly, Reid recruited as his appropriations director and science policy adviser Gregory Jaczko, a former aide to&amp;#160; veteran anti-nuke congressman Ed Markey.&amp;#160; Fourth, he induced George W. Bush in 2005, to nominate Jaczko as a Commissioner to the NRC in exchange for dropping Democratic opposition to a number of federal judgeships.&amp;#160; Following Obama&#8217;s presidential victory, Reid demanded and secured Jaczko&#8217;s appointment as Chairman of the NRC.</p> <p>Once at the helm, Jaczko moved with commendable dispatch to shut down Yucca Mountain once and for all even while fellow commissioners&amp;#160; echoed the nuclear industry in pushing for a mere suspension of the project.&amp;#160; Then came the Fukushima disaster. As the reactor buildings&amp;#160; exploded and US military radiation monitors in Japan ticked remorselessly upwards, the US government began to panic.&amp;#160; &#8220;I&#8217;ve lived through many crises in the decades I&#8217;ve been in government,&#8221; one national security official intimately involved in the Fukushima response told me, &#8220;but this was the most frightening week of my professional life, by far.&amp;#160; We thought we were going to lose half of Japan.&#8221;</p> <p>While the Japanese government reacted to the catastrophe with criminal quiescence &#8211; enjoining evacuation merely from an area within 12 miles of the plant &#8211; Jaczko took more decisive action, telling Americans within 50 miles to move out. This was anathema to the industry, a sentiment emphatically &amp;#160;mirrored in the four commissioners&#8217; letter of complaint to the White House.&amp;#160; Further initiatives irksome to Magwood and the others included a push to enjoin additional safety measures on US reactor operators in light of Fukushima.</p> <p>&#8220;He&#8217;s not &#8216;our guy&#8217; by any means, he has voted to re-license plants that should probably be shut down&#8221; says Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear.&amp;#160; &#8220;But he does care about safety, in ways that the others do not.&#8221;</p> <p>So far at least, the White House, conscious no doubt of Nevada&#8217;s electoral votes, is backing Jaczko.&amp;#160; But, even while Jaczko confronts his assailants, a Blue Ribbon Commission on America&#8217;s Nuclear Future has been chewing on the problem of what to do with the radioactive waste filling up pools at reactors around the U.S..&amp;#160; Headed by that perennial placeman, former congressman Lee Hamilton, the commissioners include Obama&#8217;s old pal, Exelon CEO John Rowe, who, as Beyond Nuclear&#8217;s Kamps points out, &#8220;has created more nuclear waste than anyone else in America.&#8221;</p> <p>Senator Reid&#8217;s work may not yet be done.</p> <p>ANDREW COCKBURN is the co-producer of the feature documentary on the financial catastrophe <a href="http://www.americancasinothemovie.com/" type="external">American Casino</a>.&amp;#160; He is a contributor to&amp;#160; <a href="" type="internal">Hopeless: Barack Obama and the Politics of Illusion</a>, forthcoming from AK Press.&amp;#160; He can be reached at <a href="mailto:amcockburn@gmail.com" type="external">amcockburn@gmail.com</a>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p>

The Plot to Oust America’s Nuclear Watchdog

https://counterpunch.org/2011/12/15/the-plot-to-oust-americas-nuclear-watchdog/

2011-12-15

<p>By Lauren Tara LaCapra</p> <p>NEW YORK (Reuters) - In early summer, before layoffs began sweeping across Wall Street, billboard-sized photos of employees were plastered on the walls, pillars and elevator banks of Credit Suisse Group AG's offices in the United States and abroad.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>The museum-quality prints, depicting workers from administrative assistants to senior executives, were emblazoned with motivational words like "Proactive" and "Partner." By mid-July, however, the photos disappeared and the Swiss banking giant began laying off 2,000 employees.</p> <p>Security guards prevented employees from taking cell-phone pictures as the posters were stripped away, according to one employee who was present.</p> <p>"It sent an entirely wrong message," said an employee, who was not authorized to speak publicly. "Management literally threw away that kind of money on something so trivial, while planning to cut thousands of jobs."</p> <p>A bank spokeswoman declined to comment on the internal campaign or the employee's comments.</p> <p>Credit Suisse's timing illustrates the unanticipated dangers of rampant job-cutting, which tend to run in cycles on Wall Street. Employee morale often plummets at a time when survivors are asked to pick up more responsibility and customer relations can suffer as service and relationships deteriorate.</p> <p>CUTTING 'MUSCLE AND BONE'</p> <p>What's more, layoffs inartfully constructed can come across to shareholders as Band-Aid solutions that at best temporarily cut expenses and at worst pare away reserves of talented people.</p> <p>"They finished cutting the fat and now they're into the muscle and bone," said Tim White, a managing partner who specializes in wealth management at the recruiting firm Kaye/Bassman International in Dallas.</p> <p>Credit Suisse has plenty of company in its cost-cutting campaign. HSBC , Barclays PLC , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Bank of New York Mellon Corp have announced plans to ax thousands of workers in recent months. On Thursday, Bank of America Corp Chief Executive Brian Moynihan sent a memo to senior executives outlining plans to cut another 3,500 jobs.</p> <p>The planned cuts at Bank of America have pushed the number of financial sector layoffs this year to 18,252 -- 6 percent higher than in the comparable period in 2010, according to Challenger, Gray &amp;amp; Christmas, an outplacement firm that keeps a daily tab on layoff announcements.</p> <p>Some companies began the culling earlier this year -- HSBC has already axed about 5,000 employees, with 25,000 more set to get pink slips by the end of 2012 -- and others, such as Goldman Sachs, said that cuts will come by year's end.</p> <p>That is not good for morale.</p> <p>BITING INTO CLIENT SERVICE</p> <p>Hours have become longer, trading floors have more open seats and fresh young faces are taking over offices where high-level personnel once sat. The highest-paid people can be easy targets for layoffs now, given the cost of keeping them employed and the eagerness of younger workers to take on their roles, even at less pay, executive recruiters said.</p> <p>Changes in pay structures mandated in part by the Dodd-Frank financial reform laws have exacerbated the problem.</p> <p>Banks that used to pay modest base salaries supplemented by opulent stock-and-option packages that encouraged meeting short-term performance goals now are weighting compensation toward base salary.</p> <p>Managing directors at investment banks have seen a typical base salary double to $400,000, said Paul Sorbera, president of Alliance Consulting. Meanwhile, 2011 bonuses are expected to fall by up to 30 percent for top earners, according to pay consulting firm Johnson Associates.</p> <p>The shift erodes Wall Street's former flexibility to lower end-of-year bonuses in bad times and forces a heavier reliance on layoffs.</p> <p>The danger is that client service suffers.</p> <p>"Banking clients abhor relationship-manager turnover," said Heather Hammond, a senior member of Russell Reynolds' financial services practice.</p> <p>Investors, for their part, tend to view cost-cutting as a short-term solution that fails to address fundamental issues relating to capital, strategy and the ability to endure through hard economic times.</p> <p>At Credit Suisse, some senior jobs have been consolidated as executives have been escorted toward early retirement with offers of bonus bridges and other payments, sources familiar with the matter say.</p> <p>"People are leaving resumes on the printers, hoping someone picks it up," the Credit Suisse employee said.</p> <p>Some sources believe that banks are repeating their typical hiring strategy: Cutting staff levels too deeply in bad times only to rush out with open checkbooks when markets recover.</p> <p>"When people are getting hired, fired, hired, fired, every two years, it's very difficult to run a business," said Conrad Ciccotello, a finance professor at Georgia State University who has studied the issue. "There is precious human capital destroyed in vicious boom-and-bust cycles that is costly to replace."</p> <p>(Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Richard Chang and Jan paschal)</p> <p>Advertisement</p>

Layoffs sweep Wall Street, along with low morale

http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/08/21/layoffs-sweep-wall-street-along-with-low-morale.html

2016-01-28

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. &#8212; American Airlines has announced it will offer new nonstop service between the Albuquerque International Sunport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport this summer between June 5 and Aug. 18.</p> <p>The daily service will be operated with a 150-seat US Airways Airbus A320, according to a release from the Sunport..</p> <p>&#8220;This is great news for the city and state, opening up not only leisure travel connections, but convention and business opportunities as well,&#8221; Mayor Richard Berry said. &#8220;American Airlines has been a longtime partner at the Sunport, and we look forward to a continued strong relationship with additional growth opportunities.&#8221;</p> <p>The Albuquerque to Charlotte flight will complement American&#8217;s year-round service from Albuquerque to Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Phoenix. The new flight will provide customers in Albuquerque with additional access to the combined carrier&#8217;s extensive global network, with nonstop connections from Charlotte to destinations throughout the U.S., Europe and Latin America.</p> <p>In Charlotte, American and US Airways offer more than 700 daily departures to more than 140 destinations.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>

American Airlines to offer ABQ-Charlotte service

https://abqjournal.com/542824/american-airlines-to-offer-abq-charlotte-service.html

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>The detail for these propositions can be found online at <a href="http://ABQjournal.com/category/rio-rancho-news" type="external">ABQjournal.com/category/rio-rancho-news</a> and at the city website <a href="http://www.rrnm.gov" type="external">rrnm.gov</a> click on Election. You have the opportunity to vote on each proposition individually.</p> <p>Prop 36: Aligns the frequency of reviewing the charter with the election schedule to avoid expensive special elections.</p> <p>Prop 37: Amends the petition process for changing the charter to be consistent with other petition processes in the charter.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Prop 38: Gives the citizens the vote on how the mayor and councilors should be paid instead of leaving the decision to the political process. - No councilors or the mayor currently in or running for office will benefit from this change in compensation as it will not be fully implemented until 2020. The added cost would be less than 0.25 percent of the city budget.</p> <p>Prop. 39: Allows the mayor to vote when a councilor is absent. An absent councilor can prevent a vote on issues that keep our city moving forward. Councilors have been known to not show up for a vote as way of preventing consideration of an issue.</p> <p>Prop. 40: Requires the mayor to take the lead in promoting our city and working with economic development organizations and take the lead in setting priorities for our city. Rio Rancho's prosperity is dependent on growing the product and services available to residents so the taxes from sales of same can better fund our public safety and quality of life.</p> <p>Prop. 41: Separates the judicial and legislative branches of our government so that one is not unduly influenced by the other.</p> <p>Prop. 42: Ends the potential conflict of interest and undue influence of elected officials on boards and commissions.</p> <p>Prop. 43: Allows the governing body to seek solutions to insufficient funding for our government rather than be restricted to only one kind of change to the budget.</p> <p>Props. 44 and 45: Requires that the text of petitions appear on every page of a petition to assure that what the signer is signing is in fact what they intend to sign.</p> <p>Prop. 46: Replaces the Code of Conduct text in the charter with a Code of Conduct ordinance. An ordinance can be more easily amended than the charter.</p> <p>These propositions came about as a result of thoughtful deliberation over multiple months of open meetings with fellow citizens dedicated to improving our city's constitution. You get to choose! If you think a proposition doesn't make sense, vote no. If you think a proposition makes sense, vote yes. But whichever, go vote - and take someone with you.</p> <p />

Voters to get say on 11 changes to charter

https://abqjournal.com/731328/voters-to-get-say-on-11-changes-to-charter.html

2016-02-27

<p>In late December 2006, the Bush administration reversed its previous position and agreed to a permanent expansion of the Army and Marine Corps. In reality, the size of the two &#8220;ground services&#8221; has grown steadily since 2001 when Congress approved a temporary increase of 30,000 to the Army and authorized additional increases to the Army and Marines in 2005 and 2006. The current proposal would make these increases permanent and by 2012 achieve the objective of an active-duty Army of 542,400 and a Marine Corps of 190,000.</p> <p>In their public statements, Pentagon officials claimed that finding the bodies to reach these goals would not be difficult. Increased bonuses, massive publicity campaigns, and appeals to patriotism would be enough to attract volunteers, they argued.</p> <p>Lesser-known programs such as the Army GED Plus Enlistment Program in which applicants without high school diplomas are allowed to enlist while they complete a high school equivalency certificate are expected to help (interestingly, the GED Plus Enlistment Program is available only in inner city areas). The Army&#8217;s recent fudging of entrance requirements to accept an increased percentage of recruits with minor criminal records may also raise enlistment numbers.</p> <p>Given the prospect of a prolonged U.S. presence in Iraq, however, the Pentagon&#8217;s optimistic predictions about increasing the size of the ground services by making minor adjustments to existing recruiting practices may not pan out. In anticipation of difficult days ahead for recruiters, no sooner had Bush announced his decision than conservative think tanks began to recycle proposals about recruiting foreigners into the U.S. military.</p> <p>In a recent Boston Globe article, unidentified Army sources reported that Pentagon officials and Congress are investigating &#8220;the feasibility of going beyond U.S. borders to recruit soldiers and Marines.&#8221; Michael O&#8217;Hanlon of the Brookings Institution, Thomas Donnelly of the American Enterprise Institute, and Max Boot of the Council on Foreign relations cited historical precedents for using foreign troops. Since at least 2005 Boot has been recommending the establishment of &#8220;recruiting stations along the U.S.-Mexico border&#8221; as a way to solve the problems of military manpower and illegal immigration.</p> <p>But the fact that several sources in the Globe article, including spokesmen for the Army and the Latino advocacy group National Council for La Raza (NCLR), expressed disagreement with proposals to recruit foreign nationals means that other more feasible options may begin to surface.</p> <p>A likely scenario is that the Pentagon will focus on one specific sector of the undocumented population&#8211;foreign nationals raised and educated in the United States. According to the Urban Institute, every year approximately 60,000 undocumented immigrants or children of immigrants (who have lived in the United States five years or longer) graduate from U.S. high schools. By marketing the military to this group, problems associated with the recruitment of foreigners such as poor English language skills and low educational levels could be alleviated.</p> <p>So far military recruiters have limited their efforts to the pursuit of citizens and permanent residents (green card holders). It is a little-known fact, however, that the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 amended current legal statutes by allowing military service secretaries to waive citizenship and residency requirements &#8220;if such Secretary determines that the enlistment of such person is vital to the national interest&#8221; (U.S. Code Title 10, Chapter 31, &#167;504: 2006).</p> <p>Is the DREAM Act the Pentagon&#8217;s Dream Too?</p> <p>If the Pentagon were to decide to exercise its new prerogative and begin to recruit undocumented youth in order to grow the Army and Marines, the most obvious selling point would be permanent residency and eventual citizenship. This in fact is one of the little-known aspects of the DREAM Act, legislation that would grant conditional residency to most undocumented high school graduates and permanent residency in exchange for the successful completion of two years of college or two years of military service.</p> <p>In his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee on July 10, 2006, Under Secretary of Defense David Chu said: &#8220;According to an April 2006 study from the National Immigration Law Center, there are an estimated 50,000 to 65,000 undocumented alien young adults who entered the U.S. at an early age and graduate from high school each year, many of whom are bright, energetic and potentially interested in military service&#8230;Provisions of S. 2611, such as the DREAM Act, would provide these young people the opportunity of serving the United States in uniform.&#8221;</p> <p>More recently, Lt. Col. Margaret Stock of the U.S. Army Reserve and a faculty member at West Point told a reporter that the DREAM Act could help recruiters meet their goals by providing a &#8220;highly qualified cohort of young people&#8221; without the unknown personal details that would accompany foreign recruits. &#8220;They are already going to come vetted by Homeland Security. They will already have graduated from high school,&#8221; she said. &#8220;They are prime candidates.&#8221;</p> <p>The lure of citizenship is already a tool for recruiting green card holders, especially because of expedited naturalization procedures put in place for military personnel in 2002. In San Diego, for example, recruiters have told permanent residents &#8220;I can help you get citizenship&#8221; when in fact the military has no input into the final granting or denial of citizenship. Although exact numbers are difficult to ascertain, roughly 20% of legal residents in the military who have applied for naturalization since late 2001 have been denied citizenship. This suggests that military service carries no guarantee that permanent residents will be granted the one benefit for which they probably enlisted and for which they may be forced to risk their life.</p> <p>Other anecdotes recount recruiters threatening that the immigration status of recruits and their family would be affected should the recruit try to back out of an enlistment agreement. More devious recruiters have used the law requiring undocumented youth to register for Selective Service as a way to convince non-English speaking parents that there is obligatory military service in the United States.</p> <p>The expansion of the recruiting pool to include the undocumented would be a Recruiting Command&#8217;s dream and may be the only way for the Pentagon to increase the size of the Army and Marines Corps. A 2006 study by the Migration Policy Institute calculated that passage of the DREAM Act &#8220;would immediately make 360,000 unauthorized high school graduates aged 18 to 24 eligible for conditional legal status [and] that about 715,000 unauthorized youth between ages 5 and 17 would become eligible sometime in the future.&#8221;</p> <p>Ironically, nativist and restrictionist groups as well as anti-militarism activists will oppose the recruitment of the undocumented although for completely different reasons. Organizations such as National Council for La Raza (NCLR) that oppose the recruitment of foreigners would most likely support a vehicle for recruiting undocumented graduates from U.S. high schools. In May 2006, NCLR praised the passage of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act (Senate Bill 2611) that included a DREAM Act provision.</p> <p>While the DREAM Act may facilitate access to college for a small percentage of these undocumented students, in many cases other factors will militate against the college option. Given the difficulty undocumented youth have in affording college tuition, the pressure on them to make financial contributions to extended families, and the tendency among many to adopt uncritical forms of patriotism based on &#8220;gratitude,&#8221; military not college recruiters may be the ones who benefit the most.</p> <p>As one undocumented student wrote to me:</p> <p>&#8220;I was brought to America [from Mexico] when I was 12. I am 21 now and I am only going to college because in the state of Illinois I pay in-state tuition despite being illegal. I would serve in the military if I was given an opportunity to do so and DIE for America if necessary. Shouldn&#8217;t I be able to be legal?&#8221;</p> <p>Military manpower needs, limited economic and educational opportunity, and the desire for social acceptance could transport immigrants and their children to the frontlines of future imperial misadventures such as the quagmire in Iraq.</p> <p>JORGE MARISCAL is a Vietnam veteran and director of the Chicano-Latino Arts and Humanities Program at the University of California, San Diego. He is a member of Project YANO (San Diego). Visit his blog at: <a href="http:/" type="external">jorgemariscal.blogspot.com/</a> He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:gmariscal@ucsd.edu" type="external">gmariscal@ucsd.edu</a></p> <p>&amp;#160;</p>

Growing the Military

https://counterpunch.org/2007/01/05/growing-the-military/

2007-01-05

<p>A 98-year-old woman in India and her son got life sentences Thursday for a brutal murder.</p> <p>The two were accused of tying a man down and dousing him with kerosene before setting him on fire, <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/UttarPradesh/98-year-old-woman-gets-life-term-for-murder/Article1-999379.aspx" type="external">said the Hindustan Times</a>.</p> <p>Justice in small-town India is apparently slow.</p> <p>The grisly murder occurred in December 1996 and was reported by the nephew of the murdered man.</p> <p>He accused the elderly women, her husband and son of commiting the murder, after both families had a romantic feud that remains unclear, <a href="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/98-year-old-woman-son-get-life-for-murder/articleshow/18174420.cms?" type="external">reported the Times of India</a>.</p> <p>Since then, the elderly woman's husband has died.</p> <p>They were also fined 5000 rupees.</p> <p>More from GlobalPost:&amp;#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatches/globalpost-blogs/weird-wide-web/baby-elephant-rescued-villagers-india-video" type="external">Baby elephant rescued from a well by villagers in India (VIDEO)</a></p> <p>&amp;#160;</p>

98-year-old woman gets life sentence for brutal murder

https://pri.org/stories/2013-01-25/98-year-old-woman-gets-life-sentence-brutal-murder

2013-01-25

<p>The California Department of Public Health has issued guidelines on cell phone exposure, warning residents to keep their cell phone away from their body to reduce potential cancer and infertility risks.</p> <p>The release follows a legal battle initiated by UC Berkeley researcher Joel Moskowitz last year after he discovered draft documents on the issue had existed since 2010 without being made available to the public.</p> <p>The precautionary <a href="https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CCDPHP/DEODC/EHIB/CDPH%20Document%20Library/Cell-Phone-Guidance.pdf" type="external">document</a>, &#8216;How to reduce exposure to radio frequency energy from cell phones&#8217; states that while the science is still evolving some studies have suggested a link between long-term mobile phone use and cancer.</p> <p><a href="https://www.rt.com/usa/413251-fracking-newborns-health-weight/" type="external">READ MORE: Babies born near fracking sites suffer lower birth weight, poorer health &#8211; study</a></p> <p>Qualifying that these studies have not established a definitive relationship between the two, and that potential health risks from cell phones are still contentious among scientists, the health department states its advisory is for those concerned about the possible risks.</p> <p>The main piece of advice issued by the authority is to keep the phone away from your body. &#8220;Keeping your phone just a few feet away from you can make a big difference,&#8221; it says.</p> <p>This means using the speakerphone option or a headset instead of holding the phone up to your ear and keeping your mobile device in a backpack or handbag and not in a pocket.</p> <p>The guidelines also warn against a common habit for those who also use their device as an alarm clock &#8211; sleeping next to your cell phone. Unless the phone is off or in airplane mode, keep it at least a few feet away from your bed, the guidelines recommend.</p> <p>The report highlights that children could be at greater risk as their body is still developing and over their lifetime they will have a lot more exposure.</p> <p>The release of the CDPH guidelines follows a <a href="http://www.kcra.com/article/how-this-sign-put-berkeley-in-the-center-of-the-cellphone-safety-debate/9171064" type="external">ruling</a> by the Sacramento Superior Court handed down in March. The state argued in court that the unofficial document would cause unnecessary panic, reported <a href="http://kazu.org/post/california-unexpectedly-releases-guidelines-cell-phones-and-health-risks#stream/0" type="external">KAZU.</a></p> <p>A draft document was initially released but these new guidelines offer a more detailed picture.</p> <p>In July, the California Brain Tumor Association held a demonstration in Sacramento outside the CDPH building to call for the public release of the cell phone warning document.</p> <p>CDPH director Dr Karen Smith <a href="http://kazu.org/post/california-unexpectedly-releases-guidelines-cell-phones-and-health-risks#stream/0" type="external">said</a> they released the guidelines because of a continued public interest in cell phone-related health risks and the decision had little to do with the court battle.</p> <p>The latest safety recommendations are similar to those <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B14R6QNkmaXuNGpWS3FsR285Rms/view" type="external">issued</a> by the Connecticut Department of Public Health in May, 2015.</p> <p>A number of expert <a href="https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/radiation-exposure/cellular-phones.html" type="external">agencies</a> including the US Food and Drug Administration, the National Cancer Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have said sufficient evidence has not been presented to show an association between exposure to radio frequencies from a cell phone and health problems.</p> <p>The agencies suggest more research is needed. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has <a href="https://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Classification/ClassificationsAlphaOrder.pdf" type="external">classified</a> radio waves as &#8220;possible carcinogens&#8221; but note there is limited evidence. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Toxicology Program (NTP), meanwhile, have not formally classified cell phones as to their cancer-causing potential.</p> <p>A <a href="http://www.ccrc.ie/news/new-research-from-ucc-and-breakthrough-cancer-research-highlights-common-cancer-myths-amongst-irish-men/" type="external">study</a> published earlier this year by University College Cork in the Republic of Ireland on myths about cell phones and cancer risk, found huge disparities between fact and fear.</p> <p>&#8220;The results of our research show that a significant proportion of Irish males incorrectly believe certain cancer myths, for example between 45% to 52% believed that wearing tight underwear, carrying mobile phones in pockets or extended use of laptop on the lap increased their risk of testicular cancer,&#8221; the team concluded.</p>

Put the phone down: US health officials warn of cancer & infertility risk

https://newsline.com/put-the-phone-down-us-health-officials-warn-of-cancer-infertility-risk/

2017-12-16

<p>Death is bigger than us.</p> <p>All of us.</p> <p>And when we brush up against it, we leave wounded&#8212;especially when we lose the ones we love (i.e. friends, family, etc). We leave hurt.</p> <p>Over two years ago my wife&#8217;s uncle died in a hunting accident.&amp;#160; Full of grief and despair, I didn&#8217;t remember much from the funeral or the days following.&amp;#160; But looking back on it, I do remember with great clarity the image the pastor gave in the Eulogy, and to this day it still brings me peace.</p> <p>Have you ever heard the phrase, &#8220;angle of repose&#8221;?&amp;#160; It&#8217;s an architectural term.&amp;#160; It represents the steepest angle possible for a pile of granular material (i.e. sand, gravel, mulch, etc.) to slope without sliding or collapsing in on itself.</p> <p>That&#8217;s Webster&#8217;s definition.&amp;#160; Let me say it better.</p> <p>When objects fall, there&#8217;s a moment, an angle, a position that occurs in which the object eventually come to rest&#8212;including us.</p> <p>If you&#8217;re hurt by a loved one&#8217;s death and feel like you&#8217;re falling apart, it&#8217;s ok.&amp;#160; Keep falling.&amp;#160; Keep hurting.&amp;#160; Keep crying and keep getting mad.</p> <p>Because eventually you&#8217;ll stop falling; you&#8217;ll stop crying; and you&#8217;ll realize that life has you and you&#8217;re finally at rest.&amp;#160; This is God holding you at the angle of repose.</p> <p>The worst mistake we Christians make when grieving is trying to resist the urge in attempts to remain strong.&amp;#160; We push back the tears and repress our feelings.&amp;#160; We bottle up our anger and shoulder our discomfort with God and life.</p> <p>But this is wrong. &amp;#160;It&#8217;s better to allow yourself to fall into the arms of the one in which all things rest.&amp;#160; God&#8217;s big enough and capable enough to hold you and your pain at the angle of repose.</p> <p>God wants to care for you, love you and allow you to weep and to despair, to cry and to mourn, because you need to, and it&#8217;s ok to do so.</p> <p>In the months following Uncle Don&#8217;s death, this image of an angle brought me solace and I hope it does you too.&amp;#160; God&#8217;s angle of repose reminds us all that we&#8217;re never falling through or beyond the one who holds all things.</p> <p>So the best (and eventually inevitable) outcome for our grief is to let go and fall. &amp;#160;For it&#8217;s in this fall that we realize we&#8217;re safe.&amp;#160; We&#8217;re held.&amp;#160; We&#8217;re at rest.</p>

Angle of repose

https://baptistnews.com/article/angle-of-repose/

<p>JERUSALEM (AP) &#8212; 9:15 p.m.</p> <p>Israel's prime minister is praising U.S. Vice President Mike Pence's speech to the Knesset as a "powerful expression of the enduring bond between our two countries," and notes their shared work to prevent Iran from destabilizing the region.</p> <p>Benjamin Netanyahu says the two leaders discussed "common challenges and common opportunities" in the Middle East, including Iran. He says the Trump administration is "on the right side of history" by opposing the Iran nuclear deal.</p> <p>Netanyahu is urging world leaders to seize the opportunity created by Trump to "correct the failings" of the deal.</p> <p>Pence says both countries recognize the "rise of the common threat in Iran" and look forward to a broader reconciliation across the Middle East.</p> <p>___</p> <p>8:15 p.m.</p> <p>The Foreign Press Association in Israel is speaking out against an Israeli demand to strip-search a Finnish journalist covering the visit by Vice President Mike Pence.</p> <p>The woman says she was taken behind a curtain on Monday at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office, where she says she was questioned, patted down, and then asked to remove her bra for an inspection. She says she refused and was barred from covering the event.</p> <p>The woman, who was born and raised in Finland, believes she was singled out because her father is Palestinian.</p> <p>The FPA, which represents some 400 journalists working for international media in Israel and the Palestinian territories, accused Israel of ethnic profiling. It calls the Israeli practice of strip-searching journalists a "mark of shame" aimed at intimidating reporters.</p> <p>___</p> <p>6:05 p.m.</p> <p>Vice President Mike Pence says the "door's open" for the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table with Israel on a peace agreement.</p> <p>Pence spoke to The Associated Press in an interview following his address to the Knesset on Monday. He says the U.S. is hopeful that the Palestinian Authority "will be encouraged to return to the table."</p> <p>Palestinian leaders have assailed the U.S. for its decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, saying it is no longer impartial. They have rejected the U.S. role in future peace talks.</p> <p>Pence says President Donald Trump made clear in December that the U.S. would respect "the status quo" with regard to holy sites and that boundaries in the Holy Land would be subject to negotiations.</p> <p>___</p> <p>4:30 p.m.</p> <p>The Palestinians have issued an angry reaction to Vice President Mike Pence's speech to the Israeli parliament, saying it was a "gift to extremists."</p> <p>Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, said Pence's speech on Monday "has proven that the U.S. administration is part of the problem rather than the solution."</p> <p>Pence repeated the Trump administration's controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and said the American Embassy will be moved to the city next year, earlier than previously expected.</p> <p>The U.S. decision upended decades of American policy, and the stance of the international community, that the fate of Jerusalem be settled through negotiations.</p> <p>The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital and accuse the U.S. of siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in their conflict.</p> <p>___</p> <p>3:20 p.m.</p> <p>Vice President Mike Pence is calling the Iranian nuclear deal a "disaster" and says the Trump administration will no longer certify it.</p> <p>Instead, Pence told the Israeli parliament on Monday that the administration is "committed to enact effective and lasting restraints on Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs."</p> <p>Pence has received a warm welcome in Israel, which has praised the American decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is among the fiercest opponents to the nuclear accord the Obama administration reached with Iran, saying it could pave a path for the Islamic Republic acquiring a nuclear weapon that could threaten Israel's existence.</p> <p>Pence says that the deal is not fixed and that in the coming months, the United States will "withdraw from the deal."</p> <p>___</p> <p>3:15 p.m.</p> <p>Vice President Mike Pence is "strongly" urging the Palestinians to return to the negotiating table.</p> <p>In a speech to the Israeli parliament, Pence said on Monday that "peace can only come through dialogue."</p> <p>The Palestinians have angrily protested the U.S. decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital and say the U.S. cannot be trusted as a mediator. They have said they will reject any peace plan the Trump administration presents.</p> <p>Pence told the parliament that Israel "can be confident" that the U.S will never compromise Israel's security.</p> <p>___</p> <p>3:05 p.m.</p> <p>Vice President Mike Pence says the United States will open its embassy in Jerusalem next year, ahead of schedule.</p> <p>In an address to the Israeli parliament on Monday, Pence defended the controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, which has been condemned by the Palestinians and their Arab allies.</p> <p>Pence says the administration will advance its plan in the coming weeks and the embassy will open by the end of 2019. Previous estimates had been the move would take three or four years.</p> <p>The Palestinians claim Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem as their capital. They say the U.S. cannot be a mediator after the decision and have pre-emptively rejected any peace plan presented by the Trump administration.</p> <p>___</p> <p>3 p.m.</p> <p>Arab lawmakers in Israel's parliament have been tossed out from the house for heckling Vice President Mike Pence at the start of his speech.</p> <p>The main Arab party in the Israeli parliament warned ahead of time it would boycott Pence on Monday.</p> <p>The Knesset, which is accustomed to such high-profile visits, had added a new layer of security, and besides the speaker and other dignitaries, lawmakers did not have direct access to Pence.</p> <p>Ayman Odeh, leader of the Joint Arab List, said it was the party's democratic right to boycott the speech by the U.S. vice president. In a tweet, he said the party will not provide a "silent backdrop" to a man he called a "dangerous racist."</p> <p>Netanyahu called the boycott a disgrace. He and other gave Pence a standing ovation.</p> <p>___</p> <p>2:45 p.m.</p> <p>Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is thanking visiting Vice President Mike Pence for standing up for the "truth" and supporting Israel at the United Nations.</p> <p>Netanyahu told Pence on Monday in a speech to parliament that President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the country's capital will go down as one of the most historic in Israel's history.</p> <p>Alternating between English and Hebrew, Netanyahu lauded the unbreakable alliance between the countries, saying they had a "shared destiny."</p> <p>He said: "America has no greater friend than Israel, and Israel has no greater friend than the United States of America."</p> <p>Pence has received a warm welcome in Israel, which has praised the American decision last month to recognize Jerusalem. The decision has infuriated the Palestinians and upset America's Arab allies as well.</p> <p>___</p> <p>2:35 p.m.</p> <p>Dozens of Palestinians are demonstrating in the West Bank city of Nablus against the visit of Vice President Mike Pence to Israel.</p> <p>Protesters chanted against President Donald Trump and stepped on pictures of Pence in a sign of anger.</p> <p>Some shouted: "Trump you are pig. May God demolish your home. How mean you are!"</p> <p>The Palestinians are furious at Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The Palestinians seek east Jerusalem as their capital and accuse Trump of siding with Israel on the most sensitive issue in the conflict.</p> <p>The Palestinians say the United States cannot be a mediator and have pre-emptively rejected any peace proposal the White House offers.</p> <p>The Palestinians plan a mass strike on Tuesday against the Pence visit.</p> <p>___</p> <p>2:10 p.m.</p> <p>Vice President Mike Pence has arrived at Israel's parliament to deliver the keynote speech of his two-day visit that was part of a Mideast trip.</p> <p>Pence signed the Knesset guest book on Monday and laid a wreath for the fallen soldier at its entrance plaza.</p> <p>Pence has received a warm welcome in Israel, which has praised the American decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The decision has infuriated the Palestinians and upset America's Arab allies as well.</p> <p>The main Arab party in the Israeli parliament said it will boycott Pence's speech &#8212; though it wasn't immediately clear whether they would walk out in protest, heckle or skip the session altogether.</p> <p>___</p> <p>10:30 a.m.</p> <p>Vice President Mike Pence has kicked off a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem.</p> <p>Pence placed his right hand over his heart as an honor guard greeted him with the American national anthem.</p> <p>White House Mideast envoy Jason Greenblatt, U.S. Ambassador David Friedman and the Israeli ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, joined Monday's ceremony before Pence and Netanyahu began their meeting.</p> <p>Pence is receiving a warm welcome in Israel, which has praised the American decision last month to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. The decision has infuriated the Palestinians and upset America's Arab allies as well.</p> <p>Before Israel, Pence has visited Egypt and Jordan on the trip.</p> <p>He is to deliver a speech to the Israeli Knesset, or parliament, later in the day.</p>

UPDATE: Israel PM praises Pence speech, approach to Iran

http://valleynewslive.com/content/news/VP-Pence-tells-Israel-US-Embassy-to-move-to-Jerusalem-in-2019-470518323.html

2018-10-08

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p>&#8220;We&#8217;re here today because we all understand that in dealing with violent extremism, that we need answers that go beyond a military answer. We need answers that go beyond force.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8211; Vice President Joe Biden at the Countering Violent Extremism Summit, Feb. 17</p> <p>WASHINGTON &#8211; The Obama administration&#8217;s semantic somersaults to avoid attaching the adjective &#8220;Islamic&#8221; to the noun &#8220;extremism&#8221; are as indicative as they are entertaining.</p> <p>Progressives who believe that dialogues, conversations, engagements, conferences and summits are keys to pacifying the world have a peculiar solemnity about using certain words that are potentially insensitive. This mentality is perhaps especially acute in digitally drenched people who believe that Twitter and other social media have the power to tame turbulent reality.</p> <p>The New York Times reports that the Obama administration is preparing to go toe-to-toe with the Islamic State using, among other munitions, &#8220;more than 350 State Department Twitter accounts.&#8221; According to Richard Stengel, undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, &#8220;We&#8217;re getting beaten on volume, so the only way to compete is by aggregating, curating and amplifying existing content.&#8221;</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Stengel, the Times reported, &#8220;said the new campaign against the Islamic State would carry out strategies now routinely employed by many businesses and individuals to elevate their digital footprints.&#8221; As managing editor of Time, Stengel&#8217;s messaging included the 2006 Person of the Year cover featuring a mirror-like panel, with the word &#8220;YOU&#8221; written on it, the message being that everyone was Person of the Year.</p> <p>U.S. &#8220;countermessaging&#8221; against the Islamic State will use up to 140 characters to persuade persons who are tempted to join in its barbarism &#8211; beheadings, crucifixions, burning people alive, etc. &#8211; that these behaviors are not nice. Stengel is upbeat about beating the Islamic State: &#8220;These guys aren&#8217;t BuzzFeed; they&#8217;re not invincible in social media.&#8221;</p> <p>Beyond a coming fusillade of tweets, the administration&#8217;s arsenal against the Islamic State includes the Atrocities Prevention Board (APB). Its pedigree is better than its accomplishments.</p> <p>After genocides in Rwanda and Bosnia, and a 2008 government task force on the prevention of atrocities, in 2009 President Obama brought into his administration Samantha Power, author of a book on the policy challenge of genocide, &#8220;A Problem from Hell.&#8221; She now is U.S. ambassador to the U.N., where she speaks with a notable absence of the administration&#8217;s usual mushiness.</p> <p>She propelled Obama&#8217;s 2012 announcement, at Washington&#8217;s Holocaust Memorial Museum, of the APB. Obama&#8217;s words were harbingers of what was to come:</p> <p>&#8220;Remembrance without resolve is a hollow gesture. Awareness without action changes nothing. In this sense, &#8216;never again&#8217; is a challenge to us all &#8211; to pause and to look within.&#8221;</p> <p>To what? Launched by this summons to introspection, the APB was therefore from inception in danger of being a hollow gesture, an exercise in right-minded awareness.</p> <p>In addition to the incurable mismatch between the APB&#8217;s negligible means and its ambitious goals, the board has been wounded by two U.S. atrocity-related decisions. One resulted in what can be called a calamitous success, the other is an ongoing refutation of the APB&#8217;s relevance.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Having declared the prevention of mass atrocities &#8220;a core national security interest,&#8221; in 2011 Obama acted on the &#8220;R2P&#8221; principle &#8211; responsibility to protect. He would protect Libyans, particularly the people of Benghazi, from the government of Moammar Gaddafi. This quickly became a protracted attempt to achieve regime change by assassinating him with NATO fighter bombers. Today Libya is a failed state that imports and exports Islamic extremism, and no one accepts responsibility for protecting the nation&#8217;s remnants.</p> <p>Never mind. In 2012, a White House press release proclaimed that the administration &#8220;has amassed an unprecedented record of actions taken to protect civilians and hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable,&#8221; specifically citing &#8220;leadership of a successful international military effort to protect civilians in Libya.&#8221;</p> <p>When the APB was created, the Syrian civil war had resulted in approximately 9,000 deaths, one-twenty-third of the total that chemical weapons, barrel bombs and conventional weapons have caused, so far.</p> <p>Decent people differ about what the administration could or should do about this. But surely it should bring its language into conformity with its capabilities and intentions.</p> <p>Specifically, it should stop saying things it does not mean, such as the prevention of atrocities being &#8220;a core national security interest.&#8221; And it should stop the gaseous rhetoric about countering terrorism by elevating digital footprints, and about going &#8220;beyond force&#8221; by matching the messaging prowess of BuzzFeed.</p> <p>The APB does not even have a Twitter account. Perhaps this the problem.</p> <p>Email: <a href="mailto:georgewill@washpost.com" type="external">georgewill@washpost.com</a>; copyright, Washington Post Writers Group.</p> <p />

Faith in tweets reveals naive hopes

https://abqjournal.com/544789/faith-in-tweets-reveals-naive-hopes.html

<p>ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Serena Williams is returning to competition with an exhibition match Saturday in Abu Dhabi against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.</p> <p>Williams has not competed since winning the Australian Open last January while she was pregnant. She will face Latvia's Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in the first year that women will be taking part, tournament organizers announced Sunday.</p> <p>"I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter in September," the 36-year-old Williams said in a statement.</p> <p>Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a record for the professional era. She is expected to compete for her 24th at the Australian Open, the first major of the year.</p> <p>Williams gave birth to a girl named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. on Sept. 1. She married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in November.</p> <p>"The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has long marked the beginning of the men's global tennis season and I am excited and honored to be making my comeback as part of the first women to participate in the event," Williams said.</p> <p>The Australian Open starts Jan. 15.</p> <p>ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) - Serena Williams is returning to competition with an exhibition match Saturday in Abu Dhabi against French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko.</p> <p>Williams has not competed since winning the Australian Open last January while she was pregnant. She will face Latvia's Ostapenko at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in the first year that women will be taking part, tournament organizers announced Sunday.</p> <p>"I am delighted to be returning to the court in Abu Dhabi for the first time since the birth of my daughter in September," the 36-year-old Williams said in a statement.</p> <p>Williams has won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, a record for the professional era. She is expected to compete for her 24th at the Australian Open, the first major of the year.</p> <p>Williams gave birth to a girl named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. on Sept. 1. She married Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian in November.</p> <p>"The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has long marked the beginning of the men's global tennis season and I am excited and honored to be making my comeback as part of the first women to participate in the event," Williams said.</p> <p>The Australian Open starts Jan. 15.</p>

Serena Williams to play 1st competition since giving birth

https://apnews.com/amp/e67d2fbf6ef24cbea1564f3b14000b3d

2017-12-24

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>The comment was delivered at a news conference in Beijing two days after North Korea test-fired four missiles and the U.S. and South Korea deployed a new missile defense system that Beijing opposes, raising regional tension and renewing questions about Asia policy under President Trump.</p> <p>&#8220;China&#8217;s suggestion is, as a first step, for North Korea to suspend nuclear activity, and for the U.S. and South Korea to also suspend large-scale military drills,&#8221; Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said. The plan, he said, could get all sides back to the negotiating table.</p> <p>Wang likened the U.S. and North Korea to trains at risk of collision. &#8220;The two sides are like two accelerating trains coming towards each other with neither side willing to give way,&#8221; he said.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>&#8220;The question is: Are the two sides really ready for a head-on collision? Our priority now is to flash the red light and apply the brakes on both trains.&#8221;</p> <p>In his telling, China is the signalman working to avert disaster &#8211; not, as some U.S. observers might have it, a conductor in its own right.</p> <p>What Wang proposed on Wednesday is not new &#8211; North Korea has pitched &#8220;suspension for suspension&#8221; many times and the U.S. has balked.</p> <p>However, this is the first time it has been raised under President Donald Trump, presenting some new possibilities, said John Delury, an assistant professor at Seoul&#8217;s Yonsei University.</p> <p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t know what Trump is going to do about North Korea,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There is a policy review underway now and it looks like all options are on the table.&#8221;</p> <p>At the heart of all this is a question about Beijing&#8217;s role in the relationship between China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan and the United States, particularly as the U.S. charts a new foreign policy under Trump.</p> <p>In February, North Korea tested a solid-fuel rocket that it claims is part of an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States. The country was then linked to the assassination, in Malaysia, of ruler Kim&#8217;s half brother, Kim Jong Nam, who had been under Chinese protection.</p> <p>On Monday, as China&#8217;s National People&#8217;s Congress opened in Beijing and joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises got underway. Pyongyang then launched four missiles &#8211; target practice, it said.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>All sides have condemned North Korea&#8217;s actions. What nobody can agree on is what to do next.</p> <p>China says the conflict should be solved by the U.S. and North Korea &#8211; the &#8220;speeding trains&#8221; themselves. But the U.S. has long argued that the conflict cannot be solved without more help from China, North Korea&#8217;s last real ally.</p> <p>North Korea and China were once as close as &#8220;lips and teeth,&#8221; Mao Zedong said. While they are still technically allies &#8211; Wang resurrected Mao&#8217;s &#8220;lips and teeth&#8221; line on Wednesday &#8211; China is frustrated by North Korea&#8217;s nuclear theatrics and exhausted by its economic woes.</p> <p>After February&#8217;s rocket launch, Beijing closed loopholes in an existing effort to curb North Korean coal imports, a sector seen as a financial lifeline for the Kim regime.</p> <p>Chinese experts insist that Beijing has few remaining options when it comes to Pyongyang, mostly because North Korea sees the development of its nuclear program as the only way to protect against the U.S.-they would rather have no coal, or no cash, than cease to exist, the theory goes.</p> <p>&#8220;Even if China stops oil aid to North Korea, it will still not give up developing nuclear weapons,&#8221; said Yang Xiyu, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, in Beijing. &#8220;We cut off coal imports from North Korea and its economy was affected, however, North Korea can have nothing, and it will still believe it needs nuclear weapons to stop the U.S.&#8221;</p> <p>Indeed, despite their many differences, Beijing and Pyongyang share a belief that the presence of U.S. troops in South Korea is the root of regional conflict &#8211; a fact highlighted this week when China lashed out at the U.S. and South Korea over the deployment of a new anti-missile system.</p> <p>The U.S. and South Korea say the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system is necessary to shoot down North Korean missiles. China believes it could be used to spy on Chinese airspace and has called the project a &#8220;strategic plot.&#8221;</p> <p>Though Trump&#8217;s precise plans are unknown, the administration&#8217;s comments on North Korea so far suggest they think it&#8217;s up to China to play a bigger role. The THAAD deployment, however, could make it tougher to get them on board.</p> <p>Experts said Trump seemed unlikely, for now, to accept Wang&#8217;s proposal. &#8220;There is very little possibility that they will get back to talks,&#8221; said Zhang Liangui, who studies North Korea at the Communist Party&#8217;s Central Party School.</p> <p>That means the next move will likely come from Washington &#8211; and depend on Trump. &#8220;We just hope that the U.S. can solve this,&#8221; Zhang said.</p>

China wants to avert ‘head-on collision’ in the Koreas, but will Trump sign on?

https://abqjournal.com/964334/china-wants-to-avert-head-on-collision-in-the-koreas-but-will-trump-sign-on.html

<p /> <p><a href="" type="internal">Facebook</a> has overtaken <a href="" type="internal">Microsoft</a> (NASDAQ:MSFT) Web sites in Britain for the first time, becoming the U.K.s second-most popular behind <a href="" type="internal">Google</a> (NASDAQ:GOOG), according to Reuters, citing online measure group UKOM.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>The social media behemoth landed a record 26.8 million visitors in Britain in May, up 7% from the year-earlier period, and outshining Microsoft, which recorded a combined 26.2 million visitors on its MSN, WindowsLive and Bing sites.</p> <p>Google attracted 33.9 million visitors.</p> <p>Social media sites in the U.K. have seen traffic soar as consumers over the age of 50 continue to jump on board. As Facebooks global growth slows among the younger crowd, its 50-plus age group in Britain accounted for more new adults visiting the site in the last two years than under 50s.</p> <p><a href="" type="internal">Twitter</a>s audience in the region climbed about 33% to 6.1 million last month, helped by a boost in Tweets regarding allegations of celebrity scandals.</p>

Facebook Becomes Second Most Popular Site in U.K.

http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/06/27/facebook-becomes-second-most-popular-site-in-uk.html

2016-03-04

<p>The Hyatt Corporation just posted quarterly profits that jumped six hundred percent with their stock prices climbing at around the same rate. Along with this jumping and climbing, the corporation has taken up running, as in running away from the worst safety record in the industry.</p> <p>Hyatt ranks last in workplace injuries suffered by its housekeeping staff according to UNITE-HERE, the union representing over 100,000 workers in more than 900 hotels in North America. The union is not alone. It cites a peer-reviewed academic study published by the American Journal of Industrial Medicine that places Hyatt dead last among the 50 hotels studied.</p> <p>The abysmal record prompted Hyatt housekeepers at twelve hotels in eight different cities to simultaneously file injury complaints a few weeks ago with the Occupational Safety &amp;amp; Health Administration (OSHA). The union cites public records submitted by the hotels that indicate a 50 percent higher injury rate than the rest of industry.</p> <p>For example, OSHA logs recorded 750 injuries at these 12 Hyatt properties between 2007-2009. Here&#8217;s why according to the union: &#8220;At some Hyatt hotels, room attendants clean as many as 30 rooms a day, nearly double what is commonly required in the industry. This workload leaves room attendants as little as 15 minutes to clean a room&#8212;that&#8217;s 15 minutes to make beds, scrub and clean the toilet bowl, bathtub and all bathroom surfaces, dust, vacuum, empty the trash, change linens&#8212;among other things.&#8221;</p> <p>Thus, it is with some pride that the union describes the synchronized filing of OSHA complaints as a first in the private sector. It certainly will put a bigger spotlight on safety issues which are often ignored or pushed aside until a big catastrophe occurs.</p> <p>But most work injuries do not occur through the better-publicized dramatic emergencies that periodically occur. In fact, most injuries at work occur through the dull, boring and routine repetitive motion performed each day of each week and of each month.</p> <p>All this work is made worse when you are required to do it quickly.</p> <p>The OSHA complaint suggested remedies recommended by leading health and safety experts and based on the latest ergonomic studies. According to the union, these recommendations included: fitted sheets to reduce the number of times that women must lift 100-plus pound mattresses to tuck sheets; long-handled mops and dusters, so workers do not have to get down on their hands and knees to clean the floors or climb bathtubs to reach high surfaces; and reasonable room quotas, so women no longer have to rush to finish rooms, risking slips and falls.</p> <p>None of the procedures are very expensive or complicated.</p> <p>&#8220;There are common sense changes like fitted sheets, mops, or caps on daily room quotas that can make the difference between healthy bodies and hurt housekeepers,&#8221; says occupational health expert Gary Orr. &#8220;It is critical that we explore ways of making hotel work safe to reduce the high rates of injury that we see among housekeepers. Corporate-wide solutions are not only needed but are the most effective and less costly as they can be applied to multiple worksites.&#8221;</p> <p>Safety is Serious</p> <p>The simultaneous filing of OSHA complaints is another example of the union expanding cooperation and communication among hotel workers throughout North America.</p> <p>Coordination of strikes and boycotts is also expanding across the nation as more contracts expire and as owners become more intransigent. Last month, the union shut down Hilton hotels at the world&#8217;s largest locations in Honolulu, San Francisco and Chicago because hotel owners continued to obstruct negotiations, some which have been stalled for 15 months.</p> <p>&#8220;These guys are multi-national corporations, to have any sort of impact, we have to have actions across the country,&#8221; said Riddhi Mehta, press spokeswoman for San Francisco&#8217;s Local 2.</p> <p>But so far, Hyatt hasn&#8217;t budged.</p> <p>Robb Webb, chief human resources officer for Chicago-based Hyatt Hotels Corporation called accusations of a dangerous work environment &#8220;false&#8221; and aimed at increasing union membership and dues.</p> <p>With a straight face, he claimed that &#8220;Hyatt cares deeply about the health and safety of its associates.&#8221; &#8220;We are proud of our work environment, which we constantly strive to improve through training, worker feedback, employee recognition programs, room design, and other initiatives.&#8221;</p> <p>This is exactly the reaction, almost word for word, received by a community, labor and religious delegation on Thursday, November 18, when speaking about safety issues with San Francisco Grand Hyatt General Manager David Nadelman. Several members of the delegation were professionally-trained health and safety experts with extensive experience.</p> <p>Nadelman was provided proven remedies for Hyatt&#8217;s outdated and unsafe practices such as the easy solution earlier cited of using fitted sheets.</p> <p>But Mr. Nadelman was not moved. At least he did not move off his scripted reaction which was a repeat of Mr. Webb&#8217;s statement last week. After the meeting, I pressed him to say more and to &#8220;drop the canned response that came out of Chicago.&#8221; &#8220;It was not canned,&#8221; he said, &#8220;I know our record at this hotel and I am very proud of it. And now I think I have taken up enough time for this meeting.&#8221;</p> <p>Clearly Mr. Nadelman was quite uncomfortable. Maybe it was the strain of appearing so nice and pleasant to a delegation that included prominent religious figures and the District representative of Fiona Ma, California State Assembly Speaker Pro-Tempore. Or, maybe it was my impertinence of asking him to go off script for a moment.</p> <p>In any case, after a little research, I discovered that the San Francisco Grand Hyatt housekeepers account for 57% of all reported injuries at the hotel. Clearly, Mr. Nadelman&#8217;s boastful pride of his hotel&#8217;s record is no more warranted than the dismissive arrogance of Chicago corporate spokesman Mr. Webb.</p> <p>Both Hyatt executives should be mindful of an old safety tip: If you step back too much to admire yourself, you might hit your head on the wall.</p> <p>CARL FINAMORE is a delegate to the San Francisco Labor Council representing Air Transport Employees, Local Lodge 1781, IAMAW. He can be contacted at <a href="mailto:local1781@yahoo.com" type="external">local1781@yahoo.com</a> or his writings viewed on Facebook.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p />

Hyatt’s Dirty Safety Record

https://counterpunch.org/2010/11/19/hyatt-s-dirty-safety-record/

2010-11-19

<p>National Catholic Worker Farm Gathering, Platteville, Wisconsin, February 18, 2017</p> <p>When I met Dorothy Day after arriving in New York City in 1975, I was 19 years old and she was 78 and the only thing that impressed her about me was that I had read Bread and Wine, a novel by Ignazio Silone published in 1936, that she cherished and often cited. The book&#8217;s protagonist is a leader in the Italian Communist party who secretly returns from exile to the village where he was born with the intention of organizing the rural masses to revolt against Fascism. He barely makes it home before falling ill and his fevered musings grasp part of the dilemma of the modern person:</p> <p>&#8220;If only I could wake up tomorrow morning at dawn, put a stick to my donkey, and go the vineyard, Don Paolo said to himself. If I could go to sleep, and wake up, not only with healthy lungs, but with a normal brain, free of all intellectual abstractions. If I could only go back to a real, ordinary life. If I could dig, plow, sow, reap, earn my living, talk to the other men on Sundays, read and study; fulfill the law that says, &#8216;In the sweat of thy face thou shalt earn thy bread.&#8217; On further reflection Don Paolo decided that the root of his trouble lay in his infraction of that law- in the irregular life he had been living, in cafes, libraries, and hotels, in having rudely broken the chain that for centuries had bound his ancestors to the soil. He was an outlaw, not because he contravened the arbitrary laws of the party in power, but because of his infringement of that more ancient law, &#8216;In the sweat of thy face thou shalt earn thy bread.&#8217; He had ceased to be a peasant, and he had not become a townsman. It would never be possible for him to return to the soil. Still less would it be possible for him ever to forget it.&#8221;</p> <p>Today it seems obvious that a return to the land, to a proper relationship with creation and to meaningful, productive work is integral to the aims of the Catholic Worker movement. For much of its history, however, since its beginning in 1933, this aspect of its founder&#8217;s original intentions was relegated to the margins of an already marginal movement.</p> <p>For the next eleven years after meeting Dorothy, I lived in Catholic Worker Houses of Hospitality in New York and then Davenport, Iowa, sharing meals and giving shelter to those in need. Peter Maurin&#8217;s visions of &#8220;agronomic universities&#8221; and return to a village based craft economy were not taken too seriously in those days and most of us, I think, would have been just as happy to dump these as slightly embarrassing and quaint anachronisms.</p> <p>Peter&#8217;s &#8220;Easy Essays&#8221; about Irish monks establishing salons de culture across medieval Europe did not seem relevant to our demanding work of offering hospitality, nor did his suggestion that in following these monks&#8217; example was the answer to global hunger and the threat of nuclear annihilation. We took Dorothy Day at her word that Peter Maurin was her mentor and co-founder of the movement but there was at the time little evidence of his influence in our life and work.</p> <p>Mel Piehl in his fine historical review of the Catholic Worker movement, Breaking Bread,1982, even quotes some Catholic Workers of an earlier era who suggested that Peter&#8217;s &#8220;intellectual genius was clearly exaggerated&#8221; and that Peter was uncomfortable in his &#8220;feigned role of leadership.&#8221; Piehl estimates that Dorothy Day had exaggerated Peter&#8217;s role as &#8220;co-founder&#8221; and that she &#8220;promoted the fiction that the Catholic Worker was simply an attempt to realize Peter Maurin&#8217;s &#8216;Idea.&#8217;&#8221; It was, Piehl said, &#8220;strategically useful to her as a woman leading a social movement in the sexually conservative Catholic Church, to be able to point to a male co-founder of the movement.&#8221;</p> <p>For generations of young Americans attracted to Catholic Worker communities, the European peasant Peter Maurin might have appeared as obscure and incomprehensible as the very American radical Dorothy Day was accessible. Daniel Berrigan, in his introduction to Dorothy&#8217;s memoir, The Long Loneliness, published in 1981, a year after her death, reflected a common if less than generous perception of Peter and his vision: &#8220;They started a newspaper and the rest is history. They started houses of hospitality; that too is history. Peter was forever talking about something he called &#8216;agronomic universities.&#8217; They started one, on the land; and that is something less than history.&#8221;</p> <p>Dorothy&#8217;s announcement in The Catholic Worker in January 1936, &#8220;we are going to move out on a farm&#8230; and start there a true farming commune,&#8221; however, was clearly proclaimed with the expectation that history was being made: &#8220;We believe that our words will have more weight, our writings will have more conviction, if we ourselves are engaged in making a better life on the land.&#8221; While she assured her readers that &#8220;we are not going to abandon the city,&#8221; it is clear that Dorothy&#8217;s historic expectation was that the Catholic Worker was going to realize its original vision, that of a rural based &#8220;back to the land&#8221; movement keeping some presence in the city, &#8220;sending out apostles of labor from the farm, to scenes of industrial conflict, to factories and to lodging houses, to live and work with the poor.&#8221;</p> <p>If this and other early experimental farming communes came and went as &#8220;something less than history,&#8221; as Dan offers, or as the abject failures that others have named them, the concept did continue to limp along somehow for the next decades. Rather than the cutting edge of a revolution as Peter envisioned the agronomic university, however, most Catholic Worker farms were planned and grew, if they did, as dependent branches of urban Catholic Worker houses of hospitality. Most of these few farms were seen even by those who lived and worked at them in an urban context, as auxiliaries, existing to provide cheap food for soup lines, hospitality for the urban poor and places for retreat and recreation for Catholic Workers from the city. Most were rural responses to urban poverty and homelessness with little regard to the poverty of their neighbors. By and by, the &#8220;true farming communes&#8221; originally proposed gave way to &#8220;retreat centers.&#8221;</p> <p>Some few here and there in the most obscure and remote places have always remembered and stood by Peter&#8217;s vision. These were often marginalized and misunderstood by the larger Catholic Worker movement as much as by their neighbors and the culture at large. When in 1986, Betsy Keenan and I moved with our children from the Catholic Worker hospitality house in Davenport, Iowa, to Maloy, a town of less than 30 souls just north of Iowa&#8217;s border with Missouri, many friends assumed that we had left the Catholic Worker movement. Some challenged us, what need is there for a soup line in so small a town? No soup line? What kind of Catholic Worker house are you? Whose farm are we, we were challenged, meaning what city house owns and controls our farm, assuming that the legitimate existence of any rural entity is bound to its tie to an urban one. About that time our good friend Chuck Trapkus included in his iconic &#8220;Catholic Worker Primer&#8221; a cartoon of a man in overalls holding a chicken and saying, &#8220;We&#8217;re Catholic Workers, too, don&#8217;t you forget it!&#8221;</p> <p>Over the past 30 years there has been a great shift in understanding and respect for Peter&#8217;s vision and what it means. At one of the sporadically convened national Catholic Worker gatherings, I think that this was in 1987, a &#8220;round table&#8221; discussion of Peter&#8217;s agronomic university was attended by a few of us farmers and the most pressing question that surfaced from the few mildly curious others who wandered in was &#8220;why bother with a garden when we have more donated old vegetables from the market than we can ever sort out?&#8221; Since that time, there has been a resurgence in Peter&#8217;s dreams of farming communes in the movement. At more recent gatherings, roundtables on rural issues and Peter Maurin are among the liveliest and best attended and this, the fourth biannual national Catholic Worker gathering is the largest ever.</p> <p>This resurgence is evidenced not only in the unprecedented plethora of Catholic Worker farms around the country and abroad. It is also shown in the level of discussion given Peter and his ideas in the newspapers of the various houses. Peter&#8217;s influence is seen in the growth of urban gardens in the yards and vacant lots around our city houses. Catholic Worker cottage industries, such as carving spoons, repairing bicycles, making soap, all are examples of a growing movement.</p> <p>In Maloy each winter we host a craft retreat, when up to a dozen Catholic Workers from around the Midwest crowd into our farmhouse to join us and some neighbors to weave, make cheese, carve wood, dip candles, knit, make baskets, cook, eat, pray, dance and sing. We have fun but these sessions were not recreational in the conventional sense nor are we really &#8220;on retreat.&#8221; &amp;#160;These gatherings are the Catholic Worker movement going about some of its most serious business. As it happens, the craft retreat often gets scheduled just before or after the annual Witness Against Torture event in Washington, DC, an intense time of fasting and action to demand the closing of the prison at Guantanamo and the abolition of torture that I usually attend. In my mind, these two yearly events have melded into one continuum.</p> <p>This shift of paradigm has come in part, I think, as people who come to Catholic Worker houses are staying longer. While many still come to Worker houses to donate a &#8220;gap year&#8221; or two of their lives in service to the poor between college and &#8220;real life,&#8221; from the 1970s on, more and more came and stayed. It has been suggested that some of these moved out to farms looking for a better place to raise kids than an inner city house of hospitality. There may be something to that, but I offer that for many of us, living and working for years with the urban poor made us look deeper into the roots of the world&#8217;s problems and see that serving soup, good work that it is, is not enough. Speaking for myself, I needed to live in urban hospitality houses for many years before I could make any sense of Peter&#8217;s talk about revolution on the land.</p> <p>For many of us, too, solidarity work and travel to places exploited by economic and other kinds of colonialism brought us to see that Peter was right when he pointedly insisted that issues of war and peace always are, at the heart, issues of the land and its use. In New York City or Los Angeles as in Jerusalem or Mexico City or San Salvador, the peace and good order of society requires justice on the land. It strikes us, finally, that even the food that we serve on our soup lines that is donated or gleaned from dumpsters depends on slave labor and is grown in ways that cannot be sustained. When the peace for which we yearn and struggle finally comes and our global neighbors will no longer be forced by debt and oppression to clothe and feed us but will use their own labor, land and water to care for themselves, how then will we live?</p> <p>The crisis of climate change on our threshold, too, makes Peter&#8217;s dream of agrarian revolution look less like a medieval utopian fantasy and more like an urgent and rational plan for a new and sustainable social order of the future.</p> <p>Some criticize such changes in the movement as if they are evidence that we are losing our way. My perspective is that, with some growing pains, the Catholic Worker is rather finding its way now after so many years. &#8220;Our houses of hospitality are scarcely the kind of houses that Peter Maurin has envisioned in his plan for a new social order,&#8221; Dorothy Day wrote in her column in September 1942. &#8220;He recognizes that himself, and thinks in terms of the future to accomplish true centers of Catholic Action and rural centers such as he speaks of.&#8221; Perhaps it is true that Peter Maurin&#8217;s role as &#8220;co-founder&#8221; of the Catholic Worker was exaggerated in the past. If so, it might also be true that he is now posthumously growing into that role as the movement matures into the dynamic revolutionary social force it was meant to be.</p> <p>While I am gratified to see this revival, I must confess that, along with Silone&#8217;s Don Paolo, I am still a townsman and after three decades of rural living I am far more at home in the city, &#8220;in cafes, libraries, and hotels,&#8221; than I am on the farm and in the small town where I live. In recent years as a co-coordinator of Voices for Creative Nonviolence, I am spending about half my time on the farm, half on the road, often in cities in America and abroad, sometimes in war zones and in jails and prisons. Some friends assume that my time on the farm is a respite from the stresses of activism, but the opposite is true. I love my home but often do not feel at rest there- the farm is the place where I feel most challenged and humbled and the city is where I go to escape.</p> <p>Betsy has become an accomplished weaver, goatherd and gardener, but the skills and attitudes needed to be a farmer continue to elude and frustrate me. Going to jail comes easier for me than fixing a fence or attending a church pot luck. I can make many varieties of cheeses from the milk of our goats, but find more satisfaction writing a press release or organizing a protest. A shopping trip to the county seat can be more daunting to me than traveling alone to Seoul or Kabul. By education, aptitude and temperament, I am not able to return to the soil but neither can I forget it.</p> <p>We are gathered here, Catholic Worker farmers and friends, at a time of extraordinary uncertainty and peril. It is unclear if the damage our wars and industrialized lifestyles are inflicting on the planet can be reversed at this late date. Never have so many people been displaced and the danger of nuclear war is more imminent now than ever before in the lifetimes of most of us here. If previous generations of Catholic Worker farms have measured in the end as &#8220;somewhat less than history,&#8221; our efforts today must be of historic proportions, God help us, if we are to contribute to the continuation of life on earth.</p>

Peter Maurin’s Vision for the Catholic Worker, an Idea Whose Time has Come

https://counterpunch.org/2017/03/17/peter-maurins-vision-for-the-catholic-worker-an-idea-whose-time-has-come/

2017-03-17

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>A U.S. State Department official expressed &#8220;deep concerns&#8221; Tuesday about the socialist leader&#8217;s motivation for calling a constitutional convention as he grapples with widespread anger over Venezuela&#8217;s economic struggles.</p> <p>&#8220;What President Maduro is trying to do yet again is trying to change the rules of the game,&#8221; said Michael Fitzpatrick, deputy assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs. &#8220;The actions that were taken yesterday may well give us new reasons for considering additional individualized sanctions.&#8221;</p> <p>Opposition leaders called for a major march Wednesday in Caracas, seeking to keep the heat on Maduro after a month of unrelenting protests. On Tuesday, protesters disrupted traffic in the capital by blocking streets with broken concrete, twisted metal and flaming piles of trash. Police used tear gas to scatter demonstrators as they have almost every day for weeks.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>Maduro began the week by signing a decree to begin the process of rewriting Venezuela&#8217;s constitution, which was pushed through in 1999 by his predecessor and mentor, the late President Hugo Chavez.</p> <p>Opposition leaders called the planned constitutional assembly a ploy to keep Maduro and his allies in power by putting off regional elections scheduled for this year and a presidential election that was to be held in 2018. Opinion polls have suggested the socialists would lose both elections badly at a time of widespread anger over triple-digit inflation and shortages of food and other goods.</p> <p>South American governments criticized Maduro&#8217;s move in stronger language than they have used so far in condemning the South American country&#8217;s crisis, with Brazil calling the decree a &#8220;coup.&#8221; Meanwhile, Venezuela&#8217;s foreign minister came away empty-handed after seeking support at Tuesday&#8217;s meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, but the left-leaning regional group didn&#8217;t issue any statement.</p> <p>Although he has hinted that some members of the constitutional assembly will be chosen by voters, Maduro has given no details on how the body might be picked, and that has led many observers to predict the selection process will favor the socialists.</p> <p>The president said Tuesday that he hoped the opposition would join in the process of creating a new constitution.</p> <p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t realize how lost they are in their violence. I&#8217;m extending my hand and asking them to come to the constitutional convention,&#8221; he said.</p> <p>Venezuela&#8217;s congress, which has an opposition majority, ignored that Tuesday, officially rejecting the idea of holding a constitutional congress. It said Venezuelan voters should decide whether to call one, though the rejection was a symbolic gesture because congress has no power to block a constitutional assembly.</p> <p>Venezuela&#8217;s constitution was last rewritten in 1999, early in Chavez&#8217;s 14-year presidency as he launched a socialist revolution in this oil-exporting nation. Chavez called his new constitution the best in the world, predicting it would last centuries. He carried around a blue pocket-size version of the charter, and would often whip it out and say: &#8220;This is our Bible. After the Bible, this.&#8221; At the height of his popularity, people mobbed him to ask that he sign their copies.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>At least 29 people have died in the unrest of the past month and hundreds have been injured. On Tuesday, the government suspended for 180 days the right to carry guns. The unrest erupted after an attempt to nullify the powers of the opposition-controlled, but a growing number of people have joined to show their anger over Venezuela&#8217;s economic ruin and violent crime.</p> <p>People manning barricades that choked streets across Caracas on Tuesday vowed to keep protesting until Maduro leaves office.</p> <p>&#8220;Unlike some of these young people, I remember a time before the socialists. Now is not the time for fear,&#8221; said Ricardo Herrera, a 36-year-old chauffeur who was piling trash and pieces of concrete into a street barricade in front of his apartment building.</p> <p>Herrera said he had sat out the protests because he had to work, but decided after Maduro&#8217;s call for a new constitution that he could no longer stand by.</p> <p>&#8220;No one is going to work today. If we back down now, we&#8217;ll be under their boot for the rest of our lives,&#8221; he said.</p> <p>___</p> <p>Hannah Dreier on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hannahdreier . Her work can be found at https://www.ap.org/explore/venezuela-undone .</p>

US warns on sanctions over Venezuela’s move on constitution

https://abqjournal.com/997431/us-warns-on-sanctions-over-venezuelas-move-on-constitution.html

2017-05-02

<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p> <p /> <p>The Zia sunrise was slow and jerky, but that homemade quality made many in the crowd like it even more.</p> <p>A bright Zia Sun rises over the Catron Building on the Plaza at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve. (Mark Oswald/Journal)</p> <p>One promised feature of the event, a float-off of balloons with glow sticks inside and also containing notes with wishes for the New Year, didn't take place.</p> <p>Ray Sandoval, the Zozobra organizer who put on the New Year's Eve show, said the balloon idea was dropped because environmental concerns had been raised.</p> <p>The balloons that were to be used were described as biodegradable and there would have been no strings attached.</p> <p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> <p>But Sandoval said there wasn't time to get out adequate information or otherwise discuss whether the balloons were in fact bird- and animal-friendly.</p> <p>The Plaza obelisk was bathed in blue light for New Year's Eve. (Mark Oswald/Journal)</p> <p>The crowd filling the Plaza didn't seem to miss the balloons.</p> <p>One onlooker said the Zia Sun was just perfect and had the look of a neon sign from old Route 66.</p> <p>Participants in Santa Fe's first-ever official New Year's Eve celebration could write their wishes for 2016 on a wall near the music stage. An original plan to have people write down their wishes on notes that would be sent skyward in glowing balloons was abandoned due to environmental concerns. (Courtesy Ray Sandoval)</p>

UPDATED: Zia Sun rises over Plaza for New Year - but no glowing balloons

https://abqjournal.com/699457/zia-sun-rises-over-plaza-for-new-year-but-no-glowing-balloo.html

<p /> <p>A large long-term study on the use of the big-selling weedkiller glyphosate by agricultural workers in the United States has found no firm link between exposure to the pesticide and cancer, scientists said on Thursday.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>Published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI), the study found there was "no association between glyphosate", the main ingredient in Monsanto's popular herbicide RoundUp, "and any solid tumors or lymphoid malignancies overall, including non-Hogkin Lymphoma (NHL) and its subtypes."</p> <p>It said there was "some evidence of increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) among the highest exposed group", but added "this association was not statistically significant" and would require more research to be confirmed.</p> <p>The findings are likely to impact legal proceedings taking place in the United States against Monsanto, in which more than 180 plaintiffs are claiming exposure to RoundUp gave them cancer - allegations that Monsanto denies.</p> <p>The findings may also influence a crucial decision due in Europe this week on whether glyphosate should be re-licensed for sale across the European Union.</p> <p>That EU decision has been delayed for several years after the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) reviewed glyphosate in 2015 and concluded it was "probably carcinogenic" to humans. Other bodies, such as the European Food Safety Authority, have concluded glyphosate is safe to use.</p> <p>Advertisement</p> <p>The research is part of a large and important project known as the Agricultural Health Study (AHS), which has been tracking the health of tens of thousands of agricultural workers, farmers and their families in Iowa and North Carolina.</p> <p>Since the early 1990s, it has gathered and analyzed detailed information on the health of participants and their families, and their use of pesticides, including glyphosate.</p> <p>Reuters reported in June how an influential scientist was aware of new AHS data while he was chairing a panel of experts reviewing evidence on glyphosate for the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) in early 2015.</p> <p>But since it had not at that time been published, he did not tell the experts panel about it and IARC's review did not take it into account.</p> <p>The publishing of the study on Thursday comes more than four years since drafts based on the AHS data on glyphosate and other pesticides were circulating in February and March 2013.</p> <p>In a summary conclusion of the results, the researchers, led by Laura Beane Freeman, the principal investigator of the AHS at the U.S. National Cancer Institute, reported that among 54,251 (pesticide) applicators in the study, 44,932, or 82.9 percent of them used glyphosate.</p> <p>"Glyphosate was not statistically significantly associated with cancer at any site," the conclusion said.</p> <p>The researchers said they believed the study was the first to report a possible association between glyphosate and AML, but that it could be the result of chance and should be treated with caution.</p> <p>(Reporting by Kate Kelland, Editing by William Maclean)</p>

U.S. farm study finds no firm cancer link to Monsanto weedkiller

http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/11/09/u-s-farm-study-finds-no-firm-cancer-link-to-monsanto-weedkiller.html

2017-11-09

<p>CHICAGO (Reuters) - Delta Air Lines Inc is offering voluntary early retirement and buyout plans to some employees as the airline tries to operate more efficiently in the face of high fuel costs.</p> <p>Delta had already announced plans to pare back its schedule by at least 4 percent after the Labor Day holiday in September.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>Now it must reduce the costs tied to those flights as well, including the number of people who operate the airline, Chief Executive Richard Anderson said in a recorded message made available on a company hotline on Friday.</p> <p>"In order for our business to thrive we must think of the current high fuel prices as a permanent reality of our business," Anderson said.</p> <p>While fuel prices dropped this week, they did not fall back "into the area that is normal, if you will," he said.</p> <p>The price of Brent crude is and will continue to be high, Anderson said.</p> <p>Brent crude oil futures fell for five straight days this week, settling at $109.13 a barrel, as investors shed commodities holdings.</p> <p>Delta is offering a voluntary early retirement program to airline employees whose age, combined with 10 or more years of service, comes to at least 55.</p> <p>Employees with at least five consecutive years with Delta who do not meet the retirement age specifications qualify for a buyout program, he said.</p> <p>(Reporting by Jessica Wohl)</p> <p>Advertisement</p>

Delta offers some voluntary buyouts as fuel weighs

http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/05/07/delta-offers-voluntary-buyouts-fuel-weighs.html

2016-01-28

<p>For today's Global Hit meet Tanya Tagaq.</p> <p>She's from a remote Inuit community way up on the coast of Victoria Island in Canada's High Arctic.</p> <p>Tanya Tagaq's a throat singer. Not like the Tuvan men you might have heard though, she grew up learning from the women in her village.</p> <p>She turned a traditional art into the avant garde.</p> <p>And she's performed with such musical heavy weights as Bjork and the Kronos Quartet.</p> <p>A duet with Bjork is on Tanya Tagaq's latest release is "Sinaa."</p> <p>The song itself is "Ancestors."</p> <p>Now not a lot of musician sing like, so it's good then that Tanya Tagaq has found a kindred musical spirit like Bjork.</p>

Global Hit - Tanya Tagaq

https://pri.org/stories/2008-01-30/global-hit-tanya-tagaq

2008-01-30

<p>By Patricia Zengerle</p> <p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) &#8211; U.S. political consultant Roger Stone, a longtime ally of President Donald Trump, flatly rejected on Monday all allegations of collusion between the president&#8217;s associates and Russia during the 2016 U.S. election.</p> <p>In a 47-page opening statement seen by Reuters before his appearance on Tuesday in a closed hearing of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Stone said he viewed his appearance &#8220;as a political proceeding&#8221; and criticized some Democratic members of the panel.</p> <p>Stone accused committee members of making &#8220;provably false&#8221; statements to create the impression of collusion with Russia.</p> <p>He also accused the committee of cowardice because he was not allowed to testify in an open forum. He said he wanted the transcript of his interview to be released on the conclusion of his meeting with the committee.</p> <p>Aides to the committee leaders, Republican Representative Mike Conaway and Democrat Adam Schiff, declined comment on Stone&#8217;s statement.</p> <p>The House panel is one of the main congressional committees investigating allegations that Russia sought to interfere in the 2016 U.S. election and probing whether any Trump associates colluded with Moscow.</p> <p>U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia sought to influence the election to boost Trump&#8217;s chances of defeating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent.</p> <p>Russia denies any such efforts, and Trump has dismissed any talk of collusion.</p> <p>Stone acknowledged his reputation as a tough political strategist, but said he did not engage in any illegal activities.</p> <p>&#8220;There is one &#8216;trick&#8217; that is not in my bag and that is treason,&#8221; he said.</p> <p /> <p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p>

Trump ally Stone flatly rejects allegations of Russia collusion

https://newsline.com/trump-ally-stone-flatly-rejects-allegations-of-russia-collusion/

2017-09-25

<p>The premise is simple and time-honored: Two heads are better than one. First-time entrepreneur Kris Appel recognized this early on when she founded Encore Path Inc. in 2006 and launched her first product, <a href="http://www.tailwindtherapy.com/" type="external">Tailwind Opens a New Window.</a>, which helps stroke and brain-injury survivors recover their arm movement. Her goals included licensing early-stage technology, hiring an engineering firm, raising money and manufacturing the device. Did she know how to achieve all these goals? No. So she set about finding people who did -- and surrounding herself with them.</p> <p>Advisory boards can be a vital part of small-business growth. Often for no cost, board members will provide you with feedback on your business, make introductions to key contacts and even provide financing. Yet selecting members for an advisory board involves both science and art. Here are some guidelines:</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>Proceed With Caution&amp;#160;There are some cautionary tales, though. Not all advisory board members are created equal. It can take time to see their true colors or to determine whether they truly are the right fit. Some suggestions:</p> <p>Finally, remember that no one knows your company better than you. While you will want to turn to and trust your advisors, don't devalue yourself or your gut instincts. As Nancy Bogart, CEO of <a href="http://jordanessentials.com/" type="external">Jordan Essentials Opens a New Window.</a>, cautions, "Think of advice like a piece of watermelon. Eat the meat and spit out the seeds."</p>

Finding the Right Advisors

http://foxbusiness.com/features/2010/12/02/finding-right-advisors.html

2016-03-17

<p>In the rare times when Walmart could not crush a union drive, the company shuttered stores or departments rather than allow unionization.</p> <p>On Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, bargain hunters trying to enter 1,000 Walmart stores around the country had to maneuver through rallies and picket lines. Tens of thousands of protesters turned out at the urging of a year-old worker association, <a href="http://forrespect.org/" type="external">Organization United for Respect at Walmart</a> (OUR Walmart), to support roughly 500 workers who walked off their jobs that day, fed up with what they saw as Walmart&#8217;s inadequate pay, disrespectful working conditions and illegal punishment of workers who speak out. &#8220;I&#8217;m pumped up,&#8221; said Tyrone Parker, a night-shift stocker, as 250 protesters marched around a Walmart store in Chicago&#8217;s South Side. &#8220;Somewhere, somehow, down the line, it&#8217;s going to make a big difference.&#8221;</p> <p>The nationwide action was one step in what promises to be a long march toward securing a voice for workers at the vehemently anti-union Walmart. But at a time of growing unrest among low-paid workers, the Walmart campaign could help the labor movement take a giant leap forward.</p> <p><a href="https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/InTheseTimes/OnlineDonation.html" type="external">Help keep this reporting possible by making a donation today.</a></p> <p>Walmart, the world&#8217;s largest private employer, heavily influences standards for vast swaths of the American economy, from retail to logistics to manufacturing. Over the past few decades, Walmart&#8217;s competitive power&#8212;a combination of size, technology and cut-throat personnel policies&#8212;has played a role in dramatically reducing American retail workers&#8217; average income and unionization level (from 8.6 percent in 1983 to 4.9 percent in 2011). Left Business Observer economist Doug Henwood calculates that real wages for retail workers&#8212;who make up 10 percent of the workforce&#8212;have fallen nearly 30 percent since their 1973 peak, three times the drop of all hourly wages. Reversing that wage trend will be essential to revive the economy and reduce soaring inequality.</p> <p>In taking on the retail behemoth, OUR Walmart&#8212;supported by the <a href="http://www.ufcw.org/" type="external">United Food and Commercial Workers</a> (UFCW) and its labor-community alliance, <a href="http://makingchangeatwalmart.org/" type="external">Making Change at Walmart</a>&#8212;is testing unconventional strategies. The organization is looking backward for inspiration, to neglected union strategies of the 1930s and socially disruptive actions of the civil rights movement, and forward, to the possibilities opened by the Internet and social media.</p> <p>Such innovation is sorely needed. For two decades, the UFCW has crossed swords with Walmart, using hostile publicity campaigns and occasional union representation elections. But in the rare times when Walmart could not crush a union drive, the company shuttered stores or departments rather than allow unionization.</p> <p>&#8220;When the [National Labor Relations Act] was passed [in 1935], nobody imagined a company like Walmart,&#8221; says Making Change at Walmart Campaign Director Dan Schlademan. &#8220;The antiquated aspects of the law play into Walmart&#8217;s hands.&#8221; The union recognition process under the NLRA permits employers such as Walmart to vigorously, even ruthlessly, campaign against unions and suffer only minor penalties for law-breaking.</p> <p>So organizers at Walmart devised a new strategy. &#8220;We got together a group of Walmart associates,&#8221; many of them veterans of earlier campaigns, says Schlademan. &#8220;What people came up with was, &#8216;Let&#8217;s stop waiting for the government or Walmart to say we can have an organization. Let&#8217;s build an organization now and begin to create a voice for Walmart workers as they face real issues now.&#8217;&#8221;</p> <p>The result was OUR Walmart: not a union seeking recognition at a single store, but a nationwide network of hourly associates seeking to pressure the retail giant into better companywide practices through collective action. &#8220;Like all movements for change, not everyone is involved, but there&#8217;s a committed core,&#8221; says Schlademan.&#8220;[As in the] civil rights movement, the courageous ones are standing [up], then others stand with them, and bigger things are bound to happen in the future.&#8221;</p> <p>OUR Walmart&#8217;s structure hearkens back to what historian Staughton Lynd called the &#8220;alternative unionism&#8221; of the 1930s. These workers regarded everyone as a leader, acted locally without waiting for national union organizers and created local unions that were linked in horizontal solidarity rather than through subordination to a central hierarchy. Some workers formed non-union associations that often became more like a union over time. Others formed &#8220;minority&#8221; unions without waiting for majority support; employers were still obliged to bargain with these unions for their members&#8217; rights. Now-retired labor law professors Clyde Summers and Charles Morris argue that even under the NLRA, such unions&#8212;now rare&#8212;have the same legal rights as majority unions.</p> <p>OUR Walmart strategists describe their organization as &#8220;open source,&#8221; meaning that it provides resources for workers to self-organize, rather than waiting for a paid staff organizer. The Internet and social media have proven crucial in this effort, says Schlademan. &#8220;We&#8217;re trying to create as many pathways as possible for people to self-organize,&#8221; he says. &#8220;If we tried to do this in the conventional way, we&#8217;d never get there.&#8221;</p> <p>Take the case of Janet Sparks, a Walmart retail worker in Baker, La.</p> <p>Angry that the company was taking away benefits and making schedules unpredictable, she &#8220;kept searching constantly&#8221; for ways to fight back, she says. &#8220;I never gave up on trying to connect with all the associates across the country. One day I stumbled upon OUR Walmart [online]. I immediately contacted them and became a leader.&#8221;</p> <p>Besides enabling workers like Sparks to organize her co-workers, the emerging organizations also have a somewhat freer hand than most unions to take direct action, including strikes, both quick and extended. (Union contracts often limit workers&#8217; right to strike, which is otherwise protected by U.S. law.)</p> <p>With union membership down to 11.8 percent of the workforce (6.9 percent of the private sector), and labor law reform stalled by Congress, the union movement must find strategies that can tackle big companies and industries as a whole.</p> <p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got to expand our notion of the labor movement to include collective action by workers, wherever it is,&#8221; says Stewart Acuff, former AFL-CIO director of organizing. &#8220;We need big fights now in America. It&#8217;s less important that we win than that we fight.&#8221;</p> <p>The Walmart campaign is leading the fight not only against a powerful corporation but also against an entire degrading &#8220;system of work&#8221; in sectors such as retail, says Change to Win Executive Director Tom Woodruff. OUR Walmart joins a host of smaller campaigns by workers in other precarious and penurious industries, like logistics, fast food and domestic work. With enough density of membership, service-sector unions can raise standards in local, and ultimately national, markets. For example, in San Francisco and New York, where 90 percent of hotel housekeepers are unionized, average hotel housekeeper wages are $19 to $26 an hour, compared to a national average of $10.10. And, in other actions targeted at Walmart, this fall low-wage workers at Illinois and California Walmart warehouses conducted successful strikes for safer working conditions and against reprisals.</p> <p>OUR Walmart recognizes that workers cannot change Walmart or the industry alone. After the holiday season, Schlademan says, Making Change at Walmart will be &#8220;moving into systematic and focused anti-retaliation campaigns to protect leaders and to educate in a much deeper way elected officials and communities.&#8221; The goal: &#8220;A community that will stand with workers at their stores against retaliation by man- agers while expanding membership.&#8221;</p> <p>Yet some organizers question whether worker associations and minority unions can be effective, whether reliance on the Internet might induce neglect of face-to-face organizing and whether the campaign will remain funded over the long term. (Currently OUR Walmart is financed partly by member dues but primarily by a subsidy from UFCW, which is committed for the long haul, Schlademan says.) Nevertheless, labor needs more organizing drives that experiment with broad coalitions, industry-wide organizing targets, disruptive tactics and democratic self-organization.</p> <p>For a beleaguered labor movement, the stakes are high. If labor cannot raise standards in the expanding universe of low-wage jobs, it could cease to exist, Woodruff warns. &#8220;The drive to self-organization of [Walmart and other low-wage] workers will determine the future of work and the future of the economy.&#8221;</p> <p /> <p>Like what you&#8217;ve read? <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/itt-subscription-offer?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;amp;noskip=true" type="external">Subscribe to In These Times magazine</a>, or <a href="https://secure.actblue.com/contribute/page/support-in-these-times?refcode=WS_ITT_Article_Footer&amp;amp;noskip=true" type="external">make a tax-deductible donation to fund this reporting</a>.</p> <p>David Moberg, a senior editor of In These Times, has been on the staff of the magazine since it began publishing in 1976. Before joining In These Times, he completed his work for a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Chicago and worked for Newsweek. He has received fellowships from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the Nation Institute for research on the new global economy. He can be reached at davidmoberg@inthesetimes.com.</p>

The Walmart Revolt

http://inthesetimes.com/article/14297/the_walmart_revolt

2013-01-01

<p>Credit card data isn't quite as anonymous as promised, a new study says.</p> <p>Scientists showed they can identify you with more than 90 percent accuracy by looking at just four purchases, three if the price is included &#8212; and this is after companies "anonymized" the transaction records, saying they wiped away names and other personal details. The study out of MIT, published Thursday in the journal Science, examined three months of credit card records for 1.1 million people.</p> <p>Continue Reading Below</p> <p>"We are showing that the privacy we are told that we have isn't real," study co-author Alex "Sandy" Pentland of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said in an email.</p> <p>Companies routinely strip away personal identifiers from credit card data when they share information with outsiders, saying the data is now safe because it is "anonymized." But the MIT researchers showed that anonymized isn't quite the same as anonymous.</p> <p>Drawing upon a sea of data in an unnamed developed country, the researchers pieced together available information to see how easily they could identify somebody. They looked at information from 10,000 shops, with each data piece time-stamped to calculate how many pieces of data it would take on average to find somebody, said study lead author Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye, also of MIT.</p> <p>In this case the experts needed only four pieces, three if price is involved.</p> <p>As an example, the researchers wrote about looking at data from September 23 and 24 and who went to a bakery one day and a restaurant the other. Searching through the data set, they found there could be only person who fits the bill &#8212; they called him Scott. The study said, "and we now know all of his other transactions, such as the fact that he went shopping for shoes and groceries on 23 September, and how much he spent."</p> <p>Advertisement</p> <p>It's easier to identify women, but the research couldn't explain why, de Montjoye said.</p> <p>The study shows that when we think we have privacy when our data is collected, it's really just an "illusion," said Eugene Spafford, director of Purdue University's Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security. Spafford, who wasn't part of the study, said it makes "one wonder what our expectation of privacy should be anymore."</p> <p>"It is not surprising to those of us who spend our time doing privacy research," said outside expert Lorrie Faith Cranor, director of the CyLab Usable Privacy and Security Laboratory at Carnegie Mellon University. "But I expect it would be surprising to most people, including companies who may be routinely releasing de-identified transaction data, thinking it is safe to do so."</p> <p>Credit card companies and industry officials either declined comment or did not respond to requests for comment.</p> <p>The once-obscure concept of metadata &#8212; or basic transactional information &#8212; grew mainstream in recent years following revelations by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden. Those disclosures from once-top secret U.S. government documents revealed that the NSA was collecting the records of digital communications from millions of Americans not suspected of a crime.</p> <p>The use of so-called "big data" has been a lucrative prospect for private companies aiming to cash in on the trove of personal information about their consumers. Retail purchases, online web browsing activity and a host of other digital breadcrumbs can provide firms with a wealth of data about you &#8212; which is then used in sophisticated advertising and marketing campaigns. And big data-mining was used extensively in the 2012 president election to win over voters or seek out prospective donors.</p> <p>"While government surveillance has been getting a lot of press, and certainly the revelations warrant such scrutiny, a large number of corporations have been quietly expanding their use of data," said privacy consultant and author Rebecca Herold. Studies like this show "how metadata can be used to pinpoint specific individuals. This also raises the question of how such data would be used within insurance actuarial calculations, insurance claims and adjustments, loan and mortgage application considerations, divorce proceedings."</p> <p>___</p> <p>Online:</p> <p>Journal Science: http://www.sciencemag.org</p> <p>___</p> <p>Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears</p> <p>Jack Gillum can be followed at https://twitter.com/jackgillum</p>

Not so easy to buy privacy: Study shows how 'anonymized' credit card data still identifies

http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/01/29/not-so-easy-to-buy-privacy-study-shows-how-anonymized-credit-card-data-still.html

2016-03-05

<p>BRASILIA (Reuters) &#8211; A Congressional committee led by Evangelical Christians has voted to ban abortion in Brazil in all situations, including cases of rape and where the mother&#8217;s life is in danger.</p> <p>The decision was voted 18-1 late on Wednesday by a special committee considering a constitutional amendment to extend maternity leave for mothers of premature babies.</p> <p>The single vote against the ban was cast by the only woman present during the session, Erika Kokay of the Workers Party, who called the decision a maneuver by the committee&#8217;s pro-life Evangelical majority.</p> <p>Abortion is illegal in predominantly Catholic Brazil except when the pregnancy is the result of a rape or puts the mother&#8217;s life at risk. In 2012, the Supreme Court authorized the abortion on fetuses with anencephaly.</p> <p>More than one million abortions are carried out at clandestine clinics each year in Brazil and thousands of women end up in hospital as a result of botched procedures, according to government estimates.</p> <p>But even the limited circumstances where abortions are legal have been targeted by a growing Evangelical caucus in Congress that has led to a conservative trend in lawmaking on social issues.</p> <p>&#8220;To defend abortion, like it or not, is a Satanic, diabolical and destructive act,&#8221; Evangelical Congressman Pastor Eurico told the committee, brandishing a replica of a 12-week-old fetus.</p> <p>The move to criminalize all cases of abortion would require supermajorities, or two-thirds of the votes in both chambers of Congress, as it is part of a constitutional amendment.</p> <p>The measure could clear those hurdles as part of a trade-off for other legislation the governing coalition seeks to pass, such as pension reform needed to plug a gaping budget deficit.</p> <p /> <p>Fusion Media or anyone involved with Fusion Media will not accept any liability for loss or damage as a result of reliance on the information including data, quotes, charts and buy/sell signals contained within this website. Please be fully informed regarding the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, it is one of the riskiest investment forms possible.</p>

Brazilian Congressional committee votes to ban all abortions

https://newsline.com/brazilian-congressional-committee-votes-to-ban-all-abortions/

2017-11-09

<p>A Chicago journalist set out to prove last year just how easy it was for anyone to buy an &#8220;assault rifle.&#8221; In the process, the gun store rejected him for failing his background check &#8212; to which he concluded that the store held him to a different standard than &#8220;the American public.&#8221;</p> <p>Neil Steinberg, a journalist at the Chicago Sun-Times, tried to buy a semi-automatic rifle at Maxon Shooter&#8217;s Supplies in Des Plaines, Illinois, following the Orlando nightclub massacre, to prove how easy it was to obtain an &#8220;assault rifle.&#8221;</p> <p>To make the purchase, Steinberg needed a Firearm&#8217;s Owners&#8217; Identification Card (FOID), which he had, and he needed to fill out the background check forms that are required to buy a firearm.</p> <p>During the 24-hour waiting period, the gun store informed Steinberg that he was not legally eligible to purchase the gun because he <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/06/21/chicago-journalist-denied-ar-15/" type="external">failed</a> his background check due to &#8220;an admitted history of alcohol abuse, and a charge for domestic battery involving his wife.&#8221;</p> <p /> <p>In his article, Steinberg tried to dismiss the reason why he was rejected by trying to claim that terrorists could buy guns but reporters could not.</p> <p>&#8220;Would-be terrorists can buy guns. Insane people can buy guns. But reporters . . . that&#8217;s a different story,&#8221; Steinberg wrote.</p> <p>Steinberg also claimed that the standards applied to him by the gun store were not the same standards applied to the American public &#8212; despite offering no proof to validate his claims.</p> <p>&#8220;Were that same standard applied to the American public, there would be a whole lot fewer guns sold,&#8221; Steinberg continued. &#8220;Besides, they knew I planned to immediately sell it back to them.&#8221;</p>

FLASHBACK: Reporter Tries To Prove Buying An 'Assault Rifle' Is Easy, Gets REJECTED

https://dailywire.com/news/21897/flashback-reporter-tries-prove-buying-assault-ryan-saavedra

2017-10-03

<p>MILLVILLE, N.J. (AP) &#8212; Authorities say a man died in an officer-involved shooting in New Jersey after calling emergency dispatchers to say he had a gun, but no weapon was found.</p> <p>The Cumberland County prosecutor&#8217;s office says 47-year-old Edward Gandy Jr. called 911 shortly before 11 a.m. Monday &#8220;to report that he had a loaded firearm&#8221; and gave a location in Millville.</p> <p>Police responded and found him, and Gandy was shot and killed. The prosecutor&#8217;s office says no firearm was recovered from the location.</p> <p>County prosecutors are investigating and an autopsy is planned. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.</p> <p>MILLVILLE, N.J. (AP) &#8212; Authorities say a man died in an officer-involved shooting in New Jersey after calling emergency dispatchers to say he had a gun, but no weapon was found.</p> <p>The Cumberland County prosecutor&#8217;s office says 47-year-old Edward Gandy Jr. called 911 shortly before 11 a.m. Monday &#8220;to report that he had a loaded firearm&#8221; and gave a location in Millville.</p> <p>Police responded and found him, and Gandy was shot and killed. The prosecutor&#8217;s office says no firearm was recovered from the location.</p> <p>County prosecutors are investigating and an autopsy is planned. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.</p>

Prosecutor: Man, 47, dead in police-involved shooting

https://apnews.com/0958fcc0aa25421086d36406dbacbeb3

2018-01-22

<p>Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, NSA chief Michael Rogers, and acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe at Wednesday's Senate hearingCarolyn Kaster/AP</p> <p>Two of the nation&#8217;s top intelligence officials refused Wednesday to say whether President Donald Trump asked them to try to blunt or impede the&amp;#160;FBI&#8217;s Russia investigation.</p> <p>Appearing before the&amp;#160;Senate intelligence committee,&amp;#160;NSA Director Adm. Michael Rogers and&amp;#160;Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats&amp;#160;repeatedly declined&amp;#160;to answer questions about a bombshell&amp;#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/top-intelligence-official-told-associates-trump-asked-him-if-he-could-intervene-with-comey-to-get-fbi-to-back-off-flynn/2017/06/06/cc879f14-4ace-11e7-9669-250d0b15f83b_story.html?utm_term=.da77639addcf" type="external">Washington Post&amp;#160;story</a>, published Tuesday evening, alleging that Coats had told associates that Trump in March had asked him and&amp;#160;CIA Director Mike Pompeo if they &#8220;could intervene with then-FBI Director James B. Comey to get the bureau&amp;#160;to back off its focus on former national security adviser Michael Flynn in its Russia probe.&#8221;&amp;#160;That story lines up with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/16/us/politics/james-comey-trump-flynn-russia-investigation.html" type="external">a May 16&amp;#160;New York Times&amp;#160;report</a> that, according to a memo Comey wrote&amp;#160;before Trump fired him, Trump had asked Comey to &#8220;shut down&#8221; the Flynn investigation. And on May 22,&amp;#160;the&amp;#160;Washington Post&amp;#160; <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-asked-intelligence-chiefs-to-push-back-against-fbi-collusion-probe-after-comey-revealed-its-existence/2017/05/22/394933bc-3f10-11e7-9869-bac8b446820a_story.html?tid=ss_tw&amp;amp;utm_term=.dd50456d44d0" type="external">reported</a> that Trump had asked Coats and Rogers to publicly &#8220;push back against an FBI investigation into possible coordination between his campaign and the Russian government.&#8221;</p> <p>Though the official topic of the committee hearing was the reauthorization of a key surveillance law, Democrats on the committee, joined by a few Republicans, pressed the witnesses&#8212;a group that also included acting FBI director Andrew McCabe and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein&#8212;on whether Trump had pressured top intelligence officials regarding the Russia investigation. Responding to the first questions on this subject, Coats and Rogers each insisted they had not felt pressured by Trump. But each refused to discuss their conversations with the president. McCabe refused to discuss any conversations he&#8217;d had with Comey regarding Comey&#8217;s discussions with Trump. Rosenstein also declined to discuss conversations related to Trump&#8217;s dismissal of Comey.</p> <p>None of the four witnesses provided solid legal rationales for their refusal to provide answers on this front, and they did not say that the president had invoked&amp;#160;executive privilege. Rogers&amp;#160;and Coats&amp;#160;stated that they felt&amp;#160;it would not be appropriate to discuss such matters. This frustrated several members of the committee.</p> <p>Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), noted&amp;#160;that Coats and Rogers had said they had not felt &#8220;pressured&#8221; by&amp;#160;Trump. Rubio pointedly asked, &#8220;Are you prepared to say that you have never been asked by the president or the White House to influence an ongoing investigation?&#8221; Neither would directly answer that query. Coats said he wouldn&#8217;t share what he considered &#8220;confidential information that ought to be protected in an open hearing.&#8221;&amp;#160;</p> <p>Rubio countered that he wasn&#8217;t asking for classified information; he&amp;#160;just wanted to know&amp;#160;whether Coats or Rogers had&amp;#160;been asked to influence an ongoing investigation.</p> <p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just not going to go down that road in a public forum,&#8221; Coats said, adding that he&#8217;d be willing to answer questions from special counsel Robert Mueller&amp;#160;if asked.</p> <p>Rogers said he&amp;#160;was standing by the answer he had given&amp;#160;earlier in the hearing when&amp;#160;Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) asked whether Rogers had been pressured to get the FBI to back off Flynn.&amp;#160;&#8220;In the three-plus years that I have been the director of the National Security Agency, to the best of my recollection, I have never been directed to do anything I believe to be illegal, immoral, unethical, or inappropriate,&#8221; Rogers told Warner. &#8220;Directed,&#8221; of course, is different than being asked.&amp;#160;</p> <p>Later in the hearing, Sen. Angus King (I-Me) pressed Coats and Rogers&amp;#160;on their refusal to discuss their conversations with Trump about the Russia investigation.&amp;#160;&#8220;Why are you not answering our&amp;#160;questions?&#8221; a visibly angry King asked.&amp;#160;</p> <p>&#8220;Because I feel it is inappropriate, Senator,&#8221; Rogers replied.&amp;#160;</p> <p>&#8220;What you feel isn&#8217;t relevant, admiral,&#8221; King shot&amp;#160;back. &#8220;What you feel &amp;#160;isn&#8217;t the answer.&#8221;</p> <p>After confirming&amp;#160;that the president had not invoked&amp;#160;executive privilege to prevent Rogers and Coats from discussing the matter,&amp;#160;King again demanded that they&amp;#160;&#8220;answer the questions.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;I stand by the comments I&#8217;ve made,&#8221; Rogers said. &#8220;I&#8217;m not interested in repeating myself, sir. And I don&#8217;t mean that in a contentious way.&#8221;&amp;#160;</p> <p>&#8220;Well, I do mean it&amp;#160;in a contentious way,&#8221; King said. &#8220;I don&#8217;t understand why you&#8217;re not answering our questions.&#8221;</p> <p>Rogers said&amp;#160;that &#8220;those conservations were classified&#8221; and that it is &#8220;not appropriate in an open forum to discuss those classified conversations.&#8221;</p> <p>&#8220;What is classified about a conversation involving whether or not you should intervene in the FBI investigation?&#8221; asked a clearly exasperated King.</p> <p>&#8220;Sir, I stand by my previous comments,&#8221; Rogers responded.</p> <p /> <p>King also pressed&amp;#160;Coats to justify his decision not to answer the Senators&#8217; questions.&amp;#160;&#8220;What is the legal basis for your refusal to testify to this committee?&#8221; King&amp;#160;asked.</p> <p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure I have a legal basis,&#8221; Coats said.</p> <p>The hearing demonstrated how tough it might be for Congress to determine whether Trump has indeed leaned on intelligence officials to smother or counter the FBI&#8217;s Russia investigation, which is now being overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller. Without being instructed by the White House to keep mum about their conversations with Trump, Coats, Rogers and the others refused to cooperate fully. Democrats on the committee were upset by this, but only a few Republicans seemed bothered. And Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC), the committee chairman, did not appear frustrated.</p> <p>It is well within the intelligence committee&#8217;s purview to determine whether the president has tried to impede a national security investigation focused on a covert operation mounted by Russia to subvert an American election.&amp;#160;Wednesday&#8217;s testimony showed that to get to the bottom of that, the committee will have to fight for the necessary information&#8212;and it&#8217;s unclear whether Burr and his fellow Republicans are willing to engage in such a battle.&amp;#160;</p>

Top Intel Officials Refuse to Say If Trump Asked Them to Impede FBI Probe

https://motherjones.com/politics/2017/06/rogers-coats-fbi-trump-senate-comey-flynn/

2017-06-07

<p>Statements by the Russian lawyer at the center of the New York Times' latest series of Trump-Russia collusion "bombshells" appear to support the assessment of Donald Trump Jr.'s lawyer that this is "much ado about nothing." In an <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russian-lawyer-who-met-trump-jr-i-didn-t-have-n781631" type="external">interview with NBC News</a>, Natalia Veselnitskaya denied having any connection to the Kremlin and offering any damaging information about the Hillary Clinton campaign. Instead, she just met with Trump Jr. to discuss the <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/lawyer-probing-russian-corruption-says-his-balcony-fall-was-no-n780416" type="external">Magnitsky Act</a>, which aligns with statements from Team Trump.</p> <p>NBC News reports:</p> <p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-russia-email-candidacy.html?hp&amp;amp;action=click&amp;amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;amp;clickSource=story-heading&amp;amp;module=span-ab-top-region&amp;amp;region=top-news&amp;amp;WT.nav=top-news" type="external">The New York Times</a> on Monday reported that Trump Jr. was told in an email before the meeting that the information Veselnitskaya had was part of a Russian government effort to help his father&#8217;s candidacy.</p> <p>But Veselnitskaya flatly denied any connection to the Russian government.</p> <p>Veselnitskaya also denied having any damaging information on Clinton, telling NBC News, &#8220;I never had any damaging or sensitive information about Hillary Clinton. It was never my intention to have that."</p> <p>The Times <a href="" type="internal">alleges</a> that an email indicates that Trump Jr. believed he was meeting with someone with information that was "part of a Russian government effort to aid his father&#8217;s candidacy." In addition to Veselnitskaya denying any such connection, the man who sent the email, Roger Goldstone, denied having "any knowledge of involvement by the Russian government in the matter." Here's an excerpt from the Times' own report:</p> <p>Mr. Goldstone, who wrote the email over a year ago, denied any knowledge of involvement by the Russian government in the matter, saying that never dawned on him. &#8220;Never, never ever,&#8221; he said. Later, after the email was described to The Times, efforts to reach him for further comment were unsuccessful. ... Ms. Veselnitskaya, for her part, denied that the campaign or compromising material about Mrs. Clinton ever came up. She said she had never acted on behalf of the Russian government. A spokesperson for Mr. Putin said on Monday that he did not know Ms. Veselnitskaya, and that he had no knowledge of the June 2016 meeting.</p> <p>When NBC asked Veselnitskaya how Trump Jr. might have had the impression she had damaging information about the Democratic National Committee, she said, &#8220;It is quite possible that maybe they were longing for such an information. They wanted it so badly that they could only hear the thought that they wanted."</p> <p>Trump Jr. described the meeting as a "short introductory meeting" and in a tweet on Monday suggested that he did meet with the lawyer believing that she might have some compromising information on Clinton or the Democratic Party, writing sarcastically, &#8220;Obviously I'm the first person on a campaign to ever take a meeting to hear info about an opponent... went nowhere but had to listen."</p> <p>Veselnitskaya did have an idea about what the Trump camp might have been interested in: a company which donated to the DNC whom she believes evaded taxes:</p> <p>Part of the information she put together for her client included details about a company run by a former U.S. citizen. She believes this company didn&#8217;t pay taxes in either Russia or the U.S. and may also have made donations to the DNC.</p> <p>These details are what may have tweaked the interest of Trump&#8217;s campaign, she said.</p> <p>In the meeting, she explained how Trump Jr. asked her just one question.</p> <p>"The question that I was asked was as follows: whether I had any financial records which might prove that the funds used to sponsor the DNC were coming from inappropriate sources."</p> <p>But even that information Veselnitskaya did not offer to the Trump surrogates.</p> <p>Trump Jr.'s lawyer has dismissed the Times' "bombshell" allegations as "much ado about nothing."</p> <p>UPDATE: On Tuesday, Trump Jr. released the email exchange between him and Goldstone which proves that the Times' account was in fact correct: Trump Jr. did believe he was going to be receiving information that was damaging to the Clinton campaign from a Russian government-connected source. Below is the email from Goldstone saying the information is "part of Russia and its government&#8217;s support for Mr. Trump" (emphasis added):</p> <p>Good morning</p> <p>Emin just called and asked me to contact you with something very interesting</p> <p>The Crown prosecutor of Russia met with his father Aras this morning and in their meeting offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would obviously be very useful to your father.</p> <p>This is obviously very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government&#8217;s support for Mr. Trump &#8211; helped along by Aras and Emin.</p> <p>What do you think is the best way to handle this information and would you be able to speak to Emin about it directly?</p> <p>I can also send this info to your father via Rhona, but it is ultra sensitive so wanted to send to you first.</p> <p>Best</p> <p>Rob Goldstone</p> <p>Trump Jr. responded by writing, "If it&#8217;s what you say, I love it."</p> <p><a href="" type="internal">Read more on the "insanely damaging material" here</a>.</p>

Russian Lawyer Throws Wrench In NY Times' Trump Jr. 'Collusion' Narrative

https://dailywire.com/news/18465/russian-lawyer-throws-wrench-ny-times-trump-jr-james-barrett

2017-07-11

<p>Let's talk about marijuana.</p> <p>Specifically, let's talk about how and why I came to be one of the countless parents across America (and around the world) who have let their chronically ill children try it.</p> <p>A groundbreaking new study published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine reported on the health benefits of cannabidiol for children with epilepsy. The randomized, double-blind, controlled study found that among children with Dravet syndrome taking cannabidiol, the decrease in the frequency of convulsive seizures was 23 percentage points greater than the decrease in seizures among children taking a placebo.</p> <p>Cannabidiol is one of hundreds of chemical components found in cannabis plants. Unlike THC, the most famous of marijuana's compounds, CBD is nonhallucinogenic and nonaddictive. It doesn't make you high. CBD can be extracted from hemp and sold as an oil. That's what the pioneering Stanley Brothers of Boulder, Colorado, did several years ago when they conceived and manufactured "Charlotte's Web" -- named after Charlotte Figi, a Colorado Springs girl with Dravet syndrome whose seizures dramatically decreased after using CBD.</p> <p>Until now, evidence of marijuana's benefits for pediatric epilepsy patients has been largely anecdotal. The new CBD study, led by researchers at the NYU Langone's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, is a hugely significant development because it uses the scientific gold standard of a randomized controlled trial. Other limited clinical trials involving CBD have explored the drug's therapeutic benefits for pediatric patients with conditions ranging from anxiety to movement disorders to inflammatory diseases, multiple sclerosis and cancer.</p> <p>My own interest in pediatric use of medicinal marijuana is more than academic.</p> <p>When my daughter, Veronica, fell ill in late spring of 2015 -- unable to breathe normally, bedridden with chronic pain and fatigue -- she saw dozens of specialists. Among those doctors was a leading neurologist at one of Denver's most well-regarded hospitals who treated intractable cases. The various drugs prescribed to my daughter weren't working and had awful side effects.</p> <p>One of them, a potent anti-epileptic drug called Trileptal, was supposed to treat the severe motor tic that left her gasping for air nonstop for months. But Trileptal ended up causing extreme loss of appetite, more fatigue and temporary dystonia, while doing nothing to alleviate the tics. The constant jerking of her body caused one of my daughter's hypermobile shoulders to dislocate multiple times a day -- increasing her pain and anxiety.</p> <p>To our surprise, the mainstream neurologist suggested Veronica try CBD. This doctor had other young patients who used CBD oil with positive results, but she could not directly prescribe it because of her hospital affiliation. So we did our own independent research, talked to a Colorado Springs family whose son had great success using CBD to treat his Crohn's disease symptoms, consulted with other medical professionals and friends -- and entered a whole new world.</p> <p>Two physicians signed off on our daughter's application for a medical marijuana card. She became one of more than 360 children under 18 to join Colorado's medical marijuana registry in 2015.</p> <p>And we became pediatric pot parents.</p> <p>For Veronica, CBD provided more relief than all the other mainstream pharmaceutical interventions she had endured, and without the scary side effects. But ultimately, it was a temporary remedy for her complicated basket of neurological and physiological conditions. We were glad for the chance to try CBD at the recommendation of medical professionals, and glad that so many other families are having success with it.</p> <p>Our experience showed us the importance of increasing therapeutic choices in the marketplace for all families -- and trusting doctors and patients to figure out what works best.</p> <p>It flies in the face of current science to classify CBD oil as a Schedule I drug, as the feds did at the end of 2016. Nor does it make sense to draw the line at CBD if some patients and doctors believe that the benefits of using THC therapeutically outweigh the potential harm.</p> <p>As a lifelong social conservative, my views on marijuana policy may surprise some of you.</p> <p>I used to be a table-pounding crusader for the government's war on drugs. When I worked in Seattle in the 1990s, I initially opposed efforts to legalize medical marijuana. I also opposed efforts to loosen restrictions on conducting studies on the potential therapeutic effects of using marijuana.</p> <p>But the war on drugs has been a ghastly quagmire -- an expensive and selective form of government paternalism that has done far more harm than good. What has this trillion-dollar war wrought?</p> <p>Overcrowded jails teeming with nonviolent drug offenders. An expanded police state enriched by civil asset forfeiture. And marginalization of medical researchers pursuing legitimate research on marijuana's possible therapeutic benefits for patients with a wide variety of illnesses.</p> <p>The Trump administration has sent mixed signals on a medical marijuana crackdown.</p> <p>So let me be clear as a liberty-loving, conservative mom: Keep your hands off. Let the scientists lead. Limited government is the best medicine.</p> <p>Michelle Malkin is host of "Michelle Malkin Investigates" on CRTV.com. Her email address is writemalkin@gmail.com. To find out more about Michelle Malkin and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.</p> <p>COPYRIGHT 2017 CREATORS.COM</p>

MALKIN: A Conservative Mom Breaks The Pot Taboo

https://dailywire.com/news/17026/malkin-conservative-mom-breaks-pot-taboo-michelle-malkin

2017-05-31

<p /> <p>It is time to flush the toilet in Washington D.C., because the professional politicians that we have been sending there just keep betraying us over and over again. On Wednesday, I was absolutely stunned when I came across a brand new survey that was conducted by USA Today. They asked all of the members of Congress whether they support a border wall or not, and less than one out of every 4 Republicans said that they did. This is just another example of why the American people are so deeply frustrated with the Republican Party these days. Most Republicans are <a href="https://michaelsnyderforidaho.com/index.php/2017/08/01/spineless-jellyfish-after-everything-that-has-happened-does-being-a-republican-still-mean-something/" type="external">spineless jellyfish</a> that have been compromising for so long that they don&#8217;t really stand for anything anymore.</p> <p>If President Trump had not promised to build a wall, he never would have won the Republican nomination in 2016, and he sure wouldn&#8217;t be the president of the United States today. This is a point that Ann Coulter had made <a href="https://michaelsnyderforidaho.com/index.php/2017/09/08/ann-coulter-is-exactly-right-every-time-republicans-compromise-on-immigration-they-get-nothing-in-return/" type="external">over and over again</a>, and the fact that I strongly support building a wall is a big reason why she is <a href="https://michaelsnyderforidaho.com/index.php/2017/09/10/the-beginning-of-the-end-ad-please-donate-to-michaels-campaign-for-congress-economic-collapse-investing-protect-yourself-today-gold-buying-guide-golden-eagle-coins-survival-md-off-the-gr/" type="external">supporting my campaign for Congress</a>. Conservatives all over the country want a wall, and that is why it is so disturbing to hear that most Republicans in Congress <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/20/trump-border-wall-survey-congress-republicans-billions/640196001/" type="external">do not support building one</a>&#8230;</p> <p>President Trump has been adamant that he needs Congress to approve funding to start building his border wall, but Republicans on Capitol Hill are far less adamant about supporting it. When asked by the USA TODAY Network whether they support the president&#8217;s initial $1.6 billion budget request to begin construction, only 69 of the 292 Republicans on Capitol Hill said &#8220;yes.&#8221; Among the rest, three Republicans said they oppose the money, several evaded a direct answer, and the rest simply refused to respond to the question.</p> <p>The USA TODAY Network asked the 534 members of the House and Senate whether they support the $1.6 billion down payment approved by the House and found fewer than 25% of Republicans willing to stand up for the plan.</p> <p>Building a wall seems like such a no-brainer to me. For decades we have had an immigration policy that is all mixed up. We have made it exceedingly difficult to come in through the front door, but meanwhile we have been keeping the back door completely wide open.</p> <p>Today, our system of legal immigration is a complete and total nightmare. It is extremely confusing, it is very expensive, and it takes way too long. I once helped someone through that process, and it was so convoluted that I could barely even understand it.</p> <p>Meanwhile, we have kept the back door totally wide open and have allowed tens of millions of people to enter this country illegally. So we are actually discouraging good people from coming into our nation legally, and meanwhile we have rolled out the red carpet for criminals, gang members, drug dealers and those that would like to take advantage of the system.</p> <p>As I discuss in my latest book entitled <a href="http://amzn.to/2yrhgEL" type="external">&#8220;Living A Life That Really Matters&#8221;</a>, we need to make sure that everyone comes in through the front door. It has been proposed that we can use &#8220;technology&#8221; and other methods to secure our borders, and I would love to see something that actually works. But we do know that walls work, and we know that building a wall on the southern border would dramatically reduce illegal immigration and begin forcing people to come in through the front door.</p> <p>I have <a href="http://themostimportantnews.com/archives/we-need-to-build-trumps-wall-and-we-need-to-build-it-tall-and-strong" type="external">previously written</a> about the tremendous problems that illegal immigration is causing in communities all over the nation. If we would just secure our borders, we could start significantly reducing levels of human trafficking, violent crime and gang membership, and so I don&#8217;t know why anyone would want to be opposed to doing that.</p> <p>Unfortunately, when USA Today approached Republican members of Congress about a wall, most of them <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/09/20/trump-border-wall-survey-congress-republicans-billions/640196001/" type="external">didn&#8217;t even want to take a clear stance at all</a>&#8230;</p> <p>The overwhelming majority of congressional Republicans refused to take a stance on the wall funding when asked by USA TODAY. Most simply declined to participate in the survey or refused to even respond to queries. Many others offered general positions about the importance of securing the border and requiring employers to verify the immigration status of their workers.</p> <p>It is time for the era of politically-correct career politicians to end.</p> <p>If a Republican running for Congress will not solidly commit to building a border wall, that individual does not deserve your vote.</p> <p>You guys know where I stand, and I&#8217;m not moving. I am committed to building the wall, and we need to elect others all over the nation that are also committed to building the wall. I hope <a href="https://www.michaelsnyderforcongress.com/contribute.html" type="external">that you will help us</a>, and I hope that as many of you as possible will get involved in our campaigns all around the country.</p> <p>Individually, there is very little that we can get done, but collectively we can make a massive difference.</p> <p><a href="https://www.michaelsnyderforcongress.com/" type="external">Michael Snyder</a> is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho&#8217;s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his <a href="https://www.michaelsnyderforcongress.com/contribute.html" type="external">official website</a>. His new book entitled <a href="http://amzn.to/2t5bx4A" type="external">&#8220;Living A Life That Really Matters&#8221;</a> is available in paperback and for the Kindle on <a href="http://amzn.to/2t5bx4A" type="external">Amazon.com</a>.</p>

Shock Survey: Less Than 1 Out Of Every 4 Republicans In Congress Support A Border Wall

http://conservativefiringline.com/shock-survey-less-1-every-4-republicans-congress-support-border-wall/

2017-09-20

<p>In response to the mass protests of recent days, Egyptian President Hosni&amp;#160;Mubarak has appointed his first Vice President in his over 30 years rule, intelligence chief Omar Suleiman. When Suleiman was first announced, Aljazeera commentators were describing him as a &#8220;distinguished&#8221; and &#8220;respected &#8221; man. It turns out, however, that he is distinguished for, among other things, his central role in Egyptian torture and in the US rendition to torture program. Further, he is &#8220;respected&#8221; by US officials for his cooperation with their torture plans, among other initiatives.</p> <p>Katherine Hawkins, <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=824785" type="external">an expert</a> on the US&#8217;s rendition to torture program, in an email, has sent some critical texts where Suleiman pops up. Thus, Jane Mayer, in <a href="" type="internal">The Dark Side</a>, pointed to Suleiman&#8217;s role in the rendition program:</p> <p>Each rendition was authorized at the very top levels of both governments&#8230;.The long-serving chief of the Egyptian central intelligence agency, Omar Suleiman, negotiated directly with top Agency officials. &amp;#160;[Former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt] Walker described the Egyptian counterpart, Suleiman, as &#8220;very bright, very realistic,&#8221; adding that he was cognizant that there was a downside to &#8220;some of the negative things that the Egyptians engaged in,&amp;#160;of torture and so on. But he was not squeamish, by the way&#8221; (pp. 113).</p> <p>Stephen Grey, in <a href="" type="internal">Ghost Plane</a>, his investigative work on the rendition program also points to Suleiman as central in the rendition program: To negotiate these assurances [that the Egyptians wouldn&#8217;t &#8220;torture&#8221; the prisoner delivered for torture] the CIA dealt principally in Egypt through Omar Suleiman, the chief of the Egyptian general intelligence service (EGIS) since 1993. It was he who arranged the meetings with the Egyptian interior ministry&#8230;. Suleiman, who understood English well, was an urbane and sophisticated man. Others told me that for years Suleiman was America&#8217;s chief interlocutor with the Egyptian regime &#8212; the main channel to President Hosni Mubarak himself, even on matters far removed from intelligence and security.</p> <p>Suleiman&#8217;s role, was also highlighted in a <a href="" type="internal">Wikileaks cable</a>:</p> <p>In the context of the close and sustained cooperation between the USG and GOE on counterterrorism, Post believes that the written GOE assurances regarding the return of three Egyptians detained at Guantanamo (reftel) represent the firm commitment of the GOE to adhere to the requested principles. These assurances were passed directly from Egyptian General Intelligence Service (EGIS) Chief Soliman through liaison channels &#8212; the most effective communication path on this issue. General Soliman&#8217;s word is the GOE&#8217;s guarantee, and the GOE&#8217;s track record of cooperation on CT issues lends further support to this assessment. End summary.</p> <p>However, Suleiman wasn&#8217;t just the go-to bureaucrat for when the Americans wanted to arrange a little torture. This &#8220;urbane and sophisticated man&#8221; apparently enjoyed a little rough stuff himself.</p> <p>Shortly after 9/11, Australian citizen Mamdouh Habib was captured by Pakistani security forces and, under US pressure, torture by Pakistanis. He was then rendered (with an Australian diplomats watching) by CIA operatives to Egypt, a not uncommon practice. In Egypt, Habib merited Suleiman&#8217;s personal attention. As related by <a href="" type="internal">Richard Neville</a>, based on Habib&#8217;s memoir:</p> <p>Habib was interrogated by the country&#8217;s Intelligence Director, General Omar Suleiman&#8230;. Suleiman took a personal interest in anyone suspected of links with Al Qaeda. As Habib had visited Afghanistan shortly before&amp;#160; 9/11, he was under suspicion. Habib was repeatedly zapped with high-voltage electricity, immersed in water up to his nostrils, beaten, his fingers were broken and he was hung from metal hooks.</p> <p>That treatment wasn&#8217;t enough for Suleiman, so:</p> <p>To loosen Habib&#8217;s tongue, Suleiman ordered a guard to murder a gruesomely shackled Turkistan prisoner in front of Habib &#8211; and he did, with a vicious karate kick.</p> <p>After Suleiman&#8217;s men extracted Habib&#8217;s confession, he was transferred back to US custody, where he eventually was imprisoned at Guantanamo. His &#8220;confession&#8221; was then used as evidence in his Guantanamo trial.</p> <p>The Washington Post&#8217;s intelligence correspondent Jeff Stein reported <a href="" type="internal">some additional details</a> regarding Suleiman and his important role in the old Egypt the demonstrators are trying to leave behind:</p> <p>&#8220;Suleiman is seen by some analysts as a possible successor to the president,&#8221; the Voice of American said Friday. &#8220;He earned international respect for his role as a mediator in Middle East affairs and for curbing Islamic extremism.&#8221;</p> <p>An editorialist at Pakistan&#8217;s &#8220;International News&#8221; predicted Thursday that &#8220;Suleiman will probably scupper his boss&#8217;s plans [to install his son], even if the aspiring intelligence guru himself is as young as 75.&#8221;</p> <p>Suleiman graduated from Egypt&#8217;s prestigious Military Academy but also received training in the Soviet Union. Under his guidance, Egyptian intelligence has worked hand-in-glove with the CIA&#8217;s counterterrorism programs, most notably in the 2003 rendition from Italy of an al-Qaeda suspect known as Abu Omar.</p> <p>In 2009, Foreign Policy magazine ranked Suleiman as the Middle East&#8217;s most powerful intelligence chief, ahead of Mossad chief Meir Dagan.</p> <p>In an observation that may turn out to be ironic, the magazine wrote, &#8220;More than from any other single factor, Suleiman&#8217;s influence stems from his unswerving loyalty to Mubarak.&#8221;</p> <p>If Suleiman succeeds Mubarak and retains power, we will likely be treated to plaudits for his distinguished credentials from government officials and US pundits.&amp;#160; We should remember that what they really mean is his ability to brutalize and torture. As Stephen Grey puts it:</p> <p>But in secret, men like Omar Suleiman, the country&#8217;s most powerful spy and secret politician, did our work, the sort of work that Western countries have no appetite to do ourselves.</p> <p>If Suleiman receives praise in the US, it will be because our leaders know that he&#8217;s the sort of leader who can be counted on to do what it takes to restore order and ensure that Egypt remains friendly to US interests.</p> <p>We sure hope that the Egyptian demonstrators reject the farce of Suleiman&#8217;s appointment and push on to a complete change of regime. Otherwise the Egyptian torture chamber will undoubtedly return, as a new regime reestablishes &#8220;stability&#8221; and serves US interests.</p> <p><a href="mailto:ssoldz@bgsp.edu" type="external">STEPHEN SOLDZ</a> is a psychoanalyst, psychologist, public health researcher, and faculty member at the <a href="http://www.bgsp.edu/" type="external">Boston Graduate School of Psychoanalysis</a>. He edits the <a href="http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/blog/" type="external">Psyche, Science, and Society</a> blog. Soldz is a founder of the Coalition for an Ethical Psychology, one of the organizations working to change American Psychological Association policy on participation in abusive interrogations; he served as a psychological consultant on several Gutanamo trials. Currently Soldz is President of <a href="http://psysr.org/" type="external">Psychologists for Social Responsibility</a> [PsySR] and a Consultant to <a href="http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/" type="external">Physicians for Human Rights</a>.</p> <p>&amp;#160;</p> <p />

The Torture Career of Egypt’s New Vice President

https://counterpunch.org/2011/01/31/the-torture-career-of-egypt-s-new-vice-president/

2011-01-31