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<p>Permits were issued for 138 new single-family homes throughout the metro, a 6 percent drop from 147 permits in July 2012. Given that the 6 percent drop equates to only nine new permits, the year-over-year decline is not too alarming.</p>
<p>“This slight downturn may simply be the result of the timing of the permits more than a trend reversal,” said Jim Folkman of the HBA, the home builders association in the metro. “If we have two or three months of reduced starts, then we may have reason for concern, but we’re still confident that this year will be a marked improvement over last year.”</p>
<p>Over the first seven months of the year, DataTraq numbers show home construction is up about 7 percent from 917 permits in 2012 to 984 this year.</p>
<p>While the pace of home construction is on the upswing, Albuquerque is still not among the 247 metros listed on the latest National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index. The index, using basic measures like home price appreciation and building permits, tracks housing markets around the country.</p>
<p>Home construction in the metro peaked in 2005, when 653 permits were issued during July of that year. It bottomed out in 2011, when a mere 75 permits were issued during July, according to DataTraq numbers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The increased pace in home building has contributed to the improving construction employment sector, which the state reported grew by 1,400 jobs, or 7.4 percent, during the 12 months ending in July.</p>
<p>“There are 300 new jobs created for every 100 new homes built in any given year,” Folkman said.</p>
<p>Most observers attribute most of the gain in construction jobs in the metro to the health care industry.</p>
<p>For example, Presbyterian Healthcare Services alone is building a new corporate campus near Balloon Fiesta Park, as well as renovating older patient towers at its flagship hospital near Downtown.</p> | ABQ home building permits showing slow recovery | false | https://abqjournal.com/254037/abq-home-building-permits-showing-slow-recovery.html | 2013-08-27 | 2least
| ABQ home building permits showing slow recovery
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<p />
<p>Permits were issued for 138 new single-family homes throughout the metro, a 6 percent drop from 147 permits in July 2012. Given that the 6 percent drop equates to only nine new permits, the year-over-year decline is not too alarming.</p>
<p>“This slight downturn may simply be the result of the timing of the permits more than a trend reversal,” said Jim Folkman of the HBA, the home builders association in the metro. “If we have two or three months of reduced starts, then we may have reason for concern, but we’re still confident that this year will be a marked improvement over last year.”</p>
<p>Over the first seven months of the year, DataTraq numbers show home construction is up about 7 percent from 917 permits in 2012 to 984 this year.</p>
<p>While the pace of home construction is on the upswing, Albuquerque is still not among the 247 metros listed on the latest National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index. The index, using basic measures like home price appreciation and building permits, tracks housing markets around the country.</p>
<p>Home construction in the metro peaked in 2005, when 653 permits were issued during July of that year. It bottomed out in 2011, when a mere 75 permits were issued during July, according to DataTraq numbers.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The increased pace in home building has contributed to the improving construction employment sector, which the state reported grew by 1,400 jobs, or 7.4 percent, during the 12 months ending in July.</p>
<p>“There are 300 new jobs created for every 100 new homes built in any given year,” Folkman said.</p>
<p>Most observers attribute most of the gain in construction jobs in the metro to the health care industry.</p>
<p>For example, Presbyterian Healthcare Services alone is building a new corporate campus near Balloon Fiesta Park, as well as renovating older patient towers at its flagship hospital near Downtown.</p> | 900 |
<p />
<p />
<p>The Italian government has announced that, unless something changes, they will now have to reject and send back refugee boats that arrive in Italy from the Mediterranean Sea. With 13,000 refugees arriving just the past few days (5,000 on one Tuesday), Italy is at capacity&gt; - the country is not able to take in and accommodate refugees anymore. In an emergency meeting, the Italian parliament decided to deny admittance to any rescue ships not sailing under the Italian flag or on European Union orders. In other words, they'll reject illegal-trafficking ships as well as NGO-organized rescue operations that have been shipping immigrants every day.</p>
<p>Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has asked the European Union for help, reasoning that Italy simply cannot continue to receive so many immigrants. Even Italian schools, gyms, barracks and old factory buildings now need to be remodeled and repurposed as temporary refugee camps.</p>
<p>Most immigrants arriving in Italy don't even want to stay there. Instead, many try to do whatever they can to move into Europe, especially to reach Germany or France.</p>
<p>This week, several hundreds of refugees tried to cross the Italian border to reach France. Due to a lack of temporary housing, roughly 400 Sudanese immigrants had been camping in an Italian riverbed near the border for days. The mayor of the neighboring town had the illegal camp dispersed due to increasing security concerns.</p>
<p>As a result, hundreds of them attempted to enter France and, reportedly, received assistance from German and Swiss volunteers. The French authorities managed to stop the masses trying to cross the border - which, by all accounts, was not the first time. Refugees have been trying to cross that part of the border into France for months, according to refugees themselves, who complained about how they were treated and rejected.</p>
<p>After that failed attempt, several immigrants were taken back to Southern Italy or Red Cross lodgings, where they were supposed to undergo basic identification and documentation.</p>
<p />
<p>Sources: <a href="http://www.focus.de/politik/videos/fluechtlingsstrom-vom-mittelmeer-italien-droht-schlepper-abzuweisen-sollte-die-eu-nicht-helfen_id_7295369.html" type="external">focus.de/politik/videos/fluechtlingsstrom-vom-mittelmeer-italien-droht-schlepper-abzuweisen-sollte-die-eu-nicht-helfen_id_7295369.html</a></p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2017/deutsche-helfer-dabei-fluechtlinge-stuermen-franzoesische-grenze/" type="external">jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2017/deutsche-helfer-dabei-fluechtlinge-stuermen-franzoesische-grenze</a></p> | Italy Filled to the Brim with Refugees | true | http://thegoldwater.com/news/4474-Italy-Filled-to-the-Brim-with-Refugees | 2017-06-29 | 0right
| Italy Filled to the Brim with Refugees
<p />
<p />
<p>The Italian government has announced that, unless something changes, they will now have to reject and send back refugee boats that arrive in Italy from the Mediterranean Sea. With 13,000 refugees arriving just the past few days (5,000 on one Tuesday), Italy is at capacity&gt; - the country is not able to take in and accommodate refugees anymore. In an emergency meeting, the Italian parliament decided to deny admittance to any rescue ships not sailing under the Italian flag or on European Union orders. In other words, they'll reject illegal-trafficking ships as well as NGO-organized rescue operations that have been shipping immigrants every day.</p>
<p>Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni has asked the European Union for help, reasoning that Italy simply cannot continue to receive so many immigrants. Even Italian schools, gyms, barracks and old factory buildings now need to be remodeled and repurposed as temporary refugee camps.</p>
<p>Most immigrants arriving in Italy don't even want to stay there. Instead, many try to do whatever they can to move into Europe, especially to reach Germany or France.</p>
<p>This week, several hundreds of refugees tried to cross the Italian border to reach France. Due to a lack of temporary housing, roughly 400 Sudanese immigrants had been camping in an Italian riverbed near the border for days. The mayor of the neighboring town had the illegal camp dispersed due to increasing security concerns.</p>
<p>As a result, hundreds of them attempted to enter France and, reportedly, received assistance from German and Swiss volunteers. The French authorities managed to stop the masses trying to cross the border - which, by all accounts, was not the first time. Refugees have been trying to cross that part of the border into France for months, according to refugees themselves, who complained about how they were treated and rejected.</p>
<p>After that failed attempt, several immigrants were taken back to Southern Italy or Red Cross lodgings, where they were supposed to undergo basic identification and documentation.</p>
<p />
<p>Sources: <a href="http://www.focus.de/politik/videos/fluechtlingsstrom-vom-mittelmeer-italien-droht-schlepper-abzuweisen-sollte-die-eu-nicht-helfen_id_7295369.html" type="external">focus.de/politik/videos/fluechtlingsstrom-vom-mittelmeer-italien-droht-schlepper-abzuweisen-sollte-die-eu-nicht-helfen_id_7295369.html</a></p>
<p />
<p><a href="https://jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2017/deutsche-helfer-dabei-fluechtlinge-stuermen-franzoesische-grenze/" type="external">jungefreiheit.de/politik/ausland/2017/deutsche-helfer-dabei-fluechtlinge-stuermen-franzoesische-grenze</a></p> | 901 |
<p>The <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New_York_Giants/" type="external">New York Giants</a> received positive news on the ailing wide receiving corps Monday.</p>
<p>Standout <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Odell-Beckham/" type="external">Odell Beckham</a> Jr., who suffered an ankle injury one week ago in a preseason game against the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Cleveland-Browns/" type="external">Cleveland Browns</a>, is responding well to treatment, Giants coach <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ben-McAdoo/" type="external">Ben McAdoo</a> told reporters.</p>
<p>While there has been little clarity on the nature of Beckham’s injury, McAdoo said he is “hopeful” Beckham will be in the lineup for the regular-season opener against the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Dallas-Cowboys/" type="external">Dallas Cowboys</a> on Sept. 10.</p>
<p>Beckham was injured after he grabbed an 18-yard pass from <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Eli_Manning/" type="external">Eli Manning</a> and was hit low on his left leg by Browns defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Beckham also was checked for a concussion and was cleared.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, fellow wideout <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Brandon_Marshall/" type="external">Brandon Marshall</a> returned to practice Monday for the first time since he was injured in the same game as Beckham.</p>
<p>Marshall injured his shoulder against the Browns but McAdoo did not rule out the possibility of him playing in the final preseason game on Thursday night against the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New_England_Patriots/" type="external">New England Patriots</a>.</p>
<p>Marshall signed a two-year deal with the Giants shortly after being released by the Jets in March. He’s entering his 12th NFL season after stops in Denver, Miami, Chicago and the past two campaigns with the Jets.</p>
<p>He had 59 receptions for 788 yards and three touchdowns in 2016. Marshall caught 109 passes for 1,502 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2015, when he posted 10 100-yard games.</p> | New York Giants 'hopeful' Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) will play in season opener | false | https://newsline.com/new-york-giants-039hopeful039-odell-beckham-jr-ankle-will-play-in-season-opener/ | 2017-08-28 | 1right-center
| New York Giants 'hopeful' Odell Beckham Jr. (ankle) will play in season opener
<p>The <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New_York_Giants/" type="external">New York Giants</a> received positive news on the ailing wide receiving corps Monday.</p>
<p>Standout <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Odell-Beckham/" type="external">Odell Beckham</a> Jr., who suffered an ankle injury one week ago in a preseason game against the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Cleveland-Browns/" type="external">Cleveland Browns</a>, is responding well to treatment, Giants coach <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ben-McAdoo/" type="external">Ben McAdoo</a> told reporters.</p>
<p>While there has been little clarity on the nature of Beckham’s injury, McAdoo said he is “hopeful” Beckham will be in the lineup for the regular-season opener against the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Dallas-Cowboys/" type="external">Dallas Cowboys</a> on Sept. 10.</p>
<p>Beckham was injured after he grabbed an 18-yard pass from <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Eli_Manning/" type="external">Eli Manning</a> and was hit low on his left leg by Browns defensive back Briean Boddy-Calhoun. Beckham also was checked for a concussion and was cleared.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, fellow wideout <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Brandon_Marshall/" type="external">Brandon Marshall</a> returned to practice Monday for the first time since he was injured in the same game as Beckham.</p>
<p>Marshall injured his shoulder against the Browns but McAdoo did not rule out the possibility of him playing in the final preseason game on Thursday night against the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/New_England_Patriots/" type="external">New England Patriots</a>.</p>
<p>Marshall signed a two-year deal with the Giants shortly after being released by the Jets in March. He’s entering his 12th NFL season after stops in Denver, Miami, Chicago and the past two campaigns with the Jets.</p>
<p>He had 59 receptions for 788 yards and three touchdowns in 2016. Marshall caught 109 passes for 1,502 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2015, when he posted 10 100-yard games.</p> | 902 |
<p />
<p>Welcome to OnSale at FOXBusiness, where we look at cool deals and insane bargains.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Comparison shop for pretty much anything with this new site suited just for mobile phones. Brookstone has a wardrobe accessory that sounds like something out of a spy novel. Nike joins the band craze with its own version of a fitness-tracking device.&#160; And a new flash sale site lets you add some glam at home.</p>
<p>Simply the Best...Prices</p>
<p>Comparison-shopping engine <a href="http://www.findthebest.com" type="external">Find the Best Opens a New Window.</a> just launched a new mobile site for bargain-hunting fans. The site surveys everything from credit counselors to law schools, even plastic surgeons… the list goes on and on. The site gives-biased advice to consumers with the help of public databases, company websites, and experts.</p>
<p>You can also add a listing, edit a listing, or add your very own opinion of a product. <a href="http://www.findthebest.com/user/register" type="external">Register Opens a New Window.</a> and sign in to start your search for the best.</p>
<p>All Dressed Up</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="http://www.brookstone.com" type="external">Brookstone Opens a New Window.</a> has the well-dressed, tech-savvy gentleman in mind with its new USB cufflinks. (Yes, you read that right.) For $99.99, you can add a little extra storage to the ends of your sleeves with a 1GB cufflink (2GB total). They’re silver and gold plated, and are available in silver, woven, gold and gunmetal.</p>
<p>Need more space? Spring for the 4GB cufflinks (2GB each), which cost $224.99. They’re also engravable.</p>
<p>Still looking for a little more tech in your wardrobe? Brookstone also offers a <a href="http://www.brookstone.com/polished-silver-oval-wifi-and-2gb-usb-cufflinks?bkiid=World_Landing_Page_Gifts_Gifts_By_Interest" type="external">polished silver oval cufflink Opens a New Window.</a> that offers not only 2GB of storage, but also Wi-Fi. That’s a mobile hotspot everywhere you go, connecting to your iPad, smart phone, or other wireless device.</p>
<p>Are You With the Band?</p>
<p>Nike (NYSE:NKE) just introduced its very own fitness-tracking device to help you get and stay fit. The Nike+ FuelBand, worn around the wrist, tracks everyday activities and can be synched to your computer or iPhone to upload your progress toward a "Daily Goal" – and looks really cool in the process.</p>
<p>The band itself connects directly to your USB port, and links with your mobile device via Bluetooth, so there are no extra cords required. And you can track your color-coded progress throughout the day, as the FuelBand lights up, turning from red to green, as you approach your goal.</p>
<p>Nike+ offers pointers on how to meet your goal, and gives you daily, weekly and monthly reports so you can learn about your fitness habits and see your progress over time. The band is waterproof, and carries a retail price of $150. It’s available now for pre-order, and is expected to ship on Feb. 22. Learn more <a href="http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=shop,fuelband&amp;sitesrc=glfl_fuelband" type="external">here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Yard Party</p>
<p>Those OnSale readers who enjoy decorating their living space with luxury goods for a fraction of the cost will definitely want to check out this awesome new flash sale site. It’s called <a href="http://www.luxeyard.com/" type="external">LuxeYard Opens a New Window.</a>, and it’s giving the word “sale” a whole new meaning. That’s because customers can request which items they want to pay less for. That’s right – if it’s a brand new, 2-ton mahogany sleigh bed you covet, tell LuxeYard what you’re willing to pay for it through their Concierge Buying program.</p>
<p>The LuxeYard community (that’s you and all of your bargain-hunting friends) votes on their favorite products, and the most popular will be offered at a discount. And, if the exact product you’re seeking isn’t available, LuxeYard will find an alternative of equal or better quality. There’s also a Group Buy feature, which reduces the price of a product as more people place it in their shopping carts. When the flash sale ends, everyone who place the item in their carts pay the lowest final price.</p>
<p>Know of a killer deal or insane bargain? Email the goods to OnSale@FOXBusiness.com and share the wealth.</p> | Find the Best Price on Anything and Become a Wi-Fi Hot Spot | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2012/01/25/on-sale.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Find the Best Price on Anything and Become a Wi-Fi Hot Spot
<p />
<p>Welcome to OnSale at FOXBusiness, where we look at cool deals and insane bargains.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Comparison shop for pretty much anything with this new site suited just for mobile phones. Brookstone has a wardrobe accessory that sounds like something out of a spy novel. Nike joins the band craze with its own version of a fitness-tracking device.&#160; And a new flash sale site lets you add some glam at home.</p>
<p>Simply the Best...Prices</p>
<p>Comparison-shopping engine <a href="http://www.findthebest.com" type="external">Find the Best Opens a New Window.</a> just launched a new mobile site for bargain-hunting fans. The site surveys everything from credit counselors to law schools, even plastic surgeons… the list goes on and on. The site gives-biased advice to consumers with the help of public databases, company websites, and experts.</p>
<p>You can also add a listing, edit a listing, or add your very own opinion of a product. <a href="http://www.findthebest.com/user/register" type="external">Register Opens a New Window.</a> and sign in to start your search for the best.</p>
<p>All Dressed Up</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p><a href="http://www.brookstone.com" type="external">Brookstone Opens a New Window.</a> has the well-dressed, tech-savvy gentleman in mind with its new USB cufflinks. (Yes, you read that right.) For $99.99, you can add a little extra storage to the ends of your sleeves with a 1GB cufflink (2GB total). They’re silver and gold plated, and are available in silver, woven, gold and gunmetal.</p>
<p>Need more space? Spring for the 4GB cufflinks (2GB each), which cost $224.99. They’re also engravable.</p>
<p>Still looking for a little more tech in your wardrobe? Brookstone also offers a <a href="http://www.brookstone.com/polished-silver-oval-wifi-and-2gb-usb-cufflinks?bkiid=World_Landing_Page_Gifts_Gifts_By_Interest" type="external">polished silver oval cufflink Opens a New Window.</a> that offers not only 2GB of storage, but also Wi-Fi. That’s a mobile hotspot everywhere you go, connecting to your iPad, smart phone, or other wireless device.</p>
<p>Are You With the Band?</p>
<p>Nike (NYSE:NKE) just introduced its very own fitness-tracking device to help you get and stay fit. The Nike+ FuelBand, worn around the wrist, tracks everyday activities and can be synched to your computer or iPhone to upload your progress toward a "Daily Goal" – and looks really cool in the process.</p>
<p>The band itself connects directly to your USB port, and links with your mobile device via Bluetooth, so there are no extra cords required. And you can track your color-coded progress throughout the day, as the FuelBand lights up, turning from red to green, as you approach your goal.</p>
<p>Nike+ offers pointers on how to meet your goal, and gives you daily, weekly and monthly reports so you can learn about your fitness habits and see your progress over time. The band is waterproof, and carries a retail price of $150. It’s available now for pre-order, and is expected to ship on Feb. 22. Learn more <a href="http://store.nike.com/us/en_us/?l=shop,fuelband&amp;sitesrc=glfl_fuelband" type="external">here Opens a New Window.</a>.</p>
<p>Yard Party</p>
<p>Those OnSale readers who enjoy decorating their living space with luxury goods for a fraction of the cost will definitely want to check out this awesome new flash sale site. It’s called <a href="http://www.luxeyard.com/" type="external">LuxeYard Opens a New Window.</a>, and it’s giving the word “sale” a whole new meaning. That’s because customers can request which items they want to pay less for. That’s right – if it’s a brand new, 2-ton mahogany sleigh bed you covet, tell LuxeYard what you’re willing to pay for it through their Concierge Buying program.</p>
<p>The LuxeYard community (that’s you and all of your bargain-hunting friends) votes on their favorite products, and the most popular will be offered at a discount. And, if the exact product you’re seeking isn’t available, LuxeYard will find an alternative of equal or better quality. There’s also a Group Buy feature, which reduces the price of a product as more people place it in their shopping carts. When the flash sale ends, everyone who place the item in their carts pay the lowest final price.</p>
<p>Know of a killer deal or insane bargain? Email the goods to OnSale@FOXBusiness.com and share the wealth.</p> | 903 |
<p><a href="" type="internal">Google</a> unveiled the first two commercial Chromebooks -- laptops running the all-Web <a href="" type="internal">Chrome</a> OS -- this morning at Google I/O.</p>
<p>The company is clearly trying to take on Microsoft's core Windows business, as well as Apple products including the Mac and <a href="" type="internal">iPad</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While the pricing for the consumer version is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-chromebooks-2011-5" type="external">way too high Opens a New Window.</a> -- it seems weird to pay MORE than a Windows netbook for a computer that (so far) does less -- the subscription pricing for businesses is at least a new wrinkle.</p>
<p>For $28 per user per month organizations will get a Chromebook for each user, plus support and free hardware upgrades when they run out.</p>
<p>That's $336 per user per year.</p>
<p>The price does NOT include Google Apps for Business. That's available for $50 per user per year, or $5 per user per month.</p>
<p>By way of comparison, a new desktop PC with the latest business versions of Windows and Office will probably cost no more than $1,500 depending on the exact configurations. Most companies refresh their PCs no more than every five years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>So that's $1,500 for the old standard versus $1,680 to switch to a computer that:</p>
<p>- Can't run Microsoft Office apps.</p>
<p>- Doesn't come with any productivity software or a corporate-ready email account (unless you pay another $250 over five years)</p>
<p>- Might not work well with certain peripherals -- what about USB-based backup storage drives?</p>
<p>- Require a separate system for managing them (like pushing out software).</p>
<p>- Has no obvious appeal for end-users, so they won't bring them into the company and expect IT to make them work (like is happening with the iPad in some places).</p>
<p>Google argues on its <a href="http://www.google.com/chromebook/business-education.html#" type="external">Chromebooks for Business Opens a New Window.</a> page that other cost savings will make up for these drawbacks. There's no antivirus software to maintain and manage, no endless series of patches, and very low switching costs since there's no data to migrate from machine to machine -- just push everything to a cloud account and your users are ready to go. When the Chromebooks die, Google will replace them for free.</p>
<p>Plus, they start up really fast so users won't waste precious minutes every morning waiting for their PC to start and for Outlook to open. (Which isn't really a problem if you leave your PC on overnight in sleep mode -- but never mind that.)</p>
<p>Those might be good arguments for a company that's just starting out and doesn't have a clear idea how fast they'll grow. They can standardize on cloud-based apps from the get-go, then add and subtract Chromebooks to match their headcount.</p>
<p>It might also be good for companies with employees who can be trained fairly quickly to do simple tasks and have lots of employee turnover -- think call centers, for instance. In that case, it might sense to have a pool of shared notebooks with a few basic apps on them and simply swap users in and out by changing the accounts.</p>
<p>Finally, Google is offering a cheaper program for schools and government agencies -- only $20 per user per month. That might change the cost equation enough to get some cost-sensitive organizations on board.</p>
<p>But for most businesses that use Windows PCs (or Macs) today, Chromebooks will be a non-starter.</p>
<p>More from BusinessInsider.com:</p> | Google Chromebooks Won't Push Microsoft Out of Businesses | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2011/05/11/google-chromebooks-wont-push-microsoft-businesses.html | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Google Chromebooks Won't Push Microsoft Out of Businesses
<p><a href="" type="internal">Google</a> unveiled the first two commercial Chromebooks -- laptops running the all-Web <a href="" type="internal">Chrome</a> OS -- this morning at Google I/O.</p>
<p>The company is clearly trying to take on Microsoft's core Windows business, as well as Apple products including the Mac and <a href="" type="internal">iPad</a>.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>While the pricing for the consumer version is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/google-chromebooks-2011-5" type="external">way too high Opens a New Window.</a> -- it seems weird to pay MORE than a Windows netbook for a computer that (so far) does less -- the subscription pricing for businesses is at least a new wrinkle.</p>
<p>For $28 per user per month organizations will get a Chromebook for each user, plus support and free hardware upgrades when they run out.</p>
<p>That's $336 per user per year.</p>
<p>The price does NOT include Google Apps for Business. That's available for $50 per user per year, or $5 per user per month.</p>
<p>By way of comparison, a new desktop PC with the latest business versions of Windows and Office will probably cost no more than $1,500 depending on the exact configurations. Most companies refresh their PCs no more than every five years.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>So that's $1,500 for the old standard versus $1,680 to switch to a computer that:</p>
<p>- Can't run Microsoft Office apps.</p>
<p>- Doesn't come with any productivity software or a corporate-ready email account (unless you pay another $250 over five years)</p>
<p>- Might not work well with certain peripherals -- what about USB-based backup storage drives?</p>
<p>- Require a separate system for managing them (like pushing out software).</p>
<p>- Has no obvious appeal for end-users, so they won't bring them into the company and expect IT to make them work (like is happening with the iPad in some places).</p>
<p>Google argues on its <a href="http://www.google.com/chromebook/business-education.html#" type="external">Chromebooks for Business Opens a New Window.</a> page that other cost savings will make up for these drawbacks. There's no antivirus software to maintain and manage, no endless series of patches, and very low switching costs since there's no data to migrate from machine to machine -- just push everything to a cloud account and your users are ready to go. When the Chromebooks die, Google will replace them for free.</p>
<p>Plus, they start up really fast so users won't waste precious minutes every morning waiting for their PC to start and for Outlook to open. (Which isn't really a problem if you leave your PC on overnight in sleep mode -- but never mind that.)</p>
<p>Those might be good arguments for a company that's just starting out and doesn't have a clear idea how fast they'll grow. They can standardize on cloud-based apps from the get-go, then add and subtract Chromebooks to match their headcount.</p>
<p>It might also be good for companies with employees who can be trained fairly quickly to do simple tasks and have lots of employee turnover -- think call centers, for instance. In that case, it might sense to have a pool of shared notebooks with a few basic apps on them and simply swap users in and out by changing the accounts.</p>
<p>Finally, Google is offering a cheaper program for schools and government agencies -- only $20 per user per month. That might change the cost equation enough to get some cost-sensitive organizations on board.</p>
<p>But for most businesses that use Windows PCs (or Macs) today, Chromebooks will be a non-starter.</p>
<p>More from BusinessInsider.com:</p> | 904 |
<p />
<p>Aden, 19, July 2010 (BIN) – The Yemen government has said that it will deport back to Addis Ababa more than 63 illegal immigrants that were arrested by security forces</p>
<p>According to the Yemen interior ministry, the immigrants all whom were women were in custody of the Immigration Nationality Passports Authority in Taiz Province near western Red Sea.</p>
<p>So far, Yemen government has deported more than one thousand illegal aliens of Ethiopian origin and Yemen also added that all plans were ready for the deportation.</p>
<p>‘‘The nonstop influx of illegal immigrants and African refugees into Yemen posed an increasing burden on the Yemeni economy as the country received more 4,213 Somali refugees in April alone’ said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s office in Yemen in a Sunday news release</p>
<p>UN statistics show Yemen hosts 78,000 Somali refugees by the end of 2009, out of the total of 171,000 registered refugees, while Yemeni officials say many more Somalis in the country were unregistered.</p>
<p>Abdulaziz Billow is a Kenyan Freelance Journalist</p>
<p><a href="/" type="external">We encourage you to Share our Reports, Analyses, Breaking News and Videos. Simply Click your Favorite Social Media Button and Share.</a></p> | 63 Ethiopian immigrants to be deported back | true | http://beforeitsnews.com/story/107/186/63_Ethiopian_immigrants_to_be_deported_back.html | 2010-07-19 | 0right
| 63 Ethiopian immigrants to be deported back
<p />
<p>Aden, 19, July 2010 (BIN) – The Yemen government has said that it will deport back to Addis Ababa more than 63 illegal immigrants that were arrested by security forces</p>
<p>According to the Yemen interior ministry, the immigrants all whom were women were in custody of the Immigration Nationality Passports Authority in Taiz Province near western Red Sea.</p>
<p>So far, Yemen government has deported more than one thousand illegal aliens of Ethiopian origin and Yemen also added that all plans were ready for the deportation.</p>
<p>‘‘The nonstop influx of illegal immigrants and African refugees into Yemen posed an increasing burden on the Yemeni economy as the country received more 4,213 Somali refugees in April alone’ said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)’s office in Yemen in a Sunday news release</p>
<p>UN statistics show Yemen hosts 78,000 Somali refugees by the end of 2009, out of the total of 171,000 registered refugees, while Yemeni officials say many more Somalis in the country were unregistered.</p>
<p>Abdulaziz Billow is a Kenyan Freelance Journalist</p>
<p><a href="/" type="external">We encourage you to Share our Reports, Analyses, Breaking News and Videos. Simply Click your Favorite Social Media Button and Share.</a></p> | 905 |
<p>Tuesday, Chelsea Clinton appeared on TODAY, and made an interesting remark about being vocal in the face of ideas with which one disagrees:</p>
<p>SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: "Do you feel liberated? Nobody running for office?"</p>
<p>CHELSEA CLINTON: "I don't think what I say today is any different than what I would have said had I been asked similar questions, or had similar issues, kind of, arisen [on] a stage — but certainly, I think we all have a responsibility to not stay silent now. I think we have to speak up and use whatever platforms we have and certainly social media is part of that."</p>
<p>Clinton's comments bring to the fore two questions — one silly, the other important. First, was Chelsea Clinton ever silent to begin with? Second, and more critical, what did she mean when she said "we all have a responsibility to not stay silent now"?</p>
<p>Those ten words are emblematic of the way in which the progressive movement thinks and operates. When a Republican is in power — whether they're conservative or not — dissent is the highest form of patriotism, to quote John Lindsay, former mayor of New York City.</p>
<p>During the George W. Bush years, it seemed like "Dissent is Patriotic" bumper stickers appeared on every mint-colored Prius that cut you off on the freeway. However, when Barack Obama was elected, dissent didn't just become unpatriotic, it became racist.</p>
<p>Now we're back. Dissent is once again in fashion, and of the utmost importance.</p>
<p>Here's the problem — dissent is necessary at all times, regardless of who's in power. If one fails to scrutinize the actions of powerful individuals who share their ideology, they are in danger of becoming silent partners in foolishness or oppressive policy.</p>
<p>Progressives either know this and simply don't care, or they are frighteningly naive. Either option is terrifying, but unfortunately, not remotely surprising.</p> | Chelsea Clinton: We Have A Responsibility ‘Not To Stay Silent Now’ | true | https://dailywire.com/news/16995/chelsea-clinton-we-have-responsibility-not-stay-frank-camp | 2017-05-30 | 0right
| Chelsea Clinton: We Have A Responsibility ‘Not To Stay Silent Now’
<p>Tuesday, Chelsea Clinton appeared on TODAY, and made an interesting remark about being vocal in the face of ideas with which one disagrees:</p>
<p>SAVANNAH GUTHRIE: "Do you feel liberated? Nobody running for office?"</p>
<p>CHELSEA CLINTON: "I don't think what I say today is any different than what I would have said had I been asked similar questions, or had similar issues, kind of, arisen [on] a stage — but certainly, I think we all have a responsibility to not stay silent now. I think we have to speak up and use whatever platforms we have and certainly social media is part of that."</p>
<p>Clinton's comments bring to the fore two questions — one silly, the other important. First, was Chelsea Clinton ever silent to begin with? Second, and more critical, what did she mean when she said "we all have a responsibility to not stay silent now"?</p>
<p>Those ten words are emblematic of the way in which the progressive movement thinks and operates. When a Republican is in power — whether they're conservative or not — dissent is the highest form of patriotism, to quote John Lindsay, former mayor of New York City.</p>
<p>During the George W. Bush years, it seemed like "Dissent is Patriotic" bumper stickers appeared on every mint-colored Prius that cut you off on the freeway. However, when Barack Obama was elected, dissent didn't just become unpatriotic, it became racist.</p>
<p>Now we're back. Dissent is once again in fashion, and of the utmost importance.</p>
<p>Here's the problem — dissent is necessary at all times, regardless of who's in power. If one fails to scrutinize the actions of powerful individuals who share their ideology, they are in danger of becoming silent partners in foolishness or oppressive policy.</p>
<p>Progressives either know this and simply don't care, or they are frighteningly naive. Either option is terrifying, but unfortunately, not remotely surprising.</p> | 906 |
<p>A pair of Syrian anti-government activist brothers hung a gigantic flag used by the country's rebel movement&#160;on the Eiffel Tower in Paris in a bid for world attention, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr3AnYGI6_BnAaSGnoZBi65iFulw?docId=CNG.ef820197d151ab40e74406d7e6a2f044.5d1" type="external">reported Agence-France Press</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Tourists standing around reportedly cheered as the two brothers,&#160;Ismael and Iyad Hashem, on Friday unfurled the 23-by-100 foot Syrian flag used by the opposition and formerly flown under the country's 1930-1958 Syrian Republic, <a href="http://india.nydailynews.com/business/8bfe760e4b14163e58d65e6b9100e448/syrian-opposition-flag-unfurled-at-eiffel-tower" type="external">reported Russia's RIA Novosti</a>.</p>
<p>"The international community, through its inaction, becomes an accomplice of al-Assad. It's time to act," Ismael Hashem said, <a href="http://india.nydailynews.com/business/8bfe760e4b14163e58d65e6b9100e448/syrian-opposition-flag-unfurled-at-eiffel-tower" type="external">according to RIA Novosti</a>. "Thousands of people were killed by Assad's bullets. This is because the international community is doing nothing."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120727/us-syrias-assad-govt-running-low-money" type="external">US: Syria's Assad govt. running low on money</a></p>
<p>The crisis in Syria, where conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and an armed rebellion against his rule has taken 17,000 lives, has <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/series/damascus-bombing-0" type="external">reached fever point</a> over the last several weeks, with the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120726/white-house-warns-massacre-plans-syrias-aleppo" type="external">White House warning of a possible massacre</a> in the Syrian city of Aleppo.</p>
<p>Efforts by the international community to end the violence have failed. <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5huKuapKWA_tLFSDEGiSZ3unFnrWA?docId=81e22b30345c40559861f37fbe0d1308" type="external">Reports today say</a> Syrian government forces are storming the city, which is Syria's largest.&#160;</p>
<p>Hashem and his brother are the sons of former Syrian brigadier general Akil Hashem, who now lives in the US, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr3AnYGI6_BnAaSGnoZBi65iFulw?docId=CNG.ef820197d151ab40e74406d7e6a2f044.5d1" type="external">said AFP</a>, with Ismael the head of the&#160;"France Syria Democracy" organization that lead the flag operation, <a href="http://india.nydailynews.com/business/8bfe760e4b14163e58d65e6b9100e448/syrian-opposition-flag-unfurled-at-eiffel-tower" type="external">said RIA Novosti</a>.</p>
<p>After hanging the flag, the two were arrested on charges of "violation of a commercial activity" and infringing construction work around the tower, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr3AnYGI6_BnAaSGnoZBi65iFulw?docId=CNG.ef820197d151ab40e74406d7e6a2f044.5d1" type="external">said AFP</a>, but they were soon released by an order from the public prosecutor's office.</p> | Paris: Eiffel tower decked with ginormous Syrian opposition flag | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-07-28/paris-eiffel-tower-decked-ginormous-syrian-opposition-flag | 2012-07-28 | 3left-center
| Paris: Eiffel tower decked with ginormous Syrian opposition flag
<p>A pair of Syrian anti-government activist brothers hung a gigantic flag used by the country's rebel movement&#160;on the Eiffel Tower in Paris in a bid for world attention, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr3AnYGI6_BnAaSGnoZBi65iFulw?docId=CNG.ef820197d151ab40e74406d7e6a2f044.5d1" type="external">reported Agence-France Press</a>.&#160;</p>
<p>Tourists standing around reportedly cheered as the two brothers,&#160;Ismael and Iyad Hashem, on Friday unfurled the 23-by-100 foot Syrian flag used by the opposition and formerly flown under the country's 1930-1958 Syrian Republic, <a href="http://india.nydailynews.com/business/8bfe760e4b14163e58d65e6b9100e448/syrian-opposition-flag-unfurled-at-eiffel-tower" type="external">reported Russia's RIA Novosti</a>.</p>
<p>"The international community, through its inaction, becomes an accomplice of al-Assad. It's time to act," Ismael Hashem said, <a href="http://india.nydailynews.com/business/8bfe760e4b14163e58d65e6b9100e448/syrian-opposition-flag-unfurled-at-eiffel-tower" type="external">according to RIA Novosti</a>. "Thousands of people were killed by Assad's bullets. This is because the international community is doing nothing."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost:&#160; <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/syria/120727/us-syrias-assad-govt-running-low-money" type="external">US: Syria's Assad govt. running low on money</a></p>
<p>The crisis in Syria, where conflict between President Bashar al-Assad and an armed rebellion against his rule has taken 17,000 lives, has <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/series/damascus-bombing-0" type="external">reached fever point</a> over the last several weeks, with the <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/120726/white-house-warns-massacre-plans-syrias-aleppo" type="external">White House warning of a possible massacre</a> in the Syrian city of Aleppo.</p>
<p>Efforts by the international community to end the violence have failed. <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5huKuapKWA_tLFSDEGiSZ3unFnrWA?docId=81e22b30345c40559861f37fbe0d1308" type="external">Reports today say</a> Syrian government forces are storming the city, which is Syria's largest.&#160;</p>
<p>Hashem and his brother are the sons of former Syrian brigadier general Akil Hashem, who now lives in the US, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr3AnYGI6_BnAaSGnoZBi65iFulw?docId=CNG.ef820197d151ab40e74406d7e6a2f044.5d1" type="external">said AFP</a>, with Ismael the head of the&#160;"France Syria Democracy" organization that lead the flag operation, <a href="http://india.nydailynews.com/business/8bfe760e4b14163e58d65e6b9100e448/syrian-opposition-flag-unfurled-at-eiffel-tower" type="external">said RIA Novosti</a>.</p>
<p>After hanging the flag, the two were arrested on charges of "violation of a commercial activity" and infringing construction work around the tower, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr3AnYGI6_BnAaSGnoZBi65iFulw?docId=CNG.ef820197d151ab40e74406d7e6a2f044.5d1" type="external">said AFP</a>, but they were soon released by an order from the public prosecutor's office.</p> | 907 |
<p>MBIA Inc and two top executives agreed to pay $68 million in cash to settle lawsuits accusing the bond insurer of misleading investors about its exposure to risky residential mortgage debt.</p>
<p>Tuesday's settlement also covers former Chief Executive Gary Dunton and current Chief Financial Officer C. Edward Chaplin, according to papers filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Court approval is required.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Smaller rival Ambac Financial Group Inc , its insurers and some banks earlier this year agreed to pay $33 million to settle similar investor claims. Ambac is now operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Bernard Orr)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | MBIA Settles Lawsuit Over Mortgages for $68M | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2011/09/06/mbia-settles-lawsuit-over-mortgages-for-68-million.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| MBIA Settles Lawsuit Over Mortgages for $68M
<p>MBIA Inc and two top executives agreed to pay $68 million in cash to settle lawsuits accusing the bond insurer of misleading investors about its exposure to risky residential mortgage debt.</p>
<p>Tuesday's settlement also covers former Chief Executive Gary Dunton and current Chief Financial Officer C. Edward Chaplin, according to papers filed with the U.S. District Court in Manhattan. Court approval is required.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Smaller rival Ambac Financial Group Inc , its insurers and some banks earlier this year agreed to pay $33 million to settle similar investor claims. Ambac is now operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel, editing by Bernard Orr)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 908 |
<p>American ProspectChristina Asquith, who <a href="http://www.christinareporting.com/" type="external">reported</a> from Baghdad for the Christian Science Monitor and other papers in 2003, writes: "Barring an unintended accident, I believe [Jill] Carroll will be released for the simple reason she’s no good to her kidnappers dead. ...If Carroll’s kidnappers intended to kill her, I believe they would have done so by now. Most likely -- we hope -- they are in frustrated negotiations over a financial ransom [with private donors]."</p> | Ex-CSM war reporter is confident Carroll will be released | false | https://poynter.org/news/ex-csm-war-reporter-confident-carroll-will-be-released | 2006-03-08 | 2least
| Ex-CSM war reporter is confident Carroll will be released
<p>American ProspectChristina Asquith, who <a href="http://www.christinareporting.com/" type="external">reported</a> from Baghdad for the Christian Science Monitor and other papers in 2003, writes: "Barring an unintended accident, I believe [Jill] Carroll will be released for the simple reason she’s no good to her kidnappers dead. ...If Carroll’s kidnappers intended to kill her, I believe they would have done so by now. Most likely -- we hope -- they are in frustrated negotiations over a financial ransom [with private donors]."</p> | 909 |
<p>Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) reported a less-than-stellar earnings report a few weeks ago. Despite beating analyst expectations on the top line, the stock sold off after management reported a downward trend in monthly active users and an upward trend in daily active users.</p>
<p>In this segment from <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Tech Opens a New Window.</a>, analyst Dylan Lewis is joined by senior tech specialist Evan Niu to discuss some of the strange inconsistencies that sprang up on the call, how Twitter's management is explaining them, why the SEC is getting involved, and more.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than FacebookWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=15f41a6f-08b1-4695-997a-2f1fbca94b0a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Facebook wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=15f41a6f-08b1-4695-997a-2f1fbca94b0a&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of August 1, 2017</p>
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<p>This video was recorded on Aug. 4, 2017.</p>
<p>Dylan Lewis: You&#160;look over at how management spends&#160;so much time stressing the importance of daily active users, and using that as their proxy for engagement. They talk about how DAUs were up 12% year over year, and yet again, they&#160;refuse to provide the actual number for&#160;what's going on with DAUs. And,&#160;they say, despite positive DAU growth for the last three quarters, the ratio of DAUs to MAUs hasn't meaningfully changed since&#160;the company said it was slightly less than 50% in 2015.</p>
<p>Evan Niu: Right. Which&#160;kind of suggests that these DAU&#160;numbers are very small, which is presumably why they're hiding them. But,&#160;if the numbers are really small, then if you get growth off of a small base,&#160;that might be why the overall ratio&#160;isn't really changing much.</p>
<p>Lewis: But&#160;for that to be your core metric that you're&#160;focusing on as a proxy for engagement, and then to have&#160;two different measures of that metric not trending in&#160;the same direction, it's baffling to me.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,&#160;it makes no sense. It's&#160;interesting because this whole disclosure of DAUs is&#160;becoming more and more important, and&#160;more and more investors and analysts alike are&#160;raising eyebrows at this exact thing. Why&#160;won't you break this out,&#160;to the point where the SEC sent&#160;Twitter a letter in June&#160;asking them to basically justify it,&#160;exactly what we're talking about here, like, "You're&#160;saying this is so important, but&#160;you're not telling us what it is. How do you&#160;reconcile this obvious cognitive dissonance of&#160;saying one thing but doing the other thing?" It's the same defense,&#160;and it's a really poor defense. They're just like, "We think the percentage change is more important. The absolute number is not important." But then, why do you keep saying DAUs are so important? And&#160;it's even condescending, in a way,&#160;because they're like, "If we give you absolute numbers,&#160;that's going to confuse investors and distract them." You&#160;don't think investors can understand the difference and know what to focus on? Let investors choose,&#160;don't choose for them and&#160;assume they won't understand. It's&#160;kind of condescending to say that they're not going to be&#160;able to figure out the numbers if you gave them to them.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,&#160;my feeling is, just give me the number.&#160;I'll do my own analysis if you give me the DAU number,&#160;and I'll understand the puts and takes. Management offered some commentary on what's going on with the DAU&#160;calculation and MAU&#160;calculation, to&#160;reconcile how the DAU number can be trending up over a period, but not mean that DAUs as MAUs is growing as a&#160;percentage. CFO Anthony Noto went on this long-winded explanation,&#160;basically saying that DAUs are&#160;calculated by&#160;averaging the number of users each day in the quarter, while MAUs are the average of the last day of each month in the quarter. So, you can think of the DAU&#160;calculation basically as an average of 90 days,&#160;whereas the MAUs are an average of three days. I can understand how that would lead to some lumpiness in the data,&#160;but to me, that's a terrible explanation,&#160;because the management team is the one that's&#160;deciding to calculate it that way. You have the data to work with,&#160;you're deciding that you're making a lumpy&#160;number. That's such a cop-out.</p>
<p>Niu: Exactly. They're&#160;going through so much effort to hide this. It's easier to just get it out there, you&#160;stop getting all this criticism and&#160;let investors figure it out for themselves. But&#160;they're doing all these gymnastics&#160;just to hide this and obfuscate it. And,&#160;certainly one thing they're afraid of is&#160;being compared to&#160;Facebook&#160;(NASDAQ: FB). In their response to the SEC,&#160;they very much said that they calculate it differently&#160;because they don't want to compare to other companies that do disclose DAUs, and&#160;Facebook is really the only one that discloses as much as there is. For&#160;example, they've said, "Because&#160;Facebook includes people who use Messenger in their DAU number, even though Messenger is a different application,"&#160;but that's also&#160;poor reasoning, because Twitter also has a&#160;direct message of its service,&#160;it's just within the same app.&#160;Facebook has Facebook and then it has Messenger, in addition to its other messaging services. Messenger is&#160;fundamentally part of Facebook. Just because it's a separate app doesn't mean you're not using the service. So,&#160;that's also a poor reason. The&#160;functionality, it's effectively the same thing, both companies have feed of content and both companies have a&#160;messaging service. So,&#160;how does that make it not&#160;comparable? The whole reasoning falls flat.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFlewis/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Dylan Lewis Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Facebook. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Facebook. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> has the following options: long January 2018 $120 calls on Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook and Twitter. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Twitter's Management Offers Confusing Results | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/08/10/twitters-management-offers-confusing-results.html | 2017-08-10 | 0right
| Twitter's Management Offers Confusing Results
<p>Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) reported a less-than-stellar earnings report a few weeks ago. Despite beating analyst expectations on the top line, the stock sold off after management reported a downward trend in monthly active users and an upward trend in daily active users.</p>
<p>In this segment from <a href="https://www.fool.com/podcasts/industry-focus?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Industry Focus: Tech Opens a New Window.</a>, analyst Dylan Lewis is joined by senior tech specialist Evan Niu to discuss some of the strange inconsistencies that sprang up on the call, how Twitter's management is explaining them, why the SEC is getting involved, and more.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>A full transcript follows the video.</p>
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<p>This video was recorded on Aug. 4, 2017.</p>
<p>Dylan Lewis: You&#160;look over at how management spends&#160;so much time stressing the importance of daily active users, and using that as their proxy for engagement. They talk about how DAUs were up 12% year over year, and yet again, they&#160;refuse to provide the actual number for&#160;what's going on with DAUs. And,&#160;they say, despite positive DAU growth for the last three quarters, the ratio of DAUs to MAUs hasn't meaningfully changed since&#160;the company said it was slightly less than 50% in 2015.</p>
<p>Evan Niu: Right. Which&#160;kind of suggests that these DAU&#160;numbers are very small, which is presumably why they're hiding them. But,&#160;if the numbers are really small, then if you get growth off of a small base,&#160;that might be why the overall ratio&#160;isn't really changing much.</p>
<p>Lewis: But&#160;for that to be your core metric that you're&#160;focusing on as a proxy for engagement, and then to have&#160;two different measures of that metric not trending in&#160;the same direction, it's baffling to me.</p>
<p>Niu: Yeah,&#160;it makes no sense. It's&#160;interesting because this whole disclosure of DAUs is&#160;becoming more and more important, and&#160;more and more investors and analysts alike are&#160;raising eyebrows at this exact thing. Why&#160;won't you break this out,&#160;to the point where the SEC sent&#160;Twitter a letter in June&#160;asking them to basically justify it,&#160;exactly what we're talking about here, like, "You're&#160;saying this is so important, but&#160;you're not telling us what it is. How do you&#160;reconcile this obvious cognitive dissonance of&#160;saying one thing but doing the other thing?" It's the same defense,&#160;and it's a really poor defense. They're just like, "We think the percentage change is more important. The absolute number is not important." But then, why do you keep saying DAUs are so important? And&#160;it's even condescending, in a way,&#160;because they're like, "If we give you absolute numbers,&#160;that's going to confuse investors and distract them." You&#160;don't think investors can understand the difference and know what to focus on? Let investors choose,&#160;don't choose for them and&#160;assume they won't understand. It's&#160;kind of condescending to say that they're not going to be&#160;able to figure out the numbers if you gave them to them.</p>
<p>Lewis: Yeah,&#160;my feeling is, just give me the number.&#160;I'll do my own analysis if you give me the DAU number,&#160;and I'll understand the puts and takes. Management offered some commentary on what's going on with the DAU&#160;calculation and MAU&#160;calculation, to&#160;reconcile how the DAU number can be trending up over a period, but not mean that DAUs as MAUs is growing as a&#160;percentage. CFO Anthony Noto went on this long-winded explanation,&#160;basically saying that DAUs are&#160;calculated by&#160;averaging the number of users each day in the quarter, while MAUs are the average of the last day of each month in the quarter. So, you can think of the DAU&#160;calculation basically as an average of 90 days,&#160;whereas the MAUs are an average of three days. I can understand how that would lead to some lumpiness in the data,&#160;but to me, that's a terrible explanation,&#160;because the management team is the one that's&#160;deciding to calculate it that way. You have the data to work with,&#160;you're deciding that you're making a lumpy&#160;number. That's such a cop-out.</p>
<p>Niu: Exactly. They're&#160;going through so much effort to hide this. It's easier to just get it out there, you&#160;stop getting all this criticism and&#160;let investors figure it out for themselves. But&#160;they're doing all these gymnastics&#160;just to hide this and obfuscate it. And,&#160;certainly one thing they're afraid of is&#160;being compared to&#160;Facebook&#160;(NASDAQ: FB). In their response to the SEC,&#160;they very much said that they calculate it differently&#160;because they don't want to compare to other companies that do disclose DAUs, and&#160;Facebook is really the only one that discloses as much as there is. For&#160;example, they've said, "Because&#160;Facebook includes people who use Messenger in their DAU number, even though Messenger is a different application,"&#160;but that's also&#160;poor reasoning, because Twitter also has a&#160;direct message of its service,&#160;it's just within the same app.&#160;Facebook has Facebook and then it has Messenger, in addition to its other messaging services. Messenger is&#160;fundamentally part of Facebook. Just because it's a separate app doesn't mean you're not using the service. So,&#160;that's also a poor reason. The&#160;functionality, it's effectively the same thing, both companies have feed of content and both companies have a&#160;messaging service. So,&#160;how does that make it not&#160;comparable? The whole reasoning falls flat.</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFlewis/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Dylan Lewis Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Facebook. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> owns shares of Facebook. <a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFNewCow/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Evan Niu, CFA Opens a New Window.</a> has the following options: long January 2018 $120 calls on Facebook. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook and Twitter. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=c6737bfe-7d03-11e7-8eda-0050569d32b9&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 910 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Patrick Henningsen <a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-7a3" type="external">21st Century Wire</a></p>
<p>Society is in motion,&#160;only it’s heading backwards.</p>
<p>Many a thinker has wondered about the true meaning of the Latin term status quo, which is short for&#160;“in statu quo”. We use this term every day in discourse. It’s&#160;popularly understood as meaning “keeping the things the way they are presently.”</p>
<p>The term in itself has become meaningless, because it is incomplete. That term was originally part of a longer phrase based on “in statu&#160;quo res erant ante bellum,”&#160;which&#160;translated means, “in the state in which things were before the war”.</p>
<p>In the context of the 14th century BC diplomatic Latin language from which&#160;the term is derived, it’s referring to&#160;an end to a ‘Marshal Law’ scenario, or&#160;the withdrawal of enemy troops and&#160;the restoration of power to pre-war leadership.</p>
<p>In case you haven’t noticed, America, and Europe, we are presently locked into a permanent state of war, or war state. The question is, against who? As the existential enemy becomes ever harder to sell to the public and risks fading into irrelevance, the state is developing an unhealthy&#160;fixation –&#160;on its own people.&#160;</p>
<p>Have the people always been the target? Societies and political cultures only have two directions to take – they either mature and thrive, or fester in a state of arrested, or retrograde development.&#160;In America, you can count on any political party in power – be it a Democratic regime, or a Republican one,&#160;to always insist that “things have never been better” in the country. That same lie gets passed on from one administration to another, like a Christmas fruit cake that no one is really eating.</p>
<p>The same can be said between Labour and Conservative in Great Britain.&#160;We’ve all heard that tired old line, over and over, “Our government has made this country better than it was 5 years ago”.</p>
<p>It seems to be built into the political machine code in our ‘mature democracies.’ Why? Because no political advisor or head of communications wants to&#160;stick their neck out in the event that a strategy of realism triggers a slump in the polls, so they opt for the politically correct option, or the easy way.</p>
<p>Americans especially, do not like realism – and&#160;mobs will almost always rail against it – even if what they’re hearing is true.&#160;Just look at what happened to Texas Congressman Ron Paul, taunted and crucified by media, Democrats and Republican, and even by the Israel lobby (Sheldon Adelson’s gang&#160;forked out&#160;roughly $5 million to run negative ad campaigns against Paul during the 2012 primaries), all for being a realist.</p>
<p>Establishment gatekeepers and culture makers&#160;are now attempting to&#160;make realism&#160;ubiquitous with&#160;their own derogatory term, ‘conspiracy theory’. It won’t be long before governments will want to demonize and persecute their own citizens for entertaining conspiracy theories and engaging in discussions outside of approved narratives.</p>
<p>Our&#160;downward constitutional trajectory&#160;is comfortable&#160;for&#160;those clinging to administrative power, and ironically, it also suits the crowd too. For politicians, rejecting realism is simply an excuse to do nothing – so long as the cheques keep&#160;rolling in. For the crowds, rejecting realism means they can avoid risk by not&#160;initiating any action, boycott, strike, demonstration or applying pressure on politicians&#160;to the&#160;‘ethical thing.’ Neither group wants to stick their necks out, no matter what the long-term prognosis is. The net result is a fait accompli:&#160;a gradual&#160;degeneration of political life across the entire spectrum – politicians, voters and everyone in between.</p>
<p>That’s exactly where America is at today – entering into a void of ethics, terminally ill with malignant growths in a government that&#160;is medicating itself by passing an ever-increasing amount of new laws and regulations. The system is&#160;completely addicted to them.</p>
<p>They need a new one every day it seems, to patch up the one they passed yesterday, and the day before that.</p>
<p>KAFKA AND WEBER: Drowning in a sea of administration.</p>
<p>In this legally medicated society, the fundamentals of ethics have become obscured. History has taught us (some of us anyway) how in&#160;a vacuous ethical&#160;epoch, a significant amount power becomes concentrated in the administrative class; government agencies, administrators, ‘law enforcement,’ third sector quangos, corporate charities, and&#160;private government contractors. Collectively, they are&#160;“the man in the middle.” The more oppressive public life becomes, the more the man in the middle&#160;thrives. Even the political classes fear the man in the middle, who now form the largest voting bloc in the United States. The crowd fears the man in the middle because at any given moment in time, the administrative machine can ruin their life – with threats,&#160;tickets, fines, detention,&#160;restricted access, or social exclusion – the list is virtually endless.</p>
<p>What the political and administrative classes struggle to understand is that when the ethical meltdown&#160;goes&#160;radioactive,&#160;then things&#160;begin to mutate, and at this point&#160;anything is possible.&#160;</p>
<p>As much as&#160;in any other point in history, we’ve never been in more dire need for a in statu&#160;quo res erant ante bellum.</p>
<p>The German writer Franz Kafka once remarked, “Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.”&#160;Maybe what’s needed is not so much a revolution, but a restoration.</p>
<p>So a&#160;restoration… of less government, less administration,&#160;less laws, in a society underpinned by&#160;common law,&#160;and based on&#160;common sense. Administrators and politicians won’t like it. It’s risky, sometimes messy&#160;and it guarantees nothing, but compare this to&#160;the present ‘in statu quo sins warranty’ (state of affairs during the war) which is already halfway down a dark Kafkaesque tunnel.</p>
<p>This article below illustrates everything that is wrong with western society today – where a New Jersey school child is steam-rolled by&#160;a low-empathy-staffed,&#160;politically correct&#160;administrative machine. Not only did he and his family not see it coming, but they never had a chance once it hit them.</p>
<p>In America’s post-Sandy Hook culture, PC may as well stand for ‘prison culture.’</p>
<p>“If you are old enough to remember,&#160;you may&#160;wake up one day only to realise the world you’re living&#160;in unrecognisable to the one you once knew.”</p>
<p><a href="http://ethicsalarms.com/2014/04/07/kafka-middle-school-new-jersey-where-nothing-makes-sense-and-nobody-cares/" type="external">Ethics Alarm</a></p>
<p>“I know you love these,” wrote the friend and reader who sent me <a href="http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2014/04/report_vernon_teen_says_school_suspended_him_for_twirling_pencil_in_class.html#incart_river" type="external">the latest example of student abuse by school administrators who have lost their minds.</a>No, I really don’t. They make me sick and angry and leave me with the feeling of having just stepped off the curve and had&#160;a bus whiz by close enough for me to feel the breeze. If this happened to my son, I could see myself snapping and going for the responsible administrator’s throat. This was not an inconsiderable factor is choosing to home school.</p>
<p>Glen Meadow Middle School (in Vernon, N.J.) seventh grader Ethan Chaplin (photo, above)&#160;told reporters that he was twirling a pencil with a pen cap on in math class when a student who harassed him earlier in the day shouted,&#160;“He’s making gun motions! Send him to juvie!”&#160;&#160;As local school Superintendent Charles Maranzano explained, policy and law requires him to investigate any time a student is made&#160; “uncomfortable” or threatened by another student. Thus it was that Ethan was summarily stripped, forced to give blood samples (which allegedly caused him to pass out) and urine samples, so he could be tested for drugs.&#160; Four hours later a social worker cleared him to return to class, but a doctors decreed that a five-hour physical and psychological evaluation was necessary before the boy would be allowed back in school.</p>
<p>Then they hooked up Ethan to electrodes, and measured his reactions to pictures of cheerleaders, guns and drugs, and when his vital signs showed a positive response to a photo, he was hit with a mild electric shock.</p>
<p>OK, I’m just kidding about the last part.</p>
<p>But the rest is outrageous enough. I suppose this is more post-Sandy Hook hysteria. I don’t care.</p>
<p>The entire community is responsible for allowing schools like this to exist, administrators so challenged in basic concepts of common sense and justice to be hired, and their children to be educated in institutions so warped by fear and stupidity. A horde of lawyers should descend on Vernon and punish it severely, not only the school. Every single responsible parent should withhold their children from these insane abuse-factories until satisfactory reforms and&#160; overhauls of staff can be assured. If this account is true, the institutionalized child abuse in Vernon should be as big a story as Chris Cristie’s bridge traffic scandal, or bigger.</p>
<p>This is the United States of America, dammit, and our children must not be treated this way.</p>
<p>READ MORE POLICE STATE NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Police State Files</a></p>
<p>–</p> | Kafka’s Amerika: A Society At War With Itself | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/04/09/kafkas-amerika-a-society-at-war-with-itself/ | 2014-04-09 | 4left
| Kafka’s Amerika: A Society At War With Itself
<p><a href="" type="internal" />Patrick Henningsen <a href="http://wp.me/p3bwni-7a3" type="external">21st Century Wire</a></p>
<p>Society is in motion,&#160;only it’s heading backwards.</p>
<p>Many a thinker has wondered about the true meaning of the Latin term status quo, which is short for&#160;“in statu quo”. We use this term every day in discourse. It’s&#160;popularly understood as meaning “keeping the things the way they are presently.”</p>
<p>The term in itself has become meaningless, because it is incomplete. That term was originally part of a longer phrase based on “in statu&#160;quo res erant ante bellum,”&#160;which&#160;translated means, “in the state in which things were before the war”.</p>
<p>In the context of the 14th century BC diplomatic Latin language from which&#160;the term is derived, it’s referring to&#160;an end to a ‘Marshal Law’ scenario, or&#160;the withdrawal of enemy troops and&#160;the restoration of power to pre-war leadership.</p>
<p>In case you haven’t noticed, America, and Europe, we are presently locked into a permanent state of war, or war state. The question is, against who? As the existential enemy becomes ever harder to sell to the public and risks fading into irrelevance, the state is developing an unhealthy&#160;fixation –&#160;on its own people.&#160;</p>
<p>Have the people always been the target? Societies and political cultures only have two directions to take – they either mature and thrive, or fester in a state of arrested, or retrograde development.&#160;In America, you can count on any political party in power – be it a Democratic regime, or a Republican one,&#160;to always insist that “things have never been better” in the country. That same lie gets passed on from one administration to another, like a Christmas fruit cake that no one is really eating.</p>
<p>The same can be said between Labour and Conservative in Great Britain.&#160;We’ve all heard that tired old line, over and over, “Our government has made this country better than it was 5 years ago”.</p>
<p>It seems to be built into the political machine code in our ‘mature democracies.’ Why? Because no political advisor or head of communications wants to&#160;stick their neck out in the event that a strategy of realism triggers a slump in the polls, so they opt for the politically correct option, or the easy way.</p>
<p>Americans especially, do not like realism – and&#160;mobs will almost always rail against it – even if what they’re hearing is true.&#160;Just look at what happened to Texas Congressman Ron Paul, taunted and crucified by media, Democrats and Republican, and even by the Israel lobby (Sheldon Adelson’s gang&#160;forked out&#160;roughly $5 million to run negative ad campaigns against Paul during the 2012 primaries), all for being a realist.</p>
<p>Establishment gatekeepers and culture makers&#160;are now attempting to&#160;make realism&#160;ubiquitous with&#160;their own derogatory term, ‘conspiracy theory’. It won’t be long before governments will want to demonize and persecute their own citizens for entertaining conspiracy theories and engaging in discussions outside of approved narratives.</p>
<p>Our&#160;downward constitutional trajectory&#160;is comfortable&#160;for&#160;those clinging to administrative power, and ironically, it also suits the crowd too. For politicians, rejecting realism is simply an excuse to do nothing – so long as the cheques keep&#160;rolling in. For the crowds, rejecting realism means they can avoid risk by not&#160;initiating any action, boycott, strike, demonstration or applying pressure on politicians&#160;to the&#160;‘ethical thing.’ Neither group wants to stick their necks out, no matter what the long-term prognosis is. The net result is a fait accompli:&#160;a gradual&#160;degeneration of political life across the entire spectrum – politicians, voters and everyone in between.</p>
<p>That’s exactly where America is at today – entering into a void of ethics, terminally ill with malignant growths in a government that&#160;is medicating itself by passing an ever-increasing amount of new laws and regulations. The system is&#160;completely addicted to them.</p>
<p>They need a new one every day it seems, to patch up the one they passed yesterday, and the day before that.</p>
<p>KAFKA AND WEBER: Drowning in a sea of administration.</p>
<p>In this legally medicated society, the fundamentals of ethics have become obscured. History has taught us (some of us anyway) how in&#160;a vacuous ethical&#160;epoch, a significant amount power becomes concentrated in the administrative class; government agencies, administrators, ‘law enforcement,’ third sector quangos, corporate charities, and&#160;private government contractors. Collectively, they are&#160;“the man in the middle.” The more oppressive public life becomes, the more the man in the middle&#160;thrives. Even the political classes fear the man in the middle, who now form the largest voting bloc in the United States. The crowd fears the man in the middle because at any given moment in time, the administrative machine can ruin their life – with threats,&#160;tickets, fines, detention,&#160;restricted access, or social exclusion – the list is virtually endless.</p>
<p>What the political and administrative classes struggle to understand is that when the ethical meltdown&#160;goes&#160;radioactive,&#160;then things&#160;begin to mutate, and at this point&#160;anything is possible.&#160;</p>
<p>As much as&#160;in any other point in history, we’ve never been in more dire need for a in statu&#160;quo res erant ante bellum.</p>
<p>The German writer Franz Kafka once remarked, “Every revolution evaporates and leaves behind only the slime of a new bureaucracy.”&#160;Maybe what’s needed is not so much a revolution, but a restoration.</p>
<p>So a&#160;restoration… of less government, less administration,&#160;less laws, in a society underpinned by&#160;common law,&#160;and based on&#160;common sense. Administrators and politicians won’t like it. It’s risky, sometimes messy&#160;and it guarantees nothing, but compare this to&#160;the present ‘in statu quo sins warranty’ (state of affairs during the war) which is already halfway down a dark Kafkaesque tunnel.</p>
<p>This article below illustrates everything that is wrong with western society today – where a New Jersey school child is steam-rolled by&#160;a low-empathy-staffed,&#160;politically correct&#160;administrative machine. Not only did he and his family not see it coming, but they never had a chance once it hit them.</p>
<p>In America’s post-Sandy Hook culture, PC may as well stand for ‘prison culture.’</p>
<p>“If you are old enough to remember,&#160;you may&#160;wake up one day only to realise the world you’re living&#160;in unrecognisable to the one you once knew.”</p>
<p><a href="http://ethicsalarms.com/2014/04/07/kafka-middle-school-new-jersey-where-nothing-makes-sense-and-nobody-cares/" type="external">Ethics Alarm</a></p>
<p>“I know you love these,” wrote the friend and reader who sent me <a href="http://www.nj.com/morris/index.ssf/2014/04/report_vernon_teen_says_school_suspended_him_for_twirling_pencil_in_class.html#incart_river" type="external">the latest example of student abuse by school administrators who have lost their minds.</a>No, I really don’t. They make me sick and angry and leave me with the feeling of having just stepped off the curve and had&#160;a bus whiz by close enough for me to feel the breeze. If this happened to my son, I could see myself snapping and going for the responsible administrator’s throat. This was not an inconsiderable factor is choosing to home school.</p>
<p>Glen Meadow Middle School (in Vernon, N.J.) seventh grader Ethan Chaplin (photo, above)&#160;told reporters that he was twirling a pencil with a pen cap on in math class when a student who harassed him earlier in the day shouted,&#160;“He’s making gun motions! Send him to juvie!”&#160;&#160;As local school Superintendent Charles Maranzano explained, policy and law requires him to investigate any time a student is made&#160; “uncomfortable” or threatened by another student. Thus it was that Ethan was summarily stripped, forced to give blood samples (which allegedly caused him to pass out) and urine samples, so he could be tested for drugs.&#160; Four hours later a social worker cleared him to return to class, but a doctors decreed that a five-hour physical and psychological evaluation was necessary before the boy would be allowed back in school.</p>
<p>Then they hooked up Ethan to electrodes, and measured his reactions to pictures of cheerleaders, guns and drugs, and when his vital signs showed a positive response to a photo, he was hit with a mild electric shock.</p>
<p>OK, I’m just kidding about the last part.</p>
<p>But the rest is outrageous enough. I suppose this is more post-Sandy Hook hysteria. I don’t care.</p>
<p>The entire community is responsible for allowing schools like this to exist, administrators so challenged in basic concepts of common sense and justice to be hired, and their children to be educated in institutions so warped by fear and stupidity. A horde of lawyers should descend on Vernon and punish it severely, not only the school. Every single responsible parent should withhold their children from these insane abuse-factories until satisfactory reforms and&#160; overhauls of staff can be assured. If this account is true, the institutionalized child abuse in Vernon should be as big a story as Chris Cristie’s bridge traffic scandal, or bigger.</p>
<p>This is the United States of America, dammit, and our children must not be treated this way.</p>
<p>READ MORE POLICE STATE NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Police State Files</a></p>
<p>–</p> | 911 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />JUNE 8, 2011</p>
<p>By WAYNE LUSVARDI</p>
<p>Remember Pol Pot, the Cambodian dictator and head of the Khmer Rouge? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol_Pot" type="external">According to Wikipedia</a>, “During his time in power, Pol Pot imposed a version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrarian_socialism" type="external">agrarian socialism</a>, forcing urban dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labor projects, toward a goal of ‘restarting civilization’ in a ‘ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Zero_(political_notion)" type="external">Year Zero</a>.’ The combined effects of forced labour, malnutrition, poor medical care and executions resulted in the deaths of approximately 21 percent of the Cambodian population” — 2.5 million people.</p>
<p>Something similar must have been on the minds of the California Council on Science and Technology when it issued its new report, “ <a href="http://www.ccst.us/publications/2011/2011energy.pdf" type="external">California’s Energy Future — the View to 2050</a>.” It&#160;provides “portraits” of what, under a regime that could be called the&#160;Khmer Green,&#160;they hope&#160;the next state energy system will look like in California’s Year Zero — 2050</p>
<p>About 60 percent of California’s future energy system would be based on shifting the entire state population into electric vehicles. It would&#160;eliminate natural gas heating and cooking in all homes, replacing it with electric-powered stoves, water heaters and space heaters with power supplied from green power sources. &#160;All buildings in the state would have to be retrofitted or replaced.</p>
<p>Another&#160;20 percent would be based on costly low-tech energy storage in salt domes and air compressor batteries or in speculative technological breakthroughs that do not exist today and that would impose huge costs on electricity consumers.&#160;</p>
<p>And a final 20 percent would be based on behavioral changes, such as changing diets to eat less red meat and controlling home thermostats and electric meters to make people wear warm clothing instead.</p>
<p>. While most of the nation is rapidly catching on to the emerging revolution in the&#160;natural gas fracking (hydraulic fracturing of rock formations) and expanding hydropower, California’s energy future is to be based on a post-modern ideology that seems to want California to trash its entire modern energy system.&#160; In its place would be a modernized version of medieval windmills, sophisticated solar-powered magnifying glasses, water wheels, and heat from subterranean geysers, all transmitted to energy conserving consumers via a Rube Goldberg contraption-like energy grid that would be prone to brown outs, black outs, and rapid physical deterioration.</p>
<p>Reading this, you probably say to yourself that this is yet another utopian scheme by a couple of academics that will get a lot of media attention but go nowhere. Nope. This Khmer Green&#160;report was funded by the California Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board, and the S.D. Bechtel Corporation. And it was endorsed by the California Council on Science and Technology.&#160; This is apparently the template for California’s future energy system in our Year Zero.&#160; And as important as the report is, it hasn’t received much scrutiny in the uncritical newspaper or broadcast media, or even on the Internet. It is apparently being taken for granted that this utopian energy scheme is a fait accompli.&#160;</p>
<p>The justification for a Pol Pot-style&#160;rapid deconstruction of the modern energy system is population growth and the much ballyhooed increase in “greenhouse gases.”&#160; According to the Council’s report, state population is expected to double by 2050. To combat the effects of population growth and air pollution, the state must intervene to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. &#160;</p>
<p>Reducing today’s California pollution by 80 percent would mean the air pollution must drop to about that of 1935, when the population of California was about 6 million. &#160;Given an assumed 40-year technological lag time to implement a whole new de-modernized energy system, California must start right now with a massive program to re-engineer everything in society. And as it is presumed only the government — not private markets — can do this,&#160;it implies totalitarian control of everything including life styles of Californians. Veganism would replace fracking; draconian regulation would suppress freedom of choice.&#160;Pol Pot, call your office.</p>
<p>Criticism of this new energy plan is not another conspiracy theory about Big Government.&#160; This is the undeniable template for California’s energy future crafted by California’s ruling cognitive elites.</p>
<p>What is driving this mad rush to dismantle the present-day modernized energy system is not science but a countermodern ideology.&#160; The California Council on Science and Technology is only being used to put a patina of science on what is ideological.</p>
<p>In California there are ideologies that endorse energy modernization such as shifting to nuclear power, as recently proposed by in the <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&amp;id=8150268" type="external">City of Fresno</a>.</p>
<p>And there are ideologies that seek to control, contain, or mitigate air pollution from modern energy plants, such as catalytic converters on cars, natural gas fracking and the expansion of hydropower.&#160;</p>
<p>But what the new template of the state’s energy future reflects is a full-blown countermodern ideology that proposes to dismantle many of the state’s power plants and make the electric grid into a precarious system of dubious reliability.&#160;</p>
<p>A forerunner of this radical ideology is the State Water Resources Control Board’s order to forbid all coastal power plants, especially nuke plants, from using ocean water for cooling systems.&#160; This entails shuttering all the nuke plants in the state, or running costly new water pipelines to the plants or using expensive air-cooling systems.&#160; Even if costly fresh water or air cooling systems are installed, this would raise the price of nuclear power so high that costly green power could finally compete with it.&#160; The rationale for making nuke plants uncompetitive is not to eliminate pollution, because nuclear technology is clean.&#160; The rationale reflects a countermodern ideology.</p>
<p>Instead of a repeat California Gold Rush, the Great California Green Energy Race is about to be kick-started in 2012 to find the highest priced clean technologies for new forms of energy.&#160; To do this, markets must be highly regulated to control prices.&#160; Markets must be short-circuited because they are mechanisms for producing the lowest-priced goods and services.&#160; This is why California is on the cusp of shifting from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/End-Free-Market-Between-Corporations/dp/B004J8HWW8/ref=sr_1_5/s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1307323201&amp;sr=1-5" type="external">market Capitalism to state capitalism.</a> California’s political elites want to pick winners and losers in the economy, and want political exactions in return.&#160; The apparent cover for doing this is environmentalism.&#160;</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many in academia and the media believe that state capitalism is the morally superior system, when there is no effective reduction in air pollution from Green Power. Green Power and Cap and Trade Emission Regulations will not result in replacing dirty imported coal power with clean green power, because wind and solar farms are located in remote areas far away from California’s urban air traps.</p>
<p>Ironically, as postmodern cognitive elites fear the complexity of modern energy technologies, as seen in the recent nuclear plant disaster in Japan, they nonetheless believe the energy grid can be fine tuned to accommodate unpredictable surges of power from wind and solar plants without sacrificing reliability, breakdown, or the rapid deterioration of electric lines that would require their frequent replacement.&#160; Alternatively, they believe costly and unproven new battery systems can be integrated along the electric transmission grid to balance out the surges.</p>
<p>At the core of this Khmer Green counter-modern ideology we find the quasi-religious idea that modernization is tantamount to damnation. Everything that is wrong with modern society is reflexively tracked back to monopolistic oppression by big energy corporations.&#160;&#160; In California, this ideology goes back to the influence of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the rise of Progressive politics to counter not merely economic monopolies but modernization itself.</p>
<p>California’s insular turn away from the Tea Party trend of the rest of the nation is not merely political, but a revulsion against capitalism, open markets, and modernity itself.&#160; For example, California opposes the Obama Administration’s proposal to open all the Western states up to a new regional green power grid where those states with cheap natural gas or hydropower can ship electricity into the California, which is the region’s largest energy market. California’s future energy template calls for embargoing imported power.</p>
<p>California believes that the solution to its structural state budget deficit is to eliminate reliance on imported sources of energy.&#160; With the enactment of air pollution regulations in the 1970’s, California’s only option for reducing air pollution in its urban air traps was to shut down old fossil fuel power plants in urban areas and rely on imported coal power from surrounding states.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>But why undertake such a radical transformation of the state’s energy systems as proposed by the Council, when you can continue to import cheap energy from states that are rapidly shifting to the natural gas fracking revolution that would entail no increase in pollution in California?&#160; Even liberal Michael Lind, writing in the left-of-center New Republic magazine, says: <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/05/31/linbd_fossil_fuels/index.html" type="external">“Everything You’ve Heard About Fossil Fuels (natural gas fracking) May Be Wrong.”</a> &#160;Lind asks:</p>
<p>“Are we living at the beginning of the Age of Fossil Fuels, not its final decades? The very thought goes against everything that politicians and the educated public have been taught to believe in the past generation. According to the conventional wisdom, the U.S. and other industrial nations must undertake a rapid and expensive transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy for three reasons: The imminent depletion of fossil fuels, national security and the danger of global warming. What if the conventional wisdom about the energy future of America and the world has been completely wrong?”</p>
<p>While much of the rest of the nation is turning toward energy policies that favor of natural gas fracking and hydropower, California is determined to reject it on ideological grounds.&#160; The problem is that the retail price of electricity is regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), but not fuels or wholesale hydropower, where prices are set by markets.&#160; As long as California is dependent on imported natural gas shipped through the Golden Gate Center in Northern California, and the California Energy Hub in Southern California, the state energy system will be exposed to market energy prices. The same goes with cheap hydropower shipped from, say, the&#160;Hoover Dam to run the gigantic pumps on the Colorado River Aqueduct for a meager two cents a kilowatt-hour.&#160; As long as California’s energy system is open to market prices, Green Power is in jeopardy.</p>
<p>There are a number of hydropower projects for California being pushed by California Rep. Tom McClintock, who is on the powerful House Committee on Natural Resources.&#160; The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has recently released a report, <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/power/AssessmentReport/USBRHydroAssessmentFinalReportMarch2011.pdf" type="external">“Hydropower Resource Assessment at Existing Reclamation Facilities”</a> (March 2011), of the increased hydropower potential of existing dams and rivers the United States that would involve only modest impacts on the environment.&#160; Seventy potential hydropower project sites were identified, with&#160; <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/power/AssessmentReport/Assessmentlistof70sitesbystate.pdf" type="external">five of them in California</a> that could produce 15,256 megawatt-hours of electricity.&#160;(See table below – the threshold for considering a project as practical is 0.75).&#160;</p>
<p>Potential California Hydropower Projects</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>Development of added hydropower at the John Franchi Dam on the Fresno River, for example, would take only $3.6 million with $108,000 in yearly operations and management costs.&#160; While this may be drop in the bucket of California’s total energy needs, many of the other hydropower project sites in the Western region identified by the Bureau of Reclamation could end up shipping additional electrons to California through the regional power grid. It is the impact that cheap hydropower would have on all wholesale energy prices that is critical.</p>
<p>But California’s Green Power Law&#160;— AB 32&#160;— forbids hydropower from qualifying as “green,” even though it emits no air pollution.&#160; The reasons for this are more ideological and political than economic or environmental.</p>
<p>Those who would not for a moment believe whatever the U.S. Secretary of Defense or the head of Occidental Petroleum said would take whatever the&#160;California Council on Science and Technology says as gospel truth.&#160; The Energy Future report is not a rational response to a body of vetted evidence.&#160; It is supported by a belief system and an economic ideology — the Khmer Green ideology.&#160; Government in California does not always follow what is in the state’s rational interest.&#160; It does what is consistent with other things it believes in.&#160;</p>
<p>There are powerful vested interests for the&#160;continued modernization of the energy policy via nuclear power.&#160; There are similar vested interests, albeit diminishing, for centrist energy policies that would entail continued modernization of the energy system and grid but with mitigating measures such as fracking and hydropower.&#160; And there are nearly insurmountable vested interests for scrapping modernized energy policy and the energy system in favor of highly risky and costly countermodern energy policies.&#160;</p>
<p>There are powerful interests, money, political power and status at stake on all sides.&#160; Yet right now it is not vested interests, but the vested Khmer Green ideology of countermodernization that is driving future energy policy in California with some possible influence being made by the federal government for fracking and hydropower.&#160;</p>
<p>But fracking is being demonized by the Environmental Left to render it illegitimate. The media have already spread the urban myth of fire coming out of water faucets in the vicinity of fracking operations. And California’s Green Power Law has already made hydropower legally illegitimate.&#160; Energy in California is not a policy for rational problem solving but ideological warfare.</p>
<p>It is the power of ideology, not necessarily economic interests, that will likely determine California’s future energy policies.&#160; Here, a vigorous case needs to be made for markets and moderated modernization of the energy system, including relatively less-polluting natural gas fracking and clean and cheap hydropower.&#160;</p>
<p>There is need in California for a middle ground energy policy that is somewhere between the radical Year Zero utopian vision of the California Council on Science and Technology and the impacts of a nonexistent bogeyman of unregulated energy markets.&#160;</p>
<p>Without competition from cheaper natural gas and hydropower to contain prices, the price of Green Power will likely go through the roof.&#160; This was demonstrated during the California Energy Crisis of 2000-01, when cheap imported hydropower from the Northwest was unavailable due to a drought, and the price of natural gas spiked when Caltrans ordered a shutdown an interstate natural gas line, purportedly to do freeway repairs right in the middle of the crisis. At the same time,&#160;price controls on retail electricity imposed by California’s Legislature&#160;— on top of everything else —&#160;created a “perfect storm” for an energy price “bubble” in wholesale energy markets that was erroneously blamed on Enron to avoid the political consequences. The experience of the California Energy Crisis of 2000-01 teaches that the Law of Unintended Consequences is much more likely to raise its ugly head without open markets than with them.&#160;</p>
<p>Postmodern policies are a way to cope and mitigate the impacts of modern energy technologies. But they are not any way to “run a railroad” or an economy.&#160; California’s cognitive elites don’t seem to understand the difference to the detriment of it structural state budget deficit and high unemployment rate.</p>
<p>California needs an ideologically centrist and open market energy policy, not a radical, Pol Pot-inspired&#160;countermodern energy plan for the future based on an ideology that can only succeed by closing off markets and the regional grid to California. As long as Gov. Jerry&#160;“Moonbeam” Brown is in office, like Cambodia under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, California may be poised to suffer another socialist assault on reality.</p> | CA Enviro Plan Channels Pol Pot | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2011/06/08/ca-enviro-plan-channels-pol-pot/ | 2018-06-20 | 3left-center
| CA Enviro Plan Channels Pol Pot
<p><a href="" type="internal" />JUNE 8, 2011</p>
<p>By WAYNE LUSVARDI</p>
<p>Remember Pol Pot, the Cambodian dictator and head of the Khmer Rouge? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol_Pot" type="external">According to Wikipedia</a>, “During his time in power, Pol Pot imposed a version of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrarian_socialism" type="external">agrarian socialism</a>, forcing urban dwellers to relocate to the countryside to work in collective farms and forced labor projects, toward a goal of ‘restarting civilization’ in a ‘ <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Zero_(political_notion)" type="external">Year Zero</a>.’ The combined effects of forced labour, malnutrition, poor medical care and executions resulted in the deaths of approximately 21 percent of the Cambodian population” — 2.5 million people.</p>
<p>Something similar must have been on the minds of the California Council on Science and Technology when it issued its new report, “ <a href="http://www.ccst.us/publications/2011/2011energy.pdf" type="external">California’s Energy Future — the View to 2050</a>.” It&#160;provides “portraits” of what, under a regime that could be called the&#160;Khmer Green,&#160;they hope&#160;the next state energy system will look like in California’s Year Zero — 2050</p>
<p>About 60 percent of California’s future energy system would be based on shifting the entire state population into electric vehicles. It would&#160;eliminate natural gas heating and cooking in all homes, replacing it with electric-powered stoves, water heaters and space heaters with power supplied from green power sources. &#160;All buildings in the state would have to be retrofitted or replaced.</p>
<p>Another&#160;20 percent would be based on costly low-tech energy storage in salt domes and air compressor batteries or in speculative technological breakthroughs that do not exist today and that would impose huge costs on electricity consumers.&#160;</p>
<p>And a final 20 percent would be based on behavioral changes, such as changing diets to eat less red meat and controlling home thermostats and electric meters to make people wear warm clothing instead.</p>
<p>. While most of the nation is rapidly catching on to the emerging revolution in the&#160;natural gas fracking (hydraulic fracturing of rock formations) and expanding hydropower, California’s energy future is to be based on a post-modern ideology that seems to want California to trash its entire modern energy system.&#160; In its place would be a modernized version of medieval windmills, sophisticated solar-powered magnifying glasses, water wheels, and heat from subterranean geysers, all transmitted to energy conserving consumers via a Rube Goldberg contraption-like energy grid that would be prone to brown outs, black outs, and rapid physical deterioration.</p>
<p>Reading this, you probably say to yourself that this is yet another utopian scheme by a couple of academics that will get a lot of media attention but go nowhere. Nope. This Khmer Green&#160;report was funded by the California Energy Commission, the California Air Resources Board, and the S.D. Bechtel Corporation. And it was endorsed by the California Council on Science and Technology.&#160; This is apparently the template for California’s future energy system in our Year Zero.&#160; And as important as the report is, it hasn’t received much scrutiny in the uncritical newspaper or broadcast media, or even on the Internet. It is apparently being taken for granted that this utopian energy scheme is a fait accompli.&#160;</p>
<p>The justification for a Pol Pot-style&#160;rapid deconstruction of the modern energy system is population growth and the much ballyhooed increase in “greenhouse gases.”&#160; According to the Council’s report, state population is expected to double by 2050. To combat the effects of population growth and air pollution, the state must intervene to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. &#160;</p>
<p>Reducing today’s California pollution by 80 percent would mean the air pollution must drop to about that of 1935, when the population of California was about 6 million. &#160;Given an assumed 40-year technological lag time to implement a whole new de-modernized energy system, California must start right now with a massive program to re-engineer everything in society. And as it is presumed only the government — not private markets — can do this,&#160;it implies totalitarian control of everything including life styles of Californians. Veganism would replace fracking; draconian regulation would suppress freedom of choice.&#160;Pol Pot, call your office.</p>
<p>Criticism of this new energy plan is not another conspiracy theory about Big Government.&#160; This is the undeniable template for California’s energy future crafted by California’s ruling cognitive elites.</p>
<p>What is driving this mad rush to dismantle the present-day modernized energy system is not science but a countermodern ideology.&#160; The California Council on Science and Technology is only being used to put a patina of science on what is ideological.</p>
<p>In California there are ideologies that endorse energy modernization such as shifting to nuclear power, as recently proposed by in the <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=news/local&amp;id=8150268" type="external">City of Fresno</a>.</p>
<p>And there are ideologies that seek to control, contain, or mitigate air pollution from modern energy plants, such as catalytic converters on cars, natural gas fracking and the expansion of hydropower.&#160;</p>
<p>But what the new template of the state’s energy future reflects is a full-blown countermodern ideology that proposes to dismantle many of the state’s power plants and make the electric grid into a precarious system of dubious reliability.&#160;</p>
<p>A forerunner of this radical ideology is the State Water Resources Control Board’s order to forbid all coastal power plants, especially nuke plants, from using ocean water for cooling systems.&#160; This entails shuttering all the nuke plants in the state, or running costly new water pipelines to the plants or using expensive air-cooling systems.&#160; Even if costly fresh water or air cooling systems are installed, this would raise the price of nuclear power so high that costly green power could finally compete with it.&#160; The rationale for making nuke plants uncompetitive is not to eliminate pollution, because nuclear technology is clean.&#160; The rationale reflects a countermodern ideology.</p>
<p>Instead of a repeat California Gold Rush, the Great California Green Energy Race is about to be kick-started in 2012 to find the highest priced clean technologies for new forms of energy.&#160; To do this, markets must be highly regulated to control prices.&#160; Markets must be short-circuited because they are mechanisms for producing the lowest-priced goods and services.&#160; This is why California is on the cusp of shifting from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/End-Free-Market-Between-Corporations/dp/B004J8HWW8/ref=sr_1_5/s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1307323201&amp;sr=1-5" type="external">market Capitalism to state capitalism.</a> California’s political elites want to pick winners and losers in the economy, and want political exactions in return.&#160; The apparent cover for doing this is environmentalism.&#160;</p>
<p>Unfortunately, many in academia and the media believe that state capitalism is the morally superior system, when there is no effective reduction in air pollution from Green Power. Green Power and Cap and Trade Emission Regulations will not result in replacing dirty imported coal power with clean green power, because wind and solar farms are located in remote areas far away from California’s urban air traps.</p>
<p>Ironically, as postmodern cognitive elites fear the complexity of modern energy technologies, as seen in the recent nuclear plant disaster in Japan, they nonetheless believe the energy grid can be fine tuned to accommodate unpredictable surges of power from wind and solar plants without sacrificing reliability, breakdown, or the rapid deterioration of electric lines that would require their frequent replacement.&#160; Alternatively, they believe costly and unproven new battery systems can be integrated along the electric transmission grid to balance out the surges.</p>
<p>At the core of this Khmer Green counter-modern ideology we find the quasi-religious idea that modernization is tantamount to damnation. Everything that is wrong with modern society is reflexively tracked back to monopolistic oppression by big energy corporations.&#160;&#160; In California, this ideology goes back to the influence of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the rise of Progressive politics to counter not merely economic monopolies but modernization itself.</p>
<p>California’s insular turn away from the Tea Party trend of the rest of the nation is not merely political, but a revulsion against capitalism, open markets, and modernity itself.&#160; For example, California opposes the Obama Administration’s proposal to open all the Western states up to a new regional green power grid where those states with cheap natural gas or hydropower can ship electricity into the California, which is the region’s largest energy market. California’s future energy template calls for embargoing imported power.</p>
<p>California believes that the solution to its structural state budget deficit is to eliminate reliance on imported sources of energy.&#160; With the enactment of air pollution regulations in the 1970’s, California’s only option for reducing air pollution in its urban air traps was to shut down old fossil fuel power plants in urban areas and rely on imported coal power from surrounding states.&#160;&#160;</p>
<p>But why undertake such a radical transformation of the state’s energy systems as proposed by the Council, when you can continue to import cheap energy from states that are rapidly shifting to the natural gas fracking revolution that would entail no increase in pollution in California?&#160; Even liberal Michael Lind, writing in the left-of-center New Republic magazine, says: <a href="http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/05/31/linbd_fossil_fuels/index.html" type="external">“Everything You’ve Heard About Fossil Fuels (natural gas fracking) May Be Wrong.”</a> &#160;Lind asks:</p>
<p>“Are we living at the beginning of the Age of Fossil Fuels, not its final decades? The very thought goes against everything that politicians and the educated public have been taught to believe in the past generation. According to the conventional wisdom, the U.S. and other industrial nations must undertake a rapid and expensive transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy for three reasons: The imminent depletion of fossil fuels, national security and the danger of global warming. What if the conventional wisdom about the energy future of America and the world has been completely wrong?”</p>
<p>While much of the rest of the nation is turning toward energy policies that favor of natural gas fracking and hydropower, California is determined to reject it on ideological grounds.&#160; The problem is that the retail price of electricity is regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), but not fuels or wholesale hydropower, where prices are set by markets.&#160; As long as California is dependent on imported natural gas shipped through the Golden Gate Center in Northern California, and the California Energy Hub in Southern California, the state energy system will be exposed to market energy prices. The same goes with cheap hydropower shipped from, say, the&#160;Hoover Dam to run the gigantic pumps on the Colorado River Aqueduct for a meager two cents a kilowatt-hour.&#160; As long as California’s energy system is open to market prices, Green Power is in jeopardy.</p>
<p>There are a number of hydropower projects for California being pushed by California Rep. Tom McClintock, who is on the powerful House Committee on Natural Resources.&#160; The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has recently released a report, <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/power/AssessmentReport/USBRHydroAssessmentFinalReportMarch2011.pdf" type="external">“Hydropower Resource Assessment at Existing Reclamation Facilities”</a> (March 2011), of the increased hydropower potential of existing dams and rivers the United States that would involve only modest impacts on the environment.&#160; Seventy potential hydropower project sites were identified, with&#160; <a href="http://www.usbr.gov/power/AssessmentReport/Assessmentlistof70sitesbystate.pdf" type="external">five of them in California</a> that could produce 15,256 megawatt-hours of electricity.&#160;(See table below – the threshold for considering a project as practical is 0.75).&#160;</p>
<p>Potential California Hydropower Projects</p>
<p>.</p>
<p>Development of added hydropower at the John Franchi Dam on the Fresno River, for example, would take only $3.6 million with $108,000 in yearly operations and management costs.&#160; While this may be drop in the bucket of California’s total energy needs, many of the other hydropower project sites in the Western region identified by the Bureau of Reclamation could end up shipping additional electrons to California through the regional power grid. It is the impact that cheap hydropower would have on all wholesale energy prices that is critical.</p>
<p>But California’s Green Power Law&#160;— AB 32&#160;— forbids hydropower from qualifying as “green,” even though it emits no air pollution.&#160; The reasons for this are more ideological and political than economic or environmental.</p>
<p>Those who would not for a moment believe whatever the U.S. Secretary of Defense or the head of Occidental Petroleum said would take whatever the&#160;California Council on Science and Technology says as gospel truth.&#160; The Energy Future report is not a rational response to a body of vetted evidence.&#160; It is supported by a belief system and an economic ideology — the Khmer Green ideology.&#160; Government in California does not always follow what is in the state’s rational interest.&#160; It does what is consistent with other things it believes in.&#160;</p>
<p>There are powerful vested interests for the&#160;continued modernization of the energy policy via nuclear power.&#160; There are similar vested interests, albeit diminishing, for centrist energy policies that would entail continued modernization of the energy system and grid but with mitigating measures such as fracking and hydropower.&#160; And there are nearly insurmountable vested interests for scrapping modernized energy policy and the energy system in favor of highly risky and costly countermodern energy policies.&#160;</p>
<p>There are powerful interests, money, political power and status at stake on all sides.&#160; Yet right now it is not vested interests, but the vested Khmer Green ideology of countermodernization that is driving future energy policy in California with some possible influence being made by the federal government for fracking and hydropower.&#160;</p>
<p>But fracking is being demonized by the Environmental Left to render it illegitimate. The media have already spread the urban myth of fire coming out of water faucets in the vicinity of fracking operations. And California’s Green Power Law has already made hydropower legally illegitimate.&#160; Energy in California is not a policy for rational problem solving but ideological warfare.</p>
<p>It is the power of ideology, not necessarily economic interests, that will likely determine California’s future energy policies.&#160; Here, a vigorous case needs to be made for markets and moderated modernization of the energy system, including relatively less-polluting natural gas fracking and clean and cheap hydropower.&#160;</p>
<p>There is need in California for a middle ground energy policy that is somewhere between the radical Year Zero utopian vision of the California Council on Science and Technology and the impacts of a nonexistent bogeyman of unregulated energy markets.&#160;</p>
<p>Without competition from cheaper natural gas and hydropower to contain prices, the price of Green Power will likely go through the roof.&#160; This was demonstrated during the California Energy Crisis of 2000-01, when cheap imported hydropower from the Northwest was unavailable due to a drought, and the price of natural gas spiked when Caltrans ordered a shutdown an interstate natural gas line, purportedly to do freeway repairs right in the middle of the crisis. At the same time,&#160;price controls on retail electricity imposed by California’s Legislature&#160;— on top of everything else —&#160;created a “perfect storm” for an energy price “bubble” in wholesale energy markets that was erroneously blamed on Enron to avoid the political consequences. The experience of the California Energy Crisis of 2000-01 teaches that the Law of Unintended Consequences is much more likely to raise its ugly head without open markets than with them.&#160;</p>
<p>Postmodern policies are a way to cope and mitigate the impacts of modern energy technologies. But they are not any way to “run a railroad” or an economy.&#160; California’s cognitive elites don’t seem to understand the difference to the detriment of it structural state budget deficit and high unemployment rate.</p>
<p>California needs an ideologically centrist and open market energy policy, not a radical, Pol Pot-inspired&#160;countermodern energy plan for the future based on an ideology that can only succeed by closing off markets and the regional grid to California. As long as Gov. Jerry&#160;“Moonbeam” Brown is in office, like Cambodia under Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, California may be poised to suffer another socialist assault on reality.</p> | 912 |
<p>The United States, as a superpower, is in competition with global and regional competitors for influence in the world. Its rivals and enemies will take advantage of Trump’s insult of Africa, the Caribbean and Central America to reduce U.S. leverage there and to increase their own. Radical terrorist and criminal cartels groups may feel emboldened to attack U.S. diplomatic staff and U.S. businesses, knowing that the public has turned unsympathetic to the United States. Russia and Iran’s anti-American media in Arabic are trumpeting Trump’s remarks throughout the global South. The U.S. keeps saying it is worried about Iranian influence in Muslim Africa; what bigger gift could Trump have given Tehran?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/trade-africa-us-playing-catchup/3676351.html" type="external">China</a>&#160;has already stolen a march on the U.S. with regard to trade with Africa. Beijing does $200 bn a year in trade with the continent, while the US does only $100 bn. The next time an American firm is competing with a Chinese one for a contract and the offers are similar, you could well see a tilt away from the U.S. on the basis of Trump’s filthy language.</p>
<p>Trump’s <a href="" type="internal">foul-mouthed remarks</a> about immigrants from Haiti, Africa and El Salvador have been widely reported in the Arab world, as well, which in part overlaps with Africa. (The Arab world is made up of Arabic-speaking countries, marked by language rather than geography. North Africa is largely Arabic-speaking, along with Sudan and some of the Sahel countries.) The slur thus was read to apply to them, as well, in many instances.</p>
<p>China’s CGTN reported anger from the Egyptian street about the insult (see below), with Egyptians warning that Trump is in danger of losing Africa and Asia.</p>
<p />
<p>The Algerian&#160; <a href="https://www.elbilad.net/flash/detail?id=48119" type="external">“Biladuna” (Our Country)</a>&#160;put its identification in the title of its article, “Trump describes our African countries as ‘Dirty Nations.’” A lot of Arabic language newspapers could not bear to use the word “shit” as Trump did in his term “shithole,” and preferred euphemisms such as “dirty.”</p>
<p>Algeria is an oil country and influential in the Arab League and in the African Union, and they took it personally.</p>
<p>In other cases, diplomatic rivals of the U.S. saw an opportunity to hive off the Christian African states from the U.S.-Israeli axis. The Egypt-based&#160; <a href="http://www.elyomnew.com/news/worldwide/115672/%C2%AB%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%B2%C2%BB-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A8-%D9%8A%D8%B5%D9%81-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B6%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3-%D8%A8%D9%80%C2%AB%D8%AB%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A8-%D9%82%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%A9%C2%BB" type="external">al-Yawm al-Jadid (New Day)</a>&#160;gloated that the African countries that had not voted against Trump’s Jerusalem decision at the UN General Assembly had now been called “shitholes” by the American president.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.saharamedias.net/%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B6%D8%A8-%D8%A3%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%88/" type="external">Senegalese president Macky Sall</a>, head of one of the more democratic African states, said on twitter that he was shocked at Trump’s discourse:</p>
<p />
<p>[Translation: I am shocked by President Trump’s comments on Haiti and Africa. I reject them and condemn them vigorously. Africa and the black race deserve the respect and consideration of all. MS]</p>
<p>Senegal summoned the U.S. ambassador in Dakar for an explanation.</p>
<p>Senegalese poet and statesman&#160; <a href="https://afrilingual.wordpress.com/category/senegalese-poetry/" type="external">Leopold Senghor</a>&#160;had pioneered a postcolonial pride in Negritude or Blackness in his path-breaking poetry, which encompassed pride not only in Africa but in the Afro-Caribbean cultures.</p>
<p>See more in the video below:</p>
<p /> | Do U.S. Envoys, Business Reps Now Have a Target on Their Backs? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/trump-paint-target-backs-u-s-diplomats-businessmen/ | 2018-01-13 | 4left
| Do U.S. Envoys, Business Reps Now Have a Target on Their Backs?
<p>The United States, as a superpower, is in competition with global and regional competitors for influence in the world. Its rivals and enemies will take advantage of Trump’s insult of Africa, the Caribbean and Central America to reduce U.S. leverage there and to increase their own. Radical terrorist and criminal cartels groups may feel emboldened to attack U.S. diplomatic staff and U.S. businesses, knowing that the public has turned unsympathetic to the United States. Russia and Iran’s anti-American media in Arabic are trumpeting Trump’s remarks throughout the global South. The U.S. keeps saying it is worried about Iranian influence in Muslim Africa; what bigger gift could Trump have given Tehran?</p>
<p><a href="https://www.voanews.com/a/trade-africa-us-playing-catchup/3676351.html" type="external">China</a>&#160;has already stolen a march on the U.S. with regard to trade with Africa. Beijing does $200 bn a year in trade with the continent, while the US does only $100 bn. The next time an American firm is competing with a Chinese one for a contract and the offers are similar, you could well see a tilt away from the U.S. on the basis of Trump’s filthy language.</p>
<p>Trump’s <a href="" type="internal">foul-mouthed remarks</a> about immigrants from Haiti, Africa and El Salvador have been widely reported in the Arab world, as well, which in part overlaps with Africa. (The Arab world is made up of Arabic-speaking countries, marked by language rather than geography. North Africa is largely Arabic-speaking, along with Sudan and some of the Sahel countries.) The slur thus was read to apply to them, as well, in many instances.</p>
<p>China’s CGTN reported anger from the Egyptian street about the insult (see below), with Egyptians warning that Trump is in danger of losing Africa and Asia.</p>
<p />
<p>The Algerian&#160; <a href="https://www.elbilad.net/flash/detail?id=48119" type="external">“Biladuna” (Our Country)</a>&#160;put its identification in the title of its article, “Trump describes our African countries as ‘Dirty Nations.’” A lot of Arabic language newspapers could not bear to use the word “shit” as Trump did in his term “shithole,” and preferred euphemisms such as “dirty.”</p>
<p>Algeria is an oil country and influential in the Arab League and in the African Union, and they took it personally.</p>
<p>In other cases, diplomatic rivals of the U.S. saw an opportunity to hive off the Christian African states from the U.S.-Israeli axis. The Egypt-based&#160; <a href="http://www.elyomnew.com/news/worldwide/115672/%C2%AB%D8%A2%D8%AE%D8%B1-%D8%AE%D8%AF%D9%85%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%BA%D8%B2%C2%BB-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A8-%D9%8A%D8%B5%D9%81-%D8%AF%D9%88%D9%84-%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D8%AA%D9%87-%D8%B6%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%82%D8%AF%D8%B3-%D8%A8%D9%80%C2%AB%D8%AB%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A8-%D9%82%D8%B0%D8%B1%D8%A9%C2%BB" type="external">al-Yawm al-Jadid (New Day)</a>&#160;gloated that the African countries that had not voted against Trump’s Jerusalem decision at the UN General Assembly had now been called “shitholes” by the American president.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.saharamedias.net/%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AD%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AA%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%B5%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%AA%D8%BA%D8%B6%D8%A8-%D8%A3%D9%81%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A7-%D9%88/" type="external">Senegalese president Macky Sall</a>, head of one of the more democratic African states, said on twitter that he was shocked at Trump’s discourse:</p>
<p />
<p>[Translation: I am shocked by President Trump’s comments on Haiti and Africa. I reject them and condemn them vigorously. Africa and the black race deserve the respect and consideration of all. MS]</p>
<p>Senegal summoned the U.S. ambassador in Dakar for an explanation.</p>
<p>Senegalese poet and statesman&#160; <a href="https://afrilingual.wordpress.com/category/senegalese-poetry/" type="external">Leopold Senghor</a>&#160;had pioneered a postcolonial pride in Negritude or Blackness in his path-breaking poetry, which encompassed pride not only in Africa but in the Afro-Caribbean cultures.</p>
<p>See more in the video below:</p>
<p /> | 913 |
<p>Nov. 27 (UPI) — Entomologists in Russia have discovered a new butterfly species with an unusual number of chromosomes. The newly named South Russian blue has 46 chromosomes, the same number as humans.</p>
<p>When Vladimir Lukhtanov, entomologist and evolutionary biologist at the Zoological Institute in St. Petersburg, first captured and analyzed specimens of the South Russian blue butterfly in 1997, he thought they were Azerbaijani blues.</p>
<p>However, genetic sequencing proved the specimens were a separate species.</p>
<p>In the years since the initial discovery, Lukhtanov and research partner Alexander Dantchenko, entomologist and chemist at the Moscow State University, have sequenced the genomes of hundreds of butterfly species in an effort to determine the classification of the specimens first recovered from the Caucasus mountains in southern Russia.</p>
<p>It took two decades, but the scientists are finally convinced the butterflies’ uniqueness warrants a new species designation.</p>
<p>They described the new species, Polyommatus australorossicus, <a href="https://compcytogen.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=20072" type="external">in the journal Comparative Cytogenetics</a>.</p>
<p>“This publication is the long-awaited completion of a twenty-year history,” Lukhtanov said in a news release.</p>
<p>Field observations backed up the conclusions of their genetic analysis. South Russian blue caterpillars feed on different plants than their closest relatives.</p>
<p>Researchers hope their discovery will encourage conservationists to protect the unique species.</p>
<p>“We are proud of our research,” said Lukhtanov. “It contributes greatly to both the study of biodiversity and understanding the mechanisms of biological evolution.”</p> | New butterfly species with 46 chromosomes discovered in Russia | false | https://newsline.com/new-butterfly-species-with-46-chromosomes-discovered-in-russia/ | 2017-11-27 | 1right-center
| New butterfly species with 46 chromosomes discovered in Russia
<p>Nov. 27 (UPI) — Entomologists in Russia have discovered a new butterfly species with an unusual number of chromosomes. The newly named South Russian blue has 46 chromosomes, the same number as humans.</p>
<p>When Vladimir Lukhtanov, entomologist and evolutionary biologist at the Zoological Institute in St. Petersburg, first captured and analyzed specimens of the South Russian blue butterfly in 1997, he thought they were Azerbaijani blues.</p>
<p>However, genetic sequencing proved the specimens were a separate species.</p>
<p>In the years since the initial discovery, Lukhtanov and research partner Alexander Dantchenko, entomologist and chemist at the Moscow State University, have sequenced the genomes of hundreds of butterfly species in an effort to determine the classification of the specimens first recovered from the Caucasus mountains in southern Russia.</p>
<p>It took two decades, but the scientists are finally convinced the butterflies’ uniqueness warrants a new species designation.</p>
<p>They described the new species, Polyommatus australorossicus, <a href="https://compcytogen.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=20072" type="external">in the journal Comparative Cytogenetics</a>.</p>
<p>“This publication is the long-awaited completion of a twenty-year history,” Lukhtanov said in a news release.</p>
<p>Field observations backed up the conclusions of their genetic analysis. South Russian blue caterpillars feed on different plants than their closest relatives.</p>
<p>Researchers hope their discovery will encourage conservationists to protect the unique species.</p>
<p>“We are proud of our research,” said Lukhtanov. “It contributes greatly to both the study of biodiversity and understanding the mechanisms of biological evolution.”</p> | 914 |
<p />
<p>Germany's BMW said on Friday it would recall 230,117 cars and sport utility vehicles in the United States that may have been fitted with faulty air-bag inflators made by Takata Corp &lt;7312.T&gt;.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The vehicles were being brought in for checks again as they may have had an air bag replaced with a Takata inflator after a crash or in a previous recall, BMW said, adding this was part of a wider recall of 900,000 vehicles announced in 2015.</p>
<p>The vehicles were originally built with inflators made by another company, the automaker said.</p>
<p>Takata inflators have been linked to at least 16 deaths worldwide. The inflators can explode with excessive force and send metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks.</p>
<p>BMW said the recall covers certain X5 SUVs between 2001-2002, some 3 Series from 2000-2002 and some 5 Series from 2001-2003.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Irene Preisinger in Munich; Editing by Anil D'Silva)</p> | BMW to recall 230,117 vehicles that may have Takata air bags | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/02/03/bmw-to-recall-230117-vehicles-that-may-have-takata-air-bags.html | 2017-02-03 | 0right
| BMW to recall 230,117 vehicles that may have Takata air bags
<p />
<p>Germany's BMW said on Friday it would recall 230,117 cars and sport utility vehicles in the United States that may have been fitted with faulty air-bag inflators made by Takata Corp &lt;7312.T&gt;.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The vehicles were being brought in for checks again as they may have had an air bag replaced with a Takata inflator after a crash or in a previous recall, BMW said, adding this was part of a wider recall of 900,000 vehicles announced in 2015.</p>
<p>The vehicles were originally built with inflators made by another company, the automaker said.</p>
<p>Takata inflators have been linked to at least 16 deaths worldwide. The inflators can explode with excessive force and send metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks.</p>
<p>BMW said the recall covers certain X5 SUVs between 2001-2002, some 3 Series from 2000-2002 and some 5 Series from 2001-2003.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru and Irene Preisinger in Munich; Editing by Anil D'Silva)</p> | 915 |
<p />
<p>For our second annual ranking of activist college campuses, we asked some groups who know a thing or two about good work, including the likes of Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity. They helped us develop a list of 10, and we took it from there. Here’s how we ranked them:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cuny.edu" type="external">1. SUNY/CUNY</a>(New York) As police sprayed tear gas on 10,000 students protesting cuts outside New York’s City Hall, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani suggested they put away their placards and “find a job for the day.” Students from the State University of New York and the City University of New York pressured legislators to reduce their initial budget cuts. But that probably won’t silence students, who are still stuck with a $750-a-year tuition hike, the state’s largest ever.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisc.edu" type="external">2. University of Wisconsin</a> (Madison, Wis.) When grates began appearing around outdoor heating ducts last winter, students saw it for what it was: a cold-shoulder treatment to the homeless. Administrators said the homeless–who sleep next to the ducts for warmth–create a menacing environment. Students claimed the university just wanted to hide the homeless problem from potential students and parents. Two months later, after protests, the grates were removed.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ucla.edu" type="external">3. University of California, Los Angeles</a> Students unsuccessfully fought Prop. 187 (which cuts health care and education for illegal immigrants) with voter-registration drives (UC students registered about 15,000 people). When 187 passed, students pressured the university to listen to them–and ignore the law. The UCLA chancellor agreed, pending legal battles.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.msu.edu" type="external">4. Michigan State University</a> (East Lansing, Mich.) When Gov. John Engler said he would end the Indian tuition-waiver program, breaking a 60-year-old treaty that promised generations of Indians a free education in exchange for land, MSU students chanted “Promises Made, Promises Kept,” at rallies and organized a campaign. In response, legislators reauthorized the program, which supported 2,700 students statewide last year. (But Engler promises to cut the waiver in 1996.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hawaii.edu/uhinfo.html" type="external">5. University of Hawaii</a> Students systemwide fought successfully to save a course subject taught virtually nowhere else–the Hawaiian language. “We’re not asking for more money,” said language student and lecturer Laiana Wong. “We’re saying don’t take any away.” They didn’t.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cornell.edu" type="external">6. Cornell University</a> (Ithaca, N.Y.) After a professor posted fliers advertising “treatment programs” for homosexuals, activists staged a sit-in near his office. While they let the fliers hang, students organized public dialogues about free speech.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rutgers.edu" type="external">7. Rutgers University</a>(New Jersey) Students demanded the ouster of President Francis L. Lawrence after he remarked that African-Americans lack the “genetic hereditary background” to score well on college entrance exams. Protests–including a takeover of a nationally televised Rutgers basketball game–drew national attention. While Rutgers’ board backed the president (who made repeated public apologies), it also adopted a student-faculty task force’s plan to ease racial tensions.</p>
<p>8. Antioch College (Yellow Springs, Ohio) Activists at this 600-student school picketed John Kasich, GOP chair of the House Budget Committee, for student-aid cuts. After an ugly protest at Kasich’s state office (police were heavy-handed with tear gas), professors provided class time on nonviolent protest.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.unc.edu/welcome/" type="external">9. University of North Carolina</a> (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Youngsters at five area Head Start schools get one-on-one lessons from UNC volunteers. Students at Chapel Hill (home to the national Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education) also tutor homeless families, autistic children, and adults learning English as a second language.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.colorado.edu" type="external">10. University of Colorado</a> (Boulder, Colo.) After launching demands for a more ethnically diverse curriculum in dramatic fashion–a hunger strike–students gained a major in comparative ethnic studies for the first time, and a student-faculty task force wrote a plan to increase diversity among teaching staff.</p>
<p>Honorable Mentions: At the University of Florida, students protested a Gainesville redevelopment plan that would have doubled rents. Bradford College students in Bradford, Mass., blocked administrators’ attempts to keep transgender activist Leslie Feinberg from delivering a commencement address. And in Canada, University of Ottawa students pelted a government official with eggs and macaroni (eggs and macaroni?) when steep cuts in higher education were announced.</p>
<p>Sources: U.S. Student Association, Student Environmental Action Coalition, National Student News Service, University Conversion Project, Amnesty International, NOW, Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Council of La Raza, United Negro College Fund, Midwest Asian American Student Union, National Puerto Rican Coalition.</p>
<p /> | Top 10 activist campuses | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/1995/09/top-10-activist-campuses-5/ | 2018-09-01 | 4left
| Top 10 activist campuses
<p />
<p>For our second annual ranking of activist college campuses, we asked some groups who know a thing or two about good work, including the likes of Amnesty International and Habitat for Humanity. They helped us develop a list of 10, and we took it from there. Here’s how we ranked them:</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cuny.edu" type="external">1. SUNY/CUNY</a>(New York) As police sprayed tear gas on 10,000 students protesting cuts outside New York’s City Hall, Mayor Rudolph Giuliani suggested they put away their placards and “find a job for the day.” Students from the State University of New York and the City University of New York pressured legislators to reduce their initial budget cuts. But that probably won’t silence students, who are still stuck with a $750-a-year tuition hike, the state’s largest ever.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.wisc.edu" type="external">2. University of Wisconsin</a> (Madison, Wis.) When grates began appearing around outdoor heating ducts last winter, students saw it for what it was: a cold-shoulder treatment to the homeless. Administrators said the homeless–who sleep next to the ducts for warmth–create a menacing environment. Students claimed the university just wanted to hide the homeless problem from potential students and parents. Two months later, after protests, the grates were removed.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.ucla.edu" type="external">3. University of California, Los Angeles</a> Students unsuccessfully fought Prop. 187 (which cuts health care and education for illegal immigrants) with voter-registration drives (UC students registered about 15,000 people). When 187 passed, students pressured the university to listen to them–and ignore the law. The UCLA chancellor agreed, pending legal battles.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.msu.edu" type="external">4. Michigan State University</a> (East Lansing, Mich.) When Gov. John Engler said he would end the Indian tuition-waiver program, breaking a 60-year-old treaty that promised generations of Indians a free education in exchange for land, MSU students chanted “Promises Made, Promises Kept,” at rallies and organized a campaign. In response, legislators reauthorized the program, which supported 2,700 students statewide last year. (But Engler promises to cut the waiver in 1996.)</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hawaii.edu/uhinfo.html" type="external">5. University of Hawaii</a> Students systemwide fought successfully to save a course subject taught virtually nowhere else–the Hawaiian language. “We’re not asking for more money,” said language student and lecturer Laiana Wong. “We’re saying don’t take any away.” They didn’t.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.cornell.edu" type="external">6. Cornell University</a> (Ithaca, N.Y.) After a professor posted fliers advertising “treatment programs” for homosexuals, activists staged a sit-in near his office. While they let the fliers hang, students organized public dialogues about free speech.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.rutgers.edu" type="external">7. Rutgers University</a>(New Jersey) Students demanded the ouster of President Francis L. Lawrence after he remarked that African-Americans lack the “genetic hereditary background” to score well on college entrance exams. Protests–including a takeover of a nationally televised Rutgers basketball game–drew national attention. While Rutgers’ board backed the president (who made repeated public apologies), it also adopted a student-faculty task force’s plan to ease racial tensions.</p>
<p>8. Antioch College (Yellow Springs, Ohio) Activists at this 600-student school picketed John Kasich, GOP chair of the House Budget Committee, for student-aid cuts. After an ugly protest at Kasich’s state office (police were heavy-handed with tear gas), professors provided class time on nonviolent protest.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.unc.edu/welcome/" type="external">9. University of North Carolina</a> (Chapel Hill, N.C.) Youngsters at five area Head Start schools get one-on-one lessons from UNC volunteers. Students at Chapel Hill (home to the national Student Coalition for Action in Literacy Education) also tutor homeless families, autistic children, and adults learning English as a second language.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.colorado.edu" type="external">10. University of Colorado</a> (Boulder, Colo.) After launching demands for a more ethnically diverse curriculum in dramatic fashion–a hunger strike–students gained a major in comparative ethnic studies for the first time, and a student-faculty task force wrote a plan to increase diversity among teaching staff.</p>
<p>Honorable Mentions: At the University of Florida, students protested a Gainesville redevelopment plan that would have doubled rents. Bradford College students in Bradford, Mass., blocked administrators’ attempts to keep transgender activist Leslie Feinberg from delivering a commencement address. And in Canada, University of Ottawa students pelted a government official with eggs and macaroni (eggs and macaroni?) when steep cuts in higher education were announced.</p>
<p>Sources: U.S. Student Association, Student Environmental Action Coalition, National Student News Service, University Conversion Project, Amnesty International, NOW, Peace Corps, Habitat for Humanity, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Council of La Raza, United Negro College Fund, Midwest Asian American Student Union, National Puerto Rican Coalition.</p>
<p /> | 916 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Democratic Party is hosting forums for candidates in Santa Fe’s municipal elections.</p>
<p>These are free and open to the public, and all candidates are invited. Questions will be asked by a moderator after submission by attendees. The forums will take place at the Center for Progress &amp; Justice, 1420 Cerrillos Rd., from 6-7:30 p.m. on:</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Dems host forums for candidates | false | https://abqjournal.com/330872/dems-host-forums-for-candidates.html | 2least
| Dems host forums for candidates
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>The Democratic Party is hosting forums for candidates in Santa Fe’s municipal elections.</p>
<p>These are free and open to the public, and all candidates are invited. Questions will be asked by a moderator after submission by attendees. The forums will take place at the Center for Progress &amp; Justice, 1420 Cerrillos Rd., from 6-7:30 p.m. on:</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 917 |
|
<p>The firing of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon last week shows that President Donald Trump is improvising on the job, with little preparation for the decisions he makes, according to Robert Merry, editor of The American Conservative.</p>
<p>“It’s telling, but not surprising, that Trump couldn’t manage his White House staff in such a way as to maintain a secure place on the team for the man most responsible for charting his path to the White House,” <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/bannon-firing-proves-trump-is-winging-it/" type="external">Merry writes in a column published Monday</a>.</p>
<p>“This isn’t to say that Bannon should have been given outsized influence within West Wing councils, merely that his voice needed to be heard and his connection to Trump’s core constituency respected.</p>
<p>“But that’s not the way Trump operates — another sign of a man who, over his head at the top of the global power structure, is winging it.”</p>
<p>Merry, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/President-McKinley-Architect-American-Century/dp/1451625448/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newsmedi9a-20&amp;linkId=JWQX7Q4SOSP2L6BP" type="external">“President McKinley: Architect of the American Century,”</a> out in November from Simon &amp; Schuster, believes it is “almost inconceivable” Trump can avoid a one-term fate.</p>
<p>“This isn’t because he sacked Bannon but because of what that action tells us about his leadership . . .&#160;It’s beginning to appear that Trump doesn’t see much of anything with precision or clarity when it comes to the fundamental question of how to govern based on how he campaigned.</p>
<p>“He is merely a battery of impulses, devoid of any philosophical coherence or intellectual consistency.”</p> | American Conservative Editor: Bannon Ouster Proves Trump Is 'Winging It' | false | https://newsline.com/american-conservative-editor-bannon-ouster-proves-trump-is-winging-it/ | 2017-08-21 | 1right-center
| American Conservative Editor: Bannon Ouster Proves Trump Is 'Winging It'
<p>The firing of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon last week shows that President Donald Trump is improvising on the job, with little preparation for the decisions he makes, according to Robert Merry, editor of The American Conservative.</p>
<p>“It’s telling, but not surprising, that Trump couldn’t manage his White House staff in such a way as to maintain a secure place on the team for the man most responsible for charting his path to the White House,” <a href="http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/bannon-firing-proves-trump-is-winging-it/" type="external">Merry writes in a column published Monday</a>.</p>
<p>“This isn’t to say that Bannon should have been given outsized influence within West Wing councils, merely that his voice needed to be heard and his connection to Trump’s core constituency respected.</p>
<p>“But that’s not the way Trump operates — another sign of a man who, over his head at the top of the global power structure, is winging it.”</p>
<p>Merry, author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/President-McKinley-Architect-American-Century/dp/1451625448/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=newsmedi9a-20&amp;linkId=JWQX7Q4SOSP2L6BP" type="external">“President McKinley: Architect of the American Century,”</a> out in November from Simon &amp; Schuster, believes it is “almost inconceivable” Trump can avoid a one-term fate.</p>
<p>“This isn’t because he sacked Bannon but because of what that action tells us about his leadership . . .&#160;It’s beginning to appear that Trump doesn’t see much of anything with precision or clarity when it comes to the fundamental question of how to govern based on how he campaigned.</p>
<p>“He is merely a battery of impulses, devoid of any philosophical coherence or intellectual consistency.”</p> | 918 |
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<p />
<p>The Lobos (23-20, 7-7 Mountain West) and CSU (22-21, 3-8) meet for the rubber match of the three-game series today at noon.</p>
<p>"We took advantage of some miscues and then came up with the clutch hits when we (needed) them," said UNM coach Erica Beach of her team's Saturday rally. "That is what we have needed the past five games. - I am very proud of their fight and grit."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Mia Hignojos got the walk-off hit, scoring Jasmine Casados with the winning run. The Rams helped out with two errors and a walk to support three hits in the frame.</p>
<p>Karissa Haleman led UNM's 11-hit attack by going 3-for-3. She also drove in a run with a walk in the climactic seventh inning.</p>
<p>Lobo starter Lauren Soles went the distance, improving to 8-5. She allowed three runs off two hits, while walking three and striking out four. CSU's Trinity Harrington suffered the loss for the Rams. She allowed four runs off 10 hits, while walking one and striking out one.</p>
<p>TENNIS: In Silver City, Western New Mexico swept Colorado State-Pueblo, the men (11-9 overall) by 9-0 and the women (10-11) 7-2, to finish RMAC play at 5-0 and clinch the top seeds in the league tourney beginning April 24 in Pueblo.</p>
<p>SAND VOLLEYBALL: Lise Rugland and Ashley Newman swept both their courts Saturday, but the 1-11 New Mexico Lobos lost a pair of 4-1 decisions to Arizona State and No. 10 Arizona to close out the ASU Sand Volleyball Challenge in Tempe, Ariz.</p>
<p>BASEBALL: In Bellevue, Wash., New Mexico State (4-26-1, 1-9-1 WAC) fell 7-6 in 10 innings to league-leading Seattle University (18-15, 10-1). NMSU led 6-5 going into the bottom of the eighth, but Seattle tied it in that frame and the winner in the 10th against Billy Conard, who worked the last three innings for the Aggies. Pinch hitter Jake Hasbrouch's three-run homer keyed a four-run eighth that gave NMSU a 6-5 lead.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Spring sports roundup: Lobo softball rallies in seventh, snaps skid | false | https://abqjournal.com/568251/lobo-softball-rallies-in-seventh-snaps-fivegame-losing-skid.html | 2least
| Spring sports roundup: Lobo softball rallies in seventh, snaps skid
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<p />
<p>The Lobos (23-20, 7-7 Mountain West) and CSU (22-21, 3-8) meet for the rubber match of the three-game series today at noon.</p>
<p>"We took advantage of some miscues and then came up with the clutch hits when we (needed) them," said UNM coach Erica Beach of her team's Saturday rally. "That is what we have needed the past five games. - I am very proud of their fight and grit."</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Mia Hignojos got the walk-off hit, scoring Jasmine Casados with the winning run. The Rams helped out with two errors and a walk to support three hits in the frame.</p>
<p>Karissa Haleman led UNM's 11-hit attack by going 3-for-3. She also drove in a run with a walk in the climactic seventh inning.</p>
<p>Lobo starter Lauren Soles went the distance, improving to 8-5. She allowed three runs off two hits, while walking three and striking out four. CSU's Trinity Harrington suffered the loss for the Rams. She allowed four runs off 10 hits, while walking one and striking out one.</p>
<p>TENNIS: In Silver City, Western New Mexico swept Colorado State-Pueblo, the men (11-9 overall) by 9-0 and the women (10-11) 7-2, to finish RMAC play at 5-0 and clinch the top seeds in the league tourney beginning April 24 in Pueblo.</p>
<p>SAND VOLLEYBALL: Lise Rugland and Ashley Newman swept both their courts Saturday, but the 1-11 New Mexico Lobos lost a pair of 4-1 decisions to Arizona State and No. 10 Arizona to close out the ASU Sand Volleyball Challenge in Tempe, Ariz.</p>
<p>BASEBALL: In Bellevue, Wash., New Mexico State (4-26-1, 1-9-1 WAC) fell 7-6 in 10 innings to league-leading Seattle University (18-15, 10-1). NMSU led 6-5 going into the bottom of the eighth, but Seattle tied it in that frame and the winner in the 10th against Billy Conard, who worked the last three innings for the Aggies. Pinch hitter Jake Hasbrouch's three-run homer keyed a four-run eighth that gave NMSU a 6-5 lead.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 919 |
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<p />
<p>The new organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, plans to mobilize voters to back candidates and ballot measures supporting such causes as enhancing background checks for gun buyers, according to a news release. The group also plans to issue candidate questionnaires and scorecards and form a political action committee.</p>
<p>Then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, speaks at a news conference in New York where the announcement was made regarding the arrest of 19 people and seizure of 254 guns as part of gun smuggling between the Carolinas and New York on Aug. 19, 2013. The former mayor, a billionaire and advocate of firearms regulation, plans to spend $50 million this year setting up a new group that will mix campaign contributions with field operations aimed at pulling gun-control supporters to the polls. (The Associated Press)</p>
<p>"This new organization will bring more people into the fight against gun violence, which affects every town in America," Bloomberg said in a statement. The group will look closely at 15 states, including pro-gun states such as Texas, and other states where gun control initiatives have advanced.</p>
<p>The National Rifle Association had no immediate comment Wednesday but said it would respond at its annual meeting next week in Indianapolis.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The billionaire Bloomberg has used a combination of his wealth and his stature as the 12-year mayor of the nation's biggest city to become perhaps the country's most formidable gun-control activist.</p>
<p>It's a cause he cast in dramatic terms in an interview published Tuesday night on The New York Times' website. Citing his work on gun safety, obesity and curbing smoking, he told the paper - with a smile: "If there is a God, when I get to heaven I'm not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It's not even close."</p>
<p>During his mayoral tenure, which ended last year, Bloomberg's administration set up gun-buying stings in other states to highlight what it said were illegal sales. He and former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which spread its message through such means as a $12 million ad campaign last year; the group is now part of Everytown for Gun Safety.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Bloomberg made nearly $14 million in federal campaign contributions for gun-control candidates in the 2012 elections alone. His super PAC spent more than $2 million in a 2013 Democratic primary in a special congressional election in Chicago, where his favored candidate got the seat.</p>
<p>Bloomberg's efforts sometimes spurred criticism that the New Yorker was butting into other people's politics, and gun-rights groups have portrayed him as overreaching and out of touch with the views of millions of gun owners.</p>
<p>On hearing of Bloomberg's new initiative, Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, told the Times: "He's got the money to waste. So I guess he's free to do so."</p>
<p>Pratt didn't immediately return a call Wednesday.</p>
<p>In a major setback for gun-control advocates, President Barack Obama's plan for broader background checks and proposals for a ban on military-style assault rifles and limits on ammunition capacity failed last year in Congress.</p>
<p>An Associated Press-GfK poll in December found 52 percent of Americans favored stricter gun laws, 31 percent wanted them left as they are and 15 percent said they should be loosened.</p>
<p>""</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report.</p> | Bloomberg plans $50M gun control network | false | https://abqjournal.com/385268/bloomberg-plans-50m-gun-control-network.html | 2least
| Bloomberg plans $50M gun control network
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<p />
<p>The new organization, Everytown for Gun Safety, plans to mobilize voters to back candidates and ballot measures supporting such causes as enhancing background checks for gun buyers, according to a news release. The group also plans to issue candidate questionnaires and scorecards and form a political action committee.</p>
<p>Then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, left, speaks at a news conference in New York where the announcement was made regarding the arrest of 19 people and seizure of 254 guns as part of gun smuggling between the Carolinas and New York on Aug. 19, 2013. The former mayor, a billionaire and advocate of firearms regulation, plans to spend $50 million this year setting up a new group that will mix campaign contributions with field operations aimed at pulling gun-control supporters to the polls. (The Associated Press)</p>
<p>"This new organization will bring more people into the fight against gun violence, which affects every town in America," Bloomberg said in a statement. The group will look closely at 15 states, including pro-gun states such as Texas, and other states where gun control initiatives have advanced.</p>
<p>The National Rifle Association had no immediate comment Wednesday but said it would respond at its annual meeting next week in Indianapolis.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>The billionaire Bloomberg has used a combination of his wealth and his stature as the 12-year mayor of the nation's biggest city to become perhaps the country's most formidable gun-control activist.</p>
<p>It's a cause he cast in dramatic terms in an interview published Tuesday night on The New York Times' website. Citing his work on gun safety, obesity and curbing smoking, he told the paper - with a smile: "If there is a God, when I get to heaven I'm not stopping to be interviewed. I am heading straight in. I have earned my place in heaven. It's not even close."</p>
<p>During his mayoral tenure, which ended last year, Bloomberg's administration set up gun-buying stings in other states to highlight what it said were illegal sales. He and former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino founded Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which spread its message through such means as a $12 million ad campaign last year; the group is now part of Everytown for Gun Safety.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Bloomberg made nearly $14 million in federal campaign contributions for gun-control candidates in the 2012 elections alone. His super PAC spent more than $2 million in a 2013 Democratic primary in a special congressional election in Chicago, where his favored candidate got the seat.</p>
<p>Bloomberg's efforts sometimes spurred criticism that the New Yorker was butting into other people's politics, and gun-rights groups have portrayed him as overreaching and out of touch with the views of millions of gun owners.</p>
<p>On hearing of Bloomberg's new initiative, Larry Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, told the Times: "He's got the money to waste. So I guess he's free to do so."</p>
<p>Pratt didn't immediately return a call Wednesday.</p>
<p>In a major setback for gun-control advocates, President Barack Obama's plan for broader background checks and proposals for a ban on military-style assault rifles and limits on ammunition capacity failed last year in Congress.</p>
<p>An Associated Press-GfK poll in December found 52 percent of Americans favored stricter gun laws, 31 percent wanted them left as they are and 15 percent said they should be loosened.</p>
<p>""</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Alan Fram in Washington contributed to this report.</p> | 920 |
|
<p>The media have gone completely insane over a story from Spring Valley High School in South Carolina.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/27/us/south-carolina-school-arrest-video/" type="external">video</a> filmed by a student via cellphone hit the web yesterday, showing a uniformed resource officer, Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Fields, grabbing a seated black female student and pulling her backwards; the desk tips, she falls on the floor, and then he pulls her and yanks her toward the front of the classroom, where he handcuffs her. Other students sit by while this action takes place. The black teacher, who requested help with the intransigent student, backed the officer.</p>
<p>According to the sheriff’s office, student misbehavior precipitated the confrontation: the teacher asked the student “to leave the class several times,” said Lt. Curtis Wilson. “The assistant principal was there as well. Then the officer was called to actually have the student removed from that location. The student refused.” Nobody was injured.</p>
<p>The officer is a cool dude, he is not Racist!!!...Over and over he did nothing wrong.</p>
<p>-- Student who witnessed the altercation</p>
<p>The ACLU has called for Fields’ firing, which may or may not be justified depending on legal standards of excessive force. The head of the School Safety Advocacy Council, Curtis Lavarello, said that the incident “escalated needlessly.”</p>
<p>Now, the FBI and the Department of Justice have both been called to open a civil rights investigation. In other words, the officer is white and the student is black, so even though the teacher who called in the first place is also black, racism must be the driving force behind the incident.</p>
<p>It’s only a matter of time before the Confederate flag gets blamed.</p>
<p>Here’s the truth: there is <a href="http://heavy.com/news/2015/10/ben-fields-richland-county-south-carolina-sheriff-deputy-spring-valley-high-school-photo-football-coach-bodybuilder-cop-student-desk-video-complaints/" type="external">no evidence of racism</a> in this case. Reginald Seabrooks, one of the students who taped the incident, wrote on YouTube:</p>
<p>The officer is a cool dude, he is not Racist!!! Girl was asked her to put the phone away, but told teacher no and Administrator was called and asked her to come to his office. She told him no, he then called the resource officer. When he got there he asked her nicely to get up. Over and over he did nothing wrong. They asked her to get up but she wanted to show off. To some it looks bad but she wanted to prove that she was bad.</p>
<p>The school is majority black – just 30 percent of the students are white. An alleged gang member sued Fields in federal court, claiming that Fields mislabeled him a gang member, but that lawsuit has not yet begun. Fields was also sued in 2007, but a jury ruled for him.</p>
<p>Even if you believe that Fields is a rotten officer, that’s not evidence that he’s racist. Some students alleged on Twitter that he manhandled other students, but that’s both unconfirmed and suggests excessive use of force rather than race-based targeting.</p>
<p>But people know the media’s agenda, which is why there were three separate videos of the incident. The students clearly knew it would make the news the minute a white officer stepped into the room.</p>
<p>The media dutifully made the incident news, although no one was injured. In days of old, recalcitrant students were paddled, with no accusations of brutality; in 19 states, spanking in school was still legal <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/spanking-school-19-states-corporal-punishment-legal/story?id=15932135" type="external">as of 2012</a>. Meanwhile, the media treat each incident of possible excessive force as a threat to black youth, even though student misbehavior in the classroom is a far greater threat to the future of black youths than officer brutality. As Thomas Sowell <a href="http://www.elkharttruth.com/discussions/columnists/2014/11/23/Racial-quota-punishment.html" type="external">writes</a>:</p>
<p>Anyone with common sense knows that letting a kid get away with bad behavior is an open invitation to worse behavior in the future. Punishing a kid for misbehavior in school when he is 10 years old may reduce the chances that he will have to be sent to prison when he is 20 years old…. Letting kids who are behavior problems in schools grow up to become hoodlums and then criminals is no favor to them or to the black community. Moreover, it takes no more than a small fraction of troublemakers in a class to make it impossible to give that class a decent education. And for many poor people, whether black or white, education is their one big chance to escape poverty.</p>
<p>It’s praiseworthy to try to stop official excessive use of force against students, of course. But the media’s attention to the Spring Valley High School case, even as they push softer measures against those who disrupt learning so long as the disrupters are black, make for a narrative that does black students no favors, incentivizing classroom chaos at the expense of learning. Just as Black Lives Matter uses occasional police misconduct as an excuse to defend criminality in the black community, the media use this incident as an excuse to destroy behavioral standards in education. That will cost black students far more than this incident cost black students.</p> | Media Go Nuts Over Officer Manhandling Student. But They Don't Care About Black Students. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/717/media-go-nuts-over-officer-manhandling-student-ben-shapiro | 2015-10-27 | 0right
| Media Go Nuts Over Officer Manhandling Student. But They Don't Care About Black Students.
<p>The media have gone completely insane over a story from Spring Valley High School in South Carolina.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/27/us/south-carolina-school-arrest-video/" type="external">video</a> filmed by a student via cellphone hit the web yesterday, showing a uniformed resource officer, Richland County Sheriff’s Deputy Ben Fields, grabbing a seated black female student and pulling her backwards; the desk tips, she falls on the floor, and then he pulls her and yanks her toward the front of the classroom, where he handcuffs her. Other students sit by while this action takes place. The black teacher, who requested help with the intransigent student, backed the officer.</p>
<p>According to the sheriff’s office, student misbehavior precipitated the confrontation: the teacher asked the student “to leave the class several times,” said Lt. Curtis Wilson. “The assistant principal was there as well. Then the officer was called to actually have the student removed from that location. The student refused.” Nobody was injured.</p>
<p>The officer is a cool dude, he is not Racist!!!...Over and over he did nothing wrong.</p>
<p>-- Student who witnessed the altercation</p>
<p>The ACLU has called for Fields’ firing, which may or may not be justified depending on legal standards of excessive force. The head of the School Safety Advocacy Council, Curtis Lavarello, said that the incident “escalated needlessly.”</p>
<p>Now, the FBI and the Department of Justice have both been called to open a civil rights investigation. In other words, the officer is white and the student is black, so even though the teacher who called in the first place is also black, racism must be the driving force behind the incident.</p>
<p>It’s only a matter of time before the Confederate flag gets blamed.</p>
<p>Here’s the truth: there is <a href="http://heavy.com/news/2015/10/ben-fields-richland-county-south-carolina-sheriff-deputy-spring-valley-high-school-photo-football-coach-bodybuilder-cop-student-desk-video-complaints/" type="external">no evidence of racism</a> in this case. Reginald Seabrooks, one of the students who taped the incident, wrote on YouTube:</p>
<p>The officer is a cool dude, he is not Racist!!! Girl was asked her to put the phone away, but told teacher no and Administrator was called and asked her to come to his office. She told him no, he then called the resource officer. When he got there he asked her nicely to get up. Over and over he did nothing wrong. They asked her to get up but she wanted to show off. To some it looks bad but she wanted to prove that she was bad.</p>
<p>The school is majority black – just 30 percent of the students are white. An alleged gang member sued Fields in federal court, claiming that Fields mislabeled him a gang member, but that lawsuit has not yet begun. Fields was also sued in 2007, but a jury ruled for him.</p>
<p>Even if you believe that Fields is a rotten officer, that’s not evidence that he’s racist. Some students alleged on Twitter that he manhandled other students, but that’s both unconfirmed and suggests excessive use of force rather than race-based targeting.</p>
<p>But people know the media’s agenda, which is why there were three separate videos of the incident. The students clearly knew it would make the news the minute a white officer stepped into the room.</p>
<p>The media dutifully made the incident news, although no one was injured. In days of old, recalcitrant students were paddled, with no accusations of brutality; in 19 states, spanking in school was still legal <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/spanking-school-19-states-corporal-punishment-legal/story?id=15932135" type="external">as of 2012</a>. Meanwhile, the media treat each incident of possible excessive force as a threat to black youth, even though student misbehavior in the classroom is a far greater threat to the future of black youths than officer brutality. As Thomas Sowell <a href="http://www.elkharttruth.com/discussions/columnists/2014/11/23/Racial-quota-punishment.html" type="external">writes</a>:</p>
<p>Anyone with common sense knows that letting a kid get away with bad behavior is an open invitation to worse behavior in the future. Punishing a kid for misbehavior in school when he is 10 years old may reduce the chances that he will have to be sent to prison when he is 20 years old…. Letting kids who are behavior problems in schools grow up to become hoodlums and then criminals is no favor to them or to the black community. Moreover, it takes no more than a small fraction of troublemakers in a class to make it impossible to give that class a decent education. And for many poor people, whether black or white, education is their one big chance to escape poverty.</p>
<p>It’s praiseworthy to try to stop official excessive use of force against students, of course. But the media’s attention to the Spring Valley High School case, even as they push softer measures against those who disrupt learning so long as the disrupters are black, make for a narrative that does black students no favors, incentivizing classroom chaos at the expense of learning. Just as Black Lives Matter uses occasional police misconduct as an excuse to defend criminality in the black community, the media use this incident as an excuse to destroy behavioral standards in education. That will cost black students far more than this incident cost black students.</p> | 921 |
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is including New Mexico's most populous county in an effort to pressure cities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County was one of roughly two dozen jurisdictions to receive warning letters Wednesday from the Justice Department. Federal officials are threatening to issue subpoenas to jurisdictions that aren't relinquishing documents showing they aren't withholding information about the immigration status of people in custody.</p>
<p>The department has repeatedly threatened to deny millions of dollars in important grant money from communities that refuse to share such information with federal authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners chair Steven Michael Quezada says the county won't be intimidated by the letter.</p>
<p>He says the federal government can keep its money for a border wall "that won't work" and the county will figure out how to fund its sheriff's department.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is including New Mexico's most populous county in an effort to pressure cities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County was one of roughly two dozen jurisdictions to receive warning letters Wednesday from the Justice Department. Federal officials are threatening to issue subpoenas to jurisdictions that aren't relinquishing documents showing they aren't withholding information about the immigration status of people in custody.</p>
<p>The department has repeatedly threatened to deny millions of dollars in important grant money from communities that refuse to share such information with federal authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners chair Steven Michael Quezada says the county won't be intimidated by the letter.</p>
<p>He says the federal government can keep its money for a border wall "that won't work" and the county will figure out how to fund its sheriff's department.</p> | DOJ: Bernalillo County must hand over immigration data | false | https://apnews.com/amp/7a1840cde2da4326a1b6f773f2c4ae34 | 2018-01-24 | 2least
| DOJ: Bernalillo County must hand over immigration data
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is including New Mexico's most populous county in an effort to pressure cities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County was one of roughly two dozen jurisdictions to receive warning letters Wednesday from the Justice Department. Federal officials are threatening to issue subpoenas to jurisdictions that aren't relinquishing documents showing they aren't withholding information about the immigration status of people in custody.</p>
<p>The department has repeatedly threatened to deny millions of dollars in important grant money from communities that refuse to share such information with federal authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners chair Steven Michael Quezada says the county won't be intimidated by the letter.</p>
<p>He says the federal government can keep its money for a border wall "that won't work" and the county will figure out how to fund its sheriff's department.</p>
<p>ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department is including New Mexico's most populous county in an effort to pressure cities to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County was one of roughly two dozen jurisdictions to receive warning letters Wednesday from the Justice Department. Federal officials are threatening to issue subpoenas to jurisdictions that aren't relinquishing documents showing they aren't withholding information about the immigration status of people in custody.</p>
<p>The department has repeatedly threatened to deny millions of dollars in important grant money from communities that refuse to share such information with federal authorities.</p>
<p>Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners chair Steven Michael Quezada says the county won't be intimidated by the letter.</p>
<p>He says the federal government can keep its money for a border wall "that won't work" and the county will figure out how to fund its sheriff's department.</p> | 922 |
<p />
<p>Volkswagen&#160;AG announced on Thursday that it has reached a deal in principle to compensate its 650 U.S. dealers in connection with the German automaker's diesel emissions scandal.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The automaker and a lawyer for VW brand dealers announced a tentative settlement at a court hearing in San Francisco. The amount of the settlement fund was not disclosed.</p>
<p>VW's U.S. dealers have been barred from selling polluting diesel vehicles for nearly a year.</p>
<p>Not all details of how the settlement fund will be divided among the dealers have been resolved. VW and the dealers told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer they plan to file the details of the agreement by the end of September.</p>
<p>The German automaker has been taking a number of steps to resolve outstanding issues related to the emissions scandal.</p>
<p>VW has admitted it installed improper software that deactivated pollution controls on more than 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide. In June, it agreed to pay up to $15.3 billion to buy back up to 475,000 vehicles and address claims by federal regulators and 44 U.S. states.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency have not yet reached a deal with&#160;Volkswagen&#160;on fines as part of a separate settlement that could lead to an outside monitor overseeing VW's compliance with American laws.</p>
<p>VW faces potentially billions of dollars more in costs in the United States if it is forced to buy back 85,000 3.0-liter Audi, Porsche and VW cars and SUVs sold since 2009.</p>
<p>(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Dan Grebler)</p> | Volkswagen Reaches Deal to Compensate U.S. Dealers | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/08/25/volkswagen-reaches-deal-to-compensate-u-s-dealers.html | 2016-08-25 | 0right
| Volkswagen Reaches Deal to Compensate U.S. Dealers
<p />
<p>Volkswagen&#160;AG announced on Thursday that it has reached a deal in principle to compensate its 650 U.S. dealers in connection with the German automaker's diesel emissions scandal.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The automaker and a lawyer for VW brand dealers announced a tentative settlement at a court hearing in San Francisco. The amount of the settlement fund was not disclosed.</p>
<p>VW's U.S. dealers have been barred from selling polluting diesel vehicles for nearly a year.</p>
<p>Not all details of how the settlement fund will be divided among the dealers have been resolved. VW and the dealers told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer they plan to file the details of the agreement by the end of September.</p>
<p>The German automaker has been taking a number of steps to resolve outstanding issues related to the emissions scandal.</p>
<p>VW has admitted it installed improper software that deactivated pollution controls on more than 11 million diesel vehicles sold worldwide. In June, it agreed to pay up to $15.3 billion to buy back up to 475,000 vehicles and address claims by federal regulators and 44 U.S. states.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The U.S. Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency have not yet reached a deal with&#160;Volkswagen&#160;on fines as part of a separate settlement that could lead to an outside monitor overseeing VW's compliance with American laws.</p>
<p>VW faces potentially billions of dollars more in costs in the United States if it is forced to buy back 85,000 3.0-liter Audi, Porsche and VW cars and SUVs sold since 2009.</p>
<p>(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Dan Grebler)</p> | 923 |
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<p />
<p>Let politicians return as coyotes</p>
<p>There are people who believe we come back in a next life.</p>
<p>If so, I hope that the 38 politicians who just voted in favor of continuing coyote killing contests will return as coyotes — during future coyote killing contests.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>RUTH THOMYS</p>
<p>Santa Fe</p>
<p />
<p>N.M. 502 needs more public input</p>
<p>Los Alamos County has requested that the upgrade to N.M. 502 after drivers reach the airport have a roundabout at Central Avenue. A Los Alamos Councilor has claimed that “all the traffic from the various employees coming in to town” would not have to stop for a light.</p>
<p>Well, 60 percent of the 1,100-plus per hour vehicles with people coming into town to help Los Alamos stay alive and prosper are going be faced daily with this never-changing, 20 mph obstacle in the road, on either side of which the posted speed is 35 mph, on their way to work. A light during morning rush would almost never be red as there is practically no conflicting traffic to change the light from green.</p>
<p>Non-residents of Los Alamos have had little voice in this matter so far. Those thousands of people from other parts of New Mexico coming to work in Los Alamos should let their voice be heard about this planned “obstacle to their going to work” on this state road.</p>
<p>To voice their opinion about this matter email <a href="mailto:eric@marroninc.com" type="external">eric@marroninc.com</a> or mail Eric Johnson, Marron and Associates, 7511 4th Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107.</p>
<p>JOEL WILLIAMS</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Los Alamos</p>
<p />
<p>Doctor warned against aspartame</p>
<p>A great light of guidance for consumer protection efforts has gone out with the passing of Dr. H.J. Roberts, who for three decades documented harm done by the artificial sweetener aspartame. Roberts died at 88 in West Palm Beach recently. I recall how useful was his article, “Aspartame Disease, An FDA Approved Epidemic” when I attempted to convince the New Mexico Legislature to ban this neurotoxic carcinogen and to create a nutrition council, by statute, to challenge the FDA’s errors in order to protect the health of all New Mexicans.</p>
<p>Roberts treated diabetics long before aspartame’s approval was forced through the FDA. I used Dr. Roberts’s article intensively, and he was gracious enough to write to the members of several committees to corroborate the need to ban this poison. The corporations involved took it seriously enough to hire some of the top lobbyists to hammer the senators and representatives on how safe aspartame is — “like mother’s milk,” they said, with rubber-stamped approval in over 100 nations.</p>
<p>Roberts was recognized for his superior efforts, including once having been named as the best doctor in the United States in 1984 by a medical journal; he was author of 24 books.</p>
<p>Shocking to realize in retrospect that this great physician’s counsel was totally ignored by legislators, who apparently chose to listen to corporate soothsaying.</p>
<p>STEPHEN FOX</p>
<p>Santa Fe</p> | Letters | false | https://abqjournal.com/175275/letters-99.html | 2013-03-06 | 2least
| Letters
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<p />
<p>Let politicians return as coyotes</p>
<p>There are people who believe we come back in a next life.</p>
<p>If so, I hope that the 38 politicians who just voted in favor of continuing coyote killing contests will return as coyotes — during future coyote killing contests.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>RUTH THOMYS</p>
<p>Santa Fe</p>
<p />
<p>N.M. 502 needs more public input</p>
<p>Los Alamos County has requested that the upgrade to N.M. 502 after drivers reach the airport have a roundabout at Central Avenue. A Los Alamos Councilor has claimed that “all the traffic from the various employees coming in to town” would not have to stop for a light.</p>
<p>Well, 60 percent of the 1,100-plus per hour vehicles with people coming into town to help Los Alamos stay alive and prosper are going be faced daily with this never-changing, 20 mph obstacle in the road, on either side of which the posted speed is 35 mph, on their way to work. A light during morning rush would almost never be red as there is practically no conflicting traffic to change the light from green.</p>
<p>Non-residents of Los Alamos have had little voice in this matter so far. Those thousands of people from other parts of New Mexico coming to work in Los Alamos should let their voice be heard about this planned “obstacle to their going to work” on this state road.</p>
<p>To voice their opinion about this matter email <a href="mailto:eric@marroninc.com" type="external">eric@marroninc.com</a> or mail Eric Johnson, Marron and Associates, 7511 4th Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107.</p>
<p>JOEL WILLIAMS</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Los Alamos</p>
<p />
<p>Doctor warned against aspartame</p>
<p>A great light of guidance for consumer protection efforts has gone out with the passing of Dr. H.J. Roberts, who for three decades documented harm done by the artificial sweetener aspartame. Roberts died at 88 in West Palm Beach recently. I recall how useful was his article, “Aspartame Disease, An FDA Approved Epidemic” when I attempted to convince the New Mexico Legislature to ban this neurotoxic carcinogen and to create a nutrition council, by statute, to challenge the FDA’s errors in order to protect the health of all New Mexicans.</p>
<p>Roberts treated diabetics long before aspartame’s approval was forced through the FDA. I used Dr. Roberts’s article intensively, and he was gracious enough to write to the members of several committees to corroborate the need to ban this poison. The corporations involved took it seriously enough to hire some of the top lobbyists to hammer the senators and representatives on how safe aspartame is — “like mother’s milk,” they said, with rubber-stamped approval in over 100 nations.</p>
<p>Roberts was recognized for his superior efforts, including once having been named as the best doctor in the United States in 1984 by a medical journal; he was author of 24 books.</p>
<p>Shocking to realize in retrospect that this great physician’s counsel was totally ignored by legislators, who apparently chose to listen to corporate soothsaying.</p>
<p>STEPHEN FOX</p>
<p>Santa Fe</p> | 924 |
<p>Published time: 11 Dec, 2017 10:32</p>
<p>Half of respondents to a survey in Russia told researchers they were unsurprised by recent Hollywood sexual harassment scandals. The historical allegations against famous figures were viewed as just an everyday occurrence in western show business.</p>
<p>In a poll conducted by the Public Opinion research foundation, about 51 percent of Russians said that they had heard about the latest string of sex-related scandals in Hollywood. Of those who’d heard about them, 18 percent thought that the victims’ testimonies are truthful and well-founded, 15 percent called the accusations far-fetched, while 20 percent said they did not know enough to draw conclusions.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/politics/407943-fresh-poll-shows-most-russians/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Almost all respondents who were aware of the stories – 50 percent – stated that they considered sexual harassment an ordinary, everyday occurrence in western show business. 31 percent thought that it was wrong for alleged victims to raise the issue decades after the event, but 50 percent said that sex crimes should have no statute of limitation.</p>
<p>Asked if they thought that victims should share part of the responsibility in sexual harassment cases, 48 percent of respondents answered in the affirmative. By contrast, 33 percent said that the blame should be attached solely to the alleged predator.</p>
<p>In any case, 81 percent of Russians think that once a sex scandal is brought to public attention, the accused should be brought to court; 57 percent told researchers that they thought sexual harassment a criminal rather than a civil offence.</p>
<p>The poll was held in early December, shortly before TIME magazine named the #MeToo social movement (aimed at raising awareness about such harassment) as the most influential ‘person’ in 2017.</p>
<p>TIME’s recognition comes amid a wave of public allegations of sexual misconduct that have singled out some of the most prominent men in US politics, media and entertainment.&#160; The allegations have already led to multiple firings and investigations.</p> | 50% say Sex Pests part of Hollywood’s everyday life – Russian poll | false | https://newsline.com/50-say-sex-pests-part-of-hollywoods-everyday-life-russian-poll/ | 2017-12-11 | 1right-center
| 50% say Sex Pests part of Hollywood’s everyday life – Russian poll
<p>Published time: 11 Dec, 2017 10:32</p>
<p>Half of respondents to a survey in Russia told researchers they were unsurprised by recent Hollywood sexual harassment scandals. The historical allegations against famous figures were viewed as just an everyday occurrence in western show business.</p>
<p>In a poll conducted by the Public Opinion research foundation, about 51 percent of Russians said that they had heard about the latest string of sex-related scandals in Hollywood. Of those who’d heard about them, 18 percent thought that the victims’ testimonies are truthful and well-founded, 15 percent called the accusations far-fetched, while 20 percent said they did not know enough to draw conclusions.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/politics/407943-fresh-poll-shows-most-russians/" type="external" /></p>
<p>Almost all respondents who were aware of the stories – 50 percent – stated that they considered sexual harassment an ordinary, everyday occurrence in western show business. 31 percent thought that it was wrong for alleged victims to raise the issue decades after the event, but 50 percent said that sex crimes should have no statute of limitation.</p>
<p>Asked if they thought that victims should share part of the responsibility in sexual harassment cases, 48 percent of respondents answered in the affirmative. By contrast, 33 percent said that the blame should be attached solely to the alleged predator.</p>
<p>In any case, 81 percent of Russians think that once a sex scandal is brought to public attention, the accused should be brought to court; 57 percent told researchers that they thought sexual harassment a criminal rather than a civil offence.</p>
<p>The poll was held in early December, shortly before TIME magazine named the #MeToo social movement (aimed at raising awareness about such harassment) as the most influential ‘person’ in 2017.</p>
<p>TIME’s recognition comes amid a wave of public allegations of sexual misconduct that have singled out some of the most prominent men in US politics, media and entertainment.&#160; The allegations have already led to multiple firings and investigations.</p> | 925 |
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<p>ARLINGTON, Texas — The remains of a Texas sailor who died in the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are returning home.</p>
<p>George Anderson Coke Jr.’s remains were recently identified after his family provided DNA samples for testing, the Star-Telegram ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2rRc9ct" type="external">http://bit.ly/2rRc9ct</a> ) reported. Before then, his remains had been buried in a mass grave in Hawaii alongside other crewmen.</p>
<p>The Arlington man went into service in early 1941 and served aboard the USS Oklahoma. Nearly 430 crewmen were killed after Japanese warplanes launched torpedoes at the ship on Dec. 7, 1941.</p>
<p>Coke was one of almost 50 young Arlington residents who went off to war but didn’t come home, said Wanda Marshall, treasurer of the Arlington Historical Society.</p>
<p>In 2015, the Defense Department announced it would exhume the bodies of unidentified USS Oklahoma crew members and try to identify them.</p>
<p>Doland Maner is one of the few relatives left who knew Coke personally.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We weren’t buddies,” the 94-year-old said. “But he was an all-American boy. He was into a lot of devilment, but if you didn’t like George Anderson, you didn’t like anybody.”</p>
<p>Coke will have a public memorial service with full military honors Saturday. He’ll be buried in Parkdale Cemetery, next to his parents George A. “Dutch” Coke Sr. and Julina Jane Tomlin Coke.</p>
<p>“It just gives you goose bumps that after all this time, he will be back in the hometown he loved and the people he loved,” said Geraldine Mills, executive director of the Arlington Historical Society. “I think it is a fitting conclusion.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com" type="external">http://www.star-telegram.com</a></p> | World War II veteran’s remains to be buried in Texas | false | https://abqjournal.com/1020703/texas-veterans-remains-return-home-after-76-years.html | 2017-06-20 | 2least
| World War II veteran’s remains to be buried in Texas
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>ARLINGTON, Texas — The remains of a Texas sailor who died in the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are returning home.</p>
<p>George Anderson Coke Jr.’s remains were recently identified after his family provided DNA samples for testing, the Star-Telegram ( <a href="http://bit.ly/2rRc9ct" type="external">http://bit.ly/2rRc9ct</a> ) reported. Before then, his remains had been buried in a mass grave in Hawaii alongside other crewmen.</p>
<p>The Arlington man went into service in early 1941 and served aboard the USS Oklahoma. Nearly 430 crewmen were killed after Japanese warplanes launched torpedoes at the ship on Dec. 7, 1941.</p>
<p>Coke was one of almost 50 young Arlington residents who went off to war but didn’t come home, said Wanda Marshall, treasurer of the Arlington Historical Society.</p>
<p>In 2015, the Defense Department announced it would exhume the bodies of unidentified USS Oklahoma crew members and try to identify them.</p>
<p>Doland Maner is one of the few relatives left who knew Coke personally.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“We weren’t buddies,” the 94-year-old said. “But he was an all-American boy. He was into a lot of devilment, but if you didn’t like George Anderson, you didn’t like anybody.”</p>
<p>Coke will have a public memorial service with full military honors Saturday. He’ll be buried in Parkdale Cemetery, next to his parents George A. “Dutch” Coke Sr. and Julina Jane Tomlin Coke.</p>
<p>“It just gives you goose bumps that after all this time, he will be back in the hometown he loved and the people he loved,” said Geraldine Mills, executive director of the Arlington Historical Society. “I think it is a fitting conclusion.”</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Information from: Fort Worth Star-Telegram, <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com" type="external">http://www.star-telegram.com</a></p> | 926 |
<p>This past week, in an update to its style guide, the Associated Press decided to declare the transgender debate settled, despite a growing body of scientific research showing it really is a mental issue. The AP will now reject such phrases as "gender transitioning" and go with "gender conforming." So Bruce Jenner was always Caitlyn and he, over time, conformed instead of transitioned.</p>
<p>This sort of Orwellian wordplay is one of many reasons that the American public increasingly rejects the American media. It made it dreadfully easy for Russia to spread fake news because the media is already playing at the game themselves when they do things like embrace "they" as a singular pronoun, which the Associated Press will now do. This may seem like a minor issue, but it is just another data point in the ongoing march toward another civil war.</p>
<p>John Davidson, writing at The Federalist, took note of new Pew Research Center data that shows the nation's politics are more divided than ever before. And, on the political left, there is a massive intolerance for anyone on the right. In fact, there are more people on the left in America today who would be angry with a conservative neighbor than there are conservatives who would be angry with a liberal neighbor.</p>
<p>Not just that, but the left increasingly believes the entire American experiment is illegitimate. Ta-Nehisi Coates, a writer for The Atlantic, has started openly pondering a French Revolution in the United States. Though he is not yet brave enough to say what he wants, it is clear from his writings that he hopes or is moving toward openly hoping for some level of violence in this country to purge the stain of the American Revolution. Others on the left now demand we upend the first, second, fifth, and other amendments to the constitution. On the right, President Trump too wants to upend the first amendment at a time we need to protect speech as much as possible.</p>
<p>In California, the Governor just signed legislation that decriminalizes the knowing transmission of HIV. So if you happen to go to California and need a blood donation, because the law applies to blood donations as well, you just might go home with HIV. But it is OK because the left has decided HIV and AIDS need to be de-stigmatized.</p>
<p>Then there are the NFL protests, which President Trump has seemingly won. What started with Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem because he does not care for the United States turned into a more expanded social commentary by players intent on politicizing football. When President Trump responded, suddenly to stand for the flag was racist. It has been funny first to see President Trump get so many NFL players on their knees before him only to now have them stand, privately seething in the knowledge President Trump just beat them at this.</p>
<p>Now, the Boy Scouts will admit Girl Scouts. That, to be sure, is just as well. The Girl Scouts have increasingly become just a teen meeting for Planned Parenthood between cookie sales. But in addition to the left forcing men into women's bathrooms, they want no safe places for boys to learn how to be men of good character. Everyone must conform to androgynous, amoral illiberalism.</p>
<p>On and on it goes in a cultural suicide. If nothing else, this shows that the fight over confederate statutes was really not about the statues at all, but about rewriting history and engaging in Orwellian tactics to move a debate about the future of the country onto turf more friendly to the left. Then Harvey Weinstein happened.</p>
<p>The media and liberal elite who have excoriated President Trump and conservatives for bad behavior turn out to have been knowingly protecting a sexual predator. "But Harvey is not the president," they say as they post selfies with Bill Clinton. After years of moral preening from Hollywood in the culture war, it turns out they have been preaching one thing and doing another. They are the hypocrites they told us we were and ever closer we creep to heating up this cultural cold war.</p>
<p>To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.</p>
<p>COPYRIGHT 2017 CREATORS.COM</p> | ERICKSON: A Cultural Cold War Gets Warmer | true | https://dailywire.com/news/22249/erickson-cultural-cold-war-gets-warmer-erick-erickson | 2017-10-14 | 0right
| ERICKSON: A Cultural Cold War Gets Warmer
<p>This past week, in an update to its style guide, the Associated Press decided to declare the transgender debate settled, despite a growing body of scientific research showing it really is a mental issue. The AP will now reject such phrases as "gender transitioning" and go with "gender conforming." So Bruce Jenner was always Caitlyn and he, over time, conformed instead of transitioned.</p>
<p>This sort of Orwellian wordplay is one of many reasons that the American public increasingly rejects the American media. It made it dreadfully easy for Russia to spread fake news because the media is already playing at the game themselves when they do things like embrace "they" as a singular pronoun, which the Associated Press will now do. This may seem like a minor issue, but it is just another data point in the ongoing march toward another civil war.</p>
<p>John Davidson, writing at The Federalist, took note of new Pew Research Center data that shows the nation's politics are more divided than ever before. And, on the political left, there is a massive intolerance for anyone on the right. In fact, there are more people on the left in America today who would be angry with a conservative neighbor than there are conservatives who would be angry with a liberal neighbor.</p>
<p>Not just that, but the left increasingly believes the entire American experiment is illegitimate. Ta-Nehisi Coates, a writer for The Atlantic, has started openly pondering a French Revolution in the United States. Though he is not yet brave enough to say what he wants, it is clear from his writings that he hopes or is moving toward openly hoping for some level of violence in this country to purge the stain of the American Revolution. Others on the left now demand we upend the first, second, fifth, and other amendments to the constitution. On the right, President Trump too wants to upend the first amendment at a time we need to protect speech as much as possible.</p>
<p>In California, the Governor just signed legislation that decriminalizes the knowing transmission of HIV. So if you happen to go to California and need a blood donation, because the law applies to blood donations as well, you just might go home with HIV. But it is OK because the left has decided HIV and AIDS need to be de-stigmatized.</p>
<p>Then there are the NFL protests, which President Trump has seemingly won. What started with Colin Kaepernick refusing to stand for the national anthem because he does not care for the United States turned into a more expanded social commentary by players intent on politicizing football. When President Trump responded, suddenly to stand for the flag was racist. It has been funny first to see President Trump get so many NFL players on their knees before him only to now have them stand, privately seething in the knowledge President Trump just beat them at this.</p>
<p>Now, the Boy Scouts will admit Girl Scouts. That, to be sure, is just as well. The Girl Scouts have increasingly become just a teen meeting for Planned Parenthood between cookie sales. But in addition to the left forcing men into women's bathrooms, they want no safe places for boys to learn how to be men of good character. Everyone must conform to androgynous, amoral illiberalism.</p>
<p>On and on it goes in a cultural suicide. If nothing else, this shows that the fight over confederate statutes was really not about the statues at all, but about rewriting history and engaging in Orwellian tactics to move a debate about the future of the country onto turf more friendly to the left. Then Harvey Weinstein happened.</p>
<p>The media and liberal elite who have excoriated President Trump and conservatives for bad behavior turn out to have been knowingly protecting a sexual predator. "But Harvey is not the president," they say as they post selfies with Bill Clinton. After years of moral preening from Hollywood in the culture war, it turns out they have been preaching one thing and doing another. They are the hypocrites they told us we were and ever closer we creep to heating up this cultural cold war.</p>
<p>To find out more about Erick Erickson and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.</p>
<p>COPYRIGHT 2017 CREATORS.COM</p> | 927 |
<p>It was just over two years ago that I learned a little-known “antiwar” Democrat from Vermont was planning to run for President. At a rally on the eve of Bush’s Iraq invasion, a fellow protestor handed me a leaflet touting the now infamous Howard Dean, hoping that the propaganda would entice me to support his forthcoming candidacy.</p>
<p>Of course, I was intrigued. Few other Democrats were speaking out against the imminent war on Iraq. Luckily, I ended up not taking the bait. Nevertheless many other activists unabashedly latched onto the Dean campaign in hopes he would represent their interests in Washington. Luckily for Howard, they all had credit cards and Internet access. But as the story goes, Dean was embarrassingly sacked during the primaries and his followers were told to traverse the pro-war Kerry trail instead.</p>
<p>Howard Dean isn’t dead yet, however, as he has safely landed himself a lofty position within the establishment as chair of the Democratic National Committee. Unfortunately Dean’s nomination means little to the peace movement as his antiwar convictions have vanished.</p>
<p>The second anniversary of the Iraq war came and past, yet the most popular “antiwar” Democrat remains speechless. Dean has said nothing about Bush’s potential forays in Iran and Syria. He has not muttered a single word about ending the US occupation of Iraq. Should we be surprised?</p>
<p>Nope. Howard Dean’s “antiwar” convictions haven’t vanished — they never existed to begin with.</p>
<p>Looking back into the dirty Dean files, we find that the good doctor has had a long pro-war history. He praised the first Gulf War, NATO’s intervention in Bosnia, Bill Clinton’s bombing of the Sudan and Iraq. He even went so far as to write President Clinton a love letter praising his foreign policy in 1995 as the US waged a brutal air attack on Serbia, bringing death and destruction upon civilians and the infrastructure that provided their only life support.</p>
<p>As Dean told to President Clinton: “I think your policy up to this date has been absolutely correct … Since it is clearly no longer possible to take action in conjunction with NATO and the United Nations, I have reluctantly concluded that we must take unilateral action.” According to most post-war accounts, US air bombardment left the Serbian military relatively unscathed, while ethnic cleansing and violence increased drastically.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Governor Dean supported Clinton’s deadly policy without a wince of shame.</p>
<p>Candidate Dean was no different. Despite voicing his opposition to Bush’s war when he entered the race for the White House, he never wholeheartedly opposed overthrowing Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. In September 2002, Dean had announced that if Saddam failed to comply with the demands of the United Nations, the US reserved the right to “go into Iraq.” Dean claimed he would gladly endorse a multilateral effort to destroy Saddam’s regime. In fact, Dean wasn’t even opposed to a unilateral effort lacking the support of the UN, NATO, or the European Union (see Part Two forthcoming).</p>
<p>On CBS’s Meet the Press in July 2003, Dean told Tim Russert that the United States must increase its pressure on Saudi Arabia and Iran. “We have to be very, very careful of Iran” because President Bush “is too beholden to the Saudis and the Iranians,” he explained. But later in the broadcast, he conceded, “I support the president’s War on Terrorism.” Dean even went so far as to tell Russert: “I believe that we need a very substantial increase in troops. They don’t all have to be American troops. My guess would be that we would need at least 30,000 and 40,000 additional troops.”</p>
<p>In a New York primary debate two months later, Dean elaborated: “We need more troops. They’re going to be foreign troops [in Iraq], not more American troops, as they should have been in the first place. Ours need to come home.” Dean, it seems, would have had the disorder in Iraq go on at all costs, though he wasn’t quite sure whose soldiers should do the occupying.</p>
<p>When Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich grilled Dean during that same debate about Bush’s $87 billion Iraq package, Dean claimed that he would support it since “we have no choice … we have to support our troops.”</p>
<p>So do we support our troops by bringing them home, or by financing the occupation? The self-proclaimed antiwar candidate never clarified.</p>
<p>JOSHUA FRANK, a native of Montana, is the author of the forthcoming book, <a href="" type="internal">Left Out!: How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush</a>, to be released in early 2005 by Common Courage Press. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:frank_joshua@hotmail.com" type="external">frank_joshua@hotmail.com</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | The Selling (Out) of the Antiwar Movement | true | https://counterpunch.org/2005/03/24/the-selling-out-of-the-antiwar-movement/ | 2005-03-24 | 4left
| The Selling (Out) of the Antiwar Movement
<p>It was just over two years ago that I learned a little-known “antiwar” Democrat from Vermont was planning to run for President. At a rally on the eve of Bush’s Iraq invasion, a fellow protestor handed me a leaflet touting the now infamous Howard Dean, hoping that the propaganda would entice me to support his forthcoming candidacy.</p>
<p>Of course, I was intrigued. Few other Democrats were speaking out against the imminent war on Iraq. Luckily, I ended up not taking the bait. Nevertheless many other activists unabashedly latched onto the Dean campaign in hopes he would represent their interests in Washington. Luckily for Howard, they all had credit cards and Internet access. But as the story goes, Dean was embarrassingly sacked during the primaries and his followers were told to traverse the pro-war Kerry trail instead.</p>
<p>Howard Dean isn’t dead yet, however, as he has safely landed himself a lofty position within the establishment as chair of the Democratic National Committee. Unfortunately Dean’s nomination means little to the peace movement as his antiwar convictions have vanished.</p>
<p>The second anniversary of the Iraq war came and past, yet the most popular “antiwar” Democrat remains speechless. Dean has said nothing about Bush’s potential forays in Iran and Syria. He has not muttered a single word about ending the US occupation of Iraq. Should we be surprised?</p>
<p>Nope. Howard Dean’s “antiwar” convictions haven’t vanished — they never existed to begin with.</p>
<p>Looking back into the dirty Dean files, we find that the good doctor has had a long pro-war history. He praised the first Gulf War, NATO’s intervention in Bosnia, Bill Clinton’s bombing of the Sudan and Iraq. He even went so far as to write President Clinton a love letter praising his foreign policy in 1995 as the US waged a brutal air attack on Serbia, bringing death and destruction upon civilians and the infrastructure that provided their only life support.</p>
<p>As Dean told to President Clinton: “I think your policy up to this date has been absolutely correct … Since it is clearly no longer possible to take action in conjunction with NATO and the United Nations, I have reluctantly concluded that we must take unilateral action.” According to most post-war accounts, US air bombardment left the Serbian military relatively unscathed, while ethnic cleansing and violence increased drastically.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, Governor Dean supported Clinton’s deadly policy without a wince of shame.</p>
<p>Candidate Dean was no different. Despite voicing his opposition to Bush’s war when he entered the race for the White House, he never wholeheartedly opposed overthrowing Iraqi president Saddam Hussein. In September 2002, Dean had announced that if Saddam failed to comply with the demands of the United Nations, the US reserved the right to “go into Iraq.” Dean claimed he would gladly endorse a multilateral effort to destroy Saddam’s regime. In fact, Dean wasn’t even opposed to a unilateral effort lacking the support of the UN, NATO, or the European Union (see Part Two forthcoming).</p>
<p>On CBS’s Meet the Press in July 2003, Dean told Tim Russert that the United States must increase its pressure on Saudi Arabia and Iran. “We have to be very, very careful of Iran” because President Bush “is too beholden to the Saudis and the Iranians,” he explained. But later in the broadcast, he conceded, “I support the president’s War on Terrorism.” Dean even went so far as to tell Russert: “I believe that we need a very substantial increase in troops. They don’t all have to be American troops. My guess would be that we would need at least 30,000 and 40,000 additional troops.”</p>
<p>In a New York primary debate two months later, Dean elaborated: “We need more troops. They’re going to be foreign troops [in Iraq], not more American troops, as they should have been in the first place. Ours need to come home.” Dean, it seems, would have had the disorder in Iraq go on at all costs, though he wasn’t quite sure whose soldiers should do the occupying.</p>
<p>When Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich grilled Dean during that same debate about Bush’s $87 billion Iraq package, Dean claimed that he would support it since “we have no choice … we have to support our troops.”</p>
<p>So do we support our troops by bringing them home, or by financing the occupation? The self-proclaimed antiwar candidate never clarified.</p>
<p>JOSHUA FRANK, a native of Montana, is the author of the forthcoming book, <a href="" type="internal">Left Out!: How Liberals Helped Reelect George W. Bush</a>, to be released in early 2005 by Common Courage Press. He can be reached at: <a href="mailto:frank_joshua@hotmail.com" type="external">frank_joshua@hotmail.com</a></p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 928 |
<p>PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A northern Maine town manager who espoused white separatist views was fired on Tuesday and is getting $30,000 for agreeing not to sue the town.</p>
<p>The selectmen in the rural town of Jackman announced the decision after a closed-door executive session with Tom Kawczynski, the town's top administrator since June.</p>
<p>Kawczynski has made comments bashing Islam and called for the preservation of white European heritage in northern New England. He also operates a website that touts racial segregation, describes itself as the internet home of a pro-white group and states that it's time to "admit America was built by white Christian men."</p>
<p>Kawczynski told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he's unabashedly pro-white, but he feels his views have been mischaracterized. He vowed to continue making the case for what he called "white civil rights."</p>
<p>"I, in conjunction with the Selectboard, agreed to a settlement to remove the good people of Jackman from the unwanted scrutiny, but I do not surrender my right to express my First Amendment rights," Kawczynski said. "Including the right to have controversial opinions."</p>
<p>Social media users have been calling for Kawczynski to quit or be fired. A post on the Jackman-Moose River Region Chamber of Commerce's Facebook page stated that its members don't share his views and called on the selectmen "to do what is needed."</p>
<p>Kawczynski was paid $49,000 annually, and the town said he is getting $30,000 in severance. He said he signed an agreement to the severance package stipulating that he will not sue.</p>
<p>Elected officials in the town voted unanimously to fire him on Tuesday morning. The town said in a statement that its selectmen and Kawczynski have "agreed on the details of ending" his employment.</p>
<p>Kawczynski served as town chair in Lisbon, New Hampshire, for President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. He told the AP on Tuesday that he had no official role in the campaign, but was a proud supporter of the Republican president because of his pledge to "take care of the American people first."</p>
<p>Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, said the organization is aware of the New Albion group promoted by Kawczynski, his group and his website. Kawczynski said the group has about 100 members and holds regular meetings in Maine and New Hampshire. Beirich said he should have stepped down before having to be fired.</p>
<p>"It's unacceptable to see people in leadership positions espousing white nationalist views," Beirich said.</p>
<p>Located along a stretch of road Mainers sometimes call "Moose Alley," Jackman is a town of less than 900 people, <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF" type="external">nearly all of them white</a> , near northwestern Maine's border with Quebec, about 170 miles (275 kilometers) north of Portland. On its <a href="http://www.jackmanme.net" type="external">website</a> , the town describes itself as a "tourist friendly region," and some residents have said they feared the controversy over Kawczynski's views could keep people away.</p>
<p>The town's statement said elected officials intend to "move forward to do what is necessary to sustain a vibrant, welcoming tourist community such as Jackman."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report from Portland, Maine.</p>
<p>PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A northern Maine town manager who espoused white separatist views was fired on Tuesday and is getting $30,000 for agreeing not to sue the town.</p>
<p>The selectmen in the rural town of Jackman announced the decision after a closed-door executive session with Tom Kawczynski, the town's top administrator since June.</p>
<p>Kawczynski has made comments bashing Islam and called for the preservation of white European heritage in northern New England. He also operates a website that touts racial segregation, describes itself as the internet home of a pro-white group and states that it's time to "admit America was built by white Christian men."</p>
<p>Kawczynski told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he's unabashedly pro-white, but he feels his views have been mischaracterized. He vowed to continue making the case for what he called "white civil rights."</p>
<p>"I, in conjunction with the Selectboard, agreed to a settlement to remove the good people of Jackman from the unwanted scrutiny, but I do not surrender my right to express my First Amendment rights," Kawczynski said. "Including the right to have controversial opinions."</p>
<p>Social media users have been calling for Kawczynski to quit or be fired. A post on the Jackman-Moose River Region Chamber of Commerce's Facebook page stated that its members don't share his views and called on the selectmen "to do what is needed."</p>
<p>Kawczynski was paid $49,000 annually, and the town said he is getting $30,000 in severance. He said he signed an agreement to the severance package stipulating that he will not sue.</p>
<p>Elected officials in the town voted unanimously to fire him on Tuesday morning. The town said in a statement that its selectmen and Kawczynski have "agreed on the details of ending" his employment.</p>
<p>Kawczynski served as town chair in Lisbon, New Hampshire, for President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. He told the AP on Tuesday that he had no official role in the campaign, but was a proud supporter of the Republican president because of his pledge to "take care of the American people first."</p>
<p>Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, said the organization is aware of the New Albion group promoted by Kawczynski, his group and his website. Kawczynski said the group has about 100 members and holds regular meetings in Maine and New Hampshire. Beirich said he should have stepped down before having to be fired.</p>
<p>"It's unacceptable to see people in leadership positions espousing white nationalist views," Beirich said.</p>
<p>Located along a stretch of road Mainers sometimes call "Moose Alley," Jackman is a town of less than 900 people, <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF" type="external">nearly all of them white</a> , near northwestern Maine's border with Quebec, about 170 miles (275 kilometers) north of Portland. On its <a href="http://www.jackmanme.net" type="external">website</a> , the town describes itself as a "tourist friendly region," and some residents have said they feared the controversy over Kawczynski's views could keep people away.</p>
<p>The town's statement said elected officials intend to "move forward to do what is necessary to sustain a vibrant, welcoming tourist community such as Jackman."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report from Portland, Maine.</p> | Maine town manager is fired for touting 'white civil rights' | false | https://apnews.com/amp/feef51862b2e4ba8944513a8ead4c228 | 2018-01-23 | 2least
| Maine town manager is fired for touting 'white civil rights'
<p>PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A northern Maine town manager who espoused white separatist views was fired on Tuesday and is getting $30,000 for agreeing not to sue the town.</p>
<p>The selectmen in the rural town of Jackman announced the decision after a closed-door executive session with Tom Kawczynski, the town's top administrator since June.</p>
<p>Kawczynski has made comments bashing Islam and called for the preservation of white European heritage in northern New England. He also operates a website that touts racial segregation, describes itself as the internet home of a pro-white group and states that it's time to "admit America was built by white Christian men."</p>
<p>Kawczynski told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he's unabashedly pro-white, but he feels his views have been mischaracterized. He vowed to continue making the case for what he called "white civil rights."</p>
<p>"I, in conjunction with the Selectboard, agreed to a settlement to remove the good people of Jackman from the unwanted scrutiny, but I do not surrender my right to express my First Amendment rights," Kawczynski said. "Including the right to have controversial opinions."</p>
<p>Social media users have been calling for Kawczynski to quit or be fired. A post on the Jackman-Moose River Region Chamber of Commerce's Facebook page stated that its members don't share his views and called on the selectmen "to do what is needed."</p>
<p>Kawczynski was paid $49,000 annually, and the town said he is getting $30,000 in severance. He said he signed an agreement to the severance package stipulating that he will not sue.</p>
<p>Elected officials in the town voted unanimously to fire him on Tuesday morning. The town said in a statement that its selectmen and Kawczynski have "agreed on the details of ending" his employment.</p>
<p>Kawczynski served as town chair in Lisbon, New Hampshire, for President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. He told the AP on Tuesday that he had no official role in the campaign, but was a proud supporter of the Republican president because of his pledge to "take care of the American people first."</p>
<p>Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, said the organization is aware of the New Albion group promoted by Kawczynski, his group and his website. Kawczynski said the group has about 100 members and holds regular meetings in Maine and New Hampshire. Beirich said he should have stepped down before having to be fired.</p>
<p>"It's unacceptable to see people in leadership positions espousing white nationalist views," Beirich said.</p>
<p>Located along a stretch of road Mainers sometimes call "Moose Alley," Jackman is a town of less than 900 people, <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF" type="external">nearly all of them white</a> , near northwestern Maine's border with Quebec, about 170 miles (275 kilometers) north of Portland. On its <a href="http://www.jackmanme.net" type="external">website</a> , the town describes itself as a "tourist friendly region," and some residents have said they feared the controversy over Kawczynski's views could keep people away.</p>
<p>The town's statement said elected officials intend to "move forward to do what is necessary to sustain a vibrant, welcoming tourist community such as Jackman."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report from Portland, Maine.</p>
<p>PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A northern Maine town manager who espoused white separatist views was fired on Tuesday and is getting $30,000 for agreeing not to sue the town.</p>
<p>The selectmen in the rural town of Jackman announced the decision after a closed-door executive session with Tom Kawczynski, the town's top administrator since June.</p>
<p>Kawczynski has made comments bashing Islam and called for the preservation of white European heritage in northern New England. He also operates a website that touts racial segregation, describes itself as the internet home of a pro-white group and states that it's time to "admit America was built by white Christian men."</p>
<p>Kawczynski told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he's unabashedly pro-white, but he feels his views have been mischaracterized. He vowed to continue making the case for what he called "white civil rights."</p>
<p>"I, in conjunction with the Selectboard, agreed to a settlement to remove the good people of Jackman from the unwanted scrutiny, but I do not surrender my right to express my First Amendment rights," Kawczynski said. "Including the right to have controversial opinions."</p>
<p>Social media users have been calling for Kawczynski to quit or be fired. A post on the Jackman-Moose River Region Chamber of Commerce's Facebook page stated that its members don't share his views and called on the selectmen "to do what is needed."</p>
<p>Kawczynski was paid $49,000 annually, and the town said he is getting $30,000 in severance. He said he signed an agreement to the severance package stipulating that he will not sue.</p>
<p>Elected officials in the town voted unanimously to fire him on Tuesday morning. The town said in a statement that its selectmen and Kawczynski have "agreed on the details of ending" his employment.</p>
<p>Kawczynski served as town chair in Lisbon, New Hampshire, for President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign. He told the AP on Tuesday that he had no official role in the campaign, but was a proud supporter of the Republican president because of his pledge to "take care of the American people first."</p>
<p>Heidi Beirich, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, said the organization is aware of the New Albion group promoted by Kawczynski, his group and his website. Kawczynski said the group has about 100 members and holds regular meetings in Maine and New Hampshire. Beirich said he should have stepped down before having to be fired.</p>
<p>"It's unacceptable to see people in leadership positions espousing white nationalist views," Beirich said.</p>
<p>Located along a stretch of road Mainers sometimes call "Moose Alley," Jackman is a town of less than 900 people, <a href="https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=CF" type="external">nearly all of them white</a> , near northwestern Maine's border with Quebec, about 170 miles (275 kilometers) north of Portland. On its <a href="http://www.jackmanme.net" type="external">website</a> , the town describes itself as a "tourist friendly region," and some residents have said they feared the controversy over Kawczynski's views could keep people away.</p>
<p>The town's statement said elected officials intend to "move forward to do what is necessary to sustain a vibrant, welcoming tourist community such as Jackman."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer David Sharp contributed to this report from Portland, Maine.</p> | 929 |
<p>July 31 (UPI) — <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Eric_Dane/" type="external">Eric Dane</a> says he’s “feeling great” after seeking treatment for depression.</p>
<p>The 44-year-old actor opened up <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/892009658860412933" type="external">on Monday’s episode</a> of Today after taking time off from the TNT series The Last Ship in the spring to focus on his mental health.</p>
<p>“I was dealing with some depression,” he confirmed. “I felt very conflicted about it because I didn’t really feel like I had anything to be depressed about. Now I take a medication called Pristiq … and the depression’s gone. I’m doing okay.”</p>
<p>Dane said his experience was “a scary thing” where he struggled to even “get out of bed.” He advised other people struggling with depression to address their issues head-on.</p>
<p>“You’ve got to listen to your body,” the star said. “It’s a very serious thing. Like I said, I felt very conflicted because I couldn’t figure out what I was depressed about. But it’s very real.”</p>
<p>“I mean, I’d dealt with depression throughout my life, but it was always manageable. I just felt like, you know, everybody kind of feels a little blue. But this just hit me like a truck,” he confessed. “I had to take some time off — I went away, I took care of it, and I’m feeling great.”</p>
<p>Dane’s rep had announced the actor’s hiatus in April.</p>
<p>“Eric asked for a break to deal with personal issues,” the rep said in a statement <a href="http://people.com/celebrity/eric-dane-depression-the-last-ship-production-halted/" type="external">to People</a>. “He sufers from depression and had asked for a few weeks of downtime and the producers kindly granted that request.”</p>
<p>Dane plays Captain Tom Chandler on The Last Ship, which will premiere a fourth season Aug. 20. He previously portrayed Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy and Jason Dean on Charmed.</p> | Eric Dane says he's 'feeling great' after hiatus for depression | false | https://newsline.com/eric-dane-says-hes-feeling-great-after-hiatus-for-depression/ | 2017-07-31 | 1right-center
| Eric Dane says he's 'feeling great' after hiatus for depression
<p>July 31 (UPI) — <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Eric_Dane/" type="external">Eric Dane</a> says he’s “feeling great” after seeking treatment for depression.</p>
<p>The 44-year-old actor opened up <a href="https://twitter.com/TODAYshow/status/892009658860412933" type="external">on Monday’s episode</a> of Today after taking time off from the TNT series The Last Ship in the spring to focus on his mental health.</p>
<p>“I was dealing with some depression,” he confirmed. “I felt very conflicted about it because I didn’t really feel like I had anything to be depressed about. Now I take a medication called Pristiq … and the depression’s gone. I’m doing okay.”</p>
<p>Dane said his experience was “a scary thing” where he struggled to even “get out of bed.” He advised other people struggling with depression to address their issues head-on.</p>
<p>“You’ve got to listen to your body,” the star said. “It’s a very serious thing. Like I said, I felt very conflicted because I couldn’t figure out what I was depressed about. But it’s very real.”</p>
<p>“I mean, I’d dealt with depression throughout my life, but it was always manageable. I just felt like, you know, everybody kind of feels a little blue. But this just hit me like a truck,” he confessed. “I had to take some time off — I went away, I took care of it, and I’m feeling great.”</p>
<p>Dane’s rep had announced the actor’s hiatus in April.</p>
<p>“Eric asked for a break to deal with personal issues,” the rep said in a statement <a href="http://people.com/celebrity/eric-dane-depression-the-last-ship-production-halted/" type="external">to People</a>. “He sufers from depression and had asked for a few weeks of downtime and the producers kindly granted that request.”</p>
<p>Dane plays Captain Tom Chandler on The Last Ship, which will premiere a fourth season Aug. 20. He previously portrayed Dr. Mark Sloan on Grey’s Anatomy and Jason Dean on Charmed.</p> | 930 |
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<p />
<p>DALE: It isn’t just wrong to go over your manager’s head – it’s foolhardy. Here’s why: What is the distinguishing trait of your boss’s boss? She’s a BOSS. And what are you? An employee sneaking around his boss. So, who’s she likely to side with? Not good old Kyle. No, she is going to see the maneuver as a junior person trying to tell her how to manage her people. Even if you are operating with the purest heart, it will seem to your boss’s boss like a breach of protocol and a Machiavellian maneuver.</p>
<p>J.T.: While it’s wonderful, Kyle, that you care so much about your boss and your clients, I have to agree that going around your manager is not the solution. Instead, set up a private meeting with her and tell her flat-out that you’re worried. However, instead of talking about your concerns over her mistakes, focus on how you could help. Offer to take things off her plate. If she refuses to delegate tasks to you, then ask her what will happen if there is another major mistake. Ask “What will upper management think?” Just mentioning it might be the push she needs to accept your help.</p>
<p>DALE: Agreed. Instead of asking yourself, “Who should I warn?” ask “How can I help?” This is your chance to be a hero. By jumping in to help, then and only then could you put your boss in a position to go to upper management and ask for time off. After all, she’d then have a plan in place – that’s you, Kyle The Hero – to make things go smoothly in her absence.</p>
<p>Dear J.T. &amp; Dale: I have been working as a personal assistant to an executive for three years. It’s a great part-time job, and I get to work from home. Recently, his business grew and they hired a young woman out of college. I went on vacation and she covered for me. When I got back, I got a long email from the executive telling me all the changes in how we’d work. I guess the new girl took it upon herself to point out where she thought I could be doing a better job. I am furious. It’s clear she wants my job. Because I work remotely, I’m not there to defend myself. – Britney</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>J.T.: You are jumping to conclusions, Britney. She has a job, and from the sounds of it, she can keep growing with the company without squeezing you out. I think you need to recognize that you are a business-of-one and your favorite client is having a better customer-service experience with another business-of-one. If I were you, I would not only cooperate with your executive’s requests, but I’d also figure out how to befriend the young woman. You have more experience/knowledge, and you can help her achieve her career goals without her taking your job. Look at this as an opportunity to secure your job while creating an on-site ally.</p>
<p>DALE: That’s great advice. I know it seems unfair to be expected to maneuver around a junior employee, but she has the advantage of being at the office and having the boss’s ear. Your job is to figure out where your experience and knowledge will be most helpful to her and your boss, and to work with both of them to be the best possible team. Keep working at making the team better, and you’ll establish yourself as something more than just another part-time, remote employee — that is, you’ll become a great teammate.</p>
<p>Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and the founder of the consulting firm jtodonnell. Dale Dauten resolves employment and other business disputes as a mediator with <a href="http://AgreementHouse.com" type="external">AgreementHouse.com</a>. com. Please visit them at <a href="http://jtanddale.com" type="external">jtanddale.com</a>, where you can send questions via email, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | Should I take worries about boss upstairs? | false | https://abqjournal.com/466148/should-i-take-worries-about-boss-upstairs.html | 2least
| Should I take worries about boss upstairs?
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>DALE: It isn’t just wrong to go over your manager’s head – it’s foolhardy. Here’s why: What is the distinguishing trait of your boss’s boss? She’s a BOSS. And what are you? An employee sneaking around his boss. So, who’s she likely to side with? Not good old Kyle. No, she is going to see the maneuver as a junior person trying to tell her how to manage her people. Even if you are operating with the purest heart, it will seem to your boss’s boss like a breach of protocol and a Machiavellian maneuver.</p>
<p>J.T.: While it’s wonderful, Kyle, that you care so much about your boss and your clients, I have to agree that going around your manager is not the solution. Instead, set up a private meeting with her and tell her flat-out that you’re worried. However, instead of talking about your concerns over her mistakes, focus on how you could help. Offer to take things off her plate. If she refuses to delegate tasks to you, then ask her what will happen if there is another major mistake. Ask “What will upper management think?” Just mentioning it might be the push she needs to accept your help.</p>
<p>DALE: Agreed. Instead of asking yourself, “Who should I warn?” ask “How can I help?” This is your chance to be a hero. By jumping in to help, then and only then could you put your boss in a position to go to upper management and ask for time off. After all, she’d then have a plan in place – that’s you, Kyle The Hero – to make things go smoothly in her absence.</p>
<p>Dear J.T. &amp; Dale: I have been working as a personal assistant to an executive for three years. It’s a great part-time job, and I get to work from home. Recently, his business grew and they hired a young woman out of college. I went on vacation and she covered for me. When I got back, I got a long email from the executive telling me all the changes in how we’d work. I guess the new girl took it upon herself to point out where she thought I could be doing a better job. I am furious. It’s clear she wants my job. Because I work remotely, I’m not there to defend myself. – Britney</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>J.T.: You are jumping to conclusions, Britney. She has a job, and from the sounds of it, she can keep growing with the company without squeezing you out. I think you need to recognize that you are a business-of-one and your favorite client is having a better customer-service experience with another business-of-one. If I were you, I would not only cooperate with your executive’s requests, but I’d also figure out how to befriend the young woman. You have more experience/knowledge, and you can help her achieve her career goals without her taking your job. Look at this as an opportunity to secure your job while creating an on-site ally.</p>
<p>DALE: That’s great advice. I know it seems unfair to be expected to maneuver around a junior employee, but she has the advantage of being at the office and having the boss’s ear. Your job is to figure out where your experience and knowledge will be most helpful to her and your boss, and to work with both of them to be the best possible team. Keep working at making the team better, and you’ll establish yourself as something more than just another part-time, remote employee — that is, you’ll become a great teammate.</p>
<p>Jeanine “J.T.” Tanner O’Donnell is a professional development specialist and the founder of the consulting firm jtodonnell. Dale Dauten resolves employment and other business disputes as a mediator with <a href="http://AgreementHouse.com" type="external">AgreementHouse.com</a>. com. Please visit them at <a href="http://jtanddale.com" type="external">jtanddale.com</a>, where you can send questions via email, or write to them in care of King Features Syndicate, 300 W. 57th St., 15th Floor, New York, NY 10019.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 931 |
|
<p>A spokesman for Joe Lieberman says the senator intends to serve in the next Congress as a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001526.html?referrer=emailarticle" type="external">full-blown Democrat</a>, not an independent who merely caucuses with Democrats.</p>
<p>Washington Post:</p>
<p>Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who won reelection as an independent, will serve in the next Congress as a Democrat, not an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, his spokesman said Thursday.</p>
<p>With the Democratic takeover of the Senate, Lieberman is in line to become chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.</p>
<p />
<p>The three-term Connecticut lawmaker defied party leaders when he launched his independent bid after losing to Democrat Ned Lamont in the August primary. During the campaign, he vowed to be an “independent-minded Democrat” if reelected.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001526.html?referrer=emailarticle" type="external">Link</a></p> | Lieberman Wants Back In | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/lieberman-wants-back-in/ | 2006-11-12 | 4left
| Lieberman Wants Back In
<p>A spokesman for Joe Lieberman says the senator intends to serve in the next Congress as a <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001526.html?referrer=emailarticle" type="external">full-blown Democrat</a>, not an independent who merely caucuses with Democrats.</p>
<p>Washington Post:</p>
<p>Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who won reelection as an independent, will serve in the next Congress as a Democrat, not an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, his spokesman said Thursday.</p>
<p>With the Democratic takeover of the Senate, Lieberman is in line to become chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.</p>
<p />
<p>The three-term Connecticut lawmaker defied party leaders when he launched his independent bid after losing to Democrat Ned Lamont in the August primary. During the campaign, he vowed to be an “independent-minded Democrat” if reelected.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/10/AR2006111001526.html?referrer=emailarticle" type="external">Link</a></p> | 932 |
<p />
<p />
<p>Since the massacre in Orlando early Sunday morning, pro-gun pundits have come out in force to argue that the weapon used in the attack is not an assault rifle. The gun lobby prefers to call these weapons “ <a href="http://www.nssf.org/msr/facts.cfm#item11" type="external">modern sporting rifles,</a>” euphemistic ammo it can fire in an ongoing <a href="" type="internal">semantic debate</a>. But make no mistake: What the Orlando attacker used was a weapon of war. It was designed to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. Witness this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaPekvHYX0c" type="external">harrowing audio</a> captured by a bystander outside the Pulse nightclub in which Omar Mateen fires 24 shots in 9 seconds.</p>
<p>According to a federal law enforcement official, the rifle Mateen used to murder and maim more than 100 people was a <a href="http://www.sigevolution.com/sigmcx" type="external">Sig Sauer MCX</a>. Mateen legally purchased the weapon, similar to an AR-15, on June 4 in Port St. Lucie, Florida, near where he lived. (He legally purchased a Glock 17 handgun the following day, which he also carried during the attack.)</p>
<p>Sig Sauer bills the <a href="http://www.sigevolution.com/sigmcx" type="external">MCX</a> as “an innovative weapon system built around a battle-proven core.” The company says it “stands as the first rifle to be silenced from the ground up. It also accepts a broad array of accessories, enabling you to build a complete weapon system for any scenario or environment.” It has a military-spec trigger and a magazine capacity of 30 rounds. According to the book <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=v1yqCwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA142&amp;lpg=PA142&amp;dq=mcx+special+forces&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=_H9PyGSajg&amp;sig=dnqlpg-bvjtUfDWWoYmWDBiPMQY&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwitq9nJzqXNAhVGOFIKHSWODngQ6AEINjAE#v=onepage&amp;q=mcx%20special%20forces&amp;f=false" type="external">Guns of Special Forces 2001-2015</a>, the MCX is known in military circles as the “Black Mamba” and was developed at the request of the US Army’s special operations forces.</p>
<p>Although the legal civilian version of the gun fires on semi-automatic, it can be highly lethal. Indeed, <a href="" type="internal">like many of his recent predecessors</a>, Mateen was able to unleash a devastating barrage of gunfire. The law enforcement official declined to comment on the total number of rounds fired in the attack. But, he said, it was “obviously a lot.”</p>
<p>Read our in-depth <a href="" type="internal">investigation of America’s 10 biggest gunmakers</a>.</p>
<p /> | This Is the Assault Rifle Used by the Orlando Mass Shooter | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2016/06/assault-rifle-used-by-orlando-mass-shooter/ | 2016-06-13 | 4left
| This Is the Assault Rifle Used by the Orlando Mass Shooter
<p />
<p />
<p>Since the massacre in Orlando early Sunday morning, pro-gun pundits have come out in force to argue that the weapon used in the attack is not an assault rifle. The gun lobby prefers to call these weapons “ <a href="http://www.nssf.org/msr/facts.cfm#item11" type="external">modern sporting rifles,</a>” euphemistic ammo it can fire in an ongoing <a href="" type="internal">semantic debate</a>. But make no mistake: What the Orlando attacker used was a weapon of war. It was designed to kill as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. Witness this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaPekvHYX0c" type="external">harrowing audio</a> captured by a bystander outside the Pulse nightclub in which Omar Mateen fires 24 shots in 9 seconds.</p>
<p>According to a federal law enforcement official, the rifle Mateen used to murder and maim more than 100 people was a <a href="http://www.sigevolution.com/sigmcx" type="external">Sig Sauer MCX</a>. Mateen legally purchased the weapon, similar to an AR-15, on June 4 in Port St. Lucie, Florida, near where he lived. (He legally purchased a Glock 17 handgun the following day, which he also carried during the attack.)</p>
<p>Sig Sauer bills the <a href="http://www.sigevolution.com/sigmcx" type="external">MCX</a> as “an innovative weapon system built around a battle-proven core.” The company says it “stands as the first rifle to be silenced from the ground up. It also accepts a broad array of accessories, enabling you to build a complete weapon system for any scenario or environment.” It has a military-spec trigger and a magazine capacity of 30 rounds. According to the book <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=v1yqCwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA142&amp;lpg=PA142&amp;dq=mcx+special+forces&amp;source=bl&amp;ots=_H9PyGSajg&amp;sig=dnqlpg-bvjtUfDWWoYmWDBiPMQY&amp;hl=en&amp;sa=X&amp;ved=0ahUKEwitq9nJzqXNAhVGOFIKHSWODngQ6AEINjAE#v=onepage&amp;q=mcx%20special%20forces&amp;f=false" type="external">Guns of Special Forces 2001-2015</a>, the MCX is known in military circles as the “Black Mamba” and was developed at the request of the US Army’s special operations forces.</p>
<p>Although the legal civilian version of the gun fires on semi-automatic, it can be highly lethal. Indeed, <a href="" type="internal">like many of his recent predecessors</a>, Mateen was able to unleash a devastating barrage of gunfire. The law enforcement official declined to comment on the total number of rounds fired in the attack. But, he said, it was “obviously a lot.”</p>
<p>Read our in-depth <a href="" type="internal">investigation of America’s 10 biggest gunmakers</a>.</p>
<p /> | 933 |
<p>Antwerp 46, Haviland Wayne Trace 45</p>
<p>Ashtabula Edgewood 84, Niles McKinley 52</p>
<p>Ashville Teays Valley 59, Lancaster Fairfield Union 57, OT</p>
<p>Bellevue 58, Tiffin Columbian 38</p>
<p>Bloom-Carroll 74, Baltimore Liberty Union 57</p>
<p>Bloomdale Elmwood 71, Millbury Lake 44</p>
<p>Can. Heritage Christian 96, Kingsway Christian 55</p>
<p>Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 90, Zanesville Rosecrans 46</p>
<p>Cin. Riverview East 74, Cin. SCPA 49</p>
<p>Circleville 65, Circleville Logan Elm 60</p>
<p>Clyde 92, Sandusky St. Mary 68</p>
<p>Cols. Hamilton Twp. 72, Amanda-Clearcreek 59</p>
<p>Cols. Wellington 57, Lancaster Fisher Cath. 36</p>
<p>Cortland Lakeview 68, Jefferson Area 47</p>
<p>Defiance Tinora 44, Defiance Ayersville 36</p>
<p>Fairfield Christian 82, Millersport 64</p>
<p>Gahanna Christian 61, Tree of Life 49</p>
<p>Gahanna Cols. Academy 53, Cols. Bexley 46</p>
<p>Galion 53, Richwood N. Union 38</p>
<p>Genoa Area 50, Elmore Woodmore 35</p>
<p>Hamler Patrick Henry 49, Continental 33</p>
<p>Hicksville 55, Holgate 23</p>
<p>Marion Pleasant 67, Caledonia River Valley 47</p>
<p>Milan Edison 44, Port Clinton 43</p>
<p>Montpelier 80, Edon 70</p>
<p>New Riegel 57, Tiffin Calvert 48, OT</p>
<p>Northside Christian 66, Columbus Torah Academy 15</p>
<p>Oak Harbor 53, Castalia Margaretta 37</p>
<p>Old Fort 73, Kansas Lakota 52</p>
<p>Painesville Harvey 49, Orange 38</p>
<p>Pemberville Eastwood 62, Rossford 47</p>
<p>Pettisville 50, Delta 42</p>
<p>Pioneer N. Central 64, W. Unity Hilltop 53</p>
<p>Poland Seminary 54, Struthers 53</p>
<p>Sandusky 60, Sandusky Perkins 59, OT</p>
<p>Shelby 42, Norwalk 31</p>
<p>Sherwood Fairview 35, Edgerton 30</p>
<p>Stryker 33, Gorham Fayette 30</p>
<p>Sugar Grove Berne Union 51, Grove City Christian 45</p>
<p>Tontogany Otsego 52, Fostoria 44</p>
<p>Vermilion 54, Willard 45</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 56, London 34</p>
<p>Antwerp 46, Haviland Wayne Trace 45</p>
<p>Ashtabula Edgewood 84, Niles McKinley 52</p>
<p>Ashville Teays Valley 59, Lancaster Fairfield Union 57, OT</p>
<p>Bellevue 58, Tiffin Columbian 38</p>
<p>Bloom-Carroll 74, Baltimore Liberty Union 57</p>
<p>Bloomdale Elmwood 71, Millbury Lake 44</p>
<p>Can. Heritage Christian 96, Kingsway Christian 55</p>
<p>Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 90, Zanesville Rosecrans 46</p>
<p>Cin. Riverview East 74, Cin. SCPA 49</p>
<p>Circleville 65, Circleville Logan Elm 60</p>
<p>Clyde 92, Sandusky St. Mary 68</p>
<p>Cols. Hamilton Twp. 72, Amanda-Clearcreek 59</p>
<p>Cols. Wellington 57, Lancaster Fisher Cath. 36</p>
<p>Cortland Lakeview 68, Jefferson Area 47</p>
<p>Defiance Tinora 44, Defiance Ayersville 36</p>
<p>Fairfield Christian 82, Millersport 64</p>
<p>Gahanna Christian 61, Tree of Life 49</p>
<p>Gahanna Cols. Academy 53, Cols. Bexley 46</p>
<p>Galion 53, Richwood N. Union 38</p>
<p>Genoa Area 50, Elmore Woodmore 35</p>
<p>Hamler Patrick Henry 49, Continental 33</p>
<p>Hicksville 55, Holgate 23</p>
<p>Marion Pleasant 67, Caledonia River Valley 47</p>
<p>Milan Edison 44, Port Clinton 43</p>
<p>Montpelier 80, Edon 70</p>
<p>New Riegel 57, Tiffin Calvert 48, OT</p>
<p>Northside Christian 66, Columbus Torah Academy 15</p>
<p>Oak Harbor 53, Castalia Margaretta 37</p>
<p>Old Fort 73, Kansas Lakota 52</p>
<p>Painesville Harvey 49, Orange 38</p>
<p>Pemberville Eastwood 62, Rossford 47</p>
<p>Pettisville 50, Delta 42</p>
<p>Pioneer N. Central 64, W. Unity Hilltop 53</p>
<p>Poland Seminary 54, Struthers 53</p>
<p>Sandusky 60, Sandusky Perkins 59, OT</p>
<p>Shelby 42, Norwalk 31</p>
<p>Sherwood Fairview 35, Edgerton 30</p>
<p>Stryker 33, Gorham Fayette 30</p>
<p>Sugar Grove Berne Union 51, Grove City Christian 45</p>
<p>Tontogany Otsego 52, Fostoria 44</p>
<p>Vermilion 54, Willard 45</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 56, London 34</p> | Thursday's Scores | false | https://apnews.com/0639c7645c9241f4b883344e6625e6f2 | 2018-01-05 | 2least
| Thursday's Scores
<p>Antwerp 46, Haviland Wayne Trace 45</p>
<p>Ashtabula Edgewood 84, Niles McKinley 52</p>
<p>Ashville Teays Valley 59, Lancaster Fairfield Union 57, OT</p>
<p>Bellevue 58, Tiffin Columbian 38</p>
<p>Bloom-Carroll 74, Baltimore Liberty Union 57</p>
<p>Bloomdale Elmwood 71, Millbury Lake 44</p>
<p>Can. Heritage Christian 96, Kingsway Christian 55</p>
<p>Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 90, Zanesville Rosecrans 46</p>
<p>Cin. Riverview East 74, Cin. SCPA 49</p>
<p>Circleville 65, Circleville Logan Elm 60</p>
<p>Clyde 92, Sandusky St. Mary 68</p>
<p>Cols. Hamilton Twp. 72, Amanda-Clearcreek 59</p>
<p>Cols. Wellington 57, Lancaster Fisher Cath. 36</p>
<p>Cortland Lakeview 68, Jefferson Area 47</p>
<p>Defiance Tinora 44, Defiance Ayersville 36</p>
<p>Fairfield Christian 82, Millersport 64</p>
<p>Gahanna Christian 61, Tree of Life 49</p>
<p>Gahanna Cols. Academy 53, Cols. Bexley 46</p>
<p>Galion 53, Richwood N. Union 38</p>
<p>Genoa Area 50, Elmore Woodmore 35</p>
<p>Hamler Patrick Henry 49, Continental 33</p>
<p>Hicksville 55, Holgate 23</p>
<p>Marion Pleasant 67, Caledonia River Valley 47</p>
<p>Milan Edison 44, Port Clinton 43</p>
<p>Montpelier 80, Edon 70</p>
<p>New Riegel 57, Tiffin Calvert 48, OT</p>
<p>Northside Christian 66, Columbus Torah Academy 15</p>
<p>Oak Harbor 53, Castalia Margaretta 37</p>
<p>Old Fort 73, Kansas Lakota 52</p>
<p>Painesville Harvey 49, Orange 38</p>
<p>Pemberville Eastwood 62, Rossford 47</p>
<p>Pettisville 50, Delta 42</p>
<p>Pioneer N. Central 64, W. Unity Hilltop 53</p>
<p>Poland Seminary 54, Struthers 53</p>
<p>Sandusky 60, Sandusky Perkins 59, OT</p>
<p>Shelby 42, Norwalk 31</p>
<p>Sherwood Fairview 35, Edgerton 30</p>
<p>Stryker 33, Gorham Fayette 30</p>
<p>Sugar Grove Berne Union 51, Grove City Christian 45</p>
<p>Tontogany Otsego 52, Fostoria 44</p>
<p>Vermilion 54, Willard 45</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 56, London 34</p>
<p>Antwerp 46, Haviland Wayne Trace 45</p>
<p>Ashtabula Edgewood 84, Niles McKinley 52</p>
<p>Ashville Teays Valley 59, Lancaster Fairfield Union 57, OT</p>
<p>Bellevue 58, Tiffin Columbian 38</p>
<p>Bloom-Carroll 74, Baltimore Liberty Union 57</p>
<p>Bloomdale Elmwood 71, Millbury Lake 44</p>
<p>Can. Heritage Christian 96, Kingsway Christian 55</p>
<p>Canal Winchester Harvest Prep 90, Zanesville Rosecrans 46</p>
<p>Cin. Riverview East 74, Cin. SCPA 49</p>
<p>Circleville 65, Circleville Logan Elm 60</p>
<p>Clyde 92, Sandusky St. Mary 68</p>
<p>Cols. Hamilton Twp. 72, Amanda-Clearcreek 59</p>
<p>Cols. Wellington 57, Lancaster Fisher Cath. 36</p>
<p>Cortland Lakeview 68, Jefferson Area 47</p>
<p>Defiance Tinora 44, Defiance Ayersville 36</p>
<p>Fairfield Christian 82, Millersport 64</p>
<p>Gahanna Christian 61, Tree of Life 49</p>
<p>Gahanna Cols. Academy 53, Cols. Bexley 46</p>
<p>Galion 53, Richwood N. Union 38</p>
<p>Genoa Area 50, Elmore Woodmore 35</p>
<p>Hamler Patrick Henry 49, Continental 33</p>
<p>Hicksville 55, Holgate 23</p>
<p>Marion Pleasant 67, Caledonia River Valley 47</p>
<p>Milan Edison 44, Port Clinton 43</p>
<p>Montpelier 80, Edon 70</p>
<p>New Riegel 57, Tiffin Calvert 48, OT</p>
<p>Northside Christian 66, Columbus Torah Academy 15</p>
<p>Oak Harbor 53, Castalia Margaretta 37</p>
<p>Old Fort 73, Kansas Lakota 52</p>
<p>Painesville Harvey 49, Orange 38</p>
<p>Pemberville Eastwood 62, Rossford 47</p>
<p>Pettisville 50, Delta 42</p>
<p>Pioneer N. Central 64, W. Unity Hilltop 53</p>
<p>Poland Seminary 54, Struthers 53</p>
<p>Sandusky 60, Sandusky Perkins 59, OT</p>
<p>Shelby 42, Norwalk 31</p>
<p>Sherwood Fairview 35, Edgerton 30</p>
<p>Stryker 33, Gorham Fayette 30</p>
<p>Sugar Grove Berne Union 51, Grove City Christian 45</p>
<p>Tontogany Otsego 52, Fostoria 44</p>
<p>Vermilion 54, Willard 45</p>
<p>Worthington Christian 56, London 34</p> | 934 |
<p>One of the most popular theories and commonly taught explanations for why Christmas is on Dec. 25th is because the early church placed Christian holidays at times of Roman celebration to co-opt the local pagan festivals.</p>
<p>Christians placed Christmas on Dec. 25th to co-opt Saturnalia, the mid-winter festival, or possibly the Festival of the Unconquered Sun - Sol Invictus. The theory went that Christians could get the heathen to convert by co-opting their own holidays.</p>
<p>There is one problem - it sounds more convincing than it is. These theories did not start growing until the 12th century and only became popular once comparative religion became trendy after the 18th century. Going back to the earliest Christian church finds evidence that Christmas, though not initially celebrated, had starting being commemorated well before the Feast of the Unconquered Sun's creation for entirely Christian reasons.</p>
<p />
<p>In Egypt, less than 300 years after Christ's death, some Christians celebrated his birth in the spring. As the Biblical Archeology Society has noted, the earliest references to Christmas come at about 200 A.D., at a time Christians were not incorporating other religious traditions into their own. By 300 A.D., many Christians were celebrating his birth around Dec. 25th. Within 100 years, Christmas was on the calendar record. Christians looked to December because the early church was far more interested in Jesus's death. His death and resurrection is what matters to the Gospel, and that was the date the early church focused on.</p>
<p>"Around 200 A.D., Tertullian of Carthage reported the calculation that the 14th of Nisan in the year Jesus died was the equivalent to March 25 in the Roman calendar," said Andrew McGowan last year at the Biblical Archaeology Society. That would be the day of Crucifixion. The math from there is rather simple. Nine months later would be Dec. 25. Early church history held as fact that the prophets and martyrs of the church were conceived on the day they died. So if Christ died on March 25, it was also the anniversary of his conception.</p>
<p>Separately, and more directly from the Bible, Luke 1 tells us Zacharias, John the Baptist's father, was in the priestly division of Abijah. Based on a calculation of this and the division of priest in the temple in 70 A.D. when the temple fell, a number of early Church historians presumed Zacharias would have been in the temple in early October. Later historians, however, speculate it would have been June. The Gospel of Luke tells us when Zacharias left the temple, his wife conceived. "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazaerth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David," Luke 1:25-26 notes.</p>
<p>Six months after Zacharias left the temple would be March as Mary's time of conception. Fast forward nine months and again we find ourselves in December. With the very earliest Church fathers settling on March 25th as Christ's death and believing fully that Christ's death would occur on the anniversary of his conception, the early church reinforced its belief well before there is any written accusation or evidence of the church incorporating Saturnalia or Sol Invictus into its celebrations. It is important to note, however, that most scholars reject setting Christ's birth to Zacharias's temple service because of problems related to really knowing when he was there.</p>
<p>But there are three final points. One can look at all of this and conclude the church fathers got it wrong. But the real question is whether they themselves thought they got it wrong. They were pretty sure they were right. The earliest Christians refused to celebrate birthdays, but by 300 A.D., there was growing evidence the Church had noted Christ's birthday around December 25th.</p>
<p>Second, some of the earliest traditions of the early Church held that Christ was born on what would be a Wednesday. This year, we too will celebrate Christ's birth on a Wednesday.</p>
<p>Finally, the date of Christ's birth is not important. What is important is that he is.</p>
<p>Erick Erickson is the Editor-in-Chief of RedState.com.</p>
<p /> | Why December 25? | true | http://humanevents.com/2013/12/24/why-december-25/ | 2013-12-24 | 0right
| Why December 25?
<p>One of the most popular theories and commonly taught explanations for why Christmas is on Dec. 25th is because the early church placed Christian holidays at times of Roman celebration to co-opt the local pagan festivals.</p>
<p>Christians placed Christmas on Dec. 25th to co-opt Saturnalia, the mid-winter festival, or possibly the Festival of the Unconquered Sun - Sol Invictus. The theory went that Christians could get the heathen to convert by co-opting their own holidays.</p>
<p>There is one problem - it sounds more convincing than it is. These theories did not start growing until the 12th century and only became popular once comparative religion became trendy after the 18th century. Going back to the earliest Christian church finds evidence that Christmas, though not initially celebrated, had starting being commemorated well before the Feast of the Unconquered Sun's creation for entirely Christian reasons.</p>
<p />
<p>In Egypt, less than 300 years after Christ's death, some Christians celebrated his birth in the spring. As the Biblical Archeology Society has noted, the earliest references to Christmas come at about 200 A.D., at a time Christians were not incorporating other religious traditions into their own. By 300 A.D., many Christians were celebrating his birth around Dec. 25th. Within 100 years, Christmas was on the calendar record. Christians looked to December because the early church was far more interested in Jesus's death. His death and resurrection is what matters to the Gospel, and that was the date the early church focused on.</p>
<p>"Around 200 A.D., Tertullian of Carthage reported the calculation that the 14th of Nisan in the year Jesus died was the equivalent to March 25 in the Roman calendar," said Andrew McGowan last year at the Biblical Archaeology Society. That would be the day of Crucifixion. The math from there is rather simple. Nine months later would be Dec. 25. Early church history held as fact that the prophets and martyrs of the church were conceived on the day they died. So if Christ died on March 25, it was also the anniversary of his conception.</p>
<p>Separately, and more directly from the Bible, Luke 1 tells us Zacharias, John the Baptist's father, was in the priestly division of Abijah. Based on a calculation of this and the division of priest in the temple in 70 A.D. when the temple fell, a number of early Church historians presumed Zacharias would have been in the temple in early October. Later historians, however, speculate it would have been June. The Gospel of Luke tells us when Zacharias left the temple, his wife conceived. "In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazaerth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David," Luke 1:25-26 notes.</p>
<p>Six months after Zacharias left the temple would be March as Mary's time of conception. Fast forward nine months and again we find ourselves in December. With the very earliest Church fathers settling on March 25th as Christ's death and believing fully that Christ's death would occur on the anniversary of his conception, the early church reinforced its belief well before there is any written accusation or evidence of the church incorporating Saturnalia or Sol Invictus into its celebrations. It is important to note, however, that most scholars reject setting Christ's birth to Zacharias's temple service because of problems related to really knowing when he was there.</p>
<p>But there are three final points. One can look at all of this and conclude the church fathers got it wrong. But the real question is whether they themselves thought they got it wrong. They were pretty sure they were right. The earliest Christians refused to celebrate birthdays, but by 300 A.D., there was growing evidence the Church had noted Christ's birthday around December 25th.</p>
<p>Second, some of the earliest traditions of the early Church held that Christ was born on what would be a Wednesday. This year, we too will celebrate Christ's birth on a Wednesday.</p>
<p>Finally, the date of Christ's birth is not important. What is important is that he is.</p>
<p>Erick Erickson is the Editor-in-Chief of RedState.com.</p>
<p /> | 935 |
<p>Two Texas companies that drill for natural gas have signed agreements with New York's attorney general to release information about the financial risks to investors from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method banned in the state while health officials study its effects.</p>
<p>Agreements with EOG Resources Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. require them to publicly disclose of risks from chemical handling, wastewater disposal, effects on drinking water aquifers, regulation and litigation.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Both companies say they have no current operations in New York and already disclose much of the information.</p>
<p>The agreements follow 2011 subpoenas from the attorney general's office to various drilling companies about their disclosure practices.</p>
<p>So-called fracking frees natural gas from dense shale rock a mile underground by injecting high volumes of water mixed with chemicals and sand.</p> | 2 Texas gas drillers agree with NY attorney general to report hydraulic fracturing risks | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/10/03/2-texas-gas-drillers-agree-with-ny-attorney-general-to-report-hydraulic.html | 2016-03-05 | 0right
| 2 Texas gas drillers agree with NY attorney general to report hydraulic fracturing risks
<p>Two Texas companies that drill for natural gas have signed agreements with New York's attorney general to release information about the financial risks to investors from hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method banned in the state while health officials study its effects.</p>
<p>Agreements with EOG Resources Inc. and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. require them to publicly disclose of risks from chemical handling, wastewater disposal, effects on drinking water aquifers, regulation and litigation.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Both companies say they have no current operations in New York and already disclose much of the information.</p>
<p>The agreements follow 2011 subpoenas from the attorney general's office to various drilling companies about their disclosure practices.</p>
<p>So-called fracking frees natural gas from dense shale rock a mile underground by injecting high volumes of water mixed with chemicals and sand.</p> | 936 |
<p>Update: Israel and Hamas on Sunday said they agreed to a <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/140810/israel-and-hamas-accept-egypts-gaza-ce" type="external">new 72-hour ceasefire</a> proposed by Egypt.</p>
<p>JERUSALEM — If Palestinians and Israelis harbored doubts about the distinction between a ceasefire and an armistice, they were rapidly disabused of them this morning.</p>
<p>At a few minutes to eight, sirens wailed across southern Israel, announcing incoming rockets.</p>
<p>In eastern Gaza, families who had ventured back to their homes after a ceasefire began 72 hours earlier <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Israeli-delegation-leaves-Egypt-Gazans-flee-eastern-neighborhoods-again-370485" type="external">fled once again</a> to precarious UN-run shelters.&#160;</p>
<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceasefire" type="external">ceasefire</a> — a temporary cessation of fighting — officially ended at 8 a.m., by which point it was already clear that no lasting truce had been achieved.</p>
<p>Israel's Home Front Command appeared to have been caught off guard by the incoming fire. Two days earlier, it issued orders for all of Israel's southern communities to return to normal activity, including public gatherings and, significantly, not including the operation of bomb shelters.</p>
<p>In strongest sign yet of IDF assessments, Home Front Command issues full return to routine activity across the country. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash" type="external">#Gaza</a></p>
<p>— Daniel Nisman (@DannyNis) <a href="https://twitter.com/DannyNis/statuses/497036311878856704" type="external">August 6, 2014</a></p>
<p>Early Friday, it was forced to backtrack, drawing a rare public reprimand from former Israeli Security Services director Yuval Diskin, who in the early afternoon tweeted: "Still trying but cannot understand why the Chief of Staff and the Head of the Southern Command rushed to call for residents to return to their homes in the Gaza border region before 72-hour cease-fire ended."</p>
<p>עדיין מנסה ולא מצליח להבין מדוע אצה הדרך לרמטכל ולאלוף פדמ לקרוא לתושבי עוטף עזה לשוב לבתיהם עוד לפני תום 72 השעות של הפסקת האש?</p>
<p>— Yuval Diskin (@diskiny) <a href="https://twitter.com/diskiny/statuses/497716887090761728" type="external">August 8, 2014</a></p>
<p>In Gaza, the first casualty after the resumption of combat was <a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=719050" type="external">Ibrahim al-Dawawseh</a>, a 10-year-old boy.&#160;</p>
<p>In Israel, a home in the city of Sderot was struck by an incoming rocket and, in a separate incident, two men were wounded by a direct rocket hit. Some sixty rockets were launched at Israel in the first 12 hours of non-ceasefire.</p>
<p>Both sides re-engaged, but not with the intensity of the first month of war — as if both were weary but had not found a way to end the fighting. The strikes were less frequent.</p>
<p>Rumors emanating from the Cairo talks aimed at ending the conflict indicated that the major point of contention remained the siege on Gaza, now in its seventh year. Hamas demanded the opening of all border crossings, under its supervision. Israel and Egypt <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/unlikely-alliance-between-israel-and-egypt-stoked-gaza-tension-1407379093" type="external">appeared</a> inclined to accept the demand — but, joining forces against the Islamist group both view as a major threat, only if the Palestinian Authority and not Hamas were put in charge of the frontiers.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/140808/egypt-gaza-wounded-hospital-israel-hamas-peace" type="external">Egypt isn't doing much to help Gaza</a></p>
<p>For Hamas, which <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hamas-holds-rally-vows-to-restart-war-if-israel-does-not-meet-its-demands/2014/08/07/e0d0dd5a-6b57-42d3-bb1d-bf33d0974a6c_story.html?tid=HP_world" type="external">announced</a> it would resume combat if Israel did not accede to its demands, such an arrangement would be a humiliation it sees no reason to accept.&#160;</p>
<p>Israel's limbo was in full view at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirim" type="external">Kibbutz Nirim</a>, an agricultural village and one of the bordering communities that has been hard-hit by rockets — and almost deserted by its inhabitants.</p>
<p>Out of 400 residents, 300 fled during the month of war. While the ceasefire seemed to hold, the remaining residents organized a welcome back party for the expected returnees, many of them families with young children.</p>
<p>"We indeed had [a] welcome back party," Adele Raemer, an English teacher, reported. "But not everybody came back. Some of them did."</p>
<p>About 100 people had returned, leaving half the kibbutz, 200 people, still finding refuge elsewhere.</p>
<p>"You know, it's still scary here," Raemer said. "We had a code red [incoming rocket alarm] just before the party started! There's still stuff flying around."</p> | Ceasefires are a strange business | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-08-08/ceasefires-are-strange-business | 2014-08-08 | 3left-center
| Ceasefires are a strange business
<p>Update: Israel and Hamas on Sunday said they agreed to a <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/israel-and-palestine/140810/israel-and-hamas-accept-egypts-gaza-ce" type="external">new 72-hour ceasefire</a> proposed by Egypt.</p>
<p>JERUSALEM — If Palestinians and Israelis harbored doubts about the distinction between a ceasefire and an armistice, they were rapidly disabused of them this morning.</p>
<p>At a few minutes to eight, sirens wailed across southern Israel, announcing incoming rockets.</p>
<p>In eastern Gaza, families who had ventured back to their homes after a ceasefire began 72 hours earlier <a href="http://www.jpost.com/Operation-Protective-Edge/Israeli-delegation-leaves-Egypt-Gazans-flee-eastern-neighborhoods-again-370485" type="external">fled once again</a> to precarious UN-run shelters.&#160;</p>
<p>The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceasefire" type="external">ceasefire</a> — a temporary cessation of fighting — officially ended at 8 a.m., by which point it was already clear that no lasting truce had been achieved.</p>
<p>Israel's Home Front Command appeared to have been caught off guard by the incoming fire. Two days earlier, it issued orders for all of Israel's southern communities to return to normal activity, including public gatherings and, significantly, not including the operation of bomb shelters.</p>
<p>In strongest sign yet of IDF assessments, Home Front Command issues full return to routine activity across the country. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Gaza?src=hash" type="external">#Gaza</a></p>
<p>— Daniel Nisman (@DannyNis) <a href="https://twitter.com/DannyNis/statuses/497036311878856704" type="external">August 6, 2014</a></p>
<p>Early Friday, it was forced to backtrack, drawing a rare public reprimand from former Israeli Security Services director Yuval Diskin, who in the early afternoon tweeted: "Still trying but cannot understand why the Chief of Staff and the Head of the Southern Command rushed to call for residents to return to their homes in the Gaza border region before 72-hour cease-fire ended."</p>
<p>עדיין מנסה ולא מצליח להבין מדוע אצה הדרך לרמטכל ולאלוף פדמ לקרוא לתושבי עוטף עזה לשוב לבתיהם עוד לפני תום 72 השעות של הפסקת האש?</p>
<p>— Yuval Diskin (@diskiny) <a href="https://twitter.com/diskiny/statuses/497716887090761728" type="external">August 8, 2014</a></p>
<p>In Gaza, the first casualty after the resumption of combat was <a href="http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=719050" type="external">Ibrahim al-Dawawseh</a>, a 10-year-old boy.&#160;</p>
<p>In Israel, a home in the city of Sderot was struck by an incoming rocket and, in a separate incident, two men were wounded by a direct rocket hit. Some sixty rockets were launched at Israel in the first 12 hours of non-ceasefire.</p>
<p>Both sides re-engaged, but not with the intensity of the first month of war — as if both were weary but had not found a way to end the fighting. The strikes were less frequent.</p>
<p>Rumors emanating from the Cairo talks aimed at ending the conflict indicated that the major point of contention remained the siege on Gaza, now in its seventh year. Hamas demanded the opening of all border crossings, under its supervision. Israel and Egypt <a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/unlikely-alliance-between-israel-and-egypt-stoked-gaza-tension-1407379093" type="external">appeared</a> inclined to accept the demand — but, joining forces against the Islamist group both view as a major threat, only if the Palestinian Authority and not Hamas were put in charge of the frontiers.&#160;</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/140808/egypt-gaza-wounded-hospital-israel-hamas-peace" type="external">Egypt isn't doing much to help Gaza</a></p>
<p>For Hamas, which <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/hamas-holds-rally-vows-to-restart-war-if-israel-does-not-meet-its-demands/2014/08/07/e0d0dd5a-6b57-42d3-bb1d-bf33d0974a6c_story.html?tid=HP_world" type="external">announced</a> it would resume combat if Israel did not accede to its demands, such an arrangement would be a humiliation it sees no reason to accept.&#160;</p>
<p>Israel's limbo was in full view at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirim" type="external">Kibbutz Nirim</a>, an agricultural village and one of the bordering communities that has been hard-hit by rockets — and almost deserted by its inhabitants.</p>
<p>Out of 400 residents, 300 fled during the month of war. While the ceasefire seemed to hold, the remaining residents organized a welcome back party for the expected returnees, many of them families with young children.</p>
<p>"We indeed had [a] welcome back party," Adele Raemer, an English teacher, reported. "But not everybody came back. Some of them did."</p>
<p>About 100 people had returned, leaving half the kibbutz, 200 people, still finding refuge elsewhere.</p>
<p>"You know, it's still scary here," Raemer said. "We had a code red [incoming rocket alarm] just before the party started! There's still stuff flying around."</p> | 937 |
<p>The following is adapted from “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081224527X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=081224527X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=truthdig20-20" type="external">Public Education Under Siege</a>,” a collection of essays on the wider range of educational, social and economic issues that should be addressed in contemporary school reform.</p>
<p>No reform movement in any domain — the law, agricultural development, education — can do everything, and it is an unreasonable demand that it try. Reform movements need to be selective, and need to be clear and focused. In some ways the current mainstream education reforms are just that: Standardized test scores are used as a measure of achievement; a teacher’s effectiveness is determined by improvement in those scores; funds are awarded by competition, and so on. Yet, though it is unreasonable to demand everything, it is legitimate to scrutinize what is left out — for something left out might be crucial to the success of what is left in — and it is legitimate to question whether the reforms themselves contain within them elements that could unintentionally subvert the very goals of reform.</p>
<p>One of the problems with current reform is that there does not seem to be an elaborated philosophy of education or theory of learning underlying the current reform movement. There is an implied philosophy and it is a basic economic/human capital one: Education is necessary for individual economic advantage and for national economic stability. This focus is legitimate but incomplete, for it narrows the purpose of education in a democracy, which should also include intellectual, social, civic, and ethical development. The theory of learning embedded in an accountability system based on standardized testing is a simplified behaviorist one. Learning is pretty much the acquisition of discrete bits of information measured quantitatively by a standardized test. Teaching is likewise reduced to a knowledge delivery system based on the mastery of a set of teaching techniques.</p>
<p>This characterization of the reformers’ theories of learning and teaching might not be true to their beliefs, but it’s hard to know what they believe since learning and teaching are rarely discussed in more robust terms. What they advocate suggests the behaviorist theory sketched above — a theory long since discredited in fields ranging from anthropology to cognitive science.</p>
<p />
<p>Perhaps the greatest strength of the current reform movement is its focus on inequality, on the poor performance of low-income and minority students. This is definitely a point of agreement for people along the ideological spectrum. Because reformers want to keep focus with “no excuses” on the unacceptable performance of poor children, they insist on addressing outcomes (in the form of test scores) rather than on inequality of resources and social conditions. This is an understandable strategy, but its narrow focus has a potent liability. Poverty itself tends to be pushed out of the picture.</p>
<p>Poverty is mentioned, but, in a variety of ways, is downplayed. So all the damage poverty does to communities and to households, to schools and to other local institutions is rarely addressed. Low achievement then, by default, has to be attributed to teachers and administrators, whose work seems pretty straightforward, given the aforementioned theory of learning that underlies reform. If kids aren’t learning, it’s because teachers lack the techniques or motivation to deliver information to them.</p>
<p>Although the reformers rightly focus on low-performing children, there is not much treatment of sub-populations within the overall group of low-performers. There is little mention of special needs children, English Language Learners, immigrant students, migrant students, undocumented students. In some schools, these sub-populations form a significant percentage of the student body.</p>
<p>Finally, current reformers display no knowledge of — or apparent interest in — the history of school reform, or, for that matter, the history of education in the United States. The result is an ahistorical hubris that, at the least, prevents one from learning from past mistakes.</p>
<p>Without a rich conceptualization of teaching and learning, without an understanding of the origins and maintenance of inequality, without an appreciation of cultural and linguistic diversity, and without a knowledge of history, school reform limits itself to technology and management systems — necessary but hardly sufficient to achieve its grand aims, and certainly insufficient to address the educational inequality that is at the center of its efforts.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Current reform-oriented education policy makes improvement in standardized test scores in reading and mathematics the gold standard of educational success for students, their teachers, and their schools. To be sure, reading and math are core academic skills, but the tests measure them in one relatively restricted way. Furthermore, when one kind of test dominates and when the stakes are high, the tests can drive and compress the curriculum. What is tested gains in importance and other subjects fade. Math is hit hard; social studies, history, and even science are weakened; and art and debate are pushed to the margin — if they survive at all. Research is showing that especially in schools populated by poor children, there is a narrowing of curriculum, a trend toward prepackaged, scripted lessons, and a strong focus on test preparation. You can do all this, get a bump in test scores, yet not provide a very good education.</p>
<p>Though we hear a lot about test scores and proficiency levels, we hear hardly anything about intellectual engagement, curiosity, creativity, or aesthetics — or about taking a chance, pursuing an idea, being reflective. There’s pitifully little about ethical deliberation or thinking things through with others. For that fact, we don’t hear much about public education as the core of a free society.</p>
<p>In the midst of all the heat of school reform, it would be good to step back and remind ourselves what we are ultimately trying to achieve. What is the end goal of school reform? Most would probably agree that the goal is to create vital classrooms and schools, better than we have now in scope and equitable distribution.</p>
<p>Here are the basic questions that should be our touchstone for reform. What is the purpose of education in a democracy? What kind of person do we want to emerge from American schools? What is the experience of education when it is done well?</p>
<p>Let us bring these questions to life with a vignette from a first-grade classroom in inner-city Baltimore. This is drawn from a book one of us wrote called “Possible Lives.” There are 30 children in the class, all from modest to low-income households — the kind of children at the center of school reform.</p>
<p>As we enter the classroom, teacher Stephanie Terry is reading to her students a book called “A House for Hermit Crab.” Hermit crabs inhabit empty mollusk shells, and, as they grow, they leave old shells to find bigger ones; in this story a cheery hermit crab is searching for a more spacious home. The class has a glass case with five hermit crabs, supplied by Stephanie. As Stephanie reads the book, she pauses and raises broader questions about where the creatures live, and this leads to an eager query from Kenneth about where in nature you’d find hermit crabs. “Well,” says Stephanie, “let’s see if we can figure that out.”</p>
<p>She gets up and brings the case with the hermit crabs to the center of the room, takes them out, and places them on the rug. Then she takes two plastic tubs from the cupboard above the sink and fills one with cold water from the tap. “Watch the hermit crabs closely,” she says, “while I go to the kitchen. Be ready to tell me what you see.” She runs down the hall to get warm water from the women who prepare the children’s lunches. Then she places both tubs side by side and asks five students, one by one, to put each of the crabs in the cold water. “What happens?” she asks. “They don’t move,” says Kenneth. “They stay inside,” adds Miko.</p>
<p>Stephanie then asks five other students to transfer the crabs to the second tub. They do, and within seconds the crabs start to stir. Before long, the crabs are moving like crazy. “Okay,” says Stephanie. “What happens in the water?” An excited chorus: “They’re moving.” “They’re walking all over.” “They like it.” “They’re happy like the crab in the book.” “Well,” says Mrs. Terry, “What does this suggest about where they like to live?”</p>
<p>That night the students write about the experiment. Many are just learning to write, but Stephanie told them to write their observations as best as they could and she would help them develop what they write. The next day they take turns standing before the class and reading their reports.</p>
<p>Miko goes first: “I saw the hermit crab walking when it was in the warm water, but when it was in the cold water it was not walking. It likes to live in warm water.” Then Romarise takes the floor, holding his paper way out in his right hand, his left hand in the pocket of his overalls: “(1) I observed two legs in the back of the shell. (2) I observed that some of the crabs changes its shell. (3) When the hermit crabs went into the cold water, they walked slow. (4) When the hermit crabs went into the warm water, they walked faster.” One by one, the rest of the students read their observations, halting at times as they try to figure out what they wrote, sometimes losing track and repeating themselves. But, in soft voice or loud, with a quiet sense of assurance or an unsteady eagerness, these young people read their reports on the behavior of hermit crabs.</p>
<p>There’s a lot to say about Stephanie Terry’s modest but richly-stocked classroom and the skillful way she interacts with the children in it. We want to focus on two things: what Terry demonstrates about the craft and art of teaching, and the experience of learning that she generates for her class.</p>
<p>Everyone in the current reform environment acknowledges the importance of good teaching. But most characterizations of teaching miss the richness and complexity of the work. When you watch Terry, you see that she is knowledgeable and resourceful across multiple subject areas — and is skillful at integrating them. She is spontaneous, alert for the teachable moment, and is able to play out the fruits of that spontaneity, plan next steps incrementally as the activity unfolds. She apparently believes that her students can handle a sophisticated assignment, and she asks questions and gives directions to guide them. It also seems that her students feel comfortable in taking up the intellectual challenge.</p>
<p>What is interesting is that none of the current high-profile reform ideas would explain or significantly enhance her expertise. It is not merit pay that inspires her inventiveness: it didn’t exist in her district. (Though she would be happy to have the extra money, given that some of her classroom was furnished from her own pocket.) And it is not a standardized test that motivates her. In fact, some of the intellectual display we witness would not be captured by the typical test. What motivates her is a complex mix of personal values and a drive for competence. These lead her to treat her students in certain ways and to continue to improve her skill. Several years before this event, she participated in a National Science Foundation workshop aimed at integrating science into the elementary school classroom.As we think about this teacher we begin to wonder what would happen if the considerable financial and human resources spent on the vast machinery of high-stakes testing were channeled instead into a robust, widely distributed program of professional development. We don’t mean the quick-hit, half-day events that so often pass for professional development, but serious, extended engagement of the kind offered by the National Science Foundation and the National Writing Project — the sort of program that helped Stephanie conjure her rich lesson with the hermit crabs.</p>
<p>These programs typically take place in the summer (the National Writing Project runs for four weeks), though there are other options, including ones that extend through part of the school year. Teachers work with subject matter experts; read, write, and think together; learn new material, hear from others who have successfully integrated it into their classrooms, and try it out themselves. Electronic media would be hugely helpful here, creating a variety of ways for teachers to participate, bringing in people from remote areas, and further enabling everyone to regularly check in as they try new things. Such ongoing participation would be crucial in further building the intellectual community created during the program. All of this already exists, but could be expanded significantly if policy-makers had a different orientation to reform, one that embodied a richer understanding of teaching and the teaching profession.</p>
<p>Although pragmatic lifestyle issues certainly come into play in choosing any profession, the majority of people who enter teaching do so for fairly altruistic reasons. They like working with kids. They like science, or literature, or history and want to spark that appreciation in others. They see inequality and want to make a difference in young people’s lives. The kind of professional development we’re describing would appeal to those motives, revitalize them, and further realize them as one’s career progresses. Enriched, widely available professional development would substitute a human development model for school reform rather than the current test-based technocratic one. And because such professional development would positively affect what teachers teach and how they teach it, there would be a more direct effect on student achievement.</p>
<p>The bottom-line question is whether or not a particular reform will enable or restrict the kind of thing happening in Stephanie Terry’s room. The hermit crab episode is, of course, drawn from a few days in one classroom, but it represents some qualities that you’ll find in good schools, K-12, urban or rural, affluent or poor. We’ll list these qualities, and as you read them, ask yourself to what degree the reforms currently being proposed — from value-added assessment of teachers to the conversion of low-performing schools to charter schools — would advance or impede their realization.</p>
<p>Good classrooms create a sense of safety. There is physical safety, which for some children in some environments is a real consideration. But there is also safety from insult and diminishment. And there is safety to take risks, to push beyond what you can comfortably do at present.</p>
<p>Intimately related to safety is respect. The word means many things, operates on many levels: fair treatment, decency, an absence of intimidation, and, beyond the realm of individual civility, a respect for the language and culture of the people represented in the classroom. Respect also has an intellectual dimension. As one New York principal put it, “It’s not just about being polite — even the curriculum has to convey respect. [It] has to be challenging enough that it’s respectful.”</p>
<p>Talking about safety and respect leads to a consideration of students’ opportunities to partake in intellectual work, to think through, to make knowledge, to demonstrate ability. Even in classrooms that are run in a relatively traditional manner, students contribute to the flow of events, shape the direction of discussion, become authorities on their own experience and on the work they are doing. Think of Stephanie Terry’s students observing closely, recording what they see, forming hypotheses, and reporting publically on their thinking.</p>
<p>The good classroom, then, is a place of expectation and responsibility. Teachers take students seriously as intellectual and social beings. Young people have to work hard, think things through, come to terms with one another — and there will be times when such effort takes a student to his or her limits. “They looked at us in disbelief,” said another New York principal, “when we told them they were intellectuals.” It is important to note that such assumptions are realized through a range of supports, guides, and structures: from the way teachers organize curriculum and invite and answer questions, to the means of assistance they and their aides provide (tutoring, conferences, written and oral feedback), to the various ways they encourage peer support and assistance, to the atmosphere they create in the room — which takes us back to considerations of safety and respect.</p>
<p>The foregoing characteristics combine to create vital public space. In an important post-revolutionary essay on education, the eighteenth-century journalist Samuel Harrison Smith wrote that the free play of intelligence was central to a democracy, and that individual intellectual growth was intimately connected to broad-scale intellectual development, to the “general diffusion of knowledge” across the republic. As we consider what the reform initiatives might achieve, we should also ask the old, defining question: What is the purpose of education in a democracy? The formation of intellectually safe and respectful space, the distribution of authority and responsibility, the maintenance of high expectations and means to attain them — all this is fundamentally democratic and is preparation for civic life. Students are regarded as capable and participatory beings, rich in both individual and social potential. The realization of that vision of the student is what finally should drive school reform in the United States.</p>
<p>Michael B. Katz is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Mike Rose is Research Professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.</p>
<p /> | What Is the Goal of School Reform? | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/what-is-the-goal-of-school-reform/ | 2013-09-05 | 4left
| What Is the Goal of School Reform?
<p>The following is adapted from “ <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081224527X/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=9325&amp;creativeASIN=081224527X&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=truthdig20-20" type="external">Public Education Under Siege</a>,” a collection of essays on the wider range of educational, social and economic issues that should be addressed in contemporary school reform.</p>
<p>No reform movement in any domain — the law, agricultural development, education — can do everything, and it is an unreasonable demand that it try. Reform movements need to be selective, and need to be clear and focused. In some ways the current mainstream education reforms are just that: Standardized test scores are used as a measure of achievement; a teacher’s effectiveness is determined by improvement in those scores; funds are awarded by competition, and so on. Yet, though it is unreasonable to demand everything, it is legitimate to scrutinize what is left out — for something left out might be crucial to the success of what is left in — and it is legitimate to question whether the reforms themselves contain within them elements that could unintentionally subvert the very goals of reform.</p>
<p>One of the problems with current reform is that there does not seem to be an elaborated philosophy of education or theory of learning underlying the current reform movement. There is an implied philosophy and it is a basic economic/human capital one: Education is necessary for individual economic advantage and for national economic stability. This focus is legitimate but incomplete, for it narrows the purpose of education in a democracy, which should also include intellectual, social, civic, and ethical development. The theory of learning embedded in an accountability system based on standardized testing is a simplified behaviorist one. Learning is pretty much the acquisition of discrete bits of information measured quantitatively by a standardized test. Teaching is likewise reduced to a knowledge delivery system based on the mastery of a set of teaching techniques.</p>
<p>This characterization of the reformers’ theories of learning and teaching might not be true to their beliefs, but it’s hard to know what they believe since learning and teaching are rarely discussed in more robust terms. What they advocate suggests the behaviorist theory sketched above — a theory long since discredited in fields ranging from anthropology to cognitive science.</p>
<p />
<p>Perhaps the greatest strength of the current reform movement is its focus on inequality, on the poor performance of low-income and minority students. This is definitely a point of agreement for people along the ideological spectrum. Because reformers want to keep focus with “no excuses” on the unacceptable performance of poor children, they insist on addressing outcomes (in the form of test scores) rather than on inequality of resources and social conditions. This is an understandable strategy, but its narrow focus has a potent liability. Poverty itself tends to be pushed out of the picture.</p>
<p>Poverty is mentioned, but, in a variety of ways, is downplayed. So all the damage poverty does to communities and to households, to schools and to other local institutions is rarely addressed. Low achievement then, by default, has to be attributed to teachers and administrators, whose work seems pretty straightforward, given the aforementioned theory of learning that underlies reform. If kids aren’t learning, it’s because teachers lack the techniques or motivation to deliver information to them.</p>
<p>Although the reformers rightly focus on low-performing children, there is not much treatment of sub-populations within the overall group of low-performers. There is little mention of special needs children, English Language Learners, immigrant students, migrant students, undocumented students. In some schools, these sub-populations form a significant percentage of the student body.</p>
<p>Finally, current reformers display no knowledge of — or apparent interest in — the history of school reform, or, for that matter, the history of education in the United States. The result is an ahistorical hubris that, at the least, prevents one from learning from past mistakes.</p>
<p>Without a rich conceptualization of teaching and learning, without an understanding of the origins and maintenance of inequality, without an appreciation of cultural and linguistic diversity, and without a knowledge of history, school reform limits itself to technology and management systems — necessary but hardly sufficient to achieve its grand aims, and certainly insufficient to address the educational inequality that is at the center of its efforts.</p>
<p>* * *</p>
<p>Current reform-oriented education policy makes improvement in standardized test scores in reading and mathematics the gold standard of educational success for students, their teachers, and their schools. To be sure, reading and math are core academic skills, but the tests measure them in one relatively restricted way. Furthermore, when one kind of test dominates and when the stakes are high, the tests can drive and compress the curriculum. What is tested gains in importance and other subjects fade. Math is hit hard; social studies, history, and even science are weakened; and art and debate are pushed to the margin — if they survive at all. Research is showing that especially in schools populated by poor children, there is a narrowing of curriculum, a trend toward prepackaged, scripted lessons, and a strong focus on test preparation. You can do all this, get a bump in test scores, yet not provide a very good education.</p>
<p>Though we hear a lot about test scores and proficiency levels, we hear hardly anything about intellectual engagement, curiosity, creativity, or aesthetics — or about taking a chance, pursuing an idea, being reflective. There’s pitifully little about ethical deliberation or thinking things through with others. For that fact, we don’t hear much about public education as the core of a free society.</p>
<p>In the midst of all the heat of school reform, it would be good to step back and remind ourselves what we are ultimately trying to achieve. What is the end goal of school reform? Most would probably agree that the goal is to create vital classrooms and schools, better than we have now in scope and equitable distribution.</p>
<p>Here are the basic questions that should be our touchstone for reform. What is the purpose of education in a democracy? What kind of person do we want to emerge from American schools? What is the experience of education when it is done well?</p>
<p>Let us bring these questions to life with a vignette from a first-grade classroom in inner-city Baltimore. This is drawn from a book one of us wrote called “Possible Lives.” There are 30 children in the class, all from modest to low-income households — the kind of children at the center of school reform.</p>
<p>As we enter the classroom, teacher Stephanie Terry is reading to her students a book called “A House for Hermit Crab.” Hermit crabs inhabit empty mollusk shells, and, as they grow, they leave old shells to find bigger ones; in this story a cheery hermit crab is searching for a more spacious home. The class has a glass case with five hermit crabs, supplied by Stephanie. As Stephanie reads the book, she pauses and raises broader questions about where the creatures live, and this leads to an eager query from Kenneth about where in nature you’d find hermit crabs. “Well,” says Stephanie, “let’s see if we can figure that out.”</p>
<p>She gets up and brings the case with the hermit crabs to the center of the room, takes them out, and places them on the rug. Then she takes two plastic tubs from the cupboard above the sink and fills one with cold water from the tap. “Watch the hermit crabs closely,” she says, “while I go to the kitchen. Be ready to tell me what you see.” She runs down the hall to get warm water from the women who prepare the children’s lunches. Then she places both tubs side by side and asks five students, one by one, to put each of the crabs in the cold water. “What happens?” she asks. “They don’t move,” says Kenneth. “They stay inside,” adds Miko.</p>
<p>Stephanie then asks five other students to transfer the crabs to the second tub. They do, and within seconds the crabs start to stir. Before long, the crabs are moving like crazy. “Okay,” says Stephanie. “What happens in the water?” An excited chorus: “They’re moving.” “They’re walking all over.” “They like it.” “They’re happy like the crab in the book.” “Well,” says Mrs. Terry, “What does this suggest about where they like to live?”</p>
<p>That night the students write about the experiment. Many are just learning to write, but Stephanie told them to write their observations as best as they could and she would help them develop what they write. The next day they take turns standing before the class and reading their reports.</p>
<p>Miko goes first: “I saw the hermit crab walking when it was in the warm water, but when it was in the cold water it was not walking. It likes to live in warm water.” Then Romarise takes the floor, holding his paper way out in his right hand, his left hand in the pocket of his overalls: “(1) I observed two legs in the back of the shell. (2) I observed that some of the crabs changes its shell. (3) When the hermit crabs went into the cold water, they walked slow. (4) When the hermit crabs went into the warm water, they walked faster.” One by one, the rest of the students read their observations, halting at times as they try to figure out what they wrote, sometimes losing track and repeating themselves. But, in soft voice or loud, with a quiet sense of assurance or an unsteady eagerness, these young people read their reports on the behavior of hermit crabs.</p>
<p>There’s a lot to say about Stephanie Terry’s modest but richly-stocked classroom and the skillful way she interacts with the children in it. We want to focus on two things: what Terry demonstrates about the craft and art of teaching, and the experience of learning that she generates for her class.</p>
<p>Everyone in the current reform environment acknowledges the importance of good teaching. But most characterizations of teaching miss the richness and complexity of the work. When you watch Terry, you see that she is knowledgeable and resourceful across multiple subject areas — and is skillful at integrating them. She is spontaneous, alert for the teachable moment, and is able to play out the fruits of that spontaneity, plan next steps incrementally as the activity unfolds. She apparently believes that her students can handle a sophisticated assignment, and she asks questions and gives directions to guide them. It also seems that her students feel comfortable in taking up the intellectual challenge.</p>
<p>What is interesting is that none of the current high-profile reform ideas would explain or significantly enhance her expertise. It is not merit pay that inspires her inventiveness: it didn’t exist in her district. (Though she would be happy to have the extra money, given that some of her classroom was furnished from her own pocket.) And it is not a standardized test that motivates her. In fact, some of the intellectual display we witness would not be captured by the typical test. What motivates her is a complex mix of personal values and a drive for competence. These lead her to treat her students in certain ways and to continue to improve her skill. Several years before this event, she participated in a National Science Foundation workshop aimed at integrating science into the elementary school classroom.As we think about this teacher we begin to wonder what would happen if the considerable financial and human resources spent on the vast machinery of high-stakes testing were channeled instead into a robust, widely distributed program of professional development. We don’t mean the quick-hit, half-day events that so often pass for professional development, but serious, extended engagement of the kind offered by the National Science Foundation and the National Writing Project — the sort of program that helped Stephanie conjure her rich lesson with the hermit crabs.</p>
<p>These programs typically take place in the summer (the National Writing Project runs for four weeks), though there are other options, including ones that extend through part of the school year. Teachers work with subject matter experts; read, write, and think together; learn new material, hear from others who have successfully integrated it into their classrooms, and try it out themselves. Electronic media would be hugely helpful here, creating a variety of ways for teachers to participate, bringing in people from remote areas, and further enabling everyone to regularly check in as they try new things. Such ongoing participation would be crucial in further building the intellectual community created during the program. All of this already exists, but could be expanded significantly if policy-makers had a different orientation to reform, one that embodied a richer understanding of teaching and the teaching profession.</p>
<p>Although pragmatic lifestyle issues certainly come into play in choosing any profession, the majority of people who enter teaching do so for fairly altruistic reasons. They like working with kids. They like science, or literature, or history and want to spark that appreciation in others. They see inequality and want to make a difference in young people’s lives. The kind of professional development we’re describing would appeal to those motives, revitalize them, and further realize them as one’s career progresses. Enriched, widely available professional development would substitute a human development model for school reform rather than the current test-based technocratic one. And because such professional development would positively affect what teachers teach and how they teach it, there would be a more direct effect on student achievement.</p>
<p>The bottom-line question is whether or not a particular reform will enable or restrict the kind of thing happening in Stephanie Terry’s room. The hermit crab episode is, of course, drawn from a few days in one classroom, but it represents some qualities that you’ll find in good schools, K-12, urban or rural, affluent or poor. We’ll list these qualities, and as you read them, ask yourself to what degree the reforms currently being proposed — from value-added assessment of teachers to the conversion of low-performing schools to charter schools — would advance or impede their realization.</p>
<p>Good classrooms create a sense of safety. There is physical safety, which for some children in some environments is a real consideration. But there is also safety from insult and diminishment. And there is safety to take risks, to push beyond what you can comfortably do at present.</p>
<p>Intimately related to safety is respect. The word means many things, operates on many levels: fair treatment, decency, an absence of intimidation, and, beyond the realm of individual civility, a respect for the language and culture of the people represented in the classroom. Respect also has an intellectual dimension. As one New York principal put it, “It’s not just about being polite — even the curriculum has to convey respect. [It] has to be challenging enough that it’s respectful.”</p>
<p>Talking about safety and respect leads to a consideration of students’ opportunities to partake in intellectual work, to think through, to make knowledge, to demonstrate ability. Even in classrooms that are run in a relatively traditional manner, students contribute to the flow of events, shape the direction of discussion, become authorities on their own experience and on the work they are doing. Think of Stephanie Terry’s students observing closely, recording what they see, forming hypotheses, and reporting publically on their thinking.</p>
<p>The good classroom, then, is a place of expectation and responsibility. Teachers take students seriously as intellectual and social beings. Young people have to work hard, think things through, come to terms with one another — and there will be times when such effort takes a student to his or her limits. “They looked at us in disbelief,” said another New York principal, “when we told them they were intellectuals.” It is important to note that such assumptions are realized through a range of supports, guides, and structures: from the way teachers organize curriculum and invite and answer questions, to the means of assistance they and their aides provide (tutoring, conferences, written and oral feedback), to the various ways they encourage peer support and assistance, to the atmosphere they create in the room — which takes us back to considerations of safety and respect.</p>
<p>The foregoing characteristics combine to create vital public space. In an important post-revolutionary essay on education, the eighteenth-century journalist Samuel Harrison Smith wrote that the free play of intelligence was central to a democracy, and that individual intellectual growth was intimately connected to broad-scale intellectual development, to the “general diffusion of knowledge” across the republic. As we consider what the reform initiatives might achieve, we should also ask the old, defining question: What is the purpose of education in a democracy? The formation of intellectually safe and respectful space, the distribution of authority and responsibility, the maintenance of high expectations and means to attain them — all this is fundamentally democratic and is preparation for civic life. Students are regarded as capable and participatory beings, rich in both individual and social potential. The realization of that vision of the student is what finally should drive school reform in the United States.</p>
<p>Michael B. Katz is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.</p>
<p>Mike Rose is Research Professor in the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies.</p>
<p /> | 938 |
<p />
<p>Angry Birds maker Rovio Entertainment said sales jumped tenfold to $100 million last year as gamers flocked to download its titles, adding business was now strong enough for a stock market listing.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Finnish startup making Angry Birds games -- in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs who steal the birds' eggs -- has been valued by analysts at up to $9 billion, just short of that of struggling world No.2 phonemaker Nokia.</p>
<p>Rovio said on Monday its finances were good enough for a listing after revealing a highly profitable 2011 in its first public disclosure of business results and forecast a bumper year ahead.</p>
<p>Rovio, originally founded in 2003, became a global phenomenon after it launched Angry Birds for Apple's iPhone in late 2009.</p>
<p>Since then it has remained at top of the gaming charts with more than 800 million downloads and it had 200 million monthly users at the end of 2011, just short of U.S.-based Zynga's 240 million.</p>
<p>"Rovio has fended off all rivals so far," said analyst Tero Kuittinen from Finnish mobile firm Alekstra. "Rovio is still the king of the mountain, despite stiff recent challenges by OMGPOP and Disney's 'Where's My Water?'"</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Rovio plans to launch several more titles in 2012, which include a non-Angry Birds title, Chief Executive Mikael Hed told Reuters in an interview.</p>
<p>Rovio predicted further growth driven by growing cellphone sales and its significant investments in product development, branding, brand protection and corporate infrastructure.</p>
<p>"2012 looks fantastic," Hed said. "We have had some very strong download numbers over four months."</p>
<p>Its Angry Birds Space game was downloaded more than 50 million times in 35 days since its launch in March.</p>
<p>Rovio is also expanding its brand to toys and playgrounds, and is taking the birds to the big screen. The first full-motion animated movie featuring the characters is in the works and the short animations are a YouTube hit.</p>
<p>Consumer products, which includes merchandising and licensing, generated around 30 percent of revenues last year, with the share higher in the fourth quarter, Hed said.</p>
<p>WORKING ON LISTING</p>
<p>At the shareholders meeting on Monday listing plans were not on the agenda, but Rovio has earlier said the company would likely be ready for an initial public offering next year, either in New York or Hong Kong.</p>
<p>"This company is preparing itself and getting ready," said Anders Lindeberg, Rovio's head of investor relations, adding the firm was working on meeting corporate governance requirements.</p>
<p>Rovio reported 2011 profit before tax of 48 million on sales of 75.4 million euros ($99 million), for a margin of 64 percent. The company did not provide historic data, but has said 2010 revenues were around $10 million.</p>
<p>Last year Rovio raised $42 million from venture capital firms including Accel Partners, which previously backed Facebook and Baidu, and Skype founder Niklas Zennstroem's venture capital firm Atomico Ventures.</p>
<p>Rovio was founded after three students including Niklas Hed -- CEO Mikael Hed's cousin and now Rovio's COO -- won a game-development competition sponsored by Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia and Hewlett-Packard CO.</p>
<p>Shares in Nokia, whose headquarters are just a few buildings away from Rovio, were 1.4 percent lower on Monday, valuing the firm at 8.84 billion euros ($11.6 billion). ($1 = 0.7625 euros) (Reporting By Tarmo Virki; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)</p> | Chirpy Angry Birds Maker Rovio Eyes IPO Golden Egg | true | http://foxbusiness.com/news/2012/05/07/chirpy-angry-birds-maker-eyes-ipo-golden-egg.html | 2016-03-03 | 0right
| Chirpy Angry Birds Maker Rovio Eyes IPO Golden Egg
<p />
<p>Angry Birds maker Rovio Entertainment said sales jumped tenfold to $100 million last year as gamers flocked to download its titles, adding business was now strong enough for a stock market listing.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The Finnish startup making Angry Birds games -- in which players use a slingshot to attack pigs who steal the birds' eggs -- has been valued by analysts at up to $9 billion, just short of that of struggling world No.2 phonemaker Nokia.</p>
<p>Rovio said on Monday its finances were good enough for a listing after revealing a highly profitable 2011 in its first public disclosure of business results and forecast a bumper year ahead.</p>
<p>Rovio, originally founded in 2003, became a global phenomenon after it launched Angry Birds for Apple's iPhone in late 2009.</p>
<p>Since then it has remained at top of the gaming charts with more than 800 million downloads and it had 200 million monthly users at the end of 2011, just short of U.S.-based Zynga's 240 million.</p>
<p>"Rovio has fended off all rivals so far," said analyst Tero Kuittinen from Finnish mobile firm Alekstra. "Rovio is still the king of the mountain, despite stiff recent challenges by OMGPOP and Disney's 'Where's My Water?'"</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Rovio plans to launch several more titles in 2012, which include a non-Angry Birds title, Chief Executive Mikael Hed told Reuters in an interview.</p>
<p>Rovio predicted further growth driven by growing cellphone sales and its significant investments in product development, branding, brand protection and corporate infrastructure.</p>
<p>"2012 looks fantastic," Hed said. "We have had some very strong download numbers over four months."</p>
<p>Its Angry Birds Space game was downloaded more than 50 million times in 35 days since its launch in March.</p>
<p>Rovio is also expanding its brand to toys and playgrounds, and is taking the birds to the big screen. The first full-motion animated movie featuring the characters is in the works and the short animations are a YouTube hit.</p>
<p>Consumer products, which includes merchandising and licensing, generated around 30 percent of revenues last year, with the share higher in the fourth quarter, Hed said.</p>
<p>WORKING ON LISTING</p>
<p>At the shareholders meeting on Monday listing plans were not on the agenda, but Rovio has earlier said the company would likely be ready for an initial public offering next year, either in New York or Hong Kong.</p>
<p>"This company is preparing itself and getting ready," said Anders Lindeberg, Rovio's head of investor relations, adding the firm was working on meeting corporate governance requirements.</p>
<p>Rovio reported 2011 profit before tax of 48 million on sales of 75.4 million euros ($99 million), for a margin of 64 percent. The company did not provide historic data, but has said 2010 revenues were around $10 million.</p>
<p>Last year Rovio raised $42 million from venture capital firms including Accel Partners, which previously backed Facebook and Baidu, and Skype founder Niklas Zennstroem's venture capital firm Atomico Ventures.</p>
<p>Rovio was founded after three students including Niklas Hed -- CEO Mikael Hed's cousin and now Rovio's COO -- won a game-development competition sponsored by Finnish mobile phone maker Nokia and Hewlett-Packard CO.</p>
<p>Shares in Nokia, whose headquarters are just a few buildings away from Rovio, were 1.4 percent lower on Monday, valuing the firm at 8.84 billion euros ($11.6 billion). ($1 = 0.7625 euros) (Reporting By Tarmo Virki; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)</p> | 939 |
<p>Apple shares drop more than 2% to weigh heavily on benchmarks</p>
<p>U.S. stocks dropped from all-time highs Thursday, with the Nasdaq and S&amp;P 500 falling into negative territory, as tech stocks gave up early gains inspired by another round of largely upbeat corporate earnings that included well-received results from Facebook Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 fell 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,467, as industrials fell 0.9%, health-care stocks fell 1%, and tech stocks dropped 1.2%, after the index touched an intraday record of 2,484.04. Earlier in the session, the tech sector was up as much as 0.6%.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 64 points, or 1% to 6,358, after touching an intraday record of 6,460.84.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained in positive territory, up 17 points, or 0.1%, at 21,728, as Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ) shares soared 7.5% and Merck &amp; Co.(MRK) shares rallied 3.2%. Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares weighed on the index with a 2.4% decline. Earlier, the blue-chip average set an intraday record of 21,790.13.</p>
<p>Stocks pulled back in midday trading as gains in tech stocks swung to losses.</p>
<p>"After Facebook earnings, people are getting jittery about valuations so there's a rebalancing going on," said Diane Jaffee, senior portfolio manager at TCW. Jaffee added that the broad weight upon tech stocks, as shown by the drop in Apple, was likely exchange-traded fund driven, and not a singling out of any particular tech name.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>After rising more than 5% earlier, Facebook(FB) shares were up 3% a day after the social media giant posted results that beat quarterly earnings expectations (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2017/07/26/facebook-earnings-put-instagram-in-focus-amid-shift-in-newsfeed-ads-live-blog/). The company could be nearing a $500 billion market cap (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-heads-toward-500-billion-market-cap-after-earnings-2017-07-26) if shares maintain their strength throughout the session. The stock has already jumped nearly 50% thus far this year.</p>
<p>Facebook is one of the so-called FAANG stocks, a reference to the quintet of technology and internet names (Facebook, Apple, Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL)(GOOGL) that have driven market returns thus far this year. However, those sharp gains have also raised questions over valuations.</p>
<p>"These are the points where people take profits," said Mark Kepner, managing director of sales and trading at Themis Trading. Plus, with the pressure coming midsession a toning down of volume can amplify moves, Kepner said.</p>
<p>A drop in the Dow Jones Transportation Average (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-transports-tumble-toward-biggest-selloff-in-over-a-year-2017-07-27), which was down 3.6%, also offered a signal for an equities pullback.</p>
<p>"There has been a marked divergence between Dow Transports and Dow Industrials and whenever this happens people like to reduce risk," said Ian Winer, head of the equities division at Wedbush Securities. "And the best way to reduce risk right now is by selling overvalued tech stocks."</p>
<p>Read:Next stop for Facebook shares? $200, say analysts applauding results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/next-stop-for-facebook-shares-200-say-analysts-applauding-results-2017-07-27)</p>
<p>Read:Facebook keeps warning about growth, but growth doesn't stop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-keeps-warning-about-growth-but-growth-doesnt-stop-2017-07-26)</p>
<p>Among other corporate results, Procter &amp; Gamble Co.(PG) rose 1.1% after the Dow component posted a fourth-quarter profit that was above expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/procter-gamble-shares-edge-up-following-q4-earnings-beat-2017-07-27). United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) also fell 3.9% despite its results topping consensus forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ups-shares-rise-as-earnings-beat-estimates-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>MasterCard Inc.(MA) also reported stronger-than-expected earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mastercard-beats-estimates-as-consumer-spend-more-2017-07-27) and revenue for the second quarter as consumers boosted their spending. Shares were 2.3% lower.</p>
<p>Twitter (TWTR) tumbled 14% after the microblogging platform reported lackluster user growth. The stock is on track for its biggest one-day decline since October.</p>
<p>Comcast Corp.(CMCSA) posted profit and revenue that beat analysts expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/comcast-profit-revenue-beat-analysts-expectations-2017-07-27), and shares fell 0.9%.</p>
<p>PayPal Holdings Inc.(PYPL) shares fell 0.3% after the mobile payment group topped earnings views and raised guidance (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/paypal-shares-up-2-after-company-tops-views-raises-guidance-2017-07-26).</p>
<p>After the market close, Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) is scheduled to report its quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-earnings-with-a-dominant-position-in-the-us-analysts-look-abroad-2017-07-25), along with Expedia Inc. (EXPE), Intel Corp.(INTC), Starbucks Corp.(SBUX) and Mattel Inc.(MAT).</p>
<p>Overseas companies with U.S.-listed shares were also active. AstraZeneca PLC(AZN.LN) (AZN.LN) sank 15% after the drug heavyweight reported a negative result in a Phase 3 clinical trial of its lung-cancer treatment Mystic (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazenecas-mystic-cancer-drug-trial-fails-2017-07-27). (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazenecas-mystic-cancer-drug-trial-fails-2017-07-27) Shares of rival Bristol-Meyer Squibb Co.(BMY) fell 2.9% after its results.</p>
<p>Anheuser-Busch InBev NV(ABI.BT) (ABI.BT) moved 5.5% higher after the brewing giant posted a surge in quarterly profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-inbev-profit-up-despite-drop-in-us-market-share-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-inbev-profit-up-despite-drop-in-us-market-share-2017-07-27)And the world's largest liquor maker Diageo PLC(DEO) soared 5.2% after lifting its target for profit margin growth (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/diageo-full-year-earnings-lifted-by-currency-boost-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>Economic data: The number of Americans who applied for first-time unemployment benefits rose in late July but remained near the lowest level in decades (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-climb-10000-to-244000-2017-07-27). Separately, orders for durable or long-lasting U.S. goods soared 6.5% in June (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-bonanza-durable-goods-orders-soar-65-in-june-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>Other markets: European stocks traded mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-search-for-direction-in-busy-session-for-earnings-2017-07-27) as investors absorbed a heavy stream of earnings, while in Asia , equity markets were broadly positive (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asia-stocks-broadly-positive-nikkei-lifted-by-nintendo-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>Gold prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-snaps-back-post-fed-to-trade-at-highest-level-since-early-june-2017-07-27) settled up 0.9% at $1,260 an ounce, with precious and base metals rising across the board, while oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-pauses-after-bullish-data-sends-price-up-6-for-the-week-so-far-2017-07-27) rose 0.6% at settle at $49.04 a barrel.</p>
<p>The ICE Dollar Index rose following an earlier decline, and was last trading up 0.3% at 93.90. The dollar weakened on Wednesday, after some analysts viewed the Federal Reserve as striking a dovish tone in its policy statement (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-to-wind-down-bond-holdings-relatively-soon-2017-07-26).</p>
<p>--Barbara Kollmeyer in Madrid and Anora Mahmudova in New York contributed to this report.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 27, 2017 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)</p> | MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock Market Retreats From Records As Tech Stocks Swing To Losses | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/27/market-snapshot-stock-market-retreats-from-records-as-tech-stocks-swing-to-losses.html | 2017-07-27 | 0right
| MARKET SNAPSHOT: Stock Market Retreats From Records As Tech Stocks Swing To Losses
<p>Apple shares drop more than 2% to weigh heavily on benchmarks</p>
<p>U.S. stocks dropped from all-time highs Thursday, with the Nasdaq and S&amp;P 500 falling into negative territory, as tech stocks gave up early gains inspired by another round of largely upbeat corporate earnings that included well-received results from Facebook Inc.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 fell 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,467, as industrials fell 0.9%, health-care stocks fell 1%, and tech stocks dropped 1.2%, after the index touched an intraday record of 2,484.04. Earlier in the session, the tech sector was up as much as 0.6%.</p>
<p>The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 64 points, or 1% to 6,358, after touching an intraday record of 6,460.84.</p>
<p>The Dow Jones Industrial Average remained in positive territory, up 17 points, or 0.1%, at 21,728, as Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ) shares soared 7.5% and Merck &amp; Co.(MRK) shares rallied 3.2%. Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares weighed on the index with a 2.4% decline. Earlier, the blue-chip average set an intraday record of 21,790.13.</p>
<p>Stocks pulled back in midday trading as gains in tech stocks swung to losses.</p>
<p>"After Facebook earnings, people are getting jittery about valuations so there's a rebalancing going on," said Diane Jaffee, senior portfolio manager at TCW. Jaffee added that the broad weight upon tech stocks, as shown by the drop in Apple, was likely exchange-traded fund driven, and not a singling out of any particular tech name.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>After rising more than 5% earlier, Facebook(FB) shares were up 3% a day after the social media giant posted results that beat quarterly earnings expectations (http://blogs.marketwatch.com/thetell/2017/07/26/facebook-earnings-put-instagram-in-focus-amid-shift-in-newsfeed-ads-live-blog/). The company could be nearing a $500 billion market cap (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-heads-toward-500-billion-market-cap-after-earnings-2017-07-26) if shares maintain their strength throughout the session. The stock has already jumped nearly 50% thus far this year.</p>
<p>Facebook is one of the so-called FAANG stocks, a reference to the quintet of technology and internet names (Facebook, Apple, Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), and Google parent Alphabet (GOOGL)(GOOGL) that have driven market returns thus far this year. However, those sharp gains have also raised questions over valuations.</p>
<p>"These are the points where people take profits," said Mark Kepner, managing director of sales and trading at Themis Trading. Plus, with the pressure coming midsession a toning down of volume can amplify moves, Kepner said.</p>
<p>A drop in the Dow Jones Transportation Average (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-transports-tumble-toward-biggest-selloff-in-over-a-year-2017-07-27), which was down 3.6%, also offered a signal for an equities pullback.</p>
<p>"There has been a marked divergence between Dow Transports and Dow Industrials and whenever this happens people like to reduce risk," said Ian Winer, head of the equities division at Wedbush Securities. "And the best way to reduce risk right now is by selling overvalued tech stocks."</p>
<p>Read:Next stop for Facebook shares? $200, say analysts applauding results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/next-stop-for-facebook-shares-200-say-analysts-applauding-results-2017-07-27)</p>
<p>Read:Facebook keeps warning about growth, but growth doesn't stop (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/facebook-keeps-warning-about-growth-but-growth-doesnt-stop-2017-07-26)</p>
<p>Among other corporate results, Procter &amp; Gamble Co.(PG) rose 1.1% after the Dow component posted a fourth-quarter profit that was above expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/procter-gamble-shares-edge-up-following-q4-earnings-beat-2017-07-27). United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS) also fell 3.9% despite its results topping consensus forecasts (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ups-shares-rise-as-earnings-beat-estimates-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>MasterCard Inc.(MA) also reported stronger-than-expected earnings (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mastercard-beats-estimates-as-consumer-spend-more-2017-07-27) and revenue for the second quarter as consumers boosted their spending. Shares were 2.3% lower.</p>
<p>Twitter (TWTR) tumbled 14% after the microblogging platform reported lackluster user growth. The stock is on track for its biggest one-day decline since October.</p>
<p>Comcast Corp.(CMCSA) posted profit and revenue that beat analysts expectations (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/comcast-profit-revenue-beat-analysts-expectations-2017-07-27), and shares fell 0.9%.</p>
<p>PayPal Holdings Inc.(PYPL) shares fell 0.3% after the mobile payment group topped earnings views and raised guidance (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/paypal-shares-up-2-after-company-tops-views-raises-guidance-2017-07-26).</p>
<p>After the market close, Amazon.com Inc.(AMZN) is scheduled to report its quarterly results (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-earnings-with-a-dominant-position-in-the-us-analysts-look-abroad-2017-07-25), along with Expedia Inc. (EXPE), Intel Corp.(INTC), Starbucks Corp.(SBUX) and Mattel Inc.(MAT).</p>
<p>Overseas companies with U.S.-listed shares were also active. AstraZeneca PLC(AZN.LN) (AZN.LN) sank 15% after the drug heavyweight reported a negative result in a Phase 3 clinical trial of its lung-cancer treatment Mystic (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazenecas-mystic-cancer-drug-trial-fails-2017-07-27). (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/astrazenecas-mystic-cancer-drug-trial-fails-2017-07-27) Shares of rival Bristol-Meyer Squibb Co.(BMY) fell 2.9% after its results.</p>
<p>Anheuser-Busch InBev NV(ABI.BT) (ABI.BT) moved 5.5% higher after the brewing giant posted a surge in quarterly profit (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-inbev-profit-up-despite-drop-in-us-market-share-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ab-inbev-profit-up-despite-drop-in-us-market-share-2017-07-27)And the world's largest liquor maker Diageo PLC(DEO) soared 5.2% after lifting its target for profit margin growth (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/diageo-full-year-earnings-lifted-by-currency-boost-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>Economic data: The number of Americans who applied for first-time unemployment benefits rose in late July but remained near the lowest level in decades (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-jobless-claims-climb-10000-to-244000-2017-07-27). Separately, orders for durable or long-lasting U.S. goods soared 6.5% in June (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/boeing-bonanza-durable-goods-orders-soar-65-in-june-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>Other markets: European stocks traded mixed (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/european-stocks-search-for-direction-in-busy-session-for-earnings-2017-07-27) as investors absorbed a heavy stream of earnings, while in Asia , equity markets were broadly positive (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/asia-stocks-broadly-positive-nikkei-lifted-by-nintendo-2017-07-27).</p>
<p>Gold prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/gold-snaps-back-post-fed-to-trade-at-highest-level-since-early-june-2017-07-27) settled up 0.9% at $1,260 an ounce, with precious and base metals rising across the board, while oil prices (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-pauses-after-bullish-data-sends-price-up-6-for-the-week-so-far-2017-07-27) rose 0.6% at settle at $49.04 a barrel.</p>
<p>The ICE Dollar Index rose following an earlier decline, and was last trading up 0.3% at 93.90. The dollar weakened on Wednesday, after some analysts viewed the Federal Reserve as striking a dovish tone in its policy statement (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/fed-to-wind-down-bond-holdings-relatively-soon-2017-07-26).</p>
<p>--Barbara Kollmeyer in Madrid and Anora Mahmudova in New York contributed to this report.</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 27, 2017 15:14 ET (19:14 GMT)</p> | 940 |
<p>Last Sunday, British public speaker and anti-fracking campaigner <a href="http://www.ianrcrane.com/" type="external">Ian R. Crane</a> joined us on the <a href="" type="internal">SUNDAY WIRE SHOW</a> to discuss the challenges from 2016 and what we can expect in 2017.&#160;</p>
<p>Ian spoke to us from a field in North Yorkshire on the frontline in the battle to keep Britain “Frack-Free” – speaking about the environmental and social challenges to facing society, but&#160;also about the steady collapse of the corporate mainstream media. How did we get here, and where is it all heading?</p>
<p>Find out in this brilliant in-depth discussion with host Patrick Henningsen and Ian R. Crane…</p>
<p />
<p>. READ MORE FRACKING NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Fracking Files</a></p>
<p>SUPPORT 21WIRE – SUBSCRIBE &amp; BECOME A MEMBER <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">@ 21WIRE.TV</a></p> | Ian R. Crane: ‘People Are Turning Away from Mainstream Media in Droves’ | true | http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/05/ian-r-crane-people-are-turning-away-from-mainstream-media-in-droves/ | 2017-01-05 | 4left
| Ian R. Crane: ‘People Are Turning Away from Mainstream Media in Droves’
<p>Last Sunday, British public speaker and anti-fracking campaigner <a href="http://www.ianrcrane.com/" type="external">Ian R. Crane</a> joined us on the <a href="" type="internal">SUNDAY WIRE SHOW</a> to discuss the challenges from 2016 and what we can expect in 2017.&#160;</p>
<p>Ian spoke to us from a field in North Yorkshire on the frontline in the battle to keep Britain “Frack-Free” – speaking about the environmental and social challenges to facing society, but&#160;also about the steady collapse of the corporate mainstream media. How did we get here, and where is it all heading?</p>
<p>Find out in this brilliant in-depth discussion with host Patrick Henningsen and Ian R. Crane…</p>
<p />
<p>. READ MORE FRACKING NEWS AT: <a href="" type="internal">21st Century Wire Fracking Files</a></p>
<p>SUPPORT 21WIRE – SUBSCRIBE &amp; BECOME A MEMBER <a href="https://21wire.tv/membership/plans/" type="external">@ 21WIRE.TV</a></p> | 941 |
<p>TIDMTSCO</p>
<p>FORM 8.3</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY</p>
<p>A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE</p>
<p>Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")</p>
<p>1. KEY INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Full name of discloser: Jupiter Asset</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Management</p>
<p>(b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions</p>
<p>disclosed, if different from 1(a):</p>
<p>The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient.</p>
<p>For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries</p>
<p>must be named.</p>
<p>(c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant Tesco PLC</p>
<p>securities this form relates:</p>
<p>Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree</p>
<p>(d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree,</p>
<p>state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:</p>
<p>(e) Date position held/dealing undertaken: 24(th) January</p>
<p>For an opening position disclosure, state the latest 2018</p>
<p>practicable date prior to the disclosure</p>
<p>(f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the YES</p>
<p>discloser making disclosures in respect of any other Booker Group PLC</p>
<p>party to the offer?</p>
<p>If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state</p>
<p>"N/A"</p>
<p>2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than</p>
<p>one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c),</p>
<p>copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of</p>
<p>relevant security.</p>
<p>(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of</p>
<p>the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the</p>
<p>dealing (if any)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security: Ordinary 5p</p>
<p>Short</p>
<p>Interests positions</p>
<p>Number % Number %</p>
<p>(1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 132,275,162 1.61</p>
<p>(2) Cash-settled derivatives: 48,500 0.00</p>
<p>(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options)</p>
<p>and agreements to purchase/sell:</p>
<p>TOTAL: 132,275,162 1.61 48,500 0.00</p>
<p>All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.</p>
<p>Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded</p>
<p>options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should</p>
<p>be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).</p>
<p>(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors'</p>
<p>and other employee options)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription None</p>
<p>right exists:</p>
<p>Details, including nature of the rights concerned None</p>
<p>and relevant percentages:</p>
<p>3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant</p>
<p>securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b),</p>
<p>(c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant</p>
<p>security dealt in.</p>
<p>The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.</p>
<p>(a) Purchases and sales</p>
<p>Class of relevant</p>
<p>security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit</p>
<p>Ordinary 5p Sell 25,088 2.0950</p>
<p>(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions</p>
<p>Class of Product description Nature of dealing Number of Price</p>
<p>relevant e.g. CFD e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing reference per</p>
<p>security a long/short position securities unit</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)</p>
<p>(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying</p>
<p>Class of Product Writing, Number of Exercise Type Expiry Option</p>
<p>relevant description purchasing, securities price e.g. American, European etc. date money</p>
<p>security e.g. call selling, to which per paid/</p>
<p>option varying option unit received</p>
<p>etc. relates per</p>
<p>unit</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(ii) Exercise</p>
<p>Class of Product description Exercising/ Number of Exercise</p>
<p>relevant e.g. call option exercised securities price per</p>
<p>security against unit</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)</p>
<p>Class of relevant Nature of dealing Details Price per unit</p>
<p>security e.g. subscription, conversion (if applicable)</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>4. OTHER INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements</p>
<p>Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or</p>
<p>any agreement or understanding, formal or informal,</p>
<p>relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement</p>
<p>to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the</p>
<p>person making the disclosure and any party to the</p>
<p>offer or any person acting in concert with a party</p>
<p>to the offer:</p>
<p>Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should</p>
<p>not be included. If there are no such agreements,</p>
<p>arrangements or understandings, state "none"</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to</p>
<p>options or derivatives</p>
<p>Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding,</p>
<p>formal or informal, between the person making the</p>
<p>disclosure and any other person relating to:</p>
<p>(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under</p>
<p>any option; or</p>
<p>(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal</p>
<p>of any relevant securities to which any derivative</p>
<p>is referenced:</p>
<p>If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings,</p>
<p>state "none"</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(c) Attachments</p>
<p>Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO</p>
<p>Date of disclosure: 25(th) January 2018</p>
<p>Contact name: Nabeel Ashraf</p>
<p>Telephone number: 0203 817 1407</p>
<p>Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory</p>
<p>Information Service.</p>
<p>The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in</p>
<p>relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.</p>
<p>The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at</p>
<p>www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.</p>
<p>This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf</p>
<p>of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.</p>
<p>The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely</p>
<p>responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information</p>
<p>contained therein.</p>
<p>Source: Jupiter Asset Management Limited via Globenewswire</p>
<p>http://www.jupiteronline.co.uk/</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 25, 2018 06:20 ET (11:20 GMT)</p> | Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Form 8.3 - Tesco Plc | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/11/03/jupiter-asset-management-ltd-form-8-3-tesco-plc.html | 2018-01-25 | 0right
| Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Form 8.3 - Tesco Plc
<p>TIDMTSCO</p>
<p>FORM 8.3</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>PUBLIC OPENING POSITION DISCLOSURE/DEALING DISCLOSURE BY</p>
<p>A PERSON WITH INTERESTS IN RELEVANT SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE</p>
<p>Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code (the "Code")</p>
<p>1. KEY INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Full name of discloser: Jupiter Asset</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Management</p>
<p>(b) Owner or controller of interests and short positions</p>
<p>disclosed, if different from 1(a):</p>
<p>The naming of nominee or vehicle companies is insufficient.</p>
<p>For a trust, the trustee(s), settlor and beneficiaries</p>
<p>must be named.</p>
<p>(c) Name of offeror/offeree in relation to whose relevant Tesco PLC</p>
<p>securities this form relates:</p>
<p>Use a separate form for each offeror/offeree</p>
<p>(d) If an exempt fund manager connected with an offeror/offeree,</p>
<p>state this and specify identity of offeror/offeree:</p>
<p>(e) Date position held/dealing undertaken: 24(th) January</p>
<p>For an opening position disclosure, state the latest 2018</p>
<p>practicable date prior to the disclosure</p>
<p>(f) In addition to the company in 1(c) above, is the YES</p>
<p>discloser making disclosures in respect of any other Booker Group PLC</p>
<p>party to the offer?</p>
<p>If it is a cash offer or possible cash offer, state</p>
<p>"N/A"</p>
<p>2. POSITIONS OF THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>If there are positions or rights to subscribe to disclose in more than</p>
<p>one class of relevant securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c),</p>
<p>copy table 2(a) or (b) (as appropriate) for each additional class of</p>
<p>relevant security.</p>
<p>(a) Interests and short positions in the relevant securities of</p>
<p>the offeror or offeree to which the disclosure relates following the</p>
<p>dealing (if any)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security: Ordinary 5p</p>
<p>Short</p>
<p>Interests positions</p>
<p>Number % Number %</p>
<p>(1) Relevant securities owned and/or controlled: 132,275,162 1.61</p>
<p>(2) Cash-settled derivatives: 48,500 0.00</p>
<p>(3) Stock-settled derivatives (including options)</p>
<p>and agreements to purchase/sell:</p>
<p>TOTAL: 132,275,162 1.61 48,500 0.00</p>
<p>All interests and all short positions should be disclosed.</p>
<p>Details of any open stock-settled derivative positions (including traded</p>
<p>options), or agreements to purchase or sell relevant securities, should</p>
<p>be given on a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions).</p>
<p>(b) Rights to subscribe for new securities (including directors'</p>
<p>and other employee options)</p>
<p>Class of relevant security in relation to which subscription None</p>
<p>right exists:</p>
<p>Details, including nature of the rights concerned None</p>
<p>and relevant percentages:</p>
<p>3. DEALINGS (IF ANY) BY THE PERSON MAKING THE DISCLOSURE</p>
<p>Where there have been dealings in more than one class of relevant</p>
<p>securities of the offeror or offeree named in 1(c), copy table 3(a), (b),</p>
<p>(c) or (d) (as appropriate) for each additional class of relevant</p>
<p>security dealt in.</p>
<p>The currency of all prices and other monetary amounts should be stated.</p>
<p>(a) Purchases and sales</p>
<p>Class of relevant</p>
<p>security Purchase/sale Number of securities Price per unit</p>
<p>Ordinary 5p Sell 25,088 2.0950</p>
<p>(b) Cash-settled derivative transactions</p>
<p>Class of Product description Nature of dealing Number of Price</p>
<p>relevant e.g. CFD e.g. opening/closing a long/short position, increasing/reducing reference per</p>
<p>security a long/short position securities unit</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(c) Stock-settled derivative transactions (including options)</p>
<p>(i) Writing, selling, purchasing or varying</p>
<p>Class of Product Writing, Number of Exercise Type Expiry Option</p>
<p>relevant description purchasing, securities price e.g. American, European etc. date money</p>
<p>security e.g. call selling, to which per paid/</p>
<p>option varying option unit received</p>
<p>etc. relates per</p>
<p>unit</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(ii) Exercise</p>
<p>Class of Product description Exercising/ Number of Exercise</p>
<p>relevant e.g. call option exercised securities price per</p>
<p>security against unit</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(d) Other dealings (including subscribing for new securities)</p>
<p>Class of relevant Nature of dealing Details Price per unit</p>
<p>security e.g. subscription, conversion (if applicable)</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>4. OTHER INFORMATION</p>
<p>(a) Indemnity and other dealing arrangements</p>
<p>Details of any indemnity or option arrangement, or</p>
<p>any agreement or understanding, formal or informal,</p>
<p>relating to relevant securities which may be an inducement</p>
<p>to deal or refrain from dealing entered into by the</p>
<p>person making the disclosure and any party to the</p>
<p>offer or any person acting in concert with a party</p>
<p>to the offer:</p>
<p>Irrevocable commitments and letters of intent should</p>
<p>not be included. If there are no such agreements,</p>
<p>arrangements or understandings, state "none"</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(b) Agreements, arrangements or understandings relating to</p>
<p>options or derivatives</p>
<p>Details of any agreement, arrangement or understanding,</p>
<p>formal or informal, between the person making the</p>
<p>disclosure and any other person relating to:</p>
<p>(i) the voting rights of any relevant securities under</p>
<p>any option; or</p>
<p>(ii) the voting rights or future acquisition or disposal</p>
<p>of any relevant securities to which any derivative</p>
<p>is referenced:</p>
<p>If there are no such agreements, arrangements or understandings,</p>
<p>state "none"</p>
<p>NONE</p>
<p>(c) Attachments</p>
<p>Is a Supplemental Form 8 (Open Positions) attached? NO</p>
<p>Date of disclosure: 25(th) January 2018</p>
<p>Contact name: Nabeel Ashraf</p>
<p>Telephone number: 0203 817 1407</p>
<p>Public disclosures under Rule 8 of the Code must be made to a Regulatory</p>
<p>Information Service.</p>
<p>The Panel's Market Surveillance Unit is available for consultation in</p>
<p>relation to the Code's disclosure requirements on +44 (0)20 7638 0129.</p>
<p>The Code can be viewed on the Panel's website at</p>
<p>www.thetakeoverpanel.org.uk.</p>
<p>This announcement is distributed by Nasdaq Corporate Solutions on behalf</p>
<p>of Nasdaq Corporate Solutions clients.</p>
<p>The issuer of this announcement warrants that they are solely</p>
<p>responsible for the content, accuracy and originality of the information</p>
<p>contained therein.</p>
<p>Source: Jupiter Asset Management Limited via Globenewswire</p>
<p>http://www.jupiteronline.co.uk/</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>January 25, 2018 06:20 ET (11:20 GMT)</p> | 942 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The National Society of Film Critics has named “Lady Bird” the best picture of 2017.</p>
<p>The writer-director of “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig, won best director and best screenplay as the society voted in New York on Saturday.</p>
<p>Sally Hawkins won best actress for “The Shape of Water” and “Maudie” and Daniel Kaluuya won best actor for “Get Out.”</p>
<p>The best supporting actress award went to Laurie Metcalf for “Lady Bird” and the best supporting actor award went to Willem Dafoe for “The Florida Project.”</p>
<p>“Blade Runner 2049” won best cinematography.</p>
<p>The society is made up of 59 prominent movie critics. Members who are not based in New York were able to vote for the awards online.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The National Society of Film Critics has named “Lady Bird” the best picture of 2017.</p>
<p>The writer-director of “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig, won best director and best screenplay as the society voted in New York on Saturday.</p>
<p>Sally Hawkins won best actress for “The Shape of Water” and “Maudie” and Daniel Kaluuya won best actor for “Get Out.”</p>
<p>The best supporting actress award went to Laurie Metcalf for “Lady Bird” and the best supporting actor award went to Willem Dafoe for “The Florida Project.”</p>
<p>“Blade Runner 2049” won best cinematography.</p>
<p>The society is made up of 59 prominent movie critics. Members who are not based in New York were able to vote for the awards online.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p> | Film critics’ group chooses ‘Lady Bird’ as best picture | false | https://apnews.com/dc01a845d62547d58617e93305e73b01 | 2018-01-07 | 2least
| Film critics’ group chooses ‘Lady Bird’ as best picture
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The National Society of Film Critics has named “Lady Bird” the best picture of 2017.</p>
<p>The writer-director of “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig, won best director and best screenplay as the society voted in New York on Saturday.</p>
<p>Sally Hawkins won best actress for “The Shape of Water” and “Maudie” and Daniel Kaluuya won best actor for “Get Out.”</p>
<p>The best supporting actress award went to Laurie Metcalf for “Lady Bird” and the best supporting actor award went to Willem Dafoe for “The Florida Project.”</p>
<p>“Blade Runner 2049” won best cinematography.</p>
<p>The society is made up of 59 prominent movie critics. Members who are not based in New York were able to vote for the awards online.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The National Society of Film Critics has named “Lady Bird” the best picture of 2017.</p>
<p>The writer-director of “Lady Bird,” Greta Gerwig, won best director and best screenplay as the society voted in New York on Saturday.</p>
<p>Sally Hawkins won best actress for “The Shape of Water” and “Maudie” and Daniel Kaluuya won best actor for “Get Out.”</p>
<p>The best supporting actress award went to Laurie Metcalf for “Lady Bird” and the best supporting actor award went to Willem Dafoe for “The Florida Project.”</p>
<p>“Blade Runner 2049” won best cinematography.</p>
<p>The society is made up of 59 prominent movie critics. Members who are not based in New York were able to vote for the awards online.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>For full coverage of awards season, visit: <a href="" type="internal" /> <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/AwardsSeason</a></p> | 943 |
<p>One night after Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, Gallup found that 7 in 10 Americans believed his presidency would improve race relations. Seven years later, worries about race relations has reached a new high.</p>
<p>A new <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/190574/worries-race-relations-reach-new-high.aspx" type="external">Gallup poll</a> found that over the course of Obama's presidency public worries over race relations in the U.S. have dramatically worsened. By the end of his first year in office, only 13% of Americans worried a "great deal" about the problem of race relations. Now, a few months into his final year, that number has almost tripled to 35%. That number marks the highest Gallup has ever found since first tracking the issue in 2001.</p>
<p />
<p>Gallup found that the heightened sense of concern of race relations is consistent across all the demographics they tested, including blacks and whites, conservatives and liberals, and Republicans and Democrats. Meanwhile, the gap between so of the groups has grown, particularly "the 53% to 27% 'worried' gap between blacks and whites, up from the 31% to 14% gap between blacks and whites in the 2012-2014 combined polls."</p>
<p>Gallup notes that while worry about race relations is way up across the board and it has <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/184193/racism-edges-again-important-problem.aspx?g_source=race%20relations%20most%20important%20problems&amp;g_medium=search&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">risen as a national concern</a>, it still ranks relatively low among other national issues (which continue to be topped by the economy, healthcare, crime and violence). Gallup also found that Americans now disapprove more of <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/184466/americans-satisfaction-blacks-treated-tumbles.aspx?g_source=satisfaction%20with%20way%20blacks%20treated&amp;g_medium=search&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">the way blacks are treated</a>, though "a mid-2015 Gallup poll indicated that <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/184439/despite-unrest-blacks-feel-mistreated-police.aspx?g_source=blacks%20not%20mistreated&amp;g_medium=search&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">treatment of blacks had not worsened</a> during Obama's time in office."</p>
<p>Read Gallup's full analysis <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/190574/worries-race-relations-reach-new-high.aspx" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>Survey methods:</p>
<p>Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted March 2-6, 2016, with a random sample of 1,019 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.</p>
<p>Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.</p> | Poll: Worries About Race Relations Reach New High | true | https://dailywire.com/news/4857/final-year-obama-presidency-worries-about-race-james-barrett | 2016-04-12 | 0right
| Poll: Worries About Race Relations Reach New High
<p>One night after Barack Obama won the 2008 presidential election, Gallup found that 7 in 10 Americans believed his presidency would improve race relations. Seven years later, worries about race relations has reached a new high.</p>
<p>A new <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/190574/worries-race-relations-reach-new-high.aspx" type="external">Gallup poll</a> found that over the course of Obama's presidency public worries over race relations in the U.S. have dramatically worsened. By the end of his first year in office, only 13% of Americans worried a "great deal" about the problem of race relations. Now, a few months into his final year, that number has almost tripled to 35%. That number marks the highest Gallup has ever found since first tracking the issue in 2001.</p>
<p />
<p>Gallup found that the heightened sense of concern of race relations is consistent across all the demographics they tested, including blacks and whites, conservatives and liberals, and Republicans and Democrats. Meanwhile, the gap between so of the groups has grown, particularly "the 53% to 27% 'worried' gap between blacks and whites, up from the 31% to 14% gap between blacks and whites in the 2012-2014 combined polls."</p>
<p>Gallup notes that while worry about race relations is way up across the board and it has <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/184193/racism-edges-again-important-problem.aspx?g_source=race%20relations%20most%20important%20problems&amp;g_medium=search&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">risen as a national concern</a>, it still ranks relatively low among other national issues (which continue to be topped by the economy, healthcare, crime and violence). Gallup also found that Americans now disapprove more of <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/184466/americans-satisfaction-blacks-treated-tumbles.aspx?g_source=satisfaction%20with%20way%20blacks%20treated&amp;g_medium=search&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">the way blacks are treated</a>, though "a mid-2015 Gallup poll indicated that <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/184439/despite-unrest-blacks-feel-mistreated-police.aspx?g_source=blacks%20not%20mistreated&amp;g_medium=search&amp;g_campaign=tiles" type="external">treatment of blacks had not worsened</a> during Obama's time in office."</p>
<p>Read Gallup's full analysis <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/190574/worries-race-relations-reach-new-high.aspx" type="external">here</a>.</p>
<p>Survey methods:</p>
<p>Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted March 2-6, 2016, with a random sample of 1,019 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.</p>
<p>Each sample of national adults includes a minimum quota of 60% cellphone respondents and 40% landline respondents, with additional minimum quotas by time zone within region. Landline and cellular telephone numbers are selected using random-digit-dial methods.</p> | 944 |
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<p>“Key to controlling the nation’s HIV epidemic is helping people with HIV get connected to – and stay in – care and treatment, to suppress the virus, live longer and help protect others.”</p>
<p>– CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden</p>
<p>Unfortunately, 70 percent of Americans who have HIV have yet to unlock what seems to be a simple prescription for better health. And that’s important because unlike diabetes and obesity, which when left untreated harm the patient, HIV is communicable.</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention groups HIV/AIDS with viral hepatitis, STDs and tuberculosis for this very reason. Yet a new CDC study says that of the nearly 840,000 Americans with HIV who do not have their disease under control the vast majority, 66 percent, simply aren’t getting regular care.</p>
<p>That means the only meaningful way to reduce the tens of thousands of new infections each year is to adequately treat the estimated 1 million Americans who have HIV. Because treatment works for them and their sexual partners. The CDC says consistent treatment “has been shown to reduce sexual transmission of HIV by 96 percent.”</p>
<p>The CDC report cites the same challenges in treating HIV as other diseases: poor access to health care, low socio-economic status – as well as American complacency three decades after the first confirmed U.S. case.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yet this year there was a national panic as the CDC confirmed just four cases of and one death from Ebola. By comparison, there are around 50,000 new infections and more than 13,000 deaths from HIV in the United States every year.</p>
<p>The CDC says testing and treating Americans is essential “to bring an end to AIDS in America.” After 30 years, considering the medical advancements, that “end” should be closer than it is.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p /> | Editorial: Why in 2014 is HIV still an untreated U.S. health crisis? | false | https://abqjournal.com/504542/why-in-2014-is-hiv-still-an-untreated-us-health-crisis.html | 2least
| Editorial: Why in 2014 is HIV still an untreated U.S. health crisis?
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<p>“Key to controlling the nation’s HIV epidemic is helping people with HIV get connected to – and stay in – care and treatment, to suppress the virus, live longer and help protect others.”</p>
<p>– CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden</p>
<p>Unfortunately, 70 percent of Americans who have HIV have yet to unlock what seems to be a simple prescription for better health. And that’s important because unlike diabetes and obesity, which when left untreated harm the patient, HIV is communicable.</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention groups HIV/AIDS with viral hepatitis, STDs and tuberculosis for this very reason. Yet a new CDC study says that of the nearly 840,000 Americans with HIV who do not have their disease under control the vast majority, 66 percent, simply aren’t getting regular care.</p>
<p>That means the only meaningful way to reduce the tens of thousands of new infections each year is to adequately treat the estimated 1 million Americans who have HIV. Because treatment works for them and their sexual partners. The CDC says consistent treatment “has been shown to reduce sexual transmission of HIV by 96 percent.”</p>
<p>The CDC report cites the same challenges in treating HIV as other diseases: poor access to health care, low socio-economic status – as well as American complacency three decades after the first confirmed U.S. case.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yet this year there was a national panic as the CDC confirmed just four cases of and one death from Ebola. By comparison, there are around 50,000 new infections and more than 13,000 deaths from HIV in the United States every year.</p>
<p>The CDC says testing and treating Americans is essential “to bring an end to AIDS in America.” After 30 years, considering the medical advancements, that “end” should be closer than it is.</p>
<p>This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers.</p>
<p /> | 945 |
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<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Redstate blogger Loren Heal once made the excellent point that <a href="http://www.redstate.com/socrates/2012/09/29/everyone-knows-something-that-isnt-true/" type="external">“everyone knows something that isn’t true”</a>. In other words, everyone has, at at least one point in their lives, believed–nay, knew–something to be true that was actually 100% false. In fact, throughout history, it has not at all been uncommon for large swaths of certain populations to “know” something to be true that was really false. For example, in the Middle Ages, everyone knew that the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth until Christopher Columbus and Galileo set them straight. Puritans knew that if you dunked a woman in a pond and she floated, then she wasn’t a witch. Most small children believe in Santa Claus, and a lot of political activists act like children and petulantly hold on to ridiculous beliefs long after they’ve been debunked (see birthers and 9/11 truthers as exhibit A).</p>
<p>And now, most importantly, everyone in the MSM and most supporters of President Obama believed in two universally known truths: that Obama is a “great debater” and that “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people”. However, both of these “known truths” turned out to be egregiously false.</p>
<p>Let’s take the first “known truth” that President Obama is a “great debater”. As Jonah Goldberg recently pointed out, <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/329497/undoing-storybook-man-jonah-goldberg" type="external">“Obama is the single most overrated politician of my lifetime”</a>. Yes, Obama is a good orator, but he has never been a good debater.</p>
<p>Did any of you watch the 2008 Democratic primary debates? I watched all of them (I know, it sounds a little embarrassing). Obama consistently lost to Hillary Clinton in debate after debate; but, predictably after every debate, Obama’s lackeys on CNN and MSNBC would declare Obama the winner even though Hillary had just cleaned his clock. (It was as if black was white and up was down to those people–ironically, only Fox News covered the Democratic debates honestly and would declare Hillary the winner.) Now, even though Hillary would usually defeat Obama in the primary debates, she never really went for the jugular in most of the debates because she was probably terrified that the liberal media would call her a “racist”, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JournoList" type="external">just like they did her husband and anyone else who dared to criticize Obama</a>.</p>
<p>However, by April of 2008–after twenty debates–Hillary finally realized that the liberal MSM was NEVER going to give her a fair shake and that they clearly wanted Obama to win. (As <a href="http://rsmccain.blogspot.com/2008/05/chelsea-charmed.html" type="external">Robert Stacy McCain succinctly put it, their basic attitude towards her was, “Hey, lady, why don’t you quit already?”</a>) So therefore, Hillary decided to unleash hell on Obama in the Pennsylvania debate (which was the twenty first debate). Also, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos finally–after twenty debates–got up the nerve to ask Obama about Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers (you know, two real truths, not “known truths”). In response, Obama got a <a href="http://archive.redstate.com/blogs/dan_mclaughlin/2008/apr/22/you_cant_ask_me_that" type="external">“You can’t ask me that!”</a> look on his face, and then took his ball and went home by <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/04/clinton-tries-a-different-deba.html" type="external">flat-out refusing to participate in anymore debates</a>. Oh, but not before his <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041700013.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns" type="external">buddies from the MSM</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JournoList" type="external">the JounoList</a> (a group of 400 or so “objective journalists” who were secretly using their columns to campaign for Obama) <a href="http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2008/04/18/what-do-you-think-of-when-you-hear-the-word-journalist/" type="external">wrote a strongly worded letter to ABC complaining about Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, and implied that their questions were racist</a>.</p>
<p>Now, I ask you, would a truly great debater feel that he needed that much protection and shielding by his lackeys in the press? Highly doubtful.</p>
<p>Furthermore, many conservatives feel that John McCain (who was a decent debater during the Republican primaries) basically threw Obama softballs during their debates because, after the financial meltdown, McCain knew that he was going to lose the election so he figured that it wasn’t worth having the media hate him as well, or label him as a “racist” on his way out the door.</p>
<p>So, in a nutshell, there you have it. A false “known truth” that Obama is “a great debater” was created by <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40308.html" type="external">a press that was colluding for him</a>–all the while, Mitt Romney has had <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2012/09/17/reporters-gang-romney-thats-no-conspiracy-its-being-strategic-your-colle" type="external">the press, literally, colluding against him</a>. Since April of 2008, President Obama hasn’t really faced a truly assertive and engaged debate partner, or had his assertions strongly challenged in any way….that was until he walked onto the stage with Mitt Romney and had no JournoList members or liberal MSM lackeys to bail him out. However, <a href="" type="internal">liberals on cable news have already started blaming Jim Lehrer and his relaxed format</a> for Obama’s defeat. (See a pattern here?) However, I seriously doubt that any of them will actually write Jim Lehrer a letter calling him a racist….that’s a card you can only play once, if at all.</p>
<p>Now, onto debunking the second “known truth” that “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people”.</p>
<p>It is a clear fact that the MSM has gone out of their way to portray Mitt Romney as a bumbling idiot who hates poor people. Don’t believe me? Well, just watch any cable news show that isn’t on Fox (and even some on Fox), or read any column about Romney written by a liberal pundit and you will see what I’m talking about. In fact, SNL recently had a cold opening where the actor playing President Obama basically said “things are really bad and I should lose, but look at this moron I’m running against.” (See the embed below.) Oh, and if SNL runs with a particular theme, that means that it is now part of the zeitgeist and is officially and accepted as a “known truth”.</p>
<p />
<p>Furthermore, SNL even had a skit where <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/snl-saturday-night-live-mitt-romney-video-372787" type="external">an actor playing Mitt Romney was singing in the shower about how much he hated poor people and how “poor people hate getting jobs”</a>.</p>
<p>John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.</p>
<p>Well, people are entitled to their opinions–or “known truths” if you will–but not their own facts. So, without much ado, here are some real facts about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney" type="external">Mitt Romney: he is a successful businessman who is worth around a quarter of a billion dollars, he was a successful governor of MA (and had the number one education rate in the country), he rescued the Salt Lake City Olympics, and he is WAY more accomplished than Barack Obama was when he first ran for president</a>. In other words, it would be close to impossible for a stupid person/bumbling idiot to accomplish what Mitt Romney has throughout his life.</p>
<p>Second of all, did any of you watch the Republican primary debates this past spring? I watched all of them (I know, another kind of embarrassing admission) and I found Mitt Romney’s debate performances to be extremely impressive. <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20118966-503544.html" type="external">In fact, most pundits freely admitted that Romney usually won most of the debates</a>–and even when he didn’t out-right win, he never gave a weak performance. Not to mention, Romney was able to give consistently strong debate performances with seven or eight people on the stage going after him at once, whereas Obama wasn’t even able to consistently hold his own against just Hillary. Therefore, this assumption that Obama was destined to beat Romney in the first Presidential debate was totally detached from reality.</p>
<p>And lastly, <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2012/09/25/7_incredible_personal_stories_about_mitt_romney_that_you_may_not_know" type="external">John Hawkins wrote an excellent, well-researched article that demonstrated the fact that Mitt Romney has given a great amount of money–and most importantly, a lot of his time–trying to help poor or needy people</a>. So, again, this “known truth” that “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people” was created in fantasy land.</p>
<p>Now, here’s the rub with regard to Obama and his campaign believing the “known truths” that Obama is “a brilliant debater” and “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people” ( <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/329497/undoing-storybook-man-jonah-goldberg" type="external">Obama once told a reporter, “You know, I actually believe my own bulls**t.”</a>)–eventually you run into a wall called “reality”. And, that’s exactly what happened to Barack Obama when he walked out on that stage with Mitt Romney last Wednesday night. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-romney-by-two-touchdowns/2012/10/04/44ee5b92-0e65-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html?wprss=rss_opinions" type="external">Charles Krauthammer sums up the problem with Obama’s strategy of demonizing Romney perfectly when he wrote the following</a>:</p>
<p>He pulled off a tactical coup by coming right out of the box to undo millions of dollars’ worth of negative ads that painted him, personally, as Gordon Gekko – rapacious vulture capitalist who doesn’t just lay off steelworkers but kills their wives – and, politically, as intent on raising taxes on the middle class while lowering them for the rich.</p>
<p>The Romney campaign had let these ads go largely unanswered. But a “kill Romney” strategy can only work until people get to see Romney themselves. On Wednesday night, they did. Regarding the character assassination, all Romney really had to do was walk out with no horns on his head. Confident, smiling and nonthreatening, he didn’t look like a man who enjoys killing the wives of laid-off steelworkers.</p>
<p>Yes, reality….well she is indeed a harsh mistress. She will pop your faulty preconceived notions/”known truths” just like a needle does to a balloon. Every pundit and their mother has been on TV the last couple of days whining about how “unprepared” Obama was. But hey, who would take the time to prepare to debate a “bumbling idiot”–especially if everyone you know tells you what a “great debater” you are (whether you really are or not)?</p>
<p>The real problem isn’t that Obama “didn’t prepare enough”, or that <a href="http://theothermccain.com/2012/10/06/a-different-spin-on-obamas-denver-clock-cleaning/" type="external">“Romney cheated”</a> (rolls eyes)–the real problem is that Obama believed his own press. That, and reality finally caught up to him (she will catch up to you eventually). <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/barone-thoughts-on-the-first-presidential-debate/article/2509823#.UHD1VaPyZX4" type="external">Michael Barone hit it out of the park when he wrote the following</a>:</p>
<p>The mainstream media has been playing protective guard around him for the last five or six years. He has seldom faced tough questioning, having managed to avoid open press conferences (as I recall) since last June. And of course mainstream media is extremely unanxious to ask him embarrassing questions about a whole host of issues. To his credit, moderator Jim Lehrer didn’t zero in on these things but didn’t prevent the interaction between the candidates from raising such questions.</p>
<p>Obama suffered tonight from his lack of scrutiny from mainstream media. As I like to say, there is nothing free in politics, but there is some question about when you pay the price. In this first debate Obama paid the price for the hands-off treatment he has received from mainstream media. His talking points, advanced by his spokesmen in the confidence that they will not be seriously challenged, were refuted by an energized and articulated and well-informed Mitt Romney. He stood there petulantly and pathetically, nonplussed by the fact that his flimsy talking points were effectively challenged.</p>
<p>Last Wednesday night, Obama and his campaign finally “paid the price” for believing in falsehoods that had no actual basis in reality.</p>
<p>In conclusion, please allow me to put it this way–no one still believes that the earth is flat, no one still believes that the sun revolves around the earth, and no one with half a brain still believes that Mitt Romney is a “bumbling idiot” or that Barack Obama is a “great debater”….not anymore.</p>
<p />
<p /> | Thoughts on the Recent Presidential Debate, and the Real Reason Why Obama Lost to Romney | true | http://rightwingnews.com/election-2012/thoughts-on-the-recent-presidential-debate-and-the-real-reason-why-obama-lost-to-romney/ | 2018-10-20 | 0right
| Thoughts on the Recent Presidential Debate, and the Real Reason Why Obama Lost to Romney
<p />
<p />
<p />
<p>Redstate blogger Loren Heal once made the excellent point that <a href="http://www.redstate.com/socrates/2012/09/29/everyone-knows-something-that-isnt-true/" type="external">“everyone knows something that isn’t true”</a>. In other words, everyone has, at at least one point in their lives, believed–nay, knew–something to be true that was actually 100% false. In fact, throughout history, it has not at all been uncommon for large swaths of certain populations to “know” something to be true that was really false. For example, in the Middle Ages, everyone knew that the earth was flat and that the sun revolved around the earth until Christopher Columbus and Galileo set them straight. Puritans knew that if you dunked a woman in a pond and she floated, then she wasn’t a witch. Most small children believe in Santa Claus, and a lot of political activists act like children and petulantly hold on to ridiculous beliefs long after they’ve been debunked (see birthers and 9/11 truthers as exhibit A).</p>
<p>And now, most importantly, everyone in the MSM and most supporters of President Obama believed in two universally known truths: that Obama is a “great debater” and that “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people”. However, both of these “known truths” turned out to be egregiously false.</p>
<p>Let’s take the first “known truth” that President Obama is a “great debater”. As Jonah Goldberg recently pointed out, <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/329497/undoing-storybook-man-jonah-goldberg" type="external">“Obama is the single most overrated politician of my lifetime”</a>. Yes, Obama is a good orator, but he has never been a good debater.</p>
<p>Did any of you watch the 2008 Democratic primary debates? I watched all of them (I know, it sounds a little embarrassing). Obama consistently lost to Hillary Clinton in debate after debate; but, predictably after every debate, Obama’s lackeys on CNN and MSNBC would declare Obama the winner even though Hillary had just cleaned his clock. (It was as if black was white and up was down to those people–ironically, only Fox News covered the Democratic debates honestly and would declare Hillary the winner.) Now, even though Hillary would usually defeat Obama in the primary debates, she never really went for the jugular in most of the debates because she was probably terrified that the liberal media would call her a “racist”, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JournoList" type="external">just like they did her husband and anyone else who dared to criticize Obama</a>.</p>
<p>However, by April of 2008–after twenty debates–Hillary finally realized that the liberal MSM was NEVER going to give her a fair shake and that they clearly wanted Obama to win. (As <a href="http://rsmccain.blogspot.com/2008/05/chelsea-charmed.html" type="external">Robert Stacy McCain succinctly put it, their basic attitude towards her was, “Hey, lady, why don’t you quit already?”</a>) So therefore, Hillary decided to unleash hell on Obama in the Pennsylvania debate (which was the twenty first debate). Also, Charles Gibson and George Stephanopoulos finally–after twenty debates–got up the nerve to ask Obama about Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers (you know, two real truths, not “known truths”). In response, Obama got a <a href="http://archive.redstate.com/blogs/dan_mclaughlin/2008/apr/22/you_cant_ask_me_that" type="external">“You can’t ask me that!”</a> look on his face, and then took his ball and went home by <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2008/04/clinton-tries-a-different-deba.html" type="external">flat-out refusing to participate in anymore debates</a>. Oh, but not before his <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/17/AR2008041700013.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns" type="external">buddies from the MSM</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JournoList" type="external">the JounoList</a> (a group of 400 or so “objective journalists” who were secretly using their columns to campaign for Obama) <a href="http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2008/04/18/what-do-you-think-of-when-you-hear-the-word-journalist/" type="external">wrote a strongly worded letter to ABC complaining about Charlie Gibson and George Stephanopoulos, and implied that their questions were racist</a>.</p>
<p>Now, I ask you, would a truly great debater feel that he needed that much protection and shielding by his lackeys in the press? Highly doubtful.</p>
<p>Furthermore, many conservatives feel that John McCain (who was a decent debater during the Republican primaries) basically threw Obama softballs during their debates because, after the financial meltdown, McCain knew that he was going to lose the election so he figured that it wasn’t worth having the media hate him as well, or label him as a “racist” on his way out the door.</p>
<p>So, in a nutshell, there you have it. A false “known truth” that Obama is “a great debater” was created by <a href="http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0710/40308.html" type="external">a press that was colluding for him</a>–all the while, Mitt Romney has had <a href="http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham/2012/09/17/reporters-gang-romney-thats-no-conspiracy-its-being-strategic-your-colle" type="external">the press, literally, colluding against him</a>. Since April of 2008, President Obama hasn’t really faced a truly assertive and engaged debate partner, or had his assertions strongly challenged in any way….that was until he walked onto the stage with Mitt Romney and had no JournoList members or liberal MSM lackeys to bail him out. However, <a href="" type="internal">liberals on cable news have already started blaming Jim Lehrer and his relaxed format</a> for Obama’s defeat. (See a pattern here?) However, I seriously doubt that any of them will actually write Jim Lehrer a letter calling him a racist….that’s a card you can only play once, if at all.</p>
<p>Now, onto debunking the second “known truth” that “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people”.</p>
<p>It is a clear fact that the MSM has gone out of their way to portray Mitt Romney as a bumbling idiot who hates poor people. Don’t believe me? Well, just watch any cable news show that isn’t on Fox (and even some on Fox), or read any column about Romney written by a liberal pundit and you will see what I’m talking about. In fact, SNL recently had a cold opening where the actor playing President Obama basically said “things are really bad and I should lose, but look at this moron I’m running against.” (See the embed below.) Oh, and if SNL runs with a particular theme, that means that it is now part of the zeitgeist and is officially and accepted as a “known truth”.</p>
<p />
<p>Furthermore, SNL even had a skit where <a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/snl-saturday-night-live-mitt-romney-video-372787" type="external">an actor playing Mitt Romney was singing in the shower about how much he hated poor people and how “poor people hate getting jobs”</a>.</p>
<p>John Hawkins's book 101 Things All Young Adults Should Know is filled with lessons that newly minted adults need in order to get the most out of life. Gleaned from a lifetime of trial, error, and writing it down, Hawkins provides advice everyone can benefit from in short, digestible chapters.</p>
<p>Well, people are entitled to their opinions–or “known truths” if you will–but not their own facts. So, without much ado, here are some real facts about <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitt_Romney" type="external">Mitt Romney: he is a successful businessman who is worth around a quarter of a billion dollars, he was a successful governor of MA (and had the number one education rate in the country), he rescued the Salt Lake City Olympics, and he is WAY more accomplished than Barack Obama was when he first ran for president</a>. In other words, it would be close to impossible for a stupid person/bumbling idiot to accomplish what Mitt Romney has throughout his life.</p>
<p>Second of all, did any of you watch the Republican primary debates this past spring? I watched all of them (I know, another kind of embarrassing admission) and I found Mitt Romney’s debate performances to be extremely impressive. <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20118966-503544.html" type="external">In fact, most pundits freely admitted that Romney usually won most of the debates</a>–and even when he didn’t out-right win, he never gave a weak performance. Not to mention, Romney was able to give consistently strong debate performances with seven or eight people on the stage going after him at once, whereas Obama wasn’t even able to consistently hold his own against just Hillary. Therefore, this assumption that Obama was destined to beat Romney in the first Presidential debate was totally detached from reality.</p>
<p>And lastly, <a href="http://townhall.com/columnists/johnhawkins/2012/09/25/7_incredible_personal_stories_about_mitt_romney_that_you_may_not_know" type="external">John Hawkins wrote an excellent, well-researched article that demonstrated the fact that Mitt Romney has given a great amount of money–and most importantly, a lot of his time–trying to help poor or needy people</a>. So, again, this “known truth” that “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people” was created in fantasy land.</p>
<p>Now, here’s the rub with regard to Obama and his campaign believing the “known truths” that Obama is “a brilliant debater” and “Mitt Romney is a bumbling idiot who hates poor people” ( <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/329497/undoing-storybook-man-jonah-goldberg" type="external">Obama once told a reporter, “You know, I actually believe my own bulls**t.”</a>)–eventually you run into a wall called “reality”. And, that’s exactly what happened to Barack Obama when he walked out on that stage with Mitt Romney last Wednesday night. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-romney-by-two-touchdowns/2012/10/04/44ee5b92-0e65-11e2-bb5e-492c0d30bff6_story.html?wprss=rss_opinions" type="external">Charles Krauthammer sums up the problem with Obama’s strategy of demonizing Romney perfectly when he wrote the following</a>:</p>
<p>He pulled off a tactical coup by coming right out of the box to undo millions of dollars’ worth of negative ads that painted him, personally, as Gordon Gekko – rapacious vulture capitalist who doesn’t just lay off steelworkers but kills their wives – and, politically, as intent on raising taxes on the middle class while lowering them for the rich.</p>
<p>The Romney campaign had let these ads go largely unanswered. But a “kill Romney” strategy can only work until people get to see Romney themselves. On Wednesday night, they did. Regarding the character assassination, all Romney really had to do was walk out with no horns on his head. Confident, smiling and nonthreatening, he didn’t look like a man who enjoys killing the wives of laid-off steelworkers.</p>
<p>Yes, reality….well she is indeed a harsh mistress. She will pop your faulty preconceived notions/”known truths” just like a needle does to a balloon. Every pundit and their mother has been on TV the last couple of days whining about how “unprepared” Obama was. But hey, who would take the time to prepare to debate a “bumbling idiot”–especially if everyone you know tells you what a “great debater” you are (whether you really are or not)?</p>
<p>The real problem isn’t that Obama “didn’t prepare enough”, or that <a href="http://theothermccain.com/2012/10/06/a-different-spin-on-obamas-denver-clock-cleaning/" type="external">“Romney cheated”</a> (rolls eyes)–the real problem is that Obama believed his own press. That, and reality finally caught up to him (she will catch up to you eventually). <a href="http://washingtonexaminer.com/barone-thoughts-on-the-first-presidential-debate/article/2509823#.UHD1VaPyZX4" type="external">Michael Barone hit it out of the park when he wrote the following</a>:</p>
<p>The mainstream media has been playing protective guard around him for the last five or six years. He has seldom faced tough questioning, having managed to avoid open press conferences (as I recall) since last June. And of course mainstream media is extremely unanxious to ask him embarrassing questions about a whole host of issues. To his credit, moderator Jim Lehrer didn’t zero in on these things but didn’t prevent the interaction between the candidates from raising such questions.</p>
<p>Obama suffered tonight from his lack of scrutiny from mainstream media. As I like to say, there is nothing free in politics, but there is some question about when you pay the price. In this first debate Obama paid the price for the hands-off treatment he has received from mainstream media. His talking points, advanced by his spokesmen in the confidence that they will not be seriously challenged, were refuted by an energized and articulated and well-informed Mitt Romney. He stood there petulantly and pathetically, nonplussed by the fact that his flimsy talking points were effectively challenged.</p>
<p>Last Wednesday night, Obama and his campaign finally “paid the price” for believing in falsehoods that had no actual basis in reality.</p>
<p>In conclusion, please allow me to put it this way–no one still believes that the earth is flat, no one still believes that the sun revolves around the earth, and no one with half a brain still believes that Mitt Romney is a “bumbling idiot” or that Barack Obama is a “great debater”….not anymore.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 946 |
<p>The heads of college and university administrators continue to roll over accusations of "racial insensitivity" and the failure to adequately respond to "systemic racism." The latest administrator to join the growing list is Ithaca College President Tom Rochon, who, after officially receiving a vote of "no confidence" from students and faculty, caved to the pressure and <a href="http://college.usatoday.com/2016/01/14/ithaca-college-president-resigns/?vh=50fcbf203b8c4514fa84776d037b198f35d24b2b&amp;ts=1452863686" type="external">announced his resignation</a> Thursday.</p>
<p>The call for Rochon to resign all started over a few murky cases of alleged racism that students accused Rochon of not doing enough to address. As The Daily Wire <a href="" type="internal">reported</a> in November, the incidents included what a few students deemed as racially offensive remarks made by Public Safety officers at residential advisors' training sessions, racially insensitive comments made by two Ithaca alumni at a campus event, and a racially-charge party invite from a fraternity on campus.</p>
<p>Rochon, who started his tenure at Ithaca in 2008, had repeatedly said he would not step down, but in his letter said that over Winter Break he had a change of heart. The overwhelming vote of "no confidence" by students and faculty likely had something to do with it. Both students and faculty alike voted overwhelmingly for his ouster (78% and 71.75%, respectively).</p>
<p>"How do we get a whole community to focus on our future?"</p>
<p>Ithaca College SGA president</p>
<p>Rochon's resignation will come into effect in July 1, 2017, in order to give the college time to find his replacement. But, as USA Today <a href="http://college.usatoday.com/2016/01/14/ithaca-college-president-resigns/?vh=50fcbf203b8c4514fa84776d037b198f35d24b2b&amp;ts=1452863686" type="external">notes</a>, many of the students are not satisfied with that time table, including SGA president Dominick Recckio, who said it's not soon enough and that he feared the year and a half delay would just result in more protests.</p>
<p>"A year and half between now and him leaving is frustrating in some sense," Recckio said. "How do we get a whole community to focus on our future? That is going to be hard with him still there and when no one has confidence in him."</p>
<p>One student said she was so happy about Rochon's resignation that she "literally cried tears of joy."</p>
<p>Literally cried tears of joy getting the email rochon resigned <a href="https://twitter.com/IthacaCollege" type="external">@IthacaCollege</a> major</p>
<p>Here's the complete text of Rochon's resignation announcement:</p>
<p>Dear Ithaca College Faculty, Staff, Students, Parents, Alumni, and Friends:</p>
<p>After much reflection over the winter break, I have decided to retire from the Ithaca College presidency effective July 1, 2017, following the 2016–2017 academic year. This timing will enable the board of trustees the necessary time to organize and execute a thoughtful and comprehensive search for my successor.</p>
<p>I am proud of the progress and accomplishments achieved by the college over what will be a nine-year tenure as president. Together we have created and implemented the key elements of an ambitious strategic plan, IC 20/20. We brought new levels of excellence to areas that needed our concerted focus, including consistency of academic advising, support of community-based learning, development of a student-alumni mentoring network, and the establishment of a general education program that is destined to become a national model. Our ICNYC program in New York City has joined our long-established centers in London and Los Angeles as an opportunity for students to combine coursework and internships in one of the world’s greatest cities. The Center for Faculty Excellence and the flexible faculty workload model both create additional opportunities for faculty to offer the truly excellent educational experiences that have long characterized Ithaca College.</p>
<p>Perhaps most important in this era of economic constraints, we have introduced administrative and operational efficiencies that preserve first-class, student-oriented service while enabling us to hold tuition increases down to historically low levels and more than double the college’s financial aid budget to nearly $120 million projected for next year.</p>
<p>At the same time, I recognize that colleges evolve through eras defined by new opportunities and challenges. I believe it is best for IC to be led in the future by a president chosen by the board specifically to make a fresh start on these challenges, including those that became so apparent to us all last semester. I look forward to working with the college community over the next 18 months in a constructive and collaborative way, making progress on issues of diversity and inclusion, shared governance, and decision making. I also want to work toward reestablishing a stronger and more unified sense of the educational vision and cultural values that make Ithaca College so distinctively excellent. I am fully committed to working toward these outcomes and urge the community to join together to help prepare the college to attract a highly qualified leader to succeed me.</p>
<p>Ithaca College is a very special educational environment, centered on student learning and development across liberal arts and professional fields and committed to the highest ideals of creating an inclusive community of justice and respect. It has been a privilege to lead the college through a time of challenge and change. I look forward to working with the campus community in the months ahead, and to supporting the board in any way I can during the search and transition to a new president.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Tom Rochon</p> | Say Goodbye to Another 'Racially Insensitive' White College President | true | https://dailywire.com/news/2642/say-goodbye-another-racially-insensitive-white-james-barrett | 2016-01-15 | 0right
| Say Goodbye to Another 'Racially Insensitive' White College President
<p>The heads of college and university administrators continue to roll over accusations of "racial insensitivity" and the failure to adequately respond to "systemic racism." The latest administrator to join the growing list is Ithaca College President Tom Rochon, who, after officially receiving a vote of "no confidence" from students and faculty, caved to the pressure and <a href="http://college.usatoday.com/2016/01/14/ithaca-college-president-resigns/?vh=50fcbf203b8c4514fa84776d037b198f35d24b2b&amp;ts=1452863686" type="external">announced his resignation</a> Thursday.</p>
<p>The call for Rochon to resign all started over a few murky cases of alleged racism that students accused Rochon of not doing enough to address. As The Daily Wire <a href="" type="internal">reported</a> in November, the incidents included what a few students deemed as racially offensive remarks made by Public Safety officers at residential advisors' training sessions, racially insensitive comments made by two Ithaca alumni at a campus event, and a racially-charge party invite from a fraternity on campus.</p>
<p>Rochon, who started his tenure at Ithaca in 2008, had repeatedly said he would not step down, but in his letter said that over Winter Break he had a change of heart. The overwhelming vote of "no confidence" by students and faculty likely had something to do with it. Both students and faculty alike voted overwhelmingly for his ouster (78% and 71.75%, respectively).</p>
<p>"How do we get a whole community to focus on our future?"</p>
<p>Ithaca College SGA president</p>
<p>Rochon's resignation will come into effect in July 1, 2017, in order to give the college time to find his replacement. But, as USA Today <a href="http://college.usatoday.com/2016/01/14/ithaca-college-president-resigns/?vh=50fcbf203b8c4514fa84776d037b198f35d24b2b&amp;ts=1452863686" type="external">notes</a>, many of the students are not satisfied with that time table, including SGA president Dominick Recckio, who said it's not soon enough and that he feared the year and a half delay would just result in more protests.</p>
<p>"A year and half between now and him leaving is frustrating in some sense," Recckio said. "How do we get a whole community to focus on our future? That is going to be hard with him still there and when no one has confidence in him."</p>
<p>One student said she was so happy about Rochon's resignation that she "literally cried tears of joy."</p>
<p>Literally cried tears of joy getting the email rochon resigned <a href="https://twitter.com/IthacaCollege" type="external">@IthacaCollege</a> major</p>
<p>Here's the complete text of Rochon's resignation announcement:</p>
<p>Dear Ithaca College Faculty, Staff, Students, Parents, Alumni, and Friends:</p>
<p>After much reflection over the winter break, I have decided to retire from the Ithaca College presidency effective July 1, 2017, following the 2016–2017 academic year. This timing will enable the board of trustees the necessary time to organize and execute a thoughtful and comprehensive search for my successor.</p>
<p>I am proud of the progress and accomplishments achieved by the college over what will be a nine-year tenure as president. Together we have created and implemented the key elements of an ambitious strategic plan, IC 20/20. We brought new levels of excellence to areas that needed our concerted focus, including consistency of academic advising, support of community-based learning, development of a student-alumni mentoring network, and the establishment of a general education program that is destined to become a national model. Our ICNYC program in New York City has joined our long-established centers in London and Los Angeles as an opportunity for students to combine coursework and internships in one of the world’s greatest cities. The Center for Faculty Excellence and the flexible faculty workload model both create additional opportunities for faculty to offer the truly excellent educational experiences that have long characterized Ithaca College.</p>
<p>Perhaps most important in this era of economic constraints, we have introduced administrative and operational efficiencies that preserve first-class, student-oriented service while enabling us to hold tuition increases down to historically low levels and more than double the college’s financial aid budget to nearly $120 million projected for next year.</p>
<p>At the same time, I recognize that colleges evolve through eras defined by new opportunities and challenges. I believe it is best for IC to be led in the future by a president chosen by the board specifically to make a fresh start on these challenges, including those that became so apparent to us all last semester. I look forward to working with the college community over the next 18 months in a constructive and collaborative way, making progress on issues of diversity and inclusion, shared governance, and decision making. I also want to work toward reestablishing a stronger and more unified sense of the educational vision and cultural values that make Ithaca College so distinctively excellent. I am fully committed to working toward these outcomes and urge the community to join together to help prepare the college to attract a highly qualified leader to succeed me.</p>
<p>Ithaca College is a very special educational environment, centered on student learning and development across liberal arts and professional fields and committed to the highest ideals of creating an inclusive community of justice and respect. It has been a privilege to lead the college through a time of challenge and change. I look forward to working with the campus community in the months ahead, and to supporting the board in any way I can during the search and transition to a new president.</p>
<p>Sincerely,</p>
<p>Tom Rochon</p> | 947 |
<p>Ohio officials say nearly 1 million taxpayers have taken a new quiz used by the state to catch phony income-tax returns and most have passed it.</p>
<p>The quiz to verify identities initially puzzled some residents. The state's Department of Taxation tweaked some questions as it sought to cut down on those that people couldn't respond to because they were obscure or outside recent memory.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The security survey is being used for the first time this year to make sure a tax return submitted in someone's name is genuine and not an attempt by an identity thief to collect a refund check.</p>
<p>Tax Commissioner Joe Testa said in a statement that about 160,000 filers who were asked to take the quiz still haven't. He says that's an indication of potential fraud.</p> | Ohio officials: Nearly 1 million residents have taken new tax quiz, with most passing the test | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2015/03/19/ohio-officials-nearly-1-million-residents-have-taken-new-tax-quiz-with-most.html | 2016-03-09 | 0right
| Ohio officials: Nearly 1 million residents have taken new tax quiz, with most passing the test
<p>Ohio officials say nearly 1 million taxpayers have taken a new quiz used by the state to catch phony income-tax returns and most have passed it.</p>
<p>The quiz to verify identities initially puzzled some residents. The state's Department of Taxation tweaked some questions as it sought to cut down on those that people couldn't respond to because they were obscure or outside recent memory.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>The security survey is being used for the first time this year to make sure a tax return submitted in someone's name is genuine and not an attempt by an identity thief to collect a refund check.</p>
<p>Tax Commissioner Joe Testa said in a statement that about 160,000 filers who were asked to take the quiz still haven't. He says that's an indication of potential fraud.</p> | 948 |
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<p>Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s September inundation of the airwaves cost her campaign $66 million, swamping rival Donald Trump’s media presence.</p>
<p>A new campaign finance report filed Thursday night showed that Clinton’s campaign committee paid out nearly $66 million for media buys last month to the ad placement firm GMMB – twice as much it spent in August.</p>
<p>Clinton’s media investment was almost triple the $23 million that Trump spent to put ads on the air in September. Trump’s campaign shelled out nearly $21 million more on digital consulting and online ads, while Clinton’s committee spent $866,000 on online ads. But Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee between the campaign and the Democratic Party, spent another $26 million on online ads over the last three months, filings show.</p>
<p>Clinton spent a total of nearly $95 million through her campaign and two joint fundraising committees in September, exceeding the $85 million in campaign contributions raised through all three entities. About 27 percent of her money came from contributions of $200 or less.</p>
<p>When October began, she still had more in her campaign coffers than Trump: $59 million to his $34.7 million.</p>
<p>clinton-ads</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Clinton spent $66 million just to air ads in September | false | https://abqjournal.com/872390/clinton-spent-66-million-just-to-air-ads-in-september.html | 2least
| Clinton spent $66 million just to air ads in September
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p>Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s September inundation of the airwaves cost her campaign $66 million, swamping rival Donald Trump’s media presence.</p>
<p>A new campaign finance report filed Thursday night showed that Clinton’s campaign committee paid out nearly $66 million for media buys last month to the ad placement firm GMMB – twice as much it spent in August.</p>
<p>Clinton’s media investment was almost triple the $23 million that Trump spent to put ads on the air in September. Trump’s campaign shelled out nearly $21 million more on digital consulting and online ads, while Clinton’s committee spent $866,000 on online ads. But Hillary Victory Fund, a joint fundraising committee between the campaign and the Democratic Party, spent another $26 million on online ads over the last three months, filings show.</p>
<p>Clinton spent a total of nearly $95 million through her campaign and two joint fundraising committees in September, exceeding the $85 million in campaign contributions raised through all three entities. About 27 percent of her money came from contributions of $200 or less.</p>
<p>When October began, she still had more in her campaign coffers than Trump: $59 million to his $34.7 million.</p>
<p>clinton-ads</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 949 |
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<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>FARMINGTON – An Aztec woman is in custody for allegedly embezzling about $80,000 from a Farmington church since 2006.</p>
<p>San Juan County Sheriff’s officials said Wednesday that 66-year-old Anita Johnston is being held on a $30,000 cash bond.</p>
<p>Deputies were dispatched to the New Life Worship Church on Oct. 4 to investigate the embezzlement allegations.</p>
<p>They said Johnston was contracted to do the bookkeeping for the church.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Detectives executed a search warrant at Johnston’s home office in Aztec on Tuesday and seized documents.</p>
<p>Sheriff’s officials say Johnston has admitted to the embezzlement, but it’s unclear if she was a lawyer yet.</p>
<p>Authorities said Johnston had previously pleaded guilty to a fraud charge in 2002 and embezzlement charges in 2002 and 2010.</p> | Church embezzling suspect arrested | false | https://abqjournal.com/283119/church-embezzling-suspect-arrested.html | 2013-10-17 | 2least
| Church embezzling suspect arrested
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<p />
<p>FARMINGTON – An Aztec woman is in custody for allegedly embezzling about $80,000 from a Farmington church since 2006.</p>
<p>San Juan County Sheriff’s officials said Wednesday that 66-year-old Anita Johnston is being held on a $30,000 cash bond.</p>
<p>Deputies were dispatched to the New Life Worship Church on Oct. 4 to investigate the embezzlement allegations.</p>
<p>They said Johnston was contracted to do the bookkeeping for the church.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Detectives executed a search warrant at Johnston’s home office in Aztec on Tuesday and seized documents.</p>
<p>Sheriff’s officials say Johnston has admitted to the embezzlement, but it’s unclear if she was a lawyer yet.</p>
<p>Authorities said Johnston had previously pleaded guilty to a fraud charge in 2002 and embezzlement charges in 2002 and 2010.</p> | 950 |
<p>On January 1, 2018, California became the largest marijuana market in the United States. But some farmers in America's most populous state feel like they aren't actually going to have a fighting chance when the market opens.</p>
<p>According to some small and medium-sized growers in California, they have spent the last few years preparing for regulations that would initially not allow farms over 22,000 square feet. But when the final regulations were issued in mid-November, these farmers say they found a technicality that provides an avenue - or a 'loophole,' as some put it - to own any size farm.</p>
<p>Growers can still only purchase a permit for small and medium farms. However, while the owner of a medium farm can only own ONE medium farm permit, there is no such regulation on small farm permits. The state of California confirmed to Circa that there is, in fact, no limit on how many small farm permits are allowed to a single grower, or any regulations on how far away from another small farm each plot must be. Because of these regulatory 'loopholes,' one farmer could purchase one hundred small farm permits and have all the permits plotted alongside each other - creating a much bigger farm.</p>
<p>"For three or four years, California regulations were insistent that smaller farms will be allowed and that larger farms will not be allowed until 2020," said Chris Van Hook, a California-based cannabis industry lawyer and founder of the <a href="https://www.cleangreencert.org/" type="external">Clean Green</a> cannabis certification process. "And they just changed that."</p>
<p>Watch "These cannabis farmers are growing clean weed in the Pacific Northwest"</p>
<p>"So really the law is skewed, where if you have unlimited funds you can buy 100, 500, 1000 licenses," explains Mitchell Davis, a grower in the central valley. Davis said he has been in the cannabis industry for ten years, and recently purchased a medium-sized farm to begin growing once legalization was passed. He says the current regulations will create a free-for-all in the burgeoning industry.</p>
<p>"If I can afford to spend the million dollars-a-year on licensing, I can get a million feet of grow," he explained.</p>
<p>According to Davis and Van Hook, this puts undue hardship on the small farm owners, because they can't produce enough to be the sole stockist for a distributor - while other, larger farms can. It also creates a more homogeneous plant DNA pool because only a few strands are grown by only a few large farms, rather than a myriad of small strains grown by a plethora of small farms across the state.</p>
<p>Van Hook said that large farms will end up taking small farms' business, even if quality is better in the smaller cannabis batches. The reason? It's easier for the distributors.</p>
<p>"There’s always a tendency for large distributors to work with large producers," he added. "[Distributors] don’t want to call fifty different farmers, they want to call one place,"</p>
<p>Van Hook is one of a handful of cannabis industry leaders, though, who are trying to come up with ways to combat this new bump in the road. Van Hook's Clean Green Certification - an already-well-known growing certification similar to USDA organics - is organizing a small farm collective, so that they can be that one place distributors call to fill all the orders.</p>
<p>Note: The state of California responded to our request for confirmation of facts present in this article, but by publishing time did not address the accusations of small farmers.</p>
<p>Watch "Researchers are using cannabis to treat dogs with epilepsy"</p> | You can officially buy weed in California - but how long will the small farmers growing it last? | false | https://circa.com/story/2018/01/02/nation/small-cannabis-farmers-in-californias-new-marijuana-industry-are-worried-that-new-growing-regulations-are-going-to-push-them-out | 2018-01-02 | 1right-center
| You can officially buy weed in California - but how long will the small farmers growing it last?
<p>On January 1, 2018, California became the largest marijuana market in the United States. But some farmers in America's most populous state feel like they aren't actually going to have a fighting chance when the market opens.</p>
<p>According to some small and medium-sized growers in California, they have spent the last few years preparing for regulations that would initially not allow farms over 22,000 square feet. But when the final regulations were issued in mid-November, these farmers say they found a technicality that provides an avenue - or a 'loophole,' as some put it - to own any size farm.</p>
<p>Growers can still only purchase a permit for small and medium farms. However, while the owner of a medium farm can only own ONE medium farm permit, there is no such regulation on small farm permits. The state of California confirmed to Circa that there is, in fact, no limit on how many small farm permits are allowed to a single grower, or any regulations on how far away from another small farm each plot must be. Because of these regulatory 'loopholes,' one farmer could purchase one hundred small farm permits and have all the permits plotted alongside each other - creating a much bigger farm.</p>
<p>"For three or four years, California regulations were insistent that smaller farms will be allowed and that larger farms will not be allowed until 2020," said Chris Van Hook, a California-based cannabis industry lawyer and founder of the <a href="https://www.cleangreencert.org/" type="external">Clean Green</a> cannabis certification process. "And they just changed that."</p>
<p>Watch "These cannabis farmers are growing clean weed in the Pacific Northwest"</p>
<p>"So really the law is skewed, where if you have unlimited funds you can buy 100, 500, 1000 licenses," explains Mitchell Davis, a grower in the central valley. Davis said he has been in the cannabis industry for ten years, and recently purchased a medium-sized farm to begin growing once legalization was passed. He says the current regulations will create a free-for-all in the burgeoning industry.</p>
<p>"If I can afford to spend the million dollars-a-year on licensing, I can get a million feet of grow," he explained.</p>
<p>According to Davis and Van Hook, this puts undue hardship on the small farm owners, because they can't produce enough to be the sole stockist for a distributor - while other, larger farms can. It also creates a more homogeneous plant DNA pool because only a few strands are grown by only a few large farms, rather than a myriad of small strains grown by a plethora of small farms across the state.</p>
<p>Van Hook said that large farms will end up taking small farms' business, even if quality is better in the smaller cannabis batches. The reason? It's easier for the distributors.</p>
<p>"There’s always a tendency for large distributors to work with large producers," he added. "[Distributors] don’t want to call fifty different farmers, they want to call one place,"</p>
<p>Van Hook is one of a handful of cannabis industry leaders, though, who are trying to come up with ways to combat this new bump in the road. Van Hook's Clean Green Certification - an already-well-known growing certification similar to USDA organics - is organizing a small farm collective, so that they can be that one place distributors call to fill all the orders.</p>
<p>Note: The state of California responded to our request for confirmation of facts present in this article, but by publishing time did not address the accusations of small farmers.</p>
<p>Watch "Researchers are using cannabis to treat dogs with epilepsy"</p> | 951 |
<p>PARIS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - French authorities stand ready to rein in excessive borrowing and could require banks to hold extra capital as a risk buffer, French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Thursday.</p>
<p>France’s financial stability council has been concerned about record levels of private debt and in particular heavy borrowing by large companies who can finance themselves at rock-bottom rates on the bond market.</p>
<p>The council, which includes Villeroy and the finance minister, took the unprecedented step last month of setting a cap on banks’ exposure to the most indebted borrowers, which is due to become effective July 1.</p>
<p>However, it stopped short of activating a so-called counter-cyclical capital buffer, which effectively requires banks’ to hold more capital as a cushion against their risks.</p>
<p>“If credit cycle risks persist - which is to say grows significantly faster than economic fundamentals justify - we stand ready to do more at any time in 2018, including activating the counter-cyclical capital buffer if necessary,” Villeroy told finance sector executives in a New Year’s address.</p>
<p>The financial stability council has not imposed any counter-cyclical capital buffers since it was set up in 2014. The Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia are the only EU countries to have decided to use them. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Geert De Clercq)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twelve U.S. senators on Thursday asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Sinclair Broadcasting Group ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBGI.O" type="external">SBGI.O</a>) for “deliberately distorting news” and asked the commission to pause its ongoing review of the company’s proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TRCO.N" type="external">TRCO.N</a>).</p> The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
<p>Sinclair, which is already the largest U.S. broadcaststation owner, announced plans in May 2017 to acquire Tribune’s 42 TV stations in 33 markets, extending its reach to 72 percent of American households.</p>
<p>In a letter, the senators, 11 Democrats and independent Bernie Sanders, expressed concern about local news anchors at Sinclair-owned stations around the country being forced to read company-mandated scripts. The scripts criticized “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country” and have drawn fire.</p>
<p>“We are concerned that Sinclair is engaged in a systematic news distortion operation that seeks to undermine freedom of the press and the robust localism and diversity of viewpoint that is the foundation of our national broadcasting laws,” the senators wrote. They added that it “may have violated the FCC’s longstanding policy against broadcast licensees deliberately distorting news by staging, slanting, or falsifying information.”</p>
<p>In a letter to senators on Thursday reviewed by Reuters, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai rejected their request, saying the agency does not have authority to revoke a license based on the content of a particular newscast. Pai made similar comments last year when President Donald Trump suggested NBC’s licenses could be challenged over its news reporting.</p>
<p>“I can hardly think of an action more chilling of free speech than the federal government investigating a broadcast station because of disagreement with its news coverage or promotion of that coverage,” Pai wrote.</p>
<p>After the scripts drew significant public attention, Trump tweeted on April 2 in defense of Sinclair: “Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC.”</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBGI.O" type="external">Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc</a> 29.125 SBGI.O Nasdaq -0.38 (-1.27%) SBGI.O TRCO.N
<p>In February, Representative Frank Pallone, a Democrat, said the FCC’s inspector general was investigating whether Pai was biased in Sinclair’s favor.</p>
<p>Pallone in November asked the inspector general to investigate, citing a string of FCC decisions he said benefited Sinclair and a media report that Trump’s election campaign struck a deal with Sinclair for favorable coverage.</p>
<p>Pai has repeatedly denied he has taken actions aimed at benefiting a single company and Sinclair has denied improper conduct.</p>
<p>Sinclair declined to comment on the senators’ letter, signed by the 11 Democrats, including Senators Maria Cantwell, Tom Udall, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal, as well as Sanders.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Tesla Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TSLA.O" type="external">TSLA.O</a>) will be profitable in the third and fourth quarters of this year and will not have to raise any money from investors, billionaire Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Friday, driving shares in the electric carmaker higher.</p> FILE PHOTO: A Tesla dealership is seen in West Drayton, just outside London, Britain, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
<p>Tesla has already sought this month to play down Wall Street speculation that it would need to return to capital markets this year to raise more funds as it ramps up production of the Model 3 sedan seen as crucial to its long-term profitability.</p>
<p>The car maker, which has consistently fallen short of promised production targets and is fighting bad publicity over a fatal crash of a car using its Autopilot system, said 10 days ago it would have positive cash flow from the third quarter.</p>
<p>Musk went slightly further in a tweeted response to a in The Economist which cited estimates Tesla would need $2.5 billion to $3 billion this year in additional funding.</p>
<p>“The Economist used to be boring, but smart with a wicked dry wit. Now it’s just boring (sigh). Tesla will be profitable &amp; cash flow+ in Q3 &amp; Q4, so obv no need to raise money,” Musk wrote.</p>
<p>Tesla shares, which have gained nearly 10 percent since disclosing the Model 3 production numbers on April 3, gained as much as 3.2 percent in premarket trade on Friday. They were up 2.3 percent in mid-day trading on Wall Street.</p>
<p>Wall Street brokerage Jefferies, which provided the funding estimate cited by The Economist, said in a note last week it expects refinancing risk to remain high for the Silicon Valley venture until it can consistently produce 10,000 Model 3s a week.</p>
<p>The company again missed its own 2,500 target for weekly production at the end of the first quarter, and analysts and fund managers doubt Tesla’s ability to keep production growing to a promised 5,000 Model 3s per week in three months time.</p>
<p>Musk in July said Tesla was going through “manufacturing hell” in ramping up production of the Model 3.</p>
<p>He told “CBS News” in an interview that aired Friday the company “got complacent” and “put too much new technology into the Model 3 all at once.” Part of the interview took place in a Tesla Model 3 Musk was driving with Autopilot activated at times.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TSLA.O" type="external">Tesla Inc</a> 299.9 TSLA.O Nasdaq +5.82 (+1.98%) TSLA.O
<p>Musk told CBS Tesla is currently producing 2,000 Model 3 cars a week.</p>
<p>Last month, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Tesla’s credit rating to B3 from B2, reflecting “the significant shortfall in the production rate of the company’s Model 3.”</p>
<p>Moody’s added that its negative outlook for Tesla “reflects the likelihood that Tesla will have to undertake a large, near-term capital raise in order to refund maturing obligations and avoid a liquidity shortfall.”</p>
<p>On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board said that after a series of public disclosures by Tesla it had taken the unusual step of revoking Tesla’s status as a formal party to its investigation of a March 23 crash in California that killed a driver who was using Autopilot. The NTSB is investigating two other Tesla crashes.</p>
<p>Tesla lashed out at the NTSB and said it planned to complain to Congress.</p>
<p>Asked by CBS if there was a defect with Autopilot, Musk responded: “The system worked as described, which is that it is a hands-on system. It is not a self-driving system.”</p>
<p>At one point during the interview, Musk did not have his hands on the wheel and the car beeped at him to retake the wheel.</p>
<p>Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; editing by Patrick Graham and Phil Berlowitz</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TAMO.NS" type="external">TAMO.NS</a>) will cut around 1,000 jobs and production at two of its English factories due to a fall in sales caused by uncertainty around Brexit and confusion over diesel policy, a source told Reuters.</p> FILE PHOTO: New Land Rover cars are seen in a parking lot at the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in Liverpool, northern England, September 12 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
<p>Output will be cut at its central English Solihull and Castle Bromwich plants, affecting some 1,000 agency workers, the source said.</p>
<p>A spokesman at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) declined to comment on the number of jobs which would be lost but the firm said it would be making changes to its output plans.</p>
<p>“In light of the continuing headwinds impacting the car industry, we are making some adjustments to our production schedules and the level of agency staff,” the company said in a statement.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TAMO.NS" type="external">Tata Motors Ltd</a> 357.05 TAMO.NS National Stock Exchange of India -1.35 (-0.38%) TAMO.NS
<p>It is not renewing the contracts of a number of agency staff at the Solihull site and would be informing staff on Monday of its plans for the 2018-19 financial year.</p>
<p>In January, the firm said it would temporarily reduce production at its other British plant of Halewood later this year in response to weakening demand due to Brexit and tax hikes on diesel cars but did not detail any job losses.</p>
<p>Jaguar sales are down 26 percent so far this year whilst Land Rover demand dropped 20 percent in its home market as buyers shun diesel, concerned over planned tax rises and possible bans and restrictions in several countries.</p>
<p>“It’s been obvious to everyone that sales have been dropping,” the source said.</p>
<p>British new car registrations have been falling for a year which the car industry body has partly blamed on weakening consumer confidence in the wake of the Brexit vote, after record demand in 2015 and 2016.</p>
<p>Editing by Stephen Addison</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Rolls-Royce ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=RR.L" type="external">RR.L</a>) requires more money and more inspections to fix problems with Trent 1000 engines on Boeing ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BA.N" type="external">BA.N</a>) 787 Dreamliner planes, leading to further disruption for airlines and testing relations between Rolls and its customers.</p> FILE PHOTO: A view of one of two Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner during a media tour of the aircraft ahead of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore February 12, 2012. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
<p>Problems with engine turbine blades wearing out sooner than expected have hampered a restructuring program prompted by the engineering company’s declining older engine program and plunging demand for oil equipment.</p>
<p>It said on Friday that more regular inspections are required and would lead “to higher than previously guided cash costs being incurred during 2018”.</p>
<p>“We sincerely regret the disruption this will cause to our customers,” CEO Warren East said in a statement.</p>
<p>Airlines have already been forced to alter schedules or lease other aircraft, but the latest issues could be more far-reaching.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-rolls-royce-hldg-engines-regulators/regulators-eye-new-measures-after-rolls-royce-trent-1000-glitches-source-idUSKBN1HK1PZ" type="external">Regulators eye new measures after Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 glitches: source</a>
<p>The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to reduce the amount of time the affected planes can fly on a single engine after a failure of the other. The time limit would drop as low as 140 minutes, compared with the current window of 330 minutes, a source familiar with the plans said.</p>
<p>This effectively curtails operations across oceans or remote areas.</p>
<p>The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will also order increased inspections of affected engines in line with actions outlined by Rolls-Royce. Currently inspections must be carried out after every 200 flight cycles.</p>
<p>The two advisories are due to be issued on Friday, the source said.</p>
<p>Rolls said it would reprioritize spending to mitigate the costs and kept its 2018 free cash flow guidance unchanged at about 450 million pounds ($643 million), give or take 100 million pounds.</p>
<p>Shares in Rolls, one of the biggest names in British manufacturing, were down 1.3 percent by 1251 GMT.</p>
<p>It announced the need for stepped up inspections after liaising with authorities over a separate issue with the compressor on Trent 1000 Package C series engines. Rolls said there were 380 such engines in service.</p>
<p>Boeing said that about 25 percent of the Dreamliners flying were powered by the engine and it was deploying support teams to help to manage service disruptions.</p>
<p>General Electric ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GE.N" type="external">GE.N</a>) engines used on some Boeing 787 Dreamliners are not affected.</p> ENGINE SHORTAGES
<p>The need to inspect and repair Trent 1000 engines has led to an industry-wide shortage.</p>
<p>CEO East said Rolls was working with Boeing and airlines to minimize the disruption.</p>
<p>“Our team of technical experts and service engineers is working around the clock to ensure we return them to full service as soon as possible,” he said.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=RR.L" type="external">Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC</a> 866.8 RR.L London Stock Exchange -14.40 (-1.63%) RR.L BA.N GE.N ICAG.L 9202.T
<p>Norwegian Air, which has the engines in 15 of its 27 Boeing 787s, said it hopes to have inspected all of its engines before May 26 and that it had already found one problem that required an engine to be replaced.</p>
<p>“It’s disappointing and frustrating that our new aircraft don’t work the way they are supposed to,” spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nilsen said, adding that it had canceled a flight from Paris to New York next week as a result.</p>
<p>“We have an ongoing dialogue with both Boeing and Rolls-Royce and we have been told this problem has their full attention.”</p>
<p>Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL] has up to four 787s grounded at any one time while it sources replacement engines with Rolls and has also leased three Airbus A330-200s to help to cover its flying program.</p>
<p>A Virgin spokeswoman said it had been aware of the increased inspections announced on Friday and that the cover it had in place would be sufficient.</p>
<p>British Airways ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ICAG.L" type="external">ICAG.L</a>), Japan’s ANA ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=9202.T" type="external">9202.T</a>), Air New Zealand ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AIR.NZ" type="external">AIR.NZ</a>) and Thai Airways, which also use Trent 1000 engines, were not available for immediate comment.</p>
<p>Scoot, a budget carrier owned by Singapore Airlines ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SIAL.SI" type="external">SIAL.SI</a>), said it expected some impact on operations.</p>
<p>In December the EASA ordered airlines to replace some Trent 1000 engines.</p>
<p>In March, Rolls said the cash hit from the problem should peak at 340 million pounds in 2018 before falling in 2019.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Tim Hepher, Joachim Dagenborg, Victoria Bryan, and Jamie Freed; Editing by David Goodman and Jason Neely</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | French banks face capital buffer if lending doesn't slow - central banker Twelve senators seek FCC probe of Sinclair news scripts, pause in Tribune review Musk says Tesla will be profitable in third-quarter, fourth-quarter Jaguar Land Rover to cut output and jobs due to Brexit, diesel slump: source Rolls-Royce and airlines grapple with further Dreamliner engine issues | false | https://reuters.com/article/france-banking-regulations/french-banks-face-capital-buffer-if-lending-doesnt-slow-central-banker-idUSL8N1PD62K | 2018-01-18 | 2least
| French banks face capital buffer if lending doesn't slow - central banker Twelve senators seek FCC probe of Sinclair news scripts, pause in Tribune review Musk says Tesla will be profitable in third-quarter, fourth-quarter Jaguar Land Rover to cut output and jobs due to Brexit, diesel slump: source Rolls-Royce and airlines grapple with further Dreamliner engine issues
<p>PARIS, Jan 18 (Reuters) - French authorities stand ready to rein in excessive borrowing and could require banks to hold extra capital as a risk buffer, French central bank governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau said on Thursday.</p>
<p>France’s financial stability council has been concerned about record levels of private debt and in particular heavy borrowing by large companies who can finance themselves at rock-bottom rates on the bond market.</p>
<p>The council, which includes Villeroy and the finance minister, took the unprecedented step last month of setting a cap on banks’ exposure to the most indebted borrowers, which is due to become effective July 1.</p>
<p>However, it stopped short of activating a so-called counter-cyclical capital buffer, which effectively requires banks’ to hold more capital as a cushion against their risks.</p>
<p>“If credit cycle risks persist - which is to say grows significantly faster than economic fundamentals justify - we stand ready to do more at any time in 2018, including activating the counter-cyclical capital buffer if necessary,” Villeroy told finance sector executives in a New Year’s address.</p>
<p>The financial stability council has not imposed any counter-cyclical capital buffers since it was set up in 2014. The Czech Republic, Sweden and Slovakia are the only EU countries to have decided to use them. (Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Geert De Clercq)</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Twelve U.S. senators on Thursday asked the Federal Communications Commission to investigate Sinclair Broadcasting Group ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBGI.O" type="external">SBGI.O</a>) for “deliberately distorting news” and asked the commission to pause its ongoing review of the company’s proposed $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media Co ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TRCO.N" type="external">TRCO.N</a>).</p> The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) logo is seen before the FCC Net Neutrality hearing in Washington February 26, 2015. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
<p>Sinclair, which is already the largest U.S. broadcaststation owner, announced plans in May 2017 to acquire Tribune’s 42 TV stations in 33 markets, extending its reach to 72 percent of American households.</p>
<p>In a letter, the senators, 11 Democrats and independent Bernie Sanders, expressed concern about local news anchors at Sinclair-owned stations around the country being forced to read company-mandated scripts. The scripts criticized “the troubling trend of irresponsible, one sided news stories plaguing our country” and have drawn fire.</p>
<p>“We are concerned that Sinclair is engaged in a systematic news distortion operation that seeks to undermine freedom of the press and the robust localism and diversity of viewpoint that is the foundation of our national broadcasting laws,” the senators wrote. They added that it “may have violated the FCC’s longstanding policy against broadcast licensees deliberately distorting news by staging, slanting, or falsifying information.”</p>
<p>In a letter to senators on Thursday reviewed by Reuters, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai rejected their request, saying the agency does not have authority to revoke a license based on the content of a particular newscast. Pai made similar comments last year when President Donald Trump suggested NBC’s licenses could be challenged over its news reporting.</p>
<p>“I can hardly think of an action more chilling of free speech than the federal government investigating a broadcast station because of disagreement with its news coverage or promotion of that coverage,” Pai wrote.</p>
<p>After the scripts drew significant public attention, Trump tweeted on April 2 in defense of Sinclair: “Sinclair is far superior to CNN and even more Fake NBC.”</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBGI.O" type="external">Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc</a> 29.125 SBGI.O Nasdaq -0.38 (-1.27%) SBGI.O TRCO.N
<p>In February, Representative Frank Pallone, a Democrat, said the FCC’s inspector general was investigating whether Pai was biased in Sinclair’s favor.</p>
<p>Pallone in November asked the inspector general to investigate, citing a string of FCC decisions he said benefited Sinclair and a media report that Trump’s election campaign struck a deal with Sinclair for favorable coverage.</p>
<p>Pai has repeatedly denied he has taken actions aimed at benefiting a single company and Sinclair has denied improper conduct.</p>
<p>Sinclair declined to comment on the senators’ letter, signed by the 11 Democrats, including Senators Maria Cantwell, Tom Udall, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Richard Blumenthal, as well as Sanders.</p>
<p>Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Dan Grebler</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>(Reuters) - Tesla Inc ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TSLA.O" type="external">TSLA.O</a>) will be profitable in the third and fourth quarters of this year and will not have to raise any money from investors, billionaire Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Friday, driving shares in the electric carmaker higher.</p> FILE PHOTO: A Tesla dealership is seen in West Drayton, just outside London, Britain, February 7, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/File Photo
<p>Tesla has already sought this month to play down Wall Street speculation that it would need to return to capital markets this year to raise more funds as it ramps up production of the Model 3 sedan seen as crucial to its long-term profitability.</p>
<p>The car maker, which has consistently fallen short of promised production targets and is fighting bad publicity over a fatal crash of a car using its Autopilot system, said 10 days ago it would have positive cash flow from the third quarter.</p>
<p>Musk went slightly further in a tweeted response to a in The Economist which cited estimates Tesla would need $2.5 billion to $3 billion this year in additional funding.</p>
<p>“The Economist used to be boring, but smart with a wicked dry wit. Now it’s just boring (sigh). Tesla will be profitable &amp; cash flow+ in Q3 &amp; Q4, so obv no need to raise money,” Musk wrote.</p>
<p>Tesla shares, which have gained nearly 10 percent since disclosing the Model 3 production numbers on April 3, gained as much as 3.2 percent in premarket trade on Friday. They were up 2.3 percent in mid-day trading on Wall Street.</p>
<p>Wall Street brokerage Jefferies, which provided the funding estimate cited by The Economist, said in a note last week it expects refinancing risk to remain high for the Silicon Valley venture until it can consistently produce 10,000 Model 3s a week.</p>
<p>The company again missed its own 2,500 target for weekly production at the end of the first quarter, and analysts and fund managers doubt Tesla’s ability to keep production growing to a promised 5,000 Model 3s per week in three months time.</p>
<p>Musk in July said Tesla was going through “manufacturing hell” in ramping up production of the Model 3.</p>
<p>He told “CBS News” in an interview that aired Friday the company “got complacent” and “put too much new technology into the Model 3 all at once.” Part of the interview took place in a Tesla Model 3 Musk was driving with Autopilot activated at times.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TSLA.O" type="external">Tesla Inc</a> 299.9 TSLA.O Nasdaq +5.82 (+1.98%) TSLA.O
<p>Musk told CBS Tesla is currently producing 2,000 Model 3 cars a week.</p>
<p>Last month, Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Tesla’s credit rating to B3 from B2, reflecting “the significant shortfall in the production rate of the company’s Model 3.”</p>
<p>Moody’s added that its negative outlook for Tesla “reflects the likelihood that Tesla will have to undertake a large, near-term capital raise in order to refund maturing obligations and avoid a liquidity shortfall.”</p>
<p>On Thursday, the National Transportation Safety Board said that after a series of public disclosures by Tesla it had taken the unusual step of revoking Tesla’s status as a formal party to its investigation of a March 23 crash in California that killed a driver who was using Autopilot. The NTSB is investigating two other Tesla crashes.</p>
<p>Tesla lashed out at the NTSB and said it planned to complain to Congress.</p>
<p>Asked by CBS if there was a defect with Autopilot, Musk responded: “The system worked as described, which is that it is a hands-on system. It is not a self-driving system.”</p>
<p>At one point during the interview, Musk did not have his hands on the wheel and the car beeped at him to retake the wheel.</p>
<p>Reporting by Sonam Rai in Bengaluru and David Shepardson in Washington; editing by Patrick Graham and Phil Berlowitz</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TAMO.NS" type="external">TAMO.NS</a>) will cut around 1,000 jobs and production at two of its English factories due to a fall in sales caused by uncertainty around Brexit and confusion over diesel policy, a source told Reuters.</p> FILE PHOTO: New Land Rover cars are seen in a parking lot at the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Halewood in Liverpool, northern England, September 12 , 2016. REUTERS/Phil Noble/File Photo
<p>Output will be cut at its central English Solihull and Castle Bromwich plants, affecting some 1,000 agency workers, the source said.</p>
<p>A spokesman at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) declined to comment on the number of jobs which would be lost but the firm said it would be making changes to its output plans.</p>
<p>“In light of the continuing headwinds impacting the car industry, we are making some adjustments to our production schedules and the level of agency staff,” the company said in a statement.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=TAMO.NS" type="external">Tata Motors Ltd</a> 357.05 TAMO.NS National Stock Exchange of India -1.35 (-0.38%) TAMO.NS
<p>It is not renewing the contracts of a number of agency staff at the Solihull site and would be informing staff on Monday of its plans for the 2018-19 financial year.</p>
<p>In January, the firm said it would temporarily reduce production at its other British plant of Halewood later this year in response to weakening demand due to Brexit and tax hikes on diesel cars but did not detail any job losses.</p>
<p>Jaguar sales are down 26 percent so far this year whilst Land Rover demand dropped 20 percent in its home market as buyers shun diesel, concerned over planned tax rises and possible bans and restrictions in several countries.</p>
<p>“It’s been obvious to everyone that sales have been dropping,” the source said.</p>
<p>British new car registrations have been falling for a year which the car industry body has partly blamed on weakening consumer confidence in the wake of the Brexit vote, after record demand in 2015 and 2016.</p>
<p>Editing by Stephen Addison</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a>
<p>LONDON (Reuters) - Rolls-Royce ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=RR.L" type="external">RR.L</a>) requires more money and more inspections to fix problems with Trent 1000 engines on Boeing ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=BA.N" type="external">BA.N</a>) 787 Dreamliner planes, leading to further disruption for airlines and testing relations between Rolls and its customers.</p> FILE PHOTO: A view of one of two Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner during a media tour of the aircraft ahead of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore February 12, 2012. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
<p>Problems with engine turbine blades wearing out sooner than expected have hampered a restructuring program prompted by the engineering company’s declining older engine program and plunging demand for oil equipment.</p>
<p>It said on Friday that more regular inspections are required and would lead “to higher than previously guided cash costs being incurred during 2018”.</p>
<p>“We sincerely regret the disruption this will cause to our customers,” CEO Warren East said in a statement.</p>
<p>Airlines have already been forced to alter schedules or lease other aircraft, but the latest issues could be more far-reaching.</p> Related Coverage
<a href="/article/us-rolls-royce-hldg-engines-regulators/regulators-eye-new-measures-after-rolls-royce-trent-1000-glitches-source-idUSKBN1HK1PZ" type="external">Regulators eye new measures after Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 glitches: source</a>
<p>The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to reduce the amount of time the affected planes can fly on a single engine after a failure of the other. The time limit would drop as low as 140 minutes, compared with the current window of 330 minutes, a source familiar with the plans said.</p>
<p>This effectively curtails operations across oceans or remote areas.</p>
<p>The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) will also order increased inspections of affected engines in line with actions outlined by Rolls-Royce. Currently inspections must be carried out after every 200 flight cycles.</p>
<p>The two advisories are due to be issued on Friday, the source said.</p>
<p>Rolls said it would reprioritize spending to mitigate the costs and kept its 2018 free cash flow guidance unchanged at about 450 million pounds ($643 million), give or take 100 million pounds.</p>
<p>Shares in Rolls, one of the biggest names in British manufacturing, were down 1.3 percent by 1251 GMT.</p>
<p>It announced the need for stepped up inspections after liaising with authorities over a separate issue with the compressor on Trent 1000 Package C series engines. Rolls said there were 380 such engines in service.</p>
<p>Boeing said that about 25 percent of the Dreamliners flying were powered by the engine and it was deploying support teams to help to manage service disruptions.</p>
<p>General Electric ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=GE.N" type="external">GE.N</a>) engines used on some Boeing 787 Dreamliners are not affected.</p> ENGINE SHORTAGES
<p>The need to inspect and repair Trent 1000 engines has led to an industry-wide shortage.</p>
<p>CEO East said Rolls was working with Boeing and airlines to minimize the disruption.</p>
<p>“Our team of technical experts and service engineers is working around the clock to ensure we return them to full service as soon as possible,” he said.</p>
<a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=RR.L" type="external">Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC</a> 866.8 RR.L London Stock Exchange -14.40 (-1.63%) RR.L BA.N GE.N ICAG.L 9202.T
<p>Norwegian Air, which has the engines in 15 of its 27 Boeing 787s, said it hopes to have inspected all of its engines before May 26 and that it had already found one problem that required an engine to be replaced.</p>
<p>“It’s disappointing and frustrating that our new aircraft don’t work the way they are supposed to,” spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nilsen said, adding that it had canceled a flight from Paris to New York next week as a result.</p>
<p>“We have an ongoing dialogue with both Boeing and Rolls-Royce and we have been told this problem has their full attention.”</p>
<p>Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL] has up to four 787s grounded at any one time while it sources replacement engines with Rolls and has also leased three Airbus A330-200s to help to cover its flying program.</p>
<p>A Virgin spokeswoman said it had been aware of the increased inspections announced on Friday and that the cover it had in place would be sufficient.</p>
<p>British Airways ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=ICAG.L" type="external">ICAG.L</a>), Japan’s ANA ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=9202.T" type="external">9202.T</a>), Air New Zealand ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=AIR.NZ" type="external">AIR.NZ</a>) and Thai Airways, which also use Trent 1000 engines, were not available for immediate comment.</p>
<p>Scoot, a budget carrier owned by Singapore Airlines ( <a href="/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SIAL.SI" type="external">SIAL.SI</a>), said it expected some impact on operations.</p>
<p>In December the EASA ordered airlines to replace some Trent 1000 engines.</p>
<p>In March, Rolls said the cash hit from the problem should peak at 340 million pounds in 2018 before falling in 2019.</p>
<p>Additional reporting by Tim Hepher, Joachim Dagenborg, Victoria Bryan, and Jamie Freed; Editing by David Goodman and Jason Neely</p> Our Standards:
<a href="" type="internal">The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.</a> | 952 |
<p>FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here</p>
<p>The markets dramatically pared down gains on Monday afternoon as traders interpreted mixed signals about when the Federal Reserve will begin cutting back on bond buying.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>As of 2:55 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 42.5 points, or 0.28%, to 15112, the S&amp;P 500 gained 3.6 points, or 0.22%, to 1631 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 14 points, or 0.41%, to 3438.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 shed 1% last week in volatile trading as market participants obsessed over the Federal Reserve's strategy to exit its vast bond-buying program. Expectations that the world's most powerful central bank could begin slowing asset purchases in coming months have roiled fixed income markets in a move that has ricocheted into equities.</p>
<p>The Fed is expected to stay in the spotlight this week, with the central bank kicking off a two-day meeting concluding on Wednesday.</p>
<p>"I expect next to no change in the FOMC statement," said Michael Block, chief strategist at Rhino Trading Partners. "In the press conference, (Fed Chairman Ben) Bernanke will play up how tapering purchases down the road is not the same as raising rates, which is so far down the road that investors should not worry about it."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Block pinned the move higher on Monday to investors preparing for the meeting on Wednesday, along with a calming in fixed income and currency markets.</p>
<p>Still, the upward movement lost most of its momentum after the Financial Times reported Bernanke is likely to signal the central bank is "close to tapering" the $85 billion a month it buys in bonds.</p>
<p>The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell 0.02-percentage point to 2.115% as traders bid up the asset. Elsewhere, U.S. oil prices continued moving toward the $100 a barrel mark as tension heated up in Syria. The benchmark contract recently climbed 41 cents, or 0.42%, to $98.25 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline was flat at $2.897 a gallon. In metals, gold fell $4, or 0.29%, to $1,384 a troy once.</p>
<p>The economic calendar is fairly light on the day.</p>
<p>The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index surged to 52 from 44 in May, easily topping forecasts for 45. This is the first time the index has been above 50 since April 2006, suggesting more homebuilders view conditions as favorable than those who see them as poor for the first time since the housing crisis.</p>
<p>The New York Fed's regional manufacturing gauge surged to 7.8 in June from -1.4 the month prior, easily exceeding expectations of 0. Reading above 0 point to expansion for the Empire State factory sector, while those below indicate contraction.</p>
<p>Still, while the headline number was strong, economists noted many of the sub-indices were less rosy: "The unexpected improvement in the Empire State Index was not reflected in the details," Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA, wrote to clients. "Details paint a much weaker picture than the headline."</p>
<p>Foreign Markets</p>
<p>The Euro Stoxx 50 jumped 1.5% to 2706, the English FTSE 100 advanced 0.75% to 6355 and the German DAX rallied 1.2% to 8228.</p>
<p>In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 surged 2.7% to 13033 and the Chinese Hang Seng zoomed 1.2% to 21226.</p> | Rally Loses Steam Amid QE Uncertainty | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2013/06/17/wall-street-rallies-as-fed-worries-cool.html | 2016-03-06 | 0right
| Rally Loses Steam Amid QE Uncertainty
<p>FOX Business: Capitalism Lives Here</p>
<p>The markets dramatically pared down gains on Monday afternoon as traders interpreted mixed signals about when the Federal Reserve will begin cutting back on bond buying.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Today's Markets</p>
<p>As of 2:55 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 42.5 points, or 0.28%, to 15112, the S&amp;P 500 gained 3.6 points, or 0.22%, to 1631 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 14 points, or 0.41%, to 3438.</p>
<p>The S&amp;P 500 shed 1% last week in volatile trading as market participants obsessed over the Federal Reserve's strategy to exit its vast bond-buying program. Expectations that the world's most powerful central bank could begin slowing asset purchases in coming months have roiled fixed income markets in a move that has ricocheted into equities.</p>
<p>The Fed is expected to stay in the spotlight this week, with the central bank kicking off a two-day meeting concluding on Wednesday.</p>
<p>"I expect next to no change in the FOMC statement," said Michael Block, chief strategist at Rhino Trading Partners. "In the press conference, (Fed Chairman Ben) Bernanke will play up how tapering purchases down the road is not the same as raising rates, which is so far down the road that investors should not worry about it."</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Block pinned the move higher on Monday to investors preparing for the meeting on Wednesday, along with a calming in fixed income and currency markets.</p>
<p>Still, the upward movement lost most of its momentum after the Financial Times reported Bernanke is likely to signal the central bank is "close to tapering" the $85 billion a month it buys in bonds.</p>
<p>The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond fell 0.02-percentage point to 2.115% as traders bid up the asset. Elsewhere, U.S. oil prices continued moving toward the $100 a barrel mark as tension heated up in Syria. The benchmark contract recently climbed 41 cents, or 0.42%, to $98.25 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline was flat at $2.897 a gallon. In metals, gold fell $4, or 0.29%, to $1,384 a troy once.</p>
<p>The economic calendar is fairly light on the day.</p>
<p>The NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market index surged to 52 from 44 in May, easily topping forecasts for 45. This is the first time the index has been above 50 since April 2006, suggesting more homebuilders view conditions as favorable than those who see them as poor for the first time since the housing crisis.</p>
<p>The New York Fed's regional manufacturing gauge surged to 7.8 in June from -1.4 the month prior, easily exceeding expectations of 0. Reading above 0 point to expansion for the Empire State factory sector, while those below indicate contraction.</p>
<p>Still, while the headline number was strong, economists noted many of the sub-indices were less rosy: "The unexpected improvement in the Empire State Index was not reflected in the details," Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities USA, wrote to clients. "Details paint a much weaker picture than the headline."</p>
<p>Foreign Markets</p>
<p>The Euro Stoxx 50 jumped 1.5% to 2706, the English FTSE 100 advanced 0.75% to 6355 and the German DAX rallied 1.2% to 8228.</p>
<p>In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 surged 2.7% to 13033 and the Chinese Hang Seng zoomed 1.2% to 21226.</p> | 953 |
<p>The SEIU’s chickens are coming home to roost.</p>
<p>While union president Mary Kay Henry was addressing the group’s convention, several organizers disrupted her speech to demand $15 an hour — one of the items the union has been demanding of fast food restaurants and other lower wage employers.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Henry attempted to speak over the chanters, but they only got louder and she finally quit.</p>
<p>Union organizers then began sparring with each other, with some trying to rip the homemade signs — which read “$15 minimum wage and union rights for all means FF15 organizers too!” — out of the hands of their brothers and sisters.</p>
<p>It was chaos on the stage as organizers ran around and shouted into the microphone.</p>
<p>“Are you guys serious right now? Are you gonna do this right now?” one of the unionists against $15 hour minimum wage for organizers said.</p>
<p>She then launched into a tirade against the other organizers.</p>
<p>“Do you know what it’s like to get paid $500 every two weeks? Do you guys know what that is?” she shouted as they continued to chant.</p>
<p>“You guys get paid enough!” she yelled.</p> | VIDEO: SEIU organizers disrupt union president, demand $15/hour | true | http://theamericanmirror.com/video-seiu-organizers-disrupt-union-president-demand-15hour/ | 2016-08-13 | 0right
| VIDEO: SEIU organizers disrupt union president, demand $15/hour
<p>The SEIU’s chickens are coming home to roost.</p>
<p>While union president Mary Kay Henry was addressing the group’s convention, several organizers disrupted her speech to demand $15 an hour — one of the items the union has been demanding of fast food restaurants and other lower wage employers.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>Henry attempted to speak over the chanters, but they only got louder and she finally quit.</p>
<p>Union organizers then began sparring with each other, with some trying to rip the homemade signs — which read “$15 minimum wage and union rights for all means FF15 organizers too!” — out of the hands of their brothers and sisters.</p>
<p>It was chaos on the stage as organizers ran around and shouted into the microphone.</p>
<p>“Are you guys serious right now? Are you gonna do this right now?” one of the unionists against $15 hour minimum wage for organizers said.</p>
<p>She then launched into a tirade against the other organizers.</p>
<p>“Do you know what it’s like to get paid $500 every two weeks? Do you guys know what that is?” she shouted as they continued to chant.</p>
<p>“You guys get paid enough!” she yelled.</p> | 954 |
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on North Carolina legislators debating possible changes to judicial election districts (all times local):</p>
<p>4:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Movement by the General Assembly on redrawing North Carolina’s judicial election map is slowing down because of pending redistricting litigation on the legislature’s own districts.</p>
<p>House and Senate negotiators had been hopeful they could reach an agreement on boundaries for trial court judgeships and local prosecutors sometimes this week.</p>
<p>But legislative leaders said Monday that wasn’t going to happen in part because they are awaiting resolution in a court case involving legislative districts. A three-judge panel last week ordered changes to two dozen House and Senate districts drawn by a court-appointed expert.</p>
<p>Republican lawmakers want a court to block that order, or at least allow them to make the changes themselves. If they are successful, they’d have to work quickly because candidate filing begins in three weeks.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>10:45 a.m.</p>
<p>House and Senate members are again debating changes to North Carolina’s judicial election districts and whether selecting judges should be revamped completely.</p>
<p>A joint judicial redistricting and reform committee is to meet Monday, when legislators are supposed to review new proposed election boundaries for trial court judgeships. Republicans have been negotiating privately to work out differences between Senate and House versions.</p>
<p>Some GOP legislative leaders hope they can finalize the maps this week.</p>
<p>The House has scaled back slightly the chances for a quick resolution since Speaker Tim Moore last week signaled floor votes on the legislation would occur Tuesday and Wednesday.</p>
<p>But House Majority Leader John Bell wrote GOP colleagues over the weekend that there would be no voting session Tuesday. A House elections committee was also canceled Tuesday.</p>
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on North Carolina legislators debating possible changes to judicial election districts (all times local):</p>
<p>4:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Movement by the General Assembly on redrawing North Carolina’s judicial election map is slowing down because of pending redistricting litigation on the legislature’s own districts.</p>
<p>House and Senate negotiators had been hopeful they could reach an agreement on boundaries for trial court judgeships and local prosecutors sometimes this week.</p>
<p>But legislative leaders said Monday that wasn’t going to happen in part because they are awaiting resolution in a court case involving legislative districts. A three-judge panel last week ordered changes to two dozen House and Senate districts drawn by a court-appointed expert.</p>
<p>Republican lawmakers want a court to block that order, or at least allow them to make the changes themselves. If they are successful, they’d have to work quickly because candidate filing begins in three weeks.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>10:45 a.m.</p>
<p>House and Senate members are again debating changes to North Carolina’s judicial election districts and whether selecting judges should be revamped completely.</p>
<p>A joint judicial redistricting and reform committee is to meet Monday, when legislators are supposed to review new proposed election boundaries for trial court judgeships. Republicans have been negotiating privately to work out differences between Senate and House versions.</p>
<p>Some GOP legislative leaders hope they can finalize the maps this week.</p>
<p>The House has scaled back slightly the chances for a quick resolution since Speaker Tim Moore last week signaled floor votes on the legislation would occur Tuesday and Wednesday.</p>
<p>But House Majority Leader John Bell wrote GOP colleagues over the weekend that there would be no voting session Tuesday. A House elections committee was also canceled Tuesday.</p> | The Latest: Another redistricting case slows judicial remap | false | https://apnews.com/e8810114bbbf4d5f8c6c653419a60426 | 2018-01-22 | 2least
| The Latest: Another redistricting case slows judicial remap
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on North Carolina legislators debating possible changes to judicial election districts (all times local):</p>
<p>4:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Movement by the General Assembly on redrawing North Carolina’s judicial election map is slowing down because of pending redistricting litigation on the legislature’s own districts.</p>
<p>House and Senate negotiators had been hopeful they could reach an agreement on boundaries for trial court judgeships and local prosecutors sometimes this week.</p>
<p>But legislative leaders said Monday that wasn’t going to happen in part because they are awaiting resolution in a court case involving legislative districts. A three-judge panel last week ordered changes to two dozen House and Senate districts drawn by a court-appointed expert.</p>
<p>Republican lawmakers want a court to block that order, or at least allow them to make the changes themselves. If they are successful, they’d have to work quickly because candidate filing begins in three weeks.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>10:45 a.m.</p>
<p>House and Senate members are again debating changes to North Carolina’s judicial election districts and whether selecting judges should be revamped completely.</p>
<p>A joint judicial redistricting and reform committee is to meet Monday, when legislators are supposed to review new proposed election boundaries for trial court judgeships. Republicans have been negotiating privately to work out differences between Senate and House versions.</p>
<p>Some GOP legislative leaders hope they can finalize the maps this week.</p>
<p>The House has scaled back slightly the chances for a quick resolution since Speaker Tim Moore last week signaled floor votes on the legislation would occur Tuesday and Wednesday.</p>
<p>But House Majority Leader John Bell wrote GOP colleagues over the weekend that there would be no voting session Tuesday. A House elections committee was also canceled Tuesday.</p>
<p>RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Latest on North Carolina legislators debating possible changes to judicial election districts (all times local):</p>
<p>4:50 p.m.</p>
<p>Movement by the General Assembly on redrawing North Carolina’s judicial election map is slowing down because of pending redistricting litigation on the legislature’s own districts.</p>
<p>House and Senate negotiators had been hopeful they could reach an agreement on boundaries for trial court judgeships and local prosecutors sometimes this week.</p>
<p>But legislative leaders said Monday that wasn’t going to happen in part because they are awaiting resolution in a court case involving legislative districts. A three-judge panel last week ordered changes to two dozen House and Senate districts drawn by a court-appointed expert.</p>
<p>Republican lawmakers want a court to block that order, or at least allow them to make the changes themselves. If they are successful, they’d have to work quickly because candidate filing begins in three weeks.</p>
<p>__</p>
<p>10:45 a.m.</p>
<p>House and Senate members are again debating changes to North Carolina’s judicial election districts and whether selecting judges should be revamped completely.</p>
<p>A joint judicial redistricting and reform committee is to meet Monday, when legislators are supposed to review new proposed election boundaries for trial court judgeships. Republicans have been negotiating privately to work out differences between Senate and House versions.</p>
<p>Some GOP legislative leaders hope they can finalize the maps this week.</p>
<p>The House has scaled back slightly the chances for a quick resolution since Speaker Tim Moore last week signaled floor votes on the legislation would occur Tuesday and Wednesday.</p>
<p>But House Majority Leader John Bell wrote GOP colleagues over the weekend that there would be no voting session Tuesday. A House elections committee was also canceled Tuesday.</p> | 955 |
<p>Dutch art dealers have surrendered 69 artifacts that were stolen from Iraq following the U.S. invasion. The ancient objects will remain in the Netherlands until they can be returned to Iraq. In addition to losing 15,000 treasures stolen from Iraq’s national museum, the country has had to contend with rampant looting since the 2003 invasion.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of items are believed to have been looted from Iraq in the chaos which followed invasion.</p>
<p>Despite international efforts to track items down, fewer than half of the artefacts have so far been retrieved.</p>
<p />
<p>Ronald Plasterk, the Dutch minister for education, culture and science, said the world should “cherish and honour” Iraq’s history as the cradle of civilisation.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8143479.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Netherlands to Return Artifacts to Iraq | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/netherlands-to-return-artifacts-to-iraq/ | 2009-07-10 | 4left
| Netherlands to Return Artifacts to Iraq
<p>Dutch art dealers have surrendered 69 artifacts that were stolen from Iraq following the U.S. invasion. The ancient objects will remain in the Netherlands until they can be returned to Iraq. In addition to losing 15,000 treasures stolen from Iraq’s national museum, the country has had to contend with rampant looting since the 2003 invasion.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Tens of thousands of items are believed to have been looted from Iraq in the chaos which followed invasion.</p>
<p>Despite international efforts to track items down, fewer than half of the artefacts have so far been retrieved.</p>
<p />
<p>Ronald Plasterk, the Dutch minister for education, culture and science, said the world should “cherish and honour” Iraq’s history as the cradle of civilisation.</p>
<p><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8143479.stm" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 956 |
<p>Just a few weeks ago, those daring to suggest that a Working Families Party endorsement of the notoriously right-wing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was in the offing were assailed by the WFP’s liberal supporters as cynics at best or GOP moles at worst.</p>
<p>But that, to their evident displeasure, is precisely what materialized last weekend.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/working-families-party-warns-cuomo-of-a-possible-opponent-Zephyr-Teachout.html?_r=0" type="external">driving forces</a> included, most conspicuously, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who, despite his being slapped down by the governor on charter schools and in his attempt to finance universal pre–K with a millionaires tax, urged delegates to accept on faith his portrait of Cuomo&#160;as a genuine progressive blocked by Senate Republicans. (That the governor has supported and engineered a working Republican majority in Albany was left unmentioned.)</p>
<p>As a loyal Democrat, this display of blind partisanship, while plenty unappealing, was what was necessary and required from him. The same cannot be said for the other shoulder on the battering ram, the state’s major unions, who have not&#160;(or at least not yet) officially merged operations with Democratic Party.</p>
<p>However, it is probably by now best for them, and surely for us, to dispense with the fiction that there is any meaningful daylight between the two, or that any response other than “how high” will follow the demand of Democratic Party leadership to jump.</p>
<p>Just as revealing as the endorsement itself were the circumstances which framed it. Mirroring the contempt towards the WFP demonstrated repeatedly by the governor’s policies in his first term was that emanating from the party leadership directed toward the party’s Howard Dean wing. The latter, in response to the shit sandwich offered up to them, had made their displeasure known by supporting the insurgent candidacy of Park Slope law professor Zephyr Teachout and by demanding real action from Cuomo on campaign finance reform in exchange for the endorsement.</p>
<p>This provoked the wrath of party insiders who regarded he failure to wave the pom-poms for Governor 1% as tantamount to treason.&#160;A concise expression were the remarks of Mike McGuire, the political&#160;director for the Mason Tenders of New York City, who professed to be “ashamed [he] ever helped found the WFP.”</p>
<p>“To call yourself the ‘working&#160;families’ party and then draw the line in the sand over campaign finance reform is an absolute disgrace,“ McGuire announced on his Facebook page.</p>
<p>Rejecting the activists’ demand that the WFP&#160;should receive some meaningful concession in exchange for their endorsement of Cuomo, McGuire shot back, “How about a line in the sand over raising the minimum wage? Or establishing a true living wage? Or fully&#160;funding the public transportation system? Or bringing jobs and opportunity and economic development to&#160;the pockets of New York City and vast swaths of upstate New York that so desperately need them? When&#160;you can’t pay the rent or put food on the table, campaign finance reform is a rich person’s problem. The&#160;WFP leadership is now nothing more than a bunch of Park Slope limousine liberals, either literally or&#160;figuratively.”</p>
<p>Leave aside the blatant dishonesty of the implication that Cuomo has any interest in pursuing “a true living wage” or other economic policies which help “put food on the table” or “provide jobs” for upstate residents, or that the real estate moguls backing Cuomo’s campaigns have the slightest concern with those who “can’t pay the rent.” What is most glaring here is the hypocrisy of a six-figure union boss smearing as “limousine liberals” the rank-and-file activist base of the party who likely have salaries far below the six figures typical of labor leaders like him.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, McGuire will almost certainly get away with it, as the targets of his rant rarely if ever hit back. This despite their possession of&#160;a huge club to wield if they chose to use it: the indictments Robert Fitch memorably assembled in his classic 2006 exposé Solidarity for Sale.</p>
<p>As Fitch documented, union leadership salaries are achieved through concessionary contracts negotiated with industry, their well-stuffed bank accounts often derived from funds directly or indirectly stolen from local treasuries for which they escape prosecution via “get out of jail free cards” provided by “labor Democrats.”</p>
<p>Completing the circle, blank checks to the Democratic Party from near-bankrupt unions provide leadership with “seats at the table” where they collude in policies responsible for a decades-long collapse in union density now at single digits in the private sector. Doing so provides them with a reputation for “seriousness” and “pragmatism” making possible lateral moves into establishment think tanks and corporate boards.</p>
<p>The WFP deal is just one more episode in this depressing charade. And if the history offered by Fitch is not enough, there is also Eric Chester’s brilliant 2004 historical monograph True Mission: Socialism and the Labor Party Question in the US,&#160;which identifies a consistent pattern of labor unions undermining repeated attempts to form independent left parties going back more than a century,&#160;raising hopes and then dashing them by folding the efforts back into the Democratic Party&#160;—&#160;then, as now, controlled by elite corporate interests.</p>
<p>Readers of Chester’s book will discover why early socialists, including most notably Eugene Debs, vehemently opposed attempts by party moderates to form a Labor Party based in the existing unions of his day, whose leadership was as compromised and capitulationist then as New York state labor leaders showed themselves to be last weekend.</p>
<p>The current generation of leftists have either forgotten or, more likely, never learned this history.&#160;They have fetishized unions and union leadership taking for granted as the best hope&#160;of third party organizing, in the formation of a Labor Party created at the initiative of existing unions. Chester shows how this hope is a chimera: to expect what Debs called “the bourgeois unions” to act in the broad interest of the working class by challenging the two corporate parties is as unrealistic as the expectation that the expropriators will expropriate themselves.</p>
<p>By unmasking the New York union leadership as craven and unprincipled, the WFP convention debacle provided the Left what could be a teachable moment, forcing the general realization that unions are deeply rooted in the capitalist system and in the individualist ethos which supports it.</p>
<p>The Left must begin to develop fully independent organizations outside of establishment channels which are able to seriously contend with capital and erode the foundations on which its legitimacy rests.&#160;Anything less is a recipe for failure.</p> | Pulling the Plug on Working Families | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2014/06/pulling-the-plug-on-working-families/ | 2018-10-03 | 4left
| Pulling the Plug on Working Families
<p>Just a few weeks ago, those daring to suggest that a Working Families Party endorsement of the notoriously right-wing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was in the offing were assailed by the WFP’s liberal supporters as cynics at best or GOP moles at worst.</p>
<p>But that, to their evident displeasure, is precisely what materialized last weekend.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/nyregion/working-families-party-warns-cuomo-of-a-possible-opponent-Zephyr-Teachout.html?_r=0" type="external">driving forces</a> included, most conspicuously, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio who, despite his being slapped down by the governor on charter schools and in his attempt to finance universal pre–K with a millionaires tax, urged delegates to accept on faith his portrait of Cuomo&#160;as a genuine progressive blocked by Senate Republicans. (That the governor has supported and engineered a working Republican majority in Albany was left unmentioned.)</p>
<p>As a loyal Democrat, this display of blind partisanship, while plenty unappealing, was what was necessary and required from him. The same cannot be said for the other shoulder on the battering ram, the state’s major unions, who have not&#160;(or at least not yet) officially merged operations with Democratic Party.</p>
<p>However, it is probably by now best for them, and surely for us, to dispense with the fiction that there is any meaningful daylight between the two, or that any response other than “how high” will follow the demand of Democratic Party leadership to jump.</p>
<p>Just as revealing as the endorsement itself were the circumstances which framed it. Mirroring the contempt towards the WFP demonstrated repeatedly by the governor’s policies in his first term was that emanating from the party leadership directed toward the party’s Howard Dean wing. The latter, in response to the shit sandwich offered up to them, had made their displeasure known by supporting the insurgent candidacy of Park Slope law professor Zephyr Teachout and by demanding real action from Cuomo on campaign finance reform in exchange for the endorsement.</p>
<p>This provoked the wrath of party insiders who regarded he failure to wave the pom-poms for Governor 1% as tantamount to treason.&#160;A concise expression were the remarks of Mike McGuire, the political&#160;director for the Mason Tenders of New York City, who professed to be “ashamed [he] ever helped found the WFP.”</p>
<p>“To call yourself the ‘working&#160;families’ party and then draw the line in the sand over campaign finance reform is an absolute disgrace,“ McGuire announced on his Facebook page.</p>
<p>Rejecting the activists’ demand that the WFP&#160;should receive some meaningful concession in exchange for their endorsement of Cuomo, McGuire shot back, “How about a line in the sand over raising the minimum wage? Or establishing a true living wage? Or fully&#160;funding the public transportation system? Or bringing jobs and opportunity and economic development to&#160;the pockets of New York City and vast swaths of upstate New York that so desperately need them? When&#160;you can’t pay the rent or put food on the table, campaign finance reform is a rich person’s problem. The&#160;WFP leadership is now nothing more than a bunch of Park Slope limousine liberals, either literally or&#160;figuratively.”</p>
<p>Leave aside the blatant dishonesty of the implication that Cuomo has any interest in pursuing “a true living wage” or other economic policies which help “put food on the table” or “provide jobs” for upstate residents, or that the real estate moguls backing Cuomo’s campaigns have the slightest concern with those who “can’t pay the rent.” What is most glaring here is the hypocrisy of a six-figure union boss smearing as “limousine liberals” the rank-and-file activist base of the party who likely have salaries far below the six figures typical of labor leaders like him.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, McGuire will almost certainly get away with it, as the targets of his rant rarely if ever hit back. This despite their possession of&#160;a huge club to wield if they chose to use it: the indictments Robert Fitch memorably assembled in his classic 2006 exposé Solidarity for Sale.</p>
<p>As Fitch documented, union leadership salaries are achieved through concessionary contracts negotiated with industry, their well-stuffed bank accounts often derived from funds directly or indirectly stolen from local treasuries for which they escape prosecution via “get out of jail free cards” provided by “labor Democrats.”</p>
<p>Completing the circle, blank checks to the Democratic Party from near-bankrupt unions provide leadership with “seats at the table” where they collude in policies responsible for a decades-long collapse in union density now at single digits in the private sector. Doing so provides them with a reputation for “seriousness” and “pragmatism” making possible lateral moves into establishment think tanks and corporate boards.</p>
<p>The WFP deal is just one more episode in this depressing charade. And if the history offered by Fitch is not enough, there is also Eric Chester’s brilliant 2004 historical monograph True Mission: Socialism and the Labor Party Question in the US,&#160;which identifies a consistent pattern of labor unions undermining repeated attempts to form independent left parties going back more than a century,&#160;raising hopes and then dashing them by folding the efforts back into the Democratic Party&#160;—&#160;then, as now, controlled by elite corporate interests.</p>
<p>Readers of Chester’s book will discover why early socialists, including most notably Eugene Debs, vehemently opposed attempts by party moderates to form a Labor Party based in the existing unions of his day, whose leadership was as compromised and capitulationist then as New York state labor leaders showed themselves to be last weekend.</p>
<p>The current generation of leftists have either forgotten or, more likely, never learned this history.&#160;They have fetishized unions and union leadership taking for granted as the best hope&#160;of third party organizing, in the formation of a Labor Party created at the initiative of existing unions. Chester shows how this hope is a chimera: to expect what Debs called “the bourgeois unions” to act in the broad interest of the working class by challenging the two corporate parties is as unrealistic as the expectation that the expropriators will expropriate themselves.</p>
<p>By unmasking the New York union leadership as craven and unprincipled, the WFP convention debacle provided the Left what could be a teachable moment, forcing the general realization that unions are deeply rooted in the capitalist system and in the individualist ethos which supports it.</p>
<p>The Left must begin to develop fully independent organizations outside of establishment channels which are able to seriously contend with capital and erode the foundations on which its legitimacy rests.&#160;Anything less is a recipe for failure.</p> | 957 |
<p>Engine makers for next-generation Airbus and Boeing narrow-body jets stepped up their war of words on Sunday, claiming their new power plants will burn less fuel than current models plus last longer without maintenance and create less noise than their rival's.</p>
<p>CFM International, the engine maker for about three-quarters of the orders for next-generation Airbus and Boeing narrow-body jets, said its LEAP engine will deliver 15 percent lower fuel burn and 2 percent to 3 percent lower operating costs compared with comparable current engines.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Rival Pratt &amp; Whitney hit back, saying its geared turbofan engine has undergone testing on aircraft, giving its claims of 15 percent lower fuel burn over current engines much more credibility. CFM has test parts but not a full engine.</p>
<p>"We are within 10ths of a percent of that (15 percent) figure," Robert Saia, vice president of the next generation product family at Pratt &amp; Whitney, said in an interview with Reuters.</p>
<p>Pratt noted that it has won more than half of the orders for new engines on the A320neo family, including 75 percent of A321 orders, and vowed to maintain the lead after orders are tallied at the Paris Air Show that begins on Monday. CFM dominates orders for the smaller A319 jet.</p>
<p>There are about 925 orders for A320 family jets for which customers have not yet selected an engine.</p>
<p>"Quite a few of those will be out of limbo when this air show is done," said Todd Kallman, president of commercial engines at Pratt &amp; Whitney. "We may be a little bit higher on market share when the show is over."</p>
<p>Narrow-body planes are a crucial market, accounting for 70 percent of an estimated $4.8 trillion in new aircraft sales over the next 20 years.</p>
<p>CFM is a joint venture of GE Aviation and Safran SA of France. Pratt &amp; Whitney is a unit of United Technologies Corp.</p>
<p>The two engine makers are battling over which will power more of the next-generation narrow-body jets.</p>
<p>Since the LEAP engine is the only choice on Boeing's 737MAX, that leaves the A320neo as the battlefield for claims and counter-claims in sales campaigns. Pratt says staying off the low-to-ground 737 allowed it to optimize for the A320 and use larger front fans.</p>
<p>The A320neo next-generation jet is due to enter service in 2016, with Boeing's rival following a year later. The Airbus plane has 2,068 firm orders, compared with Boeing's 1,381.</p>
<p>FUEL SAVINGS</p>
<p>CFM says its LEAP engine will burn up to 15 percent less fuel than today's best comparable engines. It also says the LEAP will burn 1 percent less fuel on the A320 than the Pratt engine when new and that its performance won't erode over its life as it claims Pratt's will, giving it another 1 percent advantage. CFM says its engine's architecture better protect airfoils inside from being damaged by sand and debris that degrade performance.</p>
<p>On the A321neo, a larger version of the A320, CFM says its engine will supply a 3 percent advantage because of fuel savings on the plane's longer missions.</p>
<p>The savings amount to about $4 million a year per airplane in reduced fuel and operations costs, CFM said. Similar savings apply to the 737MAX, but there is no competing engine on that plane since Boeing chose to offer only the LEAP to customers.</p>
<p>Pratt &amp; Whitney says its geared turbo fan engine is shorter and lighter than the LEAP. It also will require less maintenance, create less noise and incur lower emissions fees, generating $1.5 million in annual savings per aircraft.</p>
<p>Pratt notes its engine is on five aircraft: the Bombardier CSeries, which is due to fly for the first time by the end of the month, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, the A320neo, the Russian Irkut MC21 and the Embraer second generation EJet. CFM says with the A320 and Boeing orders, it will be producing 1,700 engines a year by 2020. That compares with more than 1,000 a year by Pratt by the same date.</p>
<p>There have been suggestions that CFM isn't working hard to sell its LEAP on the 737MAX because it has no competition. The company said that isn't true. "We're obligated to compete on the MAX and the neo, and we go to every campaign," Chaker Chahrour, executive vice president of CFM, said at a briefing.</p>
<p>The ultimate arbiters, the airlines, must choose between competing claims for equipment designed to last 10 years before needing a major overhaul.</p>
<p>Both engine makers face are to some extent victims of their success.</p>
<p>Like makers of shaving razors, their business model is to offer engines relatively cheaply and make the money back on spare parts as engines are overhauled.</p>
<p>But high reliability that has become industry standard is hampering that spare-part business. CFM said that CFM56 engines delivered nearly a decade ago were due to come in after six years but are just now coming in for service. The revenue is thus arriving later than predicted and a "bow wave" hasn't materialized in the way it was expected.</p>
<p>"We have a pretty substantial population of engines that are at around 40,000 hours" before their first shop visit, CFM spokeswoman Jamie Jewell said. In one case, an engine stayed on the wing 14 years before coming in for its first major repairs.</p>
<p>While that affects CFM's revenue, it is doubtless appealing to airlines.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | Jet engine makers battle over performance | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2013/06/16/jet-engine-makers-battle-over-performance.html | 2016-01-29 | 0right
| Jet engine makers battle over performance
<p>Engine makers for next-generation Airbus and Boeing narrow-body jets stepped up their war of words on Sunday, claiming their new power plants will burn less fuel than current models plus last longer without maintenance and create less noise than their rival's.</p>
<p>CFM International, the engine maker for about three-quarters of the orders for next-generation Airbus and Boeing narrow-body jets, said its LEAP engine will deliver 15 percent lower fuel burn and 2 percent to 3 percent lower operating costs compared with comparable current engines.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Rival Pratt &amp; Whitney hit back, saying its geared turbofan engine has undergone testing on aircraft, giving its claims of 15 percent lower fuel burn over current engines much more credibility. CFM has test parts but not a full engine.</p>
<p>"We are within 10ths of a percent of that (15 percent) figure," Robert Saia, vice president of the next generation product family at Pratt &amp; Whitney, said in an interview with Reuters.</p>
<p>Pratt noted that it has won more than half of the orders for new engines on the A320neo family, including 75 percent of A321 orders, and vowed to maintain the lead after orders are tallied at the Paris Air Show that begins on Monday. CFM dominates orders for the smaller A319 jet.</p>
<p>There are about 925 orders for A320 family jets for which customers have not yet selected an engine.</p>
<p>"Quite a few of those will be out of limbo when this air show is done," said Todd Kallman, president of commercial engines at Pratt &amp; Whitney. "We may be a little bit higher on market share when the show is over."</p>
<p>Narrow-body planes are a crucial market, accounting for 70 percent of an estimated $4.8 trillion in new aircraft sales over the next 20 years.</p>
<p>CFM is a joint venture of GE Aviation and Safran SA of France. Pratt &amp; Whitney is a unit of United Technologies Corp.</p>
<p>The two engine makers are battling over which will power more of the next-generation narrow-body jets.</p>
<p>Since the LEAP engine is the only choice on Boeing's 737MAX, that leaves the A320neo as the battlefield for claims and counter-claims in sales campaigns. Pratt says staying off the low-to-ground 737 allowed it to optimize for the A320 and use larger front fans.</p>
<p>The A320neo next-generation jet is due to enter service in 2016, with Boeing's rival following a year later. The Airbus plane has 2,068 firm orders, compared with Boeing's 1,381.</p>
<p>FUEL SAVINGS</p>
<p>CFM says its LEAP engine will burn up to 15 percent less fuel than today's best comparable engines. It also says the LEAP will burn 1 percent less fuel on the A320 than the Pratt engine when new and that its performance won't erode over its life as it claims Pratt's will, giving it another 1 percent advantage. CFM says its engine's architecture better protect airfoils inside from being damaged by sand and debris that degrade performance.</p>
<p>On the A321neo, a larger version of the A320, CFM says its engine will supply a 3 percent advantage because of fuel savings on the plane's longer missions.</p>
<p>The savings amount to about $4 million a year per airplane in reduced fuel and operations costs, CFM said. Similar savings apply to the 737MAX, but there is no competing engine on that plane since Boeing chose to offer only the LEAP to customers.</p>
<p>Pratt &amp; Whitney says its geared turbo fan engine is shorter and lighter than the LEAP. It also will require less maintenance, create less noise and incur lower emissions fees, generating $1.5 million in annual savings per aircraft.</p>
<p>Pratt notes its engine is on five aircraft: the Bombardier CSeries, which is due to fly for the first time by the end of the month, the Mitsubishi Regional Jet, the A320neo, the Russian Irkut MC21 and the Embraer second generation EJet. CFM says with the A320 and Boeing orders, it will be producing 1,700 engines a year by 2020. That compares with more than 1,000 a year by Pratt by the same date.</p>
<p>There have been suggestions that CFM isn't working hard to sell its LEAP on the 737MAX because it has no competition. The company said that isn't true. "We're obligated to compete on the MAX and the neo, and we go to every campaign," Chaker Chahrour, executive vice president of CFM, said at a briefing.</p>
<p>The ultimate arbiters, the airlines, must choose between competing claims for equipment designed to last 10 years before needing a major overhaul.</p>
<p>Both engine makers face are to some extent victims of their success.</p>
<p>Like makers of shaving razors, their business model is to offer engines relatively cheaply and make the money back on spare parts as engines are overhauled.</p>
<p>But high reliability that has become industry standard is hampering that spare-part business. CFM said that CFM56 engines delivered nearly a decade ago were due to come in after six years but are just now coming in for service. The revenue is thus arriving later than predicted and a "bow wave" hasn't materialized in the way it was expected.</p>
<p>"We have a pretty substantial population of engines that are at around 40,000 hours" before their first shop visit, CFM spokeswoman Jamie Jewell said. In one case, an engine stayed on the wing 14 years before coming in for its first major repairs.</p>
<p>While that affects CFM's revenue, it is doubtless appealing to airlines.</p>
<p>(Reporting by Alwyn Scott and Tim Hepher; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)</p>
<p>Advertisement</p> | 958 |
<p>Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Thursday a strong labor market and rising prices of imported goods supported her expectation that a recent downturn in inflation would prove transitory.</p>
<p>In raising interest rates last month and penciling in one more increase later this year, Fed officials have so far looked past recent soft inflation readings by pointing to several idiosyncratic price declines, such as for wireless phone plans.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen cited those factors again in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, but also nodded to inherent uncertainty in near-term inflation figures. "There may be more going on. We're watching inflation very carefully in light of low readings," she said. "I think it's premature to conclude that the underlying inflation trend is falling well short of 2%. I haven't reached such a conclusion."</p>
<p>Fed officials next meet July 25-26 and are likely to leave short-term interest rates unchanged. At their meeting last month, officials raised rates for the third time in as many quarters to a range between 1% and 1.25%.</p>
<p>While the economy has largely performed in line with the central bank's forecasts, inflation has been weaker than expected. Excluding volatile food and energy categories, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge slowed to a gain of 1.4% over the year ended May, versus 1.8% in February. The Fed has fallen short of its 2% inflation target for most of the past five years.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen cited rising import prices on Thursday as one reason why global factors aren't "mainly responsible" for the low inflation readings. She also pointed to continued declines in labor market slack, which would traditionally point to rising wages. "We're not seeing very substantial upward pressure on wages, but we may begin to see upward pressure on wages and prices," she said.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen said little about the timing of the Fed's next moves. Most economists polled recently by The Wall Street Journal expect the central bank to start shrinking its $4.5 trillion holdings of bonds and other assets in September, and next raise short-term interest rates in December. That would allow officials to monitor inflation trends for several months before deciding whether to lift borrowing costs.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The central bank leader offered her assessments on a range of other topics Thursday:</p>
<p>-- On her future at the Fed: Ms. Yellen implied she hadn't discussed with the White House whether President Donald Trump might want to nominate her to continue as chairwoman after her term ends next February. "It's not been something that's come up," she said. If Mr. Trump asked her to stay on, that is "something that I would discuss with the president, obviously."</p>
<p>-- On the likelihood of another financial crisis: Ms. Yellen clarified comments she made in London last month when she said she didn't believe there would be another financial crisis "in our lifetimes." On Thursday, she said, "We can never be confident that there won't be another financial crisis," but she pointed to postcrisis changes to bank capital and regulatory standards that had made the financial sector more resilient to economic shocks.</p>
<p>-- On the prospects for 3% annual U.S. economic growth: "I'd love to see it," Ms. Yellen said. The Trump administration has said it believes its policies can boost growth to that level. Ms. Yellen said the goal, which would require a large rebound in productivity, "would be quite challenging."</p>
<p>-- On the length of the U.S. economic expansion, currently the country's third longest on record: "There are shocks that impact the economy, and a negative shock could end the expansion," she said. "But I don't see anything inherent in the nature of the expansion that suggests it will come to an end anytime soon."</p>
<p>Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 13, 2017 15:05 ET (19:05 GMT)</p> | Yellen: Premature to Conclude Inflation Trend Is Falling Well Short of Target -- Update | true | http://foxbusiness.com/features/2017/07/13/yellen-premature-to-conclude-inflation-trend-is-falling-well-short-target-update.html | 2017-07-13 | 0right
| Yellen: Premature to Conclude Inflation Trend Is Falling Well Short of Target -- Update
<p>Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Thursday a strong labor market and rising prices of imported goods supported her expectation that a recent downturn in inflation would prove transitory.</p>
<p>In raising interest rates last month and penciling in one more increase later this year, Fed officials have so far looked past recent soft inflation readings by pointing to several idiosyncratic price declines, such as for wireless phone plans.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen cited those factors again in testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday, but also nodded to inherent uncertainty in near-term inflation figures. "There may be more going on. We're watching inflation very carefully in light of low readings," she said. "I think it's premature to conclude that the underlying inflation trend is falling well short of 2%. I haven't reached such a conclusion."</p>
<p>Fed officials next meet July 25-26 and are likely to leave short-term interest rates unchanged. At their meeting last month, officials raised rates for the third time in as many quarters to a range between 1% and 1.25%.</p>
<p>While the economy has largely performed in line with the central bank's forecasts, inflation has been weaker than expected. Excluding volatile food and energy categories, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge slowed to a gain of 1.4% over the year ended May, versus 1.8% in February. The Fed has fallen short of its 2% inflation target for most of the past five years.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen cited rising import prices on Thursday as one reason why global factors aren't "mainly responsible" for the low inflation readings. She also pointed to continued declines in labor market slack, which would traditionally point to rising wages. "We're not seeing very substantial upward pressure on wages, but we may begin to see upward pressure on wages and prices," she said.</p>
<p>Ms. Yellen said little about the timing of the Fed's next moves. Most economists polled recently by The Wall Street Journal expect the central bank to start shrinking its $4.5 trillion holdings of bonds and other assets in September, and next raise short-term interest rates in December. That would allow officials to monitor inflation trends for several months before deciding whether to lift borrowing costs.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>The central bank leader offered her assessments on a range of other topics Thursday:</p>
<p>-- On her future at the Fed: Ms. Yellen implied she hadn't discussed with the White House whether President Donald Trump might want to nominate her to continue as chairwoman after her term ends next February. "It's not been something that's come up," she said. If Mr. Trump asked her to stay on, that is "something that I would discuss with the president, obviously."</p>
<p>-- On the likelihood of another financial crisis: Ms. Yellen clarified comments she made in London last month when she said she didn't believe there would be another financial crisis "in our lifetimes." On Thursday, she said, "We can never be confident that there won't be another financial crisis," but she pointed to postcrisis changes to bank capital and regulatory standards that had made the financial sector more resilient to economic shocks.</p>
<p>-- On the prospects for 3% annual U.S. economic growth: "I'd love to see it," Ms. Yellen said. The Trump administration has said it believes its policies can boost growth to that level. Ms. Yellen said the goal, which would require a large rebound in productivity, "would be quite challenging."</p>
<p>-- On the length of the U.S. economic expansion, currently the country's third longest on record: "There are shocks that impact the economy, and a negative shock could end the expansion," she said. "But I don't see anything inherent in the nature of the expansion that suggests it will come to an end anytime soon."</p>
<p>Write to Nick Timiraos at nick.timiraos@wsj.com</p>
<p>(END) Dow Jones Newswires</p>
<p>July 13, 2017 15:05 ET (19:05 GMT)</p> | 959 |
<p>Wednesday was a solid day for the stock market, which rebounded somewhat from Tuesday's broad declines on the back of better news from the financial and energy sectors. Political news was unusually positive, with the White House reaching an agreement with Democrats in Congress on a deal to boost the debt ceiling and fund the government through mid-December, as well as fund relief from Hurricane Harvey, which buys Washington more time to consider other domestic policy issues. Energy prices also rebounded slightly, sending crude oil back above $49 per barrel, and financial stocks also regained some ground. The major U.S. indexes closed the day between 0.25% and 0.31% higher.</p>
<p>Company-specific good news also propelled certain stocks sharply higher: Electronics for Imaging (NASDAQ: EFII), Landauer (NYSE: LDR), and G-III Apparel Group (NASDAQ: GIII) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/06/why-electronics-for-imaging-inc-stock-popped-tod-2.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=576ce936-9336-11e7-a502-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Electronics for Imaging jumped 13.5% Opens a New Window.</a> after the digital printing specialist gave an update on certain business issues and offered guidance for its fiscal third quarter. The company said it has made progress in assessing the timing of revenue recognition on its accounting statements, and is continuing to conduct an independent review. Although that review isn't yet finished, Electronics for Imaging said it anticipates no material error requiring a restatement of financial numbers. In addition, the company said that it expects sales for the quarter to come in between $255 million and $260 million, with adjusted earnings of $0.55 to $0.60 per share. Investors appeared pleased that the investigation hadn't turned up any more significant problems for the company.</p>
<p>Shares of Landauer climbed 10.4% on the day after the leader in personal and environmental radiation measurement and monitoring said that it had agreed to be purchased by Fortive (NYSE: FTV) for $67.25 per share, a deal that values the company at about $770 million. Landauer CEO Mike Kaminski said he was pleased with the deal, describing it as "an exciting step forward for Landauer, enabling us to combine our strengths as a leader in radiation measurement with Fortive's powerful and complementary Field Solutions platform and safety-as-a-service offerings." Yet investors seemed to anticipate a potential competing bid, because the stock's move higher left Landauer's closing price higher than Fortive's bid. The buyout could be even more important for <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/09/better-buy-danaher-corporation-vs-fortive-corp.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=576ce936-9336-11e7-a502-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Fortive as it continues to develop Opens a New Window.</a> its testing and measurement business.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>Finally, <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/06/why-g-iii-apparel-group-ltd-shares-jumped-as-much.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=576ce936-9336-11e7-a502-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">G-III Apparel Group finished the day higher by 10% Opens a New Window.</a>. The retail and brand-management company said its net losses widened in the second quarter, but the amount of red ink it spilled was less than most analysts had expected. G-III's acquisition of the Donna Karan brand helped to shore up its results, and the company increased its guidance for revenue and earnings for the full year. In a retail industry that's still experiencing tough times, the progress that G-III has made is noteworthy, and could help sustain the company's momentum into the future.</p>
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<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFGalagan/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=576ce936-9336-11e7-a502-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Dan Caplinger Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=576ce936-9336-11e7-a502-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Why Electronics for Imaging, Landauer, and G-III Apparel Group Jumped Today | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/09/07/why-electronics-for-imaging-landauer-and-g-iii-apparel-group-jumped-today.html | 2017-09-07 | 0right
| Why Electronics for Imaging, Landauer, and G-III Apparel Group Jumped Today
<p>Wednesday was a solid day for the stock market, which rebounded somewhat from Tuesday's broad declines on the back of better news from the financial and energy sectors. Political news was unusually positive, with the White House reaching an agreement with Democrats in Congress on a deal to boost the debt ceiling and fund the government through mid-December, as well as fund relief from Hurricane Harvey, which buys Washington more time to consider other domestic policy issues. Energy prices also rebounded slightly, sending crude oil back above $49 per barrel, and financial stocks also regained some ground. The major U.S. indexes closed the day between 0.25% and 0.31% higher.</p>
<p>Company-specific good news also propelled certain stocks sharply higher: Electronics for Imaging (NASDAQ: EFII), Landauer (NYSE: LDR), and G-III Apparel Group (NASDAQ: GIII) were among the best performers on the day. Below, we'll look more closely at these stocks to tell you why they did so well.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Shares of <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/09/06/why-electronics-for-imaging-inc-stock-popped-tod-2.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=576ce936-9336-11e7-a502-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Electronics for Imaging jumped 13.5% Opens a New Window.</a> after the digital printing specialist gave an update on certain business issues and offered guidance for its fiscal third quarter. The company said it has made progress in assessing the timing of revenue recognition on its accounting statements, and is continuing to conduct an independent review. Although that review isn't yet finished, Electronics for Imaging said it anticipates no material error requiring a restatement of financial numbers. In addition, the company said that it expects sales for the quarter to come in between $255 million and $260 million, with adjusted earnings of $0.55 to $0.60 per share. Investors appeared pleased that the investigation hadn't turned up any more significant problems for the company.</p>
<p>Shares of Landauer climbed 10.4% on the day after the leader in personal and environmental radiation measurement and monitoring said that it had agreed to be purchased by Fortive (NYSE: FTV) for $67.25 per share, a deal that values the company at about $770 million. Landauer CEO Mike Kaminski said he was pleased with the deal, describing it as "an exciting step forward for Landauer, enabling us to combine our strengths as a leader in radiation measurement with Fortive's powerful and complementary Field Solutions platform and safety-as-a-service offerings." Yet investors seemed to anticipate a potential competing bid, because the stock's move higher left Landauer's closing price higher than Fortive's bid. The buyout could be even more important for <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/03/09/better-buy-danaher-corporation-vs-fortive-corp.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=576ce936-9336-11e7-a502-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Fortive as it continues to develop Opens a New Window.</a> its testing and measurement business.</p>
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<p>A beef processing plant in Alberta, Canada has been shut down, and nearly two thousand beef products have been recalled.</p>
<p>The reason?</p>
<p>Beef from the plant was linked to consumers getting sick from E. Coli bacteria.</p>
<p>Some of the beef from the tainted XL Foods processing plant in Alberta was destined for export to the US.</p>
<p>Anchor Marco Werman speak with the CBC's Erin Collins.</p> | Canada's Bad Beef Plant Shut Down, Products Recalled | false | https://pri.org/stories/2012-10-05/canadas-bad-beef-plant-shut-down-products-recalled | 2012-10-05 | 3left-center
| Canada's Bad Beef Plant Shut Down, Products Recalled
<p>A beef processing plant in Alberta, Canada has been shut down, and nearly two thousand beef products have been recalled.</p>
<p>The reason?</p>
<p>Beef from the plant was linked to consumers getting sick from E. Coli bacteria.</p>
<p>Some of the beef from the tainted XL Foods processing plant in Alberta was destined for export to the US.</p>
<p>Anchor Marco Werman speak with the CBC's Erin Collins.</p> | 961 |
<p>Katy Grimes: With the budget conference committee’s passage of Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget plan yesterday, Assembly Speaker John Perez announced that he wants to bring the budget to the floor for a vote next week.</p>
<p>Will this be a drill, or the real deal?&#160;There is &#160;mostly silence coming out of the halls of the Capitol today.&#160;Calls to several legislators’ offices were met with no information about what is coming up next for legislators.</p>
<p>But there are some quiet discussions taking place about exactly what it will take for Brown to get the four Republican votes he needs to get his tax extension measure on the June special election ballot – and it is green.</p>
<p>No, it’s not money — the “green” is greenhouse gas. &#160;Apparently, if Gov. Brown and Democrats promise to back off the push to implement AB 32 until the economy in the state improves, it is said that he could receive Republican votes.</p>
<p>That sounds suspiciously like <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_23,_the_Suspension_of_AB_32_(2010)" type="external">Proposition 23</a> – Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue’s ballot initiative from November to halt implementation of <a href="http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cc.htm" type="external">AB 32</a> (California’s global warming law) until the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent.</p>
<p>But I haven’t heard the words “halt” or “stop AB 32” actually used. And, there are no details yet about what constitutes an “improved economy” for California.</p>
<p>Are the Republicans about to get chummed again?</p>
<p>Several Republicans already seem to be on different pages. Sen. Tony Strickland voted last week in support of increasing California’s renewable energy standard from 20 percent to 33 percent, right after the new “Taxpayer Caucus” was announced – and he was one of the lead organizers. Strickland apparently thought it was okay to vote for <a href="http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx1_2_bill_20110201_introduced.html" type="external">SBX1 2</a> (Simitian, Kehoe, Steinberg) which will&#160;likely drive up electricity prices in California during the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression.</p>
<p>If Republicans want to stay on message, Logue says it’s easy: “Pension reform, a spending cap and small business regulatory relief – it’s all about jobs.”</p>
<p>And, while negotiating for tax vote tradeoffs, let’s hope that if AB 32 is on the table, that someone thinks to get legal assurances that not only will the global warming law get halted until California unemployment drops, but <a href="http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx1_2_bill_20110201_introduced.html" type="external">SBX1 2</a> isn’t ramped up to really kill business and investor owned utilities in the state.</p>
<p>MAR. 4, 2011</p> | A Tradeoff For Tax Increase Vote? | false | https://calwatchdog.com/2011/03/04/a-tradeoff-for-tax-increase-vote/ | 2018-03-20 | 3left-center
| A Tradeoff For Tax Increase Vote?
<p>Katy Grimes: With the budget conference committee’s passage of Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget plan yesterday, Assembly Speaker John Perez announced that he wants to bring the budget to the floor for a vote next week.</p>
<p>Will this be a drill, or the real deal?&#160;There is &#160;mostly silence coming out of the halls of the Capitol today.&#160;Calls to several legislators’ offices were met with no information about what is coming up next for legislators.</p>
<p>But there are some quiet discussions taking place about exactly what it will take for Brown to get the four Republican votes he needs to get his tax extension measure on the June special election ballot – and it is green.</p>
<p>No, it’s not money — the “green” is greenhouse gas. &#160;Apparently, if Gov. Brown and Democrats promise to back off the push to implement AB 32 until the economy in the state improves, it is said that he could receive Republican votes.</p>
<p>That sounds suspiciously like <a href="http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/California_Proposition_23,_the_Suspension_of_AB_32_(2010)" type="external">Proposition 23</a> – Republican Assemblyman Dan Logue’s ballot initiative from November to halt implementation of <a href="http://www.arb.ca.gov/cc/cc.htm" type="external">AB 32</a> (California’s global warming law) until the unemployment rate dropped to 5.5 percent.</p>
<p>But I haven’t heard the words “halt” or “stop AB 32” actually used. And, there are no details yet about what constitutes an “improved economy” for California.</p>
<p>Are the Republicans about to get chummed again?</p>
<p>Several Republicans already seem to be on different pages. Sen. Tony Strickland voted last week in support of increasing California’s renewable energy standard from 20 percent to 33 percent, right after the new “Taxpayer Caucus” was announced – and he was one of the lead organizers. Strickland apparently thought it was okay to vote for <a href="http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx1_2_bill_20110201_introduced.html" type="external">SBX1 2</a> (Simitian, Kehoe, Steinberg) which will&#160;likely drive up electricity prices in California during the deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression.</p>
<p>If Republicans want to stay on message, Logue says it’s easy: “Pension reform, a spending cap and small business regulatory relief – it’s all about jobs.”</p>
<p>And, while negotiating for tax vote tradeoffs, let’s hope that if AB 32 is on the table, that someone thinks to get legal assurances that not only will the global warming law get halted until California unemployment drops, but <a href="http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx1_2_bill_20110201_introduced.html" type="external">SBX1 2</a> isn’t ramped up to really kill business and investor owned utilities in the state.</p>
<p>MAR. 4, 2011</p> | 962 |
<p>Guardian: American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.</p>
<p>Ali Fadhil, who two months ago won the Foreign Press Association young journalist of the year award, was hooded and taken for questioning. He was released hours later. | <a href="http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1682208,00.html" type="external">more</a></p> | U.S. Troops Seize Acclaimed Iraqi Journalist | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/u-s-troops-seize-acclaimed-iraqi-journalist/ | 2006-01-09 | 4left
| U.S. Troops Seize Acclaimed Iraqi Journalist
<p>Guardian: American troops in Baghdad yesterday blasted their way into the home of an Iraqi journalist working for the Guardian and Channel 4, firing bullets into the bedroom where he was sleeping with his wife and children.</p>
<p>Ali Fadhil, who two months ago won the Foreign Press Association young journalist of the year award, was hooded and taken for questioning. He was released hours later. | <a href="http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,14173,1682208,00.html" type="external">more</a></p> | 963 |
<p>The previous Rasmussen poll of likely voters in Ohio had Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama dead even. The trend is now showing a slight shift to the right. According to Rasmussen:</p>
<p>The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Ohio Voters shows Romney with 50% support to President Obama’s 48%. One percent (1%) likes some other candidate, while another one percent (1%) remains undecided.</p>
<p>Ohio remains a Toss-Up in the Rasumssen Reports Electoral College Projections. Based on the current projections, Romney would have to win Wisconsin if he loses Ohio in order to move into the White House.</p>
<p>The candidates have been locked in a very tight battle in Ohio since August. A week ago, Romney and Obama were tied in the Buckeye State with 48% support each. This is the first time Romney has taken even a modest lead in the race.</p>
<p>Ohio isn’t the only state pollsters are keeping an eye on.</p>
<p>Scott Rasmussen has noted that “Wisconsin May Be The New Ohio.” To win the election, Romney will have to win at least one of these two battleground states.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6554" title="Obama - Romney - Election 2012" src="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/obama_romney_votebuttons_2_640x480_620x3501-300x169.jpg" alt="Obama - Romney - Election 2012" width="300" height="169" srcset="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/obama_romney_votebuttons_2_640x480_620x3501-300x169.jpg 300w, http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/obama_romney_votebuttons_2_640x480_620x3501.jpg 620w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /&gt;</p>
<p>Read the full story at <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/ohio/election_2012_ohio_president" type="external">Rasmussen Reports</a>.</p> | Romney takes the lead in Ohio | true | http://bizpacreview.com/romney-takes-the-lead-in-ohio/ | 2012-10-29 | 0right
| Romney takes the lead in Ohio
<p>The previous Rasmussen poll of likely voters in Ohio had Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama dead even. The trend is now showing a slight shift to the right. According to Rasmussen:</p>
<p>The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Ohio Voters shows Romney with 50% support to President Obama’s 48%. One percent (1%) likes some other candidate, while another one percent (1%) remains undecided.</p>
<p>Ohio remains a Toss-Up in the Rasumssen Reports Electoral College Projections. Based on the current projections, Romney would have to win Wisconsin if he loses Ohio in order to move into the White House.</p>
<p>The candidates have been locked in a very tight battle in Ohio since August. A week ago, Romney and Obama were tied in the Buckeye State with 48% support each. This is the first time Romney has taken even a modest lead in the race.</p>
<p>Ohio isn’t the only state pollsters are keeping an eye on.</p>
<p>Scott Rasmussen has noted that “Wisconsin May Be The New Ohio.” To win the election, Romney will have to win at least one of these two battleground states.</p>
<p>&lt;img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-6554" title="Obama - Romney - Election 2012" src="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/obama_romney_votebuttons_2_640x480_620x3501-300x169.jpg" alt="Obama - Romney - Election 2012" width="300" height="169" srcset="http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/obama_romney_votebuttons_2_640x480_620x3501-300x169.jpg 300w, http://www.bizpacreview.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/obama_romney_votebuttons_2_640x480_620x3501.jpg 620w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /&gt;</p>
<p>Read the full story at <a href="http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/elections/election_2012/election_2012_presidential_election/ohio/election_2012_ohio_president" type="external">Rasmussen Reports</a>.</p> | 964 |
<p>Yesterday, Jacobin published Seth Ackerman’s translation of an <a href="" type="internal">interesting interview</a> with French sociologist Daniel Zamora, discussing his recent book about Michel Foucault’s affinities with neoliberalism. Zamora rightly points out that the “image of Foucault as being in total opposition to neoliberalism at the end of his life” is a strained reading of a thinker whose relationship to the crisis of the 1970s welfare state is at the very least more ambiguous than that.</p>
<p>At the same time, Zamora’s argument demonstrates the limitations imposed by the displacement of “capitalism” by “neoliberalism” as a central category of left analysis. For his tacit premise seems to be that, if it can be shown that Foucault showed an “indulgence” toward neoliberalism, we must therefore put down his influence as a reactionary one.</p>
<p>But what Foucault’s curious intersection with the project of the neoliberal right actually exemplifies, I would argue, is an ambiguity at the heart of the crisis of the 1970s that&#160;gave rise to the neoliberal project. That he can be picked up by the Right as easily as the Left says much about the environment that produced him. Meanwhile, Zamora’s own reaction says something important about a distinction within the social democratic left that is worth spending some time on, which I’ll return to below.</p>
<p>Zamora makes much of the neoliberal move away from the attempt to reduce inequality, in the direction of targeted efforts to alleviate poverty and provide a minimum standard of living. (In a juicy bit bound to delight those of us immersed in the wonky details of empirical measures of inequality, he even quotes one of Foucault’s right-wing contemporaries positing that “the distinction between absolute poverty and relative poverty is in fact the distinction between capitalism and socialism.”)</p>
<p>But in doing so, he elides the force of the Foucauldian critique of the welfare state. It is true that the move away from universal social provision and toward targeted aid is a hallmark of social policy in the era of welfare state retrenchment. But this is not the main point of Foucault’s argument, even by Zamora’s own telling.</p>
<p>Foucault, he argues, “was highly attracted to economic liberalism” because “he saw in it the possibility of a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmentality" type="external">governmentality</a> that was much less normative and authoritarian than the socialist and communist left.”</p>
<p>It is possible to see this as nothing more than either reaction or naïveté, as Zamora seems to when he warns of Foucault’s mistake in putting “the mechanisms of social assistance and social insurance .&#160;.&#160;. on the same plane as the prison, the barracks, or the school.” But it’s possible to extract a different lesson about the nature of the system that Foucault was analyzing.</p>
<p>At the heart of Zamora’s own project, he says, is a disagreement with <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffroy_de_Lagasnerie" type="external">Geoffroy de</a>Lagasnerie’s argument that Foucault represents “a desire to use neoliberalism to reinvent the left.” Rather, he argues “that he uses it as more than just a tool: he adopts the neoliberal view to critique the Left.”</p>
<p>Here we have the crux of the problem. For Zamora, the key political opposition is between “neoliberalism” and “the Left.” But neoliberalism is only a historically specific phase of capitalist class strategy, one which itself developed in the context of the particular form of welfare capitalism and class compromise that arose in the mid-twentieth&#160;century. So if “the Left” is conceived primarily as a project against neoliberalism, its aims will be limited to the restoration of the pre-neoliberal order, which Zamora defines as “social security and the institutions of the working class.”</p>
<p>But the value of Foucault, and others like him, is in highlighting the limits of any such strategy. Postwar welfare capitalism was, to be sure, a substantive achievement of the working class and the socialist movement. And it represented an equilibrium — call it the Fordist compromise — in which workers shared in the benefits of rising productivity.</p>
<p>But it was also an inherently contradictory and self-subverting order. This was true both from the perspective of capital and of labor.</p>
<p>For the capitalist, long periods of full employment and strong labor movements meant a <a href="http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2009/1109reuss.html" type="external">profit squeeze</a> and escalating <a href="" type="internal">political instability</a> as workers lost their fear of unemployment and poverty. The Fordist compromise was no more satisfactory for workers, as the historian Jefferson Cowie documents in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/opinion/06Cowie.html" type="external">his writing on the 1970s</a>. What was called the “blue collar blues” represented the desire of workers for more than just higher paychecks: for more free time, for control over the labor process, for <a href="" type="internal">liberation from wage labor</a>.</p>
<p>The welfare state institutions that arose in that context were marked by the same contradiction: they were at once sources of security and freedom, and instruments of social control. As <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatriz_Preciado" type="external">Beatriz Preciado</a> says, in a quote Zamora produces as evidence of the bad new libertarian left: “the welfare state is also the psychiatric hospital, the disability office, the prison, the patriarchal-colonial-heteronormative school.”</p>
<p>One aspect of the welfare state made it dangerous to the employing class, while another chafed on the employed (and unemployed). Welfare capitalism has always been characterized by this tension between universalistic benefits tied to a universal notion of social citizenship, and carefully targeted systems of qualification and incentive designed to prop up specific social relations, from the workplace to the street to the home. This is a key insight of the school of comparative <a href="http://www.peterfrase.com/2011/06/de-commodification-in-everyday-life/" type="external">welfare state study</a> that distinguishes the decommodifying from the stratifying elements of the welfare state.</p>
<p>One way to think of this is as the permeation of the contradictions of bourgeois democracy into the economic sphere. Just as capitalist democracies exist in an uneasy tension between the principles of “one person one vote” and “one dollar one vote,” so does the system of economic regulation simultaneously work to support the power of the working class and to control it.</p>
<p>In contrast, Zamora seems unwilling to countenance this two-sided quality to class compromises in capitalism. As he puts it, the choice is either “that social security is ultimately nothing more than a tool of social control by big capital” (a view held by unnamed persons on “the radical left”), or that the bourgeoisie “was totally hostile” to institutions that “were invented by the workers’ movement itself.”</p>
<p>Zamora appears to view social insurance as representing the creation of “social rights” that cushion workers from the vagaries of the market, while leaving the basic institutions of private property and wage labor in place. This is a non-Marxist form of social democracy with deep theoretical roots going back to <a href="https://www.academia.edu/1397127/Three_pillars_of_welfare_state_theory" type="external">Karl Polanyi and T.&#160;H. Marshall</a>, and it was arguably the main way in which the European social democratic parties saw themselves in their heyday.</p>
<p>This kind of social democracy is the protagonist in Sheri Berman’s recent&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Primacy-Politics-Democracy-Twentieth/dp/0521521106" type="external">book</a> on the history of European social democracy, in which the Polanyian pragmatists are pitted against Marxists who, in her view, ignored the exigencies of social reform altogether in favor of an apocalyptic insistence that the capitalist system would inevitably collapse and usher in revolution. The endpoint of this kind of Polanyian socialism is a welfare state that protects the working class from the workings of an unfettered market.</p>
<p>There is, however, another way to think about the welfare state from a Marxist perspective. It is possible to believe that fighting for a robust and universal welfare state is a necessary and desirable project, while at the same time believing that the socialist imagination cannot end there, because the task of humanizing capitalism generates its own contradictions.</p>
<p>On this view, the system Foucault analyzed was a system that could not simply continue on in static equilibrium; it had to be either transcended in a socialist direction, or, as happened, dismantled in a project of capitalist retrenchment. From this perspective, the importance of figures like Foucault is not just as misleaders or budding reactionaries, but as indicators of social democracy’s limits, and of the inability of the mainstream left at the time to reckon with the crisis that its own victories had produced.</p>
<p>By the same token, neoliberalism can be seen not just as a tool to smash the institutions of the working class, but also as a mystified and dishonest representation of the workers’ own frustrated desires for freedom and autonomy.</p>
<p>Zamora speaks of Foucault imagining “a neoliberalism that wouldn’t project its anthropological models on the individual, that would offer individuals greater autonomy vis-à-vis the state.” Other than the name, this does not sound much at all like the really existing neoliberal turn, which has only <a href="" type="internal">reconfigured</a> the densely connected relationship between state and market rather than freeing the latter from the former.</p>
<p>This vision of autonomy sounds more like the radical move beyond welfare capitalism, toward Wilde’s vision of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_Man_under_Socialism" type="external">socialist individualism</a>. (Provided, that is, that we accord autonomy from <a href="http://crookedtimber.org/2012/07/01/let-it-bleed-libertarianism-and-the-workplace/" type="external">bosses</a>&#160;equal place with autonomy from the state.) Postmodernism as premature post-capitalism, as Moishe Postone once <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/144630116/Postone-History-and-Heteronomy-Critical-Essays" type="external">put it</a>.</p>
<p>None of this is to say that the fight for universal social provision is unimportant; nor is it to dispute Zamora’s point that the fight for universal economic rights has tended, in recent times to be eclipsed by “a centering of the victim who is denied justice,” as he quotes Isabelle Garo.</p>
<p>The point is only that it is worth thinking about what happens on the other side of such battles. Whether one finds it useful to think along these lines depends, ultimately, on what one sees as the horizon of left politics.</p>
<p>Zamora speaks mournfully of the disappearance of exploitation and wealth inequality as touchstones of argument and organizing, and of the dismantling of systems of social insurance. Yet he himself seems unwilling to go beyond the creation and maintenance of humanized forms of exploitation, a perhaps more egalitarian (but not equal) distribution of wealth. He speaks favorably of Polanyi’s principle of “withdrawing the individual out of the laws of the market and thus reconfiguring relations of power between capital and labor”; meanwhile, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Gorz" type="external">André Gorz</a>’s elevation of the “right to be lazy” is dismissed and equated with Thatcherism.</p>
<p>This Polanyian social democracy as a harmonious “reconfiguring” of the capital-labor relation is a far cry from the Marxist insistence on abolishing that relation altogether. But its inadequacy as either an inspiring utopia or a sustainable social order is the real lesson of the crisis that gave rise to neoliberalism. And while Foucault may not have come to all the right conclusions about addressing that crisis, he at least asked some of the right questions.</p> | Beyond the Welfare State | true | https://jacobinmag.com/2014/12/beyond-the-welfare-state/https%3A//www.jacobinmag.com/2014/12/beyond-the-welfare-state/ | 2018-10-03 | 4left
| Beyond the Welfare State
<p>Yesterday, Jacobin published Seth Ackerman’s translation of an <a href="" type="internal">interesting interview</a> with French sociologist Daniel Zamora, discussing his recent book about Michel Foucault’s affinities with neoliberalism. Zamora rightly points out that the “image of Foucault as being in total opposition to neoliberalism at the end of his life” is a strained reading of a thinker whose relationship to the crisis of the 1970s welfare state is at the very least more ambiguous than that.</p>
<p>At the same time, Zamora’s argument demonstrates the limitations imposed by the displacement of “capitalism” by “neoliberalism” as a central category of left analysis. For his tacit premise seems to be that, if it can be shown that Foucault showed an “indulgence” toward neoliberalism, we must therefore put down his influence as a reactionary one.</p>
<p>But what Foucault’s curious intersection with the project of the neoliberal right actually exemplifies, I would argue, is an ambiguity at the heart of the crisis of the 1970s that&#160;gave rise to the neoliberal project. That he can be picked up by the Right as easily as the Left says much about the environment that produced him. Meanwhile, Zamora’s own reaction says something important about a distinction within the social democratic left that is worth spending some time on, which I’ll return to below.</p>
<p>Zamora makes much of the neoliberal move away from the attempt to reduce inequality, in the direction of targeted efforts to alleviate poverty and provide a minimum standard of living. (In a juicy bit bound to delight those of us immersed in the wonky details of empirical measures of inequality, he even quotes one of Foucault’s right-wing contemporaries positing that “the distinction between absolute poverty and relative poverty is in fact the distinction between capitalism and socialism.”)</p>
<p>But in doing so, he elides the force of the Foucauldian critique of the welfare state. It is true that the move away from universal social provision and toward targeted aid is a hallmark of social policy in the era of welfare state retrenchment. But this is not the main point of Foucault’s argument, even by Zamora’s own telling.</p>
<p>Foucault, he argues, “was highly attracted to economic liberalism” because “he saw in it the possibility of a form of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governmentality" type="external">governmentality</a> that was much less normative and authoritarian than the socialist and communist left.”</p>
<p>It is possible to see this as nothing more than either reaction or naïveté, as Zamora seems to when he warns of Foucault’s mistake in putting “the mechanisms of social assistance and social insurance .&#160;.&#160;. on the same plane as the prison, the barracks, or the school.” But it’s possible to extract a different lesson about the nature of the system that Foucault was analyzing.</p>
<p>At the heart of Zamora’s own project, he says, is a disagreement with <a href="http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffroy_de_Lagasnerie" type="external">Geoffroy de</a>Lagasnerie’s argument that Foucault represents “a desire to use neoliberalism to reinvent the left.” Rather, he argues “that he uses it as more than just a tool: he adopts the neoliberal view to critique the Left.”</p>
<p>Here we have the crux of the problem. For Zamora, the key political opposition is between “neoliberalism” and “the Left.” But neoliberalism is only a historically specific phase of capitalist class strategy, one which itself developed in the context of the particular form of welfare capitalism and class compromise that arose in the mid-twentieth&#160;century. So if “the Left” is conceived primarily as a project against neoliberalism, its aims will be limited to the restoration of the pre-neoliberal order, which Zamora defines as “social security and the institutions of the working class.”</p>
<p>But the value of Foucault, and others like him, is in highlighting the limits of any such strategy. Postwar welfare capitalism was, to be sure, a substantive achievement of the working class and the socialist movement. And it represented an equilibrium — call it the Fordist compromise — in which workers shared in the benefits of rising productivity.</p>
<p>But it was also an inherently contradictory and self-subverting order. This was true both from the perspective of capital and of labor.</p>
<p>For the capitalist, long periods of full employment and strong labor movements meant a <a href="http://www.dollarsandsense.org/archives/2009/1109reuss.html" type="external">profit squeeze</a> and escalating <a href="" type="internal">political instability</a> as workers lost their fear of unemployment and poverty. The Fordist compromise was no more satisfactory for workers, as the historian Jefferson Cowie documents in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/06/opinion/06Cowie.html" type="external">his writing on the 1970s</a>. What was called the “blue collar blues” represented the desire of workers for more than just higher paychecks: for more free time, for control over the labor process, for <a href="" type="internal">liberation from wage labor</a>.</p>
<p>The welfare state institutions that arose in that context were marked by the same contradiction: they were at once sources of security and freedom, and instruments of social control. As <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatriz_Preciado" type="external">Beatriz Preciado</a> says, in a quote Zamora produces as evidence of the bad new libertarian left: “the welfare state is also the psychiatric hospital, the disability office, the prison, the patriarchal-colonial-heteronormative school.”</p>
<p>One aspect of the welfare state made it dangerous to the employing class, while another chafed on the employed (and unemployed). Welfare capitalism has always been characterized by this tension between universalistic benefits tied to a universal notion of social citizenship, and carefully targeted systems of qualification and incentive designed to prop up specific social relations, from the workplace to the street to the home. This is a key insight of the school of comparative <a href="http://www.peterfrase.com/2011/06/de-commodification-in-everyday-life/" type="external">welfare state study</a> that distinguishes the decommodifying from the stratifying elements of the welfare state.</p>
<p>One way to think of this is as the permeation of the contradictions of bourgeois democracy into the economic sphere. Just as capitalist democracies exist in an uneasy tension between the principles of “one person one vote” and “one dollar one vote,” so does the system of economic regulation simultaneously work to support the power of the working class and to control it.</p>
<p>In contrast, Zamora seems unwilling to countenance this two-sided quality to class compromises in capitalism. As he puts it, the choice is either “that social security is ultimately nothing more than a tool of social control by big capital” (a view held by unnamed persons on “the radical left”), or that the bourgeoisie “was totally hostile” to institutions that “were invented by the workers’ movement itself.”</p>
<p>Zamora appears to view social insurance as representing the creation of “social rights” that cushion workers from the vagaries of the market, while leaving the basic institutions of private property and wage labor in place. This is a non-Marxist form of social democracy with deep theoretical roots going back to <a href="https://www.academia.edu/1397127/Three_pillars_of_welfare_state_theory" type="external">Karl Polanyi and T.&#160;H. Marshall</a>, and it was arguably the main way in which the European social democratic parties saw themselves in their heyday.</p>
<p>This kind of social democracy is the protagonist in Sheri Berman’s recent&#160; <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Primacy-Politics-Democracy-Twentieth/dp/0521521106" type="external">book</a> on the history of European social democracy, in which the Polanyian pragmatists are pitted against Marxists who, in her view, ignored the exigencies of social reform altogether in favor of an apocalyptic insistence that the capitalist system would inevitably collapse and usher in revolution. The endpoint of this kind of Polanyian socialism is a welfare state that protects the working class from the workings of an unfettered market.</p>
<p>There is, however, another way to think about the welfare state from a Marxist perspective. It is possible to believe that fighting for a robust and universal welfare state is a necessary and desirable project, while at the same time believing that the socialist imagination cannot end there, because the task of humanizing capitalism generates its own contradictions.</p>
<p>On this view, the system Foucault analyzed was a system that could not simply continue on in static equilibrium; it had to be either transcended in a socialist direction, or, as happened, dismantled in a project of capitalist retrenchment. From this perspective, the importance of figures like Foucault is not just as misleaders or budding reactionaries, but as indicators of social democracy’s limits, and of the inability of the mainstream left at the time to reckon with the crisis that its own victories had produced.</p>
<p>By the same token, neoliberalism can be seen not just as a tool to smash the institutions of the working class, but also as a mystified and dishonest representation of the workers’ own frustrated desires for freedom and autonomy.</p>
<p>Zamora speaks of Foucault imagining “a neoliberalism that wouldn’t project its anthropological models on the individual, that would offer individuals greater autonomy vis-à-vis the state.” Other than the name, this does not sound much at all like the really existing neoliberal turn, which has only <a href="" type="internal">reconfigured</a> the densely connected relationship between state and market rather than freeing the latter from the former.</p>
<p>This vision of autonomy sounds more like the radical move beyond welfare capitalism, toward Wilde’s vision of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Soul_of_Man_under_Socialism" type="external">socialist individualism</a>. (Provided, that is, that we accord autonomy from <a href="http://crookedtimber.org/2012/07/01/let-it-bleed-libertarianism-and-the-workplace/" type="external">bosses</a>&#160;equal place with autonomy from the state.) Postmodernism as premature post-capitalism, as Moishe Postone once <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/144630116/Postone-History-and-Heteronomy-Critical-Essays" type="external">put it</a>.</p>
<p>None of this is to say that the fight for universal social provision is unimportant; nor is it to dispute Zamora’s point that the fight for universal economic rights has tended, in recent times to be eclipsed by “a centering of the victim who is denied justice,” as he quotes Isabelle Garo.</p>
<p>The point is only that it is worth thinking about what happens on the other side of such battles. Whether one finds it useful to think along these lines depends, ultimately, on what one sees as the horizon of left politics.</p>
<p>Zamora speaks mournfully of the disappearance of exploitation and wealth inequality as touchstones of argument and organizing, and of the dismantling of systems of social insurance. Yet he himself seems unwilling to go beyond the creation and maintenance of humanized forms of exploitation, a perhaps more egalitarian (but not equal) distribution of wealth. He speaks favorably of Polanyi’s principle of “withdrawing the individual out of the laws of the market and thus reconfiguring relations of power between capital and labor”; meanwhile, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_Gorz" type="external">André Gorz</a>’s elevation of the “right to be lazy” is dismissed and equated with Thatcherism.</p>
<p>This Polanyian social democracy as a harmonious “reconfiguring” of the capital-labor relation is a far cry from the Marxist insistence on abolishing that relation altogether. But its inadequacy as either an inspiring utopia or a sustainable social order is the real lesson of the crisis that gave rise to neoliberalism. And while Foucault may not have come to all the right conclusions about addressing that crisis, he at least asked some of the right questions.</p> | 965 |
<p>On the eve of some of the busiest travel days of the year, airport&#160;scanners are causing&#160;hysteria–and with good reason. Never mind the puerile TSA screeners giggling at your naked body. It turns out that the things may pose&#160;serious health concerns. In a <a href="http://holt.house.gov/images/stories/updated_TSA_letter_11.19.2010.pdf" type="external">letter to John Pistole</a>, administrator of TSA, New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt, a scientist and the Chairman of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, raised the possibility that the machines&#160;might be carcinogenic.</p>
<p>In March, the Congressional Biomedical Caucus (of which I am a co-chair) hosted a presentation on this technology by TSA, as well as a briefing by Dr. David Brenner of Columbia University on the potential health effects of “back scatter” x-ray devices. As Dr. Brenner noted in his presentation and in subsequent media interviews, the devices currently in use and proposed for wider deployment this year currently deliver to the scalp “20 times the average dose that is typically quoted by TSA and throughout the industry.”</p>
<p>Dr. Brenner has pointed out that the majority of the radiation from X-ray backscatter machines strikes the top of the head, which is where 85 percent of the 800,000 cases of basal cell carcinoma diagnosed in the United States each year develop. According to Dr. Brenner, excessive x-ray exposure can act as a cancer rate multiplier, which is why our government should investigate thoroughly the potential health risks associated with this technology.V</p>
<p>Various experts have questioned whether&#160;older people and children ought to be subjected to scanners, and whether people susceptible to or having melanoma and cataracts should undergo the scan.&#160;</p>
<p>Holt also questioned the efficacy of the body scanners, which would come as no surprise to critics who’ve been lambasting them for years. Last January, when the&#160;government’s appetite for body scanners got a big boost from the underwear bomber, there was skepticism about their ability to detect&#160;the types of explosives favored by would-be airline bombers. As <a href="" type="internal">I wrote at the time</a>:</p>
<p>Known by their opponents as “digital strip search” machines, the full-body scanners use one of two technologies—millimeter wave sensors or backscatter x-rays—to see through clothing, producing ghostly images of naked passengers. Yet critics say that these, too, are highly fallible, and are incapable of revealing explosives hidden in body cavities—an age-old method for smuggling contraband. If that’s the case, a terrorist could hide the entire bomb works within his or her body, and breeze through the virtual strip search undetected. Yesterday, the London Independent reported on “authoritative claims that officials at the [UK] Department for Transport and the Home Office have already tested the scanners and were not persuaded that they would work comprehensively against terrorist threats to aviation.” A British defense-research firm reportedly found the machines unreliable in detecting “low-density” materials like plastics, chemicals, and liquids—precisely what the underwear bomber had stuffed in his briefs.</p>
<p>Just to be sure I am not going off the deep end on this subject, I emailed Steve Elson, the intrepid former Navy Seal who worked on the federal government’s Red Team, which was deployed&#160; in the years before 9/11 to test airport security by infiltrating through check points. This they did with ease; but noone ever paid any attention to their reports. Since 9/11 Elson has worked on and off with television crews, continuing to penetrate airport security carrying with him all manner of guns and IEDs,&#160;and for the most part avoiding detection. In a CBC program last year at this time, the Canadians reviewed the air security situation and found it to be wanting. The reporters also got hold of a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2009-2010/fasten_your_seatbelts/images/CATSA-Report-ProTech-Integrated-Checkpoint-Trial-Kelowna-Airport.pdf" type="external">redacted report&#160;</a>from the Canadian transport people which raised questions about the effectiveness of full body scanners, especially when they are used in combination with metal detectors: A person passing through one machine after another would have to place their arms in different positions and the Canadians found the body scanners would fail to detect objects like rings or bracelets on extended arms because the mechanism could not reach high enough to take them in.</p>
<p>This morning’s Washington Post carried a list of people exempt from body scanning, including cops and military in uniform. I asked Elson about this, and he replied:</p>
<p>When I was traveling through Chicago last January on my way to Toronto to do an interview, I had some time between planes. Got a sandwich. No place to sit down so I literally walked into the back of a checkpoint that was enclosed by glass so everyone could see what was going on, sat down on a bench and ate my sandwich, and&#160; watched. Noone touched the pilots. Ergo, all I needed was a pilot’s uniform, bought or stolen, and a photoshop badge. Put explosives on my body, no metal, walk through, pick up my stuff and off to the plane. Likewise, I could do something similar on the ramp. Best time is in cold weather and snow storms. Do it as night approaches. People don’t care about security, just getting the job done and getting out of the weather. Steal a bag tag, make an unauthorized entry (no problem), walk up to a plane and throw it in with 50 lbs explosive.</p>
<p>Elson has always contended that the body scanner&#160;couldn’t detect explosives in body cavities. In his email he added this: “The machine can see through a thin layer of clothing and probably detect explosives strapped to the body.” But he pointed out that Leslie Stahl on “ <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5205160n&amp;tag=related;photovideo" type="external">60 Minutes</a>” worried about exposing private parts, but &#160;noted she could see a woman’s bra. “If she could see the bra, that means she could not see through the bra. A bra bomb or explosives molded to the breast wouldn’t be seen,” he continues. “And a woman, because of her anatomical construction, could easily… bring a several pound IED fully assembled with timer, detonator, power sources right through the checkpoint. If scanned or patted down it would make no difference. Once on the plane she has the option to leave it in&#160; the plane…and get off.”&#160;Ellison warns that a well planned Al Qaeda operation,&#160;”if they did it right, could knock down 50 planes in 30 minutes. Think about what that would do to US air operations.”</p>
<p>In my opinion, the best answer to airport security is the mass deployment of dogs. Give me a friendly German Shepherd, and I’ll gladly submit to being sniffed, rather than patted, wanded, or scanned. But unlike the scanner companies, dogs have no powerful lobbyists, like former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, to advocate on their behalf.</p>
<p>Make room for Fido</p> | Invasion of the Body Scanners: Airport Security May Not Work, But It Does Cause Cancer | true | https://motherjones.com/politics/2010/11/invasion-body-scanners-airport-security-may-not-work-it-does-cause-cancer/ | 2010-11-23 | 4left
| Invasion of the Body Scanners: Airport Security May Not Work, But It Does Cause Cancer
<p>On the eve of some of the busiest travel days of the year, airport&#160;scanners are causing&#160;hysteria–and with good reason. Never mind the puerile TSA screeners giggling at your naked body. It turns out that the things may pose&#160;serious health concerns. In a <a href="http://holt.house.gov/images/stories/updated_TSA_letter_11.19.2010.pdf" type="external">letter to John Pistole</a>, administrator of TSA, New Jersey Congressman Rush Holt, a scientist and the Chairman of the House Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, raised the possibility that the machines&#160;might be carcinogenic.</p>
<p>In March, the Congressional Biomedical Caucus (of which I am a co-chair) hosted a presentation on this technology by TSA, as well as a briefing by Dr. David Brenner of Columbia University on the potential health effects of “back scatter” x-ray devices. As Dr. Brenner noted in his presentation and in subsequent media interviews, the devices currently in use and proposed for wider deployment this year currently deliver to the scalp “20 times the average dose that is typically quoted by TSA and throughout the industry.”</p>
<p>Dr. Brenner has pointed out that the majority of the radiation from X-ray backscatter machines strikes the top of the head, which is where 85 percent of the 800,000 cases of basal cell carcinoma diagnosed in the United States each year develop. According to Dr. Brenner, excessive x-ray exposure can act as a cancer rate multiplier, which is why our government should investigate thoroughly the potential health risks associated with this technology.V</p>
<p>Various experts have questioned whether&#160;older people and children ought to be subjected to scanners, and whether people susceptible to or having melanoma and cataracts should undergo the scan.&#160;</p>
<p>Holt also questioned the efficacy of the body scanners, which would come as no surprise to critics who’ve been lambasting them for years. Last January, when the&#160;government’s appetite for body scanners got a big boost from the underwear bomber, there was skepticism about their ability to detect&#160;the types of explosives favored by would-be airline bombers. As <a href="" type="internal">I wrote at the time</a>:</p>
<p>Known by their opponents as “digital strip search” machines, the full-body scanners use one of two technologies—millimeter wave sensors or backscatter x-rays—to see through clothing, producing ghostly images of naked passengers. Yet critics say that these, too, are highly fallible, and are incapable of revealing explosives hidden in body cavities—an age-old method for smuggling contraband. If that’s the case, a terrorist could hide the entire bomb works within his or her body, and breeze through the virtual strip search undetected. Yesterday, the London Independent reported on “authoritative claims that officials at the [UK] Department for Transport and the Home Office have already tested the scanners and were not persuaded that they would work comprehensively against terrorist threats to aviation.” A British defense-research firm reportedly found the machines unreliable in detecting “low-density” materials like plastics, chemicals, and liquids—precisely what the underwear bomber had stuffed in his briefs.</p>
<p>Just to be sure I am not going off the deep end on this subject, I emailed Steve Elson, the intrepid former Navy Seal who worked on the federal government’s Red Team, which was deployed&#160; in the years before 9/11 to test airport security by infiltrating through check points. This they did with ease; but noone ever paid any attention to their reports. Since 9/11 Elson has worked on and off with television crews, continuing to penetrate airport security carrying with him all manner of guns and IEDs,&#160;and for the most part avoiding detection. In a CBC program last year at this time, the Canadians reviewed the air security situation and found it to be wanting. The reporters also got hold of a <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/2009-2010/fasten_your_seatbelts/images/CATSA-Report-ProTech-Integrated-Checkpoint-Trial-Kelowna-Airport.pdf" type="external">redacted report&#160;</a>from the Canadian transport people which raised questions about the effectiveness of full body scanners, especially when they are used in combination with metal detectors: A person passing through one machine after another would have to place their arms in different positions and the Canadians found the body scanners would fail to detect objects like rings or bracelets on extended arms because the mechanism could not reach high enough to take them in.</p>
<p>This morning’s Washington Post carried a list of people exempt from body scanning, including cops and military in uniform. I asked Elson about this, and he replied:</p>
<p>When I was traveling through Chicago last January on my way to Toronto to do an interview, I had some time between planes. Got a sandwich. No place to sit down so I literally walked into the back of a checkpoint that was enclosed by glass so everyone could see what was going on, sat down on a bench and ate my sandwich, and&#160; watched. Noone touched the pilots. Ergo, all I needed was a pilot’s uniform, bought or stolen, and a photoshop badge. Put explosives on my body, no metal, walk through, pick up my stuff and off to the plane. Likewise, I could do something similar on the ramp. Best time is in cold weather and snow storms. Do it as night approaches. People don’t care about security, just getting the job done and getting out of the weather. Steal a bag tag, make an unauthorized entry (no problem), walk up to a plane and throw it in with 50 lbs explosive.</p>
<p>Elson has always contended that the body scanner&#160;couldn’t detect explosives in body cavities. In his email he added this: “The machine can see through a thin layer of clothing and probably detect explosives strapped to the body.” But he pointed out that Leslie Stahl on “ <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5205160n&amp;tag=related;photovideo" type="external">60 Minutes</a>” worried about exposing private parts, but &#160;noted she could see a woman’s bra. “If she could see the bra, that means she could not see through the bra. A bra bomb or explosives molded to the breast wouldn’t be seen,” he continues. “And a woman, because of her anatomical construction, could easily… bring a several pound IED fully assembled with timer, detonator, power sources right through the checkpoint. If scanned or patted down it would make no difference. Once on the plane she has the option to leave it in&#160; the plane…and get off.”&#160;Ellison warns that a well planned Al Qaeda operation,&#160;”if they did it right, could knock down 50 planes in 30 minutes. Think about what that would do to US air operations.”</p>
<p>In my opinion, the best answer to airport security is the mass deployment of dogs. Give me a friendly German Shepherd, and I’ll gladly submit to being sniffed, rather than patted, wanded, or scanned. But unlike the scanner companies, dogs have no powerful lobbyists, like former Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, to advocate on their behalf.</p>
<p>Make room for Fido</p> | 966 |
<p>Hamid Karzai is acting up. The Afghan president, who <a href="" type="internal">rankled</a> top U.S. brass earlier this year with hints at split loyalties, has again come out with some <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11762544" type="external">fightin’ words</a> against the American war effort in his country.</p>
<p>Karzai’s latest statements, this time to the Washington Post, didn’t sit well with either <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/14/AR2010111404549.html" type="external">Gen. David Petraeus</a> or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday, as the BBC explains below.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton has defended US Afghan operations against criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.</p>
<p />
<p>The US secretary of state said targeted attacks on the networks of militant leaders were a key part of US strategy.</p>
<p>The Afghan leader had told The Washington Post there should be fewer US troops, and called for an end to special forces night raids.</p>
<p>Gen David Petraeus, the coalition commander in Afghanistan, was said to be astonished by Mr Karzai’s remarks.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11762544" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Petraeus, Clinton Criticize Karzai's Criticism of Strategy | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/petraeus-clinton-criticize-karzais-criticism-of-strategy/ | 2010-11-16 | 4left
| Petraeus, Clinton Criticize Karzai's Criticism of Strategy
<p>Hamid Karzai is acting up. The Afghan president, who <a href="" type="internal">rankled</a> top U.S. brass earlier this year with hints at split loyalties, has again come out with some <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11762544" type="external">fightin’ words</a> against the American war effort in his country.</p>
<p>Karzai’s latest statements, this time to the Washington Post, didn’t sit well with either <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/14/AR2010111404549.html" type="external">Gen. David Petraeus</a> or Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Monday, as the BBC explains below.</p>
<p>BBC:</p>
<p>Hillary Clinton has defended US Afghan operations against criticism from Afghan President Hamid Karzai.</p>
<p />
<p>The US secretary of state said targeted attacks on the networks of militant leaders were a key part of US strategy.</p>
<p>The Afghan leader had told The Washington Post there should be fewer US troops, and called for an end to special forces night raids.</p>
<p>Gen David Petraeus, the coalition commander in Afghanistan, was said to be astonished by Mr Karzai’s remarks.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11762544" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 967 |
<p>Violence and pockets of fighting in Syria and Iraq, near-famine in Yemen, and Islamic extremists steadily gaining ground in Afghanistan will make humanitarian crises around the world much worse next year than they were in 2017, an NGO predicts.</p>
<p>The ‘Humanitarian Overview: An Analysis of Key Crises into 2018’ by Geneva-based think tank ACAPS looks at major trends that will shape the face of the world next year. It specifically focuses on countries going through deteriorating or ongoing crises, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Mali, South Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela, among others.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/380321-world-largest-humanitarian-crisis/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“Across these countries, food security, displacement, health, and protection are expected to be the most pressing humanitarian needs in 2018,” the researchers said. “Most humanitarian crises in this report are driven by conflict, with a spread in violence and shifts in tactics this year in several countries.</p>
<p>“If 2017 did not look good, predictions for 2018 are no better: violence and insecurity are likely to deteriorate in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia, and Syria next year,” ACAPS Director Lars Peter Nissen <a href="https://www.acaps.org/special-report/humanitarian-overview-analysis-key-crises-2018" type="external">wrote</a> in the report.</p>
<p>Islamic extremism will also continue to cause violence and conflict in various hotspots across the globe, the study said. In Afghanistan, where there is no let-up in 16-year war against the Taliban, “the security situation is likely to continue to deteriorate in 2018 leading to greater health, food security, and protection needs.”</p>
<p>The Islamic group is gaining ground over rural areas, particularly in the north and south of the country, as well as in territories used for opium poppy cultivation, which rose by 67 percent compared to 2016, with the production of opium rising by 87 percent.</p>
<p>Despite the defeat of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in its main redoubts in Iraq, the terrorist group is expected to continue fighting against the government, “shifting toward the use of non-traditional conflict strategies and improvised attacks.”</p>
<p>In neighboring Syria, there will be pockets of insecurity, especially in Idlib, Eastern Ghouta, and Deir-ez-Zor provinces, the study predicts. The report noted that “the Astana agreements [brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran] over de-escalation zones have been a major political development in 2017, contributing to the perception of an improving security situation in Syria.”</p>
<p>Next year is likely to be “decisive for the Syria conflict,” as any real or perceived progress in establishing de-escalation zones would change perceptions of the conflict. “This would likely affect third country policies on refugees, and potentially prompt more spontaneous returns,” ACASP said.</p>
<p>In Yemen, ravaged by civil war and the Saudi-led intervention, “civilians are bearing the brunt of the fighting.” ACASP says that over 3.3 million Yemenis have been displaced since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, and 17 million people are estimated to be food-insecure. The conflict has also prompted aid agencies to fight “one of the worst cholera outbreaks in history affecting more than 910,000 people.”</p>
<p>Despite all efforts, the cholera outbreak is likely to continue due to lack of infrastructure and health systems. “Continuation of the import blockade is likely to deteriorate the situation even further,” it said, adding, “food insecurity is likely to get worse, and most conflict affected areas, particularly the south and west coast, are likely to fall into famine if food access does not improve.”</p> | 2017 ‘didn’t look good’ but 2018 will bring more wars, famine & extremism – NGO | false | https://newsline.com/2017-didnt-look-good-but-2018-will-bring-more-wars-famine-extremism-ngo/ | 2017-12-01 | 1right-center
| 2017 ‘didn’t look good’ but 2018 will bring more wars, famine & extremism – NGO
<p>Violence and pockets of fighting in Syria and Iraq, near-famine in Yemen, and Islamic extremists steadily gaining ground in Afghanistan will make humanitarian crises around the world much worse next year than they were in 2017, an NGO predicts.</p>
<p>The ‘Humanitarian Overview: An Analysis of Key Crises into 2018’ by Geneva-based think tank ACAPS looks at major trends that will shape the face of the world next year. It specifically focuses on countries going through deteriorating or ongoing crises, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Mali, South Sudan, Yemen, Venezuela, among others.</p>
<p>Read more</p>
<p><a href="https://www.rt.com/news/380321-world-largest-humanitarian-crisis/" type="external" /></p>
<p>“Across these countries, food security, displacement, health, and protection are expected to be the most pressing humanitarian needs in 2018,” the researchers said. “Most humanitarian crises in this report are driven by conflict, with a spread in violence and shifts in tactics this year in several countries.</p>
<p>“If 2017 did not look good, predictions for 2018 are no better: violence and insecurity are likely to deteriorate in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia, and Syria next year,” ACAPS Director Lars Peter Nissen <a href="https://www.acaps.org/special-report/humanitarian-overview-analysis-key-crises-2018" type="external">wrote</a> in the report.</p>
<p>Islamic extremism will also continue to cause violence and conflict in various hotspots across the globe, the study said. In Afghanistan, where there is no let-up in 16-year war against the Taliban, “the security situation is likely to continue to deteriorate in 2018 leading to greater health, food security, and protection needs.”</p>
<p>The Islamic group is gaining ground over rural areas, particularly in the north and south of the country, as well as in territories used for opium poppy cultivation, which rose by 67 percent compared to 2016, with the production of opium rising by 87 percent.</p>
<p>Despite the defeat of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) in its main redoubts in Iraq, the terrorist group is expected to continue fighting against the government, “shifting toward the use of non-traditional conflict strategies and improvised attacks.”</p>
<p>In neighboring Syria, there will be pockets of insecurity, especially in Idlib, Eastern Ghouta, and Deir-ez-Zor provinces, the study predicts. The report noted that “the Astana agreements [brokered by Russia, Turkey and Iran] over de-escalation zones have been a major political development in 2017, contributing to the perception of an improving security situation in Syria.”</p>
<p>Next year is likely to be “decisive for the Syria conflict,” as any real or perceived progress in establishing de-escalation zones would change perceptions of the conflict. “This would likely affect third country policies on refugees, and potentially prompt more spontaneous returns,” ACASP said.</p>
<p>In Yemen, ravaged by civil war and the Saudi-led intervention, “civilians are bearing the brunt of the fighting.” ACASP says that over 3.3 million Yemenis have been displaced since the escalation of the conflict in March 2015, and 17 million people are estimated to be food-insecure. The conflict has also prompted aid agencies to fight “one of the worst cholera outbreaks in history affecting more than 910,000 people.”</p>
<p>Despite all efforts, the cholera outbreak is likely to continue due to lack of infrastructure and health systems. “Continuation of the import blockade is likely to deteriorate the situation even further,” it said, adding, “food insecurity is likely to get worse, and most conflict affected areas, particularly the south and west coast, are likely to fall into famine if food access does not improve.”</p> | 968 |
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<p />
<p>We don’t know with any reasonable certainty when this great change settled upon the Muslims. We do know that when Americans and Europeans encounter Islam today, they usually do so in the context of a ferocious anti-U.S. riot of young men who are offended by a novelist’s literary license, a cartoonist’s irreverent depiction of Muhammad or a convicted fraudster’s idea, on a video trailer, of the life and imagined predilections of the prophet.</p>
<p>One would not know today that these Arab and Islamic cities had their “hakawatis” (storytellers) – who spun yarns in the evening – and had their sinners and brothels and proud heretics. One would have no idea of what life pulsated behind the shutters of these Muslim homes.</p>
<p>“You love only talking of death and the dead, and I have wearied of that,” the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz observed in a work of autobiography. It isn’t only people in Copenhagen and Manhattan who bristle and wonder about that Muslim world.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I came into my own in Beirut in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The old traditional world hadn’t yet been overwhelmed; people wore their faith lightly, and there was a measure of skepticism about anyone overdoing displays of religious zeal.</p>
<p>People went to Mecca for pilgrimage, and their neighbors gave them an inattentive reception when they returned. Islam framed the lives of the believers and set the parameters of social and cultural life, yet men and women strayed, navigating their way between the permissible and the impermissible.</p>
<p>This was Islam. But a new breed, the Islamists, made their appearance. The faith of past centuries was reworked and worked on; hijacked is the more familiar term.</p>
<p>The road to that belligerent reading of the faith was paved by the secular dictatorships. They shook up the old order, herded people into the cities, promised a bright new world, and the newly urbanized and half-educated would in time awaken to a harvest of failure and disappointment.</p>
<p>For the Arabs, reckoning came with the defeat of their armies in the Six-Day War of 1967. It is fitting to say that the rise of the Islamists began on the seventh day of that war. The modernist project, led by the Egyptian state, was a shambles.</p>
<p>The Persians were a decade behind. A pompous ruler, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, set out to create a grand civilizational project. He had in mind an Asian Germany, but his people were not Germans, and by 1979 he was on the road, in search of a country that would grant him exile. He left his homeland to a turbaned successor who would use faith and terror to create his own reign.</p>
<p>By the 1980s, the Middle Eastern heartland of Islam had been altered, and with it, Islam itself. The beards grew longer, the faith more strident. The Islamists allocated to themselves the privilege of enforcing the faith.</p>
<p>They were literalists about the faith. There had been allegory and subtlety aplenty in Islam. In Baghdad during the High Middle Ages, in Islamic Spain in its heyday, philosophers had quarreled about the balance between reason and revelation, perfecting an art of doublespeak that permitted them enormous leeway while keeping the pretense of piety.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the literalists had no patience for all that. They were half-educated. They could read the text, and were often the first in their families to become literate. That literacy empowered them. Education – rote learning – had remade all Arab and Muslim societies. In Cairo, Karachi and Hama, a new generation could now read and write, but the learning came without the habits and the attitudes of tolerance. Elite culture – emancipated women, daring writers, young people under the spell of new forms of expression – was under surveillance.</p>
<p>The new enforcers could look into that elite culture and take it apart. The literalists were alert to the slights they looked for and saw everywhere.</p>
<p>The faith had become portable. It was British Muslims who first burned copies of “The Satanic Verses.”</p>
<p>In the same vein, a barely literate Egyptian electrician stabbed Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt’s and the Arab world’s greatest writer, and paralyzed his writing hand in 1994. The electrician had been offended by a novel he could not penetrate, a Mahfouzian work of allegory that had long antagonized the keepers of Islamic orthodoxy.</p>
<p>The traditional folks awed by the learning of the modernist elites had been replaced by their angry offspring. Islamism gave power and a sense of militant virtue to an unsettled generation exposed to a modernity it can neither master nor reject.</p>
<p>We are in the middle of this upheaval, and there shall be more book burnings and storming of Western embassies in the years to come.</p>
<p>The literalists have come into their own. For them, there is no way back to a cozy past, and the way forward, to a new world, is blocked by the vast magnitude of their numbers, their material disinheritance and the very inabilities they carry with them.</p>
<p>Fouad Ajami is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of “The Syrian Rebellion.”</p> | Islam Not Rooted in Fanaticism | false | https://abqjournal.com/137918/islam-not-rooted-in-fanaticism.html | 2012-10-12 | 2least
| Islam Not Rooted in Fanaticism
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<p />
<p>We don’t know with any reasonable certainty when this great change settled upon the Muslims. We do know that when Americans and Europeans encounter Islam today, they usually do so in the context of a ferocious anti-U.S. riot of young men who are offended by a novelist’s literary license, a cartoonist’s irreverent depiction of Muhammad or a convicted fraudster’s idea, on a video trailer, of the life and imagined predilections of the prophet.</p>
<p>One would not know today that these Arab and Islamic cities had their “hakawatis” (storytellers) – who spun yarns in the evening – and had their sinners and brothels and proud heretics. One would have no idea of what life pulsated behind the shutters of these Muslim homes.</p>
<p>“You love only talking of death and the dead, and I have wearied of that,” the Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz observed in a work of autobiography. It isn’t only people in Copenhagen and Manhattan who bristle and wonder about that Muslim world.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>I came into my own in Beirut in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The old traditional world hadn’t yet been overwhelmed; people wore their faith lightly, and there was a measure of skepticism about anyone overdoing displays of religious zeal.</p>
<p>People went to Mecca for pilgrimage, and their neighbors gave them an inattentive reception when they returned. Islam framed the lives of the believers and set the parameters of social and cultural life, yet men and women strayed, navigating their way between the permissible and the impermissible.</p>
<p>This was Islam. But a new breed, the Islamists, made their appearance. The faith of past centuries was reworked and worked on; hijacked is the more familiar term.</p>
<p>The road to that belligerent reading of the faith was paved by the secular dictatorships. They shook up the old order, herded people into the cities, promised a bright new world, and the newly urbanized and half-educated would in time awaken to a harvest of failure and disappointment.</p>
<p>For the Arabs, reckoning came with the defeat of their armies in the Six-Day War of 1967. It is fitting to say that the rise of the Islamists began on the seventh day of that war. The modernist project, led by the Egyptian state, was a shambles.</p>
<p>The Persians were a decade behind. A pompous ruler, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, set out to create a grand civilizational project. He had in mind an Asian Germany, but his people were not Germans, and by 1979 he was on the road, in search of a country that would grant him exile. He left his homeland to a turbaned successor who would use faith and terror to create his own reign.</p>
<p>By the 1980s, the Middle Eastern heartland of Islam had been altered, and with it, Islam itself. The beards grew longer, the faith more strident. The Islamists allocated to themselves the privilege of enforcing the faith.</p>
<p>They were literalists about the faith. There had been allegory and subtlety aplenty in Islam. In Baghdad during the High Middle Ages, in Islamic Spain in its heyday, philosophers had quarreled about the balance between reason and revelation, perfecting an art of doublespeak that permitted them enormous leeway while keeping the pretense of piety.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>But the literalists had no patience for all that. They were half-educated. They could read the text, and were often the first in their families to become literate. That literacy empowered them. Education – rote learning – had remade all Arab and Muslim societies. In Cairo, Karachi and Hama, a new generation could now read and write, but the learning came without the habits and the attitudes of tolerance. Elite culture – emancipated women, daring writers, young people under the spell of new forms of expression – was under surveillance.</p>
<p>The new enforcers could look into that elite culture and take it apart. The literalists were alert to the slights they looked for and saw everywhere.</p>
<p>The faith had become portable. It was British Muslims who first burned copies of “The Satanic Verses.”</p>
<p>In the same vein, a barely literate Egyptian electrician stabbed Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt’s and the Arab world’s greatest writer, and paralyzed his writing hand in 1994. The electrician had been offended by a novel he could not penetrate, a Mahfouzian work of allegory that had long antagonized the keepers of Islamic orthodoxy.</p>
<p>The traditional folks awed by the learning of the modernist elites had been replaced by their angry offspring. Islamism gave power and a sense of militant virtue to an unsettled generation exposed to a modernity it can neither master nor reject.</p>
<p>We are in the middle of this upheaval, and there shall be more book burnings and storming of Western embassies in the years to come.</p>
<p>The literalists have come into their own. For them, there is no way back to a cozy past, and the way forward, to a new world, is blocked by the vast magnitude of their numbers, their material disinheritance and the very inabilities they carry with them.</p>
<p>Fouad Ajami is a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of “The Syrian Rebellion.”</p> | 969 |
<p>Ted Cruz is continuing to pull Donald Trump to the right on same-sex marriage. In the early days of his campaign Trump had little to say about Obergefell, other than expressing faint opposition and saying it’s now the “law of the land.” Later he said that Kim Davis should do her job. But last month he vaguely promised to enable the repeal of Obergefell through Supreme Court appointments. And now this.&#160;</p> | Trump: Ted Cruz Is Lying, I’m Against Gay Marriage | true | http://joemygod.com/2016/02/12/trump-ted-cruz-is-lying-im-against-gay-marriage/ | 2016-02-12 | 4left
| Trump: Ted Cruz Is Lying, I’m Against Gay Marriage
<p>Ted Cruz is continuing to pull Donald Trump to the right on same-sex marriage. In the early days of his campaign Trump had little to say about Obergefell, other than expressing faint opposition and saying it’s now the “law of the land.” Later he said that Kim Davis should do her job. But last month he vaguely promised to enable the repeal of Obergefell through Supreme Court appointments. And now this.&#160;</p> | 970 |
<p>The Trump administration joined governments around the world in condemning the regime of Syrian President <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Bashar Assad</a> for a horrific chemical weapons attack Tuesday that killed at least 58 people, including 11 children, saying the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">Obama administration</a> shared some of the blame for refusing to enforce its “red line” against chemical weapons attacks by <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s forces.</p>
<p>The White House and <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> issued strong condemnations. Secretary of State <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Rex W. Tillerson</a> said in a statement that the strike on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in northern <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> was emblematic of <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s “brutal, unabashed barbarism.”</p>
<p>One <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> official characterized the attack as a blatant war crime, but neither President Trump nor <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> delivered his statement in person.</p>
<p>The attack comes just days after the Trump administration signaled that it was no longer demanding the ouster of <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>, who is backed by <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a>, as a precondition for any deal to end the country’s brutal 6-year-old civil war.</p>
<p>The Syrian Foreign Ministry, which claims <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> surrendered its entire chemical arsenal as part of a Russia-brokered deal in 2014, denied that the government was behind the aerial strike.</p>
<p>The U.N. Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the attack Wednesday morning.</p>
<p>Videos from the scene showed volunteer medics using fire hoses to wash the chemicals from victims’ bodies, The Associated Press reported. Haunting images of lifeless children piled in heaps reflected the magnitude of the attack, which was reminiscent of a 2013 chemical assault that left hundreds dead.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and China vetoed a Western-backed resolution at the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">United Nations</a> on Feb. 28 aimed at holding the Syrian government accountable for three attacks involving chlorine gas.</p>
<p>Dr. AbdulHai Tennari, a pulmonologist who treated dozens of victims Tuesday, told reporters that the attack appeared to be more serious than chlorine.</p>
<p>Congressional lawmakers and several foreign leaders saw the attack as the final straw for the international community’s tolerance of the Syrian regime and called for <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s ouster. But <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> demanded only that <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a> put pressure on <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> as it moves to quash anti-government forces.</p>
<p>Mr. Trump, who did not mention the incident in two public events, reportedly received news of the early-morning gas attack during a teleconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the attack “against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible. The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable act.”</p>
<p>While the Trump administration is intent on abandoning President Obama’s hands-off <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> policies, seen by many as weak and ineffective, it has struggled to decide on a strategy to define <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s future role in his country.</p>
<p>The attack marked the third time that <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> regime forces used chemical weapons since a 2014 pact with <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> to dismantle the chemical stockpiles. All three attacks, including Tuesday’s strike, were focused on the anti- <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> enclave of Idlib in northern <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>.</p>
<p>A senior Senate Democrat said the attack was a test of the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">administration</a>’s resolve and asserted that <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s forces have scored striking gains in recent months.</p>
<p>“Make no mistake: The Assad regime is deliberately testing the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">new administration</a> and its resolve,” said a statement by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “In the absence of a comprehensive policy for <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>, we have been left with troubling statements from administration officials about <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a>’s role in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>’s future and blaming the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">previous administration</a>.”</p>
<p>But Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, drew a direct line between Mr. Obama’s ill-fated red line and <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s growing sense of impunity in pursuing his enemies.</p>
<p>Denouncing Mr. Obama’s “six years of weakness and irresolution,” Mr. Cotton said that “it is time for a stronger <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> policy, one that holds the Assad government, <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a> accountable for their brutality. And that policy begins with demanding <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a>’s departure from <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> has conducted airstrikes in support of its Syrian ally, but both Moscow and <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> strongly denied any involvement in the chemical attack. Syrian lawmaker Sharif Shahada told Iranian state channel Press TV that the chemical agents identified in the attack may have been part of a rebel weapons cache detonated by Syrian airstrikes in the area.</p>
<p>Past mistakes</p>
<p>Critics have long maintained that Mr. Obama’s declaration of a red line in 2012, and his unwillingness to authorize U.S. military strikes after a deadly chemical attack by regime forces the following year, only emboldened <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>.</p>
<p>If Mr. Obama’s red line “had been acted upon, I feel we would be in a very different place,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican.</p>
<p>Military action, which the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">Obama administration</a> canceled at the last minute, “would have put <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> on his heels” and changed the dynamic of the conflict, Mr. Corker said. Mr. Obama said he felt he needed congressional authorization for an attack, and the surprise Russian initiative to end <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>’s chemical weapons program made the U.S. effort moot.</p>
<p>Mr. Spicer also placed much of the blame squarely on Mr. Obama and “the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">past administration</a>’s weakness and irresolution” toward the Assad regime. But he quickly backpedaled when asked if <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s days were numbered in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> under Mr. Trump.</p>
<p>“I think we had opportunities in the past several years to look at regime change. I think … the landscape [was] fundamentally different than it is today,” Mr. Spicer said.</p>
<p>U.S. Ambassador to the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">United Nations</a> Nikki Haley confirmed that the U.N. Security Council would hold a rare open session this week on <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>’s chemical weapons use. Ms. Haley broke ranks with <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> over the weekend, saying <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a> cannot be allowed to retain power in the country — a key demand of the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">Obama administration</a>’s Syrian policy.</p>
<p>“Our goal is we want to bring <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> to justice. We want them to pay for the crimes that he’s done,” she said Sunday during an interview with ABC News.</p>
<p>Mr. Spicer played down any notion of dissent or confusion regarding <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>. He noted that <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> and Ms. Haley’s statements indicate “the reality of the situation, politically speaking.”</p>
<p>“I think we would look like, to some degree, rather silly not acknowledging the political realities that exist in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>” and the complications they pose to U.S. diplomacy.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> said Moscow and Tehran, <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s key backers, face more pressure to act after the attack.</p>
<p>“ <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a> are the self-proclaimed guarantors for the behaviors of this regime,” said a senior <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> official, noting the key roles of both countries in brokering a Syrian cease-fire this year and initiating peace talks. “They will have a lot to answer for. … If it is what it looks like, it is a war crime.”</p>
<p>Pentagon officials declined to comment on the attack or its potential impact on U.S.-backed operations against the Islamic State group in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>, referring all queries to the <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a>.</p>
<p>The province of Idlib, which is almost entirely controlled by the opposition, is home to some 900,000 displaced Syrians, according to the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">United Nations</a>. Rebels and opposition officials have expressed concern that the government is planning to mount a concentrated attack on the crowded province, the AP reported.</p>
<p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also denounced the attack, saying the strike could derail ongoing peace talks between <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> and anti-government factions in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>. The next round of talks, led by Russian, Iranian and Turkish diplomats, is slated for next month in Astana, Kazakhstan.</p>
<p>“This crime puts into question the entire peace process,” said Mohammad Sabra, who is leading the Syrian opposition delegation during the peace talks. “If the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">U.N.</a> is unable to prevent the regime to commit such crimes, what would you do to achieve a political process with a view to a transition?” he told Agence France-Presse.</p>
<p>U.S. diplomats are participating in talks in an advisory role in those talks, but Washington does hold any sway over forces on the ground involved in the Syrian civil war, the <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> official said.</p>
<p>⦁ Guy Taylor contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2017/apr/4/syrian-activists-report-gas-attack-blame-bashar-as/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | White House denounces Syrian gas attack, blames Obama’s weak policy | true | http://washingtontimes.com/news/2017/apr/4/syrian-activists-report-gas-attack-blame-bashar-as/ | 2017-04-04 | 0right
| White House denounces Syrian gas attack, blames Obama’s weak policy
<p>The Trump administration joined governments around the world in condemning the regime of Syrian President <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Bashar Assad</a> for a horrific chemical weapons attack Tuesday that killed at least 58 people, including 11 children, saying the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">Obama administration</a> shared some of the blame for refusing to enforce its “red line” against chemical weapons attacks by <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s forces.</p>
<p>The White House and <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> issued strong condemnations. Secretary of State <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Rex W. Tillerson</a> said in a statement that the strike on the rebel-held town of Khan Sheikhoun in northern <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> was emblematic of <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s “brutal, unabashed barbarism.”</p>
<p>One <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> official characterized the attack as a blatant war crime, but neither President Trump nor <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> delivered his statement in person.</p>
<p>The attack comes just days after the Trump administration signaled that it was no longer demanding the ouster of <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>, who is backed by <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a>, as a precondition for any deal to end the country’s brutal 6-year-old civil war.</p>
<p>The Syrian Foreign Ministry, which claims <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> surrendered its entire chemical arsenal as part of a Russia-brokered deal in 2014, denied that the government was behind the aerial strike.</p>
<p>The U.N. Security Council is set to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the attack Wednesday morning.</p>
<p>Videos from the scene showed volunteer medics using fire hoses to wash the chemicals from victims’ bodies, The Associated Press reported. Haunting images of lifeless children piled in heaps reflected the magnitude of the attack, which was reminiscent of a 2013 chemical assault that left hundreds dead.</p>
<p><a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and China vetoed a Western-backed resolution at the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">United Nations</a> on Feb. 28 aimed at holding the Syrian government accountable for three attacks involving chlorine gas.</p>
<p>Dr. AbdulHai Tennari, a pulmonologist who treated dozens of victims Tuesday, told reporters that the attack appeared to be more serious than chlorine.</p>
<p>Congressional lawmakers and several foreign leaders saw the attack as the final straw for the international community’s tolerance of the Syrian regime and called for <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s ouster. But <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> demanded only that <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a> put pressure on <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> as it moves to quash anti-government forces.</p>
<p>Mr. Trump, who did not mention the incident in two public events, reportedly received news of the early-morning gas attack during a teleconference with Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>
<p>White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the attack “against innocent people, including women and children, is reprehensible. The United States stands with our allies across the globe to condemn this intolerable act.”</p>
<p>While the Trump administration is intent on abandoning President Obama’s hands-off <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> policies, seen by many as weak and ineffective, it has struggled to decide on a strategy to define <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s future role in his country.</p>
<p>The attack marked the third time that <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> regime forces used chemical weapons since a 2014 pact with <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> to dismantle the chemical stockpiles. All three attacks, including Tuesday’s strike, were focused on the anti- <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> enclave of Idlib in northern <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>.</p>
<p>A senior Senate Democrat said the attack was a test of the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">administration</a>’s resolve and asserted that <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s forces have scored striking gains in recent months.</p>
<p>“Make no mistake: The Assad regime is deliberately testing the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">new administration</a> and its resolve,” said a statement by Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “In the absence of a comprehensive policy for <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>, we have been left with troubling statements from administration officials about <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a>’s role in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>’s future and blaming the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">previous administration</a>.”</p>
<p>But Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican, drew a direct line between Mr. Obama’s ill-fated red line and <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s growing sense of impunity in pursuing his enemies.</p>
<p>Denouncing Mr. Obama’s “six years of weakness and irresolution,” Mr. Cotton said that “it is time for a stronger <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> policy, one that holds the Assad government, <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a> accountable for their brutality. And that policy begins with demanding <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a>’s departure from <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>.”</p>
<p><a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> has conducted airstrikes in support of its Syrian ally, but both Moscow and <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> strongly denied any involvement in the chemical attack. Syrian lawmaker Sharif Shahada told Iranian state channel Press TV that the chemical agents identified in the attack may have been part of a rebel weapons cache detonated by Syrian airstrikes in the area.</p>
<p>Past mistakes</p>
<p>Critics have long maintained that Mr. Obama’s declaration of a red line in 2012, and his unwillingness to authorize U.S. military strikes after a deadly chemical attack by regime forces the following year, only emboldened <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>.</p>
<p>If Mr. Obama’s red line “had been acted upon, I feel we would be in a very different place,” said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker, Tennessee Republican.</p>
<p>Military action, which the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">Obama administration</a> canceled at the last minute, “would have put <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> on his heels” and changed the dynamic of the conflict, Mr. Corker said. Mr. Obama said he felt he needed congressional authorization for an attack, and the surprise Russian initiative to end <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>’s chemical weapons program made the U.S. effort moot.</p>
<p>Mr. Spicer also placed much of the blame squarely on Mr. Obama and “the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">past administration</a>’s weakness and irresolution” toward the Assad regime. But he quickly backpedaled when asked if <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s days were numbered in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a> under Mr. Trump.</p>
<p>“I think we had opportunities in the past several years to look at regime change. I think … the landscape [was] fundamentally different than it is today,” Mr. Spicer said.</p>
<p>U.S. Ambassador to the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">United Nations</a> Nikki Haley confirmed that the U.N. Security Council would hold a rare open session this week on <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>’s chemical weapons use. Ms. Haley broke ranks with <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> over the weekend, saying <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a> cannot be allowed to retain power in the country — a key demand of the <a href="/topics/barack-obama/" type="external">Obama administration</a>’s Syrian policy.</p>
<p>“Our goal is we want to bring <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Assad</a> to justice. We want them to pay for the crimes that he’s done,” she said Sunday during an interview with ABC News.</p>
<p>Mr. Spicer played down any notion of dissent or confusion regarding <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>. He noted that <a href="/topics/rex-w-tillerson/" type="external">Mr. Tillerson</a> and Ms. Haley’s statements indicate “the reality of the situation, politically speaking.”</p>
<p>“I think we would look like, to some degree, rather silly not acknowledging the political realities that exist in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>” and the complications they pose to U.S. diplomacy.</p>
<p>The <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> said Moscow and Tehran, <a href="/topics/bashar-assad/" type="external">Mr. Assad</a>’s key backers, face more pressure to act after the attack.</p>
<p>“ <a href="/topics/russia/" type="external">Russia</a> and <a href="/topics/iran/" type="external">Iran</a> are the self-proclaimed guarantors for the behaviors of this regime,” said a senior <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> official, noting the key roles of both countries in brokering a Syrian cease-fire this year and initiating peace talks. “They will have a lot to answer for. … If it is what it looks like, it is a war crime.”</p>
<p>Pentagon officials declined to comment on the attack or its potential impact on U.S.-backed operations against the Islamic State group in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>, referring all queries to the <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a>.</p>
<p>The province of Idlib, which is almost entirely controlled by the opposition, is home to some 900,000 displaced Syrians, according to the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">United Nations</a>. Rebels and opposition officials have expressed concern that the government is planning to mount a concentrated attack on the crowded province, the AP reported.</p>
<p>Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also denounced the attack, saying the strike could derail ongoing peace talks between <a href="/topics/damascus/" type="external">Damascus</a> and anti-government factions in <a href="/topics/syria/" type="external">Syria</a>. The next round of talks, led by Russian, Iranian and Turkish diplomats, is slated for next month in Astana, Kazakhstan.</p>
<p>“This crime puts into question the entire peace process,” said Mohammad Sabra, who is leading the Syrian opposition delegation during the peace talks. “If the <a href="/topics/united-nations/" type="external">U.N.</a> is unable to prevent the regime to commit such crimes, what would you do to achieve a political process with a view to a transition?” he told Agence France-Presse.</p>
<p>U.S. diplomats are participating in talks in an advisory role in those talks, but Washington does hold any sway over forces on the ground involved in the Syrian civil war, the <a href="/topics/department-of-state/" type="external">State Department</a> official said.</p>
<p>⦁ Guy Taylor contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.</p>
<p>Copyright © 2018 The Washington Times, LLC. <a href="http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2017/apr/4/syrian-activists-report-gas-attack-blame-bashar-as/" type="external">Click here for reprint permission</a>.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | 971 |
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<p />
<p>Juan Sanchez III</p>
<p>The winner – to be chosen today in Albuquerque at a meeting of the party’s central committee – will take over as Democrats are energized in opposition to President Donald Trump and looking for a win in next year’s gubernatorial race.</p>
<p>The candidates include:</p>
<p>• Juan Sanchez III, a 25-year-old Belen resident pursuing a master’s degree in water resources at the University of New Mexico;</p>
<p>Rusty Pearce</p>
<p>• Rusty Pearce, a 31-year-old who works as an instructional technologist for Las Cruces Public Schools;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>• Richard Ellenberg, a retired lawyer and former chairman of Santa Fe County’s Democratic Party.</p>
<p>The winner will serve a two-year term as chairman of the state party. It’s a volunteer position, though the party has a few paid staff members.</p>
<p>Haaland took over in 2015 but didn’t seek re-election this year.</p>
<p>Richard Ellenberg</p>
<p>Sanchez is now vice chairman of the party. He would bring stability, he said, and use national contacts to recruit high-profile speakers to New Mexico.</p>
<p>The party, he said, must be willing to reach out to allies who aren’t necessarily Democrats to accomplish its goals.</p>
<p>Sanchez said his own identity as a Latino with a disability – he has an autoimmune disease – provides him a unique perspective on the importance of political debates, such as the potential repeal of Obamacare.</p>
<p>“These issues aren’t that abstract to me,” Sanchez said. ” Every morning when I wake up, I’m reminded of it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Ellenberg said he has a track record of success, having served six years as Democratic chairman in Santa Fe. He said he wants to help build a staff loyal to the party itself, not whomever happens to be serving as chair at the time.</p>
<p>That, in turn, would help boost long-term strategic planning, record-keeping and fundraising, he said.</p>
<p>And one-on-one contacts can help reach less-engaged voters and get them to the polls, Ellenberg said.</p>
<p>“We have a huge amount of energy coming into the party,” he said. “Donald Trump has reminded folks that elections matter.”</p>
<p>Pearce, for his part, said he is skilled with technology and works with young people every day – strengths he says would help build the Democratic Party beyond the status quo.</p>
<p>“We’re going to have to stop politics as usual,” he said. “I don’t think the establishment members of the party understand what it’s going to take in order to get the youth involved.”</p>
<p>Pearce said he would bring persistence to the job – a quality demonstrated by his experience as a gay man who worked on Democratic causes in conservative Texas, he said.</p>
<p>Pearce was a delegate last year for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention.</p>
<p>The state central committee is made up of hundreds of Democratic Party leaders from throughout New Mexico. Its members will pick a chairman and other party officers as part of a daylong meeting today at Atrisco Heritage Academy on the West Side.</p>
<p />
<p /> | NM Democrats voting today for state party chair | false | https://abqjournal.com/995415/nm-democrats-voting-today-for-state-party-chair.html | 2017-04-28 | 2least
| NM Democrats voting today for state party chair
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<p />
<p>Juan Sanchez III</p>
<p>The winner – to be chosen today in Albuquerque at a meeting of the party’s central committee – will take over as Democrats are energized in opposition to President Donald Trump and looking for a win in next year’s gubernatorial race.</p>
<p>The candidates include:</p>
<p>• Juan Sanchez III, a 25-year-old Belen resident pursuing a master’s degree in water resources at the University of New Mexico;</p>
<p>Rusty Pearce</p>
<p>• Rusty Pearce, a 31-year-old who works as an instructional technologist for Las Cruces Public Schools;</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>• Richard Ellenberg, a retired lawyer and former chairman of Santa Fe County’s Democratic Party.</p>
<p>The winner will serve a two-year term as chairman of the state party. It’s a volunteer position, though the party has a few paid staff members.</p>
<p>Haaland took over in 2015 but didn’t seek re-election this year.</p>
<p>Richard Ellenberg</p>
<p>Sanchez is now vice chairman of the party. He would bring stability, he said, and use national contacts to recruit high-profile speakers to New Mexico.</p>
<p>The party, he said, must be willing to reach out to allies who aren’t necessarily Democrats to accomplish its goals.</p>
<p>Sanchez said his own identity as a Latino with a disability – he has an autoimmune disease – provides him a unique perspective on the importance of political debates, such as the potential repeal of Obamacare.</p>
<p>“These issues aren’t that abstract to me,” Sanchez said. ” Every morning when I wake up, I’m reminded of it.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Ellenberg said he has a track record of success, having served six years as Democratic chairman in Santa Fe. He said he wants to help build a staff loyal to the party itself, not whomever happens to be serving as chair at the time.</p>
<p>That, in turn, would help boost long-term strategic planning, record-keeping and fundraising, he said.</p>
<p>And one-on-one contacts can help reach less-engaged voters and get them to the polls, Ellenberg said.</p>
<p>“We have a huge amount of energy coming into the party,” he said. “Donald Trump has reminded folks that elections matter.”</p>
<p>Pearce, for his part, said he is skilled with technology and works with young people every day – strengths he says would help build the Democratic Party beyond the status quo.</p>
<p>“We’re going to have to stop politics as usual,” he said. “I don’t think the establishment members of the party understand what it’s going to take in order to get the youth involved.”</p>
<p>Pearce said he would bring persistence to the job – a quality demonstrated by his experience as a gay man who worked on Democratic causes in conservative Texas, he said.</p>
<p>Pearce was a delegate last year for presidential candidate Bernie Sanders at the Democratic National Convention.</p>
<p>The state central committee is made up of hundreds of Democratic Party leaders from throughout New Mexico. Its members will pick a chairman and other party officers as part of a daylong meeting today at Atrisco Heritage Academy on the West Side.</p>
<p />
<p /> | 972 |
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<p />
<p>“Instead of a pullout, it’s actually a doubling down,” Mike Rubino said in an interview with The Washington Post on Monday. “We are going to compete here like we’re competing in every other battleground state.”</p>
<p>The news came a day after the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University released a poll that had Clinton up by 15 points in Virginia. Clinton’s 44-to-29-percent advantage in the survey is more than double her lead in late September.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted after The Washington Post reported on a video recording of Trump making lewd comments about women during a 2005 appearance for “Access Hollywood” and his continued defense of the remarks as “locker room talk” during the second presidential debate.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Political observers in both parties think Virginia is out of reach for Trump.</p>
<p>But Rubino insisted that the commonwealth is still in play. He spoke about the campaign’s plans after an especially tumultuous stretch in Virginia.</p>
<p>Last week, the campaign fired its state co-chairman, Corey Stewart, for staging a protest at Republican National Committee headquarters. Stewart, a candidate for governor in 2017, had accused “establishment pukes” of abandoning Trump after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape.</p>
<p>Then, on Thursday, Stewart publicly confirmed rumors that Trump was pulling out of Virginia. The campaign said it was only temporarily shifting some Virginia staffers to North Carolina for early voting, but the move was widely viewed as conceding defeat in a critical swing state.</p>
<p>Rubino said Trump assured him that the campaign was still fighting for Virginia and its 13 electoral votes.</p>
<p>“Mr. Trump called me the next day and said, ‘What’s going on? We’re playing in Virginia. We’re doubling down. We’ll be doing rallies there. We’re going to do TV ads,’ ” Rubino said. “And that’s all coming true.”</p>
<p>Rubino said the campaign was investing $2 million in TV ads. He declined to specify which Virginia media markets would carry them.</p>
<p>Trump has not advertised in the state since about Labor Day. The lack of advertising has been widely viewed as a sign that the campaign did not think the state was competitive.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yet Trump and key surrogates have continued to visit the state even during the advertising drought. Trump has made at least eight visits since late July. His running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has made seven, including one last week. Pence devoted three days to Virginia this month: Oct. 3 in Ashland, Oct. 4 in Farmville for the vice-presidential debate, and Oct. 5 in Harrisonburg.</p>
<p>Rubino said Trump is about to return, but declined to be specific.</p>
<p>“You’ll be seeing him very soon,” he said.</p>
<p>For months, polls have shown Democrat Hillary Clinton with a comfortable lead over Trump in Virginia, a state where the billionaire owns a vineyard and golf course. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday showed Clinton with a modest four-point lead nationally.</p>
<p>A Clinton spokeswoman said her campaign remains active in Virginia.</p>
<p>“With more people voting in this election than any in history, organizers and volunteers in every corner of the commonwealth will continue to build on our strong organization to help turn out voters in support of Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine and Democrats up and down the ballot in November,” said Sarah Peck, a Clinton spokeswoman.</p>
<p>virginia-trump</p> | Trump plans ad blitz, says state still in play | false | https://abqjournal.com/869608/trump-plans-ad-blitz-says-state-still-in-play.html | 2least
| Trump plans ad blitz, says state still in play
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<p />
<p>“Instead of a pullout, it’s actually a doubling down,” Mike Rubino said in an interview with The Washington Post on Monday. “We are going to compete here like we’re competing in every other battleground state.”</p>
<p>The news came a day after the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University released a poll that had Clinton up by 15 points in Virginia. Clinton’s 44-to-29-percent advantage in the survey is more than double her lead in late September.</p>
<p>The poll was conducted after The Washington Post reported on a video recording of Trump making lewd comments about women during a 2005 appearance for “Access Hollywood” and his continued defense of the remarks as “locker room talk” during the second presidential debate.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Political observers in both parties think Virginia is out of reach for Trump.</p>
<p>But Rubino insisted that the commonwealth is still in play. He spoke about the campaign’s plans after an especially tumultuous stretch in Virginia.</p>
<p>Last week, the campaign fired its state co-chairman, Corey Stewart, for staging a protest at Republican National Committee headquarters. Stewart, a candidate for governor in 2017, had accused “establishment pukes” of abandoning Trump after the release of the “Access Hollywood” tape.</p>
<p>Then, on Thursday, Stewart publicly confirmed rumors that Trump was pulling out of Virginia. The campaign said it was only temporarily shifting some Virginia staffers to North Carolina for early voting, but the move was widely viewed as conceding defeat in a critical swing state.</p>
<p>Rubino said Trump assured him that the campaign was still fighting for Virginia and its 13 electoral votes.</p>
<p>“Mr. Trump called me the next day and said, ‘What’s going on? We’re playing in Virginia. We’re doubling down. We’ll be doing rallies there. We’re going to do TV ads,’ ” Rubino said. “And that’s all coming true.”</p>
<p>Rubino said the campaign was investing $2 million in TV ads. He declined to specify which Virginia media markets would carry them.</p>
<p>Trump has not advertised in the state since about Labor Day. The lack of advertising has been widely viewed as a sign that the campaign did not think the state was competitive.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Yet Trump and key surrogates have continued to visit the state even during the advertising drought. Trump has made at least eight visits since late July. His running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, has made seven, including one last week. Pence devoted three days to Virginia this month: Oct. 3 in Ashland, Oct. 4 in Farmville for the vice-presidential debate, and Oct. 5 in Harrisonburg.</p>
<p>Rubino said Trump is about to return, but declined to be specific.</p>
<p>“You’ll be seeing him very soon,” he said.</p>
<p>For months, polls have shown Democrat Hillary Clinton with a comfortable lead over Trump in Virginia, a state where the billionaire owns a vineyard and golf course. A new Washington Post-ABC News poll released Sunday showed Clinton with a modest four-point lead nationally.</p>
<p>A Clinton spokeswoman said her campaign remains active in Virginia.</p>
<p>“With more people voting in this election than any in history, organizers and volunteers in every corner of the commonwealth will continue to build on our strong organization to help turn out voters in support of Hillary Clinton, Tim Kaine and Democrats up and down the ballot in November,” said Sarah Peck, a Clinton spokeswoman.</p>
<p>virginia-trump</p> | 973 |
|
<p>The Army's new chief of staff, Gen. George Casey (of Iraq fame), has said he can't guarantee that deployments won't grow beyond the current 15 months. Casey was asked about the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_re_us/army_chief_iraq;_ylt=Ai3Xcqubso32sk5tQyrseoas0NUE" type="external">extensions</a> by a frustrated Army wife who said her husband's deployments have more than doubled in length over the years.</p>
<p>The general has said he wants to expedite an expansion of the Army to address the problem: "We live in a difficult period for the Army because the demand for our forces exceeds the supply."</p>
<p>AP via Yahoo:</p>
<p>A woman in the group asked Casey if her husband's deployments would stop getting longer. She said they used to last for six months in the 1990s but then started lasting nine months and 12 months. Two weeks ago, she heard the Army's announcement that deployments would be extended as long as 15 months.</p>
<p />
<p>"Do you honestly foresee this spiral, in effect, stopping?" she asked.</p>
<p>Casey said the Army wants to keep deployments to 15 months, but "I cannot look at you in the eye and guarantee that it would not go beyond."</p>
<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_re_us/army_chief_iraq;_ylt=Ai3Xcqubso32sk5tQyrseoas0NUE" type="external">Read more</a></p> | Army Chief Won't Rule Out Longer Deployments | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/army-chief-wont-rule-out-longer-deployments/ | 2007-04-29 | 4left
| Army Chief Won't Rule Out Longer Deployments
<p>The Army's new chief of staff, Gen. George Casey (of Iraq fame), has said he can't guarantee that deployments won't grow beyond the current 15 months. Casey was asked about the <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_re_us/army_chief_iraq;_ylt=Ai3Xcqubso32sk5tQyrseoas0NUE" type="external">extensions</a> by a frustrated Army wife who said her husband's deployments have more than doubled in length over the years.</p>
<p>The general has said he wants to expedite an expansion of the Army to address the problem: "We live in a difficult period for the Army because the demand for our forces exceeds the supply."</p>
<p>AP via Yahoo:</p>
<p>A woman in the group asked Casey if her husband's deployments would stop getting longer. She said they used to last for six months in the 1990s but then started lasting nine months and 12 months. Two weeks ago, she heard the Army's announcement that deployments would be extended as long as 15 months.</p>
<p />
<p>"Do you honestly foresee this spiral, in effect, stopping?" she asked.</p>
<p>Casey said the Army wants to keep deployments to 15 months, but "I cannot look at you in the eye and guarantee that it would not go beyond."</p>
<p><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070429/ap_on_re_us/army_chief_iraq;_ylt=Ai3Xcqubso32sk5tQyrseoas0NUE" type="external">Read more</a></p> | 974 |
<p>Risk is what keeps investors up at night -- but you can do something about that if you pick the right investments. That's not to suggest that you can completely avoid it, but tailoring what you own to your tolerance for volatility isn't as hard as you might think. If you are a low-risk investor, income-focused Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), and Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) are three options that should be on the top of your watch list.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
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<p>To give you a better picture of this, when oil prices started to fall, Enterprise didn't pull back on growth investments (it currently has over $8.5 billion in investments in the works right now). It continued to raise its distribution every single quarter, and its distribution coverage never fell below 1.2 times. And while Enterprise added some debt during the downturn, that was largely used to make opportunistic acquisitions, not prop up a distribution it couldn't cover ( <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/22/read-this-before-you-buy-big-oil-stocks.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">compare that to some of the integrated oil majors Opens a New Window.</a>). &#160; &#160;</p>
<p>With a 6.4% distribution yield and a 20-year history of annual distribution hikes, Enterprise is a an energy player that's proven it can thrive in even the worst of times. Low-risk investors should pay attention. &#160;</p>
<p>If you think 20 years of annual dividend hikes is impressive, Consolidated Edison has upped its dividend for 43 consecutive years. Although the electric utility's 3.2% yield is lower than Enterprise's yield, it's still well above the roughly 2% or so offered by the S&amp;P 500. And there's a lot to like about Con Ed's business. &#160; &#160;</p>
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<p>For example, the company's core customers live in New York City and its surrounding suburbs. That's a highly affluent region with a huge appetite for energy. In addition, Con Ed has already switched to charging for the use of its power line, passing electricity costs through to customers. That means it's in a strong position to deal with an industry where power generation increasingly faces business challenges. Note, too, that regulators have been generous when it comes to granting rate increases to fund spending on things like ensuring power lines can withstand severe weather conditions -- those types of investments underpin around 80% of Con Ed's $11 billion in spending plans. &#160;</p>
<p>But Con Ed is also investing to take advantage of the changing energy landscape. For example, it is expanding its large-scale transmission business that helps connect cleaner fuel options with the large metropolitan areas that need it. And it's building a merchant renewable power business underpinned by long-term contracts. So Con Ed is doing <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/20/consolidated-edison-could-offer-retirees-sustainab.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">the right things to keep paying you Opens a New Window.</a> while it grows its business in a fast-changing, but vital industry. &#160; &#160;</p>
<p>Now take a look at logistics powerhouse Genuine Parts, which has increased its dividend each year for an astounding 61 years. Its largest businesses are auto parts (where 75% of sales are to auto shops) and industrial parts. These two operations contribute a little over 80% of revenue combined. Having a broad catalog of parts, extensive knowledge of those parts, and the ability to deliver quickly enough to limit customer downtime are the keys to success in these sectors. The company also sells office products and electrical products (around 20% of revenue combined). It has leading industry positions in all four businesses. &#160;</p>
<p>The stock is currently in the doldrums, pushing the yield to an enticing 3.2%. One of the big reasons for this is the concern that online retailers, particularly Amazon, <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/13/auto-parts-retailers-have-an-amazon-problem.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">will eat away at Genuine Parts' business Opens a New Window.</a>. That's a real risk, but one that's likely overblown. For example, cheap prices simply aren't the key to Genuine Parts' auto and industrial operations. Neither of those businesses is focused on the retail customers that are most likely to rely on Amazon. &#160;</p>
<p>It's also worth noting that Genuine Parts has modest market share in each of its businesses, meaning it still has plenty of room to continue expanding via the acquisition of smaller competitors. Although it's definitely changing with the times, Genuine Parts has grown sales in 84 of its 89 years of existence, with profit up in 73 of those years, by doing basically the same things it's doing today. Genuine Parts isn't likely to excite you, but it's the type of slow-and-steady-wins-the-race investment that won't make you lose sleep at night.</p>
<p>If you are looking for low-risk investments, this is a trio of stocks that should be on your watch list. Enterprise's energy-related business is based on demand, not oil prices. Con Ed's core electric-delivery business is similarly demand-based, with expansion opportunities in newer areas like long-distance transmission and renewable energy. And Genuine Parts is out of favor because of concerns about the retail nature of its business, despite the fact that it isn't as exposed to the e-commerce concerns that are hitting its competitors.</p>
<p>All three, meanwhile, have long histories of increasing their dividends, which will help you rest easy during the inevitable down periods (like the one Genuine Parts is working through right now). If you are a low-risk investor, this trio of top dividend stocks should be high on your short list.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Enterprise Products PartnersWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2806af60-8f6f-419d-9a98-5e65d9cbe9de&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Enterprise Products Partners wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2806af60-8f6f-419d-9a98-5e65d9cbe9de&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&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 August 1, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/ReubenGBrewer/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Reuben Brewer Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends AMZN. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 3 Top Stocks for Low-Risk Investors | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/02/09/3-top-stocks-for-low-risk-investors.html | 2017-08-12 | 0right
| 3 Top Stocks for Low-Risk Investors
<p>Risk is what keeps investors up at night -- but you can do something about that if you pick the right investments. That's not to suggest that you can completely avoid it, but tailoring what you own to your tolerance for volatility isn't as hard as you might think. If you are a low-risk investor, income-focused Enterprise Products Partners L.P. (NYSE: EPD), Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE: ED), and Genuine Parts Company (NYSE: GPC) are three options that should be on the top of your watch list.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Oil and natural gas prices are notoriously volatile, which we've seen since oil prices tanked in mid-2014. Although oil has rebounded, prices have yet to fully recover. Less volatile is the need to move oil and natural gas from where it gets pulled from the ground to where it gets used. That's the midstream business that Enterprise Products Partners is focused on. It's largely fee-based, meaning that demand for oil and gas is more important to Enterprise than energy prices.</p>
<p>To give you a better picture of this, when oil prices started to fall, Enterprise didn't pull back on growth investments (it currently has over $8.5 billion in investments in the works right now). It continued to raise its distribution every single quarter, and its distribution coverage never fell below 1.2 times. And while Enterprise added some debt during the downturn, that was largely used to make opportunistic acquisitions, not prop up a distribution it couldn't cover ( <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/22/read-this-before-you-buy-big-oil-stocks.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">compare that to some of the integrated oil majors Opens a New Window.</a>). &#160; &#160;</p>
<p>With a 6.4% distribution yield and a 20-year history of annual distribution hikes, Enterprise is a an energy player that's proven it can thrive in even the worst of times. Low-risk investors should pay attention. &#160;</p>
<p>If you think 20 years of annual dividend hikes is impressive, Consolidated Edison has upped its dividend for 43 consecutive years. Although the electric utility's 3.2% yield is lower than Enterprise's yield, it's still well above the roughly 2% or so offered by the S&amp;P 500. And there's a lot to like about Con Ed's business. &#160; &#160;</p>
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<p>For example, the company's core customers live in New York City and its surrounding suburbs. That's a highly affluent region with a huge appetite for energy. In addition, Con Ed has already switched to charging for the use of its power line, passing electricity costs through to customers. That means it's in a strong position to deal with an industry where power generation increasingly faces business challenges. Note, too, that regulators have been generous when it comes to granting rate increases to fund spending on things like ensuring power lines can withstand severe weather conditions -- those types of investments underpin around 80% of Con Ed's $11 billion in spending plans. &#160;</p>
<p>But Con Ed is also investing to take advantage of the changing energy landscape. For example, it is expanding its large-scale transmission business that helps connect cleaner fuel options with the large metropolitan areas that need it. And it's building a merchant renewable power business underpinned by long-term contracts. So Con Ed is doing <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/06/20/consolidated-edison-could-offer-retirees-sustainab.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">the right things to keep paying you Opens a New Window.</a> while it grows its business in a fast-changing, but vital industry. &#160; &#160;</p>
<p>Now take a look at logistics powerhouse Genuine Parts, which has increased its dividend each year for an astounding 61 years. Its largest businesses are auto parts (where 75% of sales are to auto shops) and industrial parts. These two operations contribute a little over 80% of revenue combined. Having a broad catalog of parts, extensive knowledge of those parts, and the ability to deliver quickly enough to limit customer downtime are the keys to success in these sectors. The company also sells office products and electrical products (around 20% of revenue combined). It has leading industry positions in all four businesses. &#160;</p>
<p>The stock is currently in the doldrums, pushing the yield to an enticing 3.2%. One of the big reasons for this is the concern that online retailers, particularly Amazon, <a href="https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/07/13/auto-parts-retailers-have-an-amazon-problem.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">will eat away at Genuine Parts' business Opens a New Window.</a>. That's a real risk, but one that's likely overblown. For example, cheap prices simply aren't the key to Genuine Parts' auto and industrial operations. Neither of those businesses is focused on the retail customers that are most likely to rely on Amazon. &#160;</p>
<p>It's also worth noting that Genuine Parts has modest market share in each of its businesses, meaning it still has plenty of room to continue expanding via the acquisition of smaller competitors. Although it's definitely changing with the times, Genuine Parts has grown sales in 84 of its 89 years of existence, with profit up in 73 of those years, by doing basically the same things it's doing today. Genuine Parts isn't likely to excite you, but it's the type of slow-and-steady-wins-the-race investment that won't make you lose sleep at night.</p>
<p>If you are looking for low-risk investments, this is a trio of stocks that should be on your watch list. Enterprise's energy-related business is based on demand, not oil prices. Con Ed's core electric-delivery business is similarly demand-based, with expansion opportunities in newer areas like long-distance transmission and renewable energy. And Genuine Parts is out of favor because of concerns about the retail nature of its business, despite the fact that it isn't as exposed to the e-commerce concerns that are hitting its competitors.</p>
<p>All three, meanwhile, have long histories of increasing their dividends, which will help you rest easy during the inevitable down periods (like the one Genuine Parts is working through right now). If you are a low-risk investor, this trio of top dividend stocks should be high on your short list.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Enterprise Products PartnersWhen investing geniuses David and Tom Gardner have a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, the newsletter they have run for over a decade, Motley Fool Stock Advisor, has tripled the market.*</p>
<p>David and Tom just revealed what they believe are the <a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2806af60-8f6f-419d-9a98-5e65d9cbe9de&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Enterprise Products Partners wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-static%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=2806af60-8f6f-419d-9a98-5e65d9cbe9de&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&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 August 1, 2017</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/ReubenGBrewer/info.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Reuben Brewer Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends AMZN. The Motley Fool recommends Enterprise Products Partners. The Motley Fool has a <a href="http://www.fool.com/Legal/fool-disclosure-policy.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;uuid=26ba3de6-7dc6-11e7-932f-0050569d4be0&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 975 |
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>A gay Baptist minister suing for the right to wed in Kentucky got support June 17 from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.</p>
<p>The Washington-based watchdog group filed three separate legal briefs asking the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold lower court rulings that struck down same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II&#160;ruled Feb. 12 that Kentucky must respect the marriages of same-sex couples legally performed in other states. Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard, an ordained Baptist minister and volunteer worker at Highland Baptist Church in Louisville who was denied a license to marry his partner last year in Kentucky, joined the litigation Feb. 14. Oral arguments are scheduled Aug. 6.</p>
<p>Americans United and the Anti-Defamation League joined more than 20 other religious and public policy groups arguing that Kentucky’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. The brief says the ban “was enacted with the purpose of imposing a particular religious understanding of marriage” and that “moral disapproval” by a majority of citizens is not a “legitimate state interest” for denying same-sex couples equal rights.</p>
<p>“Religious liberty does not give anyone the right to use the law to discriminate,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Yet, a handful of religious organizations are claiming that&#160;religious freedom allows them to define marriage for everyone in some states.”</p>
<p>The other two briefs raise similar objections in cases in <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10687970552347666578&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=6&amp;as_vis=1&amp;oi=scholarr" type="external">Tennessee</a>, where three same-sex couples seek legal recognition of marriages performed in other states, and Michigan, where a lesbian couple is <a href="http://nydivorcefirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/4.Deboer_Findings_of_Fact_and_Conclusions_of_Law.pdf" type="external">suing</a> over a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2004&#160;banning same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>“Laws based on theological doctrine are unconstitutional,” said Alex Luchenitser, Americans United associate legal director. “These three marriage bans undoubtedly resulted from religion-based bias against gay and lesbian people, and they are discriminatory.”</p>
<p>The appellate court based in Cincinnati decided to hear oral arguments in all three cases in a single day.</p>
<p>Previous story:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Gay Baptist minister sues for right to wed</a></p> | Church-state group asks court to strike down gay-marriage bans in three states | false | https://baptistnews.com/article/church-state-group-asks-court-to-strike-down-gay-marriage-bans-in-three-states/ | 3left-center
| Church-state group asks court to strike down gay-marriage bans in three states
<p>By Bob Allen</p>
<p>A gay Baptist minister suing for the right to wed in Kentucky got support June 17 from Americans United for Separation of Church and State.</p>
<p>The Washington-based watchdog group filed three separate legal briefs asking the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold lower court rulings that struck down same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.</p>
<p>U.S. District Judge John G. Heyburn II&#160;ruled Feb. 12 that Kentucky must respect the marriages of same-sex couples legally performed in other states. Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard, an ordained Baptist minister and volunteer worker at Highland Baptist Church in Louisville who was denied a license to marry his partner last year in Kentucky, joined the litigation Feb. 14. Oral arguments are scheduled Aug. 6.</p>
<p>Americans United and the Anti-Defamation League joined more than 20 other religious and public policy groups arguing that Kentucky’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional. The brief says the ban “was enacted with the purpose of imposing a particular religious understanding of marriage” and that “moral disapproval” by a majority of citizens is not a “legitimate state interest” for denying same-sex couples equal rights.</p>
<p>“Religious liberty does not give anyone the right to use the law to discriminate,” said Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United. “Yet, a handful of religious organizations are claiming that&#160;religious freedom allows them to define marriage for everyone in some states.”</p>
<p>The other two briefs raise similar objections in cases in <a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=10687970552347666578&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=6&amp;as_vis=1&amp;oi=scholarr" type="external">Tennessee</a>, where three same-sex couples seek legal recognition of marriages performed in other states, and Michigan, where a lesbian couple is <a href="http://nydivorcefirm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/4.Deboer_Findings_of_Fact_and_Conclusions_of_Law.pdf" type="external">suing</a> over a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2004&#160;banning same-sex marriage.</p>
<p>“Laws based on theological doctrine are unconstitutional,” said Alex Luchenitser, Americans United associate legal director. “These three marriage bans undoubtedly resulted from religion-based bias against gay and lesbian people, and they are discriminatory.”</p>
<p>The appellate court based in Cincinnati decided to hear oral arguments in all three cases in a single day.</p>
<p>Previous story:</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal">Gay Baptist minister sues for right to wed</a></p> | 976 |
|
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>If you thought the Justice Dept.'s promise to keep close tabs on Anheuser-Busch InBev's (NYSE: BUD) attempt to sway the craft beer market would keep it from making more forays into the space, well, you'd be wrong. The mega brewer recently announced it would be buying yet another craft brewer, scrutiny be damned.</p>
<p>Earlier this month Anheuser-Busch said it would be buying Texas-based Karbach Brewing for an undisclosed sum, and would be folding it into its high-end business unit that focuses on craft and imported beers.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, the brewer has purchased a dozen or so craft beer names including Goose Island Brewery, Four Peaks, and Breckenridge Brewery after having launched its own craft beer, Shock Top, to counteract the success of Molson Coors'Blue Moon. It also acquired several craft beer distributors and most recently bought the leading homebrewer supply house.</p>
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<p>Yet all those acquisitions caught the attention of the Justice Department when it sought to acquire SABMiller in a $100 billion merger. The craft beer industry had complained that A-B's efforts were an attempt to <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/25/is-anheuser-busch-inbev-sa-adr-trying-to-snuff-out.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">drive craft competition Opens a New Window.</a> from store shelves, and pointed to its agreements with the distributors to pay for their marketing expenses if they only carried A-B brands, or mostly did so.</p>
<p>In agreeing to let the Miller merger go through, the Justice Department was adamant in protecting competition, particularly for craft and imported beers. It said its settlement with Anheuser-Busch"prohibits ABI from instituting or continuing practices and programs that limit the ability and incentives of independent beer distributors to sell and promote the beers of ABI's rivals, including high-end craft and import beers."</p>
<p>Importantly, the regulator also said it was precluding Anheuser-Busch from making more distributor and brewer acquisitions, particularly of craft brewers, without first giving the deals a closer look for the impact they might have on industry competition.</p>
<p>As long as Justice doesn't find any problems with the acquisition from a competitive standpoint, the deal will likely get the green light, but is it likely that the Justice really won't find any problems?</p>
<p>According to industry site Brewbound, Karbach is currently only distributed in Texas and has ramped up production from 8,000 barrels in 2012 to 80,000 in 2016, and Anheuser-Busch says it wants to nearly double it to 150,000 barrels by 2019.The craft beer industry trade group Brewers Association points out that 57% of all craft breweries produce less than 15,000 barrels annually.</p>
<p>Despite that limited distribution area, A-B describes Karbach as one of the fastest-growing craft brewers in the country.It's also to be expected the macro brewer will distribute Karbach beyond the narrow confines of the Texas market it currently dominates, perhaps even nationally. The purchase would certainly give Anheuser-Busch undue influence of the Texas market and it might end up control others that the craft beer is eventually sold into, causing the Justice Dept. to look askance at the acquisition.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) recently <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/11/29/1-billion-for-this-tiny-craft-brewer-what-does-i-2.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">followed that path Opens a New Window.</a> after buying San Diego-based Ballast Point Brewery for $1 billion. The craft brewer has been enjoying rapid expansion after joining Constellation's distribution network and in its latest quarterly report the beer, wine, and spirits distributor said Ballast Point was enjoying double-digit depletion growthas its beer became more widely available (depletions are sales from distributors to retailers, and are considered a reliable proxy for consumer demand).</p>
<p>Yet it's an interesting time for A-B to be making this acquisition, beyond probable Justice Department scrutiny. The craft beer market is slowing. While it has benefited from double-digit growth for years, this year the Brewers Association expects it to fall to just 8% growth, though a lot of that has to do with sales slowing at the biggest names in the business, including Boston Beer, New Belgium Brewing, and Sierra Nevada. Take them out and sales are still growing at double-digit percentages.</p>
<p>Anheuser-Busch InBev's purchase of <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/27/is-anheuser-busch-inbev-doing-an-end-run-around-cr.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">homebrew supplies shop Opens a New Window.</a> Northern Brewer has attracted Justice Department interest and this latest deal will, too. The regulatory agency has said it doesn't matter if the deals are individual or in the aggregate, too much influence could sink them. Coming just two months after agreeing to being monitored, it's a cheeky move by the big brewer, but one that might cause it some trouble.</p>
<p>Forget the 2016 Election: 10 stocks we like better than Anheuser-Busch InBev NV Donald Trump was just elected president, and volatility is up. But here's why you should ignore the election:</p>
<p>Investing geniuses Tom and David Gardner have spent a long time beating the market no matter who's in the White House. In fact, 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%2Fecap-foolcom-bbn-election%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000468%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6454%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=d8541009-70a6-4759-831a-6b41a5609d0c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">ten best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV 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%2Fecap-foolcom-bbn-election%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0000468%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6454%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=d8541009-70a6-4759-831a-6b41a5609d0c&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and Boston Beer. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | Heightened Scrutiny Won't Stall Anheuser-Busch InBev's Buying Spree | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2016/11/27/heightened-scrutiny-wont-stall-anheuser-busch-inbev-buying-spree.html | 2016-11-27 | 0right
| Heightened Scrutiny Won't Stall Anheuser-Busch InBev's Buying Spree
<p />
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>If you thought the Justice Dept.'s promise to keep close tabs on Anheuser-Busch InBev's (NYSE: BUD) attempt to sway the craft beer market would keep it from making more forays into the space, well, you'd be wrong. The mega brewer recently announced it would be buying yet another craft brewer, scrutiny be damned.</p>
<p>Earlier this month Anheuser-Busch said it would be buying Texas-based Karbach Brewing for an undisclosed sum, and would be folding it into its high-end business unit that focuses on craft and imported beers.</p>
<p>Over the past few years, the brewer has purchased a dozen or so craft beer names including Goose Island Brewery, Four Peaks, and Breckenridge Brewery after having launched its own craft beer, Shock Top, to counteract the success of Molson Coors'Blue Moon. It also acquired several craft beer distributors and most recently bought the leading homebrewer supply house.</p>
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<p>Yet all those acquisitions caught the attention of the Justice Department when it sought to acquire SABMiller in a $100 billion merger. The craft beer industry had complained that A-B's efforts were an attempt to <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/10/25/is-anheuser-busch-inbev-sa-adr-trying-to-snuff-out.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">drive craft competition Opens a New Window.</a> from store shelves, and pointed to its agreements with the distributors to pay for their marketing expenses if they only carried A-B brands, or mostly did so.</p>
<p>In agreeing to let the Miller merger go through, the Justice Department was adamant in protecting competition, particularly for craft and imported beers. It said its settlement with Anheuser-Busch"prohibits ABI from instituting or continuing practices and programs that limit the ability and incentives of independent beer distributors to sell and promote the beers of ABI's rivals, including high-end craft and import beers."</p>
<p>Importantly, the regulator also said it was precluding Anheuser-Busch from making more distributor and brewer acquisitions, particularly of craft brewers, without first giving the deals a closer look for the impact they might have on industry competition.</p>
<p>As long as Justice doesn't find any problems with the acquisition from a competitive standpoint, the deal will likely get the green light, but is it likely that the Justice really won't find any problems?</p>
<p>According to industry site Brewbound, Karbach is currently only distributed in Texas and has ramped up production from 8,000 barrels in 2012 to 80,000 in 2016, and Anheuser-Busch says it wants to nearly double it to 150,000 barrels by 2019.The craft beer industry trade group Brewers Association points out that 57% of all craft breweries produce less than 15,000 barrels annually.</p>
<p>Despite that limited distribution area, A-B describes Karbach as one of the fastest-growing craft brewers in the country.It's also to be expected the macro brewer will distribute Karbach beyond the narrow confines of the Texas market it currently dominates, perhaps even nationally. The purchase would certainly give Anheuser-Busch undue influence of the Texas market and it might end up control others that the craft beer is eventually sold into, causing the Justice Dept. to look askance at the acquisition.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Constellation Brands (NYSE: STZ) recently <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2015/11/29/1-billion-for-this-tiny-craft-brewer-what-does-i-2.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">followed that path Opens a New Window.</a> after buying San Diego-based Ballast Point Brewery for $1 billion. The craft brewer has been enjoying rapid expansion after joining Constellation's distribution network and in its latest quarterly report the beer, wine, and spirits distributor said Ballast Point was enjoying double-digit depletion growthas its beer became more widely available (depletions are sales from distributors to retailers, and are considered a reliable proxy for consumer demand).</p>
<p>Yet it's an interesting time for A-B to be making this acquisition, beyond probable Justice Department scrutiny. The craft beer market is slowing. While it has benefited from double-digit growth for years, this year the Brewers Association expects it to fall to just 8% growth, though a lot of that has to do with sales slowing at the biggest names in the business, including Boston Beer, New Belgium Brewing, and Sierra Nevada. Take them out and sales are still growing at double-digit percentages.</p>
<p>Anheuser-Busch InBev's purchase of <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/10/27/is-anheuser-busch-inbev-doing-an-end-run-around-cr.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">homebrew supplies shop Opens a New Window.</a> Northern Brewer has attracted Justice Department interest and this latest deal will, too. The regulatory agency has said it doesn't matter if the deals are individual or in the aggregate, too much influence could sink them. Coming just two months after agreeing to being monitored, it's a cheeky move by the big brewer, but one that might cause it some trouble.</p>
<p>Forget the 2016 Election: 10 stocks we like better than Anheuser-Busch InBev NV Donald Trump was just elected president, and volatility is up. But here's why you should ignore the election:</p>
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<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of November 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and Boston Beer. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 977 |
<p>Tornadoes have ravaged parts of the American South over the last two days, killing a total of 16 people and injuring dozens of others.</p>
<p>Powerful storms have moved across the Florida Panhandle into Alabama and Georgia, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake. In Georgia alone, 12 people have died. A handful of others died in Mississippi.</p>
<p>Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia has issued a state of emergency, while surrounding states have declared tornado watches over the weekend.</p>
<p>In a statement to his constituents, Gov. Deal advised Georgians to “exercise caution and vigilance” as weather conditions remain poor.</p>
<p>"The National Weather Service predicts a third wave of severe weather today, which may reach as far north as metro Atlanta. I urge all Georgians to exercise caution and vigilance in order to remain safe and prevent further loss of life or injuries," Deal stated Sunday.</p>
<p>The natural disaster comes just days after President Donald Trump assumed the oath of office. As the newly elected president, he has promised federal support to storm-battered states.</p>
<p>"I want to start off by telling you I just spoke with Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia, great state, great people," Trump explained. "Florida affected, Alabama affected by the tornadoes, and just expressed our sincere condolences for the lives taken."</p>
<p>"So we'll be helping out the state of Georgia," he added after lamenting the lives lost from “vicious and powerful and strong” storms.</p> | Tornadoes Devastate the American South: 16 Dead, Dozens Injured | true | https://dailywire.com/news/12654/tornadoes-devastate-american-south-16-dead-dozens-michael-qazvini | 2017-01-22 | 0right
| Tornadoes Devastate the American South: 16 Dead, Dozens Injured
<p>Tornadoes have ravaged parts of the American South over the last two days, killing a total of 16 people and injuring dozens of others.</p>
<p>Powerful storms have moved across the Florida Panhandle into Alabama and Georgia, leaving nothing but devastation in their wake. In Georgia alone, 12 people have died. A handful of others died in Mississippi.</p>
<p>Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia has issued a state of emergency, while surrounding states have declared tornado watches over the weekend.</p>
<p>In a statement to his constituents, Gov. Deal advised Georgians to “exercise caution and vigilance” as weather conditions remain poor.</p>
<p>"The National Weather Service predicts a third wave of severe weather today, which may reach as far north as metro Atlanta. I urge all Georgians to exercise caution and vigilance in order to remain safe and prevent further loss of life or injuries," Deal stated Sunday.</p>
<p>The natural disaster comes just days after President Donald Trump assumed the oath of office. As the newly elected president, he has promised federal support to storm-battered states.</p>
<p>"I want to start off by telling you I just spoke with Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia, great state, great people," Trump explained. "Florida affected, Alabama affected by the tornadoes, and just expressed our sincere condolences for the lives taken."</p>
<p>"So we'll be helping out the state of Georgia," he added after lamenting the lives lost from “vicious and powerful and strong” storms.</p> | 978 |
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<p>The semi-official ILNA news agency on Tuesday is quoting Bijan Zanganeh as saying: “American companies face no ban for entering our oil industry.”</p>
<p>However, Zanganeh said American companies “have not directly applied” to work in Iran’s oil industry, so far.</p>
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<p>This is the first such remark by Iran after an executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump on Friday banned immigration and visa processing for Iranians alongside six other Muslim countries.</p>
<p>In January, Iran’s Oil Ministry published list of 29 international companies qualified to bid for oil and gas projects following the lifting of sanctions under a landmark nuclear accord that went into effect last year.</p> | Official: American oil companies face no ban by Iran | false | https://abqjournal.com/939327/official-american-oil-companies-face-no-ban-by-iran.html | 2least
| Official: American oil companies face no ban by Iran
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<p>The semi-official ILNA news agency on Tuesday is quoting Bijan Zanganeh as saying: “American companies face no ban for entering our oil industry.”</p>
<p>However, Zanganeh said American companies “have not directly applied” to work in Iran’s oil industry, so far.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>This is the first such remark by Iran after an executive order by U.S. president Donald Trump on Friday banned immigration and visa processing for Iranians alongside six other Muslim countries.</p>
<p>In January, Iran’s Oil Ministry published list of 29 international companies qualified to bid for oil and gas projects following the lifting of sanctions under a landmark nuclear accord that went into effect last year.</p> | 979 |
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<p>The Los Angeles Police Department may very well be in the possession of the knife used to kill Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://https://www.tmz.com/2016/03/04/oj-simpson-knife-found-murders-nicole-brown/#ixzz41xHV4SDz" type="external">TMZ</a>, a folding buck knife was found buried on the property by a construction worker. A TMZ source said the worker either found it "several years ago" or in 1998, when the house was being demolished.</p>
<p>"Our law enforcement sources say the construction worker took the knife to the street, where he saw an LAPD cop," the TMZ staff writer posted, adding, "He told the officer where he found the knife and the cop took it."</p>
<p>Turns out the cop -- who worked in the traffic division -- was off duty at the time, working security for a movie shoot at a house across the street on Rockingham. Our sources say the officer took the knife home and kept it ... kept it for years.</p>
<p>In late January of this year, after the cop retired from the LAPD, he contacted a friend who worked in LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division (RHD). The cop told the friend about the knife and said he was getting it framed to put on his wall. He wanted his friend to get the DR (Departmental Record) number for the Nicole Brown Simpson/Ronald Goldman murder case, which he planned on engraving in the frame.</p>
<p>We're told the friend was indignant, and told his superiors. The brass was outraged and demanded that the retired cop turn the knife over, which he did.</p>
<p>The LAPD is currently testing the knife for hair and fingerprints; the knife will soon be transported to the Serology Unit for further DNA and biological evidence.</p>
<p>Although the weapon is said to be extremely weathered and rusted , cops who've seen it say that it has appears to have what looks like blood stains.</p>
<p>Because O.J. was found criminally not guilty for the murders back in 1995 the case is still open, but he cannot be prosecuted again because of the double jeopardy rule which "forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction."</p>
<p>Simpson was later <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case" type="external">found guilty</a> in a civil court in 1997. As Wikipedia notes, "The jury in the civil trial awarded Brown and Simpson's children, Sydney and Justin, $12.6 million from their father as recipients of their mother's estate. The victims' families were awarded $33.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages, thereby finding Simpson "responsible" for the respective murders."</p>
<p>In 2006, Simpson and ReganBooks announced they were releasing a book titled, "If I Did It." A judge later awarded Ronald Goldman's family the rights to the book to partially satisfy the civil judgment against Simpson. The Goldmans changed the title to "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer"...</p>
<p />
<p>Simpson is currently sitting in Nevada's Lovelock Correctional Center until 2017 for charges resulting from a 2007 robbery he committed.</p> | Cop Found Possible OJ Murder Weapon. Here’s What He Did With It. | true | https://dailywire.com/news/3894/cop-found-possible-oj-murder-weapon-heres-what-he-chase-stephens | 2016-03-04 | 0right
| Cop Found Possible OJ Murder Weapon. Here’s What He Did With It.
<p>The Los Angeles Police Department may very well be in the possession of the knife used to kill Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://https://www.tmz.com/2016/03/04/oj-simpson-knife-found-murders-nicole-brown/#ixzz41xHV4SDz" type="external">TMZ</a>, a folding buck knife was found buried on the property by a construction worker. A TMZ source said the worker either found it "several years ago" or in 1998, when the house was being demolished.</p>
<p>"Our law enforcement sources say the construction worker took the knife to the street, where he saw an LAPD cop," the TMZ staff writer posted, adding, "He told the officer where he found the knife and the cop took it."</p>
<p>Turns out the cop -- who worked in the traffic division -- was off duty at the time, working security for a movie shoot at a house across the street on Rockingham. Our sources say the officer took the knife home and kept it ... kept it for years.</p>
<p>In late January of this year, after the cop retired from the LAPD, he contacted a friend who worked in LAPD's Robbery Homicide Division (RHD). The cop told the friend about the knife and said he was getting it framed to put on his wall. He wanted his friend to get the DR (Departmental Record) number for the Nicole Brown Simpson/Ronald Goldman murder case, which he planned on engraving in the frame.</p>
<p>We're told the friend was indignant, and told his superiors. The brass was outraged and demanded that the retired cop turn the knife over, which he did.</p>
<p>The LAPD is currently testing the knife for hair and fingerprints; the knife will soon be transported to the Serology Unit for further DNA and biological evidence.</p>
<p>Although the weapon is said to be extremely weathered and rusted , cops who've seen it say that it has appears to have what looks like blood stains.</p>
<p>Because O.J. was found criminally not guilty for the murders back in 1995 the case is still open, but he cannot be prosecuted again because of the double jeopardy rule which "forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same (or similar) charges in the same case following a legitimate acquittal or conviction."</p>
<p>Simpson was later <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson_murder_case" type="external">found guilty</a> in a civil court in 1997. As Wikipedia notes, "The jury in the civil trial awarded Brown and Simpson's children, Sydney and Justin, $12.6 million from their father as recipients of their mother's estate. The victims' families were awarded $33.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages, thereby finding Simpson "responsible" for the respective murders."</p>
<p>In 2006, Simpson and ReganBooks announced they were releasing a book titled, "If I Did It." A judge later awarded Ronald Goldman's family the rights to the book to partially satisfy the civil judgment against Simpson. The Goldmans changed the title to "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer"...</p>
<p />
<p>Simpson is currently sitting in Nevada's Lovelock Correctional Center until 2017 for charges resulting from a 2007 robbery he committed.</p> | 980 |
<p><a href="" type="internal" />At Huffington Post ( <a href="" type="external">9/13/12</a>), Ryan Grim and Michael Calderone are raising questions about the somewhat mysterious disappearance of a New York Times news article:</p>
<p>On Wednesday, the New York Times published a provocative story bylined by David E. Sanger and Ashley Parker, leading with the news that Mitt Romney had personally approved the blistering Tuesday night statement on the attacks in Libya and Egypt <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/mitt-romney-libya-egypt-media-reactions_n_1877266.html" type="external">that landed</a> his campaign in trouble.</p>
<p>But hours later, the newspaper <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/alright_whats_up.php?m=1" type="external">wiped</a> the story out and replaced it with a significantly rewritten piece bylined by Peter Baker and Ashley Parker….</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/us/politics/behind-romneys-decision-to-criticize-obama-on-libya.html" type="external">later version</a>, which appeared on the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2012/09/13/todayspaper/index.html" type="external">front page</a> of Thursday’s paper, fleshed out the controversy with more details, but no longer included a couple key anonymous quotes from people close to the candidate, one who offered the rationale behind Romney’s decision–to call out the Obama administration for supposedly “sympathiz[ing] with those who waged the attacks”–and another who criticized it.</p>
<p>HuffPost quotes an email it got from <a href="" type="internal">Peter Baker</a>, the co-author of the second version: “As we reported more through the day, we found Republicans criticizing Governor Romney on the record, so why use an anonymous one?” Baker said. “There are too many blind quotes in the media and we try not to use them when it’s not necessary.”</p>
<p>But there are obviously not a lot of “adviser[s] to the campaign” going on record to criticize Romney’s statement. Ironically, the original piece’s allowing an insider to air views that would otherwise probably get them fired is one of the rare fully justified uses of anonymous sourcing in campaign journalism–which is generally used to protect insiders from embarrassment over how much they gush about their candidates (FAIR Blog, <a href="" type="internal">8/20/12</a>).</p>
<p>And no one from the Times explains what happened to the quote from the other adviser, the one where they say, “We’ve had this consistent critique and narrative on Obama’s foreign policy, and we felt this was a situation that met our critique.” As Talking Points Memo‘s Josh Marshall ( <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/alright_whats_up.php?ref=fpblg" type="external">9/12/12</a>), who seems to have been the first to call attention to the switched articles, paraphrased: “So basically, we saw this thing happen. It fit with our campaign narrative. So we pounced.”</p>
<p>What’s worrisome about the switcheroo and the disappearing quotes is that the New York Times ( <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/us/politics/latest-word-on-the-campaign-trail-i-take-it-back.html" type="external">7/16/12</a>) has already acknowledged that it sometimes gives sources in both parties “final editing power over any published quotations.” As Jeremy Peters reported (FAIR Blog, <a href="" type="internal">7/16/12</a>):</p>
<p>Romney advisers almost always require that reporters ask them for the green light on anything from a conversation that they would like to include in an article.</p>
<p>Which is not the same thing as allowing a source to retract a quote that’s already been published–but it’s too close for comfort.</p>
<p>UPDATE: New York Times Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt’s assurance to Talking Points Memo ( <a href="http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/ny-times-romney-libya.php" type="external">9/13/12</a>) that “the campaign did not complain about the Web version of the story” does not add up. A quote that was attributed to an unnamed adviser became a quote from a named adviser, Lanhee Chen, in the final version–but with the juicier half of the quote deleted. Of course the Times didn’t start using his name without talking to him, so obviously some kind of negotiation went on. If the Times wants to maintain these negotiations did not amount to “complain[ing],” that’s a semantic game.</p>
<p>As for the deletion of another unnamed adviser’s criticism of Romney, Leonhardt said: “We didn’t need that quote for the story to make the point that Romney’s response yesterday was clumsy…. The story said that and showed that without the quote.”</p>
<p>The point of that quote, however, was not that Romney’s response was clumsy, but that someone in Romney’s own camp thought his response was clumsy. Ordinarily that would be considered newsworthy; that the Times saw fit to drop it is highly mysterious–if it wasn’t the result of a complaint–or let’s just say “input”–from the Romney campaign.</p> | The Case of the Disappearing NYT Piece | true | http://fair.org/blog/2012/09/13/the-case-of-the-disappearing-nyt-piece/ | 2012-09-13 | 4left
| The Case of the Disappearing NYT Piece
<p><a href="" type="internal" />At Huffington Post ( <a href="" type="external">9/13/12</a>), Ryan Grim and Michael Calderone are raising questions about the somewhat mysterious disappearance of a New York Times news article:</p>
<p>On Wednesday, the New York Times published a provocative story bylined by David E. Sanger and Ashley Parker, leading with the news that Mitt Romney had personally approved the blistering Tuesday night statement on the attacks in Libya and Egypt <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/12/mitt-romney-libya-egypt-media-reactions_n_1877266.html" type="external">that landed</a> his campaign in trouble.</p>
<p>But hours later, the newspaper <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/alright_whats_up.php?m=1" type="external">wiped</a> the story out and replaced it with a significantly rewritten piece bylined by Peter Baker and Ashley Parker….</p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/13/us/politics/behind-romneys-decision-to-criticize-obama-on-libya.html" type="external">later version</a>, which appeared on the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/indexes/2012/09/13/todayspaper/index.html" type="external">front page</a> of Thursday’s paper, fleshed out the controversy with more details, but no longer included a couple key anonymous quotes from people close to the candidate, one who offered the rationale behind Romney’s decision–to call out the Obama administration for supposedly “sympathiz[ing] with those who waged the attacks”–and another who criticized it.</p>
<p>HuffPost quotes an email it got from <a href="" type="internal">Peter Baker</a>, the co-author of the second version: “As we reported more through the day, we found Republicans criticizing Governor Romney on the record, so why use an anonymous one?” Baker said. “There are too many blind quotes in the media and we try not to use them when it’s not necessary.”</p>
<p>But there are obviously not a lot of “adviser[s] to the campaign” going on record to criticize Romney’s statement. Ironically, the original piece’s allowing an insider to air views that would otherwise probably get them fired is one of the rare fully justified uses of anonymous sourcing in campaign journalism–which is generally used to protect insiders from embarrassment over how much they gush about their candidates (FAIR Blog, <a href="" type="internal">8/20/12</a>).</p>
<p>And no one from the Times explains what happened to the quote from the other adviser, the one where they say, “We’ve had this consistent critique and narrative on Obama’s foreign policy, and we felt this was a situation that met our critique.” As Talking Points Memo‘s Josh Marshall ( <a href="http://talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/2012/09/alright_whats_up.php?ref=fpblg" type="external">9/12/12</a>), who seems to have been the first to call attention to the switched articles, paraphrased: “So basically, we saw this thing happen. It fit with our campaign narrative. So we pounced.”</p>
<p>What’s worrisome about the switcheroo and the disappearing quotes is that the New York Times ( <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/us/politics/latest-word-on-the-campaign-trail-i-take-it-back.html" type="external">7/16/12</a>) has already acknowledged that it sometimes gives sources in both parties “final editing power over any published quotations.” As Jeremy Peters reported (FAIR Blog, <a href="" type="internal">7/16/12</a>):</p>
<p>Romney advisers almost always require that reporters ask them for the green light on anything from a conversation that they would like to include in an article.</p>
<p>Which is not the same thing as allowing a source to retract a quote that’s already been published–but it’s too close for comfort.</p>
<p>UPDATE: New York Times Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt’s assurance to Talking Points Memo ( <a href="http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/09/ny-times-romney-libya.php" type="external">9/13/12</a>) that “the campaign did not complain about the Web version of the story” does not add up. A quote that was attributed to an unnamed adviser became a quote from a named adviser, Lanhee Chen, in the final version–but with the juicier half of the quote deleted. Of course the Times didn’t start using his name without talking to him, so obviously some kind of negotiation went on. If the Times wants to maintain these negotiations did not amount to “complain[ing],” that’s a semantic game.</p>
<p>As for the deletion of another unnamed adviser’s criticism of Romney, Leonhardt said: “We didn’t need that quote for the story to make the point that Romney’s response yesterday was clumsy…. The story said that and showed that without the quote.”</p>
<p>The point of that quote, however, was not that Romney’s response was clumsy, but that someone in Romney’s own camp thought his response was clumsy. Ordinarily that would be considered newsworthy; that the Times saw fit to drop it is highly mysterious–if it wasn’t the result of a complaint–or let’s just say “input”–from the Romney campaign.</p> | 981 |
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<p />
<p>Milo Yiannopoulous</p>
<p>The letter addressed to acting President Chaouki Abdallah states the decision to allow Milo Yiannopoulos, a British controversial right-wing speaker, undermines the university’s goal of creating a safe environment for students to learn.</p>
<p>The group specifically criticized an administrative decision that allowed the UNM College Republicans, the group hosting the speaker, to avoid a $3,400 security fee. The university could still collect that fee following a legal review of a policy covering student events and security charges.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Why should one invited media pundit be given so much university attention and allocation of resources so that he can have his rights to preach hate?” they asked in the letter.</p>
<p>Yiannopoulos, who is gay, visited campus as part of his “Dangerous Faggot Tour.” In his speech at UNM, he said Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to enter the country and that the audience should report undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.</p>
<p>Yiannopoulos’ event at UNM drew protests both from those who thought the fee was an attempt to prevent the firebrand from speaking and those who believe his comments to be hate speech. Those who signed the letter fall into the latter category.</p>
<p>That group also wrote that the university should reinstate the security fee policy and charge what the event cost the university. They also want forums to discuss free speech vs. “fighting words,” those meant to incite violence, and the role of police on campus.</p>
<p>The event in late January – which drew about 500 in the audience – attracted roughly 250 protesters, and officers in riot gear broke up the crowd outside. Lt. Tim Stump, the spokesman for the UNM police department, said police arrested six people at the event, five on charges of battery on police and one on an assault on police. He said there were no reports of injuries or property damage. In contrast, protests of Yiannopoulos at the University of California, Berkeley earlier this week turned violent and law enforcement canceled the event.</p>
<p>Amy Wohlert, the president’s chief of staff, confirmed Wednesday that Abdallah received the letter and said that he couldn’t respond to every message individually.</p>
<p>“He has and will continue to communicate through messages to the campus community, expressing his thoughts and position on important matters of safety, security, free speech and other critical issues, such as federal policy changes affecting international and undocumented students,” Wohlert said in a statement.</p>
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<p /> | Hundreds sign letter against UNM speech | false | https://abqjournal.com/942068/hundreds-sign-unm-complaint.html | 2least
| Hundreds sign letter against UNM speech
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<p />
<p>Milo Yiannopoulous</p>
<p>The letter addressed to acting President Chaouki Abdallah states the decision to allow Milo Yiannopoulos, a British controversial right-wing speaker, undermines the university’s goal of creating a safe environment for students to learn.</p>
<p>The group specifically criticized an administrative decision that allowed the UNM College Republicans, the group hosting the speaker, to avoid a $3,400 security fee. The university could still collect that fee following a legal review of a policy covering student events and security charges.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>“Why should one invited media pundit be given so much university attention and allocation of resources so that he can have his rights to preach hate?” they asked in the letter.</p>
<p>Yiannopoulos, who is gay, visited campus as part of his “Dangerous Faggot Tour.” In his speech at UNM, he said Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to enter the country and that the audience should report undocumented immigrants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.</p>
<p>Yiannopoulos’ event at UNM drew protests both from those who thought the fee was an attempt to prevent the firebrand from speaking and those who believe his comments to be hate speech. Those who signed the letter fall into the latter category.</p>
<p>That group also wrote that the university should reinstate the security fee policy and charge what the event cost the university. They also want forums to discuss free speech vs. “fighting words,” those meant to incite violence, and the role of police on campus.</p>
<p>The event in late January – which drew about 500 in the audience – attracted roughly 250 protesters, and officers in riot gear broke up the crowd outside. Lt. Tim Stump, the spokesman for the UNM police department, said police arrested six people at the event, five on charges of battery on police and one on an assault on police. He said there were no reports of injuries or property damage. In contrast, protests of Yiannopoulos at the University of California, Berkeley earlier this week turned violent and law enforcement canceled the event.</p>
<p>Amy Wohlert, the president’s chief of staff, confirmed Wednesday that Abdallah received the letter and said that he couldn’t respond to every message individually.</p>
<p>“He has and will continue to communicate through messages to the campus community, expressing his thoughts and position on important matters of safety, security, free speech and other critical issues, such as federal policy changes affecting international and undocumented students,” Wohlert said in a statement.</p>
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<p /> | 982 |
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<p>(Russ Ball/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Financial planning may seem like an unlikely source of romance.</p>
<p>But it turns out that swapping credit scores and setting savings goals is one of the best ways to build attraction.</p>
<p>At least that is the finding of a recent survey by the consumer services division of Experian, the large credit-reporting agency. The company polled about 1,000 married adults in April and compared the results with a survey of a similar number of single adults from 2013.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For both groups, financial compatibility was the second-most appealing quality of a mate, behind like-minded personalities. Physical attractiveness and career ambition ranked third and fourth, respectively.</p>
<p>In addition, among married couples, 63 percent of men and 70 percent of women said they found their spouses more attractive if the couple talked about money at least once a month.</p>
<p>“That was really an unexpected finding for us,” said Becky Frost, senior manager of consumer education at Experian.</p>
<p>It may also be surprising to anyone (read: everyone) who has ever had a heated money-related discussion with a significant other.</p>
<p>But Frost believes that the 2007-09 financial meltdown forced money issues to the forefront of couples’ conversations and that the discussions haven’t stopped since then.</p>
<p>In fact, the survey found that couples who married after 2008 were more likely to talk about money than those who married before the crash.</p>
<p>For example, 61 percent of “post-recession couples” reported having discussed their credit scores before marriage, compared with only 35 percent of those who got hitched before the recession.</p>
<p>Some financial planners said they’re seeing plenty of evidence of the trend in their offices.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Chris Knight, a financial planner in North Carolina, said he works with one married couple who ran short of cash when the recession hit.</p>
<p>“They didn’t know how much they were spending,” Knight said. “Now, every month they send an email with their expenses, and we meet every six months to look at it all. They’re both here and they’re both engaged.”</p>
<p>To make sure the conversations stay positive, though, planners said it’s important to follow a few steps. First, find neutral ground.</p>
<p>“I’ve found that most couples tend to ambush one another with the money conversation,” said Brittney Castro, founder of Financially Wise Women, a planning firm in Los Angeles. “You get home from work, you’re exhausted, and then comes the attack: ‘We need to save more money. You’re spending too much.’ That’s not a healthy conversation.”</p>
<p>Instead, Castro and other planners suggest setting up regular money dates in which you can talk about the budget, set financial goals and air concerns.</p>
<p>By scheduling a specific time, both partners can be prepared for the conversation. And by talking regularly, you can tackle issues head-on.</p>
<p>“Over time, your relationship with money improves, and therefore your relationship with one another probably improves,” Castro said.</p>
<p>Share your money histories, too. Did your parents fight about money when you were growing up? Did you have to live within a strict budget?</p>
<p>“You’ll work better as a team once you understand each other’s financial ancestry,” said Lisa Peterson, a financial planner in Boston who offers a four-week financial counseling workshop called UniteBright for newlyweds and engaged couples.</p>
<p>The conversations may reveal things about your significant other that you find less than ideal – say, he’s a natural-born spender, while you’ve saved 10 cents of every dollar since the eighth grade.</p>
<p>That’s OK. The key is to figure out these differences before they lead to big misunderstandings.</p>
<p>“It seems to be more the rule than the exception that people have different viewpoints about money,” said Trent Porter, a financial planner in Denver. “So the goal is not to think the same way, but to get an understanding of the other person’s viewpoint. Then, find a compromise.”</p>
<p>Doing so with your partner likely will make your finances, and your attraction for one another, stronger.</p>
<p>Carolyn Bigda writes Getting Started for the Chicago Tribune. Readers may send her email at <a href="mailto:yourmoney@tribune.com" type="external">yourmoney@tribune.com</a>.</p>
<p /> | Want to boost attraction in your relationship? Talk about finances | false | https://abqjournal.com/469623/talk-about-finances.html | 2least
| Want to boost attraction in your relationship? Talk about finances
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<p>(Russ Ball/Albuquerque Journal)</p>
<p>Financial planning may seem like an unlikely source of romance.</p>
<p>But it turns out that swapping credit scores and setting savings goals is one of the best ways to build attraction.</p>
<p>At least that is the finding of a recent survey by the consumer services division of Experian, the large credit-reporting agency. The company polled about 1,000 married adults in April and compared the results with a survey of a similar number of single adults from 2013.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>For both groups, financial compatibility was the second-most appealing quality of a mate, behind like-minded personalities. Physical attractiveness and career ambition ranked third and fourth, respectively.</p>
<p>In addition, among married couples, 63 percent of men and 70 percent of women said they found their spouses more attractive if the couple talked about money at least once a month.</p>
<p>“That was really an unexpected finding for us,” said Becky Frost, senior manager of consumer education at Experian.</p>
<p>It may also be surprising to anyone (read: everyone) who has ever had a heated money-related discussion with a significant other.</p>
<p>But Frost believes that the 2007-09 financial meltdown forced money issues to the forefront of couples’ conversations and that the discussions haven’t stopped since then.</p>
<p>In fact, the survey found that couples who married after 2008 were more likely to talk about money than those who married before the crash.</p>
<p>For example, 61 percent of “post-recession couples” reported having discussed their credit scores before marriage, compared with only 35 percent of those who got hitched before the recession.</p>
<p>Some financial planners said they’re seeing plenty of evidence of the trend in their offices.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Chris Knight, a financial planner in North Carolina, said he works with one married couple who ran short of cash when the recession hit.</p>
<p>“They didn’t know how much they were spending,” Knight said. “Now, every month they send an email with their expenses, and we meet every six months to look at it all. They’re both here and they’re both engaged.”</p>
<p>To make sure the conversations stay positive, though, planners said it’s important to follow a few steps. First, find neutral ground.</p>
<p>“I’ve found that most couples tend to ambush one another with the money conversation,” said Brittney Castro, founder of Financially Wise Women, a planning firm in Los Angeles. “You get home from work, you’re exhausted, and then comes the attack: ‘We need to save more money. You’re spending too much.’ That’s not a healthy conversation.”</p>
<p>Instead, Castro and other planners suggest setting up regular money dates in which you can talk about the budget, set financial goals and air concerns.</p>
<p>By scheduling a specific time, both partners can be prepared for the conversation. And by talking regularly, you can tackle issues head-on.</p>
<p>“Over time, your relationship with money improves, and therefore your relationship with one another probably improves,” Castro said.</p>
<p>Share your money histories, too. Did your parents fight about money when you were growing up? Did you have to live within a strict budget?</p>
<p>“You’ll work better as a team once you understand each other’s financial ancestry,” said Lisa Peterson, a financial planner in Boston who offers a four-week financial counseling workshop called UniteBright for newlyweds and engaged couples.</p>
<p>The conversations may reveal things about your significant other that you find less than ideal – say, he’s a natural-born spender, while you’ve saved 10 cents of every dollar since the eighth grade.</p>
<p>That’s OK. The key is to figure out these differences before they lead to big misunderstandings.</p>
<p>“It seems to be more the rule than the exception that people have different viewpoints about money,” said Trent Porter, a financial planner in Denver. “So the goal is not to think the same way, but to get an understanding of the other person’s viewpoint. Then, find a compromise.”</p>
<p>Doing so with your partner likely will make your finances, and your attraction for one another, stronger.</p>
<p>Carolyn Bigda writes Getting Started for the Chicago Tribune. Readers may send her email at <a href="mailto:yourmoney@tribune.com" type="external">yourmoney@tribune.com</a>.</p>
<p /> | 983 |
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<p>In a move that is not in line with President Trump's campaign rhetoric, the Trump administration decided to allow an additional 15,000 foreign worker visas in 2017.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-allowing-15000-foreign-worker-visas/story?id=48680854" type="external">ABC News</a>, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly decided that those extra H-2B visas were necessary because there aren't enough American workers to fill the labor needs of the non-agriculture job market.</p>
<p>The visas also come with strings attached:</p>
<p>Businesses must affirm that they would "suffer irreparable harm" or permanent and severe financial loss if they were to not receive all the H-2B visas they applied for. Employers will have to be able to provide documents like payroll records or contracts that need to be filled to support their claim of “irreparable harm" and retain that proof for three years.</p>
<p>Businesses also have to attempt to hire American workers first before turning to H-2B visas.</p>
<p>Earlier in 2017, DHS approved 33,000 new H-2B visas, so these new 15,000 approved visas will mean that nearly 50,000 H-2B visas have been approved in fiscal year 2017.</p>
<p>DHS Spokesperson Dave Lapam told ABC that the visas are consistent with Trump's nationalism because they "help with American businesses continuing to prosper."</p>
<p>The 15,000 H-2B visa increase is "a one-time increase," he said.</p>
<p>This move seems to be inconsistent with Trump's campaign rhetoric, as <a href="https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/Immigration-Reform-Trump.pdf" type="external">his immigration plan stated</a>, "Before any new green cards are issued to foreign workers abroad, there will be a pause where employers will have to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed immigrant and native workers." There doesn't seem to have been a "pause."</p>
<p>Increasing such visas come at a cost to Americans, as <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/350684/who-needs-immigrant-labor-thomas-sowell" type="external">Thomas Sowell has explained</a>:</p>
<p>It is no doubt more convenient and profitable to the farmers to import workers for lower pay than to pay American workers more. But bringing in more immigrants is not without costs to other Americans, including both financial costs, in a welfare state, and social costs, of which increased crime rates are just one.</p>
<p>Some advocates of increased immigration have raised the specter of higher food prices without foreign farm workers. But the price that farmers receive for their produce is usually a fraction of what the consumers pay at the supermarket. And what the farmers pay the farm workers is a fraction of what the farmer gets for the produce.</p>
<p>In other words, even if labor costs doubled, the rise in prices at the supermarket might be barely noticeable.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter" type="external">Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter.</a></p> | WUT: Trump Administration Allows 15,000 More Foreign Worker Visas | true | https://dailywire.com/news/18766/wut-trump-administration-allows-15000-more-foreign-aaron-bandler | 2017-07-20 | 0right
| WUT: Trump Administration Allows 15,000 More Foreign Worker Visas
<p>In a move that is not in line with President Trump's campaign rhetoric, the Trump administration decided to allow an additional 15,000 foreign worker visas in 2017.</p>
<p>According to <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-administration-allowing-15000-foreign-worker-visas/story?id=48680854" type="external">ABC News</a>, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary John Kelly decided that those extra H-2B visas were necessary because there aren't enough American workers to fill the labor needs of the non-agriculture job market.</p>
<p>The visas also come with strings attached:</p>
<p>Businesses must affirm that they would "suffer irreparable harm" or permanent and severe financial loss if they were to not receive all the H-2B visas they applied for. Employers will have to be able to provide documents like payroll records or contracts that need to be filled to support their claim of “irreparable harm" and retain that proof for three years.</p>
<p>Businesses also have to attempt to hire American workers first before turning to H-2B visas.</p>
<p>Earlier in 2017, DHS approved 33,000 new H-2B visas, so these new 15,000 approved visas will mean that nearly 50,000 H-2B visas have been approved in fiscal year 2017.</p>
<p>DHS Spokesperson Dave Lapam told ABC that the visas are consistent with Trump's nationalism because they "help with American businesses continuing to prosper."</p>
<p>The 15,000 H-2B visa increase is "a one-time increase," he said.</p>
<p>This move seems to be inconsistent with Trump's campaign rhetoric, as <a href="https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/Immigration-Reform-Trump.pdf" type="external">his immigration plan stated</a>, "Before any new green cards are issued to foreign workers abroad, there will be a pause where employers will have to hire from the domestic pool of unemployed immigrant and native workers." There doesn't seem to have been a "pause."</p>
<p>Increasing such visas come at a cost to Americans, as <a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/article/350684/who-needs-immigrant-labor-thomas-sowell" type="external">Thomas Sowell has explained</a>:</p>
<p>It is no doubt more convenient and profitable to the farmers to import workers for lower pay than to pay American workers more. But bringing in more immigrants is not without costs to other Americans, including both financial costs, in a welfare state, and social costs, of which increased crime rates are just one.</p>
<p>Some advocates of increased immigration have raised the specter of higher food prices without foreign farm workers. But the price that farmers receive for their produce is usually a fraction of what the consumers pay at the supermarket. And what the farmers pay the farm workers is a fraction of what the farmer gets for the produce.</p>
<p>In other words, even if labor costs doubled, the rise in prices at the supermarket might be barely noticeable.</p>
<p><a href="https://twitter.com/bandlersbanter" type="external">Follow Aaron Bandler on Twitter.</a></p> | 984 |
<p>A U.S. District Court judge in Texas denied the NFL’s appeal for a stay of the preliminary injunction granted to <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Dallas-Cowboys/" type="external">Dallas Cowboys</a> running back <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ezekiel-Elliott/" type="external">Ezekiel Elliott</a> allowing him to continue to play while his six-game suspension goes through the courts.</p>
<p>Judge Amos Mazzant’s ruling on Monday means the case will now move to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, where the NFL has already filed an appeal in the case.</p>
<p>“In its Emergency Motion in front of the Court, the NFL is complaining that the Court essentially issued a premature order by failing to wait for the arbitrator to issue his ruling and therefore, lacked subject matter jurisdiction,” Mazzant said in the decision Monday. “Oddly, the NFL is now seeking expedited relief from the Fifth Circuit without first waiting for the Court to rule on the identical issue. The irony is not lost on the Court.”</p>
<p>The NFL filed the emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday to seek the stay. The league asked for a ruling by Tuesday but no later than Sept. 26 in a filing to stay the preliminary injunction that blocked Elliott’s suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.</p>
<p>Elliott, 22, was suspended by NFL commissioner <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Roger_Goodell/" type="external">Roger Goodell</a> on Aug. 11 following a 13-month league investigation that the running back had multiple physical confrontations in the summer of 2016 in Ohio with his girlfriend at the time.</p>
<p>The 22-year-old Elliott was found to be in violation of the personal conduct policy by the NFL and his appeal through league arbitration channels was denied by Harold Henderson. Just over 48 hours before kickoff of the season opener, Elliott and the NFL Players Association scored a temporary victory when the Fifth Circuit judge in Texas granted a temporary injunction.</p>
<p>The union argued that the league’s motion for a stay should be denied on the grounds that Elliott and the Cowboys will suffer irreparable harm if the second-year running back is forced to serve the suspension while the legal battle is being waged.</p>
<p>In its request for an emergency motion, the NFL reiterated previous arguments that Elliott’s attorneys sued prematurely because the arbitrator had yet to rule on the running back’s appeal of the suspension.</p>
<p>Elliott, who was not arrested nor charged in the case, maintains his innocence after being accused of assaulting his former girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson.</p>
<p>Elliott rushing for 104 yards on 24 carries in the Cowboys’ 19-3 win against the Giants in the season opener, but on Sunday he ran for just eight yards on nine carries in the 42-17 blowout loss to the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Denver_Broncos/" type="external">Denver Broncos</a>.</p> | Dallas Cowboys: Judge denies NFL stay request in Ezekiel Elliott case | false | https://newsline.com/dallas-cowboys-judge-denies-nfl-stay-request-in-ezekiel-elliott-case/ | 2017-09-18 | 1right-center
| Dallas Cowboys: Judge denies NFL stay request in Ezekiel Elliott case
<p>A U.S. District Court judge in Texas denied the NFL’s appeal for a stay of the preliminary injunction granted to <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Dallas-Cowboys/" type="external">Dallas Cowboys</a> running back <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Ezekiel-Elliott/" type="external">Ezekiel Elliott</a> allowing him to continue to play while his six-game suspension goes through the courts.</p>
<p>Judge Amos Mazzant’s ruling on Monday means the case will now move to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, where the NFL has already filed an appeal in the case.</p>
<p>“In its Emergency Motion in front of the Court, the NFL is complaining that the Court essentially issued a premature order by failing to wait for the arbitrator to issue his ruling and therefore, lacked subject matter jurisdiction,” Mazzant said in the decision Monday. “Oddly, the NFL is now seeking expedited relief from the Fifth Circuit without first waiting for the Court to rule on the identical issue. The irony is not lost on the Court.”</p>
<p>The NFL filed the emergency motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Friday to seek the stay. The league asked for a ruling by Tuesday but no later than Sept. 26 in a filing to stay the preliminary injunction that blocked Elliott’s suspension for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.</p>
<p>Elliott, 22, was suspended by NFL commissioner <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Roger_Goodell/" type="external">Roger Goodell</a> on Aug. 11 following a 13-month league investigation that the running back had multiple physical confrontations in the summer of 2016 in Ohio with his girlfriend at the time.</p>
<p>The 22-year-old Elliott was found to be in violation of the personal conduct policy by the NFL and his appeal through league arbitration channels was denied by Harold Henderson. Just over 48 hours before kickoff of the season opener, Elliott and the NFL Players Association scored a temporary victory when the Fifth Circuit judge in Texas granted a temporary injunction.</p>
<p>The union argued that the league’s motion for a stay should be denied on the grounds that Elliott and the Cowboys will suffer irreparable harm if the second-year running back is forced to serve the suspension while the legal battle is being waged.</p>
<p>In its request for an emergency motion, the NFL reiterated previous arguments that Elliott’s attorneys sued prematurely because the arbitrator had yet to rule on the running back’s appeal of the suspension.</p>
<p>Elliott, who was not arrested nor charged in the case, maintains his innocence after being accused of assaulting his former girlfriend, Tiffany Thompson.</p>
<p>Elliott rushing for 104 yards on 24 carries in the Cowboys’ 19-3 win against the Giants in the season opener, but on Sunday he ran for just eight yards on nine carries in the 42-17 blowout loss to the <a href="https://www.upi.com/topic/Denver_Broncos/" type="external">Denver Broncos</a>.</p> | 985 |
<p />
<p>Although Smith &amp; Wesson Holding (NASDAQ: SWHC)-- soon to be American Outdoor Brands Corporation -- only lost around 4% of its value in 2016, shares of the gunmaker have fallen more than 32% below their 52-week high. The consensus view is that the gun sales boom is over, and even if the industry is returning to a period of "normalization" as Smith &amp; Wesson contends, its stock will at best tread water.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Here are six reasons the gunsmith just might be able to shoot that theory full of holes and see its stock rise in 2017.</p>
<p>Gun control concerns haven't gone away; they have just been displaced from the federal level to the states. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>The conventional wisdom is that with the election of Donald Trump to the presidency and Republican control of the House of Congress, the chance any gun control legislation gets a hearing is gone. Even though there was little traction gained during President Obama's administration, there was always fear something would pass and a Supreme Court vacancy to be filled added a sense of urgency to the mix.</p>
<p>Advertisement</p>
<p>But now, if there is to be any gun control action, it will happen at the state level. This past November, for example, California approved a measure to adopt background checks for ammunition purchases in a bid to make it harder to obtain ammo. Similarly, Nevada approved a "universal" background check that applies to private-party gun sales, though the state's attorney general just declared it "unenforceable" because the FBI won't allow "intermediaries" to run the checks through its system.</p>
<p>The battle for stricter gun control laws will move from the federal level to the states, so the concerns over the efforts haven't been eliminated, just muted somewhat.</p>
<p>While gun control fears were thought by many to be the main driving force, the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/18/the-5-best-selling-handguns-in-america-all-have-1.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">most popular guns sold Opens a New Window.</a> were those for personal safety. Smith &amp; Wesson's M&amp;P Shield model has been one of the leading handguns on the market, but other popular brands including those made by Glock, Sig Sauer, and Sturm, Ruger (NYSE: RGR), whose LCP model was the top concealed-carry weapon, showed it was self-protection, not gun control, that was the primary motivator.</p>
<p>With civil unrest still percolating under the surface -- there are reportedly mass demonstrations and disruptions planned for Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 -- rising <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/11/violent-crime-is-16-lower-than-a-decade-ago-so-why.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">violent crime rates Opens a New Window.</a>, and acts of terrorism here and abroad, the desire to protect oneself, one's family, and one's property will remain strong. All those analysts expecting gun demand to evaporate may very well be surprised when it doesn't. For many people personal safety trumps the ephemeral fear of gun control.</p>
<p>Any of the mentioned factors could keep the momentum going, but Smith &amp; Wesson has noted that while demand remains strong, there's been an increase in the number of long guns being sold, too. Although they're a smaller component of the gunsmith's total sales (some 23%), long gun shipments more than doubled, far outstripping the gains it saw in handgun shipments, which rose less than 40%.</p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson has also admitted it has a gaping hole in the shotgun market that it intends to fill. Although the initial acquisitions it made this year have mostly been in the new rugged outdoors market, expect at least a few of them to target the firearms industry, and it wouldn't be surprising if one was a shotgun maker.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson has also said itwill take great pains to grow inorganically in certain segments, which is why it recently raised its credit limit. On the gunmaker's fiscal 2017 second-quarter earnings call with analysts, CFO James Buchanan said Smith &amp; Wesson has "consistently (tried) to organize our balance sheet to be ready for any one of these kinds of transaction because often the target won't wait -- like for you to go out and get the financing and whatever is needed to do a transaction." So it has its powder dry to make a transformational acquisition, even if small tuck-in or new platform acquisitions are more common.</p>
<p>As of the first month of the year Smith &amp; Wesson Holding is now officially to be known as <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/20/why-smith-wesson-changed-to-american-outdoor-brand.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">American Outdoor Brands Opens a New Window.</a>. While the name change was effected because the S&amp;W name didn't sufficiently represent the broader rugged outdoors market it was now targeting, or the range of products it offered, it also could have the salutary effect of disguising the stock from the gun issue.</p>
<p>It's true that Smith &amp; Wesson's stock would surge then decline based on the politics of the moment or whatever gun issue was grabbing headlines. Sturm, Ruger' stock similarly rose and fell. However, Vista Outdoors (NYSE: VSTO) did not.</p>
<p>Known mainly as an outdoors gear company like Smith &amp; Wesson is moving into, Vista also sells rifles and shotguns as well as manufactures ammunition and shooting sports gear and supplies. When Trump won the election, Smith &amp; Wesson and Ruger cratered; Vista Outdoors barely budged. By changing its name to American Outdoors Brands, it may smooth out the volatility the stock currently experiences.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>And last, but from an investor's point of view definitely not least, Smith &amp; Wesson is being incredibly mispriced by the market. It trades at less than 9 times earnings and just 10 times next year's estimates.</p>
<p>Further, the gunmaker has a fairly clean balance sheet and is able to consistently generate strong cash flow. Its enterprise value of $1.3 billion goes for just 7.6 times its free cash flow, an unbelievable discount for such a strong company.</p>
<p>Short interest in the stock is also at its highest level in over a year. While days to cover has eased in recent weeks to just four days from almost nine days at the end of October (anything over seven is considered a lot), a rally could see short sellers having to cover their positions fueling a further rise in the shares.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Smith and Wesson Holding 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;impression=9d16543b-e6f2-4601-911a-7cf16025672b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Smith and Wesson Holding wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9d16543b-e6f2-4601-911a-7cf16025672b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 6 Reasons Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. Stock Could Rise | true | http://foxbusiness.com/markets/2017/01/03/6-reasons-smith-wesson-holding-corp-stock-could-rise.html | 2017-01-03 | 0right
| 6 Reasons Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. Stock Could Rise
<p />
<p>Although Smith &amp; Wesson Holding (NASDAQ: SWHC)-- soon to be American Outdoor Brands Corporation -- only lost around 4% of its value in 2016, shares of the gunmaker have fallen more than 32% below their 52-week high. The consensus view is that the gun sales boom is over, and even if the industry is returning to a period of "normalization" as Smith &amp; Wesson contends, its stock will at best tread water.</p>
<p>Continue Reading Below</p>
<p>Here are six reasons the gunsmith just might be able to shoot that theory full of holes and see its stock rise in 2017.</p>
<p>Gun control concerns haven't gone away; they have just been displaced from the federal level to the states. Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>The conventional wisdom is that with the election of Donald Trump to the presidency and Republican control of the House of Congress, the chance any gun control legislation gets a hearing is gone. Even though there was little traction gained during President Obama's administration, there was always fear something would pass and a Supreme Court vacancy to be filled added a sense of urgency to the mix.</p>
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<p>But now, if there is to be any gun control action, it will happen at the state level. This past November, for example, California approved a measure to adopt background checks for ammunition purchases in a bid to make it harder to obtain ammo. Similarly, Nevada approved a "universal" background check that applies to private-party gun sales, though the state's attorney general just declared it "unenforceable" because the FBI won't allow "intermediaries" to run the checks through its system.</p>
<p>The battle for stricter gun control laws will move from the federal level to the states, so the concerns over the efforts haven't been eliminated, just muted somewhat.</p>
<p>While gun control fears were thought by many to be the main driving force, the <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/18/the-5-best-selling-handguns-in-america-all-have-1.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">most popular guns sold Opens a New Window.</a> were those for personal safety. Smith &amp; Wesson's M&amp;P Shield model has been one of the leading handguns on the market, but other popular brands including those made by Glock, Sig Sauer, and Sturm, Ruger (NYSE: RGR), whose LCP model was the top concealed-carry weapon, showed it was self-protection, not gun control, that was the primary motivator.</p>
<p>With civil unrest still percolating under the surface -- there are reportedly mass demonstrations and disruptions planned for Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20 -- rising <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/11/violent-crime-is-16-lower-than-a-decade-ago-so-why.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">violent crime rates Opens a New Window.</a>, and acts of terrorism here and abroad, the desire to protect oneself, one's family, and one's property will remain strong. All those analysts expecting gun demand to evaporate may very well be surprised when it doesn't. For many people personal safety trumps the ephemeral fear of gun control.</p>
<p>Any of the mentioned factors could keep the momentum going, but Smith &amp; Wesson has noted that while demand remains strong, there's been an increase in the number of long guns being sold, too. Although they're a smaller component of the gunsmith's total sales (some 23%), long gun shipments more than doubled, far outstripping the gains it saw in handgun shipments, which rose less than 40%.</p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson has also admitted it has a gaping hole in the shotgun market that it intends to fill. Although the initial acquisitions it made this year have mostly been in the new rugged outdoors market, expect at least a few of them to target the firearms industry, and it wouldn't be surprising if one was a shotgun maker.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>Smith &amp; Wesson has also said itwill take great pains to grow inorganically in certain segments, which is why it recently raised its credit limit. On the gunmaker's fiscal 2017 second-quarter earnings call with analysts, CFO James Buchanan said Smith &amp; Wesson has "consistently (tried) to organize our balance sheet to be ready for any one of these kinds of transaction because often the target won't wait -- like for you to go out and get the financing and whatever is needed to do a transaction." So it has its powder dry to make a transformational acquisition, even if small tuck-in or new platform acquisitions are more common.</p>
<p>As of the first month of the year Smith &amp; Wesson Holding is now officially to be known as <a href="http://www.fool.com/investing/2016/12/20/why-smith-wesson-changed-to-american-outdoor-brand.aspx?&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">American Outdoor Brands Opens a New Window.</a>. While the name change was effected because the S&amp;W name didn't sufficiently represent the broader rugged outdoors market it was now targeting, or the range of products it offered, it also could have the salutary effect of disguising the stock from the gun issue.</p>
<p>It's true that Smith &amp; Wesson's stock would surge then decline based on the politics of the moment or whatever gun issue was grabbing headlines. Sturm, Ruger' stock similarly rose and fell. However, Vista Outdoors (NYSE: VSTO) did not.</p>
<p>Known mainly as an outdoors gear company like Smith &amp; Wesson is moving into, Vista also sells rifles and shotguns as well as manufactures ammunition and shooting sports gear and supplies. When Trump won the election, Smith &amp; Wesson and Ruger cratered; Vista Outdoors barely budged. By changing its name to American Outdoors Brands, it may smooth out the volatility the stock currently experiences.</p>
<p>Image source: Getty Images.</p>
<p>And last, but from an investor's point of view definitely not least, Smith &amp; Wesson is being incredibly mispriced by the market. It trades at less than 9 times earnings and just 10 times next year's estimates.</p>
<p>Further, the gunmaker has a fairly clean balance sheet and is able to consistently generate strong cash flow. Its enterprise value of $1.3 billion goes for just 7.6 times its free cash flow, an unbelievable discount for such a strong company.</p>
<p>Short interest in the stock is also at its highest level in over a year. While days to cover has eased in recent weeks to just four days from almost nine days at the end of October (anything over seven is considered a lot), a rally could see short sellers having to cover their positions fueling a further rise in the shares.</p>
<p>10 stocks we like better than Smith and Wesson Holding 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;impression=9d16543b-e6f2-4601-911a-7cf16025672b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">10 best stocks Opens a New Window.</a> for investors to buy right now... and Smith and Wesson Holding wasn't one of them! That's right -- they think these 10 stocks are even better buys.</p>
<p><a href="http://infotron.fool.com/infotrack/click?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fool.com%2Fmms%2Fmark%2Fe-foolcom-sa-bbn-dyn%3Faid%3D8867%26source%3Disaeditxt0010449%26ftm_cam%3Dsa-bbn-evergreen%26ftm_pit%3D6312%26ftm_veh%3Dbbn_article_pitch&amp;impression=9d16543b-e6f2-4601-911a-7cf16025672b&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">Click here Opens a New Window.</a> to learn about these picks!</p>
<p>*Stock Advisor returns as of Nov. 7, 2016</p>
<p><a href="http://my.fool.com/profile/TMFCop/info.aspx" type="external">Rich Duprey Opens a New Window.</a> has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services <a href="http://www.fool.com/shop/newsletters/index.aspx?source=isiedilnk018048&amp;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&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;utm_campaign=article&amp;utm_medium=feed&amp;utm_source=foxbusiness" type="external">disclosure policy Opens a New Window.</a>.</p> | 986 |
<p>A new bill working its way through California’s State Assembly could ground a fleet of food trucks whose aim is to allow communities to reconnect and reinvest using hot meals, says a group of Bay Area mobile vendors.</p>
<p>Like farmers markets, “Street Food markets” are growing roots in <a href="" type="internal">California</a>. Nowhere is this more apparent than in San Francisco, one of only a handful of localities that considers food policy to be a priority. Mobile food vendors in the city have organized into a thriving and increasingly more health-conscious industry, thanks in part to the work of <a href="http://offthegridsf.com/" type="external">Off the Grid</a> – a group that organizes, promotes and manages a dozen weekly mobile gourmet food markets throughout the greater bay area.</p>
<p>But San Francisco faces a dilemma: stay the course on its war with childhood obesity by preventing food trucks (that might serve junk food) from tempting schoolchildren, or ease the regulatory burden on an entrepreneurial movement that could very well provide positive economic and social outcomes.</p>
<p>San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener thinks there might be a middle way: local control of mobile food vending ordinances.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Wiener held a press conference announcing a nonbinding resolution to oppose Assemblyman <a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a27/" type="external">William Monning</a>‘s (D-Santa Cruz) bill AB1678. Monning, chairman of the Assembly Health Committee, is pushing statewide legislation that would ban food trucks from operating within 1,500 feet of public or private grade schools as well as middle and high schools on days when schools are in session. He says the trucks undermine advances the state has made “in providing healthful nutrition in the schools.”</p>
<p>Current legislation provides mobile food vendors an exemption for private property and parks. The bill being considered would get rid of this provision. If he can’t defeat what he calls an extreme piece of legislation, Supervisor Wiener at least wants it amended so localities can opt out.</p>
<p>A crowd of mobile food vendors and their supporters attended Tuesday’s event, which was also an occasion for Wiener to propose a city ordinance that would decrease the buffer area around schools to about a block, instead of the current 3 block minimum. A map of San Francisco presented by Wiener showed that a large majority of the city would be closed to mobile food trucks if Monning’s measure passes – the natural consequence of high population densities, he said.</p>
<p>“[Wiener] also pointed out,” a recent Off the Grid blog post reads, “that if AB1678 passes, brick and mortars in the very limited areas where food trucks would be allowed to serve would be hit even harder than they allegedly are now.”</p>
<p>Monning says that he’s aware of Wiener’s concerns and that he’s open to a compromise, according to the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/28/MNLF1NDH3E.DTL#ixzz1nmmwMrGn" type="external">San Francisco Chronicle</a>. AB 1678 is expected to be heard in committee in late March or early April.</p>
<p>For the pro-mobile food vending camp this is an issue of food diversity, consumer choice and community enrichment. It is a matter, they say, that should be handled on a local level. The prospect of hurting small business upstarts should be reason enough for San Francisco’s board to scrutinize AB1678, some critics say.</p>
<p>San Francisco <a href="http://www.sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1376" type="external">streamlined its food truck permitting process</a> a year ago, making it easier and cheaper for applicants. So far, the city has issued more than 100 food truck permits with no upward limit on how many it can hand out.</p> | SF Supervisor Backs ‘Street Food’ Cause | false | https://ivn.us/2012/03/01/sf-supervisor-backs-street-food-cause/ | 2012-03-01 | 2least
| SF Supervisor Backs ‘Street Food’ Cause
<p>A new bill working its way through California’s State Assembly could ground a fleet of food trucks whose aim is to allow communities to reconnect and reinvest using hot meals, says a group of Bay Area mobile vendors.</p>
<p>Like farmers markets, “Street Food markets” are growing roots in <a href="" type="internal">California</a>. Nowhere is this more apparent than in San Francisco, one of only a handful of localities that considers food policy to be a priority. Mobile food vendors in the city have organized into a thriving and increasingly more health-conscious industry, thanks in part to the work of <a href="http://offthegridsf.com/" type="external">Off the Grid</a> – a group that organizes, promotes and manages a dozen weekly mobile gourmet food markets throughout the greater bay area.</p>
<p>But San Francisco faces a dilemma: stay the course on its war with childhood obesity by preventing food trucks (that might serve junk food) from tempting schoolchildren, or ease the regulatory burden on an entrepreneurial movement that could very well provide positive economic and social outcomes.</p>
<p>San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener thinks there might be a middle way: local control of mobile food vending ordinances.</p>
<p>On Tuesday, Wiener held a press conference announcing a nonbinding resolution to oppose Assemblyman <a href="http://asmdc.org/members/a27/" type="external">William Monning</a>‘s (D-Santa Cruz) bill AB1678. Monning, chairman of the Assembly Health Committee, is pushing statewide legislation that would ban food trucks from operating within 1,500 feet of public or private grade schools as well as middle and high schools on days when schools are in session. He says the trucks undermine advances the state has made “in providing healthful nutrition in the schools.”</p>
<p>Current legislation provides mobile food vendors an exemption for private property and parks. The bill being considered would get rid of this provision. If he can’t defeat what he calls an extreme piece of legislation, Supervisor Wiener at least wants it amended so localities can opt out.</p>
<p>A crowd of mobile food vendors and their supporters attended Tuesday’s event, which was also an occasion for Wiener to propose a city ordinance that would decrease the buffer area around schools to about a block, instead of the current 3 block minimum. A map of San Francisco presented by Wiener showed that a large majority of the city would be closed to mobile food trucks if Monning’s measure passes – the natural consequence of high population densities, he said.</p>
<p>“[Wiener] also pointed out,” a recent Off the Grid blog post reads, “that if AB1678 passes, brick and mortars in the very limited areas where food trucks would be allowed to serve would be hit even harder than they allegedly are now.”</p>
<p>Monning says that he’s aware of Wiener’s concerns and that he’s open to a compromise, according to the <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/02/28/MNLF1NDH3E.DTL#ixzz1nmmwMrGn" type="external">San Francisco Chronicle</a>. AB 1678 is expected to be heard in committee in late March or early April.</p>
<p>For the pro-mobile food vending camp this is an issue of food diversity, consumer choice and community enrichment. It is a matter, they say, that should be handled on a local level. The prospect of hurting small business upstarts should be reason enough for San Francisco’s board to scrutinize AB1678, some critics say.</p>
<p>San Francisco <a href="http://www.sfdpw.org/index.aspx?page=1376" type="external">streamlined its food truck permitting process</a> a year ago, making it easier and cheaper for applicants. So far, the city has issued more than 100 food truck permits with no upward limit on how many it can hand out.</p> | 987 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
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<p>According to Jordanian police, at least 28 others were injured, and security sources confirmed that as many as 14 people, mainly foreign tourists, were held hostage by the gunmen.</p>
<p>By evening, according to local media reports, Jordanian special forces had freed them after a five-hour standoff.</p>
<p>During the attacks, as many as 10 gunmen holed themselves up in the Karak Crusader castle, a major tourist attraction and one of the most complete Crusader castles in the world.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Mosques’ loudspeakers across the city called on residents to flee as security operations intensified.</p>
<p>Eyewitnesses reported chaos as thousands fled businesses and homes to the surrounding countryside.</p>
<p>Jordan’s security forces announced late Sunday an end to the showdown. Jordanian authorities said security forces arrested four gunmen and are completing final sweeps of the historic castle.</p>
<p>In addition to the death toll, authorities said 11 Jordanian police officers were injured in the 10-hour attack, as well as 17 civilians, among them several foreign tourists.</p>
<p>An investigation into a rented apartment 25 miles east of Karak used by the gunmen, who are believed to be part of an Islamic militant “sleeper cell,” revealed dozens of automatic weapons, explosives and suicide bomber vests, authorities said in the statement.</p>
<p>Security officials said that the gunmen were a mix of non-Jordanian Arab nationals and Jordanians.</p>
<p>No group has claimed responsibility.</p>
<p>The U.S. Embassy in Amman issued a statement to citizens warning of an “active shooter” in Karak, 80 miles south of the capital, and urged citizens to “avoid that area for the time being.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Jordan has long been hailed as an oasis of stability and security in the violence-plagued Middle East, with wars and terrorist havens near its borders with Syria to the north and Iraq to the east.</p>
<p>But the image of stability is being eroded. Sunday’s attack marked the fourth deadly targeting of Jordanian security and army personnel this year.</p>
<p>In March, a cell of Islamist militants linked with the Islamic State engaged in a shootout with police in the northern city of Irbid, leaving one police officer and seven gunmen dead. A gunman killed five General Intelligence Department officers in Baqaa refugee camp, a few miles north of the capital, in June. Later in June, Islamic State militants executed a truck-bombing, killing seven Jordanian soldiers stationed near a makeshift refugee camp along the Jordan-Syria border.</p>
<p>In November, a Jordanian officer opened fire and killed three U.S. military trainers at an air base near Jafr used for training Syrian rebels – although the motives behind the shooting are still unclear.</p>
<p>Although the Islamic State has not announced a branch in Jordan, the group has a force of 1,400 known as the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army a few miles away from the Jordan-Syria border near the city of Deraa.</p>
<p>Security officials privately said the Islamic State likely has at least a “sleeper cell” in the country.</p>
<p>Although Jordan is a major ally in the war on the Islamic State, 3,000 Jordanians fight under its banner, experts said, making up one of the largest foreign contingents in the extremist group.</p>
<p>Jordanian officials have repeatedly expressed their concerns of the threats to the kingdom should these fighters return home.</p>
<p>jordan-3rdld-writethru</p> | At least 14 killed in a series of attacks in Jordan | false | https://abqjournal.com/911615/at-least-14-killed-in-a-series-of-attacks-in-jordan.html | 2least
| At least 14 killed in a series of attacks in Jordan
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>According to Jordanian police, at least 28 others were injured, and security sources confirmed that as many as 14 people, mainly foreign tourists, were held hostage by the gunmen.</p>
<p>By evening, according to local media reports, Jordanian special forces had freed them after a five-hour standoff.</p>
<p>During the attacks, as many as 10 gunmen holed themselves up in the Karak Crusader castle, a major tourist attraction and one of the most complete Crusader castles in the world.</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Mosques’ loudspeakers across the city called on residents to flee as security operations intensified.</p>
<p>Eyewitnesses reported chaos as thousands fled businesses and homes to the surrounding countryside.</p>
<p>Jordan’s security forces announced late Sunday an end to the showdown. Jordanian authorities said security forces arrested four gunmen and are completing final sweeps of the historic castle.</p>
<p>In addition to the death toll, authorities said 11 Jordanian police officers were injured in the 10-hour attack, as well as 17 civilians, among them several foreign tourists.</p>
<p>An investigation into a rented apartment 25 miles east of Karak used by the gunmen, who are believed to be part of an Islamic militant “sleeper cell,” revealed dozens of automatic weapons, explosives and suicide bomber vests, authorities said in the statement.</p>
<p>Security officials said that the gunmen were a mix of non-Jordanian Arab nationals and Jordanians.</p>
<p>No group has claimed responsibility.</p>
<p>The U.S. Embassy in Amman issued a statement to citizens warning of an “active shooter” in Karak, 80 miles south of the capital, and urged citizens to “avoid that area for the time being.”</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p>
<p>Jordan has long been hailed as an oasis of stability and security in the violence-plagued Middle East, with wars and terrorist havens near its borders with Syria to the north and Iraq to the east.</p>
<p>But the image of stability is being eroded. Sunday’s attack marked the fourth deadly targeting of Jordanian security and army personnel this year.</p>
<p>In March, a cell of Islamist militants linked with the Islamic State engaged in a shootout with police in the northern city of Irbid, leaving one police officer and seven gunmen dead. A gunman killed five General Intelligence Department officers in Baqaa refugee camp, a few miles north of the capital, in June. Later in June, Islamic State militants executed a truck-bombing, killing seven Jordanian soldiers stationed near a makeshift refugee camp along the Jordan-Syria border.</p>
<p>In November, a Jordanian officer opened fire and killed three U.S. military trainers at an air base near Jafr used for training Syrian rebels – although the motives behind the shooting are still unclear.</p>
<p>Although the Islamic State has not announced a branch in Jordan, the group has a force of 1,400 known as the Khalid ibn al-Walid Army a few miles away from the Jordan-Syria border near the city of Deraa.</p>
<p>Security officials privately said the Islamic State likely has at least a “sleeper cell” in the country.</p>
<p>Although Jordan is a major ally in the war on the Islamic State, 3,000 Jordanians fight under its banner, experts said, making up one of the largest foreign contingents in the extremist group.</p>
<p>Jordanian officials have repeatedly expressed their concerns of the threats to the kingdom should these fighters return home.</p>
<p>jordan-3rdld-writethru</p> | 988 |
|
<p>Looks can be deceiving.</p>
<p>When you see photos of Army Specialist Bradley Manning, the fresh, slightly pudgy-faced 23-year old private who has spent the last seven months in solitary confinement, first in Kuwait and later at the Marine base at Quantico, VA, enduring the tender mercies of military guards, you don’t get the sense that this is someone who could withstand a lot of pressure and physical and mental abuse.</p>
<p>But it turns out he’s one tough hombre. Manning, according to his attorney, to a friend who has been allowed to visit him, and to activists who have been demonstrating outside Quantico for his release from this private hell, he has been subjected to sleep deprivation, has been barred from exercising in the slightest, and recently was improperly placed by the Quantico base commander on suicide watch–meaning his clothing was removed, and also his reading glasses–as punishment for “disobeying” orders of the guards. (After news of this order, and publicity about it, the commander rescinded it, and was citicized by the Pentagon for allegedly overstepping his authority, an indication that public pressure in this case can help.)</p>
<p>The aim of all this abuse, which is now being investigated by a UN human rights investigator, has been blatantly to crush his spirit, in hopes of getting him to agree to implicate Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks organization, in inducing him to leak the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, and the visual tapes, of Iraq and Afghan war reports, helicopter murder, and US State Department cables, all of which have been undermining the US war effort and the US diplomatic agenda.</p>
<p>They are failing, because apparently Manning, who reportedly had been troubled by evidence of US war crimes in Iraq that he knew about and had been unable to interest superiors in, is not caving in to the pressure, and is not playing the US government’s and military’s sick game.</p>
<p>In a story aired <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41241414/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/?ocid=twitter" type="external">yesterday</a>, NBC news Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski reports that the Pentagon acknowledges that its investigators “have been unable to make any direct connection between” Manning’s alleged leaking of the documents in question, and Assange.</p>
<p>That sure puts a big crimp in plans by the White House and the so-called US Justice Department to try and bring up Assange on charges of espionage under the antiquated and thoroughly discredited Espionage Act of 1917–a law famously misused to prosecute, convict and jail Socialist Party leader and presidential candidate Eugene Debs for giving a speech trying to dissuade American men from responding to the government’s World War I recruitment campaign.</p>
<p>Pvt. Manning, whatever his fate at the hands of his military overlords, will someday be hailed as one of America’s heroes. Confronted by the overwhelming might of the most powerful war machine the world has ever known, and by a government that long ago tossed out any semblance of conscience or morality, he has stood his ground, refusing to lie on the promise of leniency.</p>
<p>What the Obama administration, and President Obama as direct boss of the AG’s office and as commander in chief of the military, has been doing in Manning’s case–holding him in solitary confinement in a Marine brig, subjecting him to conditions that the world and international and US law recognize as torture, denying him the right to a speedy trial or court-martial on a charge of allegedly leaking secret documents–all in the attempt to wring a false confession out of him, is exactly what was done for years in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.</p>
<p>We Americans of a certain age, myself included, were brought up on stories of the Stalin show-trials, where people would admit to the most ridiculous charges after months of torture and abuse.</p>
<p>How pathetic that now our own government is playing the same sickening game.</p>
<p>And how inspiring, that in Pvt. Manning these criminals have met their match.</p>
<p>Without Manning being willing to claim that Assange lured him or paid him to betray his duty, the government can have no espionage case. Nor can it even try to accuse Assange of theft of government “property,” if said information was simply provided to his organization gratuitously, as he has long insisted was the case. (Assange says he didn’t even know Manning, and still has no idea whether Manning was even the source of the documents WikiLeaks has been releasing to the consternation of the US and other governments. He insists it came from another party altogether.)</p>
<p>This is, of course, not only a story about the torture and heroic resistance of one low-ranking military person. It is also the story about a truly outrageous and anti-democratic effort by the US government to destroy a legitimate public information outlet–WikiLeaks–and personally destroy or “neutralize” its founder and leader, the Australian journalist Assange.</p>
<p>It was widely reported last year that when Assange and Wikileaks first de-scrambled and released the horrifying video of footage from a US helicopter gunship depicting in graphic detail the slaughter of a group of unarmed Iraqis in Baghdad, including two employees of the news organization Reuters, that the Pentagon had sent its agents “hunting” for him. Later, after WikiLeaks had dumped thousands of pages of military action reports from the Iraq and Afghan Wars, and then began releasing secret State Department cables, the government began a campaign of pressuring banks and the Visa and Mastercard organizations not to process donations to WikiLeaks. The process has largely worked, shutting down most fundraising for WikiLeaks. (You can still donate to support Wikileaks thanks to two banks in Iceland and one in Germany that have not bowed to that pressure. For information go to: <a href="http://www.wikileaks.ch/support.html" type="external">www.wikileaks.ch/support.html</a>)</p>
<p>The government also went after the companies, like Amazon, whose servers were putting WikiLeaks on the Internet, which would have shut the document-publishing site down completely, except that hundreds of sites around the world offered their services as mirror sites, plus a small political party in Switzerland offered their server. (You can go to Wikileaks’ site and read the leaked documents first-hand at <a href="http://www.mirror.Wikileaks.info" type="external">www.mirror.Wikileaks.info</a>)</p>
<p>It seems increasingly evident that the US is also behind the current legal travails of Assange, who is currently under house arrest at the home of a supporter in the United Kingdom, where he is fighting extradition to Sweden to face questioning on very suspicious claims of sexual misconduct involving two Swedish women, at least one of whom has links through her brother to US intelligence services, and whose joint attorney was involved in assistant the US with the CIA rendition of several Swedish residents, who were subsequently subjected to torture in Africa. As the British feminist organization Women Against Rape has declared, the charges against Assange, and the effort by Swedish authorities to use an Interpol Red Alert and a European warrant to incarcerate Assange are highly suspect. They state on their website, <a href="http://www.womenagainstrape.net" type="external">www.womenagainstrape.net</a> “Women who are fighting for justice for themselves or their children are astounded at the zeal with which Julian Assange has been pursued. Questions need to be asked about the authorities’ motivation when men who pose an obvious immediate danger to women and girls are treated more leniently.”</p>
<p>These actions, like the torture and prolonged confinement without trial of Pvt. Manning, are all the tactics of a totalitarian state. They are exactly what is done in countries like China, Iran, and Burma.</p>
<p>To have them done in our own country, which boasts abroad and to young students here at home of our traditions of free speech, of justice and the right to a fair and speedy trial, and of our vaunted First Amendment, with its guarantee of freedom of the press, should appall and outrage every American citizen.</p>
<p>For information on a true American hero, Pvt. Bradley Manning, and on how to help support him, go to: <a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org" type="external">www.bradleymanning.org</a></p>
<p>DAVE LINDORFF is a founding member of ThisCantBeHappening!, the new independent, collectively-owned, journalist-run, reader-supported online alternative newspaper.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | The Persecution of Pvt. Bradley Manning | true | https://counterpunch.org/2011/01/26/the-persecution-of-pvt-bradley-manning/ | 2011-01-26 | 4left
| The Persecution of Pvt. Bradley Manning
<p>Looks can be deceiving.</p>
<p>When you see photos of Army Specialist Bradley Manning, the fresh, slightly pudgy-faced 23-year old private who has spent the last seven months in solitary confinement, first in Kuwait and later at the Marine base at Quantico, VA, enduring the tender mercies of military guards, you don’t get the sense that this is someone who could withstand a lot of pressure and physical and mental abuse.</p>
<p>But it turns out he’s one tough hombre. Manning, according to his attorney, to a friend who has been allowed to visit him, and to activists who have been demonstrating outside Quantico for his release from this private hell, he has been subjected to sleep deprivation, has been barred from exercising in the slightest, and recently was improperly placed by the Quantico base commander on suicide watch–meaning his clothing was removed, and also his reading glasses–as punishment for “disobeying” orders of the guards. (After news of this order, and publicity about it, the commander rescinded it, and was citicized by the Pentagon for allegedly overstepping his authority, an indication that public pressure in this case can help.)</p>
<p>The aim of all this abuse, which is now being investigated by a UN human rights investigator, has been blatantly to crush his spirit, in hopes of getting him to agree to implicate Julian Assange, founder of the WikiLeaks organization, in inducing him to leak the hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, and the visual tapes, of Iraq and Afghan war reports, helicopter murder, and US State Department cables, all of which have been undermining the US war effort and the US diplomatic agenda.</p>
<p>They are failing, because apparently Manning, who reportedly had been troubled by evidence of US war crimes in Iraq that he knew about and had been unable to interest superiors in, is not caving in to the pressure, and is not playing the US government’s and military’s sick game.</p>
<p>In a story aired <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41241414/ns/us_news-wikileaks_in_security/?ocid=twitter" type="external">yesterday</a>, NBC news Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszewski reports that the Pentagon acknowledges that its investigators “have been unable to make any direct connection between” Manning’s alleged leaking of the documents in question, and Assange.</p>
<p>That sure puts a big crimp in plans by the White House and the so-called US Justice Department to try and bring up Assange on charges of espionage under the antiquated and thoroughly discredited Espionage Act of 1917–a law famously misused to prosecute, convict and jail Socialist Party leader and presidential candidate Eugene Debs for giving a speech trying to dissuade American men from responding to the government’s World War I recruitment campaign.</p>
<p>Pvt. Manning, whatever his fate at the hands of his military overlords, will someday be hailed as one of America’s heroes. Confronted by the overwhelming might of the most powerful war machine the world has ever known, and by a government that long ago tossed out any semblance of conscience or morality, he has stood his ground, refusing to lie on the promise of leniency.</p>
<p>What the Obama administration, and President Obama as direct boss of the AG’s office and as commander in chief of the military, has been doing in Manning’s case–holding him in solitary confinement in a Marine brig, subjecting him to conditions that the world and international and US law recognize as torture, denying him the right to a speedy trial or court-martial on a charge of allegedly leaking secret documents–all in the attempt to wring a false confession out of him, is exactly what was done for years in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin.</p>
<p>We Americans of a certain age, myself included, were brought up on stories of the Stalin show-trials, where people would admit to the most ridiculous charges after months of torture and abuse.</p>
<p>How pathetic that now our own government is playing the same sickening game.</p>
<p>And how inspiring, that in Pvt. Manning these criminals have met their match.</p>
<p>Without Manning being willing to claim that Assange lured him or paid him to betray his duty, the government can have no espionage case. Nor can it even try to accuse Assange of theft of government “property,” if said information was simply provided to his organization gratuitously, as he has long insisted was the case. (Assange says he didn’t even know Manning, and still has no idea whether Manning was even the source of the documents WikiLeaks has been releasing to the consternation of the US and other governments. He insists it came from another party altogether.)</p>
<p>This is, of course, not only a story about the torture and heroic resistance of one low-ranking military person. It is also the story about a truly outrageous and anti-democratic effort by the US government to destroy a legitimate public information outlet–WikiLeaks–and personally destroy or “neutralize” its founder and leader, the Australian journalist Assange.</p>
<p>It was widely reported last year that when Assange and Wikileaks first de-scrambled and released the horrifying video of footage from a US helicopter gunship depicting in graphic detail the slaughter of a group of unarmed Iraqis in Baghdad, including two employees of the news organization Reuters, that the Pentagon had sent its agents “hunting” for him. Later, after WikiLeaks had dumped thousands of pages of military action reports from the Iraq and Afghan Wars, and then began releasing secret State Department cables, the government began a campaign of pressuring banks and the Visa and Mastercard organizations not to process donations to WikiLeaks. The process has largely worked, shutting down most fundraising for WikiLeaks. (You can still donate to support Wikileaks thanks to two banks in Iceland and one in Germany that have not bowed to that pressure. For information go to: <a href="http://www.wikileaks.ch/support.html" type="external">www.wikileaks.ch/support.html</a>)</p>
<p>The government also went after the companies, like Amazon, whose servers were putting WikiLeaks on the Internet, which would have shut the document-publishing site down completely, except that hundreds of sites around the world offered their services as mirror sites, plus a small political party in Switzerland offered their server. (You can go to Wikileaks’ site and read the leaked documents first-hand at <a href="http://www.mirror.Wikileaks.info" type="external">www.mirror.Wikileaks.info</a>)</p>
<p>It seems increasingly evident that the US is also behind the current legal travails of Assange, who is currently under house arrest at the home of a supporter in the United Kingdom, where he is fighting extradition to Sweden to face questioning on very suspicious claims of sexual misconduct involving two Swedish women, at least one of whom has links through her brother to US intelligence services, and whose joint attorney was involved in assistant the US with the CIA rendition of several Swedish residents, who were subsequently subjected to torture in Africa. As the British feminist organization Women Against Rape has declared, the charges against Assange, and the effort by Swedish authorities to use an Interpol Red Alert and a European warrant to incarcerate Assange are highly suspect. They state on their website, <a href="http://www.womenagainstrape.net" type="external">www.womenagainstrape.net</a> “Women who are fighting for justice for themselves or their children are astounded at the zeal with which Julian Assange has been pursued. Questions need to be asked about the authorities’ motivation when men who pose an obvious immediate danger to women and girls are treated more leniently.”</p>
<p>These actions, like the torture and prolonged confinement without trial of Pvt. Manning, are all the tactics of a totalitarian state. They are exactly what is done in countries like China, Iran, and Burma.</p>
<p>To have them done in our own country, which boasts abroad and to young students here at home of our traditions of free speech, of justice and the right to a fair and speedy trial, and of our vaunted First Amendment, with its guarantee of freedom of the press, should appall and outrage every American citizen.</p>
<p>For information on a true American hero, Pvt. Bradley Manning, and on how to help support him, go to: <a href="http://www.bradleymanning.org" type="external">www.bradleymanning.org</a></p>
<p>DAVE LINDORFF is a founding member of ThisCantBeHappening!, the new independent, collectively-owned, journalist-run, reader-supported online alternative newspaper.</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p>&#160;</p>
<p /> | 989 |
<p>Michelle Obama has given a blistering speech in which she reveals the emotional challenge of facing down racist attitudes towards her being America’s first African-American First Lady, and which has brought African-Americans out in protest across the country.</p>
<p>When her husband Barack became the first black president of the United States in 2009, America got its first black First Lady too, in Michelle Obama. A woman who went from humble beginnings in Chicago, to become a leading corporate lawyer, Michelle Obama is no shrinking violet. But she needed to become emotionally bullet-proof to deal with what came next.</p>
<p>“As…the first African-American first lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations, conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others,” the First Lady said during a near half-hour commencement address at traditionally black Tuskagee University on Saturday.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long before these misperceptions began asserting themselves in the corporate media. In 2008, the New Yorker’s first magazine cover featuring Michelle Obama satirized her as a radical terrorist. The racial overtones could not have been more explicit.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>“It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun,” she recalls.</p>
<p>“Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder just how are people seeing me.”</p>
<p>Over the half-hour address, Mrs Obama recounted the racist comments she and her husband have endured. The highlights included Fox News calling the First Lady her “husband’s crony of color” and “Obama’s baby mama” (as if Obama was some street corner player that had left Michelle with a couple of kids – and not in fact a successful and committed married couple holding the highest office in the land). She&#160;and the future President were even assumed to be “the help” by fellow guests at formal events.</p>
<p>“Back in those days, I had a lot of sleepless nights worrying about what people thought of me,” she recalls. “I had to ignore all of the noise and be true to myself — and the rest would work itself out,”</p>
<p>At this point in the speech, the graduates broke out in cheers and applause.</p>
<p>As the room quietened, Mrs. Obama came to her point. This speech isn’t about her, but about the bigger issue of racism in America. The racism that people of color face every day, and the anger that has people on the streets from Baltimore, to Ferguson, and beyond.</p>
<p>“They’re rooted in decades of structural challenges that have made too many folks feel frustrated and invisible, and those feelings are playing out in communities like Baltimore and Ferguson and so many others across this country.”</p>
<p>But while these circumstances present their own set of challenges, the First Lady urged those affected communities never to lose hope for a better tomorrow.</p>
<p>“The road ahead isn’t going to be easy. It never is for folks like you and me. Because while we’ve come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn.</p>
<p>But those views are no excuse to throw up our hands and give up!”</p>
<p>Mrs. Obama calls on communities to rally, organize and build each other up – so they can look those who would misjudge them in the eye and know they are equal. They must channel their anger into work, studying and the kinds of actions that elevate not only individuals, but entire communities. In short, it is time to rise with the kind of productive fury which propels us inexorably to the highest positions in the land. And from there, make a fairer, most just world for us all.</p>
<p>Watch the address below:</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Image via <a href="http://www.tuskegee.edu/Articles/michelle_obama_to_grads_channel_the_magic_of_tuskegee_university.aspx" type="external">Tuskagee University</a></p> | Michelle Obama Gives The Blistering Speech On Racism That White America Needs To Hear (VIDEO) | true | http://addictinginfo.org/2015/05/11/michelle-obama-gives-the-blistering-speech-on-racism-that-white-america-needs-to-hear-video/ | 2015-05-11 | 4left
| Michelle Obama Gives The Blistering Speech On Racism That White America Needs To Hear (VIDEO)
<p>Michelle Obama has given a blistering speech in which she reveals the emotional challenge of facing down racist attitudes towards her being America’s first African-American First Lady, and which has brought African-Americans out in protest across the country.</p>
<p>When her husband Barack became the first black president of the United States in 2009, America got its first black First Lady too, in Michelle Obama. A woman who went from humble beginnings in Chicago, to become a leading corporate lawyer, Michelle Obama is no shrinking violet. But she needed to become emotionally bullet-proof to deal with what came next.</p>
<p>“As…the first African-American first lady, I was also the focus of another set of questions and speculations, conversations sometimes rooted in the fears and misperceptions of others,” the First Lady said during a near half-hour commencement address at traditionally black Tuskagee University on Saturday.</p>
<p>It wasn’t long before these misperceptions began asserting themselves in the corporate media. In 2008, the New Yorker’s first magazine cover featuring Michelle Obama satirized her as a radical terrorist. The racial overtones could not have been more explicit.</p>
<p><a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>“It was a cartoon drawing of me with a huge afro and a machine gun,” she recalls.</p>
<p>“Now, yeah, it was satire, but if I’m really being honest, it knocked me back a bit. It made me wonder just how are people seeing me.”</p>
<p>Over the half-hour address, Mrs Obama recounted the racist comments she and her husband have endured. The highlights included Fox News calling the First Lady her “husband’s crony of color” and “Obama’s baby mama” (as if Obama was some street corner player that had left Michelle with a couple of kids – and not in fact a successful and committed married couple holding the highest office in the land). She&#160;and the future President were even assumed to be “the help” by fellow guests at formal events.</p>
<p>“Back in those days, I had a lot of sleepless nights worrying about what people thought of me,” she recalls. “I had to ignore all of the noise and be true to myself — and the rest would work itself out,”</p>
<p>At this point in the speech, the graduates broke out in cheers and applause.</p>
<p>As the room quietened, Mrs. Obama came to her point. This speech isn’t about her, but about the bigger issue of racism in America. The racism that people of color face every day, and the anger that has people on the streets from Baltimore, to Ferguson, and beyond.</p>
<p>“They’re rooted in decades of structural challenges that have made too many folks feel frustrated and invisible, and those feelings are playing out in communities like Baltimore and Ferguson and so many others across this country.”</p>
<p>But while these circumstances present their own set of challenges, the First Lady urged those affected communities never to lose hope for a better tomorrow.</p>
<p>“The road ahead isn’t going to be easy. It never is for folks like you and me. Because while we’ve come so far, the truth is that those age-old problems are stubborn.</p>
<p>But those views are no excuse to throw up our hands and give up!”</p>
<p>Mrs. Obama calls on communities to rally, organize and build each other up – so they can look those who would misjudge them in the eye and know they are equal. They must channel their anger into work, studying and the kinds of actions that elevate not only individuals, but entire communities. In short, it is time to rise with the kind of productive fury which propels us inexorably to the highest positions in the land. And from there, make a fairer, most just world for us all.</p>
<p>Watch the address below:</p>
<p />
<p>Featured Image via <a href="http://www.tuskegee.edu/Articles/michelle_obama_to_grads_channel_the_magic_of_tuskegee_university.aspx" type="external">Tuskagee University</a></p> | 990 |
<p>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The 2014 "polar vortex" and the wave of cold weather it unleashed over much of the U.S. has surfaced again and again as proponents have made the case for one of Virginia's most controversial infrastructure projects, the Dominion Energy-led Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p>
<p>The same argument, that existing pipeline capacity is stretched to the max during periods of severe weather, reared its head again a few weeks ago after a similar spate of plunging temperatures ushered in 2018.</p>
<p>"The extreme cold and spikes in natural gas usage across the mid-Atlantic over the last two weeks demonstrated in dramatic fashion the real and urgent need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline," Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said in an email Tuesday. In a separate statement, the company said its customers used more energy during the first week of January than any on record.</p>
<p>"It means that many customers will see bills that are higher, possibly much higher, than expected as their heating systems strained to keep pace with demand," said the company, which now produces about 30 percent of its electricity from natural gas-fired plants.</p>
<p>Pipeline opponents say Dominion is recycling an old argument that ignores other factors that lead to service curtailments and contend that building a $5.5 billion new pipeline is the most expensive way to deal with demand spikes caused by cold weather.</p>
<p>"Dominion is peddling the same unsupported story about accessing cheaper gas via the ACP," said Will Cleveland, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which claims that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will cost utility customers as much as $2.3 billion more than existing sources of gas. "Simply put, the ACP cannot and will not lower energy costs for Virginia power plants."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Ruby said "severely limited capacity" on existing pipelines serving Virginia and North Carolina forced some utilities to curtail some gas service to major industrial customers and raised consumer prices to "historic highs," from $3 per dekatherm in late December to an all-time record high of $175 at the end of the first week of January. Power plants that burn natural gas pass those higher fuel costs on to their electric customers.</p>
<p>"The reason is simple," Ruby said. "Our region's pipelines are too constrained, and we don't have enough access to lower-cost supplies from the Appalachian region."</p>
<p>That's a problem that Ruby and Jim Kibler, president of Virginia Natural Gas, which has nearly 300,000 residential and commercial customers in southeastern Virginia, say the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina, with a spur to Hampton Roads, is intended to fix.</p>
<p>"What it does is provide a reserve margin for these cold winter days," Kibler said. VNG is a subsidiary of Southern Company, which is a partner in the pipeline, and has contracted to use roughly 5 percent of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline's capacity of 1.5 million dekatherms of natural gas. It will also provide additional capacity for industrial expansion.</p>
<p>"There's essentially no capacity available east of Richmond for any economic development projects," Kibler said. "ACP will really harden our ability to serve south-side Hampton Roads."</p>
<p>During the 2014 polar vortex, Kibler said, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed service to about 100 "interruptible" industrial customers to prioritize delivery for power generation and home heating for such facilities as schools, hospitals, retirement homes, day cares and prisons, among others.</p>
<p>This month, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed only 10, though he said that in no way undermines the need for the pipeline. The reduction in curtailments was partly the result of some of the coldest weather falling on a weekend and the fact that it was interrupted by warmer days, Kibler said. Also, the company's system saw no major compression or other mechanical failures.</p>
<p>"We used every asset that we have last week and everything worked," he said.</p>
<p>PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that runs the electric grid for all or parts of 13 states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia, said the run of cold weather from Dec. 27 through Jan. 7 delivered three of the system's top 10 highest winter peak demands for electricity. Despite that, lessons learned during the 2014 polar vortex helped ensure that most power generators stayed online as demand surged.</p>
<p>Chris Pilong, PJM's director of dispatch, said the recent cold weather was not quite as severe as the polar vortex of 2014, which caused forced outages because of a range of factors, including inadequate fuel supplies, lack of insulation of crucial components, freezing coal piles and mechanical problems. About 40,000 megawatts of generation, more than a quarter of the system's power generation, went offline during the polar vortex. This month, only about 16,000 megawatts of outages were reported, he said.</p>
<p>"We're not seeing those types of generation performance issues this winter," he said. PJM has also created a penalty system for generation sources that fail to perform during emergency demand situations.</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion says it relied on the Transco pipeline system, which runs from the Gulf of Mexico to New York City and has a daily capacity of 14.7 million dekatherms, for about 75 percent of its natural gas supply during the cold spell. Public utilities in North Carolina, Ruby said, relied on the Transco system for 100 percent of the state's supply.</p>
<p>Chris Stockton, a spokesman for Williams Partners, which operates the Transco system, said the pipelines "performed remarkably" during the cold weather.</p>
<p>"We were able to meet all of our firm capacity contracts. The system delivered a record amount of gas," said Stockton, noting that the system delivered about 10 percent of the natural gas consumed in the country on that day, Jan. 5. "It's an incredible accomplishment. It's a testament to the system that we have."</p>
<p>Though he said it is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's job to determine the need for new pipeline infrastructure, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and another project moving toward construction through Virginia, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Stockton said the existing system "performed as it was designed to perform."</p>
<p>"That, to me, says the infrastructure is in place right now to meet the current demand," he said. "Those kinds of projects are really designed to meet future growth, and FERC is the body determining whether or not that project is really justified."</p>
<p>The FERC has issued certificates for both projects — though, in a rare dissent, one commissioner said she could not conclude that either pipeline was in the public interest.</p>
<p>While Dominion has argued that the pipelines will provide "supply diversity" that will hedge against price shocks by allowing utilities to purchase gas from different geographical sources — such as the Dominion South Point trading hub in Pennsylvania, which can experience price fluctuations at different times of year — opponents contend the project is more about the 14 percent rate of return guaranteed by the FERC, with utility ratepayers bearing all the risk.</p>
<p>"There's no reason to think it'll be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 once the pipeline is built, which makes sense considering that the producers at Dominion South Point would sell their gas 'at market' once they have a pipeline able to bring the gas to market," said Cleveland, the SELC attorney. "Dominion's own internal price forecasts confirm that Dominion South Point won't be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 in the future."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion has cast the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as urgently needed to meet utility demands in Virginia and North Carolina. But the company's planned merger with SCANA Corp., a South Carolina electric and gas utility holding company, that was announced this month has added fuel to arguments that its real intent is to bring gas farther south.</p>
<p>"We like the deal on the margin as the strategic rationale makes sense to us (this creates an expansion opportunity for Atlantic Coast Pipeline in SC, which remains a clear strategic desire in 2018 for D)," said a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report on the merger announcement.</p>
<p>Tom Hadwin, a former New York utility executive who lives in Waynesboro and is opposed to the ACP, also said the South Carolina acquisition makes sense for Dominion and its partners, which also include Duke Energy.</p>
<p>"Dominion and Duke have considerably reduced the number of gas-fired power plants they say they need. PJM believes Virginia's electricity demand will be relatively stable over the next 15 years," Hadwin said. "They bought SCANA at a discount and will receive a long-term stream of tax-protected profits. It gives them a chance to extend the ACP in hopes of finding someone who needs the gas."</p>
<p>Cleveland said the ACP is designed not to bring gas to Virginia, but to "move gas through Virginia."</p>
<p>"Once it's built, all but two gas power plants in the entire state will still rely almost exclusively on pre-existing pipelines to operate," he said. "There won't be any incentive for those plants to pay higher ACP-related transportation costs for gas that's the same price as everywhere else in the market."</p>
<p>Ruby, the Dominion spokesman, has said the company has made no decisions about potentially expanding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p>
<p>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The 2014 "polar vortex" and the wave of cold weather it unleashed over much of the U.S. has surfaced again and again as proponents have made the case for one of Virginia's most controversial infrastructure projects, the Dominion Energy-led Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p>
<p>The same argument, that existing pipeline capacity is stretched to the max during periods of severe weather, reared its head again a few weeks ago after a similar spate of plunging temperatures ushered in 2018.</p>
<p>"The extreme cold and spikes in natural gas usage across the mid-Atlantic over the last two weeks demonstrated in dramatic fashion the real and urgent need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline," Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said in an email Tuesday. In a separate statement, the company said its customers used more energy during the first week of January than any on record.</p>
<p>"It means that many customers will see bills that are higher, possibly much higher, than expected as their heating systems strained to keep pace with demand," said the company, which now produces about 30 percent of its electricity from natural gas-fired plants.</p>
<p>Pipeline opponents say Dominion is recycling an old argument that ignores other factors that lead to service curtailments and contend that building a $5.5 billion new pipeline is the most expensive way to deal with demand spikes caused by cold weather.</p>
<p>"Dominion is peddling the same unsupported story about accessing cheaper gas via the ACP," said Will Cleveland, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which claims that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will cost utility customers as much as $2.3 billion more than existing sources of gas. "Simply put, the ACP cannot and will not lower energy costs for Virginia power plants."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Ruby said "severely limited capacity" on existing pipelines serving Virginia and North Carolina forced some utilities to curtail some gas service to major industrial customers and raised consumer prices to "historic highs," from $3 per dekatherm in late December to an all-time record high of $175 at the end of the first week of January. Power plants that burn natural gas pass those higher fuel costs on to their electric customers.</p>
<p>"The reason is simple," Ruby said. "Our region's pipelines are too constrained, and we don't have enough access to lower-cost supplies from the Appalachian region."</p>
<p>That's a problem that Ruby and Jim Kibler, president of Virginia Natural Gas, which has nearly 300,000 residential and commercial customers in southeastern Virginia, say the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina, with a spur to Hampton Roads, is intended to fix.</p>
<p>"What it does is provide a reserve margin for these cold winter days," Kibler said. VNG is a subsidiary of Southern Company, which is a partner in the pipeline, and has contracted to use roughly 5 percent of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline's capacity of 1.5 million dekatherms of natural gas. It will also provide additional capacity for industrial expansion.</p>
<p>"There's essentially no capacity available east of Richmond for any economic development projects," Kibler said. "ACP will really harden our ability to serve south-side Hampton Roads."</p>
<p>During the 2014 polar vortex, Kibler said, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed service to about 100 "interruptible" industrial customers to prioritize delivery for power generation and home heating for such facilities as schools, hospitals, retirement homes, day cares and prisons, among others.</p>
<p>This month, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed only 10, though he said that in no way undermines the need for the pipeline. The reduction in curtailments was partly the result of some of the coldest weather falling on a weekend and the fact that it was interrupted by warmer days, Kibler said. Also, the company's system saw no major compression or other mechanical failures.</p>
<p>"We used every asset that we have last week and everything worked," he said.</p>
<p>PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that runs the electric grid for all or parts of 13 states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia, said the run of cold weather from Dec. 27 through Jan. 7 delivered three of the system's top 10 highest winter peak demands for electricity. Despite that, lessons learned during the 2014 polar vortex helped ensure that most power generators stayed online as demand surged.</p>
<p>Chris Pilong, PJM's director of dispatch, said the recent cold weather was not quite as severe as the polar vortex of 2014, which caused forced outages because of a range of factors, including inadequate fuel supplies, lack of insulation of crucial components, freezing coal piles and mechanical problems. About 40,000 megawatts of generation, more than a quarter of the system's power generation, went offline during the polar vortex. This month, only about 16,000 megawatts of outages were reported, he said.</p>
<p>"We're not seeing those types of generation performance issues this winter," he said. PJM has also created a penalty system for generation sources that fail to perform during emergency demand situations.</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion says it relied on the Transco pipeline system, which runs from the Gulf of Mexico to New York City and has a daily capacity of 14.7 million dekatherms, for about 75 percent of its natural gas supply during the cold spell. Public utilities in North Carolina, Ruby said, relied on the Transco system for 100 percent of the state's supply.</p>
<p>Chris Stockton, a spokesman for Williams Partners, which operates the Transco system, said the pipelines "performed remarkably" during the cold weather.</p>
<p>"We were able to meet all of our firm capacity contracts. The system delivered a record amount of gas," said Stockton, noting that the system delivered about 10 percent of the natural gas consumed in the country on that day, Jan. 5. "It's an incredible accomplishment. It's a testament to the system that we have."</p>
<p>Though he said it is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's job to determine the need for new pipeline infrastructure, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and another project moving toward construction through Virginia, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Stockton said the existing system "performed as it was designed to perform."</p>
<p>"That, to me, says the infrastructure is in place right now to meet the current demand," he said. "Those kinds of projects are really designed to meet future growth, and FERC is the body determining whether or not that project is really justified."</p>
<p>The FERC has issued certificates for both projects — though, in a rare dissent, one commissioner said she could not conclude that either pipeline was in the public interest.</p>
<p>While Dominion has argued that the pipelines will provide "supply diversity" that will hedge against price shocks by allowing utilities to purchase gas from different geographical sources — such as the Dominion South Point trading hub in Pennsylvania, which can experience price fluctuations at different times of year — opponents contend the project is more about the 14 percent rate of return guaranteed by the FERC, with utility ratepayers bearing all the risk.</p>
<p>"There's no reason to think it'll be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 once the pipeline is built, which makes sense considering that the producers at Dominion South Point would sell their gas 'at market' once they have a pipeline able to bring the gas to market," said Cleveland, the SELC attorney. "Dominion's own internal price forecasts confirm that Dominion South Point won't be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 in the future."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion has cast the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as urgently needed to meet utility demands in Virginia and North Carolina. But the company's planned merger with SCANA Corp., a South Carolina electric and gas utility holding company, that was announced this month has added fuel to arguments that its real intent is to bring gas farther south.</p>
<p>"We like the deal on the margin as the strategic rationale makes sense to us (this creates an expansion opportunity for Atlantic Coast Pipeline in SC, which remains a clear strategic desire in 2018 for D)," said a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report on the merger announcement.</p>
<p>Tom Hadwin, a former New York utility executive who lives in Waynesboro and is opposed to the ACP, also said the South Carolina acquisition makes sense for Dominion and its partners, which also include Duke Energy.</p>
<p>"Dominion and Duke have considerably reduced the number of gas-fired power plants they say they need. PJM believes Virginia's electricity demand will be relatively stable over the next 15 years," Hadwin said. "They bought SCANA at a discount and will receive a long-term stream of tax-protected profits. It gives them a chance to extend the ACP in hopes of finding someone who needs the gas."</p>
<p>Cleveland said the ACP is designed not to bring gas to Virginia, but to "move gas through Virginia."</p>
<p>"Once it's built, all but two gas power plants in the entire state will still rely almost exclusively on pre-existing pipelines to operate," he said. "There won't be any incentive for those plants to pay higher ACP-related transportation costs for gas that's the same price as everywhere else in the market."</p>
<p>Ruby, the Dominion spokesman, has said the company has made no decisions about potentially expanding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p> | What does cold snap say about Atlantic Coast Pipeline? | false | https://apnews.com/amp/dfaaf172a89449b9a2b9c3be402f493f | 2018-01-21 | 2least
| What does cold snap say about Atlantic Coast Pipeline?
<p>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The 2014 "polar vortex" and the wave of cold weather it unleashed over much of the U.S. has surfaced again and again as proponents have made the case for one of Virginia's most controversial infrastructure projects, the Dominion Energy-led Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p>
<p>The same argument, that existing pipeline capacity is stretched to the max during periods of severe weather, reared its head again a few weeks ago after a similar spate of plunging temperatures ushered in 2018.</p>
<p>"The extreme cold and spikes in natural gas usage across the mid-Atlantic over the last two weeks demonstrated in dramatic fashion the real and urgent need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline," Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said in an email Tuesday. In a separate statement, the company said its customers used more energy during the first week of January than any on record.</p>
<p>"It means that many customers will see bills that are higher, possibly much higher, than expected as their heating systems strained to keep pace with demand," said the company, which now produces about 30 percent of its electricity from natural gas-fired plants.</p>
<p>Pipeline opponents say Dominion is recycling an old argument that ignores other factors that lead to service curtailments and contend that building a $5.5 billion new pipeline is the most expensive way to deal with demand spikes caused by cold weather.</p>
<p>"Dominion is peddling the same unsupported story about accessing cheaper gas via the ACP," said Will Cleveland, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which claims that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will cost utility customers as much as $2.3 billion more than existing sources of gas. "Simply put, the ACP cannot and will not lower energy costs for Virginia power plants."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Ruby said "severely limited capacity" on existing pipelines serving Virginia and North Carolina forced some utilities to curtail some gas service to major industrial customers and raised consumer prices to "historic highs," from $3 per dekatherm in late December to an all-time record high of $175 at the end of the first week of January. Power plants that burn natural gas pass those higher fuel costs on to their electric customers.</p>
<p>"The reason is simple," Ruby said. "Our region's pipelines are too constrained, and we don't have enough access to lower-cost supplies from the Appalachian region."</p>
<p>That's a problem that Ruby and Jim Kibler, president of Virginia Natural Gas, which has nearly 300,000 residential and commercial customers in southeastern Virginia, say the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina, with a spur to Hampton Roads, is intended to fix.</p>
<p>"What it does is provide a reserve margin for these cold winter days," Kibler said. VNG is a subsidiary of Southern Company, which is a partner in the pipeline, and has contracted to use roughly 5 percent of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline's capacity of 1.5 million dekatherms of natural gas. It will also provide additional capacity for industrial expansion.</p>
<p>"There's essentially no capacity available east of Richmond for any economic development projects," Kibler said. "ACP will really harden our ability to serve south-side Hampton Roads."</p>
<p>During the 2014 polar vortex, Kibler said, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed service to about 100 "interruptible" industrial customers to prioritize delivery for power generation and home heating for such facilities as schools, hospitals, retirement homes, day cares and prisons, among others.</p>
<p>This month, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed only 10, though he said that in no way undermines the need for the pipeline. The reduction in curtailments was partly the result of some of the coldest weather falling on a weekend and the fact that it was interrupted by warmer days, Kibler said. Also, the company's system saw no major compression or other mechanical failures.</p>
<p>"We used every asset that we have last week and everything worked," he said.</p>
<p>PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that runs the electric grid for all or parts of 13 states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia, said the run of cold weather from Dec. 27 through Jan. 7 delivered three of the system's top 10 highest winter peak demands for electricity. Despite that, lessons learned during the 2014 polar vortex helped ensure that most power generators stayed online as demand surged.</p>
<p>Chris Pilong, PJM's director of dispatch, said the recent cold weather was not quite as severe as the polar vortex of 2014, which caused forced outages because of a range of factors, including inadequate fuel supplies, lack of insulation of crucial components, freezing coal piles and mechanical problems. About 40,000 megawatts of generation, more than a quarter of the system's power generation, went offline during the polar vortex. This month, only about 16,000 megawatts of outages were reported, he said.</p>
<p>"We're not seeing those types of generation performance issues this winter," he said. PJM has also created a penalty system for generation sources that fail to perform during emergency demand situations.</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion says it relied on the Transco pipeline system, which runs from the Gulf of Mexico to New York City and has a daily capacity of 14.7 million dekatherms, for about 75 percent of its natural gas supply during the cold spell. Public utilities in North Carolina, Ruby said, relied on the Transco system for 100 percent of the state's supply.</p>
<p>Chris Stockton, a spokesman for Williams Partners, which operates the Transco system, said the pipelines "performed remarkably" during the cold weather.</p>
<p>"We were able to meet all of our firm capacity contracts. The system delivered a record amount of gas," said Stockton, noting that the system delivered about 10 percent of the natural gas consumed in the country on that day, Jan. 5. "It's an incredible accomplishment. It's a testament to the system that we have."</p>
<p>Though he said it is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's job to determine the need for new pipeline infrastructure, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and another project moving toward construction through Virginia, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Stockton said the existing system "performed as it was designed to perform."</p>
<p>"That, to me, says the infrastructure is in place right now to meet the current demand," he said. "Those kinds of projects are really designed to meet future growth, and FERC is the body determining whether or not that project is really justified."</p>
<p>The FERC has issued certificates for both projects — though, in a rare dissent, one commissioner said she could not conclude that either pipeline was in the public interest.</p>
<p>While Dominion has argued that the pipelines will provide "supply diversity" that will hedge against price shocks by allowing utilities to purchase gas from different geographical sources — such as the Dominion South Point trading hub in Pennsylvania, which can experience price fluctuations at different times of year — opponents contend the project is more about the 14 percent rate of return guaranteed by the FERC, with utility ratepayers bearing all the risk.</p>
<p>"There's no reason to think it'll be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 once the pipeline is built, which makes sense considering that the producers at Dominion South Point would sell their gas 'at market' once they have a pipeline able to bring the gas to market," said Cleveland, the SELC attorney. "Dominion's own internal price forecasts confirm that Dominion South Point won't be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 in the future."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion has cast the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as urgently needed to meet utility demands in Virginia and North Carolina. But the company's planned merger with SCANA Corp., a South Carolina electric and gas utility holding company, that was announced this month has added fuel to arguments that its real intent is to bring gas farther south.</p>
<p>"We like the deal on the margin as the strategic rationale makes sense to us (this creates an expansion opportunity for Atlantic Coast Pipeline in SC, which remains a clear strategic desire in 2018 for D)," said a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report on the merger announcement.</p>
<p>Tom Hadwin, a former New York utility executive who lives in Waynesboro and is opposed to the ACP, also said the South Carolina acquisition makes sense for Dominion and its partners, which also include Duke Energy.</p>
<p>"Dominion and Duke have considerably reduced the number of gas-fired power plants they say they need. PJM believes Virginia's electricity demand will be relatively stable over the next 15 years," Hadwin said. "They bought SCANA at a discount and will receive a long-term stream of tax-protected profits. It gives them a chance to extend the ACP in hopes of finding someone who needs the gas."</p>
<p>Cleveland said the ACP is designed not to bring gas to Virginia, but to "move gas through Virginia."</p>
<p>"Once it's built, all but two gas power plants in the entire state will still rely almost exclusively on pre-existing pipelines to operate," he said. "There won't be any incentive for those plants to pay higher ACP-related transportation costs for gas that's the same price as everywhere else in the market."</p>
<p>Ruby, the Dominion spokesman, has said the company has made no decisions about potentially expanding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p>
<p>RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The 2014 "polar vortex" and the wave of cold weather it unleashed over much of the U.S. has surfaced again and again as proponents have made the case for one of Virginia's most controversial infrastructure projects, the Dominion Energy-led Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p>
<p>The same argument, that existing pipeline capacity is stretched to the max during periods of severe weather, reared its head again a few weeks ago after a similar spate of plunging temperatures ushered in 2018.</p>
<p>"The extreme cold and spikes in natural gas usage across the mid-Atlantic over the last two weeks demonstrated in dramatic fashion the real and urgent need for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline," Dominion spokesman Aaron Ruby said in an email Tuesday. In a separate statement, the company said its customers used more energy during the first week of January than any on record.</p>
<p>"It means that many customers will see bills that are higher, possibly much higher, than expected as their heating systems strained to keep pace with demand," said the company, which now produces about 30 percent of its electricity from natural gas-fired plants.</p>
<p>Pipeline opponents say Dominion is recycling an old argument that ignores other factors that lead to service curtailments and contend that building a $5.5 billion new pipeline is the most expensive way to deal with demand spikes caused by cold weather.</p>
<p>"Dominion is peddling the same unsupported story about accessing cheaper gas via the ACP," said Will Cleveland, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center, which claims that the Atlantic Coast Pipeline will cost utility customers as much as $2.3 billion more than existing sources of gas. "Simply put, the ACP cannot and will not lower energy costs for Virginia power plants."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Ruby said "severely limited capacity" on existing pipelines serving Virginia and North Carolina forced some utilities to curtail some gas service to major industrial customers and raised consumer prices to "historic highs," from $3 per dekatherm in late December to an all-time record high of $175 at the end of the first week of January. Power plants that burn natural gas pass those higher fuel costs on to their electric customers.</p>
<p>"The reason is simple," Ruby said. "Our region's pipelines are too constrained, and we don't have enough access to lower-cost supplies from the Appalachian region."</p>
<p>That's a problem that Ruby and Jim Kibler, president of Virginia Natural Gas, which has nearly 300,000 residential and commercial customers in southeastern Virginia, say the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would run from West Virginia through Virginia and into North Carolina, with a spur to Hampton Roads, is intended to fix.</p>
<p>"What it does is provide a reserve margin for these cold winter days," Kibler said. VNG is a subsidiary of Southern Company, which is a partner in the pipeline, and has contracted to use roughly 5 percent of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline's capacity of 1.5 million dekatherms of natural gas. It will also provide additional capacity for industrial expansion.</p>
<p>"There's essentially no capacity available east of Richmond for any economic development projects," Kibler said. "ACP will really harden our ability to serve south-side Hampton Roads."</p>
<p>During the 2014 polar vortex, Kibler said, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed service to about 100 "interruptible" industrial customers to prioritize delivery for power generation and home heating for such facilities as schools, hospitals, retirement homes, day cares and prisons, among others.</p>
<p>This month, Virginia Natural Gas curtailed only 10, though he said that in no way undermines the need for the pipeline. The reduction in curtailments was partly the result of some of the coldest weather falling on a weekend and the fact that it was interrupted by warmer days, Kibler said. Also, the company's system saw no major compression or other mechanical failures.</p>
<p>"We used every asset that we have last week and everything worked," he said.</p>
<p>PJM Interconnection, the regional transmission organization that runs the electric grid for all or parts of 13 states, including Virginia, and the District of Columbia, said the run of cold weather from Dec. 27 through Jan. 7 delivered three of the system's top 10 highest winter peak demands for electricity. Despite that, lessons learned during the 2014 polar vortex helped ensure that most power generators stayed online as demand surged.</p>
<p>Chris Pilong, PJM's director of dispatch, said the recent cold weather was not quite as severe as the polar vortex of 2014, which caused forced outages because of a range of factors, including inadequate fuel supplies, lack of insulation of crucial components, freezing coal piles and mechanical problems. About 40,000 megawatts of generation, more than a quarter of the system's power generation, went offline during the polar vortex. This month, only about 16,000 megawatts of outages were reported, he said.</p>
<p>"We're not seeing those types of generation performance issues this winter," he said. PJM has also created a penalty system for generation sources that fail to perform during emergency demand situations.</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion says it relied on the Transco pipeline system, which runs from the Gulf of Mexico to New York City and has a daily capacity of 14.7 million dekatherms, for about 75 percent of its natural gas supply during the cold spell. Public utilities in North Carolina, Ruby said, relied on the Transco system for 100 percent of the state's supply.</p>
<p>Chris Stockton, a spokesman for Williams Partners, which operates the Transco system, said the pipelines "performed remarkably" during the cold weather.</p>
<p>"We were able to meet all of our firm capacity contracts. The system delivered a record amount of gas," said Stockton, noting that the system delivered about 10 percent of the natural gas consumed in the country on that day, Jan. 5. "It's an incredible accomplishment. It's a testament to the system that we have."</p>
<p>Though he said it is the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's job to determine the need for new pipeline infrastructure, such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and another project moving toward construction through Virginia, the Mountain Valley Pipeline, Stockton said the existing system "performed as it was designed to perform."</p>
<p>"That, to me, says the infrastructure is in place right now to meet the current demand," he said. "Those kinds of projects are really designed to meet future growth, and FERC is the body determining whether or not that project is really justified."</p>
<p>The FERC has issued certificates for both projects — though, in a rare dissent, one commissioner said she could not conclude that either pipeline was in the public interest.</p>
<p>While Dominion has argued that the pipelines will provide "supply diversity" that will hedge against price shocks by allowing utilities to purchase gas from different geographical sources — such as the Dominion South Point trading hub in Pennsylvania, which can experience price fluctuations at different times of year — opponents contend the project is more about the 14 percent rate of return guaranteed by the FERC, with utility ratepayers bearing all the risk.</p>
<p>"There's no reason to think it'll be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 once the pipeline is built, which makes sense considering that the producers at Dominion South Point would sell their gas 'at market' once they have a pipeline able to bring the gas to market," said Cleveland, the SELC attorney. "Dominion's own internal price forecasts confirm that Dominion South Point won't be cheaper than Transco Zone 5 in the future."</p>
<p>(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk)</p>
<p>Dominion has cast the Atlantic Coast Pipeline as urgently needed to meet utility demands in Virginia and North Carolina. But the company's planned merger with SCANA Corp., a South Carolina electric and gas utility holding company, that was announced this month has added fuel to arguments that its real intent is to bring gas farther south.</p>
<p>"We like the deal on the margin as the strategic rationale makes sense to us (this creates an expansion opportunity for Atlantic Coast Pipeline in SC, which remains a clear strategic desire in 2018 for D)," said a Bank of America-Merrill Lynch report on the merger announcement.</p>
<p>Tom Hadwin, a former New York utility executive who lives in Waynesboro and is opposed to the ACP, also said the South Carolina acquisition makes sense for Dominion and its partners, which also include Duke Energy.</p>
<p>"Dominion and Duke have considerably reduced the number of gas-fired power plants they say they need. PJM believes Virginia's electricity demand will be relatively stable over the next 15 years," Hadwin said. "They bought SCANA at a discount and will receive a long-term stream of tax-protected profits. It gives them a chance to extend the ACP in hopes of finding someone who needs the gas."</p>
<p>Cleveland said the ACP is designed not to bring gas to Virginia, but to "move gas through Virginia."</p>
<p>"Once it's built, all but two gas power plants in the entire state will still rely almost exclusively on pre-existing pipelines to operate," he said. "There won't be any incentive for those plants to pay higher ACP-related transportation costs for gas that's the same price as everywhere else in the market."</p>
<p>Ruby, the Dominion spokesman, has said the company has made no decisions about potentially expanding the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.</p> | 991 |
<p>Analysis &amp; Opinions - Salon.com</p>
<p />
<p>If the New York Times wants true diversity on its Op-Ed pages, it should hire foreign policy realists, not ideologues.</p>
<p>"...a realist would be a valuable antidote to the self-righteous hubris that pervades contemporary U.S. commentary on foreign affairs, an attitude that has encouraged many of the policies that have undermined America's image around the globe. A realist would also cast a skeptical eye on virtually all of the current presidential candidates, whose views on foreign policy do not stray far from the current neoconservative/liberal consensus. Realists aren't infallible and some readers will undoubtedly object to their views, but that's hardly the issue. The point is that Americans would be better informed if they regularly heard what realists had to say, and media institutions that are genuinely interested in presenting a diverse array of views should be signing up a few of them."</p>
<p /> | America Needs Realists, not William Kristol | false | http://belfercenter.org/publication/america-needs-realists-not-william-kristol | 2008-01-18 | 2least
| America Needs Realists, not William Kristol
<p>Analysis &amp; Opinions - Salon.com</p>
<p />
<p>If the New York Times wants true diversity on its Op-Ed pages, it should hire foreign policy realists, not ideologues.</p>
<p>"...a realist would be a valuable antidote to the self-righteous hubris that pervades contemporary U.S. commentary on foreign affairs, an attitude that has encouraged many of the policies that have undermined America's image around the globe. A realist would also cast a skeptical eye on virtually all of the current presidential candidates, whose views on foreign policy do not stray far from the current neoconservative/liberal consensus. Realists aren't infallible and some readers will undoubtedly object to their views, but that's hardly the issue. The point is that Americans would be better informed if they regularly heard what realists had to say, and media institutions that are genuinely interested in presenting a diverse array of views should be signing up a few of them."</p>
<p /> | 992 |
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees reached one-year contracts with their remaining six players eligible for arbitration, leaving their projected luxury tax payroll at $177 million — $20 million below the threshold.</p>
<p>Shortstop Didi Gregorius agreed at $8.25 million Friday, pitcher Sonny Gray at $6.5 million and setup man Dellin Betances at $5.1 million. Also reaching deals were relievers Adam Warren ($3,315,000) and Chasen Shreve ($825,000), and backup catcher Austin Romine ($1.1 million).</p>
<p>New York's luxury tax payroll rose to $149,927,500 for 15 players with agreements, and the projected total is well under the $197 million tax threshold. The projection includes $10 million for the rest of the 40-man roster, $14,044,600 for benefits and a $3 million charge for cash transactions: a $5.5 million payment to Houston as part of the Brian McCann trade, a $500,000 payment to San Diego as part of the Chase Headley deal and a $3 million credit from Miami as part of the Giancarlo Stanton acquisition.</p>
<p>Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has vowed to end the team's streak of 15 straight years of paying tax. If New York gets under the threshold, its base tax rate would reset from 50 percent to 20 percent in 2019 — better positioning the Yankees to pursue next offseason's free agents, who could include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and possibly Clayton Kershaw.</p>
<p>Gregorius established career bests with a .287 batting average, 25 home runs and 87 RBIs, hitting mostly fourth through sixth in the batting order. He made $5.1 million.</p>
<p>Gray was acquired from Oakland for three prospects at the July 31 trade deadline and went 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts for the Yankees. He finished 10-12 with a 3.55 ERA in 27 starts overall and made $3,575,000.</p>
<p>Betances lost to the Yankees in arbitration last winter and was awarded $3 million rather than his request for $5 million. After the decision, Yankees President Randy Levine said "five million dollars goes to elite closers, people who pitch the ninth inning and have a lot, a lot and a lot of saves."</p>
<p>Betances filled in for suspended closer Aroldis Chapman last April and made his fourth straight AL All-Star team but struggled with his mechanics and control late in the season and was relegated to a marginal role during the playoffs. He finished 3-6 with 10 saves a 2.87 ERA in 66 games, throwing 59 2/3 innings, down from 73 in 2016 and 90 in 2014. He walked a career-high 44, an increase of 16.</p>
<p>Warren was 3-2 with a career-best 2.35 ERA in 46 relief appearances, missing 17 games from mid-June to early July because of right shoulder inflammation. Traded to the Cubs in December 2015 for second baseman Starlin Castro, he was reacquired the following July in the deal that sent Chapman to Chicago. Warren had a $2.29 million salary last year.</p>
<p>Shreve was 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 44 relief appearances, striking out 58 and walking 25 in 45 1/3 innings. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time after earning $552,425.</p>
<p>Romine hit .218 with two homers and 21 RBIs in 252 plate appearances as the backup catcher to Gary Sanchez. Playing regularly in the first month when Sanchez was sidelined with a biceps injury, Romine batted .316 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 16 games. He made $805,000.</p>
<p>Outfielder Aaron Hicks ($2,825,000) and reliever Tommy Kahnle ($1,312,500) agreed Thursday.</p>
<p>Warren can become a free agent after the season, and Betances, Gray, Hicks, Gregorius and Romine following the 2019 season, Kahnle after the 2020 season and Shreve following the 2021 season.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP baseball: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball</a></p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees reached one-year contracts with their remaining six players eligible for arbitration, leaving their projected luxury tax payroll at $177 million — $20 million below the threshold.</p>
<p>Shortstop Didi Gregorius agreed at $8.25 million Friday, pitcher Sonny Gray at $6.5 million and setup man Dellin Betances at $5.1 million. Also reaching deals were relievers Adam Warren ($3,315,000) and Chasen Shreve ($825,000), and backup catcher Austin Romine ($1.1 million).</p>
<p>New York's luxury tax payroll rose to $149,927,500 for 15 players with agreements, and the projected total is well under the $197 million tax threshold. The projection includes $10 million for the rest of the 40-man roster, $14,044,600 for benefits and a $3 million charge for cash transactions: a $5.5 million payment to Houston as part of the Brian McCann trade, a $500,000 payment to San Diego as part of the Chase Headley deal and a $3 million credit from Miami as part of the Giancarlo Stanton acquisition.</p>
<p>Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has vowed to end the team's streak of 15 straight years of paying tax. If New York gets under the threshold, its base tax rate would reset from 50 percent to 20 percent in 2019 — better positioning the Yankees to pursue next offseason's free agents, who could include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and possibly Clayton Kershaw.</p>
<p>Gregorius established career bests with a .287 batting average, 25 home runs and 87 RBIs, hitting mostly fourth through sixth in the batting order. He made $5.1 million.</p>
<p>Gray was acquired from Oakland for three prospects at the July 31 trade deadline and went 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts for the Yankees. He finished 10-12 with a 3.55 ERA in 27 starts overall and made $3,575,000.</p>
<p>Betances lost to the Yankees in arbitration last winter and was awarded $3 million rather than his request for $5 million. After the decision, Yankees President Randy Levine said "five million dollars goes to elite closers, people who pitch the ninth inning and have a lot, a lot and a lot of saves."</p>
<p>Betances filled in for suspended closer Aroldis Chapman last April and made his fourth straight AL All-Star team but struggled with his mechanics and control late in the season and was relegated to a marginal role during the playoffs. He finished 3-6 with 10 saves a 2.87 ERA in 66 games, throwing 59 2/3 innings, down from 73 in 2016 and 90 in 2014. He walked a career-high 44, an increase of 16.</p>
<p>Warren was 3-2 with a career-best 2.35 ERA in 46 relief appearances, missing 17 games from mid-June to early July because of right shoulder inflammation. Traded to the Cubs in December 2015 for second baseman Starlin Castro, he was reacquired the following July in the deal that sent Chapman to Chicago. Warren had a $2.29 million salary last year.</p>
<p>Shreve was 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 44 relief appearances, striking out 58 and walking 25 in 45 1/3 innings. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time after earning $552,425.</p>
<p>Romine hit .218 with two homers and 21 RBIs in 252 plate appearances as the backup catcher to Gary Sanchez. Playing regularly in the first month when Sanchez was sidelined with a biceps injury, Romine batted .316 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 16 games. He made $805,000.</p>
<p>Outfielder Aaron Hicks ($2,825,000) and reliever Tommy Kahnle ($1,312,500) agreed Thursday.</p>
<p>Warren can become a free agent after the season, and Betances, Gray, Hicks, Gregorius and Romine following the 2019 season, Kahnle after the 2020 season and Shreve following the 2021 season.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP baseball: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball</a></p> | Yankees settle with 6, on track to get under tax threshold | false | https://apnews.com/amp/1e7966e3a6e54d249ba81cb7dde4dc9e | 2018-01-12 | 2least
| Yankees settle with 6, on track to get under tax threshold
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees reached one-year contracts with their remaining six players eligible for arbitration, leaving their projected luxury tax payroll at $177 million — $20 million below the threshold.</p>
<p>Shortstop Didi Gregorius agreed at $8.25 million Friday, pitcher Sonny Gray at $6.5 million and setup man Dellin Betances at $5.1 million. Also reaching deals were relievers Adam Warren ($3,315,000) and Chasen Shreve ($825,000), and backup catcher Austin Romine ($1.1 million).</p>
<p>New York's luxury tax payroll rose to $149,927,500 for 15 players with agreements, and the projected total is well under the $197 million tax threshold. The projection includes $10 million for the rest of the 40-man roster, $14,044,600 for benefits and a $3 million charge for cash transactions: a $5.5 million payment to Houston as part of the Brian McCann trade, a $500,000 payment to San Diego as part of the Chase Headley deal and a $3 million credit from Miami as part of the Giancarlo Stanton acquisition.</p>
<p>Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has vowed to end the team's streak of 15 straight years of paying tax. If New York gets under the threshold, its base tax rate would reset from 50 percent to 20 percent in 2019 — better positioning the Yankees to pursue next offseason's free agents, who could include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and possibly Clayton Kershaw.</p>
<p>Gregorius established career bests with a .287 batting average, 25 home runs and 87 RBIs, hitting mostly fourth through sixth in the batting order. He made $5.1 million.</p>
<p>Gray was acquired from Oakland for three prospects at the July 31 trade deadline and went 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts for the Yankees. He finished 10-12 with a 3.55 ERA in 27 starts overall and made $3,575,000.</p>
<p>Betances lost to the Yankees in arbitration last winter and was awarded $3 million rather than his request for $5 million. After the decision, Yankees President Randy Levine said "five million dollars goes to elite closers, people who pitch the ninth inning and have a lot, a lot and a lot of saves."</p>
<p>Betances filled in for suspended closer Aroldis Chapman last April and made his fourth straight AL All-Star team but struggled with his mechanics and control late in the season and was relegated to a marginal role during the playoffs. He finished 3-6 with 10 saves a 2.87 ERA in 66 games, throwing 59 2/3 innings, down from 73 in 2016 and 90 in 2014. He walked a career-high 44, an increase of 16.</p>
<p>Warren was 3-2 with a career-best 2.35 ERA in 46 relief appearances, missing 17 games from mid-June to early July because of right shoulder inflammation. Traded to the Cubs in December 2015 for second baseman Starlin Castro, he was reacquired the following July in the deal that sent Chapman to Chicago. Warren had a $2.29 million salary last year.</p>
<p>Shreve was 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 44 relief appearances, striking out 58 and walking 25 in 45 1/3 innings. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time after earning $552,425.</p>
<p>Romine hit .218 with two homers and 21 RBIs in 252 plate appearances as the backup catcher to Gary Sanchez. Playing regularly in the first month when Sanchez was sidelined with a biceps injury, Romine batted .316 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 16 games. He made $805,000.</p>
<p>Outfielder Aaron Hicks ($2,825,000) and reliever Tommy Kahnle ($1,312,500) agreed Thursday.</p>
<p>Warren can become a free agent after the season, and Betances, Gray, Hicks, Gregorius and Romine following the 2019 season, Kahnle after the 2020 season and Shreve following the 2021 season.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP baseball: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball</a></p>
<p>NEW YORK (AP) — The Yankees reached one-year contracts with their remaining six players eligible for arbitration, leaving their projected luxury tax payroll at $177 million — $20 million below the threshold.</p>
<p>Shortstop Didi Gregorius agreed at $8.25 million Friday, pitcher Sonny Gray at $6.5 million and setup man Dellin Betances at $5.1 million. Also reaching deals were relievers Adam Warren ($3,315,000) and Chasen Shreve ($825,000), and backup catcher Austin Romine ($1.1 million).</p>
<p>New York's luxury tax payroll rose to $149,927,500 for 15 players with agreements, and the projected total is well under the $197 million tax threshold. The projection includes $10 million for the rest of the 40-man roster, $14,044,600 for benefits and a $3 million charge for cash transactions: a $5.5 million payment to Houston as part of the Brian McCann trade, a $500,000 payment to San Diego as part of the Chase Headley deal and a $3 million credit from Miami as part of the Giancarlo Stanton acquisition.</p>
<p>Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has vowed to end the team's streak of 15 straight years of paying tax. If New York gets under the threshold, its base tax rate would reset from 50 percent to 20 percent in 2019 — better positioning the Yankees to pursue next offseason's free agents, who could include Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and possibly Clayton Kershaw.</p>
<p>Gregorius established career bests with a .287 batting average, 25 home runs and 87 RBIs, hitting mostly fourth through sixth in the batting order. He made $5.1 million.</p>
<p>Gray was acquired from Oakland for three prospects at the July 31 trade deadline and went 4-7 with a 3.72 ERA in 11 starts for the Yankees. He finished 10-12 with a 3.55 ERA in 27 starts overall and made $3,575,000.</p>
<p>Betances lost to the Yankees in arbitration last winter and was awarded $3 million rather than his request for $5 million. After the decision, Yankees President Randy Levine said "five million dollars goes to elite closers, people who pitch the ninth inning and have a lot, a lot and a lot of saves."</p>
<p>Betances filled in for suspended closer Aroldis Chapman last April and made his fourth straight AL All-Star team but struggled with his mechanics and control late in the season and was relegated to a marginal role during the playoffs. He finished 3-6 with 10 saves a 2.87 ERA in 66 games, throwing 59 2/3 innings, down from 73 in 2016 and 90 in 2014. He walked a career-high 44, an increase of 16.</p>
<p>Warren was 3-2 with a career-best 2.35 ERA in 46 relief appearances, missing 17 games from mid-June to early July because of right shoulder inflammation. Traded to the Cubs in December 2015 for second baseman Starlin Castro, he was reacquired the following July in the deal that sent Chapman to Chicago. Warren had a $2.29 million salary last year.</p>
<p>Shreve was 4-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 44 relief appearances, striking out 58 and walking 25 in 45 1/3 innings. He was eligible for arbitration for the first time after earning $552,425.</p>
<p>Romine hit .218 with two homers and 21 RBIs in 252 plate appearances as the backup catcher to Gary Sanchez. Playing regularly in the first month when Sanchez was sidelined with a biceps injury, Romine batted .316 with two homers and 10 RBIs in 16 games. He made $805,000.</p>
<p>Outfielder Aaron Hicks ($2,825,000) and reliever Tommy Kahnle ($1,312,500) agreed Thursday.</p>
<p>Warren can become a free agent after the season, and Betances, Gray, Hicks, Gregorius and Romine following the 2019 season, Kahnle after the 2020 season and Shreve following the 2021 season.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>More AP baseball: <a href="" type="internal">https://apnews.com/tag/MLBbaseball</a></p> | 993 |
<p>Forty years after his death, Martin Luther King, one of the great prophets of American democracy, has been reduced to little more than a lifeless statue. Yet his courageous call for peace and criticism of his government at a time of war must not be lost to history.</p>
<p>Toward the end of his life, King turned his attention to poverty and the war in Vietnam. After giving the speech below, in which he called America “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” King was dropped from Gallup’s annual list of the most admired Americans and was ridiculed by the New York Times, among too many others. Soon after, he was murdered.</p>
<p>King said that America “can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over.” Those words were echoed years later by The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a man who served his nation in uniform, who devoted his life to the welfare of his community, but was dismissed as a kook and a racist and a hater of his country for challenging its moral impenetrability.</p>
<p>America, apparently, does not take well to criticism. Thus it seems an appropriate time to let that King, not the statue, but the patriot, say his piece.</p>
<p />
<p>By the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Text from AmericanRhetoric.com</p>
<p>Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I need not pause to say how very delighted I am to be here tonight, and how very delighted I am to see you expressing your concern about the issues that will be discussed tonight by turning out in such large numbers. I also want to say that I consider it a great honor to share this program with Dr. Bennett, Dr. Commager, and Rabbi Heschel, some of the distinguished leaders and personalities of our nation. And of course it’s always good to come back to Riverside Church. Over the last eight years, I have had the privilege of preaching here almost every year in that period, and it is always a rich and rewarding experience to come to this great church and this great pulpit. I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The recent statements of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart, and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: “A time comes when silence is betrayal.” And that time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.</p>
<p>The truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one’s own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.</p>
<p>And some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation’s history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movements and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.</p>
<p>Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: “Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King?” “Why are you joining the voices of dissent?” “Peace and civil rights don’t mix,” they say. “Aren’t you hurting the cause of your people,” they ask? And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.</p>
<p>In the light of such tragic misunderstanding, I deem it of signal importance to try to state clearly, and I trust concisely, why I believe that the path from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church — the church in Montgomery, Alabama, where I began my pastorate — leads clearly to this sanctuary tonight.</p>
<p>I come to this platform tonight to make a passionate plea to my beloved nation. This speech is not addressed to Hanoi or to the National Liberation Front. It is not addressed to China or to Russia. Nor is it an attempt to overlook the ambiguity of the total situation and the need for a collective solution to the tragedy of Vietnam. Neither is it an attempt to make North Vietnam or the National Liberation Front paragons of virtue, nor to overlook the role they must play in the successful resolution of the problem. While they both may have justifiable reasons to be suspicious of the good faith of the United States, life and history give eloquent testimony to the fact that conflicts are never resolved without trustful give and take on both sides.</p>
<p>Tonight, however, I wish not to speak with Hanoi and the National Liberation Front, but rather to my fellowed [sic] Americans, who, with me, bear the greatest responsibility in ending a conflict that has exacted a heavy price on both continents.</p>
<p>Since I am a preacher by trade, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision. There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I, and others, have been waging in America. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor — both black and white — through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So, I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.Perhaps the more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population. We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem. And so we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. And so we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they would hardly live on the same block in Chicago. I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation of the poor.</p>
<p>My third reason moves to an even deeper level of awareness, for it grows out of my experience in the ghettoes of the North over the last three years — especially the last three summers. As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they ask — and rightly so — what about Vietnam? They ask if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.</p>
<p>For those who ask the question, “Aren’t you a civil rights leader?” and thereby mean to exclude me from the movement for peace, I have this further answer. In 1957 when a group of us formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, we chose as our motto: “To save the soul of America.” We were convinced that we could not limit our vision to certain rights for black people, but instead affirmed the conviction that America would never be free or saved from itself until the descendants of its slaves were loosed completely from the shackles they still wear. In a way we were agreeing with Langston Hughes, that black bard of Harlem, who had written earlier:</p>
<p>O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath — America will be!</p>
<p>Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America’s soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land.</p>
<p>As if the weight of such a commitment to the life and health of America were not enough, another burden of responsibility was placed upon me in 1954 [sic]; and I cannot forget that the Nobel Prize for Peace was also a commission — a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for “the brotherhood of man.” This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances, but even if it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ. To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I’m speaking against the war. Could it be that they do not know that the good news was meant for all men — for Communist and capitalist, for their children and ours, for black and for white, for revolutionary and conservative? Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the One who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? What then can I say to the Vietcong or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful minister of this One? Can I threaten them with death or must I not share with them my life?</p>
<p>And finally, as I try to explain for you and for myself the road that leads from Montgomery to this place I would have offered all that was most valid if I simply said that I must be true to my conviction that I share with all men the calling to be a son of the living God. Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed is this vocation of sonship and brotherhood, and because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned especially for his suffering and helpless and outcast children, I come tonight to speak for them.</p>
<p>This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation’s self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls “enemy,” for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.</p>
<p>And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond in compassion, my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula. I speak now not of the soldiers of each side, not of the ideologies of the Liberation Front, not of the junta in Saigon, but simply of the people who have been living under the curse of war for almost three continuous decades now. I think of them, too, because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution there until some attempt is made to know them and hear their broken cries.</p>
<p>They must see Americans as strange liberators. The Vietnamese people proclaimed their own independence in 1954 — in 1945 rather — after a combined French and Japanese occupation and before the communist revolution in China. They were led by Ho Chi Minh. Even though they quoted the American Declaration of Independence in their own document of freedom, we refused to recognize them. Instead, we decided to support France in its reconquest of her former colony. Our government felt then that the Vietnamese people were not ready for independence, and we again fell victim to the deadly Western arrogance that has poisoned the international atmosphere for so long. With that tragic decision we rejected a revolutionary government seeking self-determination and a government that had been established not by China — for whom the Vietnamese have no great love — but by clearly indigenous forces that included some communists. For the peasants this new government meant real land reform, one of the most important needs in their lives.For nine years following 1945 we denied the people of Vietnam the right of independence. For nine years we vigorously supported the French in their abortive effort to recolonize Vietnam. Before the end of the war we were meeting eighty percent of the French war costs. Even before the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, they began to despair of their reckless action, but we did not. We encouraged them with our huge financial and military supplies to continue the war even after they had lost the will. Soon we would be paying almost the full costs of this tragic attempt at recolonization.</p>
<p>After the French were defeated, it looked as if independence and land reform would come again through the Geneva Agreement. But instead there came the United States, determined that Ho should not unify the temporarily divided nation, and the peasants watched again as we supported one of the most vicious modern dictators, our chosen man, Premier Diem. The peasants watched and cringed as Diem ruthlessly rooted out all opposition, supported their extortionist landlords, and refused even to discuss reunification with the North. The peasants watched as all this was presided over by United States’ influence and then by increasing numbers of United States troops who came to help quell the insurgency that Diem’s methods had aroused. When Diem was overthrown they may have been happy, but the long line of military dictators seemed to offer no real change, especially in terms of their need for land and peace.</p>
<p>The only change came from America, as we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support. All the while the people read our leaflets and received the regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us, not their fellow Vietnamese, the real enemy. They move sadly and apathetically as we herd them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know they must move on or be destroyed by our bombs.</p>
<p>So they go, primarily women and children and the aged. They watch as we poison their water, as we kill a million acres of their crops. They must weep as the bulldozers roar through their areas preparing to destroy the precious trees. They wander into the hospitals with at least twenty casualties from American firepower for one Vietcong-inflicted injury. So far we may have killed a million of them, mostly children. They wander into the towns and see thousands of the children, homeless, without clothes, running in packs on the streets like animals. They see the children degraded by our soldiers as they beg for food. They see the children selling their sisters to our soldiers, soliciting for their mothers.</p>
<p>What do the peasants think as we ally ourselves with the landlords and as we refuse to put any action into our many words concerning land reform? What do they think as we test out our latest weapons on them, just as the Germans tested out new medicine and new tortures in the concentration camps of Europe? Where are the roots of the independent Vietnam we claim to be building? Is it among these voiceless ones?</p>
<p>We have destroyed their two most cherished institutions: the family and the village. We have destroyed their land and their crops. We have cooperated in the crushing of the nation’s only noncommunist revolutionary political force, the unified Buddhist Church. We have supported the enemies of the peasants of Saigon. We have corrupted their women and children and killed their men.</p>
<p>Now there is little left to build on, save bitterness. Soon the only solid physical foundations remaining will be found at our military bases and in the concrete of the concentration camps we call “fortified hamlets.” The peasants may well wonder if we plan to build our new Vietnam on such grounds as these. Could we blame them for such thoughts? We must speak for them and raise the questions they cannot raise. These, too, are our brothers.</p>
<p>Perhaps a more difficult but no less necessary task is to speak for those who have been designated as our enemies. What of the National Liberation Front, that strangely anonymous group we call “VC” or “communists”? What must they think of the United States of America when they realize that we permitted the repression and cruelty of Diem, which helped to bring them into being as a resistance group in the South? What do they think of our condoning the violence which led to their own taking up of arms? How can they believe in our integrity when now we speak of “aggression from the North” as if there were nothing more essential to the war? How can they trust us when now we charge them with violence after the murderous reign of Diem and charge them with violence while we pour every new weapon of death into their land? Surely we must understand their feelings, even if we do not condone their actions. Surely we must see that the men we supported pressed them to their violence. Surely we must see that our own computerized plans of destruction simply dwarf their greatest acts.</p>
<p>How do they judge us when our officials know that their membership is less than twenty-five percent communist, and yet insist on giving them the blanket name? What must they be thinking when they know that we are aware of their control of major sections of Vietnam, and yet we appear ready to allow national elections in which this highly organized political parallel government will not have a part? They ask how we can speak of free elections when the Saigon press is censored and controlled by the military junta. And they are surely right to wonder what kind of new government we plan to help form without them, the only party in real touch with the peasants. They question our political goals and they deny the reality of a peace settlement from which they will be excluded. Their questions are frighteningly relevant. Is our nation planning to build on political myth again, and then shore it up upon the power of new violence?</p>
<p>Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.</p>
<p>So, too, with Hanoi. In the North, where our bombs now pummel the land, and our mines endanger the waterways, we are met by a deep but understandable mistrust. To speak for them is to explain this lack of confidence in Western words, and especially their distrust of American intentions now. In Hanoi are the men who led the nation to independence against the Japanese and the French, the men who sought membership in the French Commonwealth and were betrayed by the weakness of Paris and the willfulness of the colonial armies. It was they who led a second struggle against French domination at tremendous costs, and then were persuaded to give up the land they controlled between the thirteenth and seventeenth parallel as a temporary measure at Geneva. After 1954 they watched us conspire with Diem to prevent elections which could have surely brought Ho Chi Minh to power over a united Vietnam, and they realized they had been betrayed again. When we ask why they do not leap to negotiate, these things must be remembered.</p>
<p>Also, it must be clear that the leaders of Hanoi considered the presence of American troops in support of the Diem regime to have been the initial military breach of the Geneva Agreement concerning foreign troops. They remind us that they did not begin to send troops in large numbers and even supplies into the South until American forces had moved into the tens of thousands.</p>
<p>Hanoi remembers how our leaders refused to tell us the truth about the earlier North Vietnamese overtures for peace, how the president claimed that none existed when they had clearly been made. Ho Chi Minh has watched as America has spoken of peace and built up its forces, and now he has surely heard the increasing international rumors of American plans for an invasion of the North. He knows the bombing and shelling and mining we are doing are part of traditional pre-invasion strategy. Perhaps only his sense of humor and of irony can save him when he hears the most powerful nation of the world speaking of aggression as it drops thousands of bombs on a poor, weak nation more than eight hundred, or rather, eight thousand miles away from its shores.</p>
<p>At this point I should make it clear that while I have tried in these last few minutes to give a voice to the voiceless in Vietnam and to understand the arguments of those who are called “enemy,” I am as deeply concerned about our own troops there as anything else. For it occurs to me that what we are submitting them to in Vietnam is not simply the brutalizing process that goes on in any war where armies face each other and seek to destroy. We are adding cynicism to the process of death, for they must know after a short period there that none of the things we claim to be fighting for are really involved. Before long they must know that their government has sent them into a struggle among Vietnamese, and the more sophisticated surely realize that we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we create a hell for the poor.</p>
<p>Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home, and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours.This is the message of the great Buddhist leaders of Vietnam. Recently one of them wrote these words, and I quote:</p>
<p>Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism (unquote).</p>
<p>If we continue, there will be no doubt in my mind and in the mind of the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. If we do not stop our war against the people of Vietnam immediately, the world will be left with no other alternative than to see this as some horrible, clumsy, and deadly game we have decided to play. The world now demands a maturity of America that we may not be able to achieve. It demands that we admit that we have been wrong from the beginning of our adventure in Vietnam, that we have been detrimental to the life of the Vietnamese people. The situation is one in which we must be ready to turn sharply from our present ways. In order to atone for our sins and errors in Vietnam, we should take the initiative in bringing a halt to this tragic war.</p>
<p>I would like to suggest five concrete things that our government should do immediately to begin the long and difficult process of extricating ourselves from this nightmarish conflict:</p>
<p>Number one: End all bombing in North and South Vietnam.</p>
<p>Number two: Declare a unilateral cease-fire in the hope that such action will create the atmosphere for negotiation.</p>
<p>Three: Take immediate steps to prevent other battlegrounds in Southeast Asia by curtailing our military buildup in Thailand and our interference in Laos.</p>
<p>Four: Realistically accept the fact that the National Liberation Front has substantial support in South Vietnam and must thereby play a role in any meaningful negotiations and any future Vietnam government.</p>
<p>Five: Set a date that we will remove all foreign troops from Vietnam in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Agreement.</p>
<p>Part of our ongoing…part of our ongoing commitment might well express itself in an offer to grant asylum to any Vietnamese who fears for his life under a new regime which included the Liberation Front. Then we must make what reparations we can for the damage we have done. We must provide the medical aid that is badly needed, making it available in this country, if necessary. Meanwhile… meanwhile, we in the churches and synagogues have a continuing task while we urge our government to disengage itself from a disgraceful commitment. We must continue to raise our voices and our lives if our nation persists in its perverse ways in Vietnam. We must be prepared to match actions with words by seeking out every creative method of protest possible.</p>
<p>As we counsel young men concerning military service, we must clarify for them our nation’s role in Vietnam and challenge them with the alternative of conscientious objection. I am pleased to say that this is a path now chosen by more than seventy students at my own alma mater, Morehouse College, and I recommend it to all who find the American course in Vietnam a dishonorable and unjust one. Moreover, I would encourage all ministers of draft age to give up their ministerial exemptions and seek status as conscientious objectors. These are the times for real choices and not false ones. We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.</p>
<p>Now there is something seductively tempting about stopping there and sending us all off on what in some circles has become a popular crusade against the war in Vietnam. I say we must enter that struggle, but I wish to go on now to say something even more disturbing.</p>
<p>The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality…and if we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing “clergy and laymen concerned” committees for the next generation. They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru. They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia. They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa. We will be marching for these and a dozen other names and attending rallies without end, unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy.</p>
<p>And so, such thoughts take us beyond Vietnam, but not beyond our calling as sons of the living God.</p>
<p>In 1957, a sensitive American official overseas said that it seemed to him that our nation was on the wrong side of a world revolution. During the past ten years, we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which has now justified the presence of U.S. military advisors in Venezuela. This need to maintain social stability for our investments accounts for the counterrevolutionary action of American forces in Guatemala. It tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Cambodia and why American napalm and Green Beret forces have already been active against rebels in Peru.</p>
<p>It is with such activity in mind that the words of the late John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin…we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.</p>
<p>A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.</p>
<p>A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say, “This is not just.” It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of South America and say, “This is not just.” The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, “This way of settling differences is not just.” This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.</p>
<p>America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing except a tragic death wish to prevent us from reordering our priorities so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war. There is nothing to keep us from molding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into a brotherhood.</p>
<p>This kind of positive revolution of values is our best defense against communism. War is not the answer. Communism will never be defeated by the use of atomic bombs or nuclear weapons. Let us not join those who shout war and, through their misguided passions, urge the United States to relinquish its participation in the United Nations. These are days which demand wise restraint and calm reasonableness. We must not engage in a negative anticommunism, but rather in a positive thrust for democracy, realizing that our greatest defense against communism is to take offensive action in behalf of justice. We must with positive action seek to remove those conditions of poverty, insecurity, and injustice, which are the fertile soil in which the seed of communism grows and develops.</p>
<p>These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of the wounds of a frail world, new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. We in the West must support these revolutions.</p>
<p>It is a sad fact that because of comfort, complacency, a morbid fear of communism, and our proneness to adjust to injustice, the Western nations that initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world have now become the arch antirevolutionaries. This has driven many to feel that only Marxism has a revolutionary spirit. Therefore, communism is a judgment against our failure to make democracy real and follow through on the revolutions that we initiated. Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. With this powerful commitment we shall boldly challenge the status quo and unjust mores, and thereby speed the day when “every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”</p>
<p>A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.</p>
<p>This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. This oft misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man. When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am not speaking of that force which is just emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: “Let us love one another, for love is God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.” “If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us.” Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day.</p>
<p>We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. And history is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate. As Arnold Toynbee says: “Love is the ultimate force that makes for the saving choice of life and good against the damning choice of death and evil. Therefore the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word” (unquote).</p>
<p>We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood — it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, “Too late.” There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. Omar Khayyam is right: “The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on.”</p>
<p>We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.</p>
<p>Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world. This is the calling of the sons of God, and our brothers wait eagerly for our response. Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? Or will there be another message — of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history.</p>
<p>As that noble bard of yesterday, James Russell Lowell, eloquently stated:</p>
<p>Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide,</p>
<p>In the strife of Truth and Falsehood, for the good or evil side;</p>
<p>Some great cause, God’s new Messiah offering each the bloom or blight,</p>
<p>And the choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light.</p>
<p>Though the cause of evil prosper, yet ’tis truth alone is strong</p>
<p>Though her portions be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong</p>
<p>Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown</p>
<p>Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.</p>
<p>And if we will only make the right choice, we will be able to transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of peace.</p>
<p>If we will make the right choice, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our world into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.</p> | Remembering the Real Martin Luther King | true | https://truthdig.com/articles/remembering-the-real-martin-luther-king/ | 2008-04-04 | 4left
| Remembering the Real Martin Luther King
<p>Forty years after his death, Martin Luther King, one of the great prophets of American democracy, has been reduced to little more than a lifeless statue. Yet his courageous call for peace and criticism of his government at a time of war must not be lost to history.</p>
<p>Toward the end of his life, King turned his attention to poverty and the war in Vietnam. After giving the speech below, in which he called America “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today,” King was dropped from Gallup’s annual list of the most admired Americans and was ridiculed by the New York Times, among too many others. Soon after, he was murdered.</p>
<p>King said that America “can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over.” Those words were echoed years later by The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, a man who served his nation in uniform, who devoted his life to the welfare of his community, but was dismissed as a kook and a racist and a hater of his country for challenging its moral impenetrability.</p>
<p>America, apparently, does not take well to criticism. Thus it seems an appropriate time to let that King, not the statue, but the patriot, say his piece.</p>
<p />
<p>By the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.Text from AmericanRhetoric.com</p>
<p>Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, I need not pause to say how very delighted I am to be here tonight, and how very delighted I am to see you expressing your concern about the issues that will be discussed tonight by turning out in such large numbers. I also want to say that I consider it a great honor to share this program with Dr. Bennett, Dr. Commager, and Rabbi Heschel, some of the distinguished leaders and personalities of our nation. And of course it’s always good to come back to Riverside Church. Over the last eight years, I have had the privilege of preaching here almost every year in that period, and it is always a rich and rewarding experience to come to this great church and this great pulpit. I come to this magnificent house of worship tonight because my conscience leaves me no other choice. I join you in this meeting because I am in deepest agreement with the aims and work of the organization which has brought us together: Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam. The recent statements of your executive committee are the sentiments of my own heart, and I found myself in full accord when I read its opening lines: “A time comes when silence is betrayal.” And that time has come for us in relation to Vietnam.</p>
<p>The truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one’s own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.</p>
<p>And some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation’s history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movements and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.</p>
<p>Over the past two years, as I have moved to break the betrayal of my own silences and to speak from the burnings of my own heart, as I have called for radical departures from the destruction of Vietnam, many persons have questioned me about the wisdom of my path. At the heart of their concerns this query has often loomed large and loud: “Why are you speaking about the war, Dr. King?” “Why are you joining the voices of dissent?” “Peace and civil rights don’t mix,” they say. “Aren’t you hurting the cause of your people,” they ask? And when I hear them, though I often understand the source of their concern, I am nevertheless greatly saddened, for such questions mean that the inquirers have not really known me, my commitment or my calling. Indeed, their questions suggest that they do not know the world in which they live.</p>
<p>In the light of such tragic misunderstanding, I deem it of signal importance to try to state clearly, and I trust concisely, why I believe that the path from Dexter Avenue Baptist Church — the church in Montgomery, Alabama, where I began my pastorate — leads clearly to this sanctuary tonight.</p>
<p>I come to this platform tonight to make a passionate plea to my beloved nation. This speech is not addressed to Hanoi or to the National Liberation Front. It is not addressed to China or to Russia. Nor is it an attempt to overlook the ambiguity of the total situation and the need for a collective solution to the tragedy of Vietnam. Neither is it an attempt to make North Vietnam or the National Liberation Front paragons of virtue, nor to overlook the role they must play in the successful resolution of the problem. While they both may have justifiable reasons to be suspicious of the good faith of the United States, life and history give eloquent testimony to the fact that conflicts are never resolved without trustful give and take on both sides.</p>
<p>Tonight, however, I wish not to speak with Hanoi and the National Liberation Front, but rather to my fellowed [sic] Americans, who, with me, bear the greatest responsibility in ending a conflict that has exacted a heavy price on both continents.</p>
<p>Since I am a preacher by trade, I suppose it is not surprising that I have seven major reasons for bringing Vietnam into the field of my moral vision. There is at the outset a very obvious and almost facile connection between the war in Vietnam and the struggle I, and others, have been waging in America. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. It seemed as if there was a real promise of hope for the poor — both black and white — through the poverty program. There were experiments, hopes, new beginnings. Then came the buildup in Vietnam, and I watched this program broken and eviscerated, as if it were some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war, and I knew that America would never invest the necessary funds or energies in rehabilitation of its poor so long as adventures like Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube. So, I was increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and to attack it as such.Perhaps the more tragic recognition of reality took place when it became clear to me that the war was doing far more than devastating the hopes of the poor at home. It was sending their sons and their brothers and their husbands to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population. We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by our society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties in Southeast Asia which they had not found in southwest Georgia and East Harlem. And so we have been repeatedly faced with the cruel irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same schools. And so we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they would hardly live on the same block in Chicago. I could not be silent in the face of such cruel manipulation of the poor.</p>
<p>My third reason moves to an even deeper level of awareness, for it grows out of my experience in the ghettoes of the North over the last three years — especially the last three summers. As I have walked among the desperate, rejected, and angry young men, I have told them that Molotov cocktails and rifles would not solve their problems. I have tried to offer them my deepest compassion while maintaining my conviction that social change comes most meaningfully through nonviolent action. But they ask — and rightly so — what about Vietnam? They ask if our own nation wasn’t using massive doses of violence to solve its problems, to bring about the changes it wanted. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today — my own government. For the sake of those boys, for the sake of this government, for the sake of the hundreds of thousands trembling under our violence, I cannot be silent.</p>
<p>For those who ask the question, “Aren’t you a civil rights leader?” and thereby mean to exclude me from the movement for peace, I have this further answer. In 1957 when a group of us formed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, we chose as our motto: “To save the soul of America.” We were convinced that we could not limit our vision to certain rights for black people, but instead affirmed the conviction that America would never be free or saved from itself until the descendants of its slaves were loosed completely from the shackles they still wear. In a way we were agreeing with Langston Hughes, that black bard of Harlem, who had written earlier:</p>
<p>O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath — America will be!</p>
<p>Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war. If America’s soul becomes totally poisoned, part of the autopsy must read: Vietnam. It can never be saved so long as it destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over. So it is that those of us who are yet determined that America will be are led down the path of protest and dissent, working for the health of our land.</p>
<p>As if the weight of such a commitment to the life and health of America were not enough, another burden of responsibility was placed upon me in 1954 [sic]; and I cannot forget that the Nobel Prize for Peace was also a commission — a commission to work harder than I had ever worked before for “the brotherhood of man.” This is a calling that takes me beyond national allegiances, but even if it were not present I would yet have to live with the meaning of my commitment to the ministry of Jesus Christ. To me the relationship of this ministry to the making of peace is so obvious that I sometimes marvel at those who ask me why I’m speaking against the war. Could it be that they do not know that the good news was meant for all men — for Communist and capitalist, for their children and ours, for black and for white, for revolutionary and conservative? Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the One who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them? What then can I say to the Vietcong or to Castro or to Mao as a faithful minister of this One? Can I threaten them with death or must I not share with them my life?</p>
<p>And finally, as I try to explain for you and for myself the road that leads from Montgomery to this place I would have offered all that was most valid if I simply said that I must be true to my conviction that I share with all men the calling to be a son of the living God. Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed is this vocation of sonship and brotherhood, and because I believe that the Father is deeply concerned especially for his suffering and helpless and outcast children, I come tonight to speak for them.</p>
<p>This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation’s self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls “enemy,” for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.</p>
<p>And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond in compassion, my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula. I speak now not of the soldiers of each side, not of the ideologies of the Liberation Front, not of the junta in Saigon, but simply of the people who have been living under the curse of war for almost three continuous decades now. I think of them, too, because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution there until some attempt is made to know them and hear their broken cries.</p>
<p>They must see Americans as strange liberators. The Vietnamese people proclaimed their own independence in 1954 — in 1945 rather — after a combined French and Japanese occupation and before the communist revolution in China. They were led by Ho Chi Minh. Even though they quoted the American Declaration of Independence in their own document of freedom, we refused to recognize them. Instead, we decided to support France in its reconquest of her former colony. Our government felt then that the Vietnamese people were not ready for independence, and we again fell victim to the deadly Western arrogance that has poisoned the international atmosphere for so long. With that tragic decision we rejected a revolutionary government seeking self-determination and a government that had been established not by China — for whom the Vietnamese have no great love — but by clearly indigenous forces that included some communists. For the peasants this new government meant real land reform, one of the most important needs in their lives.For nine years following 1945 we denied the people of Vietnam the right of independence. For nine years we vigorously supported the French in their abortive effort to recolonize Vietnam. Before the end of the war we were meeting eighty percent of the French war costs. Even before the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, they began to despair of their reckless action, but we did not. We encouraged them with our huge financial and military supplies to continue the war even after they had lost the will. Soon we would be paying almost the full costs of this tragic attempt at recolonization.</p>
<p>After the French were defeated, it looked as if independence and land reform would come again through the Geneva Agreement. But instead there came the United States, determined that Ho should not unify the temporarily divided nation, and the peasants watched again as we supported one of the most vicious modern dictators, our chosen man, Premier Diem. The peasants watched and cringed as Diem ruthlessly rooted out all opposition, supported their extortionist landlords, and refused even to discuss reunification with the North. The peasants watched as all this was presided over by United States’ influence and then by increasing numbers of United States troops who came to help quell the insurgency that Diem’s methods had aroused. When Diem was overthrown they may have been happy, but the long line of military dictators seemed to offer no real change, especially in terms of their need for land and peace.</p>
<p>The only change came from America, as we increased our troop commitments in support of governments which were singularly corrupt, inept, and without popular support. All the while the people read our leaflets and received the regular promises of peace and democracy and land reform. Now they languish under our bombs and consider us, not their fellow Vietnamese, the real enemy. They move sadly and apathetically as we herd them off the land of their fathers into concentration camps where minimal social needs are rarely met. They know they must move on or be destroyed by our bombs.</p>
<p>So they go, primarily women and children and the aged. They watch as we poison their water, as we kill a million acres of their crops. They must weep as the bulldozers roar through their areas preparing to destroy the precious trees. They wander into the hospitals with at least twenty casualties from American firepower for one Vietcong-inflicted injury. So far we may have killed a million of them, mostly children. They wander into the towns and see thousands of the children, homeless, without clothes, running in packs on the streets like animals. They see the children degraded by our soldiers as they beg for food. They see the children selling their sisters to our soldiers, soliciting for their mothers.</p>
<p>What do the peasants think as we ally ourselves with the landlords and as we refuse to put any action into our many words concerning land reform? What do they think as we test out our latest weapons on them, just as the Germans tested out new medicine and new tortures in the concentration camps of Europe? Where are the roots of the independent Vietnam we claim to be building? Is it among these voiceless ones?</p>
<p>We have destroyed their two most cherished institutions: the family and the village. We have destroyed their land and their crops. We have cooperated in the crushing of the nation’s only noncommunist revolutionary political force, the unified Buddhist Church. We have supported the enemies of the peasants of Saigon. We have corrupted their women and children and killed their men.</p>
<p>Now there is little left to build on, save bitterness. Soon the only solid physical foundations remaining will be found at our military bases and in the concrete of the concentration camps we call “fortified hamlets.” The peasants may well wonder if we plan to build our new Vietnam on such grounds as these. Could we blame them for such thoughts? We must speak for them and raise the questions they cannot raise. These, too, are our brothers.</p>
<p>Perhaps a more difficult but no less necessary task is to speak for those who have been designated as our enemies. What of the National Liberation Front, that strangely anonymous group we call “VC” or “communists”? What must they think of the United States of America when they realize that we permitted the repression and cruelty of Diem, which helped to bring them into being as a resistance group in the South? What do they think of our condoning the violence which led to their own taking up of arms? How can they believe in our integrity when now we speak of “aggression from the North” as if there were nothing more essential to the war? How can they trust us when now we charge them with violence after the murderous reign of Diem and charge them with violence while we pour every new weapon of death into their land? Surely we must understand their feelings, even if we do not condone their actions. Surely we must see that the men we supported pressed them to their violence. Surely we must see that our own computerized plans of destruction simply dwarf their greatest acts.</p>
<p>How do they judge us when our officials know that their membership is less than twenty-five percent communist, and yet insist on giving them the blanket name? What must they be thinking when they know that we are aware of their control of major sections of Vietnam, and yet we appear ready to allow national elections in which this highly organized political parallel government will not have a part? They ask how we can speak of free elections when the Saigon press is censored and controlled by the military junta. And they are surely right to wonder what kind of new government we plan to help form without them, the only party in real touch with the peasants. They question our political goals and they deny the reality of a peace settlement from which they will be excluded. Their questions are frighteningly relevant. Is our nation planning to build on political myth again, and then shore it up upon the power of new violence?</p>
<p>Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy’s point of view, to hear his questions, to know his assessment of ourselves. For from his view we may indeed see the basic weaknesses of our own condition, and if we are mature, we may learn and grow and profit from the wisdom of the brothers who are called the opposition.</p>
<p>So, too, with Hanoi. In the North, where our bombs now pummel the land, and our mines endanger the waterways, we are met by a deep but understandable mistrust. To speak for them is to explain this lack of confidence in Western words, and especially their distrust of American intentions now. In Hanoi are the men who led the nation to independence against the Japanese and the French, the men who sought membership in the French Commonwealth and were betrayed by the weakness of Paris and the willfulness of the colonial armies. It was they who led a second struggle against French domination at tremendous costs, and then were persuaded to give up the land they controlled between the thirteenth and seventeenth parallel as a temporary measure at Geneva. After 1954 they watched us conspire with Diem to prevent elections which could have surely brought Ho Chi Minh to power over a united Vietnam, and they realized they had been betrayed again. When we ask why they do not leap to negotiate, these things must be remembered.</p>
<p>Also, it must be clear that the leaders of Hanoi considered the presence of American troops in support of the Diem regime to have been the initial military breach of the Geneva Agreement concerning foreign troops. They remind us that they did not begin to send troops in large numbers and even supplies into the South until American forces had moved into the tens of thousands.</p>
<p>Hanoi remembers how our leaders refused to tell us the truth about the earlier North Vietnamese overtures for peace, how the president claimed that none existed when they had clearly been made. Ho Chi Minh has watched as America has spoken of peace and built up its forces, and now he has surely heard the increasing international rumors of American plans for an invasion of the North. He knows the bombing and shelling and mining we are doing are part of traditional pre-invasion strategy. Perhaps only his sense of humor and of irony can save him when he hears the most powerful nation of the world speaking of aggression as it drops thousands of bombs on a poor, weak nation more than eight hundred, or rather, eight thousand miles away from its shores.</p>
<p>At this point I should make it clear that while I have tried in these last few minutes to give a voice to the voiceless in Vietnam and to understand the arguments of those who are called “enemy,” I am as deeply concerned about our own troops there as anything else. For it occurs to me that what we are submitting them to in Vietnam is not simply the brutalizing process that goes on in any war where armies face each other and seek to destroy. We are adding cynicism to the process of death, for they must know after a short period there that none of the things we claim to be fighting for are really involved. Before long they must know that their government has sent them into a struggle among Vietnamese, and the more sophisticated surely realize that we are on the side of the wealthy, and the secure, while we create a hell for the poor.</p>
<p>Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home, and death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours.This is the message of the great Buddhist leaders of Vietnam. Recently one of them wrote these words, and I quote:</p>
<p>Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the heart of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism (unquote).</p>
<p>If we continue, there will be no doubt in my mind and in the mind of the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam. If we do not stop our war against the people of Vietnam immediately, the world will be left with no other alternative than to see this as some horrible, clumsy, and deadly game we have decided to play. The world now demands a maturity of America that we may not be able to achieve. It demands that we admit that we have been wrong from the beginning of our adventure in Vietnam, that we have been detrimental to the life of the Vietnamese people. The situation is one in which we must be ready to turn sharply from our present ways. In order to atone for our sins and errors in Vietnam, we should take the initiative in bringing a halt to this tragic war.</p>
<p>I would like to suggest five concrete things that our government should do immediately to begin the long and difficult process of extricating ourselves from this nightmarish conflict:</p>
<p>Number one: End all bombing in North and South Vietnam.</p>
<p>Number two: Declare a unilateral cease-fire in the hope that such action will create the atmosphere for negotiation.</p>
<p>Three: Take immediate steps to prevent other battlegrounds in Southeast Asia by curtailing our military buildup in Thailand and our interference in Laos.</p>
<p>Four: Realistically accept the fact that the National Liberation Front has substantial support in South Vietnam and must thereby play a role in any meaningful negotiations and any future Vietnam government.</p>
<p>Five: Set a date that we will remove all foreign troops from Vietnam in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Agreement.</p>
<p>Part of our ongoing…part of our ongoing commitment might well express itself in an offer to grant asylum to any Vietnamese who fears for his life under a new regime which included the Liberation Front. Then we must make what reparations we can for the damage we have done. We must provide the medical aid that is badly needed, making it available in this country, if necessary. Meanwhile… meanwhile, we in the churches and synagogues have a continuing task while we urge our government to disengage itself from a disgraceful commitment. We must continue to raise our voices and our lives if our nation persists in its perverse ways in Vietnam. We must be prepared to match actions with words by seeking out every creative method of protest possible.</p>
<p>As we counsel young men concerning military service, we must clarify for them our nation’s role in Vietnam and challenge them with the alternative of conscientious objection. I am pleased to say that this is a path now chosen by more than seventy students at my own alma mater, Morehouse College, and I recommend it to all who find the American course in Vietnam a dishonorable and unjust one. Moreover, I would encourage all ministers of draft age to give up their ministerial exemptions and seek status as conscientious objectors. These are the times for real choices and not false ones. We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.</p>
<p>Now there is something seductively tempting about stopping there and sending us all off on what in some circles has become a popular crusade against the war in Vietnam. I say we must enter that struggle, but I wish to go on now to say something even more disturbing.</p>
<p>The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality…and if we ignore this sobering reality, we will find ourselves organizing “clergy and laymen concerned” committees for the next generation. They will be concerned about Guatemala and Peru. They will be concerned about Thailand and Cambodia. They will be concerned about Mozambique and South Africa. We will be marching for these and a dozen other names and attending rallies without end, unless there is a significant and profound change in American life and policy.</p>
<p>And so, such thoughts take us beyond Vietnam, but not beyond our calling as sons of the living God.</p>
<p>In 1957, a sensitive American official overseas said that it seemed to him that our nation was on the wrong side of a world revolution. During the past ten years, we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which has now justified the presence of U.S. military advisors in Venezuela. This need to maintain social stability for our investments accounts for the counterrevolutionary action of American forces in Guatemala. It tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Cambodia and why American napalm and Green Beret forces have already been active against rebels in Peru.</p>
<p>It is with such activity in mind that the words of the late John F. Kennedy come back to haunt us. Five years ago he said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.” Increasingly, by choice or by accident, this is the role our nation has taken, the role of those who make peaceful revolution impossible by refusing to give up the privileges and the pleasures that come from the immense profits of overseas investments. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We must rapidly begin…we must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.</p>
<p>A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life’s roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.</p>
<p>A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth. With righteous indignation, it will look across the seas and see individual capitalists of the West investing huge sums of money in Asia, Africa, and South America, only to take the profits out with no concern for the social betterment of the countries, and say, “This is not just.” It will look at our alliance with the landed gentry of South America and say, “This is not just.” The Western arrogance of feeling that it has everything to teach others and nothing to learn from them is not just.A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, “This way of settling differences is not just.” This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.</p>
<p>America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing except a tragic death wish to prevent us from reordering our priorities so that the pursuit of peace will take precedence over the pursuit of war. There is nothing to keep us from molding a recalcitrant status quo with bruised hands until we have fashioned it into a brotherhood.</p>
<p>This kind of positive revolution of values is our best defense against communism. War is not the answer. Communism will never be defeated by the use of atomic bombs or nuclear weapons. Let us not join those who shout war and, through their misguided passions, urge the United States to relinquish its participation in the United Nations. These are days which demand wise restraint and calm reasonableness. We must not engage in a negative anticommunism, but rather in a positive thrust for democracy, realizing that our greatest defense against communism is to take offensive action in behalf of justice. We must with positive action seek to remove those conditions of poverty, insecurity, and injustice, which are the fertile soil in which the seed of communism grows and develops.</p>
<p>These are revolutionary times. All over the globe men are revolting against old systems of exploitation and oppression, and out of the wounds of a frail world, new systems of justice and equality are being born. The shirtless and barefoot people of the land are rising up as never before. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. We in the West must support these revolutions.</p>
<p>It is a sad fact that because of comfort, complacency, a morbid fear of communism, and our proneness to adjust to injustice, the Western nations that initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world have now become the arch antirevolutionaries. This has driven many to feel that only Marxism has a revolutionary spirit. Therefore, communism is a judgment against our failure to make democracy real and follow through on the revolutions that we initiated. Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism. With this powerful commitment we shall boldly challenge the status quo and unjust mores, and thereby speed the day when “every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”</p>
<p>A genuine revolution of values means in the final analysis that our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Every nation must now develop an overriding loyalty to mankind as a whole in order to preserve the best in their individual societies.</p>
<p>This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern beyond one’s tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. This oft misunderstood, this oft misinterpreted concept, so readily dismissed by the Nietzsches of the world as a weak and cowardly force, has now become an absolute necessity for the survival of man. When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. I am not speaking of that force which is just emotional bosh. I am speaking of that force which all of the great religions have seen as the supreme unifying principle of life. Love is somehow the key that unlocks the door which leads to ultimate reality. This Hindu-Muslim-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality is beautifully summed up in the first epistle of Saint John: “Let us love one another, for love is God. And every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love.” “If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us.” Let us hope that this spirit will become the order of the day.</p>
<p>We can no longer afford to worship the god of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate. And history is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that pursued this self-defeating path of hate. As Arnold Toynbee says: “Love is the ultimate force that makes for the saving choice of life and good against the damning choice of death and evil. Therefore the first hope in our inventory must be the hope that love is going to have the last word” (unquote).</p>
<p>We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood — it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, “Too late.” There is an invisible book of life that faithfully records our vigilance or our neglect. Omar Khayyam is right: “The moving finger writes, and having writ moves on.”</p>
<p>We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.</p>
<p>Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world. This is the calling of the sons of God, and our brothers wait eagerly for our response. Shall we say the odds are too great? Shall we tell them the struggle is too hard? Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? Or will there be another message — of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history.</p>
<p>As that noble bard of yesterday, James Russell Lowell, eloquently stated:</p>
<p>Once to every man and nation comes a moment to decide,</p>
<p>In the strife of Truth and Falsehood, for the good or evil side;</p>
<p>Some great cause, God’s new Messiah offering each the bloom or blight,</p>
<p>And the choice goes by forever ‘twixt that darkness and that light.</p>
<p>Though the cause of evil prosper, yet ’tis truth alone is strong</p>
<p>Though her portions be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong</p>
<p>Yet that scaffold sways the future, and behind the dim unknown</p>
<p>Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own.</p>
<p>And if we will only make the right choice, we will be able to transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of peace.</p>
<p>If we will make the right choice, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our world into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.</p> | 994 |
<p>Two Indonesian fishermen who say they were enslaved on an American fishing boat have settled their lawsuit against the vessel's owner seven years after escaping and receiving special U.S. visas as victims of human trafficking, their lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The attorneys said Sorihin, who uses just one name, and Abdul Fatah settled their <a href="http://www.cohenmilstein.com/sites/default/files/media.8332.pdf" type="external">lawsuit</a> for an undisclosed sum against Thoai Van Nguyen, the California-based owner and captain of the Sea Queen II.</p>
<p>Nguyen denied all allegations of abuse but agreed to provide a detailed list of rights to anyone fishing on his boats.</p>
<p>The lawsuit, filed in U.S. court in San Francisco, claimed the men were trafficked through the Hawaii longline fishing fleet and forced to work on the boat around Hawaii and off the shores of California.</p>
<p>Citing federal and international human trafficking laws, the suit sought an unspecified amount of money for fees they paid and compensation they were promised along with damages for mental anguish and pain.</p>
<p>The lawsuit was being prepared as a 2016 <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/hawaiian-seafood-caught-foreign-crews-confined-boats.html" type="external">Associated Press investigation</a> revealed the Hawaii fleet operates under a loophole in federal law that allows owners to use foreign laborers with no work visas or the ability to legally enter the United States.</p>
<p>The workers, mostly from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, are required to hand over their passports and confined to boats while working in the U.S., even when docked in Honolulu or San Francisco.</p>
<p>Boat owner Jim Cook of the Hawaii Longline Association said Wednesday the settlement wont impact their fleet, made up of about 700 foreign fishermen on about 140 boats. He said they are separately preparing their own documents detailing rights which they will distribute to workers.</p>
<p>Honolulu attorney Lance Collins said it's unlikely more lawsuits will follow - even if they wanted to sue, most of the fishermen in Hawaii can't get a lawyer because they're not allowed to leave the docks when they come to shore.</p>
<p>"Two poor fishermen from another country who were brave enough, or frightened enough, to run from their boat can't be expected to enforce regulations for an entire multimillion industry," said Collins.</p>
<p>A broader solution has been proposed in Washington, where Hawaii's elected officials are backing legislation that would allow foreign fishermen to come onshore when they're not fishing.</p>
<p>Hawaii's foreign fishermen are generally paid a fraction of what other U.S. commercial fishing crews make, some receiving as little as 70 cents an hour while working up to 20 hours a day.</p>
<p>Conditions on the boats vary. While some vessels are clean and relatively safe, the AP found some crews living in squalor with sores from bed bugs. There also have been cases of active tuberculosis and low food supplies.</p>
<p>Ken Bass, Nguyen's son-in-law who is acting as his attorney, said the dispute between Fatah, Sorihin and Nguyen began with the fishermen getting different contracts from an Indonesian employment firm in 2009.</p>
<p>He said Nguyen never had any direct dealings with the Indonesian firm but used a middleman in Hawaii who knew how to get workers from Indonesia. The contract Nguyen was given from the Hawaii-based recruiter was different than the paperwork given to Fatah and Sorihin, Bass said.</p>
<p>"So, they basically had different contracts but no one at the time knew that, so that's immediately going to lead to misunderstanding," Bass said. "If anybody was culpable, it was the broker in Indonesia."</p>
<p>Lawyers for Fatah and Sorihin say it doesn't matter if there were differences in the contracts.</p>
<p>"The trafficking claims do not rely on the contract provisions," said Agnieska Fryszman, one of the attorneys. "The trafficking statute provides basic protections that apply regardless."</p>
<p>After the men ran away from the Sea Queen, Bass said Nguyen was forced to pay hefty fines for letting the men escape and that U.S. customs agents threatened to suspend his ability to use foreign workers.</p>
<p>Under the settlement, Nguyen must give fliers to his foreign crew members, written in their native languages, outlining their rights and ways to get help. His crews must have at least 77 hours of rest a week, and access to their passports.</p>
<p>"This settlement should be a wakeup call to the commercial fishing industry," Fryszman said. "There's simply no excuse for turning a blind eye to human trafficking, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to hold others in the industry accountable."</p>
<p>Sorihin, who has settled with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area, said in an email that the settlement has given him "a sense of peace."</p>
<p>"I hope it will bring better treatment to seamen on the Sea Queen and in the fishing industry," he said.</p>
<p>"I feel more certainty after the settlement," Fatah said in an email. "I work in retail, and I want to start a new life in San Francisco and create a better future for my family. I hope the captain treats the seamen like what he agreed to."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Margie Mason contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Read the entire AP series on abuses in the fishing industry: <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html" type="external">https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html#main-section</a></p>
<p>Two Indonesian fishermen who say they were enslaved on an American fishing boat have settled their lawsuit against the vessel's owner seven years after escaping and receiving special U.S. visas as victims of human trafficking, their lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The attorneys said Sorihin, who uses just one name, and Abdul Fatah settled their <a href="http://www.cohenmilstein.com/sites/default/files/media.8332.pdf" type="external">lawsuit</a> for an undisclosed sum against Thoai Van Nguyen, the California-based owner and captain of the Sea Queen II.</p>
<p>Nguyen denied all allegations of abuse but agreed to provide a detailed list of rights to anyone fishing on his boats.</p>
<p>The lawsuit, filed in U.S. court in San Francisco, claimed the men were trafficked through the Hawaii longline fishing fleet and forced to work on the boat around Hawaii and off the shores of California.</p>
<p>Citing federal and international human trafficking laws, the suit sought an unspecified amount of money for fees they paid and compensation they were promised along with damages for mental anguish and pain.</p>
<p>The lawsuit was being prepared as a 2016 <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/hawaiian-seafood-caught-foreign-crews-confined-boats.html" type="external">Associated Press investigation</a> revealed the Hawaii fleet operates under a loophole in federal law that allows owners to use foreign laborers with no work visas or the ability to legally enter the United States.</p>
<p>The workers, mostly from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, are required to hand over their passports and confined to boats while working in the U.S., even when docked in Honolulu or San Francisco.</p>
<p>Boat owner Jim Cook of the Hawaii Longline Association said Wednesday the settlement wont impact their fleet, made up of about 700 foreign fishermen on about 140 boats. He said they are separately preparing their own documents detailing rights which they will distribute to workers.</p>
<p>Honolulu attorney Lance Collins said it's unlikely more lawsuits will follow - even if they wanted to sue, most of the fishermen in Hawaii can't get a lawyer because they're not allowed to leave the docks when they come to shore.</p>
<p>"Two poor fishermen from another country who were brave enough, or frightened enough, to run from their boat can't be expected to enforce regulations for an entire multimillion industry," said Collins.</p>
<p>A broader solution has been proposed in Washington, where Hawaii's elected officials are backing legislation that would allow foreign fishermen to come onshore when they're not fishing.</p>
<p>Hawaii's foreign fishermen are generally paid a fraction of what other U.S. commercial fishing crews make, some receiving as little as 70 cents an hour while working up to 20 hours a day.</p>
<p>Conditions on the boats vary. While some vessels are clean and relatively safe, the AP found some crews living in squalor with sores from bed bugs. There also have been cases of active tuberculosis and low food supplies.</p>
<p>Ken Bass, Nguyen's son-in-law who is acting as his attorney, said the dispute between Fatah, Sorihin and Nguyen began with the fishermen getting different contracts from an Indonesian employment firm in 2009.</p>
<p>He said Nguyen never had any direct dealings with the Indonesian firm but used a middleman in Hawaii who knew how to get workers from Indonesia. The contract Nguyen was given from the Hawaii-based recruiter was different than the paperwork given to Fatah and Sorihin, Bass said.</p>
<p>"So, they basically had different contracts but no one at the time knew that, so that's immediately going to lead to misunderstanding," Bass said. "If anybody was culpable, it was the broker in Indonesia."</p>
<p>Lawyers for Fatah and Sorihin say it doesn't matter if there were differences in the contracts.</p>
<p>"The trafficking claims do not rely on the contract provisions," said Agnieska Fryszman, one of the attorneys. "The trafficking statute provides basic protections that apply regardless."</p>
<p>After the men ran away from the Sea Queen, Bass said Nguyen was forced to pay hefty fines for letting the men escape and that U.S. customs agents threatened to suspend his ability to use foreign workers.</p>
<p>Under the settlement, Nguyen must give fliers to his foreign crew members, written in their native languages, outlining their rights and ways to get help. His crews must have at least 77 hours of rest a week, and access to their passports.</p>
<p>"This settlement should be a wakeup call to the commercial fishing industry," Fryszman said. "There's simply no excuse for turning a blind eye to human trafficking, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to hold others in the industry accountable."</p>
<p>Sorihin, who has settled with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area, said in an email that the settlement has given him "a sense of peace."</p>
<p>"I hope it will bring better treatment to seamen on the Sea Queen and in the fishing industry," he said.</p>
<p>"I feel more certainty after the settlement," Fatah said in an email. "I work in retail, and I want to start a new life in San Francisco and create a better future for my family. I hope the captain treats the seamen like what he agreed to."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Margie Mason contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Read the entire AP series on abuses in the fishing industry: <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html" type="external">https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html#main-section</a></p> | APNewsBreak: Foreign fishermen settle human trafficking suit | false | https://apnews.com/amp/4525bded629c4eafabde1ff54dec137a | 2018-01-04 | 2least
| APNewsBreak: Foreign fishermen settle human trafficking suit
<p>Two Indonesian fishermen who say they were enslaved on an American fishing boat have settled their lawsuit against the vessel's owner seven years after escaping and receiving special U.S. visas as victims of human trafficking, their lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The attorneys said Sorihin, who uses just one name, and Abdul Fatah settled their <a href="http://www.cohenmilstein.com/sites/default/files/media.8332.pdf" type="external">lawsuit</a> for an undisclosed sum against Thoai Van Nguyen, the California-based owner and captain of the Sea Queen II.</p>
<p>Nguyen denied all allegations of abuse but agreed to provide a detailed list of rights to anyone fishing on his boats.</p>
<p>The lawsuit, filed in U.S. court in San Francisco, claimed the men were trafficked through the Hawaii longline fishing fleet and forced to work on the boat around Hawaii and off the shores of California.</p>
<p>Citing federal and international human trafficking laws, the suit sought an unspecified amount of money for fees they paid and compensation they were promised along with damages for mental anguish and pain.</p>
<p>The lawsuit was being prepared as a 2016 <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/hawaiian-seafood-caught-foreign-crews-confined-boats.html" type="external">Associated Press investigation</a> revealed the Hawaii fleet operates under a loophole in federal law that allows owners to use foreign laborers with no work visas or the ability to legally enter the United States.</p>
<p>The workers, mostly from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, are required to hand over their passports and confined to boats while working in the U.S., even when docked in Honolulu or San Francisco.</p>
<p>Boat owner Jim Cook of the Hawaii Longline Association said Wednesday the settlement wont impact their fleet, made up of about 700 foreign fishermen on about 140 boats. He said they are separately preparing their own documents detailing rights which they will distribute to workers.</p>
<p>Honolulu attorney Lance Collins said it's unlikely more lawsuits will follow - even if they wanted to sue, most of the fishermen in Hawaii can't get a lawyer because they're not allowed to leave the docks when they come to shore.</p>
<p>"Two poor fishermen from another country who were brave enough, or frightened enough, to run from their boat can't be expected to enforce regulations for an entire multimillion industry," said Collins.</p>
<p>A broader solution has been proposed in Washington, where Hawaii's elected officials are backing legislation that would allow foreign fishermen to come onshore when they're not fishing.</p>
<p>Hawaii's foreign fishermen are generally paid a fraction of what other U.S. commercial fishing crews make, some receiving as little as 70 cents an hour while working up to 20 hours a day.</p>
<p>Conditions on the boats vary. While some vessels are clean and relatively safe, the AP found some crews living in squalor with sores from bed bugs. There also have been cases of active tuberculosis and low food supplies.</p>
<p>Ken Bass, Nguyen's son-in-law who is acting as his attorney, said the dispute between Fatah, Sorihin and Nguyen began with the fishermen getting different contracts from an Indonesian employment firm in 2009.</p>
<p>He said Nguyen never had any direct dealings with the Indonesian firm but used a middleman in Hawaii who knew how to get workers from Indonesia. The contract Nguyen was given from the Hawaii-based recruiter was different than the paperwork given to Fatah and Sorihin, Bass said.</p>
<p>"So, they basically had different contracts but no one at the time knew that, so that's immediately going to lead to misunderstanding," Bass said. "If anybody was culpable, it was the broker in Indonesia."</p>
<p>Lawyers for Fatah and Sorihin say it doesn't matter if there were differences in the contracts.</p>
<p>"The trafficking claims do not rely on the contract provisions," said Agnieska Fryszman, one of the attorneys. "The trafficking statute provides basic protections that apply regardless."</p>
<p>After the men ran away from the Sea Queen, Bass said Nguyen was forced to pay hefty fines for letting the men escape and that U.S. customs agents threatened to suspend his ability to use foreign workers.</p>
<p>Under the settlement, Nguyen must give fliers to his foreign crew members, written in their native languages, outlining their rights and ways to get help. His crews must have at least 77 hours of rest a week, and access to their passports.</p>
<p>"This settlement should be a wakeup call to the commercial fishing industry," Fryszman said. "There's simply no excuse for turning a blind eye to human trafficking, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to hold others in the industry accountable."</p>
<p>Sorihin, who has settled with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area, said in an email that the settlement has given him "a sense of peace."</p>
<p>"I hope it will bring better treatment to seamen on the Sea Queen and in the fishing industry," he said.</p>
<p>"I feel more certainty after the settlement," Fatah said in an email. "I work in retail, and I want to start a new life in San Francisco and create a better future for my family. I hope the captain treats the seamen like what he agreed to."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Margie Mason contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Read the entire AP series on abuses in the fishing industry: <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html" type="external">https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html#main-section</a></p>
<p>Two Indonesian fishermen who say they were enslaved on an American fishing boat have settled their lawsuit against the vessel's owner seven years after escaping and receiving special U.S. visas as victims of human trafficking, their lawyers told The Associated Press on Wednesday.</p>
<p>The attorneys said Sorihin, who uses just one name, and Abdul Fatah settled their <a href="http://www.cohenmilstein.com/sites/default/files/media.8332.pdf" type="external">lawsuit</a> for an undisclosed sum against Thoai Van Nguyen, the California-based owner and captain of the Sea Queen II.</p>
<p>Nguyen denied all allegations of abuse but agreed to provide a detailed list of rights to anyone fishing on his boats.</p>
<p>The lawsuit, filed in U.S. court in San Francisco, claimed the men were trafficked through the Hawaii longline fishing fleet and forced to work on the boat around Hawaii and off the shores of California.</p>
<p>Citing federal and international human trafficking laws, the suit sought an unspecified amount of money for fees they paid and compensation they were promised along with damages for mental anguish and pain.</p>
<p>The lawsuit was being prepared as a 2016 <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/hawaiian-seafood-caught-foreign-crews-confined-boats.html" type="external">Associated Press investigation</a> revealed the Hawaii fleet operates under a loophole in federal law that allows owners to use foreign laborers with no work visas or the ability to legally enter the United States.</p>
<p>The workers, mostly from impoverished Southeast Asian and Pacific nations, are required to hand over their passports and confined to boats while working in the U.S., even when docked in Honolulu or San Francisco.</p>
<p>Boat owner Jim Cook of the Hawaii Longline Association said Wednesday the settlement wont impact their fleet, made up of about 700 foreign fishermen on about 140 boats. He said they are separately preparing their own documents detailing rights which they will distribute to workers.</p>
<p>Honolulu attorney Lance Collins said it's unlikely more lawsuits will follow - even if they wanted to sue, most of the fishermen in Hawaii can't get a lawyer because they're not allowed to leave the docks when they come to shore.</p>
<p>"Two poor fishermen from another country who were brave enough, or frightened enough, to run from their boat can't be expected to enforce regulations for an entire multimillion industry," said Collins.</p>
<p>A broader solution has been proposed in Washington, where Hawaii's elected officials are backing legislation that would allow foreign fishermen to come onshore when they're not fishing.</p>
<p>Hawaii's foreign fishermen are generally paid a fraction of what other U.S. commercial fishing crews make, some receiving as little as 70 cents an hour while working up to 20 hours a day.</p>
<p>Conditions on the boats vary. While some vessels are clean and relatively safe, the AP found some crews living in squalor with sores from bed bugs. There also have been cases of active tuberculosis and low food supplies.</p>
<p>Ken Bass, Nguyen's son-in-law who is acting as his attorney, said the dispute between Fatah, Sorihin and Nguyen began with the fishermen getting different contracts from an Indonesian employment firm in 2009.</p>
<p>He said Nguyen never had any direct dealings with the Indonesian firm but used a middleman in Hawaii who knew how to get workers from Indonesia. The contract Nguyen was given from the Hawaii-based recruiter was different than the paperwork given to Fatah and Sorihin, Bass said.</p>
<p>"So, they basically had different contracts but no one at the time knew that, so that's immediately going to lead to misunderstanding," Bass said. "If anybody was culpable, it was the broker in Indonesia."</p>
<p>Lawyers for Fatah and Sorihin say it doesn't matter if there were differences in the contracts.</p>
<p>"The trafficking claims do not rely on the contract provisions," said Agnieska Fryszman, one of the attorneys. "The trafficking statute provides basic protections that apply regardless."</p>
<p>After the men ran away from the Sea Queen, Bass said Nguyen was forced to pay hefty fines for letting the men escape and that U.S. customs agents threatened to suspend his ability to use foreign workers.</p>
<p>Under the settlement, Nguyen must give fliers to his foreign crew members, written in their native languages, outlining their rights and ways to get help. His crews must have at least 77 hours of rest a week, and access to their passports.</p>
<p>"This settlement should be a wakeup call to the commercial fishing industry," Fryszman said. "There's simply no excuse for turning a blind eye to human trafficking, and we look forward to continuing our efforts to hold others in the industry accountable."</p>
<p>Sorihin, who has settled with his family in the San Francisco Bay Area, said in an email that the settlement has given him "a sense of peace."</p>
<p>"I hope it will bring better treatment to seamen on the Sea Queen and in the fishing industry," he said.</p>
<p>"I feel more certainty after the settlement," Fatah said in an email. "I work in retail, and I want to start a new life in San Francisco and create a better future for my family. I hope the captain treats the seamen like what he agreed to."</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Associated Press writer Margie Mason contributed to this report.</p>
<p>___</p>
<p>Read the entire AP series on abuses in the fishing industry: <a href="https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html" type="external">https://www.ap.org/explore/seafood-from-slaves/index.html#main-section</a></p> | 995 |
<p>Florida’s Republican-led state Senate isn’t whistling Dixie anymore. State Senators changed its rules this past Monday, and have agreed to remove the Confederate flag from its long-standing Senate seal.</p>
<p>The entire Senate agreed to the change, so a vote was not needed.</p>
<p>Is Florida’s state flag, and its traditional confederate appearance, next of the chopping block?</p>
<p>Tell us what you think.</p> | Florida Senate Removes Confederate Flag From Seal | true | http://shark-tank.com/2015/10/20/florida-senate-removes-confederate-flag-from-seal/ | 0right
| Florida Senate Removes Confederate Flag From Seal
<p>Florida’s Republican-led state Senate isn’t whistling Dixie anymore. State Senators changed its rules this past Monday, and have agreed to remove the Confederate flag from its long-standing Senate seal.</p>
<p>The entire Senate agreed to the change, so a vote was not needed.</p>
<p>Is Florida’s state flag, and its traditional confederate appearance, next of the chopping block?</p>
<p>Tell us what you think.</p> | 996 |
|
<p>Particularly in the US and some European States, the Israeli and Zionist versions of history are wide-spread. Israel’s narrative relies on a collection of myths aimed at bringing the moral right and the ethical behavior of the Palestinians into twilight and making their claim to their country appear as illegitimate. Israel’s negation of Palestinian existence in the Land of Palestine is, however, a falsification of history.</p>
<p>“ <a href="" type="internal">Ten Myths About Israel</a>” came out in Germany in 2016 under the title ” What’s wrong with Israel? The Ten Main Myths of Zionism”. The mainstream media ignored it, which could also be the case in the US. It’s sad but that how media power works in favor of Israel.</p>
<p>Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, who lives in exile in Britain, deals in this book with the myths of Zionism and exposes them as legends consisting of half-truths and fabrications of history. The Zionist narrative has only little to do with historical reality and truth. <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>The “Running Gag” of the Zionist historical narrative is the story of the “empty land” of Palestine, into which people without a land had finally returned after 2000 years of exile. The slogan of a country without a people, for people without a country, is the most prominent expression of the Zionist mythology. For Pappe, it’s less important whether the Jews existed as a people, rather than that the Zionists deny the existence of a Palestinian population but simultaneously claim that the State of Israel represents all the Jews of the world and does everything for their benefit and acts for them. Such a claim is just as daring as the identification of Zionism with Judaism because it takes Jews hostage for Israel’s despising policy.</p>
<p>The Zionists presented the colonization of Palestine with biblical rhetoric; this served only as a means to an end. The highest prophet of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, even considered Uganda and other places instead of the Zionist Promised Land. Finally, they found their roots in Palestine. “From then on, the Bible became both the justification and the guideline of the Zionist colonization of Palestine,” writes Pappe. He describes Zionism as a “colonial settler movement” and Israel as a “Settler Colonial State.”</p>
<p>The author points out that the expulsion of the Palestinians in 1947/48 was “ethnic cleansing.” Likewise, the 1967 June war, which is also called the Sixth Day War, was not an act of self-defense of the “little David” against an overpowering “Goliath,” but an Israeli attack on which the Israeli security establishment has minutely prepared for years.</p>
<p>The claim of being the “only democracy in the Middle East” is put in the right perspective. Israel resembles rather an “ethnocracy” than a democracy in the classical sense of the meaning. The “peace process,” which was highly praised by the Western political establishment ended in the acceleration of the colonization of Palestine and in the establishment of Palestinian regime that has to do the dirty work for Israeli occupier.</p>
<p>In his book, Ilan Pappe gives his backing for the historical truth that the Israeli political establishment must face if it is interested in peace. Israel’s security establishment abuses Judaism because it equates its Zionist expansionist and oppressive policy with Judaism. Enlightenment is, therefore, more than a necessity, which the book does excellently by deconstructing the mythological web that surrounds the history of the State of Israel.</p>
<p>This book is an absolute must for an interested public, the political and the media class to understand what Israel is all about.</p> | What Israel is Really All About | true | https://counterpunch.org/2017/07/21/what-israel-is-really-all-about/ | 2017-07-21 | 4left
| What Israel is Really All About
<p>Particularly in the US and some European States, the Israeli and Zionist versions of history are wide-spread. Israel’s narrative relies on a collection of myths aimed at bringing the moral right and the ethical behavior of the Palestinians into twilight and making their claim to their country appear as illegitimate. Israel’s negation of Palestinian existence in the Land of Palestine is, however, a falsification of history.</p>
<p>“ <a href="" type="internal">Ten Myths About Israel</a>” came out in Germany in 2016 under the title ” What’s wrong with Israel? The Ten Main Myths of Zionism”. The mainstream media ignored it, which could also be the case in the US. It’s sad but that how media power works in favor of Israel.</p>
<p>Israeli historian Ilan Pappe, who lives in exile in Britain, deals in this book with the myths of Zionism and exposes them as legends consisting of half-truths and fabrications of history. The Zionist narrative has only little to do with historical reality and truth. <a href="" type="internal" /></p>
<p>The “Running Gag” of the Zionist historical narrative is the story of the “empty land” of Palestine, into which people without a land had finally returned after 2000 years of exile. The slogan of a country without a people, for people without a country, is the most prominent expression of the Zionist mythology. For Pappe, it’s less important whether the Jews existed as a people, rather than that the Zionists deny the existence of a Palestinian population but simultaneously claim that the State of Israel represents all the Jews of the world and does everything for their benefit and acts for them. Such a claim is just as daring as the identification of Zionism with Judaism because it takes Jews hostage for Israel’s despising policy.</p>
<p>The Zionists presented the colonization of Palestine with biblical rhetoric; this served only as a means to an end. The highest prophet of Zionism, Theodor Herzl, even considered Uganda and other places instead of the Zionist Promised Land. Finally, they found their roots in Palestine. “From then on, the Bible became both the justification and the guideline of the Zionist colonization of Palestine,” writes Pappe. He describes Zionism as a “colonial settler movement” and Israel as a “Settler Colonial State.”</p>
<p>The author points out that the expulsion of the Palestinians in 1947/48 was “ethnic cleansing.” Likewise, the 1967 June war, which is also called the Sixth Day War, was not an act of self-defense of the “little David” against an overpowering “Goliath,” but an Israeli attack on which the Israeli security establishment has minutely prepared for years.</p>
<p>The claim of being the “only democracy in the Middle East” is put in the right perspective. Israel resembles rather an “ethnocracy” than a democracy in the classical sense of the meaning. The “peace process,” which was highly praised by the Western political establishment ended in the acceleration of the colonization of Palestine and in the establishment of Palestinian regime that has to do the dirty work for Israeli occupier.</p>
<p>In his book, Ilan Pappe gives his backing for the historical truth that the Israeli political establishment must face if it is interested in peace. Israel’s security establishment abuses Judaism because it equates its Zionist expansionist and oppressive policy with Judaism. Enlightenment is, therefore, more than a necessity, which the book does excellently by deconstructing the mythological web that surrounds the history of the State of Israel.</p>
<p>This book is an absolute must for an interested public, the political and the media class to understand what Israel is all about.</p> | 997 |
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — The accolades just keep mounting for St. Michael’s senior pitcher Colin Friedman.</p>
<p>The Horsemen right-hander, who tossed three-straight no-hitters — including a perfect game against Pojoaque Valley — will be featured in the April 23 issue of Sports Illustrated.</p>
<p>Friedman, along with several other prep athletes from around the country, will appear in “Faces in the Crowd” — the long-running series that features top performances by amateur athletes.</p>
<p>Friedman’s photo appears with the following:</p>
<p>“Colin, a senior at St. Michael’s, pitched a perfect game for his third consecutive no-hitter, a state record, to lead the Horsemen to a 3-0 win over Pojoaque Valley. The righthander threw 77 pitches (61 strikes) over seven innings, fanning 12 and extending his hitless streak to 18 innings. He started his tear 11 days earlier with a no-hitter against Raton High (six innings, 7-0), followed by another against Bloomfield High (five innings, 10-0). Through Sunday he has an 0.78 ERA.”</p>
<p>Friedman’s SI appearance can be found online at: sportsillustrated.cnn.com/scorecard/faces/2012/04/23/index.html</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | Sports Illustrated Notices Horseman | false | https://abqjournal.com/101204/sports-illustrated-notices-horseman.html | 2012-04-20 | 2least
| Sports Illustrated Notices Horseman
<p>.......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... .......... ..........</p>
<p />
<p>SANTA FE, N.M. — The accolades just keep mounting for St. Michael’s senior pitcher Colin Friedman.</p>
<p>The Horsemen right-hander, who tossed three-straight no-hitters — including a perfect game against Pojoaque Valley — will be featured in the April 23 issue of Sports Illustrated.</p>
<p>Friedman, along with several other prep athletes from around the country, will appear in “Faces in the Crowd” — the long-running series that features top performances by amateur athletes.</p>
<p>Friedman’s photo appears with the following:</p>
<p>“Colin, a senior at St. Michael’s, pitched a perfect game for his third consecutive no-hitter, a state record, to lead the Horsemen to a 3-0 win over Pojoaque Valley. The righthander threw 77 pitches (61 strikes) over seven innings, fanning 12 and extending his hitless streak to 18 innings. He started his tear 11 days earlier with a no-hitter against Raton High (six innings, 7-0), followed by another against Bloomfield High (five innings, 10-0). Through Sunday he has an 0.78 ERA.”</p>
<p>Friedman’s SI appearance can be found online at: sportsillustrated.cnn.com/scorecard/faces/2012/04/23/index.html</p>
<p>ADVERTISEMENT</p> | 998 |
<p>NEW YORK — Leaders from 140 countries gathered this week at the UN General Assembly in New York City amid a set of global crises that include war in Iraq and Syria as well as Ebola in Africa.</p>
<p>But even with such a crowded international agenda, much of the talk here is about the ambitious international development framework known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).</p>
<p>While it is clear that the eight goals will not be met by the December 31, 2015 deadline, observers are putting their faith in the promise of trillions of dollars of aid financed through private industries in programs called public-private partnerships, or PPPs.</p>
<p>The hope is real. But the idea comes with real challenges. In the last decade or so, PPPs have changed the landscape of how the world thinks about aid and development, helping to cement a move toward greater privatization. And as public budgets for global health goals are shrinking, some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Johnson &amp; Johnson and others, are stepping up as part of their corporate social responsibility programs.</p>
<p />
<p />
<p>"What the private sector is saying during UNGA week — very loudly — this is the way we want to work going forward," said Leith Greenslade, vice chair of the MDG Health Alliance, a special initiative of the UN Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals. "It's all about public-private partnerships."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/can-PPPs-improve-global-health" type="external">Public-private partnerships: A win-win for global health?</a></p>
<p>From Coca-Cola conducting high-profile water sanitation drives to ExxonMobil undertaking malaria prevention efforts, an overwhelming majority of observers and analysts agree that PPPs have become essential. But there is a lingering concern that some of these partnerships benefit the companies most of all.</p>
<p>Critics say the meteoric rise of PPPs concerns them, both because they further empower corporations and because so few checks and balances exist to regulate that power. While PPPs have a long history, to date there has been very little transparency or evaluation of their achievements and a lack of rigorous data and analysis. This begs the questions:</p>
<p>Who is monitoring this dramatic growth of PPPs? Who is measuring their success? And what’s in it for the companies? To what extent are these initiatives driven by lucrative tax breaks and positive public relations?</p>
<p>“What you have is a major transfer of control from the public sector to the private sector,” said Allyson Pollock, a professor of public health research and policy at Queen Mary, the University of London.</p>
<p>And when that shift takes place from government responsibility to what are essentially corporate donations, Pollock added, “You lose democracy, you lose ownership and you’re paying very high charges for the finance.”</p>
<p>This summer, <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/" type="external">The GroundTruth Project</a> dispatched a team of reporters across sub-Saharan Africa to explore the explosion of this development model in a GlobalPost Special Report titled “Branding Health.”</p>
<p>Through in-depth reporting from Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we looked at the balance between social good and corporate benefit.</p>
<p>Even in the most successful PPPs, it is clear that companies have found a highly effective way to associate their brands with good deeds while accruing government tax breaks along the way.</p>
<p>And yet the international community now consistently recognizes the private sector’s value as an ally —&#160;a powerful one.</p>
<p>Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, said at the Social Good Summit that private corporations “often have more power and influence than national governments.”</p>
<p>“The private sector, whether it is in climate change, or development, or peace and security, has a critical role to play,” Dujarric continued. “We know that when a multinational corporation takes a positive decision to change the way it does business, governments often always have to follow, and it has a tremendous impact.”</p>
<p>Major multinational consumer goods company Unilever and a group of allied corporations presented a manifesto demanding greater involvement of the private sector in the post-2015 agenda to a packed room at the UN headquarters Wednesday. The room was overflowing with representatives from corporations, governments, non-profits and grassroots human rights advocacy groups from around the world.</p>
<p>Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman, who serves on several global development strategy boards including UN Global Impact, discussed the business incentives for companies to invest in global health initiatives.</p>
<p>“Health is incredibly important also for companies,” he said. “Diabetes driven by obesity is becoming a major health problem. That is affecting the cost of doing business as well. And on the other hand you have the poverty and malnutrition limiting participation in workforces. So what you see is increasingly companies getting involved in these issues of health, but also providing solutions.”</p>
<p>And at an Millennium Development Goal countdown event Tuesday, the governments of the US, UK, Sweden and Australia announced a partnership with philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network to launch a <a href="http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/sep-23-2014-us-uk-sweden-and-australia-launch-new-200-million-global-innovation" type="external">$200 million Global Innovation Fund (GIF)</a>.</p>
<p>Expected to use a “venture capital-like approach” to investing in social innovations, the announcement of the fund is seen as a good indicator of the direction of future global health partnerships.</p>
<p>The big boom</p>
<p>Estimates show that by 2020, healthcare spending by 18 countries including the US, UK and China will surpass $7.5 trillion, according to a 2011 report on health PPPs by consultancy group PricewaterhouseCoopers. This level of spending, the report asserts, will be “unsustainable unless new funding sources are found.”</p>
<p><a href="http://ispub.com/IJH/6/2/13025" type="external">The PPP concept has grown and changed</a> since it gained prominence in the healthcare industry in the 1990s. Many private companies no longer only provide financial support to projects, but have become more actively involved in their implementation. Often companies provide <a href="http://1millionhealthworkers.org/2013/01/24/new-campaign-to-train-one-million-community-health-workers-for-sub-saharan-africa" type="external">training, medication and health workers</a> to these initiatives.</p>
<p>The narrative around PPPs has shifted, too. Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s largest public relations firm, has seen PPPs more tightly integrate with business strategy. The agency, which counts among its clients Johnson &amp; Johnson, Merck, Unilever, and PepsiCo, works with companies to identify and pursue opportunities for public-private collaboration — and ultimately, to shape the story of that company’s work in the public eye.&#160;</p>
<p>“Whereas 10 years ago, there may have been more of a focus on the ground level impact, which is obviously a critical part of PPPs, now there is a broader conversation around how PPPs are advancing sustainable business growth,” said Paul Massey, executive vice president of Weber Shandwick’s social impact team.</p>
<p>“These PPPs offer ways to address complex social issues but also communicate to the world what kind of company Unilever or Nike is. Because they know that it matters to employees and consumers,” he said.</p>
<p>The growth of different business models has also influenced this shift in how companies approach public-private partnerships. Greenslade said that the “ <a href="http://sharedvalue.org/sites/default/files/2014%20Summit/Presentation%20Decks/20140513-FSG%20Shared%20Value%20Leadership%20Summit_MEP%20Keynote_Revised_13_May_2014%20-FINAL%20FOR%20POSTING%20REVISED.pdf" type="external">Shared Value Movement</a>” introduced by Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter “took the companies by storm.”</p>
<p>“The idea that you can make money and do good at the same time is amazing,” she said. “There’s a big movement of companies trying to integrate their business work with their philanthropic work — and there are big benefits from doing that.”</p>
<p>These benefits include big opportunities for private companies in emerging markets, said Alice Korngold, strategy consultant for businesses and non-profits and author of “A Better World, Inc.” and “Leveraging Good Will.”</p>
<p>Paul da Rita, who heads up the World Bank’s focus on health PPPs via its private arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), affirms this view.</p>
<p>“Some of the private players see PPPs as the natural extension of their market … They recognize that as the more traditional markets start to mature they need to move into areas in order to keep their growth,” he said. “They see this as an opportunity to grow in terms of volume in their business.”</p>
<p>Korngold’s book shines a spotlight on companies that are effective in these areas, intended to encourage others to follow suit. She summed it up for anyone still wondering if PPPs are just philanthropic.</p>
<p>“It's not just about doing good to be nice, it's about profitability,” she said. “So it's a win-win — good for the world but also good for business.”</p>
<p>The need for transparency</p>
<p>Many PPPs have had <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2001/jul/23/hospitals.ppp" type="external">well-publicized failures</a> in Australia, Japan, the UK, Italy, and Africa, <a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en/research/dangerous-diversion" type="external">drawing attention to the need to monitor and evaluate the projects</a> to learn from mistakes and share successful practices.</p>
<p>While it is primarily the host government’s responsibility to monitor that the private partner delivers on promises made in the contract with them, said IFC’s da Rita, development experts say this is a challenge for middle- or low-income governments where their capacity is limited.</p>
<p>“If this was such an efficient market, we would be seeing good data. Every contract would be in the public domain. We would see absolutely everything,” Pollock said. “But at every stage everything is hidden and concealed.”</p>
<p>The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for its part, published a database of their public-private partnerships earlier this month, after a piece was published on GlobalPost in July stating that an online database of USAID PPPs had not been updated since 2009, and that a FOIA request filed to USAID took several months to fulfill.</p>
<p>Chris Jurgens, USAID’s director of global partnerships, told GlobalPost that releasing this data is the first step in a longer evaluation process and they are identifying a subset of PPPs that they will measure and evaluate more closely. They are still determining the methodology for these evaluations, he said.</p>
<p>“This is a new way of working and channeling resources effectively. It's also in line with our commitment to openness and transparency,” he said. “Open data will inform future decision-making."</p>
<p>A critical mass of private players argues that lack of data doesn’t mean companies should stop investing in PPPs.</p>
<p>“Measurement is a very elusive practice in this world,” said Ed Martinez, the president of the UPS Foundation, which last year made $100 million in donations to more than 4,000 programs around the world. “There are certain things that you’re not going to stop doing… even if you can’t measure with perfect economic, mathematical reasoning. You do it because it’s the right thing to do.” &#160;</p>
<p>This article is part of a GlobalPost Special Report on the role of the private sector in global health, presented in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation. The full Special Report, "Branding Health," launches Monday, September 29.</p>
<p>&#160;</p> | At UN General Assembly, global health projects are big business (VIDEO) | false | https://pri.org/stories/2014-09-25/un-general-assembly-global-health-projects-are-big-business-video | 2014-09-25 | 3left-center
| At UN General Assembly, global health projects are big business (VIDEO)
<p>NEW YORK — Leaders from 140 countries gathered this week at the UN General Assembly in New York City amid a set of global crises that include war in Iraq and Syria as well as Ebola in Africa.</p>
<p>But even with such a crowded international agenda, much of the talk here is about the ambitious international development framework known as Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).</p>
<p>While it is clear that the eight goals will not be met by the December 31, 2015 deadline, observers are putting their faith in the promise of trillions of dollars of aid financed through private industries in programs called public-private partnerships, or PPPs.</p>
<p>The hope is real. But the idea comes with real challenges. In the last decade or so, PPPs have changed the landscape of how the world thinks about aid and development, helping to cement a move toward greater privatization. And as public budgets for global health goals are shrinking, some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca-Cola, ExxonMobil, Johnson &amp; Johnson and others, are stepping up as part of their corporate social responsibility programs.</p>
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<p>"What the private sector is saying during UNGA week — very loudly — this is the way we want to work going forward," said Leith Greenslade, vice chair of the MDG Health Alliance, a special initiative of the UN Special Envoy for Financing the Health Millennium Development Goals. "It's all about public-private partnerships."</p>
<p>More from GlobalPost: <a href="http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/health/can-PPPs-improve-global-health" type="external">Public-private partnerships: A win-win for global health?</a></p>
<p>From Coca-Cola conducting high-profile water sanitation drives to ExxonMobil undertaking malaria prevention efforts, an overwhelming majority of observers and analysts agree that PPPs have become essential. But there is a lingering concern that some of these partnerships benefit the companies most of all.</p>
<p>Critics say the meteoric rise of PPPs concerns them, both because they further empower corporations and because so few checks and balances exist to regulate that power. While PPPs have a long history, to date there has been very little transparency or evaluation of their achievements and a lack of rigorous data and analysis. This begs the questions:</p>
<p>Who is monitoring this dramatic growth of PPPs? Who is measuring their success? And what’s in it for the companies? To what extent are these initiatives driven by lucrative tax breaks and positive public relations?</p>
<p>“What you have is a major transfer of control from the public sector to the private sector,” said Allyson Pollock, a professor of public health research and policy at Queen Mary, the University of London.</p>
<p>And when that shift takes place from government responsibility to what are essentially corporate donations, Pollock added, “You lose democracy, you lose ownership and you’re paying very high charges for the finance.”</p>
<p>This summer, <a href="http://thegroundtruthproject.org/" type="external">The GroundTruth Project</a> dispatched a team of reporters across sub-Saharan Africa to explore the explosion of this development model in a GlobalPost Special Report titled “Branding Health.”</p>
<p>Through in-depth reporting from Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we looked at the balance between social good and corporate benefit.</p>
<p>Even in the most successful PPPs, it is clear that companies have found a highly effective way to associate their brands with good deeds while accruing government tax breaks along the way.</p>
<p>And yet the international community now consistently recognizes the private sector’s value as an ally —&#160;a powerful one.</p>
<p>Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary General, said at the Social Good Summit that private corporations “often have more power and influence than national governments.”</p>
<p>“The private sector, whether it is in climate change, or development, or peace and security, has a critical role to play,” Dujarric continued. “We know that when a multinational corporation takes a positive decision to change the way it does business, governments often always have to follow, and it has a tremendous impact.”</p>
<p>Major multinational consumer goods company Unilever and a group of allied corporations presented a manifesto demanding greater involvement of the private sector in the post-2015 agenda to a packed room at the UN headquarters Wednesday. The room was overflowing with representatives from corporations, governments, non-profits and grassroots human rights advocacy groups from around the world.</p>
<p>Unilever’s CEO Paul Polman, who serves on several global development strategy boards including UN Global Impact, discussed the business incentives for companies to invest in global health initiatives.</p>
<p>“Health is incredibly important also for companies,” he said. “Diabetes driven by obesity is becoming a major health problem. That is affecting the cost of doing business as well. And on the other hand you have the poverty and malnutrition limiting participation in workforces. So what you see is increasingly companies getting involved in these issues of health, but also providing solutions.”</p>
<p>And at an Millennium Development Goal countdown event Tuesday, the governments of the US, UK, Sweden and Australia announced a partnership with philanthropic investment firm Omidyar Network to launch a <a href="http://www.usaid.gov/news-information/press-releases/sep-23-2014-us-uk-sweden-and-australia-launch-new-200-million-global-innovation" type="external">$200 million Global Innovation Fund (GIF)</a>.</p>
<p>Expected to use a “venture capital-like approach” to investing in social innovations, the announcement of the fund is seen as a good indicator of the direction of future global health partnerships.</p>
<p>The big boom</p>
<p>Estimates show that by 2020, healthcare spending by 18 countries including the US, UK and China will surpass $7.5 trillion, according to a 2011 report on health PPPs by consultancy group PricewaterhouseCoopers. This level of spending, the report asserts, will be “unsustainable unless new funding sources are found.”</p>
<p><a href="http://ispub.com/IJH/6/2/13025" type="external">The PPP concept has grown and changed</a> since it gained prominence in the healthcare industry in the 1990s. Many private companies no longer only provide financial support to projects, but have become more actively involved in their implementation. Often companies provide <a href="http://1millionhealthworkers.org/2013/01/24/new-campaign-to-train-one-million-community-health-workers-for-sub-saharan-africa" type="external">training, medication and health workers</a> to these initiatives.</p>
<p>The narrative around PPPs has shifted, too. Weber Shandwick, one of the world’s largest public relations firm, has seen PPPs more tightly integrate with business strategy. The agency, which counts among its clients Johnson &amp; Johnson, Merck, Unilever, and PepsiCo, works with companies to identify and pursue opportunities for public-private collaboration — and ultimately, to shape the story of that company’s work in the public eye.&#160;</p>
<p>“Whereas 10 years ago, there may have been more of a focus on the ground level impact, which is obviously a critical part of PPPs, now there is a broader conversation around how PPPs are advancing sustainable business growth,” said Paul Massey, executive vice president of Weber Shandwick’s social impact team.</p>
<p>“These PPPs offer ways to address complex social issues but also communicate to the world what kind of company Unilever or Nike is. Because they know that it matters to employees and consumers,” he said.</p>
<p>The growth of different business models has also influenced this shift in how companies approach public-private partnerships. Greenslade said that the “ <a href="http://sharedvalue.org/sites/default/files/2014%20Summit/Presentation%20Decks/20140513-FSG%20Shared%20Value%20Leadership%20Summit_MEP%20Keynote_Revised_13_May_2014%20-FINAL%20FOR%20POSTING%20REVISED.pdf" type="external">Shared Value Movement</a>” introduced by Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter “took the companies by storm.”</p>
<p>“The idea that you can make money and do good at the same time is amazing,” she said. “There’s a big movement of companies trying to integrate their business work with their philanthropic work — and there are big benefits from doing that.”</p>
<p>These benefits include big opportunities for private companies in emerging markets, said Alice Korngold, strategy consultant for businesses and non-profits and author of “A Better World, Inc.” and “Leveraging Good Will.”</p>
<p>Paul da Rita, who heads up the World Bank’s focus on health PPPs via its private arm, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), affirms this view.</p>
<p>“Some of the private players see PPPs as the natural extension of their market … They recognize that as the more traditional markets start to mature they need to move into areas in order to keep their growth,” he said. “They see this as an opportunity to grow in terms of volume in their business.”</p>
<p>Korngold’s book shines a spotlight on companies that are effective in these areas, intended to encourage others to follow suit. She summed it up for anyone still wondering if PPPs are just philanthropic.</p>
<p>“It's not just about doing good to be nice, it's about profitability,” she said. “So it's a win-win — good for the world but also good for business.”</p>
<p>The need for transparency</p>
<p>Many PPPs have had <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2001/jul/23/hospitals.ppp" type="external">well-publicized failures</a> in Australia, Japan, the UK, Italy, and Africa, <a href="http://www.oxfam.org/en/research/dangerous-diversion" type="external">drawing attention to the need to monitor and evaluate the projects</a> to learn from mistakes and share successful practices.</p>
<p>While it is primarily the host government’s responsibility to monitor that the private partner delivers on promises made in the contract with them, said IFC’s da Rita, development experts say this is a challenge for middle- or low-income governments where their capacity is limited.</p>
<p>“If this was such an efficient market, we would be seeing good data. Every contract would be in the public domain. We would see absolutely everything,” Pollock said. “But at every stage everything is hidden and concealed.”</p>
<p>The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for its part, published a database of their public-private partnerships earlier this month, after a piece was published on GlobalPost in July stating that an online database of USAID PPPs had not been updated since 2009, and that a FOIA request filed to USAID took several months to fulfill.</p>
<p>Chris Jurgens, USAID’s director of global partnerships, told GlobalPost that releasing this data is the first step in a longer evaluation process and they are identifying a subset of PPPs that they will measure and evaluate more closely. They are still determining the methodology for these evaluations, he said.</p>
<p>“This is a new way of working and channeling resources effectively. It's also in line with our commitment to openness and transparency,” he said. “Open data will inform future decision-making."</p>
<p>A critical mass of private players argues that lack of data doesn’t mean companies should stop investing in PPPs.</p>
<p>“Measurement is a very elusive practice in this world,” said Ed Martinez, the president of the UPS Foundation, which last year made $100 million in donations to more than 4,000 programs around the world. “There are certain things that you’re not going to stop doing… even if you can’t measure with perfect economic, mathematical reasoning. You do it because it’s the right thing to do.” &#160;</p>
<p>This article is part of a GlobalPost Special Report on the role of the private sector in global health, presented in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation. The full Special Report, "Branding Health," launches Monday, September 29.</p>
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