Bloc Party - March 2, 2018 Last week we shared an overview of the history of Canadian prisons and the resistance to them. We're excited to share an interview with the authors of that history--two friends from Quebec and Ontario,... submedia.tv - March 1, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 27, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 26, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 26, 2018 What follows is a personal reflection on demonstrations in Durham, North Carolina following Unite the Right in Charlottesville. by Dwayne Dixon Durham, NC, has been a crucial locus for activist energy with a storied history...

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Are they right? And who are The Shomrim? By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership And Author Alan Korwin, GunLaws.com Why Jews Hate Guns Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Washington, DC - -( Ammoland.com )- It's no secret that one of the largest blocs of people pressing for so-called "gun control" is the culturally (aka not-so-religious) American Jewish community. This confounds many observers who would expect that Jews, with such a stunning history of oppression and murder by humanity's villains, would cling tenaciously to personal firearms and the ability to protect themselves as the Hebrew Scriptures instruct. In reaction to the Holocaust, American Jews adopted the phrase "Never Again!" If actions mean anything, they don't believe it. That's for someone else to do. How do Jews expect to put teeth behind the words "Never Again!" if not with the ability to apply and project personal force when righteous -- and necessary -- for survival? Why then do so many American Jews hate guns and fear gun ownership so much? Our research identifies ten reasons why these Jews feel the way they do about self defense in general, firearms specifically and your own right to keep and bear arms. The adamantly anti-gun-rights Jews are bowing to: A desire for utopian moral purity A disproportional incidence of hoplophobia A quest for power through victimization of peers A utopian delusion that if guns would just "go away," crime would end and the world would be a peaceful safe place Self hatred and a wish to be helpless, acting out guilt-based behavioral problems that develop in childhood The Ostrich Syndrome Garden-variety hypocrisy Adulterated religion -- Jews In Name Only (JINOs) Feel-good sophistry Abject fear that yields irrational behavior Despite the modern American Jewish aversion to arms, it has not always been so, and Israeli Jews certainly understand the value of arms. Throughout history, there were Jews who fought in defense of their people and way of life. The Torah is filled with Jews who took up arms in righteous and valiant defensive action. See, for example, The Ten Commandments of Self Defense , (Bendory and JPFO, 2009) ; or recall, "When Abraham heard that his nephew Lot was taken captive, he took the 318 trained soldiers of his house and pursued the captors," defeated them, brought back Lot, and exacted retribution with their looted property. (Genesis 14:14) Contemporary Jews may have largely acquiesced to their WWII inquisitors, but Biblical Jews resisted their Egyptian slave masters and then fought countless fierce battles against invaders and anti-Semites, such as Amelek, the Philistines and Haman. Jews have been assaulted, accosted, and oppressed by nearly every nation and empire in history, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Ottomans and of course modern nations like Germany and the USSR. Miraculously, Jews have outlasted all those who would annihilate them, typically by using force of arms. Perhaps their liberal modern approach to assault and suffering -- "Don't fight back, it will only make matters worse" -- holds lessons for us. Or perhaps not: it is very hard to witness open-pit graves piled high with emaciated corpses without emotional revulsion. How much worse could matters get? "Culturally proper" Jews will not want to openly face the tortured reasoning of their Faustian bargain behind "don't make it worse." That doesn't make the following reasons any less real or mortally dangerous. And Jews are not alone in relying on these justifications for rejecting the fundamental human right of self defense. Many other gunless people will also recognize their feelings accurately described by what we have found. We would not dream of interfering with a free person's freedom to choose and embrace defenselessness or to go gunless. On the other hand, there can be no tolerance for anyone who attempts to force others to behave so dangerously. 1. A Desire For Utopian Moral Purity This seems to be the nub. Devin Sper, author of The Future of Israel (SY Publishing, 2004) , supported by exhaustive research on the history of the Jewish people, has found that Jews are wont to seek utopian moral purity, and in doing so they reject use of force. By its very nature force corrupts and polarizes. With power and force come allies and adversaries. Taking sides, even righteous sides, conflicts with utopian egalitarianism. As the phrases indicate, these utopian ideals are unattainable. Although such a rejection of personal power and righteous use of force seems irrational -- especially for groups repeatedly murdered by governments and threatened with annihilation -- it is a choice they are free to make. Using diverse strategies Jews have survived every attempt to exterminate them while their tormenters have vanished. In Mark Twain's classic words: "The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was ... " We must remind ourselves that Twain wrote this well before the Holocaust. Would his words have been different had he witnessed the government-run atrocities of the 20th century? Sper documents the fact that the main Jewish texts, the Torah and Hebrew Scripture, are sometimes violent texts that exhort followers to take up arms in many contexts, and tell stories of vast militia and armed actions by the Jewish tribes. Sper points out that many modern Jews -- especially liberal Jews -- ignore parts of the Torah they don't like, such as this militarism. See, for example, Esther 8:15 - 9:18, where Jews obliterate their enemies; and when asked what to do the next day, Esther says more of the same. And for good measure, impale the ten killed sons of evil vizier Haman on stakes. In place of this Biblical claim to righteous use of force, contemporary American Jews have constructed a plain-vanilla substitute that is mostly froth and dragons. Even the annual Passover retelling of the escape from slavery in Egypt glosses over the horrors of slavery and war to the point of a Grimm's fairy tale -- horrifying if you look at it literally and in full detail, but diluted into a story safe for children, complete with drips of sweet wine to soften the gore and savagery. Before condemning Jews for hypocrisy in forgetting their history, recognize that many religions similarly gloss over aspects of their sacred texts that don't mix well with their modern sensibilities. How many Biblical literalists cleave to the elements of, say, Leviticus, with its calls for stoning certain women to death (20:27), burning certain daughters (21:9) or instructions on how to manage your slaves (25:45-46)? 2. A Disproportional Incidence Of Hoplophobia Hoplophobia , n. Irrational morbid fear of guns (c. 1966, coined by Col. Jeff Cooper, from the Greek hoplites, weapon; see his book Principles of Personal Defense ) . May cause sweating, faintness, discomfort, rapid pulse, nausea, sleeplessness, nondescript fears, fantasizing, more, at mere thought of guns. Presence of working firearms may cause panic attack, desperate effort at avoidance. Hoplophobe, hoplophobic. ( http://www.gunlaws.com/GunPhobia.htm ) Dr. Sarah Thompson, M.D., in her ground-breaking essay on the subject, Raging Against Self Defense , pointed out that hoplophobes often use the psychological defense mechanism of projection in dealing with their fear. Unable or unsure of their ability to control their own internal conflicts, they project their conflicts onto people around them. They fear losing control, going berserk, shooting people around them or shooting themselves in a mad, chaotic expression of rage. It's only natural for them to then assume that anyone else with a gun could or would do the same; the occasional madman serves to reinforce their fears. This explains at last the perpetual hysteria that proclaims, every time a Second Amendment infringement is lifted: we will suffer shootouts at stop lights, slow waiters murdered on the spot, or Dodge City bloodshed as a result. Every new carry-permit law, the repeal of the National Parks possession ban , the expired Clinton-era rifle bans, lifted restrictions for adult gun carry on campuses -- all were met with the same barrage of irrational fears. It is a knee-jerk mantra loudly shouted and then brazenly promoted by an unethical media every time. And the imagined fear? It never manifests. It is but an empty neurotic fantasy. Media corrections are never published, and so the fantasies and lies are repeated and recycled. Shame on those who would forever repeat the same absurd lies, never recant, and refuse to seek help for their neuroses. We must show tolerance and understand: Facts mean little to people with morbid irrational fears. The fears just continue. Hoplophobes need treatment and sympathy, not laws infringing on the body politic. Some of what we think of as a political issue -- so-called "gun control" -- is actually a psychiatric condition, a medical problem. Hoplophobes need treatment and sympathy, not laws infringing on the body politic. The hoplophobic condition also manifests itself as a fear that if the afflicted person had a gun, someone would kill them with their own gun. Of course if this had merit, Jews could have killed their assailants with their own guns throughout history. Jews and liberals alike appear to suffer from hoplophobia in disproportionate numbers for reasons that beg to be researched. The controversial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association, now in review for its 5th edition (due May 2013) has yet to recognize or address the widespread phenomenon of gun phobias. We're told by one expert this is not the purpose of that book: irrational fear of spiders, water, even open spaces, yes; terrifying irrational fear of guns, the very bulwark of liberty, no. Coincidentally, the psychiatric profession has an unusually large Jewish contingent, and its founders were disproportionately Jewish. 3. A Quest For Power Through Victimization Of Peers In our culture, victimization accords moral authority and thus power to the victim. Subjugating or convincing a constituency to accept victimization cedes power to those perpetuating this harmful ruse on their peers. This is despicably immoral -- but it is tacitly acceptable and all too commonplace in our victimization culture. Just think of how many " rights " organizations claim moral authority and power through victimization. Blacks have been largely convinced by their leaders to avoid guns (rap "music" notwithstanding) leaving them reliant on police who are, historically, often perceived poorly by the black community. Who among American blacks trusts police implicitly? Such trust may be irrational, but no one claims humans act rationally all or even most of the time. The people know instinctively they cannot trust government agents for their safety, yet they are left to wish for such illusory protection. A near-perfect parallel exists with respect to Jews. Governments are historically the greatest threat to Jews (or anyone) , responsible for horrendous mass-murder campaigns and pogroms throughout history. Murder by government, democide, is by far the greatest killer of innocent human beings. People imbued with the intoxicating power of government authority exterminated 262 million people in the 20th century, according to political scientist R. J. Rummel. Murderous criminals don't hold a candle to the deadly threat government poses to the public. Jewish Experts Agree on Gun Control Yet Jewish leaders -- in Congress of all places (e.g., Charles Schumer, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Barney Frank, Frank Lautenberg, Carl Levin, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, others) -- are the anti-rights leaders on the self-defense gun issue. They are the very strongest proponents of relying on government for safety and of destroying the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. Somehow, America's liberal Jews expect the police to protect them, a reliance that has failed the Jews throughout history. As you may already know, police are actually free of any legal obligation to protect you, as documented for all 50 states in Dial 911 and Die (Attorney Richard W. Stevens, Mazel Freedom Press, 1999) . The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed this repeatedly, most recently in Castle Rock v. Gonzalez , 545 U.S. 748 (2005) . 4. A utopian delusion that if guns would just "go away," crime would end and the world would be a peaceful safe place This basic liberal tenet of faith has been around since time immemorial, and afflicts Jews in disproportionate numbers. Jews are fond of saying that if guns would just go away, the world would be a better place. They fail to look back in history, to a time before guns existed, and recall the incredible savagery that took place without guns available for protection. Life back then was brutal, and encouraged: "Doom them to destruction: grant them no quarter" (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). Our world bristling with arms is a more decent and safe place to live than the ancient world. People blind themselves to this reality, and pop culture - - when it isn't promoting Hollywood-style machine-gun silliness -- enforces the false notion that a total gun ban would bring world peace. This utopian " vision " is supposedly supported by Isaiah's prophecy of a Messianic future, when "they shall beat their spears into pruning hooks" , when "the lion shall lie down with the lamb." Prophetic it may be, but as instructions for living, it's a recipe for death and destruction, and Jews are also instructed otherwise (but often prefer to ignore the inconvenient): "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 4:9) . Put down your arms in the face of a vicious enemy and you will suffer the fate of the lamb who lies down with the lion. America's Jews often hold to a dangerous related myth that violence never solves anything. Like so many platitudes it is appealing, with enormous first-blush power. Yet it is self-evidently preposterous -- any degree of thought spoils the sweet image: Hitler, Hezbollah, Haman and the other hordes are not stopped with peace marches, protest rallies, and clever signs. Despots are overthrown by force or the credible threat of force. Brutal criminals bent on rape and murder are not held back by intellectual prowess or Messianic visions -- they are held back either by the brutal stopping power of a well-aimed bullet or by caging them when captured. It is the unfortunate reality of this harsh world: countervailing force is the only deterrent for aggression. American Jews, irrationally, reject this. They're free to do so, but they have no legitimate moral authority to drag anyone else into that lethal tar pit with them. Many Jews also cling to the notion that "it can't happen here," which is what many believed even as the Holocaust was taking place. This is ironically contradictory to the simultaneous militance implied by "Never Again!" "Deliberate misuse of guns by miscreants does not define guns. " And finally, some Jews hold to the notion that weapons are unacceptable because violence is unacceptable. The fact that guns save lives, guns stop crime, guns protect you, and guns are the reason Israel still stands, are blacked out of any thought process. They would have you believe (and they falsely believe) that guns are designed for murder. Murder is illegal. Guns are properly designed -- for protection . Killing to protect is legal, moral, just and virtually universally sanctioned. Deliberate misuse of guns by miscreants does not define guns. 5. Self hatred and a wish to be helpless, acting out guilt-based behavioral problems that develop in childhood The founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, the late Aaron Zelman, framed this succinctly with many Jews he met. They would express outrage at Aaron's classical approach of arming for safety, peace through strength and deterrence as a means of achieving peace and stability (which is Israel's approach, though he didn't frame it in those terms) . They would emphatically reject the idea that all Jews should be educated to arms and know how to handle and shoot guns for their own safety. He could see through their self-righteous bluster and tell them, "You're just a self-hating Jew waiting to sniff the gas." 6. The Ostrich Syndrome Some people are inherently weak-willed and live without a strong moral compass. They are eager to simplify their lives and avoid uncomfortable situations. Unwilling to face the harsh realities of life, they would prefer to ignore guns and pretend the need for self defense will go away if they pay it no heed. It is irrational, yes, but understandable when you consider the psyche that generates such thinking. These people, Jews and Gentiles alike, will say things like, "I don't believe in guns," as if they don't exist, or as if their purported non-belief makes the subject evaporate and obviates the possibility of encountering a situation in which self defense is necessary. It is foolhardy and dangerous, but an ostrich with its head in the sand probably feels just fine... until it is devoured. 7. Garden-Variety Hypocrisy While many Jews say they detest guns, they in fact staunchly support guns, so long as the guns are in the hands of "the proper authorities. " On a civil level today, that means the police. So in reality, so-called anti-gun-rights Jews are really very pro-gun-rights, they just want someone else to hold the guns for them. This is not only hypocritical, it is immoral. "So-called anti-gun-rights Jews are really very pro-gun-rights, they just want someone else to hold the guns for them. " Attorney Jeff Snyder points out, in his globally famous book Nation of Cowards , that expecting other people to risk their lives to save yours cannot be supported in a moral way: "If you believe it is reprehensible to possess the means and will to use lethal force to repel a criminal assault, how can you call upon another to do so for you?... Because that is his job and we pay him to do it? Because your life is of incalculable value, but his is only worth the $30,000 yearly salary we pay him?" He asks: if your life is worth protecting, whose responsibility is it to protect it? The full weight of his arguments repeatedly come back to personal responsibility. 8. Adulterated Religion -- Jews In Name Only (JINOs) Arizona-based historian Michael E. Newton, author of The Path to Tyranny (Elephtheria Publishing, 2010), posits that part of the problem rests with Jews who no longer believe in Judaism, and have replaced their previous religion with a popular new one: so-called "social justice." If a Biblically-based value system no longer drives protection of the G-d-given gift of life, then abandoning the right to self defense poses little moral dilemma. Jews who are only or barely culturally Jewish have little reason to rise up to the standards Jewish Law speaks of explicitly: "If a man comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first" (Talmud, Berakoth 58b). Newton observes that, In times of trouble, religious Jews offer prayers to G-d in the hope that He will help. Secular Jews turn to the government instead to protect and defend them. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor.' Not only can we defend our neighbor from attack, in Torah Law we are commanded to do so. That we must also defend ourselves is so patently obvious in Jewish Law that no defense or justification is given for it. "Who is more religious? The secular Jew who believes government police forces will defend them or the religious Jew who trusts in G-d but also believes that G-d gave us the strength, right, and even the commandment to defend ourselves?" The entire anti-rights issue on guns may be a tangent to this perhaps larger issue: Why are the nation's Jews predominantly liberal Democrats, leaning heavily toward statism, socialism, progressivism, and nanny-state protection and social order? Why don't they instead gravitate toward human freedom, individual rights and responsibility, and avoidance of the heavy hand of government? Liberal Democrats, in large measure, hate guns and gun owners too, so there would seem to be a degree of go along to get along. And what of the Israel Paradox? American Jews by and large vigorously support armed defense of the Jewish state, yet persistently work to disarm the American public. That such positions are self-contradictory and hypocritical never crosses their minds. These conundrums leave us baffled. 9. Feel-Good Sophistry Feel-good sophistry is rigid attachment to false arguments that have the effect of deceiving. It works for a lot of humanity, and is a component of the Jewish mindset. People attach to ideas and concepts, regardless of or despite any germ of validity, often based on emotion with no factual support. It is irrational and foolish, but people are free to be irrational and foolish. But then they vote and inject themselves into the political arena. In doing so, they force humanity to deal not only with real problems but with imaginary ones as well. 10. Abject Fear That Yields Irrational Behavior The wild-eyed desire to "take all the guns away!" ignores the fact that government is the intended agent for such a plan. Such a plan would not "take away" guns at all. It would merely transfer them, giving them all to government (with the stark exception of entire arsenals already thoroughly banned yet in the hands of criminals and enemies of the state). "Taking away guns merely transfers them to the government we all trust so deeply." In seeking this "take away the guns," Jews astoundingly disregard the fact that, historically, governments have been the main perpetrators of atrocities against them. They also ignore the fact that in times before guns, when physical protection was more difficult, violence was worse and more horrific than today. Think Genghis Kahn, Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler, in addition to the obvious Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and a personal favorite, Xena the Warrior Princess (which adds Hollywood's rampant titillating sexification of violence) . The Shomrim Despite these seemingly overwhelming Jewish predilections, within the Jewish community there exists a thin but powerful stream of thought, held by some Jews, who advocate for the fundamental human right to protect one's self, one's loved ones, the community and the fruits of one's labors. As King Solomon said: "There is a time for war, and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:8) . These people exist, typically "in the closet" of Jewish thought and behavior, and may be thought of as Shomrim, "The Watchful." Non-aggressive and usually conservative in their views. " They stand as silent and unobserved guardians of their Jewish brethren, without acknowledgment." Anecdotal evidence indicates that a significant percentage of discreetly armed Shomrim are present in synagogues on a regular basis. Their numbers appear to be increasing, as gun ownership, marksmanship practice, the shooting sports and gun-safety training increases nationwide across all demographics. Atrocities like the recent al-Qaida-inspired murder of Jews in France encourage more Jews to rethink personal preparedness. Given the severe threats Jews face in the modern world, isn't it time for Jews to rethink the anti-rights posture so many have adopted toward the fundamental human right to keep and bear arms? While American Jews may not be required to learn about arms as civilians (unlike their Israeli cousins) , it's corrupt for them to attempt to force other law-abiding adults to suffer a government ban on the tools of self defense. And it's time for the Shomrim to come out of the closet and teach their brethren about the cold, harsh reality of the world in which we live, and the tools that allow it to be tamed. "For he does not rest nor does he sleep, the Guardian of Israel" (Psalm 121). "I imagine some of this research will be attacked as anti-Semitic, a frightful charge, possible whenever you discuss Judaism. Which statements exactly, I would ask, are anti-Semitic? I can find none." J.T. Rabbi Dovid Bendory is the Rabbinic Director of Jews for the Preservation of Gun Ownership and a certified firearms instructor. Alan Korwin, author of nine books on gun law, is the publisher at Bloomfield Press and runs the national directory website, GunLaws.com. Support the important work of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership "America's most aggressive defender of gun rights." Contact: JPFO.org * [email protected] * 262-673-9745 Alan Korwin has been involved in the gun-rights struggle for more than two decades and can be reached at GunLaws.com (c) Copyright 2012 JPFO, Inc., and Alan Korwin. All rights reserved. About: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Mission is to destroy "gun control" and to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone. Those are the twin goals of Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). Founded by Jews and initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed, JPFO has always welcomed persons of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all. JPFO is a non-profit tax-exempt educational civil rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO's products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible, using bold tactics without compromise on fundamental principles. Visit www.JPFO.org - Copyright JPFO 2011

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Is the President's plan enough? As long as there are people whose lives and families are in the US remain vulnerable to deportation, is not enough, but it is something , and it is the result of the hard work of thousands of activists who have put everything on the line to make their presence known as undocumented and immigrant Americans who deserve rights and dignity. By Maddie | November 21, 2014 | 3 Comments Sesame Street, Margaret Cho, trans women in Bangladesh, a playlist, wishes, blue things, anime, Vikki Reich, Elaine Atwell, Thanksgiving dinner thoughts sprinkled with privilege, Arabelle Sicardi, geek girl culture, superiority by way of motherhood, Mean Girls, organ donors, dogs in cars and so very much more! By Laneia | November 13, 2014 | 25 Comments The issue of immigrant children being detained in immigrant detention centers is not exactly a new story. But this past week, an influx of children from Central America who were detained while trying to cross into the U.S. has drawn new attention to the extreme and inhuman treatment undocumented immigrants face from U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). By Maddie | June 11, 2014 | 8 Comments "A phrase that often arises in this movement is "ni de aqui, ni de alla," (neither from here nor there), and it speaks to the ability we seek as queer immigrants to define home as we choose, whether in a geographic sense, within our communities, or a gendered sense, within our bodies." By Kemi | July 25, 2013 | 11 Comments

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Virginia has been put under a state of emergency ahead of the one year anniversary of the deadly Charlottesville Unite the Right rally held by neo-Nazis', ABC News reports. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared the state of emergency and asks that residents "make alternative plans to engaging with planned demonstrations of hate." "Virginia continues to mourn the three Virginians who lost their lives in the course of the demonstrations a year ago," Northam said. "We hope the anniversary of those events passes peacefully." On August 12 , hundreds of white nationalists gathered in Charlottesville for a Unite the Right rally. It was set up to protest the city's plan to get rid of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A 32-year-old activist Heather Heyer was killed when a white supremacist drove his car into groups of protesters. President Trump then blamed at least some of the violence on the left. "What about the 'alt-left' that came charging at, as you say, the 'alt-right?'" Trump said at a Trump Tower presser. "Do they have any semblance of guilt? ... You had a group on one side that was bad. And you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now." In addition to Heyer's death, 19 other people were reportedly injured in the violence. The state has allocated 2 million to pay for the response, and designated resources from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Health and Virginia National Guard to be available in Charlottesville over the weekend, the governor's office reports. Heather Heyer's Mom Speaks The mother of Heather Heyer , the young woman who was killed at the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, is keeping her daughter's memory alive by sharing the endearing messages and momentous that she receives from the supportive public. According to the New York Post , every few weeks, Susan Bro walks down 4th Street in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, until she arrives at a brick wall covered in chalked messages like "Love over hate" and "Gone but not forgotten." "I come just to absorb the energy of the place," Bro, 61, said Tuesday as she stood on the block now named in honor of her daughter. She intends to bring flowers to Heather Heyer Way on Aug. 12 before speaking at an event to mark the anniversary. Heyer was fatally wounded when James Fields allegedly rammed his car into counter-protesters during the rally. Bro said upon seeing her daughter's battered and broken body for the first time, she broke down and made a vow. "I held her hand and said, 'I'm going to make this count.'" "Every time I'm invited on to this network I am being asked to dispute another Black person. The Black community is broken up in general and I don't want to partake in any of that," said Owens She then scolded the MSNBC host saying that the network should worry more about reporting about the recent wave of violence and shootings in Chicago. Dyson, who initially sat patiently waiting for his turn, couldn't wait to weigh in. "I am a Black conservative and I am not hearing anything said about the fact that about 25 white Democrats assembled to kick me out of a restaurant yesterday to throw water and to throw eggs at me because I'm a conservative that supports Donald Trump." She then continued to defend Trump's racist policies, blasting Dyson for not questioning the state of Black America under President Obama. The New York Posts reports that the police would like to interview the twins and believe that this was a miscarriage and not a criminal act. In other reports , it has been said that it could have possibly been a "botched abortion". The fetus is said to be three to six months along, per sources. "As we continue to learn more about this tragic and sensitive situation, we are actively cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation," an American Airlines spokesman said in a statement to PEOPLE. ABC has several upcoming changes to the network as it steadies itself following a rocky year with Kenya Barris and infighting over creative differences with Blackish, and severing ties with Roseanne Barr after her racist tweets. ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey spoke to Variety about what's to come for the network with the 20th Century Fox merger, Barris decision to leave ABC Studios and the inclusion of the Conners - a new show that won't inlcude Barr. Barris , the man behind the hit ABC sitcom Black-ish has officially left ABC Studios, and the network's decision to ban an episode centered around the NFL 's protests against police brutality could be at the root of it. Dunning said, however, Barris will maintain a broader connection to the network. "First of all, Kenya's broader relationship with the Disney-ABC Television Group goes on, because he still is very involved in "Black-ish," he has "Grown-ish," he has a new show, "Besties." she said. "So there still is an ongoing dynamic with Kenya. I think creatively for writers there is a cycle and I think part of what happened for Kenya, outside of this episode -- because with this episode, we had all been excited to have this one stand alongside episodes like "Lemons" and "Juneteenth," and ultimately we all felt, Kenya, the studio, the network, that we hadn't got to this place creatively where we were telling the story in a way that felt like it could stand alongside those, so the decision was made to shelve it. I think, and you would have to speak to him directly, he had come to a place creatively where creatively he wanted to do some things outside of what broadcast allows you to do, where you don't have to worry about act breaks, and you don't have to worry about standards and practices, and I understand that." But when asked if Dunning had conversations with 20 th Century Fox about the upcoming season since the business relations is about to change, she said not just yet. "We haven't. There are a lot of very specific regulations about how you can engage. So for the moment, we've just been looking at 20th the same way we've been looking at Warners and Sony and our other outside partners. I will say that their team has come in really hot. They were aggressive, they've got a lot of great material, so that's been exciting to see." Dunning who fired Roseanne Barr after calling Obama Advisor Valerie Jarrett an "ape" said the network was aware she had a tendency to use racist terms but Barr said she ready for a new beginning. "We spoke with Roseanne and the producers at the beginning about her past history with the understanding that she came into this with a desire to share some very important stories, to shine a light on a part of the country that hadn't had a spotlight on it in a while, and she was very much saying that she was aware of her behavior in the past and was very much looking forward to starting with a clean slate here. I am a believer in second chances, and we all felt like we were going to put our best foot forward and hope for a good result. And it did not end up that way," Dunning said. ABC greenlit The Conners, a 10-episode spinoff that will feature the same family (minus Barr) and premiere in the fall. " We were very clear about the fact that if we were going to move forward, Roseanne Barr would need to have no involvement with the show. We were able to come to a place where everybody felt comfortable and good about that. But with the specifics as to the conversations that were held between Roseanne and Tom (Werner) you would have to ask him."

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Fox Nation Allows Racist Comments Directed Towards The Obamas Reported by Priscilla - October 17, 2009 - The title of the thread is "Artists Crucifies Ape, Electrocutes Jesus." It links to an article which describes an art exhibit, in a former British church, in which the crucified gorilla demonstrates "the plight of the Western Lowland Gorilla as well as to challenge the idea that animals have no souls." The electrocuted Jesus was "intended to challenge people's notions of race and religion." Not suprisingly, the Fox Nation readers (?) are responding with the perfunctory "libruls are evil," "end of days" and "Muslims are never insulted like this" rhetoric. One of the geniuses even complained about the use of our tax money - it's in London, hellooo??? But it gets better. There were two racist slurs against Michelle Obama that slipped through the moderators. But what is even more noteworthy is the racist slur towards President Obama (and I don't think the poster is referring to the Jesus likeness) that is repeated and somehow hasn't caught the attention of the moderators. Is this accident or design? I report, you decide! Fox News Phone Number a 1-888-369-4762 e-mail - yourcomments@foxnews.com Stay classy Fox Nation!

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Morino brought an incredulous friend to see the orange street sign he just spotted in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis. The official-looking metal sign read: "WARNING: TWIN CITIES POLICE EASILY STARTLED." It featured a graphic silhouette of a police officer, a gun in each raised hand, shooting... Read More News Minneapolis , Somali police Leave a comment The discovery of nine dead bodies and more than 30 injured people inside a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio shows that a tough anti-sanctuary city law is needed more than ever, top Texas officials said Sunday. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wrote on Facebook that sanctuary cities "entice" people to... Read More News Illegal Aliens , Sanctuary city Leave a comment VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 25, Tuesday Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for... Read More Faith Galatians , Proverbs , Thessalonians , Timothy Leave a comment

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Picture an arc-shaped 70-kilometre string of pearls on an azure sea near the equator... The hub of Tuvalu, the Funafuti Atoll, is home for about 4,000 of the country's 10,000 Polynesian people. You can cross it from side to side in five minutes, yet to circumnavigate the 30 sparse coral islets in this atoll can take more than a day. Nine island groups form the country of Tuvalu, which actually means 'eight' in the local language because only eight are permanently settled. One of the smallest independent countries in the world, Tuvalu is a nation of contradictions, ingenious solutions and small miracles. Formerly the Ellice part of the British colony of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands, Tuvalu astounded world observers in 1978 when it sloughed off the tie to the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati), strange cousins who were culturally and ethnically Micronesian but with whom they had been yoked for British administrative convenience. Their proud sentiment was and is: 'We'd rather be independent; we're used to hardships and to compromises.' Until recently economic survival depended on the interest from a Trust Fund given as an independence gift, on sales of postage stamps and on remittances from sailors working on overseas vessels - not to mention one of the world's largest overseas-aid budgets per capita. More recently Tuvalu has found new sources of wealth by selling fishing rights, leasing its phone lines to sex-service companies and making money out of the internet country name 'dot tv'. Land has always been precious. After the war, salaries from wartime efforts were invested by Vaitupu village elders in the purchase of a freehold island (Kioa) in Fiji where the Tuvalu culture persists. In the early days of independence, an American carpetbagger tried to sell uninhabitable blocks of US desert to land-starved Tuvaluans who produced money from under their mats. Today, environmentally sensitive Tuvaluans are buying land in Fiji, Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand, anticipating the time when the rise in sea level due to global warming will cause the islands' water to be too brackish to support a population. After the Pearl Harbour invasion, American Seabees in 1942 quickly built the Funafuti airstrip by excavating coral. They permanently destroyed the only fresh-food gardens on the island, altered currents and attractive beaches, and left behind unsightly holes from which soil was 'borrowed'. The proceeds of the internet-address deal (rumoured to be $50 million) are supposed to be ploughed into improving education on the outer islands, rebuilding the crumbling government administration buildings and extending the airstrip. Better sea transport is vital for this isolated island nation. Seaplanes are not economical. There still remains only one inter-island ferry and one Australian defence ship (said to patrol international waters and fishing rights). Tuvalu has paid its $20,000 membership fee to join the United Nations and the $385,000 operating costs of an embassy in the US. As such its tiny civil service is probably the best travelled in the world, with paid invitations to international meetings and equal participation with China and the US. Their vote within the UN and the Commonwealth is sought after and continues to help bring in high levels of aid. The culture is changing, even if the fun-loving, dancing and gift-giving Polynesian elements remain. Wide differences exist between Funafuti and the outer islands. TV and video have reinforced violence and power plays rather than the pacific way of discussion and consensus. Alcohol and sexual misdemeanors are ongoing problems. Nevertheless the greatest threat to Tuvalu remains that of a watery extinction as a result of global warming. From the perspective of Tuvalu, the Bush administration's scorn of the Kyoto agreements brings to mind Henry Kissinger's comment about Micronesia: 'There are only 10,000 people, who gives a damn!'

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A few days ago President Obama delivered a speech in which he reminded his audience that everyone who succeeds in America has done so with the help of other Americans. We are all mutually dependent on the resources and civic projects that keep this country humming. The President made the point that even he was a beneficiary of the social and economic collective advancement that's historically been a part of our nation's framework. He noted that "Somebody gave me an education. I wasn't born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Michelle wasn't. But somebody gave us a chance." However, in the past few decades, something changed in our country. As Dylan Ratigan says in his book Greedy Bastards ... "[S]omething has gone wrong in America. For the last few decades, the rising tide has been lifting only the yachts. Almost anywhere you look, if you just open your eyes, you will see ordinary, hardworking people struggling. Not far away you'll find a few greedy bastards making out like bandits. What defines greedy bastards? It's not merely that they're rich. [...] Greedy bastards have given up on creating value for others and instead get their money by rigging the game so that they can steal from the rest of us." That's the heart, and what passes for the soul of Mitt Romney, who somehow extracted an interpretation of the President's words that led to the absurd criticism that, "This is a president more intent on punishing people than he is on building our economy." However, when even a cursory examination of the facts is made, it's clear that it is Romney who is The Punisher . His policies, if enacted, will punish a broad spectrum of Americans from almost every possible constituent group. For instance... 1. WOMEN: Despite telling representatives of Planned Parenthood that he supported Roe v. Wade when he was running for governor of Massachusetts, he now says that he believes that life begins at conception and that the historic Supreme Court ruling should be overturned. And while the health care plan he implemented as governor included coverage for abortions and contraception, he is now fervently opposed to such coverage. He has also expressed his opposition to the Lilly Ledbetter Act that Obama signed in order to assist women seeking equal pay and relief from workplace discrimination. 2. THE POOR: Earlier this year Romney famously declared that he is "not concerned about the very poor [because] We have a safety net there." Clearly Romney has never had to avail himself of the services provided to those reliant on the safety net, or he might be a little more concerned. He might also not have developed a tax plan that would further cut taxes for the wealthy while raising them for lower income citizens. 3. WORKERS: Once again, Romney let his true feeling be known when he gushed that he "like[s] being able to fire people." That being the case, it is no wonder that he regards unions as impediments to his goals. He blames unions for many of the nation's economic problems and promised a policy to forbid union preferences in federal contracting beginning on his inauguration day. 4. GAYS AND LESBIANS: Romney is adamantly opposed to same-sex marriage and open homosexuality in the armed services. This is another position that conflicts his record in Massachusetts where in 1994 he campaigned for a senate seat saying that he would be even an stronger advocate of gay rights than Ted Kennedy. 5. AUTO COMPANIES/EMPLOYEES: Romney considers Michigan, where his father was once governor, one of his many home states. Nevertheless, he was so against a stimulus package for the auto industry that he publicly stated his preference that they should be allowed to go bankrupt. The stimulus was provided by the Obama administration and today GM has retaken its position as the number one car manufacturer in the world. And that was achieved with no help from Romney who even traveled around the country giving speeches that disparaged the company's products, particularly the Chevy Volt which now receives high praise from industry experts and consumers. 6. LATINOS: Romney has staked out an extremist position on immigration that will not endear him to Latinos. He has called Arizona's SB1070, a law that nearly criminalizes being brown-skinned, "a model for the nation." Romney opposes the DREAM Act that would establish residency for immigrants who came to the United States as children and then served in the military or completed college. But a Romney administration would expect these, and all immigrants, to self-deport. 7. SENIORS: If you are 65 years old, or ever expect to be, Romney is intent on making your golden years somewhat less shiny. He advocates raising the retirement age to eligible for Social Security benefits. He supports moving funds into private accounts that would fluctuate with the uncertainties of the stock market. And he has proposed tying increases to the Consumer Price Index rather than the Wage Index, which would significantly undercut the purchasing power of seniors dependent on a fixed income. 8. ANYONE WHO CARES ABOUT CIVIL LIBERTIES: For anyone concerned about the rights granted by Supreme Court decisions, Romney carries a frighteningly extreme portfolio. He has said that would nominate judges like Roberts, Alito, and Scalia to the bench. But even more disturbing, he recently brought on Robert Bork as his new top legal adviser. Bork was the man behind the "Saturday Night Massacre" where two Justice Department leaders resigned rather than fire the Special Prosecutor investigating Watergate. It was Bork who stayed and carried out Nixon's orders. Bork also once called the Civil Rights Act of 1964 "a principle of unsurpassed ugliness." 9. RESIDENTS OF EARTH: Three words: Drill baby drill. Romney is a staunch advocate of exploiting fossil fuels on land and at sea. He is a critic of off-shore oil bans and a supporter the KeystoneXL pipeline that risks contaminating ground water in order to enrich refineries who intend to ship the oil products overseas. Although he has said that he believes that global warming exists and the it may be caused by human activity, he is opposed to addressing the problem with regulations that he believes would impair economic growth. Because economic growth is more important than having a planet on which to grow. 10. DOGS: Just ask Seamus, the poor Irish Setter who was forced to ride in a cage on the roof of the family station wagon while on a 600 mile road trip. Mitt Romney has a resume and an agenda that promises pain for average Americans. He would increase the financial burdens of the poor, reduce the protection of agencies that monitor everything from Wall Street to toxins in foods. He respects only wealth and, consequently, has assembled a program that could be called Trickle-Down on Steroids. Yet he has the audacity to accuse President Obama of wanting to punish people simply because the President's plan asks billionaires to pay a few percentage points more on their wildly extravagant income. Romney thinks it's punishment to return to the tax rates of the 90s when the economy was booming, but he can't comprehend the punishment of millions of families losing their homes, thousands of students losing their grants, innumerable sick people unable to get necessary treatment, or communities across the nation being exploited by greedy corporations and politicians like Romney. In Romney's world it is better to protect one American millionaire than a million Americans. It's the code of the Greedy Bastards . Share this:

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Being on the wrong side of suspicion can have extreme consequences where formal justice systems are not fully functional, realizes Amy Booth on a visit to a prison Bolivian prisons. Illustration : Sarah John The patio of San Sebastian women's prison looks for all the world like a food court. The place is tightly packed with families sitting at plastic tables as if to have a picnic. Women hawk bottles of soft drinks and empanadas from little stands: in Bolivia, prisoners need a way of making ends meet, because nothing - not even their cell - is free. My friend Angie guides me through the throng to Florencia. Greeting each other warmly in Quechua, Angie delivers potatoes and vegetables bought fresh from the market, which she stows away on the floor beneath the row of grimy little electric hobs that lines one wall. Florencia is a slim, petite woman in a traditional pollera skirt. She has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder. Florencia is a slim, petite woman in a traditional pollera skirt. She has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder Florencia and her companion Ana are from a remote pastoral community near Capinota, where they used to make a living pasturing goats. In June 2013, a 13-year-old girl was raped and murdered, her body dumped in an irrigation channel. The following night, Florencia and Ana were dragged from their homes by a furious mob: they and their husbands were the prime suspects. Florencia was separated from her husband, but that didn't matter to the mob. For hours, the women were beaten. Men put sacks over their heads and held knives to their throats, threatening: 'We'll do to you what was done to the girl.' The mob lit bonfires and threatened to burn them alive. To save herself from the flames, Florencia confessed. Hours later, the police arrived and took the women into custody. Many people have little faith in the formal justice system; Bolivia was ranked 113 out of 176 in Transparency International's 2016 corruption perception index. Moreover, for people in remote areas who only speak indigenous languages, formal justice can be hard to access. There are legal provisions for community justice in certain circumstances in Bolivia, but lynching is illegal. Nonetheless, cases of violent and gruesome mob killings carried out on the basis of little or no evidence crop up with alarming frequency. It is common to see life-size dolls hung from lamp posts as a warning to would-be criminals, sometimes accompanied by slogans like 'Thief caught, thief lynched'. The women and their husbands spent nearly three years in prison awaiting their fate until, in April 2016, the sentence was handed down. The court concluded that the husbands had been having a relationship with the victim. This had caused Florencia and her husband to split up was the reasoning, and the pair went on to kill the girl. Florencia and her husband were sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, and Ana and her husband to 15 years for being accessories. The women were the last to understand what was to become of them because they only speak Quechua. According to the court documents, Florencia's mother said Florencia went out at around nine on the night of the crime and didn't return until the next day, leaving her with no alibi. However, Florencia and Ana say there was no official translator present to dispute this detail. Although samples of hair were found on the victim's fingers, they were never taken for DNA analysis. The evidence available proved how the girl died, but there was no proof that Florencia, Ana and their husbands were the ones who committed the murder. The defence also points out that forensic evidence shows the victim had had sex with others, including her teenage uncle, before the murder - but at the investigators' discretion, any link between the victim's uncle and sexual abuse suffered by the victim had been left out of the investigation. Florencia and Ana have always protested their innocence. Angie met them while working on a project about prison conditions. Horrified by their story, she has helped them launch an appeal. Following her repeated requests, the public prosecutors in Capinota admitted that they had lost the investigation notebooks and other documents pertaining to the case. Our visit is brief. There are no long chats; it feels like there isn't much to say. Angie offers them a few words of support in Quechua, introduces me and leaves the food she has brought. Then we head back into the outside world. Meanwhile, with the original case documents lost, there is no date for an appeal hearing - and the victim's killers could still be at large. Amy Booth is a freelance journalist and circus instructor living in Cochabamba, Bolivia . This article is from the January/February 2018 issue of New Internationalist . You can access the entire archive of over 500 issues with a digital subscription. Subscribe today >>

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FINTRAC is a financial intelligence unit whose mandate and practice quietly touch just about every resident of the country -- raising major privacy concerns in the process. Book Review The remarkable story of Mohamedou Ouid Slahi is one of wisdom, humour and despair. In this memoir, Slahi relays a tale of human resilience under the most appalling conditions at Guantanamo Bay. Columnists When it comes to "anti-terrorism," government and state security agency behaviour is dominated by throwbacks to the Cold War, with Harper serving as Canada's self-appointed avenging angel. Columnists The long-running extradition saga of Dr. Hassan Diab -- sought by French authorities for a 1980 crime he did not commit -- took a dramatic turn when the Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal. Columnists When the RCMP announced an Ottawa anti-terrorism arrest this month, the timing could not have been better for a federal government that appears to thrive on national security hysteria. Columnists Bill C-51 grants new powers to already hyperactive state security agencies, and baits as "soft on terror" anyone who questions the bill's necessity. Here is a primer on key provisions in the bill. Columnists In the wake of the Paris shootings, as voicing uncomfortable truths becomes increasingly risky, governments get set to introduce more repressive measures that mock freedom of expression. Columnists For refugees worldwide, the same demeaning sign is hung at the entrance of far too many countries, including Canada: you are not wanted, you are not admissible, you are undesirable, you are dangerous. Columnists As the Canadian government plays at fighting wars in Iraq/Syria and in eastern Europe, we see daily examples of how militarism ultimately degrades, disrupts and destroys democracy. Photos The tragic events in Ottawa give us an opportunity to examine our addiction to violence as the solution to conflict. Will we use the chance to disengage from our increasingly militarized culture? Columnists Like moral panics that have framed particular groups as the new internal enemy, youth both idealist and alienated now fit the focus of terror suspect, especially if they are Muslim and plan to travel. Columnists The barbarism that is ISIS has its roots in the barbarism that was Canadian and "coalition" war policy in the obliteration of Iraq in the 1991 "Gulf" war and subsequent sanctions. Columnists A little-noticed European Court of Human Rights decision regarding Polish complicity in torture may well have ripple effects on this side of the Atlantic and, hopefully, produce some accountability. Columnists In a sign that the government has gone overboard with its anti-migrant policies, even the Federal Court of Canada has been left with no choice but to try and rein in some of the more odious decisions. Columnists An Ottawa courtroom recently witnessed the rare intersection of numerous taproots of violence undergirding Canadian society, in the sentencing hearing of Ashley White. Columnists Two judicial decisions released last week in the cases of Mohamed Harkat and Hassan Diab remind us that the concept of national security is incompatible with democracy. Columnists The Ukraine debacle represents the latest in a pattern of Stephen Harper and John Baird supporting coups and ignoring human rights violations as a nasty but necessary part of doing business. Columnists The cases of Oscar Vigil and Jose Figueroa reveal the ideological abuse of Canada's immigration system, where many who resisted tyranny in their homelands face "security inadmissibility" in Canada. Columnists When it comes to Canada's security agencies, it is clear who threatens national security in the same way it is clear who threatens the birds when cats are placed in their cages. Columnists The CBSA has long been engaged in beefing up a strategy to prevent asylum seekers from getting to Canada, a clear violation of international and domestic law. Columnists In a little-noticed news release from the North Pole, a jolly senior citizen has asked that his image not be co-opted this holiday season by the Canadian War Department and NORAD. Columnists As Canada marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, there are countless reminders of how much work remains to be done, as the war against women grinds mercilessly on. News Matthew Behrens Hassan Diab continues to remain hopeful that the Canadian legal system will prevail and he will not be extradited to France for questioning about his alleged role in a 1980 Paris bombing.

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By Andrew Glikson 02 November, 2009 Countercurrents.org T he recent warning by Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact: "We are simply talking about the very life support system of this planet" [1] is consistent with the lessons arising from the history of the Earth's atmosphere/ocean system. A rise of CO2-e (CO2-equivalent, including the effect of methane) above 500 ppm and of mean global temperature toward and above 4 degrees C, projected by the IPCC [2], Copenhagen [3] and Oxford [4] scientific reports, as well as reports by the world's leading climate science bodies (NASA/GISS, Hadley-Met, Potsdam Climate Impact Institute, NSIDC, CSIRO, BOM), would transcend the conditions which allowed the development of agriculture in the early Neolithic, tracking toward climates which dominated the mid-Pliocene (3 Ma) (1 Ma = 1 million years) and further toward greenhouse Earth conditions analogous to those of the Cretaceous (145-65 Ma) and early Cenozoic (pre-34 Ma). Lost all too often in the climate debate is an appreciation of the delicate balance between the physical and chemical state of the atmosphere-ocean-land system and the evolving biosphere, which controls the emergence, survival and demise of species, including humans. By contrast to Venus, with its thick blanket of CO2 and sulphur dioxide greenhouse atmosphere, exerting extreme pressure (90 bars) at the surface, or Mars with its thin (0.01 bar) CO2 atmosphere, the presence in the Earth's atmosphere of trace concentrations of greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, nitric oxides, ozone) modulates surface temperatures in the range of -89 and +57.7 degrees Celsius, allowing the presence of liquid water and thereby of life. Forming a thin breathable veneer only slightly more than one thousand the diameter of Earth, and evolving both gradually as well as through major perturbations with time, the Earth's atmosphere acts as the lungs of the biosphere, allowing an exchange of carbon gases and oxygen with plants and animals, which in turn affect the atmosphere, for example through release of methane and photosynthetic oxygen. An excess of carbon dioxide in the lungs triggers a need to breath. When the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere rises above a critical threshold, the climate moves to a different state. Any significant increase in the level of carbon gases triggers powerful feedbacks. These include ice melt/warm water interaction, decline of ice reflection (albedo) effect and increase in infrared absorption by exposed water. Further release of CO2 from the oceans and from drying and burning vegetation shifts global climate zones toward the poles, warms the oceans and induces ocean acidification. The essential physics of the infrared absorption/emission resonance of greenhouse molecules has long been established by observations in nature and laboratory studies, as portrayed in the relations between atmospheric CO2 and mean global temperature projections in Figure 1. The living biosphere, allowing survival of large mammals and of humans on the continents, has developed when CO2 levels fell below about 500 ppm some 34 million years ago (late Eocene). At that stage, and again about 15 million years ago (mid-Miocene), development of the Antarctic ice sheet led to a fundamental change in the global climate regime. About 2.8 million years ago (mid-Pliocene) the Greenland ice sheet and the Arctic Sea ice began to form, with further decline in global temperatures expressed through glacial-interglacial cycles regulated by orbital forcing (Milankovic cycles), with atmospheric CO2 levels oscillating between 180 and 280 ppm CO2 [5]. These conditions allowed the emergence of humans in Africa and later all over the world [6]. Humans already existed 3 million years-ago, however these were small clans which, in response to changing climates migrated to more hospitable parts of Africa and subsequently Asia [6]. About 124 thousand years ago, during the Emian interglacial, temperatures rose by about 1 degree C and sea levels by 6-8 meters. The development of agriculture and thereby human civilization had to wait until climate stabilized about 8000 years ago, when large scale irrigation along the great river valleys (the Nile, Euphrates, Hindus and Yellow River) became possible. Since the industrial revolution humans dug, pumped and burnt more than 320 billion tons of carbon which accumulated as the result of biological activity during 400 million years. 320 billion tons of carbon is more than 50% the carbon concentration of the original atmosphere (540 billion tons). As a consequence the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen by about 40%, from 280 to 388 ppm. The world is now witnessing a dangerous shift in the state of the atmosphere-ocean system, an extremely rapid change from the interglacial condition of the Holocene, which began about 11,700 years-ago, to conditions analogous to those of the mid-Pliocene when mean global temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees C higher, and sea levels about 25+/-12 meters higher, than the early 20th century. In terms of the combined effects of CO2, methane and nitric oxide, the rise of greenhouse gases has reached about 460 ppm CO2-equivalent (CO2-e) (Figure 1), only slightly below the 500 ppm level which correlates with the maximum stability of the Antarctic ice sheet. The current rate at which CO2 is rising, 2 ppm per year, is unprecedented in the recent history of the Earth, with the exception of the onset of greenhouse atmospheric conditions following major volcanic episodes and asteroid and comet impacts, which led to the large mass extinctions in the history of the Earth (end-Ordovician, end-Devonian, end-Permian and Permian-Triassic boundary, end-Triassic, end-Jurassic, end-Cretaceous) (Figure 2). Further rise of CO2-e above 500 ppm and mean global temperatures above 4 degrees C can only lead toward greenhouse Earth conditions such as existed during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic (Figure 2). At 4 degrees C advanced to total melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets leads to sea levels tens of meters higher than at present. Since the 18th century mean global temperature has risen by about 0.8 degrees C. Another 0.5 degrees C is masked by industrial-emitted aerosols (SO2), and further rise ensues from current melting of the ice sheets and sea ice, with loss of reflection (albedo) of ice and gain in infrared absorption by open water, leading to feedback effects. The polar regions, actinv as the "thermostats" of the Earth, are the source of the cold air current vortices and the cold ocean currents, such as the Humboldt and California current, which keep the Earth's overall temperature balance, much as the blood stream regulates the body's temperature and the supply of oxygen. Unfortunately climate change is not an abstract notion, with consequences manifest around the globe in terms of (1) Polar ice melt; (2) Sea level rise; (3) Migration of climate zones toward the poles; (4) Desertification of temperate climate zones; (5) Intensification of hurricanes and floods, related to increase in the level of atmospheric energy; (6) acidification of the oceans; (7) Destruction of coral reefs [2-4]. Which is why the European Union and in recent international conferences defined a rise by 2.0 degrees C as the maximum permissible level. A dominant scientific view has emerged that atmospheric CO2 levels, currently at 388 ppm, need to be urgently reduced to below 350 ppm [5]. This is because, a rise of CO2 concentration above 350 ppm triggers feedback effects, which include: 1. Carbon cycle feedback due to warming, which dries and burns vegetation, with loss of CO2. With further warming, the onset of methane release from polar bogs and sediments is of major concern. 2. Ice/melt water interaction feedbacks: melt water melts more ice, ice loss results in albedo loss, exposed water absorb infrared heat. Because CO2 is cumulative, with atmospheric residence time on the scale of centuries to millennia, it may not be possible to stabilize or control the climate through small incremental reduction in emission and avoid irreversible tipping points [7]. Humans can not argue with the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere. Time is running out. What is needed are global emergency measures, including: 1. Urgent deep cuts in carbon emissions by as much as 80%. 2. Parallel Fast track transformation to non-polluting energy utilities - solar, solar-thermal, wind, tide, geothermal, hot rocks. 3. Global reforestation and re-vegetation campaigns, including application of biochar. Business as usual, with its focus on the annual balance sheet, can hardly continue under conditions of environmental collapse. Governments, focused on the next elections, need to focus on the survival of the next generation Good planets are hard to come by. 4. Oxford 28-30 October, 2009 meeting http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/4degrees/programme.php 5. Hansen et al. 2008. Target CO2: Where Should humanity aim? http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/ TargetCO2_20080407.pdf ; Glikson, A.Y., 2008. Milestones in the evolution of the atmosphere with reference to climate change. Aust. J. Earth Sci. 55 no. 2. http://www.zeroemissionnetwork.org/ files/MILESTONES_19-6-07.pdf 6 . deMenocal, P.B. African climate change and faunal evolution during the Pliocene-Pleistocene. Earth and Plant. Sci. Lett, Frontiers, 6976, 1-22, 2004 http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~peter/ Resources/Publications/deMenocal.2004.pdf 7. Lenton et al., 2008. Tipping points in the Earth climate system. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2008/02/080204172224.htm 8. Royer et al., 2004. CO2 as a primary driver of Phanerozoic climate. GSA Today; v. 14; no. 3, doi: 10.1130/1052-5173 Figure 1. A plot of global mean temperature (increase above pre-industrial time in degrees C) vs atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration (in CO2-eqivalent, a value which includes the effect of methane). The assumed climate is 3+/-1.5 degrees C per doubling of CO2-e. The field I, II, III, etc. correspond to the IPCC's various emission scenarios. IPCC Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, figure 5.1 http://www.ipcc.ch/graphics/syr/fig5-1.jpg Figure 2. Variations in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and oxygen concentrations correlated with ice ages (blue histograms, extending according to geographic latitude). Note the sharp decline in atmospheric CO2 during ice ages. After Royer et al. 2004 [8] and Berner et al. 2007 [9]. Andrew Glikson Earth and paleoclimate scientist Institute of Climate Change Australian National University Canberra, A.C.T. 0200

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We covered Sony deciding to give Powers a shot as a series, the next in a long line of comic book adaptations that are saturating the media landscape. Most are well aware of the numerous super hero offerings on both television and at the theater, but the success of The Walking Dead proves that there is room for more mature adaptations of comic properties. That said, it isn't a sure bet. The past hasn't shown that attempts to adapt non-superhero comic properties can be a total failure. Take Human Target or Wanted for example. These were stories that were watered down or changed to the point of becoming generic and essentially failing to grab onto any following that might have existed. Any successes have been scattered, such as The Walking Dead and A History of Violence , and failed to gain the traction needed to really push the field forward, until now. Maybe now the time is changing? With Powers , DMZ and Preacher on the way, does this open the doors for other series or film properties away from the realm of superheroics? With newer avenues of production like Netflix and the growth of the Internet in general and there's never been a better time to take the risk. So with that, I thought I'd take a look at some more personal choices that should see new life in this current era of comic book interest. Now I stress, these are personal choices. We're basically spoiled as comic readers today and there's plenty I've only skimmed or glanced at that should probably be included. Some honorable mentions should be series like Chew , Fables , and Planetary . Fables especially seeing as it has been screwed over by both NBC and ABC who coincidentally would go on to produce Grimm and Once Upon A Time respectively. If you have any suggestions, they are always welcome in the comments. Here is my personal list of comics I'd like to see come to series. The Warren Ellis classic deserves an adaptation more than most. It's probably my favorite series outside of Preacher and my next choice to be kicked around the production avenues and never see the light of day. When I first got the word that Preacher might finally be coming to the screen, this was my next thought. There was a really good comment on the whole Terry Gilliam/Zack Snyder fiasco that mentioned Gilliam needing to be at the helm and I think it's a brilliant idea. Spider Jerusalem is larger than life and needs to be in people's lives via either television or film. There hasn't been word of an adaption since Ellis addressed rumors on Twitter in 2010 and pretty much dashed hopes back beforehand at a convention in London. A man can dream though! Y: The Last Man This was one I was sure was going to be adapted into some sort of project, be it a mini-series or multiple films. But as of January of this year, Brian K. Vaughn noted that the rights were about to revert back to his possession unless New Line went ahead with their adaptation. Nevertheless, Y: The Last Man has to be adapted eventually. It's almost a given. It has the post-apocalyptic feel of The Walking Dead , the political thrills of 24 and all the mystery of Lost in one great tale. It is a testament to the kind of hurdles one has to jump in Hollywood to get anything made. The Last Man it seems like a winner on paper, but is forced to toil in development hell. It's a shame. Mad Man Now this is probably where I go off the beaten path a bit, but I can't deny my oddball fascination with Mike Allred's superhero. Allred has brought his oddity to the mainstream with art on X-Force and currently on FF , but Mad Man is still where it all matters for me. According to the wiki , Robert Rodriguez has owned the film rights since 1998 and the property has been in play since 1992. That's twenty years that the idea has been gestating in someone's mind and hasn't started. Rodriguez went all out with his Sin City adaptations and is a fan of the completely CGI fueled movie set, kinda leaving me wondering why the Mad Man movie isn't a fit for his schedule. Throw it on the El Rey Network or at least do something with it! If they can make a Hellboy movie work, they can make Mad Man work!

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By Beth Treffeisen | September 16, 2015, 16:49 EDT Printed from: http://newbostonpost.com/2015/09/16/boston-expands-free-wifi-service-to-more-neighborhoods/ BOSTON -- Boston's free WiFi service will expand to more neighborhoods under a plan announced Wednesday. The service, designed for outdoor use, will reach into parts of Roslindale, Hyde Park and Roxbury, according to the city's Department of Innovation and Technology. "Our Main Streets Districts are the economic engines of our neighborhoods, and free Wi-Fi service provides a valuable amenity and helps all residents stay connected," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement about the Wicked Free WiFi expansion. The city has 20 of the districts and plans call for 130 WiFi access points. Throughout the city, there are access points placed on municipal buildings, including police and fire stations, and libraries. At least some of the additional access points will be located on streetlight poles. Under the just-announced moves, 37 hotspots will be added, increasing the number of districts to four. "We are committed to ensuring that every resident and business has access to affordable, high-speed Internet," said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, the city's chief information officer, in a statement. "Free public WiFi is one of the ways we can help Boston stay connected." The service isn't meant to work indoors but in places such as parks, on benches and sidewalks. It may be spotty in some areas and can be affected by environmental factors, particularly weather conditions. The available bandwidth is also limited, which may affect data transfers and streaming, the city indicated. You can find an interactive map of the existing WiFi access points here:

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Wow, obtuse or what Magoo? The idea that "every idea is an ideology" was put forward just to show how broad anti-terrorist legislation is and can be . That way, they can catch everything in their net ... and then choose to prosecute this or that crime as terrorism or not ... according to the wishes of the regime in power at the time. Oh, and Keep up the good work. There are some white supremacist groups that are probably grateful. That is a personal attack. You know the rules about this sort of crap. Quote: there are strong suggestions that at least Souvannarath has a long-time infatuation with fascist and white supremacist ideas. As the surname Souvannarath is Laotian, she might want to do some more research into what white supremacists believe. Her parents or grandparents could have been right-wing exiles driven out of Laos by the victory of the Communist side there. A lot of Southeast Asian expats in the U.S. gravitated to far-right political ideas(probably deluding themselves into the belief that anyone who espouses any progressive ideas are in league with the Pathet Lao forces who beat them solidly on the battlefield). Seems likely that the ones who ended up in Canada ended up on the same path-similar to the first generation of Miami Cubans(though the later generations seem more moderate and open-minded). Well, she might be right-wing, but how likely is it that she would be a white suprmeacist? The two things do not always go together. According to police, three alleged plotters planned to shoot and kill dozens Saturday at a Halifax shopping mall.Had such a plan succeeded, the effect would have almost certainly been mass terror in the Nova Scotia capital.Yet Justice Minister Peter MacKay says this was not a terrorist crime. "The attack does not appear to have been culturally motivated, therefore not linked to terrorism," he told reporters Saturday. MacKay's comments caused some puzzlement. Why would the government deem the murder of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa last fall an act of terror, but not this? In fact, except for his inexplicable use of the word "culturally," MacKay was technically correct. Canada's anti-terror laws don't criminalize actions that might cause terror. Well before the current law was enacted in 2002, it was illegal in Canada to murder people or blow up trains. Rather, they criminalize intent. It may be illegal to kill people in Canada. But it is even more illegal to kill people for a religious, ideological or political purpose. More important, it is left to the state to decide -- in the first instance at least -- which murderous conspiracies have a political motive and which do not. Thus Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the Muslim gunman who killed Cirillo, is deemed a terrorist for the simple reason that the RCMP and government say he was. Conversely, alleged Halifax plotters Lindsay Souvannarath and Randall Shepherd (the third suspect, James Gamble, died before he could be arrested) are not terrorists because the federal justice minister says they are not. Had police found Islamic State propaganda on their computers, Souvannarath and Shepherd almost certainly would have been charged with terrorism. But social media sites said to belong to the suspects show an interest only in Nazis and violence. That, it seems, is insufficiently ideological to merit a terror charge. So that's the first point about the terror laws: They are unusually arbitrary. The second is that the government's interpretation of these laws is infinitely flexible. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, with the backing of Justin Trudeau's Liberals, proposes a new anti-terror law that would give the security services even more power and citizens even fewer rights. Critics point out that the government has made no case as to why this Bill C-51 might be necessary. As evidence, they point to the Halifax arrests. The alleged plot was discovered not by a newly empowered Canadian Security and Intelligence Service bugging email traffic, but by an ordinary citizen who then made an anonymous call to police. The hapless MacKay was asked about that, too, this weekend. He produced an even more baffling answer. No, the masterminds of the alleged plot were not terrorists whose capture was hindered by limited CSIS powers. Rather, they were "murderous misfits" apprehended through normal police methods. Still, he went on, this apparent contradiction proves why stronger anti-terror laws are needed: Run-of-the-mill murderous misfits might, at some unknown point in the future, be attracted to the Islamic State.Or, to put it another way, the fact that extraordinary security powers were not needed here proves that they are needed. It is a complicated logic.

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A sensitive animal lover driving down the highway strikes a rabbit. The driver pulls over and discovers a basket of eggs and candy scattered all around. Several yards away lies the crumpled body of a large rabbit clad in a blue pastel waistcoat. The man weeps. A woman sees the man sobbing on the side of the road and pulls over. "What's wrong?" she asks. "I've killed the Easter Bunny!" he cries, pointing to the dead rabbit. The woman runs back to her car and returns with a spray can that she sprays all over the lifeless rabbit. The Easter Bunny suddenly springs back to life, waves its paw at the two of them and hops down the road. Ten feet away he turns and waves again, hops another 10 feet and waves and repeats until he hops out of sight. The man is astonished. "What is in that can? What did you spray on the Easter Bunny?" The woman turns the can around so that the man can read the label. "Hair Spray -- Restores life to dead hair, adds permanent wave." Devalued by Democrat Debt stamp Add a little bit of fun to our country's current financial cesspool. While we would not advocate defacing currency, we know you will think of many amusing and satisfying uses for our red self-inking stamper, Devalued by Democrat Debt. Don't miss our other great red ink stamps: Property of Barack Hussein Obama, Tax Evader and Payable to Red China! All purchases at The Patriot Shop support our mission of service to America's Armed Forces. And now for a cartoon

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Imagine the following future scenario: Terrorists simultaneously release an aerosolized form of the variola virus, which causes smallpox, in five major U.S. cities. The attack deliberately targets low-income neighborhoods, so surveillance efforts prove lacking, and the infection has ample time to spread before the government catches on. With the death toll mounting, President Bush announces an emergency inoculation of the entire U.S. population, using nearly 300 million doses of smallpox vaccine prudently stockpiled by the administration in the year and a half following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But almost immediately, scores of pro-life Protestants and Catholics protest that they would rather die than be injected with a "tainted" vaccine and threaten to launch a particularly gruesome form of civil disobedience. Some pro-lifers have floated the idea of just such a demonstration ever since learning that the British firm Acambis Inc., which recently secured two hefty deals with the U.S. government to prepare smallpox vaccines, plans to use the MRC-5 cell line as a substrate to make 54 million doses, the amount required by its first contract (the second batch will use a different substrate). What makes MRC-5 so controversial? According to a 1970 article in the British journal Nature, the cell line was originally derived in 1966 from the lung tissues of a male fetus "removed for psychiatric reasons from a 27-year-old woman." In other words, MRC-5 was created from an abortion. Thus, the use of it suddenly links the issue of bioterror preparedness to the question of fetal tissue research -- and, inevitably, abortion politics. The antiabortion group Children of God for Life has led the charge, seizing on a "24-hour on-line poll" conducted by the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com that showed "56% of the 3,335 respondents said they would refuse the vaccine if it used aborted fetal tissue." Internet polls, of course, are notoriously susceptible to the efforts of well-coordinated interest groups. And it's one thing to click through a Web poll and another to spurn a vaccine that could prevent an excruciating death. "I actually would find it hard to believe that someone, an antiabortionist, would refuse vaccination on those grounds when faced with a high probability of contracting smallpox," observes Jonathan B. Tucker, a bioterrorism expert at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California. It's possible that even amid the unprecedented chaos of a nationwide vaccination, antiabortionists would get the chance to choose between offensive and less offensive vaccines. But the fact remains that at least some Christian conservatives say they would seriously consider boycotting any vaccine that uses the MRC-5 cell line. Carrie Gordon Earll, the bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family, has said that Acambis's vaccine derives from a "tainted source." On a discussion thread about the vaccine on the populist conservative Web site FreeRepublic.com, one poster added, "If a smallpox vaccine is made from this material (I can't even say it) then I would reject the vaccine." More important, Children of God for Life's political tactics include promoting a "Campaign for Ethical Vaccines," and calling on followers to send a drafted letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Centers for Disease Control director Jeffrey P. Koplan. Religious groups have long protested the use of vaccinations because of their controversial origins. In Arkansas, a woman is suing to exempt her children from chickenpox inoculation because she claims the vaccine was also prepared from the MRC-5 cell line, as well as another abortion-derived line known as WI-38. But from an ethical standpoint, it's curious that anti-abortionists don't seem to have considered that smallpox vaccine might present a unique case. "Smallpox is a contagious and communicable disease that threatens everybody," notes Ronald M. Green, director of the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College. By refusing to be vaccinated for smallpox, you could not only kill yourself but infect others with what is arguably the most horrible plague known to mankind. Antivaccine Christians frequently cite Catholic theology and ethics in order to argue that they shouldn't take any action that renders them "morally complicit" with abortion, but shouldn't they also be worried about abetting the transmission of smallpox itself? "Moral complicity" is a trendy religio-bioethical concept at the moment, thanks to President Bush's August compromise on stem cell research. Influenced by his bioethics adviser Leon Kass, Bush stipulated that surplus human embryos that have already been destroyed can be mined for stem cells, but no new embryos may be created for the purpose of research because moral complicity would ensue. But as Green notes, the same logic surely ought to apply to the use of MRC-5: With respect to the 1966 abortion that led to the creation of the cell line, "nothing is going to change the fact that this was already done." Objections to Acambis's vaccine also take little account of the urgent need for new approaches to manufacturing smallpox vaccine. The Christian conservative thinker Marvin Olasky (Bush's guru on "compassionate conservatism") has denounced the World Health Organization's campaign to eradicate smallpoxresulting in our current increased vulnerability to the diseaseas the product of a liberal "faith in man's abilities to move us toward utopia." Today's health concerns greatly outweigh any religious objections to the old vaccine, now in dwindling supply, that was commonly used to inoculate schoolchildren in this country until the early 1970s. Known as Wyeth Dryvax after Wyeth Laboratories, which stopped making it in 1975, the vaccine was produced through infecting calves with cowpox virus (which Edward Jenner demonstrated in 1796 could inoculate humans against smallpox). After the virus showed its symptoms, the animals were slaughtered and the pustular lesions on their bellies were scraped off and freeze-dried. But in a recent paper in the CDC publication Emerging Infectious Diseases titled "Developing New Smallpox Vaccines," the authors observe that "this harvesting method is prone to contamination with bacteria and other adventitious agents." A well-known and widely used cellular substrate such as MRC-5, note the authors, would not only avoid contamination risks because animals wouldn't have to be used but could greatly speed up the review process. The FDA has already licensed other vaccines prepared in MRC-5 cells -- no mean consideration when we're urgently trying to guard against a smallpox attack. (In the event of an attack, such urgency would also militate against antiabortionist attempts to pick and choose which vaccines they will and won't take.) All these considerations make the prospect of a smallpox vaccine boycott appear shrill indeed. But then, perhaps the point was never to lay out a strong ethical case for such an action. "What the abortion debate is about at this point is not so much ethics as it is politics and symbols," observes Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "And it gets your attention when somebody says, 'I'd rather die of smallpox than use data tainted by the murder of fetuses.'" Still, there's another ethical concern that ought to bother antiabortionists: If pro-lifers are killed off in large numbers by smallpox because they don't get inoculated, then who'll be left in this country to picket abortion clinics and try to prevent the murder of the unborn? Would antiabortionists not then be "morally complicit" in the severe weakening of their own movement? Faced with this dilemma, it's not difficult to imagine what side followers of Children of God for Life would have to come down on.

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"One year, my twin sons drew pictures and wrote poems. Granted, I did have blue streaks in my hair, but, for the record, I did not have orange skin. I also have never played tennis or any other sport. It doesn't matter! These are still my favorite gifts." -- Brittany, 28, mom of two, Pennsylvania. Check out these unique and easy DIY Mother's Day gift ideas . Host a photoshoot Courtesy, Hayley Miller "One of the best Mother's Day gifts my daughter Hayley gave me was a photo shoot with her, my other daughter, and my granddaughter. A professional photographer took our photos in a beautiful park. We laughed a lot during the shoot. I loved that we captured such a special time in our lives. I still have the photos in my house." -- Judy, 60, mom of two, grandmother of two, Connecticut

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Animal trainers in China brutally tied down an endangered Siberian tiger for customers to ride on its back and take pictures. In yet another disturbing video of animal abuse, Chinese circus trainers can be seen treating a Siberian tiger heartlessly to entertain visitors. The trainers tied the poor animal aggressively on to a metal table with ropes, encouraging visitors to sit on its back to click pictures. A frightened child can be heard in the video telling his mother, "I'm scared, I'm scared," as she tried to make him sit on the wild animal. The cruel workers forced the cat to lie on the table and pressed its head downward, inviting visitors with a circus ticket in to the cage to sit atop it. "How cool is it to sit on a tiger. Perhaps this can keep you away from the devils and bring you wealth too," remarked one of circus staff members. Apparently, a number of people in China believe the god of wealth is reminiscent of a tiger and those who get in contact with him directly will obtain good fortune. The video that was originally posted on Chinese video sharing platform iqiyi.com with almost 88,000 views caused a huge outrage on social media with people concerned about the safety of the Siberian tiger. Aghast at footage appearing to show circus in China tying down tiger for visitors to be photographed sitting on https://t.co/zfAVKtwbCH -- Animal Welfare Party (@AnimalsCount) January 11, 2017 THIS NEEDS TO BE STOPPED! Endangered #Tiger brutally tied down so visitors can sit on it for photos!! @BFFoundation https://t.co/cQinwzp8cE -- Sharon (@sharonwrdl) January 11, 2017 "No tiger would trade freedom for captivity, to be caged, dominated, tied down, whipped, and used as a prop for a tacky photo," commented Elisa Allen, director of PETA U.K. "The only way to make these highly intelligent and powerful hunters pose for the camera is to keep them under constant threat of punishment, intimidate them and restrain them." "This tiger was bound and strapped so tightly that he couldn't even lift his head, while a caged bear paced around and around in the background, showing the psychological damage that's commonly seen in animals used in circuses," she added. Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are endangered species. Only about 540 of the species are thought be left in the wild since 1980. While animals continue to lose their lives due to abuse by humans , it seems no one particularly cares. In fact, it seems all we care about now are selfies and pictures. The activity of making people, especially children ride on tigers, is hideous to say the least. It portrays a disgusting picture of animal abuse along with the heartless nature of humans in general who aren't bothered about the well being of the animal because all they want to do is look adventurous. By the end of the video, the tiger rushed back in its cage after getting untied by its cruel owners. Read More

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Yes, you read that correctly: puppy bombs. If you saw the headline and actually believed it for a second, then your bullshit detector is probably in serious need of a tune-up. Think about it for a minute--the Muslim Brotherhood soaked puppies in gasoline so they could lob them at the Egyptian army? Are you freaking kidding me? Can you seriously picture MB members throwing flaming puppies at armed soldiers? What, they didn't have any bottles handy that they could use instead? I mean, for crying out loud, it's not as if they were Molotov puppies that would explode on impact. *facepalm* CBS New York actually published the story then rewrote it, scrubbing all the puppy bomb references. I guess journalism truly is dead--it's all click bait now. As usual, nothing is too ludicrous for anti-Muslim hate bloggers Pamela Geller & Robert Spencer if they can use it to demonize Muslims, painting them as inhumanly cruel & savage. I'm sure their knuckle-dragging fans devoured every word. Next it'll probably be kittens or bunnies. As you'll see if you go to the source article, Spencer even came up with some hadiths about dogs that seem intended to imply Muslims hate dogs and would therefore (presumably) have no compunctions whatsoever about killing puppies in the most horribly brutal manner possible. Naturally, Spencer doesn't provide any context for the hadiths and I'm not going to bother doing so either. Why? Because if you seriously believe Muslims hate dogs and would use puppies as firebombs, then nothing I write is going to change your mind and I'm perfectly content to leave you wallowing in your ignorance. Addendum: Geller's blog post on the story isn't mentioned in the article I linked to, however at the bottom of the page you'll find a link to a follow-up story at another blog that covers what she wrote also. Weaponised puppies! Are there are no depths to which these evil Islamists will not sink? Earlier this week, under the touching headline "Refugee puppies from Egypt looking for homes in U.S.", CBS New York reported that Robyn Urman of Pet ResQ Inc had revealed the shocking news that "members of the Muslim Brotherhood marching toward Tahrir Square to demand that ousted President Mohamed Morsi be reinstated were using puppies as gas bombs - dipping them in gasoline and lighting them on fire". According to CBS: "Urman received a Facebook message from Mervat Said, an animal rescue volunteer in Egypt, who said two puppies, Cleopatra and Cairo, were saved moments before they were to be used as weapons." [...] Yes, really, that's a story that CBS was prepared to take seriously. Unsurprisingly, they have had second thoughts about the accuracy of their reporting, and the "Refugee puppies from Egypt" article has now been completely rewritten to omit any reference to the animals' deployment as incendiary devices. [...]

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applegrove (83,463 posts) Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen by Barrett Holmes Pitner at the Daily Beast http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/27/donald-trump-is-our-jean-marie-le-pen.html "SNIP............. This response is very much reminiscent of Trumps rhetoric. It touches upon ones physical safety being in jeopardy, but also an entire cultures way of life being under attack with nowhere to hide. Following the Paris attacks, Trump also perpetuated anti-Muslim and anti-African American propaganda by claiming that he witnessed Muslims celebrating the collapse of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks and by tweeting an erroneous graphic that claimed that black Americas caused over 80 percent of white deaths by homicide. ............. Trumps rise as a far-right, third-party candidate might seem improbable due to our two-party political system, but the growing influence of the Tea Party and the ramifications of a gerrymandered House of Representatives make a viable third-party far more plausible than Americans would like to think. At both ends of the political spectrum anti-establishment candidates are making waves, and American voters appear more accepting of parliamentary governments where many parties are able to participate. Voters yearn for more political voices to have the chance to be heard, but to our collective horror the voice the with greatest chance of being heard is also the most destructive. Gerrymandering has led to Republicans having seats that are incredibly difficult for them to lose, and as a result elected officials no longer need to seek out moderate, centrist voters to win an election against a Democrat. Instead their greatest competition is with other conservative candidates, and therefore the far-right vote has greater influence electorally. This increases the likelihood of a viable far-right party having a sustained presence in our government. The Tea Party movement has already started this transition, and Trumps campaign could be the final piece of the puzzle. ................SNIP" Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen (Original post) applegrove Nov 2015 OP 1. Frances Le Pen Says Torture Can Be Useful to Fight Terrorism The leader of Frances anti-immigrant, anti-European Union National Front, Marine Le Pen , said that torture can be sometimes useful to fight terrorism, in response the U.S. Senate report on the CIA. There can be cases -- when there is a bomb ticking, that can explode in an hour or two and kill 200 or 300 civilians -- where it can be useful to have to make someone talk with the means available, Le Pen told RMC radio and BFM Television today. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-10/france-s-le-pen-says-torture-can-be-useful-to-fight-terrorism.html 2. Marine Le Pen: Muslims in France 'like Nazi occupation' Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-Right, drew heavy criticism after she said Muslims praying outside were like Nazi occupiers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8197895/Marine-Le-Pen-Muslims-in-France-like-Nazi-occupation.html 3. The Attack on Charlie Hebdo Plays Right Into Marine Le Pen's Hands An additional dimension to this tragedy (attack on Charlie Hebdo) is that it plays directly into the hands of those public figures and politicians who would like to see France regress into an organic national community of blood ties, rather than of citizens. The Islamic extremists who executed the attack on Charlie Hebdo may have murdered journalists and artists, but surely their crime is also against other Muslims in France, who are now likely to be viewed as enemy aliens hostile to the essence of the Republic itself, regardless of their own beliefs. Michel Houellebecq, for instance, who often paints Muslims as a dangerous fifth column, might now perhaps be vindicated in the eyes of unreflective readers; and, in the words of one Lebanese blogger, today might very well be the day that Marine Le Pen became President of France . Le Pen, by the way, has compared the Muslim presence in France to the German occupation of the 1940s. After today, we can only hope that others will not start doing the same. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120712/charlie-hebdo-attacks-religious-violence-europe

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It's Memorial Day 2018 and I'm sure there are many of you who are remembering a family member or a friend who gave their lives in service to this wonderful country. I've . . . April Ryan has gone full pizzagate Trump derangement syndrome. The CNN contributor posted an article positing a theory that Trump might be involved in a child trafficking ring. From Fox News: CNN . . . Chelsea Clinton is still out there thinking her opinion is worth a damn. Here's the latest from the witless Clinton brat: Former President Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, slammed President Trump in a . . . This is a pretty good interview of Giuliani by Dana Bash, who presses him on many issues, but is pretty fair about it. It's a long interview, but they really go over . . . So we wrote about this yesterday that liberals are latching on to an exaggerated report about "missing" migrant minors in order to demonize el Trumpo. Today, Rick Santorum dropped a truth bomb . . . According to Yahoo News, the FBI has obtained wiretap recordings from Spanish law enforcement of a Putin toady who met with Trump Jr.: The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish . . . Dean Obeidallah believes he is a comedian but he often appears on mainstream news outlets offering the Muslim perspective about the news - he's very liberal. And for some dumbass reason, he . . . "Liddle Marco" Rubio said Sunday that the actions of the FBI were appropriate because they were investigating individuals and their relationship to Russia, and NOT simply spying on Trump. From the Hill: . . . Josh Holt was begging for his life as Venezuela was collapsing around him, and his family thought he was going to be murdered there. Days later, he's happily meeting President Trump at . . . CAIR racked up a legal win in Alaska against a prison that now has to prepare special food for Muslims on Ramadan. From the Hill: A judge ruled Friday that a jail . . . It must be "let's compare everything to Nazis" day. This time it's Donte Stallworth, former NFL player, who retweeted a tweet comparing America to NAZI GERMANY. Here's the tweet: Duuuuude. STOP. WHYYYYY . . . So there's a narrative going around based on a report from USA Today. It's that the feds LOST 1,475 kids that had been scooped up at the border when they inhumanely TOOK . . . In today's "let's make a really stupid irrational argument" file, we have a very frequent guest to the file, Rep. Peter King!!! King blasted the Jets owner for saying he will pay . . . El Presidente Trumpo slammed the New York Times for a FAKE SOURCE that MADE UP a quote to damage him because they do that all the time!!! BOOM!!! Except there's a problem. . . . EL Presidente Trumpo had a lot to say this morning about politics on his twitter. Good news. This is rather ironic because he's the one implementing the law separating kids from their . . . The craziness from Parkland Florida just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Now a new investigation says that Scott Peterson, the guy who refused to confront the school shooter that killed 17 kids . . . Rudy Giuliani is gonna shut down the entire Mueller investigation based on Trump's tweets that he was spied on by Obama and the FBI. From the Hill: Rudy Giuliani said Friday that . . . It looks like baby-killin' is back in style in fair ol' Ireland. That's if these astounding exit polls can be believed about the vote today to overturn their ban on abortions: Landslide. . . . David Hogg is one happy fascist today. His gun-grabbing kiddie brigade won a stamp towards an ice cream and pizza party today by forcing Publix to cave to their online mob harassment. . . . As you might expect things aren't always as they seem in the White House. And this is especially true of yesterday's decision by Trump to cancel the N. Korean summit. According to . . .

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Jun 27, 2018 -- Cela fait longtemps que nous admirons la Terre, que nous savons qu'il est de notre devoir de la proteger. Mais nous comprenons a peine maintenant toute sa complexite, sa beaute et sa fragilite. Pas la Terre elle-meme, mais son patrimoine naturel et la vie qu'il abrite, ce qui en fait une planete vivante #OnePlanet Deja 410 ppmCO2: nous devons eviter le seuil fatidique de 450 ppmCO2, sinon nos perdrons ce que nous pouvons voir dans cette animation. Parlons-en autour de nous, franchissons rapidement le seuil des 1000 signatures pour atteindre bien plus avant la COP24 ! Keep fighting for people power! Politicians and rich CEOs shouldn't make all the decisions. Today we ask you to help keep Change.org free and independent. Our job as a public benefit company is to help petitions like this one fight back and get heard. If everyone who saw this chipped in monthly we'd secure Change.org's future today. Help us hold the powerful to account. Can you spare a minute to become a member today? I'll power Change with $5 monthly

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Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage claims that his organization wants a respectful discussion as to the merits of being against marriage equality. However based on the actions of NOM - and the organizations it is partnering with in New York and Minnesota - one can't help but to question the veracity of Brown's statement. So far: NOM has put out a misleading commercial in New York touting a claim that the organization knows is discredited. The organization has also blanketed the state with flyers designed to imply that gays want to use marriage equality to corrupt the innocence of children. Brown himself, during a rally, made the erroneous claim that Massachusetts kindergartners are being taught that their parents are bigots if said parents favor opposite-sex marriage. And these awful missives of inaccuracy and misdirection aren't confined solely to NOM. The organizations NOM is partnering with to fight marriage equality are also guilty of several dubious actions. In Minnesota, the Minnesota Family Council spread inaccurate information via its site that gays engage in pedophilia, bestiality, and the consuming of urine and feces. It also cited the work of discredited physician Paul Cameron. Since this discovery became public, the Minnesota Family Council has scrubbed these references from its site, however, you can still view the information and save it from here . To top it off, even though the items were removed, the head of the Minnesota Family Council, Tom Pritchard, actually defended the material: Prichard defends the postings as getting "into the nature of homosexuality and homosexual behavior," but says that won't be the focus of his group's efforts to pass the constitutional ban. "The focus of this campaign is the nature and purpose of marriage -- not a referendum of homosexuality per se, or its lifestyle activities and behaviors," he says. "I would see that as a separate issue." And it gets more interesting in New York. A group aiding NOM in that state, The Family Research Foundation, is encouraging supporters to write letters to the editor demonizing lgbts. And the organization has the gall to provide prospective writers with several form letters, meaning that all they have to do is sign their name. You can view the letters here . One letter is below: The letter implies that the lgbt orientation is as dangerous as cigarette smoking. This theory was originally espoused by the discredited researcher Paul Cameron, the very man whose material the Minnesota Family Council scrubbed from its page. Some folks may read this post and get frustrated. They may say things like "whatever NOM and its allies are doing, it's working because they are winning" or "we are losing because we aren't fighting fire with fire." But I disagree with both points. Sometimes exposing a lie to sunlight is the best thing you can do. Whatever battles NOM have won are transitory at best and, when it's all said and done, will not be remembered when marriage equality becomes legal. What will be remembered are the lies, the hypocrisy, the blatant inaccuracies committed in the name of God by NOM and its partners. And hopefully those who follow our footsteps will take that behavior as a lesson of what not to do when claiming to work for morality. But when looking at the Minnesota Family Council's webpage, one gets the impression that that organization's stance against gay marriage is less to do with "preserving marriage," but rather adhering to the monstrous stereotypes which lgbts have had to endure for years. The following inaccurate statistics connecting the lgbt community with bestiality, pedophilia, urine, and feces come from Answers to Gay Rights Arguments , which is included Minnesota Family Council 's webpage: That's right. NOM is partnering with an organization which pushes discredited Paul Cameronesque lies about the lgbt community. And just so you know, the organization does cite Paul Cameron's group - the Family Research Institute - specifically in the section of its webpage called Gay Rights: You will remember, of course, that the Family Research Institute has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for pushing ugly propaganda against the lgbt community. The irony of the entire thing is that one of the main complaints/talking points of NOM is that it has been unfairly labeled as a bigoted organization for its stance against gay marriage. The question here is how can NOM continue to voice this complaint/talking point if it does not disavow the anti-gay lies of its coalition partner? And we all know that NOM will not disavow these lies. Folks wishing to donate in order to defeat these lies can go here. Related post: Time for NOM to work it's 'gays recruit children' lies in Minnesota This is sad. The National Organization for Marriage is constantly talking about how marriage is sacred and how its "traditional definition" of being between a man and a woman needs to be saved. If this the case, why is the organization channeling Anita Bryant's "gays want to recruit children" lie through the following nasty flyer. It's being sent out to New Yorkers as that state grapples with the concept of allowing gay marriage. NOM Mail Piece For the record, I've already talked about the lies posted in this flyer The only truthful point is the part about gay history in school curriculum. But that has nothing to do with marriage equality, but with building up the self-esteem of lgbt students. And there is nothing wrong with that. BUT there is a lot wrong with this flyer. Incredible. How is it that NOM's Maggie Gallagher praises the lgbt community in front of Congressional committees because of our parenting skill while her subordinates send out little portents of doom implying that the push for marriage equality is really a ruse for lgbts to "recruit" children? NOM is definitely speaking with a forked tongue.

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CHRIS MATTHEWS : How does this president regain his historic, heroic stature which he had? I'm not saying he was ever super popular with more than 50-some-percent of the country, but he was seen as a hero to a lot of people. I think he's lost that for a while and I'm trying to figure out how does he champion the election and re-election of his friends in the Senate especially in the south in red states, and that's what we're talking about here, even in the case of Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, all red states. How does he go down there? Like today he is visiting North Carolina and talked about employment. And Kay Hagan says she is in Washington, too busy to join him. It's only an hour ride in a plane. It has been more than two weeks since ISIL seized control of Fallujah and half of Ramadi and as far as I can tell the Iraqi government is no closer to taking them back. Via France 24 : A wave of bomb attacks in Iraq, including a series of coordinated car bombings in Baghdad, killed at least 46 people on Wednesday as Islamist militants took more territory from Iraqi security forces in Anbar province. Authorities are grappling with Iraq's worst period of unrest since the country emerged from a sectarian war that killed tens of thousands, just months before landmark parliamentary elections. ... In Anbar province, Iraqi forces lost more ground as Sunni gunmen, including those linked to al Qaeda, overran two key areas when police abandoned their posts. The losses mark a second day of setbacks for government forces and their tribal allies as they try to retake territory on the capital's doorstep from militants who hold all of the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah and parts of the nearby provincial capital, Ramadi. The crisis marks the first time militants have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003. "We gave ourselves up, and we gave up our arms to Daash," one policemen, who did not want to be named, told AFP from the town of Saqlawiyah, referring to the commonly used Arabic name for the al Qaeda-linked group ISIL. "They have very heavy arms, which are much stronger than what we have. Our police station was not very well-protected, and they surrounded us. Even when we called for support, nobody came . Now, some of us have gone home, others have gone to other police stations," he said. Militants overran the police station in Saqlawiyah, a town just west of Fallujah, and took control of the entire area after using mosque loudspeakers to urge policemen to abandon their posts and their weapons. They also retook the station and surrounding neighbourhood of Malaab, a major district in Ramadi, after security forces trumpeted their successes in the area just days earlier. "If you reduce the role of money in politics and increase the level of civility in the debate, more women will run for office," Pelosi pointed out. "And that's a very wholesome thing." MSNBC Chief Phil Griffin is accepting responsibility for a spate of recent gaffes that have led to anchor apologies and exits at the news network. "These were judgment calls made by some of our people," Griffin tells THR. "We quickly took responsibility for them and took action. They were unfortunate, but I'm not going to allow these specific moments of lack of judgment to define us." The embarrassments began when host Alec Baldwin was caught on camera allegedly using a gay slur. Baldwin parted ways with MSNBC on Nov. 26 after only five shows. Eight days later, hostMartin Bashir resigned after criticism for a crude scatological suggestion involving Sarah Palin. Weekend host Melissa Harris-Perry is still at MSNBC after a heartfelt apology for ridiculing Mitt Romney's adopted black grandson during a Dec. 28 segment. [...] Griffin is known as a hands-off manager, but MSNBC disputes a report that star host Rachel Maddowis taking a role in management decisions and that an executive has been asked to review scripts in the wake of the gaffes. "We don't rely on one person to look at all scripts -- there are too many scripts," says Griffin, adding that he meets with producers daily. "Of course I've talked to everybody in the building about it -- and we move on. Some of these mistakes are being played out far more inside the media world. I don't think it hurt us in any way." That's how we roll here in the People's Republic. MEDFORD -- State Representative Carlos Henriquez was sentenced to serve six months in Middlesex County House of Correction today after he was convicted of charges that he choked and punched an Arlington woman he was dating in July 2012. A Cambridge District Court jury convicted Henriquez on two assault and battery charges, but acquitted Henriquez, a Dorchester Democrat, of a third assault and battery charge, one count of intimidation of a witness, and one count of larceny under $250. The victim, Katherine Gonzalves, testified about the events that unfolded on July 8, 2012, and underwent a rigorous cross-examination by Henriquez's defense attorney, Stephanie Soriano-Mills. Following the verdict, Judge Michele Hogan expressed concern that Henriquez was not accepting responsibility for the actions the jury convicted him of. Speaking from the bench, she also told him that he should have ended his interactions with Gonzalves early that morning when she told him she was not interested in having intimate relations. [...] Henriquez joins a roster of Democratic state lawmakers convicted of crimes in recent years. Former senator Anthony D. Galluccio of Cambridge was jailed in 2010 for violating the terms of his house arrest by drinking alcohol after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident; former senator J. James Marzilli Jr. of Arlington was convicted in 2011 of accosting a woman; former senator Dianne Wilkerson of Boston was sent to federal prison in 2011 for taking bribes; and former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi is serving an eight-year prison sentence after he was convicted of conspiracy, fraud and extortion in 2011. Fort Carson soldiers in Kuwait are keeping a wary eye on Iraqi unrest as they work to train America's allies in the region. Soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team are preparing for three major training exercises in the next 40 days, with the biggest matching their tanks against a Kuwaiti battalion. The training allows the 3,800-soldier unit to fulfill its mission of helping America's friends while honing skills that leaders hope deter threats in the roiling region. "It has taken on increased significance and meaning, many of us in the brigade are veterans of Iraq," said Col. Omar Jones, brigade commander and a veteran of fighting in Fallujah, Baghdad and Mosul. The brigade deployed to Kuwait in the fall, replacing Fort Carson's 1st Brigade Combat Team for a nine-month stint. Keeping Fort Carson troops at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, near the Iraqi border is seen as a safeguard against violence that could spread beyond Iraq. The Colorado Springs soldiers also are the nation's first responders if trouble arises in the Persian Gulf region. While Pentagon leaders in recent days have dismissed the idea of using U.S. troops to help quell violence in Iraq, they have been sending piles of equipment to the Iraqi military. The Iraqi strife is centered on the western Anbar province and is thought to be tied to border-crossing Syrian militants with ties to Al Qaida. Iraq remains a top concern, but most of the brigade's work is focused on training -- old school training that's focused on armored battles rather than guerrilla warfare. The military's training regimen has shifted in recent months to fighting that could come after America's role in the war in Afghanistan ends. "We're focused at being experts at our tanks, experts at our Bradley and experts at our Paladins," Jones said Tuesday in a telephone interview. With temperatures staying at what locals call frigid -- in the 60s and 70s -- winter is the best time for desert warfare training. In a couple of months, the mercury could top 120 degrees. Buerhing, located in the baby-powder sand near Kuwait's Udari Range training area, offers an endless supply of desert terrain. Troops also work on keeping the brigade safe from cross-border attacks and terrorist strikes that remain a concern in the region. Jones wouldn't talk specifics about security. "I will say that I feel very comfortable and satisfied that we're taking the right force protection," he said. When they're not training, the brigade's soldiers can relax on a post that offers good food, recreation opportunities and Internet and phone service to keep them connected with their families. "This is the best quality of life we have seen on a deployment," Jones said. In addition to training with Kuwaiti troops, the soldiers are getting the chance to know Kuwaiti civilians, with occasional field trips to coastal Kuwait City, known as one of the most modern cities in the Gulf region. "It is an absolutely amazing place," Jones said. The biggest distraction for soldiers? The National Football League playoffs. Jones said his brigade is loaded with soldiers from Colorado and others who have adopted the Denver Broncos as their home team during their time at Fort Carson. Halfway across the globe, games start at midnight in Kuwait and the final gun comes in the wee hours of the morning. But the time difference hasn't kept soldiers away from the television. Sunday's AFC championship is expected to draw a crowd at the desert base. "There will be a lot of weary eyes from soldiers staying up to watch the game," Jones said. No more jihad for you. Mustafa al-Gharib, a 22-year-old Canadian-born Muslim convert who left Calgary for Syria in November 2012, has been killed by Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces during rebel infighting, CBC News has confirmed. Jabhat al-Nusra was designated a terrorist group by the Canadian government in November 2013. The first public indication of al-Gharib's death came on social media on Tuesday night, when a Twitter account claiming to be run by a rebel fighter who knew al-Gharib personally tweeted a martyrdom notice. The notice uses the name Abu Talha al-Canadi, another of al-Gharib's monikers. Finally an ad tying Hagan to Obama. Odd she was a flee bagger today. Via Hot Air It wasn't so very long ago -- as in, last September -- that Democratic senator and enthusiastic ObamaCare cheerleader Kay Hagan was posting fairly comfortable margins leading all of the Republican challengers to her reelection bid this year. Cue the ObamaCare initiation sequence, however, and that all started to change pretty quickly. These past few months have been whittling away at her erstwhile lead, and even as the Republican primary race is starting to solidify, Public Policy Polling's latest update indicates that all of her potential opponents are seriously gaining on her: For the first time in our polling of the North Carolina Senate race, presumptive frontrunner Thom Tillis has opened a little bit of space between himself and the rest of his opponents in the Republican primary. Tillis now leads the field with 19% to 11% for Greg Brannon and Heather Grant, 8% for Mark Harris, and 7% for Bill Flynn. ... 39% of voters in the state say they approve of the job Hagan is doing to 49% who disapprove. She has 1 or 2 point deficits against each of her potential GOP foes. She's down by 1 to Heather Grant (42/41) and Thom Tillis (43/42), and trails by 2 against the rest of the field (43/41 against Greg Brannon and Mark Harris, 44/42 against Bill Flynn.) Hagan's main issue is that with independents she has a 30/56 approval rating and trails all of her opponents by double digits. Unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act seems to be driving much of her trouble. Only 38% of voters in the state overall support it to 48% who are opposed, and independents are more against it than the overall electorate at 31/57. As of PPP's mid-December poll, Hagan was still leading the now-frontrunning Tillis by two points, but he's already been campaigning hard against her ObamaCare record and it would appear that all of her recent attempts to temper her longstanding support for President Obama's crowning legislative achievement have been for naught. I'm sure Hagan is mighty glad to have the Senate in-session as an excuse not to show up and support President Obama when he hits North Carolina for his umpteenth economic pivot today, but Republicans certainly won't let her off the hook that easily. Hence the reason Obama to this day continues to blame all of his woes on the previous administration. ROBERT GATES : I think the book is clear that when the president responded to Hillary's comments that he was vaguely agreeing that opposition to the surge broadly had been political. And I absolutely believe that, having lived through that in the spring of 2007 up on the Hill. There are two things that made me remember what Hillary had said. The first was that I was on the opposite side of the table. Admiral Mullen and I used to joke, particularly in the first months of the Obama administration, when kind of every meeting in The Situation Room, everybody would trash the Bush administration and everything the Bush team. You know, what a bunch of bums the Bush team were and everything. And we're sitting there thinking, what, are we invisible? We were integral members of that team, and so the fact that she would say something like that. DHS, FBI, TSA and the CIA need to follow the lead of Shin Bet. Via Jerusalem Post The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) thwarted an attempt by a Hamas-affiliated group to set up a terrorist cell in the West Bank for the purpose of kidnapping Israelis, security forces announced on Wednesday. The terror plot was directed by Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons, the Shin Bet added. "Those involved were in their first stages of planning the attack," the Shin Bet said in a statement. The domestic intelligence service named Muhammad Bel, 24, of Zeitoun in Gaza, doing time in the Eshel prison since 2008, as a suspect who recruited two Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank for the plot. The recruits have been named as Ali Harub, 21, of Dora, near Hebron, serving a sentence for being a member of a military terrorist cell, planning attacks, and manufacturing bombs and Molotov cocktails, and Rajab Salah Al-din, 53, of Hamza, near Ramallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in prison since May 2012 for three failed kidnapping attempts. The three suspects confessed to the plot during questioning, the Shin Bet stated, and were charged in late December with terrorist offensives as the Beersheba District Court. The investigation revealed that the highest levels of the Kataib Al-Mujahadin (Holy Warriors Brigades) terror group were involved in the planning stages of the attacks. Bel was in touch with a liaison in Gaza, named as Amar Khalil Kassam, 29, who is in charge of dealing with prisoners and who answers directly to the head of the organization. A security source told The Jerusalem Post that the point of the plot was to enable a Gaza-based terror group to gain operatives from the West Bank, who could then use their own contacts outside of prison to organize a kidnapping. "The Holy Warriors Brigade is a terror group that splintered off from the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and adopted extremist Islamic characteristics," the Shin Bet said. It is headed by Asad Abu Sharia, 36, a resident of Gaza and terror operative, who took over the group in 2007 after his brother, Omar Abu Sharia, the former leader, was killed in an IAF strike in Gaza in 2006. The group is in close touch with Hamas in Gaza, and has been involved in recent years in rocket attacks on Israel, shootings against the IDF, and setting off bombs on the Gaza - Israel border, among other activities. Cooperation with Hamas includes cooperation, training, and assistance, as well as financial support and weapons transfers for attacks, and the smuggling of arms to Gaza.

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20 April, 2015 Countercurrents.org "Oscar Reutersvard 1997 - 'Follow the Groove" "A perfect metaphor for our situation - progress and sustainability can't meet!" W e live in times when semantics are changing and texts are full of abbreviations. So, now I'm told that COAD is chronic obtrusive air-ways decease. The plague miners and stone-pit workers even share with people smoking too many Cohibas and Davidoff pipe tobacco. However, we all share the COED - chronic obstructive economic decline! With enormous consequences for both rich and poor, both developed and developing countries. We are now at a point when our entire civilization has entered what John Kenneth Galbraith called "the twilight of illusion". We are at a point at which the end of a forever growing industrial economy is nothing but a short historical process, clearly and visibly declining. To make this understood, we have to search for a realistic understanding of the troubled future ahead of us and a meaningful way of responding to it. That's my reason for this writings and extremely important for what we flippantly label "so called economists". In my opinion, we are all "so called" : town planners, architects, engineers........you may fill in the blanks! But we have professional ethics (or should have) and let's look ahead! Our civilization is on head-on collision with our planetary limits of growth and this is often, and unfortunately, treated as an economical/technical problem that can be corrected by reading a neo-colonial answer book. But doing so, we are following the same trajectory of overshoot that terminated so many other civilizations in the past. What we are experiencing now is a permanent economic decline and precisely what many scientists pointed out about peak oil and the finite resources many decades ago - it will not necessarily be a sudden collapse, a slow decline for industrial societies but quicker for African countries, knocking on the progress door. And, contrary to intelligent thinking, the faith in limitless progress is the basis for most national budgets, for economical writers in our papers -"so called economists" according to some local writers, here. In general, we seem to be totally unaware that we are on a slope, a decline, with economical failures - a crisis here and a crisis there (power, water, education here, regional catastrophes and wars there) with oil, gas and resources always in the background. Consequently, it cannot be disputed that we are on a downward trajectory as a civilization - those of us who still have a job are struggling to hang on to them, those who have lost their jobs are struggling to stay fed, clothed and housed and there are many, many young ones that will never have an outsourced job with a salary. This is the situation and why the so called "industrial countries" (now often called post-industrial) - the triad of US, EU and Japan especially act as they are doing and we see consequences here in Africa. Reason - there was no "trickle down" from the top to the bottom (as neo-liberal paradigms promised) and it will never be. But it is no longer necessary to speculate what kind of future the end of cheap, abundant energy era will bring to the industrial world and the countries that are hoping to mirror their old status. The package has already been delivered and the hope the aspiring developing countries had in their legitimate right to become industrialized is fading quickly. Now's the time to rethink - globalization was a one-way road to bring resources to the post-industrial nations, a "kiss-of-life" for the neo-colonial powers. In this situation it is futile to hope that non-industrial nations will follow the same trajectory as the now post-industrial nations did, once upon a time (e.g. building factories, hiring workers with salaries enough to be consumers, providing services and generating ample profits). We can now see that it wasn't forever self-sustaining there and it will never, ever happen here. So, are we forced for the nearest future to "digging holes" and exporting our (also finite) untreated resources raw -copper, coal and other stuff from the earth? Many western as well as Eastern countries seemingly think so, and are often discouraging African nations so called beneficiation and process their natural resources prior to export. And when possible beneficiation is there, it's easy to kill for the big ones - now we hear we're too lazy and spoiled by huge salaries! What's up but creating more Moment 22's? I guess I'm quite clever, now! What is Moment 22 all about but swallowing the tail, bit by bit? Let's note the following regarding what most developing countries have been through: * Destruction, the Terra Nullius concept - destroy cultures and get vacant land (the initial stage of colonialism - from 1750 and still ongoing); * Dual Laws - one for colonialists another for ingenious people - a money saver! * Introducing colonial "sciences" -proving there are Subject people to Master ones - mostly Aryans/Caucasians; * Economical neo-colonialism - globalization, free-trade, de-regularization of laws and cutting domestic expenses. Consequently, I cannot but understand the situation that most developing countries are in today. There was hardly any coherent alternative to the massive neo-liberal economic concept from western development institutions and charitable donors for newly independent developing countries then. The "hidden" conditions were just as important as the job was for new architects and town planners. But there were serious consequences when the developing countries applied this kind of outdated, high cost, western, somewhat outdated technology (an inheritance from the colonial powers, I insist) - mostly concerning infrastructure and utility service that we more or less copied from the west. Obviously not considering the problems developed countries had with aging infrastructure networks and service delivery and the end cost for it when energy became expensive that disappeared when "eternal progress" was less than 8% a year. By the late 60-ies it was obvious that the infrastructure sector was falling apart in the west - maintenance was neglected and cost of delivery escalated quickly - esp. after the first oil bubble burst in early 70-ies. There were huge external costs never assumed, and environmentalists started their whistle-blowing. For some economists things were written on the wall - for example E F Schumacher (with his famous book "Less is Beautiful") advised that developing countries must find 'an appropriate technology' approach and localized production and delivery of service'. But the 'appropriate' development authorities were handcuffed by its former colonial masters. And the western infrastructure warehouses were full of stuff to send to new "independent" countries often almost gratis. The producing of outdated, conventional stuff could go on and supporting the workers at home. This approach is still in full swing. And developing countries were ever so grateful until they had to pay the full price. I know this game - when I was young, the welfare people got water and power almost gratis, e.g. pensioners like my grandmother (even a flushing toilet). But 25-30 years later, the situation changed and people started to pay real costs - and it worked quite well for a city of about the size we had, then. Of course - problems escalate logarithmically for BIG cities but my point is - lets forget about them. We are heading for SMALL cities. Thus, we have outdated (and not appropriate) infrastructure and service delivery systems in Africa and elsewhere among developing countries - more than century old infrastructure models from densely populated European countries even in sparsely populated areas in Africa - chaos created! When I arrived to Gaborone in early 1979, Gaborone had its own electricity plant. The delivery plant moved about 400 km north of the City. And we are losing 1/3 of its energy on the way back here and another 1/3 lost in imperfect western wiring in the consumer's home. And now we must pay for it! When we experience power and water on/off and blocked sewers, we mustn't put all the blame on our utilities and its staff. The technology was wrong for a start and not appropriate - leading me to realize that the physical planning was also very wrong. But on this, I remember that Gaborone was never meant to be more than for 25-30,000 people. And then more "gaborones" needed to be built and connected with communications. To me, that had been appropriate planning! In short - we jumped onto the wrong train a few stops from the end station. There is an immense task for planners and utilities in the close future. There's more to say about an African experience. We'll see! Jan Wareus is a retired architect and town planner active in Botswana since 1979. Mostly on important planning issues based on donor and and international financing (SIDA, IMF amd Worldbank etc.) and increasingly worried about the senseless mirroring of western development. Thus concerned about 'appropriate' concepts for developing countries today and in the future.

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Management of respiratory diseases beyond drugs: Pulmonary Rehabilitation Pulmonary rehabilitation is an evidence-based multidisciplinary and comprehensive intervention for patients with chronic respiratory diseases who are symptomatic. It is based on a thorough patient assessment and integrated into the individualized treatment of the patient. Friday, November 6, 2015 New funding boosts research for controlling TB, malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis major investment has come from Japan to accelerate research for controlling and eliminating 4 diseases: TB, malaria, dengue and leishmaniasis. The interview with Dr Slingsby was done via phone, Sunday, June 29, 2014 (3 comments) Oxygen therapy is like a prescription drug: Use it rationally An optimum amount of oxygen is essential for the functioning and survival of all body tissues and even a few minutes deprivation can prove fatal. When saturation level of oxygen in the body falls due to some respiratory illness or injury then we need to replenish it artificially to maintain an optimum level by giving oxygen therapy to the patient. Monday, March 23, 2015 Progress made but work remains on firewalling health policy from tobacco industry Considerable progress has been made in different countries globally in protecting public-health policy from tobacco-industry interference, but certainly lot more work needs to be done. 2012 World Conference on Tobacco or Health (WCTOH) Declaration called on all governments to firewall health policy from tobacco-industry interference. Have we done that by now? Tuesday, April 7, 2015 World Health Day: No substitute to healthy mind We all aspire to be healthy and at times go to great lengths to ward off sickness. The fight against disease begins early on in life with responsible parents ensuring that their kids are administered all available vaccinations ((although there is a small lobby that is against this important preventive measure); as much as possible... Monday, March 23, 2015 Nepal leading tobacco control in South Asia: Will it spiral domino effect on other nations? Nepal is in spotlight in South Asian region by demonstrating high commitment to tobacco control and also acting on the ground! Recognizing Nepal's leadership, the country was awarded the prestigious 'Bloomberg Philanthropies Award for Global Tobacco Control'. Wednesday, April 16, 2014 (1 comments) Call to stop water privatization and strengthen public water systems call for the World Bank to end its destructive promotion of water privatization under the guise of development. After a week of meetings, including high level events on water, no action has been taken to address the coalition's concerns. Friday, March 27, 2015 Vietnam's major regional thrust for a malaria-free Asia Pacific by 2030 Vietnam signals greater regional leadership in malaria elimination by hosting health officials and experts to discuss challenges to achieving a malaria-free Asia Pacific by 2030. Wednesday, April 22, 2015 Land Acquisition Bill takes away rights of farmers and pits them against 'Make in India' With the government calling the Land Acquisition Bill pro-farmer and pro-development and most of opposition parties and social activists opposing it as anti-farmer, it is useful to sieve through the noise and look at the changes proposed and what existed earlier. Monday, August 17, 2015 Evidence is Top Priority Read an interview with India's top medical researcher who has recently been appointed to lead Indian Medical Research Council and Dept of Health Research, Govt of India. Dr Soumya Swaminathan has recently been appointed as Director General, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and Secretary of Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Monday, May 26, 2014 (3 comments) Connecting the dots: Tobacco use, diabetes, and tuberculosis The nexus between tobacco use, diabetes, and tuberculosis cannot be ignored. Dr Anthony Harries, Senior Advisor, International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, cites a study done in Korea last year, which shows that patients with TB who smoked and had diabetes were six times more likely to die than non-smokers and non-diabetes persons. Wednesday, March 26, 2014 Indian approach to limb salvage for people with diabetes The Global Diabetic Foot Conference (DFcon 2014) concluded earlier this week in Los Angeles US. Citizen News Service (CNS) had an opportunity to interact with one of the key faculties and experts on an Indian approach to saving the limb for people who are living with diabetes. Tuesday, April 21, 2015 "Hard work is the key to success": Kamlesh This is an inspiring story of courage and determination of a woman who challenged deeply entrenched gender biases in agriculture sector and successfully established herself as a farmer. Sunday, May 24, 2015 (2 comments) Through the people's lens: Modi's development model so far Story of Modi's development model so far: Cutting health and education expenditure, forcing land acquisition, buying expensive jets and unsafe nuclear power, benefitting Big Business, diluting employment guarantee, fanning communal fires, exploiting Ganga, curbing dissent and shielding governance from public scrutiny! Thursday, October 9, 2014 Those who 'own little, live on little' carry highest burden of climate change But what astounded Alina Saba, a young indigenous woman participant from Limbu tribe of Nepal, was: "When I arrived in NYC, I was struck by the level of inequality that exists in this world. Just a few weeks ago I was in this remote community of Nepal who live on less than $1 a day. They do not have access to facilities like education, communication, healthcare and transportation. Thursday, April 5, 2018 Air pollution is an invisible killer: Denial will cost lives! Over 80% of the world's cities have pollution levels exceeding WHO's guidelines for safe air. Climate change and air pollution are closely interrelated, further escalating the economic costs and health hazards for humankind. Yet it does not seem to be invoking governments to act with the compelling urgency. Friday, May 1, 2015 No other way out: We need to early diagnose TB and treat with drugs that work It may sound rhetorical but some of the 'absolute must' steps for progressing towards ending tuberculosis (TB) are to early and accurately diagnose TB and treat with the standard combination of drugs that are sensitive and work for a particular patient. Although sounds simplistic yet these are 'easier said than done' steps! Monday, May 25, 2015 (1 comments) Without real democracy, how will people hold governments to account? One of the major failures of current times is how democratic systems are being made ineffective so that people with a 'power of one vote' are not able to hold elected representatives to account. How else can governments get away with making promises and not delivering? Listen what few women parliamentarians have to say on this? Monday, June 1, 2015 (2 comments) Hitting roadblocks to tobacco endgame The tobacco endgame is a public health and social justice imperative, says experts. But formidable challenges remain for countries who are rolling out tobacco control because of industry interference and range of other issues. This article explores further... Sunday, September 21, 2014 Should India Sacrifice Agriculture For Trade? Well, any right-minded person would say NO. But the global, as well as the local media, has castigated India for not ratifying the Protocol of Amendment for the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) at the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in Geneva in July 2014, and for linking it to discussions for a permanent solution to the G-33's Food Security Proposal. India's refusal to tow the line of developed countries Wednesday, April 1, 2015 (2 comments) Indian parliamentarian doubts if tobacco kills! Do not reinvent the wheel Indian parliamentarian who is chairing the committee that told the government not to implement stronger pictorial graphic health warnings on tobacco packs (and raise the warning size from 40% to 85%) from 1st April 2015, cast doubts on whether tobacco causes cancer. India is at risk of reversing the gains made in saving lives from tobacco! Sunday, May 31, 2015 Saturday, July 5, 2014 Is it Asthma or COPD? Both asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are chronic diseases involving airflow obstruction and are consequences of gene environment interaction. COPD includes progressive respiratory diseases like emphysema and chronic bronchitis and is characterized by decreased airflow over time and increased inflammation. Saturday, November 8, 2014 International trade impacts tobacco control (CNS): The tobacco industry has a history of using international trade agreements to force open new markets in low and middle income countries, greatly increasing tobacco use and the consequent death/disease it causes. Tobacco companies are also challenging measures to reduce tobacco use as violations of trade and investment agreements, threatening the authority of nations to protect the health & well-being of their citizens Saturday, June 13, 2015 Turning tables: Growing support against corporate capture of climate policy-making In the final days of the Bonn Climate Change Conference of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a resounding call was made by over 224,000 people to the governments who have ratified the UNFCCC: protect the treaty and climate policymaking from the undue influence of the globe's biggest polluters. Saturday, March 21, 2015 Hold tobacco industry liable: Turn the cost-benefit ratio upside down "FCTC Article 19 is one of the least well-implemented articles of the treaty. As a result it provides immense untapped potential to be able to shift the cost-benefit ratio for the way the tobacco industry operates and thereby hold it to account and make it pay the high costs of harms it causes to people around the world," said Cloe Franko, Chair of Network for Accountability of Tobacco Transnationals (NATT). Wednesday, April 8, 2015 God helps those who help themselves: Kunta Devi An inspiring story of courage about a woman who braved all odds and succeeded in establishing herself as a successful woman farmer, in an otherwise male-dominated world of agriculture sector where women seldom get recognized. Wednesday, September 7, 2016 Female face of ageing in Asia Pacific Interesting article based upon data and experts' interviews on how (and why) are women more impacted by ageing than men -- author herself is 65 years. Tuesday, February 4, 2014 (1 comments) Do we really believe in cancer 'prevention is better than cure'? Despite alarming cancer rates globally, with worst impact in low- and middle-income countries, one is forced to ponder if we really believe in 'cancer prevention is better than cure'. Cancer treatment is challenging and expensive, with very worrying 5-year survival rates (average 5-year survival varies for different cancers). Friday, March 13, 2015 (1 comments) From adversity to prosperity This is a story of a champion woman farmer, who stood against all odds and established herself as a woman farmer in a heavily male-dominated agriculture arena Saturday, October 10, 2015 Call to kick polluters out of climate talks In April, it was revealed that COP 21 in Paris would be yet another "Corporate COP" with the announcement of Engie, EDF and Suez Environnement as lead sponsors. Suez Environnement, infamous for its dealings in water privatization, is partially owned by GDF Suez, which profits from fracking operations around the world, putting it at direct odds with the advancement of the treaty. Friday, May 9, 2014 Regular cervical cancer screening, vaccination save lives Cervical cancer, a preventable cancer, continues to be the second-most-common cancer among women globally. Scientists and researchers from around the world brainstormed in sessions on cervical cancer management and control. Monday, May 11, 2015 "Slow but steady wins the race": Lilawati An inspiring story of a woman in rural India who braved grave odds but successfully established herself as a teacher cum farmer. Tuesday, July 11, 2017 Will a feminist fossil-fuel-free future lead us to sustainable development? This article is based upon an interview with senior gender justice activist who has been dedicatedly working for reducing inequalities and seeking development justice for several years now: Kate Lappin. Her photo is also attached, As governments of countries in the world are currently meeting at the UN to share progress on sustainable development, it is right time for a reality check on how can we achieve these goals Tuesday, March 25, 2014 Journalists awarded for best reporting on TB In the run-up to World TB Day on 24 March, the REACH Lilly MDR-TB Partnership Media Awards 2014 were presented in New Delhi, to recognize outstanding and responsible reporting on tuberculosis (TB). The awards were presented by Dr RS Gupta, Deputy Director General (TB), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India. Saturday, September 10, 2016 Moving beyond stereotypes: Responding to unheeded needs of the ageing populations This article is based upon interview with World Health Organization (WHO)'s Director of Department of ageing and life-course. He speaks how can governments improve care of ageing populations. Elderly can be assets for national development if support and services are optimally provided Tuesday, May 5, 2015 (1 comments) With no cure in sight, controlling asthma is essential World Asthma Day is on 5th May. With no cure for asthma on the horizon, it is possible and essential to control and manage asthma well - so that people with asthma can live a full normal life! Saturday, April 26, 2014 (1 comments) Implications of foreign funds received by Congress and BJP We learn from a Delhi High Court judgement on a PIL filed by retired IAS officer E.A.S. Sarma and an organisation relentlessly working for electoral reforms Association for Democratic Reforms, that Congress and BJP have been illegally receiving donations from foreign companies. They have violated the Representation of People Act, 1951 and the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 1976. Tuesday, February 11, 2014 (2 comments) E-Cigarettes: Friend Or Foe 'Tobacco is one of the leading killers in the world'; 'smoking is harmful for our health'; 'smoking can cause lung cancer, heart disease'... We have heard it all before. We also know how once someone gets into the habit of smoking it is very difficult, if not impossible, for him/her to quit due to the addictive nature of nicotine. Wednesday, May 2, 2018 (4 comments) Mind-Energy technique for management of challenging ailments This article written by renowned doctor-surgeon and medical scientist, who is our columnist, focuses on power of mind energy in healing of his patients who undergo specialized surgeries. Saturday, September 5, 2015 TB-Diabetes is a formidable challenge in Asia Pacific When TB and diabetes co-morbidities are alarmingly high, then why do TB and diabetes programmes work in silos? Saturday, May 10, 2014 (1 comments) Likely impacts of BJP and AAP on the Indian society Dr Rahul Pandey writes on effects of BJP & Modi's rise: "...The first is corruption and the other two are intrusions of business corporations and communal forces into India's natural resources and socio-cultural fabric respectively..." Tuesday, September 13, 2016 (1 comments) For age is opportunity no less than youth itself... This is a very special article based upon an inspiring story of 88 years old (or young?) Mrs Mua and how a community-based response is taking care of ageing people. The author Shobha Shukla is herself 65years+ and exemplifying what she is writing in her own life too. Thanks a lot for all support, Wednesday, July 27, 2016 Integrated TB-HIV responses are a must to meet Sustainable Development Goals This article is based on a range of interviews with experts from different sectors on why integrated responses are a must for governments to deliver on the promises they made of delivering on SDGs by 2030 -- including linkages between TB, HIV and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Health responses in SILOS will fail us. Integrated responses are a must. People are living with HIV but dying of TB, hepatitis or NCDs etc. Thursday, September 17, 2015 (1 comments) Antibiotic use is driving antibiotic resistance... Irrational and widespread use of antibiotics are key drivers that develop resistance to antibiotics and thus render drugs ineffective, thereby making preventable diseases major killers in our world. Important study highlights this issue. Saturday, May 20, 2017 Cleaning up the air we breathe This article puts the spotlight on a very neglected lung health issue which despite enormous burden, is not getting due attention globally -- especially in low and middle income nations. Governments are meeting next week in May 2017 at World Health Assembly to decide the work plan of the WHO and elect new head - hope they pay attention! Sunday, November 16, 2014 Long road to justice: Human rights of female migrant workers Erwiana was one of the women who shared their lived experiences of the struggle against oppressive structures as a migrant worker, providing a picture of the impact of the existing gender inequalities on women's lives, at the 1st plenary of the Forum. Thursday, March 27, 2014 Tuberculosis control needs a complete and patient-centric solution World TB Day is on 24th March 2014. Wednesday, March 18, 2015 Where there is a will there is a way: Teeja Devi Inspiring story of a woman farmer who braved all odds in heavily male dominated 'agriculture sector' where women despite doing most field-labour seldom get credit and recognition! She has indeed made an indelible mark and inspires many other women to get due recognition Thursday, May 4, 2017 Keeping workforce healthy is also a smart business strategy Several studies have shown strong evidence why it is important for industries to prioritise health of their workforce. Healthier workforce is not only a social justice imperative but higher productivity and staff retention yields more benefits for public health and boosts businesses too. This article explores how businesses and innovative partnerships locally are contributing to fight against TB Saturday, July 19, 2014 Indian Doctor Trupti Gilada to get Fellowship Award at AIDS 2014 A Mumbai-based Indian doctor, Dr Trupti Gilada Baheti, is a recipient of the prestigious Fellowship Award on HIV and Drug Abuse Research from the International AIDS Society, National Institute on Drug Abuse, and French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis. This fellowship will be formally awarded on 23rd July 2014 at the XX International AIDS Conference. Sunday, March 8, 2015 When will the good times (achhe din) come for women in India? While stone statues of the female form (Saraswati, Lakshmi, Durga/Kali) are worshipped in temples and religious rituals, a large number of those made of flesh and blood face violence on the streets and in homes, and encounter discrimination throughout their lives that begins at (or even before) birth, and continues during childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Tuesday, April 29, 2014 MPTs are innovative strategies to transform women's health Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, are known to be primarily transmitted through sexual route, which has created a major impact on sexual and reproductive health worldwide. Although some of the STIs are curable, others still do not have any effective preventive or therapeutics available. Wednesday, April 29, 2015 (2 comments) "She who does not tire, tires adversity": Savitri This is an inspiring story of courage, of a woman from a village in UP India who braved all odds to not only survive but be an inspiration for others -- she is an established farmer today. Friday, August 26, 2016 New study pegs the number of TB cases in India at double the current estimates Based upon a new study that was published today in The Lancet. Monday, May 8, 2017 Bringing TB out of the shadows Despite TB is an age-old disease and curable, TB stigma and shame still lurks in our communities -- patients at times commit suicide, are abandoned by their own families or face varied forms of discrimination. This article features viewpoints of female and male TB survivors, experts, film stars on TB stigma and shame. Saturday, March 29, 2014 Smoking Tobacco Doubles Risk of Recurrent Tuberculosis: New Study Research published on 24 March 2014 provides critical new insight on the harmful links between smoking tobacco and developing tuberculosis (TB). Regular tobacco smoking doubles the risk that people who have been successfully treated for TB will develop TB again--a condition known as "recurrent" TB. The study is the most robust-ever conducted into how smoking tobacco increases the risk of recurrent TB. Tuesday, September 6, 2016 (1 comments) Sri Lanka declared free of malaria - must remain vigilant World Health Organization has certified Sri Lanka as malaria-free. So many lessons to learn for other countries to deliver on their promise to eliminate malaria by 2030. Friday, February 13, 2015 Lung cancer: Difficult to diagnose, difficult to treat, easy to prevent Just a few days before World Cancer Day this year, an acquaintance of mine succumbed to this dreaded disease within 10 months of diagnosis, and became part of the world statistics of someone dying somewhere of lung cancer every 30 seconds. Of all known cancers, lung cancer has highest annual mortality (1.6 million) as well as incidence (1.8 million) globally, and is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 cancer-related deaths. Wednesday, June 18, 2014 Unhealthy diets are threatening global health An estimated 65% of the world's population lives in countries where obesity leads to more deaths than underweight. In 2012, over 40 million children under the age of five were considered overweight or obese, 30 million of who were living in developing countries. Around 3.4 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. Friday, August 3, 2018 (1 comments) Existence of civil society is under threat This article is based upon several interviews/interactions of Dr Hodgson from civil-society members from different groups/countries on shrinking civil-society spaces that impede development and rights. Saturday, October 8, 2016 Saving the next generation from HIV This article is based upon interviews with medical experts who have spent years trying to prevent HIV transmission in new born children from their parents -- and -- taking care of children living with HIV. Few countries have recently eliminated HIV in new born infants -- showing to the world that it is possible! Thursday, January 23, 2014 Multipurpose Prevention Technologies Can Transform Women's Health Millions of women and around the world are still unable to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Over 1 million people contract a sexually transmitted infection every day, half of whom are young people - mostly women. In fact women are 5 times more likely to get STIs than men. Also, currently 222 million women have an unmet need for contraception and approximately 290,000 women in developing countries Monday, December 15, 2014 Stop water privatisation and strengthen public water supply A new report by Corporate Accountability International uncovers how the World Bank uses ponzi-style marketing tactics to sell privatization projects around the globe that it is also positioned to profit from. "Water privatization has been a disaster," said Dr Sandeep Pandey, Magsaysay Awardee and national vice president of Socialist Party (India). "We must prevent the World Bank and corporations like Veolia from expanding thei Monday, September 19, 2016 Reality check: How are countries taking care of their ageing populations? This is an article below based upon interviews with experts from different countries on how specific nations are taking care of ageing populations. With increasing age, health and well-being take their toll. Non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, diabetes and dementia, are becoming more widespread. Yet, health and social security systems in the region are under-prepared to meet the needs of older persons. Sunday, October 16, 2016 (1 comments) AIDS is a political disease and a medical scourge, says US Congressman Please consider this article based upon interview with US Congressman and public health expert Dr Jim McDermott who has been serving since 1989 and was honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award of AIDS Society of India in Mumbai last week. Friday, September 23, 2016 Fuel your heart and power your life... This article is based upon interviews with leading experts including noted cardiologist in lead up to this year's World Heart Day. Hypertension is emerging as major risk factor for cardio-vascular diseases and referred to as 'silent killer'. Saturday, December 26, 2015 Despite promise to end Encephalitis and other NTDs by 2030, why is action missing? Governments had adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the 70th UN General Assembly in September 2015. One of the SDG targets (3.3) promises that "By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases." Encephalitis, one of the NTDs, continues to kill. Despite promises, Why there is NO action? Friday, June 12, 2015 "Hard work overcomes hard luck": Leela Shikhdar an inspiring story of a woman who braved all odds, gender stereotypes and illnesses, yet successfully made her mark in farming. Thursday, May 1, 2014 Call for no more new HIV-infected children According to UNAIDS Report 2013, an estimated 260,000 children below 18 years were newly infected with HIV in 2012 in low- and middle-income countries. While the first paediatric HIV case in India was recorded in 1987, in 2012 out of the 2,100,000 people living with HIV in India, 200,000 were children below 15 years. Thursday, October 16, 2014 Humid houses pose health hazards Indoor air quality concerns more than just the fumes and smoke in the house. Dampness and mould pose health risks too, especially for people living with asthma. Researchers warn that people's living habits and the new energy efficient technology used to revamp old houses might actually give indoor damp and mould more room to rise. Thursday, March 30, 2017 North-South perspectives on Istanbul Principles and Agenda 2030 for sustainable development Warm greetings. Please consider an important article based upon interviews with people's leaders from rich and poor nations, from "north" and "south" -- from Ireland in Europe to Pakistan in Asia. They both focus on how can we work towards a just social order. Thursday, July 9, 2015 Long walk to justice: Transgender voices from across India I had been there at the 1st National Hijra Habba in 2012. Witnessing the Third National Transgender Hijra Habba in 2015 was indeed a humbling experience as lot of water has flown during these 3 years. From 30 community participants in 2012, the number this year had swelled to a whopping 350+. The landmark Supreme Court (SC) judgement of 2014, recognizing transgenders as the third gender and granting them constitutional rights, Sunday, July 29, 2018 Where are the nurses in the HIV response? This article explores vital gap in HIV programming: missing out engaging nurses as meaningfully as they should have been ideally for optimal programme outcomes. Monday, April 27, 2015 'Call to Action' launch catalyzes fight against TB India has made impressive gains in the fight against tuberculosis (TB) but significant challenges still confront us in the path ahead to eliminate TB. The launch of 'Call To Action For A TB-Free India' by Sri Jagat Prakash Nadda, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in Delhi on 23rd April 2015, is aimed to catalyse progress towards ending TB in India. Tuesday, July 19, 2016 Count the people at HIV risk right: Is money being spent or sitting in banks? This article is based upon few interviews with scientists -- studies reveal that international aid to fight HIV, TB and malaria that went to top 20 countries were often sitting in banks for months to year or more! Also size estimates of high-risk key populations were smaller, much smaller in countries that criminalize behaviours, and service coverage was inflated. Thursday, July 23, 2015 Early diagnosis of drug resistance is crucial to ending TB Ending TB in India and elsewhere is possible only when we diagnose TB early; characterize the drug sensitivity of each case; treat the person with drugs that are most likely to work and address other issues, like help support the patient for treatment adherence, as well. Treating with drugs that do not work is not only dangerous for the individual patient, but also for broader public health as it may increase drug resistance Tuesday, June 16, 2015 (2 comments) "Be the change you want to see in the world": Pushpa Devi A woman who never did farming, and got married at 13, braved domestic violence and gender stereotypes, and struggled hard to establish herself as a successful farmer. A real life story of Pushpa Devi Friday, July 15, 2016 International AIDS Conferences: From Durban to Durban - has anything changed in 16 years? This article reflects on progress (or lack of) made between 2000 and 2016 in fight against AIDS. Incidentally 13th International AIDS Conference was held in Durban in 2000 and Durban is again hosting 21st International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2016) this month. Friday, August 26, 2016 Simulated patient study sheds new light on antibiotic use in India (CNS): Overuse and/or misuse of antibiotics has led to antimicrobial resistant superbugs pose a global health emergency. This threat is particularly great in India, that has the highest burden of TB in the world and is also the world's largest consumer of antibiotics. Lancet published study finds it is NOT the pharmacists who are spreading antibiotic resistance! Read more! Thursday, April 10, 2014 Rise in global health financing, but funding priorities shift A new research done by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), at the University of Washington, indicates that globally the total development assistance for health (DAH) hit an all-time high of $31.3 billion in 2013 (a year-over-year increase of 3.9%), although funding priorities shifted. Findings of the research were presented in a new report. Tuesday, July 26, 2016 Self-stigma: Let us do more than just 'talk about it' Please consider a special article based upon interviews with number of people who are living with HIV for 20+ years, on a very neglected issue: self-stigma or shame, and how self-stigma interferes with how a person engages with life, care and services. Saturday, July 5, 2014 Tobacco use a big 'No' for people with TB and diabetes Tobacco use is anyways harmful for all, but it is especially hazardous for people living with diabetes and those suffering from or at risk of tuberculosis (TB). For the former it acts as an hindrance in their control of blood sugar and in case of the latter their ability to transmit the disease can be enhanced. Monday, October 3, 2016 Kenya has done it, when will the rest of us? This article is based upon interview with a senior government official of Kenya's national TB programme. Kenya is first country in the world that has started roll-out of first-ever child-friendly TB drugs -- other nations need to follow suit too! Saturday, June 28, 2014 Tackle hepatitis C to save people living with HIV The WHO recognizes that the 'silent epidemic' of viral hepatitis affects a large part of the world's population causing over 1.4 million deaths every year, yet remains largely unknown or ignored. It is estimated that 240 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and more than 185 million people are infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Saturday, July 9, 2016 (1 comments) Right to road must first go to pedestrians, non-motorised vehicles Governments of all UN member countries have committed to halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents by 2020. But progress on these promises in most low & middle income countries is either not there or abysmally slow on making roads safer for everyone, including children. Wednesday, January 22, 2014 'Sexual and reproductive health issues do not exist in isolation' The theme of the 7th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (7th APCRSHR), which opened in Manila on 21st January, 2014, is: Examining achievements, good practices, lessons learned and challenges: towards a strategic positioning of Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights. Currently abortions are illegal and unconstitutional in Philippines, and yet the country has more than 500,000 abortions ... Friday, March 21, 2014 Gender Violence Increases HIV Vulnerability Is there a cure for HIV? The success stories of Timothy Brown and the two Boston patients, who rid themselves of the HIV cells through bone-marrow transplants, led to hopes that a cure had finally been found. This was further boosted by the fact that the transplants received by them were diametrically different. Thursday, July 7, 2016 MDR-TB treatment regimen: Short indeed is beautiful This is an article based upon interviews with key researchers whose research led to reducing treatment duration of MDR-TB from 2+ years to few months. Monday, March 27, 2017 SDGs should not be the icing on business-as-usual 'cake' This article is based upon several interviews on issues people want governments to raise in inter-governmental meetings that will begin later this week in Thailand for sustainable-development agenda of 2030. Looking forward, and hope governments read people's voices! Wednesday, November 9, 2016 Effective partnerships are necessary to increase tobacco control outcomes This article is based upon interview with noted global expert on tobacco control on how cross-sector effective partnerships can help increase the public health impact. Friday, November 27, 2015 Addressing pneumonia: The deadly childhood illness Despite being preventable, pneumonia continues to be a top killer of children under five. It also wreaks 'breath-taking' havoc in the lives of adults, particularly the elderly, and people living with HIV. According to the 2015 Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report,a projected 5.9 million children around the world will die in 2015 before reaching their 5th birthday. Friday, May 22, 2015 Bodily autonomy and sexual rights are integral to development justice The dream of development justice cannot be realized unless governments also recognize bodily autonomy and sexual rights for every human being, especially for those who are marginalized and seldom heard or 'visible'. Thursday, October 6, 2016 (1 comments) ASICON 2016 calls for making HIV a chronic, manageable condition in reality Indian government approved the amendments to HIV/AIDS Bill which will strongly help to end discrimination against people living with HIV yesterday. Science tells us and theoretically it is possible to make HIV a chronic, manageable disease BUT in reality for most people living with HIV that theory is yet to be translated in reality! Wednesday, November 23, 2016 Alarming rates of lung diseases warrant urgent action This article is focussed on a very important issue: lung health. Risk factors for lung diseases are also common (tobacco or pollution for example) and that is why comprehensive response is important to address this key issue because we all need clean air and healthy lungs to live life fully! Wednesday, April 4, 2018 Climate justice is integral to development justice This article is based upon interview with Misun Woo who forcibly calls for recognizing linkages between women's rights, climate change and efforts of our governments to ensure sustainable development for everyone. Saturday, October 3, 2015 Join hands to make the dream of smoke-free society, a reality! This commitment of the local authorities for standing up against the tobacco industry has shown Bali's determination to defeat the tobacco giants and conveys a very strong positive message to the country and to the region. Bali is much more than being a top tourist destination--despite huge pressures from the tobacco industry, it has taken a firm stand against it, keeping people's lives above profits. Tuesday, September 1, 2015 (5 comments) Universal access to services and social protection: A mantra to end TB Head of the WHO Global Tuberculosis Programme says two most important actions to end TB by 2035 are: universal access to TB services and social protection. Will the world be able to end TB? Read his interview here Tuesday, November 18, 2014 East Asia Summit adopts unprecedented regional malaria goal Countries have committed to an ambitious goal of eliminating malaria from the entire Asia Pacific region in the next 15 years. The bold move shows strong leadership on health security and responds head-on to concerns about growing resistance to the drug artemisinin, the mainstay of worldwide treatment for the most dangerous form of the disease. Sunday, April 30, 2017 How will we avert asthma deaths without definitive diagnostics and universal access to effective treatment? This article on World Asthma Day 2017 is based upon interviews with two global Asthma experts -- as well as a person living a normal life with asthma. There is no definitive diagnostics and care is beyond reach of many in need. There is no cure for asthma too but if people with asthma can manage it well then they can live life NORMALLY. Productively. And avoid emergency hospitalization and avert preventable death! Saturday, August 9, 2014 Can innovation drive HIV responses to meet 90:90:90 targets by 2020? Without innovation, at current pace of HIV responses on the ground, we are very likely to fail meeting the targets. We not only need to accelerate the search for better and effective technologies to help fight AIDS effectively but also need to improvise and innovate in rolling out evidence-based approaches. Wednesday, September 9, 2015 Wake up call on asthma in children: New data must drive well-coordinated action! Asthma, despite huge disease burden and cost to countries globally, is one of the most neglected non-communicable diseases. Just consider this: NO new data from the WHO since past 12 years! We need new data so that policy and programmes for asthma are matching, and working! We need standard guidelines for asthma management. We need a lot more action on asthma than ever before! Sunday, November 2, 2014 (1 comments) Call to action to halt the looming TB-diabetes co-epidemic People with diabetes have a three times greater risk of contracting TB than those without diabetes. People with TB have high rates of diabetes that often go undiagnosed. Sunday, May 15, 2016 (1 comments) Tobacco control must be a priority for health professionals Health professionals including lung cancer experts have a prominent role to play in tobacco control. They have the trust of the population, the media and opinion leaders, and their voices are heard across a vast range of social, economic and political arenas. Ahead of WHO World No Tobacco Day, Prof Prakit shares his insight on engaging healthcare workers in endgame of tobacco Saturday, February 22, 2014 Why at present the AAP offers the best hope for governance and policy In a short period of time the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has shaken up India's political landscape by offering an honest alternative to the mainstream national parties, specifically the Congress and the BJP. This article is an attempt to understand AAP's credibility on certain crucial dimensions. Monday, February 9, 2015 Deworm to not lose gains made on child health and nutrition Government of India is observing National Deworming Day on 10th February to control infections in children caused by Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STH) or intestinal worms, which are among the most common infections worldwide. The World Health Organization estimates that 241 million children between the ages of 1 and 14 are at risk of STH infection in India. Friday, January 27, 2017 #BeTheChange: It is about growing in years, not about getting old! This article is based on unique needs of ageing populations as well as important contributions elderly make for the society as well as for economy. Governments have committed for development (SDGs) and it also includes the elderly. We interviewed European Union's Head of Cooperation on ageing issues and the role EU is playing in helping other nations in southeast Asia too. VIDEO and PODCAST links are also attached. Wednesday, April 5, 2017 (1 comments) Inter-sectoral and well-coordinated battle to #endTB is imperative to deliver on Agenda 2030 Please consider this article around World Health Day 2017 and important and innovative meet happening around it to engage different ministries (health and non-health) as well as film stars. Thursday, November 3, 2016 We all can work, but together we win: Unite to #EndTB This article is based upon in-depth interview with head of global TB programme of the WHO. He shares what went well and not-so-well in past 25 years and how can we accelerate progress towards #endTB by 2030. Wednesday, August 17, 2016 Frontline voices: To be a transgender living with HIV in India This article is based upon an inspiring life-story of a transgender living with HIV in India and how she is striving hard to bring a difference in lives of not only transgender community but also women across the country. Wednesday, July 20, 2016 We cannot eliminate TB if we leave children behind It is unbelievable but true that children have been forgotten in TB care and control till very recently. It is our moral obligation to protect our children. No child should get TB and no child should die of it. What we need is a strategy and not empty talks. Merely signing on the dotted line is just not enough. There has to be the political will to transform words into action. Friday, July 22, 2016 Battling with three diseases and still going strong This is an important article based upon an interview with a person living with three diseases, and her doctor. Integrated-health responses are a must because often the person dealing with a range of health issues is same! Monday, May 18, 2015 Will post-2015 development agenda integrate economic, environmental and social pillars? There was a compelling thrust to ensure '3 pillars' of environment, economic and social aspects are all fully integrated while shaping post-2015 sustainable development framework. But may be, it is easier said than done! Tuesday, October 28, 2014 Nepal gearing to protect public health from tobacco industry interference As implementation of domestic tobacco control laws and global tobacco treaty is advancing, tobacco industry is indeed facing the heat. Not surprising, that the industry has sued governments when they have attempted to implement life-saving tobacco control measures. Nepal is no exception. Friday, May 30, 2014 (2 comments) Reduce Tobacco Consumption, Save Lives For World No Tobacco Day 2014, World Health Organization and its partners call on countries to raise taxes on tobacco. Increasing taxes on tobacco is considered to be the most cost-effective tobacco-control measure. An increase of 10% in tobacco prices is said to decrease tobacco consumption by about 4% in high-income countries and by up to 8% in most low- and middle-income countries. Sunday, November 2, 2014 (1 comments) WHO launches new guidelines on management of latent TB infection For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued guidelines on testing, treating and managing latent TB infection (LTBI) in individuals with high risk of developing the disease. These guidelines were launched today at the Global TB Symposium just before the start of the 45th Union World Conference on Lung Health in Barcelona. Monday, March 31, 2014 Accurate and affordable TB diagnosis in private sector becoming a reality Are we diagnosing people with presumptive TB early enough? Data suggests otherwise. "An average TB patient is diagnosed with TB after a delay of 2 months and has consulted till then at least 3 physicians or healthcare providers before getting diagnosis," said Dr Pai. Nearly 50% TB patients seek healthcare in private sector so role of private sector in TB care and control cannot be ignored. Thursday, December 11, 2014 What is wrong with a rights-based approach to TB care? A rights-based approach to TB care is the most correct approach to deal with the global TB crisis of epidemic proportions. In 2013, TB killed 1.5 million people out of the estimated 9 million people who developed it. Many social, economic and structural barriers drive the TB epidemic in high TB-burden countries including India, which accounts for 24% of its global incidence. Sunday, November 2, 2014 No single HIV prevention method can end AIDS: Combination prevention is key As HIV prevention needs and contexts vary, it is important to expand the range of effective prevention options that people can use. Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a video link at the first-ever international conference on all HIV-related biomedical prevention research, that "No single method of prevention can end this epidemic on its own." Friday, November 28, 2014 Reaching the unreached: ENGAGE TB initiative "But the tragedy is that, even though many NGOs may be working on HIV, they are not working on TB. We know that a large number of deaths (one in four) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) are due to TB, which is treatable and curable, and not because of HIV, which is not curable. If NGOs working with PLHIV can integrate TB care and control in their existing programmes, it will dramatically reduce these unnecessary deaths." Tuesday, February 24, 2015 TB Alliance advances next-generation TB drug candidate into clinical testing The Global Alliance for TB Drug Development (TB Alliance) announced on February 19, 2015 the start of the first human study of a new TB drug candidate TBA-354--the first new potential TB drug to begin a Phase 1 clinical study in 6 years since 2009. Sunday, January 26, 2014 (1 comments) World's largest school-based deworming programme in Bihar World's largest school-based deworming programme in Bihar - Those children who were left out can receive their dose on 28th January - Tuesday, July 24, 2018 Ending AIDS, the Dutch way Amsterdam city in Netherlands, became the first city in the world to overshoot the targets set for 2020 (called 90:90:90), which are towards ending AIDS by 2030. The rest of the world has lot of lessons to learn from here, and with this intent is below article based upon exclusive interview we did with Netherland's Ambassador. Saturday, January 25, 2014 One visit and vinegar diagnosis for cervical cancer Worldwide, a woman dies of cervical cancer every two minutes, taking the annual toll to 275,000. The disease is preventable, and yet the second-largest killer of women in low- and middle-income countries, with most women dying in the prime of life. According to the Cervical Cancer Global Crisis Card, India tops the chart in cervical-cancer deaths. Thursday, February 9, 2017 We must bequeath good air to our next generation... This article based upon an interview with award-winning scientist Dr Chitra Chandrashekar, whose research will help India in its fight against TB and commitment to end TB by 2030. Thursday, March 9, 2017 Ending TB is going to be hard but "hard is not impossible" This in-depth article is based upon interview with one of senior-most TB experts in India who has invested over 30 years in fight against TB. What went well, what could have gone better in past 2-3 decades and how to end TB by 2030 -- are some of the areas he shares his insights on. Saturday, June 25, 2016 Towards a TB free India: It cannot be a lone battle A TB Free India is not possible without support of civil society organizations (CSOs) working in the field of maternal, child and adolescent health, nutrition, anti-tobacco use, diabetes and HIV/AIDS. Read an article based upon interviews with experts from different sectors on how to collaborate together to accelerate progress towards TB free India Sunday, October 5, 2014 (2 comments) Medical malpractices: Is there light at the end of the tunnel? "This contributes to using expensive drugs, or at times using drugs that are not totally rational, or even using drugs instead of thinking of other evidence-based treatments - this has been well documented. I have tried to change attitudes towards accepting industry money. We should learn to say, 'No, Thank you'" asserted Dr Gotzsche. Friday, January 24, 2014 'Miles to go' before we achieve universal access to SRHR services Twenty years after the path-breaking International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo, millions of women and adolescents, particularly the poor and marginalised, in Asia and the Pacific continue to face inequalities in access to reproductive and sexual health and rights. "This is unconscionable," said Professor Gita Sen, Centre for Public Policy. Thursday, September 24, 2015 Despite crippling challenges, Nepal makes major strides in tobacco control Can a least developed country, Nepal, lead the world with one of strongest tobacco control laws? Biggest pictorial warnings for instance, globally: 90%! All force Nepal Monday, August 25, 2014 Debate: What do post-2015 strategic-development goals mean to us? Millennium-development goals (MDGs) were to be met by 2015 by countries of the world. What after 2015? Negotiations are going on currently to arrive at a consensus on post-2015 strategic-development goals (SDGs). Friday, February 20, 2015 (1 comments) Is too much health research - unnecessary, unethical, unscientific, wasteful? Too much health and medical research may be unnecessary, unethical, unscientific, and wasteful, warns a new global network Friday, March 25, 2016 Early and accurate diagnosis of TB and lung cancer vital: No excuse for misdiagnosis! This article is focusing on a very important aspect: MISDIAGNOSIS! Both TB and lung cancer, have similar symptoms and if accurate diagnosis is not done then it can have a serious consequence, even death. Unless we diagnose EARLY and accurately both: TB and lung cancer, how will we prevent needless suffering attributed to both? Monday, August 31, 2015 Empower community to end TB: In them lies the solution! While the patient has to be is central to all the actions, civil society can act as an interface between the government and the community. As a senior government representative said 'the government cannot be the sole provider of services but can definitely be an enabler of service provision'. And yet there seems to be a lack of trust between the government and civil-society organizations. Tuesday, November 24, 2015 India stands with Asia Pacific nations in drive for malaria"-free region Prime Minister Narendra Modi has joined other Asia Pacific Leaders in taking a concrete step closer to defeating malaria. Along with the 17 other East Asia Summit (EAS) Leaders meeting in Malaysia this past weekend, he endorsed a detailed plan to eliminate the disease throughout the region by 2030. Sunday, April 2, 2017 "Storms make trees take deeper roots": Insights of a cancer survivor with indomitable spirit This article is in lead up to 2017 World Health Day based upon personal experience and inspiring story of a cancer survivor... Thursday, July 24, 2014 New Drug Regimen: A miracle treatment for TB is a near possibility Global Alliance for TB-Drug Development (TB Alliance) raised hopes of a novel drug regimen to treat both forms of TB--drug sensitive (DS) and multi-drug resistant (MDR)--at the XX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne, offering a new paradigm in TB treatment to treat patients with drugs to which they are sensitive, rather than based on what they are resistant to. Sunday, March 5, 2017 [International Women's Day 2017 special] Emotional support is crucial for TB patients This is a story of courage in lead up to International Women's Day 2017, based upon interview with a woman who had survived extra-pulmonary TB and has taken up the mantle to help other people undergoing similar therapy to better cope with the disease and get cured. Wednesday, February 1, 2017 World Cancer Day: Ensure the right treatment at the right time to every patient World Cancer Day is on 4th February 2017. 190+ governments have committed to REDUCE cancer deaths by one-third by 2030. But cancer deaths are RISING or NOT declining fast enough to keep these promises. Read more on how to accelerate progress on saving lives from cancer. Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Breaking taboos, reaping dividends Consider these statistics: Globally, 370,000 million children are married every day. By 2020, an additional 142 million girls will be married before their 18th birthday. Six million adolescent pregnancies occur in South Asia--90% of them inside marriage. Further, 34% of all unsafe abortions in the Asia-Pacific region happen to women below the age of 25. Sunday, November 16, 2014 Women in politics should help women in adversity Taking the Beijing+20 review process as an opportunity to hold governments to account for their commitments, and demand stronger, more effective accountability mechanisms, the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) organized a Southeast Asia sub-regional Roundtable on 'Strengthening Accountability to Women through Parliamentary Mechanisms to Implement BPFA.' Saturday, December 3, 2016 "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies" Please consider this in-depth interview with a senior expert who earlier was one of the forces in national TB programme and now is a major lead at national AIDS programme. Earlier he had worked on polio eradication and other health issues. He shares key insights on how governments can keep promises (SDGs) to end TB and HIV by 2030. Monday, December 5, 2016 It is not enough to promise, we must act to #endAIDS Please consider this article based upon interview with a doctor who was among the first few doctors who came forward to care for people living with HIV when first case got diagnosed in India in 1986. He has several 'firsts' to his credit including India's first AIDS clinic. Monday, February 2, 2015 Better to prevent rather than treat lung cancer Every 30 seconds, someone, somewhere in the world, dies of lung cancer. According to the World Cancer Report 2014, more people die from lung cancer than from any other type of cancer. In 2012 lung cancer was the most commonly diagnosed cancer, with 1.8 million cases worldwide, accounting for 13% of all cancer cases. It also resulted in 1.6 million deaths (19.4% of total cancer deaths). Wednesday, July 30, 2014 (1 comments) 'When bacteria and virus can work so well together, why can't we?' Setting the pace for the press conference, Dr IS Gilada, President, AIDS Society of India, emphasized that collaborative activities between national TB and HIV programmes can help maximise public-health outcomes. He said if HIV programmes do not pay adequate attention to TB, or TB programmes ignore HIV, then the progress made in responding to HIV and TB gets threatened. Monday, May 5, 2014 (1 comments) Coordinated response for control of STIs is lacking Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, are known to be primarily transmitted through sexual route, which has created a major impact on sexual and reproductive health worldwide. They are caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasitic microorganisms that are transmitted through sexual activity with an infected partner. Monday, September 28, 2015 (1 comments) Dams and development: Corporate interests and Manipur's struggle for justice According to Jiten, since India adopted liberalization policies after the 1990s, it has facilitated the corporatization and privatization of community land and resources like water, forests, and agricultural land in NE India, including Manipur, subjecting its people to untold miseries. Thursday, July 31, 2014 Alarm rings on low uptake of existing prevention options for anal STIs and HIV Despite overall progress in HIV prevention, rates of HIV infection among key affected populations such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people remain alarmingly high. For example, recent data indicates that MSM are up to 19 times more likely to have HIV than the general population -- transgender women are almost 50 times more likely. Friday, April 15, 2016 (1 comments) Should Asia Pacific lead the world with robust roadmap for sustainable development? The window of opportunity is not closed yet - Asia Pacific nations still can demonstrate leadership on implementing sustainable development goals (SDGs) by agreeing on an ambitious plan to move forward. They need to deliver on promises made by governments at UN General Assembly last year to achieve SDGs by 2030! Saturday, November 8, 2014 Regular HIV prevention counselling reduces risk of infection (CNS): "Foundation of HIV prevention is infact HIV testing" said Dr Anthony Fauci of National Institutes of Health at the opening plenary (via video link) of the HIV Research for Prevention (HIVR4P). But mobilizing people to go for voluntary and repeated counselling and testing for HIV has indeed been a challenge. It is even a steeper challenge to mobilize key populations for HIV testing Wednesday, May 20, 2015 Will HLPF push for accountability in post-2015 development agenda? Without robust accountability and monitoring mechanisms, how will people ensure that their governments deliver on the promises they make towards post-2015 sustainable development agenda? Kate Lappin explains what role can High Level Political Forum (co-hosted by UN General Assembly) play in bringing in accountability in post-2015 agenda! Wednesday, July 25, 2018 Slump in fight against #AIDS can derail progress made so far! This article based upon experts who were among the first to begin HIV care in their countries/ state -- on are we on track to end AIDS, or is there a slump in the fight against AIDS? The reality is that fight against AIDS is slowing down/ slackening -- which threatens to derail the work done so far. Friday, October 28, 2016 Transforming hope into reality for patients of drug-resistant TB This article provides an update on latest research for better TB drugs - especially for drug resistant forms of tuberculosis Wednesday, June 1, 2016 (1 comments) A plain face can take the sheen out of deadly tobacco products World No Tobacco Day, that takes place on May 31 each year, highlights the devastating impact of tobacco use on health, as well as advocates for policies that help people quit tobacco use and discourage non-users from starting. This year's World No Tobacco Day theme is 'Get ready for plain packaging'. Saturday, October 11, 2014 Evidence shows we can prevent obesity in children: E Waters, Anne Anderson Awardee 2014 Researchers have demonstrated that childhood obesity prevention programmes have a positive health impact on body mass index (BMI - a measure of body fat based upon height and weight). So policies and practices should take this evidence into consideration to nip alarming rates of childhood obesity. Sunday, September 27, 2015 Irony of inequality and Ogoni peoples struggle for life and land Interview with Ogoni community leader from Nigeria who believes we cannot madly pursue a development model that continues to make 1% of this world's peoples richer, and 99% people poorer. Inequality must end, says he. Saturday, March 29, 2014 (1 comments) International respiratory societies to assist in finding the 3 million "missed" TB cases A major focus of this World TB Day is the 3 million TB cases that the World Health Organization estimates are "missed" each year - that is, cases that go undetected, undiagnosed, and untreated. Clearly, this must change if global TB control is to be achieved. Wednesday, April 2, 2014 (1 comments) Civil society participation vital for public-health programming The Knowledge-Attitude-Practice (KAP) survey results underline the payoffs of civil-society participation in public-health programming. Friday, September 4, 2015 After years of neglect, growing attention to TB in children in Asia Pacific Tuberculosis in children have been neglected for far too long. It was only in recent years, childhood TB started getting its long overdue attention and WHO and partners came out with Childhood TB Roadmap in October 2013 to further galvanize response on all fronts. Dr Steve Graham, one of the lead experts involved in this process, speaks to CNS on the way forward! Thursday, October 23, 2014 No longer business as usual: Out of the box solutions needed to end TB In May 2014, the World Health Assembly approved the WHO's new post-2015 global TB strategy and targets for tuberculosis, which aims to achieve the targets for 2035-- 95% decline in TB deaths and 90% decline in TB incidence rate compared with 2015--less than 10 TB cases per 100, 000 population, and the elimination of catastrophic costs for TB-affected households Saturday, July 26, 2014 Call to step up the pace of TB-HIV collaborative activities "We must focus upon individual human beings rather than on individual diseases of TB and HIV. A person centric approach is bound to work together than a disease centric approach." Wednesday, October 1, 2014 Pushed Into the Flesh Trade; Whither Future Development Goals? Will future sustainable development goals (SDGs) help in improving the lives of Bela and thousands of others like her who are pushed into the flesh trade due to poverty, greed and a skewed power dynamics. It is not enough to make survivors mere brand ambassadors for a cause. They need to be rehabilitated too. Thursday, January 23, 2014 Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights: A distant reality? (Based on an interview with Dr Amita Pandey, Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, King George's Medical University - KGMU.) Before 7th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (7th APCRSHR) opens in Manila later this week, Citizen News Service (CNS) spoke with Dr Amita Pandey on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) challenges in India. Monday, December 15, 2014 Thalassaemia on the blind spot? Call to improve prevention, treatment and care "It is not only about preventing new births of thalassemic infants; about chelation, about blood transfusion and about availability of services needed; but also about preventing complications related to Thalassaemia. We cannot take half-baked measures. Because if the patient dies prematurely, it will be a huge waste of national resources--10-15 years worth of investment just goes down the drain..." Monday, December 14, 2015 Inhaled drug therapy for TB treatment In the light of the outcry of the high pill burden, severe toxicity and high treatment non-adherence rates, and many more challenges associated with the treatment of TB, in particular of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB), innovative drug therapies are beginning to be explored. One of them - inhaled TB drugs - were presented at the 46th Union World Conference on Lung Health held recently in Cape Town. Monday, June 2, 2014 Gender justice to be at the heart of development justice The Asia and the Pacific region contains some of the world's most powerful economies and the 21st century is often touted to belong to this region. Yet the region is home to 66% of the world's poorest poor. Denouncing such stark disparities, the 1st-plenary session at the 2nd Asia Pacific Feminist Forum (APFF 2014) is being held in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Thursday, May 8, 2014 (1 comments) It Is Time To Control Asthma This is the sub-theme of this year's (2014) World Asthma Day (WAD), which was first celebrated in 1998 in conjunction with the first World Asthma Meeting in Barcelona. It is an annual event aimed at improving asthma awareness, diagnosis, treatment, and, ultimately, control, and is organized by the Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) on the first Tuesday of May. Monday, July 6, 2015 Join the crusade: Big push for transgender and hijra welfare "The Supreme Court judgement of 2014 has indeed been a game changer in terms of the way it has allowed transgenders to perceive themselves as individuals, to stand up confidently with their own identity, and to demand their rights and access to services, which was not there before. Today they have a clear agenda for the services they need --having access to education (instead of being thrown out of schools); Thursday, October 15, 2015 TPP: Trading people for profit The controversial trade agreement (TPP) aggressively pushed by US government is likely to be 'Trading People for Profits' - Mark analyzes this agreement in context of global goals to which governments of our world have committed themselves to - is TPP against those commitments? read more! Thursday, December 1, 2016 Complacency breeds failure: Consolidate efforts to #endAIDS by 2030 Please consider this in-depth article based upon interview with India's top HIV scientist who is the Director of Government's AIDS Research Institute in lead up to World AIDS Day 2016. He raises key points with very clear way-forward recommendations on how to fast-track progress to end AIDS by 2030 (as promised by governments of all UN member countries). Wednesday, October 21, 2015 2030 Agenda: Development for whom? We should rejoice in what we have achieved, but we must not believe that it is going to be easy," Justin remarked pertaining to the advance of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) compared to its predecessor MDGs. Wednesday, September 9, 2015 Pacific approach to deal with the dual burden of TB-diabetes TB-diabetes co-morbidity is a global problem, but we in the Pacific region see it as a local problem and approach it from the patient's perspective - it is about one patient with two diseases. Rather than divide the care, we try to integrate the care for each patient. Wednesday, May 7, 2014 Translational Research For The Benefit Of Public Health "Translational research involves converting a basic research idea into a product; then developing that product for industrial production and finding out if it is safe and efficacious; and finally using it to improve public health. This is the line of translation." Tuesday, August 5, 2014 (2 comments) 'If I Could Do It, Anyone Can!' Well, here is the empowering story of Esther from Indonesia (who has been a prisoner, an injecting drug user, a sex worker, and a person living with HIV) as told to Citizen News Service during the just-concluded 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne. Friday, June 22, 2018 Social entrepreneurship: Partnership platforms for sustainable societies This article is based upon series of interviews featuring social entrepreneurship for sustainable societies, from several countries" Monday, May 12, 2014 Seeking honest politics distinguishes AAP from BJP and Congress In a recent article I wrote that most of the people campaigning for Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) come from different social strata but are united by a common desire to seek honest politics. On reading the article a friend asked me if I believed that everyone in AAP was honest and everyone in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) or Congress was corrupt. Saturday, January 25, 2014 Laws mirror moral values of 'colonial era', not SRHR reality! many countries in Asia and the Pacific have restrictive laws that prevent young adolescents below the age of 18 from accessing sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services. According to a November 2013 study of the impact of laws and policies on young people's access to SRH and HIV services many laws in the region have conservative legal traditions related to sexuality and reproduction which consider providing con Monday, February 3, 2014 Break the silence around cancer World Cancer Day is on 4th February 2014 Wednesday, April 9, 2014 (1 comments) "I did not choose HIV. HIV chose me..." This article is written by someone who is living with HIV for over 20 years now... this focuses on how his life changed after he was receiving free antiretroviral treatment (ART) from 2004 onwards... Friday, July 25, 2014 Break the silos: drug use, HIV, HCV, TB, laws and funding Vietnam is one of the countries in the world that has made remarkable progress over the last decade in not only making harm reduction and HIV services available and accessible for people who use drugs but also reforming laws for supportive health policies on the ground. Wednesday, July 23, 2014 Are we hyping infection control inside clinics? Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious bacterial disease and spreads through the air. When people with pulmonary TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air and a person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected. On the other hand, HIV/AIDS is a viral disease that is transmitted chiefly through unprotected sexual intercourse and contaminated blood. Tuesday, May 17, 2016 Screening for breast and cervical cancer is a public health imperative Breast and cervical cancers are two major cancers among women. For decades, cervical cancer was the most common cancer in women in India. But now, breast cancer has replaced cervical cancer and become the leading cancer in terms of incidence and number of cancer deaths among women in India. SCREENING can help save lives. This article is based upon interviews with CANCER SURVIVORS and experts. Wednesday, June 13, 2018 Defending the environmental defenders This article is based upon series of interviews with women human rights and environmental defenders in several countries of Asia Pacific. Please consider as governments meet to review their promise of sustainable development next month, Saturday, July 26, 2014 Stigma blocks access to care for young gays and transgenders Stigma related to HIV not only blocks access to existing services for key affected populations but also increases risk of HIV acquisition manifold. When self-stigma or shame seeps in, it pushes people into depression, aggression, self-harm, addictions or even suicide. HIV-related stigma and discrimination in the community further escalates self-stigma. Friday, July 25, 2014 'Every TB-HIV case is a public-health failure...' So said Helen Ayles. She was quoted by Dr Diane Havlir who was speaking in the plenary of the 20th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) in Melbourne, Australia. Dr Diane Havlir, who is a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, was hopeful that "Every HIV/TB case prevented and every death averted should become a public-health success and put us one step closer to ending the dual epidemic of HIV and TB." Sunday, October 5, 2014 Hyderabad to Cape Town: Evidence driving medical research and health systems strengthening Incidentally 22nd Cochrane Colloquium on "evidence-informed public health: challenges and opportunities" theme is being held in Hyderabad, India (21-26 September 2014) and will be followed by the 3rd Global Symposium on Health Systems Research on "science and practice of people-centred health systems" theme in Cape Town, South Africa (30 September -- 3 October 2014). Friday, November 21, 2014 Beijing to Bangkok: 20 years journey of triumphs and defeats The journey from Beijing to Bangkok has been strenuous as well as rewarding. So it was in the fitness of things that a plenary session at the Asia Pacific Civil Society Forum on Beijing+20, organized by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) in Bangkok, celebrated women's moments of triumphs along with the failures encountered in their path for development justice. Wednesday, September 16, 2015 Fight against TB in Papua New Guinea: 'Embarrassment of riches' moment? A country like Papua New Guinea (PNG) with 20% projected economic growth rate, still has half of its population at or below the poverty line, and epidemics like TB, are setting off alarm bells - year after year! Sunday, October 5, 2014 (1 comments) Overcoming roadblocks in translating evidence-based healthcare into public health gains Commendable progress has been made in the South Asian region to advance evidence-based healthcare and let evidence inform policy and programmes at different levels. But there have been roadblocks too that are slowing down the progress. Saturday, May 31, 2014 (3 comments) Pak tobacco tax reforms could help half million quit, up taxes by Rs 27.2 billion A potentially path-breaking report shows that the introduction of a uniform specific tax accounting for 70% of Pakistan's average cigarette price could lead to half a million smokers quitting, and reduce premature deaths among adult smokers by over 180,000. At the same time more than Rupees 27 billion (USD 277 million) would be generated in new cigarette-tax revenues. Monday, November 2, 2015 (2 comments) Avert the looming TB-diabetes co-epidemic before it gets too late TB and diabetes co-epidemics have been raging high in low and middle income countries. This is potentially a brewing public health catastrophy. To avert this co-epidemic, the 1st-ever Global TB Diabetes Summit will open soon in Indonesia. Thursday, January 30, 2014 Long road to justice and equality for LGBTI people The recently concluded 7th Asia Pacific Conference on Reproductive and Sexual Health and Rights (7th APCRSHR) in Manila saw some interesting discussions on protecting and advancing Sexual Orientation And Gender Identity (SOGI) rights and improving their access to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) services. Monday, March 24, 2014 Regulating sale of anti-tuberculosis drugs The government of India's notification, which came into effect on 1st March 2014, aims to arrest irrational sale and use of anti-tuberculosis drugs (and other 45 third- and fourth-generation antibiotics). Thursday, October 2, 2014 (1 comments) Research to the rescue of disaster management For management of disasters and humanitarian crises, doing something is not enough--but doing the right thing at the right time is. Decision-makers need to know which intervention, actions and strategies would work, which would not work, which remain unproven and which no matter how well-meaning might be harmful. They need to make well informed choices and decisions and for this they need access to reliable evidence. Monday, April 28, 2014 Countries should know their endemic malaria to plan the fight well The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a manual to help countries to assess the technical, operational, and financial feasibility of moving towards malaria elimination. Sunday, June 28, 2015 Parliamentarians on 'world we want beyond 2015': Sexual and reproductive health and rights in focus If the countries agree with the draft set of SDGs at the UN summit in New York in coming September, they will become applicable from January 2016. Partnering with, and empowering parliamentarians, who play an important role in the development process by framing policies/ laws implemented in the country, can effectively influence the building of post-2015 development framework for world we want beyond 2015 Monday, September 29, 2014 When natural disasters happen: do more good than harm! Whenever natural disasters and humanitarian crises occur, enormous amount of resources are spent on relief and aid services, albeit without knowing whether they will do more good than harm. Despite best intentions, lot of interventions are happening without strong evidence that they actually do more good than harm. Friday, September 19, 2014 Indian scientists developing a diagnostic algorithm for female genital TB Genital tuberculosis (TB) is one of the major causes of tubal infertility. But the challenge is that current range of standard diagnostic tests are less likely to pick up every case of genital TB. Not only most cases are asymptomatic but also the number of bacteria in the sample is very low (compared to the number of TB bacteria which is present in samples of people with pulmonary TB). Monday, June 2, 2014 Building feminist movements to stimulate change Grassroots women of the Asia-Pacific region have borne the brunt of the unrelenting global desire for increased consumption and accumulation of wealth by a tiny minority. Their aspirations and livelihoods are regularly trampled upon in this new Asian century, prompting thousands of women to be at the forefront of leading movements in their communities for social justice, economic equity, and accountability. Thursday, July 31, 2014 Multipurpose prevention technologies for HIV and STIs in spotlight at AIDS 2014 Women of reproductive age have a need for prevention of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV, and family planning methods. More importantly, women need prevention tools/methods that are under their control and do not leave them at the mercy of their partner, in as far as their sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is concerned. Saturday, December 5, 2015 Half the battle won: Need to accelerate roll-out of child-friendly anti-TB drugs This article is based upon an interview with a mother of 4 children, whose partner as well as 2 children all had TB. New child-friendly drugs have been launched this week but lot more action needs to happen to ensure these medicines get rolled out and reach the child with TB everywhere! Thursday, May 1, 2014 Dividing India on communal lines While Modi has been able to ward off the communal image, his colleagues from the Sangha Parivar ensure that people are reminded of the basic character of Modi's associations. Tuesday, December 8, 2015 Will 2030 Global Goals help accelerate progress towards ending TB? Please find this article based upon an interview with the head of WHO Global TB Programme on how will the recently agreed Global Goals by all governments help spur progress towards ending TB. Warm wishes, bobby Wednesday, October 7, 2015 Dialogues for justice, public interest and the common good A day after 193 member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) together with grassroots activists, faith-based groups and NGOs organized a side event at the margins of the UN summit to discuss pressing issues affecting the marginalized and frontline communities in the context of the post-2015 development agenda. Saturday, July 19, 2014 What has TB got to do in an AIDS Conference? Well almost everything. Tuberculosis (TB) remains the most common AIDS-defining illness and the leading cause of death in people living with HIV (PLHIV) with 1 in 5 HIV-associated deaths in 2012 attributed to TB. At least one third of the 35.3 million living PLHIV worldwide are infected with latent TB. An estimated 1.1 million (13%) of the 8.6 million people who developed TB in 2012 were HIV-positive too. Thursday, July 24, 2014 Australia reinforces its commitment in fight against AIDS Australia has taken a lead in supporting public health in India over the years. With XX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2014) being held in Melbourne, Citizen News Service interviewed Bernard Philip, Deputy High Commissioner of Australia to India. "The conference is providing an opportunity to showcase Australia's leadership in the global HIV response, particularly in Asia and the Pacific. Friday, September 12, 2014 Know your epidemic: First-ever national anti-TB drug resistance survey launched India took a historic step for control and management of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) when the Union Health and Family Welfare Minister of Government of India, Dr Harsh Vardhan formally launched the first-ever nationwide anti-TB drug resistance survey (2014-2015) on 6th September 2014 in New Delhi. This is the largest nationally representative survey on anti-TB drug resistance ever done, covering 100% population Tuesday, March 11, 2014 Is it the best or the worst of times for women in India? I apologize for missing out on the celebrations of Women's Day this year as I was too engrossed with changing nappies of my 10-month-old, adorable granddaughter in London, despite her part-time nanny - who is a graduate, and charges a frightful PS10 an hour - that is over INR 1000 (the going rate for any domestic help). It was only the tedium of dish washer and washing machine that reminded me of women's plight. Tuesday, June 3, 2014 Despite progress, long way remains for gender justice Despite women's rights to economic, social and cultural equality, poverty and discrimination still remains the reality for a large majority of them in the Asia Pacific region. Women not only comprise 70% of the world's poor, they are also victims of the greed and avarice of the powers that are. They are the ones who endure physical, mental and emotional hardships and are yet denied any political or economic gains. Thursday, September 10, 2015 Evidence should inform policy: Should we offer antiretroviral therapy soon after HIV diagnosis? When largest-ever study results show strong evidence to begin treatment right after testing anyone positive for HIV, and not wait till CD4 count goes down to a certain cut-off point, then why are we still using CD4 cut-off to start ART? Will we let the evidence inform policy and programmes on the ground? Thursday, June 25, 2015 "A woman of substance": Kalawati A story of power and grit of a woman who has done farming for 30-35 years but still owns no land, although a successful farmer and inspiring others! Monday, March 31, 2014 Call for public-private health sector to follow standards of TB care Data suggests up to 40 to 50 percent of tuberculosis patients are likely to be accessing healthcare services in private sector. A study done in Lucknow by Dr Rajendra Prasad, former Professor and Head of Pulmonary Medicine, King George's Medical University (KGMU), showed 44 different prescriptions from physicians for the same TB patient--this is when TB treatment should have been the same in private and public sector both. Monday, March 10, 2014 No More Holding Back Women Two-thirds of countries globally now have laws against domestic violence with several significant transformations in legal frameworks in Asia and the Pacific. This significant shift over the last decade has not only led 15 countries in East Asia and the Pacific to enact domestic-violence laws but six Asian countries have taken the important step of outlawing rape within marriage. Wednesday, July 23, 2014 'Homophobia is a choice, not homosexuality': Inter-faith message homophobia is a choice, not homosexuality; and religious scriptures teach us to be compassionate, non-judgmental and accept everyone else in totality without prejudice. Friday, October 30, 2015 (1 comments) Thirty years of HIV epidemic in India: From despair to hope India completes its 30 years of fighting AIDS. There are successes but a very long way is still ahead of us to ending AIDS. The below article is based upon interview with apex AIDS research institute director and head of HIV physicians' association in India -- both of whom have been involved with HIV since the first case got diagnosed in the country. Tuesday, May 3, 2016 Asthma: We can beat it but not kill it There is no cure for asthma but it is possible to live a normal life with asthma if we manage asthma well. Also a new scientific review published by Cochrane last week shows evidence that yoga leads to improvements in quality of life and symptoms in people with asthma BUT evidence of impact on lung function and medication usage is uncertain. Saturday, May 31, 2014 2nd APFF 2014: Creating Waves, Fostering Movements The 2nd Asia Pacific Feminist Forum, organized by the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD), kick started in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It has brought together nearly 300 feminists from 30 countries of the five sub-regions of Asia and the Pacific as well as global allies. Saturday, October 24, 2015 (1 comments) Translating Global Goals into local actions to fight NCDs Interview with the new Chair of NCD Alliance, Jose Luis Castro, who has demonstrated leadership in organization building for decades in lung health. Tuesday, December 1, 2015 Should we celebrate success or gear up to end AIDS? The fight against AIDS has definitely made considerable progress but formidable challenges confront the path to ending AIDS by 2030, as committed by the countries globally at 70th UN General Assembly in September 2015. The brutal irony is that despite knowing 'what works in helping us progress towards AIDS' the uptake of these evidence-based strategies is abysmally low, and some countries like India, have slashed health budget Sunday, May 1, 2016 Asthma - can we live with it? World Asthma Day is on Tuesday, 3rd May 2016. This article is based on interviews with people with asthma - who live a normal life! Play sports well for example. Just like people who have eye-sight problem need to wear a glass, similarly people with asthma need to manage it well - and LIVE FULLY! Tuesday, September 23, 2014 Evidence-based medicine is the basis of sound healthcare It was Dr Gordon Guyatt of Macmaster University, Canada, who had first coined the term 'evidence based medicine' in 1990. Thursday, August 21, 2014 Past, present, and future attempts to measure childhood TB The first estimates of the global burden of TB in children given by WHO in 2012 suggested that there might be 530,000 children suffering from it. Subsequently there has been an uptake in research in this field. A recent mathematical-modelling study on the burden of childhood TB in 22 high-burden countries (published in the Lancet) has revealed that there may be 650,000 annual cases of TB in children. Monday, October 5, 2015 Somebody who never went to college helps children of brick kiln workers enter college this article is profiling an unsung hero -- a person who himself could never go to a college but has dedicated his own life in ensuring that children of brick kiln workers can go to college! Tuesday, March 1, 2016 India's 2016-2017 budget reflects a mirage for universal health India's draft National Health Policy 2015 was riddled with privatisation bid and it is no surprise that 2016-2017 budget too takes that agenda forward. Also earlier this month Indian government indicated its intent to exit from hospital 'sector' (along with Air India). The vision of universal healthcare coverage - which leaves no one behind - can only be achieved from robust and well-funded public health system, not private. Sunday, October 5, 2014 Rhythm of the heart World Heart Day is on 29th September 2014. The field of cardiology dealing with these rhythm disorders is called cardiac electrophysiology. Over the last two decades, invasive cardiac electrophysiological procedures have improved the survival and quality of life among patients with rhythm disorders. Let us on this day of remembrance of the heart, not ignore the rhythm that is pivotal in sustaining life. Thursday, March 24, 2016 Strike at the root of the problem to kill TB This article below on World TB Day is based upon interview with a patient who not only had TB, but developed MDR-TB and then XDR-TB, and also had diabetes. He is one of the 180 people in the world who have luckily received the new TB drug: Delamanid. Thursday, August 14, 2014 Reports from the ground: How are TB-HIV collaborative activities being rolled out? We know that nearly one third of the 35 million people living with HIV (PLHIV) have tuberculosis (TB), and 13% of 8.6 million new TB cases every year are HIV positive. Also 1 in 5 HIV associated deaths are due to TB. Moreover PLHIV are 21-34 times more likely to develop active TB disease than persons without HIV. Friday, March 18, 2016 What does it take to beat drug-resistant TB? This is an inspiring story of a survivor of a very dangerous form of TB (multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis or MDR-TB), in lead up to this year's World TB Day Wednesday, July 23, 2014 'Do not be a statistic, but own the information that shapes programmes' We cannot wait till the research and development of a product gets over and then begin figuring out how to roll it out to communities in need. Female condoms are perhaps another example in this context. Female condoms were approved by US FDA in 1993 but we are yet to see the expected optimal public-health outcome as its availability, accessibility and affordability is severely limited.

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As 200-plus people flooded into Bloor Street United Church's McClure Hall, it was clear that, as with last year's instalment of Animals Beyond Borders, the venue was too small. It seems that the community is always one step ahead of the event. This was, of course, welcome news. Not surprising either, considering that the movement to end animal exploitation is growing ever more vigorously each day. As the movement grows, Animals Beyond Borders seeks to bring grassroots groups together, creating synergy and coalitions. We learn from each other. We inspire each other. We support each other. The fundraiser featured a vegan buffet dinner catered by Omega Creations, a silent auction and raffle of original art works, photography, and vegan goodies, information tables from a diverse mix of animal rights organizations such as Mercy for Animals Canada, Hamilton Burlington Pig Save, Ark II and many others, and live music from Ashkon Hobooti, Ivy James , Matt Noble, and Mike XvX . The music alone was worth the ticket price. This year's line-up of speakers included Anita Krajnc ( Toronto Pig Save ), Colleen Tew and Brenda LaFleshe ( Hamilton-Burlington Pig Save ), Bob Timmons ( RR Horse Refuge ), Jo-Anne MacArthur ( WeAnimals.org and Animals Asia Foundation ), Jennifer Bundock ( Toronto Aquarium Resistance Alliance ), Dylan Powell ( Marineland Animal Defense ) and Phil Demers, ex-head trainer of Marineland and lead employee whistleblower. Each speaker inspired the audience with their tireless, crystal clear, and exemplary dedication to animal justice. Many motifs emerged throughout the evening. There were two, however, that stood out as most exigent (and complimentary): the urgency and immediacy of animal rights work (expressed most chillingly by Phil Demers when he stated "If I don't see her [Smooshie] now, she will die.") and the importance of longevity and endurance (as by Anita Krajnc's pledge to bear witness to suffering regularly and advocate for animal rights for the rest of her life). The animals need us now, and they need us for life. (Another important note on urgency is the threat of eviction that Animals Asia's Vietnam sanctuary faces. More info at animalsasia.org where there is a petition to stop this.) Longevity, however, can be difficult to maintain (not only because of the sadness we encounter), and Animals Beyond Borders in 2011 was a welcome and unexpected tonic for me. We celebrated the achievements and good work of animal allies, most notably Toronto's landmark banning of shark fin products. Once again, in 2012, Animals Beyond Borders surprised me with its regenerative and invigorating effects, and this is one among many reasons we will continue this initiative annually. This fundraiser is only a small piece of the work needed to disseminate the messages of compassionate living and animal liberation. But (in addition to raising about $6,000 for direct-action campaigns) it certainly galvanized us all to continue with that work. And so we go on, soldiers of love, now, and for life. Chris is an emerging playwright and screenwriter based in Toronto. His company Theatre Under Pressure debuted with Weight Loss World in 2010 and has several projects in development including The Rope , an exploration of the corrosive interpersonal effects of the philosophy of Ayn Rand, and A Long and Ghastly Kitchen, a drama about vivisection. Chris is the caretaker of a pug and is an ally of all animals. You can reach Chris at chrismichaelburns@gmail.com . Artwork in attached image by Caitlin Black .

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05 Feb 2015 "The jackleg preacher with the signature pimp-adour hairstyle appears to believe the young organizers are as morally debased and materially obsessed as himself." Al Sharpton and Oprah Winfrey are scared witless that the Black Lives Matter mobilization will become a sustained, independent political movement - one that challenges both the rich white rulers and their junior partners in the Black Misleadership Class. The viciousness of Winfrey's and Sharpton's assaults on the new crop of organizers is a good barometer of the nascent movement's effectiveness, to date, in discomforting the comfortable. If one thing is clear to African American youth, it is that so-called Black leadership has been complicit in the catastrophe that has engulfed their communities - that the "leaders" are part of the problem, not the solution. Therefore, although the movement-in-the-making is not yet large and coherent enough to shake the foundations of the State or cause Wall Street to shudder, it has already created a crisis of legitimacy for the Black Misleadership Class. Sharpton's and Winfrey's defense is to infantilize the young activists, to deflect the implicit indictment of what currently passes for Black leadership by framing the conflict as generational, rather than substantive. Sharpton launched into a panicked rant at a recent meeting of his National Action Network, in Harlem: "Anytime you have movements, whether it's in Ferguson, whether it's in New York, whether it's in Denver, wherever it is, when they got you more angry at your parents then they got you at the vote you're supposed to be out there for, you're being tricked and you're trying to turn the community into tricks. And they are pimping you, to do the Willie Lynch in our community," said one of the most accomplished whores in Black American history. Al Sharpton, a highly ecumenical prostitute who has serviced clients ranging from the most rightwing, down-and-dirty Republicans ( Roger Stone , 2003-04); to plutocrats from Hell ( Michael Bloomberg ); to his current (but now endangered) hookup as the snitching King Rat and activism-deflator for a corporate Democratic president; a man who has lain down with whole kennels of flee-bitten dogs, now defames as "tricks" the young people who stood up to militarized police and dared to make grassroots politics a reality in 21st century America. "Although the movement-in-the-making is not yet large and coherent enough to shake the foundations of the State or cause Wall Street to shudder, it has already created a crisis of legitimacy for the Black Misleadership Class." The jackleg preacher with the signature pimp-adour hairstyle - whose self-proclaimed heroes are not MLK or Malcolm X, but sports gangster Don King and entertainer James Brown - appears to believe the young organizers are as morally debased and materially obsessed as himself; that self-aggrandizement is their real motivation. "And they play on your ego. 'Oh, you young and hip, you're full of fire. You're the new face.' All the stuff that they know will titillate your ears. That's what a pimp says to a ho." Sharpton is actually confessing to his own deepest yearnings. The youth have scoped Sharpton's whole card: he is a fraud, an activist-for-hire who has found his niche in the bosom of the beast. But he strains to maintain the posture of Movement Man. "How you going to be more mad at folk that are marching for the same cause then you are against the folks y'all are marching against? Don't you see a trick in there?" Sharpton asked. Yes, they do - they see that Sharpton is the trickster, whose aim is to Shanghai Black people's energies and grievances into service to the Democratic Party - just as did an earlier generation of misleaders. What followed was 45 years of demobilization, a " Winter in America, " as Gil Scott-Heron put it, "where "ain't nobody fighting, cause nobody knows what to save." The rulers used this long period of non-resistance to build the Black Mass Incarceration State that the Ferguson-inspired rebellion seeks to dismantle. To accomplish this, the new activists have no choice but to challenge the legitimacy of the State's Black operatives, like Sharpton. Oprah Winfrey, the media mogul who began her self-marketing journey on the beauty pageant circuit, claims that the young activists don't have goals . "I think it's wonderful to march and to protest and it's wonderful to see all across the country, people doing it," she says. "But what I'm looking for is some kind of leadership to come out of this to say, 'This is what we want. This is what we want. This is what has to change, and these are the steps that we need to take to make these changes, and this is what we're willing to do to get it.'" "Oprah's beef is the same as Sharpton's: she rejects the validity of activism outside electoral politics." What Oprah is really looking for is a movement that reveres the opinions and privileges of Black billionaires, and wishes only that there were more of them. As Black Lives Matter activists have tried to remind her , they have been promulgating public demands and taking them to the streets since the middle of August. Oprah, the journalist, should know that. Her beef is the same as Sharpton's: she rejects the validity of activism outside electoral politics. Indeed, for Oprah, periodic exercise of the ballot is the only serious kind of politics. Selma, the movie produced by her company, put words to that effect in Dr. Martin Luther King's mouth - a crime against truth and Dr. King's legacy. The problem with Winfrey and Sharpton is not their ages (61 and 60, respectively), but their allegiance to Power. (Based on her wealth, Winfrey is one of the very few genuine Black members of the ruling class, while Sharpton is a mere servant.) To describe their conflict with the burgeoning movement as generational is an insult, not only to young activists, but to the Black strugglers of the Sixties and early Seventies, some of whom remain in prison two and a half generations later. Many of those who participated in the grassroots struggles of this period are only a couple of years older than Winfrey and Sharpton, but younger than lots of the misleaders in the Congressional Black Caucus. The budding new movement confronts the same power relationships that crushed a previous generation of activists, leaving Black American political leadership in the hands of the most opportunistic, self-serving elements of the community - men and women who made common cause with the growing Mass Black Incarceration State. They are still in place, and more duplicitous than ever. The fight against them - that is, the internal Black struggle - is inseparable from the fight against what we used to call The Man. BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at [email protected]

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The report claims that ISIS has been experimenting on... Infiltration of German Army by Islamic State (ISIS) and other Jihadists has reached an alarming level, German media reports suggest. Some 29 former German Army soldiers have joined the ranks of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, reveals a newly surfaced German military intelligence report. Additionally, the military is investigating 65 suspected jihadist... A series of bomb attacks that rocked Belgium's capital on Tuesday, targeting Brussels airport and subway system, has now claimed more than 34 lives. Police are still hunting for suspects and just like November's deadly Paris terror attacks, the trail once again leads to the notorious Molenbeek district of Brussels. Just last week, the Belgian Police... Brussel's, the capital of Belgium, has been rocked by a series of deadly blasts this morning. According to latest reports, 23 people have been killed and 55 injured after explosions at three locations around the city. 13 people have reportedly been killed in the blasts at the Brussels' Zaventem airport...

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The House of Representatives this week passed a bill that would radically undo the budgeting process for government loans and guarantees. The proposed changes would add at least $55 billion per year in imaginary federal deficits while stifling critical government programs that create jobs, promote economic security for middle-class families, and pave the way for a more competitive future for our nation. The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2012 mandates the use of so-called fair-value budget reporting for all federal credit programs--budget parlance for an accounting trick that uses the private sector's cost of funds instead of the government's to make credit programs appear more expensive than they truly are. The new rules would add a premium to each program's cost estimate based on the rates private lenders would charge to issue the same loan or guarantee. At the heart of this bill is a debate over what types of risk the government should price and score in the budget. There's no disagreement that the budget should accurately reflect "credit risk," the likelihood a loan issued or guaranteed by the government will not be paid back. Indeed, current federal government budget rules already take that estimate into account. The question before Congress this week is whether the budget should add an additional cost to account for the rate a risk-averse private investor would charge for the perceived variability in those estimates, what is sometimes called "market risk." This brief lays out the context of this ongoing debate, summarizes and critiques the argument for fair-value reporting, and discusses the bill's real-world impact on essential government programs, such as student aid and support to the housing market. "Fair-value" actually means added costs Despite its strategic misnomer, fair-value reporting is anything but "fair." So for purposes of this issue brief, we'll refer to it by a more appropriate name: "added-cost" reporting. Added-cost reporting is a bad idea for the following reasons: Instead of improving the accuracy of cost estimates for credit programs, it actually makes them less accurate by biasing apparent costs upward. It accounts for "phantom" costs that never actually materialize. This distorts the government's true fiscal position, which is precisely what the budget is supposed to reflect. It causes serious harm to critical credit programs and adds tens of billions of dollars to the federal reported deficit while doing nothing to actually reduce the debt, minimize wasteful spending, or reduce taxpayer exposure to loss. It attempts to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. The current budget rules have been effective, and the cost estimates reasonably accurate, over the past two decades. It gives opponents of particular credit programs a back-door way to scale back the government's footprint in certain industries, under the guise of "responsible" budgeting. With this understanding of the objectives of added-cost reporting in hand, let's look at how the federal budget currently accounts for loans and loan guarantees. A primer on federal credit budgeting Prior to the early 1990s, costs for federal loans and loan guarantees were accounted for on a "cash basis," tracking the amount of cash flowing into or out of the Treasury over the course of a year. This failed to reflect the long-term cost of credit activities, creating an inappropriate and misleading bias for loan guarantees that didn't require up-front outlays. As a result, Congress and other federal policymakers lacked the information necessary to make informed budgeting decisions. The Federal Credit Reform Act established a standardized system to capture the net value of a loan's cash flows over the life of the loan. Since 1992, the government has estimated the lifetime cost for each new book of loans for each credit program. That estimate, also known as the "credit subsidy cost," is then recorded in the federal budget and updated on an annual basis. The first step in estimating the credit subsidy cost is to project the government's expected cash inflows and outflows from the transaction. Projected cash flows include the disbursement of principal (for direct loans) or obligations (for loan guarantees), expected repayments, and any fees the government collects in the process. The government's expected cash receipts depend on the likelihood of default, expected recoveries on defaulted loans, the borrower's planned repayment schedule, expected prepayments, and the fee schedule. Through that process, the Federal Credit Reform Act rules account for estimated "credit risk," the chance a borrower will not be able to pay a loan back in full with interest. Of course, there is always a chance a loan will perform better or worse than expected; current budget rules reflect the most likely, or "base-case," scenario. The budget baseline is updated based on the actual performance of the loans over time. Under the law, projected future cash flows are discounted to reflect the so-called net present value of the direct loan or guarantee, which compares the value of a dollar today to the value of that same dollar in the future. Costs are discounted based on the interest rate on a Treasury bond with a comparable maturity as the loan or guarantee. In simple terms, this adjusts for the price the government has to pay to borrow the money it is lending out or using to back the guarantee. In recent years, some have pushed for a new method for discounting subsidy costs to present value, claiming that current rules for discounting cash flows undervalue the "uncertainty" of certain credit programs. They argue that while future costs are relatively easy to estimate for some programs (say, short-term utility loans to thousands of rural house- holds), those costs are harder to estimate for other programs (say, working capital loans to a small number of startup companies). The Federal Credit Reform Act model accounts for the different probabilities of default in the budget, but does not treat the difference in uncertainty around these estimates as an additional cost--under the assumption that the federal government is in a unique position to absorb both levels of uncertainty. Critics of the law argue that programs with high variability in cost estimates pose a higher market risk to the taxpayers: The less certain you are about the outcome, the more potential for losses above those estimated. (Set aside for the moment that there is equal potential for un-estimated gains.) They say that any "risk-averse" private investor would insist on being paid a premium whenever they invest in a financial instrument whose result is uncertain--a premium that is above and beyond the present value of expected defaults--so the federal government should do the same. To solve this perceived problem, critics propose inflating the cost of credit programs to account for the price private firms would charge for the same loan or guarantee. They call this fair-value reporting but it is (as we demonstrated above) actually added-cost reporting. The Federal Credit Reform Act reporting standards have proved effective and reasonably accurate over the past two decades, and almost all credit programs continue to use it today. Moreover, inaccuracies in existing Federal Credit Reform Act estimates come from imperfectly estimating the demand for loans and the actual default rates, not from failing to add a private-market premium. But that's only the beginning of the philosophical problems with added-cost reporting. Let's examine each in turn. Added-cost budgeting doesn't make logical sense The basic argument for added-cost reporting is that private firms are "risk-averse," so the federal government should be too. But this ignores the simple fact that the federal government is not a private firm, nor is it simply an amalgamation of several million risk-averse taxpayers. This argument taps into the core reason for federal credit programs. There are certain risks that private financial institutions are unwilling or unable to take, despite significant benefits to the public. In some cases, the government is in a unique position to assume those risks and spread them across a wide credit portfolio, all in an effort to achieve certain public goals. Since the government is not a profit-seeking firm, it should not be risk-averse; it should be "risk-neutral." It's important to clarify what exactly we're talking about here. The question is not whether government is particularly good or bad at estimating the likelihood of default, or even whether policymakers should better account for uncertainty when making policy decisions. It's a question of whether that uncertainty ought to be explicitly scored in the federal budget. The simple answer is that it should not. Scoring credit programs based on a discount rate with embedded market risk, which we'll define as the level of variability in cost estimates, would add billions in phantom costs to the federal books, according to the bipartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Added-cost reporting requires that the budget "reflect amounts that the Treasury would never actually pay anyone," totaling amounts that "would not be dollars that the government spends," according to CBPP's budget experts. In other words, instead of helping the budget more accurately reflect the government's fiscal position, added-cost reporting makes the budget less accurate. Also, we shouldn't kid ourselves that federal credit programs are the only government activities that involve financial risks. Several spending and revenue estimates are based on uncertain projections of economic activity, such as capital gains and other tax revenues, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and food stamp benefits. If anything, adding a risk premium would make credit programs appear more costly to government compared to equivalent grants or tax expenditures. The CBPP report puts it best: If a risk-aversion adjustment were added to credit programs, it should be added to all such other costs as well. Not doing so would disadvantage credit programs relative to other forms of government assistance and distort the budget as a tool for allocating public resources. But the fundamental point is deeper: It makes no sense to add a risk-aversion adjustment to the budget accounting of any federal government program. To be sure, uncertainty is often an important consideration for sound policymaking. Lawmakers should consider the level of confidence in cost estimates when deciding authorization and funding levels for government programs. But the federal budget is not meant to assess the likelihood of positive and negative outcomes of a program. The budget is supposed to reflect the government's fiscal position based on the best possible estimate of financial inflows and outflows, and nothing more. There are separate questions of how the government can improve the accuracy of these cost estimates, or whether policymakers should be given more information on the variability of individual estimates when making policy decisions. But added-cost reporting accomplishes neither of these goals. Finally, a sudden shift to added-cost reporting can cause serious harm to certain credit programs while doing nothing to reduce taxpayer exposure to loss. As the CBPP report points out, many of these phantom costs will require some sort of offset. In some cases, this means other programs will have to be cut to limit the net impact on the federal deficit. In others, specifically when programs are required by law to operate at no cost to government, credit programs will have to be scaled back significantly to account for these imaginary new costs, leaving behind otherwise creditworthy borrowers. In either case, the American people suffer, both as taxpayers and recipients of these programs. And that's no coincidence. There's reason to believe this is the true motivation behind the conservative push for added-cost reporting--it is a back-door way to reduce the government's footprint in certain industries. Regardless of how their cost estimates are calculated and scored, federal loans and guarantees will still be grounded on the same basic assumptions and market forecasts. Biasing the estimates upward will not change the economic reality in which the government operates these programs. It will, however, overstate the costs government is likely to incur, which in turn will encourage misguided opposition and drive legislation to constrain their growth. Here's how that might work. Added-cost budgeting would cripple critical government programs While there are currently hundreds of federal direct-loan and loan-guarantee programs, most government-assisted credit is provided through a small number of programs. Today the two biggest permanent federal credit programs budgeted under Federal Credit Reform Act reporting standards are the Federal Housing Administration's single- family mortgage insurance program and a wide portfolio of student loan programs. Together these programs account for about 60 percent of all outstanding credit backed by the federal government. An across-the-board transition to added-cost reporting, as proposed in the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act, would have severe financial implications on both programs, leading to a significant contraction in government support to both markets. Down the line, this would arbitrarily and unnecessarily raise the costs to borrowers served by these programs. Let's start with the Federal Housing Administration. Under the law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, estimates that FHA's single-family mortgage insurance program would produce budgetary savings of $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2012, mostly from fees collected from mortgage lenders. When calculated on an added-cost basis, the program would have a cost of $3.5 billion in 2012. In other words, adding a market-rate premium would transform FHA's flagship insurance program from a money-maker to a drain on the federal deficit, without altering the economic reality in which the program operates. (see Figure 1) This raises a much bigger problem than pumping up the federal deficit. By law, FHA insurance programs must operate at no cost to government, so the agency would have to cover these new "losses" by increasing fees or tightening underwriting standards. And that's not easy. FHA's insurance premiums are already the highest they have ever been in the agency's 77-year history. FHA's most recent fee increase in April 2011 increased the "economic value" of the agency's 2011 book of business by less than $1.4 billion, according to agency estimates. So it would take significantly larger fee increases (or severe tightening of underwriting standards) to balance the agency's books under added-cost reporting. Either action would severely scale back the government's critical support to the struggling housing market, effectively kicking the legs out from under our economic recovery. Added-cost reporting has a similar effect on the federal student loan portfolio. CBO in 2009 estimated that the federal student loan portfolio would save taxpayers nearly $46 billion between 2010 and 2020, based on Federal Credit Reform Act reporting standards. These savings are mostly from interest payments or fees charged to students for government guarantees. When calculated through added-cost standards, the portfolio was estimated to cost taxpayers $157 billion over the same period. That's a budgetary difference of more than $200 billion. (see Figure 2) Unlike FHA's insurance program, the federal student loan portfolio can run a cost to government. So assuming no change to lending activity, a change to added-cost reporting would add an estimated $200 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade, just attributable of the student loan portfolio. To be sure, added-cost reporting would have similar effects on other government programs that are essential to our economic growth and competitiveness, including small-business loans, clean energy loan guarantees, infrastructure loans, and loans for international development projects. Indeed, if enacted the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act would add a total of $55 billion in phantom costs to the deficit in the first year alone, according to CBO's estimates. (see Figure 3) It is beyond the scope of this issue brief to examine all of these programs to demonstrate the phantom costs of added-cost reporting, but let's take a look at one key policy arena where enactment of the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act would torpedo our housing markets. The added-cost budgetary treatment of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac In the years leading up to the financial crisis, federal support to the government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was kept off the government's balance sheet. Since the guarantees to Fannie and Freddie were "implicit" (meaning the government had no legal obligation to guarantee the debt of either institution) Fannie and Freddie were not covered by the Federal Credit Reform Act. That was profoundly wrong. Ever since the government placed the two mortgage giants in conservatorship in 2008, both the Office of Management and Budget and CBO have accounted for the cost of conservatorship in the federal budget, but in different ways. The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act would drastically change this budgetary treatment by scoring all future Fannie and Freddie guarantees as traditional loan guarantees using added-cost reporting. And that's chilling news for the struggling U.S. housing market. As of September 2010, CBO estimated that, using added-cost report- ing, new guarantees made by Fannie and Freddie would cost taxpayers about $53 billion between 2011 and 2020. As a point of comparison, CBO estimated that under Federal Credit Reform Act standards these guarantees would generate net savings for the federal government of $44 billion over the same period. (see Figure 4) To cover these phantom costs, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie and Freddie's regulator and government conservator, would likely have to direct them both to increase their fees. And any fee increase would likely be substantial. As a reference point, last year's payroll tax cut extension included a mandate of a 10-basis-point increase to the fee charged on Fannie- and Freddie-backed loans (meaning an increase of 10 cents for every $100 dollars guaranteed), to be calculated using added-cost reporting. CBO estimated that increase would generate about $36 billion in revenues between 2012 and 2021. So even after accounting for that new revenue, Fannie and Freddie would have to bump up fees by significantly more just to offset the phantom costs of using added-cost reporting. By comparison, the average guarantee fee charged by Fannie and Freddie was just 26 basis points in 2010, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It's important to understand the big-picture implications here. Each time Congress mandates an increase in guarantee fees--either explicitly or implicitly through changing the budget rules--fewer American families can afford a Fannie- or Freddie-backed loan. Through this stealthy effort to scale back government support, Congress is essentially pull- ing the rug out from under our still-struggling housing market. Over the past 75 years, a government guarantee on certain residential mortgages has helped promote long-term stability in the housing market. It was also critical for creating and popularizing the affordable 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, now a pillar of the industry. Prematurely transitioning to a purely private market--the effective outcome of requiring Fannie and Freddie to account for their activities according to added-cost report- ing--could price millions of creditworthy homebuyers out of the market and trigger frequent boom-bust cycles, with devastating effects on the broader economy. A responsible path forward The concepts laid out in the Federal Credit Reform Act have correctly reflected the government's fiscal position for nearly two decades. It would be unwise for Congress to try fixing a model that isn't broken. To the extent estimates of program costs have been inaccurate for individual programs, the federal government should devise new methods of estimating defaults, repayments, prepayments, and recoveries. But it is not appropriate to change the scorekeeping rules to add substantial premiums, even if a program's current estimates are perfect. That said, more can and should be done to improve the way policymakers weigh the costs and benefits of federal credit programs. Lawmakers should have access to all the information necessary to make informed policy decisions, which includes some estimate of uncertainty regarding cost estimates. One possible solution would be to report a metric for each book of business as part of the annual budget's Federal Credit Supplement. Regardless of how they're reported, though, these confidence measurements should not be priced in the federal budget. Such adjustments add arbitrary costs for certain types of risk while ignoring others, biasing the budget against federal credit programs. The House of Representatives is entering precarious territory with the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act. At a time of strict fiscal discipline, the last thing our government needs to do is start conjuring up imaginary costs to tack onto the federal deficit. John Griffith is a Research Associate with the Economic Policy team at the Center for American Progress.

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It is WAM weekend and for some pretty fantastic reasons , there is no WAM conference this year, however feminists all over the country are having WAM related events. See if there is an event in your area. WAM was one of the first conferences I ever went to as a baby blogger. It is where I started, the first time I was asked to speak on a panel, the first time I was ever recognized for the work I do and the first time I met a lot of the people that are very important not only in my professional life, but also my personal life. WAM creates lasting bonds and brings passionate people together around a number of key issues. As a celebration of this being WAM weekend, I have decided to put together some of our favorite WAM related links. It is amazing to go back and read how much we learned over the years. Enjoy! Jaclyn Friedman: Preserving Feminist Space My first ever WAM panel. Live Blogging at WAM! Battling Backlash: Strategies for Fighting Back, Rising Above and Making Progress Live Blogging at WAM! Breaking the Frame: Revitalizing and Redefining Reproductive Rights Media Coverage WAM 2009: Gender, Non-conformity and the media What does a politics of inclusion REALLY look like?

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How Israel And Its Partisans Work To Censor The Internet By Alison Weir, Israelpalestinenews.org March 10, 2018 How Israel And Its Partisans Work To Censor The Internet 2018-03-10 2018-03-10 https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.png PopularResistance.Org https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2018/03/idfcomputerschool-e1520692109952.jpg 200px 200px Above Photo: Students at the Israeli military's Computing and Cyber Defense Academy. Israel is also "scouring Jewish communities abroad for young computer prodigies willing to join its ranks." Recently, YouTube suddenly shut down the If Americans Knew YouTube channel . This contained 70 videos providing facts-based information about Israel-Palestine. People going to the channel saw a message telling them that the site had been terminated for "violating YouTube guidelines"--implying to the public that we were guilty of wrongdoing. And ensuring they didn't learn about the information we were trying to disseminate. When we tried to access our channel, we found a message saying our account had been "permanently disabled." We had received no warning and got no explanation. After five days, we received a generic message saying YouTube had reviewed our content and determined it didn't violate any guidelines. Our channel became live once more. So why was it shut down in the first place? What happened and why? As it turns out, Israel and Israeli institutions employ armies of Internet warriors--from Israeli soldiers to students--to spread propaganda online and try to get content banned that Israel doesn't want seen. Perhaps like our videos of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. What happened A few days before the termination of our channel, we received a form email from YouTube, telling us we had gotten "one strike" for a short video about a Palestinian man killed by Israeli soldiers. The video was part of our series of videos to make Palestinian victims, usually ignored by US media, visible to Americans. It takes three minutes to view the video and see that it contains nothing objectionable, unless revealing cruelty and oppression is objectionable: YouTube's email claimed we had somehow violated their long list of guidelines but did not tell us which one, or how. It simply stated: "Your video 'Ahmad Nasser Jarrar' was flagged for review. Upon review, we've determined that it violates our guidelines. We've removed it from YouTube and assigned a Community Guidelines strike, or temporary penalty, to your account." Such a penalty is not public and does not terminate the channel. Three days later, before we'd even had a chance to appeal this strike, YouTube suddenly took down our entire channel. This was done with no additional warnings or explanation. This violated YouTube's published policies. YouTube policies say there is a "three-strike" system by which it warns people of alleged violations three times before terminating a channel. If a channel is eventually terminated, the policies state that YouTube will send an email "detailing the reason for the suspension." None of this happened in our case. We submitted appeals on YouTube's online form, but received no response. Attempts to find a phone number for YouTube and/or email addresses by which we could communicate with a human being were futile. YouTube's power to shut down content without explanation whenever it chooses was acutely apparent. While there are other excellent video hosting sites, YouTube is the largest one, with nearly ten times more views than its closest competitors. It is therefore enormously powerful in shaping which information is available to the public-and which is not. We spent days working to upload our videos elsewhere, update links to the videos, etc. Finally, having received no response or even acknowledgment of our appeal from YouTube, we decided to write an article about the situation. We emailed YouTube's press department a list of questions about its process. We have yet to receive any answers. Finally that evening we received an email with good news: "After a review of your account, we have confirmed that your YouTube account is not in violation of our Terms of Service. As such, we have unsuspended your account. This means your account is once again active and operational." Our channel was visible once more. And YouTube had now officially confirmed that our content doesn't violate its guidelines. Ultimately, the YouTube system seems to have worked, in our case. Inappropriate censorship was overruled, perhaps by saner or less biased heads. In fact, we felt that there might at least be one positive result of the situation--additional YouTube employees had viewed our videos and perhaps learned much about Israel-Palestine they had not previously known. But the whole experience was a wakeup call that YouTube can censor information critical of powerful parties at any time, with no explanation or accountability. Israeli soldiers paid to "Tweet, Share, Like and more" Israel and partisans of Israel have long had a significant presence on the Internet, working to promote the Israel narrative and block facts about Palestine, the Israel lobby, and other subject matter they wish covered up. Opinionated proponents of Israel post comments, flag content, accuse critics of "antisemitism," and disseminate misinformation about Palestine and Palestine solidarity activists. Many of these actions are by individuals acting alone who work independently, voluntarily, and relentlessly. In addition to these, however, a number of orchestrated, often well-funded projects sponsored by the Israeli government and others have come to light. These projects work to place pro-Israel content throughout the Internet, and to remove information Israel doesn't wish people to know. One such Israeli project targeting the Internet came to light when it was lauded in an article by Arutz Sheva , an Israeli news organization headquartered in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The report described a new project by Israel's "New Media desk" that focused on YouTube and other social media sites. The article reported that Israeli soldiers were being employed to "Tweet, Share, Like and more." The article noted, "It is well known nowadays that what happens on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has great influence on events as they occur on the ground. The Internet, too, is a battleground." It was "comforting," the article stated, to learn that the IDF was employing soldiers whose job was specifically to do battle on it. Israeli students paid to promote Israel on social media Screen shot from a video about student program to spread pro-Israel content on the Internet and social media. Another project to do battle on the Internet was initiated in 2011 by the 300,000-strong National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS). The goal was "to deepen and expand hasbara [state propaganda] activities of students in the State of Israel." Under this program, Israeli students are paid $2,000 to work five hours per week to "lead the battle against hostile websites." An announcement for the program (translated here into English) noted that "many students in Israel master the Internet and are proficient at using the Internet and social networking and various sites and are required to write and express themselves in English." Students can work from the comfort of their own homes, points out the announcement. "Students work in four teams: Content, Wikipedia, Monitoring and New Media," according to the program description . It details the responsibilities for each team: The content team is responsible for creating original content in a news format. The monitoring team is responsible for "monitoring efforts while reporting and removing anti-Semitic [sic] content from social networks in a variety of languages." (The program conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism; see below.) The New Media team is responsible for social media channels, "including Facebook accounts in English, French and Portuguese, Twitter, YouTube channels, and so on." The Wikipedia team is "responsible for writing new entries and translating them into languages that operate in the program, updating the values of current and relevant information, tracking and preventing bias in the program's areas of activity." This program sometimes claims it is working against antisemitism, but it conflates antisemitism with criticism of the state of Israel. This is in line with an Israel-backed initiative to legally define "antisemitism" to include discussing negative facts about Israel and its treatment of Palestinians. Campaign to infiltrate Wikipedia The pro-Israel organization CAMERA infiltrated Wikipedia for a time. (Illustration by Electronic Intifada .) Several years ago, another project came to light that targeted Wikipedia. While manipulating Wikipedia entries doesn't directly impact YouTube, it provides a window into some of these efforts to manipulate online content. A 2008 expose in the Electronic Intifada revealed: "A pro-Israel pressure group is orchestrating a secret, long-term campaign to infiltrate the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia." While it is common and appropriate for individuals to edit Wikipedia entries to add factual information and remove inaccurate statements, this project was the antithesis of such editing. As EI, reported, its purpose was "to rewrite Palestinian history, pass off crude propaganda as fact, and take over Wikipedia administrative structures to ensure these changes go either undetected or unchallenged." Author Ali Abunimah reported that a source had provided EI with a series of emails from members and associates of the pro-Israel group CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) that showed the group "was engaged in what one activist termed a 'war' on Wikipedia." CAMERA Senior Research Analyst Gilead Ini organized a project to infiltrate Wikipedia. CAMERA called for volunteers to secretly work on editing Wikipedia entries. It emphasized the importance of keeping the project secret. Volunteers were schooled in ways to elude detection. After they signed up as editors, they were to "avoid editing Israel-related articles for a short period of time." They were also told to "avoid, for obvious reasons, picking a username that marks you as pro-Israel, or that lets people know your real name." CAMERA also warned them: "Don't forget to always log in... If you make changes while not logged in, Wikipedia will record your computer's IP address." A Wikipedia editor known as Zeq helped in the effort, telling volunteers: "Edit articles at random, make friends not enemies--we will need them later on. This is a marathon not a sprint." He emphasized the importance of secrecy: "You don't want to be precived [sic] as a 'CAMERA' defender' on wikipedia that is for sure." Zeq recommended that they work with and learn from an independent, pro-Israel Wikipedia editor known as Jayjg, but directed them to keep the project secret even from him. When this all came to light, Wikipedia took measures against such manipulation of its system and the CAMERA program may have ended. If it did, others stepped into the breach. In 2010 two Israeli groups began offering a course in "Zionist editing" of Wikipedia entries. The aim was "to make sure that information in the online encyclopedia reflects the worldview of Zionist groups." A course organizer explained that the use of the word "occupied" in Wikipedia entries "was just the kind of problem she hoped a new team of editors could help fix." Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported: "The organizers' aim was twofold: to affect Israeli public opinion by having people who share their ideological viewpoint take part in writing and editing for the Hebrew version, and to write in English so Israel's image can be bolstered abroad." There was to be a prize for the "Best Zionist Editor"--the person who over the next four years incorporated the most "Zionist" changes in the encyclopedia. The winner would receive a trip in a hot-air balloon over Israel. High tech millionaire Naftali Bennett, a right-wing minister close to the settler movement, describes the program: The UK Guardian reports: "One Jerusalem-based Wikipedia editor, who doesn't want to be named, said that publicising the initiative might not be such a good idea. 'Going public in the past has had a bad effect,' she says. 'There is a war going on and unfortunately the way to fight it has to be underground.'" Again in 2013, there was evidence of pro-Israel tampering with Wikipedia. Israel's Ha'aretz reported that a social-media employee of NGO Monitor edited articles about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an allegedly biased manner. "Draiman concealed the facts that he was an employee of NGO Monitor, often described as a right-wing group, and that he was using a second username, which is forbidden under Wikipedia's rules," according to the paper. Such actions have had an impact. A website critical of Wikipedia said in 2014 that there were "almost ten times as many articles about murdered Israeli children as there are articles about murdered Palestinian children," even though at least 10 times more Palestinian children had been killed. The website also pointed out: "While editors like Zeq ( T - C - L ) and CltFn ( T - C - L ) may get banned in the end, the articles they started remain." If YouTube reviewers and others use Wikipedia in their determination about whether content should be removed or not, these efforts to censor Wikipedia could adversely affect their decisions. Social Media Missions for Israel Title image from Forward article about the Act.IL campaign. In 2017 yet another project to target Internet platforms was launched. Known as Act.il , the project uses a software application that "leverages the power of communities to support Israel through organized online activity." The software is a joint venture of three groups: Israel's IDC University; the Israeli American Council , which works to "organize and activate" the half million Israeli-Americans who live in the U.S.; and another American group called the Maccabee Task Force , created to combat the international boycott of Israel, which it terms "an anti-Semitic movement." Maccabee says it is "laser focused on one core mission--to ensure that those who seek to delegitimize Israel and demonize the Jewish people are confronted, combatted and defeated." Image from Maccabee end of year report . In addition, the project is supported by Israel's Strategic Affairs Ministry and Israel's intelligence community. Its CEO is an eight-year veteran of Israeli army intelligence. Israel's Jerusalem Post reports that Act.IL is "a wide-ranging grassroots campaign app that lets individuals combat BDS in the palm of their hand" or, as we will see, from public computers in the US. "Act.IL is more than just an app," the Post article explains. "It is a campaign that taps into the collective knowledge of IDC students who together speak 35 languages, hail from 86 countries and have connections to the pro-Israel community all over the world." The article claims: "A platform like Act.IL offers world Jewry an opportunity to fight for one thing the majority can rally behind: Israel." (This ignores the fact that there are many Jewish individuals who oppose Israeli policies.) Israel partisans around the world download the app, and then "in this virtual situation room of experts, they detect instances where Israel is being assailed online and they program the app to find missions that can be carried out with a push of a button." An organizer notes: "When you work together, with the same goals and values, you can be incredibly powerful in the social media landscape." Some missions ask users to report videos. Israeli government officials say that the Act.il app "is more effective than official government requests at getting those videos removed from online platforms." The project is led by former Israeli intelligence officers and has close ties to American casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Another funder is the Paul R. Singer Foundation, funded by the Republican hedge fund billionaire. The Forward calls Act.IL a new entry into the "online propaganda war" that "has thousands of mostly U.S.-based volunteers who can be directed from Israel into a social media swarm." According to the Forward, "Its work so far offers a startling glimpse of how it could shape the online conversations about Israel without ever showing its hand." The Forward reports: "Act.il says that its app has 12,000 sign-ups so far, and 6,000 regular users. The users are located all over the world, though the majority of them appear to be in the United States. Users get 'points' for completed missions; top-ranked users complete five or six missions a day. Top users win prizes: a congratulatory letter from a government minister, or a doll of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding prime minister." Photo of group that participated in Act.IL training Act.IL's CEO, a veteran Israeli army intelligence officer, said the Israeli military and its domestic intelligence service "'request' Act.il's help in getting services like Facebook to remove specific videos that call for violence against Jews or Israelis." This according to the Forward report. The officer later tried to walk back his statement, "saying that the Shin Bet [intelligence service] and the army don't request help on specific videos but are in regular informal contact with Act.il. He said that Act.il's staff is largely made up of former Israeli intelligence officers." Teens in American JCCs carry out missions assigned from Israel New Jersey "Media Room," a project of IAC New Jersey in partnership with Act.IL. The project recruits Jewish teens and adults and sometimes operates out of local Jewish community centers, the Forward says. The paper describes one example: "The dozen or so Israelis sitting around a conference table at a Jewish community center in Tenafly, New Jersey, on a recent Wednesday night didn't look like the leading edge of a new Israeli government-linked crowdsourced online propaganda campaign. "Tapping on laptops, the group of high school students and adult mentors completed social media 'missions' assigned out of a headquarters in Herzliya, Israel." In addition to the Tenafly "media room" another operates in Boston in cooperation with the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. There are also regular Act.il advocacy-training sessions at The Frisch School, a Jewish day school in Paramas, New Jersey. Other media rooms are reportedly in the works, with one in Manhattan, hosted by The Paul R. Singer Foundation, scheduled to open soon. The Forward reports: "In November, the Boston media room created a mission for the app that asked users to email a Boston-area church to complain about a screening there of a documentary that is critical of Israel. The proposed text of the email likens the screening of the film to the white supremacist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, and calls the film's narrator, Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, a 'well-known anti-Semite.'" Photo of Boston Media Room published by Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, which states : "Media Room Ambassadors are students and adult mentors who are with the knowledge, skills, and tools to positively influence public discourse by developing pro-Israel social media campaigns." According to the Forward, Act.il also produces "pro-Israel web content that carries no logo. It distributes that content to other pro-Israel groups, including the Adelson-funded Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and The Israel Project, which push them out on their own social media feeds." The Forward predicts: "Initiatives in cyberspace seem likely to increase." Screenshot from video promoting the project, posted on the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston website . Israeli media report that the Israeli military "has begun scouring Jewish communities abroad for young computer prodigies" to recruit for its ranks. An Israeli official described the process: "Our first order of business is to search Jewish communities abroad for teens who could qualify, Our representatives will then travel to the communities and begin the screening process there." Israeli Government Ministry backs secret online campaigns General Sima Vaknin-Gil told Israeli tech developers to "flood the Internet" with pro-Israel propaganda. As Israel's Chief Censor, she said : " "We censor information that is critical to our enemies, who have no capabilities like us, do not have a Jewish brain, and therefore our enemy relies to a large extent on open information..." Israel's Strategic Affairs Ministry, which is behind this and similar projects, has mobilized substantial resources for online activities. Israel's Ynet news reports that the Ministry's director "sees it as a war for all intents and purposes. 'The delegitimization against the State of Israel can be curbed and contained through public diplomacy and soft tools,' she says. 'In order to win, however, we must use tricks and craftiness.'" The director, General Sima Vaknin-Gil, told a forum of Israeli tech developers at a forum: "I want to create a community of fighters." The objective is to " curb the activities of anti-Israel activists ," and "flood the Internet" with pro-Israel content. An Israeli report in December stated that the ministry has acquired a budget of roughly $70 million to "stand at the forefront of the battle against delegitimization, adopting methods from the fields of intelligence and technology. There is a reason why ministry officials define it as 'a war on consciousness terrorism.'" ['Delegitimization' is a common Israeli term for criticism of Israel. See here for a discussion of the term.] A Ha'aretz article reports: "The Strategic Affairs Ministry's leaders see themselves as the heads of a commando unit, gathering and disseminating information about 'supporters of the delegitimization of Israel'--and they prefer their actions be kept secret." The article reports that the Ministry includes a job role entitled "Senior official--new-media realm," responsible for surveillance and activities "in the digital realm." This individual head is responsible for analyzing social media and formulating a social media campaign against sites and activists who are deemed a threat to Israel. Among the job's responsibilities are: "Analysis of the world of social media, in terms of content, technology and network structure, emphasizing centers of gravity and focuses of influence, methods, messages, organizations, sites and key activists, studying their characteristics, areas, realms and key patterns of activities of the rival campaign and formulating a strategy for an awareness campaign against them in this realm and managing crises on social media. That is, surveilling of activities mainly in the digital arena." Officials at the ministry are charged with "construction and promotion of creative and suitable programs for new media." The unit works to keep its activities secret from the public. For example, a program to train young Israelis for activities on social media was exempted from publishing a public bid for funding. Similarly, the ministry's special unit against delegitimization, "Hama'aracha" (The Battle), is excluded from Israel's Freedom of Information Law. The 29th floor of Tel Aviv's Champion Tower is the nerve center of a 24-7 'war' in which Israeli agents working behind the scenes advance U.S. legislation, torpedo events, organize counter-protests, & close bank accounts.. The Director says: 'In order to win we must use tricks and craftiness.' Its activities reportedly include a "24/7 operations room monitoring all the delegitimization activities against Israel: Protests, conferences, publications calling for an anti-Israel boycott and international bodies' boycott initiatives. The operations room will transfer the information to the relevant people to provide a proper response to these activities, whether through a counter-protest or through moves to thwart the initiative behind the scenes." Other programs include a 22-million-shekel project to work among labor unions and professional associations abroad "to root out the ability of BDS entities to influence the unions," and a 16-million-shekel program focused on student activities throughout the world. Israel's UNIT 8200 Photo from article about Unit 8200 on Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre website . Another Israeli entity that plays a role in covert Internet activity is the Israeli military's legendary high-tech spy branch, Unit 8200. This unit is composed of thousands of "cyber warriors" primarily 18 to 21 years of age; some even younger. A number of its graduates have gone on to top positions at tech companies operating in the U.S., such as Check Point Software (where the spouse of the Jewish Voice for Peace head is employed as a solutions architect). In 2015 Israel's Foreign Ministry announced plans "to establish a special command to combat anti-Israel incitement on social media." The command would operate under the foreign ministry's hasbara [propaganda] department and would especially recruit from graduates of Unit 8200. An article in the Jewish Press about the new command reports that Unit 8200 "has developed a great reputation for effectiveness in intelligence gathering, including operating a massive global spy network. Several alumni of 8200 have gone on to establish leading Israeli IT companies, including Check Point, ICQ, Palo Alto Networks, NICE, AudioCodes, Gilat, Leadspace, EZchip, Onavo, Singular and CyberArk." Check Point Software headquarters in Tel Aviv. Founded by a former Unit 8200 member, it also has offices throughout the U.S. Israeli tech companies sometimes assist in online spying efforts. Numerous Israeli tech companies, many of them headed by former military intelligence officers, assist in these online spying efforts, sometimes receiving Israeli government funding "for digital initiatives aimed at gathering intelligence on activist groups and countering their efforts." According to the ministry's statement, among the Command's activities is " finding videos with inflammatory content and issuing complaints to the relevant websites." To be clear, this is an occupying military working covertly to achieve censorship of reporting on its atrocities. YouTube & Google officials meet with Israeli Minister YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki speaking to the Israel Collaboration Network's Israeli Women in Tech Group on August 25, 2016 . Major Internet companies have reportedly been cooperating in this effort. In 2015 Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely announced that she had visited Silicon Valley and met with YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Google's Director of Public Policy (it is unclear whether this was was Jennifer Oztzistzki or Juniper Downs; Hotovely's announcement referred to "Jennifer Downs"). "At the end of the meeting," Israeli media reported , "it was agreed that Google would strengthen bilateral relations with the Foreign Ministry and build a collaborative work apparatus." Another Israeli news report about the meeting states : "...it was agreed that the companies would strengthen ties with the Foreign Ministry and build a regular mechanism of control to prevent the distribution of those incendiary materials on the network." Google, which owns YouTube, denied the Foreign Ministry's report. The Ministry accordingly "clarified" its statement somewhat, but continued to say that Israeli officials would be in "regular contact with Google's employees in Israel who deal with the problematic materials." Such officials often have close ties to Israel. For example, Facebook's Head of Policy in Israel, Jordana Cutler , had previously been employed for many years by the Israeli government. (More about Facebook can be found here .) The Linkedin page for Facebook's Jordana Cutler The meetings seem to have had a significant effect. In 2016 Fortune magazine reported: "Facebook, Google, and YouTube are complying with up to 95% of Israeli requests to delete content that the government says incites Palestinian violence, Israel's Justice Minister said on Monday." More recently, the Israeli Ministry of Justice said that its cyber unit handled 2,241 cases of online content and succeeded in getting 70 percent of it removed . According to a 2017 report , Google, in its capacity as the operator of Youtube, announced that it was updating the steps it was already taking on this score. Among other things, Google said it would increase the number of members of the " Trusted Flagger program ," which enables certain organizations and government agencies to report content. It also said it would "increase support for NGOs and organizations working to present a 'corrective voice.'" Given the record of infiltration and orchestrated activities described above--many financed by a combination of certain influential billionaires and the Israeli government itself--it's hard to imagine that Israeli organizations and partisans are not thoroughly embedded in this program. In fact, one of the NGOs already working with YouTube as a "trusted flagger" is the Anti-Defamation League , whose mission includes 'standing up for Israel.' Anti-Defamation League celebrates Israel at 2017 New York City parade. A leaked secret January 2017 ADL strategy paper detailed how to counter the pro-Palestine movement. Among its many strategies were some focused on the importance of efforts in cyber space. The paper was produced in collaboration with the Reut Institute, an Israeli think tank, and included an endorsement by Sima Vaknin-Gil, who stated that "the correlation between the Ministry's mode of operation and what comes out of this document is very high, and has already proven effective... " The document's executive summary noted: "Cyberspace, broadly defined, stands out as a crucially important arena (for monitoring and counter and pro-active strategies) which requires more resources and attention due to its current influence, rapid growth and growing complexity." The paper called for "a mix of policy advocacy and industry engagement with corporations such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter in a manner consistent with the ADL Center for Technology and Society and its Anti-Cyberhate Working Group." An illustration in the ADL-Reut working paper on improving Israel advocacy. It noted: "While the pro-Israel network increasingly is active in this domain, much more can be done." The paper also recommended: "'Bottom-up efforts' of crowd-sourcing to enhance the adaptive capacity of the pro-Israel network." At the same time, it urged: "Strengthening pro-Israel organizations that mobilize and coordinate a network of 'nodes' e.g. Jewish Community Public Affairs (JCPA) and its network of Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRCs) in the USA; Hillel, which is present in nearly five hundred locations in the U.S. and globally; the Israel Action Network (IAN) that reaches nearly 160 federations in the U.S.; or the Jewish Congress (WJC) that represents dozens of Jewish communities around the world." The detailed, 32-page document reported that in recent years "a massive investment of resources and talent" had been directed against the pro-Palestine movement. One of the results, the paper said, was to create a "world-wide pro-Israel network." It was this network that the report wished to mobilize. One of the paper's concerns was that since Israel's 2014 attack on Gaza "a growing number of Jews have become more critical of Israel." The document recommended a degree of stealth, noting: "high-visibility response by the pro-Israel side can be counterproductive." What this means Nevertheless, despite all these forces arrayed against information about Palestine reaching the American public, our channel is back up on YouTube. In fact, we've just uploaded a new video: This one is about the death of a nine-year-old boy. [Perhaps the Israeli government would consider this incitement to Palestinians to rebel against occupation; we see it as incitement to the world in general, and Americans in particular, to care.] In other words, Israel's efforts at censorship don't always succeed. But sometimes they do, and other YouTube users have not always been so fortunate. For example, YouTube has terminated several Palestinian news organizations . One was the al-Quds network, which, according to a report in Middle East Eye , "relies on young reporters and volunteers using phones and other digital devices to cover local news across the Palestinian territories." They would often report Israeli soldiers committing various human rights violations. Its YouTube channel was terminated in 2011, and its editor says they had to "to create a new channel from scratch." By 2017 its new channel had gained almost 10 million views before it was suddenly suspended without warning again last October. It now, however, appears to have a YouTube channel in operation. According to the MEE report, YouTube also suspended the Filisten al-Youm TV channel last August, and in 2013, apparently following complaints by the Anti-Defamation League, YouTube closed down Iran's PressTV channel. (A Press TV YouTube channel now also appears to be available again.) Palestinian social media users risk even greater consequences. The Israeli government has arrested Palestinians for videos, poems, and other posts it dislikes. A 2016 report estimated that "more than 150 arrests took place between October and February 2016 based on Facebook posts expressing opinions on the uprising. A recent video posted on social media led to the imprisonment of a 16 year old girl, her mother and cousin. In addition, Palestinian access to social media is somewhat controlled by Israel. As a Huffington Post article reports, "Palestinians' digital rights and access to the Internet are compromised in very basic ways, because Israel controls the infrastructure and services of Palestinian telecommunication companies in the West Bank." While the situation has greatly improved in recent years - the Israeli government finally announced in 2016 that it would allow Palestinians in the West Bank to access 3G wireless networks, making this one of the last regions in the world with such access after years of Israeli restrictions - it is important to remember the enormous power Israel wields over this largely captive population. While Israel is able to organize entire campaigns to filter and flood social media, its immense control over Palestinians impedes their access to the same media. Given these facts, it is extremely important for people to search out information for themselves, go directly to our websites and others, subscribe to diverse email lists, and not rely on social media for information. [Please subscribe to our news posts here .] Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others are private companies. In the end, they have the power to censor information, and they periodically do so. For a few days, we felt acutely what that was like. If Facebook had joined the ban, as has happened with others, we would have been even more cut off from what is essentially today's "public square." The Internet and social media give us far more access to information and tools for communication and activism than ever before, but they, too, can be controlled--and they are. It is up to us, as always, to overcome.

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In her essay " Where Have All the Good Men Gone? ," Kay Hymowitz posits that we now live in the age of "pre-adulthood men." These are guys who aren't adolescents but are not yet men. Hymowitz: "Today, most men in their 20s hang out in a novel sort of limbo, a hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance. This 'pre-adulthood' has much to recommend it, especially for the college-educated. But it's time to state what has become obvious to legions of frustrated young women: It doesn't bring out the best in men." Hymowitz blames an economy that requires more years of schooling, thus preventing maturity, and condemns the usual suspects: video games, fart jokes, Animal House . Two thoughts: 1. Fart jokes aren't the problem. 2. Women are just as bad. "The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad," G. K. Chesterton once wrote. "The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians only care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful." I believe the problem with the "pre-adulthood" phenomenon is that young men are no longer raised to be renaissance men. In a world that is increasingly secular and illiterate, they are taught to find their niche, hit it hard, and not worry about anything else. Thus, you have Big Bang Theory nerds who cannot name a single contemporary jazz artist; sports junkies who don't know who John Paul II was; Bible thumpers who don't own a single Beatles record; politicians who have never read a novel. These days no one tries to take on anything different for the simple pleasure of trying to improve themselves. They don't stretch themselves. This is why it gets tiresome when conservative critics keep circling back to the same scapegoats: Adam Sandler, Hollywood, toilet humor. They act as if these things are bad in and of themselves, when the problem is that they are not balanced out with anything more noble. I mean, Chaucer made fart jokes in The Canterbury Tales . But there were some other ideas in there as well. Also-and this is crucial-there was once a time when men kept ribald humor to their circle of male peers. There was just certain stuff you didn't talk about in front of women. With the sexual revolution, those zones of healthy segregation began to collapse. These days the problem isn't as much pre-adulthood males as it is uncultured people-including women. When I was in high school at Georgetown Prep, a Jesuit school that prided itself on producing men who could both lay down a block and conjugate Latin, we had a term for well-rounded women: "cool chicks." Yeah, she's a cool chick. A cool chick would go to a baseball game with you, maybe liked a cool band, and also had a favorite museum and novel. They were cool because they weren't just one thing-the Lena Dunham hipster, the scholarship-obsessed athlete, the Ally Sheedy Breakfast Club basket case. Do cool chicks exist anymore? Is there a Dianne Keaton of this generation? My high school reunion is this year. Georgetown Prep is an all boys school, and there will be drinking, sports, conversations about family and movies and books and politics. Oh, and maybe even a fart joke. But it won't dominate the proceedings. Editor's note: This piece is part of a symposium in which a variety of writers and thinkers weigh in on the question: "Can men be men again?" See earlier takes by Emily Esfahani Smith , Ryan Duffy , Mark Tapson , R. J. Moeller , Ben Domenech , a second post by Emily Esfahani Smith , Abby Schachter , and Anthony Dent . All of the posts are compiled here .

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John Oliver, for once again leading the charge to protect net neutrality from the Republican FCC orcs. (Visit http://gofccyourself.com & urge the FCC to keep strong net neutrality rules backed by Title II) Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), for volunteering to hold town halls in districts where GOP reps are too cowardly to talk with their constituents about the GOP money grab posing as a health care bill Sally Yates, for her illuminating testimony in front of the Senate subcommittee hearing. Bonus points for shutting down Ted Cruz's grandstanding and making Trump yell at his TV The 82 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls who were released by Boko Haram in Nigeria French president Emmanuel Macron, who wiped the floor with Marine LePen in the French presidential elections despite hacking by Russians and U.S. Nazis President Barack Obama, for receiving the JFK Library's Profile in Courage Award The 'Take Them Down' protesters in New Orleans, on the right side of history as the Jefferson Davis statue comes down The senators (including three GOPers) who voted to kill Trump's attempt to dismantle President Obama's rule on methane emissions control on federal lands The unanimous call from Democrats to appoint a special Russiagate prosecutor in the wake of Trump's firing of FBI director James Comey Dr. William Barber--the NC NAACP leader is moving on to expand his movement to help the poor and disenfranchised in 25 states and D.C. Science, as Peggy Whitson and Jack Fischer complete the 200th spacewalk at the International Space Station. Awesomesauce!

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Slogans, sound bites, and talking points. Although this is now a global phenomenon, it's an idiosyncrasy of the post-World War I America where mass propaganda was turned into an art. With the advent of internet and social media, the average attention span has now shrunk further to tolerate only 140 characters, sensational titles, and 7-second videos. To discuss this omnipresent American desire for quick fixes, I created an acronym: STESSI - Short Term, Expedient Solutions, Slogans and Ideology. Basically, it's I want it now, I want it fast, I want it easy, and I want it my way . Whether it's politics, economy, healthcare, social issues or foreign policy, Americans are extremely divided on what to do, even though they agree that the system is broken. However, the problems were created by STESSI, and we are still trying to solve them through STESSI. When we live by slogans, our solutions become binary - either you are all the way for something or all the way against it. Thus, compromises become impossible. Slogans don't have nuances. When one person screams, "Build That Wall," and another angrily responds, "No Ban, No Wall" ... there's no opportunity intellectual discussions on how many immigrants should we let in, where should they come from, what should be their skills, how do we screen them etc. Slogans are also manipulative by being deliberately vague. Everybody can agree that we must "Support Our Troops." However, in reality, it often translates to "Support Endless Wars." Even well-intentioned slogans can become intolerant and closed-minded. For example, climate change discussions often ignore the hundreds of variables in an extremely complex, dynamical and cyclical ecosystem, and boils it down to one variable - CO2. STESSI also permeates every facet of American life. Consider the American food system which started to get contaminated after World War II, with the introduction of pesticides (derived from Nazi chemical weapons), fast food and processed food. Later, thousands of chemicals were added to our food to give it fake color, fake smell and fake taste. Another "innovation" to provide cheaper food for more profit was factory farming and the use of steroids and growth hormones. Of course, GMO in the 1990's topped it all off. Every step of the distortion was justified by short-term thinking, profit for corporations, and apparent benefits for customers - food that is cheap and yummy. When obesity started to rise in the 1970's, the expedient solution was to blame fat in the food. Fat makes you fat! Simple and obvious. But after twenty years, people were still getting fat. Oh, it's the sugar! Great, millions of people jumped on that bandwagon. Still didn't work. It's all about the calories! Count the calories, starve yourself and go to the gym. Nope, still didn't work. Wait, we figured it out, it's the evil carb ! If it doesn't work, don't worry, there's always some novel and extreme fad that is just around the corner. People would rather try hundred wrong, simple solutions rather than one right, complex solution. Big Pharma and the entire Western medicine adopted the principles of STESSI more than hundred years ago. They rejected holistic, natural medicine in favor of a mechanistic ideology that treats our bodies like appliances with discrete components. For example, doctors specialize in neurology or gastroenterology or psychiatry, when all these are intricately connected. (There has been some progress in this area, but the inherent system is still resistant to holistic science.) Modern medicine also encouraged the doctrine of "a pill for an ill." Often times, the focus is only to cure the symptom and not the underlying disease or the cause of the disease. This approach is unscientific and creates serious side-effects at an individual and a societal level. About 1 in 4 Americans are on psychotropic medications , and U.S. doctors are writing 300 million opioid prescriptions every year . Last year, more people died from drug overdose than all Americans who died in Vietnam War . The desire for quick solutions in healthcare has lead to deadly consequences. Excessive dependency on antibiotics and vaccines can also potentially lead to disastrous epidemics in the future. As for the business of healthcare, it should be called sick-care . We already spend 17% of our GDP on healthcare . What we have is a completely unsustainable situation where people are getting sicker, everybody wants a Platinum treatment when they get sick, corporations - Big Pharma, insurance companies and medical industry - are purely focused on maximizing profit, and the politicians are puppets of the profiteers. As for the economy, the elites have been slowly destroying the American Middle Class since the 1970's. It started out with " Are you making less money? Don't worry, use your credit card and you can still own all the consumer goods that make you happy! " Then, in the 1980's, the message changed to, " If we get rid of labor unions, things will be so much cheaper! Also, if we get rid of your pension plans and replace it with 401-K, you'll make so much more money in the stock market. " Ten years later, it was, " If we let Mexico and China do the manufacturing jobs, everything will be so cheap, and we will all be ecstatic consumers! " Of course, China's economy grew 55 times since 1980, while the U.S. GDP grew only 7 times in that same time period. Now, China has $1 trillion to build roads, railways, airports and sea ports in 50 different countries, while the U.S. can't fix the failing infrastructure at home. The Federal Reserve Bank is another institution that's addicted to using illusionary, short-term, and unsustainable solutions. By constantly tinkering with the interest rates, printing (digital) dollars out of thin air, and creating a series of bubble-burst cycles, the Fed has created a system that enriches the 1%, keeps the bottom 50% in serfdom, and plunges the nation into debt crisis. When it comes to foreign policy, Americans are fed stories fit for 5-year-olds. There was a horrible, mean dictator who butchered people and killed little kids. So, noble American politicians sent in a powerful army and killed the bad guy. Then everybody had freedom and democracy, and lived happily ever after . Sadly such inane propaganda is still effective. Perhaps the biggest victim (perpetrator?) of STESSI is the corporate media. Rather than being a beacon and seeker of truth, MSM has collectively turned into a giant tabloid that thrives on sensationalism, click-bait titles, partisan hyperbole, and Deep State propaganda. So how do we fix all this? Here are three simple steps to quickly accomplish this: <hope you didn't fall for that one>. The only way to fix our problems is to change our thinking. As Einstein allegedly said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." We all need to strive for deeper understanding of issues, have substantive discussions and debates that go beyond talking points and slogans, be less attached to ideology or political parties, watch more documentaries and less TV, read more independent media and less corporate media, and raise our own consciousness to a higher level. Chris Kanthan is the author of a three new books: Deconstructing the Syrian war, Geopolitics for Dummies and What the heck happened to the USA? Chris lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has traveled to 35 countries, and writes about world affairs, politics, economy and health. His other book is Deconstructing Monsanto. Follow him on Twitter: @GMOChannel

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1 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 12:12:50pm down 21 up report Black Panther cleared $238 Million. 2 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 12:14:00pm down 12 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 19, 2018 Has access to 17 different intelligence agencies, the Justice Department, the State Department, as well as a staff who are supposed to be experts in their fields. Still gets all his talking points from Fox News. Sad. #PresidentsDay2018 https://t.co/ozfEphpYLZ Black Panther cleared $238 Million. Suck it Shapiro and right wing man babies. 4 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 12:17:11pm down 19 up report A White House official described the shooting rampage that killed 17 people in Parkland as "a distraction or a reprieve" from the White House's various scandals https://t.co/50rFQaTmjO pic.twitter.com/qS921RlZnE 5 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 12:17:37pm down 11 up report The President spends more time complaining about what other politicians should and shouldn't do than he does doing anything his damn self. 6 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:17:38pm down 35 up report Those poor long-suffering Trump flacks, thank God someone came along and shot 17 kids dead to give them a much-needed break from media criticism. pic.twitter.com/LPa8J9fi16 -- Danielle Blake ( @abradacabla ) February 19, 2018 This is your timely reminder that people working in this White House, for this president, do so because they're just as morally depraved as he is. Do not ever pity them. 7 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:18:50pm down 5 up report 8 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:19:59pm down 3 up report re: #5 Eclectic Cyborg The President spends more time complaining about what other politicians should and shouldn't do than he does doing anything his damn self. Because the latter would include self reflection and Trump's entire career in politics has been insisting he's been than everyone else. 9 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 12:21:23pm down 14 up report re: #4 Stanley Sea When a mass shooting is a welcome distraction to the omnipresent scandals in Trumpworld, you know the administration is truly screwed, and Americans are leaderless. Russia is laughing at all the chaos they've done on a shoestring budget. 10 S'latch Feb 19, 2018 * 12:21:45pm down 8 up report Happy Not My President Day! "My world's on fire, how about yours?" 11 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 12:21:55pm down 8 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? ask mitch you guys know each other? 12 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 12:22:40pm down 17 up report "We need to stop people from talking about our rampant corruption, multiple indictments of staffers, and how we're fucking over the whole country." "Somebody murdered 17 people in #Parkland !" "Oh thank god!" 13 sagehen Feb 19, 2018 * 12:23:45pm down 16 up report After the 2007 shootings on Tech's campus, students and staff at the Florida high school sent a more than 100-page handcrafted wooden book to the university that is now part of Tech's April 16, 2007, condolence archives. Two then-Stoneman Douglas students collected letters and artwork from fellow students across Florida to fill the large wooden book that says "in memory of 32" on its front. It is the largest condolence book Tech received after the shooting, according to the university's archivist. 14 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:26:07pm down 8 up report Scary to think what lesson they might take from this. 15 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:29:37pm down 19 up report 16 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 12:29:57pm down 9 up report Well I did hear on CNN that there is a photo of the yam signing some bare breasts from 2015 that was purchased & buried by the National Enquirer.. 17 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:31:18pm down 5 up report [Embedded content] Yep I just imagine any other President acting the way Trump does including ones I dislike like Reagan, Nixon, or Bush II and holy shit balls dude. 18 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 12:31:22pm down 18 up report Fake twitter accounts and a fake news site created the day before #alFranken 's first accuser went live. https://t.co/Mjv2nIEvqF The evangelical cult will dub them holy boobs. 20 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:34:07pm down 8 up report The evangelical cult will dub them holy boobs. Hey there's nothing in the Bible against signing boobs.// 21 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:34:13pm down 8 up report Welcome to senate race Mitt. I hope to welcome u to senate I don't claim to kno u well but every time I interacted w u in2012 I liked it and you Check out America's most wrinkled nine-year-old and his adorable tweet to Mitt Romney! https://t.co/I0rJZK9qvt The evangelical cult will dub them holy boobs. "I'll never wash my boobs again!" 23 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:35:49pm down 9 up report Good. He's a stain on his family, the NFL football Rooney's. 25 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:38:37pm down 16 up report This is how 40,000 starlings get to bed in less than a minute. @RSPBMinsmere pic.twitter.com/8RxfUen5RT 26 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:40:27pm down 6 up report Trump was impressed with the boobs because her boobs were bigger than his. 27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 12:42:32pm down 5 up report That's a swarm, not a flock, and it freaks me out. 28 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 12:43:36pm down 4 up report re: #27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis That's a swarm, not a flock, and it freaks me out. We need to learn how to weaponize something like that... 29 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:44:09pm down 5 up report re: #27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Reminds me of the grackles that have taken over the local Kroger parking lot, but they're a lot sloppier in their organization. 30 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:45:12pm down 17 up report The @NRA hasn't tweeted anything since Feb. 14 at 1:29 pm ET. i would love to see whatever memos the NRA comms team has been sending to each other these past few days https://t.co/HOBzjOAytT They may actually be scared for once. Good. Be scared Wayne Littledick. 32 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 12:46:54pm down 13 up report They're busy translating them from the original Cyrillic. 33 Blind Frog Belly White Feb 19, 2018 * 12:47:18pm down 6 up report re: #28 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) We need to learn how to weaponize something like that... 40,000 Starlings produce a lot of shit. The wax job on any car under that would be toast. 34 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:48:29pm down 10 up report Look at this Bell Curve bigot... Someone please let me know when it's safe to go back to my Notifications page. Praising the NYTimes op ed page provoked the Upper West Side (figuratively if not literally) big time. They feel so damn empowered. 35 Interesting Times Feb 19, 2018 * 12:49:26pm down 10 up report When a mass shooting is a welcome distraction to the omnipresent scandals in Trumpworld, you know the administration is truly screwed, and Americans are leaderless. I confess when news of the mass shooting first broke, I was worried about the quisling, cowardly, "but muh access" both-siderist MSM using it for their usual "today was the day he became president" blather. But thanks to Cheeto Benito's subsequent tweets plus the students who bravely spoke out, perhaps that "mass shooting as distraction" advantage is already up in smoke. 36 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 12:50:34pm down 5 up report People say the same thing about this clown !!! pic.twitter.com/5oQMjgCTTh It reads like a satirical SNL bit doesn't it? 38 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 12:53:31pm down 4 up report Into the stupid-pile? The days of NRA-bought corrupt politicians blocking America's efforts on gun-control, as our people are slaughtered, are over. 39 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 12:53:43pm down 13 up report I'm just waiting for Trump to mock the Parkland students and start a real shit show. 40 CleverToad Feb 19, 2018 * 12:54:18pm down 10 up report [Embedded content] Mutters "due f*in' process" under my breath for the 100th time. I am always going to have reservations about Gillebrand's judgment after watching her steer that bandwagon, and I'm still narked at my Dem senator for jumping on. Wasn't impressed by her press conference at the time either. (Doesn't mean I wouldn't vote for her vs. a Republican, but I rather hope I don't have to.) 41 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 12:54:38pm down 13 up report re: #38 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Into the stupid-pile? The days of NRA-bought corrupt politicians blocking America's efforts on gun-control, as our people are slaughtered, are over. They finally alienated the wrong people: teenagers with iPhones: and they are going to really pay for it. 42 lizardofid Feb 19, 2018 * 12:55:47pm down 3 up report For some reason the name George Stark popped into my mind. 43 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 12:56:15pm down 15 up report I'm kind of wondering how many Republicans are really as married to the NRA now as they were say 6 days ago? If some of the Republicans were only going along with the NRA to get along, a shift in the politics could allow some of them to abandon the NRA. Politics, to me, is all about riding a wave and fitting in with popular thinking, and that means you may not actually believe what you are running on 100%. It also means reading the tea leaves and making movements in other directions when needed. This summer is going to be interesting to see how guns fit into the need of the Republicans to hold their offices to prevent a Democratic onslaught. If the young folks get enough of their elders on their side, there might be a chance where the NRA may just be refused. And no I am not saying it is for sure going to happen. Just something to watch for. 44 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 12:56:16pm down 5 up report Trump was impressed with the boobs because her boobs were bigger than his. I'd need to see the pictures before I believe that. 45 The Vicious Babushka Feb 19, 2018 * 12:57:45pm down 31 up report It's truly amazing that Trump is willing to pay big money to have prositutes and porn stars pee on him and spank him when there are millions of Americans that would be glad to piss on him and beat his ass for free! #TheResistance 46 sizzzzlerz Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:07pm down 6 up report If that doesn't deserve the gold for synchronized flying, I don't know what it takes. They even stuck the landing! 47 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:14pm down 5 up report Reminds me of the grackles that have taken over the local Kroger parking lot, but they're a lot sloppier in their organization. we have a dozen or so regular visitors to our yard i named them snap grackle and pop mrs dm was not much amused 48 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:39pm down 12 up report re: #39 Eclectic Cyborg I'm just waiting for Trump to mock the Parkland students and start a real shit show. If they keep on criticizing him, I feel that's a certainty. I'm sure he's already done it off camera. 49 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:55pm down 5 up report re: #22 Blind Frog Belly White "I'll never wash my boobs again!" "I'll blowtorch these things right off!" 50 Interesting Times Feb 19, 2018 * 12:59:30pm down 8 up report Mutters "due f*in' process" under my breath for the 100th time. I can't remember now which LGF'er said it, but it was that photo - dug up by the alt-right ratfuckers at the most ratfuckable time - that really did Franken in. It was the worst possible visual under the circumstances. But in a "what goes around comes around" fashion, it was also photos that did in wife beater Rob Porter. If they hadn't surfaced, he'd still be serving in the Cheeto Benito Shithouse. "I'll blowtorch these things right off!" I wonder if he held them up proudly, like he does when he signs another silly Executive Order. 52 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:01:44pm down 11 up report re: #27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis That's a swarm, not a flock, and it freaks me out. it's a murmuration. 53 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 1:02:35pm down 6 up report Did you tweet this before or after you took your hood and bedsheets off you deplorable racist? We are. AI controlled drone swarms. 55 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:05:44pm down 25 up report Parkland Survivors and others that are standing up through the media are so brave and are true role models. I'm speechless at their courage. And so proud that these kids and young adults are our future. #GunControl #ParklandStudents The question now is will our leaders listen. 56 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 1:07:10pm down 15 up report If they won't, we'll replace them. Sane adults stand with these kids, and against NRA-owned politicians. 57 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 1:07:13pm down 8 up report These kids are great. They're not taking the right's empty bullshit following every shooting. 58 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:08:56pm down 15 up report The steaming battleground breathes death. The enemy now lies crushed. Our victory is great, our victory is here. pic.twitter.com/cyLPdVWOS3 59 Interesting Times Feb 19, 2018 * 1:11:13pm down 11 up report These kids are great. They're not taking the right's empty bullshit following every shooting. The NRA and GOPer goons are desperately trying to figure out how to smear and discredit them. I bet Frank Luntz is conducting a focus group right now 9_9 60 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 1:12:21pm down 4 up report re: #59 Interesting Times The NRA and GOPer goons are desperately trying to figure out how to smear and discredit them. I bet Frank Luntz is conducting a focus group right now 9_9 I'm certain of that. 61 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 1:12:35pm down 8 up report re: #51 Blind Frog Belly White I wonder if he held them up proudly, like he does when he signs another silly Executive Order. Gah!!! 63 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:15:48pm down 18 up report This is the fucking United States Secretary of State. It's hard for me to believe the juxtaposition of these two sections of his 60 Minutes interview aren't major news this morning. https://t.co/IeykLIWfVw pic.twitter.com/Qo4jGhO7Hs Tillerson: "The relationship that I had with Putin spans 18 years now. It was always about what I could do to be successful on behalf of my shareholders, how Russia could succeed." https://t.co/Lfi5pndysh 64 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:17:51pm down 9 up report What kind of fortune cookie is this?!?? pic.twitter.com/osR4xd5VqH I don't think he's changed. 66 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:22:13pm down 23 up report no kidding...lol! The Russian government has dismissed U.S. allegations of interference in the 2016 presidential election, saying it does not meddle in other countries' affairs. https://t.co/FtIxwOzE17 pic.twitter.com/Jf7LDvU8y5 [Embedded content] Oh, well. That's good enough for me. /// 68 goddamnedfrank Feb 19, 2018 * 1:25:41pm down 6 up report It's Harry Potter, if he grew up in the Florida panhandle. pic.twitter.com/oJlsIfwVFY [Embedded content] How soon until Trump retweets that as proof? PROOF...I tell you!!! 70 nines09 Feb 19, 2018 * 1:26:30pm down 11 up report re: #66 Backwoods_Sleuth The guy who drove up in your stolen car after your house was burgled wearing your shirt and jacket would like you to know it wasn't him. 71 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 1:27:08pm down 5 up report 73 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:32:10pm down 18 up report Trump responds to Parkland massacre by announcing support for NRA-backed gun legislation https://t.co/Gk63XU0SOI 74 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 1:33:12pm down 16 up report 1,000+ people in Los Angeles today demanding common sense gun laws and honoring the victims of #parkland @MomsDemand @shannonrwatts pic.twitter.com/VedqciDg42 75 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 1:35:54pm down 17 up report New from @CNN -- Exclusive: Mueller's interest in Kushner grows to include foreign financing efforts https://t.co/w5wqmOeLHV 76 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 1:39:54pm down 10 up report Hubby did that yesterday. He decided to shave the stache while it all grows back. I've never seen him hairless. I didn't recognize him when he came in the door. 77 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 1:41:20pm down 9 up report re: #73 Backwoods_Sleuth re: #73 Backwoods_Sleuth The bill doesn't add any new background check requirements and the House version includes a "Concealed Carry Reciprocity" provision, which would force states to let people carry concealed firearms in public, regardless of their individual history or training experience. In other words, passing it would make zero net difference. 78 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 1:43:11pm down 7 up report If there were cockles in my heart, they'd be a warmin' right now. [?][?] 79 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:43:26pm down 14 up report re: #63 Backwoods_Sleuth Eh, Tillerson's point about serving different interests isn't completely wrong. As CEO of Exxon, his job was to maximize profits for the company; if working with Putin did that (and was within the law), then it's not that big of a deal. Now, if his objectives did not change when he became Secretary of State, that is a problem, but his "same cowboy, different hat" remark at least suggests that he understands that he now has different obligations, even if he has pre-existing relationships with some of the players. The bigger problem with his role as Secretary of State is that he had previously shown no interest in government, international law, diplomacy, or any of the billions of other things the State Department is responsible for. In short: he's as unqualified as any member of the Trump Administration for the job he was given. 80 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:44:45pm down 13 up report re: #66 Backwoods_Sleuth Georgia and Ukraine beg to differ on that meddling point. 81 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 1:44:52pm down 5 up report 82 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 1:46:57pm down 7 up report I wonder what the odds are that Trump at some point throws Kushner under the bus and pisses off Ivanka? 83 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 1:50:38pm down 8 up report In other words, passing it would make zero net difference. I think it actually adds to the problems. More concealed guns in public just add more possibility for someone to pull that concealed gun out when in a rage. And, what does it do for the current thinking that an armed guard can stop a bad guy with a gun if the bad guy can conceal it right up until they pull it out and get the jump? Oh wait, I'm sorry. What was I thinking. A bad guy would never conceal a gun...only good guys carry concealed guns so that the bad guys don't know they can be stopped. Never mind. I guess I am not thinking like an NRA member. 84 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:52:57pm down 7 up report I think it actually adds to the problems. More concealed guns in public just add more possibility for someone to pull that concealed gun out when in a rage. And, what does it do for the current thinking that an armed guard can stop a bad guy with a gun if the bad guy can conceal it right up until they pull it out and get the jump? Oh wait, I'm sorry. What was I thinking. A bad guy would never conceal a gun...only good guys carry concealed guns so that the bad guys don't know they can be stopped. Never mind. I guess I am not thinking like an NRA member. There's the added benefit of "good guys" with guns adding to the confusion when two or three of them pull guns to fire back and kill more people in the cross-fire. Or they get shot and then the bad guy has another gun he can use! 85 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 1:54:02pm down 8 up report I think it actually adds to the problems. More concealed guns in public just add more possibility for someone to pull that concealed gun out when in a rage. And, what does it do for the current thinking that an armed guard can stop a bad guy with a gun if the bad guy can conceal it right up until they pull it out and get the jump? Oh wait, I'm sorry. What was I thinking. A bad guy would never conceal a gun...only good guys carry concealed guns so that the bad guys don't know they can be stopped. Never mind. I guess I am not thinking like an NRA member. If you want to think like an NRA executive, it's much simpler: How do we sell more guns? If you want to think like a rank member, it's: I need a reason to buy another gun. 86 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 1:55:49pm down 2 up report re: #85 Belafon If you want to think like an NRA executive, it's much simpler: How do we sell more guns? If you want to think like a rank member, it's: I need a reason to buy another gun. Ever seen Lord of War with Nic Cage? 87 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 1:56:11pm down 35 up report My friend had to put his autistic cat to sleep today because of a rapidly-growing tumor. She never meowed and would communicate via bites. I got to know her when I visited him in Portland, and I learned that she'd accept affection if you knew how to handle her, and didn't flinch at the bites. Visiting him after he moved back to Chicago, she'd run right up to me, bite me hello, and settle in my lap for petting. It's a really sad day. My friend says he's at an all time low, and I'm pretty miserable about it myself. She was a unique animal. 88 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 1:57:24pm down 7 up report There's the added benefit of "good guys" with guns adding to the confusion when two or three of them pull guns to fire back and kill more people in the cross-fire. Or they get shot and then the bad guy has another gun he can use! Imagine police responding to an active shooter incident. They pull up and see multiple people with guns running around and shooting. And of course, the 'good guys' have no idea who is another 'good guy' and who is a 'bad guy'. 89 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:07pm down 4 up report re: #86 Eclectic Cyborg Ever seen Lord of War with Nic Cage? Rule of Acquisition Number 34: War is good for business. Rule of Acquisition Number 35: Peace is good for business. 90 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:16pm down 7 up report And what about a black "good guy with a gun"? 91 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:47pm down 16 up report Because this is one nasty Venn diagram. pic.twitter.com/MDz9ZavC4i 92 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:55pm down 18 up report This week's Battle Royale brought to you by Pennsylvania Fuller story: Pennsylvania's Supreme Court issues new congressional map to replace one it said unfairly benefitted GOP (GIF via @damondahlen ) https://t.co/0qksVpUXKF pic.twitter.com/MjRiVxQQ5f It's a fascist fest! CPAC 2018, Feb 22nd: 10:35 AM Mike Pence 11:35 AM Marion Le Pen 12:30 PM Don McGahn https://t.co/YVNGjWVvGh pic.twitter.com/KoYhXtg9zK 94 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 2:01:40pm down 10 up report The new PA map drawn by the State Supreme Court is in: dailykos.com . It looks like a reasonable map, meaning Republicans will flip out. 95 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 2:02:25pm down 5 up report 96 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:03:21pm down 16 up report Trump brief honeymoon of approval ratings up to 40% is over. @Gallup weekly has him back down to 37% (-22 net approval). https://t.co/jjFNBQAu1s pic.twitter.com/sfC7wGFN3Y 97 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 2:04:42pm down 27 up report "Special Programming". it's just like "Executive Time". 99 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 2:09:14pm down 13 up report re: #87 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis My friend had to put his autistic cat to sleep today because of a rapidly-growing tumor. She never meowed and would communicate via bites. I got to know her when I visited him in Portland, and I learned that she'd accept affection if you knew how to handle her, and didn't flinch at the bites. Visiting him after he moved back to Chicago, she'd run right up to me, bite me hello, and settle in my lap for petting. It's a really sad day. My friend says he's at an all time low, and I'm pretty miserable about it myself. She was a unique animal. Condolences to you both. My cat bites, but he meows and likes children, and nibbles a person when he's happy. I've been by the house where his suspected brother lives 3 times now, and now I'm sure it's his brother, because he grabbed my hand with paws and teeth when I scritched him last time. 100 sagehen Feb 19, 2018 * 2:09:17pm down 12 up report The collective noun for that swarm is starlings is a murmuration. 101 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:09:54pm down 8 up report It's a fascist fest! [Embedded content] How government is killing capitalism? That's some chutzpah considering your party is in control of both legislatures and executive mansions. 102 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 2:11:32pm down 24 up report We all know it's just a matter of time until the Trump-thing tweets out an attack on the Parkland students, right? 103 danarchy Feb 19, 2018 * 2:11:38pm down 4 up report Quick! Save those girls before they disappear into the basement of Comet pizza!!!11!! 104 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:13:08pm down 6 up report re: #102 Charles Johnson [Embedded content] He's going to cry about how they're not fair to him and how crime is down thanks to him. 105 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:13:08pm down 34 up report 106 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:14:10pm down 34 up report I'm a gun owner. There's no doubt in my mind that we should: 1) Require universal background checks 2) Mandate a 48 hour waiting period for purchases 3) Ban military-style assault rifles, along with accessories like high-capacity magazines and bump stocks This is common sense. 107 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:15:46pm down 9 up report The new PA map drawn by the State Supreme Court is in: dailykos.com . It looks like a reasonable map, meaning Republicans will flip out. Iirc, the Pa Republicans were also threatening to impeach the judges. 108 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:15:50pm down 5 up report [Embedded content] It's common sense Randy which is why your opponent rejects it. 109 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:16:30pm down 15 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 19, 2018 Why don't you do something about It now? https://t.co/mKO9ikR3xE 110 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 2:16:58pm down 4 up report Charles Johnson @Green_Footballs We all know it's just a matter of time until the Trump-thing tweets out an attack on the Parkland students, right? 5:09 PM - Feb 19, 2018 Is it wrong to hope he does because should he attack it will only hurt him further? IMO. 111 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 2:17:46pm down 7 up report It's common sense Randy which is why your opponent rejects it. Palin ruined those words for me. 112 electrotek Feb 19, 2018 * 2:18:36pm down 6 up report Is it wrong to hope he does because should he attack it will only hurt him further? IMO. It won't sway the #MAGA crowd one bit. 113 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 2:18:39pm down 7 up report Iirc, the Pa Republicans were also threatening to impeach the judges. Also, didn't some PA Republicans swear that they were going to court to try to discredit/toss out this redistricting plan even before it was announced? 114 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:20:46pm down 4 up report Palin ruined those words for me. Me too. 115 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 2:20:47pm down 6 up report Either because he's being blackmailed by Russians, or because his narcissism is so crippling that he can't even think about the Russians helping to make him President to strike at America. 116 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 2:21:13pm down 12 up report re: #106 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] It's going to be real interesting to see if a complete newbie like Randy can give Pauly Ryan a good run and maybe, just maybe pull off the upset. I see this race as the biggest indicator of how things are going to go for the next couple big elections. It is usually very hard to defeat a sitting congressperson that also happens to be the Speaker of the House and a party leader. 117 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:22:11pm down 8 up report It won't sway the #MAGA crowd one bit. Nothing will. SHS will claim he defends when he's attacked and how the kids are not fair and her pig of a father will follow up with a condescending joke the kids' way. 118 whitebeach Feb 19, 2018 * 2:22:29pm down 16 up report re: #90 Eclectic Cyborg And what about a black "good guy with a gun"? A significant portion of the white population of this country would be better off trying to understand an advanced paper on quantum physics than to parse the phrase "black good guy with a gun." 119 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:22:31pm down 31 up report I'm not sure why people are so surprised that the students are rising up--we've been feeding them a steady diet of dystopian literature showing teens leading the charge for years. We have told teen girls they are empowered. What, you thought it was fiction? It was preparation. 120 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:23:48pm down 11 up report re: #102 Charles Johnson @Green_Footballs We all know it's just a matter of time until the Trump-thing tweets out an attack on the Parkland students, right? I figure about 9:10 PM Wednesday CNN's @jaketapper is hosting #ParklandTownHall with students and parents affected by Florida school shooting. Rep. Deutch, Sen. Nelson and Sen. Rubio have accepted an invitation to participate. Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Pres. Trump declined an invitation https://t.co/rAsBd8OsIb pic.twitter.com/TZtbck4Ris 121 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:24:27pm down 10 up report 13-year-old Missouri boy arrested after allegedly threatening in a video to shoot up a school with an AK-47. https://t.co/g1NOtYFT70 -- AP Central U.S. ( @APCentralRegion ) February 19, 2018 122 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:24:59pm down 19 up report The avoidance of your responsibilities by pretending you don't know how to do them is called STRATEGIC INCOMPETENCE. 123 stpaulbear Feb 19, 2018 * 2:29:00pm down 15 up report 13-year-old Missouri boy arrested after allegedly threatening in a video to shoot up a school with an AK-47 Three thoughts: - How stupid is this boy? - How boneheaded are his parents? - How does a 13 year old have unsupervised access to a fucking AK-47? 124 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:29:03pm down 33 up report ONE LESS: Scott Pappalardo owned his AR-15 rifle for more than 30 years. He even has a Second Amendment tattoo on his arm. This weekend, he destroyed his gun "to make sure this weapon will be ever be able to take a life." https://t.co/eSBof2LpiT pic.twitter.com/3aUqmOqCwH -- ABC News Politics ( @ABCPolitics ) February 19, 2018 125 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:29:12pm down 14 up report It's cool that you science chicks are standing up to these dishonest, malicious, parasitic, braying, shrieking, mobs, of feminists & other effeminate creatures. I hope you can check, contain, or redirect them to something productive. If you don't, we will. You might not like how. -- Eli 'Paul' Nehlen ( @MartianHoplite ) February 19, 2018 Just want to show you all what women like @cbpolis and I face on Twitter. https://t.co/0Lbe4qjvsH 126 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 2:30:13pm down 7 up report re: #125 Backwoods_Sleuth What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with that so-called "man". 127 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:30:19pm down 9 up report re: #113 Jay C Also, didn't some PA Republicans swear that they were going to court to try to discredit/toss out this redistricting plan even before it was announced? Yup! "Thursday is deadline day in Pennsylvania's high-stakes gerrymandering case for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and others to submit maps of new congressional district boundaries that they want the state Supreme Court to adopt for this year's election." ... "Republican lawmakers say they will swiftly ask federal judges to block a new map, and contend that the Democratic-majority court had no power to invalidate the congressional boundaries or draw new ones." 128 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:31:46pm down 11 up report re: #126 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with that so-called "man". one of Nehlen's fanbois This is a free country. My misogyny goes where it likes. 129 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 2:32:41pm down 8 up report Three thoughts: - How stupid is this boy? - How boneheaded are his parents? - How does a 13 year old have unsupervised access to a fucking AK-47? 1) Very 2) They're "responsible gun owners", by definition they can't be stupid 3) Gun ownership is a universal American right, who are you to say who can and can't have access to guns? /Sorry, I spent my morning on FARK reading the comments on various gun control threads, I swear I could physically feel my intelligence leaking out 130 sizzzzlerz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:33:22pm down 11 up report How government is killing capitalism? That's some chutzpah considering your party is in control of both legislatures and executive mansions. Easy. The richest capitalists don't have all YOUR money yet. 131 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 2:35:13pm down 6 up report I figure about 9:10 PM Wednesday [Embedded content] Declining this invitation is not a good look. It is an admittance that you either think the youngsters are wrong or you have no respect for their opinion. Or, you are scared to get shown up by them. Trump and Scott seem to forget these kids have parents and other relatives that can vote too. And some of them may even be MAGA types that I am told won't change. We shall see. 132 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 2:35:56pm down 14 up report Easy. The richest capitalists don't have all YOUR money yet. I recall an old Rolling Stone from around 1990: "Donald Trump proposes that if everybody in the world loans him all their money, he will use it to buy everything they own and then lease it back to them." And that, in a nutshell, is his vision for Making America Great Again. 133 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 2:36:30pm down 3 up report I wonder if we were to pass a new assault weapons ban, how a buy back program could work. There's obviously a Fifth Amendment Takings Clause issue, and whether the ban/buyback would fall under "public use". Calling voluntary would obviously be a way around it, but then there's a question of what do we do about the weapons still floating around society? We could ban the transfer of said weapons, but that could eventually creates a problem when someone dies and it becomes a part of their estate. There would obviously be a backlash and court challenges, but I do wonder if it would be feasible in the current political climate? 134 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 2:36:45pm down 10 up report Three thoughts: - How stupid is this boy? Missouri - How boneheaded are his parents? Missouri - How does a 13 year old have unsupervised access to a fucking AK-47? Missouri 135 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 2:39:41pm down 18 up report 1709 Proclamation by Lord Mayor of Dublin asking citizens to behave well to "Poor Strangers" who had arrived as refugees fleeing persecution. This is the only surviving copy of this proclamation in the world. pic.twitter.com/n3rah3u7qF 136 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 2:41:14pm down 13 up report He's also famous for hating gays Doug Manchester, Trump's nominee to be ambassador to the Bahamas, employed a management style that made many female workers uncomfortable, more than a dozen current and former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity tell WaPo. https://t.co/FHG6JjxxA4 137 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 2:41:28pm down 6 up report How government is killing capitalism? That's some chutzpah considering your party is in control of both legislatures and executive mansions. Oh pul-leeeze! It's CPAC: their attendees are always going to go for the stock "party line": government is killing capitalism, government always has been killing capitalism, and government always will be killing capitalism, as long as there is an audience willing to pay good money to hear some wingnut-welfare hack gripe about it. In a Very Seroius manner, of course. 138 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 2:44:18pm down 2 up report For those who know much more about guns than I do, couple of questions: 1. When was the tec-9 first made available to the public? (I ask because it was used in the Columbine shooting and I'm sure any lengthy discussion about gun control will raise it as an example of how the old assault weapons ban didn't work completely) 2. When was the AR-15 first made available to the public? (in addition to the reasoning above, I've seen a lot of the "when we were in high school we had rifles on gun racks in our trucks and nobody shot up the school" memes) 139 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 2:47:32pm down 4 up report It's going to be real interesting to see if a complete newbie like Randy can give Pauly Ryan a good run and maybe, just maybe pull off the upset. I see this race as the biggest indicator of how things are going to go for the next couple big elections. It is usually very hard to defeat a sitting congressperson that also happens to be the Speaker of the House and a party leader. Anytime know what his ground game is like? Is he doing rallies? GOTV? Does he have a team in place? I like him. He's doing good social media. 140 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:49:32pm down 14 up report Attention Philly lizards: Found a small fluffer dog today in East Falls. She is safe w us for the night. We've had her for most of the day. She is friendly & sweet, I can't imagine she doesn't have a home. Please share to help find her humans. She does not have a collar or microchip. #lostdog #philly pic.twitter.com/TXYTeYLc2d 142 PhillyPretzel Feb 19, 2018 * 2:51:17pm down 1 up report re: #140 Backwoods_Sleuth East Falls is a distance from NE Philly. I have to admit that is a beautiful dog. 143 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:52:31pm down 22 up report This gin crap legislation will only affect law abiding citizens. It will do nothing for those who don't follow the law. -- J Saul Rodriguez ( @JRSox029 ) February 19, 2018 This law against murder will only affect law abiding citizens. It will do nothing for those who don't follow the law. https://t.co/yiqoMS3uYa 144 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:53:36pm down 22 up report Dear media: pls stop writing headlines & ledes that Mueller's indictment "removes any doubt of Russian meddling" - as if there had been doubt. The Intel community, under both Obama and Trump, has been unanimous on this. Such characterizations imply there was reason to doubt them. Laura makes a most excellent point ! https://t.co/ugYHLtuvZf 145 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 2:55:44pm down 28 up report I went to a very minor political event last week, and was canvassed by someone lobbying for 'the true progressive candidate' for the Democratic nomination for governor of NM. When I told her I was for his opposition, a Democratic congresswoman, the canvasser gave me a postcard promoting the 'true progressive' and said, 'educate yourself.' I didn't get mad until I was walking home and decided I was insulted. I'm still mad. I hang onto things like that. 146 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:55:49pm down 3 up report For those who know much more about guns than I do, couple of questions: 1. When was the tec-9 first made available to the public? (I ask because it was used in the Columbine shooting and I'm sure any lengthy discussion about gun control will raise it as an example of how the old assault weapons ban didn't work completely) 2. When was the AR-15 first made available to the public? (in addition to the reasoning above, I've seen a lot of the "when we were in high school we had rifles on gun racks in our trucks and nobody shot up the school" memes) Partial response... Tec-9 1985-2001 250,000 made First massacre: 1989 Cleveland School massacre en.wikipedia.org AT-15 patent for AR-15 bolt carrier issued 1956 Put into US service 1963 (Air Force iirc) Colt started selling them on the civilian market circa 1964 Patents expired 1977 so other companies could come in and sell. 147 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:57:37pm down 9 up report Two county high schools in Russell County Virginia today also, at Castlewood High a student posted a photo of a long gun and wrote "Coming for Castlewood Monday Morning" and at Honaker High School placed on lockdown and searched following vague threat. 148 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 2:57:46pm down 4 up report re: #144 Backwoods_Sleuth Dear media: pls stop writing headlines & ledes that Mueller's indictment "removes any doubt of Russian meddling" - as if there had been doubt. The Intel community, under both Obama and Trump, has been unanimous on this. Such characterizations imply there was reason to doubt them. The only questions are the extent of the meddling and who was involved at our end 149 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 2:57:58pm down 12 up report They don't even care about tyrannical government. They hallucinated that Obama was a tyrant, but think nothing of Trump's attacks on the press and our courts. The gun nuts just call anything they don't like "tyranny". 150 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:58:54pm down 3 up report So why have laws at all? Oh wait. 151 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:01:13pm down 17 up report The rescue dogs of the world, are finally getting their own Westminster! The "2018 American Rescue Dog Show" airs TONIGHT Monday, Feb 19th 8/7c. A must watch if you love dogs! @HallmarkChannel #BestInRescue pic.twitter.com/dfVKuZocmB And let's face it, they want to be the tyrannical government. 153 Blind Frog Belly White Feb 19, 2018 * 3:03:41pm down 9 up report [Embedded content] Old And Busted: "To defend against a tyrannical government". The New Hotness: "To defend a tyrannical government." 154 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:08:37pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] What a cutie!! [?][?][?][?] 155 fern01 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:08:56pm down 6 up report Something about rich old farts that want to control what the rest of America does. Controlling his family and church members not enough for Romney - maybe he just wants time away from the wife - surely he can do that without making the rest of the US suffer. 156 Ace-o-aces Feb 19, 2018 * 3:09:04pm down 32 up report New stupid meme alert: Note: These women are not wearing pussy hats pic.twitter.com/w8WQ29j7i2 That's because they live in a country with universal healthcare, government funded abortions and strict gun control laws. 157 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 3:10:23pm down 5 up report Oh brother. The replies happily point out the absurdity here. Make no mistake: this is the PA map Dems wanted. It's a ringing endorsement of the "partisan fairness" doctrine: that parties should be entitled to same proportion of seats as votes. However, in PA (and many states), achieving that requires conscious pro-Dem mapping choices. 158 nines09 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:10:36pm down 9 up report And well you should. Does it have a phone number? Address? Contact them. Tell them you have educated yourself, and now know that the shitheads on the left are as bad as the shitheads on the right. Tell them to walk their purity pony off a roof with them on the back of it. 159 mmmirele Feb 19, 2018 * 3:12:48pm down 13 up report re: #87 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis My friend had to put his autistic cat to sleep today because of a rapidly-growing tumor. She never meowed and would communicate via bites. I got to know her when I visited him in Portland, and I learned that she'd accept affection if you knew how to handle her, and didn't flinch at the bites. Visiting him after he moved back to Chicago, she'd run right up to me, bite me hello, and settle in my lap for petting. It's a really sad day. My friend says he's at an all time low, and I'm pretty miserable about it myself. She was a unique animal. Condolences to your friend. It's tough to let a furry buddy go. I had a cat, name of Xena, who would lightly bite my fingers. Never hard, never broke skin and it was always an affectionate thing. My current cat, Nicki, loves to lick my hands. Especially if I have the odor of hand moisturizer. I've given up asking why, but I did check and it shouldn't be harmful to her, particularly if it's hours after I've put it on. She also checks my elbows for hand lotion scent. 160 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 3:15:04pm down 17 up report Question is,if men marry men and women marry women who will produce children in this world Obviously gay marriage and gay sex is just so mind blowingly awesome that once it becomes an option, heterosexual marriage and sex are just abandoned by the whole human race. https://t.co/nh3KIw7jiF 162 darthstar Feb 19, 2018 * 3:17:20pm down 8 up report I refuse to explain a common alternative use of a turkey baster to these eejits. 164 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:20pm down 8 up report [Embedded content] Kind of like interracial marriage ended the birth of white people. Maybe just maybe people who love each other should marry. 165 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:25pm down 16 up report There it is: Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit website is going after David Hogg, a student who survived the Majory Stoneman Douglas school shooting who has been appearing on TV to speak out against gun violence pic.twitter.com/DcfNL4uHuB 166 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:29pm down 30 up report Monstrously misguided Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill is DOA in Senate - a demise it richly deserves. It mocks gun violence victims and their loved ones. 167 Barefoot Grin Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:34pm down 5 up report 168 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:19:47pm down 2 up report That didn't take long. 169 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:20:03pm down 17 up report We bought a couple new goats yesterday. This one was named Jazz. But we already have a goat named Jazz, so we're going to call her New Jazz. Again: It is important that we never have human children. pic.twitter.com/hXYu9ipyNo What fresh hell is this? 171 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 3:22:14pm down 16 up report Good news to report. Several people have been destroying or turning in their AK-57's through out the country. Thought this news would bring a smile to your face. https://t.co/zlblBwuS72 172 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:22:34pm down 8 up report re: #170 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. What fresh hell is this? this is the yam's NRA-supplied gun reform legislation. 173 The Vicious Babushka Feb 19, 2018 * 3:25:00pm down 22 up report "This is a picture of my dad. Last night we went to see #BlackPanther and got jumped by a group of black teens in the parking lot. They shot him with a flame thrower and said 'this is for the culture cracker!' A RT could save his life" pic.twitter.com/B4rhkQlyrO I hope they catch the joker that did this. https://t.co/XkKA96s9uq 174 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 3:25:16pm down 8 up report SMOTI: this kid sounds smarter than me, obviously this is a false flag operation, he's probably 24 and a Democrat. 175 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 3:27:26pm down 5 up report For those who know much more about guns than I do, couple of questions: ... I've seen a lot of the "when we were in high school we had rifles on gun racks in our trucks and nobody shot up the school" memes... It seems to me that you are correct. There is a significant issue with the change in culture, above and beyond the technical increase in available lethal weapons like the AR-15. And I would agree with those who say we need to address the issue on all fronts, reduce the availability of highly lethal weapons, and affect the culture. For me... Growing up in the 1960's in Pittsburgh, it did not even occur to me that one would want to shoot anyone outside of a formal war. Rifle racks in pickups were, at the time, a rural phenomenon. As were pickup trucks themselves. Doing this in an urban environment seemed to me, anyway, as an invitation for theft of the rifles. Further, there was nothing in a city to shoot. My first guess on the current onslaught of shootings was the rise of video style mass media. Which brought pictures of violence. And introduced that possibility into folks daily consciousness. One of the problems with visual media is that it tends to focus and concentrate on the aberrant minority rather than on the mundane majority. And often totally out of context. A second step was the decrease in cost to own lethal weaponry and the rise of a mass market. And in the concept that a firearm was some glorious symbol for a lofty thing like 'Freedom' rather than a tool for very specific purposes. I think that the next step was the rise of the rage media, such as Fox, Rush Limbaugh, and Alex Jones At some point, I think that society will figure out how to handle these issues. Or society will self destruct. Just my opinion... 176 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:28:02pm down 9 up report Hoft is looking for lawsuit #2 already. 177 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 3:28:37pm down 1 up report There it is: Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit website is going after David Hogg, a student who survived the Majory Stoneman Douglas school shooting who has been appearing on TV to speak out against gun violence pic.twitter.com/DcfNL4uHuB I'm surprised it took him this long.... 178 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:29:03pm down 20 up report Mr. President, America needs real leadership. We need to take common sense steps NOW to protect our kids. From one father to another, let's protect them. pic.twitter.com/PHHtCW4CMD -- John Kasich ( @JohnKasich ) February 18, 2018 Start in your own state, sir. You've signed a dozen bills easing access to guns, including forcing guns into college campuses and in bars, airports and DAYCARE CENTERS. Close the loophole in Ohio that allows private gun sales without a background check. The we'll talk. https://t.co/fImyqIOHXJ 179 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 3:29:39pm down 15 up report Solution: hire unemployed black men, train and arm them. The typical shooter is a white kid who is intimidated by black men. This will also reduce black unemployment which I have been told is a top priority of the Trump administration. 180 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:29:49pm down 1 up report [Embedded content] Agree. Empty rhetoric from an empty leader. 181 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:30:52pm down 22 up report EXPOSED: School Shooting Surviver Turned Activist David Hogg's Father in FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines [VIDEO] https://t.co/z2T0LgmyQ9 -- Jim Hoft ( @gatewaypundit ) February 19, 2018 We're attacking survivors of school shootings now? https://t.co/YYA6r1l2Cl Like Frank here was sleeping through all the other attacks? You all built this, Dr Frankenstein https://t.co/wTuKMunp7r There's strength in knowing ones own human (child naming) failings. On the flip side you have goats. So...It's a wash. 183 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 3:31:30pm down 6 up report re: #161 Stanley Sea We had 2 students arrested in my little burg. 2 in our town this week for threats, one in the county for bringing a 'forgotten' rifle to school. OTOH, that's about the background level here. 184 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:31:56pm down 16 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 19, 2018 Don't you hate it when you go golfing, but you can't concentrate on the game because you're still salty about that one popular guy at work who is better at everything than you are? https://t.co/7oFveVxTJV 185 fern01 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:32:00pm down 1 up report The buck stops somewhere in the Senate. Governors and Presidents don't take blame - nor do they talk with the people they supposedly represent. 186 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 3:32:06pm down 8 up report re: #181 Backwoods_Sleuth Considering what happened with Sandy Hook, I'm kind of surprised people are surprised by this. 187 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:32:11pm down 1 up report 189 austin_blue Feb 19, 2018 * 3:34:06pm down 8 up report Did a little research today and it appears there are now north of 10 million guns in private hands that can take large, detachable magazines of more than 25 rounds (some of up to 100 rounds). At $600/per, that's $6 billion worth of hi-cap weaponry that the US Gov't would have to buy back in a gun ban. That's never going to happen, is it? 190 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:34:08pm down 2 up report re: #173 The Vicious Babushka "This is a picture of my dad. Last night we went to see #BlackPanther and got jumped by a group of black teens in the parking lot. They shot him with a flame thrower and said 'this is for the culture cracker!' A RT could save his life" pic.twitter.com/B4rhkQlyrO 191 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 3:35:28pm down 4 up report re: #189 austin_blue Did a little research today and it appears there are now north of 10 million guns in private hands that can take large, detachable magazines of more than 25 rounds (some of up to 100 rounds). At $600/per, that's $6 billion worth of hi-cap weaponry that the US Gov't would have to buy back in a gun ban. That's never going to happen, is it? Call it a Second Amendment Tax Credit CUZ MURRRRKA! and the GOP will sign on before they realize what it actually does. 192 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:37:43pm down 15 up report The fact "survivor" is misspelled shows the credibility of the article. 193 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 3:39:47pm down 7 up report Gateway Pundit, #1 With Surviverists. 194 fern01 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:39:52pm down 2 up report He's also famous for hating gays [Embedded content] These are the only type of people that will work for trump - no-one sane wants to represent this administration 195 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 3:40:24pm down 4 up report re: #178 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Yeah, Ohio Johnny Kasich is going to run and primary The Big Orange Don in 2020. Or, be a candidate should there be no Trump. You know how I can tell? Nah, not his statement. That's a given. He combed his hair and he is wearing a suit. 196 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:41:57pm down 4 up report re: #181 Backwoods_Sleuth I'm sure @FrankLuntz is quite proud of his Republican party - a party built on lies and talking points - framed by Frank himself. He's turned into quite the trump supporter, of late. Let's hope pride does come before the fall. Before all our kids are dead at the very least. 197 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 3:42:14pm down 15 up report I think you just outed yourself. Those of us who are straight remain attracted to the opposite sex when we stop oppressing gay people. 198 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:44:09pm down 3 up report re: #186 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Considering what happened with Sandy Hook, I'm kind of surprised people are surprised by this. That was aimed at parents, which is sick enough. Americans won't accept hurling bullshit at kids. Survivors of a horrific event kids, no less. [Embedded content] "I just don't understand it. I built a huge creature and brought it to life, then ignored it. Why is it killing people?" 200 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:45:59pm down 10 up report The GOP is going to attack these kids that just survived a massacre. We have to stick up for them. You guys don't care about the kids. You are exploiting them to push your anti-gun legislation. https://t.co/sRkf8ekuaC . @infowars EXCLUSIVE: A teacher at #MarjoryStonemanDouglas high school in #Florida where a deadly shooting took place last week has sent out a mass text to students encouraging them to attend an anti-gun meeting. #ParklandSchoolShooting https://t.co/U2A4PVk99P 201 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:16pm down 8 up report re: #192 Backwoods_Sleuth What's hilarious about "coaching" is GOP donors pour millions into projects like Turning Point USA, with express mission of coaching young people to parrot talking points. 202 bill d. (b.d.) Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:41pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] Written by Luciann, Chelsea Manning's friend, who makes Hoft look like Joesph Pulitzer 203 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:49pm down 4 up report I hope you get sued again, jackass. 204 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:58pm down 9 up report That was aimed at parents, which is sick enough. Americans won't accept hurling bullshit at kids . Survivors of a horrific event kids, no less. Assumes facts not in evidence (I want to hope you're right) 205 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:48:49pm down 2 up report Go back to Canada, Laura & stfu. 206 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:49:59pm down 8 up report The @FloridaPTA is holding a statewide candlelight vigil on Monday for Parkland school tragedy victims. There are seven locations in Broward and Miami-Dade for the 7 p.m. event. Details: https://t.co/SkKjXxHPnb pic.twitter.com/ajE1EMxYPs -- NBC 6 South Florida ( @nbc6 ) February 19, 2018 207 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 3:50:07pm down 5 up report Dug into this one a bit more. For bringing a rifle to the HS parking lot a day or so after Parkland, our local hero got school discipline. Houston County student facing school discipline for rifle found in vehicle "Valenza said authorities did not charge the student with a crime because the investigation did not tie any malicious act or threat to the incident." Sheriff Valenza is running for re-election. Some of the replies are hilarious: "He's innnnnnnn trouble. He modified his gun." 209 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 3:51:58pm down 10 up report re: #156 Ace-o-aces They are in a country that has a well regulated militia, where military crises means that they're called to service at a moment's notice, and there is strict gun control so that those weapons are for when they're in uniform. And look, they're all in uniform. That's as if we took a photo of a bunch of Marines in uniform and thought that was how we should have gun control (ignoring that military bases strictly regulate where/how servicemembers can and do use their weapons). 210 Scout Feb 19, 2018 * 3:52:06pm down 20 up report Hi folks, I know this isn't even a blip on the national radar, but this story has been developing in Everett, Washington. The only reason I'm aware of it is that Everett is the main city in my home county in the U.S. and I still keep up on the news there, at least a little bit. 211 austin_blue Feb 19, 2018 * 3:52:51pm down 6 up report re: #191 KGxvi Call it a Second Amendment Tax Credit CUZ MURRRRKA! and the GOP will sign on before they realize what it actually does. Why not make it a Federal Felony (one year minimum + a $10,000 fine) to own, trade, sell, transport, or possess any clip or magazine that can hold more than eight rounds. One year from date of passage to turn in your hi-cap bullet holders at any licensed gun dealer for a new 8-round replacement. Feds pay out the price differential. You get to keep all your guns! You can rent hi-cap mags from licensed shooting ranges if you want to get your jollies out, but in your house? Sorry, Charlie. 212 Dave In Austin Feb 19, 2018 * 3:52:58pm down 1 up report Murmuration........ That's what it's called. 213 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 3:54:15pm down 5 up report Busting the Russian Facebook Ad Hoax=> Russians Spent Total of $3,111 in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania During Election https://t.co/taNxrqJ1uA Again Hoft spews Russian agitprop by ignoring that tweets and Facebook posts are free. He knowingly spread Russian misinformation to boost Trump. https://t.co/jinHlrshzW 214 Sea Mexican! Feb 19, 2018 * 3:54:37pm down 2 up report re: #44 Skip Intro I'd need to see the pictures before I believe that. I don't need proof of Trump's ... err ... You mean the woman's boobs? Oh thank God! 215 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 3:56:35pm down 8 up report When did the right-wing propagandists go so nuts that they started running interference for an enemy power? 216 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 3:57:43pm down 15 up report re: #215 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis [Embedded content] About the time a black man ran for President and won. After that, they literally became the America-hating party, because they'd rather see a White Russian in the White House than a black American. 217 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 3:58:51pm down 11 up report re: #156 Ace-o-aces They also live in a country with MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE. 218 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 3:59:19pm down 4 up report Photos=> Student School Massacre Survivors and CBS Reporter Party Like Rock Stars https://t.co/Y4Kt5tOg3w 219 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 3:59:25pm down 3 up report re: #217 Ace Rothstein They also live in a country with MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE. Including those women. 220 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:01:10pm down 9 up report I have to wonder what will be rock-bottom for Jim Hoft? Nothing seems to be too low for this sleazy propagandist to go. 221 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 4:01:29pm down 5 up report Hi folks, I know this isn't even a blip on the national radar, but this story has been developing in Everett, Washington. The only reason I'm aware of it is that Everett is the main city in my home county in the U.S. and I still keep up on the news there, at least a little bit. Heard it on NPR yesterday. Caught my ear 'cause I used to live there. There's no Homish like Snohomish! 222 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 4:01:46pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] was it a Studio 54 theme rock star party? 223 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:02:50pm down 3 up report There it is: Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit website is going after David Hogg, a student who survived the Majory Stoneman Douglas school shooting who has been appearing on TV to speak out against gun violence pic.twitter.com/DcfNL4uHuB -- Timothy Johnson ( @timothywjohnson ) February 19, 2018 -- Jim Hoft Sucks the Big One ( @inthesedeserts ) February 19, 2018 More tolerance from the left: https://t.co/OvtMPdoCn3 You should do it twice and with a rusty chainsaw, sideways. 224 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:04:55pm down 3 up report There is a whole shit pile of this stuff on his twitter EXPOSED: Whaddya know! Parkland School Shooting Surviver Turned Activist David Hogg's Father is FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines. #MAGA #GunReformNow VIDEO https://t.co/DuweljNUlU pic.twitter.com/XrlYszUqtJ 225 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:02pm down 10 up report New! Fake news story says shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas was "immersed in Islamic and leftwing hate." Pants on Fire! pic.twitter.com/uA1FGKO8ZT 226 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:13pm down 8 up report [Embedded content] The line they're crossing is actually a moat. And it's filled with man-eating alligators. And they're hangry alligators. These righties are going to learn an interesting lesson at the hands of children, no less. 227 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:33pm down 2 up report re: #218 gocart mozart Most replies call him out. One calls the kids "crisis actors", and one inverts reality and claims the kids are being manipulated. 228 Scout Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:38pm down 5 up report Heard it on NPR yesterday. Caught my ear 'cause I used to live there. There's no Homish like Snohomish! My parents -- 90 and 94, bless them -- live in Marysville. 229 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:06:45pm down 3 up report Assumes facts not in evidence (I want to hope you're right) Most won't. 27% will. 230 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:08:24pm down 8 up report re: #223 gocart mozart Unlike the bigoted right, the left is tolerant of good people who are different. Also unlike the right, the left are intolerant of scumbags. You come across as a deeply-dishonest scumbag propagandist with no moral compass. 231 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 4:08:42pm down 3 up report re: #224 gocart mozart There is a whole shit pile of this stuff on his twitter [Embedded content] I'm not sure how I accomplished this, maybe by telling the truth, but I'm blocked. 232 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:09:33pm down 1 up report 233 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:10:52pm down 4 up report re: #225 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] I'm honestly shocked that none of my right wing aquatintences have tried to push that one given some of the stuff I've seeb pushed. 234 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:11:22pm down 4 up report EXPOSED: School Shooting Surviver Turned Activist David Hogg's Father in FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines [VIDEO] https://t.co/z2T0LgmyQ9 -- Jim Hoft ( @gatewaypundit ) February 19, 2018 We're attacking survivors of school shootings now? https://t.co/YYA6r1l2Cl This comment is like an idiocy event horizon https://t.co/QJxtgcb4Ri Frank Luntz called Hoft out for attacking a shooting survivor so dumbass says Luntz is a girly man who was turned gay for drinking soy milk like those frogs Alex Jones talks about. Feel free to point out if I mistated anything. Unlike Hoft, I try to be factual. 235 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:12:19pm down 12 up report I saw this girl hesitantly dancing on the baseline and told her go show these dudes wassup and join in and she KILLED THIS SHIT pic.twitter.com/fDhpP66IrU 236 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 4:13:15pm down 9 up report I wrote this comment on Friday to a Tweet Charles had made. Charles had stated: Charles Johnson @Green_Footballs Something tells me the Trumpanzees are going to be even more dim-witted and deliberately obtuse than usual today. 2:25 PM - Feb 16, 2018 My comment, which we are seeing some of occuring with the wingnuts was: This is like the scene in The Exorcist, where the two priests are deep into the Catholic exorcism and little cute Regan is now a vomit spewing, head turning, body levitating, false image of reality demon trying to remain in control (of the Fox news and wingnut narrative) body. It will be messy...but you gotta keep the faith! The kids are beginning the exorcism rights and the demons are throwing objects and making strange sounds. It will get worse. 237 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:14:12pm down 8 up report re: #220 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis I'm thinking his rock-bottom will come in the form of a judgement - with numerous zeros at the end. And will likely result in his bankruptcy. 238 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:19:39pm down 21 up report David Hogg's dad served in the FBI, and Dim Jim Hoft lies for a living. You decide. 239 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:21:12pm down 8 up report 16. Ben Shapiro 17. Eric Bolling 18. Sebastian Gorka 19. Judge Jeanine Pirro https://t.co/7k6z12Q5we You left off 20. Chuck Johnson 21. Roy Moore 22. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen 23. Randall Flagg 240 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:22:01pm down 11 up report Yep I'm seeing the attacks slowly start as condescending that the kids are being used. They know what happened. They saw what we did after Sandy Hook, a bunch of fake pious right wing assholes claim concern about mental health and then stigmatize those with mental health issues by portraying them as violence prone and cutting MH services whenever they could so their fat cat asshole benefactors could get another tax cut. 241 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:22:04pm down 5 up report I'm proud of these students. 242 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 4:22:20pm down 5 up report SO SORRY: @Fergie apologizes for her rendition of the national anthem at #NBAAllStar after fierce criticism, says she's a 'risk taker' who was trying something different https://t.co/Xr4ZIeUrLm 243 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:23:52pm down 5 up report I'm proud of these students. I am too. This is their country as much as it is the gun humpers. 244 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:24:08pm down 1 up report A clown show. 245 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:24:18pm down 13 up report Over a million kids a year are turning eighteen and they hate Trump and the Republicans with a passion. They are informed, and they are pissed, and they will VOTE. 246 Barefoot Grin Feb 19, 2018 * 4:25:46pm down 21 up report Just saw a couple of MS Douglas HS students on PBS News Hour. One, originally from England, made the point that a school with fences and men carrying guns around isn't a school, it's a prison--"not conducive to education." Such smart young people. 247 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:26:26pm down 2 up report re: #246 Barefoot Grin Just saw a couple of MS Douglas HS students on PBS News Hour. One, originally from England, made the point that a school with fences and men carrying guns around isn't a school, it's a prison--"not conducive to education." Such smart young people. Exactly. 248 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:26:59pm down 7 up report Now anyone with a clue consumes too much soy? Do you ever wonder if you're a kook? No, but people in the White House seem to be glad that this distracted from their criminal scandals. You seem to have substituted propaganda for news. No, and why would you add an idiot propagandist like Tucker Carlson to your Tweet? 249 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:28:28pm down 4 up report re: #248 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis [Embedded content] Maybe if this asshole experienced what these kids had, they wouldn't worship guns. The 2nd isn't absolute. How fucking hard is this? 250 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:30:27pm down 12 up report I'll say it here. I hate our gun culture. I hate the NRA. I hate the equating masculinity with firearms ownership and usage. I hate pedantic bullshit directed towards non gun owners. I hate reading about some asshole with a gun firing on innocent people. 251 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:31:15pm down 11 up report This is Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit, who just published an attack on the Stoneman Douglas kids. He is the dumbest man on the internet and I would appreciate if you shared this with the world. https://t.co/XATxQZMcef #GunReformNow 252 austin_blue Feb 19, 2018 * 4:35:09pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] That's one hell of a minyan... 253 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:36:12pm down 6 up report If Trump went on a mass pardon spree, there will be riots. 254 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:36:44pm down 2 up report When is this town hall thing on CNN? Anyone remember? 255 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 4:39:30pm down 1 up report [Embedded content] So what does "protesting the First Amendment also " even mean? I'm guessing it's wingnut code for "pushing back against mendacious right-wing propaganda"?? RLY, how dare they??? 256 allegro Feb 19, 2018 * 4:40:11pm down 3 up report When is this town hall thing on CNN? Anyone remember? Wed 9PM Eastern 257 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 4:40:39pm down 13 up report re: #246 Barefoot Grin Just saw a couple of MS Douglas HS students on PBS News Hour. One, originally from England, made the point that a school with fences and men carrying guns around isn't a school, it's a prison--"not conducive to education." Such smart young people. As soon as some of the students started to speak to the media I commented they seemed to have gotten a good education at their school. You could tell by how well spoken they were...all of them. Their answers were sharp and quick, no stammering or "you know" type words. Now with them getting political and organizing, I am wondering about their history, civics and government departments and their education methods. I'm thinking they get more of it and it is treated better than many other schools. Maybe a model education for today's students. And I am thinking there are some very proud teachers behind these kids. I know I would be if they were my students. 258 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:40:55pm down 6 up report re: #255 Jay C So what does "protesting the First Amendment also " even mean? I'm guessing it's wingnut code for "pushing back against mendacious right-wing propaganda"?? RLY, how dare they??? Yep that's exactly what it means. You're anti 1st amendment if you don't allow Milo, Lucian, Shapiro, & the other wingnut misfit toys to insult people on your campus. 259 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:41:05pm down 8 up report re: #255 Jay C So what does "protesting the First Amendment also " even mean? I'm guessing it's wingnut code for "pushing back against mendacious right-wing propaganda"?? RLY, how dare they??? They think "the Left" is taking away Conservatives 1st amendment rights by denying Nazis platforms at colleges. 260 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:42:07pm down 3 up report re: #259 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis They think "the Left" is taking away Conservatives 1st amendment rights by denying Nazis platforms at colleges. Meanwhile conservatives want to paint everyone with a left of center economic worldview as wanting DPNK. 261 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:42:45pm down 3 up report When is this town hall thing on CNN? Anyone remember? Wednesday at 9 EST. [Embedded content] Imagine my surprise when I looked at the source of this "Pants on Fire" lie and discovered it was because Pamela Geller switched from heavy drinking and went straight to huffing paint thinner. 263 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 4:47:26pm down 5 up report re: #262 Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos Imagine my surprise when I looked at the source of this "Pants on Fire" lie and discovered it was because Pamela Geller switched from heavy drinking and went straight to huffing paint thinner. Wow, there's a name I (thankfully) haven't heard for a while. 264 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:47:41pm down 5 up report re: #262 Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos I figured that hag had already died from liver failure. 265 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:50:40pm down 3 up report 266 Amory Blaine Feb 19, 2018 * 4:52:53pm down 5 up report I'm seriously thinking about joining Twitter specifically to threaten the safety of conservatives. 267 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:54:24pm down 8 up report 268 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:57:25pm down 7 up report Dim Jim, the dumbest blogger, has always been the bottom of the far-right propaganda swamp, and his readers are even dumber than he is. 269 Amory Blaine Feb 19, 2018 * 4:58:32pm down 6 up report Don't forget to vote tomorrow. We have a SC seat in Wisconsin up. 270 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:59:28pm down 2 up report re: #269 Amory Blaine Don't forget to vote tomorrow. We have a SC seat in Wisconsin up. 271 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 5:00:36pm down 5 up report Critics: "America is already horny." pic.twitter.com/q3twMb5yST 273 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:04:07pm down 6 up report [Embedded content] Old fat fucks like Limbaugh forget what it's like to be young, have energy, and care about shit other than money. 275 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:03pm down 9 up report This asshole has been morally bankrupt for decades, and was part of what drove the American-right insane. Attacking kids who survived a mass-shooting is about what I'd expect from him. 276 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:23pm down 6 up report re: #273 gocart mozart [Embedded content] And the NRA isn't political? FO Rush. These kids have every right to speak out despite what bloated fucks like you say. 277 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:34pm down 8 up report re: #274 Blind Frog Belly White Old fat fucks like Limbaugh forget what it's like to be young, have energy, and care about shit other than money. He can't forget something he never was. Rush was born an asshole and ran with it. 278 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:57pm down 5 up report [Embedded content] He's never had a moment in public life where he's acted like a decent person. 279 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 5:07:41pm down 4 up report re: #274 Blind Frog Belly White Old fat fucks like Limbaugh forget what it's like to be young, have energy, and care about shit other than money. Naaah, Limbaugh and his type were born as old fat fucks: they just lucked into jobs where that was a feature, not a bug.... 280 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 5:10:05pm down 3 up report Of course it's political. I like how it shouldn't be politicized by the people who politicized Clinton's adultery. 281 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:10:37pm down 7 up report So now Kellyanne has magically become an "Honorable". Just like Omarosa or whatever her stupid name is. 282 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:15:18pm down 2 up report They are actors. Here's them taking a selfie prepping with the crew before the "interviews". pic.twitter.com/MN8o2Ht0rj 283 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:16:02pm down 5 up report Dear women When men have sex with you,they deposit some of their personality in you through their discharge. Having multiple men discharge into you negatively affects your psyche and personality. God designed women to be recipients of only their husband's discharge #RenosNuggets We have a Poe's Law situation here https://t.co/bYkY0ztn43 Wingnuts are attacking shooting survivors for not shutting up and following the NRA approved script for after a mass shooting. They're calling the kids "crisis actors" and calling them fakes. Please, do make this shit go viral. #ParklandStrong https://t.co/PwRP8CwiUx 285 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:29:22pm down 9 up report I see you're scared of these kids. Good. Go crawl back under your rock. 286 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:30:27pm down 7 up report It is our job to give them a safe space to grieve and to fight for their future. We owe them that. 287 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:33:33pm down 6 up report I'm hearing reports, from a source who prefers not to be named, that over the course of the last several weeks both Melania and Baron Trump have been staying with Melania's parents in Potomac. There has been a massive secret service presence at their home. Melania is through?? 288 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 5:36:19pm down 6 up report re: #287 gocart mozart Who wouldn't be? He shamed himself and her by running around with, and having unprotected sex with, tramps while she was taking care of their baby. I hope she takes him for every penny he has. 289 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 5:40:34pm down 4 up report Everything this animal touches dies. 290 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:41:11pm down 4 up report Except himself and his godawful family. 291 Amory Blaine Feb 19, 2018 * 5:41:59pm down 10 up report re: #273 gocart mozart Here's the thing, if they can't pummel the students into silence, then the next inevitable massacre of children will allow the joining of forces which will make it harder for conservatives to battle. IOW I believe a full out assault on the students is coming, the possible damage to the conservatives is preferable to a collapse of the movement. 292 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:42:26pm down 2 up report "Thursday is deadline day in Pennsylvania's high-stakes gerrymandering case for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and others to submit maps of new congressional district boundaries that they want the state Supreme Court to adopt for this year's election." ... "Republican lawmakers say they will swiftly ask federal judges to block a new map, and contend that the Democratic-majority court had no power to invalidate the congressional boundaries or draw new ones." What the asshole Pennsylvania Republicans forget is that the PA Supreme Court redrew all the districts in 1963 to comply with the Baker v. Carr US Supreme Court decision (One Man One Vote decision)! 293 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 5:42:35pm down 12 up report re: #290 Skip Intro He's a failure as a husband, a failure as a parent, a failure in business, a failure as President, a failure as a man. 294 Patricia Kayden Feb 19, 2018 * 5:45:43pm down 2 up report re: #151 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Watching that now. So cute!! A nice breather from all of Trump's awfulness. 295 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 5:47:29pm down 10 up report You're disgusting, and eventually your garbage blog is going to get shut down when one of the people you smear wins a massive lawsuit against you. 296 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:52:07pm down 7 up report [Embedded content] I hope that father sues SMOTI and sticks that prick with another lawsuit! 297 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 5:56:29pm down 15 up report Retweeted Welcome To Nature ( @welcomet0nature ): Snow curling off a roof :o pic.twitter.com/duoXOXDzTt https://t.co/LCH6LN9u56 298 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 5:56:41pm down 13 up report The federal government is in the hands of villains and far right extremists and greedy criminals, and they're empowering the worst people in America, people like Jim Hoft. 299 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 5:57:23pm down 8 up report . @AndersonCooper : President Trump went on a Twitter rampage over the weekend. He said a lot of things that simply are not true. #KeepingThemHonest , these Tweets reveal a lot about the most powerful man in the world and his priorities, and, some would argue, his humanity. pic.twitter.com/z0fqvy6rCG 300 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:57:42pm down 9 up report re: #293 Ace Rothstein He's a failure as a husband, a failure as a parent, a failure in business, a failure as President, a failure as a man. Not if you ask him. I have little sympathy for Melon, but if she does file for divorce the attacks by Trump's goons will hit a new level of awfulness. 301 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 5:57:50pm down 4 up report He has no humanity. 302 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 6:00:28pm down 14 up report Ask not for whom the bot trolls; it trolls for Trump. 303 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 6:00:33pm down 3 up report Not if you ask him. I have little sympathy for Melon, but if she does file for divorce the attacks by Trump's goons will hit a new level of awfulness. She gets my sympathy for being a spouse that was cheated on. That's tempered by the fact that this isn't the first time. 304 Dave In Austin Feb 19, 2018 * 6:01:25pm down 7 up report Of course that's what she did to the previous spouse. 306 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 6:03:17pm down 10 up report She gets my sympathy for being a spouse that was cheated on. That's tempered by the fact that this isn't the first time. Nope. She got there taking the same path. No sympathy for her. At all. 307 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:03:25pm down 22 up report 308 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 6:04:50pm down 6 up report [Embedded content] Good. Hammer the douchecanoe. Tell Fuckface von Clownstick that we aren't putting up with his self-centered bullshit anymore. 309 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 6:09:56pm down 15 up report 1/2 Donald Trump has done his best to co-opt the term "fake news," but the simple fact is that the vast majority of truly fake news is streaming out of the right wing like a firehose. Fox News, Sinclair, Newsmax, and the entire right wing blogosphere are engaged in a ... 2/2 deliberate effort to destroy the very idea of objective reality, and make it impossible for their followers to think for themselves. It may be the largest insidious propaganda campaign in history. 310 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:10:44pm down 6 up report on arming teachers - whatever the method - ie ccw so on the hip, locked in a box somewhere, whatever what kind of gun? handgun? ar-15? shotgun? probably handgun id guess bad guy sneaks into school with an ar-15 and starts shooting. now thanks to the video from last week we know what that sounds like these teachers will have had a basic gun safety course they might even have had some sort of "here's what you do if" training it will not be police, swat or army training (sir) recurrent? who knows they will likely not be trained under hostile 'enemy' fire pointed at them these people will not be heroes no one with whatever training these teachers have is going to run towards that. 311 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:11:17pm down 3 up report re: #307 Stanley Sea I thought Trump was told not to play golf? Was having him on Twitter so bad that they let him bring shame into himself by golfing during the funerals just to get him off of Twitter? 312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 6:12:05pm down 7 up report I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario: A kid, knowing that the teachers are armed, manages to get the teacher's gun and shoots him/her and the rest of the class. Then, of course, we'd have to arm all the students, because more guns is always the answer. 313 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:12:30pm down 11 up report 314 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:14:18pm down 8 up report re: #312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario: A kid, knowing that the teachers are armed, manages to get the teacher's gun and shoots him/her and the rest of the class. Then, of course, we'd have to arm all the students, because more guns is always the answer. Wingnuts want our schools to be war zones. This is what comes of refusing to try to solve the problem by getting rid of the weapons of war that are in civilian hands. All they're left with are crazy "solutions". 315 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:15:10pm down 16 up report Serious ?: what does the @GOP stand for? It used to be business; but no more (I'm happy to hash out w/ ANY of you, I have an Ivy degree in econ and was co-head of a trading floor at MS in my 30s). All I can see from here is racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny and RUSSIA! 316 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:16:47pm down 4 up report im doing an audit this week that's 90 miles from my office so 2 hr am and pm drives that's why im listening to the radio i heard an interview on the way home tonight the dad of the house where cruz is / was living before last week apparently they did try to do a lot for the kid now im not certain, - only mostly certain he said two things: 1 - absolutely nothing inappropriate about cruz having an ar-15 (he's 19 and it's legal he wants you to know) 2 - the kicker: "it was (or was supposed) to be locked up in my gun safe/cabinet and i thought i had the only key" i want to know legally whose gun was it and who was responsible for keeping it controlled and secure IF this is true, take dad's guns, no more 2a rights, throw him in jail, and everyone affected ought to sue him into financial oblivion the interviewer didnt touch the comment 317 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:16:55pm down 4 up report Fox News to Launch a Standalone Streaming Service for 'Superfans' By End of Year https://t.co/ulsnROeyXY -- Michael M. Grynbaum ( @grynbaum ) February 20, 2018 As BuzzFeed News reported in December, the service will likely be a few dollars a month designed for Fox News diehards (this is the digital product Tomi Lahren was hired for) https://t.co/xipSNJnOa3 https://t.co/5IDEVAk1KH 318 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:16:57pm down 2 up report re: #311 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis I thought Trump was told not to play golf? Was having him on Twitter so bad that they let him bring shame into himself by golfing during the funerals just to get him off of Twitter? He golfed today. Your theory rings true. 319 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:17:39pm down 14 up report re: #312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. The much, much simpler worse case scenario is: teacher shoots agitated student to "defend" class. Because part and parcel of the "arm the teachers" concept is the exact same bar that's been lowered by 'stand your ground" and "right to brandish" legislation: changing the legal and social norms of when lethal force can be applied. Now fit that together with a broader picture of whose deaths get excused as necessary, or at least justifiable, and you begin to get a picture of what we're headed for. 320 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 6:17:44pm down 3 up report I bet my dad replaces his NFL Sunday Ticket with this. 321 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:18:18pm down 6 up report "Will focus primarily on right leaning commentary." What a shock. The cheapest substance known to man. 322 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:20:22pm down 5 up report "Will focus primarily on right leaning commentary." What a shock. The cheapest substance known to man. Bathtub meth of the masses. 323 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 6:20:33pm down 5 up report on arming teachers - whatever the method - ie ccw so on the hip, locked in a box somewhere, whatever what kind of gun? handgun? ar-15? shotgun? probably handgun id guess bad guy sneaks into school with an ar-15 and starts shooting. now thanks to the video from last week we know what that sounds like these teachers will have had a basic gun safety course they might even have had some sort of "here's what you do if" training it will not be police, swat or army training (sir) recurrent? who knows they will likely not be trained under hostile 'enemy' fire pointed at them these people will not be heroes no one with whatever training these teachers have is going to run towards that. Screw it. Every kid has to wear combat armor and a kevlar helmet. Teachers and staff too. With machine gun nests built into the ends of every hallway with back access to all the different nests throughout the school. Only security gets access to the security tunnels, stairs and halls behind the school walls on each end of the building. They also are equipped with hi-res cameras all through the building. Security central can be watching the whole school from a turret built above the main entrance. With small lethal drones that can navigate the halls and fire small round gunfire. We can beat this back I tell you. What's the harm? We just have to get real and think big. This is gol'damn America! We don't run from a problem. We go nuts. 324 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:22:15pm down 11 up report Think of the criminal coordination it took to get every member of the Trump campaign to lie in a massive cover up about 1 thing - the conspiracy w Russia This is called consciousness of guilt. It is evidence of criminal activity by Trump. #TrumpColluded pic.twitter.com/sYUAuKQHtd 325 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:24:26pm down 5 up report 327 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:28:12pm down 8 up report Enjoy the next twelve hours, before this shit gets picked up by Fox & Friends and then live-tweeted by the president of the United States. pic.twitter.com/GTVxMebqRq 328 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:31:18pm down 7 up report "pecial counsel Robert Mueller's interest in Jared Kushner has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition" https://t.co/yftZ8tcDWs 329 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 6:31:57pm down 2 up report re: #324 jaunte Think of the criminal coordination it took to get every member of the Trump campaign to lie in a massive cover up about 1 thing - the conspiracy w Russia This is called consciousness of guilt. It is evidence of criminal activity by Trump. #TrumpColluded This is called "Sunday Brunch" at the White House. 330 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:33:08pm down 4 up report They've been pandering to racists, bigots, and xenophobes since Nixon. The Democrats are a centrist, business-friendly party, and the Republicans are a party of bigoted resentment. They have been for most of my life, and I'm getting old. 331 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:33:21pm down 14 up report The only way to stop a bad guy with asbestos is a good guy with asbestos If you ban asbestos, building contractors would just find another way to kill occupants with carcinogenic insulation The problem isn't asbestos, it's mental health We need to put asbestos in every school 332 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:34:34pm down 2 up report . @MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch , and has my full support and endorsement! 333 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 6:35:43pm down 13 up report After all the arguments about the folly of arming teachers/janitors/casual bystanders, the people who have the final decision will be each school district's insurance carriers. 334 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 6:36:32pm down 5 up report yep...still a moron... The U.S. economy is looking very good, in my opinion, even better than anticipated. Companies are pouring back into our country, reversing the long term trend of leaving. The unemployment numbers are looking great, and Regulations & Taxes have been massively Cut! JOBS, JOBS, JOBS -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 335 Dave In Austin Feb 19, 2018 * 6:36:45pm down 12 up report I keep it in several forms on my desk. At school. Come at me. pic.twitter.com/kvcCWoLlO3 336 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:36:52pm down 5 up report 337 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 6:37:00pm down 8 up report We need to put asbestos in every school Tried that, up through the 70s. 338 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:37:47pm down 4 up report 339 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 6:38:26pm down 11 up report The U.S. economy is looking very good, in my opinion, even better than anticipated. Companies are pouring back into our country, reversing the long term trend of leaving. The unemployment numbers are looking great, and Regulations & Taxes have been massively Cut! JOBS, JOBS, JOBS -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 Could President Racist Grandpa possibly be any more pathetic and needy? https://t.co/SbWWrNHxSa 340 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:39:26pm down 5 up report re: #333 Decatur Deb After all the arguments about the folly of arming teachers/janitors/casual bystanders, the people who have the final decision will be each school district's insurance carriers. The only reasonable answer is a doomsday weapon under every school. If someone attacks, the weapon is triggered and the attack ends in a small mushroom cloud. It's the only way to be sure to stop shootings. /I'll be running for the Libertarian nomination in 2020. 341 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 6:40:23pm down 8 up report I've got an ever so slight fever. My normal body temp is 98.0F. It's running about 99.7, and has been running that for about an hour. After waiting to see what it would do, I just took some Alieve to bring it down. Now I have to decide what to do tomorrow. 342 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:40:39pm down 6 up report re: #312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario: A kid, knowing that the teachers are armed, manages to get the teacher's gun and shoots him/her and the rest of the class. Then, of course, we'd have to arm all the students, because more guns is always the answer. Some Florida State Rep was talking about lock boxes. So you gotta run to wherever to get the gun first The army has to train and drill it into you to run into incoming fire A lot of soldiers still don't when the time comes These folks won't And they'll likely be outgunned 343 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:40:43pm down 5 up report 344 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:41:07pm down 9 up report Lets focus in the problem of weapons of war in the hands of unstable civilians, so we can keep our kids alive, before we start patting ourselves on the back. 345 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:41:42pm down 1 up report re: #340 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Thrifty way to use the Davy Crockett ammo surplus. 346 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 6:42:30pm down 3 up report re: #294 Patricia Kayden Watching that now. So cute!! A nice breather from all of Trump's awfulness. the snorers now...I'm dying. 347 teleskiguy Feb 19, 2018 * 6:42:44pm down 1 up report -- Charlie Vogel, aka His Teleness the Charlie Lama ( @teleskiguy ) February 20, 2018 348 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:42:57pm down 11 up report Asked on supporter call tonight about Florida shooting aftermath, @GregAbbott_TX plugged Texas School Safety Center, discussed need to address "mental health component" and drew parallel to #SutherlandSprings , say they could've been prevented if government had not made mistakes. pic.twitter.com/AIYeaZNYPm 349 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 6:43:49pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] Isn't this tweet a repeat of one he's already put out? It seems word-for-word familiar somehow. I must say, stupid inane garbage as most of Trump's Twitter defecations have been, til now, repetition is about the one fault they haven't suffered from. 350 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:44:24pm down 4 up report I better get to bed, and off of Twitter. I've been begging for a timeout speaking truth to Trump stooges all afternoon. Night all. 351 Patricia Kayden Feb 19, 2018 * 6:45:28pm down 3 up report the snorers now...I'm dying. I'm rooting for the Boxer because I'm biased and have two. 352 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 6:45:28pm down 5 up report Genuine Texas gubernatorial gibberish. 353 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:50:18pm down 1 up report Genuine Texas gubernatorial gibberish. I think the answer sadly is none 354 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:52:23pm down 8 up report He's bullshitting and pretending the burden is on law enforcement without giving them anything to enforce. 355 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 6:54:38pm down 3 up report re: #351 Patricia Kayden I'm rooting for the Boxer because I'm biased and have two. Colonel the Boxer was great; we were rooting for Peaches. 356 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:59:46pm down 1 up report What exact law could they have used re cruz? I think the answer sadly is none Well, since after the tip in Jan the Feds had assessed Cruz as a "potential threat to life", if they had alerted the local field office I would assume they would have crawled about six feet up his colon looking for a reason to arrest him 357 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:04:22pm down 22 up report Standing in line for #BlackPanther with my mom and she's reminiscing about having to enter the theater through the back and having to sit in the balcony because this is the South. My mom is only 64. 358 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 7:11:03pm down 9 up report Here's Ted Cruz doing the blame enforcement two step on the Sutherland shooting: "...Cruz said on Fox that a lack of reporting of federal and state records to the background check system was a problem. But his legislation did not seem to make this easier. The amendment eliminated sanctions for states that failed to submit records and lowered the cap on grant money to help states submit them from $100 million to $20 million. The original bill from then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would have expanded background checks on purchases from only federally licensed gun dealers to all transfers, even private ones among family members, with few exceptions. But the Grassley-Cruz amendment chucked the expansion of background checks and even allowed for the interstate sale and transportation of firearms." expressnews.com 359 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 7:13:09pm down 17 up report In case you missed it, Mitt Romney is EVERY BIT as bad as Donald Trump, but a lot slicker and better at hiding it. He's the Ur-Trump who's been waiting in the wings for his chance. 360 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:14:07pm down 21 up report If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah. 361 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:14:15pm down 18 up report Amazing what a difference 102 weeks make. If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah. 362 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:15:28pm down 3 up report re: #360 gocart mozart If I hadn't been composing witty banter I would have beat you... 363 Frenchy Feb 19, 2018 * 7:15:48pm down 1 up report "The Faith of Donald Trump," a book just out by David Brody and Scott Lamb, is a very interesting read. Enjoy! -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 365 allegro Feb 19, 2018 * 7:16:51pm down 10 up report [Embedded content] In Enid OK in the 50s and early 60s when I was a little kid there the town had 3 theaters. We could go to 2 of them, never the third. No one ever said why and when questioned about it just changed the subject. Took me years to snap to the answer. (Hint: the 5 and 10 still had separate water fountains.) 366 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 7:17:44pm down 3 up report 368 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:17:57pm down 6 up report [Embedded content] "It's a very interesting read! Not that I am able to read, but someone read me the back cover. Did you know I have a lot of religious faith? I didn't know either! So interesting to learn new things!" 369 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:19:40pm down 9 up report And now, a reminder: Trump has said Romney "choked like a dog," "blew it" in 2016," is "a mixed up man who doesn't have a clue," "has no guts," is "a total joke and everybody know it,""one of the dumbest and worst candidates" & "bad messenger" and so on: https://t.co/lp5DfHjBTp 370 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 7:20:18pm down 3 up report re: #359 Charles Johnson It's the difference between syphilis with the obvious skin lesions and syphilis where it's already eating you brain and nervous system. 371 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:20:43pm down 7 up report Perhaps he forgot, so I reminded him. If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement 373 The Major Feb 19, 2018 * 7:22:14pm down 10 up report My cat bites, but he meows and likes children, and nibbles a person when he's happy. I've been by the house where his suspected brother lives 3 times now, and now I'm sure it's his brother, because he grabbed my hand with paws and teeth when I scritched him last time. I may be facing a similar fate with my mother's Scottie Emma - she developed a bunch of benign tumors around her mouth, and it has gotten real bad lately. We'll know in a few days. 374 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 7:22:33pm down 3 up report I hope the word 'pathetic' becomes the defining word of Trump's presidency when history is documented in the future. 375 Frenchy Feb 19, 2018 * 7:23:19pm down 5 up report Seriously any credit I ever gave Romney for coming out against Trump during the campaign (and it did elevate him a little bit in my eyes at the time), I take it all back. Since Trump shocked the world and won he's become as obsequious as all the rest. Fuck him. 376 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:23:53pm down 12 up report I just applied for a job I probably shouldn't have bothered with. No direct applicable experience aside from hobbyist interest. Located a long, long way from the rest of my family in a very expensive corner of the country. I doubt they'll be interested in me. On the other hand, writing for Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch game would sure be cool, and much better than sweeping floors at the local Shopko. 377 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:25:19pm down 5 up report damn it, can't you damn people let us sleep on the east coast? BIG news dropping in about 20 mins or less 378 Patricia Kayden Feb 19, 2018 * 7:26:14pm down 3 up report "The Faith of Donald Trump in Donald Trump" is the long form title. 379 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 7:26:16pm down 3 up report re: #376 scottslemmons I've also heard that Blizzard is actually somewhat decent to work for, unlike many video game companies. Not sure if I should offer you good luck or just tell you how jealous I am. 380 FlowerPower Feb 19, 2018 * 7:26:33pm down 4 up report re: #293 Ace Rothstein He's a failure as a husband, a failure as a parent, a failure in business, a failure as President, a failure as a man. Hopefully that will be etched on his tombstone. 381 calochortus Feb 19, 2018 * 7:27:32pm down 1 up report Hopefully that will be etched on his tombstone. So that it can be chiseled off, along with his name? 382 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:22pm down 3 up report re: #379 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. I've also heard that Blizzard is actually somewhat decent to work for, unlike many video game companies. Not sure if I should offer you good luck or just tell you how jealous I am. I'm not sure I'd bother with wishing me any luck. I've never worked at a game company -- the closest I've gotten was having the Best Interview Of My Life with NCSoft in Austin a decade ago when I was up for a writing job for the late lamented "City of Heroes." A company like Blizzard will likely get industry heavy-hitters sending applications -- mine will be at the bottom of the stack. 383 goddamnedfrank Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:24pm down 7 up report ThAnK YoU mR. pREsiDeNt FoR tHe SuPpORt. pic.twitter.com/hgJ9uUoset 384 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:32pm down 15 up report If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement Mitt Romney two years ago. Trump hasn't changed since then- he's only gotten WORSE. What changed with Mitt Romney - besides the possibility of gaining political power? https://t.co/1Dbzy38yxz 385 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:41pm down 7 up report There have been a number of studies and simulations on civilian concealed carry response to active shooters in crowd situations. All that I have seen have shown that the first shooter tends to win a shoot out. (Guy with the initiative. Invariably the bad guy.) Here is one example: Proof that Concealed Carry permit holders live in a dream world In real life, iirc there was a guy with a concealed J-Frame (ie snubnose revolver) who tried to stop a guy with an ak, down in Texas. The civilian died. 386 The Major Feb 19, 2018 * 7:31:39pm down 12 up report re: #181 Backwoods_Sleuth 387 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 7:32:35pm down 3 up report re: #384 Charles Johnson Patent medicine salesmen selling different products will say anything to slag the competition. But when they start touting the same tonic.... 388 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:34:35pm down 20 up report Also didnt know until tonight that @seanhannity is still pushing this crazy Uranium One story. If the deal was so bad, why hasn't Trump reversed it? Been in power now for 13 months. Sean, you have an answer? 389 William Lewis Feb 19, 2018 * 7:35:53pm down 4 up report re: #376 scottslemmons I just applied for a job I probably shouldn't have bothered with. No direct applicable experience aside from hobbyist interest. Located a long, long way from the rest of my family in a very expensive corner of the country. I doubt they'll be interested in me. On the other hand, writing for Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch game would sure be cool, and much better than sweeping floors at the local Shopko. Blizard's ok. Overwatch though, that's a seriously toxic gamer community. My 16 year old moved on to other games because the community was too toxic for him to tolerate. Good luck. 390 The Major Feb 19, 2018 * 7:36:57pm down 2 up report re: #215 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis @gatewaypundit is such a bald faced lair he couldn't find the truth if it walked up and bit hium on his pecker... pic.twitter.com/p5tJqi4OPE 391 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:38:03pm down 21 up report Trump Jr. to give foreign policy speech while on "unofficial" business trip to India https://t.co/N9acursYhe Imagine if Chelsea Clinton was paid to give a foreign policy speech while Hillary Clinton was president... https://t.co/YdLwzxUFg5 My imagination doesn't stretch this far: https://t.co/bhoWSaiadz Oh Mitt. . @MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch , and has my full support and endorsement! -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 Still remember covering Trump's rally in Salt Lake City before the Utah primary in '16 when he mocked Romney ("choked like a dog" by losing to Obama) and even questioned his faith: "Are you sure he's a Mormon, are we sure?" https://t.co/xB9yqCEfsN https://t.co/NbUzA28XXf 393 EPR-radar Feb 19, 2018 * 7:44:07pm down 3 up report re: #239 gocart mozart The only significant name missing from that CPAC list is His Nibs Himself, Satan. 394 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:44:07pm down 2 up report re: #389 William Lewis Blizard's ok. Overwatch though, that's a seriously toxic gamer community. My 16 year old moved on to other games because the community was too toxic for him to tolerate. Good luck. I never play the competitive or quick play Overwatch games -- too many people demanding everyone play the way they want and melting down when they don't get their way. And I mute the mics the minute anyone starts talking. I stick to the games against bots or sometimes the weird 500% insta-ult mystery matches, where no one gets to play the characters they prefer... 395 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 7:46:16pm down 6 up report re: #393 EPR-radar The management prefers to stay in the background. 396 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 7:47:42pm down 5 up report The U.S. economy is looking very good, in my opinion, even better than anticipated. Companies are pouring back into our country, reversing the long term trend of leaving. The unemployment numbers are looking great, and Regulations & Taxes have been massively Cut! JOBS, JOBS, JOBS -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 A close approximation of his drunk-and-falling-down-a flight-of-stairs style of 'writing,' but I'll put up Mitt Romney's $10,000 that Trump didn't write this. "Operation Reverse the Self-incrimination" https://t.co/7vZrAi0BkL 397 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 7:51:21pm down 10 up report NEW from me, @a_cormier_ and @TaniaKozyreva Manafort Under New Scrutiny For $40 Million In "Suspicious" Transactions -- a MUCH larger sum than was cited in his October indictment on money laundering charges. https://t.co/Xqybpon6HZ 398 EPR-radar Feb 19, 2018 * 7:51:44pm down 4 up report re: #319 The Ghost of a Flea The much, much simpler worse case scenario is: teacher shoots agitated student to "defend" class. Because part and parcel of the "arm the teachers" concept is the exact same bar that's been lowered by 'stand your ground" and "right to brandish" legislation: changing the legal and social norms of when lethal force can be applied. Now fit that together with a broader picture of whose deaths get excused as necessary, or at least justifiable, and you begin to get a picture of what we're headed for. I like to call it an NRA hellscape, where the only thing that will supposedly matter is the size of one's guns and ammo hoard. Selling this vision to increasingly swivel-eyed loons is how the US gun industry makes its domestic profits. 399 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:53:37pm down 10 up report Anyway tonight I saw a schnauzer wearing a yellow raincoat and a little headlamp around his neck so there is good in the world pic.twitter.com/ZekVIwOb3J 401 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 7:59:33pm down 5 up report . @MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch , and has my full support and endorsement! -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 Backstory: Trump tried to sideline Romney by convincing Orrin Hatch to run again: https://t.co/YDnVX62SsE https://t.co/WBH8B9JgN6 403 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 8:04:56pm down 8 up report

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Bloc Party - March 2, 2018 Last week we shared an overview of the history of Canadian prisons and the resistance to them. We're excited to share an interview with the authors of that history--two friends from Quebec and Ontario,... submedia.tv - March 1, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 27, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 26, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 26, 2018 What follows is a personal reflection on demonstrations in Durham, North Carolina following Unite the Right in Charlottesville. by Dwayne Dixon Durham, NC, has been a crucial locus for activist energy with a storied history...

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The past week in Trump Land has been a roller coaster of bizarre tales and absurd explanations. Most of which were provided by Donald Trump's newly minted lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. In a whirlwind tour of Fox News programs, Giuliani tried to offer justifications for Trump's web of lies related to his affair with Stormy Daniels and the subsequent hush money payoff to suppress news of the incident. But he only made things worse by blurting out admissions to potential criminal activity that hadn't been raised before. On Saturday night Giuliani resumed stumping for Trump with a visit to "Judge" Jeanine Pirro of Fox News. And true to form, he only succeeded in stirring up more trouble for his client who is already in a fairly deep legal bog. Giuliani's wild-eyed raving made little sense and his grasp of the law was laughably off kilter. And if he thought he was advancing the interests of Trump, he was insane as well. One of the first things out of his mouth was speculation that a case before the Virginia grand jury involving Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, might just be an attempt to "flip" him into providing testimony against Trump. Of course there would nothing to worry about on that account unless there was something to flip. So Giuliani introduced that notion on his own. He followed that up with the false claim that the judge in that case called it a "witch hunt." He didn't. Giuliani went on for awhile about how "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should step up and dismiss this entire investigation." He asserted that "There is no evidence of collusion with the Russians. Gone. There is no evidence of obstruction of justice." But there have already been dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas that suggest that the investigation has merit and should continue. And then he launched into a full blown manic episode (video below): "The President of the United States did not in any way violate the campaign finance law. Every campaign finance expert, Republican and Democrat, will tell that if it was for another purpose, other than just for campaigns, even if it was for campaign purposes, if it was to save his family, to save embarrassment, it's not a campaign donation. "And second, even if it was a campaign donation, the President reimbursed it fully with a payment of $35,000 a month that paid for that and other expenses. No need to go beyond that. Case over. That case should be dismissed by the Southern district of New York. At least with regard to President Trump." First of all, it is preposterous to say that every campaign finance expert would say that there was no campaign finance violation. Lots of them are saying that there is. Just turn on the TV like your boss does all day long. More to the point, Giuliani asserts that there is no violation even if the funds were used for campaign purposes if it was to "save his family, to save embarrassment." Is he listening to himself? If it was for campaign purposes it was unambiguously a violation. And Giuliani's next point asserts that even a campaign donation would have been legal because Trump paid it back. But if it was paid back without disclosing it in his campaign finance reporting, that's illegal. And as Giuliani says, "No need to go beyond that. Case over." It also isn't especially good lawyering when your counsel says on national TV that "I'm not an expert on the facts." And repeating a previous slander of the FBI as Nazi Storm Troopers hardly seems like positive messaging. Even if he falsely claims that "the judge basically said that." He didn't. And asking for the case in New York to be dismissed, "At least with regard to President Trump," makes no sense at all. That case is against Michael Cohen, not Trump. Giuliani appears intent on proving that he's utterly incapable of handling a parking ticket, much less a case as complex and legally hazardous as this. But one of the most peculiar comments in this interview came when Giuliani attempted to belittle testimony given by Hillary Clinton (who was interviewed by both the FBI and Congress for eleven hours). He stroked his own hand and said: "Nice nice nice. Poor little Hillary. We gotta be nice to her. No under oath. We'll take that now." Setting aside Giuliani's embarrassing playacting, if he's willing to agree to an FBI interview without being under oath, no doubt Robert Mueller would be as well. After all, you don't have to be under oath to be required to tell the truth. And lying to either the FBI or Congress is crime even without taking an oath. So shut up already and present your client (who says no one wants to talk more than he does) for the interview, and we can get this thing over with. What are you all afraid of? How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance. Available now at Amazon.

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Left Foot Forward's Ben Fox reports from Brussels on former prime minister Tony Blair's plans for a European Union President. Yet again, an interview ( PS ) with Tony Blair has generated thousands of column inches . It's difficult to know whether or not his comments about the need for an elected European Union President have been seriously thought through, but they are striking for a number of reasons. As prime minister, Blair often talked like a European federalist but only when he was outside Britain; out of office, he clearly feels comfortable to engage in some European 'blue skies thinking'. Arguably the most significant point made by Blair is the deeper European integration he talks about. While the EU already has a single market and a common foreign, security and defence policy (but only when all Member States agree), a single immigration policy and co-ordinated tax policy would be a big leap forward. No other leading British politician, except for Roy Jenkins, has spoken so boldly about deeper integration. As Diane Abbott - who is, unsurprisingly, not a fan of Blair's idea - points out , it is quite clear that Blair has himself in mind as the ideal candidate to be the first elected President of Europe. In this regard it's worth remembering that when the Lisbon Treaty was adopted, Blair lobbied for the newly created position of President of the European Council. He didn't get the job largely because he was (and remains) too controversial, and also because the leaders of the likes of Germany, France and the UK did not want to be upstaged diplomatically on the world stage. Had Blair got the job it is clear that he would have wanted to do precisely that. The idea of a directly elected EU President is a pipe-dream at the moment. Although it is unclear whether Blair's EU President would replace the positions of President of the European Commission or of the European Council, or simply be yet another EU President, there is no doubt that what he envisages would need a treaty change. Given that it is less than two years since the Lisbon Treaty was ratified this is clearly not going to happen any time soon. Indeed, at a time when the EU is battling to contain the sovereign debt crisis which threatens to bring down the eurozone and, potentially, many leading banks with high government debt exposure with it, the last thing people want is another treaty - but Blair is not the only high-profile politician to have raised the idea of deeper European integration in the past week. Last Thursday, Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Central Bank, made a speech in which he talked about the future creation of an EU Finance Ministry. Although President Trichet did not focus on tax raising powers, he described a ministry that would have direct responsibility for surveying taxation and competitiveness policy; the implementation of EU financial sector regulation; represent the EU at the likes of the G20 and IMF; and a potential veto power over a country's spending policies. Just like Blair's pronouncements, Trichet's remarks were immediately shot down by political leaders. However, some of the elements of such an institution already exist or are being built. Earlier this year the European Parliament demanded legislation for an EU financial transactions tax on the back of a large pan-European campaign and proposals are expected within the coming months. The legislation for a beefed-up economic governance package for the eurozone is currently being negotiated by the European Parliament and the Council of Ministers, and it is likely to include measures that impact on labour policy and competitiveness, as well as on macro-economic policy. The integration of financial markets in Europe means that virtually all of the big financial sector legislation is decided at EU level. Meanwhile, we might scoff at the idea of a veto over a nation's public spending, but that is essentially what is happening to Greece, Ireland and Portugal under the terms of their emergency loans and guarantees. In this context, Trichet's proposal for a finance ministry at EU level doesn't seem like 'pie in the sky' but more like a logical next step for an economic bloc that has a single market and a common currency. In fact, it is as logical as Blair's insistence that if the EU speaks with a number of different voices then it will lack authority on the world stage both diplomatically and economically. However, as Diane Abbott notes , these ideas are being generated by high-level politicians not by a groundswell of grassroots campaigners and public opinion. Most opinion polls actually indicate the EU is as unpopular as it has been in a long time with a general desire for less rather than more integration. What the speeches by Blair and Trichet demonstrate is the need for honest and detailed debates across European countries about the EU's role and future. While both Blair and Trichet freely conceded their proposals are not going to happen quickly, they will both have to be addressed at some point in the coming years. Without such debate European integration will probably continue in the fragmented and flawed way that it has done in the past decade. Like this article? Sign up to Left Foot Forward's weekday email for the latest progressive news and comment - and support campaigning journalism by making a donation today.

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The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle, write the authors. CAP economist Christian E. Weller examines the state of the U.S. economy in December 2014. The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle. The question is: What will be the return on that investment? The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle. The question is: What will be the return on that investment? By Claire Moser and Matt Lee-Ashley Recent lawsuits that challenge executive action on immigration are unlikely to proceed. They miss the legal rationale for the action and ignore the large economic benefits it could bring. By Silva Mathema and Philip E. Wolgin Delegations from around the world set the stage for a new global climate agreement. By Gwynne Taraska and Jesse Vogel To fully realize the potential of Metro's Silver Line, policymakers must break with past development practices, writes the author. Increasing income inequality has decreased the share of the population earning a middle-class income. By Keith Miller and David Madland Only public policy can ensure that all women have the chance to participate fully and thrive, writes author Judith Warner. The Social Security program should be strengthened to support working women, explain the authors. The Social Security program should be strengthened to support working women as they age and face the realities of caring for their families. By Sarah Jane Glynn and Jackie Odum There are lessons to learn from other countries where public policy has been used to help women succeed, write the authors. Spending on judicial elections reached $15 million in 2014--a record for a midterm election--fueled by money from attorneys and corporate litigants. By Billy Corriher Authors Peter Juul and Rudy deLeon write on the significance of the Orion launch. Public policy is an essential tool for promoting women's workforce participation and leadership. By Emily Baxter, Judith Warner, and Sarah Jane Glynn

The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle.

A daughter of one of the victims of the Telford child sex abuse scandal has come forward asking for an enquiry into the police for not investigating her killer father over his child sex crimes. Tasnim Lowe, 18, is daughter to Azhar Ali Mehmood, who murdered her mother Lucy, Lucy's sister, and Lucy's own mother... MORE >> What does it take to get permanently banned from entering the United Kingdom? Threats of terrorism? Association with extremists? Espionage? None of the above if you're Lauren Southern. The conservative Canadian journalist was banned forever for the crime of handing out leaflets that read "Allah is gay." It was part of a social experiment, Southern says. After... MORE >> In a world full of those who claim to be trans-age, trans-racial, or even just full of transfat , society often begets the question: what could possibly come next? Meet Luis Padron, a "trans-species elf." Padron, from Argentina, has spent over $62,000 so far on his transformation into an elf, racking up a huge bill... MORE >> A UK court has heard of a sickening plot to abuse children for "top politicians". 28-year-old Gihan Muthukumarana told undercover police that they could make PS10m by raping children on camera and selling the film footage to "top political people." Muthukumarana also claimed that they could dispose of the young girls by dissolving their bodies in... MORE >> The British government has ordered Oxfam to hand over documents on staff that paid for sex, possibly with children, during recovery efforts in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake The Times of London published an investigation that showed senior Oxfam officials hired sex workers while in Haiti. Oxfam receives PS300 million ($414 million) a year in... MORE >> The British overseas territory Bermuda has become the first jurisdiction to repeal same-sex marriage, signing a bill into law reversing the rights for gay couples to marry. The island government intends to replace gay marriage with domestic partnerships, reports The Guardian. The new Domestic Partnership Act will roll back the legislation. Walton Brown, Bermuda's minister... MORE >> Manchester Art Gallery in the U.K. has removed one of the most recognizable pre-Raphaelite works of art from its walls following an outcry from feminists. Created in 1896, the Romantic-era painting by John William Waterhouse, titled Hylas and the Nymphs, depicts seven, nude female nymphs in a lily pond seducing a young man to into... MORE >> The British Army are being accused of pandering to the politically correct after the release of some, uh, interesting recruitment videos for 2018. The theme for this years video series is "Army Belonging," seemingly in an effort to make the public aware that the British Army intend to be as inclusive as possible. One of their videos,... MORE >> The British police force are hellbent on proving they are a living meme. Nottinghamshire police are planning to provide menopausal women with "crying rooms," frequent breaks, desks with a breeze or a fan, and easier access to toilets and showers. The idea was launched after former Chief Constable Sue Fish discovered that policewomen were quitting... MORE >> Muslim officers in Scotland have been allowed to wear the hijab, but only after senior staff approved it. Now, Police Scotland has announced that the hijab will become part of its official uniform. The aim is to encourage a more "diverse" police force. In a statement, the force said they hope making the hijab official will, "encourage women... MORE >> The BBC is under fire and stirring controversy, yet again, after promoting another racially discriminatory traineeship. The media organization funded by the British public is seeking a "Trainee Multi-Media Journalist" with willingness "to try new things" and "excellent understanding of relevant social media platforms." Oh, and they can't be white. The application section of the... MORE >> Bryan Anthony Bowen, 26, - having confessed to grooming two girls aged 13 and 15 through Facebook - has been spared prison, though he will remain on the sex offender registry for the next decade. RT reports Bowen, of Welshpool, Powys, had asked the girls for naked photographs and sex. Mold Crown Court heard that in... MORE >> Videos uploaded via illegal mobile phones to social media by inmates at UK prisons show a drone delivery service being permitted by a crumbling system of prison authority. The videos, which were recorded from inside the prison by inmates using illegally obtained mobile phones, were uploaded to social media by the prisoners. The footage makes... MORE >> A migrant who repeatedly called Britain a "bitch country" after entering illegally has been imprisoned for violent rape, just weeks after being told he could remain in the UK. Abdel-Aziz Al-Shamary, 21, was allegedly smuggled into Britain from Kuwait by his parents. Breitbart reports he violently attacked a woman near a river bank in Darlington, County... MORE >> Claiming sexual confusion led him to download child porn, Sarbjeet Jagdev got a year knocked off his original three-year prison sentence. Judges at London's Criminal Appeal Court reduced the sentence after hearing the 23-year-old downloaded and stored more than 1,400 indecent images of small children because he was confused about his sexuality, the Leicester Mercury reports. According to Jagdev, his... MORE >> The London Mayor, known for stating that terror attacks are "part and parcel of living in a big city," has an Islamic Terrorism problem, and a police force monitoring twitter for insults. Khan's criticism comes as police across the country are being accused of letting criminals off too easily while crime rates in Britain are... MORE >> Britain's official guidelines explaining hate crimes specifically state that there is "no need for evidence" to handle a report as a hate crime, and officers are forbidden from questioning the validity of an unsubstantiated statement from an unconfirmed "victim." Breitbart London reports dozens of British police forces referred to the "dictionary definition" of "hostility," which described... MORE >> British Muslims How are they portrayed? Terrorists? Jihadis? Islamic State? Maybe this will give you a different perspective.... The Lincolnshire Police force released an "educational" video in an attempt to show Islam in a positive light, which has been difficult to maintain as the ongoing violence from Islamists continues to sow carnage around the world. The 12-minute... MORE >>

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By Joanna Paraszczuk and Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | - - Cartoonists on each side of an Iranian-Saudi diplomatic dispute are highlighting what they perceive as the other's double standards. The confrontation over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric has sent tensions between the regional rivals soaring. Nimr al-Nimr's execution on terrorism charges on January 2 led to angry protests in Iran, including an attack on the Saudi Embassy that prompted Saudi Arabia and several of its allies to cut or downgrade ties with Tehran. In this sample of cartoons, the predominant Saudi view could be summed up as: "Iran opposes Islamic State while fueling terrorism," and the Iranian view as: "Saudi Arabia claims to fight Islamic State while executing innocents, just like IS." Here are two offerings from Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani: -- kotiomkin (@Kotiomkin) January 6, 2016 This image appears on the website of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: These two, from the Tasnim news agency, play on Nimr's status as a martyr in Iran... ...while Fars used crude stereotypes showing Israel behind Nimr's execution -- and harming itself in the process -- as has been asserted by some Iranian officials: The cover of Iranian reformist weekly Seda shows Saudi King Salman and his reflection -- Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi... Cover of #Iran reformist weekly Seda on #IranSaudi spat - #KSA pic.twitter.com/SNFdtv1ozX -- Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) January 7, 2016 ...while this anti-Tehran cartoon puts Baghdadi under the same turban as Khamenei. -- . (@Johani_Ahmad) January 5, 2016 A cartoon in the Saudi daily Okaz shows the restraining hand of Riyadh holding back an Iran bent on wreaking havoc throughout the region: In this one, an Iranian feeds birds in a nest marked "terrorism": Here, the Islamic State group gives first aid to Iran: This image shows Iran above ground as portrayed in the media, while below lurks Iran "in reality." Its tentacles include "treachery," "subjugation," and "aggression": Here, the bottom caption says "Urgent, the coalition is killing civilians": -- `lmyw lshrqy@ (@e3lamyu_alsharq) January 6, 2016 Finally, this, via RFE/RL's Radio Farda, reminds the reader that Tehran -- while crying foul over Nimr's fate -- has jailed hundreds of its own domestic critics: Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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On a variety of social and cultural issues, public attitudes are changing rapidly, and in general, are moving in a progressive direction. But as part of this discussion, let's not forget opinions on marijuana use, which have changed dramatically just over the last few years. The Pew Research Center has been polling on the issue for more than four decades, and its new report is the first ever that shows a majority of Americans now favor marijuana legalization. Not surprisingly, there are significant differences among age groups - adults under 30 are far more likely to support legalization than older generations - but just since 2010, the increase in support is across the board. Even basic assumptions about use of the drug have changed. As recently as 2006, 50% of Americans said smoking marijuana is "morally wrong," but today, the same percentage said this is "not a moral issue." Whereas most Americans used to see marijuana as a "gateway drug" - the belief that people start with pot, which then leads to the use of harder and more dangerous drugs - now, only 38% of the country believes this. What's more, 72% of Americans believe government efforts to enforce marijuana "cost more than they are worth," and of particular interest after last year's elections, 60% believe the federal government should not enforce federal laws in states that allow for marijuana use. Though support has increased among people of every political party by similar amounts in recent years, there is still a difference in partisan attitudes - 59% of Democrats support legalization, as do 60% of independents, but the number drops to 37% among Republicans. Still, if this is the next big issue in the culture war, the trend is unmistakable. And if this shift can lead to a constructive conversation about revisiting drug laws and the incarceration of non-violent drug users, the country would benefit enormously.

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In November 2010, a team of around 40 officials from CID and Himachal police raided the Malana village and other surrounding areas in the Parbati valley of Himachal Pradesh, arresting an Italian man in his sixties named Galeno Orazi in the process. Lack of an alternate development model, lure of easy money and arrival of unscrupulous foreigners have turned the beautiful mountain state of Himachal Pradesh into a drug den. Image courtesy: OP Sharma Orazi was arrested from a house in Nerang forest, where he had been staying for several years in direct violation of many legal norms. According to the police, his visa had expired a year before his arrest. The house was stacked with large quantities of ganja (marijuana). Orazi, in every respect, looked like a native of Malana - with a long beard and wearing the traditional attire of the area. For the 12-13 years that Orazi stayed in Malana, he was involved in the production and trade of cannabis with the active connivance of the village people, who find easy money in the production of illicit drugs. The hill state, with its snow-capped mountains and clean air, has always been a preferred destination for the city dwellers. Malana and Kasol have been preferred destinations for Israeli youth, who visit the place in huge numbers, after their mandatory service in the army, for a therapeutic experience. However, the therapy is not provided by the peaceful environs of the mountains but with something for which Malana is now known the world over: Malana Cream, a local variety of hashish; a purified resinous extract of cannabis, highly valued in the international market. Cannabis has always been grown in this area, but was meant for personal consumption and has great level of social acceptance. The local culture, which is guided to a great extent by belief in ' devta' (almost every village in Himachal has their own local deities and all major decisions are taken with their permission), treats cannabis as ' shiv ji ki buti ' and does not see cannabis production as something wrong. Charas/hashish production trends (HP) The problem, however, started with the commercialisation of the production and the entry of foreigners. The locals, who were attracted by the prospects of big money, started producing cannabis and trading it in connivance with the foreigners. Ashok Kumar, SP Narcotics, stressing on this point said, "Earlier, local varieties of cannabis were produced but now hybrid varieties are being grown with the help of foreigners. It is not for personal consumption, rather for trade." Regions that are indentified as important for the illicit cultivation of cannabis in Kullu include Malana and Manikaran, Tosh-kutla Regions, Banjar Valley, and the Sainj Valley in the Aani-Khanag Region. In Mandi district, areas where cannabis cultivation is widespread is Chauhar Bali Chowki (Thachi and Dider Jhamach), and the Gada Goshaini (Siraj Region) contiguous with Banjar Valley. Area vs total yield from the year 2003-16 (HP) OP Sharma, former superintendent of narcotics control bureau (NCB) Chandigarh and currently posted as Sr. Superintendent (Preventive) of Central Excise & Service Tax, Shimla feels that drug problem in Himachal Pradesh has three aspects: (1) Illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy: the production of respective narcotic drugs thereof (2) the illicit trafficking of the drugs so produced, i.e. the supplies to inter-state and international destinations (3) the drug consumption, i.e. the market within the state and outside. The cultivation in turn can be categorised in two parts - the organised cultivation on private lands and government/ forest lands, and the unchecked wild growth of cannabis. According to Sharma, it is the organised cultivation that is of utmost concern. The extent of organisation of the cannabis and opium cultivation can be gauged by this picture taken by Sharma which he shared with Firstpost . The extent of the problem The number of cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Himachal Pradesh has more than tripled in last decade. 242 people were arrested in 2005 under the NDPS law, which rose to 596 in 2010 and to 622 in 2015. Total number of cases registered under the NDPS act 2005-15 (HP) While the cases registered increased over the years, conviction rates under the NDPS act have been abysmally low. In 2005, the percentage of conviction of those arrested under the NDPS law was 32 percent, which fell to 28.20 percent in 2015. Conviction rate under the NDPS act from 2005-15 (HP) "We have to think about why conviction rate is so less," Kumar said. Looking at the profile of those arrested in Kullu, Chamba and Mandi shows that while majority of them are residents of Himachal, 23 percent are outsiders and 47 percent of those arrested fall in the age group of 20-30. To discuss the different aspects of the drug problem in Himachal Pradesh, a three day conference starting 18 April was held in the state. It was focused on the problem of illicit cultivation, trade and consumption of cannabis and other drugs and was organised by the Institute for Narcotics Studies and Analysis (INSA) in Kullu. Going beyond general theorising, the conference brought together all the major stakeholders to deliberate upon the problem of the drug menace in the state and come out with viable solutions. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, speaking on the issue, acknowledged the problem and said that addiction of any types is injurious and there is no country that has not faced the problem of drug abuse. "It is a big threat to the country and is destroying the present generation and humanity at large. There is a constant war between people who are trading in drugs and people who want to stop this. We have to stop this at any cost", said Virbhadra Singh. He added, "Government cannot do this alone, people have to make immense contribution in curbing this menace. Syndicates involved in this are very powerful but we have to destroy them". While the reasons behind the drug problem were deliberated upon, at length, it was a serious attempt to propose a solution that was appreciated by all participants. In this context 'alternative development' became the focal point of the discussion. The discussion on 'alternative development' centered around finding viable alternate crops that people engaged in illicit farming of cannabis can be motivated to grow. This can only be made possible if those producing cannabis are assured that their income would not be reduced by switching over to other crops. Seizure of contraband during last 3 years 2013-15 (HP) In this context J C Sharma, managing director HP Horticulture Produce, Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC), made a presentation where he talked about a project initiated by HPMC in which a new variety of apple will be grown where cannabis is being currently produced. The new variety of apples will provide 10-12 times higher yields, which have ready markets as currently India is importing huge quantities of apple from various foreign countries. If implemented, this alternative to cannabis and opium would not only meet the demand of apples in India but would also result in saving of large amounts of foreign exchange. In the context of 'alternative development', Jahan Pesron Jamas of Bombay Hemp Company, instead of proposing an alternative crop, talked about the utility of cannabis plant itself for use in the industry. He highlighted that hump fibre, being a very strong material, can be used in fabric, ropes, cosmetics, and for medicinal use. However, he also stressed that more research is needed to develop plants that are low on intoxicating content, making their diversion for recreational purpose difficult, but at the same time making them useful for legitimate industrial and medicinal purposes. Another problem that was discussed by all panelists was the lack of a detailed survey on the extent of the drug problem. The last survey to ascertain the extent of the problem was done in 2001. Lack of coordination among different authorities like police and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was also marked as a major problem in dealing with the issue. Lack of coordination among different agencies and political will are major roadblocks in curbing the menace. OP Sharma, who has travelled to the remotest parts of Himachal to understand the reasons behind the persistence of the drug problem, highlights the important reasons for the persistence of the problem through a case study of Malana. According to Sharma, cannabis consumption is inherent in the culture and the hilly terrain makes the area almost inaccessible to enforcement agencies, making it a safe haven for drug traders. District wise quantity of hash seized from 2004-15 (HP) The fact that there is lack of proper monitoring of the movements of foreigners by the enforcement agencies is also adding to the problem. In this context, Puneet Raghu, Himachal Police Service (HPS) referred to two NDPS cases where the passport of the arrested person was already expired but investigating agencies failed to book them under foreigners act. Echoing the same views Ashok Kumar, SP narcotics said that there is a provision that if someone is arrested for indulging in illegal activities he or she can be blacklisted and barred from entering the country again. "Usually this is not done but when I was posted in Mandi, we prepared a list of such people and sent it to the ministry of external affairs. I feel that this should be done on a regular basis," Kumar said. According to OP Sharma, "drug gangs from over six countries have established their centers in the state, and a few arrests made from this area is a testimony to this fact." A strong narcotics cell is the need of the hour but as highlighted by Ashok Kumar, the narcotics cell in the state is 'toothless' and is struggling with limited manpower and infrastructure. Then there are also some "vested interests in politics pleading for legalisation of cannabis". "The Legislative Assembly mooted such proposals to the government of India from time to time, thus, somehow strengthening the drug managers", said OP Sharma. According to Sharma, in the year 2002-03, not even a single inch of land in Malana was free from cannabis. "The illicit trade brought prosperity to 200 families, and these foreigners are their new gods/role models. This shows why the villagers are not able to give up the cannabis cultivation," Sharma said. Statistical Data showing Scale of Cannabis Cultivation vis-a-vis Hashish Production in Malana The drug mafias have so deeply penetrated into the local life that now villagers are using religion and faith to promote the interest of the drug peddlers. "The powerful village council has become a tool in the hands of the mafia. The dependence on drugs is so strong that these people are not ready to see its ill effects," said Sharma. In the short run, it is a win-win situation for all. The backpackers dancing madly on the full moon nights get their dose of adrenaline rush - cheap and handy in these places. The cultivators and traders getting easy money to buy the material comforts from which many of their customers have run away from. For some of the law enforcers, drug trade allows some extra income that apple production will not. As for loss, it is only of the nation that is losing a generation to drugs. Malana Cream: An International Hit - Malana is the producer of the second best quality of hash in the world - Brands like Malana cream, Malana gold, Malana biscuits and AK-47 are international brands available for sale in Europe and other International destinations ONLY. - The 155 Kg hashish seizure from the foreign kingpin and his Indian counterpart is testimony to this fact.The foreign mafias with their Indian counterparts and official channels have made most of the profits from the Malana sale. - More than 60% of the village population still remains under poverty, mostly under abject poverty. - The Malana brands are so popular in foreign markets that even the Nepalese hashish is making entry into Kullu and being exported under the brand names of Malana Cream after processing. (Statistics courtesy: OP Sharma and Ashok Kumar)

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UN Watch supporters send thousands of emails to U.S. Ambassador Rice, urging opposition One of many Holocaust denier websites that have featured material by the U.N. Human Rights Council's Alfred De Zayas. GENEVA, Dec. 19 - UN Watch is urging U.S. ambassador Susan Rice to oppose a U.N. resolution tomorrow that will ratify the appointment of a Human Rights Council official whose life's work--authoring books on World War II that make Germans the victims and the Allies the war criminals--has made him a hero to Holocaust deniers. Alfred de Zayas was appointed in March as the council's "Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order," an anti-Western mandate created by Cuba's Communist regime. Inexplicably, Zayas was unanimously recommended by a U.N. committee that included British Ambassador Peter Gooderham, who was supposed to effectively represent the interests and values of Western democracies such as Britain, France, Germany and the United States. U.N. Expert Alfred de Zayas, in his own words * "Moses had such a rough time bringing the Jewish people across the Red Sea because half of them were busy picking up pretty shells." Source * Churchill and Roosevelt connived at "a form of genocide" against the Germans. * The World War II Allies who fought Nazi Germany should have been prosecuted for "barbarous" and "gruesome" crimes; the Nuremberg Court that judged Nazi war criminals had " hardly any legitimacy ." * "Nuremberg was an exercise in hypocrisy. A continuation of hate and war... a corruption of legal norms and procedures, a pollution of philosophy, a truly Pharisee tribunal." Source * "Israel emerged out of terrorism against the indigenous population" and its representatives should be denied U.N. accreditation. Source * America bears "responsibility for the destabilization of... countries in the Middle East." * " George W. Bush and Tony Blair too are Pharisees." Source * The Old Testament is characterized by "cruelty" and "profound unreligiousity," its patriarchs "equipped with divine legitimacy and justification to take our promised Lebensraum by force." Source "To undo this wrong," said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, "U.S.Ambassador Susan Rice should lead the world's democracies in calling for a vote on the omnibus resolution --which includes the appointment of Zayas--and vote No." "Ambassador Rice should also take the floor and explain to the U.N. and the world why America and all decent people categorically object to an appointment that contradicts the principles of the U.N. and its founding history as the anti-Hitler alliance. That is why UN Watch has launched an email campaign urging the U.S. to take action ," said Neuer. In September, when UN Watch confronted Zayas in the council plenary (click for video) , the new U.N. human rights expert claimed his World War II history books were acclaimed by scholars, saying "I've only received positive comments from professors hitherto." The evidence, however, shows otherwise. Expert comments on Alfred de Zayas: Dr. Bernward Dorner, German historian specializing in antisemitism: Zayas ignores decades of research in his quest to absolve the Germans of having known about the Holocaust, and his evidence and reasoning are faulty. (Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , April 18, 2011, review of Zayas' most recent book Volkermord als Staatsgeheimnis - Vom Wissen uber die "Endlosung der Judenfrage" im Dritten Reich (Genocide as State Secret - on Knowledge about "the Final Solution to the Jewish Question" in the Third Reich). Professor Frank M. Brucher, in 1993 German Studies Review article : Zayas "makes no attempt to integrate his work with that of existing historiography on World War II, Nazi Germany or war crimes in general." Main-Taunus-Kurier , 17 September 2011, article by Willi van Ooyen: "Controversial international law expert Alfred de Zayas operates in the discourse of the extreme right." Frankfurter Rundschau , "Revanchismus an Schulen; Vertriebenen-Thesen fur Abendgymnasien," 15 September 2011: German historian Wolfgang Wipperman accuses Alfred de Zayas of historical revisionism . Rainer Ohliger, German social scientist and historian, reviewing Zayas' book "A Terrible Revenge" in 1997 German historians' forum : The "murderous Nazi-German foreign policy that was in place between 1938 and 1945. . . is starkly underemphasized [by Zayas'] book and arouses suspicion that we are dealing with a historical revisionist work."

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Technically, they aren't trying to push you out Aha Soft/shutterstock It's in the medical team's best interest to discharge you when you're ready--not just to make empty beds for the next person. "There's a big push that when we discharge patients they are stable and safe," says Suparna Dutta, MD, chief of the division of hospital medicine at Rush University Medical Center. Getting out on time will also help control costs--check out what you need to know about hospital bills . She explains that government regulations on readmissions penalize hospitals if a patient returns in 30 days after being discharged. Of course, there are exceptions: If you have a chronic disease, it's likely you'll be back. But for the most part, it's their goal to get you out of there when the time is right for you--not them. And you're having trouble doing other things, too Aha Soft/shutterstock In order to leave at the right time, you need to make sure your "big systems" are working. Can you keep food down? Can you pee? Do you have normal bowel habits? Can you get up and move a small distance? You may not feel back to yourself, says Dr. Dutta, but you should be able to accomplish the bare minimum of daily life on your own. You obviously still need support Aha Soft/shutterstock Think about what's going on during recovery, advises Dr. Dutta. Is there something happening that can't be done at home? (For example, maybe you're getting IV medication.) Stop to consider the treatment you're getting and whether you or your caretaker can manage it once you return home. No? Ask how exactly you can make the transition safely. You can't get your meds Aha Soft/shutterstock One of the biggest reasons for a readmission, says Dr. Dutta, is that a patient will get a prescription for medication and then find out at the pharmacy that their insurance won't cover them. The patient may not take those meds for a couple days, and then get sick again. Her advice: During recovery call your insurance ahead of time to make sure any medication or supplies needed will be covered. If not, your doctor should be able to find a covered alternative. Ask if there's somewhere else to go Aha Soft/shutterstock Consider this: You may be ready to get discharged, but you're not ready to go home, says William Wooden, MD, director of operative services at IU Health. There are intermediate facilities that you can go to, like short-term recovery facilities or rehab centers, that will help you recover. There, you can get more intensive physical therapy, nutrition support, and even emotional support to bounce back in the best way possible. If you're not ready, say something Aha Soft/shutterstock After surgery or a procedure, it can both be a waiting game--and a flurry of activity that leaves you confused as to what just happened. So if you feel like the staff isn't communicating effectively and you're being rushed out, tell them that you're uncomfortable with what's going on. (Consider these tips for knowing what your doctor is really thinking.) And keep asking questions until you get the clarity you're looking for. "Most of the time, you'll find people on staff who want to do the right thing for you," Dr. McCann says. Getting ignored? Take the next step Aha Soft/shutterstock If you feel like you're being discharged from hospital too soon, your needs are not being met, or you're not being heard, you can contact the ombudsman at the medical facility. He or she is on the administration staff and addresses complaints. "Every hospital has someone to deal with these issues, but because the medical staff truly wants to help you, it's rare that this person needs to get involved," says Dr. McCann. Still, the resource is there if you need it.

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The National Rifle Association (NRA) is no stranger to using white supremacist rhetoric to target Black people. Founded in New York in 1871, the NRA is a U.S.-based organization for firearms safety training, shooting skills, and most significantly, gun owners' rights advocacy. NRA boldly hails itself as the oldest civil-rights organization, a claim as laughable as it is fictitious. What is factual, however, is the historical anti-Blackness of the NRA and that is clear with its latest recruitment video--an all-time-low, even for this racist organization. In a short, 1 minute and 4 second clip, the NRA exposes viewers to America's longest, never ending tradition: racism. Though the video-- 'The Violence of Lies'--stops just short of explicitly calling for violence against Black and brown people, it's rather simple to understand the video's intention. Dana Loech of The Blaze, narrates : They use their media to assassinate real news. They use their schools to teach their children that their president is another Hitler. They use their movie stars and comedy shows and award shows to repeat their narrative over and over again. And then they use their ex-president to endorse the resistance -- all to make them march, make them protest, make them scream 'racism,' and 'sexism,' and 'xenophobia' and 'homophobia,' to smash windows, burn cars, shut down interstates and airports, bully and terrorize the law abiding until the only option left is for the police to do their jobs and stop the madness. And when that happens they'll use it as an excuse for their outrage. The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom, is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth. I am the National Rifle Association of America, and I'm freedom's safest place. Loech's narration can easily be dissected as conservative propaganda and hate speech directed to mobilize the NRA's squadron of already angry white gun owners. When she speaks of assassinating "real news," it follows the two-year tirade of President Donald Trump referring to all news that isn't Fox News as "fake news." When Loech speaks of awards shows repeating the narrative of Trump being another Hitler, it doesn't escape me that the 2017 BET Awards aired days before the re-release of the recruitment ad. What's worse, we obviously understand Loech is referring to former President Obama in saying, "their ex-president." In it, she underscores that all these combined leads to resistance to make Black and brown people protest, march, and yes, even scream 'racism,' 'sexism,' and yes, 'homophobia.' If this wasn't enough, Loech even falsely claims that marginalized communities are protesting because of untruths, bad moments we have made up, just to smash windows, burn cars (hope she has never seen white sports fans lose or win any game ), and shut down airports. The video, full of propaganda has already been viewed nearly 7 million times since its unfortunate release. But, we know the purpose of this video was not to seek truth. It was nothing more than a hateful woman speaking her opinions as facts. The video was intended to play on white people's privileged, teary-eyed, unchecked emotions and to use them to incite violence against already marginalized groups, particularly Black and Latino people, the LGBTQ community, women, undocumented folks, and Muslims; populations that experience the brunt of Trump's deadly policies. We know that nothing the NRA does should be shocking as it has a history in supporting racist gun laws. In the 1960s, white legislators wanted to curtail any likelihood that Black people would have access to guns. From the Mulford Act , to the Gun Control Act of 1968, the NRA has supported and, to an extent, taken credit for these bills; a changed support of gun control (against Black people). These were also laws rather quickly passed after Black activists and organizations like Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party (BPP), respectively, began publicly discussing the importance of Black people bearing arms for self-defense. Because if Black people defended themselves against racist white people, then how could they then effectuate their racism? From then until now, the NRA never intended on protecting Black bodies. We have seen that with Philando Castile , a legal gun owner, was killed in 2016 and his murderer was acquitted of all charges. A few days after Castile was killed, the NRA released an unclear statement noting how it would not comment on an ongoing investigation - often a code word for "we don't want to misalign ourselves with law enforcement that serve our interests." That's why last year when a Black man killed five officers and wounded seven others in Dallas, Texas, the NRA responded immediately - no investigation needed. Until recently, NRA's vague response was the sole statement the NRA made about Castile's brutal killing. Where was the usual hard-hitting message from the NRA about the importance of gun ownership and Second Amendment "right to bear arms" freedoms? Where was NRA's press release about how the police completely trampled on Castile's rights? On CNN, nearly one year later, Loesch commented that Castile's death was "absolutely awful" and "[c]ould have been avoided." But it's clear that if Loesch and the NRA felt this way it wouldn't have taken them one year to respond to last year's events, particularly because it was only made after the latest ad received criticism, even being petitioned to be removed. The NRA's relative silence about Castile, a lawful gun owner, shows the only time it will care is when a white person is pressing the trigger. Thankfully, many organizations are speaking out against the NRA's call to incite violence by making response videos. The Black Lives Matter - LA chapter, for example, released a video , modeled after the NRA's gut-wrenching video. "They use their new president to enact a 'law-and-order administration,'" Funmilola Fagbamila, member of BLM-LA says in the response video. "All to make them shoot first, to make them ask questions later, make them scream, 'I thought he had a gun in his hand' and 'I feared for my life' and 'he matched the description of a suspect' and 'she was threatening us' ... until the only option left is for black people to disrupt the systems that keep us oppressed and build the kinds of communities in which we want to live." Speak this Truth, Fagbamila! Despite what we know about the NRA, it's critical for black people to continue speaking up because what they want is our silence and acquiesce--and they won't get that. Preston Mitchum is a Washington, DC-based writer, activist, and policy nerd. He is a regular contributor with theGrio and The Root and has written for the Atlantic, Think Progress, OUT Magazine, Ebony.com, and Huffington Post. Follow him on Twitter here to see just how much he appreciates intersectionality.

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Former US Libertarian Party presidential candidate, investment analyst, author, and radio host Harry Browne spent a significant portion of his life putting together and promoting a simple and inexpensive investment portfolio that allows you to protect and grow your wealth throughout all the economic cycles he identified: Prosperity (rising GDP and productivity, low unemployment, relatively stable prices) Inflation (rapidly rising consumer prices, CPI at ~7% or more) Recession (a temporary reduction in GDP, temporarily rising unemployment) Depression (an ongoing reduction in GDP, very high sustained unemployment, falling consumer prices) He suggested that at any point in time one of these will be more prominent than the others. He wrote about it in his book Fail Safe Investing which I highly recommend. To be set up for solid portfolio growth (a steady 9% per annum at very low volatility) and protected no matter which of those economic cycles prevail, he came up with the following composition of 4 assets, split evenly (25% each): Stocks (do great in prosperity) Gold (does great during inflation and can also do well during depression) Long Term Government Bonds (do great depression, and can also do well in recession and prosperity) Cash (does well in recession, especially if short term interest rates are high, and provides a neutral interest earning safety net at all times) Once you're invested in the assets you don't need to do much, unless one or more of the assets exceed 35% or drops below 15% of the overall portfolio composition. In that case you sell off the winning assets and restore the original 25% balance. Given that we live in an uncertain world, Harry Browne recommended that you invest the money that's precious to you, that is the money that you don't want to gamble or speculate with, in this manner. Any other money you'd be comfortable putting on a Black Jack table for example you can speculate with however you wish. That would include things like some hot company stock, gold in isolation, government or corporate bonds in isolation, Bitcoin, real estate, etc. Note the important distinction he makes: investing is accepting returns that are available to everyone, speculation is to outsmart everyone else because you have the ability or knowledge to see things that the combined brainpower of global market experts is unable to see. My Permanent Portfolio In June of 2015 I decided to take the plunge and invest this way. I wanted to share how I've been doing so far, but also give people an idea as to how well the portfolio has performed over the long haul. First off, I live in the US so my asset composition is commensurate. But the portfolio has been back tested in many other countries with comparable results. So I have a US-centric approach in mind, but you can just as well apply the exact equivalent approach in your currency area, it really doesn't matter. First off, let me elaborate on the assets I have picked to implement this strategy. It is important to point out that this is an all or nothing deal. The portfolio doesn't work if any of these assets is missing. That doesn't mean that I'm telling you not to try something different (or giving any investment advice at all for that matter), just that you're on your own in that case. Harry Browne has spent years perfecting this approach. No matter what your general approach to investing, there are most likely one more more assets in this portfolio that you will absolutely hate buying at any given point in time. This is by design. In the US I don't think there is a more perfect brokerage for this portfolio than Fidelity. You can buy all financial assets needed completely commission free, and the free ETF there ( ITOT ) has ridiculously low management fees. So here we go: Stocks : Harry Browne recommends an S&P 500 index fund, or to put it more generally: invest in a fund or ETF that represents the broadest possible snapshot of the entire stock market in your country, and for diversification split it across 2 or 3 different funds if possible. I split it across the following ETF tickers: VTI , ITOT , SCHB . Gold : Buy 1 oz (or whatever largest size makes sense given the amount you're investing) gold coins at any coin dealer of your choice. Generally you should expect a 2-3% premium. Personally I use APMEX . They also buy back your gold any time and at a fair price. Store your coins in a safe at home or a safety deposit box at a bank (or spread it for diversification). If you have a lot, consider storing some of your gold abroad for even more diversification. Bonds : Harry Browne recommends the longest possible credit risk-free government bonds available in your country. In the US this would currently be the 30 Year Treasury Bond. After 10 years, sell your bonds and replace them with the newest issue. If the government in your country offers longer term bonds then buy those. It is important to buy the most long term interest rate sensitive government bonds in order to enjoy the protection they offer when interest rates plummet and you most need them (recession/depression). Yes, I know we're libertarians and we hate investing in government bonds, right? Wrong. By foregoing this asset we forego an important tool to protect us from the harm and volatility inflicted by the very government policies we hate. And when we're financially exposed and at risk, we're less calm and less effective in spreading our ideas of peace and freedom. I doubt that many of us would seriously suggest restricting our lives by living cash free altogether. A government bond is nothing but an interest bearing version of government cash. In the US there's also an ETF available if you can't buy the bonds directly: TLT . Cash : Harry Browne recommends 1 year or shorter term Treasury Bills or a money market fund that invests only in such securities. Some people chuckle at this requirement, but during the 2008 financial crisis these were the only truly safe cash equivalent assets. Money market funds which included commercial paper and similar assets or plain bank deposits were actually riskier than pure Treasury investments. Some money market funds dropped below their face value and some banks faced bankruptcy where the FDIC had to make depositors whole (up to the FDIC insurance limit only, that is). There is no FDIC insurance maximum or anything like that with Treasury Bills. That's why you need them in your Permanent Portfolio. At Fidelity there's a nifty feature called "Auto Roll" which allows you to buy Treasury Bills directly and have the proceeds re-invested in the same type of security upon maturity. Another close ETF proxy would be SHY . Permanent Portfolio Performance Now on to how these assets have performed since I've started investing, from July 2015 through April 2016: Nothing spectacular here, cash has fluctuated mildly in light of several discussions about the Fed's stance on short term rates, but generally this asset doesn't change all that much in such a short period as you can see above. It has gained about 0.23% during this period Stocks have fluctuated rather wildly and if your money was mostly in stocks, even though they have rebounded recently, you would have lost about 4.7% on average during this period. Gold has performed very well throughout this period, gaining about 6.9%. ... and last but definitely not least: Long Term Government Bonds Long Term US Treasury Bonds are the big winner for this period, having pulled the portfolio up by gaining about 13.7% in value as rates have dropped from 3.20% to as low as 2.5%. So adding all of this together to a hypothetical $10,000 beginning portfolio value, this is how the portfolio has performed overall. Permanent Portfolio (all assets above combined): As you can see the the Permanent Portfolio during this period has gained about 4% in total. So it has outperformed the total stock market by about 8%, and that without me having to lift a finger during this entire period! I know this is just a short period, but if you look at studies of how it has performed in the long run you'll find that it has returned an average of 8.87% per year, and with remarkably low volatility at that. In the example I've linked to above, for 1971 through 2013 the standard deviation (a volatility measure) is 7.74% while the stock market has had a volatility of 17.75%, making the Permanent Portfolio about 56% less volatile! Its max drawdown, meaning the worst year you ever had to suffer during that period was -5.56%, while for a pure stock portfolio it was -37.02%. This is the whole point of the Permanent Portfolio: You get to enjoy a solid growth portfolio without having to worry about losses for any extended period of time. Compare that to a pure stock portfolio where over a decade or more (in Japan it's been almost 30 years of losses at this point) you had to suffer significant hits to your net worth. Other Benefits Finally, I want to list some other benefits I find in this portfolio: It's cheap in that you can obtain very low cost funds and don't need to trade much. It's tax efficient: Since you're not trading much there's not a whole lot in capital gains taxes to pay. Furthermore we're not focusing on dividend stocks here so there's no big tax liability for the payouts. The majority of the portfolio's growth is achieved via price increases of its assets. If you have the opportunity to move some of it into a tax deferred account (in the US it's an IRA or a 401k), Harry Browne recommends to put the Cash and the Bonds in there so you can enjoy some tax free compounding interest growth. Personally at this point in the US interest rates are so low that I don't put the cash into my IRA, but rather the Long Term Treasuries, to the extent that I can. It's liquid: All assets in this portfolio are easily liquidated, so you're in a financially sound position at any point if you have the majority of your assets invested this way. It allows you to hold a lot of cash without losing to inflation: Cash is arguably one of the most hated assets in today's investment world. Very few strategies recognize its importance throughout the investor's lifetime. But holding cash allows you to write big checks quickly when unexpected things happen without having to sell off assets and incurring tax liabilities or other problems. To me personally this is a unique and invaluable benefit of this portfolio. It allows you to hold lots of gold which in turn gives you the ability to store and diversify your wealth globally without much counterparty risk You can relax: After a little while this portfolio leaves you very relaxed and objective about future market developments. I love checking in from time to time to see which asset has outpaced the others now and then, but I remain open to all future possibilities. I'm not married to one particular market hypothesis and don't need to worry about timing the market. It automatically makes you buy low and sell high: Due to the rebalancing mechanism you realize gains when assets have performed well and you get to pick up depreciated assets without having to strategize and guess when and how much to sell and buy. That's all, feel free to ask question in the comments below! Edit: I played around with this nifty portfolio simulation tool and constructed a version of the PP here that maps the performance from 1972 through 2015 , in case anyone's interested. Just FYI: This model assumes annual rebalancing which diminishes returns as compared to 15/35 rebalancing bands, and it also probably doesn't assume pure 30 year bonds, but rather something like TLT with a slightly lower return, but it still gives you a close approximation. The following two tabs change content below. Bio Latest Posts Nima is an entrepreneur and Bitcoin advocate who writes about economics and freedom. He was born and raised in Berlin and received his Master's degree in the US in 2004. He co-founded an auction software company in San Francisco and successfully sold it in 2015. (Twitter: @economicsjunkie)

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OMG - this is a note from John - I just watched this video, and OMG. Barbara Garcia, an Oklahoma tornado victim, lost her home (and her poor dog) while huddled with her pet in her bathroom, does an interview with CBS about the experience. She talks about huddling on a stool with her dog in her bathroom, her designated safe room, when suddenly everything came crashing down, she was thrown to the ground and buried in the ruins of her home, seen behind her in the image below. "I hollered for my little dog, and he didn't answer or didn't come, so I know he's in here, somewhere," she says, pointing to the utter devastation around her, that used to be her home. "I hollered for my little dog, and he didn't answer or didn't come, so I know he's in here, somewhere," she says, pointing to the utter devastation around her, that used to be her home. Then suddenly you hear the CBS reporter say "the dog, the dog!" The camera pans, and you see the dog, literally behind the woman, buried in some debris, it's head sticking out, unable to move. With the help of the news crew, they moved the debris and freed the dog. "Well, I thought God answered one prayer, let me be okay. He answered both of 'em. Because this was my lamb." Most pet owners are attached to their animals, and the thought of losing them during such a horrible disaster is something we'd all rather not even think about. This time, thank God, it worked out. Watch this video. It's really something remarkable. The dog pops up around 1:30 or so into the video. LGBT

Barbara Garcia, an Oklahoma tornado victim, lost her home (and her poor dog) while huddled with her pet in her bathroom, does an interview with CBS about the experience.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The above preamble to the constitution of the United States was the aspiration of good men. Inasmuch as America was unable to live up to this most wonderful prose from its inception, it has for decades made progress towards it. The genius of the Constitution is its elastic clause, the ability to be modified in an orderly and responsible manner to reflect changes in society as well as to reflect citizens' enlightenment. From the abolishment of slavery to women's suffrage, for the most part, it has been a constant march in approaching the tenets of the preamble. As a naturalized citizen from Central America I am keenly aware of the tools and propaganda used by a select group of elites within a society to mislead a population. That is the battle being fought in America right now. These tactics are all diametrically opposed to the aspirations of the preamble. How can one have a perfect union when one takes a non-compromising posture? How can there be justice when many states are suppressing the vote of those that have fought for and earned it? How can there be justice when society is now dependent on a private prison industrial complex that depends on a constant flow of the human commodity? How can there be domestic tranquility when the body politic depends on false divisions to achieve a goal? How can we promote the general welfare of our citizenry when many are unwilling to establish a humane healthcare system and a humane safety net? How can we ensure that our children will live in a freer America where corporations that may be partially governed by foreigners are considered citizens that have more access to our political representatives than the average citizen? Every 4 th of July, our Independence Day, and throughout the year we must ascertain how close we are to the aspirations codified in the preamble to the United States constitution. Are we closer to achieving real justice for all? Are we closer to living harmoniously with our neighbors? Are we closer to achieving real economic and national security? Are we closer to ensuring that we promote policies that promote the general welfare by ensuring every American has equal access to success and a viable safety net to protect and allow a humane existence during bad times? Are we closer to leaving a better, freer, and self-sustainable country for our children? Over the last 30 years we have taken several steps backwards. It is reflected in the economic state of the middle class where middle class wages have become stagnant, where the middle class have become more indebted by design, and where middle class wealth have been transferred to the very few at the top. After the Bar-B-Q, fireworks, and a day or two of rest and recovery, it is imperative that engagement in the political debate commence. Bring back the full value of the 4 th of July. Make the preamble of the Constitution more than just an aspiration. Move America forward. It begins with you. Liked it? Take a second to support EgbertoWillies.com on Patreon!

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FINTRAC is a financial intelligence unit whose mandate and practice quietly touch just about every resident of the country -- raising major privacy concerns in the process. Book Review The remarkable story of Mohamedou Ouid Slahi is one of wisdom, humour and despair. In this memoir, Slahi relays a tale of human resilience under the most appalling conditions at Guantanamo Bay. Columnists When it comes to "anti-terrorism," government and state security agency behaviour is dominated by throwbacks to the Cold War, with Harper serving as Canada's self-appointed avenging angel. Columnists The long-running extradition saga of Dr. Hassan Diab -- sought by French authorities for a 1980 crime he did not commit -- took a dramatic turn when the Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal. Columnists When the RCMP announced an Ottawa anti-terrorism arrest this month, the timing could not have been better for a federal government that appears to thrive on national security hysteria. Columnists Bill C-51 grants new powers to already hyperactive state security agencies, and baits as "soft on terror" anyone who questions the bill's necessity. Here is a primer on key provisions in the bill. Columnists In the wake of the Paris shootings, as voicing uncomfortable truths becomes increasingly risky, governments get set to introduce more repressive measures that mock freedom of expression. Columnists For refugees worldwide, the same demeaning sign is hung at the entrance of far too many countries, including Canada: you are not wanted, you are not admissible, you are undesirable, you are dangerous. Columnists As the Canadian government plays at fighting wars in Iraq/Syria and in eastern Europe, we see daily examples of how militarism ultimately degrades, disrupts and destroys democracy. Photos The tragic events in Ottawa give us an opportunity to examine our addiction to violence as the solution to conflict. Will we use the chance to disengage from our increasingly militarized culture? Columnists Like moral panics that have framed particular groups as the new internal enemy, youth both idealist and alienated now fit the focus of terror suspect, especially if they are Muslim and plan to travel. Columnists The barbarism that is ISIS has its roots in the barbarism that was Canadian and "coalition" war policy in the obliteration of Iraq in the 1991 "Gulf" war and subsequent sanctions. Columnists A little-noticed European Court of Human Rights decision regarding Polish complicity in torture may well have ripple effects on this side of the Atlantic and, hopefully, produce some accountability. Columnists In a sign that the government has gone overboard with its anti-migrant policies, even the Federal Court of Canada has been left with no choice but to try and rein in some of the more odious decisions. Columnists An Ottawa courtroom recently witnessed the rare intersection of numerous taproots of violence undergirding Canadian society, in the sentencing hearing of Ashley White. Columnists Two judicial decisions released last week in the cases of Mohamed Harkat and Hassan Diab remind us that the concept of national security is incompatible with democracy. Columnists The Ukraine debacle represents the latest in a pattern of Stephen Harper and John Baird supporting coups and ignoring human rights violations as a nasty but necessary part of doing business. Columnists The cases of Oscar Vigil and Jose Figueroa reveal the ideological abuse of Canada's immigration system, where many who resisted tyranny in their homelands face "security inadmissibility" in Canada. Columnists When it comes to Canada's security agencies, it is clear who threatens national security in the same way it is clear who threatens the birds when cats are placed in their cages. Columnists The CBSA has long been engaged in beefing up a strategy to prevent asylum seekers from getting to Canada, a clear violation of international and domestic law. Columnists In a little-noticed news release from the North Pole, a jolly senior citizen has asked that his image not be co-opted this holiday season by the Canadian War Department and NORAD. Columnists As Canada marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, there are countless reminders of how much work remains to be done, as the war against women grinds mercilessly on. News Matthew Behrens Hassan Diab continues to remain hopeful that the Canadian legal system will prevail and he will not be extradited to France for questioning about his alleged role in a 1980 Paris bombing.

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Zakynthos, GR.--A 22-year-old African man, Bakari Henderson, was beaten to death outside of a bar in Laganas, Greece on July 7, 2017. Various bourgeois U.S. media outlets have reported Bakari's death as a "Brawl that killed American" or "Death of U.S. tourist in Greece"; but Bakari Henderson was killed because he was an African. Bakari was attacked in a local bar named "Bar Code." A surveillance video shows Bakari and a friend posing with a waitress for a selfie when he is slapped in the back of the head by another man. Another video from a nearby shop has surfaced and it shows Bakari trying to flee 8 - 9 attackers, one of which slams him into a parked car. It has been reported that the coroner's findings listed "shock" in regards to the death of Bakari; he was beaten even after he was unconscious. Greek police did not release a motive for the attack but it is clear that even though Bakari was with a group of friends, no one else was attacked but him--the only African. No matter where African people are in the world, we are seen as black people and not "U.S. citizens" or "black brits." Bakari Henderson recently graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2017 with honors. Sources say Bakari went to Greece to celebrate obtaining his degree in business finance and to complete a photo shoot that would help launch his clothing line. Bakari's accomplishments and ambition did not shield him from to his attackers. "As long as you're black, you are an African" According to one source, after a rise in "racist" violence directed toward "persons who, because of their complexion, are perceived to be foreign migrants, in 2012 the U.S. Embassy in Athens issued a security message to U.S. citizens to be aware of "unprovoked harassment and violent attacks." Nine men have been arrested in the killing of Bakari by Greek police and charged with intentional homicide which can carry a sentence of life in prison. Zakynthos Mayor Pavlos Kolokotsas has said that both groups involved had been drinking extensively. The judicial process in Greece is slow and by their law, suspects can only be held for up to 18 months before a trial. African people are part of a dispersed nation, separated by the attack on Africa by white power. Whether African people are in Greece or the U.S., we must be unified for our own security to be protected no matter where in the world we might be. Bakari Handerson's only defense from his attackers might have been in the African Socialist International (ASI). The ASI was created with achieving the objective consolidation of African nationality for all African people wherever we are oppressed and exploited throughout the world. One Africa! One Nation!

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ADELAIDE duo Brad Crouch and Rory Atkins have been dumped from the team for Friday night's NAB Challenge clash for failing to meet club standards. The midfielders have been disciplined for their off-field behaviour during a club break last weekend. The Crows' decision to drop Crouch and Atkins was made on the recommendation of the senior leadership group, the club said on Thursday morning. "It's disappointing for both of them," Crows coach Don Pyke said at Adelaide Airport as the team prepared to fly to Queensland. "We've got a trademark in place for our players and an expectation around their standards and behaviours and unfortunately they made an error of judgment last weekend." But Pyke said the pair will still be considered for Round 1 despite being sensationally axed from the side to play Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Friday night. "Both of those guys have the opportunity to play this weekend, to press their claims for a spot in round one and also to learn a lesson from the expectations we have as a footy club," he said. "They are both disappointed, as you can imagine, but they now have an opportunity to redeem themselves by playing well this weekend to keep themselves in the (selection) mix." Crouch and Atkins will play in the SANFL against South Adelaide at Football Park on Saturday. Pyke said the incidents that led to their axings from the AFL wasn't serious. He would not divulge whether alcohol was involved. "I'm not going to go into details about exactly what it was," he said. "The leadership group, when they became aware of it, approached me with a recommendation which I fully supported." Crouch lives with Crows captain Taylor Walker. The 22-year-old, who has been heralded as a midfield star in the making, was set to make his long-awaited return after missing the 2015 with a foot injury. Read our live blog below for all the details.

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Apparently there is a " plus size revolution " in modeling, giving overweight women the role models in fashion they've all be looking for. You'd think, hearing this exciting news, that bountiful beauties everywhere would be rejoicing. Not so, according to an OpEd on CNN ... because too many of them are white. But I was disappointed when I looked at the models featured inside the magazine as members of "The Plus-Size Revolution." At first glance there appeared to be no women of color among the four women featured. (Further research revealed that model Denise Bidot is Puerto Rican and Kuwaiti.) There is no industry more vapid and judgmental than the fashion industry. By definition, it's discriminatory. It's the way the people in charge - generally gay, liberal men - want it. If the images of rotund ladies sold clothing, magazines wouldn't have to be shamed shamed into putting them there. And of course now that the fashion industry has given the world (that didn't ask for it) fat models, other chubby chicks are complaining that they aren't the right fat models. Funnily enough, these models who demand that morbid obesity be praised as beautiful don't see the irony in having their self-esteem being entirely tied to the superficial. True self-confidence doesn't require anybody else to celebrate your diabetes. After all, you couldn't eat the party-cake anyway. They also don't see the irony in demanding that we recognize their beauty, as they continually shame and demean their thin female counterparts. Here's an idea, instead of celebrating fat or thin, white or black... let's just celebrate and encourage healthy bodies. I know, I know... my healthy privilege is showing. Send your fat, white hate-tweets to Steven Crowder

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Yesterday was D-Day and I want to share some thoughts. I flat out love history. I think there are times when the weather, if it did not change the course of history, certainly impacted it. The storms that disrupted and in essence destroyed the Spanish Armada is one example. The weather the day JFK was assassinated is another. If the rain had continued, as was the forecast, the limousine top would not have been down, which would have changed the outcome. On Sept. 11, 2001, Hurricane Erin was well offshore with a ridge of high pressure along the East Coast providing optimum visibility. Had Erin been closer, the airports would likely have seen disruptions. It's not only bad weather that can change the course of history but good weather also. 1944 had two major events. The subject of this is D-Day. However, let's not forget the Battle of the Bulge. The arrival of Arctic high pressure froze the muddy ground that was bogging down tanks and allowed the counterattack to proceed. Historians have opined that the Battle of the Bulge would have turned anyway and may have actually led to a quicker downfall. But the relief of the garrison at Bastogne in part benefited from the ability to have tanks moving again rather than bogged down in mud. D-Day was one of the most high-pressure weather forecasts, if not the highest, in history. Here is a fascinating story of the men behind the forecast. The forecasters threaded the needle as they had a relative opening on the 6th with moderate northwest winds. Here was the morning map on June 5th. The evening of June 5th: The morning of June 6th: That low cutting southeast to the east of the UK was a headache, because by the evening of the 6th things were likely cranking quite a bit more. The morning of June 7th: In hindsight, the 5th might have been the safer day to go, but it was a no-go. You have to read the story (and I hope you did); I just added the maps. As usual, reanalysis can give us a sneak peak but not the real deal as actual maps. Ever wonder if you could have made the call? Heck, today a storm like that would be blamed on "climate change." The weather yesterday was quite tranquil. Stop and think about how that day has changed all our lives. It's popular today to assume, because of how far we have advanced since the mid-20th century, that we could have done it. We could have made the call. Then again, perhaps the German meteorologists would have made the call too. But when I think of D-Day, I think of more. In some ways it is a bigger day of reflection for me than Memorial Day. Obviously, the weather is something I reflect on, given its importance. But my very career as a meteorologist may have been impacted. Is it because of my love for the weather? No, it's because one of the men charging Normandy Beach was Bill Koll, my wrestling coach at Penn State. I will show you a post-World War II picture of him when he was wrestling at Northern Iowa, where he went 72-0 and was a three-time national champion. He gave me a chance to join the wrestling team. And for three years every day of my life I got better at school, at wrestling, and my walk with the good Lord. There are no atheist in foxholes, they say, and being a wrestling walk-on was like being in a foxhole given I had never made varsity in high school. But I think all the time about Coach Koll. He loved the weather and loved to razz me about it. He would never talk about what happened in the war. I always wondered what he went through. But I do know this -- not only do I owe him and all who charged the Normandy beaches a debt I can never repay, I owe him for giving me a chance later when he was my coach. It really changed the course I was on. What if he didn't make it through D-Day, like so many others? What if the forecast was wrong, or the attack failed? These are not things to take for granted. Instead, they are things to have eternal gratitude for. For me, D-Day always brings up the idea of what happened with the weather, but at the time there was a guy charging Normandy who eventually would play a part in me attaining my dream. Fact is, the very things my mom and dad taught me I lost sight of when I went to college, until Coach Koll let me walk on that wrestling team. Like I said, every day for three years I got better, and I still chase that today, with the understanding that I am never likely to attain that level of day-to-day improvement again. I have never been nervous speaking in public, except once, when Coach Koll asked me to speak to his church group. You just did not want to let him down, because he never let you down. He charged Normandy Beach long before I was born, along with so many others. He let me stay on the team when he could have just thrown me off (I was bad compared to the guys who became my teammates and to this day my closest friends). Coach Koll, along with Coach Andy Matter, whose dad also was in the war, worked with me all the time. And perhaps I am foolish in putting so much value in the past, but there was just something about the generation before mine that I look to measure up to all the time. We can argue if the weather on D-Day changed the course of history. But one of the guys who charged Normandy changed the course of this weatherman's history. And for that, and for all the others who came before me, the best you can do is to say thank you and try to measure up. Perhaps Gen. George Patton said it best: "It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died." I don't know about that, but I do know about the second part of the quote: "Rather we should thank God that such men lived." Joe Bastardi, a pioneer in extreme weather and long-range forecasting, is a contributor to The Patriot Post on environmental issues. He is the author of "The Climate Chronicle: Inconvenient Revelations You Won't Hear From Al Gore -- and Others."

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On June 16, South Africa's youth are being celebrated as the future leaders of this country. In 10 years, today's grade 8s will be graduating from university, entering the job market and writing the next chapter of our development. But the country is falling short in meeting the needs of the youth. The Daily Vox asked young people what they would put down if they were to write a manifesto for advancing South Africa's yout h. 1. Education Education is the key to a better life. This is what we tell children from their earliest days and what encourages them to persevere through school and university. But our education system isn't helping many young people. The matric pass rate in 2016 was at 72.5% if you consider ' progressed learners '. Of those learners that pass matric, only 3.3% of black youth and 3.8% of coloured youth move on to attend institutions of higher learning. This figure, according to Statistics South Africa, has not changed in over 12 years. A group of grade 10 learners at Qhakaza High School in northern KwaZulu-Natal told me the abuse they receive from their teachers not only prevents them from participating in class but diminishes their confidence. "They swear at us, call us dom. You'll end up failing and even if you don't fail you, you still struggle with a sum on the board. I'm telling you. It doesn't feel great at all. You're too scared to raise your hand. I don't even bother with participating anymore. They even tell you that you don't belong in this class," they said. Sanele Nzuza, 22, a grade 11 learner at Sbhukuza High School, told me his biggest challenge at school is having to share textbooks. "I would get told that I have to share a book with someone and we don't live together. I have to make the effort and travel to meet up with them," he said. If this is what our youth have to contend with at school, we shouldn't be surprised at low pass rates. The youth deserve an education system that is accessible, well resourced and globally competitive. It must be easy for them to get into and stay in school. Their schools should have safe and well-equipped buildings with enough desks, chairs, lights, books and whiteboards for every cohort, with well-stocked labs and inviting libraries. And their teachers need to be well trained, highly motivated and ready to teach in line with international standards. More than this, they deserve supportive and nurturing teachers. But it's not just about academics. Their education should provide them with the skills they need to perform well in tertiary education and in adult life. Young people deserve the space to grow and foster their creative talents. Drama, music, art, and technology classes to engage their creativity, sports clubs to foster a healthy lifestyle and hone their athletic abilities. Philosophy classes to help them critically engage with and analyse real world issues like racism, LGBTQIA+ phobias, and the patriarchal system responsible for sexism and rape culture. Outside of the mandated school curriculum, schools should teach kids to grow and prepare their own food, how to resolve personal conflict, how to organise when dealing with government and how to navigate the state bureaucracy - whether that's getting an ID book, passing a driving test, applying for a social grant or paying tax. 2. Healthcare We cannot have a healthy and productive generation if we do not provide adequate healthcare for young people. It is a basic human right that is not being sufficiently met. The youth deserve to have a healthcare system that actually cares for them. They deserve access to reliable and non-judgemental medical services in clean and efficient hospitals and clinics. Dental care and eye care services should not be neglected, and neither should mental health. Whether it is educational support services, counselling or other therapies, early intervention is key to ensuring that young people can flourish into healthy and happy adults. Young people deserve to have access to all the necessary medicines, including contraception , that will improve their health and enable them to participate fully in society. And young women and girls deserve access to free sanitary products . A girl child's life shouldn't have to stop because she is on her period. 3. Social welfare Many young people in South Africa continue to live in communities where they don't have any support. Many young people grow up in single parent households - or in child-headed households. ( According to Statistics South Africa , in 2012, only one in three children aged five and under lived with both their parents.) Others have parents who leave for work early in the morning and return late at night in order to support the family. Who do they turn to in their adolescent struggles? Bakhaya Shandu, 16, a grade 11 student who wants to study social work once he matriculates, told me he wants to look after the people in Vulindlela Township in northern KwaZulu-Natal, his community. "[A] lot of people [here] end up delinquents. They aren't cared for by their parents. They don't care for them. I want to get people together and talk to them about their problems and try to help them with their lives," he said. Young people need to feel that they can find a genuine support base both inside and outside of their homes. It's only with strong social support that we develop empowered, well-rounded, and confident youth. The youth deserve to have mentors who can lend a sympathetic ear when they need advice, and social workers in every school, clinic and community to provide counselling and referrals for further care if they experience abuse or neglect at home or at school. 4. Employment opportunities Employment is what allows people to participate in and contribute to the economy, and to find a sense of direction and purpose in life. The unemployment rate in South Africa is 27.7%, the highest it has been in the past 14 years, and youth make up a large proportion of the unemployed in the country. Young people deserves more employment opportunities and access to these must be made easy. Sihle Mthetwa, 26, is a street vendor. He's only had informal employment since he matriculated five years ago. Mthetwa said government needs to create more opportunities for work. "We're sitting at home because we don't have the strength to study further ... We also don't know which doors we need to approach to access opportunities. We aren't told which way to go. We usually hear after the fact that they were hiring." Government should be doing much more to create long-term jobs (and not just short-term "work opportunities "). In the absence of formal work opportunities, it needs to create an environment that's more friendly to entrepreneurs and help young people learn more about entrepreneurship. A grade 9 learner at Qhakaza High School said there should be schools that teach the youth how to make money from their talents. "We asked [our school] about setting up a school club [for entrepreneurship] but they haven't given us the chance," she said. Workshops and internship programmes with big companies should also be expanded. Young people deserve the opportunity to connect with industry so they can learn firsthand what will be required of them once they are able to enter the industry. 5. Decent housing Decent housing that is clean and safe is a basic human right that South Africa's youth deserve. Living in overcrowded, squalid conditions is not conducive to the development of a productive youth, especially one that will be successful in school. The youth deserve to live in clean, safe, and spacious housing, with access to all the necessary amenities, including clean running water, electricity, and adequate sanitation. Housing should be provided close to economic opportunities and should also have well serviced transport links. Adequate space should be set aside in residential areas for schools, childcare centres, clinics, local shops and recreational spaces for different ages. Neighbourhoods should also have adequate police services. If we cannot offer safety and security to our young people, we cannot expect them to flourish into well-rounded adults. Many young people don't have the right to vote , others aren't registered to vote, and still others have become so disillusioned with our democracy that they've avoided the polls altogether. If we are to build a robust and resilient nation, it's time we took young people's needs seriously and made young people's needs an integral part of our political goals. Featured image by Gulshan Khan

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Wow, obtuse or what Magoo? The idea that "every idea is an ideology" was put forward just to show how broad anti-terrorist legislation is and can be . That way, they can catch everything in their net ... and then choose to prosecute this or that crime as terrorism or not ... according to the wishes of the regime in power at the time. Oh, and Keep up the good work. There are some white supremacist groups that are probably grateful. That is a personal attack. You know the rules about this sort of crap. Quote: there are strong suggestions that at least Souvannarath has a long-time infatuation with fascist and white supremacist ideas. As the surname Souvannarath is Laotian, she might want to do some more research into what white supremacists believe. Her parents or grandparents could have been right-wing exiles driven out of Laos by the victory of the Communist side there. A lot of Southeast Asian expats in the U.S. gravitated to far-right political ideas(probably deluding themselves into the belief that anyone who espouses any progressive ideas are in league with the Pathet Lao forces who beat them solidly on the battlefield). Seems likely that the ones who ended up in Canada ended up on the same path-similar to the first generation of Miami Cubans(though the later generations seem more moderate and open-minded). Well, she might be right-wing, but how likely is it that she would be a white suprmeacist? The two things do not always go together. According to police, three alleged plotters planned to shoot and kill dozens Saturday at a Halifax shopping mall.Had such a plan succeeded, the effect would have almost certainly been mass terror in the Nova Scotia capital.Yet Justice Minister Peter MacKay says this was not a terrorist crime. "The attack does not appear to have been culturally motivated, therefore not linked to terrorism," he told reporters Saturday. MacKay's comments caused some puzzlement. Why would the government deem the murder of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa last fall an act of terror, but not this? In fact, except for his inexplicable use of the word "culturally," MacKay was technically correct. Canada's anti-terror laws don't criminalize actions that might cause terror. Well before the current law was enacted in 2002, it was illegal in Canada to murder people or blow up trains. Rather, they criminalize intent. It may be illegal to kill people in Canada. But it is even more illegal to kill people for a religious, ideological or political purpose. More important, it is left to the state to decide -- in the first instance at least -- which murderous conspiracies have a political motive and which do not. Thus Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the Muslim gunman who killed Cirillo, is deemed a terrorist for the simple reason that the RCMP and government say he was. Conversely, alleged Halifax plotters Lindsay Souvannarath and Randall Shepherd (the third suspect, James Gamble, died before he could be arrested) are not terrorists because the federal justice minister says they are not. Had police found Islamic State propaganda on their computers, Souvannarath and Shepherd almost certainly would have been charged with terrorism. But social media sites said to belong to the suspects show an interest only in Nazis and violence. That, it seems, is insufficiently ideological to merit a terror charge. So that's the first point about the terror laws: They are unusually arbitrary. The second is that the government's interpretation of these laws is infinitely flexible. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, with the backing of Justin Trudeau's Liberals, proposes a new anti-terror law that would give the security services even more power and citizens even fewer rights. Critics point out that the government has made no case as to why this Bill C-51 might be necessary. As evidence, they point to the Halifax arrests. The alleged plot was discovered not by a newly empowered Canadian Security and Intelligence Service bugging email traffic, but by an ordinary citizen who then made an anonymous call to police. The hapless MacKay was asked about that, too, this weekend. He produced an even more baffling answer. No, the masterminds of the alleged plot were not terrorists whose capture was hindered by limited CSIS powers. Rather, they were "murderous misfits" apprehended through normal police methods. Still, he went on, this apparent contradiction proves why stronger anti-terror laws are needed: Run-of-the-mill murderous misfits might, at some unknown point in the future, be attracted to the Islamic State.Or, to put it another way, the fact that extraordinary security powers were not needed here proves that they are needed. It is a complicated logic.

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Policy Focus: Women In The Economy Carrie L. Lukas Each Administration argues that their economic policies will benefit Americans, leading to greater economic opportunity and prosperity. While it often takes time for new policies to take effect and influence the economy, after more than six years under President Obama, we can fairly assess how Americans are faring under this Administration's economic policies. Sadly, the evidence suggests that on many important measures, women's economic prospects and financial situation have not meaningfully improved, and indeed have gotten worse in important ways. Although the unemployment rate for women is lower today than it was at the height of the financial crisis, the share of women participating in the labor force has fallen to the lowest level since 1988. For every woman who has gotten a job during this Administration, two women have exited the labor force entirely. This suggests that the economy is simply not producing the kind of job opportunities that American women want and need. Many of those who have jobs are frustrated that it remains difficult to move up the economic ladder. Wages for women workers have stagnated during the last six years, and average household incomes have fallen. Poverty remains a persistent problem, with the poverty rate still well above pre-recession levels. This economic record is particularly concerning given that the Administration has massively increased the size and scope of government in the name of improving our economic condition. Sadly, although federal debt has increased by more than $6 trillion, our economy is still failing to create the opportunities that Americans need. Given this record, we need to reform our economic policies with a focus on facilitating job creation so that more Americans can find work and better pay.

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Friday December 11, 2015 In the light of the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, there has been much talk about the clouding of US-Russian relations. Some voices in the Internet's alternative media sections have conjured the possibility that these conflicts might lead to a new major war, while social networks like Twitter saw the usage of the hashtags #WorldWarIII and #WorldWar3 explode after Turkey shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet in the vicinity of the Syrian border. Headlines in mainstream media outlets like Foreign Policy and the Guardian also proclaimed, "Welcome to Cold War III" and asked "are we going back to the bad old days?". This article suggests that although the ideological division of the Cold War ended de facto with the collapse of the Soviet Union, American geopolitical schemes to contain Russian power abroad have never really been abandoned. Throughout the 1990s and until today, US policymakers have been determined to wage overt or covert proxy wars with the aim of curbing its former adversary's political, economic, and military influence. Chechnya, Ukraine, and Syria are the key spots where the logic of this second Cold War is played out. A short glance over the state of the world today and its representation in the media suffices to identify a growing number of actual and potential centers of conflicts: Civil war is raging in parts of Ukraine, military tensions are growing in the South Chinese Sea, and the Middle East is more of a mess than ever. Nonetheless, some have suggested that the actual number of armed conflicts has actually reached a historical low. But this assertion is solely based on statistical preference. It is true that interstate (conflicts between two or more states) wars are on the decline. Instead, wars today are much more likely to take the form of intrastate conflicts between governments and insurgents, rather than national armies fighting over territory. As demonstrated to an outstanding degree in Syria, these conflicts are more and more internationalized and involve a bulk of non-state actors and countries who try to reach their goals through proxies rather than direct involvement, which would require "boots on the ground." But let's start at the end. The end of the Cold War, that is. The situation during the years of systemic antagonism between the Eastern and Western Blocs has sometimes been captured in the image of three separate "worlds": the capitalist First World, the socialist Second World, and a Third World. The latter term was not used as a marker for impoverishment and instability as it is commonly understood today, but as a postcolonial alternative "third way" for those newly independent states that struggled to avoid their renewed absorption by the two towering ideological empires. One strategy through which developing countries attempted to duck the neocolonial policies of the Cold War Blocs was by founding the informal Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in 1961, initiated by India, Indonesia, Egypt, Ghana, and Yugoslavia. Counting 120 members as of now--in fact a large part of the global South--the movement's anti-imperialist and anti-colonial stance has lost much of its bargaining power after the end of the Cold War. Still, the final document of the movement's 1998 summit in Durban, South Africa suggests that the end of the long-standing bipolar power configuration has by no means led to the betterment of those countries' situation. Unipolar American dominance and the collapse of the Soviet Union instigated what was understood to be "a worrisome and damaging uni-polarity in political and military terms that is conducive to further inequality and injustice and, therefore, to a more complex and disquieting world situation." This analysis turned out to be correct in many respects, particularly concerning the period of the 1990s. While the Clinton years of domestic prosperity saw the US economy achieve the rarity of a budget surplus, the citizens of its erstwhile antagonist were (probably with the exception of Boris Yeltsin ) experiencing the more sobering effects of Russia's political and economic paradigm shift. Democratic Russia struggled to consolidate its deeply shaken economy in an environment ripe with organized crime, crippling corruption, and under the doubtful patronage of oligarchs like Boris Berezovsky who controlled the influential television channel ORT and whom Ron Unz in " Our American Pravda " described as "the puppet master behind President Boris Yeltsin during the late 1990s." The actual situation in the former Soviet heartland during the 1990s was utterly different from what American elites and media often depicted as a "golden age" of newfound democracy and a ballooning private sector. From the perspective of many US elites, the country's plundering by oligarchs, ruthless criminal gangs, kleptocratic politicians, and corrupt military officers was welcomed as a convenient, self-fulfilling mechanism to permanently destabilize its mortally wounded adversary. But Russia never completed all the stages of collapse , not least because Yeltsin's successor Vladimir Putin eventually took legal action to put such "businessmen" like Roman Abramovich and Berezovsky out of business. The latter was forced to seek refuge in London, from where he threatened to use his PS850m private fortune to plot " a new Russian revolution " and violently remove his former protege from the Kremlin. The chaotic and aimless term of the alcoholic Yeltsin is often regarded as a chiefly positive time in which the East and the West closed ranks, although politicians and neoconservative think tanks in reality conducted the political and economic sellout of Russia during these years. The presidency of Vladimir Putin, while anything but perfect and with its own set of domestic issues, still managed to halt the nation's downward spiral in many areas. Nevertheless, it is persistently depicted by Western elites and their "Pravda" as dubious, "authoritarian," and semi-democratic at best. Thus, in spite of Francis Fukuyama's triumphalist proclamation of the "End of History" after the fall of the Berlin wall that supposedly heralded the universal rein of liberal democracy, the legacy of the Cold War is anything but behind us. Ostensibly, the current geopolitical situation with its fragmented, oblique, and often contradictory constellations and fault lines is utterly different from the much more straightforward Cold War dualism. Of the Marxist ideology only insular traces remain today, watered down and institutionalized in China, exploited in a system of nationalistic iconography in Cuba, and arranged around an absurdly twisted personality cult in North Korea. As of 2015, Russia is an utterly capitalistic nation, highly integrated in the globalized economy and particularly interdependent with the members of the European economic zone. Its military clout and budget ( $52 billion ) are dwarfed by US military spending of $598.5 billion in 2015. Even more importantly, after 1991 Russia had to close down or abandon many of its important bases, ports and other military installations as a result of the NATO's eastward expansion. Nevertheless, the sheer size of its territory and its command of a substantial nuclear weapon arsenal, cement Russia's role as a primary threat to American national interests. This is illustrated by the fact that since three and a half decades, the US has covertly supported radical Islamic movements with the goal to permanently destabilize the Russian state by entrapping it in a succession of messy and virtually unwinnable conflicts. Pursued openly during the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s, this scheme continued to be employed throughout the 1990s during both Chechen Wars, as well as in Russia's so-called "near abroad" spheres of influence: Dagestan, Ingushetia, South Ossetia, and other former Soviet vassal republics in the Caucasus, which have constantly suffered from extremists who exploit the lack of governmental pervasion in their remote mountain regions. These regions are home to over 25 million ethnic Russians and important components of the country's economy. After the Soviet-Afghan War and the CIA's buildup of Osama bin-Laden's "resistance fighters," American policymakers recognized the destabilizing potential inherent in the volatile political and sectarian configurations in the Islamic countries that encircle the post-Soviet Russian borderlands. Hence, despite many political ceremonies, pledges of cooperation, and the opening of Moscow's first McDonalds in 1990, this policy was never fully abandoned. As a matter of fact, peaceful political coexistence and economic convergence never were the primary goals. Democratic Russia with its allies, military potential, and possible Eurasian trade agreements that threaten to isolate or hamper US hegemony was and still is considered a menace to American ambitions of unipolar, universal dominance. Since the First Chechen War in 1994, Russia's prolonged struggle against Islamic terrorism has for the most part been disregarded by Western media. Particularly after 9/11, the "war on terror" acted like a black hole that sucked up the bulk of the Western media's attention. When the acts of terrorism on Russian soil became too horrifying to ignore--the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis and the 2004 Beslan school siege in particular--the massive death tolls were blamed on the drastic responses of Russian security forces who were not adequately prepared and overwhelmed by the vicious and meticulously planned attacks. In Beslan, the death of hundreds of innocents (186 children were murdered on their first day at school) was indirectly condoned and sardonically depicted as the consequences of the "separatist movement [and its] increasingly desperate attempts to break Russia's stranglehold on its home turf." Truly, to describe those who shoot children in front of their parents and vice versa as "separatists" and glorify them as "rebels" who act in self defense against an "authoritarian" regime demands a very special kind of callous apathy. In a 2013 article that examined the Chechen descent of the suspects behind the Boston Marathon bombing, retired FBI agent and 2002 Time Person of the Year Coleen Rowley exposed "how the Chechen 'terrorists' proved useful to the US in keeping pressure on the Russians." She explicitly refers to a 2004 Guardian piece by John Laughland, in which the author connects the anti-Russian sentiments in the BBC and CNN coverage of the Beslan massacre to the influence of one particular organization, the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC), whose list of members reads like "a rollcall of the most prominent neoconservatives who so enthusastically (sic) support the 'war on terror,'" among them Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, James Woolsey, and Frank Gaffney. Laughland describes the ACPC as an organization that: heavily promotes the idea that the Chechen rebellion shows the undemocratic nature of Putin's Russia, and cultivates support for the Chechen cause by emphasising the seriousness of human rights violations in the tiny Caucasian republic. It compares the Chechen crisis to those other fashionable "Muslim" causes, Bosnia and Kosovo - implying that only international intervention in the Caucasus can stabilise the situation there. There are three key elements in the organization's lobbying strategy to denigrate Russia and promote an intervention in Chechnya that serve to unmask a larger pattern behind the US foreign policy after 9/11. First, the labeling of a particular leader or government as "authoritarian" or in some other way "undemocratic" (Vladimir Putin, in this case). Second, the concept of an oppressed yet positively connoted population that strives for freedom and democracy (Chechen terrorists with ties to a-Qaeda , in this case). Finally, the stressing of "human rights violations" that warrant an intervention or economic embargo. If all of these conditions are satisfied, the violation of the borders of a sovereign state is seen as justified (UN mandate not needed), enabling the US to emerge as a knight in shining armor and champion of human rights, bolting to the rescue of the world's downtrodden, while covertly achieving an utterly different goal: To further the logic of a second Cold War through proxy warfare and weaken Russian by diminishing its foothold in its surrounding "near abroad" regions, which in many respects represent vital interests, both economically and strategically. Swap out names and dates and it becomes evident that the same tripartite strategy was used to justify every recent intervention of the US and other NATO members, in Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), and Syria (since 2011). Interventions that were legitimized under the banner of humanitarian relief through the removal of "authoritarian" tyrants and supposed dictators and which have resulted in the deaths of an estimated 500.000 people, in Iraq alone . When the ASPC's made its appeal regarding Chechnya in 2004, mind you, only one year had passed since the Abu Ghraib torture photos were leaked and two years since the first inmates arrived in the extralegal detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Regarding the sweltering conflict in Ukraine's Donbass region, the key dynamics are similar. President Viktor Yanukovych, accused by the Euromaidan movement--fueled by aggressive US and EU media propaganda and enticed with promises of lucrative NATO and EU memberships--of "abusing power" and "violation of human rights," was forced to resign and replaced with a ultranationalist, anti-Russian and pro-Western government. Again, this campaign had nothing to do with actual humanitarian relief or concerns about the country's democratic integrity. Instead, the hopes of a whole generation for a better future under Western influence were exploited by US policymakers who hoped to stifle Russia's geostrategic elbowroom by ousting the naval bases of its Black Sea Fleet from the Crimea. These bases, mostly located in the city of Sevastopol, have been the home port of the Russian navy for over 230 years, and are vital because they provide the only direct access to the Black Sea and (through the Bosporus strait in Turkey) to the Mediterranean. Any expansion of NATO towards these bases had to be regarded as a direct threat, leaving the Russian government practically no choice but to protect them with all means necessary. However, in the stories emanating from Western mainstream media, these bases were showcased as an occupation of sovereign Ukrainian territory and used as proof of Russia's aggressive, "authoritarian," and imperial aspirations. In reality, Ukraine and Russia signed a Partition Contract in 1997, in which the Ukraine agreed to lease major parts of its facilities to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017, for an annual payment of $98 million. Along the lines of the currently revitalized genre of alternate history, let's briefly indulge in the notion that we were still living in the ideologically divided world of the Cold War, in which the Warsaw Pact still existed. For a second, imagine if Mexico or Guatemala or Canada expressed their desire to join said pact and invited its troops to conduct military exercises at their shared border with the US. Even without the existence of an American naval base in that country, how do you think the US would react to such a scenario? Would it stand by idly and let itself be surrounded by its adversaries? For an even more striking parallel, take the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The American military actually has a naval base there--Guantanamo Bay, home to the infamous detention camp. Many historians see the deployment of Soviet missiles and troops on the island as the closest that humanity ever came to entering World War III and mutually assured destruction (MAD). With its support for "regime change" in Ukraine and extension of the NATO to the Russian borders, the US today is engaged in the same old Cold War superpower games that the Soviets played in Cuba 53 years ago. In fact, we should think of Ukraine as being situated in Mother Russia's "backyard." Thousands of miles away from the coasts of North America, the Middle East is the region that Uncle Sam seems to regard as his very own backyard. Many consider George W. Bush's "War on Terror" after 9/11 and the subsequent interventions in Iraq and (to a lesser degree) Afghanistan as those catastrophic policy decisions that resulted in the sociopolitical destabilization of large parts of this region, resulting in the death, injury, and displacement of millions. In Iraq, Libya, and Syria, the spurious US rhetorical agenda of removing "tyrants" and endowing the local demographics with the liberating gift of democracy has in fact produced vast ungoverned spaces where militant groups like the al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh ) were able to carve out their "caliphates" and claim other territorial prices. For a long time, the rapid expansion of the Islamic State and its death-loving, apocalyptic ideology was resisted only by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the paramilitary National Defense Forces (NDF), and Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG). The SAA alone has lost as much as 200.000 soldiers in its struggle against various terrorist factions since March 2011. US politicians and media have expressed their hopes that the Russian intervention to assist the Syrian government in its resistance against these Western, Saudi, and Turkey-backed groups will result in a military and economic debacle, comparable to the Soviet-Afghan war, which lasted well over nine years. It was during the course of this brutal and protracted conflict that US policymakers realized that there was really no need to shed American blood in order to deal the death blow to the Soviet Union. They drew their lessons from the CIA's countless ventures in South American "nation building," where a government's legitimacy and an opposition's status as either terrorists or freedom fighters depended on their usefulness for American national interests, often accoutered in pithy terms like the "war on drugs." Since the days of Pablo Escobar, however, US foreign policy has shifted its main focus towards the Middle East, where the long-term goal has been to weaken the enemies of Israel and strengthen the enemies of Iran. Other goals are to guarantee American access to oil and other natural resources, to establish military bases and consolidate the network of troops abroad, and to secure arms deals for the one-percenters who preside over what president Eisenhower cautioned his nation about in his farewell address: the "military-industrial complex." As a consequence of the failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration has shifted its strategy towards aerial and drone only warfare combined with the support and (illusion of) control over local militant factions. Among the many groups fighting in Syria, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), also known as "moderate rebels," is the US faction of choice. Much like the bin Laden's Mujahideen fighters in 1980s Afghanistan, they are armed with the help of the CIA . In spite of their apparent moderation, however, a wealth of evidence suggests that this group is directly responsible for a multitude of massacres , mass executions , the ethnic cleansing of non-Sunni citizens, and eating the hearts of their fallen enemies . The FSA has also been a suspect in the 2013 Ghouta chemical attacks, which some have claimed the US used as a false flag operation to engender international support for the violent removal of the Syrian government. The subsequent UN investigation however failed to establish any conclusive evidence concerning the perpetrator of the war crime and concluded that the sarin gas used in the attacks had most certainly been removed from government arsenals. Based on this information, US, UK, and French leaders and media outlets insisted that the Syrian government had to be the culprit, and immediately pressed the international community to support an intervention with the goal of eradicating Syria's alleged arsenal of nerve gas and other potential WMDs. This all begins to sound very familiar. Of course, they also requested the bolstering of the "moderate opposition." Interestingly, though, the official UN report , "careful not to blame either side," let on that investigators were actually being accompanied by rebel leaders at all times. Moreover, they repeatedly encountered "individuals [...] carrying other suspected munitions indicating that such potential evidence is being moved and possibly manipulated." On page 13, the report goes on to state that [a] leader of the local opposition forces [...] was identified and requested to take 'custody' of the Mission [...] to ensure the security and movement of the Mission, to facilitate the access to the most critical cases/witnesses to be interviewed and sampled by the Mission [...]. Recently, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain have protested that their "moderate rebels" were being targeted unjustly by Russian airstrikes in Syria, complaining that "from their [i.e., the Kremlin's] perspective, they're all terrorists." Sometimes, one is inclined to advise them, it can be wise and healthy to assume an outsider's perspective and check if your reality still coincides with the facts that so many know are true about the FSA. These facts can be broken down to a very short yet concise formula: If it looks like a terrorist, if it talks like a terrorist, if it behaves like a terrorist--it probably is a terrorist. Instead, the CIA is still supplying the "activists" with outdated-yet-deadly weapons from Army surplus inventories, including hundreds of BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided") anti-tank missile systems, which the terrorists use against hard and soft targets alike. The same weapon platform can be seen in action in a recent FSA video that shows the destruction of a Russian helicopter that was sent to extract the Russian pilots at the crash site of their downed Su-24 plane on November 24, 2015. On the same day, another US-supplied TOW missile was used in an ambush targeting a car occupied by RT news journalists Roman Kosarev, Sargon Hadaya, and TASS reporter Alexander Yelistratov in Syria's Latakia province. The FSA and other groups, branded as "moderates" who fight against the "authoritarian" forces of tyranny (just like a certain " Saudi businessman " back in the day), function as US proxies in Syria, just like al-Qaeda did in the heyday of the Soviet-Afghan War. They are dangerously unstable pawns in a global strategy to secure American and Israeli interests in the Middle East, irrespective of the millionfold suffering and uprooting of entire societies caused by their crimes, the majority of which is directed towards other Muslims. Commenting on the Russian military intervention at the invitation of the Syrian government, Mr. Obama said that he had no interest in turning this civil war into a proxy war between Russia and the United States, emphasizing that "this is not some superpower chessboard contest." But this is exactly what US foreign policy, both Republican and Democrat, has done, starting with the end of the Soviet Union and lasting until this very moment. The only difference now being that the Libya-proven rhetorical strategy of (illegal and mandate-less) intervention via "no-fly zones," "humanitarianism," and "regime change" did not have the desired effect in Syria because Iran, Lebanon, and Russia did not abandon their ally. Their combined effort succeeded in fending off an unprecedented onslaught of extremists that infiltrated the country, often across the Southern Turkish border, armed with the money of American taxpayers and Wahhabi sheiks. The Syrian conflict can no longer be described as a civil war. It may have started as one during the ill-fated "Arab Spring" of 2011, when armed "protesters" (i.e., FSA terrorists) murdered several policemen and set government buildings on fire in Daraa, provoking a violent backlash from government forces. The ensuing nationwide chaos was spun by the Western mainstream media troika , namely those media outlets that serve as propaganda tools for the US political and financial elites and who fabricated the myth of the tyrant who massacred peaceful protestors--to be readily sucked up by their indoctrinated clientele. As a result of the "moderate's" recent setbacks, the official American position, insofar as its mixed messages can be deciphered, has boiled down to a butt-hurt attitude and passive aggressive lecturing about how to distinguish between varying degrees of moderation among mass-murdering lunatics. Outmaneuvered and publicly exposed, all that is left for Mr. Obama seems to be to pick up the pieces and save some face by accepting Mr. Putin's offer to join a united front against terrorism in Syria. But such a step seems unthinkable in this ongoing Cold War between Russia and the US. Instead, the most powerful man on earth talks about climate change as the most pressing problem of our times. When it comes to ISIS, he has said he wanted to "contain" them. Meanwhile, tensions are rising as Turkish president Erdogan, on an power trip after his surprising landslide victory in November's general elections, apparently collaborated with ISIS and risked provoking an NATO Article 5 response by downing a Russian Su-24. On the other side of the equation, Russia's decision to intervene on behalf of the Syrian government reveals a twofold strategy: On the one hand, through its direct action it positions the Putin government as being opposed to the fatal logics of proxy warfare. On the other hand, it simultaneously exposes the catastrophic flaws of Mr. Obama's strategies in Syria and the Middle East. All these developments do not necessarily mean that we are heading for World War III--although logic dictates that it will happen at some point in the future. In reality, though, a full-on nuclear confrontation would require a massive unraveling of the still sufficiently functional channels of political cooperation and interstate diplomacy. International security and economic communities as well as overlapping alliances like the United Nations, NATO, OSCE, and BRIC all indicate a high level of international integration. Nonetheless, the geopolitical decisions of the last years herald the start of a new period in political history that indeed corresponds to a Cold War constellation. Particularly US foreign policy is currently undergoing the revival of a more offensive realism, visible in recent demonstrations of power in NATO's Eastern border states, pushing of the TPP agreement in the Pacific economic area, and aggressive patrolling of the South Chinese Sea. In fact, the avoidance of superpower confrontation at all costs seems to increasingly take a back seat to these high-risk maneuvers. In the late 1940s the first Cold War began as a war of the words when the powers who had together defeated Nazi Germany started to level criticism at their respective global policies. With the help of their media and propaganda sources, their different stances and perspectives solidified and eventually developed into monolithic ideologies. These in turn spawned the geopolitical doctrines that warranted the replacement of any open (i.e., nuclear) confrontation with confined proxy wars as in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. A similar erosion of mutual trust, respect, and solidarity is taking place now as the outsourced US-Russian conflicts in Ukraine and Syria remain unsolved. Again, the second Cold War arises as a war of the words while negative sentiments are allowed to petrify and the glacial rhetorics of mistrust and veiled threats gradually begin to replace talk about common interests and cooperation. The influential and policy-shaping Foreign Affairs magazine already struck the right chords of the passive-aggressive Cold War parlance by titling , "Putin's Game of Chicken: And How the West Can Win." At the end of the day, this exact attitude could be one of the reasons why the US might come out on the losing side of this conflict. Because they have not yet realized this is not a "game of chicken" anymore. In fact, this is no longer the same easy game of manipulation that the US played during the 1990s by throwing cheap shots at a collapsing state. The deployment of its air force in Syria is not least a signal to the American establishment that Russia in 2015 no longer stands at the sidelines and watches begrudgingly as the US and its allies commence their disastrous policies in the Middle East. When Mr. Obama asserted that "this is not some superpower chessboard contest," he therefore either told a lie or he demonstrated his government's utter cluelessness with regard to the actual situation and consequences of their actions in Ukraine, Syria, the South Chinese Sea, and other hotspots of the second Cold War. Both possibilities do not bode well for the future. Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com .

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Imagine the following future scenario: Terrorists simultaneously release an aerosolized form of the variola virus, which causes smallpox, in five major U.S. cities. The attack deliberately targets low-income neighborhoods, so surveillance efforts prove lacking, and the infection has ample time to spread before the government catches on. With the death toll mounting, President Bush announces an emergency inoculation of the entire U.S. population, using nearly 300 million doses of smallpox vaccine prudently stockpiled by the administration in the year and a half following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But almost immediately, scores of pro-life Protestants and Catholics protest that they would rather die than be injected with a "tainted" vaccine and threaten to launch a particularly gruesome form of civil disobedience. Some pro-lifers have floated the idea of just such a demonstration ever since learning that the British firm Acambis Inc., which recently secured two hefty deals with the U.S. government to prepare smallpox vaccines, plans to use the MRC-5 cell line as a substrate to make 54 million doses, the amount required by its first contract (the second batch will use a different substrate). What makes MRC-5 so controversial? According to a 1970 article in the British journal Nature, the cell line was originally derived in 1966 from the lung tissues of a male fetus "removed for psychiatric reasons from a 27-year-old woman." In other words, MRC-5 was created from an abortion. Thus, the use of it suddenly links the issue of bioterror preparedness to the question of fetal tissue research -- and, inevitably, abortion politics. The antiabortion group Children of God for Life has led the charge, seizing on a "24-hour on-line poll" conducted by the conservative Web site WorldNetDaily.com that showed "56% of the 3,335 respondents said they would refuse the vaccine if it used aborted fetal tissue." Internet polls, of course, are notoriously susceptible to the efforts of well-coordinated interest groups. And it's one thing to click through a Web poll and another to spurn a vaccine that could prevent an excruciating death. "I actually would find it hard to believe that someone, an antiabortionist, would refuse vaccination on those grounds when faced with a high probability of contracting smallpox," observes Jonathan B. Tucker, a bioterrorism expert at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California. It's possible that even amid the unprecedented chaos of a nationwide vaccination, antiabortionists would get the chance to choose between offensive and less offensive vaccines. But the fact remains that at least some Christian conservatives say they would seriously consider boycotting any vaccine that uses the MRC-5 cell line. Carrie Gordon Earll, the bioethics analyst for Focus on the Family, has said that Acambis's vaccine derives from a "tainted source." On a discussion thread about the vaccine on the populist conservative Web site FreeRepublic.com, one poster added, "If a smallpox vaccine is made from this material (I can't even say it) then I would reject the vaccine." More important, Children of God for Life's political tactics include promoting a "Campaign for Ethical Vaccines," and calling on followers to send a drafted letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson and Centers for Disease Control director Jeffrey P. Koplan. Religious groups have long protested the use of vaccinations because of their controversial origins. In Arkansas, a woman is suing to exempt her children from chickenpox inoculation because she claims the vaccine was also prepared from the MRC-5 cell line, as well as another abortion-derived line known as WI-38. But from an ethical standpoint, it's curious that anti-abortionists don't seem to have considered that smallpox vaccine might present a unique case. "Smallpox is a contagious and communicable disease that threatens everybody," notes Ronald M. Green, director of the Ethics Institute at Dartmouth College. By refusing to be vaccinated for smallpox, you could not only kill yourself but infect others with what is arguably the most horrible plague known to mankind. Antivaccine Christians frequently cite Catholic theology and ethics in order to argue that they shouldn't take any action that renders them "morally complicit" with abortion, but shouldn't they also be worried about abetting the transmission of smallpox itself? "Moral complicity" is a trendy religio-bioethical concept at the moment, thanks to President Bush's August compromise on stem cell research. Influenced by his bioethics adviser Leon Kass, Bush stipulated that surplus human embryos that have already been destroyed can be mined for stem cells, but no new embryos may be created for the purpose of research because moral complicity would ensue. But as Green notes, the same logic surely ought to apply to the use of MRC-5: With respect to the 1966 abortion that led to the creation of the cell line, "nothing is going to change the fact that this was already done." Objections to Acambis's vaccine also take little account of the urgent need for new approaches to manufacturing smallpox vaccine. The Christian conservative thinker Marvin Olasky (Bush's guru on "compassionate conservatism") has denounced the World Health Organization's campaign to eradicate smallpoxresulting in our current increased vulnerability to the diseaseas the product of a liberal "faith in man's abilities to move us toward utopia." Today's health concerns greatly outweigh any religious objections to the old vaccine, now in dwindling supply, that was commonly used to inoculate schoolchildren in this country until the early 1970s. Known as Wyeth Dryvax after Wyeth Laboratories, which stopped making it in 1975, the vaccine was produced through infecting calves with cowpox virus (which Edward Jenner demonstrated in 1796 could inoculate humans against smallpox). After the virus showed its symptoms, the animals were slaughtered and the pustular lesions on their bellies were scraped off and freeze-dried. But in a recent paper in the CDC publication Emerging Infectious Diseases titled "Developing New Smallpox Vaccines," the authors observe that "this harvesting method is prone to contamination with bacteria and other adventitious agents." A well-known and widely used cellular substrate such as MRC-5, note the authors, would not only avoid contamination risks because animals wouldn't have to be used but could greatly speed up the review process. The FDA has already licensed other vaccines prepared in MRC-5 cells -- no mean consideration when we're urgently trying to guard against a smallpox attack. (In the event of an attack, such urgency would also militate against antiabortionist attempts to pick and choose which vaccines they will and won't take.) All these considerations make the prospect of a smallpox vaccine boycott appear shrill indeed. But then, perhaps the point was never to lay out a strong ethical case for such an action. "What the abortion debate is about at this point is not so much ethics as it is politics and symbols," observes Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. "And it gets your attention when somebody says, 'I'd rather die of smallpox than use data tainted by the murder of fetuses.'" Still, there's another ethical concern that ought to bother antiabortionists: If pro-lifers are killed off in large numbers by smallpox because they don't get inoculated, then who'll be left in this country to picket abortion clinics and try to prevent the murder of the unborn? Would antiabortionists not then be "morally complicit" in the severe weakening of their own movement? Faced with this dilemma, it's not difficult to imagine what side followers of Children of God for Life would have to come down on.

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Google's analysis of search trends reveals that "gun shop" was searched more frequently in 2014 compared to "gun control." But in the three days following the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina , on the night of June 17, search popularity for the terms flip flopped. "Gun control" or "Gun shop"? Which is more searched on Google by state? https://t.co/FSIUZm9egb pic.twitter.com/N1Nx4Uv3SF -- GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 21, 2015 In the wake of the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church where nine people were killed, there were renewed calls for stricter gun control laws. Google Trends makes no speculation as to whether the searches for "gun control" during this time were for, against or just seeking information on the topic following the shooting. Image source: Google Trends Image source: Google Trends "I'd like to say these shootings in Charleston will be a turning point, enough for Congress to fight back against the gun lobby and take some serious action about gun laws," Chelsea Parsons, who oversees gun policy for the liberal Center for American Progress, said following the attack. "But I don't want to be naive." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference after the shooting that laws would not change such attacks. "Only the good will and love of the American people can let those folks know that that act is unacceptable, disgraceful," he said. White House press secretary Josh Earnest though told TheBlaze this week that more gun control might not have stopped this attack as well. "The reason the president has continued to forcefully encourage Congress to take some common-sense steps to reduce gun violence is not with the idea that one piece of legislation would prevent every instance of gun violence," Earnest said. "The fact is this particular instance is still under investigation and so until we know more about what exactly has happened, or what did happen in this instance, it's difficult to say whether one piece of legislation or one rule if changed could have prevented this particular action." Google's trend analysis of terms related to the Charleston shooting also has a graph showing interest in the Confederate flag . Since the shooting, which was deemed a hate crime, companies, schools, lawmakers and others have been removing or calling for the removal of the Confederate flag and related landmarks. Searches for the #ConfederateFlag have reached an all-time high pic.twitter.com/EYfmryIUfs -- GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 23, 2015 Dylann Roof, 21, was arrested and charged with the murders after an overnight manhunt following the shooting. Roof was pictured in the past holding a Confederate flag and a handgun in the same image. A friend of Roof recalled shortly after the attack a recent conversation in which Roof expressed his concern that "blacks were taking over the world" and said he had "a plan." (H/T: Huffington Post ) The Associated Press contributed to this report. Front page image via Shutterstock.

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I have not seen very much on Twitter or in the news about the mass murders that happen across the border in Mexico. We hear about it in general but rarely are specific instances talked about, yet America's lax gun laws and drug policy make these mass murders happen so I care about them more since they are something we can stop. People care about the Colorado shooting because it is something they can relate to. They can relate to being a middle class white 20 something going to the midnight release of a children's comic book movie, so the shootings have more emotional weight. I don't think many of us can relate to the victims of the mass murders in Mexico or the thousands of murders that happen in America's cities as much. Yet, it is things like what happens in Colorado that drive the conversation and any public policy discussions even though these instances represent a very small percentage of the horrors that these tragedies bring. My tweet was in context of the politics / public policy discussion and was meant to illustrate those points and to do so in 140 characters. So, yes, I care about what happened in Colorado. I just ask that everyone also care about tragedies that happen to people that don't look like you do and to think about the day to day horrors that many people live through. Don't focus on the individual tragedies when we can do so much to make this world a better place if we were all to just think about those that didn't look and act like us. Thinking that I don't care about the victims misunderstands what I was trying to say just as much as my accusing everyone here of not caring about any number of tragedies that happen every day because they don't talk or acknowledge them. I hope you understand that and appreciate the time I've put into typing this out. I would hate if this was just about you sharing something I said on Twitter to just try to make me look bad!

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Reviewer Michael Scott says, "Absolutely capital idea for a book, because clearly complete idiots are under represented in the ranks of government employees. Ah, just what we need. More idiots working for the government." Oh, the irony We were dismayed recently to find on our YouTube channel an ad for Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Talk about advertising FAIL. London 2012 London's logo for the 2012 Olympic games has been inadvertently revised due to the recent riots: Million Obama Dollar bill It's Obama funny money! Just the thing for paying taxes, making "change", purchasing Obama healthcare and more! We are sure you'll come up with a million uses of your own for this Million Obama dollar bill. The same size as U.S. currency. Set of 2 bills. And now for a cartoon

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- Advertisement - "It's impossible to effectually outlaw guns," I wrote in 2015 , "without also outlawing writing, speaking and thinking about guns." I was referring to a US State Department censorship order requiring Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed to remove 3D printing files for the plastic "Liberator" pistol from the Internet. With the help of the Second Amendment Foundation, Wilson and his firm sued against the order. With the help of the First Amendment, they won. The US government realized it had a losing case and settled. Effective August 1, America goes back to having a free press vis a vis guns. A free press plus rapidly proliferating DIY production technology equals the final nail in the coffin of "gun control" as a practical notion. Not that it ever really was one, what with more than 250 million guns already in the hands of more than 100 million Americans. But now it's no longer just a lop-sided contest, it's a done deal. "Gun control" is over. Wilson hasn't been idle while awaiting his big win. He's gone from plans for 3D gun printing in plastic to offering a consumer-priced CNC milling machine -- the Ghost Gunner -- with software that can turn a block of metal into the frame of an AR-15 rifle or a .45 semi-automatic pistol right in anyone's home workshop. No serial number. No permit. No background check. That's that. We're done here. - Advertisement - As the clock runs forward, it's now also going to run backward. Because 3D printers and CNC mills will make whatever they're programmed to make, consider the National Firearms Act of 1934 repealed. If there aren't already CAD files out there telling home milling machinery how to turn out machine guns and silencers, there soon will be. You don't have to like it. That's how it is whether you like it or not. For decades, "gun control" advocates have, from behind the sturdy shield of the First Amendment, agitated for willful misinterpretation of, or even repeal of, the Second. They still have that shield, as well they should. What they no longer have is any plausible case that they can get their way. So, are "gun control" advocates ready for a ceasefire? Are they willing to start discussing real ways of achieving their supposed goal -- reducing violence in American society -- instead of continuing to pursue their lost cause? - Advertisement - I doubt it. Lost causes are both more fun and more profitable than getting serious. But let's hope.

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applegrove (83,463 posts) Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen by Barrett Holmes Pitner at the Daily Beast http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/27/donald-trump-is-our-jean-marie-le-pen.html "SNIP............. This response is very much reminiscent of Trumps rhetoric. It touches upon ones physical safety being in jeopardy, but also an entire cultures way of life being under attack with nowhere to hide. Following the Paris attacks, Trump also perpetuated anti-Muslim and anti-African American propaganda by claiming that he witnessed Muslims celebrating the collapse of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks and by tweeting an erroneous graphic that claimed that black Americas caused over 80 percent of white deaths by homicide. ............. Trumps rise as a far-right, third-party candidate might seem improbable due to our two-party political system, but the growing influence of the Tea Party and the ramifications of a gerrymandered House of Representatives make a viable third-party far more plausible than Americans would like to think. At both ends of the political spectrum anti-establishment candidates are making waves, and American voters appear more accepting of parliamentary governments where many parties are able to participate. Voters yearn for more political voices to have the chance to be heard, but to our collective horror the voice the with greatest chance of being heard is also the most destructive. Gerrymandering has led to Republicans having seats that are incredibly difficult for them to lose, and as a result elected officials no longer need to seek out moderate, centrist voters to win an election against a Democrat. Instead their greatest competition is with other conservative candidates, and therefore the far-right vote has greater influence electorally. This increases the likelihood of a viable far-right party having a sustained presence in our government. The Tea Party movement has already started this transition, and Trumps campaign could be the final piece of the puzzle. ................SNIP" Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen (Original post) applegrove Nov 2015 OP 1. Frances Le Pen Says Torture Can Be Useful to Fight Terrorism The leader of Frances anti-immigrant, anti-European Union National Front, Marine Le Pen , said that torture can be sometimes useful to fight terrorism, in response the U.S. Senate report on the CIA. There can be cases -- when there is a bomb ticking, that can explode in an hour or two and kill 200 or 300 civilians -- where it can be useful to have to make someone talk with the means available, Le Pen told RMC radio and BFM Television today. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-10/france-s-le-pen-says-torture-can-be-useful-to-fight-terrorism.html 2. Marine Le Pen: Muslims in France 'like Nazi occupation' Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-Right, drew heavy criticism after she said Muslims praying outside were like Nazi occupiers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8197895/Marine-Le-Pen-Muslims-in-France-like-Nazi-occupation.html 3. The Attack on Charlie Hebdo Plays Right Into Marine Le Pen's Hands An additional dimension to this tragedy (attack on Charlie Hebdo) is that it plays directly into the hands of those public figures and politicians who would like to see France regress into an organic national community of blood ties, rather than of citizens. The Islamic extremists who executed the attack on Charlie Hebdo may have murdered journalists and artists, but surely their crime is also against other Muslims in France, who are now likely to be viewed as enemy aliens hostile to the essence of the Republic itself, regardless of their own beliefs. Michel Houellebecq, for instance, who often paints Muslims as a dangerous fifth column, might now perhaps be vindicated in the eyes of unreflective readers; and, in the words of one Lebanese blogger, today might very well be the day that Marine Le Pen became President of France . Le Pen, by the way, has compared the Muslim presence in France to the German occupation of the 1940s. After today, we can only hope that others will not start doing the same. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120712/charlie-hebdo-attacks-religious-violence-europe

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Ivanka Trump and her family were harassed on a flight departing from JFK, headed to Palm Beach, Florida. Before the flight departed JFK, a Brooklyn attorney, Dan Goldstein, and fellow passenger yelled, "Your father is ruining the country. Why is she on our flight. She should be flying private," TMZ reported. He was holding a child while carrying on. Ivanka Trump just had a bumpy start to her Xmas holiday ... an out-of-control passenger on her flight began verbally berating her and "jeering" at her 3 kids. Ivanka was on a JetBlue flight leaving JFK Thursday morning with her family when a passenger started screaming, "Your father is ruining the country." The guy went on, "Why is she on our flight. She should be flying private." The guy had his kid in his arms as he went on the tirade. A passenger on the flight tells TMZ Ivanka ignored the guy and tried distracting her kids with crayons. JetBlue personnel escorted the unruly passenger off the flight. As he was removed he screamed, "You're kicking me off for expressing my opinion?!!" BTW ... Ivanka, her family and bunch of cousins were all in coach. Matt Lasner, Husband of the unruly man who hollered at the Trump's, tweeted: Lasner is a professor at Hunter College. After they were escorted off the plane, Lasner changed his story, saying his husband expressed his opinions calmly: Lasner's Twitter account appears to have been deleted, as have the tweets. Jet Blue escorted Goldberg off the flight and later released a statement saying: "The decision to remove a customer from a flight is not taken lightly. If the crew determines that a customer is causing conflict on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane, especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of escalation during flight. Our team worked to re-accommodate the party on the next available flight." Think what you will about someone's politics, but harassing a family and their children over their political beliefs is in no way acceptable. Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye

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Kathryn Moody : Investors, Are You Ready for the Next Global Crisis? Manuel Schiffres Mutual Fund Rankings, 2014 Meghan Streit : Pitching In When Caregivers Need Help Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D.N., F.A.N.D : How to prevent a second (and first) heart attack thru diet The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington : Caprese is a light, fresh salad; the perfect quick and easy accompaniment to any summer meal Mark Steyn : You Want Nazis? Jonathan Tobin : Care about the Jewish state's future? Obama, in interview, reveals even more reasons to worry Alan M. Dershowitz : Confirmed: Needless death and destruction in Gaza Katie Nielsen : As a mother, I'm all I need to be Cameron Huddleston : 18 Retailers That Offer Price Adjustments Nellie S. Huang : The Best Health Mutual Funds to Buy Now Brierly Wright, M.S., R.D. : Try these 'secret-weapon' foods to boost your changes of losing weight The Kosher Gourmet by Jessica Yadegaran : Take some relish in pickled goodies (5 recipes!) Kimberly Lankford : 50 Ways to Cut Your Health Care Costs James K. Glassman : Investors, Are You Ready for the Next Global Crisis? The Kosher Gourmet by Nick Malgieri : Chocolate molten delight with creme anglaise is a simple yet elegant make-ahead dessert Every time a horrendous terrorist attack victimizes innocent victims we wring our hands and promise to increase security and take other necessary preventive measures. But we fail to recognize how friends and allies play such an important role in encouraging, incentivizing, and inciting terrorism. If we are to have any chance of reducing terrorism, we must get to its root cause. It is not poverty, disenfranchisement, despair or any of the other abuse excuses offered to explain, if not to justify, terrorism as an act of desperation. It is anything but. Many terrorists, such as those who participated in the 9/11 attacks, were educated, well-off, mobile and even successful. They made a rational cost-benefit decision to murder innocent civilians for one simple reason: they believe that terrorism works. And tragically they are right. The international community has rewarded terrorism while punishing those who try to fight it by reasonable means. It all began with a decision by Yasser Arafat and other Palestinian terrorist groups to employ the tactic of terrorism as a primary means of bringing the Palestinian issue to the forefront of world concern. Based on the merits and demerits of the Palestinian case, it does not deserve this stature. The treatment of the Tibetans by China, the Kurds by most of the Arab world, and the people of Chechen by Russia has been or at least as bad. But their response to grievances has been largely ignored by the international community and the media because they mostly sought remedies within the law rather than through terrorism. The Palestinian situation has been different. The hijacking of airplanes, the murders of Olympic athletes at Munich, the killing of Israeli children at Ma'alot, and the many other terrorist atrocities perpetrated by Palestinian terrorists has elevated their cause above all other causes in the human rights community. Although the Palestinians have not yet gotten a state - because they twice rejected generous offers of statehood - their cause still dominates the United Nations and numerous human rights groups. Other groups with grievances have learned from the success of Palestinian terrorism and have emulated the use of that barbaric tactic. Even today, when the Palestinian authority claims to reject terrorism, they reward the families of suicide bombers and other terrorists by large compensation packages that increase with the number of innocent victims. If the perpetrator of the Manchester massacre had been Palestinian and if the massacre had taken place in an Israeli auditorium, the Palestinian authority would have paid his family a small fortune for murdering so many children. There is a name for people and organizations that pay other people for killing innocent civilians: it's called accessory to murder. If the Mafia offered bounties to kill its opponents, no one would sympathize with those who made the offer. Yet the Palestinian leadership that does the same thing is welcomed and honored throughout the world. The Palestinian authority also glorifies terrorists by naming parks, stadiums, streets and other public places after the mass murderers of children. Our "ally" Qatar finances Hamas which the United States has correctly declared to be a terrorist organization. Our enemy Iran, also finances, facilitates and encourages terrorism against the United States, Israel and other western democracies, without suffering any real consequences. The United Nations glorifies terrorism by placing countries that support terrorism in high positions of authority and honor and by welcoming with open arms the promoters of terrorism. On the other hand Israel, which has led the world in efforts to combat terrorism by reasonable and lawful means, gets attacked by the international community more than any other country in the world. Promoters of terrorism are treated better at the United Nations than opponents of terrorism. The boycott divestment tactic (BDS) is directed only against Israel and not against the many nations that support terrorism. Terrorism will continue as long as it continues to bear fruits. The fruits may be different for different causes. Sometimes it is simply publicity. Sometimes it is a recruitment tool. Sometimes it brings about concessions as it did in many European countries. Some European countries that have now been plagued by terrorism even released captured Palestinian terrorists. England, France, Italy and Germany were among the countries that released Palestinian terrorists in the hope of preventing terrorist attacks on their soil. Their selfish and immoral tactic backfired: it only caused them to become even more inviting targets for the murderous terrorists. But no matter how terrorism works , the reality that it does, will make it difficult if not impossible to stem its malignant spread around the world. To make it not work, the entire world must unite in never rewarding terrorism and always punishing those who facilitate it. Alan Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter Professor of Law, Emeritus, at Harvard Law School and author of "Taking the Stand: My Life in the Law" and "Electile Dysfunction: A Guide for the Unaroused Voter."

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Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) Katrina vanden Heuvel is turning The Nation into a Trump/Putin-apologist, Seth Rich troofer rag Last edited Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:27 AM - Edit history (2) Between daily love letters on Twitter to Julian Assange and Glenn Greenwald, she finds time to write garbage like "Realism on Russia," where she basically says Putin should get off scott free of sanctions for interfering with American elections: https://www.thenation.com/article/realism-on-russia/ Not surprising, coming from a woman who was gloating over the Democratic loss in the Georgia special election and retweeting rightwing memes: Or is married to this guy: () () () () https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_F._Cohen Which bring's us to today's "bombshell" report, seized on my the rightwing media, in which The Nation touts the findings of supposed experts that the DNC was an "inside job" and that Putin was innocent. https://www.thenation.com/article/a-new-report-raises-big-questions-about-last-years-dnc-hack/ It features "experts" who have been published by Consortium News, a prominent Seth Rich trooper conspiracy site. This piece would flunk Journalism 101, if vanden Heuval were interested in that sort of thing. :small :small (h/t @veryharpy on Twitter) Naturally, this has been seized on and passed around the Seth Rich troofer circles: And, of course, fine progressive folks like Newsmax: and Breitbart: and Sean Hannity's favorite scammer and con artist and pretend friend of Seth Rich: The article is a mess, and Brian Feldman at NY Mag takes it apart: http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/08/the-nation-article-about-the-dnc-hack-is-incoherent.html But this was actual journalism, you say? Well, pay no attention to the past pieces of Patrick Lawrence, the author, who I'm sure would not scrape until he found "experts" to fit his narrative: (added on edit) This is fit-the-results-to-the-premise hackery at its finest and, naturally, rightwing media is loving the free content The Nation is generating for them. The Nation has an illustrious history or liberal activism, dating back to the 1860s, riding high in the Progressive and New Deal eras and being a leader in the Civil Rights movement. It's a shame to see that all thrown away by one person with a personal interest in pushing Kremlin propaganda. It's really time for folks to call on vanden Heuvel to resign and demand the magazine save its good name by getting a new editor. Katrina vanden Heuvel is turning The Nation into a Trump/Putin-apologist, Seth Rich troofer rag (Original post) Adenoid_Hynkel Aug 2017 OP Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:24 AM JI7 (68,485 posts) 1. she has always been that way. there are a certain type that always pushes this shit and they always make money doing it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:26 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:51 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 3. The Nation's illustrious national security writer, in action: Link to tweet Can't wait 'til Katrina gives print space to a birther or moon landing hoaxer next. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:53 AM oasis (37,377 posts) 4. Back in the 90's, I couldn't get my next copy of "The Nation" fast enough. Katrina appeared on so many political pundit shows it was hard for me to keep up with her. In my book she was one of the top spokespersons pushing the liberal/progressive point of view. Oh well. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:30 AM JNelson6563 (28,003 posts) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 07:42 AM oasis (37,377 posts) 29. I don't know. Maybe the moth got too close to the flame. Could be the money and celebrity made her snap. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:09 PM MiddleClass (880 posts) 49. Russian by injection, I guess liberalism takes a back seat to socialism/corruption in that family I remember hearing in the W days, that she was a Russian apologist. Now that upsets me a lot more Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:30 PM SleeplessinSoCal (4,703 posts) 50. She worked and lived in Moscow at some point. For all we know they have something on her. N/T Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:55 AM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 5. As a former longtime subscriber it is really disgusting what has happened to the Nation As mentioned above the magazine has a long history of supporting civil rights, against war and for economic justice. I hadn't subscribed in a long time and didn't know the turn it had taken. I was stunned to hear Cohen on a recent show about Russia and the murders of dissidents say that it hadn't been proven Putin was behind them. Yeah, and Hitler's Germany didn't prove the Nazis killed Jews. I just wondered WTF. Now I know. They have a history there of editors serving for decades but it is obviously time for her to go. Thanks for posting. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:01 AM BannonsLiver (3,715 posts) 6. I think The Nation is pretty well cooked at this point. i don't think it'll survive the embrace of Putin. Really shitty timing. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:01 AM 7. Wow, what a hit piece. This was already addressed in another thread, and Katrina responded personally to the OP (see #62): https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029427385 Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:06 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 8. Did she expalin why she publishes the work of Seth Rich troofers? Again, this is the author of her bombshell piece: Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:16 AM 9. I didn't ask her I don't even know who Seth Rich is, but I know she allows points of view with which she disagrees. Did you read all of her response? If you feel strongly enough about it, write to her c/o The Nation yourself. When she publishes things I disagree with, she always responds if I let her know. You might want to tone down the negative emotional tone, though. She never uses it herself, and probably won't respond if she feels an inquiry is coming from someone whose mind is already made up about her. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:22 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 11. So you're unaware of the crackpot theory pushed by the right and Trump, that her author embraces? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:39 AM DFW (29,598 posts) 13. I am indeed quite unaware of that I don't have time to read everything in The Nation, or most publications I get, for that matter. I have a very demanding day job that takes me to a different country every day. I am currently in the States for a short visit, but the purpose of my visit is not for catching up on piles of publications that have accumulated. At her 150th anniversary of the founding gathering, the likes of E.J. Dionne, Raul Grijalva, Elizabeth Warren, Cecile Richards, Jerry Nadler, Steve Cohen, William Barber and a LOT of etc. came to be with her. None of them mentioned that they went there to celebrate birther theories. If Katrina wants to publish an article by a nutcase, it's her editorial prerogative as far as I'm concerned. It might be for the purpose of pointing out the nutcase point of view for all I know. If you feel that strongly about it and have so much time on your hands, I suggest you call The Nation far in advance of your next visit to New York City, and arrange a meeting with her. I only get to see her once a year or so, since I live in Europe with a heavy work schedule. You apparently live somewhere in North America, and so would have an easier time arranging a meeting. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:52 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 15. If your editorial call is "publish things by a nutcase," then magazine has destroyed its credibility That's how journalism works. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:04 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:42 AM muriel_volestrangler (89,581 posts) 27. Maybe you should read the OP, then, because its about the Seth Rich conspiracy theory and what The Nation published after the KvH editorial which you posted on DU. That's the point - she did not address this in her editorial, because she wrote that on July 27th , and published Patrick Lawrence yesterday. It is customary to read an OP before replying. And also not to claim that a point has been addressed when it obviously has not been. "If Katrina wants to publish an article by a nutcase, it's her editorial prerogative as far as I'm concerned." Well, that's the crux of the OP, isn't it? She's published an article by a nutcase. Why whine that the OP is a hit piece? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:12 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 32. This nutcase is a long-time contributor Moreover, the latest Trumpian crazy piece she published quite clearly showed no editorial oversight. It was beneath the intelligence of a typical tabloid. No conscientious editor would have allowed it through. Not only was it crazy, it was incoherent and generally a hot mess. The Nation is Kompromised when it comes to Russia, mainly becausee the editor is married to the biggest Putin apologist in the Western Hemisphere this side of Donald Trump. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:47 AM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 14. Hit piece? Sounds like your judgment is as clouded by a personal relationship as hers is. She uses as an excuse in that thread of her being tied to her husband is unfair but she is the editor of the magazine that he has gotten plenty of space in for his articles that have been called Putin apologia by many. He is not respected by the people fighting for human rights in that part of the world. Both of them use the term anti-Russia hysteria when we know the real culprit is not a country or people but the criminal oligarchy headed by Putin and those he surrounds himself with. And she and Cohen know that but are trying to make it about another cold war. It is about the war of the criminal oligarchs around the world (including some in America) against democracy. If they truly reflected the 150 years of the Nation's values they would be on the right side of that fight instead of minimizing what Putin is doing around the world. As I said in another post, Cohen claims Putin hasn't been proven to be behind the murders and attacks on dissidents as if a court in Russia would do that. Even in vanden Heuvel's response in the thread the best she can say about Putin is yes he is an authoritarian ... but ... and then goes on to condescend to tell us ignorant folks that we need common sense .. I guess that means we are not supposed to worry about the existential threat that Putin, Trump and other criminal authoritarian oligarchs around the world pose to democracy. And neither you nor her have anything to say about the Seth Rich tin foil hat ties. Also, if people read the comments section of the article Kevin Kresse does a fine job of debunking one of the central claims about bandwidth. Instead of gracing DU with her comments, perhaps she should have spent more time as an editor and had some of the technical material verified by an independent source. As I wrote, we are at war because of a very determined strategy by Putin and others to take down democracies worldwide through cyber attacks. Articles like the one they published only serve to aid them and our enemies at home. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:04 AM DFW (29,598 posts) 17. Oh, so because I know her, it's not a hit piece? The tone seemed perfectly vitriolic to me. And for the third time, I still have no idea who Seth Rich is, though a couple of you seem totally obsessed with this guy. If he's a nut case, there is a chance I glanced at something he wrote and ignored it for the very reasons you mention. I wouldn't remember the name of every crackpot author whose stuff I ignore after the first two sentences, even if it's in The Nation. Katrina supported Sanders last year. I skipped over a LOT of Nation articles at the time, and I never read a lot of them to begin with. Lucky you if you have that much free time on your hands. Those things go on forever. If you are this obsessed with her work don't whine to me about it. She reads mail sent to her c/o The Nation. I get this same kind angry response from some people for being a friend of Howard Dean, too. Here in Texas (in Dallas for a few days), I get crap for hanging with Cecile Richards. PP is SOOO evil, dontcha know. I got the same for being a 40 year friend of Helen Thomas before she passed. How dare I have friends like that, blah blah. Same old, same old. I'm used to it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:34 AM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 18. The reasons why it is not a hit piece were spelled out and they had nothing to do with you knowing her; my point was about clouded judgments. You shouldn't mention the words whine or obsession with this response. You keep whining about hit pieces and your suffering when you are obviously ignorant of facts like who Seth Rich is (he was a DNC staffer who was murdered and his death is being used by the RW nutjobs to deflect the hacking story - which you could have looked up in two seconds if you had bothered - and now they have new ammunition to do that thanks to her and the nation). As far as obsession look in the mirror. You were the one who brought her response to this forum and who obviously likes to point out all of your famous friends and how much you have suffered for knowing them (talk about whining). How about looking up those who have suffered at the hands of Putin - then you can let your buddy and her husband know about them. They obviously have ignored it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:16 AM LenaBaby61 (3,460 posts) 22. I still have no idea who Seth Rich is, though a couple of you seem totally obsessed with this guy. Faux Noose, and especially that ass Sean Hannity had been running with the "Hillary murdered Seth Rich because he leaked those DNC emails to WikiLeaks" meme for months. You probably don't watch Faux Noose, but the Seth Rich story was talked about like it was this giant bombshell, even after tRumputin was installed as our illegitimate president. It's also alleged that tRumputin sociopath/supporter Ed Butowsky told Rod Wheeler that tRumputin gave the go ahead for Faux Noose to run with this fake story. And by the way, it's people like RWNJ Ed Butowsky, a wealthy Texas businessman, and friend of the Mercer Family, who paid to Wheeler to FUEL this lie. Hillary Clinton haters have been obsessed with and hating on Hillary/Bill Clinton for 30 years, spreading lies and false stories (Does Pizzagate ring a bell?). It's a shame that The Nation has allowed that sort of filth to make it into their publication. Exclusive: The chaos behind the scenes of Fox News' now-retracted Seth Rich story. http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/10/media/seth-rich-fox-news-timeline/index.html Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:40 AM stevenleser (32,865 posts) 33. I would really love to have a sit down with her at some point because what has happened to her and to the Nation is really heartbreaking. In the 90's she is one of the folks to whom I looked up. To have degenerated from calm, lucid and intelligent commentary to apologia for a war crimes committing Putin and baseless and superficial attacks on the Democratic Party is not only sad it is mystifying. And her attempts to explain that away as merely airing multiple viewpoints doesnt make it. She doesnt air/publish or espouse multiple viewpoints, she and the Nation have an agenda. Why she has morphed into someone having that agenda is what I would like to sort out. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:43 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 35. quite frankly, back in the 1990's we were making nice with Russia's government so there was no conflict for her. Now, there's a conflict between supporting the American left, and sucking up to the swine in Moscow, and she and the mag lean towards the latter. Keep in mind that her husband is a professional Russophile and Putin-fluffer. It's not politically correct to note this, but spouses do influence each other's political views. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:43 AM emulatorloo (35,450 posts) 36. Time to educate you. Seth Rich was a DNC staffer who was murdered in a robbery gone wrong. You are a good person and I believe you will want to know about this. However I expect you won't see this as I believe you've left the thread. A GOP operative and a Fox News producer got the bright idea to concoct a conspiracy theory about Seth Rich's tragic murder in order to take the heat off Donald Trump and Putin. There is ZERO evidence for the claims they made. This is not a "Point of View", it is an absolute lie. Hannity was the face of this conspiracy on Fox and there were alleged leftists like TYT's Jimmy Dore that promoted it too. It was all over social media as well. Right wingers and self-identified "leftists" were all over twitter promoting this conspiracy. They still are to this day. Seth's family were tormented by all of this, but these liars did not care. The theory they concocted to goes like this: - Seth Rich was the True Leaker of DNC emails. Russia had nothing to do with it - The DNC or possibly HILLARY CLINTON HERSELF had Seth Rich MURDERED! to silence him. So Poor Donald Trump and Poor Putin, smeared by evil murderous loser Democrats. Katrina has changed a lot from who she used to be. Was a big admirer. Cecile Richards and Howard Dean have integrity and have nothing to do with this. Please don't smear them. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:43 PM DFW (29,598 posts) 47. I did see there were a few replies, but I don't have time to play at this all day (or night) You provided a concise explanation of who Seth Rich was, so I did read your reply. I don't, would not ever, smear Cecile or Howard. Nor Katrina, for that matter. Friendship is a lot less superficial for me than that. Despite geographical obstacles, the circle of people in Katrina's range is relatively small. If someone like Elizabeth Warren or Cecile has anything to say about something Katrina publishes, have no fear that either one of them would let her know in no uncertain terms. I'm sure she's on speed dial with them, too. The Nation and Katrina are not behind some Trumpian Mexican wall. They are accessible, and do read comments on what they publish, especially if they are in disagreement from the left. I have a few Russian friends and speak passable Russian. She is fluent, and has dozens, maybe hundreds of Russian friends. She lived there for years, and when Gorbachev invites people to his birthday party, Katrina is on the list, not me. I count on her to know the place and players better than I do. By the same token, she pumps me for info on Germany, France, Spain, Belgium and Holland because that's where I live and work and speak the local languages. Bernie Sanders had left her with the impression that medical care was free in Germany, and that there were no uninsured. My wife, a German social worker, set the record straight there. If there is someone on DU who is more intimately familiar with Russia and speaks the language, I doubt she would turn away an opposing point of view. If it's factual and logical, she might print it. Even I have been published in The Nation before (not as an LTTE), so this is not a fantasy. I see no reason to attempt to act as some kind of email conduit for her here. Anyone is welcome to write her directly (hint--if you want an answer, check your anger at the door). She hears from all kinds of people. If Cecile or Sen. Warren disagree with something Katrina writes, believe me they will let her know, and she will listen. If her door is open to me, it is WIDE open to them. One time, one of her writers did a long article on Catalunya and the separatist movement. I saw something in there I thought was an error. Katrina knows I have lived there, go back about once a month, and speak Catalan. She acknowledged my comment and took note of it. Knowing her, she probably took it up with the author of the article. As I said before, I only have time to skim the Nation when I get it, so I don't know if there was a published correction. She is not on some high horse, either. When I saw that one OP about the Nation, I sent her the whole thread and asked if she might give a response. She took the time and did. How many other non-DU people of her stature and prominence take the time to do that? On a one-to-one basis she certainly hasn't changed at all. I would encourage you to list the changes in her that you perceive, put them in an email to her c/o the Nation, say you were encouraged to write by her Texas DU friend who lives in Germany, explain your worries/concerns in a rational, logical manner, and see if you get a response. I can't promise one, since I have no clue how you would phrase your comments, but you can be sure that someone there will read it, and probably pass it on to Katrina. By the way, thanks for the info on who Seth Rich was. Back home, our neighbors to the west (otherwise known as France) recently had a hugely important election, and Merkel is up (actually her party, as she is Chancellor, not a president) for re-election in the fall. So I have been paying more attention to that than anything Fox Noise is promoting. Since we don't get U.S. TV where I live, Fox isn't even on my radar unless someone sends me a "must see" link. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 05:32 PM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 53. If you spent half the time answering the points made to you as you do talking about your personal life and the wonderful relationships you have with famous people then your reply might have had value. Repeating the line that we can write to her (mentioning you of course would help get her attention) didn't add anything. BTW, I doubt you'll read it but if you want to know why people on here are so angry about the magazine and this latest piece, here is a great takedown of the sorry Nation article, its editor and Cohen: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/8/11/1688482/-Russia-stooges-on-the-Left-go-to-even-greater-lengths-to-cover-up-the-attack-on-our-Democracy Fri Aug 11, 2017, 05:57 PM DFW (29,598 posts) 54. So, write to her and don't mention me. I don't care. The personal stuff takes no time at all and requires no research. The other stuff does. Sorry if that raises hackles, but "Get a Life" can't be enforced in a court of law, I suppose. Coventina didn't ask me not to publish Katrina's reply. If she had, I would have left it right there. I thought she might be interested in a response from the person she was referring to, and indeed she was. No one required you to read it. If I have time, though I will check out the article. It certainly seems to have a few people in a fit over it, anyway. I'll look for articles under the rubrik "sorry." Value is in the eye of the beholder. I don't recall asking you or anyone else to bow down to Mecca chanting my name. There is life outside of a blog, even this one. You don't have to take my word for it, of course............ Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:20 PM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 56. The point of a post like this on a political forum is to talk about issues I understand that it is easier and more interesting to talk about yourself rather than take two or three minutes (considerably less time than you have spent responding here) to read an article relevant to the diuscussion but give it a try. Hopefully it won't tire you out too much and you might actually have something worthwhile to share with us and your good friend. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:42 PM 59. OK, so I looked this over This guy Lawrence appears on the surface to be like the fictional Nicholai Hel's description of his interrogator and torturer, "Major Diamond," in that that he has taken some facts and made some ridiculous conclusions from them. I am frankly surprised at the number of DK posts that agree with Lawrence, but that's because I don't. As editor of The Nation, I would not have run the piece, and I suspect that some major blowback did not go unnoticed, since at the end, the Nation (presumably Katrina herself, as Editor) ran the following: Editors note: After publication, the Democratic National Committee contacted The Nation with a response, writing, U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the Russian government hacked the DNC in an attempt to interfere in the election. Any suggestion otherwise is false and is just another conspiracy theory like those pushed by Trump and his administration. Its unfortunate that The Nation has decided to join the conspiracy theorists to push this narrative. I would hope that all those who roundly criticized the Lawrence article in The Nation on DU were also among those who raised their voices with similar vehemence on DK, and either were or are busy sending similar comments to The Nation directly. Fifty eloquently composed criticisms from unknown parties will certainly carry more weight than one known party (me) playing post office. Get to work and make your voice heard. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:19 PM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:18 AM 10. I let my subscription lapse. The entire tone of the Nation has changed too much for me. And it has had such a long, illustrious history! Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:27 AM 23. I let my subscription lapse. Me too. My online subscription went bye buy several years ago when I started seeing what I thought were "weird" articles being written, and when the slant of what was written there was going too far the other way for MY taste. OMG, and Katrina's husband is such a putin lover/apologist. Katrina's of no use to me either at this point. I've seen her being interviewed and she turns me OFF. Even all of my friends who used to have subscriptions to The Nation have allowed them to lapse, and those following her on twitter have un-followed her. I guess if tRumputin starts a war with North Korea and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians (Americans included) end up DEAD, she and her husband will probably be blaming Pres. Obama and maybe call Hillary a war mongerer--just like tRuputin STAYS doing. Those 2 can go take a hike. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:09 AM alcibiades_mystery (36,437 posts) 31. Watching these Putinite organs scramble to keep Left readership after being exposed is hilarious The jig is up, except with the most gullible among us. The Nation is operating like a Putin house organ. Fuck them. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:46 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 37. pro-Putin organs on the right (Breitbart, Fox) and the left (the Nation) have really taken a hit since the last election. Mother Jones, the NY Times, and MSNBC in the meantime are crushing it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:01 AM BainsBane (43,781 posts) 16. It's a travesty what she has done to that publication That was once the longest running leftist periodical in America. I subscribed to it for years. I am glad I don't anymore. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:38 AM BainsBane (43,781 posts) 20. I think the Nation's demise reflects the collapse of a left in American politics It's becoming extremely difficult to distinguish those purporting to be leftists with alt-right, White Nationalists: the same defenses of authoritarianism, the same denial of copious evidence about Russian intervention, the same defenses of Trump and opposition to equal rights. I think we are increasingly seeing a re-shifting of political alliances, away from left vs. right toward nationalist vs. liberal globalist. This is of course not meant to extend to everyone identifying themselves as leftist, but there is a very disturbing undercurrent. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:37 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:26 PM 45. I think they're Troll Leftists Your observations are spot on, but I don't think the new 'alt-left' is anything but trolling hard righters. I think the the global peon class (us) is on the brink of serious pushback against poverty, environmental destruction, lack of representation, and filled with desperation as the have mores get more, and we all get less The hard right has always tried to infiltrate and destroy organization and movements of the underclasses Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:34 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:59 AM 25. Stephen Cohen??? The biggest Soviet/Russian apologist of the past 35 years! Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:37 AM VOX (19,910 posts) 26. I cannot fathom the buddylng-up to Putin by either left or right... What is the appeal? His record (and direct actions) on the human-rights front alone are abominable. He has had people poisoned and tossed from high-rise apartments, for Christ's sake. How bad is Putin? He's the ONLY human on Earth that Trump handles with kid gloves and that weird admiration-bromance-thing he has for dictators. Putin is actually a worse leader than Trump (right now, anyway, but it's certain that Donnie is envious). Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:46 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 38. money talks. lots of Gazprom money floating around nt Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:44 AM 28. They have been funded by the Russians for generations The Nation has always been a right wing rag. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:04 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 30. The Nation is Breitbart-left when it comes to Russia. All agenda, zero credibility or efforts to practice journalism. Patrick Lawrence is loyal to Russia, not the USA. 39. Let's just hate everyone... Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 40. So youre fine with them running a BS article by a Seth Rich truther? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:37 PM VermontKevin (1,473 posts) 61. Check out my post 9 on this thread for what seems to be "fine" to this poster. hrmjustin (71,265 posts) 41. So we can't criticize the Nation or its staff? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 12:11 PM hrmjustin (71,265 posts) 42. it is a shame what she did to the publication! Last edited Fri Aug 11, 2017, 12:52 PM - Edit history (1) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:05 PM alarimer (16,121 posts) 43. It is possible to read publications without agreeing with every single thing they publish. In fact, I think it should be mandatory to read at least some things you find objectionable. How else can you have a well-considered opinion on anything if you don't know what other people say or think? I usually learn something that I hadn't considered before. I read both Mother Jones and the Economist (despite disagreeing a lot with the liberal economic position regarding trade and markets). I read the Nation primarily for their progressive economics. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:19 PM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 44. there's a difference between reasoned arguments and just utter crap. The Nation goes dumpster-diving for its pro-Russia agitprop pieces. The lack of editorial standards is a big problem. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:40 PM Kathy M (1,189 posts) 46. Thanks .... ordered my subscription today Its good to read many publications not rely on a narrow path , there is a lot more to life ............ The nation is a great publication . Tue Aug 15, 2017, 05:28 AM Hortensis (24,409 posts) 62. Yes, I don't "get" this thread. The Nation isn't absolutist and intolerant enough? It's been years since I had a subscription and I'm not feeling a need now, but I don't recall it ever being so narrow-minded that it would satisfy left-wing demand for a right wing-style bubble. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:58 PM obamanut2012 (14,371 posts) 48. I've had a subscription for almost 15 years, and have cancelled it Last Fall. They are about as progressive as fucking Jill Stein and JPR. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:36 PM David__77 (17,732 posts) 51. The solidification of factions is real. It reminds me of extreme left grouplets, this aiming of fire at this or that nominally leftist figure. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:44 PM Ilsa (49,155 posts) 52. About two months ago I took my email off their mailing list. I won't have anything to do with them, and I change the channel if Katrina comes on to talk. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:03 PM Blue_Tires (51,268 posts) 55. Yeah, the Nation has been a sick joke for awhile now... Glad more people are noticing... So we've lost The Nation, The Young Turks, who's the next liberal outlet to make a heel turn? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:21 PM haveahart (905 posts) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:47 PM librechik (29,021 posts)

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You are likely no fan of perennial presidential candidate Norman Thomas of the Socialist Party during the first half of the 20th century (me neither) but for those who were, their votes for Thomas proved to be very effective and would have been wasted on the Republican or Democrat he ran against, despite Thomas never coming close to winning. How could this be so? It's simple. Thomas and the Socialists won by seeing most of his policy proposals adopted by both major parties, among them such radical concepts as Social Security and a graduated income tax. This happened because the Socialist Party's policy proposals showed enough public support at the polls that the major parties decided they'd better steal them. Had those who voted for Thomas instead voted for either of his opponents as "the lesser of two evils," the support for those ideas would not have been evident and they would never have been adopted. Thus they won by voting for a candidate who was bound to lose. I'm sure you can figure out how this might apply by voting Johnson/Weld in this freaky election cycle. If they attain the 15% polling average that gets them into the presidential and vice-presidential debates, millions more Americans will have a chance to compare and contrast and indicate their preference at the polls. Whoever wins will look at those "wasted votes" and decide to go after them in the next election, something that can only happen if they move in a more Libertarian direction.

You are likely no fan of perennial presidential candidate Norman Thomas of the Socialist Party during the first half of the 20th century (me neither)

In today's Photoshop culture, it is easy to be terrified of the aging process and hide under the covers every time a birthday approaches after the age of 29. After all, gay men are force-fed that being young is ideal. And the further away you get from this ideal, the harder you have to try in life. Our 20s are marketed as the zenith of a person's life, with the lives of 20-somethings glamorized to appear as nothing but a party, with zero consequences and unlimited resources. In reality, most people's 20s are more like a rollercoaster of sexual regrets, credit card debt, and crappy jobs that never pay enough. And for gay men, who can often enter this decade with a murky sense of identity or a conflicting emotional core, our 20s are usually a time of messy self-discovery that most of us are more than happy to move past, even if that is hard to remember sometimes. In an effort to stop the nightmare of aging that is, in reality, a God-send, I asked a group of 30-something men about the trials and travails of their 20s, and to reveal what advice they would give to their former selves. Read on to discover the wisdom they have for all you whipper-snappers: 1. Reject the gay media illusion. In his early 20s, John bought into the Queer as Folk myth that all gay men must be fabulous and have equally fabulous friends. Because of that, his early days were spent in the gay clubs trying to be "one of them." But John quickly learned that his attitude and approach to friendship were hurting more people than they were attracting. "My advice [to my former self] would be to not let what you see in the media define what you are as a gay man," John says. "Basically, don't be a bitch to people just because you don't find them attractive." 2. Live honestly and authentically, despite what others may want from you. Ray spent the first part of his 20s married to a woman and raising the children they had together. Now, as he approaches his 36th birthday, he is finally living what he says is an honest and genuine life. But it took a long time to get here. "The lesson I would most like to share with my 20-something self is to embrace your own authenticity and celebrate the life you've been given," Ray says. "Although I am still learning this lesson, my struggle with this notion will forever be embodied in my marriage. I will always cherish the children my marriage rendered, but I also regret 'wasting' so many years being paralyzed by the opinions and expectations of others." Even after Ray came out in his late 20s, his lack of self-esteem and need for approval led him into another relationship that was controlling and unhealthy. "As I mature into middle-age," Ray adds, "I am determined to live honestly and authentically, allowing each moment to be a celebration of the life I've been given, rather than a counterfeit disguised as the 'Ray' others want me to be." {C} 3. Don't fear HIV. Just be smart about it. When Justin was in the fifth grade, his physical education teacher gave an educational talk about HIV and AIDS. Justin said the message was simple: "If you are gay, you get AIDS and die, so don't be gay." Years later, when Justin had his first same-sex experiences during his college days at Texas A&M University, he was convinced that he had contracted HIV. Reflecting on those years now, Justin says the anxiety and stress he felt was overwhelming, and it began to make him sick. There were several times when he developed strep throat, but was convinced that it was the early signs of AIDS. "I was too scared to get tested, and the doctors were too ignorant to help," Justin says. "My fear lasted three years. I wish I could have told myself that it's going to be OK, and that being gay is nothing to be ashamed of. I wish I could tell myself the realities of HIV, and that I was low-risk, and that I needed to be proud of who I was. I didn't need to carry the burden of shame. I wish I could have told Mr. Houlihan to fuck off and rot for what he told me at 11 years old." 4. Don't be afraid to try and fail. After Dennis finished his undergraduate degree at Boston College, he felt unsure and uninspired. He was taking graduate classes, but felt like he was drifting through his life, not living up to what he knew was his full potential. That feeling led him to join the Marine Corps in 2008, and it was a decision he will never regret. "The advice I would have given myself at that time would be to try harder and not accept being mediocre," Dennis says. "I think many of us accept 'good enough.' We aren't motivated to rise above the naysayers, the haters, and the cynics. The Marine Corps definitely opened my eyes to the different viewpoints of other people, and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything else. We are led to where we need to be at that point in our lives, and must learn from those who we meet. However, I would definitely tell myself that giving anything less than 110 percent every day is unacceptable." {C} 5. There is no such thing as "too gay." After coming out as a gay man in high school, Raymond was comfortable with his sexuality. He didn't mind being known as gay, being seen as gay, and acting gay. That is, until his new gay friends told him not to be such a gay stereotype. Not wanting to be the ever-so-dreaded cliche, Raymond started to act like them. He went to the gym, he would talk about how "over the scene" he was, and he would avoid anything that may look "too gay." In his attempt to reject the stereotype, he lived through what he says were the dullest, most uninteresting years of his life. "Coming out isn't just about saying that you're gay, it's the first step to finally finding out who you are, and living your life on your own terms," Raymond says. "That means being as unafraid of what other gay men may think about your 'gayness,' as ignorant [as] straight people may be. You can't ever truly be happy as a gay man if you still actively hope that you're passing for straight, or worrying about someone thinking 'you're a stereotype.'" 6. There are people who want to help you succeed. Let them. When Rob was 25 years old, his doctor told him that he was HIV-positive and gave him about a decade left to live. That was 10 years ago this year. "Initially, I thought about the possibilities of life with a 10-year term limit," Rob says. "I decided many things were pointless and preferred other things that did not seem to require a commitment. It was a lonely time." At 35, Rob has a new outlook on life. He has hope for a healthy and happy life. But it took a lot of pain and heartache for him to get there. "I wish I could explain to my 25-year-old self just how many people were working to solve many of my problems," Rob adds. "I looked at my life and saw wreckage without any first responders; I saw closed roads without a detour or helping passersby. I didn't see the community. I didn't see the activists, doctors, and researchers that were building new freeways to new solutions. I wish I could go back and open my young blinded eyes." 7. You don't need validation from anyone but yourself. For Isaac, his 20s were possibly the most troubling and confusing years of his life. He knew that he was a gay man, but he struggled with his identity. At the age of 26, Isaac enlisted in the Army at a time when the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy was firmly in place. He says his decision was an attempt to figure out the man he truly was. But his bold move to find clarity only left him more confused. He watched as other men experienced ridicule for being out about their sexuality, while he kept his own a secret. "Looking back over these past 10 years, and as I approach my 40s, I realize that there are so many things I would do differently if given the chance," Isaac reflects. "To my 20s former self: Live life more fully. Experience as much as you can, because we only have one life to live and we should take advantage of it everyday. Be you -- your true you. Stop worrying about what others think and just enjoy the man that you are. You are a wonderful and caring person. You don't need to hear that from anyone else, as long as you know and believe it." 8. Being happy is more important than appearing perfect. When Aaron was in his mid-20s, he thought he had it all. He was dating a man who he thought was perfect for him, and they were busy planning a life together. But when Aaron caught his boyfriend cheating on him, his vision of a perfect life was clouded by confusion, depression, and a deep sense of insecurity. "If we didn't work out and seemed so perfect for each other, how would I ever be good enough for anyone else?" Aaron recalls thinking at the time. "Upon reflection, I realized I wasn't happy myself. I was doing all I could to make him happy in order to keep him, which clearly wasn't enough, and sacrificed my own happiness in the process. As they say, with age comes wisdom, so my advice to myself would be to never sacrifice who you are for another man. Love yourself first and foremost. The right person will love and accept you for you, flaws and all." {C} 9. He should love you for you. When Clarione met Adam, he never thought Adam would even notice him, much less want to be his friend. After all, Clarione saw Adam as charming, smart, incredibly attractive, and with a sizable following of admirers. So, in an effort to keep Adam's attention, Clarione started to change who he was in hopes that Adam would like him more. "I pretended to have the same interests," Clarione says. "I laughed when he thought things were funny -- even though I didn't. He told me about his troubles, and I felt lucky to be the one who could help him. I had convinced myself that he was going to take a chance on me, and that I would be the one to change him. I had fallen in love with the idea of who he could be for me. And when the fantasy started to fade and his responses weren't what I wanted them to be, I still hung on to my delusions. Then in a single irrational moment, I broke my own heart." But in the wake of his heartbreak, Clarione learned that the real him was worth it the whole time. "I probably wouldn't have believed it, but I learned that people will like me for who I am," he adds. "The truth is, people already did. The pretension may shine a bright light for a moment, but people will always be attracted to someone who is genuine. I don't have to worry about getting everybody's attention and the recognition I deserve. Ironically, it comes from just being myself and when I am not aspiring for it." 10. You are worthy. Instead of recalling a specific experience or incident in Stephen's life, he remembers a general underlying theme that plagued his 20s -- he never felt good enough. Although it may not have been visible on the surface, he says there was always a deep-rooted sense that he would fail. It didn't matter what it was -- a relationship, a job or a menial task -- his lack of self-respect due to his closeted sexuality kept him feeling insecure and unworthy. "Nowadays, I tell myself that I am good enough for anything I set out to do," Stephen says. "In relationships, I confidently express who I am and what I desire in a partner. With work, I always do the best I can, and I put forth respect towards colleagues that is returned to me more often than not. And in life, in general, I maintain an appreciation of all opportunities and gifts, no matter how great or how small." Getting older only makes you better, regardless of how much the media tries to convince us otherwise. So stay tuned for the next installment, as we enthusiastically check the next box -- the 40s.

After all, gay men are force-fed that being young is ideal.

Researchers say preliminary findings show a North Atlantic right whale may have been struck by a ship before the animal was found dead in Massachusetts waters. Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say bruising consistent with blunt trauma could be evidence of a ship strike. North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species. The World Wildlife Fund says only about 350 are still living. NOAA is urging vessels to keep a watch for right whales, which often swim just below the water's surface and can be hard to see. The 27-foot long, 1-year-old female was found dead in Cape Cod Bay on Thursday and towed to a harbor where it could be placed on a flatbed for transport. A final analysis is expected to take weeks. Saturday, 11 Aug 2018 12:30 PM Saturday, 11 Aug 2018 07:13 AM

North Atlantic right whales are an endangered species. The World Wildlife Fund says only about 350 are still living.

A play called "Tomorrow Inshallah," based on the reporting of two journalists from the leftist Huffpost, tells the tale of rampant "islamophobia"--including "murders, vandalism and... "ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force," the ProPublica website insists. Its mission, the website claims, is, "To expose... The new U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, Tim Garrison, had some sobering news for White Chief of Staff John Kelly during President...

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For the first time in 600 years there is a living former Pope. However, Pope Emeritus Benedict does not plan to retire quietly to the Vatican's back porch and tend to gardening and meditation. He has other plans and they are leaking out along with a wisp of white smoke from the chimney atop 1211 Avenue of the Americas . Fox News insiders report that a deal has been reached to bring Benedict to the Fox News family with a new program to air on Sunday mornings. Tentatively titled "Pope Culture," sources say that it will premiere this fall and is slated to be a forum for many of the values issues that dominate the dialogue in the media and at dinner tables across America. Discussions to draft the papal free agent began shortly after the selection of Pope Francis, Benedict's successor. Those meetings were helped along by some influential Vatican insiders with media connections. Greg Burke, the current Senior Communications Adviser in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, was previously the Fox News correspondent covering the Vatican, a position he held for ten years. Burke, a member of the ultra-conservative Catholic prelate Opus Dei, left Fox in the summer of 2012 to head up the Vatican's PR efforts to quell the uproar over a series of embarrassing scandals. Burke was instrumental in introducing Benedict to Fox CEO Roger Ailes who was immediately intrigued by the prospect of signing a popular figure in the world of religion with international name recognition. Ailes was said to be looking for a new hot property to bolster a stale line-up that was recently roiled by controversy and incompetence. This year he had to jettison or bench familiar Fox faces like Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, and Dick Morris, due to their humiliating failures as commentators and analysts. Since God has anointed Benedict as infallible, Ailes can relax and won't have to worry about the sort of mistakes that caused his network to suffer historic declines in ratings and credibility. Sources inside Fox, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, said that contract negotiations included some unique concessions. The show would not be modeled after the other Sunday news programs that feature sometimes raucous debates. Benedict insisted that his program be a more deliberative hour interspersed with inspirational segments and profiles of charitable organizations and volunteer opportunities. The theme of promoting "service" was said to have been brought up repeatedly by Benedict's representatives. They briefly encountered some resistance at Fox by hardliners who regard such talk as coddling freeloaders who refuse to accept personal responsibility. In the end, Benedict prevailed by agreeing that the type of service that he advocated was of the private variety and not that provided by bloated government agencies. That was enough to win over the Fox holdouts. Benedict further requested and received assurances that he would have editorial control and would not be subject to either fairness or balance with regard to his topics or guests, a demand Ailes had no problem with since he never took that seriously anyway. There is also a provision for Fox to build a TV studio at Benedict's residence which, sources say, will be accomplished on the cheap by repossessing the one they built for Sarah Palin at her home in Wasilla, Alaska. As of this writing there is no confirmation of rumors regarding the brown M&Ms. When Benedict arrives at Fox in the fall he will be joining a roster already heavily weighted with Roman-Catholics, including: Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier, Bill Hemmer, Brian Kilmeade, Andrew Napolitano, Jeanine Pirro, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Kucinich, and the in-house priest, Father Jonathan Morris. Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of Fox News parent News Corp was himself inducted into the "Knights of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great" by Pope John Paul II. So Benedict ought to feel right at home in the midst of a College of (Media) Cardinals. His prior experience as spokesman for a vast assembly of true believers is the ideal preparation for a career as a Fox minister. Fox viewers exhibit a fierce loyalty that is consistent with the behavior of religious devotees and cults. They voluntarily separate themselves from the heresy of other news sources that might infect their pious souls. They make a point of disassociating with apostates and blasphemers who might divert them from the true path. Cult leaders demand strict obedience, and that is precisely what Fox News gets from their disciples. They even have an adjunct site, Fox Nation [see Fox Nation vs. Reality ], that implores its adherents to "Join Us" with the promise that they will never be alone - a promise that is familiar to churchgoers. The pairing of Fox and Benedict appears to be almost preordained. They have striking similarities in their principles and agendas. And at the root of their shared mission is the fact that they are both trying to sell stories on faith to ill-informed people who are motivated by fear. This relationship has the potential to be beneficial for everyone involved and is being greeted with unanimous approval from the Fox hierarchy. Oh Happy Day. Share this:

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Revolucion #352 8 de septiembre de 2014 Trascripcion de importante discurso del PCR: Donde nos encontramos en la revolucion 24 de agosto de 2014 | Periodico Revolucion | revcom.us A continuacion presentamos la trascripcion revisada de este importante discurso del Partido Comunista Revolucionario, pronunciado en varias ciudades de Estados Unidos en mayo de 2014. Hoy hablare de nuestra estrategia concreta para hacer una revolucion a la brevedad que sea posible, y donde nos encontramos en la implementacion de esta estrategia. Como una manera de empezar y para explicar el enfoque de este tema y lo que no es el enfoque de este tema, y cualquier otra cuestion de importancia, quiero hablar acerca de una discusion que tuve hace poco. Yo daba vueltas y vueltas con esta persona sobre el tema en cuestion, sobre lo que era cierto o no, y luego, a manera de concluir el argumento, ella dijo: "Bueno, todo el mundo solo se cuenta a si mismo una historia que le da sentido a su mundo y le permite pasar a otro dia". Yo le respondi, no, eso es precisamente el problema -- porque hay historias de toda clase que dan la impresion de encajar con la forma en que ves o quieres ver el mundo y que luego te permiten seguir adelante, pero que no son ciertas. Es decir, que dichas historias NO corresponden a la realidad concreta y su curso esencial de desarrollo. Y lo que necesitamos es la verdad. Esta situacion se ve por todos lados. Por ejemplo, la religion: las personas diran que si, existe un sufrimiento innecesario, pero "todo eso es parte del plan de Dios". Y al presionarles para que aporten pruebas, algunas personas diran, bueno, no puedo probarlo, pero para sus adentros, diran, yo lo se Y ADEMAS yo necesito creerlo para poder aguantar otro dia. O la gente habla de "narrativas" -- que es solo una palabra elegante para las historias. Esto se puede ver en gran escala en algo como Israel, y su despojo, dominacion y progresiva asfixia brutalmente violenta del pueblo palestino. ?Como se trata este tema en los medios de comunicacion? Cuando no sean puras y simples mentiras y tergiversaciones a favor de los israelies, algunos dicen: "Bueno, esta la narrativa israeli contra la narrativa palestina", como si solo se tratara de que cada lado contara una historia distinta y nadie puede distinguir cual es cierta. Un lado dice que los sionistas fueron a Palestina, se apoderaron de las tierras y eliminaron o subyugaron al pueblo autoctono mediante enganos o a menudo masacres -- de hecho, mas de 30 masacres en la guerra de 1948 para desterrar a los palestinos y establecer el estado de Israel. El otro lado dice que "esta era una tierra sin pueblo para un pueblo sin tierra", como se dice en la pelicula ganadora del Oscar Exodo . SOLAMENTE una de esas "narrativas" corresponde a lo que es verdad -- a la realidad objetiva concreta y a las caracteristicas esenciales de esa realidad. Nosotros sabemos cual es, y por eso los partidarios de Israel ponen el grito en el cielo cuando alguien los compara con la Sudafrica durante el apartheid. Pero en el mundo actual, en lugar de la verdad frente a la mentira, todo se reduce a "narrativas en competencia". O cuando exista una verdad, se dice que es verdad porque es "lo que sirve para mi" -- y NO porque es posible verificarla mediante el estudio y la comprobacion de la realidad objetiva. Estoy empezando con este tema porque penetra tan totalmente a la cultura en este momento y sirve de una barrera concreta a que la gente actue... algo que tratare en adelante... y ademas porque el movimiento revolucionario, el movimiento comunista tiene una historia de caer en este modo de pensar tambien. Ha resultado dificilisimo, como minimo, hacer una revolucion y luego eliminar toda explotacion y opresion. Y ante ese problema, ha habido tendencias a caer en ese modo de pensar de narrativas o hasta caer en una especie de enfoque religioso -- de decirnos a nosotros mismos que tal cambio es inevitable... de idealizar o romantizar a los oprimidos... de centrarse casi exclusivamente en los hechos "favorables" o en la experiencia positiva y no fijarse mucho en las dificultades, los contratiempos y los errores... o a caer en un modo de esperar que una fuerza casi sobrenatural intervenga y elimine los muy concretos obstaculos a todo esto que nosotros, colectivamente como un movimiento, hemos aprendido en estos ultimos 150 anos. Voy a hablar en adelante sobre Bob Avakian, el presidente de nuestro partido, y sus contribuciones fundamentales al comunismo -- la nueva sintesis del comunismo que el ha desarrollado. Pero en la propia base de todas las contribuciones de BA es un enfoque mas cientifico de buscar la verdad -- de estudiar al mundo material, incluyendo el propio mundo material de la sociedad humana, utilizando el metodo cientifico. Yo solo voy a referirme a eso hoy, pero se ha posteado un nuevo discurso muy bueno de BA en nuestra pagina web de BA que trata este tema, y que los presentes deberian escuchar: " La base material y el metodo para hacer una revolucion " (en ingles); proximamente saldra la traduccion al espanol. Bien, ?que quiero decir con el metodo cientifico? En la serie televisiva muy buena Cosmos , Neil deGrasse Tyson habla de esto en el tercer episodio. Primero, habla de la capacidad del ser humano de reconocer patrones. Eso es la base de la ciencia -- las personas confrontan al mundo material, determinan los patrones o posibles patrones en su experiencia, desarrollan ideas para explicar esos patrones y ponen a prueba sus ideas para ver si corresponden a la realidad... de ahi, resumen si su idea es cierta o a que grado es cierta, y a su vez eso les permite detectar aun mas patrones, y desarrollar explicaciones mas profundas y acertadas. Es necesario no simplemente conformarse con los fenomenos superficiales -- es necesario adentrarse mas profundamente. Ademas, Tyson tambien habla del "reconocimiento de falsos patrones" -- por ejemplo, los primeros pueblos afirmaban que los cometas eran una expresion de la ira de los dioses. Por lo tanto, en esto es necesario aplicar mucha rigurosidad y una orientacion muy contundente. No solo es necesario ver los patrones, es necesario ir a la esencia , o al corazon, de estos patrones. ?Que es lo que motiva este patron que estoy detectando? ?Por que ocurre? ?Que es lo que la causa? ?Que pasa cuando yo trato de afectarlo? Y ?que puedo aprender de eso? Por eso, cuando hablamos de una estrategia para hacer una revolucion hoy, tendremos que preguntarnos a nosotros mismos: ?es cierta? Lo que significa: ?esta estrategia corresponde a la realidad concreta que enfrentamos? ?Ubica y hace frente a las posibilidades materiales concretas del cambio que existen dentro de esa realidad? Si emprendieramos esta estrategia, ?habria una oportunidad concreta de ganar? Bien, nuestro partido tiene una estrategia, y se expone de manera muy sucinta y entendible en nuestra declaracion sobre la estrategia, " Sobre la estrategia para la revolucion ", reimpresa en Lo BAsico , un libro de discursos y citas de Bob Avakian. Esta declaracion sobre la estrategia comienza por reconocer la realidad sin tapujos: "Muchas personas insisten: 'Nunca podria haber una revolucion en este pais: el orden establecido es tan poderoso, la gente esta hecha un desastre y esta tan atrapada en tragarse las cosas como son, las fuerzas revolucionarias son tan pequenas'". Las personas que dicen eso senalan cosas reales; pero sacan la conclusion equivocada. Este es el reconocimiento de falsos patrones. Mi discurso explicara por que, al tomar plenamente en cuenta --y entender correctamente-- la realidad reflejada en esas objeciones, la revolucion SI es posible en concreto. Y lo haremos sobre la base de reconocer plena y profundamente la realidad y buscar la verdad. Examinemos esta primera objecion: que el orden establecido es demasiado poderoso. Muchas personas ven la enorme riqueza que estos explotadores le han exprimido a la gente en todo el mundo y la inmensa fuerza de los organismos de la violencia y la represion que han forjado sobre esa base y concluyen muy rapidamente que no hay manera de que sea posible derrotarlos. Pero las personas aun ven la necesidad del cambio, por lo que buscan algo menos que la revolucion. Por ejemplo, en una persona como Chris Hedges, el periodista, quien ve con mucha claridad la capacidad de violencia de este sistema --el se inicio como corresponsal de guerra-- y sale con ideas acerca de una "revolucion no violenta". Cuando las cosas van bien, el se deja llevar con esta idea. Durante el movimiento Ocupar, dijo que dicho movimiento era "tan grande que no pudiera fracasar". Bueno, ?que le paso a Ocupar? Hoy los medios de comunicacion actuan como si Ocupar simplemente "se viniera abajo". De hecho, la policia destrozo a Ocupar de manera masiva, sistematica y muy violenta. Segun la alcaldesa de Oakland, se coordino la represion policial violenta y masiva mediante una conferencia telefonica nacional de los alcaldes de varias ciudades -- casi puros democratas. Retomare en adelante por que los democratas se sintieron obligados a destrozar a Ocupar pero que hoy se sienten obligados a dejar que Cliven Bundy, el ranchero racista ese de Nevada, tuviera la libertad de amenazar a los agentes federales con armas de fuego y por que la clase dominante en su conjunto lo convirtio en una celebridad y le dio una plataforma para sus desvarios racistas de odio. Pero por ahora, lo importante es que Ocupar, asi como cientos de otros ejemplos, muestran que incluso en el caso de un desafio relativamente leve --y para repetir, el gran "delito" de Ocupar era ocupar pacificamente unos espacios publicos al tiempo que senalaba las enormes disparidades en la riqueza de Estados Unidos-- la respuesta es la fuerza. Despues de que los gobernantes se han quedado sin argumentos, siempre salen con su argumento de pesos pesados: No hay razon como la del baston. "Nuestra 'narrativa' tiene un ejercito, y la suya no". Yo podria hablar a partir de ahora hasta el otro ano con ejemplos parecidos, y no obstante no podria ver el fin -- este es un patron muy basico de la vida social desde que hace miles de anos la humanidad se dividio en clases -- entre explotadores y explotados, opresores y oprimidos. Cuando las clases que se benefician de un orden social empiezan a considerar que las personas sobre las que gobiernan amenacen a su posicion o hasta la cuestionen en serio, movilizan al ejercito y la policia para contener o destrozar la amenaza o, en el caso de una amenaza internacional, van a la guerra. Y este gobierno no cede ante nadie en su disposicion de desplegar esa fuerza. Hoy algunos integrantes de la clase dominante estan en una campana seria de "rehabilitar el legado" de Lyndon Johnson, que fue presidente de Estados Unidos en los anos 1960. Hasta le han montado una obra de teatro en Broadway, con la estrella de Breaking Bad , para hacer que sintieramos empatia y "apreciaramos" a ese sujeto... a ese criminal que presidio cosas tan viles y monstruosas que no caben en la imaginacion. No quieren hablar del papel de Johnson en el asesinato de 3.000.000 --!tres millones!-- de vietnamitas, mediante el lanzamiento de una guerra no provocada con el fin de destrozar a una revolucion que no representaba ninguna amenaza directa a Estados Unidos, pero que quiza sirviera de "ejemplo negativo", segun ellos , para otros oprimidos. Y emprendieron esa guerra con una politica -- y aqui cito el titulo de un excelente libro de Nick Turse, que descubrio los archivos secretos del Pentagono que detallan la monstruosidad de unos crimenes de guerra que rivalizan a los nazis -- una politica de "matar todo lo que se mueva". Es decir, una politica de masacre tras masacre, sea desde el aire o en tierra, una politica de una sociedad muy enferma . Con razon se maldice a Hitler por asesinar a seis millones de judios -- bueno, ?y que de los tres millones de vietnamitas y otros millones de indochinos en Camboya y Laos cuyo asesinato Johnson puso en marcha, o que al menos impulso? ?Y que del medio millon a un millon de asesinatos en Indonesia orquestados y fraguados por la CIA en 1965, a ordenes de Johnson? Se podria pasar revista de manera similar a casi todos los presidentes. Y ningun presidente nunca ha denunciado ni nunca denunciaria a ninguno de sus antecesores por cualquiera de estos crimenes de lesa humanidad. De hecho, todos los ex presidentes con vida, junto con Obama, hace poco honraron a Johnson en una ceremonia en su biblioteca y nadie murmuro ni una palabra acerca de las atrocidades que a sabiendas Johnson presidio y, ademas, acerca de las que mintio a fin de emprenderlas y luego justificarlas. Por lo tanto, estos son verdaderos monstruos con colmillos reales, y utilizaran esos colmillos a la menor provocacion y a veces sin ninguna provocacion. No se hara ningun cambio fundamental sin lidiar con eso. Citemos Lo BAsico : La revolucion no es una especie de cambio de estilo, o un cambio de actitud, ni es meramente un cambio de ciertas relaciones en una sociedad que sigue igual en lo fundamental. La revolucion significa nada menos que derrotar y desmantelar el estado opresor existente, el que le sirve al sistema capitalista imperialista --y en particular los organismos de represion y violencia organizada, incluyendo las fuerzas armadas, la policia, las cortes, las prisiones, las burocracias y el poder administrativo-- y el reemplazo de dichos organismos reaccionarios, esas concentraciones de coaccion y violencia reaccionaria, por organismos revolucionarios de poder politico y otras instituciones y estructuras de gobierno revolucionarias cuya base se ha forjado por medio del proceso de construir el movimiento para la revolucion y luego la toma del poder, cuando las condiciones para eso hayan surgido.... ( Lo BAsico 3:3) Por eso, hay que enfrentarse a eso: "derrotar y desmantelar el estado opresor existente, el que le sirve al sistema capitalista imperialista --y en particular los organismos de represion y violencia organizada". BA ha senalado que eso puede dar la sensacion de que estuvieramos encerrados en un enorme patio penitenciario rodeado por un enorme muro de acero mas alto que nuestro campo visual y que parece increiblemente grueso. Nosotros mismos somos lo unico que tenemos en contra de esta situacion, ademas de que --?y que mas?-- tenemos el metodo cientifico. Pero eso es mucho. Este metodo cientifico es como tener un microscopio y un equipo de radiografia. Podemos usar ese microscopio y equipo de radiografia y asi podemos empezar a ver y rastrear las grietas dentro de ese muro... podemos ver las debilidades estructurales dentro de ese muro que han hecho que el acero se oxidara, aqui y alla... podemos ver donde estan las vigas y las juntas que no se montaron tan bien y podrian ceder bajo la tension... podemos ver que el tiempo afectara al muro de diferentes maneras y lo ira desgastando. En terminos claros, podemos investigar y estudiar la realidad y buscar los patrones y las dinamicas subyacentes y las fuerzas impulsoras. Hagamos algunas preguntas acerca de los patrones y veamos lo que podemos aprender al respecto. ?Alguna vez haya derrotado una fuerza que comienza con fuerzas pequenas, sin experiencia y con armas ligeras, a una fuerza que comienza con experiencia, tamano y armas pesadas? Resulta que eso si ha ocurrido. ?Alguna vez haya sido tal fuerza el equivalente a la que nosotros enfrentamos, cuando se desarrollen las cosas asi? Resulta que eso si ha ocurrido. ?Que paso? Resulta que si bien, efectivamente, ha habido muchas mas victorias de parte de las fuerzas mas poderosas contra las fuerzas mas pequenas con armas ligeras --!vaya sorpresa!-- tambien ha habido algunos empates y al menos una gran derrota -- esa misma guerra de Vietnam que ya mencione. Veamos un minuto lo que paso en Vietnam. Los vietnamitas no solo derrotaron al final a Estados Unidos sino que hacia el fin de la guerra, despues de repetidas derrotas en batalla y el crecimiento de un movimiento decidido y muy desafiante contra la guerra en Estados Unidos, cundia un cierto desgaste del propio ejercito estadounidense. Los soldados expresaban disentimiento y hasta resistian de formas diversas y a veces muy frontales. El que el gobierno de Estados Unidos tuviera la capacidad de movilizar de manera confiable a ese ejercito comenzo a incidir y figurar en sus calculos acerca de su manera y posibilidades de llevar a cabo esa guerra. He aqui otra leccion muy importante acerca de esa guerra y otras cosas que ocurrian en Estados Unidos en ese momento. Las mas de las veces, a la gente no le gusta la forma en que el estado aprieta las clavijas de su represion, pero no cuestiona el derecho del estado a hacer eso. Las mas de las veces, la gente tiende a concederle al estado un monopolio sobre el uso legitimo de la violencia. Se oye todo el tiempo: "No estoy en contra de todos los policias, solamente contra los malos", sin ver que "los malos" y "los buenos" trabajan en conjunto para jugar un papel general de mantener a la gente acorralada. Eso es lo que se entiende por "legitimidad": el estado puede usar la violencia para reforzar el orden que esta defendiendo. Bien, durante los anos de Vietnam amplios sectores de la sociedad empezaron a dejar de creer en la legitimidad de la violencia dirigida por el estado, debido al creciente movimiento politico que cuestionaba la justicia del orden que esa fuerza defendia, asi como en ocasiones debido a los desafios directos a ese monopolio de fuerza que se daba en la sociedad en ese entonces. El que las personas dejaran de creer en el gobierno seria un componente importante de cualquier situacion revolucionaria -- seria una importante "grieta en el muro". Cuando la gente empiece a reconocer la ilegitimidad del uso de la fuerza por parte de la estructura de poder --y en consecuencia, cuando la gente empiece a reconocer la legitimidad de las fuerzas revolucionarias--, eso representara una dinamica esencial cuando la lucha sin cuartel por el poder efectivamente este a la orden del dia y a lo largo de esa lucha. Ademas, esa es una grieta en el muro sobre la que nosotros tenemos que empezar a trabajar ahora, aun antes de que esa lucha total este en marcha o a la orden del dia en lo inmediato. De nuevo se trata de una ciencia. No podemos experimentar directamente la experiencia historica pero si la podemos estudiar. Podemos estudiar las cosas positivas y negativas que ocurren en el mundo hoy. Podemos leer los escritos de los revolucionarios y podemos estudiar el trabajo de los autores del lado del enemigo que han examinado las potenciales deficiencias y que han senalado estas debilidades en esas estructuras de represion violenta, y podemos aprender de sus observaciones y recombinarlas. Ademas, tal como los demas cientificos, tenemos que usar nuestra imaginacion pero no dejarnos regir por esta. Bien, esas cuestiones son solo el comienzo de determinar si es posible enfrentar y derrotar a esas fuerzas tan imponentes de la represion violenta en una revolucion. La experiencia de otros paises, si bien es muy importante, difiere en algunos muy importantes aspectos -- por ejemplo, cuando los vietnamitas expulsaron al ejercito estadounidense de Vietnam, NO tuvieron que derrotar completamente , hacer desintegrar y desmantelar a la fuerza represiva del viejo orden. Y es casi seguro que se tendria que hacer eso en una revolucion en un pais imperialista. Hay otros problemas y cuestiones propios de un pais imperialista que es necesario tratar. ?Como evitar que la base principal de esta revolucion salga cercada en las ciudades y pulverizada? ?Como ejercer la direccion de tal lucha en contra de la vigilancia y la represion de los de arriba? ?Como, en tal situacion, hacer frente a las fuerzas reaccionarias que estarian movilizando a la gente... y por lo mismo, como analizar la posibilidad de hacer que se desprendan algunas fuerzas a los de arriba, incluidas en sus fuerzas armadas, cuando esa lucha se ponga a la orden del dia y se desarrolle? ?Y como esta relacionado el trabajo politico e ideologico que se hace hoy cuando la lucha sin cuartel aun no este a la orden del dia y NO deberia emprenderse, con el momento en que las cosas si cambien? Nuestro partido ha hecho eso: hemos analizado y explicado las contradicciones y cuestiones esenciales, hemos sentado las bases y el marco esencial de una estrategia que podria ganar en una situacion distinta a la de hoy, una situacion revolucionaria. Lo hemos hecho en obras tales como el articulo " Sobre la posibilidad de la revolucion ", la pelicula Habla BA: !REVOLUCION -- NADA MENOS! Bob Avakian en vivo (en ingles) y el discurso de BA Los pajaros no pueden dar a luz cocodrilos, pero la humanidad puede volar mas alla del horizonte (Primera parte: Revolucion y el estado . Segunda parte: Construyendo el movimiento para la revolucion ). Esas obras exponen, aplican y desarrollan algunos principios basicos de lo que los comunistas revolucionarios llaman la "guerra popular ". Tomemos un momento para ver, ?que se entiende por una guerra popular? En China, Mao Tsetung desarrollo una "guerra popular" en el proceso de dirigir al partido para dirigir al pueblo durante 22 anos de guerra hacia la toma del poder en 1949. Mao lidero al partido para tomar un grupo relativamente pequeno de personas y forjar un ejercito de abajo hacia arriba. El proposito de ese ejercito era el de servir a las masas para llegar al comunismo, derrotando al opresor y representando un mundo completamente diferente. Debido a que eso era su proposito y razon de ser --y NO el saqueo ni la defensa del saqueo--, ese ejercito tenia y podia llevar a cabo una forma diferente de estrategia y tacticas. Lo que se convirtio en el Ejercito Popular de Liberacion podia contar con el apoyo de la gente para hacer una guerra que le permitiera ir desgastando y haciendo desintegrar gradualmente a un enemigo mucho mas fuerte. Pudo privarle a ese enemigo de la clase de combate que el enemigo deseaba y de la posibilidad de aplicar su ventaja abrumadora de fuerza para pulverizar al Ejercito Popular de Liberacion. Los revolucionarios, al contrario, obligaban a los reaccionarios a combatir de acuerdo a los terminos que mas beneficiaran a la revolucion. El Ejercito Popular de Liberacion practicaba entre sus soldados, y entre sus soldados y el pueblo, formas de relaciones distintas al caso del ejercito reaccionario contra el que combatia -- se puede leer en el Libro Rojo, las Citas de Mao, las reglas de disciplina y advertencias que elaboraron para garantizar y reforzar esas relaciones. Aparte de ser esencial para la meta de la lucha y la manera en que la emprendian, fortalecio la legitimidad de las fuerzas revolucionarias y socavaba las afirmaciones de legitimidad del regimen gobernante. Y con el tiempo, al usar la estrategia cientifica desarrollada por Mao, este ejercito emprendio batallas y cobro fuerzas y jugo un papel importante en la derrota de los japoneses que invadieron en los anos treinta y cuarenta, y luego derrotaron e hicieron desintegrar totalmente al ejercito chino regular que contaban con armamento, asesoria y apoyo de Estados Unidos y finalmente, en el combate contra el ejercito estadounidense hasta un empate en Corea, ni siquiera un ano despues de haber tomado el poder a nivel nacional en China. Pero hoy sabemos que el momento actual no es lo mismo que esos anos. Una buena parte de esa experiencia no se aplica y no se aplicaria hoy a un pais como Estados Unidos. Pero hay principios que si son de aplicacion -- por lo que personas como Petraeus, ese general criminal de guerra, estudia la obra de Mao y por lo que nosotros tambien deberiamos hacerlo. Ademas, las citadas obras SI tratan directamente lo que las fuerzas revolucionarias enfrentarian en un pais como Estados Unidos y hay mas ideas y "exploraciones" sobre diversos problemas "puntiagudos". No tratare de hacer otros comentarios sobre los detalles de eso, pero SI pido que ustedes hagan mas estudio de estas y otras obras y que forcejeen con este tema, de manera correcta, entre si y que participen en el trabajo muy importante --dejenme recalcar, en la esfera de la teoria-- para adentrarse mas en este tema. Lo importante, para repetir, es lo siguiente: a partir de abordar este tema concretamente, con un metodo y enfoque cientifico, lo cierto ES que ES posible derrotar a esta fuerza... en las condiciones, retomando esa cita, de "una profunda crisis en la sociedad y el surgimiento de un pueblo revolucionario de millones y millones de personas, que cuente con la direccion de una vanguardia comunista revolucionaria y este consciente de la necesidad del cambio revolucionario y este resuelto a luchar por el mismo". Para nada hay garantias y claro que no se haria sin sacrificios -- pero eso seria posible . Por lo tanto, eso es la primera parte de la respuesta a "donde nos encontramos en la revolucion": hemos desarrollado este marco, el que es sumamente valioso y es un importante adelanto concreto. Bien, aparte de nuestro microscopio y equipo de radiografia metaforicos o imaginarios --o sea, las imagenes con las que nos referimos al metodo cientifico-- tenemos un telescopio. Aparte de ver adentro del muro, podemos ver por encima y mas alla de ese muro. Volvamos a esa cita que acabo de citar y leamos la siguiente parte: la toma del poder y el cambio radical en las instituciones dominantes de la sociedad, cuando las condiciones para eso hayan surgido, hacen que sea posible un cambio mas radical en toda la sociedad -- en la economia y en las relaciones economicas, en las relaciones sociales y en la politica, la ideologia y la cultura imperantes en la sociedad. El objetivo final de esta revolucion es el comunismo, lo que significa y requiere la abolicion de todas las relaciones de explotacion y opresion y de todos los conflictos antagonicos destructivos entre los seres humanos, en todo el mundo. A la luz de este analisis, la toma del poder, en un pais especifico, es crucial y decisiva y abre paso a mas cambios radicales y a fortalecer y a avanzar mas la lucha revolucionaria a traves del mundo; pero al mismo tiempo, por crucial y decisiva que sea eso, es solamente el primer paso --o el primer gran salto-- en una lucha general que tiene que continuar hacia el objetivo final de esta revolucion: un mundo comunista radicalmente nuevo. ?Y que implica para las masas que por fin caiga ese alto muro de hierro? Una amiga mia limpiaba el atico de sus padres y encontro una revista Life de 1950, el ano justo despues del triunfo de la revolucion en China, que era un numero especial sobre Asia. Esta revista era una revista ilustrada muy popular en los anos cincuenta y sesenta. La revista publico una imagen de los campesinos en la China recien liberada --los campesinos que antes de la llegada al poder de los comunistas habian estado bajo una ferrea explotacion, privados de tierras, bajo los grilletes del endeudamiento, quienes a menudo se morian en las periodicas hambrunas y en ocasiones tuvieron que vender a sus hijas a los terratenientes, todo ello avalado por las leyes de China y por el ejercito-- en la que muestra con muchisima desaprobacion a los campesinos quemando las escrituras de las tierras de los terratenientes y los registros de sus deudas, en una jubilosa celebracion. La revista Life , de nuevo con muchisima desaprobacion, publico otra imagen, que muestra a algunos campesinos con armas de fuego en la mano y afirma que las milicias populares impiden que los terratenientes hagan algo al respecto. Y si uno sabe algo acerca de la vida de miseria que estos campesinos soportaban antes de la revolucion, de las injusticias terribles que sufrian, dira: "!Adelante, Milicia Popular!" Debido a que tambien uno sabria que sin el poder armado que los respalda, estos campesinos hubieran permanecido desunidos. Los terratenientes hubieran traficado con los temores de los campesinos y los hubieran aprovechado, hubieran manipulado la mentalidad del servilismo y la sumision inculcada por los miles de anos de explotacion, hubieran desplegado sus propios esbirros e incluso con todas las leyes en el mundo nada hubieran cambiado en concreto. Pero las cosas SI cambiaron: se hizo anicos el dominio de los terratenientes sobre el campo y se repartieron las tierras; de ahi se formaron diferentes clases de cooperativas, las que paso a paso se iban colectivizando en mayor grado. Para mediados de los anos 1960 por primera vez en la historia, China habia resuelto en lo fundamental el problema de la alimentacion -- en lo fundamental habia desarrollado la capacidad de satisfacer las necesidades alimentarias de la poblacion entera y ademas, de tener reservas -- y ademas por primera vez llevaron la alfabetizacion, la educacion y la atencion sanitaria al campo. Todo eso se realizo con una enorme lucha y tambien errores y sacrificios. Tuvieron que hacer frente a Estados Unidos y la Union Sovietica a la vez -- pero lo lograron. Y todo eso no es ninguna "narrativa" de nadie -- todo eso es la verdad, y tenemos los hechos para demostrarlo. Todo eso me llevo a pensar de nuevo en la Reconstruccion en Estados Unidos hace 150 anos, justo despues del fin de la guerra de Secesion. Para obtener su libertad concreta en esos momentos, para garantizar los derechos mas basicos, esos ex esclavos hubieran tenido que apoderarse de las tierras que su sangre habia trabajado durante generaciones. Hubieran tenido que forjar organismos de poder armado para garantizar que se impidiera que los ex amos de las plantaciones "volvieran a dominar de nuevo". Hubieran tenido que usar ese poder para asi transformar la sociedad entera, empezando con el sistema educativo. Pero NO se hizo eso. Al contrario, el poder se quedo en manos del Ejercito de la Union del Norte, que era un instrumento de los capitalistas que lo controlaban... y cuando ya no les convenia a estos capitalistas que se capacitara a los ex esclavos para ejercer siquiera los derechos minimos obtenidos a raiz de la guerra de Secesion, el Ejercito de la Union se retiro y dejo a esos ex esclavos a la merced del dogal del linchamiento y del Ku Klux Klan, y lo que se convirtio en generaciones de explotacion brutal. Sin un ejercito popular --un ejercito completamente nuevo-- como baluarte de un poder estatal completamente nuevo resuelto a apoyar a las masas en la eliminacion de todos los vestigios de la esclavitud, no habia ninguna posibilidad. Eso fue cierto en ese entonces y es cierto sobre todo para la sociedad socialista que tenemos que crear en estos tiempos. Claro que el ejercicio de ese poder nuevo y su ejercicio de una manera correcta encierran un monton de cosas complicadas. La manera de hacer eso es una gran parte de la nueva sintesis del comunismo desarrollada por BA. Se puede encontrar esta pionera nueva sintesis, que retoma los logros y tambien reconoce y analiza cientificamente las debilidades de las revoluciones anteriores, en muchas obras de BA y se concentra en la Constitucion para la Nueva Republica Socialista en America del Norte (Proyecto de texto), la que efectivamente trata la complejidad de todo eso, ademas de ser muy concreta y accesible. Pero hay algunas cosas muy sencillas en que se puede comenzar a trabajar el dia despues de la toma del poder. En ese momento, se habria desmantelado y dispersado al antiguo ejercito y policia. Ahora existirian nuevos organismos de poder --en terminos de las nuevas estructuras politicas y las nuevas fuerzas armadas que esas estructuras organizarian-- sobre la base de las fuerzas que se hubieran templado y probado en la lucha para derrotar a ese viejo orden. Recuerde que una de las formas esenciales en que siquiera se pudiera imaginar la posibilidad del triunfo de estas fuerzas revolucionarias es la manera en que combaten y se conducen -- que encarnan los valores de la sociedad que estan creando y NO los valores de la sociedad que estan luchando para superar y trascender, y al hacerlo trazar un marcado contraste con el enemigo. Por lo tanto, desde el primer dia, a medida que estos nuevos organismos ejerzan su autoridad: !primero, la policia ya no mataria a balazos a los jovenes negros y latinos en las calles! Estan los padres en nuestro movimiento que han sufrido eso --conocemos a muchas personas que en ocasiones han llamado a la policia para pedir su ayuda con un miembro de la familia con una enfermedad mental o por un pleito en la familia que se sale de control, pero que la policia acude y asesina a un miembro de la familia -- en un caso horrible asesinaron al esposo y al hijo de una mujer en el mismo momento. Bueno, no mas de eso . No mas muertes de desesperados inmigrantes hambrientos en el desierto, pues mas de 6.000 inmigrantes se han muerto en los ultimos 15 anos debido a las crueles politicas del gobierno estadounidense y su Patrulla Fronteriza que aplica estas politicas con la violencia, al mando del "deportador en jefe" Obama -- no mas de eso; y no mas saqueo y dominacion de los paises de origen de estos inmigrantes, cosa que hace que viajen a ese implacable desierto en primer lugar. No mas jovenes que se matan entre si porque no saben a donde canalizar su furia --ese problema se tendria que eliminar mediante la misma lucha revolucionaria total por el poder, la que en si podria canalizar dicha furia-- por el camino indicado , !hacia la emancipacion consciente de toda la humanidad! Desde el primer dia: No mas millones de personas sin hogar en las ciudades de Estado Unidos, que viven en los albergues en el mejor de los casos, en medio de rascacielos de lujo al lado de las personas a las que les urgen empleo y quienes, de tener las oportunidades, podrian construir viviendas. No mas fanaticos homicidas acosadores a las mujeres las que quieren ejercer su derecho a decidir si tener hijos y cuando. No mas ninos obligados a sobrevivir de Gatorade y emparedados de azucar al fin del mes porque la sociedad mas amplia elige no darles de comer cuando se agote el dinero de sus padres. !No mas de eso! No mas paralisis mientras el capitalismo obliga a nuestro planeta a marchar a paso de ganso a su fin -- al contrario, tendriamos un poder estatal que inmediatamente pondria a los cientificos capacitados a trabajar para resolver esos problemas y activaria la participacion de las masas populares, para conocer y contribuir a resolver esos problemas, determinando como la humanidad podria forjar un futuro sustentable en medio de este desastre ambiental -- y sin que la camisa de fuerza del capitalismo les impida explicar plenamente las dimensiones del problema. Seria posible hacer todo eso, y solamente se podria hacer, mediante la toma del poder y la creacion de un poder NUEVO. Ahora, habiendo hablado de lo que REPRESENTA la toma del poder y para que sirve, tenemos que hablar un poco sobre lo que la toma del poder NO representa. Sobre esta cuestion, hay mucha confusion. La toma del poder NO es un golpe de estado militar fraguado por un sector del ejercito que profesa simpatias por el pueblo ni es la eleccion de un populista que cuenta con el apoyo de un sector importante del ejercito y de las masas oprimidas. Eso se ha probado en varias ocasiones, recientemente en Venezuela, donde Hugo Chavez intento primero subio al poder mediante un golpe de estado y luego llego al poder mediante las elecciones, con el respaldo de un sector del ejercito. En la mayoria de los casos, los dirigentes de estos golpes de estado militares o hasta de los movimientos populares representan los esfuerzos de los nacionalistas burgueses frustrados en los paises oprimidos. Cuando me refiero a un "nacionalista burgues", no es un insulto, utilizo un termino cientifico. Se refiere en este caso a los representantes de una clase de personas de los paises oprimidos que aspira a desempenar el papel de la burguesia o de la clase dominante capitalista, o en cierta medida lo hace, pero se frustra debido a la dominacion de la economia y vida politica del pais por el imperialismo. Suenan con la autonomia para distanciarse de los grandes imperialistas y a veces entran en conflicto, incluso conflicto violento, con los imperialistas. Es posible establecer cierta unidad con estas fuerzas, pero si se les deja arreglarselas por sus propios recursos y si llevan el liderazgo, no pueden forjar un camino aparte del orden mundial imperialista y con el tiempo buscan alguna especie de acomodacion con ese orden, aunque gocen de "mejores terminos y condiciones" que lo que habia antes. Para ello, en ocasiones movilizaran a un sector de las masas en torno a un programa de reformas y lo llamaran el socialismo. El propio ejercito en esos paises, aun cuando esas fuerzas lleven la batuta, sigue siendo un instrumento moldeado por la estructura neocolonial al servicio de fines neocoloniales. Parte del problema es que el socialismo no es un fin en si. El socialismo NO constituye solamente unas pocas reformas y la distribucion mas equitativa de la riqueza. El socialismo es un estado de transicion, cuyo proposito es el de dirigir a las masas para arrancar de raiz concretamente toda la explotacion, todas las instituciones sociales opresivas que surgen de esta y todas las ideas atrasadas que ese sistema engendra y refuerza. Es una transicion al comunismo, en el que la humanidad haya superado todas las divisiones antagonicas y ya ni siquiera necesite un poder estatal. Estos nacionalistas no tienen por objetivo la liberacion del mundo entero, pero solamente la consecucion de mejores terminos y condiciones para su parte del mundo -- y la experiencia demuestra que si de eso se trata, ni siquiera se romperan las cadenas del imperialismo. Hugo Chavez instituyo reformas y repartio concesiones materiales a los pobres y hasta dejo que la gente estableciera "instituciones alternativas", pero en realidad el no movilizo la actividad consciente de las masas para poner a la economia sobre nuevas bases, no revoluciono las instituciones de la sociedad ni tampoco desencadeno a las masas para desafiar las ideas atrasadas y la ignorancia dominantes en la sociedad y las que las encadenaban -- de hecho, en muchos casos reforzo esas ideas atrasadas y se cebo de estas, por ejemplo, mediante la promocion de la religion. Algo mas que NO representa "la toma del poder" es que de alguna manera se construyan comunidades alternativas dentro de este sistema putrefacto las que se convertiran en las incubadoras de nuevas relaciones sociales y nuevas relaciones economicas, incluidas las relaciones con el medio ambiente, y que poco a poco obtendran el poder. En primer lugar, todavia estarias atrapado en el funcionamiento general del imperialismo en el mundo, serias parte de eso, y estarias en un pais en el que en el mejor de los casos pudieras disfrutar algunos despojos de la economia imperialista. Es posible que pienses que estas logrando una salida, pero mientras tanto el molinillo de carne sigue operando sin tregua. Ellos pueden dejar que hagas eso y que incluso te den animos, si deciden que les conviene. Y en el momento en que deciden que no, pueden llamar a la policia. Del mismo modo, no se puede hacer esto mediante la eleccion de una mayoria por el socialismo y la ratificacion de una enmienda constitucional para socializar la propiedad privada, que al menos solia ser una fantasia promovida por el Partido Comunista de Estados Unidos revisionista --o sea, ese partido NO revolucionario y CONTRA-revolucionario. En primer lugar, en un pais como Estados Unidos las reglas que se establecen y el propio proceso de hacer las cosas mediante las elecciones --en las que las personas actuan como individuos atomizados, pasivos-- garantizan que nunca tengas una mayoria. Pero si de alguna manera lo lograras, el ejercito volveria a destruirte -- por ejemplo, tal como se hizo en Indonesia en 1965 y en Chile en 1973, bajo la guia de la CIA. ?Por que? Debido a que los ejercitos no caen del cielo, tal como ilustra el ejemplo anterior de China. Los crean personas que en ultima instancia representan a una clase u otra para reforzar los intereses de esa clase. Como tales, son concentraciones de las relaciones sociales y los valores de la clase que su creacion sirve. ?POR QUE es que el ejercito estadounidense, en solo una de sus multiples putridas relaciones sociales y practicas, tienen una incidencia tan alta de violaciones de personas no combatientes, pero incluso de sus propias sus filas, hasta el extremo que los soldados femeninos no salen a ir al bano por la noche por temor a un asalto? Porque ese ejercito refleja las relaciones sociales y la moralidad del perro-come-perro y del yo primero de la sociedad que lo engendro y a la cual este ejercito defiende y, en particular, la misoginia --el desprecio y odio a las mujeres-- que constituye una parte tan grande de su "aglutinante social". Por otro lado, ? por que el Ejercito Popular de China pudo instituir unas relaciones y valores completamente diferentes? Para repetir, porque se creo ese ejercito sobre la base de las relaciones sociales propias de una clase diferente, la clase que no tiene nada que perder salvo sus cadenas pero que solo puede poner fin a su propia explotacion mediante la eliminacion de TODA la explotacion y opresion. Por ello, no existe un camino facil ni atajo al poder -- al menos no un poder que representaria concretamente el proceso de ponerse a eliminar toda la explotacion y opresion, y todas las relaciones potencialmente antagonicas entre las personas. Y al pensar en esto, se ve directamente el sacrificio que esto conllevaria. Aquellos que defienden a este orden descargaran una enorme destruccion sobre aquellos que quieren un poder nuevo. Esta cuestion no es algo insignificante. Pero piense en lo que enfrentamos en este momento: piense en los millones de personas que el orden actual ha encauzado hacia las infernales jaulas carcelarias de Estados Unidos desde los anos 1970 y las formas en que ha denigrado a generacion tras generacion de esos jovenes, y los ha puesto en una posicion en la que no tienen ningun futuro real y ninguna esperanza real, de modo que estos jovenes se desquiten el uno al otro y terminen en una muerte temprana o en las tumbas en vida para las que Estados Unidos es el lider mundial sin par... piense en los inmigrantes, orillados a acudir a Estados Unidos por unas condiciones tan pesimas que arriesgan la vida en el desierto solo para encontrar trabajo, y cientos sufren una terrible muerte cada ano y millones mas viven en las sombras... piense en el hecho de que una de cada cinco mujeres sera violada en las universidades en Estados Unidos al ano y de la cultura dominante, pervertida y pornificada que exacerba aun mas esta situacion y satura y denigra a todos, y las formas en que a grandes zonas de Estados Unidos se les esta despojando del derecho al aborto y si el control de la natalidad... piense en el hecho de que millones y millones de ninos se mueren sin necesidad al ano en todo el mundo debido a enfermedades prevenibles o el hambre, piense en la vida de la dura explotacion y desesperacion que sufren los que sobreviven, y piense en las guerras fomentadas por estas grandes potencias para apuntalar todo eso, ya sea directamente o por sustitutos o mediante asesinatos a control remoto por aviones no tripulados... piense en que tan solo en los ultimos 20 anos, seis millones de personas se han muerto en el Congo, en la continuacion del matadero en Irak y Siria, y asi sucesivamente... y piense en el medio ambiente, en el que el capitalismo tiene de rehen al futuro de la humanidad. Carajo, piense en una cultura en la que tantas personas tienen que adormecerse nada mas para poder soportar la vida. Esas son las opciones concretas ante la humanidad. Nuestra orientacion tiene que ser lo siguiente: todo lo que estos monstruos hacen en contra del pueblo, toda la destruccion que causan en su defensa del capitalismo, tiene que convertirse en una razon mas para acelerar el final de su sistema y todo su estilo de vida... y el camino de la muerte. Y hoy tenemos que comenzar a entrenar a la gente en esa manera de ver las cosas. Por ultimo, dejeme decir lo siguiente sobre este punto general, para que no haya ningun malentendido sincero y no hay intentos insinceros de distorsionar lo que digo. Cualquier intento de "iniciar algo" en este momento... de intentar hacer una revolucion, cuando no esten dadas las condiciones que he descrito... perderia y seria muy perjudicial. Primero, destruiria las esperanzas de los millones de personas que hoy ni siquiera se atreven a tener esperanzas. Y dos, provocaria una enorme represion. Por eso, al explicar esto a la gente, es necesario explicar exactamente lo que queremos decir... y exactamente lo que NO queremos decir. No se trata de dar aires de grandeza o "de vender enganos amedrentadores"... esto va muy en serio, en que la vida y los suenos y el futuro de miles de millones de personas estan en juego. Esto no quiere decir que las personas oprimidas no tengan el derecho de defenderse contra la injusticia; cualquiera que cree en la justicia debe apoyar ese derecho . Pero si significa que cualquier intento de jugarselo el todo por el todo en estos momentos seria muy equivocado. Asi que ahora nos toca un segundo problema, pues no es posible hacer esto simplemente con unas cuantas personas. Es necesario que millones de personas tomen partido con la revolucion, listas y dispuestas para jugarselo el todo por el todo para tener una oportunidad de ganar. Seria necesario que se diera una crisis entre los gobernantes mismos que se extendiera hacia el gobierno, en la que todo lo que hicieran para salir de su crisis lisa y llanamente empeorara la situacion. Seria necesario que se diera una situacion en que los defensores de reformas se paralizaran por la indecision y las personas dejaran de confiar en estos. Ademas, seria necesario que existiera una fuerza de vanguardia que estuviera lo suficientemente templado, con suficiente conocimiento, buena organizacion y raices suficientemente profundas, como para dirigirlo todo hacia una revolucion. Y no tenemos nada de eso hoy dia. Pero, de hecho, estamos trabajando hacia tal situacion en la que EXISTA una profunda crisis y en la que millones de personas SI esten dispuestas a poner las cosas en juego, pero que cuenten con la orientacion y la organizacion y suficiente conciencia para poder ganar. Y eso es lo que yo quiero comentar ahora. ? Como podemos posicionarnos para que la gente pueda tener una oportunidad concreta de enfrentar y derrotar a las fuerzas de la represion violenta? Hace unas semanas oi conferenciar a un ex Pantera Negra, Jamal Joseph, en Libros Revolucion de Nueva York. Hablo de aquellos tiempos con los Panteras, y de que la gente en ese entonces tenia otras ideas. Ademas, menciono que no se ha cumplido ni una de las demandas del programa de 10 puntos del Partido Pantera Negra --que basicamente exigian vivienda digna; educacion; un fin a la violencia policial, al racismo en las cortes y al robo a la comunidad por los capitalistas, etcetera-- aunque hayan transcurrido decadas. Despues me acerque a uno en el publico que resulto ser un joven cineasta. Me dijo: "?No es aun peor hoy, en ciertos sentidos? Pero en realidad la gente no hace mucho. Y en vez de oponer resistencia al sistema, ?por que muchas personas se hacen dano y degradan unas a otras y a si mismas, o simplemente 'tratan de sobrevivir'?" Este cineasta habia hecho una pelicula que trataba algunas maneras en las que los oprimidos se desquitan su coraje unos contra otros, y tiene ganas de hacer una sobre los anos sesenta -- claramente era algo que le angustia. Y no solamente a el. Bueno, hagamos frente a esta cuestion plena y cientificamente, y contestemosla. Primero, ?que motiva la manera de pensar de las personas? Carlos Marx, el fundador del comunismo cientifico junto con Federico Engels, senalo que las ideas dominantes de cualquier epoca son las de la clase dominante. Considere lo siguiente: las escuelas en que estudiamos nos ensenan a competir unos contra otros por las calificaciones, en vez de cooperar para el conocimiento. Los programas populares de television como Sobreviviente nos ensenan lo mismo: tu equipo contra el otro, y ademas, en tu equipo, cada uno busca ventaja y le clava al companero un punal por la espalda. ?Y los noticieros? Dan Rather, el ex presentador del noticiero para la CBS, dijo una vez que si el no acatara la doctrina oficial respecto temas importantes, su probable destino seria comparable a los informantes en Sudafrica a los cuales les colgaban una llanta en llamas alrededor del cuello. Efectivamente, utilizo esa metafora. Pero, si bien es ciertamente una gran pregunta la de por que hoy la gente esta pensando de formas tan aisladas, fragmentadas e individualistas, es igual de grande e importante otra pregunta: ?como es que la gente llego a tener un animo tan revolucionario al final de los sesenta, en primer lugar? Quizas si investigaramos como se cambio de un animo a otro, podriamos conocer con mayor precision el animo hoy y que se podria hacer -- que se necesita hacer -- para cambiarlo. Retomemos la metafora, o comparacion, del muro. Si, se diseno la estructura para inculcar ciertas ideas y reforzarlas. Sin embargo, contiene puntos debiles, puntos donde otras ideas surgen y contienden. No podemos darnos el lujo de perder el punto de Marx. Pero tambien es necesario entender que tambien existen otras clases y grupos sociales y las personas salen a formular y representar las ideas que representan a esas clases y luchan por esas ideas. Veamos al mismo Marx: no era de origen proletario, pero fue fuertemente influenciado por las luchas tempranas del proletariado y como resultado, junto con el curso mas amplio de sus estudios, llego a desarrollar el primer gran conjunto de ideas que representaban los intereses, punto de vista y papel historico de esa clase. Por eso, este es un tema controvertido. El modo de pensar de millones de personas se moldea principalmente por medio de las instituciones de la sociedad, pero en ocasiones estas otras ideas pueden cobrar gran influencia -- especialmente cuando se den trastornos y dislocaciones, por la razon que sea, y las cosas no parecen tan solidas y permanentes, o las respuestas de siempre ya no funcionan. Por eso, la gente tiene que ver las cosas de modo diferente, y por ello muy a menudo cambia su modo de pensar. Consideremos de nuevo a los anos sesenta. A un nivel, uno tendria que regresar hasta la Primera Guerra Mundial, hace cien anos, para captar bien la mayor parte de los factores que llevaron a los enormes trastornos en esa decada, tanto las acciones como los modos de pensar. Por una parte, se dieron enormes cambios en las estructuras sociales y economicas que afectaron profundamente la manera en que la gente veia y experimentaba el mundo. Veamos un momento la experiencia de los afroamericanos, que tenian un papel social tan central en ese momento, hubo diferencias concretas entre el periodo cuando vivian principalmente en las zonas rurales del Sur como aparceros, y los anos cuarenta y cincuenta, cuando empezaban a reubicarse principalmente en las ciudades y trabajaban por un salario. Durante esos anos, empezando con la Primera Guerra Mundial, Estados Unidos cambio, por medio de dos guerras mundiales, de una potencia cualquiera, a ser el mero capo de los imperialistas. Al mismo tiempo, surgia una marea revolucionaria en otras regiones del mundo -- en gran parte a partir de la dislocacion generalizada y los cambios generados por la Segunda Guerra Mundial en los anos cuarenta. Anteriormente, hablamos de China. Los movimientos inspirados por ese ejemplo y que le sacaron lecciones a ese ejemplo se prendian por todo el mundo en los anos cincuenta y sesenta, y frecuentemente entraron en conflicto directo con el mismo Estados Unidos, que ahora --siendo ahora el mero capo-- tenia la obligacion de imponer el orden mundial imperialista. En el mismo Estados Unidos, habian calificado a los anos cincuenta de la epoca de la "Generacion Silenciosa" -- la decada conformista. Pero incluso en esa situacion, los negros empezaron a exigir sus derechos civiles basicos y no dejaban que se les detuvieran, especialmente en el Sur al principio pero en cada vez mas regiones, en respuesta a los nuevos horizontes por migrar a las ciudades y en parte, envalentonados e inspirados por los levantamientos por todo el mundo. En esos tiempos, la legitimidad --ahi esta otra vez esa palabra-- la legitimidad de Estados Unidos se basaba en su imagen como la "gran democracia" que habia ganado la guerra. Pero en Estados Unidos, linchaban a los negros, los asesinaban por inscribirse para votar, los golpeaban por entrar en una escuela o sentarse en el autobus -- aqui mismo en la supuesta mayor democracia en el mundo. Mientras tanto, los movimientos de liberacion en el mundo afectaban a Estados Unidos y tenian repercusiones ahi -- especialmente sobre los afroamericanos. Robert Williams, un ex combatiente negro de la guerra de Corea, organizo a otros ex combatientes negros en su pueblo en Carolina del Norte para defenderse con rifles contra el Ku Klux Klan, al cual sacaron huyendo cuando trato de quemar una cruz en la comunidad negra. Como resultado, Williams fue corrido de Estados Unidos y se exilio primero en Cuba y despues en China. Los dirigentes importantes como Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael y mas adelante el Partido Pantera Negra se inspiraron muy directamente por esas luchas internacionales y ese auge de lucha popular, incluyendo muy especificamente China, y se identificaron con ello. Malcolm X retaba al publico muy tajantemente con la contradiccion -- ustedes se sienten muy valientes cuando se trata de viajar ocho mil kilometros para matar a un vietnamita por el Tio Sam, pero ?donde esta su valentia cuando ninitas negras fueron asesinadas en Birmingham y no se hizo nada al respecto? Otra vez, la legitimidad de su monopolio de la fuerza... el derecho a gobernar... la autoridad moral -- todo eso estaba en tela de juicio. Al mismo tiempo, respondiendo en parte a los cambios en su papel social y en parte a las mencionadas corrientes politicas e ideologicas, el movimiento de liberacion femenina surgio para desafiar y confrontar lo que durante miles de anos, la sociedad habia considerado como la "naturaleza humana". Y al mismo tiempo, se dio una desafeccion y revuelta generalizada sin precedentes contra una guerra genocida de imperio librada por Estados Unidos en Indochina -- entre los jovenes de la "patria". La desafeccion y la revuelta se extendieron, como dije anteriormente, hasta las fuerzas armadas. En ese periodo, todo estaba en tela de juicio --de ser joven en ese tiempo, uno no confiaba para nada en los de arriba-- de hecho, como se decia en ese entonces, !no habia que confiar en nadie que tuviera mas que 30 anos de edad! -- y uno se comprometia a que de una manera u otra, iba a ser parte de forjar algo nuevo y liberador. No sabiamos exactamente que, y no sabiamos exactamente como, pero nosotros --cientos de miles y a veces millones de personas-- estabamos decididos a crear un mundo nuevo y deshacernos de este mundo tan evidentemente injusto, genocida y sofocante y estabamos dispuestos a arriesgar muchisimo para hacer que eso ocurriera. Se dio una situacion en 1968 en la que, primero con la gran ofensiva militar por parte de los vietnamitas y luego, con el asesinato de Martin Luther King, concretamente surgio una crisis de legitimidad. El pueblo negro se levanto en mas de 125 ciudades. Jamal Joseph dijo la otra noche --y he oido a muchas pero muchas personas decir cosas parecidas-- que cuando asesinaron a King, aunque Jamal tenia solamente 15 anos, fue a inscribirse en el Partido Pantera Negra, porque queria hacer la cosa mas radical que habia y estaba dispuesto a todo. Los jovenes empezaron a rebelarse en las universidades. Se denuncio rotundamente al presidente estadounidense Johnson, por criminal de guerra, y este se vio obligado a retirar su candidatura a la reeleccion. Durante todo un periodo, la revolucion y el pueblo tenian la iniciativa -- es decir, los que deciamos que este sistema era injusto, inmoral e ilegitimo determinabamos las condiciones en la sociedad y desafiabamos y cambiabamos el modo de pensar de grandes grupos de personas. En ese contexto general, la idea de la revolucion --de la revolucion comunista-- tambien empezaba a influenciar a las personas. El lavado de cerebro anticomunista de los anos cincuenta empezo a producir el resultado contrario -- la clase dominante estadounidense habia perdido tanta credibilidad, que era de esperar que la gente se interesara en todo lo que las autoridades difamara. Los grupos de concientizacion en el movimiento de la mujer se inspiraron por formas semejantes de China durante la guerra revolucionaria. El Partido Pantera Negra difundia y usaba el Libro Rojo, las Citas de Mao Tsetung, como luego tambien lo hicieron la Union Revolucionaria, predecesor de nuestro partido, y otros grupos de jovenes, y el Libro Rojo se convirtio en todo un fenomeno social popular. El etos maoista de "Servir al pueblo" llego a ser un lema del movimiento. Y no se trataba de solamente unas cuantas personas. Era un fenomeno muy amplio. Hace poco leia un articulo de 1971 escrito por el jefe del American Friends Service Committee -- un pacifista cuaquero que habia trabajado en China antes de la revolucion durante los anos cuarenta y luego en 1971 visito la misma zona. Habla de los cambios asombrosos en el bienestar material, en la salud, vigor y confianza de los ninitos, en el desarrollo de las ciudades y del campo en terminos de capacidad productiva, educacion, servicios de salud y especialmente en el etos social de servir al pueblo y la creatividad de las masas. Si, el tambien tenia criticas. Pero concluye: "El visitante a China hoy dia no tendria que estar de acuerdo ni aprobar la ideologia y retorica china para sentir el reto moral radical que China pone ante nuestro propio pais". Notese bien: el reto moral radical. Asi que, las personas que habian pensado de una forma en los anos cincuenta ahora pensaban de forma diferente. ?Por que? Porque se veian impelidos a confrontar la realidad, debido a las sacudidas radicales al sistema -- la guerra; los cambios radicales en el modo de vivir de los afroamericanos; las maneras en que las mujeres dejaban al hogar y entraban a la fuerza de trabajo; las acciones de la gente en respuesta a esas sacudidas; y las ideas que se promovian para explicar todo eso y para senalar el camino adelante. Pero de ahi, ?que paso? El enemigo se adapto, se reagrupo y contraataco al movimiento de los sesenta. Reprimio con una enorme represion --directa y descaradamente asesino a lideres importantes y valerosos como Fred Hampton y George Jackson y fomento otros asesinatos por medio de sus informantes y agentes dentro de los grupos-- al mismo tiempo que inundo a los ghettos de heroina y otras drogas adictivas desmoralizadoras. Asimismo, los de arriba concedieron ciertas cosas. Se retiraron de Vietnam para no perder aun mas. Ofrecieron ciertas oportunidades a un sector de negros para establecer una capa social amortiguadora, si bien dichas oportunidades eran muy precarias y disputadas, y ahora las estan arrebatando de nuevo. Promovieron el trabajo dentro del sistema para reformarlo. Y empezaron a forjar un movimiento fascista reaccionario, basado en los valores arraigados del racismo, chovinismo estadounidense ignorante y las creencias reaccionarias adoctrinadas en los hombres segun las que merezcan dominar a las mujeres. Ahora, para que quede claro, no se trata de que los movimientos esten condenados a fracasar cuando les caiga la represion, algo que es inevitable. Al contrario, si pueden aguantar la represion y movilizar al pueblo a volver con aun mas fuerza, es posible tomar de nuevo la iniciativa. De hecho eso es lo que paso en China, tras la destruccion del 90% de las fuerzas revolucionarias a mediados de los anos treinta y Mao se vio obligado a hacer una "gran marcha" al noreste de China, para combatir desde una posicion mas ventajosa; y eso sera un patron en cualquier revolucion -- de aprender como volver con aun mas fuerza contra la represion y la contrarrevolucion. De hecho, muchos individuos de nuestro partido se dedicaron la vida a la revolucion como respuesta a los ataques al Partido Pantera Negra. Pero hace falta una linea muy fuerte --es decir un fuerte enfoque cientifico y un fuerte entendimiento de la teoria-- y hace falta una organizacion solida para hacer eso. En ese caso, las herramientas teoricas que teniamos, hablando en terminos generales del movimiento revolucionario en su conjunto, no eran suficientes para hacer frente a los retos y nuestras organizaciones no contaban con estructuras muy buenas. Ahora, que quede claro: algunas personas no abandonaron la revolucion y se pusieron a forjar esas herramientas y esa organizacion -- en eso inciden BA y nuestro partido; pero ante los reveses y la desorientacion, la mayoria de las personas no pudieron mantener el compromiso y sus ideas subyacentes. Todo eso se interactuaba reciprocamente con los cambios grandes en el mundo en su conjunto. Al igual que en los anos sesenta, la marcha de los acontecimientos en el mundo determinaba el contexto, condicionaba profundamente e influenciaban la lucha en Estados Unidos... despues de los anos sesenta y a principios de los setenta tambien moldeaba la situacion. Las luchas de liberacion de Vietnam, otras partes de Asia, Africa y America Latinas se toparon con limitaciones y, en muchos casos, la derrota. De mayor importancia, la revolucion china dio marcha tras -- despues de la muerte de Mao Tsetung en 1976, los contrarrevolucionarios consumaron un golpe de estado; es decir, utilizaron al ejercito para arrestar a los revolucionarios aliados con Mao y consolidaron al grupo que con el tiempo restaurara el capitalismo en China, aunque guardaron el nombre de comunismo y ciertos adornos superficiales de la revolucion. Esta derrota en China tuvo y sigue teniendo un efecto devastador. Hoy casi nos hemos acostumbrado a las interminables rafagas anticomunistas de verdades a medias, distorsiones, burdos inventos y simples diatribas vertidos despues de la muerte de Mao y la contrarrevolucion. Se nos olvida que una vez, millones de personas conocian la verdad. La contrarrevolucion de 1976, y las calumnias contra la revolucion desde ese entonces, han reducido muchisimo las aspiraciones de la gente sobre lo que es posible. En los paises imperialistas, la clase dominante ha promovido un sentimiento --una creencia -- de que no hay ninguna alternativa concreta a lo que existe ahora. Los gobernantes pusieron al presidente Reagan, y todo eso del empresarialismo, la "derecha" cristiana --mas bien, los fascistas cristianos-- y demas. En los paises oprimidos en particular, aunque no solamente ahi, el fundamentalismo religioso de un tipo u otro lleno el vacio y crecio como un cancer, con la promesa de una salida, aunque dicha "salida" es falsa y cargada de ignorancia, opresion y asesinato. En el caso de otras personas, cundieron una paralisis, y para ser franco, una insensibilidad y egoismo. Asi que, la forma de pensar de la gente cambio radicalmente en los anos sesenta... y de ahi, si, se afirmo de nuevo que en ultima instancia las ideas dominantes de la epoca SI son las ideas de la clase dominante. Fijese que las personas con ideas revolucionarias pueden cambiar mucho el pensar popular sin hacer una revolucion; eso representa la gran leccion de los anos sesenta y setenta. Eso puede ser una fuente de esperanza, para tambien de falsas ilusiones -- la idea de que la situacion no va a volver atras. Pero con el tiempo, ejerce un efecto el hecho de que la gente sigue viviendo bajo el capitalismo, sometida a enormes presiones de diverso tipo para que se conforme, y si NO se hace una revolucion, pues su manera de pensar empieza a volver atras... a veces de forma muy marcada. Al mismo tiempo, se han dado cambios importantes desde ese periodo en el modo de vida de la gente en el mundo y en Estados Unidos, que tambien afectan el pensar de la gente. En muchas partes del mundo la vida tradicional en las zonas rurales se ha transformado radicalmente, obligando a cientos de millones de personas a emigrar a las ciudades, y muchos se han ido a los paises imperialistas, en una busqueda desesperada de empleo. Las mujeres han salido cada vez mas de la casa para entrar en la fuerza de trabajo. Sin embargo, debido a que todo eso ha ocurrido sin una revolucion y sin una lucha para transformar el pensar de la gente en una direccion emancipadora, ironicamente a esta situacion la ha acompanado un movimiento muy radicalmente reaccionario y vengativo de parte de los hombres -- en formas diversas del fanatismo fundamentalista religioso a epidemias de violaciones, campanas de penalizar el aborto y el control de natalidad en Estados Unidos y la pornificacion de la cultura en su conjunto. Tambien, es de tremenda importancia en este periodo lo que Michelle Alexander ha documentado y analizado como el surgimiento de una nueva forma del Jim Crow , o la supremacia blanca, contra los afroamericanos y latinos. Hablo de la criminalizacion en masa y encarcelacion en masa de los jovenes minoritarios, con la cuadruplicacion de la poblacion penitenciaria en Estados Unidos desde 1970, de la cual casi la mitad son negros y muchos son latinos. Para tener una idea del respectivo alcance, el Buro de Estadisticas de Justicia calcula que un nino negro nacido en 2001 tiene una probabilidad de 32.2 por ciento de ir a la prision. !Imaginese eso! !Una probabilidad de uno en tres de terminar tras rejas! !Uno de cada tres hombres o jovenes marcados por la vida en cadenas, y todo afroamericano vive bajo la sombra de esa realidad! !?ESO es el cacareado Estados Unidos post racial?! ?!ESO es su "realizar las promesas de los anos sesenta", eso es su "union mas perfecta", eso es su "prueba de la grandeza de nuestra democracia"?!? Eso es un horror para las victimas, es una verguenza para los que no le oponen resistencia y es un PELIGRO. Ensena mucho sobre la legitimidad --o con mayor precision, la ilegitimidad-- de cualquier orden social que no le ofrece mejor futuro que la prision a una tercera parte de cualquier nacionalidad. Pero la situacion es peor. El documental La casa donde vivo analiza que los genocidios tipicamente progresan en etapas -- la satanizacion, la contencion, la exterminacion. Reto a que se me diga por que no nos encontramos en la segunda etapa de ese proceso -- y por que no nos urge actuar para ponerle fin y al mismo tiempo plantear con urgencia la cuestion de que TIPO de sistema ofrece ESO como su respuesta al "sueno diferido" [se refiere el poema de Langston Hughes, A Dream Deferred ]. Este nuevo Jim Crow se desato en respuesta a dos cosas: primero, para hacer frente a los cambios economicos que estaban ocurriendo en ese tiempo y que el capitalismo estadounidense ya no tenia una manera rentable de explotar a los millones de jovenes negros, y con mayor frecuencia, los jovenes latinos; y segundo, una medida preventiva, una estrategia de "la contrainsurgencia antes del surgimiento de una insurgencia": una forma de desmoralizar a las masas y ponerlas bajo el control del sistema de justicia penal con el fin de impedir cualquier estallido de rebelion que fuera similar o de mayor magnitud al de los anos 1960. Como parte de eso, por decadas han inundado las comunidades de los oprimidos con drogas: primero con la heroina y luego la cocaina "piedra". A proposito, eso no tiene nada de nuevo para estos monstruos. Los britanicos lo hicieron en China con el opio y hasta fueron a la guerra cuando China intento prohibir el opio. Estados Unidos lo hizo con los amerindios, llegando con aguardiente --y, si, la Biblia-- como refuerzos para el fusil. Para colmo, aunque siempre han surgido espontaneamente pandillas entre los jovenes desposeidos de las ciudades, las pandillas cobraron mayor peso despues de la derrota del movimiento revolucionario de los anos 1960 y en cierto grado el sistema las promovia como una alternativa, al mismo tiempo que se ponia a controlarlas en diversos sentidos -- tal como muestra el documental Los bastardos del partido . Por lo tanto, todo eso --junto con otras transformaciones en otras esferas-- ha obrado para refrenar a las personas e impedir que siquiera contemplen la idea de la posibilidad de desafiar concretamente a estos monstruos, y hasta para obligar a la gente a abandonar en gran parte toda lucha colectiva. En realidad no es ningun misterio por que "la gente esta hecha un desastre y esta tan atrapada en tragarse las cosas como son" -- en pocas palabras, el lado equivocado salio victorioso, por lo menos temporalmente, de la primera etapa de la revolucion comunista y del desafio particular planteado por el levantamiento revolucionario mundial de los anos 1960 y comienzos de los 1970. Los de arriba aprovecharon esa derrota y su poder para joder a la gente y atraparla en sus enganos. Asi que ese es otro aspecto de la respuesta a "donde nos encontramos en la revolucion": que no, la gente no tiene un animo combativo por lo general en estos momentos, aunque si podemos ver algunos atisbos de cambio, pero conocemos por que es asi y como cambia. Recuerden que ya mencione lo que se necesitara concretamente para emprender una lucha total por el poder. Esto incluye a una profunda crisis en la sociedad y gobierno, y un pueblo revolucionario que cuente con millones de personas, junto con una vanguardia capaz de dirigir a esas personas a la victoria. Esos factores, sin embargo, no son tres cosas separadas -- estan entrelazados, y es necesario entenderlos de esa manera. ?De donde surgiria una crisis? Regresemos a ese muro alto, y recordemos que tiene grietas -- grietas ocultas por las cuales todo el muro podria venirse a pedazos. Ahora retomemos a la declaracion sobre la estrategia de nuestro partido : La posibilidad de una crisis revolucionaria se encuentra en la propia naturaleza de este sistema capitalista -- con las repetidas convulsiones economicas, el desempleo y la pobreza, las profundas desigualdades, la discriminacion y la degradacion, la brutalidad, la tortura y las guerras, la destruccion sin sentido. Todo esto causa gran sufrimiento. A veces conduce a la crisis en uno u otro nivel -- sacudidas y fallas repentinas en el "funcionamiento normal" de la sociedad, que estimulan a muchas personas a cuestionar y resistir lo que suelen aceptar. Nadie puede decir de antemano exactamente que va a pasar en estas situaciones -- que tan profunda la crisis pueda llegar a ser, de que maneras y en que medida podria plantear desafios para el sistema en su conjunto y en que medida y de que maneras podria suscitar el descontento y la rebelion entre las personas que en tiempos normales se dejan llevar por lo que hace este sistema o se sienten incapaces de ponerse de pie en su contra. No obstante, he aqui dos puntos muy importantes: 1) Estas "sacudidas" en el "funcionamiento normal" de las cosas, aun cuando no se desarrollen completamente hacia una crisis fundamental para el sistema en su conjunto, si crean situaciones en las que muchas mas personas estan buscando respuestas y se encuentran receptivas a considerar un cambio radical. Es necesario llevar a cabo el trabajo sistematico de construir el movimiento para la revolucion en todo momento, pero en estas situaciones de rupturas profundas con la "rutina normal" hay una mayor posibilidad y un mayor potencial para lograr avances. Es necesario reconocer eso en toda su extension y partir de ello en la mayor medida posible, de modo que mediante estas situaciones, se den saltos en la construccion del movimiento y la acumulacion de las fuerzas organizadas para la revolucion, creandose asi una base mas solida desde la cual trabajar para seguir avanzando . 2) En determinadas situaciones, los sucesos importantes o los grandes cambios pueden darse en la sociedad y en el mundo y pueden combinarse de modo que se sacuda el sistema hasta sus cimientos ... se abran y amplien profundas grietas en las estructuras y las instituciones de poder ... queden al descubierto mas nitidamente las descarnadas relaciones de opresion ... se profundicen los conflictos en el orden establecido y no sea posible resolverlos facilmente, y se vuelva mucho mas dificil que ellos mantengan la situacion intacta bajo su control y mantengan sometida a la gente . En ese tipo de situacion, para un gran numero de personas, se podria poner en tela de juicio seria y directamente la "legitimidad" del sistema actual y el derecho y la capacidad del orden imperante de continuar gobernando , y millones de personas tendrian sed de un cambio radical que solamente una revolucion pueda plasmar . Veamos un ejemplo: el huracan Katrina, que azoto a Nueva Orleans en 2005, inundando la ciudad y matando a mas de mil personas. Fue una situacion en la que las masas populares, en su mayoria pobres y negras, estaban atrapadas en una Nueva Orleans devastada por el desastre. El gobierno aislo a esas masas sin absolutamente ninguna ayuda y simultaneamente desato la represion en su contra por tratar de sobrevivir, represion que incluyo matar a balazos a unas personas que iban por un puente para salir de la ciudad. Al mismo tiempo, las masas populares desmintieron poderosamente las calumnias en su contra, inclusive en los primeros dias del huracan. En el importante documental Trouble the Water con escenas filmadas durante el huracan por las mismas masas, dos hombres jovenes arriesgan la vida para rescatar a muchas personas atrapadas en la crecida. Y lo que me impacto mucho fue que estos dos jovenes fueron antes rivales en el comercio de las drogas --cuyo ingenio, iniciativa y osadia bajo este sistema no podian encontrar ninguna otra salida, y quienes probablemente se hubieran matado el uno al otro en sus circunstancias cotidianas "normales". Pero en una crisis, se posibilita un potencial totalmente distinto. Lenin, quien lidero a la revolucion monumental y pionera en Rusia, dijera que la verdadera prueba de la seriedad de un partido NO es el que nunca cometa errores; todos los partidos y todas las personas cometen errores. La verdadera prueba es si reconoce sus errores y la manera en que lo hace, y les extrae lecciones. Bien, en Hacer la revolucion y emancipar a la humanidad , BA habla muy francamente de las deficiencias de nuestro partido en los tiempos del huracan Katrina, cuando muy a menudo nos rendiamos ante las dificultades reales y no DIRIGIAMOS para abrir paso, y el nos pidio que sacaramos plenamente las lecciones, "para hacerlo mejor en el futuro, especialmente en las muchas ocasiones en las que importantes sucesos estallaran de repente, muchas veces al parecer 'de la nada'". Bueno, ?que se debio haber hecho? ?Que se pudo haber hecho? Esos dos jovenes no eran ejemplos aislados -- habia muchas otras personas que actuaron heroicamente, y mas personas que lo hubieran hecho si hubieran tenido la oportunidad y la respectiva direccion. Con la orientacion correcta, es posible movilizar a quienesquiera que se pueda para ir alla y encontrar las maneras de entrar en esa ciudad --de lograr cruzar los cordones de la Guardia Nacional-- para unirse a las personas y darles direccion , orientarlas y organizarlas para ponerse de pie contra los poderes represivos y hacerles frente, para defenderse a si mismos de modo concreto contra los asesinos que intentaban atraparlos en la ciudad y al hacerlo, tomar partido con ellos, a fin de abrir paso, y al mismo tiempo que exponer el verdadero problema y la verdadera solucion. Tales acciones hubieran hablado mas fuerte que muchas palabras -- o, mejor dicho, esas acciones hubieran magnificado y expresado las palabras muy importantes que revelan la il egitimidad del uso de violencia de este sistema contra el pueblo, y la legitimidad de la defensa justa del pueblo contra esa violencia injusta. De esa manera, durante los tiempos algidos cuando se capte la atencion de todos, cuando "muchas mas personas estan buscando respuestas y se encuentran receptivas a considerar un cambio radical", la gente necesita de las soluciones en los hechos y las palabras, y la transformacion de las ideas y el modo de pensar de millones de personas en el proceso. Darle direccion a eso --pasar al frente y propagar la revolucion-- lleva riesgos, sacrificios y perdidas. Pero eso es una parte necesaria del proceso, una parte absolutamente necesaria de "abrir grietas en el muro", a lo largo del proceso -- y eso es lo que nosotros HAREMOS. Inclusive ahora se puede ver, usando nuestro telescopio y microscopio, otras potenciales grietas en ese muro. Veamos otro ejemplo muy aleccionador: el cierre del gobierno de octubre de 2013. Este realzo otro suceso desde los anos sesenta, especialmente durante los ultimos treinta anos y pico -- el surgimiento de una escision fuerte en el seno de los gobernantes de Estados Unidos. BA lo ha descrito como una piramide -- en cuya cima estan dos lados que corresponden aproximadamente a los democratas y a los republicanos. Los republicanos han estado guardando y cultivando un agresivo movimiento fascista mientras que los democratas han estado conciliandose con eso y dandole legitimidad -- dicen, "tenderle la mano al otro lado". Mientras tanto, estos democratas han estado refrenando a las personas las que quieren confiar en los mismos para direccion -- las personas mas o menos progresistas. Ahora bien, los conflictos entre estos dos campos en la cima no se tratan simplemente de "la politica" --en concreto, reflejan divisiones muy profundas-- no sobre si Estados Unidos deberia dominar al mundo o si se deberia conservar este sistema, pero COMO hacerlo. Y estas divisiones estan muy agudas en materia de que deberia ser "el aglutinante" ideologico y politico que mantenga la cohesion de la sociedad -- o, volviendo a nuestro concepto de la legitimidad, ?en cuales principios e ideales es que el gobierno deberia basar su declaracion de un monopolio de la fuerza y violencia legitima? Esto tuvo una expresion muy aguda en octubre de 2013 con el cierre del gobierno, en que estas contradicciones repercutieron por el planeta y casi provocaron una crisis economica global de proporciones extremas. En terminos de una amplia gama de temas -- los derechos de los inmigrantes; el papel y posicion de los negros en la sociedad; los derechos y posicion de la mujer; la ciencia contra la interpretacion textual de la biblia; y si, los derechos de las personas del mismo genero -- estos fanaticos religiosos NO se han resignado en absoluto a aceptar el matrimonio entre las personas del mismo genero y yo creo que nosotros vamos a ver una reaccion explosiva, y hemos de prepararnos para contrarrestarla -- estos reaccionarios de ese lado de la piramide estan furibundos, y los republicanos los estan atizando y dandoles legitimidad. Los republicanos tratan a aquellos en su base de la misma forma en que tratan a unos perros doberman que grunen y se tensan contra la correa, y de vez en cuando les arrojan un trozo de carne sin cocer aunque en ciertos sentidos no les ejercen un control total, a la vez que los democratas envian a su base a una escuela de obediencia. Esto explica por que estos fascistas cristianos "pro vida" pueden asesinar a los medicos que practican abortos, como al doctor George Tiller en Kansas hace unos anos, y los republicanos se hacen de la vista gorda... !mientras los supuestos democratas "pro derecho a decidir" ni siquiera mandan a un solo representante al funeral! Por eso ni le tocan al vil racista ese, Cliven Bundy, cuando el moviliza a unos justicieros armados para enfrentarse a los agentes de la Oficina de Administracion de Tierras, pero luego le dan una plataforma para vomitar sus desvarios racistas y seguir pronunciandolos durante dias no solo en el canal Fox, lo que es muy malo, sino tambien en la CNN. !La gente esa --como Bundy y el otro fascista ese de la serie de television Dinastia de Patos -- habla de regresar a la esclavitud! Y se estan armando y preparandose para una guerra civil, en ocasiones de manera muy abierta, y con mayor frecuencia, por ejemplo, en torno a los asesinatos de Trayvon Martin y Jordan Davis, "toman las cosas en manos propias". Asi que es muy posible que se desarrolle en esta sociedad una situacion en la que el gobierno no defienda a las personas contra alguna forma de ataque concentrado por parte de estas personas --tal como hoy al no acusar y procesar debidamente a estos racistas que si asesinaron a Trayvon y Jordan--, y las masas populares que estan bajo ataque recurren a aquellos que "estan dispuestos y decididos a dirigirlos... y a hacer algo de a de veras". O algo similar podria suceder acerca del derecho al aborto, o los derechos de las personas del mismo genero -- podria ocurrir un levantamiento en Mexico que repercuta en Estados Unidos -- o un "punto algido" que ni podemos prever ahora mismo. Aparte de mostrar el peligro que nos enfrenta, esto muestra que este conflicto podria salirse del control de los de arriba -- aquellos que nos gobiernan NO son todopoderosos, no son los "Illuminati" ni otra conjura secreta mitica y supuestamente todopoderosa, y su sistema si tiene PROFUNDAS grietas que podrian convertirse en cuarteaduras o aberturas muy anchas. Todo eso concierne a la legitimidad y quien la tiene -- pues la cuestion de la legitimidad esta relacionada no solo con lo que inculcan en las personas para hacer que estas sigan la corriente sino tambien los principios y reglas basicos que se supone que la propia clase dominante acate para zanjar sus divergencias. Cuando esos principios y reglas dejen de funcionar, tal como empezaron a hacer en octubre de 2013, por lo tanto el supersticioso respeto de la gente tambien puede empezar a esfumarse. La ultima vez que eso paso en Estados Unidos a una escala comparable a lo que vemos ahora fue el periodo inmediatamente antes de la guerra de Secesion. Pues, !considerelo! No podemos predecir que combinacion de cosas --cuales sacudidas de grietas-- podria prender tal crisis. Podemos ver unos potenciales contornos y podemos estudiar y hacer preparativos. Pero nadie puede decir exactamente cuando esta grieta podria surgir y de donde. En Hacer la revolucion y emancipar a la humanidad , BA senala que cuando tales crisis se desarrollen, se vuelven sumamente tormentosas, con una gran variedad de fuerzas que actuan e influencian las condiciones -- no solo los distintos sectores de los imperialistas y de nosotros, sino muchas otras tendencias politicas que entran en la refriega. Y BA indica que "nadie puede decir con exactitud" lo que las fuerzas revolucionarias activas tal vez puedan lograr en ese caldo tormentoso -- que no se puede pronosticar eso simplemente al ver la fuerza relativa de las diversas fuerzas al comienzo, sino que es necesario entrar en accion para cambiar la situacion y aprender mas sobre la marcha. Asi que esos son algunos puntos de lo que tratamos en esa declaracion acerca de las sacudidas y una parte del telon de fondo -- algunas grietas en ese muro, inclusive acerca de su legitimidad. Y lo que nosotros SI hacemos frente a estas grietas, puede transformar el primer tipo de sacudida en una situacion tal en la que, para retomar la declaracion de estrategia, "para un gran numero de personas, se podria poner en tela de juicio seria y directamente la 'legitimidad' del sistema actual y el derecho y la capacidad del orden imperante de continuar gobernando , y millones de personas tendrian sed de un cambio radical que solamente una revolucion pueda plasmar ". Pero --PERO-- no podemos esperar cruzados de brazos a que eso ocurra. !Tenemos que estar trabajando ahora mismo! De nuevo, de la declaracion sobre la estrategia: ...nunca madurara en serio la posibilidad de la revolucion a menos que aquellos que reconocen la necesidad de la revolucion esten preparando el terreno politico e ideologico para esto, incluso ahora : trabajando para influir en el modo de pensar de la gente en una direccion revolucionaria, organizando a la gente en la lucha contra este sistema y ganando a un numero creciente de la gente para participar activamente en la construccion del movimiento para la revolucion. De eso se trata nuestro Partido, y eso es lo que queremos decir cuando decimos que estamos " acelerando mientras aguardamos" los cambios que hagan posible la revolucion. Esta es la clave para abrir paso en esta situacion en la que todavia no existen las necesarias condiciones y fuerzas para hacer la revolucion, pero nunca se daran esas condiciones ni surgiran esas fuerzas simplemente aguardando su surgimiento. ?Asi que como hacemos esto? Nuestra consigna capta una gran parte de como hacerlo: Luchar contra el poder, y transformar al pueblo, para la revolucion. De nuevo, de la declaracion sobre la estrategia: Luchar contra el poder, y transformar al pueblo, para la revolucion es una parte clave de nuestro enfoque estrategico, que proporciona una forma para que el partido pueda unirse con la gente y proporcione el liderazgo para que la gente se cambie a si misma a medida que participa en la lucha para cambiar el mundo ... para levantar la cabeza y ampliar su vision , a reconocer que clase de mundo es posible, cuales son sus verdaderos intereses y quienes son sus verdaderos amigos y sus verdaderos enemigos, a medida que se levanta en contra de este sistema ... para asumir un punto de vista revolucionario y los valores y la moral revolucionarios mientras se unen con otros para resistir a los crimenes de este sistema y construir y acumular la base para la lucha revolucionaria final y sin cuartel para deshacerse de este sistema y hacer nacer una forma completamente nueva de organizar la sociedad, una forma totalmente nueva de ser... para ser los emancipadores de la humanidad . Eso no quiere decir "primero luchamos contra el poder, y luego anadimos los otros ingredientes". Todas estas cosas tienen que trabajar reciprocamente... desde el mero comienzo. Las personas si tienen que ponerse de pie -- pero en muchos casos no pueden ponerse de pie sin que llevemos lucha sobre sus ideas y formas de pensar en el curso de ponerles retos a ponerse de pie... en otras palabras, transformar al pueblo. Si las personas creen que odian lo que los de arriba les han hecho, pero al mismo tiempo odian las cosas monstruosas y degradantes que ellas mismas han hecho Y ADEMAS piensan que para sus adentros, asi es su propio caracter basico y no es posible cambiarlo... pues, tenemos que luchar con ellas. Es importante no rendirles pleitesia y decirles que no hay problema con eso... al contrario, tenemos que luchar con ellas para que rompan con todo eso Y ADEMAS para que vean el contexto mas amplio en que esto ocurre y quienes tienen la culpa en ultima instancia. Las personas se echan la culpa a si mismas por tomar "malas decisiones", pero ?quienes determinaron que ESAS iban a ser las decisiones? Pero si solamente tratamos de transformar el modo de pensar de las personas, una a una, pues olvidelo... nunca llegaremos a una revolucion ni transformaremos el pensar de mucha gente. Ponerse de pie y luchar contra las formas de opresion de este sistema... forcejear sobre la fuente de los problemas y las soluciones sobre la marcha ... y empezar a conocer que hay una manera totalmente diferente segun la que podriamos vivir y que existe la posibilidad concreta de realizar eso mediante la revolucion... todo eso es un conjunto de cosas que operan reciprocamente. Es interesante ver en nuestro sitio web revcom.us la entrevista al estudiante de la Universidad de Rutgers que participo en la lucha victoriosa para impedir que la criminal de guerra Condoleezza Rice diera el discurso en la ceremonia de graduacion ahi. Unos profesores habian tomado una posicion en contra y convencieron a unos estudiantes para que participaran. Pero el discurso de Rice todavia estaba programado, y la mayoria de la gente no le hacia caso. Pero, unos estudiantes --un grupito relativo-- llevaron a cabo la accion desafiante --y, si, arriesgada y claramente "fuera de los cauces apropiados"-- de un planton, y como resultado polarizaron a la universidad y prendieron el debate, y de repente las personas estaban aprendiendo, al mismo tiempo que los que lo hacian estaban experimentando cambios tambien; y cuanto mas las personas entraran en debates sobre esto, mas se mejoro la polarizacion, y a fin de cuentas ganaron la concesion que buscaban. Es necesario difundir cosas asi, y necesitamos ser parte del proceso y aprender del mismo y apoyarlo y a la vez introducir nuestro analisis del problema y la solucion, y hacerlo parte de forjar un nuevo dia en estas universidades, junto con las acciones de los estudiantes negros en muchos lugares acerca de Trayvon Martin y la accion afirmativa, las acciones de los estudiantes sobre el medio ambiente y Palestina y las acciones de los estudiantes de la Universidad Brown quienes impidieron el discurso del jefe de policia de Nueva York, Ray Kelly. Si no queremos simplemente lamentar la falta de animo de los jovenes pero si cambiar la situacion, los estudiantes tienen que ser una gran parte de eso, y nosotros tenemos que trabajar para hacer que eso ocurra. La consigna --Luchar contra el poder, y transformar al pueblo, PARA la revolucion -- capta el proceso entero. Ahora mismo, tenemos lo que llamamos un conjunto de trabajo revolucionario que tiene unos ejes de concentracion fundamentales, al mismo tiempo que estamos atentos al desarrollo de otras cosas de formas inesperadas. Tratare brevemente este tema ahora -- pero quisiera remitir a los presentes al nuevo discurso de BA al respecto que hace poco se posteo en revcom.us en ingles -- " El enfoque estrategico de revolucion y su relacion a las cuestiones basicas de epistemologia y metodo " (proximamente en espanol en revcom.us). Asi que ?cuales son estos ejes de concentracion? Para empezar, nuestro partido se ha unido con otras personas para lanzar dos iniciativas de masas: la una en contra del nuevo Jim Crow de la encarcelacion en masa, el terror policial y la criminalizacion de pueblos enteros; y la otra para detener la guerra contra la mujer, en pocas palabras -- la campana para poner fin a la pornografia y el patriarcado, la denigracion y la esclavizacion de la mujer. Es necesario que estas dos iniciativas impacten concretamente el terreno politico de modo muy poderoso. Cada una ha desarrollado planes muy ambiciosos, centrados en varios elementos, con formas muy concretas de participacion ahora mismo. Si te interesa uno de estos temas, tienes una verdadera responsabilidad de hablar con las respectivas personas en este salon y conocer sus planes. Tienen formas grandes y pequenas en que puedes participar o apoyar -- una manera en que puedes ser parte de cambiar los terminos acerca de la manera en que grandes sectores de la gente en Estados Unidos piensan sobre estas cuestiones, a la vez que aprendes mas. En torno a la encarcelacion y criminalizacion en masa, se vislumbra un estado de animo diferente, mas combativo. Se ha venido creciendo por un tiempo y nuestro partido, y otros, han sido parte de construirlo. Y ahora, de repente, los democratas --despues de al menos 25 anos de superar a los republicanos en la encarcelacion de las masas de jovenes negros y latinos y de eliminar el derecho a las apelaciones, de superar a los republicanos en sus sermones a estos jovenes sobre lo de que "no hagas excusas" y de promover la tristemente celebre expresion racista: "la mano dura con el delito"--, se estan haciendo pasar por personas "muy preocupadas por la encarcelacion en masa". Te prometeran todo con el fin de apaciguar tus luchas y conducirte por un callejon sin salida. No dejes que te enganen; y no dejes que otros sean parte de enganarte. Esta es una coyuntura critica. Un boton de muestra de como NO entender lo que hacen estos gobernantes y los peligros concretos implicados: Angela Davis, quien hace poco salio en el programa de Amy Goodman sobre la encarcelacion en masa. Dijo, en referencia al subito "interes" de Obama en la encarcelacion en masa: Es una lastima que el haya esperado hasta ahora para pronunciarse, pero es bueno que se haya pronunciado.... Pienso que despues de estas elecciones historico-mundiales, fuimos a casa y decidimos que este hombre en Washington por si solo iba a encargarse de las cosas para nosotros, y no reconocimos que en realidad era presidente de los Estados Unidos imperialistas y militaristas. Y pienso que pudieramos haber tenido mas victorias durante la era de la administracion de Obama si nos hubieramos movilizado, si le hubieramos presionado constantemente y ademas si hubieramos creado las posibilidades para que el adoptara posiciones mas progresistas. ( Democracy Now! 6 de marzo de 2014) Esto es precisamente el modo de pensar que ha facilitado el camino al horror de los ultimos 40 anos. Se trata de un falso camino -- es un camino peligroso, pero no necesariamente tiene esa apariencia. Asi que desglosemoslo. Primero, Obama esta "pronunciandose" al respecto solamente porque con mayor frecuencia otros paises estan usando el ultraje de la encarcelacion en masa para neutralizar las afirmaciones de Estados Unidos de que se es el gran paladin de los derechos humanos Y ADEMAS porque crece la frustracion del pueblo negro asi como de muchas otras personas que habian cifrado sus esperanzas en Obama. Si el no "se pronunciara", correria el riesgo de perder el control de "la base democrata" -- es decir, las masas oprimidas que los democratas tiene la responsabilidad de enganar y controlar. Segundo, ?de que se trata este "pronunciamiento"? ?El esta llamando a las personas a mover cielo y tierra para eliminar este ultraje o al menos a protestar? No. En su esencia este "pronunciamiento" ha tomado la forma, en su discurso del 27 de febrero en la Casa Blanca, de echarles la culpa a los negros por ser supuestos malos padres -- y aqui digo que se requiere mucho descaro para encerrar por anos y anos a millones de hombres y miles de mujeres por cargos de posesion de drogas, a cientos de kilometros de sus hijos empobrecidos, los que no tienen dinero para ir de visita ni hablar de llamarles... o poner a las mujeres negras pobres en situaciones en las que tienen que trabajar cuando no tienen dinero para una guarderia infantil, gracias a Clinton quien puso fin a "la ayuda publica tal como la conocemos" y a menudo estas mujeres batallan contra el desahucio si es que no estan sin techo a la vez... y luego les echa la culpa a estas por ser supuestas malas madres. Por tanto, para nada es "bueno" que Obama "se este pronunciando". Tercero, el principal "significado historico mundial" de la eleccion de Obama fue la manera en que tantas personas progresistas conscientemente se enganaron a si mismas y a otros acerca de una "narrativa que hace que se sienta bien" sobre lo que esas elecciones iban a significar y por que los que seleccionan a los candidatos (y aqui no se refiere a ustedes y a mi) decidieron elegir a Obama -- precisamente para servir como "mejor carta" con el fin de convencer de nuevo a los millones de personas que habian empezado a dejar de "creer en Estados Unidos" durante los anos de Bush. Y, a proposito, no es cierto que todos "desconocieron" que Obama era imperialista y militarista -- por nuestra parte, lo reconocimos pero tambien insistimos en arruinar la fantasia de los demas --la "narrativa" de los demas-- al no cejar en decir esa verdad "incomoda". Si por fin va a admitir la verdad ahora, pues como minimo que diga la verdad tal como es: que el es un criminal de guerra. Las palabras "imperialista" y "militarista" no son palabras de moda sin contenido cuyo proposito es demostrar que uno entiende; mas bien contienen significados especificos -- se refieren a alguien que es jefe de un sistema que se caracteriza por actividades de dominar la mayor parte del mundo que sea posible y de hacerlo por medio de la violencia militar o la amenaza de la misma. El imperialismo y el militarismo no son un conjunto de politicas o actitudes que se pueden encender o apagar o de alguna forma mitigar segun quien este al mando: describen a un SISTEMA. Si alguien es el jefe de ese sistema, pues eso implica que cada calculo que el --o ella-- hace se basa en la promocion de los intereses de ese sistema. Lo que Obama decide hacer o no hacer sobre la encarcelacion en masa se basa en eso , por ejemplo, al tomar unas pocas medidas dilatorias o hasta simplemente decir algunas cosas, con el fin de impedir que las personas se levanten o, cuando si comiencen a agitarse en concreto, con el fin de desviarlas hacia cauces que no perjudicaran al sistema y que, en los hechos, ni siquiera empezaran a afectar a la encarcelacion en masa y por ello, terminaran por desalentar y des movilizar a la gente. Nosotros no lo "olvidamos" ni tampoco lo olvidaron otras personas, y no "fuimos a casa" -- nos unimos para LUCHAR contra estos ultrajes, con unos arrestos en torno al parar y registrar, apoyo para la heroica huelga de hambre de los presos en California y otras prisiones; trabajamos con las patrullas barriales del pueblo para detener el abuso ilegitimo e ilegal al amparo de la autoridad, y otras cosas. Si terminaramos por encauzar nuestra lucha a fin de "crear la posibilidad para que Obama haga algo mejor", no hariamos nada mejor que unos becerros que balan para entrar en el corral de engorda porque ahi hay mas comida, con la esperanza de que el ganadero no nos lleve al matadero. La Red Parar la Encarcelacion en Masa ha convocado a un mes de resistencia en octubre -- y durante los meses preparatorios, si bien esta lucha tiene muchas formas en que pueden participar muchisimas personas con muchos puntos de vista distintos, tambien tiene que romper las ataduras de la respetabilidad, encontrar los medios de sacar a las personas en Estados Unidos de su espacio de seguridad y comodidad y confrontarlas con la realidad de lo que estan dejando ocurrir y poner en claro que hay gente con una creciente determinacion de !ya NO aguantar esto! Y no se puede hacer eso en concreto al pensar acerca de "abrir espacios para Obama". ?Sabes que? El no quiere esos espacios. Ademas, el lo dira, tal como llamo comparecer en la Casa Blanca esta primavera a los activistas de derechos del inmigrante y exigio que aflojaran sus protestas. Si uno entiende bien que Obama representa a un sistema -- un sistema que dice que esta en el camino de encarcelar a la tercera parte de los bebes varones negros que nacen en cualquier ano dado... un sistema que en realidad NO tiene ningun derecho de gobernar ni ninguna legitimidad en absoluto por ese unico hecho...... pues, que actue segun esa creencia y llevela a otros. Sea parte de debilitar ese muro, y no les siga a las personas que trabajan para parchar las grietas del muro y poner pintura sobre el oxido. De la iniciativa contra la opresion de la mujer, se trata de un muy amplio movimiento con muchos elementos, como una lucha crucial para cambiar en concreto la situacion en que la pornografia ha saturado fuertemente la cultura, con efectos devastadores y desmoralizantes. Pero quiero tratar brevemente la emergencia acerca del aborto. Ahora mismo el derecho al aborto no solo pende de un hilo, pero en muchas partes de Estados Unidos de hecho no existe o va por el camino de desaparecer. Eso no es una narrativa, es simplemente la pura verdad. Sin embargo, aquellos que estan dispuestos a emprender esta lucha se enfrentan a una increible barrera de negativas. Escuche un debate entre Sunsara Taylor --quien ayuda a darle direccion a esta iniciativa-- y la jefa nacional de la Organizacion Nacional de la Mujer (NOW). Y Sunsara hacia sonar la alarma y esta mujer de la NOW rondaba en la tierra de las fantasias, diciendo que "no hay motivo de preocupacion, que los republicanos van a perder, que la Suprema Corte va a proteger este derecho, bla, bla bla". Por favor, ?no es posible que todos nos despertemos, carajo, y veamos lo que ha estado pasando? Los locos esos del entorno de los republicanos no estaran satisfechos hasta que hayan eliminado el derecho al aborto Y el control de la natalidad, en todos los estados que puedan. Si crees que la Suprema Corte --la que ha estado reinstaurando la doctrina de los derechos de los estados y despojandoles vilmente los derechos a los afroamericanos-- protegera a las mujeres, de veras te niegas a ver la realidad. Y si confias en los democratas para proteccion --aunque estos han rendido la autoridad moral completamente en relacion a este tema y de hecho constantemente estan transigiendo elementos basicos de este derecho-- pues, por favor, de nuevo, dejes de contradecir la evidencia de los resultados de 40 anos de esta clase de "defensa". Ademas, algunas personas dicen que no tomaran una posicion porque el aborto es solamente "cosa de mujeres blancas". ?Como es que sea "cosa de mujeres blancas" cuando las actividades de eliminar este derecho se centran en Texas, en la frontera, en Misisipi, etc., donde viven muchas personas de color -- ni hablar de las zonas rurales pobres que si tienen una poblacion mayoritariamente blanca? Si, deberiamos tener plenos derechos reproductivos para TODAS las mujeres y si, el movimiento tradicional de la mujer, junto con el Partido Democrata, se equivocaron muy seriamente cuando permitieron que se adoptara la Enmienda Hyde, la que prohibio que el gobierno federal financiara abortos por medio de Medicaid y tuvo un impacto sumamente racista, sin que se armara un gran escandalo al respecto. Pero quedarse al margen ahora, mientras arde una batalla que es tan unilateral, exacerba el primer error y lo empeora. ?Saben ustedes que ocho de cada diez mujeres y ninas que cruzan la frontera desde Mexico en su desesperada busqueda de empleo o simplemente para reunirse con su familia, son victimas del abuso sexual durante la travesia? ?Que las adolescentes que emprenden su viaje en Honduras tratan de encontrar pildoras anticonceptivas porque saben que pueden resultar embarazadas por una violacion -- y que muy a menudo no pueden conseguir esas pildoras y su unica esperanza es una clinica cerca de Brownsville, Texas, la que ahora esta clausurada? ?Que las mujeres de diversas nacionalidades, no importan sus circunstancias, necesitan el derecho muy basico de decidir si tener un hijo y cuando? Obligar a una mujer a tener un hijo constituye la esclavizacion para la mujer. ?Por que se deberia considerar como legitimo a un sistema que esta en el camino de adoptar una prohibicion de ese derecho mediante una ley en la mayor parte de Estados Unidos? ?Y como seria que alguien no participara en esta lucha bajo pretextos tan mezquinos y, francamente, reaccionarios? En particular con relacion a esta cuestion pero tambien en general, tenemos que llevar una aguda lucha sobre como las personas estan viendo el mundo y, en particular, la politica de identidad muy reaccionaria que esta asfixiando a la juventud. Unos jovenes van a la universidad listos para estudiar el mundo y cambiarlo, y luego un profesor "experimentado" o un estudiante mayor los acusa de "querer apropiarse de la lucha de otra persona" y en muchisimos casos, de ahi se ponen a la defensiva y al dia siguiente terminan por mirar su propio ombligo. Asi que digamoslo directamente a estos gastados y trillados promotores sabihondos de la politica de identidad: ?Quieres "ser dueno" de tu propia opresion, guardandola celosamente y criticando a aquellos que quiza de alguna manera "se aduenen de ella" mediante una lucha contra las escandalosas expresiones de esa opresion? ?O quieres PONER FIN a toda la opresion? ?Quieres crear "espacios seguros" para unas pocas personas en esta sociedad muy peligrosa? ?O quieres luchar por cambiar una sociedad inhumana y al hacer eso, crear comunidades en las que vivimos las nuevas relaciones por las cuales estamos luchando? He hecho estas criticas agudas porque hay mucho en juego acerca de cual camino las personas tomen. Esta lucha no se trata de un "pleito". Es una lucha sumamente seria hoy, y las luchas como esta efectivamente seran de vida o muerte para millones de personas cuando surja una situacion revolucionaria, cuando todo este en juego e importara muchisimo el que las personas puedan distinguir entre la verdad, y el engano y el engano propio Tambien hay otras batallas que es necesario emprender y apoyar -- acerca del medio ambiente o acerca la inmigracion. Ahora mismo, haremos todo lo que podamos para apoyar a esas luchas y conectarnos con ellas por medio de nuestro sitio web revcom.us -- a fin de mostrar su fuente comun en este sistema y su solucion comun en la revolucion. Pero la punta de lanza de todo esto, la que pone las demas batallas en un contexto y marco revolucionario, es la gran campana multifacetica de recaudar muchisimo dinero para BA en Todas Partes. Ya comente los golpes de la contrarrevolucion en China en los anos setenta, encima de los ataques de la clase dominante a los movimientos de los sesenta en Estados Unidos. Esos momentos eran como si estuvieras en un muelle de un rio turbulento, preparando tu barco para cruzar al otro lado, consciente de gran violencia y rocas de los rapidos pero tenias ganas de cruzar -- y de ahi un bombazo hace pedazos su barco en el puerto y como resultado te encuentras fuertemente desorientado sobre el porque de lo sucedido y que hacer. La mayoria de las personas descartaron la idea de alcanzar al otro lado. Pero una persona se puso al frente para defender las hazanas de la revolucion y la necesidad de la revolucion... y ademas se puso a ir mas alla, a analizar criticamente toda la experiencia que comenzo con Marx y Engels, que paso por la Comuna de Paris y luego la revolucion sovietica de Rusia y al final alcanzo su pinaculo en China y la Revolucion Cultural. Se puede encontrar la nueva sintesis del comunismo desarrollada por BA en muchisimas obras. La expone la Constitucion para la Nueva Republica Socialista en America del Norte (Proyecto de texto) ... se encuentra en nuestra estrategia, tanto en la declaracion sobre la estrategia como en el gran conjunto de trabajo cientifico que contribuyo a esta... en las luchas sobre ideologia que llevamos a nivel internacional para que las personas en otros paises puedan hacer suyo este metodo, enfoque y marco basico, a fin de acelerar el desarrollo de la revolucion mundial. La nueva sintesis desarrollada por BA retoma y desarrolla las grandes contribuciones fundamentales que hicieron los anteriores lideres comunistas a nuestro entendimiento, a la vez que en algunos sentidos importantes, hace una ruptura con dichas contribuciones y a la vez abre nuevos caminos. Como tal, constituye la esperanza sobre una base cientifica solida y es necesario propagarla. Y esa es la mision de la campana BA en Todas Partes. Sin hacer eso, como punta de lanza, en realidad el movimiento para la revolucion no SERA para la revolucion... degenerara hasta convertirse en nada mas que otro mezquino intento de reformar a este sistema infernal. ?Por que? Porque existe una atraccion casi gravitacional a "acomodarse", a encajar lo que haces en los "cauces apropiados" --a "cobijarse bajo el ala de la burguesia" o de la clase dominante como se ha dicho-- tal vez por ninguna otra razon salvo que uno simplemente no tiene ninguna guia para ir a ninguna parte salvo eso. Tenemos que llevar esta campana a todas partes -- exponer claramente lo que representa BA y el mensaje general de la revolucion y al mismo tiempo abrir la puerta para que otras personas, quienes tal vez no esten de acuerdo con elementos ni gran parte de esta campana, pero de todos modos participen porque pueden ver como minimo que es muy pero muy necesario que ESTA alternativa se circule en la sociedad y que ESTA sea un punto de referencia que se debate en la sociedad en general -- un "reto moral radical", por decirlo asi. Y esta campana TIENE que recaudar muchisimo dinero -- mismo que puede poner concretamente las ideas y la direccion de BA ante millones de personas. Ahora bien, !no se trata de que esta campana NO vaya a suscitar polemica! No. Esta es una lucha de clases en la esfera ideologica. Se trata de forcejear con las personas sobre si se necesita una revolucion o algo menos; y sobre que clase de revolucion se necesita. Esto desafiara o habra de desafiar directamente las ideas de la gente sobre el problema y la solucion. ?Como que esto no podria suscitar polemica? Esto es algo controvertido --lo que es de esperarse-- a algunas personas les va a encantar mucho, otras lo van a detestar y la mayoria de las personas van a estar de acuerdo con algunos aspectos y no con otros. Deberiamos recibir todo esto con gusto y deberiamos aprender de lo que ha que ser un proceso amplisimo progresivo. Al reflexionar sobre esto, volvi al episodio de Cosmos que mencione al principio. Neil deGrasse Tyson habla de Edmund Halley, el cientifico que descubrio al cometa de Halley. En un momento Halley le pidio ayuda con un problema a un academico muy poco conocido, Isaac Newton; y cuando hablo con Newton y vio el trabajo que este hacia, Halley dijo: "Vaya, esto es algo diferente; esto esta a otro nivel; y si yo no me dedico a la mision de ayudarle a hacer su trabajo y a darlo a conocer muy ampliamente en el mundo cientifico, la humanidad perdera algo sumamente importante y valioso". Y Newton, por supuesto, en esencia fundo la fisica moderna. Aquellos que entienden lo que ha hecho BA deberian considerar que, como Halley, tienen la responsabilidad y la ALEGRIA de difundir esto por todos lados. Tengo entendido que algo que los comites BA en Todas Partes estan tratando ahora es la promocion de la camiseta Revolucion -- Nada Menos y la recaudacion de fondos con la perspectiva de que los jovenes se pongan estas camisetas por todos lados. Esta es la camisa que tengo puesta en este momento -- y es importante. Esta pelicula deja que la gente conozca BA y hace que estos avances cientificos sean muy accesibles. Junto con Lo BAsico , las personas pueden adentrarse en todo esto y de ahi adentrarse, con mayor profundidad, en el proceso de hacer una revolucion. Permitame hacer una sugerencia -- y al hacerlo, ponerme una camiseta con la imagen de BA. Una camiseta a menudo vale mil palabras. Una persona que lleva puesta una camiseta de Cara Cortada dice, "Me han tratado como un animal y si alguien se mete conmigo, yo lo tratare como algo peor que un animal". Las personas se ponen la camiseta del Che Guevara --el revolucionario latinoamericano barbudo con boina ejecutado por Estados Unidos en Bolivia-- y es como si estuvieran diciendo que llevan en el corazon el sueno de la revolucion, pero temen que en lo fundamental no sea posible triunfar en las revoluciones y que los revolucionarios vayan a convertirse en martires. Una persona con la camiseta de Bob Marley puesta da la idea de que el o ella arde de furia por la opresion del pueblo africano y los descendientes de Africa en todo el mundo, pero la unica salida que ve esta relacionada con un mundo espiritual -- un mundo que es, despues de todo, imaginario. O los manifestantes contra el asesinato policial en Albuquerque que se ponen las mascaras o emblemas de Guy Fawkes dan la impresion de que se oponen a muchos ultrajes y quieren trastornar las cosas, y eso es bueno, pero no tienen ningun programa concreto para salir de esa locura. Pues, yo quiero que, cuando caminemos por la calle con las camisetas de BA puestas, la gente sepa quien es ESTA persona: un lider revolucionario --no solo una imagen-- y que el representa lo de ganar en el sentido inmediato y completo de la palabra: ganar mediante la derrota de estos monstruos; y ganar sin convertirse en monstruos en el proceso de derrotarlos. Tambien he mencionado el encierro en las prisiones de generaciones enteras de personas; y la implacable ofensiva anticomunista. Pero hasta esta ofensiva anticomunista puede convertirse en cierto momento en su contrario, cuando se propague audazmente todo esto y con certeza les decimos a las personas que los de arriba les han mentido y les damos los argumentos respectivos. Ademas, la encarcelacion de las personas por anos ha obligado a algunas de estas a convertirse en lectores no solamente para pasar el tiempo sino para descubrir POR QUE estan en la carcel -- y al hacer eso, un gran sector de presos se ha conectado de manera profunda con BA y lo que el ha desarrollado.?No es posible que estos presos, que se han "rehabilitado" concretamente mediante el estudio de BA, comiencen a jugar papel parecido a los presos de los anos sesenta --como Malcolm X, Eldridge Cleaver y George Jackson-- quienes salieron de las carceles para despertar a una generacion entera? Yo se que la campana BA en Todas Partes tiene planes para hacer esto, para hacer que opere esta conexion y para fortalecerla, y se puede leer de estos planes en revcom.us o hablar con gente hoy al respecto. Todas estas iniciativas tienen que dar grandes saltos en estos proximos meses, lo que incluye a nuestro sitio web revcom.us. Este es un gran sitio: ofrece una imagen del mundo y sirve de andamiaje del movimiento general de la revolucion. Las personas de todo el mundo lo visitan, algo que tiene que multiplicarse muchas veces. A la vez, revcom.us tiene que desempenar mucho mas plenamente el papel del sitio web de un grupo dedicado a dirigir a las masas a tomar el poder lo mas pronto que sea posible, mismo que hierve de vida y debate y en que las masas populares puedan ver lo mejor de si mismas, escuchar sus preguntas y sentimientos y forcejear sobre como evaluar nuestra experiencia y seguir adelante. Este sitio tiene que postear analisis agudos de las mas grandes cuestiones del dia... tiene que bregar no solo con lo que piensan las personas sino COMO piensan... y tiene que sacar de su espacio de seguridad y comodidad a todos los que lo visiten. Y al hacer eso, el sitio deberia darle a la gente la mas plena imagen que sea posible del mundo en el que vivimos, la manera en que cada fuerza social importante --inclusive nuestro movimiento-- esta trabajando para transformarlo y lo que tenemos que estar haciendo ahora. Pero permitame plantear cuatro puntos muy amplios con relacion a este conjunto de trabajo: Primero , el todo es mayor que la suma de sus partes. Es decir, el efecto de la combinacion del trabajo de todas estas iniciativas, de su retroalimentacion reciproca y su sinergia reciproca, es mucho mayor que cualquier cosa especifica considerada en si o construida como "algo en si y de por si". Que no creemos divisiones donde no las necesitamos. En noviembre de 2013 en el mismo fin de semana la corte rindio una decision negativa muy importante sobre el parar y registrar en Nueva York y tambien hacian falta protestas a nivel nacional para defender a la unica clinica de aborto en Jackson, Misisipi. Alguien de Harlem llego con la idea de convocar a una accion de ambas cosas, bajo el lema de "No aceptaremos la esclavitud de ninguna forma" y asegurarse de que todos recibieran el periodico Revolucion y materiales de BA en Todas Partes al mismo tiempo; y eso era formidable. Mas en general, tenemos que sostener una vision y crear una situacion en que todo el torbellino de cosas influya en la manera de pensar de la gente... en que la gente que participa en una batalla se encuentre con otras personas que esten en otra batalla, todo ello en una situacion en que se debata la revolucion con otras soluciones y tendencias... donde haya una efervescencia y energia dinamica... donde la gente de los barrios y ghettos se vaya a las universidades para conectarse con los estudiantes y viceversa. Segundo , sigamos retomando lo que representa todo esto -- preparando a las personas para tomar el poder. Hay formas en que hay que hacer cada una de estas cosas y todas estas cosas en su conjunto con al menos un ojo y medio puesto sobre el cambio cualitativo que estamos trabajando para acelerar -- la situacion revolucionaria. ?Como estamos viendo todo? Permitame dar un ejemplo -- si no se hubiera acumulado una base de simpatia politica y de apoyo en los suburbios y las zonas rurales, pues seria muy facil que el enemigo pulverizara a la revolucion en los ghettos y barrios si se iniciara una revolucion, incluso con millones de personas a su lado al inicio. Por eso, desde esa perspectiva, ?que tanta importancia tiene cuando sucede algo como El anaranjado es el nuevo negro , la serie de television que representa graficamente a las presas como seres humanos, y no demonios subhumanos? ?Es eso simplemente algo genial, que bueno por nuestro lado, algo que podemos ver en la television -- o es algo con una importancia estrategica potencial? ?Y que de las alianzas forjadas entre los negros, latinos y blancos enajenados en las huelgas de hambre en las prisiones, basadas en los principios? Cuando vemos las cosas por el prisma de "hacer caer ese muro", cuando vemos las cosas desde la perspectiva de manana, pues todo lo de hoy asume una importancia distinta. O veamos lo que pasa cuando los jovenes y otras personas de la comunidad tomen los silbatos y los hagan sonar cada vez que un policia salga a hacer que alguien se ponga contra la pared con las manos arriba, tal como ocurrio en algunas ciudades hace rato. Obviamente, !lo de hacer sonar los silbatos no tiene una relacion directa o lineal con la toma del poder! Pero lo de hacer sonar silbatos contra la policia hoy desmitifica y deslegitimiza su monopolio del uso de la fuerza. Ensancha las "grietas en el muro". ?Importa para "manana" el que hoy grandes sectores de la comunidad aprendan a trabajar en conjunto, a organizarse y a oponer resistencia de forma unida cuando salga la policia a amenazar a los padres de esos jovenes quienes hacen suyos los silbatos? ?Es posible que aquellos se fortalezcan unos "musculos" importantes que podrian entrar en juego de otro modo en una situacion distinta, cuando este en marcha la lucha total por el poder contra toda la fuerza de represion del enemigo? En general, en todo lo que he comentado --es decir, BA en Todas Partes, la lucha contra la encarcelacion en masa, la lucha contra la esclavizacion y la denigracion de las mujeres--, es necesario que forjemos constantemente conexiones con el futuro: ir contra la legitimidad del sistema; desarrollar y organizar conexiones revolucionarias en todas partes; elevar la conciencia sobre las tacticas de doble faz que la clase dominante utiliza hoy y que lo hara a una escala mucho mayor cuando mucho mas este en juego. Todo eso esta fuertemente relacionado con el potencial surgimiento de una situacion en la que se podria tomar el poder; y de desarrollarse tal situacion, si las masas contaran con direccion para aprehenderla. Tercero , hace falta que las personas conozcan que existe un partido que lidera todo esto... que este partido es para la toma de poder y tiene un plan para hacerlo... que tiene un plan para lo que hacer CON ese poder... y que hay un lugar para la gente en relacion a este partido. Es algo genial que este partido haya salido de ese periodo anterior, a pesar de todas las dificultades, decidido a dirigir. Asi que, citemos de nuevo --!si! -- la declaracion sobre la estrategia: Cuanto mas el punto de vista y la estrategia revolucionarios de nuestro Partido se difundan y cobren influencia en toda la sociedad... cuanto mas la gente llegue a entender y estar de acuerdo con lo que el Partido representa, y sobre esa base se una a sus filas... cuanto mas el "alcance" del Partido se extienda a todos los rincones del pais... cuanto mayor sea su fuerza organizativa y su capacidad de resistir y de dirigir a las personas hacia adelante en las narices de la represion del gobierno la cual procure aplastar la resistencia y matar la revolucion, mas se sentaran las bases para la revolucion y mas favorables seran las posibilidades de ganar. Cuarto , es necesario que se haga este trabajo en todos los sectores de la sociedad, y que el movimiento construya su base mas fuerte y despliegue sus mayores esfuerzos, retomando la declaracion sobre la estrategia "[e]ntre los millones y millones de personas que viven las mas duras formas de este infierno todos los dias bajo este sistema" a la vez que movilice a "los muchos otros que tal vez no sientan a diario el filo mas duro de la opresion de este sistema pero los que el funcionamiento de este sistema, las relaciones que este promueve y refuerza entre las personas y la brutalidad que esto encarna, someten al envilecimiento y menosprecio y les provocan enajenacion y a menudo indignacion". Tambien tenemos que formar comunidad y al hacerlo, representar una nueva moral -- a fin de empezar a ser una fuerza atractiva que se basa ahora en vivir segun los valores comunistas que queremos tener en el futuro y de acoger en un sentido amplio a otras personas quienes desde sus propios puntos de vista, se niegan a agacharse ante la locura, el culto al dinero, la misoginia y el racismo y los prejuicios y chovinismo anti gay, la falta general de respeto para la naturaleza, pero quienes al contrario quieren luchar por un mundo totalmente diferente y vivir en este. Como parte de todo eso, urge que trabajemos con artistas y otras personas para crear una cultura de revuelta en contra una cultura que revuelve el estomago. Por ultimo, mientras hacemos todo eso, tenemos que estar conscientes y atentos a las crisis y sacudidas que ocurran por caminos en los que no estamos trabajando y a los que solo podemos prestar una atencion limitada, tales como cosas en el mundo cultural que de repente se conviertan en algo controvertido y acontecimientos internacionales importantes. Y por eso, si alguien piensa que Estados Unidos es el amo sin rival en el mundo o que la marcha de los acontecimientos no puede salirse de control, yo le pediria que observara a Ucrania --y en especial que viera nuestro sitio web revcom.us acerca de esto-- y que se pusiera a considerar que la Primera Guerra Mundial, cuyo centenario observamos este ano, se inicio debido a los calculos equivocados de las distintas potencias que estaban en una situacion a punto de reventarse. Tenemos que estar muy atentos a los acontecimientos de este tipo y tenemos que estar listos a cambiar de enfoque en un instante. De ocurrir una guerra, tendriamos que tener la orientacion de desenmascarar los verdaderos intereses imperialistas que subyacen a los argumentos que nos van a dar y los pretextos que ahora mismo estan propagando y hacer todo que podamos para asegurar que algo comienza de una manera que pueda resultar de otra manera. Y todo esto tiene un objetivo muy concreto, una perspectiva muy clara en comparacion con la que podemos evaluarnos a nosotros mismos. Tenemos que preguntarnos a nosotros mismos: aparte de emprender luchas e influenciar la opinion publica en todo momento, por tan importante que sea hacer todo eso, ? estamos acumulando fuerzas PARA la revolucion en todo momento ? No digo solamente conectarse con mas personas pero mas bien acumular... fuerzas... para la REVOLUCION . Nuestro criterio tiene que ser lo que voy a citar de la declaracion sobre la estrategia: Todo eso [el citado trabajo revolucionario] puede capacitar al movimiento revolucionario, con el Partido al centro, para enfrentar y superar los obstaculos muy reales en el camino... para avanzar y crecer mediante el trabajo constante, y mediante una serie de saltos criticos en los tiempos de sacudidas y rupturas repentinas con la "rutina normal"... para preparar el terreno y acumular fuerzas para la revolucion -- y tener una oportunidad seria de ganar. De esta manera, es posible atraer y orientar, organizar y capacitar de una forma revolucionaria a miles de personas , a la vez que empezar a llegarles e influenciar a millones mas, aun antes de que se de una situacion revolucionaria... y luego, cuando se de una situacion revolucionaria, esos miles pueden ser una columna vertebral y fuerza fundamental para ganar a millones de personas a la revolucion y para organizarlas en la lucha para llevar a cabo la revolucion hasta el final . Por lo tanto, sobre todo, en todo lo que hacemos: ?estamos activando la participacion ahora de los miles de personas que podrian dirigir a los millones de personas en el momento cuando todo dependiera de eso? Bueno... ?donde nos ENCONTRAMOS en la revolucion? Ya hemos hablado del metodo cientifico que necesitamos para tratar la realidad y la manera en que BA lo ha desarrollado y aplicado. Hemos hablado de la existencia de un marco estrategico y las bases de una doctrina para enfrentar y derrotar a los poderes represivos violentos del estado, en un momento en que haya una crisis aguda y millones de personas se hayan convertido en un pueblo revolucionario. Hemos hablado de la estrategia de trabajar ahora mismo para sentar las bases para que esto suceda-- para activar la participacion de miles a fin de influenciar a millones de personas hoy en esa direccion, y de ahi dirigirlas cuando se opere un cambio radical en las condiciones -- y nos hemos adentrado en algo de lo que tenemos que representar ahora mismo cuando nos vayamos de este salon, para trabajar en todo eso. Pero, ?que clase de movimiento, que clase de organizacion se necesitan para hacer todo eso? ?Y en esto donde encajan USTEDES? Empecemos con la invitacion formulada por BA hace unos anos: Juntos, tomemos un viaje crucial -- lleno de unidad y de animada lucha acerca de la fuente del problema y acerca de la solucion. Siga sus propias convicciones --de que son intolerables los ultrajes que le conmueven-- a su conclusion logica y este resuelto a no cejar hasta que sean eliminados dichos ultrajes. Ademas, si al hacer eso asi como al conocer otros ultrajes, y las ideas acerca de la manera en que todo eso se articula y surge de una fuente comun --y la manera en que se podria poner fin a todo eso y crear algo mucho mejor-- si todo eso lleva en la direccion de ver no solo la necesidad de una resistencia resuelta y osada sino tambien la necesidad de la revolucion y en lo fundamental el comunismo, pues no le de la espalda a todo eso debido a que eso le hace salir de su espacio de seguridad y comodidad, a que eso desafia lo que han sido sus sentidas creencias o debido a prejuicios y calumnias. Al contrario, busque activamente conocer mas acerca de esta posible solucion. De ahi, actue en consecuencia. Desmenucemosla un poco. "Juntos, tomemos un viaje crucial -- lleno de unidad y de animada lucha acerca de la fuente del problema y acerca de la solucion". ?No es esa la clase de movimiento que queremos -- conscientes de que lo que estamos haciendo SI importa y sobre esa base apreciar la unidad y al mismo tiempo hablar de nuestras diferencias sobre una base de principios, para conocer la verdad? "Siga sus propias convicciones" -- NO descarte sus convicciones, por estar del todo equivocadas, pero si "siga sus propias convicciones" acerca de lo intolerables que son estos ultrajes "a su conclusion logica y este resuelto a no cejar hasta que sean eliminados dichos ultrajes" -- no unos ultrajes atenuados pero si la eliminacion de esos ultrajes. Y si usted empieza a reconocer la necesidad de la revolucion y el comunismo, "no le de la espalda a todo eso debido a que eso le hace salir de su espacio de seguridad y comodidad" -- "Al contrario, busque activamente conocer mas acerca de esta posible solucion. De ahi, actue en consecuencia". Este es el espiritu que ha de animar e irradiar desde nuestro movimiento. Tiene que haber formas para que todo aquel que quiera --todos los presentes hoy, y muchas personas mas alla de aqui--le entren a esto, que sean parte de este tipo de proceso. Por ejemplo, en las iniciativas contra el nuevo Jim Crow y la denigracion y la esclavizacion de la mujer, en que deberia participar todo aquel que se oponga a esos ultrajes o al que sea posible convencer para que se oponga a esos ultrajes. En la campana BA en Todas Partes en que, para repetir, deberia participar todo aquel que quiera que BA y lo que el representa se difundan ampliamente en la sociedad como un punto de referencia o al que es posible convencer de eso. En las librerias Libros Revolucion, en las que en todas las ciudades donde existan hacen falta voluntarios y una base concreta de contribuidores economicos y clientes que quieren que estas librerias sobrevivan y prosperen. En nuestra pagina web revcom.us, que necesita a reporteros, fotografos y videografos, genios de la red, traductores, correctores, recolectores de fondos y cualquiera que quiera aprender como hacer estas cosas. Y ademas, el acto muy, muy importante de donar fondos y, al hacerlo, contribuir con sus ideas, y las actividades de recaudar fondos a otras personas. Hay una necesidad concreta de fortalecer el papel de los Clubes Revolucion. Estos clubes pueden tener sus raices en el barrio, a nivel de toda una ciudad o en una escuela, que atraen a diversas personas, especialmente los jovenes, quienes quieren ver una revolucion. Los clubes mismos necesitan resumir lo que han logrado y aprendido y como hacer grandes avances en el periodo inmediato. Pero he aqui algunas cosas para tomar en cuenta al hacer todo esto: * Como estos clubes pueden tener mas aceptacion para todas las personas que en serio quieren poner fin a los dias en que las personas no cuenten con la inspiracion y la organizacion para hacerle frente a los de arriba; como pueden servir mas como un lugar a donde uno va si quiere hacer algo que de veras se siente revolucionario, que se atreve a desafiar a estos monstruos y reunir a otros para que lo hagan; un lugar que atrae a aquellos que no pueden tolerar otro dia de esta locura, los que no tienen la paciencia de soportar la opresion y el atraso de ningun tipo... * Como los clubes pueden ser lugares donde la gente tiene todo tipo de oportunidades informales para hablar de las ideas que motivan las dos consignas principales en que se basan los clubes: es decir, que la humanidad necesita la revolucion y el comunismo, y, especificamente, la nueva sintesis del comunismo; y luchar contra el poder, y transformar al pueblo, PARA la revolucion. Las reuniones son buenas y pueden tener importancia, pero como los clubes generan mucho mas colectividad y vida informal como la principal forma de discutir las cosas... * De mayor importancia, ?como es que el espiritu de lo que se comento hoy imbuya mucho mas a los clubes --de que nosotros representamos lo de la toma del poder-- y la estrategia acompanante, para la lucha total por el poder y por lo tanto como encaja en eso lo que hacemos hoy? Estos clubes tienen gran potencial y cada revolucionario tiene la responsabilidad de ayudarles a materializar ese potencial. Pero quiero terminar mencionando a este partido. Volvamos a las cuestiones planteadas al principio: que los gobernantes son demasiado fuertes... que la gente esta hecha un desastre... y las fuerzas revolucionarias son muy debiles. Hemos hablado de donde nos encontramos con las primeras dos cuestiones, y como las cosas pueden cambiar. Pero sin un partido --sin ESTE partido--, la gente no tiene ninguna oportunidad real. Asi que, de nuevo, veamos de frente la realidad. Este partido tiene una gran linea, y tiene a un gran lider en BA, y sus miembros tienen mucha dedicacion. Es muy genial y muy valioso tener a este partido -- es sumamente importante que los avances, las lecciones, de toda una etapa de revolucion comunista, incluyendo las grandes luchas de la decada de 1960 en el mundo, no solo no se han perdido sino que se han desarrollado en la nueva sintesis del comunismo Y ADEMAS que existe una organizacion decidida a aplicar esa nueva sintesis, esa linea a la realidad, a fin de llevarla a cabo y hacer una revolucion. Pero aparte de no estar ni de lejos un partido tan grande como tenemos que ser y podriamos ser en concreto, inclusive en las condiciones de hoy, nos enfrentamos a otros problemas. Durante la ultima decada hemos estado pasando por una Revolucion Cultural al interior de nuestro propio partido -- una que va directamente contra la forma en que todas las tendencias que mencione que surgieron despues de la derrota de la decada de 1960 y luego, de aun mas importancia, despues de la revocacion del socialismo en China, habian estado afectando al mundo en su conjunto y tambien a nuestro partido --un partido que despues de todo, no podia y no debe ser hermeticamente separado del mundo-- lo que ha hecho que algunas personas le dieran la espalda a la revolucion, pensaran que no es posible y ni siquiera deseable. Esta Revolucion Cultural, liderada por BA, ha sido abrumadoramente algo positivo y rejuvenecedor -- en un sentido muy concreto, salvo a nuestro partido como un partido de la revolucion -- a la vez que continua la lucha en nuevas formas. Pero tambien nos ha costado -- algunos individuos lo han abandonado y algunos se han metido en el Internet y se han dedicado a una mision para justificar dicho abandono mediante ataques en nuestra contra --y en contra de BA en particular--, ataques en formas que sirven objetivamente al enemigo. Al mismo tiempo, si bien tenemos a personas jovenes a todos los niveles de nuestra direccion, una gran parte de nuestro nucleo dirigente son veteranos de la decada de 1960 -- y no nos estamos volviendo mas jovenes; la edad esta cobrando un saldo. Para decirlo sin rodeos --para decir las cosas muy directamente--, nos encontramos en una etapa en la que o vamos a reascender los picos de la revolucion, vamos a emprender una trayectoria en la que esta linea y este partido vayan cobrando influencia en la sociedad y vayan cobrando fuerzas, a la vez que vaya luchando contra la represion, los ataques y las dificultades de diverso tipo... o vamos a salir con los huesos rotos y vamos a dejar de existir; y de ocurrir lo ultimo, eso tendra consecuencias negativas y dolorosas de inestimable valor para el mundo. Y sin embargo, !hay un mundo por conquistar! Piense en Egipto, donde hace tres anos aparentemente de la nada --pero NO de la nada--, millones de personas se levantaron contra el regimen gobernante. ?Que hubiera implicado eso si, por ejemplo, en 2006 o hasta en 2008 alguien en Egipto hubiera dado un discurso similar al que di hoy -- un discurso que expusiera las posibles formas en que esa sociedad --que en ese momento, recuerdense, parecia MUY estable si solo se considerara la superficie-- posiblemente pudiera venirse a pedazos, donde las fuentes de estabilidad de la noche a la manana se convirtieran en fuentes de desafios y cambios? Piense en los retos que se presentaban en 2011 y desde ese entonces para el pueblo de Egipto que durante decadas habia anhelado un cambio real. Piense en que tanto hubiera importado la presencia de una vanguardia como este, con una base de apoyo y una orientacion activa, una vanguardia que pudiera dar direccion en esa situacion... piense en que tanto hubiera importado eso. No hubiera comenzado con una mayoria, ni siquiera cerca de eso; y si, hubiera tenido que luchar contra diversas ilusiones acerca de "movimientos sin lideres" y "revoluciones en Facebook" y "el ejercito y el pueblo son una mano", y que hubiera tenido que ir directamente contra el fundamentalismo religioso violento y la misoginia violenta y todo eso. Como minimo, hubiera implicado un camino muy dificil. Pero eso ha ocurrido en todas las revoluciones -- ninguna revolucion comunista autentica nunca tuvo un camino facil, las autenticas revoluciones comunistas van en contra de la tradicion y en contra de los cauces espontaneos en los que el pensar y la actividad de la gente tienden a fluir; las revoluciones triunfan mediante la superacion y transformacion de esos obstaculos y no mediante retoques. Pero ?que hubiera implicado el que algunas personas hubieran dicho, hace cinco, seis o hasta dos anos antes de que la situacion hiciera erupcion, "hagamos esto -- pongamonos a forjar la direccion que en realidad podria liderar a una revolucion y utilicemos el tiempo que tenemos ahora para sentar las bases y acumular fuerzas PARA esa revolucion"? Sin embargo, en parte debido a todo lo que he descrito, incluyendo la debilidad internacional del comunismo, nadie lo hizo, y ahora veamos el espectaculo de horrores que se produjo -- que casi se ha empeorado porque las esperanzas de la gente, despues de haber crecido, terminaron por desvanecerse. Eso es lo que ocurre --ya sea por la represion o por el caos-- cuando NO haya una vanguardia que puede liderar a las personas a llevar las cosas hasta el final. No es una eleccion entre tener trastornos y no tener trastornos. No es una eleccion entre sufrir y no sufrir. Es una eleccion acerca de lo que podria resultar del trastorno y el sufrimiento. Y no se trata de si los imperios caeran; todos los imperios en la historia han caido. Se trata de que reemplaza a ese imperio. Si nada mas se reemplaza por una nueva forma de opresion, levemente embellecida, con otros rostros... segun lo dicho por BA, pues no nos interesa. Necesitamos que se difunda este metodo y este marco en todo el mundo, y en Estados Unidos tenemos que fortalecer al unico instrumento que puede hacer eso -- el Partido Comunista Revolucionario, Estados Unidos. Por lo tanto, el partido es muy crucial -- por eso hemos introducido en nuestra consigna "NOSOTROS estamos construyendo un movimiento para la revolucion", una frase que abarca al partido, de modo que ahora nuestra consigna es: "Nosotros ESTAMOS construyendo un movimiento para la revolucion y estamos construyendo el Partido como su nucleo dirigente". Esto es algo en lo que todos pueden pensar -- si conociste a nuestro partido hoy por primera vez, que lo conozcas; si lo apoyas, profundices ese apoyo; si trabajas con el, que fortalezcamos ese vinculo; si ya eres un miembro, ponte a tomar mayor responsabilidad e iniciativa y a contribuir todo lo que puedas; y si te estas acercando a el, como en el caso de algunos de los presentes, pues forcejees activamente con lo de ingresar en el. Algunas personas estan haciendo esto hoy. Estas personas, a medida que comiencen a ingresar al partido y a contribuir a ese nivel al proceso de la revolucion y a fortalecerlo, pueden desempenar un papel que va mas alla de unos pocos individuos. Son, en un sentido concreto, parte de los nuevos iniciadores de una nueva etapa del comunismo, a escala internacional. Ahora, tenemos que dejar muy en claro: que nadie deba ingresar a este partido de no estar convencido de los principios basicos del comunismo. Todos tienen dudas, y todos tienen que hacer rupturas en su modo de pensar para que esten en condiciones de considerar seriamente hacer el compromiso de por vida de ingresar a este partido. Yo lo se porque lo hice. Ademas, lo que me condujo a cambiar mi pensar y a hacer esas rupturas era entender mas a fondo, estar mas convencido y tener un mayor sentido de urgencia de que nada menos que una revolucion iba a ocuparse de lo que descubri que es y era indignante acerca de la sociedad y que iba a ser necesario tener algun tipo de fuerza organizada. Para aquellos que estan bregando ahora con esta posibilidad, sabemos que esta para nada es una decision que se tome a la ligera. Pero dos cosas: una, que forcejees con estas cuestiones, no dejes que estas cuestiones nada mas ronden por ahi; y dos, evites la perspectiva de "no cuenten conmigo" -- que trates esta posibilidad desde la perspectiva de lo que la humanidad enfrenta en estos momentos, y lo que necesita en concreto, y luego a ver tu vida en ese contexto. Donde nos encontramos en la revolucion es que EXISTE un partido que tiene la linea, la direccion y la determinacion de derrotar concretamente a estos opresores... una estrategia que puede preparar mentes y organizar fuerzas PARA la revolucion, para activar la participacion de los miles hoy que encabezarian a los millones de personas de manana... que esten dispuestas a asumir la responsabilidad de hacer lo que hay que hacer... pero en que hay una necesidad objetiva para que aquellos que quieran ver una nueva etapa de la revolucion comunista den un paso adelante para asumir la mayor responsabilidad que puedan por este partido y para fortalecerlo. Esto no es necesariamente una vida facil --no recibiras mucha aceptacion social o "aprobacion"-- existe la posibilidad constante de la represion y muchas veces la realidad de la misma, y eso solo se intensificara... pero tampoco tienes que encogerte los hombros y alejarte de las duras verdades, y "decirte a ti mismo una historia que te permite aguantar el dia"... no tienes que adormecerte a ti mismo hasta que toda tu pasion se haya ido... Pero, ademas, contaras con la alegria y el regocijo que acompanan los momentos en los que las masas populares EFECTIVAMENTE rompan las cadenas y la porqueria de este sistema y muestren su potencial y en los momentos en que se hagan avances, avances concretos, hacia la solucion de los problemas de la revolucion, tanto en la teoria como en la practica. Y contaras con la alegria general, tal como BA dijo en la Declaracion del Ano Nuevo, de "luchar por un mundo donde habran desaparecido el sufrimiento y la locura que ahora expresan la vida cotidiana de las masas de la humanidad, y se abriran dimensiones totalmente nuevas de la libertad y el potencial humano para las personas en todas partes, ya sin las divisiones entre rico y pobre, amo y esclavo, gobernante y gobernado. Ya no se pelearan y se mataran entre si, pero si trabajaran juntos por el bien comun. Ya no destruiran la tierra, pero si actuaran como los dignos guardianes de la misma. Eso es el comunismo, la meta de nuestra revolucion, un futuro --para la juventud, para toda la humanidad-- al cual en verdad vale la pena dedicar nuestra vida.... Ahi esta el reto . Ahi esta la direccion . Lo que hace falta... es usted" .

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As many readers of Counterpunch are likely aware, the Chiapas-based Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) has recently launched an open initiative called the Escuelita ("little school"), a four or five-day program by means of which outsiders, both Mexican and international, are invited to reside with Zapatistas to learn more about the EZLN's politics and the daily lives of the organization's members, as well as to promote cultural exchange. The openness reflected in the launch of the Escuelita stands in contrast to the relative aloofness of the organization in recent years--with the EZLN's command observing a period of silence for more than a year after Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos' plaintive condemnation of the Israeli military assault on Gaza during winter 2008-9. Of course, at the end of the thirteenth Bak tu n and the beginning of the fourteenth (21 December 2012), up to fifty thousand Zapatistas silently marched through five of the municipalities the EZLN had liberated in its 1 January 1994 insurrection--thus overthrowing their prior reclusiveness while dialectically preserving their verbal quietude. Indeed, in this sense the Escuelita's founding recalls the early years that followed the EZLN's public appearance with its uprising, when the organization hosted Intercontinental Encounters for Humanity and against Neo-Liberalism --and even Intergalactic ones--that brought together radical thinkers and dissidents from Mexico and the world over to publicly strategize on ways to bring down capital and the State. I was greatly pleased, then, when in response to a form I had sent the EZLN some time ago, I received a letter signed by Marcos and fellow Subcomandante Insurgente Moises inviting me to the second round of the First Level of the Zapatista Escuelita, to be held in late December 2013. Registration for the Escuelita took place at CIDECI, or the Indigenous Center for Comprehensive Training, which has its campus on the outskirts of San Cristobal de Las Casas, the largest highland city in the state of Chiapas. Also known as Unitierra (Earth University), CIDECI hosts weekly international seminars on anti-systemic movements , in addition to monthly seminars dedicated to contemplation and discussion of the thought of Immanuel Wallerstein. Much of the art adorning the buildings on the CIDECI campus depicts Zapatistas, and the Center has hosted Sups Marcos and Moises to speak on several occasions, so it is natural that it would be chosen as site of registration for the Escuelita. Arriving with my friend Reyna, we entered the short registration line established for foreigners--the lines for those hailing from Mexico City and the states of Mexico being much longer than this one--presented our documents to the receiving team, paid the 380-peso fee (about $30US), and then were told we would be placed in a community belonging to the La Realidad ("Reality") region located deep in the Lacandon Jungle. I was pleased to hear this, as La Realidad is my favorite of the five Zapatista caracoles ("snails"), or administrative centers located in the zones with Zapatista presence. Reyna and I then got in line to board the various vehicles the EZLN had organized outside CIDECI to transport us to our respective caracoles. Map of the 5 Zapatista caracoles and their corresponding regions. From Niels Barmeyer, Developing Zapatista Autonomy (Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2009), xvii. When the caravan from CIDECI entered the jungle and arrived at La Realidad some ten hours after having departed, we were asked to remain in the vehicles outside the caracol compound for just a few more minutes. Thus were we faced with a white banner draped above the iron gate that served as entrance commemorating 20 years since the Zapatista uprising in general and the ca i da ("fall") of Subcomandante Insurgente Pedro during the fighting in Las Margaritas in particular. Once the Zapatistas had finished preparing themselves, the alumn@s were invited to file through to enter the caracol, just as skilled masked players struck joyful tunes on the marimba from the stage above where the students came to join the assembled Zapatistas for a brief orientation to the Escuelita. After declaring our support to the cause of revolution--responding with ! Viva! to the mention of various persons and groups, such as the EZLN, Subcomandante Marcos, Comandanta Ramona, the Escuelita, the peoples of the world, the world's women, and so on.--we were assigned to our guardian@s individually and then sent to sleep as segregated by sex while the marimba continued to play into the night. My guardi a n was a young Tojolabal male BAEZLN (base de apoyo, or "support base") named Hector--his name here is a pseudonym for reasons of clandestinity. Banner in La Realidad commemorating Sup Pedro, who died in the insurrection on 1 January 1994. The next morning, 25 December, the Escuelita at La Realidad officially commenced with a collective presentation made by Zapatista teachers of the region regarding different aspects of life and politics in the BAEZLN communities pertaining to this caracol. In basic terms, these teachers spoke to the EZLN's autonomous health and banking systems--with the former comprised of health promoters, male and female, who are trained in the three fields of acute care, obstetrics, and herbalism, and the latter comprised of lending institutions (BANPAZ and BANAMAS) which offer loans for productive projects at 2-3% interest and provide economic support for Zapatista families struck by illness--as well as their democratic system of governance, which in parallel to the official system is made up of three tiers: the local popular assemblies at the communal level, the autonomous Zapatista rebel municipalities (MAREZ) at the intermediary level, and finally the Good-Government Councils ( Juntas de Buen Gobierno, or JBGs), which coordinate matters at the regional level. Of the three, the JBGs represent the highest authority for the Zapatistas, yet legal proposals can be raised at the local assembly level, and the BAEZLN representatives voted into the JBGs through assemblies are fully recallable. The autonomous authorities, moreover, receive no wage or salary for their work but are instead supported with food from their base communities. While the Zapatistas' methods in civic administration thus seem to bear a great deal of similarity to the positive policy proposals made in Euro-U.S. settings by Karl Marx and some anarchists alike, they resemble and develop the political customs of many indigenous peoples of the Americas as well. Indeed, in philosophical terms in this sense, one of the teachers expressed the idea--as recognized also by G.W.F. Hegel and others--that the perpetuation of oppressive social conditions drives forward the dialectic: he spoke specifically of the memory of the Zapatistas' ancestors enslaved by the feudalism imposed by the colonia as propelling the strength of the movement of BAEZLN'toward autonomy. At this time, one of the teachers noted that the EZLN's goal at present is two-fold: one, to "liberate the people of Mexico," and secondly to uphold and extend the autonomy of the organization and its constituent members. The situation of women in the EZLN was first examined an hour and a half into the teachers' presentation, when various female representatives spoke to the issue. Like Friedrich Engels on private property, the introductory speaker argued that the patriarchal enslavement of indigenous women began with Spanish colonialism, whereas previously the worth of women had supposedly been fully recognized, as based on women's ability to reproduce the human race. This speaker noted both males and females to have been oppressed by the patrones imposed by European invasion and genocide, and she welcomed the vast changes provided by the EZLN in terms of women's ability to participate in socio-political matters, whether as health promoters, communal radio progammers, JBG authorities, or milicianas in the guerrilla movement. Several of the speakers on women's issues stressed that the struggle to increase women's participation in the EZLN has not been an easy one, due both to resistance from men as well as the internalization of self-deprecating values on the part of many indigenous women themselves. Another issue is that females in this context tend to be less literate and knowledgeable of Spanish than males, such that engaging in administrative work using Spanish as the common language among BAEZLN from different ethno-linguistic groups proves challenging. One teacher noted that Zapatista women face exploitation on three fronts--for being female, indigenous, and poor--and based on her and other compa n eras' words, it seems they largely bear responsibility for domestic affairs and child-rearing within the dominant sexual division of labor which prevails in Zapatista communities. Speakers in this section also analyzed the Revolutionary Law on Women, passed by the EZLN before its January 1994 insurrection, by enumerating its stipulations--such as the right to freely determine the total number of children to bear, to reject imposed marriage and freely choose partners, to resist domestic violence, and so on--and afterward simply stating that all the conditions of the Law are being observed in Zapatista settings. However, this claim came too quickly, as we will shall see. In the third part of the initial presentation in La Realidad, the teachers addressed some of the challenges the EZLN has faced in the development of its autonomy in the 20 years since its armed revolt. They claim now that their form of resistance is the word, both spoken and written: while in January 1994 their resistance took on armed form, it has now become peacefuland civic--with the resort to arms opening the subsequent possibility for the Zapatistas' impressive development of autonomy. Despite this difference between January 1994 and everything after, the Zapatista movement remains under siege, with the "bad government" ( el mal gobierno) working now to divide indigenous communities among themselves by encouraging participation in official political parties and recourse to state-provided services--a strategy it adopted in direct response to the insurrection, yet one that was subordinated in the years of peak intensity (the years following 1994) to the overtly repressive resort to direct militarization and the fomenting of paramilitary groups designed to terrorize BAEZLN and Zapatista sympathizers in eastern Chiapas. However, forced displacement of BAEZLN still takes place--consider the cases of San Marcos Avil e s in 2010 and Comandante Abel more recently. One speaker mentioned the Lacandon indigenous people who live quite close to La Realidad as an example the Zapatistas do not wish to emulate--for the Lacandones have been made dependent on the State after having been stripped of their rights to fell trees and cultivate agriculture for residing in the region which has been designated as belonging to the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (RIBMA). Defining the principal problems which the EZLN confronts at the moment, one representative noted the issues of the occupation of lands "recovered" by the Zapatistas in 1994 by indigenous persons belonging to rival political groups, forced displacement, paramilitary activity, and the arbitrary incarceration of BAEZLN. This speaker connecting the experience of these problems with the "peaceful and civil" Zapatista approach, which is to engage in public denunciation through the JBGs. To close this introductory presentation, the teachers accepted written questions from the audience of alumn@s . In response to a question that would continually be raised over the course of the Escuelita, one teacher said that the Zapatistas "respect" the ways of gays, but no more specifics were given on this. As for the question as to how to reproduce the neo-Zapatista model in other contexts--particularly in cities, where living conditions are clearly rather different--the teachers said that that prospect could be helped along by means of the promotion of an autonomous sense of politics, however that be translated into reality. Intruigingly fielding a question about Zapatismo and ecology, one of the teachers noted that the EZLN seeks to carry through the word of the people in terms of how to manage natural resources, such that the question of whether nature be ravaged or left alone is secondary to adherence to the vox populi-- an interesting permutation of "green" anarcho-syndicalism or ecological self-management. Another question-and-answer had a maestro clarifying that BAEZLN practice a "high level" of abstention in official elections at the three levels (municipal, state, and federal). Perhaps most controversially of all, some of the teachers shared the general neo-Zapatista skepticism toward family planning methods, which are apparently considered in the main to be measures imposed from above to limit indigenous population growth. Along these lines, one maestra clarified that abortion is not performed at Zapatista autonomous clinics, considering it a practice of infanticide that should be suppressed if there are to be numerically more zapatistas. Separately, though relatedly, a different teacher declared that the Zapatista midwives are not trained by the Public Health Ministry. Following the morning presentation, the alumn@s and their guardian@s traveled by group to the communities in which they would experience the Escuelita. Transport of these 500 people (about 250 students and their chaperones) took place by means of large sand-trucks--traveling in one of these during the journey out to community and back truly reminded me of pictures I've seen of the anarchist troop-transport vehicles used in the Spanish Revolution of the 1930's. Upon arrival to the -- community affiliated with the -- MAREZ pertaining to La Realidad to which the group in which I was included had been sent, the first session of the Escuelita began for me, as Hector and I were welcomed into the abode of the -- family. (Thus, like many others, Hector and I experienced the Escuelita with one family, though some alumn@s and guardian@s apparently experienced a more collective setting, such as took place in the actual space of an autonomous school.) The first text to be examined was Autonomous Government I , which like the remaining three volumes of written materials provided for alumn@s and guardian@s to study is comprised of varied testimonies from BAEZLN with different charges who belong to MAREZ affiliated with each of the five caracol regions. A scene from the -- community, affiliated with the La Realidad caracol This first volume tells its readers that the EZLN base is comprised of a total of 38 MAREZ, with 4 belonging to La Realidad, and it notes that this caracol was the successor to the first Aguascalientes established in 1994 by the EZLN in the nearby community of Guadalupe Tepeyac--Aguascalientes referring to the Mexican state in which the 1917 Constitution was drafted--which was in turn occupied by the Mexican Army in 1995, its residents displaced for six years until 2001. In 1995, the EZLN responded by founding five more Aguascalientes, administrative centers which would in 2003 become the caracoles and the seats of the JBGs. In terms of La Realidad, the region itself has an autonomous Zapatista hospital in San Jose del Rio--with a large state-based one recently installed in Guadalupe Tepeyac, and a government clinic (physically protected by barbed wire) constructed within the last three years just a couple minutes' walk from the caracol itself . The text on autonomous governance says that the San Jose hospital has recently acquired ultrasound equipment for obstetrical purposes, but it remains unclear to me to what extent there exist rehab or harm-reduction programs for Zapatistas in public health terms--consumption of alcohol and all other drugs is forbidden for BAEZLN. Moreover, in sharing the names of all the Zapatista MAREZ which exist, the volume speaks to the role of revolutionary memory in the EZLN's program: municipalities are named for Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, San Manuel (Manuel being the founder of the EZLN), Ricardo Flores Magon (a renowned Oaxacan anarchist involved in the Mexican Revolution), Comandanta Ramona, Lucio Cabanas (a left-wing guerrillero who formed the Party of the Poor in Guerrero in the 1970's), La Paz, La Dignidad, 17 November (date of the arrival of the urban-based Maoists to the selva Lacandona in 1983), Trabajo ("Work"), and Ruben Jaramillo (a campesino insurrectionary who sought to carry on Zapata's vision until his 1962 murder by the State), to give just a few examples. Politically, volume I lists the seven principles of mandar obedeciendo ("to command by obeying") which is to govern the action of representatives of the JBGs and all other civilian Zapatista institutions: "To serve and not to serve oneself"; "to represent and not to supplant [or usurp]"; "to construct and not to destroy"; "to obey and not to command"; "to propose and not to impose"; "to convince and not to conquer"; "to go down instead of up." Beyond this, the interviews in the text discuss problems with rival organizations in the region corresponding to Morelia such as ORCAO and OPPDIC, and it provides some history showing the necessity of direct JBG oversight of projects proposed by internationals and NGOs to be implemented in Zapatista communities. Moreover, with regard to the northern region affiliated with the Roberto Barrios caracol, the text specifies that economic donations from visitors often go toward expanding cattle-herds, in accordance with the wishes of base communities. The second volume, Autonomous Government II , which Hector, my teacher, and I examined on the Escuelita's second day, gives details about the specific autonomous social projects implemented by the EZLN, especially health and education. Interviews with educational promoters specify the types of classes on offer at the ESRAZ (Escuela Secundaria Rebelde Aut o noma Zapatista, or the Zapatista Rebellious Autonomous High School): languages (Spanish and indigenous), history, math, "life and environment," and integration (on the EZLN's 13 demands). In the La Realidad region at least, autonomous education programs are designed in consultation with students' parents, who are asked what it is that should be preserved from standard public education approaches, and what should be added. With regard to autonomous health, the text specifies that EZLN health promoters have composed a list of 47 points for preventative health, that medical doctors assist in solidarity with health projects, and that the San Jose del Rio hospital had recently acquired an autoclave thanks to revenue from the 10% tax the JBG collects on all construction projects undertaken by community, corporation, or State in its territory. In the northern zone of Chiapas, vaccines arrive every three months for Zapatista children, and the organization SADEC (Salud y Desarrollo Comunitario, or Communal Health and Development) assists with their administration; my teacher assured me that vaccines are regularly given to BAEZLN children in the zone of La Realidad as well. Furthermore, the second volume mentions various difficulties and successes experienced by the EZLN, both internally and externally: for example, the forced displacement prosecuted by federal forces of the Zapatista San Manuel community located in Montes Azules and the scarcity of land limiting the scope of collective projects to be taken in the highlands region corresponding to the Oventik caracol, or the exportation of Zapatista coffee to Italy, Greece, France, and Germany. Zapatista school in the -- community with anarcho-syndicalist colors (rojinegro) This same day, my guardi a n, teacher, and I decided to begin study of volume three, Autonomous Resistance, as well. This collection of interviews provides great insight into neo-Zapatista culture and resistance, as well as relationships between BAEZLN and members of other organizations, particularly officialist grupos de choque ("shock groups"). Providing an interesting perspective on Zapatista child-rearing practices, one representative explained the various alternative cultural activities Zapatista communities offer to their youth so that they not fall into "ideologies of the government": sports, poetry contests, and dance. Also in terms of cultural norms, another interviewed spokesperson notes the celebration of religious holidays to be more popular outside the ranks of the EZLN than inside it--a reflection of the organization's secular orientation. A socio-cultural milestone for the EZLN, the first and only appearance of the neo-Zapatista air force is also described in this volume: to protest the military's occupation in 1999 of Amador Hernandez, a La Realidad MAREZ, local BAEZLN organized a mass-production of paper airplanes carrying subversive messages which were ceremoniously launched into the barracks of the soldiers upholding the occupation. The resistance to this occupation also took on the form of sit-ins, dance, and exhortative speech. In addition, the third volume examines Zapatista diplomacy and relations with other organizations. The construction of water-irrigation projects with which many internationals involved themselves--as is described in Ramor Ryan's Zapatista Spring: Anatomy of a Rebel Water Project (2011) -- is mentioned as a sign of international cooperation and solidarity, while in contrast relations with local communities affiliated with the PRI (the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party) and ORCAO/OPPDIC (comprised in part by ex-BAEZLN) are shown to continue to be tense and problematic. Indeed, it seems there is a true political competition going on between BAEZLN on the one hand and PRI militants on the other, with a number of respondents from the Morelia and La Garrucha regions expressing faith and pride that BAEZLN in many cases live better than their PRI counterparts, thanks to the organization's reportedly consistent besting of the official system in health and educational outcomes--this despite the myriad social programs offered by the Chiapas state government, and the millions of pesos it spends on them. In universal (or galactical) terms, an education promoter from the Roberto Barrios region tells his interviewer that the neo-Zapatista struggle proceeds not only with the interests of BAEZLN in mind, but of all-- tod@s . The reading for the the third day was the fourth volume, Women's Participation in Autonomous Government, perhaps the most interesting one of all--for it is testament to the patent conflict between Zapatista rhetoric and everyday life in this regard. From the La Realidad region, an ex-JBG member notes proudly that in neither organized religion nor in established political parties have women experienced the kind of participation that female BAEZLN have been allowed. A member from an autonomous council of the same zone claims the lot of Zapatista women to be better off than that of indigenous women in PRI communities, where high rates of alcohol and other drug abuse and sexual violence reportedly obtain. Nonetheless, a great deal of tension between the end of women's liberation and respect for established patriarchal custom can be readily detected in this volume on women's involvement. For example, the 47 points on preventative health from La Realidad include one endorsing family planning, while health promoters affiliated with Morelia suggest to their female clients that they ideally try to leave a 5- or 6-year gap between each subsequent birth, all in accordance with article 3 of the Revolutionary Law on Women, which grants female BAEZLN the right to elect the number of children they will bear--yet sources from Oventik and Roberto Barrios note that it is precisely this law no. 3 which is being least observed in practice, given the strong opposition expressed by many male BAEZLN to the use of birth control methods. Indeed, summarizing the results of a public discussion among BAEZLN in the Roberto Barrios region on women's issues, one educational promoter reported the widespread opinion that women should not unilaterally decide on the question of number of children--thus expressing a popular repudiation of law no. 3! From La Garrucha, another educational promoter claims that women's participation in her MAREZ is 2-3% of what it should be--that is, if I'm not mistaken, that >97% of female Zapatistas from that municipality opt out of taking on the charges passed to them through election. Sexual education would seem underdeveloped in the Roberto Barrios region, according to a Zapatista educator there, and in this zone marriage is common by 15 or 16 years of age, while in the Oventik region unmarried couples are apparently expected to ask permission from their parents to date--so that they avoid the "bad customs of the cities where lovers just get together without respecting their parents." In these terms, an interesting proposal from the base is that of the recommendations made in the Oventik zone in 1996 for an expanded Revolutionary Law on Women--a proposal that has yet to be adopted by the EZLN. While from volume IV it is unclear how this proposed expansion came about, and who precisely composed its articles, it in some ways reflects regression from the original Revolutionary Law: here, it is only married women who have the right to birth control, and this only to the extent to which agreement with male partners is achieved, while non-monogamous relationships are declared unacceptable: "it is prohibited and inappropriate that some member of the [Zapatista] community engage in romantic relations outside of the norms of the community and populace --that is to say, men and women are not allowed to have [sexual] relations if they are not married, because this brings as consequences the destruction of the family and a bad example before society." In a similar vein, "arbitrary abandonment" and coupling with others while formally married are also tabooed in the articles of this recommended expansion. Whether such attitudes are representative of the thought of many or most female BAEZLN is unknown; however conservative such ideas may seem, it is also worth noting that 17 years have passed since their proposal. Thus after finishing the last volume on women's participation, the Escuelita in community had ended, and Hector and I expressed our gratitude for the generosity showed by our maestro and his compa n era (female partner) during the classes and our stay in the -- community. We then met up with the other alumn@s (including Reyna) who had come together in the local assembly space and then departed for our hike to the access road at which we were to be picked up and returned by sand-trucks to La Realidad. Once the afternoon progressed into evening in the caracol, as more alumn@s continued arriving from other communities, the Zapatista teachers called us all back together once again for a final round of questions-and-answers, followed by the presentation of the Mexican and Zapatista flags and the singing of the anthems to State and EZLN, which in turn gave rise to more creative musical performances by the teachers and artistic interventions from alumn@s. I will confess that I cried for Sup Pedro when the maestr@s sang about this "simple" and "decent" man from Michoacan, born to a beautiful mother and killed in insurrection. After the conclusion of the participatory cultural event, it was announced that all those desiring to return to San Cristobal would be leaving in a caravan departing before dusk the next morning. Then the night was ceded to a large dance on the basketball court, as animated by a sustained series of ludic perfomances on marimba played by male BAEZLN of differing generations. Fin de A n o in Oventik Presentation of Zapatista flag, 31 December 2013 Upon returning to San Cristobal, I was already greatly missing Hector; I hope we will stay in touch. I considered which of the 5 caracoles to visit for the New Year's celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the armed uprising and launched myself to Oventik, the closest to San Cristobal. After being admitted into the foggy caracol with a crowd of other visitors shortly after arriving, I placed my belongings in one of the classrooms of the escuela aut o noma, as a new friend had just recommended to me, and we then made our way to the basketball court where live music was being played under a roof, protected from the rain. Standing on stage alongside Zapatista authorities and BAEZLN, the performers included highland indigenous musicians and conscious freestyle rappers from Mexico City, among others. At a certain point in the evening, as the rain continued, the assembled Zapatistas performed a "political act" involving the marching presentation of the Mexican and EZLN flags and the public reading of the Revolutionary Indigenous Clandestine Committee's (CCRI) declaration on the event of the twentieth anniversary of the neo-Zapatista insurrection, as performed by a Comandanta. The text was subsequently read in Tsotsil and Tseltal translations--with these being two indigenous languages spoken in the highlands region in which Oventik finds itself. In the Tsotsil translation, the word kux'lejal ("bodily pain") could be heard uttered several times. At the end of this "act," with the retiring of the Mexican and Zapatista flags, representatives of the EZLN wished all those assembled in the caracol a happy new year, and they particularly wished all Zapatistas a joyful twentieth anniversary for their resort to arms. Similarly to the case in La Realidad just days before, the remaining hours of 2013 and the first several hours of 2014 in Oventik were celebrated with several hours of cumbia rebelde, during which the basketball court was full with dancers, Zapatistas and their well-wishers together. Also present at the cumbia were organizers of the Climate Caravan through Latin America ( Caravana Clim a tica por Am e rica Latina ), who sought to connect the assembled dancing rebels with this compelling initiative from below to combine direct action and information-gathering activities in resistance to unchecked ecocidal trends. Entrance to Oventik caracol, 1 January 2014 Questions, critique, and the future There can be no doubt that the BAEZLN have been truly impressive in their efforts to "conquer liberty" and extend the cause of autonomy in the 20 years since their declaration of war against capitalism and the Mexican State. Nonetheless, it would contradict the spirit of critique and autonomy not to raise questions and concerns regarding different facets of the Zapatista movement. For one, what is the political model the EZLN is pursuing? As against the original demand for independence made in 1994, this model is not that of formal statehood--as is made, for example, in the Palestinian case--but rather that of developing the new society within the shell of the old. In his Developing Zapatista Autonomy (2009), German anthropologist Niels Barmeyer argues that the Zapatista example advances the creation of a counter-state to the official one presided over by the Mexican government ( el mal gobierno ). Contemplation of the various details provided in the four volumes of text assigned to alumn@s of the Escuelita would seem to confirm this diagnosis, from consideration of the Good-Government Councils (as counterposed to the bad government) to the Zapatistas' alternative health and education systems. As Barmeyer notes, moreover, the EZLN provides protection to its members, even if the organization does not necessarily exercise a monopoly on "legitimate" use of force in the territories of its influence. 1 Nonetheless, if the overall claim is true--that the Zapatistas really desire a State, or that the nature of their principles of self-government effectively express their wish for such, as an anarchist confided in me at the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City a year and a half ago--one must then interrogate the attraction the Zapatistas have represented for libertarian socialists and anti-authoritarians the world over these past 20 years. Clearly, the 1 January 1994 insurrection has proven seminal for the adoption of the Black Bloc tactic all over the globe, while the indigenous character of the movement and the radical humanism expressed by its principal spokesperson--Sup Marcos--have enlivened and illuminated the radical imaginations and hopes of millions of observers. But what do anarchists have to say about the processes of socio-political autonomy undertaken by the EZLN since January 1994? Are they too similar to State institutions, or are they sufficiently distinct? Is it just a matter of "contradict[ing] the system while you are in it until it's transformed into a new system," as Huey P. Newton observed with reference to the "survival programs" the Black Panther Party implemented in the late 1960's, "pending revolution"? 2 How are outsiders, especially internationals, to engage with the persistence of authoritarian and inegalitarian attitudes toward women in social movements putatively based on the principles of "democracy, justice, and freedom" with which they express solidarity--despite the relative improvements seen in these terms over time? Can it justly be said that feminist perspectives are simply irrelevant if they are held by those who do not pass the course of their lives within a given movement? If it were to be affirmed, the principle underlying this second question would betray a cultural nationalism and relativism of sorts, one which undermines internationalism and global notions of solidarity. It would also effectively trivialize the disappointment expressed from the start by many Mexican feminists at the perpetuation of patriarchy within the EZLN--and, indeed, paper over the absurd expulsion of COLEM (el Colectivo de Mujeres, or the Women's Collective, from San Cristobal) from Zapatista territory on the charge that its feminist organizing threatened to "incite a gender war"! 3 Conceptually, the idea of "autonomy" cannot immediately tell us which of the conflicting principles is to be held superior: in the first place, autonomy likely should presume substantive freedom for all as a precondition of its existence, yet in practice it is taken to mean the outcome of popular self-determination, as opposed to Statist or capitalist imposition. Such tensions clearly exist in appraising Zapatismo, especially with regard to the situations faced by female and non-heterosexual BAEZLN. A similar critical line of thinking could also bring to light the extensive deforestation which Zapatista communities have produced through their "autonomous" desire to raise cattle en masse in jungle environments, or it could criticize the Zapatistas's drinking and selling of Coca-Cola and their generally non-vegetarian lifestyles--or at least the ambivalence Marcos expresses as regards the prospect of even discussing this latter point, for he declares vegetarian tactics of moral suasion to be an imposition to be disobeyed . As Mickey Z. Vegan could be expected to point out, the collective Zapatista butcher-shop from the Roberto Barrios region mentioned in volume III may not be the most liberating project to engage in, for either BAEZLN workers or the beasts themselves. Thus, in spite the issues I have observed and the doubts they produce in me, I consider the EZLN nothing less than a world-historical revolutionary movement, one which has played a critical role in inspiring and spurring on the multitudinous activist militancy seen throughout much of the world following the self-implosion of the Soviet Union--a militancy which radically seeks the abolition of those power-groups which threaten the entire Earth with social and environmental catastrophe. I also believe that the EZLN's struggle has much more to offer the world still--given that the Zapatistas had originally sought to incite other Mexican revolutionary groups to join them in insurrection in 1994, and in light of the continued strength of the capitalist monster against which the BAEZLN revolted--no matter how optimistic Marcos's declaration last year on the occasion of the new Baktun and the silent Zapatista occupation of the townships the EZLN had taken in 1994, that the world of those from above is "collapsing." However, I do agree with Sup Marcos that the world of those from below is resurging. Hence was I very glad to have been able to attend the first course of the Escuelita and to celebrate thetwenty years since the Zapatista insurrection together with them. I wish the BAEZLN the very best for this year, and the next 20 as well. ! Zapata vive! 1 Niels Barmeyer, Developing Zapatista Autonomy: Conflict and NGO Involvement in Rebel Chiapas (Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2009), 5, 214. 2 Cited in Alondra Nelson, Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011), 63.

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Coyotl (15,262 posts) Mitt Romney does not know where Iran and Syria are. This could well be the defining statement by Romney tonight, after the fervor about Obama's great performance finally subsides a bit: WOW Mittens, missed a few geography lessons lately? Maybe a community college class coming up in January will assist you, prepare you for the cavalry charge in 2016 Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:26 AM 1. found it Iranic... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:27 AM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 2. This is going viral on Facebook 1,652 shares in about an hour Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:27 AM regnaD kciN (19,810 posts) 12. The Obama campaign needs to make a big enough deal about this... ...that it will start getting some notice on national news programs. This could go a long way toward deflating Rmoney's desired image of professionalism and competence. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:48 AM drnb (3 posts) 13. Romney actually got this right ... That would not be such a good idea. Romney seems to have actually gotten this right, he merely left off "Mediterranean". Iran and Syria have a naval accord. Iran is building a naval base is Syria. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 04:19 AM KurtNYC (14,549 posts) 14. No he didn't get it right -- Iran is not an Arab country and they have no contiguous border w/Syria! Tue Oct 23, 2012, 05:02 AM drnb (3 posts) 18. You don't need land route or shared border when you have naval base You don't need a land route or shared border when you have a permanent naval base. Such a base in Syria gives Iran the opportunity to forward deploy ships on the Mediterranean Sea for extended durations. To resupply, refuel, rearm, conduct patrols from and return to this Syrian base. Much like the US Navy does from bases in NATO countries that have Mediterranean coasts. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:32 PM myrna minx (22,772 posts) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:47 PM RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) 34. it should! God help us keep this brain dead rock out of the white house Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:31 AM redStateBlueHeart (255 posts) 3. I wonder if he even knows what the national language of Iran is... He probably thinks it's Arabic, just like Gingrinch. Mitt pretty much fails whenever he pretends to know anything about foreign policy Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:40 AM oldhippydude (2,514 posts) 6. yep he just proved in Iranian geography.. he's a sea student... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:34 AM Surya Gayatri (15,445 posts) 4. But, but, Iran is landlocked and needs the Syria "corridor" in order to have access to the sea, don't cha know? Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:35 AM aint_no_life_nowhere (21,925 posts) 5. And that statement sounds rehearsed at that "Syria is Iran's route to the sea". It doesn't sound like something off the top of his head. I think it sounds like something an adviser told him to say and that he mindlessly parroted. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:42 AM CTyankee (52,299 posts) 7. probably that idiot dan senor. I'll bet he won't be cock walking on Morning Joe tomorrow... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 04:36 AM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 21. He extemporized that and got it completely wrong. Ignorance requires improvizing Romney would have been better off if he didn't have to talk Don't make excuses for the man. He doesn't know where the Middle East countries are situated. End of story, end of campaign! Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:13 PM RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) 30. "He doesn't know where the Middle East countries are situated. End of story, end of campaign!" It certainly should be!! If only we had a functioning media.... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:46 AM 8. Romney must have been playing battleship in the bathtub wishing he knew how to play Chess or Risk Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:38 PM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 28. Actually, he is a member of the Flatland Society In Flatland women are simple line-segments, while men are regular polygons. Romney is a member of the social caste of gentlemen, a society of geometric figures who understand the implications of life in two dimensions. He wants to visit the one-dimensional world, the Muslim Nations, and convince them of the second dimension but finds that it is essentially impossible when you can't find the countries on a map first. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:38 PM loyalsister (12,300 posts) 38. I would think that he would need considerable mentoring there We all thought of Bush as dumb. I wouldn't have expect such idiocy from romney. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:47 AM 9. I don't think his supporters even care. They just want Obama out. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 10:37 AM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 22. But, the independents and undecideds do care, and they swing the election every time. This is not about changing the minds of the decided. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:49 AM 10. He needs a bigger map His view is very Israel-centric and he probably honestly thought Iran was land-locked: Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:26 PM Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:57 PM 36. I think you mean Egypt Tue Oct 23, 2012, 04:23 AM KurtNYC (14,549 posts) 16. Also, Iran is not an Arab country -- they are Aryan (hence the name "Iran") Tue Oct 23, 2012, 05:31 AM Princess Turandot (3,631 posts) 19. He was probably using the infamous FOX News map which flipped Iran and Iraq (label-wise).. putting Iran next to Syria! (I realize Iraq has a section of coastline on the Gulf but it's small.) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 06:43 AM DetlefK (13,037 posts) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 10:59 AM Tue Oct 23, 2012, 11:02 AM eppur_se_muova (28,498 posts) 24. He prepped for the debate with Fox News maps .... nt 25. romney is talking to his base ,be careful you do not go far you my fall off n\t Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:28 PM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 26. These two are a natural combination: Romney/Upton 2016 Romney/Upton 2016 Believe in Maps Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:55 PM hifiguy (33,688 posts) 29. Derpy Hooves wouldn't have got that one wrong. Which is saying something. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:15 PM WinkyDink (51,311 posts) 31. I think this was not just a blunder but was/ought to be a DEFINING MOMENT that we should use in ads. RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) 33. according to the article he says it all the time Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:51 PM RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:17 PM HopeHoops (47,675 posts) 37. Yes, but he can see them from his car elevator.

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Attention, "Game of Thrones" fans: The most enjoyably sensational aspects of medieval politics -- double-crosses, ambushes, bizarre personal obsessions, lunacy and naked self-interest -- are in abundant evidence in Nancy Goldstone's "The Maid and the Queen: The Secret History of Joan of Arc." Goldstone's premise, innovative but not outlandishly so, is that Joan's rise from poor, illiterate farmer's daughter to mystical champion of French nationalism during the Hundred Years' War was largely orchestrated by Yolande of Aragon. Yolande, who was the Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Maine as well as the Queen of Aragon (among other titles), was also the mother-in-law of the dauphin, Charles, whose military triumph over the occupying English and coronation in Reims were the two great causes espoused by the saintly, if warlike, Joan. As Goldstone sees it, Yolande's political genius goes under-recognized. "The Maid and the Queen" describes two ways exceptional women found to exercise power in the Middle Ages. Yolande -- who ran Aragon while her husband (and, later, her son) pursued a fairly hopeless claim to the throne of Sicily -- raised money, sponsored advisors, negotiated strategic marriages and otherwise worked, often indirectly, to further the interests of her six children. She backed the Armagnac side in the protracted French civil wars that weakened the country to the point that Henry V and Henry VI of England found it ripe for the picking. The other side, the eel-like Burgundians, formed on-again, off-again alliances with the limey invaders. Charles, who became dauphin (heir to the French throne) only after his four elder brothers died, had gone to live with Yolande in her castle at Angers at age 11, when he was betrothed to her daughter, Marie. His father was intermittently mad (a situation that led to much of the chaos in France) and his own mother was so self-serving that eventually she repudiated him as the illegitimate product of an adulterous affair in order to appease a more useful ally. (Goldstone finds persuasive proof of his legitimacy.) Charles called Yolande his "Bonne Mere" (good mother) and, as Goldstone writes, "became very attached to her, relying on her judgment and reflexively turning to her in moments of distress. No one had more influence with Charles than Yolande." Nevertheless, after Charles' father died, Yolande's sway was eclipsed by that of avaricious Georges de la Tremoille, grand chamberlain, whose interest lay in, as Goldstone puts it, "undermining the king's confidence as a means of controlling him and enriching himself as much as possible." A major military defeat against Henry V spooked Charles, and he became obsessed with his disputed legitimacy and the possibility that God had thwarted him because he was not, in fact, the rightful king. As he tarried, the English solidified their base in northern France. Yolande raised and funded a substantial army, but she still couldn't get her lily-livered, self-doubting son-in-law to fight. Goldstone believed that Yolande's extensive network of spies and contacts -- particularly her youngest son, Rene, who was in line to become the Duke of Lorraine -- notified her when a teenage peasant girl from the northern village of Domremy (on the border between Lorraine and Champagne) developed a following. In a touch right out of a J.J. Abrams series, there was a well-known prophecy, first circulated by a Provencal seeress, that "France will be lost by a woman [Charles' profligate and unpopular mother] and shall thereafter be restored by a virgin." No one believed in Charles more than the charismatic and manifestly pious Joan, who treated his coronation and rule as sacramental. Like medieval churchwomen with more conventional careers, Joan wielded an authority rooted in both her chastity and her claim to a hot line to heaven -- in Joan's case, the voices of the saints who directed her actions and promised success to Charles. (When she was finally captured by French allies of the English and subjected to a kangaroo trial for heresy, the question of whether, by wearing men's clothes, she had behaved "immodestly" was given great weight.) At her famous meeting with the dauphin in 1429, Joan was said to have delivered an unspecified "sign" to Charles, confirming her holy status. Goldstone believes that she simply addressed his most corrosive, secret anxiety by immediately assuring him that she had been sent by God to verify his legitimacy and help him retake his kingdom. Historians differ on how much military authority Joan exercised over the next year and how effective that authority was. But there is no doubt that her symbolic power was immense; she transformed a grinding dynastic squabble into a holy war in the eyes of French commoners, who had previously had little reason to side with any of the aristocratic combatants. Her valor in the heat of battle rallied flagging French troops again and again, above all in the raising of the siege of Orleans, a huge morale booster for Charles loyalists. The retrial that overturned her conviction for heresy 25 years after her execution became "a collective catharsis staged at the national level, in which not only Joan but the entire French population achieved redemption," Goldstone writes. Because so much of this material is familiar, delivery becomes a crucial factor in any popular history of these events. Goldstone's is vigorous, witty and no-nonsense in the tradition of the late, great popular historian Barbara Tuchman. She registers moral disgust at the Burgundian lackeys who tormented and killed Joan of Arc, as well as pragmatic admiration for the campaign-trail chops of Yolande and her mother-in-law, Marie of Blois, who knew that the best way to consolidate support in your son's or husband's duchy was to travel from one provincial town to another, patiently listening to the local burghers' gripes and then handing out plenty of cash. And she's very funny when exploring the roots of the campaign to rehabilitate Joan's reputation in a theological conflict within the University of Paris: "So much of life is fleeting, ephemeral: Seasons change, civilizations rise and fall; people are born, they live a little, they die. But faculty disagreements endure." "The Maid and the Queen" does suffer a bit from the fact that the figure Goldstone presents as driving events, Yolande, is almost never at the scene when the action occurs. Her influence must be inferred by the presence or behavior of men who were allied to her in one way or another. Of course, this is the only way Yolande could have operated, but it makes Goldstone's central argument difficult to substantiate. "There is no more effective camouflage in history than to have been born a woman," she writes. Not all of that camouflage can be conclusively cleared away, but thanks to this book, a bit more of this remarkable life has been coaxed out into the open.

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Further US intervention in the war in Syria will only exacerbate an already dreadful situation. There is no military solution to this crisis. Congress should take back its constitutional authority to decide when and if the U.S. goes to war, and should demand that the Trump administration stop its dangerous escalation. Congress should also call on the administration to lift its ban on Syrian refugees entering the United States. It should reject Trump's budget proposal to cut humanitarian aid and instead provide greater financial support for the humanitarian crisis affecting Syrian refugees. Congress should also instruct the administration to work with the Russians to call for a ceasefire and negotiations to find a political solution.

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Chris Mooney | September 5, 2007 By Chris Mooney * Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - 17:18 Chris Mooney's weekly DeSmogBlog dispatch. The Danish environmental apostate Bjorn Lomborg is at it again. Lomborg has a new book out , and just like his last one ( The Skeptical Environmentalist ), it's drawing strong criticism . Lomborg's argument isn't that global warming is a hoax-thank goodness, we're mostly past that. Instead, he merely argues that climate change is not as big a deal as some think (e.g., Al Gore)-and further, that it doesn't make good economic sense to take dramatic steps to address the problem by imposing mandatory emissions caps. Bill Miller | September 5, 2007 By Bill Miller * Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - 11:34 The most interesting discussions at a recent medical conference in Vienna took place on the sidelines, as cardiologists and other experts discussed the impacts of climate change on cardiovascular disease. In short, arteries harden faster in hot weather, and extreme events like recent wildfires in Greece likely exacerbate the problem. Richard Littlemore | September 4, 2007 By Richard Littlemore * Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 18:14 The climate-change denier sites are alive with chortling over a promised new study that says: " Less than half of all published scientists endorse global warming theory. " The survey, to be published in the small and contrarian journal Energy and Environment , claims to "debunk" an earlier study by University of California (San Diego) science historian Naomi Oreskes - a study that was published in the much more reputable journal Science. No one could do a better job than Oreskes does here of dismissing the new survey. Kevin Grandia | September 4, 2007 By Kevin Grandia * Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 15:08 The Conservative government first denied the scientific evidence for man-made global warming. They then accepted that something needed to be done, but it needed to be a "Made in Canada" solution. Now the Conservative government appears to be shucking the "Made in Canada" talking point for an "international agreement" one. By James Hoggan * Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 12:39 The DeSmogBlog is very happy to announce that science-writer Chris Mooney, author of the best-seller, The Republic War on Science , has joined our team and will be writing a weekly column here on the DeSmogBlog.

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Yesterday we posted on our Facebook page the article "Show the body bags. Show the carnage. That'll change support for guns." It reached over 300k Facebook users, mostly the existing fans of our page, but we reached a large chunk of the audience who are not among our fans, which is good. We wanted to remind America what kind of imagery published by the media helped to undermine the support for all the wars in the past. We argued that we need the same today. In the most ironic commentary possible Facebook immediately censored and covered the thumbnail image illustrating our point. Art by Jim Cooke It is literally impossible to bring any new idea in the American anti-gun violence prevention public discourse. Google searches prove that we live in the ever repeating scenario of a horror remake of the iconic Groundhog Day movie starring Bill Murray. Nardyne Jefferies holds an autopsy photo of her 16-year-old daughter, Brishell Jones, who was gunned down with an AK-47. Lexey Swall for The Trace. RELATED: The Mother Who Wants Politicians to See Photos of Her Child's Bullet-Riddled Body Nardyne Jefferies is the unwitting pioneer of an ad-hoc movement to get lawmakers to confront the grisly consequences of gun violence. RELATED: Parkland, Florida Shooting: The cost of "thoughts and prayers" (VIDEO) Inspired by our friend and contributor Alice Anil I started researching the anti-abortionists tactics and results. When I thought that I've learned enough I bumped into an article written by Alex Pareene and published by Gawker in November 2015 titled The Gun Control Movement Needs Its Own Pro-Life Fanatics. read then by 131K people. It's a long read, covering everything what I wanted to say, and naively thought that it could be something new. We liberals, contrary to conservatives, do not want to follow other people's ideas, too many of us want to be our own prophets. Here I am - not pretending that my strong belief that we must "Show the body bags. Show the carnage. That'll change the public opinion" is new and original. I am following the lead - here are few excerpts from the 2015 manifesto by Alex Pareene. All we need is to read and follow. There is, I think, only one realistic way forward for advocates of stricter gun control, and it involves adopting the tactics of one of the most despicable groups in contemporary American politics: the anti-abortion movement. On the same day of the 2015 mass school shootings at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, President Barack Obama said, entirely accurately: Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it. We've become numb to this. It's painful, for many reasons to compare Barack Obama's immediate statement with the one delivered by Donald Trump following the latest gun carnage in America. Important to note - there was no mention of guns in President Trump's statement on Florida school shooting The brutal truth is that unless we will change the public opinion about role of a gun in American culture we will, like Bill Murray in The Groundhog Day, be waking up just to listen in the news that somewhere in America, some children were massacred by a weapon of war in hands of a civilian who should never have any way to own it. Anti-abortion activists revel in gore. It worked for them. It will work for the anti- guns violence movement. After all, the point of screaming at women outside a clinic isn't to erect a legal barrier to abortion access, it's to prevent that woman from getting an abortion, and to dissuade others from even considering it. It's to prevent abortion from being considered a legitimate option. Aren't there a couple thousand gun control activists out there passionate enough to want to stand outside gun shops and provoke confrontations with open-carry wingnuts? A weapons expert and a trauma surgeon are using high-speed cameras to show the damage caused by a single M16 bullet to the human body. Every weapon that a US Army soldier uses has the express purpose of killing human beings. That is what they are made for. The choice rifle for years has been some variant of what civilians are sold as an AR-15. Whether it was an M-4 or an M-16 matters little. The function is the same, and so is the purpose. These are not deer rifles. They are not target rifles. They are people killing rifles. Let's stop pretending they're not. With this in mind, is anybody surprised that nearly every mass shooter in recent US history has used an AR-15 to commit their crime? And why wouldn't they? Excerpt from "Fuck you, I like guns." by an Army veteran. A female veteran, which "obviously," makes whatever she said invalid for all male ammosexuals stroking with their soft hands the rigid barrels of their AR-15s in the dark basements they inhabit. Fact is - most of them wouldn't qualify for any real military service. It also means going all-in on gore. Just like they do. Because "All Lives Matter", right? It also means going all-in on gore. It means waving gruesome photos of dead children in the faces of Republican legislators, gun store owners, and gun manufacturers. This is where the conservatives shine. Good liberals are too squeamish to look past the police tape. They worry that if they focus, up close and without flinching, on the goriest details of the carnage, it'll glorify violence, or worse, inspire future killers. Maybe, but it'll also scare the shit out of future killers' mothers before they fill their houses with guns, to feel safe . Victims of a shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017. David Becker--Getty Images RELATED: Show the body bags. Show the carnage. That'll change support for guns. "Support drops when they start seeing the body bags" -- a vivid expression that sums up the way American public opinion works. Continue reading to learn more why the anti-abortionists tactics are so effective The Gun Control Movement Needs Its Own Pro-Life Fanatics written by Alex Pareene and published by Gawker on 10/06/15.

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Heritage Expands Rough Rider Revolver Line Ammoland Inc. Posted on December 6, 2011 December 6, 2011 by Ammoland Heritage Manufacturing Rough Rider 9 Shot .22 LR & 22 Magnum combo revolver Heritage Manufacturing Opa Locka, FL - -( Ammoland.com )- Heritage Manufacturing introduces our newest addition to the Rough Rider family, a 9 Shot .22 LR and .22 Magnum combo revolver. Spend more time shooting the world's most popular cartridge, the .22 LR or the .22 Magnum and spend less time stopping to load and unload. Whether plinking, hunting, or target shooting, more firepower means the increased chance of hitting your intended target. Like all Rough Rider Revolvers, our new 9 Shot series combine quality, dependability, accuracy, and firepower all into one and yet maintains the affordability that our customers have come to expect. Available in 4.75'' or 6.5'' barrels and adjustable sights. 100% American Made. MSRP $289.99 - $349.99 About: Heritage Manufacturing proudly manufactures an American Legend, the Western Single Action Revolver. This time tested, Western Tradition is now made affordable to shoot and purchase in a scaled down 22 LR and 22 Magnum size. Outstanding workmanship, accuracy, and quality is just the beginning of the value you receive with our Heritage Rough Rider Revolvers. We honor and cherish our American Heritage and invite you to browse our site and learn more about us. An American Company ... An American Family producing an American Legend ... for the people by the people of Our Great United States of America. Visit; www.heritagemfg.com

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Would Slavery Have Ended Sooner If British Had Defeated Colonists' Bid For Independence? By Keith Brooks, www.blackagendareport.com July 7, 2017 Would Slavery Have Ended Sooner If British Had Defeated Colonists' Bid For Independence? 2017-07-07 2017-07-07 https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.png PopularResistance.Org https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/07/Screenshot-2017-07-07-at-8.58.15-AM-e1499432660389-150x98.png 200px 200px Above Photo: From blackagendareport.com By the evidence of their actions, most Blacks wanted the British to defeat their white settler masters. Most Native Americans, too. The British had prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian mountains, and showed some signs of moving towards abolition of slavery. "While 5000 mainly free black people from northern colonies joined with the colonists' fight for independence, tens of thousands more enslaved black people joined with the British." I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery. " -- Marquis de Lafayette, French military leader who was instrumental in enlisting French support for the colonists in the American War of Independence. Historians have long grappled with the contradiction of a revolution under the banner of "all men are created equal" being largely led by slave owners. Once free of England, the U.S. grew over the next 89 years to be the largest slave-owning republic in history. But the July 4th 1776 Declaration of Independence (DI) was in itself a revolutionary document. Never before in history had people asserted the right of revolution -- not just to overthrow a specific government that no longer met the needs of the people, but as a general principle for the relationship between the rulers and the ruled: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.-That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government..." And yes, "all men are created equal" excluded women, black people and the indigenous populations of the continent, and was written by slave-owner Thomas Jefferson with all his personal hypocrisies. But the words themselves have been used many times since to challenge racism and other forms of domination and inequality. Both the 1789 French Revolution and the 1804 Haitian revolution -- the only successful slave revolt in human history -- drew inspiration from this clarion call. In 1829 black abolitionist David Walker threw the words of the DI back in the face of the slave republic: "See your declarations Americans!!! Do you understand your own language?" The 1848 Seneca Falls women's rights convention issued a Declaration of Sentiments proclaiming that "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men and women are created equal." Vietnam used these very words in declaring independence from France in 1946. And as ML King stated in his 1963 I have a Dream Speech, it was "A promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." "See your declarations Americans!!! Do you understand your own language?" Americans are taught to see the birth of our country as a gift to the world, even when its original defects are acknowledged. The DI along with the Constitution are pillars of American exceptionalism -- the belief that the U.S. is superior and unique from all others, holding the promise of an "Asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty" in the words of Thomas Paine in Common Sense. Historian Gary Nash has made a case that upon winning independence, the conditions for at least the gradual abolition of slavery throughout the 13 colonies were present but lacked political leadership. "One of the lessons of history is that in cases where a fundamental change has been accomplished against heavy odds, inspired leadership has been critically important," and "Washington, Jefferson, and Madison were strategically positioned to take the lead on the slavery issue. All three professed a hatred of slavery and a fervent desire to see it ended in their own time." ( The Forgotten Fifth, 91, 95.) For all their lofty rhetoric none of them lifted a finger to bring that about. Perhaps though a different question might be asked: what if the British had won, had defeated the colonists' bid to break from the mother country? Is it possible that the cause of freedom and the ideals of the DI would have been paradoxically better served by that outcome? England's Victory Over France Leads to the American War For Independence It was, ironically, England's victory over France for control of the North American continent in the seven years' war (1756-1763) that laid the basis for their North American colonies to revolt just 13 years later. As the war with France ended, the British 1763 Proclamation prohibited white settlement west of the Appalachian mountains in an attempt at detente with Native Americans -- bringing England into conflict with colonists wanting to expand westward. More serious still were the series of taxes England imposed on the colonies to pay off its large war debt: the 1765 Stamp Act, the 1767-1770 Townshend Acts, and the 1773 Tea Acts, among others. As colonial leaders mounted increasingly militant resistance to these measures, so too did British repression ramp up. And while "No taxation without representation" and opposition to British tyranny are the two most commonly cited causes propelling the colonists' drive for independence, recent scholarship ( Slave Nation by Ruth and Alfred Blumrosen, Gerald Horne's The Counter-Revolution of 1776 , and Alan Gilbert's Black Patriots and Loyalists in particular) has revealed a heretofore unacknowledged third major motivating force -- the preservation and protection of slavery itself. In 1772, the highest British court ruled in the Somerset decision that slave owners had no legal claims to ownership of other humans in England itself, declaring slavery to be "odious." Somerset eliminated any possibility of a de jure defense of slavery in England, further reinforced at the time by Parliament refusing a request by British slave owners to pass such a law. While Somerset did not apply to England's colonies, it was taken by southern colonists as a potential threat to their slave power. Their fear was further reinforced by the 1766 Declaratory Act, which made explicit England's final say over any laws made in the colonies, and the "Repugnancy" clause in each colony's charter. Somerset added fuel to the growing fires uniting the colonies against England in a fight for independence. " Seeing the Revolutionary War through the eyes of enslaved blacks turns its meaning upside down" -- Simon Schama, Rough Crossings Among the list of grievances in the DI is the rarely scrutinized "He [referring to the king] has excited domestic insurrections amongst us." This grievance was motivated by Virginia Royal Governor Lord Dunmore's November 1775 proclamation stating that any person held as a slave by a colonist in rebellion against England would become free by joining the British forces in subduing the revolt. While 5000 mainly free black people from northern colonies joined with the colonists' fight for independence, few of our school books teach that tens of thousands more enslaved black people joined with the British, with an even greater number taking advantage of the war to escape the colonies altogether by running to Canada or Florida. They saw they had a better shot at "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" with the British-than with their colonial slave masters. To further put these numbers in perspective, the total population of the 13 colonies at the time was 2.5 million, of whom 500,000 were slaves and indentured servants. While there is some debate about the exact numbers, Peter Kolchin in American Slavery points to the "Sharp decline between 1770 and 1790 in the proportion of the population made up of blacks (almost all of whom were slaves) from 60.5% to 43.8% in South Carolina and from 45.2% to 36.1% in Georgia" (73). Other commonly cited figures from historians estimate 25,000 slaves escaped from South Carolina, 30,000 from Virginia, and 5,000 from Georgia. Gilbert in Black Patriots and Loyalists says "Estimates range between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand... if one adds in the thousands of not yet organized blacks who trailed... the major British forces... the number takes on dimensions accurately called 'gigantic'(xii). Among them were 30 of Thomas Jefferson's slaves, 20 of George Washington's, and good ole "Give me liberty or give me death" Patrick Henry also lost his slave Ralph Henry to the Brits. It was the first mass emancipation in American history. Evidently "domestic insurrection" was legitimate when led by slave owners against England but not when enslaved people rose up for their freedom-against the rebelling slave owners! Before There Was Harriet Tubman There was Colonel Tye Crispus Attucks is often hailed as the first martyr of the American revolution, a free black man killed defying British authority in the 1770 Boston Massacre. But few have heard of Titus, who just 5 years later was among those thousands of slaves who escaped to the British lines. He became known as Colonel Tye for his military prowess in leading black and white guerrilla fighters in numerous raids throughout Monmouth County, New Jersey, taking reprisals against slave owners, freeing their slaves, destroying their weaponry and creating an atmosphere of fear among the rebel colonists-and hope among their slaves. Other black regiments under the British fought with ribbons emblazoned across their chests saying "Liberty to Slaves." One might compare Col. Tye to Attucks but if Attucks is a hero, what does that make Tye, who freed hundreds of slaves? Perhaps a more apt comparison is with Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery in 1849 and returned to the south numerous times to also free hundreds of her brothers and sisters held in bondage. So What If the British Had Won? At no point though did the British declare the end of slavery to be a war goal; it was always just a military tactic. But if the Brits had won, as they came close to doing, it might have set off a series of events that went well beyond their control. Would England have been able to restore slavery in the 13 colonies in the face of certain anti-slavery resistance by the tens of thousands of now free ex-slaves, joined by growing anti-slavery forces in the northern colonies? As Gilbert puts it, "Class and race forged ties of solidarity in opposition to both the slave holders and the colonial elites." (10) Another sure ally would have been the abolitionist movement in England, which had been further emboldened by the 1772 Somerset decision. And if England had to abolish slavery in the 13 colonies, would that not have led to a wave of emancipations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America? And just what was the cost of the victorious independence struggle to the black population? To the indigenous populations who were described in that same DI grievance as "The merciless Indian Savages"? Might it have been better for the cause of freedom if the colonists lost? And if the colonists had lost, wouldn't the ideals of the DI have carried just as much if not more weight? " The price of freedom from England was bondage for African slaves in America. America would be a slave nation . " -- Eleanor Holmes Norton, introduction to Slave Nation. We do know, however, the cost of the colonists' victory: once independence was won, while the northern states gradually abolished slavery, slavery BOOMED in the south. The first federal census in 1790 counted 700,000 slaves. By 1810, 2 years after the end of the slave trade, there were 1.2 million slaves, a 70% increase. England ended slavery in all its colonies in 1833, when there were 2 million enslaved people in the U.S. Slavery in the U.S. continued for another 33 years, during which time the slave population doubled to 4 million human beings. The U.S abolished slavery in 1865; only Cuba and Brazil ended slavery at a later date. And the colonists' victory also further opened the gates to the attempted genocide of the indigenous peoples over the next 125 years. The foregoing is not meant to romanticize and project England as some kind of abolitionist savior had they kept control of the colonies. Dunmore himself was a slave owner. England was the center of the international slave trade. Despite losing the 13 colonies, England maintained its position as the most powerful and rapacious empire in the world till the mid-20th century. As England did away with chattel slavery, it replaced it with the capitalist wage slavery of the industrial revolution. It used food as a weapon to starve the Irish, conquered and colonized large swaths of Asia, Africa and the Pacific. "The U.S abolished slavery in 1865; only Cuba and Brazil ended slavery at a later date." We often see the outcomes of history as predetermined, as inevitabilities, and think there were no other outcomes possible. We look back 240 years later and for most it seems unquestionable that the American revolution was good for the world, a step, perhaps somewhat tortured, towards progress and freedom. But for historian Gerald Horne, "Simply because Euro-American colonists prevailed in their establishing of the U.S., it should not be assumed that this result was inevitable. History points to other possibilities... I do not view the creation of the republic as a great leap forward for humanity" ( Counter-Revolution of 1776, ix). The American revolution was not just a war for independence from England. It was also a battle for freedom against the very leaders of that rebellion by hundreds of thousands of enslaved black people, a class struggle of poor white tenant farmers in many cases also against that same white colonial elite, and a fight for survival of the indigenous populations. But the colonists' unlikely victory was to lead to the creation of the largest slave nation in history, the near genocide of the indigenous populations and a continent-wide expansion gained by invading and taking over half of Mexico. The U.S. went on to become an empire unparalleled in history, its wealth origins rooted largely in slave labor. The struggles for equality and justice for all that the DI promised continues of course, a task that remains undone, ML King's promissory note unfulfilled to this day. The late Chinese Premier Chou en Lai was once asked his assessment as to whether the French revolution was a step forward in history. His response was, "It's too soon to tell". Was the founding of the United States a step forward in history? Or is it still too soon to tell?

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A Georgia Air Force base that made headlines after banning guards' use of the phrase "have a blessed day" quickly reversed course and will now allow the saying, so long as those who use it "remain courteous and professional." Officials at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, told gate guards that they could no longer "bless" those coming into the installation after a "non-religious" individual complained to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a group dedicated to the separation of church and state. The unnamed individual claimed that it was inappropriate for guards to say "have a blessed day" on a multitude of occassions, leading the base to preclude employees from using the saying and, instead , encouraged them to say, "have a great day," according to WMAZ-TV . Photo credit: Shutterstock.com The brief policy change was made after the complainant sent an email to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, claiming that he or she is an active-duty member of the Air Force who is stationed at the base, detailing the supposedly inappropriate greeting. "On no less than 15 occasions over the last two weeks, I have been greeted by the military personnel at the gate with the phrase," the email read . "This greeting has been expressed by at least 10 different Airmen ranging in rank from A1C to SSgt. I found the greeting to be a notion that I, as a non-religious member of the military community should believe a higher power has an influence on how my day should go." A response to that message from Military Religious Freedom Foundation president Mikey Weinstein noted that, after a conversation with the commander at the base, it was decided that a more non-sectarian greeting would be used, leading the complainant to send a response to Weinstein, thanking him for his efforts. "Thank you for the quick response to the situation at my base," it read . "After your actions, the personnel at the gates have immediately changed their greetings to a more professional, 'Have a nice/good day sir/maam.'" But it appears that the purported ban was short-lived, as conservative commentator Todd Starnes reported that it didn't take long for the ban to be reversed and overturned, with the base now proclaiming that "have a blessed day" is "consistent with Air Force standards." Here's the full response that Starnes received when he inquired : "We are a professional organization defended by a professional force. Our defenders portray a professional image that represents a base all of Middle Georgia can be proud of. Defenders have been asked to use the standard phrase "Welcome to Team Robins" in their greeting and can add various follow-on greetings as long as they remain courteous and professional. The Air Force takes any expressed concern over religious freedom very seriously. Upon further review and consultation, the Air Force determined use of the phrase "have a blessed day" as a greeting is consistent with Air Force standards and is not in violation of Air Force Instructions." Weinstein told the Air Force Times that he will consult with attorneys to see whether any clients would like to sue in federal court over the matter, concluding that the "Air Force has not heard the last of this." (H/T: WMAZ-TV )

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posted 06 July 2004 11:17 AM Yes, I that chart shows the percentage of farm income that comes from subsidies. Here is the description from the OECD quote: This table contains internationally comparable data for 30 OECD countries as well as area totals for the euro area and EU-15. It provides a coherent and detailed framework for quantifying agricultural activities in monetary terms using the new accounting methodology adopted following SNA 93. Besides detailed output and input data, different value added and income measures as well as capital formation data are shown. YEARS COVERED: 1995 onward COUNTRIES COVERED: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Mexico, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States The actual data on the OECD site, and the methodological notes are beyond my level of understanding because of the specifics that they get into.

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Following Vice President Mike Pence leaving a football game, he tweeted out an explanation as to why he walked out. Now, Donald Trump is taking credit. When the Vice President walked out of an NFL game because some of the players choose to kneel, as they do every Sunday, in protest of police brutality against people of color, he felt the need to go on twitter explaining why. Considering his background and the administration which he serves, it wasn't surprising that Pence couldn't make it past the National Anthem without politicizing the NFL once again. Pence explained in a series of tweets why he ultimately walked out, feeling that football players kneeling in the most peaceful of protests was extremely disrespectful to the American flag and the country in general. I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem. -- Vice President Pence (@VP) October 8, 2017 Pence tweeted : 'I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.' Before conservatives could pat the Vice President on the back for his commitment to this idiotic notion that the #TakeAKnee protests have anything to do with disrespecting the flag, country, or military the president swooped in like a barn owl and snatched the attention back. Around noon Trump tweeted that the reason Mike Pence left the stadium was at his instruction and that he was proud that both the Vice President and his wife followed his orders. I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen. -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017 The public reaction to Trump's tweet was explosive, as you can see below in some of the many replies:

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They weren't Nazis or KKK, they were Americans, young and old, standing up for their right to speak. We see their use of force in their battle for the soul of the south on the false premise southerners have no right to be proud of who they are. We have Americans who can't tell you when the Civil War was fought and they certainly can't tell you why if they think slavery was the only reason. The left exploits the lack of knowledge of Americans about their own history to wage a new war against the south. This is the second Civil War and it begins in the south. The left plans to destroy the culture, heritage and pride of the south under the guise of eliminating all of their so-called hate. After that, they will head for the North and the West, to destroy the rest of the culture. These are the cultural Totalitarians. We should instruct people about the Civil War but not via the profoundly corrupt media. In fact, the Civil War is almost irrelevant when it comes to this new civil war. This war is for the minds and hearts of the nation. Success requires silencing all opposition and erasing our pride in who we are. This is leftist, oppressive ideology trampling our First Amendment. It is the initial phase in conquering a nation. There can be no American exceptionalism and no American identity if the left is to win. The bastardization of the First Amendment is being misrepresented by the left as a purification of the overly-broad right given to Americans by government when in fact government does not give us rights. Our rights are inherent. Julian Assange today tweeted an article by ConsentFactory Inc., titled, A De-Putin-Nazification of America Update. It's about the insanity of mob rule and the movement to take away our free speech. It's very well-said. Three excerpts: So the de-Putin-Nazification of America couldn't be going much better at the moment. In terms of emotionally manipulating people (and especially any heretofore wayward members of the American "left") into forming a mindless, hysterical mob and running around like headless chickens branding anyone who didn't vote for Hillary Clinton a goose-stepping Nazi, this past week has been a huge success. At this point, if you haven't yet posted an anti-Nazi loyalty oath on Twitter, Facebook, or some other platform, you're a potential "Nazi sympathizer" ... and you don't want to be one of those, now do you? No, I didn't think you did. So, if you haven't done that, you'd better get on it. Here are few tips to get you started.... ....It should also include one or more of the following: (1) If not an outright call for the First Amendment to be repealed, then at least a demand for a ban on "hate speech," and the removal of every hate-based statue, flag, painting, book, film, song, joke, or other expression of racism, hatred, religious bigotry, misogyny, extremism, general rudeness (and any other forms of speech or expression that you don't like) from public view. Don't worry about the ramifications of this ban. It will never, ever, be used against you, or anyone that you agree with, or against any authors or artists that you like. It'll be a ban on "hate-speech," after all, and it's not like that term is completely subjective, or subject to the whims of those in power, or anything like that. (2) A demand that the already overly-broad definition of "terrorism" now be expanded even further, to include the fascist who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, killing one and wounding many others. Never mind that this murderous idiot seems to have done this on the spur of the moment (or, if it was a planned attack, that he's even more of an idiot than he seems, which, judging from his mug shot, is hard to believe). The important thing is to help the Resistance expand the definition of "terrorism" to the point where they can slap it onto anyone. Again, don't worry about the ramifications. The "terrorist" label will never, ever, be used against groups that you approve of, or innocent people in faraway countries that some future president wants to murder with drones. The Resistance would never, ever, do that. They know who is and who isn't a terrorist. And if they don't, they can always check with Obama... ...A reference (either veiled or direct) to someone who may be a Nazi-sympathizer. This is crucial in terms of motivating others to post their loyalty oaths, and fostering an atmosphere of paranoia, which is always so helpful at times like this. Surely, you know of someone who has said, tweeted, published, or posted something that could be interpreted as "Nazi-friendly." Don't bother with the Trump supporters. The corporate-owned media will take care of them. You want to go after other leftists, specifically leftists who have been reluctant to call Trump Hitler, or a Putinist agent, or who disagree with you about Syria, or, you know, just people who get on your nerves. This is a golden opportunity to pore through their tweets and Facebook posts, find something you can use against them, and then accuse them of harboring Nazi sympathies. Given the current level of hysteria, few people are going to check your facts. This is one you can really have fun with. See how far you can push the paranoia. Make up elaborate conspiracy theories. If you're not quite sure how to go about that, check The New York Times or The Washington Post ... they're masters of that kind of thing. It's no laughing matter that violent leftists want to take away our free speech as did the former administration. These people are the anti-free speech people who hope to take the United States to a very dark place where they currently dwell and they are doing it via the media. We are seeing the power of mass delusion and mob rule. They are neo-communists paving the way to their oppressive utopia. We have heard the first shots. Which side are you on?

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Sunday, August 5, 2018 (1 comments) State Rep. Who Doesn't Like Committee Work Needs to Support Quiet Fireworks Legislation Michigan should pass bill to save wildlife and companion animals from firework noise. A state representative doesn't take her committee work seriously. Saturday, July 21, 2018 DTE Energy Hurts Low-Income Customers DTE illegally refuses to accept a tax form for a low-income family to receive a $7.50 credit on their account. Friday, February 16, 2018 (1 comments) Congress Trying to Trample States' Rights; Eliminate Animal, Consumer Protection Laws Congress has introduced legislation that flies in the face of the Tenth Amendment to weaken state and local agricultural laws that protect animals and our citizens. Thursday, May 18, 2017 (2 comments) Michigan Democratic Party Won't Approve Animal Caucus The Michigan Democratic Party needs to approve the animal protection caucus. Saturday, April 8, 2017 Michigan Legislature Needs to Raise Minimum Wage Michigan workers should not be struggling to survive. The Senate must pass SB 185 today. Wednesday, April 5, 2017 (1 comments) USDA Stands Up for Animal Abusers The USDA is allowing animal abusers to operate in secrecy. Tuesday, April 4, 2017 (3 comments) USDA Wildlife Services Needs to Stop Killing Wildlife, Killing Pets, Harming Humans The USDA needs to stop cruelly killing wildlife and pets. It needs to stop injuring children. Ask Congress to pass HR 1817. Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Trump's DOI Pick Reverses Rule Protecting Us From Lead Trump's Secretary of the Interior does not want to protect us from lead. Monday, April 3, 2017 The State of Michigan Harasses Food-Stamp Recipients The State of Michigan makes food-benefit recipients jump through hoops they've already jumped through. The State also sets requirements for people to remain on food stamps but then doesn't accept the proof that recipients met the requirements. Thursday, June 30, 2016 (1 comments) Stop Harmful Trade Agreement The Trans-Pacific Partnership is legislation that will harm the 99% and benefit only the 1%. Saturday, February 20, 2016 (1 comments) Reforms Needed to Protect Us from Toxic Chemicals We need to tell Congress to strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act. Saturday, January 17, 2015 (4 comments) Getting a Good Job is Stacked Against the Poor Employers don't want to hire workers who are too smart and motivated. Monday, April 21, 2014 (3 comments) Faux Earth-Friendly Products Use False Eco-Labels An eco company is using a false eco-label meant to mislead consumers. Thursday, April 17, 2014 3M Misleads Consumers About Its Destruction of Old-Growth Forests 3M destroys our old-growth forests and then cons consumers. Wednesday, December 25, 2013 (1 comments) Michiganders Need Renewable Energy Now Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" wastes exorbitant amounts of water from the Great Lakes and blasts chemicals into the environment and our drinking water. Michigan does not even require companies to disclose which chemicals they use. Fracking not only contaminates our groundwater, it also pollutes our air and causes surface contamination from spills. Tuesday, July 23, 2013 (3 comments) Macy's Must End Its Support of Animal Cruelty Macy's funds rodeos, which torture and kill animals. What's next for Macy's? dogfighting

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We suppose this counts as good news, at least in the end. Chris Harris, a member of the Hooks Independent School Board in Texas, has resigned after posting multiple racist images and messages to Facebook last week. He later explained that he wasn't racist at all; he just got a little worked up in a Facebook discussion of the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown, which is a perfectly reasonable explanation for why Harris posted this image in the discussion thread: You know how it goes. You have a strong opinion, and before you know it, you're posting amusing jokes about the Klan. Happens all the time. Initially, when that picture was the only screenshot that had made it into circulation, Harris stuck to his claim that it was merely a joke, because of the funny pun -- you know, white Christmas, only it's a Klansman instead of snow? (Never mind that the National Lampoon pretty much exhausted that pun in 1980 anyway with its White Album, where at least the Klansmen were cute li'l cartoons.) Harris very carefully apologized the next day for the misunderstanding, explaining that it was all a big mistake: He loves his town and is definitely not a racist, and he loves all the good children regardless of whether they're black, brown or normal, so please could we all just drop this? A Dec. 1 report on local TV mentioned only the KKK image and the apology, and noted that the school board would meet later in December to decide whether to dump Harris. Ah, but then the other white robe dropped, and an additional trove of screenshots of Harris's thoughtful contributions to the National Conversation on Ferguson hit the interwebs; we've collaged a few together below: You really have to feel for the poor guy in that last one, since he's clearly just the victim of auto-correct making him look dumb, turning a typo of "idiots" into "I do it's." Also, it turns out that when another participant in the discussion took exception to what he was saying, Harris also said he'd be happy to meet the man in person, and would kick his ass because he was "around member of the NRA" -- there goes that darned auto-correct again. Finally, on Wednesday, after the second round of screenshots came out, Harris submitted his resignation from the school board. We have been unable to confirm whether he has been offered a job with Fox News yet.

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by Robert Quigley Mar 8th Stephen Elop , the former Microsoft executive who now heads up Nokia, was accused of being a Microsoft Trojan horse last month when Nokia announced that it would effectively be killing off its self-developed Symbian and MeeGo mobile operating system in favor of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 . At the time, fans of the spurned Nokia platforms charged that Nokia's crown jewels were being given away for a song. On that account, at least, they were wrong, if Bloomberg's report is to be believed: Per that report, Microsoft is paying Nokia more than $1 billion for Nokia's role in promoting and developing mobile phones that will carry Windows Phone 7. If it succeeds, the partnership may benefit both sides financially while helping stave off a smartphone threat from Apple Inc. and Google Inc. Nokia shares have dropped 26 percent since the accord was unveiled Feb. 11, reflecting doubts about the move to adopt Microsoft's operating system, which is less than six months old and has just a few percentage points of market share. But here's the thing: Nokia will still be paying Microsoft a licensing fee for every copy of Windows Phone 7 on one of its phones. Though we don't know what that fee is, that sounds a little outrageous. MG Siegler : "It's so ridiculous that Microsoft is sticking with this licensing system. You can license Android, the market leader now, for free. Microsoft? There's a fee. For each phone. Who in their right mind would do that? Wait -- let me rephrase. Who in their right mind not getting $1 billion in free advertising/development costs and not run by a recently departed Microsoft executive would do that? Unless this Nokia gamble pays off -- and in a big way -- the answer will be no one." ( Bloomberg via Techmeme ) Read More

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I didn't know what to expect as I sat at the Ford Foundation last Thursday awaiting the opening remarks of EA's "Full Spectrum" event, a one-day set of panels and talks on LGBTQ issues in games. The possibilities were wide, especially since the crowd was smaller, and the venue more intimate, than I had thought it would be. Were we going to hash out ideas as a group, or were the various guests there to give us the company line? My inner critic began to think: "Somebody fronted this money for a reason." I was keeping my expectations balanced on a careful line between optimism and cynicism. In the end, I think the event walked that very same line. First off, I do think the event was worth my time to go. I am glad EA did it, and I believe the long-term worth of events like Full Spectrum will be measured by their follow-through, rather than just the event itself. Full Spectrum wasn't perfect but it's a start. Much depends on the company continuing to put resources behind the event's takeaways. In terms of event planning and construction, though, EA needs to address if (when) their initiative moves forward. Much has been made of the "invite only" nature of this event. On one hand, I think the perception of how difficult it was to secure an invitation exceeded the reality (I got my invite with relatively little effort); on the other hand, an invite-only event sets an exclusionary tone by its very nature, that worked against the atmosphere EA was likely hoping to create. I'd also like to note that of the "LGBT" acronym, the L and the G got more representation than the B, the T, or the rest of the wide range of queer identities that make up--if you'll forgive the pun--the "full spectrum." I don't think EA made an effort to actively exclude people who identify thusly, but more energy spent on including them would have helped. Finally, the makeup of the panels skewed quite hard toward white men. Yet some of the highlights of the day, for me, were Gordon Bellamy's discussion of how ethnicity impacted his experiences as a gay game designer, and Brendon Ayanbadejo's discussion of his multiethnic heritage directly influenced his desire to be a straight ally/advocate. Including more of these narratives seems critical, to me. Queer identity isn't limited to sexual orientation or gender identity--it intersects with every aspect of our lives. The event began with Craig Hagen talking about how the inclusion of gay planet Makeb in Star Wars: the Old Republic was a mixed bag for EA. That whole affair did seem like a no-win scenario, to me--same-sex romances weren't included from the beginning, so any attempt to "fix" the issue would be imperfect. Hagen discussed how even the best of intentions can go awry, how EA attracted heat from both ignorant homophobes and indignant queer players alike. He spoke of it as a learning experience and a chance to improve, which I admit gave me high hopes for the day to come. Some of these hopes were fulfilled, but not all. Full Spectrum's speakers were at their strongest when considering the impact of allies and their actions on producing a diverse gaming community. I was pleased to hear people like Kixeye's Caryl Shaw emphasize that the "report button" is a flawed answer to the problem of toxic communities. A major theme of Brendon Ayanbadejo's speech being that straight allies--especially straight allies with lots of social capital to spend--need to speak up for change to happen, also pleased me. Discussion of how contexts and cultures contribute to the persistence of hate speech--and our need to address those issues at the cultural level--came up not only from panelists but also in questions from the audience. Perhaps this is self-indulgent, but I feel as if we've covered the ground that queer people can do to improve our lot, extensively. More representation in the industry, more community solidarity, more LGBTQ creators getting their games into the market--these are all steps we can and should take, but we know that. The actions of allies, however, those individuals who don't identify as queer but have an investment in the well-being of queer peoples, don't always get the same scrutiny. Any event that foregrounds the necessity of ally actions in creating safe spaces is worth the time and effort. But somewhat sadly, as the day wound down I found myself becoming more disillusioned with panel responses. The second half of the event was to be devoted to the industry's responsibility and culpability, but despite a few comments I agreed with wholeheartedly (like Lucas Pattan's noting that we increasingly whitewash and masculinize our definition of "queer" to be primarily white gay men) in general I found the afternoon panel skirted the issue of what the industry not just can do, but must do. The question on my mind--one I wish I'd had the chance to pose to the panelists--was how to navigate the looming quandary of morality versus economic imperative (this being one of my major concerns going into the event, as I noted earlier). How do we motivate change in the industry even in cases-- especially in cases--where there is little or no economic imperative to do so? In keeping with my feelings about the event, I got the impression that EA rides both sides of that line carefully. I genuinely believe that they have an interest in doing the right thing regardless, but there were also panel responses that argued doing the right thing was consonant with economics, as well. Are these mutually exclusive? I doubt it. I think it is both true that EA has an interest in promoting diversity in the industry and in game content, and that their desire to do so transcends economics (to some extent). But I also believe that without an economic good, a focus on inclusivity becomes increasingly difficult to explain to those people who don't see it as a moral good worth the time. This is why events like EA Full Spectrum become necessary, in the end. EA is a not only a big name in the industry, but they're also a recognized leader in providing benefits to queer employees and in representing LGBTQ characters in the triple-A space. Their decision to devote money and time to this sort of event does send a message to other companies. But making the point once isn't sufficient, and there is still considerable room for growth and improvement despite the steps they've taken. If EA wants to position itself as an ally organization, they must keep this momentum and continue to improve representation of the entire spectrum of queer experiences, setting a standard others can follow. Todd Harper is a researcher at the MIT Game Lab (http://gamelab.mit.edu) who studies both e-sports and competitive communities and LGBTQ issues and representation in games. He blogs infrequently at his website Stay Classy and tweets far too frequently as @laevantine .

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A joint website of MoveOn.org Civic Action and MoveOn.org Political Action. MoveOn.org Political Action and MoveOn.org Civic Action are separate organizations. MoveOn.org Civic Action is a 501(c)(4) organization which primarily focuses on nonpartisan education and advocacy on important national issues. MoveOn.org Political Action is a federal political committee which primarily helps members elect candidates who reflect our values through a variety of activities aimed at influencing the outcome of the next election.

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The reality is that gun control costs lives, while guns save lives. That's why cops carry them... Read More >>> As unpalatable as sport-hunting might be to some, it is the only model proven to be effective at protecting wildlife, habitat, and humans. Anti-hunting groups need to stop being stupid... Read More >>> The Obama administration has proposed changes to regulations dealing with the transfer of legally owned full-auto guns and items like short-barreled rifles and silencers. Please don't delay, we need to have our voices heard... Read More >>> What this legislative session demonstrates most clearly though is the irrational and insatiable agenda of gun control zealots... Read More >>> Opponents of armed resistance say that "more guns is just a recipe for disaster," but as has been repeatedly proven, it is not the presence of defensive firearms, but their absence that increases death tolls... Read More >>> With some luck, and a few more missteps from Bloomberg, we might not only weaken his organization, but could possibly make a pariah of Bloomberg and drive MAIG right out of existence... Read More >>> Congress has the authority to shut these proposals down cold rather than allow Obama and his allies to kill the Second Amendment with their ongoing campaign of death by a thousand cuts... Read More >>> Successfully stopping the lunacy in California reduces the chances of similar legislation being brought up in other states around the country... Read More >>> The blind assumption that hunters are to blame is not surprising from organizations & individuals who have been actively working to ban hunting for decades... Read More >>> What has Alec MacGillis and the anti-rights crowd so excited about Bloomberg is that for the past several years he has been aiming his big money cannons more and more toward gun control... Read More >>> Just days after the NRA expressed neutrality in the Jones confirmation process, Jones supporters were able to garner the 60 votes needed to break a Republican filibuster... Read More >>> The target of gun control isn't criminals, it's us. The objective of these laws is to make us criminals and make lawful gun ownership too difficult and dangerous to attempt... Read More >>> He has used his billions to buy and hold his office as Mayor of NYC, where he has instituted policies and practices completely beyond the scope of lawful government and in direct opposition to the restrictions of the US Constitution... Read More >>> The Judiciary Committee of the US Senate is to begin hearings on the confirmation of Mr Jones as Director of the ATF tomorrow, & Fast and Furious should be at the center of questions... Read More >>> Chris Christie's goose stepping goons have done it again, You may remember the oppression imposed on Brian Aikien, well Dustin Reininger, a Citizen from the Great Republic of Texas is serving time in a New Jersey prison cell for the offense of traveling through New Jersey with his legally owned firearms. Read More >>> They lie about who they are, what they stand for, and what they want. They use lies to press their agenda, and they lie about what that agenda is and what impact it would have. They are liars through and through... Read More >>> NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced during the Saturday members meeting that membership in the organization had, for the first time ever, topped 5 million... Read More >>> On multiple occasions, officers and agents kicked in doors without warrants or probable cause, pointed guns at residents - men, women, and children - and herded them into the street with shouted orders and violent threats... Read More >>> Evil, violent, demented people are going to do evil, violent, demented things regardless of how constrained and helpless we make the rest of society... Read More >>> Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has declared that he will bring the Democrat gun control package to the floor of the Senate for a vote this week... Read More >>> The UN's long-standing antipathy toward private firearms ownership demands that the language of the treaty must be viewed through the prism of hostility... Read More >>> The Firearms Coalition, along with the National Coalition to Stop the Gun Ban and other rights groups from around the nation, is calling for all concerned citizens to join us in this important call to action... Read More >>> Unlike the healthcare debate though, the proposals for new gun control would make instant felons out of hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of otherwise law-abiding citizens... Read More >>> Almost everything he has proposed is based on lies and distortions propagated by anti-rights politicians and their cheerleaders in the major media... Read More >>> Posts navigation

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No matter what your stance is on climate change, the consequences of rising average temperatures have already been set in motion. Check out your region of the U.S. to see what's at stake. Average annual temperatures in the northwestern United States have risen 1.5degF in the last century, with some areas up 4degF. That number is expected to keep increasing, with temperatures projected to be 3-10degF warmer by the end of the century . Higher temperatures and summer moisture deficits in soil would increase the risk of forest fires in a region already prone to them. Rising sea levels Climate change would further stress coastal regions as erosion from rising sea levels wash away beaches, particularly in vulnerable areas like the south Puget Sound, which includes Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Wash. The region's sea level is estimated to rise about 13 inches by 2100, with up to 50 inches in some rapidly-sinking areas. Water resources Home to approximately 50 million people, the Southwest has seen its population increasing rapidly--with some states doubling the national growth rate of 9.7%. The demand for water resources, coupled with rising temperatures and reduced rain and snowfall in spring months, is likely to bring future water shortages. Agricultural impacts The single largest use for water in the region is agriculture, which provides nearly $45 billion in revenue to California - home of the nation's biggest agriculture industry. The Central Valley produces a significant portion of food for the rest of the country , and crop failures from rising temperatures and water shortages may directly affect the food supply and consumer prices. Temperature rise The climate in the Great Plains region varies greatly--generally colder in the north, hotter in the south, semi-arid in the west and wetter in the east. The north usually experiences bitter winters, but in the last 30 years, it has seen a 7degF increase from average historical temperatures. Year-round temperatures are projected to continue rising, and precipitation patterns are also slated to change--becoming wetter in the north and drier in the south. Agricultural impacts More than 70% of the region is used for agriculture, including wheat, hay, corn, barley, cattle and cotton. Current water use is unsustainable, and because of the projected changes in climate and more frequent extreme weather events like droughts and heat waves, the region's threatened water resources will become increasingly scarce for essential usage like agriculture . Lake evaporation The Midwest's Great Lakes contain 84% of North America's surface freshwater and support the area's transportation and commerce. With the projected rising temperatures, evaporation could reduce the lakes' water levels by 1 to 2 feet by the end of the century. Although having longer ice-free seasons might positively impact shipping in the short-term, it could place stress on infrastructure and be detrimental to coastal ecosystems. Agriculture shifts Under a higher emissions scenario, plants typically grown in the Southeast could become established in the Midwest by 2100. Plant winter hardiness zones could shift with the increasing temperatures and lengthened growing seasons. Each zone represents a 10 deg F change in minimum temperature for growth. Some crop yields will likely increase with the warm temperatures, but this will also include escalating numbers of pests and invasive weeds. Southern summers Along with higher temperatures, snow seasons in the Northeast are projected to be cut in half--even reduced to a few weeks in some regions. By the end of the century, the summers in New Hampshire could reach the same temperatures as North Carolina's current summers. This is likely to have negative impacts on public health, given the poor air quality in many Northeastern cities, which are less adapted to dealing with the heat. Rising sea levels With a projected increase in heavy precipitation and sea-level rise from ocean warming and ice sheet melt, the Northeast could see more frequent, damaging floods. The large coastal cities and dense populations are at risk for significant losses. In New York City, the water level in flood zones could increase as much as 31 inches by 2050. Extreme heat Although the Southeast already experiences warm temperatures, average annual temperatures are projected to increase 6-9degF by 2080. At these rates, northern Florida could experience more than six months at temperatures higher than 90degF by 2100. The high temperatures are likely to increase heat-repeated deaths and negatively affect public health. In addition, agriculture and urban environments could suffer from the projected droughts and strain on water resources. Rising sea levels Satellite data show that sea levels along the coast have risen 3-3.5 mm per year since the 1990s, which is almost double the average rate during the 20th century. Extreme tropical weather events and coastal erosion are likely to increase as the sea level rises. This will threaten both urban environments along the coast and natural habitats, such as marshes and fisheries. Alaska thawing Permafrost, the frozen ground one to two feet below the surface in cold regions, has risen in temperature throughout Alaska since the 1970s, with the largest increases in northern areas. About 14% of Alaskans live in areas susceptible to permafrost degradation, which affects highways, airstrips, buildings and other infrastructure. It is estimated that thawing permafrost can add between $5.6 billion and $7.6 billion to future costs for publicly-owned infrastructure by 2080. Hawaii erosion As the frequency and strength of strong storms and flooding are projected to increase, Hawaiian infrastructure and coasts will become progressively more vulnerable. Extreme sea-level days, more than 6 inches above the long-term average, are becoming more common. This affects coastal settlements, agriculture, marine life, fresh water supply and tourism, which generates more than $12 billion for Hawaii every year. For more on Earth Week, go to http://www.msnbc.com/earth-week .

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Production Note: We welcome Archer Associate Art Director Chad Hurd in to chat with us for the first time this season. He will be here at 1pm EST. Please direct all your feline AIDs questions @Chad. "Coyote Lovely" is actually the episode those of us lucky enough to attend the Archer Comic-Con panel were treated to last summer. I can't tell you how difficult it has been for me to sit on Archer-is-autistic and "Chewie, back me up here -- was there not, like, a c*ck-hungry vibe?" over six months. I've coped by only implementing the Chewie line in my personal life. Gets more use than you'd think. Before we get to the notes let me say that last night's episode is the only ongoing immigration debate to ever hold my attention. Some (none here, I presume) will probably take issue with the use of illegal aliens as a running source of comedy on an animated sitcom. My thoughts: The approach is more than kosher as long as the jokes aren't too easy and you equal opportunity ridicule all the contradictions on the US-end. And of course drop in a "spook" gag for good measure. So, as always, well played Adam Reed. Well played. And just in case everyone didn't pick up on it, two FX favorites -- Nick Searcy and Dayton Callie -- voiced guest characters last night. That philandering two-timer Matt Thompson provides the full scoop on their appearances over at Vulture. Now to the notes and GIFs. "Sun-Blasted Sh*thole" would fit nicely on Texas license plates, no? "I'm stacking rocks in order of descending size," or "I can do this all day since I find repetitive behavior so calming." -- Who ya got? Big, big fan of finding new and creative ways to injure Cyril. Concussions are still super bad for you, but Sterling and Goodell agree you get approximately six freebies. Never Forget: Krieger is always listening, just waiting to pump the building full of experimental toxins. Love me some Searcy, but Dayton Callie's disgraced alcoholic veterinarian may be my all-time favorite one-off character. Absolutely LOVE Lana's realization that babysitting Archer is EXACTLY her job. Aisha Tyler's voice work is far too often taken for granted. Archer's running concern over a possible beej in the midst of border-jumping, shootouts, and emergency medical procedures is why you can never not love Sterling Archer. And finally, "Coyote Lovely's" production number is 402, so pretty sure Bilbo's death not being an awesome afterthought a few episodes down the line was the result of some FX re-ordering. At least he went out sarcastically tracking down station wagons in Texas. RIP Bilbo . Chet Manley GIFs on the next two pages as to not crash too many browsers. Welcome Chad!

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I have worked on improving health care in unstable countries, drafted bills for Congress and advised multiple Cabinet officials....surely it can't be beyond me to make a clear, simple, permanent decision about what to do with my childhood comic collection. Surely I can overpower Richie Rich, outsmart the Rawhide Kid, and have the wherewithal to slay Superman with green kryptonite. And yet.... It's January 2 and I have already failed to complete this year's (and last year's and and and..) resolution, which was to "definitely do something" about the thousands of comics I have been carrying with me from house to house for decades. I opened one of the boxes earlier today, thumbed through a number of issues and realized that I am again paralyzed with indecision. Why don't I just throw them away? Part of it has to do with economics. I pulled this one out of a box I grabbed at random just now. It concerns a strange fellow named Plastic Man (un-ironically named then, but this was before AIDS). PM #1 cost 12 cents back in the day but based on a quick Internet search it sells for almost a thousand times that today. Avengers #57 I remember is valuable too, so is Daredevil #158. I know there are many others of this sort and I can't countenance throwing such a high-return investment into the garbage (even though I realize that a thousand times 12 cents is not exactly a retirement nest egg). But neither do I seem to make the decision to hire an expert who could separate the wheat from the chaff. Why don't I keep them and become a serious collector? As part of failing in my resolution each year, I go on eBay and look at all the comics. I think "I could buy the comics I am missing -- Marvel Team Up #4 and #51 to complete my set -- and be a real awesome, serious collector". But then I think that having so many more comics in my home would take up more space than having them on eBay, and I wouldn't read them, so it's simpler to leave them on the Internet knowing I can always go get them if I want them. Also, having tens of thousands of comics in the house doesn't fit my self-image or lifestyle (i.e., I am married and we have sex). So I am paralyzed between two worlds. As per prior years, I fall back on the well-known psychologist Daryl Bem's theory of self-attribution. To multilate it for my purposes here, it says that rather than decide who we really are and then subsequently decide to act accordingly, we often find out who we are by watching what we do. If I keep keeping the comics each year, neither growing nor reducing the collection, I must therefore want things as they are. Something about the connection to my childhood heroes, to Batman and Green Lantern and the Flash still has a hold on me and wants to keep things as they are. So I put the comics back in their boxes again this year, content that things are as they must be and should be. But I did pause long enough to read a few to my puzzled but amused four-year olds, in the hopes that in the distant future they will be as happily paralyzed as I am.

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Bloc Party - March 2, 2018 Last week we shared an overview of the history of Canadian prisons and the resistance to them. We're excited to share an interview with the authors of that history--two friends from Quebec and Ontario,... submedia.tv - March 1, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 27, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 26, 2018 Anonymous Contributor - February 26, 2018 What follows is a personal reflection on demonstrations in Durham, North Carolina following Unite the Right in Charlottesville. by Dwayne Dixon Durham, NC, has been a crucial locus for activist energy with a storied history...

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Source: Venezuela Analysis Venezuelan grassroots movements have begun to present their diverse proposals for the constituent assembly announced by President Nicolas Maduro this May. The constituent assembly will be comprised of key Venezuelan sectors including communes, campesinos, and workers that will come together to develop a new constitution based on the needs and wishes of the people. Additionally, popular movements have responded to the need to present their political platforms for consideration. The sex and gender diversity movement is one. In Venezuela, the LGBTI community has made revolutionary gains within the Bolivarian Process; nonetheless, there is always the urgency to push for greater rights and access. As such, the Revolutionary Sex and Gender Diversity Alliance (ASGDRe), an organization across Venezuelan national territory, came together to collectively design an initial set of proposals to participate in what militant Maria Helena Ramirez Hernandez calls "a new stage of the Bolivarian Revolution that seeks to overcome fascism, hate and terrorism financed by the US Government and carried out by the opposition in Venezuela." Ramirez continues, "We join the vast majority of the Venezuelan people in this [constituent assembly] and on the the national dialogue process that our President Maduro has called upon. This is a new offense against the counter revolutionary forces." Revolutionary Sex and Gender Diversity Alliance's proposal for the Constituent Assembly As a sex and gender diversity organization, we celebrate the initiative of establishing a National Constituent Assembly, this means the recognition of the people as sovereignty's keepers, a people that calls for the abolition of a bourgeois state and for the construction of a Communal State. This is a new opportunity, in the midst of this current moment, to gather different sectors' proposals that have historically been working to achieve common interests, to meet the social and material needs of the people for the greatest amount of social and political stability. In this sense, the ASGDRe joins this call for a new democratic contest to raise proposals, because we, the sexual-dissent people, are part of the working people, students, feminists. I. Peace is achieved from the recognition of otherness and to achieve national dialogue beyond this current moment, we must reaffirm values of equity and equality before the law and deepen our constitutional guarantees for the sex and gender diverse population as we are part of social groups that have been historically violated, discriminated and marginalized. Settling historical debts with the sex and gender diverse population will allow us to advance towards further organizational gains. II. Economic Improvement must begin with recognizing the constitutional standing of the forms of collective property of the means of production and of the principle of complementarity and solidarity among nationalized companies and companies under workers' control, as well as lands recovered by grassroots organizations. Real conditions must be created so that a socialist economy, with hegemony of social property over the means of production, can be progressively established in a collective and cooperative way. Guarantee the irreversibility of collective ownership of land and worker-occupied means of production, promoting new models of economic relationships based on the needs of the people over monetary value. This economic development must also take into account and create equitable conditions for the sex and gender diverse population to have to access to decent work, especially trans people who for years have been practically driven to prostitution, violence, and discrimination due to the denial of their rights. Guarantee agro-ecological principles for our agro-industrial development. Validate the creation and research of popular, ancestral, gender-diverse, Afro-Venezuelan, indigenous and campesinos' technologies to build a development model that guarantees investment in our own technologies and prevents the transfer or imposition of technologies that do not respond to the real interests or true needs of our country. III. Constitutionalize Missions and Major Missions: The social missions must be the pillars for protecting citizens' social rights and families. This must be done through new forms of organization and territorial management, in which the missions are autonomous in their relationship with the Communal State. These processes are established by people power's control and oversight. IV. Justice System: In order to eradicate impunity for crimes committed against the sex and gender diverse population, the Ombudsman Office's constitutional status must ensure the rights of this population and take necessary actions for their effective protection. There must be actions that lead to retributive / restorative justice for hate crimes, femicides, as well as discrimination based on sexual orientation, expression and gender identity. This also means presenting laws created from the people as a legislative power before the municipal, state, or national legislative bodies. Guarantee a prison system that ensures the protection, physical integrity, and respect for the identity of trans people while also guaranteeing that their sentences are fulfilled and executed in penitentiary establishments according to their gender identity, without any discrimination or prohibition regarding the sexual orientation, gender identity or expression of themselves and their partners during conjugal visits. V. Constitutionalize new forms of participatory democracy: It is fundamental to recognize and guarantee the functional financial and administrative autonomy of people's organizational forms and communal power that have been created throughout these last years. This process must take place under the same spirit that guided the 2007 reform proposal, which recognizes that "People's Power is expressed by constituting the communities, communes and self-governance of cities, through community councils, workers' councils, student councils, farmers councils, craft councils, fisherpeoples' councils, sports councils, youth councils, elderly adult councils, women's councils, people's with disabilities councils" and sex and gender diversity councils. VI. Defend national sovereignty and integrity: In order to preserve public safety and guarantee the integral exercise of human rights for the sex and gender diverse population, it should be stated in the constitutional article regarding people's equality before the law that there cannot be discrimination based on sexual orientation, identity or gender expression. In articles relating to social and family rights, protection must be guaranteed to all expressions of union between people, regardless of their sexual orientation, identity and / or gender expression, providing them with social security on an equal basis. It is necessary to guarantee same sex marriage and unions in order to protect the right to build different families within Venezuelan society. As for sovereignty, international treaties signed by the Executive Power should only be applicable if none of its clauses violates national and people's interests. VII. Uphold Venezuela's pluricultural identity. The constitutional development of the values which allow us to recognize ourselves as Venezuelans - so that we can co-exist peacefully - should also protect ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the diversity of all identities and the different types of relationships other than those of heteronormativity, which has been induced by mental colonization. This [mental colonization] has translated into discriminatory, sexist and misogynist daily practices that prevent the well-being, physical and moral integrity of the sex and gender diverse population. VIII. Guaranteeing the future. Sex and gender diverse youth are among the most vulnerable populations, therefore mechanisms must be created so that they have the same access to decent work, housing and quality education with equal conditions and freedom from prejudice, which highlight the State's secular character. Motherhood and paternity should be a free and direct choice of citizens. For this to happen, it is necessary that women have the right to make decisions over their own bodies; whether to have children and how many children to have and in what time. [The state] should not criminalize women's sovereign decision regarding the continuation of a pregnancy or not. I X. Preservation of life on the planet. Nature must be recognized as a political subject and as such biodiversity must be protected and not considered as only a natural resource for extraction. We must safeguard the genetic diversity of plants, especially for food and medicinal uses as the cultural heritage for all Venezuelans. Prohibit any form of private appropriation for the exclusive use and exploitation of plants, animals, microorganisms and any living being. Guarantee the prohibition of patents for seeds and the genetic modification of species throughout the nation. For the defense of peace, for the foundation of a new productive economic, communal, workers, collective and stable system, for the recognition of our diversities, for the sex and gender diverse population's right to access cultural life in communities, to the enjoyment of the arts and to participate in scientific and technological progress, for the dignity of our identities, we say: The sex and gender diverse community is active on and the way to the Constituent Assembly! Introduction, translation and edits by Jeanette Charles for Venezuelanalysis.com.

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President of the NRA at today's conference (Washington Post) Today, the president of the National Rifle Association of America, Wayne LaPierre, made his organization's highly-anticipated statement regarding the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut. Anyone who was hoping for anything less than usual b.s. about how the school system needs more guns should probably stop reading right here. Also, the NRA wants us to note, that it is our culture's glorification of Splatterdays (what?), Mortal Kombat and Natural Born Killers -specifically-that causes mass shootings, not military-style assault weapons that we can buy online. From Mr. LaPierre's statement : And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal. There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like "Bullet Storm," "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Combat," and "Splatterhouse." And here's one, it's called "Kindergarten Killers." It's been online for 10 years. How come my research staff can find it, and all of yours couldn't? Or didn't want anyone to know you had found it? Add another hurricane, add another natural disaster. I mean we have blood-soaked films out there, like "American Psycho," "Natural Born Killers." They're aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day. That would be a very good point, Mr. LaPierre, and if you were anyone other than the guy telling us that everyone needs a semiautomatic machine gun with 20 magazines, we might listen. Unfortunately, Kindergarten Killers has not prompted anyone to go on a rampage, since, as you say, no one has ever seen that film outside of your office. Also, Patrick Batemen didn't really use guns, and Natural Born Killers came out 18 years ago. I'd also advise you to Google "Mortal Kombat death statics" and compare it to "gun death statistics." It's quite enlightening. Not to worry though, because it looks like the travesty at Newtown has only caused an increase in gun sales . Thanks, Kindergarten Killers .

Today, the president of the National Rifle Association of America, Wayne LaPierre, made his organization's highly-anticipated statement regarding the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut. Anyone who was hoping for anything less than usual b.s. about how the school system needs more guns should probably stop reading right here.

Are they right? And who are The Shomrim? By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership And Author Alan Korwin, GunLaws.com Why Jews Hate Guns Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Washington, DC - -( Ammoland.com )- It's no secret that one of the largest blocs of people pressing for so-called "gun control" is the culturally (aka not-so-religious) American Jewish community. This confounds many observers who would expect that Jews, with such a stunning history of oppression and murder by humanity's villains, would cling tenaciously to personal firearms and the ability to protect themselves as the Hebrew Scriptures instruct. In reaction to the Holocaust, American Jews adopted the phrase "Never Again!" If actions mean anything, they don't believe it. That's for someone else to do. How do Jews expect to put teeth behind the words "Never Again!" if not with the ability to apply and project personal force when righteous -- and necessary -- for survival? Why then do so many American Jews hate guns and fear gun ownership so much? Our research identifies ten reasons why these Jews feel the way they do about self defense in general, firearms specifically and your own right to keep and bear arms. The adamantly anti-gun-rights Jews are bowing to: A desire for utopian moral purity A disproportional incidence of hoplophobia A quest for power through victimization of peers A utopian delusion that if guns would just "go away," crime would end and the world would be a peaceful safe place Self hatred and a wish to be helpless, acting out guilt-based behavioral problems that develop in childhood The Ostrich Syndrome Garden-variety hypocrisy Adulterated religion -- Jews In Name Only (JINOs) Feel-good sophistry Abject fear that yields irrational behavior Despite the modern American Jewish aversion to arms, it has not always been so, and Israeli Jews certainly understand the value of arms. Throughout history, there were Jews who fought in defense of their people and way of life. The Torah is filled with Jews who took up arms in righteous and valiant defensive action. See, for example, The Ten Commandments of Self Defense , (Bendory and JPFO, 2009) ; or recall, "When Abraham heard that his nephew Lot was taken captive, he took the 318 trained soldiers of his house and pursued the captors," defeated them, brought back Lot, and exacted retribution with their looted property. (Genesis 14:14) Contemporary Jews may have largely acquiesced to their WWII inquisitors, but Biblical Jews resisted their Egyptian slave masters and then fought countless fierce battles against invaders and anti-Semites, such as Amelek, the Philistines and Haman. Jews have been assaulted, accosted, and oppressed by nearly every nation and empire in history, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Ottomans and of course modern nations like Germany and the USSR. Miraculously, Jews have outlasted all those who would annihilate them, typically by using force of arms. Perhaps their liberal modern approach to assault and suffering -- "Don't fight back, it will only make matters worse" -- holds lessons for us. Or perhaps not: it is very hard to witness open-pit graves piled high with emaciated corpses without emotional revulsion. How much worse could matters get? "Culturally proper" Jews will not want to openly face the tortured reasoning of their Faustian bargain behind "don't make it worse." That doesn't make the following reasons any less real or mortally dangerous. And Jews are not alone in relying on these justifications for rejecting the fundamental human right of self defense. Many other gunless people will also recognize their feelings accurately described by what we have found. We would not dream of interfering with a free person's freedom to choose and embrace defenselessness or to go gunless. On the other hand, there can be no tolerance for anyone who attempts to force others to behave so dangerously. 1. A Desire For Utopian Moral Purity This seems to be the nub. Devin Sper, author of The Future of Israel (SY Publishing, 2004) , supported by exhaustive research on the history of the Jewish people, has found that Jews are wont to seek utopian moral purity, and in doing so they reject use of force. By its very nature force corrupts and polarizes. With power and force come allies and adversaries. Taking sides, even righteous sides, conflicts with utopian egalitarianism. As the phrases indicate, these utopian ideals are unattainable. Although such a rejection of personal power and righteous use of force seems irrational -- especially for groups repeatedly murdered by governments and threatened with annihilation -- it is a choice they are free to make. Using diverse strategies Jews have survived every attempt to exterminate them while their tormenters have vanished. In Mark Twain's classic words: "The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was ... " We must remind ourselves that Twain wrote this well before the Holocaust. Would his words have been different had he witnessed the government-run atrocities of the 20th century? Sper documents the fact that the main Jewish texts, the Torah and Hebrew Scripture, are sometimes violent texts that exhort followers to take up arms in many contexts, and tell stories of vast militia and armed actions by the Jewish tribes. Sper points out that many modern Jews -- especially liberal Jews -- ignore parts of the Torah they don't like, such as this militarism. See, for example, Esther 8:15 - 9:18, where Jews obliterate their enemies; and when asked what to do the next day, Esther says more of the same. And for good measure, impale the ten killed sons of evil vizier Haman on stakes. In place of this Biblical claim to righteous use of force, contemporary American Jews have constructed a plain-vanilla substitute that is mostly froth and dragons. Even the annual Passover retelling of the escape from slavery in Egypt glosses over the horrors of slavery and war to the point of a Grimm's fairy tale -- horrifying if you look at it literally and in full detail, but diluted into a story safe for children, complete with drips of sweet wine to soften the gore and savagery. Before condemning Jews for hypocrisy in forgetting their history, recognize that many religions similarly gloss over aspects of their sacred texts that don't mix well with their modern sensibilities. How many Biblical literalists cleave to the elements of, say, Leviticus, with its calls for stoning certain women to death (20:27), burning certain daughters (21:9) or instructions on how to manage your slaves (25:45-46)? 2. A Disproportional Incidence Of Hoplophobia Hoplophobia , n. Irrational morbid fear of guns (c. 1966, coined by Col. Jeff Cooper, from the Greek hoplites, weapon; see his book Principles of Personal Defense ) . May cause sweating, faintness, discomfort, rapid pulse, nausea, sleeplessness, nondescript fears, fantasizing, more, at mere thought of guns. Presence of working firearms may cause panic attack, desperate effort at avoidance. Hoplophobe, hoplophobic. ( http://www.gunlaws.com/GunPhobia.htm ) Dr. Sarah Thompson, M.D., in her ground-breaking essay on the subject, Raging Against Self Defense , pointed out that hoplophobes often use the psychological defense mechanism of projection in dealing with their fear. Unable or unsure of their ability to control their own internal conflicts, they project their conflicts onto people around them. They fear losing control, going berserk, shooting people around them or shooting themselves in a mad, chaotic expression of rage. It's only natural for them to then assume that anyone else with a gun could or would do the same; the occasional madman serves to reinforce their fears. This explains at last the perpetual hysteria that proclaims, every time a Second Amendment infringement is lifted: we will suffer shootouts at stop lights, slow waiters murdered on the spot, or Dodge City bloodshed as a result. Every new carry-permit law, the repeal of the National Parks possession ban , the expired Clinton-era rifle bans, lifted restrictions for adult gun carry on campuses -- all were met with the same barrage of irrational fears. It is a knee-jerk mantra loudly shouted and then brazenly promoted by an unethical media every time. And the imagined fear? It never manifests. It is but an empty neurotic fantasy. Media corrections are never published, and so the fantasies and lies are repeated and recycled. Shame on those who would forever repeat the same absurd lies, never recant, and refuse to seek help for their neuroses. We must show tolerance and understand: Facts mean little to people with morbid irrational fears. The fears just continue. Hoplophobes need treatment and sympathy, not laws infringing on the body politic. Some of what we think of as a political issue -- so-called "gun control" -- is actually a psychiatric condition, a medical problem. Hoplophobes need treatment and sympathy, not laws infringing on the body politic. The hoplophobic condition also manifests itself as a fear that if the afflicted person had a gun, someone would kill them with their own gun. Of course if this had merit, Jews could have killed their assailants with their own guns throughout history. Jews and liberals alike appear to suffer from hoplophobia in disproportionate numbers for reasons that beg to be researched. The controversial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association, now in review for its 5th edition (due May 2013) has yet to recognize or address the widespread phenomenon of gun phobias. We're told by one expert this is not the purpose of that book: irrational fear of spiders, water, even open spaces, yes; terrifying irrational fear of guns, the very bulwark of liberty, no. Coincidentally, the psychiatric profession has an unusually large Jewish contingent, and its founders were disproportionately Jewish. 3. A Quest For Power Through Victimization Of Peers In our culture, victimization accords moral authority and thus power to the victim. Subjugating or convincing a constituency to accept victimization cedes power to those perpetuating this harmful ruse on their peers. This is despicably immoral -- but it is tacitly acceptable and all too commonplace in our victimization culture. Just think of how many " rights " organizations claim moral authority and power through victimization. Blacks have been largely convinced by their leaders to avoid guns (rap "music" notwithstanding) leaving them reliant on police who are, historically, often perceived poorly by the black community. Who among American blacks trusts police implicitly? Such trust may be irrational, but no one claims humans act rationally all or even most of the time. The people know instinctively they cannot trust government agents for their safety, yet they are left to wish for such illusory protection. A near-perfect parallel exists with respect to Jews. Governments are historically the greatest threat to Jews (or anyone) , responsible for horrendous mass-murder campaigns and pogroms throughout history. Murder by government, democide, is by far the greatest killer of innocent human beings. People imbued with the intoxicating power of government authority exterminated 262 million people in the 20th century, according to political scientist R. J. Rummel. Murderous criminals don't hold a candle to the deadly threat government poses to the public. Jewish Experts Agree on Gun Control Yet Jewish leaders -- in Congress of all places (e.g., Charles Schumer, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Barney Frank, Frank Lautenberg, Carl Levin, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, others) -- are the anti-rights leaders on the self-defense gun issue. They are the very strongest proponents of relying on government for safety and of destroying the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. Somehow, America's liberal Jews expect the police to protect them, a reliance that has failed the Jews throughout history. As you may already know, police are actually free of any legal obligation to protect you, as documented for all 50 states in Dial 911 and Die (Attorney Richard W. Stevens, Mazel Freedom Press, 1999) . The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed this repeatedly, most recently in Castle Rock v. Gonzalez , 545 U.S. 748 (2005) . 4. A utopian delusion that if guns would just "go away," crime would end and the world would be a peaceful safe place This basic liberal tenet of faith has been around since time immemorial, and afflicts Jews in disproportionate numbers. Jews are fond of saying that if guns would just go away, the world would be a better place. They fail to look back in history, to a time before guns existed, and recall the incredible savagery that took place without guns available for protection. Life back then was brutal, and encouraged: "Doom them to destruction: grant them no quarter" (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). Our world bristling with arms is a more decent and safe place to live than the ancient world. People blind themselves to this reality, and pop culture - - when it isn't promoting Hollywood-style machine-gun silliness -- enforces the false notion that a total gun ban would bring world peace. This utopian " vision " is supposedly supported by Isaiah's prophecy of a Messianic future, when "they shall beat their spears into pruning hooks" , when "the lion shall lie down with the lamb." Prophetic it may be, but as instructions for living, it's a recipe for death and destruction, and Jews are also instructed otherwise (but often prefer to ignore the inconvenient): "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 4:9) . Put down your arms in the face of a vicious enemy and you will suffer the fate of the lamb who lies down with the lion. America's Jews often hold to a dangerous related myth that violence never solves anything. Like so many platitudes it is appealing, with enormous first-blush power. Yet it is self-evidently preposterous -- any degree of thought spoils the sweet image: Hitler, Hezbollah, Haman and the other hordes are not stopped with peace marches, protest rallies, and clever signs. Despots are overthrown by force or the credible threat of force. Brutal criminals bent on rape and murder are not held back by intellectual prowess or Messianic visions -- they are held back either by the brutal stopping power of a well-aimed bullet or by caging them when captured. It is the unfortunate reality of this harsh world: countervailing force is the only deterrent for aggression. American Jews, irrationally, reject this. They're free to do so, but they have no legitimate moral authority to drag anyone else into that lethal tar pit with them. Many Jews also cling to the notion that "it can't happen here," which is what many believed even as the Holocaust was taking place. This is ironically contradictory to the simultaneous militance implied by "Never Again!" "Deliberate misuse of guns by miscreants does not define guns. " And finally, some Jews hold to the notion that weapons are unacceptable because violence is unacceptable. The fact that guns save lives, guns stop crime, guns protect you, and guns are the reason Israel still stands, are blacked out of any thought process. They would have you believe (and they falsely believe) that guns are designed for murder. Murder is illegal. Guns are properly designed -- for protection . Killing to protect is legal, moral, just and virtually universally sanctioned. Deliberate misuse of guns by miscreants does not define guns. 5. Self hatred and a wish to be helpless, acting out guilt-based behavioral problems that develop in childhood The founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, the late Aaron Zelman, framed this succinctly with many Jews he met. They would express outrage at Aaron's classical approach of arming for safety, peace through strength and deterrence as a means of achieving peace and stability (which is Israel's approach, though he didn't frame it in those terms) . They would emphatically reject the idea that all Jews should be educated to arms and know how to handle and shoot guns for their own safety. He could see through their self-righteous bluster and tell them, "You're just a self-hating Jew waiting to sniff the gas." 6. The Ostrich Syndrome Some people are inherently weak-willed and live without a strong moral compass. They are eager to simplify their lives and avoid uncomfortable situations. Unwilling to face the harsh realities of life, they would prefer to ignore guns and pretend the need for self defense will go away if they pay it no heed. It is irrational, yes, but understandable when you consider the psyche that generates such thinking. These people, Jews and Gentiles alike, will say things like, "I don't believe in guns," as if they don't exist, or as if their purported non-belief makes the subject evaporate and obviates the possibility of encountering a situation in which self defense is necessary. It is foolhardy and dangerous, but an ostrich with its head in the sand probably feels just fine... until it is devoured. 7. Garden-Variety Hypocrisy While many Jews say they detest guns, they in fact staunchly support guns, so long as the guns are in the hands of "the proper authorities. " On a civil level today, that means the police. So in reality, so-called anti-gun-rights Jews are really very pro-gun-rights, they just want someone else to hold the guns for them. This is not only hypocritical, it is immoral. "So-called anti-gun-rights Jews are really very pro-gun-rights, they just want someone else to hold the guns for them. " Attorney Jeff Snyder points out, in his globally famous book Nation of Cowards , that expecting other people to risk their lives to save yours cannot be supported in a moral way: "If you believe it is reprehensible to possess the means and will to use lethal force to repel a criminal assault, how can you call upon another to do so for you?... Because that is his job and we pay him to do it? Because your life is of incalculable value, but his is only worth the $30,000 yearly salary we pay him?" He asks: if your life is worth protecting, whose responsibility is it to protect it? The full weight of his arguments repeatedly come back to personal responsibility. 8. Adulterated Religion -- Jews In Name Only (JINOs) Arizona-based historian Michael E. Newton, author of The Path to Tyranny (Elephtheria Publishing, 2010), posits that part of the problem rests with Jews who no longer believe in Judaism, and have replaced their previous religion with a popular new one: so-called "social justice." If a Biblically-based value system no longer drives protection of the G-d-given gift of life, then abandoning the right to self defense poses little moral dilemma. Jews who are only or barely culturally Jewish have little reason to rise up to the standards Jewish Law speaks of explicitly: "If a man comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first" (Talmud, Berakoth 58b). Newton observes that, In times of trouble, religious Jews offer prayers to G-d in the hope that He will help. Secular Jews turn to the government instead to protect and defend them. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor.' Not only can we defend our neighbor from attack, in Torah Law we are commanded to do so. That we must also defend ourselves is so patently obvious in Jewish Law that no defense or justification is given for it. "Who is more religious? The secular Jew who believes government police forces will defend them or the religious Jew who trusts in G-d but also believes that G-d gave us the strength, right, and even the commandment to defend ourselves?" The entire anti-rights issue on guns may be a tangent to this perhaps larger issue: Why are the nation's Jews predominantly liberal Democrats, leaning heavily toward statism, socialism, progressivism, and nanny-state protection and social order? Why don't they instead gravitate toward human freedom, individual rights and responsibility, and avoidance of the heavy hand of government? Liberal Democrats, in large measure, hate guns and gun owners too, so there would seem to be a degree of go along to get along. And what of the Israel Paradox? American Jews by and large vigorously support armed defense of the Jewish state, yet persistently work to disarm the American public. That such positions are self-contradictory and hypocritical never crosses their minds. These conundrums leave us baffled. 9. Feel-Good Sophistry Feel-good sophistry is rigid attachment to false arguments that have the effect of deceiving. It works for a lot of humanity, and is a component of the Jewish mindset. People attach to ideas and concepts, regardless of or despite any germ of validity, often based on emotion with no factual support. It is irrational and foolish, but people are free to be irrational and foolish. But then they vote and inject themselves into the political arena. In doing so, they force humanity to deal not only with real problems but with imaginary ones as well. 10. Abject Fear That Yields Irrational Behavior The wild-eyed desire to "take all the guns away!" ignores the fact that government is the intended agent for such a plan. Such a plan would not "take away" guns at all. It would merely transfer them, giving them all to government (with the stark exception of entire arsenals already thoroughly banned yet in the hands of criminals and enemies of the state). "Taking away guns merely transfers them to the government we all trust so deeply." In seeking this "take away the guns," Jews astoundingly disregard the fact that, historically, governments have been the main perpetrators of atrocities against them. They also ignore the fact that in times before guns, when physical protection was more difficult, violence was worse and more horrific than today. Think Genghis Kahn, Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler, in addition to the obvious Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and a personal favorite, Xena the Warrior Princess (which adds Hollywood's rampant titillating sexification of violence) . The Shomrim Despite these seemingly overwhelming Jewish predilections, within the Jewish community there exists a thin but powerful stream of thought, held by some Jews, who advocate for the fundamental human right to protect one's self, one's loved ones, the community and the fruits of one's labors. As King Solomon said: "There is a time for war, and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:8) . These people exist, typically "in the closet" of Jewish thought and behavior, and may be thought of as Shomrim, "The Watchful." Non-aggressive and usually conservative in their views. " They stand as silent and unobserved guardians of their Jewish brethren, without acknowledgment." Anecdotal evidence indicates that a significant percentage of discreetly armed Shomrim are present in synagogues on a regular basis. Their numbers appear to be increasing, as gun ownership, marksmanship practice, the shooting sports and gun-safety training increases nationwide across all demographics. Atrocities like the recent al-Qaida-inspired murder of Jews in France encourage more Jews to rethink personal preparedness. Given the severe threats Jews face in the modern world, isn't it time for Jews to rethink the anti-rights posture so many have adopted toward the fundamental human right to keep and bear arms? While American Jews may not be required to learn about arms as civilians (unlike their Israeli cousins) , it's corrupt for them to attempt to force other law-abiding adults to suffer a government ban on the tools of self defense. And it's time for the Shomrim to come out of the closet and teach their brethren about the cold, harsh reality of the world in which we live, and the tools that allow it to be tamed. "For he does not rest nor does he sleep, the Guardian of Israel" (Psalm 121). "I imagine some of this research will be attacked as anti-Semitic, a frightful charge, possible whenever you discuss Judaism. Which statements exactly, I would ask, are anti-Semitic? I can find none." J.T. Rabbi Dovid Bendory is the Rabbinic Director of Jews for the Preservation of Gun Ownership and a certified firearms instructor. Alan Korwin, author of nine books on gun law, is the publisher at Bloomfield Press and runs the national directory website, GunLaws.com. Support the important work of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership "America's most aggressive defender of gun rights." Contact: JPFO.org * [email protected] * 262-673-9745 Alan Korwin has been involved in the gun-rights struggle for more than two decades and can be reached at GunLaws.com (c) Copyright 2012 JPFO, Inc., and Alan Korwin. All rights reserved. About: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Mission is to destroy "gun control" and to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone. Those are the twin goals of Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). Founded by Jews and initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed, JPFO has always welcomed persons of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all. JPFO is a non-profit tax-exempt educational civil rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO's products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible, using bold tactics without compromise on fundamental principles. Visit www.JPFO.org - Copyright JPFO 2011

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Is the President's plan enough? As long as there are people whose lives and families are in the US remain vulnerable to deportation, is not enough, but it is something , and it is the result of the hard work of thousands of activists who have put everything on the line to make their presence known as undocumented and immigrant Americans who deserve rights and dignity. By Maddie | November 21, 2014 | 3 Comments Sesame Street, Margaret Cho, trans women in Bangladesh, a playlist, wishes, blue things, anime, Vikki Reich, Elaine Atwell, Thanksgiving dinner thoughts sprinkled with privilege, Arabelle Sicardi, geek girl culture, superiority by way of motherhood, Mean Girls, organ donors, dogs in cars and so very much more! By Laneia | November 13, 2014 | 25 Comments The issue of immigrant children being detained in immigrant detention centers is not exactly a new story. But this past week, an influx of children from Central America who were detained while trying to cross into the U.S. has drawn new attention to the extreme and inhuman treatment undocumented immigrants face from U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). By Maddie | June 11, 2014 | 8 Comments "A phrase that often arises in this movement is "ni de aqui, ni de alla," (neither from here nor there), and it speaks to the ability we seek as queer immigrants to define home as we choose, whether in a geographic sense, within our communities, or a gendered sense, within our bodies." By Kemi | July 25, 2013 | 11 Comments

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The Third International After Lenin by Leon Trotsky 20 April 2012 This week Mehring Books is featuring The Third International After Lenin by Leon Trotsky. The four essays contained in this volume deal with basic problems of the building of the revolutionary movement. They are vital reading for all those seeking to educate themselves as Marxists. In the first essay, "The Draft Program of the Comintern: A Critique of Fundamentals", Trotsky reviews the Stalinist theory of "socialism in one country," demonstrating that on every level it represents the abandonment of basic Marxist principles. The American Trotskyist James P. Cannon, who was a delegate to the Sixth Congress of the Comintern in 1928, smuggled this document out of the Soviet Union. It provided the initial programatic basis for the founding of the Trotskyist movement in the United States. The second essay in this volume, "Strategy and Tactics in the Imperialist Epoch," deals with fundamental questions of revolutionary strategy. It subjects the centrist policies of the Stalinist Third International to withering criticism, demonstrating its abandonment on every fundamental question of the traditions of Bolshevism and the October Revolution. This volume also contains the valuable essay "Summary and perspectives of the Chinese Revolution," examining the lessons of the Stalinist betrayals of the Chinese working class. The final essay, "What Now?" draws a balance sheet of the policies of the Stalinized Third International in the period since the death of Lenin. Title: The Third International After Lenin Author: Leon Trotsky Google is blocking the World Socialist Web Site from search results. Share this article with friends and coworkers Facebook Twitter E-Mail Reddit

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Protest organized by Black Youth Project 100 in front of the statue in August. Marina Ortiz is the founder of East Harlem Preservation , which began a campaign to take down the Sims statue in 2010. The East Harlem community was pleased to learn that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio had (finally) agreed with their seven-year call for the removal of the J. Marion Sims statue from its location on Fifth Ave. and 103rd St. Rather than abolishing the theme of a white southern doctor who experimented on enslaved Black women without anesthesia or informed consent, however, the city has chosen to keep the Sims pedestal (and signage) in place as a clear conciliation to conservative critics. According to a Jan. 12 press release , the City will "relocate the statue to Green-Wood Cemetery and take several additional steps to inform the public of the origin of the statue and historical context, including the legacy of non-consensual medical experimentation on women of color broadly and Black women specifically that Sims has come to symbolize. These additional steps include: add informational plaques both to the relocated statue and existing pedestal to explain the origin of the statue, commission new artwork with public input that reflects issues raised by Sims legacy, and partner with a community organization to promote in-depth public dialogues on the history of non-consensual medical experimentation of people of color, particularly women." Illustration of Dr. J. Marion Sims with Anarcha by Robert Thom. Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Pearson Museum. Sims has been hailed as the "father of modern gynocology" for developing a surgical method in the 19 th century to treat vesicovaginal fistulas, a complication of childbirth. It took the anti-racist struggle to bring to light that this breakthrough was a result of Sims' experimenting on enslaved African American women without consent and without anesthesia. Of the three women who are known - Lucy, Anarcha and Betsy - records show that Anarcha underwent 30 separate surgeries. Sims' cruel experiments are documented in Harriet A. Washington's 2006 book, " Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present ." National campaign to remove racist monuments The placatory "move" comes in the wake of a public debate surrounding the removal of symbols of white supremacy. Although certainly not new, the topic did gain national media attention on June 27, 2015 when activist Bree Newsome removed the Confederate battle flag from the South Carolina Statehouse--10 days after the murder of nine black parishioners in Charleston by self-avowed white supremacist Dylann Roof. Community activists and legislators across the country stepped up their efforts even further after August 12, 2017 when James Fields Jr. --a white neo-Nazi protesting the removal of a monument to Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Charlottesville, Virginia--drove his car into a crowd of anti-racist protesters, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens more. Sims the 'most offensive statue' While addressing the Charlottesville protests, Columbia, South Carolina Mayor Steve Benjamin also singled out J. Marion Sims. "I believe there are some statues on our state capitol I find wholly offensive," he said. "The most offensive statue wasn't a soldier, it's J. Marion Sims, who's considered the father of modern gynecology who tortured slave women and children for years as he developed his treatments for gynecology." The issue had thus broadened to the point where local opposition to symbols of white supremacy could no longer be dismissed as a matter of censorship or removing "art" for content--which had been the previous administration's position. Mayor de Blasio then responded to the growing controversy--which included older protests against monuments to Christopher Columbus, Theodore Roosevelt, and Nazi collaborator Henri Philippe Petain--by announcing the formation of an Advisory Commission on City Art, Monuments and Markers in August 2017. Not surprisingly, no further public action was taken by the administration until after the general election. In mid-November 2017, the Mayor's Commission held hearings throughout the city--during which thousands presented testimonies on monuments to Christopher Columbus , Theodore Roosevelt , and Henri Philippe Petain . Although the debates were often contentious--with dozens of anti-racist activists, progressive educators, and radical artists sounding off against conservative historians, "traditionalists" and members of the NYPD and FDNY--not a single person testified in defense the Sims statue. In January, 2018, the Commission presented a Report to the City of New York with recommendations. Surprisingly, or perhaps not, Mayor de Blasio then announced that only the Sims statue would be moved. The symbolic "move" was seen as a slap in the face by many who had voted for his reelection. 20,000 signed petition to take away the statue While East Harlem residents were disheartened to learn that the administration had capitulated to a conservative political base with deep pockets, they also acknowledge and celebrate the victory of over 20,000 petitioners and activists who for years had objected to the Sims monument's presence their neighborhood. Still, the community maintains that Sims' continued presence (in the form of a plaque) does a huge disservice to the neighborhood's majority Black and Latino residents--groups that have historically been subjected to medical experiments without permission or regard for their wellbeing. Dr. Sims is not our hero. There are many African American and Puerto Rican women (and men) who have made great medical and scientific contributions that have benefitted the East Harlem community-- Dra. Helen Rodriguez-Trias , a leader in the fight against sterilization abuse, and Dr. Rebecca Lee Crumpler , the first African-American woman doctor in the US, to name a few. These are the s/heroes residents would prefer to have children learn about as they stroll in Central Park, confident in the understanding that Black Lives Matter.

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Dozens Occupy NC Governor's Office to Protest Atlantic Coast Pipeline from the Earth First! Newswire According to the Raleigh News and Obersver, 15 people were arrested for occupying North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's office in a protest against his administration's approval of the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The protest which took place on Febraury 2nd and was the latest instance of community opposition to the 600 mile long pipeline that would bring fracked gas from West Virginia, through Virginia, and into North Carolina. "This is an escalation. This is the first civil disobedience, this is the opening salvo. We're ready to go out in front of bulldozers." Said Steve Norris of Asheville, NC who was among the 50 plus protestors taking part in the occupation. Greg Yost of Mars Hill, NC was quoted as saying, "Gov. Roy stuck a stick in a hornet's nest. This occupation today is the leading edge of what's going to happen as the pipeline fight enters a new stage." Cooper's Department of Environmental Quality recently granted the ACP a much needed water quality permit but the pipeline still has other permits it must acquire before construction can begin in NC. Additionally the builders of the pipeline which include Duke Energy and Dominion Energy are facing lawsuits aimed at stopping the pipeline. In addition to it being a disaster for the climate many are pointing to the pipeline as a clear example of environmental racism. The pipeline is curiously routed around the well to do Raleigh area and instead will tear through some of NC's poorest and racially diverse rural areas. The pipeline terminates on Lumbee Indian land in Robeson county where locals fear it will destroy burial grounds and other sacred sites. (more...) Germany: Hambach Forest Defenders Call for Day of Action on February 3 from Hambach Forest On January 22, the police tried in vain to clear the occupied barricades in the forest with an expensive action. Even the attempt to present the "violent ecoterrorists" to the present regional deputies of the SPD and AfD failed. For our resistance is colorful, courageous and broader than ever. Nevertheless, now 9 climate activists are in custody. They are accused of resistance to law enforcement officers. For opposing their bodies to the evacuation machines. For having decided to peacefully but firmly demonstrate against lignite mining and for a climate-friendly world. Never before in the history of this forest occupation, so many activists were imprisoned at the same time. The violence against them is violence against all of us. The repression that hits them is addressed to us all. It is a clear attempt to intimidate us and thus an attack on the entire climate justice movement. They try to set an example against the refusal of personal data, that, for example, at the last Ende Gelande action again proved to be an effective means. They try to take any form of resistance from us: in case of militant resistance we are isolated, criminalized and isolated. By their massive repression against our civil disobedience, we not only experience direct police brutality through brutal evictions and painful ED treatments, but we are also locked away indefinitely. Hudson Valley Earth First! has decided to end the tree sit against the Valley Lateral Pipeline. The tree sit lasted a full 23 days, and was effective in causing the pipeline company to reroute their project around the protest. Due to these circumstances and others, the brave individual(s) who occupied it have left for the time being. No one was arrested. Too often these types of protests have no time line other than when the forces of repression decide to intervene. By keeping our comrades warm and free, we can ensure that they might be (a)effective in the continued fight to defend the wild. Our goal has not been to fight an arrest in court as if this is a civil rights or civil disobedience issue. We already know the law and the court system does not side with the health of every day people, the wild, or this planet. Millennium pipeline, the FERC agency, and New York State have already proven this. This project has a 6 month time line, there is still forest and other habitats to be defended, and things are heating up (metaphorically) here in the North as this fight continues. Email us if you would like to attend our upcoming action camp and climb training or plug in more generally. (more...) An Activist Stands Accused of Firing a Gun at Standing Rock. It Belonged to Her Lover-- An FBI Informant by Will Parrish / The Intercept Photo: Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune/AP AS LAW ENFORCEMENT officers advanced in a U-shaped sweep line down North Dakota Highway 1806 last October, pushing back Dakota Access opponents from a camp in the pipeline's path, two sheriff's deputies broke formation to tackle a 37-year-old Oglala Sioux woman named Red Fawn Fallis. As Fallis struggled under the weight of her arresting officers, who were attempting to put her in handcuffs, three gunshots allegedly went off alongside her. According to the arrest affidavit, deputies lunged toward her left hand and wrested a gun away from her. Well before that moment, Fallis had been caught in a sprawling intelligence operation that sought to disrupt and discredit opponents of the pipeline. The Intercept has learned that the legal owner of the gun Fallis is alleged to have fired was a paid FBI informant named Heath Harmon, a 46-year-old member of the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota. For at least two months, Harmon took part in the daily life of DAPL resistance camps and gained access to movement participants, even becoming Fallis's romantic partner several weeks prior to the alleged shooting on October 27, 2016. In an interview with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a recording of which was obtained by The Intercept, Harmon reported that his work for the FBI involved monitoring the Standing Rock camps for evidence of "bomb-making materials, stuff like that." Asked what he discovered, Harmon made no mention of protesters harboring dangerous weapons, but he acknowledged storing his own weapon in a trailer at the water protectors' Rosebud Camp: the same .38 revolver Fallis is accused of firing. Harmon spent the day of October 27 with Fallis and was nearby during her arrest. He continued to withhold his FBI affiliation from his then-girlfriend in phone conversations with her while she was being held at the Morton County jail in Mandan, North Dakota, records show. Investigators' notes on those calls were distributed to the ATF, two local sheriff's departments, and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Bismarck, among others. Federal prosecutors are charging Fallis with civil disorder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and discharge of a firearm in relation to a felony crime of violence -- perhaps the most serious charges levied against any water protector. If convicted of discharging the weapon, she faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and the possibility of a life sentence. She has pleaded not guilty. (more...) Australia: Community Members Lock-on to Stop Adani from Starting Work on their Mega Coal Mine Central QLD, 25th October: As Adani promises to start work on the rail line to what would be Australia's largest new coal mine, several people have locked-on to construction machinery, vowing to do whatever it takes to peacefully stop Adani's mega coal mine from proceeding in Central Queensland. Supported by over a dozen people, one person is locked-on to a front-end loader, another to an excavator and a third person to a grader, stopping work from proceeding at one of Adani's work sites, near Belyando on Jangga country. Workers are on site. "I'm scared about my children's future. I think our government is seriously underestimating the potentially devastating impacts of climate change. Now is the time to take a stand. I'm an ordinary person taking extraordinary action to stop this mine." said, Gail Hamilton, an engineer and former council employee from Townsville. Superior, WI - Resistance against Enbridge's Line 3 Pipeline expansion is ramping up. Near the Fon du Lac Reservation, at the frontline camp, Makwa , water protectors, land defenders, warriors, and others have participated in a wave of civil disobedience that has resulted in 16 arrests in multiple actions that have delayed construction work on the pipeline in the last month. On the morning of September 18, Unicorn Riot covered another direct action to stop construction on the Wisconsin side of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. These direct actions have targeted the construction of the Line 3 pipeline expansion in Wisconsin. Line 3 carries diluted bitumen slugged out of the Alberta, Canada tar sands through Minnesota and into Wisconsin's Calumet Superior Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin. While necessary permits for pipeline construction have yet to be granted in Minnesota, in Wisconsin, construction is nearly complete. We are following today's actions in hopes of learning more about the growing resistance against the Enbridge Line 3 that's already being built through both Canada and Wisconsin, despite no permits being granted in Minnesota. Direct action underway to stop Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline construction. Watch LIVE here: https://t.co/W5G6816egU #StopLine3 #WaterIsLife pic.twitter.com/MhxEBcAJYc -- Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) September 18, 2017 Ende Gelande: The Battle for Coal on the Potato Field by Janek Rovensky and Petr Zewlak Vrabec / Political Critique E nde Gelande - two words that have become synonymous with a nonviolent, radical, mass- and non-hierarchical movement for climate justice in Europe. On the last weekend of August, thousands of people wearing the distinctive white overalls with a reversed pick and a hammer were shouting these two worlds: "Ende Gelande! Ende Gelande! Ende Gelande!" All of them took part in this year's civil disobedience action on the premises of coal mines, power plants, and the related infrastructure of RWE's energy company in Rhineland. They returned to the same spot after two years, and showed that it's not easy to step into the same river twice. The police this year were clearly determined to prevent anyone from even approaching the mine or power plant fence. Hundreds of cops manoeuvred with tear gas cans strapped to their uniforms and several helicopters flying over their heads like one well-trained organism. Friday was a field day: the protests were halted at the road, three miles from the actual fence, for the whole day.. Only a few dozen people reached the mine entrance, and shortly after were attacked by RWE's employees and later detained. On Saturday, the luck returned to the protesters. Literally thousands of people managed to bypass the mobile police cordons and reached the rails, on which all the coal from the mines is transported to power stations. The battle of the day unfolded on the potato field, beside the tracks: stumbling policemen vs. stumbling protesters. The police tried to surround the demonstrators. Eventually, they succeeded - but not entirely: several small groups of activists sneaked through the tight cordons and blocked the rails for most of the afternoon, giving photographers a lot opportunities to take photos of people dragged around by policemen in riot gear. Preparing the Soil: Grassroots Environmentalism in Gaspesie, Canada (with August 2017 Update) The Gaspe Peninsula On August 7, militant ecologists established a hard blockade at the entrance to the Galt Site near Gaspe [a city at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in the Gaspesie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine region of eastern Quebec, Canada]. This is a highly strategic action, timed several weeks before Junex is slated to begin unconventional horizontal drilling, and just after it was announced that their government cronies will be hooking with a cool 8.4 million taxpayer dollars. Because of widespread opposition to fracking in so-called Quebec and the Maritimes, and the fact that Junex is a junior company propped by government hand-outs, we believe that this is a highly winnable fight. This is a hard blockade which the militants are prepared to forcibly defend and as such represents a stark escalation in ecological resistance in our bioregion. What happens in the next two weeks is critical. It is imperative that we stop the industry from getting a hold in Gaspesie, and now is the time to do it. The following article was published in the Earth First! Journal in the Litha/Summer, 2016 issue, and is reposted here to provide context to anglophones about the years-long struggle against the fledgling oil and gas industry in Northern Mikmaki, a struggle that has garnered little attention outside of so-called Quebec. Stayed tuned for more information, and if it makes sense for you, start making plans to get yer asses to the front-lines! Preparing the Soil: Grassroots Environmentalism in Gaspesie When I first traveled to Gaspe --a city at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in eastern Quebec--I was deeply taken with the magnificence of the terrain. It's a land where the elemental power of nature makes its presence felt. If you've been to Gaspe, you likely know what I mean. If you haven't, but have only heard of it from people who have been, chances are you've felt the enchantment of this place even then, because those who describe their experiences of Gaspe easily fall into a tone of voice and manner of speaking reminiscent of someone recalling a beautiful dream. For the past few years, folks in eastern Quebec have been doggedly organizing against a slew of major industrial projects that have largely escaped the notice of the non-francophone environmentalist movement. For this reason, I decided to go to Gaspe to investigate the plans for industrialization, as well as the resistance to it. Click HERE for new 1/2 sheet Flyer (text copy/pasted below from PDF) WRITE TO Marius Mason (*address envelope to M. Mason*) #04672-061, FMC Carswell, P.O. Box 27137, Fort Worth, TX 76127, USA Marius Mason is an anarchist, environmental and animal rights activist currently serving nearly 22 years in federal prison for acts of property damage carried out in defense of the planet. After being threatened with a life sentence in 2009 for these acts of sabotage, he pled guilty to arson charges at a Michigan State University lab researching genetically modified organisms for Monsanto, and admitted to 12 other acts of property damage. No one was physically harmed in these actions. At sentencing the judge applied a so-called "terrorism enhancement," adding almost two years to an already extreme sentence requested by the prosecution. This is the harshest punishment of anyone convicted of environmental sabotage to date. Marius is incarcerated in the high security Administration Unit at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, a unit "designed for female inmates with histories of escapes, chronic behavior problems, repeated incidents of assaultive or predatory behavior, or other special management concerns..." (2016; FMC Carswell Information Packet). Marius did not have a record of violating prison rules. It appears he is being held in this unit because of his political beliefs and in an effort to silence him. Marius came out to his friends, family and supporters as transgender in 2013. Previously known as "Marie Mason," he changed his name, uses male pronouns, and embarked on a course to get a medical diagnosis that would allow him to seek gender affirming surgery and hormone therapy. The Board of Prisons (BOP) has already diagnosed Marius as having gender dysphoria, and has made some clothing and commissary accommodations in accordance with their established policy. Interview with Ruby Montoya and Jessica Renzicek On July 24, Ruby Montoya and Jessica Reznicek held a press conference in which they read a prepared statement while standing in front of the Iowa Utility Board (IUB). In the statement, Ruby and Jessica confessed to arson and other acts of sabotage along the Dakota Access pipeline, describing what they did in detail and stating their reasons (expanded upon below). They then took a crowbar and hammer and began pulling off the letters of the IUB sign before being arrested. They were released from jail the next day and charged with fourth degree criminal mischief. The day after that, the three of us had a phone call. Onion: What was the thought process and the goals of choosing to write a statement admitting guilt instead of releasing an anonymous communique about your actions? Ruby: Jess and I have been doing this and we formed a solid team of two and we discussed claiming responsibility for these actions after being called by the Intercept about illegal surveillance and DAPL security that was done and it began to feel like we as a collective started to focus on all the shitty things the state and all the corporations they protect do instead of focusing on stopping the pipeline.. We saw it as an opportunity to come forward and refocus the issue that we need to stop this pipeline and it doesn't matter how dirty the other side plays. We seem to get caught up and fragmented in that stuff and lose sight of our goal, which is still stopping this pipeline. And, making something anonymous in these particular circumstances, I feel, distances and eliminates and fragments further instead of trying to humanize these things as viable and peaceful options for the resistance.

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The past week in Trump Land has been a roller coaster of bizarre tales and absurd explanations. Most of which were provided by Donald Trump's newly minted lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. In a whirlwind tour of Fox News programs, Giuliani tried to offer justifications for Trump's web of lies related to his affair with Stormy Daniels and the subsequent hush money payoff to suppress news of the incident. But he only made things worse by blurting out admissions to potential criminal activity that hadn't been raised before. On Saturday night Giuliani resumed stumping for Trump with a visit to "Judge" Jeanine Pirro of Fox News. And true to form, he only succeeded in stirring up more trouble for his client who is already in a fairly deep legal bog. Giuliani's wild-eyed raving made little sense and his grasp of the law was laughably off kilter. And if he thought he was advancing the interests of Trump, he was insane as well. One of the first things out of his mouth was speculation that a case before the Virginia grand jury involving Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, might just be an attempt to "flip" him into providing testimony against Trump. Of course there would nothing to worry about on that account unless there was something to flip. So Giuliani introduced that notion on his own. He followed that up with the false claim that the judge in that case called it a "witch hunt." He didn't. Giuliani went on for awhile about how "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should step up and dismiss this entire investigation." He asserted that "There is no evidence of collusion with the Russians. Gone. There is no evidence of obstruction of justice." But there have already been dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas that suggest that the investigation has merit and should continue. And then he launched into a full blown manic episode (video below): "The President of the United States did not in any way violate the campaign finance law. Every campaign finance expert, Republican and Democrat, will tell that if it was for another purpose, other than just for campaigns, even if it was for campaign purposes, if it was to save his family, to save embarrassment, it's not a campaign donation. "And second, even if it was a campaign donation, the President reimbursed it fully with a payment of $35,000 a month that paid for that and other expenses. No need to go beyond that. Case over. That case should be dismissed by the Southern district of New York. At least with regard to President Trump." First of all, it is preposterous to say that every campaign finance expert would say that there was no campaign finance violation. Lots of them are saying that there is. Just turn on the TV like your boss does all day long. More to the point, Giuliani asserts that there is no violation even if the funds were used for campaign purposes if it was to "save his family, to save embarrassment." Is he listening to himself? If it was for campaign purposes it was unambiguously a violation. And Giuliani's next point asserts that even a campaign donation would have been legal because Trump paid it back. But if it was paid back without disclosing it in his campaign finance reporting, that's illegal. And as Giuliani says, "No need to go beyond that. Case over." It also isn't especially good lawyering when your counsel says on national TV that "I'm not an expert on the facts." And repeating a previous slander of the FBI as Nazi Storm Troopers hardly seems like positive messaging. Even if he falsely claims that "the judge basically said that." He didn't. And asking for the case in New York to be dismissed, "At least with regard to President Trump," makes no sense at all. That case is against Michael Cohen, not Trump. Giuliani appears intent on proving that he's utterly incapable of handling a parking ticket, much less a case as complex and legally hazardous as this. But one of the most peculiar comments in this interview came when Giuliani attempted to belittle testimony given by Hillary Clinton (who was interviewed by both the FBI and Congress for eleven hours). He stroked his own hand and said: "Nice nice nice. Poor little Hillary. We gotta be nice to her. No under oath. We'll take that now." Setting aside Giuliani's embarrassing playacting, if he's willing to agree to an FBI interview without being under oath, no doubt Robert Mueller would be as well. After all, you don't have to be under oath to be required to tell the truth. And lying to either the FBI or Congress is crime even without taking an oath. So shut up already and present your client (who says no one wants to talk more than he does) for the interview, and we can get this thing over with. What are you all afraid of? How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance. Available now at Amazon.

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You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! DETROIT ( ChurchMilitant.com ) - The U.S. Bishops are declaring that everyone has a right to universal health care, and in a new letter to Congress, they're warning there should be an alternative medical plan if Obamacare is repealed. While Catholic Tradition does not teach health care is a universal right, in a letter released Wednesday, Bp. Frank J. Dewane, Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development for the USCCB, said, "We remain committed to the ideals of universal and affordable health care." Earlier this month, President-elect Trump called Obamacare "a lie from the beginning" in a tweet . Mike Pence, vice president-elect, has said the "first order of business is to repeal and replace Obamacare." Despite an expected 25-percent increase in premiums for 2017 and the near-crashing of many healthcare exchanges even before the election, Bp. Dewane went on to express in the letter, "We recognize that the law (Obamacare) has brought about important gains in coverage, and those gains should be protected." Despite a confrontation between the Catholic bishops and the Obama administration during the time of the roll-out, the Huffington Post pubished an article this week titled " Catholic Bishops Are Urging Congress to Halt Obamacare Repeal ." Bishop Dewane admitted the bishops agreed with the general goal of Obamacare, but it had problems because it wrongly "expanded the role of the federal government in funding and facilitating abortion and plans that cover abortion, and it failed to provide essential conscience protections and access to health care for immigrants." The letter further quoted Pope Francis as a reason to support universal health care: "[W]e note for now that a repeal of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act ought not be undertaken without the concurrent passage of a replacement plan that ensures access to adequate health care for the millions of people who now rely upon it for their well being." Trump has said that he doesn't plan merely to repeal Obamacare but also to replace it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said replacing Obamacare is "pretty high on our agenda." In a campaign release in October of Donald Trump's Contract With the American Voter , Trump revealed what he will do in his first 100 days in office : [The] Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: There are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications. The letter was issued just days after influential Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston called health care "foundational" and said governments have a "moral obligation" to provide such care to all citizens. Samuel Gregg, Research Director at the Acton Institute, aruged in Crisis Magazine that universal, federally operated health care is not necessarily a part of Catholic teaching. Rather, Gregg offers, "Clearly there are many issues that even a well-founded recognition of a right to access health care cannot resolve by itself. Nor is it obvious that government top-down control of healthcare is the only (let alone the most optimal) way of actualizing such rights." Gregg further offers the principle of subsidiarity, which "reminds us that there are numerous communities that precede government institutions and which help establish many of the conditions that assist people to promote, protect and freely choose the good of health." When Obamacare rolled out in 2013, the website crashed twice in one week. Private insurance companies were placed under strict federal government scrutiny and Catholic institutions in particular were harmed by Obamacare when "conscience protections" failed to be added. Protections weren't guaranteed until May 2016, when the Little Sisters of the Poor were given an exemption by the Supreme Court because of the scheme that forced them to participate in a scheme that would cover contraceptives to employees. Mitch McConnell predicted late last year that regardless of who won the White House, changes would need to be made to avoid " crashing " the entire system owing to rising premiums. We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.

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"Top Senate challenger in California is white supremacist with anti-Semitic agenda" (JTA, 4.30.18) "The GOP's 'Nazi Problem' Comes to California with Anti-Semitic Holocaust Denier Candidate" ( Haaretz , 5.1.18) This was all news to me, and I'm rather well informed about California politics and its intersection with the Jewish community. Who is Patrick Little, this "top" Republican running for office, and what is this GOP "Nazi Problem"? I called my friends at the California Republican Party and quickly spoke to the chairman of the party. He thanked me for calling and shared that immediately upon hearing about these headlines, he issued a same-day declarative denunciation of the candidate in the name of the CRP, issued by the senior communications official: Mr. Little has never been an active member of our party. I do not know Mr. Little and I am not familiar with his positions. But in the strongest terms possible, we condemn anti-Semitism and any other form of religious bigotry, just as we do with racism, sexism, or anything else that can be construed as a hateful point of view. Concise. Morally clear. Commendable. But who is Patrick Little? No one knows! I spent the day reaching out to party officials and representatives. To everyone's knowledge, Little has never run for public office, never donated to the GOP, never been active in any campaigns, never offered any thought leadership in conservative circles, never spoken at or attended a GOP convention or been associated with any Republican elected official. No one had ever met him or heard of him. What the heck is going on here? Do you think that maybe the ideological perspectives of Haaretz and The Forward might cause them to highlight so loudly a completely unknown person as somehow a top contender for the U.S. Senate from the largest state in the union? Any possible mischief in writing in bold, "The GOP's Nazi Problem"? Let's stipulate two things: 1. The reporting about Patrick Little indicates he's beneath "little." If accurate, he's pathetic, a hater, loser, conspiracy theorist, and nut-job. 2. Since no experienced or well funded Republican is challenging wealthy incumbent Democrat senator Dianne Feinstein in 2018, it's possible that, according to the only poll cited in the articles, 18 percent of primary voters "support" Little. Isn't it clear though that these polls reflect likely Republican voters expressing endorsement of a Republican without knowing anything about him? Little has apparently no campaign and no money. He has sent no mailers to voters and doesn't even have a campaign website. He has appeared in zero debates. He is unknown . I understand informing the Jewish community about anti-Semites, who exist in both parties. Longtime senior Democratic congressman and DNC leader Keith Ellison worked for Minister Louis Farrakhan, and Farrakhan has met with many elected Democrats in Congress. Very disturbing. Very ugly. But context and care must be applied as well. Little is not going to be a U.S. senator. Mr. Little is not going to win the primary. Little leads no movement, has no following, and is not a "top" Republican. The never-ending point-scoring game, in which biased media and political partisans, mostly based in Washington, D.C., constantly highlight the absurd, fringe anti-Semites in each party, is moving American Jewish politics from contentiousness to something more sinister. I think the polls that matter are those that show upwards of a 50-point differential between Republicans and Democrats on issues such as support for Israeli defensive actions against Palestinian terror or Islamist jihadi threats. I think Senator Dianne Feinstein's record is an issue. She double-crossed Senator Bob Dole, after having co-sponsored the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act (1995), when she pulled her support for the measure in order to undermine Mr. Dole's presidential run in 1996. She has been a consistently rough critic of Israel ever since, and she castigated President Trump for his decision to move the U.S. embassy, which will occur this month, after repeated promises by presidents of both major parties. Agree or disagree, Senator Feinstein's ambiguous support for the Jewish state is an issue worthy of media attention. Democrat Calif. state senator Kevin de Leon is an issue. He is Dianne Feinstein's major opponent. He publicly claimed that "half my family is in California illegally." That means they likely used stolen identities to get employment and driver's licenses. That seems an issue worthy of debate. At the California Democratic Party convention this spring, de Leon prevented incumbent senator Dianne Feinstein from securing the party's endorsement. The rise of a radical left in California is an issue for many Jewish voters. The fact that California is a one-party state, ranking at the bottom of the 50 states in tax burden, welfare, crime, state pension liabilities, 4th- and 8th-grade educational results, and business climate - now, that is an issue for sincere citizens across party lines. Golden State Republicans do not have a strong enough bench to offer a serious candidate likely to make the "top two" runoff in the November general election. That too is worthy of commentary and analysis. But big bold headlines a few weeks before the June primary election seem calculated to raise the profile of a no-name. Might it serve far-left Jewish media outlets to highlight and battle the "GOP's Nazi Problem"? Clickbait and smearing the GOP all in one. I stipulate that there are bad actors in both parties. But could there be any media bias (dare I say fake news?) in painting Republicans as Nazis? Look, the sky is falling! Don't look at the mess President Obama left in the Middle East, the lies told by former secretary of state John Kerry about Iran's nuclear program, or the recent revelations of Obama's huge gifts of money to the Palestinians on his way out of office. Instead, virtue-signal in battle against the "GOP's Nazi Problem" - without first calling the Republican Party for comment or information, by the way. California Republicans disavowed someone they had never met, without prompting, simply because his reported views disgust them. Then they banned Little from their convention, just held in San Diego. If we cannot agree that 99 percent of Republicans and Democrats condemn Nazis and white (and black) supremacists, then we are beyond reasonable discourse. Larry Greenfield is former Calif. director of the Republican Jewish Coalition and a columnist with www.JewishJournal.com . I received a text from a prominent pro-Israel leader alerting me to online headlines that screamed, over three consecutive days, in large bold type: "Top Republican in California Senate Race Called for Government Free from Jews" ( The Forward , 4.29.18) "Top Senate challenger in California is white supremacist with anti-Semitic agenda" (JTA, 4.30.18) "The GOP's 'Nazi Problem' Comes to California with Anti-Semitic Holocaust Denier Candidate" ( Haaretz , 5.1.18) This was all news to me, and I'm rather well informed about California politics and its intersection with the Jewish community. Who is Patrick Little, this "top" Republican running for office, and what is this GOP "Nazi Problem"? I called my friends at the California Republican Party and quickly spoke to the chairman of the party. He thanked me for calling and shared that immediately upon hearing about these headlines, he issued a same-day declarative denunciation of the candidate in the name of the CRP, issued by the senior communications official: Mr. Little has never been an active member of our party. I do not know Mr. Little and I am not familiar with his positions. But in the strongest terms possible, we condemn anti-Semitism and any other form of religious bigotry, just as we do with racism, sexism, or anything else that can be construed as a hateful point of view. Concise. Morally clear. Commendable. But who is Patrick Little? No one knows! I spent the day reaching out to party officials and representatives. To everyone's knowledge, Little has never run for public office, never donated to the GOP, never been active in any campaigns, never offered any thought leadership in conservative circles, never spoken at or attended a GOP convention or been associated with any Republican elected official. No one had ever met him or heard of him. What the heck is going on here? Do you think that maybe the ideological perspectives of Haaretz and The Forward might cause them to highlight so loudly a completely unknown person as somehow a top contender for the U.S. Senate from the largest state in the union? Any possible mischief in writing in bold, "The GOP's Nazi Problem"? Let's stipulate two things: 1. The reporting about Patrick Little indicates he's beneath "little." If accurate, he's pathetic, a hater, loser, conspiracy theorist, and nut-job. 2. Since no experienced or well funded Republican is challenging wealthy incumbent Democrat senator Dianne Feinstein in 2018, it's possible that, according to the only poll cited in the articles, 18 percent of primary voters "support" Little. Isn't it clear though that these polls reflect likely Republican voters expressing endorsement of a Republican without knowing anything about him? Little has apparently no campaign and no money. He has sent no mailers to voters and doesn't even have a campaign website. He has appeared in zero debates. He is unknown . I understand informing the Jewish community about anti-Semites, who exist in both parties. Longtime senior Democratic congressman and DNC leader Keith Ellison worked for Minister Louis Farrakhan, and Farrakhan has met with many elected Democrats in Congress. Very disturbing. Two current Republican congressional candidates, in Wisconsin and Illinois, are a Nazi Party leader and a white supremacist. Very ugly. But context and care must be applied as well. Little is not going to be a U.S. senator. Mr. Little is not going to win the primary. Little leads no movement, has no following, and is not a "top" Republican. The never-ending point-scoring game, in which biased media and political partisans, mostly based in Washington, D.C., constantly highlight the absurd, fringe anti-Semites in each party, is moving American Jewish politics from contentiousness to something more sinister. I think the polls that matter are those that show upwards of a 50-point differential between Republicans and Democrats on issues such as support for Israeli defensive actions against Palestinian terror or Islamist jihadi threats. I think Senator Dianne Feinstein's record is an issue. She double-crossed Senator Bob Dole, after having co-sponsored the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act (1995), when she pulled her support for the measure in order to undermine Mr. Dole's presidential run in 1996. She has been a consistently rough critic of Israel ever since, and she castigated President Trump for his decision to move the U.S. embassy, which will occur this month, after repeated promises by presidents of both major parties. Agree or disagree, Senator Feinstein's ambiguous support for the Jewish state is an issue worthy of media attention. Democrat Calif. state senator Kevin de Leon is an issue. He is Dianne Feinstein's major opponent. He publicly claimed that "half my family is in California illegally." That means they likely used stolen identities to get employment and driver's licenses. That seems an issue worthy of debate. At the California Democratic Party convention this spring, de Leon prevented incumbent senator Dianne Feinstein from securing the party's endorsement. The rise of a radical left in California is an issue for many Jewish voters. The fact that California is a one-party state, ranking at the bottom of the 50 states in tax burden, welfare, crime, state pension liabilities, 4th- and 8th-grade educational results, and business climate - now, that is an issue for sincere citizens across party lines. Golden State Republicans do not have a strong enough bench to offer a serious candidate likely to make the "top two" runoff in the November general election. That too is worthy of commentary and analysis. But big bold headlines a few weeks before the June primary election seem calculated to raise the profile of a no-name. Might it serve far-left Jewish media outlets to highlight and battle the "GOP's Nazi Problem"? Clickbait and smearing the GOP all in one. I stipulate that there are bad actors in both parties. But could there be any media bias (dare I say fake news?) in painting Republicans as Nazis? Look, the sky is falling! Don't look at the mess President Obama left in the Middle East, the lies told by former secretary of state John Kerry about Iran's nuclear program, or the recent revelations of Obama's huge gifts of money to the Palestinians on his way out of office. Instead, virtue-signal in battle against the "GOP's Nazi Problem" - without first calling the Republican Party for comment or information, by the way. California Republicans disavowed someone they had never met, without prompting, simply because his reported views disgust them. Then they banned Little from their convention, just held in San Diego. If we cannot agree that 99 percent of Republicans and Democrats condemn Nazis and white (and black) supremacists, then we are beyond reasonable discourse. But the statement of the California Republican Party wasn't the headline, or even in the articles. It should have been, rather than the "Chicken Little" partisan journalism we saw instead. Larry Greenfield is former Calif. director of the Republican Jewish Coalition and a columnist with www.JewishJournal.com .

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This morning, around 7:40 a.m., a man entered the transit hub at Times Square in Manhattan and set off what appeared to be a pipe-bomb that was strapped onto his body. Stop me if you've heard this one before. The only person injured was the would-be suicide bomber . A Brooklyn man has been arrested after allegedly detonating a homemade pipe bomb inside the Port Authority https://t.co/JdHgIez0Fe pic.twitter.com/QuNAxQRGv8 -- New York Post (@nypost) December 11, 2017 An ISIS-inspired Bangladeshi national set off an homemade explosive device at the Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station Monday morning, law enforcement sources said. The suspected bomber - a 27-year-old who lived in Brooklyn - had wires attached to him and was armed with a five-inch metal pipe bomb and battery pack as he walked through the Manhattan transit hub, sources said. The man partially detonated the device, which he was carrying in the right side of his jacket, prematurely inside the passageway to the A, C, and E trains at 8th Avenue and W. 42ndStreet at around 7:40 a.m., sources said. Police took the man into custody. Update: Bill Bratton is on @MSNBC 's #MorningJoe confirming that this was a terrorist attack in the name of ISIS near the Port Authority. https://t.co/v7r55XlYiy -- Holly Figueroa O'Reilly ? BWCS (@AynRandPaulRyan) December 11, 2017 Daniel Horowitz The reports are tentative and subject to change-we are relying upon the news media shortly after the event-but it looks like Donald Trump just got his first terror attack ( oops, my bad, I forgot the Uzbek and the bike path massacre ), presenting him and the people fighting his travel ban with a whole new set of problems.

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Hans-Hermann Hoppe's speech on libertarianism and the alternative right was highly anticipated. Because Hoppe is so misunderstood and an acquired taste, I wanted to dumb it down for the common man to understand. The following is a breakdown of each This article is satire. As a Libertarian I'm quite melancholic. It's been a bad year for Liberty; the insurgent Liberty movement in the Republican Party that I was a part of (which was supposed to put Rand Paul on the American Another year and another International Students For Liberty Conference. The conference bringing libertarians from around the world to Washington, D.C. for a great opportunity to network, party, learn, party, get exposed, party, sit in on a taping of John Stossel, Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Thank you!

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Via The Hill : Hillary Clinton's campaign defended the Democratic presidential nominee on Monday, following criticism of her comment that half of Donald Trump's supporters are in a "basket of deplorables." A Clinton official said that while the candidate has expressed regret over her phrasing, there are at least some Trump supporters her campaign considers to be in the "deplorables" category. "What should she have said? 10 percent? 20 percent? 5 percent? What would have been been a more accurate number?" CNN's Wolf Blitzer asked Clinton spokesman Brian Fallon on his show. "I don't know, Wolf. It's certainly a non-zero number," Fallon responded. "The disdain that Hillary Clinton expressed for millions of decent Americans disqualifies her from public service," Trump said during a speech in Baltimore. "You cannot run for president if you have such contempt in your heart for the American voter, and she does. You can't lead this nation if you have such a low opinion for its citizens," Trump added. ZIP | September 12, 2016 3:30 pm | Comments I'm sure they will be completely honest this time. Hillary Clinton's campaign plans to release additional information about the Democratic presidential nominee's health following her pneumonia diagnosis revealed Sunday. "In the next couple days we're going to be releasing additional medical information about Hillary Clinton," spokesman Brian Fallon said on MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports." Fallon stated that "there's no other undisclosed condition, the pneumonia is the extent of it." The aide cited Clinton's physician to say that Clinton's latest health scare had nothing to do with the concussion she suffered in 2012 while serving as secretary of State. Clinton left a 9/11 memorial early on Sunday after her campaign said she became overheated. The campaign official said Monday he believed Clinton remained conscious despite video the day before showing her stumbling toward a black van as aides held onto her. Fallon fielded questions over Secret Service protocol escorting Clinton away from the memorial and said Clinton wanted to go to her daughter Chelsea's apartment when leaving the memorial, instead of securing immediate medical attention. "Is it up to her?" host Andrea Mitchell pressed. "She was telling everybody in earshot that she was perfectly fine," Fallon responded, noting that aides made attempts to contact her physician, who visited her later. He said Clinton contacted aides by phone while in the car. ZIP | September 12, 2016 2:27 pm | Comments Via Politico : Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has canceled a two-day fund-raising trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles, her campaign said. The announcement came after the candidate apparently fell ill during a 9/11 memorial in New York on Sunday. It was later revealed that Clinton had been diagnosed with pneumonia. Clinton was set to head to San Francisco on Monday for a concert fundraiser with singer k.d. lang, followed by two fund-raising events in Los Angeles, all within 48 hours of her arrival in the Golden State. Clinton was captured on video appearing to stumble as she was helped into a motorcade van on Sunday. Aides said she "overheated," and she went to daughter Chelsea's apartment to recover, emerging a few hours later, waving to press. ZIP | September 12, 2016 2:05 pm | Comments Defendants at the building in the Iraqi city of Fallujah were locked up in tiny, iron cages before being hauled before extremist 'judges' for trials. Horrifically, these cramped cages were built in different shapes - so the men and women inside them were forced to either stand, kneel or curl up. They were also positioned in the same dilapidated room, close to the court where many of the prisoners would later be sentenced to a violent death. The courthouse, discovered by Iraqi soldiers, is thought to have been used by ISIS fighters to hold and sentence their enemies as recently as June. This is the month that the terror group was eventually driven out of Fallujah after controlling the city in Al Anbar since January 2014 Dr. Jill Stein, the Green Party's candidate for president, said Sunday in Iowa that she would not have assassinated Osama bin Laden but would have brought him to justice for his role in the attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001. "I think assassinations ... they're against international law to start with and to that effect, I think I would not have assassinated Osama bin Laden but would have captured him and brought him to trial," Stein said. Bin Laden, the founder of al-Qaida, was shot and killed by U.S. special forces during a raid at a residence in Pakistan in 2011. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and a failed attack that downed a passenger jet in Pennsylvania, killed nearly 3,000 people. Today, tens of thousands of people have become ill and thousands have died from illnesses attributed to the attacks. Stein made her comments in an interview before her first Iowa campaign appearance, a rally that attracted more than 150 on the grounds of the Iowa State Capitol. The organizer and several of the speakers were former national delegates of Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders. During the rally, Stein argued for a renewable energy and jobs program that she says would eliminate fossil fuel use in the U.S. by 2030. She has called for deep cuts in military spending as a way to pay for domestic programs, including having the federal government assume $1.5 trillion in student debt. During her rally remarks, she referred to both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton as "war mongers." She said the 9/11 attacks "provided a pretext for the wrong wars, which have only gotten us into more trouble." Stein said rather than go to war, she would take a "targeted" approach to tracking down terrorists and bringing them to justice for crimes against humanity. HT: Twitchy ZIP | September 12, 2016 12:22 pm | Comments Via NRO : In 2015, Hillary Clinton's campaign produced a two-page letter from her doctor , Lisa Bardack, declaring "she is in excellent physical condition" and suffers from "hypothyroidism, seasonal allergies and takes blood thinners as a precaution against clots." Look back to October 15, 1992, when Bill Clinton's campaign, after months of pressure from the media, finally gave a detailed health history of the candidate. The history revealed a few embarrassing details here and there, but nothing indicating he couldn't handle the physical pressures of the office: Clinton's medical history, as related in letters from four physicians in Little Rock, includes allergies, a left knee ligament strain in 1984, hemorrhoids that same year, and what was described as a "mild hearing loss." A stress test a year ago showed no heart problems, according to Andrew G.Kumpuris, a cardiologist. Though the reports did not mention the subject, Betsey Wright, a Clinton aide, said the candidate has no history of psychiatric or emotional illness. Caffeine is partly responsible for producing gastric acid, similar to heartburn, which inflamed his larynx and harmed his vocal cords. He has been sleeping on a wedge to elevate his head during the night to prevent the gastric juices from rising and to keep his head less congested. His congestion is sometimes so severe, wrote Kelsy J. Caplinger of the Little Rock Allergy Clinic, that it sometimes prevents him from running because he can't breathe. "His hoarseness is related to a combination of nasal allergies, mild esophageal reflux (the gastric juices rising to the esophagus) and especially overuse of his voice," wrote James Y. Suen, his otolaryngologist in Little Rock. "There has been no evidence of any tumors or malignancies." With a recommended low-fat diet and increase in exercise, Clinton also has lowered his cholesterol level to 184, down from 227 a year ago. Most doctors recommend that cholesterol levels stay below 200. Clinton, who stands 6 feet 2 1/2 inches tall, weighed 226 pounds a year ago and bulked up to more than 240 during the high-stress primary season earlier this year. He is now down to 215. Bill Clinton gave his doctors permission to discuss his health records with the media. Three of his four doctors agreed to interviews with the New York Times. Surely Bill Clinton didn't enjoy having his hemorrhoids and weight fluctuation discussed in the media, but it was one day of chuckling, and then it pretty much put the issue of his health to bed. It worked for him. Hillary Clinton's campaign does not appear likely to give anything beyond the letter from Bardack. ZIP | September 12, 2016 12:02 pm | Comments 17:50 mark. Backstory on the video : A cold and wet day. I was not there. This footage off the body of an ISIS fighter by a YPG fighter, a member of one of YPG's Kobani Canton based units. The footage was then taken and shown in several meetings to reveal the shortcomings of the YPG's own defences. What happened? This part of the video shows the end of the battle of Ayn-Isa, where ISIS fighters realise that the Cemsid Kobani's Supra-Haraketli Tabur, originally based out of Tal Abyad, is coming for them. The unit that is attacking the ISIS fighter's position is a unit based out of Kobani Canton who is supporting the counter-attack led by the YPG's main "quick-reaction force" at the time. On the 4th of January, 2016, a large ISIS attack of around 100 fighters surged through the country-side of North Raqqa. The ISIS attack immediately overwhelmed three YPG outposts. ISIS fighters then moved around the eastern-flank of the YPG fighters when Arabs from the Liwa al-Tahrir, at the time a YPG-aligned unit, evaporated at the fae of a column of ISIS fighters. This video is the result of this flanking attack, followed by a short-morning of American airstrikes not seen in the video, followed by rain and clouds that prevented American airstrikes, followed by the original counter-attack that pushed ISIS back the original YPG-line, followed by what's shown in the video of a unit then breaking the back of ISIS unit as it is flanked on its right (not shown), and attacked in the center (shown). ZIP | September 12, 2016 11:42 am | Comments The Freedom From Religion Foundation social justice warriors on the warpath again. It's an issue of the separation between church and state. O'Donnell High School had a painting of the Ten Commandments and a bible verse in the recently-built common area of the school. But when students came to school Thursday morning, both paintings were covered up. O'Donnell ISD Superintendent Dr. Cathy Amonett says she received a letter from a group called the Freedom From Religion Foundation on Wednesday night. The letter said they had received an anonymous complaint about the Ten Commandments and the scripture painted on the school wall. Dr. Amonett says she covered up the paintings to avoid a lawsuit, until a better solution can be found. But covering the commandments quickly created a movement that spread throughout the school. "Be on your guard, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong - 1Corinthians 16-13 - meaning we all just need to stand firm; the whole school came together today." O'Donnell High School junior Katye Gruben posted her reaction on Facebook, one of hundreds of students joining the community-wide conversation. "It's one of the big things that O'Donnell is known for, is keeping their faith strong no matter what. So we just decided that we were going to make it known, that we wanted this as a big deal," Junior Abby Franklin said. Dr. Cathy Amonett initially covered the paintings with black paper, but some students tore that down. Now, the Ten Commandments painting is covered with an American Flag. At Occidental College on Saturday, vandals trashed 2,977 U.S. flags planted in the quad to memorialize those who died on Sept. 11. The students who planted the small American flags found them uprooted and thrown in campus garbage cans. Every last flag. Some were even snapped in half. Not only that, dozens of makeshift fliers accompanied the vandalism. Taped to benches and other surfaces, most of the fliers stated "R.I.P." to 9/11 victims as well as to 1.45 million Iraqis who died "during the U.S. invasion for something they didn't do." Sophomore Alan Bliss, a math and economics major who helped lead the effort to plant the flags, told The College Fix in a telephone interview Sunday that when he and a friend came across the destroyed memorial, three students confronted him and said they found the display "triggering." He said the students also accused him of white privilege and ignorance. Occidental is a small liberal-arts college in Los Angeles known as far-left. President Barack Obama attended for two years before transferring to Columbia. "So when the right or even moderates try to do something on campus there is extreme push back," Bliss said of his school, adding conservatives are a "silent majority" there and some students are even scared of speaking up against progressives for fear of retribution. ZIP | September 12, 2016 10:30 am | Comments The man, who identifies himself as Larry Brayboy, approached chapter chair Grant Strobl at UMich YAF's flag memorial, scolding him for "disrespecting" the lives lost on 9/11 by "covering up" the real story of the attacks. When Strobl asked Brayboy to leave for disrespecting the memorial, Brayboy called him a "useful idiot," and said, "You're full of crap and don't know what you're talking about." Yeah, no. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper claimed that progressing Earth warming is a driver of global terrorism, warning that it will keep fueling instability worldwide long after the most notorious contemporary extremist group, Daesh (also known as the Islamic state/ISIL) is defeated. Speaking about global threats on intelligence summit in Washington, Clapper explained that decrease in the resources like food and water caused by climate change will lead to mounting socio-economical tensions worldwide with people resorting to arms to get crucial life supplies. This would put additional pressure on governments, which will have to struggle to control national borders, respond to inner and outer threats. "I think climate change is going to be an underpinning for a lot of national security issues," he said. The climate change consequences will lead to "the cycle of extremism [to] continue for the foreseeable future," Clapper said, adding that when Daesh is crushed, new terrorist groups will keep emerging. Keep reading... ZIP | September 12, 2016 9:30 am | Comments

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We closed out yesterday's Children's Garden of Stupid Shit Wingnuts Said about the Florida high school shootings with some terrific tweets from students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, telling Donald Trump and Tomi Lahren to get bent. Let's review! It turns out that the survivors of this particular massacre are an angry, mouthy bunch of kids who aren't especially impressed by thoughts and prayers, or by politicians telling them it's too soon to talk about doing something to prevent school shootings. No, they're saying, it's too late for our friends and teachers and that one kid who was always mouthing off in math class, and that's why you have to do something. Let's have a moment of appreciation for some of these kids who aren't willing to let sit still for this anymore -- and keep in mind that if we don't act to reduce gun violence, there are going to be more and more grieving, angry kids out there. You might even think we grown-ups owe them a thing or two, like the chance to see fewer massacres. For starters, there's Cameron Kasky, the 17-year-old up top being interviewed by Anderson Cooper. He wasn't buying that "now is not the time" stuff: Everything I've heard where we can't do anything and this is just out of our hands, it's inevitable, I think that's a facade that the GOP is putting up [...] After every shooting the NRA sends 'em a memo saying "send your thoughts and prayers, say let's not talk about it now, say 'This happens.'" This is the only country where this kind of thing happens. I've been hearing things from people, they don't have gun drills like we do. We had to prepare extensively at Stoneman Douglas, and that shocked people. This is something that can be stopped and something that will be stopped. Kasky didn't have a lot of time for people who think talking about "mental health" is a way to "get out of discussing gun control;" sure, we DO need better mental health treatment in this country, but the real problem, said Kasky, is that his school was attacked by "a 19-year-old who had an AR-15, which is a weapon of war," and it should be harder for anyone to get such weapons. Kasky wrote a guest op-ed for CNN about the attack, and said he feels "called" to make people aware of this problem. He and some friends have started a Facebook page called "Never Again MSD" to serve as a hub for ideas and activism. He added that some people's "thoughts and prayers" don't seem to fit so well with their other priorities, either. There is a section of this society that will shrug this off and send their thoughts and prayers but march for hours if they have to bake a rainbow wedding cake. Then there's David Hogg, a 17-year-old senior who's the student news director at Stoneman Douglas; while he was hiding inside the school cafeteria's office with some 30 to 40 other students, he took out his phone and started interviewing classmates: If he were to die, he said later, he wanted to leave behind some journalism: A story that would echo on and show people that there's a serious issue in this country that people need to face, take a long, hard long at, and realize [that] blood is being spilled on the floors of American classrooms. You can view Hogg's video interview here. One of the girls Hogg interviewed said -- in complete darkness, while hiding out -- that she'd undergone a complete reversal in her opinion on guns. She had been a big fan of the NRA and unlimited rights to guns, but having someone shooting teachers and classmates put her off her plan to spend her 18th birthday at a local gun range: "I don't even want to be behind a gun," she said. "I don't want to be the person behind a bullet. I don't want to be the person to point a bullet at someone. And to have the bullet pointed at me, my school, my classmates, my teachers, my mentors. It's definitely eye-opening to the fact that we need more gun control in our country." That's great, kid, but remember, we say "gun safety" now. It polls better. She said that even in the middle of the chaos Wednesday, it was hard to get her sister, at another location, to believe it was real: "I even texted my sisters, 'Shooting at my school. I am safe,'" the girl said. "They both responded with, 'OMG, LOL, you're funny.' Now that's a problem in society, and it's a bigger problem in America." David Hogg's younger sister, 14, was elsewhere in the building; he told the New York Times that two of her best friends were killed Wednesday. He also was very much aware that, paradoxically, even being in the middle of a school shooting only surprised him because it was happening to him: "On a national scale, I'm not surprised at all," he said of the shooting. "And that's just sad. The fact that a student is not surprised that there was another mass shooting -- but this time it was at his school -- says so much about the current state that our country is in, and how much has to be done." Hogg called on national politicians to get their act together: "We need to do something. We need to get out there and be politically active. Congress needs to get over their political bias with each other and work toward saving children's lives." In an interview with CNN earlier on Thursday, Mr. Hogg expressed his frustration with politicians in simpler terms: "We're children," he said. "You guys are the adults." Oh, David. Have you even watched the "president's" favorite cable news channel? But you have a point. Maybe we adults could act like it now and again. We seem to remember previous generations of adults telling us we needed to fix the world they'd broken, and kids like David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and the girls who took to Twitter to yell at Trump and Lahren, shouldn't have to shoulder cleaning up that mess themselves. Nor should their classmate Carly Novell, who tweeted about the weird coincidence that 70 years ago, her grandfather, Charles Cohen, was the only survivor in his family during a 1949 killing spree that's often considered the first mass shooting in modern-day America (at least by people who call mass lynchings or massacres of Native Americans something else): America's kids are pretty damned good if you ask us. We owe them better than the NRA-inspired nightmares they've been handed.

Then there's David Hogg, a 17-year-old senior who's the student news director at Stoneman Douglas; while he was hiding inside the school cafeteria's office with some 30 to 40 other students, he took out his phone and started interviewing classmates: If he were to die, he said later, he wanted to leave behind some journalism: A story that would echo on and show people that there's a serious issue in this country that people need to face, take a long, hard long at, and realize [that] blood is being spilled on the floors of American classrooms.

Virginia has been put under a state of emergency ahead of the one year anniversary of the deadly Charlottesville Unite the Right rally held by neo-Nazis', ABC News reports. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared the state of emergency and asks that residents "make alternative plans to engaging with planned demonstrations of hate." "Virginia continues to mourn the three Virginians who lost their lives in the course of the demonstrations a year ago," Northam said. "We hope the anniversary of those events passes peacefully." On August 12 , hundreds of white nationalists gathered in Charlottesville for a Unite the Right rally. It was set up to protest the city's plan to get rid of the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. A 32-year-old activist Heather Heyer was killed when a white supremacist drove his car into groups of protesters. President Trump then blamed at least some of the violence on the left. "What about the 'alt-left' that came charging at, as you say, the 'alt-right?'" Trump said at a Trump Tower presser. "Do they have any semblance of guilt? ... You had a group on one side that was bad. And you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I'll say it right now." In addition to Heyer's death, 19 other people were reportedly injured in the violence. The state has allocated 2 million to pay for the response, and designated resources from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Health and Virginia National Guard to be available in Charlottesville over the weekend, the governor's office reports. Heather Heyer's Mom Speaks The mother of Heather Heyer , the young woman who was killed at the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, is keeping her daughter's memory alive by sharing the endearing messages and momentous that she receives from the supportive public. According to the New York Post , every few weeks, Susan Bro walks down 4th Street in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia, until she arrives at a brick wall covered in chalked messages like "Love over hate" and "Gone but not forgotten." "I come just to absorb the energy of the place," Bro, 61, said Tuesday as she stood on the block now named in honor of her daughter. She intends to bring flowers to Heather Heyer Way on Aug. 12 before speaking at an event to mark the anniversary. Heyer was fatally wounded when James Fields allegedly rammed his car into counter-protesters during the rally. Bro said upon seeing her daughter's battered and broken body for the first time, she broke down and made a vow. "I held her hand and said, 'I'm going to make this count.'" "Every time I'm invited on to this network I am being asked to dispute another Black person. The Black community is broken up in general and I don't want to partake in any of that," said Owens She then scolded the MSNBC host saying that the network should worry more about reporting about the recent wave of violence and shootings in Chicago. Dyson, who initially sat patiently waiting for his turn, couldn't wait to weigh in. "I am a Black conservative and I am not hearing anything said about the fact that about 25 white Democrats assembled to kick me out of a restaurant yesterday to throw water and to throw eggs at me because I'm a conservative that supports Donald Trump." She then continued to defend Trump's racist policies, blasting Dyson for not questioning the state of Black America under President Obama. The New York Posts reports that the police would like to interview the twins and believe that this was a miscarriage and not a criminal act. In other reports , it has been said that it could have possibly been a "botched abortion". The fetus is said to be three to six months along, per sources. "As we continue to learn more about this tragic and sensitive situation, we are actively cooperating with law enforcement in their investigation," an American Airlines spokesman said in a statement to PEOPLE. ABC has several upcoming changes to the network as it steadies itself following a rocky year with Kenya Barris and infighting over creative differences with Blackish, and severing ties with Roseanne Barr after her racist tweets. ABC Entertainment president Channing Dungey spoke to Variety about what's to come for the network with the 20th Century Fox merger, Barris decision to leave ABC Studios and the inclusion of the Conners - a new show that won't inlcude Barr. Barris , the man behind the hit ABC sitcom Black-ish has officially left ABC Studios, and the network's decision to ban an episode centered around the NFL 's protests against police brutality could be at the root of it. Dunning said, however, Barris will maintain a broader connection to the network. "First of all, Kenya's broader relationship with the Disney-ABC Television Group goes on, because he still is very involved in "Black-ish," he has "Grown-ish," he has a new show, "Besties." she said. "So there still is an ongoing dynamic with Kenya. I think creatively for writers there is a cycle and I think part of what happened for Kenya, outside of this episode -- because with this episode, we had all been excited to have this one stand alongside episodes like "Lemons" and "Juneteenth," and ultimately we all felt, Kenya, the studio, the network, that we hadn't got to this place creatively where we were telling the story in a way that felt like it could stand alongside those, so the decision was made to shelve it. I think, and you would have to speak to him directly, he had come to a place creatively where creatively he wanted to do some things outside of what broadcast allows you to do, where you don't have to worry about act breaks, and you don't have to worry about standards and practices, and I understand that." But when asked if Dunning had conversations with 20 th Century Fox about the upcoming season since the business relations is about to change, she said not just yet. "We haven't. There are a lot of very specific regulations about how you can engage. So for the moment, we've just been looking at 20th the same way we've been looking at Warners and Sony and our other outside partners. I will say that their team has come in really hot. They were aggressive, they've got a lot of great material, so that's been exciting to see." Dunning who fired Roseanne Barr after calling Obama Advisor Valerie Jarrett an "ape" said the network was aware she had a tendency to use racist terms but Barr said she ready for a new beginning. "We spoke with Roseanne and the producers at the beginning about her past history with the understanding that she came into this with a desire to share some very important stories, to shine a light on a part of the country that hadn't had a spotlight on it in a while, and she was very much saying that she was aware of her behavior in the past and was very much looking forward to starting with a clean slate here. I am a believer in second chances, and we all felt like we were going to put our best foot forward and hope for a good result. And it did not end up that way," Dunning said. ABC greenlit The Conners, a 10-episode spinoff that will feature the same family (minus Barr) and premiere in the fall. " We were very clear about the fact that if we were going to move forward, Roseanne Barr would need to have no involvement with the show. We were able to come to a place where everybody felt comfortable and good about that. But with the specifics as to the conversations that were held between Roseanne and Tom (Werner) you would have to ask him."

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G rowing up in the Los Angeles of the 1970s, I often heard harrowing poolside tales about the stifling atmosphere of life in Soviet-occupied central and eastern Europe, a world of spies and informant neighbours, of bugged telephones and rooms. There was, our family friends told us, a constant threat of being whisked off in dark sedans in the middle of the night to interrogation rooms and prison and Siberian labour camps. The exchange of ideas, to the extent that it was possible in those violent, paranoid times, took place in secret and in person, in cold apartments and the back rooms of cafes, with as little physical evidence as possible. Broadsheets were printed anonymously, manuscripts circulated hand to hand, poems memorized. Although I understood that privacy had its own demons in what was then called the free world--the kitschy fearmongering of the McCarthy years, the files on citizens accumulated by the dark, obsessive director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover--I also believed that such goings-on were decisively part of the past; even their mention evokes, more than anything else, the smouldering, stylized atmosphere of a black and white film. Jeffrey Rosen, an influential US legal commentator and author of The Unwanted Gaze: The Destruction of Privacy in America , insists that preservation of privacy is crucial to the dignity of the individual, and to the freedoms that form the basis of liberal democratic societies. North America and Europe have mostly thrived in the post-World War II era, in part because of what Thomas Jefferson called the "marketplace of ideas": allowing ideas to be exchanged freely in governments, in universities and research centres, in monolithic corporations and small, flexible start-ups, and among thoughtful citizens of all kinds. From our twenty-first-century perspective, the method of exchange seems almost quaint: conversations among people in offices and conference rooms, lecture halls and classrooms, kitchens and coffee shops--venues that have existed in some form since, well, since human beings have engaged in conversations. Often governed by little more than common courtesy and civility, these conversations formed the better part of the public sphere and generated the ideas that have allowed our societies to move forward. The digital era seemed to enable this phenomenon to go completely global in just a few decades. Like so many adopters of email and the Internet, and eventually social media, I assumed that my benign communications with friends and colleagues were not so different from the conversations we used to have over coffee or drinks, except that now I could leap from New York to London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, and even remotest central Asia without ever leaving my Toronto apartment. Suddenly, people could chat with like-minded people time zones and continents away, and ordinary citizens without access to traditional print media could create a website or a blog and weigh in on the issues of the day from their own idiosyncratic perspectives. With the advent of powerful wireless mobile devices and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, all of this could take place anywhere, anytime, at the speed of light, so that otherwise chaotic and volatile events--the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street--could be collectively orchestrated and documented in real time. Best of all, it seemed these exchanges could take place in a condition of unchecked, unregulated freedom and anonymity; the Internet was, we thought, by nature populist, opposed to the powerful hierarchies that suffocate democracy. As early as the 1980s, though, iconoclastic hacker collectives began penetrating the servers of corporations, research laboratories, and the United States government itself. More recent, and far more dramatic, computer security breaches have included Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning's upload of 720,000 US military documents and diplomatic cables to the Swedish-based servers of WikiLeaks; and the ongoing release of classified documents from the National Security Agency by Edward Snowden to journalist Glenn Greenwald and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras. Clearly, the Internet and the global free flow of information have some notable downsides. Along with our increasing anxiety over cyber-spying and cyber-attacks comes a deepening unease over the ubiquity and invasiveness of data mining via our email and social media accounts, and a greater awareness about the impact of cyber-mobbing and bullying and revenge porn. Unifying these diverse concerns is the sense that what is being invaded, and grievously eroded, are both our privacy and our agency. Our sense of agency relies, at least in part, on our ability to control our own stories, and which narratives we choose to keep private. Without privacy, we risk losing control of our stories and, ultimately, ourselves. I n November of 2009, Tom Flanagan, a former Conservative Party operative and right-hand man to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as a professor of political science at the University of Calgary, delivered a lecture titled "Campaign Ethics: Do Canadian Elections Pass the Smell Test? " at the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg. Amid what one can only imagine was a dry discussion about the limits of the adversarial system that dominates politics and law in Canada and the United States, he argued that even the most unpopular, repugnant figures should receive a vigorous defence and a fair day in court; our criminal justice system depends upon it. Flanagan observed that this crucial tenet had been forgotten by Stockwell Day, then provincial treasurer, when he accused Alberta lawyer Lorne Goddard of supporting child pornography because he was willing to defend a person accused of possessing it. Flanagan then went on to remark, "That actually would be another interesting debate for a seminar, like what's wrong with child pornography, in the sense that they're just pictures? " His comment--and what followed four years later--came close to destroying his distinguished, if controversial, career and reputation. He tells his version of events in his latest book, a combination memoir and philosophical rumination, Persona Non Grata: The Death of Free Speech in the Internet Age . His downward spiral began on February 27, 2013, when he delivered a lecture at the University of Lethbridge, in Alberta, entitled "Is It Time to Reconsider the Indian Act? " His views on the act, and more generally on the reserve system in Canada (he advocates for at least partial privatization of tribal lands), are well known by and unpopular with much of the Aboriginal community. The seasoned contrarian arrived at the talk expecting a lively debate with a few dozen students and professors. Activists from local First Nations sympathetic to the Idle No More movement also came out to the lecture in force and were, at least in Flanagan's view, openly hostile. During the question period, a man named Levi Little Mustache delivered a rambling speech that referred to Flanagan's remarks on child pornography years earlier. The professor naively took the bait, arguing that it was unfair to imprison people for simply possessing child pornography rather than directly harming children, alluding to John Stuart Mill's distinction between direct and indirect harm, in his seminal essay On Liberty . Unbeknownst to Flanagan, the whole discussion was recorded on a cellphone. Overnight, a misleadingly edited video with the tag line "Tom Flanagan okay with child pornography" was posted on YouTube by Idle No More activist Arnell Tailfeathers. Condemnation came swiftly, often via Twitter: from the Prime Minister's Office, the president of the University of Calgary, colleagues at CBC (where he served as a political commentator), and newspapers large and small. He was, as he repeatedly suggests, the victim of what Stanley Cohen--author of the classic Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers --calls "moral panic." Cohen writes that moral panic, which in North America can be traced back to such events as the witch hunt that led to the infamous Salem trials in the late seventeenth century, stems from outrage over a perceived threat to the social order, and leads to a suspension of ordinary standards of reason, judgment, and due process. Mobbing, whether in the workplace, the schoolyard, or society at large, happens when moral panic is harnessed by the punitive power of the group. "Mobbing in the physical sense of lynching is much less common than it used to be," Flanagan writes. "But at the same time new opportunities for mobbing have opened up. Social media, combining on the Internet with older mass media, provide an almost cost-free venue for expressing moral outrage. Voila virtual mobbing! Press a few keys and you can join in denouncing someone you've never met but who is reported to have said something offensive." Persona Non Grata would be a self-pitying, self-serving exercise in setting the record straight, by an aging political operative and professor who was thrown under the bus by far more ruthless politicians, had it not raised an important question about the Internet as a venue for conducting the conversations we need to have. Could it be that the Web's global reach, as well as the elaborate and sophisticated forms of social media that come with it, actually stifles freedom of expression rather than promotes it? T he concept of privacy , along with what constitutes human dignity, has shifted over the past fifty years, and even more so over the past decade. Fewer and fewer of us worry about others seeing our bodies, or knowing our sexual preferences, or being aware of our deepest doubts and fears, which we reveal daily on our Facebook and Twitter pages. But privacy, and how it frames our interactions, is less about what we reveal than about what we choose to reveal, and about exerting privileged control over our own unfolding stories. When Edward Snowden exposed the epic scale of NSA surveillance into the digital lives of US citizens and everyone else as part of the broad yet vague war on terror (as with the failed war on drugs, the target is moving and all encompassing), he set in motion a much-needed debate about the degree of intrusion into our private lives we are willing to accept in the name of government security. To think that the issue applies exclusively to the US would be naive. In 2012, Canada's Communications Security Establishment conducted a sweeping, unauthorized, and arguably illegal surveillance operation on mobile devices in and around a Canadian international airport, in what they described as a test run. Anxiety over governments using the latest and greatest technologies to spy on citizens' private lives is hardly new. In his groundbreaking book Privacy and Freedom , Alan Westin set off similar alarm bells back in 1967. He also predicted that government surveillance technologies would appear in the private sector, and that the very idea of being surveilled poses a threat to freedom of expression. Westin's book came out shortly after consumer video cameras appeared on the market in the late 1960s. "Now that such recording devices have become general commodities," he writes in a chapter devoted to the centrality of privacy in modern democratic societies, "we must consider the impact of their use on our freedom of private expression, and the widespread public assumption that our personal conversations are being recorded, whether they are in fact or not." The problem is not only that Big Brother might misuse our personal information for some ulterior purpose, but that loss of privacy in and of itself changes how we communicate with one another. That Snowden stole, by some estimates, close to two million classified documents and ultimately fled to Russia, where his temporary asylum comes up for review this July, is almost irrelevant. Highly sophisticated data mining, advertising, and marketing already gather information about us using methods similar to the NSA' s, and many of us already provide plenty of information about ourselves to the world via social media. At a time when recording devices have become small, cheap, and ubiquitous, all speech is now public, beyond the speaker's control. In Persona Non Grata , Flanagan devotes considerable space to lamenting that, while he was blindsided by a virtual lynch mob when he was off the grid, on the road between Lethbridge and Calgary, he of all people failed to launch a counteroffensive when he still could have; his book, written in less than a year, clearly makes a belated attempt to do so. However, the more compelling passages are philosophical. "There are no longer any reliably private discussions, conversations, or even moments," he writes. "Any sound or image can be recorded. It is now so easy that there is no point trying to prevent it." A few paragraphs later, he spells out the troubling implications: "If everything is eternally public and nothing can be forgotten, individuals lose all private control over their own identity." The importance of privacy in liberal democratic societies has never been about concealing from government or the public our compulsions and perversities: the porn sites we visit; the pathetic, drunken messages we send in the middle of the night; the Google searches that expose our irrational fears and unhinged fantasies. Rather, it is about our capacity to engage in fluid conversations with one another, in a context in which we need not fear being misunderstood or maligned by people we do not even know. Actual conversations are by their nature experimental: ideas are proposed, argued for, revised, and discarded, and new ones are put on the table; that is the process through which problems are creatively solved. The notion that one could be held globally accountable for any single statement shuts down the dialogue as a whole. In the end, we are not global beings who can be in Toronto, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Bishkek, and Kabul at the same time; we are creatures who move forward by talking with people we know and trust and sometimes love. While the global information infrastructure--from the NSA' s servers to celebrities' Twitter accounts--is an irreversible fact, perhaps the way into the future is not through a global conversation conducted online, whatever that really means, but via many smaller, more intimate ones all over the globe. We need to find a way of modelling our digital communications on the forms of etiquette and civility we mostly observe in the immediacy of face-to-face exchanges. Conversation is, after all, an intimate act between people, even strangers hunched over their iPhones thousands of miles apart, and it is that intimacy that makes conversation irreplaceable. This appeared in the May 2014 issue.

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Jurors sitting in courtroom Civil jury trials raise surprising access to justice concerns. Jury trials are less predictable, more expensive and create real risk that the law will play second fiddle to the jury's collective version of "justice." Many lawyers extoll the jury as a sacrosanct tool that ensures common sense and community values are represented and applied in our legal system. The problem is that many people's values and common sense are, knowingly or not, touched by racism, sexism, unfair beliefs and other irrational forces. In many ways, a civil jury trial is more similar to a mini political campaign than a rigorous exercise of applying the law to the facts of a particular case. Juries are generally more easily persuaded by appeals to emotion, lawyer tricks, and bias than are judges. And lawyers know it. We drastically change the way we try cases in front of juries. And judges know it. I've had judges plainly point out during pre-trial conferences that it is more important to have a jury like and relate to your client than it is to have the law and evidence on your side. Unlikeable people and marginalized people are entitled to compensation just as much as anyone else. Immigrants of color are entitled to compensation just the same as white "old stock" Canadians. Trans people are entitled to compensation just the same as cis men. But there are little to no protections put in place to ensure a jury agrees. Juries are unpredictable. You never know who will be called for jury duty. During jury selection, you know nothing about the jury members other than their occupation and names. You have little control over who is eventually picked for the jury. If you were a female immigrant of color, would you want an all-white male jury deciding your case? I wouldn't. But an insurance company might. Insurance companies know that juries can punish people they do not relate to or do not like. Are judges better able to put aside bias and make the right decision? Yes and no. Judges are people too - predominantly white, upper class men. And they make mistakes. But judges must provide written reasons that support and explain their decisions. Those written reasons can then be scrutinized for errors and appealed to higher courts. There are no written reasons in jury trials - just verdicts. Juries are less equipped than judges to decide most civil cases. Pieces of information are kept secret from juries: they are not allowed to know that a large insurance company with deep pockets represents the defendant and pays for the judgment. Juries do not have access to past court decisions to see how the system has dealt with similar cases in the past. In car accident cases, the jury is not told that injured people generally have the first $36,000 of their pain and suffering damages deducted from their award. This means that juries can return a verdict for $30,000 and an injured person receives nothing, loses the case and owes the insurance company a portion of its legal bill. Juries often hear complicated medical, engineering and accounting evidence from conflicting experts retained by both sides. Would you want six people with no medical or vocational training deciding the nature of your injuries or what treatment and income you need for the rest of your life? Jury trials are longer than judge alone trials because of the extra time needed to pick the jury, explain the law to the jury and have the judge rule on what evidence the jury will and will not hear. This means that jury trials are the more expensive option in an already prohibitively expensive justice system. Insurance companies and large corporations are better-equipped to take on the risks of jury trials. An insurance company losing a trial usually means losing an infinitely small percentage of the year's profits. An injured person losing a trial can mean a life of poverty and medical bills. The result is that insurance companies are generally more willing than an average citizen to force a case to be tried by an unpredictable jury. In fact, insurance companies use the threat of a jury trial to push injured people to settle their claims for less money. For lawyers, trying cases with juries is often the most rewarding and exciting work of our careers. The quality of counsel work is generally more important than in judge alone trials, meaning we have more control over the outcome of a case. Perhaps this is part of the reason that so many lawyers defend the right to a jury trial with such vigor? Numerous countries and jurisdictions have reduced or removed the right to a civil jury trial. South Africa does not allow jury trials due to fears of racism tainting decisions. England and parts of Australia do not allow jury trials for personal injury claims. In Canada, you cannot select a jury for civil cases against the Crown. At its most basic parts, our justice system is supposed to provide an inexpensive avenue for all Canadians to resolve their disputes in a fair, impartial way in accordance with the rule of law. Civil jury trials as they currently exist too often push against these core values of our legal system and make it more difficult for average and marginalized Canadians to access justice; it's time for a change. Joseph Fearon is a personal injury lawyer with Preszler Law Firm LLP . Reasonable Doubt appears on www.nowtoronto.com on Mondays. Follow @JWCFearon on Twitter. A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain or formally seek advice from a lawyer. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Preszler Law Firm LLP or the lawyers of Preszler Law Firm LLP.

In many ways, a civil jury trial is more similar to a mini political campaign than a rigorous exercise of applying the law to the facts of a particular case. Juries are generally more easily persuaded by appeals to emotion, lawyer tricks, and bias than are judges.

National Review's Rich Lowry laid out exactly why the "humanitarian crisis" is unfolding at our southern border: because this administration has allowed the rule of law to go by the wayside and . . . Somewhere in America, right now, Hillary Clinton is struggling. This morning, she had to eat eggs that come from a chicken because skyrocketing fuel prices have made griffin eggs all the more . . . Congressman Raul Labrador has decided to run for Majority Leader in Congress, making it a true race between him and Kevin McCarthy. So Mark Levin had him on his radio show last . . . It really seems like Hillary Clinton is having a tough time kick-starting her feminist march into the White House, and surprisingly, it was a softball question from an NPR interviewer that got . . . As we watch Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist army of ISIS attempt to seize control of Iraq, there's already evidence that the group has extended a terror attack deep into Europe: Mehdi Nemmouche, . . . Senator Lindsay Graham is hardly our favorite Republican, but even he had the foresight in 2011 to know that Obama's plan to withdraw our troops from Iraq too quickly would lead to . . . Our nation can debate whether it's in America's interests to go back into Iraq to keep Baghdad from falling to vile extremist terrorist hands, but the most important opinions should be from . . . The details keep getting worse around the impending take over of Iraq by Islamist terrorists who were kicked out of Al Qaeda for being too extreme. In a report from Megyn Kelly, . . . Republicans are attempting to ridicule Hillary's book tour by sending a guy in a giant squirrel costume to her events armed with flyers and the motto, "another Clinton in the White House . . . If you want to bury a story, drop it on Friday afternoon. That's why the IRS revealed today that they "accidentally" deleted the Lois Lerner emails that could have shed some light . . . Charles Krauthammer gives a sobering review of just how bad the situation in Iraq is becoming, and how President Obama's response today was that of someone who has no idea what they . . . The Ed Show program welcomed preacher preacher Dr. Frederick Haynes III just long enough so that he could warp a biblical injunction in order to scold conservative Christians for not supporting the . . . While Mark Levin claims to be no foreign policy expert, he argues we need to defeat those barbarians that are taking over Iraq because they aren't just going to stay in Iraq, . . . I'm gonna just go ahead and say this is nothing but a bunch of HOOEY: WASHINGTON TIMES - The IRS told Congress on Friday that it has lost some of former employee . . . How can your world be politics and yet you don't know that Cantor lost his seat this week? Does this guy even know who he is? (h/t: Hotair) In other news from . . . After reading this article I've got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we are about to loose these 200 Americans because Obama wouldn't save them. Benghazi 2.0. I . . . Sarah Palin says that our lawless president is allowing illegals to flood across the border in order to create a humanitarian crisis so that he can use his 'pen' and his 'phone' . . . Hillary is siding with the president, basically telling Iraq this is their problem to deal with and that we should send no airstrikes to help: CNN - Hillary Clinton said the United . . . Last night Glenn Beck came on Hannity's TV show to basically discuss current events, from the terrorist state forming in Iraq to the GOP and more. Watch: So it appears that the only thing Obama really announced today was that he's not going to send any troops into a combat mission in Iraq. Fox News (via email) puts it . . .

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You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! Michael Voris points out that Judas Iscariot first turned away from Our Lord owing to a personal disbelief in Christ's teaching on His Real Presence in the Eucharist. Voris is referring to the end of chapter six of St. John's Gospel where followers and disciples of Christ abandon Him rather than accept His teaching that He is the Bread of Life. After Christ repeats His teaching on the necessity of eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood, John 6:61 reads , "Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said, 'This saying is hard, and who can hear it?'" John 6:65 relates, "Jesus knew from the beginning, who they were that did not believe and who he was that would betray him." The issue comes to a head with the focus on Judas as John 6:67-72 recounts : After this many of His disciples went back and walked no more with him. Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? ... Jesus answered them: Have not I chosen you twelve; and one of you is a devil? Now he meant Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for this same was about to betray him, whereas he was one of the twelve. Watch the panel discuss how Christ's truth separates the sheep from the goats in Friday's Download--The One True Faith Revisited: Judas and the Eucharist . This week's topics on The Download include Muslims in a PC Culture and Facebook, among others. Catch The Download live Monday-Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET at churchmilitant.com . To view every episode, sign up for a Premium subscription and receive hundreds of hours of quality Catholic content.

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By Joanna Paraszczuk and Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | - - Cartoonists on each side of an Iranian-Saudi diplomatic dispute are highlighting what they perceive as the other's double standards. The confrontation over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric has sent tensions between the regional rivals soaring. Nimr al-Nimr's execution on terrorism charges on January 2 led to angry protests in Iran, including an attack on the Saudi Embassy that prompted Saudi Arabia and several of its allies to cut or downgrade ties with Tehran. In this sample of cartoons, the predominant Saudi view could be summed up as: "Iran opposes Islamic State while fueling terrorism," and the Iranian view as: "Saudi Arabia claims to fight Islamic State while executing innocents, just like IS." Here are two offerings from Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani: -- kotiomkin (@Kotiomkin) January 6, 2016 This image appears on the website of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: These two, from the Tasnim news agency, play on Nimr's status as a martyr in Iran... ...while Fars used crude stereotypes showing Israel behind Nimr's execution -- and harming itself in the process -- as has been asserted by some Iranian officials: The cover of Iranian reformist weekly Seda shows Saudi King Salman and his reflection -- Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi... Cover of #Iran reformist weekly Seda on #IranSaudi spat - #KSA pic.twitter.com/SNFdtv1ozX -- Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) January 7, 2016 ...while this anti-Tehran cartoon puts Baghdadi under the same turban as Khamenei. -- . (@Johani_Ahmad) January 5, 2016 A cartoon in the Saudi daily Okaz shows the restraining hand of Riyadh holding back an Iran bent on wreaking havoc throughout the region: In this one, an Iranian feeds birds in a nest marked "terrorism": Here, the Islamic State group gives first aid to Iran: This image shows Iran above ground as portrayed in the media, while below lurks Iran "in reality." Its tentacles include "treachery," "subjugation," and "aggression": Here, the bottom caption says "Urgent, the coalition is killing civilians": -- `lmyw lshrqy@ (@e3lamyu_alsharq) January 6, 2016 Finally, this, via RFE/RL's Radio Farda, reminds the reader that Tehran -- while crying foul over Nimr's fate -- has jailed hundreds of its own domestic critics: Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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On a variety of social and cultural issues, public attitudes are changing rapidly, and in general, are moving in a progressive direction. But as part of this discussion, let's not forget opinions on marijuana use, which have changed dramatically just over the last few years. The Pew Research Center has been polling on the issue for more than four decades, and its new report is the first ever that shows a majority of Americans now favor marijuana legalization. Not surprisingly, there are significant differences among age groups - adults under 30 are far more likely to support legalization than older generations - but just since 2010, the increase in support is across the board. Even basic assumptions about use of the drug have changed. As recently as 2006, 50% of Americans said smoking marijuana is "morally wrong," but today, the same percentage said this is "not a moral issue." Whereas most Americans used to see marijuana as a "gateway drug" - the belief that people start with pot, which then leads to the use of harder and more dangerous drugs - now, only 38% of the country believes this. What's more, 72% of Americans believe government efforts to enforce marijuana "cost more than they are worth," and of particular interest after last year's elections, 60% believe the federal government should not enforce federal laws in states that allow for marijuana use. Though support has increased among people of every political party by similar amounts in recent years, there is still a difference in partisan attitudes - 59% of Democrats support legalization, as do 60% of independents, but the number drops to 37% among Republicans. Still, if this is the next big issue in the culture war, the trend is unmistakable. And if this shift can lead to a constructive conversation about revisiting drug laws and the incarceration of non-violent drug users, the country would benefit enormously.

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A new research report written by mathematician and DefyCCC editor, Leo Goldstein, alleged that Google's search function is biased against conservative news sites, and specifically notes that the topics of climate change and general politics are impacted as a result. Goldstein's findings According to Goldstein's report, which was based on research conducted through Alexa : Google's search functionality "is found to be biased in favor of left/liberal domains," and "against conservative domains" with what he calls a confidence of 95 percent. The percentage of "hard-left" domain traffic which are referred to websites by Google Search are heavily disproportionate to that of more conservative-leaning websites There appears to be evidence that "hard-left" domains have been "hand-picked" for prominent placement Other incidents of possible censorship In July, a pro-life group alleged that Google removed their site from top search results, and claimed that they had been "singled out" for "discrimination. August saw a former Google engineer at odds with the company who alleged that he was fired over his conservative views. The former employee penned a missive disagreeing with a politically correct company policy that was said to be a push for "diversity" within the company. Google's stance In what the company called a tactic to crack down on "unsupported conspiracy theories" showing up in search queries, Google in April announced that by integrating new algorithms into its search feature, they hoped to reduce "misleading information." Google added that they would have real-life "evaluators" on staff to analyze and monitor Google's organic search results. The company said that evaluators were provided with guidelines to follow in order to "appropriately flag" content that could be deemed "misleading" and "offensive," as well as content believed to be "hoaxes." Google said that the new guidelines would enable search algorithms to assist in demoting what they considered to be "low-quality content." 0 SHARES

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Fox Nation Allows Racist Comments Directed Towards The Obamas Reported by Priscilla - October 17, 2009 - The title of the thread is "Artists Crucifies Ape, Electrocutes Jesus." It links to an article which describes an art exhibit, in a former British church, in which the crucified gorilla demonstrates "the plight of the Western Lowland Gorilla as well as to challenge the idea that animals have no souls." The electrocuted Jesus was "intended to challenge people's notions of race and religion." Not suprisingly, the Fox Nation readers (?) are responding with the perfunctory "libruls are evil," "end of days" and "Muslims are never insulted like this" rhetoric. One of the geniuses even complained about the use of our tax money - it's in London, hellooo??? But it gets better. There were two racist slurs against Michelle Obama that slipped through the moderators. But what is even more noteworthy is the racist slur towards President Obama (and I don't think the poster is referring to the Jesus likeness) that is repeated and somehow hasn't caught the attention of the moderators. Is this accident or design? I report, you decide! Fox News Phone Number a 1-888-369-4762 e-mail - yourcomments@foxnews.com Stay classy Fox Nation!

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In November 2010, a team of around 40 officials from CID and Himachal police raided the Malana village and other surrounding areas in the Parbati valley of Himachal Pradesh, arresting an Italian man in his sixties named Galeno Orazi in the process. Lack of an alternate development model, lure of easy money and arrival of unscrupulous foreigners have turned the beautiful mountain state of Himachal Pradesh into a drug den. Image courtesy: OP Sharma Orazi was arrested from a house in Nerang forest, where he had been staying for several years in direct violation of many legal norms. According to the police, his visa had expired a year before his arrest. The house was stacked with large quantities of ganja (marijuana). Orazi, in every respect, looked like a native of Malana - with a long beard and wearing the traditional attire of the area. For the 12-13 years that Orazi stayed in Malana, he was involved in the production and trade of cannabis with the active connivance of the village people, who find easy money in the production of illicit drugs. The hill state, with its snow-capped mountains and clean air, has always been a preferred destination for the city dwellers. Malana and Kasol have been preferred destinations for Israeli youth, who visit the place in huge numbers, after their mandatory service in the army, for a therapeutic experience. However, the therapy is not provided by the peaceful environs of the mountains but with something for which Malana is now known the world over: Malana Cream, a local variety of hashish; a purified resinous extract of cannabis, highly valued in the international market. Cannabis has always been grown in this area, but was meant for personal consumption and has great level of social acceptance. The local culture, which is guided to a great extent by belief in ' devta' (almost every village in Himachal has their own local deities and all major decisions are taken with their permission), treats cannabis as ' shiv ji ki buti ' and does not see cannabis production as something wrong. Charas/hashish production trends (HP) The problem, however, started with the commercialisation of the production and the entry of foreigners. The locals, who were attracted by the prospects of big money, started producing cannabis and trading it in connivance with the foreigners. Ashok Kumar, SP Narcotics, stressing on this point said, "Earlier, local varieties of cannabis were produced but now hybrid varieties are being grown with the help of foreigners. It is not for personal consumption, rather for trade." Regions that are indentified as important for the illicit cultivation of cannabis in Kullu include Malana and Manikaran, Tosh-kutla Regions, Banjar Valley, and the Sainj Valley in the Aani-Khanag Region. In Mandi district, areas where cannabis cultivation is widespread is Chauhar Bali Chowki (Thachi and Dider Jhamach), and the Gada Goshaini (Siraj Region) contiguous with Banjar Valley. Area vs total yield from the year 2003-16 (HP) OP Sharma, former superintendent of narcotics control bureau (NCB) Chandigarh and currently posted as Sr. Superintendent (Preventive) of Central Excise & Service Tax, Shimla feels that drug problem in Himachal Pradesh has three aspects: (1) Illicit cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy: the production of respective narcotic drugs thereof (2) the illicit trafficking of the drugs so produced, i.e. the supplies to inter-state and international destinations (3) the drug consumption, i.e. the market within the state and outside. The cultivation in turn can be categorised in two parts - the organised cultivation on private lands and government/ forest lands, and the unchecked wild growth of cannabis. According to Sharma, it is the organised cultivation that is of utmost concern. The extent of organisation of the cannabis and opium cultivation can be gauged by this picture taken by Sharma which he shared with Firstpost . The extent of the problem The number of cases registered under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Himachal Pradesh has more than tripled in last decade. 242 people were arrested in 2005 under the NDPS law, which rose to 596 in 2010 and to 622 in 2015. Total number of cases registered under the NDPS act 2005-15 (HP) While the cases registered increased over the years, conviction rates under the NDPS act have been abysmally low. In 2005, the percentage of conviction of those arrested under the NDPS law was 32 percent, which fell to 28.20 percent in 2015. Conviction rate under the NDPS act from 2005-15 (HP) "We have to think about why conviction rate is so less," Kumar said. Looking at the profile of those arrested in Kullu, Chamba and Mandi shows that while majority of them are residents of Himachal, 23 percent are outsiders and 47 percent of those arrested fall in the age group of 20-30. To discuss the different aspects of the drug problem in Himachal Pradesh, a three day conference starting 18 April was held in the state. It was focused on the problem of illicit cultivation, trade and consumption of cannabis and other drugs and was organised by the Institute for Narcotics Studies and Analysis (INSA) in Kullu. Going beyond general theorising, the conference brought together all the major stakeholders to deliberate upon the problem of the drug menace in the state and come out with viable solutions. Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, speaking on the issue, acknowledged the problem and said that addiction of any types is injurious and there is no country that has not faced the problem of drug abuse. "It is a big threat to the country and is destroying the present generation and humanity at large. There is a constant war between people who are trading in drugs and people who want to stop this. We have to stop this at any cost", said Virbhadra Singh. He added, "Government cannot do this alone, people have to make immense contribution in curbing this menace. Syndicates involved in this are very powerful but we have to destroy them". While the reasons behind the drug problem were deliberated upon, at length, it was a serious attempt to propose a solution that was appreciated by all participants. In this context 'alternative development' became the focal point of the discussion. The discussion on 'alternative development' centered around finding viable alternate crops that people engaged in illicit farming of cannabis can be motivated to grow. This can only be made possible if those producing cannabis are assured that their income would not be reduced by switching over to other crops. Seizure of contraband during last 3 years 2013-15 (HP) In this context J C Sharma, managing director HP Horticulture Produce, Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC), made a presentation where he talked about a project initiated by HPMC in which a new variety of apple will be grown where cannabis is being currently produced. The new variety of apples will provide 10-12 times higher yields, which have ready markets as currently India is importing huge quantities of apple from various foreign countries. If implemented, this alternative to cannabis and opium would not only meet the demand of apples in India but would also result in saving of large amounts of foreign exchange. In the context of 'alternative development', Jahan Pesron Jamas of Bombay Hemp Company, instead of proposing an alternative crop, talked about the utility of cannabis plant itself for use in the industry. He highlighted that hump fibre, being a very strong material, can be used in fabric, ropes, cosmetics, and for medicinal use. However, he also stressed that more research is needed to develop plants that are low on intoxicating content, making their diversion for recreational purpose difficult, but at the same time making them useful for legitimate industrial and medicinal purposes. Another problem that was discussed by all panelists was the lack of a detailed survey on the extent of the drug problem. The last survey to ascertain the extent of the problem was done in 2001. Lack of coordination among different authorities like police and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was also marked as a major problem in dealing with the issue. Lack of coordination among different agencies and political will are major roadblocks in curbing the menace. OP Sharma, who has travelled to the remotest parts of Himachal to understand the reasons behind the persistence of the drug problem, highlights the important reasons for the persistence of the problem through a case study of Malana. According to Sharma, cannabis consumption is inherent in the culture and the hilly terrain makes the area almost inaccessible to enforcement agencies, making it a safe haven for drug traders. District wise quantity of hash seized from 2004-15 (HP) The fact that there is lack of proper monitoring of the movements of foreigners by the enforcement agencies is also adding to the problem. In this context, Puneet Raghu, Himachal Police Service (HPS) referred to two NDPS cases where the passport of the arrested person was already expired but investigating agencies failed to book them under foreigners act. Echoing the same views Ashok Kumar, SP narcotics said that there is a provision that if someone is arrested for indulging in illegal activities he or she can be blacklisted and barred from entering the country again. "Usually this is not done but when I was posted in Mandi, we prepared a list of such people and sent it to the ministry of external affairs. I feel that this should be done on a regular basis," Kumar said. According to OP Sharma, "drug gangs from over six countries have established their centers in the state, and a few arrests made from this area is a testimony to this fact." A strong narcotics cell is the need of the hour but as highlighted by Ashok Kumar, the narcotics cell in the state is 'toothless' and is struggling with limited manpower and infrastructure. Then there are also some "vested interests in politics pleading for legalisation of cannabis". "The Legislative Assembly mooted such proposals to the government of India from time to time, thus, somehow strengthening the drug managers", said OP Sharma. According to Sharma, in the year 2002-03, not even a single inch of land in Malana was free from cannabis. "The illicit trade brought prosperity to 200 families, and these foreigners are their new gods/role models. This shows why the villagers are not able to give up the cannabis cultivation," Sharma said. Statistical Data showing Scale of Cannabis Cultivation vis-a-vis Hashish Production in Malana The drug mafias have so deeply penetrated into the local life that now villagers are using religion and faith to promote the interest of the drug peddlers. "The powerful village council has become a tool in the hands of the mafia. The dependence on drugs is so strong that these people are not ready to see its ill effects," said Sharma. In the short run, it is a win-win situation for all. The backpackers dancing madly on the full moon nights get their dose of adrenaline rush - cheap and handy in these places. The cultivators and traders getting easy money to buy the material comforts from which many of their customers have run away from. For some of the law enforcers, drug trade allows some extra income that apple production will not. As for loss, it is only of the nation that is losing a generation to drugs. Malana Cream: An International Hit - Malana is the producer of the second best quality of hash in the world - Brands like Malana cream, Malana gold, Malana biscuits and AK-47 are international brands available for sale in Europe and other International destinations ONLY. - The 155 Kg hashish seizure from the foreign kingpin and his Indian counterpart is testimony to this fact.The foreign mafias with their Indian counterparts and official channels have made most of the profits from the Malana sale. - More than 60% of the village population still remains under poverty, mostly under abject poverty. - The Malana brands are so popular in foreign markets that even the Nepalese hashish is making entry into Kullu and being exported under the brand names of Malana Cream after processing. (Statistics courtesy: OP Sharma and Ashok Kumar)

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- Advertisement - This update is the 30th article in this Opednews series about the Bayou Corne sinkhole. BACKGROUND: In Spring of 2012, Louisiana's Corne and Grand Bayou residents noticed strange bubbling in the bayou for many weeks, and they reported smelling burnt diesel fuel and sulfur. Suddenly a sinkhole estimated to be the size of two or three football fields appeared on Aug. 3, swallowing scores of 100-foot tall cypress trees. The sinkhole resulted from the failure of Texas Brine Company's abandoned underground brine cavern. The Department of Natural Resources issued a Declaration of Emergency on Aug. 6, and 150 families were evacuated. For maps, diagrams and additional information, please see previous installments in this series, listed at the end of this article. - Advertisement - On August 3, 2012, a sinkhole the size of three football fields (approximately 4 acres ) appeared overnight in Louisiana's Bayou Corne, swallowing countless 100-foot tall cypress trees. It was the result of an industrial "accident." Four years later the 180-foot deep sinkhole has displaced scores of residents and engulfed 35 acres. And it hasn't stopped growing. - Advertisement - Victoria Greene is producing and directing a feature documentary film about the sinkhole and its wide-ranging effects, entitled, "Forgotten Bayou." Victoria Greene and Paul LeDoux shooting in the bayou ( Image by Photo courtesy Victoria Greene, used with permission ) Permission Details DMCA The footage has been filmed, and Greene and her crew will be progressing to post-production activities including music, final sound editing, color, animation, graphics "and other finishing touches that will make this film amazing" as soon as their Kickstarter fundraising campaign is finished on Tue, July 26, 2016. "Forgotten Bayou" trailer: - Advertisement - Forgotten Bayou Trailer .Forgotten Bayou: Life on the Sinkhole. is a documentary capturing the resilience of a quaint, bayou Cajun community and how its residents have been so ... ( Image by Victoria Greene, Channel: Victoria Greene ) Permission Details DMCA Greene has a 20-year background with Louisiana Public Broadcasting She notes, "Nearly four years later, the mandatory evacuation order remains in effect and to date, only a handful of families still live in Bayou Corne with the sinkhole as their new permanent neighbor. " Abandoned property at Bayou Corne ( Image by Photo courtesy Victoria Greene, used with permission ) Permission Details DMCA The documentary presents the story of a devastating industrial accident. Could it have been prevented with more industry regulation? Educating the citizenry is the first step in requiring responsible behavior from corporations. Sportsman's Paradise ( Image by Photo courtesy Victoria Greene, used with permission ) Permission Details DMCA Bayou Corne is located in Louisiana's Assumption Parish, about 60 miles from New Orleans and 40 miles from Baton Rouge. At the time of this posting, the Kickstarter project has raised $13,300 of the $14,500 goal, with five days left to reach the goal. They must meet their goal in order to keep any of the funds. Forgotten Bayou info: website, Facebook page . Upcoming event, August 10: Along with NOVAC, a non-profit and fiscal sponsor of Forgotten Bayou, Victoria is hosting an event commemorating the Sinkhole's 4 year anniversary. Tickets are $40 and available thru Kickstarter . *Wednesday, August 10th 6-10pm *Celtic Studios 10000 Celtic Drive, Baton Rouge Includes food, live entertainment, silent auction and more. Plus screening of award winning "Monster in the Bayou" a 2016 short film directed by Victoria about the Sinkhole, along with other Louisiana short films.

In Spring of 2012, Louisiana's Corne and Grand Bayou residents noticed strange bubbling in the bayou for many weeks, and they reported smelling burnt diesel fuel and sulfur. Suddenly a sinkhole estimated to be the size of two or three football fields appeared on Aug. 3, swallowing scores of 100-foot tall cypress trees.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Morino brought an incredulous friend to see the orange street sign he just spotted in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis. The official-looking metal sign read: "WARNING: TWIN CITIES POLICE EASILY STARTLED." It featured a graphic silhouette of a police officer, a gun in each raised hand, shooting... Read More News Minneapolis , Somali police Leave a comment The discovery of nine dead bodies and more than 30 injured people inside a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio shows that a tough anti-sanctuary city law is needed more than ever, top Texas officials said Sunday. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wrote on Facebook that sanctuary cities "entice" people to... Read More News Illegal Aliens , Sanctuary city Leave a comment VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 25, Tuesday Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for... Read More Faith Galatians , Proverbs , Thessalonians , Timothy Leave a comment

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Herd Guard LLC Releases Revolutionary New Products: Herd Guard & Body Guard 360 Body Guard 360 Kentucky - -( Ammoland.com )- Herd Guard is a NEW all natural, vitamin and mineral packed deer block that deer breeders have been using for years. Herd Guard contains 24 trace minerals, 18 percent protein and SUPER ATTRACTANTS! Herd Guard Deer Land Management products is available in 3 forms to feed any herd: a block, a hanging bucket, and loose mineral. The benefits of the ALL NATURAL ingredients in Herd Guard have been well- known to farmers and hunters alike for many years. And now available for the first time to the public these ingredients have been combined with nutritious supplements, minerals and protein are available in a single block. Herd Guard Deer Land Management Blocks afford the hunter the ability to better supplement deer, track grazing and mating patterns to ensure more successful hunts. Herd Guard is available by the block, loose mineral and even Buck on a String. Body Guard 360 is a NEW line of all natural scent suppression products. The secret all natural ingredients are so effective they extinguish pungent onion odor instantly! Hunters will relish the advantage of their scent being invisibly cloaked from prey! Body Guard 360 products include Body Spray, Laundry Detergent, and Body Wash. Each product can be purchased individually or all together in a Travel Pack, which also includes a Wind and Thermal Checker. On top of being ALL NATURAL scent suppressants, Body Guard 360 products repel fleas, ticks, chiggers and are completely safe to be sprayed directly on your skin or your pet?s. In addition to scent suppression products for the hunter, Body Guard also offers an Odor Extinguisher and a Sporting Dog Pet Spray. The Odor Extinguisher is perfect for eliminating common household odors. The Sporting Dog Spray can be sprayed directly on your pets to help repel ticks, chiggers, and fleas plus eliminate any odors that your pet may pick up while in the field or around the yard. Be sure to check out amazing Body Guard 360 product demonstration videos on YouTube.com involving real customers at local trade shows using Body Guard 360 to suppress the intense odor of an onion! Herd Guard LLC is looking forward to a very prosperous year. The company is looking forward to establishing new distributors, retailers and users around the country in the hunting industries. Herd Guard LLC has taken cautious steps to produce the very best products that cater to the needs pet owners, animal enthusiast and hunters around the Globe all while bearing the utmost concern for the overall health and well being of animals and the environment. Herd Guard LLC began as a small family-owned business in the whitetail/elk farming and hunting industries and intimately knows the concerns and needs of a hunter managing a deer herd and being scent free while hunting. Visit the website at www.herdguard.com and www.bodyguard360.com for complete information about these REVOLUTIONARY products. Herd Guard Leave a Comment 1 Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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President Barack Obama's final months in office have been punctuated with a variety of significant events. First-time veto overrides , final speeches before the U.N. general assembly, and even making new memes with Leonardo DiCaprio have busied the 44th president's time. So too have truly awful things, and not just the increasingly frustrating 2016 presidential election between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Things like West York, Pennsylvania mayor Charles Wasko's recent Facebook activity. As Penn Live reports , Wasko has been publishing racially charged images targeting the president and his family since the summer. Nothing quite like a veiled, jokey call for assassination , but images featuring young orangutans in a wheelbarrow (which you can see at the bottom of this post, along with other photos) with the caption, "Aww... moving day at the Whitehouse (sic) has finally arrived." In that instance, Wasko added: "Not soon enough!" Needless to say, the West York Borough Council isn't happy with the mayor's behavior, and will vote to censure him on October 6. "Absolutely deplorable," council president Shawn Mauck told Penn Live . "It makes you sick. There's no good excuse for his actions or behavior." He later added: "We want to reassure the public that we don't condone it, and it doesn't reflect the views of the borough council, borough government and its employees." Attempts to contact Wasko resulted in a short phone call with the York Daily Record . Before the mayor hung up, he explained it was simply "bullsh*t that's going on up at the borough office."

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And the consequence of the climate science is that human production of billions of tons of CO2 a year is causing the climate to warm when all other primary forcings would have us cooling. "What holes? Where have you been?" Funny. As you'll see in a moment: "The hot spot- non existant." Where have you been?David Evans and the 'hot spot'. <--quote--> Dr David Evans: born-again 'alarmist'? Posted on 10 August 2008 by Barry Brook A few weeks ago, self-proclaimed "rocket scientist", Dr David Evans, wrote an Opinion Editorial in The Australian, which was widely circulated across various email distribution lists (I got send the link a couple of times, asking whether what he was saying was valid. I passed them on to these two pieces from Deltoid). But it spawned a life of its own in the non-greenhouse theorist blogosphere, and also drummed up strong support among other Op Ed writers, which have also been thoroughly dissected. In particular, Dr Evans made some very strong statements about the robustness of climate science, including the claim that there was a missing hotspot in the tropical atmosphere, which therefore invalidated the greenhouse theory (and therefore presumably required the development of a new branch of physics). For instance, Dr Evans said: If there is no hot spot then an increased greenhouse effect is not the cause of global warming. So we know for sure that carbon emissions are not a significant cause of the global warming. If we had found the greenhouse signature then I would be an alarmist again. However, Dr Evans must have been unaware that: (1) the hotspot was not a signature of the greenhouse effect - it is a signature of warming from any source, and (2) that the hotspot is not actually missing... <--endquote--> Lional A has posted time and time again about the "hot spot" and you are so deep in denial you haven't read it. http://www.skepticalscience.com/How-Jo-Nova-doesnt-get-the-tropospheric-hot-spot.html Shows that the hot spot HAS been seen, but isn't the fingerprint of AGW . "The Surface temp record corrupted." Where have you been? http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2011/05/anthony_watts_contradicted_by.php Temperature trend estimates vary according to site classification, with poor siting leading to an overestimate of minimum temperature trends and an underestimate of maximum temperature trends, resulting in particular in a substantial difference in estimates of the diurnal temperature range trends. The opposite-signed differences of maximum and minimum temperature trends are similar in magnitude, so that the overall mean temperature trends are nearly identical across site classifications. "The Hokey Schtick completley discredited." Where have you been? http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2006/07/wegman_report_on_hockey_stick.php Wegman's stats were never used by anyone, and subsequent reports using the stats that "The Auditor" insisted should be used gave the same results. "The Models unable to predict anything accruately." http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2006/06/hansen_et_al_global_climate_ch.php http://www.skepticalscience.com/lindzen-illusion-4-climate-sensitivity.html The temperature change seen so far is above 0.8C. The temperature change from model and theory is 3C per doubling. 35% increase means that a 3C doubling would, at equilibrium, give 0.9C warming. Pretty damn accurate. Especially since the sun is currently quiet. "10 years of not warming while CO2 continues to rise steadily." False. The trend over the last 10 years is up and doesn't exclude a trend of 0.17C per decade. "Sea level rising at the same rate as the last 10,000 years and now slowing." False: sea level rise increasing. http://www.skepticalscience.com/Are-sea-levels-rising.html "Climategate, Glaciergate, amozongate, all the other gates" Wegmangate, you mean? Moncktongate? As to Climategate: nothing found: http://www.skepticalscience.com/a-case-study-in-climate-science-integrity.html but the denialists still denying their failures and lies with no sense of proportion. Glaciergate? You mean a typo? 2350 became 2035. YET NOT ONE "skeptic" found the error. The IPCC did. Shows how hard you guys are looking... Amazongate: doesn't exist. WG1 is all peer reviewed science. Impacts are in WG2 . "The recent cloud experiments at CERN showing solar activity have the majority share of control over the climate." FALSE . CLOUD has shown OVER 4 WEEKS * MERELY * 50 cloud nucleation events. This cannot cause any significant change. Even the paper itself merely says "we've proved that GCR s can be CCN s" which is well known. NOWHERE do they say that this explains the temperature rise. Only denialists misrepresenting the science (as poptart does pathalogically). "The poor corrolateion of CO2 to temps" FALSE 78% of the change can be attributed to CO2 changes. "along side the near perfect corrolation of ENSO to temps." FALSE . You only get this when you remove the trend. Funny how denialists think that removing the trend is supposed to lead to "proof" that the trend isn't caused by CO2 . "The saturation effect of CO2 concentrations." FALSE . The thicker atmosphere insulates the earth, just as putting extra lagging on a pipe keeps the water in there warmer. But again, denialists don't understand even everyday science. If it doesn't prove their desired outcome, that is. "Good Grief, the above is only what came to mind in a couple of minutes." Pity they don't exist. All you've read is the echo chamber walls. Never once checked to see if the screed was right. This is why you're a denialist, not a skeptic.

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UN Watch supporters send thousands of emails to U.S. Ambassador Rice, urging opposition One of many Holocaust denier websites that have featured material by the U.N. Human Rights Council's Alfred De Zayas. GENEVA, Dec. 19 - UN Watch is urging U.S. ambassador Susan Rice to oppose a U.N. resolution tomorrow that will ratify the appointment of a Human Rights Council official whose life's work--authoring books on World War II that make Germans the victims and the Allies the war criminals--has made him a hero to Holocaust deniers. Alfred de Zayas was appointed in March as the council's "Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order," an anti-Western mandate created by Cuba's Communist regime. Inexplicably, Zayas was unanimously recommended by a U.N. committee that included British Ambassador Peter Gooderham, who was supposed to effectively represent the interests and values of Western democracies such as Britain, France, Germany and the United States. U.N. Expert Alfred de Zayas, in his own words * "Moses had such a rough time bringing the Jewish people across the Red Sea because half of them were busy picking up pretty shells." Source * Churchill and Roosevelt connived at "a form of genocide" against the Germans. * The World War II Allies who fought Nazi Germany should have been prosecuted for "barbarous" and "gruesome" crimes; the Nuremberg Court that judged Nazi war criminals had " hardly any legitimacy ." * "Nuremberg was an exercise in hypocrisy. A continuation of hate and war... a corruption of legal norms and procedures, a pollution of philosophy, a truly Pharisee tribunal." Source * "Israel emerged out of terrorism against the indigenous population" and its representatives should be denied U.N. accreditation. Source * America bears "responsibility for the destabilization of... countries in the Middle East." * " George W. Bush and Tony Blair too are Pharisees." Source * The Old Testament is characterized by "cruelty" and "profound unreligiousity," its patriarchs "equipped with divine legitimacy and justification to take our promised Lebensraum by force." Source "To undo this wrong," said UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer, "U.S.Ambassador Susan Rice should lead the world's democracies in calling for a vote on the omnibus resolution --which includes the appointment of Zayas--and vote No." "Ambassador Rice should also take the floor and explain to the U.N. and the world why America and all decent people categorically object to an appointment that contradicts the principles of the U.N. and its founding history as the anti-Hitler alliance. That is why UN Watch has launched an email campaign urging the U.S. to take action ," said Neuer. In September, when UN Watch confronted Zayas in the council plenary (click for video) , the new U.N. human rights expert claimed his World War II history books were acclaimed by scholars, saying "I've only received positive comments from professors hitherto." The evidence, however, shows otherwise. Expert comments on Alfred de Zayas: Dr. Bernward Dorner, German historian specializing in antisemitism: Zayas ignores decades of research in his quest to absolve the Germans of having known about the Holocaust, and his evidence and reasoning are faulty. (Source: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , April 18, 2011, review of Zayas' most recent book Volkermord als Staatsgeheimnis - Vom Wissen uber die "Endlosung der Judenfrage" im Dritten Reich (Genocide as State Secret - on Knowledge about "the Final Solution to the Jewish Question" in the Third Reich). Professor Frank M. Brucher, in 1993 German Studies Review article : Zayas "makes no attempt to integrate his work with that of existing historiography on World War II, Nazi Germany or war crimes in general." Main-Taunus-Kurier , 17 September 2011, article by Willi van Ooyen: "Controversial international law expert Alfred de Zayas operates in the discourse of the extreme right." Frankfurter Rundschau , "Revanchismus an Schulen; Vertriebenen-Thesen fur Abendgymnasien," 15 September 2011: German historian Wolfgang Wipperman accuses Alfred de Zayas of historical revisionism . Rainer Ohliger, German social scientist and historian, reviewing Zayas' book "A Terrible Revenge" in 1997 German historians' forum : The "murderous Nazi-German foreign policy that was in place between 1938 and 1945. . . is starkly underemphasized [by Zayas'] book and arouses suspicion that we are dealing with a historical revisionist work."

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Technically, they aren't trying to push you out Aha Soft/shutterstock It's in the medical team's best interest to discharge you when you're ready--not just to make empty beds for the next person. "There's a big push that when we discharge patients they are stable and safe," says Suparna Dutta, MD, chief of the division of hospital medicine at Rush University Medical Center. Getting out on time will also help control costs--check out what you need to know about hospital bills . She explains that government regulations on readmissions penalize hospitals if a patient returns in 30 days after being discharged. Of course, there are exceptions: If you have a chronic disease, it's likely you'll be back. But for the most part, it's their goal to get you out of there when the time is right for you--not them. And you're having trouble doing other things, too Aha Soft/shutterstock In order to leave at the right time, you need to make sure your "big systems" are working. Can you keep food down? Can you pee? Do you have normal bowel habits? Can you get up and move a small distance? You may not feel back to yourself, says Dr. Dutta, but you should be able to accomplish the bare minimum of daily life on your own. You obviously still need support Aha Soft/shutterstock Think about what's going on during recovery, advises Dr. Dutta. Is there something happening that can't be done at home? (For example, maybe you're getting IV medication.) Stop to consider the treatment you're getting and whether you or your caretaker can manage it once you return home. No? Ask how exactly you can make the transition safely. You can't get your meds Aha Soft/shutterstock One of the biggest reasons for a readmission, says Dr. Dutta, is that a patient will get a prescription for medication and then find out at the pharmacy that their insurance won't cover them. The patient may not take those meds for a couple days, and then get sick again. Her advice: During recovery call your insurance ahead of time to make sure any medication or supplies needed will be covered. If not, your doctor should be able to find a covered alternative. Ask if there's somewhere else to go Aha Soft/shutterstock Consider this: You may be ready to get discharged, but you're not ready to go home, says William Wooden, MD, director of operative services at IU Health. There are intermediate facilities that you can go to, like short-term recovery facilities or rehab centers, that will help you recover. There, you can get more intensive physical therapy, nutrition support, and even emotional support to bounce back in the best way possible. If you're not ready, say something Aha Soft/shutterstock After surgery or a procedure, it can both be a waiting game--and a flurry of activity that leaves you confused as to what just happened. So if you feel like the staff isn't communicating effectively and you're being rushed out, tell them that you're uncomfortable with what's going on. (Consider these tips for knowing what your doctor is really thinking.) And keep asking questions until you get the clarity you're looking for. "Most of the time, you'll find people on staff who want to do the right thing for you," Dr. McCann says. Getting ignored? Take the next step Aha Soft/shutterstock If you feel like you're being discharged from hospital too soon, your needs are not being met, or you're not being heard, you can contact the ombudsman at the medical facility. He or she is on the administration staff and addresses complaints. "Every hospital has someone to deal with these issues, but because the medical staff truly wants to help you, it's rare that this person needs to get involved," says Dr. McCann. Still, the resource is there if you need it.

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A tanker truck carrying liquified natural gas was involved in a traffic accident this morning on a highway in Italy. At first it just caught on fire, but what came next was . . . Looks like Manafort might just be in some hot water here: FOX NEWS - Rick Gates on Monday took the stand in the federal fraud case against his former business partner, ex-Trump . . . A Clinton judge is allowing a lawsuit against the Trump transgender troop ban to continue forward, as the Trump administration sought to get the lawsuit booted out of court: THE HILL - . . . As you may have heard, Alex Jones and Inforwars are under siege from 'Big Tech', that is both major social media giants and tech companies like Apple and Spotify: Facebook and Spotify . . . Tonight at the turn of midnight... NY POST - The Trump administration is within hours of reimposing sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which . . . Last night Mark Levin sat down with Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars on his show Life, Liberty, and Levin. In the first part of the interview, Harrison explains some of the back . . . The Resurgent had a gathering this weekend and Ted Cruz was there, having a conservation with Erick Erickson about all things politics. If you were trying to watch it on their live . . . As you should know, Candace Owen was suspended by Twitter over the weekend for essentially retweeting Sarah Jeong's tweets and replacing 'white' with other races. After a backlash against Twitter, they realized . . . Another good guy with a gun saves the day again. This time, at a back-to-school event in Florida with tons of children and parents running around: Watch the latest video at foxnews.com . . . The open source encyclopedia that informs your world, your children, the uneducated press, and even Amazon's Alexa is full of liberal social justice warriors meticulously and relentlessly editing the past out of . . . Yeah, that Abolish ICE thing isn't as 'fringe' as the democrats like to pretend when confronted about it. In fact, at Netroots Nation over the weekend, which celebrated socialism and Elizabeth Warren . . . Sarah Jeong has been a pretty buzzworthy topic this week, even making it onto the Sunday morning talk shows, after a bunch of tweets hating white people and cops were uncovered and . . . In politics, the flip-flop is always a popular topic, and particularly among reporters. They were relentless attacking Romney for it years ago. Not so much with Democrats who flip and flop like . . . "It's always with an African-American when he questions intelligence," said Chuck Todd on Meet the Press today. "That's what makes a lot of people uncomfortable with what he's doing." Todd was talking . . . On Sunday morning the President tweeted about reports from the Washington Post and other sources, which cite anonymous sources who claim the President is "worried" about Donald Jr.'s legal prospects with regard . . . Trump is always letting cats out of bags, but tonight he let the fox out as he referred to the network and its hosts as "we", including them as part of his . . . Remember when a woman climbed the Statue of Liberty and the mainstream media could hardly contain their emotional admiration? She was realy sticking it to Trump or whatever! She got a lot . . . The murderer who shot up a school in Florida needed help. And the state did not provide it. That's the latest development in the tragic story of the horrific school shooting at . . . The Newseum in D.C. has been under fire for two days over their selling of humorous t-shirts and bumper stickers featuring the phrase "Fake News." Journalists and other blue checks FLIPPED OUT . . . This year's Netroots Nation, a gathering of loopy liberals and nutbar activists, is even nuttier and loopier than usual. As expected. So Senator Cory Booker must feel right at home. And it . . .

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Picture an arc-shaped 70-kilometre string of pearls on an azure sea near the equator... The hub of Tuvalu, the Funafuti Atoll, is home for about 4,000 of the country's 10,000 Polynesian people. You can cross it from side to side in five minutes, yet to circumnavigate the 30 sparse coral islets in this atoll can take more than a day. Nine island groups form the country of Tuvalu, which actually means 'eight' in the local language because only eight are permanently settled. One of the smallest independent countries in the world, Tuvalu is a nation of contradictions, ingenious solutions and small miracles. Formerly the Ellice part of the British colony of the Gilbert & Ellice Islands, Tuvalu astounded world observers in 1978 when it sloughed off the tie to the Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati), strange cousins who were culturally and ethnically Micronesian but with whom they had been yoked for British administrative convenience. Their proud sentiment was and is: 'We'd rather be independent; we're used to hardships and to compromises.' Until recently economic survival depended on the interest from a Trust Fund given as an independence gift, on sales of postage stamps and on remittances from sailors working on overseas vessels - not to mention one of the world's largest overseas-aid budgets per capita. More recently Tuvalu has found new sources of wealth by selling fishing rights, leasing its phone lines to sex-service companies and making money out of the internet country name 'dot tv'. Land has always been precious. After the war, salaries from wartime efforts were invested by Vaitupu village elders in the purchase of a freehold island (Kioa) in Fiji where the Tuvalu culture persists. In the early days of independence, an American carpetbagger tried to sell uninhabitable blocks of US desert to land-starved Tuvaluans who produced money from under their mats. Today, environmentally sensitive Tuvaluans are buying land in Fiji, Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand, anticipating the time when the rise in sea level due to global warming will cause the islands' water to be too brackish to support a population. After the Pearl Harbour invasion, American Seabees in 1942 quickly built the Funafuti airstrip by excavating coral. They permanently destroyed the only fresh-food gardens on the island, altered currents and attractive beaches, and left behind unsightly holes from which soil was 'borrowed'. The proceeds of the internet-address deal (rumoured to be $50 million) are supposed to be ploughed into improving education on the outer islands, rebuilding the crumbling government administration buildings and extending the airstrip. Better sea transport is vital for this isolated island nation. Seaplanes are not economical. There still remains only one inter-island ferry and one Australian defence ship (said to patrol international waters and fishing rights). Tuvalu has paid its $20,000 membership fee to join the United Nations and the $385,000 operating costs of an embassy in the US. As such its tiny civil service is probably the best travelled in the world, with paid invitations to international meetings and equal participation with China and the US. Their vote within the UN and the Commonwealth is sought after and continues to help bring in high levels of aid. The culture is changing, even if the fun-loving, dancing and gift-giving Polynesian elements remain. Wide differences exist between Funafuti and the outer islands. TV and video have reinforced violence and power plays rather than the pacific way of discussion and consensus. Alcohol and sexual misdemeanors are ongoing problems. Nevertheless the greatest threat to Tuvalu remains that of a watery extinction as a result of global warming. From the perspective of Tuvalu, the Bush administration's scorn of the Kyoto agreements brings to mind Henry Kissinger's comment about Micronesia: 'There are only 10,000 people, who gives a damn!'

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Photo: Getty Images On October 11th, President Donald Trump tweeted that if NBC was going to continue being so mean to him, he could simply have his subordinates "challenge their License," adding that adversarial media was "Bad for country!" In a second tweet, the president claimed that "Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged, and if appropriate, revoked," in what was apparently some very confused reference to either the long-defunct Fairness Doctrine or the still extant Equal Time rule. The Fairness Doctrine was an Federal Communications Commission policy requiring broadcasters air material relevant to the public interest and devote time to explaining opposing viewpoints--which has not been enforced for decades on First Amendment grounds. It did not require people to be nice to the president, though Trump's blatantly authoritarian call to restrict the broadcast rights of his opponents was met with unseemly silence by FCC chairman Ajit Pai. Pai, whose anti-net neutrality stance has earned him the ire of most of the internet, finally stood up to the president somewhat on Tuesday and said the FCC would not be following his orders, Ars Technica reported . At a Mercatus Center telecom law conference, Pai told the Wall Street Journal 's Greg Ip he did not have that power: I believe in the First Amendment. The FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment. And under the law, the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast. As Ars Technica noted, Democratic lawmakers and other free speech groups had been pressuring Pai to say something about the matter since the original tweets on October 11th, and were not satisfied he merely restated the FCC's powers under law. A Politico article from Monday explained Pai may have felt like publicly responding to Trump would risk getting the FCC bogged down in the White House's ever-spreading swamp of feuds . But the FCC is a nominally independent agency, and Pai does not report to the president. So depending on how charitable one wants to be, Pai's refusal to engage could be refusing to take Trump's bait, an attempt to avoid being distracted from or weighing down his already controversial agenda, or something entirely less savory. Either way, it's not exactly encouraging. Regardless, Pai never had the power to shut down NBC or any other network. The FCC licenses individual stations , not networks, and many of them are owned by massive media conglomerates which stand to benefit from business-friendly oversight regardless. [ Ars Technica ]

Pai, whose anti-net neutrality stance has earned him the ire of most of the internet, finally stood up to the president somewhat on Tuesday and said the FCC would not be following his orders, Ars Technica reported .

By Juan Cole Fears that the historic vote on Sunday in Tunisia might be marred by violence committed by the country's tiny lunatic fringe were not borne out. The interim government of Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa deployed 80,000 police and troops to protect polling stations. Contrary to the breathless reporting one hears in the mass [...] By Max Weiss via The Princetonian I have never met Slav Leibin. Nonetheless, it recently came to my attention that he vetoed, with the approval of the Center for Jewish Life, my right to participate in a proposed panel on the recent hostilities in Gaza. Apparently this preemptive act of exclusion was carried out on [...] By L. Carl Brown What has made Tunisia's transition from authoritarian government, for all its ups and downs, more successful than those of its Arab neighbors? It will soon be four years since December 17, 2010 when Muhammad Bu Azizi from Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia immolated himself in protest against local government officials who barred [...] Received by email attachment) Statement by Professors of Jewish Studies in North America Regarding the AMCHA Initiative We the undersigned are professors of Jewish studies at North American universities. Several of us have also headed programs and centers in Jewish studies. Many of us have worked hard to nurture serious, sustained study of Israeli politics [...] By Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch In a speech before the European Parliament in 2009, Syrian activist Mazen Darwish warned that unless civil society was strengthened "[the whole] region, not only Syria ... could explode at any moment and leave behind thousands of refugees." A dire warning at the time, Darwish's prophetic words fail to [...] BBC "George Galloway told a former member of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's cabinets she killed one million people in Iraq. The former Labour MP, now a Respect MP, turned on Jacqui Smith as they looked ahead to Friday's vote in Parliament on possible UK military action in the Middle East." Ed. note: It isn't [...] AJ+ "Hundreds of people attended the #FloodWallStreet demonstration to protest the role big business plays in fueling climate change. The protest was largely peaceful, but police arrested a number of people by the end of the night, including a polar bear." AJ+ : "Protesters Flood Wall Street - And A Polar Bear Is Arrested" News Analysis: Afghan Deal Leaves Room For National Disunity By Frud Bezhan via RFE/RL After months of wrangling and high tension, Afghanistan has finally named a president-elect. Ashraf Ghani's name was officially entered into the books as the winner of the highly contentious, fraud-marred contest, shortly after he and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, signed a [...] AJ+ interviews Naomi Klein "As people gather in New York City for what organizers are billing as the largest climate-change protest in history, AJ+ asks Naomi Klein about her new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. The Climate. She tells us why the planet is doomed if we don't change course. And why it's up [...]

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The National Rifle Association (NRA) is no stranger to using white supremacist rhetoric to target Black people. Founded in New York in 1871, the NRA is a U.S.-based organization for firearms safety training, shooting skills, and most significantly, gun owners' rights advocacy. NRA boldly hails itself as the oldest civil-rights organization, a claim as laughable as it is fictitious. What is factual, however, is the historical anti-Blackness of the NRA and that is clear with its latest recruitment video--an all-time-low, even for this racist organization. In a short, 1 minute and 4 second clip, the NRA exposes viewers to America's longest, never ending tradition: racism. Though the video-- 'The Violence of Lies'--stops just short of explicitly calling for violence against Black and brown people, it's rather simple to understand the video's intention. Dana Loech of The Blaze, narrates : They use their media to assassinate real news. They use their schools to teach their children that their president is another Hitler. They use their movie stars and comedy shows and award shows to repeat their narrative over and over again. And then they use their ex-president to endorse the resistance -- all to make them march, make them protest, make them scream 'racism,' and 'sexism,' and 'xenophobia' and 'homophobia,' to smash windows, burn cars, shut down interstates and airports, bully and terrorize the law abiding until the only option left is for the police to do their jobs and stop the madness. And when that happens they'll use it as an excuse for their outrage. The only way we stop this, the only way we save our country and our freedom, is to fight this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth. I am the National Rifle Association of America, and I'm freedom's safest place. Loech's narration can easily be dissected as conservative propaganda and hate speech directed to mobilize the NRA's squadron of already angry white gun owners. When she speaks of assassinating "real news," it follows the two-year tirade of President Donald Trump referring to all news that isn't Fox News as "fake news." When Loech speaks of awards shows repeating the narrative of Trump being another Hitler, it doesn't escape me that the 2017 BET Awards aired days before the re-release of the recruitment ad. What's worse, we obviously understand Loech is referring to former President Obama in saying, "their ex-president." In it, she underscores that all these combined leads to resistance to make Black and brown people protest, march, and yes, even scream 'racism,' 'sexism,' and yes, 'homophobia.' If this wasn't enough, Loech even falsely claims that marginalized communities are protesting because of untruths, bad moments we have made up, just to smash windows, burn cars (hope she has never seen white sports fans lose or win any game ), and shut down airports. The video, full of propaganda has already been viewed nearly 7 million times since its unfortunate release. But, we know the purpose of this video was not to seek truth. It was nothing more than a hateful woman speaking her opinions as facts. The video was intended to play on white people's privileged, teary-eyed, unchecked emotions and to use them to incite violence against already marginalized groups, particularly Black and Latino people, the LGBTQ community, women, undocumented folks, and Muslims; populations that experience the brunt of Trump's deadly policies. We know that nothing the NRA does should be shocking as it has a history in supporting racist gun laws. In the 1960s, white legislators wanted to curtail any likelihood that Black people would have access to guns. From the Mulford Act , to the Gun Control Act of 1968, the NRA has supported and, to an extent, taken credit for these bills; a changed support of gun control (against Black people). These were also laws rather quickly passed after Black activists and organizations like Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party (BPP), respectively, began publicly discussing the importance of Black people bearing arms for self-defense. Because if Black people defended themselves against racist white people, then how could they then effectuate their racism? From then until now, the NRA never intended on protecting Black bodies. We have seen that with Philando Castile , a legal gun owner, was killed in 2016 and his murderer was acquitted of all charges. A few days after Castile was killed, the NRA released an unclear statement noting how it would not comment on an ongoing investigation - often a code word for "we don't want to misalign ourselves with law enforcement that serve our interests." That's why last year when a Black man killed five officers and wounded seven others in Dallas, Texas, the NRA responded immediately - no investigation needed. Until recently, NRA's vague response was the sole statement the NRA made about Castile's brutal killing. Where was the usual hard-hitting message from the NRA about the importance of gun ownership and Second Amendment "right to bear arms" freedoms? Where was NRA's press release about how the police completely trampled on Castile's rights? On CNN, nearly one year later, Loesch commented that Castile's death was "absolutely awful" and "[c]ould have been avoided." But it's clear that if Loesch and the NRA felt this way it wouldn't have taken them one year to respond to last year's events, particularly because it was only made after the latest ad received criticism, even being petitioned to be removed. The NRA's relative silence about Castile, a lawful gun owner, shows the only time it will care is when a white person is pressing the trigger. Thankfully, many organizations are speaking out against the NRA's call to incite violence by making response videos. The Black Lives Matter - LA chapter, for example, released a video , modeled after the NRA's gut-wrenching video. "They use their new president to enact a 'law-and-order administration,'" Funmilola Fagbamila, member of BLM-LA says in the response video. "All to make them shoot first, to make them ask questions later, make them scream, 'I thought he had a gun in his hand' and 'I feared for my life' and 'he matched the description of a suspect' and 'she was threatening us' ... until the only option left is for black people to disrupt the systems that keep us oppressed and build the kinds of communities in which we want to live." Speak this Truth, Fagbamila! Despite what we know about the NRA, it's critical for black people to continue speaking up because what they want is our silence and acquiesce--and they won't get that. Preston Mitchum is a Washington, DC-based writer, activist, and policy nerd. He is a regular contributor with theGrio and The Root and has written for the Atlantic, Think Progress, OUT Magazine, Ebony.com, and Huffington Post. Follow him on Twitter here to see just how much he appreciates intersectionality.

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Former US Libertarian Party presidential candidate, investment analyst, author, and radio host Harry Browne spent a significant portion of his life putting together and promoting a simple and inexpensive investment portfolio that allows you to protect and grow your wealth throughout all the economic cycles he identified: Prosperity (rising GDP and productivity, low unemployment, relatively stable prices) Inflation (rapidly rising consumer prices, CPI at ~7% or more) Recession (a temporary reduction in GDP, temporarily rising unemployment) Depression (an ongoing reduction in GDP, very high sustained unemployment, falling consumer prices) He suggested that at any point in time one of these will be more prominent than the others. He wrote about it in his book Fail Safe Investing which I highly recommend. To be set up for solid portfolio growth (a steady 9% per annum at very low volatility) and protected no matter which of those economic cycles prevail, he came up with the following composition of 4 assets, split evenly (25% each): Stocks (do great in prosperity) Gold (does great during inflation and can also do well during depression) Long Term Government Bonds (do great depression, and can also do well in recession and prosperity) Cash (does well in recession, especially if short term interest rates are high, and provides a neutral interest earning safety net at all times) Once you're invested in the assets you don't need to do much, unless one or more of the assets exceed 35% or drops below 15% of the overall portfolio composition. In that case you sell off the winning assets and restore the original 25% balance. Given that we live in an uncertain world, Harry Browne recommended that you invest the money that's precious to you, that is the money that you don't want to gamble or speculate with, in this manner. Any other money you'd be comfortable putting on a Black Jack table for example you can speculate with however you wish. That would include things like some hot company stock, gold in isolation, government or corporate bonds in isolation, Bitcoin, real estate, etc. Note the important distinction he makes: investing is accepting returns that are available to everyone, speculation is to outsmart everyone else because you have the ability or knowledge to see things that the combined brainpower of global market experts is unable to see. My Permanent Portfolio In June of 2015 I decided to take the plunge and invest this way. I wanted to share how I've been doing so far, but also give people an idea as to how well the portfolio has performed over the long haul. First off, I live in the US so my asset composition is commensurate. But the portfolio has been back tested in many other countries with comparable results. So I have a US-centric approach in mind, but you can just as well apply the exact equivalent approach in your currency area, it really doesn't matter. First off, let me elaborate on the assets I have picked to implement this strategy. It is important to point out that this is an all or nothing deal. The portfolio doesn't work if any of these assets is missing. That doesn't mean that I'm telling you not to try something different (or giving any investment advice at all for that matter), just that you're on your own in that case. Harry Browne has spent years perfecting this approach. No matter what your general approach to investing, there are most likely one more more assets in this portfolio that you will absolutely hate buying at any given point in time. This is by design. In the US I don't think there is a more perfect brokerage for this portfolio than Fidelity. You can buy all financial assets needed completely commission free, and the free ETF there ( ITOT ) has ridiculously low management fees. So here we go: Stocks : Harry Browne recommends an S&P 500 index fund, or to put it more generally: invest in a fund or ETF that represents the broadest possible snapshot of the entire stock market in your country, and for diversification split it across 2 or 3 different funds if possible. I split it across the following ETF tickers: VTI , ITOT , SCHB . Gold : Buy 1 oz (or whatever largest size makes sense given the amount you're investing) gold coins at any coin dealer of your choice. Generally you should expect a 2-3% premium. Personally I use APMEX . They also buy back your gold any time and at a fair price. Store your coins in a safe at home or a safety deposit box at a bank (or spread it for diversification). If you have a lot, consider storing some of your gold abroad for even more diversification. Bonds : Harry Browne recommends the longest possible credit risk-free government bonds available in your country. In the US this would currently be the 30 Year Treasury Bond. After 10 years, sell your bonds and replace them with the newest issue. If the government in your country offers longer term bonds then buy those. It is important to buy the most long term interest rate sensitive government bonds in order to enjoy the protection they offer when interest rates plummet and you most need them (recession/depression). Yes, I know we're libertarians and we hate investing in government bonds, right? Wrong. By foregoing this asset we forego an important tool to protect us from the harm and volatility inflicted by the very government policies we hate. And when we're financially exposed and at risk, we're less calm and less effective in spreading our ideas of peace and freedom. I doubt that many of us would seriously suggest restricting our lives by living cash free altogether. A government bond is nothing but an interest bearing version of government cash. In the US there's also an ETF available if you can't buy the bonds directly: TLT . Cash : Harry Browne recommends 1 year or shorter term Treasury Bills or a money market fund that invests only in such securities. Some people chuckle at this requirement, but during the 2008 financial crisis these were the only truly safe cash equivalent assets. Money market funds which included commercial paper and similar assets or plain bank deposits were actually riskier than pure Treasury investments. Some money market funds dropped below their face value and some banks faced bankruptcy where the FDIC had to make depositors whole (up to the FDIC insurance limit only, that is). There is no FDIC insurance maximum or anything like that with Treasury Bills. That's why you need them in your Permanent Portfolio. At Fidelity there's a nifty feature called "Auto Roll" which allows you to buy Treasury Bills directly and have the proceeds re-invested in the same type of security upon maturity. Another close ETF proxy would be SHY . Permanent Portfolio Performance Now on to how these assets have performed since I've started investing, from July 2015 through April 2016: Nothing spectacular here, cash has fluctuated mildly in light of several discussions about the Fed's stance on short term rates, but generally this asset doesn't change all that much in such a short period as you can see above. It has gained about 0.23% during this period Stocks have fluctuated rather wildly and if your money was mostly in stocks, even though they have rebounded recently, you would have lost about 4.7% on average during this period. Gold has performed very well throughout this period, gaining about 6.9%. ... and last but definitely not least: Long Term Government Bonds Long Term US Treasury Bonds are the big winner for this period, having pulled the portfolio up by gaining about 13.7% in value as rates have dropped from 3.20% to as low as 2.5%. So adding all of this together to a hypothetical $10,000 beginning portfolio value, this is how the portfolio has performed overall. Permanent Portfolio (all assets above combined): As you can see the the Permanent Portfolio during this period has gained about 4% in total. So it has outperformed the total stock market by about 8%, and that without me having to lift a finger during this entire period! I know this is just a short period, but if you look at studies of how it has performed in the long run you'll find that it has returned an average of 8.87% per year, and with remarkably low volatility at that. In the example I've linked to above, for 1971 through 2013 the standard deviation (a volatility measure) is 7.74% while the stock market has had a volatility of 17.75%, making the Permanent Portfolio about 56% less volatile! Its max drawdown, meaning the worst year you ever had to suffer during that period was -5.56%, while for a pure stock portfolio it was -37.02%. This is the whole point of the Permanent Portfolio: You get to enjoy a solid growth portfolio without having to worry about losses for any extended period of time. Compare that to a pure stock portfolio where over a decade or more (in Japan it's been almost 30 years of losses at this point) you had to suffer significant hits to your net worth. Other Benefits Finally, I want to list some other benefits I find in this portfolio: It's cheap in that you can obtain very low cost funds and don't need to trade much. It's tax efficient: Since you're not trading much there's not a whole lot in capital gains taxes to pay. Furthermore we're not focusing on dividend stocks here so there's no big tax liability for the payouts. The majority of the portfolio's growth is achieved via price increases of its assets. If you have the opportunity to move some of it into a tax deferred account (in the US it's an IRA or a 401k), Harry Browne recommends to put the Cash and the Bonds in there so you can enjoy some tax free compounding interest growth. Personally at this point in the US interest rates are so low that I don't put the cash into my IRA, but rather the Long Term Treasuries, to the extent that I can. It's liquid: All assets in this portfolio are easily liquidated, so you're in a financially sound position at any point if you have the majority of your assets invested this way. It allows you to hold a lot of cash without losing to inflation: Cash is arguably one of the most hated assets in today's investment world. Very few strategies recognize its importance throughout the investor's lifetime. But holding cash allows you to write big checks quickly when unexpected things happen without having to sell off assets and incurring tax liabilities or other problems. To me personally this is a unique and invaluable benefit of this portfolio. It allows you to hold lots of gold which in turn gives you the ability to store and diversify your wealth globally without much counterparty risk You can relax: After a little while this portfolio leaves you very relaxed and objective about future market developments. I love checking in from time to time to see which asset has outpaced the others now and then, but I remain open to all future possibilities. I'm not married to one particular market hypothesis and don't need to worry about timing the market. It automatically makes you buy low and sell high: Due to the rebalancing mechanism you realize gains when assets have performed well and you get to pick up depreciated assets without having to strategize and guess when and how much to sell and buy. That's all, feel free to ask question in the comments below! Edit: I played around with this nifty portfolio simulation tool and constructed a version of the PP here that maps the performance from 1972 through 2015 , in case anyone's interested. Just FYI: This model assumes annual rebalancing which diminishes returns as compared to 15/35 rebalancing bands, and it also probably doesn't assume pure 30 year bonds, but rather something like TLT with a slightly lower return, but it still gives you a close approximation. The following two tabs change content below. Bio Latest Posts Nima is an entrepreneur and Bitcoin advocate who writes about economics and freedom. He was born and raised in Berlin and received his Master's degree in the US in 2004. He co-founded an auction software company in San Francisco and successfully sold it in 2015. (Twitter: @economicsjunkie)

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by Roland Boer Winter 2013 Lenin's name is not one usually associated with freedom of conscience. Was he not the doctrinaire sectarian who brooked no difference of opinion? Did he not trample over his own convictions in the callous quest for power?[1] Careful consideration of his texts reveals a very different picture, one in which he struggles to articulate a radical freedom of conscience. by Adaner Usmani Winter 2013 Adaner Usmani: I wanted to begin by asking you about the history that precedes the crisis, and specifically about the evolution of European social democracy. On the one hand we have seen social democratic governments in Greece, France and elsewhere entirely complicit in the evisceration of the welfare state, and in the imposition of austerity. On the other hand, the tradition of which they're a part brought many benefits to Europe's working classes. The welfare state is a real achievement, after all, and it's arguably held up better than many radicals argue. Certainly there's a strong current of academic literature, known as the Varieties of Capitalism (VOC) school, which argues that its degeneration has been overstated. by Alex de Jong Winter 2013 Describing Dutch society and politics in 2012, sociologist Willem Schinkel used the metaphor of a museum.[1] Conservative and turned inward, Dutch society is afraid of change, fixated on something called "Dutch values." One expression of this is the right-wing, nationalist populism that since a decade stood in the center of Dutch politics and public debate. Social-economic policies were guided by an unquestioned acceptance of neoliberal principles. The elections of 2012 seemed a chance to break with this pattern. by Costas Panayotakis Winter 2013 In recent years Greece has come to exemplify the attempt of capitalist elites to respond to the global capitalist crisis through an attack on the rights and living standards of workers and ordinary citizens around the world. by Richard Greeman Winter 2013 When New Politics asked me this July to write a piece about France under the new Socialist government, I excitedly drove out to Serviers-et-La Baume -- my Provencal sweetheart Elyane's little village located in the heart of la France profonde -- to interview her rural neighbor Robert about this big change (and sip some of his home-made plum brandy). by Campaign for Peace and Democracy Winter 2013 SEPTEMBER 2012--What is happening today in Greece is only the most extreme example of a global phenomenon: the world's political and economic elites, who are responsible for the current economic crisis, want to make the rest of us pay for that crisis, no matter how much suffering this creates. by Marvin Mandell and Betty Reid Mandell Winter 2013 Too often we have witnessed the political reversal of men and women who began fully committed to liberty, equality, and fraternity and ended up as reactionaries. Max Shachtman, James Burnham, Sidney Hook, Irving Kristol, Wilhelm Reich.... We were saddened by their radical change. Benito Mussolini and Jacques Doriot were even more egregious examples. These are people who have besmirched what once were their core values.

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Being on the wrong side of suspicion can have extreme consequences where formal justice systems are not fully functional, realizes Amy Booth on a visit to a prison Bolivian prisons. Illustration : Sarah John The patio of San Sebastian women's prison looks for all the world like a food court. The place is tightly packed with families sitting at plastic tables as if to have a picnic. Women hawk bottles of soft drinks and empanadas from little stands: in Bolivia, prisoners need a way of making ends meet, because nothing - not even their cell - is free. My friend Angie guides me through the throng to Florencia. Greeting each other warmly in Quechua, Angie delivers potatoes and vegetables bought fresh from the market, which she stows away on the floor beneath the row of grimy little electric hobs that lines one wall. Florencia is a slim, petite woman in a traditional pollera skirt. She has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder. Florencia is a slim, petite woman in a traditional pollera skirt. She has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder Florencia and her companion Ana are from a remote pastoral community near Capinota, where they used to make a living pasturing goats. In June 2013, a 13-year-old girl was raped and murdered, her body dumped in an irrigation channel. The following night, Florencia and Ana were dragged from their homes by a furious mob: they and their husbands were the prime suspects. Florencia was separated from her husband, but that didn't matter to the mob. For hours, the women were beaten. Men put sacks over their heads and held knives to their throats, threatening: 'We'll do to you what was done to the girl.' The mob lit bonfires and threatened to burn them alive. To save herself from the flames, Florencia confessed. Hours later, the police arrived and took the women into custody. Many people have little faith in the formal justice system; Bolivia was ranked 113 out of 176 in Transparency International's 2016 corruption perception index. Moreover, for people in remote areas who only speak indigenous languages, formal justice can be hard to access. There are legal provisions for community justice in certain circumstances in Bolivia, but lynching is illegal. Nonetheless, cases of violent and gruesome mob killings carried out on the basis of little or no evidence crop up with alarming frequency. It is common to see life-size dolls hung from lamp posts as a warning to would-be criminals, sometimes accompanied by slogans like 'Thief caught, thief lynched'. The women and their husbands spent nearly three years in prison awaiting their fate until, in April 2016, the sentence was handed down. The court concluded that the husbands had been having a relationship with the victim. This had caused Florencia and her husband to split up was the reasoning, and the pair went on to kill the girl. Florencia and her husband were sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, and Ana and her husband to 15 years for being accessories. The women were the last to understand what was to become of them because they only speak Quechua. According to the court documents, Florencia's mother said Florencia went out at around nine on the night of the crime and didn't return until the next day, leaving her with no alibi. However, Florencia and Ana say there was no official translator present to dispute this detail. Although samples of hair were found on the victim's fingers, they were never taken for DNA analysis. The evidence available proved how the girl died, but there was no proof that Florencia, Ana and their husbands were the ones who committed the murder. The defence also points out that forensic evidence shows the victim had had sex with others, including her teenage uncle, before the murder - but at the investigators' discretion, any link between the victim's uncle and sexual abuse suffered by the victim had been left out of the investigation. Florencia and Ana have always protested their innocence. Angie met them while working on a project about prison conditions. Horrified by their story, she has helped them launch an appeal. Following her repeated requests, the public prosecutors in Capinota admitted that they had lost the investigation notebooks and other documents pertaining to the case. Our visit is brief. There are no long chats; it feels like there isn't much to say. Angie offers them a few words of support in Quechua, introduces me and leaves the food she has brought. Then we head back into the outside world. Meanwhile, with the original case documents lost, there is no date for an appeal hearing - and the victim's killers could still be at large. Amy Booth is a freelance journalist and circus instructor living in Cochabamba, Bolivia . This article is from the January/February 2018 issue of New Internationalist . You can access the entire archive of over 500 issues with a digital subscription. Subscribe today >>

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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The above preamble to the constitution of the United States was the aspiration of good men. Inasmuch as America was unable to live up to this most wonderful prose from its inception, it has for decades made progress towards it. The genius of the Constitution is its elastic clause, the ability to be modified in an orderly and responsible manner to reflect changes in society as well as to reflect citizens' enlightenment. From the abolishment of slavery to women's suffrage, for the most part, it has been a constant march in approaching the tenets of the preamble. As a naturalized citizen from Central America I am keenly aware of the tools and propaganda used by a select group of elites within a society to mislead a population. That is the battle being fought in America right now. These tactics are all diametrically opposed to the aspirations of the preamble. How can one have a perfect union when one takes a non-compromising posture? How can there be justice when many states are suppressing the vote of those that have fought for and earned it? How can there be justice when society is now dependent on a private prison industrial complex that depends on a constant flow of the human commodity? How can there be domestic tranquility when the body politic depends on false divisions to achieve a goal? How can we promote the general welfare of our citizenry when many are unwilling to establish a humane healthcare system and a humane safety net? How can we ensure that our children will live in a freer America where corporations that may be partially governed by foreigners are considered citizens that have more access to our political representatives than the average citizen? Every 4 th of July, our Independence Day, and throughout the year we must ascertain how close we are to the aspirations codified in the preamble to the United States constitution. Are we closer to achieving real justice for all? Are we closer to living harmoniously with our neighbors? Are we closer to achieving real economic and national security? Are we closer to ensuring that we promote policies that promote the general welfare by ensuring every American has equal access to success and a viable safety net to protect and allow a humane existence during bad times? Are we closer to leaving a better, freer, and self-sustainable country for our children? Over the last 30 years we have taken several steps backwards. It is reflected in the economic state of the middle class where middle class wages have become stagnant, where the middle class have become more indebted by design, and where middle class wealth have been transferred to the very few at the top. After the Bar-B-Q, fireworks, and a day or two of rest and recovery, it is imperative that engagement in the political debate commence. Bring back the full value of the 4 th of July. Make the preamble of the Constitution more than just an aspiration. Move America forward. It begins with you. Liked it? Take a second to support EgbertoWillies.com on Patreon!

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FINTRAC is a financial intelligence unit whose mandate and practice quietly touch just about every resident of the country -- raising major privacy concerns in the process. Book Review The remarkable story of Mohamedou Ouid Slahi is one of wisdom, humour and despair. In this memoir, Slahi relays a tale of human resilience under the most appalling conditions at Guantanamo Bay. Columnists When it comes to "anti-terrorism," government and state security agency behaviour is dominated by throwbacks to the Cold War, with Harper serving as Canada's self-appointed avenging angel. Columnists The long-running extradition saga of Dr. Hassan Diab -- sought by French authorities for a 1980 crime he did not commit -- took a dramatic turn when the Supreme Court refused to hear his final appeal. Columnists When the RCMP announced an Ottawa anti-terrorism arrest this month, the timing could not have been better for a federal government that appears to thrive on national security hysteria. Columnists Bill C-51 grants new powers to already hyperactive state security agencies, and baits as "soft on terror" anyone who questions the bill's necessity. Here is a primer on key provisions in the bill. Columnists In the wake of the Paris shootings, as voicing uncomfortable truths becomes increasingly risky, governments get set to introduce more repressive measures that mock freedom of expression. Columnists For refugees worldwide, the same demeaning sign is hung at the entrance of far too many countries, including Canada: you are not wanted, you are not admissible, you are undesirable, you are dangerous. Columnists As the Canadian government plays at fighting wars in Iraq/Syria and in eastern Europe, we see daily examples of how militarism ultimately degrades, disrupts and destroys democracy. Photos The tragic events in Ottawa give us an opportunity to examine our addiction to violence as the solution to conflict. Will we use the chance to disengage from our increasingly militarized culture? Columnists Like moral panics that have framed particular groups as the new internal enemy, youth both idealist and alienated now fit the focus of terror suspect, especially if they are Muslim and plan to travel. Columnists The barbarism that is ISIS has its roots in the barbarism that was Canadian and "coalition" war policy in the obliteration of Iraq in the 1991 "Gulf" war and subsequent sanctions. Columnists A little-noticed European Court of Human Rights decision regarding Polish complicity in torture may well have ripple effects on this side of the Atlantic and, hopefully, produce some accountability. Columnists In a sign that the government has gone overboard with its anti-migrant policies, even the Federal Court of Canada has been left with no choice but to try and rein in some of the more odious decisions. Columnists An Ottawa courtroom recently witnessed the rare intersection of numerous taproots of violence undergirding Canadian society, in the sentencing hearing of Ashley White. Columnists Two judicial decisions released last week in the cases of Mohamed Harkat and Hassan Diab remind us that the concept of national security is incompatible with democracy. Columnists The Ukraine debacle represents the latest in a pattern of Stephen Harper and John Baird supporting coups and ignoring human rights violations as a nasty but necessary part of doing business. Columnists The cases of Oscar Vigil and Jose Figueroa reveal the ideological abuse of Canada's immigration system, where many who resisted tyranny in their homelands face "security inadmissibility" in Canada. Columnists When it comes to Canada's security agencies, it is clear who threatens national security in the same way it is clear who threatens the birds when cats are placed in their cages. Columnists The CBSA has long been engaged in beefing up a strategy to prevent asylum seekers from getting to Canada, a clear violation of international and domestic law. Columnists In a little-noticed news release from the North Pole, a jolly senior citizen has asked that his image not be co-opted this holiday season by the Canadian War Department and NORAD. Columnists As Canada marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, there are countless reminders of how much work remains to be done, as the war against women grinds mercilessly on. News Matthew Behrens Hassan Diab continues to remain hopeful that the Canadian legal system will prevail and he will not be extradited to France for questioning about his alleged role in a 1980 Paris bombing.

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In the Old Testament, Ruth chapter 2, we see a great example of Godonomics. His name is Boaz, a rather wealthy land owner. 1 "There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech " He is such a successful producer that he is able to both hire lots of employees (reapers for his field), as well as leave the corners of his fields for the poor and needy. Ruth and her mother-in-law are in financial trouble, but are allowed to "work" for their food from the percentage of his field that he left available to the needy. Notice that even in this model, we see Boaz as an example of prosperity and generosity to those in need; however, as he helps the poor, he still requires them to work for their reward and incentive. Ruth, comes ready to work (glean) and asks Boaz's employees for permission (respecting his property rights). His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 7 And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house. As a boss, Boaz is respected by his employees. He treats them with respect, provides a means for income, and a way for them to be generous with his money, as well as their own. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, "The LORD be with you!" And they answered him, "The LORD bless you!" 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them." Although Boaz is often generous to the needy, he goes out of his way to reward her hard work. He doesn't treat everyone who comes to him equally, but fairly. And his special treatment is the reward for her hard work and her selfless generosity to her mother-in-law. Notice how the concept of both repayment and reward are on his mind, as he speaks about her reputation in the town . 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." Godonomics is about liberty, prosperity, and generosity. It values property rights, pays people fairly not equally, and understands that reward and incentive are critical for both employees and those in need. God's wisdom challenges us to steward the talents and opportunities we've been given to make lots of money and give generously to the poor and needy. Godonomics transcends politics and labels. Some might call Boaz an "evil-conservative" big business rich guy because of his wealth. Others might call him a "bleeding-heart" liberal who champions the cause of the poor, the downtrodden, and the hurting. God calls him a faithful steward. For more information, check out www.godonomics.com

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Apparently there is a " plus size revolution " in modeling, giving overweight women the role models in fashion they've all be looking for. You'd think, hearing this exciting news, that bountiful beauties everywhere would be rejoicing. Not so, according to an OpEd on CNN ... because too many of them are white. But I was disappointed when I looked at the models featured inside the magazine as members of "The Plus-Size Revolution." At first glance there appeared to be no women of color among the four women featured. (Further research revealed that model Denise Bidot is Puerto Rican and Kuwaiti.) There is no industry more vapid and judgmental than the fashion industry. By definition, it's discriminatory. It's the way the people in charge - generally gay, liberal men - want it. If the images of rotund ladies sold clothing, magazines wouldn't have to be shamed shamed into putting them there. And of course now that the fashion industry has given the world (that didn't ask for it) fat models, other chubby chicks are complaining that they aren't the right fat models. Funnily enough, these models who demand that morbid obesity be praised as beautiful don't see the irony in having their self-esteem being entirely tied to the superficial. True self-confidence doesn't require anybody else to celebrate your diabetes. After all, you couldn't eat the party-cake anyway. They also don't see the irony in demanding that we recognize their beauty, as they continually shame and demean their thin female counterparts. Here's an idea, instead of celebrating fat or thin, white or black... let's just celebrate and encourage healthy bodies. I know, I know... my healthy privilege is showing. Send your fat, white hate-tweets to Steven Crowder

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Perhaps the most surprising development of the recent war between Israel and Gaza was the discovery of the sophisticated network of tunnels that Hamas had quietly developed in the preceding years. The dark, low-tech tunnels running underneath Gaza offered a stark juxtaposition to the modern artillery Israel deployed on the surface. But if the tunnels hinted at an older kind of warfare, that doesn't mean they should be dismissed as a military curiosity. Compared with the most sophisticated weapons systems in use today, tunnels have withstood the test of time: for centuries, they have allowed military units to approach their enemies undetected and helped weaker combatants turn the battlefield to their advantage. There's no way to know how long drones or lasers or anti-missile defense systems will last. But as long as there is warfare, tunnels will almost certainly be part of the fight. FROM ANTIQUITY TO MODERNITY Tunnels and caves, tunnels' geologic predecessor, have a long history in warfare stretching back to biblical times. For at least 3,000 years, embattled populations have used them to hide from, and strike at, stronger enemies. Ironically, this has been especially so in the region where present-day Israel and Palestine are located. Archaeologists have found more than 450 ancient cave systems in the Holy Land, including many that were dug into mountainsides, which the Jews used to launch guerrilla-style attacks on Roman legionnaires during the Great Jewish Revolt from ad 66 to 70. The Romans faced the same tactic around that time in their fight along the Rhine and Danube frontiers in Europe, against Germanic tribes who would dig hidden trenches connected by tunnels and then spring out of the ground to ambush the Roman soldiers. But the use of tunnels hasn't been limited to insurgencies. It wasn't long before the Roman Empire began using them as an offensive weapon in siege warfare. By digging a hidden trench right up to a city's walls, and then tunneling underneath to undermine the walls and force a breach, the Romans discovered that it was possible to end a siege long before the city's population was starved into submission by blockade. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the use of tunnels in this manner soon inspired the development of countertunnels. The ancient Roman historian Polybius described a siege in 189 bc at the Greek city of Ambracia, where the Romans began digging a tunnel parallel to the city wall: For a considerable number of days the besieged did not discover [the Romans] carrying away the earth from the shaft; but when the heaps of earth became too high to be concealed from those inside the city, the commanders of the besieged garrison set to work vigorously digging a trench inside, parallel to the wall. . . . When the trench was made to the desired depth, they next placed in a row along the bottom of the trench nearest the wall a number of brazen vessels made very thin . . . [and] listened for the noise of the digging outside. Having marked the spot indicated by any of these brazen vessels, which were extraordinarily sensitive and vibrated to the sound outside, they began digging from within . . . so calculated as to exactly hit the enemy's tunnel. This is a fine description of the use of countertunnels to intercept and disrupt a tunneling enemy's efforts. (It is also the first description of using acoustics to detect tunnels, a strategy that has become ever more sophisticated, although not necessarily more effective, over time.) The Persian Empire's siege of the Roman city of Dura-Europos in ad 256 led to another new development: when Persian militaries tunneling under the walls of the city hit a Roman countertunnel, they filled it with a poisonous gas made from pitch and sulfur to asphyxiate the soldiers inside -- the first known use of gas warfare. The art of tunneling and countertunneling continued throughout the Middle Ages, with militaries constantly looking for ways to gain the upper hand. At the Siege of Chateau Gaillard (1203-04), the castle built by English King Richard the Lion-Hearted, French soldiers encountered three stout defensive walls. They eventually managed to break through because they found an unguarded toilet chute that emptied into a chapel inside the castle. In the sixteenth century, when gunpowder was added to the tunneling battlefield, the results were literally explosive and increasingly lethal. European armies developed sophisticated techniques for planting barrels of gunpowder in concealed trenches in order to undermine or blow up enemy fortifications, also known as saps (hence the term "sapper" for engineers who did this kind of dangerous work). This technique reached a stupendous climax during the American Civil War at the Siege of Petersburg in July 1864, when Union troops surreptitiously dug a tunnel under Confederate lines, only to fill it with so many barrels of gunpowder that they weren't able to climb out from the resulting crater. In what became known as the Battle of the Crater, Confederate soldiers simply lined up around the edge of the tunnel and poured down deadly fire on their helpless foes. By the beginning of World War I, tunnel engineers' main task was no longer to build tunnels to fortify cities, but to build trenches on the western front. The trenches were essentially a static system of tunnels that served as front lines for each side; it wasn't long before militaries began building tunnels in order to try to blow up the trenches belonging to the enemy. The British proved the most adept at this. At the Battle of the Somme in 1916, they successfully exploded two enormous mines underneath the German trench. In 1917, at Messines Ridge, the British military devised an elaborate strategy to dig 22 separate tunnels or mine shafts underneath German lines over 18 months. The Germans discovered one of the shafts, which had to be abandoned, but the other 21 were finished undetected and stuffed with 450 tons of TNT . On May 30, shortly before the explosives were detonated, the British General Herbert Plumer told his staff, "Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography." The explosion ripped the entire crest off the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge with a blast so enormous that British Prime Minister David Lloyd George claimed to hear it at 10 Downing Street in London. Ten thousand German soldiers were instantly killed or entombed. Plumer, however, was right. Although the British took what was left of the Messines Ridge, the war didn't change course. Instead, it dragged on for another year and a half. UNDERNEATH THE GOOD WAR World War I brought three great innovations to the battlefield -- the land tank, massed artillery firing high-explosive shells, and the airplane -- that made armies feel increasingly vulnerable sitting out in the open. After the war, some military strategists responded by trying to put entire armies underground, in subterranean complexes connected by tunnels to supposedly impregnable casements and fortifications. The most famous (and the most futile) of these efforts was France's so-called Maginot Line, an elaborate underground system of bunkers and supply depots supporting 22 large, aboveground forts and 36 smaller forts, all connected by a railway, pulled by diesel-powered locomotives, that passed through a network of tunnels. In 1940, however, Germany's mobile blitzkrieg tactics completely bypassed the Maginot Line and France had all but lost the war before the thousands of soldiers in the fortresses could even fire a shot. The U.S. Army built something similar, but on a much smaller scale, on the island of Corregidor in Manila Bay, with an 831-foot-long tunnel, some 24 feet wide and 18 feet high, feeding ammunition and supplies to a complex of artillery positions chiseled out of solid rock. An additional 24 lateral tunnels provided storage and sleeping quarters for troops. This was where U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, his family and staff, and Philippine President Manuel Quezon took refuge during the Japanese invasion of the Philippine island of Luzon in December 1941. But like its Maginot Line counterpart, the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor turned out to be more of a trap than an impregnable fortress, as the new mobile warfare techniques of World War II left it isolated and useless. Today, both are little more than tourist attractions and symbols of military folly. But around the same time that these massive underground complexes were being built, tunnels also experienced a revival as a tool for insurgents. The pioneers in this revival of tunnel warfare were the Chinese during the Sino-Japanese War, especially during the fighting around the village of Ranzhuang in Hebei Province in 1937 and 1938. Chinese guerrillas dug nine miles of tunnels between houses in the village to foxholes on the battlefield, so that they could attack Japanese soldiers from the rear. The tunnel entrances and exits were usually located in a house or in a well, making it easier for guerrillas to enter and leave without being detected. The Japanese soon caught on, however, and began filling the tunnels with water or even poison gas. The Chinese retaliated by installing filtering systems that drew off the water and the gas. This cat-and-mouse game -- which is typical of tunnel warfare -- continued until the Japanese finally withdrew. How important the tunnels of Ranzhuang were to the battle's outcome is a matter of debate. To the Chinese, however, they are a monument to defiant resistance to the Japanese invader and, like the Maginot Line, are a major tourist attraction. What the Japanese learned from the tunnel wars against the Chinese, however, would be invaluable in their fight against the U.S. Marines in World War II. They borrowed the techniques of hidden bunkers and emplacements connected by an elaborate network of tunnels, first on the island of Peleliu and then on Iwo Jima. There, they turned an entire mountain, Mount Suribachi, into a honeycomb of tunnels and bunkers lined with concrete, with multiple exits so that Marines clearing one end of the tunnels would find themselves suddenly under attack from the other end. Clearing the Japanese tunnels was a grim business. Facing Japanese soldiers determined to fight to the death, U.S. Marines favored flamethrowers, explosive charges, and hand grenades (according to U.S. rules of engagement, poison gas was not an option). Marines on Peleliu suffered twice as many casualties as Marines fighting on Tarawa, largely because of the tunnels; the Marines on Iwo Jima were still clearing tunnels two months after the island had fallen. There was method to the Japanese soldiers' madness. They hoped that by inflicting as many U.S. casualties as possible -- and making the United States' path to victory as slow, painful, and costly as possible -- they would deter Washington from attempting a similar full-scale invasion of Japan's home islands. It worked, but not in the way the Japanese had hoped. In order to avoid an invasion, U.S. President Harry Truman chose to end the war by dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. UNDERMINING THE UNITED STATES The dawn of the atomic age forced militaries to dig even deeper underground to protect the chains of command from nuclear attack. So the United States built supposedly nuclear-bomb-proof shelters, including a five-acre network of tunnels buried under 2,000 feet of solid granite built into Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, to house the North American Aerospace Defense Command; and the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, located 120 feet under the East Wing of the White House. Fortunately, neither one has been put to that ultimate test, although the PEOC was used by Vice President Dick Cheney during the 9/11 crisis. But the most adept students of tunnel warfare during the Cold War were the Communist forces in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. In Korea, underground warfare reached a new level of size and sophistication in the 1950s. To evade American air supremacy, North Korean and Chinese forces built underground fortifications so extensive that for every mile of military front on the surface, there were two miles of underground tunnels -- more than 300 miles in total. The tunnels were built largely by prisoners, who ripped out more than two million cubic meters of rock for structures that hid not only tens of thousands of soldiers and supplies, but entire artillery batteries that could be wheeled out of mountain caves to fire on South Korean or UN forces (and then drawn back in to dodge subsequent airstrikes). The tunnels dug by Communist forces in South Vietnam were nowhere near as massive as the North Korean version, but they enabled the Vietcong to maintain a guerrilla war for years against a more numerous and better-armed foe. The biggest underground complex was the tunnels at Cu Chi close to Saigon, initiated during Vietnam's Communist insurgency against the French colonial military in the 1950s. These tunnels extended some 200 miles toward the Cambodian border and came complete with ammunition storage, barracks, workshops, kitchens, hospitals, and even theaters for showing propaganda movies. The U.S. military was so oblivious to the underground threat, at least at first, that in 1966 U.S. troops built a base camp -- a 1,500-acre compound housing 4,500 troops -- at Cu Chi, directly over the Vietcong tunnels. Black-clad guerrillas soon began organizing attacks on the base, popping out at night to blow up planes and steal weapons and equipment, including a tank, before disappearing into the darkness. The U.S. military responded by declaring the area around Cu Chi a "free fire" zone and pounded it with artillery, bombs, and even napalm in hopes of destroying the Vietcong. Yet the raids continued: from their tunnels, the Vietnamese guerrillas could wait out U.S. bombing raids and then prepare to strike again. The tunnels "were like a thorn stabbing the enemy in the eye," a Vietcong officer later remembered, one that had become impossible for the U.S. military to remove. According to one historian, the tunnels had allowed the Vietcong to so deeply infiltrate the U.S. military installation that at one point, all 13 of the base's barbers were members of the Vietcong. When at last an Australian engineer revealed that the tunnels under the base were more extensive than anyone imagined, the U.S. Army realized what a hornets' nest it was sitting on. The effort to clear the tunnels included teams of Australians, Americans, and New Zealanders dubbed "Tunnel Rats" who entered small surface access holes barely two feet wide, usually armed with nothing more than a flashlight, a few grenades, and a small pistol. What they found was a vast labyrinth of communication tunnels leading to caves and caverns built at four separate levels. With nerve and courage, the Tunnel Rats defied the claustrophobic and cramped conditions -- as well as booby traps, snakes, scorpions, hordes of bats, and angry Vietcong fighters -- to clear the Cu Chi complex from the inside. At the same time, B-52 airstrikes pounded the tunnels from above, causing many to collapse. Some 12,000 Vietcong fighters were killed in the Cu Chi operation, but the United States had barely started securing the tunnel complex when the country withdrew from the war. Today, even the Vietnamese honor the Tunnel Rats as the toughest, deadliest foe they ever faced. (The Israeli military has a similar unit, the Samoorim ["Weasels"], as part of the elite Yahalom combat engineers.) Although the Tunnel Rats could not save the U.S. mission in Vietnam, they did write one of the grittiest, if largely forgotten, chapters in the history of the U.S. Army. In Vietnam, the tunnel digging stopped with the end of the war (although the Vietnamese revived their use during the Chinese invasion in 1978). Not so in North Korea. After the Korean War, Pyongyang's appetite for tunnels increased. In preparation for a fresh invasion of South Korea, North Korea designed tunnel complexes across the demilitarized zone between the two countries. Between 1974 and 1990, South Korean authorities discovered four massive tunnels extending from North Korea under the border, each buried more than 100 meters under the surface and measuring two meters high and two meters wide -- wide enough for three North Korean soldiers to march through shoulder to shoulder (sufficient for a full division of North Korean troops, roughly 10,000 soldiers, to march through every hour). One of the tunnels emptied out just 30 miles from the South Korean capital of Seoul. South Korean authorities closed down the tunnels as they found them, but no one knows how many more may remain undiscovered. THE INVISIBLE THREAT The Israel Defense Forces face similar problems in Gaza today. In the IDF's recent incursion into Hamas-governed territory, it has claimed that it destroyed no fewer than 31 military tunnels leading into Israel. But there is no doubt that a large maze of tunnels still exists in Gaza. These tunnels were clearly not the product of improvisation. Indeed, their size and sophistication suggest that, in recent years, North Korea has been providing Hamas both weapons and expertise in digging tunnels. The construction of Hamas' tunnels involved the removal of massive quantities of earth almost entirely with electric jackhammers operating some 60 feet underground, in order not to alert the Israelis. Then the surfaces of the tunnel were lined with concrete, and iron rails were installed down the middle to facilitate the transportation of soldiers, missiles, and weapons in -- and kidnapped Israeli victims out. Some of Hamas' tunnels were large enough to drive a truck through, and nearly all were booby-trapped. They were also positioned so that detecting and clearing the tunnels would cause massive civilian casualties on the surface. Hamas' main underground command center, for example, is situated under a hospital. What the IDF discovered, to its dismay, was that Hamas' tunnels weren't simply extensive -- they were also jam-packed with weapons in preparation for an all-out offensive into Israel that Israeli authorities say was planned to coincide with the Rosh Hashanah holiday on September 24. If Hamas' rocket attacks hadn't triggered a bold Israeli reaction, including ground operations in Gaza, the tunnels might have gone undetected -- and the coming Hamas offensive would have been as much a psychological blow to Israel as the 9/11 attacks were to the United States. This is, of course, the great advantage of tunnels in warfare. They are an invisible and silent threat, unless you know what to look for and where to look. More often than not, countertunnelers have had to rely on luck, instinct, and human intelligence (that is to say, an informer) to find their whereabouts -- and, as history has shown in Cu Chi and Messines Ridge, by the time they find out, it's often too late. Meanwhile, the factor of the unknown can gnaw at an antagonist's imagination, filling an entire community with fear and adding a dimension of psychological warfare to the other challenges tunnel warfare poses. No one in Israel can be sure that the IDF has taken out all of the tunnels Hamas has built, any more than they know how many tunnels Hamas' Shiite counterpart, Hezbollah, has dug into Israel from Lebanon. Reports suggest that the Hezbollah tunnels may be, if anything, even more sophisticated. Likewise, South Koreans cannot be sure they've found every tunnel that their Communist neighbor has burrowed under the demilitarized zone, although no new tunnel has been found since 1991. TECHNOLOGY VS. TUNNELS Even the United States can't rest easy. The recent uncovering of more than 200 tunnels dug across the Mexican-U.S. border -- 95 in Nogales, Arizona, alone -- has spurred fears of an underground assault. Most of these cross-border tunnels are used for smuggling illegal immigrants or drugs; but they could also become conduits for terrorists. That danger has prompted the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) to develop new ways of detecting tunnels that are more systematic than relying on dumb luck or the occasional informant. In January 2011, the U.S. government even set up a Joint Tunnel Test Range at the Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona, to sample the latest anti-tunneling technologies. High-tech tunnel detection is an inexact science, to say the least. One underground detection expert, Paul Berman, has told the Times of Israel newspaper that electrical resistivity tomography, which measures levels of resistance in the earth under a given patch of ground, can find anomalies that would point to the existence of tunnels -- or again might not. So far, no one has found the magic high-tech formula for finding hidden tunnels. "Tunnels have only been, so far, successfully located by intelligence, not by technology," according to John Verrico of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. Seismic testing technologies that help oil and gas exploration or the construction trade find the geophysical character of a piece of land aren't designed to look for the distinctive features of tunnels. Sensors that work well in finding gaps or crevasses in one environment may miss significant features of another, including the presence of a man-made tunnel. Ground-penetrating radar has been one promising area of research, using pulses of radio frequency energy to find voids or gaps beneath ground surface. GPR works fine for locating utility lines and minesweeping operations and finding buried historical sites. But looking deeper, to the 10- to 20-meter depths where terrorists like to lay their tunnels, is more difficult. Lockheed Martin is working with the DHS on a lower-frequency version of GPR , using electromagnetic waves to plot tunnels deep underground, but until now the results have been indeterminate. Another promising approach is the prototype Active Acoustic Tunnel Detector, being developed at Idaho National Laboratory, which transmits up to 200 hertz of acoustic waves into the ground. An onboard motion detector measures how the waves move the dirt and rock that those sound waves pass through. If the ground is solid, the resulting graph shows a rapidly rising line. If there's a gap or void, the graph line will appear as a hump or dip. A third approach uses microgravity analysis, measuring minute changes in the planet's gravitational field to locate a tunnel. That requires a higher level of precision than current testing can show and will require a heavy investment in research to get any reliable results. In any case, once a tunnel is found, there still remains the problem of how to clear or secure it safely, especially if it's booby-trapped. The use of robotic vehicles to explore and neutralize a tunnel structure may eventually replace the volunteer "Tunnel Rat." But for now, the old techniques of clearing them with explosives and a handgun remain the standard -- as do the dangers of that approach. In fact, if there's any certain bet to come out of the fighting in Gaza, it's that tunnel warfare in the hands of future insurgencies and militant groups will pose a persistent problem in spite of all the high-tech weaponry and gadgets of traditional militaries. Which side ultimately prevails depends on many factors. But anyone who thinks there's clear light at the end of this tunnel had better think again. Support Hudson Institute. Donate today

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Listening to the some of the reactions from reporters and media commentators over recent events, specifically, the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine and the ground invasion of Gaza by the Israelis, many of their reactions have been of dismay, akin to what is the President's reaction, what is he going to do, etc. Last week, while thousands of children continued to flood across Harry Reid's "secure" US/Mexico border, we were treated to similar hand-wringing by the press, joined by several members of Congress, when the President had time to shoot pool and attend Democratic fundraisers, but could not visit the Texas or Arizona borders. President Obama at what he does best Newsflash everyone. Barack Obama doesn't care. And to those who say, "he cares about his legacy," my reply is, horse-hockey. Barack Obama is biding his time until 2016, when he can jet off to multi-million home in Hawaii, paid for by his Hollywood pals. Now, he's all about enjoying the perks of office and his most especially beloved, his private jet, courtesy of the American taxpayers. In this age of grave climate change, the President sure doesn't have any problems jetting off all over the country for his $30,000/plate fundraisers. According to the US Energy Information Administration, Air Force One burns five gallons of jet fuel for every mile it flies, and, the burning of the fuel emits 21.1 pounds of CO2 per gallon into the atmosphere. What me, worry? What? Me, worry? It is readily apparent, at least to this author, that our narcissist-in-chief has always believed that the American minions don't truly appreciate him for his mind or his greatness. In 2008, did he not trounce Hillary "you're likable enough" Clinton, then the perceived shoo-in for the Democratic presidential nomination. Did he not win the Nobel Peace Prize awarded for his future undertakings as the world waited with bated breath. Why he even sealed his college transcripts because we wouldn't understand his brilliance and they'd be taken out of context anyway, like the whispering campaign that he used a foreign student exchange scholarship to get into Columbia. Whether Rasmussen or Gallup , or numerous other pollsters, Americans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the direction our country is going in. According to Gallup, 23% of Americans are satisfied with the direction, while 74% are dissatisfied. June 5-8 Gallup Poll re America's Mood/Direction of the Country Our country has become unrecognizable to so many of us in just the past five and one-half years. We've become a nation where 37.2% of working-age Americans are not in the labor force, a 36-year high . Mortimer Zuckerman, in his July 13 piece for The Wall Street Journal, writes: Full-time jobs last month plunged by 523,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What has increased are part-time jobs. They soared by about 800,000 to more than 28 million. Just think of all those Americans working part time, no doubt glad to have the work but also contending with lower pay, diminished benefits and little job security. Our Saul Alinsky acolyte has been slowly and systematically dismantling America as we know it. He took advantage of the "blame Bush" mantra that propelled him and a Democrat-controlled Congress into office. He's run rough-shod over the Constitution in the guise of Executive Orders; intimidated the US Supreme Court Chief Justice into a favorable ruling for Obamacare, which has been one of the chief culprits in America's anemic economic (non) recovery; lied to the American people and has taken no accountability about Benghazi, the IRS targeting, and the VA scandals; polarized Americans by inferring that if we are pro-life or believe marriage is between a man and a woman, we must be bigots and racists, OR, if we're financially successful, we've done so at the expense of the undeserving poor; and mocks America's exceptionalism on an international stage as he draws down our armed forces to the lowest levels since the 1940's. For the latter, I fear, we will pay a heavy price in the not-too-distant future, as terrorism spreads and fills the vacuum of our departure on the world stage. And now, our legend-in-his own-mind President fills his time making vacuous statements mostly about himself and his accomplishments, while mocking the opposition. His recent 5500-word speech given in Texas (you remember, when he didn't have time to visit the border) contained 199 references to me or I, a record some media outlets report. No, Barack Obama only cares about Barack Obama and always has. And that is becoming increasingly evident to more and more of the voting public every passing day. Some of the sycophantic media denizens are beginning to wake up, and we're even seeing chinks in the armor of that one demographic that can always be counted on for Obama hero worship and votes -- members of the Black community now finding their voices as they see their fair share being given instead to illegal minors crossing the border. We have two and one-half more years of this Presidential farce, and I'm putting the TV on mute from now on whenever I see anything remotely Barack. Clint Eastwood had it right. An empty chair for an empty suit. And Obama doesn't care. Originally published on www.political-woman.com

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New York City's Mercury Lounge never felt much like an intimate space to me. It's a weird size--not quite the monumental Terminal 5 scope, but definitely not your buddy's beater practice loft. Foursquare tells me the venue holds 250, but with all the swaying and stomping at Dr. Dog 's sold-out show the other night, I would have bet a higher number. Five years has passed since I last saw the Philly boys play. Then, I felt more drunk under Fate 's spell cast live than the questionably-obtained jaeger soaking my brain. They rocked. A lot has filled those five years. Dr. Dog has released two full-lengths with another due next month. They toured heaps. Festivals absorbed them in countless bills like sexy, strumming hood ornaments. They matured. And so did their audience. (I've since lived in four different cities and am now legally allowed to purchase jaeger [although I never do]). In the past half decade, too, that fan base swelled and spread--so much that Tuesday's show sold out in 30 seconds. Baseball caps, suits and normals alike packed Merc so tightly I still congratulate myself on shapeshifting my way to the front. Although the crowdedness bordered on uncomfortable, nobody looked it. A blanket beam shone from the ecstatic faces, illuminating the dudes on stage. The band was stoked, too. A few members paid homage to all the festivals--perhaps just to irony--and slicked on plastic-framed sunglasses. The lights weren't bright enough to warrant their use. Perhaps it was all those grins. The set zig-zagged across Dog's discography, starting with one from last year's Be The Void ("Heavy Light"), jutting back two years to crowd-crazer "Stranger." "Hang On" possessed palms to smack each syllable of "I don't need a doctor" on plaid chests. The cut sounded tighter but more comfortable than when I saw it last in my small Florida beach town. No longer left with a trace of uncertainty in their bones, Dog stomped the stage as if they were headlining a personal family reunion. And in a way, the surprise show kinda was just that. Sweaty arms cradled willing noggins into human macrame. The braid's components already knew the lyrics to "The Truth," the forthcoming B-Room 's single. This track really sells me on a major group development--they finally have a fully actualized identity. I bought all my friends with summer birthdays in 2008 Fate because I qualified it a crowd-pleaser... then Dr. Dog reminded me of lovely, vanilla Beatlesphiles who sometimes wore rugged blue jeans. "Truth," though, allows some soul shine. Hips animated slowly along to the wispy organ saunter, vocals precipitated in a storm cloud. They played at least two more B-Room tracks that evening: "Broken Heart" and "Distant Light." Both jammier than past releases, cooling greatly on the piano stomp. Songs swirled on and on and I wondered if the band surrendered to the paisley groove, letting the songs tack on extra minutes. I look around me and folks kept taking long blinks, like they might be in an especially mesmerizing Sunday service. Dog drank Tecates and pint glasses filled with water (or maybe vodka? Who knows), soliciting requests. "County Line," an oldie from Toothbrush , won the shouting contest, raising dozens of iPhones and the inevitable Instagram video option. Finally I caught my first whiff of a few someones herbally refreshing themselves. Hopefully related, at that same moment, I found a lone oak leaf stowed away in my hair. Ahh, festival life. Eighteen songs in, my watch read too-close to 1 a.m. The crowd hadn't thinned at all. The band showed no signs of slowing down, leading Mercury in heavier hypnosis. Thankful I'd yanked myself free to note the time--I work a day job, you know--I started the 20-minute crawl from the stage to the club exit. Hardly any smokers breaking from the show stood outside. Everyone was still in there, still thrilled to be, too. I felt thrilled, too. Thrilled Dr. Dog can sell out a NYC venue in less than a minute. And thrilled after 15 years as a band--and endless changes, growth along the way--the crew could collectively chip a unique spot into Philadelphia's musical trunk right now, but also Americana as a whole for all time. Check out photographer Charlene Chae's photos from the show in the gallery below.

New York City's Mercury Lounge never felt much like an intimate space to me. It's a weird size--not quite the monumental Terminal 5 scope, but definitely not your buddy's beater practice loft. Foursquare tells me the venue holds 250, but with all the swaying and stomping at Dr. Dog 's sold-out show the other night, I would have bet a higher number.

By Andrew Glikson 02 November, 2009 Countercurrents.org T he recent warning by Professor Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact: "We are simply talking about the very life support system of this planet" [1] is consistent with the lessons arising from the history of the Earth's atmosphere/ocean system. A rise of CO2-e (CO2-equivalent, including the effect of methane) above 500 ppm and of mean global temperature toward and above 4 degrees C, projected by the IPCC [2], Copenhagen [3] and Oxford [4] scientific reports, as well as reports by the world's leading climate science bodies (NASA/GISS, Hadley-Met, Potsdam Climate Impact Institute, NSIDC, CSIRO, BOM), would transcend the conditions which allowed the development of agriculture in the early Neolithic, tracking toward climates which dominated the mid-Pliocene (3 Ma) (1 Ma = 1 million years) and further toward greenhouse Earth conditions analogous to those of the Cretaceous (145-65 Ma) and early Cenozoic (pre-34 Ma). Lost all too often in the climate debate is an appreciation of the delicate balance between the physical and chemical state of the atmosphere-ocean-land system and the evolving biosphere, which controls the emergence, survival and demise of species, including humans. By contrast to Venus, with its thick blanket of CO2 and sulphur dioxide greenhouse atmosphere, exerting extreme pressure (90 bars) at the surface, or Mars with its thin (0.01 bar) CO2 atmosphere, the presence in the Earth's atmosphere of trace concentrations of greenhouse gases (CO2, methane, nitric oxides, ozone) modulates surface temperatures in the range of -89 and +57.7 degrees Celsius, allowing the presence of liquid water and thereby of life. Forming a thin breathable veneer only slightly more than one thousand the diameter of Earth, and evolving both gradually as well as through major perturbations with time, the Earth's atmosphere acts as the lungs of the biosphere, allowing an exchange of carbon gases and oxygen with plants and animals, which in turn affect the atmosphere, for example through release of methane and photosynthetic oxygen. An excess of carbon dioxide in the lungs triggers a need to breath. When the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere rises above a critical threshold, the climate moves to a different state. Any significant increase in the level of carbon gases triggers powerful feedbacks. These include ice melt/warm water interaction, decline of ice reflection (albedo) effect and increase in infrared absorption by exposed water. Further release of CO2 from the oceans and from drying and burning vegetation shifts global climate zones toward the poles, warms the oceans and induces ocean acidification. The essential physics of the infrared absorption/emission resonance of greenhouse molecules has long been established by observations in nature and laboratory studies, as portrayed in the relations between atmospheric CO2 and mean global temperature projections in Figure 1. The living biosphere, allowing survival of large mammals and of humans on the continents, has developed when CO2 levels fell below about 500 ppm some 34 million years ago (late Eocene). At that stage, and again about 15 million years ago (mid-Miocene), development of the Antarctic ice sheet led to a fundamental change in the global climate regime. About 2.8 million years ago (mid-Pliocene) the Greenland ice sheet and the Arctic Sea ice began to form, with further decline in global temperatures expressed through glacial-interglacial cycles regulated by orbital forcing (Milankovic cycles), with atmospheric CO2 levels oscillating between 180 and 280 ppm CO2 [5]. These conditions allowed the emergence of humans in Africa and later all over the world [6]. Humans already existed 3 million years-ago, however these were small clans which, in response to changing climates migrated to more hospitable parts of Africa and subsequently Asia [6]. About 124 thousand years ago, during the Emian interglacial, temperatures rose by about 1 degree C and sea levels by 6-8 meters. The development of agriculture and thereby human civilization had to wait until climate stabilized about 8000 years ago, when large scale irrigation along the great river valleys (the Nile, Euphrates, Hindus and Yellow River) became possible. Since the industrial revolution humans dug, pumped and burnt more than 320 billion tons of carbon which accumulated as the result of biological activity during 400 million years. 320 billion tons of carbon is more than 50% the carbon concentration of the original atmosphere (540 billion tons). As a consequence the level of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen by about 40%, from 280 to 388 ppm. The world is now witnessing a dangerous shift in the state of the atmosphere-ocean system, an extremely rapid change from the interglacial condition of the Holocene, which began about 11,700 years-ago, to conditions analogous to those of the mid-Pliocene when mean global temperatures were 2 to 3 degrees C higher, and sea levels about 25+/-12 meters higher, than the early 20th century. In terms of the combined effects of CO2, methane and nitric oxide, the rise of greenhouse gases has reached about 460 ppm CO2-equivalent (CO2-e) (Figure 1), only slightly below the 500 ppm level which correlates with the maximum stability of the Antarctic ice sheet. The current rate at which CO2 is rising, 2 ppm per year, is unprecedented in the recent history of the Earth, with the exception of the onset of greenhouse atmospheric conditions following major volcanic episodes and asteroid and comet impacts, which led to the large mass extinctions in the history of the Earth (end-Ordovician, end-Devonian, end-Permian and Permian-Triassic boundary, end-Triassic, end-Jurassic, end-Cretaceous) (Figure 2). Further rise of CO2-e above 500 ppm and mean global temperatures above 4 degrees C can only lead toward greenhouse Earth conditions such as existed during the Cretaceous and early Cenozoic (Figure 2). At 4 degrees C advanced to total melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets leads to sea levels tens of meters higher than at present. Since the 18th century mean global temperature has risen by about 0.8 degrees C. Another 0.5 degrees C is masked by industrial-emitted aerosols (SO2), and further rise ensues from current melting of the ice sheets and sea ice, with loss of reflection (albedo) of ice and gain in infrared absorption by open water, leading to feedback effects. The polar regions, actinv as the "thermostats" of the Earth, are the source of the cold air current vortices and the cold ocean currents, such as the Humboldt and California current, which keep the Earth's overall temperature balance, much as the blood stream regulates the body's temperature and the supply of oxygen. Unfortunately climate change is not an abstract notion, with consequences manifest around the globe in terms of (1) Polar ice melt; (2) Sea level rise; (3) Migration of climate zones toward the poles; (4) Desertification of temperate climate zones; (5) Intensification of hurricanes and floods, related to increase in the level of atmospheric energy; (6) acidification of the oceans; (7) Destruction of coral reefs [2-4]. Which is why the European Union and in recent international conferences defined a rise by 2.0 degrees C as the maximum permissible level. A dominant scientific view has emerged that atmospheric CO2 levels, currently at 388 ppm, need to be urgently reduced to below 350 ppm [5]. This is because, a rise of CO2 concentration above 350 ppm triggers feedback effects, which include: 1. Carbon cycle feedback due to warming, which dries and burns vegetation, with loss of CO2. With further warming, the onset of methane release from polar bogs and sediments is of major concern. 2. Ice/melt water interaction feedbacks: melt water melts more ice, ice loss results in albedo loss, exposed water absorb infrared heat. Because CO2 is cumulative, with atmospheric residence time on the scale of centuries to millennia, it may not be possible to stabilize or control the climate through small incremental reduction in emission and avoid irreversible tipping points [7]. Humans can not argue with the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere. Time is running out. What is needed are global emergency measures, including: 1. Urgent deep cuts in carbon emissions by as much as 80%. 2. Parallel Fast track transformation to non-polluting energy utilities - solar, solar-thermal, wind, tide, geothermal, hot rocks. 3. Global reforestation and re-vegetation campaigns, including application of biochar. Business as usual, with its focus on the annual balance sheet, can hardly continue under conditions of environmental collapse. Governments, focused on the next elections, need to focus on the survival of the next generation Good planets are hard to come by. 4. Oxford 28-30 October, 2009 meeting http://www.eci.ox.ac.uk/4degrees/programme.php 5. Hansen et al. 2008. Target CO2: Where Should humanity aim? http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/2008/ TargetCO2_20080407.pdf ; Glikson, A.Y., 2008. Milestones in the evolution of the atmosphere with reference to climate change. Aust. J. Earth Sci. 55 no. 2. http://www.zeroemissionnetwork.org/ files/MILESTONES_19-6-07.pdf 6 . deMenocal, P.B. African climate change and faunal evolution during the Pliocene-Pleistocene. Earth and Plant. Sci. Lett, Frontiers, 6976, 1-22, 2004 http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~peter/ Resources/Publications/deMenocal.2004.pdf 7. Lenton et al., 2008. Tipping points in the Earth climate system. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2008/02/080204172224.htm 8. Royer et al., 2004. CO2 as a primary driver of Phanerozoic climate. GSA Today; v. 14; no. 3, doi: 10.1130/1052-5173 Figure 1. A plot of global mean temperature (increase above pre-industrial time in degrees C) vs atmospheric greenhouse gas (GHG) concentration (in CO2-eqivalent, a value which includes the effect of methane). The assumed climate is 3+/-1.5 degrees C per doubling of CO2-e. The field I, II, III, etc. correspond to the IPCC's various emission scenarios. IPCC Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, figure 5.1 http://www.ipcc.ch/graphics/syr/fig5-1.jpg Figure 2. Variations in atmospheric CO2 concentrations and oxygen concentrations correlated with ice ages (blue histograms, extending according to geographic latitude). Note the sharp decline in atmospheric CO2 during ice ages. After Royer et al. 2004 [8] and Berner et al. 2007 [9]. Andrew Glikson Earth and paleoclimate scientist Institute of Climate Change Australian National University Canberra, A.C.T. 0200

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Downtown Portland, like most large cities nowadays, is largely inhabited by two kinds of people: the poor who idly roam the streets and the well-off who live high above the streets in apartments and condos. How could this have happened? Could this be the result of the policies of the Democrats who run big cities nowadays? Well, of course. Does a bear. . . .? One of those policies, beloved of the Portland mayor and his commissioners, is called the Urban Growth Boundary. That policy means that certain kinds of projects such as low-rise housing developments and shopping malls are not allowed within an arbitrary urban boundary line. Otherwise, the accepted City Hall wisdom goes, the city would just spread willy-nilly, driven by need and profit. "Horrors!" the Portland mayor and his councilors shriek, recoiling at the mention of a profit the way a vampire recoils at the sight of a handful of garlic cloves. According to the official rationale, the urban boundary prevents Portland from "sprawl" (a devil word among city planners) and encourages the building of affordable housing close to jobs. "You care about our quality of life and we love the words you use to leftsplain it to us," says liberal Portland citizens. "Well, that's what we do," replies City Hall. Conservative pundits, ever the killjoys, say that the urban boundary regulations not only infringe on property rights, but increase the cost of housing within the boundary. Many housing projects, these curmudgeons say, are never built because of the restrictions of the policy. Fewer dwellings mean more expensive housing. Drawing a circle around Portland means that the land inside becomes more valuable. And that drives costs up. It's that inconvenient supply and demand thing. So whose ideas have panned out? Quelle surprise!: the conservative naysayers. When Portland's boundary lines were first drawn, Portland's median home prices were around the national average of $63,000. They are now 90% above the national average and rising. I live in the Portland suburb of Tigard. I had hoped to return to Portland someday (when I could talk Marie into it). Now I can't afford it because the cost of living in Portland has risen so fast. Portland apparently wants to emulate San Francisco, the ne plus ultra of left-wing city planning, especially in its hyper-regulated housing policies. The median value of a home in San Francisco is now well over a million dollars. Only the rich can live there--and the street people, of course. Once Portland housing became unaffordable to the middle classes, the progressives at City Hall began to worry. We need more middle-class people walking our streets, they said, in order to dilute the effect of the street people. So how did Portland approach the problem? Simple: City Hall concluded that now that they've driven up housing costs with the Urban Boundry, they ought to do more of the same kind of thing by putting even more restrictions on builders. In gambling, that's called doubling down. Or in Einstein's famous definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. So the Mayor and the city commissioners decreed that large apartment and condo builders must set aside rent-restricted apartments and sell them for lower than market value to middle and low-income Portlanders. Of course, the builders now had to charge more for the rest of the apartments. But wouldn't builders be less likely to build new apartments if they were forced to include rent-controlled apartments? Well, yes. In fact, that's exactly what's happening. Building permits have fallen off dramatically since the policy began. That means fewer apartments for more people. That means housing costs rise. The immutable law of supply and demand wins again. I haven't even talked about burdensome building regulations, always popular among Progressives, which also drive up the cost of housing. For one thing, each builder has to hire a host of expensive lawyers to navigate the numerous and arcane building regulations. That raises the cost of every building that's built in Portland. There are other ways of driving up the cost of living. You might, for instance, pour money into big expensive projects like Portland's new 135-million dollar Tillikum Crossing bridge. But shouldn't Portland build needful things that benefit all Portlanders? Of course. Unfortunately, the new Tillikum Crossing bridge doesn't allow cars on it. It only carries walkers, bikes, buses, and one line of light rail. Portland claims that the bridge "expresses the values that are central to our city." Apparently, those values mean giving it a Native American name (always a safe choice) and excluding cars from the bridge. The bridge's name, Tillikum, comes from the Chinook word for people. So it's the "people's bridge"--though the automobile, the vehicle that the "people" actually want to use to get from place to place, is forbidden. But I'm tired of all this talk about regulations and urban boundaries and car-less bridges. So let's try to sort all of this out. Liberals profess to desire low-cost housing, yet their policies drive up the cost of housing. And liberals profess to l0ve minorities and diversity, yet their policies keep out low-income minorities and thus result in less diversity. Weird, isn't it? What are we to make of this disjunction between what they profess to want and what they get? There are two possibilities: (1) Progressives are not smart enough--or perhaps overly besotted by left-wing ideology--to see that their policies result in the opposite of what they profess to want. Unintended consequences, I think they're called. (2) To be less charitable, those results--high-cost housing and less diversity--are actually intended consequence. But of course, progressives have to keep their actual motives hidden. Who wants to come out and say that they intend to drive up costs so that the poor and middle classes can't afford to live among them in their elite urban enclaves? Published in General

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We covered Sony deciding to give Powers a shot as a series, the next in a long line of comic book adaptations that are saturating the media landscape. Most are well aware of the numerous super hero offerings on both television and at the theater, but the success of The Walking Dead proves that there is room for more mature adaptations of comic properties. That said, it isn't a sure bet. The past hasn't shown that attempts to adapt non-superhero comic properties can be a total failure. Take Human Target or Wanted for example. These were stories that were watered down or changed to the point of becoming generic and essentially failing to grab onto any following that might have existed. Any successes have been scattered, such as The Walking Dead and A History of Violence , and failed to gain the traction needed to really push the field forward, until now. Maybe now the time is changing? With Powers , DMZ and Preacher on the way, does this open the doors for other series or film properties away from the realm of superheroics? With newer avenues of production like Netflix and the growth of the Internet in general and there's never been a better time to take the risk. So with that, I thought I'd take a look at some more personal choices that should see new life in this current era of comic book interest. Now I stress, these are personal choices. We're basically spoiled as comic readers today and there's plenty I've only skimmed or glanced at that should probably be included. Some honorable mentions should be series like Chew , Fables , and Planetary . Fables especially seeing as it has been screwed over by both NBC and ABC who coincidentally would go on to produce Grimm and Once Upon A Time respectively. If you have any suggestions, they are always welcome in the comments. Here is my personal list of comics I'd like to see come to series. The Warren Ellis classic deserves an adaptation more than most. It's probably my favorite series outside of Preacher and my next choice to be kicked around the production avenues and never see the light of day. When I first got the word that Preacher might finally be coming to the screen, this was my next thought. There was a really good comment on the whole Terry Gilliam/Zack Snyder fiasco that mentioned Gilliam needing to be at the helm and I think it's a brilliant idea. Spider Jerusalem is larger than life and needs to be in people's lives via either television or film. There hasn't been word of an adaption since Ellis addressed rumors on Twitter in 2010 and pretty much dashed hopes back beforehand at a convention in London. A man can dream though! Y: The Last Man This was one I was sure was going to be adapted into some sort of project, be it a mini-series or multiple films. But as of January of this year, Brian K. Vaughn noted that the rights were about to revert back to his possession unless New Line went ahead with their adaptation. Nevertheless, Y: The Last Man has to be adapted eventually. It's almost a given. It has the post-apocalyptic feel of The Walking Dead , the political thrills of 24 and all the mystery of Lost in one great tale. It is a testament to the kind of hurdles one has to jump in Hollywood to get anything made. The Last Man it seems like a winner on paper, but is forced to toil in development hell. It's a shame. Mad Man Now this is probably where I go off the beaten path a bit, but I can't deny my oddball fascination with Mike Allred's superhero. Allred has brought his oddity to the mainstream with art on X-Force and currently on FF , but Mad Man is still where it all matters for me. According to the wiki , Robert Rodriguez has owned the film rights since 1998 and the property has been in play since 1992. That's twenty years that the idea has been gestating in someone's mind and hasn't started. Rodriguez went all out with his Sin City adaptations and is a fan of the completely CGI fueled movie set, kinda leaving me wondering why the Mad Man movie isn't a fit for his schedule. Throw it on the El Rey Network or at least do something with it! If they can make a Hellboy movie work, they can make Mad Man work!

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(stock photo courtesy of Fotolia) Each year during Black History Month we reflect on the contributions African Americans are making to our great country. It's become customary this month be used to galvanize African Americans around the issues disproportionately impacting our community. African-Americans have always been a strong and resilient people - so I have no doubt that despite the numerous challenges facing our community today, we can also take on another that is more than deserving of our time during this month of reflection and mobilization. The disproportionate number of African American's in foster care must remain in our conscience during Black History Month, and the many more months to come until these disparities are eradicated. Studies show children of color enter foster care at disproportional rates than their share of the general population. The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care once summarized the state of African American children in the system as facing "the gravest disparities." In 2011, black children made up 14 percent of all children but accounted for 27 percent of foster children. Almost a decade ago, the disparity was even greater with only 15 percent of the child population being black, yet African-Americans made up 38 percent of the foster care population. Once in foster care African-American children remain in the system on average far longer than Caucasian children, lagging behind in key indicators such as maintaining children in their homes, number of placements with adoptive parents and reunifications with their biological families. These disproportionalities have been described as a "chronic crisis" and it's hard to come to any other conclusion knowing what is waiting for foster youth who do not get the proper support that all children need. Foster youth without proper support are at a higher risk for unemployment, poor educational outcomes, health issues, early parenthood, long-term dependency on public assistance, increased incarceration rates and homelessness. Whether it's reflecting on the life of Malcom X or celebrating the achievement of recent Superbowl Champion Michael Oher, the promise of African American foster youth is on full display this month as both of these leaders overcame challenges from living in the foster care system. Now is the moment to galvanize the nation's attention around the need for transformative change within the foster care system. During President Obama 's Inauguration last month we invited former foster youth to share their stories with key lawmakers and advocate for changes in the foster care system. Just like the youth who led the way with peaceful sit ins during the 60's, these youth quietly and persuasively made the case for transformative change. A national dialogue is needed to develop policies so that children spend less time in foster homes and young adults who have grown up in foster care have more support in making the transition to independent living. Ultimately comprehensive federal finance reform is needed in the foster care system. Child welfare agencies should be allowed more flexibility in using federal funding to support innovation so that the very best practices can be brought to bear in assisting foster youth with the numerous challenges they can face. Taking this approach allows child welfare agencies to do more with what they have, instead of relying solely on additional funding that may be hard to come by in these tough fiscal times. Outside of federal finance reform we can also continue to explore legislative fixes such as the Uninterrupted Scholars Act, which was promoted by the House Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and signed into law by President Obama last month. The legislation grants child welfare agencies and caregivers access to foster youth educational records so that when foster youth move throughout the system their school enrollment is not delayed. Before this legislation, foster youth not only faced enrollment delays, but were also forced to repeat coursework over and over again because without their educational records it was difficult to determine what grades they should be placed in. This resulted in several foster youth dropping out of school altogether. So as we reflect this month let us also take a moment to acknowledge the challenges of all foster youth, but particularly African American foster youth. We've seen from our nation's history that transformative change can occur in the face of insurmountable odds. It's time to again come together and raise our voices for foster youth across the nation in need of our love and support. Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) serves as Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, a group of 68 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives working to provide a forum to discuss the challenges facing all foster youth and develop policy recommendations for improving child welfare outcomes.

The disproportionate number of African American's in foster care must remain in our conscience during Black History Month, and the many more months to come until these disparities are eradicated. Studies show children of color enter foster care at disproportional rates than their share of the general population.

Prince Andrew's words are a royal slap in the face to thousands of young people On 5 November, leaked documents in the Paradise Papers suggested royal financial investments are linked to "offshore interests and activities". And the following day, the Duke of York presented awards for technical education to young people at St James's Palace. But at the awards ceremony, Prince Andrew claimed that he "did an... As Prince Charles tries to talk sense, his words fail him [VIDEO] On 5 October, Prince Charles spoke at a global conference in Malta about the need to protect our oceans from pollution and overfishing. But then, in an interview with Sky News, he seemed to praise pirates in Somalia for creating a "fantastic explosion" in sea life in the country's surrounding ocean. The comment provoked a... Here's everything that's wrong with the 'third royal baby' announcement On Monday 4 September, Prince William and Princess Kate announced that they're expecting a third child. But along with the usual fanfare, some people have pointed out reasons why this isn't necessarily a cause for celebration. The 'rape clause' As The Canary previously reported, in April 2017 the government introduced a two-child limit... The next king in Britain could be an American called Allan Many British people would like to see an end to the monarchy. But an American named Allan Evans thinks that, if anything, Britain needs more royals. And as such, he is set to claim what (he believes) is rightfully his. Namely, the right to be King of Wales. An unusual lineage Allan claims to be a 10th generation American. His love of... America's beautiful new rulebook under King Donald the Orange Trumptopia is now on the horizon. And it's an ugly world, whose most despicable advocates have only received a quiet mitten-slap on the wrist from King Donald the Orange. Which is weird, because he's got less self-control than a sickly cat vomiting repeatedly on your best carpet. In fact, he's now decided to soften the impact of his... Ex-Newsround presenter slams the Buckingham Palace renovation, but people really aren't happy [TWEETS] On 18 November, the Treasury announced that Buckingham Palace would undergo a 10-year refurbishment, costing the taxpayer PS369m. Swathes of the public were outraged, and a petition to get the Queen to pay for the renovations herself was signed by over 100,000 people. Television presenter Jake Humphrey also spoke out against the cost... New 30 part BBC documentary will prove we've got the wrong Queen THIS POST IS SATIRICAL In a move set to delight royalists, the BBC has announced that nearly every Sunday evening between now and Christmas will be dominated by a new landmark documentary series about the monarchy. But the programme also promises to be controversial, which could ruffle some feathers. Despite the feeling... Australians want to throw another Queen on the barbie. Isn't it time we did the same? It's a funny old thing the monarchy. Beloved by many, reviled by some - the subject of the national anthem and punk anthems alike. Though widely regarded as but a keepsake of past glories, in the UK the royal family enjoys high approval ratings as a patriotic institution and source of identity. But for our close cousins down-under, in... (c) Canary Media Limited 2015-18. All rights reserved. Canary Media Ltd, PO Box 3301, Bristol, BS5 5GD. Registered in England. Company registration number 09788095. Please contact us .

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Black Lives Matter Toronto's stand brings to mind an odd experience a few years ago, which taught me a lot about the nature of the interplay between authorities and marginalized, policed communities. Blog Oh, you don't have to literally drop your pants. Canadian Blood Services doesn't actually want to see your junk (I assume) -- they just want to know what's there. Because that's not invasive at all. Blog Treatment of trans people (particularly trans women) in detention facilities has come under examination recently. There's a solution, it's just a question of whether there is the will to examine it. Blog

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Hello and welcome to our current events Daily Fix! If you want to go grab another cup of coffee before we start it's okay, I'll wait. Law of the Land + Last Thursday, in what is thought to be a "milestone compromise," Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed into law a bipartisan bill that extends employment and housing discrimination protections to LGBT people. But there's a huge catch: religious organizations and their business affiliates are exempt. Womp. Womp. HRC digs it and says it's an "incredible and collaborative victory" while many other LGBT advocates argue the bill sets a precedent for other conservative-leaning states to pass similar legislation that create legal loop-holes for religious institutions to discriminate against LGBT people. Gizzy Fowler + Mallory Antoine Porter turned himself into police on Tuesday after being a suspect in the murder of 24-year-old black trans woman Gizzy Fowler, who was fatally shot by her car in Nashville. + Remember the whole Chick-fil-A debacle in 2012 when CEO Dan Cathy said that redefining marriage was "inviting God's judgment on our nation" and everyone realized that Chick-fil-A had been donating millions of dollars to conservative organizations fighting same-sex marriage? Well apparently, ever since then, it's House Republicans' go-to office food. "Evidently so: Since Cathy made his controversial comments, House Republicans have spent nearly $13,000 in taxpayer money ordering Chick-fil-A , according to expenditure reports filed through July 2014 (the latest available). That's the equivalent of 3,900 original chicken sandwiches, and it represents a 37-fold increase over the paltry $345 the House GOP had spent on Chick-fil-A the previous three years." + Here's a quick little video about the ridiculous (in a I-can't-believe-you're-in-charge kinda way) anti-gay marriage laws conservative lawmakers are trying to pass in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama. + An Alabama judge granted two lesbians a divorce , even though the state doesn't recognize same-sex marriage anymore. Hate Speech + Facebook released new community guidelines this week that cracks down on hate speech. "Facebook removes hate speech, which includes content that directly attacks people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, or gender identity, or serious disabilities or diseases...Organizations and people dedicated to promoting hatred against these protected groups are not allowed a presence on Facebook. As with all of our standards, we rely on our community to report this content to us." + Elton John and LGBT activists are boycotting Dolce & Gabbana after the two designers expressed their opposition to gay couples having children in a magazine interview. The two men were in a relationship for 23 years before splitting up and said in the past they would never get married because it was against their traditional, Catholic upbringing and beliefs. + A lesbian couple's farewell kiss at Paris's Gare du Nord was interrupted when a train guard, a Thalys International's employee, yelled at them to stop and told them their kissing couldn't be tolerated. Thalys International has featured same-sex couples in their advertising in the past so the women called for LGBT activists to hold the company accountable. Religion + Denise L. Eger is the "first openly gay president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the rabbinical arm of Reform Judaism." She's worked in synagogues since she was 12, about the same age she realized she was a lesbian. + Members of this prominent evangelical church in San Francisco don't have to be celibate anymore as a precondition to joining. Amen.

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Happy Families gets a makeover for 2007 Last updated at 22:07 15 July 2007 It's the charming parlour game from a gentler age, featuring Mr Bun The Baker and Mr Chalk The Teacher. But how would Happy Families look today? The Mail presents your very own version for 2007 right here. To download part one of Modern Happy Families in a cut-out-and-play printable version, right click here and click Save Link As to save the pdf to your computer. To download part two of Modern Happy Families in a cut-out-and-play printable version, right click here and click Save Link As to save the pdf to your computer. Share or comment on this article: Happy Families gets a makeover for 2007

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October 5, 2017 Uncategorized In my opinion, Donald Trump is Nuts as demonstrated by the crazy things he says and does. This page contains one of the largest collection of Videos & Articles about his unhinged behavior. Help increase the ranking and exposure of this page for the keyword phrase " Trump is nuts " by posting links to this page on your blog, facebook page and by posting tweets on twitter about this page; New Facebook Page where you can post your comments about Trump - https://facebook.com/Trump-Is-Nuts-326678621035162/ Trump, The Mad King 27 Psychiatrists Assess The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump In a new book, 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts asses President Donald Trump's behavior. Do his impulses explain his decisions? The book's editor Dr. Brandy Lee and Tony Schwartz, co-author of Trump's "The Art of the Deal A group of psychiatrists has written to Congress to warn Donald Trump poses a "clear and present danger" to the world. Among them is Dr Bandy Lee, of Yale University, who is also reportedly consulting with Democratic members of Congress on setting up an expert panel to give advice on the President's mental health. 8-25-17 Psychiatrists tell Congress Donald Trump is 'a clear and present danger' to the world TRUMP TWO MINUTE ATTENTION SPAN The Washington Post citing inside sources say Trump has the short attention span of a child of 2 to 4 minutes Video Title: Donald Trump's daily 'propaganda document' Not only does Trump have a limited attention span of about 2 minutes as leaked by WH staff, he gets a folder of positive news about himself twice a day. Trump Gets Folder Full of Positive News About Himself Twice a Day Three current and former White House officials tell Vice News that Donald Trump receives a 20 to 25-page packet of positive news coverage and flattering tweets about him twice a day. Donald Trump, the President of 'Fantasyland' Kurt Andersen joins Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss his new book "Fantasyland" that argues Donald Trump's rise can be traced to America's inability to separate fact and fiction. Trump Exhibits Traits of Narcissistic Personality Disorder Experts within the psychological and psychiatric community have expressed concern that Donald Trump is too unstable and impulsive to have access to U.S. nuclear codes. Trump's mental health: 'The elephant in the room' As psychologists and psychiatrists continue to warn about President Trump's mental health, the Columbia Journalism Review called Trump's mental health "the elephant in the room. Lee Siegel, who wrote the CJR column, and Dr. Lance Dodes join Lawrence. Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will interview MSNBC 9 Ways Donald Trump Is A Sociopath Psychologists warn that Trump is displaying classic signs of being mentally ill Video: Two SHRINKS talks about TRUMP's Extreme NARCISSISM According to an article from rawstory.com, top U.S. psychologists like Harvard professor and researcher Howard Gardner have stated that Donald Trump is a textbook narcissist. The article states that "he fits the profile so well that clinical psychologist George Simon told Vanity Fair, He's so classic that I'm archiving video clips of him to use in workshops. This puts Trump in the same category as a number of infamous dictators like Muammar Gaddafi, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Saddam Hussein. And although there are narcissists out there who entertain us, innovate, or create great art, when a narcissist is given immense power over people's lives, they can behave much differently". Read the description of Gaslighing below and see if you think it also fits Trump. A favorite tactic of manipulators, used to obstruct and distort their victim's understanding of reality. Intentionally setting up misdeeds, and then questioning the victim's sanity for reacting to those misdeeds. Rewriting history, or blatantly denying that the event ever took place. Dismissing the victim's legitimate concerns with labels like "crazy", "hysterical" and "sensitive". Gaslighters are patronizing, unapologetic , and above all, they are cowardly. They are seeking power and control over compassionate human beings. Psychiatrists Call For Trump Mental Exam, Fear He Might Be Unstable

In my opinion, Donald Trump is Nuts as demonstrated by the crazy things he says and does. This page contains one of the largest collection of Videos & Articles about his unhinged behavior.

People need to get a life and quit looking to be offended by random patterns in sequences of alphanumeric characters. As was said above, folks got bent outta shape at WTF in NC, and idiots in Texas got upset when the sequence there finally generated "FAT" as a combination (I wonder if they didn't get upset that it had to pass through FAG first to get there?) I can also remember fundies in TN getting bent outta shape at all those tags that had "666" in 'em some years ago. Maybe folks wouldn't be so offended if they didn't spend their lives trying to become offended.

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On June 16, South Africa's youth are being celebrated as the future leaders of this country. In 10 years, today's grade 8s will be graduating from university, entering the job market and writing the next chapter of our development. But the country is falling short in meeting the needs of the youth. The Daily Vox asked young people what they would put down if they were to write a manifesto for advancing South Africa's yout h. 1. Education Education is the key to a better life. This is what we tell children from their earliest days and what encourages them to persevere through school and university. But our education system isn't helping many young people. The matric pass rate in 2016 was at 72.5% if you consider ' progressed learners '. Of those learners that pass matric, only 3.3% of black youth and 3.8% of coloured youth move on to attend institutions of higher learning. This figure, according to Statistics South Africa, has not changed in over 12 years. A group of grade 10 learners at Qhakaza High School in northern KwaZulu-Natal told me the abuse they receive from their teachers not only prevents them from participating in class but diminishes their confidence. "They swear at us, call us dom. You'll end up failing and even if you don't fail you, you still struggle with a sum on the board. I'm telling you. It doesn't feel great at all. You're too scared to raise your hand. I don't even bother with participating anymore. They even tell you that you don't belong in this class," they said. Sanele Nzuza, 22, a grade 11 learner at Sbhukuza High School, told me his biggest challenge at school is having to share textbooks. "I would get told that I have to share a book with someone and we don't live together. I have to make the effort and travel to meet up with them," he said. If this is what our youth have to contend with at school, we shouldn't be surprised at low pass rates. The youth deserve an education system that is accessible, well resourced and globally competitive. It must be easy for them to get into and stay in school. Their schools should have safe and well-equipped buildings with enough desks, chairs, lights, books and whiteboards for every cohort, with well-stocked labs and inviting libraries. And their teachers need to be well trained, highly motivated and ready to teach in line with international standards. More than this, they deserve supportive and nurturing teachers. But it's not just about academics. Their education should provide them with the skills they need to perform well in tertiary education and in adult life. Young people deserve the space to grow and foster their creative talents. Drama, music, art, and technology classes to engage their creativity, sports clubs to foster a healthy lifestyle and hone their athletic abilities. Philosophy classes to help them critically engage with and analyse real world issues like racism, LGBTQIA+ phobias, and the patriarchal system responsible for sexism and rape culture. Outside of the mandated school curriculum, schools should teach kids to grow and prepare their own food, how to resolve personal conflict, how to organise when dealing with government and how to navigate the state bureaucracy - whether that's getting an ID book, passing a driving test, applying for a social grant or paying tax. 2. Healthcare We cannot have a healthy and productive generation if we do not provide adequate healthcare for young people. It is a basic human right that is not being sufficiently met. The youth deserve to have a healthcare system that actually cares for them. They deserve access to reliable and non-judgemental medical services in clean and efficient hospitals and clinics. Dental care and eye care services should not be neglected, and neither should mental health. Whether it is educational support services, counselling or other therapies, early intervention is key to ensuring that young people can flourish into healthy and happy adults. Young people deserve to have access to all the necessary medicines, including contraception , that will improve their health and enable them to participate fully in society. And young women and girls deserve access to free sanitary products . A girl child's life shouldn't have to stop because she is on her period. 3. Social welfare Many young people in South Africa continue to live in communities where they don't have any support. Many young people grow up in single parent households - or in child-headed households. ( According to Statistics South Africa , in 2012, only one in three children aged five and under lived with both their parents.) Others have parents who leave for work early in the morning and return late at night in order to support the family. Who do they turn to in their adolescent struggles? Bakhaya Shandu, 16, a grade 11 student who wants to study social work once he matriculates, told me he wants to look after the people in Vulindlela Township in northern KwaZulu-Natal, his community. "[A] lot of people [here] end up delinquents. They aren't cared for by their parents. They don't care for them. I want to get people together and talk to them about their problems and try to help them with their lives," he said. Young people need to feel that they can find a genuine support base both inside and outside of their homes. It's only with strong social support that we develop empowered, well-rounded, and confident youth. The youth deserve to have mentors who can lend a sympathetic ear when they need advice, and social workers in every school, clinic and community to provide counselling and referrals for further care if they experience abuse or neglect at home or at school. 4. Employment opportunities Employment is what allows people to participate in and contribute to the economy, and to find a sense of direction and purpose in life. The unemployment rate in South Africa is 27.7%, the highest it has been in the past 14 years, and youth make up a large proportion of the unemployed in the country. Young people deserves more employment opportunities and access to these must be made easy. Sihle Mthetwa, 26, is a street vendor. He's only had informal employment since he matriculated five years ago. Mthetwa said government needs to create more opportunities for work. "We're sitting at home because we don't have the strength to study further ... We also don't know which doors we need to approach to access opportunities. We aren't told which way to go. We usually hear after the fact that they were hiring." Government should be doing much more to create long-term jobs (and not just short-term "work opportunities "). In the absence of formal work opportunities, it needs to create an environment that's more friendly to entrepreneurs and help young people learn more about entrepreneurship. A grade 9 learner at Qhakaza High School said there should be schools that teach the youth how to make money from their talents. "We asked [our school] about setting up a school club [for entrepreneurship] but they haven't given us the chance," she said. Workshops and internship programmes with big companies should also be expanded. Young people deserve the opportunity to connect with industry so they can learn firsthand what will be required of them once they are able to enter the industry. 5. Decent housing Decent housing that is clean and safe is a basic human right that South Africa's youth deserve. Living in overcrowded, squalid conditions is not conducive to the development of a productive youth, especially one that will be successful in school. The youth deserve to live in clean, safe, and spacious housing, with access to all the necessary amenities, including clean running water, electricity, and adequate sanitation. Housing should be provided close to economic opportunities and should also have well serviced transport links. Adequate space should be set aside in residential areas for schools, childcare centres, clinics, local shops and recreational spaces for different ages. Neighbourhoods should also have adequate police services. If we cannot offer safety and security to our young people, we cannot expect them to flourish into well-rounded adults. Many young people don't have the right to vote , others aren't registered to vote, and still others have become so disillusioned with our democracy that they've avoided the polls altogether. If we are to build a robust and resilient nation, it's time we took young people's needs seriously and made young people's needs an integral part of our political goals. Featured image by Gulshan Khan

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David Clarke called for border security and the construction of a border wall during his speech Friday at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The former Sheriff of Milwaukee County Wisconsin said that the nation is "under siege because of our broken immigration system." "It is broken, it needs to be fixed and it needs to be fixed now," Clarke declared later in his speech. He said that Constitutionally, Congress wields the power to address the issue but many legislators fear tackling it because "they're thinking of it in terms of their electoral possibilities in the next election cycle." Securing the border should be the top priority according to Clarke because "everything regarding what needs to be fixed flows from that." The quantity of deportations remains irrelevant because people return to the US illegally Clarke said: "It's not going to matter how many people you deport, they're coming back in." Clarke staunchly supports constructing a wall in order to secure the border. "President Trump is right, we need a wall along our southern border and the wall will work," Clarke asserted. Jeff Crouere Clarke delivered his speech during a section titled "We Refuse to Be Suckers: The New Trump Doctrine." Some of the items that Clarke said "we're being suckered by," included "sanctuary cities," "sanctuary states," "Democrats in Congress" and "the fake news media." Clarke urged people to contact their legislators to demand action, "money makes them dance but constituent pressure makes them feel the heat," he said.

David Clarke called for border security and the construction of a border wall during his speech Friday at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The former Sheriff of Milwaukee County Wisconsin said that the nation is "under siege because of our broken immigration system."

By Beth Treffeisen | September 16, 2015, 16:49 EDT Printed from: http://newbostonpost.com/2015/09/16/boston-expands-free-wifi-service-to-more-neighborhoods/ BOSTON -- Boston's free WiFi service will expand to more neighborhoods under a plan announced Wednesday. The service, designed for outdoor use, will reach into parts of Roslindale, Hyde Park and Roxbury, according to the city's Department of Innovation and Technology. "Our Main Streets Districts are the economic engines of our neighborhoods, and free Wi-Fi service provides a valuable amenity and helps all residents stay connected," Mayor Martin J. Walsh said in a statement about the Wicked Free WiFi expansion. The city has 20 of the districts and plans call for 130 WiFi access points. Throughout the city, there are access points placed on municipal buildings, including police and fire stations, and libraries. At least some of the additional access points will be located on streetlight poles. Under the just-announced moves, 37 hotspots will be added, increasing the number of districts to four. "We are committed to ensuring that every resident and business has access to affordable, high-speed Internet," said Jascha Franklin-Hodge, the city's chief information officer, in a statement. "Free public WiFi is one of the ways we can help Boston stay connected." The service isn't meant to work indoors but in places such as parks, on benches and sidewalks. It may be spotty in some areas and can be affected by environmental factors, particularly weather conditions. The available bandwidth is also limited, which may affect data transfers and streaming, the city indicated. You can find an interactive map of the existing WiFi access points here:

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York LGBT History Month, with York Civic Trust, have just unveiled a blue plaque on the wall on the church where Anne Lister made her vows to her partner, Ann Walker. This is a wonderful moment, except that the plaque calls Anne (an iconic figure to lesbians throughout West Yorkshire particularly) "gender non conforming". A gender nonconforming woman can be many things because it only means that you do not conform to societal expectations. It has nothing to do with sexuality. Anne Lister was, most definitely, gender non conforming all her life. She was also however, a lesbian. That is why she took vows with her girlfriend in that church, because they were in love with each other and wanted to express that same sex love - the very definition of lesbianism. Don't let them erase this iconic woman from our history. Anne Lister was a lesbian.

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Wow, obtuse or what Magoo? The idea that "every idea is an ideology" was put forward just to show how broad anti-terrorist legislation is and can be . That way, they can catch everything in their net ... and then choose to prosecute this or that crime as terrorism or not ... according to the wishes of the regime in power at the time. Oh, and Keep up the good work. There are some white supremacist groups that are probably grateful. That is a personal attack. You know the rules about this sort of crap. Quote: there are strong suggestions that at least Souvannarath has a long-time infatuation with fascist and white supremacist ideas. As the surname Souvannarath is Laotian, she might want to do some more research into what white supremacists believe. Her parents or grandparents could have been right-wing exiles driven out of Laos by the victory of the Communist side there. A lot of Southeast Asian expats in the U.S. gravitated to far-right political ideas(probably deluding themselves into the belief that anyone who espouses any progressive ideas are in league with the Pathet Lao forces who beat them solidly on the battlefield). Seems likely that the ones who ended up in Canada ended up on the same path-similar to the first generation of Miami Cubans(though the later generations seem more moderate and open-minded). Well, she might be right-wing, but how likely is it that she would be a white suprmeacist? The two things do not always go together. According to police, three alleged plotters planned to shoot and kill dozens Saturday at a Halifax shopping mall.Had such a plan succeeded, the effect would have almost certainly been mass terror in the Nova Scotia capital.Yet Justice Minister Peter MacKay says this was not a terrorist crime. "The attack does not appear to have been culturally motivated, therefore not linked to terrorism," he told reporters Saturday. MacKay's comments caused some puzzlement. Why would the government deem the murder of Cpl. Nathan Cirillo in Ottawa last fall an act of terror, but not this? In fact, except for his inexplicable use of the word "culturally," MacKay was technically correct. Canada's anti-terror laws don't criminalize actions that might cause terror. Well before the current law was enacted in 2002, it was illegal in Canada to murder people or blow up trains. Rather, they criminalize intent. It may be illegal to kill people in Canada. But it is even more illegal to kill people for a religious, ideological or political purpose. More important, it is left to the state to decide -- in the first instance at least -- which murderous conspiracies have a political motive and which do not. Thus Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, the Muslim gunman who killed Cirillo, is deemed a terrorist for the simple reason that the RCMP and government say he was. Conversely, alleged Halifax plotters Lindsay Souvannarath and Randall Shepherd (the third suspect, James Gamble, died before he could be arrested) are not terrorists because the federal justice minister says they are not. Had police found Islamic State propaganda on their computers, Souvannarath and Shepherd almost certainly would have been charged with terrorism. But social media sites said to belong to the suspects show an interest only in Nazis and violence. That, it seems, is insufficiently ideological to merit a terror charge. So that's the first point about the terror laws: They are unusually arbitrary. The second is that the government's interpretation of these laws is infinitely flexible. Prime Minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government, with the backing of Justin Trudeau's Liberals, proposes a new anti-terror law that would give the security services even more power and citizens even fewer rights. Critics point out that the government has made no case as to why this Bill C-51 might be necessary. As evidence, they point to the Halifax arrests. The alleged plot was discovered not by a newly empowered Canadian Security and Intelligence Service bugging email traffic, but by an ordinary citizen who then made an anonymous call to police. The hapless MacKay was asked about that, too, this weekend. He produced an even more baffling answer. No, the masterminds of the alleged plot were not terrorists whose capture was hindered by limited CSIS powers. Rather, they were "murderous misfits" apprehended through normal police methods. Still, he went on, this apparent contradiction proves why stronger anti-terror laws are needed: Run-of-the-mill murderous misfits might, at some unknown point in the future, be attracted to the Islamic State.Or, to put it another way, the fact that extraordinary security powers were not needed here proves that they are needed. It is a complicated logic.

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The Taranto Principle strikes again. A Republican debate this was not. Thus far the GOP has held two debates: the Fox debate in Cleveland and the CNN debate at the Reagan Library. And whether the immediate audience was huge (with those thousands in Cleveland) or small and intimate (as it was with a few hundred at the Reagan Library), Republican candidates were in a fighting mood. They turned on Donald Trump, and they turned on each other. If there were not a single additional GOP debate the nation's memory book has already etched Donald Trump scalding Jeb or Carly or Rand or Marco. And getting it dished back. There were Chris and Rand getting it on. And so on. And there was the media. I'm not talking about the media acting as the GOP debate moderators (although it was hard to ignore Megyn Kelly on Donald Trump). I mean the media not on the stage covering the debates and the ongoing campaign. Who can forget the blistering back and forths between The Donald and Fox, the whomps from conservative media on Trump, Cruz, Jeb, and this or that one in the rest of the crowd. By the time whoever-it-turns-out-to-be takes the Cleveland podium next summer to accept the Republican presidential nomination, they will have been through media hell to get there -- not to mention run a media gauntlet no reality TV show including anything hosted by Donald Trump could possibly simulate. But the Democrats? It was truly an amazing sight to watch CNN's Anderson Cooper (and yes, full disclosure, I am a CNN political commentator) tell Senator Bernie Sanders something that neither Sanders or his fellow candidates on the stage seemed to have considered. Here again that exchange: COOPER: Senator Sanders. A Gallup poll says half the country would not put a socialist in the White House. You call yourself a democratic socialist. How can any kind of socialist win a general election in the United States? SANDERS: Well, we're gonna win because first, we're gonna explain what democratic socialism is. And what democratic socialism is about is saying that it is immoral and wrong that the top one-tenth of 1 percent in this country own almost 90 percent -- almost -- own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. That it is wrong, today, in a rigged economy, that 57 percent of all new income is going to the top 1 percent. That when you look around the world, you see every other major country providing health care to all people as a right, except the United states. You see every other major country saying to moms that, when you have a baby, we're not gonna separate you from your newborn baby, because we are going to have -- we are gonna have medical and family paid leave, like every other country on Earth. Those are some of the principles that I believe in, and I think we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people. (APPLAUSE) COOPER: Denmark is a country that has a population -- Denmark is a country that has a population of 5.6 million people. The question is really about electability here, and that's what I'm trying to get at. You -- the -- the Republican attack ad against you in a general election -- it writes itself. You supported the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. You honeymooned in the Soviet Union. And just this weekend, you said you're not a capitalist. Doesn't -- doesn't that ad write itself? SANDERS: Well, first of all, let's look at the facts. The facts that are very simple. Republicans win when there is a low voter turnout, and that is what happened last November. Sixty-three percent of the American people didn't vote, Anderson. Eighty percent of young people didn't vote. We are bringing out huge turnouts, and creating excitement all over this country. Democrats at the White House on down will win, when there is excitement and a large voter turnout, and that is what this campaign is doing. COOPER: You don't consider yourself a capitalist, though? SANDERS: Do I consider myself part of the casino capitalist process by which so few have so much and so many have so little by which Wall Street's greed and recklessness wrecked this economy? No, I don't. I believe in a society where all people do well. Not just a handful of billionaires. (APPLAUSE) COOPER: Just let me just be clear. Is there anybody else on the stage who is not a capitalist? To borrow from Jefferson, Anderson Cooper was the media version of a fire bell in the night. Suggesting to Sanders that once out of the cocoon of liberalism, Sanders as a nominee would be savaged by a Republican campaign, a fact so striking to Anderson that he correctly noted "the ad writes itself." I would take this one step further. Notice that once Anderson was done raising this issue to Sanders, he turned to Hillary Clinton. She realized the instant danger she faced if she openly attacked capitalism head on in the style of Sanders. Doubtless she could already envision the commercials swamping her campaign if she in any way appeared to agree with Sanders' blunt denial of capitalism. So the follow-up Cooper/Hillary exchange went like this: CLINTON: Well, let me just follow-up on that, Anderson, because when I think about capitalism, I think about all the small businesses that were started because we have the opportunity and the freedom in our country for people to do that and to make a good living for themselves and their families. And I don't think we should confuse what we have to do every so often in America, which is save capitalism from itself. And I think what Senator Sanders is saying certainly makes sense in the terms of the inequality that we have. But we are not Denmark. I love Denmark. We are the United States of America. And it's our job to rein in the excesses of capitalism so that it doesn't run amok and doesn't cause the kind of inequities we're seeing in our economic system. But we would be making a grave mistake to turn our backs on what built the greatest middle class in the history... COOPER : Senator Sanders? Well. What to make of this? Back there in the mists of October 2012, the first debate between President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney had been had. It wasn't pretty. While Obama would bring his A-game to later debate settings and, inexplicably, Romney would yield his, for the first Obama/Romney showdown the win went decidedly to Romney. In a column at the time here in this space I noted this: The great James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal and The American Spectator long ago posited what is called the "Taranto Principle." In short, it means that the liberal media so coddles liberal politicians that they have no idea how to cope outside that liberal media bubble. It's safe to say that Barack Obama tonight came face-to-face with the latest embodiment of the Taranto Principle -- which is to say, Mitt Romney. Barack Obama has been so totally coddled by the liberal media that he looked absolutely shell-shocked in this debate. Stunned, unhappy, angry, sour -- and at some points genuinely incoherent. Romney has had nowhere near that kind of treatment. He had serious opponents in the primaries -- all of whom in their own way forced him to confront his ideas in a serious fashion. Conservatives were on his heels. The Obama media never let up. The man went through the political equivalent of boot camp. Tonight, the Taranto Principle kicked in. Big time. Outside the liberal bubble -- forced to be alone on a stage with a very serious, very prepared candidate -- Barack Obama was in trouble. Big Trouble. And he has no one but himself -- and his media coddlers -- to blame. Anderson Cooper did no coddling Tuesday night. He won praise even in conservative quarters from Rush Limbaugh to the Media Research Center's Brent Bozell to Red State's Erick Erickson. Deservedly so, as was predicted in this space. He was terrific. But in the media universe beyond those on the stage? Without doubt the Taranto Principle had kicked in. The near universal sentiment was that Hillary Clinton had carried the day, yada yada yada. But carried the day for what? To non-liberal ears it seemed glaringly obvious that today's Democratic Party has tacked so far Left as to wonder not only about the party's political health but its sanity- with their media cheerleaders clueless. Can you imagine that Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton! -- had the felt need to defend... capitalism! And no one in the media universe off that stage seemed to think this just a tad bit crazy? For a seriously prospective nominee of one of America's two major parties to feel the need to defend capitalism is somewhat akin to a prospective pope feeling the need to defend Catholicism and Christianity to the College of Cardinals. Not to mention that once her defense of capitalism was out of the way, the candidate whose campaign coffers are filled with capitalism's financial fruits was back to joining her fellow candidates in imagining all the ways to -- socialize America. There would be free education and clean energy, they will take from the rich and give to everybody else who has the inside track with their leftist pals, raise the minimum wage, bring Wall Street to heel and reel in the banks, provide family leave, give illegals health care and... and...and... And on. The Socialist Utopia beckons. In truth? I thought I was shot back in time to my late '60s, early '70s college days listening to a gripe session with the Students for a Democratic Society. This was socialism running rampant -- and running straight in the direction of Greece. But in the media? Here's the Taranto Principle at work in liberal headlines: New York Times : Hillary Clinton Debate Performance Chills Biden Movement New Yorker : Hillary Clinton Wins Big in Vegas Politico : Hillary Clinton wins Dem debate Raw Story : Scholars give Hillary the win -- but Bernie definitely hit a nerve One could go on -- and on. Nary a liberal media headline to be found that even whispers something like: Democratic Candidates: We're All Socialists Now. Tellingly, there was this in the New York Times , quoting Rep. Dina Titus, Democrat of Nevada, on Hillary's proud declamation that she was a progressive. Progressive in the Clinton vernacular defined as someone who will defend capitalism -- but then quickly unroll the laundry list of more and more socialist-style programs. Or in other words, being Bernie without the out front socialist chutzpah. "I think that kind of cemented it. She (Rep. Titus) said, 'I'm a progressive who can get things done.' That's the perfect combination that we need." The Times was delighted. The rest of the liberal media is delighted. No one in the mainstream media with the sole exception, apparently, of Anderson Cooper, seems to understand what this debate really signals. The Democratic Party is hell and gone from JFK and even Bill Clinton. The GOP's commercials will in fact write themselves. But where are the media headlines? The probing stories of the party's leftward lurch? They aren't there. And, one suspects -- OK one is certain -- they aren't there because the liberal media is itself hell and gone from the skeptical media of an earlier generation. There is no originality here in saying that the modern liberal media is of a piece with the leftist politicians it covers. They find Bernie Sanders and his socialist view of the world -- a view that was clearly shared by his fellow candidates in one form or another -- charming. Inviting. Utopian. To wax Marxian? Inevitable. But as with that first Obama/Romney debate, the notion that a majority of Americans agrees with the socializing of America is a political mistake of the first order. Not that these pro-socialism politicians and journalists understand this. They won't. They can't. Out there in America, Texas Senator Cruz watched the debate in Iowa and said this : It was more socialism, more pacifism, more weakness & less Constitution. It was a recipe to destroy a country. We're seeing our freedoms taken away every day and last night was an audition for who would wear the jackboot most vigorously. Last night was an audition for who would embrace government power for who would strip your and my individual liberties. Suffice to say, there wasn't a single candidate on that Las Vegas stage who has any clue there are Americans aplenty who think like Ted Cruz, regardless of their candidate. And there's a reason for it. The Taranto Principle has struck again.

The near universal sentiment was that Hillary Clinton had carried the day, yada yada yada. But carried the day for what? To non-liberal ears it seemed glaringly obvious that today's Democratic Party has tacked so far Left as to wonder not only about the party's political health but its sanity- with their media cheerleaders clueless. Can you imagine that Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton! -- had the felt need to defend... capitalism!

President Trump added a chapter to a now on-going saga involving Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the UCLA basketball team, and the NBA's controversial Ball family. Last week, the UCLA freshman LiAngelo Ball was arrested for shoplifting in China, along with two teammates. Trump then spoke with Xi during a visit to China, in an apparent publicity stunt involving the much-watched Ball family. Now, Trump is continuing the spectacle, as he has suggested that LiAngelo Ball and his bombastic father, Lavar Ball, were not appreciative enough of his diplomatic favor. "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" President Trump tweeted. There had yet been no details released to the public about the kind of punishment the UCLA players were set to face. "Our president said to Xi, 'Do you know anything about these knuckleheads that got caught allegedly stealing?'" said Chief of Staff John F. Kelly about the matter. "The president was saying, 'It's not too serious. We'd love to see this taken care of in an expeditious way.'" "To say the least, they were very apologetic," Kelly said when asked about how the players behaved after the fact. "They were just profuse in their apologies for embarrassing the country and embarrassing the team." He continued, "I bet they learned a lesson in their lives." Lavar Ball has drawn comparisons to President Trump for his bombastic rhetoric. He built a huge brand - called the Big Baller Brand - by using similar means that President Trump used to build a political following. Both said outlandish things that drew criticism, but also a ton of free advertising. As such, it's almost ironic that Ball and Trump are now engaged with each other directly. At least, it should make for entertaining television.

Now, Trump is continuing the spectacle, as he has suggested that LiAngelo Ball and his bombastic father, Lavar Ball, were not appreciative enough of his diplomatic favor. "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" President Trump tweeted.

On the frontlines of Europe's refugee crisis in Lesvos, Hazel Healy finds tragedy, hope - and answers. Migrants arrived by boat near the village of Skala on the Greek island of Lesbos. (c) Sergey Ponomarev In a taverna overlooking Molyvos harbour, exhausted Greek coastguards have come off shift and are drinking in a huddle. They have just pulled 242 refugees out of the water, in the worst shipwreck off the shores of Lesvos since the refugee crisis began last year. By 1.30am there is only one man left in the bar, Yanis Stipsanos, the vice-mayor of Molyvos. 'Too many people have died at my place,' he says, his face like thunder. 'I didn't kill them. Turkey killed them.' He thinks for a moment. 'Europe killed them.' Pauses. 'Fuck you, Europe, and take them. This is not Lesvos's problem, it's humanity's problem.' Outside, a scene of quiet devastation is unfolding. Wet, salty clothes are strewn about the large cobble stones. The floor of a tiny port-side Orthodox chapel is covered by survivors in blankets, trying to bed down for the night. At the chapel entrance, Salman, a Syriac Christian with red-rimmed, green eyes is pacing. He fled Qamishli in northern Syria, joining the exodus of Christians from the Middle East that began with the invasion of Iraq. The last rescue boat has long since docked but his 27-year-old cousin is still missing. His phone lights up with another call from his uncle and aunt. A young Yazidi woman, Linda, approaches a medic. Despite the blankets piled high on her shoulders, she is shaking violently, going into shock: 'I had my son in the water for an hour, then I lost him.' She left Bashiqa in northern Iraq 14 months ago with her two young children, when ISIS fighters were one day away. 'I had my son in the water for an hour - then I lost him'. The medic leads Linda back the way she came, on another search through some of the people bedded down on the top floor of a port building. They cross paths with an official clutching reams of paper, which bear the names of 38 missing people. Elsewhere, a young Iraqi man announces, to no-one in particular, that he will never sleep again. 'I am so happy to be alive! I will stay here - and sell noodles!'. 'There were so many kids around me. Their life jackets didn't work for them - the waves were going into their mouths. We paid money to die' The refugees - mostly from Syria, but also Iraq and Afghanistan - had embarked on the 10-kilometre crossing from Turkey in a large wooden boat, on the afternoon of 28 October. Supposedly more seaworthy than the customary rubber dinghies, smugglers had charged a premium of up to $2,500 per person. But the craft was made of insubstantial stuff, thin as cardboard. Any doubters were forced on at gunpoint. After 40 minutes, it ran into high winds. The top deck crashed into the lower deck; the boat sank in a matter of minutes. 'It was like a disaster movie,' says Feroz, who used to do PR for the Free Syrian Army, 'Everyone was screaming. There were so many kids around me - the life jackets didn't work for them, the waves were going into their mouths.' He shakes his head. 'We paid money to die.' Preventable deaths The UN refugee agency has found that 90 per cent of those who cross into Europe by sea last year came from the world's top-10 refugee producing nations. So why are refugees paying money to die? The answer lies in Europe's dysfunctional asylum policy which, to borrow the phrasing of Refugee Law scholar Cathryn Costello, majors in shifting responsibility for refugees and migrants instead of sharing it. The 1951 UN Refugee Convention, born of Europe's own terrible wars, bestows protection on those fleeing persecution and can extend to conflict refugees. It has been signed by 145 nations. But there is a catch: people can only claim asylum once they are inside your territory. The game, then, is to stop their arrival. Clockwise from top left: Survivor: Feroz, from Damascus, was one of 242 people rescued from the shipwreck of 28 October. Superhighway tide mark: thousands of arrivals daily through October up until December have left Lesvos's northern beaches littered with life jackets, despite constant volunteer clean-ups. Fragmented families: a group of Palestinians from Yarmouk, Damascus, pose at Molyvos harbour after a safe landing. All have husbands, wives and children still in Syria. 'Humanitarian caste system': migrants ar e divided into deserving and undeserving on the basis of nationality at registration camps on Lesvos. All photos: Petros Diveris The Schengen Agreement, which allows free movement between signatory European countries, effectively pushes Europe's border to the outer rim - Greece, Italy, Spain and the Balkans. Amnesty International reports that the EU spent $2 billion between 2007 and 2013 to stop people breaching that border. Legal entry is a pipe dream for most asylum-seekers. In 2014, a total of 104,000 of the world's refugees were resettled by the UN directly from camps: less than 0.1 per cent of the total. Slowly but surely, land routes into Europe have been fortified and sealed. A visa-regime prevents travel by air or ferry, and family reunion is highly restricted. History shows us the world can act together when it chooses This pushes refugees into more and more dangerous journeys at the hands of smugglers. Linda, the mother I met in Molyvos harbour, was travelling with 20 members of the persecuted Yazidi community who have a strong claim to protection under the 1951 convention. She was hoping to join her parents in Germany. They had driven to Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan and later flown to Istanbul, only to pay upwards of $35,000 (a ferry ticket costs $15) to travel together on a 'cardboard' boat that sank. Linda's 18-month-old son Joud was just one of 90 children to drown in the Aegean Sea in October. The deaths of some 3,600 people on Europe's Mediterranean border in 2015 make the beaches of Lesvos - the entry point for half of Europe's sea arrivals - feel like a war zone. The perverse paradox of Europe's asylum policy - offering protection while pulling up the drawbridge - creates a do-or-die asylum policy. If you make it, you can claim. And for most, it's a risk worth taking. If you're Syrian, like 50 per cent of those coming to Europe across the Med, you are almost certain to get it. Volunteers are filling the gap left by a negligent Europe We are failing refugees on a monumental scale. What's more, history shows us refugees need not be arriving broke, exhausted and empty-handed - if they arrive at all - on an island of 85,000 inhabitants, ill-equipped to shelter or support them. As Cathryn Costello has pointed out : 'If everyone arrived with a humanitarian visa, and was claiming asylum in the country they wanted to, things would look very different.' Unpicking unprecedented Warmed up: volunteers stripped Baby Mohamed of his wet clothes, dressed him and wrapped him in a rescue blanket after he arrived freezing cold at dusk in Eftalou. Petros Diveris 'There are 19.5 million refugees in a world population of 7 billion. It's a manageable problem,' Alexander Betts tells me. Head of the Oxford University Refugee Studies Centre, he appears to have encyclopaedic knowledge of all the refugee crises the world has ever known. He puts this crisis in perspective, reminding me that the overwhelming preponderance of refugees are in the Global South. Ethiopia is home to 650,000; Iran to nearly a million. Europe as a whole, with its 508 million wealthy citizens, has yet to receive as many people as Lebanon. The world can, and has, dealt with refugee crises before. The million arrivals in Europe reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in 2015 represent a challenge, but we have found imaginative ways to ensure safe passage in the past . Betts talks about Nansen passports - refugee travel documents issued in the interwar years - that gave safe passage to 450,000 refugees between 1922 and 1942. Rapid, effective, global Europe has also handled crises on its doorstep. In the 1999 Kosovo War, 850,000 refugees streamed over the border into Macedonia and Montenegro. The UN speedily evacuated 100,000 people under a temporary humanitarian relocation scheme, to every country in Europe. Earlier, the Hungarian crisis of 1956 saw 180,000 people flee to Austria. Within months, just 410 Hungarians remained. The rest were taken in among 36 states, everywhere from the US to Paraguay. Any attempt to control borders is delusional No refugee crisis is the same as any other; all were fraught with mistakes. But they show that the world can act together when it chooses. The protracted exodus from Indochina in the late 1970s saw thousands flee Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia in rickety boats, heading for Southeast Asia. The countries receiving them were overwhelmed - much like Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan today, and thousands drowned. But the UN agreed an Orderly Passage programme to stop the sea crossings. By the time the crisis ended in 1996, 1.6 million were resettled, mostly in the West. This time round, certain European states - primarily Germany and Sweden - stand out for their generosity. But efforts to share the load have stalled. The EU's relocation scheme, brokered in September 2015, aimed to ease the pressure on states of first refuge, such as Greece. But four months later, only 160 people had been moved out of its 160,000 target. On a global scale, the US has pledged to take 10,000 Syrians, Australia 12,000 and Canada 25,000 but these numbers represent just a fraction of the 4.2 million who have fled the Syrian war. This looks like a crisis of politics, not numbers. Solidarity explosion 'How many sandwiches did we make today, Stelios?' calls out Melinda, back in Molyvos harbour at her restaurant, the Captain's Table, which has turned into a de facto hub for refugee support. Stelios thinks for a moment. 'More than 5,000', a prodigious rate of sandwichmaking for new arrivals. Melinda estimates that they are spending $10,000 on relief, every day. If governments are refusing to step up to the plate, the citizens of Europe have had less reserve. As extraordinary as the numbers flowing into Europe, is the solidarity flowing out to meet them. Mixed messages: refugees have received a varied reception as they journey through Europe. Here, a policeman plays with a girl last September in Denmark, a cut-through for many Syrian and Iraqi refugees heading for Sweden. Claus Fisker/Reuters Lesvos has become a magnet for these new humanitarians. Scores of people wearing branded tabards with names like Drop in the Ocean or Team Humanity, stride into the sea on Lesvos' northern beaches, to meet refugee boats. The volunteers are not easily pigeon-holed, and have divergent political opinions. They are people such as Richy, a former soldier who served in Afghanistan; Amanda, a single mother of four grown-up children, who first came to Lesvos as a tourist, and Lukas, a German cyclist, who came to do his bit for Europe. Across the island, they spot boats, clean up beaches and hand out dry clothes to new arrivals. A team of Spanish lifeguards work around the clock with six jet skis to assist the Greek coastguard. (The EU contribution to the rescue effort - a high-sided Frontex patrol boat - has proved ill-suited to the task.) These volunteers are filling the gap left by a negligent Europe. All are self-funded, most co-operate with local efforts and often channel significant resources from networks back home. The 'problem' is not migration but xenophobia fuelled by politicians and the media Freed of bureaucratic constraints, they can also complement the work of international NGOs and the UNHCR, which were late to come to Greece. In the camps to the south of the island where people must register before moving on, there exists what one aid worker harshly described as a 'humanitarian caste system'. Syrians, who are thought more likely to be accepted as refugees, stay in Kara Tepe camp. Those slated for rejection by Europe - Pakistanis, Iranians and Afghans - are consigned to Moria, in appalling conditions. There they are fed by volunteers from Pikpa, the 'village of all together'. Safe haven Established in 2012, Pikpa's entirely volunteer-run reception centre has become a haven for those whose journeys have been interrupted by illness or bereavement. The run-down recreation ground is peaceful after the heart-thumping adrenalin of the beaches, but suffused with sadness. As I walk in, a little girl with a mop of straight black hair walks up and hugs me, then walks off to make a collage. Leo, a Syrian volunteer in his twenties with hazel eyes, pitches up to show me around. He left Damascus three years ago, tried life in Lebanon and Turkey before slipping through Greece's land border, unable to face 'working 12 hours at half-pay and paying double rent'. Big migrations will prove to be the new normal. Think of this crisis as a trial run The shockwaves of the shipwreck two days ago are plain to see. A widowed Afghan man is standing awkwardly by the swings with three daughters, gazing into space. A 10-year-old Syrian girl, Sara, tells me in perfect English, 'my parents were lost on Wednesday,' with a shrug and a small self-conscious smile, adding, 'but now my uncle has come from Germany.' 'It's too much,' says Leo. 'Every day we hear about people dying in the sea. They can open the land border. People will come anyway. Why not make it legal?' Yanis, a psychologist who volunteers with Pikpa, was comforting refugees in the hospital after the accident. 'These families came looking for a better life but they lost everything,' he says. 'I feel so ashamed.' No invasion The moral case for safe passage is beyond doubt. We have the track-record and legal framework to deal with this. So why is Europe - and the rest of the world - falling so far short of its moral obligations? An obsession with migration, pinned as the cause of all 21st-century ills, may have something to do with it. Dutch academic Hein de Haas believes the Left has boxed itself in when it comes to migration by drawing on humanitarian arguments and neglecting practical ones. 'You can't persuade people to have the same values as you,' he tells me in a weary tone when we meet in an Oxford bookshop. Instead, he has spent years running the numbers. His analysis tracks migration flows and policy over the past century in 163 countries. And his findings are startling. His work on visa policy shows that border controls have often spurred settlement, not stopped it. The Spanish case is one example. Until early 1990, Moroccans did not need visas to enter Spain. They would come for seasonal work and then leave. As soon as visas were introduced, immigration from Morocco rocketed. And instead of returning , people stayed put. 'If we had visa-free migration, more people are likely to come to work, and to have a look around - but also to go home again,' he says. He takes apart other migration myths . There is no 'invasion' - the percentage of the world's population that migrate has remained static, at around three per cent. There is scant evidence that welfare is a pull factor, either. Migrants are attracted by labour markets - economies that perform well. And on balance, they contribute more to economies than they take away. Meanwhile, much-needed assistance is sent back in remittances - in amounts which dwarf international aid. And his parting shot: as poorer states get richer, their citizens are more likely to migrate, not less - it is a function of development, not something that will be 'stopped' by aid. De Haas says we should be more worried that migrants will soon choose to go to India and China, and shun the West altogether, and he highlights a growing trend of north-to-south migration. The 'problem', he concludes, is not the movement of people but xenophobia fuelled by politicians and the media. And what's more, any attempt to control borders is delusional. 'The migration hardliners are ignoring reality. They act like ostriches, they want to think it away. But it's like being against ageing! Migration is happening. There's little we can do about it.' The Great Walk Back on the beaches of Eftalou, in northern Lesvos, there are no deaths the day after the major wreck. At dusk, close to 1,000 people huddle in the wind on the beach road, newly disembarked from rubber dinghys littering the seafront. Empathy is holding out - against the odds A beaming Iraqi stands with his wife and four children wrapped up in golden foil emergency blankets like little toffees. He hopes to join his brother in Switzerland. A Syrian whose only luggage seems to be a guitar tries to speak to me in English. His friend Hila translates: they made the crossing because they felt it was their 'last chance'. 'But,' she adds, 'I would go back tomorrow, if I could.' Up at Oxi transit camp, on a dangerous curve with commanding views of an Aegean turning purple as the sky darkens, a volunteer admires the new multi-coloured bus ticket queuing system, pinned to a piece of cardboard on a post. The whole world is here. Afghan women with jet-black hair and loose scarves, tall Somalis with high cheekbones wrapped in brightly coloured shawls, carrying large handbags. Up by a kiosk, a Somali who introduces himself with a wide grin as 'Captain Phillips' is ordering sandwiches for the 13 in his group who sit texting on their Samsung phones. He describes circuitous, arduous routes through Dubai, Iran and Turkey. His decision to leave was prompted by a bomb that killed a Chinese diplomat in Mogadishu in July and threats against him from an acquaintance linked to Islamist terror group Al Shabaab. It has never been so urgent to challenge alarmist, illiberal voices There's an Iranian house and techno DJ, Farzad, with foil blankets flying out into the wind around his socks, making him look like Icarus. His plan seems to hinge around being free to party in Switzerland, where a cousin lives. A senior UNHCR official on the island says we need a new lens, beyond the 1951 refugee convention. 'I call this the Great Walk. There's everybody here. People who say, "I'm leaving because I want to be fulfilled as a human being." It's not only because of the war. And I understand them - life is life because it moves! This is the formation of a new generation in Europe. Let's not be afraid - let's understand how we can live together.' It's only when you obstruct this flow that you get a crisis. Beyond boats In Mytilene, the capital of Lesvos, the following day, hundreds of Greeks are demonstrating in support of refugees. Migrants are applauding and filming the march on their phones. University lecturer Dimitris Ballas is inspired by the tolerance of his island's inhabitants. They have seen their per capita income the past six years, and watched the beaches of Lesvos disappear under a wave of orange life jackets and human drama, threatening the tourism they depend on. But, on the whole, they don't blame the refugees. As one hotel owner said to me in Molyvos: 'How can I be angry with these poor people? They have even less than we do. They are the victims of geopolitics - just like us.' 'I'm hopeful. Obviously there are some people who are unhappy about this but most are doing their best to help - in the midst of our own crisis,' says Ballas. 'It brings to prominence what it means to be human. And that is beautiful to see.' Yet at a political level, humanitarian solutions have never seemed further away. Boats are still sinking, tragedies on endless repeat. And the ink is fresh on a questionable $3.3billion EU deal with Turkey, which hinges around keeping refugees out of Europe. 'How are we going to stop people? Trap people in Syria? Where are these people going to go?' asks Rae McGrath. The director of Mercy Corps relief operations in Turkey and northern Syria, he is struggling to see the movement of people into Europe as a 'crisis' after stopping food aid to 621,000 displaced people in ISIS-controlled areas in early 2014. He throws down the gauntlet: 'When do we start shooting refugees?' Don't give up on the politics There's an alternative to this dystopia. And we can start building it now. The UN needs $20 billion for its humanitarian budget for 2016. (That is just two-thirds of what Britain coughed up to bail out Lloyds Bank Group or the cost to the US of two-years' worth of bombing ISIS in Syria); responsibility for refugees must be shared out globally, and safe passage assured; people seeking new lives would stop dying tomorrow if land borders were opened, reception centres built and carrier sanctions (which prevent airlines from transporting refugees) dropped. In the meantime, search-and-rescue in the Aegean Sea must be deployed immediately. We must push for political solutions. For people to be able to go back to their homes and live in peace, or to be accepted in Europe and the Western world that has played its part in making wars, and creating an unstable, unequal world. It has never been so urgent to challenge alarmist, illiberal voices. Recent regional elections show the far right is gaining ground in Sweden, Austria, France and Switzerland, and the proto-fascist Pegida is attracting support in Germany. Yet empathy is holding out, against the odds. British journalist Paul Mason reports that many in Athens voted Syriza back in through gritted teeth, if only for better treatment of migrants. There is everything to play for. Alexander Betts believes that as protracted conflicts bed down in our fragile and mobile world, big migrations will prove to be the new normal. Think of this crisis as a trial run. People will continue to come. We have to expect it and not be hijacked by fear. Fruitless attempts to seal borders come at a terrible human cost that is unacceptable. Such policies are the work of functionaries who see people as numbers. Anyone who has witnessed men, women and children dying on the prosperous shores of peacetime Europe knows this is wrong. We can, and must, do better. Help us keep this site free for all New Internationalist is a lifeline for activists, campaigners and readers who value independent journalism. Please support us with a small recurring donation so we can keep it free to read online.

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Melissa Joskow / Media Matters Gavin McInnes, the founder of the violent, fraternal men-only organization Proud Boys , devoted the July 16 episode of his CRTV show Get Off My Lawn to criticizing Black women, starting with Beyonce. McInnes, whose misogyny is well - documented , also brought on Black men's rights activist Tommy Sotomayor to avoid sounding "too white" in his critique. Sotomayor has built an online punditry career by bashing Black women and Jewish people. McInnes kicked off the discussion by falsely claiming that the targeted harassment campaign that far-right troll Milo Yiannopoulos led on Twitter against actress Leslie Jones was evidence of "Black women potentially being "double protected" in America. According to McInnes, the fact that Yiannopoulos was permanently banned from Twitter as a consequence showed that the platform was being deferential to Jones because she's Black and a woman. McInnes' revisionist history conveniently ignores the fact that Black women tend to be targets of online harassment at higher rates than white social media users. Sotomayor, whose real name is Thomas Jerome Harris, has built his internet presence around making inflammatory attacks against women, the Black community, and Jewish people. Sotomayor once said that then-President Barack Obama "shouldn't try to ban guns, he should ban niggas." The video was embraced and amplified by then-CNN pundit Harry Houck, who has a long history of repeatedly suggesting African-Americans are prone to criminality and are to blame for the police violence of which they are victims. Sotomayor also once referred to Black Lives Matter protesters as the "retarded kids in the class." He hosted former Ku Klux Klan leader David Duke on now-deleted YouTube livestreams , and appeared on Duke's podcast to discuss "the destruction of the black community due to the cultural pollution that is being spewed out by the Jewish media elite." One of Sotomayor's discussions with Duke was even featured on the neo-Nazi website The Daily Stormer. Sotomayor is also a recognized men's rights activist whose anti-feminist punditry has been amplified by the misogynistic website A Voice For Men. In a since-deleted YouTube video, Sotomayor once took issue with a toilet paper ad that gave a "poignant salute" to single mothers on Father's Day, claiming it showed that Hollywood was taking "aim, just like everyone else, at the American male." An archived page of several of his now-deleted videos shows pejorative language and critical commentary about Black people. On his website, Sotomayor lists a number of YouTube channels as his own. He once explained that he has many channels because YouTube users keep flagging his content and "every video I put up, they take it down." Sotomayor's comment demonstrates just another way extremists circumvent YouTube's weak attempts at dealing with hate speech. On McInnes' Get Off My Law n, Sotomayor enthusiastically enabled McInnes as he bashed Black women, agreeing with him that they are prone to violence and calling them "irresponsible being[s]" who are raising children with "100 percent autonomy" and making them violent as well. In an attempt to demonize Black mothers, Sotomayor shared an anecdote of a woman who had put a "sew-in weave" in her child's hair, claiming "a normal person, a white woman" called his show saying that if she had "bleached" her 4-year-old's hair, the school would've sent child protective services to her house. "It goes back to, again, no father," Sotomayor claimed. "If a father's there, he's not even going to let his child dress up in this whore's outfit." Sotomayor also complained that President Donald Trump hasn't done enough in terms of "cutting off the welfare," claiming it is financially incentivizing people to have "children ... in bad situations." He bizarrely suggested that aiding single mothers and "all these rape cases that are coming up" were evidence of the way men are being mistreated in America. TOMMY SOTOMAYOR: I promise you, if you take away the financial benefit from having children -- it's the same thing with all of these rape cases that are coming up and I know I'm opening up a different can of worms -- but when you see how men are being treated in the United States, there's no wonder why Bruce Jenner decided to put on a dress and tuck his wang. This is not the first time Sotomayor has been a willing participant in the online crusades of far-right white men to victim-blame Blacks or attack women. During a guest appearance on " intellectual dark web " renegade Dave Rubin's YouTube show in April 2017, Sotomayor blamed single mothers for not picking "the correct person to have the kid with" and complained that "the only person that's being held responsible is the guy." He said he was bothered by the fact men could be held responsible to help financially with the kids they had with women who claim, "It's my body. I can do what I want to with it. But once I do it, I need help." Rubin, a dramatically unsuccessful comedian, joined Sotomayor in complaining about the double standards that limit white comedians from making jokes about anything "remotely politically incorrect." Sotomayor also joined one of YouTube's professional misogynists , Stefan Molyneux, for some "man talk." Molyneux has built a reputation out of bemoaning feminism and complaining about the plight of men (and promoting eugenics and scientific racism). During the discussion, Sotomayor complained that a man on trial for killing his wife couldn't say "she was verbally abusive to me" as a defense but that "there are women who've gotten away" by saying the same thing. Sotomayor and the far-right media personalities he's joining are enjoying mutually beneficial relationships: Sotomayor gets additional venues to spread his hateful rhetoric, and the white men he's collaborating with get cover as they push racist and misogynist attacks on their shows.

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By Peter Van Buren, TomDispatch This piece first appeared at TomDispatch. Read Tom Engelhardt's introduction here . In the 1960s, John Kerry was distinctly a man of his times. Kennedy-esque, he went from Yale to Vietnam to fight in a lost war. When popular sentiments on that war shifted, he became one of the more poignant voices raised in protest by antiwar veterans. Now, skip past his time as a congressman, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, senator, and presidential candidate ( Swift Boated out of the race by the Republican right). Four decades after his Vietnam experience, he has achieved what will undoubtedly be the highest post of his lifetime: secretary of state. And he's looked like a bumbler first class. Has he also been -- once again -- a true man of his time, of a moment in which American foreign policy, as well as its claim to global moral and diplomatic leadership, is in remarkable disarray? In his nine months in office, Kerry's State Department has one striking accomplishment to its name. It has achieved a new level of media savvy in promoting itself and plugging its highest official as a rock star, a world leader in his own right (complete with photo-ops and sophisticated image-making). In the meantime, the secretary of state has been stumbling and bloviating from one crisis to the next, one debacle to another, surrounded by the well-crafted imagery of diplomatic effectiveness. He and his errant statements have become global punch lines, but is he truly to blame for his performance? If statistics were diplomacy, Kerry would already be a raging success. At the State Department, his global travels are now proudly tracked by the mile, by minutes flown, and by countries visited. State even has a near-real-time ticker page set up at its website with his ever-changing data. In only nine months in office, Kerry has racked up 222,512 miles and a staggering 482.39 hours in the air (or nearly three weeks total). The numbers will be going up as Kerry is currently taking a 10-day trip to deal with another NSA crisis , in Poland this time, as well as the usual hijinks in the Middle East. His predecessor, Hillary Clinton, set a number of diplomatic travel records. In fact, she spent literally a full year , one quarter of her four years in office, hopscotching the globe. By comparison, Cold War Secretary of State George Schultz managed less than a year of travel time in his six years in office. Kerry's quick start in racking up travel miles is the most impressive aspect of his tenure so far, given that it's been accompanied by record foreign policy stumbles and bumbles. With the thought that frenetic activity is being passed off as diplomacy and accomplishment, let's do a little continent hopping ourselves, surveying the diplomatic and foreign policy terrain the secretary's visited. So, fasten your seatbelt, we're on our way! We'll Be Landing in Just a Few Minutes... in Asia Despite Asia's economic importance, its myriad potential flashpoints, and the crucial question of how the Sino-American relationship will evolve, Kerry has managed to visit the region just once on a largely ceremonial basis. Diplomatically speaking, the Obama administration's much ballyhooed " pivot to Asia" seems to have run out of gas almost before it began and with little to show except some odd photos of the secretary of state looking like Fred Munster in Balinese dres s at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference. With President Obama then trapped in Washington by the shutdown/debt-ceiling crisis, Kerry seemed like a bystander at APEC, with China the dominant presence. He was even forced to suffer through a Happy Birthday sing-along for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the meantime, the economy of Washington's major ally, Japan, remains sleepy, even as opposition to the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact grows and North Korea continues to expand its nuclear program seemingly unaffected by threats from Washington. All in all, it's not exactly an impressive picture, but rest assured that it'll look as fetching as a bright spring day, once we hit our next stop. In fact, ladies and gentlemen, the pilot now asks that you all return to your seats, because we will soon be landing... ... in the Middle East If any area of the world lacks a single bright spot for the U.S., it's the Middle East. The problems, of course, extend back many years and many administrations. Kerry is a relative newcomer. Still, he's made seven of his 15 overseas trips there, with zero signs of progress on the American agenda in the region, and much that has only worsened. The sole pluses came from diplomatic activity initiated by powers not exactly considered Washington's closest buddies: Russian President Putin's moves in relation to Syria (on which more later) and new Iranian President Rouhani's "charm offensive" in New York, which seems to have altered for the better the relationship between the two countries. In fact, both Putin's and Rouhani's moves are classic, well-played diplomacy, and only serve to highlight the amateurish quality of Kerry's performance. On the other hand, the Obama administration's major Middle East commitment -- to peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians -- seems destined for a graveyard already piled high with past versions of the same. Meanwhile, whatever spark remained of the Arab Spring in Egypt was snuffed out by a military coup, while the U.S. lamely took forever just to begin to cut off some symbolic military aid to the new government. American credibility in the region suffered further damage after State, in a seeming panic , closed embassies across the Middle East in response to a reputed major terror threat that failed to materialize anywhere but inside Washington's Beltway. Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia was once nicknamed "Bandar Bush" for his strong support of the U.S. during the 1991 Desert Storm campaign and the Bush dynasty. He recently told European diplomats, however, that the Kingdom will launch a " major shift " in relations with the United States to protest Washington's perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran. The Saudis were once considered, next to Israel, America's strongest ally in the region. Kerry's response? Fly to Paris for some "urgent talks." Meanwhile, the secretary of state has made no effort to draw down his fortress embassy in Baghdad, despite its " world's largest " personnel count in a country where an American invasion and nine-year occupation resulted in a pro-Iranian government. Memories in the region aren't as short as at the State Department, however, and Iraqis are unlikely to forget that sanctions, the U.S. invasion, and its aftermath resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4% of their country's population. Kerry would be quick to condemn such a figure as genocidal had the Iranians or North Koreans been involved, but he remains silent now. State doesn't include Turkey in Kerry's impressive Middle Eastern trip count, though he's traveled there three times , with (again) little to show for his efforts. That NATO ally, which refused to help the Bush administration with its invasion of Iraq , continues to fight a border war with Iraqi Kurds. (Both sides do utilize mainly American-made weapons.) The Turks are active in Syria as well, supporting the rebels, fearing the Islamic extremists, lobbing mortar shells across the border, and suffering under the weight of that devastated country's refugees. Meanwhile -- a small regional disaster from a U.S. perspective -- Turkish-Israeli relations, once close, continue to slide. Recently, the Turks even outed a Mossad spy ring to the Iranians, and no one, Israelis, Turks, or otherwise, seems to be listening to Washington. Now, please return your tray tables to their upright and locked position, as we make our final approach to... ... Everywhere Else Following more than 12 years of war with thousands of lives lost, Kerry was recently reduced to begging Afghanistan's corrupt president, Hamid Karzai, to allow a mini-occupation's worth of American troops to remain in-country past a scheduled 2014 tail-tucked departure by U.S. combat troops. (Kerry's trip to Afghanistan had to be of the unannounced variety, given the security situation there.) Pakistan, sporting only a single Kerry visit, flaunts its ties to the Taliban while collecting U.S. aid. As they say, if you don't know who the patsy is at a poker game, it's you. Relations with the next generation of developing nations, especially Brazil and India, are either stagnant or increasingly hostile, thanks in part to revelations of massive NSA spying. Brazil is even hosting an international summit to brainstorm ways to combat that agency's Internet surveillance. Even stalwart Mexico is now lashing out at Washington over NSA surveillance. After a flurry of empty threats, a spiteful passport revocation by Kerry's State Department, a bungled extradition attempt in Hong Kong, and a diplomatic fiasco in which Washington forced the Bolivian president's airplane to land in Austria for a search, Public Enemy Number One Edward Snowden is settling into life in Moscow. He's even receiving fellow American whistleblowers as guests. Public Enemy Number Two, Julian Assange, continues to run WikiLeaks out of the Ecuadoran embassy in London. One could argue that either of the two men have had more direct influence on America's status abroad than Kerry. Now, please return to your seats, fasten your seat belts, and consider ordering a stiff drink. We've got some bumpy air up ahead as we're... ... Entering Syrian Airspace The final leg of this flight is Syria, which might be thought of as Kerry's single, inadvertent diplomatic accomplishment (even if he never actually traveled there.) Not long before the U.S. government half-shuttered itself for lack of funds, John Kerry was point man for the administration's all-out efforts to attack Syria. It was, he insisted , "not the time to be silent spectators to slaughter." That statement came as he was announcing the recruitment of France to join an impending U.S. assault on military facilities in and around the Syrian capital, Damascus. Kerry also vociferously beat the drums for war at a hearing held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His war diplomacy, however, quickly hit some major turbulence, as the British parliament, not eager to repeat its Iraq and Afghan misadventures, voted the once inconceivable -- a straightforward, resounding no to joining yet another misguided American battle plan. France was soon backing out as well, even as Kerry clumsily tried to soften resistance to the administration's urge to launch strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime with the bizarre claim that such an attack would be "unbelievably small." (Kerry's boss, President Obama, forcefully contradicted him the next day, insisting, "The United States military doesn't do pinpricks .") Kerry had his moment of triumph, however, on a quick stop in London, where he famously and offhandedly said at a news conference that war could be avoided if the Syrians turned in their chemical weapons. Kerry's own State Department issued an instant rejoinder, claiming the statement had been " rhetorical ." In practically the same heartbeat, the Russians stepped into the diplomatic breach. Unable to walk his statement back, Kerry was humiliatingly forced to explain that his once-rhetorical remark was not rhetorical after all. Vladimir Putin then arose as an unlikely peacemaker and yes, Kerry took another trip, this time to "negotiate" the details with the Russians, which seems largely to have consisted of jotting down Russian terms of surrender to cable back to Washington. His "triumph" in hand, Kerry still wasn't done. On September 19th, on a rare stopover in Washington, he claimed a U.N. report on Syria's chemical weapons stated that the Assad regime was behind the chemical attack that had set the whole process in motion. (The report actually said that there was not enough evidence to assign guilt to any party.) Then, on October 7th, he effusively praised the Syrian president (from Bali) for his cooperation, only on October 14th to demand (from London) that a "transition government, a new governing entity" be put in place in Syria "in order to permit the possibility of peace." But, But... As for Kerry's nine-month performance review, here goes: he often seems unsure and distracted, projecting a sense that he might prefer to be anywhere else than wherever he is. In addition, he's displayed a policy-crippling lack of information, remarkably little poise, and strikingly bad word choice, while regularly voicing surprising new positions on old issues. The logical conclusion might be to call for his instant resignation before more damage is done. (God help us, some Democratic voters may actually find themselves secretly wondering whether the country dodged a bullet in 2004 when George W. Bush won his dismal second term in office.) In his nine months as secretary of state, Kerry, the man, has shown a genuine capacity for mediocrity and an almost tragicomic haplessness. But blaming him would be like shouting at the waiter because your steak is undercooked. Whatever his failings, John Kerry is only a symptom of Washington's lack of a coherent foreign policy or sense of mission. Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. has been adrift, as big and dangerous as an iceberg but something closer to the Titanic. President Bush , the father, and President Clinton , the husband, had at least some sense of when not to overdo it. They kept their foreign interventions to relatively neat packages, perhaps recognizing that they had ever less idea what the script was anymore. Waking up on that clear morning of September 12, 2001, the administration of Bush, the son, substituted a crude lashing out and an urge for total domination of the Greater Middle East, and ultimately the planet, for foreign policy. Without hesitation, it claimed the world as its battlefield and then deployed the Army, the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, growing Special Operations forces, paramilitarized intelligence outfits, and drone technology to make it so. They proved to be good killers, but someone seemed to forget that war is politics by other means. Without a thought-out political strategy behind it, war is simply violent chaos unleashed. Diplomacy had little role in such a black-and-white world. No time was to be wasted talking to other countries: you were either with us or against us . Even our few remaining friends and allies had a hard time keeping up, as Washington promoted torture, sent the CIA out to kidnap people off the streets of global cities, and set up its own gulag with Guantanamo as its crown jewel. And of course, none of it worked. Then, the hope and change Americans thought they'd voted into power in 2008 only made the situation worse. The Obama administration substituted directionless-ness for idiotic decisiveness, and visionless-ness for the global planning of mad visionaries, albeit with much the same result: spasmodic violence. The United States, after all, remains the biggest kid on the block, and still gets a modicum of respect from the tiny tots and the teens who remember better days, as well as a shrinking crew of aid-bought pals. The days of the United States being able to treat the world as its chessboard are over. It's now closer to a Rubik's Cube that Washington can't figure out how to manipulate. Across the globe, people noted how the World's Mightiest Army was fought to a draw (or worse) in Iraq and Afghanistan by insurgents with only small arms, roadside bombs, and suicide bombers. Increasingly, the world is acknowledging America's Kerry-style clunkiness and just bypassing the U.S. Britain said no to war in Syria. Russia took over big-box diplomacy. China assumed the pivot role in Asia in every way except militarily. (They're working on it.) The Brazilian president simply snubbed Obama, canceling a state visit over Snowden's NSA revelations. Tiny Ecuador continues to raise a middle finger to Washington over the Assange case. These days, one can almost imagine John Kerry as the wallflower of some near-future international conference, hoping someone - anyone -- will invite him to dance. The American Century might be said to have lasted from August 1945 until September 2001, a relatively short span of 56 years. (R.I.P.) John Kerry's frantic bumbling did not create the present situation; it merely added mirth to the funeral preparations. Peter Van Buren blew the whistle on State Department waste and mismanagement during Iraqi reconstruction in his first book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People . A TomDispatch regular , he writes about current events at his blog, We Meant Well . Van Buren's next book, Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99Percent , will be available in April 2014 . Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook or Tumblr . Check out the newest Dispatch book, Nick Turse's The Changing Face of Empire: Special Ops, Drones, Proxy Fighters, Secret Bases, and Cyberwarfare .

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Friday December 11, 2015 In the light of the conflicts in Ukraine and Syria, there has been much talk about the clouding of US-Russian relations. Some voices in the Internet's alternative media sections have conjured the possibility that these conflicts might lead to a new major war, while social networks like Twitter saw the usage of the hashtags #WorldWarIII and #WorldWar3 explode after Turkey shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 jet in the vicinity of the Syrian border. Headlines in mainstream media outlets like Foreign Policy and the Guardian also proclaimed, "Welcome to Cold War III" and asked "are we going back to the bad old days?". This article suggests that although the ideological division of the Cold War ended de facto with the collapse of the Soviet Union, American geopolitical schemes to contain Russian power abroad have never really been abandoned. Throughout the 1990s and until today, US policymakers have been determined to wage overt or covert proxy wars with the aim of curbing its former adversary's political, economic, and military influence. Chechnya, Ukraine, and Syria are the key spots where the logic of this second Cold War is played out. A short glance over the state of the world today and its representation in the media suffices to identify a growing number of actual and potential centers of conflicts: Civil war is raging in parts of Ukraine, military tensions are growing in the South Chinese Sea, and the Middle East is more of a mess than ever. Nonetheless, some have suggested that the actual number of armed conflicts has actually reached a historical low. But this assertion is solely based on statistical preference. It is true that interstate (conflicts between two or more states) wars are on the decline. Instead, wars today are much more likely to take the form of intrastate conflicts between governments and insurgents, rather than national armies fighting over territory. As demonstrated to an outstanding degree in Syria, these conflicts are more and more internationalized and involve a bulk of non-state actors and countries who try to reach their goals through proxies rather than direct involvement, which would require "boots on the ground." But let's start at the end. The end of the Cold War, that is. The situation during the years of systemic antagonism between the Eastern and Western Blocs has sometimes been captured in the image of three separate "worlds": the capitalist First World, the socialist Second World, and a Third World. The latter term was not used as a marker for impoverishment and instability as it is commonly understood today, but as a postcolonial alternative "third way" for those newly independent states that struggled to avoid their renewed absorption by the two towering ideological empires. One strategy through which developing countries attempted to duck the neocolonial policies of the Cold War Blocs was by founding the informal Non-Alignment Movement (NAM) in 1961, initiated by India, Indonesia, Egypt, Ghana, and Yugoslavia. Counting 120 members as of now--in fact a large part of the global South--the movement's anti-imperialist and anti-colonial stance has lost much of its bargaining power after the end of the Cold War. Still, the final document of the movement's 1998 summit in Durban, South Africa suggests that the end of the long-standing bipolar power configuration has by no means led to the betterment of those countries' situation. Unipolar American dominance and the collapse of the Soviet Union instigated what was understood to be "a worrisome and damaging uni-polarity in political and military terms that is conducive to further inequality and injustice and, therefore, to a more complex and disquieting world situation." This analysis turned out to be correct in many respects, particularly concerning the period of the 1990s. While the Clinton years of domestic prosperity saw the US economy achieve the rarity of a budget surplus, the citizens of its erstwhile antagonist were (probably with the exception of Boris Yeltsin ) experiencing the more sobering effects of Russia's political and economic paradigm shift. Democratic Russia struggled to consolidate its deeply shaken economy in an environment ripe with organized crime, crippling corruption, and under the doubtful patronage of oligarchs like Boris Berezovsky who controlled the influential television channel ORT and whom Ron Unz in " Our American Pravda " described as "the puppet master behind President Boris Yeltsin during the late 1990s." The actual situation in the former Soviet heartland during the 1990s was utterly different from what American elites and media often depicted as a "golden age" of newfound democracy and a ballooning private sector. From the perspective of many US elites, the country's plundering by oligarchs, ruthless criminal gangs, kleptocratic politicians, and corrupt military officers was welcomed as a convenient, self-fulfilling mechanism to permanently destabilize its mortally wounded adversary. But Russia never completed all the stages of collapse , not least because Yeltsin's successor Vladimir Putin eventually took legal action to put such "businessmen" like Roman Abramovich and Berezovsky out of business. The latter was forced to seek refuge in London, from where he threatened to use his PS850m private fortune to plot " a new Russian revolution " and violently remove his former protege from the Kremlin. The chaotic and aimless term of the alcoholic Yeltsin is often regarded as a chiefly positive time in which the East and the West closed ranks, although politicians and neoconservative think tanks in reality conducted the political and economic sellout of Russia during these years. The presidency of Vladimir Putin, while anything but perfect and with its own set of domestic issues, still managed to halt the nation's downward spiral in many areas. Nevertheless, it is persistently depicted by Western elites and their "Pravda" as dubious, "authoritarian," and semi-democratic at best. Thus, in spite of Francis Fukuyama's triumphalist proclamation of the "End of History" after the fall of the Berlin wall that supposedly heralded the universal rein of liberal democracy, the legacy of the Cold War is anything but behind us. Ostensibly, the current geopolitical situation with its fragmented, oblique, and often contradictory constellations and fault lines is utterly different from the much more straightforward Cold War dualism. Of the Marxist ideology only insular traces remain today, watered down and institutionalized in China, exploited in a system of nationalistic iconography in Cuba, and arranged around an absurdly twisted personality cult in North Korea. As of 2015, Russia is an utterly capitalistic nation, highly integrated in the globalized economy and particularly interdependent with the members of the European economic zone. Its military clout and budget ( $52 billion ) are dwarfed by US military spending of $598.5 billion in 2015. Even more importantly, after 1991 Russia had to close down or abandon many of its important bases, ports and other military installations as a result of the NATO's eastward expansion. Nevertheless, the sheer size of its territory and its command of a substantial nuclear weapon arsenal, cement Russia's role as a primary threat to American national interests. This is illustrated by the fact that since three and a half decades, the US has covertly supported radical Islamic movements with the goal to permanently destabilize the Russian state by entrapping it in a succession of messy and virtually unwinnable conflicts. Pursued openly during the Soviet-Afghan War of the 1980s, this scheme continued to be employed throughout the 1990s during both Chechen Wars, as well as in Russia's so-called "near abroad" spheres of influence: Dagestan, Ingushetia, South Ossetia, and other former Soviet vassal republics in the Caucasus, which have constantly suffered from extremists who exploit the lack of governmental pervasion in their remote mountain regions. These regions are home to over 25 million ethnic Russians and important components of the country's economy. After the Soviet-Afghan War and the CIA's buildup of Osama bin-Laden's "resistance fighters," American policymakers recognized the destabilizing potential inherent in the volatile political and sectarian configurations in the Islamic countries that encircle the post-Soviet Russian borderlands. Hence, despite many political ceremonies, pledges of cooperation, and the opening of Moscow's first McDonalds in 1990, this policy was never fully abandoned. As a matter of fact, peaceful political coexistence and economic convergence never were the primary goals. Democratic Russia with its allies, military potential, and possible Eurasian trade agreements that threaten to isolate or hamper US hegemony was and still is considered a menace to American ambitions of unipolar, universal dominance. Since the First Chechen War in 1994, Russia's prolonged struggle against Islamic terrorism has for the most part been disregarded by Western media. Particularly after 9/11, the "war on terror" acted like a black hole that sucked up the bulk of the Western media's attention. When the acts of terrorism on Russian soil became too horrifying to ignore--the 2002 Moscow theater hostage crisis and the 2004 Beslan school siege in particular--the massive death tolls were blamed on the drastic responses of Russian security forces who were not adequately prepared and overwhelmed by the vicious and meticulously planned attacks. In Beslan, the death of hundreds of innocents (186 children were murdered on their first day at school) was indirectly condoned and sardonically depicted as the consequences of the "separatist movement [and its] increasingly desperate attempts to break Russia's stranglehold on its home turf." Truly, to describe those who shoot children in front of their parents and vice versa as "separatists" and glorify them as "rebels" who act in self defense against an "authoritarian" regime demands a very special kind of callous apathy. In a 2013 article that examined the Chechen descent of the suspects behind the Boston Marathon bombing, retired FBI agent and 2002 Time Person of the Year Coleen Rowley exposed "how the Chechen 'terrorists' proved useful to the US in keeping pressure on the Russians." She explicitly refers to a 2004 Guardian piece by John Laughland, in which the author connects the anti-Russian sentiments in the BBC and CNN coverage of the Beslan massacre to the influence of one particular organization, the American Committee for Peace in Chechnya (ACPC), whose list of members reads like "a rollcall of the most prominent neoconservatives who so enthusastically (sic) support the 'war on terror,'" among them Richard Perle, Elliott Abrams, James Woolsey, and Frank Gaffney. Laughland describes the ACPC as an organization that: heavily promotes the idea that the Chechen rebellion shows the undemocratic nature of Putin's Russia, and cultivates support for the Chechen cause by emphasising the seriousness of human rights violations in the tiny Caucasian republic. It compares the Chechen crisis to those other fashionable "Muslim" causes, Bosnia and Kosovo - implying that only international intervention in the Caucasus can stabilise the situation there. There are three key elements in the organization's lobbying strategy to denigrate Russia and promote an intervention in Chechnya that serve to unmask a larger pattern behind the US foreign policy after 9/11. First, the labeling of a particular leader or government as "authoritarian" or in some other way "undemocratic" (Vladimir Putin, in this case). Second, the concept of an oppressed yet positively connoted population that strives for freedom and democracy (Chechen terrorists with ties to a-Qaeda , in this case). Finally, the stressing of "human rights violations" that warrant an intervention or economic embargo. If all of these conditions are satisfied, the violation of the borders of a sovereign state is seen as justified (UN mandate not needed), enabling the US to emerge as a knight in shining armor and champion of human rights, bolting to the rescue of the world's downtrodden, while covertly achieving an utterly different goal: To further the logic of a second Cold War through proxy warfare and weaken Russian by diminishing its foothold in its surrounding "near abroad" regions, which in many respects represent vital interests, both economically and strategically. Swap out names and dates and it becomes evident that the same tripartite strategy was used to justify every recent intervention of the US and other NATO members, in Iraq (2003), Libya (2011), and Syria (since 2011). Interventions that were legitimized under the banner of humanitarian relief through the removal of "authoritarian" tyrants and supposed dictators and which have resulted in the deaths of an estimated 500.000 people, in Iraq alone . When the ASPC's made its appeal regarding Chechnya in 2004, mind you, only one year had passed since the Abu Ghraib torture photos were leaked and two years since the first inmates arrived in the extralegal detention center at Guantanamo Bay. Regarding the sweltering conflict in Ukraine's Donbass region, the key dynamics are similar. President Viktor Yanukovych, accused by the Euromaidan movement--fueled by aggressive US and EU media propaganda and enticed with promises of lucrative NATO and EU memberships--of "abusing power" and "violation of human rights," was forced to resign and replaced with a ultranationalist, anti-Russian and pro-Western government. Again, this campaign had nothing to do with actual humanitarian relief or concerns about the country's democratic integrity. Instead, the hopes of a whole generation for a better future under Western influence were exploited by US policymakers who hoped to stifle Russia's geostrategic elbowroom by ousting the naval bases of its Black Sea Fleet from the Crimea. These bases, mostly located in the city of Sevastopol, have been the home port of the Russian navy for over 230 years, and are vital because they provide the only direct access to the Black Sea and (through the Bosporus strait in Turkey) to the Mediterranean. Any expansion of NATO towards these bases had to be regarded as a direct threat, leaving the Russian government practically no choice but to protect them with all means necessary. However, in the stories emanating from Western mainstream media, these bases were showcased as an occupation of sovereign Ukrainian territory and used as proof of Russia's aggressive, "authoritarian," and imperial aspirations. In reality, Ukraine and Russia signed a Partition Contract in 1997, in which the Ukraine agreed to lease major parts of its facilities to the Russian Black Sea Fleet until 2017, for an annual payment of $98 million. Along the lines of the currently revitalized genre of alternate history, let's briefly indulge in the notion that we were still living in the ideologically divided world of the Cold War, in which the Warsaw Pact still existed. For a second, imagine if Mexico or Guatemala or Canada expressed their desire to join said pact and invited its troops to conduct military exercises at their shared border with the US. Even without the existence of an American naval base in that country, how do you think the US would react to such a scenario? Would it stand by idly and let itself be surrounded by its adversaries? For an even more striking parallel, take the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The American military actually has a naval base there--Guantanamo Bay, home to the infamous detention camp. Many historians see the deployment of Soviet missiles and troops on the island as the closest that humanity ever came to entering World War III and mutually assured destruction (MAD). With its support for "regime change" in Ukraine and extension of the NATO to the Russian borders, the US today is engaged in the same old Cold War superpower games that the Soviets played in Cuba 53 years ago. In fact, we should think of Ukraine as being situated in Mother Russia's "backyard." Thousands of miles away from the coasts of North America, the Middle East is the region that Uncle Sam seems to regard as his very own backyard. Many consider George W. Bush's "War on Terror" after 9/11 and the subsequent interventions in Iraq and (to a lesser degree) Afghanistan as those catastrophic policy decisions that resulted in the sociopolitical destabilization of large parts of this region, resulting in the death, injury, and displacement of millions. In Iraq, Libya, and Syria, the spurious US rhetorical agenda of removing "tyrants" and endowing the local demographics with the liberating gift of democracy has in fact produced vast ungoverned spaces where militant groups like the al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State (also known as ISIS, ISIL, or Daesh ) were able to carve out their "caliphates" and claim other territorial prices. For a long time, the rapid expansion of the Islamic State and its death-loving, apocalyptic ideology was resisted only by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), the paramilitary National Defense Forces (NDF), and Kurdish Popular Protection Units (YPG). The SAA alone has lost as much as 200.000 soldiers in its struggle against various terrorist factions since March 2011. US politicians and media have expressed their hopes that the Russian intervention to assist the Syrian government in its resistance against these Western, Saudi, and Turkey-backed groups will result in a military and economic debacle, comparable to the Soviet-Afghan war, which lasted well over nine years. It was during the course of this brutal and protracted conflict that US policymakers realized that there was really no need to shed American blood in order to deal the death blow to the Soviet Union. They drew their lessons from the CIA's countless ventures in South American "nation building," where a government's legitimacy and an opposition's status as either terrorists or freedom fighters depended on their usefulness for American national interests, often accoutered in pithy terms like the "war on drugs." Since the days of Pablo Escobar, however, US foreign policy has shifted its main focus towards the Middle East, where the long-term goal has been to weaken the enemies of Israel and strengthen the enemies of Iran. Other goals are to guarantee American access to oil and other natural resources, to establish military bases and consolidate the network of troops abroad, and to secure arms deals for the one-percenters who preside over what president Eisenhower cautioned his nation about in his farewell address: the "military-industrial complex." As a consequence of the failures in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration has shifted its strategy towards aerial and drone only warfare combined with the support and (illusion of) control over local militant factions. Among the many groups fighting in Syria, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), also known as "moderate rebels," is the US faction of choice. Much like the bin Laden's Mujahideen fighters in 1980s Afghanistan, they are armed with the help of the CIA . In spite of their apparent moderation, however, a wealth of evidence suggests that this group is directly responsible for a multitude of massacres , mass executions , the ethnic cleansing of non-Sunni citizens, and eating the hearts of their fallen enemies . The FSA has also been a suspect in the 2013 Ghouta chemical attacks, which some have claimed the US used as a false flag operation to engender international support for the violent removal of the Syrian government. The subsequent UN investigation however failed to establish any conclusive evidence concerning the perpetrator of the war crime and concluded that the sarin gas used in the attacks had most certainly been removed from government arsenals. Based on this information, US, UK, and French leaders and media outlets insisted that the Syrian government had to be the culprit, and immediately pressed the international community to support an intervention with the goal of eradicating Syria's alleged arsenal of nerve gas and other potential WMDs. This all begins to sound very familiar. Of course, they also requested the bolstering of the "moderate opposition." Interestingly, though, the official UN report , "careful not to blame either side," let on that investigators were actually being accompanied by rebel leaders at all times. Moreover, they repeatedly encountered "individuals [...] carrying other suspected munitions indicating that such potential evidence is being moved and possibly manipulated." On page 13, the report goes on to state that [a] leader of the local opposition forces [...] was identified and requested to take 'custody' of the Mission [...] to ensure the security and movement of the Mission, to facilitate the access to the most critical cases/witnesses to be interviewed and sampled by the Mission [...]. Recently, Mr. Obama and Mr. McCain have protested that their "moderate rebels" were being targeted unjustly by Russian airstrikes in Syria, complaining that "from their [i.e., the Kremlin's] perspective, they're all terrorists." Sometimes, one is inclined to advise them, it can be wise and healthy to assume an outsider's perspective and check if your reality still coincides with the facts that so many know are true about the FSA. These facts can be broken down to a very short yet concise formula: If it looks like a terrorist, if it talks like a terrorist, if it behaves like a terrorist--it probably is a terrorist. Instead, the CIA is still supplying the "activists" with outdated-yet-deadly weapons from Army surplus inventories, including hundreds of BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided") anti-tank missile systems, which the terrorists use against hard and soft targets alike. The same weapon platform can be seen in action in a recent FSA video that shows the destruction of a Russian helicopter that was sent to extract the Russian pilots at the crash site of their downed Su-24 plane on November 24, 2015. On the same day, another US-supplied TOW missile was used in an ambush targeting a car occupied by RT news journalists Roman Kosarev, Sargon Hadaya, and TASS reporter Alexander Yelistratov in Syria's Latakia province. The FSA and other groups, branded as "moderates" who fight against the "authoritarian" forces of tyranny (just like a certain " Saudi businessman " back in the day), function as US proxies in Syria, just like al-Qaeda did in the heyday of the Soviet-Afghan War. They are dangerously unstable pawns in a global strategy to secure American and Israeli interests in the Middle East, irrespective of the millionfold suffering and uprooting of entire societies caused by their crimes, the majority of which is directed towards other Muslims. Commenting on the Russian military intervention at the invitation of the Syrian government, Mr. Obama said that he had no interest in turning this civil war into a proxy war between Russia and the United States, emphasizing that "this is not some superpower chessboard contest." But this is exactly what US foreign policy, both Republican and Democrat, has done, starting with the end of the Soviet Union and lasting until this very moment. The only difference now being that the Libya-proven rhetorical strategy of (illegal and mandate-less) intervention via "no-fly zones," "humanitarianism," and "regime change" did not have the desired effect in Syria because Iran, Lebanon, and Russia did not abandon their ally. Their combined effort succeeded in fending off an unprecedented onslaught of extremists that infiltrated the country, often across the Southern Turkish border, armed with the money of American taxpayers and Wahhabi sheiks. The Syrian conflict can no longer be described as a civil war. It may have started as one during the ill-fated "Arab Spring" of 2011, when armed "protesters" (i.e., FSA terrorists) murdered several policemen and set government buildings on fire in Daraa, provoking a violent backlash from government forces. The ensuing nationwide chaos was spun by the Western mainstream media troika , namely those media outlets that serve as propaganda tools for the US political and financial elites and who fabricated the myth of the tyrant who massacred peaceful protestors--to be readily sucked up by their indoctrinated clientele. As a result of the "moderate's" recent setbacks, the official American position, insofar as its mixed messages can be deciphered, has boiled down to a butt-hurt attitude and passive aggressive lecturing about how to distinguish between varying degrees of moderation among mass-murdering lunatics. Outmaneuvered and publicly exposed, all that is left for Mr. Obama seems to be to pick up the pieces and save some face by accepting Mr. Putin's offer to join a united front against terrorism in Syria. But such a step seems unthinkable in this ongoing Cold War between Russia and the US. Instead, the most powerful man on earth talks about climate change as the most pressing problem of our times. When it comes to ISIS, he has said he wanted to "contain" them. Meanwhile, tensions are rising as Turkish president Erdogan, on an power trip after his surprising landslide victory in November's general elections, apparently collaborated with ISIS and risked provoking an NATO Article 5 response by downing a Russian Su-24. On the other side of the equation, Russia's decision to intervene on behalf of the Syrian government reveals a twofold strategy: On the one hand, through its direct action it positions the Putin government as being opposed to the fatal logics of proxy warfare. On the other hand, it simultaneously exposes the catastrophic flaws of Mr. Obama's strategies in Syria and the Middle East. All these developments do not necessarily mean that we are heading for World War III--although logic dictates that it will happen at some point in the future. In reality, though, a full-on nuclear confrontation would require a massive unraveling of the still sufficiently functional channels of political cooperation and interstate diplomacy. International security and economic communities as well as overlapping alliances like the United Nations, NATO, OSCE, and BRIC all indicate a high level of international integration. Nonetheless, the geopolitical decisions of the last years herald the start of a new period in political history that indeed corresponds to a Cold War constellation. Particularly US foreign policy is currently undergoing the revival of a more offensive realism, visible in recent demonstrations of power in NATO's Eastern border states, pushing of the TPP agreement in the Pacific economic area, and aggressive patrolling of the South Chinese Sea. In fact, the avoidance of superpower confrontation at all costs seems to increasingly take a back seat to these high-risk maneuvers. In the late 1940s the first Cold War began as a war of the words when the powers who had together defeated Nazi Germany started to level criticism at their respective global policies. With the help of their media and propaganda sources, their different stances and perspectives solidified and eventually developed into monolithic ideologies. These in turn spawned the geopolitical doctrines that warranted the replacement of any open (i.e., nuclear) confrontation with confined proxy wars as in Korea, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. A similar erosion of mutual trust, respect, and solidarity is taking place now as the outsourced US-Russian conflicts in Ukraine and Syria remain unsolved. Again, the second Cold War arises as a war of the words while negative sentiments are allowed to petrify and the glacial rhetorics of mistrust and veiled threats gradually begin to replace talk about common interests and cooperation. The influential and policy-shaping Foreign Affairs magazine already struck the right chords of the passive-aggressive Cold War parlance by titling , "Putin's Game of Chicken: And How the West Can Win." At the end of the day, this exact attitude could be one of the reasons why the US might come out on the losing side of this conflict. Because they have not yet realized this is not a "game of chicken" anymore. In fact, this is no longer the same easy game of manipulation that the US played during the 1990s by throwing cheap shots at a collapsing state. The deployment of its air force in Syria is not least a signal to the American establishment that Russia in 2015 no longer stands at the sidelines and watches begrudgingly as the US and its allies commence their disastrous policies in the Middle East. When Mr. Obama asserted that "this is not some superpower chessboard contest," he therefore either told a lie or he demonstrated his government's utter cluelessness with regard to the actual situation and consequences of their actions in Ukraine, Syria, the South Chinese Sea, and other hotspots of the second Cold War. Both possibilities do not bode well for the future. Reprinted with permission from LewRockwell.com .

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It remains unclear whether the BBC intends to waste licence fee payers' money writing about every Change.org petition that gets 10,000 signatures, or whether they reserve that privilege of publicly funded publicity for things with the word "racist" in the headline. Either way, they've gone off the deep end again today, publishing 600 words pondering a manga cartoon that has apparently "offended" a proportionately very small number of " Japan's netizens ". Are you keeping up with this so far? Because you're paying for it. Here's the story, in brief: Some magna artist in Japan drew a cartoon of a Syrian migrant child. The text behind the toon implied that she was a freeloader. Some Japanese internet users called it racist. Then the BBC went mental. But the cartoon is obviously not "racist". I mean, its not even close. Let's look at the Oxford English Dictionary definition of "racism": "Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior" So why does the BBC's Michael Wendling feel the need to pump up the issue, and ask the question on the BBC Trending website? I'll try not to be Captain Obvious . Here's what the text of the cartoon says: "I want to live a safe and clean life, have a gourmet meal, go out freely, wear pretty things and luxuriate. I want to live my life the way I want without a care in the world -- all at the expense of someone else. "I have an idea. Why don't I become a refugee?" At worst... at the very worst... this is insensitive. At its best, it is actually pretty accurate of what some of the migrants have themselves said or implied they're trying to do, with a little artistic licence, because, let's face it... it's art. I mean, swap out "gourmet meal" and "wear pretty things" for " beer " and " wifi " and you've got the truth behind some of the migrants' behaviour and demands. Some of them have even done some research into the types of prisons they might end up in. And at someone else's expense? Is that untrue? With natives being evicted from their life-long homes, and Germany now declaring that it may have to raise the retirement age to accommodate migrants? Oh yeah, and the want to scrap the minimum wage , and it'll cost the German tax payer well in advance of half a billion euros to pay for all this. Perhaps the only part of the cartoon that isn't true is the "safe and clean life" part. As we've seen, a lot of the young men (for that is the majority, despite what the BBC might try and tell you ) don't seem that interested in cleanliness and safety. A German local authority has even had to issue guidance for migrants reminding them that Germany is a clean country. Their words, not mine. And safety? Ha . I mean HA ! So yes, they do get the idea to become "refugees" as the cartoon so kindly put it. Syria's Google search history identifies as much. And this guy let the mask slip by claiming that unless he got to go to Germany, he'd just pop back over to war-torn Syria, no problem. In conclusion, I leave you with the words of the artist, Toshiko Hasumi: "It is my understanding that most of the refugees fleeing Syria this time are bogus asylum seekers. Instead of traveling around furtively like before, those illegal migrants are now inundating other countries through the front door... I have no problem with genuine refugees who really are unfortunate. This illustration is supposed to be a dig at those 'bogus refugees' who are exploiting the world's sympathy for those truly in trouble." So is the cartoon racist? No, of course it bloody well isn't.

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On any given night, David Goren can tune into more than 30 underground radio stations from his apartment in Flatbush, Brooklyn. "About a dozen of them broadcast in Creole, to the Haitian community," Goren, a local journalist and producer who researches the city's pirate stations, told The Outline . "A lot of the stations will air news from home." In addition to news and politics updates, Goren said, these stations feature Caribbean music that doesn't get airtime on mainstream stations, advertisements for local businesses, and occasional call-in sessions with immigration attorneys. For some immigrant communities across the country, these underground radio stations are an easy way of staying connected to one's roots. In New York City, there may be more unlicensed broadcasters than licensed ones . Some of these clandestine broadcasters are small enterprises, while others are full-fledged stations that run advertisements and generate revenue. All of them run the risk of being fined -- or in some states, including New York, New Jersey, and Florida, having their operators imprisoned -- if they're caught by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has been chasing down unlicensed pirate stations for decades -- in 1987, The New York Times reported on a raid of a pirate station that was operating from a boat off the coast of Long Island. But with the recent appointment of Ajit Pai, President Donald Trump's pick for FCC chairman, the federal government seems to be taking a new zero-tolerance approach to pirate stations, one that may drive these broadcasters off the air for good. In late March, federal authorities raided the headquarters of two Boston-based pirate radio stations and seized their equipment. And last fall, the popular Miami-based pirate station Touche Douce was hit with a proposed $144,344 fine , the maximum allowed under FCC regulations at the time. A map of enforcement actions on the FCC's website illustrates the crackdown. The FCC has undertaken 306 pirate investigations since Pai took office in January 2017. The majority of these actions -- 210, according to a press release issued by the agency on Wednesday -- were Notices of Unauthorized Operations, warnings from the FCC telling the unlicensed stations to immediately shut down or risk fines and prison time. The release also notes that the FCC "took more than twice as many actions against pirate broadcasters" in 2017 than it did the previous year. (For the first time since its inception, the agency said, it has begun holding property owners liable for "supporting this illegal activity on their property.") Five of the 224 actions issued since January 2017 were Notices of Apparent Liability, a "preliminary decision" to fine stations that have "willfully or repeatedly" ignored FCC warnings, the map shows. This is the kind of notice Touche Douce received last September. Last month, New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance and New York Rep. Paul Toko introduced the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act, which would increase the maximum fine for operating an illegal radio station from $19,639 per day to $100,000. Under current laws, the FCC can fine licensed stations up to $147,290; the PIRATE Act would increase the cap to $2 million. In addition to raising fines, the legislation would require the FCC to conduct at least two annual raids in the cities with the highest concentration of pirate broadcasters -- often immigrant communities of color -- and to seize any illegal radio equipment from underground stations. According to Lance, pirate radio operators don't only compete with licensed operators for airspace, but also pose "significant harm to public safety and public health," because their signals can interfere with emergency broadcasts. "By disrupting and interfering with licensed broadcasters, these 'pirate radios' can cause radio listeners to miss important updates during times of emergency by blocking the Emergency Alert System," Lance said during a March 22 hearing regarding the PIRATE Act. Lobbying groups including the National Association of Broadcasters, the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association , and the New York State Broadcasters Association have spoken out in favor of the PIRATE Act. David Donovan, president of the New York group, called private stations a "vexing problem" and suggested that some "may be part of a larger criminal activity" in a statement endorsing the legislation. Donovan claimed that, unlike legal radio stations that "are licensed by the FCC to serve the public interest," pirate stations "do not serve their communities" and instead "often prey on the most vulnerable communities." What these stations are doing is serving their communities in ways that they don't get from licensed stations. -- David Goren, a local journalist and producer who researches the NYC-based pirate stations Inside Radio reported last year that broadcasting associations across the country have found an ally in Pai. "What I see is a determination by the Commission to go after this issue," the president of the New York broadcasting association told the website. In a statement announcing Touche Douce's fine notice, Pai issued a statement making it clear that he would be ramping up enforcement against pirate stations: One week ago was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is probably the only holiday that can trace its origin to a racquetball game. When the two co-founders were playing, one of them suffered an injury and screamed out 'Aaarrr!' By contrast, there's nothing funny about pirate radio, which interferes with the lawful use of the airwaves and can disrupt public safety communications. Since becoming Chairman, I've made it quite clear that the FCC won't tolerate the unauthorized and illegal use of the radio spectrum. Towards that end, I've made it a Commission priority to crack down on pirate radio operations. Pirate radio's defenders say the unlicensed broadcasters serve communities that are often ignored by mainstream stations, both in the U.S. and abroad. In the UK, pirate radio played a pivotal role in the rise of grime , enabling upstart MCS and beatmakers without access to a traditional label or PR team to connect with audiences and get the word out about new records. Over in Miami --which, according to the FCC map , has the highest concentration of pirate radio stations after New York -- the format has been similarly instrumental for certain local hip-hop artists. Shortly after moving to Miami, DJ Khaled tried to get radio stations to play his songs; the only one that agreed was Mixx 96 , a Caribbean pirate station on Biscayne Boulevard. "What these stations are doing is serving their communities in ways that they don't get from licensed stations," Goren said. "You can hear soca music, dancehall, reggae, konpa, Caribbean gospel." He notes, however, that the pirate stations can interfere with broadcasts from licensed ones. In Miami, fans of Touche Douce are wondering what they'll do if popular pirate stations get taken off the air. "We need it," Touche Douce listener Wilky Saint-Hilaire told the Miami Herald after the station was fined last October. "This was probably the only station that played our music genre, konpa , exclusively on a daily basis." The Herald reported that other pirate stations in the region are currently under investigation. After the FCC fined Touche Douce, some Haitian pirate radio fans wondered if the Haitian community would purchase its own FM station, the Herald reported. But FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat who supports the fine on Touche Douce but is sympathetic to underground operators, wrote that underserved communities of color often turn to pirate radio because of the high costs associated with being licensed. "If those unlicensed operators were ever afforded the opportunity to transition to a licensed station, would they take it?" Clyburn wrote. "Unfortunately, in most large media markets, that opportunity may never exist, both because of the lack of an available license and high financial hurdles." FCC spokesperson Will Wiquist told The Outline that a few options exist for pirate stations that want to comply with the law. "The FCC has licensed low power radio stations in markets where licensing can be done without causing interference," he said in an email. "Also, obviously there are online resources like streamed radio services and podcasts." According to Goren, it's possible that some pirate stations may choose to go completely digital to evade the FCC crackdown -- and that some of those that do get forced off the air will just resurface again later. He said he was in touch with the operator of one Spanish-language station in Brooklyn, which streams both digitally and over the radio, who was concerned about getting caught by the FCC. (Goren didn't suggest that this operator was worried about getting caught because of the increased enforcement, but rather that fines and prison time are always a risk for pirate broadcasters in New York.) The Outline reached out to Radio Unidad and Radio Independans , two pirate stations that were recently issued notices by the FCC. Radio Unidad, a Spanish-language Christian station, is located in Connecticut; Radio Independans is based in Brooklyn. Both stations' phone numbers appear to have been disconnected. For these pirate stations and others across the country, it's unclear what the future holds. Update: This piece was updated to reflect official statistics on FCC enforcement of pirate radio stations released on Wednesday, April 11. Get The Outline in your inbox Nice email address!

Shortly after moving to Miami, DJ Khaled tried to get radio stations to play his songs; the only one that agreed was Mixx 96 , a Caribbean pirate station on Biscayne Boulevard.

Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren appeared on "The Daily Show" to discuss her incendiary views on Black Lives Matter and Colin Kaepernick. For many Jon Stewart fans, Trevor Noah hasn't quite lived up to the high expectations that are associated with "The Daily Show." However on Wednesday, the South African comedian might have finally had his "Jon Stewart moment" with the appearance of conservative blowhard Tomi Lahren for an extended 25-minute interview. The Ann Coulter wannabe is an anchor for Glen Beck's multimedia platform, The Blaze. She made a name for herself for criticizing President Barack Obama following the Chattanooga, Tenn., terrorist attack that killed five U.S. servicemen. She caused another media firestorm when she slammed Beyonce for her politically-charged performance at Super Bowl 50. Recently, Lahren's incendiary rants about Black Lives Matter and her condemnation of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick -- who has protested social injustice buy refusing to stand during the national anthem before NFL games -- have garnered biting rebukes. Lahren obviously knew that she was walking into a liberal "lion's den," but it's doubtful that she was prepared for what Noah had in mind. "Why are you so angry?" Noah asked the Dallas-based host. Lahren's response was as tone-deaf as her usual vitriol as she insisted that she wasn't angry, which was glaringly contrary to clips of her viral " Final Thoughts " rants. In one clip, she calls anti-Trump protesters "crybabies with nothing better to do than meander around the streets with their participation trophies and false sense of purpose." Later in the interview, Noah pointed out that, "For somebody who is not racist, you have to spend a lot of time saying 'I am not racist.'" The conservative commentator said that she criticizes Black Lives Matter because of the "rioting" and "looting" that occurs at some of the protests, insisting that the entire movement ascribes to an aggressive anti-police narrative. Noah responded by saying, "You're the same person who argued on your show that just because Donald Trump has supporters from the KKK doesn't mean he's in the KKK." He argued that Lahren was guilty of a double standard because, by her own logic, all police would be considered racist because some officers discriminate against black people. Typically, she evaded the question and instead resorted to pulling out a dubious statistic that black men are "18.5 times more likely to shoot a police officer than a police officer is to shoot a black man." "Those are the statistics no one wants to talk about," Lahren said while arguing that she's not racist because she "doesn't see color." Noah's answer was quick and biting as he quipped, "So what do you do at a traffic light?" Turning to Lahren's criticism of Kaepernick, Noah asked her about how black people in America should meaningfully assert their First Amendment rights if, in her opinion, peaceful protests and marches are inappropriate. "Here's a black man in America who says, 'I don't know how to get a message across. If I march in the streets, people say I'm a thug. If I go out and I protest people say it's a riot.' What's the right way for a black person to get attention in America?" Noah asked. Lahren didn't have a cogent answer to the question. For the past year, Noah has found it difficult to capture the aura left by Stewart. Interviews have not been Noah's forte. He's been quick to soften the mood with light jokes if things get heated. Noah turned the corner with his interview with Lahren. He was clear and incisive in his responses. He pressed her about her controversial and incendiary views, yet at the same time looked to find common ground wherever he could. Often when Stewart manned the desk, we wished that mainstream news outlets would conduct their interviews with the same adversarial spirit as he did. Noah's interview with Lahren recalled that sentiment. After a little more than a year since taking over "The Daily Show," Noah may have finally found his voice; unfortunately for Lahren, it came at her expense. Read More

For many Jon Stewart fans, Trevor Noah hasn't quite lived up to the high expectations that are associated with "The Daily Show." However on Wednesday, the South African comedian might have finally had his "Jon Stewart moment" with the appearance of conservative blowhard Tomi Lahren for an extended 25-minute interview.

Google's analysis of search trends reveals that "gun shop" was searched more frequently in 2014 compared to "gun control." But in the three days following the shooting in Charleston, South Carolina , on the night of June 17, search popularity for the terms flip flopped. "Gun control" or "Gun shop"? Which is more searched on Google by state? https://t.co/FSIUZm9egb pic.twitter.com/N1Nx4Uv3SF -- GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 21, 2015 In the wake of the shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church where nine people were killed, there were renewed calls for stricter gun control laws. Google Trends makes no speculation as to whether the searches for "gun control" during this time were for, against or just seeking information on the topic following the shooting. Image source: Google Trends Image source: Google Trends "I'd like to say these shootings in Charleston will be a turning point, enough for Congress to fight back against the gun lobby and take some serious action about gun laws," Chelsea Parsons, who oversees gun policy for the liberal Center for American Progress, said following the attack. "But I don't want to be naive." New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference after the shooting that laws would not change such attacks. "Only the good will and love of the American people can let those folks know that that act is unacceptable, disgraceful," he said. White House press secretary Josh Earnest though told TheBlaze this week that more gun control might not have stopped this attack as well. "The reason the president has continued to forcefully encourage Congress to take some common-sense steps to reduce gun violence is not with the idea that one piece of legislation would prevent every instance of gun violence," Earnest said. "The fact is this particular instance is still under investigation and so until we know more about what exactly has happened, or what did happen in this instance, it's difficult to say whether one piece of legislation or one rule if changed could have prevented this particular action." Google's trend analysis of terms related to the Charleston shooting also has a graph showing interest in the Confederate flag . Since the shooting, which was deemed a hate crime, companies, schools, lawmakers and others have been removing or calling for the removal of the Confederate flag and related landmarks. Searches for the #ConfederateFlag have reached an all-time high pic.twitter.com/EYfmryIUfs -- GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 23, 2015 Dylann Roof, 21, was arrested and charged with the murders after an overnight manhunt following the shooting. Roof was pictured in the past holding a Confederate flag and a handgun in the same image. A friend of Roof recalled shortly after the attack a recent conversation in which Roof expressed his concern that "blacks were taking over the world" and said he had "a plan." (H/T: Huffington Post ) The Associated Press contributed to this report. Front page image via Shutterstock.

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"One year, my twin sons drew pictures and wrote poems. Granted, I did have blue streaks in my hair, but, for the record, I did not have orange skin. I also have never played tennis or any other sport. It doesn't matter! These are still my favorite gifts." -- Brittany, 28, mom of two, Pennsylvania. Check out these unique and easy DIY Mother's Day gift ideas . Host a photoshoot Courtesy, Hayley Miller "One of the best Mother's Day gifts my daughter Hayley gave me was a photo shoot with her, my other daughter, and my granddaughter. A professional photographer took our photos in a beautiful park. We laughed a lot during the shoot. I loved that we captured such a special time in our lives. I still have the photos in my house." -- Judy, 60, mom of two, grandmother of two, Connecticut

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Reviewer Michael Scott says, "Absolutely capital idea for a book, because clearly complete idiots are under represented in the ranks of government employees. Ah, just what we need. More idiots working for the government." Oh, the irony We were dismayed recently to find on our YouTube channel an ad for Barack Obama's re-election campaign. Talk about advertising FAIL. London 2012 London's logo for the 2012 Olympic games has been inadvertently revised due to the recent riots: Million Obama Dollar bill It's Obama funny money! Just the thing for paying taxes, making "change", purchasing Obama healthcare and more! We are sure you'll come up with a million uses of your own for this Million Obama dollar bill. The same size as U.S. currency. Set of 2 bills. And now for a cartoon

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One of the signature issues defining today's society is the changing attitudes on religion, God, and traditional Christianity. Evidence of this fluctuation was most recently seen in a Pew survey on morality . According to Pew, respondents were asked whether or not belief in God was necessary in order to live a moral life. As the chart below shows, there was about a 50-50 split on this question in 2011. Six years later, an ever-growing majority said that it is possible to live a moral life without believing in God. Finding this interesting, I turned to Mere Christianity to see what C.S. Lewis, one of the foremost Christian thinkers in modern history, had to say about this subject. In what might be a surprise to some, Lewis actually agrees with today's majority opinion, arguing that it is possible to live a good, moral life without believing in God. But Lewis also throws in a caveat, stating that Christians have a far easier time living a moral life because of their belief in God. To illustrate this, Lewis describes the difference in healing power between that of a dead man and a living one: "As long as the natural life is in your body, it will do a lot towards repairing that body. Cut it, and up to a point it will heal, as a dead body would not. A live body is not one that never gets hurt, but one that can to some extent repair itself." Lewis continues by saying: "In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble - because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out. That is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or - if they think there is not - at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us ; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it." In other words, Lewis believes that living a moral life is an easier go for the Christian because he has an internal power to rely upon in the quest to become a better individual. But while this sounds like a perk, one can't help but wonder how many American Christians actually believe this is possible. Given recent surveys showing Christians rejecting the basic tenets of their faith, it appears that many Christians are trying to live "moral lives" without the power that Lewis claims they have access to. If so, it would make sense why America is seeing an ever-growing population of " religious-nones ." After all, if Christians live, as the Christian Scriptures say , as if they have a "form of godliness" while "denying the power" that aids in living that moral life, then what difference is there between a life lived as a Christian or as a basic moral person? [Image Credit: Max Pixel ]

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Rostami said a hematology and oncology congress will be held from April 25 to 28 in Tehran to discuss the latest progresses in treating cancer-related diseases. Cancer specialists, including 20 foreign experts, will participate in the congress, he said. He went on to say that in addition to cancer experts, health officials would also participate in the conference in order to take practical steps for treating cancer diseases. He said unfortunately cancer diseases are progressing at an alarming rate in Iran so that two third of diseases are untreatable as they are diagnosed late. In developed countries most of cancer-related diseases are diagnosed in initial stages and treated in due time, while in Iran these diseases are diagnosed while a high costs is imposed on the patient, Rostami added. Rostami said that the treatment of cancer requires public education and team work by specialists. He also said an exhibition of foreign and domestically-produced drugs and medical equipment would be put on display on the sidelines of the congress. ASP/PA END MNA

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Forth from the cave-like, gloomy gate Crowds a motley and swarming array. Everyone suns himself gladly today. The Risen Lord they celebrate, For they themselves have now arisen From lowly houses' mustiness, From handicraft's and factory's prison, From the roof and gables that oppress, From the bystreets' crushing narrowness, From the churches' venerable night, They are all brought out into light. Posted by b on April 12, 2009 at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) Links April 12 09 Similar customs: Easter eggs in Germany ( Xinhua ) Nowruz eggs in Iran ( Flickr ) Economy: Serious satire: Letter to FDIC on Geithner's PPIP ( FDIC ) pdf Top talent? Then how did we get into this mess? Crisis Altering Wall Street as Big Banks Lose Top Talent - ( NYT ) The real numbers are even higher China's foreign reserves hit $1.95 trillion at end of March - ( Xinhua ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 12, 2009 at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) Links April 12 09 Happy fertile springtime: Easter eggs in Germany ( Xinhua ) Nowruz eggs in Iran ( Flickr ) Only one? - Darwin's egg found at Cambridge - ( PressTV ) Not so fertile: - Uptick in Vasectomies Seen as Sign of Recession - ( NYT ) Afghanistan supplies: The Karachi-Peshawar-Kabul route - Ten Nato supply containers torched in Peshawar - ( The News ) The Karachi-Quetta-Kandahar route - 16 killed on second day of strike in Balochistan - ( Dawn ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 12, 2009 at 02:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) In a huge embarrassment for the right-wing government in Thailand, a meeting of 16 Asian state leaders today had to be canceled after demonstrators stormed the convention hall. Let us look back for some context. In September last year I wrote about The Coup Attempt in Thailand : [The] 'People's Alliance for Democracy' (PAD) is demonstrating against the government that was elected last December and is ruling within a six party coalition with two-third of the seats in parliament. The PAD followers demand that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej steps down, but have little else that one could describe as a political program. The prime minister, like his predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in 2006 in an army coup, has his base in the poor rural parts of Thailand in which the majority of the population lives. Samak has introduced cheap health care and village development programs in the agricultural areas. Are these programs partially corrupt? Sure. Are these programs designed to buy votes? Yes. But that is part of any democracy. What else are tax policies and earmarks in the U.S.? Leader of PAD is the right-wing media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul who's newspapers, websites and TV stations drive the protests. He has support from largely middle class urbanites including a union for well payed government employees and part of the army establishment. To gain some popularity the PAD claims to act for the king who has so far stayed neutral and did not intervene on either side. Despite its name, the 'People's Alliance for Democracy' is very undemocratic ... Then in December I thought that the PAD had overreached because the demonstrations of its 'yellowshirts' shut down the tourist business. But I was wrong. Eventually and with the prodding from the Thai king a court declared the elected government illegal and some lawmakers were bribed to change sites. The parliament then elected the current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. But the balance changed again as Taksin's supporters in red shirts took to the streets. There was a huge demonstrations in Bangkok last week with over 100,000 participants. This morning demonstrators in Pattaya, where the ASEAN countries' plus China's, Japan's and South Korea's leaders were supposed to meet, stormed the convention hall. Some of the state leaders are now holed up in blockaded hotels, others get flown out by helicopter. The meeting and a followup tomorrow will not take place.It is unheard of that a high level international meeting gets such a treat. This is an incredible international embarrassment and loss of face for the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. It will have to step down. For now the government has declared an emergency for Pattaya and shutdown the media and communication means. But that will not end the conflict. The 'yellow-shirt' and 'red-shirt' sides may increase the level of their conflict and start to use more violence. The (also embarrassed) army may get involved too. The best for now would probably be a caretaker government and new elections. Let's hope the reverted king is wise enough to push for them. Posted by b on April 11, 2009 at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) Africa Comments (2) Pirates, natural resources and Africom ... The antecessor thread is here . Posted by b on April 11, 2009 at 02:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (59) Links April 11 09 Not a rational argument - Why Israel Will Bomb Iran - ( Slate ) Ahmadinejad interview - 'We Are Neither Obstinate nor Gullible' - ( Spiegel ) Stephen Walt - Can the United States put pressure on Israel?: A user's guide - ( FP ) Huh? American victims of Hezbollah rockets sue North Korea - ( Haaretz ) A true cartoon - ( Harpers ) Record car sales - in China ( London Times ) Cool Aid - More Quickly Than It Began, The Banking Crisis Is Over - ( Time ) But we need to bomb ... - Pentagon preps for economic warfare - ( Huffington Post ) Predicted here - Japan to scrap plan for North Korea resolution - ( WaPo ) In - He wants to stay - General Ray Odierno: we may miss Iraq deadline to halt al-Qaeda terror - ( London Times ) Out - Syria's Ahmed Chalabi - Farid Ghadry's Leadership of the Reform Party of Syria Expires - Syria Comment ) The result will not change - Protests Wane in Moldova as Vote Recount Is Announced - ( NYT ) Embarrassing for the host - Thai protests disrupt Asean summit - ( Al Jazeera ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 11, 2009 at 02:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) Looking into Obama's promises and policies on transparent government I was not able to find anything about the issue through the menus of the whitehouse.gov website. Then, using Google, I found that the White House published a MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES SUBJECT: Transparency and Open Government The URL to that memo is: Rechecking the higher level page http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ I am again unable to find a link to the transparency memorandum. But back to the memo. The memorandum is displayed with a date "FRI, APRIL 10, 10:33 AM EST". Huh? They issued that just now? No. Searching for "transparency" at the whitehouse.gov site the first two search result are to the link above but the third result leads to the same document under the slightly different URL: where it has a timestamp of "January 21st, 2009 at 12:00 am". How transparent is a government that even hides its own proclamation about "Transparency and Open Government" and even tags it with the wrong timestamp? Not very much. My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency , public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government. Transparency and Open Government --- The U.S. Federal Reserve has told Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other banks to keep mum on the results of "stress tests" that will gauge their ability to weather the recession, people familiar with the matter said. Fed Said to Order Banks to Stay Mum on 'Stress Test' Results --- Panetta said the CIA will cooperate with the reviews of "past interrogation practices" and reiterated his insistence that agency officials who acted on Justice Department guidance " should not be investigated , let alone punished." CIA Has Quit Operating Secret Jails, Chief Says --- But last Friday, his Justice Department filed a motion in a warrantless wiretapping lawsuit, brought by the digital-rights group EFF. And the Obama-ites took a page out of the Bush DOJ's playbook by demanding that the suit, Jewel v. NSA, be dismissed entirely under the state secrets privilege , arguing that allowing it go forward would jeopardize national security. Expert Consensus: Obama Mimics Bush On State Secrets --- At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance on Tuesday, two oversight chiefs delivered harsh criticism of the Treasury Department's lack of accountability and transparency in its Troubled Asset Relief Program Treasury Resisting TARP Transparency, Oversight Not much change there one might say. But there is some. The Bush White House had a decent website where one could find the issues one was looking for. So evidently something has changed and there is no reason to be disappointed. The promise was change , not change to something better . Posted by b on April 10, 2009 at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) Are Crowbars Weapons of Mass Destruction? Iran does not build Weapon of Mass Destruction it buys them. The 118-count indictment charges the Chinese businessman, Li Fang Wei, a Limmt executive, and the company with conspiring to conceal its transactions and with entering false information on bank transactions that went through Manhattan. The Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, announced the indictment at a news conference Tuesday. ... "What we're trying to do and what we are doing is to make every effort to prosecute the company, which is perhaps the largest supplier of weapons of mass destruction to the Iranian government ," ... In one instance, in February 2007, a Limmt subsidiary billed a Defense Industries shell company 89,000 euros, or about $115,700 (dollars in 2007), for 200 graphite cylinders , Mr. Morgenthau said. And in another case, Mr. Morgenthau said, in June 2008, Limmt used the letterhead of a front company to send a Defense Industries subsidiary an invoice for 1.4 million euros, or about $1.8 million, for 24,500 kilograms of high-strength maraging steel rods . Okay - one can get killed when a high strength maraging steel crowbar comes down on ones head and maybe even with graphite electrodes used in metal furnaces. But how those would constitute weapons of mass destruction is beyond me. Posted by b on April 10, 2009 at 07:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) Links April 10 09 Which does not mean that they will stop to torture C.I.A. to Close Secret Prisons, Scenes of Harsh Interrogations - ( NYT ) Producing fuel pellets will lower the 'dangerous' stockpile Iran touts nuclear technology gains - LAT Interesting collection of authors How to Approach the Iran Nuclear Dilemma - ( American Foreign Policy Project (pdf) ) The last resort of 'western' colonialism The Larger Meaning of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - ( Bernard Chazelle ) Zionist justice - All he did was kill an Arab - ( Haaretz ) Guess why they do this (btw - it is illegal to withhold such material information) Fed Said to Order Banks to Stay Mum on 'Stress Test' Results - ( Bloomberg ) The Second Great Depression The Decade of Darkness - ( Counterpunch ) Latecomer - Making Banking Boring - ( Krugman, NYT, today ) - to make banking as boring again as it should be - ( me, Oct 2008 ) Sunnis and Sadrists Thousands of Iraqis rally against U.S. - ( McClatchy ) Nir Rosen "We Didn't Create a Paradise in Iraq; We Created a Hell" - ( Democracy Now ) Dangerous development Furore in Balochistan over killing of nationalist leaders - ( Dawn ) Posted by b on April 10, 2009 at 02:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) Opposition Rally in Georgia Thirteen opposition parties in Georgia called for a public rally today to oust President Mikheil Saakashvili. They expect 100,000 demonstrators in Tbilisi. A equivilant would be a rally with 6.5 million protesters in Washington. Saakashvili is especially blamed for starting and losing last years war against Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, but also for a general bad economy, cronyism, undemocratic behavior and special massages . The oppositions asked foreign countries to stay back and let it happen. It will be interesting to see how Washington reacts. The official State Department statement is fairly neutral . But Saakashvili recently spent over a million dollars to hire new lobbyists in Washington. He no longer relies on McCain's adviser Scheuneman but payed up for better connection with Democrats.He also bought off the Georgian Orthodox Church with a $15 million 'grant' eliminating a possibly strong moral voice that could be a danger for him. The opposition will try to have a peaceful rally but it could be in the interest of some folks, including probably Saakashvili, to give it a violent bend. Stay tuned ... Posted by b on April 9, 2009 at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) Billmon: Scalia's Nightmare I've suspected for some time that conservatives would eventually have serious reservations about where Norm and his mouthpieces are trying to take them. Maybe it's finally dawning on some of them that making a federal case out this election contest risks a long-term disaster for the GOP -- one that would completely outweigh the short-term benefits of depriving the Democrats of their 59th vote. Billmon: Scalia's Nightmare Posted by b on April 9, 2009 at 02:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) Links April 09 09 It is legal: Iran's 'Outlawed' Nuclear Program ( FP Journal ) Fake negotiations: U.S. to Join Iran Talks Over Nuclear Program NYT "By showing a readiness to engage Iran, American officials said, the administration is trying to build support among allies like Germany and France, and more skeptical players, like Russia, so that if diplomatic efforts fail, it can marshal support for tougher sanctions against Tehran." Also: How the corporate media alienate Iran: Prof. Mojtahedzadeh ( FP Journal ) Buffet is old: Moody's downgrades Berkshire Hathaway ( FT ) Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Ten principles for a Black Swan-proof world ( FT ) "In France in the 1980s, the socialists took over the banks. In the US in the 2000s, the banks took over the government." What was his share of the loot? Former FBI chief defends flow of money to Saudi ambassador ( LAT ) Defense pork propaganda: US electricity grid hit by cyber attacks: report ( AFP ) Only chimps? Study shows chimps exchange meat for sex ( UPI ) Racist writing: "At least one is believed to be a student, the others were born in Pakistan." Met blunder prompts terror arrests ( Guardian ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 9, 2009 at 01:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) The Pakistani government finally had enough of U.S. meddling and took a stand : Two top US officials, presidential envoy for the region Richard Holbrooke and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, had come to Islamabad with the idea of doing some tough talking and pressuring both the political and the military leadership to step up their efforts in the war on terror. Instead, what they got was a barrage of criticism of the American position and the allegations constantly levelled against Islamabad about either protecting some Taliban elements or not doing enough to eliminate what the United States believes are the main elements carrying out attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan. According to a source in the US delegation, the stance taken by the Pakistani side came as a rude shock to the Americans, who had so far been taking the civilian and military leadership for granted . ... [Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood] Qureshi's message perhaps could not have been more unequivocal; he stated that cooperation could continue only if balance and respect were restored to the relationship. "We can only work together if we respect each other and trust each other. There is no other way and nothing else will work," he said rather bluntly. ... "We have certain expectations from the Friends of Democratic Pakistan. Most importantly, these expectations are not cents and dollars; rather it is the political support that Pakistan expects from them." The last sentence is a demand for support against India where Holbrooke arrived today and where he will not achieve anything. The U.S. asked for common military operation in Pakistan's tribal areas, wanted to increase the nearly daily drone attacks and offered Pakistan a bit of money with lots of conditions attached. Meanwhile it admits that is no idea who it is fighting against in Afghanistan. Pakistan says no to any common military operations, wants control over the drones and asks for $30 billion unconditional money over five years. President Zardari, Chief of Staff Kiani, Prime Minister Gilani and his cabinet all agree with the new position. A bipartisan parliament committee on National Strategy also supports this : [A] senior member of the committee, who also belongs to the PPP, said to Dawn that 'The committee proposes substantial changes in the national strategy of combating terror which would reflect collective will of the parliament rather than continuation of a policy that was given by a military dictator under American dictates '. That is quite a sea change in Pakistani behavior and I suspect that it has a lot to do with the general abusive U.S. behavior against Pakistan as reinforced by the arrogance of Holbrooke: The normally urbane and mild-mannered Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was firm and spoke in categorical terms. Meanwhile, Richard Holbrooke chatted quietly with Admiral Mike Mullen - an act that, whatever the intention, was perceived as rude and contemptuous by those present. The great new U.S. AfPak strategy is now in shambles and will have to be taken back to the drawing board. Pakistan will not play along and will not allow the planed widening of the Afghan war onto its grounds.If the U.S. tries to go there it will have to fight the Pakistani army. That is good in my view. U.S. pressure on the tribal areas already brought the fight from there into Pakistan's main cities. More pressure and more fighting could easily lead to the destruction of the Pakistani state. That is not something anyone should wish for. Posted by b on April 8, 2009 at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) Moldova - A Private Color Revolution? Following elections in Moldova violent protests broke out and some youth NGOs and the opposition is trying to overthrow the reelected government. While this looks like a color revolution, the otherwise usual support for it from the U.S. and EU seems to be missing. Moldova is a small landlocked and very poor country between Romania and Ukraine in south east Europe. Throughout history ownership of Moldova changed several times between Romania and Russia. Since 1991 it is independent but the Russophon part east of the river Dniester split off and is now the effectively independent Transnistria. The official language in the rest of the country is Romanian. The 1990s were economically catastrophic for Moldova. The GDP per person is the lowest in Europe. Out of 4.2 million Moldovans 600,000 live and work abroad. Since 2001 the communist party, essentially social-democrats more or less friendly with Russia, is ruling the country and two days ago again won elections. International election observers from the OECD confirmed the results. Allegations of election fraud led to opposition demonstrations in the capitol Chisinau where some youth groups stormed (video) and set fire to (video) the parliament and the president's office. The police came out and the government now has again the upper hand. Youth protests after elections with demands of re-voting seem to follow the typical scheme of a U.S. engineered color revolution . A good, though a bit partisan chronology of the last days is here . Additionally some links through twitter . What is missing from a normal color revolution is the support from 'western' countries and their media. But there are some hints that this is a privately arranged coup, probably with support from Romania, that uses the color revolution tools. The conflict here has several layers. The young city folks voted for the opposition for economic reasons and the elder rural majority voted for the 'communists'. Something weird: Photos from the riots show lots of people with very short hair - Skinheads? Hooligans? Police? There is movement from Romania to essentially annex Moldova and some of the protesters indeed carried Romanian (and EU) flags. Moldova's government recalled its ambassador to Romania, told the Romanian ambassador to Moldova to leave and closed the border. Another conflict layer is a personal spat between the oligarch Anatol Stati, Moldova's richest man , and the 'communist' president Vladimir Voronin, father of another rich oligarch . Voronin accuses Stati of financing the opposition party and of dubious business practices. Stati allegedly made $2 billion within a few years by drilling for oil in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. He recently made a contentious production sharing agreement deal with the authorities of south Sudan. (Someone should ask him about those T-72 tanks south Sudan got from Ukraine.) Stati's main company is ASCOM but most of the business runs through Tristan Oil residing in the tax haven British Virgin Islands. The second man in Stati's business is one Artur Lungu: Prior to joining Ascom, Mr. Lungu served as the Assistant Director of a USAID Contractor to the Romanian government from 2003 to 2005 where he was responsible for strategic planning and budgeting. ... Mr. Lungu holds a degree from the Academy of Economic Studies, Chisinau, Moldova and received a Masters degree, in Public Administration from the University of Delaware. Lungu is named as project manager for several issues in this (pdf) old Soros foundation activity report and as a ' fellow ' in a British equivalent, the John Smith Memorial Trust. Before the election the son of Stati, Gabriel, a Vice President of ASCOM and owner of a major soccer club once arrested for hooliganism, called for the youth to vote for the opposition block. He is identified as: Chairman of the International Youth Movement, President of the Federation of International Combat Arts Voievod, ... The chronology linked above says: A number of youth NGOs and movements went out in the streets at the same time with the Liberal Democratic Party, one of the most vociferous protesters of the election results. The demonstrations look like a color revolution but the lack of support form the 'west' lets me assume that they are not an 'official' one. Instead the money of Anatol Stati, his son's friends and/or Romanian sources may be the main forces behind these events with the U.S. trained Artur Lungu being the operational brain. For additional coverage see Moldova.org and the Romanian Hotnews.ro sites. Posted by b on April 8, 2009 at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) Links April 08 09 Annie linked this yesterday: Baghdad, City of Walls by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, four parts. Please watch at least part 3 and remember that those instigated this are still being payed by U.S. taxpayers or this or that lobby. FDIC preparing for the big one: 'FDIC Job Postings are Bad News For Big Banks' ( FDL ) 'Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing' ( USA Today ) In the late 1920s in Germany this was called Notgeld , 'Emergency Money', and every city or bigger county had its own. 'Default Count Rises to Highest Since Great Depression' ( Bloomberg ) US, UK to default? 'The green shoots are weeds growing through the rubble in the ruins of the global economy' ( Willem Buiter ) Unsuccessful color revolution attempt? 'Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter' ( NYT ) 'What's the Problem With Pakistan? ( Foreign Affairs ) One big problem is Indian mangling in Afghanistan: "Having visited the Indian mission in Zahedan, Iran, I can assure you they are not issuing visas as the main activity! Moreover, India has run operations from its mission in Mazar (through which it supported the Northern Alliance) and is likely doing so from the other consulates it has reopened in Jalalabad and Qandahar along the border. Indian officials have told me privately that they are pumping money into Baluchistan. Kabul has encouraged India to engage in provocative activities such as using the Border Roads Organization to build sensitive parts of the Ring Road and use the Indo-Tibetan police force for security." Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 8, 2009 at 02:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) Geithner Plan Worse Than You Think The more people think about the Paulson Geithner plan the more they start to see the scam behind it. Laurence J Kotlikoff and Jeffrey Sachs explain the scheme in a Financial Times online piece. A bank has a 'toxic asset' (a legacy securities in Treasury newspeak) with a notional value of $1,000 million, a marked-to-fantasy book value of $900 million but a real value of $100 million. It sets up a special purpose vehicle (SIV) that is not on its balance sheet. The SIV joins Geithner's Public Private Investment Plan (PPIP). The bank lends $70 million to the SIV. Under PPIP the Treasury joins the SIV with additional capital of $70 million. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) then gives a 1:6 non-recourse loan to the PPIP SIV. That has now $140 million + 6 * $140 million = $980 million and offers that money to buy up the banks 'toxic asset'. The bank sells the 'bad asset' for $980 million to the SIV. Eventually the SIV will have to acknowledge the real value of the paper and, as it can not pay back the FDIC loan, go bankrupt. The bank makes a $70 million loss on the SIV but got $980 net for something that was only worth $100 million. In total it even makes a book profit of $10 million, a good reason to pay out an additional management bonus. The Treasury will lose its $70 million capital investment. The FDIC will get the 'toxic asset' worth $100 million for the $840 million loan it gave. It may eventually sell that 'toxic asset' to a bank for the real market value and will have to eat the losses. Eventually it will be bankrupt too and the taxpayer will have to pay up for it. In total there will hundreds of transactions as described above and future taxpayers will have to come up with millions of millions to pay for them. Even if the above scheme is not carried out as openly as described above, with such high incentives it is certain to happen. A few phone calls and a Bank of America SIV will buy Citigroup's 'toxic assets' while a Citigroup SIV will buy BoA's 'toxic assets'. They are already preparing for this and aquiring extra 'toxic assets' from others to increase their possible loot in the scheme. That alone shows of course that there are markets for such 'toxic assets' and that they do have a market price . The official reasoning for Geithner's plan is that there is no such market and that the assets are undervalued. The real reason for the PPIP is of course different. After robbing the last penny from private households the banks ran out of prey. They are now going after the state as a whole. Geithner and Summers are their tools in this and Congress is complicit. Something is deeply wrong with the world when such open robbery is allowed without a public outcry. Posted by b on April 7, 2009 at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) Who Is Again Bombing Baghdad? Yesterday seven car bombs killed 37 across Baghdad. These bombs were hidden in parked cars and not suicide attacks. So far nobody has claimed responsibility. The U.S. blames 'Al-Qaeda'. Maliki blames Baath party elements. Disgruntled Son of Iraq groups that are now without pay may be another possibility. Some of the thousands of prisoners the U.S. is currently releasing may also have a motive. And of course one should never exclude the possibility of a false flag/black operation by some other interested side. Maliki? Iran? The U.S. military? Who do you you think is most likely responsible for these attacks? Posted by b on April 7, 2009 at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) War Of Terror: Graham Usher on Pakistan vs. India in Afghanistan: Taliban v. Taliban ( LRB ) More Drone Attacks in Pakistan Planned ( NYT ) Slowly reality sets in: From Bubble to Depression, ( WSJ ) Why this will not be a normal cyclical recovery, ( FT ) Toxic debts could reach $4 trillion, IMF to warn, ( London Times ) Debtor's Prison NYT Media manipulation: Gates proposes US defence cuts Al Jazeera Gates unveils sweeping defence cuts ( FT ) Gates cuts US defence spending ( Reuters ) Overall, Obama has said he would seek roughly $534 billion for the Pentagon's core budget in 2010, not including war funding, about 4 percent more than the $513.3 billion Congress provided for 2009. Gates' proposal would change the makeup of the spending, not the overall figure. On food: G8 report says food crisis may threaten stability ( Reuters ) It's Not Rocket Science: Land Productivity, Food Rights ( DeAnander) Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 7, 2009 at 02:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) April 06, 2009 Erdogan Please Note: The U.S. Is A Secular State On visit in the United States of America the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to the majority-Christian population in a speech to the Joint Session of the United States Congress: I know there have been difficulties these last few years. I know that the trust that binds Turkey and the United States has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Christian faith is practiced. So let me say this as clearly as I can: Turkey is not, and will never be, at war with Christianity. In fact, our partnership with the Christian world is critical not just in rolling back the violent ideologies that people of all faiths reject, but also to strengthen opportunity for all its people. I also want to be clear that Turkey's relationship with the Christian community, the Christian world, cannot, and will not, just be based upon opposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. We will convey our deep appreciation for the Christian faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world -- including in my own country. Turkey has been enriched by Christian Turks. Many other Turks have Christians in their families or have lived in a Christian-majority country. Link and questions: How would you have reacted to the above? How would the U.S. public react to it? How would the media react? Posted by b on April 6, 2009 at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) The NoKo Missile and UNSC Sanctions While Russia had first confirmed a North Korean satellite launch, it now says that no satellite reached the orbit. According to U.S. information the third stage never separated from the second one and both fell into the sea south of Japan. The 'west', i.e. the U.S., is trying to get additional UN sanctions on North Korea but the Chinese and Russians will likely block those. The 'western' argument is that the North Korean launch violated UN Security Council resolution 1718 (pdf) established in 2006 after NoKo exploded a nuclear device. China and Russia have a good formal reason to dispute that. As the 'western' media will not spell that out I will do so here. In UNSCR 1718 the Security Council: 2. Demands that the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile ; ... 5. Decides that the DPRK shall suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme and in this context re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launching; The term ballistic missile is quite specific: A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering a warhead (often nuclear) to a predetermined target. A satellite, by definition, is an orbital object and the launch of satellites is thereby not forbidden under UNSCR 1718. There are signs that this was indeed an attempted satellite launch. North Korea took all the necessary steps in international law that are required for a satellite launch like informing the international air and shipping organizations about the flight path and drop zones. A picture of the missile shows a big nosecone which is typical for a satellite launcher and atypical for a ballistic missile. Of course the launch of such a satellite carrying missile will also bring experience for the further development of ballistic missiles. As the FAS security blog remarks : The reason the world is worried about this test is not because we are worried about competition in the satellite launch business. (Good luck to them!) The world worries because the launcher the North Koreans used is a Taepodong-2, which most everyone believes is their next step up toward a long-range ballistic missile. By taking a warhead off and putting a small third stage and a satellite on top, they might call it a space launcher but the first two stages are exactly the same. As the third stage never separated, it either failed or it was only a mock up to start with. But as South Korea plans to launch its first satellite this summer, a North Korean satellite now would have been a great point in the permanent North-South propaganda war. That is why I personally believe that this was a real satellite launch attempt. The question of satellite launch or ballistic missile launch with a mock third stage is for now undecidable. The sea where the second and third stage landed is about 20,000 feet deep. Unless Captain Nemo's Nautilus brings the wreckage to the surface, the UNSC will have to agree to disagree over what the missile really was and if the launch was a breach of UNSCR 1718 or not. Posted by b on April 6, 2009 at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) Links April 06 09 Wet: North Korean satellite on subaquatic orbit ? Lauding the exception: Israeli army unit receives citation for not committing war crimes. It ain't over ...: U.S. bank woes just the start, Whitney says Pesticide industry to White House: Please use our stuff (via Tiny Revolution ): Mrs. Barack Obama [sic!] The White House Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mrs. Obama, ... As you go about planning and planting the White House garden, we respectfully encourage you to recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply. America's farmers understand crop protection technologies are supported by sound scientific research and innovation. Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 6, 2009 at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) Pat Lang is outraged the Obama bowed to the Saudi King as is the Agonist's Sean Paul Kelly: Repeat after me: American presidents do not bow to kings. Hey - the bow will lower oil prices and sell lots of Treasuries. What is bad about that? And where was the outrage when Obama lowered his head to the queen of England? I wonder why U.S. people are so touchy on this issue. Both royals are much older than Obama is and to lower the head while greeting them is simply good manners. Meanwhile Obama held a pretty noteworthy speech in Prague. Besides the usual nonsense he said: "To put an end to Cold War thinking, we will reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy and urge others to do the same," Mr. Obama said. "Make no mistake, as long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary and guarantee that defense to our allies, including the Czech Republic. But we will begin the work of reducing our arsenal, to reduce our warheads and stockpiles. We will negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty with the Russians this year. " Reducing the number of nuclear weapons and a new treaty with Russia are significant policy changes. The big public announcement in Prague will make it difficult to step back from these promises. Of course some will get outraged about that too as it likely includes a (reciprocal) bow to Medevev. Posted by b on April 5, 2009 at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (31) The Flogging Video In February I wrote about Pressure on Zardari : [Zardari's] recent peace offer to opposition fighters in Swat was a smart move. But in the 'west' it was immediately criticized and he will now be pressured to continue the fighting there. ... The fighting over a local justice system has continued since the early 1990s and has little to do with the Taliban issues in Afghanistan. A compromise in Swat could actually help to take away support from Wahabbi/Deobandi hardliners that are at the core of the Taliban. Pressure on Zardari on this issue can only increase the strife in Pakistan and speed up his downfall. Even without 'western' interference a compromise as now in negotiation will not be easy to achieve as there are already many other possible spoilers. One spoiler has now appeared in form of a cellphone video that shows the flogging of a women. The cellphone video of the flogging will be used to step back from the compromise deal and that move may well reignite fighting in Swat. The short cellphone video is part of this Channel 4 report: As you can see men get flogged too for 'moral crimes'. The flogging in both shown cases is rather symbolic through at least two layers of cloth and without much pain. The whole flagellation punishment in this form seems to be more about inducing shame then inducing pain. The genuineness of the video is denied by the Taliban and there is only one person who claims to have witnessed this. The cellphone video will put pressure on Zardari to turn away from the deal that reintroduced a local justice system in Swat and to thereby restart the fighting with the locals just as the U.S. would like him to do. Which makes me wonder a bit about the timing of the videos emergence. Posted by b on April 5, 2009 at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) Links April 05 09 We don't care what Congress says: Administration Seeks an Out On Bailout Rules for Firms It's fraud, fraud, fraud ... Bill Moyers sits down with William K. Black Challenge: US drone attack kills tribal children, women Response: Suicide Blast in Islamabad Kills Eight More response: Militants hit NATO terminal in Pakistan Peer reviewed paper on 9/11 in The Open Chemical Physics Journal - Volume 2 . Look for " Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe " Israeli religious nuts: Women in Israeli govt? Not if Photoshop can help Tony Karon on Israel's tactic: Netanyahu, America and the cow in the house Nato drags its feet over forces for Obama's Afghan offensive Swoop : A Pentagon official told us: "We have effectively abandoned our hopes that NATO will provide extra fighting strength. This war, and in Pakistan, is now almost an American monopoly. " Ignatius : The Saudis hope that if Obama's charm offensive toward Iran fails, it will be followed by tough action. " He's building a case against Iran ," predicts the Saudi source. Congrats to the people of North Korea for launching their version of Sputnik. This is the 11th nation with satellite launch capability. The NYT writes: North Korea's missiles have ranked among its few profitable exports -- Iran, Syria and Pakistan have all been among its major customers. If this long-range test ends up a success, it would presumably make the design far more attractive on the international black market . The NoKo government sells something to the Syrian government. Why is that characterized as 'black market'??? Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 5, 2009 at 02:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) End NATO NATO is celebrating its sixties birthday in disunity. There is lots of quarrel over the operation in Afghanistan. Turkey is against the election of the right-wing Danish premier as NATO secretary. There is no common strategic view of what NATO is supposed to be. Meanwhile its original commitment is no longer credible. Consider this scenario: Estonia has been hit hard by the economic crisis. It had a quite extreme housing bubble with the mortgages financed mostly in foreign currency. Inflation during earlier years had increased wages and made its exports uncompetitive. A flat tax limits state income but created a class of oligarchs. GDP has fallen nearly 10% year over year. As most debt is in foreign currency to Nordic banks to devalue the Estonian krooni would increase the money that will have to be payed back. The other way to regain some competitiveness is internal deflation, i.e. wage decrease by some 20%. The government decided to take the second path and to thereby impoverish its population. Some 25% of the 1.2 million people in Estonia are ethnic Russians and speak Russian as their first language. In the fall of 2009 the ever increasing economic troubles lead to the rise of nationalism and some right-wing populist politician/oligarch redirects the peoples anger over the economy towards the minority. Cases of ethnic violence against Russian shops and workers start to appear. Leaders of the Russian minority party publicly ask Moscow to step in. After a local slaughter during which a mob kills some 20 ethnic Russians in front of running international news cameras, the government in Moscow comes under heavy internal pressure to react. After additional violence three Russian divisions cross the borders and occupy Estonia. The Estonian army has only one brigade size force and after a day of small skirmishes resistance ends. How will NATO react? The right in the U.S. as well as liberal interventionists may well call for war. The public opinion, wary of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and also under economic stress does not favor this. NATO countries will have to sit down and decide if they want to invoke article 5 and start a war with Russia to liberate Estonia. They look at their maps and find that any land force would have to go through a small border strip between Poland and Lithuania which has on one side the Russian enclave Kalingrad and on the other the Russian ally Belarus. Additionally Latvia, the only NATO country with land borders with Estonia drags its feet. It is itself an economic basket case and 30% of its inhabitants are also ethic Russian - a potent guerrilla force against any NATO column crossing its country. Russia could easily occupy it too. Winter is approaching and half of western Europe and all of eastern Europe is heated with Russian gas. Does anyone believe that NATO would really be willing to react in this case? Would it really stand up the million soldiers army needed to retake Estonia against Russian? Would it really risk all out war over the issue? I believe it would not do so. The promise that NATO made to its new members in Eastern Europe are mere symbolic. If the hard case comes, NATO will do nothing or break apart. The U.S. wants to use NATO as a global force that furthers its aim. The populations of the European NATO members do not want this. At the same time NATO is no longer able to do its original task. Andrew J. Bacevich has a good proposal on how to proceed from here: Present-day NATO is a shadow of what it once was. Calling it a successful alliance today is the equivalent of calling General Motors a successful car company -- it privileges nostalgia over self-awareness. ... Salvation requires taking a different course. However counterintuitive, the best prospect for restoring NATO's sense of purpose and direction lies in having the U.S. announce its intention to exit the alliance. ... Salvaging NATO requires reorienting the alliance back to its founding purpose: the defense of Europe. ... The difference between 1949 and 2009 is that present-day Europe is more than capable of addressing today's threat, without American assistance or supervision. Collectively, the Europeans don't need U.S. troops or dollars, both of which are in short supply anyway and needed elsewhere. I agree with most of Bacevich's recommendations here. But unlike him, I do not see Russia as a potential enemy of a future pure European NATO replacement. Europe needs a serious formal European security cooperation with the purpose of prevention of inner-European strife and strict defense-only preparation against potential outer enemies. Additionally a common division could provide expeditionary forces under UN command. Such a European security cooperation requires the inclusion of Russia. But as long as the U.S is part of NATO that inclusion is impossible. Under a European security cooperation the above scenario in Estonia could have been solved by a common political intervention, not a Russian military one. The U.S. leaving NATO would be a good start for something new that could than really guaranty security for and by Europeans. Posted by b on April 4, 2009 at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (25) Links April 04 09 At Wired Sharon Weinberger has a major scoop: How To: Get a No-Bid Contract for Russian Choppers . Helicopters for Iraq - a shady Pentagon office, a $500 million no-bid contract to a dubious U.S. company. Hundreds of millions payed to a Russian company that does not deliver ... William Pfaff compares the 'Long War' with Europe's Thirty Years' War. Realist Stephen Walt doesn't like the AfPak Muddle It is hard to get Urdu language books in Pakistan because they are 'Indian'. It is hard to get Urdu language books in India because ... - A funny story from Sepoy at Chapati Mystery. Did Israel really bomb Sudan? We don't think so. Even Debka doubts the story (and adds its own spin.) Pat Lang on Ambassador Feltman and Lebanon. As elections approach, Lebanon will heat up again. Hedge Fund Paid Summers $5.2 Million in Past Year plus $2.7 million for 'speeches' at Wall Street Banks he now oversees ... The Economist with a series on the rich and income distribution . "... the richest 10% of the American population own 85% of all stocks." 14 people get killed in a Mumbai like attack. Why isn't this called terrorism? Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 4, 2009 at 01:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (94) Africa Comments (1) On the left side of the homepage is a new category box titled ' b real 's Africa Comments'. b real posts lots and lots of Africa news items in the comments here, mostly on the countries around the Horn. One can not find such a collection elsewhere and his work deserves a permanent link from the homepage. There will be a new thread for Africa Comments when the older one has 50 or so comments. The newest one will always be the top one linked in that category box. Of course everyone is welcome to add relevant thoughts, news or cheers for b real in those threads. So what are all these navies really doing around the Horn of Africa? We are told they are there to protect against piracy. Somali fishermen tell a very different story. From b real 's latest item in the older thread. NAIROBI, 2 April 2009 (IRIN) - Somalia has revoked fishing licences for foreign vessels and is planning a new law to regulate fishing in its waters, a minister told IRIN on 2 April. ... Abdullahi Sheikh Hassan, head of a fishing cooperative in the southern coastal town of Merka, told IRIN that livelihoods were being destroyed. "Fishing is the only thing we know and without it we have nothing," he said, adding that lack of support, combined with the foreign fishing vessels , was ruining fishing communities. ... Reports of crews of foreign-owned ships harassing and intimidating local fishermen had been made by Somali fishermen. "They are not only taking our fish, but they are also stopping us from fishing," said Mohamed Abdirahman, a fisherman in Brava, 200km south of Mogadishu. "They have rammed boats and cut nets." He said a number of Somali fishermen were missing and presumed dead after encounters "with these big ships". Abdirahman said the number of foreign ships in the south had increased after they were chased from the north by pirates. He said the foreign ships were now being protected by the navies of their countries and "do whatever they want to us". Local fishermen go out late at night to set their nets, but discover in the morning that they have been cut or stolen. "They are no longer satisfied to take our fish, but they are forcing us to abandon fishing altogether," he said. He claimed some of the foreign navies were treating Somali fishermen as if they were pirates and had occasionally opened fire on Somali fishing boats. "We are forced to avoid going far and stay within sight of towns to avoid them and this means our catches are much smaller," Abdirahman said. "We are being driven out of business by foreign vessels protected by their navies . Who is protecting us? Our existence depends on the fish." He said the international community was only "talking about the piracy problem in Somalia, but not about the destruction of our coast and our lives by these foreign ships". Posted by b on April 3, 2009 at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (64) Links April 03 09 Interesting ...: German firms in talks with Iran over supply routes Afghanistan Good piece - James Traub on Mr. 10%, Asif Ali Zardari: Can Pakistan Be Governed? As expected: Geithner's Plan: Loopholes Galore Good for PIMCO, bad for the taxpayer: Geithner's Non-Recourse Gift Keeps on Giving to Gross Citigroup to buy toxic assets from Citigroup with Geithner plan subsidy: Bailed-out banks eye toxic asset buys Clean up the banks as Japan eventually did - Keiichiro Kobayashi: President Obama must squarely face the bad asset problem Judge Rules Some Prisoners at Bagram Have Right of Habeas Corpus Please add your remarks and links of the day in the comments. Posted by b on April 3, 2009 at 02:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (40) April 02, 2009 Carte Blanche For Lying Years ago accounting rules were amended to demand that banks and other financial institutions account for the real value of their 'assets' by marking them to market prices. That was a good move as investors in banks and other companies could have a more bit trust that their balance sheets showed some approximation to the real value of these. Now, after heavy lobbying (with TARP money) by financial institutions Congress pressed the Financial Standard Accounting Board to change the rules : The changes to so-called mark-to-market accounting allow companies to use "significant" judgment when gauging the price of some investments on their books, including mortgage-backed securities. So from now on all banks etc will again lie about the real value of their assets. The management will show 'significant judgment' to boost the profit and loss statements and to increase its bonuses. The books will again show inflated values and all numbers derived from that will essentially be fake. The Bloomberg writer obviously did not get that: Analysts say the measure may reduce banks' writedowns and boost their first-quarter net income by 20 percent or more. The 'net income' of the liars will not 'boost'. What will boost are the income numbers they will present to to the public. The real net income will no longer be shown on the profit and loss statements. This rule change pumped up financial stocks today. With the fake numbers that are now again allowed some idiots can obviously be convinced to buy into these companies again.Rest assured - those stock prices will come down again. What this move really achieves is a prolonging of the World Depression II we are in. A return of trust is essential to get back to some functioning financial markets and a sane banking system. Hiding insolvency behind marked-to-fantasy 'assets' will not further that. The powers that be today handed out a carte blanche for lying. We all will have to pay for it. Posted by b on April 2, 2009 at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) Magic U.S. Troop Increase in Afghanistan Why doesn't Obama tell tell the public how many troops he really sends to Afghanistan? The official announcements were for 59,000 U.S. troops deployed. The real number now crept up to 68,000. This was the news on February 18: President Obama has ordered the first combat deployments of his presidency, saying yesterday that he had authorized an additional 17,000 U.S. troops "to stabilize a deteriorating situation" in Afghanistan. ... The new deployments, to begin in May, will increase the U.S. force in Afghanistan by nearly 50 percent, bringing it to 55,000 by mid-summer, along with 32,000 non-U.S. NATO troops. ... Months ago, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, requested more than 30,000 additional troops this year, and an initial 6,000 arrived last month under orders signed by the Bush administration. Note the 55,000 include the 6,000 Bush sent. That number was still valid on March 21: The United States is adding 17,000 troops to the 38,000 it has in Afghanistan, and may send further reinforcements when a policy review by Obama's administration is finished. Note: 38,000 + 17,000 = 55,000. Fine. On March 27 an additional 4,000 troops deployment was announced : Along with the 17,000 additional combat troops authorized last month, he said, Obama will send 4,000 more this fall to serve as trainers and advisers to an Afghan army expected to double in size over the next two years. ... The total of 21,000 new troops, added to a combat brigade authorized by the Bush administration and deployed in January, will exceed the 30,000 that Gen. David D. McKiernan, the U.S. and NATO commander, had requested for this year in Afghanistan and will bring the total U.S. force to more than 60,000 . Non-U.S. NATO troops there currently total about 32,000. Note: 55,000 + 4,000 suddenly added up to "more than 60,000" !?! And only five days later the March 27 numbers magically increased again : The U.S. military has 38,000 troops in Afghanistan, and the number is projected to rise to 68,000 with deployments scheduled for this year . Those deployments include a 4,000-strong contingent of trainers from the 4th brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, 17,000 other combat troops, a 2,800-strong combat aviation brigade and thousands of support forces whose placement was not publicly announced , the Pentagon said. What was 55,000 + 4,000 = "more than 60,000" is now suddenly 68,000. Those are 9,000 more troops than officially announced. That is the strength of more than two full fledged combat brigades that somehow were ordered into Afghanistan without any public notice. How come? And yesterday Petraeus requested even more troops: If approved, the additional 10,000 troops -- including a combat brigade of about 4,000 troops and a division headquarters of about 2,000 -- would bring the total approved for next year to 78,000, officials say. Seeing such mission creep I find it more likely that next year will see a total of 120,000+ U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The number known to the public then might well be somewhat different. But what are the troops to do and what would be considered a success in Afghanistan? Can we measure that? No : Michele Flournoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said the administration hasn't yet developed benchmarks to measure progress, but she predicted high human and financial costs for the U.S. in the campaign against Islamic militants in the two countries. So there are more troops in Afghanistan than was known to fight Al-Qaeda which is said to be in Pakistan and without any benchmark to measure success. Again my question: Why doesn't Obama tell tell the public how many troops he really sends to Afghanistan? Posted by b on April 2, 2009 at 07:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) Links April 02 09 Articles mentioning a 'threat' in today's New York Times: 22 The Economist's frightening new amusement park: Econoland Jim Lobe interviews Chas Freeman More than doubling: U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan A public database: Who profits from the Israeli occupation? Julie Flint and Alex de Waal on Luis Moreno Ocampo - Case Closed: A Prosecutor Without Borders Novels : There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: "The Lord of the Rings" and "Atlas Shrugged." One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. Please add your remarks and links of the day in the comments. Posted by b on April 2, 2009 at 01:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) April 01, 2009 Spaghetti Harvest Sadly, those good old times are gone. BBC report on the spring Swiss spaghetti harvest, April 1 1957: Posted by b on April 1, 2009 at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) The False Darfur 'Genocide' Numbers Headlined In Defense of Genocide the neoconned WaPo editors condemn the Arab league for hosting Sudan's President Bashir while at the same time accusing Israel of war-crimes. The polemic includes this sentence: T]he United Nations has reported more than 300,000 civilian deaths in Darfur as a result of the genocidal campaign sponsored by Mr. Bashir. There are three false claims in this one sentence. As these false claims are often repeated from the far right to the interventionist left, let me try to dispel them once and for all. The number of 300,000 is false. The UN did not 'report' that number. There was no genocide in Darfur. The 300,000 number is simply taken from hot air. It is based on a exaggerated statement by the UN's humanitarian chief John Holmes : Up to to 300,000 people may have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease in Sudan's Darfur region since 2003, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said Tuesday although he conceded this was just an "extrapolation." "A study in 2006 suggested that 200,000 had lost their lives from the combined effects of the conflict," John Holmes told the UN Security Council. "That figure must be much higher now, perhaps half as much again." Queried about how he arrived at the new figure, Holmes later told reporters: "I am not saying I am sure. I said it's a reasonable hypothesis , a reasonable extrapolation from the previous figures from studies done elsewhere." "I am not trying to suggest this is a very scientifically-based figure. It is not a very scientifically-based figure , except on the basis of extrapolation ,' he added. ... Holmes recalled that the figure of 200,000 dead had been used by the United Nations in 2006 based on extrapolation contained in a study by the World Health Organization. That vague statement by Holmes is what the Washington Post characterizes as the 'UN reported'. Holmes extrapolated to 300,000 from a 2006 UN figure of 200,000 which itself was a not justifiable extrapolation from studies that found less excess death. The Belgium Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) did a comparison study of the various studies done by the World Health Organization and others and concluded: In summary, the CRED method estimated approximately 134,000 total deaths in Darfur and Eastern Chad over the 17 months from September 2003 to January 2005. Of these deaths, 120,000 were excess deaths directly attributable to the conflict, 35,000 of which were violent deaths . The US State Department method estimated a possible range of 98,000 - 181,000 total deaths over 23 months - from March 2003 to January 2005. Estimates of excess deaths due to the conflict ranged from 63,000 - 146,000 over the same period. For a November 2006 report to Congress the Government Accountability Office asked twelve experts in epidemiology about such studies and concluded : The experts we consulted did not consistently rate any of the death estimates as having a high level of accuracy and noted that all of the studies had methodological strengths and shortcomings. Most of the experts had the highest overall confidence in the estimates by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) , which relied primarily on a statistical analysis of about 30 mortality surveys, and they rated the CRED estimates' accuracy and methodological strengths highest among the six . The experts had a slightly lower level of confidence in the State estimate and gave it slightly lower ratings for accuracy and methodological strengths. So the most acclaimed study on Darfur came away with "120,000 were excess deaths directly attributable to the conflict, 35,000 of which were violent deaths". From there all higher numbers are simply taken from the air by 'extrapolating' on the fly. Such extrapolations are not justified. Since mid 2004 the various UN agencies are fully engaged in Darfur and, while there is still strife, no major slaughter has taken place since then. According to the Darfur timeline the major violence there took place in 2003 and early 2004. There is thereby no ground to extrapolate the excess death numbers from that time of hard violence into the time of relative calm. Would it be justified to estimated World War II casualties in 1946/47 from casualty numbers in 1944/45? Certainly not, but that is similar to what John Holmes and others are doing. Now onto the genocide claim. In early 2005 the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General (pdf) found: The Commission concluded that the Government of the Sudan has not pursued a policy of genocide . Arguably, two elements of genocide might be deduced from the gross violations of human rights perpetrated by Government forces and the militias under their control. These two elements are, first, the actus reus consisting of killing, or causing serious bodily or mental harm, or deliberately inflicting conditions of life likely to bring about physical destruction; and, second, on the basis of a subjective standard, the existence of a protected group being targeted by the authors of criminal conduct. However, the crucial element of genocidal intent appears to be missing , at least as far as the central Government authorities are concerned. Generally speaking the policy of attacking, killing and forcibly displacing members of some tribes does not evince a specific intent to annihilate, in whole or in part, a group distinguished on racial, ethnic, national or religious grounds. Rather, it would seem that those who planned and organized attacks on villages pursued the intent to drive the victims from their homes, primarily for purposes of counter-insurgency warfare. Still the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, tried to get President Bashir charged for genocide. Given the above report he could not claim that genocide happened in 2003 and 2004. He therefore argued that some hindrances of access to refugee camps and problems with food distribution in 2005 and 2006 were willful acts by the Sudanese government with the intent of genocide. The pre-trial chamber of the ICC rejected (pdf, para 110ff) that view as implausible: [T]he Prosecution acknowledges that (i) it does not have any direct evidence in relation to Omar Al Bashir's alleged responsibility for the crime of genocide, and that therefore (ii) its allegations concerning genocide are solely based on certain inferences that, according from the Prosecution, can be drawn from the facts of the case. The pre-trial ICC chamber rules that there is not enough 'reasonable grounds to believe' - the pre-trial standard - that a genocide happened. A conviction in a full fledged trial in court would require the much higher standard of proof 'beyond all reasonable doubt'. The prosecutor now tries to have the pre-trial ruling overruled by an appeal chamber. Alex De Waal, an expert on the Darfur conflict, asked three legal experts who all conclude that the chances of that appeal are very low. There is simply no proof for any intent that is require to designate some slaughter as genocide. Still we should note that others do not agree with the pre-trial chambers arguments and decision. See for example legal scholar Kevin Jon Heller's various posts on the ICC trial at Opinio Juris. Bashir was charged by the ICC with several war-crimes. One day a court may decide about those charges and may find Bashir guilty. Until it does Bashir has the right to be seen as innocent. The prosecutor is only wasting time over an issue that is, in the bigger picture, irrelevant. But back to where we started. Likely much less than 300,000 people died in Darfur. It is possible that some 35,000 died there due do violence in 2003 and 2004 from the several sides of the conflict and more due to hunger and other circumstances. Currently there is no major fighting but a long term refugee problem that somehow will have to be solved. The UN never 'reported' 300,000 death. One UN person unjustifiable 'extrapolated' numbers from a time of violence to a time of relative calm. The case for 'genocide' was never convincing and a major UN commission as well as the International Criminal Court have found it without merit. So why are the neocon WaPo editors still offering this claptrap? Two theories: 1. There is a lot of oil under the sands of Darfur and Sudan is friendly with China - a combination that is automatically seen as hostile by an empire that strives to control all world energy resources. 2. Another possible motivation behind the hostile position towards Sudan are Israeli considerations like the "Yeor plan" which envisions water supply for Israel through pipelines from the Nile: Ethiopia and the Sudan have already reacted with alarm to published reports that there are plans to divert Nile water to Israel. Ethiopia provides Egypt with 86% of its Nile water and is desperately in need of water development projects on its own territory in order to feed its growing population of more than 62 million. (In 1960 Egypt's population was under 30 million.) From the point of view of the Nile's main riparians, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, the great danger of sharing Nile water with Israel is that, however small the initial amount may be, and even if nominally the water were for Palestinian use, once Israel begins to take water from the Nile it may then contend, under international law, for larger shares in future. Supporting the suspicion that water for Israel is a motive for the false claims against Sudan is the fact that the "Save Darfur" movement is driven by Jewish interest groups. As the Jerusalem Post reported : Little known, however, is that the ["Save Darfur"] coalition, which has presented itself as "an alliance of over 130 diverse faith-based, humanitarian, and human rights organization" was actually begun exclusively as an initiative of the American Jewish community. And even now, days before the rally, that coalition is heavily weighted with a politically and religiously diverse collection of local and national Jewish groups. In reality I suspect a mixture of motives that drive the general hostile U.S. position towards Sudan, the false accusations of genocide and the overstatements of casualty numbers in the Darfur conflict. The simple fact that Sudan does not do what the U.S. says it should do is probably enough for the Washington Post editors to condemn it. They are free to do so. But besides false numbers and wrong claims they have little to make their case. Posted by b on April 1, 2009 at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) Links April 01 09 Netan-Yahoo to Obama: Bomb Iran or I will Richard Sale: Israel's Covert War on Iran Faces Disapproving White House Soon to die: NATO turns 60 Useful: The Idiot's Guide to Pakistan Margolis: Beware those treacherous AfPaks War Pigs - Cost Of A Global Empire Financing the Empire - Does US Face G20 Mutiny? Buiter on bad stimulus: Please torch my car This piece looks a bit into the bankruptcy proceedings of GM and Chrysler. It would take two years at least for GM to go through these. The piece misses the $1 trillion in Credit Default Swaps written on GM debt.Those will be 'triggered' by a the bankruptcy. Who will have to pay? Obama Said to Find Bankruptcy Likely for GM, Chrysler Stiglitz: Obama's Ersatz Capitalism Please add your remarks and links of the day in the comments. Posted by b on April 1, 2009 at 01:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

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Yes, you read that correctly: puppy bombs. If you saw the headline and actually believed it for a second, then your bullshit detector is probably in serious need of a tune-up. Think about it for a minute--the Muslim Brotherhood soaked puppies in gasoline so they could lob them at the Egyptian army? Are you freaking kidding me? Can you seriously picture MB members throwing flaming puppies at armed soldiers? What, they didn't have any bottles handy that they could use instead? I mean, for crying out loud, it's not as if they were Molotov puppies that would explode on impact. *facepalm* CBS New York actually published the story then rewrote it, scrubbing all the puppy bomb references. I guess journalism truly is dead--it's all click bait now. As usual, nothing is too ludicrous for anti-Muslim hate bloggers Pamela Geller & Robert Spencer if they can use it to demonize Muslims, painting them as inhumanly cruel & savage. I'm sure their knuckle-dragging fans devoured every word. Next it'll probably be kittens or bunnies. As you'll see if you go to the source article, Spencer even came up with some hadiths about dogs that seem intended to imply Muslims hate dogs and would therefore (presumably) have no compunctions whatsoever about killing puppies in the most horribly brutal manner possible. Naturally, Spencer doesn't provide any context for the hadiths and I'm not going to bother doing so either. Why? Because if you seriously believe Muslims hate dogs and would use puppies as firebombs, then nothing I write is going to change your mind and I'm perfectly content to leave you wallowing in your ignorance. Addendum: Geller's blog post on the story isn't mentioned in the article I linked to, however at the bottom of the page you'll find a link to a follow-up story at another blog that covers what she wrote also. Weaponised puppies! Are there are no depths to which these evil Islamists will not sink? Earlier this week, under the touching headline "Refugee puppies from Egypt looking for homes in U.S.", CBS New York reported that Robyn Urman of Pet ResQ Inc had revealed the shocking news that "members of the Muslim Brotherhood marching toward Tahrir Square to demand that ousted President Mohamed Morsi be reinstated were using puppies as gas bombs - dipping them in gasoline and lighting them on fire". According to CBS: "Urman received a Facebook message from Mervat Said, an animal rescue volunteer in Egypt, who said two puppies, Cleopatra and Cairo, were saved moments before they were to be used as weapons." [...] Yes, really, that's a story that CBS was prepared to take seriously. Unsurprisingly, they have had second thoughts about the accuracy of their reporting, and the "Refugee puppies from Egypt" article has now been completely rewritten to omit any reference to the animals' deployment as incendiary devices. [...]

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Written by Christine Erickson over 6 years ago The Mashable Meme Machine is a daily look at five hilarious viral topics spreading across the web right now. In case you missed our latest series, here are our picks for the funniest of the funniest in the meme machine. It was a hard decision, but so... Written by Brandon Smith over 6 years ago Everyone likes to cut a rug now and then, and successful TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew further prove that the U.S. has a healthy interest in the art form. Dance is a major part of musical culture; people push ... Written by Christine Erickson over 6 years ago By now, you're probably familiar with Saturday Night Live's skit in which Jesus visits the Denver Broncos locker room after their win against the Chicago Bears. It's one among many, many spoofs, satires and weird mashups to have hit the Internet sinc... Written by Frank Marquardt over 6 years ago Frank Marquardt is director of content strategy at The Barbarian Group, a digital services and creation company. Find him on Twitter @tralition. Traditional advertising worked through distraction -- an interruption to our sitcom, a page between magaz... Written by Amy-Mae Elliott over 6 years ago With more than 3 billion views every single day, YouTube is currently the undisputed king of online video. But how well do you know the site? We have spent some time coming to grips with the world's largest video-sharing service and here offer you 10... Written by Todd Wasserman over 6 years ago Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks. Old Spice is continuing its experimentation with new approaches and rotating spokesmen with a new campaign breaking on YouTube and Facebook that features...

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applegrove (83,463 posts) Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen by Barrett Holmes Pitner at the Daily Beast http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/11/27/donald-trump-is-our-jean-marie-le-pen.html "SNIP............. This response is very much reminiscent of Trumps rhetoric. It touches upon ones physical safety being in jeopardy, but also an entire cultures way of life being under attack with nowhere to hide. Following the Paris attacks, Trump also perpetuated anti-Muslim and anti-African American propaganda by claiming that he witnessed Muslims celebrating the collapse of the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks and by tweeting an erroneous graphic that claimed that black Americas caused over 80 percent of white deaths by homicide. ............. Trumps rise as a far-right, third-party candidate might seem improbable due to our two-party political system, but the growing influence of the Tea Party and the ramifications of a gerrymandered House of Representatives make a viable third-party far more plausible than Americans would like to think. At both ends of the political spectrum anti-establishment candidates are making waves, and American voters appear more accepting of parliamentary governments where many parties are able to participate. Voters yearn for more political voices to have the chance to be heard, but to our collective horror the voice the with greatest chance of being heard is also the most destructive. Gerrymandering has led to Republicans having seats that are incredibly difficult for them to lose, and as a result elected officials no longer need to seek out moderate, centrist voters to win an election against a Democrat. Instead their greatest competition is with other conservative candidates, and therefore the far-right vote has greater influence electorally. This increases the likelihood of a viable far-right party having a sustained presence in our government. The Tea Party movement has already started this transition, and Trumps campaign could be the final piece of the puzzle. ................SNIP" Donald Trump Is Our Jean-Marie Le Pen (Original post) applegrove Nov 2015 OP 1. Frances Le Pen Says Torture Can Be Useful to Fight Terrorism The leader of Frances anti-immigrant, anti-European Union National Front, Marine Le Pen , said that torture can be sometimes useful to fight terrorism, in response the U.S. Senate report on the CIA. There can be cases -- when there is a bomb ticking, that can explode in an hour or two and kill 200 or 300 civilians -- where it can be useful to have to make someone talk with the means available, Le Pen told RMC radio and BFM Television today. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-10/france-s-le-pen-says-torture-can-be-useful-to-fight-terrorism.html 2. Marine Le Pen: Muslims in France 'like Nazi occupation' Marine Le Pen, the leader of the French far-Right, drew heavy criticism after she said Muslims praying outside were like Nazi occupiers. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/8197895/Marine-Le-Pen-Muslims-in-France-like-Nazi-occupation.html 3. The Attack on Charlie Hebdo Plays Right Into Marine Le Pen's Hands An additional dimension to this tragedy (attack on Charlie Hebdo) is that it plays directly into the hands of those public figures and politicians who would like to see France regress into an organic national community of blood ties, rather than of citizens. The Islamic extremists who executed the attack on Charlie Hebdo may have murdered journalists and artists, but surely their crime is also against other Muslims in France, who are now likely to be viewed as enemy aliens hostile to the essence of the Republic itself, regardless of their own beliefs. Michel Houellebecq, for instance, who often paints Muslims as a dangerous fifth column, might now perhaps be vindicated in the eyes of unreflective readers; and, in the words of one Lebanese blogger, today might very well be the day that Marine Le Pen became President of France . Le Pen, by the way, has compared the Muslim presence in France to the German occupation of the 1940s. After today, we can only hope that others will not start doing the same. http://www.newrepublic.com/article/120712/charlie-hebdo-attacks-religious-violence-europe

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Ivanka Trump and her family were harassed on a flight departing from JFK, headed to Palm Beach, Florida. Before the flight departed JFK, a Brooklyn attorney, Dan Goldstein, and fellow passenger yelled, "Your father is ruining the country. Why is she on our flight. She should be flying private," TMZ reported. He was holding a child while carrying on. Ivanka Trump just had a bumpy start to her Xmas holiday ... an out-of-control passenger on her flight began verbally berating her and "jeering" at her 3 kids. Ivanka was on a JetBlue flight leaving JFK Thursday morning with her family when a passenger started screaming, "Your father is ruining the country." The guy went on, "Why is she on our flight. She should be flying private." The guy had his kid in his arms as he went on the tirade. A passenger on the flight tells TMZ Ivanka ignored the guy and tried distracting her kids with crayons. JetBlue personnel escorted the unruly passenger off the flight. As he was removed he screamed, "You're kicking me off for expressing my opinion?!!" BTW ... Ivanka, her family and bunch of cousins were all in coach. Matt Lasner, Husband of the unruly man who hollered at the Trump's, tweeted: Lasner is a professor at Hunter College. After they were escorted off the plane, Lasner changed his story, saying his husband expressed his opinions calmly: Lasner's Twitter account appears to have been deleted, as have the tweets. Jet Blue escorted Goldberg off the flight and later released a statement saying: "The decision to remove a customer from a flight is not taken lightly. If the crew determines that a customer is causing conflict on the aircraft, the customer will be asked to deplane, especially if the crew feels the situation runs the risk of escalation during flight. Our team worked to re-accommodate the party on the next available flight." Think what you will about someone's politics, but harassing a family and their children over their political beliefs is in no way acceptable. Follow Kemberlee on Twitter @kemberleekaye

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Sandia Mountains at Sunset, New Mexico, istock This time of year, rolling west on I-40 in New Mexico toward Albuquerque, the fields are panoramic and golden. Bluebird sky seems to extend forever, interrupted only by the Sandia Mountains in the distance. Glance left, and endless tracts of land stretch as far as the eye can see, dotted with farm equipment or rundown properties. Billboards pock the landscape and often provide the only shade for long stretches at a time. Twenty minutes south of the Pilot Travel Center in Moriarty, just off the interstate, is Estancia. You could point your car and get there without turning the wheel because it's a straight shot down County Road 41. This is where the Torrance County Detention Facility is, and this is where an outsized portion of Estancia's population was just laid off -- all on the same day. An hour southeast of Albuquerque, Estancia is home to 1,650 residents. A handful of streets intersect to form a tiny downtown area, with the prison three miles to the east. The county seat of Torrance County, Estancia is an agricultural hub and known for its vast pumpkin patches in the fall. Since 1990, farmers have co-existed with the ever-shifting population of the prison. Entrepreneurs have built small businesses to support it. The prison is the largest employer in Torrance County, and its employees have propped up the economy in Estancia for decades. Declining Detainees = Declining Profits The Torrance County Detention Facility was considered to be a model center by its operator, CoreCivic. Even so, shareholder profits take precedence. "Unfortunately, a declining detainee population, in general, has forced us to make difficult decisions in order to maximize utilization of our resources," CoreCivic said in a statement . The facility has averaged housing 580 inmates, approximately 120 short of the number they say they need to stay open. Fewer ICE detainees at the border translated directly to a decline at the prison. The closing of the prison is a hard lesson for the town of Estancia and Torrance County. Such a sparsely populated rural region in a relatively poor, sparsely inhabited state with a large Native American population means little leverage to negotiate. Shareholders will always win in these situations, where the parent corporation opens the purse strings to lobbyists regularly. In 2016, CoreCivic spent just over $1 million lobbying for policies that would support maximum profits. In years past, they have spent upwards of $3.3 million on issues that span from law enforcement and crime to Native American affairs. In fact, CoreCivic has lobbied for privatization of BIA (Bureau of Indian Affairs) prisons regularly since 2004. CoreCivics, Inc, Open Secrets" class="aligncenter size-full" /> CoreCivics, Inc, Open Secrets Rural towns such as Estancia will continue to find themselves on the losing end of privately operated prisons when they decide that more profits are to be found elsewhere. Corporations like CoreCivic can throw their weight around and make demands of rural towns who don't have the sufficient tax and employment base to fight back. Half The Budget...Gone Recently on a Monday evening, local legislators convened with municipal leaders, county commissioners, school board members and concerned citizens. Estancia mayor Sylvia Chavez anchored the panel, along with her grandfather Bobby Chavez, mayor of neighboring town Willard and Moriarty mayor Ted Hart. Sylvia Chavez says Estancia will lose 60 percent of its tax revenue, along with $170,000 in annual utility payments -- just like that -- when the facility shutters. In a statement released by Torrance County, the closure will have a negative impact of close to $700,000 annually and "roughly $300,000 in loss of taxes" for the County. New Mexico has the lowest per capita property tax in the nation. Taxes are imposed on one-third of assessed value , typically between 80 and 100 percent of market value. As a state, it relies heavily on what's called Gross Receipts Tax (GRT). These are taxes imposed on goods and services performed in-state. The GRT typically makes up a heavy portion of small towns' budgets throughout New Mexico. A loss of 60 percent of annual GRT is absolutely devastating to a tiny town such as Estancia. Asaavedra32" class="aligncenter size-full" />Main Street, Estancia, New Mexico, Wikimedia Commons, Asaavedra32 What this lost revenue means in practical terms is deep slashes to the public works, fire department and most painfully, the police department. Torrance County Sheriff Heath White estimates his budget will need to quadruple , and that hiring an additional eight people will be necessary to pick up the slack. Each hire comes at a cost of $150,000 when vehicles, benefits, training, and salaries are factored in. "If one my deputies makes an arrest, I will pretty much lose that deputy for the rest of the shift," White said in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal . "If I have another deputy make another arrest, I won't have anyone on the streets." Bernalillo County detention center is the closest alternative to Torrance's facility, roughly an hour's drive, but it's completely full. That means detainees will need to be transported to either Cibola or Santa Fe County. Transport will take at least six hours out of a ten-hour shift, says White. Since his budget is already determined for the year, they'll either have to operate at a loss or wait to see if the County can come up with the extra funds for the additional staff they'll need to hire. Lost revenue coupled with an exodus of gainfully employed residents from this tiny town will also mean the closure of support businesses. Everything from restaurants to retail will be affected. Profits Over People Despite pandering extensively to rural voters during the campaign with promises that their voices will be heard, Donald Trump has shown his true colors time and again. His near-rabid frenzy to score a win -- any win -- for his young administration has taken obvious precedence over policy ramifications that would leave rural Americans out of luck. We've seen increasingly cruel attempts to strip rural residents of their healthcare, many of whom obtained coverage through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion. Los Angeles Times" class="aligncenter size-full" />Trump Voters Would Be Among Biggest Loser in Republicans Obamacare Replacement Plan, Los Angeles Times Rural voters voted for change. Many did so out of frustration that their livelihoods have diminished over time. Others did so out of fear of a quickly changing world that's become increasingly global. Many, whether they consciously acknowledged it or not, were trying to bring back a simpler and more prosperous America their elders told them about. All of them were hoping for a turn towards the better when they checked the box next to Trump's name on the ballot. However, in the months since his inauguration, Trump's avid support for privatization and rewarding the wealthy has become Priority Number One. His musings on auctioning off air transportation, water services, broadband and even the nation's collective healthcare have private corporations quivering with glee at the prospect of profiting off formerly public assets. And when the inevitable happens, they will step in and glean the riches while providing necessary--formerly public--services. Rural Americans will always be on the losing end of this equation when services are privatized for profit. They will either end up paying unfair premiums that keep the private corporation in the black, or they'll have diminishing access that will eventually spiral to zero. Either way, the profits-over-people model keeps rural residents at a distinct disadvantage and perpetuates the cycle. Faced with an ever-widening knowledge gap and stagnant wages, rural Americans largely bought into Trump's promise of "America First" policies that would ostensibly boost their livelihoods and make them feel a part of the conversation again. Torrance County was no exception. This red county in a blue state swung overwhelmingly for Trump with 58.8% of the vote. Little did they know that less than a year later, their county's primary source of revenue would be deemed unprofitable and closed. They may have been aware of Trump's pro-privatization stance, but there was no reason to suspect their interests would be sacrificed for corporate gain just a few months into his term. Politico" class="aligncenter size-full" />2016 New Mexico Presidential Election Results, Politico For-profit models such as this are inherently corrupt because producing maximum profits and providing necessary services are naturally at odds with each other. Last August, the Department of Justice announced that privately run federal prisons were less safe and less secure than government ones. This sent CoreCivic's stock tumbling by 35 percent. With Trump's election, it then jumped by 47 percent due to his support of privatization on the whole. Outsourcing the imprisonment of people has an inherent conflict of interest. When the treatment of inmates depends heavily upon the bottom line, everything from meals to mental health is at risk of cutbacks. And there's the much more insidious incentive to keep people incarcerated longer in order to maximize profit at the expense of human suffering. Are We Condemned To Repeat The Past? In the 1980s, privatization rode an optimistic wave fueled by the Reagan administration's push towards smaller government. While countries worldwide adopted privatization of necessary services from utilities to transportation, the question remained whether profit-centric policies would leave people -- especially the most vulnerable populations -- behind. For an example of how privatization played out, let's look at Chile. Milton Friedman successfully sold his radical free-market policies to dictator Augusto Pinochet. Friedman's "Chicago Boys" assiduously dismantled the work of democratically elected Salvador Allende after his death and Pinochet assumed power through a coup. Public assets were auctioned off at an alarming rate. Deregulation in financial and trade sectors, combined with the enormous wealth created by auctioning off public services, created a crisis of debt, corruption, and inequality. On top of this, unemployment skyrocketed. The Chile of the 1960s had premium, accessible education and healthcare systems that helped expand its middle class. After Friedman's policies reshaped the economy, the rich got exponentially richer while more than half the population experienced wage suppression, living near or below poverty. Sound familiar? Thirty years after the Chicago Boys transformed Chile with their ideologies, the privatization debate rages on. When managerial accountability lies not with the public it purports to serve but with the shareholders, who is the logical winner? In the case of Estancia, the privately held prison and its tax revenue are only good for as long as profits hold. While privatization has restored efficiency to many industries, incentives or competition are key. Incentives to act in the public interest, or a competitive market can help drive performance, lower costs and increase efficiency. However, correctional facilities are highly unlikely to operate in a competitive environment because private operators often insist on long-term contracts which protect them from encroaching competitors. And, as we've seen, they've got the money to send lobbyists to Washington to interfere on their behalf. Privatization And The Religious Right Free-market ideologues are currently in control of the federal government. We should not expect a fair and balanced review of the privatization debate with the Trump administration, given that he has nominated people with extreme views on the agencies they now lead. Take, for instance, DeVos and her drive to "build God's kingdom" through education. BREAKING: VP Mike Pence casts historic tie-breaking vote to confirm Betsy DeVos as Pres. Trump's education secretary https://t.co/HxFJAzYvbx https://t.co/eorEjaUC5N Many of Trump's cronies, including DeVos and Vice President Pence, have close ties to the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. Heritage policy wonks had heavy representation on Trump's transition team. To dismiss the work of The Heritage Foundation as a reasonable influence on the Trump administration would be a deadly mistake. And, to dismiss the religious right as quirky outsiders, would add fuel to that fire. The Heritage Foundation's extreme views on free-market enterprise, paired with the evangelical Christian right's extreme views on church and state make it abundantly clear that our democracy is in a very tenuous situation. What's Next For Estancia? For the employees of Torrance County Detention Facility, only about a quarter have expressed interest in staying with CoreCivic and relocating elsewhere. Many are rooted in the community and occupy inter-generational homes. Understandably, they don't wish to leave. Estancia, NM (photo: K. Salcido) Heeding the calls for help, state legislator Michael Padilla helped organize a large job fair with employers from around the region present. Longstanding non-profit Help New Mexico, Inc. represented the WIOA (Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act) program that helps displaced workers find new opportunities. The lack of an immediate economic solution will likely force residents to commute long distances to keep their families afloat. Businesses will disappear from the streets of Estancia without a gainfully employed population to support them. And, if history serves as any indicator, inequality and unemployment will catapult this small town into an economic depression. Meanwhile, CoreCivic's shareholders will move on to build their next profit center on the backs of a different rural town. We know one thing to be true: as soon as those profits dip, they'll pull out and perpetuate the cycle. At the end of the day, is privatization worth the risk?

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By Dr. Abdul Ruff At the outset, one point as a clarity should be mentioned straightaway here. The terror wars targeting energy rich Arab world launched by USA and its NATO, jointly or separately have not wound down as USA is seriously considering a permanent war to impose the prowess of its militarism on the world. USA and NATO only used Afghanistan and Pakistan with blessings form Saudi kingdom in order to legitimize its permanent war by extending, as per its plan, the terror wars into Arab world and control oil production and sale. Now Syria, where thousands of Muslims lost life, thousands have fled the nation to neighboring nations, is in turmoil for the last 5 long years, has become a safe sanctuary for all anti-Islamic nations and others to target Muslims and reduce Islamic populations in West Asia where most of populations are Muslims. For the first time in years, super powers USA and Russia are cooperating and even coordinating their terror operations as USA does not sincerely wish to end war in Syria and other Arab nations. USA seeks to remove or replace Assad, a Shiite, who wants to continue to be the president without facing the Sunni people in polls, but Russia bats for the "troubled" man who now has regained some strength after Russian involvement. Both USA and Russia keep killing Muslims while Turkey, an ally of USA by NATO, helps USA in attacking the minority Syrians. While it is not yet clear what exactly Moscow has in its mind taking on the anti-Assad Muslims there, but USA cannot even think of a peace deal to end the bloodbath there. Even years of US-Israeli shuttle diplomacy no peace is in sight in Mideast as Palestinians are getting killed by Israeli military with US terror goods. Recently, US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced a new cease-fire agreement that both sides hope will clear the road to peace for a troubled nation that's been torn apart by a five-year civil war. Kerry and Lavrov met all day in Geneva to work on the deal, which at one point seemed unlikely. Later on Friday the Sept 09, both sides announced the pact during a news conference. Thank you all for tremendous patience during the course of a very long day," Kerry said at the start of his remarks. "Today, the United States and Russia are announcing a plan which we hope will reduce violence, ease suffering and resume movement toward a negotiated peace and a political transition in Syria." The leaders said that step will be followed by a larger cease-fire, closer to one that was agreed to in February but not effectively implemented. It lasted a few weeks. Members of both governments and the news media were skeptical that an agreement could be reached Friday, especially after Lavrov said during a break that he was about ready to "call it a day." The deal agreed to by Kerry and Lavrov calls for a cease-fire between the U.S.-backed Syrian rebels and President Bashar al-Assad's regime, as well as his Russian and Iranian allies. The fighting is being interrupted, Kerry said, to allow for deliveries of humanitarian aid -- particularly in the heavily contested city of Aleppo. As it turns out, Kerry and Lavrov were able to hammer out agreeable terms, which were then communicated to President Barack Obama. "I believe it is important for them to check with Washington," Lavrov said during the approval process. "I apologize for the delay. We cannot help it." Friday's agreement is seen as one step in what both sides hope will be a series of advancements toward the end of the Syrian civil war, which is now in its sixth year. The agreed-upon cease-fire is scheduled to begin at sunset on Sept. 12. If it holds for a week, the U.S. and Russian militaries would then begin steps to combine operations to eliminate obstacles to peace -- including militant groups the Islamic State and Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly known as the al-Nusra Front. The plan also calls for a demilitarized zone and uncontested access for humanitarian aid. "If implemented, if followed, the plan has the ability to provide a turning point," Kerry added. "The suffering we have witnessed in Syria over the course of five years now is really beyond inhumane. "The United States is going the extra mile here because we believe that Russia, and Lavrov, have the capability to press the Assad regime to stop this conflict and to come to the table and make peace." Earlier, the US President Barack Obama said he is not optimistic about the future success of a possible cease-fire in Syria despite ongoing talks between the United States and Russia. Obama, speaking Sunday at the G20 summit in China, said he does not think any new deal would last long enough for a political resolution in Syria. John Kerry, who met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the economic summit, said "a couple of tough issues" remain, but did not elaborate. Despite the nearing impasse, Obama said he is committed to continuing efforts. "It is worth trying," Obama said to reporters. "To the extent that there are children and women and innocent civilians who can get food and medical supplies and, you know, get some relief from the constant terror of bombings, that's worth the effort. And I think it's premature for us to say that there is a clear path forward, but there is the possibility at least for us to make some progress on that front." Obama said it's essential for Russia to be involved in a political solution. Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin plan to meet Monday. "Our conversations with the Russians are key because, if it were not for the Russians, then [Syrian President Bashar al-]Assad and the regime would not be able to sustain its offensive," he said. Obama's relations with Putin are strained now not only because of the Syrian situation but Moscow's moves in Ukraine and the possibility the Russian leader is trying to help Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump get elected. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters the two sides are close but it is important for the United States to distinguish "the so-called moderate opposition from the terrorists." Syrian rebel groups have worked alongside al-Nusra Front, which is now known as Jabhat Fateh al-sham or the Syria Conquest Front. "I will say that we are close to reaching a deal with the United States... there are no grounds to expect that everything would collapse." Kerry, at a news conference, reiterated the continuing efforts to make a cease-fire work. He did not comment about a July information-sharing proposal that would include coordinating air attacks against Jabhat Fateh al-sham in exchange for Russia pushing to stop offensives by Assad's government. Kerry later told reporters: "An awful lot of technical things have been worked out, a lot of things are clear, but there still remain, a couple of tough issues . "We've got to figure out how to make certain both of us can be comfortable with the resolution to those issues, so that's what we're working on." Yesterday Obama also met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose military has recently clashed with US-backed Kurdish fighters in Syria. "We discussed ways in which we can further cooperate in that regard," Obama said after meeting with Erdogan, who survived a failed military coup Erdogan's government is unhappy with the United States for not extraditing Fethullah Gulen, the Turkish cleric who now lives in exile in Pennsylvania. Erdogan blames Gulen for plotting the coup. USA is supposed to respect the NATO member and help Turkish government and not those who sought to kill President Erdogan and destabilize Turkey, but U.S. officials say they are awaiting sufficient evidence to justify the request to extradite Gulen, who is 75 and says he is in failing health. Erdogan said the United States and Turkey should adopt a "common attitude" against terrorism. Double speak is not good for allies. He noted there is a distinction between "good terrorists or bad," he said, an indirect reference to Gulen and United States support for Kurdish fighters in Syria.

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"To create a perfect world what type of government would you propose?" Another put it a different way: "Again, I'm convinced more than ever, Trump is the only candidate that might have a chance to get us out of the financial and economic mess the United States is in. If Bonner & Partners is unable to recognize this, it tells me their agenda is not to fix America's problems... but continue the agony..." Emperor Diocletian in retirement, talking to his security detail. Famous quotes made on occasion of his decision to become a cabbage farmer: Diocletian: " Cabbages don't talk back ". Maximianus (a.k.a. "M", his co-regent as "Augustus of the West" from AD 286 to AD 305): " You've lost your marbles, old chap ". It later turned out that M's assessment was erroneous. He got bored and came out of retirement after just one year to help his son Maxentius in his fight over the succession, as the "tetrarchy" put in place by Diocletian threatened to splinter. Maximianus succeeded in sorting things out in favor of his son, but not even two years later he recognized he had made a fateful mistake: Maxentius was actually unfit to rule. Maximianus not only told him so, but actually told everybody. Then he ripped the imperial toga from Maxentius before an assembly of soldiers, expecting the soldiers to side with him (he was an old war horse and battlefield hero after all). That turned out to be a miscalculation - instead was chased out of Italy in disgrace. Should have gone for cabbage farming too! Quantity Theory Revisited The price of gold fell another ten bucks and that of silver another 28 cents last week. Perspective: if you are waiting for the right moment to buy, the market is offering you a better deal than it did last week (literally, the market price of gold is at a 7.2% discount to the fundamental price vs. 4.6% last week). If you wanted to sell, this wasn't a good week to wait. Which is your intention, and why? Gold vs. TMS excl. memorandum items (the... What Have You Done For Me Lately? Precious Metals Supply and Demand Aragorn's Law or the Mysterious Absence of the Mad Rush Last week the price of gold dropped $8, and that of silver 4 cents. There is an interesting feature of our very marvel of a modern monetary system. We have written about this before. It sets up a conflict, between the perverse incentive it administers, and the desire to protect yourself in the long term. Answer: usually when it is too late... [PT] Consider gold. Many people know they should own it. They... An Inquiry into Austrian Investing: Profits, Protection and Pitfalls Incrementum Advisory Board Discussion Q3 2018 with Special Guest Kevin Duffy "From a marketing perspective it pays to be overconfident, especially in the short term. The higher your conviction the easier it will be to market your investment ideas. I think the Austrian School is at a disadvantage here because it's more difficult to be confident about your qualitative predictions and even in terms of investment advice it is particularly difficult to be confident in these times because we... Climbing the Milligram Ladder - Precious Metals Supply and Demand FRN Muscle Flexing Shh, don't tell the dollar-paradigm folks that the dollar went up 0.2mg gold this week. Or if that hasn't blown your mind, the dollar went up 0.01 grams of silver. It's less uncomfortable to say that gold went down $10, and silver fell $0.08. It doesn't force anyone to confront their deeply-held beliefs about money. But it does have its own Medieval retrograde motion to explain. Even the freaking leprechaun is now offering government scrip... this really... How the Global Trade Contraction Begins Economists expected the Producer Price Index would jump in July. Instead, the PPI was flat and bond yields tumbled. [...]

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Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) Katrina vanden Heuvel is turning The Nation into a Trump/Putin-apologist, Seth Rich troofer rag Last edited Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:27 AM - Edit history (2) Between daily love letters on Twitter to Julian Assange and Glenn Greenwald, she finds time to write garbage like "Realism on Russia," where she basically says Putin should get off scott free of sanctions for interfering with American elections: https://www.thenation.com/article/realism-on-russia/ Not surprising, coming from a woman who was gloating over the Democratic loss in the Georgia special election and retweeting rightwing memes: Or is married to this guy: () () () () https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_F._Cohen Which bring's us to today's "bombshell" report, seized on my the rightwing media, in which The Nation touts the findings of supposed experts that the DNC was an "inside job" and that Putin was innocent. https://www.thenation.com/article/a-new-report-raises-big-questions-about-last-years-dnc-hack/ It features "experts" who have been published by Consortium News, a prominent Seth Rich trooper conspiracy site. This piece would flunk Journalism 101, if vanden Heuval were interested in that sort of thing. :small :small (h/t @veryharpy on Twitter) Naturally, this has been seized on and passed around the Seth Rich troofer circles: And, of course, fine progressive folks like Newsmax: and Breitbart: and Sean Hannity's favorite scammer and con artist and pretend friend of Seth Rich: The article is a mess, and Brian Feldman at NY Mag takes it apart: http://nymag.com/selectall/2017/08/the-nation-article-about-the-dnc-hack-is-incoherent.html But this was actual journalism, you say? Well, pay no attention to the past pieces of Patrick Lawrence, the author, who I'm sure would not scrape until he found "experts" to fit his narrative: (added on edit) This is fit-the-results-to-the-premise hackery at its finest and, naturally, rightwing media is loving the free content The Nation is generating for them. The Nation has an illustrious history or liberal activism, dating back to the 1860s, riding high in the Progressive and New Deal eras and being a leader in the Civil Rights movement. It's a shame to see that all thrown away by one person with a personal interest in pushing Kremlin propaganda. It's really time for folks to call on vanden Heuvel to resign and demand the magazine save its good name by getting a new editor. Katrina vanden Heuvel is turning The Nation into a Trump/Putin-apologist, Seth Rich troofer rag (Original post) Adenoid_Hynkel Aug 2017 OP Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:24 AM JI7 (68,485 posts) 1. she has always been that way. there are a certain type that always pushes this shit and they always make money doing it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:26 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:51 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 3. The Nation's illustrious national security writer, in action: Link to tweet Can't wait 'til Katrina gives print space to a birther or moon landing hoaxer next. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:53 AM oasis (37,377 posts) 4. Back in the 90's, I couldn't get my next copy of "The Nation" fast enough. Katrina appeared on so many political pundit shows it was hard for me to keep up with her. In my book she was one of the top spokespersons pushing the liberal/progressive point of view. Oh well. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:30 AM JNelson6563 (28,003 posts) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 07:42 AM oasis (37,377 posts) 29. I don't know. Maybe the moth got too close to the flame. Could be the money and celebrity made her snap. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:09 PM MiddleClass (880 posts) 49. Russian by injection, I guess liberalism takes a back seat to socialism/corruption in that family I remember hearing in the W days, that she was a Russian apologist. Now that upsets me a lot more Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:30 PM SleeplessinSoCal (4,703 posts) 50. She worked and lived in Moscow at some point. For all we know they have something on her. N/T Fri Aug 11, 2017, 01:55 AM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 5. As a former longtime subscriber it is really disgusting what has happened to the Nation As mentioned above the magazine has a long history of supporting civil rights, against war and for economic justice. I hadn't subscribed in a long time and didn't know the turn it had taken. I was stunned to hear Cohen on a recent show about Russia and the murders of dissidents say that it hadn't been proven Putin was behind them. Yeah, and Hitler's Germany didn't prove the Nazis killed Jews. I just wondered WTF. Now I know. They have a history there of editors serving for decades but it is obviously time for her to go. Thanks for posting. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:01 AM BannonsLiver (3,715 posts) 6. I think The Nation is pretty well cooked at this point. i don't think it'll survive the embrace of Putin. Really shitty timing. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:01 AM 7. Wow, what a hit piece. This was already addressed in another thread, and Katrina responded personally to the OP (see #62): https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029427385 Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:06 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 8. Did she expalin why she publishes the work of Seth Rich troofers? Again, this is the author of her bombshell piece: Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:16 AM 9. I didn't ask her I don't even know who Seth Rich is, but I know she allows points of view with which she disagrees. Did you read all of her response? If you feel strongly enough about it, write to her c/o The Nation yourself. When she publishes things I disagree with, she always responds if I let her know. You might want to tone down the negative emotional tone, though. She never uses it herself, and probably won't respond if she feels an inquiry is coming from someone whose mind is already made up about her. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:22 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 11. So you're unaware of the crackpot theory pushed by the right and Trump, that her author embraces? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:39 AM DFW (29,598 posts) 13. I am indeed quite unaware of that I don't have time to read everything in The Nation, or most publications I get, for that matter. I have a very demanding day job that takes me to a different country every day. I am currently in the States for a short visit, but the purpose of my visit is not for catching up on piles of publications that have accumulated. At her 150th anniversary of the founding gathering, the likes of E.J. Dionne, Raul Grijalva, Elizabeth Warren, Cecile Richards, Jerry Nadler, Steve Cohen, William Barber and a LOT of etc. came to be with her. None of them mentioned that they went there to celebrate birther theories. If Katrina wants to publish an article by a nutcase, it's her editorial prerogative as far as I'm concerned. It might be for the purpose of pointing out the nutcase point of view for all I know. If you feel that strongly about it and have so much time on your hands, I suggest you call The Nation far in advance of your next visit to New York City, and arrange a meeting with her. I only get to see her once a year or so, since I live in Europe with a heavy work schedule. You apparently live somewhere in North America, and so would have an easier time arranging a meeting. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:52 AM Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 15. If your editorial call is "publish things by a nutcase," then magazine has destroyed its credibility That's how journalism works. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:04 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:42 AM muriel_volestrangler (89,581 posts) 27. Maybe you should read the OP, then, because its about the Seth Rich conspiracy theory and what The Nation published after the KvH editorial which you posted on DU. That's the point - she did not address this in her editorial, because she wrote that on July 27th , and published Patrick Lawrence yesterday. It is customary to read an OP before replying. And also not to claim that a point has been addressed when it obviously has not been. "If Katrina wants to publish an article by a nutcase, it's her editorial prerogative as far as I'm concerned." Well, that's the crux of the OP, isn't it? She's published an article by a nutcase. Why whine that the OP is a hit piece? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:12 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 32. This nutcase is a long-time contributor Moreover, the latest Trumpian crazy piece she published quite clearly showed no editorial oversight. It was beneath the intelligence of a typical tabloid. No conscientious editor would have allowed it through. Not only was it crazy, it was incoherent and generally a hot mess. The Nation is Kompromised when it comes to Russia, mainly becausee the editor is married to the biggest Putin apologist in the Western Hemisphere this side of Donald Trump. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:47 AM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 14. Hit piece? Sounds like your judgment is as clouded by a personal relationship as hers is. She uses as an excuse in that thread of her being tied to her husband is unfair but she is the editor of the magazine that he has gotten plenty of space in for his articles that have been called Putin apologia by many. He is not respected by the people fighting for human rights in that part of the world. Both of them use the term anti-Russia hysteria when we know the real culprit is not a country or people but the criminal oligarchy headed by Putin and those he surrounds himself with. And she and Cohen know that but are trying to make it about another cold war. It is about the war of the criminal oligarchs around the world (including some in America) against democracy. If they truly reflected the 150 years of the Nation's values they would be on the right side of that fight instead of minimizing what Putin is doing around the world. As I said in another post, Cohen claims Putin hasn't been proven to be behind the murders and attacks on dissidents as if a court in Russia would do that. Even in vanden Heuvel's response in the thread the best she can say about Putin is yes he is an authoritarian ... but ... and then goes on to condescend to tell us ignorant folks that we need common sense .. I guess that means we are not supposed to worry about the existential threat that Putin, Trump and other criminal authoritarian oligarchs around the world pose to democracy. And neither you nor her have anything to say about the Seth Rich tin foil hat ties. Also, if people read the comments section of the article Kevin Kresse does a fine job of debunking one of the central claims about bandwidth. Instead of gracing DU with her comments, perhaps she should have spent more time as an editor and had some of the technical material verified by an independent source. As I wrote, we are at war because of a very determined strategy by Putin and others to take down democracies worldwide through cyber attacks. Articles like the one they published only serve to aid them and our enemies at home. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:04 AM DFW (29,598 posts) 17. Oh, so because I know her, it's not a hit piece? The tone seemed perfectly vitriolic to me. And for the third time, I still have no idea who Seth Rich is, though a couple of you seem totally obsessed with this guy. If he's a nut case, there is a chance I glanced at something he wrote and ignored it for the very reasons you mention. I wouldn't remember the name of every crackpot author whose stuff I ignore after the first two sentences, even if it's in The Nation. Katrina supported Sanders last year. I skipped over a LOT of Nation articles at the time, and I never read a lot of them to begin with. Lucky you if you have that much free time on your hands. Those things go on forever. If you are this obsessed with her work don't whine to me about it. She reads mail sent to her c/o The Nation. I get this same kind angry response from some people for being a friend of Howard Dean, too. Here in Texas (in Dallas for a few days), I get crap for hanging with Cecile Richards. PP is SOOO evil, dontcha know. I got the same for being a 40 year friend of Helen Thomas before she passed. How dare I have friends like that, blah blah. Same old, same old. I'm used to it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:34 AM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 18. The reasons why it is not a hit piece were spelled out and they had nothing to do with you knowing her; my point was about clouded judgments. You shouldn't mention the words whine or obsession with this response. You keep whining about hit pieces and your suffering when you are obviously ignorant of facts like who Seth Rich is (he was a DNC staffer who was murdered and his death is being used by the RW nutjobs to deflect the hacking story - which you could have looked up in two seconds if you had bothered - and now they have new ammunition to do that thanks to her and the nation). As far as obsession look in the mirror. You were the one who brought her response to this forum and who obviously likes to point out all of your famous friends and how much you have suffered for knowing them (talk about whining). How about looking up those who have suffered at the hands of Putin - then you can let your buddy and her husband know about them. They obviously have ignored it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:16 AM LenaBaby61 (3,460 posts) 22. I still have no idea who Seth Rich is, though a couple of you seem totally obsessed with this guy. Faux Noose, and especially that ass Sean Hannity had been running with the "Hillary murdered Seth Rich because he leaked those DNC emails to WikiLeaks" meme for months. You probably don't watch Faux Noose, but the Seth Rich story was talked about like it was this giant bombshell, even after tRumputin was installed as our illegitimate president. It's also alleged that tRumputin sociopath/supporter Ed Butowsky told Rod Wheeler that tRumputin gave the go ahead for Faux Noose to run with this fake story. And by the way, it's people like RWNJ Ed Butowsky, a wealthy Texas businessman, and friend of the Mercer Family, who paid to Wheeler to FUEL this lie. Hillary Clinton haters have been obsessed with and hating on Hillary/Bill Clinton for 30 years, spreading lies and false stories (Does Pizzagate ring a bell?). It's a shame that The Nation has allowed that sort of filth to make it into their publication. Exclusive: The chaos behind the scenes of Fox News' now-retracted Seth Rich story. http://money.cnn.com/2017/08/10/media/seth-rich-fox-news-timeline/index.html Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:40 AM stevenleser (32,865 posts) 33. I would really love to have a sit down with her at some point because what has happened to her and to the Nation is really heartbreaking. In the 90's she is one of the folks to whom I looked up. To have degenerated from calm, lucid and intelligent commentary to apologia for a war crimes committing Putin and baseless and superficial attacks on the Democratic Party is not only sad it is mystifying. And her attempts to explain that away as merely airing multiple viewpoints doesnt make it. She doesnt air/publish or espouse multiple viewpoints, she and the Nation have an agenda. Why she has morphed into someone having that agenda is what I would like to sort out. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:43 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 35. quite frankly, back in the 1990's we were making nice with Russia's government so there was no conflict for her. Now, there's a conflict between supporting the American left, and sucking up to the swine in Moscow, and she and the mag lean towards the latter. Keep in mind that her husband is a professional Russophile and Putin-fluffer. It's not politically correct to note this, but spouses do influence each other's political views. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:43 AM emulatorloo (35,450 posts) 36. Time to educate you. Seth Rich was a DNC staffer who was murdered in a robbery gone wrong. You are a good person and I believe you will want to know about this. However I expect you won't see this as I believe you've left the thread. A GOP operative and a Fox News producer got the bright idea to concoct a conspiracy theory about Seth Rich's tragic murder in order to take the heat off Donald Trump and Putin. There is ZERO evidence for the claims they made. This is not a "Point of View", it is an absolute lie. Hannity was the face of this conspiracy on Fox and there were alleged leftists like TYT's Jimmy Dore that promoted it too. It was all over social media as well. Right wingers and self-identified "leftists" were all over twitter promoting this conspiracy. They still are to this day. Seth's family were tormented by all of this, but these liars did not care. The theory they concocted to goes like this: - Seth Rich was the True Leaker of DNC emails. Russia had nothing to do with it - The DNC or possibly HILLARY CLINTON HERSELF had Seth Rich MURDERED! to silence him. So Poor Donald Trump and Poor Putin, smeared by evil murderous loser Democrats. Katrina has changed a lot from who she used to be. Was a big admirer. Cecile Richards and Howard Dean have integrity and have nothing to do with this. Please don't smear them. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:43 PM DFW (29,598 posts) 47. I did see there were a few replies, but I don't have time to play at this all day (or night) You provided a concise explanation of who Seth Rich was, so I did read your reply. I don't, would not ever, smear Cecile or Howard. Nor Katrina, for that matter. Friendship is a lot less superficial for me than that. Despite geographical obstacles, the circle of people in Katrina's range is relatively small. If someone like Elizabeth Warren or Cecile has anything to say about something Katrina publishes, have no fear that either one of them would let her know in no uncertain terms. I'm sure she's on speed dial with them, too. The Nation and Katrina are not behind some Trumpian Mexican wall. They are accessible, and do read comments on what they publish, especially if they are in disagreement from the left. I have a few Russian friends and speak passable Russian. She is fluent, and has dozens, maybe hundreds of Russian friends. She lived there for years, and when Gorbachev invites people to his birthday party, Katrina is on the list, not me. I count on her to know the place and players better than I do. By the same token, she pumps me for info on Germany, France, Spain, Belgium and Holland because that's where I live and work and speak the local languages. Bernie Sanders had left her with the impression that medical care was free in Germany, and that there were no uninsured. My wife, a German social worker, set the record straight there. If there is someone on DU who is more intimately familiar with Russia and speaks the language, I doubt she would turn away an opposing point of view. If it's factual and logical, she might print it. Even I have been published in The Nation before (not as an LTTE), so this is not a fantasy. I see no reason to attempt to act as some kind of email conduit for her here. Anyone is welcome to write her directly (hint--if you want an answer, check your anger at the door). She hears from all kinds of people. If Cecile or Sen. Warren disagree with something Katrina writes, believe me they will let her know, and she will listen. If her door is open to me, it is WIDE open to them. One time, one of her writers did a long article on Catalunya and the separatist movement. I saw something in there I thought was an error. Katrina knows I have lived there, go back about once a month, and speak Catalan. She acknowledged my comment and took note of it. Knowing her, she probably took it up with the author of the article. As I said before, I only have time to skim the Nation when I get it, so I don't know if there was a published correction. She is not on some high horse, either. When I saw that one OP about the Nation, I sent her the whole thread and asked if she might give a response. She took the time and did. How many other non-DU people of her stature and prominence take the time to do that? On a one-to-one basis she certainly hasn't changed at all. I would encourage you to list the changes in her that you perceive, put them in an email to her c/o the Nation, say you were encouraged to write by her Texas DU friend who lives in Germany, explain your worries/concerns in a rational, logical manner, and see if you get a response. I can't promise one, since I have no clue how you would phrase your comments, but you can be sure that someone there will read it, and probably pass it on to Katrina. By the way, thanks for the info on who Seth Rich was. Back home, our neighbors to the west (otherwise known as France) recently had a hugely important election, and Merkel is up (actually her party, as she is Chancellor, not a president) for re-election in the fall. So I have been paying more attention to that than anything Fox Noise is promoting. Since we don't get U.S. TV where I live, Fox isn't even on my radar unless someone sends me a "must see" link. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 05:32 PM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 53. If you spent half the time answering the points made to you as you do talking about your personal life and the wonderful relationships you have with famous people then your reply might have had value. Repeating the line that we can write to her (mentioning you of course would help get her attention) didn't add anything. BTW, I doubt you'll read it but if you want to know why people on here are so angry about the magazine and this latest piece, here is a great takedown of the sorry Nation article, its editor and Cohen: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2017/8/11/1688482/-Russia-stooges-on-the-Left-go-to-even-greater-lengths-to-cover-up-the-attack-on-our-Democracy Fri Aug 11, 2017, 05:57 PM DFW (29,598 posts) 54. So, write to her and don't mention me. I don't care. The personal stuff takes no time at all and requires no research. The other stuff does. Sorry if that raises hackles, but "Get a Life" can't be enforced in a court of law, I suppose. Coventina didn't ask me not to publish Katrina's reply. If she had, I would have left it right there. I thought she might be interested in a response from the person she was referring to, and indeed she was. No one required you to read it. If I have time, though I will check out the article. It certainly seems to have a few people in a fit over it, anyway. I'll look for articles under the rubrik "sorry." Value is in the eye of the beholder. I don't recall asking you or anyone else to bow down to Mecca chanting my name. There is life outside of a blog, even this one. You don't have to take my word for it, of course............ Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:20 PM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) 56. The point of a post like this on a political forum is to talk about issues I understand that it is easier and more interesting to talk about yourself rather than take two or three minutes (considerably less time than you have spent responding here) to read an article relevant to the diuscussion but give it a try. Hopefully it won't tire you out too much and you might actually have something worthwhile to share with us and your good friend. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:42 PM 59. OK, so I looked this over This guy Lawrence appears on the surface to be like the fictional Nicholai Hel's description of his interrogator and torturer, "Major Diamond," in that that he has taken some facts and made some ridiculous conclusions from them. I am frankly surprised at the number of DK posts that agree with Lawrence, but that's because I don't. As editor of The Nation, I would not have run the piece, and I suspect that some major blowback did not go unnoticed, since at the end, the Nation (presumably Katrina herself, as Editor) ran the following: Editors note: After publication, the Democratic National Committee contacted The Nation with a response, writing, U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded the Russian government hacked the DNC in an attempt to interfere in the election. Any suggestion otherwise is false and is just another conspiracy theory like those pushed by Trump and his administration. Its unfortunate that The Nation has decided to join the conspiracy theorists to push this narrative. I would hope that all those who roundly criticized the Lawrence article in The Nation on DU were also among those who raised their voices with similar vehemence on DK, and either were or are busy sending similar comments to The Nation directly. Fifty eloquently composed criticisms from unknown parties will certainly carry more weight than one known party (me) playing post office. Get to work and make your voice heard. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:19 PM Bradshaw3 (1,438 posts) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:18 AM 10. I let my subscription lapse. The entire tone of the Nation has changed too much for me. And it has had such a long, illustrious history! Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:27 AM 23. I let my subscription lapse. Me too. My online subscription went bye buy several years ago when I started seeing what I thought were "weird" articles being written, and when the slant of what was written there was going too far the other way for MY taste. OMG, and Katrina's husband is such a putin lover/apologist. Katrina's of no use to me either at this point. I've seen her being interviewed and she turns me OFF. Even all of my friends who used to have subscriptions to The Nation have allowed them to lapse, and those following her on twitter have un-followed her. I guess if tRumputin starts a war with North Korea and hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians (Americans included) end up DEAD, she and her husband will probably be blaming Pres. Obama and maybe call Hillary a war mongerer--just like tRuputin STAYS doing. Those 2 can go take a hike. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:09 AM alcibiades_mystery (36,437 posts) 31. Watching these Putinite organs scramble to keep Left readership after being exposed is hilarious The jig is up, except with the most gullible among us. The Nation is operating like a Putin house organ. Fuck them. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:46 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 37. pro-Putin organs on the right (Breitbart, Fox) and the left (the Nation) have really taken a hit since the last election. Mother Jones, the NY Times, and MSNBC in the meantime are crushing it. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:01 AM BainsBane (43,781 posts) 16. It's a travesty what she has done to that publication That was once the longest running leftist periodical in America. I subscribed to it for years. I am glad I don't anymore. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:38 AM BainsBane (43,781 posts) 20. I think the Nation's demise reflects the collapse of a left in American politics It's becoming extremely difficult to distinguish those purporting to be leftists with alt-right, White Nationalists: the same defenses of authoritarianism, the same denial of copious evidence about Russian intervention, the same defenses of Trump and opposition to equal rights. I think we are increasingly seeing a re-shifting of political alliances, away from left vs. right toward nationalist vs. liberal globalist. This is of course not meant to extend to everyone identifying themselves as leftist, but there is a very disturbing undercurrent. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:37 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:26 PM 45. I think they're Troll Leftists Your observations are spot on, but I don't think the new 'alt-left' is anything but trolling hard righters. I think the the global peon class (us) is on the brink of serious pushback against poverty, environmental destruction, lack of representation, and filled with desperation as the have mores get more, and we all get less The hard right has always tried to infiltrate and destroy organization and movements of the underclasses Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:34 AM Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:59 AM 25. Stephen Cohen??? The biggest Soviet/Russian apologist of the past 35 years! Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:37 AM VOX (19,910 posts) 26. I cannot fathom the buddylng-up to Putin by either left or right... What is the appeal? His record (and direct actions) on the human-rights front alone are abominable. He has had people poisoned and tossed from high-rise apartments, for Christ's sake. How bad is Putin? He's the ONLY human on Earth that Trump handles with kid gloves and that weird admiration-bromance-thing he has for dictators. Putin is actually a worse leader than Trump (right now, anyway, but it's certain that Donnie is envious). Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:46 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 38. money talks. lots of Gazprom money floating around nt Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:44 AM 28. They have been funded by the Russians for generations The Nation has always been a right wing rag. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 08:04 AM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 30. The Nation is Breitbart-left when it comes to Russia. All agenda, zero credibility or efforts to practice journalism. Patrick Lawrence is loyal to Russia, not the USA. 39. Let's just hate everyone... Adenoid_Hynkel (13,950 posts) 40. So youre fine with them running a BS article by a Seth Rich truther? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 09:37 PM VermontKevin (1,473 posts) 61. Check out my post 9 on this thread for what seems to be "fine" to this poster. hrmjustin (71,265 posts) 41. So we can't criticize the Nation or its staff? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 12:11 PM hrmjustin (71,265 posts) 42. it is a shame what she did to the publication! Last edited Fri Aug 11, 2017, 12:52 PM - Edit history (1) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:05 PM alarimer (16,121 posts) 43. It is possible to read publications without agreeing with every single thing they publish. In fact, I think it should be mandatory to read at least some things you find objectionable. How else can you have a well-considered opinion on anything if you don't know what other people say or think? I usually learn something that I hadn't considered before. I read both Mother Jones and the Economist (despite disagreeing a lot with the liberal economic position regarding trade and markets). I read the Nation primarily for their progressive economics. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:19 PM geek tragedy (68,868 posts) 44. there's a difference between reasoned arguments and just utter crap. The Nation goes dumpster-diving for its pro-Russia agitprop pieces. The lack of editorial standards is a big problem. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 02:40 PM Kathy M (1,189 posts) 46. Thanks .... ordered my subscription today Its good to read many publications not rely on a narrow path , there is a lot more to life ............ The nation is a great publication . Tue Aug 15, 2017, 05:28 AM Hortensis (24,409 posts) 62. Yes, I don't "get" this thread. The Nation isn't absolutist and intolerant enough? It's been years since I had a subscription and I'm not feeling a need now, but I don't recall it ever being so narrow-minded that it would satisfy left-wing demand for a right wing-style bubble. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 03:58 PM obamanut2012 (14,371 posts) 48. I've had a subscription for almost 15 years, and have cancelled it Last Fall. They are about as progressive as fucking Jill Stein and JPR. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:36 PM David__77 (17,732 posts) 51. The solidification of factions is real. It reminds me of extreme left grouplets, this aiming of fire at this or that nominally leftist figure. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 04:44 PM Ilsa (49,155 posts) 52. About two months ago I took my email off their mailing list. I won't have anything to do with them, and I change the channel if Katrina comes on to talk. Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:03 PM Blue_Tires (51,268 posts) 55. Yeah, the Nation has been a sick joke for awhile now... Glad more people are noticing... So we've lost The Nation, The Young Turks, who's the next liberal outlet to make a heel turn? Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:21 PM haveahart (905 posts) Fri Aug 11, 2017, 06:47 PM librechik (29,021 posts)

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You may recall our friend, Palestinian and Black Lives Matter 'activist', Bassem Masri. If you don't recall him, take a look at the above videos. One of the more foul characters to emerge out of the Ferguson scrum, Masri became known for his offensive verbal threats against police officers, telling them 'your life is in danger" and saying he was wishing for their deaths. He even threatened their children in the second video above. Less well known was that he has been a heroin addict, with a prior record, over and above arrests in regard his Ferguson activities. He has been arrested for multiple driving violations, and had a pending felony driving while revoked case against him from November of last year. On July 10, Masri got in an accident while driving illegally. Two other cars were hit, involving 4 other people including a child. Whether or not those people were injured or not is unclear. Masri put up pictures of his injuries after the accident, and asked people to donate money to him to get another car (despite not being allowed to drive). He later deleted the tweets, but the Internet is forever. Bad news for Masri however. On July 13, they put him back in jail. He hasn't been able to make bail from what we can tell, charged with another driving while revoked. That was the last heard from Masri and that is good news in any one's book.

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Rachel Dolezal, a white woman who claims she's black The Washington Post recently conducted a poll surveying what Americans' opinions were regarding the current status of race relations across the nation. You know, after eight years of racial reconciliation, Obama style. According to the poll, a majority of Americans believe that race relations are in bad shape. When broken down by race, 72% of blacks and 63% of whites surveyed believe that race relations are bad. What the Post found surprising was the percentage of white Americans who felt they had been increasingly experiencing racism. The Post went on to provide economic numbers regarding standard of living, which showed that whites -- economically and educationally -- are in better shape than black Americans. According to the Post's analysis, while whites expression of feeling they've experienced increasing bias against them may be genuine , those feelings simply are not legitimate due to whites' generally better socioeconomic status. But the Post makes the error of faulty comparison. The socioeconomic status of whites compared to blacks has little to do with the feeling of racial bias many white Americans say they're experiencing. Likewise, leftists often posit the fallacy that because whites are in the majority and are in more places of power, they are therefore inherently racist. When terms like "white privilege" or "black lives matter" are thrown around and used to label groups of individuals based solely on their ethnicity, then these individuals are genuinely experiencing racial bias. The bigger problem, however, is the continued pushing of identity politics peddled by those who would seek to divide Americans along the fault lines of race, sex and age, rather than encouraging Americans to look to those unifying principles of Liberty that we as Americans are so uniquely privileged to share in.

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PICKS are stories from many sources, selected by our editors or recommended by our readers because they are important, surprising, troubling, enlightening, inspiring, or amusing. They appear on our site and in our daily newsletter. Please send suggested articles, videos, podcasts, etc. to picks@whowhatwhy.org . Panama Papers Journalists Around the Globe Being Threatened (Trevin) " Par for the course ," says organization tracking the impact of the disclosures. Corruption is a dangerous beat. Where Testing For Lead Should Occur (Dan) In PA, school water fountains are being replaced after the discovery of high levels of lead. On older homes, homeowners must conduct a test for lead levels before signing any paperwork. Should that same demand be placed on our public school system? The Election Impact on Schoolchildren (Milicent) While opinion of the results was harshly divided around the country, impact amongst 25+ remained in the workplace and in the form of awkward conversation at Thanksgiving. Schoolchildren, however, have experienced something less restrained. No-BS Inside Guide to the Presidential Vote Recount (Trevin) It's not just about "vote-flipping" machines. There were "at least" 3 million rejected ballots, "spoiled" votes, "placebo" ballots, "absent absentee" ballots, and other anomalies . EU's Growing Army (Dan) With Trump posturing for a more "America First" policy in the world, members of NATO are questioning the strength of the alliance. So much so that they've dedicated higher budgets for their own militaries, which is the under the control of the EU. Traditional Muslim Call to Prayer threatened in Israeli Knesset (Jesse) The muezzin, an Islamic call to prayer broadcast from mosques daily, is part of the landscape in Israel's Palestinian and Arab neighborhoods. But a bill supported by Israel's right wing lawmakers including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary.

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Director of Social Media / Staff Writer January 9, 2018 Remembering "God is good" after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship shouldn't be too difficult -- what about after a heartbreaking overtime loss? Not many 19-year-old's have the focus to do that. In the aftermath of Alabama's shocking OT win against the University of Georgia, a widely unnoticed Tweet went out from UGA's star QB Jake Fromm. "God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good," the young quarterback proclaimed. God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good. So thankful for an incredible season with these seniors who have given so much to this university. They've set the standard for UGA football and we will be back. Love my teammates and Go Dawgs! -- JakefromStateFromm (@FrommJake) January 9, 2018 How's that for perspective? As freshman quarterback Jake Fromm's season came to a close with a 26-23 loss to Alabama, he remained positive. Fromm didn't waste time re-hashing questionable calls , or looking back on what went wrong. Instead, he reminded himself and UGA fans that "God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good." He also gave a huge show of gratitude to the seniors that reshaped UGA football for years to come. Twitter / Jake Fromm According to Dawgs247 , Fromm walked away from the season with "the most touchdown passes by a true freshman in program history, second-best single-season passer rating in program history, and third-most passing yards by a freshman in school history." With stats like that from a true freshman, this program has a lot to look forward to in the years to come. Onward and upward, UGA fans -- follow Fromm's lead and keep the faith.

In the aftermath of Alabama's shocking OT win against the University of Georgia, a widely unnoticed Tweet went out from UGA's star QB Jake Fromm. "God is good, all the time. And all the time, God is good," the young quarterback proclaimed.

It's Memorial Day 2018 and I'm sure there are many of you who are remembering a family member or a friend who gave their lives in service to this wonderful country. I've . . . April Ryan has gone full pizzagate Trump derangement syndrome. The CNN contributor posted an article positing a theory that Trump might be involved in a child trafficking ring. From Fox News: CNN . . . Chelsea Clinton is still out there thinking her opinion is worth a damn. Here's the latest from the witless Clinton brat: Former President Clinton's daughter, Chelsea Clinton, slammed President Trump in a . . . This is a pretty good interview of Giuliani by Dana Bash, who presses him on many issues, but is pretty fair about it. It's a long interview, but they really go over . . . So we wrote about this yesterday that liberals are latching on to an exaggerated report about "missing" migrant minors in order to demonize el Trumpo. Today, Rick Santorum dropped a truth bomb . . . According to Yahoo News, the FBI has obtained wiretap recordings from Spanish law enforcement of a Putin toady who met with Trump Jr.: The FBI has obtained secret wiretaps collected by Spanish . . . Dean Obeidallah believes he is a comedian but he often appears on mainstream news outlets offering the Muslim perspective about the news - he's very liberal. And for some dumbass reason, he . . . "Liddle Marco" Rubio said Sunday that the actions of the FBI were appropriate because they were investigating individuals and their relationship to Russia, and NOT simply spying on Trump. From the Hill: . . . Josh Holt was begging for his life as Venezuela was collapsing around him, and his family thought he was going to be murdered there. Days later, he's happily meeting President Trump at . . . CAIR racked up a legal win in Alaska against a prison that now has to prepare special food for Muslims on Ramadan. From the Hill: A judge ruled Friday that a jail . . . It must be "let's compare everything to Nazis" day. This time it's Donte Stallworth, former NFL player, who retweeted a tweet comparing America to NAZI GERMANY. Here's the tweet: Duuuuude. STOP. WHYYYYY . . . So there's a narrative going around based on a report from USA Today. It's that the feds LOST 1,475 kids that had been scooped up at the border when they inhumanely TOOK . . . In today's "let's make a really stupid irrational argument" file, we have a very frequent guest to the file, Rep. Peter King!!! King blasted the Jets owner for saying he will pay . . . El Presidente Trumpo slammed the New York Times for a FAKE SOURCE that MADE UP a quote to damage him because they do that all the time!!! BOOM!!! Except there's a problem. . . . EL Presidente Trumpo had a lot to say this morning about politics on his twitter. Good news. This is rather ironic because he's the one implementing the law separating kids from their . . . The craziness from Parkland Florida just keeps getting weirder and weirder. Now a new investigation says that Scott Peterson, the guy who refused to confront the school shooter that killed 17 kids . . . Rudy Giuliani is gonna shut down the entire Mueller investigation based on Trump's tweets that he was spied on by Obama and the FBI. From the Hill: Rudy Giuliani said Friday that . . . It looks like baby-killin' is back in style in fair ol' Ireland. That's if these astounding exit polls can be believed about the vote today to overturn their ban on abortions: Landslide. . . . David Hogg is one happy fascist today. His gun-grabbing kiddie brigade won a stamp towards an ice cream and pizza party today by forcing Publix to cave to their online mob harassment. . . . As you might expect things aren't always as they seem in the White House. And this is especially true of yesterday's decision by Trump to cancel the N. Korean summit. According to . . .

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Ready to join the resistance? Sign up for Take Action Now and we'll send you three actions every Tuesday. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation , check out our latest issue . Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we'll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation , check out our latest issue . Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-VT, at a panel on Wednesday, July 31, 2013, where top Obama administration officials were questioned about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) These days it's difficult to imagine Congress's return to the business of governance. Still, several lawmakers have refocused their attention on the National Security Agency's surveillance practices, suggesting that the resolve to reform did not die down during the August recess or the crises that followed. At least a dozen bills aimed at the NSA's spying powers are pending in Congress, and key committees will hold hearings in the next two weeks. Senator Patrick Leahy spoke forcefully today at Georgetown University Law Center about the need to curb the reach of the NSA and to reconsider the structure of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that authorizes the agency's spying requests. "The Section 215 bulk collection of Americans' phone records must end," said Leahy, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for marking up several of the bills. "The government has not made its case that this is an effective counterterrorism tool, especially in light of the intrusion on Americans' privacy rights." On Monday, Leahy and a bipartisan group of eight other senators sent a letter to the intelligence community's inspector general requesting a "full accounting" of the government's surveillance practices between 2010 and 2013, particularly in regards to US citizens. Leahy has already introduced legislation that would revise Section 215 of the Patriot Act to raise the standard required of the government to justify the collection of data in a terrorism investigation. Leahy's bill would also increase transparency, public reporting, and inspector general oversight. Democratic Senators Mark Udall and Ron Wyden have also introduced legislation targeting Section 215, as have House Democrat John Conyers and Republican Justin Amash. A proposal from New Jersey Democrat Rush Holt goes even further, repealing the entire Patriot Act and the 2008 amendments to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) that give the NSA its sweeping reach. Limiting the NSA's surveillance authority will only be meaningful if the court charged with interpreting those laws is strengthened, something that Leahy pointed to in his remarks. "I am convinced the system set up in the 1970s to regulate the surveillance capabilities of our intelligence community is no longer working," Leahy said in reference to FISC, the secret court created after the passage of FISA in 1978 to address widespread domestic spying by the NSA, CIA and FBI, which was exposed in a series of congressional investigations by a group of senators known as the Church Committee. Most Popular Several of that committee's key participants, including former Vice President and Senator Walter Mondale and former Senator Gary Hart, also spoke at Georgetown on Tuesday, providing a historical perspective on the court they said has drifted from its original intent in a dangerous way. These lawmakers expected the court to halt warrantless wiretapping and other illegal practices by authorizing only legitimate requests, while meeting the state's need for secrecy. But recent revelations about the unprecedented scope of domestic information-gathering, and the fact that the court has approved virtually all of the requests for authorization brought before it, suggest that the court has not served as a meaningful check. Instead, as Leahy argued, the technological changes that have vastly altered the intelligence landscape have also expanded the court's role in unintended ways. "These judges are now rendering complex constitutional decisions about massive surveillance programs that have major implications for Americans' privacy. They are conducting oversight of highly technical programs that even the agency running them apparently did not understand and certainly did not accurately explain to the court," Leahy said. Moreover, as Leahy noted, the court is creating a secret body of law to govern current and future intelligence practices. "I don't think any of us anticipated that that same court, protected from any outside interference at all, operating in secret...would have the authority to declare law that the intelligence agencies could then use to justify what they're doing." said Mondale, who said Congress should consider how legislation could bring the court back within its intended, more limited role. Another weakness in the FISC structure is the absence of an advocate to challenge the government before the court. "I sort of assumed, without precedent, that a FISA judge would represent the public interest and the Fourth Amendment," Hart said. "At the very least this 99-plus percent positive rulings for warrants suggests that the law ought to be amended so that there is an...advocate for the Fourth Amendment to make the other side of the argument." That idea has purchase with lawmakers: Senator Richard Blumenthal authored a bill installing independent attorneys on the court to argue on behalf of civil liberties, and California Democrat Adam Schiff introduced similar legislation in the House last week. (My colleague George Zornick spoke to Schiff about his bill in July .) Other reforms pointed to by former Church Committee members include making the court's opinions public, and changing the process by which FISC judges are chosen. Currently, the chief justice of the Supreme Court appoints judges to seven-year terms with no congressional oversight. John Roberts' appointments have been almost exclusively Republican. Under another bill put forward by Senator Blumenthal, the Chief Justice would select from a pool of judges nominated by each of the federal circuits. Schiff wrote a bill reforming the nomination process so that it requires presidential appointment and Senate confirmation, and yet another to increase transparency (with a major national security loophole). Because FISC does not have oversight over the NSA's adherence to its rulings, boosting the role of the inspector general is also critical for enforcing any new legislation. One of the greatest lessons to be drawn from the Church Committee is of the significant role Congress can play in investigating and challenging abuses of civil liberties by the government. While the committee's tangible legacy was the laws that, for a while at least, curtailed domestic spying, it was the information made public through exhaustive hearings that made legislative action possible. These revelations were not about only domestic spying but also the assassination of foreign leaders and other shocking examples of executive overreach. Whether Congress will crack down on the intelligence community is one question; whether it will make room for a broader debate about the power of America's surveillance state is another matter entirely. Bob Dreyfuss on Obama's UN speech and American interventionalism . Zoe Carpenter Twitter Zoe Carpenter is The Nation' s associate Washington editor. To submit a correction for our consideration, click here.

Senator Patrick Leahy spoke forcefully today at Georgetown University Law Center about the need to curb the reach of the NSA and to reconsider the structure of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) that authorizes the agency's spying requests.

Jun 27, 2018 -- Cela fait longtemps que nous admirons la Terre, que nous savons qu'il est de notre devoir de la proteger. Mais nous comprenons a peine maintenant toute sa complexite, sa beaute et sa fragilite. Pas la Terre elle-meme, mais son patrimoine naturel et la vie qu'il abrite, ce qui en fait une planete vivante #OnePlanet Deja 410 ppmCO2: nous devons eviter le seuil fatidique de 450 ppmCO2, sinon nos perdrons ce que nous pouvons voir dans cette animation. Parlons-en autour de nous, franchissons rapidement le seuil des 1000 signatures pour atteindre bien plus avant la COP24 ! Keep fighting for people power! Politicians and rich CEOs shouldn't make all the decisions. Today we ask you to help keep Change.org free and independent. Our job as a public benefit company is to help petitions like this one fight back and get heard. If everyone who saw this chipped in monthly we'd secure Change.org's future today. Help us hold the powerful to account. Can you spare a minute to become a member today? I'll power Change with $5 monthly

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Naipaul, whose death was announced on Saturday, experienced a remarkable journey from the periphery of empire to the center of the literary canon. Yet as impressive as his rise was, his tormented relationship with his first wife and his abuse of his longtime mistress make Naipaul a prime example of the perennial and unsolvable aesthetic conundrum: how do we separate the bad actions of an artist from his or her achievements? He was born in 1932 in Trinidad, the grandson of indentured servants who had been moved from one imperial hinterland, India, to another, the Caribbean. The family were the flotsam of colonialism, cultural castaways, the very type of people that Naipaul would make the subject of his fiction and reporting. The Naipauls were poor in money but, as Brahmins, rich in caste-pride. Seepersad Naipaul, the author's father, was a newspaper man of literary ambition bogged down by over-bearing in-laws, the model for the main character in A House for Mr. Biswas (1961), Naipaul's best novel. The energy that drove V.S. Naipaul's own ambitions came from the desire to both live his father's unfulfilled dreams of literary greatness and avoid his father's fate of being badgered and hemmed in by family. Naipaul moved to England in the early 1950s after he received a scholarship to attend Oxford. It was a painful migration: he was friendless and adrift in the culture, as well as marginalized by racism. He was saved by his friendship with an Englishwoman named Patricia Hale, which blossomed into a romance. They married in 1955. "Pat became his indispensable literary helper, his maid and cook, his mother, the object of his irritations, the traveling companion who never appears in any of his nonfiction," George Packer wrote in The New York Times in 2008. "Over the years, as Naipaul's fame grew along with his irascibility, the marriage desiccated. If Pat overcooked the fish, he berated her and she berated herself. The couple wanted children but Pat was apparently infertile; in her passivity and shame she never pursued the possible remedies. Naipaul frequented prostitutes, which brought no satisfaction." It was during these years of marital unhappiness that Naipaul wrote the novels and travel books that form the basis of his literary fame. Aside from A House for Mr. Biswas , highlights of his career included An Area of Darkness (1962), India: A Wounded Civilization (1977), and A Bend in the River (1979). His global travels and keen powers of observation informed all these books, fiction and non-fiction like. In them he became the heir of Joseph Conrad and Graham Greene, a truly global writer who had the rare gift for capturing the texture of many societies. Naipaul's best books are animated by his deeply conservative social vision. Civilization, he felt, was a small clearing in a forest, a fragile haven that was always on the verge of reverting to the wild. It was Naipaul's gift to be able to convey this fear in wire-taut prose. Yet as his literary career blossomed, his personal life remain troubled. In 1972 he entered into a long-term romantic affair with Margaret Gooding, an Anglo-Argentine woman he met in Buenos Aires. If Naipaul had the habit of psychologically tormenting his wife Patricia Naipaul, he took to physically assaulting his mistress. "I was very violent with her for two days with my hand; my hand began to hurt," Naipaul once told is biographer Patrick French. "She didn't mind it at all. She thought of it in terms of my passion for her. Her face was bad. She couldn't appear really in public." In 1994 when Patricia Naipaul was struggling with breast cancer, her husband gave an interview with The New Yorker where he said that he had been a "great prostitute man" and only found sexual pleasure with his mistress, Gooding. Patricia Naipaul was devastated by the interview. She died two years later. "It could be said that I had killed her," Naipaul admitted to his biographer. "It could be said. I feel a little bit that way." After Patricia Naipaul's death, the novelist broke off relations with Gooding. He married the Pakistani journalist Nadira Khannum Alvi in 1998. She survives him.

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For the first time in 600 years there is a living former Pope. However, Pope Emeritus Benedict does not plan to retire quietly to the Vatican's back porch and tend to gardening and meditation. He has other plans and they are leaking out along with a wisp of white smoke from the chimney atop 1211 Avenue of the Americas . Fox News insiders report that a deal has been reached to bring Benedict to the Fox News family with a new program to air on Sunday mornings. Tentatively titled "Pope Culture," sources say that it will premiere this fall and is slated to be a forum for many of the values issues that dominate the dialogue in the media and at dinner tables across America. Discussions to draft the papal free agent began shortly after the selection of Pope Francis, Benedict's successor. Those meetings were helped along by some influential Vatican insiders with media connections. Greg Burke, the current Senior Communications Adviser in the Vatican's Secretariat of State, was previously the Fox News correspondent covering the Vatican, a position he held for ten years. Burke, a member of the ultra-conservative Catholic prelate Opus Dei, left Fox in the summer of 2012 to head up the Vatican's PR efforts to quell the uproar over a series of embarrassing scandals. Burke was instrumental in introducing Benedict to Fox CEO Roger Ailes who was immediately intrigued by the prospect of signing a popular figure in the world of religion with international name recognition. Ailes was said to be looking for a new hot property to bolster a stale line-up that was recently roiled by controversy and incompetence. This year he had to jettison or bench familiar Fox faces like Sarah Palin, Karl Rove, and Dick Morris, due to their humiliating failures as commentators and analysts. Since God has anointed Benedict as infallible, Ailes can relax and won't have to worry about the sort of mistakes that caused his network to suffer historic declines in ratings and credibility. Sources inside Fox, who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter, said that contract negotiations included some unique concessions. The show would not be modeled after the other Sunday news programs that feature sometimes raucous debates. Benedict insisted that his program be a more deliberative hour interspersed with inspirational segments and profiles of charitable organizations and volunteer opportunities. The theme of promoting "service" was said to have been brought up repeatedly by Benedict's representatives. They briefly encountered some resistance at Fox by hardliners who regard such talk as coddling freeloaders who refuse to accept personal responsibility. In the end, Benedict prevailed by agreeing that the type of service that he advocated was of the private variety and not that provided by bloated government agencies. That was enough to win over the Fox holdouts. Benedict further requested and received assurances that he would have editorial control and would not be subject to either fairness or balance with regard to his topics or guests, a demand Ailes had no problem with since he never took that seriously anyway. There is also a provision for Fox to build a TV studio at Benedict's residence which, sources say, will be accomplished on the cheap by repossessing the one they built for Sarah Palin at her home in Wasilla, Alaska. As of this writing there is no confirmation of rumors regarding the brown M&Ms. When Benedict arrives at Fox in the fall he will be joining a roster already heavily weighted with Roman-Catholics, including: Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Megyn Kelly, Bret Baier, Bill Hemmer, Brian Kilmeade, Andrew Napolitano, Jeanine Pirro, Laura Ingraham, Dennis Kucinich, and the in-house priest, Father Jonathan Morris. Rupert Murdoch, the CEO of Fox News parent News Corp was himself inducted into the "Knights of the Order of Saint Gregory the Great" by Pope John Paul II. So Benedict ought to feel right at home in the midst of a College of (Media) Cardinals. His prior experience as spokesman for a vast assembly of true believers is the ideal preparation for a career as a Fox minister. Fox viewers exhibit a fierce loyalty that is consistent with the behavior of religious devotees and cults. They voluntarily separate themselves from the heresy of other news sources that might infect their pious souls. They make a point of disassociating with apostates and blasphemers who might divert them from the true path. Cult leaders demand strict obedience, and that is precisely what Fox News gets from their disciples. They even have an adjunct site, Fox Nation [see Fox Nation vs. Reality ], that implores its adherents to "Join Us" with the promise that they will never be alone - a promise that is familiar to churchgoers. The pairing of Fox and Benedict appears to be almost preordained. They have striking similarities in their principles and agendas. And at the root of their shared mission is the fact that they are both trying to sell stories on faith to ill-informed people who are motivated by fear. This relationship has the potential to be beneficial for everyone involved and is being greeted with unanimous approval from the Fox hierarchy. Oh Happy Day. Share this:

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Revolution Interview with Sunsara Taylor Abortion Rights Freedom Ride From both coasts, and through the middle of the country June 16, 2013 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us Revolution: StopPatriarchy.org has called for a summer of actions to fight for abortion on demand and without apology. Would you sketch out for us the developing plans around this call? StopPatriarchy.org Calls for Summer 2013 ABORTION RIGHTS FREEDOM RIDE Abortion on Demand and Without Apology! For Every Woman in Every State The Reversal of Abortion & Birth Control Rights Must Stop Now! Sunsara Taylor: First of all, to understand why we're doing this, we have to confront the fact that abortion rights in this country right now are in an absolute state of emergency. There is an all-sided, many-fronted assault on women's right to abortion and even birth control. There are the violence, terror, and threats against abortion providers. There is the avalanche of legal restrictions. The last two years have seen record restrictions on abortion access, and this year has already seen 278 new restrictions introduced around the country. Abortion has been marginalized and stigmatized within medicine, taken out of most primary care; it's not taught in medical schools unless students fight for it. Ninety-seven percent of rural counties don't have an abortion provider. Eight doctors and employees of clinics have been murdered! Roe v. Wade is being aggressively undermined in the courts and in the court of public opinion. And abortion has become more stigmatized than ever before. One in three women has had an abortion, and you can hardly find a single woman in public life or, for most people, in their actual day-to-day life of people that they know that has admitted to them that they had an abortion. Most people go years and years--men especially, "I never knew anybody who had an abortion," and they just have no idea: it's their mother, their sister, their cousin, people that they're working with. We are on track to a situation where women will lose this right. And let's be very clear up front: taking away this right, forcing women to have children they don't want, is a form of enslavement. Stop Patriarchy Announces Launch of Fundraising Campaign for The Abortion Rights Freedom Ride Go to indiegogo.com/projects/abortion-rights-freedom-ride to donate to the Abortion Rights Freedom Ride. This summer, from July 24-August 25, after "send-off rallies in New York City and San Francisco, caravans will travel from both coasts, rallying and gathering support along the way, arriving in North Dakota before August 1 when new laws are set to shut down the last abortion clinic in the state. Then, down to Wichita where those who courageously re-opened the clinic of Dr. George Tiller following his assassination by an anti-abortion gunman are facing serious, and escalating threat. On to Jackson, Mississippi where a temporary court injunction is the only thing keeping the last remaining clinic in the state open. All along the way, we'll protest and confront the anti-abortion woman-haters, erect visual displays that tell the truth about abortion and birth control, collect and amplify women's abortion stories in order to break the silence, defend the clinics and providers most under attack, and meet with people to build lasting organization to DEFEAT the whole war on women." For more information: www.stoppatriarchy.org So, in this context, we are launching this Abortion Rights Freedom Ride with kick-off rallies in San Francisco and New York on July 23, bringing together hundreds and thousands of people to stand up and send off these Freedom Riders, who will caravan from both sides of the country, making stops and rallying support along the way, to converge at our first big stop in North Dakota in late July. On August 1, several laws are set to go into effect in North Dakota. One is a fetal heartbeat law that will ban abortion once a heartbeat is detected in a fetus through a vaginal ultrasound--at about six weeks when most women don't even know they're pregnant. So it's a really extreme and outrageous law. There's a lot of expectation that the law will not stand--it's utterly unconstitutional. But it indicates the ferocity and the intentionality of the anti-abortion movement, the fact that it passed at all should be a wake-up call. The more immediately dangerous law set to go into effect will require abortion providers in the state to have hospital admitting privileges. Now, North Dakota has only one clinic in the entire state, in Fargo, and the doctors there have to fly in from out of state, because abortion providers have to put their lives on the line and there's not that many who are willing to go through all that. So they will not be able to get those admitting privileges and this, if not overturned, would make North Dakota the first abortion-free state. So we will be standing with the clinic and others who have been fighting this--but also protesting the women-haters and legislature and churches behind it. We will hold a big ceremony and award some of these fascists the "Forced Motherhood Is Female Enslavement" Award, which will take the form of a big bloody coat-hanger. (Wire coat-hangers are what many women used to try to induce their own abortions when it was illegal, and a great many women died from doing that.) Photo: StopPatriarchy.org Through August, we'll then go down to South Dakota, which also has only one abortion clinic. We'll go through Nebraska where Dr. LeRoy Carhart has been viciously targeted; Wichita, Kansas, where Dr. George Tiller was assassinated, and where for several years Julie Burkhart has fought very hard to reopen the clinic and recently has; and she's under death threats; she's under legal threat; she's under incredible pressure; and so we want to go there and support her and the clinic and also confront these fascists who are doing the kind of things that get people murdered. Then we'll cut through Arkansas, another state that recently passed a fetal heartbeat abortion ban and has only one abortion clinic. And we will end in Jackson, Mississippi, which was at the heart of the civil rights movement and has the only abortion clinic left in Mississippi, a state that has incredible rates of impoverishment, especially among Black women who have almost no access to abortion in large parts of that state and the region. It's a month-long tour with two major elements: we're both confronting the Christian fascists and exposing them for the woman-haters they are. And we're rallying support and drawing forward our side--the people who want to preserve this right but who have been atomized and put on the moral and political defensive, who have not seen either the need or the possibility to stand up as a collective force, in mass resistance to defeat this war on women. So we're going to come from both coasts and travel down the heart of the country. And then call on people to converge with us along the way, especially in Mississippi. Revolution: So the caravans from the two coasts would be starting... Taylor: July 24. The send-off rallies will be on the 23rd and then the next day they hit the road. Revolution : There was an inspiring letter from a prisoner recently in Revolution and on revcom.us (" Defending the Right to Abortion, and Transforming the People for Revolution ") in which the brother recounted struggling hard with a fellow prisoner who opposed abortion. What's the importance of everyone--in particular men, but all kinds of people--taking up the fight for the right to abortion? Taylor: To put it very simply, if women, half of humanity, are not free, then no one is free. That's just a reality. But to get into it a little more deeply, this attack on abortion is not incidental. It's very bound up with the way women have been treated for millennia--ever since the very first emergence of class divisions and of exploitation and oppression, of private property and the state, ever since human beings thousands of years ago went from living in more or less egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies. It's very important to note that the oppression of women by men is NOT owing to "human nature." In fact, for tens of thousands of years, human beings lived without organized forms of oppression and divisions, including without the oppression of women by men. But when private property and the state and class divisions emerged, women's role got fundamentally transformed. Women became the property of men and breeders of children, breeders of new lines of inheritance of either the haves or the have-nots, the ruling class or the exploited. Controlling women's virginity before marriage and their sexuality from then on, making sure they only had sex with their husbands, was essential not only to the particular men who wanted to hand their property down to their children and not someone else's--but actually this control over women became very essential to maintaining and organizing class societies as a whole. This is as true, even if different in its forms and appearance, today in this capitalist- imperialist-dominated world as it was in feudal or slave societies. If you drill down to the root of what gives rise to any form of oppression--whether it is the gruesome history of oppression of Black people in this country and the way that continues today with one very sharp concentration of this being the literal mass incarceration that amounts to a slow genocide, you know, with one out of every eight Black males in their 20s in jail or prison; whether it be the wars of domination and plunder that are driven by the engine of imperialist conquest; whether it be the destruction of the environment on a massive scale--you'll see that it comes from a common root and a common system. And that this system also requires and gives rise to the oppression of women. You cannot shatter that system, you cannot overthrow that system, you can't make revolution to get rid of that system, without taking up the fight for the liberation of women. A big part of what Bob Avakian has fought for in one of the dimensions of the new synthesis of communism that he has forged over decades is that if you understand this deeply and scientifically, you actually grasp that unleashing the fury of women, unleashing the pent-up fury at thousands of years of being treated as chattel, abused, degraded, violated, raped, ridiculed, demeaned and diminished in a million ways--unleashing the fury against that is not only a powerful and potent and necessary force for the liberation of women, but it is a driving force in making revolution as a whole. This is why something BA has emphasized--both now in the struggle to prepare for and, with the emergence of a revolutionary crisis, to seize state power, and in the context of the new revolutionary society that is working to dig up the remnants of oppression and exploitation and advance towards genuine communism, that is, human emancipation--is extremely important. And in some inspiring ways, this was given expression in that letter from a prisoner you referenced. BA says: In many ways, and particularly for men, the woman question, and whether you seek to completely abolish or to preserve the existing property and social relations and corresponding ideology that enslave women (or maybe "just a little bit" of them) is a touchstone question among the oppressed themselves. It is a dividing line between "wanting in" and really "wanting out": between fighting to end all oppression and exploitation--and the very divisions of society into classes--and seeking in the final analysis to get your part in this. That's the heart of the matter, and it's a challenge to men--and it's a challenge to all people who dream of and yearn for and want to fight for an end to exploitation and oppression in any form, that you have to make this your fight. It's also spoken to very powerfully in BA's new talk, BA Speaks: REVOLUTION--NOTHING LESS! where he makes very clear the only people who should fear the unleashed fury of women and who should not be out there fighting to help foster this and joining in with it are people who want to preserve this oppressive and destructive order. Countering Christian fascist anti-abortion marchers in San Francisco, January 2013. Photo: Special to Revolution Revolution: You emphasized the urgent need for people to take action around the question of abortion, people from different viewpoints who see the importance of acting. At the same time, as a revolutionary communist, you're putting forward an analysis of where women's oppression comes from, and the need for revolution, nothing less, to actually get at the root of it. So talk about how these things interrelate. Taylor: Well, I think for a whole host of reasons the conditions women face are increasingly violent and degrading and horrific all around the world. And then there are all the other oppressive things I spoke about earlier like the destruction of the environment, the mass incarceration of oppressed people here, unjust wars and even things like the really gross and revolting culture that has everyone so alienated and degraded and really unhappy--all of this, and many more things that would take us a long time to talk about. It really is a reality that this world is a horror--and it doesn't have to be this way. It is not because of human nature, it is because of the nature of the system. And we need a revolution. We need a revolution as urgently as possible. To get rid of this, and to bring about a whole different world. That's possible, and that's needed. People need to be getting into that and fighting for it, very firmly. And putting BA out there--this is the BA Everywhere Campaign, raising a lot of money to promote BA Everywhere--letting people know that there's a viable, radical alternative to this world, a real new synthesis of revolution and communism, that there's a leadership for this revolution and a strategy. All this needs to be going on. And as people step forward to fight around these different faultlines, around mass incarceration and around the degradation and enslavement of women, around all of these things, that's going to be favorable for hastening the transformation of people in a revolutionary direction and the repolarization in society in a revolutionary direction. So it's very important for those of us who are coming from recognizing the need for revolution to really appreciate that this is a moment when a lot needs to be put on the line to bring people forward in mass struggle against these outrages, in combination with the all-around work that we're doing as revolutionaries, including around BA around this newspaper, Revolution , and revcom.us, getting them out everywhere. But at the same time, you don't have to be coming from that perspective to recognize that there is a state of emergency facing women. Each and every one one of us who refuses to see women reduced to the status of slaves needs to be in this fight right now. And you should support this Freedom Ride: donate, send a message of support to the clinics for us to deliver, join us for a leg of the tour, spread it on social media. There is no good reason not to stand up and fight against this. What is at stake is literally the future and the lives of the half of humanity that is born female. This is what we are all responsible for. How to Get Involved To learn more about and connect up with the Summer 2013 Abortion on Demand and Without Apology Freedom Ride, go online to StopPatriarchy.org . Keep up with the news and analysis around this struggle at revcom.us. And as we're doing this, as we're standing shoulder to shoulder, we should be debating. People should want to be debating and getting into and trying to understand it. And actually people will be more open to it, the more they fight back, the more the big questions do open up to people. Why does this keep happening? Why are we in 2013 fighting a battle over birth control, over abortion? Why are these fights being refought? Where is this coming from? How can it be ended? And we want to be in there putting forward very clearly where this is coming from, and what it will ultimately take, what kind of revolution is ultimately needed. But also learning from other people, where they're coming from, and standing shoulder to shoulder with them. And as people get into this--BA has put it very powerfully in the "Invitation" that he put out, where he says, act on what you know to be an outrage, continue to fight against those things which drove you into political struggle at the beginning. As you do this, there's a responsibility of people to really come to understand how to really end this and to explore and to learn what different people are saying and what's actually true about that. And if you as you investigate this, as you're standing up and fighting with us, you come to understand the source of the problem is the system and the solution we need is communist revolution, don't turn away from that because it challenges your assumptions or takes you out of your comfort zone, follow that wherever because the fate and future of humanity is what's at stake, and fighting our way out of this. And understanding that, you should pursue it. There's a back and forth between standing up and fighting and getting into those bigger questions. And we are eager to lead and to learn in that whole process and both parts of that process. Anybody and everybody who really does not want to see women reduced to the status of slaves needs to stand up and fight right now. And you need to join with this Freedom Ride. Donate towards it. Send a message of support with us to the clinics that we'll be traveling to. Join us for a leg of the tour--in North Dakota, or Wichita, or Mississippi. Sign the statement I mentioned at StopPatriarchy.org/abortionondemandstatement and send it to everyone you know, asking them to do the same. Get that to authors, musicians, and other prominent people for their signatures. Raise money for this effort. Reach out to people you know in the places we are traveling through--Fargo, Bismarck, Minneapolis, Jackson, Little Rock, Nebraska, Cleveland... check StopPatriarchy.org for the full list--to help with housing and reaching out locally. There are many different ways to help and there's no excuse for not standing up and fighting with this. It does not have to be that these Christian fascists and patriarchs and these women-haters slam women backwards. But it will happen if we don't fight. So everybody has to join this fight. We all must take responsibility for STOPPING THIS--that is the measure we are all responsible to. Revolution : What would it mean if this assault on abortion is allowed to win--so that abortion is not just increasingly difficult or even impossible for growing numbers of women, but actually outlawed altogether? Taylor: It has to be understood deeply that being forced to have children you don't want--it means you have to give up everything you're planning. You have to foreclose your dreams and ambitions. That's your life. If you choose to have a child and are in a position to raise it in a way that you feel is right, that can be a beautiful thing. But to be forced to have a child is to essentially be told that all you are is a breeder. And to live in a society that denies that right, means that mostly young girls will be coming up not even having those larger dreams and ambitions. Because in the eyes of society, it will be very clear that they are not regarded as full human beings. Bob Avakian [BA], in his talk Revolution: Why It's Necessary, Why It's Possible, What It's All About , put this very powerfully. He said, and I'm paraphrasing: Denying women the right to abortion is like rape. It is the forcible control of women, of their bodies, of their lives, of everything about them, by a male supremacist, male-dominated society. It's worth it to look at El Salvador, which is a vision of where we are headed if we don't stop this. Abortion there is illegal in all circumstances and women are jailed for having abortions or even miscarriages deemed "suspicious" by the state, and doctors and nurses are required to turn in women who are suspected of aborting fetuses, and if they don't those doctors and nurses will be sent to prison. Young people don't remember when abortion was illegal. And it's very important that people who do remember help young people understand what it was like, but also all of us must understand that if this right is taken away again, it's going to be even worse than that, because of the ideological assault, because of the level of surveillance and criminalization... it's going to be worse than before Roe v. Wade . The other thing that's very important is: people who've had abortions more recently also need to tell those stories. On the tour we'll be collecting and amplifying these stories as part of destigmatizing abortion. Revolution : You've sketched a picture of this very dangerous emergency situation threatening the right to abortion. Yet there's not a commensurate movement of tens and hundreds of thousands and millions of people taking to the streets to stop this. Can you speak to this? Taylor: Well, I think there's three major things involved. First, there's just tremendous ignorance. Even most people who sense that things are getting bad, who maybe are sending extra donations to Planned Parenthood or whatever because they see it is losing its funding (which must be opposed!), don't really understand how bad it is. And this ignorance of the actual situation is owing fundamentally to the next two factors. The second thing is that we've been living through several decades of reactionary assault overall and revenge against the advances made by women in the 60s and 70s in particular. Let's not forget that the idea that women are full human beings is very new, historically speaking. Millions of people fought heroically for this--millions did so in the context of the great revolutionary struggles of the last century in the Soviet Union and China, even as they had shortcomings in how they went at this they brought about radical and liberating changes for women as well as people as a whole. In the 1960s and '70s in this country there were very powerful revolutionary upsurges of the 1960s overall and the women's liberation movement was a very important element of that. But the revolutions in the Soviet Union and later in China were defeated and reversed. And revolution in this country was never made. So, the advances that were won could not be sustained and this system set about--both through its spontaneous functioning as well as through its conscious policy--to take revenge against the people for daring to have risen up. This has included a very conscious and extremely vicious revenge against women for having dared to challenge thousands of years of traditions chains. This is not a "backlash" because people "went too far." This is revenge, precisely because people didn't go far enough and the capitalist-imperialist system that has patriarchy and male-domination woven into its fabric and its functioning remained intact. And in the face of the ebbing of the radical upsurges and a vicious wave of counter-revolution, the most radical and even revolutionary streams of the women's liberation movement got isolated and also ran up against big challenges they weren't able to fully navigate. At the same time, the streams which had always been more bourgeois in their orientation (that is, more aimed at fighting for women to be equally included at every level--including the top levels of politics, finance, and military--of this system of exploitation and oppression) were absorbed pretty wholesale into the Democratic Party. And through all this, the Democratic Party (or the various forces whose leadership has been closely wedded to the Democratic Party like NARAL or Planned Parenthood) came to be seen as the only "real" outlet for those concerned about women's oppressed status. This is a deadly illusion and a deadly trap--and this has had a tremendously demobilizing and disorienting effect on several generations now. I mean, the Christian fascist assault that's been unleashed really got going under Reagan, and it went to new levels under Bush the Second, and a lot of the new attacks have been driven by these totally outlandish lunatic Republican fascists. But this, fundamentally, has never been simply a "Republican war on women." It is the system's war on women--and the Democrats, while having real differences with it, and real opposition to some elements of it--have continuously conceded more and more ground to this assault. I mean, who would have thought even 10 years ago we would be fighting over birth control! And the Democratic Party leadership has really led in demobilizing the people who support abortion, putting them on the political and moral defensive. Hillary Clinton called abortion "tragic." Bill Clinton said it should be "safe, legal, and rare ," implying that there's something wrong with it. And then you have Obama, who has over and over sought "common ground" with fascists and religious fanatics. Plus, he seems to have a real personal jones against Plan B contraception (often called the morning-after pill). The FDA approved it for over-the-counter distribution, but then Obama's head of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius overruled that. That over-ruling was challenged in court, but then the Obama administration challenged it back. So, people have lost the sense of the need--and the possibility--of relying on ourselves and waging fierce mass political struggle to defeat this war on women--which is the ONLY way it can be defeated. Third, and this flows from what I was just describing, there have been major setbacks in terms of the political and ideological and moral and scientific understanding of people around abortion. It is positive and liberating for women to be able to choose abortion. It is utterly immoral, illegitimate, and vicious and cruel and women-hating to force women to have children that they don't want. But, there's a lot of defensiveness around this and a big tendency for pro-choice people to focus on things like "Oh, what about a woman who's raped?" or "What about a woman whose life is in danger? Shouldn't we have an exception for her?" Of course women like that should be able to get abortions, and the fact that a lot of the restrictions don't make exceptions for rape or for incest or for the life of the woman--this just exposes how vicious and hate-filled the anti-abortion movement is. But at the core, the truth has to be told: this fight is about the status and role of women in society. It's NOT about babies. Fetuses have the potential to become people, but they are a subordinate part of a woman's body and they don't have a separate biological existence or a separate social existence. But that woman is a human being. Fetuses don't have rights. Fetuses are not people. Women are human beings. That's why our lead slogan on our statement and this Freedom Ride is: Abortion on Demand and Without Apology. A number of people have told us, "You can't say that in North Dakota. I personally agree with you. But it won't get over in North Dakota. (Or in South Dakota, or Midwest, Mississippi, whatever.)" But we've seen that there's a section of people, and I believe that there's many thousands, probably many tens of thousands of people, for whom right now, when they hear this, they're like, "Yes, that's right." The idea is not that you're going to move millions of people overnight on this. You're going to speak to millions of people. But we're going to mobilize those people who have the most anger and the most clarity, and we're going to give them the ideological and moral certitude, and the scientific grounding. And also we're going to fight in a way that models refusing to accept any of this degradation, shame, enslavement, or oppression of women in any form. And we are going to lead those thousands of people to step forward and fight around this with us. And that's going to have a huge effect on them, as well as a huge effect on changing how millions more are seeing this. So, I think these three things come together. But what's not so visible to people is that if there is political leadership and clarity and a force that is daring to fight against it and put something on the line to stop this; there's millions and millions of people who can, and who really must, be brought forward to defeat this war on women. Those of us doing this Freedom Ride are prepared and determined to be that force and bring forward and lead those millions. Revolution: As you have been out there building for this Abortion Rights Freedom Ride, what kinds of responses have you been getting? Taylor: We've just begun. And we've gotten a very positive response from a number of people who have spent decades on the front lines of this fight around abortion rights and providing services. We've been in touch with a number of very courageous abortion providers who have been giving us quite a bit of insight and helping make connections in the areas we'll be traveling through. Also, David Gunn, Jr., the son of David Gunn who was the first abortion doctor to be assassinated, recently wrote a very powerful piece about why, from his own experience and perspective, he is supporting this freedom ride called "I Won't Back Down." Then, the day we put it up online, Sikivu Hutchinson who does two Black free-thinking, feminist blogs, signed and posted the statement we put out (" Abortion on Demand & Without Apology for Every Woman in Every State: The Reversal of Abortion and Birth Control Rights Must Stop Now! "), as did PZ Myers who has the most popular science blog in the world. Within 24 hours, over 350 more people signed. And a very significant thing is that many left comments that picked up on the most uncompromising parts of the statement like, "Women are not incubators," and "Forced motherhood is female enslavement," or "Abortion on demand and without apology." Some said straight up, "Thank you for finally putting this out so clearly and sharply!" This is a very powerful, if still beginning, indication that there are people out there who want to see this fascist shit called out, and who have been waiting for something like this. We want to publish this statement in North Dakota when we're there. The statement calls out the state of emergency. It also clarifies the moral high ground on this question. It says very bluntly that yes, the country is divided over the question of abortion. And that makes sense, because abortion really concentrates how you view women. Are women fundamentally incubators and breeders of children, or are women full human beings? If they're full human beings, they have the right to decide for themselves when and whether they have children. Forcing women to have children against their will is a form of enslavement. So the statement cuts through that. The fight around abortion has never been about babies. The whole anti-abortion movement is set on restoring a whole view of women that has been around for thousands of years, with the cult of virginity up until marriage that then gets morphed into the cult of motherhood and obedience to the husband. If you need proof of this, just look at the fact that they all [anti-abortion movement] oppose birth control. The leaders of this movement are rooted in the Bible where woman (Eve) is blamed for the so-called "original sin" of tempting Adam out of the Garden of Eden. According to this myth of the Bible, everything bad that has ever happened to human beings since then is because of this--it is all Eve's (woman's) fault. And the only way women can redeem themselves for this supposedly "great crime" is to obey their husbands and to bear children. It says it right in the Bible, in Timothy 2:13-15. So this is why they are so opposed to women having access to abortion, and it's also why they all oppose birth control. Their real goal is to slam women back into a Dark Ages role. Revolution : The war on women involves other aspects, in particular the whole culture of pornography, which keeps on getting more cruel, violent, and degrading toward women. So how do these different elements relate? Taylor: We have identified a real state of emergency around abortion rights, and that is the leading edge of what StopPatriarchy is initiating this summer, and uniting people very broadly to fight against that. At the same time, it's important to pull back the lens and look at what this is part of. Anywhere you look on the globe, the question of the role and status of women is assuming ever more acute expression. Women are straining to enter into realms that have been for centuries and millennia closed off to women, in the workforce, education, public life. politics, and the media. At the same time, everywhere on the globe there's an intensifying of violence and degradation against women that's being unleashed. Look at the epidemic of gang rape in India and Brazil and really all over the world; or the Islamic fundamentalism that is growing in huge parts of the world, with the shrouding of women, the imprisoning of women in the homes, the raping, the honor killings of women; or look at the way that women's advance fought for in the '60s and '70s has been turned back. The sexual revolution, for instance, in this country had a very positive overall thrust to it--women casting off the shame around their sexuality, asserting for the first time in thousands of years that their sexuality was not something to be owned by men but to be experienced by women themselves on their terms and in ways that were mutually pleasurable and mutually respectful, whether with men or women or whatever. But then it and the whole movement of the times didn't go as far as it needed to go. We didn't have a revolution and this system remained intact. And so those movements ebbed, and the system really did set to work, consciously as well as spontaneously through its workings, to turn that sexual freedom into further commodification of women's bodies and the more open and vicious and mainstreaming of sexualized degradation and patriarchal male-dominated terms. So you have the mainstreaming of very cruel and violent and humiliating and degrading pornography. And this goes along with the trade in women as chattel, as sex slaves in the sex industry all over the world in the millions and millions. And these are not just surface phenomena; these things are driven by very profound shifts taking place in the world: mass migrations caused by imperialist penetration ever more deeply into the Third World, the growth of huge slums, the ravages of war, technological developments, as well as the struggles of people in many different ways. All these very huge changes have both undermined many traditional forms of life and many traditional forms of patriarchy, while at the same time produced immense suffering and insecurity which, in turn, has contributed significantly towards what really can only be called a revenge--a hate-filled, violent, and dehumanizing revenge--against women. So StopPatriarchy is addressing the way this is sharpening up in this country and makes the sharp point: there really is no fundamental difference between reducing women to breeders, to objects just for turning out babies, and reducing women to sex objects to be plundered and humiliated and used and abused for the sexual titillation of men. That's all part of a package of a real revenge against women. We're fighting all of that. And precisely because of how profound these shifts are and how many people are being profoundly affected by them, we see the basis for millions and millions of people to be led to stand up and fight against all this. So, that is where StopPatriarchy is coming from, even as right now we are taking responsibility for bringing together broad forces, including some who maybe don't fully agree with us on pornography, for example, to stand up right now against these growing assaults on abortion rights. Revolution : I wonder if you could speak specifically to the claim that is made that abortion clinics target women of color--Black and Latino women, in particular--and that abortion among Black and Latino women is a form of genocide? Taylor: So, yeah, in the anti-abortion movement there has been a campaign over several decades, but really intensifying over the last couple of years, to equate abortion among Black people and Latinos as a form of self-genocide. There have been billboards put up all over the country that say, "The most dangerous place for a Black youth is in its mother's womb." They are seizing on the fact that Black and Latino women have higher rates of abortion than white women to accuse Black and Latino women of carrying out genocide against their babies. This is one of the most vicious and hateful campaigns. First of all it's a lie. A Black woman, a Latino woman, any woman who chooses to terminate a pregnancy is not killing a baby. That's just a fact: fetuses are NOT babies. Fetuses of Black women are NOT Black babies. Fetuses of Latino women are not Latino babies. All those fetuses are subordinate parts of the woman's body. And when a woman voluntarily undergoes an abortion, that is just her making a decision over her own reproduction and her life as a whole. Her right to do this is a positive thing. And the anti-abortion movement is against sex education and against birth control, so they don't really get any right to fucking speak about this. Even more fundamentally, I don't care how many abortions a woman gets or how often it goes on among any particular section of women, if women don't have the right to determine for themselves when and whether they will have children, they are not free. And if women are not free, then no one is free--and this applies to oppressed peoples as well, if Black women are enslaved to their reproduction, if they are reduced to breeders and forced to have children against their wills, then there is no way that Black people as a whole can get free. So I reject the whole notion that there is something negative about women getting abortions--at whatever rate--when they feel they need them. If there are social conditions of life that compel a woman to terminate a pregnancy when she would have wanted to bring it to full term, those conditions and the source of them need to be fought, but that is very different than forcing them to reproduce! Women's role is not to "make babies"--it is to "hold up half the sky" (as they used to say in revolutionary China) to join together with men to rise up against all the many forms of oppression and exploitation, to be just as involved in learning about and fighting to change the whole world, and to be treated with respect and equality by men in this whole process and in every realm. Having said that, we do have to come back to the fact that this is America. There is not only a whole history of the most horrific and brutal oppression of Black people and Latinos and Native Americans and other oppressed peoples right here within these borders (and this goes along with the subjugation of whole nations and peoples by the U.S. around the world), this oppression continues and is intensifying today. One of the forms this has taken is the coercive sterilization of oppressed women. There is a whole history of Puerto Rican women, Black women, Native American women, and other oppressed-nationality women within this country being coerced or outright forced into undergoing sterilization. Sometimes a woman would be in labor without insurance and the hospital would only deliver her baby if she signed papers agreeing to be sterilized. Sometimes women were told they would lose their welfare benefits if they didn't undergo sterilization. A lot of times women weren't even told anything. At one point, not all that long ago, something like 20-30 percent of all women of child-bearing age among these oppressed groupings had been sterilized. Now, that is a form of the system preventing a whole section of people from being able to reproduce. That is racist; frankly it's genocidal. But that is very, very different--it is a world apart--from women among the oppressed deciding for themselves which pregnancies to carry to term and which ones they do not want to continue. And today one of the main forms this oppression is taking--speaking of genocide--is the actual genocide of mass incarceration, criminalization, caste-like segregation of the formerly incarcerated, and rampant police terror, brutality and murder. In response to the lie that has been blasted on that billboard I just mentioned, you want to know where the most dangerous place for a Black youth is? For Ramarley Graham, it was walking into his own home when police decided to chase after him and shoot him dead in front of his grandmother and his little brother. For Trayvon Martin, it was walking home from the corner store while wearing a hoodie. For Aiyana Stanley-Jones, it was sleeping on the couch with her grandmother when the police shot through the door and killed her at seven years old. Every 40 hours the police murder a Black person in this country. And then there are the gang-injunctions and stop-and-frisk and the whole cradle-to-prison pipeline--that is what is stealing the future of our Black and brown youth. These fascists who put up these billboards and make these claims, they never talk about any of this--and because they don't, they are actually covering for the real genocide that is going on, directing oppressed people's attention away from the system and towards further blaming and shaming the very women hit hardest in many ways by this system. And then all this blame and shame against Black and Latino women is used as a bludgeon to further strip all women of the right to abortion. So, this kind of shit really must not be tolerated--and the influence of this ideological poison (especially its influence among sections of Black and Latino masses of people) has to be fought and turned around. Revolution: Are there any final words you want to leave people with, coming back to what is immediately posed as you and others get ready for this Abortion Rights Freedom Ride? Taylor: Returning to the whole, it really is a very urgent situation that women are facing and it is not going to just go away on its own. Bob Avakian put it very scientifically a number of years ago when he said that the question and role of the oppression of women is posing itself more and more acutely and it is inconceivable that it will be resolved on anything other than very radical terms. What is yet to be determined is whether that will be a radically reactionary resolution--and we can see the dimensions of that being hammered into place around us--or in radical revolutionary terms, which is also very possible but will require tremendous courage and conviction and scientific leadership and struggle and sacrifice to bring into being. And how this gets resolved has very high stakes for--and will interpenetrate with--the struggle to put an end to all other forms of oppression and exploitation. What happens around this, which way this gets resolved, is not scripted. In a very real way, how this unfolds, what resolution we get--really, what kind of future generations of women and young girls are going to come up into--depends on what we do. So what is posed for us very acutely right now is the need to step out there and take on and beat back this fascist assault on women with the aim of changing how millions in this country are viewing this critical issue. We need to unite with and lead many, many others coming from many different perspectives to do this--from getting out there in the streets with us, to telling their abortion story, to going down to the local clinic to escort, to sending money to support those who are going on the Freedom Ride, to offering legal support, to many, many other ways. And any and all of us who understand the pressing need to fight for the full equality and liberation of women need in the course of this to build up the organization and influence of the movement to End Pornography and Patriarchy: The Enslavement and Degradation of Women as it takes on the entire war on women, including with its focus on pornography and the sale of women's bodies as well. And, at the same time as all of this--and fundamentally this will strengthen the basis to do what I was just speaking about and it is the only way any of this will ultimately contribute to the emancipation of humanity as a whole--getting into it with people and revealing how all these horrors flow from this system of capitalism-imperialism and the kind of revolution we need, and the leadership we have, to put an end to this system and all the nightmares it brings for humanity once and for all. If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.

First of all, to understand why we're doing this, we have to confront the fact that abortion rights in this country right now are in an absolute state of emergency. There is an all-sided, many-fronted assault on women's right to abortion and even birth control.

One of the first patients who came to our family-planning clinic in Billings, Mont., newly opened in 1969, sought help after she and her boyfriend had hitchhiked 500 miles from Billings to Colorado to terminate a pregnancy. Colorado was one of the five states where abortions could be legally obtained. They had heard about Colorado through his older sister, and were able to borrow enough money for the procedure but not enough for a bus ticket. She was 17, unmarried and so desperate to return home before anyone missed her that she did not stay for her follow-up appointment. Now she came to us for follow-up care, as well as birth control. Although I was the mother of five children and a graduate of the Duke University School of Nursing, and had taught in two nursing schools, I knew little about abortion. Our patient was afraid to go to her family doctor because she was not sure what was legal or illegal. And neither was I. But I did know we could not prescribe her birth control -- it was against the law for anyone under 18. At the time, there were eight OB/GYNs in town. None of them would provide birth control to an unmarried woman; some wouldn't provide it to anyone. Condoms, referred to as "sex-inciting devices" in the Montana constitution, had to be dispensed by a pharmacist. Abortion, obviously, was forbidden in most places. For three decades, I worked as a nurse practitioner and director of Planned Parenthood clinics across Montana. I marched dozens of times for women's rights, counseled hundreds of women about their options, housed at least 10 pregnant girls who had been kicked out of their homes and accompanied them to the delivery room. Some of them kept their babies; others chose adoption. The hardest times were when we had to inform women that certain tests had come back positive, that they needed to visit a physician for a biopsy. Before and after my retirement in 2001, there have been political attempts to control the work we did. With the recent announcement that President Trump is reviving a rule to deny federal Title X family-planning funds to organizations that provide abortions or make abortion referrals, the battle continues. In 1970, we were able to expand our clinical services thanks to a grant under Title X, which provides funding for contraception, breast and pelvic exams, breast and cervical cancer screenings, education, and counseling, among other things. We followed the regulations scrupulously, even though some made no sense. We could teach teenage boys and girls about reproduction and sexually transmitted diseases, but we couldn't provide them with medical services or contraceptives. We were required to perform a pap smear on every woman who came to us for the pill, which led many of our patients to believe that birth control must somehow be linked to cancer. After the Supreme Court ruled in 1973 that women had a right to obtain an abortion wherever they lived, the board of our family-planning clinic considered opening an abortion clinic. The deciding factor was geography: It takes two days to drive across Montana, the fourth-largest state. We wanted women to have access to the services they needed. Thus began the fundraising to open four clinics across the state. We adjusted to every regulation that came across our desk and made every accommodation for what we could and couldn't say. We strictly divided the clinics so that not a penny of Title X funding was ever spent on abortion activities: two phone lines, two different staffs, two accounting systems. It wasn't easy, and it wasn't cost-effective. But we followed the rules. Two of our clinics were burned down. Patients and staff members were harassed. The FBI advised the physicians and me to wear bulletproof vests. The doctors did, but I did not: If I lived in a place where I could be shot because I was providing care to our patients, so be it. We went to court many times. One memorable instance: Abortion opponents claimed that because our clinics received state funds, everything we did was open to the public, and they wanted our patients' records. We won that one. And of course, there were the picketers, five or six a day every day. Some picketed our homes. Before Roe v. Wade , they picketed us for providing birth control. After, it was for abortion. I never could get angry at them. They had their beliefs, and they were willing to stand outside in subzero weather to protest. I don't know that I could do that. I certainly didn't want them to harass our patients. But they could harass me. That was their right, and I didn't resent them for it. We even treated some of their family members -- more than once, people who picketed later came in with their pregnant daughters for abortions. We never chastised them for it. I was never stopped by picketers while out in public, but I certainly was -- and am still -- stopped by former patients who want to say thank you. I was at Costco last weekend, and a woman approached me. "You probably don't remember me," she said. It's a common occurrence for me and other people in my line of work. I had hoped the political conversation around abortion would fade. I had hoped that people who were firmly against abortion could take comfort in knowing that they would never be forced to have one. But our politicians have never let it fade. And yet women still want and need abortions. In a perfect world, no one would need one. Birth control would be perfect, finances would be perfect. But that's not how it is. It's hard to know what will happen to clinics, or the women who rely on them, with this new regulation. There aren't many physicians who are willing to provide abortions -- they don't want to be picketed -- and community health centers don't provide abortions. Wealthy women will always be able to secure abortions at private clinics that don't receive Title X funds. But what about the women who don't have the resources or the know-how, who can't travel long distances ? Long ago, almost every town had someone who would perform abortions. In one small Montana city, everyone knew who it was: a local beautician. Before Roe , many women tried to self-induce abortions -- with coat hangers, crochet hooks, knitting needles, lye soap -- and they will go back to that if they can't access the medical care they need. A desperate 17-year-old might be able to hitchhike 500 miles to get a safe, legal abortion, but a poor pregnant woman already struggling to feed her family won't make that journey -- not when a back-alley abortion is so much closer.

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Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage claims that his organization wants a respectful discussion as to the merits of being against marriage equality. However based on the actions of NOM - and the organizations it is partnering with in New York and Minnesota - one can't help but to question the veracity of Brown's statement. So far: NOM has put out a misleading commercial in New York touting a claim that the organization knows is discredited. The organization has also blanketed the state with flyers designed to imply that gays want to use marriage equality to corrupt the innocence of children. Brown himself, during a rally, made the erroneous claim that Massachusetts kindergartners are being taught that their parents are bigots if said parents favor opposite-sex marriage. And these awful missives of inaccuracy and misdirection aren't confined solely to NOM. The organizations NOM is partnering with to fight marriage equality are also guilty of several dubious actions. In Minnesota, the Minnesota Family Council spread inaccurate information via its site that gays engage in pedophilia, bestiality, and the consuming of urine and feces. It also cited the work of discredited physician Paul Cameron. Since this discovery became public, the Minnesota Family Council has scrubbed these references from its site, however, you can still view the information and save it from here . To top it off, even though the items were removed, the head of the Minnesota Family Council, Tom Pritchard, actually defended the material: Prichard defends the postings as getting "into the nature of homosexuality and homosexual behavior," but says that won't be the focus of his group's efforts to pass the constitutional ban. "The focus of this campaign is the nature and purpose of marriage -- not a referendum of homosexuality per se, or its lifestyle activities and behaviors," he says. "I would see that as a separate issue." And it gets more interesting in New York. A group aiding NOM in that state, The Family Research Foundation, is encouraging supporters to write letters to the editor demonizing lgbts. And the organization has the gall to provide prospective writers with several form letters, meaning that all they have to do is sign their name. You can view the letters here . One letter is below: The letter implies that the lgbt orientation is as dangerous as cigarette smoking. This theory was originally espoused by the discredited researcher Paul Cameron, the very man whose material the Minnesota Family Council scrubbed from its page. Some folks may read this post and get frustrated. They may say things like "whatever NOM and its allies are doing, it's working because they are winning" or "we are losing because we aren't fighting fire with fire." But I disagree with both points. Sometimes exposing a lie to sunlight is the best thing you can do. Whatever battles NOM have won are transitory at best and, when it's all said and done, will not be remembered when marriage equality becomes legal. What will be remembered are the lies, the hypocrisy, the blatant inaccuracies committed in the name of God by NOM and its partners. And hopefully those who follow our footsteps will take that behavior as a lesson of what not to do when claiming to work for morality. But when looking at the Minnesota Family Council's webpage, one gets the impression that that organization's stance against gay marriage is less to do with "preserving marriage," but rather adhering to the monstrous stereotypes which lgbts have had to endure for years. The following inaccurate statistics connecting the lgbt community with bestiality, pedophilia, urine, and feces come from Answers to Gay Rights Arguments , which is included Minnesota Family Council 's webpage: That's right. NOM is partnering with an organization which pushes discredited Paul Cameronesque lies about the lgbt community. And just so you know, the organization does cite Paul Cameron's group - the Family Research Institute - specifically in the section of its webpage called Gay Rights: You will remember, of course, that the Family Research Institute has been called a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center for pushing ugly propaganda against the lgbt community. The irony of the entire thing is that one of the main complaints/talking points of NOM is that it has been unfairly labeled as a bigoted organization for its stance against gay marriage. The question here is how can NOM continue to voice this complaint/talking point if it does not disavow the anti-gay lies of its coalition partner? And we all know that NOM will not disavow these lies. Folks wishing to donate in order to defeat these lies can go here. Related post: Time for NOM to work it's 'gays recruit children' lies in Minnesota This is sad. The National Organization for Marriage is constantly talking about how marriage is sacred and how its "traditional definition" of being between a man and a woman needs to be saved. If this the case, why is the organization channeling Anita Bryant's "gays want to recruit children" lie through the following nasty flyer. It's being sent out to New Yorkers as that state grapples with the concept of allowing gay marriage. NOM Mail Piece For the record, I've already talked about the lies posted in this flyer The only truthful point is the part about gay history in school curriculum. But that has nothing to do with marriage equality, but with building up the self-esteem of lgbt students. And there is nothing wrong with that. BUT there is a lot wrong with this flyer. Incredible. How is it that NOM's Maggie Gallagher praises the lgbt community in front of Congressional committees because of our parenting skill while her subordinates send out little portents of doom implying that the push for marriage equality is really a ruse for lgbts to "recruit" children? NOM is definitely speaking with a forked tongue.

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Connie Mark 2, CONvergence's supreme overlord. Did I say overlord? I meant mascot. Despite the familiar smell of spray glue for costume armor, the familiar sight of glitter everywhere and the familiar feel of getting blindsided by some would-be dragon's wings, CONvergence-- the sci-fi and fantasy convention --feels less like a sci-fi convention and more like a geeky, 7000-person family reunion. "For me, this is a community, even if we're only together for four days a year," said Jen Manna, a CONvergence operations sub-head and part of the small army of volunteers who run the Minneapolis convention. It's also a study in contrasts, like the one between the this year's dystopian theme, "Double Plus Good," and the many panels on social justice, like "Genre Feminism" and "That Elf Seems Awfully Queer to Me." Even the requisite how-to-date-at-a-con panel -- CONvergence is known as a party convention -- was called "Enthusiastic Consent!" Consent consent consent. Helpful tips at CONvergence. Manna moderated a panel called "Beyond the Code of Conduct" dealing with making convention culture more accessible to all audiences. One topic was the evolution of harassment policies. "The culture has changed, and that's awesome, and it's gotten really comfortable for me personally as someone who has been harassed a lot at conventions," said Jackie Moore, a six-year CONvergence veteran. "It's definitely worth it to make sure that an anti-harassment policy is all-encompassing and a little more detailed." Manna said it's something the organizers are working on. It's not the first time: According to Manna, CONvergence was the first convention to start a "Costumes Are Not Consent" campaign. "We wanted something that was an easy and nonthreatening way of saying 'Hey! Think before you act!'" Manna said. "So we put up these posters." From there, she said, it spread to other conventions, particularly with help from the Skepchicks, who frequent CONvergence. Now it's global. "Someone posted a picture of a 'Costumes Are Not Consent' poster in an Australian convention in Sydney," Manna said. "Costumes Are Not Consent" poster at CONvergence, along with the equally-ubiquitous Safe Space poster. Still, there are areas where CONvergence still has a long way to go. Anthony Padilla, a 3-year con veteran, said race was one of them. "I have to admit to some frustration," Padilla said. "CONvergence is very open as far as sexuality, but it seems like that's the only kind of diversity that's acknowledged." He recalled attending in years past, where he noticed "the only people I was seeing of ethnic diversity were the non-English-speaking cleaning crews. Basically I just saw white folk." However, Padilla said that has begun to improve this year. "I'll say this, there's actually a lot more diverse people," he said. "There's diverse people on the panels." Lee Blauersouth, who has attended every CONvergence except the first, agreed. "I almost didn't go the Agent Carter panel yesterday," Blauersouth said. "Because I love that show, but it was a race fail. I was afraid I was going to go down there, and someone was going to point that out, and a bunch of white people were going to go "black people didn't exist in the '40s!" I was pleasantly surprised, because that did happen, and (the guy) got shut down immediately." Kris George, who said she's been at CONvergence since it began, said the positive changes in racial and ethnic diversity have only happened recently. She credits rising inclusivity in geek media for making the culture more accessible, which, in turn, raises diversity at the convention. "There's actually a lot more cultural diversity than there used to be," George said. "Some black attendees are bringing their friends, and they're like, 'There's black superheroes! And there's costumes and characters!" Still, all on the panel said the con -- and geek culture -- has a ways to go, and it's a frontier they're still reaching for. "I think a lot of changes that need to happen in terms of being more inclusive and more accessible need to happen at the structural level," Moore said. "We need to move beyond panels." Left to Right: Lee Blauersouth, Kris George, Anthony Padilla and Jen Manna make up three-fourths of the "Beyond the Code of Conduct" panel on inclusivity at CONvergence 2015 in Minneapolis. Not pictured: Jackie Moore. This is not to say that social justice was the only topic of discussion at CONvergence. Panels like "How I Would Destroy The World With Science" outnumbered the social justice panels by about five to one, and that doesn't take into account the movie rooms, crafts, art show, gaming, vendors and everything else one expects out of a con. But that's the rub: When a con has so many activities, there's bound to be something for everyone -- and if there isn't, the volunteers are working to fix that. Steve Musal is a journalist, a feminist, and a life-long geek and manages to balance those things just fine, thanks. Follow him on Twitter at @stevemusal . (featured image via CONvergence) --Please make note of The Mary Sue's general comment policy .-- Do you follow The Mary Sue on Twitter , Facebook , Tumblr , Pinterest , & Google + ?

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CHRIS MATTHEWS : How does this president regain his historic, heroic stature which he had? I'm not saying he was ever super popular with more than 50-some-percent of the country, but he was seen as a hero to a lot of people. I think he's lost that for a while and I'm trying to figure out how does he champion the election and re-election of his friends in the Senate especially in the south in red states, and that's what we're talking about here, even in the case of Kentucky, Georgia, Louisiana, Arkansas, North Carolina, all red states. How does he go down there? Like today he is visiting North Carolina and talked about employment. And Kay Hagan says she is in Washington, too busy to join him. It's only an hour ride in a plane. It has been more than two weeks since ISIL seized control of Fallujah and half of Ramadi and as far as I can tell the Iraqi government is no closer to taking them back. Via France 24 : A wave of bomb attacks in Iraq, including a series of coordinated car bombings in Baghdad, killed at least 46 people on Wednesday as Islamist militants took more territory from Iraqi security forces in Anbar province. Authorities are grappling with Iraq's worst period of unrest since the country emerged from a sectarian war that killed tens of thousands, just months before landmark parliamentary elections. ... In Anbar province, Iraqi forces lost more ground as Sunni gunmen, including those linked to al Qaeda, overran two key areas when police abandoned their posts. The losses mark a second day of setbacks for government forces and their tribal allies as they try to retake territory on the capital's doorstep from militants who hold all of the former insurgent bastion of Fallujah and parts of the nearby provincial capital, Ramadi. The crisis marks the first time militants have exercised such open control in major cities since the height of the insurgency that followed the US-led invasion of 2003. "We gave ourselves up, and we gave up our arms to Daash," one policemen, who did not want to be named, told AFP from the town of Saqlawiyah, referring to the commonly used Arabic name for the al Qaeda-linked group ISIL. "They have very heavy arms, which are much stronger than what we have. Our police station was not very well-protected, and they surrounded us. Even when we called for support, nobody came . Now, some of us have gone home, others have gone to other police stations," he said. Militants overran the police station in Saqlawiyah, a town just west of Fallujah, and took control of the entire area after using mosque loudspeakers to urge policemen to abandon their posts and their weapons. They also retook the station and surrounding neighbourhood of Malaab, a major district in Ramadi, after security forces trumpeted their successes in the area just days earlier. "If you reduce the role of money in politics and increase the level of civility in the debate, more women will run for office," Pelosi pointed out. "And that's a very wholesome thing." MSNBC Chief Phil Griffin is accepting responsibility for a spate of recent gaffes that have led to anchor apologies and exits at the news network. "These were judgment calls made by some of our people," Griffin tells THR. "We quickly took responsibility for them and took action. They were unfortunate, but I'm not going to allow these specific moments of lack of judgment to define us." The embarrassments began when host Alec Baldwin was caught on camera allegedly using a gay slur. Baldwin parted ways with MSNBC on Nov. 26 after only five shows. Eight days later, hostMartin Bashir resigned after criticism for a crude scatological suggestion involving Sarah Palin. Weekend host Melissa Harris-Perry is still at MSNBC after a heartfelt apology for ridiculing Mitt Romney's adopted black grandson during a Dec. 28 segment. [...] Griffin is known as a hands-off manager, but MSNBC disputes a report that star host Rachel Maddowis taking a role in management decisions and that an executive has been asked to review scripts in the wake of the gaffes. "We don't rely on one person to look at all scripts -- there are too many scripts," says Griffin, adding that he meets with producers daily. "Of course I've talked to everybody in the building about it -- and we move on. Some of these mistakes are being played out far more inside the media world. I don't think it hurt us in any way." That's how we roll here in the People's Republic. MEDFORD -- State Representative Carlos Henriquez was sentenced to serve six months in Middlesex County House of Correction today after he was convicted of charges that he choked and punched an Arlington woman he was dating in July 2012. A Cambridge District Court jury convicted Henriquez on two assault and battery charges, but acquitted Henriquez, a Dorchester Democrat, of a third assault and battery charge, one count of intimidation of a witness, and one count of larceny under $250. The victim, Katherine Gonzalves, testified about the events that unfolded on July 8, 2012, and underwent a rigorous cross-examination by Henriquez's defense attorney, Stephanie Soriano-Mills. Following the verdict, Judge Michele Hogan expressed concern that Henriquez was not accepting responsibility for the actions the jury convicted him of. Speaking from the bench, she also told him that he should have ended his interactions with Gonzalves early that morning when she told him she was not interested in having intimate relations. [...] Henriquez joins a roster of Democratic state lawmakers convicted of crimes in recent years. Former senator Anthony D. Galluccio of Cambridge was jailed in 2010 for violating the terms of his house arrest by drinking alcohol after he was involved in a hit-and-run accident; former senator J. James Marzilli Jr. of Arlington was convicted in 2011 of accosting a woman; former senator Dianne Wilkerson of Boston was sent to federal prison in 2011 for taking bribes; and former House speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi is serving an eight-year prison sentence after he was convicted of conspiracy, fraud and extortion in 2011. Fort Carson soldiers in Kuwait are keeping a wary eye on Iraqi unrest as they work to train America's allies in the region. Soldiers with the 2nd Brigade Combat Team are preparing for three major training exercises in the next 40 days, with the biggest matching their tanks against a Kuwaiti battalion. The training allows the 3,800-soldier unit to fulfill its mission of helping America's friends while honing skills that leaders hope deter threats in the roiling region. "It has taken on increased significance and meaning, many of us in the brigade are veterans of Iraq," said Col. Omar Jones, brigade commander and a veteran of fighting in Fallujah, Baghdad and Mosul. The brigade deployed to Kuwait in the fall, replacing Fort Carson's 1st Brigade Combat Team for a nine-month stint. Keeping Fort Carson troops at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, near the Iraqi border is seen as a safeguard against violence that could spread beyond Iraq. The Colorado Springs soldiers also are the nation's first responders if trouble arises in the Persian Gulf region. While Pentagon leaders in recent days have dismissed the idea of using U.S. troops to help quell violence in Iraq, they have been sending piles of equipment to the Iraqi military. The Iraqi strife is centered on the western Anbar province and is thought to be tied to border-crossing Syrian militants with ties to Al Qaida. Iraq remains a top concern, but most of the brigade's work is focused on training -- old school training that's focused on armored battles rather than guerrilla warfare. The military's training regimen has shifted in recent months to fighting that could come after America's role in the war in Afghanistan ends. "We're focused at being experts at our tanks, experts at our Bradley and experts at our Paladins," Jones said Tuesday in a telephone interview. With temperatures staying at what locals call frigid -- in the 60s and 70s -- winter is the best time for desert warfare training. In a couple of months, the mercury could top 120 degrees. Buerhing, located in the baby-powder sand near Kuwait's Udari Range training area, offers an endless supply of desert terrain. Troops also work on keeping the brigade safe from cross-border attacks and terrorist strikes that remain a concern in the region. Jones wouldn't talk specifics about security. "I will say that I feel very comfortable and satisfied that we're taking the right force protection," he said. When they're not training, the brigade's soldiers can relax on a post that offers good food, recreation opportunities and Internet and phone service to keep them connected with their families. "This is the best quality of life we have seen on a deployment," Jones said. In addition to training with Kuwaiti troops, the soldiers are getting the chance to know Kuwaiti civilians, with occasional field trips to coastal Kuwait City, known as one of the most modern cities in the Gulf region. "It is an absolutely amazing place," Jones said. The biggest distraction for soldiers? The National Football League playoffs. Jones said his brigade is loaded with soldiers from Colorado and others who have adopted the Denver Broncos as their home team during their time at Fort Carson. Halfway across the globe, games start at midnight in Kuwait and the final gun comes in the wee hours of the morning. But the time difference hasn't kept soldiers away from the television. Sunday's AFC championship is expected to draw a crowd at the desert base. "There will be a lot of weary eyes from soldiers staying up to watch the game," Jones said. No more jihad for you. Mustafa al-Gharib, a 22-year-old Canadian-born Muslim convert who left Calgary for Syria in November 2012, has been killed by Free Syrian Army (FSA) forces during rebel infighting, CBC News has confirmed. Jabhat al-Nusra was designated a terrorist group by the Canadian government in November 2013. The first public indication of al-Gharib's death came on social media on Tuesday night, when a Twitter account claiming to be run by a rebel fighter who knew al-Gharib personally tweeted a martyrdom notice. The notice uses the name Abu Talha al-Canadi, another of al-Gharib's monikers. Finally an ad tying Hagan to Obama. Odd she was a flee bagger today. Via Hot Air It wasn't so very long ago -- as in, last September -- that Democratic senator and enthusiastic ObamaCare cheerleader Kay Hagan was posting fairly comfortable margins leading all of the Republican challengers to her reelection bid this year. Cue the ObamaCare initiation sequence, however, and that all started to change pretty quickly. These past few months have been whittling away at her erstwhile lead, and even as the Republican primary race is starting to solidify, Public Policy Polling's latest update indicates that all of her potential opponents are seriously gaining on her: For the first time in our polling of the North Carolina Senate race, presumptive frontrunner Thom Tillis has opened a little bit of space between himself and the rest of his opponents in the Republican primary. Tillis now leads the field with 19% to 11% for Greg Brannon and Heather Grant, 8% for Mark Harris, and 7% for Bill Flynn. ... 39% of voters in the state say they approve of the job Hagan is doing to 49% who disapprove. She has 1 or 2 point deficits against each of her potential GOP foes. She's down by 1 to Heather Grant (42/41) and Thom Tillis (43/42), and trails by 2 against the rest of the field (43/41 against Greg Brannon and Mark Harris, 44/42 against Bill Flynn.) Hagan's main issue is that with independents she has a 30/56 approval rating and trails all of her opponents by double digits. Unpopularity of the Affordable Care Act seems to be driving much of her trouble. Only 38% of voters in the state overall support it to 48% who are opposed, and independents are more against it than the overall electorate at 31/57. As of PPP's mid-December poll, Hagan was still leading the now-frontrunning Tillis by two points, but he's already been campaigning hard against her ObamaCare record and it would appear that all of her recent attempts to temper her longstanding support for President Obama's crowning legislative achievement have been for naught. I'm sure Hagan is mighty glad to have the Senate in-session as an excuse not to show up and support President Obama when he hits North Carolina for his umpteenth economic pivot today, but Republicans certainly won't let her off the hook that easily. Hence the reason Obama to this day continues to blame all of his woes on the previous administration. ROBERT GATES : I think the book is clear that when the president responded to Hillary's comments that he was vaguely agreeing that opposition to the surge broadly had been political. And I absolutely believe that, having lived through that in the spring of 2007 up on the Hill. There are two things that made me remember what Hillary had said. The first was that I was on the opposite side of the table. Admiral Mullen and I used to joke, particularly in the first months of the Obama administration, when kind of every meeting in The Situation Room, everybody would trash the Bush administration and everything the Bush team. You know, what a bunch of bums the Bush team were and everything. And we're sitting there thinking, what, are we invisible? We were integral members of that team, and so the fact that she would say something like that. DHS, FBI, TSA and the CIA need to follow the lead of Shin Bet. Via Jerusalem Post The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) thwarted an attempt by a Hamas-affiliated group to set up a terrorist cell in the West Bank for the purpose of kidnapping Israelis, security forces announced on Wednesday. The terror plot was directed by Palestinian security prisoners in Israeli prisons, the Shin Bet added. "Those involved were in their first stages of planning the attack," the Shin Bet said in a statement. The domestic intelligence service named Muhammad Bel, 24, of Zeitoun in Gaza, doing time in the Eshel prison since 2008, as a suspect who recruited two Palestinian prisoners from the West Bank for the plot. The recruits have been named as Ali Harub, 21, of Dora, near Hebron, serving a sentence for being a member of a military terrorist cell, planning attacks, and manufacturing bombs and Molotov cocktails, and Rajab Salah Al-din, 53, of Hamza, near Ramallah, a former member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, in prison since May 2012 for three failed kidnapping attempts. The three suspects confessed to the plot during questioning, the Shin Bet stated, and were charged in late December with terrorist offensives as the Beersheba District Court. The investigation revealed that the highest levels of the Kataib Al-Mujahadin (Holy Warriors Brigades) terror group were involved in the planning stages of the attacks. Bel was in touch with a liaison in Gaza, named as Amar Khalil Kassam, 29, who is in charge of dealing with prisoners and who answers directly to the head of the organization. A security source told The Jerusalem Post that the point of the plot was to enable a Gaza-based terror group to gain operatives from the West Bank, who could then use their own contacts outside of prison to organize a kidnapping. "The Holy Warriors Brigade is a terror group that splintered off from the Fatah Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, and adopted extremist Islamic characteristics," the Shin Bet said. It is headed by Asad Abu Sharia, 36, a resident of Gaza and terror operative, who took over the group in 2007 after his brother, Omar Abu Sharia, the former leader, was killed in an IAF strike in Gaza in 2006. The group is in close touch with Hamas in Gaza, and has been involved in recent years in rocket attacks on Israel, shootings against the IDF, and setting off bombs on the Gaza - Israel border, among other activities. Cooperation with Hamas includes cooperation, training, and assistance, as well as financial support and weapons transfers for attacks, and the smuggling of arms to Gaza.

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In a typical week a reader of U.S. newspapers learns over bran flakes and coffee that the health crisis or the S&L bailout is bankrupting the country; that there is no money to repair bridges or to deal with nuclear waste; that schools and libraries are cutting programs or closing down; that tens of millions of young Americans will be unable to compete successfully for jobs in the new information-based economy because schools do not teach; that America's competitiveness problem is worsening; and that the government is presumably paralyzed because the federal deficit is out of control. Nations prosper only by adapting to new circumstances. That means being willing to hear bad news and do something about it. Japan's great achievement at the end of World War II was to turn adversity to its advantage, as if by jujitsu . But since the curtain came down on the Cold War the adaptive mechanisms in the United States have not been working. The President is not offering a practical vision of a strong and democratic American economy, and the result is that confidence in American power and leadership is declining. George Bush has made no secret of the fact that he prefers making foreign policy to grappling with any of these problems. The reflex reaction in the White House and the Pentagon to the collapse of the communist enemy has been to identify new enemies and to find ways to make such weapons as the B-2 bomber "relevant" to a world that has passed it by. In early 1990 President Bush announced that instability was now the military threat, and later that year the word acquired a human face when Saddam Hussein struck at Kuwait. Whether the Gulf War served the national interest is now a matter for the historians, but it surely served the interests of the President. As commander in chief the President is defender, father figure, and in a crisis, the embodiment of the nation. There is no solution to the health crisis or the banking crisis that will yield 89-percent popular support, as the Gulf War did. It is far easier to interpret the new political situation in the world to fit old strategies and old weapons systems, shifting targets where necessary, than to develop a new security strategy that fits the extraordinary changes that have taken place within the United States and the emerging world system. The fact that foreign policy expenditures constrict domestic choices is a familiar, though inadequately debated, idea in American politics. Less familiar is the role of domestic economic weakness in circumscribing foreign policy choices. The United States is becoming increasingly locked into a world economy over which we exercise less and less control. The result is that the U.S. economy, debt-ridden and still unable to compete in the marketplace in critical areas of high technology and consumer goods, is transformed in ways that diminish the economic security and quality of life of millions of Americans. And the same loss of economic strength and the social instability caused by the neglect of mounting domestic problems undermines the ability of the United States to bring its power to bear on critical security problems beyond our shores. It is incongruous that while pundits celebrate the emergence of the United States as the world's only superpower and every formerly communist nation wants a piece of the American Dream, the Bush administration is strangely passive in confronting the extraordinary new world in the making. The goal of United States foreign policy for almost fifty years has been achieved, but the White House does not know what to make of the collapse of Soviet power and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Does the United States favor more fragmentation in the name of self-determination or more union in the name of economic efficiency? The answers are not easy, but, tragically, the United States has neither a clear vision of what it desires, nor money to put behind its wishes, and what may well prove to be the most momentous events of the century are taking place beyond the reach of any significant American influence. Even in the Middle East, where the U.S. rolled back Saddam's invasion and succeeded in dragging the Arab nations and Israel to the negotiating table after eight months of trying, the prospects of a comprehensive, lasting settlement are not encouraging. They might well be better were the United States in a position to make the sort of extravagant offers to promote regional economic development that Secretary of State George Marshall made at the end of World War II with respect to Europe. But that is now out of the question. The nations of Western Europe have just voted to create the European Economic Area, the world's largest trading bloc embracing 380 million producers and customers from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean, and this new creation threatens to pose even staffer competition for the United States. Yet Europe is by no means united, and the continent faces historic decisions about who will be in and who will be out, and on what terms. On the one hand, the myth of a Europe stretching from Gibraltar to the Urals has a powerful appeal, one on which the former communist nations of the East are banking. But to admit Poland, not to mention an independent Croatia, would dramatically widen the gaps among the members and would make steps toward greater monetary and political union more difficult. The wider these gaps, the harder it becomes to establish continental institutions. The United States has an urgent interest in a Europe that is at peace and that does not wall off the huge continental market it is creating. While the United States hangs on to NATO to symbolize the fact that it is, in the words of senior administration officials, a "European power," the administration is mobilizing astonishingly little energy to address the critical economic issues that will play the dominant role in U.S.-European relations in the next century. Bush's principal response to a united Europe has been to seek a North American free trade agreement as a step toward a Western Hemisphere free trade area. But this collection of the most debt-ridden countries in the world is not much of a bargaining chip in negotiations over global trade with Europe and Japan, nor in a world divided into blocs is it likely to be a bastion of economic strength. Over many years somewhere between a third and 60 percent of the U.S. military budget -- depending on definitions and what you count -- has been attributable to the defense of Europe. New policies can and should be developed that take proper account of the good news from the Cold War battlefields of Europe and the bad news on the domestic front. Richard Ullman, professor of international affairs at Princeton, has written a fine book full of believable good news and practical ideas for taking advantage of it. Since so much of the United States military budget continues to be attributable to the security problems of Europe, which have also provided the primary drive behind the nuclear arms race, this is a book anyone interested in either national security or the fiscal crisis of the United States should read. Agreeing with George Kennan that the Soviet Union presented primarily a political challenge rather than a military threat, he points out that the political conditions under which NATO was established have totally changed. Historians can argue about whether the expenditures to arm against "worst-case scenarios" were worth the price the United States is still paying, but there is no justification now for spending well over $100 billion a year to defend Europe. Ullman's analysis points to a clear conclusion. It makes no sense to keep alive either NATO's Cold War strategy or organization except for a brief transitional period during which a new European security system is put into place. For the foreseeable future the Soviet Union will have neither the incentive to attack the West -- if it ever had one -- nor the capability. The collapse of the Warsaw Pact and extraordinary changes inside the Soviet Union, as senior U.S. military and intelligence officials have testified, make a surprise attack virtually impossible. To reclaim its Cold War posture would take a long time even if new leadership in the Kremlin had the will to do it. The enemy against which NATO was called into being no longer exists. Neither do the weak, divided, and demoralized nations of West Europe that called upon the United States to be their protector. All the major political underpinnings of NATO have been rendered obsolete by the Cold War victory. At the beginning U.S. troops had as their primary task the restoration of confidence in a war-torn West Europe facing Stalin's armed camp. The confidence levels and signs of stability in much of West Europe, judging by a number of social and economic indicators, now exceed our own. The strongest political argument for NATO was that it would anchor West Germany in the West and undermine the greatest power the Soviets had over the United States and its allies, the power to dangle reunification in front of the Germans and cause them in effect to change sides. But reunification is an accomplished fact, and the price was modest indeed. Germany has no interest in being a "loose cannon" in Europe -- quite the reverse. And if it did, 50,000 to 75,000 American troops left on German soil -- the figures talked about just a few months ago -- could do little about it. Any idea that an American division or two can play such a role can only irritate U.S.-German relations. The favorable developments in Europe should point the way to new policies. Thanks to economic integration, and as Ullman points out, the growing perception that the physical control of territory is of declining importance and the use of force is of declining utility for great powers in securing political objectives in Europe, there is less incentive and less likelihood of war among nations on the continent than at any time in modem history. He argues that the United States should, therefore, encourage an independent European security system, building on the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) and the Western European Union (WEU). The goal should be the development of integrated European forces at significantly lower levels and machinery for peaceful dispute resolution such as the CSCE's new Vienna-based Center for the Prevention of Conflict. The primary security threat in Europe in the coming years is likely to be civil war in the East and the stream of refugees left in its wake; the task of military forces will be to wall off and damp down such conflict before it spreads. The European response to the outbreak of civil war in Yugoslavia in June has been halting, confused, and as of late November, ineffective. But the United States is nowhere to be seen. It is, of course, in a much worse position than a European force to intervene militarily on the periphery of the Soviet Union, and to involve American troops in a bloody civil war in the Balkans is not an attractive option for the President. But the security dilemma in Europe makes it clearer than ever that a national security priority for the United States is far-reaching world disarmament and control of weapons traffic. As the world's greatest military power the United States is in a position to take advantage of the changes in the political climate around the world, including the settlement of the major Cold War-related civil conflicts in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, to initiate a process of demobilization and demilitarization which offers the only hope of controlling weapons development and arms traffic. Although Bush's unilateral initiatives on curbing nuclear weapons are the most sweeping since the development of the atomic bomb, both the cost savings and the disruption of the U.S. arms industry are modest. Bush emphasized that there would be no "peace dividend." Indeed, the immediate impact would be a budget increase to pay for the "mothballing" and deactivation measures. Bush's program is designed to make living with nuclear weapons safer. Although he justified the move on the dramatic disappearance of the old Soviet threat, there has been no discernible rethinking of the relevance of nuclear weapons to the security problems of the post-Cold War world. Nuclear deterrence was built on the notion of a two-man chess game. But nuclear stockpiles do not deter drug traffickers or enraged mobs or terrorists or separatist armies any more than elephant guns deter flies. The idealized super-rational enemy, big enough, evil enough, and aggressive enough to be the target of a global war machine, has disappeared into thin air, leaving a disorderly world to which the established nuclear strategy is utterly irrelevant. Given what has happened to the Soviet Union, the risks of unauthorized use of nuclear weapons in the event of civil strife there, the drive by Iran, Iraq, and other nations to acquire nuclear weapons and the disturbing indications that the spread of nuclear weapons technology in the international black market is accelerating, it is now urgent for the United States to rethink its nuclear policy. In the interest of slowing proliferation, saving huge financial costs and avoiding health risks, the President should announce that production of weapons-grade fissionable materials will not be resumed. He should also promptly negotiate a comprehensive test ban. Further, the U.S. should declare that once again -- as in the Acheson-Lilienthal proposals following the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings -- this nation takes seriously the goal of abolition of nuclear weapons, as a crucial component to reduce the role of force in international relations. Far from being a Utopian view, this approach's advocates include prominent former national security officials, such as Robert McNamara. No nation has more to lose in a world of nuclear anarchy than the United States. Because this nation is the world's leading nuclear power, it retains considerable potential as a prime architect of a new security system. But that influence is waning fast, as weapons spread. Only a "minimum deterrent" force, ranging from dozens to about a hundred weapons, and a clear commitment never to use nuclear weapons except in retaliation for a nuclear attack, will send the message that the United States and the other nuclear powers are committed to a post-nuclear order. Sending such a message is essential to a non-proliferation strategy, but it is obviously not sufficient. The strategy will also require unprecedented cooperation among the present nuclear powers and tight international controls on fissionable materials and nuclear technology. To accomplish any of this will require the great powers to limit their use of arms sales as a prime lever of geo-political influence. While the threat of great power nuclear holocaust has receded, the insertion of nuclear weapons into the disorders of the post-Cold-War world increases the risk of their actual detonation. Unlike the Cold War antagonists, some of the aspiring nuclear powers, faced with perceived life-and-death struggles, might actually use nuclear weapons. Technological advances, verification, and, more important, the more open world now emerging, make a post-nuclear order possible, and necessary. Therefore, the disorders of the post-Cold-War world make the elimination of the nuclear threat the highest possible foreign policy priority for the U.S. There can be no security as long as these weapons are considered legitimate instruments of warfare or politics. In the emerging world order, peace and stability in Eastern Europe and outside of Europe will depend less on deterrence and more on crisis prevention -- the defusing of political situations before they erupt in violence. Crisis prevention machinery should be under a United Nations umbrella because the U.N., for all its problems, is the only international organization with both a political mission and a global charter. The task of keeping the peace and creating the conditions of stability in the post-Cold War world will take much more active and coordinated diplomacy among the Cold War-era allies, large amounts of money for the repair of environmental damage and for the re-tooling of industry to prevent further damage, for development aid and investment, and for a new set of minimum environmental and labor standards for the conduct of world trade. As the economic, social, and ecological agenda becomes more central, more expensive, and more difficult, it is in the U.S. interest to downgrade the military dimension of its relationships with its allies and partners. The idea that the U.S. military role, either in Europe or in "out of area" conflicts can still be used to exact economic and political concessions from America's allies is dubious, given European behavior since the Gulf War. Moreover, it is in the U.S. interest to institutionalize responsibility for police operations, in an international force in the service of agreed international principles regarding the use of force. Taking over the policy role unilaterally has led to American weakness, not strength. And ad hoc military coalitions put together in crises are precarious and unstable. It is not a brilliant strategy to continue hectoring Germany and Japan to play a more expansive global military role at a time when economic conflicts between the U.S. and its principal allies are intensifying. All three economic powers share a common interest not only in diverting investment from the military to their industrial bases and supporting infrastructure, but also a common strategy to raise wages and improve living standards in developing countries in order to expand the world market. But no such common strategy yet exists. The dismantling of obsolete military structures increases the possibilities of constructive American engagement with Europe. The U.S. commitment to Europe requires an evolving set of political and economic relationships that fit the world of the 1990s rather than the world of the 1950s. We are living in a world of increasingly visible violence, but neither the nuclear weapons stockpiles, the rapid deployment forces, the NATO forces, nor the 'low-intensity warfare" capabilities which make up so much of the military budget address the disorders of a world that is no longer engaged in a global conflict. A president willing to give up the illusion of organizing the world by projecting military power would have a decent chance to mobilize the money, energy, and will to rebuild and govern this society. The United States can best influence the shape of the new Europe by rebuilding American society and defining and pursuing a global economic agenda. The faster the nation deals with its domestic crisis, the stronger will be its position with respect to the trade and investment issues that are the major source of conflict among the economic great powers. These include the irrationality of the present ground rules for world trade, the confusion about whether to welcome or fear European and Japanese investment in the United States, and the challenge of increasing the accountability of transnational corporate actors, irrespective of the flag they fly. We need new rules not only to redefine this nation's commercial relations with its trading partners, but to establish a common approach between nations and global private finance and industry. A concerted effort by the industrial democracies to deal with the global environmental crisis, which threatens the very processes by which wealth is created and life sustained, is an obvious security priority, too. Thus, the primary political task for the United States is to develop a new foreign policy that will permit the renewal of our political institutions, industrial and commercial enterprises, and population centers. The primary intellectual task is to redefine the relationship of the United States to the radically changing political, economic, and ecological environment. Alan Tonelson, research director of a Washington think tank, has taken on this task in a recent issue of The Atlantic , and his efforts demonstrate how difficult it is to rethink the national interest. He attacks "internationalism" with familiar arguments, most of which I find congenial. In its Wilsonian quest for a new world order, the United States believed its own overblown rhetoric about the "indivisibility" of peace. The U.S. defined its "vital interests" in wildly extravagant and implausible terms, "bearing any burden, paying any price" to bring peace and prosperity to the farthest reaches of the globe. Military interventions, para-military operations, peace-keeping missions, foreign aid programs -- all of which the author lumps together as instruments of misguided idealism -- exhausted the country. "American foreign policy has been conducted with utter disregard for the home front largely because it has been made by people whose lives and needs have almost nothing in common with those of the mass of their countrymen." I nodded and read on. I stopped nodding when it became clear that what Tonelson calls "interest-based thinking," a term I found intriguing, is astonishingly close to the "America First" mindset of the prewar isolationists. The isolationist impulse is in the American grain, reinforced daily by so many different forces in our culture. The "internationalism" of the Cold War era against which the author rails is in reality a virulent strain of isolationism; a nation that can realize its dreams of running the planet doesn't have to learn to live in it. Tonelson dresses up his prescriptions for withdrawing from the messy world beyond our shores with the language of hard-headed realism. Anarchy within and among nations is inevitable. All sorts of genies are out of the bottle. Nothing much can be done about the international system. Americans should look after themselves. Hunker down. It is by no means obvious that Tonelson's version of isolationism is a less honorable policy than the current version under which our leaders feel compelled to teach lessons, enforce international law as we define it, and set other societies straight in arbitrarily selected countries around the world. The problem is that it is every bit as much a dream as Pax Americana. The "interest-based" foreign policy Tonelson recommends would not be a vehicle for spreading American values but would reflect tough-minded assessments of domestic interests which "can and must be distinguished from the interests of the international system itself." An exception would be made for policies that are against the national interest but are popular. There is "nothing intrinsically wrong," he says, with a policy that does not serve the national interest, provided it is based on "the preference or whim of the majority." We have entered a swamp. This curiously old-fashioned analysis with its talk of "avoiding problems, reducing vulnerabilities and costs, maximizing options, and muddling through" is silent about the increasing dependence of the United States on the world economy, the AIDS pandemic in Africa that is spreading to Asia, the global ecological crisis, the huge mass migration that is transforming the demography of the United States and other places, and the transformation of the institution of the nation-state itself. His call for less bombast and mindless activism in foreign policy is a welcome corrective, but his policy is defeatism. He calls for "disengagement" from the Third World, correctly noting that hysteria, confusion, and complicity in corruption and human rights abuse characterized much of our policy in the past. His advice is to wall ourselves off from the tragedies that threaten the species to pursue policies that enhance "the domestic quality of life." True, Cold Warriors, muddled geopoliticians, and naive romantics have written a good deal of nonsense about the Third World, that peculiarly ethnocentric and now anachronistic designation we still use for the majority of people on the planet. But Tonelson's call is a contradiction in terms. Refugees, viruses, drugs, terrorists, and foul air are no respecters of borders. There is no way we can improve the quality of life for the next generation of Americans, much less posterity, by ignoring the conditions of two-thirds of the human species and the natural order in which we all live. It is inconceivable that the world's major military and economic power will now shrink from trying to exert influence on the international system. Our own security and prosperity depends increasingly upon what happens to that system. This is a time when more issues are open and the system is less frozen than it has been in a long time. It is an exciting and dangerous time which cries out for real leadership in helping to shape a new understanding of what a nation is, of what the international system is becoming, and of how its anarchic character might be moderated. The United States could not impose its vision of world order even if it had one. To exercise leadership requires a healthy respect for this nation's limitations, but also a willingness to face the real world of which we are inevitably a part. Flinching is not an option.***

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O n November 10, 1975, the General Assembly of the United Nations passed Resolution 3379, which declared Zionism a form of racism. After the vote, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, rose to speak, his voice shaking with anger. "The United States rises to declare," proclaimed Moynihan, "before the General Assembly of the United Nations, and before the world, that it does not acknowledge, it will not abide by, it will never acquiesce in this infamous act." In his speech, Moynihan recognized the U.N. resolution for what it was: an attack on Israel, and its right to exist, and a totalitarian assault on democracy itself, motivated by both anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism. Moynihan's eloquent defense of the State of Israel made him a political celebrity and paved the way for his 1976 election to the U.S. Senate, where he would serve for 24 years. In Moynihan's Moment , McGill University historian Gil Troy recounts the dramatic story of Moynihan and America's fight against the Zionism-as-racism resolution, and Moynihan's heroic political efforts to prevent its passage. At the time of his appointment as U.N. ambassador in 1975, Moynihan enjoyed an enviable reputation as one of America's most thoughtful and prolific policy analysts and public intellectuals, having spent two decades alternating between positions in government and positions in academia. After serving for four years as a top aide to New York governor Averell Harriman, and then completing his Ph.D. in international relations, Moynihan served in various domestic-policy posts in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, including a stint as a special assistant to Kennedy's secretary of labor, Arthur Goldberg. He subsequently became director of the Harvard-MIT Joint Center for Urban Studies and a tenured professor at the Harvard School of Education. "Even though he spent few years actually being that," notes Troy, "he was defined as a Harvard professor for the rest of his life, the model of the scholar-politician." In 1969, he joined the Nixon administration, with a cabinet-level position as "counselor to the president" for urban affairs, and also served as a "public delegate" on the U.S. delegation to the U.N. Moynihan returned to Harvard in January 1971, but in January 1973 he accepted President Nixon's nomination to be ambassador to India. As Troy discusses in some detail, Moynihan owed his appointment as U.N. ambassador to an influential article he had written for Commentary magazine. Moynihan had been writing for Commentary since 1961, and the magazine's editor, Norman Podhoretz, had become a close friend. In January 1975, as Moynihan was resigning his ambassadorship to India and preparing to return to Harvard, Podhoretz commissioned him to write the article "The United States in Opposition," which was published in the March 1975 issue and caused an immediate sensation. For the first time since becoming Commentary 's editor in 1960, notes Troy, Podhoretz called a press conference to promote a particular article. With its provocative thesis that the U.S. now stood as a minority, in opposition to the coalition of Soviet-backed Arab and Third World dictatorships in the U.N., it caused an immediate sensation. Moynihan told his friend (and White House chief of staff) Donald Rumsfeld that he had never provoked such a response "in all my scribbling." Rumsfeld brought the article to the attention of President Ford, who, in turn, showed it to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Highly impressed with Moynihan's essay, which he proclaimed to be "one of the most important articles in a long time," and one that he "wished he had written," Kissinger quickly approved Ford's suggestion that Moynihan be appointed ambassador to the U.N. This was a decision that Kissinger would come to regret: Moynihan lasted as ambassador for only eight months, resigning in response to the fervent opposition Kissinger had mobilized against him at Foggy Bottom. Troy brilliantly analyzes Kissinger's incessant efforts to undermine Moynihan's position. As Troy demonstrates, Moynihan's U.N. speech marked the rise of neoconservatism in American politics, inspiring the beginning of a more confrontational foreign policy, one that rejected Kissinger's detente-driven realist approach to the Soviet Union -- which was behind Resolution 3379 -- as nothing short of appeasement. In denouncing the resolution, as Carl Gershman would later note, Moynihan was "declaring ideological war -- or at least mounting an ideological counterattack" on Kissinger's policy of detente, which, because it ignored Soviet human-rights abuses, was seen by many as a failure. #page# "Five years before the anti-Communist trinity of Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul, and Margaret Thatcher put Western policy on a more moralistic footing," notes Troy, "Moynihan blazed the trail." The appointment of the author of "The United States in Opposition" as ambassador to the U.N. signaled a new, robustly unapologetic style of diplomacy to confront the new alliance among the Soviet Union, the PLO, and their Third World allies, and their collective efforts to delegitimate Israel and its right to exist. Moynihan's campaign to block the resolution had precipitated a threat against his life by the head of the U.N.'s Palestinian delegation. Moynihan called Resolution 3379 "a political lie of a variety well known in the 20th century and scarcely exceeded in all that annal of untruth and outrage. The lie is that Zionism is a form of racism. The overwhelming truth is that it is not." Moynihan proclaimed that, in the approval of this resolution, the "abomination of anti-Semitism . . . has been given the appearance of international sanction," and that the General Assembly had granted "symbolic amnesty -- and more -- to the murderers of 6 million European Jews." Troy discusses in illuminating detail the bitter rivalry between Kissinger and Moynihan, and Kissinger's efforts to sabotage Moynihan's diplomatic career both before and after Moynihan's U.N. speech. Kissinger was especially jealous of Moynihan's newfound public celebrity. "Moynihan's ascendance," Troy points out, "threatened Kissinger. Kissinger enjoyed his status as the Harvard wunderkind, dazzling bureaucrats and reporters; he did not want to share the spotlight with another articulate intellectual with a crimson glow." Moreover, Moynihan's confrontational and ideological approach to foreign policy and international diplomacy contrasted sharply with Kissinger's diplomatic strategy. Troy's book also sheds new light on Kissinger's privately voiced criticism of Israel in the aftermath of Moynihan's fight against the U.N. resolution. "One major problem you will have is on Israel," Kissinger warned Moynihan. "We must dissociate ourselves a bit from Israel. . . . They are desperately looking for a spokesman and they will work on you. . . . I don't want Israel to get the idea that our U.N. mission is an extension of theirs. . . . We have to show Israel they don't run us." On November 10, the very day of Moynihan's speech, Kissinger grumbled that "we are conducting foreign policy. This is not a synagogue." In the days following Moynihan's speech, Kissinger and his aides "mocked Moynihan's Israel obsession. They wondered if he planned to convert." "At some deep level," Troy suggests, Kissinger, America's Jewish secretary of state, resented the fact that "Moynihan was defending the Jewish state." For several weeks, both privately and publicly, Kissinger vented his anger at Moynihan's defense of Israel. The more Moynihan attacked the U.N. and defended Israel publicly, the angrier Kissinger became. "I will not put up with any more of Moynihan. I will not do it," Kissinger fumed. Only eight months after his appointment, Henry Kissinger fired Moynihan. Beautifully written, and rich in its insight and analysis, Gil Troy's compelling study of "Moynihan's moment" is the definitive account of this episode and of why its legacy is an enduring one. "In a lifetime of article writing and speech making," Troy aptly concludes, "this may have been Moynihan's greatest effort." In the immediate aftermath of his U.N. speech, as Troy points out, "Daniel Patrick Moynihan had become a symbol of America's renewed patriotism and confidence." He had also become a hero to New York Jews, who, in 1976, helped elect him to the U.S. Senate, where he would continue to speak out against the U.N. resolution and seek its repeal. Moreover, as Troy points out, "Moynihan's stand against Soviet and Third World bullying in the United Nations helped inspire Reagan's more aggressive approach there." In 1985, President Reagan, who had earlier called the 1975 resolution "outrageous," "hypocritical," "stupid," and "vicious," added his voice to the growing campaign to rescind it; ultimately, on December 16, 1991, 111 countries voted for the measure that repealed it. (Nine days later, the Soviet Union collapsed.) Moynihan was in the General Assembly chamber during the December 16 vote. He toasted this "moment of truth and deliverance," which dramatically exorcised "the last great horror of the Hitler-Stalin era." Sixteen years after his historic U.N. speech, Moynihan's courageous fight against the Zionism-as-racism resolution had been vindicated. - Mr. Dalin, a rabbi and a professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University, is a co-author (with Jonathan D. Sarna) of Religion and State in the American Jewish Experience. David G. Dalin -- Mr. Dalin, a rabbi and a professor of history and political science at Ave Maria University, is a co-author (with Jonathan D. Sarna) of Religion and State in the American ...

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20 April, 2015 Countercurrents.org "Oscar Reutersvard 1997 - 'Follow the Groove" "A perfect metaphor for our situation - progress and sustainability can't meet!" W e live in times when semantics are changing and texts are full of abbreviations. So, now I'm told that COAD is chronic obtrusive air-ways decease. The plague miners and stone-pit workers even share with people smoking too many Cohibas and Davidoff pipe tobacco. However, we all share the COED - chronic obstructive economic decline! With enormous consequences for both rich and poor, both developed and developing countries. We are now at a point when our entire civilization has entered what John Kenneth Galbraith called "the twilight of illusion". We are at a point at which the end of a forever growing industrial economy is nothing but a short historical process, clearly and visibly declining. To make this understood, we have to search for a realistic understanding of the troubled future ahead of us and a meaningful way of responding to it. That's my reason for this writings and extremely important for what we flippantly label "so called economists". In my opinion, we are all "so called" : town planners, architects, engineers........you may fill in the blanks! But we have professional ethics (or should have) and let's look ahead! Our civilization is on head-on collision with our planetary limits of growth and this is often, and unfortunately, treated as an economical/technical problem that can be corrected by reading a neo-colonial answer book. But doing so, we are following the same trajectory of overshoot that terminated so many other civilizations in the past. What we are experiencing now is a permanent economic decline and precisely what many scientists pointed out about peak oil and the finite resources many decades ago - it will not necessarily be a sudden collapse, a slow decline for industrial societies but quicker for African countries, knocking on the progress door. And, contrary to intelligent thinking, the faith in limitless progress is the basis for most national budgets, for economical writers in our papers -"so called economists" according to some local writers, here. In general, we seem to be totally unaware that we are on a slope, a decline, with economical failures - a crisis here and a crisis there (power, water, education here, regional catastrophes and wars there) with oil, gas and resources always in the background. Consequently, it cannot be disputed that we are on a downward trajectory as a civilization - those of us who still have a job are struggling to hang on to them, those who have lost their jobs are struggling to stay fed, clothed and housed and there are many, many young ones that will never have an outsourced job with a salary. This is the situation and why the so called "industrial countries" (now often called post-industrial) - the triad of US, EU and Japan especially act as they are doing and we see consequences here in Africa. Reason - there was no "trickle down" from the top to the bottom (as neo-liberal paradigms promised) and it will never be. But it is no longer necessary to speculate what kind of future the end of cheap, abundant energy era will bring to the industrial world and the countries that are hoping to mirror their old status. The package has already been delivered and the hope the aspiring developing countries had in their legitimate right to become industrialized is fading quickly. Now's the time to rethink - globalization was a one-way road to bring resources to the post-industrial nations, a "kiss-of-life" for the neo-colonial powers. In this situation it is futile to hope that non-industrial nations will follow the same trajectory as the now post-industrial nations did, once upon a time (e.g. building factories, hiring workers with salaries enough to be consumers, providing services and generating ample profits). We can now see that it wasn't forever self-sustaining there and it will never, ever happen here. So, are we forced for the nearest future to "digging holes" and exporting our (also finite) untreated resources raw -copper, coal and other stuff from the earth? Many western as well as Eastern countries seemingly think so, and are often discouraging African nations so called beneficiation and process their natural resources prior to export. And when possible beneficiation is there, it's easy to kill for the big ones - now we hear we're too lazy and spoiled by huge salaries! What's up but creating more Moment 22's? I guess I'm quite clever, now! What is Moment 22 all about but swallowing the tail, bit by bit? Let's note the following regarding what most developing countries have been through: * Destruction, the Terra Nullius concept - destroy cultures and get vacant land (the initial stage of colonialism - from 1750 and still ongoing); * Dual Laws - one for colonialists another for ingenious people - a money saver! * Introducing colonial "sciences" -proving there are Subject people to Master ones - mostly Aryans/Caucasians; * Economical neo-colonialism - globalization, free-trade, de-regularization of laws and cutting domestic expenses. Consequently, I cannot but understand the situation that most developing countries are in today. There was hardly any coherent alternative to the massive neo-liberal economic concept from western development institutions and charitable donors for newly independent developing countries then. The "hidden" conditions were just as important as the job was for new architects and town planners. But there were serious consequences when the developing countries applied this kind of outdated, high cost, western, somewhat outdated technology (an inheritance from the colonial powers, I insist) - mostly concerning infrastructure and utility service that we more or less copied from the west. Obviously not considering the problems developed countries had with aging infrastructure networks and service delivery and the end cost for it when energy became expensive that disappeared when "eternal progress" was less than 8% a year. By the late 60-ies it was obvious that the infrastructure sector was falling apart in the west - maintenance was neglected and cost of delivery escalated quickly - esp. after the first oil bubble burst in early 70-ies. There were huge external costs never assumed, and environmentalists started their whistle-blowing. For some economists things were written on the wall - for example E F Schumacher (with his famous book "Less is Beautiful") advised that developing countries must find 'an appropriate technology' approach and localized production and delivery of service'. But the 'appropriate' development authorities were handcuffed by its former colonial masters. And the western infrastructure warehouses were full of stuff to send to new "independent" countries often almost gratis. The producing of outdated, conventional stuff could go on and supporting the workers at home. This approach is still in full swing. And developing countries were ever so grateful until they had to pay the full price. I know this game - when I was young, the welfare people got water and power almost gratis, e.g. pensioners like my grandmother (even a flushing toilet). But 25-30 years later, the situation changed and people started to pay real costs - and it worked quite well for a city of about the size we had, then. Of course - problems escalate logarithmically for BIG cities but my point is - lets forget about them. We are heading for SMALL cities. Thus, we have outdated (and not appropriate) infrastructure and service delivery systems in Africa and elsewhere among developing countries - more than century old infrastructure models from densely populated European countries even in sparsely populated areas in Africa - chaos created! When I arrived to Gaborone in early 1979, Gaborone had its own electricity plant. The delivery plant moved about 400 km north of the City. And we are losing 1/3 of its energy on the way back here and another 1/3 lost in imperfect western wiring in the consumer's home. And now we must pay for it! When we experience power and water on/off and blocked sewers, we mustn't put all the blame on our utilities and its staff. The technology was wrong for a start and not appropriate - leading me to realize that the physical planning was also very wrong. But on this, I remember that Gaborone was never meant to be more than for 25-30,000 people. And then more "gaborones" needed to be built and connected with communications. To me, that had been appropriate planning! In short - we jumped onto the wrong train a few stops from the end station. There is an immense task for planners and utilities in the close future. There's more to say about an African experience. We'll see! Jan Wareus is a retired architect and town planner active in Botswana since 1979. Mostly on important planning issues based on donor and and international financing (SIDA, IMF amd Worldbank etc.) and increasingly worried about the senseless mirroring of western development. Thus concerned about 'appropriate' concepts for developing countries today and in the future.

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As the battle rages between Native Americans attempting to protect their natural resources and Big Oil profiteers seeking to plow through with the North Dakota Access pipeline, political figures remain silent. By: Justin Gardner This article first appeared at FreeThoughtProject Obama, Hillary, and Trump have not said a word about the pillaging of land and water, or the fact that attack dogs have been unleashed on protesters just as they were during 1960s civil rights demonstrations. While we can chalk up Obama's and Hillary's silence to establishment loyalty, Trump has a deeper interest in the 30-inch diameter pipeline connecting the Bakken and Three Forks oil fields to Patoka, Illinois. Donald Trump's energy adviser, Harold Hamm - who could very well be Trump's pick for Energy Secretary - has big plans to move oil through the North Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL). Hamm is the founder and CEO of Continental Resources, which is heavily involved in the fracking boom going on in the Bakken Shale basin. As Steve Horn at DeSmog describes , Hamm turned his sights on DAPL as he realized the Keystone XL pipeline was not going to become a reality. Hamm's lobbying group, called Domestic Energy Producers Alliance, now has their full attention on DAPL - and there's no telling what hand they've had in suppressing Native American rights and railroading landowner opposition. To secure their pipeline route, state and local governments granted eminent domain to Dakota Access for massive areas of land. Iowa farmers who did not want an oil pipeline with 50-foot easements running through their agricultural land had no choice as regulators, salivating at the millions in tax revenue, rubber-stamped the property seizures. The pipeline company and its subcontractors intimidated reluctant landowners by stacking pipe next to their property, acting as if construction were a foregone conclusion. Back in the Dakotas, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe attempted to get a federal court to stop construction crews from bulldozing through their ancient burial grounds. While waiting on government for help that will probably not come, the tribe rushed to defend their sacred ground. That's when Dakota Access hired private mercenaries to unleash attack dogs and pepper spray the crowd, with several protesters being bitten and at least 30 people sprayed - all while state troopers watched. The Standing Rock tribe is awaiting a decision from a federal judge in their lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for granting fast-track authorization of DAPL, bypassing more stringent environmental and cultural review requirements. However, the revolving door of the Corps and corporate actors means there is little hope of a positive outcome for the tribe. Not only has the pipeline already ruined sacred burial sites, but it is set to threaten the water source of Standing Rock and millions of others by being bored underneath the Missouri River. While Trump hasn't said anything publicly about DAPL, it's a sure bet that he is all for the pipeline and is using his connections to grease the skids. Trump wants to "make American great again" but is unabashedly supportive of State theft of private property through eminent domain for corporate interests. Trump's energy adviser, Harold Hamm, is surely devoting his resources to clear the way for pipeline completion so his oil company can rake in the profits on the backs of coerced landowners and Native Americans. Hamm's lobbying group has likely spent long hours buttering up government regulators, whispering in their ear about the millions in tax revenue the State will be receiving. Trump has proclaimed his intention to keep America chained to the toxic dinosaur of fossil fuels, promising to ramp up coal production and shun renewable energies. Longtime friend Harold Hamm - a 70-year-old Oklahoma oilman who knows nothing but the business of exploiting fossil fuels regardless of the cost to property rights and environmental health - would be a perfect fit for Trump's energy Secretary. This article first appeared at FreeThoughtProject

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Posted by A.F. Branco # Thursday, August 27, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, August 24, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Thursday, August 20, 2015 at 3:45pm Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, August 17, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Thursday, August 13, 2015 at 4:00pm Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, August 10, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Thursday, July 30, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, July 27, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Friday, July 24, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, July 20, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Wednesday, July 15, 2015 at 11:30am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, July 13, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Thursday, July 9, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Thursday, July 2, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, June 29, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 4:30pm Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source. Posted by A.F. Branco # Monday, June 22, 2015 at 7:00am Note: You may reprint this cartoon provided you link back to this source.

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The need for a "grand bargain" involving taxes and entitlements -- in the next few years, if not immediately -- has moved to the center of discussion in Washington. But it's the wrong grand bargain -- and a very bad deal for Middle America. According to the conventional wisdom, any grand bargain should be modeled on plans like the Bowles-Simpson plan or the Rivlin-Domenici plan -- financing lower tax rates on the rich by closing tax loopholes and cutting Social Security and Medicare. In the aftermath of an election in which the candidates of the rich were trounced at the polls, America's plutocratic conservatives might be satisfied with merely maintaining existing low tax rates on the rich, while capping loopholes and cutting Social Security and Medicare. This entire approach should be rejected. It is based on two fallacies -- first, that the existing low (or lower) personal income tax rates on the rich promote growth, and second, that America can't afford Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the decades to come. A number of "astroturf" propaganda groups in Washington and elsewhere will be paid tens of millions of dollars in the next few months by the conservative Republican billionaire Pete Peterson and his allies to repeat these fallacies and get Beltway pundits and journalists to parrot them. But endless repetition does not turn fallacies into facts. America does need long-term reforms to its entitlement system and tax system -- but they have nothing to do with the specious reforms peddled by Alan Simpson, Erskine Bowles, Alice Rivlin, Pete Peterson and allied CEOs . In addition to regulating excessive healthcare costs, the United States needs a middle-class welfare state that is bigger, not smaller. It's the restricted, elitist private welfare state that needs to be cut, not the universal public social insurance system. Let's start with the spending side. As the two charts below demonstrate, the U.S. is unique among advanced industrial countries in relying heavily on private social expenditures rather than public programs to provide economic security to its citizens: Retirement security provides an example of the mix of public and private benefits in America's welfare state. As Steven Hill points out , in most similar countries the equivalent of Social Security replaces much more of pre-retirement income than America's Social Security program does. In the U.S., however, tax-favored private benefits -- employer pensions, 401Ks and IRAs -- are supposed to make up for stingy Social Security benefits, which today average a mere $1,200 a month. If the deficit hawks get their way, then even this pittance will be cut. The problem is that America's tax-favored private retirement benefit system is grossly inferior to Social Security. Everybody gets Social Security, but only a minority of Americans have employer pensions or 401K accounts. The costs of pensions have burdened many companies, while two stock market crashes in less than a decade proved how unreliable 401Ks and similar tax-favored private savings and investment accounts can be. Even worse, unscrupulous money managers capture many of the returns from private investments for themselves via deceptive fees. With a growing population of elderly Americans afflicted by Alzheimer's, the fine-print artists peddling deceptive retirement products will have a field day. Any rational person, with no personal pecuniary interest involved, would conclude that we should expand the stable, efficient, low-overhead public part of America's retirement security system -- Social Security -- while cutting back the failed, inefficient and unreliable parts -- tax-favored employer pensions and individual retirement savings accounts like 401Ks. Instead, we are barraged with propaganda demanding that we cut Social Security, the successful public program, and expand the private savings alternatives like 401Ks and IRAs that have failed so miserably. Why? The answer is that Wall Street wants to charge fees on as much of our retirement money as it can get its tentacles on. The well-funded campaign to partly privatize Social Security under George W. Bush failed. But the same forces want to achieve the same result indirectly, by getting Obama and enough conservative Democrats in Congress, along with the GOP, to cut Social Security. Their manifest objective is to compel Americans to try to make up the losses in public benefits by gambling more with their savings in mutual funds, from which hefty profits will be skimmed by overpaid money managers. Medicare and Medicaid are different from Social Security, because they involve the very structure of the U.S. medical-industrial complex. But the basic policy choice is similar. Is the goal of reform to enrich fee-skimming middlemen belonging to the 1 percent by forcing Americans to channel their healthcare spending, like their retirement savings, through private corporations? Or is the goal to provide universal health security along with universal retirement security by the simplest and most efficient means? Achieving the latter goal requires somewhat bigger government -- but only on paper. Today the actual scale of government is disguised, because politicians and policymakers fail to describe tax-favored private health insurance and private retirement saving accounts as "government" or "entitlements." In public discourse we need to expand the definition of "entitlements" to include the tax-favored private savings and health insurance that chiefly benefit the few, not just the public spending programs that benefit the many. If our objective is what is good for most Americans, rather than what enriches parasitic middlemen, then we should reduce inefficient and inequitable tax-favored private spending on retirement and health benefits and use the savings to increase more direct, fair and efficient public spending, including an expansion of Social Security. The alternative of cutting public benefits while favoring private benefits through the tax code means bigger, guaranteed windfall fees for America's bloated financial industry -- forever.

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As many readers of Counterpunch are likely aware, the Chiapas-based Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN) has recently launched an open initiative called the Escuelita ("little school"), a four or five-day program by means of which outsiders, both Mexican and international, are invited to reside with Zapatistas to learn more about the EZLN's politics and the daily lives of the organization's members, as well as to promote cultural exchange. The openness reflected in the launch of the Escuelita stands in contrast to the relative aloofness of the organization in recent years--with the EZLN's command observing a period of silence for more than a year after Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos' plaintive condemnation of the Israeli military assault on Gaza during winter 2008-9. Of course, at the end of the thirteenth Bak tu n and the beginning of the fourteenth (21 December 2012), up to fifty thousand Zapatistas silently marched through five of the municipalities the EZLN had liberated in its 1 January 1994 insurrection--thus overthrowing their prior reclusiveness while dialectically preserving their verbal quietude. Indeed, in this sense the Escuelita's founding recalls the early years that followed the EZLN's public appearance with its uprising, when the organization hosted Intercontinental Encounters for Humanity and against Neo-Liberalism --and even Intergalactic ones--that brought together radical thinkers and dissidents from Mexico and the world over to publicly strategize on ways to bring down capital and the State. I was greatly pleased, then, when in response to a form I had sent the EZLN some time ago, I received a letter signed by Marcos and fellow Subcomandante Insurgente Moises inviting me to the second round of the First Level of the Zapatista Escuelita, to be held in late December 2013. Registration for the Escuelita took place at CIDECI, or the Indigenous Center for Comprehensive Training, which has its campus on the outskirts of San Cristobal de Las Casas, the largest highland city in the state of Chiapas. Also known as Unitierra (Earth University), CIDECI hosts weekly international seminars on anti-systemic movements , in addition to monthly seminars dedicated to contemplation and discussion of the thought of Immanuel Wallerstein. Much of the art adorning the buildings on the CIDECI campus depicts Zapatistas, and the Center has hosted Sups Marcos and Moises to speak on several occasions, so it is natural that it would be chosen as site of registration for the Escuelita. Arriving with my friend Reyna, we entered the short registration line established for foreigners--the lines for those hailing from Mexico City and the states of Mexico being much longer than this one--presented our documents to the receiving team, paid the 380-peso fee (about $30US), and then were told we would be placed in a community belonging to the La Realidad ("Reality") region located deep in the Lacandon Jungle. I was pleased to hear this, as La Realidad is my favorite of the five Zapatista caracoles ("snails"), or administrative centers located in the zones with Zapatista presence. Reyna and I then got in line to board the various vehicles the EZLN had organized outside CIDECI to transport us to our respective caracoles. Map of the 5 Zapatista caracoles and their corresponding regions. From Niels Barmeyer, Developing Zapatista Autonomy (Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2009), xvii. When the caravan from CIDECI entered the jungle and arrived at La Realidad some ten hours after having departed, we were asked to remain in the vehicles outside the caracol compound for just a few more minutes. Thus were we faced with a white banner draped above the iron gate that served as entrance commemorating 20 years since the Zapatista uprising in general and the ca i da ("fall") of Subcomandante Insurgente Pedro during the fighting in Las Margaritas in particular. Once the Zapatistas had finished preparing themselves, the alumn@s were invited to file through to enter the caracol, just as skilled masked players struck joyful tunes on the marimba from the stage above where the students came to join the assembled Zapatistas for a brief orientation to the Escuelita. After declaring our support to the cause of revolution--responding with ! Viva! to the mention of various persons and groups, such as the EZLN, Subcomandante Marcos, Comandanta Ramona, the Escuelita, the peoples of the world, the world's women, and so on.--we were assigned to our guardian@s individually and then sent to sleep as segregated by sex while the marimba continued to play into the night. My guardi a n was a young Tojolabal male BAEZLN (base de apoyo, or "support base") named Hector--his name here is a pseudonym for reasons of clandestinity. Banner in La Realidad commemorating Sup Pedro, who died in the insurrection on 1 January 1994. The next morning, 25 December, the Escuelita at La Realidad officially commenced with a collective presentation made by Zapatista teachers of the region regarding different aspects of life and politics in the BAEZLN communities pertaining to this caracol. In basic terms, these teachers spoke to the EZLN's autonomous health and banking systems--with the former comprised of health promoters, male and female, who are trained in the three fields of acute care, obstetrics, and herbalism, and the latter comprised of lending institutions (BANPAZ and BANAMAS) which offer loans for productive projects at 2-3% interest and provide economic support for Zapatista families struck by illness--as well as their democratic system of governance, which in parallel to the official system is made up of three tiers: the local popular assemblies at the communal level, the autonomous Zapatista rebel municipalities (MAREZ) at the intermediary level, and finally the Good-Government Councils ( Juntas de Buen Gobierno, or JBGs), which coordinate matters at the regional level. Of the three, the JBGs represent the highest authority for the Zapatistas, yet legal proposals can be raised at the local assembly level, and the BAEZLN representatives voted into the JBGs through assemblies are fully recallable. The autonomous authorities, moreover, receive no wage or salary for their work but are instead supported with food from their base communities. While the Zapatistas' methods in civic administration thus seem to bear a great deal of similarity to the positive policy proposals made in Euro-U.S. settings by Karl Marx and some anarchists alike, they resemble and develop the political customs of many indigenous peoples of the Americas as well. Indeed, in philosophical terms in this sense, one of the teachers expressed the idea--as recognized also by G.W.F. Hegel and others--that the perpetuation of oppressive social conditions drives forward the dialectic: he spoke specifically of the memory of the Zapatistas' ancestors enslaved by the feudalism imposed by the colonia as propelling the strength of the movement of BAEZLN'toward autonomy. At this time, one of the teachers noted that the EZLN's goal at present is two-fold: one, to "liberate the people of Mexico," and secondly to uphold and extend the autonomy of the organization and its constituent members. The situation of women in the EZLN was first examined an hour and a half into the teachers' presentation, when various female representatives spoke to the issue. Like Friedrich Engels on private property, the introductory speaker argued that the patriarchal enslavement of indigenous women began with Spanish colonialism, whereas previously the worth of women had supposedly been fully recognized, as based on women's ability to reproduce the human race. This speaker noted both males and females to have been oppressed by the patrones imposed by European invasion and genocide, and she welcomed the vast changes provided by the EZLN in terms of women's ability to participate in socio-political matters, whether as health promoters, communal radio progammers, JBG authorities, or milicianas in the guerrilla movement. Several of the speakers on women's issues stressed that the struggle to increase women's participation in the EZLN has not been an easy one, due both to resistance from men as well as the internalization of self-deprecating values on the part of many indigenous women themselves. Another issue is that females in this context tend to be less literate and knowledgeable of Spanish than males, such that engaging in administrative work using Spanish as the common language among BAEZLN from different ethno-linguistic groups proves challenging. One teacher noted that Zapatista women face exploitation on three fronts--for being female, indigenous, and poor--and based on her and other compa n eras' words, it seems they largely bear responsibility for domestic affairs and child-rearing within the dominant sexual division of labor which prevails in Zapatista communities. Speakers in this section also analyzed the Revolutionary Law on Women, passed by the EZLN before its January 1994 insurrection, by enumerating its stipulations--such as the right to freely determine the total number of children to bear, to reject imposed marriage and freely choose partners, to resist domestic violence, and so on--and afterward simply stating that all the conditions of the Law are being observed in Zapatista settings. However, this claim came too quickly, as we will shall see. In the third part of the initial presentation in La Realidad, the teachers addressed some of the challenges the EZLN has faced in the development of its autonomy in the 20 years since its armed revolt. They claim now that their form of resistance is the word, both spoken and written: while in January 1994 their resistance took on armed form, it has now become peacefuland civic--with the resort to arms opening the subsequent possibility for the Zapatistas' impressive development of autonomy. Despite this difference between January 1994 and everything after, the Zapatista movement remains under siege, with the "bad government" ( el mal gobierno) working now to divide indigenous communities among themselves by encouraging participation in official political parties and recourse to state-provided services--a strategy it adopted in direct response to the insurrection, yet one that was subordinated in the years of peak intensity (the years following 1994) to the overtly repressive resort to direct militarization and the fomenting of paramilitary groups designed to terrorize BAEZLN and Zapatista sympathizers in eastern Chiapas. However, forced displacement of BAEZLN still takes place--consider the cases of San Marcos Avil e s in 2010 and Comandante Abel more recently. One speaker mentioned the Lacandon indigenous people who live quite close to La Realidad as an example the Zapatistas do not wish to emulate--for the Lacandones have been made dependent on the State after having been stripped of their rights to fell trees and cultivate agriculture for residing in the region which has been designated as belonging to the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve (RIBMA). Defining the principal problems which the EZLN confronts at the moment, one representative noted the issues of the occupation of lands "recovered" by the Zapatistas in 1994 by indigenous persons belonging to rival political groups, forced displacement, paramilitary activity, and the arbitrary incarceration of BAEZLN. This speaker connecting the experience of these problems with the "peaceful and civil" Zapatista approach, which is to engage in public denunciation through the JBGs. To close this introductory presentation, the teachers accepted written questions from the audience of alumn@s . In response to a question that would continually be raised over the course of the Escuelita, one teacher said that the Zapatistas "respect" the ways of gays, but no more specifics were given on this. As for the question as to how to reproduce the neo-Zapatista model in other contexts--particularly in cities, where living conditions are clearly rather different--the teachers said that that prospect could be helped along by means of the promotion of an autonomous sense of politics, however that be translated into reality. Intruigingly fielding a question about Zapatismo and ecology, one of the teachers noted that the EZLN seeks to carry through the word of the people in terms of how to manage natural resources, such that the question of whether nature be ravaged or left alone is secondary to adherence to the vox populi-- an interesting permutation of "green" anarcho-syndicalism or ecological self-management. Another question-and-answer had a maestro clarifying that BAEZLN practice a "high level" of abstention in official elections at the three levels (municipal, state, and federal). Perhaps most controversially of all, some of the teachers shared the general neo-Zapatista skepticism toward family planning methods, which are apparently considered in the main to be measures imposed from above to limit indigenous population growth. Along these lines, one maestra clarified that abortion is not performed at Zapatista autonomous clinics, considering it a practice of infanticide that should be suppressed if there are to be numerically more zapatistas. Separately, though relatedly, a different teacher declared that the Zapatista midwives are not trained by the Public Health Ministry. Following the morning presentation, the alumn@s and their guardian@s traveled by group to the communities in which they would experience the Escuelita. Transport of these 500 people (about 250 students and their chaperones) took place by means of large sand-trucks--traveling in one of these during the journey out to community and back truly reminded me of pictures I've seen of the anarchist troop-transport vehicles used in the Spanish Revolution of the 1930's. Upon arrival to the -- community affiliated with the -- MAREZ pertaining to La Realidad to which the group in which I was included had been sent, the first session of the Escuelita began for me, as Hector and I were welcomed into the abode of the -- family. (Thus, like many others, Hector and I experienced the Escuelita with one family, though some alumn@s and guardian@s apparently experienced a more collective setting, such as took place in the actual space of an autonomous school.) The first text to be examined was Autonomous Government I , which like the remaining three volumes of written materials provided for alumn@s and guardian@s to study is comprised of varied testimonies from BAEZLN with different charges who belong to MAREZ affiliated with each of the five caracol regions. A scene from the -- community, affiliated with the La Realidad caracol This first volume tells its readers that the EZLN base is comprised of a total of 38 MAREZ, with 4 belonging to La Realidad, and it notes that this caracol was the successor to the first Aguascalientes established in 1994 by the EZLN in the nearby community of Guadalupe Tepeyac--Aguascalientes referring to the Mexican state in which the 1917 Constitution was drafted--which was in turn occupied by the Mexican Army in 1995, its residents displaced for six years until 2001. In 1995, the EZLN responded by founding five more Aguascalientes, administrative centers which would in 2003 become the caracoles and the seats of the JBGs. In terms of La Realidad, the region itself has an autonomous Zapatista hospital in San Jose del Rio--with a large state-based one recently installed in Guadalupe Tepeyac, and a government clinic (physically protected by barbed wire) constructed within the last three years just a couple minutes' walk from the caracol itself . The text on autonomous governance says that the San Jose hospital has recently acquired ultrasound equipment for obstetrical purposes, but it remains unclear to me to what extent there exist rehab or harm-reduction programs for Zapatistas in public health terms--consumption of alcohol and all other drugs is forbidden for BAEZLN. Moreover, in sharing the names of all the Zapatista MAREZ which exist, the volume speaks to the role of revolutionary memory in the EZLN's program: municipalities are named for Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, San Manuel (Manuel being the founder of the EZLN), Ricardo Flores Magon (a renowned Oaxacan anarchist involved in the Mexican Revolution), Comandanta Ramona, Lucio Cabanas (a left-wing guerrillero who formed the Party of the Poor in Guerrero in the 1970's), La Paz, La Dignidad, 17 November (date of the arrival of the urban-based Maoists to the selva Lacandona in 1983), Trabajo ("Work"), and Ruben Jaramillo (a campesino insurrectionary who sought to carry on Zapata's vision until his 1962 murder by the State), to give just a few examples. Politically, volume I lists the seven principles of mandar obedeciendo ("to command by obeying") which is to govern the action of representatives of the JBGs and all other civilian Zapatista institutions: "To serve and not to serve oneself"; "to represent and not to supplant [or usurp]"; "to construct and not to destroy"; "to obey and not to command"; "to propose and not to impose"; "to convince and not to conquer"; "to go down instead of up." Beyond this, the interviews in the text discuss problems with rival organizations in the region corresponding to Morelia such as ORCAO and OPPDIC, and it provides some history showing the necessity of direct JBG oversight of projects proposed by internationals and NGOs to be implemented in Zapatista communities. Moreover, with regard to the northern region affiliated with the Roberto Barrios caracol, the text specifies that economic donations from visitors often go toward expanding cattle-herds, in accordance with the wishes of base communities. The second volume, Autonomous Government II , which Hector, my teacher, and I examined on the Escuelita's second day, gives details about the specific autonomous social projects implemented by the EZLN, especially health and education. Interviews with educational promoters specify the types of classes on offer at the ESRAZ (Escuela Secundaria Rebelde Aut o noma Zapatista, or the Zapatista Rebellious Autonomous High School): languages (Spanish and indigenous), history, math, "life and environment," and integration (on the EZLN's 13 demands). In the La Realidad region at least, autonomous education programs are designed in consultation with students' parents, who are asked what it is that should be preserved from standard public education approaches, and what should be added. With regard to autonomous health, the text specifies that EZLN health promoters have composed a list of 47 points for preventative health, that medical doctors assist in solidarity with health projects, and that the San Jose del Rio hospital had recently acquired an autoclave thanks to revenue from the 10% tax the JBG collects on all construction projects undertaken by community, corporation, or State in its territory. In the northern zone of Chiapas, vaccines arrive every three months for Zapatista children, and the organization SADEC (Salud y Desarrollo Comunitario, or Communal Health and Development) assists with their administration; my teacher assured me that vaccines are regularly given to BAEZLN children in the zone of La Realidad as well. Furthermore, the second volume mentions various difficulties and successes experienced by the EZLN, both internally and externally: for example, the forced displacement prosecuted by federal forces of the Zapatista San Manuel community located in Montes Azules and the scarcity of land limiting the scope of collective projects to be taken in the highlands region corresponding to the Oventik caracol, or the exportation of Zapatista coffee to Italy, Greece, France, and Germany. Zapatista school in the -- community with anarcho-syndicalist colors (rojinegro) This same day, my guardi a n, teacher, and I decided to begin study of volume three, Autonomous Resistance, as well. This collection of interviews provides great insight into neo-Zapatista culture and resistance, as well as relationships between BAEZLN and members of other organizations, particularly officialist grupos de choque ("shock groups"). Providing an interesting perspective on Zapatista child-rearing practices, one representative explained the various alternative cultural activities Zapatista communities offer to their youth so that they not fall into "ideologies of the government": sports, poetry contests, and dance. Also in terms of cultural norms, another interviewed spokesperson notes the celebration of religious holidays to be more popular outside the ranks of the EZLN than inside it--a reflection of the organization's secular orientation. A socio-cultural milestone for the EZLN, the first and only appearance of the neo-Zapatista air force is also described in this volume: to protest the military's occupation in 1999 of Amador Hernandez, a La Realidad MAREZ, local BAEZLN organized a mass-production of paper airplanes carrying subversive messages which were ceremoniously launched into the barracks of the soldiers upholding the occupation. The resistance to this occupation also took on the form of sit-ins, dance, and exhortative speech. In addition, the third volume examines Zapatista diplomacy and relations with other organizations. The construction of water-irrigation projects with which many internationals involved themselves--as is described in Ramor Ryan's Zapatista Spring: Anatomy of a Rebel Water Project (2011) -- is mentioned as a sign of international cooperation and solidarity, while in contrast relations with local communities affiliated with the PRI (the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party) and ORCAO/OPPDIC (comprised in part by ex-BAEZLN) are shown to continue to be tense and problematic. Indeed, it seems there is a true political competition going on between BAEZLN on the one hand and PRI militants on the other, with a number of respondents from the Morelia and La Garrucha regions expressing faith and pride that BAEZLN in many cases live better than their PRI counterparts, thanks to the organization's reportedly consistent besting of the official system in health and educational outcomes--this despite the myriad social programs offered by the Chiapas state government, and the millions of pesos it spends on them. In universal (or galactical) terms, an education promoter from the Roberto Barrios region tells his interviewer that the neo-Zapatista struggle proceeds not only with the interests of BAEZLN in mind, but of all-- tod@s . The reading for the the third day was the fourth volume, Women's Participation in Autonomous Government, perhaps the most interesting one of all--for it is testament to the patent conflict between Zapatista rhetoric and everyday life in this regard. From the La Realidad region, an ex-JBG member notes proudly that in neither organized religion nor in established political parties have women experienced the kind of participation that female BAEZLN have been allowed. A member from an autonomous council of the same zone claims the lot of Zapatista women to be better off than that of indigenous women in PRI communities, where high rates of alcohol and other drug abuse and sexual violence reportedly obtain. Nonetheless, a great deal of tension between the end of women's liberation and respect for established patriarchal custom can be readily detected in this volume on women's involvement. For example, the 47 points on preventative health from La Realidad include one endorsing family planning, while health promoters affiliated with Morelia suggest to their female clients that they ideally try to leave a 5- or 6-year gap between each subsequent birth, all in accordance with article 3 of the Revolutionary Law on Women, which grants female BAEZLN the right to elect the number of children they will bear--yet sources from Oventik and Roberto Barrios note that it is precisely this law no. 3 which is being least observed in practice, given the strong opposition expressed by many male BAEZLN to the use of birth control methods. Indeed, summarizing the results of a public discussion among BAEZLN in the Roberto Barrios region on women's issues, one educational promoter reported the widespread opinion that women should not unilaterally decide on the question of number of children--thus expressing a popular repudiation of law no. 3! From La Garrucha, another educational promoter claims that women's participation in her MAREZ is 2-3% of what it should be--that is, if I'm not mistaken, that >97% of female Zapatistas from that municipality opt out of taking on the charges passed to them through election. Sexual education would seem underdeveloped in the Roberto Barrios region, according to a Zapatista educator there, and in this zone marriage is common by 15 or 16 years of age, while in the Oventik region unmarried couples are apparently expected to ask permission from their parents to date--so that they avoid the "bad customs of the cities where lovers just get together without respecting their parents." In these terms, an interesting proposal from the base is that of the recommendations made in the Oventik zone in 1996 for an expanded Revolutionary Law on Women--a proposal that has yet to be adopted by the EZLN. While from volume IV it is unclear how this proposed expansion came about, and who precisely composed its articles, it in some ways reflects regression from the original Revolutionary Law: here, it is only married women who have the right to birth control, and this only to the extent to which agreement with male partners is achieved, while non-monogamous relationships are declared unacceptable: "it is prohibited and inappropriate that some member of the [Zapatista] community engage in romantic relations outside of the norms of the community and populace --that is to say, men and women are not allowed to have [sexual] relations if they are not married, because this brings as consequences the destruction of the family and a bad example before society." In a similar vein, "arbitrary abandonment" and coupling with others while formally married are also tabooed in the articles of this recommended expansion. Whether such attitudes are representative of the thought of many or most female BAEZLN is unknown; however conservative such ideas may seem, it is also worth noting that 17 years have passed since their proposal. Thus after finishing the last volume on women's participation, the Escuelita in community had ended, and Hector and I expressed our gratitude for the generosity showed by our maestro and his compa n era (female partner) during the classes and our stay in the -- community. We then met up with the other alumn@s (including Reyna) who had come together in the local assembly space and then departed for our hike to the access road at which we were to be picked up and returned by sand-trucks to La Realidad. Once the afternoon progressed into evening in the caracol, as more alumn@s continued arriving from other communities, the Zapatista teachers called us all back together once again for a final round of questions-and-answers, followed by the presentation of the Mexican and Zapatista flags and the singing of the anthems to State and EZLN, which in turn gave rise to more creative musical performances by the teachers and artistic interventions from alumn@s. I will confess that I cried for Sup Pedro when the maestr@s sang about this "simple" and "decent" man from Michoacan, born to a beautiful mother and killed in insurrection. After the conclusion of the participatory cultural event, it was announced that all those desiring to return to San Cristobal would be leaving in a caravan departing before dusk the next morning. Then the night was ceded to a large dance on the basketball court, as animated by a sustained series of ludic perfomances on marimba played by male BAEZLN of differing generations. Fin de A n o in Oventik Presentation of Zapatista flag, 31 December 2013 Upon returning to San Cristobal, I was already greatly missing Hector; I hope we will stay in touch. I considered which of the 5 caracoles to visit for the New Year's celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the armed uprising and launched myself to Oventik, the closest to San Cristobal. After being admitted into the foggy caracol with a crowd of other visitors shortly after arriving, I placed my belongings in one of the classrooms of the escuela aut o noma, as a new friend had just recommended to me, and we then made our way to the basketball court where live music was being played under a roof, protected from the rain. Standing on stage alongside Zapatista authorities and BAEZLN, the performers included highland indigenous musicians and conscious freestyle rappers from Mexico City, among others. At a certain point in the evening, as the rain continued, the assembled Zapatistas performed a "political act" involving the marching presentation of the Mexican and EZLN flags and the public reading of the Revolutionary Indigenous Clandestine Committee's (CCRI) declaration on the event of the twentieth anniversary of the neo-Zapatista insurrection, as performed by a Comandanta. The text was subsequently read in Tsotsil and Tseltal translations--with these being two indigenous languages spoken in the highlands region in which Oventik finds itself. In the Tsotsil translation, the word kux'lejal ("bodily pain") could be heard uttered several times. At the end of this "act," with the retiring of the Mexican and Zapatista flags, representatives of the EZLN wished all those assembled in the caracol a happy new year, and they particularly wished all Zapatistas a joyful twentieth anniversary for their resort to arms. Similarly to the case in La Realidad just days before, the remaining hours of 2013 and the first several hours of 2014 in Oventik were celebrated with several hours of cumbia rebelde, during which the basketball court was full with dancers, Zapatistas and their well-wishers together. Also present at the cumbia were organizers of the Climate Caravan through Latin America ( Caravana Clim a tica por Am e rica Latina ), who sought to connect the assembled dancing rebels with this compelling initiative from below to combine direct action and information-gathering activities in resistance to unchecked ecocidal trends. Entrance to Oventik caracol, 1 January 2014 Questions, critique, and the future There can be no doubt that the BAEZLN have been truly impressive in their efforts to "conquer liberty" and extend the cause of autonomy in the 20 years since their declaration of war against capitalism and the Mexican State. Nonetheless, it would contradict the spirit of critique and autonomy not to raise questions and concerns regarding different facets of the Zapatista movement. For one, what is the political model the EZLN is pursuing? As against the original demand for independence made in 1994, this model is not that of formal statehood--as is made, for example, in the Palestinian case--but rather that of developing the new society within the shell of the old. In his Developing Zapatista Autonomy (2009), German anthropologist Niels Barmeyer argues that the Zapatista example advances the creation of a counter-state to the official one presided over by the Mexican government ( el mal gobierno ). Contemplation of the various details provided in the four volumes of text assigned to alumn@s of the Escuelita would seem to confirm this diagnosis, from consideration of the Good-Government Councils (as counterposed to the bad government) to the Zapatistas' alternative health and education systems. As Barmeyer notes, moreover, the EZLN provides protection to its members, even if the organization does not necessarily exercise a monopoly on "legitimate" use of force in the territories of its influence. 1 Nonetheless, if the overall claim is true--that the Zapatistas really desire a State, or that the nature of their principles of self-government effectively express their wish for such, as an anarchist confided in me at the Monument to the Revolution in Mexico City a year and a half ago--one must then interrogate the attraction the Zapatistas have represented for libertarian socialists and anti-authoritarians the world over these past 20 years. Clearly, the 1 January 1994 insurrection has proven seminal for the adoption of the Black Bloc tactic all over the globe, while the indigenous character of the movement and the radical humanism expressed by its principal spokesperson--Sup Marcos--have enlivened and illuminated the radical imaginations and hopes of millions of observers. But what do anarchists have to say about the processes of socio-political autonomy undertaken by the EZLN since January 1994? Are they too similar to State institutions, or are they sufficiently distinct? Is it just a matter of "contradict[ing] the system while you are in it until it's transformed into a new system," as Huey P. Newton observed with reference to the "survival programs" the Black Panther Party implemented in the late 1960's, "pending revolution"? 2 How are outsiders, especially internationals, to engage with the persistence of authoritarian and inegalitarian attitudes toward women in social movements putatively based on the principles of "democracy, justice, and freedom" with which they express solidarity--despite the relative improvements seen in these terms over time? Can it justly be said that feminist perspectives are simply irrelevant if they are held by those who do not pass the course of their lives within a given movement? If it were to be affirmed, the principle underlying this second question would betray a cultural nationalism and relativism of sorts, one which undermines internationalism and global notions of solidarity. It would also effectively trivialize the disappointment expressed from the start by many Mexican feminists at the perpetuation of patriarchy within the EZLN--and, indeed, paper over the absurd expulsion of COLEM (el Colectivo de Mujeres, or the Women's Collective, from San Cristobal) from Zapatista territory on the charge that its feminist organizing threatened to "incite a gender war"! 3 Conceptually, the idea of "autonomy" cannot immediately tell us which of the conflicting principles is to be held superior: in the first place, autonomy likely should presume substantive freedom for all as a precondition of its existence, yet in practice it is taken to mean the outcome of popular self-determination, as opposed to Statist or capitalist imposition. Such tensions clearly exist in appraising Zapatismo, especially with regard to the situations faced by female and non-heterosexual BAEZLN. A similar critical line of thinking could also bring to light the extensive deforestation which Zapatista communities have produced through their "autonomous" desire to raise cattle en masse in jungle environments, or it could criticize the Zapatistas's drinking and selling of Coca-Cola and their generally non-vegetarian lifestyles--or at least the ambivalence Marcos expresses as regards the prospect of even discussing this latter point, for he declares vegetarian tactics of moral suasion to be an imposition to be disobeyed . As Mickey Z. Vegan could be expected to point out, the collective Zapatista butcher-shop from the Roberto Barrios region mentioned in volume III may not be the most liberating project to engage in, for either BAEZLN workers or the beasts themselves. Thus, in spite the issues I have observed and the doubts they produce in me, I consider the EZLN nothing less than a world-historical revolutionary movement, one which has played a critical role in inspiring and spurring on the multitudinous activist militancy seen throughout much of the world following the self-implosion of the Soviet Union--a militancy which radically seeks the abolition of those power-groups which threaten the entire Earth with social and environmental catastrophe. I also believe that the EZLN's struggle has much more to offer the world still--given that the Zapatistas had originally sought to incite other Mexican revolutionary groups to join them in insurrection in 1994, and in light of the continued strength of the capitalist monster against which the BAEZLN revolted--no matter how optimistic Marcos's declaration last year on the occasion of the new Baktun and the silent Zapatista occupation of the townships the EZLN had taken in 1994, that the world of those from above is "collapsing." However, I do agree with Sup Marcos that the world of those from below is resurging. Hence was I very glad to have been able to attend the first course of the Escuelita and to celebrate thetwenty years since the Zapatista insurrection together with them. I wish the BAEZLN the very best for this year, and the next 20 as well. ! Zapata vive! 1 Niels Barmeyer, Developing Zapatista Autonomy: Conflict and NGO Involvement in Rebel Chiapas (Albuquerque: Univ. of New Mexico Press, 2009), 5, 214. 2 Cited in Alondra Nelson, Body and Soul: The Black Panther Party and the Fight Against Medical Discrimination (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2011), 63.

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Coyotl (15,262 posts) Mitt Romney does not know where Iran and Syria are. This could well be the defining statement by Romney tonight, after the fervor about Obama's great performance finally subsides a bit: WOW Mittens, missed a few geography lessons lately? Maybe a community college class coming up in January will assist you, prepare you for the cavalry charge in 2016 Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:26 AM 1. found it Iranic... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:27 AM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 2. This is going viral on Facebook 1,652 shares in about an hour Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:27 AM regnaD kciN (19,810 posts) 12. The Obama campaign needs to make a big enough deal about this... ...that it will start getting some notice on national news programs. This could go a long way toward deflating Rmoney's desired image of professionalism and competence. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:48 AM drnb (3 posts) 13. Romney actually got this right ... That would not be such a good idea. Romney seems to have actually gotten this right, he merely left off "Mediterranean". Iran and Syria have a naval accord. Iran is building a naval base is Syria. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 04:19 AM KurtNYC (14,549 posts) 14. No he didn't get it right -- Iran is not an Arab country and they have no contiguous border w/Syria! Tue Oct 23, 2012, 05:02 AM drnb (3 posts) 18. You don't need land route or shared border when you have naval base You don't need a land route or shared border when you have a permanent naval base. Such a base in Syria gives Iran the opportunity to forward deploy ships on the Mediterranean Sea for extended durations. To resupply, refuel, rearm, conduct patrols from and return to this Syrian base. Much like the US Navy does from bases in NATO countries that have Mediterranean coasts. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:32 PM myrna minx (22,772 posts) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:47 PM RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) 34. it should! God help us keep this brain dead rock out of the white house Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:31 AM redStateBlueHeart (255 posts) 3. I wonder if he even knows what the national language of Iran is... He probably thinks it's Arabic, just like Gingrinch. Mitt pretty much fails whenever he pretends to know anything about foreign policy Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:40 AM oldhippydude (2,514 posts) 6. yep he just proved in Iranian geography.. he's a sea student... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:34 AM Surya Gayatri (15,445 posts) 4. But, but, Iran is landlocked and needs the Syria "corridor" in order to have access to the sea, don't cha know? Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:35 AM aint_no_life_nowhere (21,925 posts) 5. And that statement sounds rehearsed at that "Syria is Iran's route to the sea". It doesn't sound like something off the top of his head. I think it sounds like something an adviser told him to say and that he mindlessly parroted. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:42 AM CTyankee (52,299 posts) 7. probably that idiot dan senor. I'll bet he won't be cock walking on Morning Joe tomorrow... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 04:36 AM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 21. He extemporized that and got it completely wrong. Ignorance requires improvizing Romney would have been better off if he didn't have to talk Don't make excuses for the man. He doesn't know where the Middle East countries are situated. End of story, end of campaign! Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:13 PM RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) 30. "He doesn't know where the Middle East countries are situated. End of story, end of campaign!" It certainly should be!! If only we had a functioning media.... Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:46 AM 8. Romney must have been playing battleship in the bathtub wishing he knew how to play Chess or Risk Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:38 PM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 28. Actually, he is a member of the Flatland Society In Flatland women are simple line-segments, while men are regular polygons. Romney is a member of the social caste of gentlemen, a society of geometric figures who understand the implications of life in two dimensions. He wants to visit the one-dimensional world, the Muslim Nations, and convince them of the second dimension but finds that it is essentially impossible when you can't find the countries on a map first. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:38 PM loyalsister (12,300 posts) 38. I would think that he would need considerable mentoring there We all thought of Bush as dumb. I wouldn't have expect such idiocy from romney. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:47 AM 9. I don't think his supporters even care. They just want Obama out. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 10:37 AM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 22. But, the independents and undecideds do care, and they swing the election every time. This is not about changing the minds of the decided. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:49 AM 10. He needs a bigger map His view is very Israel-centric and he probably honestly thought Iran was land-locked: Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:26 PM Tue Oct 23, 2012, 02:57 PM 36. I think you mean Egypt Tue Oct 23, 2012, 04:23 AM KurtNYC (14,549 posts) 16. Also, Iran is not an Arab country -- they are Aryan (hence the name "Iran") Tue Oct 23, 2012, 05:31 AM Princess Turandot (3,631 posts) 19. He was probably using the infamous FOX News map which flipped Iran and Iraq (label-wise).. putting Iran next to Syria! (I realize Iraq has a section of coastline on the Gulf but it's small.) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 06:43 AM DetlefK (13,037 posts) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 10:59 AM Tue Oct 23, 2012, 11:02 AM eppur_se_muova (28,498 posts) 24. He prepped for the debate with Fox News maps .... nt 25. romney is talking to his base ,be careful you do not go far you my fall off n\t Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:28 PM Coyotl (15,262 posts) 26. These two are a natural combination: Romney/Upton 2016 Romney/Upton 2016 Believe in Maps Tue Oct 23, 2012, 12:55 PM hifiguy (33,688 posts) 29. Derpy Hooves wouldn't have got that one wrong. Which is saying something. Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:15 PM WinkyDink (51,311 posts) 31. I think this was not just a blunder but was/ought to be a DEFINING MOMENT that we should use in ads. RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) 33. according to the article he says it all the time Tue Oct 23, 2012, 01:51 PM RepublicansRZombies (982 posts) Tue Oct 23, 2012, 03:17 PM HopeHoops (47,675 posts) 37. Yes, but he can see them from his car elevator.

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In my opinion you make gunn owners look bad We're already told we have the blood of children on our hands. Called 'gun nuts' and 'gun humpers' and 'gun suckers' and 'ammosexuals' and 'murder inc', 'murder enablers', 'rude toters' 'emboldened by possession of a gun to commit crime', ' delicate flowers , 'gun fuckers', 'compensating', 'the small penis (and presumably clitoris) brigade', 'gunner trash', Trash (have a look at who authored that one why don'tcha), 'gun hoarders', 'the cult of the firearm', 'gunner shitheads', 'murder advocates', 'pro-gun sanctimonious charlatans', 'glib sociopath gunthusiasts', 'gun apologists', 'terrorists'... And you think we should be concerned how being spiteful in return or retaliation makes us look in your opinion? Really? The thumbhole stocks and barrel shroud rationale is even more disturbing. Apparently, they would rather people own "rapid firing" rifles that are more difficult to control when firing. I had a discussion on here a few years ago in which my interlocutor asserted that ergonomics increase lethality, and therefore are fair game for regulation. Following that line of reasoning, my suggestion was that perhaps Federal law could mandate that in the future, the stocks of all semi-automatic rifles must be embedded with ground glass. A study analyzing FBI data shows that 20% of the law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty from 1998 to 2001 were killed with assault weapons. Are you serious? For real? Did you even read this crap? So 20% of LEOs killed ILD were shot with assault weapons DURING THE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN . That is somehow evidence that we need another AWB? RIIIGHTT! Where's that smiley with it's head up its ass?

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1 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 12:06:52pm down 7 up report The hell of it is, two weeks ago basically the only thing we were talking about re: Lewandowski was how the dude was completely unqualified to run a campaign because he had basically no political experience or training. So not only is he toxic, he's incompetent. Great hire, guys! 2 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 12:06:58pm down 25 up report o/` Trolling, trolling, trolling...keep that trolling going. Trolling, trolling, all jokes aside! o/` Obama: No successful businessman thinks Trump is the most successful businessman https://t.co/HKY3936j8H pic.twitter.com/CyPCVoX5u7 (sorry for the immediate OT) 3 I Would Prefer Not To Jun 23, 2016 * 12:08:31pm down 5 up report o/` Trolling, trolling, trolling...keep that trolling going. Trolling, trolling, all jokes aside! o/` [Embedded content] (sorry for the immediate OT) Thanks for the OT. 4 Great White Snark Jun 23, 2016 * 12:10:56pm down 9 up report They have a Lemon and they try to make Lemonade. Now they have an ex aide. One far more bitter than any Lemonade ever made. 5 Franklin Jun 23, 2016 * 12:11:59pm down 16 up report I give up, media just sucks. Orlando paramedics were not allowed inside club for three hours during standoff https://t.co/H8tMX9d68Q Burying the lede in the 4th graf: Because Mateen was presumed to be alive throughout the whole three-hour ordeal, he was considered an active shooter, Davis said. "We didn't have that intel -- we didn't know exactly where he was at. We didn't have opportunity to make entry into that building until the shooter was either arrested or killed." 6 Sir John Barron Jun 23, 2016 * 12:14:17pm down 2 up report I give up, media just sucks. Burying the lede in the 4th graf: Militant gays and radical BLM members were warring on police. 7 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 12:14:47pm down 4 up report im sure lewandowski will never make any statements on cnn that will make the trump campaign look like a bunch of racists or morons 8 Timothy Watson Jun 23, 2016 * 12:15:07pm down 7 up report I give up, media just sucks. [Embedded content] Burying the lede in the 4th graf: Something that is standard operating procedure for every rescue squad/EMT in the entire country. 9 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 12:16:03pm down 9 up report None of this is surprising. CNN was in a race to the bottom to see if they could get a creep formerly involved in the Trump campaign to spew his nonsense on tv for them. They won. Don Pardo, tell 'em what they've won: a creep who thinks nothing of assaulting women and whose tether to reality is rather limited. A guy who defended indefensible Trump statements for months on end, even though they were fact and logic free. Yeah, that's a win CNN. 10 Skip Intro Jun 23, 2016 * 12:17:21pm down 3 up report When Fox is the gold standard there's nowhere to go but down. 11 gocart mozart Jun 23, 2016 * 12:17:31pm down 32 up report @RandPaul So it's to kill cops and marines? #GoFuckYourself 12 stpaulbear Jun 23, 2016 * 12:18:35pm down 4 up report re: #7 dog philosopher aioau[?] im sure lewandowski will never make any statements on cnn that will make the trump campaign look like a bunch of racists or morons He'll also get to blab endlessly about what a criminal Hillary is. I'd bet that he doesn't say anything bad about any republicans. He's still on the team from what I've read post-firing. 13 Sir John Barron Jun 23, 2016 * 12:18:57pm down 2 up report re: #11 gocart mozart No, to kill lazy government bureaucrats and activist judges who take away are Freedumb. 14 I Would Prefer Not To Jun 23, 2016 * 12:19:39pm down 25 up report 'Go f*cking make my tortilla': Unhinged Trump supporter goes batsh*t insane on Hispanic protester #GOP #racism #bigotry #p2 #tiot Question. Are there any Trump supporters that are hinged? 15 Franklin Jun 23, 2016 * 12:19:40pm down 18 up report Non sequitur of the day award goes to...... Our inner cities have been left behind. We will never have the resources to support our people if we have an open border. -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) June 23, 2016 16 Sir John Barron Jun 23, 2016 * 12:20:16pm down 4 up report re: #7 dog philosopher aioau[?] im sure lewandowski will never make any statements on cnn that will make the trump campaign look like a bunch of racists or morons Given his NDA with Trump ensuring he can't say anything meaningful about Trump at all, I'm sure Lewandowski will be full of unbiased information and enriching details from his Trump campaign experience. 17 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:20:22pm down 13 up report Tornado watch until 10 pm. Yay me.... :( 18 Kilroy01 Jun 23, 2016 * 12:20:56pm down 4 up report Well Lewandowski can't do any worse at Fact Checking than CNN does now. 19 Sir John Barron Jun 23, 2016 * 12:20:59pm down 5 up report Our inner cities have been left behind. We will never have the resources to support our people if we have an open border. -- Donald J. Trump LOLwat? 20 Dave In Austin Jun 23, 2016 * 12:22:06pm down 2 up report Tornado watch until 10 pm. Yay me.... :( Eyes to the sky, ears to the air.... Be careful and take lots of pictures. 21 Franklin Jun 23, 2016 * 12:22:09pm down 10 up report 22 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:22:10pm down 18 up report re: #11 gocart mozart [Embedded content] I am sick of this shit. Rand, if you hate the US government so much you can resign immediately and stop drawing your salary and benefits from the U.S taxpayer. How about you and your asshole father go cry about the demise of the CSA in a corner alone. 23 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:22:49pm down 2 up report re: #14 I Would Prefer Not To [Embedded content] Question. Are there any Trump supporters that are hinged? I honestly don't think so. You ahve to be pretty fucked up to think this guy is qualified to be President. 24 mr.fusion Jun 23, 2016 * 12:23:01pm down 22 up report Key question for CNN: Did Lewandowski sign a contract with Trump that included a non-disparagement clause? -- Judd Legum ( @JuddLegum ) June 23, 2016 25 Frenchy Jun 23, 2016 * 12:23:57pm down 18 up report Good luck with that whole "shooting at the government" thing, Rand. If they really wanted to get you, your guns would not save you. Fucking idiot. 26 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 12:24:24pm down 4 up report 27 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 12:24:44pm down 8 up report What better way to spread Trump propaganda than to have this ahole on CNN. I bet this was planned all along. 28 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:24:59pm down 21 up report So Trump campaign says reason millions he promised to charity don't show up on foundation records is because he gave privately. 29 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:25:37pm down 4 up report I think it is time for a moment of silence and reflection regarding our 'news' media. Next I ask for prayers for our citizens that have no real TV medium in which they can be sure they are getting straight facts and not being teased and played for ratings and or control of the message for ulterior motives by corporations or political parties. 30 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:25:44pm down 19 up report RNC plans to replace Cleveland sign of Lebron James with a red, white, and blue image saying "This land is our land." #Cantpossiblygowrong 31 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:26:04pm down 9 up report Good luck with that whole "shooting at the government" thing, Rand. If they really wanted to get you, your guns would not save you. Fucking idiot. it's a load of paranoid bullshit. Honestly, I'm tired of Republicans like Rand who hate on the government while they happily draw their salaries and benefits from it. I mean if you're going ot be an anti government asshole, at least have the decency to actually not take part in something you despise so much. But Randy Rand's a fucking hypocrite just like his Daddy. He talks about how he hates the big bad government but he's perfectly okay with using the government to push his vision of morality when it comes to things like abortion and gay marriage. 32 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:26:39pm down 13 up report re: #30 Backwoods_Sleuth Woody Guthrie just wept. 33 nines09 Jun 23, 2016 * 12:26:55pm down 6 up report re: #30 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] and in smaller print underneath will read...."Except for you, and you, that couple over there, that kid, and your momma." 34 freetoken Jun 23, 2016 * 12:27:18pm down 6 up report This video is getting lots of attention today: It's a bit off topic, but only a bit. It's contents are rabidly denied by the wingnuts in may parts. I have a few quibbles here and there with some of the statements, but squeezing 6 million years of change into a few minutes is a challenge, after all. 35 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 12:27:58pm down 9 up report 36 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 12:28:19pm down 6 up report Our inner cities have been left behind. We will never have the resources to support our people if we have an open border. this is wingnut mode when they believe that illegal aliens come over the border and magically get on lifetime welfare at other times, it's necessary to believe that the illegal immigrants are of course all taking jobs away from americans who are being prevented from performing stoop labor and cleaning toilets for a living 37 Frenchy Jun 23, 2016 * 12:28:46pm down 6 up report One nice side benefit of the sit-in was that it allowed us to forget about Trump for a while. Now I guess the media will be back to all Trump all the time. Sigh. 38 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:29:04pm down 1 up report re: #17 Backwoods_Sleuth Tornado watch until 10 pm. Yay me.... :( Really? All I see for Columbus is some additional rain today and a continued worry about flash flooding from the overnight heavy rains. 39 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:29:28pm down 8 up report re: #35 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge The NRA? The same people who use fear of racial minorities to their member is going to try to explain the Civil Rights movement to John Lewis, a man who was there and knows full well that white conservatives like the NRA have always been the enemy of equal civil rights. 40 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 12:30:06pm down 19 up report 42 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:30:34pm down 7 up report if she wins Arizona, Sheriff Joe may be out of a job too. 43 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 12:30:45pm down 13 up report re: #30 Backwoods_Sleuth RNC plans to replace Cleveland sign of Lebron James with a red, white, and blue image saying "This land is our land." republican version of "this land belongs to you and me": this land is my land this land is my land get off of my land and go back wherever you came from 44 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:30:51pm down 2 up report Really? All I see for Columbus is some additional rain today and a continued worry about flash flooding from the overnight heavy rains. ***Tor Watch*** until 10PM EDT. Main threats are damaging winds, flooding, lightning, hail, and isolated tornadoes. pic.twitter.com/dZoogOjLWK 46 Shiplord Kirel Jun 23, 2016 * 12:32:13pm down 1 up report What a bone headed move by CNN, one of many in recent years. Is it time to consider a supernatural explanation? /(too obscure?) 47 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:32:17pm down 3 up report It's a very useful hashtag. [Embedded content] Yeah it's all over now. Except most voters aren't idiots like Scott Adams. 48 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:32:32pm down 12 up report if she wins Arizona, Sheriff Joe may be out of a job too. Penzone campaign: poll has Penzone leading #Arpaio in race for sheriff, Trump leading Clinton #12News https://t.co/5BTX7azBWd Up 4 points: No doubt Maricopa County is ready for new leadership! #itstime #penzone4sheriff https://t.co/cuT6dgacxH https://t.co/GmcYU4NwP4 49 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:33:00pm down 9 up report re: #30 Backwoods_Sleuth Orichalcum @orichalcum7 RNC plans to replace Cleveland sign of Lebron James with a red, white, and blue image saying "This land is our land." #Cantpossiblygowrong 10:17 PM - 21 Jun 2016 148 148 Retweets 213 213 likes Damn, the GOP really is tone deaf. That is not going to go over well in Cleveland no matter the politics. But then, I guess it would be very difficult for them to have to face a huge image of a successful and beloved African American on their way to figuring out a way to screw such people and others. 50 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 12:33:11pm down 1 up report 51 Charles Johnson Jun 23, 2016 * 12:33:17pm down 8 up report Of course you would enjoy this hallucinatory hate site. https://t.co/ZoO0RzQzoX @gatewaypundit @realDonaldTrump 52 wrenchwench Jun 23, 2016 * 12:34:11pm down 9 up report Citing fundraising, GOP candidate for DA in Bernalillo County withdraws from race. https://t.co/w53JejHcm7 #nmpol -- NM Political Report ( @NMreport ) June 23, 2016 A new flavor of BS comes from New Mexico: In a press release Kubiak alluded to Torrez's campaign getting support from George Soros, who commonly backs progressive candidates and causes. "The median income in Albuquerque is around $47,500 per year...it would be irresponsible of me to ask our supporters to donate their hard earned money to my campaign knowing that it can become a million dollar race or more," Kubiak said in his statement. "New Mexicans cannot afford to challenge anyone who has unlimited resources and support from a multibillionaire from another country." Kubiak took further shots the campaigns support of Soros in his press release. "This exploitation of our citizens deeply saddens me because all of us know the safety and security of our community has been jeopardized ," [emph. added] Kubiak said. By George Soros? Is he on the No Fly List? 53 Dave In Austin Jun 23, 2016 * 12:34:18pm down 1 up report This video is getting lots of attention today: [Embedded content] It's a bit off topic, but only a bit. It's contents are rabidly denied by the wingnuts in may parts. I have a few quibbles here and there with some of the statements, but squeezing 6 million years of change into a few minutes is a challenge, after all. Add fear of the unknown to this and Boom, you have religion. 54 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 12:34:52pm down 5 up report None of this is surprising. CNN was in a race to the bottom to see if they could get a creep formerly involved in the Trump campaign to spew his nonsense on tv for them. They won. Don Pardo, tell 'em what they've won: a creep who thinks nothing of assaulting women and whose tether to reality is rather limited. A guy who defended indefensible Trump statements for months on end, even though they were fact and logic free. Yeah, that's a win CNN. Well, CNN had to do something--after all MSNBC had already cornered the great right wing minds like Hugh Hewitt et al / Oh, and apparently they forgot to include new MSNBC fixture, Ann Coulter 55 makeitstop Jun 23, 2016 * 12:36:05pm down 4 up report Anyone notice that Corey's got a little combover action of his own goin' on? 56 nines09 Jun 23, 2016 * 12:36:33pm down 2 up report Makes you yearn for Yellow Journalism, where there was only a morning and evening edition. Not 24/7/365......Dolt TV. It's DEAD. 57 Great White Snark Jun 23, 2016 * 12:36:56pm down 18 up report 58 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:37:02pm down 13 up report I wonder how reporters at CNN feel about their bosses hiring a guy who has threatened and manhandled other reporters 59 plansbandc Jun 23, 2016 * 12:37:29pm down 12 up report Well that's yet another reason to never watch CNN. Off topic, but this is a powerful story about a victim of sexual abuse who confronts the coach of the players who attacked her. (He invited her to speak to his new team) 60 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:38:07pm down 2 up report Interesting...your graphic shows Franklin County (Columbus). Gonna have to go check the local media again and see what's up. Thanks for the heads-up. 61 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:39:24pm down 2 up report Interesting...your graphic shows Franklin County (Columbus). Gonna have to go check the local media again and see what's up. Thanks for the heads-up. It's the Wilmington NWS office's graphic. They are the ones who issue the official watches. 62 Kragar Jun 23, 2016 * 12:41:49pm down 17 up report . @Randpaul just said every one of these murders was justified @ZeddRebel https://t.co/7WdmXZBZXI Then my sister is probably in the watch too. /sjJBqy2+ICCH4nUNJbwCDuifwxxOhMRwaNQN1RXEce6LD9u5EVqSKklE0Xe81JWmcy5sE1s/Llx55rcKx3apl5edEDV4Vzzb6TPv0tTlFhBOT6GuQD9tmizAthsLjWSeCrTGTdLuc/f2bKehgPJ7WwSAh7yh1wUUeAnHc5l01GH3FneUbtt7h9mDIu1ObikZXNbbeqz6gYnh6j9Dkq/tTIZZ5RLOpOO8b6LhfkSuBxu/dT/Yw6rDKNnvmpTVKJNVaSY/L0jOoWQWyuOmX1xhmltw2VrCotP0qbSkMT5fmireKu0V9tWaUDkzm1OFnQn9rqKpIs/a8S/fuRljNFtjCpxmOJ0T+2Mwq762/6AKZiPpn5ASSMkNA== 64 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 12:42:26pm down 3 up report Well, CNN had to do something--after all MSNBC had already cornered the great right wing minds like Hugh Hewitt et al / [Embedded content] Just for clarification--this is the actual MSNBC ad (not that it's any better) 65 Sir John Barron Jun 23, 2016 * 12:42:52pm down 2 up report 69 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:44:04pm down 16 up report Remember That Time Lewandowski Cussed Out And Threatened to Blacklist a CNN Reporter? https://t.co/5b003EehSi pic.twitter.com/gSf00FTwHy 70 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:44:24pm down 1 up report re: #61 Backwoods_Sleuth It's the Wilmington NWS office's graphic. They are the ones who issue the official watches. Oh...now I see The Weather Channel and NBC4i is showing warnings. I'm going to just check here from now on...you get the warnings up faster! 71 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:48:00pm down 1 up report There were pre-dawn two tornadoes today, one near Wilmington (the NWS office folks had to take shelter) and the other near Washington Court House. Thunder is rumbling here at the moment. 72 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:48:58pm down 2 up report re: #63 klys (maker of Silmarils) Then my sister is probably in the watch too. [Embedded content] n0V9U0a0iT+z/N+NZUV6IMn5JFc2W8J6uY0feXxOzYuxQSaS2UNL/xmkRi3o/9rBZsKQgiRGmsEjMCl6Uj2MqiwsVHdqbs40Osy3HsMXlDXxyf17EY0jMrNV/lKeAMmaUHuLca1gEiHwzfMB2kFvHaXAHCusERju 73 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 12:49:56pm down 2 up report Unless I'm crazy, I'm pretty sure they had other former Trumpian Michael Caputo (Mr. "Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead") on last night. Please say they are going to have them on at the same time and wait for the sparks to fly! 74 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:50:13pm down 4 up report Just for clarification--this is the actual MSNBC ad (not that it's any better) Groan. I'm trying to give them up...but have no where to turn. Yet. 75 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 12:50:31pm down 7 up report 76 Dave In Austin Jun 23, 2016 * 12:52:59pm down 2 up report Groan. I'm trying to give them up...but have no where to turn. Yet. What he said... Just sucks. 77 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 12:54:47pm down 2 up report re: #71 Backwoods_Sleuth There were pre-dawn two tornadoes today, one near Wilmington (the NWS office folks had to take shelter) and the other near Washington Court House. Thunder is rumbling here at the moment. Yeah, I heard about Washington Court House. Flooding still being watched in parts of Franklin and all of Delaware counties. Just had a nice shower here about a half-hour ago. I might start seeing green and growing grass again! 78 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 12:54:58pm down 8 up report Non sequitur of the day award goes to...... [Embedded content] Our inner cities have been left behind. We will never have the resources to support our people if we have an open border. -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) June 23, 2016 All those Canadians pouring into Detroit's inner city. 80 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 12:55:33pm down 25 up report . @RandPaul One of Bundy's followers was arrested just today for trying to bomb a federal building. Great timing Rand pic.twitter.com/a5Yx7KSOO6 81 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 12:56:38pm down 3 up report Yeah, I heard about Washington Court House. Flooding still being watched in parts of Franklin and all of Delaware counties. Just had a nice shower here about a half-hour ago. I might start seeing green and growing grass again! Jeez--between the stories you all were telling yesterday about the drugs etc. in northern Franklin and Delaware counties and the floods and other craziness, I guess I got out of Dublin just in time! 82 piratedan Jun 23, 2016 * 12:57:10pm down 8 up report there is some ground work ongoing here in AZ both on the Rez and elsewhere to register voters. McCain's numbers suck. The Koch brothers puppet in the governors chair is fucking up by the numbers (see Kansas as a role model) and its just possible enough that this election may get AZ a lot more purple than it has been. Not only McCain is in trouble, but if Tucson gets bluer, McSally may be gone as well and maybe another congressional seat or two. The local state districts are so gerrymandered that kicking them out at the state lege level is likely too herculean a task but if Trump continues down this path, a lot of Mormons may sit this out. 83 piratedan Jun 23, 2016 * 12:58:34pm down 4 up report re: #46 Shiplord Kirel how about "they're in the bag as a subsidiary of the GOP" 84 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:00:31pm down 13 up report Today's vote in the Senate represented the largest Republican defection from the gun lobby in recent memory. Today was a loss for the NRA. That would be the blowout vote to table Johnson's amendment (the NRA approved of that one instead of Susan Collin's amendment). 85 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 1:01:21pm down 4 up report Zombie Goebbels was not available, I suppose. 86 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 1:03:10pm down 8 up report Good luck with that whole "shooting at the government" thing, Rand. If they really wanted to get you, your guns would not save you. Fucking idiot. You know what they call people who decide to shoot it out with the feds? "Dearly Departed." 88 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 1:04:48pm down 1 up report Don't worry. When Trump releases his tax returns they will show the millions in charitable giving he engaged in./ 89 Bubblehead II Jun 23, 2016 * 1:05:00pm down 4 up report re: #86 Big Beautiful Door You know what they call people who decide to shoot it out with the feds? " Dearly Deservedly Departed." Couldn't help myself. :-) 90 Decatur Deb Jun 23, 2016 * 1:05:09pm down 3 up report Arlo just Googled for Spirit's lawyer. 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 92 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:05:33pm down 1 up report re: #87 klys (maker of Silmarils) VGpLGDgmoNfL44yVsT/Vs7WQ6bTqcF0Io+klySdwqZ1TO0HDrDsvXzILWID+vFvIvHn+sl0pvTTAzMnu4nFm0Umd1cGX7NKeuHkga1LzLMY= 93 Jay C Jun 23, 2016 * 1:05:41pm down 5 up report Non sequitur of the day award goes to...... [Embedded content] What's the most disheartening thing about reading stuff like this is that while you, and I, and, I'm sure, most Lizards recognize Trump's gibberings for the non sequitur nonsense most of it is, there is an unfortunately large segment of the electorate "out there"* who will read these trite canned aphorisms, and sagely nod in agreement, as they accomplish their source's main aim: i.e., to reinforce their prejudices. * Usually WAAAY "out there"! bnXh+2SCT2RlELKXrFuk56QxKnNhFKofP2zozj+dygjgBR8kI1iXoALbrqnmoE1P7a8RN7Ym1W8= 95 The Vicious Babushka Jun 23, 2016 * 1:07:51pm down 8 up report Well look who's bashing CNN for all it UNFAIRNESS CNN, which is totally biased in favor of Clinton, should apologize. They knew they were wrong. https://t.co/KR7OnS8h6s -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) June 23, 2016 Here is another CNN lie. The Clinton News Network is losing all credibility. I'm not watching it much anymore. https://t.co/pNSgSjD5gW 96 freetoken Jun 23, 2016 * 1:08:15pm down 8 up report re: #93 Jay C If my Facebook feed is any indication, many "conservatives" and Republicans are now in the bargaining phase of Drumpfskindepoche. Basically, they are now focusing on how very evil Hillary is, and thus are on the path to convince themselves that Clinton is worse than Drumpfskind. 97 Frenchy Jun 23, 2016 * 1:10:23pm down 19 up report re: #95 The Vicious Babushka Well if he has Breitbart articles backing up his claims I guess they're unimpeachable. 98 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 1:11:52pm down 9 up report Non sequitur of the day award goes to...... [Embedded content] So Trump's idea of "outreach" is to pit one group of oppressed minorities against another group of oppressed minorities, both of which he openly expresses contempt and hatred for. Brilliant strategy. 99 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:12:16pm down 7 up report re: #84 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] That would be the blowout vote to table Johnson's amendment (the NRA approved of that one instead of Susan Collin's amendment). Man is that great to see. I'd love nothing more than to see the NRA become a weakened force. They contribute nothing positive to the debate. 100 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:12:57pm down 4 up report If my Facebook feed is any indication, many "conservatives" and Republicans are now in the bargaining phase of Drumpfskindepoche. Basically, they are now focusing on how very evil Hillary is, and thus are on the path to convince themselves that Clinton is worse than Drumpfskind. I've seen that too unfortunately with someone I thought was smart enough to see through Drumpf's bs. 101 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 1:13:19pm down 4 up report If my Facebook feed is any indication, many "conservatives" and Republicans are now in the bargaining phase of Drumpfskindepoche. Basically, they are now focuses on how very evil Hillary is, and thus are on the path to convince themselves that Clinton is worse than Drumpfskind. For most of them, this will be very easy. The only NeverTrumpers that aren't likely to backslide are those who sincerely have a problem with Trump's instability in relation to foreign policy. Global thermonuclear war because Trump has a bad hair day would be bad for rich Birchers, so some of the few Republicans still capable of rational thought may see things this way. 102 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 1:13:33pm down 2 up report Jeez--between the stories you all were telling yesterday about the drugs etc. in northern Franklin and Delaware counties and the floods and other craziness, I guess I got out of Dublin just in time! Getting bigger brings it's issues. Cowtown no more! As a matter of fact, I haven't heard anyone say Cowtown for some time. I can't remember how long you have been away from the area, but I am willing to bet what you remember has already changed. You wouldn't recognize the area between Dublin and Hilliard for one, and how far north Dublin goes now. Dublin..three counties...Franklin, Delware and Union. 103 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:14:17pm down 14 up report A reporter goes undercover as a guard at a private prison. https://t.co/rpXFkKDJPh pic.twitter.com/n0ip2bNK7o 104 Belafon Jun 23, 2016 * 1:15:57pm down 8 up report So Trump's idea of "outreach" is to pit one group of oppressed minorities against another group of oppressed minorities, both of which he openly expresses contempt and hatred for. Brilliant strategy. Isn't that a fairly standard Republican strategy? They've been doing whites against others for years, but they've also pitted Christians against gays, men against women, natives versus immigrants, wealthy against the poor. 105 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:16:11pm down 8 up report Maybe someone told him that he would have to actually raise money in order to get it paid back. RT @bethreinhard https://t.co/seoHdbBqEU 106 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:16:34pm down 12 up report re: #103 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Private prisons scare the shit out of me after watching that Kids for Cash documentary. It's a good reminder to people who think the private sector can do ANYTHING better than the government. The idea of prisons for profit just makes me ill. 107 Dave In Austin Jun 23, 2016 * 1:17:00pm down 2 up report re: #95 The Vicious Babushka Fuck, look who's reporting it. 108 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:17:27pm down 7 up report Isn't that a fairly standard Republican strategy? They've been doing whites against others for years, but they've also pitted Christians against gays, men against women, natives versus immigrants, wealthy against the poor. Yep. Get the Christians afraid of gays marrying and having equal rights while they push policies that favor the very wealthy at the expense of everyone else. 109 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 1:18:36pm down 3 up report Its like a scene from OITNB 110 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 1:21:05pm down 9 up report my grandfather came over from poland (in the czarist empire at the time) in 1890 when he was four. eventually he had a career as a surgeon when he died it came out that he had never been naturalized. his father had been naturalized and his son was born in the u.s. yes, my grandfather the doctor was an illegal alien. if he was alive today trump would want to deport him he would be among the people protected by the bill that was rejected today 111 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:22:17pm down 5 up report re: #109 Big Beautiful Door Its like a scene from OITNB The entire article is a freaking nightmare. 112 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 1:22:39pm down 9 up report Stock Market soared today while new unemployment claims fell to near historic lows. Yeah the economy isn't perfect, but its continuing to make progress after the GOP drove it into the ditch. 113 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:23:43pm down 4 up report re: #110 dog philosopher aioau[?] my grandfather came over from poland (in the czarist empire at the time) in 1890 when he was four. eventually he had a career as a surgeon when he died it came out that he had never been naturalized. his father had been naturalized and his son was born in the u.s. yes, my grandfather the doctor was an illegal alien. if he was alive today trump would want to deport him he would be among the people protected by the bill that was rejected today We're almost positive that my maternal grandfather's mother was pregnant with my grandfather's oldest brother when they came here from Slovenia in 1910. He's someone that the GOP would call an anchor baby. He later served in WWII as did two of his other brothers and his youngest brother, my grandfather was in Korea. I defend today's immigrants because I know even though it wasn't always easy for my ancestors that emigrated that I want today's immigrants to get the same respect mine got or if they didn't get respect to get some much needed. 114 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 1:23:57pm down 5 up report re: #111 Backwoods_Sleuth The entire article is a freaking nightmare. I'm not surprised. The War on Drugs can't end soon enough. 115 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 1:24:26pm down 0 up report re: #91 klys (maker of Silmarils) [Embedded content] qHskwSe5dg6Fk9MrL5PAy0vof6DmYPlpnaLvlcQfjzYpQ8qz+LMDdXfzln6W7Y0o0WXzyedi8yiMe6xuIXXG5ju/+OQ9CEWNHxec9+hhCvZrvQ2XamEYgbcch8qecTc/vQc0FC3FER8tJYvrj2sr0K3QHl+GEl7zHAfhtb4H2nqT23IPF/M9Uxd8n4mN8f0xcZbE4FOh8hzQR2aAutEP5P+BhPk/fKqKJqubNwgOMSsoqVXDTyvIKdIJDgXFDO5OJlh2CSdPM8i0CF/SoRoqg+s1oR5k7rlh3iiJSkLCd4c= 116 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 1:26:03pm down 4 up report re: #112 Big Beautiful Door Stock Market soared today while new unemployment claims fell to near historic lows. Yeah the economy isn't perfect, but its continuing to make progress after the GOP drove it into the ditch. And if they hadn't obstructed everything for the last eight years, the recovery would have been seven years ago, and we'd be about ready for another recession they could blame the Democrats for. They just insist on cutting off their nose to spite their face. 117 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:28:18pm down 7 up report re: #112 Big Beautiful Door Stock Market soared today while new unemployment claims fell to near historic lows. Yeah the economy isn't perfect, but its continuing to make progress after the GOP drove it into the ditch. It really is amazing what Obama has been able to accomplish despite a Congress filled with people who not only hate him for being a liberal Democrat but for being a successful black man. 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 119 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 1:29:58pm down 4 up report re: #106 HappyWarrior Private prisons scare the shit out of me after watching that Kids for Cash documentary. It's a good reminder to people who think the private sector can do ANYTHING better than the government. The idea of prisons for profit just makes me ill. If you want an interesting read about the juvenile detention system, check out Burning Down The House by Nell Bernstein. The stories are pretty horrific/tragic, but she also talks about ways to improve the system and outcomes for kids. It's insane how similar juvenile detention centers are to adult prisons, and in many cases, because the inmates are minors, they have even fewer rights than adults. It's a pretty wrenching read I admit, but if you have interest in the topic it's a good start. 120 Belafon Jun 23, 2016 * 1:30:20pm down 6 up report re: #112 Big Beautiful Door Stock Market soared today while new unemployment claims fell to near historic lows. Yeah the economy isn't perfect, but its continuing to make progress after the GOP drove it into the ditch. Not only did they drive it into the ditch, they have the accelerator pressed all the way down while the towtruck is pulling it out. 121 Aunty Entity Dragon Jun 23, 2016 * 1:30:49pm down 9 up report Rod Dreher responding to a comment a few minutes ago: JL says: June 23, 2016 at 12:32 pm Ah yes, John Lewis, SJW. Any relation to the John Lewis whose skull was fractured by Alabama state troopers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge? [NFR: That courageous act does not justify and sanctify whatever John Lewis did and does for the rest of his life. Surely you know this. Surely. -- RD] Dreher then approves and publishes a comment from proto fascist M_Young right after that (all comments are screened by Dreher): M_Young says: June 23, 2016 at 12:40 pm " Calling John Lewis an SJW is absurd." You're right...he's a washed up hack who has been dining out on getting knocked on the head for about half century too long. Kindly fuck yourself with a rusty garden implement, Rod. You too, Young. 122 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:31:03pm down 5 up report Sessions taking a victory lap in the Senate right now over SCOTUS's immigration 4-4 opinion this morning. And he is completely misrepresenting what happened. 123 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 1:31:04pm down 3 up report re: #113 HappyWarrior We're almost positive that my maternal grandfather's mother was pregnant with my grandfather's oldest brother when they came here from Slovenia in 1910. He's someone that the GOP would call an anchor baby. He later served in WWII as did two of his other brothers and his youngest brother, my grandfather was in Korea. I defend today's immigrants because I know even though it wasn't always easy for my ancestors that emigrated that I want today's immigrants to get the same respect mine got or if they didn't get respect to get some much needed. The reality is that for healthy economic growth we need immigrant labor because the American birth rate has dropped below the replacement level. Otherwise, we eventually become Japan, where the economy is shrinking because the number of adults in their prime is dropping while the elderly are an increasingly large percentage of the total population. 124 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:31:12pm down 2 up report If you want an interesting read about the juvenile detention system, check out Burning Down The House by Nell Bernstein. The stories are pretty horrific/tragic, but she also talks about ways to improve the system and outcomes for kids. It's insane how similar juvenile detention centers are to adult prisons, and in many cases, because the inmates are minors, they have even fewer rights than adults. It's a pretty wrenching read I admit, but if you have interest in the topic it's a good start. Thanks, will do. Private prisons scare the shit out of me after watching that Kids for Cash documentary. It's a good reminder to people who think the private sector can do ANYTHING better than the government. The idea of prisons for profit just makes me ill. I was so angry I started crying when I watched that documentary. 126 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:32:36pm down 5 up report re: #123 Big Beautiful Door The reality is that for healthy economic growth we need immigrant labor because the American birth rate has dropped below the replacement level. Otherwise, we eventually become Japan, where the economy is shrinking because the number of adults in their prime is dropping while the elderly are an increasingly large percentage of the total population. Good point. Honestly, not only are these immigrants important to the economy, they're also quite hard working too. My SiL's older sister is an immigrant and just received her Masters from a very prestigious university. 127 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:33:51pm down 3 up report re: #125 Aunty Entity Dragon I was so angry I started crying when I watched that documentary. I wanted to punch Ciaravella and Conahan. Their attitudes man just disgusted me. 128 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:34:43pm down 1 up report re: #122 Backwoods_Sleuth Sessions taking a victory lap in the Senate right now over SCOTUS's immigration 4-4 opinion this morning. And he is completely misrepresenting what happened. Figures that this is Trump's biggest Senate ally. 129 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:36:34pm down 4 up report Figures that this is Trump's biggest Senate ally. Sessions pretty much wrote Trump's immigration "policy". 130 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:37:33pm down 2 up report re: #129 Backwoods_Sleuth Sessions pretty much wrote Trump's immigration "policy". Why does that not surprise me. 131 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:41:31pm down 7 up report Pressed to defend his claim that foreign govts hacked Hillary's server, Trump tells Lester Holt he'll "report back" pic.twitter.com/oH9L2C1ueN 132 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:42:52pm down 4 up report He talks so much shit that it's not even funny. 133 SteelPH Jun 23, 2016 * 1:43:33pm down 3 up report re: #131 Backwoods_Sleuth He'll report back right after he pulls it out of his ass. 134 Frenchy Jun 23, 2016 * 1:44:16pm down 1 up report 135 Alephnaught Jun 23, 2016 * 1:46:35pm down 4 up report From a former World Universities Debating champion. Suspect this might be a troll. Just been asked on tube by @BorisJohnson if I voted leave. I say no. He concedes He's lost anyway. Awkward #EUref pic.twitter.com/sAGcNevw3l 136 The Vicious Babushka Jun 23, 2016 * 1:49:15pm down 14 up report Trump doesn't remember saying he has "one of the all time greatest memories" In which Trump is asked in deposition about his boast to @KatyTurNBC that he has the "world's greatest memory" pic.twitter.com/t5UWs5Ooxg 137 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 1:49:26pm down 2 up report We're almost positive that my maternal grandfather's mother was pregnant with my grandfather's oldest brother when they came here from Slovenia in 1910. He's someone that the GOP would call an anchor baby. He later served in WWII as did two of his other brothers and his youngest brother, my grandfather was in Korea. I defend today's immigrants because I know even though it wasn't always easy for my ancestors that emigrated that I want today's immigrants to get the same respect mine got or if they didn't get respect to get some much needed. also when your and my ancestors came over, anybody who showed up at the golden door would be let in unless they had a disease and of course unless they were coming from asia... the strict limits on immigration weren't put into place iirc until after wwi 138 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:50:52pm down 3 up report re: #137 dog philosopher aioau[?] also when your and my ancestors came over, anybody who showed up at the golden door would be let in unless they had a disease and of course unless they were coming from asia... the strict limits on immigration weren't put into place iirc until after wwi And also for much of the history, there was no such thing as legal and illegal immigrant, there were just immigrants. But yeah there was racism as you get at too. It really is messed up to see people whose ancestors benefited from immigration trying to tell others they can't enjoy it. 139 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 1:51:24pm down 17 up report I wanted to punch Ciaravella and Conahan. Their attitudes man just disgusted me. This is a topic somewhat personal to me because my boyfriend spent about 7 years of his childhood in the Texas juvenile system. He was a runaway from an abusive home at age 14 and got picked up for shoplifting and other typical teenage runaway offenses. He still has huge scars from police beatings he suffered as a kid despite never committing a violent offense, and he's lucky that he was never shot because there were times they threatened to shoot him if he did not stop running. Until he started telling me the stories from his time in the Texas system, I had no idea how awful these child prisons are. I could write a very long post about this, but I'm at work at the moment so I can't do it justice. I would also want to run it by him first, just as a courtesy, although he is pretty open to discussing it with most people now. All I can say, is I feel his anger at the fact that the system didn't care that he was abused, and in fact abused him even further, robbing him of a normal childhood and education. I'll never understand how grown adults can treat children with such cruelty. 140 Romantic Heretic Jun 23, 2016 * 1:51:54pm down 7 up report re: #11 gocart mozart So, I'm guessing you won't mind when some 'patriot' shoots you dead, Rand? Because you are part of the government. 141 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:52:05pm down 8 up report Sessions says we have a surplus of labor in this country and family income is down, and it's all because of excessive labor flow by illegal immigrants. 142 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:53:41pm down 2 up report This is a topic somewhat personal to me because my boyfriend spent about 7 years of his childhood in the Texas juvenile system. He was a runaway from an abusive home at age 14 and got picked up for shoplifting and other typical teenage runaway offenses. He still has huge scars from police beatings he suffered as a kid despite never committing a violent offense, and he's lucky that he was never shot because there were times they threatened to shoot him if he did not stop running. Until he started telling me the stories from his time in the Texas system, I had no idea how awful these child prisons are. I could write a very long post about this, but I'm at work at the moment so I can't do it justice. I would also want to run it by him first, just as a courtesy, although he is pretty open to discussing it with most people now. All I can say, is I feel his anger at the fact that the system didn't care that he was abused, and in fact abused him even further, robbing him of a normal childhood and education. I'll never understand how grown adults can treat children with such cruelty. Terrible. He's lucky to have survived. I'll never get that either by the way how grown adults can be so cruel to children. There's a fucked up mindset that exists in a sub-section of our society that demands punishment above all else. The way I look at prisons and jails is this, most of these people are going to be coming out eventually, we need to treat them like human beings and allow them to become functioning members of society and treating them horribly is no way to do that unfortunately a lot of people in charge don't think like that. 143 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:54:00pm down 2 up report re: #141 Backwoods_Sleuth Session says we have a surplus of labor in this country and family income is down, and it's all because of excessive labor flow by illegal immigrants. 144 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:54:18pm down 4 up report re: #140 Romantic Heretic So, I'm guessing you won't mind when some 'patriot' shoots you dead, Rand? Because you are part of the government. That's different somehow. 145 Frenchy Jun 23, 2016 * 1:55:00pm down 5 up report re: #140 Romantic Heretic Rand isn't doing any tyrannies so don't shoot at him! 146 Charles Johnson Jun 23, 2016 * 1:56:32pm down 5 up report . @NancyPelosi : Democrats Wore Sweaters to Deal With 'Freezing' Conditions During Sit-In https://t.co/Mj9UdbEN6o pic.twitter.com/r0QPs2BtNS The low temperature yesterday was 69 degrees in Washington D.C. https://t.co/KAKp9s2PyU Don't they have air conditioning on your planet? https://t.co/GQ7DjHnt0p @benshapiro 147 Belafon Jun 23, 2016 * 1:56:58pm down 5 up report re: #141 Backwoods_Sleuth Sessions says we have a surplus of labor in this country and family income is down, and it's all because of excessive labor flow by illegal immigrants. Which is why Republicans want children to work. 148 TK-421 Jun 23, 2016 * 1:58:22pm down 13 up report A state lawmaker wants businesses that ban guns to be held strictly liable for any gun-related injury that might occur in their premises, and to pay triple damages. The "Disarmed Citizen Compensation Act" is the brainchild of Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger). "This bill will give the citizens of Wisconsin a better chance of defending themselves and their loved ones against this scourge of terrorist activity," Gannon said in a news release. 149 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:58:23pm down 3 up report re: #146 Charles Johnson [Embedded content] Yeah I don't know what his point is supposed to be. But then again he's a stupid hack. 150 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 1:58:30pm down 9 up report 10th person with Zika confirmed in Dallas County, but there could be 10 more cases https://t.co/dy3ePpsHTU pic.twitter.com/2q9MHYqq2K 151 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 1:58:57pm down 10 up report This is their problem right here. Not only do they want guns everywhere, they want to punish people who don't share their gun fetishism. 152 Kragar Jun 23, 2016 * 1:59:04pm down 25 up report BUT WHY WON'T THE PRESIDENT SAY "RADICAL RIGHT WING TERRORISM"? @jjmacnab 153 Bubblehead II Jun 23, 2016 * 2:02:54pm down 12 up report re: #141 Backwoods_Sleuth Session says we have a surplus of labor in this country and family income is down, and it's all because of excessive labor flow by illegal immigrants. Maybe Jeff wants to ask Georgia and other States how they fared when they passed repressive immigration enforcement laws. Georgia lost $140 million in agricultural losses in 2011 due to crops rotting in the field because there was no one to pick them. Hell, iirc, even the prisoners offered the jobs either refused them or quit shortly after taking them. 154 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:02:58pm down 6 up report BREAKING: Polls close in Britain's historic referendum on whether to leave the European Union. re: #136 The Vicious Babushka Trump doesn't remember saying he has "one of the all time greatest memories" [Embedded content] 156 SoundGuy 2016 Jun 23, 2016 * 2:03:26pm down 4 up report When all you have are misogynist racists, you make Misogynist Racist-ade. 157 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 2:03:26pm down 8 up report Terrible. He's lucky to have survived. I'll never get that either by the way how grown adults can be so cruel to children. There's a fucked up mindset that exists in a sub-section of our society that demands punishment above all else. The way I look at prisons and jails is this, most of these people are going to be coming out eventually, we need to treat them like human beings and allow them to become functioning members of society and treating them horribly is no way to do that unfortunately a lot of people in charge don't think like that. Indeed... He's a bright and an ambitious guy who somehow managed to overcome all their bullshit and not end up in an adult prison or as a drug addict like many of his peers. 158 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:05:09pm down 2 up report It's gonna be close I bet. 159 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:06:18pm down 10 up report BREAKING: UK Independence Party Leader Nigel Farage tells Sky news "it looks like 'remain' will edge it" in EU referendum. -- The Associated Press ( @AP ) June 23, 2016 160 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:07:50pm down 22 up report The grandson of Winston Churchill replies to #NigelFarage #Remain via @elashton pic.twitter.com/DCX9JEa72m Has Grandpa Winston's quick wit. It's gonna be close I bet. If the head of UKIP says 'Leave' lost, probably not. 163 CuriousLurker Jun 23, 2016 * 2:11:27pm down 6 up report re: #160 Backwoods_Sleuth BBC is saying first results expected around midnight, which will be around 7pm ET. 164 goddamnedfrank Jun 23, 2016 * 2:11:51pm down 19 up report How fucking badly does @CNN need to sell the horserace narrative for ratings & cash that they'd hire a guy who legally CAN'T tell the truth. 165 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:14:37pm down 2 up report re: #162 Blind Frog Belly White If the head of UKIP says 'Leave' lost, probably not. Yeah I wrote that before I saw Farrage's comment. Good news. 166 CuriousLurker Jun 23, 2016 * 2:14:56pm down 4 up report 167 Alephnaught Jun 23, 2016 * 2:18:53pm down 5 up report Polls have closed in the Brexit vote, and on Sky News..... @faisalislam on #InOrOut reveals an early concession from Nigel Farage and to expect a high voter turn out #EUref https://t.co/CJQCrbpeMQ Meanwhile, a Yougov poll of voters today (That, is, not an exit poll) says: YouGov on-the-day poll: REMAIN 52, LEAVE 48 pic.twitter.com/TFlAcGcYIR Maybe that tweet about Boris Johnson wasnt a troll after all... 168 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 2:21:52pm down 2 up report Getting bigger brings it's issues. Cowtown no more! As a matter of fact, I haven't heard anyone say Cowtown for some time. I can't remember how long you have been away from the area, but I am willing to bet what you remember has already changed. You wouldn't recognize the area between Dublin and Hilliard for one, and how far north Dublin goes now. Dublin..three counties...Franklin, Delware and Union. I moved in 2003, but have been back many times since and mostly visited friends in Dublin, Worthington and Powell, so have seen much of it. (Not counting the month I was there working on a COTA project in 2010) I was talking to somebody from Columbus last weekend and mentioned the time when pilots referred to it as "the all-American city with a hard-on" back when the Lincoln-Leveque was the only tall building downtown. 169 klys (maker of Silmarils) Jun 23, 2016 * 2:22:27pm down 9 up report Why is it breaking news that the polls closed? This was scheduled. I just. Maybe this is too much logic. 170 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:22:48pm down 15 up report Sen Don Sullivan (R-Alaska) speaking now how our economy is in the crapper and he has an economic growth bar chart behind him that says the opposite. 171 wrenchwench Jun 23, 2016 * 2:22:54pm down 7 up report Looks like both Austria and the UK were able to keep their nationalists in check. Next up: USA I don't know what he's referring to in Austria. Could be this: Recently one of the most prominent think tanks in Austria published its yearly opinion polls on the attitude of Austrian citizens towards the membership of Austria in the EU. The result was that 60% of the people want Austria to remain in the EU and 31% want the country to leave. [...] I DO know what he's referring to in the USA. 172 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:24:20pm down 2 up report The chart says we not growing BIG enough! O_o re: #170 Backwoods_Sleuth Sen Don Sullivan (R-Alaska) speaking now how our economy is in the crapper and he has an economic growth bar chart behind him that says the opposite. He didn't have time to change the scale on the Y-axis to logarithmic before printing. 174 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 2:25:57pm down 7 up report 175 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 2:26:21pm down 6 up report I don't know what he's referring to in Austria. Could be this: I DO know what he's referring to in the USA. I think it was the election they had in May where an ultra-right wing racist was thankfully defeated. 176 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:27:50pm down 6 up report re: #173 Blind Frog Belly White I notice that Sullivan isn't mentioning all the things Congress has done to promote economic growth.... /////////////////////////// 177 wrenchwench Jun 23, 2016 * 2:31:45pm down 3 up report I think it was the election they had in May where an ultra-right wing racist was thankfully defeated. 178 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 2:31:47pm down 4 up report He talks so much shit that it's not even funny. And he repeats everything within the same sentence,, so it's double the shit. 179 gocart mozart Jun 23, 2016 * 2:32:48pm down 4 up report 180 Nojay UK Jun 23, 2016 * 2:34:02pm down 5 up report Polls have closed in the Brexit vote We got called by the YouGov pollers about 7:00 p.m. here. The polling report (a PDF) says there were 4772 responses which is pretty high for a British poll -- typical pre-referendum polls usually had about 1200 or so as a sample. 181 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 2:34:04pm down 5 up report Thank sweet baby jesus, UK. I wasn't looking forward to terrifying international economic uncertainty making November even more stupid. 182 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 2:35:02pm down 15 up report WH aide confirms Obama would veto GOP-crafted Zika package; objects to offsets, birth control limitations, clean water exemptions -- Ryan McCrimmon ( @RyanMcCrimmon ) June 23, 2016 183 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:36:25pm down 2 up report I don't know what he's referring to in Austria. Could be this: I DO know what he's referring to in the USA. I think he means the Austrian presidential election not that long ago. 184 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:37:39pm down 2 up report hey Observer Art, good news for you! The Tornado Watch has been cancelled for areas along/north of I-70. The Tornado/Severe threat has diminished and shifted to the south. #ohwx 186 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:40:46pm down 11 up report Staff gathered at MI5's Secret Rubbing-Out HQ. pic.twitter.com/ATfyARmwOo -- Cazique of Poyais ( @distantcities ) June 23, 2016 The Leave campaigners have been pushing a conspiracy theory all day telling voters to use a pen to mark their ballots instead of a pencil because "someone" would erase your penciled vote and change it. 187 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:41:48pm down 7 up report [Embedded content] The Leave campaigners have been pushing a conspiracy theory all day telling voters to use a pen to mark their ballots instead of a pencil because "someone" would erase your penciled vote and change it. Now I'm imagining Alex Jones the British version where he's ultra polite but still a nutjob. 188 Jebediah, RBG Jun 23, 2016 * 2:42:32pm down 6 up report re: #179 gocart mozart Everyone knows the temperature inside NEVER varies from the temperature outside. That's just science, man! 189 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:42:58pm down 11 up report The average Briton has already drank 13 cups of tea since the polls closed. 190 Shimshon Jun 23, 2016 * 2:44:22pm down 5 up report Liberal media am I right guys??? guys??? 191 Jay C Jun 23, 2016 * 2:45:33pm down 5 up report re: #181 Testy Toad T Thank sweet baby jesus, UK. I wasn't looking forward to terrifying international economic uncertainty making November even more stupid. Just the terrifying political uncertainty as usual, I'm sure November will be stupid enough as is... Though whatever the final outcome of the "Brexit" referendum (and BBC is exit-polling (?) something like a 52-48 tilt towards "Remain" At this point [1h20m til results] ) the "Leave" vote is probably going to be too large to ignore. Just like the Scottish independence vote: a low-margin "victory" for one side, but not enough to kill the underlying issue (and still less the political dynamics pushing said issue), and making a satisfactory solution just that harder to craft. On the positive side, whatever the results of the Brexit vote, CW says it's probably that David Cameron will end up as damaged goods: on the not-so-positive side, it's a big question who might replace him. 192 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 2:46:40pm down 39 up report Gee, looks like NOBODY killed Freddie Gray. Guess he just died of being black. Funny how that happens in this country. 193 Emptor scriptor Remorse Jun 23, 2016 * 2:46:54pm down 1 up report The US Marine Corps admitted Thursday that one of the six men captured in the iconic image of the flag-raising atop Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima in 1945 has been misidentified. Pfc. Harold Schultz of Detroit was one of the Marines seen in Joe Rosenthal's Pulitzer Prize-winning photograph -- while Navy Corpsman John Bradley was not in the image at all, the Washington Post reported. The man seen second from the left is Franklin Sousley, who has long been identified but placed in the wrong place, the inquiry led by a retired Marine general found. 194 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 2:46:58pm down 2 up report 195 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 2:47:32pm down 4 up report [Embedded content] The Leave campaigners have been pushing a conspiracy theory all day telling voters to use a pen to mark their ballots instead of a pencil because "someone" would erase your penciled vote and change it. 196 Targetpractice Jun 23, 2016 * 2:48:17pm down 5 up report re: #192 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] You know how it goes, when they're black it's a terrible "accident." Only when they're white is it murder. 197 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 2:48:32pm down 2 up report re: #191 Jay C Though whatever the final outcome of the "Brexit" referendum (and BBC is exit-polling (?) something like a 52-48 tilt towards "Remain" At this point [1h20m til results] ) the "Leave" vote is probably going to be too large to ignore. Just like the Scottish independence vote: a low-margin "victory" for one side, but not enough to kill the underlying issue (and still less the political dynamics pushing said issue), and making a satisfactory solution just that harder to craft. I'm sort of hoping some other nation less economically consequential will actually exit the EU and see their GDP tank, just to demonstrate in clearer terms the folly of leaving the Eurozone. Which makes me feel kinda icky, but holy shit, half of UK, you are so dumb, you are really really dumb, for real. 198 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:49:50pm down 6 up report 68uV3ElFb5/YuSNppr4kPKW39aqYeySCYQlbq2P5hbf/3SCA1H9w6GjXEOUWEQmGUwyheAdhGN+1HNAH1p0mNFPOJ3gz8OA61DfBOHeLQlmuFHww72KG0j8uYeAwcu8pFpC8qZQvlMAQNqb3W0JlpyxP8rDCVM6FQfcCXSpOIZ4KpPwXsF1uUTWMgVbFmJFk9uCljQyb0ek4XJjuDGXuQnBhZ1JlWKAFsiFNF64orEytVuoUV2boVRb3ceqBLAHYZAZB+oJbySdsaBJgjJbAJrZTJPvfkB0UQK6xqE8gKUI= 199 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 2:49:55pm down 4 up report re: #192 Backwoods_Sleuth Can't the department as a whole be sued at least? Freddie died in their custody due to their treatment of him. Period. Sigh. Tonight may get a little dicey there. But I really hope not. 200 freetoken Jun 23, 2016 * 2:50:59pm down 10 up report re: #186 Backwoods_Sleuth I voted in pencil just in case MI5 need to change it later -- Brian Cox ( @ProfBrianCox ) June 23, 2016 201 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:51:07pm down 4 up report Can't the department as a whole be sued at least? Freddie died in their custody due to their treatment of him. Period. Sigh. Tonight may get a little dicey there. But I really hope not. Civil is easier than criminal. Man though what the hell. This shit is unreal but yeah no such thing as police brutality in this country. 202 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 2:51:08pm down 5 up report re: #191 Jay C Labour needs to chuck Corbyn, first of all and find a not-loony socialist. Corbyn promotes Homeopathy (He has actually said that he wants to look into it because India uses it!), and is very friendly to Putin. Sound familiar? 203 wrenchwench Jun 23, 2016 * 2:52:26pm down 8 up report Yay! After putting in the new bug and plant species, I'm up to 525 species found in the garden! 204 gwangung Jun 23, 2016 * 2:52:56pm down 5 up report Can't the department as a whole be sued at least? Freddie died in their custody due to their treatment of him. Period. Sigh. Tonight may get a little dicey there. But I really hope not. Probably not. But this just confirms the distrust minority communities have of authority and government.... 205 Alephnaught Jun 23, 2016 * 2:52:58pm down 4 up report The Guardian live blog is quoting a Leave campaign source as saying Nigel Farage is "probably right". Meanwhile, on Twitter trend news.... Where did you get the tattoo? "I think, no I remember a bottle of Trump Vodka, maybe more, wait, a woman who claimed to be my new wife, I'm, uh....which tattoo?" 207 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 2:53:17pm down 4 up report re: #197 Testy Toad T I'm sort of hoping some other nation less economically consequential will actually exit the EU and see their GDP tank, just to demonstrate in clearer terms the folly of leaving the Eurozone. Which makes me feel kinda icky, but holy shit, half of UK, you are so dumb, you are really really dumb, for real. You have to remember Britain has always had an uneasy relationship with the continent: 208 Targetpractice Jun 23, 2016 * 2:53:24pm down 7 up report Can't the department as a whole be sued at least? Freddie died in their custody due to their treatment of him. Period. Sigh. Tonight may get a little dicey there. But I really hope not. The Gray family was cut a check by the city back in Sep, to much screeching by the local police union. No, if there's anybody talking about suing, it's the wingnuts insisting the cops should sue Mosby, alleging malicious prosecution for simply doing her job rather than taking the BPD's assessment that their cops are as pure as the driven snow. 209 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 2:54:06pm down 6 up report re: #173 Blind Frog Belly White He didn't have time to change the scale on the Y-axis to logarithmic before printing. That's a category error. For a Republican, the economy is in the crapper because Obama is president. Charts and axes are irrelevant. 210 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:54:35pm down 11 up report The Gray family was cut a check by the city back in Sep, to much screeching by the local police union. No, if there's anybody talking about suing, it's the wingnuts insisting the cops should sue Mosby, alleging malicious prosecution for simply doing her job rather than taking the BPD's assessment that their cops are as pure as the driven snow. I am honestly sick and tired of the police unions acting like any prosecution of cops is somehow rooted in anti-police mentality. They really think their officers should be above the law and it's sickening. 211 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 2:55:32pm down 4 up report re: #202 Ziggy_TARDIS He also has a history of being sympathetic to the IRA, making him a literal Terrorist Sympathizer. In addition, he has talked about how he wants to weaken NATO, and that the Ukrainian Government is Fascist. He also has said that the Falklands should be given to Argentina. 212 nines09 Jun 23, 2016 * 2:55:56pm down 3 up report re: #192 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Strange things go on in the back of police vans. We may never know just what goes on in the back of police vans. We hope you never find out what goes on in the back of police vans. Ever been in the back of a police van? No? Well we can never know what..... 213 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 2:56:28pm down 8 up report re: #199 GlutenFreeJesus Can't the department as a whole be sued at least? Freddie died in their custody due to their treatment of him. Period. Sigh. Tonight may get a little dicey there. But I really hope not. The department can be sued. But civil liability and criminal liability are two different things. In civil court you only need a finding of a preponderance of the evidence; while in criminal court you need proof beyond a reasonable doubt. On top of that, in civil court, you're likely looking at a cause of action for negligence - which just means the jury needs to find that a duty existed, that the defendant breached the duty, that the plaintiff was injured by said breach, and that damages resulted. That's wholly different from a finding of first degree murder. 214 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 2:56:46pm down 4 up report Isn't that Lady Penelope's chauffeur? From "Thunderbirds"? 215 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 2:57:45pm down 0 up report Come to think of it, where are all these Anti-Science, Pro-Authoritarian Moonbats coming from? 216 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 2:57:54pm down 7 up report Yeah. I mean the fucking driver of the van he was in got off totally free of charges. Bullshit. 217 freetoken Jun 23, 2016 * 2:58:05pm down 2 up report FWIW, if you look at the current year-over-year change in CO2 concentration, both in HI and globally: you can see the YoY change currently is higher than any previous full-year change since records start. This is no doubt due to El Nino and the record warm years. This could be indicators of a very serious trend. 218 Alephnaught Jun 23, 2016 * 2:58:40pm down 3 up report Isn't that Lady Penelope's chauffeur? From "Thunderbirds"? Yes, m'Lady. 219 wrenchwench Jun 23, 2016 * 2:59:09pm down 10 up report New Mexico Delegation Asks For Federal Investigation Of New Mexico Food Assistance Management https://t.co/YTtiSqNeHu -- KRWG-TV/FM ( @krwg ) June 23, 2016 In addition, the letter also makes alarming allegations that New Mexico's Human Services Department (HSD) has a statewide practice of adding false asset information to SNAP casefiles in order to purposefully delay applications, which should have received expedited treatment, in order to prevent cases from appearing untimely in data reported USDA. If true, this practice could have hurt some of the most vulnerable families that urgently need assistance. It's our understanding that last month, HSD employees testified in front of a federal Court that this type of misconduct has been occurring since 2003. Those who didn't take the fifth testified... 220 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 2:59:16pm down 3 up report re: #197 Testy Toad T I'm sort of hoping some other nation less economically consequential will actually exit the EU and see their GDP tank, just to demonstrate in clearer terms the folly of leaving the Eurozone. Which makes me feel kinda icky, but holy shit, half of UK, you are so dumb, you are really really dumb, for real. I can't see a reason for Greece to stay in the Eurozone. If I understand it correctly, the current EU plan of record for Greece is pretending to deal with the problem by periodically restructuring a totally impossible debt burden. Meanwhile, austerity now and forever. 221 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 2:59:39pm down 2 up report re: #215 Ziggy_TARDIS Come to think of it, where are all these Anti-Science, Pro-Authoritarian Moonbats coming from? Labour's always had that in their far left IIRC. Shrug, I can say in complete sincerity that I have no idea what party I'd align myself were if I were a Brit. 222 Skip Intro Jun 23, 2016 * 3:00:04pm down 17 up report 223 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 3:00:19pm down 2 up report 224 Alephnaught Jun 23, 2016 * 3:00:23pm down 3 up report #bbcreferendum Thanks Jeremy.. Makes perfect sense! pic.twitter.com/HvVsTD7vbX (It's actually a clip from early 90s news parody "The Day Today".) 225 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:00:33pm down 1 up report 226 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 3:01:24pm down 2 up report re: #215 Ziggy_TARDIS Come to think of it, where are all these Anti-Science, Pro-Authoritarian Moonbats coming from? It's easy to be pro-authoritarian when you're the authority. And when you are convinced that you are right, and that the world would be better if everyone just did what you said, well, turns out fundamentalism is the same the world over. 227 Skip Intro Jun 23, 2016 * 3:01:35pm down 3 up report Well done then LA Times. 229 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:02:57pm down 1 up report It's easy to be pro-authoritarian when you're the authority. And when you are convinced that you are right, and that the world would be better if everyone just did what you said, well, turns out fundamentalism is the same the world over. Well remember Cornyn's party is the minority in Parliament right now. But I definitely agree with you about fundamentalism being the same type thing the world over. 230 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 3:03:44pm down 0 up report I guess I consider myself a Nordic Mainline Socialist. I belief that some industries should be state-owned, on the basis of efficiency and the public good. In addition, there should be a Robust Safety Net, High Immigration, and High Public Spending, with much higher taxes. However, the Military should be well equipped, and Science should always be taken into account, which means things like Homeopathy and Ayurvedic Medicine should be banned. 231 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:05:00pm down 7 up report re: #219 wrenchwench This is how government is supposed to be run, according to Republicans. And Gov. Martinez (R) is supposed to be one of the 'good ones'. To hell with that. There are no good Republicans in office. 232 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 3:05:00pm down 10 up report Not a fan of this upcoming event. Wish Hillary would say, "Thanks, but no thanks." Report: Prominent NeoCon Robert Kagan To Headline Fundraiser For Clinton If these people want to endorse Hillary as a slam to Trump, that's fine--but I would draw the line at having them be front and center at fundraisers. Sigh. 233 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 3:05:02pm down 0 up report I do also believe there should be some sort of mandatory national service. 234 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Jun 23, 2016 * 3:05:06pm down 8 up report re: #150 Backwoods_Sleuth 10th person with Zika confirmed in Dallas County, but there could be 10 more cases Expect the GOP to blockade or drag their feet on Zika even more than on gun control because 235 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:05:34pm down 2 up report re: #230 Ziggy_TARDIS I guess I consider myself a Nordic Mainline Socialist. I belief that some industries should be state-owned, on the basis of efficiency and the public good. In addition, there should be a Robust Safety Net, High Immigration, and High Public Spending, with much higher taxes. However, the Military should be well equipped, and Science should always be taken into account, which means things like Homeopathy and Ayurvedic Medicine should be banned. I know my ideology, I just don't know how my ideology translates to Europe. Thing is though Re: Labour, whether you like it or not, they did choose Cornyn to be their leader and they're going to sink or swim with him because of their choice as a party. 236 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 3:05:46pm down 6 up report Breaking: @GavinNewsom gun control initiative qualifies for Nov. statewide ballot. Looks like it's now the 10th CA proposition for Nov. 8 -- John Myers ( @johnmyers ) June 23, 2016 237 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:06:01pm down 3 up report Not a fan of this upcoming event. Wish Hillary would say, "Thanks, but no thanks." Report: Prominent NeoCon Robert Kagan To Headline Fundraiser For Clinton If these people want to endorse Hillary as a slam to Trump, that's fine--but I would draw the line at having them be front and center at fundraisers. Sigh. Agree with you and it's fuel to the idiot BBs. 238 Alephnaught Jun 23, 2016 * 3:06:10pm down 5 up report More not-quite-exit polls coming out: Ipsos MORI ( #EUref on the day):REMAIN 54 (+2)LEAVE 46 (-2)Changes vs earlier today*** ALSO NOT AN EXIT POLL *** #Brexit #EUreferendum -- NCP EU Referendum ( @NCPoliticsEU ) June 23, 2016 That's not far from the margin in the Scots IndyRef vote (55 against, 45 for). 239 CuriousLurker Jun 23, 2016 * 3:07:06pm down 25 up report I can't help but wonder if the brutal murder of MP Jo Cox caused some people to decide they didn't want any part of the right-wing nationalist crap. That's the kind of thing you expect to hear about from some other more tumultuous place, not England. It was really horrible & bizarre. I suspect the guy who assassinated her is much more like the supposedly violent foreigners he was railing against than he imagines. It immediately made me think of how Theo van Gogh was murdered in the street in the Netherlands since he was also shot & stabbed in broad daylight. The killers may have had different motives, but the outcome was the same. 240 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:08:01pm down 4 up report re: #239 CuriousLurker I can't help but wonder if the brutal murder of MP Jo Cox caused some people to decide they didn't want any part of the right-wing nationalist crap. That's the kind of crap you expect to hear about from some other more tumultuous place, not England. It was really horrible & bizarre. I suspect the guy who assassinated her is much more like the supposedly violent foreigners he was railing against than he imagines. It immediately made me think of how Theo van Gogh was murdered in the street in the Netherlands since he was also shot & stabbed in broad daylight. The killers may have had different motives, but the outcome was the same. It wouldn't shock me if that was the case. 241 wrenchwench Jun 23, 2016 * 3:08:18pm down 4 up report re: #231 EPR-radar This is how government is supposed to be run, according to Republicans. And Gov. Martinez (R) is supposed to be one of the 'good ones'. To hell with that. There are no good Republicans in office. I was surprised that Republican Congressman Steve Pearce went along with this call for a federal investigation. In other news. he praised the Supreme Court's 4-4 non-decision on DACA. He's a jerk. As is Martinez. 242 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:09:01pm down 13 up report 243 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 3:09:03pm down 2 up report Has anyone heard more about the incident in Germany? Not a whole lot of info right now. 244 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:09:52pm down 2 up report My niece loves our dogs. 245 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 3:10:22pm down 9 up report Looks like the New York Daily News has picked up the Domestic Terrorist Commander Keebler story. Unfortunately, the word "terrorist" isn't mentioned... Militia leader tied to Cliven Bundy tried to blow up a federal building, FBI says https://t.co/oss6SUa9cF pic.twitter.com/FOnBe2QWzP -- New York Daily News ( @NYDailyNews ) June 23, 2016 246 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 3:14:32pm down 5 up report re: #239 CuriousLurker I can't help but wonder if the brutal murder of MP Jo Cox caused some people to decide they didn't want any part of the right-wing nationalist crap. That's the kind of crap you expect to hear about from some other more tumultuous place, not England. What a heartbreaking sacrifice to have made. 247 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 3:14:36pm down 2 up report [Embedded content] I've got to think having that many initiatives on the ballot means a whole lot of things that probably should pass will not pass. There is a not small part of me that wishes we could scale back the referendum/initiative system out here. 248 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:15:25pm down 10 up report UPDATE: Nigel Farage has now conceded, unconceded, conceded and unconceded https://t.co/4Cyn9GQPhJ 249 Jay C Jun 23, 2016 * 3:15:29pm down 7 up report re: #239 CuriousLurker I can't help but wonder if the brutal murder of MP Jo Cox caused some people to decide they didn't want any part of the right-wing nationalist crap. That's the kind of crap you expect to hear about from some other more tumultuous place, not England. It was really horrible & bizarre. I suspect the guy who assassinated her is much more like the supposedly violent foreigners he was railing against than he imagines. It immediately made me think of how Theo van Gogh was murdered in the street in the Netherlands since he was also shot & stabbed in broad daylight. The killers may have had different motives, but the outcome was the same. I thought the same: political violence of that sort (except when sourced back to anyone or anything Irish) is pretty rare in the UK - I think that brutal murder really did influence some fence-sitters - away from wanted to (or seeming to) empower the more-thuggish segments of the nationalist fringe. As long as the killer was English, anyway: had Jo Cox been done in, like Theo Van Gogh, by some aggrieved Muslim, the reaction might, I think, been quite different. As it was, I think it was a Muslim (?) who tried to save Ms. Cox, at the cost of a stab wound to himself - so much for stereotypes. 250 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 3:15:53pm down 2 up report re: #230 Ziggy_TARDIS I guess I consider myself a Nordic Mainline Socialist. I belief that some industries should be state-owned, on the basis of efficiency and the public good. In addition, there should be a Robust Safety Net, High Immigration, and High Public Spending, with much higher taxes. However, the Military should be well equipped, and Science should always be taken into account, which means things like Homeopathy and Ayurvedic Medicine should be banned. i wonder how much support i'd get for calling for privatizing the armed forces and requiring soldiers to be hired fron mercenary companies. mercenaries were actually hired as part of the allied forces in iraq... how does this sound: 252 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:15:59pm down 2 up report [Embedded content] I guess this is the British Trump. 253 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:16:58pm down 3 up report re: #250 dog philosopher aioau[?] i wonder how much support i'd get for calling for privatizing the armed forces and requiring soldiers to be hired fron mercenary companies. mercenaries were actually hired as part of the allied forces in iraq... how does this sound: all mercenary force now Talked about private prisons earlier. Private militaries are even more scary. 254 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 3:17:07pm down 2 up report Putain Democratique @goddamnedfrank How fucking badly does @CNN need to sell the horserace narrative for ratings & cash that they'd hire a guy who legally CAN'T tell the truth. 5:11 PM - 23 Jun 2016 6 6 Retweets 4 4 likes Anymore this presents no problem for TV "news" media. They really don't tell the truth all that often, they dance around it so as to not upset anyone with the actual factual truth. But he would be much better at FOX News. They have no idea what the truth is at all. It's a business model! 255 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:17:21pm down 3 up report re: #247 KGxvi I've got to think having that many initiatives on the ballot means a whole lot of things that probably should pass will not pass. There is a not small part of me that wishes we could scale back the referendum/initiative system out here. I think the worst thing about the CA initiative system are the bond measures. Anything that is costly and can get votes gets dumped onto the ballot, and if passed locks down that part of the state budget for years on end. 256 nines09 Jun 23, 2016 * 3:17:30pm down 10 up report re: #192 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] I never did a page on this where I could go back and walk you through it. But I did comment on this a bit back when the story broke. It's real. It happens. And it's never stopped. That the driver was cleared, that should be the pin dropped that makes the sound of a car crash. The driver of the Nickel Ride is the person who does the damage taking directions from his "partner" who directs the action. Vans, Paddy Wagons, whatever you call them use two officers. One cannot be culpable while the other is in the execution of a Nickel Ride. Teamwork. Nicel Rides Philly was notorious for Nickel Rides I got a few. I was lucky. Just torn up leather coat and stitches. 257 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 3:18:07pm down 4 up report I guess this is the British Trump. We know he's not the British Bernie since he actually does seem capable of conceding at least once. (Sorry Berniacs.) 258 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:18:29pm down 5 up report We know he's not the British Bernie since he actually does seem capable of conceding at least once. (Sorry Berniacs.) Ouch. 259 unproven innocence Jun 23, 2016 * 3:19:05pm down 2 up report Make a decision, damnit! It looks like he was doing just that, but couldn't stop. 260 klys (maker of Silmarils) Jun 23, 2016 * 3:19:20pm down 12 up report Starting to see this on Twitter. It's false, in case you see it spreading around. Representative Honda's response is on Facebook but I can't get it to embed. 262 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:20:42pm down 2 up report re: #260 klys (maker of Silmarils) Starting to see this on Twitter. It's false, in case you see it spreading around. [Embedded content] 263 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 3:21:27pm down 8 up report As the Brits say... "aloe aloe!" (I'm not proud of this.) 264 Alephnaught Jun 23, 2016 * 3:22:38pm down 5 up report Stuart Campbell, editor of strident pro- Independence for Scotland website Wings Over Scotland is pointing to a tweet by The Telegraph's leader writer, implying that he thinks it will be the kind of excuse that Leave will use of the indications are correct, and voting doesn't go their way. I'll regard 45% as a moral victory for Leave. It was up against the entire British and global establishment. 265 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:23:21pm down 6 up report re: #260 klys (maker of Silmarils) This looks like an attempted ratfucking of Representative Honda (D). 266 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:24:06pm down 5 up report re: #265 EPR-radar This looks like an attempted ratfucking of Representative Honda (D). That's what I was thinking too. Honda is a staunch progressive IIRC. Really fucked up. re: #265 EPR-radar This looks like an attempted ratfucking of Representative Honda (D). Yep. Apparently originated on a support page for the Turner family. One clue was the reference to Senator Honda, since he hasn't been in the state senate since 2013. 268 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 3:25:20pm down 2 up report That damn ESTABLISHMENT strikes again! It's almost as if people don't just want change for the sake of change. 269 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:25:27pm down 1 up report re: #267 klys (maker of Silmarils) Yep. Apparently originated on a support page for the Turner family. One clue was the reference to Senator Honda, since he hasn't been in the state senate since 2013. That was my first clue too. I've heard of Rep Honda before so I know it was bs. 270 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:25:42pm down 3 up report re: #264 Alephnaught If you can keep 45% or so together on a political issue long enough, you're eventually likely to win just because of random factors in elections. That's why the Republican floor of 40+% is dangerous. 271 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:26:39pm down 7 up report re: #270 EPR-radar If you can keep 45% or so together on a political issue long enough, you're eventually likely to win just because of random factors in elections. That's why the Republican floor of 40+% is dangerous. What I'm honestly terrified of happening in 2020 is the American people deciding that the Republicans "deserve" a chance at the WH after 12 years of Democrats in the WH. Add to the fact that it's a census year and agh. 272 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 3:27:48pm down 3 up report However, that only works with one demographic. One shrinking demographic. 273 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:27:52pm down 2 up report re: #267 klys (maker of Silmarils) Yep. Apparently originated on a support page for the Turner family . One clue was the reference to Senator Honda, since he hasn't been in the state senate since 2013. Gah. I know the internet has all things in it, but this is a new low of what I'm personally aware of. 274 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 3:28:35pm down 6 up report . @timothy_stanley as compared to any kind of, you know, actual victory. 275 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 3:28:36pm down 4 up report re: #255 EPR-radar Welcome to the US, where the double standard for terrorism has never been more obvious. RWNJs I think the worst thing about the CA initiative system are the bond measures. Anything that is costly and can get votes gets dumped onto the ballot, and if passed locks down that part of the state budget for years on end. The bond stuff is a pain in the ass (and I tend to always vote against them). But here's what's on the ballot so far: In November we've got: gun control; repeal of the death penalty; increasing the minimum wage (to $15 by 2021); requiring condoms in adult films (no, really); overturning a ban on single use plastic bags; a couple of bond measures; and a couple of measures that have something to do with hospitals and prescription drugs. And there's another 8 measures that are in the process of having signatures verified . Among them is weed legalization. It almost makes me wonder why we bother having a full time Legislature (or one at all). 276 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:29:42pm down 1 up report However, that only works with one demographic. One shrinking demographic. 277 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:29:45pm down 10 up report Coast Guard exchanges halt sales of 'assault-style' guns: https://t.co/ToJcjIKYSY pic.twitter.com/mftSiXak1C 278 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 3:29:51pm down 2 up report Talked about private prisons earlier. Private militaries are even more scary. i want to make wingnuts face up to one of the biggest government owned and operated parts of the economy of all i find many of them had no notion that armed forces could ever be privatised and therefore are in the u.s., basically, socialized 279 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:29:52pm down 4 up report What I'm honestly terrified of happening in 2020 is the American people deciding that the Republicans "deserve" a chance at the WH after 12 years of Democrats in the WH. Add to the fact that it's a census year and agh. I'm right there with you. Although we can't predict the precise ways in which the GOP of 2020 will be a cesspit of Satan, we can be certain that it will be worse in 2020 than it is in 2016. 280 PhillyPretzel Jun 23, 2016 * 3:29:59pm down 9 up report OT US Rep Chaka Fattah is resigning after 21 years in office. This is effective immediately. Here is the link to the story at WHYY/Newsworks. 281 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:30:47pm down 2 up report re: #279 EPR-radar I'm right there with you. Although we can't predict the precise ways in which the GOP of 2020 will be a cesspit of Satan, we can be certain that it will be worse in 2020 than it is in 2016. Cruz if Trump fails will be in prime position to run as the next one up and Cruz unlike Trump actually has a lot of positions that resonate with the base that are more than just xenophobia. 282 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 3:31:02pm down 6 up report re: #270 EPR-radar If you can keep 45% or so together on a political issue long enough, you're eventually likely to win just because of random factors in elections. That's why the Republican floor of 40+% is dangerous. Didn't work out too well for the Qubecquois (sic). And they lost won twice. Now they've gone from hero to virtually zero. It really is too easy to put stuff on the ballot here. 284 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 3:32:35pm down 8 up report hey Observer Art, good news for you! [Embedded content] Yeah...caught that on the news. I did hear some other goods news for Columbus. Looks like we won a big grant for being a City of the Future from the DOT. Thanks Obama! With the Columbus Dispatch (and many possible runner-up cities) reporting two days ago that Columbus was the winner of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Smart City Challenge, official word was silent until this afternoon. Today in Columbus, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx officially recognized and announced -- to a full house at the Douglas Community Center in the neighborhood of Linden -- that the city is indeed the winner and will reap the benefits of victory; a $40 million grant from the DOT, $10 from Paul Allen's Vulcan Inc., plus $90 million in local matching contributions. Of the 78 cities that applied for the challenge, the seven finalist cities that Columbus bested were Austin, Denver, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Portland and San Francisco. Plans for the grants will include: - Autonomous vehicles - Battery research - Electric charging stations throughout the city - 13,000 busses and cars to be connected with vehicle-to-vehicle communications - Three electric self-driving shuttles to connect residents for jobs ...and more. Foxx also shared feedback and details about how Columbus's vision for transportation innovation stood out from the other cities that participated. He noted the creativity and comprehensiveness of the proposal, even describing how the city's transportation solution could solve for infant mortality. He went on to say: "One of the issues that pre-existed this challenge and was concerning this community for quite some time is the fact that, in this area, the infant mortality rate is four times the national average. Rather than de-link this challenge from that challenge, what Columbus did was say 'how can innovation help us solve that [infant mortality] challenge.' And so one aspect of the proposal that you will now deploy in this community is linking the communities that are struggling most with infant mortality so that a mom who is trying to get to the doctor's office has a transportation system that will connect to the doctor's office, schedule the trip, and make sure she gets to the doctor. That's pretty phenomenal thinking to solve a problem you have and that you want to see improve. Congratulations Columbus." Update: I inquired with the City of Columbus for specifics on where startups factor in with this funding and innovation planning. I heard back from Alex Fischer, president and CEO, Columbus Partnership, with a statement: "Current startup activity in Columbus is unprecedented. Last year, the Kauffman Foundation ranked Columbus the country's fastest-growing city for startup activity and earlier this month, the Foundation found that Columbus is the number one city for startups to go to scale. We have a long history of great entrepreneurs who have built great companies in our community, and startups will certainly play a role in making Columbus into an even smarter Columbus. Winning this grant will help us launch the next generation of entrepreneurs and accelerate the growth of startups. For instance, the City of Columbus is looking to partner with Mass Factory to deploy a customized application developed in Barcelona to assist persons with disabilities to utilize public transportation in Columbus. We are very open to innovation and welcome opportunities to partner with cutting edge technology startups to achieve the goals of our Smart Columbus program from wherever they are in the world." 285 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:32:35pm down 6 up report re: #282 MsJ Didn't work out too well for the Qubecquois (sic). And they lost won twice. Now they've gone from hero to virtually zero. Now there's a trajectory I'd like to see the Republicans follow. 286 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:33:23pm down 3 up report i want to make wingnuts face up to one of the biggest government owned and operated parts of the economy of all i find many of them had no notion that armed forces could ever be privatised and therefore are in the u.s., basically, socialized Spot on, what honestly gets me about wingnuts is how they hate on government workers even though the military are government workers too and furthermore a lot of civilian government workers are veterans. I worked with quite a few vets during my time at the federal government and I know that a lot of federal job seekers are vets. 287 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:34:15pm down 5 up report re: #285 EPR-radar Now there's a trajectory I'd like to see the Republicans follow. I'd like to see them go the way of the Whigs and Federalists. There's so much wrong with the Republican Party that it needs to die a painful death. 288 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 3:35:04pm down 6 up report re: #189 Backwoods_Sleuth Stats Britain @StatsBritain The average Briton has already drank 13 cups of tea since the polls closed. 5:28 PM - 23 Jun 2016 82 82 Retweets 167 167 likes And already visited the old 'john' 5 times in that same span. (caffeine...) 289 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:35:20pm down 3 up report yep. Sherrod was talking about the grant earlier this afternoon on the Senate floor. 290 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 3:37:16pm down 1 up report Cruz if Trump fails will be in prime position to run as the next one up and Cruz unlike Trump actually has a lot of positions that resonate with the base that are more than just xenophobia. Cruz and Rubio will probably be front runners in 2020 on the GOP side. Possibly Kaisch. But looking at the Senate and current governors, I'm not sure who else could realistically run. Then again, I don't know much about most of the governors in fly over country, so maybe there's someone there? 291 freetoken Jun 23, 2016 * 3:37:17pm down 7 up report In November we've got: [...] requiring condoms in adult films (no, really) ; I like the part that states: Permits state, performers, or any state resident to enforce violations. So I guess I'll just have to run onto the set of my local porn producers and say that I'm just there to inspect their adherence to the law... 292 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:37:43pm down 7 up report The problem with the Republican Party is instead of adapting with the times has instead chose to go with a xenophobic asshole who was once sued for racial discrimination in housing as its standard bearer. Its runner up, Ted Cruz, the oldest forty five year old man you'll meet, and then there's John Kasich who has an actual record of signing and enforcing homophobic and sexist crap as Ohio's governor. 293 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 3:38:39pm down 2 up report re: #290 KGxvi Cruz and Rubio will probably be front runners in 2020 on the GOP side. Possibly Kaisch. But looking at the Senate and current governors, I'm not sure who else could realistically run. Then again, I don't know much about most of the governors in fly over country, so maybe there's someone there? I think Rubio it depends on what happens in his re-election. A lot can change though. I really doubt we saw Trump becoming the GOP favorite four years ago. All bets are off at this election IMO. 294 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 3:39:38pm down 10 up report Gibraltar 19,322 for Remain, just 824 for Leave - not a surprise but a whopping 295 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 3:39:40pm down 2 up report I like the part that states: So I guess I'll just have to run onto the set of my local porn producers and say that I'm just there to inspect their adherence to the law... Gives a whole new meaning to "private attorney general action." 296 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:40:02pm down 4 up report re: #287 HappyWarrior I'd like to see them go the way of the Whigs and Federalists. There's so much wrong with the Republican Party that it needs to die a painful death. The GOP is in real trouble at the moment, but the fundamental basis for its coalition isn't going to disappear any time soon. Even if Trump appears to blow the party to smithereens in the 2016 presidential election, it will be business as usual in 2018. GOP oligarchs have become accustomed to getting easy votes by stoking resentments among the GOP base. They aren't going to change to a less pernicious political model unless forced to by overwhelming losses at local, state and national levels. 297 Brian J. Jun 23, 2016 * 3:40:12pm down 4 up report First votes in for the EU Referendum, from Gibraltar. Remain 19,322, Leave 823. Of course, Gibraltar was expected to vote heavily for Remain. 298 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:40:58pm down 15 up report Trump fined $10,000 for missing city hearing: https://t.co/s3ziN6Ju9m pic.twitter.com/jhiuHMrwJs re: #297 Brian J. Yeah, life gets real difficult if the UK leaves the EU. 301 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 3:41:20pm down 8 up report re: #192 Backwoods_Sleuth Stephen King @StephenKing Gee, looks like NOBODY killed Freddie Gray. Guess he just died of being black. Funny how that happens in this country. 5:45 PM - 23 Jun 2016 853 853 Retweets 1,297 1,297 likes I'm really growing to like Stephen King. He seems to have gotten very tired of the BS in politics and is not holding back his opinions. I've never been big on his books, not my usual reading, but admire his talents. Now I admire him even more. I do note, I never really see him on TV expressing the same? Has anyone? I wonder if he is a little too opinionated to be asked his opinion. And maybe those opinions are not the right opinions. 302 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 3:41:43pm down 2 up report I like the part that states: So I guess I'll just have to run onto the set of my local porn producers and say that I'm just there to inspect their adherence to the law... In all seriousness, I thought there was already a law about this? For some reason I remember hearing that many porn producers moved their projects to Florida as a result. 303 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 3:41:51pm down 0 up report I'm guessing the results in Scotland and Northern Ireland will look similar. 304 Jay C Jun 23, 2016 * 3:41:52pm down 1 up report Stuart Campbell, editor of strident pro- Independence for Scotland website Wings Over Scotland is pointing to a tweet by The Telegraph's leader writer, implying that he thinks it will be the kind of excuse that Leave will use of the indications are correct, and voting doesn't go their way. [Embedded content] Disregarding the odor of turd-polish for the moment, he (Tim Stanley) isn't completely wrong though: even a 55-45% defeat would still show enough support for the "Euroskeptics" - and of course, their ruder mates in the UKIP and the violent fringe - to be a near-permanent sore spot for British Governments (whatever party leads them). To be honest, when nationalistic passions (and/or hates, YMMV) get stirred , little short of an unambiguous blowout in a referendum such as this (say 67-33%) is really going to discourage anyone from pushing the issue. 52-48 isn't that huge a mandate.... 305 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:42:47pm down 14 up report I can't believe how many ppl are hating on @repjohnlewis today because he's not "progressive" enough. MFers, he wrote book on "progressive" 306 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:44:16pm down 4 up report Bernie Sanders just announced an event in NY tomorrow titled "Where We Go From Here": pic.twitter.com/QjMwCQdUe1 Reverend Stuart Campbell, editor of Wings Over Scotland subjected Cara Kulwicki - editor of The Curvature, an American blog dedicated to feminism - to a sustained and deeply unpleasant personal attack for speaking out against rape apologism. Ms Kulwicki, who had been traumatised by a serious sexual assault in her past, was told by Rev Campbell: "It's unfortunate when the people brave enough to speak out against unacceptable behaviour are also so pathologically stupid that it serves only to completely undermine their cause." A NOTORIOUS cybernat threatened amateur copyright investigators with extreme violence after they exposed his dodgy internet dealings in the late 90s, it has been revealed. Stuart Campbell, 48, warned have a go sleuths Damien Burke and friends: "if I find any of you outside my door, be warned that I'll smash your heads off the railings first and ask questions later." He is a thoroughly unpleasant character and has been for the last 30 years. 308 KGxvi Jun 23, 2016 * 3:45:10pm down 4 up report In all seriousness, I thought there was already a law about this? For some reason I remember hearing that many porn producers moved their projects to Florida as a result. LA County passed a local ordinance a few years ago, I believe. Which drove many producers from the Valley to other places. But this would be state wide. 309 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:45:19pm down 5 up report re: #306 Backwoods_Sleuth I'm guessing that's why he wasn't in the Senate today for the gun amendment votes. 310 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 3:46:10pm down 8 up report re: #153 Bubblehead II Maybe Jeff wants to ask Georgia and other States how they fared when they passed repressive immigration enforcement laws. Georgia lost $140 million in agricultural losses in 2011 due to crops rotting in the field because there was no one to pick them. Hell, iirc, even the prisoners offered the jobs either refused them or quit shortly after taking them. As usual, GOP economic theories are completely wrong. 311 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 3:46:17pm down 3 up report LA County passed a local ordinance a few years ago, I believe. Which drove many producers from the Valley to other places. But this would be state wide. Thanks! Gives a whole new meaning to "private attorney general action." Hey I thought OSHA already had that "covered" // ducks and runs 313 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 3:48:55pm down 3 up report I don't know what he's referring to in Austria. Could be this: I DO know what he's referring to in the USA. A fascist was almost elected President of Austria a few weeks ago. 314 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:49:38pm down 16 up report MINORITY BABIES NOW OUTNUMBER WHITES IN USA https://t.co/BZyrHoQF2k That would make them the majority, now, wouldn't it. https://t.co/FPTNekbW2I 315 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 3:49:42pm down 3 up report re: #310 Big Beautiful Door As usual, GOP economic theories are completely wrong. True. On the other hand, I find it difficult to believe that the going rates for agricultural labor in the US are acceptable, especially when the quasi-legal status of the workers lets employers pay less than the already inadequate minimum wage. 316 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 3:52:21pm down 12 up report re: #314 Backwoods_Sleuth ARE YOU OKAY, MATT? TIP YOUR FEDORA TWICE IF YOU NEED HELP https://t.co/lw8eGJlRLU And where do we go from here? Which is a way that's clear? 319 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 3:54:01pm down 11 up report on Brexit: It's taking longer than I thought to rub all those crosses out and write new ones. 320 unproven innocence Jun 23, 2016 * 3:54:05pm down 1 up report I like the part that states: So I guess I'll just have to run onto the set of my local porn producers and say that I'm just there to inspect their adherence to the law... Might want to check first if that law also requires condoms for fluffers. 321 wrenchwench Jun 23, 2016 * 3:54:55pm down 3 up report re: #306 Backwoods_Sleuth [Bernie Sanders just announced an event in NY tomorrow titled "Where We Go From Here"] Featuring these guys? 322 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 3:55:10pm down 9 up report [Embedded content] "A new study reveals that over 50% of Americans are in the majority, while less than 50% are in the minority. More on this story as it develops...." --Kevin Nealon, Weekend Update 323 Nojay UK Jun 23, 2016 * 3:55:20pm down 5 up report re: #315 EPR-radar True. On the other hand, I find it difficult to believe that the going rates for agricultural labor in the US are acceptable, especially when the quasi-legal status of the workers lets employers pay less than the already inadequate minimum wage. The usual deal for harvesting a crop is for the farmer to pay a gang boss to do the job, a few thousand bucks typically for a field of, say, lettuce. The boss turns up with a couple of trucks full of workers, the field gets picked and packed and the workers go away again. SS, withholding etc. are the gang boss's problem as the contractor. The workers might only get three or four bucks an hour for their labour, cash in hand. 324 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 3:55:30pm down 9 up report Dog whistle central. Conspiracy theory confluence. Right wing nut exchange. Nexus of nastiness. Trump has mainstreamed the hate, which has been bubbling over at Drudge for years. 325 Blind Frog Belly White Jun 23, 2016 * 3:56:36pm down 5 up report re: #322 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge "Anew study reveals that over 50% of Americans are in the majority, while less than 50% are in the minority. More on this story as it develops...." --Kevin Nealon, Weekend Update "The First Rule of Tautology Club is the First Rule of Tautology Club!" 326 VaughnIAM Jun 23, 2016 * 3:57:02pm down 4 up report re: #110 dog philosopher aioau[?] my grandfather came over from poland (in the czarist empire at the time) in 1890 when he was four. eventually he had a career as a surgeon when he died it came out that he had never been naturalized. his father had been naturalized and his son was born in the u.s. yes, my grandfather the doctor was an illegal alien. if he was alive today trump would want to deport him he would be among the people protected by the bill that was rejected today If your grandfather's father became a naturalized citizen before your grandfather turned 16 he would have automatically been granted citizenship according to the naturalization laws back then. Today the only difference in the law is that the child's age has been changed to 18. 327 The Vicious Babushka Jun 23, 2016 * 3:57:35pm down 9 up report Hillary is responsible for "all over Europe"? *FACE PALM* Trump responds to Lester Holt on Clinton saying his speech lacked substance: pic.twitter.com/8Z9bwKfxyC The Cult Cat @Elverojaguar [?] Artist Duo ... pic.twitter.com 6:02 PM - 23 Jun 2016 47 47 Retweets 69 69 likes Natural bristle brush, self replacing natural bristles! What's not to love there? 329 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 3:58:24pm down 12 up report 330 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 4:01:26pm down 3 up report re: #220 EPR-radar I can't see a reason for Greece to stay in the Eurozone. If I understand it correctly, the current EU plan of record for Greece is pretending to deal with the problem by periodically restructuring a totally impossible debt burden. Meanwhile, austerity now and forever. The reason they stay in is that they would be even more totally screwed if they left. The most sensible thing to do would be to forgive most of the debt and kick Greece out of the Eurozone. 331 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 4:01:39pm down 4 up report re: #327 The Vicious Babushka Don't you know, that's why Trump's searching for votes and support in Scotland. At his golf courses. Because he's for the common man. Who he wont hire to make his clothes here in the US, but rather in Mexico and China, but damn those Chinese for getting the better of us in trade talks, and he's such a great negotiator who always wins, except for those times where he lost big and got others to pay for his mistakes. 332 The Vicious Babushka Jun 23, 2016 * 4:02:00pm down 9 up report "Only a million here, a million there...very, very small amounts" Trump tells Holt he's "taking very little" Wall Street money. (His finance chair has extensive Wall Street ties.): pic.twitter.com/2W4RSBlzlS 333 Brian J. Jun 23, 2016 * 4:02:19pm down 4 up report Newcastle is the second area to report, voting 51-49% for Remain. Generally expected to be more weakly for Remain than expected. 334 Skip Intro Jun 23, 2016 * 4:02:49pm down 2 up report re: #298 Backwoods_Sleuth Campaign expense. He won't pay it but he'll write it off anyway. 335 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 4:02:54pm down 7 up report re: #327 The Vicious Babushka [Embedded content] I learn so much from Trump... Like, I never knew that the Secretary of State was in charge of Europe. /s Seriously I feel like every time I read one of his idiotic statements, my brain punches the inside of my skull. 337 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 4:03:16pm down 4 up report re: #306 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Yep--and Briggs made it clear yesterday that it would NOT include a concession. Here's hoping the Brexit news overshadows any coverage of this ego-driven spectacle tonight. re: #333 Brian J. Newcastle is the second area to report, voting 51-49% for Remain. Generally expected to be more weakly for Remain than expected. What? Did you mean 'expected to be more weakly for Remain than observed ? 339 PhillyPretzel Jun 23, 2016 * 4:04:01pm down 1 up report 340 Targetpractice Jun 23, 2016 * 4:04:43pm down 5 up report Yep--and Briggs made it clear yesterday that it would NOT include a concession. Here's hoping the Brexit news overshadows any coverage of this ego-driven spectacle tonight. So, it's basically just another round of Bernie jumping up and down while screaming "LOOK AT ME!!!" 341 Skip Intro Jun 23, 2016 * 4:04:45pm down 5 up report re: #314 Backwoods_Sleuth Drudge and Jim Hoft have to figure out a way to breed to counter this. 342 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 4:04:57pm down 7 up report Can I find that in the Self(ie) Improvement Section? 344 Brian J. Jun 23, 2016 * 4:05:41pm down 1 up report re: #338 Blind Frog Belly White What? Did you mean 'expected to be more weakly for Remain than observed ? I meant "was more weakly for Remain than expected," I think. The vote was expected to be closer to 60% for Remain, according to the BBC. Sorry. 345 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 4:06:34pm down 5 up report It's only fair that if we get El Chapo, they get El Trumpo. 346 The Vicious Babushka Jun 23, 2016 * 4:08:02pm down 7 up report 347 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:09:07pm down 5 up report LATEST: Newcastle-upon-Tyne votes to remain in the EU by 51% to 49% https://t.co/1hOVOd10kQ pic.twitter.com/udE6PrBjoC 348 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 4:09:22pm down 3 up report What I'm honestly terrified of happening in 2020 is the American people deciding that the Republicans "deserve" a chance at the WH after 12 years of Democrats in the WH. Add to the fact that it's a census year and agh. There is no evidence that that actually happens. There simply haven't been enough presidential elections for a statistically significant database. 349 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 4:10:42pm down 4 up report I learn so much from Trump... Like, I never knew that the Secretary of State was in charge of Europe. /s Seriously I feel like every time I read one of his idiotic statements, my brain punches the inside of my skull. The Trump Decoder ring for this particular bit of gibberish is simple enough. It's an article of RWNJ faith that Europe is already doomed because of immigration ('great migration' in the word salad) and that the US needs to do everything it can to avoid this fate. Blame Obama and Hillary Clinton for worldwide migration patterns and it's done. One more helping of piping hot RWNJ bullshit served up to the media. 350 PhillyPretzel Jun 23, 2016 * 4:10:43pm down 2 up report re: #346 The Vicious Babushka 351 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 4:10:44pm down 6 up report Cruz and Rubio will probably be front runners in 2020 on the GOP side. Possibly Kaisch. But looking at the Senate and current governors, I'm not sure who else could realistically run. Then again, I don't know much about most of the governors in fly over country, so maybe there's someone there? I think the national stage has seen the last of Kasich. He'll finish out his term as Governor of Ohio and then go on the speaking circuit and the like. He isn't going to get any 'nicer' from now 'til then, so he would do no better. 352 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:10:57pm down 9 up report WATCH: What riding down a terrifying glass slide 1,000 feet above the ground feels like. https://t.co/grI17wqG6k https://t.co/TS4icZPE0g 353 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 4:12:04pm down 4 up report re: #290 KGxvi Cruz and Rubio will probably be front runners in 2020 on the GOP side. Possibly Kaisch. But looking at the Senate and current governors, I'm not sure who else could realistically run. Then again, I don't know much about most of the governors in fly over country, so maybe there's someone there? Paul Ryan seems like a likely candidate. 354 InfidelOfFreedom Jun 23, 2016 * 4:13:06pm down 3 up report re: #353 Big Beautiful Door Paul Ryan seems like a likely candidate. Yea he's the Mini Mitt. 356 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 4:13:35pm down 3 up report re: #353 Big Beautiful Door Paul Ryan seems like a likely candidate. Hopefully his troubles with the House Republican caucus will be a decisive obstacle. 357 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 4:13:45pm down 2 up report Tip of the iceberg? Leave would've been a disaster for Gibraltar, as Spain would've likely sealed the border again in its 300 year quest to regain control, devastating Gibraltar's economy. 358 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 4:15:17pm down 2 up report re: #356 EPR-radar Hopefully his troubles with the House Republican caucus will be a decisive obstacle. I think Ryan would be better off if the GOP lost control of the House. As it is, he will have to make deals with the Democrats just like Boehner did, and the Base will hate his guts. 359 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 4:15:40pm down 17 up report Infowars wasn't hiring? Hiring freeze at Fox? Or CNN standards no longer exist? No due diligence in hire? @aravosis @Karoli 360 Franklin Jun 23, 2016 * 4:18:34pm down 6 up report 362 lawhawk Jun 23, 2016 * 4:21:02pm down 6 up report POUND PLUNGING AFTER MASSIVE WIN FOR LEAVE IN SUNDERLAND pic.twitter.com/O1LOT8EXBu 364 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 4:22:09pm down 4 up report Well, I'm going to go grab a handle of Canadian Club. 365 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:23:22pm down 4 up report Clackmannanshire votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/ayNSZ5wr0V Orkney Islands votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZog4LtF #EURef pic.twitter.com/Ia6nd6vQyb Were people lying on the exit polls? 368 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:24:49pm down 4 up report Were people lying on the exit polls? There were no exit polls. 369 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:25:25pm down 0 up report re: #368 Backwoods_Sleuth There were some polls released though, just after polls ended. 370 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:25:51pm down 1 up report re: #369 Ziggy_TARDIS There were some polls released though, just after polls ended. Those weren't exit polls 371 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:26:15pm down 1 up report I know, misspoke. 372 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 4:27:01pm down 3 up report Hard to imagine we're potentially watching the opening act of the death of the United Kingdom. I wouldn't have guessed that was going to be a thing in my lifetime. Figured we had better odds, to be quite frank. 373 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:29:23pm down 1 up report re: #372 Testy Toad T Yeah, this is completely insane. 374 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 4:29:55pm down 7 up report re: #372 Testy Toad T Hard to imagine we're potentially watching the opening act of the death of the United Kingdom. I wouldn't have guessed that was going to be a thing in my lifetime. Figured we had better odds, to be quite frank. Too early for that; there are still a lot of votes to be counted. Though I bet when Cameron was elected PM he never imagined he might be the last PM of the U.K. 375 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 4:31:22pm down 2 up report re: #374 Big Beautiful Door Too early for that; there are still a lot of votes to be counted. Though I bet when Cameron was elected PM he never imagined he might be the last PM of the U.K. Even if Leave wins, he might not be. It would be a slow and arduous process for NI, Scotland, and Wales to peel themselves off. But he'd be the one that fucked it up. 376 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 4:31:33pm down 4 up report re: #372 Testy Toad T Hard to imagine we're potentially watching the opening act of the death of the United Kingdom. I wouldn't have guessed that was going to be a thing in my lifetime. Figured we had better odds, to be quite frank. The "Heartland(tm)" is going to be counted first, just by the nature of things. I hope London will pull it out. 377 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:32:08pm down 2 up report Really is crazy to think about in any case. 378 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:32:10pm down 2 up report re: #374 Big Beautiful Door His policies have made that a possibility. What is happening in the UK is a repudiation of Conservative Doctrine. 379 Big Beautiful Door Jun 23, 2016 * 4:33:51pm down 1 up report re: #378 Ziggy_TARDIS His policies have made that a possibility. What is happening in the UK is a repudiation of Conservative Doctrine. I wonder if Cameron will resign if leave wins? 380 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:35:51pm down 16 up report Voters in Sunderland thought they were voting to leave Sunderland. 381 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 4:36:03pm down 5 up report re: #374 Big Beautiful Door Too early for that; there are still a lot of votes to be counted. Though I bet when Cameron was elected PM he never imagined he might be the last PM of the U.K. At the same time, the U.K. decided extreme austerity was a good idea. There's a price when real people suffer. 382 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 4:36:58pm down 3 up report re: #378 Ziggy_TARDIS His policies have made that a possibility. What is happening in the UK is a repudiation of Conservative Doctrine. How so? Conservatives everywhere seem to be getting increasingly nativist. 383 dog philosopher aioau[?] Jun 23, 2016 * 4:37:06pm down 3 up report my grandfather came over from poland (in the czarist empire at the time) in 1890 when he was four. eventually he had a career as a surgeon when he died it came out that he had never been naturalized. his father had been naturalized and his son was born in the u.s. yes, my grandfather the doctor was an illegal alien. if he was alive today trump would want to deport him he would be among the people protected by the bill that was rejected today If your grandfather's father became a naturalized citizen before your grandfather turned 16 he would have automatically been granted citizenship according to the naturalization laws back then. Today the only difference in the law is that the child's age has been changed to 18. not according to the information our family recieved when my grandfather died in 1973 my father was plenty pissed off that my grandfather's will had to be processed as if he was a polish citizen i do see that according to current law the child also has to be officially registered as a Legal Permanent Resident to qualify for this automatic status, and if that was true when my great grandfather was naturalized it would have disqualified my grandfather since this was never done everybody just assumed that the little blond kid with the new york accent had been born here so nobody did anything about his status 384 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:39:03pm down 2 up report re: #382 EPR-radar How so? Conservatives everywhere seem to be getting increasingly nativist. I have noticed the same. It's not just here. It's like this globally as well. 385 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:39:38pm down 4 up report re: #382 EPR-radar The cutting of services have made people more desperate, and when that happens, Nativism pops up. 386 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:40:49pm down 0 up report re: #385 Ziggy_TARDIS It should be noted that Jenna Coleman threw her support behind Remain yesterday. 387 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:41:24pm down 3 up report PS78 eggs it is then. 388 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 4:41:25pm down 6 up report The various EU countries went all-in on conservative austerity which hurt people. Instead of reconsidering those policies, many places scapegoated Others. The typical conservative Two-fer. 389 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:42:07pm down 3 up report The various EU countries went all-in on conservative austerity which hurt people. Instead of reconsidering those policies, many places scapegoated Others. The typical conservative Two-fer. Yep agreed. 390 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:43:27pm down 9 up report Sanders says he's going out to California to campaign for a state senate candidate. "We're going to go all over this country!" but he says it's too early to support Hillary... Also, I'm guessing he's not too keen to get back to doing his Senator job any time soon. 391 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:44:20pm down 2 up report 392 Shimshon Jun 23, 2016 * 4:45:23pm down 7 up report I have noticed the same. It's not just here. It's like this globally as well. The world is changing, becoming more inclusive, diverse, and once well paying jobs are disappearing. People are angry and lashing out at the easiest targets. 393 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 4:45:51pm down 2 up report re: #390 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] but he says it's too early to support Hillary... Also, I'm guessing he's not too keen to get back to doing his Senator job any time soon. Where's Frank? I need a drink! Wonder if "rockstar" Nina Turner will be going with him? She doesn't have anything else to do. 394 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:46:52pm down 3 up report Rubio was there today to cast his votes on the two gun amendments' procedural motions. Bernie wasn't. 395 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 4:47:00pm down 3 up report Local result - Foyle votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/y49cvJW819 396 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:47:03pm down 3 up report The world is changing, becoming more inclusive, diverse, and once well paying jobs are disappearing. People are angry and lashing out at the easiest targets. Yep textbook right wing populism at its ugliest. 397 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 4:47:33pm down 0 up report That's not even remotely close. 398 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:47:38pm down 2 up report re: #394 Backwoods_Sleuth Rubio was there today to cast his votes on the two gun amendments' procedural motions. Bernie wasn't. Not a good look when Rubio makes you look like you need to be doing your job. 399 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:47:44pm down 5 up report How much ya want to bet Bernie won't be campaigning for Kamala? 400 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:49:17pm down 2 up report Northern Ireland I see and the parliamentary seat of Mark Durkan, head of the SDLP. 401 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:50:38pm down 2 up report Someone let me know how Enniskillen or any part of Fermanagh votes. Ditto with County Down. I'm honestly curious about how people are voting where I have ancestry in the UK. 402 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:51:05pm down 3 up report re: #399 Backwoods_Sleuth How much ya want to bet Bernie won't be campaigning for Kamala? To be honest, I'm shocked he's campaigning for anyone. 403 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 4:51:24pm down 3 up report Isles of Scilly votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/DRf20qXOow 404 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 4:51:37pm down 5 up report re: #399 Backwoods_Sleuth How much ya want to bet Bernie won't be campaigning for Kamala? I'd think it's a pretty safe bet. I am truly growing weary of Brother Bernie and his traveling salvation show. 405 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:51:54pm down 9 up report MrBWS just called. Looks like he won't be coming home tonight. Lots of storm damage still and power to restore in Ohio. I also see lots of tornado warnings in North Carolina, so that could be next. 406 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:52:47pm down 2 up report [Embedded content] Those little islands within the UK always fave interested me. I visited the Aran Islands off the coast of Galway when I studied abroad. Truly unique places that have unique cultures of their own. 407 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:53:38pm down 9 up report Sanders gets cheers from mostly white crowd for wanting open primaries. (Congressional Black Caucus says move would hurt minority voters.) 408 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 4:54:06pm down 1 up report 409 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:54:43pm down 6 up report Feels like April all over again: Sanders just announced his third rally in New York over the next 24 hours. 411 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 4:55:23pm down 1 up report . @BernieSanders has been speaking for 37 mins and hasn't uttered the words, "Hillary Clinton," "Donald Trump," or "nominee." 413 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 4:55:40pm down 9 up report Bernie is out wandering in the desert. Probably doing some peyote and rediscovering his most pure liberalness. And coming to grip with the yoooooouuge question: what does it all mean (Mr. Natrural)? 414 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:56:02pm down 8 up report re: #407 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Yeah leave the primaries up for people who don't want to be in the Democratic Party, great idea Bernie. I am sick and tired of his contempt for minority voters who actually are and work their ass for the party to succeed. Bernie wants to hand the party over to people who have no loyalty at all to the Democratic Party. For that, I've had it with him and I wouldn't cry if he got primaried and had a bad end to his career. 415 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:56:16pm down 3 up report Sanders just said "one of the issues were going to be fighting for on the rules committee is to end closed primaries." 416 PhillyPretzel Jun 23, 2016 * 4:56:34pm down 4 up report 417 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:56:47pm down 5 up report [Embedded content] Fuck Glenn Beck and his sense of revisionist history. We all know that Glenn Beck would have called MLK a communist if Glenn had the bully pulpit when MLK was still alive. 418 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 4:56:59pm down 3 up report re: #407 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Sanders gets cheers from mostly white crowd for wanting open primaries. just about anything he says. (Congressional Black Caucus says move would hurt minority voters.) BREAKING!! 419 FormerDirtDart Jun 23, 2016 * 4:57:18pm down 1 up report Bernie is out wandering in the desert. Probably doing some peyote and rediscovering his most pure liberalness. And coming to grip with the yoooooouuge question: what does it all mean (Mr. Natrural)? I thought better of him back in February. Now, he is just an aging irascible crank. 421 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:57:52pm down 5 up report re: #415 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] I hope he loses big time on this one. Fuck, it's not even about the issues with him anymore, is it? 422 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 4:57:52pm down 1 up report Wonder if he'll interrupt this round of NY rallies for another trip to Rome? 423 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 4:58:23pm down 8 up report re: #414 HappyWarrior Yeah leave the primaries up for people who don't want to be in the Democratic Party, great idea Bernie. I am sick and tired of his contempt for minority voters who actually are and work their ass for the party to succeed. Bernie wants to hand the party over to people who have no loyalty at all to the Democratic Party. For that, I've had it with him and I wouldn't cry if he got primaried and had a bad end to his career. More than that, it's contempt for all democrats. 424 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 4:58:47pm down 5 up report re: #420 Aunty Entity Dragon I thought better of him back in February. Now, he is just an aging irascible crank. You and me both. I really thought he was a reasonable albeit maybe a bit pie in the sky but not a dick that he'd fuck over longtime members of the Democratic base due to pettiness. 425 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 4:59:03pm down 11 up report I bet this was probably awkward. pic.twitter.com/Fvdv08H7nd 426 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:00:16pm down 7 up report Trump on NBC:"Unlike Bernie on trade, I'll do something about it, in other words, I'll do something about it." NO, those are the SAME WORDS! 427 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:00:54pm down 1 up report re: #425 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Damn it John, I was hoping for something witty like Mark Twain's "Reports of my demise have greatly been exaggerated" but then again you were a Congressman and not a humorist so I'll cut some slack. 428 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:01:03pm down 0 up report England is determined to kill the UK, aren't they? 429 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:01:37pm down 3 up report re: #426 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] He's saying he'll use dictatorial means to get his way on trade. By the way, Donald, where are your fugly suits made again? 430 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:01:46pm down 5 up report Bernie criticizing "corporate media" now. Guy near the press pen shouted "F--k them!" Another guy pointed out "They're right behind you." 431 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:02:24pm down 1 up report re: #428 Ziggy_TARDIS England is determined to kill the UK, aren't they? It would be ironic since it was them who came up with the whole UK in the first place. Granted the Hanovers were of German stock and the Stuarts Scots. 432 klys (maker of Silmarils) Jun 23, 2016 * 5:02:30pm down 13 up report 'Brexit' to be followed by Grexit. Departugal. Italeave. Fruckoff. Czechout. Oustria. Finish. Slovakout. Latervia. Byegium. @JohnDingell Maybe all he meant was that you are very rarely punctual. -- gocart mozart ( @gocartmozart1 ) June 24, 2016 434 Tigger2 Jun 23, 2016 * 5:02:50pm down 11 up report @hunterw Fuck Sanders I don't want Republicans picking our Candidates. -- jim ( @jlcoffeecup ) June 24, 2016 435 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:03:59pm down 7 up report Interesting development in Highland - #UKIP Counting Agent escorted from count after drinking too much! -- Dr Paul Monaghan MP ( @_PaulMonaghan ) June 23, 2016 436 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:04:11pm down 5 up report I'd have so much more respect for Bernie if he was using this to get ideological issues heard. It's not about that anymore with him unfortunately though. It's about letting people who have no desire to align themselves to the Democratic Party being able to decide the Democratic Party's nominee and honestly fuck Bernie for pulling this on a party he's never really been part of. 437 gocart mozart Jun 23, 2016 * 5:04:36pm down 9 up report re: #426 Backwoods_Sleuth @Uosdwis Maybe his mob name should have been "Donnie Two Times" -- gocart mozart ( @gocartmozart1 ) June 24, 2016 438 ObserverArt Jun 23, 2016 * 5:04:57pm down 6 up report re: #432 klys (maker of Silmarils) Mikhail Golub @golub 'Brexit' to be followed by Grexit. Departugal. Italeave. Fruckoff. Czechout. Oustria. Finish. Slovakout. Latervia. Byegium. 6:22 AM - 23 Jun 2016 6,611 6,611 Retweets 6,039 6,039 likes That is sad and funny at the same time. Wicked humor. 439 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:05:09pm down 0 up report re: #435 Backwoods_Sleuth Highland is the area in the very North of Scotland. I imagine the results there are like the Orkney Islands I have ancestry from next door, though I have background through the McKays in the Highlands too. 440 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 5:05:23pm down 11 up report Bernie to supporters, "Never, ever lose your sense of outrage!" -- Hunter Walker ( @hunterw ) June 23, 2016 441 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:05:49pm down 12 up report Witness: Man killed woman on CTA Red Line when he asked her to have his babies, she said no: https://t.co/H0sbnfjWDO pic.twitter.com/bRaX8Dw1f2 443 nines09 Jun 23, 2016 * 5:07:24pm down 6 up report TONIGHT ON CNN........LIES.....LIES...AND MORE...LIES.......REPORTING ON THIS PHENOMENA.....COREY LEWANDROWSKI..........COREY? "Thanks suckers, I mean Wolf....." 444 PhillyPretzel Jun 23, 2016 * 5:07:44pm down 2 up report re: #441 Backwoods_Sleuth that is bad. It is a good thing I read on the Market-Frankford/Blue line when I go to work. 445 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 5:07:50pm down 3 up report re: #441 Backwoods_Sleuth Just feels like the whole goddamned world is berning burning down sometimes. 446 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:07:54pm down 0 up report 447 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 5:08:22pm down 7 up report [Embedded content] Sanders just said "one of the issues were going to be fighting for on the rules committee is to end closed primaries." And yet, about caucuses, not a word was spoke. 448 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge Jun 23, 2016 * 5:08:23pm down 3 up report re: #414 HappyWarrior Yeah leave the primaries up for people who don't want to be in the Democratic Party, great idea Bernie. I am sick and tired of his contempt for minority voters who actually are and work their ass for the party to succeed. Bernie wants to hand the party over to people who have no loyalty at all to the Democratic Party. For that, I've had it with him and I wouldn't cry if he got primaried and had a bad end to his career. No need to primary him--he's an "Independent". Just run a Democrat this time. 449 gocart mozart Jun 23, 2016 * 5:08:40pm down 22 up report 450 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 5:09:05pm down 10 up report re: #412 klys (maker of Silmarils) This is not a good start. What I want out of Bernie Sanders is boots on the ground vs. Republicans and Trump in November. If Sanders isn't going to be useful in that context, he can fuck right off. 451 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 5:09:37pm down 2 up report 452 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:10:04pm down 1 up report re: #448 The Very Reverend Battleaxe of Knowledge No need to primary him--he's an "Independent". Just run a Democrat this time. I thought he officially is a Democrat now which is why Giordano hs talked about primarying him, no? I don't know if we have any Vermont lizards or lizards with friends and family there but I imagine Bernie's act is tiresome to many up there by now. I mean there just gets a point where you get embarrassed by one of your own. That's how I've been feeling about Jim Webb since he thankfully left office and then embraced his inner dickhead though he always was a bit of a dick. 453 b.d. Jun 23, 2016 * 5:11:24pm down 13 up report On this historic evening in the UK I can't help but harken back to another big event and one of the biggest scoops of the decade. Evening Lizards 454 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:11:37pm down 2 up report The Bernie photo-op on the sit-in seems to have worked since the Bernout I know is using it as proof that he stood with the Congressional Democrats even though he left pretty much immediately. 455 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 5:12:27pm down 2 up report 456 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:12:37pm down 2 up report re: #453 b.d. On this historic evening in the UK I can't help but harken back to another big event and one of the biggest scoops of the decade. What's interesting to me is so far it seems that Scotland wants to remain part of the EU but there's been growing sympathy for Scotland to get independence. Then again, in a way the two aren't really opposing issues. 457 Smith25's Liberal Thighs Jun 23, 2016 * 5:13:38pm down 21 up report Guess who got a chance to see the sit-in in the House Chamber today(only got to stay for a couple min, but it was history).... Also got to shake hands with Senator Chuck Schumer while taking a tour prior to entering the Senate Chamber. 458 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:14:11pm down 1 up report re: #457 Smith25's Liberal Thighs Guess who got a chance to see the sit-in in the House Chamber today(only got to stay for a couple min, but it was history).... Also got to shake hands with Senator Chuck Schumer while taking a tour prior to entering the Senate Chamber. Very cool. 459 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:14:21pm down 2 up report Shetland Islands votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/LpR4bTAuBp 460 EPR-radar Jun 23, 2016 * 5:15:39pm down 3 up report re: #456 HappyWarrior What's interesting to me is so far it seems that Scotland wants to remain part of the EU but there's been growing sympathy for Scotland to get independence. Then again, in a way the two aren't really opposing issues. The impression I have is that if the UK leaves the EU, Scotland would be likely to seek independence from the UK mainly to get back into the EU. 461 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 5:16:36pm down 2 up report Just flashed that 16+ million needed to win referendum--currently about 600,000 votes counted--going to be a long night. 462 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:16:37pm down 2 up report West Dunbartonshire votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/3B272sTM2s 463 Smith25's Liberal Thighs Jun 23, 2016 * 5:16:53pm down 14 up report Prior to leaving on Wednesday afternoon, I told my wife that if I could only somehow shake hands with John Lewis, the trip would be a great success. Well, got to see John Lewis fight like that in person, just wow. 464 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:16:57pm down 2 up report re: #460 EPR-radar The impression I have is that if the UK leaves the EU, Scotland would be likely to seek independence from the UK mainly to get back into the EU. That sounds about right. It also seems and granted it's early that Northern Ireland wants to remain. Wouldn't that be something that after years of sectarian differences the two sides seem to have some consensus about another issue? 465 Shimshon Jun 23, 2016 * 5:17:11pm down 2 up report Fuck Glenn Beck and his sense of revisionist history. We all know that Glenn Beck would have called MLK a communist if Glenn had the bully pulpit when MLK was still alive. We can just look back to how Beck treated Obama in 2007-2009 and... 466 GlutenFreeJesus Jun 23, 2016 * 5:17:24pm down 3 up report re: #441 Backwoods_Sleuth Boyfriend/girlfriend thing. Terrible. Been on the news here since it happened. :-/ 467 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:17:39pm down 0 up report The EU was a big part in resolving (mostly) that conflict. 468 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:18:33pm down 6 up report re: #463 Smith25's Liberal Thighs Prior to leaving on Wednesday afternoon, I told my wife that if I could only somehow shake hands with John Lewis, the trip would be a great success. Well, got to see John Lewis fight like can in person, just wow. indeed. What an awesome experience. Lewis really is a true hero. His district is lucky to have him. If we had 434 other congresspeople with even a fraction of the wisdom and insight he has, we'd have a great Congress, unfortunately there are more Louie Gohmerts than John Lewises in Congress. 469 MsJ Jun 23, 2016 * 5:19:16pm down 1 up report +7000 Leave 470 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 5:19:19pm down 5 up report re: #460 EPR-radar The impression I have is that if the UK leaves the EU, Scotland would be likely to seek independence from the UK mainly to get back into the EU. It appears to be an open secret to everyone but the English that this is for all practical purposes an English vote to dissolve the United Kingdom. 471 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:19:38pm down 1 up report re: #467 Ziggy_TARDIS The EU was a big part in resolving (mostly) that conflict. Yeah they were. I am glad that things have gotten better. I have my unique views on NI I concede but I am glad to see that peace has been worked on. 472 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:19:47pm down 0 up report South Tyneside votes to Leave. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/jmrMQB1jQ5 473 BeachDem Jun 23, 2016 * 5:20:48pm down 9 up report indeed. What an awesome experience. Lewis really is a true hero. His district is lucky to have him. If we had 434 other congresspeople with even a fraction of the wisdom and insight he has, we'd have a great Congress, unfortunately there are more Louie Gohmerts than John Lewises in Congress. We are trying to get him for our fall county Dem event. I REALLY pushed for us to get him last year, when the theme was 50 years of voting rights, but it fell apart. I have offered to put up the money for his travel and hotel if they can get him to agree. I still live in hope. 474 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:21:50pm down 2 up report re: #473 BeachDem We are trying to get him for our fall county Dem event. I REALLY pushed for us to get him last year, when the theme was 50 years of voting rights, but it fell apart. I have offered to put up the money for his travel and hotel if they can get him to agree. I still live in hope. That would be great if you could. He really is a great guy and I'm so glad that he still fights the good fight with as much passion as he did in his younger days. 475 Bubblehead II Jun 23, 2016 * 5:22:14pm down 2 up report Lizards, going to call it a night. As always, may the Deity of your choice smile down upon you and yours. 476 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:25:10pm down 8 up report This Bernie speech, tho. He literally referred to the Democratic Party as "that party." 477 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:25:33pm down 0 up report Every result in Scotland up to now has been Pro-Remain. 478 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:26:45pm down 7 up report "Britain may leave the EU because voter turn out was low due to rain" FFS BRITAIN WE CAN'T BE THAT CLICHE 479 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:27:25pm down 1 up report re: #476 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Yeah Bernie, that's a way to convince the SDs to nominate you by reminding people that you're not even really a Democrat really and just joined because you knew it would look bad to be an Independent running for President as a Democrat. 480 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:27:43pm down 6 up report Sunderland has received 36 million of EU money since 2006 after it was left to decay by the South. Good luck with the future lads. 481 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:27:53pm down 0 up report Local result - Lagan Valley votes to Leave. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/Axaznly7Dr 482 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:28:22pm down 9 up report re: #480 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Why does this remind me of poor parts of the US that still vote for Republicans even though Republicans are against helping those poor areas? 483 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:28:35pm down 1 up report re: #480 Backwoods_Sleuth Considering how the Southern US acts in regards to that, one could think it is part of the Conservative Mindset. 484 gocart mozart Jun 23, 2016 * 5:29:54pm down 6 up report People in Scotland are not thrilled about Trump coming to their country. We know the feeling. https://t.co/M5NKiYnt4C Local result - North Antrim votes to Leave. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/JsTi8vJlaI 486 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:32:18pm down 10 up report Molly, aka the Thing of Evil, rests contentedly beside the corpse of her latest toy. pic.twitter.com/BawIbWlDU6 487 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:32:23pm down 1 up report [Embedded content] Parliamentary district of Ian Paisley's son, Ian Jr. 488 freetoken Jun 23, 2016 * 5:32:37pm down 1 up report re: #485 Ziggy_TARDIS I thought Northern Ireland was predicted to vote to stay, out of fear that leaving would interfere with border crossing with RoI. 489 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:32:48pm down 2 up report [Embedded content] Trump's idea of a special relationship is treating everyone like shit. 490 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:33:01pm down 0 up report Well, that makes sense then. I have heard of the father, and how big a wanker he was. 491 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:33:14pm down 1 up report Comhairle nan Eilean Siar votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/0koNlXJqE0 492 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:33:45pm down 1 up report I thought Northern Ireland was predicted to vote to stay, out of fear that leaving would interfere with border crossing with RoI. I thought so too. What's interesting is this is a Unionist stronghold. As I said, Ian Paisley's son is the MP for North Antrim. 493 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:33:58pm down 0 up report Woohoo! Two of us posting! 494 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:33:59pm down 4 up report When you realise that crop of potatoes in your garden could soon be worth more than your house.. 495 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:35:05pm down 1 up report re: #490 Ziggy_TARDIS Well, that makes sense then. I have heard of the father, and how big a wanker he was. Yep, terrible person and quite honestly why I am not fond of the Unionists in NI. I am not going to start a debate about Republic versus Union in regards to NI since that will distract but Paisley's father was an anti-Catholic racist homophobe who had a lot of common ground with American Fundies so much that he actually got a honorable doctorate from Bob Jones University. 496 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:35:29pm down 2 up report It will take 16.4m votes to win the #EUref , based on a 72% turnout estimate - Prof Curtice https://t.co/6sZSLSVPnw pic.twitter.com/cvJHpZOih6 497 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:35:34pm down 0 up report Local result - West Tyrone votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/v0IbDn7p7i 498 gocart mozart Jun 23, 2016 * 5:35:36pm down 2 up report @gocartmozart1 @PolitiFact that exchange is priceless. @BuzzFeedAndrew just reproduced the whole thing: https://t.co/eOOWqGwXWZ West Tyrone says Stay. Come on Fermanagh and Down do the right thing lads. 500 stpaulbear Jun 23, 2016 * 5:36:35pm down 2 up report Probably not either. Two of them committed suicide. 501 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:37:06pm down 0 up report East Ayrshire votes to Remain. Full results: https://t.co/4hLZofNaC7 #EURef pic.twitter.com/UKefzSBS1U [Embedded content] Probably not either. Two of them committed suicide. That's a criminally underrated band IMO. I first heard Badfinger in The Departed. Then I talked to my Dad and it turned out it was one of his favorites in the early 70's. 503 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:38:21pm down 7 up report Seems to me that the Brexit vote will come down to the crucial Waukesha county -- Michael Cohen ( @speechboy71 ) June 24, 2016 Has there ever been an investigation into the weird results in Waukesha County, WI? 504 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 5:40:08pm down 4 up report re: #496 Backwoods_Sleuth How can you have only 72% turnout on something so fucking important and momentous as this?!!? Not that, as an American, I am really one to talk. 505 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:40:55pm down 2 up report re: #504 Testy Toad T How can you have only 72% turnout on something so fucking important and momentous as this?!!? Not that, as an American, I am really one to talk. Yeah I don't get it either. 506 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:42:20pm down 7 up report BREAKING: Bluegrass legend Dr. Ralph Stanley has died. The news was confirmed by his grandson, Nathan, on his Facebook. re: #504 Testy Toad T And why is 50%+1 enough to decide something like this. It should be decided by super-majority, 60% at least. 508 Ziggy_TARDIS Jun 23, 2016 * 5:43:46pm down 0 up report 509 Backwoods_Sleuth Jun 23, 2016 * 5:44:44pm down 5 up report Lindsay Lohan is live tweeting the EU referendum results. I'm not even drunk. I think I should get drunk. 510 Testy Toad T Jun 23, 2016 * 5:44:46pm down 3 up report re: #507 Ziggy_TARDIS And why is 50%+1 enough to decide something like this. It should be decided by super-majority, 60% at least. At least a strict majority of actual eligible voters. Not voting should rather obviously count as a vote for the status quo, right? 511 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:44:52pm down 3 up report re: #506 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] [Embedded content] Some of his music was in Lawless and O Brother Where Art Thou, it's what in part got me into old time folk music. 512 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:45:49pm down 1 up report [Embedded content] Beautiful tribute. Condolences to Ralph's family and freinds. 513 compound_Idaho Jun 23, 2016 * 5:46:44pm down 0 up report re: #510 Testy Toad T 514 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:46:58pm down 1 up report The Bootleggers Feat: Ralph Stanley-Fire in the blood It also transitions into Emmylou Harris's awesome cover of Townes Van Zant's Snake Song which I think is better performed by a woman than man IMO. 515 William Lewis Jun 23, 2016 * 5:50:16pm down 3 up report And in a bit of good music news, A California jury has ruled that the members of Led Zeppelin did not plagiarize the opening bars of their hit "Stairway to Heaven," a seminal song in rock history. The estate of Randy Wolfe, the deceased guitarist of the band Spirit, had filed the federal copyright infringement lawsuit in 2014. It argued that guitar intro was stolen from the opening notes of Spirit's song "Taurus" -- which came out before Stairway. At the time, Wolfe was performing under the pseudonym Randy California. 516 gocart mozart Jun 23, 2016 * 5:50:18pm down 2 up report @KevinMKruse @NormOrnstein It was designed by Liberace's more flamboyant half brother Fred Conserverace. -- gocart mozart ( @gocartmozart1 ) June 24, 2016 517 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:51:31pm down 1 up report re: #516 gocart mozart [Embedded content] Haha I was going to say. I thought BtC was quite interesting. Granted I didn't grow up with Liberace and I knew little about him before I watched the movie but it was interesting. 518 stpaulbear Jun 23, 2016 * 5:56:23pm down 2 up report re: #394 Backwoods_Sleuth Rubio was there today to cast his votes on the two gun amendments' procedural motions. Bernie wasn't. Is it starting to piss off Vermonters that he's not even trying to do his job? 519 HappyWarrior Jun 23, 2016 * 5:57:00pm down 2 up report Is it starting to piss off Vermonters that he's not even trying to do his job? That's what I've been wondering too. 520 piratedan Jun 23, 2016 * 6:00:18pm down 1 up report agree... Day After Day, No Matter What, Baby Blue, the original Without You (written by Tom Evans) and my favorite little known cut, "We're for the dark" 521 mr.fusion Jun 23, 2016 * 6:02:33pm down 8 up report So it's basically confirmed that CNN just hired a political commentator who will get sued if he criticizes Trump https://t.co/GgpJccNycP 522 Shimshon Jun 23, 2016 * 6:33:28pm down 4 up report Why does this remind me of poor parts of the US that still vote for Republicans even though Republicans are against helping those poor areas? The millions of whites on disability, welfare, food stamps, or work for the government and vote for Republican politicians that tell them the OTHER people on disability, welfare, food stamps, or work for the government are lazy moochers just do it to feel better about themselves and superior to those others. If you ask them, THEY deserve their tax payer money of course. God guns and gays is what they cling to, Obama was right. They grew up believing that you have to be a Republican and (Protestant) Christian or else you are anti-American. Until these poor whites can be convinced to stop getting angry at minorities also getting government assistance, the GOP will win most state elections. They don't decide the Presidency anymore but midterms and lower races will give the Republicans power. This freaking out over Trump is just a game, they are happy to lose to Hillary it will help them justify 8 more years of insanity.

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By Ira Stoll | January 23, 2017, 15:52 EDT Printed from: http://newbostonpost.com/2017/01/23/the-problem-with-block-grants/ Obscured amid the controversy over crowd size and the women's march that followed was the substantive policy at the heart of President Donald Trump's inaugural address. That came in the language about "we are transferring power from Washington D.C., and giving it back to you, the people," and is being followed up with a reported congressional initiative to turn Medicaid, the federal healthcare program for the poor, into "block grants to the states." States already exercise substantial discretion over Medicaid. Even the name of the program varies from state to state -- Medi-Cal in California, DenaliCare in Alaska, MassHealth in Massachusetts, TennCare in Tennessee. The states already put some money into funding the programs. And it may be that the proposed changes are an improvement over the current system. Local control puts decision makers closer to end-users, shortening the distance that information needs to travel, and making it easier to adjust programs to local circumstances. There's a back-story here. Republicans have loved the idea of "block grants to the states" since at least the 1990s, when the Newt Gingrich-led Congress reformed the welfare program known as Aid to Families With Dependent Children. Before that (and some would say, even to this day), the question of which decisions got made in Washington, and which in state capitals, had become unfortunately clouded by racism, as the Southern states refused to comply with their obligations under the federal Constitution. But amid the present push to devolve power to state and local governments, it's worth remembering that there are some drawbacks, too. First of all, "block grant to the states" still often gives the politicians in Washington and their lobbyist hangers-on ample opportunity to play a role in directing the cash flow. There are almost always conditions imposed on how the money can be used, and there's almost always a formula involved in how the money is allocated. Both the conditions and the formula allow room for an awful lot of Washington-based mischief making and influence peddling. At the state level, meanwhile, the "block grant" provides an opportunity for government spending unconnected to the act of revenue-raising. It's practically free money, so the state and local officials want to spend -- they use words like "capture" -- as much of it as possible. Even worse, while state and local laws usually mandate balanced budgets, the federal government can rack up plenty of debt, so the block-grant mechanism is a way for state and local politicians to circumvent their own budget constraints. The overall effect is to encourage government spending that wouldn't otherwise happen. One way to understand this is to do a thought experiment. The next time some Republican politician starts talking about turning a federal program into "block grants to the states," ask: What would happen if instead of turning it into "block grants to the states," the politicians just flat-out eliminated the program, and cut taxes and borrowing by the amount that had been spent? Perhaps some state or local governments would restart the program at the state or local level, or provide the service on their own, with some new revenue stream. Perhaps some other state or local governments would choose not to provide the service. Perhaps the for-profit or non-profit private sector would provide solutions to whatever need had been met by the federal government program. If the service or program were important enough, perhaps individuals or businesses would choose to move to a state, city, or town where the service was being provided. One might object that there are some rights or services so basic that one's ability to access them shouldn't depend on where one lives -- they should be guaranteed to all Americans. The "rights" part of that is what some of our Constitution is about. And the idea that, say, your Social Security retirement benefits would depend on what state you live in runs counter to 21st century America, which is nationalized by forces such as airplane travel, television networks, and national retail, hotel, and restaurant chains. I'm not saying we should get rid of the whole federal government and leave everything to the states. What I am saying is that, in the debate over federal programs, in the choice between "keep things as they are" and "block grant it to the states," there's a third option, which is "get rid of the program altogether, and if some state or town or county or city wants to tax its people to have the program, good luck to them." If Mr. Trump really wants to fulfill his inaugural promise of transferring power from Washington D.C. to the people, he'd be wise to keep that third option on the table. Ira Stoll is editor of FutureOfCapitalism.com and author of JFK, Conservative .

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The International Longshore and Warehouse Union has renegotiated its contract with Northern California bosses to extend pension and health benefits to same-sex couples. The impetus behind this change was the heartbreaking story of Marvin Burrows, who was denied health insurance coverage and pension benefits after Bill Swenor, his partner of 51 years, died suddenly in March 2005. For 38 years, Swenor worked in a warehouse and was an ILWU member. Burrows was denied his partner's pension and lost his health insurance by the Industrial Employers and Distributions Association. The bosses' association twice denied Burrows's claim for Swenor's pension benefits, stating that federal law does not recognize same-sex couples as spouses. Without these benefits, Burrows was forced to move from the home he had shared with his spouse for 35 years. The two men got married in 2004 when the city of San Francisco performed same-sex marriages before the California Supreme Court stopped them. The National Center for Lesbian Rights appealed to the IEDA, but was turned down. Eighteen months later, the union pension board contacted the NCLR and informed them that it had renegotiated their contract to include domestic partner benefits. A communique from the union explained the benefits were made retroactive to March 1, 2005 so that Burrows would be an eligible surviving widower. ILWU spokesperson John Showalter stated, "Our union's motto is, 'An injury to one is an injury to all,' and we definitely feel that applies in this case." In a press advisory issued by Pride at Work, an LGBT-affiliated constituent group of the AFI-CIO, Burrows said: "When I heard the news that Bill's union had changed their policy and even made it retroactive to include me, I was stunned. Maybe it was me sharing my story with so many people, but I think it is also because they thought it was the right thing to do. I hope this shows our community the power of speaking up and that this encourages more gay Americans to come out and tell their stories. Bill was always proud of how his union provided for its members and I know Bill is smiling down at me and that alone gives me a wonderful reflection."

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Attention, "Game of Thrones" fans: The most enjoyably sensational aspects of medieval politics -- double-crosses, ambushes, bizarre personal obsessions, lunacy and naked self-interest -- are in abundant evidence in Nancy Goldstone's "The Maid and the Queen: The Secret History of Joan of Arc." Goldstone's premise, innovative but not outlandishly so, is that Joan's rise from poor, illiterate farmer's daughter to mystical champion of French nationalism during the Hundred Years' War was largely orchestrated by Yolande of Aragon. Yolande, who was the Duchess of Anjou and Countess of Maine as well as the Queen of Aragon (among other titles), was also the mother-in-law of the dauphin, Charles, whose military triumph over the occupying English and coronation in Reims were the two great causes espoused by the saintly, if warlike, Joan. As Goldstone sees it, Yolande's political genius goes under-recognized. "The Maid and the Queen" describes two ways exceptional women found to exercise power in the Middle Ages. Yolande -- who ran Aragon while her husband (and, later, her son) pursued a fairly hopeless claim to the throne of Sicily -- raised money, sponsored advisors, negotiated strategic marriages and otherwise worked, often indirectly, to further the interests of her six children. She backed the Armagnac side in the protracted French civil wars that weakened the country to the point that Henry V and Henry VI of England found it ripe for the picking. The other side, the eel-like Burgundians, formed on-again, off-again alliances with the limey invaders. Charles, who became dauphin (heir to the French throne) only after his four elder brothers died, had gone to live with Yolande in her castle at Angers at age 11, when he was betrothed to her daughter, Marie. His father was intermittently mad (a situation that led to much of the chaos in France) and his own mother was so self-serving that eventually she repudiated him as the illegitimate product of an adulterous affair in order to appease a more useful ally. (Goldstone finds persuasive proof of his legitimacy.) Charles called Yolande his "Bonne Mere" (good mother) and, as Goldstone writes, "became very attached to her, relying on her judgment and reflexively turning to her in moments of distress. No one had more influence with Charles than Yolande." Nevertheless, after Charles' father died, Yolande's sway was eclipsed by that of avaricious Georges de la Tremoille, grand chamberlain, whose interest lay in, as Goldstone puts it, "undermining the king's confidence as a means of controlling him and enriching himself as much as possible." A major military defeat against Henry V spooked Charles, and he became obsessed with his disputed legitimacy and the possibility that God had thwarted him because he was not, in fact, the rightful king. As he tarried, the English solidified their base in northern France. Yolande raised and funded a substantial army, but she still couldn't get her lily-livered, self-doubting son-in-law to fight. Goldstone believed that Yolande's extensive network of spies and contacts -- particularly her youngest son, Rene, who was in line to become the Duke of Lorraine -- notified her when a teenage peasant girl from the northern village of Domremy (on the border between Lorraine and Champagne) developed a following. In a touch right out of a J.J. Abrams series, there was a well-known prophecy, first circulated by a Provencal seeress, that "France will be lost by a woman [Charles' profligate and unpopular mother] and shall thereafter be restored by a virgin." No one believed in Charles more than the charismatic and manifestly pious Joan, who treated his coronation and rule as sacramental. Like medieval churchwomen with more conventional careers, Joan wielded an authority rooted in both her chastity and her claim to a hot line to heaven -- in Joan's case, the voices of the saints who directed her actions and promised success to Charles. (When she was finally captured by French allies of the English and subjected to a kangaroo trial for heresy, the question of whether, by wearing men's clothes, she had behaved "immodestly" was given great weight.) At her famous meeting with the dauphin in 1429, Joan was said to have delivered an unspecified "sign" to Charles, confirming her holy status. Goldstone believes that she simply addressed his most corrosive, secret anxiety by immediately assuring him that she had been sent by God to verify his legitimacy and help him retake his kingdom. Historians differ on how much military authority Joan exercised over the next year and how effective that authority was. But there is no doubt that her symbolic power was immense; she transformed a grinding dynastic squabble into a holy war in the eyes of French commoners, who had previously had little reason to side with any of the aristocratic combatants. Her valor in the heat of battle rallied flagging French troops again and again, above all in the raising of the siege of Orleans, a huge morale booster for Charles loyalists. The retrial that overturned her conviction for heresy 25 years after her execution became "a collective catharsis staged at the national level, in which not only Joan but the entire French population achieved redemption," Goldstone writes. Because so much of this material is familiar, delivery becomes a crucial factor in any popular history of these events. Goldstone's is vigorous, witty and no-nonsense in the tradition of the late, great popular historian Barbara Tuchman. She registers moral disgust at the Burgundian lackeys who tormented and killed Joan of Arc, as well as pragmatic admiration for the campaign-trail chops of Yolande and her mother-in-law, Marie of Blois, who knew that the best way to consolidate support in your son's or husband's duchy was to travel from one provincial town to another, patiently listening to the local burghers' gripes and then handing out plenty of cash. And she's very funny when exploring the roots of the campaign to rehabilitate Joan's reputation in a theological conflict within the University of Paris: "So much of life is fleeting, ephemeral: Seasons change, civilizations rise and fall; people are born, they live a little, they die. But faculty disagreements endure." "The Maid and the Queen" does suffer a bit from the fact that the figure Goldstone presents as driving events, Yolande, is almost never at the scene when the action occurs. Her influence must be inferred by the presence or behavior of men who were allied to her in one way or another. Of course, this is the only way Yolande could have operated, but it makes Goldstone's central argument difficult to substantiate. "There is no more effective camouflage in history than to have been born a woman," she writes. Not all of that camouflage can be conclusively cleared away, but thanks to this book, a bit more of this remarkable life has been coaxed out into the open.

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As 200-plus people flooded into Bloor Street United Church's McClure Hall, it was clear that, as with last year's instalment of Animals Beyond Borders, the venue was too small. It seems that the community is always one step ahead of the event. This was, of course, welcome news. Not surprising either, considering that the movement to end animal exploitation is growing ever more vigorously each day. As the movement grows, Animals Beyond Borders seeks to bring grassroots groups together, creating synergy and coalitions. We learn from each other. We inspire each other. We support each other. The fundraiser featured a vegan buffet dinner catered by Omega Creations, a silent auction and raffle of original art works, photography, and vegan goodies, information tables from a diverse mix of animal rights organizations such as Mercy for Animals Canada, Hamilton Burlington Pig Save, Ark II and many others, and live music from Ashkon Hobooti, Ivy James , Matt Noble, and Mike XvX . The music alone was worth the ticket price. This year's line-up of speakers included Anita Krajnc ( Toronto Pig Save ), Colleen Tew and Brenda LaFleshe ( Hamilton-Burlington Pig Save ), Bob Timmons ( RR Horse Refuge ), Jo-Anne MacArthur ( WeAnimals.org and Animals Asia Foundation ), Jennifer Bundock ( Toronto Aquarium Resistance Alliance ), Dylan Powell ( Marineland Animal Defense ) and Phil Demers, ex-head trainer of Marineland and lead employee whistleblower. Each speaker inspired the audience with their tireless, crystal clear, and exemplary dedication to animal justice. Many motifs emerged throughout the evening. There were two, however, that stood out as most exigent (and complimentary): the urgency and immediacy of animal rights work (expressed most chillingly by Phil Demers when he stated "If I don't see her [Smooshie] now, she will die.") and the importance of longevity and endurance (as by Anita Krajnc's pledge to bear witness to suffering regularly and advocate for animal rights for the rest of her life). The animals need us now, and they need us for life. (Another important note on urgency is the threat of eviction that Animals Asia's Vietnam sanctuary faces. More info at animalsasia.org where there is a petition to stop this.) Longevity, however, can be difficult to maintain (not only because of the sadness we encounter), and Animals Beyond Borders in 2011 was a welcome and unexpected tonic for me. We celebrated the achievements and good work of animal allies, most notably Toronto's landmark banning of shark fin products. Once again, in 2012, Animals Beyond Borders surprised me with its regenerative and invigorating effects, and this is one among many reasons we will continue this initiative annually. This fundraiser is only a small piece of the work needed to disseminate the messages of compassionate living and animal liberation. But (in addition to raising about $6,000 for direct-action campaigns) it certainly galvanized us all to continue with that work. And so we go on, soldiers of love, now, and for life. Chris is an emerging playwright and screenwriter based in Toronto. His company Theatre Under Pressure debuted with Weight Loss World in 2010 and has several projects in development including The Rope , an exploration of the corrosive interpersonal effects of the philosophy of Ayn Rand, and A Long and Ghastly Kitchen, a drama about vivisection. Chris is the caretaker of a pug and is an ally of all animals. You can reach Chris at chrismichaelburns@gmail.com . Artwork in attached image by Caitlin Black .

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Further US intervention in the war in Syria will only exacerbate an already dreadful situation. There is no military solution to this crisis. Congress should take back its constitutional authority to decide when and if the U.S. goes to war, and should demand that the Trump administration stop its dangerous escalation. Congress should also call on the administration to lift its ban on Syrian refugees entering the United States. It should reject Trump's budget proposal to cut humanitarian aid and instead provide greater financial support for the humanitarian crisis affecting Syrian refugees. Congress should also instruct the administration to work with the Russians to call for a ceasefire and negotiations to find a political solution.

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By Dean Weingarten The Hidden Forces That Promote Conspiracy Thinking About Mass Killing Dean Weingarten Arizona -( Ammoland.com )- The explosion of conspiracy theories accompanying the mass killing in Las Vegas can be seen all over the Internet. The theories and their rationals range from the absurd, such as "a 64-year-old man could not have moved 10 bags up to his room alone" to somewhat sophisticated analysis of cell phone recordings that claim to find evidence of two shooters. I have not seen any convincing evidence that requires a conspiracy to explain the mass murder. I use Occam's razor to winnow out the theories. That is, when given two explanations, the preference should be given to the simpler, less complicated version. For any incident, an imaginative mind can create an infinite variety of logically consistent explanations. But only one is true. It usually is the least complicated. For example, I might walk out the door without my cell phone. The simple explanation is that the human mind is complicated and imperfect, and I forgot to put my cell phone in a pocket. A complicated explanation would be that unknown government agents distracted me with fake bird sounds and a loud car outside of my door, just as I was about to pick up my phone. They knew the timing required by monitoring my movements though the camera in my computer. They needed me to leave the phone to access it so as to substitute a phone with sophisticated tracking devices embedded in it. There have always been conspiracy theories. The human mind is designed to notice patterns and assign causal relationships. It works for us most of the time. But sometimes the mind creates causality where it does not exist, especially for unusual, complicated, important events that threaten our sense of safety. The standard explanation is that conspiracy theories serve a psychological need to deny reality. University of Massachusetts professor Kirby Farrell is a regular contributor to Psychology Today and the author of a 2015 book about America's fascination with rampage killings. He prefers the term "conspiracy fantasies," not theories. Farrell said the need to invent -- or to believe -- elaborate and often unprovable explanations for attacks like the one in Las Vegas is rooted in fear and avoidance. It is an attempt to "sanitize or wish away the inexplicable violence that overtakes certain individuals," he said. "Conspiracy fantasies are a kind of sophisticated game people play to prop up or reinforce denial," Farrell said. There is more to it than that. In the last 20 years, a number of technological advances and the resulting social changes have accelerated the tendency and motivation to create conspiracy theories. First, we have found that real conspiracies have existed, and have been effective. Hitler did create fake attacks against Germans to justify the invasion of Poland. The U.S. government used Mafia proxies to attempt the assassination of Fidel Castro. The Russian government used sophisticated devices to assassinate political opponents in the west. The common knowledge of real conspiracies is magnified by the prominence given to the concept in movies and TV shows. Consider "Enemy of the State" or "Conspiracy Theory" or "JFK" or, to go a little further back, "Mission Impossible". Second, the public has often been lied to by the government, and some of those lies have been exposed. Lyndon Johnson become famous for lying about the Gulf of Tonkin episode. Barak Obama lied about "you can keep your plan". James Comey lied about any real intention to investigate Hillary. The Federal Government did sanction sales of AK clones to Mexican drug cartels . Third, "Black" operations are known to exist. By nature, they are not widely publicized. I personally know two people that were involved in "Black Ops". "Black ops" existence has been widely touted. Fourth, over the last 20 years, the establishment media has been repeatedly caught in lying, creating false narratives, and cover-ups that are blatantly partisan. The Paula Jones story was spiked by major media before it was outed by Matt Drudge. The misdeeds of Harvey Weinstein were covered up by his media pals for decades. Dan Rather was caught using fake documents in an attempt to throw the 2004 presidential election to the Democrats. All of the above have eroded trust in government pronouncements and media sources. Fifth, there are real rewards for someone who can prove a real conspiracy. The people who proved the falsity of the Rathergate documents are still touted on the Internet for the heroes that they are. Codrea and Vanderboegh have been lauded for their work in exposing Fast and Furious. Sixth, there are real rewards for putting out semi-plausible sounding conspiracy theories. A site will gather millions of hits and much advertising revenue if it creates a plausible sounding theory that is difficult to disprove. This all happens at the speed of wi-fi waves and electrons transmitted by wire. The access to massive data from thousands of cell phones and sensors gives citizen investigators enormous resources to pick and chose to create plausible scenarios. The lack of data is more grist for the mill, as conspiracy theorists claim the lack of data is significant. "Why haven't we seen this video?!" is trumpeted as evidence of a conspiracy when the video may not exist, or there are perfectly valid reasons why it has not been made public. We will not see an end to conspiracy theories. We must live with them. Objective truth should win in the end. Internet investigations have shown their worth. I urge everyone to be careful about spreading unproven theories, and to investigate facts for themselves. Be skeptical, be careful, remember Occam's razor and other rules of logic. Don't accept a theory, just because you like it, or because it validates your politics. The truth will out, but it will take time. (c)2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included. About Dean Weingarten: Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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There are lots of good physiological reasons why people find heads fascinating, and powerful, and tempting to remove. The human head is a biological powerhouse and a visual delight. It accommodates four of our five senses: sight, smell, hearing and taste all take place in the head. It encases the brain, the core of our nervous system. It draws in the air we breathe and delivers the words we speak. As the evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman has written, 'Almost every particle entering your body, either to nourish you or to provide information about the world, enters via your head, and almost every activity involves something going on in your head.' A huge number of different components are packed into our heads. The human head contains more than 20 bones, up to 32 teeth, a large brain, of course, and several sensory organs, as well as dozens of muscles, and numerous glands, nerves, veins, arteries and ligaments. They are all tightly configured and intensely integrated within a small space. And people's heads look good too. The human head boasts one of the most expressive set of muscles known to life. It is adorned with various features that lend themselves to ornamentation: hair, ears, nose and lips. Thanks to an impressive concentration of nerve endings and an unrivalled ability for expressive movement, our heads connect our inner selves to the outer world more intensely than any other part of our body. This extraordinary engine room - distinctive, dynamic and densely packed - is set on high for all to see. Our bipedal posture means that we show off our relatively round, short and wide heads on top of slim, almost vertical necks. The necks of most other animals are broader, more squat and more muscular, because they have to hold the head out in front of the body, in a forward position. The human head, because it sits on top of the spinal column, requires less musculature at the back of the neck. There is so little muscle in our necks that you can quite easily feel the main blood vessels, the lymph nodes and the vertebrae through the skin. In short, it is much easier to decapitate a human than a deer, or a lion, or any of the other animals that are more usually associated with hunting trophies. Which is not to say that it is easy. Human necks may be, compared to other mammals, quite flimsy, but separating heads from bodies is still hard to do. Countless stories of botched beheadings on the scaffold attest to this, particularly in countries like Britain, where beheadings were relatively rare and executioners were inexperienced. The swift decapitation of a living person requires a powerful, accurate action, and a sharp, heavy blade. No wonder the severed head is the ultimate warrior's trophy. Even when the assassin is experienced and his victim is bound, it can take many blows to cut off a person's head. When the Comte de Lally knelt, still and blindfolded, for his execution in France in 1766, the executioner's axe failed to sever his head. He toppled forward and had to be repositioned, and even then it took four or five blows to decapitate him. It famously took three strikes to sever the head of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1587. The first hit the back of her head, while the second left a small sinew which had to be sawn through with the axe blade. It was hard even when the victim was dead. When Oliver Cromwell's corpse was decapitated at Tyburn, it took the axeman eight blows to cut through the layers of cerecloth that wrapped his body and finish the job. For all its unpredictability, when it is skillfully performed on a compliant victim, beheading is a quick way to go, although it is impossible to be sure how quick since no one has retained consciousness long enough to provide an answer. Some experts think consciousness is lost within two seconds due to the rapid loss of blood pressure in the brain. Others suggest that consciousness evaporates as the brain uses up all the available oxygen in the blood, which probably takes around seven seconds in humans, and seven seconds is seven seconds too long if you are a recently severed head. Decapitation may be one of the least torturous ways to die, but nonetheless it is thought to be painful. Many scientists believe that, however swiftly it is performed, decapitation must cause acute pain for a second or two. Decapitation in one single motion draws its cultural power from its sheer velocity, and the force of the physical feat challenges that elusive moment of death, because death is presented as instantaneous even though beheadings are still largely inscrutable to science. The historian Daniel Arasse has described how the guillotine, which transformed beheading into a model of efficiency, 'sets before our eyes the invisibility of death at the very instant of its occurrence, exact and indistinguishable'. It is surprisingly easy to forget, when contemplating the mysteries of death, that decapitation is anything but invisible. Beheading is an extremely bloody business, which is one of the reasons it is no longer used for state executions in the West, even though it is one of the most humane techniques available. Decapitation is faster and more predictable than death by hanging, lethal injection, electric shock or gassing, but the spectacle is too grim for our sensibilities. Decapitation is a contradiction in terms because it is both brutal and effective. A beheading is a vicious and defiant act of savagery, and while there may be good biological reasons why people's heads make an attractive prize, a beheading draws part of its power from our inability to turn away. Even in a democratic, urbanized society, there will always be people who want to watch the show. Similarly, severed heads themselves often bring people together, galvanizing them in intensely emotional situations, rather than - or as well as - repelling them. Decapitation is the ultimate tyranny; but it is also an act of creation, because, for all its cruelty, it produces an extraordinarily potent artefact that compels our attention whether we like it or not. Even the relationship between the perpetrator and the victim can bring surprises, because there is sometimes a strange intimacy to the interaction, occasionally laced with humour, as well as sheer brutality. Each different encounter with a severed head - whether it be in the context of warfare, crime, medicine or religion - can change our understanding of the act itself. People have developed countless ways to justify the fearsome appeal of the severed head. The power that it exerts over the living may well be universal. For all their gruesome nature, severed heads are also inspirational: they move people to study, to pray, to joke, to write and to draw, to turn away or to look a little closer, and to reflect on the limits of their humanity. The irresistible nature of the severed head may be easily exploited, but it is also dangerous to ignore. This book tells a shocking story, but it is our story nonetheless. The scaffold is the ultimate stage, where, for centuries, life and death were acted out for real. In the mid-eighteenth century, Edmund Burke observed that theatregoers enjoying a royal tragedy would have raced to the exit at the news that a head of state was about to be executed in a nearby public square. Our fascination with real misfortune, he pointed out, is far more compelling than our interest in hardships that are merely staged. He might have said the same today, but in the digital age, the internet mediates our view of grisly executions, simultaneously keeping us at a distance and giving us front-row seats. Today, severed heads are held up for the camera and the spectators can watch at home. During the Iraq War, the extraordinary allure of beheading videos was proved for the first time, and in no uncertain terms. As the American and British 'war on terror' moved across Afghanistan and into Iraq in the years following the September 11th terrorist attacks, a new mode of killing took the media by surprise: Europeans and Americans were taken hostage by Islamic militant groups, held for ransom and then beheaded, on camera. Throughout history, criminals have been decapitated for their crimes; now, the criminals were decapitating civilians in terrifying circumstances, and graphic videos of their deaths were circulated online for anyone to see. The first American victim was Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped in Pakistan in January 2002. His captors demanded the release of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan, in what was to become a typically unrealistic ultimatum. They beheaded Pearl on 1 February. A few weeks later the video of Pearl's death emerged. It started to circulate online in March, and in June the Boston Phoenix newspaper provided a link to it from their website, a move which proved extremely unpopular with commentators in the United States who scorned the paper's 'callous disregard for human decency', but the Boston Phoenix site nonetheless spawned a wave of further links to the video, and discussions about the rights and wrongs of viewing Pearl's brutal death proliferated online. The second American to be killed in this way, and the first to be beheaded in Iraq, was Nick Berg, an engineer who was kidnapped on 9 April 2004 and killed in early May. This time, two years after Pearl's death, Reuters made the unedited video available within days, arguing that it was not within its remit to make editorial decisions on behalf of its clients. In contrast to the video of Pearl's execution, which was only shown on CBS as a thirty-second clip, all the major US television news networks showed clips of the Berg video, although they stopped short of actually broadcasting the beheading itself. The traditional news media refrained from showing the footage in full, but by now television producers were following the crowd rather than breaking the story; it was internet users who, in the privacy of their own homes, dared to watch Berg's beheading. Nick Berg's execution video quickly became one of the most searched-for items on the web. The al-Qaeda-linked site that first posted the video was closed down by the Malaysian company that hosted it two days after Berg's execution because of the overwhelming traffic to the site. Alfred Lim, senior officer of the company, said it had been closed down 'because it had attracted a sudden surge of massive traffic that is taking up too much bandwidth and causing inconvenience to our other clients'. Within a day, the Berg video was the top search term across search engines like Google, Lycos and Yahoo. On 13 May, the top ten search terms in the United States were: nick berg video nick berg berg beheading beheading video nick berg beheading video nick berg beheading berg video berg beheading video 'nick berg' video nick berg The Berg beheading footage remained the most popular internet search in the United States for a week, and the second most popular throughout the month of May, runner up only to 'American Idol.' Berg's death triggered a spate of similar beheadings, by a number of militant Islamic groups in Iraq, that were filmed and circulated online. There were 64 documented beheadings in Iraq in 2004, seventeen of the victims were foreigners, and 28 decapitations were filmed. The following year there were five videotaped beheadings in Iraq, and the numbers have dwindled since. In 2004, those that received the most press attention proved particularly popular with the public. In June, an American helicopter engineer, Paul Johnson, was kidnapped and beheaded on camera in Saudi Arabia, and in the weeks after his death the most popular search term on Google was 'Paul Johnson'. When the British engineer Kenneth Bigley was kidnapped in Iraq in September 2004 and beheaded by his captors the following month, one American organization reported that the video of his death had been downloaded from its site more than one million times. A Dutch web-site owner said that his daily viewing numbers rose from 300,000 to 750,000 when a beheading in Iraq was shown. High school teachers in Texas, California and Washington were placed on administrative leave for showing Nick Berg's beheading to their pupils in class. When the Dallas Morning News printed a still image of one of Berg's assailants holding his severed head, with his face blocked out, it said that its decision had been inspired by interest generated in the blogosphere. The paper's editorial pointed out that '[o]ur letters page today is filled with nothing but Berg-related letters, most of them demanding that the DMN show more photos of the Berg execution. Not one of the 87 letters we received on the topic yesterday called for these images not to be printed.' It is, of course, impossible to know how many people actually watched the videos after downloading them, but a significant number of Americans wanted to see them and discuss them, particularly the video of Berg, who was the first American to be beheaded in Iraq, and whose execution was the first to be recorded on camera since Pearl's, two years earlier. Berg was killed just as public support for the war in Iraq was beginning to decline, and the popularity of the video underlined the extent to which the internet had eclipsed more traditional news media when it came to creating a story. Television news producers may have edited their clips of the video, but it did not matter because people were watching the footage online. The internet allowed people to protest against the perceived 'censorship' of the mainstream media, or else simply circumvent the media altogether when the mood took them. Whether people thought it 'important' to see Berg's execution for themselves, or simply watched out of curiosity, there can be little doubt that 'the crowd' was taking control, or was out of control, depending on your perspective. One survey, conducted five months after Berg's death, found that between May and June, 30 million people, or 24 per cent of all adult internet users in the United States, had seen images from the war in Iraq that were deemed too gruesome and graphic to be shown on television. This was a particularly turbulent time during the war that saw not only Berg's beheading, but also the release of photographs showing the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib by American military personnel, and images showing the mutilated bodies of four American contract workers who had been killed by insurgents in Fallujah, dragged through the streets and hung from a bridge over the Euphrates. Nonetheless, Americans were seeking these images out: 28 per cent of those who had seen graphic content online actively went looking for it. The survey found that half of those who had seen graphic content thought they had made a 'good decision' by watching. The decision to view Berg's beheading became politicized online. Bloggers claimed it was no coincidence that the liberal news media dwelt on the harrowing images from Abu Ghraib, which undermined the Bush administration's credibility in Iraq, while - as they saw it - sidestepping the Berg story by giving it fewer column inches and refusing to show the full extent of the atrocity. 'One day the media was telling us we had to see the pictures from Abu Ghraib so we could understand the horrors of war,' Evan Malony wrote. 'But with Berg's beheading, we're told we can't handle the truth . . . The media that had - rightfully, in my opinion - showed us the ugly reality of Abu Ghraib prison refused to do the same with Berg's murder.' Professor Jay Rosen was more explicit: 'They aren't showing us everything: the knife, the throat, the screams, the struggle, and the head held up for the camera. But the sickening photos from Abu Ghraib keep showing up.' Other viewers admitted to watching execution videos simply out of curiosity, with no 'higher' purpose. One anonymous internet user said, 'You almost can't believe that a group of people could be so pitiless as to carry out something so cruel and bestial, and you need to have it confirmed . . . Watching them evokes a mixture of emotions - mainly distress at the obvious fear and suffering of the victim, but also revulsion at the gore, and anger against the perpetrators.' Meanwhile, website editors expressed a similar range of attitudes towards showing the content. They made the videos available either because they were dedicated to the fight against terror ( people should see ) or because they were opposed to the 'censorship' of the mainstream news media ( people should be able to see ), while 'shock sites' posted the footage purely as macabre entertainment alongside the other violent and provocative videos that drew their clients ( watch this! ). Decapitation videos draw viewers who watch unapologetically and viewers who watch despite their own deep misgivings, and the internet offers everyone anonymity. The camera promises spectators a degree of detachment, but the action is only a click away, and this combination gives the videos far greater reach. As the military analyst Ronald Jones put it, with little more than a camcorder and internet access, a militant group can create an 'international media event . . . that has tremendous strategic impact'. Indeed, as terrorist attacks go, decapitating your victim on camera is an extremely efficient and effective strategy. It requires little money, training, equipment, weaponry or explosives: beyond the initial kidnapping, it does not rely on complicated coordination or technology that might fail, and the results are easy to disseminate. According to Martin Harrow, another analyst, it is a strategy that 'has maximum visibility, maximum resonance and incites maximum fear'. No wonder, then, that the Iraq hostage beheadings were 'made for TV'. Other terrorist activities, like suicide attacks or bombings, are hard to capture on camera because they are necessarily clandestine, unpredictable and frenetic events, but the decapitation of a hostage can be carefully stage-managed, choreographed and rehearsed while still remaining brutally authentic. The footage is clear and close up. The murderers are offering their viewers a front-row seat at their show; and what they want to show is their strength, their organization, their commitment to the cause, their complete control and domination of their victim. When one Italian hostage, a security officer named Fabrizio Quattrocchi, jumped up at the moment he was about to be shot by his captors on film and tried to remove his hood, shouting, 'Now I'll show you how an Italian dies!', Al Jazeera withheld the resulting video because it was 'too gruesome'. Was this a small victory for Quattrocchi in the face of certain death? No one saw the footage of his murder online, either for entertainment or for education, and his captors could not capitalize on his death in the way that they had planned. During these carefully staged execution rituals, everyone, even the victim, must play their part. The whole procedure is a piece of theatre designed to create power and cause fear, just as with state executions stretching back to the thirteenth century, except, as John Esposito, a professor at Georgetown University, pointed out, when it comes to executions like Berg's, 'it's not so much the punishing of the individual as the using of the individual'. Even when the victim is an innocent hostage, the power that comes from killing is exerted over a wider community. The crowd is compliant too. By turning up to see the show, or by searching Google for the latest execution video, the people watching also have their part to play. 'The point of terrorism is to strike fear and cause havoc - and that doesn't happen unless you have media to support that action and show it to as many people as you can,' said one analyst interviewed by the Los Angeles Times shortly after Nick Berg's execution. These murderers post their videos on the internet because they know that the news media will be forced to follow the crowd. Television news programmes either become redundant by refusing to air videos that are freely available online, or else they do exactly what the murderers want and show the footage to a wider audience. Meanwhile, the internet provides a 'void of accountability', in the words of Barbie Zelizer, where it is unclear who took the images, who distributed them and who saw them. The whole experience is lost in the crowd. Adapted from "Severed: A History of Heads Lost and Heads Found" by Frances Larson. Copyright (c) 2014 by Frances Larson. With permission of the publisher, Liveright Publishing Corp. All rights reserved.

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On Monday, a CBS News contributor reported that President Donald Trump encouraged Turkey's authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while upbraiding America's other NATO allies. He had called on NATO allies to contribute more money to the common defense, and only Erdogan could unilaterally make the pledge. "Trump was very frustrated that he wasn't getting commitments from other leaders to spend more, and many of them said, 'Well, we have to ask our parliaments, we have a process, we can't just tell you we're going to spend more,'" Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group and CBS News senior global affairs contributor, told CBS News on Monday. "Trump turns around to the Turkish President Recep Erdogan, and says, 'except for Erdogan over here, he does things the right way,' and then actually fist-bumps the Turkish president," Bremmer recalled. It makes sense for Trump to ask NATO allies to contribute more to their defense, but he should not have encouraged Erdogan. In a controversial referendum last year, the Turkish president won unchecked supremacy and secured the abolition of the post of Prime Minister. He won another 5-year term last month , and on Sunday Erdogan moved to clamp down on the military. This is a tremendously important move. When Mustafa Kemal Ataturk established the secular state of Turkey, he set up the military as a final check on any Islamist takeover of the government. Military coups ironically were a system to prevent authoritarian Islamist rule, and they corrected Turkey on numerous occasions. Erdogan leads the Islamist AKP party in Turkey, and he successfully prevented a coup in 2016. The move on Sunday"demonstrates that the government now has full control over the armed forces," Ziya Meral, a researcher at the British Army's Centre for Historical Analysis and Conflict Research, told the Financial Times 's Laura Pitel . "The coup attempt and those behind it -- and that era of military takeovers -- has now gone." Erdogan made another historically important move in 2016, reclaiming the Hagia Sophia for Islam. The Hagia Sophia was built as a church, but the Ottoman Empire transitioned it into a mosque after the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Under Ataturk, the building was turned into a museum, to commemorate both its Christian and Islamic heritage. I visited it in 2011. By reclaiming the building for Islam, Erdogan sent a clear message. Just last month, the Turkish president announced he was expelling the ride-sharing service Uber from the country, declaring, "That business is over." Congress, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), and other Americans are also pressuring Turkey to release American pastor Andrew Brunson, who has been imprisoned more than 500 days under charges of terrorism .

On Monday, a CBS News contributor reported that President Donald Trump encouraged Turkey's authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan while upbraiding America's other NATO allies

Chris Mooney | September 5, 2007 By Chris Mooney * Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - 17:18 Chris Mooney's weekly DeSmogBlog dispatch. The Danish environmental apostate Bjorn Lomborg is at it again. Lomborg has a new book out , and just like his last one ( The Skeptical Environmentalist ), it's drawing strong criticism . Lomborg's argument isn't that global warming is a hoax-thank goodness, we're mostly past that. Instead, he merely argues that climate change is not as big a deal as some think (e.g., Al Gore)-and further, that it doesn't make good economic sense to take dramatic steps to address the problem by imposing mandatory emissions caps. Bill Miller | September 5, 2007 By Bill Miller * Wednesday, September 5, 2007 - 11:34 The most interesting discussions at a recent medical conference in Vienna took place on the sidelines, as cardiologists and other experts discussed the impacts of climate change on cardiovascular disease. In short, arteries harden faster in hot weather, and extreme events like recent wildfires in Greece likely exacerbate the problem. Richard Littlemore | September 4, 2007 By Richard Littlemore * Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 18:14 The climate-change denier sites are alive with chortling over a promised new study that says: " Less than half of all published scientists endorse global warming theory. " The survey, to be published in the small and contrarian journal Energy and Environment , claims to "debunk" an earlier study by University of California (San Diego) science historian Naomi Oreskes - a study that was published in the much more reputable journal Science. No one could do a better job than Oreskes does here of dismissing the new survey. Kevin Grandia | September 4, 2007 By Kevin Grandia * Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 15:08 The Conservative government first denied the scientific evidence for man-made global warming. They then accepted that something needed to be done, but it needed to be a "Made in Canada" solution. Now the Conservative government appears to be shucking the "Made in Canada" talking point for an "international agreement" one. By James Hoggan * Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - 12:39 The DeSmogBlog is very happy to announce that science-writer Chris Mooney, author of the best-seller, The Republic War on Science , has joined our team and will be writing a weekly column here on the DeSmogBlog.

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05 Feb 2015 "The jackleg preacher with the signature pimp-adour hairstyle appears to believe the young organizers are as morally debased and materially obsessed as himself." Al Sharpton and Oprah Winfrey are scared witless that the Black Lives Matter mobilization will become a sustained, independent political movement - one that challenges both the rich white rulers and their junior partners in the Black Misleadership Class. The viciousness of Winfrey's and Sharpton's assaults on the new crop of organizers is a good barometer of the nascent movement's effectiveness, to date, in discomforting the comfortable. If one thing is clear to African American youth, it is that so-called Black leadership has been complicit in the catastrophe that has engulfed their communities - that the "leaders" are part of the problem, not the solution. Therefore, although the movement-in-the-making is not yet large and coherent enough to shake the foundations of the State or cause Wall Street to shudder, it has already created a crisis of legitimacy for the Black Misleadership Class. Sharpton's and Winfrey's defense is to infantilize the young activists, to deflect the implicit indictment of what currently passes for Black leadership by framing the conflict as generational, rather than substantive. Sharpton launched into a panicked rant at a recent meeting of his National Action Network, in Harlem: "Anytime you have movements, whether it's in Ferguson, whether it's in New York, whether it's in Denver, wherever it is, when they got you more angry at your parents then they got you at the vote you're supposed to be out there for, you're being tricked and you're trying to turn the community into tricks. And they are pimping you, to do the Willie Lynch in our community," said one of the most accomplished whores in Black American history. Al Sharpton, a highly ecumenical prostitute who has serviced clients ranging from the most rightwing, down-and-dirty Republicans ( Roger Stone , 2003-04); to plutocrats from Hell ( Michael Bloomberg ); to his current (but now endangered) hookup as the snitching King Rat and activism-deflator for a corporate Democratic president; a man who has lain down with whole kennels of flee-bitten dogs, now defames as "tricks" the young people who stood up to militarized police and dared to make grassroots politics a reality in 21st century America. "Although the movement-in-the-making is not yet large and coherent enough to shake the foundations of the State or cause Wall Street to shudder, it has already created a crisis of legitimacy for the Black Misleadership Class." The jackleg preacher with the signature pimp-adour hairstyle - whose self-proclaimed heroes are not MLK or Malcolm X, but sports gangster Don King and entertainer James Brown - appears to believe the young organizers are as morally debased and materially obsessed as himself; that self-aggrandizement is their real motivation. "And they play on your ego. 'Oh, you young and hip, you're full of fire. You're the new face.' All the stuff that they know will titillate your ears. That's what a pimp says to a ho." Sharpton is actually confessing to his own deepest yearnings. The youth have scoped Sharpton's whole card: he is a fraud, an activist-for-hire who has found his niche in the bosom of the beast. But he strains to maintain the posture of Movement Man. "How you going to be more mad at folk that are marching for the same cause then you are against the folks y'all are marching against? Don't you see a trick in there?" Sharpton asked. Yes, they do - they see that Sharpton is the trickster, whose aim is to Shanghai Black people's energies and grievances into service to the Democratic Party - just as did an earlier generation of misleaders. What followed was 45 years of demobilization, a " Winter in America, " as Gil Scott-Heron put it, "where "ain't nobody fighting, cause nobody knows what to save." The rulers used this long period of non-resistance to build the Black Mass Incarceration State that the Ferguson-inspired rebellion seeks to dismantle. To accomplish this, the new activists have no choice but to challenge the legitimacy of the State's Black operatives, like Sharpton. Oprah Winfrey, the media mogul who began her self-marketing journey on the beauty pageant circuit, claims that the young activists don't have goals . "I think it's wonderful to march and to protest and it's wonderful to see all across the country, people doing it," she says. "But what I'm looking for is some kind of leadership to come out of this to say, 'This is what we want. This is what we want. This is what has to change, and these are the steps that we need to take to make these changes, and this is what we're willing to do to get it.'" "Oprah's beef is the same as Sharpton's: she rejects the validity of activism outside electoral politics." What Oprah is really looking for is a movement that reveres the opinions and privileges of Black billionaires, and wishes only that there were more of them. As Black Lives Matter activists have tried to remind her , they have been promulgating public demands and taking them to the streets since the middle of August. Oprah, the journalist, should know that. Her beef is the same as Sharpton's: she rejects the validity of activism outside electoral politics. Indeed, for Oprah, periodic exercise of the ballot is the only serious kind of politics. Selma, the movie produced by her company, put words to that effect in Dr. Martin Luther King's mouth - a crime against truth and Dr. King's legacy. The problem with Winfrey and Sharpton is not their ages (61 and 60, respectively), but their allegiance to Power. (Based on her wealth, Winfrey is one of the very few genuine Black members of the ruling class, while Sharpton is a mere servant.) To describe their conflict with the burgeoning movement as generational is an insult, not only to young activists, but to the Black strugglers of the Sixties and early Seventies, some of whom remain in prison two and a half generations later. Many of those who participated in the grassroots struggles of this period are only a couple of years older than Winfrey and Sharpton, but younger than lots of the misleaders in the Congressional Black Caucus. The budding new movement confronts the same power relationships that crushed a previous generation of activists, leaving Black American political leadership in the hands of the most opportunistic, self-serving elements of the community - men and women who made common cause with the growing Mass Black Incarceration State. They are still in place, and more duplicitous than ever. The fight against them - that is, the internal Black struggle - is inseparable from the fight against what we used to call The Man. BAR executive editor Glen Ford can be contacted at [email protected]

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Yesterday we posted on our Facebook page the article "Show the body bags. Show the carnage. That'll change support for guns." It reached over 300k Facebook users, mostly the existing fans of our page, but we reached a large chunk of the audience who are not among our fans, which is good. We wanted to remind America what kind of imagery published by the media helped to undermine the support for all the wars in the past. We argued that we need the same today. In the most ironic commentary possible Facebook immediately censored and covered the thumbnail image illustrating our point. Art by Jim Cooke It is literally impossible to bring any new idea in the American anti-gun violence prevention public discourse. Google searches prove that we live in the ever repeating scenario of a horror remake of the iconic Groundhog Day movie starring Bill Murray. Nardyne Jefferies holds an autopsy photo of her 16-year-old daughter, Brishell Jones, who was gunned down with an AK-47. Lexey Swall for The Trace. RELATED: The Mother Who Wants Politicians to See Photos of Her Child's Bullet-Riddled Body Nardyne Jefferies is the unwitting pioneer of an ad-hoc movement to get lawmakers to confront the grisly consequences of gun violence. RELATED: Parkland, Florida Shooting: The cost of "thoughts and prayers" (VIDEO) Inspired by our friend and contributor Alice Anil I started researching the anti-abortionists tactics and results. When I thought that I've learned enough I bumped into an article written by Alex Pareene and published by Gawker in November 2015 titled The Gun Control Movement Needs Its Own Pro-Life Fanatics. read then by 131K people. It's a long read, covering everything what I wanted to say, and naively thought that it could be something new. We liberals, contrary to conservatives, do not want to follow other people's ideas, too many of us want to be our own prophets. Here I am - not pretending that my strong belief that we must "Show the body bags. Show the carnage. That'll change the public opinion" is new and original. I am following the lead - here are few excerpts from the 2015 manifesto by Alex Pareene. All we need is to read and follow. There is, I think, only one realistic way forward for advocates of stricter gun control, and it involves adopting the tactics of one of the most despicable groups in contemporary American politics: the anti-abortion movement. On the same day of the 2015 mass school shootings at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, President Barack Obama said, entirely accurately: Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it. We've become numb to this. It's painful, for many reasons to compare Barack Obama's immediate statement with the one delivered by Donald Trump following the latest gun carnage in America. Important to note - there was no mention of guns in President Trump's statement on Florida school shooting The brutal truth is that unless we will change the public opinion about role of a gun in American culture we will, like Bill Murray in The Groundhog Day, be waking up just to listen in the news that somewhere in America, some children were massacred by a weapon of war in hands of a civilian who should never have any way to own it. Anti-abortion activists revel in gore. It worked for them. It will work for the anti- guns violence movement. After all, the point of screaming at women outside a clinic isn't to erect a legal barrier to abortion access, it's to prevent that woman from getting an abortion, and to dissuade others from even considering it. It's to prevent abortion from being considered a legitimate option. Aren't there a couple thousand gun control activists out there passionate enough to want to stand outside gun shops and provoke confrontations with open-carry wingnuts? A weapons expert and a trauma surgeon are using high-speed cameras to show the damage caused by a single M16 bullet to the human body. Every weapon that a US Army soldier uses has the express purpose of killing human beings. That is what they are made for. The choice rifle for years has been some variant of what civilians are sold as an AR-15. Whether it was an M-4 or an M-16 matters little. The function is the same, and so is the purpose. These are not deer rifles. They are not target rifles. They are people killing rifles. Let's stop pretending they're not. With this in mind, is anybody surprised that nearly every mass shooter in recent US history has used an AR-15 to commit their crime? And why wouldn't they? Excerpt from "Fuck you, I like guns." by an Army veteran. A female veteran, which "obviously," makes whatever she said invalid for all male ammosexuals stroking with their soft hands the rigid barrels of their AR-15s in the dark basements they inhabit. Fact is - most of them wouldn't qualify for any real military service. It also means going all-in on gore. Just like they do. Because "All Lives Matter", right? It also means going all-in on gore. It means waving gruesome photos of dead children in the faces of Republican legislators, gun store owners, and gun manufacturers. This is where the conservatives shine. Good liberals are too squeamish to look past the police tape. They worry that if they focus, up close and without flinching, on the goriest details of the carnage, it'll glorify violence, or worse, inspire future killers. Maybe, but it'll also scare the shit out of future killers' mothers before they fill their houses with guns, to feel safe . Victims of a shooting at a music festival in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017. David Becker--Getty Images RELATED: Show the body bags. Show the carnage. That'll change support for guns. "Support drops when they start seeing the body bags" -- a vivid expression that sums up the way American public opinion works. Continue reading to learn more why the anti-abortionists tactics are so effective The Gun Control Movement Needs Its Own Pro-Life Fanatics written by Alex Pareene and published by Gawker on 10/06/15.

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November 9, 1987, the White House Residence, then Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Kennedy auditions before President Ronald Reagan for a job on the Supreme Court. ( Image by (photo: Reagan Library)) Permission Details DMCA - Advertisement - What is all this incoherent babble about Justice Anthony Kennedy being a "swing-vote" on the Supreme Court? I don't know which Anthony Kennedy they are talking about, but the Justice Anthony Kennedy I've been watching for decades is as reliably conservative a vote as has ever sat on the court. Anthony Kennedy did not swing. He was a rock solid, dependable right-wing political operative who differed from Antonin Scalia in style but only rarely in substance. From Bush v. Gore to Trump v. Hawaii, and virtually every issue of significant legal consequence in between, Kennedy put political considerations before legal judgement every time. - Advertisement - Both John Roberts and Neil Gorsuch have actually crossed the court's political divide more recently and with greater significance than Kennedy. Roberts in King v. Burwell (Obamacare) and Carpenter v. United States (Cell phone privacy) and Gorsuch in Sessions v. Dimaya (the immigration case the left won). In each of those cases Kennedy, as he has in case after case of major legal importance throughout the decades, stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the mostly-white, all-male conservative majority and on the side of bad law. Kennedy has crossed the political divide to be sure, but on the most important cases, he was reliably conservative and even more so during the Trump era. He is most often lauded by the left as being a defender of abortion rights, but the record is more complicated. He was cautiously supportive of abortion rights, sometimes, when the political fallout seemed manageable, as in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. But even then he was condescending and offensive, writing: - Advertisement - "Respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child. The Act recognizes this reality as well. Whether to have an abortion requires a difficult and painful moral decision. While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow." Kennedy waited to retire until a conservative president was in office, assuring a conservative justice would replace him. In fact he visited with Trump in advance to tell him personally. The court is losing no moderate in Anthony Kennedy. Trump can and will appoint another right-wing political operative to replace Kennedy, and his pick will likely be confirmed by the Senate Republicans and some Democrats. The ideological chemistry of the court, however, actually changes little with another conservative replacing Kennedy. The only way Trump could really change the court with this pick would be to pick a true constitutional moderate, and if he did that, Congressional Republicans might finally warm to the idea of impeachment. The reality is that the court is moving inexorably toward illegitimacy and toward delegitimizing the entire judicial branch of government with it. We go back to Jim Crow if we go, but not if we refuse. Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader Supported News.

November 9, 1987, the White House Residence, then Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Anthony Kennedy auditions before President Ronald Reagan for a job on the Supreme Court.

The report claims that ISIS has been experimenting on... Infiltration of German Army by Islamic State (ISIS) and other Jihadists has reached an alarming level, German media reports suggest. Some 29 former German Army soldiers have joined the ranks of Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, reveals a newly surfaced German military intelligence report. Additionally, the military is investigating 65 suspected jihadist... A series of bomb attacks that rocked Belgium's capital on Tuesday, targeting Brussels airport and subway system, has now claimed more than 34 lives. Police are still hunting for suspects and just like November's deadly Paris terror attacks, the trail once again leads to the notorious Molenbeek district of Brussels. Just last week, the Belgian Police... Brussel's, the capital of Belgium, has been rocked by a series of deadly blasts this morning. According to latest reports, 23 people have been killed and 55 injured after explosions at three locations around the city. 13 people have reportedly been killed in the blasts at the Brussels' Zaventem airport...

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Heritage Expands Rough Rider Revolver Line Ammoland Inc. Posted on December 6, 2011 December 6, 2011 by Ammoland Heritage Manufacturing Rough Rider 9 Shot .22 LR & 22 Magnum combo revolver Heritage Manufacturing Opa Locka, FL - -( Ammoland.com )- Heritage Manufacturing introduces our newest addition to the Rough Rider family, a 9 Shot .22 LR and .22 Magnum combo revolver. Spend more time shooting the world's most popular cartridge, the .22 LR or the .22 Magnum and spend less time stopping to load and unload. Whether plinking, hunting, or target shooting, more firepower means the increased chance of hitting your intended target. Like all Rough Rider Revolvers, our new 9 Shot series combine quality, dependability, accuracy, and firepower all into one and yet maintains the affordability that our customers have come to expect. Available in 4.75'' or 6.5'' barrels and adjustable sights. 100% American Made. MSRP $289.99 - $349.99 About: Heritage Manufacturing proudly manufactures an American Legend, the Western Single Action Revolver. This time tested, Western Tradition is now made affordable to shoot and purchase in a scaled down 22 LR and 22 Magnum size. Outstanding workmanship, accuracy, and quality is just the beginning of the value you receive with our Heritage Rough Rider Revolvers. We honor and cherish our American Heritage and invite you to browse our site and learn more about us. An American Company ... An American Family producing an American Legend ... for the people by the people of Our Great United States of America. Visit; www.heritagemfg.com

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The House of Representatives this week passed a bill that would radically undo the budgeting process for government loans and guarantees. The proposed changes would add at least $55 billion per year in imaginary federal deficits while stifling critical government programs that create jobs, promote economic security for middle-class families, and pave the way for a more competitive future for our nation. The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act of 2012 mandates the use of so-called fair-value budget reporting for all federal credit programs--budget parlance for an accounting trick that uses the private sector's cost of funds instead of the government's to make credit programs appear more expensive than they truly are. The new rules would add a premium to each program's cost estimate based on the rates private lenders would charge to issue the same loan or guarantee. At the heart of this bill is a debate over what types of risk the government should price and score in the budget. There's no disagreement that the budget should accurately reflect "credit risk," the likelihood a loan issued or guaranteed by the government will not be paid back. Indeed, current federal government budget rules already take that estimate into account. The question before Congress this week is whether the budget should add an additional cost to account for the rate a risk-averse private investor would charge for the perceived variability in those estimates, what is sometimes called "market risk." This brief lays out the context of this ongoing debate, summarizes and critiques the argument for fair-value reporting, and discusses the bill's real-world impact on essential government programs, such as student aid and support to the housing market. "Fair-value" actually means added costs Despite its strategic misnomer, fair-value reporting is anything but "fair." So for purposes of this issue brief, we'll refer to it by a more appropriate name: "added-cost" reporting. Added-cost reporting is a bad idea for the following reasons: Instead of improving the accuracy of cost estimates for credit programs, it actually makes them less accurate by biasing apparent costs upward. It accounts for "phantom" costs that never actually materialize. This distorts the government's true fiscal position, which is precisely what the budget is supposed to reflect. It causes serious harm to critical credit programs and adds tens of billions of dollars to the federal reported deficit while doing nothing to actually reduce the debt, minimize wasteful spending, or reduce taxpayer exposure to loss. It attempts to solve a problem that doesn't really exist. The current budget rules have been effective, and the cost estimates reasonably accurate, over the past two decades. It gives opponents of particular credit programs a back-door way to scale back the government's footprint in certain industries, under the guise of "responsible" budgeting. With this understanding of the objectives of added-cost reporting in hand, let's look at how the federal budget currently accounts for loans and loan guarantees. A primer on federal credit budgeting Prior to the early 1990s, costs for federal loans and loan guarantees were accounted for on a "cash basis," tracking the amount of cash flowing into or out of the Treasury over the course of a year. This failed to reflect the long-term cost of credit activities, creating an inappropriate and misleading bias for loan guarantees that didn't require up-front outlays. As a result, Congress and other federal policymakers lacked the information necessary to make informed budgeting decisions. The Federal Credit Reform Act established a standardized system to capture the net value of a loan's cash flows over the life of the loan. Since 1992, the government has estimated the lifetime cost for each new book of loans for each credit program. That estimate, also known as the "credit subsidy cost," is then recorded in the federal budget and updated on an annual basis. The first step in estimating the credit subsidy cost is to project the government's expected cash inflows and outflows from the transaction. Projected cash flows include the disbursement of principal (for direct loans) or obligations (for loan guarantees), expected repayments, and any fees the government collects in the process. The government's expected cash receipts depend on the likelihood of default, expected recoveries on defaulted loans, the borrower's planned repayment schedule, expected prepayments, and the fee schedule. Through that process, the Federal Credit Reform Act rules account for estimated "credit risk," the chance a borrower will not be able to pay a loan back in full with interest. Of course, there is always a chance a loan will perform better or worse than expected; current budget rules reflect the most likely, or "base-case," scenario. The budget baseline is updated based on the actual performance of the loans over time. Under the law, projected future cash flows are discounted to reflect the so-called net present value of the direct loan or guarantee, which compares the value of a dollar today to the value of that same dollar in the future. Costs are discounted based on the interest rate on a Treasury bond with a comparable maturity as the loan or guarantee. In simple terms, this adjusts for the price the government has to pay to borrow the money it is lending out or using to back the guarantee. In recent years, some have pushed for a new method for discounting subsidy costs to present value, claiming that current rules for discounting cash flows undervalue the "uncertainty" of certain credit programs. They argue that while future costs are relatively easy to estimate for some programs (say, short-term utility loans to thousands of rural house- holds), those costs are harder to estimate for other programs (say, working capital loans to a small number of startup companies). The Federal Credit Reform Act model accounts for the different probabilities of default in the budget, but does not treat the difference in uncertainty around these estimates as an additional cost--under the assumption that the federal government is in a unique position to absorb both levels of uncertainty. Critics of the law argue that programs with high variability in cost estimates pose a higher market risk to the taxpayers: The less certain you are about the outcome, the more potential for losses above those estimated. (Set aside for the moment that there is equal potential for un-estimated gains.) They say that any "risk-averse" private investor would insist on being paid a premium whenever they invest in a financial instrument whose result is uncertain--a premium that is above and beyond the present value of expected defaults--so the federal government should do the same. To solve this perceived problem, critics propose inflating the cost of credit programs to account for the price private firms would charge for the same loan or guarantee. They call this fair-value reporting but it is (as we demonstrated above) actually added-cost reporting. The Federal Credit Reform Act reporting standards have proved effective and reasonably accurate over the past two decades, and almost all credit programs continue to use it today. Moreover, inaccuracies in existing Federal Credit Reform Act estimates come from imperfectly estimating the demand for loans and the actual default rates, not from failing to add a private-market premium. But that's only the beginning of the philosophical problems with added-cost reporting. Let's examine each in turn. Added-cost budgeting doesn't make logical sense The basic argument for added-cost reporting is that private firms are "risk-averse," so the federal government should be too. But this ignores the simple fact that the federal government is not a private firm, nor is it simply an amalgamation of several million risk-averse taxpayers. This argument taps into the core reason for federal credit programs. There are certain risks that private financial institutions are unwilling or unable to take, despite significant benefits to the public. In some cases, the government is in a unique position to assume those risks and spread them across a wide credit portfolio, all in an effort to achieve certain public goals. Since the government is not a profit-seeking firm, it should not be risk-averse; it should be "risk-neutral." It's important to clarify what exactly we're talking about here. The question is not whether government is particularly good or bad at estimating the likelihood of default, or even whether policymakers should better account for uncertainty when making policy decisions. It's a question of whether that uncertainty ought to be explicitly scored in the federal budget. The simple answer is that it should not. Scoring credit programs based on a discount rate with embedded market risk, which we'll define as the level of variability in cost estimates, would add billions in phantom costs to the federal books, according to the bipartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Added-cost reporting requires that the budget "reflect amounts that the Treasury would never actually pay anyone," totaling amounts that "would not be dollars that the government spends," according to CBPP's budget experts. In other words, instead of helping the budget more accurately reflect the government's fiscal position, added-cost reporting makes the budget less accurate. Also, we shouldn't kid ourselves that federal credit programs are the only government activities that involve financial risks. Several spending and revenue estimates are based on uncertain projections of economic activity, such as capital gains and other tax revenues, Social Security, unemployment insurance, and food stamp benefits. If anything, adding a risk premium would make credit programs appear more costly to government compared to equivalent grants or tax expenditures. The CBPP report puts it best: If a risk-aversion adjustment were added to credit programs, it should be added to all such other costs as well. Not doing so would disadvantage credit programs relative to other forms of government assistance and distort the budget as a tool for allocating public resources. But the fundamental point is deeper: It makes no sense to add a risk-aversion adjustment to the budget accounting of any federal government program. To be sure, uncertainty is often an important consideration for sound policymaking. Lawmakers should consider the level of confidence in cost estimates when deciding authorization and funding levels for government programs. But the federal budget is not meant to assess the likelihood of positive and negative outcomes of a program. The budget is supposed to reflect the government's fiscal position based on the best possible estimate of financial inflows and outflows, and nothing more. There are separate questions of how the government can improve the accuracy of these cost estimates, or whether policymakers should be given more information on the variability of individual estimates when making policy decisions. But added-cost reporting accomplishes neither of these goals. Finally, a sudden shift to added-cost reporting can cause serious harm to certain credit programs while doing nothing to reduce taxpayer exposure to loss. As the CBPP report points out, many of these phantom costs will require some sort of offset. In some cases, this means other programs will have to be cut to limit the net impact on the federal deficit. In others, specifically when programs are required by law to operate at no cost to government, credit programs will have to be scaled back significantly to account for these imaginary new costs, leaving behind otherwise creditworthy borrowers. In either case, the American people suffer, both as taxpayers and recipients of these programs. And that's no coincidence. There's reason to believe this is the true motivation behind the conservative push for added-cost reporting--it is a back-door way to reduce the government's footprint in certain industries. Regardless of how their cost estimates are calculated and scored, federal loans and guarantees will still be grounded on the same basic assumptions and market forecasts. Biasing the estimates upward will not change the economic reality in which the government operates these programs. It will, however, overstate the costs government is likely to incur, which in turn will encourage misguided opposition and drive legislation to constrain their growth. Here's how that might work. Added-cost budgeting would cripple critical government programs While there are currently hundreds of federal direct-loan and loan-guarantee programs, most government-assisted credit is provided through a small number of programs. Today the two biggest permanent federal credit programs budgeted under Federal Credit Reform Act reporting standards are the Federal Housing Administration's single- family mortgage insurance program and a wide portfolio of student loan programs. Together these programs account for about 60 percent of all outstanding credit backed by the federal government. An across-the-board transition to added-cost reporting, as proposed in the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act, would have severe financial implications on both programs, leading to a significant contraction in government support to both markets. Down the line, this would arbitrarily and unnecessarily raise the costs to borrowers served by these programs. Let's start with the Federal Housing Administration. Under the law, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, or CBO, estimates that FHA's single-family mortgage insurance program would produce budgetary savings of $4.4 billion in fiscal year 2012, mostly from fees collected from mortgage lenders. When calculated on an added-cost basis, the program would have a cost of $3.5 billion in 2012. In other words, adding a market-rate premium would transform FHA's flagship insurance program from a money-maker to a drain on the federal deficit, without altering the economic reality in which the program operates. (see Figure 1) This raises a much bigger problem than pumping up the federal deficit. By law, FHA insurance programs must operate at no cost to government, so the agency would have to cover these new "losses" by increasing fees or tightening underwriting standards. And that's not easy. FHA's insurance premiums are already the highest they have ever been in the agency's 77-year history. FHA's most recent fee increase in April 2011 increased the "economic value" of the agency's 2011 book of business by less than $1.4 billion, according to agency estimates. So it would take significantly larger fee increases (or severe tightening of underwriting standards) to balance the agency's books under added-cost reporting. Either action would severely scale back the government's critical support to the struggling housing market, effectively kicking the legs out from under our economic recovery. Added-cost reporting has a similar effect on the federal student loan portfolio. CBO in 2009 estimated that the federal student loan portfolio would save taxpayers nearly $46 billion between 2010 and 2020, based on Federal Credit Reform Act reporting standards. These savings are mostly from interest payments or fees charged to students for government guarantees. When calculated through added-cost standards, the portfolio was estimated to cost taxpayers $157 billion over the same period. That's a budgetary difference of more than $200 billion. (see Figure 2) Unlike FHA's insurance program, the federal student loan portfolio can run a cost to government. So assuming no change to lending activity, a change to added-cost reporting would add an estimated $200 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade, just attributable of the student loan portfolio. To be sure, added-cost reporting would have similar effects on other government programs that are essential to our economic growth and competitiveness, including small-business loans, clean energy loan guarantees, infrastructure loans, and loans for international development projects. Indeed, if enacted the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act would add a total of $55 billion in phantom costs to the deficit in the first year alone, according to CBO's estimates. (see Figure 3) It is beyond the scope of this issue brief to examine all of these programs to demonstrate the phantom costs of added-cost reporting, but let's take a look at one key policy arena where enactment of the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act would torpedo our housing markets. The added-cost budgetary treatment of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac In the years leading up to the financial crisis, federal support to the government-sponsored mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was kept off the government's balance sheet. Since the guarantees to Fannie and Freddie were "implicit" (meaning the government had no legal obligation to guarantee the debt of either institution) Fannie and Freddie were not covered by the Federal Credit Reform Act. That was profoundly wrong. Ever since the government placed the two mortgage giants in conservatorship in 2008, both the Office of Management and Budget and CBO have accounted for the cost of conservatorship in the federal budget, but in different ways. The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act would drastically change this budgetary treatment by scoring all future Fannie and Freddie guarantees as traditional loan guarantees using added-cost reporting. And that's chilling news for the struggling U.S. housing market. As of September 2010, CBO estimated that, using added-cost report- ing, new guarantees made by Fannie and Freddie would cost taxpayers about $53 billion between 2011 and 2020. As a point of comparison, CBO estimated that under Federal Credit Reform Act standards these guarantees would generate net savings for the federal government of $44 billion over the same period. (see Figure 4) To cover these phantom costs, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Fannie and Freddie's regulator and government conservator, would likely have to direct them both to increase their fees. And any fee increase would likely be substantial. As a reference point, last year's payroll tax cut extension included a mandate of a 10-basis-point increase to the fee charged on Fannie- and Freddie-backed loans (meaning an increase of 10 cents for every $100 dollars guaranteed), to be calculated using added-cost reporting. CBO estimated that increase would generate about $36 billion in revenues between 2012 and 2021. So even after accounting for that new revenue, Fannie and Freddie would have to bump up fees by significantly more just to offset the phantom costs of using added-cost reporting. By comparison, the average guarantee fee charged by Fannie and Freddie was just 26 basis points in 2010, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency. It's important to understand the big-picture implications here. Each time Congress mandates an increase in guarantee fees--either explicitly or implicitly through changing the budget rules--fewer American families can afford a Fannie- or Freddie-backed loan. Through this stealthy effort to scale back government support, Congress is essentially pull- ing the rug out from under our still-struggling housing market. Over the past 75 years, a government guarantee on certain residential mortgages has helped promote long-term stability in the housing market. It was also critical for creating and popularizing the affordable 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, now a pillar of the industry. Prematurely transitioning to a purely private market--the effective outcome of requiring Fannie and Freddie to account for their activities according to added-cost report- ing--could price millions of creditworthy homebuyers out of the market and trigger frequent boom-bust cycles, with devastating effects on the broader economy. A responsible path forward The concepts laid out in the Federal Credit Reform Act have correctly reflected the government's fiscal position for nearly two decades. It would be unwise for Congress to try fixing a model that isn't broken. To the extent estimates of program costs have been inaccurate for individual programs, the federal government should devise new methods of estimating defaults, repayments, prepayments, and recoveries. But it is not appropriate to change the scorekeeping rules to add substantial premiums, even if a program's current estimates are perfect. That said, more can and should be done to improve the way policymakers weigh the costs and benefits of federal credit programs. Lawmakers should have access to all the information necessary to make informed policy decisions, which includes some estimate of uncertainty regarding cost estimates. One possible solution would be to report a metric for each book of business as part of the annual budget's Federal Credit Supplement. Regardless of how they're reported, though, these confidence measurements should not be priced in the federal budget. Such adjustments add arbitrary costs for certain types of risk while ignoring others, biasing the budget against federal credit programs. The House of Representatives is entering precarious territory with the Budget and Accounting Transparency Act. At a time of strict fiscal discipline, the last thing our government needs to do is start conjuring up imaginary costs to tack onto the federal deficit. John Griffith is a Research Associate with the Economic Policy team at the Center for American Progress.

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Yesterday, it was revealed that Juli Briskman, the woman who flipped the middle finger to Donald Trump's presidential convoy in a viral photo, was fired when her bosses learned that it was her in the image. An outpouring of support from the rest of the country followed, with many patriotic Americans seeing their own frustration and disgust with the state of the country epitomized in her defiant hand gesture. As for her part, Briskman says she doesn't regret her actions and would flip the bird at Trump again, given the chance. Related: Woman Who Flipped Off Trump's Motorcade Fired From Her Job. Since the news broke, Briskman has seen a huge surge in Twitter followers and now sits comfortably at around 14,000 fans. Seeing that she now has a powerful platform to spread her political messaging, she tweeted out this morning that she will be working the polls. There are elections in numerous states today, most prominently the gubernatorial race in Virginia, but it's crucial that everyone who is able goes out and votes for Democrats down the ticket. In the tweet, Briskman also poked fun at her recent termination by pointing out that she is able to help at the polls since she's unemployed now. I'll be working the polls today. Since I'm unemployed and all. Maybe this day off should go in my next contract! -- juli_briskman (@julibriskman) November 7, 2017 If you live in a state holding elections today, make sure to do your part and go out and vote. Any successful campaign to end Trump's hateful, regressive agenda starts on a local level. We need to fill the government from top to bottom with Democrats if we are going to stand a chance against the wave of bigotry currently washing across the country. Juli Briskman knows how important voting is, make sure to do your patriotic duty today as well.

Yesterday, it was revealed that Juli Briskman, the woman who flipped the middle finger to Donald Trump's presidential convoy in a viral photo, was fired when her bosses learned that it was her in the image.

It is WAM weekend and for some pretty fantastic reasons , there is no WAM conference this year, however feminists all over the country are having WAM related events. See if there is an event in your area. WAM was one of the first conferences I ever went to as a baby blogger. It is where I started, the first time I was asked to speak on a panel, the first time I was ever recognized for the work I do and the first time I met a lot of the people that are very important not only in my professional life, but also my personal life. WAM creates lasting bonds and brings passionate people together around a number of key issues. As a celebration of this being WAM weekend, I have decided to put together some of our favorite WAM related links. It is amazing to go back and read how much we learned over the years. Enjoy! Jaclyn Friedman: Preserving Feminist Space My first ever WAM panel. Live Blogging at WAM! Battling Backlash: Strategies for Fighting Back, Rising Above and Making Progress Live Blogging at WAM! Breaking the Frame: Revitalizing and Redefining Reproductive Rights Media Coverage WAM 2009: Gender, Non-conformity and the media What does a politics of inclusion REALLY look like?

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Would Slavery Have Ended Sooner If British Had Defeated Colonists' Bid For Independence? By Keith Brooks, www.blackagendareport.com July 7, 2017 Would Slavery Have Ended Sooner If British Had Defeated Colonists' Bid For Independence? 2017-07-07 2017-07-07 https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.png PopularResistance.Org https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/07/Screenshot-2017-07-07-at-8.58.15-AM-e1499432660389-150x98.png 200px 200px Above Photo: From blackagendareport.com By the evidence of their actions, most Blacks wanted the British to defeat their white settler masters. Most Native Americans, too. The British had prohibited settlement west of the Appalachian mountains, and showed some signs of moving towards abolition of slavery. "While 5000 mainly free black people from northern colonies joined with the colonists' fight for independence, tens of thousands more enslaved black people joined with the British." I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America, if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery. " -- Marquis de Lafayette, French military leader who was instrumental in enlisting French support for the colonists in the American War of Independence. Historians have long grappled with the contradiction of a revolution under the banner of "all men are created equal" being largely led by slave owners. Once free of England, the U.S. grew over the next 89 years to be the largest slave-owning republic in history. But the July 4th 1776 Declaration of Independence (DI) was in itself a revolutionary document. Never before in history had people asserted the right of revolution -- not just to overthrow a specific government that no longer met the needs of the people, but as a general principle for the relationship between the rulers and the ruled: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.-That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government..." And yes, "all men are created equal" excluded women, black people and the indigenous populations of the continent, and was written by slave-owner Thomas Jefferson with all his personal hypocrisies. But the words themselves have been used many times since to challenge racism and other forms of domination and inequality. Both the 1789 French Revolution and the 1804 Haitian revolution -- the only successful slave revolt in human history -- drew inspiration from this clarion call. In 1829 black abolitionist David Walker threw the words of the DI back in the face of the slave republic: "See your declarations Americans!!! Do you understand your own language?" The 1848 Seneca Falls women's rights convention issued a Declaration of Sentiments proclaiming that "We hold these truths to be self evident that all men and women are created equal." Vietnam used these very words in declaring independence from France in 1946. And as ML King stated in his 1963 I have a Dream Speech, it was "A promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." "See your declarations Americans!!! Do you understand your own language?" Americans are taught to see the birth of our country as a gift to the world, even when its original defects are acknowledged. The DI along with the Constitution are pillars of American exceptionalism -- the belief that the U.S. is superior and unique from all others, holding the promise of an "Asylum for the persecuted lovers of civil and religious liberty" in the words of Thomas Paine in Common Sense. Historian Gary Nash has made a case that upon winning independence, the conditions for at least the gradual abolition of slavery throughout the 13 colonies were present but lacked political leadership. "One of the lessons of history is that in cases where a fundamental change has been accomplished against heavy odds, inspired leadership has been critically important," and "Washington, Jefferson, and Madison were strategically positioned to take the lead on the slavery issue. All three professed a hatred of slavery and a fervent desire to see it ended in their own time." ( The Forgotten Fifth, 91, 95.) For all their lofty rhetoric none of them lifted a finger to bring that about. Perhaps though a different question might be asked: what if the British had won, had defeated the colonists' bid to break from the mother country? Is it possible that the cause of freedom and the ideals of the DI would have been paradoxically better served by that outcome? England's Victory Over France Leads to the American War For Independence It was, ironically, England's victory over France for control of the North American continent in the seven years' war (1756-1763) that laid the basis for their North American colonies to revolt just 13 years later. As the war with France ended, the British 1763 Proclamation prohibited white settlement west of the Appalachian mountains in an attempt at detente with Native Americans -- bringing England into conflict with colonists wanting to expand westward. More serious still were the series of taxes England imposed on the colonies to pay off its large war debt: the 1765 Stamp Act, the 1767-1770 Townshend Acts, and the 1773 Tea Acts, among others. As colonial leaders mounted increasingly militant resistance to these measures, so too did British repression ramp up. And while "No taxation without representation" and opposition to British tyranny are the two most commonly cited causes propelling the colonists' drive for independence, recent scholarship ( Slave Nation by Ruth and Alfred Blumrosen, Gerald Horne's The Counter-Revolution of 1776 , and Alan Gilbert's Black Patriots and Loyalists in particular) has revealed a heretofore unacknowledged third major motivating force -- the preservation and protection of slavery itself. In 1772, the highest British court ruled in the Somerset decision that slave owners had no legal claims to ownership of other humans in England itself, declaring slavery to be "odious." Somerset eliminated any possibility of a de jure defense of slavery in England, further reinforced at the time by Parliament refusing a request by British slave owners to pass such a law. While Somerset did not apply to England's colonies, it was taken by southern colonists as a potential threat to their slave power. Their fear was further reinforced by the 1766 Declaratory Act, which made explicit England's final say over any laws made in the colonies, and the "Repugnancy" clause in each colony's charter. Somerset added fuel to the growing fires uniting the colonies against England in a fight for independence. " Seeing the Revolutionary War through the eyes of enslaved blacks turns its meaning upside down" -- Simon Schama, Rough Crossings Among the list of grievances in the DI is the rarely scrutinized "He [referring to the king] has excited domestic insurrections amongst us." This grievance was motivated by Virginia Royal Governor Lord Dunmore's November 1775 proclamation stating that any person held as a slave by a colonist in rebellion against England would become free by joining the British forces in subduing the revolt. While 5000 mainly free black people from northern colonies joined with the colonists' fight for independence, few of our school books teach that tens of thousands more enslaved black people joined with the British, with an even greater number taking advantage of the war to escape the colonies altogether by running to Canada or Florida. They saw they had a better shot at "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" with the British-than with their colonial slave masters. To further put these numbers in perspective, the total population of the 13 colonies at the time was 2.5 million, of whom 500,000 were slaves and indentured servants. While there is some debate about the exact numbers, Peter Kolchin in American Slavery points to the "Sharp decline between 1770 and 1790 in the proportion of the population made up of blacks (almost all of whom were slaves) from 60.5% to 43.8% in South Carolina and from 45.2% to 36.1% in Georgia" (73). Other commonly cited figures from historians estimate 25,000 slaves escaped from South Carolina, 30,000 from Virginia, and 5,000 from Georgia. Gilbert in Black Patriots and Loyalists says "Estimates range between twenty thousand and one hundred thousand... if one adds in the thousands of not yet organized blacks who trailed... the major British forces... the number takes on dimensions accurately called 'gigantic'(xii). Among them were 30 of Thomas Jefferson's slaves, 20 of George Washington's, and good ole "Give me liberty or give me death" Patrick Henry also lost his slave Ralph Henry to the Brits. It was the first mass emancipation in American history. Evidently "domestic insurrection" was legitimate when led by slave owners against England but not when enslaved people rose up for their freedom-against the rebelling slave owners! Before There Was Harriet Tubman There was Colonel Tye Crispus Attucks is often hailed as the first martyr of the American revolution, a free black man killed defying British authority in the 1770 Boston Massacre. But few have heard of Titus, who just 5 years later was among those thousands of slaves who escaped to the British lines. He became known as Colonel Tye for his military prowess in leading black and white guerrilla fighters in numerous raids throughout Monmouth County, New Jersey, taking reprisals against slave owners, freeing their slaves, destroying their weaponry and creating an atmosphere of fear among the rebel colonists-and hope among their slaves. Other black regiments under the British fought with ribbons emblazoned across their chests saying "Liberty to Slaves." One might compare Col. Tye to Attucks but if Attucks is a hero, what does that make Tye, who freed hundreds of slaves? Perhaps a more apt comparison is with Harriet Tubman, who escaped slavery in 1849 and returned to the south numerous times to also free hundreds of her brothers and sisters held in bondage. So What If the British Had Won? At no point though did the British declare the end of slavery to be a war goal; it was always just a military tactic. But if the Brits had won, as they came close to doing, it might have set off a series of events that went well beyond their control. Would England have been able to restore slavery in the 13 colonies in the face of certain anti-slavery resistance by the tens of thousands of now free ex-slaves, joined by growing anti-slavery forces in the northern colonies? As Gilbert puts it, "Class and race forged ties of solidarity in opposition to both the slave holders and the colonial elites." (10) Another sure ally would have been the abolitionist movement in England, which had been further emboldened by the 1772 Somerset decision. And if England had to abolish slavery in the 13 colonies, would that not have led to a wave of emancipations throughout the Caribbean and Latin America? And just what was the cost of the victorious independence struggle to the black population? To the indigenous populations who were described in that same DI grievance as "The merciless Indian Savages"? Might it have been better for the cause of freedom if the colonists lost? And if the colonists had lost, wouldn't the ideals of the DI have carried just as much if not more weight? " The price of freedom from England was bondage for African slaves in America. America would be a slave nation . " -- Eleanor Holmes Norton, introduction to Slave Nation. We do know, however, the cost of the colonists' victory: once independence was won, while the northern states gradually abolished slavery, slavery BOOMED in the south. The first federal census in 1790 counted 700,000 slaves. By 1810, 2 years after the end of the slave trade, there were 1.2 million slaves, a 70% increase. England ended slavery in all its colonies in 1833, when there were 2 million enslaved people in the U.S. Slavery in the U.S. continued for another 33 years, during which time the slave population doubled to 4 million human beings. The U.S abolished slavery in 1865; only Cuba and Brazil ended slavery at a later date. And the colonists' victory also further opened the gates to the attempted genocide of the indigenous peoples over the next 125 years. The foregoing is not meant to romanticize and project England as some kind of abolitionist savior had they kept control of the colonies. Dunmore himself was a slave owner. England was the center of the international slave trade. Despite losing the 13 colonies, England maintained its position as the most powerful and rapacious empire in the world till the mid-20th century. As England did away with chattel slavery, it replaced it with the capitalist wage slavery of the industrial revolution. It used food as a weapon to starve the Irish, conquered and colonized large swaths of Asia, Africa and the Pacific. "The U.S abolished slavery in 1865; only Cuba and Brazil ended slavery at a later date." We often see the outcomes of history as predetermined, as inevitabilities, and think there were no other outcomes possible. We look back 240 years later and for most it seems unquestionable that the American revolution was good for the world, a step, perhaps somewhat tortured, towards progress and freedom. But for historian Gerald Horne, "Simply because Euro-American colonists prevailed in their establishing of the U.S., it should not be assumed that this result was inevitable. History points to other possibilities... I do not view the creation of the republic as a great leap forward for humanity" ( Counter-Revolution of 1776, ix). The American revolution was not just a war for independence from England. It was also a battle for freedom against the very leaders of that rebellion by hundreds of thousands of enslaved black people, a class struggle of poor white tenant farmers in many cases also against that same white colonial elite, and a fight for survival of the indigenous populations. But the colonists' unlikely victory was to lead to the creation of the largest slave nation in history, the near genocide of the indigenous populations and a continent-wide expansion gained by invading and taking over half of Mexico. The U.S. went on to become an empire unparalleled in history, its wealth origins rooted largely in slave labor. The struggles for equality and justice for all that the DI promised continues of course, a task that remains undone, ML King's promissory note unfulfilled to this day. The late Chinese Premier Chou en Lai was once asked his assessment as to whether the French revolution was a step forward in history. His response was, "It's too soon to tell". Was the founding of the United States a step forward in history? Or is it still too soon to tell?

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A Georgia Air Force base that made headlines after banning guards' use of the phrase "have a blessed day" quickly reversed course and will now allow the saying, so long as those who use it "remain courteous and professional." Officials at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia, told gate guards that they could no longer "bless" those coming into the installation after a "non-religious" individual complained to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a group dedicated to the separation of church and state. The unnamed individual claimed that it was inappropriate for guards to say "have a blessed day" on a multitude of occassions, leading the base to preclude employees from using the saying and, instead , encouraged them to say, "have a great day," according to WMAZ-TV . Photo credit: Shutterstock.com The brief policy change was made after the complainant sent an email to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, claiming that he or she is an active-duty member of the Air Force who is stationed at the base, detailing the supposedly inappropriate greeting. "On no less than 15 occasions over the last two weeks, I have been greeted by the military personnel at the gate with the phrase," the email read . "This greeting has been expressed by at least 10 different Airmen ranging in rank from A1C to SSgt. I found the greeting to be a notion that I, as a non-religious member of the military community should believe a higher power has an influence on how my day should go." A response to that message from Military Religious Freedom Foundation president Mikey Weinstein noted that, after a conversation with the commander at the base, it was decided that a more non-sectarian greeting would be used, leading the complainant to send a response to Weinstein, thanking him for his efforts. "Thank you for the quick response to the situation at my base," it read . "After your actions, the personnel at the gates have immediately changed their greetings to a more professional, 'Have a nice/good day sir/maam.'" But it appears that the purported ban was short-lived, as conservative commentator Todd Starnes reported that it didn't take long for the ban to be reversed and overturned, with the base now proclaiming that "have a blessed day" is "consistent with Air Force standards." Here's the full response that Starnes received when he inquired : "We are a professional organization defended by a professional force. Our defenders portray a professional image that represents a base all of Middle Georgia can be proud of. Defenders have been asked to use the standard phrase "Welcome to Team Robins" in their greeting and can add various follow-on greetings as long as they remain courteous and professional. The Air Force takes any expressed concern over religious freedom very seriously. Upon further review and consultation, the Air Force determined use of the phrase "have a blessed day" as a greeting is consistent with Air Force standards and is not in violation of Air Force Instructions." Weinstein told the Air Force Times that he will consult with attorneys to see whether any clients would like to sue in federal court over the matter, concluding that the "Air Force has not heard the last of this." (H/T: WMAZ-TV )

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How Israel And Its Partisans Work To Censor The Internet By Alison Weir, Israelpalestinenews.org March 10, 2018 How Israel And Its Partisans Work To Censor The Internet 2018-03-10 2018-03-10 https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.png PopularResistance.Org https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2018/03/idfcomputerschool-e1520692109952.jpg 200px 200px Above Photo: Students at the Israeli military's Computing and Cyber Defense Academy. Israel is also "scouring Jewish communities abroad for young computer prodigies willing to join its ranks." Recently, YouTube suddenly shut down the If Americans Knew YouTube channel . This contained 70 videos providing facts-based information about Israel-Palestine. People going to the channel saw a message telling them that the site had been terminated for "violating YouTube guidelines"--implying to the public that we were guilty of wrongdoing. And ensuring they didn't learn about the information we were trying to disseminate. When we tried to access our channel, we found a message saying our account had been "permanently disabled." We had received no warning and got no explanation. After five days, we received a generic message saying YouTube had reviewed our content and determined it didn't violate any guidelines. Our channel became live once more. So why was it shut down in the first place? What happened and why? As it turns out, Israel and Israeli institutions employ armies of Internet warriors--from Israeli soldiers to students--to spread propaganda online and try to get content banned that Israel doesn't want seen. Perhaps like our videos of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces. What happened A few days before the termination of our channel, we received a form email from YouTube, telling us we had gotten "one strike" for a short video about a Palestinian man killed by Israeli soldiers. The video was part of our series of videos to make Palestinian victims, usually ignored by US media, visible to Americans. It takes three minutes to view the video and see that it contains nothing objectionable, unless revealing cruelty and oppression is objectionable: YouTube's email claimed we had somehow violated their long list of guidelines but did not tell us which one, or how. It simply stated: "Your video 'Ahmad Nasser Jarrar' was flagged for review. Upon review, we've determined that it violates our guidelines. We've removed it from YouTube and assigned a Community Guidelines strike, or temporary penalty, to your account." Such a penalty is not public and does not terminate the channel. Three days later, before we'd even had a chance to appeal this strike, YouTube suddenly took down our entire channel. This was done with no additional warnings or explanation. This violated YouTube's published policies. YouTube policies say there is a "three-strike" system by which it warns people of alleged violations three times before terminating a channel. If a channel is eventually terminated, the policies state that YouTube will send an email "detailing the reason for the suspension." None of this happened in our case. We submitted appeals on YouTube's online form, but received no response. Attempts to find a phone number for YouTube and/or email addresses by which we could communicate with a human being were futile. YouTube's power to shut down content without explanation whenever it chooses was acutely apparent. While there are other excellent video hosting sites, YouTube is the largest one, with nearly ten times more views than its closest competitors. It is therefore enormously powerful in shaping which information is available to the public-and which is not. We spent days working to upload our videos elsewhere, update links to the videos, etc. Finally, having received no response or even acknowledgment of our appeal from YouTube, we decided to write an article about the situation. We emailed YouTube's press department a list of questions about its process. We have yet to receive any answers. Finally that evening we received an email with good news: "After a review of your account, we have confirmed that your YouTube account is not in violation of our Terms of Service. As such, we have unsuspended your account. This means your account is once again active and operational." Our channel was visible once more. And YouTube had now officially confirmed that our content doesn't violate its guidelines. Ultimately, the YouTube system seems to have worked, in our case. Inappropriate censorship was overruled, perhaps by saner or less biased heads. In fact, we felt that there might at least be one positive result of the situation--additional YouTube employees had viewed our videos and perhaps learned much about Israel-Palestine they had not previously known. But the whole experience was a wakeup call that YouTube can censor information critical of powerful parties at any time, with no explanation or accountability. Israeli soldiers paid to "Tweet, Share, Like and more" Israel and partisans of Israel have long had a significant presence on the Internet, working to promote the Israel narrative and block facts about Palestine, the Israel lobby, and other subject matter they wish covered up. Opinionated proponents of Israel post comments, flag content, accuse critics of "antisemitism," and disseminate misinformation about Palestine and Palestine solidarity activists. Many of these actions are by individuals acting alone who work independently, voluntarily, and relentlessly. In addition to these, however, a number of orchestrated, often well-funded projects sponsored by the Israeli government and others have come to light. These projects work to place pro-Israel content throughout the Internet, and to remove information Israel doesn't wish people to know. One such Israeli project targeting the Internet came to light when it was lauded in an article by Arutz Sheva , an Israeli news organization headquartered in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. The report described a new project by Israel's "New Media desk" that focused on YouTube and other social media sites. The article reported that Israeli soldiers were being employed to "Tweet, Share, Like and more." The article noted, "It is well known nowadays that what happens on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube has great influence on events as they occur on the ground. The Internet, too, is a battleground." It was "comforting," the article stated, to learn that the IDF was employing soldiers whose job was specifically to do battle on it. Israeli students paid to promote Israel on social media Screen shot from a video about student program to spread pro-Israel content on the Internet and social media. Another project to do battle on the Internet was initiated in 2011 by the 300,000-strong National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS). The goal was "to deepen and expand hasbara [state propaganda] activities of students in the State of Israel." Under this program, Israeli students are paid $2,000 to work five hours per week to "lead the battle against hostile websites." An announcement for the program (translated here into English) noted that "many students in Israel master the Internet and are proficient at using the Internet and social networking and various sites and are required to write and express themselves in English." Students can work from the comfort of their own homes, points out the announcement. "Students work in four teams: Content, Wikipedia, Monitoring and New Media," according to the program description . It details the responsibilities for each team: The content team is responsible for creating original content in a news format. The monitoring team is responsible for "monitoring efforts while reporting and removing anti-Semitic [sic] content from social networks in a variety of languages." (The program conflates criticism of Israel with antisemitism; see below.) The New Media team is responsible for social media channels, "including Facebook accounts in English, French and Portuguese, Twitter, YouTube channels, and so on." The Wikipedia team is "responsible for writing new entries and translating them into languages that operate in the program, updating the values of current and relevant information, tracking and preventing bias in the program's areas of activity." This program sometimes claims it is working against antisemitism, but it conflates antisemitism with criticism of the state of Israel. This is in line with an Israel-backed initiative to legally define "antisemitism" to include discussing negative facts about Israel and its treatment of Palestinians. Campaign to infiltrate Wikipedia The pro-Israel organization CAMERA infiltrated Wikipedia for a time. (Illustration by Electronic Intifada .) Several years ago, another project came to light that targeted Wikipedia. While manipulating Wikipedia entries doesn't directly impact YouTube, it provides a window into some of these efforts to manipulate online content. A 2008 expose in the Electronic Intifada revealed: "A pro-Israel pressure group is orchestrating a secret, long-term campaign to infiltrate the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia." While it is common and appropriate for individuals to edit Wikipedia entries to add factual information and remove inaccurate statements, this project was the antithesis of such editing. As EI, reported, its purpose was "to rewrite Palestinian history, pass off crude propaganda as fact, and take over Wikipedia administrative structures to ensure these changes go either undetected or unchallenged." Author Ali Abunimah reported that a source had provided EI with a series of emails from members and associates of the pro-Israel group CAMERA (Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America) that showed the group "was engaged in what one activist termed a 'war' on Wikipedia." CAMERA Senior Research Analyst Gilead Ini organized a project to infiltrate Wikipedia. CAMERA called for volunteers to secretly work on editing Wikipedia entries. It emphasized the importance of keeping the project secret. Volunteers were schooled in ways to elude detection. After they signed up as editors, they were to "avoid editing Israel-related articles for a short period of time." They were also told to "avoid, for obvious reasons, picking a username that marks you as pro-Israel, or that lets people know your real name." CAMERA also warned them: "Don't forget to always log in... If you make changes while not logged in, Wikipedia will record your computer's IP address." A Wikipedia editor known as Zeq helped in the effort, telling volunteers: "Edit articles at random, make friends not enemies--we will need them later on. This is a marathon not a sprint." He emphasized the importance of secrecy: "You don't want to be precived [sic] as a 'CAMERA' defender' on wikipedia that is for sure." Zeq recommended that they work with and learn from an independent, pro-Israel Wikipedia editor known as Jayjg, but directed them to keep the project secret even from him. When this all came to light, Wikipedia took measures against such manipulation of its system and the CAMERA program may have ended. If it did, others stepped into the breach. In 2010 two Israeli groups began offering a course in "Zionist editing" of Wikipedia entries. The aim was "to make sure that information in the online encyclopedia reflects the worldview of Zionist groups." A course organizer explained that the use of the word "occupied" in Wikipedia entries "was just the kind of problem she hoped a new team of editors could help fix." Israel's Ha'aretz newspaper reported: "The organizers' aim was twofold: to affect Israeli public opinion by having people who share their ideological viewpoint take part in writing and editing for the Hebrew version, and to write in English so Israel's image can be bolstered abroad." There was to be a prize for the "Best Zionist Editor"--the person who over the next four years incorporated the most "Zionist" changes in the encyclopedia. The winner would receive a trip in a hot-air balloon over Israel. High tech millionaire Naftali Bennett, a right-wing minister close to the settler movement, describes the program: The UK Guardian reports: "One Jerusalem-based Wikipedia editor, who doesn't want to be named, said that publicising the initiative might not be such a good idea. 'Going public in the past has had a bad effect,' she says. 'There is a war going on and unfortunately the way to fight it has to be underground.'" Again in 2013, there was evidence of pro-Israel tampering with Wikipedia. Israel's Ha'aretz reported that a social-media employee of NGO Monitor edited articles about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in an allegedly biased manner. "Draiman concealed the facts that he was an employee of NGO Monitor, often described as a right-wing group, and that he was using a second username, which is forbidden under Wikipedia's rules," according to the paper. Such actions have had an impact. A website critical of Wikipedia said in 2014 that there were "almost ten times as many articles about murdered Israeli children as there are articles about murdered Palestinian children," even though at least 10 times more Palestinian children had been killed. The website also pointed out: "While editors like Zeq ( T - C - L ) and CltFn ( T - C - L ) may get banned in the end, the articles they started remain." If YouTube reviewers and others use Wikipedia in their determination about whether content should be removed or not, these efforts to censor Wikipedia could adversely affect their decisions. Social Media Missions for Israel Title image from Forward article about the Act.IL campaign. In 2017 yet another project to target Internet platforms was launched. Known as Act.il , the project uses a software application that "leverages the power of communities to support Israel through organized online activity." The software is a joint venture of three groups: Israel's IDC University; the Israeli American Council , which works to "organize and activate" the half million Israeli-Americans who live in the U.S.; and another American group called the Maccabee Task Force , created to combat the international boycott of Israel, which it terms "an anti-Semitic movement." Maccabee says it is "laser focused on one core mission--to ensure that those who seek to delegitimize Israel and demonize the Jewish people are confronted, combatted and defeated." Image from Maccabee end of year report . In addition, the project is supported by Israel's Strategic Affairs Ministry and Israel's intelligence community. Its CEO is an eight-year veteran of Israeli army intelligence. Israel's Jerusalem Post reports that Act.IL is "a wide-ranging grassroots campaign app that lets individuals combat BDS in the palm of their hand" or, as we will see, from public computers in the US. "Act.IL is more than just an app," the Post article explains. "It is a campaign that taps into the collective knowledge of IDC students who together speak 35 languages, hail from 86 countries and have connections to the pro-Israel community all over the world." The article claims: "A platform like Act.IL offers world Jewry an opportunity to fight for one thing the majority can rally behind: Israel." (This ignores the fact that there are many Jewish individuals who oppose Israeli policies.) Israel partisans around the world download the app, and then "in this virtual situation room of experts, they detect instances where Israel is being assailed online and they program the app to find missions that can be carried out with a push of a button." An organizer notes: "When you work together, with the same goals and values, you can be incredibly powerful in the social media landscape." Some missions ask users to report videos. Israeli government officials say that the Act.il app "is more effective than official government requests at getting those videos removed from online platforms." The project is led by former Israeli intelligence officers and has close ties to American casino billionaire Sheldon Adelson. Another funder is the Paul R. Singer Foundation, funded by the Republican hedge fund billionaire. The Forward calls Act.IL a new entry into the "online propaganda war" that "has thousands of mostly U.S.-based volunteers who can be directed from Israel into a social media swarm." According to the Forward, "Its work so far offers a startling glimpse of how it could shape the online conversations about Israel without ever showing its hand." The Forward reports: "Act.il says that its app has 12,000 sign-ups so far, and 6,000 regular users. The users are located all over the world, though the majority of them appear to be in the United States. Users get 'points' for completed missions; top-ranked users complete five or six missions a day. Top users win prizes: a congratulatory letter from a government minister, or a doll of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's founding prime minister." Photo of group that participated in Act.IL training Act.IL's CEO, a veteran Israeli army intelligence officer, said the Israeli military and its domestic intelligence service "'request' Act.il's help in getting services like Facebook to remove specific videos that call for violence against Jews or Israelis." This according to the Forward report. The officer later tried to walk back his statement, "saying that the Shin Bet [intelligence service] and the army don't request help on specific videos but are in regular informal contact with Act.il. He said that Act.il's staff is largely made up of former Israeli intelligence officers." Teens in American JCCs carry out missions assigned from Israel New Jersey "Media Room," a project of IAC New Jersey in partnership with Act.IL. The project recruits Jewish teens and adults and sometimes operates out of local Jewish community centers, the Forward says. The paper describes one example: "The dozen or so Israelis sitting around a conference table at a Jewish community center in Tenafly, New Jersey, on a recent Wednesday night didn't look like the leading edge of a new Israeli government-linked crowdsourced online propaganda campaign. "Tapping on laptops, the group of high school students and adult mentors completed social media 'missions' assigned out of a headquarters in Herzliya, Israel." In addition to the Tenafly "media room" another operates in Boston in cooperation with the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston. There are also regular Act.il advocacy-training sessions at The Frisch School, a Jewish day school in Paramas, New Jersey. Other media rooms are reportedly in the works, with one in Manhattan, hosted by The Paul R. Singer Foundation, scheduled to open soon. The Forward reports: "In November, the Boston media room created a mission for the app that asked users to email a Boston-area church to complain about a screening there of a documentary that is critical of Israel. The proposed text of the email likens the screening of the film to the white supremacist riot in Charlottesville, Virginia, and calls the film's narrator, Pink Floyd frontman Roger Waters, a 'well-known anti-Semite.'" Photo of Boston Media Room published by Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, which states : "Media Room Ambassadors are students and adult mentors who are with the knowledge, skills, and tools to positively influence public discourse by developing pro-Israel social media campaigns." According to the Forward, Act.il also produces "pro-Israel web content that carries no logo. It distributes that content to other pro-Israel groups, including the Adelson-funded Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi and The Israel Project, which push them out on their own social media feeds." The Forward predicts: "Initiatives in cyberspace seem likely to increase." Screenshot from video promoting the project, posted on the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston website . Israeli media report that the Israeli military "has begun scouring Jewish communities abroad for young computer prodigies" to recruit for its ranks. An Israeli official described the process: "Our first order of business is to search Jewish communities abroad for teens who could qualify, Our representatives will then travel to the communities and begin the screening process there." Israeli Government Ministry backs secret online campaigns General Sima Vaknin-Gil told Israeli tech developers to "flood the Internet" with pro-Israel propaganda. As Israel's Chief Censor, she said : " "We censor information that is critical to our enemies, who have no capabilities like us, do not have a Jewish brain, and therefore our enemy relies to a large extent on open information..." Israel's Strategic Affairs Ministry, which is behind this and similar projects, has mobilized substantial resources for online activities. Israel's Ynet news reports that the Ministry's director "sees it as a war for all intents and purposes. 'The delegitimization against the State of Israel can be curbed and contained through public diplomacy and soft tools,' she says. 'In order to win, however, we must use tricks and craftiness.'" The director, General Sima Vaknin-Gil, told a forum of Israeli tech developers at a forum: "I want to create a community of fighters." The objective is to " curb the activities of anti-Israel activists ," and "flood the Internet" with pro-Israel content. An Israeli report in December stated that the ministry has acquired a budget of roughly $70 million to "stand at the forefront of the battle against delegitimization, adopting methods from the fields of intelligence and technology. There is a reason why ministry officials define it as 'a war on consciousness terrorism.'" ['Delegitimization' is a common Israeli term for criticism of Israel. See here for a discussion of the term.] A Ha'aretz article reports: "The Strategic Affairs Ministry's leaders see themselves as the heads of a commando unit, gathering and disseminating information about 'supporters of the delegitimization of Israel'--and they prefer their actions be kept secret." The article reports that the Ministry includes a job role entitled "Senior official--new-media realm," responsible for surveillance and activities "in the digital realm." This individual head is responsible for analyzing social media and formulating a social media campaign against sites and activists who are deemed a threat to Israel. Among the job's responsibilities are: "Analysis of the world of social media, in terms of content, technology and network structure, emphasizing centers of gravity and focuses of influence, methods, messages, organizations, sites and key activists, studying their characteristics, areas, realms and key patterns of activities of the rival campaign and formulating a strategy for an awareness campaign against them in this realm and managing crises on social media. That is, surveilling of activities mainly in the digital arena." Officials at the ministry are charged with "construction and promotion of creative and suitable programs for new media." The unit works to keep its activities secret from the public. For example, a program to train young Israelis for activities on social media was exempted from publishing a public bid for funding. Similarly, the ministry's special unit against delegitimization, "Hama'aracha" (The Battle), is excluded from Israel's Freedom of Information Law. The 29th floor of Tel Aviv's Champion Tower is the nerve center of a 24-7 'war' in which Israeli agents working behind the scenes advance U.S. legislation, torpedo events, organize counter-protests, & close bank accounts.. The Director says: 'In order to win we must use tricks and craftiness.' Its activities reportedly include a "24/7 operations room monitoring all the delegitimization activities against Israel: Protests, conferences, publications calling for an anti-Israel boycott and international bodies' boycott initiatives. The operations room will transfer the information to the relevant people to provide a proper response to these activities, whether through a counter-protest or through moves to thwart the initiative behind the scenes." Other programs include a 22-million-shekel project to work among labor unions and professional associations abroad "to root out the ability of BDS entities to influence the unions," and a 16-million-shekel program focused on student activities throughout the world. Israel's UNIT 8200 Photo from article about Unit 8200 on Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre website . Another Israeli entity that plays a role in covert Internet activity is the Israeli military's legendary high-tech spy branch, Unit 8200. This unit is composed of thousands of "cyber warriors" primarily 18 to 21 years of age; some even younger. A number of its graduates have gone on to top positions at tech companies operating in the U.S., such as Check Point Software (where the spouse of the Jewish Voice for Peace head is employed as a solutions architect). In 2015 Israel's Foreign Ministry announced plans "to establish a special command to combat anti-Israel incitement on social media." The command would operate under the foreign ministry's hasbara [propaganda] department and would especially recruit from graduates of Unit 8200. An article in the Jewish Press about the new command reports that Unit 8200 "has developed a great reputation for effectiveness in intelligence gathering, including operating a massive global spy network. Several alumni of 8200 have gone on to establish leading Israeli IT companies, including Check Point, ICQ, Palo Alto Networks, NICE, AudioCodes, Gilat, Leadspace, EZchip, Onavo, Singular and CyberArk." Check Point Software headquarters in Tel Aviv. Founded by a former Unit 8200 member, it also has offices throughout the U.S. Israeli tech companies sometimes assist in online spying efforts. Numerous Israeli tech companies, many of them headed by former military intelligence officers, assist in these online spying efforts, sometimes receiving Israeli government funding "for digital initiatives aimed at gathering intelligence on activist groups and countering their efforts." According to the ministry's statement, among the Command's activities is " finding videos with inflammatory content and issuing complaints to the relevant websites." To be clear, this is an occupying military working covertly to achieve censorship of reporting on its atrocities. YouTube & Google officials meet with Israeli Minister YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki speaking to the Israel Collaboration Network's Israeli Women in Tech Group on August 25, 2016 . Major Internet companies have reportedly been cooperating in this effort. In 2015 Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Tzipi Hotovely announced that she had visited Silicon Valley and met with YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki and Google's Director of Public Policy (it is unclear whether this was was Jennifer Oztzistzki or Juniper Downs; Hotovely's announcement referred to "Jennifer Downs"). "At the end of the meeting," Israeli media reported , "it was agreed that Google would strengthen bilateral relations with the Foreign Ministry and build a collaborative work apparatus." Another Israeli news report about the meeting states : "...it was agreed that the companies would strengthen ties with the Foreign Ministry and build a regular mechanism of control to prevent the distribution of those incendiary materials on the network." Google, which owns YouTube, denied the Foreign Ministry's report. The Ministry accordingly "clarified" its statement somewhat, but continued to say that Israeli officials would be in "regular contact with Google's employees in Israel who deal with the problematic materials." Such officials often have close ties to Israel. For example, Facebook's Head of Policy in Israel, Jordana Cutler , had previously been employed for many years by the Israeli government. (More about Facebook can be found here .) The Linkedin page for Facebook's Jordana Cutler The meetings seem to have had a significant effect. In 2016 Fortune magazine reported: "Facebook, Google, and YouTube are complying with up to 95% of Israeli requests to delete content that the government says incites Palestinian violence, Israel's Justice Minister said on Monday." More recently, the Israeli Ministry of Justice said that its cyber unit handled 2,241 cases of online content and succeeded in getting 70 percent of it removed . According to a 2017 report , Google, in its capacity as the operator of Youtube, announced that it was updating the steps it was already taking on this score. Among other things, Google said it would increase the number of members of the " Trusted Flagger program ," which enables certain organizations and government agencies to report content. It also said it would "increase support for NGOs and organizations working to present a 'corrective voice.'" Given the record of infiltration and orchestrated activities described above--many financed by a combination of certain influential billionaires and the Israeli government itself--it's hard to imagine that Israeli organizations and partisans are not thoroughly embedded in this program. In fact, one of the NGOs already working with YouTube as a "trusted flagger" is the Anti-Defamation League , whose mission includes 'standing up for Israel.' Anti-Defamation League celebrates Israel at 2017 New York City parade. A leaked secret January 2017 ADL strategy paper detailed how to counter the pro-Palestine movement. Among its many strategies were some focused on the importance of efforts in cyber space. The paper was produced in collaboration with the Reut Institute, an Israeli think tank, and included an endorsement by Sima Vaknin-Gil, who stated that "the correlation between the Ministry's mode of operation and what comes out of this document is very high, and has already proven effective... " The document's executive summary noted: "Cyberspace, broadly defined, stands out as a crucially important arena (for monitoring and counter and pro-active strategies) which requires more resources and attention due to its current influence, rapid growth and growing complexity." The paper called for "a mix of policy advocacy and industry engagement with corporations such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter in a manner consistent with the ADL Center for Technology and Society and its Anti-Cyberhate Working Group." An illustration in the ADL-Reut working paper on improving Israel advocacy. It noted: "While the pro-Israel network increasingly is active in this domain, much more can be done." The paper also recommended: "'Bottom-up efforts' of crowd-sourcing to enhance the adaptive capacity of the pro-Israel network." At the same time, it urged: "Strengthening pro-Israel organizations that mobilize and coordinate a network of 'nodes' e.g. Jewish Community Public Affairs (JCPA) and its network of Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRCs) in the USA; Hillel, which is present in nearly five hundred locations in the U.S. and globally; the Israel Action Network (IAN) that reaches nearly 160 federations in the U.S.; or the Jewish Congress (WJC) that represents dozens of Jewish communities around the world." The detailed, 32-page document reported that in recent years "a massive investment of resources and talent" had been directed against the pro-Palestine movement. One of the results, the paper said, was to create a "world-wide pro-Israel network." It was this network that the report wished to mobilize. One of the paper's concerns was that since Israel's 2014 attack on Gaza "a growing number of Jews have become more critical of Israel." The document recommended a degree of stealth, noting: "high-visibility response by the pro-Israel side can be counterproductive." What this means Nevertheless, despite all these forces arrayed against information about Palestine reaching the American public, our channel is back up on YouTube. In fact, we've just uploaded a new video: This one is about the death of a nine-year-old boy. [Perhaps the Israeli government would consider this incitement to Palestinians to rebel against occupation; we see it as incitement to the world in general, and Americans in particular, to care.] In other words, Israel's efforts at censorship don't always succeed. But sometimes they do, and other YouTube users have not always been so fortunate. For example, YouTube has terminated several Palestinian news organizations . One was the al-Quds network, which, according to a report in Middle East Eye , "relies on young reporters and volunteers using phones and other digital devices to cover local news across the Palestinian territories." They would often report Israeli soldiers committing various human rights violations. Its YouTube channel was terminated in 2011, and its editor says they had to "to create a new channel from scratch." By 2017 its new channel had gained almost 10 million views before it was suddenly suspended without warning again last October. It now, however, appears to have a YouTube channel in operation. According to the MEE report, YouTube also suspended the Filisten al-Youm TV channel last August, and in 2013, apparently following complaints by the Anti-Defamation League, YouTube closed down Iran's PressTV channel. (A Press TV YouTube channel now also appears to be available again.) Palestinian social media users risk even greater consequences. The Israeli government has arrested Palestinians for videos, poems, and other posts it dislikes. A 2016 report estimated that "more than 150 arrests took place between October and February 2016 based on Facebook posts expressing opinions on the uprising. A recent video posted on social media led to the imprisonment of a 16 year old girl, her mother and cousin. In addition, Palestinian access to social media is somewhat controlled by Israel. As a Huffington Post article reports, "Palestinians' digital rights and access to the Internet are compromised in very basic ways, because Israel controls the infrastructure and services of Palestinian telecommunication companies in the West Bank." While the situation has greatly improved in recent years - the Israeli government finally announced in 2016 that it would allow Palestinians in the West Bank to access 3G wireless networks, making this one of the last regions in the world with such access after years of Israeli restrictions - it is important to remember the enormous power Israel wields over this largely captive population. While Israel is able to organize entire campaigns to filter and flood social media, its immense control over Palestinians impedes their access to the same media. Given these facts, it is extremely important for people to search out information for themselves, go directly to our websites and others, subscribe to diverse email lists, and not rely on social media for information. [Please subscribe to our news posts here .] Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and others are private companies. In the end, they have the power to censor information, and they periodically do so. For a few days, we felt acutely what that was like. If Facebook had joined the ban, as has happened with others, we would have been even more cut off from what is essentially today's "public square." The Internet and social media give us far more access to information and tools for communication and activism than ever before, but they, too, can be controlled--and they are. It is up to us, as always, to overcome.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger, the actor and former governor of California, recently visited Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia, and in true "Arnold" fashion, he and U.S. Navy officials appeared like action heroes as they discussed an important issue. (Facebook) In a video recently posted to his Facebook page, Schwarzenegger meets with U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Jack Scorby and retired Vice Adm. Dennis McGinn, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, to discuss an important question: "Do we really want climate change denial putting our military at ask?" Sea level is likely to rise 2 feet by 2050, Scorby told Schwarzenegger. What's concerning is the probability of storms under such conditions, McGinn pointed out, as storms could raise sea level 4 to 6 feet. If there is a Category 2 Storm, half the Norfolk Base would be underwater, Scorby pointed out. (Facebook) "At least 18 other major Naval bases critical to our defense are at serious risk - today," Scorby added. (Facebook) The three discussed how curbing fossil fuels would be the way to help alleviate climate change. "If we don't start now, in 20 years we'll be looking back, and we'll be saying, 'Why didn't we,' " McGinn said. "Why didn't we listen to the science and the engineers? Climate change is happening, and we need to plan for it." (Facebook)

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Following Vice President Mike Pence leaving a football game, he tweeted out an explanation as to why he walked out. Now, Donald Trump is taking credit. When the Vice President walked out of an NFL game because some of the players choose to kneel, as they do every Sunday, in protest of police brutality against people of color, he felt the need to go on twitter explaining why. Considering his background and the administration which he serves, it wasn't surprising that Pence couldn't make it past the National Anthem without politicizing the NFL once again. Pence explained in a series of tweets why he ultimately walked out, feeling that football players kneeling in the most peaceful of protests was extremely disrespectful to the American flag and the country in general. I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem. -- Vice President Pence (@VP) October 8, 2017 Pence tweeted : 'I left today's Colts game because @POTUS and I will not dignify any event that disrespects our soldiers, our Flag, or our National Anthem.' Before conservatives could pat the Vice President on the back for his commitment to this idiotic notion that the #TakeAKnee protests have anything to do with disrespecting the flag, country, or military the president swooped in like a barn owl and snatched the attention back. Around noon Trump tweeted that the reason Mike Pence left the stadium was at his instruction and that he was proud that both the Vice President and his wife followed his orders. I asked @VP Pence to leave stadium if any players kneeled, disrespecting our country. I am proud of him and @SecondLady Karen. -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017 The public reaction to Trump's tweet was explosive, as you can see below in some of the many replies:

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They weren't Nazis or KKK, they were Americans, young and old, standing up for their right to speak. We see their use of force in their battle for the soul of the south on the false premise southerners have no right to be proud of who they are. We have Americans who can't tell you when the Civil War was fought and they certainly can't tell you why if they think slavery was the only reason. The left exploits the lack of knowledge of Americans about their own history to wage a new war against the south. This is the second Civil War and it begins in the south. The left plans to destroy the culture, heritage and pride of the south under the guise of eliminating all of their so-called hate. After that, they will head for the North and the West, to destroy the rest of the culture. These are the cultural Totalitarians. We should instruct people about the Civil War but not via the profoundly corrupt media. In fact, the Civil War is almost irrelevant when it comes to this new civil war. This war is for the minds and hearts of the nation. Success requires silencing all opposition and erasing our pride in who we are. This is leftist, oppressive ideology trampling our First Amendment. It is the initial phase in conquering a nation. There can be no American exceptionalism and no American identity if the left is to win. The bastardization of the First Amendment is being misrepresented by the left as a purification of the overly-broad right given to Americans by government when in fact government does not give us rights. Our rights are inherent. Julian Assange today tweeted an article by ConsentFactory Inc., titled, A De-Putin-Nazification of America Update. It's about the insanity of mob rule and the movement to take away our free speech. It's very well-said. Three excerpts: So the de-Putin-Nazification of America couldn't be going much better at the moment. In terms of emotionally manipulating people (and especially any heretofore wayward members of the American "left") into forming a mindless, hysterical mob and running around like headless chickens branding anyone who didn't vote for Hillary Clinton a goose-stepping Nazi, this past week has been a huge success. At this point, if you haven't yet posted an anti-Nazi loyalty oath on Twitter, Facebook, or some other platform, you're a potential "Nazi sympathizer" ... and you don't want to be one of those, now do you? No, I didn't think you did. So, if you haven't done that, you'd better get on it. Here are few tips to get you started.... ....It should also include one or more of the following: (1) If not an outright call for the First Amendment to be repealed, then at least a demand for a ban on "hate speech," and the removal of every hate-based statue, flag, painting, book, film, song, joke, or other expression of racism, hatred, religious bigotry, misogyny, extremism, general rudeness (and any other forms of speech or expression that you don't like) from public view. Don't worry about the ramifications of this ban. It will never, ever, be used against you, or anyone that you agree with, or against any authors or artists that you like. It'll be a ban on "hate-speech," after all, and it's not like that term is completely subjective, or subject to the whims of those in power, or anything like that. (2) A demand that the already overly-broad definition of "terrorism" now be expanded even further, to include the fascist who drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, killing one and wounding many others. Never mind that this murderous idiot seems to have done this on the spur of the moment (or, if it was a planned attack, that he's even more of an idiot than he seems, which, judging from his mug shot, is hard to believe). The important thing is to help the Resistance expand the definition of "terrorism" to the point where they can slap it onto anyone. Again, don't worry about the ramifications. The "terrorist" label will never, ever, be used against groups that you approve of, or innocent people in faraway countries that some future president wants to murder with drones. The Resistance would never, ever, do that. They know who is and who isn't a terrorist. And if they don't, they can always check with Obama... ...A reference (either veiled or direct) to someone who may be a Nazi-sympathizer. This is crucial in terms of motivating others to post their loyalty oaths, and fostering an atmosphere of paranoia, which is always so helpful at times like this. Surely, you know of someone who has said, tweeted, published, or posted something that could be interpreted as "Nazi-friendly." Don't bother with the Trump supporters. The corporate-owned media will take care of them. You want to go after other leftists, specifically leftists who have been reluctant to call Trump Hitler, or a Putinist agent, or who disagree with you about Syria, or, you know, just people who get on your nerves. This is a golden opportunity to pore through their tweets and Facebook posts, find something you can use against them, and then accuse them of harboring Nazi sympathies. Given the current level of hysteria, few people are going to check your facts. This is one you can really have fun with. See how far you can push the paranoia. Make up elaborate conspiracy theories. If you're not quite sure how to go about that, check The New York Times or The Washington Post ... they're masters of that kind of thing. It's no laughing matter that violent leftists want to take away our free speech as did the former administration. These people are the anti-free speech people who hope to take the United States to a very dark place where they currently dwell and they are doing it via the media. We are seeing the power of mass delusion and mob rule. They are neo-communists paving the way to their oppressive utopia. We have heard the first shots. Which side are you on?

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Sunday, August 5, 2018 (1 comments) State Rep. Who Doesn't Like Committee Work Needs to Support Quiet Fireworks Legislation Michigan should pass bill to save wildlife and companion animals from firework noise. A state representative doesn't take her committee work seriously. Saturday, July 21, 2018 DTE Energy Hurts Low-Income Customers DTE illegally refuses to accept a tax form for a low-income family to receive a $7.50 credit on their account. Friday, February 16, 2018 (1 comments) Congress Trying to Trample States' Rights; Eliminate Animal, Consumer Protection Laws Congress has introduced legislation that flies in the face of the Tenth Amendment to weaken state and local agricultural laws that protect animals and our citizens. Thursday, May 18, 2017 (2 comments) Michigan Democratic Party Won't Approve Animal Caucus The Michigan Democratic Party needs to approve the animal protection caucus. Saturday, April 8, 2017 Michigan Legislature Needs to Raise Minimum Wage Michigan workers should not be struggling to survive. The Senate must pass SB 185 today. Wednesday, April 5, 2017 (1 comments) USDA Stands Up for Animal Abusers The USDA is allowing animal abusers to operate in secrecy. Tuesday, April 4, 2017 (3 comments) USDA Wildlife Services Needs to Stop Killing Wildlife, Killing Pets, Harming Humans The USDA needs to stop cruelly killing wildlife and pets. It needs to stop injuring children. Ask Congress to pass HR 1817. Tuesday, April 4, 2017 Trump's DOI Pick Reverses Rule Protecting Us From Lead Trump's Secretary of the Interior does not want to protect us from lead. Monday, April 3, 2017 The State of Michigan Harasses Food-Stamp Recipients The State of Michigan makes food-benefit recipients jump through hoops they've already jumped through. The State also sets requirements for people to remain on food stamps but then doesn't accept the proof that recipients met the requirements. Thursday, June 30, 2016 (1 comments) Stop Harmful Trade Agreement The Trans-Pacific Partnership is legislation that will harm the 99% and benefit only the 1%. Saturday, February 20, 2016 (1 comments) Reforms Needed to Protect Us from Toxic Chemicals We need to tell Congress to strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act. Saturday, January 17, 2015 (4 comments) Getting a Good Job is Stacked Against the Poor Employers don't want to hire workers who are too smart and motivated. Monday, April 21, 2014 (3 comments) Faux Earth-Friendly Products Use False Eco-Labels An eco company is using a false eco-label meant to mislead consumers. Thursday, April 17, 2014 3M Misleads Consumers About Its Destruction of Old-Growth Forests 3M destroys our old-growth forests and then cons consumers. Wednesday, December 25, 2013 (1 comments) Michiganders Need Renewable Energy Now Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" wastes exorbitant amounts of water from the Great Lakes and blasts chemicals into the environment and our drinking water. Michigan does not even require companies to disclose which chemicals they use. Fracking not only contaminates our groundwater, it also pollutes our air and causes surface contamination from spills. Tuesday, July 23, 2013 (3 comments) Macy's Must End Its Support of Animal Cruelty Macy's funds rodeos, which torture and kill animals. What's next for Macy's? dogfighting

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Washington: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) "is a made in China, made for China" initiative, a senior Trump administration official has said as he asked Beijing to uphold internationally accepted best practices and adopt an open and inclusive approach to its overseas infrastructure projects. The BRI is a multi-billion-dollar initiative launched by Chinese president Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013. It aims to link Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, Africa and Europe with a network of land and sea route. File image of Donald Trump and Xi Jinping. AP Welcoming contributions by China to regional development, Brian Hook, senior policy advisor to the Secretary of State and Director of Policy Planning, said the US just wants Beijing to adhere to high standards and to uphold areas such as transparency and rule of law and sustainable financing. His comments came before Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a major policy initiative announcement for the Indo-Pacific region during the first Indo-Pacific Business Forum hosted by US Chambers of Commerce. "I would not say that this (new economic engagement) is a strategy to counter the one belt, one road," Hook said. "The belt and road is for the moment China's way of doing things. It is a made in China, made for China initiative," he added. Asserting that the US and its economic engagement benefits the Indo-Pacific region, Hook said that the Trump administration believes that America's model of economic engagement is the "healthiest" for the nations in the region. So the US encourages China to adhere to best practices and infrastructure development financing, he said. "And this only occurs when, infrastructure in other areas are physically secure, financially viable and socially responsible. We encourage China to promote an uphold internationally accepted best practices and infrastructure development and financing and to adopt an open and inclusive approach to its belt and road initiative, especially these overseas infrastructure projects," Hook said. The US, he said, has a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, which does not exclude any nation. The initiatives to be announced at the forum by the Trump administration is meant to advance America's cooperation with its partners and to encourage new forms of collaboration between the US and Indo-Pacific nations.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) "is a made in China, made for China" initiative, a senior Trump administration official has said as he asked Beijing to uphold internationally accepted best practices and adopt an open and inclusive approach to its overseas infrastructure projects. The BRI is a multi-billion-dollar initiative launched by Chinese president Xi Jinping when he came to power in 2013.

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Police body camera footage released Wednesday shows the moments following the fatal shooting of a 19-year-old Cottonwood Heights man in May. In the 11-minute released Wednesday, the officer rushes up to the scene of a man facedown on the ground, handcuffed. A half-dozen officers are shown recovering a gun from the waistband of Zane Anthony James, who was suspected in armed robberies of two Sandy grocery stores. Police then rip open James' jacket, exposing a gunshot wound to his left shoulder, and begin applying tourniquets. Blood can be seen on the left knee and right thigh of his pants, indicating he also was shot in the leg. As they render aid, several officers ask James for his name and urge him to "stay with us" and "just breathe." After they turn James over, he nods slightly when asked if he needs water. One officer asks, "How many shots did you fire?" "Three or four," another replies. James died of his injuries two days later. No was recorded of the officer, who was on his way to work, firing at James after police say he fled on a dirt bike and then on foot the morning of May 29. Cottonwood Heights Police Lt. Dan Bartlett revealed Wednesday one other officer was present at the time of the shooting. No additional information about what led up to the shooting was released. Officers were changing shifts at the time of the early morning shooting, and just one officer arrived with a camera at the scene in the neighborhood near 6675 S. 2200 East. Cottonwood Heights police turn in their cameras at the end of their shifts in order to charge them and upload footage, he said. "I wish we could plan for everything and be able to say we had a bulletproof plan. We don't. It's unfortunate it happened at this time in the morning," Bartlett said, when asked if the department was considering changing its protocol. Salt Lake District Attorney Sim Gill said Wednesday he had received the Salt Lake Police Department's investigation of the shooting. Gill declined to give a timeline on his review of the probe, saying he also is weighing whether to bring charges in other officer-involved shootings. The faces of those in the were blurred prior to its release. Bartlett said "we feel it's appropriate" to obscure James' face. Officers' identities also are concealed, said Sgt. Ryan Shosted, because "we want to give the district attorney the option to release the information as they deem most appropriate." Cottonwood Heights police said James earlier that morning robbed a pair of Sandy grocery stores: Smith's Food and Drug, 2039 E. 9400 South, and then a Macey's grocery store, 7850 S. 1300 East. Days earlier, "Officers had been chasing around a dirt bike that kept fleeing from them," Bartlett said. A Cottonwood Heights police officer who was on his way to work spotted the bike and turned on his lights, but James fled, continuing running on foot after wrecking his bike on a speed bump, Bartlett said. Sandy officers reported over radio that the bike matched a description of one driven by a suspect in the reported Sandy robberies, Bartlett said. He declined to say what led to the gunfire. The name of the officer who shot James has not been released. He is on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation, Bartlett said. Days before the shooting, two warrants were issued for James' arrest after he failed to appear in court. Last year, he was arrested in connection with a series of armed robberies in Cottonwood Heights, but two counts of aggravated robbery were dismissed. He pleaded guilty to drug possession in March 2017, but he failed to comply with conditions of his probation and was charged in a second drug case in February.

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To benefit oil drillers, the Department of the Interior is ignoring its legal mandate for sound fiscal and environmental stewardship of the public trust. By Shiva Polefka and Matt Lee-Ashley Anti-choice advocates are intentionally conflating abortion and contraception in a strategic effort to chip away at contraception access. By Osub Ahmed Congress' spending deal makes a number of important policy advances--although it shamefully leaves Dreamers behind. By the Center for American Progress The Trump administration's rhetorical support for reforming America's prisons is contradicted by its policies to incarcerate more people for longer periods of time. By Ed Chung Guest host Ed Chung and Igor chat with their guests about the rise of hate crimes in the United States since President Trump took office. By Igor Volsky, Sally Tucker, Rachel Rosen, and Ed Chung Six months since Hurricane Maria made landfall, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands face the same preventable public health crises and trauma that afflicted Gulf Coast communities after Katrina. By Rejane Frederick and Cristina Novoa California's Reproductive FACT Act ensures that women are informed about their reproductive health options; yet the anti-choice movement would prefer to keep them in the dark. By Anusha Ravi It is often difficult to figure out what to make of recent developments on North Korea and what the United States should do next; these one-pagers help you to understand the policy debate and where the United States should go from here. The Trump administration's ideas for America's national parks are fiscally dishonest and wholly insufficient. By Nicole Gentile and Jenny Rowland In practice, program-level accountability would make it impossible to track the performance of many students of color at colleges across the United States. By CJ Libassi This week, Michele and Igor sit down with Kevin Merida to discuss issues of sports and race. By Michele L. Jawando, Igor Volsky, Sally Tucker, Rachel Rosen, and Kyle Epstein At a time when our elections are being threatened by foreign interference, all levels of government have a role to play in improving election security. By Danielle Root, Liz Kennedy, Michael Sozan, and Jerry Parshall Education leaders should focus on how to make schools safe, welcoming environments for all students--including through discipline reform. By Scott Sargrad It's too little, too late for the disgraced college watchdog to get approval again for the schools it oversees to access federal financial aid. By Ben Miller and Antoinette Flores Education savings accounts are another attempt to divert public funding into a voucher-like program. By Sarah Shapiro and Neil Campbell

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On Dec. 26, 2015, two officers from the Chicago Police Department shot and killed two people while responding to a domestic disturbance call, says CNN. The incident involving a 19-year-old student and a 55-year-old mother of five occurred near West Garfield Park at the 4700 block of West Erie Street in Chicago. Since the Chicago Police Department is already under investigation, this shooting only added fuel to the fire. The call to the Chicago Police Department was made by Antonio LeGrier after he noticed his son, Quintonio, was a little agitated. LeGrier told The Chicago Sun-Times that he invited the young man to the family's holiday gathering, but Quintonio chose to stay in his room instead. When LeGrier returned home, he heard a banging sound on his son's bedroom door. His son said, "You're not going to scare me." Concerned, LeGrier called the police, then immediately called his tenant downstairs, Bettie Jones, and asked her to open the door for the police and to also warn her that his son was acting irate. Jones told LeGrier that his son was outside with a baseball bat. When the police arrived, LeGrier heard Jones yell, "Whoa, Whoa, Whoa!" By the time he landed on the third step from the second floor, he heard the gunshots. Hands up in the air, LeGrier identified himself to the officers as the boy's father. His son and Jones were lying in the foyer. His son was moving, but Jones was not. She had been shot in the neck. LeGrier said that he saw a white or Hispanic officer from the Chicago Police Department standing 30 feet from the bodies, yelling, "F--, no, no, no. I thought he was lunging at me with the baseball bat." LeGrier believed the dark-haired man knew he had made a mistake. After LeGrier spoke to the Independent Police Review Authority and two civil rights lawyers, Chicago Police Department officials told him that Quintonio had called 911 before his father had made his call. According to the boy's mother, Janet Cooksey, her son had been shot in the buttocks, indicating that he had been turned away from the officers when they fired. The medical examiner told her that Quintonio suffered seven gunshots. Jones' daughter, Latisha, said her mother was shot from outside the building shortly after she opened the door for the officers. The daughter was awakened by the sound of gunshots. By the time she reached her mother, she could not feel her breathing. The victim was described by her friends and neighbors as a loving mother of five and a well-respected figure in the community. One witness, Reverend Marshall Hatch, stood outside his New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church and watched the two officers from the Chicago Police Department walk from the house. The men were yawning in their car before they left the scene, Hatch claims. He saw it as a sign of contempt for the unfortunate dead and their surviving friends and family. Hatch was incredulous and called the officers idiots. "All the spotlight on them and they shoot up this place? These people are out of control," he said. Jones was an unfortunate casualty, claims the Chicago Police Department. After what happened earlier this year, when officers were charged with murdering teenager Laquan McDonald last year, this incident only added fuel to the fire. There is much scrutiny as to why the officers did not invoke less evasive options, such as a taser gun, when young LeGrier did not display murderous intent. Their so called "overreaction" was more than a mere mistake, Cooksey told officials. She demanded a personal apology from the mayor. Rahm Emanuel, mayor of Chicago, issued a statement following the double fatality, and again after an unrelated incident in which another man was wounded in a shooting later that same day. Emanuel said, "Anytime an officer uses force, the public deserves answers, and regardless of the circumstances, we all grieve anytime there is a loss of life in our city. With that in mind, I have been informed that the Independent Police Review Authority has opened investigations into each shooting and that all evidence will be shared with the Cook County State's Attorney's Office for additional review in the days ahead." Cook County Commissioner Richard Boykin says that this tragic incident demands answers. In his opinion, the careless shooting of Quintonio LeGrier and Bettie Jones in his district is a prime example of a broken system. He further believes that this damage requires more than mayoral platitudes and task forces to be rectified. The Chicago Police Department officers are under investigation. At this time, it is unknown as to why the police officers fired those shots, or what spurred such a violent reaction. According to The Chicago Reporter , the 11th district, where this incident took place, is one of the most violent and dangerous in Chicago. The combined murder rate for districts 15 and 11 equals 54 murders per one thousand residents, compared to the 51 recorded in nation-leading New Orleans. The Chicago Police Department explains that their employees are expected to analyze situations quickly and determine the best resolution. The majority of these actions are favorable and the results are satisfactory. Officers are always facing danger, and as a result, they experience high levels of stress. Additionally, when the public feels it has not been treated with respect, they have the option to file a complaint. Despite the high-octane fuel that has been added to the already blazing fire, the Chicago Police Department continues to serve and protect to the best of their ability. By Rowena Portch Edited By Cathy Milne Sources: CNN: 2 Killed in Latest Chicago Police Officer-Involved Shooting Washington Post: Chicago Police Kill Emotionally Disturbed College Student, 55-year-old Woman ABC News: 2 Killed in Chicago Police Shooting Identified Chicago Reporter: If Chicago's West and South Sides Were Their Own Cities Chicago Sun-Times: Father of 19-Year-Old Killed by Chicago Police Image Courtesy of Ingrid Richter's Flickr Page - Creative Commons License Chicago Police Department Add Fuel to the Fire added by Rowena Portch on December 30, 2015 View all posts by Rowena Portch -

On Dec. 26, 2015, two officers from the Chicago Police Department shot and killed two people while responding to a domestic disturbance call, says CNN.

Donald Trump is expected to visit London on July 13th, and to celebrate his visit, a few British activists crowdfunded a nearly 20 foot tall balloon of an orange baby Trump in a diaper with tiny hands holding a cellphone. It even has a bleached blonde windswept coif to really give the balloon that signature Trump look. The crowdfunding efforts haven't stopped yet though because the activists have bigger plans for "Baby Trump" than just one day of glory in London. In fact, they are attempting to raise extra funds to get that balloon on tour. The hope is that Baby Trump can go wherever the real Trump goes "haunting him, following him around."

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Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams"can't be racist ! Sure, it's a highly stylized, white-washed celebration of African colonialism, but--as the video's director so helpfully pointed out--it also had black people working in production! This video's best friends are black! Immediately following its release at the MTV VMAs, "Wildest Dreams" drew criticism for its romanticized depictions of colonial-era Africa. A highly glamorous Swift--looking like a cross between Elizabeth Taylor and Karen Blixen, Meryl Streep's character in Out of Africa --is romanced by her handsome co-star (Scott Eastwood) on an unnamed African savanna. The continent may include 54 countries and and various climates, but this is the version of Africa that the western world is most comfortable with--a lush and wild playland with, as I put it in my initial write-up, "nary a black person in sight." Ignoring history and the bizarre white-washing, "Wildest Dreams" is indeed both very romantic and engrossing. The appeal of an adventurous romance in a gorgeous setting with beautiful clothes, animals, and people is hard to deny. Then again, it's also hard to deny the style of plantation-owning Scarlett O'Hara or the Hugo Boss-donning Nazis . The formal era of colonization in Africa (beginning in the 1870s and ending in the 1980s) that Swift's video inadvertently celebrates was indeed a time of great style, freedom, and opportunity--just so long as you happened to be wealthy and of European descent. If you weren't--well, it was quite a different story. As James Kassaga Arinaitwe, a Global Health Corps fellow and public service worker from Uganda, and Viviane Rutabingwa, the Kenyan and Ugandan Global Health Corps alumni and founder of A Place for Books , write on NPR: Here are some facts for Swift and her team: Colonialism was neither romantic nor beautiful. It was exploitative and brutal . The legacy of colonialism still lives quite loudly to this day. Scholars have argued that poor economic performance, weak property rights and tribal tensions across the continent can be traced to colonial strategies . So can other woes. In a place full of devastation and lawlessness, diseases spread like wildfire, conflict breaks out and dictators grab power. As can be expected, "Wildest Dreams" director Joseph Kahn has hit back at accusations of white-washing, generalizing, and racism. Oh, well, in that case, never mind! If a black woman--and a super hot one, at that--worked on "Wildest Dreams" then there's no way that it can be tone-deaf, even if, as many have already pointed out, it happens to uphold some long-running, highly ignorant, and damaging traditions. Contact the author at madeleine@jezebel.com .

Taylor Swift's "Wildest Dreams"can't be racist ! Sure, it's a highly stylized, white-washed celebration of African colonialism, but--as the video's director so helpfully pointed out--it also had black people working in production!

M ore than at any other time in recent American history, the political class is obsessed with the poor and the working class. The fact that Donald Trump rode a white working-class wave to the Oval Office would be notable enough, but this political upheaval occurred just as the social-science data indicated that only half of the youngest cohort of Americans have done better economically than their parents, and -- at the same time -- that the death rate for white poor and working-class families is actually rising, with the rise driven in part by increases in suicides and drug overdoses. The sad scent of despair is in the air. Let's begin with a series of simple, indisputable facts. If a person finishes his education, gets married, and stays married, his chances of either becoming poor or staying poor are small. Drop out of school, and the poverty rate skyrockets. Have children out of wedlock and raise them in single-parent families, and the poverty rate skyrockets. There are no guarantees, of course. There are people who make bad choices yet still achieve good outcomes. There are people who do all the right things yet still struggle. But on the whole, a simple series of good choices can have an extraordinarily positive impact on a person's economic prospects. Moreover, each of these important life accomplishments is available on the most limited of budgets. Students have access to free public education through high school. State and federal grants and private scholarship programs can extend the free educations, sometimes even through college. As for marriage, millennia of human history teach that families can exist at any income level. Simple math teaches us that two incomes are better than one, and one household is cheaper than two. In other words, people can choose to do the culturally vital things that every serious social scientist knows will ease poverty and increase social mobility. Yet, on a mass scale, people choose poorly. They drop out of school and cheat on spouses and fiances. These choices take a heavy emotional toll, leading men and women to compound their difficulties through drug and alcohol abuse. They make terrible, destructive choice after terrible, destructive choice, and they not only suffer, they inflict immense suffering on their children and grandchildren. Yet whatever you do, don't call these choices immoral. Don't express or imply that the fate of the poor rests primarily in their own hands. To do so is "poverty-shaming." It's "elitist." During a recent discussion of poverty on the NPR program To the Point , a liberal panelist responded to my recitation of these facts of life by saying, "For me, when I hear that instability in families can lead to poverty, I hear that's some sort of moral failing on poor people. It feels like finger-pointing as to why people are poor." T he liberal argument is simple: that failing families are largely the consequence of income inequality and poverty, not their cause. And it's an argument that makes a certain degree of sense. Financial stress does place pressure on families. Yet the rate of single parenting -- even among poor and working-class populations -- was far lower during past economic shocks such as the Great Depression. Poverty may break up some families, but poverty by itself does not destroy families on the scale we see today. An intact family and good moral choices can't inoculate you against economic shocks such as the Great Depression or the Great Recession. There are economic tidal waves that can sweep aside even the most seaworthy boats. And even in times of prosperity, bad fortune can strike any family. But there is a vast difference between the often temporary poverty that results during widespread economic downturns and the persistent poverty that exists even during times of economic stability and growth. Thus, the answer to the liberal panelist is clear. Yes, there are moral failings that can and do lead to poverty. Yes, we can and should "point fingers" at specific and identifiable reasons for poverty and income inequality. At last, after decades of a failed cultural and political war on poverty that was premised on a fundamentally flawed view of human nature, it's time to tell the truth -- that presumptions of human virtue are simply wrong, and that we cannot regard any class of Americans as inherently virtuous, including the poor. People make bad choices, and bad choices often have terrible consequences. G. K. Chesterton famously responded to those who questioned the Christian doctrine of original sin by arguing that man's fallen nature was in fact "the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved." Prudent people spend their lifetimes building the habits and attitudes that guard against our inherent impulses toward expedience and self-gratification. "No one wants to be poor," poverty activists say. "Everyone wants to be successful." And that's true enough, but that's not the question. No one wants to be poor, but few kids want to do their homework. Lots of people want sex without responsibility. And when faced with the choice between the short-term escape of a drug or a drink and the long-term battle to face down stress or anxiety, huge numbers of people choose the chemical response. It's the lifetime accumulation of those small decisions (for yourself and for your children) that makes the big choice -- between success and failure, between poverty and comfort. A wise culture repeats this truth endlessly, and the well-meaning rich don't sugarcoat this reality for the struggling poor. A responsible politics understands that large numbers of people can and will choose short-term expedience over long-term discipline. Yet our culture is foolish and our politics irresponsible. L et's take, for example, the Social Security disability system and its relationship to welfare. Confronted with persistent poverty and staggering waste, the Clinton administration and congressional Republicans together passed far-reaching welfare reform -- implementing a program designed to get Americans off the federal dole and onto payrolls. Clinton boasted that he'd "end welfare as we know it," and in some ways he (with GOP help) made good on his pledge. Or did he? In a landmark 2013 report, NPR's This American Life laid out some disturbing facts. Yes, the number of families on federal welfare programs declined significantly after welfare reform, from a high of 5 million in 1994 to fewer than 2 million 15 years later. At the same time, the number of low-income people receiving federal disability payments rose by almost 50 percent, to almost 7 million. Between 1990 and 2011, the number of children receiving federal disability payments skyrocketed from 300,000 to more than 1.2 million. To quote Bloomberg's Brendan Greeley, "Where jobs vanish, disability insurance is the safety net." Talk to doctors who work with poor Americans in the so-called disability belt -- the stretch of America in Appalachia and the deep South that makes and collects on disproportionate numbers of disability claims -- and they'll tell you that it's the worst form of welfare possible. Why? It's simple. To collect disability, a person has to show that something is very wrong with him, mentally or physically. That means seeking and receiving treatment, often with narcotics and other powerful drugs. In 1961, only 8.3 percent of disability claimants were receiving payments for back pain or other musculoskeletal problems. By 2015, that number had soared to more than 30 percent. The percentage of payments for mental illness and "developmental disability" almost doubled in the same period. That means drugs. Lots of drugs. In rural Tennessee, in the center of the disability belt, local doctors speak ruefully of the long-term effects of "Xanatab," their term for the toxic combination of Lortab (for pain) and Xanax (for anxiety) that often leaves patients sick and disabled for an entirely different reason -- drug addiction. In other words, people are actively pursuing disability payments and using categories of ailments with highly subjective diagnoses to secure them. Fraud is rampant, doctor-shopping is common, and lawyers rake in piles of cash by taking disability cases in bulk. The diagnosis and compensation structures are so well known that claimants will often coach other claimants on how to describe their symptoms in a way calculated to receive payment. Real sicknesses are exaggerated, pain is magnified, and endurance and grit are discouraged. If you fight through your condition, you lose. Surrender, and you win. Perverse incentives abound. Y et the negative cultural effects of transfer payments and other welfare programs pale in comparison with a policy that's not often considered in debates about poverty. I'm speaking of the cultural cataclysm of no-fault divorce, perhaps the ultimate symbol of the nation's decision to shed traditional restraints in favor of the unsupported (and unsupportable) belief that human flourishing is either independent of or even limited by the nuclear family. Reformers worked assiduously to lift the cultural taboo against divorce and single parenting while also changing the legal system to render a marriage less legally binding than a refrigerator warranty. The result wasn't so much individual liberation and self-actualization as it was a form of social Darwinism in which those families and communities that retained old-school cultural norms largely thrived and those that abandoned traditional family norms stagnated, floundered, and began to fail. This is perhaps the most vital of the points made in Charles Murray's seminal work Coming Apart . He found that upper-middle-class families tended to practice the forms of traditional American family life regardless of their political ideology, while poor and working-class families were fractured, again regardless of their political ideology. Prosperous, liberal urban enclaves feature intact families and much lower rates of illegitimacy. To borrow Murray's formulation, they live red even as they vote blue. Conversely, many struggling working-class communities vote red and live blue. Rich and poor alike are susceptible to temptation and capable of making catastrophic choices. It is the wise man's recognition that he is vulnerable that leads to the first of the countless decisions that narrow and constrain his worst human impulses, both in himself and in his children. Exercise restraint and prudence long enough, and you can not only teach your children the same virtues, you can build firewalls and resources that help insure against the consequences of future mistakes. To see children of the rich modeling the better values of the community is heartening, but it is expected. But to see a kid triumph in spite of his family and in defiance of his social milieu is inspirational. Who can stand proudly beside the kid who worked his way out of poverty, who overcame the challenges of growing up in broken homes, though surrounded by the most negative of examples? Harvard's halls are full of wealthy young adults who simply don't know their core character. They don't know what they're truly made of. They've lived lives with the worst and most destructive choices taken off the table by parents and by local cultures that constantly press them toward discipline, restraint, and achievement. And it's a good thing, too. If they hadn't been constrained, then these same lives would be different indeed -- full of conflict, strife, infidelity, crime, and abuse. How do we know? Because that's how human beings tend to live in the absence of moral guidance and outside of healthy communities. The moral imperative to care for the poor is eternal. One can't read the words of Christ, the apostles, or the prophets without plainly seeing the divine command to care for the "least of these." But that same scripture's moral commands regarding honesty, fidelity, and sexual morality apply to rich and poor alike, and one is not being truly kind to the poor by exempting them from the commands that one applies without hesitation to one's own family and community. In this way, our moral squeamishness inhibits our culture and our politics from clearly sending a truthful message -- that moral obligations and cultural responsibilities are reciprocal. In other words, while our culture has a moral obligation to do what it can to care for the struggling children of single parents, young men and women have moral obligations to get married and stay married. They have moral obligations to exercise enough self-restraint not to have children out of wedlock, and our public policies and cultural messaging should repeat and reinforce those truths at every opportunity. Government can never be as powerful as a man or woman's personal choices. Any other message creates false hopes. Indeed, any other message is cruel. It helps trap generations in poverty, and it misleads those with resources to believe that their well-meaning programs help when they actually hurt. T he foundation of responsible policy toward the poor therefore must acknowledge that education and marriage are indispensable to economic advancement, and that politically popular initiatives to improve education while forsaking the now-controversial moral structures that built and sustained marriages are doomed to create and perpetuate a self-sustaining underclass. The impediment to change, however, won't be so much political as cultural. By the tens of millions, Americans have lost the ability to make a moral argument about sex and marriage. They simply can't bring themselves to "judge," and often their own behavior leaves them feeling hopelessly hypocritical. Even if one moves beyond the fraught topic of sex, moral squeamishness endures. Witness, for example, the hysterical reaction when writers such as National Review 's Kevin D. Williamson have suggested that struggling working-class families follow the time-tested practice of moving to find new jobs. The temptation to prove that one is sympathetic to the poor -- or somehow more in touch and less elitist -- by telling people what they want to hear is irresistible to conservatives and liberals alike. Millennia of human experience teach us there is no easy answer to poverty. Indeed, there is likely no final answer at all. Experience also teaches us that we harm poor Americans when we treat them as if their choices were beyond moral judgment. Anti-poverty policies and actions are doomed if their primary goal is to make a life of bad decisions more sustainable and comfortable. It has a chance to succeed if it presumes that poor Americans are just like everyone else -- flawed and prone to sin and short-sightedness. Rather than tell the lie of the "virtuous poor," let's grant our nation's struggling citizens the dignity they deserve. They are moral actors capable of making moral choices. Any other message sustains human misery. David French -- David French is a senior writer for National Review , a senior fellow at the National Review Institute, and a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. @DavidAFrench

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Don, this worries me: First, I heard during the winter that Schwan and cronies wanted to help our infamous developer by building his three-story monstrosity FOR him, with Carefree money, if he were to allow one of the Phoenix museums to take the lower space for $1. I believe this is the article, but not the whole truth. Now, here's a plan to allow the Desert Foothills Theatre the same benefit. Why is the Phoenix museum not interested?? On who's property may I ask is this and at what cost, hidden most likely, to the Town of Carefree? Is this the latest plan to allow Ed Lewis to financially benefit at town expense? These municipal clowns seem to be in his pocket and they are seriously trying to enrich him and themselves at the expense of all of the residents. Any way you look at this, in my humble opinion, this building approval, its underlying concept, and the manner in which it continues to try to be built, are all tragic to the town and its future. We need none of this! This ongoing saga is nothing more than a disgrace that needs the highest level of exposure, as only you can offer. Sign me a concerned prior resident of Carefree who still care about the dream. Graham Bousfield Email Unaccompanied minors (mostly from Central America) arriving on U.S. soil, are nothing short of a human catastrophe. This unfolding tragedy should not have happened at all. The flow of illegal minor children crossing the U.S. border is surging to an estimate of 90,000 by year-end 2014 from 7,000 three years ago. I blame President Obama for surreptitiously creating this cunning crisis. Turning to his political operatives, they ran an "innuendo campaign" in Central America. The message: unaccompanied minors coming to America could stay in the country. This is a way for President Obama to gain populous favor, and lay the crisis on the U.S. House of Representative Speaker, Boehner and Republican controlled House. As the President has said, if they had passed comprehensive immigration, and had done their job, we would not have this mess on our hands. Pointing the finger at the Republicans and their failure to address immigration, he now has to dawn his super cape to save the day. In addition to setting out Executive Orders, he plans to ask Congress for billions of dollars to build safe-haven facilities for the women and children illegally in the country, and offer them medical and social welfare assistance. Of course, additional U.S. border agents will be required to apprehend the illegals and to process bureaucratic paper work. I say the President of the United State is playing a dangerous political game at the expense of the U.S. taxpayer. Diana Torres Scottsdale Don, several years ago there was a big stink about the FAA changing flight patterns over Cave Creek. There was one guy who asked for donations to prevent the new flight patterns. He was to fly to Washington, etc. This guy stated that the flight patterns were right over my house. He said the noise was going to be unbearable. Well it never happened. Who was this guy and how much money did he make? Love your paper! Joe Cirincione Email What's with all the attacks on Glenn Beck? I think and believe that Glenn Beck has shown Americans can still be compassionate and feeling without committing treason, vacating ones political beliefs or violating the Constitution. Has a lack of compassion watered down our common sense? Do you agree that it is rare for you to agree with anyone 100 percent of the time? We who disagree with liberal policies and stand firmly against the loss of freedoms and against tyranny need to learn that all "internal differences" should not result in acrimony and divorce. To do so we weaken ourselves while battling for the "higher" ground and a political purity which does not exist. To do otherwise is a self damaging, losing proposition. The bottom line is that Glenn Beck is a better man and a better American than Barack Hussein Obama and anyone else in his administration will ever be. To be clear I am neither a big fan of nor do I stand in opposition to Glenn Beck, this is merely my opinion and I hope you will see the value in it. Tom Carbone Cave Creek In case you have not noticed, our southern border is being penetrated by Mexican military units on probing patrols. Probing for what purpose? It's simple: to find the weakest points through which the horde of civilians may illegally enter the USA. There are two reasons for the invasion: 1. The second source of revenue for Mexico, after petroleum, is the remesas, or remittances from "workers" illegally residing in the U.S. Among the Central American "children" swarming into our country are many Mexicans, ready to enter the welfare rolls in whatever state they choose. (In California, only two percent of so-called "agricultural workers" actually work in the fields. The rest live in garages or hovels, and collect welfare from the government, which they remit to their families in Mexico.) 2. Comrade Dear and Glorious Ruler, Hussein the Magnificent, hopes that the 14 to 18 year-old invaders will enter the Civilian Security Force he promised in 2009. This is nothing new. Hitler had his Hitler Jugend, Peron had his Juventud Peronista, the Castro brothers have the macheteros, and Stalin had his Komsomol, all of which were youthful paramilitary units. It is interesting that these Central American "children" are passing unmolested through Mexico. The usual treatment, kindly carried out by Mexican officials, is extortion, robbery, mayhem, rape and slavery. And that's only the beginning. Los Zetas and other narcoterrorist cartels induct the remaining youngsters into their ranks, or kill the ones who refuse. What I see here is a coordinated attempt by the man currently occupying the White House and the government of Mexico to destroy America as we knew it. We must be ready to stage "1776 - Part 2," or we will have to kiss our Republic goodbye. J-P. A. Maldonado Prescott Valley Here they go again A house divided will not stand. SAAR's (Scottsdale Association of Realtors) incompetent Board of Directors and CEO Rebecca Grossman have done it again. They are determined to split the membership down the middle by now endorsing candidates for council in city elections. The city council run of SAAR's former political guru, John Little, was aborted after taking them down to defeat in the Scottsdale city Bond Election. That mistake cost SAAR $120,000 (not including the $12,000 fine assessed by the city for improper/tardy filing), causing great consternation among its members. Yet SAAR officials continue to display their total incompetence by endorsing candidates for Scottsdale City Council who want to raise taxes and build more apartments up and down Scottsdale Road (that will give additional ammo to the pro light rail forces in the Scottsdale Chamber by increasing height, density and congestion) to the detriment of all who live in Scottsdale. Last I checked, Realtors cannot sell apartments. But obviously the folks running SAAR don't care about their members. Their only wish is to be political power brokers in Scottsdale. That's why these warped thinkers decided to relocate their headquarters' operation to north Scottsdale and sell their existing (free and clear) building ideally located in downtown Scottsdale only blocks from City Hall. This was done under the pretense every member of SAAR lives in north Scottsdale. There are Realtors living throughout Scottsdale who belong to Realtor Associations other than Scottsdale and SAAR members who live in Phoenix, Tempe etc. SAAR either has too much money in the coffers (in which case they should have lowered dues for members) or they are accommodating themselves and fellow buddies who live in the northern portions of Scottsdale (unfortunately I suspect the latter is the reason). Ask SAAR's CEO Grossman, a recent Virginia transplant and current north Scottsdale resident, if she could shed some light on what encouraging role she may have played in this move. As a side note, I suspect the majority of north Scottsdale residents are none too pleased with further encroachment of commercial office buildings into north Scottsdale. This once great philanthropic Realtor Association has reduced itself to nothing more than an embarrassment for its members. The question lost in the discussion that evidently doesn't arise in SAAR's boardroom is: "How will this decision benefit our members." These shameless individuals have some explaining to do to their membership. I would encourage all citizens and Realtors NOT to vote for any candidate or issue endorsed or recommended by SAAR's Board of Directors. SAAR Does Not Speak For ME! Tom Mason 2004 President SAAR Until such time that the U.S. government (i.e. Obama administration) does its job our southern border is as lost as Lois Lerner's emails. What's required is within the power and authority of our elected officials: build a fence, put boots on the ground, surveillance drones and sanction the Mexican government collaborators facilitating the surge of illegals crossing our border. Oh, and sent home the interlopers. Not Barry's proposed three billion dollar daycare budget. The war between the U.S. and Mexico ended in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. But not the border problems which, after 166 years, are as hot as ever. At the end of hostilities the Mexican government wanted assurances their border would be secure and that Americans would act responsibly in doing their part. Mexico refused to sign the agreement without Article #11 that guaranteed her border provinces were protected from Indian raids, thieves, smugglers and human trafficking. My, how things have changed. The Native American population has been subjugated and herded onto reservations, but there ends the promise of International border security. Where our government fails the Mexicans flaunt. Our chief executive has his priorities - during his visit to the great state of Texas he shows his true motives in ignoring the border crisis (no visit, he would be seen as owning the problem), but working tirelessly at fund raising in a continued effort to maintain Democrat power. Mr. O saw fit to trade five terrorists for one deserter, how about 100,000 illegal aliens for Sergeant Tahmooressi; no, handshaking and back-slapping are more important. Without control of the border the sovereign state is lost, national security lost and ultimately America is lost. He has to see this, but perhaps it's what he wants. And, don't think for a minute Islamic terrorists aren't taking note of the free-flow of traffic across our border. Randy Edwards Cave Creek Impact of WWI on the Middle East July 28, 2014 marks the one hundred year anniversary of the official start of WWI. A local newspaper reader asked me to write about WWI and the impact on the Middle East. The problem in doing this is complying with the typical 200 word limit of many newspapers, but I decided to do it anyway since I owed it to my wife's father, Alton Jones and her uncle William Howard Jones, both WWI Marines who fought in France and Belgium in Maj. Gen. Lejeune's Second Marine Division. They fought in many WWI battles, including Belleau Wood, the Verdun operations, Aisne-Marne Offensive, Meuse-Argonne Offensive, St. Mihiel Offensive and the Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge. William Howard received the French Croix de Guerre and the U.S. Silver Star for his service at Blanc Mont, France on October 3, 1918. The award stated "by lying down in middle of road using his automatic pistol so effective that he staid the enemy- counter attack until remainder of group could get in line." The Ottoman Turks, who were aligned with Germany and Austria during WWI, were defeated between 1915 and 1918 by the British and French and an Arab insurgency sparked by "Lawrence of Arabia". In 1919 Britain and France carved up the former Ottoman Empire into various Middle East Arab countries based on geographic parameters and did not take into consideration religious, sectarian or ethnic preferences of the local populations. The countries included Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. Additionally, Great Britain enacted the Balfour Declaration which promised a homeland in the Middle East for Jewish people, which came to fruition with the formation of Israel in 1948. The current warfare and volatility in the Middle East reflects a history spanning almost 1,500 years. The religious and sectarian conflicts have been going on in the Middle East since at least the Seventh century when the Prophet Muhammad died in 632. Some Muslims chose a close friend of Prophet Muhammad, Abu Bakr, to become Caliph, the leader of Islam, and they were titled Sunnis. Other Muslims chose to follow Ali, Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, and they were titled Shias, or Shiites. The borders established by Great Britain and France after WWI did not reflect the wishes of the Middle East inhabitants and only inflamed their deep rooted animosities based on religious/sectarian and ethnic loyalties. The current fighting in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine and Israel are a partial consequence of decisions made by European powers after WWI. Donald A. Moskowitz Londonderry, New Hampshire Perhaps Gov. Brewer to have big ones like Gov. Perry? I'm glad that someone of note is speaking out about Obama's obvious attempt to honor his late Communist father by taking down America. Obama is acting like a kid who has pulled off a prank and is now caught in a state of denial. Thank you, Gov. Perry for taking Obama to task for dereliction of duty in aiding and abetting the invasion of illegal aliens across our border with Mexico. This is not a matter of not wanting to be compassionate. This is a matter of national security and economic survival. Between Obama destroying our ability to produce cheap electricity, turning us into slaves of the insurance companies, funding the same terrorist groups that took down the World Trade Centers in 2001, releasing convicted illegal alien murderers and rapists, he is now exceeding the damage caused by Pres. Carter taking in Castro's prison inmates and people in mental institutions. Obama is bringing in carriers of infectious diseases and dispersing them via Greyhound buses across our nation. This is insane, and sadly most Democrats are in lock step with Obama on every issue. Although America's economic collapse is looming over our shoulders, can we at least not accelerate with Obama's open border policy. Welcome to the implementation of NAFTA! Sincerely, Joseph DuPont Towanda, Pennsylvnia Dear Mayor Long (Written to the mayor of Murrieta, California) I just wanted to send your community a vote of confidence and support during your ordeal with the busing of illegal immigrants. I'm not going to make political statements but please understand your community is not alone in its concern over this issue. I wish the very best for your community during this difficult time. Scott Haberman Cave Creek Illegal Immigration, how many will the boat hold? Two thousand, two hundred and twenty-three people desperately tried to escape from the sinking Titanic. One thousand, five hundred and seventeen perished, as they could not escape. Most of them could not escape because there were not enough lifeboats. There were boats for only eleven hundred and seventy-eight people. Sadly, the ship was not properly equipped with enough lifeboats. Who in their right mind would have preferred the sinking ship to a lifeboat? No one wanted a sinking ship. People who drowned desperately wanted a lifeboat. Escape was impossible because there was no place to escape. If I lived in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Central America or numerous other countries including Mexico I would be scratching and clawing to find a way out. Who wants to live in such places of violence and poverty? Millions are stuck and will never escape. Millions of people have found a place of safety and freedom in America. People keep coming and coming. Actually there will never be an end to the rush of people storming our borders for safety and freedom, as long there is a magnet to draw them here. Also the best of any lifeboats will sink. Even the Titanic sank. Do we sometimes think we are unsinkable? America is not unsinkable. I think too much of America sits around glued to social media eating ourselves into the grave while more and more people are coming into our boat. Some of them are hard workers and will do their jobs rowing and keeping the boat afloat. Others are climbing on board staring at us wondering what we are going to do to save them from drowning. There is room for more people in America, but, how much room do we have? We don't have room for more freeloaders. We don't need more liars filling out claims for social security disability and then working cash only jobs to keep their government check coming. We don't need more people on food stamps and Medicaid getting free food and medical rides at the expense of the working citizens. Unfortunately the boat is already crowded with Americans who have learned entitlements as a way of life. How many of these people can we take on before we sink? There is room for people who will fill out their paperwork and come into our country documented. We have room for hard workers who will pay their taxes, and keep America strong and secure. Those who cross our border illegally are illegal. They are not going to fight for America's freedom and values, serve in our military and keep America strong. They are lawbreakers and need to become legal. We have kept the American boat of safety and liberty floating for quite a while. Millions have come here and tremendously contributed. However, how many illegals will the boat hold before we sink? Glenn Mollette Columnist and author

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I have to be in a certain mood to read the book of Proverbs, which consists, primarily, of pithy -- yet wise, and true -- statements in couplet form. Part of me always thinks, "Most of these were written by Solomon, who, although he was the wisest man in all history, managed to make some really foolish marital, spiritual, and financial decisions." Who makes the clouds, and the rain, the sunlight, the wind, and the animals that graze in the grass? He's the One who knows it all. Lonesome Barn, original watercolor by Steve Henderson, sold. Licensed open edition print at Framed Canvas Art But that's the beauty of the Bible -- it never leaves us in the dark as to Who is all wise, all good, and all knowing, and the very foibles of a righteous man are a lesson in themselves: "Stop trusting in man, who has but a breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he?" (Isaiah 2:22) Good, But Not Perfect Solomon, David, Joseph, Daniel, Moses, Abraham, Elijah, Peter, John, Paul -- these were all good, righteous men whose words and actions were used by God, but we are never permitted the illusion that they aspired to be, or even could ever manage to be, equal to God themselves. God graciously shows us their imperfections, and if we stopped being so hard on ourselves, we would realize that this same grace extends to us: we will make mistakes -- phenomenally dumb ones -- we will err, we will sin, we will fall -- but into the arms of a perfect, merciful, loving God. Speaking of that perfect, merciful, loving God, Proverbs 30 is not written by Solomon by by Agur, son of Jakeh of Massa, which the helpful notes in my Bible associate -- through the place name Massa -- with the Ishmaelite people. In other words, not only is Agur not Solomon, he is highly likely also not an offspring of Isaac, but of the "other" son. God's Wisdom Is Everywhere By the standards that too many of us Christians easily fall into, we can easily misconceive that what Agur has to say is of little value, because -- so we reason -- he's not a Child of the Promise, and thereby can have no wisdom. (Admit it: have you ever thought, or said, "He's not a Christian, so he can't speak truth, not real truth"?) But . . . Agur's words are in Proverbs, which gives them the weight of Scripture. So what does Agur say? "I am the most ignorant of men; I do not have a man's understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One." (Proverbs 30:1-3) So far, Agur is playing right into our traditional, yet misdirected belief, in that, as a "heathen," he rightfully admits that he knows nothing of God. How could he, we insist, given that he is not of God's chosen people? Humility Instead of Pride But in the next few lines, Agur shows that, not only does he know much of God, he knows more than those of us who believe ourselves chosen (whether we're Old Testament Jews or New Testament Christians) -- do, because his humility in admitting that he doesn't know everything about the One who IS everything -- is something we Christians frequently lack: God, who gave strength to the horse, knows and understands all things. He is our teacher. Three horses, original oil painting by Steve Henderson "Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Who has gathered up the wind in the hollow of his hands? Who has wrapped up the waters in his cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and the name of his son? Tell me if you know!" (Proverbs 30:4) These words effectively echo God's in His conversation (monologue, actually) with Job in chapters 38-41, in which God puts forth all sorts of rhetorical questions of one who -- like all of us humans -- doubted the wisdom of God's actions. It soon becomes very obvious that, 1) We don't know when the mountain goats give birth (39:1) 2) We didn't give the horse his strength (39:19) 3) The eagle does not soar at our command (39:27) 4) We can't trap the behemoth and pierce his nose (40:24) and on, and on, and on, until we can only answer, like Job, "I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted . . . surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know." (42:3) Those Willing to Be Taught, Learn This is effectively what Agur, the Ishmaelite who fully admits his ignorance in front of the One who has established all the ends of the earth, is saying, and we would be wise to follow his example. As Christians, we too easily stumble into the trap of believing that 1) We shouldn't ever sin, fall, doubt, or snap impatiently at someone 2) We should understand all Scripture 3) We should have answers to every question, because, after all, if the Holy Spirit lives in us, we must show evidence of that spiritual life, mustn't we? But as the apostle Paul reminds us in 2 Corinthians 4:7, "We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." And despite having this treasure, "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body." (8-10) It is easy to misconstrue that we are good and knowledgeable and sinless and perfect when we are not: we belong to the One Who is. And He Who is is continually working upon us doesn't get it all done at one time -- our moment of conversion, say -- but rather, "will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) It's much easier for Him to work on us when we are humble, meek, aware of our shortcomings and not in denial that they exist. As Christians, we don't know everything, but unfortunately we feel the obligation to do so. Let us learn from Agur, a wise man of God, who starts from this premise of humility: "I am the most ignorant of men . . . I have not learned wisdom, nor do I have knowledge of the Holy One." Only a truly wise man can make an admission like that. Thank You Thank you for joining me at Commonsense Christianity where I encourage you to search, diligently, for grace. You cannot err in this, because when you search for God's mercy, you do so because you realize that you need it so much. Posts similar to this one are The Misfit Christian (this is my book for truth seekers who feel as if they don't fit into the group. You're not supposed to fit into a group -- you're a member of the family of God. That's not a group. It's a family.) A good lie is 95 percent true -- that's what makes it good. After all, if it's too obviously false, like, The first lie, which remains a very good, believable one, still fools us today. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden by Wenzel Peter. "Negative thoughts have a magnetic force that causes them to glow and pulsate. Attracted by the light, people gravitate toward the thoughts, physically run into them, and get migraine headaches," then people rightly say, Bosh. "Negative thoughts are bad, and when you think or express them, you will frequently experience the very thing you're afraid of." Have you heard that one, or a variation of it, before? And do you believe it? "Don't Say It!" I ran into a woman the other day who does. We were part of a conversation in which a very brave person expressed, honestly, buck naked feelings, along the lines of, "I am depressed, sad, and discouraged. We have prayed a long time for relief, but nothing happens, and sometimes I wonder if God hears us." "Oh, He doesn't, when you feel like that!" she chirped. "When you don't have enough faith, He is not obligated to answer your prayers." This singularly uncomforting, and distinctly misguided, sentence sounds as if it could be true, because we've all been around gloomy, depressing, battery drainers who never think things will ever turn out right, and they generally don't (quite frankly, these drainers wouldn't recognize a good result if it slapped them in the face), but like that good lie, it incorporates enough truth to fool, and enough lie to damage. Prosperity Babble Thanks to multiple generations of prosperity preachers, advocating a dogma of Speaking Truth into Existence, we attribute a power to words that belongs to God alone: "God created the world through His words!" advocates proclaim, claim, declare, and aver. "So also can we." This clever, and effective, rephrasing of one of the oldest lies, told by a master in Genesis 3:4: "'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman, 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil,'" fools many, even mature Christians. While seasoned believers readily identify, recognize, and refute the words of people who sell books promising others that they can get rich if they only speak the right words, the lie runs deep, and its insidious tentacles have reached, subtly yet firmly, into the sanctuaries of too many churches, and into the minds of too many Christians who would have no problem telling an obvious prosperity preacher to click off. He Doesn't Reject Us "If you express doubt in God's ability," they muse, "then maybe He does turn His back on us." Fortunately, for Peter in his one and only recorded attempt to walk on water, "Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. 'You of little faith,' he said, 'why did you doubt?'" (Matthew 14:31) While we may not walk on water, we do walk with God -- in prayer, in hope, in faith, and in expressing our lack of faith. Catching the Breeze, original oil painting by Steve Henderson, sold. Licensed prints at Great Big Canvas, Vision Art Galleries, iCanvasART, and Framed Canvas Art. Another time, Jesus calmed the storm when the disciples begged him to save them, because they feared they were about to drown: "He replied, 'You of little faith, why are you so afraid?' Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm." (Matthew 8:26) My favorite involves the father of the demon possessed boy, who in Mark 9:22 blurts out, '"But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.' '"If you can?' said Jesus. 'Everything is possible for him who believes.'" Over, and over, and over again Jesus points out a lack of faith, but never rejects the person expressing it. And, most importantly, the words of the people asking for His help -- whether they are full of faith or full of doubt -- do. not. cause. the. miracle. Jesus alone manifests the miracle, at His desire, and His overwhelming attitude toward humble, hurting, hapless sheep is one of compassion and care. No Fear Why then are we so afraid to express our very deepest thoughts to Him? Because, on a regular basis, when we express just the tip of those thoughts to human beings, we are rebuked for our lack of faith, as if our inadequacy, or adequacy, in this area locks or unlocks God's power. "God is offended by our lack of faith," we're told. But is He? "For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgement of God rather than burnt offerings," God says in Hosea 6:6, giving the idea that it's more of who we are, as opposed to what we do -- or speak -- that matters. "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise," Psalm 51:17 says. I don't know if you've ever had a broken spirit, but I can assure you that, when you do, your overall emotional state of being is not positive. "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may life you up in due time," 1 Peter 5:6 advises. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Part of casting your anxiety on God is expressing to Him what it involves, and describing your fears, hurts, and sorrows -- in prayer -- will involve a certain degree of what we call negativity. God is not offended, nor surprised, by the deep, roiling, dark, panicky, distressed thoughts that surge through us as we struggle through each day's challenges. Sometimes, when the water is pouring into the boat, and it looks like we will drown, Jesus appears to be asleep. If He did not condemn the disciples when they shouted, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" (Mark 4:8), why do we think He will reject us when we say, "God. I'm tired. I'm discouraged. And I don't possibly see how you can get me out of this situation"? If you're at the point that you no longer want to express your hurt in front of people, because they scold you so much, then by all means, don't. But never stop expressing your deepest, most fragile thoughts, to God. Thank You Posts similar to this one are "Why won't you attend Bible study?" a man asked me once. "Do you hate studying the Bible?" Anytime you seek to free yourself from rules that the majority of people follow, you'll be told that you're different, dissident, and difficult. Well, go ahead -- would you rather be free, or compliant? Spirit of the Canyon, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed open edition print at Great Big Canvas, iCanvasART, and Framed Canvas Art. Seriously, when you get a question framed like that, it's best to just talk about the weather. The person asking will never understand the answer, because their eyes are closed. Bible study, which really means nothing more than reading the Bible, is another one of those activities that has been appropriated, and defined, by the establishment church, so that too many people, when they hear the words, think this: The Pattern 1) A group gets together -- at home or in church -- and sits in a circle. 2) A leader "facilitates," which means that he speaks, everyone else listens, and a limited -- very limited -- amount of discussion is allowed. 3) Generally, a book other than the Bible accompanies the study as commentary, teaching, support, and instruction. 4) If there is no attendant book, the leader's voice is the final one on the meaning of the passage. But Bible Study, in its pure form, means just that: you, the Christian, read the Bible, as slowly or as quickly as you wish. You choose the book within the Bible that you want to read, and you can skip. It's remarkably freeing, and to make it more so, I encourage you to dispel three common, but errant, myths about reading the Bible: You Need Help Myth #1 -- You can't do this on your own. The idea that only certain people -- pastors, elders, deacons, pastors' wives, missionaries, Celebrity Christians, televangelists, speakers, or book authors approved by the secularly-owned "Christian" publishing houses -- are qualified to teach spiritual truths is a lie that just won't die, because we keep feeding it. "What if you get something wrong?!" others ask in horror when you mention that you read the Bible by yourself, relying upon the Holy Spirit as your guide. What is so frightening about being on our own? Sometimes, we should close our eyes, let our minds rest, and feel the sun -- and the Son -- embracing us. Enchanted, original oil painting by Steve Henderson; licensed open edition print at Great Big Canvas, iCanvasART, and Framed Canvas Art. As a practical answer to that question, I encourage you to wander -- very briefly -- through the Christian section of a bookstore and ask yourself, "Is ALL of this stuff spiritually accurate?" Since the obvious answer is no, you are then led to the very real possibility that some of the authors, pushing their products, "are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women (Paul's words, not mine) , who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth." (2 Timothy 3:6-7) And, how do you spot these people? Well, let's close the circle: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 43: 16). In other words, the better you know what's in the Bible yourself, the more adept you will be at spotting the misuse of it by others. Stay in One Place Myth #2: Don't move on from one verse until you fully understand its meaning. While this sounds logical, it's pretty much a recipe for frustration, especially when you run into a verse like Deuteronomy 20:16: "However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes." This includes women and children, which is a fairly bothersome concept for many of us. If you can't move on until you understand this, then you're stuck on Deuteronomy 20:16, that is, if you didn't get stopped at Genesis 22 in which Abraham was instructed to sacrifice his son Isaac. We've all heard various interpretations of why we shouldn't worry too much about this incident, but never any adequate answer to, "But what about Isaac? What lasting effect did this event have upon his relationship with his earthly father, Abraham, and his heavenly father, God?" There is a temptation to accept a less than acceptable answer, simply so that one can move on, as opposed to saying, "Whoa, God. This is a difficult verse, and I don't see how it can be in line with your grace, mercy, and love. But I know that You are true, and there is an acceptable explanation. Please, in your timing, show it to me. Until then, I rest in knowing that you are all good." While the average atheist will call this a cop-out, when it comes to God, we either accept that He is all good, or not. We also accept that He is all knowing, and that sometimes we simply don't comprehend what He's talking about. The various end times prophecies in Daniel, Matthew, and Revelation come to mind, and when we insist upon a proper answer at the proper time, we're in danger of accepting pat answers by . . . well, Celebrity Christians who make money off of telling us these things. You? With an Original Thought? Myth #3: Don't even imagine that you could come up with an interpretation that no one has yet had. Speaking of Celebrity Christians, I gleaned this piece of wisdom out of a book concerning how to study the Bible, by a Celebrity Christian who teaches others what the Bible says. For some reason, although her interpretations are adequate and suitable to be placed in a workbook, yours, and mine, are not. "I am the Lord your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go," Isaiah 48: 17 tells us. Now while God can, indeed, use commentaries, and videos, and Scripture notes, human teachers, and outside resources to teach us what is in His word, He also teaches without those resources. You'll never know how much you can learn, however, until you take the training wheels off and let Him give you a little push. I assure you that He will show you something that -- while some human being, at some time, in some place, has maybe learned before -- will definitely NOT be in line with much of what you are taught in an establishment church setting. Our Celebrity Christian author would have you reject this, and accept -- passively -- what you are told by others. Christians, let's quit being so compliant, tacit, obedient, and accepting of everything we are told, and the first and foremost step toward that is reading the Bible -- by ourselves. In many places, this very act is illegal, which should spark the question: "Why?" Thank You Thank you for joining me at Commonsense Christianity, where I don't hate Bible study -- I just avoid, at all costs, church establishment small group meetings that purport to be the same thing. Posts similar to this one are

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Last week was a pretty normal week before it took that turn it took. Birds sang, dogs barked, children rolled their hoops down this or that cul-de-sac, horses dragged their carriages. Clip clop, clip clop. And now what? It's still the beginning of everything. It could all still go horribly wrong or horribly right. Maybe a baby will be born who saves us all, or at least two-thirds of us. Wouldn't that be nice? Yes, it would be nice. As a wise old poet once said, "If the sun goes out / at least / there are other suns." It probably sounded more reassuring in the original German. Best to listen to these poets instead:

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Jul 5 @Yehudit , I understand your position on trophy hunting, but suggest that it is not always "killing for fun". In this case, the older stronger giraffe was a danger to his herd and genetic diversity needed for a healthy population. And the meat was harvested and used as food. This hunter was directed to this animal because those concerned with conservation of the local wildlife found him to be a liability to the rest of his herd and their conservation efforts. It is hard for people to understand who have never seen animals fight to the death, but this is brutal, and as I said, the defeated animal usually does not just die at the time. The injuries he suffers make him lose the battle, but he may linger, in pain, till his weakness makes him prey to animals who do not kill humanely and do not hesitate to start eating him while he is still alive. I think it calls for an assumption to say that the hunter did what she did out of vanity, though there is nothing wrong with doing a job well. Stalking a wild animal successfully and killing it cleanly IS something to be proud of, calling for skill developed by a lot of dedicated practice, and if the killing is done to achieve a desirable purpose I don't see anything wrong with recording it. There are a lot of awful hunters out there, but they are scorned by ethical hunters, and I don't see anything in the story about this hunter that indicates she deserves scorn. What I do find offensive is the attitude that when some people find something offensive they are justified in forming mobs, attacking people, insulting them, even threatening them. Unethical hunters are a threat to a few animals, while accepting mob "justice" threatens our way of life.

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I didn't know what to expect as I sat at the Ford Foundation last Thursday awaiting the opening remarks of EA's "Full Spectrum" event, a one-day set of panels and talks on LGBTQ issues in games. The possibilities were wide, especially since the crowd was smaller, and the venue more intimate, than I had thought it would be. Were we going to hash out ideas as a group, or were the various guests there to give us the company line? My inner critic began to think: "Somebody fronted this money for a reason." I was keeping my expectations balanced on a careful line between optimism and cynicism. In the end, I think the event walked that very same line. First off, I do think the event was worth my time to go. I am glad EA did it, and I believe the long-term worth of events like Full Spectrum will be measured by their follow-through, rather than just the event itself. Full Spectrum wasn't perfect but it's a start. Much depends on the company continuing to put resources behind the event's takeaways. In terms of event planning and construction, though, EA needs to address if (when) their initiative moves forward. Much has been made of the "invite only" nature of this event. On one hand, I think the perception of how difficult it was to secure an invitation exceeded the reality (I got my invite with relatively little effort); on the other hand, an invite-only event sets an exclusionary tone by its very nature, that worked against the atmosphere EA was likely hoping to create. I'd also like to note that of the "LGBT" acronym, the L and the G got more representation than the B, the T, or the rest of the wide range of queer identities that make up--if you'll forgive the pun--the "full spectrum." I don't think EA made an effort to actively exclude people who identify thusly, but more energy spent on including them would have helped. Finally, the makeup of the panels skewed quite hard toward white men. Yet some of the highlights of the day, for me, were Gordon Bellamy's discussion of how ethnicity impacted his experiences as a gay game designer, and Brendon Ayanbadejo's discussion of his multiethnic heritage directly influenced his desire to be a straight ally/advocate. Including more of these narratives seems critical, to me. Queer identity isn't limited to sexual orientation or gender identity--it intersects with every aspect of our lives. The event began with Craig Hagen talking about how the inclusion of gay planet Makeb in Star Wars: the Old Republic was a mixed bag for EA. That whole affair did seem like a no-win scenario, to me--same-sex romances weren't included from the beginning, so any attempt to "fix" the issue would be imperfect. Hagen discussed how even the best of intentions can go awry, how EA attracted heat from both ignorant homophobes and indignant queer players alike. He spoke of it as a learning experience and a chance to improve, which I admit gave me high hopes for the day to come. Some of these hopes were fulfilled, but not all. Full Spectrum's speakers were at their strongest when considering the impact of allies and their actions on producing a diverse gaming community. I was pleased to hear people like Kixeye's Caryl Shaw emphasize that the "report button" is a flawed answer to the problem of toxic communities. A major theme of Brendon Ayanbadejo's speech being that straight allies--especially straight allies with lots of social capital to spend--need to speak up for change to happen, also pleased me. Discussion of how contexts and cultures contribute to the persistence of hate speech--and our need to address those issues at the cultural level--came up not only from panelists but also in questions from the audience. Perhaps this is self-indulgent, but I feel as if we've covered the ground that queer people can do to improve our lot, extensively. More representation in the industry, more community solidarity, more LGBTQ creators getting their games into the market--these are all steps we can and should take, but we know that. The actions of allies, however, those individuals who don't identify as queer but have an investment in the well-being of queer peoples, don't always get the same scrutiny. Any event that foregrounds the necessity of ally actions in creating safe spaces is worth the time and effort. But somewhat sadly, as the day wound down I found myself becoming more disillusioned with panel responses. The second half of the event was to be devoted to the industry's responsibility and culpability, but despite a few comments I agreed with wholeheartedly (like Lucas Pattan's noting that we increasingly whitewash and masculinize our definition of "queer" to be primarily white gay men) in general I found the afternoon panel skirted the issue of what the industry not just can do, but must do. The question on my mind--one I wish I'd had the chance to pose to the panelists--was how to navigate the looming quandary of morality versus economic imperative (this being one of my major concerns going into the event, as I noted earlier). How do we motivate change in the industry even in cases-- especially in cases--where there is little or no economic imperative to do so? In keeping with my feelings about the event, I got the impression that EA rides both sides of that line carefully. I genuinely believe that they have an interest in doing the right thing regardless, but there were also panel responses that argued doing the right thing was consonant with economics, as well. Are these mutually exclusive? I doubt it. I think it is both true that EA has an interest in promoting diversity in the industry and in game content, and that their desire to do so transcends economics (to some extent). But I also believe that without an economic good, a focus on inclusivity becomes increasingly difficult to explain to those people who don't see it as a moral good worth the time. This is why events like EA Full Spectrum become necessary, in the end. EA is a not only a big name in the industry, but they're also a recognized leader in providing benefits to queer employees and in representing LGBTQ characters in the triple-A space. Their decision to devote money and time to this sort of event does send a message to other companies. But making the point once isn't sufficient, and there is still considerable room for growth and improvement despite the steps they've taken. If EA wants to position itself as an ally organization, they must keep this momentum and continue to improve representation of the entire spectrum of queer experiences, setting a standard others can follow. Todd Harper is a researcher at the MIT Game Lab (http://gamelab.mit.edu) who studies both e-sports and competitive communities and LGBTQ issues and representation in games. He blogs infrequently at his website Stay Classy and tweets far too frequently as @laevantine .

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In her essay " Where Have All the Good Men Gone? ," Kay Hymowitz posits that we now live in the age of "pre-adulthood men." These are guys who aren't adolescents but are not yet men. Hymowitz: "Today, most men in their 20s hang out in a novel sort of limbo, a hybrid state of semi-hormonal adolescence and responsible self-reliance. This 'pre-adulthood' has much to recommend it, especially for the college-educated. But it's time to state what has become obvious to legions of frustrated young women: It doesn't bring out the best in men." Hymowitz blames an economy that requires more years of schooling, thus preventing maturity, and condemns the usual suspects: video games, fart jokes, Animal House . Two thoughts: 1. Fart jokes aren't the problem. 2. Women are just as bad. "The modern world is full of the old Christian virtues gone mad," G. K. Chesterton once wrote. "The virtues have gone mad because they have been isolated from each other and are wandering alone. Thus some scientists care for truth; and their truth is pitiless. Thus some humanitarians only care for pity; and their pity (I am sorry to say) is often untruthful." I believe the problem with the "pre-adulthood" phenomenon is that young men are no longer raised to be renaissance men. In a world that is increasingly secular and illiterate, they are taught to find their niche, hit it hard, and not worry about anything else. Thus, you have Big Bang Theory nerds who cannot name a single contemporary jazz artist; sports junkies who don't know who John Paul II was; Bible thumpers who don't own a single Beatles record; politicians who have never read a novel. These days no one tries to take on anything different for the simple pleasure of trying to improve themselves. They don't stretch themselves. This is why it gets tiresome when conservative critics keep circling back to the same scapegoats: Adam Sandler, Hollywood, toilet humor. They act as if these things are bad in and of themselves, when the problem is that they are not balanced out with anything more noble. I mean, Chaucer made fart jokes in The Canterbury Tales . But there were some other ideas in there as well. Also-and this is crucial-there was once a time when men kept ribald humor to their circle of male peers. There was just certain stuff you didn't talk about in front of women. With the sexual revolution, those zones of healthy segregation began to collapse. These days the problem isn't as much pre-adulthood males as it is uncultured people-including women. When I was in high school at Georgetown Prep, a Jesuit school that prided itself on producing men who could both lay down a block and conjugate Latin, we had a term for well-rounded women: "cool chicks." Yeah, she's a cool chick. A cool chick would go to a baseball game with you, maybe liked a cool band, and also had a favorite museum and novel. They were cool because they weren't just one thing-the Lena Dunham hipster, the scholarship-obsessed athlete, the Ally Sheedy Breakfast Club basket case. Do cool chicks exist anymore? Is there a Dianne Keaton of this generation? My high school reunion is this year. Georgetown Prep is an all boys school, and there will be drinking, sports, conversations about family and movies and books and politics. Oh, and maybe even a fart joke. But it won't dominate the proceedings. Editor's note: This piece is part of a symposium in which a variety of writers and thinkers weigh in on the question: "Can men be men again?" See earlier takes by Emily Esfahani Smith , Ryan Duffy , Mark Tapson , R. J. Moeller , Ben Domenech , a second post by Emily Esfahani Smith , Abby Schachter , and Anthony Dent . All of the posts are compiled here .

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Live coverage of Barack Obama's second inauguration as US president Published 11:00 PM, January 21, 2013 Updated 11:00 PM, January 21, 2013 WASHINGTON, United States - Excited crowds poured into downtown Washington on Monday for Barack Obama 's second inauguration as US president, anchored on a call for America to unite despite ugly political divides. Barack Hussein Obama will raise his right hand and place his left on Bibles once owned by Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln and swear the oath of office before mustering for four years threatened by strife at home and abroad. The 44th US president, and the first African American to hold the office, launched his second term with a private swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, before basking in the full pomp of his office with public celebrations Monday. Obama will set the rhetorical tone for the remainder of his presidency with an inaugural address to a crowd expected to reach half a million, will headline a parade and then waltz with the first lady at glittering inaugural balls. Watch Obama's second Presidential inauguration here (live stream starts at 11pm MNL time), courtesy of the PBS NewsHour: Tune in to our live blog below. Or click through to our 57th US Presidential Inauguration Live Blog .

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Scher began by noting that a few influential Trump critics in the conservative movement have left the Republican Party in the Trump era, and a few are even rooting for a Democratic takeover of one or both chambers of Congress in November. This is, in his estimation, a half-measure unequal to the gravity of the moment and generally not in this group's interests. There is no country for a homeless pundit. They will need a tribe if they are to be effective and, ultimately, protected. Outside the tent, Scher claims, the Democratic Party will continue to move left and become even more unappealing to those on the right. The party can serve as a haven for conservative refugees, he insists, if they'd only just throw off their partisan blinders. Ideologically diverse, accommodating, and conciliatory, Scher insists that Democrats maintain the last true big tent. "[I]f you are primarily horrified at how Trump is undermining the existing international political and economic order--hugging Russia, lauding strongmen, sparking protectionist trade wars--then becoming a Democrat is your best option," he wrote. This isn't just a terrible misunderstanding of what animates Trump's conservative critics; it is a misguided and ultimately deceptive misrepresentation of the modern Democratic Party. Scher makes the point repeatedly that the Trump-skeptical conservative movement has utterly lost the debate and the GOP with it. In 2016, most of the party's voters rejected the doctrinal conservatism to which they cling. What else is new? The Republican Party has not always been a conservative party. Conservatives waged a 20-year struggle to displace the progressive ethos that typified the GOP from T.R. to Eisenhower. Preserving the GOP's ideological predisposition toward conservatism is a constant struggle, but it is one that conservative opinion makers relish. Trump's critics in the conservative movement abandoned him not just because of his temperamental defects, but because of his progressive impulses . The president's skepticism toward free trade, his conciliatory posture toward hostile regimes abroad, his Keynesian instincts, his apathy toward budget deficits, and his general amenability toward heedless populism are traits that traditionally appeal to and are exhibited by Democrats . Why would conservatives join that which they are rebelling against? Scher's contention that the Trump-skeptics in conservative ranks would have more influence over the Democratic Party than the GOP is bizarre. The anti-Trump right is far too small a contingent to have any impact on the evolutionary trajectory of the Democratic Party, even if they were to abandon the principles that led them into the wilderness in the first place. They do, however, enjoy influence over American politics wildly disproportionate relative to their numerical strength. Trump-skeptical conservatives are ubiquitous features on cable news. Their magazines and websites are enjoying a renaissance . They haunt their comrades who have made their peace with Trumpism. Most critically, they represent the strain of conservatism to which the majority of the Republican Party's congressmen and women are loyal because it was that brand of conservatism that led them into politics in the first place. The worst-kept secret of the Trump era is that this president receives his highest marks when he's doing conventionally conservative things. When the president behaves as he promised to on the campaign trail, Republicans rebel and often rein in his worst impulses . It's not much, but it is a sign that a partial restoration of the status quo ante is not unthinkable. Scher frequently cites exceptions within the Democratic firmament as though they do not illustrate the rule. He claims that the Democratic Party is not "a rotten cauldron of crass identity politics, recreational abortion, and government run amok." As evidence, he cites the fact that a handful of pro-life Democrats have managed to resist the party's purge of that formerly-common view, but that is an admission of heterodoxy. The Democratic Party's fealty to divisive identity politics is hardly a figment of conservative imaginations. From Salon.com to the New York Times opinion page, many on the left, too, have soured on the party's attachment to racial and demographic hierarchies. And as for the party's reputation for profligacy, Democrats can renounce the works of the 111th Congress --the last time the party had total control of Washington--whenever they muster up the gumption. Scher believes it is inconsistent for conservatives to support a Democratic takeover of one or more legislative chambers and not support the Democratic agenda, but there is nothing inconsistent about it. Conservatives who think the GOP-led Congress has proven an insufficient check on the GOP-led executive are placing a vote of confidence in the Constitution, not the progressive agenda. If the cohort formerly dubbed #NeverTrump conservatives believe Democrats would be a better governing party than the GOP, they should certainly register Democratic at the nearest opportunity. If they believe that, though, they're not #NeverTrump conservatives at all. They're just #NeverTrump. Conservatives are no strangers to being torn between their principle and their influence. Conservative opinion makers have been compelled to choose between proximity to power and their core values before. Those who chose temporary isolation in order to shield conservative beliefs from being disfigured by those who do not cherish them might not enjoy the gratitude they've earned. But they left behind a markedly more conservative country than the one they were born into. The lessons of recent history are clear: Those who are content to sacrifice their principles for access and influence preserve neither in the long run. When Acosta descended from the podium on which he broadcasts, he calmly approached his abusers and invited them to speak --most of them happily accepted. This isn't the first time that Acosta has served as the object of a mob's derision, only for their ire to transform into celebrity-worship when the cameras go off. No one should minimize the potential for savagery here; it would not be the first time that the president has incited his followers to acts of violence , and the media figures and outlets Trump singles out endure harassment and credible threats from the president's most unhinged fans. But there is a performative aspect to the Two Minutes Hate directed toward Acosta. He serves as their foil, the heel who absorbs the crowd's fury in the ring only to sign autographs for his hecklers backstage. And there's some evidence that Acosta relishes that role . That doesn't excuse any of this behavior. Indeed, it makes it worse. In his conduct as America's chief executive, Donald Trump has inflamed and aggravated tensions to serve his own narrow ends. That objective is so transparent, though, that most who participate in this performance must do so knowing it is a farce. In willingly suffocating their better angels with a pillow, Trump and his allies may be radicalizing the truly unhinged who cannot see through the act. Perhaps more depressing, the Trumpified Republican Party is acclimating itself to behaviors and policies that would have been considered unspeakably callous not all that long ago. In that speech before a group of veterans last week, Trump implied that media reports of businesses or individuals hurt by his trade war were pure fabrications. "Don't believe the crap you see from these people, the fake news," Trump said to cheers. "What you are seeing and what you are reading is not happening." That goes for polling data, too. At least, polling that the president doesn't like. "Polls are fake, just like everything else," Trump insisted this week before citing his own standing among Republicans as determined by--what else?--polls. The only way to avoid feeling insulted by this naked contempt for the audience's intelligence is to convince yourself that this is all a game. Maybe rally goers think that blind displays of fealty to the president frustrate all the right people. Maybe they love being swept up in the performance art of it all, and Jim Acosta might as well be the Iron Sheik to Trump's Hulk Hogan. The bottom line is that the audience believes they're part of the act. But Trump's acolytes are endorsing or excusing shameful behavior that no one should tolerate from public servants or the government of which they are a part. Donald Trump is fond of reciting portions of civil-rights activist Oscar Brown Jr.'s 1963 poem, "The Snake," from behind the lectern to impugn foreign refugees fleeing war and poverty abroad as sleeper agents who seek only to do Americans harm. This isn't just agitation; it's policy. The United States took in just 33,000 refugees last year, the lowest intake in over a decade and well below the quota. This year, administration officials led by immigration antagonist Stephen Miller hope to resettle only 15,000 refugees, a decline that experts contend is designed to allow the private charities and public mechanisms that facilitate resettlement to atrophy permanently. At first, Trump was happy to defend his "zero tolerance" policy, which became a euphemism for breaking up families at the border to deter future border crossers. He incoherently blamed "Democrat-supported loopholes" for the policy while simultaneously insisting that a secure nation cannot have a "politically correct" immigration policy, all to the sound of applause. Only when the backlash became so great did he back off this draconian policy, and his fans cheered him for that, too . The public outcry that erupted following the termination of "zero tolerance" has abated, but the horrors have not. In testimony before Congress on Tuesday, a Health and Human Services official confessed that they knew the "separation of children from their parents entails significant risk of harm to children." The psychological abuse associated with this policy has occasionally led to outbursts among incarcerated children, leading U.S. government officials to administer regular doses of psychotropic medication to their charges without the consent of a parent or guardian--a practice that a district judge halted in a sweeping ruling on Monday. The president's rallies exemplify the post-truth moment, in which his supporters adopt Trump's penchant for moral and intellectual malleability as though it was a virtue. As Jonah Goldberg observed, the president's vanguard has seamlessly transitioned from claiming that there was no evidence that the president welcomed the interference of Kremlin operatives in the 2016 election to contending that welcoming such interference would not violate any statutes to insisting that cooperation with hostile foreign powers for political gain is just best practice. Likewise, when Trump's crowds chant "lock her up" nearly two years into the Trump administration, they know that's not going to happen. It's the kind of banana republicanism that owns the libs , and that's all that matters.

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Dear Speaker Boehner: 65% of all Americans believe that the current immigration system isn't working; 81% support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. In 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a total of 368,444 deportations. This puts the 11 million undocumented workers still living in the U.S. at great risk. These immigrants living "in the shadows" could be contributing members of society, paying taxes and increasing consumer spending. You have been a leader on this issue. Members of the Republican party are now beginning to align with you - just recently, Rep. Peter T. King wrote to you making it clear that, "The reality ... is that we are not going to deport 11 million immigrants." We agree. And all those signed below urge you to pass comprehensive immigration reform this year. 5/12/14 - UPDATE Last week we asked you to sign our letter to House Speaker Boehner asking him to pass comprehensive immigration reform by the end of the year. Over 1,300 of you joined our call! We have now sent that letter with your names to Speaker Boehner. Although this call to action has ended, you can still tell House Speaker Boehner to put comprehensive immigration reform back on Congress's agenda. 1. Go to this website: Contact House Leadership . 2. Find out how you can help the NCLR's new campaign here: Spring into Action .

Dear Speaker Boehner: 65% of all Americans believe that the current immigration system isn't working; 81% support a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

October 10, 2011 | 11:43 AM Has your mayor faced reality yet? Today, close to 300 local leaders convened in Ekurhuleni, South Africa and reaffirmed the critical role that local governments must play in combating and planning for climate change . But mayors in Africa aren't the only ones talking about our changing climate. In Mayor Darwin Hindman's town of Columbia, Missouri, biogas from decomposing trash is turned into electricity . In South Korea, a 2.2MW solar power plant is generating power in Mayor Shin Hyun Guk's city of Mungyeong . And in Tallinn, Estonia, local leaders have developed a sustainable energy action plan that's put the city on track to reduce its carbon emissions 20% by 2020 . These are only a few of many great examples. What's going on in your town? Check out the maps below... World Mayors Council on Climate Change, Membership U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Center, Participating Mayors Has your mayor put your city or town on the map yet? If so, show him or her your support, and see how you can get involved in local efforts. If not, encourage your mayor to join the community of local leaders who are already busy confronting climate change!

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The libcom library contains nearly 20,000 articles. If it's your first time on the site, or you're looking for something specific, it can be difficult to know where to start. Luckily, there's a range of ways you can filter the library content to suit your needs, from casual browsing to researching a particular topic. Click here for the guide. If you have an ebook reader or a Kindle, check out our guide to using ebook readers with libcom.org . If you'd like to upload content to the library which is in line with the aims of the site or will otherwise be of interest to libcom users, please check out our guides to submitting library/history articles and tagging articles . If you're not sure if something is appropriate for the library, please ask in the feedback and content forum . If you don't have permissions to post content yet, just request it here . > Can comment on articles and discussions > Get 'recent posts' refreshed more regularly > Bookmark articles to your own reading list > Use the site private messaging system > Start forum discussions, submit articles, and more...

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Whether you like the genre or not, it's impossible to deny that some of the biggest and most groundbreaking games ever made have been first-person shooters. In the '90s the shooter exploded from weird shareware files we'd download from a local BBS into the biggest genre in the medium, and it still dominates the sales charts today. Beyond commercial success, the combination of a first-person perspective and the easy-to-understand interface of shooting things has provided a reliable framework for designers to challenge and entertain players while experimenting with storytelling, world-building and notions of player choice. Paste convened a small group of knowledgeable critics and FPS aficionados to wade through the genre's history and come up with a list of the 50 best first-person shooters ever made. The group included Javy Gwaltney, former Paste contributor and current Game Informer Associate Editor; Patrick Lindsey and Reid McCarter, game critics and co-editors of the book Shooter: 15 Critical Essays About Games With Guns ; Paste contributor Suriel Vazquez; Paste news editor Jim Vorel; former Paste games intern Eric Van Allen; and Paste games and comedy editor Garrett Martin. They focused exclusively on first-person games where shooting and other forms of combat were the primary form of interaction (so no Mirror's Edge , Gone Home or Minecraft ), and where the player could directly control the character's movements (so no "rail shooters" like Time Crisis or shooting galleries like Duck Hunt ). They weighed games both on their level of craft and their significance within the medium, and came up with a list that succinctly summarizes the rise and refinement of the shooter genre. Here you'll find some of the most iconic games of all time alongside cult hits and forgotten favorites, and all together they chart the growth of not just one genre but the entire industry, for better or worse. 50. Bioshock Infinite 2013 After a long and very public development period, Bioshock Infinite had a lot to live up to. Moving out of Rapture and into the clouds, into another part of the Bioshock multiverse, was ultimately the correct choice, broadening the scope of this universe in ways that fans could never have expected. The game's combat doesn't stray too far from the improvements made in Bioshock 2 , and it has occasionally been criticized for having combat encounters that are too "samey" when spread out over the course of a full game, but in its best moments it's still a blast to wreak havoc by employing both vigors and guns simultaneously. As in previous Bioshock entries, though, the moments that replay in one's head later are hardly, if ever, the combat. In Infinite , the moment for me is lingering to listen to a hovering barbershop quartet singing The Beach Boys ' "God Only Knows." It's not quite the mind-blowing moment I experienced when seeing Rapture for the first time, but it's not that far off, either.-- Jim Vorel 49. F.E.A.R. 2005 F.E.A.R. 's main strength was as a hyper-focused shooter with intense combat, where enemies would dodge your grenades, and would frequently put you in situations that tested your ability to respond to changing situations. It was also touted as a horror game, but while the horror elements mostly worked as window dressing for a shooter filled with rather ordinary-looking environments, it was enough to make you believe that at some point, you'd be faced with an enemy all the guns in the world weren't going to kill. What could possibly be scarier in a shooter?-- Suriel Vazquez 48. Zombi U 2012 You only occasionally had to shoot in Ubisoft's weird, overlooked Wii U gem, but when you did, it was about as stressful as videogames get. The goal for your underarmed scavenger was survival, and that was incredibly hard in a London plagued with masses of zombies. What made Zombi U so memorable wasn't the speed or thrill of its shooting, but how using a gun could attract more zombies, quickly removing one obstacle while potentially increasing the number of other obstacles in your immediate vicinity. It's also still one of the best implementations of the Wii U's gamepad, and its attitude towards player death recalled the Souls game: when you died you would respawn as a brand new character and have to track down either your previous corpse or kill its reanimated zombie form to retrieve your old supplies. It was brutal and not always user-friendly, but took a smart approach to both first-person action and the zombie genre.-- Garrett Martin 47. Hexen: Beyond Heretic 1995 The term " Doom clone" rose to prominence in the mid-late '90s, and with good reason. Hexen is simultaneously a clone of Doom and its own separate beast. Made in the Doom engine, the developers jettisoned any other hint of the game's origin. Corridors and big guns were put aside for axes and hub-and-spoke-style level design. Hexen is clearly rooted in Doom , but it uses that lineage to its advantage instead of being held back by it.-- Patrick Lindsey 46. Star Wars: Battlefront II 2005 Star Wars: Battlefront II is the strongest argument to date that there's more to Star Wars than lightsabers and Jedi. The game captured the large-scale chaos of a ground war and tried to contain it within the pristine bubble of the Star Wars universe. Developer Pandemic was keen to incorporate as many elements of the classic sci-fi universe as possible, letting players fight it out on the ground or in the vacuum of space--or both at the same time.-- Patrick Lindsey 45. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II 1997 If the first Dark Forces was well-received just because it was our first glimpse of the Star Wars universe in a first-person shooter, Jedi Knight earned every bit of its critical adoration as a much better game and realization of the Star Wars universe. The production values were just through the roof for the time, with full-motion video and a full cast of actors lending the world a cinematic feel. The levels were huge and expansive, contributing a feeling of massive scale. The shooting was likewise fine, but the game really came alive when Kyle Katarn set down his path toward Jedi knighthood and the various force powers were unlocked. To say that they transformed the game is an understatement, as powers such as force speed and force jump completely changed which areas you're able to access. Between this game and its Mysteries of the Sith expansion, it's one of the best single-player stories ever told in the Star Wars universe.-- Jim Vorel 44. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2010 Building on the storytelling of previous Call of Duty titles, Black Ops jumped the series forward to the Vietnam and Cold War era, where conspiracy and paranoia ran highest. Amidst a campaign of the usual explosions and grandeur was a spy thriller, one that kept you guessing until the end. You couldn't go anywhere without hearing a reference to "The numbers, Mason! What do they mean?!" The multiplayer of both Black Ops and its sequel is still regarded as some of the best of the series, and it showed that Infinity Ward didn't stand alone--Treyarch was there to make something every bit as influential as Modern Warfare .-- Eric Van Allen 43. Duke Nukem 3D 1996 It's almost a little embarrassing to go back today in 2015 and profess any admiration or fondness for 1996's Duke Nukem 3D , especially following the fiasco of Duke Nukem Forever , but like it or not, this game forms part of a triumvirate with Wolfenstein 3D and Doom as the best early shooters. And honestly, compared to those earlier titles, Duke Nukem 3D was an FPS that truly had personality and character rather than the faceless nature of Doom Guy. Duke's hyper-macho quips are juvenile, but in a time when the market was largely seen as prepubescent boys, it made sense. The gameplay, meanwhile, was quite a step forward from anything people had seen before, with its destructible level designs and multiple pathways. The weapon designs were likewise awesome--who can forget the first time they shrunk an enemy with the shrink ray and then stepped on them like a bug? That particular style of weapon has never been done as well again in an FPS in the last 20 years.-- Jim Vorel 42. Battlefield 3 2011 The name's fitting: Battlefield has always been devoted to large, sprawling, multiplayer battles with more combatants than most games allow. Battlefield 3 hinted at the confusion and fury of war more than its Call of Duty competition, a series whose games typically feel more scripted and confined. If the Call of Duty games were arcade shooting galleries, Battlefield 3 was basically a military sandbox. With the right crew, it could be more complex and more thrilling than almost any other military shooter.-- Garrett Martin 41. Destiny 2014 There were many valid complaints about Destiny when it first came out, and despite many updates and additions it's still not a game for everybody. It tried to unite an MMO framework with action reminiscent of Halo , which, of course, Destiny 's creators also made. Some might have complained about Destiny 's repetition and relatively empty worlds, but others loved its emphasis on loot and co-op play, and especially its system of "strike" missions. Regardless of whether you enjoy Destiny or not, it's hard to deny that it's a unique approach to creating a first-person shooter.-- Garrett Martin 40. Team Fortress Classic 1999 Team Fortress Classic is a grittier, uglier predecessor to the brightly polished, funny, well-written game we know today in Team Fortress 2 . It was meant to show off the capabilities of Half-Life mods, and at this it was hugely effective--it's funny to think how many other Half-Life mods must have been spiritually inspired by Team Fortress . It was likewise massively influential on the very idea of class-based shooters, building on the limits of its Quake mod inspiration to establish class roles that have remained in place ever since. "Heavy weapons guy" and "medic" are archetypes that you can trace straight back to this game. The series continues to succeed today thanks mostly to balance--every single class can be truly fun, useful and rewarding to play when the situations are right. Although I will argue that, in the end, there's no experience in Team Fortress more satisfying than snatching the flag as a scout and dashing all the way back across 2Fort to bring home the winning score.-- Jim Vorel 39. Metro: Last Light 2013 The world of Metro never let you forget that you were in a nuclear wasteland. Ammo was currency, and decisions were constantly made between an upgrade or having enough bullets to survive. Weapons were slapped together with shoddy workmanship and your flashlight was a crank tool that often flickers out. Every venture out into the dark underground Russian metro tunnels was dangerous, but human life was forced to stay there due to the ravenous mutated creatures that tormented the surface. Among all this was a story of hope, of a possible future where Artyom and the people of the metro could find peace, and possibly a way to live above again. Expanding on the world introduced in 2033 , Last Light was an atmospheric game that never let you forget the light at the end of the tunnel--as long as you didn't let your light flicker out for too long.-- Eric Van Allen 38. The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay 2004 The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay made you earn your first gun far more than any other shooter I can think of. Plenty of games teach you how to crouch, jump or sneak before letting you pull a trigger, but few have ever had you do a whole series of fetch quests (in prison, no less!) for hours before turning into a "proper" shooter. From there, the mix of shooting, sneaking and some well-executed environmental storytelling made Butcher Bay feel like the future of games, offering something for every kind of player. That it was a licenced product made how well each of these aspects came together all the more surprising.-- Suriel Vazquez 37. Left 4 Dead 2 2009 It's hard to separate Left 4 Dead from its predecessor: there was only a year between them, and despite new characters, a new mode, some new enemies and improved AI, 2 feels a lot like the original. And although I like it more (the Southern setting appeals to me, and although the humor loses some of its understated charm by making it more prominent, it's still legitimately funny most of the time), the second game wasn't as important or groundbreaking as the original. It was harder, though, which increased the need for communication and tight teamwork, which in a way made Left 4 Dead 2 a better realization of what the first game was aiming for.-- Garrett Martin 36. TimeSplitters 2 2002 One of the unsung heroes of couch co-op shooters, TimeSplitters 2 was a standard at many late-night LANs for several years. It brought mods and mutators to the consoles, something few had done and none to the degree TimeSplitters did. Its mix of goofy antics and smooth, effective controls made it perfect for split-screen multiplayer, while still having a fun and engaging single-player run. Plus, it had a monkey that dual-wielded assault rifles. There's never been a bad game with dual-wielding monkeys.-- Eric Van Allen 35. Titanfall 2014 Titanfall brought a jolt of kinetic energy to Call of Duty -style shooters, letting players run along walls and leap stories into the air and making almost full use of the verticality of its maps. It also smartly let all players feel useful in team matches, regardless of their abilities, both by including AI grunts on every map and making defense more important than in most shooters. Oh, it also had mechs. Titanfall innovated within the current FPS template while also being more hospitable to new players than most such games, making it one of the best shooters of the current console cycle.-- Garrett Martin 34. Bioshock 2 2010 What felt at first like an unnecessary retread of the remarkable original gradually turned into one of the most poignant and emotionally resonant shooters ever made. Instead of just retracing the original's steps through Rapture, Bioshock 2 made you feel the pain of the people whose lives were ruined by Andrew Ryan's dream, potentially culminating in a memorable player sacrifice. The Minerva's Den DLC, some of whose creators would go on to make Gone Home , was even stronger.-- Garrett Martin 33. The Darkness 2007 Starbreeze had a knack for making great games out of bad licenses. With The Darkness they turned a laughable comic book into a Grand Guignol of a game that delicately weaved over-the-top gore with some of the quietest and most human moments found in any shooter. This is a game where, depending on what hardware you're playing on, you could watch the entirety of To Kill a Mockingbird from your character's perspective as he snuggled quietly with his girlfriend on the couch. Some of the designers behind The Darkness also worked on The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and Wolfenstein: The New Order , two other games on this list that mixed surprising character development with original ideas for first-person shooter set-pieces.-- Garrett Martin 32. The Operative: No One Lives Forever 2000 No One Lives Forever isn't available anywhere for digital purpose thanks to the bureaucracy of game publishers , and that's a goddamn crime. NOLF is not only a great first-person shooter starring a witty, charming heroine, it's also a hysterically funny send-up of spy movies from the 60s. Also, you got to use a briefcase containing a missile launcher, so y'know, it reaches the top 50 for that alone.-- Javy Gwaltney 31. Call of Duty 2003 After years of World War II shooters, it's easy to think there was little room for innovation. There was still Infinity Ward, though; a studio formed from the makers of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault , who created a series that would persevere long into the present day with Call of Duty . Adding even more storytelling and blockbuster sequences, while creating a new and inventive style of multiplayer, Call of Duty solidified itself as the definitive World War II shooter, and one of the best of the era.-- Eric Van Allen 30. Perfect Dark 2000 James Bond may be the name everyone remembers, but Joanna Dark is the true professional. Perfect Dark exceeded the reach of Goldeneye 007 , its predecessor, in nearly every way other than popularity. Not only was the game more technologically innovative, but it was thematically groundbreaking as well, quietly subverting standard notions of videogame heroism through its artfully understated female protagonist.-- Patrick Lindsey 29. Medal of Honor: Frontline 2002 If you didn't own an Xbox or a PC that could play cutting edge games at the dawn of the 21st century, this PlayStation 2 and GameCube classic was probably your favorite first-person shooter of the era. The fourth game in this classic World War II shooter series wasn't the first to bring dual joystick controls to consoles, but it was one of the earliest ones outside of Halo to combine that standard shooter set-up with a fully realized campaign and well-designed levels. Both the Medal of Honor series and the World War II shooter genre quickly wore themselves out, but Frontline remains one of the more significant first-person shooters ever released.-- Garrett Martin 28. Battlefield 1942 2002 Battlefield 1942 had (and the series continues to have) the greatest single-song soundtrack in game history, but that's just the icing on the cake. The original BF 1942 is a game I sunk many hours into, because it offered so many memorable experiences. In its base form, the game was an arcade-friendly WWII shooter that was groundbreaking in how seamlessly it was able to incorporate vehicles such as jeeps, tanks, planes and even battleships into frenetic, fast-paced gameplay, while also allowing for creative kills and the ridiculous stunts that are still the series' trademark. Simultaneously, though, the original game was also followed by some fantastic total conversion mods, from the jungle-based Vietnam combat of Eve of Destruction , to WWII realism mod Forgotten Hope . The latter, in its original iteration, hits a near-perfect level of realism that makes each of the armies distinct and different (rather than simply clones of each other) while still maintaining just enough of its arcade origins for gameplay to remain vital and addicting. All in all, though, BF 1942 laid down a format so effective that the series has barely deviated from its basic structure in 13 years.-- Jim Vorel 27. Doom II 1994 What else could Doom II ever be but the sequel to Doom ? The game certainly had big shoes to fill, but it rose to the challenge admirably. The game mostly stayed true to the design philosophies and beats that made the first one so seminal, but added in enough new surprises to keep from growing stale.-- Patrick Lindsey 26. Quake III Arena 1999 Since I could first reach the keyboard, I was playing Quake III Arena . At first, I marveled at its explosions and railgun blasts, but as I grew older and played more shooters I came to appreciate what Quake III Arena was. It was part of the pinnacle of arena-based shooters, one that emphasized movement and positioning just as much as accuracy. Learning the routes, the power-up spawns, the perfect route to bunny-hop along was important, but it also stood strong as a polished and engaging shooter that provided an experience nothing else could.-- Eric Van Allen 25. Borderlands 2 2012 A melting pot of loot-based role-playing games and first-person shooters, Borderlands 2 stands head-and-shoulders above its predecessor because of the universe it created. Borderlands 2 took the barebones formula before it and fleshed out an entire world for Pandora , with a solid story, unique locales and a memorable cast of characters. Using Handsome Jack as a Big Bad to tie the whole plot together let a repetitive loot-shooter become a comedic spectacle shooter with a lot of heart, especially in Tiny Tina's add-on pack.-- Eric Van Allen 24. Wolfenstein: The New Order 2014 I don't get into arguments often. I'm mostly content to let people shout whatever they want no matter how silly it is or how much I disagree with it. Except when it comes to Wolfenstein: The New Order , a game I'm downright belligerent and obnoxious about. I will yell at you if you don't like it. I will drown you in a hundred copies of the game until you swear your allegiance to it. It's the best shooter since Half-Life 2 and I'll take on anyone who says differently. The game's combination of powerful gunplay and a thematically rich narrative about a man dragging himself into the arena for one last fight against fate is equal parts exhilaration and tragedy. An absolute must-play for anyone who likes games that involve shootin' dudes.-- Javy Gwaltney 23. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl 2007 S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl was a mean game. There was a palpable hostility that came not just from the game's bloodthirsty monsters and bandits, but also from the irradiated hellscape of its setting. Shadow of Chernobyl 's unforgiving design was what made it work, though. The developer's vision of a Pripyat, Ukraine ravaged yet again by nuclear catastrophe was uncompromising in its difficulty, but--for the grim, survivalist story it told--that was pretty much the point. -- Reid McCarter 22. Portal 2 2011 Porta 2 might not have had the purity and elegance of the original, but it more than made up for it by showing that some ideas have too much staying power than a single game can muster. By introducing paint, light beams and other gadgets, Portal 2 gave its core conceit new life. It knew when to shift gears and give you something new to do, never letting you settle into tedious rhythms. Even better, it fleshed out the characters and backstory of the original Portal without giving too much of that game's mystique away--something few game sequels can claim.-- Suriel Vazquez 21. Fallout 3 2008 We're used to the style now, but, in 2008, Bethesda Game Studios' enormous worlds and free-form character development felt incredibly novel. Fallout 3 's post-apocalyptic take on East Coast America was packed with stories to uncover, each providing the player opportunity to refine their character's personality through moral and martial choice. The blend of tactical decision-making and reflexive first-person shooting that Bethesda managed to concoct for Fallout 3 's time-slowing V.A.T.S. system helped make the game's most violent moments pretty memorable, too. -- Reid McCarter 20. Metro 2033 2010 Metro 2033 was a game where you played as a soldier trying to survive the deadly Russian metro after a devastating nuclear attack sent Moscow's survivors underground, many of them breaking off into political factions that tried to kill or enslave each other when they weren't fighting bloodthirsty monsters. On the whole, Metro 2033 actually wasn't that special outside of its spooky, sad story...until you turned the difficulty up to "Ranger," which gave both you and your armed opponents the ability to one-shot each other. It was a great option that made every firefight incredibly tense and tactical, a quality more first-person shooters need to have.-- Javy Gwaltney 19. Unreal Tournament 1999 It's weird to call a game about people jumping around and turning each other into fine paste with a variety of deadly weapons "sophisticated" but Unreal Tournament proved to be a stark contrast to the straight forward bloodbath of Quake and Doom thanks to the variety of modes and mutators it gave players to toy around with. Wanna play Capture the Flag in low gravity with guns that kill opponents in one hit? You could do that! Of course, regular old Deathmatch was just as satisfying thanks to the tight controls and creative weapons (the nuke-throwing Redeemer remains a personal favorite). And no first-person shooter since has come close to making earning killstreaks so much damn fun: Muh-muh-muh-MONSTER KILL-KILL-KILL-KILLLLL.-- Javy Gwaltney 18. Quake 1996 It may sound shallow, but improvements in technology are what made Quake noteworthy. Its level design and monsters--maybe even its selection of guns--don't quite stack up to what id Software produced in Doom . But, the higher fidelity sound and music, the integration of 3D mouse aiming and a far more accessible online multiplayer mode all worked together to make it a landmark shooter. -- Reid McCarter 17. Left 4 Dead 2008 I don't know if Left 4 Dead was a perfect co-op shooter, but it was probably closer than any other game (besides possibly Left 4 Dead 2 ). Every design decision was focused towards maximizing its co-op appeal, making it basically unthinkable to play without friends, even if the game let you. And it didn't just nudge you towards your friends, but made sure you would genuinely play along with them, instead of ever trying to abandon them or play ahead of them. Essentially structuring every campaign as a 90-minute film was also a crafty call, as it insured a decently long play session while also providing a hard stopping point for those who didn't want to get sucked too deeply into a game. It was also really funny without ever beating players upside the head with how funny it was supposed to be, which is still almost unheard of in videogames. It's a toss-up as to which Left 4 Dead was better, but the importance and impact of the original can't be diminished.-- Garrett Martin 16. Metroid Prime 2002 Metroid Prime took the chief hallmarks of Nintendo's beloved space adventure and remade them into a perfect game for the first-person shooter generation. The FPS framework made Prime feel unlike any previous Metroid , while the classic Metroid focus on exploration and retracing your steps made it feel unlike any other first-person shooter. It tapped into that addictive rhythm of progress and reward expected from Metroid and its many derivatives, but added an edge of engrossing, fast-paced action expected from a shooter. And between its optional data scans and environmental storytelling, it depicted a fallen world in a relatively understated fashion, offering lessons designers could still learn from today. Its two fine sequels also deserve recognition, but Metroid Prime 's legacy can't be undersold.-- Garrett Martin 15. Counter-Strike 1999 You could argue that Counter-Strike was noteworthy because of its design or you could argue the game's importance came from its implications, and either way you'd be right. One of the most extensive total-conversion mods to-date, the game, which began its own life as a fan-created mod, helped usher in a new golden age both of modding and competitive gaming.-- Patrick Lindsey 14. Deus Ex 2000 More than anything else, Deus Ex was a playground. By blending role-playing conventions (like free-form character development and dialogue choices) with stealth and shooter design, Deus Ex allowed the player to define their own version of protagonist JC Denton through action rather than exposition alone. The goofy cyberpunk conspiracy story, which found a way to rope in everything from Area 51 to the Illuminati, lent a fantastic, sinister tone to the game, making it a wonderful snapshot of Western culture in the early days of a new millennium. -- Reid McCarter 13. Half-Life 2 2004 Half-Life 2 's enduring legacy might be that it doesn't have a sequel, but like the imposing Combine Citadel casting its shadow across City 17, it acts as a center, a reference point for shooters years later. Its shooting felt refined, its plot immersive and unobtrusive, and its world-building impressive. Going back and playing it years after its release has only made me realize how few steps forward the genre has taken narratively since 2004, and how much of a mark the game has left. Half-Life 2 might be tame by today's standards, but like a good crowbar, its simplicity of form gives it its powerful durability.-- Suriel Vazquez 12. Halo 2 2004 Halo may have been a revolution for Xbox players, but Halo 2 took the designs and concepts and mastered them to make what still stands as the best Halo multiplayer today. The addition of dual-wielding added depth to the weapon pool, and signature maps like Headlong and Containment became as eponymous as Blood Gulch. This was the refinement of the plan, one that led to many late nights and LAN parties for years to come, and one of the defining titles of the original Xbox's run.-- Eric Van Allen 11. Wolfenstein 3D 1992 Id Software may have perfected their style of first-person shooter with Doom , but that wouldn't have been possible without the lessons learned developing Wolfenstein 3D . The groundwork for (so, so, so) many games to come, Wolfenstein 3D showed that a shooter can be set in an environment that resembles the real world--that it can have enough of a story and enough of a mood that the player feels as though they've been transported to another world entirely. -- Reid McCarter 10. Team Fortress 2 2007 Team Fortress 2 made multiplayer shooters intuitive. The exaggerated Tex Avery-esque caricatures helped even the most novice of players understand how their role should define their play; the Heavy was large and slow, which made playing him as an unstoppable wall a no-brainer, for example. The variety of roles also meant you didn't always have to throw yourself into the grinder; Spies could sneak around and take kills and objectives, Medics could win games without firing a single shot, and Engineers could focus on playing the map rather than the enemy. You could subvert brute-force tactics in sly ways, which gave the game the variety it needed to maintain its presence all these years later.-- Suriel Vazquez 9. GoldenEye 007 1997 It's probably safe to say that GoldenEye is the most influential console shooter of all time--the game that took first-person shotoers from being thought of exclusively as a PC gamer's domain into one of the most common console genres. It's a game with a massive amount of nostalgia backing it, the fuel for so many late-night 4-player deathmatches in The Stacks, The Facility, and other iconic levels. It set standards for first-person shooter weapons that have been tropes ever since--tell me that the phrase "proximity mines" doesn't immediately make you think of GoldenEye . The goodwill toward it still makes fans overlook lot of the issues the game had, and it doesn't hold up all that well today in either single or multiplayer modes, which are crippled by the incredibly clunky controls and inability to see more than 20 feet into the distance ... but none of that really matters. The memories of playing GoldenEye are perhaps the singular experience of the N64 era, and they can't be tarnished.-- Jim Vorel 8. System Shock 2 1999 If you're looking for one of the first franchises to popularize storytelling in a first-person shooter, System Shock 2 is your answer. Before Bioshock or Deus Ex ever came about, System Shock 2 was melding role-playing game inventory systems and colored key cards with the tenets of FPS. The villainous SHODAN embodies this narrative focus, as an AI that holds the player captive like a puppet and became one of the most memorable antagonists in games.-- Eric Van Allen 7. Halo: Combat Evolved 2001 More than just a shooter series, Halo helped Microsoft establish console supremacy. Like a cool older brother, Halo introduced console gamers to first-person shooters, borrowing genre conventions where possible and improvising where needed. It's a rare game whose online and offline game modes are equally strong, but Halo is one of the few that can make such a boast.-- Patrick Lindsey 6. Portal 2007 Portal was a shooter where you didn't really shoot anything. Instead of bullets or lasers you used that portal gun to open up doorways and solve increasingly elaborate puzzles. You might have had to destroy some turrets and robots along the way, but it was a relatively non-violent game. Portal has had as much impact on game design since its release as any other game. Before episodic games were routine, it proved that players would feel satisfied with a three-hour game as long as it was designed well enough. It doubled down on Valve's commitment to environmental storytelling, while also introducing an unreliable narrator as an antagonist, twisting what players expect from a game. It was also legitimately funny, which, as mentioned earlier in this list, is always a rarity within the world of videogames.-- Garrett Martin 5. Bioshock 2007 Bioshock 's binary moral choices and audio diaries may have been an unfortunate precursor to some of the worst modern videogame design trends. But, it had a more positive influence, too, in its willingness to attempt a holistic merger of shooter conventions and narrative. Bioshock is an uncommon game in that it actually has a point to make and devotes itself fully to arguing it through visuals, gameplay and story. That's a low narrative bar, sure, but it's also one that still isn't cleared as often as many players might hope.-- Reid McCarter 4. Far Cry 2 2008 Before there was Jason Brody or Ajay Ghale, there was just the player, and Africa. Far Cry 2 stood out from its progeny because of its lean approach to thematic and mechanical design. Its lightweight narrative nevertheless managed to speak volumes about the entire genre, thanks largely to the game's repeated and brutal depictions of violence.-- Patrick Lindsey 3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2007 It isn't strange to think of the shooter genre as two periods of time, before and after Modern Warfare . After years of creating World War II-era games, Infinity Ward ventured into risky territory. There's a lot that was ambitious about Call of Duty 4 : a persistent progression system, the concept of "loadouts," a new era and the changes that brings to every gun and instance of gameplay. What resulted was a game that still defines console shooters today, with a mix of Call of Duty 's excellent single-player experiences and the blueprint for multiplayer shooters to come.-- Eric Van Allen 2. Half-Life 1998 Half-Life , a game that's just as much a horror game as it is a balls to the walls first-person shooter, changed gaming forever. There aren't many games you can say that about, but Valve's shooter struck an impressive balance between realism and goofy sci-fi, and turned the player into the cinematographer of the game's story by giving them control of an extended 10 hour single take instead of bombarding them with cutscenes or forcing them to read through page after page of exposition. It was an exciting design that's been copied countless times since and has become, for better or for worse, the standard for AAA videogame storytelling. Besides its technical accomplishments, Half-Life 's action setpieces are still breathtaking, particularly "We've Got Hostiles," which has the player running along the side of a canyon, fighting enemy troopers and a deadly helicopter. Sure, the last fifth of Half-Life takes a strange turn into weird, awful platforming land, but not even that can derail the timeless quality of the game's blend of action and survival-horror, intuitive enemy AI and gruesomely satisfying gunplay.-- Javy Gwaltney 1. Doom 1993 Doom was, simply put, the genesis point for modern first-person shooters. Equally noteworthy for the incredible game engine John Carmack designed as for the controversy surrounding the game's violent and demonic imagery, Doom made such a big splash in the game design world we're still feeling its ripples today. [For more on Doom , read the essay we published on its 20th anniversary .--Ed.]-- Patrick Lindsey

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No matter what your stance is on climate change, the consequences of rising average temperatures have already been set in motion. Check out your region of the U.S. to see what's at stake. Average annual temperatures in the northwestern United States have risen 1.5degF in the last century, with some areas up 4degF. That number is expected to keep increasing, with temperatures projected to be 3-10degF warmer by the end of the century . Higher temperatures and summer moisture deficits in soil would increase the risk of forest fires in a region already prone to them. Rising sea levels Climate change would further stress coastal regions as erosion from rising sea levels wash away beaches, particularly in vulnerable areas like the south Puget Sound, which includes Seattle, Tacoma and Olympia, Wash. The region's sea level is estimated to rise about 13 inches by 2100, with up to 50 inches in some rapidly-sinking areas. Water resources Home to approximately 50 million people, the Southwest has seen its population increasing rapidly--with some states doubling the national growth rate of 9.7%. The demand for water resources, coupled with rising temperatures and reduced rain and snowfall in spring months, is likely to bring future water shortages. Agricultural impacts The single largest use for water in the region is agriculture, which provides nearly $45 billion in revenue to California - home of the nation's biggest agriculture industry. The Central Valley produces a significant portion of food for the rest of the country , and crop failures from rising temperatures and water shortages may directly affect the food supply and consumer prices. Temperature rise The climate in the Great Plains region varies greatly--generally colder in the north, hotter in the south, semi-arid in the west and wetter in the east. The north usually experiences bitter winters, but in the last 30 years, it has seen a 7degF increase from average historical temperatures. Year-round temperatures are projected to continue rising, and precipitation patterns are also slated to change--becoming wetter in the north and drier in the south. Agricultural impacts More than 70% of the region is used for agriculture, including wheat, hay, corn, barley, cattle and cotton. Current water use is unsustainable, and because of the projected changes in climate and more frequent extreme weather events like droughts and heat waves, the region's threatened water resources will become increasingly scarce for essential usage like agriculture . Lake evaporation The Midwest's Great Lakes contain 84% of North America's surface freshwater and support the area's transportation and commerce. With the projected rising temperatures, evaporation could reduce the lakes' water levels by 1 to 2 feet by the end of the century. Although having longer ice-free seasons might positively impact shipping in the short-term, it could place stress on infrastructure and be detrimental to coastal ecosystems. Agriculture shifts Under a higher emissions scenario, plants typically grown in the Southeast could become established in the Midwest by 2100. Plant winter hardiness zones could shift with the increasing temperatures and lengthened growing seasons. Each zone represents a 10 deg F change in minimum temperature for growth. Some crop yields will likely increase with the warm temperatures, but this will also include escalating numbers of pests and invasive weeds. Southern summers Along with higher temperatures, snow seasons in the Northeast are projected to be cut in half--even reduced to a few weeks in some regions. By the end of the century, the summers in New Hampshire could reach the same temperatures as North Carolina's current summers. This is likely to have negative impacts on public health, given the poor air quality in many Northeastern cities, which are less adapted to dealing with the heat. Rising sea levels With a projected increase in heavy precipitation and sea-level rise from ocean warming and ice sheet melt, the Northeast could see more frequent, damaging floods. The large coastal cities and dense populations are at risk for significant losses. In New York City, the water level in flood zones could increase as much as 31 inches by 2050. Extreme heat Although the Southeast already experiences warm temperatures, average annual temperatures are projected to increase 6-9degF by 2080. At these rates, northern Florida could experience more than six months at temperatures higher than 90degF by 2100. The high temperatures are likely to increase heat-repeated deaths and negatively affect public health. In addition, agriculture and urban environments could suffer from the projected droughts and strain on water resources. Rising sea levels Satellite data show that sea levels along the coast have risen 3-3.5 mm per year since the 1990s, which is almost double the average rate during the 20th century. Extreme tropical weather events and coastal erosion are likely to increase as the sea level rises. This will threaten both urban environments along the coast and natural habitats, such as marshes and fisheries. Alaska thawing Permafrost, the frozen ground one to two feet below the surface in cold regions, has risen in temperature throughout Alaska since the 1970s, with the largest increases in northern areas. About 14% of Alaskans live in areas susceptible to permafrost degradation, which affects highways, airstrips, buildings and other infrastructure. It is estimated that thawing permafrost can add between $5.6 billion and $7.6 billion to future costs for publicly-owned infrastructure by 2080. Hawaii erosion As the frequency and strength of strong storms and flooding are projected to increase, Hawaiian infrastructure and coasts will become progressively more vulnerable. Extreme sea-level days, more than 6 inches above the long-term average, are becoming more common. This affects coastal settlements, agriculture, marine life, fresh water supply and tourism, which generates more than $12 billion for Hawaii every year. For more on Earth Week, go to http://www.msnbc.com/earth-week .

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Here we go Again on our own. Going down to walk Alone. You Should Go or Do or Give + Hiiiii The Last OK Place is a webseries that I think you should get behind, get excited about, look forward to, etc. Here's the deal: it was created, written and directed by a gay lady gal, Cassidy Blues; the lead is an androgynous (seems to be leaning butchy in this teaser, and I'm here for that) lesbian, played by a bisexual woman (Winnie Lohof); her romantic interest is a femme lesbian, played by a bisexual woman (Isabel Quintero); ALSO includes Native American actors playing Native American characters, which shouldn't be earth shattering, but it is; AND is set in a post-zombie apocalypse Montana, which I'm pretty fucking sure is exactly where you'd want to be post-apocalypse. Maybe I'm wrong -- I've never been to Montana but it seems like there are lots of places to hide from the living dead and then one day grow potatoes. What I'm not wrong about is that this is something we should be seeing more of re: zombie storylines: Yep. Support The Last OK Place , why don't you! + Give to the LGBTQ Home for Hope in Philadelphia ! They're the first and only homeless shelter in Pennsylvania specifically for LGBTQ individuals, and right now every dollar you donate will be matched. Queer as in F*ck You + Oh praise be. I am 100% prepared in my soul for a Dyke and Fats movie. Rough as guts! Welcome to the Hellmouth Listen, what the entire fuck. + In case you've been gleefully living under a rock, Russian Hackers Acted to Aid Trump in Election, U.S. Says . + Donald Trump is Gaslighting America . Could not have chosen a better header image, truly. + McCain Wants Select Committee to Investigate Russian Hacking . We have an uncomfortable amount in common with John McCain right now. + This came across my feed and now it's coming across your face: Caring for Yourself is a Radical Act , a 53-page pdf to help you not fall to little pieces. + I'm Not Your Racial Confessor . "The black person's burden of managing white emotions in the age of Trump." + A Finder's Guide to Facts . Can never have too many of these posts, I don't think. + This is from late summer, but it's a satisfying, if HORRIFIC, read. Trump: A True Story . I don't recommend it before you've eaten lunch. Doll Parts + The Order of the Good Death has broken down this Texas bullshit from the perspective of funeral industry professionals who do not fuck around: New Fetal Regulations in Texas -- the Good (and Very Bad) News . Also if you haven't read Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory , that's how I suggest you spend your upcoming free time this holiday season. + I can't talk about this because it's sad , but I also can't not talk about it, so. Related: alsoalsoalso link roundup racism

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AMERICANS HAVE BEEN living in a union of 50 states for over half a century now, ever since Hawaii and Alaska were added to the flag. But that hasn't stopped some from trying to change that number by breaking away from existing states, and forming new ones, when they feel excluded from the political process. [...] NOTHING FITS the Obama administration's economic project better than high-speed rail. It's based on visions of a utopian future, employs gobs of union labor in its construction, can be used to reward political allies and donors, and makes use of analysts eager to churn out dubious studies justifying it on economic grounds. Call it Solyndra [...] TERM LIMITS were all the rage in the 1990s, when 21 states limited the terms of their own members of Congress by popular vote. The movement was close to reaching a tipping point at which enough members of Congress would have been covered by term limits that it's likely they would have voted for such [...] WE MAY BE ON THE BRINK of repeating the 2000 Florida election debacle--but this time in several states, with allegations of voter fraud and manipulation of voting machines added to the generalized chaos that sent the Bush-Gore race into overtime. With its hanging chads, butterfly ballots, and U.S. Supreme Court intervention, the Florida fiasco forced [...] THE LATEST UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS show the economic recovery stalling. But as weak as the national economy is, it's nothing compared to the condition of some states whose policies are guaranteed to scare away jobs and investment. Call it the European Disease: Run up spending and debt, raise taxes in the name of balancing the budget, [...]

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Production Note: We welcome Archer Associate Art Director Chad Hurd in to chat with us for the first time this season. He will be here at 1pm EST. Please direct all your feline AIDs questions @Chad. "Coyote Lovely" is actually the episode those of us lucky enough to attend the Archer Comic-Con panel were treated to last summer. I can't tell you how difficult it has been for me to sit on Archer-is-autistic and "Chewie, back me up here -- was there not, like, a c*ck-hungry vibe?" over six months. I've coped by only implementing the Chewie line in my personal life. Gets more use than you'd think. Before we get to the notes let me say that last night's episode is the only ongoing immigration debate to ever hold my attention. Some (none here, I presume) will probably take issue with the use of illegal aliens as a running source of comedy on an animated sitcom. My thoughts: The approach is more than kosher as long as the jokes aren't too easy and you equal opportunity ridicule all the contradictions on the US-end. And of course drop in a "spook" gag for good measure. So, as always, well played Adam Reed. Well played. And just in case everyone didn't pick up on it, two FX favorites -- Nick Searcy and Dayton Callie -- voiced guest characters last night. That philandering two-timer Matt Thompson provides the full scoop on their appearances over at Vulture. Now to the notes and GIFs. "Sun-Blasted Sh*thole" would fit nicely on Texas license plates, no? "I'm stacking rocks in order of descending size," or "I can do this all day since I find repetitive behavior so calming." -- Who ya got? Big, big fan of finding new and creative ways to injure Cyril. Concussions are still super bad for you, but Sterling and Goodell agree you get approximately six freebies. Never Forget: Krieger is always listening, just waiting to pump the building full of experimental toxins. Love me some Searcy, but Dayton Callie's disgraced alcoholic veterinarian may be my all-time favorite one-off character. Absolutely LOVE Lana's realization that babysitting Archer is EXACTLY her job. Aisha Tyler's voice work is far too often taken for granted. Archer's running concern over a possible beej in the midst of border-jumping, shootouts, and emergency medical procedures is why you can never not love Sterling Archer. And finally, "Coyote Lovely's" production number is 402, so pretty sure Bilbo's death not being an awesome afterthought a few episodes down the line was the result of some FX re-ordering. At least he went out sarcastically tracking down station wagons in Texas. RIP Bilbo . Chet Manley GIFs on the next two pages as to not crash too many browsers. Welcome Chad!

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Ahman Nasser, a supervisor of an UNRWA school in Gaza City, publicly endorses violence, and the Hamas terrorist group. Ahman Nasser's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100007667744866 Nasser's page shows a poem celebrating revolt and martyrdom, including the line, "I carried a MP5S and exceeded the range." MP5S is a submachine gun. In the comment, he quotes "Martyr Minister Khalil." Image 1 Image 1 Nasser posted a picture on February 24, 2017, in which the State of Israel is eliminated, taken over by either Hamas or Fatah. Image 2 Image 2 : Nasser mourns Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi, co-founder of the Hamas terrorist organization. Image 3 Nasser (seated below) is shown at the head of classroom with UNRWA students. Image 4

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This is just wonderful to read. You really need to read the Texas Tribune article. You almost get the sense it was written in the fetal position. Allow me to be direct. After every campaign cycle, the media makes heroes of individuals who did things in campaigns. Campaigns are most often won on fundamentals, but we live in a day and age of the Cult of Personality. Witness Bloomberg fawning over Vincent Harris as a GOP Svengali for turning on websites. In a few years, there'll be some other GOP tech genius who gets swooned over for defying stereotypes. Witness the Obama campaign team hailed as heroes. Witness the hagiographic attention to Jeremy Bird, who was brought into Texas to be Battleground Texas's senior advisor. Campaigns are won on fundamentals that tie messaging to turnout metrics. Technology can be deployed to make it more precise, micro-targeting can be deployed to find new voters, etc., etc., etc. After the Obama campaign of 2012, Democrats thought there was some magic they could employ through guys like Jeremy Bird. They could take the "Colorado Model" and transpose it into any state to shift it red. The could build up institutions to advance "narratives", change "optics", and register new voters. And it all came crashing down in Texas. Why? Well, for starters, Texas is Texas. People there revere that state as a whole other country. That used to be their tourism slogan. So bring down a bunch of liberal yankees who hate the ROTC, traditional values, the Alamo, and Texas itself and you're setting the stage for disaster. Add to it a candidate who made the left drool because she believes in slicing and dicing children until the moment they come out of the birth canal and you're just asking for trouble. Battleground Texas had a bad night because it thought it could transport Obama magic to a state that rejected Obama and do so with paid staff and volunteers who hate Texas and its values that are widely embraced by new immigrants and natives regardless of party. They dazzled with flashy data sites, web, and liberal media outlets excited by their presence. But they are left today with nothing to show for it but a hangover and a few awesome explosions of anger on twitter. Battleground Texas claims they are not going away. Thank goodness. They should stick around and serve as a money sink for guys like Tom Steyer lest that money go to other states. Campaigns are not won on flash or pink running shoes. They are won on fundamentals. Battleground Texas completely failed the fundamentals, their crippling made worse by a terrible gubernatorial candidate. Jim Hogan, the Democratic nominee for agriculture commissioner, came into the race as a complete unknown. He didn't spend a moment or a dollar campaigning. He received no direct support from Battleground. Yet he earned almost 37 percent of the vote in his race. Even with all her help, Davis ended the night with 39 percent of the vote.

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We MUST Keep Fighting! Based on the messages I have received, many of you (and especially our friends in California) seem tempted to give up. Some are asking, "Why should we bother anymore?" This may be shocking to you, but if we throw up our arms in frustration and surrender the public policy arena to the left, it will get a whole lot worse. We are headed toward the criminalization of Christianity. Let me explain. If a family were teaching its children that the KKK is the correct model for society, people would rightly be outraged. If Child Protective Services found out, that family would face the possibility of having its kids taken away for psychological child abuse. When it comes to same-sex marriage, the militant homosexual movement and its left-wing media allies have, unbelievably, taken the normal view of marriage and equated it with the kind of raw bigotry I just described. If we stop fighting, in short order you will not be able to teach your children that God intended them to marry someone of the opposite sex. You may say, "Gary, that will never happen!" That's exactly what folks said about men "marrying" other men just 20 years ago. As I wrote yesterday, this is about more than just marriage rights. It is not hyperbole to say that religious liberty is at stake. ( Pastors, please pay attention !) Think about the example I described above. There is legal precedent here. As Ben Shapiro explains, in 1983 the Supreme Court stripped Bob Jones University, which once banned interracial dating, of its tax exempt status. The court declared, "Government has a fundamental, overriding interest in eradicating racial discrimination . . . which substantially outweighs whatever burden denial of tax benefits places on [the University's] exercise of their religious beliefs." Shapiro writes, "Internal Revenue Service regulations could be modified to remove non-profit status for churches across the country. ...Should the IRS move to revoke federal non-profit status for churches, synagogues and mosques ... the Court could easily justify that decision on the basis of 'eradicating discrimination.'" He goes on to note how this has already happened at the state level to some degree. Due to certain "anti-discrimination" laws, Catholic Charities was forced to stop its adoption services in Massachusetts. Legislation was passed in California to strip the Boy Scouts and religious youth groups of their tax exempt status. These attacks will only intensify. You can read more on this subject in a column I wrote that was published in today's Washington Times. Please, my friends, instead of asking yourselves, "What difference does it make?" ask yourself, "What more can I do?" I had several reporters point out to me that the only people they saw outside the Supreme Court yesterday were gay rights activists. Why were there not hundreds, or thousands, of men and women of faith taking a stand for our values? We MUST fight back! Scalia's Warning It used to be said that homosexuals were coming out of the closet and they wanted to force Christianity in the closet. It's worse than that. If you think I am exaggerating, consider Justice Antonin Scalia's dissent in yesterday's ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act. In his majority striking down Section 3 of DOMA, Justice Kennedy accuses supporters of normal marriage of harboring an "animus" or hatred of homosexuals. Scalia's dissent suggests that the majority's arrogance betrays its own "animus," one the left is about to unleash on men and women of faith. "In the majority's judgment, any resistance to its holding is beyond the pale of reasoned disagreement. To question its high-handed invalidation of a presumptively valid statute is to act (the majority is sure) with the purpose to 'disparage,' 'injure,' 'degrade,' 'demean,' and 'humiliate' our fellow human beings, our fellow citizens, who are homosexual. "All that, simply for supporting an Act that did no more than codify an aspect of marriage that had been unquestioned in our society for most of its existence -- indeed, had been unquestioned in virtually all societies for virtually all of human history. It is one thing for a society to elect change; it is another for a court of law to impose change by adjudging those who oppose it hostes humani generis, enemies of the human race." "It takes real cheek for today's majority to assure us, as it is going out the door, that a constitutional requirement to give formal recognition to same-sex marriage is not at issue here -- when what has preceded that assurance is a lecture on how superior the majority's moral judgment in favor of same-sex marriage is to the Congress's hateful moral judgment against it. I promise you this: The only thing that will 'confine' the Court's holding is its sense of what it can get away with." "As far as this Court is concerned, no one should be fooled; it is just a matter of listening and waiting for the other shoe. By formally declaring anyone opposed to same-sex marriage an enemy of human decency, the majority arms well every challenger to a state law restricting marriage to its traditional definition. "Henceforth those challengers will lead with this Court's declaration that there is 'no legitimate purpose' served by such a law, and will claim that the traditional definition has 'the purpose and effect to disparage and to injure' the personhood and dignity' of same-sex couples." "In the majority's telling, this story is black-and-white: Hate your neighbor or come along with us. The truth is more complicated. It is hard to admit that one's political opponents are not monsters, especially in a struggle like this one, and the challenge in the end proves more than today's Court can handle. Too bad." "We might have covered ourselves with honor today, by promising all sides of this debate that it was theirs to settle and that we would respect their resolution. We might have let the People decide. But that the majority will not do." The Next Assault The radical gay rights movement is not resting on its laurels. It is already planning the next assault. According to The Hill, it is preparing to launch a massive lobbying campaign for the "Respect for Marriage Act." The bill would "fully repeal DOMA and ensure that 'state of ceremony' takes precedence over 'state of residence' when the government decides whether a gay couple is eligible for tax breaks, entitlement benefits and other federal programs." In addition, there are efforts underway at the state level to repeal marriage amendments in at least three states -- Arizona, Florida and Ohio. Polygamists are also celebrating yesterday's rulings. Kennedy's "logic" that it is bigotry to limit marriage to what it always has been opens the door to any redefinition. If society has no right to define marriage as the union of opposite, complimentary sexes, then presumably it is also some form of "bigotry" to limit the number of people involved in a marriage. I am pleased to report that not all the action is on the left. Rep. Tim Huelskamp (R-KS) announced yesterday that he would sponsor a federal constitutional amendment to protect normal marriage. Responding to the Supreme Court's decisions yesterday, Rep. Huelskamp said: "This radical usurpation of legislative and popular authority will not end the debate over marriage in this country. Congress clearly must respond to these bad decisions, and as a result, I plan to introduce the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) to amend the United States Constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman." If you are interested in receiving Mr. Bauer's daily report by e-mail, please call 703-671-9700, visit SIGN UP FOR GARY BAUER'S "END OF DAY REPORT" or simply send a reply e-mail titled "Subscribe" and include your name and address. Visit End of Day archives to share reports on Facebook. Follow Gary On Facebook And Twitter. To be removed from Gary Bauer's End of Day distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. You may donate online by visiting our website or by using the following address in your web browser: https://www.ouramericanvalues.org/american-values-contribution or you may mail contributions to the following address: American Values 2800 Shirlington Road Suite 950 Arlington, VA 22206 Phone: 703-671-9700 Fax: 703-671-1680

We are headed toward the criminalization of Christianity.

After an enjoyable evening of seeing fellow Democratic friends, watching the seven gubernatorial candidates speak and laughing at Alec Baldwin's jokes, the IDP's Fall Gala attendees likely left the event thinking to themselves, "Now, I wonder what Ed Fallon thought of all this." Fortunately for them, the former legislator chose to share his thoughts on the matter the next day. Unfortunately, his take was utter garbage and filled with outright inaccuracies and misnomers. It is no surprise, of course, that Fallon did not view the state party's biggest event in years in a positive light, calling it a "colossal failure." He's been angry toward the Democratic Party since losing the gubernatorial primary in 2006 and coming up short in a peculiar challenge to an incumbent Democratic congressman. But his criticism of the fundraiser - published in the Des Moines Register - was so petty and ridiculous that it bears some examination. Let's go through it line by line (his words in italics). Maybe the Iowa Democratic Party's (IDP) big annual event was a success in terms of generating funds for the party and enthusiasm for its candidates. But in several significant ways, it was a colossal failure. 1. The sound system performed horribly, with much of the speakers' messages lost in an echo chamber of garbled sound waves. He starts off with his one legitimate complaint. The audio for the event wasn't great, though it did get a little better as the speeches went on and they made adjustments. The party did plenty of sound checks before the event started and it was working fine then, but once the room filled up with people, the audio got a little weird. 2. Not allowing the Events Center's wait staff to stay and hear Alec Baldwin reeked of elitism. The decision was made by the facility's management, but the IDP should have objected. Heck, the wait staff should have been paraded up to the stage and thanked with a standing ovation. This is ridiculous. Troy Price literally thanked the wait staff from the stage and the crowd gave them some of the biggest cheers of the night. The party has done this at nearly every major event I can remember and has always shown their appreciation for the people serving them. And they weren't kicked out of the event, they were just done serving dinner by the time Baldwin took the stage. 3. The Gala was clearly a pay-to-play deal and the IDP milked candidates with the most money, notably Fred Hubbell and Nate Boulton. From what I could tell, these two purchased hundreds of tickets and spent possibly tens of thousands of dollars. Kind of reminds one of the much-maligned Republican Party of Iowa's Ames Straw Poll, which Democrats have never been hesitant to slam. Apparently campaigns buying tickets to the dinner is proof of an evil, primary-rigging conspiracy for Fallon. Suggesting there was "pay-to-play" is idiotic. Every gubernatorial candidate got to speak for the same amount of time whether they bought tickets or not. Each candidate had the same opportunity to put up signage. Each candidate got the same length of introduction. The speaking order was randomized. If some campaigns wanted to bring more of their supporters to the event than others, what's the big deal? Besides, isn't it a good thing that these candidates are helping to bring in funds for the party so that Democrats can do more outreach? Haven't we been complaining that top-of-ticket nominees haven't done enough to ensure a strong party infrastructure? The GOP Straw Poll comparison is bunk as well. In that situation, ticketed attendees got to cast votes in a poll that was covered extensively by the media. There was no voting at this event, just candidates giving their speeches to the audience. I'd bet you money that if his preferred candidate had the largest cheering section that night, he wouldn't raise the same concerns. In fact, it seemed like he didn't when Bernie Sanders filled the bleachers at the 2015 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner. 4. Beyond the cost of admission ($50 just to sit in the bleachers and watch the higher-paying attendees eat), scheduling the Gala on a Monday excluded many rank-and-file voters, especially those far from Des Moines. As Paul Deaton of Johnson County tweeted, "#IDPFallGala schedule (Monday evening) not viable for working Ds outside Des Moines. Maybe that's the point." If so many people were left out by the Monday event, why was it the best attended fall fundraiser ever for a non-caucus year? The date was due to Baldwin's schedule, and sometimes you have to work around a major entertainer's availability to get a big name. Insinuation that it was intentionally done to screw over working people is ridiculous, and would require someone to think that the party staff and leaders are downright evil and sinister to do so. The reality is that there will always be some sort of problem with any kind of date chosen for a major event. The unprecedented turnout seemed to suggest it wasn't as big of a hinderance as some thought. There's also been a lot of complaints online that the Democratic Party dared to charge attendees for tickets. It's a fundraiser . I have been to countless events around the state where Democratic voters have had the chance to see all their gubernatorial candidates at forums and speaking events for free . The opportunities for everyone are there, but yeah, for a small handful of events a year you're going to have to pay so that the party can actually do all the important outreach efforts it needs to. 5. Finally, the IDP's decision to change the name of the event from Jefferson-Jackson Dinner to Fall Gala shows that the party is pathologically out of touch with big chunks of Iowa's electorate. A gala -- defined as "lavish entertainment or celebration" -- is not what the vast majority of struggling Iowans want or need right now. For further details, see Kevin Hardy's excellent story in Sunday's Register detailing the ravaging of most Americans' incomes to benefit a thin upper crust. I'm not a fan of the Fall Gala name, but I don't think there's many voters out there making their voting decisions based off of a party fundraising name. Besides, it was the party's state central committee that chose it - the folks actually elected by the activists who show up for the caucus (and in this case it included many of the more progressive members who came in with Bernie Sanders - edit: the original vote was before they came on the board, but a vote to change the name once they joined narrowly failed). Implying that Democrats are in favor of lower wages for working people because of one fundraiser name is silly. Especially when nearly every speaker on stage made raising wages a key part of their speech. Fallon could have pointed that out, but that would have required saying something positive. From what I was able to catch of the candidates' speeches, they all performed reasonably well -- with the glaring absence of any discussion about the urgency of climate change. This just flat-out isn't true. Several of the candidates and Alec Baldwin talked about climate change. So far, Cathy Glasson has been the only gubernatorial candidate to speak out against the Gala's pandering to money and privilege, saying, "People in our movement holding down two or three jobs and still struggling to make ends meet don't have hundreds of dollars to spend for a fancy dinner." That's not an endorsement of Glasson, but I appreciate her willingness to challenge the IDP. Yeah, Cathy Glasson didn't actually say that. Fallon seems to be just making shit up here. He finished his column arguing that Democrats are headed for another defeat in 2018. The problem, as it always is, with people like Fallon is that they simply can't help themselves when critiquing a candidate or party or institution they don't like. Do real issues still remain with the Democratic Party and its appeal to Iowa voters? Yes. Are there still structural changes that the state party should be working on? Absolutely. But when you toss in your legitimate complaints with outright falsehoods or ridiculous sniping over tiny problems, your point gets completely lost. Iowa Democrats should be glad that their state party leadership and staff were able to put together one of the best-attended and well-received fall fundraisers in years. That kind of hard work does a lot more to help get Democrats elected in 2018 than the petty bullshit whining from a failed politician. by Pat Rynard Posted 11/29/17

After an enjoyable evening of seeing fellow Democratic friends, watching the seven gubernatorial candidates speak and laughing at Alec Baldwin's jokes, the IDP's Fall Gala attendees likely left the event thinking to themselves, "Now, I wonder what Ed Fallon thought of all this."

CNN's Jim Acosta gave a dramatic performance this week when he demanded that White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders disavow President Donald Trump's declaration that certain media outlets are the "enemy of the people." Acosta nearly ordered Sanders: You should say otherwise, right here, right now. Sanders demurred on the demand, and Acosta walked out. Apparently, even some of his colleagues considered Acosta's behavior over the top, with one liberal commentator saying the move seemed " silly and self-righteous ." Still, as a journalist, I can testify it's unsettling when the president points to the press section you've been corralled into by security guards, and tells a crowd of thousands of fired-up supporters to look at the group of terrible people who are the " fake, fake disgusting news ." The news that civility is at a low point isn't fake or recent, but all the talk of the press-as-enemy has led me to ponder: How might a good reporter be a friend of the people? Perhaps friend isn't the best word, so I'll rephrase: How could a journalist promote the good of her readers, no matter who or what she's covering? A few thoughts come to mind, and I think they might extend to good citizenship as well--particularly for Christians trying to navigate a coarsening and cynical climate, while maintaining a Biblical worldview: Be truthful. Whatever your broader worldview or opinion about a story or trend, do your best to get the facts right. Lots of people may disagree about what the facts mean when considered as a whole, but the truth of the details matter. It weakens your argument when you mishandle facts, no matter how big or small. Be cleareyed about both sides. Neither side is completely right all the time. Recognizing only the errors or faults of those with whom you disagree is disingenuous and unwise. Be civil . We should speak the truth with boldness, but the book of Proverbs reminds us to use persuasive words--not perverse or demeaning ones. The Scriptures don't commend matching insult for insult, even when making an important point. Be humble . No one gets everything right, and when you're wrong, you should say so. That doesn't mean you have to back down from a worldview or opinion that others might disagree with, but if you get facts wrong, acknowledge it. On questions that don't have clear Biblical commands, don't presume you know all the right answers. Be proactive . If you're convinced you're right, show why your argument is better through words and deeds. "Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom" (James 3:13). Be hopeful: This especially applies to the Christian journalist or citizen. Be bold when needed, but don't stake your hope on winning every political argument or every cultural battle. Politics are important, but they're not ultimate, and they don't produce the spiritual change that matters most in any man or woman. Remember: "God's truth abideth still--His kingdom is forever." Share this article with friends.

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You're sitting in a bar. You are surrounded. A man is talking. Do you know what he is saying? Does he want you to know what he is saying or does he just enjoy saying it? You pick up on words you've heard in passing, skimmed over in books, spent hours trying to grapple with, rip off the edge of his tongue as if he was raised with them. They fall out his mouth, words like eschatological, ontological, dialectical . A friend, a woman, tries to break in and ask what they mean. She is ignored. You break in and ask what they mean and wish you never had. This is the Left as I experience it. Where revolution is planned and conducted in lecture theatres, chess moves towards liberation made between essay plans and summer trips abroad with the family. Middle class students looking at three years of reading and hoping for some action before graduation is swept away by job offers and internships and a Labour membership form drops through the letterbox. "Our priority right now is Corbyn." I have heard every one of them say 'Class does not exist, it is a social construct and to talk about it is divisive'. This is the gentrification of revolution. Those conversations above used to exclude those who haven't studied Derrida or Deleuze into remaining quiet, asked to forget our lived experiences in poverty so that we can be rescued by those who can be trusted to make change, those who say 'let's not get into identity politics' just so they can focus on respectability politics. Class is a social construct. So is racism and sexism and queerphobia. That doesn't mean it doesn't exist and it doesn't mean that people like me haven't been subject to the material conditions that construct provides. Here's the thing. I don't know what those words mean. Why? Because I can't afford the books that tell me what they mean and even if I could, I couldn't afford the time to focus on them because, y'know, I actually have to work. Forty hours a week. At minimum wage. To survive. Hardly enough time to even think about revolution or social justice or, even, how one goes about guillotining Ian Duncan Smith. We as the working class are silenced. We are dehumanised by the overread minds of the middle class. We're considered reckless in our behaviours, sometimes violent, which stem from a heightened propensity to mental illness, or childhood trauma or some sort of other lack of safety that you often find in well to do families. We're turfed out of our homes for stadiums we can't afford to go to, cereal bars we can't afford to eat in and universities we can't afford to learn from. We're locked up for lashing out, for taking direct action away from theory and when we do sit back and listen to people who say they want change just as much as we do, we're bored fucking senseless. On average, the poorest of us are more likely to suffer from depression. According to Poverty.org.uk: Depression is one of the most common forms of mental illness. Its effects can spread into all dimensions of a person's life including their work, home and social environments. Possible triggers identified for development of this illness include unemployment, redundancy or the threat of it, and financial difficulties. A poor working environment and social isolation are also factors which heighten the risk of depressive illness. The chosen indicator of mental health shows those classified as being at high risk of developing mental illness, where this proportion dif fers substantially by level of household income. When we can't work, we're dependent on the State to help us until we are. This, if you've been paying attention, has become almost impossible since 2010. When we can work, we're more likely (university educated or not) to have less access to jobs with higher salaries. When we can't, we're scroungers, leeching off the middle classes who, let's not forget, are made wealthy by the labour that we sell for pittance. Our work is precarious or non-existent. Our identities are fractured by our ever changing working environments, but thank god for transferable skills, eh? Revolution in this context for the students who aim to practice it their way falls down to one thing: They want to be us, but they don't want to see us. They'll live in filth, lie about which private school they went to, they'll drop their t's and they'll complain about how poor they are (all the while the family unit pays their rent). They'll live that experience to the best that they can recreate it, but when it comes to crippling depression or personality disorders, when it comes to a higher suicide rate or getting their hands dirty before the police and the state, often with devastating consequences, they'll step back out of their voluntary poverty and they'll remember their roots. Talking about class is divisive. It divides those who live the through the unerring darknesses of austerity, who lose loved ones, their homes and their rights as workers, from those that don't. These people, who might complain about the hunt but still allow them on their land, are the very same people who complain about capitalism but allow it to pull them up by pushing us down. And we are done with them. PS: Fuck Jeremy Corbyn.

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Mainstream journalists are turning on each other as WikiLeaks emails further confirm rampant corruption at CNN. Tucker Carlson, political correspondent for Fox News, ripped into CNN over recent revelations that the network secretly asked the DNC for questions in advance of interviews with Trump and Ted Cruz. (scroll down for video) "CNN is looking for questions," reads the... MORE >> WikiLeaks has released a damning new email suggesting the Clintons were responsible for the long-disputed death of Vince Foster, who worked for Bill Clinton's administration. The email exchange was between two employees of Stratfor, a publishing and global intelligence company. In it, Michael Powers and Sean Noonan describe in somewhat cryptic terms the deaths of high-ranking public... MORE >> In a brand new interview released today (shared by @PizzaPartyBen on Twitter), Julian Assange said Donald Trump will not be permitted to win the election. "Why do I say that? Because he has had every establishment off his side," Assange continued. "Banks, intelligence, arms companies, foreign money are all united behind Hillary Clinton. And the... MORE >> After coming under fire for going public with his support for Donald Trump, a Boston University politics student is making it clear he won't be silenced by the liberals attempting to shame him. Nicholas Fuentes appeared in a short video that was part of a series designed by Boston University to showcase students' thoughts on the... MORE >> According to a tweet shared by Mike Cernovich, poll worker in Broward County, Florida has contacted authorities and provided a sworn affidavit claiming to have witnessed voter fraud on Monday, October 31. Here are images of her sworn affidavit: To summarize the affidavit, the poll worker said that on October 31, 2016, she was "asked... MORE >> Loopholes within Obamacare allow illegal immigrants to receive tax credits and subsidies that legal American citizens cannot. The ridiculous double-standard is just another destructive initiative brought to you by the Obama Administration, which seems to have a greater loyalty to foreign interests than the American people. The revelations surfaced from official legal precedents in the Affordable... MORE >> The fate of the Clinton Foundation, and indeed the 2016 election, is likely hinging upon an internal feud between the Department of Justice and the FBI. Secret recordings implicating the Clinton Foundation in massive corruption were the catalyst for a major FBI push to investigate the organization. Yet, agents ran into resistance from the DOJ. The... MORE >> Police officers in Sweden have been resigning at a rate of three per day as violent crime rates skyrocket among migrants in the country. At this rate, more than 1,000 officers will have prematurely ended their careers by New Years. The influx in resignations comes as a massive influx of violent crimes swept the nation... MORE >> In a desperate attempt to purge their white guilt, a group of students at Ponoma College has created a white-only club to "work on owning" their racism. However, whites are only allowed to join if they "believe white supremacy exists." The group will also allow multi-ethnic students to join the club if they have a... MORE >> State officials in Pennsylvania raided a democrat party field office seeking evidence of voter registration fraud. The raided office was occupied by FieldWorks, an organization that does nationwide registration for the Democrat party. A warrant was filed with the Pennsylvania County Court last week as agents searched for "templates... utilized to construct fraudulent voter registration... MORE >> Syracuse University is now providing free tampons in men's bathrooms because... progress or whatever. In a move that defies biology, the campus is setting up a $1,000 budget to provide 10 Tampax Tampons and 10 Maxithins pads in all women's, men's, and gender neutral bathrooms. According to Keelan Erhard, a co-chair for the Syracuse Student... MORE >> The day after Donald Trump was elected president, Yosef Ozia went to his job at a juice shop to find his co-workers on the warpath, even berating customers. "They were flipping out, asking customers who they voted for, before shouting at them if they didn't vote for Hillary," Ozia recalls. Ozia, a veteran of Atlanta's... MORE >> The November 8th election date appears to be stoking up urgency along America's southern border as illegal immigrants are crossing over at unprecedented rates. As CBS reports: ...dozens of immigrants have been streaming through the streets of McAllen, Texas, on a daily basis. They have been taken to a migrant center at Sacred Heart Catholic Church... MORE >> Social media platforms from Facebook to Twitter have created a TOTAL BLACKOUT regarding the FBI reopening its investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails: Wow, Twitter, Google and Facebook are burying the FBI criminal investigation of Clinton. Very dishonest media! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 30, 2016 Indeed, as you can see in this photo, despite having... MORE >> Political experts warn Huma Abedin may become the next scapegoat for Hillary Clinton after the FBI's reopening of their investigation into the former Secretary of State's email server. In 2013, Huma signed an OF-109 disclosure document swearing that she knew her "legal obligation" to "turn over all classified information and to further safeguard any further information that... MORE >> Carl Bernstein, one of two journalists who broke the Watergate scandal, says the FBI would not have reopened its case concerning Hillary Clinton's private email server unless new evidence required serious investigation. "We don't know what this means yet except that it's a real bombshell," says Bernstein, who has written several books on the government's use and abuse of... MORE >> Campus police at Middlesex County College took down a student's "free speech demonstration" because he did not have "advanced approval from the college." The officer told Tim Petarra, the student involved in the incident, "pick up your stuff and leave." Petarra spent the rest of the day off-campus. In an effort to garner attention for... MORE >> Michael Moore has left social media users scratching their heads following tonight's interview with Fox anchor Megyn Kelly. Kelly began by pressing Moore for an explanation on his apparently pro-Trump statement that went viral this week. Moore responded by accusing the internet of taking his statement out of context. He went on to lash out at Donald... MORE >>

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New research confirms yet again what many Americans already knew: The divide between Left and Right in America is widening even further. A post entitled " Don't Bet On The Emergence Of A 'Religious Left' " from the Public Religion Research Institute's research director, Daniel Cox, highlights how the American Left is becoming less religious at a much faster rate than the Right. Cox explains: Nearly four in 10 (38 percent) liberals are religiously unaffiliated today, more than double the percentage of the 1990s, according to data from the General Social Survey. In part, the liberal mass migration away from religion was a reaction to the rise of the Christian right. Over the last couple decades, conservative Christians have effectively branded religious activism as primarily concerned with upholding a traditional vision of sexual morality and social norms. That conservative religious advocacy contributed to many liberals maintaining an abiding suspicion about the role that institutional religion plays in society and expressing considerable skepticism of organized religion generally. Only 30 percent of liberals report having a great deal or quite a lot of confidence in organized religion. Half say that religion's impact on society is more harmful than helpful . Of course, these numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, if one takes seriously the research in Rodney Stark's 2015 book " The Triumph of Faith ." In the book, Stark - a sociologist at Baylor University - looks at the inherent flaws in a great deal of similar research and how its missed nuances skew the numbers away from a more accurate and detailed understanding of religious belief in the U.S. But this research does indeed speak to an apparent truth to even the most casual observer: Religion on the Left is dying out. Furthermore, it also suggests that while organized religion on the American Right has also diminished over the past few years, the chasm between the faiths of the two poles of American political life is growing wider. Even more, the philosophical frameworks in which we debate the issues of the republic are growing more and more different from each other, leading us to effectively talk past each other, not debate, on issues like religious freedom, marriage, abortion, and others. It's nearly impossible to deny that the Left is becoming not only less religious, but more anti-religious. A lot of this can be attributed to the fact that liberal churches have been dying for some time while conservative denominations thrive. This divide is evident most of all in how political coalitions have changed over the years. Cox says "religious liberals who once operated in the center ring may now have to come to terms with working outside the spotlight," and he appears to be right. While the Democrat Party and the greater political Left used to have a space for religious progressives, this wiggle room has all but disappeared. One need only look at the remaining handful of pro-life Democrats in Congress or the dramatically altered landscape regarding conscience rights between the 1993 passage of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and today to get a glimpse of a much larger picture. The other side of this is where religious conservatives should take the most heed. While the increasingly irreligious Left may be out of political power, at least until 2019, it has cultural cachet in spades. This will naturally prompt a different kind of public engagement paradigm from that seen in past generations - ones that Rod Dreher , Anthony Esolen , and R.R. Reno seek to outline in recent books - the former two of which I am still digesting. One thing is certain: In the present and future political landscape, culture and community will indeed have to be the new watchwords of political engagement for those who still hold fast to the classical triad of the true, the beautiful, and the good. One clear implication for both sides of the divide, however, is a need to return to the tenets of our original federal system. We have never in recent memory been more divided in our worldviews as fellow citizens. Ironically, we have also never in recent memory been so in need of a federal system that allows for different societies in this union to govern themselves while debating issues that affect us in the public square, and we have never been farther from it. In an era of such contrast among fellow citizens, good fences are necessary to good neighbors; it's high time we mended them. Here's an idea ... let's keep politics local. It's not too late to try CRTV for 7 days FREE: CRTV.com Posted by CRTV on Wednesday, March 1, 2017 Author: Nate Madden

Cox explains: Nearly four in 10 (38 percent) liberals are religiously unaffiliated today, more than double the percentage of the 1990s, according to data from the General Social Survey. In part, the liberal mass migration away from religion was a reaction to the rise of the Christian right.

I have worked on improving health care in unstable countries, drafted bills for Congress and advised multiple Cabinet officials....surely it can't be beyond me to make a clear, simple, permanent decision about what to do with my childhood comic collection. Surely I can overpower Richie Rich, outsmart the Rawhide Kid, and have the wherewithal to slay Superman with green kryptonite. And yet.... It's January 2 and I have already failed to complete this year's (and last year's and and and..) resolution, which was to "definitely do something" about the thousands of comics I have been carrying with me from house to house for decades. I opened one of the boxes earlier today, thumbed through a number of issues and realized that I am again paralyzed with indecision. Why don't I just throw them away? Part of it has to do with economics. I pulled this one out of a box I grabbed at random just now. It concerns a strange fellow named Plastic Man (un-ironically named then, but this was before AIDS). PM #1 cost 12 cents back in the day but based on a quick Internet search it sells for almost a thousand times that today. Avengers #57 I remember is valuable too, so is Daredevil #158. I know there are many others of this sort and I can't countenance throwing such a high-return investment into the garbage (even though I realize that a thousand times 12 cents is not exactly a retirement nest egg). But neither do I seem to make the decision to hire an expert who could separate the wheat from the chaff. Why don't I keep them and become a serious collector? As part of failing in my resolution each year, I go on eBay and look at all the comics. I think "I could buy the comics I am missing -- Marvel Team Up #4 and #51 to complete my set -- and be a real awesome, serious collector". But then I think that having so many more comics in my home would take up more space than having them on eBay, and I wouldn't read them, so it's simpler to leave them on the Internet knowing I can always go get them if I want them. Also, having tens of thousands of comics in the house doesn't fit my self-image or lifestyle (i.e., I am married and we have sex). So I am paralyzed between two worlds. As per prior years, I fall back on the well-known psychologist Daryl Bem's theory of self-attribution. To multilate it for my purposes here, it says that rather than decide who we really are and then subsequently decide to act accordingly, we often find out who we are by watching what we do. If I keep keeping the comics each year, neither growing nor reducing the collection, I must therefore want things as they are. Something about the connection to my childhood heroes, to Batman and Green Lantern and the Flash still has a hold on me and wants to keep things as they are. So I put the comics back in their boxes again this year, content that things are as they must be and should be. But I did pause long enough to read a few to my puzzled but amused four-year olds, in the hopes that in the distant future they will be as happily paralyzed as I am.

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If the Hyde Amendment still exists, then Roe doesn't mean anything for the woman who can't afford care. And if one woman in Texas can't get the care she needs, then Roe isn't fulfilling its promise. I'm exhausted thinking about the fact that I'm still fighting a battle that my mother marched for. That so many years later, we're working so hard to hold onto the rights we already have, that creating a proactive--rather than defensive--agenda seems like a pie-in-the-sky dream. So it's not that I'm angry. It's that I'm shocked. Shocked at the extreme lengths some legislators will go to to limit women's reproductive freedom. One provision in Arizona allows doctors to withhold medical information from a woman about her pregnancy if they think it might compel her to get an abortion. So if your pregnancy is in danger, if your fetus has an abnormality--a doctor could keep you in the dark and that would be absolutely legal. I'm shocked that given all of the ridiculous things said about rape recently, that a New Mexico law-maker thought it made absolute sense to propose a bill that would make it a third-degree felony to have an abortion if you were raped. A rape victim who had an abortion could go to prison for three years for "tampering with evidence." I'm shocked that when Ohio tried to pass their anti-choice heartbeat bill that would outlaw abortions as early as six weeks, they had a fetus "testify" by giving pregnant woman an ultrasound in front of the House. The pregnant woman didn't speak, appropriately enough--only her fetus was allowed to make an appearance. I'm shocked that in 2012, that there could actually be a controversy over birth control--something that we thought was a done deal decades ago. I'm shocked that in one county in North Carolina, the county board of commissioners unanimously voted to turn down a state grant that would cover birth control. The Chairman said, "If these young women are being responsible and didn't have the sex to begin with, we wouldn't have this problem." It's not that I'm angry. I'm incredibly sad. Sad knowing that the people these laws will affect the most are the ones that need care the most--they're the most marginalized among us: young people, women of color, low-income women, those that can't afford to travel across the state or to take days off of work to access care. I'm sad that women's health and lives have become secondary to their ability to conceive. I don't think any of us can forget HR358, the ironically named "Protect Life Act" that would have allowed hospitals and healthcare providers to deny sick women life-saving abortions. I'm sad--heartbroken, really--that a woman here in Texas who found out that her wanted pregnancy was doomed was not only made to carry her sick fetus for twenty-four more hours because of a waiting period, but was actually forced to have another sonogram--her third of the day--and listen to a doctor describe her fetus in detail. When she wrote about her experience in the Texas Observer , she called it a "superfluous layer of torment" and recalled sobbing throughout the entire procedure as the doctors and nurses apologized for what they were being forced to do. They call these laws a "Woman's Right to Know." As if we don't understand exactly what is happening to us. As if we don't already know that our well-being and health have nothing to do with laws that are created to make difficult days as awful as possible. So yes, I'm exhausted and I'm shocked and I'm sad--and you know what? I am angry. I am furious. And I think I have a right to be. I'm angry that if we use birth control or want our healthcare covered, we're called sluts. I'm angry that if we're worried about attacks on contraception, we're told to just put an aspirin between our knees. I'm angry that the government can mandate that women have unnecessary invasive medical procedures, and that if we don't like it we should just "close our eyes" or "look away." I'm angry that forty years after Roe , women are still fighting for recognition of our basic humanity. So what I told this young man is--the real question is not why am I angry; the real question is, why aren't you? We have a right to be angry, we have a right to be sad, and shocked. We have a right to be exhausted. And I know from the battles you are fighting here in Texas that those of you here in this room are all of those things. And that's OK. That anger, that sadness, it can help us do what we have to do. And I am angry and sad and exhausted with you. But I also know that what brings us together is more than a confluence of hardships. We don't do this work because of anger--we do it because of love. We do it because of compassion. We do it because we know that the women who seek care from Planned Parenthood need help and support, and sometimes the day that they're there is a really hard and scary day, and we want to make sure that someone is there for them. One woman who came to Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast wrote to them about her experience of care there. She had previously identified as "pro-life," and then she found herself with an unplanned pregnancy and needed help--and of course Planned Parenthood was there for her. She wrote: "The one woman who will forever be a part of my heart was the 'hand-holder' volunteer. She was an angel of a woman who held my hand and told me everything was going to be okay. Her strength and nurturing way were remarkable.... Not once throughout this process did I feel judged." Sometimes when you do work like this, it's easy to get lost in the enormity of it all--because these are enormous, important issues--women's health, our right to bodily integrity; it's a tremendous responsibility and it can feel incredibly overwhelming. But at the end of the day this is about changing lives one person at a time. Yes, there are laws we need to fight against and laws we need to fight for to ensure that we can do this work, but what we have to remember is that the reason we do this is to help one person--the one person who is in front of us in a particular moment who needs help now, regardless of how much money they have, or what their gender identity is, or whether or not they call themselves pro-life. And maybe that seems like simplifying the issue, but I think it's the most important part of the work that Planned Parenthood does. Because to that one person that you've helped, you've changed their entire life--you've shifted the trajectory of their future, and increased their sense of well-being and safety. You've ensured that on what may be the worst day of someone's life, in a moment when it felt like no one could help them--you were there. Sometimes we're even fighting for a person who doesn't know she's going to need help down the line--but we're there, making sure that if and when she does need support she will absolutely get it. And that's why I think the work that Planned Parenthood does is so life-affirming. You're showing people that their health and lives matter, that their experiences matter. Most importantly, you're showing them that they're not alone. And that's what I think of when I think of Planned Parenthood and the work that so many activists in Texas and across the country are doing. It's not about birth control or abortion. It's about compassion, and community, and the insistence that women be respected and supported. It's about affirming our basic humanity. So in spite of the sadness and anger I feel when I think about how women's rights are attacked, when I'm in a room like this one, what I feel the most is gratitude. I'm grateful for the generation that came before me who continue to fight and who paved the way. I'm grateful for all of the amazing young activists who fight this fight despite being told over and over again that young people don't care about reproductive justice--a myth that is very far from the reality I see every day. I'm grateful to the people who support Planned Parenthood--be it through time and energy, or through their pocketbooks. And most of all, I'm grateful for what we create when we come together in a room like this. It's more than just activist energy, it's community. A community of compassion, of understanding, and a community of non-judgement. It's a community I'm incredibly proud to be a part of. And it's a community I know has lasting power because what we are doing here is not just the compassionate thing to do--it's the right thing to do. So thank you, for letting me be a part of your community today, and thank you to Planned Parenthood for showing the women of Texas that they are not alone. Incursions on reproductive rights aren't limited to red states. Read Jessica Valenti's post on college rape victims.

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In the 1970s America embarked on a ghastly experiment in mass incarceration . As part of a wider process of criminalization -- driven by the "war on drugs," local law enforcement policies, economic changes, and shifting racial politics -- the United States began locking up people in droves. Living in any American community decades later, you can feel its disastrous effect all around you. But how big is mass incarceration's footprint? How can it be quantified? One index is the scale of the prison and jail population at any moment in time. It soared from around 400,000 in the mid 1970s to 2.3 million in 2010. That's appalling, but it understates the impact of criminalization because it does not count those who have been convicted of felonies and not incarcerated. Furthermore, it counts only those currently detained, rather than the entire population of people, mainly men, who have been processed by the system and bear its stigma for the rest of their lives. Calculating the size of those wider populations requires one to consult a broader array of data not only on the prison and jail populations, but also those on parole and those convicted of felonies as a whole. It also requires us to move from the flow of people processed by the system in any given period to the stock of those who have been affected by it over a period of decades. Source: " The Growth, Scope, and Spatial Distribution of People with Felony Records in the United States, 1948-2010 " To quantify the entire population touched by the system, one has to make certain demographic assumptions about the rate at which ex-prisoners and felons die as well as their recidivism rates (to avoid those who have been convicted, imprisoned, released, and then re-convicted and re-incarcerated being counted many times over). A post by the excellent Timothy Taylor points to an astonishing study by Sarah Shannon, a sociologist at the University of Georgia, and five colleagues. They estimate that the number of Americans either currently serving a sentence or carrying a felony conviction or prison time in their background quadrupled between 1980 and 2010 -- from 5 million to nearly 20 million. Allowing for further sentencing since 2010, it would not be unreasonable to assume that 23 million Americans are thus marked. Source: " Where Did All the Men Go? " Looking beyond those convicted of felonies and incarcerated, a study by the Obama administration estimates that "70 million Americans -- or roughly a third of the adult population -- have some type of criminal record," including "those with charges that were dismissed or did not result in conviction, as well as those who have completed their legal obligation to serve time in incarceration." Of course, this enormous system of criminalization and punishment operates with spectacular inequalities. In particular, African-American men are vastly more likely to be affected by it than any other group. America's police arrest their fellow citizens at an astonishing rate: "30 percent of black males have been arrested by age 18 (vs. 22 percent for white males). . . . This grows to 49 percent by age 23 vs. about 38 percent of white males." And on arrest often follows imprisonment. "Sociologists Bruce Western and Becky Pettit have shown . . . that the cumulative risk of imprisonment for black men ages 20-34 without a high school degree stands at 68 percent, as compared to 21 percent of black men with a high school degree and 28 percent for white men without a high school degree." The rates for black men are obviously shocking, but so too are those for poorly educated white men. All in all, 15 percent of African-American men in the United States have been to prison (compared to about 6 percent of all adult men). But those figures reflect all men alive, including older men lucky enough to have escaped the great incarceration drive. For younger cohorts the risks are far higher. For boys born in 2001, the lifetime probability of incarceration is estimated to be 32 percent for young black men, 17 percent for Latinos, and 6 percent for whites. Source: " Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System " This system of incarceration captures the most disadvantaged in society, disproportionately conscripting from the ranks of foster kids, or kids with parents with a history of incarceration or drug abuse. Thirty-six percent received public assistance. Eleven percent were homeless. Fifty-eight percent have mental health issues. According to the White House report, the individuals in question were on the whole marginalized from the labor market "even prior to conviction. Estimates from different data sources suggest that as little as 10 percent of this group have positive pre-incarceration earnings and that real pre-incarceration yearly earnings range from $3,000 to $28,000." If prisoners have one thing in common, it is that they were poor on the outside. Source: " Economic Perspectives on Incarceration and the Criminal Justice System " This is a gigantic machine for destroying life chances. And the bitter irony, of course, is that it is immensely expensive. A prison bed costs between $14,000 and $60,000, varying by state and federal institutions. The cost of a single inmate in one of the higher-cost institutions is comparable to the cost of the police officer who puts them there. Through the US criminal justice, the American state is spending more money on the inmates than it ever spent on them on the outside. The impact of this machinery on education, employability, and the possibility of forming stable family and social ties are obvious. The vast majority of employers conduct criminal background checks on potential recruits. Thousands of jobs require licenses and certification from which felons are excluded from the get-go. Not surprisingly, therefore, non-participation in the workforce for prime-age men who have been incarcerated is three times higher than for those who have never been arrested. For white prime working-age men with a prison record, the non-participation rate in the labor force is 17 percent. For black men with a prison record, it is 27 percent. The non-participation rate for prime age men untouched by the criminal justice system is 6 percent. Once we include the multiply disadvantaged groups who have been stigmatized by it, that percentage rises to 9 percent: i.e. by 50 percent. Source: " Where Did All the Men Go ?" In short, America's machinery of " law and order " is a machinery for confirming and massively reinforcing every dimension of inequality in American society. This is not merely a problem of "bad policy" that can be fixed with small, technocratic adjustments. It reflects deep and ongoing structures of racialized inequality. This has long been true, of course. But the scale on which this machine operates in the present day, and its impact on the poorest and most marginalized Americans, beggars belief. Adapted from AdamTooze.com . Share this article Facebook Twitter Email

In the 1970s America embarked on a ghastly experiment in mass incarceration . As part of a wider process of criminalization -- driven by the "war on drugs," local law enforcement policies, economic changes, and shifting racial politics -- the United States began locking up people in droves.

Bernie Sanders' presidential candidacy gives the opportunity for real discussion about earning the African-American vote, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Thursday, but still, he was skeptical about Sanders speaking beyond rhetoric and offering solutions. "We have serious problems from the economic conditions, to Flint, Michigan and across the board to education and clearly in policing," Sharpton, who met with Sanders in Harlem for a sit-down breakfast discussion, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program . "Whoever wins this election, Republican or Democrat, this will be the first time in American history we will see a white succeed a black president," Sharpton continued. "Civil rights leaders have a responsibility to press them on the issues before we get into who we like or who we know and that's what we've got to do. Make them earn the vote." And while the Congressional Black Caucus is to come out on Thursday in support of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Sharpton said, it is important to consider the candidates' plans for today, not what achievements they may have had 50 or 30 years ago, and he is skeptical about Sanders' voice when it comes to current events. "I served with him in Congress and I can tell you, I don't recall one time in Congress where his voice was outspoken, where his voice was the loudest and most constructive around anything involving income inequality, particularly as it related to racial issues," said Sharpton. "I applaud him now for his efforts around criminal justice reform and his loud call in front of every audience for what happened in Ferguson, for what's happening in every community across the country." Further, said Sharpton, he doesn't hear a "growth" message, but instead "'here's how we make government take more from people who earn a lot.'" But he did give "great credit" to Sanders for talking about black unemployment rates and youth unemployment, but still, "I don't hear solutions. I hear rhetoric and I hear him talking about his ideology, but I don't hear a list or enumeration of the kind of things we can do to redress or overturn those things." Also, Sharpton said he believes Sanders has shortcomings with foreign policy, and that is "something that cannot be overlooked. The lack of experience, an unwillingness to engage or to even surround himself with a group of advisors, whether you agree with those advisors or not, it's unclear the kind of advice and approach he would take." But Clinton, who will meet with Sharpton on Tuesday, still has to earn the African-American vote, he said on MSNBC's "MTP Daily," reports Politico . He said he still needs to hear more specifics from both Sanders and Clinton as the presidential race heads to South Carolina. "You can't go to South Carolina and not deal with the Walter Scott case, not deal with gun control and the ramifications of the Charleston Nine," he said. (c) 2018 Newsmax. All rights reserved. Click Here to comment on this article

Bernie Sanders' presidential candidacy gives the opportunity for real discussion about earning the African-American vote, the Rev. Al Sharpton said Thursday, but still, he was skeptical about Sanders speaking beyond rhetoric and offering solutions.

Monday was World Rhino Day , when zoos and wildlife reserves around the world held events celebrating the horned species. But even on their special day, rhinos couldn't catch a break. News emerged that a ranger and two employees of South Africa's national parks service were arrested on suspicion of poaching in the country's Kruger National Wildlife Refuge . "It is unfortunate that those trusted with the well-being of these animals are alleged to have become the destroyers of the same heritage that they have a mandate to protect," said Abe Sibiya, the park's chief executive officer, in a statement. Park officials said the three employees were found with a hunting rifle, ammunition, and poaching equipment during the arrest, which took place shortly after a freshly killed rhino was discovered nearby in the Lower Sabie area of the park. South Africa is home to more than 80 percent of the roughly 26,000 wild rhinos left on the continent, and that population is declining rapidly because of poaching, according to the agency. This year alone, 787 rhinos have been lost to poaching in South Africa. A record 1,004 rhinos were killed in 2013. In the midst of the ranger poaching scandal, park officials moved forward with planned World Rhino Day festivities. Under a banner bearing the slogan "Not on Our Watch," Barbara Thomson, South Africa's deputy minister of environmental affairs, led a march on Sept. 22 aimed at raising awareness and seeking economic alternatives to poaching in the parks. Rhinos are one of five iconic species--the others are lions, leopards, elephants, and buffalo--that attract tourists from around the world. "Without the rhino, there will be no 'Big Five'--the reason millions of people from all over the world travel to South Africa and many of our neighboring countries every year," Thomson said in a speech . "Without tourism, there will be no direct jobs in the tourism industry for communities living adjacent to conservation areas, or indirect jobs in industries and sectors that support the tourism business. "Without jobs, there will be increased poverty, increased crime, and less upliftment of our communities." With rhinos in the spotlight--for better or for worse--here are some facts about the species and its plight. 0 of 0

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Slogans, sound bites, and talking points. Although this is now a global phenomenon, it's an idiosyncrasy of the post-World War I America where mass propaganda was turned into an art. With the advent of internet and social media, the average attention span has now shrunk further to tolerate only 140 characters, sensational titles, and 7-second videos. To discuss this omnipresent American desire for quick fixes, I created an acronym: STESSI - Short Term, Expedient Solutions, Slogans and Ideology. Basically, it's I want it now, I want it fast, I want it easy, and I want it my way . Whether it's politics, economy, healthcare, social issues or foreign policy, Americans are extremely divided on what to do, even though they agree that the system is broken. However, the problems were created by STESSI, and we are still trying to solve them through STESSI. When we live by slogans, our solutions become binary - either you are all the way for something or all the way against it. Thus, compromises become impossible. Slogans don't have nuances. When one person screams, "Build That Wall," and another angrily responds, "No Ban, No Wall" ... there's no opportunity intellectual discussions on how many immigrants should we let in, where should they come from, what should be their skills, how do we screen them etc. Slogans are also manipulative by being deliberately vague. Everybody can agree that we must "Support Our Troops." However, in reality, it often translates to "Support Endless Wars." Even well-intentioned slogans can become intolerant and closed-minded. For example, climate change discussions often ignore the hundreds of variables in an extremely complex, dynamical and cyclical ecosystem, and boils it down to one variable - CO2. STESSI also permeates every facet of American life. Consider the American food system which started to get contaminated after World War II, with the introduction of pesticides (derived from Nazi chemical weapons), fast food and processed food. Later, thousands of chemicals were added to our food to give it fake color, fake smell and fake taste. Another "innovation" to provide cheaper food for more profit was factory farming and the use of steroids and growth hormones. Of course, GMO in the 1990's topped it all off. Every step of the distortion was justified by short-term thinking, profit for corporations, and apparent benefits for customers - food that is cheap and yummy. When obesity started to rise in the 1970's, the expedient solution was to blame fat in the food. Fat makes you fat! Simple and obvious. But after twenty years, people were still getting fat. Oh, it's the sugar! Great, millions of people jumped on that bandwagon. Still didn't work. It's all about the calories! Count the calories, starve yourself and go to the gym. Nope, still didn't work. Wait, we figured it out, it's the evil carb ! If it doesn't work, don't worry, there's always some novel and extreme fad that is just around the corner. People would rather try hundred wrong, simple solutions rather than one right, complex solution. Big Pharma and the entire Western medicine adopted the principles of STESSI more than hundred years ago. They rejected holistic, natural medicine in favor of a mechanistic ideology that treats our bodies like appliances with discrete components. For example, doctors specialize in neurology or gastroenterology or psychiatry, when all these are intricately connected. (There has been some progress in this area, but the inherent system is still resistant to holistic science.) Modern medicine also encouraged the doctrine of "a pill for an ill." Often times, the focus is only to cure the symptom and not the underlying disease or the cause of the disease. This approach is unscientific and creates serious side-effects at an individual and a societal level. About 1 in 4 Americans are on psychotropic medications , and U.S. doctors are writing 300 million opioid prescriptions every year . Last year, more people died from drug overdose than all Americans who died in Vietnam War . The desire for quick solutions in healthcare has lead to deadly consequences. Excessive dependency on antibiotics and vaccines can also potentially lead to disastrous epidemics in the future. As for the business of healthcare, it should be called sick-care . We already spend 17% of our GDP on healthcare . What we have is a completely unsustainable situation where people are getting sicker, everybody wants a Platinum treatment when they get sick, corporations - Big Pharma, insurance companies and medical industry - are purely focused on maximizing profit, and the politicians are puppets of the profiteers. As for the economy, the elites have been slowly destroying the American Middle Class since the 1970's. It started out with " Are you making less money? Don't worry, use your credit card and you can still own all the consumer goods that make you happy! " Then, in the 1980's, the message changed to, " If we get rid of labor unions, things will be so much cheaper! Also, if we get rid of your pension plans and replace it with 401-K, you'll make so much more money in the stock market. " Ten years later, it was, " If we let Mexico and China do the manufacturing jobs, everything will be so cheap, and we will all be ecstatic consumers! " Of course, China's economy grew 55 times since 1980, while the U.S. GDP grew only 7 times in that same time period. Now, China has $1 trillion to build roads, railways, airports and sea ports in 50 different countries, while the U.S. can't fix the failing infrastructure at home. The Federal Reserve Bank is another institution that's addicted to using illusionary, short-term, and unsustainable solutions. By constantly tinkering with the interest rates, printing (digital) dollars out of thin air, and creating a series of bubble-burst cycles, the Fed has created a system that enriches the 1%, keeps the bottom 50% in serfdom, and plunges the nation into debt crisis. When it comes to foreign policy, Americans are fed stories fit for 5-year-olds. There was a horrible, mean dictator who butchered people and killed little kids. So, noble American politicians sent in a powerful army and killed the bad guy. Then everybody had freedom and democracy, and lived happily ever after . Sadly such inane propaganda is still effective. Perhaps the biggest victim (perpetrator?) of STESSI is the corporate media. Rather than being a beacon and seeker of truth, MSM has collectively turned into a giant tabloid that thrives on sensationalism, click-bait titles, partisan hyperbole, and Deep State propaganda. So how do we fix all this? Here are three simple steps to quickly accomplish this: <hope you didn't fall for that one>. The only way to fix our problems is to change our thinking. As Einstein allegedly said, "No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it." We all need to strive for deeper understanding of issues, have substantive discussions and debates that go beyond talking points and slogans, be less attached to ideology or political parties, watch more documentaries and less TV, read more independent media and less corporate media, and raise our own consciousness to a higher level. Chris Kanthan is the author of a three new books: Deconstructing the Syrian war, Geopolitics for Dummies and What the heck happened to the USA? Chris lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has traveled to 35 countries, and writes about world affairs, politics, economy and health. His other book is Deconstructing Monsanto. Follow him on Twitter: @GMOChannel

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When the Respectable Become Extremists The Extremists Become Respectable Colombia and the Mainstream Media James Petras Latin America and the Caribbean , War Zones , Web Exclusive May 22, 2012 By any historical measure, whether it involves international law, human rights conventions, United Nations protocols, socio economic indicators, the policies and practices of the United States and European Union regimes can be characterized as extremist. By that we mean that their policies and practices result in large scale long-term systematic destruction of human lives, habitat and likelihood affecting millions of people through the direct application of force and violence. The extremist regimes abhor moderation which implies rejection of total wars in favor of peaceful negotiations. Moderation pursues conflict resolution through diplomacy and compromise and the rejection of state and paramilitary terror, mass dispossession and displacement of civilian populations and the systematic assault on popular sectors of civil society. The first decade of the 21st century has witnessed the West's embrace of extremism in all of its manifestation both in domestic and foreign policy. Extremism is a common practice by self-styled conservatives, liberals and social-democrats. In the past, conservative implies preserving the status quo and at most tinkering with change at the margins. Today's 'conservatives' demand the wholesale dismantling of entire social welfare systems, the elimination of traditional legal restraints on labor and environmental abuses. Liberals and social democrats who in the past, occasionally, questioned colonial systems have been in the forefront of prolonged multiple colonial wars which have killed and displaced millions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria. Extremism both in terms of methods, means and goals has obliterated the distinctions between center left, center and rightwing politicians. Moderate opponents to policies subsidizing a dozen major banks and impoverishing tens of millions of workers are called the "hard left", "extremists" or "radicals". In the wake of the extremist policies of public officials, the respectable, prestigious print media have engaged in their own versions of extremism. Colonial wars that devastate civil society and materially and culturally impoverish millions in the colonized country are justified, embellished and made to appear as lawful, humane and furthering secular democratic values. Domestic wars on behalf of oligarchies and against wage and salaried workers, which concentrate wealth and deepen despair of the dispossessed are described as rational, virtuous and necessary. The distinctions between the prudent, balanced, prestigious and serious media and the sensationalist, yellow press have disappeared. The fabrication of facts, blatant omissions and distortions of context are found in one as well as the other. To illustrate the reign of extremism in officialdom and among the prestigious press, we will examine two case studies: US policies toward and the Financial Times and New York Times reportage on Colombia and Honduras. Colombia: The "Oldest Democracy in Latin America versus "the Death squad Capital of the World" Following on the heels of euphoric eulogies of Colombia's emergence as a poster boy in an April issue of Time ,and in the Wall Street Journal , the New York Times , and the Washington Post , the Financial Times ran a series of articles including a special insert on Colombia's political and economic "miracle," "Investing in Colombia" .According to the FTs leading Latin American journalist, one John Paul Rathbone, Colombia is the "oldest democracy in the hemisphere." Rathbone's rapture for Colombia's President Santos extends from his role as an "emerging power broker" for the South American continent, to making Colombia safe for foreign investors and "exciting the envy" of other less successful regimes in the region. Rathbone gives prominence to one Colombia business leader who claims that Colombia's second biggest city "Medellin is living through its best of times." In line with the opinion of the foreign and business elite, the respectable print media describe Colombia as prosperous, peaceful, business friendly-charging the lowest mining royalty payments in the hemisphere - a model of a stable democracy to be emulated by all forward-looking leaders. Colombia under President Santos, has signed a free trade agreement with President Obama, his closes ally in the hemisphere. Under Bush the trade unions, human rights and church groups and the majority of Congressional Democrats were successful in blocking the agreement on the bases of the basis of Colombia's sustained human rights violations. When Obama embraced the free trade agreement, the AFL-CIO and Democratic opposition evaporated, as President Obama claimed a vast improvement in human rights and the commitment of Santos to ending the murder of trade union leaders and activists. The peace, security and prosperity eulogized by the oil, mining, banking, and agro-business elite are based on the worst human rights record in Latin America. With regard to the murder of trade unionists Colombia exceeds the entire rest of the world. Between 1986-2011 over 60% of the trade unionists assassinated in the world took place in Colombia, by the combined military-police-paramilitary forces, largely at the behest of foreign and domestic corporate leaders. The "peace" that Rathbone and his cohort at the Financial Times praise is at the cost of over 12,000 assassinations and arrests, injuries, disappearances of trade unionists between January 1, 1986 and October 1, 2010. In that time span nearly 3,000 trade union leaders and activists were murdered, hundreds were kidnapped or disappeared. President Santos was the Defense Minister under previous President Alvaro Uribe (2002-2010). In those eight years,762 trade union leaders and activists were murdered, over 95% by the state or allied paramilitary forces[9]. Under Presidents Uribe Santos 2002 - 2012 over 4 million peasants and rural householders were displaced and dispossessed of their homes and their lands were confiscated and taken over by landlords and narco-traffickers. The terror tactics employed by the regimes counter-insurgency strategy served a dual purpose of repressing dissent and accumulating wealth. The Financial Times journalists ignore this chapter in Colombia's "resurgent growth." They are especially enthused by the security that ensued because large-scale foreign investment, over $6 billion dollars, in 2012 flowed into mining and oil regions that were formerly troubled by unrest. Leading drug lords, who were closely linked to the Uribe-Santos regime, and were subsequently jailed and extradited to the US have testified that they financed and elected one-third of the Congress people affiliated with Uribe-Santos party in what Rathbone refers to as Latin America's "oldest democracy." According to Salvatore Mancuso, ex-chief of the former 30,000 member United Self-Defense of Colombia paramilitary death squad, he met with then, President Uribe, in different regions of the country and gave him money and logistical support in his re-election campaign of 2006. He also affirmed that many national and multi-national corporations (MNC) financed the growth and expansion of the paramilitary death squads. What Rathbone and his fellow journalists at the FT celebrate as Colombia's emergence as an investor's paradise is writ large with the blood and gore of thousands of Colombian peasants, trade unionists and human rights activists. The gory history of the Uribe/Santos reign of terror has been completely omitted from the current account of Colombia's "success story." Detailed records of the brutality of the killings and torture by Uribe/Santos sponsored death squads, which describe the use of chain saws to cut limbs from peasants suspected of leftist sympathies, are available to any journalist willing to consult Colombia's leading human rights organizations. The death squads and military act in concert.The military is trained by by over one thousand US Special Forces advisers.They arrive in a village in a wave of US supplied helicopters, secure the region from guerillas and then allow the AUC terrorists to savage the villages, killing, raping and dissemboweling men, women and children suspected of being guerilla sympathizers.The terror tactics have driven millions of peasants out of the countryside Allowing the generals and drug lords to seize their land Human rights advocates (HRA) are frequently targeted by the military and death squads. President Uribe and Santos first accuse them of being active collaborators of the guerillas for exposing the regime's crimes against humanity. Once they are labelled, the HRA became "legitimate targets" for armed assaults by the death squads and the military who act with complete impunity. Between 2002-2011, 1,470 acts of violence were perpetrated against HRA, with a record number of 239 in 2011, including 49 assassinations during the Presidency of Santos. Over half of the murdered HRA are Indians and Afro-Colombians. State terrorism was and continues to be the main instrument of rule under Presidents Uribe and Santos. The Colombian "killing fields" according to the Fiscalia General include tens of thousands of homicides, 1,597 massacres, thousands of forced disappearances between 2005 - 2010. The practice, revealed in the Colombian press, of "false positives" in which the military kidnaps poor young men, dresses them as guerrillas and then assassinates them, comes across in the respectable US print media as evidence of Santos/Uribe's military successes against the guerrillas. There are 2,472 documented cases of military false positive murders. Honduras: New York Times and State Terrorism The New York Times featured an article on Honduras , emphasizing the the regime's "co-operation" with the US drug war. The Times writer Thom Shanker speaks of a partnership based on the expansion of three new US military bases and the stationing of US Special Forces in the country. Shanker describes the successful operation of the Honduras Special Operations forces guided and directed by trainers from the US Special Forces. Shanker mentions a visit by a delegation of Congressional staff members who favorably assessed the local forces respect of human rights, and cites the US ambassador in Honduras as praising the regime as an "eager and capable partners in this joint effort". There are insidious parallels between the NY Times white wash of the criminal extremist regime in Honduras and the Financial Times' crude promotion of Colombia's death squad democracy. The current regime headed by President Lobo -- which invites the Pentagon to expand its military control over swathes of Honduran territory -- is a product of a US backed military coup which overthrew an elected liberal President on June 28, 2009, a point Shanker forgets to mention. Lobo, the predator president, retains control by killing, jailing and torturing critics, journalists, human rights defenders and landless rural laborers seeking to reclaim their lands which were violently seized by Lobo's landlord backers. Following the military coup, thousands of Honduran pro-democracy demonstrators were killed, beaten and arrested. According to conservative estimates by Human Rights Watch 20 pro-democracy dissidents were murdered by the military and police. Between January 2010 and November 2011 at least 12 journalists critical of the Lobos regime were murdered. In the countryside, where NY Times reporter Shanker describes a love fest between the US Special Forces and their Honduran counterparts, between January and August 2011,30 farm workers in northern Honduras Bajo Aguan valley were killed by death squads hired by Lobo backed oligarchs. Nary a single military, police and death squad assassin has been judged and jailed. Coup leader Roberto Micheletti and President Lobo, his successor, have repeatedly assaulted pro-democracy demonstrations, especially those led by school teachers, students and trade unionists and have tortured hundreds of jailed political dissidents. Precisely in the same time span as the NY Times publishes its most euphoric article on the friendly relations between the US and Honduras, the death toll among pro-democracy dissidents rose precipitously: eight journalists and a TV commentator have been killed over the first 4 months of 2012. In late March and early April of 2012 nine farmworkers and employees were murdered by pro-Lobo landlords. No arrests, no suspects, impunity reigns in the land of US military bases. The Times follows the Mafia rule of omega-silence and complicity. Syria: How the FT Absolves Al Qaeda Terrorists As western backed terrorists savage Syria, the Western press, especially the Financial Times , continues to absolve the terrorists of setting of car bombs killing and maiming hundreds of civilians. With crude cynicism their reporters shrug their shoulders and give credence to the claims of the London-based terrorists propaganda mongers, that the Assad regime was engaged in destroying its own cities and security forces. As the Obama regime and its European backers publically embrace extremism, including state terror, targeted assassinations and the car bombing of crowded cities, the respectable press has followed suit. Extremism takes many forms -- from the omission of reports on the use of force and violence in overthrowing adversary regimes to the cover-up of the wholesale murder of tens of thousands of civilians and the dispossession of millions of peasants and farmers. The educated classes--the affluent, reading public--are being indoctrinated by the respectable media to believe that a smiling and pragmatic President Santos and elected President Lobo have succeeded in establishing peace, market-based prosperity and securing mutually beneficial free trade and military base concessions with the US -- even as the two regimes lead the world in the murder of trade unionists and journalists. Even as I read, on May 15, 2012 that the US Hispanic Congressional caucus has awarded Lobo a leadership in democracy award, the Honduran press reports the murder of the news director of station HMT Alfredo Villatoro, the 25th critical journalist killed between January 27, 2010 and May 15, 2012.[24] The respectable press's embrace of extremism, its use of demonological terminology and vitriolic language to describe imperial adversaries is matched by its euphoric and effusive praise of state and pro-western mercenary terrorists. The systematic cover-up practiced by extremist journalism goes far beyond the cases of Colombia and Honduras. The reportage of the Financial Times Michael Peel on the NATO led destruction of Libya, Africa's most advanced welfare state, and the rise to power of armed gangs of fanatical tribal and Islamic terrorists, is presented as a victory for a democracy over a "brutal dictatorship"[25]. Peel's mendacity and cant is evident in his outrageous claims that the destruction of the Libyan economy and the mass torture and racial murders which ensuied NATOs war, is a victory for the Libyan people. The totalitarian twist in the respectable press is a direct consequence of its toadying to the extremist policies pursued by the western regimes. Since extremist measures, like the use of force, violence, assassination and torture, have become routinized by the incumbent presidents and prime ministers, the reporters have no choice but to fabricate lies to rationalize these crimes, to spit out a constant flow of highly charged adjectives in order to convert victims into executioners and executioners into victims. Extremism in defense of pro-US regimes has led to the most grotesque accounts imaginable: Colombia and Mexico's Presidents are the leaders of the most thoroughly narcotized economies in the hemisphere yet they are praised for their war on drugs, while Venezuela the most marginal producer is stigmatized as a major narco pipeline. Articles with no factual bases, which are worthless as sources of objective information, direct us to seek for an underlying rationale. Colombia has signed a free trade agreement which will benefit US exports over Colombian by over a two to one ratio. Mexico's free trade policy has benefited US agro-business and giant retailers by a similar ratio. Extremism in all of its forms permeates Western regimes and finds its justification and rationalization in the respectable media whose job is to indoctrinate civil society and turn citizens into voluntary accomplices to extremism. By endlessly prefacing "reports" on Russia's Putin as an authoritarian Soviet era tyrant, the respectable media obviate any discussion of his doubling of living standards and the 60% plus electoral triumph. By magnifying an authoritarian past, Gaddhafi's vast public works, social welfare programs and generous immigration and foreign aid programs to sub-Sahara Africa can be relegated to the memory hole. The respectable press's praise of death squad Presidents Santos and Lobo is part of a large scale long term systematic shift from the hypocritical pretence of pursuing the virtues of a democratic republic to the open embrace of a virulent, murderous empire. The new journalists' code reads "extremism in defense of empire is no vice."

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Against the backdrop of the Minnesota police chief stating today that Ms. Reynolds claims do not match reality .... and having looked at the video hundreds of times, I'm in agreement with Treeper Nettles who first identified the tri-fold wallet of Philando Castile in the left front pocket of his sweat pants. When you correct the orientation of the video image (to eliminate mirrored orientation) and then point out the visible location of the hand gun you get this: The wallet was in the left front pocket of his sweat pants (left thigh). Same proximity as the handgun resting part in his lap and part on his left thigh. Here's the original video where officer Jeronimo Yanez clearly says: "Fuck ! ... I told him not to reach for it - I told him to keep his hands off it"... Look for yourself. It is all visible, and it all happens in the first minute of Diamond "Lavish" Reynolds live-streamed video. Looks pretty clear to me. When you consider that Officers Jeronimo Yanez and Joseph Kauser pulled over Philando Castile (July 6th) because he matched an armed robbery suspect description (BOLO issued July 5th), and considering Castile had a visible handgun and did not comply with the instructions of Officer Yanez.... Well ?... This also explains why the media and family of Philando Castile are not requesting the dash-cam footage being released . If the Dash-Cam footage were to be released, in conjunction with the visible and forensic evidence, it would exonerate Officer Yanez. "Fuck ! I told him not to reach for it - I told him to keep his hands off it "... Unfortunately, exoneration of Yanez is exactly the opposite of what the Main Stream Media narrative wants to happen, and what their efforts have been working toward so far. The release of the Dash-Cam would also remove the financial benefit from the lawsuit the Castile family has announced. The media and Castile family now both have a vested interest in keeping the Dash-Cam video hidden. They'll claim it can't be released because of an "ongoing investigation". Trayvon Martin 911 Calls However, when the activists want evidence released, 911 calls, video, etc. history has shown they don't accept those investigative arguments and they force the releases (Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Freddie Gray, etc). This time the release would be damaging to them. They will accept that "ongoing investigation" position in this case because it benefits their claim. The media are more comfortable selling a 'Hand's Up Don't Shoot" story, and will never NEVER retract their narrative or admit their mistakes. That's why the current rating of the American Media ranks lower than Congress. CNN spent how many hours analyzing an audio recording from the Trayvon Martin shooting, ending up with the word "coons" - which they later retracted, and said "goons" after the narrative was embedded. Why won't CNN use their incredible video technology to show the broadcast public the hand-gun in the lap of Philando Castile? Yeah, odd... And don't forget the images the Media sold with the 2012 Trayvon Martin shooting. Not a single MSM story ever showed what 17-year-old Trayvon Martin really looked like on the night George Zimmerman encountered him: Left: Media Image of Trayvon Martin - - Right : Actual Trayvon Martin in 2012

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The Global Monetary Architecture: Change is on the Horizon There is no better way to descibe the international monetary system today than through the statement made in 1971 by U.S. Treasury Secretary, John Connally. He said to his counterparts during a Rome G-10 meeting in November 1971, shortly after the Nixon administration ended the dollar's convertibility into gold and shifted the international monetary system into a global floating exchange rate regime that, "The dollar is our currency, but your problem." This remains the U.S. policy towards the international community even today. On several occasions both the past and present chairpersons of the Fed, Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen, have indicated it still is the U.S. policy as it concerns the dollar. Two empires vying for supremacy? Is China saying to the world, but more particularly to the U.S., "The yuan is our currency but your problem"? China's move to weaken the Yuan against the US dollar is in fact a huge response to America's resistance to reforming the international monetary framework. It's telling American policy makers that the longer they delay acting on reforming the international monetary system, the harder and longer they are going to make it for the U.S. to climb out of their trade deficit and depreciate their currency to where they need it to be. China has been preparing for this moment for several years by accumulating gold through its central bank but also by using banks/corporations and individuals. It has in recent years signed several international agreements to bypass the US dollar in international trade and use preferably the Yuan. It has created an alternative World Bank (Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank) and a gold fund to invest in gold mining in more than 60 countries. The project is being overseen by the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) and it is likely that the newly mined gold will be either traded on the SGE or be sold directly to the PBoC and other central banks. It has also bought a large amount of gold and kept the exact amount as secret as possible. The international monetary system is in crisis and ready to collapse. It has been since at least 1971 but it seems we are very close to the end (within five years). The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is working discreetly to have Special Drawing Rights (SDR) replace the US dollar as the international standard. Since the delinking of the dollar from gold in 1971, the US dollar has been the de facto international standard. The IMF itself makes no bones about its ambition to establish the SDR as the global reserve currency. In a 2009 essay , Governor Xiaochuan of the People's Bank of China (the Chinese central bank) also called for a new worldwide reserve currency system. He explained that the interests of the U.S. and those of other countries should be "aligned", which is not the case in the current dollar system. Xiaochuan suggested developing SDRs into a "super-sovereign reserve currency disconnected from individual nations and able to remain stable in the long run". What does he mean by "disconnected from individual nations"? The present SDR is a mathematical formula of the price of its composing currencies of "individual countries" with no backing whatsoever. Does he imply some kind of link to gold? That would explain many other statements in favor of gold by China's officials and their aggressive encouragement of Chinese institutions and individuals to buy gold. Zhou Xiaochuan, PBoC governor since 2002 - wants the renminbi to join the "SDR club". Photo via peoples.ru Julian D. W. Phillips , of Gold Forecaster, says, "What has become clear in the actions of the Chinese government and the central bank is that they are determined to accelerate the Yuan's passage to a reserve currency, hopefully with the cooperation of the IMF, but if not, they will walk their own road." However, this is not the final objective of China. Its target is to eliminate the "exorbitant privilege" of the dollar, not just to join the "club". China doesn't want to destroy the dollar, only to eliminate its "exorbitant privilege". With a different approach, but also very aggressively and more so since the U.S.-EU sanctions that amplified the new cold war, Russia has also accelerated its gold buying. Russia and China have also started a new payment system to avoid the U.S. dominated and controlled international payment system. Elvira Nabiullina, Chairwoman of the Russian Central Bank, said, "Recent experiences forced us to reconsider some of our ideas about sufficient and comfortable levels of gold reserves." Also in a recent CNBC interview, Ms. Nabiullina remarked on Russia's increasing gold reserves, saying, "We base ourselves upon the principles of diversification of our international reserves and we bought gold not only last year but during the previous years. Our gold mining industry is very well developed and it is ready to supply gold." Dmitry Tulin, who manages monetary policy at the Central Bank of Russia, said, "The price of gold swings, but on the other hand it is a 100% guarantee from legal and political risks." Russia is boosting gold holdings as defense against "political risks". Russia's central bank governor Elvira Nabiullina - fond of gold as a hedge against political and strategic risk. Photo credit: Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr / Bloomberg A Lack of Monetary Discipline In 1997 Robert Mundell, winner of the Nobel prize in economics, wrote in an article , "The problem with the pure dollar standard is that it works only if the reserve country can keep its monetary discipline." Aristotle said something similar 2,500 years ago: "In effect, there is nothing inherently wrong with fiat money, provided we get perfect authority and god-like intelligence for kings." It is evident that since at least the collapse of Bretton Woods the U.S. has not kept its monetary discipline and has no intention to do it. The federal "debt limit" and the gold price - click to enlarge. Dr. Mundell, in the same article, said, "The United States would not talk about international monetary reform ... because a superpower never pushes international monetary reform unless it sees reform as a chance to break up a threat to its own hegemony ... The United States is never going to suggest an alternative to its present system because it is already a system where the United States maximizes its seigniorage ... the United States would be the last country to ever agree to an international monetary reform that would eliminate this free lunch (exorbitant privilege of the dollar)". He seems to have been right. The U.S. is dragging its feet. The U.S. has not yet ratified the IMF reforms agreed even by the U.S. government in 2010. I doubt it will pass before the U.S. election at the end of 2016. This has upset not only China and Russia, but also the European Union and most of the international community. During the 2008 crisis that almost succeeded in bringing down the current international monetary system, gold made a stunning comeback into the system. During the crisis, gold became the only accepted guarantee in order to get liquidity. What was significant was that after having been ignored for decades, gold was coming back into the international monetary system via settlements of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). These transactions themselves confirmed that gold was coming back into the system. They revealed the poor state of the financial system before the crisis and showed how gold has indirectly been mobilized to support the commercial banks. Gold's old emergency usefulness has resurfaced, albeit behind closed doors at BIS in Basel, Switzerland. Since the 2008 crisis both China and Russia have accelerated their purchases and accumulation of gold by any means possible as it can be observed in the chart below. Major emerging market gold buyers - click to enlarge. Currency Wars Since 2010 we have been in a G-0 world (no dominating power), in currency and gold wars and a new cold war. The world desperately needs a new world order and a new international monetary system. Will it happen after a major collapse and possibly war or through collaboration and consensus avoiding a war? It is evident to me that, as Dr. Mundell said in 1997, "Gold is going to be a part of the structure of the international monetary system for the 21 st century, but not in the way it has been in the past." What form will it take? It's hard to say now. In this adversarial environment of a cold war and currency/gold wars I can hardly see a fiat monetary system succeeding (fiat SDR). That requires trust and consensus at the international level between countries. A detente, disarmament and collaborative environment was there between 1990 (end of cold war) and 2008 (start of new cold war and currency wars), but no more. In the conflict-prone environment we are now in, it looks more and more to me as if gold will impose itself as the de facto money. Jim Rickards, in Currencies after the Crash , edited by Sara Eisen, said, "When all else fails, possibly including a new SDR plan, gold is always waiting in the wings as a stable, widely accepted store of value and universal money. In the end, a global struggle between gold and SDRs for supremacy as "money" may be the next great shock added to the long list of historic shocks to the international monetary system." Any fiat SDR international settlement currency will only be postponing the inevitable "big reset" to some form of gold standard. Gold - waiting in the wings for the "day after". Photo via sodahead.com This article appeared originally at Goldbroker.com and is reprinted with permission. Dear Readers! You may have noticed that our so-called "semiannual" funding drive, which started sometime in the summer if memory serves, has seamlessly segued into the winter. In fact, the year is almost over! We assure you this is not merely evidence of our chutzpa; rather, it is indicative of the fact that ad income still needs to be supplemented in order to support upkeep of the site. Naturally, the traditional benefits that can be spontaneously triggered by donations to this site remain operative regardless of the season - ranging from a boost to general well-being/happiness (inter alia featuring improved sleep & appetite), children including you in their songs, up to the likely allotment of privileges in the afterlife, etc., etc., but the Christmas season is probably an especially propitious time to cross our palms with silver. A special thank you to all readers who have already chipped in, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Regardless of that, we are honored by everybody's readership and hope we have managed to add a little value to your life. Bitcoin address: 12vB2LeWQNjWh59tyfWw23ySqJ9kTfJifA

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Hydrant dug out by neighbor helps crews battle Highland Avenue fire in Salem BY ADAM SWIFT Union Leader Correspondent January 28. 2015 2:43PM Salem firefighters got an assist from neighbors who dug out a fire hydrant on Highland Avenue this morning. (Courtesy) SALEM -- Firefighters are crediting neighbors who dug out a fire hydrant for helping them fight a fire at 16 Highland Ave. Wednesday morning. Firefighters responded to a call at 16 Highland Ave. at 10:42 a.m. when a propane torch being used to melt ice on the exterior of the house ignited the siding, according to Capt. Jonathan Brackett. The fire spread from the basement into the attic. Salem crews, with help from Derry, Windham, and Pelham, got the fire under control by 11:15 a.m. and credit a neighbor who had cleared snow from around a nearby hydrant. "The most remarkable part was that the hydrant we needed to use was dug out by a neighbor." The fire department digs out all hydrants after a large storm, but with more than 800 hydrants in town that can take time. Two people were home at the time of the fire, but no one was hurt, Brackett said. There was moderate smoke, heat, and water damage to the house.

Firefighters are crediting neighbors who dug out a fire hydrant for helping them fight a fire at 16 Highland Ave. Wednesday morning.

Long-time Nashville radio host Steve Gill is back on the radio. The veteran conservative political commentator and frequent Tennessee Star contributor is hosting a 30 minute program, The Gill Report , which airs on Knoxville's WETR 92.3 FM from 6:30 pm to 7:00 pm each weekday evening. Gill joins an all-star lineup on the conservative talk radio station that includes Laura Ingraham, Michael Savage, and Lars Larson. Here's an example of the kind of insight listeners of The Gill Report receive: Steve's analysis of a recent poll that says Phil Bredesen leads Marsha Blackburn by 5 points in a hypothetical general election matchup for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). (You can listen to the program live here ). Plans are currently in the works to syndicate the program to other radio stations across the state.

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1 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 12:12:50pm down 21 up report Black Panther cleared $238 Million. 2 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 12:14:00pm down 12 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 19, 2018 Has access to 17 different intelligence agencies, the Justice Department, the State Department, as well as a staff who are supposed to be experts in their fields. Still gets all his talking points from Fox News. Sad. #PresidentsDay2018 https://t.co/ozfEphpYLZ Black Panther cleared $238 Million. Suck it Shapiro and right wing man babies. 4 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 12:17:11pm down 19 up report A White House official described the shooting rampage that killed 17 people in Parkland as "a distraction or a reprieve" from the White House's various scandals https://t.co/50rFQaTmjO pic.twitter.com/qS921RlZnE 5 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 12:17:37pm down 11 up report The President spends more time complaining about what other politicians should and shouldn't do than he does doing anything his damn self. 6 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:17:38pm down 35 up report Those poor long-suffering Trump flacks, thank God someone came along and shot 17 kids dead to give them a much-needed break from media criticism. pic.twitter.com/LPa8J9fi16 -- Danielle Blake ( @abradacabla ) February 19, 2018 This is your timely reminder that people working in this White House, for this president, do so because they're just as morally depraved as he is. Do not ever pity them. 7 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:18:50pm down 5 up report 8 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:19:59pm down 3 up report re: #5 Eclectic Cyborg The President spends more time complaining about what other politicians should and shouldn't do than he does doing anything his damn self. Because the latter would include self reflection and Trump's entire career in politics has been insisting he's been than everyone else. 9 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 12:21:23pm down 14 up report re: #4 Stanley Sea When a mass shooting is a welcome distraction to the omnipresent scandals in Trumpworld, you know the administration is truly screwed, and Americans are leaderless. Russia is laughing at all the chaos they've done on a shoestring budget. 10 S'latch Feb 19, 2018 * 12:21:45pm down 8 up report Happy Not My President Day! "My world's on fire, how about yours?" 11 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 12:21:55pm down 8 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? ask mitch you guys know each other? 12 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 12:22:40pm down 17 up report "We need to stop people from talking about our rampant corruption, multiple indictments of staffers, and how we're fucking over the whole country." "Somebody murdered 17 people in #Parkland !" "Oh thank god!" 13 sagehen Feb 19, 2018 * 12:23:45pm down 16 up report After the 2007 shootings on Tech's campus, students and staff at the Florida high school sent a more than 100-page handcrafted wooden book to the university that is now part of Tech's April 16, 2007, condolence archives. Two then-Stoneman Douglas students collected letters and artwork from fellow students across Florida to fill the large wooden book that says "in memory of 32" on its front. It is the largest condolence book Tech received after the shooting, according to the university's archivist. 14 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:26:07pm down 8 up report Scary to think what lesson they might take from this. 15 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:29:37pm down 19 up report 16 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 12:29:57pm down 9 up report Well I did hear on CNN that there is a photo of the yam signing some bare breasts from 2015 that was purchased & buried by the National Enquirer.. 17 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:31:18pm down 5 up report [Embedded content] Yep I just imagine any other President acting the way Trump does including ones I dislike like Reagan, Nixon, or Bush II and holy shit balls dude. 18 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 12:31:22pm down 18 up report Fake twitter accounts and a fake news site created the day before #alFranken 's first accuser went live. https://t.co/Mjv2nIEvqF The evangelical cult will dub them holy boobs. 20 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:34:07pm down 8 up report The evangelical cult will dub them holy boobs. Hey there's nothing in the Bible against signing boobs.// 21 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:34:13pm down 8 up report Welcome to senate race Mitt. I hope to welcome u to senate I don't claim to kno u well but every time I interacted w u in2012 I liked it and you Check out America's most wrinkled nine-year-old and his adorable tweet to Mitt Romney! https://t.co/I0rJZK9qvt The evangelical cult will dub them holy boobs. "I'll never wash my boobs again!" 23 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:35:49pm down 9 up report Good. He's a stain on his family, the NFL football Rooney's. 25 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:38:37pm down 16 up report This is how 40,000 starlings get to bed in less than a minute. @RSPBMinsmere pic.twitter.com/8RxfUen5RT 26 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:40:27pm down 6 up report Trump was impressed with the boobs because her boobs were bigger than his. 27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 12:42:32pm down 5 up report That's a swarm, not a flock, and it freaks me out. 28 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 12:43:36pm down 4 up report re: #27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis That's a swarm, not a flock, and it freaks me out. We need to learn how to weaponize something like that... 29 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 12:44:09pm down 5 up report re: #27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Reminds me of the grackles that have taken over the local Kroger parking lot, but they're a lot sloppier in their organization. 30 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:45:12pm down 17 up report The @NRA hasn't tweeted anything since Feb. 14 at 1:29 pm ET. i would love to see whatever memos the NRA comms team has been sending to each other these past few days https://t.co/HOBzjOAytT They may actually be scared for once. Good. Be scared Wayne Littledick. 32 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 12:46:54pm down 13 up report They're busy translating them from the original Cyrillic. 33 Blind Frog Belly White Feb 19, 2018 * 12:47:18pm down 6 up report re: #28 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) We need to learn how to weaponize something like that... 40,000 Starlings produce a lot of shit. The wax job on any car under that would be toast. 34 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 12:48:29pm down 10 up report Look at this Bell Curve bigot... Someone please let me know when it's safe to go back to my Notifications page. Praising the NYTimes op ed page provoked the Upper West Side (figuratively if not literally) big time. They feel so damn empowered. 35 Interesting Times Feb 19, 2018 * 12:49:26pm down 10 up report When a mass shooting is a welcome distraction to the omnipresent scandals in Trumpworld, you know the administration is truly screwed, and Americans are leaderless. I confess when news of the mass shooting first broke, I was worried about the quisling, cowardly, "but muh access" both-siderist MSM using it for their usual "today was the day he became president" blather. But thanks to Cheeto Benito's subsequent tweets plus the students who bravely spoke out, perhaps that "mass shooting as distraction" advantage is already up in smoke. 36 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 12:50:34pm down 5 up report People say the same thing about this clown !!! pic.twitter.com/5oQMjgCTTh It reads like a satirical SNL bit doesn't it? 38 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 12:53:31pm down 4 up report Into the stupid-pile? The days of NRA-bought corrupt politicians blocking America's efforts on gun-control, as our people are slaughtered, are over. 39 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 12:53:43pm down 13 up report I'm just waiting for Trump to mock the Parkland students and start a real shit show. 40 CleverToad Feb 19, 2018 * 12:54:18pm down 10 up report [Embedded content] Mutters "due f*in' process" under my breath for the 100th time. I am always going to have reservations about Gillebrand's judgment after watching her steer that bandwagon, and I'm still narked at my Dem senator for jumping on. Wasn't impressed by her press conference at the time either. (Doesn't mean I wouldn't vote for her vs. a Republican, but I rather hope I don't have to.) 41 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 12:54:38pm down 13 up report re: #38 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Into the stupid-pile? The days of NRA-bought corrupt politicians blocking America's efforts on gun-control, as our people are slaughtered, are over. They finally alienated the wrong people: teenagers with iPhones: and they are going to really pay for it. 42 lizardofid Feb 19, 2018 * 12:55:47pm down 3 up report For some reason the name George Stark popped into my mind. 43 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 12:56:15pm down 15 up report I'm kind of wondering how many Republicans are really as married to the NRA now as they were say 6 days ago? If some of the Republicans were only going along with the NRA to get along, a shift in the politics could allow some of them to abandon the NRA. Politics, to me, is all about riding a wave and fitting in with popular thinking, and that means you may not actually believe what you are running on 100%. It also means reading the tea leaves and making movements in other directions when needed. This summer is going to be interesting to see how guns fit into the need of the Republicans to hold their offices to prevent a Democratic onslaught. If the young folks get enough of their elders on their side, there might be a chance where the NRA may just be refused. And no I am not saying it is for sure going to happen. Just something to watch for. 44 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 12:56:16pm down 5 up report Trump was impressed with the boobs because her boobs were bigger than his. I'd need to see the pictures before I believe that. 45 The Vicious Babushka Feb 19, 2018 * 12:57:45pm down 31 up report It's truly amazing that Trump is willing to pay big money to have prositutes and porn stars pee on him and spank him when there are millions of Americans that would be glad to piss on him and beat his ass for free! #TheResistance 46 sizzzzlerz Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:07pm down 6 up report If that doesn't deserve the gold for synchronized flying, I don't know what it takes. They even stuck the landing! 47 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:14pm down 5 up report Reminds me of the grackles that have taken over the local Kroger parking lot, but they're a lot sloppier in their organization. we have a dozen or so regular visitors to our yard i named them snap grackle and pop mrs dm was not much amused 48 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:39pm down 12 up report re: #39 Eclectic Cyborg I'm just waiting for Trump to mock the Parkland students and start a real shit show. If they keep on criticizing him, I feel that's a certainty. I'm sure he's already done it off camera. 49 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 12:58:55pm down 5 up report re: #22 Blind Frog Belly White "I'll never wash my boobs again!" "I'll blowtorch these things right off!" 50 Interesting Times Feb 19, 2018 * 12:59:30pm down 8 up report Mutters "due f*in' process" under my breath for the 100th time. I can't remember now which LGF'er said it, but it was that photo - dug up by the alt-right ratfuckers at the most ratfuckable time - that really did Franken in. It was the worst possible visual under the circumstances. But in a "what goes around comes around" fashion, it was also photos that did in wife beater Rob Porter. If they hadn't surfaced, he'd still be serving in the Cheeto Benito Shithouse. "I'll blowtorch these things right off!" I wonder if he held them up proudly, like he does when he signs another silly Executive Order. 52 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:01:44pm down 11 up report re: #27 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis That's a swarm, not a flock, and it freaks me out. it's a murmuration. 53 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 1:02:35pm down 6 up report Did you tweet this before or after you took your hood and bedsheets off you deplorable racist? We are. AI controlled drone swarms. 55 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:05:44pm down 25 up report Parkland Survivors and others that are standing up through the media are so brave and are true role models. I'm speechless at their courage. And so proud that these kids and young adults are our future. #GunControl #ParklandStudents The question now is will our leaders listen. 56 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 1:07:10pm down 15 up report If they won't, we'll replace them. Sane adults stand with these kids, and against NRA-owned politicians. 57 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 1:07:13pm down 8 up report These kids are great. They're not taking the right's empty bullshit following every shooting. 58 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:08:56pm down 15 up report The steaming battleground breathes death. The enemy now lies crushed. Our victory is great, our victory is here. pic.twitter.com/cyLPdVWOS3 59 Interesting Times Feb 19, 2018 * 1:11:13pm down 11 up report These kids are great. They're not taking the right's empty bullshit following every shooting. The NRA and GOPer goons are desperately trying to figure out how to smear and discredit them. I bet Frank Luntz is conducting a focus group right now 9_9 60 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 1:12:21pm down 4 up report re: #59 Interesting Times The NRA and GOPer goons are desperately trying to figure out how to smear and discredit them. I bet Frank Luntz is conducting a focus group right now 9_9 I'm certain of that. 61 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 1:12:35pm down 8 up report re: #51 Blind Frog Belly White I wonder if he held them up proudly, like he does when he signs another silly Executive Order. Gah!!! 63 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:15:48pm down 18 up report This is the fucking United States Secretary of State. It's hard for me to believe the juxtaposition of these two sections of his 60 Minutes interview aren't major news this morning. https://t.co/IeykLIWfVw pic.twitter.com/Qo4jGhO7Hs Tillerson: "The relationship that I had with Putin spans 18 years now. It was always about what I could do to be successful on behalf of my shareholders, how Russia could succeed." https://t.co/Lfi5pndysh 64 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:17:51pm down 9 up report What kind of fortune cookie is this?!?? pic.twitter.com/osR4xd5VqH I don't think he's changed. 66 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:22:13pm down 23 up report no kidding...lol! The Russian government has dismissed U.S. allegations of interference in the 2016 presidential election, saying it does not meddle in other countries' affairs. https://t.co/FtIxwOzE17 pic.twitter.com/Jf7LDvU8y5 [Embedded content] Oh, well. That's good enough for me. /// 68 goddamnedfrank Feb 19, 2018 * 1:25:41pm down 6 up report It's Harry Potter, if he grew up in the Florida panhandle. pic.twitter.com/oJlsIfwVFY [Embedded content] How soon until Trump retweets that as proof? PROOF...I tell you!!! 70 nines09 Feb 19, 2018 * 1:26:30pm down 11 up report re: #66 Backwoods_Sleuth The guy who drove up in your stolen car after your house was burgled wearing your shirt and jacket would like you to know it wasn't him. 71 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 1:27:08pm down 5 up report 73 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 1:32:10pm down 18 up report Trump responds to Parkland massacre by announcing support for NRA-backed gun legislation https://t.co/Gk63XU0SOI 74 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 1:33:12pm down 16 up report 1,000+ people in Los Angeles today demanding common sense gun laws and honoring the victims of #parkland @MomsDemand @shannonrwatts pic.twitter.com/VedqciDg42 75 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 1:35:54pm down 17 up report New from @CNN -- Exclusive: Mueller's interest in Kushner grows to include foreign financing efforts https://t.co/w5wqmOeLHV 76 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 1:39:54pm down 10 up report Hubby did that yesterday. He decided to shave the stache while it all grows back. I've never seen him hairless. I didn't recognize him when he came in the door. 77 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 1:41:20pm down 9 up report re: #73 Backwoods_Sleuth re: #73 Backwoods_Sleuth The bill doesn't add any new background check requirements and the House version includes a "Concealed Carry Reciprocity" provision, which would force states to let people carry concealed firearms in public, regardless of their individual history or training experience. In other words, passing it would make zero net difference. 78 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 1:43:11pm down 7 up report If there were cockles in my heart, they'd be a warmin' right now. [?][?] 79 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:43:26pm down 14 up report re: #63 Backwoods_Sleuth Eh, Tillerson's point about serving different interests isn't completely wrong. As CEO of Exxon, his job was to maximize profits for the company; if working with Putin did that (and was within the law), then it's not that big of a deal. Now, if his objectives did not change when he became Secretary of State, that is a problem, but his "same cowboy, different hat" remark at least suggests that he understands that he now has different obligations, even if he has pre-existing relationships with some of the players. The bigger problem with his role as Secretary of State is that he had previously shown no interest in government, international law, diplomacy, or any of the billions of other things the State Department is responsible for. In short: he's as unqualified as any member of the Trump Administration for the job he was given. 80 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:44:45pm down 13 up report re: #66 Backwoods_Sleuth Georgia and Ukraine beg to differ on that meddling point. 81 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 1:44:52pm down 5 up report 82 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 1:46:57pm down 7 up report I wonder what the odds are that Trump at some point throws Kushner under the bus and pisses off Ivanka? 83 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 1:50:38pm down 8 up report In other words, passing it would make zero net difference. I think it actually adds to the problems. More concealed guns in public just add more possibility for someone to pull that concealed gun out when in a rage. And, what does it do for the current thinking that an armed guard can stop a bad guy with a gun if the bad guy can conceal it right up until they pull it out and get the jump? Oh wait, I'm sorry. What was I thinking. A bad guy would never conceal a gun...only good guys carry concealed guns so that the bad guys don't know they can be stopped. Never mind. I guess I am not thinking like an NRA member. 84 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:52:57pm down 7 up report I think it actually adds to the problems. More concealed guns in public just add more possibility for someone to pull that concealed gun out when in a rage. And, what does it do for the current thinking that an armed guard can stop a bad guy with a gun if the bad guy can conceal it right up until they pull it out and get the jump? Oh wait, I'm sorry. What was I thinking. A bad guy would never conceal a gun...only good guys carry concealed guns so that the bad guys don't know they can be stopped. Never mind. I guess I am not thinking like an NRA member. There's the added benefit of "good guys" with guns adding to the confusion when two or three of them pull guns to fire back and kill more people in the cross-fire. Or they get shot and then the bad guy has another gun he can use! 85 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 1:54:02pm down 8 up report I think it actually adds to the problems. More concealed guns in public just add more possibility for someone to pull that concealed gun out when in a rage. And, what does it do for the current thinking that an armed guard can stop a bad guy with a gun if the bad guy can conceal it right up until they pull it out and get the jump? Oh wait, I'm sorry. What was I thinking. A bad guy would never conceal a gun...only good guys carry concealed guns so that the bad guys don't know they can be stopped. Never mind. I guess I am not thinking like an NRA member. If you want to think like an NRA executive, it's much simpler: How do we sell more guns? If you want to think like a rank member, it's: I need a reason to buy another gun. 86 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 1:55:49pm down 2 up report re: #85 Belafon If you want to think like an NRA executive, it's much simpler: How do we sell more guns? If you want to think like a rank member, it's: I need a reason to buy another gun. Ever seen Lord of War with Nic Cage? 87 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 1:56:11pm down 35 up report My friend had to put his autistic cat to sleep today because of a rapidly-growing tumor. She never meowed and would communicate via bites. I got to know her when I visited him in Portland, and I learned that she'd accept affection if you knew how to handle her, and didn't flinch at the bites. Visiting him after he moved back to Chicago, she'd run right up to me, bite me hello, and settle in my lap for petting. It's a really sad day. My friend says he's at an all time low, and I'm pretty miserable about it myself. She was a unique animal. 88 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 1:57:24pm down 7 up report There's the added benefit of "good guys" with guns adding to the confusion when two or three of them pull guns to fire back and kill more people in the cross-fire. Or they get shot and then the bad guy has another gun he can use! Imagine police responding to an active shooter incident. They pull up and see multiple people with guns running around and shooting. And of course, the 'good guys' have no idea who is another 'good guy' and who is a 'bad guy'. 89 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:07pm down 4 up report re: #86 Eclectic Cyborg Ever seen Lord of War with Nic Cage? Rule of Acquisition Number 34: War is good for business. Rule of Acquisition Number 35: Peace is good for business. 90 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:16pm down 7 up report And what about a black "good guy with a gun"? 91 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:47pm down 16 up report Because this is one nasty Venn diagram. pic.twitter.com/MDz9ZavC4i 92 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 1:59:55pm down 18 up report This week's Battle Royale brought to you by Pennsylvania Fuller story: Pennsylvania's Supreme Court issues new congressional map to replace one it said unfairly benefitted GOP (GIF via @damondahlen ) https://t.co/0qksVpUXKF pic.twitter.com/MjRiVxQQ5f It's a fascist fest! CPAC 2018, Feb 22nd: 10:35 AM Mike Pence 11:35 AM Marion Le Pen 12:30 PM Don McGahn https://t.co/YVNGjWVvGh pic.twitter.com/KoYhXtg9zK 94 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 2:01:40pm down 10 up report The new PA map drawn by the State Supreme Court is in: dailykos.com . It looks like a reasonable map, meaning Republicans will flip out. 95 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 2:02:25pm down 5 up report 96 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:03:21pm down 16 up report Trump brief honeymoon of approval ratings up to 40% is over. @Gallup weekly has him back down to 37% (-22 net approval). https://t.co/jjFNBQAu1s pic.twitter.com/sfC7wGFN3Y 97 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 2:04:42pm down 27 up report "Special Programming". it's just like "Executive Time". 99 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 2:09:14pm down 13 up report re: #87 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis My friend had to put his autistic cat to sleep today because of a rapidly-growing tumor. She never meowed and would communicate via bites. I got to know her when I visited him in Portland, and I learned that she'd accept affection if you knew how to handle her, and didn't flinch at the bites. Visiting him after he moved back to Chicago, she'd run right up to me, bite me hello, and settle in my lap for petting. It's a really sad day. My friend says he's at an all time low, and I'm pretty miserable about it myself. She was a unique animal. Condolences to you both. My cat bites, but he meows and likes children, and nibbles a person when he's happy. I've been by the house where his suspected brother lives 3 times now, and now I'm sure it's his brother, because he grabbed my hand with paws and teeth when I scritched him last time. 100 sagehen Feb 19, 2018 * 2:09:17pm down 12 up report The collective noun for that swarm is starlings is a murmuration. 101 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:09:54pm down 8 up report It's a fascist fest! [Embedded content] How government is killing capitalism? That's some chutzpah considering your party is in control of both legislatures and executive mansions. 102 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 2:11:32pm down 24 up report We all know it's just a matter of time until the Trump-thing tweets out an attack on the Parkland students, right? 103 danarchy Feb 19, 2018 * 2:11:38pm down 4 up report Quick! Save those girls before they disappear into the basement of Comet pizza!!!11!! 104 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:13:08pm down 6 up report re: #102 Charles Johnson [Embedded content] He's going to cry about how they're not fair to him and how crime is down thanks to him. 105 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:13:08pm down 34 up report 106 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:14:10pm down 34 up report I'm a gun owner. There's no doubt in my mind that we should: 1) Require universal background checks 2) Mandate a 48 hour waiting period for purchases 3) Ban military-style assault rifles, along with accessories like high-capacity magazines and bump stocks This is common sense. 107 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:15:46pm down 9 up report The new PA map drawn by the State Supreme Court is in: dailykos.com . It looks like a reasonable map, meaning Republicans will flip out. Iirc, the Pa Republicans were also threatening to impeach the judges. 108 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:15:50pm down 5 up report [Embedded content] It's common sense Randy which is why your opponent rejects it. 109 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:16:30pm down 15 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 19, 2018 Why don't you do something about It now? https://t.co/mKO9ikR3xE 110 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 2:16:58pm down 4 up report Charles Johnson @Green_Footballs We all know it's just a matter of time until the Trump-thing tweets out an attack on the Parkland students, right? 5:09 PM - Feb 19, 2018 Is it wrong to hope he does because should he attack it will only hurt him further? IMO. 111 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 2:17:46pm down 7 up report It's common sense Randy which is why your opponent rejects it. Palin ruined those words for me. 112 electrotek Feb 19, 2018 * 2:18:36pm down 6 up report Is it wrong to hope he does because should he attack it will only hurt him further? IMO. It won't sway the #MAGA crowd one bit. 113 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 2:18:39pm down 7 up report Iirc, the Pa Republicans were also threatening to impeach the judges. Also, didn't some PA Republicans swear that they were going to court to try to discredit/toss out this redistricting plan even before it was announced? 114 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:20:46pm down 4 up report Palin ruined those words for me. Me too. 115 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 2:20:47pm down 6 up report Either because he's being blackmailed by Russians, or because his narcissism is so crippling that he can't even think about the Russians helping to make him President to strike at America. 116 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 2:21:13pm down 12 up report re: #106 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] It's going to be real interesting to see if a complete newbie like Randy can give Pauly Ryan a good run and maybe, just maybe pull off the upset. I see this race as the biggest indicator of how things are going to go for the next couple big elections. It is usually very hard to defeat a sitting congressperson that also happens to be the Speaker of the House and a party leader. 117 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:22:11pm down 8 up report It won't sway the #MAGA crowd one bit. Nothing will. SHS will claim he defends when he's attacked and how the kids are not fair and her pig of a father will follow up with a condescending joke the kids' way. 118 whitebeach Feb 19, 2018 * 2:22:29pm down 16 up report re: #90 Eclectic Cyborg And what about a black "good guy with a gun"? A significant portion of the white population of this country would be better off trying to understand an advanced paper on quantum physics than to parse the phrase "black good guy with a gun." 119 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:22:31pm down 31 up report I'm not sure why people are so surprised that the students are rising up--we've been feeding them a steady diet of dystopian literature showing teens leading the charge for years. We have told teen girls they are empowered. What, you thought it was fiction? It was preparation. 120 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:23:48pm down 11 up report re: #102 Charles Johnson @Green_Footballs We all know it's just a matter of time until the Trump-thing tweets out an attack on the Parkland students, right? I figure about 9:10 PM Wednesday CNN's @jaketapper is hosting #ParklandTownHall with students and parents affected by Florida school shooting. Rep. Deutch, Sen. Nelson and Sen. Rubio have accepted an invitation to participate. Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Pres. Trump declined an invitation https://t.co/rAsBd8OsIb pic.twitter.com/TZtbck4Ris 121 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:24:27pm down 10 up report 13-year-old Missouri boy arrested after allegedly threatening in a video to shoot up a school with an AK-47. https://t.co/g1NOtYFT70 -- AP Central U.S. ( @APCentralRegion ) February 19, 2018 122 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:24:59pm down 19 up report The avoidance of your responsibilities by pretending you don't know how to do them is called STRATEGIC INCOMPETENCE. 123 stpaulbear Feb 19, 2018 * 2:29:00pm down 15 up report 13-year-old Missouri boy arrested after allegedly threatening in a video to shoot up a school with an AK-47 Three thoughts: - How stupid is this boy? - How boneheaded are his parents? - How does a 13 year old have unsupervised access to a fucking AK-47? 124 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 2:29:03pm down 33 up report ONE LESS: Scott Pappalardo owned his AR-15 rifle for more than 30 years. He even has a Second Amendment tattoo on his arm. This weekend, he destroyed his gun "to make sure this weapon will be ever be able to take a life." https://t.co/eSBof2LpiT pic.twitter.com/3aUqmOqCwH -- ABC News Politics ( @ABCPolitics ) February 19, 2018 125 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:29:12pm down 14 up report It's cool that you science chicks are standing up to these dishonest, malicious, parasitic, braying, shrieking, mobs, of feminists & other effeminate creatures. I hope you can check, contain, or redirect them to something productive. If you don't, we will. You might not like how. -- Eli 'Paul' Nehlen ( @MartianHoplite ) February 19, 2018 Just want to show you all what women like @cbpolis and I face on Twitter. https://t.co/0Lbe4qjvsH 126 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 2:30:13pm down 7 up report re: #125 Backwoods_Sleuth What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with that so-called "man". 127 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:30:19pm down 9 up report re: #113 Jay C Also, didn't some PA Republicans swear that they were going to court to try to discredit/toss out this redistricting plan even before it was announced? Yup! "Thursday is deadline day in Pennsylvania's high-stakes gerrymandering case for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and others to submit maps of new congressional district boundaries that they want the state Supreme Court to adopt for this year's election." ... "Republican lawmakers say they will swiftly ask federal judges to block a new map, and contend that the Democratic-majority court had no power to invalidate the congressional boundaries or draw new ones." 128 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:31:46pm down 11 up report re: #126 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. What the ever-loving fuck is wrong with that so-called "man". one of Nehlen's fanbois This is a free country. My misogyny goes where it likes. 129 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 2:32:41pm down 8 up report Three thoughts: - How stupid is this boy? - How boneheaded are his parents? - How does a 13 year old have unsupervised access to a fucking AK-47? 1) Very 2) They're "responsible gun owners", by definition they can't be stupid 3) Gun ownership is a universal American right, who are you to say who can and can't have access to guns? /Sorry, I spent my morning on FARK reading the comments on various gun control threads, I swear I could physically feel my intelligence leaking out 130 sizzzzlerz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:33:22pm down 11 up report How government is killing capitalism? That's some chutzpah considering your party is in control of both legislatures and executive mansions. Easy. The richest capitalists don't have all YOUR money yet. 131 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 2:35:13pm down 6 up report I figure about 9:10 PM Wednesday [Embedded content] Declining this invitation is not a good look. It is an admittance that you either think the youngsters are wrong or you have no respect for their opinion. Or, you are scared to get shown up by them. Trump and Scott seem to forget these kids have parents and other relatives that can vote too. And some of them may even be MAGA types that I am told won't change. We shall see. 132 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 2:35:56pm down 14 up report Easy. The richest capitalists don't have all YOUR money yet. I recall an old Rolling Stone from around 1990: "Donald Trump proposes that if everybody in the world loans him all their money, he will use it to buy everything they own and then lease it back to them." And that, in a nutshell, is his vision for Making America Great Again. 133 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 2:36:30pm down 3 up report I wonder if we were to pass a new assault weapons ban, how a buy back program could work. There's obviously a Fifth Amendment Takings Clause issue, and whether the ban/buyback would fall under "public use". Calling voluntary would obviously be a way around it, but then there's a question of what do we do about the weapons still floating around society? We could ban the transfer of said weapons, but that could eventually creates a problem when someone dies and it becomes a part of their estate. There would obviously be a backlash and court challenges, but I do wonder if it would be feasible in the current political climate? 134 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 2:36:45pm down 10 up report Three thoughts: - How stupid is this boy? Missouri - How boneheaded are his parents? Missouri - How does a 13 year old have unsupervised access to a fucking AK-47? Missouri 135 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 2:39:41pm down 18 up report 1709 Proclamation by Lord Mayor of Dublin asking citizens to behave well to "Poor Strangers" who had arrived as refugees fleeing persecution. This is the only surviving copy of this proclamation in the world. pic.twitter.com/n3rah3u7qF 136 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 2:41:14pm down 13 up report He's also famous for hating gays Doug Manchester, Trump's nominee to be ambassador to the Bahamas, employed a management style that made many female workers uncomfortable, more than a dozen current and former employees who spoke on the condition of anonymity tell WaPo. https://t.co/FHG6JjxxA4 137 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 2:41:28pm down 6 up report How government is killing capitalism? That's some chutzpah considering your party is in control of both legislatures and executive mansions. Oh pul-leeeze! It's CPAC: their attendees are always going to go for the stock "party line": government is killing capitalism, government always has been killing capitalism, and government always will be killing capitalism, as long as there is an audience willing to pay good money to hear some wingnut-welfare hack gripe about it. In a Very Seroius manner, of course. 138 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 2:44:18pm down 2 up report For those who know much more about guns than I do, couple of questions: 1. When was the tec-9 first made available to the public? (I ask because it was used in the Columbine shooting and I'm sure any lengthy discussion about gun control will raise it as an example of how the old assault weapons ban didn't work completely) 2. When was the AR-15 first made available to the public? (in addition to the reasoning above, I've seen a lot of the "when we were in high school we had rifles on gun racks in our trucks and nobody shot up the school" memes) 139 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 2:47:32pm down 4 up report It's going to be real interesting to see if a complete newbie like Randy can give Pauly Ryan a good run and maybe, just maybe pull off the upset. I see this race as the biggest indicator of how things are going to go for the next couple big elections. It is usually very hard to defeat a sitting congressperson that also happens to be the Speaker of the House and a party leader. Anytime know what his ground game is like? Is he doing rallies? GOTV? Does he have a team in place? I like him. He's doing good social media. 140 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:49:32pm down 14 up report Attention Philly lizards: Found a small fluffer dog today in East Falls. She is safe w us for the night. We've had her for most of the day. She is friendly & sweet, I can't imagine she doesn't have a home. Please share to help find her humans. She does not have a collar or microchip. #lostdog #philly pic.twitter.com/TXYTeYLc2d 142 PhillyPretzel Feb 19, 2018 * 2:51:17pm down 1 up report re: #140 Backwoods_Sleuth East Falls is a distance from NE Philly. I have to admit that is a beautiful dog. 143 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:52:31pm down 22 up report This gin crap legislation will only affect law abiding citizens. It will do nothing for those who don't follow the law. -- J Saul Rodriguez ( @JRSox029 ) February 19, 2018 This law against murder will only affect law abiding citizens. It will do nothing for those who don't follow the law. https://t.co/yiqoMS3uYa 144 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:53:36pm down 22 up report Dear media: pls stop writing headlines & ledes that Mueller's indictment "removes any doubt of Russian meddling" - as if there had been doubt. The Intel community, under both Obama and Trump, has been unanimous on this. Such characterizations imply there was reason to doubt them. Laura makes a most excellent point ! https://t.co/ugYHLtuvZf 145 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 2:55:44pm down 28 up report I went to a very minor political event last week, and was canvassed by someone lobbying for 'the true progressive candidate' for the Democratic nomination for governor of NM. When I told her I was for his opposition, a Democratic congresswoman, the canvasser gave me a postcard promoting the 'true progressive' and said, 'educate yourself.' I didn't get mad until I was walking home and decided I was insulted. I'm still mad. I hang onto things like that. 146 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 2:55:49pm down 3 up report For those who know much more about guns than I do, couple of questions: 1. When was the tec-9 first made available to the public? (I ask because it was used in the Columbine shooting and I'm sure any lengthy discussion about gun control will raise it as an example of how the old assault weapons ban didn't work completely) 2. When was the AR-15 first made available to the public? (in addition to the reasoning above, I've seen a lot of the "when we were in high school we had rifles on gun racks in our trucks and nobody shot up the school" memes) Partial response... Tec-9 1985-2001 250,000 made First massacre: 1989 Cleveland School massacre en.wikipedia.org AT-15 patent for AR-15 bolt carrier issued 1956 Put into US service 1963 (Air Force iirc) Colt started selling them on the civilian market circa 1964 Patents expired 1977 so other companies could come in and sell. 147 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 2:57:37pm down 9 up report Two county high schools in Russell County Virginia today also, at Castlewood High a student posted a photo of a long gun and wrote "Coming for Castlewood Monday Morning" and at Honaker High School placed on lockdown and searched following vague threat. 148 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Feb 19, 2018 * 2:57:46pm down 4 up report re: #144 Backwoods_Sleuth Dear media: pls stop writing headlines & ledes that Mueller's indictment "removes any doubt of Russian meddling" - as if there had been doubt. The Intel community, under both Obama and Trump, has been unanimous on this. Such characterizations imply there was reason to doubt them. The only questions are the extent of the meddling and who was involved at our end 149 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 2:57:58pm down 12 up report They don't even care about tyrannical government. They hallucinated that Obama was a tyrant, but think nothing of Trump's attacks on the press and our courts. The gun nuts just call anything they don't like "tyranny". 150 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 2:58:54pm down 3 up report So why have laws at all? Oh wait. 151 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:01:13pm down 17 up report The rescue dogs of the world, are finally getting their own Westminster! The "2018 American Rescue Dog Show" airs TONIGHT Monday, Feb 19th 8/7c. A must watch if you love dogs! @HallmarkChannel #BestInRescue pic.twitter.com/dfVKuZocmB And let's face it, they want to be the tyrannical government. 153 Blind Frog Belly White Feb 19, 2018 * 3:03:41pm down 9 up report [Embedded content] Old And Busted: "To defend against a tyrannical government". The New Hotness: "To defend a tyrannical government." 154 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:08:37pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] What a cutie!! [?][?][?][?] 155 fern01 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:08:56pm down 6 up report Something about rich old farts that want to control what the rest of America does. Controlling his family and church members not enough for Romney - maybe he just wants time away from the wife - surely he can do that without making the rest of the US suffer. 156 Ace-o-aces Feb 19, 2018 * 3:09:04pm down 32 up report New stupid meme alert: Note: These women are not wearing pussy hats pic.twitter.com/w8WQ29j7i2 That's because they live in a country with universal healthcare, government funded abortions and strict gun control laws. 157 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 3:10:23pm down 5 up report Oh brother. The replies happily point out the absurdity here. Make no mistake: this is the PA map Dems wanted. It's a ringing endorsement of the "partisan fairness" doctrine: that parties should be entitled to same proportion of seats as votes. However, in PA (and many states), achieving that requires conscious pro-Dem mapping choices. 158 nines09 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:10:36pm down 9 up report And well you should. Does it have a phone number? Address? Contact them. Tell them you have educated yourself, and now know that the shitheads on the left are as bad as the shitheads on the right. Tell them to walk their purity pony off a roof with them on the back of it. 159 mmmirele Feb 19, 2018 * 3:12:48pm down 13 up report re: #87 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis My friend had to put his autistic cat to sleep today because of a rapidly-growing tumor. She never meowed and would communicate via bites. I got to know her when I visited him in Portland, and I learned that she'd accept affection if you knew how to handle her, and didn't flinch at the bites. Visiting him after he moved back to Chicago, she'd run right up to me, bite me hello, and settle in my lap for petting. It's a really sad day. My friend says he's at an all time low, and I'm pretty miserable about it myself. She was a unique animal. Condolences to your friend. It's tough to let a furry buddy go. I had a cat, name of Xena, who would lightly bite my fingers. Never hard, never broke skin and it was always an affectionate thing. My current cat, Nicki, loves to lick my hands. Especially if I have the odor of hand moisturizer. I've given up asking why, but I did check and it shouldn't be harmful to her, particularly if it's hours after I've put it on. She also checks my elbows for hand lotion scent. 160 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 3:15:04pm down 17 up report Question is,if men marry men and women marry women who will produce children in this world Obviously gay marriage and gay sex is just so mind blowingly awesome that once it becomes an option, heterosexual marriage and sex are just abandoned by the whole human race. https://t.co/nh3KIw7jiF 162 darthstar Feb 19, 2018 * 3:17:20pm down 8 up report I refuse to explain a common alternative use of a turkey baster to these eejits. 164 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:20pm down 8 up report [Embedded content] Kind of like interracial marriage ended the birth of white people. Maybe just maybe people who love each other should marry. 165 Kragar Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:25pm down 16 up report There it is: Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit website is going after David Hogg, a student who survived the Majory Stoneman Douglas school shooting who has been appearing on TV to speak out against gun violence pic.twitter.com/DcfNL4uHuB 166 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:29pm down 30 up report Monstrously misguided Concealed Carry Reciprocity bill is DOA in Senate - a demise it richly deserves. It mocks gun violence victims and their loved ones. 167 Barefoot Grin Feb 19, 2018 * 3:18:34pm down 5 up report 168 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:19:47pm down 2 up report That didn't take long. 169 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:20:03pm down 17 up report We bought a couple new goats yesterday. This one was named Jazz. But we already have a goat named Jazz, so we're going to call her New Jazz. Again: It is important that we never have human children. pic.twitter.com/hXYu9ipyNo What fresh hell is this? 171 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 3:22:14pm down 16 up report Good news to report. Several people have been destroying or turning in their AK-57's through out the country. Thought this news would bring a smile to your face. https://t.co/zlblBwuS72 172 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:22:34pm down 8 up report re: #170 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. What fresh hell is this? this is the yam's NRA-supplied gun reform legislation. 173 The Vicious Babushka Feb 19, 2018 * 3:25:00pm down 22 up report "This is a picture of my dad. Last night we went to see #BlackPanther and got jumped by a group of black teens in the parking lot. They shot him with a flame thrower and said 'this is for the culture cracker!' A RT could save his life" pic.twitter.com/B4rhkQlyrO I hope they catch the joker that did this. https://t.co/XkKA96s9uq 174 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 3:25:16pm down 8 up report SMOTI: this kid sounds smarter than me, obviously this is a false flag operation, he's probably 24 and a Democrat. 175 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 3:27:26pm down 5 up report For those who know much more about guns than I do, couple of questions: ... I've seen a lot of the "when we were in high school we had rifles on gun racks in our trucks and nobody shot up the school" memes... It seems to me that you are correct. There is a significant issue with the change in culture, above and beyond the technical increase in available lethal weapons like the AR-15. And I would agree with those who say we need to address the issue on all fronts, reduce the availability of highly lethal weapons, and affect the culture. For me... Growing up in the 1960's in Pittsburgh, it did not even occur to me that one would want to shoot anyone outside of a formal war. Rifle racks in pickups were, at the time, a rural phenomenon. As were pickup trucks themselves. Doing this in an urban environment seemed to me, anyway, as an invitation for theft of the rifles. Further, there was nothing in a city to shoot. My first guess on the current onslaught of shootings was the rise of video style mass media. Which brought pictures of violence. And introduced that possibility into folks daily consciousness. One of the problems with visual media is that it tends to focus and concentrate on the aberrant minority rather than on the mundane majority. And often totally out of context. A second step was the decrease in cost to own lethal weaponry and the rise of a mass market. And in the concept that a firearm was some glorious symbol for a lofty thing like 'Freedom' rather than a tool for very specific purposes. I think that the next step was the rise of the rage media, such as Fox, Rush Limbaugh, and Alex Jones At some point, I think that society will figure out how to handle these issues. Or society will self destruct. Just my opinion... 176 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:28:02pm down 9 up report Hoft is looking for lawsuit #2 already. 177 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 3:28:37pm down 1 up report There it is: Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit website is going after David Hogg, a student who survived the Majory Stoneman Douglas school shooting who has been appearing on TV to speak out against gun violence pic.twitter.com/DcfNL4uHuB I'm surprised it took him this long.... 178 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:29:03pm down 20 up report Mr. President, America needs real leadership. We need to take common sense steps NOW to protect our kids. From one father to another, let's protect them. pic.twitter.com/PHHtCW4CMD -- John Kasich ( @JohnKasich ) February 18, 2018 Start in your own state, sir. You've signed a dozen bills easing access to guns, including forcing guns into college campuses and in bars, airports and DAYCARE CENTERS. Close the loophole in Ohio that allows private gun sales without a background check. The we'll talk. https://t.co/fImyqIOHXJ 179 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 3:29:39pm down 15 up report Solution: hire unemployed black men, train and arm them. The typical shooter is a white kid who is intimidated by black men. This will also reduce black unemployment which I have been told is a top priority of the Trump administration. 180 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:29:49pm down 1 up report [Embedded content] Agree. Empty rhetoric from an empty leader. 181 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:30:52pm down 22 up report EXPOSED: School Shooting Surviver Turned Activist David Hogg's Father in FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines [VIDEO] https://t.co/z2T0LgmyQ9 -- Jim Hoft ( @gatewaypundit ) February 19, 2018 We're attacking survivors of school shootings now? https://t.co/YYA6r1l2Cl Like Frank here was sleeping through all the other attacks? You all built this, Dr Frankenstein https://t.co/wTuKMunp7r There's strength in knowing ones own human (child naming) failings. On the flip side you have goats. So...It's a wash. 183 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 3:31:30pm down 6 up report re: #161 Stanley Sea We had 2 students arrested in my little burg. 2 in our town this week for threats, one in the county for bringing a 'forgotten' rifle to school. OTOH, that's about the background level here. 184 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:31:56pm down 16 up report Obama was President up to, and beyond, the 2016 Election. So why didn't he do something about Russian meddling? -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 19, 2018 Don't you hate it when you go golfing, but you can't concentrate on the game because you're still salty about that one popular guy at work who is better at everything than you are? https://t.co/7oFveVxTJV 185 fern01 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:32:00pm down 1 up report The buck stops somewhere in the Senate. Governors and Presidents don't take blame - nor do they talk with the people they supposedly represent. 186 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 3:32:06pm down 8 up report re: #181 Backwoods_Sleuth Considering what happened with Sandy Hook, I'm kind of surprised people are surprised by this. 187 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:32:11pm down 1 up report 189 austin_blue Feb 19, 2018 * 3:34:06pm down 8 up report Did a little research today and it appears there are now north of 10 million guns in private hands that can take large, detachable magazines of more than 25 rounds (some of up to 100 rounds). At $600/per, that's $6 billion worth of hi-cap weaponry that the US Gov't would have to buy back in a gun ban. That's never going to happen, is it? 190 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:34:08pm down 2 up report re: #173 The Vicious Babushka "This is a picture of my dad. Last night we went to see #BlackPanther and got jumped by a group of black teens in the parking lot. They shot him with a flame thrower and said 'this is for the culture cracker!' A RT could save his life" pic.twitter.com/B4rhkQlyrO 191 KGxvi Feb 19, 2018 * 3:35:28pm down 4 up report re: #189 austin_blue Did a little research today and it appears there are now north of 10 million guns in private hands that can take large, detachable magazines of more than 25 rounds (some of up to 100 rounds). At $600/per, that's $6 billion worth of hi-cap weaponry that the US Gov't would have to buy back in a gun ban. That's never going to happen, is it? Call it a Second Amendment Tax Credit CUZ MURRRRKA! and the GOP will sign on before they realize what it actually does. 192 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:37:43pm down 15 up report The fact "survivor" is misspelled shows the credibility of the article. 193 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 3:39:47pm down 7 up report Gateway Pundit, #1 With Surviverists. 194 fern01 Feb 19, 2018 * 3:39:52pm down 2 up report He's also famous for hating gays [Embedded content] These are the only type of people that will work for trump - no-one sane wants to represent this administration 195 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 3:40:24pm down 4 up report re: #178 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Yeah, Ohio Johnny Kasich is going to run and primary The Big Orange Don in 2020. Or, be a candidate should there be no Trump. You know how I can tell? Nah, not his statement. That's a given. He combed his hair and he is wearing a suit. 196 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:41:57pm down 4 up report re: #181 Backwoods_Sleuth I'm sure @FrankLuntz is quite proud of his Republican party - a party built on lies and talking points - framed by Frank himself. He's turned into quite the trump supporter, of late. Let's hope pride does come before the fall. Before all our kids are dead at the very least. 197 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 3:42:14pm down 15 up report I think you just outed yourself. Those of us who are straight remain attracted to the opposite sex when we stop oppressing gay people. 198 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 3:44:09pm down 3 up report re: #186 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Considering what happened with Sandy Hook, I'm kind of surprised people are surprised by this. That was aimed at parents, which is sick enough. Americans won't accept hurling bullshit at kids. Survivors of a horrific event kids, no less. [Embedded content] "I just don't understand it. I built a huge creature and brought it to life, then ignored it. Why is it killing people?" 200 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:45:59pm down 10 up report The GOP is going to attack these kids that just survived a massacre. We have to stick up for them. You guys don't care about the kids. You are exploiting them to push your anti-gun legislation. https://t.co/sRkf8ekuaC . @infowars EXCLUSIVE: A teacher at #MarjoryStonemanDouglas high school in #Florida where a deadly shooting took place last week has sent out a mass text to students encouraging them to attend an anti-gun meeting. #ParklandSchoolShooting https://t.co/U2A4PVk99P 201 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:16pm down 8 up report re: #192 Backwoods_Sleuth What's hilarious about "coaching" is GOP donors pour millions into projects like Turning Point USA, with express mission of coaching young people to parrot talking points. 202 bill d. (b.d.) Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:41pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] Written by Luciann, Chelsea Manning's friend, who makes Hoft look like Joesph Pulitzer 203 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:49pm down 4 up report I hope you get sued again, jackass. 204 Eclectic Cyborg Feb 19, 2018 * 3:46:58pm down 9 up report That was aimed at parents, which is sick enough. Americans won't accept hurling bullshit at kids . Survivors of a horrific event kids, no less. Assumes facts not in evidence (I want to hope you're right) 205 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 3:48:49pm down 2 up report Go back to Canada, Laura & stfu. 206 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 3:49:59pm down 8 up report The @FloridaPTA is holding a statewide candlelight vigil on Monday for Parkland school tragedy victims. There are seven locations in Broward and Miami-Dade for the 7 p.m. event. Details: https://t.co/SkKjXxHPnb pic.twitter.com/ajE1EMxYPs -- NBC 6 South Florida ( @nbc6 ) February 19, 2018 207 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 3:50:07pm down 5 up report Dug into this one a bit more. For bringing a rifle to the HS parking lot a day or so after Parkland, our local hero got school discipline. Houston County student facing school discipline for rifle found in vehicle "Valenza said authorities did not charge the student with a crime because the investigation did not tie any malicious act or threat to the incident." Sheriff Valenza is running for re-election. Some of the replies are hilarious: "He's innnnnnnn trouble. He modified his gun." 209 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 3:51:58pm down 10 up report re: #156 Ace-o-aces They are in a country that has a well regulated militia, where military crises means that they're called to service at a moment's notice, and there is strict gun control so that those weapons are for when they're in uniform. And look, they're all in uniform. That's as if we took a photo of a bunch of Marines in uniform and thought that was how we should have gun control (ignoring that military bases strictly regulate where/how servicemembers can and do use their weapons). 210 Scout Feb 19, 2018 * 3:52:06pm down 20 up report Hi folks, I know this isn't even a blip on the national radar, but this story has been developing in Everett, Washington. The only reason I'm aware of it is that Everett is the main city in my home county in the U.S. and I still keep up on the news there, at least a little bit. 211 austin_blue Feb 19, 2018 * 3:52:51pm down 6 up report re: #191 KGxvi Call it a Second Amendment Tax Credit CUZ MURRRRKA! and the GOP will sign on before they realize what it actually does. Why not make it a Federal Felony (one year minimum + a $10,000 fine) to own, trade, sell, transport, or possess any clip or magazine that can hold more than eight rounds. One year from date of passage to turn in your hi-cap bullet holders at any licensed gun dealer for a new 8-round replacement. Feds pay out the price differential. You get to keep all your guns! You can rent hi-cap mags from licensed shooting ranges if you want to get your jollies out, but in your house? Sorry, Charlie. 212 Dave In Austin Feb 19, 2018 * 3:52:58pm down 1 up report Murmuration........ That's what it's called. 213 lawhawk Feb 19, 2018 * 3:54:15pm down 5 up report Busting the Russian Facebook Ad Hoax=> Russians Spent Total of $3,111 in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania During Election https://t.co/taNxrqJ1uA Again Hoft spews Russian agitprop by ignoring that tweets and Facebook posts are free. He knowingly spread Russian misinformation to boost Trump. https://t.co/jinHlrshzW 214 Sea Mexican! Feb 19, 2018 * 3:54:37pm down 2 up report re: #44 Skip Intro I'd need to see the pictures before I believe that. I don't need proof of Trump's ... err ... You mean the woman's boobs? Oh thank God! 215 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 3:56:35pm down 8 up report When did the right-wing propagandists go so nuts that they started running interference for an enemy power? 216 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 3:57:43pm down 15 up report re: #215 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis [Embedded content] About the time a black man ran for President and won. After that, they literally became the America-hating party, because they'd rather see a White Russian in the White House than a black American. 217 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 3:58:51pm down 11 up report re: #156 Ace-o-aces They also live in a country with MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE. 218 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 3:59:19pm down 4 up report Photos=> Student School Massacre Survivors and CBS Reporter Party Like Rock Stars https://t.co/Y4Kt5tOg3w 219 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 3:59:25pm down 3 up report re: #217 Ace Rothstein They also live in a country with MANDATORY MILITARY SERVICE. Including those women. 220 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:01:10pm down 9 up report I have to wonder what will be rock-bottom for Jim Hoft? Nothing seems to be too low for this sleazy propagandist to go. 221 wrenchwench Feb 19, 2018 * 4:01:29pm down 5 up report Hi folks, I know this isn't even a blip on the national radar, but this story has been developing in Everett, Washington. The only reason I'm aware of it is that Everett is the main city in my home county in the U.S. and I still keep up on the news there, at least a little bit. Heard it on NPR yesterday. Caught my ear 'cause I used to live there. There's no Homish like Snohomish! 222 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 4:01:46pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] was it a Studio 54 theme rock star party? 223 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:02:50pm down 3 up report There it is: Jim Hoft's Gateway Pundit website is going after David Hogg, a student who survived the Majory Stoneman Douglas school shooting who has been appearing on TV to speak out against gun violence pic.twitter.com/DcfNL4uHuB -- Timothy Johnson ( @timothywjohnson ) February 19, 2018 -- Jim Hoft Sucks the Big One ( @inthesedeserts ) February 19, 2018 More tolerance from the left: https://t.co/OvtMPdoCn3 You should do it twice and with a rusty chainsaw, sideways. 224 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:04:55pm down 3 up report There is a whole shit pile of this stuff on his twitter EXPOSED: Whaddya know! Parkland School Shooting Surviver Turned Activist David Hogg's Father is FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines. #MAGA #GunReformNow VIDEO https://t.co/DuweljNUlU pic.twitter.com/XrlYszUqtJ 225 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:02pm down 10 up report New! Fake news story says shooter at Marjory Stoneman Douglas was "immersed in Islamic and leftwing hate." Pants on Fire! pic.twitter.com/uA1FGKO8ZT 226 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:13pm down 8 up report [Embedded content] The line they're crossing is actually a moat. And it's filled with man-eating alligators. And they're hangry alligators. These righties are going to learn an interesting lesson at the hands of children, no less. 227 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:33pm down 2 up report re: #218 gocart mozart Most replies call him out. One calls the kids "crisis actors", and one inverts reality and claims the kids are being manipulated. 228 Scout Feb 19, 2018 * 4:05:38pm down 5 up report Heard it on NPR yesterday. Caught my ear 'cause I used to live there. There's no Homish like Snohomish! My parents -- 90 and 94, bless them -- live in Marysville. 229 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:06:45pm down 3 up report Assumes facts not in evidence (I want to hope you're right) Most won't. 27% will. 230 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:08:24pm down 8 up report re: #223 gocart mozart Unlike the bigoted right, the left is tolerant of good people who are different. Also unlike the right, the left are intolerant of scumbags. You come across as a deeply-dishonest scumbag propagandist with no moral compass. 231 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 4:08:42pm down 3 up report re: #224 gocart mozart There is a whole shit pile of this stuff on his twitter [Embedded content] I'm not sure how I accomplished this, maybe by telling the truth, but I'm blocked. 232 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:09:33pm down 1 up report 233 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:10:52pm down 4 up report re: #225 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] I'm honestly shocked that none of my right wing aquatintences have tried to push that one given some of the stuff I've seeb pushed. 234 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:11:22pm down 4 up report EXPOSED: School Shooting Surviver Turned Activist David Hogg's Father in FBI, Appears To Have Been Coached On Anti-Trump Lines [VIDEO] https://t.co/z2T0LgmyQ9 -- Jim Hoft ( @gatewaypundit ) February 19, 2018 We're attacking survivors of school shootings now? https://t.co/YYA6r1l2Cl This comment is like an idiocy event horizon https://t.co/QJxtgcb4Ri Frank Luntz called Hoft out for attacking a shooting survivor so dumbass says Luntz is a girly man who was turned gay for drinking soy milk like those frogs Alex Jones talks about. Feel free to point out if I mistated anything. Unlike Hoft, I try to be factual. 235 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:12:19pm down 12 up report I saw this girl hesitantly dancing on the baseline and told her go show these dudes wassup and join in and she KILLED THIS SHIT pic.twitter.com/fDhpP66IrU 236 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 4:13:15pm down 9 up report I wrote this comment on Friday to a Tweet Charles had made. Charles had stated: Charles Johnson @Green_Footballs Something tells me the Trumpanzees are going to be even more dim-witted and deliberately obtuse than usual today. 2:25 PM - Feb 16, 2018 My comment, which we are seeing some of occuring with the wingnuts was: This is like the scene in The Exorcist, where the two priests are deep into the Catholic exorcism and little cute Regan is now a vomit spewing, head turning, body levitating, false image of reality demon trying to remain in control (of the Fox news and wingnut narrative) body. It will be messy...but you gotta keep the faith! The kids are beginning the exorcism rights and the demons are throwing objects and making strange sounds. It will get worse. 237 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:14:12pm down 8 up report re: #220 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis I'm thinking his rock-bottom will come in the form of a judgement - with numerous zeros at the end. And will likely result in his bankruptcy. 238 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:19:39pm down 21 up report David Hogg's dad served in the FBI, and Dim Jim Hoft lies for a living. You decide. 239 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:21:12pm down 8 up report 16. Ben Shapiro 17. Eric Bolling 18. Sebastian Gorka 19. Judge Jeanine Pirro https://t.co/7k6z12Q5we You left off 20. Chuck Johnson 21. Roy Moore 22. Baron Vladimir Harkonnen 23. Randall Flagg 240 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:22:01pm down 11 up report Yep I'm seeing the attacks slowly start as condescending that the kids are being used. They know what happened. They saw what we did after Sandy Hook, a bunch of fake pious right wing assholes claim concern about mental health and then stigmatize those with mental health issues by portraying them as violence prone and cutting MH services whenever they could so their fat cat asshole benefactors could get another tax cut. 241 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:22:04pm down 5 up report I'm proud of these students. 242 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 4:22:20pm down 5 up report SO SORRY: @Fergie apologizes for her rendition of the national anthem at #NBAAllStar after fierce criticism, says she's a 'risk taker' who was trying something different https://t.co/Xr4ZIeUrLm 243 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:23:52pm down 5 up report I'm proud of these students. I am too. This is their country as much as it is the gun humpers. 244 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:24:08pm down 1 up report A clown show. 245 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:24:18pm down 13 up report Over a million kids a year are turning eighteen and they hate Trump and the Republicans with a passion. They are informed, and they are pissed, and they will VOTE. 246 Barefoot Grin Feb 19, 2018 * 4:25:46pm down 21 up report Just saw a couple of MS Douglas HS students on PBS News Hour. One, originally from England, made the point that a school with fences and men carrying guns around isn't a school, it's a prison--"not conducive to education." Such smart young people. 247 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:26:26pm down 2 up report re: #246 Barefoot Grin Just saw a couple of MS Douglas HS students on PBS News Hour. One, originally from England, made the point that a school with fences and men carrying guns around isn't a school, it's a prison--"not conducive to education." Such smart young people. Exactly. 248 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:26:59pm down 7 up report Now anyone with a clue consumes too much soy? Do you ever wonder if you're a kook? No, but people in the White House seem to be glad that this distracted from their criminal scandals. You seem to have substituted propaganda for news. No, and why would you add an idiot propagandist like Tucker Carlson to your Tweet? 249 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:28:28pm down 4 up report re: #248 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis [Embedded content] Maybe if this asshole experienced what these kids had, they wouldn't worship guns. The 2nd isn't absolute. How fucking hard is this? 250 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:30:27pm down 12 up report I'll say it here. I hate our gun culture. I hate the NRA. I hate the equating masculinity with firearms ownership and usage. I hate pedantic bullshit directed towards non gun owners. I hate reading about some asshole with a gun firing on innocent people. 251 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:31:15pm down 11 up report This is Jim Hoft of Gateway Pundit, who just published an attack on the Stoneman Douglas kids. He is the dumbest man on the internet and I would appreciate if you shared this with the world. https://t.co/XATxQZMcef #GunReformNow 252 austin_blue Feb 19, 2018 * 4:35:09pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] That's one hell of a minyan... 253 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:36:12pm down 6 up report If Trump went on a mass pardon spree, there will be riots. 254 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:36:44pm down 2 up report When is this town hall thing on CNN? Anyone remember? 255 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 4:39:30pm down 1 up report [Embedded content] So what does "protesting the First Amendment also " even mean? I'm guessing it's wingnut code for "pushing back against mendacious right-wing propaganda"?? RLY, how dare they??? 256 allegro Feb 19, 2018 * 4:40:11pm down 3 up report When is this town hall thing on CNN? Anyone remember? Wed 9PM Eastern 257 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 4:40:39pm down 13 up report re: #246 Barefoot Grin Just saw a couple of MS Douglas HS students on PBS News Hour. One, originally from England, made the point that a school with fences and men carrying guns around isn't a school, it's a prison--"not conducive to education." Such smart young people. As soon as some of the students started to speak to the media I commented they seemed to have gotten a good education at their school. You could tell by how well spoken they were...all of them. Their answers were sharp and quick, no stammering or "you know" type words. Now with them getting political and organizing, I am wondering about their history, civics and government departments and their education methods. I'm thinking they get more of it and it is treated better than many other schools. Maybe a model education for today's students. And I am thinking there are some very proud teachers behind these kids. I know I would be if they were my students. 258 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:40:55pm down 6 up report re: #255 Jay C So what does "protesting the First Amendment also " even mean? I'm guessing it's wingnut code for "pushing back against mendacious right-wing propaganda"?? RLY, how dare they??? Yep that's exactly what it means. You're anti 1st amendment if you don't allow Milo, Lucian, Shapiro, & the other wingnut misfit toys to insult people on your campus. 259 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:41:05pm down 8 up report re: #255 Jay C So what does "protesting the First Amendment also " even mean? I'm guessing it's wingnut code for "pushing back against mendacious right-wing propaganda"?? RLY, how dare they??? They think "the Left" is taking away Conservatives 1st amendment rights by denying Nazis platforms at colleges. 260 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:42:07pm down 3 up report re: #259 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis They think "the Left" is taking away Conservatives 1st amendment rights by denying Nazis platforms at colleges. Meanwhile conservatives want to paint everyone with a left of center economic worldview as wanting DPNK. 261 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:42:45pm down 3 up report When is this town hall thing on CNN? Anyone remember? Wednesday at 9 EST. [Embedded content] Imagine my surprise when I looked at the source of this "Pants on Fire" lie and discovered it was because Pamela Geller switched from heavy drinking and went straight to huffing paint thinner. 263 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 4:47:26pm down 5 up report re: #262 Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos Imagine my surprise when I looked at the source of this "Pants on Fire" lie and discovered it was because Pamela Geller switched from heavy drinking and went straight to huffing paint thinner. Wow, there's a name I (thankfully) haven't heard for a while. 264 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 4:47:41pm down 5 up report re: #262 Don't Blame Me, I Voted for Kodos I figured that hag had already died from liver failure. 265 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 4:50:40pm down 3 up report 266 Amory Blaine Feb 19, 2018 * 4:52:53pm down 5 up report I'm seriously thinking about joining Twitter specifically to threaten the safety of conservatives. 267 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 4:54:24pm down 8 up report 268 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 4:57:25pm down 7 up report Dim Jim, the dumbest blogger, has always been the bottom of the far-right propaganda swamp, and his readers are even dumber than he is. 269 Amory Blaine Feb 19, 2018 * 4:58:32pm down 6 up report Don't forget to vote tomorrow. We have a SC seat in Wisconsin up. 270 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 4:59:28pm down 2 up report re: #269 Amory Blaine Don't forget to vote tomorrow. We have a SC seat in Wisconsin up. 271 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 5:00:36pm down 5 up report Critics: "America is already horny." pic.twitter.com/q3twMb5yST 273 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:04:07pm down 6 up report [Embedded content] Old fat fucks like Limbaugh forget what it's like to be young, have energy, and care about shit other than money. 275 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:03pm down 9 up report This asshole has been morally bankrupt for decades, and was part of what drove the American-right insane. Attacking kids who survived a mass-shooting is about what I'd expect from him. 276 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:23pm down 6 up report re: #273 gocart mozart [Embedded content] And the NRA isn't political? FO Rush. These kids have every right to speak out despite what bloated fucks like you say. 277 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:34pm down 8 up report re: #274 Blind Frog Belly White Old fat fucks like Limbaugh forget what it's like to be young, have energy, and care about shit other than money. He can't forget something he never was. Rush was born an asshole and ran with it. 278 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 5:06:57pm down 5 up report [Embedded content] He's never had a moment in public life where he's acted like a decent person. 279 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 5:07:41pm down 4 up report re: #274 Blind Frog Belly White Old fat fucks like Limbaugh forget what it's like to be young, have energy, and care about shit other than money. Naaah, Limbaugh and his type were born as old fat fucks: they just lucked into jobs where that was a feature, not a bug.... 280 HappyWarrior Feb 19, 2018 * 5:10:05pm down 3 up report Of course it's political. I like how it shouldn't be politicized by the people who politicized Clinton's adultery. 281 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:10:37pm down 7 up report So now Kellyanne has magically become an "Honorable". Just like Omarosa or whatever her stupid name is. 282 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:15:18pm down 2 up report They are actors. Here's them taking a selfie prepping with the crew before the "interviews". pic.twitter.com/MN8o2Ht0rj 283 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:16:02pm down 5 up report Dear women When men have sex with you,they deposit some of their personality in you through their discharge. Having multiple men discharge into you negatively affects your psyche and personality. God designed women to be recipients of only their husband's discharge #RenosNuggets We have a Poe's Law situation here https://t.co/bYkY0ztn43 Wingnuts are attacking shooting survivors for not shutting up and following the NRA approved script for after a mass shooting. They're calling the kids "crisis actors" and calling them fakes. Please, do make this shit go viral. #ParklandStrong https://t.co/PwRP8CwiUx 285 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:29:22pm down 9 up report I see you're scared of these kids. Good. Go crawl back under your rock. 286 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:30:27pm down 7 up report It is our job to give them a safe space to grieve and to fight for their future. We owe them that. 287 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 5:33:33pm down 6 up report I'm hearing reports, from a source who prefers not to be named, that over the course of the last several weeks both Melania and Baron Trump have been staying with Melania's parents in Potomac. There has been a massive secret service presence at their home. Melania is through?? 288 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 5:36:19pm down 6 up report re: #287 gocart mozart Who wouldn't be? He shamed himself and her by running around with, and having unprotected sex with, tramps while she was taking care of their baby. I hope she takes him for every penny he has. 289 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 5:40:34pm down 4 up report Everything this animal touches dies. 290 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:41:11pm down 4 up report Except himself and his godawful family. 291 Amory Blaine Feb 19, 2018 * 5:41:59pm down 10 up report re: #273 gocart mozart Here's the thing, if they can't pummel the students into silence, then the next inevitable massacre of children will allow the joining of forces which will make it harder for conservatives to battle. IOW I believe a full out assault on the students is coming, the possible damage to the conservatives is preferable to a collapse of the movement. 292 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:42:26pm down 2 up report "Thursday is deadline day in Pennsylvania's high-stakes gerrymandering case for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf and others to submit maps of new congressional district boundaries that they want the state Supreme Court to adopt for this year's election." ... "Republican lawmakers say they will swiftly ask federal judges to block a new map, and contend that the Democratic-majority court had no power to invalidate the congressional boundaries or draw new ones." What the asshole Pennsylvania Republicans forget is that the PA Supreme Court redrew all the districts in 1963 to comply with the Baker v. Carr US Supreme Court decision (One Man One Vote decision)! 293 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 5:42:35pm down 12 up report re: #290 Skip Intro He's a failure as a husband, a failure as a parent, a failure in business, a failure as President, a failure as a man. 294 Patricia Kayden Feb 19, 2018 * 5:45:43pm down 2 up report re: #151 Backwoods_Sleuth [Embedded content] Watching that now. So cute!! A nice breather from all of Trump's awfulness. 295 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 5:47:29pm down 10 up report You're disgusting, and eventually your garbage blog is going to get shut down when one of the people you smear wins a massive lawsuit against you. 296 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 5:52:07pm down 7 up report [Embedded content] I hope that father sues SMOTI and sticks that prick with another lawsuit! 297 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 5:56:29pm down 15 up report Retweeted Welcome To Nature ( @welcomet0nature ): Snow curling off a roof :o pic.twitter.com/duoXOXDzTt https://t.co/LCH6LN9u56 298 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 5:56:41pm down 13 up report The federal government is in the hands of villains and far right extremists and greedy criminals, and they're empowering the worst people in America, people like Jim Hoft. 299 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 5:57:23pm down 8 up report . @AndersonCooper : President Trump went on a Twitter rampage over the weekend. He said a lot of things that simply are not true. #KeepingThemHonest , these Tweets reveal a lot about the most powerful man in the world and his priorities, and, some would argue, his humanity. pic.twitter.com/z0fqvy6rCG 300 Skip Intro Feb 19, 2018 * 5:57:42pm down 9 up report re: #293 Ace Rothstein He's a failure as a husband, a failure as a parent, a failure in business, a failure as President, a failure as a man. Not if you ask him. I have little sympathy for Melon, but if she does file for divorce the attacks by Trump's goons will hit a new level of awfulness. 301 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 5:57:50pm down 4 up report He has no humanity. 302 Ace Rothstein Feb 19, 2018 * 6:00:28pm down 14 up report Ask not for whom the bot trolls; it trolls for Trump. 303 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 6:00:33pm down 3 up report Not if you ask him. I have little sympathy for Melon, but if she does file for divorce the attacks by Trump's goons will hit a new level of awfulness. She gets my sympathy for being a spouse that was cheated on. That's tempered by the fact that this isn't the first time. 304 Dave In Austin Feb 19, 2018 * 6:01:25pm down 7 up report Of course that's what she did to the previous spouse. 306 MsJ Feb 19, 2018 * 6:03:17pm down 10 up report She gets my sympathy for being a spouse that was cheated on. That's tempered by the fact that this isn't the first time. Nope. She got there taking the same path. No sympathy for her. At all. 307 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:03:25pm down 22 up report 308 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 6:04:50pm down 6 up report [Embedded content] Good. Hammer the douchecanoe. Tell Fuckface von Clownstick that we aren't putting up with his self-centered bullshit anymore. 309 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 6:09:56pm down 15 up report 1/2 Donald Trump has done his best to co-opt the term "fake news," but the simple fact is that the vast majority of truly fake news is streaming out of the right wing like a firehose. Fox News, Sinclair, Newsmax, and the entire right wing blogosphere are engaged in a ... 2/2 deliberate effort to destroy the very idea of objective reality, and make it impossible for their followers to think for themselves. It may be the largest insidious propaganda campaign in history. 310 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:10:44pm down 6 up report on arming teachers - whatever the method - ie ccw so on the hip, locked in a box somewhere, whatever what kind of gun? handgun? ar-15? shotgun? probably handgun id guess bad guy sneaks into school with an ar-15 and starts shooting. now thanks to the video from last week we know what that sounds like these teachers will have had a basic gun safety course they might even have had some sort of "here's what you do if" training it will not be police, swat or army training (sir) recurrent? who knows they will likely not be trained under hostile 'enemy' fire pointed at them these people will not be heroes no one with whatever training these teachers have is going to run towards that. 311 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:11:17pm down 3 up report re: #307 Stanley Sea I thought Trump was told not to play golf? Was having him on Twitter so bad that they let him bring shame into himself by golfing during the funerals just to get him off of Twitter? 312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 6:12:05pm down 7 up report I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario: A kid, knowing that the teachers are armed, manages to get the teacher's gun and shoots him/her and the rest of the class. Then, of course, we'd have to arm all the students, because more guns is always the answer. 313 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:12:30pm down 11 up report 314 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:14:18pm down 8 up report re: #312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario: A kid, knowing that the teachers are armed, manages to get the teacher's gun and shoots him/her and the rest of the class. Then, of course, we'd have to arm all the students, because more guns is always the answer. Wingnuts want our schools to be war zones. This is what comes of refusing to try to solve the problem by getting rid of the weapons of war that are in civilian hands. All they're left with are crazy "solutions". 315 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:15:10pm down 16 up report Serious ?: what does the @GOP stand for? It used to be business; but no more (I'm happy to hash out w/ ANY of you, I have an Ivy degree in econ and was co-head of a trading floor at MS in my 30s). All I can see from here is racism, xenophobia, homophobia and misogyny and RUSSIA! 316 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:16:47pm down 4 up report im doing an audit this week that's 90 miles from my office so 2 hr am and pm drives that's why im listening to the radio i heard an interview on the way home tonight the dad of the house where cruz is / was living before last week apparently they did try to do a lot for the kid now im not certain, - only mostly certain he said two things: 1 - absolutely nothing inappropriate about cruz having an ar-15 (he's 19 and it's legal he wants you to know) 2 - the kicker: "it was (or was supposed) to be locked up in my gun safe/cabinet and i thought i had the only key" i want to know legally whose gun was it and who was responsible for keeping it controlled and secure IF this is true, take dad's guns, no more 2a rights, throw him in jail, and everyone affected ought to sue him into financial oblivion the interviewer didnt touch the comment 317 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:16:55pm down 4 up report Fox News to Launch a Standalone Streaming Service for 'Superfans' By End of Year https://t.co/ulsnROeyXY -- Michael M. Grynbaum ( @grynbaum ) February 20, 2018 As BuzzFeed News reported in December, the service will likely be a few dollars a month designed for Fox News diehards (this is the digital product Tomi Lahren was hired for) https://t.co/xipSNJnOa3 https://t.co/5IDEVAk1KH 318 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:16:57pm down 2 up report re: #311 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis I thought Trump was told not to play golf? Was having him on Twitter so bad that they let him bring shame into himself by golfing during the funerals just to get him off of Twitter? He golfed today. Your theory rings true. 319 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:17:39pm down 14 up report re: #312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. The much, much simpler worse case scenario is: teacher shoots agitated student to "defend" class. Because part and parcel of the "arm the teachers" concept is the exact same bar that's been lowered by 'stand your ground" and "right to brandish" legislation: changing the legal and social norms of when lethal force can be applied. Now fit that together with a broader picture of whose deaths get excused as necessary, or at least justifiable, and you begin to get a picture of what we're headed for. 320 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 6:17:44pm down 3 up report I bet my dad replaces his NFL Sunday Ticket with this. 321 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:18:18pm down 6 up report "Will focus primarily on right leaning commentary." What a shock. The cheapest substance known to man. 322 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:20:22pm down 5 up report "Will focus primarily on right leaning commentary." What a shock. The cheapest substance known to man. Bathtub meth of the masses. 323 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 6:20:33pm down 5 up report on arming teachers - whatever the method - ie ccw so on the hip, locked in a box somewhere, whatever what kind of gun? handgun? ar-15? shotgun? probably handgun id guess bad guy sneaks into school with an ar-15 and starts shooting. now thanks to the video from last week we know what that sounds like these teachers will have had a basic gun safety course they might even have had some sort of "here's what you do if" training it will not be police, swat or army training (sir) recurrent? who knows they will likely not be trained under hostile 'enemy' fire pointed at them these people will not be heroes no one with whatever training these teachers have is going to run towards that. Screw it. Every kid has to wear combat armor and a kevlar helmet. Teachers and staff too. With machine gun nests built into the ends of every hallway with back access to all the different nests throughout the school. Only security gets access to the security tunnels, stairs and halls behind the school walls on each end of the building. They also are equipped with hi-res cameras all through the building. Security central can be watching the whole school from a turret built above the main entrance. With small lethal drones that can navigate the halls and fire small round gunfire. We can beat this back I tell you. What's the harm? We just have to get real and think big. This is gol'damn America! We don't run from a problem. We go nuts. 324 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:22:15pm down 11 up report Think of the criminal coordination it took to get every member of the Trump campaign to lie in a massive cover up about 1 thing - the conspiracy w Russia This is called consciousness of guilt. It is evidence of criminal activity by Trump. #TrumpColluded pic.twitter.com/sYUAuKQHtd 325 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:24:26pm down 5 up report 327 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:28:12pm down 8 up report Enjoy the next twelve hours, before this shit gets picked up by Fox & Friends and then live-tweeted by the president of the United States. pic.twitter.com/GTVxMebqRq 328 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:31:18pm down 7 up report "pecial counsel Robert Mueller's interest in Jared Kushner has expanded beyond his contacts with Russia and now includes his efforts to secure financing for his company from foreign investors during the presidential transition" https://t.co/yftZ8tcDWs 329 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 6:31:57pm down 2 up report re: #324 jaunte Think of the criminal coordination it took to get every member of the Trump campaign to lie in a massive cover up about 1 thing - the conspiracy w Russia This is called consciousness of guilt. It is evidence of criminal activity by Trump. #TrumpColluded This is called "Sunday Brunch" at the White House. 330 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:33:08pm down 4 up report They've been pandering to racists, bigots, and xenophobes since Nixon. The Democrats are a centrist, business-friendly party, and the Republicans are a party of bigoted resentment. They have been for most of my life, and I'm getting old. 331 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:33:21pm down 14 up report The only way to stop a bad guy with asbestos is a good guy with asbestos If you ban asbestos, building contractors would just find another way to kill occupants with carcinogenic insulation The problem isn't asbestos, it's mental health We need to put asbestos in every school 332 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:34:34pm down 2 up report . @MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch , and has my full support and endorsement! 333 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 6:35:43pm down 13 up report After all the arguments about the folly of arming teachers/janitors/casual bystanders, the people who have the final decision will be each school district's insurance carriers. 334 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 6:36:32pm down 5 up report yep...still a moron... The U.S. economy is looking very good, in my opinion, even better than anticipated. Companies are pouring back into our country, reversing the long term trend of leaving. The unemployment numbers are looking great, and Regulations & Taxes have been massively Cut! JOBS, JOBS, JOBS -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 335 Dave In Austin Feb 19, 2018 * 6:36:45pm down 12 up report I keep it in several forms on my desk. At school. Come at me. pic.twitter.com/kvcCWoLlO3 336 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:36:52pm down 5 up report 337 Decatur Deb Feb 19, 2018 * 6:37:00pm down 8 up report We need to put asbestos in every school Tried that, up through the 70s. 338 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:37:47pm down 4 up report 339 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 6:38:26pm down 11 up report The U.S. economy is looking very good, in my opinion, even better than anticipated. Companies are pouring back into our country, reversing the long term trend of leaving. The unemployment numbers are looking great, and Regulations & Taxes have been massively Cut! JOBS, JOBS, JOBS -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 Could President Racist Grandpa possibly be any more pathetic and needy? https://t.co/SbWWrNHxSa 340 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:39:26pm down 5 up report re: #333 Decatur Deb After all the arguments about the folly of arming teachers/janitors/casual bystanders, the people who have the final decision will be each school district's insurance carriers. The only reasonable answer is a doomsday weapon under every school. If someone attacks, the weapon is triggered and the attack ends in a small mushroom cloud. It's the only way to be sure to stop shootings. /I'll be running for the Libertarian nomination in 2020. 341 Belafon Feb 19, 2018 * 6:40:23pm down 8 up report I've got an ever so slight fever. My normal body temp is 98.0F. It's running about 99.7, and has been running that for about an hour. After waiting to see what it would do, I just took some Alieve to bring it down. Now I have to decide what to do tomorrow. 342 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:40:39pm down 6 up report re: #312 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario: A kid, knowing that the teachers are armed, manages to get the teacher's gun and shoots him/her and the rest of the class. Then, of course, we'd have to arm all the students, because more guns is always the answer. Some Florida State Rep was talking about lock boxes. So you gotta run to wherever to get the gun first The army has to train and drill it into you to run into incoming fire A lot of soldiers still don't when the time comes These folks won't And they'll likely be outgunned 343 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:40:43pm down 5 up report 344 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:41:07pm down 9 up report Lets focus in the problem of weapons of war in the hands of unstable civilians, so we can keep our kids alive, before we start patting ourselves on the back. 345 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 6:41:42pm down 1 up report re: #340 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Thrifty way to use the Davy Crockett ammo surplus. 346 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 6:42:30pm down 3 up report re: #294 Patricia Kayden Watching that now. So cute!! A nice breather from all of Trump's awfulness. the snorers now...I'm dying. 347 teleskiguy Feb 19, 2018 * 6:42:44pm down 1 up report -- Charlie Vogel, aka His Teleness the Charlie Lama ( @teleskiguy ) February 20, 2018 348 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:42:57pm down 11 up report Asked on supporter call tonight about Florida shooting aftermath, @GregAbbott_TX plugged Texas School Safety Center, discussed need to address "mental health component" and drew parallel to #SutherlandSprings , say they could've been prevented if government had not made mistakes. pic.twitter.com/AIYeaZNYPm 349 Jay C Feb 19, 2018 * 6:43:49pm down 3 up report [Embedded content] Isn't this tweet a repeat of one he's already put out? It seems word-for-word familiar somehow. I must say, stupid inane garbage as most of Trump's Twitter defecations have been, til now, repetition is about the one fault they haven't suffered from. 350 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis Feb 19, 2018 * 6:44:24pm down 4 up report I better get to bed, and off of Twitter. I've been begging for a timeout speaking truth to Trump stooges all afternoon. Night all. 351 Patricia Kayden Feb 19, 2018 * 6:45:28pm down 3 up report the snorers now...I'm dying. I'm rooting for the Boxer because I'm biased and have two. 352 Joe Bacon Feb 19, 2018 * 6:45:28pm down 5 up report Genuine Texas gubernatorial gibberish. 353 dangerman Feb 19, 2018 * 6:50:18pm down 1 up report Genuine Texas gubernatorial gibberish. I think the answer sadly is none 354 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 6:52:23pm down 8 up report He's bullshitting and pretending the burden is on law enforcement without giving them anything to enforce. 355 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 6:54:38pm down 3 up report re: #351 Patricia Kayden I'm rooting for the Boxer because I'm biased and have two. Colonel the Boxer was great; we were rooting for Peaches. 356 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 6:59:46pm down 1 up report What exact law could they have used re cruz? I think the answer sadly is none Well, since after the tip in Jan the Feds had assessed Cruz as a "potential threat to life", if they had alerted the local field office I would assume they would have crawled about six feet up his colon looking for a reason to arrest him 357 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:04:22pm down 22 up report Standing in line for #BlackPanther with my mom and she's reminiscing about having to enter the theater through the back and having to sit in the balcony because this is the South. My mom is only 64. 358 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 7:11:03pm down 9 up report Here's Ted Cruz doing the blame enforcement two step on the Sutherland shooting: "...Cruz said on Fox that a lack of reporting of federal and state records to the background check system was a problem. But his legislation did not seem to make this easier. The amendment eliminated sanctions for states that failed to submit records and lowered the cap on grant money to help states submit them from $100 million to $20 million. The original bill from then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would have expanded background checks on purchases from only federally licensed gun dealers to all transfers, even private ones among family members, with few exceptions. But the Grassley-Cruz amendment chucked the expansion of background checks and even allowed for the interstate sale and transportation of firearms." expressnews.com 359 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 7:13:09pm down 17 up report In case you missed it, Mitt Romney is EVERY BIT as bad as Donald Trump, but a lot slicker and better at hiding it. He's the Ur-Trump who's been waiting in the wings for his chance. 360 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:14:07pm down 21 up report If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah. 361 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:14:15pm down 18 up report Amazing what a difference 102 weeks make. If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah. 362 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:15:28pm down 3 up report re: #360 gocart mozart If I hadn't been composing witty banter I would have beat you... 363 Frenchy Feb 19, 2018 * 7:15:48pm down 1 up report "The Faith of Donald Trump," a book just out by David Brody and Scott Lamb, is a very interesting read. Enjoy! -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 365 allegro Feb 19, 2018 * 7:16:51pm down 10 up report [Embedded content] In Enid OK in the 50s and early 60s when I was a little kid there the town had 3 theaters. We could go to 2 of them, never the third. No one ever said why and when questioned about it just changed the subject. Took me years to snap to the answer. (Hint: the 5 and 10 still had separate water fountains.) 366 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 7:17:44pm down 3 up report 368 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:17:57pm down 6 up report [Embedded content] "It's a very interesting read! Not that I am able to read, but someone read me the back cover. Did you know I have a lot of religious faith? I didn't know either! So interesting to learn new things!" 369 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:19:40pm down 9 up report And now, a reminder: Trump has said Romney "choked like a dog," "blew it" in 2016," is "a mixed up man who doesn't have a clue," "has no guts," is "a total joke and everybody know it,""one of the dumbest and worst candidates" & "bad messenger" and so on: https://t.co/lp5DfHjBTp 370 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 7:20:18pm down 3 up report re: #359 Charles Johnson It's the difference between syphilis with the obvious skin lesions and syphilis where it's already eating you brain and nervous system. 371 gocart mozart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:20:43pm down 7 up report Perhaps he forgot, so I reminded him. If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement 373 The Major Feb 19, 2018 * 7:22:14pm down 10 up report My cat bites, but he meows and likes children, and nibbles a person when he's happy. I've been by the house where his suspected brother lives 3 times now, and now I'm sure it's his brother, because he grabbed my hand with paws and teeth when I scritched him last time. I may be facing a similar fate with my mother's Scottie Emma - she developed a bunch of benign tumors around her mouth, and it has gotten real bad lately. We'll know in a few days. 374 ObserverArt Feb 19, 2018 * 7:22:33pm down 3 up report I hope the word 'pathetic' becomes the defining word of Trump's presidency when history is documented in the future. 375 Frenchy Feb 19, 2018 * 7:23:19pm down 5 up report Seriously any credit I ever gave Romney for coming out against Trump during the campaign (and it did elevate him a little bit in my eyes at the time), I take it all back. Since Trump shocked the world and won he's become as obsequious as all the rest. Fuck him. 376 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:23:53pm down 12 up report I just applied for a job I probably shouldn't have bothered with. No direct applicable experience aside from hobbyist interest. Located a long, long way from the rest of my family in a very expensive corner of the country. I doubt they'll be interested in me. On the other hand, writing for Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch game would sure be cool, and much better than sweeping floors at the local Shopko. 377 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 7:25:19pm down 5 up report damn it, can't you damn people let us sleep on the east coast? BIG news dropping in about 20 mins or less 378 Patricia Kayden Feb 19, 2018 * 7:26:14pm down 3 up report "The Faith of Donald Trump in Donald Trump" is the long form title. 379 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. Feb 19, 2018 * 7:26:16pm down 3 up report re: #376 scottslemmons I've also heard that Blizzard is actually somewhat decent to work for, unlike many video game companies. Not sure if I should offer you good luck or just tell you how jealous I am. 380 FlowerPower Feb 19, 2018 * 7:26:33pm down 4 up report re: #293 Ace Rothstein He's a failure as a husband, a failure as a parent, a failure in business, a failure as President, a failure as a man. Hopefully that will be etched on his tombstone. 381 calochortus Feb 19, 2018 * 7:27:32pm down 1 up report Hopefully that will be etched on his tombstone. So that it can be chiseled off, along with his name? 382 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:22pm down 3 up report re: #379 Quoth the raven, Covfefe. I've also heard that Blizzard is actually somewhat decent to work for, unlike many video game companies. Not sure if I should offer you good luck or just tell you how jealous I am. I'm not sure I'd bother with wishing me any luck. I've never worked at a game company -- the closest I've gotten was having the Best Interview Of My Life with NCSoft in Austin a decade ago when I was up for a writing job for the late lamented "City of Heroes." A company like Blizzard will likely get industry heavy-hitters sending applications -- mine will be at the bottom of the stack. 383 goddamnedfrank Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:24pm down 7 up report ThAnK YoU mR. pREsiDeNt FoR tHe SuPpORt. pic.twitter.com/hgJ9uUoset 384 Charles Johnson Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:32pm down 15 up report If Trump had said 4 years ago the things he says today about the KKK, Muslims, Mexicans, disabled, I would NOT have accepted his endorsement Mitt Romney two years ago. Trump hasn't changed since then- he's only gotten WORSE. What changed with Mitt Romney - besides the possibility of gaining political power? https://t.co/1Dbzy38yxz 385 ckkatz Feb 19, 2018 * 7:28:41pm down 7 up report There have been a number of studies and simulations on civilian concealed carry response to active shooters in crowd situations. All that I have seen have shown that the first shooter tends to win a shoot out. (Guy with the initiative. Invariably the bad guy.) Here is one example: Proof that Concealed Carry permit holders live in a dream world In real life, iirc there was a guy with a concealed J-Frame (ie snubnose revolver) who tried to stop a guy with an ak, down in Texas. The civilian died. 386 The Major Feb 19, 2018 * 7:31:39pm down 12 up report re: #181 Backwoods_Sleuth 387 The Ghost of a Flea Feb 19, 2018 * 7:32:35pm down 3 up report re: #384 Charles Johnson Patent medicine salesmen selling different products will say anything to slag the competition. But when they start touting the same tonic.... 388 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:34:35pm down 20 up report Also didnt know until tonight that @seanhannity is still pushing this crazy Uranium One story. If the deal was so bad, why hasn't Trump reversed it? Been in power now for 13 months. Sean, you have an answer? 389 William Lewis Feb 19, 2018 * 7:35:53pm down 4 up report re: #376 scottslemmons I just applied for a job I probably shouldn't have bothered with. No direct applicable experience aside from hobbyist interest. Located a long, long way from the rest of my family in a very expensive corner of the country. I doubt they'll be interested in me. On the other hand, writing for Blizzard Entertainment's Overwatch game would sure be cool, and much better than sweeping floors at the local Shopko. Blizard's ok. Overwatch though, that's a seriously toxic gamer community. My 16 year old moved on to other games because the community was too toxic for him to tolerate. Good luck. 390 The Major Feb 19, 2018 * 7:36:57pm down 2 up report re: #215 Aucun pays pour les vieux ennemis @gatewaypundit is such a bald faced lair he couldn't find the truth if it walked up and bit hium on his pecker... pic.twitter.com/p5tJqi4OPE 391 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:38:03pm down 21 up report Trump Jr. to give foreign policy speech while on "unofficial" business trip to India https://t.co/N9acursYhe Imagine if Chelsea Clinton was paid to give a foreign policy speech while Hillary Clinton was president... https://t.co/YdLwzxUFg5 My imagination doesn't stretch this far: https://t.co/bhoWSaiadz Oh Mitt. . @MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch , and has my full support and endorsement! -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 Still remember covering Trump's rally in Salt Lake City before the Utah primary in '16 when he mocked Romney ("choked like a dog" by losing to Obama) and even questioned his faith: "Are you sure he's a Mormon, are we sure?" https://t.co/xB9yqCEfsN https://t.co/NbUzA28XXf 393 EPR-radar Feb 19, 2018 * 7:44:07pm down 3 up report re: #239 gocart mozart The only significant name missing from that CPAC list is His Nibs Himself, Satan. 394 scottslemmons Feb 19, 2018 * 7:44:07pm down 2 up report re: #389 William Lewis Blizard's ok. Overwatch though, that's a seriously toxic gamer community. My 16 year old moved on to other games because the community was too toxic for him to tolerate. Good luck. I never play the competitive or quick play Overwatch games -- too many people demanding everyone play the way they want and melting down when they don't get their way. And I mute the mics the minute anyone starts talking. I stick to the games against bots or sometimes the weird 500% insta-ult mystery matches, where no one gets to play the characters they prefer... 395 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 7:46:16pm down 6 up report re: #393 EPR-radar The management prefers to stay in the background. 396 jaunte Feb 19, 2018 * 7:47:42pm down 5 up report The U.S. economy is looking very good, in my opinion, even better than anticipated. Companies are pouring back into our country, reversing the long term trend of leaving. The unemployment numbers are looking great, and Regulations & Taxes have been massively Cut! JOBS, JOBS, JOBS -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 A close approximation of his drunk-and-falling-down-a flight-of-stairs style of 'writing,' but I'll put up Mitt Romney's $10,000 that Trump didn't write this. "Operation Reverse the Self-incrimination" https://t.co/7vZrAi0BkL 397 Stanley Sea Feb 19, 2018 * 7:51:21pm down 10 up report NEW from me, @a_cormier_ and @TaniaKozyreva Manafort Under New Scrutiny For $40 Million In "Suspicious" Transactions -- a MUCH larger sum than was cited in his October indictment on money laundering charges. https://t.co/Xqybpon6HZ 398 EPR-radar Feb 19, 2018 * 7:51:44pm down 4 up report re: #319 The Ghost of a Flea The much, much simpler worse case scenario is: teacher shoots agitated student to "defend" class. Because part and parcel of the "arm the teachers" concept is the exact same bar that's been lowered by 'stand your ground" and "right to brandish" legislation: changing the legal and social norms of when lethal force can be applied. Now fit that together with a broader picture of whose deaths get excused as necessary, or at least justifiable, and you begin to get a picture of what we're headed for. I like to call it an NRA hellscape, where the only thing that will supposedly matter is the size of one's guns and ammo hoard. Selling this vision to increasingly swivel-eyed loons is how the US gun industry makes its domestic profits. 399 Backwoods_Sleuth Feb 19, 2018 * 7:53:37pm down 10 up report Anyway tonight I saw a schnauzer wearing a yellow raincoat and a little headlamp around his neck so there is good in the world pic.twitter.com/ZekVIwOb3J 401 JordanRules Feb 19, 2018 * 7:59:33pm down 5 up report . @MittRomney has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to @OrrinHatch , and has my full support and endorsement! -- Donald J. Trump ( @realDonaldTrump ) February 20, 2018 Backstory: Trump tried to sideline Romney by convincing Orrin Hatch to run again: https://t.co/YDnVX62SsE https://t.co/WBH8B9JgN6 403 FormerDirtDart Feb 19, 2018 * 8:04:56pm down 8 up report

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According to a new Bloomberg report , Apple is exiting the router business. Bloomberg report that, over the last year, Apple has started to shutter the division, which made the AirPort Express, AirPort Extreme, and Time Capsule products, instead opting to put engineers on other projects, including the Apple TV. Within the last two years, routers have gone from ugly boxes tucked away in shame to well-designed products, complete with a variety of new technologies and user-friendly interfaces. Led by ambitious startups like Eero, Luma, and Starry, and even bigger companies like Google's OnHub, routers are having a gadget... Here's some truly frightening footage of airplanes landing at Birmingham Airport in the UK. "Landing" actually might not be the best term for these though because the airplanes look more like they're spinning sideways and tilting out of control and praying that their wheels touch the ground instead of bouncing off... Until now, you had the ability to opt out of a trip through the Transportation Security Administration's full-body scanners and instead undergo a thorough physical screening. But a new document issued by Homeland Security allows the TSA to make the scans mandatory 'for some passengers.' Musician James McElvar used a sitcom-style idea to beat easyJet's baggage restrictions, taking all of his clothes out of his bag and wearing them to avoid a fee to check his case - only to collapse on the flight from heat exhaustion. You needn't sacrifice basic preparedness -- for the outdoors, for fixing stuff or for first aid -- just because you're flying somewhere carry-on only. These are the tools you can take on planes, how to pack them and how to use them. The air traffic control tower is the most important part of any airport, yet it's also the most unacknowledged. Fliers seldom stop to admire their ethereal beauty and futuristic silhouettes. We're missing out: These towers are fascinating architectural specimens. With the blazing speed of the internet mitigating our every expectation--especially wait times--it's no wonder we get impatient so easily. Delays at the airport are particularly maddening, because there never seem to be enough seats to accommodate the many fuming passengers who all need to get their destinations more...

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According to The New York Times , White House chief of staff John Kelly told other members of the Trump administration that if it were up to him the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. would be between zero and one. The Times reported that Kelly made the comment while the administration debated lowering the cap on the number of refugees allowed into the country. Donald Trump eventually decided to lower the refugee cap to 45,000, the lowest levels since the Reagan administration, when the Refugee Act was passed. Officials said at the time that this number represents the maximum number of refugees possible under the administration's new vetting standards. White House staffers told the Times that Kelly's comment is an example of his similarities with Trump. "Kelly has been an enabler of Trump's mission," Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant Homeland Security secretary in the Obama administration, told the Times. "Judge him that way." Trump previously ordered the Department of Homeland Security to develop "extreme vetting" procedures for refugees. From The Times: Under Mr. Kelly's leadership, the Department of Homeland Security also went after undocumented parents who bring their children into the country. He directed immigration officials to lodge smuggling charges against the parents, saying they were putting children in danger. "Kelly has been an enabler of Trump's mission," said Juliette Kayyem, a former assistant homeland security secretary under Mr. Obama. "Judge him that way." His image as a steady, nonideological figure trying to restore order in the White House in the face of a radical president, she added, was not true. Mr. Kelly, she said, was not "the savior or the hostage." So, all that hope that Kelly would bring order to The White House? Remember, he is just like Trump.

According to The New York Times , White House chief of staff John Kelly told other members of the Trump administration that if it were up to him the number of refugees admitted into the U.S. would be between zero and one.

The Iran deal was never about stopping Iran from developing a nuclear weapons program. That notion was merely the echo-chamber spin to convince the American people to get behind a truly radical agreement designed by leftist ideologues that served to fundamentally transform the U.S. alliance structure and provide a geopolitical boost to the Iranian regime. If the Iran deal were designed to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, the mullahs' chief adversaries would have joined the Obama administration in supporting the accord. From day one, they perceived the deal as an existential threat to their nations. Just about the entirety of the Middle East -- from Saudi Arabia to the UAE to Bahrain to Israel -- lobbied against the deal, warning that it would unleash Iran and allow the regime to spread terror, chaos, and destruction throughout the world. Many in the upper echelons of the Obama administration refused to recognize the difference between allies and adversaries, or between the good guys and bad guys. Others in the Wilsonian camp believed that giving away massive concessions to the regime would curry the favor necessary for the mullahs to become less hostile to the U.S. But the deal as constructed would never have prevented Iran from getting to the bomb. The Iran deal was just one way in which Obama's incompetent "lead from behind" strategy cataclysmically failed to protect American security interests. In backing the deal, some have pointed out that Europeans allies -- particularly France and Germany -- are highly supportive of the Iran deal. European powers claim that their investment in the Iran deal is an investment in global security. Yet the deal would not have stopped Iran from being able to develop a nuke; instead, it virtually guaranteed it, thanks to the deal's sunset provision, which is set to expire in less than seven years. The Europeans have calculated that the deal, which served the purpose of rolling back U.S. sanctions and empowering the Iranian regime to access the international banking system, can provide them with an economic windfall. Paris and Berlin have already agreed to massive, multi-billion- dollar business deals with the regime in Tehran. Should the accord collapse, so too would these agreements. The deal was designed to serve as a fundamental realignment of American regional interests. The Obama administration's reckless rebalancing effort sought to tip the scales toward Iran, away from our traditional Middle East allies. In the middle of negotiations over the JCPOA, administration figures made grandiose promises about reform in Tehran, none of which came true. They said the deal would reform the fundamental nature of the regime, yet there are no signs of reform from within Iran. Friday prayers still end with chants of "Death to America." The ayatollah who rules the country still calls for the destruction of the United States and Israel. We were told that the billions of dollars in cash offloaded to the mullahs would only be used for domestic expenditures. Instead, the Iranian people are struggling with a currency crisis, while the Iranian regime has quadrupled annual aid to its chief terrorist proxy, Hezbollah. Since the deal's passage, Iran has continued to spread its terror campaign far and wide, from Asia to America's doorstep in Latin America. If the deal was truly meant to thwart Tehran's nuclear ambitions, President Trump would not have brought down the hammer Tuesday on Barack Obama's signature foreign policy endeavor. The Iran deal empowered the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism, and for that reason alone, it is setting out on its rightful way to the dustbin of history. Find out what's really going on in the national security world. Sign up to get The Dossier in your inbox twice a week. Author: Jordan Schachtel

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It all started out well and good, with a nice dusk settling behind the crowd. The air was charged up with the living breath of a quarter-million party animals. You had a crowd, and they were patiently waiting for the man, the myth, the legend, the great Snoop Dogg, California OG pimp, king of kush... Wait, patiently waiting? Your crowd was patiently waiting? What in the hell? Woody Graber, a cool dude Damn, yo. Sure, it was nice and beautiful and relaxing to chill by the bay. But if there's one thing I've learned about the people of Ultra, it's that they're looking for any excuse to rage. And they are fluent in the language of buildups and drops. Instead of being a bunch of nice respectful youths from 'round the world, just sitting around They could have been a wild pack of snarling, and out-of-control, bass-driven animals. Damn, Snoop, I know you been doing those big South Beach bottleworld VIP shows for grownups while you here too, but Your DJ should have came out earlier and got the people riled up. Instead, he came out and played Bob Marley, which you can never go wrong with -- hell, it made the people sing, light up, and get ready for the fiyah, but it sure as shit didn't unleash the beast, and it was only one song. The crowd was colder than a dead fish on ice. So, then finally, somebody said something 'bout "And now, Snoooooooppppppp DDDDDoooooooogggggg." And it brought a smile to the audience. A smile. They could have been screaming at the top of their lungs. They should have. It's true, you're somewhere along the lines of a Michael Jordan to hip-hop. A veteran of more live shows than I could ever possibly fucking imagine. And 95 percent of anybody who was there might have thought it was the greatest thing they ever might have saw. But it was boring, not cause of you, cause of the way you did it. And no matter what, you and I both know you didn't really turn that bitch out. Right, Snoop? Not 'cause you couldn't, 'cause we all know you can. For whatever reason, you didn't let it rip. You did all old formula in a place where you could have done and gotten away with anything, but you did the same old shit that you're supposedly so tired of that you had to change your name and get reincarnated. When you started your set off with that new track, it got about as much reaction as a bowling ball in the Everglades. It bombed like C4 at a propane tank factory. It stunk like a skunk. It fell on deaf ears. It went down like the titanic. It got less than no reaction. Even the crickets had to stop and look around. And I agree with you, Snoop, critics are fucking lame. I just figure, I'll give you my biased perspective on why it didn't go over. Delivery, bro. There was no torque in your punch. There was no reaction because there was no action. All the people needed was some motivation to lose their shit. Where was the volume, the aggression, the performance, the showmanship? Where was the new Snoop Lion? Sure, Ultra is a weird sort of scene, but, I was feeling lost on your show itself Matter fact, where was I at? Some dude passed a joint, I hit it, and within minutes, I didn't wanna be down front by the stage no more. I thought a billion electronic eyes were staring me down, I thought I was fucking up your show, I thought I was even making YOU nervous. I thought, fuck this shit, I'ma get the fuck out of this area and go see the show with the people and see how they're reacting everywhere else. Damn, yo, this was during one of your hits too. Shit was getting surreal. The crowd could hear you, this is from the walkway, but they weren't feeling you, 'cause you weren't feeling them. Fuck the stupid industry shit; all you gotta do make an Ultra crowd lose their mind is drop bass, be loud as fuck, and say simple shit aggressively. Your speakers had no boom Snoop. They had your volume turned down and you didn't even seem to care. All these people here are fans. They're just looking to you to give them an excuse to lose their minds. Why your hype men weren't hype, why you didn't joke around onstage that much, why you didn't do more call and response, why there wasn't more jumping around, why did one of the biggest reactions you got all night come from playing House of Pain's "Jump Around"? I get it, white people love "Jump Around"; it's a tool you use to get them hype, but that shit was lame, dude. There are other newer, more exciting ways to do the same thing, and you took the easy way out. You could have rapped your old shit over trap, or house, or dancehall, or dubstep. Where the fuck was Snoop Lion at Dogg? Almost all I heard was the old shit done the same old way. Here's a people sample from over by the far side of the stage, to your left Snoop. They were having more fun taking pictures than going with the music. When the sun went down, you got better, though. During some of that new Snoop Lion shit yo, you were flowing like a motherfucker, really rapping for real tho, really pushing yourself and the new material and selling it through skill and performance and charisma. That's when you were at your best. When you were just your self. And having some fun with it. When you had Boys Noize up there with you, it's like you had a confidence boost. But didn't nobody give a shit about him; they didn't even barely cheer when you said his name. And from then on, it was easy for you. The show was smooth sailing. Nasty Dogg whooped his dick out, and it was hilarious. The crowd was a hot, wet pussy ready to fuck. You gave the people what they wanted. And they cheered and smoked and had a great time. Even low-carb-used-to-be-Fat Joe (props on that) was there chilling behind you, and his lady in the red top was shaking her ass. The light show was trippy. There were all kind of lasers and shit. It sounded like you were speaking from your heart to the people. And they were ridin' with you. But, I'll tell you what. I know you've done this shit a million times, and it's easy for you to do what you did, the way you did it, but I was waiting for that next-level Lion shit, and it didn't happen, 'cause you coasted. And maybe it is too much to ask for someone to do what you expect them to do whenever you expect them to do it. Maybe that new Snoop Lion shit I was all fired up about really is just a gimmick. Maybe you go right on ahead doin' what you're doin' the way you're doin' it and havin' people love you for it. But for me, knowing what you're capable of, that shit was weak. So maybe next time you're in Miami, you bring the mothefuckin' bass, Dogg, and roar, 'cause otherwise, you're Snoop lyin'. If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters. You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in! P.S. the single best part of your set was the last three words, spoken with 500 percent more conviction and energy than anything else you said all night. "Smoke weed, mothafucka!"

You had a crowd, and they were patiently waiting for the man, the myth, the legend, the great Snoop Dogg, California OG pimp, king of kush...

As he closes in on the U.S. Senate, Cory Booker has wrapped up the support of nearly every New Jersey Democratic official in the state's primary, and his lead in the polls appears nearly insurmountable. This might be unremarkable were it not for the fact that he is far from the most progressive candidate in the field, nor anything approximating the down-the-line liberal you might expect blue state Democrats to want in the seat. All of which raises a simple question: What gives? The Newark mayor, Rhodes scholar and national star famously got into trouble last spring when he slammed Barack Obama for going after Mitt Romney's work at private equity giant Bain Capital in the thick of the president's populist reelection campaign. "This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides," Booker said on NBC's "Meet the Press" in May 2012. "It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity." But, even now, while running in a four-way Democratic primary -- a seat having opened up earlier this year with the death of veteran incumbent Frank Lautenberg -- the neoliberal celebrity is not running away from the sentiment. "It's amazing how 15 seconds has been twisted and warped by everyone," he tells Salon. "I have a problem with cynical campaigning where you can't get into substantive discussions of what's happening." The incident captures for many progressives exactly what's wrong with Booker. He may have a wonderful resume and be a splendid speaker, they say, but he's also disturbingly tight with Wall Street and entrenched financial interests. If Obama has disappointed liberal activists with a conciliatory -- some say downright encouraging -- posture toward too-big-to-fail banks, Booker is regarded in some quarters as even more dangerous. It's a familiar criticism America's favorite mayor is ready for when I pose it to him. "I've taken action on a local level on foreclosure prevention," explains Booker, whose well-known story includes moving to the projects after earning degrees from Stanford, Oxford and Yale. "At the same time, I don't believe in wholesale vilification of any industry in the United States. You can look around Newark and see the billions of dollars in investment. If it wasn't for many of these financial firms, as well as community-based organizations and unions," the city would be worse off. Fortunately for the mayor, though he endured a brief stretch of notoriety on MSNBC and among the progressive pundit class for his apostasy -- "The Obama administration did not come down on me, they simply asked me to clarify," he says of the private equity imbroglio -- that's all in the past now. Obama is safely back in the White House, and Booker has gone back to doing his post-partisan savior thing without inducing much blowback. And for his part, he's adamant that "there's nothing in that realm of progressive politics where you won't find me." To some extent, depending on what passes for "the progressive movement" these days, he may have a point. After all, the left had a chance to really take a bite out of the banking sector's dominance, and declined (instead, under President Obama and a Democratic trifecta, we got a weak Dodd-Frank financial reform law). So, by that standard, Booker could fit right in when he gets to Washington. "We just had the worst financial decline in my lifetime, and there were really, really bad actors involved in it," Booker says. "The mortgage lending agencies, ratings agencies, undercapitalized insurance companies. All of these things are egregious things that from a public policy perspective we must take action on." You'll notice Booker didn't include "banks" on that list. And those who have done battle with him in the rough-and-tumble world of Newark politics (the documentary about the 2002 campaign that helped launch him to stardom was called "Street Fight") are skeptical of his zeal to take on these bad actors. "Cory's definitely no Democrat but he plays the liberal game," says Ronald Rice, the longtime Newark state senator whom Booker defeated in 2006. "His whole life is Wall Street and Silicon Valley. We picked that up when he first came here. He was always a part of the privatization movement." Booker's critics point out that he collected over half a million dollars from the financial industry during that first, unsuccessful mayoral run against cartoonish machine pol Sharpe James. Since defeating Rice, James' hand-picked successor, in 2006, Booker has overseen major layoffs of public employees, including over 150 cops in 2010. Murders are down substantially and the population is inching upward for the first time in decades, prompting talk of a revival, but unemployment, poverty and carjackings remain exceptionally high and public services are often maligned (even if tweeting at the mayor about an unplowed street can occasionally produce an encouraging response). Booker is also a vocal fan of charter schools and "education reform." He's tight with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a hero to conservatives for hurling rhetorical grenades at labor unions whenever the opportunity presents itself, and New York City Mayor and unabashed 1 percenter Michael Bloomberg, who (like many titans of big finance) is raising cash on Booker's behalf. And yet, for all of this, one other thing is true about Cory Booker that neither he nor his opponents can deny: Rather than revolting against him, New Jersey Democrats have gone all in. The reason? As Booker puts it, switching to the third person, "Because he's gonna win. Our internals reflect that." For starters, the early polls give the Newark mayor a lead of about 40 percentage points over the competition. It doesn't hurt that he has worked the parlor game of state party politics perfectly, securing the endorsements of several key Democratic county chairs, which guarantees preferential treatment on the primary ballot in August. He also snagged the early and vocal support of George Norcross, the notorious and influential insurance and hospital magnate who runs South Jersey Democratic politics and is easily the most feared power broker in the state. Who, exactly, is Norcross? For starters, the owner of several local news organizations, he was caught on tape making what appeared to be illegal threats in 2005, with the state attorney general widely criticized for not developing a case against him. The incriminating information would later be passed on to Christie, who also declined to prosecute, blaming the attorney general for allegedly mishandling the case . Politically, Norcross is also known for guiding his allies in the Legislature to help Christie push through his major legislative agenda, including a controversial pension overhaul . Choosing to emphasize his campaign's grass-roots energy, Booker tells me volunteers have signed up in the thousands, making paid canvassing unnecessary. And though he expects Frank Pallone and Rush Holt, the two accomplished House incumbents who along with state Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver are challenging him in the primary, to make an issue of campaign donations (he is a favorite of the hedge-fund world), neither of them is exactly pure, either. "I'm not going to take shots at my opponents, even if Pallone's money comes mostly from D.C. PACs," Booker says, without irony. He does have a point in that both men, like most members of Congress, have raked in dough from the financial and real estate industries. And Booker's story is a compelling one. He speaks often about how his family was "refused housing in countless neighborhoods" and that he doesn't know what they would have done "if it wasn't for the intervention of people in the Urban Housing Council," the point being that he believes in activist government. As a boy, Booker says he'd strut around the house like he owned the place, and his dad would chide him, "Don't walk around like you hit a triple, kid, you were born on third base!" Booker also points to a litany of accomplishments that are attractive to Democratic base voters. "We created affordable housing for women trying to escape domestic violence," he says. "You can take any progressive issue, and see that in a practical way, we've done things that have become a model for not just the state of New Jersey, but around the country." But his rise speaks in large part to the perilously weak condition of the progressive movement in a state whose demographics tend to be extremely favorable to the Democratic Party's candidates. As is usually the case in politics, an organizing void has been filled by money. "This party right now is a disaster," says Dick Codey, a Democratic state senator who became governor for a little over a year after Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004. "It's very upsetting to think in the year 2013 you have a private citizen with more influence in state government than anybody except the governor," but Norcross does. "He's almost a co-governor." And the business giant known for using politics to further his personal financial interests rather than any particular ideological agenda is a big fan of Cory Booker. "I believe he's a winner," Norcross told the Philadelphia Inquirer, which he owns, in June. "And he's representative of a new Democrat -- a Democrat that's fiscally conservative yet socially progressive." If that sounds familiar, it's because it should. President Obama, not long after his first victory in 2008, told the "New Democrats" in Congress -- moderates who fit Norcross' mold -- that he was one of them. And it's all the rage right now, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo playing much the same game in Albany, going out on a limb for social liberalism but generally not upsetting the rich too much. Booker doesn't shield himself from press, but rather bathes in it, confident in his own skin, unafraid of populist anger with the Davos set. He is an open admirer of Norcross, for one thing, and is grateful for the support. "He's truly one of the more interesting players in the state of New Jersey," Booker says. "He's done a lot of good, and frankly we bonded over the fact that he really is passionate about Camden." Now the pair sees an opportunity. When Lautenberg -- whom Booker offended by publicly mulling a run even before he died -- passed away, the mantle of New Jersey's top Democrat was left open. "He's spent so much time and effort creating a brand," explains Codey of Booker. "Going all over the country, being on every TV show humanly possible. He doesn't have a family to have to worry about or spend time with. He's got one income and the other income is delivering speeches which only enhances his reputation." Whether it's taking on the food stamp challenge and (loudly) subsisting on next-to-nothing for a week, palling around with Mark Zuckerburg (who donated a billion dollars to the Newark school system after Christie arranged a meeting), rescuing an older woman from a burning building, saving a freezing dog when a ( shameless) TV reporter tweeted to him about its plight, or generally just being a constant presence on national media outlets and Twitter (where he replies to strangers, whether they be citizens of Newark or Internet trolls), suffice it to say Booker gets around. But his fiercest critics argue that a victory would cement business-friendly social liberalism as the ethos of the modern American left. They see him as advancing a vision for progressivism that centers on financial capitalism and charity instead of social rights. Or as one Democratic operative who has worked in New Jersey put it, "He's a good politician for the Obama Democratic Party." Is the Senate frontrunner concerned his more measured approach may be at odds with the nation's current populist mood? Booker is blunt. "I'm not focused on the zeitgeist of the country."

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We just celebrated Book Lovers Day! I know that because my Alexa told me about it first thing this morning and then recited the opening lines of Bridge to Terabithia . So immediately, I had two questions: 1) Why? and 2) Is there really a difference in the way old people and young people consume media? Are books a thing anymore? Albums? Magazines? This week, fellow Esquire Old Guy(tm) Luke O'Neil and I tackled that issue, with an assist from Certified Millennial(tm) Ben Boskovich, who added a dash of pepper to our middle-aged saltiness. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Ben: So what makes you two olds the most upset about the youth's pop culture habits? Dave: For me, it's the chaotic, erratic nature of the pop charts. In my youth, songs debuted, rose over the course of eight to 12 weeks, and then sank back down. Sometimes, when you had a huge hit on your hands, it would make the top 10 in four weeks, and Casey Kasem would lose his goddamn mind. You could mark time this way: "When Doves Cry" was the summer of 1984; "Let's Go Crazy" was autumn. Now things debut at number one, drop off completely, and then hang out in the 50s for a few weeks. Was "Swish Swish" a hit? Was "Green Light?" I legitimately don't know, and I don't know how to know, and it fills me with sadness, pity, and deep anxiety. Fix it, young person. Ben: This is not what I expected to hear, especially because I wasn't sure anyone even paid attention to the "charts" anymore. I imagine people rely on their Spotify algorithm more than anything. I wouldn't call "Swish Swish" a hit, but it seems like they tried really hard to make it look like one. I feel like a "hit" these days is a song being talked about across mediums with more people weighing in, and, sigh , being turned into memes. "Bad and Boujee" was everywhere, and deservingly so. All over the radio, Instagram memes, clubs, bars, my apartment... Dave: I have never actually heard "Bad and Boujee"--or "Despacito," which has been the number one single (on the Billboard charts that I still check every week) for 100 years. Was "Swish Swish" a hit? I legitimately don't know, and I don't know how to know, and it fills me with sadness, pity, and deep anxiety. -- Dave Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Ben: Both of those are hits! "Despacito" might attract a less discerning audience, but it'd be hard not to call it a hit. You'll hear it at the brunch place where they pull the shades down to make it feel like midnight at noon, but that's where the people are, I guess. I can't stand the song, but alas, I am not the masses. Dave: The charts were crucial to the young people of the '80s, who would go on to become the media people of the '90s/2000s. They were how we measured things. We knew Thriller was significant because it was the number one album forever and it sold 40 bajillion copies. Now albums come out, earn "streams," inspire think pieces, and then go away. Is Melodrama a hit album? How do we know? What is it doing for Lorde? We are looking for facts, figures, concrete numbers to help us make our cases, and there are none. Hard data, Ben. The world falls apart without it. Luke: For me--and I think this is definitely a generational thing--the behavior that drives me most insane is the divorcing of a piece of culture or art or joke from its creator simply because it's online. The "Who Did This LMAO?" kind of attitude. Hmm, is it maybe the person whose account you just screencapped it from? Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Advertisement - Continue Reading Below I know that specific phrase has taken on its on separate meaning now, but there was very much a sea change in respect for intellectual and creative endeavor. And I don't just mean Twitter memes. Yes, fuck the record labels and movie studios and so on, but that attitude has seeped further online into a wholesale disregard for the idea of making something. Plagiarism, even if it's a one-liner, seems to be no big deal for these filthy sub-millennials. Related Story Dave: How about it, young Ben? As the target audience of literally all printed, recorded, and filmed media, how do you consume it? Do you only have the attention span for a Kindle Single, or have you held onto books as some kind of freaky steampunk affectation? Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Ben: I can tell you that based on my experience with assholes who think their book deserves my personal space on the subway, books are indeed still a "thing" with the young folk. I should clarify: Books are good and not bad, but when the subway is packed to the brim, maybe you should holster it to allow people to get on. Also get it out of my face. I'd like to listen to The Daily podcast without smelling your musty pages. Luke: I no longer read books in print, and it has significantly diminished by comprehension capacity. Oftentimes I'm reading a book on my iPad, and I have no idea what the title of it is anymore or who wrote it. Or what day it is. I think there's something to the process of having to look at the cover of a book in print and essentially reckon with it, which is lost when you tap a button on an app and it throws you back in medias res . (That's a Latin term, Ben; we had to study that in my day.) Ben: I'm surprised to hear you say you only read books on the iPad. I can't read anything on a screen, I hate it. I print out stories I want to read or edit. If it's above, like, 1,000 words, I don't want to strain myself with it. I can't imagine doing a whole book on a screen. Plagiarism, even if it's a one-liner, seems to be no big deal for these filthy sub-millennials. --Luke Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Luke: I really wish I could go back. I think it devalues whatever I'm reading. It used to be you had one book or one magazine with you, and that was all you had to read, so you read it. The infinite choices now means it's possible to give up on anything midway through and start over, which puts me in this constant state of agitation. If a book gets a little boring, I can say, "Ah, fuck it, let's push the button on another book." It's rendered me a complete dumbass, and I was already pretty dumb going into things. Speaking of podcasts: Who is listening to all these podcasts? I have no idea where and why people find the time to spend hours a day listening to what is essentially an under-edited discussion between people who barely prepared for the topic at hand. (Don't say that's what this column is.) Ben: It does seem like there are way too many podcasts to choose from. I mentioned The Daily , from The New York Times . That one is pretty clutch for me and usually lasts about half my commute, so I can show up to the office with a little context on the latest political news. Hannibal Buress also has a podcast I recently discovered, which is really funny and good. I feel about podcasts the way I always felt about ESPN shows like Around the Horn and PTI --damn, wouldn't it be nice if your job was to sit around and bullshit with your friends into a microphone for an hour a day? Luke: I guess I still feel about podcasts--the ones that aren't just professional radio on your phone, like NPR--the way Newspaper Men felt about blogs 10 years ago. Dave: I host three podcasts, each of which is well-researched, unique, and essential. I feel so young in this moment. Luke: I knew that and definitely subscribe to all of them. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Ben: Dave, please make my dreams come true and have me on one or all of your podcasts. Fair warning, though: As the Millennial(tm), I will do no research and just talk out of my ass. Related Story Dave: You will go far in this new media moment. But I agree that--outside of my own--there are too many podcasts. In one way, this excites me, because I like things that are for niche audiences. It thrills me that whatever your weird little interest, you can find 300 hours of two old friends popping their P's about it and promoting Casper mattresses into cheap microphones. But on the other hand, you cannot possibly keep up with it all, it is exhausting to try, and there is no quality control. Luke: "Three hundred hours of two old friends popping their P's into cheap microphones" is how I feel about the state of porn now. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Dave: So what about albums? I remember saving up my money in high school, and spending it on one album--at the record store , at the mall . At first, I would have to be familiar with a minimum of three songs before I'd make the investment, but as I aged and my tastes got more daring, sometimes I'd take a chance on a bold album cover. I'd listen over and over. I'd find new favorite songs and discover new depths as my relationship with the album deepened. But now, as with podcasts and porn, the whole world is open to you. You can have it all, anytime, and skip in and out wherever you like. Do you connect emotionally, or is it just a series of three-minute stands? Ben: I've been listening to the same 237 John Mayer songs on shuffle for the past eight years, so hard for me to weigh in here. Damn, wouldn't it be nice if your job was to sit around and bullshit with your friends into a microphone for an hour a day? -- Ben Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Luke: Do you guys feel the same "paradox of choice" when it comes to other media? I don't think my wife and I have ever fully settled on a movie. We just scroll through the On Demand or Netflix screen for an hour, then get depressed and look at our phones instead. Ben: One hundred percent across all media. Boring books are too easy to quit, especially, I imagine, in a Kindle situation. I do the same thing with Netflix, but I'm not sure what the solution is. Actually going to the movies still holds up--the selection is minimal, and it's a legit investment. Dave: I find myself doing this with television shows on streaming services. We get excited to binge a whole season of something, watch the first couple of episodes, say, "Ah, okay, I see what this is," and then think we'll watch the rest of it in some fictional future when we'll have the time. Then some big new show arrives and we repeat the process. As my bookshelves were full of 1/3-finished books in 1997, my 2017 Netflix queue is filled with Episode Threes of many ambitious series. Luke: This is...good, right? We're wasting less time on mediocre art? No way am I watching another second of Fear the Walking Dead now that I found out about, say, Fortitude . Or maybe our brains are all too scrambled to appreciate anything. Dave: It's all just content now, and everything's chosen for you by some kind of algorithm. Fewer and fewer active choices--the river washes over you. Luke: Ugh. This column really would do a better as a podcast.

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Kathryn Moody : Investors, Are You Ready for the Next Global Crisis? Manuel Schiffres Mutual Fund Rankings, 2014 Meghan Streit : Pitching In When Caregivers Need Help Janet Bond Brill, Ph.D., R.D.N., F.A.N.D : How to prevent a second (and first) heart attack thru diet The Kosher Gourmet by Diane Rossen Worthington : Caprese is a light, fresh salad; the perfect quick and easy accompaniment to any summer meal Mark Steyn : You Want Nazis? Jonathan Tobin : Care about the Jewish state's future? Obama, in interview, reveals even more reasons to worry Alan M. Dershowitz : Confirmed: Needless death and destruction in Gaza Katie Nielsen : As a mother, I'm all I need to be Cameron Huddleston : 18 Retailers That Offer Price Adjustments Nellie S. Huang : The Best Health Mutual Funds to Buy Now Brierly Wright, M.S., R.D. : Try these 'secret-weapon' foods to boost your changes of losing weight The Kosher Gourmet by Jessica Yadegaran : Take some relish in pickled goodies (5 recipes!) Kimberly Lankford : 50 Ways to Cut Your Health Care Costs James K. Glassman : Investors, Are You Ready for the Next Global Crisis? The Kosher Gourmet by Nick Malgieri : Chocolate molten delight with creme anglaise is a simple yet elegant make-ahead dessert Jeb Bush complains that the political media have not treated Donald Trump as a serious candidate. They have not dissected Trump's eclectic stances, which, a new Bush ad contends, show the populist as a fake conservative. OK. Labor Day is over. Let's get serious. Start with that new Bush ad, titled "The Real Donald Trump." The ad opens with Trump on TV saying: "I lived in New York City, in Manhattan, all my life, OK? So, you know, my views are a little bit different than if I lived in Iowa." Trump is from New York. Who knew? That's the home of rich, snotty liberals. Ergo, Trump must be a liberal, or so the serious Bush implies. When it comes time to raise substantial piles of campaign cash, Jeb seems to like New Yorkers just fine. Indeed, he is a frequent flier to the Manhattan till. Last winter, private equity magnate Henry Kravis threw a fundraiser for Jeb at his Park Avenue spread. The price of admission -- $100,000 a ticket -- raised eyebrows even on Wall Street. Oh, yes, we're supposed to talk about Trump's policy positions. The Bush ad has Trump saying years ago that the 25 percent tax rate for high-income people should be "raised substantially." Do note that Ronald Reagan's tax reforms left the top marginal rate at 28 percent -- and after closing numerous loopholes. Also, capital gains were then taxed as ordinary income, meaning the rate for the wealthiest taxpayers was 28 percent. (The top rate is now 23.8 percent.) Speaking of the tax code, Trump vows to close the loophole on carried interest. It lets hedge fund managers pay taxes on obviously earned income at a lower rate than their chauffeurs pay. "They're paying nothing, and it's ridiculous," Trump says. A writer at the conservative Weekly Standard recently asked Bush whether he'd end the deal on carried interest. "Ask me on Sept. 9" was Bush's noncommittal answer. That's when he plans to unfurl his tax reform plan. The ad has a younger Trump coming out for single-payer health care. That sounds a lot like Medicare. Trump is shown saying he's pro-choice on abortion. A recent CBS poll had 61 percent of Republicans opposing a ban on abortion, although many want stricter limits. About Trump's being a lifelong New Yorker, well, that's not entirely true. He spends a good deal of quality time in Palm Beach, Florida. "Donald is a perfect fit for Palm Beach," Shannon Donnelly, the society editor for the Palm Beach Daily News (aka "The Shiny Sheet"), told me. "He has an office in New York but is rarely there." "We're overdue for Winter White House," Donnelly added. "We haven't had one since that guy from Massachusetts (John F. Kennedy) moved in with all his rambunctious siblings." Your author cannot sign off without opining that Trump's crude remarks about Mexicans should disqualify him from becoming president. The Trump ad tying Bush's rather liberal thoughts on immigration to faces of Mexican criminals who murdered people in this country is rather disgraceful. But it is not unlike the Willie Horton ad that Bush's father, George H.W., ran in his 1988 campaign. Horton had raped a woman after being released from a Massachusetts prison on a weekend furlough. The Democratic candidate, Michael Dukakis, was Massachusetts' governor at the time. The elder Bush's ads continually flashed Horton's picture in what many considered a stereotype of a scary black man. "By the time we're finished," Bush campaign manager Lee Atwater said, "they're going to wonder whether Willie Horton is Dukakis' running mate." Let's get serious about Trump's record? Yes, and the same goes for everyone else's. Comment by clicking here.

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If everyone would mind their own business, live their own lives, and stop telling everyone they come into contact with how they should think, feel, and act, we would all be a whole lot better off. We can apply that sentiment to a countless number of situations in today's day and age, which has a rather unsightly air of toxicity about it. Whether we're talking about political matters or personal choices, there's a whole lot of yelling going on, but very little in the way of understanding. Of course, that's partially because those that scream the loudest get the most attention. In reality, there are a ton of people out there that stay well away from the fray because they simply have no desire to deal with it. The toxicity is really getting to the point that it's untenable, and it would be lovely to see those that advance it as much as possible take a big step back and examine what they are helping to create. There's a real good chance they'll realize it's not all that pretty. There's plenty of fingers to be pointed as to why things are the way that they are, and they can be pointed at folks on both sides of whatever debate is going on. From afar, watching all of the unsightly arguing can make you feel as if society as a whole hasn't advanced much at all. In reality, it has advanced a whole lot. Despite that, there remain folks that see things differently, and an inordinate amount of attention is devoted to their views on things. Perhaps if less time was being devoted to the views of those folks, it would become readily apparent that there are a ton of people out there that are quite evolved in their views of the world. For the people in this category, there's not a lot of yelling, and hardly anything resembling drama. Instead, there's just acceptance and a go with the flow attitude that's quite welcoming. Martha Stewart falls into that category, and she demonstrated that to perfection with her response to a recent question. As AOL shares, Stewart was asked about the hubbub that still goes on from time to time in regards to the marriages of same-sex couples. Her simple answer placed things perfectly in perspective, and there was not even the slightest tinge of drama in her remarks. "I don't differentiate a gay wedding from a straight wedding. I just don't differentiate ... I think it's absolutely a fact that all men are created equal, and so I just treated people like equals my entire life. Equals in every single way, no matter what their proclivity is or what their sexuality is, or their color or their race," she said. "You know, every wedding is special to me." Stewart's simple way of looking at things is not a foreign concept, as there's a whole host of folks across the nation that feel the exact same way. Despite that, all of the attention continues to be paid to those that yell the loudest. News flash: those folks' minds aren't going to be changed, so it probably makes sense to leave them be. The rest of the world will evolve just fine without them climbing on board, and energies can be best spent on highlighting the positive progress that has been made in a number of areas. Yes, it really can be that simple - if we all allow it to be, that is. Source: AOL Photo: Wikimedia Commons, YouTube

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The week in satire Vol. #43 And what a week it was! A week in which the Tories talked about maybe getting on with Brexit! A week in which the Tories finished for the summer without really getting on with Brexit! And a week in which the EU realised that the UK leaving is probably for the best! But what else happened? Let's look back and see: Plans for the... Guy who lost PS1bn privatising Royal Mail in charge of something else now Vince Cable, who is estimated to have lost us PS1bn privatising Royal Mail, is now the leader of the Liberal Democrats. Which is fantastic news! You know - if you support a different party. Radical centrism The Liberal Democrats radical new approach will see them: Making more promises (some of which they may even keep). ... Jeremy Hunt fined PS150 for selling NHS without a permit Jeremy Hunt has been slapped with a PS150 fine by council officials after setting up a street stall to sell bits of the NHS. Initiative 50-year-old Jeremy was attempting to make the summer holidays a bit less boring. His boss had told him and his colleagues to "sit on your hands until October if you value your careers". So,... Farmers secure their wheat fields as Parliament prepares for the summer shutdown The UK Parliament closes down for a period of several weeks every summer. A period when farmers coincidentally have their wheat fields terrorised by an unknown menace. A menace that many suspect could be none other than the Prime Minister - Theresa May. A fact which many farmers are having a hard time believing. The wheat... 'The BBC isn't PC enough!' complains The Daily Mail What a week it's been for The Daily Mail! https://twitter.com/hourlyterrier/status/887585866247540739 A week in which they seem to have gone full circle, and are now complaining that women aren't getting a fair crack of the whip! And also that wages for elites in the UK are too high! Crikey! What a time to be... Tory leaks caused by Tory 'shower of bastards', fresh leak suggests As the Tory party has been subject to a number of damaging leaks, many people have noticed: They're leaking like an incontinent greyhound that's drunk a year's supply of Red Bull! What's going on? A new leak has confirmed what we suspected all along, though. That an absolute torrent of bastards has been raining down on the... Plans for the PM to regenerate into Boris Johnson dismissed as 'ludicrously far-fetched' When the new lead of Doctor Who was announced as a woman, many people thought "cool". Other people, however, thought: If the PC-brigade can make a body-changing alien into a woman, then who can't they change? Should we expect Popeye the Sailor WOMAN!? THE WORLD HAS GONE BANANAS! And yet that wasn't the only regeneration of... The week in satire Vol. #42 And what a week it was! A week in which rival Tories carried on punching each other in the face! A week in which rival Tories carried on punching themselves in the face! And a week in which Labour nearly just let the Tories get on with it! But what else happened? Let's look back and see: Brexit now guaranteed success as... 'Subhuman leftist saboteurs have lowered the tone!' claims The Daily Mail Obviously, most people don't like the abuse that happens in the UK. Whether it stems from Twitter or the tabloids. Whether it stems from the public or from politicians. And whether it comes from people you otherwise agree with or people you ardently oppose. And yet that abuse is there. Coming in from all sides. Invading public... EU confirms that all its super-negotiators are Olympic-grade whistlers When Boris Johnson said the EU can "go whistle" over the Brexit 'divorce bill', most people thought: Oh look - there's Boris Johnson - saying things again. Just like when he said all that other stuff that he never stuck to; or - let's be honest - never really believed in the first place. Like most things that... Page 31 of 71 ... 29 30 31 32 33 ...

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In the early morning of April 26, 1986, an explosion in the Chernobyl nuclear power reactor #4 released a radioactive plume which by nightfall had hurtled four miles into the atmosphere. An intense fire burned in the reactor core for ten days, continuously spewing radioactive particles and aerosols. Belarus, western Russia, and rich farmland of the Ukraine were immediately and severely contaminated. High winds carried tons of particles to many parts of Europe and throughout the Northern Hemisphere, blanketing 77,000 square miles with radioisotopes of iodine, cesium, strontium, and plutonium. The accident defied the nuclear industry's risk assumptions and calculations, among them that a nuclear accident would happen slowly not like the runaway chain reaction at Chernobyl. The consequences of Chernobyl are staggering. About 350,000 people were evacuated, many of whom continue to live in perpetual anxiety and uncertainty about the health effects of their radiation exposure. The Union of Liquidators (liquidators being first responders at disaster sites) estimates that 10 percent of 600,000 workers who participated in fighting the Chernobyl fire and sealing the site have died and 165,000 are disabled. Estimates of cancer rates and deaths from Chernobyl vary greatly due to study assumptions, methods, geographical scope and politics. The highest estimate of overall mortality is 985,000 people, according to a recent compilation of more than 5000 studies. The lowest estimates derive from UN studies, where pro-nuclear politics limit and potentially corrupt their findings. These politics are girded by the 1959 agreement between the World Health Organization and the International Atomic Energy Association in which both agencies may withhold confidential information where they deem it necessary. Thousands of acres of prime agricultural land remain seriously contaminated in the former Soviet breadbasket region; as of 2007 nearly 400 sheep farms in the UK remained in quarantine from radioactive fallout. In many European countries restrictions on wild game, berries, mushrooms, and fish will remain in effect for decades, if not centuries. Tens of billions of dollars were spent for disaster remediation, including a now crumbling, leaking concrete shelter over the still-radioactive reactor. Like a penniless funeral director, the European Union is soliciting funds from Europe, Russia, and the US to meet the shortfall in costs to erect a more stable structure over the the failed sarcophagus. In March 2011, prior to the nuclear apocalypse of Japan's Fukushima power plant, former Soviet Prime Minister Mikhail Gorbachev published his lessons learned from Chernobyl. He calls the Chernobyl accident "a shocking reminder of the reality of the nuclear threat." The nuclear power industry survives through secrecy and deceit, he wrote, having kept private "some 150 significant radiation leaks at nuclear power stations over the world." He warns that the new and most dire threat to nuclear power is nuclear terrorism. The lessons Gorbachev culled from Chernobyl have compelled him to call for a quick transition to "efficient, safe and renewable energy which will bring enormous economic, social, and environmental benefits." The retrospective lessons of Chernobyl are strikingly akin to the lessons at hand from the unfolding crisis at the Fukushima nuclear reactors and storage pools. Catastrophic risk - no matter how low with improved design, siting, materials, safety systems, and trained operators - is inherent in nuclear power. Safer is nowhere near safe enough. For this reason the US government continues to assume liability for damages to life and property from a nuclear power accident above $12.6 billion and has proposed $36 billion in loan guarantees in 2012 for new nuclear plants. Without these entitlements the nuclear industry would collapse. Wall Street concurs: In 2009 Moody's Investor Services concluded that investment into nuclear power was a "bet the farm" risk. Why gamble on the side of nuclear technology optimists who place their bets on future passive safety systems and pebble reactors when time is running out on the 60 year-old industry, economics is not on their side, and renewables are ready? Critically acclaimed studies, among them one from the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and another conducted by researchers Jacobson and Delucchi at Stanford and University of California, Davis have laid out a roadmap for energy policy in the next two to four decades, using a mix of energy efficiency, wind, water, and solar technologies. The barriers to achieving a renewable national and global energy system are fundamentally political and social, not technological or economic. For more than a century, opportunities to build a durable energy economy on renewables were passed by. The energy resource road taken - fossil fuels and nuclear -- has led us to Chernobyl, Fukushima, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, air and water pollution, Superfund sites, oil wars, and climate change. Where is our intergenerational solidarity? Where is environmental justice? The fourth largest economy in the world, Germany, is accelerating its phaseout of nuclear power, which supplies one quarter of its energy, and shifting even more aggressively to renewable energy. This is, perhaps, the best news to come out of the dire situation in Fukushima.

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Liberty Talk FM broadcasts 24 hours per day, seven days per week and features continuous live content Monday through Friday and a mix of the best syndicated podcasts and shows during the weekend.Our current line up of hosts includes the best and brightest voices fervently advocating for Liberty, such as: Ernest Hancock, Alex Jones, Todd "Bubba" Horwitz, Edward Woodson, and Robin Koerner.While the primary focus is on news, politics, and government, Liberty Talk FM also regularly features discussions on the economy, privacy enhancing and emerging technology. [Read More]

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Ammoland Inc. Posted on February 11, 2014 August 29, 2016 by Ammoland Lehigh Defense 9 mm 105 gr Controlled Fracturing Bullet Lehigh Defense Quakertown, PA - -( Ammoland.com )- We are pleased to announce that we are releasing two new products for 2014. The first is our Controlled Chaos Ammunition and Projectiles. The second is our line of Controlled Fracturing Bullets. Our Controlled Chaos Technology Our Controlled Chaos bullet is designed to penetrate to a specific depth and then fracture. This fracturing is initiated when the internal hydraulic pressure exceeds the hoop strength of the nose design. Lehigh Defense 223 Remington, 45 gr Controlled Chaos Bullet At the time of fracture, a massive energy spike is released as the particles break away and radiate outward from the initial trajectory path. This energy spike and the resulting temporary cavity send a shock wave through the animal's circulatory and nervous systems, immediately shutting down the functioning of these systems. Our Controlled Fracturing Technology (The originator of CF Technology) Our Controlled Fracturing bullet is designed to deliver maximum terminal performance. This is made possible by pre-stressing the solid copper or solid brass bullets at specific points so that, after a predetermined penetration depth, the razor-edge petals deploy, releasing an energy spike, separating and radiating outward from the primary path of the bullet. The bullet shank, now back to bore diameter, continues penetrating straight and deep along the initial impact path. About Lehigh Defense Lehigh Defense is driven by a desire to transform. Throughout our 20+ year history, we've designed, tested, redesigned and perfected many new firearm and ammunition technologies, all in the name of advancing the industry. As our reputation has grown, Lehigh has continued to investigate and improve upon our most revolutionary ammunition. Building on the predictability of our Controlled Fracture technology , we now produce personal defense ammunition with exceptional terminal and barrier performance. As a result, this revolutionary projectile has earned a reputation for outstanding bystander safety with law enforcement officials and military personnel. Visit: www.lehighdefense.com Lehigh Defense Controlled Chaos Technology

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Best known for being on 3rd Rock from the Sun (and thoroughly lovable in Music and Lyrics ), Kristen Johnston is also a recovering addict who is quite forthcoming about what she calls her "lengthy love affair with booze and pills." But Johnston is disappointed with the way our society treats addiction, calling it misunderstood, misrepresented and presented as a entertainment. In a piece for The New York Times , Johnston writes that "most people still believe that addiction is something only the famous get, like colonics and swag bags. I'm constantly asked why so many in Hollywood are addicts." She often speaks at rehab centers and recovery events and points out that of the hundreds of thousands of addicts she's seen, none are famous. Even more upsetting to her? The fact that drugs kill more people every year than car accidents -- more people than guns -- and yet addicts are treated like trainwrecks. Mocked. And when it comes to aid, there's "zero government financing" for addiction research. She writes: Most people believe addicts are selfish, delusional jerks who have no qualms about destroying themselves and everyone who loves them. Even the reality shows focused on addiction, like "Intervention," "Rehab With Dr. Drew" (thankfully canceled) or that show where people have bizarre addictions like eating chalk or scouring powder, have done almost nothing to educate Americans. All they've really achieved is keeping addiction an oddity, a sideshow. It's entertainment for the "nonaddicted" who happily watch from the couch while cramming down two large pizzas and a case of light beer, thinking, "Thank the good Lord that's not me." Although you may not agree with everything she has to say, Johnston's entire essay is worth reading -- she touches on Cory Monteith and Dr. Phil -- and her plea is powerful: It's time for addiction to stand up and demand some respect. Because every time someone is ostracized for being an addict, every time there's a breathless, trumped-up, sensational headline, every time we giggle at a wasted celebrity, and every time addiction is televised as salacious entertainment, yet another addict is shamed into silence.

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First off, I want to make a very big point here: the changes in the Earth due to global warming, while real, are somewhat subtle. Yet the Earth gets most of its heat from the Sun, so if the Sun were the cause, we'd expect the effects of warming to be much stronger on Earth than any outer planets. So any really strong signal of global warming on outer planets like Jupiter or especially Pluto, if real, are very unlikely to be due to the Sun. Second, what I am seeing in these arguments is a very dangerous practice called "cherry picking"; selectively picking out data that support your argument and ignoring contrary evidence. It certainly looks interesting that Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Triton, and Pluto are warming, and if that's all you heard then it seems logical to think maybe the Sun is the cause. But they aren't the only objects in the solar system . What about Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Uranus... and if you include Triton to support your case, you'd better also take a good look at the nearly 100 other sizable moons in the solar system. Are they warming too? I have heard nothing about them in these arguments, and I suspect it's because there's not much to say. If they are not warming, then deniers won't mention them, and scientists won't report it because there is nothing to report ( "News flash: Phobos still the same temperature!" is unlikely to get into Planetary Science journals). However, I can't say that with conviction, because the absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Any planetary scientists reading this blog entry, please contact me. I'm interested in hearing more. Jupiter: The evidence for Jupiter's global warming is nothing of the sort. It is evidence that there are warm spots , with storms rising to the tops of the clouds. This may just be a local effect, and not global. Jupiter's atmosphere is fiendishly complex, and not well understood. If you've ever looked at the planet through a telescope, you can clearly see thick horizontal bands across the disk; these are enormous wind patterns that dwarf the Earth. A few years ago, one of the dark bands disappeared completely . For reasons unknown to this day, it sank a bit in the atmosphere, and opaque clouds covered it up. I saw it many times through my 'scope, and it was bizarre. Then, after a while, it reappeared, just like that. My point: any claims about Jupiter's atmosphere when it comes to global warming must be approached very carefully. We don't understand the dynamics of that system. Also, Jupiter's atmospheric physics is dominated by the internal heat of the planet, and not by the heat from the Sun. So even if the Sun did heat up somehow, the effect on Jupiter would probably be a lot less dramatic than here on Earth. Triton: With Triton, Neptune's moon , it says in the very article quoted that Triton is approaching an extreme summer season, due to the tilt of its orbit. This happens every few centuries. So the Sun can be constantly chugging away, and Triton would warm up anyhow. Mind you, Neptune's orbit is 165 years long, so we haven't even observed it for a full orbit since the invention of modern detectors capable of giving us good data. Therefore it's very difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish between factors like the Sun warming up Triton anomalously, or just the usual changes in the moon due to seasons. Pluto: As for tiny Pluto, its dynamics are very poorly understood. What we do see is that its atmosphere appears to be thicker than expected right now. Pluto doesn't have much of an air blanket, and it changes over the course of Pluto's orbit as the tiny iceball approaches and recedes from the Sun. Pluto reached perihelion, the closest point in its orbit to the Sun, in 1989, and is slowly drawing away again. You might think its atmosphere would start freezing out, getting thinner. But that's not happening; it's getting quite a bit thicker. Plus, let's think about this: Pluto is more than 30 times farther away from the Sun than the Earth is. If the Sun were warming up enough to affect Pluto at that vast distance, it would blowtorch the Earth. If the effects of Earth's global warming are subtle enough to argue about at all, then it's safe to assume the changes on Pluto are completely irrelevant to the argument. So where does that leave us? When I look at all of this, I see a handful of the 100 large solar system bodies showing some evidence of local warming (Jupiter's spot), some evidence of systemic warming with known causes that are a lot more likely than the Sun heating up (like well-understood orbital variations), and some evidence that any warming experienced by these bodies is possibly being exaggerated in the reporting. Of course it's possible. There are links to the Sun's behavior and Earth's climate (look up the Maunder minimum for some interesting reading), and it would be foolish to simply deny this. However, this is a vastly complex and difficult system to understand, and simply claiming "Yes it's due to the Sun" or "No it's not due to the Sun" is certainly naive. With all of these facts lined up, it's clear that the one thing we need to do is be very, very careful when someone comes in and makes a broad, sweeping statement about global warming's cause, especially when they have ulterior motives for saying what they do . This may sound like an ad hominem, but we have seen, over and over, how science gets abused these past few years by those in power. A jaundiced eye is critical in science, and a little skepticism -- or in this case, a lot -- is a good thing.

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While bent over locking up my bike in Chicago a few years ago, I heard the all-too-familiar sound of a wolf whistle. I turned around to get a look at the jerks accosting some woman on the street, only to realize I was the one who was being cat called. A man passing by from behind had seen my long curly hair and tight jeans and mistaken me for a woman. When I turned around to face him, he was shocked and started apologizing profusely. In so many words, he was saying: "This is an unacceptable way to behave toward a man." And we both knew, if I were a woman, there would be no apology. This is the double standard at the heart of masculinity: Men are taught to regularly say and do things to women that they would never say or do to other men, that they would never want men to say or do to them. That is not due to some timeless "male libido" driving their behavior. It's because masculinity is founded on the myth that men alone are rights-bearing persons and women are subordinate, passive, second-class beings who either need the protection of or deserve to be subjected to men. In a recent New York Times op-ed , however, writer Stephen Marche uses some outdated Freudian ideas about sexuality and gender and the recent explosion of allegations of sexual misconduct to argue that male sexual desire is inherently brutal and oppressive. Thus, there's no use, as Marche puts it, in "pretending to be something else, some fiction you would prefer to be." So, feminist ideas are practically useless. The only fruitful thing men can do to respect women as equals is repress their natural urges. In truth, the very problem with masculinity Marche describes in his op-ed is too much repression : The rules governing masculinity require men to be stoic, to repress virtually all of their emotions (except anger). This leads many men to severely underdevelop their own ability to analyze and communicate about their own feelings. Our culture, not men's nature, has enforced this emotional repression. Indeed, every man can think of at least one experience where he was punished for failing--whether intentionally or accidentally--to obey the dictates of these masculine rules. I remember a playground game where my friends and I would re-enact scenes from Disney films. I volunteered myself for the role of Ariel from the Little Mermaid . She was the protagonist and, it seemed to me, the best character to be. My peers bullied and teased me for this failure to obey the rules of compulsory masculinity for weeks afterward, and "Ariel" became a standard go-to insult in arguments. This policing of masculinity is the reason why the vast majority of fist fights I've witnessed between men were preceded by trash talk in which the men called each other "little bitches" or "pussies." The worst thing a man could be accused of being is feminine, since femininity is, in contrast, just another word for weak, passive, and fit to be dominated by other men. (This kind of masculinity is not just responsible for misogyny then, but for homophobia and transphobia too.) This is the kind of masculinity that also teaches men they don't have to ask permission to act on their sexual desires. They're supposed to take charge and have no reason to respect women's autonomy. This is what feminists mean when they say sexual harassment and assault are about power, not desire. It's our culture, not our libidos, that shapes the way men act upon otherwise healthy, run-of-the-mill sexual desires. In itself, there is nothing inherently brutal in a man who is sexually attracted to a woman he works with--no more than there would be if a woman desires a man she works with. But there is a difference between discreetly (or silently) deriving pleasure from someone's presence, on the one hand, and imposing one's desires on that person, especially if they're unreturned or unwanted. The difference here, as the feminist philosopher Sandra Bartky puts it, is the difference between healthy eroticism and rituals rooted in toxic ideas about masculinity. If a man wants to act on his attraction, or sexual urges? Here, communication, the very thing modern notions of masculinity train us away from, is key. Genuine communication is a two-way street; it presupposes that both participants have an equal right to withdraw from the interaction or decline an offer. Men already understand this to some extent, because this is how men typically behave in interactions with other men. So, relating to women as equals, as genuine peers, doesn't necessarily require repressing desire. Instead, it requires coming to terms with the fact that masculinity trains men to have great difficulty recognizing women--or, indeed, anyone that presents as feminine--as persons, as agents, as authoritative and worthy of respect, and then making an effort to see and treat them that way. In 1945 only 24 percent of Americans thought women should be allowed to hold jobs outside the home. In that same year, 25 percent of Americans thought there were often good reasons to pay men and women different amounts for doing the same kind of work. But by 1993 that number had dropped to 13 percent--and women's workforce participation rate had doubled. In 1987, 30 percent of Americans said they agreed that "women should return to their traditional social role of remaining in the home." In 2012, by contrast, only 18 percent said this. Thus, it's no surprise that in the past 20 years, the number of dads who stay home with children has dramatically increased and men in general are spending significantly more time parenting their children. Masculinity and femininity are changing quickly, and both men and women are the better for it. Instead of calling for repression, we should stop punishing children and adults for failing to obey the unhealthy dictates of masculinity--men need less repression, not more. That this would make for a less violent, sexist (and transphobic) world is reason enough to see it as a worthy goal. But, so, too would it free men from a great deal of anxiety, self-hatred, pain, and loneliness. A few years before my own experience with a catcall, I saw a young woman walking down a Chicago street with a milkshake in hand. A man watching her pass by shouted, "Titties!" at her. Without skipping a beat, she turned around, threw her milkshake at him, and continued on her way. Those of us on the street chuckled in admiration as the man stood dripping from head to toe with chocolate milkshake. Was this a man overcome by brutal sexual desires he needed to better repress? I don't think so. This was a man who needed a wake-up call that the woman he was shouting at was a person, not an object for him to dominate. Maybe the #MeToo moment will be just that for a lot of men, and we should consider ourselves lucky not to get our wake-up call served up so icy cold. Francine Almash is a 46-year-old single mother of three boys living in a cramped Brooklyn apartment. She works freelance as a copy editor and is also in school pursuing her education degree. Full as her life is, it is perennially deficient in one area: sleep. Most nights, Almash is what researchers call a short sleeper, getting less than six hours of sleep. "Six hours is a good night," she says. "Most of the time it's four and a half or five." One factor that makes Almash more likely to suffer from sleep deprivation is her low income. She supports herself and her three children in New York City on around $40,000 a year. The time strain and the stress of juggling work, school, three children, and an inadequate paycheck means there's little left over for adequate sleep. Most nights, she is up late working and studying. When she does manage to get to bed at a decent hour, she often lies awake worrying about finances or her two younger sons who struggle in school. Chronic inadequate sleep can have serious, even life-threatening, consequences. "Sleep truly resides at the nexus of our social and physical environments," explains Michael Grandner, a sleep researcher with the University of Arizona who has studied the intersection of sleep deprivation and social and environmental factors. "It is shaped by who you are and where you are. And that has significant implications." Like water, food, and air, sleep is a biological imperative. Getting enough of it plays a critical role in our physical and psychological health. Though researchers are still not entirely sure what or how, it is clear that the body has essential maintenance work to do when we're not using it. Those who sleep less than the recommended seven to eight hours a night have higher rates of chronic conditions like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes. They are more likely to be victims of auto or industrial accidents. Insufficient sleep also leads to lower work productivity and less innovation. Almash's days reflect the toll of that lack of sleep. When the kids were small, she fell asleep at the wheel of her car and only woke up when she slammed into a telephone pole. Most often it's just a relentless, ragged edge to her existence. "I feel like I'm in a massive fog all the time. It invades my ability to do my job and be patient with my kids." She suffers from migraines that have gotten worse with sleep deprivation. And she lives with a constant shroud of anxiety that the quality of her work is slipping, which threatens her professional reputation and her ability to support her family. "Sometimes I don't think I'm going to make it to age 50." Despite all this, Grandner finds the fact that disadvantaged populations are more likely to be sleep-deprived an exciting prospect. Not because it's good news, but because--relative to many other problems afflicting this population--lack of sleep can actually be fixed without enormous changes to society as a whole. "Changing sleep is a lot easier than changing bigger social issues," he explains. "Fixing sleep won't fix everything else, but it will increase the ability to deal with the other pressures in people's lives." To this end, Grandner's recent research has focused on how to help optimize sleep for populations with schedules and commitments that cannot be changed. His initial study focused on college athletes, providing overstretched students with multiple strategies and resources for getting more and better sleep. For example, they were advised to get out of bed immediately in the morning and turn on a bright light rather than hitting the snooze button and to use the bed only for sleep rather than hanging out at night checking phones or watching movies. The results were encouraging. Student athletes showed improved sleep quality, reduced insomnia, increases in energy, and less overall anxiety. Grandner is optimistic that many of these same tools can be applied to other populations, including those like Almash whose work and family schedules and pressures are standing between them and a good night's rest. Larger, more systemic changes could also make a difference. According to Lauren Hale, a sleep researcher with the Stony Brook University School of Medicine, addressing populationwide sleep deprivation needs a multilevel approach involving not just individuals but also communities and policymakers who are willing to rethink their priorities and behaviors around sleep. "Communities need to think about policies that reduce late-night activities and community noise and lights," she offers. "For example high schools could start later in the morning, assign less homework, and limit school events that end late at night." She also suggests employers could stop expecting employees to be available by phone and email around the clock and that we as a society need to stop erroneously thinking of sleep as the enemy of productivity. "Sleep is essential for optimal functioning of nearly every organ in the body," Hale says. Populations not getting adequate sleep are left at a disadvantage in terms of both health and their ability to function day to day. For Almash, change can't get here too soon. Until these changes come, for Almash, getting more sleep requires trade-offs she can't always afford, such as turning down work or handing in late assignments. If help like Hale describes was available to improve her sleep? "Oh yes, I would definitely take it. Believe me, I would be first in line." Chris, a nurse I interviewed recently, is regularly mistaken for hospital housekeeping staff: "I come [to work] in my white uniform. That's what I wear. Being a black man, I know they won't look at me the same, so I dress the part. I said, 'Good evening, my name's Chris, and I'm going to be your nurse.' She says to me, 'Are you from housekeeping?' " This wasn't the only time he's had his occupation questioned while he's practicing it: "I've walked in and had a lady look at me and ask if I'm the janitor." With a rapidly aging population, longer life spans, and few care facilities in many rural areas, the demand for nurses is high, and the profession has deliberately sought to recruit more men. At the same time, fields that have traditionally been male-dominated--especially manufacturing and construction--have been hit hard over the years, and especially since the 2008 recession. Consequently, some have hoped men would be attracted to nursing given that it is a field that offers stable, well-paying work in a growing industry. Yet nursing still remains predominantly female and white . While many have focused on the barriers to getting men in general to enter nursing, my research shows that black men, who are drastically underrepresented in nursing, may in fact be the group of men most motivated to enter the field, even despite an often racist environment. For some men, gendered ideas about work can make entering a field like nursing very difficult. These beliefs persist even when labor market conditions shift so that male-dominated jobs become more scarce. Sociologist Christine Williams' seminal study of men working in female dominated occupations shows immense awareness that they are defying gender expectations. Williams quotes one man whose interest in studying nursing led to his being teased by peers for being gay. In a study of unemployed married men and women, sociologist Ofer Sharone finds that this pressure to pursue traditionally male-dominated work even spills over into marriages. "Unemployed men, but not unemployed women, report marital tensions due to their spouses being critical of the types of jobs that they are pursuing," says Sharone. This culture of enforcing gendered boundaries around the profession can explain why persistent ideas about gender and femininity make professions like nursing a hard sell . But in a study of black men in nursing, I found that they by and large were unfazed by the perceptions of nursing as a "woman's job." They were aware of the stereotypes about gender and nursing and obviously noted that most of their colleagues in the field were women. But for black men, the gender-based pressures to avoid this professional field were muted by other forces that they found more compelling. For one thing, racial and gender discrimination means that higher-status jobs like law, medicine, engineering, and finance that white men may pursue aren't available to them. While even lower status jobs like manufacturing and construction have long been areas where white men could earn comfortable wages doing skilled work, racial discrimination in these fields means that black men often face barriers to their entry, pay, and promotions. In a study of white working-class men employed in the construction industry, for instance, sociologist Kris Paap found that one way these men protect their shrinking "turf" is by reinforcing gendered and racial boundaries through social exclusion and even taunting those they don't think belong. With blocked routes to skilled work in construction, trade work, or high-status corporate positions, black men see nursing as a relatively welcome alternative. Another black male nurse I interviewed, Leo, told me, "This is a good job for black men. It makes you work harder mentally as opposed to work in a public setting like construction. It's not like working in the heat, or in a field, bus driving or something. It's a different type of taxing because it works your mind, your heart." This helps to explain why sociologist Mignon Duffy finds that black men are a growing number of those present in lower-tier health care work (e.g., home health care aides, nursing assistants, and so forth) relative to men of other racial backgrounds. In addition, many of the men in my study were motivated to enter the profession because they believed this field offered opportunities to be of service to black communities. Specifically, they felt that work in the nursing profession offered a way to address the long history of medical racism that has adversely affected black communities, leading to racial health disparities and gaps in treatment, care, and access. Stephen, an orthopedic nurse, told me that poor black patients who have been overlooked in the health care system will benefit from being cared for by someone who looks like them, someone "who knows the system, to be a change agent for them." This motivation to assist minority communities is one most white men who enter nursing likely would not share, which may make black men the most primed to be recruited into the field. But their interest in nursing rarely elicited a warm welcome and stories of being confused for housekeeping or socially isolated remain common. Kenny, a nurse in his 50s, described this painful experience as the only black nurse on staff: "[My co-workers] had nothing to do with me, and they didn't even want me to sit at the same area where they were charting to take a break! [...] When I came and sat down, everybody got up and left." Many black men see nursing as a desirable profession, but the nursing profession hardly welcomes them with open arms. Instead, stereotypes about black men and where they should work come from colleagues and patients, making it difficult for them to enter and advance in this field. Eliminating these barriers to recruit a demographic of men who actually want the opportunities nursing allows, rather than focusing on recruiting men who don't see nursing as a legitimate profession, may be the best way for nursing to meet the U.S. population's needs today--a diverse population whose demands for care we cannot currently meet. An elderly woman nestles a white, fluffy baby seal in her arms. She murmurs happily to it, petting it and delighting as it responds to her touch and voice. This baby seal is a robot, a cuddly bot named PARO. And research suggests PARO has therapeutic value, calming and engaging agitated and anxious patients with memory loss. PARO, which can be seen in action on YouTube , is one of the earliest of the therapy bots. He arrived on the scene back in 2004. Since then, simpler, though still interactive, catbots (and dogbots) have democratized the world of therapy bots by bringing down the price to below $100. Marianna Blagburn, program director at a memory care assisted living facility in Washington, D.C.,* talks about Sam, a telepresence robot the facility helped pilot at one of the broader network of sites affiliated with her memory care unit: "On our main campus nearby, they had a visiting robot--Sam. They were a beta site for the robot. The bot would come in and ask how people were doing. It was very well-received in that environment--it had value and people got a kick out of it." Researchers aren't just building social and companion bots--they're hard at work building bots that can dispense medication , lift people, assess their vital signs, and connect them to family. A decade from now, PARO and other companion animal robots and telepresence bots like Sam may be seen as the progenitors of the robots that are caring for us all. The main hurdle for most of us around robot caregiving is the machine's lack of empathy and its inability to forge an emotional connection with patients. Dr. William Leahy, a recently retired neurologist who developed a program that trains interested high schoolers to become certified nursing assistants, says, "When you look at the limitations of artificial intelligence--it's really the empathy, the decision making, the things based on emotions, which are all limitations of machine learning. The pattern recognition, the verbal skills can all be done by computer, but I think the emotional aspect of care is something that is going to be distinctly human." But what if that lack of humanity is actually the feature and not the flaw? There's a dark side to humans as caregivers that often gets lost in discussions of automation. While people may be more able to be emotionally attuned to their patients, that emotional connection can go awry and not just because the human caregiver is inept. What if you're a woman of color caring for an individual with dementia who is comfortable expressing racist and sexist sentiments to you? While many dedicated professional caregivers focus on getting through their shifts by managing difficult or offensive patients, other caregivers acknowledge that sometimes difficult emotional relationships compromise care. In the Pew study, a young woman notes: "I used to work in nursing homes and assisted livings. Human caregivers are often underpaid and overworked. Humans have bias, and if they don't like a patient that affects their care." Furthermore, unlike people, a robot never gets tired or tired of hearing your stories. "It wouldn't get tired, or bored, or forget, or just not care," says a 53-year-old man in the Pew study. He adds a caveat: "Unless, of course, it's a high-level AI, in which case it may care." Monica Anderson, one of the authors of the Pew report, also notes that alleviating the burden on families and allowing elders to have more independence were important selling points for those who were positive about robots providing care: "People who indicated that they were more interested in a robot caregiver were more likely to cite that it was reducing a burden on family [and] talked about the expensive care that it takes to care for an elderly relative or time constraints that people have in having enough time to take care of one of their older family members. A smaller share also said that it would allow older Americans to be more independent." While lack of an emotional connection to a machine is the primary complaint against robots giving care, others point to the limits of the mechanics of the technology. Former certified nursing assistant Priscilla Smith says, "There are too many malfunctions with a machine. A machine can break down at any time," leaving patients in the lurch. "Sometimes even our wheelchairs won't roll correctly." The Pew report showed that side-by-side caregiving with a human in the mix was instrumental in helping those who felt less comfortable with the idea of robots providing care feel more comfortable. "People would feel better about the concept if there was a human who monitored all actions via camera. About half of all Americans said they would feel more comfortable if there was a human involved," says Anderson. "That's what we see with driverless cars and when we asked about using an algorithm for sorting job [candidates]--when you introduce a human component to the automated technologies, people were more positive about it and felt better about the concept." Let's be honest--our future is unlikely to be limited to either human or robot caregivers alone. We're more likely to find ourselves in a future where we're cared for by both people and their helping robots. Blagburn suggests that humans and machines working in tandem can complement each other. "Life is very busy. Some workers are doing the work of three and four people, and that's where we should use robotics to our advantage. That's where I'd place the importance of robots--lightening the load." This may be the messaging needed to convince caregivers they have nothing to fear in the automation of care. Robots can be their companions, not their competition. As for care receivers? The biggest barrier is imagination. Getting patients used to the idea of robot caregivers will happen incrementally--as we demonstrate in small and eventually bigger ways how this could work and what we actually mean when we talk about robots today. That means replacing the unfeeling automatons of our sci-fi nightmares with the increasingly intuitive robots of our present. A few years ago, I spent most of Thanksgiving dividing up the furniture in the house for when the divorce came. My husband had just walked out the door with a six-pack of beer to hang out with a friend, leaving me with a kitchen explosion of vegetable peels and uncooked dishes, a scatter of recipes and cookbooks, a table yet to be set for 18, and one gigantic, raw bird. He could have that fucking blue-leather couch. To say I was livid would be a gross understatement. Before we got married, we'd both promised each other we'd be partners and share our home responsibilities equally. As I furiously chopped Brussels sprouts, flung cranberries and miniature pumpkins on the table in a failed attempt at a Martha Stewart centerpiece, and jammed homemade stuffing into the turkey, my mind kept spinning: How had we gone so far off the rails? Because it wasn't just like this at Thanksgiving. We both worked full time in demanding jobs. Yet at the time, my husband didn't know who the kids' dentist was, had never made summer camp plans, never bought toilet paper, or filled out all those damn school and Girl Scout forms. He'd never clipped baby fingernails, nor had he been the one to frantically figure out how to get work done when a snowstorm, strep throat, or unexpected barf threw the whole jerry-rigged system of work and child care into disarray. It wasn't until I experienced the holidays as a mother that I began swirling around the house in a sleepless flurry, barking at the kids, worrying about making the day special. My stress levels rising, I'd snap when my husband told me to just calm down. That's when I realized I was acting just like my mother at the holidays. As teens we used to make fun of her, I'm ashamed to say, at how wound-up and bitchy she could get: She's such a martyr. She's ruining the day. Why can't she just calm down? But looking back, I realize now she was cooking, cleaning, polishing silver, washing wedding china, directing her bored and snarky daughters, and managing crises like broken dishwashers, while my dad watched football, asked for another scotch and water, and wasn't expected to do more than cut the first few slices of turkey. (Mom did the rest.) I'm not sure she ever ate a hot meal on Thanksgiving or got more than a few hours of sleep. She certainly didn't get any thanks. We went on a long walk, and I did the only thing I knew to do as a reporter when I don't understand something: I brought a notebook and began asking questions, not only of my husband, but myself. Why had my husband never taken paternity leave? Why did I feel it was my responsibility to rush around the house frantically cleaning up so it would look nice before he got home from work, like my mom did, even though, unlike her, I'd had an exhausting day at work too? Why was I stabbed with guilt at the thought that I was a bad mother if I let him take the kids to the pediatrician? Why was I so consumed with performing what looked like the perfect Thanksgiving? Who was watching? The Housewife Police? What we began to realize on that long walk is that we'd both gotten ourselves to this point where I was physically and mentally depleted and wanted to divide up the furniture for good--that, without even realizing it, we'd both fallen into the traditional gender roles we'd seen our parents inhabit, though I was also cramming full-time work into the mix. And if we wanted to stay together, and if we hoped for something different for our kids, we had to figure out how to change. So we started small. We sat at the table and figured out how much work it takes to run the family, came up with common standards, and divided up the chores based on what we liked doing, not our gender. I like yardwork, so I do more of it. He likes cooking, so I gratefully eat whatever he puts on my plate every night. We came up with rules, so we wouldn't have to keep renegotiating or arguing: Last one out of bed makes the bed. In the morning, I empty the dishwasher, he loads. And if he doesn't do it, I don't rescue him and do it for him. Early on, I'd take out my iPhone, snap a photo, and text him, "Really?" He grocery shops. I do laundry. The kids do their own. We both fill out forms. We both make kids' dentist, doctor, and other appointments and take turns taking them. The kids' summer camp plans have turned into summer jobs, driving lessons, and college planning, and we share the load there, too. It isn't perfect. I still somehow wind up being the one who buys toilet paper. But it's better. And Thanksgivings are different in our house now. The first thing we think about as a family is not how the table would look if Martha Stewart dropped by with a scorecard but how we want the day to feel . Then we figure out the work that needs to be done to make that happen and divide the chores fairly. My daughter makes mashed potatoes. Our son handles the bread. I roast vegetables. Tom makes the turkey and stuffing (usually Stove Top, and I no longer care). All the neighborhood kids come over to bake pies and play charades. We eat. We laugh. We all do the dishes, and we all go to bed. It's no longer just me--we are all responsible for creating the holiday magic. And that stupid blue couch? It's been moved to the garage. The tax credit would return a small percentage of every employee's wages to any company offering at least two weeks of paid leave to their employees through their annual tax return. This incentive would expire after two years. Vicki Shabo, vice president for workplace policies and strategies at the National Partnership for Women & Families, says that this bill is only a drop in the bucket of support to businesses already taking the lead on this issue. The provision provides "a very small tax credit to businesses that voluntarily provide at least a minimal level, two weeks, of paid family or medical leave," said Shabo. "What that practically means is a very small amount of money, 12.5 percent to 25 percent of the employee's wages, at the end of the year as a tax return for too little time off." Shabo thinks this incentive is destined to fail for many reasons even if it makes it through the Senate and the Senate passes the bill: Tax credits designed to promote social policy are strategies that haven't shown results in the past; the amount of money returned is too small for small businesses to enact new policies; the incentive expires after two years. Ellen Bravo, an expert on paid leave and co-executive director of Family Values @ Work, agrees. Bravo believes this tax cut is too small for even big businesses to take up within the two-year time limit. Bravo argues the tax legislation will ultimately be detrimental to efforts to pass paid leave legislation at the federal level. At its best it will affect paid leave policy for just a handful of organizations at a high cost to taxpayers, and at its worst the incentive will function as a tax giveaway to big corporations simply for maintaining that status quo. Bravo says that even conservatives agree tax cuts like these would not benefit the people who need it most: small businesses and working families. "That is why we are wary of taking a step in the wrong direction," added Bravo, "It would be a travesty for people to think that they could check off a box on paid leave and then leave the majority of American people behind." Bravo believes the insertion of the cut was a last-ditch attempt at making the bill seem good for working families and not just for the wealthy: "If politicians are under the gun for a tax bill that clearly is giving huge tax breaks to the most powerful and the wealthiest and not doing enough for small businesses, families, and everyday Americans, they have to include something that makes them look better, and there are politicians looking for window dressings, because they know paid leave is popular, and this tax bill is not popular overall." Shabo, however, saw the cut as a good sign for the direction of the national conversation on paid leave: "The fact that this issue is being addressed in Republican written legislation is certainly a milestone in the recognition that America needs to solve its paid leave crisis." America is the only developed country without even national paid maternity leave guaranteed. Shabo's organization, the National Partnership for Women & Families, drafted and fought to pass the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act, which guarantees unpaid leave to many American workers, and it is excited about the real conversations gaining traction on paid leave policies across party lines. According to both Shabo and Bravo, lawmakers should use the national interest in paid leave as a catalyst to revisit the research on paid leave and look to states that have passed bills with bipartisan support as evidence this could work. "States are paving the way to a national solution," Bravo remarks. Washington state recently passed a comprehensive bipartisan paid family leave policy and brought multiple community stakeholders together to pass one of the most generous paid family leave bills in the United States. People employed in Washington are guaranteed 12 weeks of paid leave funded through weekly paycheck contributions by both the employer and employee. Shabo thinks paid leave legislation at the federal level still stands a chance: "If people could take off their ideological hats, comprehensive and inclusive paid family leave should absolutely be a reality." Every afternoon except Tuesday, 17-year-old Ariadna Arredondo travels from Aurora Central High School to Tacos Acapulco to spend seven hours cooking and running the cash register. On Saturdays and Sundays, she puts in 12-hour shifts. Clocking 52 hours a week at $9.50 an hour to supplement her mom's housecleaning income left Arredondo little time for homework throughout her high school years. And it showed. Her grades fell and she almost failed to graduate--just like 52 percent of her classmates. Yet just six weeks after she enrolled in a program that helps children who live in poverty remain in school, Arredondo is giddy with the thought that she will soon don a cap and gown. "I'm so excited to graduate and to walk across that stage," said the senior, who lives in a suburb of Denver. "If it wasn't for this program, I would be ditching. Now, I want to go to college to be a psychologist." Offered by the nonprofit Communities in Schools in conjunction with Aurora Public Schools, the first-year program is preparing to help 60 more kids like Arredondo. Many of them are Latinas struggling to juggle schoolwork, child care, and household and work responsibilities. Aurora's CIS effort, held in modular classrooms on the high school campus, allows kids to structure their own schedule through independent study with teachers available into the evenings for questions. CIS' relationship-based approach is one of several community-oriented interventions credited in part with slashing the percentage of Hispanic females in the U.S. who drop out of high school by two-thirds, from 24 percent in 2000 to 8.4 percent in 2015, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Even so, the high school dropout rate among female Hispanics is higher than that of their white, black, and male peers, in part due to cultural expectations that Latinas will help their parents with child care and housekeeping, often at the expense of their education, said Sylvia Martinez, associate professor in educational leadership and policy and Latino studies at Indiana University-Bloomington and co-author of Barriers to Educational Opportunities for Hispanics in the United States . Programs like CIS are attempting to help resolve this in part by acknowledging these pressures. Another is the Mother-Daughter Program at the University of Texas at El Paso, which has engaged 9,000 girls and their moms and inspired similar efforts in schools from San Diego to Wisconsin. The implementation of a Mexican American studies curriculum in Tucson, Arizona increased grades and graduation rates, as did work by community colleges in Miami high schools to ensure high-risk Latinas understood college was within their reach. The changing demographics of the disparate Latino population, with a rising share born in the U.S. and a growing understanding among parents that education is essential to compete for jobs, are also responsible for the unprecedented increase in graduation rates among Latinas, said Martinez. "Latinas' rate of acculturation outpaces their parents' rate of acculturation," Martinez added. "They tend to have a lot of conflict with respect to family issues and gaining independence, while white teens tend to have conflict with peer relationships." This family centered culture can overlook the fact that today's students must assimilate into a high school system that expects them to put their studies first. Unpaid care work overshadows the financial future for America's fastest-growing female minority population, who often grow up to manage the money in their households and earn only 54 cents for every dollar collected by white men. Each school year, the Mother-Daughter Program shifts gender dynamics in Hispanic households by working with students and their parents to understand the importance of a high school and a college education, said Josefina Tinajero, dean of the college of education at UT-El Paso and the program's director. Tinajero founded the program in 1986 with four other women after they realized that very few Hispanic girls in their region went on to attend college. That's not the case today. Program participants get pregnant as teens less often and are more likely to graduate at the top of their class, Tinajero said. The program works with school districts in the El Paso region who select 300 sixth-grade girls a year who would be among the first in their families to graduate from college. These students and their mothers attend five events at the university throughout the school year, including touring the nursing and engineering programs as well as other schools, talking with college recruiters, attending a career day where professionals talk about their jobs, and participating in community service projects. Tinajero and her staff also provide parents with information about scholarships and financial aid and talk about what a college degree means in terms of career advancement and income. The curriculum has proved so powerful that mothers often also choose to go to college. The program changed Sylvia Luna and her daughter's life. Luna enrolled in community college afterward, got a human resources degree, and went on to get a master's degree in business. After working as a federal grant coordinator at UTEP, Luna retired and now works part-time at a charter school. Luna said the program showed her she could pursue her dream to become a grant coordinator by getting a college education without owing thousands of dollars of debt. "Dr. Tinajero was always very conscious of saying it doesn't take money to get an education," said Luna, whose daughter is now a school administrator. "I wouldn't have been able to help other people get an education if I didn't get one myself." In Aurora, Colorado, Melissa Ramirez, a soft-spoken 17-year-old who cares for her two younger brothers and cooks and cleans every day after school, said the CIS program will allow her to become the first in her family to graduate from high school. She wants to go to college to study to be a nurse. "Last year I started falling behind and I started ditching--I hated it," Ramirez said. "In this program if you're failing they won't make you feel bad about it--they will help you out. My parents still don't believe I'm going to graduate. But I am." Caitlin Mahoney knows the frustration that comes from not being able to find work. She worked as a theater, English, and special education teacher before her daughter was born and intended to go back to work part time afterward. But she hasn't been able to find a teaching position that will pay her enough to cover the cost of child care. "The first year I stayed home I was totally happy," she said, "but I have student loans and I started feeling uncomfortable that I wasn't contributing. It would make me feel better to put my income in our Excel spreadsheet, [and] help it go to green." She hopes to apply to teaching positions once again in the spring, when schools ramp up their hiring processes. In the meantime, she's watching a friend's baby to bring in at least a little bit of income to help with her feelings of restlessness. In a way, she's become a stay-at-home mom and a part-time child care provider by accident. The intensity of child care demands for women with young children can be one of the greatest motivators for women to want to get back to a professional life and one of the reasons doing so can be difficult. Elana Konstant, a career coach and consultant in Brooklyn, works with stay-at-home moms like Mahoney who want to transition back to work. She's found that, for many stay-at-home moms, how they left the workforce, under what conditions, and how long they've been away affect their "professional self-esteem." On top of the usual stresses of not having a job while needing one, being a mother to a young child presents an array of dilemmas, both practical and emotional. "I call it 'reclaiming your professional mojo,' " Konstant said. "Being a stay-at-home mom is rewarding, and so many do it, but there are others who expect to go back and wonder if they will be hirable again, or if their experience from before [having kids] is still valid." And for many women, their work prospects are tied to their identity, making the job search process extremely fraught. In an economy rife with long-term unemployment and skyrocketing child care costs, where women sometimes take breaks to raise young children, a balance of professional and family fulfillment can be tough to attain. The job search, as women like Mahoney know, can take months, even years. The average person looking for work spends 26 weeks unemployed, which doesn't include those people who have dropped out of the job search. If you're taking care of a young kid at the same time, this search can be even harder. The unemployment rate for mothers with children less than 3 years old was 5.6 percent in 2016, slightly higher than the national average. These are mothers who are actively seeking work and cannot find employment, who have children at the ages in which child care is the most expensive. One study estimated that women lost between 4 and 10 percent of their earnings for every child they had, with women who worked in more affluent, competitive jobs losing more than those in lower-skilled positions. Women's long gaps in their resumes for having and rearing kids significantly lower their lifetime earning potential. Konstant said that concerns about child care are top of the list for moms who want to return to work--they worry not only about who will watch the kids once a job offer materializes, but also who will watch the kids while they go on interviews or even spend time online searching through job postings. She recommends that stay-at-home moms begin the job search process by reaching out to friends to let them know they're looking, explore drop-in options at child care centers, or offer to swap child care duties with another family--"You take their kid two days a week. They take your kid two days a week. It's hard to do that with a young child with you." This requires all kinds of creativity. Even child care centers at gyms can be valuable, Konstant says, since a mom can leave her kids for a few hours, then go upstairs and job search online instead of working out. Mothers cannot focus on finding a new job unless they have access to very affordable child care. "We need a plan in place for [people who go on unemployment] to have child care," said Sarah Damaske, an associate professor of labor and employment relations and sociology at Penn State University "You don't want people plunged too far into poverty that it's a shock to the family, and prevents them from looking for work," Damaske said. Damaske's research examined the physical and mental well-being of women at age 40 and found that job loss took a toll. As compared with women who opted for staying home with kids or those who worked consistently, the women who'd lost jobs fared worst both physically and mentally. Konstant found that it comes down to a psychological barrier for many women: wondering if they're hirable. "When I redo their resume, it's incredibly empowering for them," she said. She's created an online course geared toward women making the job shifts, Leaping Back . "That is why I created the course, [to] help people step back into themselves and their professional identity." Women may have made strides in most aspects of employment (and there are some fields where women's employment far outpaces men), but we're still falling short when it comes to making a successful work-life balance when relegated to the outskirts of the labor market. For women, mothers especially, who've felt that unexpected and unforgiving shove toward unemployment, that revolving door takes a fair amount of energy to push back open. With the rising cost of child care, an absence of available caretakers for our rapidly aging population, and many Americans trying to face these problems with long working hours, sparse benefits, and little flexibility, the care economy is at once crucial to the future U.S. population and more precarious than ever. In a new essay out Wednesday, feminist scholar Nancy Fraser, a professor of politics and philosophy at the New School for Social Research, argues that increasingly common calls for "work-life balance" fall short of answering the urgency of the ongoing care crisis in the United States. I asked her to explain what's behind our collective feeling of being overstretched at work and at home and how it is things got this bad in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. Our conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity. Nancy Fraser: Essentially, the popular understanding of this is the time crunch: the fact that households have to contribute many more hours to paid work to make ends meet and don't have secure, well-paying jobs to the degree they used to in the past. So you've got all these jobs in the gig economy and lots of people running around working more than one job, and as a result, there's the whole question of what happens on the homefront. We have high-powered professional women in very demanding careers who are well-paid but who are also putting in very long hours. They have the wherewithal to hire out care work. For those who really don't have the wherewithal to pay for the care that they might have otherwise provided for themselves and their families if they had more time, they are forced to make all kinds of ad hoc arrangements. You know, bartering care: "You take my kids today; I'll take your son tomorrow." People experience it as a personal problem, but it's actually a structural, societywide problem due in part to changes in the structure of work and the structure of compensation. What kicked off the 2007-2008 financial crisis was the housing market. You know it's part of the American dream to own your own house. That people have a safe place to raise families is absolutely fundamental to care. With subprime loans we saw 10 million foreclosures. 10 million. So that was the triggering effect of the 2008 financial crisis. And then you add in the fact there that there are all these fiscal pressures to cut public programming and public forms of support--you have lots of schools that have cut after-school programs. That's the kind of thing that goes first. Under the New Deal, there was something close to a solution. The idea was that a working man should be paid a wage that was sufficient to support the whole family so that the wife wouldn't have to work in a full-time demanding job. And this was a period where, not just for the upper class but even for the working classes, you had something like a male breadwinner/female homemaker model. That really meant that you didn't have the kind of severity of the time pressures and the sacrifice of the care stuff. However, this is not a golden age that we want to try to return to. Black Americans never had this kind of wage structure. Black American women always did wage work in much greater proportions than white women. And even women who benefited most from the family wage system were still dependent on men. So we got a critique of the family wage from second-wave feminism that converged with the unraveling of the New Deal and its replacement with a financially dominated form of capitalism, along with the relocation of manufacturing away from the U.S. The family wage was being undone by these changes in economic organization at the same time we were criticizing it for completely different reasons. This started and exacerbated the care crisis. It's not like the wealthier women are not victims of sexism, but with respect to the care crisis, they have a strategy for dealing with that that involves outsourcing their care to low-wage or precarious workers, usually women of color or immigrants. So, if you don't look at the big picture, you end up with a feminism whose principal beneficiaries can only be not quite the top 1 percent of women, but maybe the 10 percent. And the overwhelming majority of women are not cracking any glass ceilings. They're in the basement. Well, the editor of Social Reproduction Theory -- the volume I have an essay in--Tithi Bhattacharya, and other contributors have organized on the idea of the "feminism for the 99 percent," the idea that feminism should start with the whole of working women, the needs of domestic workers, women working in agriculture, immigrant women. Let's treat their situations as the norm and see what kind of feminism develops. That's the hopeful idea. Whether it gets traction depends on lots of other things. I think we have a political crisis in the U.S.--a crisis of legitimacy where all sorts of people are rejecting the established political elites and parties. So you get this Trump business on one side, and you have the Sanders phenomenon on the Democratic side. And this is happening all over the world; it's not just true in United States. I think that the prospect of feminism for the 99 percent depends on the larger landscape, and I think we should be working in tandem with left-wing populist progressives. For 20 years, Allison Julien commuted an hour across Brooklyn, New York, every morning to arrive at work by 8 a.m. In the early 1990s, her office was someone else's house, where she cared for a family's two toddlers. She immigrated from Barbados and came to the United States young and undocumented with few options for work. She got involved in domestic work through her family and friends working in the industry. "I didn't choose my profession; my profession chose me," Julien says. Julien also didn't choose to catch the flu from the toddlers. In order to heal herself, she needed to take a Thursday and Friday off work. Upset at her request, her employer raised Julien's status as an undocumented immigrant. The implication was a threat to turn her in to authorities if she didn't come to work, a common tactic used against vulnerable undocumented workers. Nevertheless, she continued as their nanny. "That for me was really a point of knowing that something more needed to be done. As an undocumented person who was providing the most important care for this couple's children, I wasn't even able to take time off after catching the flu from the kids I was caring for," Julien says. Had this happened today, Julien would've been able to claim her right to three paid days of rest without any backlash. That's because of the rights guaranteed to her by the New York Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights, which was the first of its kind to pass in 2010 thanks to a campaign by the National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA). Given the intimacy of their jobs, domestic workers are especially subject to exploitation by their employers. According to a 2012* NDWA survey, "The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work," 36 percent of nannies contracted an illness while at work in the prior 12 months, and most don't have access to sick days or rest time. Findings also show that 85 percent of undocumented domestic workers who encountered problems with their working conditions in the prior 12 months did not speak up because they feared their immigration status would be used against them like it was in Julien's case. Moreover, their wages are stagnant despite the fact that the care economy is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy. The NDWA, which is celebrating its 10 th anniversary Tuesday, connects domestic workers together in an organization as close to a union as is possible in an industry where the usual rules don't apply. It counts more than 20,000 individual members, including housekeepers, nannies, and caregivers for the elderly. In just 10 years, it has been able to provide them with rights like a minimum wage, job protection, sick days, rest time, and access to health care in eight states across the country. In the isolating, private world of domestic work, where each worker is often left to her own devices if she encounters problems, there is no board of directors or human resources department to slap an abusive or disrespectful employer on the wrist. Across the country in San Francisco, Enma Delgado ran into these problems and others. Delgado was born in El Salvador, and she crossed three borders to make it to the U.S. in 2003. She left three kids behind in El Salvador in order to provide for them with domestic work available in the U.S. In the interview for her first job as a nanny, her employers showed little appreciation of the job she was about to take. "You won't have to do much work," her future employers said. "You only have to carry them and give them a bath." This initial misunderstanding of what it meant to be a nanny translated into low pay and disrespect. Regardless of these attitudes about the nature of domestic work, and despite low pay, domestic workers describe the work as both physically and emotionally taxing. Maria Reyes, a 71-year-old Mexican immigrant, domestic worker, and veteran activist, says her work has always been emotional. "Thinking about a typical day in caring for a person or cleaning a home, I've always done this work with a lot of love. When I cared for an older person I did it with love and compassion, like my mom had cared for me." Julien, Delgado, and Reyes brought these experiences to the National Domestic Workers Alliance, where they try to raise general awareness of their job conditions and fight for better legal protections at the same time. The NDWA was founded in 2007 at the first U.S. Social Forum in Atlanta. Atlanta was the birthplace of domestic-worker organizing and home to the movement's matriarch, Dorothy Bolden. Bolden founded the National Domestic Worker's Union of America in 1968, and her legacy lives on today in each of the 60-plus organizations affiliated with the NDWA. Historically, workplace protections for domestic workers have been sparse. For one, they were excluded from basic protections established by the Fair Labor Standards Act. During the civil rights movement, Bolden became a sounding board for these workers, most of whom, at the time, were black. Domestic work was largely seen as black women's work until recently, when labor changes such as greater access to civil service jobs for black women led many black women out of domestic work and increased the demand for foreign-born domestic workers. Today, immigrant women of all races have filled these posts, but Bolden's legacy remains in NDWA's We Dream in Black campaign, which is specifically designed to amplify the voices of black female domestic workers. Julien now spearheads this campaign. The passage of the first Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights in New York in 2010 was only the beginning of the contemporary domestic workers movement launched through the formation of NDWA. Seven years and seven states later, NDWA bills of rights are gaining momentum. A part of their strategy has been educating lawmakers about domestic work to gain recognition. Delgado says NDWA has made itself known to legislators in California: "Now when they see the sea of red T-shirts come in, they know exactly who we are." Since these laws passed, domestic workers like Delgado are empowered to enter in conversations with employers about their working conditions, because they've been armed with their rights. "Even if the laws exist on the books, if we don't demand that they be enforced then it's like they don't exist at all," Delgado said. In certain respects, these bills are more progressive than existing U.S. labor laws protecting other kinds of workers. Marzena Zukowska, NDWA earned media strategist, points out, "One thing that's quite noticeable is that the bills of rights in Illinois, New York, and California have a freedom from sexual harassment clause, which is important, because at the federal level many workers get excluded from sexual harassment claims because there's a minimum number of employees that a workplace has to have." That minimum number is 15 employees. The NDWA helps domestic workers circumvent these loopholes within existing labor laws. Delgado, Reyes, and Julien all worked tirelessly as volunteer organizers to pass these bills of rights, and they're hoping that can translate to an all-encompassing federal bill. Reyes says, "It's a huge achievement that the NDWA passed the bills of rights in eight states, but the real dream is to do it in every state at the national level." That seems like a pipe dream given our current administration's agenda and especially their hostility to undocumented workers, who make up a huge portion of domestic workers today. The biggest barrier domestic workers face today is fear. Undocumented domestic workers are afraid to ask for minimum wage or overtime pay, and some are even afraid to leave their employers' homes for fear of detainment or deportation. Julien says, "Our organization is tied into the lives of immigrants, mainly immigrant women, who are at the margins of everything that's coming down the pipeline of this new administration." The Trump administration leaves even the most experienced and seasoned NDWA organizers asking, "What next?" But on Tuesday, they're celebrating their anniversary and the progress they've made nonetheless. Julien says, "We build this community so that when the 'what next' comes down the pipeline there's a home for them to be a part of. We already know that these workers are resilient. Their resilience shapes the way that we change laws in this country." *Correction, Nov. 14, 2017: This post originally stated that the NDWA survey, "The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work," was from 2016. The survey is actually from 2012.

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Source: Venezuela Analysis Venezuelan grassroots movements have begun to present their diverse proposals for the constituent assembly announced by President Nicolas Maduro this May. The constituent assembly will be comprised of key Venezuelan sectors including communes, campesinos, and workers that will come together to develop a new constitution based on the needs and wishes of the people. Additionally, popular movements have responded to the need to present their political platforms for consideration. The sex and gender diversity movement is one. In Venezuela, the LGBTI community has made revolutionary gains within the Bolivarian Process; nonetheless, there is always the urgency to push for greater rights and access. As such, the Revolutionary Sex and Gender Diversity Alliance (ASGDRe), an organization across Venezuelan national territory, came together to collectively design an initial set of proposals to participate in what militant Maria Helena Ramirez Hernandez calls "a new stage of the Bolivarian Revolution that seeks to overcome fascism, hate and terrorism financed by the US Government and carried out by the opposition in Venezuela." Ramirez continues, "We join the vast majority of the Venezuelan people in this [constituent assembly] and on the the national dialogue process that our President Maduro has called upon. This is a new offense against the counter revolutionary forces." Revolutionary Sex and Gender Diversity Alliance's proposal for the Constituent Assembly As a sex and gender diversity organization, we celebrate the initiative of establishing a National Constituent Assembly, this means the recognition of the people as sovereignty's keepers, a people that calls for the abolition of a bourgeois state and for the construction of a Communal State. This is a new opportunity, in the midst of this current moment, to gather different sectors' proposals that have historically been working to achieve common interests, to meet the social and material needs of the people for the greatest amount of social and political stability. In this sense, the ASGDRe joins this call for a new democratic contest to raise proposals, because we, the sexual-dissent people, are part of the working people, students, feminists. I. Peace is achieved from the recognition of otherness and to achieve national dialogue beyond this current moment, we must reaffirm values of equity and equality before the law and deepen our constitutional guarantees for the sex and gender diverse population as we are part of social groups that have been historically violated, discriminated and marginalized. Settling historical debts with the sex and gender diverse population will allow us to advance towards further organizational gains. II. Economic Improvement must begin with recognizing the constitutional standing of the forms of collective property of the means of production and of the principle of complementarity and solidarity among nationalized companies and companies under workers' control, as well as lands recovered by grassroots organizations. Real conditions must be created so that a socialist economy, with hegemony of social property over the means of production, can be progressively established in a collective and cooperative way. Guarantee the irreversibility of collective ownership of land and worker-occupied means of production, promoting new models of economic relationships based on the needs of the people over monetary value. This economic development must also take into account and create equitable conditions for the sex and gender diverse population to have to access to decent work, especially trans people who for years have been practically driven to prostitution, violence, and discrimination due to the denial of their rights. Guarantee agro-ecological principles for our agro-industrial development. Validate the creation and research of popular, ancestral, gender-diverse, Afro-Venezuelan, indigenous and campesinos' technologies to build a development model that guarantees investment in our own technologies and prevents the transfer or imposition of technologies that do not respond to the real interests or true needs of our country. III. Constitutionalize Missions and Major Missions: The social missions must be the pillars for protecting citizens' social rights and families. This must be done through new forms of organization and territorial management, in which the missions are autonomous in their relationship with the Communal State. These processes are established by people power's control and oversight. IV. Justice System: In order to eradicate impunity for crimes committed against the sex and gender diverse population, the Ombudsman Office's constitutional status must ensure the rights of this population and take necessary actions for their effective protection. There must be actions that lead to retributive / restorative justice for hate crimes, femicides, as well as discrimination based on sexual orientation, expression and gender identity. This also means presenting laws created from the people as a legislative power before the municipal, state, or national legislative bodies. Guarantee a prison system that ensures the protection, physical integrity, and respect for the identity of trans people while also guaranteeing that their sentences are fulfilled and executed in penitentiary establishments according to their gender identity, without any discrimination or prohibition regarding the sexual orientation, gender identity or expression of themselves and their partners during conjugal visits. V. Constitutionalize new forms of participatory democracy: It is fundamental to recognize and guarantee the functional financial and administrative autonomy of people's organizational forms and communal power that have been created throughout these last years. This process must take place under the same spirit that guided the 2007 reform proposal, which recognizes that "People's Power is expressed by constituting the communities, communes and self-governance of cities, through community councils, workers' councils, student councils, farmers councils, craft councils, fisherpeoples' councils, sports councils, youth councils, elderly adult councils, women's councils, people's with disabilities councils" and sex and gender diversity councils. VI. Defend national sovereignty and integrity: In order to preserve public safety and guarantee the integral exercise of human rights for the sex and gender diverse population, it should be stated in the constitutional article regarding people's equality before the law that there cannot be discrimination based on sexual orientation, identity or gender expression. In articles relating to social and family rights, protection must be guaranteed to all expressions of union between people, regardless of their sexual orientation, identity and / or gender expression, providing them with social security on an equal basis. It is necessary to guarantee same sex marriage and unions in order to protect the right to build different families within Venezuelan society. As for sovereignty, international treaties signed by the Executive Power should only be applicable if none of its clauses violates national and people's interests. VII. Uphold Venezuela's pluricultural identity. The constitutional development of the values which allow us to recognize ourselves as Venezuelans - so that we can co-exist peacefully - should also protect ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the diversity of all identities and the different types of relationships other than those of heteronormativity, which has been induced by mental colonization. This [mental colonization] has translated into discriminatory, sexist and misogynist daily practices that prevent the well-being, physical and moral integrity of the sex and gender diverse population. VIII. Guaranteeing the future. Sex and gender diverse youth are among the most vulnerable populations, therefore mechanisms must be created so that they have the same access to decent work, housing and quality education with equal conditions and freedom from prejudice, which highlight the State's secular character. Motherhood and paternity should be a free and direct choice of citizens. For this to happen, it is necessary that women have the right to make decisions over their own bodies; whether to have children and how many children to have and in what time. [The state] should not criminalize women's sovereign decision regarding the continuation of a pregnancy or not. I X. Preservation of life on the planet. Nature must be recognized as a political subject and as such biodiversity must be protected and not considered as only a natural resource for extraction. We must safeguard the genetic diversity of plants, especially for food and medicinal uses as the cultural heritage for all Venezuelans. Prohibit any form of private appropriation for the exclusive use and exploitation of plants, animals, microorganisms and any living being. Guarantee the prohibition of patents for seeds and the genetic modification of species throughout the nation. For the defense of peace, for the foundation of a new productive economic, communal, workers, collective and stable system, for the recognition of our diversities, for the sex and gender diverse population's right to access cultural life in communities, to the enjoyment of the arts and to participate in scientific and technological progress, for the dignity of our identities, we say: The sex and gender diverse community is active on and the way to the Constituent Assembly! Introduction, translation and edits by Jeanette Charles for Venezuelanalysis.com.

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Zambian tennis player Lighton Ndefwayl once explained his loss to fellow countryman Musumba Bwayla by insisting, "He beat me because my jockstrap was too tight." Hmm. Did anyone believe him? We didn't. So we were inspired to collect other whoppers, arranged by theme into four scripts for those times when honesty may not be the best policy. Will anyone believe them? Ask Mr. Ndefwayl how that went. For Bogus Breakups... A woman told Cosmopolitan, "I flew across the country to see my ex-boyfriend, and he told me that he couldn't see me because all of his clothes were dirty." Nice. Here are other lines ( in bold ) we've heard, arranged as a speech from a woman to her soon-to-be ex. "I just don't have time for a relationship right now." You see, "I've got to focus on finding out the truth about Benghazi." Plus, "I have a high-maintenance bird" that demands a lot of my attention, which makes my other pet jealous, so now "I need to spend more time with my dog." Besides, what month is this, June? Yeah, "I have to attend several birthday parties in July and August, so I won't be around to spend any time with you." I know we discussed going paragliding in July, but "if I were ever permanently injured in an accident, I don't think you'd stay with me, so I am leaving you now before that happens." ...You saw right through that one, didn't you? "You're so smart, you make me feel stupid." OK, here's the deal: "I just can't be with someone who liked Sharknado." Sources: lemondrop.com, cafemom.com For Rent Rants... Let's face it: Paying rent is a hassle. "It's your fault," a tenant scolded one landlord when the tenant's check bounced. "Why didn't you tell me you were going to run to the bank the very same day?" Here, enjoy a tirade compiled from real excuses from renters. Let me get this straight, "you're only talking to me because the rent's not paid? Is that all I am to you? A tenant?" Yes, I know I'm late with the rent. "We knew we wouldn't be able to pay next month's rent, so we decided to not pay this month's rent either." Why? I'll tell you why: "I'm getting really tired of paying this rent every damn month!" "We'll pay you when we can. We're having a big party for my daughter's sweet 16 with her friends and had to buy a lot of beer." So just bear with me, OK? I'm a little low this month because "my dealer raised his prices again. You know how it goes." Look, I know I owe you money, but don't worry, it won't be long before I pay you. "We're getting a refund on my wife's tattoo. The artist messed it up, and we're getting back most of the bucks!" Oh, and one more thing: "I won't be paying the rent for July. I can't give you any details, but we are going into the witness protection program." Source: The Landlord Protection Agency

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If you leave your sliding glass door open, you might let in a stray cat, raccoon, or bugs without knowing it. Some intruders are worse than others. All can be annoying. But let in a thief, who robs your home... and it only takes that one time to change your life forever. The U.S. has essentially left their "sliding glass door" open, and on March 26 China is set to become the intruder that may very well deal a death blow to the dollar. China Prepares Death Blow to the Dollar On March 26 China will finally launch a yuan-dominated oil futures contract . Over the last decade there have been a number of "false-starts," but this time the contract has gotten approval from China's State Council. With that approval, the "petroyuan" will become real and China will set out to challenge the "petrodollar" for dominance. Adam Levinson, managing partner and chief investment officer at hedge fund manager Graticule Asset Management Asia (GAMA), already warned last year that China launching a yuan-denominated oil futures contract will shock those investors who have not been paying attention. This could be a death blow for an already weakening U.S. dollar, and the rise of the yuan as the dominant world currency. But this isn't just some slow, news day "fad" that will fizzle in a few days. A Warning for Investors Since 2015 Back in 2015, the first of a number of strikes against the petrodollar was dealt by China. Gazprom Neft, the third-largest oil producer in Russia, decided to move away from the dollar and towards the yuan and other Asian currencies . Iran followed suit the same year, using the yuan with a host of other foreign currencies in trade, including Iranian oil . During the same year China also developed its Silk Road , while the yuan was beginning to establish more dominance in the European markets. But the U.S. petrodollar still had a fighting chance in 2015 because China's oil imports were all over the place. Back then, Nick Cunningham of OilPrice.com wrote ... Despite accounting for much of the world's growth in demand in the 21st Century, China's oil imports have been all over the map in recent months. In April, China imported 7.4 million barrels per day, a record high and enough to make it the world's largest oil importer. But a month later, imports plummeted to just 5.5 million barrels per day. That problem has since gone away, signaling China's rise to oil dominance... The Slippery Slope to the Petroyuan Begins Here The petrodollar is backed by Treasuries, so it can help fuel U.S. deficit spending. Take that away, and the U.S. is in trouble. It looks like that time has come... A death blow that began in 2015 hit again in 2017 when China became the world's largest consumer of imported crude. You can see this occurrence in a graph on Bloomberg, here . Now that China is the world's leading consumer of oil, Beijing can exert some real leverage over Saudi Arabia to pay for crude in yuan. It's suspected that this is what's motivating Chinese officials to make a full-fledged effort to renegotiate their trade deal. So fast-forward to now, and the final blow to the petrodollar could happen starting on March 26 . We hinted at this possibility back in September 2017 ... With major oil exporters finally having a viable way to circumvent the petrodollar system, the U.S. economy could soon encounter severely troubled waters. First of all, the dollar's value depends massively on its use as an oil trade vehicle. When that goes away, we will likely see a strong and steady decline in the dollar's value. Once the oil markets are upended , the yuan has an opportunity to become the dominant world currency overall. This will further weaken the dollar. The Petrodollar's Downfall Could be a Lift for Gold Amongst all the trouble ahead for the dollar, there are some good news too. The U.S. might have ditched the gold standard in the 1970's, but with gold making a return to world headlines... we could see a resurgence . For the first time since our nation abandoned the gold standard decades ago, physical gold is being reintroduced to the global monetary system in a major way. That alone is incredibly good news for gold owners. A reintroduction of gold to the global economy could result in a notable rise in gold prices. It's safe to assume exporters are more likely to choose a gold-backed financial instrument over one created out of thin air any day of the week. Soon after, we could see more and more nations jump on the bandwagon, resulting in a substantial rise in gold prices. Peter Reagan is a financial market strategist at Birch Gold Group. As the Precious Metal IRA Specialists, Birch Gold helps Americans protect their retirement savings with physical gold and silver.

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President Donald Trump fired acting Attorney General Sally Yates on Monday night, just hours after she announced the Justice Department would not defend Trump's executive order banning temporarily all refugees, as well as all citizens, from the seven Muslim-majority nations Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Yates had written a memo saying, "I am not convinced that the defense of the executive order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the executive order is lawful." Yates had served in the Justice Department for 27 years. Trump had asked her to serve as acting attorney general until the Senate confirmed Sen. Jeff Sessions, who is a close ally of Trump. On Monday, Connecticut Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal praised Sally Yates for speaking out. Sen. Richard Blumenthal : "I want to salute Sally Yates, who has taken a stand based on moral and legal principle in the highest tradition of the Department of Justice, saying that these orders cannot be defended, that the rule of law and morality is more important than the politics of the moment and the impulsive edicts of a ruler who apparently fails to understand that law, or at least his administration does." The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License . Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.

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President of the NRA at today's conference (Washington Post) Today, the president of the National Rifle Association of America, Wayne LaPierre, made his organization's highly-anticipated statement regarding the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut. Anyone who was hoping for anything less than usual b.s. about how the school system needs more guns should probably stop reading right here. Also, the NRA wants us to note, that it is our culture's glorification of Splatterdays (what?), Mortal Kombat and Natural Born Killers -specifically-that causes mass shootings, not military-style assault weapons that we can buy online. From Mr. LaPierre's statement : And here's another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal. There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like "Bullet Storm," "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Combat," and "Splatterhouse." And here's one, it's called "Kindergarten Killers." It's been online for 10 years. How come my research staff can find it, and all of yours couldn't? Or didn't want anyone to know you had found it? Add another hurricane, add another natural disaster. I mean we have blood-soaked films out there, like "American Psycho," "Natural Born Killers." They're aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day. That would be a very good point, Mr. LaPierre, and if you were anyone other than the guy telling us that everyone needs a semiautomatic machine gun with 20 magazines, we might listen. Unfortunately, Kindergarten Killers has not prompted anyone to go on a rampage, since, as you say, no one has ever seen that film outside of your office. Also, Patrick Batemen didn't really use guns, and Natural Born Killers came out 18 years ago. I'd also advise you to Google "Mortal Kombat death statics" and compare it to "gun death statistics." It's quite enlightening. Not to worry though, because it looks like the travesty at Newtown has only caused an increase in gun sales . Thanks, Kindergarten Killers .

President of the NRA at today's conference (Washington Post) Today, the president of the National Rifle Association of America, Wayne LaPierre, made his organization's highly-anticipated statement regarding the shooting at Newtown, Connecticut.

Dennis Skinner and Richard Burgon just did the 'heroes and heroines' of Orgreave proud [IMAGES] On Monday 13 March, campaigners brought one of the biggest political scandals of the 1980s to the door of the Home Office. They had the support of some big-name Labour politicians. And those campaigning for justice made sure the government knows they aren't going away. Serious allegations The Battle of Orgreave was a major incident... In Tory Britain, people are being branded criminals for taking food from bins A Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed that police prosecuted more than 2,800 people for stealing food in London alone. But these hungry people weren't shoplifters. Most were branded criminals for taking waste food from supermarket bins. Criminalising hunger Campaigner and author Ray Woolford asked for an FOI from the... First The Telegraph lied about it, now the police use 'gratuitous violence' in a quiet Lancashire village [VIDEO] A quiet Lancashire village is at the centre of a storm over police violence. But it's a saga that has been running for months, with The Telegraph even getting caught up in it. And now, ordinary people are accusing the police of being a private company's very own "stormtroopers". No fracking way Preston New Road, near the village of... Now London's richest will have their own private police force, Theresa May's vision is clear London's wealthiest people will have their own private police force next month. The development appears to be a benchmark for where Britain is heading under Theresa May. The Conservative government's austerity programme has left policing in England and Wales in a "potentially perilous state", according to a recent report from Her... Hunts are not only endangering foxes, now they're rampaging through the suburbs [VIDEO] THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS IMAGES THAT THE READER MAY FIND UPSETTING As the Conservative government continues to push for a vote on scrapping the Hunting Act, another shocking attack by fox hounds has emerged. And this time, it was not in the countryside, but on a suburban street. "Outrageous" On Saturday 25 February, a pack of around 20... Two leading charities slam the police for spreading misinformation and stigma Health charities have accused the Police Federation of exaggerating the risks faced by officers who get spat at. In an attempt to justify the controversial use of spit hoods, the union (which represents frontline staff) claimed it was to prevent the risk of them catching infectious diseases such as Hepatitis C. But two leading... Massive cannabis factory uncovered - and it was right next door to the Queen [VIDEO] The Metropolitan Police have raided a substantial cannabis factory in the heart of London. But in a bizarre twist, a group of anarchist homelessness activists spotted the Met operation and filmed the whole thing. And it was at an exclusive property just around the corner from Buckingham Palace. Busted The raid by the Met took place at... An extraordinary letter reveals that you can be stopped by the police if they don't like your political views The police have admitted in an extraordinary letter that they can stop and "engage with" anyone because of their political beliefs. And despite allegations of harassment, this is deemed a "legitimate policing purpose". The incident Tim from Bristol was stopped at Stansted Airport in January 2016. He described what happened: As I was... Theresa May claims she's ridding the police of racism, but these figures show the shocking reality Theresa May recently claimed that she was ending racism in police stop and searches. Yet the Metropolitan Police have once again been accused of racism. Because new figures show that black and mixed-heritage people are far more likely to be tasered. The figures According to figures obtained by The Guardian, 40% of incidents of taser... A vibrant street party is on in the heart of London - and everyone is invited On Saturday 18 February, a vibrant street party will take place at Piccadilly Circus in London. The event, called Reclaim Love, is now in its 14th year. 2017 looks set to be just as big as ever. And its founder and organiser is one of the biggest personalities you'll meet. The corporatisation of love Reclaim Love started in 2003 as... Page 10 of 18 ... 8 9 10 11 12 ...

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Are they right? And who are The Shomrim? By Rabbi Dovid Bendory, Rabbinic Director Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership And Author Alan Korwin, GunLaws.com Why Jews Hate Guns Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Washington, DC - -( Ammoland.com )- It's no secret that one of the largest blocs of people pressing for so-called "gun control" is the culturally (aka not-so-religious) American Jewish community. This confounds many observers who would expect that Jews, with such a stunning history of oppression and murder by humanity's villains, would cling tenaciously to personal firearms and the ability to protect themselves as the Hebrew Scriptures instruct. In reaction to the Holocaust, American Jews adopted the phrase "Never Again!" If actions mean anything, they don't believe it. That's for someone else to do. How do Jews expect to put teeth behind the words "Never Again!" if not with the ability to apply and project personal force when righteous -- and necessary -- for survival? Why then do so many American Jews hate guns and fear gun ownership so much? Our research identifies ten reasons why these Jews feel the way they do about self defense in general, firearms specifically and your own right to keep and bear arms. The adamantly anti-gun-rights Jews are bowing to: A desire for utopian moral purity A disproportional incidence of hoplophobia A quest for power through victimization of peers A utopian delusion that if guns would just "go away," crime would end and the world would be a peaceful safe place Self hatred and a wish to be helpless, acting out guilt-based behavioral problems that develop in childhood The Ostrich Syndrome Garden-variety hypocrisy Adulterated religion -- Jews In Name Only (JINOs) Feel-good sophistry Abject fear that yields irrational behavior Despite the modern American Jewish aversion to arms, it has not always been so, and Israeli Jews certainly understand the value of arms. Throughout history, there were Jews who fought in defense of their people and way of life. The Torah is filled with Jews who took up arms in righteous and valiant defensive action. See, for example, The Ten Commandments of Self Defense , (Bendory and JPFO, 2009) ; or recall, "When Abraham heard that his nephew Lot was taken captive, he took the 318 trained soldiers of his house and pursued the captors," defeated them, brought back Lot, and exacted retribution with their looted property. (Genesis 14:14) Contemporary Jews may have largely acquiesced to their WWII inquisitors, but Biblical Jews resisted their Egyptian slave masters and then fought countless fierce battles against invaders and anti-Semites, such as Amelek, the Philistines and Haman. Jews have been assaulted, accosted, and oppressed by nearly every nation and empire in history, including the ancient Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Ottomans and of course modern nations like Germany and the USSR. Miraculously, Jews have outlasted all those who would annihilate them, typically by using force of arms. Perhaps their liberal modern approach to assault and suffering -- "Don't fight back, it will only make matters worse" -- holds lessons for us. Or perhaps not: it is very hard to witness open-pit graves piled high with emaciated corpses without emotional revulsion. How much worse could matters get? "Culturally proper" Jews will not want to openly face the tortured reasoning of their Faustian bargain behind "don't make it worse." That doesn't make the following reasons any less real or mortally dangerous. And Jews are not alone in relying on these justifications for rejecting the fundamental human right of self defense. Many other gunless people will also recognize their feelings accurately described by what we have found. We would not dream of interfering with a free person's freedom to choose and embrace defenselessness or to go gunless. On the other hand, there can be no tolerance for anyone who attempts to force others to behave so dangerously. 1. A Desire For Utopian Moral Purity This seems to be the nub. Devin Sper, author of The Future of Israel (SY Publishing, 2004) , supported by exhaustive research on the history of the Jewish people, has found that Jews are wont to seek utopian moral purity, and in doing so they reject use of force. By its very nature force corrupts and polarizes. With power and force come allies and adversaries. Taking sides, even righteous sides, conflicts with utopian egalitarianism. As the phrases indicate, these utopian ideals are unattainable. Although such a rejection of personal power and righteous use of force seems irrational -- especially for groups repeatedly murdered by governments and threatened with annihilation -- it is a choice they are free to make. Using diverse strategies Jews have survived every attempt to exterminate them while their tormenters have vanished. In Mark Twain's classic words: "The Egyptian, the Babylonian, and the Persian rose, filled the planet with sound and splendor, then faded to dream-stuff and passed away; the Greek and the Roman followed, and made a vast noise, and they are gone; other peoples have sprung up and held their torch high for a time, but it burned out, and they sit in twilight now, or have vanished. The Jew saw them all, beat them all, and is now what he always was ... " We must remind ourselves that Twain wrote this well before the Holocaust. Would his words have been different had he witnessed the government-run atrocities of the 20th century? Sper documents the fact that the main Jewish texts, the Torah and Hebrew Scripture, are sometimes violent texts that exhort followers to take up arms in many contexts, and tell stories of vast militia and armed actions by the Jewish tribes. Sper points out that many modern Jews -- especially liberal Jews -- ignore parts of the Torah they don't like, such as this militarism. See, for example, Esther 8:15 - 9:18, where Jews obliterate their enemies; and when asked what to do the next day, Esther says more of the same. And for good measure, impale the ten killed sons of evil vizier Haman on stakes. In place of this Biblical claim to righteous use of force, contemporary American Jews have constructed a plain-vanilla substitute that is mostly froth and dragons. Even the annual Passover retelling of the escape from slavery in Egypt glosses over the horrors of slavery and war to the point of a Grimm's fairy tale -- horrifying if you look at it literally and in full detail, but diluted into a story safe for children, complete with drips of sweet wine to soften the gore and savagery. Before condemning Jews for hypocrisy in forgetting their history, recognize that many religions similarly gloss over aspects of their sacred texts that don't mix well with their modern sensibilities. How many Biblical literalists cleave to the elements of, say, Leviticus, with its calls for stoning certain women to death (20:27), burning certain daughters (21:9) or instructions on how to manage your slaves (25:45-46)? 2. A Disproportional Incidence Of Hoplophobia Hoplophobia , n. Irrational morbid fear of guns (c. 1966, coined by Col. Jeff Cooper, from the Greek hoplites, weapon; see his book Principles of Personal Defense ) . May cause sweating, faintness, discomfort, rapid pulse, nausea, sleeplessness, nondescript fears, fantasizing, more, at mere thought of guns. Presence of working firearms may cause panic attack, desperate effort at avoidance. Hoplophobe, hoplophobic. ( http://www.gunlaws.com/GunPhobia.htm ) Dr. Sarah Thompson, M.D., in her ground-breaking essay on the subject, Raging Against Self Defense , pointed out that hoplophobes often use the psychological defense mechanism of projection in dealing with their fear. Unable or unsure of their ability to control their own internal conflicts, they project their conflicts onto people around them. They fear losing control, going berserk, shooting people around them or shooting themselves in a mad, chaotic expression of rage. It's only natural for them to then assume that anyone else with a gun could or would do the same; the occasional madman serves to reinforce their fears. This explains at last the perpetual hysteria that proclaims, every time a Second Amendment infringement is lifted: we will suffer shootouts at stop lights, slow waiters murdered on the spot, or Dodge City bloodshed as a result. Every new carry-permit law, the repeal of the National Parks possession ban , the expired Clinton-era rifle bans, lifted restrictions for adult gun carry on campuses -- all were met with the same barrage of irrational fears. It is a knee-jerk mantra loudly shouted and then brazenly promoted by an unethical media every time. And the imagined fear? It never manifests. It is but an empty neurotic fantasy. Media corrections are never published, and so the fantasies and lies are repeated and recycled. Shame on those who would forever repeat the same absurd lies, never recant, and refuse to seek help for their neuroses. We must show tolerance and understand: Facts mean little to people with morbid irrational fears. The fears just continue. Hoplophobes need treatment and sympathy, not laws infringing on the body politic. Some of what we think of as a political issue -- so-called "gun control" -- is actually a psychiatric condition, a medical problem. Hoplophobes need treatment and sympathy, not laws infringing on the body politic. The hoplophobic condition also manifests itself as a fear that if the afflicted person had a gun, someone would kill them with their own gun. Of course if this had merit, Jews could have killed their assailants with their own guns throughout history. Jews and liberals alike appear to suffer from hoplophobia in disproportionate numbers for reasons that beg to be researched. The controversial Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) published by the American Psychiatric Association, now in review for its 5th edition (due May 2013) has yet to recognize or address the widespread phenomenon of gun phobias. We're told by one expert this is not the purpose of that book: irrational fear of spiders, water, even open spaces, yes; terrifying irrational fear of guns, the very bulwark of liberty, no. Coincidentally, the psychiatric profession has an unusually large Jewish contingent, and its founders were disproportionately Jewish. 3. A Quest For Power Through Victimization Of Peers In our culture, victimization accords moral authority and thus power to the victim. Subjugating or convincing a constituency to accept victimization cedes power to those perpetuating this harmful ruse on their peers. This is despicably immoral -- but it is tacitly acceptable and all too commonplace in our victimization culture. Just think of how many " rights " organizations claim moral authority and power through victimization. Blacks have been largely convinced by their leaders to avoid guns (rap "music" notwithstanding) leaving them reliant on police who are, historically, often perceived poorly by the black community. Who among American blacks trusts police implicitly? Such trust may be irrational, but no one claims humans act rationally all or even most of the time. The people know instinctively they cannot trust government agents for their safety, yet they are left to wish for such illusory protection. A near-perfect parallel exists with respect to Jews. Governments are historically the greatest threat to Jews (or anyone) , responsible for horrendous mass-murder campaigns and pogroms throughout history. Murder by government, democide, is by far the greatest killer of innocent human beings. People imbued with the intoxicating power of government authority exterminated 262 million people in the 20th century, according to political scientist R. J. Rummel. Murderous criminals don't hold a candle to the deadly threat government poses to the public. Jewish Experts Agree on Gun Control Yet Jewish leaders -- in Congress of all places (e.g., Charles Schumer, Barbara Boxer, Diane Feinstein, Barney Frank, Frank Lautenberg, Carl Levin, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, others) -- are the anti-rights leaders on the self-defense gun issue. They are the very strongest proponents of relying on government for safety and of destroying the right of the individual to keep and bear arms. Somehow, America's liberal Jews expect the police to protect them, a reliance that has failed the Jews throughout history. As you may already know, police are actually free of any legal obligation to protect you, as documented for all 50 states in Dial 911 and Die (Attorney Richard W. Stevens, Mazel Freedom Press, 1999) . The U.S. Supreme Court has confirmed this repeatedly, most recently in Castle Rock v. Gonzalez , 545 U.S. 748 (2005) . 4. A utopian delusion that if guns would just "go away," crime would end and the world would be a peaceful safe place This basic liberal tenet of faith has been around since time immemorial, and afflicts Jews in disproportionate numbers. Jews are fond of saying that if guns would just go away, the world would be a better place. They fail to look back in history, to a time before guns existed, and recall the incredible savagery that took place without guns available for protection. Life back then was brutal, and encouraged: "Doom them to destruction: grant them no quarter" (Deuteronomy 7:1-2). Our world bristling with arms is a more decent and safe place to live than the ancient world. People blind themselves to this reality, and pop culture - - when it isn't promoting Hollywood-style machine-gun silliness -- enforces the false notion that a total gun ban would bring world peace. This utopian " vision " is supposedly supported by Isaiah's prophecy of a Messianic future, when "they shall beat their spears into pruning hooks" , when "the lion shall lie down with the lamb." Prophetic it may be, but as instructions for living, it's a recipe for death and destruction, and Jews are also instructed otherwise (but often prefer to ignore the inconvenient): "Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong" (Joel 4:9) . Put down your arms in the face of a vicious enemy and you will suffer the fate of the lamb who lies down with the lion. America's Jews often hold to a dangerous related myth that violence never solves anything. Like so many platitudes it is appealing, with enormous first-blush power. Yet it is self-evidently preposterous -- any degree of thought spoils the sweet image: Hitler, Hezbollah, Haman and the other hordes are not stopped with peace marches, protest rallies, and clever signs. Despots are overthrown by force or the credible threat of force. Brutal criminals bent on rape and murder are not held back by intellectual prowess or Messianic visions -- they are held back either by the brutal stopping power of a well-aimed bullet or by caging them when captured. It is the unfortunate reality of this harsh world: countervailing force is the only deterrent for aggression. American Jews, irrationally, reject this. They're free to do so, but they have no legitimate moral authority to drag anyone else into that lethal tar pit with them. Many Jews also cling to the notion that "it can't happen here," which is what many believed even as the Holocaust was taking place. This is ironically contradictory to the simultaneous militance implied by "Never Again!" "Deliberate misuse of guns by miscreants does not define guns. " And finally, some Jews hold to the notion that weapons are unacceptable because violence is unacceptable. The fact that guns save lives, guns stop crime, guns protect you, and guns are the reason Israel still stands, are blacked out of any thought process. They would have you believe (and they falsely believe) that guns are designed for murder. Murder is illegal. Guns are properly designed -- for protection . Killing to protect is legal, moral, just and virtually universally sanctioned. Deliberate misuse of guns by miscreants does not define guns. 5. Self hatred and a wish to be helpless, acting out guilt-based behavioral problems that develop in childhood The founder of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, the late Aaron Zelman, framed this succinctly with many Jews he met. They would express outrage at Aaron's classical approach of arming for safety, peace through strength and deterrence as a means of achieving peace and stability (which is Israel's approach, though he didn't frame it in those terms) . They would emphatically reject the idea that all Jews should be educated to arms and know how to handle and shoot guns for their own safety. He could see through their self-righteous bluster and tell them, "You're just a self-hating Jew waiting to sniff the gas." 6. The Ostrich Syndrome Some people are inherently weak-willed and live without a strong moral compass. They are eager to simplify their lives and avoid uncomfortable situations. Unwilling to face the harsh realities of life, they would prefer to ignore guns and pretend the need for self defense will go away if they pay it no heed. It is irrational, yes, but understandable when you consider the psyche that generates such thinking. These people, Jews and Gentiles alike, will say things like, "I don't believe in guns," as if they don't exist, or as if their purported non-belief makes the subject evaporate and obviates the possibility of encountering a situation in which self defense is necessary. It is foolhardy and dangerous, but an ostrich with its head in the sand probably feels just fine... until it is devoured. 7. Garden-Variety Hypocrisy While many Jews say they detest guns, they in fact staunchly support guns, so long as the guns are in the hands of "the proper authorities. " On a civil level today, that means the police. So in reality, so-called anti-gun-rights Jews are really very pro-gun-rights, they just want someone else to hold the guns for them. This is not only hypocritical, it is immoral. "So-called anti-gun-rights Jews are really very pro-gun-rights, they just want someone else to hold the guns for them. " Attorney Jeff Snyder points out, in his globally famous book Nation of Cowards , that expecting other people to risk their lives to save yours cannot be supported in a moral way: "If you believe it is reprehensible to possess the means and will to use lethal force to repel a criminal assault, how can you call upon another to do so for you?... Because that is his job and we pay him to do it? Because your life is of incalculable value, but his is only worth the $30,000 yearly salary we pay him?" He asks: if your life is worth protecting, whose responsibility is it to protect it? The full weight of his arguments repeatedly come back to personal responsibility. 8. Adulterated Religion -- Jews In Name Only (JINOs) Arizona-based historian Michael E. Newton, author of The Path to Tyranny (Elephtheria Publishing, 2010), posits that part of the problem rests with Jews who no longer believe in Judaism, and have replaced their previous religion with a popular new one: so-called "social justice." If a Biblically-based value system no longer drives protection of the G-d-given gift of life, then abandoning the right to self defense poses little moral dilemma. Jews who are only or barely culturally Jewish have little reason to rise up to the standards Jewish Law speaks of explicitly: "If a man comes to kill you, rise early and kill him first" (Talmud, Berakoth 58b). Newton observes that, In times of trouble, religious Jews offer prayers to G-d in the hope that He will help. Secular Jews turn to the government instead to protect and defend them. The Bible says, "Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor.' Not only can we defend our neighbor from attack, in Torah Law we are commanded to do so. That we must also defend ourselves is so patently obvious in Jewish Law that no defense or justification is given for it. "Who is more religious? The secular Jew who believes government police forces will defend them or the religious Jew who trusts in G-d but also believes that G-d gave us the strength, right, and even the commandment to defend ourselves?" The entire anti-rights issue on guns may be a tangent to this perhaps larger issue: Why are the nation's Jews predominantly liberal Democrats, leaning heavily toward statism, socialism, progressivism, and nanny-state protection and social order? Why don't they instead gravitate toward human freedom, individual rights and responsibility, and avoidance of the heavy hand of government? Liberal Democrats, in large measure, hate guns and gun owners too, so there would seem to be a degree of go along to get along. And what of the Israel Paradox? American Jews by and large vigorously support armed defense of the Jewish state, yet persistently work to disarm the American public. That such positions are self-contradictory and hypocritical never crosses their minds. These conundrums leave us baffled. 9. Feel-Good Sophistry Feel-good sophistry is rigid attachment to false arguments that have the effect of deceiving. It works for a lot of humanity, and is a component of the Jewish mindset. People attach to ideas and concepts, regardless of or despite any germ of validity, often based on emotion with no factual support. It is irrational and foolish, but people are free to be irrational and foolish. But then they vote and inject themselves into the political arena. In doing so, they force humanity to deal not only with real problems but with imaginary ones as well. 10. Abject Fear That Yields Irrational Behavior The wild-eyed desire to "take all the guns away!" ignores the fact that government is the intended agent for such a plan. Such a plan would not "take away" guns at all. It would merely transfer them, giving them all to government (with the stark exception of entire arsenals already thoroughly banned yet in the hands of criminals and enemies of the state). "Taking away guns merely transfers them to the government we all trust so deeply." In seeking this "take away the guns," Jews astoundingly disregard the fact that, historically, governments have been the main perpetrators of atrocities against them. They also ignore the fact that in times before guns, when physical protection was more difficult, violence was worse and more horrific than today. Think Genghis Kahn, Julius Caesar, Attila the Hun and Vlad the Impaler, in addition to the obvious Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and a personal favorite, Xena the Warrior Princess (which adds Hollywood's rampant titillating sexification of violence) . The Shomrim Despite these seemingly overwhelming Jewish predilections, within the Jewish community there exists a thin but powerful stream of thought, held by some Jews, who advocate for the fundamental human right to protect one's self, one's loved ones, the community and the fruits of one's labors. As King Solomon said: "There is a time for war, and a time for peace" (Ecclesiastes 3:8) . These people exist, typically "in the closet" of Jewish thought and behavior, and may be thought of as Shomrim, "The Watchful." Non-aggressive and usually conservative in their views. " They stand as silent and unobserved guardians of their Jewish brethren, without acknowledgment." Anecdotal evidence indicates that a significant percentage of discreetly armed Shomrim are present in synagogues on a regular basis. Their numbers appear to be increasing, as gun ownership, marksmanship practice, the shooting sports and gun-safety training increases nationwide across all demographics. Atrocities like the recent al-Qaida-inspired murder of Jews in France encourage more Jews to rethink personal preparedness. Given the severe threats Jews face in the modern world, isn't it time for Jews to rethink the anti-rights posture so many have adopted toward the fundamental human right to keep and bear arms? While American Jews may not be required to learn about arms as civilians (unlike their Israeli cousins) , it's corrupt for them to attempt to force other law-abiding adults to suffer a government ban on the tools of self defense. And it's time for the Shomrim to come out of the closet and teach their brethren about the cold, harsh reality of the world in which we live, and the tools that allow it to be tamed. "For he does not rest nor does he sleep, the Guardian of Israel" (Psalm 121). "I imagine some of this research will be attacked as anti-Semitic, a frightful charge, possible whenever you discuss Judaism. Which statements exactly, I would ask, are anti-Semitic? I can find none." J.T. Rabbi Dovid Bendory is the Rabbinic Director of Jews for the Preservation of Gun Ownership and a certified firearms instructor. Alan Korwin, author of nine books on gun law, is the publisher at Bloomfield Press and runs the national directory website, GunLaws.com. Support the important work of Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership "America's most aggressive defender of gun rights." Contact: JPFO.org * [email protected] * 262-673-9745 Alan Korwin has been involved in the gun-rights struggle for more than two decades and can be reached at GunLaws.com (c) Copyright 2012 JPFO, Inc., and Alan Korwin. All rights reserved. About: Jews For The Preservation Of Firearms Ownership Mission is to destroy "gun control" and to encourage Americans to understand and defend all of the Bill of Rights for everyone. Those are the twin goals of Wisconsin-based Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO). Founded by Jews and initially aimed at educating the Jewish community about the historical evils that Jews have suffered when they have been disarmed, JPFO has always welcomed persons of all religious beliefs who share a common goal of opposing and reversing victim disarmament policies while advancing liberty for all. JPFO is a non-profit tax-exempt educational civil rights organization, not a lobby. JPFO's products and programs reach out to as many segments of the American people as possible, using bold tactics without compromise on fundamental principles. Visit www.JPFO.org - Copyright JPFO 2011

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She's lovely really. She has a painting of her you did when you were six framed in the kitchen, and however old you may be now, she still keeps Mars bar ice creams in the bottom freezer-bit of her little fridge for when you pop over. And the baby-blue and lemon-yellow Marks & Spencer's golf shirt with three sailboats on the pocket that she sent you in the post last year for your birthday is now just quaint and endearing instead of the mortifying sartorial disaster similar gifts had been when you were thirteen (mainly because now as you live in your own flat, your mum can't force you to wear it in public). It's just those slightly racist comments your gran makes from time to time that irk. All right, completely racist comments. 'It's terrible! Did you hear? Romanian gypsies are eating our donkeys! I tell you, ever since we joined the common market, waffle, waffle, nativist ignorant waffle, Churchill would never have waffle, waffle...' But you're only there for the weekend, so you zone out from most of it or politely disagree, but you try not to make too much of a fuss. ' Aaaand they're banning eggs by the dozen! I read it in the paper last week. It's because it's not metric, those men in Brussels say,' and you reply that you really don't think that's the case, but thank her for the 240 millilitres of sugary tea she brings you and, as a distraction, exclaim: 'Ooh, look, nan! Countdown's on in a minute!' But she's in full flow now and immune to the seductions of soporifically unchallenging televisual word-puzzle shows: ' Aaand they're going to write our own national budget before our own parliament gets to see it! I said to Beryl next door, "It's just not democratic." And she said we should set up a table outside the co-op with a petition, and -' If she had been playing the Mantovani on the record player it would now do a comedy scratch and go silent at this point as you interrupt: 'Sorry, nan, what did you say?' You drop your copy of your gran's Radio Times because, well, yes, for once that could be true. That is indeed something the EU might just do. You've heard about the austerity Brussels and the IMF are imposing in Ireland and Greece and other countries that have been bailed out. But you're confused. You've not seen much about this what your gran's on about on Newsnight or in the papers that you read but your gran never has. 'You just mean Greece, right, nan? It's not all of the EU. Where did you hear that?' 'No, no. It is all of the EU. It's this 'European Semester' or 'economic governance' something. It's all very complicated. But it's just not right. Surely we should have a say about what we get to spend our own money on before those eurocrats?' And she fishes out a copy of the Daily Express or the Mail from a few days ago and you have a read, and attempt to glean the essence of what the story is about while ignoring the worst of the blimplish prose. Struck, you go online, do a bit more research and you think: 'Heavens to murgatroid - for once she might be on to something here. This is huge! They're not just writing our budgets for us - in effect, Brussels is giving itself a veto over all wage, public spending, borrowing and taxation policies in every member state! This is the biggest shift in powers in the EU in 50 years! Why haven't I heard about this before?' 'You're right, nan! We've got to stop this! Let's go and speak to Beryl...' Europe's Silent Coup d'etat It is remarkable how little coverage there has been in the UK of an utterly revolutionary, multifaceted package of moves recently unveiled by the EU as a response to the eurozone crisis that fall under the rubric of what Brussels bods call 'economic governance'. There have been a couple of articles in the tabloid press, but even there, they are buried underneath the heaving mound of porkies about how the EU allegedly wants to harmonise condom sizes, ban smoky bacon crisps because the woodsmoke seasoning may cause cancer, and rename chocolate 'vegelate'. According to a source close to the German Finance Ministry, the UK ambassador to the EU, Kim Darroch, told him that it was a good thing that Ukip and the tabloids obsessed about excessively curved bananas instead of the economic governance proposals, in particular one element called the 'European Semester'. "If they only knew what's happening!" he said. It is well known that the quid pro quo for Greece and Ireland's EU-IMF bail-outs, the pair have had all domestic fiscal policy decision-making amputated without anaesthetic by a team of commission surgeons trained by the German finance ministry and using hacksaws and chisels that appear to be on loan from the University of Chicago Economics Department. Portugal - even before it applies for a bail-out - has for some time now had its government programme dictated by Brussels and Berlin. But these are all supposed to be emergency measures and have featured prominently in the media. What is less abroad in the public discourse is how the EU has signed up for similar centralisation under the aegis of Brussels of national budgetary decision making for all member states as of 2011. If much of the UK has not cottoned on yet, the commission is fully aware of the centripetal shift in powers. "What is going on is a silent revolution - a silent revolution in terms of stronger economic governance by small steps," commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in June last year after the EU Council had given the nod to the commission's initial concepts for economic governance. "The member states have accepted - and I hope they understood it exactly - but they have accepted very important powers of the European institutions regarding surveillance, and a much stricter control of the public finances." But it is far less a silent revolution than a silent coup d'etat. Under legislation already approved, the European Commission and its senate-like corollary, the European Council* direct a year-long schedule of national budgetary oversight called the 'European Semester'. The commission first produces a broad outline, called the 'Annual Growth Survey' [AGS], a set of guidelines for the sort of budgets it would like to see all member states craft for the following year. Already published in January for the 2012 budget year, there is no democratic input, not even 'stakeholder consultation' that feeds into the drafting of this document. Jacques Delors, the former commission president and a man very far from any sort of trenchant critic of neo-liberalism, called the Annual Growth Survey "the most reactionary document the commission has ever produced." After multiple rounds of stringent austerity in every EU member state since 2007, the document declared that for all the billions of euros, pounds, kroner and zloty already slashed from budgets, this misery is not enough. The AGS demands still further welfare reform, including more conditionality attached to benefits, and a raising of "premature" retirement ages. Labour markets should also be made more flexible and "strict and sustained wage moderation" should be maintained. Brussels is also demanding a move away from taxation on labour toward regressive indirect taxation such as VAT. The European Parliament, the only directly elected EU institution, may issue an opinion about the survey, but the chamber cannot amend it. The survey then gets the green light, with amendments from the Council by the end of March. Member states must then submit their budget plans for approval from the commission and council before they present them to their own national legislatures . The UK has managed to winkle a phrasing that allows it to submit its budget to parliament first, but the broad outlines must still be submitted to Brussels in advance, producing the same effect. Then, if the budget plans do not pass muster, the commission issues detailed, country-specific 'recommendations' including on wage levels and spending on social services. Next, if a country does not adhere to these recommendations, the EU takes punitive action. While the commission and the European Council cannot block a national government's budget if it does not adhere to the recommendations, they can issue alerts, sanctions and, for eurozone countries, annual fines of 0.2 percent of a country's GDP. Non-compliance for three consecutive years with European Semester demands may result in fines of up to 0.5 percent of GDP. Based on 2009 figures, for a country the size of Spain, such a fine would amount to EUR5.25 billion. The UK, outside the eurozone, is not subject to the fines, but instead 'peer pressure' from other member states. Peer pressure may not sound like much, but remember that it was peer pressure and not any threat of fines that forced Ireland into accepting an EU-IMF bail-out package Dublin was loth to request. Even without fines, there may be the possibility that EU structural funds may be withdrawn instead, producing what amounts to a fine as far as revenues are concerned. Off the table - but only for the time being - is the idea that a country's votes in the Council would be suspended. That is to say, a country would be forced to implement EU law, but have no say whatever over whether laws are approved. Alongside the European Semester are other proposals, currently in the pipeline but yet to be approved, that would set similar 'corridors' of acceptable behaviour by member states to prevent 'macroeconomic imbalances' over the longer term. There is a cross-over here with the European Semester, but where the former covers a single annual budget, the proposals to prevent imbalances between member states is open-ended. The proposals to prevent imbalances may cover such problems as trade deficits, underperformance in price competitiveness, levels of private and public debt, housing bubbles, the 'misallocation of resources' and 'unsustainable levels of consumption', but in theory, it could be anything. This is because, at this Mad Hatter's tea party of market fundamentalists, definite, quantifiable indicators - specifying what precisely at what point and in what policy area a country has reached a macroeconomic imbalance - have yet to be written and, because the commission argues that the importance of different imbalances varies over time, they actually will only be defined on an ad hoc basis after the commission finds that a member is guilty of this crime. To be clear, a state will be found guilty of macroeconomic imbalances first and only then will the commission define what that means. The commission then initiates an 'excessive imbalance procedure' - punitive action along the same lines as those envisioned in the European Semester, with similar fines and sanctions. The European 'economic governance' project is also impossible to track or influence by citizens, journalists or civil society. The entire process is performed by experts and lawyers behind closed doors in the commission and the Council. Their names are not known to the public and reporters are not allowed to ask questions of the technocrats who make these decisions that have such transformative effect on hundreds of millions of lives. Jyrki Katainen, Finland's finance minister, explained in January why such a radical step was necessary: the new system of economic governance is about taking on the bloc's powerful competitors to the east and across the Atlantic: "If we manage to co-ordinate our efforts through this new process, the EU will become stronger and more resilient to potential pressures from the world markets." The project is an attempt to achieve nothing less than a massive deflation across the bloc - through more flexible labour markets, lower wages, the laceration of pensions, the commercialisation of public services where they can't be privatised, and a reconfiguration of education and research so that they more immediately serve the needs of business - in an attempt to return competitiveness to the EU in the face of an all-but-welfare-state-less US and a sweatshop-ridden China. The Daily Express is right. The EU is up to no good. Because the Sun and the Mail and the Express rage daily against the commission supposedly forcing clotted cream to be made in Brittany and making circus performers wear hard hats and because the Tories are out tubthumping against the European Court of Human Rights (which, FYI, is actually not part of the EU) for giving prisoners the right to vote, it can seem like you're siding with Kilroy and Ukip and Norman Tebbitt and your slightly racist gran if you criticise the EU. It's okay. Your gran's right this time. That thing she read in the paper the other day about the men in Brussels out to destroy British democracy? It's true. (But, of course, also true about Greek democracy, and Irish democracy, and French democracy, and...)

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Most Popular Dog in America: Labrador Retriever Beats Out German Shepherd (VIDEO) Free sign up cp newsletter! By Jessica Rodriguez , Christian Post Contributor | Jan 31, 2013 4:59 PM Expand | Collapse (Reuters/Jason Reed) Labrador puppies "Hoey" (L) and "Hatton", named in honor of September 11, 2001 attack victims Patrick Hoey and Lenny Hatton who died in the World Trade Center, are pictured June 28, 2011. The dogs are being raised to be used as future bomb sniffers at air cargo facilities nationwide. The most popular dog in the United States is the Labrador retriever, according to the American Kennel Club. The announcement means the Labrador retriever retains the title for the 22nd straight year. The Labrador retriever is widely praised for being a family-friendly pet. However, the breed was closely followed by the German shepherd, which took the number 2 spot on the list. The Top 10 list was released by the American Kennel Club on Wednesday and contained few surprises at the top of the leader board. The Golden retriever and the Beagle took the number three and four spots respectively on the rankings. AKC spokeswoman Lisa Peterson has commented on the list, highlighting that larger breeds dominate the smaller. However, a few smaller dogs also made the list, with the Beagle of course coming in fourth. Completing the top 10 were the bulldog, Yorkshire terrier, boxer, poodle, Rottweiler and dachshund. "We love all dogs, mixed or purebreds," the AKC spokeswoman said at a news conference at AKC National Headquarters in the Madison Avenue building in New York City. "What kind of dog people get, and whether they adopt from a shelter, is each owner's choice." The Labrador retriever has dominated the contest over recent decades, however, that has not always been the case. AKC spokeswoman Lisa Peterson explained that in the 1920s the German shepherd ruled the roost, and was especially popular due to silver screen hero Rin Tin Tin. Peterson praised the winner of this year's competition, the Labrador, by saying: "They do so many things so well: They're great company and a great family dog, but also work in law enforcement, bomb and narcotics detection, search and rescue, and as hunting dogs. And they come in three colors." Here is a video featuring some cute Labrador puppies:

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I remember from my black history class about black people who have lived (and currently live) in Russia. I am a minister of the Universal Life Church (I ordained the minister for my wedding ), and have participated in/observed rites/ceremonies/practices of Christian (Catholic, Orthodox, various Protestant), Muslim (Sunni), Hindu (Vaishnava), Buddhist (Zen, Gelug, Nyingma), and Jewish ceremonies. I was a Mason for a while (ex-Mason now, alas, since I don't believe in a creator god, liked Masonry though). I was (maybe still am?) a Subgenius minister/whatever that's called. Also I stomached a fair amount of New Agey hippy crystal waving things, since I had friends into that goofiness. Religions have always been interesting to me. I did a religious studies minor and helped out with a Buddhist interfaith dialog thing for a while with some visiting monks, so I spent time with a lot of different religious groups to try to help build bridges (it was around 2005 when the wave of religious bigotry was really picking up). Doing Classics in school, about a third of the people were there in prep for divinity school/some kind of Christian religious training, and even though I wasn't of their faith, I got to know them and always found them interesting (I also read a few books of the NT in Greek over a year with a very gracious and kind Episcopal minister to keep practicing my Greek). While making a ULC or Subgenius thing wouldn't be so hard, I don't think it'd be at all easy to make a religion. Ron Hubbard had a lot of problems getting Scientology going and it still struggles to be recognized. He did pull it off, but it wasn't easy. Usually it's a multi-century project.

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Is the President's plan enough? As long as there are people whose lives and families are in the US remain vulnerable to deportation, is not enough, but it is something , and it is the result of the hard work of thousands of activists who have put everything on the line to make their presence known as undocumented and immigrant Americans who deserve rights and dignity. By Maddie | November 21, 2014 | 3 Comments Sesame Street, Margaret Cho, trans women in Bangladesh, a playlist, wishes, blue things, anime, Vikki Reich, Elaine Atwell, Thanksgiving dinner thoughts sprinkled with privilege, Arabelle Sicardi, geek girl culture, superiority by way of motherhood, Mean Girls, organ donors, dogs in cars and so very much more! By Laneia | November 13, 2014 | 25 Comments The issue of immigrant children being detained in immigrant detention centers is not exactly a new story. But this past week, an influx of children from Central America who were detained while trying to cross into the U.S. has drawn new attention to the extreme and inhuman treatment undocumented immigrants face from U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). By Maddie | June 11, 2014 | 8 Comments "A phrase that often arises in this movement is "ni de aqui, ni de alla," (neither from here nor there), and it speaks to the ability we seek as queer immigrants to define home as we choose, whether in a geographic sense, within our communities, or a gendered sense, within our bodies." By Kemi | July 25, 2013 | 11 Comments

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AMY GOODMAN : Today we're going to have a debate over Wal-Mart, and we'll also air excerpts from two films, the Greenwald film, as well as the documentary Why Wal-Mart Works: And Why That Makes Some People Crazy . It's by Ron and Robert Galloway. We're going to turn now to that first film. SHARON , Wal-Mart Support Mgr.: We always hear these things about the benefits and things like that. Ha! First time I went to the doctor, to the dentist. I actually got my teeth cleaned. I've never done that before. You know what I mean? And to actually be able to go to a doctor when I'm sick, right then. You know? And I don't have to wait six hours to be seen, because I'm sitting in a county facility. MICHAEL F. CANNON , Dir. of Health Policy Studies, Cato Institute: Wal-Mart gets a bad rap because it only pays about $3,500 per employee for health benefits. Now, a lot of companies will pay more. A lot of companies pay less. But if you look at the average for all employers, for family coverage, it's about almost $7,000. And if you look at the average for all employers for individual workers, self-only coverage, it's about $2,800. So actually Wal-Mart is somewhere -- their average is in between there. But if you look at retail companies, they actually pay a lot less, in general, than the average employer. So Wal-Mart's package looks even more reasonable there, and Wal-Mart makes the point that one of the reasons why they pay less in health benefits is because they get more effective health benefits. KEVIN BRANCATO , Alwayslowprices.net: There is very little evidence to support Wal-Mart corporate telling its workers, 'Go out, have -- do not take our insurance plan, take the insurance plan offered by a state government, by a federal agency.' There's just no evidence that Wal-Mart corporate has done that. There are many instances, some, many, of local store managers and other lower-level managers saying to their employees, 'It's a better deal for you. Go ahead. Go do it.' There are some notices that various opponents have found. MICHAEL F. CANNON : That is the most disingenuous and least meritorious charge against Wal-Mart, because it's coming from the very people who are trying to expand Medicaid and get more people onto government health programs. If you look at the people who are criticizing Wal-Mart, they are also trying to get middle-class families onto these government programs. And a few words about these government programs: Medicaid provides lower quality health coverage to a lot of people than they would get with private coverage. The government has been expanding Medicaid up the income scale so that now in a lot of states, middle class people can get on these government health programs. And one of the effects of Medicaid and other government health programs is that they make private insurance more expensive. Now, you put all of these factors together, and then you look at the fact that the people who are promoting government health programs are criticizing Wal-Mart because Wal-Mart employees are taking advantage of these programs, it's completely disingenuous. If the government is giving health coverage away for free, how can Wal-Mart compete with that? If the government is selling -- if you're selling apples on one side of the street, and the government moves in on the other side of the street and starts giving away apples for free, and then the government starts criticizing you because people aren't buying your apples anymore? I mean, how ridiculous is that? AMY GOODMAN : That, the pro-Wal-Mart film that has just been produced. We now turn to the anti-Wal-Mart film, which begins with Wal-Mart employee, Josh Noble, describing his insurance plan at Wal-Mart. JOSH NOBLE , Wal-Mart Employee: I was under my mom's insurance plan with a local grocery store that she works for, and any prescription it was, it didn't matter what it was, was $5. And now, through Wal-Mart, for that one bottle of pills, I'm paying $70. DONNA PAYTON , Wal-Mart Employee: But I can't afford to put my children on the Wal-Mart insurance, because it's too expensive. ALICIA SYLVIA , Wal-Mart Employee: There's no way I can afford to have $75 taken out of each check just for medical. That's why -- because I'm such low income, why I'm able to get the Medicaid for the kids through Colorado state. DONNA PAYTON : But they're a billion dollar corporation, so I don't see why they cannot offer a better medical package for their associates, so that we can afford to get our families on insurance. EDITH ARANA , Wal-Mart Inventory Specialist: You start weighing -- okay, he's sick/we eat. Which one do we do? Well, let's give him an aspirin. WELDON NICHOLSON , Wal-Mart Store Mgr. Trainer, 17 years: No matter what anybody says, we're at poverty level. I watched so many people go without lunch in the lounges that I stopped eating in the lounges, because -- I just had my managers eating there, because I just couldn't stand it. They just wouldn't eat, and we weren't allowed to offer them any money. And there were people I'd see that didn't eat nothing. They'd take an hour lunch and just sit there. EDITH ARANA : We have full-time employees that worked at Wal-Mart, and they had medical, but the medical was so high, so they had to go out and get Medi-Cal, some type of government medical. DIANE DeVOY, Wal-Mart Employee: While I was working at Wal-Mart I was on WIC . That's an excellent program. It saved my life, really, because you got all the formula and cereal and stuff you needed for the baby. And I also went to the Medicaid office. It can be a real hassle having to deal with the offices. But, you know, at least they're there. I'm thankful for the programs that are available, you know. It's not a fun situation. It's demeaning. I always heard people say, you know, "Oh, there are so many people who just use the system." I can't imagine that, because there is no way I would want to spend any length of time having to do what you have to do to get assistance. CATHY NEMCHIK , Wal-Mart Employee: You talk about using the system. Look at the way Wal-Mart is using the system. They're promoting people to go to Healthy Kids and to get food stamps and Section 8 housing. They're the ones that are using the system. DIANE DeVOY: Yeah. It's pretty bad when you need to tell your employees that all of these programs are available to you, because we're not paying you enough money. NEWS ANCHOR 1: Retail giant Wal-Mart is encouraging its workers to go on welfare. NEWS ANCHOR 2: Instead of paying for its employees to have health benefits, she says Wal-Mart is making the government take care of it. REPORTER : In Florida, Wal-Mart has more employees and family members eligible for Medicaid than any other company. Critics accuse the retail giant of using Medicaid and state programs for the poor as its health care plan. NARRATOR : This report from U.C. Berkeley researchers concludes Wal-Mart costs state taxpayers $86 million a year and county taxpayers as much as another $25 million to pick up the tab for public health care, income tax credits, housing subsidies and food stamps. REPORTER : Evelyn Deas used to work full-time for Wal-Mart but didn't have company health care benefits. She literally couldn't afford to pay for it so she turned to government assistance. UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN : What the public doesn't understand is that those everyday low prices are based on taxpayer subsidies. Wal-Mart is getting away with it because they can. STAN FORTUNE , Wal-Mart District Loss Prevention Mgr.: I talked to the regional personnel manager about who was going to take care of the Wal-Mart associates and their health care needs. He said, "Let the state do it." PHENIX MONTGOMERY , Wal-Mart Employee: The personnel manager told me personally that there's assistance out there for people. They should be able to go use it. 'Use your taxpayers' dollars.' STAN FORTUNE : I had a list of all of the government agencies and all the different places that people could go if they needed the money for their utility bills, if they needed to apply for food stamps or if they needed to apply for WIC or for Medicaid. PHENIX MONTGOMERY : So your dignity is not there. Your pride is not there. You go to work knowing that you're not making enough money to really make ends meet, but yet you got to go with a smile on your face and fake it. Yeah, that's pretty bad. EDITH ARANA : Come up with some type of health care that a full-time person can afford and don't have to put on the scale health care or feed my family. DIANE DeVOY: Why is it that a corporation that in 2003 had an outstanding $240 billion in sales will not provide a livable wage and affordable health care for their employees? STAN FORTUNE : There's nowhere around that there's a company that makes this much money and still turns around and makes their associates go to the state for aid. AMY GOODMAN : An excerpt of Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price . We're joined in the Washington studio by Tracy Sefl, Communications Director, Wal-Mart Watch. Joining us on the telephone from Georgia is Ron Galloway, the documentary filmmaker who produced Why Wal-Mart Works: And Why That Drives Some People Crazy . Well, let's start with Ron Galloway. Why did you make your film? And what is your response to these concerns about Wal-Mart and its treatment of its workers? RON GALLOWAY : Good morning, Amy. AMY GOODMAN : It's good to have you with us. RON GALLOWAY : I'm not an Amy-head yet, but I'm willing to learn. Basically I made the film, initially as a study of logistics. But it turned into more of a study of people. And if I could address pretty much the main thrust of the clips before about Wal-Mart putting people on government assistance or recommending government assistance and that causing -- you know, costing the taxpayers money, there's a flip side to that. Wal-Mart pays $22 billion -- let's accept the number that is bandied about, which is that Wal-Mart costs taxpayers between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Well, let's accept that, but Wal-Mart pays $22 billion in federal taxes, collects $11 billion in state and local taxes, and through their vendors -- and this is sort of the unrecognized story -- their vendor-suppliers, they also are responsible for another $40 billion in income tax. Wal-Mart is a complete cash cow, so if you add those three up, that's $73 billion. So sort of a flip side of looking at it is if Wal-Mart is paying or costing $2 billion, $73 billion is coming back into the treasury. Now, I'm a middle-aged guy, and as with most things you find that the truth lies somewhere in the middle. But I honestly don't believe things are as dire as they are portrayed in the other film. AMY GOODMAN : Tracy Sefl, Communications Director, Wal-Mart Watch, in Washington, your response? TRACY SEFL : Thank you, Amy. First of all, I think Mr. Galloway is doing something that must be a little bit lonely. He's certainly on the wrong side of the equation these days. All around the country this week we've been screening the Wal-Mart: High Cost of Low Price to hundreds of thousands of people across the country, screenings big and small, in private homes, in public theaters, in public parks, huge crowds. It's been an incredible week. And we're delighted to know just how far-reaching this film has been. And what's notable about the film are the key arguments that are made in it, which we think reflect all of the concerns of our organization and those who support us. And the first is certainly this notion of health care and the crisis that Wal-Mart is contributing to in this country. By not paying affordable wages and by not offering adequate benefits, this company is indisputably pushing people into a difficult position of having to rely on public programs. Imagine just for a moment if this were the Microsoft Corporation and it was Bill Gates's company where you heard these same kind of stories. The responsibility for this shameful business practice lies squarely on the shoulders of the Walton family, the multi-mega-billionaires who control this company and who make the final decisions in the private confines of their boardroom. That's where the responsibility lies. That's where the problems can be diagnosed to. So the health care crisis is certainly the first and most foremost pressing issue that we've been attending to. The memo that you mentioned earlier was leaked to our organization several weeks ago. We were stunned by what was in there. We were also stunned by the fact that this was the company acknowledging in their own words and to the privacy of their board of directors just how bad that problem is. So, while we're delighted that there's a film that's making that argument, we also continually would like to note that it was the Wal-Mart Corporation, in their own words, acknowledging how just how bad it is, as well. AMY GOODMAN : Tracy Sefl, was it your group, Wal-Mart Watch, that got a hold of this internal memo about health care? TRACY SEFL : Yes. It came to our office in an unmarked plain envelope, no return address. We don't know who sent it to us. We've received several other similar documents from inside the company, which, to us, suggests that there's not only an internal security problem at Wal-Mart but that there are people high up inside the company who agree that there are serious problems that need to be attended to, that this is a flawed business model, and that this is a company that is essentially profiting on the backs of its lowest paid workers. AMY GOODMAN : Now, among other things in the memo, it said that it would have people start off by pushing carts, even if that wouldn't be their job, but just to weed out unhealthy people who might not be able to do that, to keep the health care costs lower? TRACY SEFL : That was, in fact, one page -- one part of the memo. And while there were many pieces of this memo that many would argue were simply reflections of the realities of corporate America and the importance of understanding the bottom line and looking at benefits and looking at value and value-added benefits, there was a tone to this memo that was so disturbing and so profoundly troubling that it explains the impact that this memo has had on the debate about Wal-Mart in this country. AMY GOODMAN : Ron Galloway, were you troubled by this memo? RON GALLOWAY : Well, yeah. It was kind of a boneheaded memo. And the person that wrote it, they immediately put out on the air to get a good whipping on a lot of media organizations. I'm not sure that that represents the full view of Wal-Mart corporate, but that was clearly a sub-optimal memo. Now, one thing, she talked about Microsoft there for a second. Microsoft has 43% profit margins whereas Wal-Mart has 3.5%. And so, where Wal-Mart does make or generate $250 million in revenues, they make $9 billion. Well, $9 billion still sounds like a lot. But they are running things really skinny over there. And the two big things they have to worry about are wages and health care. For instance, if everybody got a $4 an hour raise at Wal-Mart that $9 billion would be erased. They operate on such a scale and so skinny that they just -- they're walking a thin line. And Tracy also said that Wal-Mart has a flawed business model. Well, I would contend that 138 million people a week accept that flawed business model and walk into their stores, and 1.3 million people work there. And, you know, we're pretty close, we're statistically around a full-employment economy, so it's not like they don't have other choices. And for unskilled labor, I firmly believe that, ironically due to Wal-Mart's growth, for unskilled labor at Wal-Mart it's really one of the better places where you can move up. I can't think of another corporation where just because they grow so fast, they have to hire from within. I can't really think of anyplace else you can do that. AMY GOODMAN : Ron Galloway, we'll go back to that point, but we have to break for stations to identify themselves. Ron Galloway is the producer of the film Why Wal-Mart Works , and Tracy Sefl is Communications Director of Wal-Mart Watch. We'll be back with them in a minute. [break] AMY GOODMAN : Our guests are Ron Galloway, documentary filmmaker, made Why Wal-Mart Works: And Why That Drives Some People Crazy . Also, in the Washington studio, Tracy Sefl, communications director of Wal-Mart Watch. Tracy Sefl, your response about the ability of workers to be promoted from within? And then I wanted to go to the issue of Wal-Mart's public image and how they're dealing with it with this war room, The New York Times reporting about how Wal-Mart has taken a page from the modern political playbook, has quietly recruited former presidential advisers, including Michael Deaver, who was Ronald Reagan's image-meister, and Leslie Dach, one of Bill Clinton's media consultants to set up this rapid response P.R. team, a war room in Arkansas. Tracy Sefl. TRACY SEFL : The question about mobility is an important one, especially in the context of this post-Katrina time. We all know, of course, Wal-Mart came out and outshone the Bush Administration in its response to the natural disaster. I'm not saying that it was much of a stretch to outshine the Bush Administration but nonetheless it was an important moment for Wal-Mart. They commanded tremendous press. They did good work. They helped people at a time of crisis. All of that seems to have been passed and forgotten now, and Wal-Mart hasn't been able to capture anything beyond that instant moment where it came to the rescue of some people in a quick time. And the important point here is that the notion of mobility and opportunity should be something that a corporation embraces. I'd like to point out something that's been little noticed, back to the memo you were discussing earlier. There are actually two versions of that memo: the original version, which is available on my website at WalMartWatch.com , is different than the memo that the company ultimately provided to The New York Times , and there's one section that the company actually omitted in the version that they made public. And that section talks about how their associates, when overcome with healthcare costs and problems that arise from their healthcare crises, that associates are forced to file for bankruptcy, and they offer the troubling statistics about just how many of their associates have been forced into bankruptcy. That version was omitted from the memo that they made public. Now, what kind of mobility is being offered? What kind of opportunities is the company offering, when it has to make private discussions about just how many of their associates are forced into bankruptcy? What kind of a circumstance is that? What kind of a corporate model is that to look up to? And why wouldn't they have left that in the document that they made public? AMY GOODMAN : Ron Galloway, let's put that question right to you. RON GALLOWAY : Well, I guess the first thing I would say is, statistically, Wal-Mart is so huge that, I think, they have to address the problem. I didn't know about that part being left out. But I'll say this on Wal-Mart's whole P.R., I guess, problem. One problem they would have is she mentioned Katrina. Well, Wal-Mart actually didn't really go out and advertise much after that or brag about it, where they had a golden opportunity. The other interesting thing is, lately I've sort of been -- I don't know, defending Wal-Mart a whole bunch, and when they have Forrest Gump out there defending them, then they may need some P.R. straightening out to do. And I think that's one of their problems. They're so focused on their mission, which is, of course, always low prices, that I think they feel or have felt as though that if they were doing that, that was good enough and people would recognize it. But we live in a really political world now and I just think that's not good enough anymore. And they are making attempts at ameliorating their P.R. problem. TRACY SEFL : Amy, I think that -- AMY GOODMAN : Tracy Sefl of Wal-Mart Watch? TRACY SEFL : Sure. The so-called war room that Wal-Mart has been gaining attention for having convened has essentially served two functions for that company. First, it's gotten them attention merely for having it. It's not clear to me that this has been an operation that has been successful in helping the company out of its unfortunate bind and morass of bad publicity and terrible missteps. Today, the headline you led with: 120 illegal undocumented workers rounded up at a Wal-Mart construction site. These aren't good times for the company. Perhaps these well or overpaid consultants should focus a little more on coming up with solutions and less on simply publicizing their own existence. The second point would I mention is that this so-called war room has actually done a terrific job to bring more attention to Mr. Greenwald's film and to help drive huge crowds all over the country this week -- in fact, all over the world. Just last weekend we learned that there is a screening of the movie occurring down in Antarctica. This has been a tremendous thing. And we're thankful that the Wal-Mart Corporation, by choosing to issue somewhat baseless attacks on Mr. Greenwald, has actually helped to publicize the movie even more. So those are the two things that this war room has seemed to actually accomplish at this point. AMY GOODMAN : Ron Galloway -- RON GALLOWAY : Amy, could I say one thing about the other film real quick? AMY GOODMAN : Yes. RON GALLOWAY : And this is kind of an aside. One of the producers of the other film, Jim Gilliam is awaiting a -- and I know you have a lot of listeners, Amy. He's awaiting a lung transplant at UCLA . I think it would be kind of a good thing for your listeners to sort of send a thought his way. He's supposed to find out pretty soon. Now that's an aside. And, you know, business is business. But I think the whole war room issue -- I think -- I'm not sure if I was Wal-Mart I would have publicized that either. But I think it's sort of one of their first attempts to kind of deal with the -- and Tracy's over there in Washington -- it's one of their first sort of attempts to try and deal with operating on a level that Washington operates at. I mean, they're in Arkansas, and I think they're learning. And I truly believe this. Wal-Mart, I genuinely believe, does more for poor and blue-collar workers in this country than any special interest group does. So you have to take the good with the bad. And like everything else -- I've said it before -- the truth lies somewhere in the middle of my film and Mr. Greenwald's film. But Wal-Mart genuinely serves the poor more than almost any other institution, except the government, that I can think of. AMY GOODMAN : Well, Tracy Sefl, what about that point? TRACY SEFL : What Wal-Mart does by its inadequate wages, its low benefits, its disdain for communities, its disregard of the democratic political process, essentially it's making another class of Wal-Mart customers. They're ensuring their own success by virtue of their business model. That's the bottom line with this company. RON GALLOWAY : Amy, could I say one thing? AMY GOODMAN : Yes. Ron Galloway. RON GALLOWAY : Wal-Mart doesn't have 138 million employees that go there every week. So I think people vote with their feet. And Wal-Mart is just so big that they set the statistical mean. They are the mean, so they're going to have every issue you can think of to deal with. These undocumented workers this morning, by the way, were hired by a subcontractor who was contractually bound to Wal-Mart not to hire undocumented workers. Personally, I think we should be able to hire as many undocumented workers as we want; if we're going to let them into the country, I think they should be able to work. So I sort of have a -- I don't know -- bleeding heart look on that one. AMY GOODMAN : Tracy Sefl, let me ask you. What is Wal-Mart Watch's goal? TRACY SEFL : This week and beyond, our goal is for Wal-Mart to do three things: To become a better employer, a better neighbor, and a better corporate citizen. We've talked extensively about their employment practices, and I think it's very clear that there's certainly room for this company to change. They've made tiny little steps in a direction that we think is good. They have a long way to go. We also expect Wal-Mart to become a better neighbor. This is a corporation that has little disregard for local democratic processes. It steamrolls over local communities. It lies and badgers and baits and switches its way into local towns. Just this week my organization released yet another leaked document that shows exactly where Wal-Mart is planning to expand itself in the coming year. And that's been tremendous fodder for all of these energized supporters around the country to say, 'Well, now we know where this company is planning to come, and we'll be there to fight it and to make sure that it happens on our terms, if we decide it should happen.' AMY GOODMAN : I want to ask you both about China, about the relationship between China and Wal-Mart. Tracy Sefl, we'll start with you. TRACY SEFL : Sam Walton was heralded for his Buy America Program, for bringing to the forefront of American retail and American manufacturing a commitment to selling products that were made in this country. That's long gone. It's nothing more than a shadow of itself at this point. The company has abandoned that philosophy. 70% of the merchandise on Wal-Mart shelves are from China. We featured an advertisement recently -- and I do believe that's available on our website, as well -- that features a photograph from an actual Wal-Mart store here in the Washington area, with arrows pointing to every item that's from China. Needless to say, the photo is filled with arrows. The point here is that that comes at the expense of the American jobs. It comes at the expense of American jobs, and it comes with the abandonment of Sam Walton's philosophy. This isn't the same company that it once was. AMY GOODMAN : Ron Galloway, your response? RON GALLOWAY : Well, a hundred years ago, as is stated in my film, Europeans were screaming and moaning about the fact -- the flood of cheap goods from America. Wal-Mart is simply -- there's winners and losers in this. You can't argue that. The winners are the American consumer and the Chinese laborer. The loser is certain sectors of the American manufacturing economy. Now, Wal-Mart didn't make the rules that allowed this flood of imports to come in. I happen to think those rules are, as I've stated before, sub-optimal. But they didn't set those rules. They're simply following them. China actually represents one of the great growth opportunities for Wal-Mart in terms of putting stores there. But, I mean, there's no way around the fact that the American worker in certain manufacturing sectors has been left behind, and I don't see the government or much of anybody really addressing that problem, although it may be -- AMY GOODMAN : Ron Galloway, we have to leave it there. Tracy Sefl, as well. Ron Galloway has made the film with his brother, Why Wal-Mart Works: And Why That Drives Some People Crazy . Tracy Sefl with Wal-Mart Watch. The excerpt of the film we played was Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price .

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Last night's FT scoop that "Theresa May's Brexit advisers" are "secretly considering" keeping us in a customs union with the EU has got members of the European Research Group of Tory MPs kicking off. The story was sent around senior Brexiters last night, who reacted with considerable concern. Such a deal would obviously prevent us from striking trade deals with non-EU countries, one of the key opportunities of Brexit. It has been clear for some time now that the Treasury is lobbying to keep us in a customs union that prevents the UK's ability to strike out on its own, as Charles Grant has said . As Liam Fox told Bloomberg overnight: "It is very difficult to see how being in a customs union is compatible with having an independent trade policy, because we would therefore be dependent on what the EU negotiated in terms of its trading policies and we'd be following behind that." So why is May allowing her aides to " secretly " keep us inside? This is yet another example of Number 10 being bounced towards a softer Brexit. Worryingly May has not exactly killed this story in China, she needs to or Tory MPs will be bashing down her door when she arrives home... The big row today is over whether the Centre for European Reform's Charles Grant did or didn't tell Steve Baker that the Treasury was deliberately trying to change Brexit policy and keep us in the customs union. Baker says he did. Grant says in a statement: "I did not say or imply that the Treasury had deliberately developed a model to show that all non-customs union options were bad, with the intention to influence policy." Fair enough. But it turns out Grant did say the Treasury was trying to influence policy by forcing the government into a softer Brexit. Publicly, in July: Does anyone really think the Treasury doesn't want a softer Brexit? A senior government source says this morning that Heywood has "exceeded his mandate"... Number 10 have plenty to be asking him... Remainers are getting very excited about junior Justice minister Phillip Lee's Project Fear 2.0 tweets last night. He essentially warned against a real Brexit "if these figures turn out to be anywhere near right" . This makes no sense. The leaked forecasts predict what is going to happen in 15 years' time, and look at models the government is not pursuing anyway. How does Lee plan on working out if they are "anywhere near right" before we Brexit? Illogical attention-seeking from an ambitious Remainer... The new Treasury-led Brexit forecasts have to be read in the context of their record at predicting what would happen in the immediate aftermath of a Leave vote. The HMT prediction for GDP 3 months after the referendum was that "the UK economy would fall into recession" and contract up to -1%. It grew +0.5% in this period. The Treasury told us: "The analysis shows that immediately following a vote to leave the EU, the economy would be pushed into a recession, with four quarters of negative growth." The reality has been positive growth every single quarter since. HMT forecast that in the two years following a Leave vote GDP would fall between -3% and -6%. GDP grew by 1.9% in 2016 and 1.8% in 2017, with better than expected growth in the final quarter. There is now no recession forecast. On unemployment, they infamously said it would rise by between 500,000 and 820,000 in the immediate aftermath of the referendum. Unemployment fell again last week to a four-decade low. And the Treasury said government borrowing would rise by up to PS39 billion immediately after the vote. Instead borrowing for the financial year to date is down 12% on the same period last year. That's the lowest year-to-date total since 2007. Why would anyone believe the people who predicted this nonsense ever again? The Moggs and Bones of the Tory Brexiteer wing have never supported the idea of a transition period, and they are getting a lot of attention again today. Guido gets the impression that most Tory Brexiteers, and certainly those in the Cabinet, are still on board with a transition so long as it is time-limited to two years. Most have agreed to compromise and accepted that not much will change in those first two years after Brexit day. Their view is that there is no point spending political capital negotiating over the transition and that our cards would be better played making sure we get a good trade deal. That seems sensible, what matters is the end state is a proper Brexit allowing us to diverge from the EU in future. There is however one aspect of the transition that does worry Leavers up and down the party. They have been concerned to learn of some of the new EU rules Britain could be forced to accept during the transition - there are as many as 20 new directives and diktats that Leavers want us to be able to reject. David Davis says it will take the EU at least two years to get their new laws through so we shouldn't worry. That isn't reassuring MPs, as the UK cannot be an obstacle to the swift passage of new legislation after March 2019. Having to take new rules during the transition would not look like we are transitioning out of the EU... UPDATE: DD's words of reassurance for Brexiters: "we will have to agree a way of resolving concerns if laws are deemed to run contrary to our interests and we have not had our say... ... and we will agree an appropriate process for this temporary period. So that we have the means to remedy any issues, through dialogue, as soon as possible."

Last night's FT scoop that "Theresa May's Brexit advisers" are "secretly considering" keeping us in a customs union with the EU has got members of the European Research Group of Tory MPs kicking off.

The Third International After Lenin by Leon Trotsky 20 April 2012 This week Mehring Books is featuring The Third International After Lenin by Leon Trotsky. The four essays contained in this volume deal with basic problems of the building of the revolutionary movement. They are vital reading for all those seeking to educate themselves as Marxists. In the first essay, "The Draft Program of the Comintern: A Critique of Fundamentals", Trotsky reviews the Stalinist theory of "socialism in one country," demonstrating that on every level it represents the abandonment of basic Marxist principles. The American Trotskyist James P. Cannon, who was a delegate to the Sixth Congress of the Comintern in 1928, smuggled this document out of the Soviet Union. It provided the initial programatic basis for the founding of the Trotskyist movement in the United States. The second essay in this volume, "Strategy and Tactics in the Imperialist Epoch," deals with fundamental questions of revolutionary strategy. It subjects the centrist policies of the Stalinist Third International to withering criticism, demonstrating its abandonment on every fundamental question of the traditions of Bolshevism and the October Revolution. This volume also contains the valuable essay "Summary and perspectives of the Chinese Revolution," examining the lessons of the Stalinist betrayals of the Chinese working class. The final essay, "What Now?" draws a balance sheet of the policies of the Stalinized Third International in the period since the death of Lenin. Title: The Third International After Lenin Author: Leon Trotsky Google is blocking the World Socialist Web Site from search results. Share this article with friends and coworkers Facebook Twitter E-Mail Reddit

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Gen. James 'Mad Dog' Mattis, the iconic former Marine Corps general President-elect Donald Trump picked to run the Pentagon, faces his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday. Senators are expected to ask Mattis hard-hitting questions on topics including civilian control of the military and future U.S. policy toward Russia and Iran, Reuters reports. When announcing Mattis as his pick for defense secretary last month, Trump praised the retired four-star general as the "closest thing to General Patton that we have." As he fields questions from senators on Thursday, here are six things to know about Mattis, who retired from the military in 2013 after serving his final duty assignment as chief of the military's U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM). 1. He is held in the highest regard by other warfighters "He is one of the finest military officers in American history," says historian and former Army Infantry officer James Lechner, who served under Mattis in combat in Iraq. "I put him right up there with Patton and Robert E. Lee." The warriors admire Mattis for a range of qualities. "His positive energy emanates to the entire force," says Frank Grippe, himself a legendary soldier who served as Command Sergeant Major of CENTCOM under Mattis. "He is a scholar, a gentleman, and among the most gritty, courageous, at-home-in-the-dirt warriors our great nation ever produced." Mattis understands how to balance the approach to war, insiders say. "Not only is he as tough and as dynamic a warrior as anyone who commanded U.S. troops, but he can turn right around in the same breath and be one of the most prescient diplomats I've ever encountered," Lechner says. "He is a master of counterinsurgency. He is one of the few people who know how to fight a counterinsurgency at the tactical and strategic level." "He is a self-actualized package of mind, body and spirit," Grippe says. 2. He is devoted to warfighters in a personal way Mattis is known for putting the troops first, and for caring deeply about their welfare. The former commandant of the Marine Corps, General Charles Krulak, has been quoted as saying he once was shocked to find Mattis pulling guard duty on Christmas Day at Marine Base Quantico in Virginia. The officer who originally was scheduled for guard duty that day had a family, and Mattis decided to take the man's place so that the young Marine could spend Christmas at home. The devotion hasn't lessened over time. Several weeks ago, this reporter was at an Irish pub in Tampa with some wounded warriors, Grippe, and Jill Kelley, when the group decided to call Mattis. During the call, Mattis spoke to Joel Tavera, who was blinded and seriously wounded in 2008 in Iraq. While on the phone, Mattis repeatedly asked Tavera how he was doing, listened at length, and expressed sincere gratitude for the Army vet's service. 3. He is a bookworm and an intellectual Mattis owns an extensive personal library that is said to include some 7,000 volumes. "He is a prolific reader," Lechner says. "He reads constantly." The scuttlebutt among other warfighters is that Mattis loves reading so much that he brought his entire library with him in packing crates on each deployment. He once engaged in an email exchange where he extolled the virtues of reading. Mattis practiced what he prescribed. He was said to have been spotted often in quiet moments after hours, reading contentedly. One particularly dog-eared tract was Meditations by Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Mattis' reputation as an intellectual has spread to the civilian world. On Monday, Newt Gingrich told reporters Mattis is one of the smartest people in the military. When he sets down his books and his weapons, Mattis also seems to enjoy talking about military history and operations. Last summer, this reporter called Mattis on his cell phone to ask about combat operations in Kunar Province, Afghanistan in 2011. After first saying he did not have time to talk, Mattis spent some 30 minutes discussing Afghanistan war operations, policy, and combat theory in general, offering keen insights and observations. RELATED VIDEO: Donald Trump Falsely Claims He Won the Electoral College and Popular Vote by a 'Landslide' 4. He is known for his "Mattisisms" Mattis has the ability to craft memorable phrases that can wind up as popular memes. Some of his best known "Mattisisms" are as follows. "I come in peace. I didn't bring artillery. But I'm pleading with you, with tears in my eyes: If you f-- with me, I'll kill you all." "Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet." "I'm going to plead with you, do not cross us. Because if you do, the survivors will write about what we do here for 10,000 years." 5. He has been given colorful nicknames Unlike other secretaries of defense, who have gone by "Sir," or "Mister Secretary," Trump's pick for the position also answers to three nicknames. "Mad Dog" comes from his demeanor in combat. "Chaos" was his Marine Corps callsign. Mattis reportedly has said it is an acronym for "Colonel Has An Outstanding Solution." But the Marines reportedly believe the callsign means ... chaos. "The Warrior Monk" because he is a bachelor who has devoted his life to studying and waging war. 6. He has opposed putting women in direct combat Women should not be sent into the "atavistic primate world" of close combat, Mattis has been quoted as saying. The website Military.com quoted speeches by Mattis to the Marines' Memorial Club in San Francisco, where he reported said, "The idea of putting women in there is not setting them up for success." Physical requirement such as pushups and pullups were "not the point," Mattis reportedly said, directing his comments to the nature of what he termed "intimate killing." Only someone "who never crossed the line of departure into close encounters fighting ... would ever even promote such an idea" of sending women into close combat, Mattis reportedly said.

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The first years of the start of the twenty-first century were, by any reckoning, extraordinary in the broadest sense of the word in Argentina. This was the period when the South American nation slipped into the gravest political, economic, and social crisis in its entire history. It was a society in which the deep divides became brutally apparent. To arrive at this point in 2001 - which was marked by increasing poverty levels, vulnerability and social exclusion - we must begin with the last military dictatorship in the 1970s. The crisis deepened between 1989 and 1991, when Carlos Menem came to power, a time in which free market policies and structural adjustments in favor of large business were vigorously pursued. Finally, the process accelerated after 1995 with the worsening of the economic recession and an even larger increase in unemployment levels and poverty along with some of the largest wealth gaps Argentina had seen, resulting in social exclusion. The final chain of events that led up to the economic collapse and large-scale protests and riots formally erupted in December 2001, when the IMF withheld its US$1.3 billion loans to service the external debt, claiming that the governing Radical Party was not cutting its spending further as promised. However, the government had been doing exactly this with privatized social security and cutting funds for the provinces. This was also in the face of close to 18 percent unemployment, and another 18 percent underemployed. The government then implemented tougher cuts and froze people's bank accounts or limiting withdrawals to $250 a week. All of Them Must Go! This was the breaking point, and the people of Argentine rose up over from Dec. 19-22 in the largest protests that Argentina had ever seen. The mass disturbances that developed in mid-December, which included the sacking and pillaging of food shops, supermarkets and the like, were the expression of an accentuated climate of social exhaustion and aggravated impoverishment in the framework of an overwhelming rejection of most of the conventional actors of the political system. By the afternoon of Dec. 19, 37 people had died throughout the country as a result of the reaction to businesses being ransacked and the subsequent intervention of the police. Under total duress through his political isolation and the emerging social situation that was effectively now beyond government control, President de la Rua enacted a state of siege, thus legalizing the intervention of the armed forces to repress the swelling social protest. Far from calming the situation, this proved to be the final straw that broke the people's patience, dispelling any residual doubts that might have remained among them. Pressed up against the wall by the holding of bank deposits and astounded by the arrogance of the presidential discourse that announced the state of siege, with all expectations of change frustrated beyond repair, first hundreds and then thousands of citizens from Buenos Aires City middle-class neighbourhoods (Palermo, Belgrano, Flores, Almagro, Caballito) spontaneously began to express their rage with street protests and the blaring horns of their cars, shouting their denunciation of the government and joining in a massive two-pronged march, with one column heading to the Plaza de Mayo, directly in front of the Government House, and the other to the Plaza Congreso, directly facing the parliament. Others chose to amass and loudly protest in front of the official residence of the President. The protest continued well into the night, with the middle and lower sectors leaving behind their traditional fear and dispersion that had been nurtured through years of military dictatorship and democratic passivity, now putting their bodies directly on the line. It was a mix of people fed up with the corralito, (the limit on bank withdrawals of $250 a week) some continuing the process that began with the October vote, others celebrating the resignation of Cavallo, but all united in the slogan "!Que se vayan todos!" (All of them must go!). After the first wave and the ensuing police repression, the people returned to the streets the following day, December 20. The government's response was even more brutal, leaving six demonstrators dead, but serving only to accelerate and make more inevitable the final end. By that evening, President de la Rua had announced his resignation and abandoned his post. From this point Argentina has descended to one of its lowest moments in history, liberal attempts of progress had failed once again, and the crisis was set in, the future uncertain. The slogan, "Get rid of them all, so that not one is left!" (Que se vayan todos y que no quede ni uno solo!) that the crowds repeated amid the noise of the pots being banged in the streets in December 2001 revealed the extent of the collapse of support for conventional political representation, as well as its displacement towards new forms of political action and eventually the Kirchner government. The peso had been devalued in an attempt to balance the economy, poverty levels were at all-time highs along with unemployment and bank deposits had been frozen to try and stop capital flight. All of this amidst a non-responsive and failing government. As the Argentine economy drastically collapsed at the turn of the twenty-first century it 'broke the thread of days', to use the expression of Argentine philosopher Oscar Teran. Neo-Liberalism Under Military Rule The initial moves to a neo-liberal project in Argentina did not come in under a democratic regime but under the military dictatorship of Jorge Videla (1976-1983), who allowed the opening up of the Argentina economy under harsh social conditions of repression and military rule in the 1970s. The dictatorship played a key role in changing the balance of power between capital and labor which had previously been articulated in the Peron periods through a populist and corporatist link between the state, union and capital, which has been referred to as "developmentalism." This was a form of non-liberal politics under Peron that had been as a response to earlier crises of liberalism in an attempt to balance the class domination of the elite. Peron had shifted some of the balance of power towards the working classes through state redistribution and through populist mobilization had managed some stability up until his exile, and then untimely death. However, after the fall of Peronism, the state under the guidance of the military, and under strong influence from the old oligarchy abandoned its industrialization policies and started to embrace the monetary policies which radically changed the pattern of accumulation which ultimately led to the formation of a new social grouping who would play a dominant role, finance capital and financial organisations both of the national and international bourgeoisie, similar to the role that had been played by large landowners in the nineteenth century along with an alliance between banks and large business. The dictatorship was able to launch the project without seeking legitimacy through terror and disassembled the Peronist "national-popular" bloc to create a more "disciplined" and "trustable" ensemble of liberal economic reform. The military saw themselves as "surgeons" that would operate on a "sick society" that had been infected and exorcise the "cancer of subversion" that had in their view infected the very fabric of society. Hence, the traditionally Peronist trilogy of "State, Industry, Unions" came to be targeted (often violently) as part of the problem with the nation and started the shift in political and economic programs. Yet again, the oligarchy dismantled the previous order, in order to build a liberal economic program, whilst maintaining a dictatorial government. Furthermore, they wanted to accommodate multinational capital, as large foreign corporations would benefit if Argentina concentrated on producing primary produce and agro-industry, leaving automobile, steel and heavy manufacturing to local production by these transnational corporations. With large investments and profit made by large multinational companies such as Ford, Renault, Warner Lambert, Philips, Siemens and Brown Boveri at the expense of local businesses and wages. This laissez-faire economic and social policy pursued by the military government had a negative impact on Argentinian industry, especially manufacturing and was detrimental to the working classes. Between 1975 and 1981, the manufacturing share of the GDP declined from 29 to 22%, industrial employment declined by more than 36%, and industrial production as a whole went down by 17%. The reality of Argentina is that many individuals of the Argentinian bourgeoisie had more and more of their investment portfolio in finance and agro-industry. The changes in government economic policy tended to benefit the most powerful companies, such as Bunge & Born, Macri, Perez Companc, and the smaller national firms among Argentinian industry were considered expendable. This was the start of the shift away from national industry and industrialization to an emphasis on international finance capital, with the creation of a new elite capitalist class. Return to Democracy, but More of the Same However, with the fall of the dictatorship in 1983, the laissez-faire model did not collapse with them. The continuation of neo-liberalism in the democratic era started in December 1983 with Raul Alfonsin and his Radical party assuming office from the incumbent authoritarian regime in confident of reconciling democratization with rapid development and social justice. The optimism that democracy had brought to Argentina though was soon shattered. As a succession of failed stabilization plans saw the unraveling of the Alfonsin government and finally, a catastrophic economic collapse and hyperinflation led to a convincing victory by Peronist Carlos Saul Menem in May 1989. Carlos Menem assumed the presidency on 8 July 1989 amidst raging hyperinflation. From August 1988 through July 1989, consumer prices had risen 3,610 percent and wholesale prices had skyrocketed 5,062 percent. Menem continued in the same vein but increased the intensity of reform with even stronger neo-liberal, free-market reforms designed to restructure radically the beleaguered Argentine economy along the lines of the 'Washington Consensus'. During this government the 'market orthodoxy' of the neo-liberal regime really moved into the next phase and according to the Inter-American Development Bank the reforms were further reaching than both Margaret Thatcher in Britain and Augusto Pinochet in Chile. What Argentina faced was the deepest neo-liberal reform among democratic nations, and the most democratic among those nations who enacted reforms out of severe crisis. The continual drive toward a neoliberal economic model, as advocated by both the Argentinian elite and the IMF, has had a clear class bias and thus led to a marked decline in the standard of living for the majority of Argentinians. The particular type of neoliberalism, which Argentina pursued, promoted agro-industry and finance at the expense of manufacturing, and thus produced two waves of deindustrialization and therefore a greater vulnerability of the Argentinian economy to globalization in the 1990s and the continual domination of the oligarchical classes. In an indication of the type of elite liberal reforms, the Menem government took office with a cabinet containing members who were traditionally non-aligned with the Peronist party, and even foes. The Ministry of the Economy was headed by one of the heads at Bunge and Born. Further, Alsogaray, a prominent representative of the right was named special adviser to foreign debt and his daughter, Maria Julia was named the president of the communications company Entel, which at this time was still in public hands. The presidency of the Central bank was given to a former financial consultant technocrat who confessed to not voting for the Peronists and a former minister under the dictatorship Domingo Cavallo was sworn in as the minister of Foreign Affairs. This post would allow Cavallo to re-try out programs which he has already put forward whilst a member of the military government. What transpired was that nearly all the economic posts were given to people who were in favor of 'market orthodoxy', The Argentine sociologist Maristrella Svampa argues that neoliberalism aimed at socializing the model of the 'pure consumer,' which bestowed a higher social status upon citizens who supported the new macroeconomic regime. For Svampa, neoliberalism divided the 'winners' from the 'losers.' The winners were the upper class and some middle-class sectors seduced by individualistic consumption. The paradigmatic instance of patrimonial citizenship and consumerism is embodied in the gated communities built around Buenos Aires city during this time: private neighborhoods offering all the services the new consumers demanded (security, leisure spaces, sports). For Menemism, consumption was a mechanism of social division that turned every citizen into a homo homini lupus . Those who access to material wealth and capital were hugely benefited over those who didn't and were not able to consume freely creating conspicuous divides in Argentine society. Economically, neo-liberalism had provided (or, at least had seemed to provide) macroeconomic stability and the popular effect of the consumer boom. However, by 1997 the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) could write about Latin America after a Decade of Reforms and ponder whether it had been 'all pain and no gain'. For the Bank, the answer was that Argentina's economies "Present a disturbing and paradoxical picture ...Macroeconomic imbalances have been corrected... Practices of government intervention have been dismantled... Nevertheless, the economic results are unsatisfactory... Unemployment rates have risen... Income distribution remains worse than in any other region of the world." Even as it became consolidated, the neo-liberal model lost its original venerated position. There was a steady increase in social exclusion and impoverishment, with a quarter of the 12 million people living in the Greater Buenos Aires area under the poverty line by 1995. And by 2000 a third of the whole population was poor by World Bank standards, with that figure at fifty percent in more regional areas. With the benefit of hindsight looking back at the Argentine experience, the good times of the mid-1990s were built on weak foundations. Economic growth during the period, while substantial, appears to have been mostly due to an accumulation of international debt, a domestic consumption boom associated with a large increase in the share of imports in GNP (from 12.6 percent in 1990 to 23.3 percent in 1998 and 22.2 percent in 2000) and injections of government revenues from the sales of state enterprises. It was not a paradox, therefore, that by the end of the decade things had fallen apart. The crisis in Argentina - the worst crisis in Argentine history - that reached rock-bottom levels in 2001-02, can be considered a crisis of neo-liberalism. The bigger picture during the 1990s shows a dramatic rise in unemployment, unequal income distribution and poverty. Indicators those that surely would have disappointed those who saw a 'free market miracle'. In deepening the policies applied since the military coup of 1976, the neo-liberal shock of the 1990s had considerably negative effects on employment and income distribution. Between 1975 and 1995, real wages fell by 42 percent, and the unemployment rate increased 6.7 times. While most jobs lost in the 1990s were stable jobs in the formal sector, the jobs created in their place are mostly precarious, underpaid positions in low-productivity sectors such as small-scale commerce and small repair shops. In 1997, only 29.7 percent of the entire population were employed in stable jobs in the formal sector - the lowest percentage of stable employment since the 1940s with the exception of 1996.57. The unemployment rate rose from nearly 6 percent at the end of the 1980s to around 15 percent towards the end of the 1990s. Unemployment increased in all major groups in the labor force. The change was sharpest among high-age individuals, especially females. Although the female employment participation rate grew from the mid-1980s, that growth accelerated markedly during the 1990s (the largest proportional increase in female participation rates occurred within the oldest groups). However, for the population as a whole, the higher labor force participation rate numerically explains only a third of the increase in unemployment. Instead, the predominant factor in explaining the increase in unemployment during the 1990s is a rise in the job destruction rate.58 This result is consistent with the rising trend in the inflow rate to unemployment observed during the 1990s. As for the distribution of income, the pattern here was equally disappointing. The ratio of the share of income held by the top ten percent of households to that held by the bottom twenty percent continually increased and the share of income held by the top twenty percent was dramatically higher relative to that held by the bottom forty percent. With some modest variance, and a regressive distributional dip in the context of 1989's hyperinflation, there is steady distributional deterioration throughout the course of Menem's presidency. As emphasized by the political scientist Roberto Frankel is that the 'dramatic impairment in labor indicators and in income distribution was not the result of the final crisis of the macroeconomic regime of the 1990s in Argentina, but preceded it.' In the World Bank report on inequality in Latin America it concludes that Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the most unequal regions in the world. Many Latin American countries display higher Gini coefficients of income inequality than most of Africa. The report indicates that Argentina experienced by far the biggest jump in inequality in the region (7.7 Gini points between 1992 and 2001). Moreover, the ratio of the average income of the highest ten percent in relation to the poorest 40 percent went up from 6.7 to 8.3 between 1980 and 1992 adding to the exclusionary manner in which Menem's neoliberal model functioned. Thus, the neo-liberal reforms and structural adjustment process generated a disruptive effect on the living conditions of broad sectors of society, in a context where the constraint and constant reduction of state spending overall and the fast-moving social expense, together with privatization programs that have transformed welfarist regulation modes, and have produced and subjected wide swaths of the population to a commodified social dependency. As such, access to public services has been reduced indirectly by establishing tariff systems for previously free services (such as health care, education, school meals, etc.) or by reducing or eliminating subsidies for goods and basic social services. With these changes, the liberal market restored its role as master regulator of and the central protagonist of the processes of accumulation and growth. On the other hand, the economic and social policies directly impacted on the increase in unemployment, underemployment, informal labor market combined with the absence or lack of services. In October of 2001, the richest 10% of households in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area accounted for the same portion of income than the poorest 60% of households in the same area. Their income level was almost 34 times higher than that of the poorest 10% of households, or almost 80% more than those of a decade earlier, and 25% more than in the hyperinflationary period of 1989. Towards the end of 2001, the average household income in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area reached no more than 46% of the retail price of the basic foodstuffs basket and even less in several provinces. The explosion of 'new poverty' grew above all among these once prosperous groups of Argentine society. The 2001 crisis was taken as the marker that neo-liberalism had failed to deliver what it promised. The growth that did come out of the program was highly inequitable and unstable, leaving behind the majority of the population. Along with the collapse of the convertibility plan, this rapid decline in living standards was the result of the nation feeling the crisis, and of a large scale rejection of the neo-liberal model in Argentina, creating the organic crisis point in which a populist leader could take advantage of. The economic and social crisis that Argentina has experienced has a number of causes. But most significant has been the pursuit of neoliberal economic policies for over a quarter century, combined with the impact of globalization. Throughout this period, the Argentinian elite and the IMF have been proactive in pushing this project and thus bear the greatest responsibility for the negative impacts caused by it. The re-commodification of labor was based on a new social dichotomy of excluded/included, the future and the past, the civilized and the barbarous. Imposing a dark and indecipherable presence, treating the excluded unemployed as individuals and making them responsible for their condition, blaming the situation on the included employed, using transitory state assistance to contain social conflict; criminalizing social protest and, consequently, piquetero protest subjects, selectively stigmatizing certain unemployed workers' organizations, and utilizing repressive state intervention are all elements of a mechanism of domination. These dividing mechanisms became too much as the country entered economic and social crises and saw the near-breakdown of society. But by the time the model had come crashing down, it was very evident that the population had felt the crisis, judging by the results of the October 2001 election. Discontent in the streets was reflected in the partial rejection of the ruling parties at the ballot box during the parliamentary elections of October 2001. In the city of Buenos Aires and Santa Fe, blank ballot papers and spoiled ballot papers won the election.78 In Buenos Aires province, blank ballot papers and spoiled ballot papers finished in the second position. In Cordoba, they ended third. Those are the principal Argentine provinces and electoral districts. The percentage of blank ballot papers and spoiled ballot papers was seven times higher than the average of all previous elections since 1983. Furthermore, counting the citizens that did not vote, 41 percent of citizens did not elect anyone.The Peronist Party moved into control over the Senate with only 30 percent of all the national votes, Argentina had hit a rock bottom crisis. But with every crisis there is opportunity, and in this case the opportunity was taken by Nestor Kirchner. Nestor Kirchner took power in 2003, and transformed the nation's fortunes.

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Originally published on EcoWatch.com We have a choice this election - and it starts with the leaders we choose. That's the key word here: WE . In the climate movement, we are working every day to drive a shift away from dirty fossil fuels and create a safe and sustainable future for our planet. And together, we have the power to elect strong leaders who can make it a reality. What's exciting is that increasingly, it's not only climate activists who are working for a clean energy future. Read on for proof that people everywhere are getting on board with renewables and other climate solutions. Then, take action to let your leaders know you're on their side when it comes to focusing on clean energy. 1. Key financial institutions know dirty energy is a bad investment Large banks and financial institutions are seeing that investment in fossil fuels is risky business. As renewable energy becomes more affordable and pressure builds for the world to reduce carbon emissions, it's starting to look like the finance industry is wising up. The World Bank Group, along with several other major players, is limiting the funding of new coal power plants to only developing countries with no feasible alternatives. Ca-ching! 2. Large businesses and global brands are going green Lots of your everyday brands have been making small environmental changes for many years now, but recently, several huge businesses have been embracing clean energy in a big way. Apple gets 93 percent of its energy from renewables, Intel gets 100 percent of its US electricity use from renewables. Kohl's and Whole Foods receive over 100 percent of their total electricity use from renewables. And many more have announced similar goals - certainly moving our future in the right direction. 3. Faith communities are embracing renewables Religious communities across the globe - spanning everywhere from the Himalayas to small islands - have also seen the light on renewable energy. Most notable might be the Vatican: last year Pope Francis called for urgent dialogue on global environmental issues, including climate change. When it comes to action, religious groups like Interfaith Power and Light are often on the front lines organizing people of faith by the thousands to support a sustainable future. Amen to that! 3. Youth are driving expansion of clean energy Young people - they're maybe the most vocal group in the climate fight, perhaps because they have the most to lose. Student groups have led the charge for more solar powered schools, divestment from fossil fuels, thousands of trees planted, and even a global network of institutions helping one another to advance sustainability in schools. The drive we see from young people today to preserve our planet is reason enough to support leaders who can make a real change for their futures. 4. The tide is turning on public opinion If all the different groups listed above aren't proof that people are getting on board with action to create a clean energy future, a 2015 Pew Research survey showed that a majority of people worldwide believe global climate change is a very serious problem. And a whopping 78 percent of respondents support their country limiting greenhouse gas emissions as part of an international accord like the Paris Agreement. We read your message - loud and clear. Help Make Climate Solutions a Reality It's evident people just like you are on board with climate solutions - and our support grows stronger every day. And now it's time for our leaders to honor and strengthen their commitments to climate action . Optional Member Code We respect your privacy. To learn more, view our Privacy Policy. Stay tuned next week for more hope: six ways we're already seeing the benefits of climate solutions in action, thanks to the support of elected leaders worldwide.

In the climate movement, we are working every day to drive a shift away from dirty fossil fuels and create a safe and sustainable future for our planet. And together, we have the power to elect strong leaders who can make it a reality.

The Sikh student was celebrating with friends at a bar when security told him to leave because of his turban. He was eventually let back in after protesting. Just interviewed Amrik Singh - the Sikh Nottingham Trent Uni law student who was told to leave a Mansfield club for wearing a turban. Says he felt heartbroken and victimised. But hopes his story will educate those ignorant of his religious rights. pic.twitter.com/T3p83irMtA -- Sarah Teale (@SarahTealeTV) March 10, 2018 Amrik Singh, 22, is British, but his religion appears to have been the only attribute that mattered to the security at a Nottingham pub. Read More The Sikh student was at Rush Late Bar on Friday drinking with friends to celebrate a law school module completion when he was "dragged" from the establishment by security, he said in a Facebook post that has since been deleted. According to The Independent , the Nottingham Trent University law student's recorded exchange with the bar's staff shows that he tried explaining that the turban was a religious requirement. Unfortunately, he was reportedly told that he should remove it if he wanted to stay. Adding insult to injury, the bar employee allegedly added that he "didn't think you were allowed to come in a pub and drink anyway." After the incident, Singh told his friends on Facebook that he was "heartbroken" about the entire ordeal. He explained that instead of alcohol, he had been drinking coke with his friends, but because he refused to remove his turban, the bar's bouncer had him removed. After asking to talk to someone in charge and filming the exchange because he felt victimized, Singh said he was eventually allowed to go back into the bar. Still, the whole thing hit a nerve with the Sikh Briton. "My ancestors have fought for the British Army," he wrote in his post. "Furthermore, me and my parents were born in Britain and all uphold British values. I was eventually let back into the venue but was told that I would not be allowed back in in the future because of my headwear. This experience ruined my night." In his post, the student added that his experience, while not without precedent, turned out better than it could have because he is well-spoken and can defend himself. But others might not be as lucky. After the incident, the bar issued a statement saying that the employee involved in the incident had been suspended and that they would be investigating the occurrence. Thankfully for the student, the ordeal prompted an outpouring of support from friends and even from people who didn't know him personally. While he did delete the post later, he did so only after thanking people who sent him supportive messages. Many congratulated him on Twitter as well. Well done Amrik Singh for bringing this everyday discrimination to public attention. We had a similar bad experience at @Bar_Rumba few years ago from an African-Caribbean bouncer ??. When we complained later on, the manager said we don't have any proof ??. ???????? for recording. -- AJAS ???????? (@sjahazad) March 11, 2018 While this isn't the first incident involving a Sikh who was treated poorly because of his turban , the fact that a business refused service to him because of it is beyond upsetting. After all, it's 2018, and discrimination based on religious beliefs is completely regressive. Read More

The Sikh student was celebrating with friends at a bar when security told him to leave because of his turban. He was eventually let back in after protesting.

Which do you prefer? The black or white Madonna of Chartres cathedral in France -- neither or both? Your call. Of this much there should be no doubt: Historical preservation is a cause well worth supporting. But which part of that history is best preserved? Just selected slices of it? And if so, which ones would you choose to save, new or old or a mix? Let's hope we can all agree on one thing: The novel concept of brand new history is an obvious contradiction in terms. According to Benjamin Ramm in the Sept. 2 New York Times, Patrice Bertrand recalls hearing his mother tell him about her pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Black Madonna at the cathedral 60 miles southwest of Paris. But now he's bothered and bewildered when he sets out to pay homage to the icon. "It is not here anymore," he reports. It seems the Black Madonna has been bleached white, like some cheap blonde. All in the name of saving her. An officious little plaque explained that "the unsightly coating" of grime the statue had accumulated through the years and centuries is gone. The cathedral is scarcely recognizable now that the smoke from the burning candles her devotees had been so long accustomed to lighting in her honor had been brushed away. So had the residue from the oil lamps that had once darkened the walls and exquisite stained-glass windows. Clean, well-lit progress had come to medieval Chartres, and it might take some getting used to -- if the facelift is accepted by people seeking faith, hope and charity. And today's visitors might react with more shock than awe. The more legalistic of worshippers have been heard to complain that this grand modernization project violates the Charter of Venice, adopted in 1964, which bars any redesign of historical monuments for cosmetic rather than structural motives. "I'm very democratic," the restorer-in-chief Patrice Calvel explains, "but the public is not competent to judge" the work of his august self. Not that such haughtiness has kept the mere public from objecting -- loud and clear. Various entries in the visitors' registry call his approach to history and faith "arrogant." Professor Jeffrey F. Hamburger, a specialist in medieval art at Harvard, asserts that there is "no reason to be nostalgic or romantic about the dirt." So much for the idea of holy soil that has moved millions over the ages. To associate Gothic structures with "dark, brooding gloom," he adds, "is fundamentally misguided...." For they should not be treated as "monuments to melancholy." How about as literally groundbreaking tributes to an historic time in Western architecture when flying buttresses introduced a whole new vision of Western architecture? Beth Baumann The culture vultures of the United Nations, aka UNESCO, call the cathedral's old windows "a museum to stained glass" that deserve their own shade of paint -- bleu de Chartres, a mix of cobalt and manganese. Those of its windows that have been left just as they were over the centuries now serve as a kind of before-and-after commercial for this brand-new holy relic. Gallic logic has triumphed once again over the hard-won experience of the ages. What seems to have been lost at Chartres isn't only the cathedral's holiness as it has been "improved" beyond shadowy recognition by these interior decorators. And it now stands as an example to beware for those entrusted with the care of other holy sites around the world. What about Italy's old Venice, which a distinguished American visitor said might be a fine city if only it were drained of all that excess water? Arise, you moderns! You have only your history to lose.

Which do you prefer? The black or white Madonna of Chartres cathedral in France -- neither or both?

Dozens Occupy NC Governor's Office to Protest Atlantic Coast Pipeline from the Earth First! Newswire According to the Raleigh News and Obersver, 15 people were arrested for occupying North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper's office in a protest against his administration's approval of the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The protest which took place on Febraury 2nd and was the latest instance of community opposition to the 600 mile long pipeline that would bring fracked gas from West Virginia, through Virginia, and into North Carolina. "This is an escalation. This is the first civil disobedience, this is the opening salvo. We're ready to go out in front of bulldozers." Said Steve Norris of Asheville, NC who was among the 50 plus protestors taking part in the occupation. Greg Yost of Mars Hill, NC was quoted as saying, "Gov. Roy stuck a stick in a hornet's nest. This occupation today is the leading edge of what's going to happen as the pipeline fight enters a new stage." Cooper's Department of Environmental Quality recently granted the ACP a much needed water quality permit but the pipeline still has other permits it must acquire before construction can begin in NC. Additionally the builders of the pipeline which include Duke Energy and Dominion Energy are facing lawsuits aimed at stopping the pipeline. In addition to it being a disaster for the climate many are pointing to the pipeline as a clear example of environmental racism. The pipeline is curiously routed around the well to do Raleigh area and instead will tear through some of NC's poorest and racially diverse rural areas. The pipeline terminates on Lumbee Indian land in Robeson county where locals fear it will destroy burial grounds and other sacred sites. (more...) Germany: Hambach Forest Defenders Call for Day of Action on February 3 from Hambach Forest On January 22, the police tried in vain to clear the occupied barricades in the forest with an expensive action. Even the attempt to present the "violent ecoterrorists" to the present regional deputies of the SPD and AfD failed. For our resistance is colorful, courageous and broader than ever. Nevertheless, now 9 climate activists are in custody. They are accused of resistance to law enforcement officers. For opposing their bodies to the evacuation machines. For having decided to peacefully but firmly demonstrate against lignite mining and for a climate-friendly world. Never before in the history of this forest occupation, so many activists were imprisoned at the same time. The violence against them is violence against all of us. The repression that hits them is addressed to us all. It is a clear attempt to intimidate us and thus an attack on the entire climate justice movement. They try to set an example against the refusal of personal data, that, for example, at the last Ende Gelande action again proved to be an effective means. They try to take any form of resistance from us: in case of militant resistance we are isolated, criminalized and isolated. By their massive repression against our civil disobedience, we not only experience direct police brutality through brutal evictions and painful ED treatments, but we are also locked away indefinitely. Hudson Valley Earth First! has decided to end the tree sit against the Valley Lateral Pipeline. The tree sit lasted a full 23 days, and was effective in causing the pipeline company to reroute their project around the protest. Due to these circumstances and others, the brave individual(s) who occupied it have left for the time being. No one was arrested. Too often these types of protests have no time line other than when the forces of repression decide to intervene. By keeping our comrades warm and free, we can ensure that they might be (a)effective in the continued fight to defend the wild. Our goal has not been to fight an arrest in court as if this is a civil rights or civil disobedience issue. We already know the law and the court system does not side with the health of every day people, the wild, or this planet. Millennium pipeline, the FERC agency, and New York State have already proven this. This project has a 6 month time line, there is still forest and other habitats to be defended, and things are heating up (metaphorically) here in the North as this fight continues. Email us if you would like to attend our upcoming action camp and climb training or plug in more generally. (more...) An Activist Stands Accused of Firing a Gun at Standing Rock. It Belonged to Her Lover-- An FBI Informant by Will Parrish / The Intercept Photo: Mike McCleary/The Bismarck Tribune/AP AS LAW ENFORCEMENT officers advanced in a U-shaped sweep line down North Dakota Highway 1806 last October, pushing back Dakota Access opponents from a camp in the pipeline's path, two sheriff's deputies broke formation to tackle a 37-year-old Oglala Sioux woman named Red Fawn Fallis. As Fallis struggled under the weight of her arresting officers, who were attempting to put her in handcuffs, three gunshots allegedly went off alongside her. According to the arrest affidavit, deputies lunged toward her left hand and wrested a gun away from her. Well before that moment, Fallis had been caught in a sprawling intelligence operation that sought to disrupt and discredit opponents of the pipeline. The Intercept has learned that the legal owner of the gun Fallis is alleged to have fired was a paid FBI informant named Heath Harmon, a 46-year-old member of the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota. For at least two months, Harmon took part in the daily life of DAPL resistance camps and gained access to movement participants, even becoming Fallis's romantic partner several weeks prior to the alleged shooting on October 27, 2016. In an interview with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, a recording of which was obtained by The Intercept, Harmon reported that his work for the FBI involved monitoring the Standing Rock camps for evidence of "bomb-making materials, stuff like that." Asked what he discovered, Harmon made no mention of protesters harboring dangerous weapons, but he acknowledged storing his own weapon in a trailer at the water protectors' Rosebud Camp: the same .38 revolver Fallis is accused of firing. Harmon spent the day of October 27 with Fallis and was nearby during her arrest. He continued to withhold his FBI affiliation from his then-girlfriend in phone conversations with her while she was being held at the Morton County jail in Mandan, North Dakota, records show. Investigators' notes on those calls were distributed to the ATF, two local sheriff's departments, and the U.S. Attorney's Office in Bismarck, among others. Federal prosecutors are charging Fallis with civil disorder, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and discharge of a firearm in relation to a felony crime of violence -- perhaps the most serious charges levied against any water protector. If convicted of discharging the weapon, she faces a minimum of 10 years in prison and the possibility of a life sentence. She has pleaded not guilty. (more...) Australia: Community Members Lock-on to Stop Adani from Starting Work on their Mega Coal Mine Central QLD, 25th October: As Adani promises to start work on the rail line to what would be Australia's largest new coal mine, several people have locked-on to construction machinery, vowing to do whatever it takes to peacefully stop Adani's mega coal mine from proceeding in Central Queensland. Supported by over a dozen people, one person is locked-on to a front-end loader, another to an excavator and a third person to a grader, stopping work from proceeding at one of Adani's work sites, near Belyando on Jangga country. Workers are on site. "I'm scared about my children's future. I think our government is seriously underestimating the potentially devastating impacts of climate change. Now is the time to take a stand. I'm an ordinary person taking extraordinary action to stop this mine." said, Gail Hamilton, an engineer and former council employee from Townsville. Superior, WI - Resistance against Enbridge's Line 3 Pipeline expansion is ramping up. Near the Fon du Lac Reservation, at the frontline camp, Makwa , water protectors, land defenders, warriors, and others have participated in a wave of civil disobedience that has resulted in 16 arrests in multiple actions that have delayed construction work on the pipeline in the last month. On the morning of September 18, Unicorn Riot covered another direct action to stop construction on the Wisconsin side of the Minnesota-Wisconsin border. These direct actions have targeted the construction of the Line 3 pipeline expansion in Wisconsin. Line 3 carries diluted bitumen slugged out of the Alberta, Canada tar sands through Minnesota and into Wisconsin's Calumet Superior Refinery in Superior, Wisconsin. While necessary permits for pipeline construction have yet to be granted in Minnesota, in Wisconsin, construction is nearly complete. We are following today's actions in hopes of learning more about the growing resistance against the Enbridge Line 3 that's already being built through both Canada and Wisconsin, despite no permits being granted in Minnesota. Direct action underway to stop Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline construction. Watch LIVE here: https://t.co/W5G6816egU #StopLine3 #WaterIsLife pic.twitter.com/MhxEBcAJYc -- Unicorn Riot (@UR_Ninja) September 18, 2017 Ende Gelande: The Battle for Coal on the Potato Field by Janek Rovensky and Petr Zewlak Vrabec / Political Critique E nde Gelande - two words that have become synonymous with a nonviolent, radical, mass- and non-hierarchical movement for climate justice in Europe. On the last weekend of August, thousands of people wearing the distinctive white overalls with a reversed pick and a hammer were shouting these two worlds: "Ende Gelande! Ende Gelande! Ende Gelande!" All of them took part in this year's civil disobedience action on the premises of coal mines, power plants, and the related infrastructure of RWE's energy company in Rhineland. They returned to the same spot after two years, and showed that it's not easy to step into the same river twice. The police this year were clearly determined to prevent anyone from even approaching the mine or power plant fence. Hundreds of cops manoeuvred with tear gas cans strapped to their uniforms and several helicopters flying over their heads like one well-trained organism. Friday was a field day: the protests were halted at the road, three miles from the actual fence, for the whole day.. Only a few dozen people reached the mine entrance, and shortly after were attacked by RWE's employees and later detained. On Saturday, the luck returned to the protesters. Literally thousands of people managed to bypass the mobile police cordons and reached the rails, on which all the coal from the mines is transported to power stations. The battle of the day unfolded on the potato field, beside the tracks: stumbling policemen vs. stumbling protesters. The police tried to surround the demonstrators. Eventually, they succeeded - but not entirely: several small groups of activists sneaked through the tight cordons and blocked the rails for most of the afternoon, giving photographers a lot opportunities to take photos of people dragged around by policemen in riot gear. Preparing the Soil: Grassroots Environmentalism in Gaspesie, Canada (with August 2017 Update) The Gaspe Peninsula On August 7, militant ecologists established a hard blockade at the entrance to the Galt Site near Gaspe [a city at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in the Gaspesie-Iles-de-la-Madeleine region of eastern Quebec, Canada]. This is a highly strategic action, timed several weeks before Junex is slated to begin unconventional horizontal drilling, and just after it was announced that their government cronies will be hooking with a cool 8.4 million taxpayer dollars. Because of widespread opposition to fracking in so-called Quebec and the Maritimes, and the fact that Junex is a junior company propped by government hand-outs, we believe that this is a highly winnable fight. This is a hard blockade which the militants are prepared to forcibly defend and as such represents a stark escalation in ecological resistance in our bioregion. What happens in the next two weeks is critical. It is imperative that we stop the industry from getting a hold in Gaspesie, and now is the time to do it. The following article was published in the Earth First! Journal in the Litha/Summer, 2016 issue, and is reposted here to provide context to anglophones about the years-long struggle against the fledgling oil and gas industry in Northern Mikmaki, a struggle that has garnered little attention outside of so-called Quebec. Stayed tuned for more information, and if it makes sense for you, start making plans to get yer asses to the front-lines! Preparing the Soil: Grassroots Environmentalism in Gaspesie When I first traveled to Gaspe --a city at the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula in eastern Quebec--I was deeply taken with the magnificence of the terrain. It's a land where the elemental power of nature makes its presence felt. If you've been to Gaspe, you likely know what I mean. If you haven't, but have only heard of it from people who have been, chances are you've felt the enchantment of this place even then, because those who describe their experiences of Gaspe easily fall into a tone of voice and manner of speaking reminiscent of someone recalling a beautiful dream. For the past few years, folks in eastern Quebec have been doggedly organizing against a slew of major industrial projects that have largely escaped the notice of the non-francophone environmentalist movement. For this reason, I decided to go to Gaspe to investigate the plans for industrialization, as well as the resistance to it. Click HERE for new 1/2 sheet Flyer (text copy/pasted below from PDF) WRITE TO Marius Mason (*address envelope to M. Mason*) #04672-061, FMC Carswell, P.O. Box 27137, Fort Worth, TX 76127, USA Marius Mason is an anarchist, environmental and animal rights activist currently serving nearly 22 years in federal prison for acts of property damage carried out in defense of the planet. After being threatened with a life sentence in 2009 for these acts of sabotage, he pled guilty to arson charges at a Michigan State University lab researching genetically modified organisms for Monsanto, and admitted to 12 other acts of property damage. No one was physically harmed in these actions. At sentencing the judge applied a so-called "terrorism enhancement," adding almost two years to an already extreme sentence requested by the prosecution. This is the harshest punishment of anyone convicted of environmental sabotage to date. Marius is incarcerated in the high security Administration Unit at the Federal Medical Center Carswell in Fort Worth, Texas, a unit "designed for female inmates with histories of escapes, chronic behavior problems, repeated incidents of assaultive or predatory behavior, or other special management concerns..." (2016; FMC Carswell Information Packet). Marius did not have a record of violating prison rules. It appears he is being held in this unit because of his political beliefs and in an effort to silence him. Marius came out to his friends, family and supporters as transgender in 2013. Previously known as "Marie Mason," he changed his name, uses male pronouns, and embarked on a course to get a medical diagnosis that would allow him to seek gender affirming surgery and hormone therapy. The Board of Prisons (BOP) has already diagnosed Marius as having gender dysphoria, and has made some clothing and commissary accommodations in accordance with their established policy. Interview with Ruby Montoya and Jessica Renzicek On July 24, Ruby Montoya and Jessica Reznicek held a press conference in which they read a prepared statement while standing in front of the Iowa Utility Board (IUB). In the statement, Ruby and Jessica confessed to arson and other acts of sabotage along the Dakota Access pipeline, describing what they did in detail and stating their reasons (expanded upon below). They then took a crowbar and hammer and began pulling off the letters of the IUB sign before being arrested. They were released from jail the next day and charged with fourth degree criminal mischief. The day after that, the three of us had a phone call. Onion: What was the thought process and the goals of choosing to write a statement admitting guilt instead of releasing an anonymous communique about your actions? Ruby: Jess and I have been doing this and we formed a solid team of two and we discussed claiming responsibility for these actions after being called by the Intercept about illegal surveillance and DAPL security that was done and it began to feel like we as a collective started to focus on all the shitty things the state and all the corporations they protect do instead of focusing on stopping the pipeline.. We saw it as an opportunity to come forward and refocus the issue that we need to stop this pipeline and it doesn't matter how dirty the other side plays. We seem to get caught up and fragmented in that stuff and lose sight of our goal, which is still stopping this pipeline. And, making something anonymous in these particular circumstances, I feel, distances and eliminates and fragments further instead of trying to humanize these things as viable and peaceful options for the resistance.

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The past week in Trump Land has been a roller coaster of bizarre tales and absurd explanations. Most of which were provided by Donald Trump's newly minted lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. In a whirlwind tour of Fox News programs, Giuliani tried to offer justifications for Trump's web of lies related to his affair with Stormy Daniels and the subsequent hush money payoff to suppress news of the incident. But he only made things worse by blurting out admissions to potential criminal activity that hadn't been raised before. On Saturday night Giuliani resumed stumping for Trump with a visit to "Judge" Jeanine Pirro of Fox News. And true to form, he only succeeded in stirring up more trouble for his client who is already in a fairly deep legal bog. Giuliani's wild-eyed raving made little sense and his grasp of the law was laughably off kilter. And if he thought he was advancing the interests of Trump, he was insane as well. One of the first things out of his mouth was speculation that a case before the Virginia grand jury involving Trump's former campaign manager Paul Manafort, might just be an attempt to "flip" him into providing testimony against Trump. Of course there would nothing to worry about on that account unless there was something to flip. So Giuliani introduced that notion on his own. He followed that up with the false claim that the judge in that case called it a "witch hunt." He didn't. Giuliani went on for awhile about how "Attorney General Jeff Sessions should step up and dismiss this entire investigation." He asserted that "There is no evidence of collusion with the Russians. Gone. There is no evidence of obstruction of justice." But there have already been dozens of indictments and five guilty pleas that suggest that the investigation has merit and should continue. And then he launched into a full blown manic episode (video below): "The President of the United States did not in any way violate the campaign finance law. Every campaign finance expert, Republican and Democrat, will tell that if it was for another purpose, other than just for campaigns, even if it was for campaign purposes, if it was to save his family, to save embarrassment, it's not a campaign donation. "And second, even if it was a campaign donation, the President reimbursed it fully with a payment of $35,000 a month that paid for that and other expenses. No need to go beyond that. Case over. That case should be dismissed by the Southern district of New York. At least with regard to President Trump." First of all, it is preposterous to say that every campaign finance expert would say that there was no campaign finance violation. Lots of them are saying that there is. Just turn on the TV like your boss does all day long. More to the point, Giuliani asserts that there is no violation even if the funds were used for campaign purposes if it was to "save his family, to save embarrassment." Is he listening to himself? If it was for campaign purposes it was unambiguously a violation. And Giuliani's next point asserts that even a campaign donation would have been legal because Trump paid it back. But if it was paid back without disclosing it in his campaign finance reporting, that's illegal. And as Giuliani says, "No need to go beyond that. Case over." It also isn't especially good lawyering when your counsel says on national TV that "I'm not an expert on the facts." And repeating a previous slander of the FBI as Nazi Storm Troopers hardly seems like positive messaging. Even if he falsely claims that "the judge basically said that." He didn't. And asking for the case in New York to be dismissed, "At least with regard to President Trump," makes no sense at all. That case is against Michael Cohen, not Trump. Giuliani appears intent on proving that he's utterly incapable of handling a parking ticket, much less a case as complex and legally hazardous as this. But one of the most peculiar comments in this interview came when Giuliani attempted to belittle testimony given by Hillary Clinton (who was interviewed by both the FBI and Congress for eleven hours). He stroked his own hand and said: "Nice nice nice. Poor little Hillary. We gotta be nice to her. No under oath. We'll take that now." Setting aside Giuliani's embarrassing playacting, if he's willing to agree to an FBI interview without being under oath, no doubt Robert Mueller would be as well. After all, you don't have to be under oath to be required to tell the truth. And lying to either the FBI or Congress is crime even without taking an oath. So shut up already and present your client (who says no one wants to talk more than he does) for the interview, and we can get this thing over with. What are you all afraid of? How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock: Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance. Available now at Amazon.

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You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! DETROIT ( ChurchMilitant.com ) - The U.S. Bishops are declaring that everyone has a right to universal health care, and in a new letter to Congress, they're warning there should be an alternative medical plan if Obamacare is repealed. While Catholic Tradition does not teach health care is a universal right, in a letter released Wednesday, Bp. Frank J. Dewane, Chairman of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development for the USCCB, said, "We remain committed to the ideals of universal and affordable health care." Earlier this month, President-elect Trump called Obamacare "a lie from the beginning" in a tweet . Mike Pence, vice president-elect, has said the "first order of business is to repeal and replace Obamacare." Despite an expected 25-percent increase in premiums for 2017 and the near-crashing of many healthcare exchanges even before the election, Bp. Dewane went on to express in the letter, "We recognize that the law (Obamacare) has brought about important gains in coverage, and those gains should be protected." Despite a confrontation between the Catholic bishops and the Obama administration during the time of the roll-out, the Huffington Post pubished an article this week titled " Catholic Bishops Are Urging Congress to Halt Obamacare Repeal ." Bishop Dewane admitted the bishops agreed with the general goal of Obamacare, but it had problems because it wrongly "expanded the role of the federal government in funding and facilitating abortion and plans that cover abortion, and it failed to provide essential conscience protections and access to health care for immigrants." The letter further quoted Pope Francis as a reason to support universal health care: "[W]e note for now that a repeal of key provisions of the Affordable Care Act ought not be undertaken without the concurrent passage of a replacement plan that ensures access to adequate health care for the millions of people who now rely upon it for their well being." Trump has said that he doesn't plan merely to repeal Obamacare but also to replace it. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said replacing Obamacare is "pretty high on our agenda." In a campaign release in October of Donald Trump's Contract With the American Voter , Trump revealed what he will do in his first 100 days in office : [The] Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: There are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications. The letter was issued just days after influential Cardinal Sean O'Malley of Boston called health care "foundational" and said governments have a "moral obligation" to provide such care to all citizens. Samuel Gregg, Research Director at the Acton Institute, aruged in Crisis Magazine that universal, federally operated health care is not necessarily a part of Catholic teaching. Rather, Gregg offers, "Clearly there are many issues that even a well-founded recognition of a right to access health care cannot resolve by itself. Nor is it obvious that government top-down control of healthcare is the only (let alone the most optimal) way of actualizing such rights." Gregg further offers the principle of subsidiarity, which "reminds us that there are numerous communities that precede government institutions and which help establish many of the conditions that assist people to promote, protect and freely choose the good of health." When Obamacare rolled out in 2013, the website crashed twice in one week. Private insurance companies were placed under strict federal government scrutiny and Catholic institutions in particular were harmed by Obamacare when "conscience protections" failed to be added. Protections weren't guaranteed until May 2016, when the Little Sisters of the Poor were given an exemption by the Supreme Court because of the scheme that forced them to participate in a scheme that would cover contraceptives to employees. Mitch McConnell predicted late last year that regardless of who won the White House, changes would need to be made to avoid " crashing " the entire system owing to rising premiums. We rely on you to support our news reporting. Please donate today.

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"Top Senate challenger in California is white supremacist with anti-Semitic agenda" (JTA, 4.30.18) "The GOP's 'Nazi Problem' Comes to California with Anti-Semitic Holocaust Denier Candidate" ( Haaretz , 5.1.18) This was all news to me, and I'm rather well informed about California politics and its intersection with the Jewish community. Who is Patrick Little, this "top" Republican running for office, and what is this GOP "Nazi Problem"? I called my friends at the California Republican Party and quickly spoke to the chairman of the party. He thanked me for calling and shared that immediately upon hearing about these headlines, he issued a same-day declarative denunciation of the candidate in the name of the CRP, issued by the senior communications official: Mr. Little has never been an active member of our party. I do not know Mr. Little and I am not familiar with his positions. But in the strongest terms possible, we condemn anti-Semitism and any other form of religious bigotry, just as we do with racism, sexism, or anything else that can be construed as a hateful point of view. Concise. Morally clear. Commendable. But who is Patrick Little? No one knows! I spent the day reaching out to party officials and representatives. To everyone's knowledge, Little has never run for public office, never donated to the GOP, never been active in any campaigns, never offered any thought leadership in conservative circles, never spoken at or attended a GOP convention or been associated with any Republican elected official. No one had ever met him or heard of him. What the heck is going on here? Do you think that maybe the ideological perspectives of Haaretz and The Forward might cause them to highlight so loudly a completely unknown person as somehow a top contender for the U.S. Senate from the largest state in the union? Any possible mischief in writing in bold, "The GOP's Nazi Problem"? Let's stipulate two things: 1. The reporting about Patrick Little indicates he's beneath "little." If accurate, he's pathetic, a hater, loser, conspiracy theorist, and nut-job. 2. Since no experienced or well funded Republican is challenging wealthy incumbent Democrat senator Dianne Feinstein in 2018, it's possible that, according to the only poll cited in the articles, 18 percent of primary voters "support" Little. Isn't it clear though that these polls reflect likely Republican voters expressing endorsement of a Republican without knowing anything about him? Little has apparently no campaign and no money. He has sent no mailers to voters and doesn't even have a campaign website. He has appeared in zero debates. He is unknown . I understand informing the Jewish community about anti-Semites, who exist in both parties. Longtime senior Democratic congressman and DNC leader Keith Ellison worked for Minister Louis Farrakhan, and Farrakhan has met with many elected Democrats in Congress. Very disturbing. Very ugly. But context and care must be applied as well. Little is not going to be a U.S. senator. Mr. Little is not going to win the primary. Little leads no movement, has no following, and is not a "top" Republican. The never-ending point-scoring game, in which biased media and political partisans, mostly based in Washington, D.C., constantly highlight the absurd, fringe anti-Semites in each party, is moving American Jewish politics from contentiousness to something more sinister. I think the polls that matter are those that show upwards of a 50-point differential between Republicans and Democrats on issues such as support for Israeli defensive actions against Palestinian terror or Islamist jihadi threats. I think Senator Dianne Feinstein's record is an issue. She double-crossed Senator Bob Dole, after having co-sponsored the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act (1995), when she pulled her support for the measure in order to undermine Mr. Dole's presidential run in 1996. She has been a consistently rough critic of Israel ever since, and she castigated President Trump for his decision to move the U.S. embassy, which will occur this month, after repeated promises by presidents of both major parties. Agree or disagree, Senator Feinstein's ambiguous support for the Jewish state is an issue worthy of media attention. Democrat Calif. state senator Kevin de Leon is an issue. He is Dianne Feinstein's major opponent. He publicly claimed that "half my family is in California illegally." That means they likely used stolen identities to get employment and driver's licenses. That seems an issue worthy of debate. At the California Democratic Party convention this spring, de Leon prevented incumbent senator Dianne Feinstein from securing the party's endorsement. The rise of a radical left in California is an issue for many Jewish voters. The fact that California is a one-party state, ranking at the bottom of the 50 states in tax burden, welfare, crime, state pension liabilities, 4th- and 8th-grade educational results, and business climate - now, that is an issue for sincere citizens across party lines. Golden State Republicans do not have a strong enough bench to offer a serious candidate likely to make the "top two" runoff in the November general election. That too is worthy of commentary and analysis. But big bold headlines a few weeks before the June primary election seem calculated to raise the profile of a no-name. Might it serve far-left Jewish media outlets to highlight and battle the "GOP's Nazi Problem"? Clickbait and smearing the GOP all in one. I stipulate that there are bad actors in both parties. But could there be any media bias (dare I say fake news?) in painting Republicans as Nazis? Look, the sky is falling! Don't look at the mess President Obama left in the Middle East, the lies told by former secretary of state John Kerry about Iran's nuclear program, or the recent revelations of Obama's huge gifts of money to the Palestinians on his way out of office. Instead, virtue-signal in battle against the "GOP's Nazi Problem" - without first calling the Republican Party for comment or information, by the way. California Republicans disavowed someone they had never met, without prompting, simply because his reported views disgust them. Then they banned Little from their convention, just held in San Diego. If we cannot agree that 99 percent of Republicans and Democrats condemn Nazis and white (and black) supremacists, then we are beyond reasonable discourse. Larry Greenfield is former Calif. director of the Republican Jewish Coalition and a columnist with www.JewishJournal.com . I received a text from a prominent pro-Israel leader alerting me to online headlines that screamed, over three consecutive days, in large bold type: "Top Republican in California Senate Race Called for Government Free from Jews" ( The Forward , 4.29.18) "Top Senate challenger in California is white supremacist with anti-Semitic agenda" (JTA, 4.30.18) "The GOP's 'Nazi Problem' Comes to California with Anti-Semitic Holocaust Denier Candidate" ( Haaretz , 5.1.18) This was all news to me, and I'm rather well informed about California politics and its intersection with the Jewish community. Who is Patrick Little, this "top" Republican running for office, and what is this GOP "Nazi Problem"? I called my friends at the California Republican Party and quickly spoke to the chairman of the party. He thanked me for calling and shared that immediately upon hearing about these headlines, he issued a same-day declarative denunciation of the candidate in the name of the CRP, issued by the senior communications official: Mr. Little has never been an active member of our party. I do not know Mr. Little and I am not familiar with his positions. But in the strongest terms possible, we condemn anti-Semitism and any other form of religious bigotry, just as we do with racism, sexism, or anything else that can be construed as a hateful point of view. Concise. Morally clear. Commendable. But who is Patrick Little? No one knows! I spent the day reaching out to party officials and representatives. To everyone's knowledge, Little has never run for public office, never donated to the GOP, never been active in any campaigns, never offered any thought leadership in conservative circles, never spoken at or attended a GOP convention or been associated with any Republican elected official. No one had ever met him or heard of him. What the heck is going on here? Do you think that maybe the ideological perspectives of Haaretz and The Forward might cause them to highlight so loudly a completely unknown person as somehow a top contender for the U.S. Senate from the largest state in the union? Any possible mischief in writing in bold, "The GOP's Nazi Problem"? Let's stipulate two things: 1. The reporting about Patrick Little indicates he's beneath "little." If accurate, he's pathetic, a hater, loser, conspiracy theorist, and nut-job. 2. Since no experienced or well funded Republican is challenging wealthy incumbent Democrat senator Dianne Feinstein in 2018, it's possible that, according to the only poll cited in the articles, 18 percent of primary voters "support" Little. Isn't it clear though that these polls reflect likely Republican voters expressing endorsement of a Republican without knowing anything about him? Little has apparently no campaign and no money. He has sent no mailers to voters and doesn't even have a campaign website. He has appeared in zero debates. He is unknown . I understand informing the Jewish community about anti-Semites, who exist in both parties. Longtime senior Democratic congressman and DNC leader Keith Ellison worked for Minister Louis Farrakhan, and Farrakhan has met with many elected Democrats in Congress. Very disturbing. Two current Republican congressional candidates, in Wisconsin and Illinois, are a Nazi Party leader and a white supremacist. Very ugly. But context and care must be applied as well. Little is not going to be a U.S. senator. Mr. Little is not going to win the primary. Little leads no movement, has no following, and is not a "top" Republican. The never-ending point-scoring game, in which biased media and political partisans, mostly based in Washington, D.C., constantly highlight the absurd, fringe anti-Semites in each party, is moving American Jewish politics from contentiousness to something more sinister. I think the polls that matter are those that show upwards of a 50-point differential between Republicans and Democrats on issues such as support for Israeli defensive actions against Palestinian terror or Islamist jihadi threats. I think Senator Dianne Feinstein's record is an issue. She double-crossed Senator Bob Dole, after having co-sponsored the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act (1995), when she pulled her support for the measure in order to undermine Mr. Dole's presidential run in 1996. She has been a consistently rough critic of Israel ever since, and she castigated President Trump for his decision to move the U.S. embassy, which will occur this month, after repeated promises by presidents of both major parties. Agree or disagree, Senator Feinstein's ambiguous support for the Jewish state is an issue worthy of media attention. Democrat Calif. state senator Kevin de Leon is an issue. He is Dianne Feinstein's major opponent. He publicly claimed that "half my family is in California illegally." That means they likely used stolen identities to get employment and driver's licenses. That seems an issue worthy of debate. At the California Democratic Party convention this spring, de Leon prevented incumbent senator Dianne Feinstein from securing the party's endorsement. The rise of a radical left in California is an issue for many Jewish voters. The fact that California is a one-party state, ranking at the bottom of the 50 states in tax burden, welfare, crime, state pension liabilities, 4th- and 8th-grade educational results, and business climate - now, that is an issue for sincere citizens across party lines. Golden State Republicans do not have a strong enough bench to offer a serious candidate likely to make the "top two" runoff in the November general election. That too is worthy of commentary and analysis. But big bold headlines a few weeks before the June primary election seem calculated to raise the profile of a no-name. Might it serve far-left Jewish media outlets to highlight and battle the "GOP's Nazi Problem"? Clickbait and smearing the GOP all in one. I stipulate that there are bad actors in both parties. But could there be any media bias (dare I say fake news?) in painting Republicans as Nazis? Look, the sky is falling! Don't look at the mess President Obama left in the Middle East, the lies told by former secretary of state John Kerry about Iran's nuclear program, or the recent revelations of Obama's huge gifts of money to the Palestinians on his way out of office. Instead, virtue-signal in battle against the "GOP's Nazi Problem" - without first calling the Republican Party for comment or information, by the way. California Republicans disavowed someone they had never met, without prompting, simply because his reported views disgust them. Then they banned Little from their convention, just held in San Diego. If we cannot agree that 99 percent of Republicans and Democrats condemn Nazis and white (and black) supremacists, then we are beyond reasonable discourse. But the statement of the California Republican Party wasn't the headline, or even in the articles. It should have been, rather than the "Chicken Little" partisan journalism we saw instead. Larry Greenfield is former Calif. director of the Republican Jewish Coalition and a columnist with www.JewishJournal.com .

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This morning, around 7:40 a.m., a man entered the transit hub at Times Square in Manhattan and set off what appeared to be a pipe-bomb that was strapped onto his body. Stop me if you've heard this one before. The only person injured was the would-be suicide bomber . A Brooklyn man has been arrested after allegedly detonating a homemade pipe bomb inside the Port Authority https://t.co/JdHgIez0Fe pic.twitter.com/QuNAxQRGv8 -- New York Post (@nypost) December 11, 2017 An ISIS-inspired Bangladeshi national set off an homemade explosive device at the Port Authority Bus Terminal subway station Monday morning, law enforcement sources said. The suspected bomber - a 27-year-old who lived in Brooklyn - had wires attached to him and was armed with a five-inch metal pipe bomb and battery pack as he walked through the Manhattan transit hub, sources said. The man partially detonated the device, which he was carrying in the right side of his jacket, prematurely inside the passageway to the A, C, and E trains at 8th Avenue and W. 42ndStreet at around 7:40 a.m., sources said. Police took the man into custody. Update: Bill Bratton is on @MSNBC 's #MorningJoe confirming that this was a terrorist attack in the name of ISIS near the Port Authority. https://t.co/v7r55XlYiy -- Holly Figueroa O'Reilly ? BWCS (@AynRandPaulRyan) December 11, 2017 Daniel Horowitz The reports are tentative and subject to change-we are relying upon the news media shortly after the event-but it looks like Donald Trump just got his first terror attack ( oops, my bad, I forgot the Uzbek and the bike path massacre ), presenting him and the people fighting his travel ban with a whole new set of problems.

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When I saw the signs "Luc was born today but his life started nine months ago", " and "ABORTION: aren't we forgetting about someone?" I was appalled. These signs are all over HRM, on pulbic buses, on bus shelters and side street banners and women have to see these every single day. Women deserve to be confident with the choices they make and not be put down because they made a decision they felt was right. Abortion is a human right in Canada. Whether you are pro-life, pro-choice, or pro-abortion, it is a right and is a medical procedure that is available for all women. Women have the right to do with their body as they please. Women should not feel subject to shame and humiliation for having an abortion or for thinking about having an abortion. Is not a simple decison to make. It takes five, twenty, three hundred times to come to a decision. We live in a society surrounded by religion, by capitalist white collar men, by people who believe that they know what is right for us, for women. Women are told they have the right to do what they want with their bodies and yet Religious groups and organiztations such as Signs For Life produce banners and advertisements telling women that abortion is not right. A Woman's life is simply theirs. Women decide what to do with their bodies, women decide how to live their life, their future comes first. Imagine being a woman on a bus and reading a sign telling them that abortion isn't right, as you're on the way to the clinic. Imagine being a woman who has just had an abortion and seing that sign telling them that life begins on that very first day of being concieved. These signs are hurtful, and emotionally traumatizing. Signs For Life are victimizing women who need an abortion for health reasons, women who have been raped, women who want an abortion simply because they are not ready to be a parent. Women do not need a reason to have an abortion, it is a right and does not need to be justified. I believe these signs should be taken down so women can feel secure with their decisions and know that they do have choice. These signs are creating such a stir in HRM and have had negative affects on the women population. The picture of the banner is posted directly outside the hopital where abortions are given every day. Women do not deserve this. Someone said "It's a very, very difficult decison for anybody to have to make..and then when they have to go have that medical precedure done, it would be very upsetting to see that on the way in". Not only are these banners posted outside of the local hospital, but 225 buses now cary these messages all over HRM. I want these banners taken down, as do the majority of the female population. Please sign my petition in hopes for these signs to disappear from our streets. No one deserves to be targeted for their life choices. Thank you.

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Couldn't happen in America, right? Wrong. In fact, it's increasingly common, for in today's "Amerika," our rights are being systematically whittled away. Making the sin mortal, many Americans accept this erosion of freedom, where hard evidence is replaced by "probablies." The recent travesty at a Philadelphia Starbucks shows that guilty until proven innocent is becoming the new norm, but it's just the latest situation where people are demonized first, and facts are investigated later -- if at all. Former New York Yankee Alex Rodriguez was suspended for an entire season for steroid use, despite the irrefutable fact that he never failed a single drug test. That suspension cost him $25 million. New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was handed a four-game suspension for his unproven role in "Deflategate." The NFL justified its punishment by stating that it was "more probable than not" that Brady was aware of underinflated footballs. Three white members of the Duke University men's lacrosse team were accused of rape in 2006 (by a black woman) -- an accusation later proven to be completely false. But before being exonerated, the players were demonized on campus and in the media, and suspended from school. The race to inject "race" led many to immediately pronounce guilt without the benefit of facts -- including the district attorney, who was subsequently disbarred and jailed for deliberately withholding evidence. Former U.S. Senator Larry Craig's arrest on a misdemeanor charge prompted Senate colleagues to demand his immediate resignation -- before the situation was fully known -- demonstrating that partisan advantage was more important that "innocent until proven guilty." In each of the preceding situations, this author fiercely defended the right to presumption of innocence, whether in a court of law or court of public opinion. Unfortunately, not enough voices are advocating that principle. Consequently, every time we allow those whom we dislike to "hang," despite no evidence, America reduces its claim to being "land of the free." Let's look at the Starbucks situation in detail. A word to wise, anyone believing this is an isolated incident limited to a city coffee shop is sadly mistaken. The bar has been lowered, and the actions of irresponsible leaders have set a dangerous precedent, where anyone, regardless of color or income can be wrongfully accused with little recourse. Preconceived assumptions about what occurred must be jettisoned, since justice is not about what you think , but what you can prove . The following facts are inarguable: Starbucks' managers follow policies set forth by the company. The Philadelphia Starbucks had a policy that restrooms were only for paying customers. Two men were denied access to the restroom because they hadn't bought anything. The manager requested they make a purchase or leave. They refused. Police were called and repeatedly asked the men to leave, but, according to the police commissioner, were disrespectfully rebuffed. Their arrest followed. You can legitimately argue that the manager was overzealous, and made a series of bad business decisions. But if fairness and responsibility have any merit left in our society, you absolutely cannot cry "racism," since there is zero evidence to support that. But that is exactly what happened. Starbucks' CEO Kevin Johnson and Jim Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia (ironically, a city known as the "cradle of liberty"), pulled race out of thin air and injected it anyway. In the truest form of bullying, they called the manager a racist in front of the entire planet, despite admitting that they were lacking in pertinent facts, and had no evidence for such a claim. Many have stated that this would not have happened to a white person. Wrong verb. It already has , many times. Numerous readers, identifying themselves as white, have detailed their experience of ducking into a city Starbucks to use the restroom, only to be told (often by a black manager) that those facilities were reserved for paying customers. So they either bought something, or went elsewhere. They may not have liked the policy, but acknowledged that using a Starbucks' restroom wasn't an entitlement, and their being denied access wasn't based on skin color. Likewise, it was reported that a Philadelphia police sergeant was denied the restroom at another Philadelphia Starbucks because he hadn't bought anything. Should we jump to the conclusion, as some are, that such a decision was based on anti-police bias? Of course not. Not having exceptions for on-duty police is bad business, and discretion may have been in short supply, but that manager was technically following Starbucks' policy to the letter. Therefore, it would be irresponsible to state that anti-police bias was the reason the officer was denied. The media claims there was "widespread outrage" across the country. But had common sense prevailed -- if the sensationalistic media hadn't whipped people into a frenzy, if leaders hadn't yelled "racism" without merit, and if decisions weren't made to placate a small social media community -- there wouldn't have been "widespread outrage." Police Commissioner Richard Ross is no Frank Reagan. The "blue bloods" character would have defended his officers for doing their job, as Ross initially did. But then the Commissioner completely caved to Mayor Kenney and his social engineering agenda, falling on his sword by taking "responsibility" for "failing miserably" in a pathetic mea culpa. He then ran the bus over the arresting officer by describing him as "mortified." Ross has neither guts (resulting in a morale hit among officers), nor any political acumen. There isn't a chance that Kenney would have fired Ross had the Commissioner stuck by his guns. None. So instead of demonstrating courage under fire, Ross withered when it mattered most -- not the most desirable trait for the city's trop law enforcement officer. CEO Johnson displayed his ineptness to the world. By undoubtedly listening to myopic lawyers telling him to be politically correct, profusely apologize, and take "responsibility," he opened the floodgates to individual and class-action lawsuits, and continued bad publicity. Now, hordes of people, white and black, will almost certainly come out of the woodwork to claim they were wronged by Starbucks' inherent "racial bias." And why not, given that Johnson has all but admitted that Starbucks has a racial discrimination problem. With the company potentially facing significant financial liability, trial lawyers may soon be feasting on a lot more than just lattes. Has anyone bothered to ask if the manager thought the non-paying people could have been undercover corporate auditors, verifying adherence to company policies? Were the men in question inappropriate toward her? Had non-paying vagrants used the bathrooms in the past to bathe themselves or shoot up? Was she trying to preserve seat space for paying customers? Were people who had not purchased anything but given bathroom access granted such permission by the same manager -- or a different one? There are myriad questions deserving answers. Sadly, that won't happen because of an overwhelming rush to judgement. The destruction of livelihoods, families, reputations, and hopes, solely on the basis of assumptions, facts be damned, is the territory of banana republics. We are better than that, and must rise above personal feelings and hearsay, resisting the urge to condemn before facts are known. Otherwise, America's "rights" will soon have nothing unique about them. And that will be the most bitter brew of all. Chris Freind is an independent columnist, television commentator, and investigative reporter who operates his own news bureau, Freindly Fire Zone Media. Read more reports from Chris Freind -- Click Here Now.

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Weapons have become a major concern iStock/anna bryukhanova Before, when we stopped a car, we just walked up, said "You're speeding," and asked for license and registration. Now the first thing we ask is if they have a weapon in the vehicle. -- An Iowa state trooper We act out of self-defense iStock/fotorezekne People seem to think that we should take the time to discern whether a gun is real, whether a person is willing to use it, and if they will shoot. We can't wait for a person to shoot first. That could mean not going home at the end of your shift. -- An Iowa state trooper

Weapons have become a major concern iStock/anna bryukhanova Before, when we stopped a car, we just walked up, said "You're speeding," and asked for license and registration. Now the first thing we ask is if they have a weapon in the vehicle.

Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:15 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) Look what I just found in a comment on Senator Gillibrand's FB page: Someone posted this quote from Amy Siskind in a comment on Gillibrand's FB page: "Wouldnt it be powerful if tomorrow the 33 US Senators who called on Al Franken to resign called a press conference and called for Senate hearings on allegations of sexual assault by Donald Trump." https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=887161011463959&set=p.887161011463959&type=3&theater Posted as a graphic on her FB page, but I can't get the graphic to post. She is really taking the heat for leading the charge on Franken. One poster saying that now it's coming out that Roger Stone was behind the attack, and telling her to "get busy and get Franken back in the senate." She has a video on ending forced arbitration at the top of her page , and the comments under that are nearly all against her action with Franken. https://www.facebook.com/SenKirstenGillibrand/?hc_ref=ARRFp5yQzwI5n4v1Q4yI5hQqaU-4QdO4gq8EKTVT9bhQn34sXaOHYMDQpFyIkyMqjXo&fref=nf Edited to add: I hope a lot of people email/tweet/post this article to the 33 senators, or at least their own, if they are among the 33. I plan to email it to mine. It sums up the whole thing beautifully and explains why this action was so damaging, both in general and to Dems specifically: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/by-deserting-franken-democrats-show-they-dont-understand_us_5a2aa209e4b022ec613b8146 Courtesy of spooky3 in this thread: https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029953599 And tell them to walk it back! And that Tweeden and Don Jr. are long time twitter buddies. Some think if we play nice with Trump ... left-of-center2012 Dec 2017 #22 Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:17 PM rainin (1,560 posts) 1. Good! I hope all 33 are wondering if they did the right thing. n/t Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:18 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 3. If they aren't now, they will be tomorrow when they start answering phones and checking their Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:01 AM mythology (9,073 posts) 44. Doubtful. They already did the right thing How anybody can just dismiss 8 different women, from both sides of the aisle, some of whom told others at the time, is beyond me. The cult of personality on this is amazing. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:43 AM Egnever (21,506 posts) Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:01 AM helmedon1974 (92 posts) 69. No they didn't, they did the political thing. Not a single accusation is credible, mainly because only two are not anonymous. As stated, Tweeden is an obvious hit job planned by the GOP. She's good friends with Don Jr., Hannity and connected to Roger Stone. Stone gave advanced warning to outlets about a story about to break on Frankenstein before actually did. Kinda like how Giuliani was talking about things to come before investigations were "renewed" on the Clinton investigation. The next accuser is claiming Frankenstein grabbed a handful of flesh and squeezed during the grab and go photo photo-ops. Placing an arm around her back for a.photo, quickly, on might grab a chunk of flesh, especially if she is extra flesh to grab. Even then there's nothing wrong there. Just uptight women feeling squirrelly because a man touched you st all. Another case, a woman is being congratulated at work, boss come in with high fives, except with younthehigh 5 misses and a boob is grazed.......... now this man will be charged with sexual harrasmemt or even assault.....just because he grazed a boob or bumped a button even or twice Another Sun Dec 10, 2017, 05:21 AM Eyeball_Kid (2,716 posts) 81. Isn't it amazing that only a small handful of people can have so much sway over the body politic? If Stone was involved, anyone should automatically assume that something dishonest is going on. Stone's great talent over the DECADES is to create chaos and scandal that ultimately favors Republicans. He's an old pro, and my guess is that he's been handsomely rewarded and he continues to be rewarded. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 09:39 AM treestar (71,042 posts) 90. Yeah, I don't think that the average voter let alone the Republicans is going to look at the Franken allegations in any other way than whoah ! I better not joke around or be physically near any woman. The allegations are so stupid and they barely constitute harassment. They've cheapened it and made it a joke. Now no one will focus on real cases. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:27 AM SergeStorms (3,989 posts) 73. So you don't believe in the basic tenets of law...... whereby the accused has the right to face his/her accusers, and be presented with all evidence of the "crimes" he/she supposedly committed? Heresay is totally admissible in your opinion, and no solid evidence need be presented? Maybe Al is a snake in the grass, but he has the basic right to face his accusers. Period. No one should ever be convicted by the court of public opinion. Garrett78 (5,161 posts) 76. Like Tina Dupuy? Who, 6 months after the alleged incident took place, tweeted, I met Franken in DC in Jan. I thanked him for legitimizing comedians everywhere. Way to go, Senator! Funny, too, how that tweet was just deleted in the last couple of days. It's one thing to not want to come forward. It's a whole other thing to go out of your way to praise the person. There's a lot about the Franken mess that stinks. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 10:59 AM 94. I wonder how the member mythology above squares Tina's story. I heard her interview after he resigned. Her story is RIDICULOUS! Over the years, I've met quite a few hugging families. I don't come from a very affectionate family so hugging seems too intimate for me. It is like we're in an alternate universe when we think a squeeze around the waist, in a public place, is even sexual, much less a sexual assault or harassment. How was she assaulted? How was she harassed? I have body image insecurities. If I'm called on to stand up in front of a room and speak, I'm uncomfortable. Imagine a world where my discomfort can lead to your dismissal from your job. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 09:52 AM Demsrule86 (25,803 posts) 92. six were anonymous...I discount such bullshit...and Tweeden is a Hannity buddy and Stone knew in advance too. Sorry, this was a colossal mistake. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 09:45 AM Maraya1969 (14,001 posts) 91. I just realized something. Franken was bullied out of the Senate. A bunch of people got together and forced him to do something he didn't want to do. Isn't that bullying? Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:17 PM 2. Thanks for posting this. I fucking hate Facebook, so I am not a member. I want to know what the backlash against this woman is. Esp. as I am a female Franken voter in Minnesota. Moar pleeezzzz? Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:19 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 5. Just go to the link and start reading. I only checked it out because I wanted to see what people were saying. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:13 PM Denzil_DC (4,126 posts) 35. Folks who aren't joined up to Facebook (like me) can't see any messages at the link. We just see a title page and can't get any further. It's helpful to have some of it copied and pasted, though. Twitter's been alight too whenever I've looked at Gillibrand's account. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:37 PM Denzil_DC (4,126 posts) 40. OK, scratch my other reply to you. I did manage to get into your second link and read quite a few eyesful of replies. Woah. Facebook's often a bit hit or miss in what non-members can see. Thanks for the OP anyway. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:37 PM PatrickforO (6,954 posts) 11. I've called or written most of these Senators and made my extreme displeasure known. From what I'm hearing on the ground, Gillibrand and Harris are both now facing major blowback. Even some #me too women have gone on record saying this isn't helping their movement. Not only that but dozens of women have written in support of Franken, including a group from SNL and a group of women staffers in his Senate office. These allegations are so spurious (Franken accidentally touched the bare flesh of a woman's hip while in a group photo with her, she mentioned that because she'd gained weight, was self-conscious about that, and her shirt had ridden up a bit) that this whole thing has offended many in the base. First of all, zero tolerance policies have a history of throwing common sense and any kind of discretion to the wind. Getting rid of Franken for the sake of these allegations is like an idiotic elementary school principle who expels a first-grade girl for bringing a plastic knife to spread peanut butter on a piece of bread. It's just stupid. Next, when I see the knee-jerk reaction here, it makes me think of the old red scares and McCarthyism. Black lists. Congressional witch hunts. Only instead of communists, now the 'perps' are pretty much all men over 55. Problem is, there are a lot of pretty good people over 55, and if we don't let them legitimately redeem themselves from dumb acts that happened way back when, justice will not be served. The criteria that should be applied is 1) how long ago did it happen?, 2) how serious was it? and 3) is the behavior stopped, or has it happened in the last five years? Franken probably did a couple of creepy things way back when, but based on evidence presented and an objective observation of his behavior in the Senate, to label him a sexual predator, and force him to resign is absurd. To my mind this was a despicable act that had much more to do with Gillibrand's political ambition (she kneecapped Franken to get him out of the way for her 2020 presidential bid because she perceived him as a potential opponent), and nothing to do with any values or vision she might or might not have. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:58 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 16. McCarthyism is a great analogy. At the risk of incurring wrath, I could see when things started to snowball with MeToo that the potential was there for it to be a double-edged sword. I frankly think the false equivalence is harming rather than helping the cause of women being taken seriously. Did you see this thread? https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029953599 and read the linked article: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/by-deserting-franken-democrats-show-they-dont-understand_us_5a2aa209e4b022ec613b8146 Sums it up beautifully. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:39 AM Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:53 PM 28. It's more than offensive Bill Maher characterized the Dems perfectly as a party with weak knees who cave in to imagined harm and eat their own people more readily than attacking Republicans. The piling on of Senators against Franken was nothing short of disgusting. I held back a couple of days waiting to see if they knew something that the media had not yet reported. But it became apparent that didn't known anymore about Franken's situation than the media reported! And the media reported nothing -- repeat, nothing -- that reaches the level of resignation or censure or even a wrist slapping. So I'm through with the Democratic Party. Let me explain that: I will vote for anyone, or anything, that can unseat a Republican -- or prevent another Republican from gaining office. I despise the GOP and it's army of hypocrites and greedy psychopaths. So I will be voting for Democratic candidates. In other words, when Elizabeth Warren wins the 2020 Democratic nomination, I'll vote for her -- but I won't give her campaign a dime. And if/when the DNC calls my house asking for money, I will attempt a calm explanation of why I do not want to be bothered by them again. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:07 PM InAbLuEsTaTe (12,438 posts) 34. I understand your point of view... it just saddens me to hear it, as it was all SO unnecessary. I keep hoping something really good will come out of this... just don't see it right now. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 07:03 AM HelenWheels (2,186 posts) 83. The DCCC called me two days ago After I unloaded my anger about the Dems treatment of Franken I stopped and asked the caller what he thought about the issue. He said this was the first time he had made calls for donations and he also felt the Dems had betrayed Al. I apologised for going off on him and we had a nice discussion. I did not give a donation. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 05:34 PM brooklynite (44,627 posts) 101. DCCC has nothing to do with Franken or the Senate candidates. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:20 AM mchill (542 posts) 49. Totally agree with your post plus I like your first sentence. I've been actively posting on Kamala Harris and Gillibrand's page. For the thousands of comments in support of Al Franken, I've seen maybe two in support of the Senator's positions. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:38 AM tavalon (27,892 posts) 54. I'm one of the #metoo contributors And I'm furious seeing the movement devolve into a patriarchal and political weapon. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:02 AM PatrickforO (6,954 posts) 70. Yes, I'm sorry this happened too. The #metoo movement is much needed. But, like black lives matter, movements like this get exploited. But your message is pure. The reality of decades of microagression against women will prove much more powerful than this one egregious instance of exploitation. I have three daughters and two grand daughters, and I hate the idea they should have to face what so many women have. Maybe I'm a part of it, because I do enjoy unearned white and unearned male privilege. I hope not, because I'd rather be part of the solution. The problem is, this railroading of Franken just is not part of any solution I can think of. Now, if the investigation shows he has done something horrible, then fine, force him to resign. I just don't think that will happen - he's too good a human being. Anyway, best to you. I'm happy women are standing up. Don't stop - for the sake, especially of my grand daughters, don't stop. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:47 AM Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:09 AM mchill (542 posts) 46. 99.9% percent of the comments on this topic to Gillibrand are Why the F did you do this to Al Franken? Sherrod Brown's wife says people who post are usually mad about a decision. The supporters don't post much. Ok, but 99.9% is pretty skewed toward not liking this move. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 05:30 PM 100. here are some Ike Cantos We need to have not only smart people in the Senate but also wise people. You are neither! 5 * 8 hrs Remove Pennee Atkinson Pennee Atkinson You BULLIED Al Franken out of the senate! 11 * 7 hrs Remove Bob Reaves Bob Reaves I agree with you on most issues and have supported your efforts since you were elected. However, I strongly feel the approach taken by you and the others towards Franken was wrong on so many levels. Due process, which he himself requested and welcome...See More 7 * 7 hrs Remove Steven Kreiss Steven Kreiss What about Trump and mo ore? 3 * 7 hrs Remove Pamela Hollar Pamela Hollar You have Presidential ambitions so you decided to knock one of your potential opponents out of the race early, namely Senator Al Franken? How's THAT working out for you so far. Not getting my vote! Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:18 PM OliverQ (1,408 posts) 4. I doubt she even sees these comments on Facebook, so she probably doesn't care Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:27 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 8. I'm sure she has staff who monitor FB. It gives her the pulse of her constituents. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:19 PM PatrickforO (6,954 posts) 6. Major blowback. I have called and written many of these 'courageous' Senators. I think she just ruined her presidential bid. It is too bad she got carried away by personal ambition and chose this despicable way to rid herself of a potential opponent. Not only that, but this brazen attempt at political pandering isn't going to help women much at all, as several women in Al Franken's Senate office have said. Franken is NOT part of the 'me too' problem. He is a good guy who did some ill-advised things 20 years ago. And, if I have anything whatever to do with it, he will not be crucified on a cross of Gillibrand's political ambition. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:27 PM rzemanfl (19,815 posts) 9. He will not be crucified on a cross of Gillibrand's political ambition. Outstanding. Deserves its own thread and a graphic. Well said! Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:34 PM elehhhhna (32,076 posts) 26. He kind of already has been. Now we're waiting for the resurrection... Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:54 PM jrthin (3,342 posts) 29. "I think that brazen attempt at political pandering" states really well why many of us are not happy with her. Many of us despise that kind of cravenness she showed. It's ugly. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 03:54 AM Motownman78 (491 posts) 75. He was kicked out so that Dems did not look hypocritical for attacking Roy Moore. I do not think Gillibrand;s political aspirations were the main reason for this. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 04:01 AM Dream Girl (1,152 posts) Sun Dec 10, 2017, 09:54 AM Demsrule86 (25,803 posts) Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:05 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 98. I don't know her motivation, but it was terrible political strategy with many seriously negative repercussions. Same goes for all 33, including my two senators, with whom I very rarely disagree. There was no need to act with such speed and lack of consideration of the consequences. greeny2323 (590 posts) 7. She needs to hear it from us What she did was horrible. She should be calling on Trump to resign every day. Why the hell isn't she? And she should let us know if she wants due process removed from the Constitution. I think she does. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:59 PM InAbLuEsTaTe (12,438 posts) 31. Even if she does so now, it would look so reactionary as to lose its meaning. 50. She should be asking Al Franken to forgive her Then she can go after Trump. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:30 PM R B Garr (10,261 posts) 10. She needs to remedy this stat! What a foolish move to play right into the GOP games of false equivalencies. Who does she think she is trying to stuff a Senator elected by the citizens of his state? This is one of the stupidest things I have ever seen in politics. Absolutely outrageous. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:46 PM riverwalker (8,160 posts) 12. Joan Walsh on Twitter Is scolding everyone for being upset with Gillibrand. Pissed me off. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:50 PM riverwalker (8,160 posts) 13. She doesnt believe we are real Democrats ReTweeting that anger at Gillibrand coordinated by GOP and makes me furious how out of touch she is. They dont realize how we feel about What they did. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:59 PM LisaL (31,161 posts) 17. I don't believe for a second it is coordinated by GOP. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:06 AM flamingdem (37,297 posts) 72. Wtf? That pisses me off, Joan Walsh is that out of touch? Someone please inform her about the percentage against the Franken railroading. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 08:55 AM tomp (9,512 posts) Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:27 AM mchill (542 posts) Sun Dec 10, 2017, 01:41 AM 66. I gave it right back I am angry. Gillibrand was wrong. And it fucking pissed me off more when Walsh said President Gillibrand. No just no. For me, it's not simply here's a woman, support her. Gillibrand went after Franken because of her 2020 aspirations. And who knows if he was going to run. But I'd vote Franken before Gillibrand in a heartbeat. You attack your own without the process playing out, you deserve the backlash. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:16 PM marieo1 (234 posts) 95. Righton I have read Gillibrand has aspirations to be president. The last time I watched Al Franken take on the GOP I thought to myself, He would make a good president. Well, I think Gillibrand had ulterior motives for dissing Al Franken!! Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:42 PM Bibluca (63 posts) 97. Joan Walsh is part of the problem She's an old school leftie who just wants to play nice, and protect the people in charge. It's people like her who have helped get us into this mess by encouraging compliance with the party line. No more of that. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 04:48 PM questionseverything (4,827 posts) 99. joan walsh is working early to make sure we lose in 2020 Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:50 PM Sat Dec 9, 2017, 09:53 PM Pobeka (2,100 posts) 15. Those 33 senators need to call on Trump to *resign*, not call for hearings on Trump's sexual assualt The only way to redeem themselves at all is use the same standards for Trump. Choosing to be judge and jury for Franken and not for Trump has made them look weak and susceptible to the manipulations of the GOP, not the holders of high moral ground. It will obviously get them nowhere to demand Trump's resignation, but they should be on the record for it, same as they got on that record for Franken's resignation. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:50 PM Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:41 AM Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:12 AM Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:00 PM Snarkoleptic (5,208 posts) 18. Here's the image - save and share on social media. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:08 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 21. Thank you! How did you get it to post? I copied image location and usually can post when I do that, but couldn't with this. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:56 AM Snarkoleptic (5,208 posts) 62. It's not really straightforward and will require an account at imgur.com. Last edited Sun Dec 10, 2017, 07:54 AM - Edit history (1) Right click on the image you want to grab. Save it to your desktop. Go to your imgur.com account and import the pic you've saved. After the import, right click on the image and select 'copy image location'. In your DU post, click control 'v' , which will paste the imgur url into your post. Advanced skills-- If the image is too large or needs to be cropped, upload it to this site and play with the settings to get it right. http://resizeimage.net/ Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:03 PM Snarkoleptic (5,208 posts) 19. And here's a smaller one for the twitter trolls among us... Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:06 PM Kajun Gal (788 posts) 20. LeannTweedan Al was ready to go to ethics committee. Tweedan wasn't. Wonder why. Both would be put under oath and more than likely Tweedan would be proven a liar. They found twitter feeds between her and Donnie Jr. regarding this setup. It was set up by Donnie Jr. and Tweedan. Al should not resign. Bring HER before the ethics committee, put her under oath and expose her for who she truly is! Anyone seen her Facebook page? I am a woman. I have been through this all my life. And I can smell a fake setup. If this crap regarding Franken were real I'd back Gillibrand. But I fear women are going to take this too far. If it's REAL harassment then yeah, but if it's small petty nothings, women like Gillibrand are doing women a disservice! Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:16 PM left-of-center2012 (12,074 posts) 22. Some think if we play nice with Trump ... ... he'll play nice with them. Not going to happen. InAbLuEsTaTe (12,438 posts) Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:17 PM 37. My thoughts and comments are not confined to D.U. I live in a much broader world, in reality and online. It's a big world out there. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:20 PM L. Coyote (47,112 posts) 23. "Senate hearings on allegations of sexual assault by Donald Trump." He should resign! Did the Senate have hearings on Franken? Call for Trump's resignation. Link to tweet Link to tweet Link to tweet Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:21 PM LisaL (31,161 posts) 24. No, most of democrats decided Franken didn't deserve a hearing. TheCowsCameHome (35,981 posts) 33. Yep. To hell with a trial, we already brought a rope. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:32 PM Pobeka (2,100 posts) 39. Couldn't agree more. See my post upthread for my reasoning. n/t Sun Dec 10, 2017, 08:12 AM KelleyKramer (4,018 posts) 86. That is spot on! That needs to be an OP Couldn't agree more, please put that up as an OP! Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:24 PM Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:35 PM those comments on gillibrand's fb are absolutely scathing! good. she deserves every one of them imo Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:14 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 36. Made me feel better that she is hearing from constituents and they are not holding back! Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:26 PM dflprincess (23,321 posts) 38. As a Minnesotan I find it so gratifying to see so many others from other states just as upset with this as we are. Thank you!!! Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:01 AM orleans (25,774 posts) 45. i know you guys put him there in the senate but we all needed him. it certainly wasn't just mn who appreciated him and i'm still so mad about what those other senators (including both of mine!) did to him, and to the party, and to all of us. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:45 AM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 59. Anyone who was paying attention knew what an effective senator and progressive champion he is, and what a loss this would be. Watching him question people in judiciary committee hearings...he is critical in the Russia probe, among so many other things. And he is just a good human being, beyond the politics, which actually is probably why he is such a good senator. You Minnesotans are far from alone in this! I am hoping that if we all keep on our senators to walk this back, and keep encouraging Franken to hang in there, just maybe we can turn this around. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 01:45 AM Lotusflower70 (2,289 posts) 67. Same here Fellow Minnesotan. Pissed that my Senator got screwed over. Amazed at all the support he is getting across the country. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 07:15 PM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 102. He is getting the support because he deserves it and he is an exceptional senator and teh entire country badly needs him, not just MN. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 11:27 PM Lotusflower70 (2,289 posts) This whole thing was poorly handled. He has done great work. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 10:55 PM PatSeg (23,983 posts) 30. Wow Looks like this has really backfired on her and she probably thought it was a good move if she decides to run for president. Sat Dec 9, 2017, 11:56 PM NBachers (9,927 posts) 43. Well, I went there and left some scathing comments. Then I went back, and found them all gone. I printed out this comment: Hey Kristin, what happened to all the comments about Al Franken? You want to pretend the fury and anger you've awakened for stabbing our most courageous Senator in the back doesn't exist? You're just making the tsunami of Democratic voices against you even more outraged. Put them back up; read every one of them. Know this is why your political career is going into a tailspin that it will never recover from. When I tried to post it, I got this: Kristin, or her staff, are trying to hide the truth. I've apparently had my posting privileges revoked. Keep the pressure up on her, and the rest of the Neville Chamberlain Democrats. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:37 AM Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:54 AM Amaryllis (7,540 posts) 61. THere is always email, although no one else sees that. Still, it lets her know how people feel. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 01:02 AM VOX (19,910 posts) 64. Hiding the truth. Against Democrats/progressives... Sun Dec 10, 2017, 03:42 AM tecelote (4,017 posts) 74. "Kristin, or her staff, are trying to hide the truth." You should post this as it's own OP so everyone knows what they are doing. Silencing our voice seems more like a Republican tactic. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 04:37 AM Sun Dec 10, 2017, 05:18 AM BlancheSplanchnik (17,745 posts) 80. Huh? I was just reading excellent scathing comments to her on FB Didnt see anything that looked like comments were deleted. I must be missing something? Anyway, Im disgusted with her and Schumermy two Senators whom I gladly voted forand the rest for believing Tweeden unquestioningly, without considering her suspicious ties and her own behavior. Im disgusted that they took extreme actions based on anonymous accusations. Im disgusted they apparently had no idea of Tweedens corrupt repuke buddies. Im disgusted that they gave the repukes the gift they dreamed oflynching Al Franken. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 08:39 AM Sun Dec 10, 2017, 07:26 AM DFW (29,600 posts) 85. Here's what I left on her site: The time is long past when it has become obvious that the drive to oust Al Franken from the Senate was premature, and very conceivably manipulated to silence one of our most eloquent voices. Franken has not yet submitted his resignation. There is time to save the honor and integrity of those Democrats who rushed to gang up on Al Franken. If you wish to establish yourself as a potential leader, do the hard thing for once: Admit that Franken was NOT given a chance to defend himself against a coordinated scheme of which you yourself could very well be the next target, and ask him to stay at the very least until the results of the ethics committee inquiry are in. In this case being the hero means admitting a mistake. This is quite apart from the fact that Al Franken is quite probably the Democrat in the Senate that enjoys THE most respect among party voters nationally. Consider also, please, what that will translate out to in contributions to our candidates in next year's vital mid-term cycle.. So far, I see us at a few million in the hole if Al Franken leaves. I'll check to see if it's still there in a few hours. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:17 AM sharedvalues (4,781 posts) 48. YES. Why don't Dems do this?! Coordinated media outreach is KEY to GOP media manipulation If Dems want to get their message out, they need to work together. Call joint press conferences, and repeat the same talking points. Go on TV and repeat the same talking points. Just get out there and use the same talking points! It's simple. It's the way the GOP got us to talk about 'death panels'. Or 'birth certificates'. Or 'socialist Obama'. We need to start doing this. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:36 AM SHRED (23,412 posts) Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:04 AM flamingdem (37,297 posts) 71. Will she read this or will her assistants delete it all They're not keeping up with it tonight but it was deleted earlier Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:42 AM 57. I grow less impressed w/Gillibrand Seems to me she's running for president and is a party of one. Like Bernie. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:59 AM spooky3 (21,223 posts) 63. Thank you for this info and for the shout out! I'm glad to see the activism. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 01:39 AM ProudLib72 (10,656 posts) 65. Is there an anti-Gillibrand FB page or Twitter yet? Last edited Sun Dec 10, 2017, 02:28 AM - Edit history (1) Sun Dec 10, 2017, 01:51 AM Lotusflower70 (2,289 posts) 68. It's the truth She made a power play and it backfired. Throwing a beloved Senator under the bus was a pretty crappy strategy. And people are making their feelings heard. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 04:11 AM George Eliot (592 posts) 78. Good. I emailed cantwell, murray, Brown and twittered Franken at personaland senate. I emailed Wyden and harris.What feels like ethical to these weak politicians feels like power to republicans and it is. I left message after message on any blog I could find. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 07:01 AM Sun Dec 10, 2017, 07:16 AM mnhtnbb (23,783 posts) 84. That Huff post article is spot on. Shared it to my FB page. Unfortunately my two Republican Senators probably are celebrating. Last edited Tue Dec 12, 2017, 09:34 AM - Edit history (1) .hurt what this movement is trying to accomplish by trivializing the meaning of harassment. The ethics investigation would have helped the Dems and helped women. Beyond furious at them and their action will have no effect whatsoever on Repugs who are laughing their heads off. Sun Dec 10, 2017, 12:30 PM Mon Dec 11, 2017, 11:26 PM 105. Thank you Sun Dec 10, 2017, 08:31 PM SCVDem (3,456 posts) 103. Every Email I get asking for money, I unsubscribe and in thee reason box I add, Wrong choice on Sen. Franken! Do not bother me as you don't represent my values!

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I don't usually like to indulge in prophetic utterances, and I'm not sure I would describe this as such an attempt - more an informed hunch - but I believe that the 17,410,742 people who just expressed their opinion in a democratic vote to leave the European Union are about to find themselves involved in what can only be described as the mother of all stitch ups. Brexit just isn't going to happen!!! What makes me so sure? Well there are many small pieces in the puzzle that lead me to this conclusion. Firstly, as David Keighley pointed out here , since the need for impartiality no longer exists (at least in their eyes), the BBC has reverted back to type, painting a picture of those who voted Leave as being either racist, stupid or too old to know what they were doing. Or a combination of all three. Then we have the media demonisation campaign. Brendan O'Neill at Spiked Online has done a magnificent job of ripping apart the tidal wave of propaganda that has been spewed at the nation since the vote. Here's how he put it : "Even worse, politicos talk up the dangers of social conflict. They claim there's been a huge rise in racism in the five days since the referendum. They are in essence scooping together relatively normal and unfortunate instances of low-level prejudice, and cynically systematising them, packaging them up as a post-referendum pogrom. It is a see-through effort to construct a moral panic." Then there is the shocking display of contempt that many Members of Parliament so clearly have for the results of a vote which they, with I believe one exception, sanctioned. We had the likes of David Lammy, apparently not understanding the point of last week's referendum, calling for another one. Then there was the jeering aimed at Douglas Carswell, Ukip's only Member of Parliament, as he spoke during Prime Minister's Questions. They don't have to agree with him, but they ought at least to recognise that the principle cause he supports - leaving the European Union - received the backing of 17,410,742 people, many of whom are presumably their own constituents. Then we have the sad case of the thousands upon thousands of young people for whom the world has just apparently caved in (dealt with admirably here by Jane Kelly). The sight of some of the most privileged young people ever to walk this earth foaming with rage at the "old people" who have apparently "stolen their future" is frankly nauseous, and also gives a glimpse of a rather nasty tyranny in the making. Yet it is their views that are getting the airing, their views that are apparently worth much more than those who voted the other way, and so the country of Great Britain, once ruled by a Parliamentary system, now finds itself renamed Grief Britain, ruled by the system of emotional spasm and the tyranny of those who shriek the loudest. All this is undoubtedly leading us towards a great softening up. I don't pretend to know what that will look like, but it almost certainly won't reflect the answer given by over 17 million people to the question that was put to them on 23 rd June. But all these pieces pale into insignificance when placed next to the big piece of the puzzle. Very little of the discussion so far in the aftermath of the vote has mentioned the United States. Yet the stakes are simply too high for the US Government - caught in the grip of an ideological fixation to exert hegemony over the world - to let us leave without a concerted attempt to prevent it. And so right on cue, on Monday Mr Kerry came to town. Mr John Kerry, Secretary of State for Managing Regime Change in Countries That Don't Comply With Washington's Hegemonic Ambitions, that is. What was the top foreign diplomat of a country that doesn't belong to the EU doing in Downing Street? Why, managing regime change, of course, although this time one with a big difference, as I'll come to in a moment. But first let me walk readers back a couple of years to give you the sense of what his visit was all about. If you have swallowed the Western narrative on the Ukrainian crisis, it really is time for you to disavow yourself of it once and for all. That narrative basically says that the Ukrainian people, desperate to throw off the yoke of Russia's stranglehold and turn West (via the EU and NATO), rose up and exercised their democratic will by deposing the corrupt government. And the West supported their democratic choice. Just about the only thing about this narrative is the bit about the corrupt government. Other than that, it is almost entirely false. It conveniently misses the fact the corrupt President was democratically elected. It conveniently misses the fact that millions of people in that country are ethnically, culturally and linguistically Russian, and did not want their government to be overthrown, or for the country to reorient towards the West at the expense of the East. It conveniently ignores the fact that Victoria Nuland, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs was taped speaking to the US Ambassador, Geoffrey Pyatt, two weeks before the overthrow of the Government, plotting who would make up the post-coup Government. It conveniently ignores the fact that once peaceful protests were taken over by real, hard-core neo-Nazis. It conveniently ignores the fact that sniper fire in the last day or so before the toppling of the Government came from Hotel Ukraina , which was at that time in the hands of Maidan activists, under the control of Andriy Parubiy, founder of the far-right Social National Party of Ukraine, and currently Speaker in the Verkhovna Rada. It conveniently ignores the fact that Mr Yanukovych agreed on 21 st February 2014 to early elections and to bring in members of the opposition into his Government, and that this was guaranteed by the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Poland. It conveniently ignores the fact that when this peaceful deal was put to the Maidan crowds, the neo-Nazi Right Sector rejected it immediately and gave Mr Yanukovyh until 10 am on February 22 nd to flee or be killed. In short the whole Western narrative is complete hogwash. This was a violent coup, carried out by the far right, sponsored by the United States, and egged on by the expansionist EU (I recommend Richard Sakwa's excellent work, Frontline Ukraine for anyone who wants to read more on this). But what has this to do with Mr Kerry's visit to Downing Street earlier this week? Much every way. Whenever a coup or a colour revolution is in the making, you will almost always find high level US "diplomats" mingling with the rebels. Ambassador Robert Ford was at the forefront of supporting rebels in their attempts to overthrow the Government of Syria in 2011, paving the way for the dreadful civil war and consequent migrant crisis that has since taken place. In Ukraine, in the months before the fall of Viktor Yanukovych, a series of high level foreign dignitaries went and - in a blatant violation of a sovereign state - addressed the crowds, assuring them of their support, and egging them on. John McCain was there, fraternising with the far right leader Oleh Tyahnybok. So too was Mrs Nuland, who famously went around patronisingly passing out little cookies to the crowds. And so to Mr Kerry. The sight of America's top diplomat rushing to London at the height of these uncertainties ought to fill those of us who voted Leave (and those who didn't if they understand the significance) with a sense of foreboding. And if it doesn't, then listen to what he said while he was here : "Asked if the Brexit decision could be 'walked back' and if so how, Kerry said: 'I think there are a number of ways. I don't, as Secretary of State, want to throw them out today. I think that would be a mistake. But there are a number of ways." Indeed. No doubt there a number of ways, and no doubt the Government that Mr Kerry represents, being well versed in the techniques of colour revolution and manipulation, can advise on that. But here's the curious thing. During and after the Ukrainian crisis, Mr Kerry, his boss, his colleagues and the entire corporate media spoke in gushing terms about the democratic values and democratic rights of the Ukrainian people. All that despite the fact that it was the democratic Government that was toppled in a putsch by a violent, far-right mob. Curiously, Brexit doesn't seem to have brought forth the same gushing praise from these people for the wonders of people exercising their democratic rights. Instead, the talk is about "walking back" the result. Should this happen, and the democratic result be overturned by technique, obfuscation, delaying tactics, propaganda and sheer manipulation, then this time we will have ourselves another coup. Only this time it will be a coup on behalf of the regime against the people. I hate to say it, but be prepared for the mother of all stitch-ups. Better trust in God and keep your powder dry. If we are now at the "back of the queue" for trade deals, and we "walk back", won't we be even further down the queue?

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We closed out yesterday's Children's Garden of Stupid Shit Wingnuts Said about the Florida high school shootings with some terrific tweets from students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, telling Donald Trump and Tomi Lahren to get bent. Let's review! It turns out that the survivors of this particular massacre are an angry, mouthy bunch of kids who aren't especially impressed by thoughts and prayers, or by politicians telling them it's too soon to talk about doing something to prevent school shootings. No, they're saying, it's too late for our friends and teachers and that one kid who was always mouthing off in math class, and that's why you have to do something. Let's have a moment of appreciation for some of these kids who aren't willing to let sit still for this anymore -- and keep in mind that if we don't act to reduce gun violence, there are going to be more and more grieving, angry kids out there. You might even think we grown-ups owe them a thing or two, like the chance to see fewer massacres. For starters, there's Cameron Kasky, the 17-year-old up top being interviewed by Anderson Cooper. He wasn't buying that "now is not the time" stuff: Everything I've heard where we can't do anything and this is just out of our hands, it's inevitable, I think that's a facade that the GOP is putting up [...] After every shooting the NRA sends 'em a memo saying "send your thoughts and prayers, say let's not talk about it now, say 'This happens.'" This is the only country where this kind of thing happens. I've been hearing things from people, they don't have gun drills like we do. We had to prepare extensively at Stoneman Douglas, and that shocked people. This is something that can be stopped and something that will be stopped. Kasky didn't have a lot of time for people who think talking about "mental health" is a way to "get out of discussing gun control;" sure, we DO need better mental health treatment in this country, but the real problem, said Kasky, is that his school was attacked by "a 19-year-old who had an AR-15, which is a weapon of war," and it should be harder for anyone to get such weapons. Kasky wrote a guest op-ed for CNN about the attack, and said he feels "called" to make people aware of this problem. He and some friends have started a Facebook page called "Never Again MSD" to serve as a hub for ideas and activism. He added that some people's "thoughts and prayers" don't seem to fit so well with their other priorities, either. There is a section of this society that will shrug this off and send their thoughts and prayers but march for hours if they have to bake a rainbow wedding cake. Then there's David Hogg, a 17-year-old senior who's the student news director at Stoneman Douglas; while he was hiding inside the school cafeteria's office with some 30 to 40 other students, he took out his phone and started interviewing classmates: If he were to die, he said later, he wanted to leave behind some journalism: A story that would echo on and show people that there's a serious issue in this country that people need to face, take a long, hard long at, and realize [that] blood is being spilled on the floors of American classrooms. You can view Hogg's video interview here. One of the girls Hogg interviewed said -- in complete darkness, while hiding out -- that she'd undergone a complete reversal in her opinion on guns. She had been a big fan of the NRA and unlimited rights to guns, but having someone shooting teachers and classmates put her off her plan to spend her 18th birthday at a local gun range: "I don't even want to be behind a gun," she said. "I don't want to be the person behind a bullet. I don't want to be the person to point a bullet at someone. And to have the bullet pointed at me, my school, my classmates, my teachers, my mentors. It's definitely eye-opening to the fact that we need more gun control in our country." That's great, kid, but remember, we say "gun safety" now. It polls better. She said that even in the middle of the chaos Wednesday, it was hard to get her sister, at another location, to believe it was real: "I even texted my sisters, 'Shooting at my school. I am safe,'" the girl said. "They both responded with, 'OMG, LOL, you're funny.' Now that's a problem in society, and it's a bigger problem in America." David Hogg's younger sister, 14, was elsewhere in the building; he told the New York Times that two of her best friends were killed Wednesday. He also was very much aware that, paradoxically, even being in the middle of a school shooting only surprised him because it was happening to him: "On a national scale, I'm not surprised at all," he said of the shooting. "And that's just sad. The fact that a student is not surprised that there was another mass shooting -- but this time it was at his school -- says so much about the current state that our country is in, and how much has to be done." Hogg called on national politicians to get their act together: "We need to do something. We need to get out there and be politically active. Congress needs to get over their political bias with each other and work toward saving children's lives." In an interview with CNN earlier on Thursday, Mr. Hogg expressed his frustration with politicians in simpler terms: "We're children," he said. "You guys are the adults." Oh, David. Have you even watched the "president's" favorite cable news channel? But you have a point. Maybe we adults could act like it now and again. We seem to remember previous generations of adults telling us we needed to fix the world they'd broken, and kids like David Hogg, Cameron Kasky, and the girls who took to Twitter to yell at Trump and Lahren, shouldn't have to shoulder cleaning up that mess themselves. Nor should their classmate Carly Novell, who tweeted about the weird coincidence that 70 years ago, her grandfather, Charles Cohen, was the only survivor in his family during a 1949 killing spree that's often considered the first mass shooting in modern-day America (at least by people who call mass lynchings or massacres of Native Americans something else): America's kids are pretty damned good if you ask us. We owe them better than the NRA-inspired nightmares they've been handed.

We closed out yesterday's Children's Garden of Stupid Shit Wingnuts Said about the Florida high school shootings with some terrific tweets from students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, telling Donald Trump and Tomi Lahren to get bent.

The June legislation that lifted the state's moratorium on fracking included a clause keeping local governments from outlawing the practice in their jurisdiction, so their resolutions are an expression of opinion rather than an act of law. But the Eastern Band is a sovereign nation, so the tribal council is able to completely prevent drilling on Cherokee land. "The State of North Carolina is without legal authority to permit hydraulic fracturing on Tribal Trust lands," the resolution reads, later continuing, "The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians will not permit or authorize any person, corporation or other legal entity to engage in hydraulic fracturing on Tribal Trust lands."

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This year marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of Reciprocity Foundation , a nonprofit charity which supports New York's homeless youth. In honor of the landmark anniversary, photographer Alex Fradkin created a photo series documenting the untold stories of New York's young homeless population -- nearly half of whom identify as LGBT. The series, called See Me: Picturing New York's Homeless Youth , features portrait-style photos paired with short essays written by the subjects. The goal of the project, according to Reciprocity Foundation cofounder Taz Tagore, is to "transform visual culture around how the [homeless] youth are seen." The series, she hopes, will be "humanizing and connective," and encourage viewers to "stop, and look, and see." Unlike most photo series focused on the homeless, See Me casts subjects in a powerful light. Fradkin says, I think a lot of [homeless youth photography] tends toward the downtrodden. But I wanted to avoid anything I'd previously seen. He says his portraits "give you the chance to connect with [the subject] on many different levels." Fradkin spent several months getting to know the teens before starting the project. He let the teens decide how they wanted to be photographed and where. His goal was to empower the teens... ...and show them how they wished to be seen. The nonprofit charity organization focuses on LGBT homeless youth. According to some studies, up to 40 percent of homeless youth identify as LGBT. The Reciprocity Foundation provides care and support for these (often marginalized) teens. Fradkin, the photographer, actively avoided victimizing his subjects. Instead, he wanted his photographs to communicate their strength and individuality. Tagore says the homeless youth typically feel "hopeless." "So few people, once you put the homeless label on them, are able to see [the youth] in any other way," she says. She hopes this powerful portrait series will change that. See Me will be on display in a NYC art gallery next month. All of the images will also be released in a colored photography book. Learn more here .

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I live 8 miles from the border between San Diego and Tijuana, on the TJ side, and have a fairly solid internet connection. If anyone knows immigrants who are trying to connect with family members, they are welcome to use my connection to place phone calls over the internet to avoid charges using their own phone service or over Google Hangouts (which shows up as unregistered). I know it's not much, but I've been in places where I could not place calls, and I know how harrowing it can be to feel completely disconnected from family in times of need. just to note that there has been some legal analysis of the "executive order" and some experts believe it doesn't actually change anything because of careful phrasing inserted like "legally available" family detention is not "legally available",.it was ruled illegal (which is why Obama did the release part of "catch and release") so this isn't over at all, it was just show and tell for the cameras to get to the July 4th week so everyone goes away distracted Shuck 2018-06-21 05:38:14 UTC #13 Yeah, it's a farce. It doesn't even address the issue of the currently separated children, presumably because they fully well know more will join them. (I'm now wondering, though, if Trump blaming the Democrats for "the law" that he kept blaming for the situation was the one the prevents indefinite detention of families. In other words, what he was really saying was, "Well, we'd love to indefinitely detain these all families together, but we can't!" Not that that was true either...) Hell, they didn't even bother to spell "separation" correctly, that's how much care was not put into it.

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French President Emmanuel Macron is determined to loosen up rules regarding public sector employment but he is facing strong resistance from unions led by French rail workers who have announced plans for several months of rolling walkouts designed to grind the nation to a halt. Here's how the Guardian reported the launch of strikes earlier this month : The first day of the strikes - dubbed "Black Tuesday" - caused large-scale disruption to the country's 4.5 million rail passengers. Frantic crowds on Paris platforms queued to squeeze themselves on to scarce trains with some passengers falling on to tracks, while railway workers and students marched through major cities. Over three-quarters of train drivers and almost half of essential rail staff walked off the job across the country. Only one regional train in five and one high-speed TGV train out of eight was running. Commuter lines into Paris were severely affected and international train services were cut, with no trains between France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain and three out of four trains running on the Eurostar service connecting to London. Currently, rail workers have jobs for life and can retire at age 52 with a full pension and are guaranteed free rail travel for the rest of their lives. Perhaps not surprisingly, the rail service is EUR47bn in debt. Today, despite the strong opposition from rail unions, France's National Assembly voted to change that. From Reuters : France's lower house of parliament on Tuesday approved the biggest railway shake-up since nationalisation with a bill that will abolish the state monopoly, shrugging off fierce union opposition and rolling strikes. The approval vote in France's National Assembly appeared to push one of President Emmanuel Macron's flagship reforms beyond the point of no return, hours before yet another two-day train strike, the fourth since the start of April... Opinion polls show a majority of French people are in favour of the reform, although various soundings have also showed voters want the government to take account of union demands. The French Senate won't vote on this until May so unions are doing their best to change the dynamic, though I'm not sure stranding them and preventing them from getting to work is a great way to win people over. Unions are claiming that this is the first step toward privatizing the system , something President Macron has denied he intends to do. The hard left has called Macron a French Margaret Thatcher, accusing him of trying to privatise the rail system by stealth... Unions and politicians on the left fear that this transformation - even with the state owning 100% of shares - could eventually lead to the rail operator being privatised. The Independent notes that just 8 percent of French workers are unionized, but those unions tend to strike early and often to protect their benefits. Today, Air France launched its own strike over wages. From France 24 : About 30 percent of Air France flights scheduled on Tuesday are expected to be canceled due to a strike over pay. Crews and ground staff, whose wages have been frozen since 2011, are seeking a 6 percent pay rise. This will mark their eighth day of walkouts since February. Some 45 percent of long-haul flights will be canceled along with 35 percent of medium-haul flights to and from Paris. According to Air France, the strikes could cost the company upwards of EUR220 million. Management has offered a 5% raise over the next three years but the union hasn't decided whether to accept or reject that offer yet. This clip from two weeks ago shows some of the protests and chaos that has resulted from the strikes.

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Seizing on Donald Trump's suggestion that Hillary Clinton's bodyguards should disarm and "let's see what happens to her," CNN went into full Clinton-campaign mode this morning. Leading the charge was Christi Paul, whom CNN curiously bills as an "anchor" rather than the Clinton surrogate she appears to be. Said Paul to Trump supporter Jeffrey... I opposed Loretta Lynch's nomination to be Attorney General because I found her congressional testimony lacking on fighting the politicization of the federal prosecutorial function that was the hallmark of Eric Holder. I was concerned that by confirming Lynch, we would be elevating someone who would not resist the urge to impose...

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The Lovers and the Despot The Category: World Cinema Documentary Competition The Sundance Synopsis: Following the collapse of their glamorous romance, a celebrity director and his actress ex-wife are kidnapped by movie-obsessed dictator Kim Jong-il. Forced to make films in extraordinary circumstances, they get a second chance at love--but only one chance at escape. The Key Players: Directors Robert Cannan and Ross Adam The Draw: I've been waiting for this one ever since my wife read me the New Yorker article out loud. It looks to be one of those documentaries where the underlying story is so fascinating it almost doesn't matter how good the filmmaking is. The Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition The Sundance Synopsis: Neglected by her husband, Sarah embarks on an impromptu road trip with her young daughter and her best friend, Mindy. Along the way, the dynamic between the two friends intensifies before circumstances force them apart. Years later, Sarah attempts to rebuild their intimate connection in the days before Mindy's wedding. The Key Players: Director So Yong Kim; Actors Jena Malone, Riley Keough, Brooklyn Decker, Amy Seimetz and Rosanna Arquette The Draw: I'll be honest: I didn't even have to read the director's name or the synopsis to know it was going to be on this list. That's an absolutely killer lineup of actors. Any two of those five would put the film on my shortlist; with all five, it's shot near the top. < b>The Category: Slamdance Narrative Competition The Slamdance Synopsis: A matriarch past the point of a nervous breakdown, her two daughters that don't give a damn, and the heat-seeking missiles of resentment they toss at each other create a lively backdrop for this dark and dramatic comedy. The Key Players: Director Robert G. Putka; Actor Jennifer Lafleur The Draw: If you like them dark and nasty, this is the film for you. I've seen it, and it's really good. Jennifer Lafleur continues to impress every single time out. Manchester by the Sea The Category: Premieres The Sundance Synopsis: After his older brother passes away, Lee Chandler is forced to return home to care for his 16-year-old nephew. There he is compelled to deal with a tragic past that separated him from his family and the community where he was born and raised. The Key Players: Director Kenneth Lonergan; Actors Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams and Kyle Chandler The Draw: The latest from American treasure Kenneth Lonergan, starring two of the best actors alive. A complete no-brainer. The Category: Documentary Premieres The Sundance Synopsis: Catapulted by the success of his first major solo project, Off the Wall , Michael Jackson went from child star to King of Pop. This film explores the seminal album, with rare archival footage and interviews from those who were there and those whose lives its success and legacy impacted. The Key Players: Director Spike Lee The Draw: The man who directed the best narrative film of last year, and who has quietly become one of the best documentarians in the world, returns to the subject of Michael Jackson . Be prepared for a great walk down Memory Lane. If you're not going to nominate him for an Oscar for Chi-Raq , at least have the decency to support his next film. Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper The Category: Documentary Premieres The Sundance Synopsis: Gloria Vanderbilt and her son Anderson Cooper each tell the story of their past and present, their loves and losses, and reveal how some family stories have the tendency to repeat themselves in the most unexpected ways. The Key Players: Director Liz Garbus The Draw: In the hands of a lesser director, I wouldn't necessarily be that interested in the subject matter. But I trust Liz Garbus completely, and I have no doubt this will be fascinating. Richard Linklater--dream is destiny The Category: Documentary Premieres The Sundance Synopsis: This is an unconventional look at a fiercely independent style of filmmaking that arose in the 1990s from Austin, Texas, outside the studio system. The film blends rare archival footage with journals, exclusive interviews with Linklater on and off set, and clips from Slacker , Dazed and Confused , Boyhood , and more. The Key Players: Directors Louis Black and Karen Bernstein The Draw: A personal note: Since I was the director of 21 Years: Richard Linklater , many people have asked me if I'm upset that this film is out so soon after mine. Let me be clear--I hope there are 50 documentaries made about the genius Richard Linklater . And Louis Black was so brilliant in my doc about Linklater that I can't wait to see what he does with a film of his own. Number one priority. Sing Street The Category: Premieres The Sundance Synopsis: A boy growing up in Dublin during the '80s escapes his strained family life and tough new school by starting a band to win the heart of a beautiful and mysterious girl. The Key Players: Director John Carney The Draw: Carney's Once is a masterpiece, of course, but Begin Again was an underrated film as well. The man knows how to do musical uplift. Expect tears to be shed in the Eccles. Unlocking the Cage The Category: Documentary Premieres The Sundance Synopsis: Follow animal rights lawyer Steven Wise in his unprecedented challenge to break down the legal wall that separates animals from humans. By filing the first lawsuit of its kind, Wise seeks to transform a chimpanzee from a "thing" with no rights to a "person" with basic legal protection. The Key Players: Directors Chris Hegedus and Donn Alan Pennebaker The Draw: Like their friend, the late Albert Maysles, D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus just keep getting better with age. If you liked Project Nim (and I loved Project Nim ), this should be a given to check out. Yoga Hosers The Category: Midnight The Sundance Synopsis: Colleen Collette and Colleen McKenzie are teenage besties from Winnipeg who love yoga and live on their smartphones. But when these sophomores get invited to a senior party by the school hottie, the Colleens accidentally uncover an ancient evil buried beneath their Canadian convenience store. The Key Players: Director Kevin Smith; Actors Lily-Rose Depp, Harley Quinn Smith, Johnny Depp, Ralph Garman The Draw: Look, at this point, a write-up in a curtain-raiser isn't going to convince you. At this point, you're either down with Kevin Smith, or you're not. I'm down with Kevin Smith . Wherever he wants to take me this time. Michael Dunaway is the producer and director of 21 Years: Richard Linklater , a New York Times Critics Pick starring Matthew McConaughey and Ethan Hawke; Creative Producer for the "Sarasota Film Festival":www.sarasotafilmfestival.com; Movies Editor of Paste ; host of the podcast The Work ; and one hell of a karaoke performer. You can follow him on Twitter . Previous page You're on page 1 You're on page 2 Next page

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Militant/Eric Simpson Gerardo Sanchez, SWP candidate for U.S. Congress, 8th District in California, campaigns at October 23 rally outside Oakland City Hall protesting cop killing of Oscar Grant. Working people across the United States have a choice on Election Day, November 2you can vote for the Socialist Workers Party. Socialist Workers candidates are running for federal, state, and local offices in 33 races in 11 states and the District of Columbia. At a time when the capitalist economic crisis is battering working people worldwide; imperialist wars are expanding in Afghanistan and Pakistan; high levels of joblessness persist for years on end; safety violations on the job claim more lives and limbs; and health care is being restricted; candidates of the two capitalist partiesthe Democrats and Republicansoffer little more than pronouncements about what they are against. Their program to deal with the disaster facing working people is one or another version of throw out the incumbent or the other guy is worse. The working class needs to break from the capitalists two-party system and fight for a labor party to challenge the representatives of the dictatorship of capital, which is daily destroying the lives of millions. Voting for the Socialist Workers Party candidates is a step toward that perspective. It is a way of voting for what you are for, not what you are against. The socialist candidates put forward immediate demands to protect working people from a capitalist crisis that is only just beginning. They project a real jobs programorganizing and fighting politically to demand a massive public works program to build schools, hospitals, and affordable housing and to rebuild deteriorating infrastructure; raising the minimum wage to union scale; providing unemployment payments until workers can find a job; and workers control of safety on the job. This is a program to help unify working people as we compete for the few available jobs that can provide for a decent living. The socialist candidates have used their campaigns over the past months to raise a working-class voice in the electoral arena. They have used their campaigns to stand with union members on the picket lines, support farmers fighting for their land, march with immigrant workers for legalization of all who are undocumented, defend the rights of women to abortion, and rally against racist discrimination and cop violence. They have used their campaigns to win support for the imprisoned Cuban Five, and to defend revolutionary socialist Cuba from Washingtons unrelenting attacks. The socialist candidates have spoken out against the governments attempts to restrict democratic rights and narrow political space for workers to organize. Socialist candidates have also pointed out to fellow workers that any gains won in struggle today cannot alter the fundamental laws of the capitalist profit system. Only the conquest and exercise of state power by the working class and the expropriation of the wealthy minority can lay the basis for a world based on solidarity among working people, instead of class exploitation, war, and race and sex discrimination. With state power, working people will have the most powerful tool possible to uproot those conditions, to provide productive labor for all, and reorganize all of society in the interests of workers and farmers. On November 2 make your vote count. Vote for the Socialist Workers Party candidates, the working-class alternative to imperialist war, economic depression, and racist discrimination. After the elections socialist workers will continue to be in the streets joining the battles for workers rights. Join with us to fight for the only realistic program that can end capitalist rule and open the road to a socialist world. Related articles: Socialist candidates offer revolutionary, fighting perspective for working people SWP candidates in 2010

Militant/Eric Simpson Gerardo Sanchez, SWP candidate for U.S. Congress, 8th District in California, campaigns at October 23 rally outside Oakland City Hall protesting cop killing of Oscar Grant.

G rowing up in the Los Angeles of the 1970s, I often heard harrowing poolside tales about the stifling atmosphere of life in Soviet-occupied central and eastern Europe, a world of spies and informant neighbours, of bugged telephones and rooms. There was, our family friends told us, a constant threat of being whisked off in dark sedans in the middle of the night to interrogation rooms and prison and Siberian labour camps. The exchange of ideas, to the extent that it was possible in those violent, paranoid times, took place in secret and in person, in cold apartments and the back rooms of cafes, with as little physical evidence as possible. Broadsheets were printed anonymously, manuscripts circulated hand to hand, poems memorized. Although I understood that privacy had its own demons in what was then called the free world--the kitschy fearmongering of the McCarthy years, the files on citizens accumulated by the dark, obsessive director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover--I also believed that such goings-on were decisively part of the past; even their mention evokes, more than anything else, the smouldering, stylized atmosphere of a black and white film. Jeffrey Rosen, an influential US legal commentator and author of The Unwanted Gaze: The Destruction of Privacy in America , insists that preservation of privacy is crucial to the dignity of the individual, and to the freedoms that form the basis of liberal democratic societies. North America and Europe have mostly thrived in the post-World War II era, in part because of what Thomas Jefferson called the "marketplace of ideas": allowing ideas to be exchanged freely in governments, in universities and research centres, in monolithic corporations and small, flexible start-ups, and among thoughtful citizens of all kinds. From our twenty-first-century perspective, the method of exchange seems almost quaint: conversations among people in offices and conference rooms, lecture halls and classrooms, kitchens and coffee shops--venues that have existed in some form since, well, since human beings have engaged in conversations. Often governed by little more than common courtesy and civility, these conversations formed the better part of the public sphere and generated the ideas that have allowed our societies to move forward. The digital era seemed to enable this phenomenon to go completely global in just a few decades. Like so many adopters of email and the Internet, and eventually social media, I assumed that my benign communications with friends and colleagues were not so different from the conversations we used to have over coffee or drinks, except that now I could leap from New York to London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, and even remotest central Asia without ever leaving my Toronto apartment. Suddenly, people could chat with like-minded people time zones and continents away, and ordinary citizens without access to traditional print media could create a website or a blog and weigh in on the issues of the day from their own idiosyncratic perspectives. With the advent of powerful wireless mobile devices and social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, all of this could take place anywhere, anytime, at the speed of light, so that otherwise chaotic and volatile events--the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street--could be collectively orchestrated and documented in real time. Best of all, it seemed these exchanges could take place in a condition of unchecked, unregulated freedom and anonymity; the Internet was, we thought, by nature populist, opposed to the powerful hierarchies that suffocate democracy. As early as the 1980s, though, iconoclastic hacker collectives began penetrating the servers of corporations, research laboratories, and the United States government itself. More recent, and far more dramatic, computer security breaches have included Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning's upload of 720,000 US military documents and diplomatic cables to the Swedish-based servers of WikiLeaks; and the ongoing release of classified documents from the National Security Agency by Edward Snowden to journalist Glenn Greenwald and documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras. Clearly, the Internet and the global free flow of information have some notable downsides. Along with our increasing anxiety over cyber-spying and cyber-attacks comes a deepening unease over the ubiquity and invasiveness of data mining via our email and social media accounts, and a greater awareness about the impact of cyber-mobbing and bullying and revenge porn. Unifying these diverse concerns is the sense that what is being invaded, and grievously eroded, are both our privacy and our agency. Our sense of agency relies, at least in part, on our ability to control our own stories, and which narratives we choose to keep private. Without privacy, we risk losing control of our stories and, ultimately, ourselves. I n November of 2009, Tom Flanagan, a former Conservative Party operative and right-hand man to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, as well as a professor of political science at the University of Calgary, delivered a lecture titled "Campaign Ethics: Do Canadian Elections Pass the Smell Test? " at the University of Manitoba, in Winnipeg. Amid what one can only imagine was a dry discussion about the limits of the adversarial system that dominates politics and law in Canada and the United States, he argued that even the most unpopular, repugnant figures should receive a vigorous defence and a fair day in court; our criminal justice system depends upon it. Flanagan observed that this crucial tenet had been forgotten by Stockwell Day, then provincial treasurer, when he accused Alberta lawyer Lorne Goddard of supporting child pornography because he was willing to defend a person accused of possessing it. Flanagan then went on to remark, "That actually would be another interesting debate for a seminar, like what's wrong with child pornography, in the sense that they're just pictures? " His comment--and what followed four years later--came close to destroying his distinguished, if controversial, career and reputation. He tells his version of events in his latest book, a combination memoir and philosophical rumination, Persona Non Grata: The Death of Free Speech in the Internet Age . His downward spiral began on February 27, 2013, when he delivered a lecture at the University of Lethbridge, in Alberta, entitled "Is It Time to Reconsider the Indian Act? " His views on the act, and more generally on the reserve system in Canada (he advocates for at least partial privatization of tribal lands), are well known by and unpopular with much of the Aboriginal community. The seasoned contrarian arrived at the talk expecting a lively debate with a few dozen students and professors. Activists from local First Nations sympathetic to the Idle No More movement also came out to the lecture in force and were, at least in Flanagan's view, openly hostile. During the question period, a man named Levi Little Mustache delivered a rambling speech that referred to Flanagan's remarks on child pornography years earlier. The professor naively took the bait, arguing that it was unfair to imprison people for simply possessing child pornography rather than directly harming children, alluding to John Stuart Mill's distinction between direct and indirect harm, in his seminal essay On Liberty . Unbeknownst to Flanagan, the whole discussion was recorded on a cellphone. Overnight, a misleadingly edited video with the tag line "Tom Flanagan okay with child pornography" was posted on YouTube by Idle No More activist Arnell Tailfeathers. Condemnation came swiftly, often via Twitter: from the Prime Minister's Office, the president of the University of Calgary, colleagues at CBC (where he served as a political commentator), and newspapers large and small. He was, as he repeatedly suggests, the victim of what Stanley Cohen--author of the classic Folk Devils and Moral Panics: The Creation of the Mods and Rockers --calls "moral panic." Cohen writes that moral panic, which in North America can be traced back to such events as the witch hunt that led to the infamous Salem trials in the late seventeenth century, stems from outrage over a perceived threat to the social order, and leads to a suspension of ordinary standards of reason, judgment, and due process. Mobbing, whether in the workplace, the schoolyard, or society at large, happens when moral panic is harnessed by the punitive power of the group. "Mobbing in the physical sense of lynching is much less common than it used to be," Flanagan writes. "But at the same time new opportunities for mobbing have opened up. Social media, combining on the Internet with older mass media, provide an almost cost-free venue for expressing moral outrage. Voila virtual mobbing! Press a few keys and you can join in denouncing someone you've never met but who is reported to have said something offensive." Persona Non Grata would be a self-pitying, self-serving exercise in setting the record straight, by an aging political operative and professor who was thrown under the bus by far more ruthless politicians, had it not raised an important question about the Internet as a venue for conducting the conversations we need to have. Could it be that the Web's global reach, as well as the elaborate and sophisticated forms of social media that come with it, actually stifles freedom of expression rather than promotes it? T he concept of privacy , along with what constitutes human dignity, has shifted over the past fifty years, and even more so over the past decade. Fewer and fewer of us worry about others seeing our bodies, or knowing our sexual preferences, or being aware of our deepest doubts and fears, which we reveal daily on our Facebook and Twitter pages. But privacy, and how it frames our interactions, is less about what we reveal than about what we choose to reveal, and about exerting privileged control over our own unfolding stories. When Edward Snowden exposed the epic scale of NSA surveillance into the digital lives of US citizens and everyone else as part of the broad yet vague war on terror (as with the failed war on drugs, the target is moving and all encompassing), he set in motion a much-needed debate about the degree of intrusion into our private lives we are willing to accept in the name of government security. To think that the issue applies exclusively to the US would be naive. In 2012, Canada's Communications Security Establishment conducted a sweeping, unauthorized, and arguably illegal surveillance operation on mobile devices in and around a Canadian international airport, in what they described as a test run. Anxiety over governments using the latest and greatest technologies to spy on citizens' private lives is hardly new. In his groundbreaking book Privacy and Freedom , Alan Westin set off similar alarm bells back in 1967. He also predicted that government surveillance technologies would appear in the private sector, and that the very idea of being surveilled poses a threat to freedom of expression. Westin's book came out shortly after consumer video cameras appeared on the market in the late 1960s. "Now that such recording devices have become general commodities," he writes in a chapter devoted to the centrality of privacy in modern democratic societies, "we must consider the impact of their use on our freedom of private expression, and the widespread public assumption that our personal conversations are being recorded, whether they are in fact or not." The problem is not only that Big Brother might misuse our personal information for some ulterior purpose, but that loss of privacy in and of itself changes how we communicate with one another. That Snowden stole, by some estimates, close to two million classified documents and ultimately fled to Russia, where his temporary asylum comes up for review this July, is almost irrelevant. Highly sophisticated data mining, advertising, and marketing already gather information about us using methods similar to the NSA' s, and many of us already provide plenty of information about ourselves to the world via social media. At a time when recording devices have become small, cheap, and ubiquitous, all speech is now public, beyond the speaker's control. In Persona Non Grata , Flanagan devotes considerable space to lamenting that, while he was blindsided by a virtual lynch mob when he was off the grid, on the road between Lethbridge and Calgary, he of all people failed to launch a counteroffensive when he still could have; his book, written in less than a year, clearly makes a belated attempt to do so. However, the more compelling passages are philosophical. "There are no longer any reliably private discussions, conversations, or even moments," he writes. "Any sound or image can be recorded. It is now so easy that there is no point trying to prevent it." A few paragraphs later, he spells out the troubling implications: "If everything is eternally public and nothing can be forgotten, individuals lose all private control over their own identity." The importance of privacy in liberal democratic societies has never been about concealing from government or the public our compulsions and perversities: the porn sites we visit; the pathetic, drunken messages we send in the middle of the night; the Google searches that expose our irrational fears and unhinged fantasies. Rather, it is about our capacity to engage in fluid conversations with one another, in a context in which we need not fear being misunderstood or maligned by people we do not even know. Actual conversations are by their nature experimental: ideas are proposed, argued for, revised, and discarded, and new ones are put on the table; that is the process through which problems are creatively solved. The notion that one could be held globally accountable for any single statement shuts down the dialogue as a whole. In the end, we are not global beings who can be in Toronto, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Bishkek, and Kabul at the same time; we are creatures who move forward by talking with people we know and trust and sometimes love. While the global information infrastructure--from the NSA' s servers to celebrities' Twitter accounts--is an irreversible fact, perhaps the way into the future is not through a global conversation conducted online, whatever that really means, but via many smaller, more intimate ones all over the globe. We need to find a way of modelling our digital communications on the forms of etiquette and civility we mostly observe in the immediacy of face-to-face exchanges. Conversation is, after all, an intimate act between people, even strangers hunched over their iPhones thousands of miles apart, and it is that intimacy that makes conversation irreplaceable. This appeared in the May 2014 issue.

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These days, comedy is up on the shelf with nano-pets and vinyl. The PC Thought Police limit what seeps from people's pieholes more stringently than the UK monitors its "free" people. Everyone has become so polarized, they can only mock or laugh at jokes which bash the "other side." Dana Carvey doesn't care about any of that. He demonstrated as much when he mocked both Donald Trump and Barry Obama dealing with the North Korea situation. Bravo, fine sir! Dana Carvey on Monday wondered whether Donald Trump will get credit if the efforts to de-nuclearize North Korea are successful. Talking to Conan O'Brien on TBS, he even joked about a Nobel Prize: "As far as Trump is concerned, if he solves the thing in thing in North Korea... are we going to give him the Nobel Peace Prize? I mean, we'd have to, right?" After the audience gasped, he went into a Trump impersonation: "I love the Nobelians." Carvey also speculated that Obama was "too nice" when it came to North Korea. Slipping into an Obama voice, he joked: "We call you little rocket man because you are short of stature and you fire projectiles into the air." Not only were Dana's remarks rip-roaringly hilarious, they were spot-on in terms of accuracy. Obama was a weak and ineffectual ninny . Any shows of strength toward our enemies was cloaked in five layers of passive aggressiveness. Trump, on the other hand, is direct. " Screw with us and we'll MOAB your house down ." Which, by all appearances is working. Leftist "comedians" always maintained it was impossible to mock Barry, yet Dana just pulled it off flawlessly. Right along with lampooning the Donald for being a little on the ditzy side. No vitriol or blatant side-taking, just giggles. Hello comedy, my old friend. I've not seen you in quite a while. NOT SUBSCRIBED TO THE PODCAST? FIX THAT ! IT'S COMPLETELY FREE ON BOTH ITUNES HERE AND SOUNDCLOUD HERE .

Dana Carvey doesn't care about any of that. He demonstrated as much when he mocked both Donald Trump and Barry Obama dealing with the North Korea situation.

The row of shops on Atlantic Avenue between Third and Fourth Avenues. (Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine) O nce upon a time, back in 2003, the economy was booming, the forecast was sunny, and Andi Marie Jones was a 28-year-old event planner dealing with bridezillas in Dallas. Five years and two near-fatal close calls laterone with her heart, one in a carJones decided to realize her dream: to open a salon. In New York. (Photo: Hannah Whitaker/New York Magazine) Of course, this is not, shall we say, the best environment in which to open a new business. So why now? Well, she didn't exactly cook up this scheme yesterday. She spent two years on a business plan. She spent a year at the Aveda Institute. She spent another two years looking for the right space, six months negotiating a lease, and an additional year renovating her shop. Then she opened her Sanctuary Salon in Brooklyn on October 2just two weeks after Lehman Brothers toppled, kicking out the last legs of the economy. ThankfullyimprobablyJones isn't doing this alone. There are two other locally owned businesses that have opened up on the same blockMy Little India, a home-decor store, and Nunu Chocolatesin similar, charmingly refurbished storefronts, all of which are owned by Barbara Koz Paley's Atlantic Assets Group. Those last two shops are retail pop-ups, on short leases for the holidays (with options to continue), but Jones has signed a ten-year lease. So she, by necessity (both business-wise and morale-wise), is looking forward, past this downturn, however long it lasts. I can't wait to see us in five years, she says. Back in 2003, new boutiques on Atlantic arrived as mixed blessings, signaling both displacement and renewal. But in this climate, in this season, these new stores simply represent hope.

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Image credit: Daily Show Jonathan Macey , a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, a member of the John and Jean De Nault Task Force on Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity , the Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance and Securities Law at Yale University, and professor in the Yale School of Management, was featured on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Tuesday, January 31, 2012. During the show Macey explained why Bain Capital's executives cannot be held accountable for Dade Behring's bankruptcy. Click here to see the full interview. Click here to see the extended interview, part one, in which Macey explains why untrained investors should avoid private equity. Click here to see the extended interview, part two, in which Macey claims that the unemployment rate would be worse were private equity firms not taking over failing companies. Click here to see the extended interview, part three, in which Macey examines the influence of America's corrupt political culture on its financial system.

Daily Show Jonathan Macey , a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution, a member of the John and Jean De Nault Task Force on Property Rights, Freedom, and Prosperity , the Sam Harris Professor of Corporate Law, Corporate Finance and Securities Law at Yale University, and professor in the Yale School of Management, was featured on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Tuesday, January 31, 2012.

The 84th Academy Awards nominations--uneventful, for the most part By Hiram Lee 25 January 2012 The nominations for the 84th annual Academy Awards were announced Tuesday in Los Angeles. Martin Scorsese's fantasy film Hugo gained the most nominations with 11 in all, while Michel Hazanavicius's silent film drama The Artist followed closely with ten. Nine films were nominated in the Best Picture category. In addition to Hugo and The Artist , the nominated films include The Descendants , The Help , Midnight in Paris , The Tree of Life , Moneyball , War Horse , and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close . While this is not the worst group of films to have been nominated in recent years, it is far from the strongest. A number of the films are well-meaning, some are purely trivial, but all of them are lacking in significant ways. The Artist In surveying the films nominated, one finds no shortage of technical innovation and imagination. Hugo , The Artist and Tree of Life all feature the most fantastic imagery. There is little, it would seem, filmmakers cannot imagine and put on the screen. One searches in vain, however, for profound truths about real life in any of the nominated films. While there are certainly examples of warmth and intelligence in the films nominated this year, a lack of social perspective and historical knowledge continues to hold artists back. The wealth and insularity of many within the industry, a distancing from ordinary people and their struggles, is also of no help when it comes to creating meaningful works of art. After a tumultuous year which saw the first mass response to economic crisis and worsening living standards, it is difficult to feel anything but disappointment in approaching a group of films in which so little of the reality and complexity of social life finds expression. One does not feel especially motivated to celebrate much of this work. The nominations process and the awards ceremony which follows have the character of a ritual or, worse, a chore. Director Martin Scorsese's sentimental Hugo , based on the children's novel The Invention of Hugo Cabret , is set in the early 1930s and tells the story of a young orphan living in a railway station and his adventures with another young orphan girl as the two try to rebuild his late father's beloved automaton. Shot in 3D, the film provided Scorsese and cinematographer Robert Richardson (both nominated for awards in their respective fields) with the opportunity for a tour de force display of imagery and camera movement, but the film accomplished little else. The Artist, another visual tour de force, tells the story of a silent film star whose notoriety begins to fade during the rise of talking pictures. The film itself is mostly silent, either paying tribute to or parodying classic films of the 1920s. Again, most of the work has gone into the style and appearance of the film. The story itself is predictable and cliched, and its stylization as a silent film little more than a gimmick. The Descendants The Help , about a young middle class white woman documenting the lives and struggles of black maids, took up the issue of race and class relations in Mississippi during the 1960s. While the subject matter was promising, the work itself was less than serious. One was struck by the degree to which the Civil Rights struggle itself was almost entirely written out of the movie. A similar lack of seriousness and historical perspective took its toll on Steven Spielberg's War Horse , about the fate of a young British soldier and his beloved horse during the First World War. Tree of Life , directed by Terrence Malick, who also received a nomination in the Best Directing category, was a confused and ultimately misanthropic work. The film concerns itself with everything from the very birth of the universe, to the trials of one middle class family in Texas during the 1950s and 1960s, and the fate of one of its sons in the present day. While there were insightful and moving moments to be found in the work, these were few and far between. We wrote in a WSWS review of the work that the "film as a whole is lacquered over with a coat of unease and pessimism, which never truly dissipates, so that even the moments of delight seem either stolen or forced. The revulsion Malick feels for contemporary Houston ... and, by implication, modern American life is palpable, and the most idyllic scene takes place in the afterlife. The overall thrust of the film should be clear." Moneyball , about the corrupting influence of enormous sums of money on professional sports, is one of the few Best Picture nominees that had something substantial to offer, particularly in its first half, but feels a relatively tame work by the time it reaches its conclusion. Alexander Payne's The Descendants is also not without its charms, but is ultimately a fairly timid and conventional work. Unfortunately , Margin Call , which set its sights directly on the economic crisis and parasitical Wall Street operators, and was one of the strongest films released last year, could not be found among the Best Picture nominees. Writer-director J.C. Chandor received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay, but the film went unrecognized in any other category. The appearance of Bridesmaids among this year's nominated films is simply baffling. The very broad comedy--a mixture of crude, gross-out humor and extreme sentimentality--garnered nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress, for Melissa McCarthy. A number of talented performers were nominated in the acting categories. With more than three decades of work behind him, actor Gary Oldman received his first nomination for his performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Meryl Streep was nominated for a strong performance as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the otherwise poor Iron Lady. Brad Pitt was recognized for another fine performance in Moneyball . The nomination of Mexican actor Demian Bichir for Best Actor for his performance in A Better Life as an "illegal immigrant" working as a gardener in Los Angeles is significant and well deserved. Something of an oppositional attitude to social inequality comes through in the work. The talented Michelle Williams also received a well deserved Best Actress nomination for her performance as Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn . She was the saving grace of an appealing, but limited film. In the Best Documentary category, Wim Wenders' beautiful and haunting Pina, a tribute to the life and work of choreographer Pina Bausch, received a well deserved nomination. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, about the release from prison of three men wrongly convicted of murdering three children in Arkansas in 1993, was also among the more memorable and powerful films nominated this year. The Academy Awards will be given out February 26, during the annual televised ceremony in Los Angeles. We will see if this year's broadcast is any different from the dull and thoroughly routine affair of previous years. The author also recommends: Martin Scorsese's Hugo: A rather drab and disjointed fairytale [15 December 2011] Google is blocking the World Socialist Web Site from search results. 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Trade Minister Needs to Break Out of Bureaucrat's Bubble on TPP Deal's massive risks demand independent, government-funded assessments Murray Dobbin Canadian Politics , Economic Crisis February 9, 2016 Photo by DonkeyHotey Are Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland's officials misleading her about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)? Freeland signed the agreement Thursday in New Zealand, but repeated her assurances that critics shouldn't worry - the government hasn't committed to ratifying it and consultations and a full debate will precede a vote in Parliament. That could be up to two years away. Yet so far the consultation process has not penetrated the ideological bubble created by trade department officials. Take one example. By far the biggest concern of critics (including Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz) is the Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provision. This allows corporations to claim damages if they believe a government's laws or regulations unfairly harm their interests or hurt profits. Freeland seems to be either ill informed or misled about the provision's impact. At a panel discussion in Vancouver last month she seemed unaware of the ISDS. Her fellow panelists, both economics professors, downplayed the threat. For many of us who have dealt with trade bureaucrats promoting these investment protection agreements it is easy to suspect that Freeland is being deliberately misinformed by her own staff. The Trudeau government is eager to portray itself as open to persuasion on the TPP. To bolster the position that they still might say no, the government has engaged in a flurry of consultations across the country and has made a point of inviting concerned citizens to send in questions and criticisms to Global Affairs Canada: TPP-PTP.consultations@international.gc.ca. Sounds good. But the execution raises serious questions about how genuine the consultation will be. First, the vast majority of consultations have been with groups supportive of these agreements: Provincial government ministers, business groups, industry reps, universities, etc. Of 74 such meetings (as of Jan. 31), there have been a handful with "students" (but not with student council representatives who have actually studied the TPP) and a couple with labour - with the Canadian Labour Congress and Unifor. There have been no meetings with NGOs who have taken the time to examine the TPP closely, like the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, with First Nations (whose agreements with governments can be trumped by ISDS) or environmental groups. Obviously there is still time for such engagement, but the process so far does not bode well for balanced input. Gifting arbitrary powers to big corps The more serious sign that trade officials are busy manipulating their minister is revealed in the answers the government provides to Canadians who take it up on the offer to engage. When they write to the government asking about investment protection and the ISDS in the TPP, here's the response they get: "With respect to Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS), the TPP will not impair the ability of Canada or its partners to regulate and legislate in areas such as the environment, culture, safety, health and conservation. Our experience under the NAFTA demonstrates that neither our investment protection rules nor the ISDS mechanism constrain any level of government from regulating in the public interest." This is so demonstrably false as to shock even the most jaded cynic. Does Freeland know what is being said in her name? Since the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect on Jan. 1, 1994, Canada has been the target of 35 investor-state claims under the agreement. Nearly two-thirds involved challenges to environmental protection or resource management laws or regulations. Canada has already paid out more than $170 million in damages in six cases (lost or settled) and abandoned most of the "offending" legislation and regulations. We face additional corporate claims totalling more than $6 billion in potential penalties for NAFTA "violations" such as the Quebec government's decision to ban fracking under the St. Lawrence River. This does not take into account the legislation and regulations (federal and provincial) that have never made it out of their cribs, killed by the chill of knowing they wouldn't pass ISDS muster. A recent UN report quoted a former Canadian official as saying: "I've seen the letters from the New York and D.C. law firms coming up to the Canadian government on virtually every new environmental regulation... Virtually all of the new initiatives were targeted and most of them never saw the light of day." In one of the most egregious cases decided under NAFTA, Bilcon of Delaware, a tribunal effectively overruled federal and provincial governments' environmental concerns last year and allowed a quarry to go ahead in Nova Scotia. University of Ottawa law professor Donald McRae, one of the tribunal members, wrote a detailed dissenting opinion warning of the negative impact of the decision. "Once again, a chill will be imposed on environmental review panels which will be concerned not to give too much weight to socio-economic considerations or other considerations of the human environment in case the result is a claim for damages under NAFTA Chapter 11," McRae wrote. "In this respect, the decision of the majority will be seen as a remarkable step backwards in environmental protection." Even one of NAFTA's strongest supporters, Toronto trade lawyer Larry Herman, expressed concern that the dispute tribunals were unilaterally expanding their mandate to circumvent domestic courts. The decision , Herman observed, "will feed ammunition to those who oppose international arbitration as a form of dispute settlement." Just as these unaccountable panels are expanding their powers to interfere in the democratic legislative process, Canada is about to extend these arbitrary powers to corporations in nine more countries in the TPP. Selling free trade Yet so far the "ammunition" provided by this evidence has run smack up against the Kevlar vests in the Global Affairs bureaucracy. The department's name has changed under the Trudeau government, but its approach is powerfully reminiscent of the bad old days of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Development, when a priesthood of trade bureaucrats protected the Holy Grail of "free trade" against all detractors. So deeply did they believe in their mission that factual analyses of agreements like NAFTA and the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) were not even acknowledged, let alone heeded. Noel Schacter, chief trade policy negotiator for the B.C. NDP government in the late 1990s, recalls dealing with federal officials. "Federal government trade negotiators sold free trade by overstating the upsides and underestimating the downsides," he says. "This was especially true of investor-state provisions, which had the potential to be lethally damaging to critical social policy areas such as medicare or the environment. These public servants appeared to have little knowledge of these social policy areas and little concern. During my tenure I never saw any independent analysis that demonstrated why provisions in trade treaties were necessary or how the broader public good would be served. It often felt like being in a temple of true believers and those of us who questioned the doctrine were heretics." Is there any way to counter the pernicious influence of these free-trade zealots? The most powerful antidote would be independent analyses of the controversial areas of the TPP - in other words, genuine consultation. The only time this has been done was under the NDP government of Glen Clark, which provided funding for many social sectors - such as First Nations, women, unions, and environmentalists - to hire experts and study the impact of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment on their constituencies. The resulting studies led the B.C. government to oppose the MAI (which eventually failed to win needed international support). If Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Freeland are truly committed to broad consultation beyond the business community, they should follow the same model. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency already does something similar. Its Participant Funding Program "supports individuals, non-profit organizations and Aboriginal groups interested in participating in federal environmental assessments." It would be a tragic irony if this consultation program led to new environmental legislation - which then triggered a multi-billion-dollar claim by a foreign corporation under the TPP. This article originally appeared on TheTyee.ca .

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"[Flynn] straight up lied," Clarke said on NRATV's "Stinchfield," referring to the Police Chief's baseless claims that concealed-carry permit holders were responsible for Milwaukee's rising crime rate Read More >>> Media Matters and its chief anti-gun propagandists Timothy Johnson and Cydney Hargis, are obsessed with NRATV. And like a true stalker, the fake news blog treats its obsession with abuse and lies. Read More >>> NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox Discusses the Challenge of National Reciprocity on the NRATV series, Stinchfield with host Grant Stinchfield. Read More >>> NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre is urging the same patriots who sent Donald Trump to the White House to fight once again. Read More >>> NRATV's Colion Noir is hitting back at Media Matters and its anti-gun, fake news blogger Timothy Johnson. Read More >>> Video | Ammoland Inc. Posted on December 9, 2016 by NRA News NRATV's Grant Stinchfield & Dana Loesch are challenging Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn to answer for his baseless claim about concealed carry permit holders. Read More >>> After The Boston Globe published Renee Graham's race-baiting, anti-gun article, "More guns, more risk for people of color," Colion Noir told the elitist "This negro pity party is getting old." Read More >>> "They are the rat-bastards of the earth. They are the boil on the backside of American politics." Read More >>> NRA Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre has released a new video commentary that applauds the NRA members and gun owners who elected Donald J. Trump the 45th President Read More >>> Video | Ammoland Inc. Posted on November 1, 2016 by NRA News Veteran U.S. Navy SEAL Dom Raso is speaking out against President Obama's weakness, which has allowed radical Islamic terror to fester, grow and spread across the globe. Read More >>> Colion Noir went on "NRATV Live" to express the outrage and disgust so many have felt since learning that Hillary Clinton wanted to treat Eric Garner's death as nothing more than a political pawn. Read More >>> In Colion Noir's newest commentary on NRATV, he argues that elitist politicians ignore the actual issues causing inner-city violence. Read More >>> NRA Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre delivered an urgent message to America's 100 million gun owners, declaring Hillary Clinton an enemy to the Second Amendment. Read More >>> Colion Noir tore apart Politifact's article, "NRA weakly claims that Clinton said gun confiscation is 'worth considering,'" which tried to hide Hillary Clinton's contempt for the Second Amendment. Read More >>> Video | Ammoland Inc. Posted on October 7, 2016 by NRA News Veteran U.S. Navy SEAL, Dom Raso, challenges parents to question the safety and security of their children's schools in the face of the threat of radical Islamic terror. Read More >>> Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. has had enough of the dangerous Black Lives Matter ideology and the media who support it. Read More >>> If you believe in an America that values family, hard work, civic duty and our God-given freedoms, help the NRA keep its Freedom's Safest Place campaign on the air. Read More >>> Video | Ammoland Inc. Posted on July 13, 2016 by NRA News In a powerful new NRA ad, "Real Solutions," Noir asserts true racism lies in the fact that deceitful politicians allow gangs to terrorize America's inner cities. Read More >>> The NRA has released "I Didn't Listen," a powerful new commercial featuring Antonia Okafor--a millennial woman who refuses to be put in box. She opens her commentary saying, "I've been told that black Read More >>> Video | Ammoland Inc. Posted on July 12, 2016 by NRA News Kim Corban was a 20-year-old college student when a predator broke into her off-campus housing complex and assaulted her in the middle of the night. Read More >>> Colion Noir has released a new video commentary, "Media Fans Flames of Racism," in which he responds to the deceitful media's unjust claims that the NRA does not care about the black community. Read More >>> Unlike Chicago's elite who pretend to care when the pollsters tell them to, Noir actually presents real solutions to end inner-city violence. Read More >>> Tony Blauer joins Dom in Media Lab Episode 12 "S.P.E.A.R. System" to break down a scene from The Bourne Identity and show how your body responds to sudden violence. Read More >>> NRA Life of Duty correspondent Chuck Holton meets with several long-time residents to explore the efforts taking place as they work to improve the quality of life in this financially and culturally-challenged city... Read More >>> Posts navigation Wild Bill : Author David Limbaugh, quite correctly, used the word "consuming". I say let the libtards frenzy, let the libtards riot,... Wild Bill : Dear Mrs Hodges, engage a skilled criminal defense attorney to nail down witnesses, statements, and other evidence, anyway! Don't wait.... Rattlerjake : God gave three instances where the killing of a man has no "bloodguilt" - 1)War, 2)Judicial punishment, 3)Self defense Wild Bill : @Mark, I concur, and thank God that she is an uncivilized, discourteous, and obvious loser. She makes her own ideas,... allan King : she would be the first one to scream armed police to come to her aid when her home is being...

Flynn] straight up lied," Clarke said on NRATV's "Stinchfield," referring to the Police Chief's baseless claims that concealed-carry permit holders were responsible for Milwaukee's rising crime rate

This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. (c)2018 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. All market data delayed 20 minutes. Airline employee was able to steal and crash a commercial airplane; former CIA station chief Daniel Hoffman reacts. Charlottesville declares a state of emergency out of an abundance of caution one year after deadly rally; Doug McKelway reports. Paul Manafort on trial for bank and tax fraud; former federal prosecutor Doug Burns shares his take on the trial. Airline employee stole a commercial aircraft and crashed into a Seattle island; Dan Springer reports. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. (c)2018 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. All market data delayed 20 minutes.

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This weekend, white supremacist troll Andrew 'weev' Auernheimer got himself banned from Gab -- the preferred social media platform for the "alt-right" -- after posting a message in which he called for people to commit terrorist acts against Jewish people in the style of Timothy McVeigh. In his post, Auernheimer credited McVeigh with the government revising tactics that had clearly gone very poorly in Waco and Ruby Ridge, which is not at all how things happened in real life. He suggested that the only recourse to prevent "Jews" from controlling the internet was, perhaps, to blow up a building like McVeigh did. You know, because surely, if someone were to blow up a building in the name of preventing "Jews" from controlling the internet, the world would quickly rally around the cause of giving trolls like weev more freedom to troll people on the internet. The post, ironically, has led to weev getting less space to air his bullshit, not more. The banning occurred at some point after fellow white supremacist Paul Ray Ramsey -- known as RAMZPAUL on social media -- screencapped the post in a tweet and tagged the FBI. Auernheimer has since responded, with more anti-Semitism: Following his posting and despite his removal, Gab soon received a letter from their domain registrar informing them that they would no longer be hosting their platform. Auernheimer has since received support from many other alt-righters, who were truly not sure what was even wrong with suggesting that people commit terrorist acts against Jewish people, and believe it is unfair for him to be kicked off of Gab for the statement. This group includes, apparently, former Trump advisor Roger Stone, who -- for reasons I cannot discern -- blamed Mike Cernovich and weev's friend (or former friend?) Alex Pilosov for it. The tweet has since been deleted. This is all rather curious as both Cernovich and Stone have both recently started working for Infowars and have no previous beef that I'm aware of, and Pilosov and weev have been friends for years, with weev even using Pilosov's address as his when he registered The Daily Stormer. Because this is all very complicated and I'm sure there are a few of you wondering who these people even are and what any of this even means, let me break it down for you. The Players! Andrew 'weev' Auernheimer is a white supremacist, anti-Semite and hacker who has been trolling the internet since at least 2004, when, under the screenname "Memphis Two," he led a pre-Gamergate harassment campaign against games developer Kathy Sierra. Notably, he went to jail in 2011 for identity fraud and "conspiracy to access a computer without authorization" after he, as a member of hacker group Goatse Security, revealed to Gawker that AT&T had a security flaw allowing for the exposure of the email addresses of iPad users. Alex Pilosov, the guy Roger Stone told to fuck off, was with weev during his sentencing. More recently, Auernheimer was the systems administrator for The Daily Stormer , which has since pretty much been kicked off the internet, and suggested people harass Heather Heyer's family at her funeral. Gab is a social media platform designed, almost specifically, to create a safe space for far-right trolls who can't hack it on Twitter due to their obsessive need to harass strangers, particularly women and people of color. It hasn't actually become all that popular, on account of the fact that the people these trolls wish so desperately to harass are not there to be harassed. Which makes it kind of boring for them. But if, like Milo and (formerly) weev, you've been kicked off of Twitter, Gab is really your only option. Note that their logo bears a passing resemblance to Pepe the Frog, because of course it does. The platform is the brainchild of the very childish Andrew Torba, who loves Trump and feels very passionately about being a mean person. Gab's whole schtick has been that, unlike Facebook or Twitter, they LOVE 'free speech' and thus do no moderation and don't ban users for targeted harassment. As a result of this policy, Google has decided to ban them from the Google Play Store, meaning that you cannot download their app, from the Play Store, onto your Android. It has also been rejected numerous times by the Apple App Store. Last Thursday, Gab filed a lawsuit against Google claiming that banning them from the Play Store violated federal antitrust laws. This weekend, following weev's Gab-tweet inciting terrorism, Gab received this notice from their domain registrar giving them five days to transfer their site and GTFO: RAMZPAUL, aka Paul Ray Ramsey, is an internet white supremacist who notably relies on "satire" in his myriad YouTube videos to make his gross views more palatable to the viewing public. Take it away, Southern Poverty Law Center! A scathing critic of "cultural Marxism" -- once an actual school of socialist thought but now a bogeyman to radical rightists who see it as a secret conspiracy to destroy Western society from within -- Paul Ramsey is a white nationalist who posts Internet videos of himself talking to the camera under the screen name of Ramzpaul. Since 2009, he has uploaded hundreds of liberal-loathing, feminist-bashing, and racial separatist-supporting videos to his personal YouTube channel, typically at the rate of three a week. By 2014, his channel had close to 20,000 subscribers, and his videos were being frequently posted to unapologetically white supremacist websites like Vanguard News Network and Stormfront. So, anyway, he thinks weev is a fake, and weev thinks he is a fake. I guess it's hard to discern when everyone you are dealing with is an actual, professional troll. What does it all mean??? It means, for one thing, that the alt-right is getting awfully splintery. At this point, it's nearly impossible to keep track of who hates whom -- I monitor these people pretty constantly, and I'm unable to do it. This is hardly surprising when you are talking about a movement largely made up of people whose only sincere interest is pissing off other people. Eventually, they turn on themselves. For another, it means that Gab is learning not only the harsh lesson that free speech doesn't mean that anyone has to put up with your bullshit -- but also that if you create a platform specifically designed to provide a safe space for people to say horrible things... people are going to say horrible things. And some of those things are going to be calls to violence, which are not actually covered under "free speech" laws. Whoops!

This weekend, white supremacist troll Andrew 'weev' Auernheimer got himself banned from Gab

'The Punisher' Air Date, Cast News: Jon Bernthal Talks Grief and Gun Violence Free sign up cp newsletter! By Rachel Cruz , Christian Post Contributor | Nov 8, 2017 1:42 AM Netflix subscribers anticipate the release of "The Punisher" on the streaming platform. The spinoff to "Daredevil" launches this November and star Jon Bernthal has been making the press rounds. Facebook/MarvelsPunisherNetflix Jon Bernthal stars as Frank Castle, also known as "The Punisher" in the Marvel/Netflix series. Bernthal sat down with the press during the Netflix special screening of "The Punisher" in New York last Monday. The actor discussed themes like grief and gun violence as his character, Frank Castle, turns into a vigilante following the murder of his family. He also discovers a crime ring operating in his city. "This is a real piece about grief; it's about pain," Bernthal said . "What we ask in the course of this season is 'What do you do next? What do you do with the war inside, and how do you face that?'" There's a lot of pent-up anger in Castle that gun and violence are crucial elements to "The Punisher." Bernthal admits it's not easy for the show to be preachy about this stuff, but he believes "The Punisher" shines a mirror on today's society. Bernthal hopes his show will open debates and discussion about gun violence to find real solutions. Netflix put off launching "The Punisher" earlier because of a recent mass shooting in Las Vegas. Merely hours before the show's New York premiere, however, a mass shooter also open fired in a rural Texas church. "There's clearly an issue," Bernthal remarked on real-life events. "We clearly have a problem and what we need immediately I think is some open dialogue on it." Meanwhile, Marvel TV executive Jeph Loeb told the press that Castle is no means an infallible hero in "The Punisher." He became who he is because of he's in pain, which shows his humanity. Bernthal said, however, that his take on Castle isn't about making him the hero or a villain. He wants the show to reveal that cost of violence coming from a man in pain. "The Punisher" will launch all 10 episodes on Netflix on Friday, Nov. 17, at 3:00 a.m. EST.

Netflix subscribers anticipate the release of "The Punisher" on the streaming platform.

The proposed "special visa" would not require "Dreamers" to return to their home countries but would allow them to apply for citizenship... Jeff Denham (screen shot: MSNBC/Youtube) (Kate Irby. McClatchy Washington Bureau) WASHINGTON -- Congressional Republicans are eying a possible "special visa" for immigrants who were brought into the country illegally as children that would not require them to return to their home countries but would allow them to apply for citizenship, according to Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif. The special visa, termed a "bridge," is the latest development in ongoing talks between House Republicans aimed at breaking a deadlock over how to proceed on immigration reform. Other visas, such as the diversity visa lottery program and the family-based migration program, could be limited as part of any deal, Denham said. Under the plan, the special visa could require that the immigrants, known as "Dreamers," show proof of employment, military service or enrollment in school. Denham said he's waiting for details from the conservative House Freedom Caucus on additional requirements and limits to other visas have been put down in writing. "We want to see where those numbers come from, and how many Dreamers would be included," Denham said. "We'd be combining those visas into one new visa program," he added. A big roadblock to any deal has been whether Dreamers should get a special pathway to citizenship. Denham and other House Republicans pushing for a vote on immigration have negotiated for weeks with GOP leadership and the Freedom Caucus. Both sides have referred to the special visa as a "bridge" to citizenship for Dreamers. Denham implied Thursday that the Freedom Caucus offered the compromise in meetings, but Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and other members of the caucus would not confirm or deny authorship. "The negotiations have reached a critical stage," Meadows said. "To talk specifics draws too many lines in the sand, I think." No deal exists in writing yet, both parties said. If no immigration deal is reached before Tuesday, Denham said he will push ahead with his effort to force an immigration vote without leadership approval. That effort -- which needs 218 signatures to work and had 215 as of Thursday afternoon -- would bring four immigration bills to the floor, which include a special pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and increased border security. Rep. Mark Walker, R-N.C., who chairs the conservative Republican Study Committee, the largest GOP House caucus, said the immigration deal has a good chance of moving forward. "I've been around here for 3 1/2 years, I can tell when something is either trending the right direction, the wrong direction or it's just pretend," Walker said. "I really think this is still trending the right direction." (c)2018 McClatchy Washington Bureau. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

The proposed "special visa" would not require "Dreamers" to return to their home countries but would allow them to apply for citizenship

Male Uber drivers are earning more than female Uber drivers, despite the equal paying field, according to a new study. Is it discrimination? Is the gender wage gap real after all? Is the patriarchy alive and kicking? No, men just drive faster on average. The study was released by Stanford University, the University of Chicago... MORE >> The British overseas territory Bermuda has become the first jurisdiction to repeal same-sex marriage, signing a bill into law reversing the rights for gay couples to marry. The island government intends to replace gay marriage with domestic partnerships, reports The Guardian. The new Domestic Partnership Act will roll back the legislation. Walton Brown, Bermuda's minister... MORE >> Stanford University students are on emotional thin ice after being triggered by a satirical poster. Student Isaac Kipust hung flyers defending ICE agents around the Kimball Hall dorm. The flyers jokingly urged students to "report legitimate law enforcement activity" and to "call to receive immediate support if you see law enforcement authorities doing their job!... MORE >> Katie Hopkins was temporarily banned from leaving South Africa for "spreading racial hatred." The controversial provocateur uploaded a video to Twitter claiming that she was being detained in South Africa and that her passport had been taken by the authorities on the orders of the African National Congress, preventing her from flying back to England.... MORE >> 29 women have been arrested in the Iranian capital of Tehran for violating its compulsory headscarf decree, according to Iranian media. Tasnim, a private news agency in Iran, reported that 29 women had been arrested, though it was not revealed where the arrests were made. The arrests come in light of protests against the hijab... MORE >> YouTube is to start labeling all state-funded broadcasters and conspiracy theorists as such, in a bid to prevent the spread of misinformation and fake news. The BBC isn't going to like that. In YouTube's official blog, the platform states, "A big goal for us in 2018 is to provide greater transparency across the board to... MORE >> Transgender activist Andi Dier, who heckled actress Rose McGowan during a book reading last week, has been accused of sexual assault by various women on social media. PopCrave, a Twitter account dedicated to pop culture news, tweeted screenshots of accusing messages. One user wrote: "Andi Dier personally sexually assaulted me and two of my friends... MORE >> Avid porn aficionados are in for a hard time. It's been announced that viewers in Britain will soon have to register their personal details to make accounts on numerous XXX rated websites. Never a dull day in the Orwellian nightmare that is the British Isles. Come April, Pornhub, RedTube, YouPorn and Brazzers will require viewers... MORE >> The Canadian Senate has passed a bill to make the national anthem, O Canada, gender neutral. Though there was opposition from Conservative senators, the House of Commons overwhelmingly voted in favor of changing the line "in all thy sons command" to "in all of us command" to remove the gendered language from O Canada, as some... MORE >> The British Army are being accused of pandering to the politically correct after the release of some, uh, interesting recruitment videos for 2018. The theme for this years video series is "Army Belonging," seemingly in an effort to make the public aware that the British Army intend to be as inclusive as possible. One of their videos,... MORE >> Mere days after being announced as the first hijab-wearing model for L'Oreal Paris's international hair campaign, Amena Khan has stepped down from her role after "anti-Israel" tweets were uncovered from her Twitter timeline. L'Oreal: Because You're Not Worth It. The tweets, which have since been deleted but were caught in a screenshot, claimed that "Israel... MORE >> A peacock has been refused from boarding a flight with United Airlines. The peacock, whose name is Dexter, was brought to New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport this week by a woman named Ventiko, who is a New York-based artist. Ventiko claims that Dexter is her 'emotional support animal,' and had even booked him his own seat for... MORE >> Kim Kardashian got hair braids and Twitter is not having it. The 37-year-old television star is being blasted with accusations of cultural appropriation. Just another day in clown world. The meltdown happened when Kardashian shared a picture on Snapchat showing her new silver cornrows and calling them her "Bo Derek" braids, referring to an actor's... MORE >> The British police force are hellbent on proving they are a living meme. Nottinghamshire police are planning to provide menopausal women with "crying rooms," frequent breaks, desks with a breeze or a fan, and easier access to toilets and showers. The idea was launched after former Chief Constable Sue Fish discovered that policewomen were quitting... MORE >> California may introduce a bill that will see waiters facing up to six months imprisonment and a $1000 fine for offering plastic straws to customers. The ingenious bill, proposed for environmentalist reasons, has been introduced by the California Assembly's Democratic majority leader Ian Calderon, who said in a press release on January 18: "We need... MORE >> Students at a university in Berlin have had artwork removed after deeming it "sexist." Bolivian-Swiss poet Eugen Gomringer first wrote a poem titled "avenidas" in 1951. Gomringer won the Alice Salomon Poetry Prize in 2011 at the Alice Salomon University in Berlin, and, in recognition, had his poem painted onto a university building's south facade, reports... MORE >> Politicians in France have suggested a draft proposal to combat "sexual contempt" by fining men up to EUR350 for harassing women in public. The report suggests taking measures against men who "violate women's freedom of movement in public space" by making "loud and lewd comments about women, follow them, or block their path." The draft... MORE >> Hold onto your frappuccinos liberals, because your 11am yoga class may have links to white supremacy. Or so a professor of Religious Studies from Michigan State University claims. Shreena Gandhi, who co-authored the article with "antiracist white Jewish organizer, facilitator, and healer" (busy woman) Lillie Wolf, posits that the "(mis)appropriation" of yoga is part of a "systemic... MORE >> A Stanford University professor with links to domestic terrorist group antifa is being asked to resign by several student organizations. Professor David Palumbo-Liu, who teaches comparative literature, founded the Campus Antifascist Network in August 2017, along with Purdue University professor Bill Mullen. The Stanford Review wrote a damning article on Palumbo-Liu, questioning: Do we really... MORE >> The University of Connecticut is being called out for egregious double standards over its treatment guest speakers on campus. Editor-in-Cheif of The Daily Wire, Ben Shapiro, was finally allow to speak Wednesday after having his event closed to the public and open only for students, faculty members, and special pre-registered guests once UConn reviewed the... MORE >> Have you ever wondered how to practice more socially-just science? Do you feel that Quantum Superposition needs a more feminist-driven observable state? Is evolution and the concept of "survival of the fittest" discriminatory in nature against the fat-acceptance movement? Well, rest assured, because the University of California Santa Cruz is holding a Feminist Science workshop!... MORE >> Former Fox News host Megyn Kelly has clapped back against Jane Fonda after a series of snarky remarks from the American actress. The public feud culminated on Monday, with Kelly blasting Fonda's patriotism and selective openness regarding her plastic surgery. It's like Mean Girls, but everyone's older. The attack comes after Fonda refused to talk about... MORE >> The British Labour party is in hot water after it was revealed that white people are being made to pay more than minorities for an activist rally next month. Some people are more equal than others. Labour chiefs have decided that white party members are to pay PS40 per ticket for the East Midland Labour... MORE >> Chelsea Manning has been spotted partying with right wingers and is now facing backlash for "hanging out with Nazis." The left always eats its own. US Senate candidate and antifa darling Manning has caused controversy by attending a pro-Trump gala where right-wing media personalities such as Gavin McInnes were present. Mike Cernovich hosted the event... MORE >>

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Jurors sitting in courtroom Civil jury trials raise surprising access to justice concerns. Jury trials are less predictable, more expensive and create real risk that the law will play second fiddle to the jury's collective version of "justice." Many lawyers extoll the jury as a sacrosanct tool that ensures common sense and community values are represented and applied in our legal system. The problem is that many people's values and common sense are, knowingly or not, touched by racism, sexism, unfair beliefs and other irrational forces. In many ways, a civil jury trial is more similar to a mini political campaign than a rigorous exercise of applying the law to the facts of a particular case. Juries are generally more easily persuaded by appeals to emotion, lawyer tricks, and bias than are judges. And lawyers know it. We drastically change the way we try cases in front of juries. And judges know it. I've had judges plainly point out during pre-trial conferences that it is more important to have a jury like and relate to your client than it is to have the law and evidence on your side. Unlikeable people and marginalized people are entitled to compensation just as much as anyone else. Immigrants of color are entitled to compensation just the same as white "old stock" Canadians. Trans people are entitled to compensation just the same as cis men. But there are little to no protections put in place to ensure a jury agrees. Juries are unpredictable. You never know who will be called for jury duty. During jury selection, you know nothing about the jury members other than their occupation and names. You have little control over who is eventually picked for the jury. If you were a female immigrant of color, would you want an all-white male jury deciding your case? I wouldn't. But an insurance company might. Insurance companies know that juries can punish people they do not relate to or do not like. Are judges better able to put aside bias and make the right decision? Yes and no. Judges are people too - predominantly white, upper class men. And they make mistakes. But judges must provide written reasons that support and explain their decisions. Those written reasons can then be scrutinized for errors and appealed to higher courts. There are no written reasons in jury trials - just verdicts. Juries are less equipped than judges to decide most civil cases. Pieces of information are kept secret from juries: they are not allowed to know that a large insurance company with deep pockets represents the defendant and pays for the judgment. Juries do not have access to past court decisions to see how the system has dealt with similar cases in the past. In car accident cases, the jury is not told that injured people generally have the first $36,000 of their pain and suffering damages deducted from their award. This means that juries can return a verdict for $30,000 and an injured person receives nothing, loses the case and owes the insurance company a portion of its legal bill. Juries often hear complicated medical, engineering and accounting evidence from conflicting experts retained by both sides. Would you want six people with no medical or vocational training deciding the nature of your injuries or what treatment and income you need for the rest of your life? Jury trials are longer than judge alone trials because of the extra time needed to pick the jury, explain the law to the jury and have the judge rule on what evidence the jury will and will not hear. This means that jury trials are the more expensive option in an already prohibitively expensive justice system. Insurance companies and large corporations are better-equipped to take on the risks of jury trials. An insurance company losing a trial usually means losing an infinitely small percentage of the year's profits. An injured person losing a trial can mean a life of poverty and medical bills. The result is that insurance companies are generally more willing than an average citizen to force a case to be tried by an unpredictable jury. In fact, insurance companies use the threat of a jury trial to push injured people to settle their claims for less money. For lawyers, trying cases with juries is often the most rewarding and exciting work of our careers. The quality of counsel work is generally more important than in judge alone trials, meaning we have more control over the outcome of a case. Perhaps this is part of the reason that so many lawyers defend the right to a jury trial with such vigor? Numerous countries and jurisdictions have reduced or removed the right to a civil jury trial. South Africa does not allow jury trials due to fears of racism tainting decisions. England and parts of Australia do not allow jury trials for personal injury claims. In Canada, you cannot select a jury for civil cases against the Crown. At its most basic parts, our justice system is supposed to provide an inexpensive avenue for all Canadians to resolve their disputes in a fair, impartial way in accordance with the rule of law. Civil jury trials as they currently exist too often push against these core values of our legal system and make it more difficult for average and marginalized Canadians to access justice; it's time for a change. Joseph Fearon is a personal injury lawyer with Preszler Law Firm LLP . Reasonable Doubt appears on www.nowtoronto.com on Mondays. Follow @JWCFearon on Twitter. A word of caution: You should not act or rely on the information provided in this column. It is not legal advice. To ensure your interests are protected, retain or formally seek advice from a lawyer. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Preszler Law Firm LLP or the lawyers of Preszler Law Firm LLP.

Jurors sitting in courtroom Civil jury trials raise surprising access to justice concerns

National Review's Rich Lowry laid out exactly why the "humanitarian crisis" is unfolding at our southern border: because this administration has allowed the rule of law to go by the wayside and . . . Somewhere in America, right now, Hillary Clinton is struggling. This morning, she had to eat eggs that come from a chicken because skyrocketing fuel prices have made griffin eggs all the more . . . Congressman Raul Labrador has decided to run for Majority Leader in Congress, making it a true race between him and Kevin McCarthy. So Mark Levin had him on his radio show last . . . It really seems like Hillary Clinton is having a tough time kick-starting her feminist march into the White House, and surprisingly, it was a softball question from an NPR interviewer that got . . . As we watch Al Qaeda affiliated terrorist army of ISIS attempt to seize control of Iraq, there's already evidence that the group has extended a terror attack deep into Europe: Mehdi Nemmouche, . . . Senator Lindsay Graham is hardly our favorite Republican, but even he had the foresight in 2011 to know that Obama's plan to withdraw our troops from Iraq too quickly would lead to . . . Our nation can debate whether it's in America's interests to go back into Iraq to keep Baghdad from falling to vile extremist terrorist hands, but the most important opinions should be from . . . The details keep getting worse around the impending take over of Iraq by Islamist terrorists who were kicked out of Al Qaeda for being too extreme. In a report from Megyn Kelly, . . . Republicans are attempting to ridicule Hillary's book tour by sending a guy in a giant squirrel costume to her events armed with flyers and the motto, "another Clinton in the White House . . . If you want to bury a story, drop it on Friday afternoon. That's why the IRS revealed today that they "accidentally" deleted the Lois Lerner emails that could have shed some light . . . Charles Krauthammer gives a sobering review of just how bad the situation in Iraq is becoming, and how President Obama's response today was that of someone who has no idea what they . . . The Ed Show program welcomed preacher preacher Dr. Frederick Haynes III just long enough so that he could warp a biblical injunction in order to scold conservative Christians for not supporting the . . . While Mark Levin claims to be no foreign policy expert, he argues we need to defeat those barbarians that are taking over Iraq because they aren't just going to stay in Iraq, . . . I'm gonna just go ahead and say this is nothing but a bunch of HOOEY: WASHINGTON TIMES - The IRS told Congress on Friday that it has lost some of former employee . . . How can your world be politics and yet you don't know that Cantor lost his seat this week? Does this guy even know who he is? (h/t: Hotair) In other news from . . . After reading this article I've got that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that we are about to loose these 200 Americans because Obama wouldn't save them. Benghazi 2.0. I . . . Sarah Palin says that our lawless president is allowing illegals to flood across the border in order to create a humanitarian crisis so that he can use his 'pen' and his 'phone' . . . Hillary is siding with the president, basically telling Iraq this is their problem to deal with and that we should send no airstrikes to help: CNN - Hillary Clinton said the United . . . Last night Glenn Beck came on Hannity's TV show to basically discuss current events, from the terrorist state forming in Iraq to the GOP and more. Watch: So it appears that the only thing Obama really announced today was that he's not going to send any troops into a combat mission in Iraq. Fox News (via email) puts it . . .

Somewhere in America, right now, Hillary Clinton is struggling. This morning, she had to eat eggs that come from a chicken because skyrocketing fuel prices have made griffin eggs all the more

Substance-abusing Toronto mayor Rob Ford has been relatively well behaved in public recently, having managed a visit a Toronto megaclub without slurring anything offensive and telling reporters about the $5,000 check he thoughtfully gave to his wife for Christmas. Unfortunately, it seems that Ford's civilized streak has come to an end: A video posted to YouTube on Tuesday shows him standing in what appears to be a fast-food restaurant, waving his arms around and speaking unintelligibly in what the person who uploaded the footage (which was supposedly recorded last night) described as a "Jamaican accent," which mostly consists of drunk mumbling occasionally punctuated by "mon." Ford's brother, Doug, acknowledged that the video was authentic but claimed that it could not have been recorded on Monday because Rob "hasn't taken a drink" since "the beginning of November," and "Rob's a lot heavier in that picture ... than what he is now." Doug also claimed to have spoken to the mayor at 10:30 last night. However, when a reporter asked him if he thought his brother "needs help," he responded, "The only person who needs help is you guys." So, even if the Fords did have a conversation on the evening the video was taken, it doesn't seem that Doug is a great judge of how messed up his brother is at any given moment.

Substance-abusing Toronto mayor Rob Ford has been relatively well behaved in public recently, having managed a visit a Toronto megaclub without slurring anything offensive and telling reporters about the $5,000 check he thoughtfully gave to his wife for Christmas.

Push Under Way On Beacon Hill To Dump State Flag; Guess Why? By Evan Lips | April 11, 2017, 19:55 EDT Printed from: http://newbostonpost.com/2017/04/11/push-under-way-on-beacon-hill-to-dump-state-flag-guess-why/ (WIkipedia) BOSTON -- A push is under way on Beacon Hill to change the state flag because of its depiction of a Native American man tilting his arrow towards the ground as an apparent sign of pacifism and submission, while a colonial-style broadsword wielded by a white man hovers above his head. State Representative Byron Rushing (D-Boston) has introduced legislation calling for the "creation of a special commission relative to the seal and motto" of the commonwealth. On Tuesday the Joint Committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight heard testimony from several flag opponents, including a Weymouth woman who has previously led efforts to force the Cleveland Indians baseball team to ditch its name and Chief Wahoo mascot. "Our state flag, now that I'm a citizen here in Massachusetts, horrified me when I first saw it," Sherrie Noble, who worked for the currently shuttered nonprofit American Indian Education Center while in Cleveland, told lawmakers. "It's been flying over this building, has been prominently displayed in courthouses and government offices, and it is even displayed in many places of worship. "It is also prominently displayed on State Police vehicles, on their doors; the images themselves endorse, teach, and support racism and violence." Rushing did not testify at the public hearing, but the longtime lawmaker from Boston's South End has made several attempts throughout the course of his 35-year legislative career to have the state seal changed. During the late 1980s, Rushing led efforts to force the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority to dump its former logo, one which depicted a pilgrim hat that had been pierced by an arrow: The old Mass Pike logo, which state Rep. Byron Rushing worked to change -- he's now working (again) to get state flag changed. #mapoli pic.twitter.com/n1aneMfgVh -- Evan Lips (@evanmlips) April 11, 2017 Noble pointed out that the flag's latest approval for adoption occurred in 1971, "well within the memory of many members of this legislature." "Every day the flag remains as it is designed we are all collectively -- and you are individually endorsing -- the racism it showcases," Noble added. "If we allow our flag to remain unchanged, we are arrogantly showcasing the worst of our history." The seal in its current form dates back to 1780. Others who spoke included John A. Peters, executive director of the state Department of Housing and Community Development's Commission on Indian Affairs. Peters, a member of the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe , said the seal "has been symbolic of the genocide that took place here in Massachusetts." Larry Fisher, who also goes by the name Wompimeequin Wampatuck in his capacity as chief of the South Shore's Mattakeeset Tribe , told lawmakers that the seal "depicts the hostile takeover of the first people of Massachusetts." "The seal has several ties to slavery, displacement, and genocide of all kinds, including identity, culture, land ownership, and murder," Fisher added. Fisher said he believes the arm holding the sword above the Native American man's head belongs to Myles Standish, who arrived via the Mayflower. Fisher described Standish as a "slaveholding, mass-murderer of Indians." Fisher also claimed that the seal's imagery has the potential to induce post-traumatic stress-related symptoms for Native Americans, citing the science of epigenetics, part of which theorizes that genes can pass down aspects of ancestral trauma. "Looking at this seal triggers our PTSD and historical trauma for me and many others," Fisher said. Larry Fisher, also known as Wompimeequin Wampatuck, suggests Native Americans help #Massachusetts design new state flag. #mapoli pic.twitter.com/hci6a9h1Ad -- Evan Lips (@evanmlips) April 11, 2017 Meanwhile, asked by a New Boston Post reporter on what a potential replacement for the state seal could be, Noble responded by saying it is a question she has yet to consider. "I haven't thought about that, but I love the coastal picture, the diversity and world connections we have here in Massachusetts and the sciences, which tracks all the way back to indigenous herbal practices," she said. Fisher said a new state seal would ideally be crafted with the assistance of Massachusetts Native Americans. "We must achieve peace, balance, and harmony together, so let's design it together," he said. David Detmold of Montague also testified, leading lawmakers through a brief history of the seal's evolution. He explained that pre-1780, the state seal depicted an Anglo-American man clutching the Magna Carta, an image engraved by Paul Revere. Prior to that, the seal used by the Massachusetts Bay Colony featured a Native American man standing between two trees with the motto "Come over and help us." The current state seal, Detmold said, "seems to many of us to be flagrantly representative of white supremacy." Detmold added that he has previously lobbied Turners Falls High School, which serves Montague, to drop the use of an Indian mascot. He pointed out that the town's namesake, Captain William Turner, is famous for the role he played in King Phillip's War, in which he led a surprise pre-dawn attack on an unsuspecting Indian village. "We continue to make the analogy, and it may seem extreme, but were you to name a sports team in Auschwitz or Buchenwald the 'Hitler Jews,' it would be similar to naming a sports team in my community the 'Turner's Indians'," Detmold said. Tuesday's hearing saw nobody testify in favor of preserving the state seal. Rushing's bill is currently under review. "Squanto, who saved the Plymouth Colony, with a sword above his head..." Re: state flag #mapoli pic.twitter.com/r0asIg70L5 -- Evan Lips (@evanmlips) April 11, 2017

A push is under way on Beacon Hill to change the state flag because of its depiction of a Native American man tilting his arrow towards the ground as an apparent sign of pacifism and submission, while a colonial-style broadsword wielded by a white man hovers above his head

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You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! Michael Voris points out that Judas Iscariot first turned away from Our Lord owing to a personal disbelief in Christ's teaching on His Real Presence in the Eucharist. Voris is referring to the end of chapter six of St. John's Gospel where followers and disciples of Christ abandon Him rather than accept His teaching that He is the Bread of Life. After Christ repeats His teaching on the necessity of eating His Flesh and drinking His Blood, John 6:61 reads , "Many therefore of his disciples, hearing it, said, 'This saying is hard, and who can hear it?'" John 6:65 relates, "Jesus knew from the beginning, who they were that did not believe and who he was that would betray him." The issue comes to a head with the focus on Judas as John 6:67-72 recounts : After this many of His disciples went back and walked no more with him. Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away? And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? ... Jesus answered them: Have not I chosen you twelve; and one of you is a devil? Now he meant Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon: for this same was about to betray him, whereas he was one of the twelve. Watch the panel discuss how Christ's truth separates the sheep from the goats in Friday's Download--The One True Faith Revisited: Judas and the Eucharist . This week's topics on The Download include Muslims in a PC Culture and Facebook, among others. Catch The Download live Monday-Friday at 10:30 a.m. ET at churchmilitant.com . To view every episode, sign up for a Premium subscription and receive hundreds of hours of quality Catholic content.

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To help us get a sense of the amendment's broader implications, Slate Editor David Plotz asked readers to submit their questions about what passing the proposal might mean. They responded in full force: As of this writing, there were over 1,000 comments on the post. Some of the questions readers posed were clearly tongue-in-cheek, but most indicated serious concerns over the measure's far-reaching potential. 4. Could a landlord or a hotel charge a pregnant woman for double occupancy? 12. If I have a life-threatening pregnancy, can I get an abortion on the grounds of self-defense? Or would the police content themselves with investigating my subsequent painful death as a murder-suicide?

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In an interview on Fern Britton Meets... Karren Brady, The Apprentice star opened up about her faith and revealed she is "a faithful companion of Jesus". "I am a faithful companion of Jesus. I probably wasn't when I was 12 or 13 when I was in the convent, but I think having a spiritual side means that you live your life with an open heart, and you embrace things that are difficult, you want people to do well," she explained. "My grandmother had a motto that you should never look down on people unless you are helping them up, and I think that's a very spiritual way of living." Fern's interview with Karren not only touched upon her childhood and featured interviews with her mother and father, but also explored her journey into the world of business. Karren spoke very openly about being ambiitious and opinionated from a young age, and was more than happy to elaborate on her first ever Saturday job working in a local hair salon. But of course, one thing that Fern was keen to speak about was popular BBC show The Apprentice, in which Karren acts as an aide to Lord Sugar. During the interview, the businesswoman was asked if she thought that there was a difference between the way men and women on the show worked. Karren replied: "Yeah, there is. Everyone who comes into the process is very entrepreneurial, they either have run a business, are running a business, or they want to run a business. "It's very different to wanting to be an employee, so they're very dogged and determined people and suddenly when you bring all these people - who think they are the best at everything - together the tensions run very high. "And the women in the past have been worse than the men. But they soon learn the ability of working as a team, whereas the guys never really learn it - it's much more about their personal view of the world and of the way they want to do things." Viewers of The Apprentice will remember when Karren slammed one female team on the series after they ended up bickering in the boardroom, calling their behaviour "outrageous" and telling them that she had "never come across anything like this" in the past. However, in her interview with Fern, Karren said that she put herself forward as "a woman who champions other women" and expressed her desire to see more women succeeding in business. Karren, who is the youngest managing director of a PLC in the UK, went on to say that she never knew who would be fired each week on The Apprentice. Fern Britton Meets... Karren Brady will air on BBC One on Sunday December, 20 at 10am.

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The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle, write the authors. CAP economist Christian E. Weller examines the state of the U.S. economy in December 2014. The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle. The question is: What will be the return on that investment? The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle. The question is: What will be the return on that investment? By Claire Moser and Matt Lee-Ashley Recent lawsuits that challenge executive action on immigration are unlikely to proceed. They miss the legal rationale for the action and ignore the large economic benefits it could bring. By Silva Mathema and Philip E. Wolgin Delegations from around the world set the stage for a new global climate agreement. By Gwynne Taraska and Jesse Vogel To fully realize the potential of Metro's Silver Line, policymakers must break with past development practices, writes the author. Increasing income inequality has decreased the share of the population earning a middle-class income. By Keith Miller and David Madland Only public policy can ensure that all women have the chance to participate fully and thrive, writes author Judith Warner. The Social Security program should be strengthened to support working women, explain the authors. The Social Security program should be strengthened to support working women as they age and face the realities of caring for their families. By Sarah Jane Glynn and Jackie Odum There are lessons to learn from other countries where public policy has been used to help women succeed, write the authors. Spending on judicial elections reached $15 million in 2014--a record for a midterm election--fueled by money from attorneys and corporate litigants. By Billy Corriher Authors Peter Juul and Rudy deLeon write on the significance of the Orion launch. Public policy is an essential tool for promoting women's workforce participation and leadership. By Emily Baxter, Judith Warner, and Sarah Jane Glynn

The coal, oil, and gas industries spent more than three-quarters of a billion dollars in the 2014 election cycle, write the authors. CAP economist Christian E. Weller examines the state of the U.S. economy in December 2014.

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I wear a bulbous gold ring on my left ring finger. I'm not married, and it doesn't look like a wedding band. When people ask, I tell them "it's a family thing" and try to change the subject. Because the whole truth isn't something I normally want to talk about. You see, the ring bears my maternal grandfather's initials. There's a near-identical one with my grandmother's initial, which I believe my sister has. They had the rings made, as a couple, with what little money they could scrounge up after surviving Auschwitz-Birkenau. I don't like talking about the subject with strangers (the people most likely to ask me about the ring), but it's fundamentally a hopeful token. The weight on my left ring finger, without which I feel brutally naked, reminds me that they managed to start new lives in a better world. That, despite the best efforts of one of the world's most powerful states, they escaped the total annihilation my people were slated for. That need for a certain kind of closure, an understanding that humanity survived the horror, perhaps helps explain the viral popularity of Elad Nehorai 's " 20 Photos That Change The Holocaust Narrative ." The post on Nehorai's site PopChassid, which has reached 22,000 Facebook likes as I'm writing, temporarily crashed the site. I myself saw it after several other Jewish facebook friends shared the post on their feeds. But now I can't stop thinking about it. That's because the images Nehorai compiled breathe life into the cold message on my hand. They range from a massive Jewish-American rally for boycotting Nazi Germany in 1937 to a woman's beautiful, gleaming, gaunt face when she learned she had been freed to the survivor and her grandmother you see above. They have such power because, as Nehorai suggests, they free us from the feeling of being "helpless" victims: [These i]mages that show a more subtle, more true, story. A story that shows our inner power, our inner turmoil in dealing with a situation we cannot comprehend, our attempts to gain justice, and our final steps into moving above and beyond our past and into a new future. We need to treat stories about oppression as histories of real people. A Holocaust history of deracinated, literally emptied-out Jews helplessly acquiescing to their slaughter is one that fails to take the shared humanity of Jews now and today seriously. That Jews in transit camps committed acts of rebellion as quiet as lighting a menorah, that survivors celebrated their liberation with raised champagne glasses and lit cigarettes helps us find ourselves in them. It presents us with what French philosopher and Holocaust survivor Emmanuel Levinas calls "the face of the other," that thing which makes someone who seems so utterly of a different place and time someone that could be living today. The chilling implication being, of course, that real people today can and do suffer through the same kinds of pain. Humanizing survivors has never been a problem for me; my grandfather's constant presence as I grew up made it impossible not to see the ordinariness we shared. He taught me how to sing along (poorly) to the overloud Yiddish music that tore through the speakers in his oversized Lincoln Towncar, an object of pride that he took every opportunity to drive me and my (largely Catholic, somewhat confused) childhood friends around in. Nehorai's collection also reminded me of my grandfather in another way: its bold assertion that Jews fought back against the Nazis when they could. We all know the famous stories, like the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, but the more common resistance was far smaller in scope. By all rights, my grandfather should have died: the Nazis had gotten him out of Auschwitz and set him on the death march that claimed so many other Jewish lives near the end of the war. But he took advantage of a distraction and escaped, hiding in a dung-filled barn in a small Bavarian town until he was rescued. We talk less about these stories than the enormity of the genocide itself, but they're critical to understanding the reality of the experience of Holocaust survivors. These were people who fought what was, at the time, the world's greatest war machine, and did so believing the only reward was survival in the most stark of terms. That spirit of resistance, that feeling that we were actors as well as acted upon, is why the picture that grabs my attention the most is the one set right here. The idea of a survivor, after liberation, holding a Nazi soldier at gunpoint is the encapsulation of every "fuck you" to Hitler's project delivered by Jewish acts of self and group preservation. We didn't just survive; we turned the tables. That spirit is dangerous, of course. Its most benign form is idle fantasizing, like Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds or my boyhood superhero story that, before being imprisoned, my grandfather bravely fought the Nazis as part of the Polish Army. He was in the army, but he was a conscript, forced to fight anemically for a government that already detested him . Indeed, the Polish Army was initially set against both the Nazis and the Soviets. The Russians famously went on to liberate Auschwitz. Reality isn't amenable to simplification, even a reality as morally simple as World War II. But the sense of empowerment from seeing a Nazi held at Jewish gunpoint is real -- a feeling, I suspect, that members of other historically oppressed groups understand altogether well. Each of Nehorai's images similarly gets at a particular, but under-discussed truth of the Holocaust. There's an almost palpable whiplash, from rebellion to desperation to a overwhelming sense of of the survivor's basic human dignity. The breathtaking realness of the display is why it's taken me all day to write this post, why I (and I don't think this is just the fact that I was on a red eye last night) have spent half the day in tears. I couldn't help but think of these photos as more than just images. I couldn't help but think of my ring.

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Many of you may recognize this as former Senator Tom Harkin's comparison of the two political parties. He often used this comic line as a simple and easy-to-understand description of the difference between Democrats and Republicans. "Just remember one thing," Harkin said at the Democratic Convention in 2000. "All you ever needed to know about this election, you've learned from driving. If you want to go backward, you put it in R. But if you want to go forward, you put it in D." In addition to Harkin, many other Democratic politicians, including Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, have used this explanation of the two parties' agendas. This simple contrast between the two parties is more relevant than ever this year. Since the Republicans took complete control of the three branches of government, we are seeing this play out in real time. From Des Moines to Washington, D.C., the Republicans have shifted the government into a head-long rush backwards to a darker, meaner and dangerous past. The Republican controlled Iowa Legislature has Iowa Democrats playing total defense. Democrats' minority position in the Legislature prevents them from driving forward any improvements in the lives of Iowans. Their courageous efforts have been restricted to attempting to slow the Republicans' reckless rush backwards. The Iowa Republican leadership have zealously pushed through the most ruthless assault on workers, teachers, unions and women in memory. Rather than advancing the lives of most Iowans their actions will take Iowans backward. Backward to a time in history when Iowans had less control over their lives. Backward to a time before workers had a voice in their futures. Backward to a time before women had control over their own bodies and their healthcare. Backward to a time before Iowa teachers could negotiate for their families economic well-being. Republicans are obliterating the Democrats' forward move to boost the minimum wage in four Iowa Counties. Slashing the minimum wages of those workers from the $10.75 (Polk County) target back to $7.25 is a heartless plunge backwards. The Republicans' brutal blow crushes the hopes of thousands of Iowa families to provide for themselves. The Republicans' cruel disregard for those hard working Iowa families is a disgusting step backwards. The Republicans' malicious war on workers and teachers has resulted in the stripping of union workers' rights to negotiate their own futures. It symbolizes how fanatic this Iowa Republican Party has become. Over 40 years ago, it was Republican Governor Robert Ray that signed the collective bargaining law this Republican Party just discarded. Today's Republican Party overturned forty years of that labor peace in a rushed and uncompromising plunge backwards. In addition, their gutting of worker compensation benefits of injured workers is further evidence of their fanatic attacks on Iowa's working men and women. This Republican controlled Iowa Legislature will go down in history as the most extreme and reactionary in memory. Their vindictive assault on Iowans' rights reverses years of progressive improvements in the lives of Iowa's families. At the national level, President Trump's proposed slashing of safety net programs that benefit the most helpless guarantees a return to insecurity for millions of Americans. His cuts to government investments in agencies like the National Institutes of Health will impair the nation's reputation to remain a leader in research. Trump's vow to resurrect the 18 th century fuel of choice, dirty coal, is a complete betrayal of America's commitment to embrace state-of-the-art renewable energy sources. The Trump Administration's proposed slashing of funding for education, the environment and science will diminish America's ability to compete in a global economy. His wholesale retreat on leadership in the world will result in making America a great disappointment to the rest of the world. Trump's agenda will set back America's historical position as a leader of the free world. Former Senator Tom Harkin would probably never have guessed that Republicans could reverse so much he and other Democrats have accomplished. Keep in mind, Trump is just getting started and the Iowa Republicans will control the three branches of Iowa government until at least 2018. How much further backwards can Republicans take Iowa and the nation in the next year? by Rick Smith Posted 4/6/17

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Jane Kleeb Vs. The Keystone Pipeline By Saul Elbein, www.nytimes.com May 20, 2014 Jane Kleeb Vs. The Keystone Pipeline 2014-05-20 2014-05-22 https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2017/12/popres-shorter.png PopularResistance.Org https://popularresistance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/2014/05/Screen-Shot-2014-05-20-at-7.55.50-AM1-150x96.png 200px 200px Terry Van Housen had a question. What he wanted to know from the 30 or so other Nebraska farmers and ranchers gathered in February at the York Community Center was this: What do you do with 10,000 dead cows? That was the number of cattle Van Housen figured could be at risk if the Obama administration permitted the proposed 1,700-mile XL leg of the Keystone pipeline to cut across their state. Bulldozers would dig a trench not far from Van Housen's feedlot, completing the final phase of the Keystone project and streamlining the current flow of oil from the bitumen mines of Northern Alberta toward refineries on the Gulf Coast of Texas. If the pipe were to leak, Van Housen said, his cattle could die. "Can we put [those cows] on trucks and send them to Canada?" suggested Max Nelson, a stooped retired rancher who raised his hand every 10 minutes to pose other hypothetical disasters: a spill polluting the water supply of West Omaha, say, or compromising the hydroelectric dams on the Platte River. TransCanada, the $48 billion Canadian company that owns the Keystone, has repeatedly said the XL will be "the safest pipeline ever built on U.S. soil," a technological marvel with automatic shut-off valves and satellite monitoring. The exact composition of what will flow through the pipeline is not publicly available, but it will include bitumen -- a thick, semisolid petroleum product -- blended with natural gas that has been pressurized to become a liquid. If the line is approved, it could carry 830,000 barrels a day of this "diluted bitumen" across Nebraska, over 275 miles and through 515 private properties. No one knows exactly what a leak would do, but evidence from past malfunctions suggests catastrophe. In 2010, a spill from Enbridge's Line 6B dropped 840,000 gallons of bitumen to the bottom of the Kalamazoo River in Michigan. Four years and more than a billion dollars later, the cleanup continues. Last spring, Exxon's Pegasus line burst near a residential area of Mayflower, Ark., spreading 210,000 gallons of bitumen through neighborhood streets, causing evacuations and leaving residents complaining of respiratory problems, nausea and headaches. Among the farmers in the York Community Center was a petite, progressive organizer with close-cropped hair named Jane Kleeb (pronounced Klehb). She was the reason they were there. The fight over the Keystone XL has largely been portrayed as one about climate change, in which environmental groups like the National Wildlife Federation and 350.org are pitted against the fossil-fuel industry. But what has kept the pipeline out of the ground so far, more than anything, has been Kleeb's ability to convince mostly conservative farmers and ranchers that they are the ones being asked to bear all the risk of Canada's energy expansion. If something goes wrong, she says, they're the ones who are going to suffer. Kleeb didn't need to persuade all of the people in the room to be angry -- many of the state's landowners are plenty wary of what they see as the pipeline's risks -- but she has organized them to take on TransCanada and more or less their state's entire political power structure. Days earlier, thanks to her efforts, a state district court had thrown the construction into limbo. Kleeb's route to rural activism was not a predictable one. Born Jane Fleming, she was raised in a Catholic family in exurban South Florida, where her mother was a staunch Republican and the head of Broward County Right to Life. Her early childhood was spent going to candlelight vigils and making signs for anti-abortion rallies, and the absolutist approach to activism that she learned as a girl filled a deep need as she became an adolescent. She struggled with anorexia throughout her teens, she said, and community service was one of the few things that gave her life a sense of meaning. "There were times when service literally kept me alive," she told me. Over the years, her involvement with community-aid groups pulled her out of the Republican Party. In 2004, at 30, she pitched to the Young Democrats of America a proposal to organize young voters using grass-roots techniques. "Our belief was that one punk kid talking to another punk kid would be more likely to believe a message than if some preppy kid came to their door," she said. The Young Democrats hired her as its executive director, and in 2005, as she was preparing for its quarterly meeting in Phoenix, a contact asked if a Democratic House candidate from Nebraska could address the group. "I said: 'Nebraska? No way,' " she recalled. " 'I'm not helping some Republican fake liberal who just wants to use the youth vote to get out of the primaries.' " Then she saw a picture of Scott Kleeb, and her resistance immediately softened. "I was like: 'Approved. Definitely. Whatever it takes to get him here.' " Scott Kleeb spoke at the gathering, and over the course of the campaign season, the two kept running into each other at Democratic fund-raisers around the country. Scott began calling her to ask for campaign advice, and she traveled to Nebraska to help organize his operation. He lost in the general election, but he came closer than any Democrat in over 30 years to winning in one of the most conservative districts in the country. The day after his defeat, Scott invited her to spend Thanksgiving on his family's ranch. Four months later they married, and Jane, who'd never had any real contact with rural America, moved to Nebraska. She fell in love with the people and their homesteader-like sense of collective responsibility. "It didn't matter if it was 2 a.m. and driving snow," she said, "if your neighbor called to say they had a cow out or a fence down, you went to help." After Barack Obama's election in 2008, Kleeb campaigned throughout the state to win Senator Ben Nelson's vote for Obamacare. In the time she spent rallying Nebraska voters to pressure him, Kleeb realized that residents were much more receptive to nonconservative messages than anyone expected. In March 2010, she started the progressive group Bold Nebraska with a grant from a prominent Omaha Democrat. The organization's mission was to change Nebraska's political landscape by organizing power blocs along various progressive issues -- as long as they weren't abortion rights. "No one was talking about all the other issues facing our state," Kleeb said. "Just: 'Are you pro-life or pro-choice?' " That May, a friend of Kleeb's at the National Wildlife Federation told her about a State Department hearing on the Keystone XL in York County, in the southeastern part of the state. TransCanada's proposed line would cross the route of the huge annual migration of sandhill cranes, and federation organizers were concerned about how a spill would affect the birds. They hoped Kleeb might attend the meeting with them and join forces in opposing the plan. Kleeb wanted to steer clear of the issue. Bold Nebraska had yet to find its feet, and she was looking for a cause to unite progressives with Nebraska's growing independent population. Environmental campaigns had never resonated with her, and despite farmers' appreciation for their land, she knew that conservatives in Nebraska were not sympathetic to what they saw as a lefty cause. Photo A cornfield in Polk County, Neb., near a proposed route for the Keystone XL pipeline. Credit Michael Friberg for The New York Times "You think environmentalist, you think hippie kid on the street who doesn't shower," Kleeb said. "I felt like there was no emotional connection in the fights they were waging." Her friend pushed her, though -- hadn't her husband's ancestors homesteaded on the edge of the Sandhills? -- and in the end, Kleeb showed up at the York Community Center to find the room packed with farmers who opposed the pipeline. One by one, they took the stand to describe how they had been bullied by TransCanada's land agents and to talk about their concerns for their land and, especially, their water supply. The pipeline's route would pass through the Sandhills in north-central Nebraska and over the Ogallala Aquifer, the lifeblood of Great Plains agriculture. In much of the region, the water table is at or near the surface. At the time of the meeting, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster was still underway, devastating fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico and leaving Nebraska farmers worried about a spill in their own backyards. Kleeb stood in the back, stunned. She had never thought of the potential for a large-scale environmental disaster in the middle of Nebraska. All of the press material she'd been given, all of the briefings from environmental groups -- none of it had left much of an impression. But these people did. "All I could think about in that room was how they reminded me of Scott's family, the folks I fell in love with," she said. "Farmers and ranchers don't think politically. I felt like I had to help." Kleeb had spent the last 15 years looking for dramatic, visual stories to advance political agendas, working on the principle that the best way to convert people was to show them others who were affected by an issue. Here was one of the best stories she'd ever seen: Conservative American farmers rise up to protect their land. She could use the image of the family farm to reframe the way Nebraskans thought about environmentalism. It wasn't going to be Save the Sandhill Cranes. It was going to be Save the Neighbors. The unrest Kleeb witnessed in York was present all along the pipeline's proposed route, from Montana to the Texas coast. By the early 2000s, projections were being made that the bitumen boom in the Alberta oil sands region would outstrip the capacity of the existing infrastructure. TransCanada's Keystone project was one of several pipelines designed to move bitumen and heavy crude south as efficiently as possible. Starting in 2008, land agents working with the company spread out along the route to begin acquiring easements. They sat at kitchen tables and told landowners how the line would wean the country off dependence on foreign oil, how it would bring jobs to Americans and money to the landowners. But the terms they offered seemed one-sided: TransCanada would hold the easements for as long as the pipeline was in place, and the company reserved the right to abandon the pipe in the ground. In Texas, some landowners sued the company in state court, arguing that the project misused eminent-domain laws. One landowner in East Texas, David Daniel, built a network of treehouses along his 20 acres, and environmental activists from the group Tar Sands Blockade camped in them, slowing the pipeline's progress. (Daniel backed down when the company's lawyers threatened to sue him.) But it was only in Nebraska that the unrest coalesced into a cohesive, powerful movement. Pipelines carrying oil, unlike those for natural gas, are mostly regulated by the states. In all but Colorado, pipelines generally get the right of eminent domain -- but most states can restrict that right, determining whether pipelines are in the public interest and what routes they can take. In 13 states, including Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma (and, until recently, Nebraska), there is no such approval process. If a company wants the land but the owner doesn't want to make a deal, it can deposit its estimated fair value with a court and start building. If a landowner wants to challenge the company, he has to square off in court against a multibillion-dollar corporation. John Stoody, a spokesman with the Association of Oil Pipe Lines, told me that pipeline companies needed strong eminent-domain laws so they could build vital infrastructure and "prevent a single person from stopping a project that will benefit the greater public good." This leaves landowners with no bargaining power when the companies come calling for their land. "Pipeline companies hold all the cards," says Jeremy Hopkins, a Virginia attorney who has represented hundreds of landowners in eminent-domain cases. "The company decides where they're going to put the pipeline, the rights they're going to take. No ordinary buyer has that kind of power." Whatever its legal rights, TransCanada badly misread popular sentiment in Nebraska. The state is Republican but deeply independent; it was the home of William Jennings Bryan and the late-1800s populist movement. Rather than rallying behind the idea of American independence from Middle Eastern oil, Nebraskans saw a foreign company coming into their state and asserting rights to land that had been in their families for generations. "The attitude when doing business here is, Treat me fairly, tell me the truth, I'll work with you," said David Domina, an Omaha lawyer who represents hundreds of farmers and ranchers in negotiations with TransCanada. Nebraska's public utilities would take years to plan a new telephone or power project, and they would work hard to convince farmers that a project was in the public interest. But TransCanada came in with "corporate weaponry blazing," Domina said. He claimed that agents lied to his clients about whether their neighbors had signed easement agreements and about how little money they would get if they didn't. TransCanada, through a spokesman, Shawn Howard, denied those accusations. The company stressed that it does not provide information to one landowner about another's private property and pointed out that all registered easements are publicly available. When the agents contacted Randy Thompson about his family's land in Merrick County, Thompson was confused at first, and then angry. "They came out here with this great sense of entitlement," Thompson told me, "and we were just supposed to get out of the road. They said all the neighbors had signed, and if we were smart, we'd sign now -- or we'd get a lot less money. These guys just treat you like bugs they can squash." Thompson wrote to Gov. Dave Heineman asking if TransCanada had eminent-domain authority, and he remembers being mailed a pamphlet about the pipeline in response. Thompson's lawyer told him that there was probably nothing he could do. "I wasn't going to let them roll over my parents like that," Thompson said. Late in 2010, he read that Kleeb was organizing resistance to the pipeline. A lifelong Republican who had never done anything more political than vote, Thompson began attending Bold Nebraska meetings. When I walked into Kleeb's house in Hastings in February, she was dressed in sweatpants and sitting in her paper-strewn office. She was in the middle of a fund-raising call with progressive donors, including the California billionaire Tom Steyer, who were interested in rural organizing and fighting climate change. But Kleeb was careful not to use the word "environment" or mention climate change, preferring to talk "about the land" and the rich foreigners putting the country's water at risk. "Donors crave a much more authentic voice," she explained. "We have a connection to rural communities that many other progressive groups just don't have." In the four years since that first meeting in York, Kleeb has logged thousands of miles traveling up and down the pipeline route, from Texas to Alberta, building relationships with ranchers and activists. But her main goal was always organizing Nebraskans, building relationships throughout the state's small towns with groups like the Nebraska Farmers Union and then learning about local leaders through them. She targeted those leaders directly, trying to persuade them to invite people to her meetings. The farther north she pushed into the Sandhills, the bigger the meetings got. After her presentations, she watched to see whom residents crowded around and focused her future efforts on them. "There were all these old people sitting in the back with their arms crossed, testing me," she said of the meetings in the Sandhills. "It was like they wanted to make sure I was going to stick around." One of Kleeb's tenets of organizing is that if you want to reach a specific group of people, you have to use someone from that group to help you make your case. "One thing the climate organizations don't get is that the scientific numbers don't move people," she said. "People here care about their neighbors. So we were looking for a face." Photo Randy Thompson became the face of a campaign against the pipeline. Credit Michael Friberg for The New York Times Kleeb met Thompson at a meeting in the Sandhills in 2010. She learned that he came from a long line of farmers and had worked as a cattle auctioneer. Over the next few months they became "fast friends," Thompson said. He often stood silently by her like a bodyguard at meetings that grew contentious. He knew people in the area and was at ease talking publicly. (During an appearance on "The Ed Show" on MSNBC this year, in reference to TransCanada's claims about the pipeline's safety, he asked dryly, "What was the safest ship that was ever built?") Throughout the 2011 state legislative session, Kleeb and her growing group of supporters tried to get the state to establish some process to regulate oil pipelines, but even progressive Democrats, Kleeb told me, were resistant. They argued that Nebraska needed the jobs. Though Bold Nebraska's campaign got a smattering of national attention, media coverage of the Keystone XL was primarily concerned with the doings of the large environmentalist organizations -- what Kleeb calls "Big Green." Few people outside the movement realized that Nebraska had become ground zero for the fight to stop the pipeline. When the legislative session ended without any regulations being passed, Kleeb approached Thompson and said she needed a face for this campaign. "I told him that if he agreed to help, there would be negative stories and backlash." Thompson was willing, and Bold Nebraska soon started the "Stand With Randy" campaign, putting his face on T-shirts, yard signs and a website. "There's one question we are asking every Nebraskan, including all of our elected officials, this summer," the home page read. "Do you stand with Randy or do you stand with TransCanada?" The culmination of the effort came at a Nebraska Cornhuskers football game in Lincoln that September, when a TransCanada ad titled "Husker Pipeline" ran on the stadium's giant HuskerVision screen. The stadium erupted in spontaneous booing, delighting Kleeb, who later asked people to go to State Department hearings in Cornhusker red. The next week, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln announced that it was cutting sponsorship ties with the company. To the leaders of the larger climate-change movement, the group's work in Nebraska has turned the tide against the Keystone XL. Bill McKibben, one of the intellectual leaders of the movement, told me that the Cornhusker uprising was one of the first moments he thought they could actually win the larger pipeline fight. "There's no question that that moment happened because of the work Jane was doing," he said. Kenny Bruno, who has coordinated many of the groups involved in the movement, went even further. "Without Jane and a few other people, without their organizing and education on the route, that pipeline would have been built already." In the fall of 2011, Bold Nebraska held a pumpkin-carving party; hundreds of supporters surrounded the Governor's Mansion with jack-o'-lanterns that spelled out "91 leaks and 0 regulations is scary," a reference to one prediction about the number of times the Keystone could spill over its lifetime. On Nov. 10, the State Department, which would have to approve a permit for the pipeline because it crossed international borders, announced that it would conduct an "in-depth assessment" of alternative routes because of concerns about the Sandhills. Four days after that, TransCanada presented a new route for the XL leg that would bypass the region. The Nebraska Legislature passed the Major Oil Pipeline Siting Act a week later, establishing for the first time in the state's history pipeline siting and regulatory requirements. Now companies could not use eminent domain to take land for a pipeline wider than six inches without first having its route approved by the state's Public Service Commission. By then, the Keystone XL was a national issue: Republicans and Democrats in Congress spent the later part of 2011 pushing Obama to make a decision on whether to approve a permit. But the State Department was required to do an environmental-impact study of the new route, and TransCanada would have to acquire new easements. With the status of the Keystone XL stretching off into the indeterminate future, the State Department denied the permit. The entire northern part of the line -- from Nebraska to the border -- was now blocked. Photo Cattle in Nebraska, near the proposed route for the Keystone pipeline. Credit Michael Friberg for The New York Times Throughout the fight in Nebraska, TransCanada showed a baffling inability to learn from its public-relations mistakes. After being defeated by a campaign focused on disrespect for the Nebraskans, the company did an end run around the regulatory system the Legislature had set up only months before. In January 2012, State Senator Jim Smith, a TransCanada ally, sponsored a bill that let oil-pipeline companies apply directly to the governor, bypassing the new process overseen by the Public Service Commission. (After TransCanada's planned reroute, Governor Heineman declared himself a supporter of the pipeline.) The bill passed; that May, TransCanada reapplied to the State Department for a permit. In January 2013, despite fervent lobbying from Bold Nebraska, Heineman approved the redirected pipeline. It was a step closer to State Department approval. The pipeline's new path, however, presented a chance for Bold Nebraska and others to stymie the company by organizing landowners before they could sign easement agreements, something the group had been too late to do with many of the owners on the first route. Throughout 2012 and 2013, Kleeb and Domina, the Omaha attorney, rallied about a quarter of the people on the new route into a power bloc to resist the company. By getting Heineman to approve the Keystone XL, TransCanada had also left itself legally vulnerable: If the courts ruled that the governor didn't have such authority, the company had no real leverage to push the pipeline forward. So Kleeb and Domina picked three landowners to sue the office of the governor, arguing that the law giving him the power to permit pipelines was unconstitutional. In February, the state district court ruled that it was. Although the company could once again apply through the Public Service Commission for permission to go forward, it is instead waiting while Heineman's attorney general appeals to the State Supreme Court; a ruling is unlikely before late this year. On April 18, the State Department announced that it wouldn't decide on TransCanada's permit application until the Nebraska court ruled. As of today, Nebraska is the crucial piece in determining the fate of the line: Until the State Supreme Court rules, there can't be a final route, and until there's a final route, the State Department won't decide on the permit. The company's public-relations team has responded by arguing that Kleeb fomented the farmers' uprising on behalf of East Coast environmentalists who hate fossil fuels. "Jane is a very effective misinformer," Barry Rubin, a former head of the Nebraska Democratic Party and now a consultant for TransCanada, told me. "She uses hyperbole and fear to make reasonable people think that something awful is about to happen. She's embellishing to susceptible people." We were sitting in Rubin's office, drinking Blanton's bourbon. He said that he was concerned about the environment -- he had voted for Obama twice -- but that "there's the delusion that if the pipeline isn't permitted, it will slow development of the oil sands. It won't. The oil will get used." If not in a pipeline, he added, it would come out in trains. When I asked Howard, TransCanada's spokesman, about accusations that the company threatened landowners, he responded, "Saying, 'Here's an offer for compensation, here's a process we're required to follow,' I'm not sure how that's a threat." He said the company had never claimed eminent domain in Nebraska. Rubin and Howard genuinely seemed not to understand why the farmers were upset -- they believed that the problem was Jane Kleeb. "It's just Chicago-style politics," Rubin told me. "Jane takes the Randy Thompsons of the world, winds them up and lets them go." Not long after that conversation, I asked Thompson if he thought there might be any truth to the suggestion that Kleeb "wound him up." "Like we're not smart enough to figure out they're screwing us?" he said. "I had my eyes closed for a long time," he went on. "But they're open now." Thompson's family land was spared when TransCanada rerouted the line, but he has stayed involved with the movement. "All these people helped me," he said of the other activists. "If it weren't for them, we'd still be on the line. So I'm going to do whatever I can. It's not good for our country. I feel very strongly about that." "It's going to be critical for us in the states to keep pressure on TransCanada and keep the coalition together," Kleeb recently told me. Victory, she said, could be as debilitating to a movement as a defeat, sapping it of urgency. Bold Nebraska needed to shift now, she said. Last year, Kleeb raised over $65,000, most of it in small donations, to build a barn covered in solar panels on a local family's farm. The barn was partly an exercise in political theater: If TransCanada wanted to build a pipeline, Kleeb said repeatedly, it would have to destroy locally produced clean energy to do it. But the barn is also part of a larger strategy to use the success of the pipeline fight to talk about clean energy. Polls show that a majority of Nebraskans are in favor of more renewables, and Kleeb's next step is to build a coalition around that. She also wants to expand Bold Nebraska's network beyond the state. Her next focus is South Dakota, where TransCanada's four-year construction permit will need to be recertified in June. The company will face an environment far more hostile than the one it encountered when the project was first proposed. In late April, Kleeb held rallies on the National Mall with a group referred to as the "new C.I.A." -- the Cowboy and Indian Alliance -- made up of ranchers from along the pipeline's route and Sioux from South Dakota tribes. Kleeb stood onstage, flanked by Sioux elders waving tribal flags. She urged people to write to Obama to tell him to deny the pipeline for good. "We can't beat TransCanada with money," she said. "We don't have millions to spend. But we have you." Standing in the audience, I was struck by how insular the group seemed, hardened by a shared struggle. They talked with great feeling about what the fight against TransCanada had given them: a new community, new friends, a new purpose. When I was in Nebraska, I asked Kleeb what the point was of actions like the jack-o'-lantern carvings and the barn raising. She laughed. Part of it was for the cameras, she said, but it went deeper. "You're asking people to be involved. They love that -- it's part of our human nature. People want to be asked to do something bigger than themselves."

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By Joanna Paraszczuk and Golnaz Esfandiari | ( RFE/RL ) | - - Cartoonists on each side of an Iranian-Saudi diplomatic dispute are highlighting what they perceive as the other's double standards. The confrontation over Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shi'ite cleric has sent tensions between the regional rivals soaring. Nimr al-Nimr's execution on terrorism charges on January 2 led to angry protests in Iran, including an attack on the Saudi Embassy that prompted Saudi Arabia and several of its allies to cut or downgrade ties with Tehran. In this sample of cartoons, the predominant Saudi view could be summed up as: "Iran opposes Islamic State while fueling terrorism," and the Iranian view as: "Saudi Arabia claims to fight Islamic State while executing innocents, just like IS." Here are two offerings from Iranian cartoonist Mana Neyestani: -- kotiomkin (@Kotiomkin) January 6, 2016 This image appears on the website of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei: These two, from the Tasnim news agency, play on Nimr's status as a martyr in Iran... ...while Fars used crude stereotypes showing Israel behind Nimr's execution -- and harming itself in the process -- as has been asserted by some Iranian officials: The cover of Iranian reformist weekly Seda shows Saudi King Salman and his reflection -- Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi... Cover of #Iran reformist weekly Seda on #IranSaudi spat - #KSA pic.twitter.com/SNFdtv1ozX -- Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) January 7, 2016 ...while this anti-Tehran cartoon puts Baghdadi under the same turban as Khamenei. -- . (@Johani_Ahmad) January 5, 2016 A cartoon in the Saudi daily Okaz shows the restraining hand of Riyadh holding back an Iran bent on wreaking havoc throughout the region: In this one, an Iranian feeds birds in a nest marked "terrorism": Here, the Islamic State group gives first aid to Iran: This image shows Iran above ground as portrayed in the media, while below lurks Iran "in reality." Its tentacles include "treachery," "subjugation," and "aggression": Here, the bottom caption says "Urgent, the coalition is killing civilians": -- `lmyw lshrqy@ (@e3lamyu_alsharq) January 6, 2016 Finally, this, via RFE/RL's Radio Farda, reminds the reader that Tehran -- while crying foul over Nimr's fate -- has jailed hundreds of its own domestic critics: Copyright (c) 2015. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

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In January 2016 It's Going Down held an interview with Dorset Chiapas Solidarity Group which is part of the broader UK Zapatista Network . The group is particularly involved in the translation and dissemination of news from social movements and struggles in the region of Chiapas in Southern Mexico. We wanted to know about a wave of land reclamations that have been carried out by the indigenous peoples of the region as well as growing resistance to extractive megaprojects. We also wanted to know what the role of the Zapatista Movement and the EZLN (Zapatista National Liberation Army) as well as the National Indigenous Congress (CNI) was in these expanding struggles for land and autonomy. IGD: Can you tell us a little bit about Dorset Chiapas Solidarity Group? How did it form and what kind of work do you do? There are many individuals and collectives throughout the world who are adherents to the EZLN's Sixth Declaration of the Lacandon Jungle , or La Sexta, or the equivalent, and who in their various ways, according to their own calendars and geographies as the Zapatistas say, offer solidarity to the compas in Chiapas and at the same time develop their own struggles and resistances. The people who on this occasion have made humble suggestions of possible answers to your questions all operate in their various ways within the UK Zapatista Solidarity Network , and some are members of different groups within their various localities. However, the questions have NOT been discussed among the network as a whole, and so anything written here does not represent the views of the network, or indeed of any of the groups within it. We do however all share the view that we would need to write a book in answer to each of these question in order to do them justice! Some of us have been engaged in Zapatista solidarity since January 1994, while others came along later. Some are engaged in practical solidarity through appropriate technology such as water projects and some who have the necessary skills have been part of healthcare projects; others have focused on fundraising, and have contributed funding to the construction of small health clinics and schools or whatever was most important according to decisions made by the various JBGs; some have been out to Chiapas as human rights observers, or participated in caravans; others have promoted education projects and workshops, while others have been involved in research and reporting. Many have participated in actions, whether protests outside the Mexican Embassy, street stalls in different towns and cities, disruption of events through theatre and information-sharing. We have written letters, pronouncements and statements of solidarity, organised petitions and coordinated actions. One important part of our activities has been the distribution and sharing of information in English. As part of this we have endeavoured to produce newsletters, write articles, and translate important documents, sometimes as part of the International Zapatista Translation Service. But as such, anything we have written here should not be seen as the words of any particular group. Our knowledge is small, and we have shared with you some impressions in solidarity with the excellent work being done by It's Going Down. We have quoted extensively from "Words of The EZLN on the 22nd Anniversary of the Beginning of the War Against Oblivion," which is the organisation's most recent communique. IGD: You focus on Chiapas. What has been happening there in recent years and months? Chiapas is one of the poorest states in Mexico, and the poverty is highest among the indigenous peoples, who also in many areas lack schools or teachers, healthcare, water, sewerage, electricity, floors or roofs to their houses and paved roads. The original demands of the Zapatistas were: land, work, food, health, education, dignified housing, independence, democracy, freedom, justice, and peace, and, while the situation is now very different among the Zapatista autonomous communities, for many of the indigenous, especially in the poorest areas of Chiapas, not much has changed and deep poverty remains. However, the EZLN tell us that hunger has been eradicated in Zapatista communities, and that what is now present is dignity, represented by the fact that: The food on their tables, the clothes they wear, the medicine they take, the knowledge they learn, the life they live is THEIRS, the product of their work and their knowledge. It isn't a handout from anyone. We can say this without shame: the Zapatista communities are not only better off than they were 22 years ago; their quality of life is better than that of those who sold out to political parties of all colours and stripes .....They have built another form of life, governing ourselves as the collective peoples that we are, according to the seven principles of lead by obeying, building a new system and another form of life as original peoples. EZLN December 2015 Following the uprising of January 1 st , 1994, President Salinas de Gortari and his PRI successors in government avoided serious negotiation with the EZLN and sought instead to isolate them through a counterinsurgency plan, developed according to US manuals. The Campaign Plan, known as Chiapas 94, included two counterinsurgency strategies which are still very much in operation today: the formation of paramilitary organizations in Zapatista-influenced regions, and the targeted use of government subsidies to divide Zapatista communities. As part of this counterinsurgency war, paramilitary groups, encouraged, trained, financed and armed by the three levels of government, still operate with impunity, driven by the desire for land, and over recent years and months there has been an upsurge in this activity and former groups have been reactivated. This activity has resulted in large numbers of people being dispossessed from their land, territory, history, identity and roots. A May 2014 report said there were 25,000 persons in Chiapas living in "protracted displacement," and more than 2,000 children in the northern and highlands of Chiapas have been displaced from their communities since 2011 as a result of violence. The Fray Bartolome de Las Casas Human Rights Centre (Frayba) is currently running a campaign, "Faces of Dispossession," which seeks to "make visible the ways in which native peoples are violently evicted from their territories," and to "reflect the serious human rights violations which cause the forced displacement, extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances and lack of access to justice" which "constitutes a pattern of impunity resulting from the implementation of the Plan Chiapas 94 as a strategy of war against the people who build alternatives to the neoliberal system of death." The campaign focuses on families and communities suffering displacement and lack of resolution or justice over long periods, such as the four families (19 people) from Banavil, Tenejapa, who have been displaced from their homes and lands now for four years, after an attack in which their father was disappeared and for which the attackers remain unpunished. Chiapas remains the state with the largest number of military encampments. Along with an increase in acts of harassment by the Mexican army, at the same time paramilitary or "shock" groups such as CIOAC-H operate with impunity in the caracoles of La Garrucha and La Realidad. Their origin is in campesino mutual support groups, which have been bought by local political parties. The appalling attack on La Realidad in May 2014 , which resulted in the murder of the teacher Galeano and the destruction of the school and clinic, is well-known. The clinic and school have been rebuilt through international solidarity, and Galeano has been re-born as Subcomandante Galeano, but the paramilitaries continue their threats, intimidation and violence. The EZLN denounced that the temporarily imprisoned "intellectual authors of the murder of the companero and teacher Galeano" have now "returned, fat and happy, to their homes in the village of La Realidad." The Christian pacifist civil society group Las Abejas of Acteal, 45 of whose members (plus 4 unborn) were murdered in the Acteal Massacre of 1997 , have been denouncing and warning for several years that, as the unjustly released culprits return to their communities and acts of violence proliferate, the situation is now similar to the way it was prior to the massacre. Attacks on individual members of Las Abejas are increasing. There is great concern as to what might unfold, as the local government continues to ignore the situation. There has also been a recent resurgence of paramilitary activity in the Highland zone of Chiapas, marked by the reactivation of the group 'Paz y Justicia,' partly in response to recent collective land reclamations, especially recent events in the Ejido Tila . Not all of these attacks are made by groups described as 'paramilitaries' or 'of a paramilitary appearance.' Other groups of attackers are described as 'political party supporters' or 'members of the PRI,' although all the actions are along the same lines. Another tactic of counter-insurgency is government welfare assistance programs, most recently one known as PROSPERA, which replaced PROCEDE. These "provide and distribute crumbs, taking advantage of some people's ignorance and poverty." What happens is that people give up their lands and autonomy and become dependent on government handouts. An example of what this can lead to is what happened in the community of La Pimienta in the municipality of Simojovel, an area of extreme poverty, in May 2015. As part of one of these programmes, members of the community were told it was compulsory for all children up to the age of 5 to be vaccinated. Babies as young as 28 days of age, many of whose births had never been registered, were among the 52 who received the vaccinations. It seems the medication was contaminated or out of date, and soon afterwards the babies became seriously ill. It took the anxious parents 24 hours to reach a doctor, for the only clinic in the whole area had no staff and no medicine, and there was no ambulance; by this time 2 of the babies had died, and 29 were seriously ill. The federal and state governments promised to take measures to make sure this would never happen again; however, there is still no clinic, no doctor, no medication, the road remains unpaved and two bridges still cannot be crossed in wet weather. Nevertheless, as well as the recent intensification in these particular forms of low intensity, civilian-targeted warfare, there has also been a notable increase in organisation and activity among some of the indigenous peoples of Chiapas, and in attempts to use the legal system to defend their rights, through the institution of amparo , a form of legal protection or injunction. There has been a marked growth in activity and confidence among the organised communities in resistance. They are working together more, and supporting each other, forming networks of, for example, adherents to the Sexta. Different communities are coming together and building alliances against megaprojects, such as the new highway from San Cristobal to Palenque, and whole areas are declaring themselves free of mines and dams. There has also been increasing activity among grassroots Catholic community groups, such as the Pueblo Creyente (the Believing People), which arose from the Theology of Liberation (Vatican II, 1962) practiced by the late Bishop Samuel Ruiz, and currently by Bishop Raul Vera of Saltillo. Especially in parishes in the municipalities of San Cristobal and Simojovel, huge pilgrimages have been launched against government corruption and links with organised crime, manifested in drug trafficking, prostitution, and a proliferation of cheap bars selling alcohol, which lead to violence and the breakdown of family life. The priests and members of the parish council have been threatened with death by political party supporters. These movements are showing a growing tendency to also speak out in defence of the rights of women. For example, on November 25 th , 2005, the Movement in Defence of Life and Territory held a pilgrimage in 11 municipalities in Chiapas to make visible the situation of dispossession and plunder they are experiencing as indigenous peoples; and especially to denounce the violence experienced by women. Following the pilgrimage, a declaration warning of the grave risk to communities in Chiapas from megaprojects was issued. Since 2013 the Zapatista communities and the EZLN have organized a number of events that sought to strengthen their national and global connections, and they have also strengthened the autonomous communities. In August 2013 and December to January 2014, they organized the first ' little school .' They invited individuals and collectives who had been in solidarity with them into their communities. Those invited were first introduced to the topics studied in the 'little school' in the relevant caracol (regional governance centre, seats of the regional Good Government Councils) and were then sent to communities, where they stayed with families and were always accompanied by a guardian who also served as a translator. The students were also given study books. In this way they were introduced to life in the communities, ie. the Zapatista schools, healthcare, governance, assemblies, collective work projects, etc. In May 2014 one of the guardians of the little school, known as 'Galeano,' was murdered by paramilitary groups in the community of La Realidad. In response to this event, the EZLN and the Zapatista communities cancelled a seminar they had planned to honour the recently deceased philosopher Luis Villoro. They also took the decision that the figure of the Subcomandante Insurgente Marcos, who had been the spokesperson of the EZLN as well as one of their commanders, was going to no longer exist. The person who embodied 'Marcos' took on the name 'Galeano'. Also, the Subcomandante Insurgente Moises has since taken a more active role in speaking in public. The planned seminar was then held in May 2015 under the title ' Critical Thinking in the Face of the Capitalist Hydra .' The contributions are available in their entirety on radiozapatista.org and on enlacezapatista.ezln.org.mx Over New Year's 2014/2015 the festival of Resistances and Rebellions was organized, which emphasized the cultural and musical element of contemporary global resistance struggles in the Zapatista spirit. In the summer of 2015, the EZLN and the communities ran the second grade of the 'little school,' which was taught online by video and reading. Those who were admitted to that grade had to submit a set number of questions on the material they studied. The EZLN seminar held in May 2015, and the second phase of the Escuelita, in July and August 2015, demonstrate that the Zapatista project continues to inspire and inform. People from all over the world continue to be drawn to Chiapas, where another world is being created, bit by bit. "During these 22 years of struggle of Resistance and Rebellion, we have continued to build another form of life, governing ourselves as the collective peoples that we are, according to the seven principles of lead by obeying, building a new system and another form of life as original peoples." In summary then, we have a situation of what are in origin land-based conflicts, fomented by the authorities in the hope of breaking the resistance. They hope to represent any confrontations as quarrels between indigenous peoples rather than government-backed conflicts. Pressure on land increases as climate change affects crop production - for example there has been a plague of coffee rust this year which has destroyed much of the crop - and as more people have been tempted by the new regulations to sell off their share of the communal lands, and who then soon find themselves with nothing. The three levels of government repress with violence any form of dissent or resistance, and the perpetrators of the attacks are rewarded with land and impunity. However, despite all this the indigenous people continue to assert their collective rights and those of mother earth. La lucha sigue , the struggle continues. IGD: Can you talk about the land reclamations? Everything comes down to the land, and more recently to the resources under it. The land has been stolen from the original peoples for more than 520 years. The Zapatistas say that "capitalism was born of the blood of our indigenous peoples and the millions of our brothers and sisters who died during the European invasion." From its beginning, capitalism was made possible by that 'dispossession', 'plunder', and 'invasion' called 'the conquest of the Americas'. This attempted conquest initiated a 'war of extermination' against indigenous peoples which still continues, and has been characterized by "massacres, jail, death and more death" (National Indigenous Congress, or CNI and EZLN, 2014). Since this theft and plunder took place, the indigenous in many places became peons or serfs working the lands of their grandparents as the indentured servants of great landowners who have treated them with contempt, as possessions. The indigenous have patiently waited their time to reclaim the land which is their heritage. As the Zapatistas always say "we proceed very slowly." For indigenous peoples, along with others whose survival and sustenance also comes from the lands they work, the land is the basis of everything; the land is part of them, and they are part of the land. The land is the mother earth, part of the original web of life. Without their lands, they are nothing, which is why there is such profound despair amongst groups of displaced people who lack the language to express the concept of their separation from their lands and territory which represent their very existence. Their lands were passed down to them from their ancestors, and are where their gods or spirits or saints live, where their dead are buried, where the sacred maize is grown. The Maya are the people of the corn. Their land is their culture, their history, their identity. It is essential to understand this before talking of land reclamations. Land is essential to providing for their family, their children, on all levels; land is the only means of survival. One of the main factors behind the uprising at the dawn of 1994 was that it marked the day when Mexico joined the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA.) The Zapatistas saw this as "a death sentence for the indigenous." One of the conditions for Mexico joining NAFTA was the alteration of Article 27 of the Mexican constitution. This provision had been fundamental to indigenous and campesino (smallholders, people making a living from the land, a word often translated as peasant, but this word can be seen as demeaning) communities because it established and protected the system of collective landholding - ejidos and bienes comunales - established in 1917 by the Mexican Revolution. Article 27 also granted agrarian communities rights over common-use lands and their resources, making all natural resources found in the subsoil the property of the nation. The neoliberal establishment in Mexico viewed these collective forms of land tenure as the key impediment to foreign direct investment and economic growth. Through changes to Article 27, which opened communal land to rent, sale, and use as collateral to obtain commercial credit, and through state programmes providing economic subsidies in exchange for the individual 'certification' of collective lands (the first step in a process that it was hoped would end in private titles), as we have explained above, the PRI attacked what they viewed as the least income-yielding sector of the Mexican economy, and at the same time opened the door to rebellion. In January 1994, in many parts of Chiapas, thousands of acres of land were "recuperated" or reclaimed from large haciendas and ranches, by the ancestral owners of that land who had been working there as serfs. This was one of the miracles of the uprising - hundreds of people now made their living from what had been vast estates inhabited by only one family, in the spirit of General Emiliano Zapata's call for Land and Freedom: "the land belongs to those who work it." Although most of these land reclamations were made by Zapatista support bases, other campesino groups also joined in and took land to work to grow corn and beans to feed their families. And the recuperation of land has continued sporadically ever since. Not all the reclaimed land is still in the hands of the campesinos. In various cases it has been taken from them by violence, there have been long-term displacements, in many cases land ownership is disputed and there are ongoing conflicts. Populations change allegiances, or are tempted to sell out. The struggle for the land continues. Land reclamations often take place in December, to mark the anniversary. In December 2015 the ejidatarios (communal landholders) of the ejido Tila reclaimed 130 hectares including the city hall, and in the same month the Tzotzil community of San Isidro de Los Laureles, part of the Semilla Digna (Dignified Seed) collective, recuperated between 165 and 200 hectares of their land and territory from large cattle and sugar cane ranches, where their parents and grandparents had worked as indentured servants since 1940. They previously reclaimed the lands in 1994, but were violently dispossessed. Both communities are adherents to the Sexta, and they have both called for support in the face of possible violent eviction. In the same month, the community of San Francisco Teopisca, also part of Semilla Digna, celebrated ten years since they recovered their lands, but they are also in fear of dispossession. It should be noted that these are not Zapatista support base communities, but communities sympathetic to the Zapatistas. IGD: What is the role of the National Indigenous Congress and EZLN in all of this? One of the many consequences of the Zapatista uprising in 1994 is that a feeling of identity, dignity and self-belief gradually developed amongst indigenous peoples and a confidence that they too can stand up to and resist dispossession. In Mexico the Zapatistas first encouraged the re-birth (it first met briefly in 1972) of the Indigenous National Congress (CNI), representing 56 of Mexico's indigenous peoples, following the failure of the federal government to adopt the San Andres Accords. The EZLN then enabled the renewal of the CNI in August 2013, at the convocation for Tata Juan Chavez Alonso. The CNI declared itself "For the comprehensive reconstitution of our peoples - Never Again a Mexico Without Us." In August 2014, at the First Exchange, or Sharing, of the Zapatista Peoples and the Indigenous Peoples of Mexico "Companero David Ruiz Garcia," the momentum of this badly-needed renewal, which had been delayed by the attack on La Realidad and the murder of Galeano, was increased. The CNI is the largest and most representative organization of the different peoples and tribes in Mexico, and this reorganization sealed the alliance established more than 20 years earlier between the Zapatistas and the national indigenous movement, and outlined one of the most relevant and consistent networks of resistance against plunder on a national scale. Since then the two organisations have worked together closely in solidarity with indigenous peoples confronting dispossession. They have met together for "sharing" and have issued joint and individual communiques in support of the original peoples of Mexico who are facing the dispossession of their land, territories and natural resources, which are being handed over to national and transnational corporations. The community leaders are being killed and imprisoned, again and again. In April 2015 the CNI stated its position on the wave of repression being waged against the people by "the narco-capitalist governors who seek to take control of our homelands." In response the CNI says they will not give up the struggle, they will fight for the freedom of prisoners, the presentation of the disappeared, and justice for the assassinated. Their resistance against dispossession will be as relentless as it is ancient and unnegotiable, and they will continue to weave a new world from below and to the left. The role of the EZLN and CNI thus may not be to organise individual land reclamations, or individual actions against roads or pipelines, which communities do in their own time and at their own pace. In their joint statements the two organisations list all the different struggles, the mirrors of resistance. They spread the word, they give their word, their solidarity. The criminalisation of struggle, along with repression, violence, disappearance, assassination, displacement and imprisonment will continue. But now the communities and nations no longer struggle alone, they do so along with others, they have a collective voice, knowing the strength of solidarity, the power of denouncement, and that their struggles, along with those of others, will be known. It should be emphasised that this question cannot be fully answered, as the actual role of the EZLN and CNI is not made clear, nor, perhaps, should it be. Hence we only give a brief overview of the situation. See also Question 8 which is closely linked to this. IGD: Is there crossover between indigenous communities fighting for land and the Normalista movement? The Normal Rural School of Ayotzinapa is a school that was created after the Mexican revolution to bring education to the sons of the peasants of the state of Guerrero and its surroundings. Besides studying to become teachers, the young men who decide to study at that school learn about political science, history, and many other subjects. But one other thing is important, the normal rural highlights the importance of cultivating the land, of being a campesino (peasant) and of working the land. The students there continue to work the land as many of them already did at home. In many cases, the communities where the students come from are indigenous communities. Actually, one of the careers they can study for at the rural teaching college is that of bilingual teacher, which means bilingual in Spanish and one indigenous language. Having said this, the relationship between the normalista movement and indigenous communities fighting for the land should be obvious. The normalistas are, in many cases, indigenous themselves and have suffered the consequences of the neoliberal economic policies in the country. They come from poor backgrounds and from communities that have suffered exploitation in many ways. Besides fighting for better conditions for their school, the students from the Normal Rural of Ayotzinapa have had an important role in supporting and accompanying different struggles throughout the years. With the disappearance of the 43 students in September 2014, Ayotzinapa became a symbol of struggle, but it only became so due to the previous history of struggle of the students at that school. Since the disappearance of their schoolmates, other students from Ayotzinapa have showed their support for different struggles, including the ones of the indigenous communities fighting for their lands. Well-known in this context is the relationship that the mothers and fathers of the disappeared students and the killed students, as well the current students from Ayotzinapa, have had with the Zapatistas in Chiapas. The Zapatistas have shown their solidarity with the movement in search of the 43, and also with the fact that the fathers and mothers of the disappeared students have become an icon of struggle in Mexico. The Zapatistas, with their experience in the public sphere in Mexico, warned the mothers and fathers that they should build deep relationships, as it was probable that the mass movement that was then walking with them would not do so for long. The mothers and fathers of Ayotzinapa, as well as the students, have consequently strengthened the link they have with certain movements across the country, notably the Frente de Pueblos en Defensa de la Tierra from Atenco, the Zapatistas, and the Policia Comunitaria (Community Police). On Oct 22nd, 2014, a Joint Declaration was issued from the CNI and the EZLN "on the crime in Ayotzinapa and for the liberation of the Yaqui leaders," which marked their first statement on what had happened: "We demand the return of the 43 disappeared students and the dismantling of the entire State structure that sustains organized crime!" For 26 th September 2015, the first anniversary of the disappearances and deaths of the students, the EZLN released a Communique " From Pain, From Rage, For Truth, For Justice ," which was "for Ayotzinapa and for all of the Ayotzinapas that wound the calendars and geographies from below." In it, they stated that "This September 26, thousands of Zapatista children, young people, women, men, otroas , elders, alive and dead, will mobilize in our territories in order to embrace those people who feel pain and rage because of imprisonment, disappearance, and death imposed from above." Ayotzinapa has become a symbol of all the unjustly imprisoned, disappeared, assassinated and violated peoples from below. IGD: Last year, we saw militant boycotts of the national election . What has led so many people in Mexico to reject the established political structure? The national elections have been the focus of much criticism since 1988, and then again increasingly since 2006. You would have to ask the individuals what has led them to reject the established political structure. Probably people would speak about abuse of power, corruption, impunity, imbrication of the political structure by organized crime. The Zapatistas and the EZLN reject any collaboration with the Mexican government, the electoral process, and the political system more widely. Their approach goes through grassroots/radical/participatory democracy. In 2006, the Zapatistas launched " La Otra Campana " (the Other Campaign) to go against the discourse of the official presidential campaigns. Back then, the Zapatistas argued that all the political parties were the same and that there was no difference in how they would govern if they were to win the elections. What they did then was to travel all over the country to get to know the different social movements and to try and connect all those movements. If a change was to be made, it was not going to come from the established system, but from the hundreds of independent struggles in the country. It was not until many years after this that what the Zapatistas had already experienced and explained in terms of the similarity between the different political parties and the hypocrisy of their differences became apparent to many. It is possible that the Ayotzinapa case, as it has been called, played a role in so many people deciding to boycott the elections, but the disillusionment of many people and communities came from long before that. We say that probably it played a role because it became apparent for many people that even the parties that were supposed to be from the left were clearly related to organised crime, and ready to repress any social movements and to play by the rules of capital. Endemic chaos and corruption exists at all levels. Guerrero, the state where the 43 students were disappeared and another 6 persons, including 3 students, were killed, was governed by the PRD, a supposedly leftist party. There already were many indications of the Governor's collusion with organised crime, but with this case, the impunity and the links between the organised crime and the government in all its different levels became impossible to hide. The places in which the protests and the boycott (and then the repression) were the largest are places such as Guerrero and Oaxaca in which social movements have pointed out for years the simulation of the authorities and their servitude to capital and to money and not to the people. More people's eyes had become open to the reality that the state, the three levels of government, the security forces - army and police - and organised crime were all one and the same thing. Furthermore, as there was seen to be no significant difference between the different political parties, there was nothing left to believe in. The parents of the 43 also called for a boycott of the elections. The 43 are merely a drop in the ocean. Amnesty International states that since 2007 over 27,600 people have disappeared in Mexico, and almost half the disappearances have occurred during the current administration. How can this happen? The current administration of Pena Nieto has spent more on the military budget in 2014 than any other previous Mexican government in any year, a total of $8.66 billion in US dollars. The purchase of military equipment from the United States has reached an unprecedented level. Meanwhile, human rights groups say that over 100,000 people have been killed or disappeared since Mexico began using the military in the war on drugs in 2006, while human rights abuses have spiked, with no oversight or accountability for the security forces. Accusations of torture and kidnappings committed by the police and the military have also risen 600 percent from 2003 to 2015. 1,219 torture investigations were launched by the Attorney General's Office from 2006 to 2013, but charges were only filed in 12 cases. The realisation of all this has finally spread much more widely through the population, resulting in complete disillusionment with the current political system and political class. IGD: Many people speak of the Mexican government as the 'Narco-State,' or the coming together of government and drug trafficking forces. Can you explain more? As in Guerrero, the repression against the people, the extraction of natural resources, and the destruction of the territories in the entire country are operated by the Narco-State, without scruples. It uses terror in order to manufacture pain and fear; this is how it governs. EZLN and CNI 22 nd October, 2014 In the era of speculation, transnational capitalism has transformed itself into a mafia, effectively creating a world in which political economy and criminal economy are one and the same. According to the Zapatistas, the problem is not that states have disappeared but rather that they have been entirely remade as nodes of a single global network of contemporary 'mafia capitalism' which the EZLN calls 'the empire of money'. When people say that Mexico is a Narco-State they do so in reference to a historical truth, rather than to the simple fact that the state has been corrupted by organized crime. This latter is the opinion usually given by the media. As in the case of other places in Latin America and in the Middle East, the United States and local forces of the state are responsible for creating the economic and social conditions for the emergence of so-called 'criminal organizations.' In the case of Mexico, the 'Narco' finds its origins in the creation of the modern state, and they cannot be disentangled. The first one is the prohibition of drugs, which began in the USA during the economic crisis of the 1930s. In both countries the prohibition of drugs was used as scapegoat. In the USA, prohibition was used to distract attention from the real causes of the economic crisis by blaming Mexicans who were still escaping from the situation of the unfinished Mexican Revolution. In Mexico, prohibition was used for the same reasons, and to secure the monopoly of drug production in the hands of the state. In Mexico, the Spanish colonialists had prohibited the consumption of traditional drugs such as peyote, but Alvaro Obregon, and then Plutarco Elias Calles were the pioneers -even before the USA- of the prohibition of marijuana, and other drugs previously introduced by Europeans or Americans, such as opium, morphine, and cocaine. In Mexico, as in the USA, drugs were associated with poor and marginalized communities, and with migrants. From this period on, the USA, Mexico and other countries created institutions to chase mostly drug consumers, and only sometimes drug producers. Chasing drug dealers was indeed a good business, for which reason in 1925 Calles passed a law that allowed for the confiscation of the property of drug-producers. But the problem with this origin of the 'war against drugs' is that in both cases, the attempt was often to regulate the market of drugs and not to purge all drug consumption from societies. Thus, since then the Mexican government would need money to create institutions to treat drug consumers, and to chase drug producers, but the latter always seemed better for moral reasons and for the economy. On the other hand, since this period the state, and in particular the police and armed forces, were part of the drug-trade that they were supposed to fight against. For example, in the mid-1930s, Raul Camargo, who had been the head of the anti-drug police since 1927, was fired for the possession of huge amounts of opium and heroin, and was portrayed in the media as the 'largest promoter of vice' in Mexico. The more recent 'war on drugs' coincides with the transition from state capitalism to transnational capital in Mexico. Until the 1970s, Mexican oligarchs had accumulated wealth by using the state as the monopolizing force of the means of production, which lay in three main sectors: oil, an emerging and feeble industry, and the extraction of primary products. Thanks to the Mexican revolution, and later to some of the policies of Cardenismo, the vast majority of the land in Mexico is owned by small land-owners. This meant that, whether the rulers of the Mexican state liked it or not, they had to deal and negotiate with the lower and middle classes. But since 1964 those in power tried to move the economy, previously based on agriculture, to low-paid industries or maquiladoras. This economy forced millions first to migrate to the cities to work in industries, and then to migrate to the US, hence abandoning vast regions of land. Some of those who stayed in rural areas, historically marginalized, found economic escapes in the production and selling of illegal drugs. While Nixon in the US funded the war on drugs worldwide, in Mexico, under the governments of Diaz Ordaz and Luis Echeverria Alvarez and Jose Lopez Portillo and Miguel de la Madrid, state terrorism was taking place, at the same time that rival gangs were fighting to control the Mexican drug trade. This fighting cannot be explained without the intervention of the USA selling weaponry to drug cartels and to the Mexican State. The state's response to drug cartels was to get rid of some drug leaders and, through the Department of Federal Security and the military, to control the trade by making coalitions with rival gangs. Thus, the territory of drug trade was divided by the state into different 'plazas', given to different 'families' and organizations that had to pay 'illegal taxes' to the government for the trade and production of drugs. As in the case of Mario Arturo Acosta, 'El Negro' Durazo, and many others, those who trafficked drugs were also responsible for the assassination of political dissidents and human rights defenders who were trying to fight against an ever increasingly unjust economic and political system. This system, which is part of the modern Mexican State, is the system we have today. Drug cartels are nothing but the uglier face of the capitalist system of production, which seeks to profit those from above by exploiting the workers, and grabbing their lands. They help to shut down dissent and the media, they charge illegal taxes on top of the government taxes, they serve exploitation not only by enslaving and exploiting, but also because in industrialized violent cities people can only go from home to work and vice versa due to violence. Due to their territorial control, drug cartels, in coalition with the government, spread violence in areas where citizens are opposed to mines, fracking, or other forms of extractivism. Once the resource of drug cartel violence is no longer sufficient to suppress dissent, then the state dares to show up using the usual strategies of state terrorism, such as torture, imprisonment, disappearance or murder. Today the Narco-Mexican state is funded more than before by transnational capital. A clear example is that of Los Zetas, whose origins go back to an elite troop who deserted from the Mexican Army. But on the other hand, the aim of these criminal organizations is to profit from violence, or by other means. Therefore, corruption is a secondary tool through which both criminal organizations and the state manage to profit from violence. Corruption starts to unveil the falsehood of the war against drugs, because the line dividing the state from criminal organizations is either non-existent or blurred as we mentioned before. It is estimated that 70% of municipalities are permeated by organized crime. For example, in the last elections in Sonora, the two main candidates accused each other, on very good grounds, of being members of drug cartels. But criminal organizations not only pay for campaigns and have preferred political candidates, they also they work closely with international governments and companies; a good example of this is the 'Fast and Furious' 'scandal'. The US keeps feeding Mexico legally and illegally with weapons. HSBC is responsible for failing to monitor more than $670 billion in wire transfers and more than $9.4 billion in purchases of U.S. currency from HSBC Mexico, which facilitated money laundering for Mexican drug cartels. Nobody has been so far imprisoned for these crimes. The reason transnational capital funds the war against drugs, understood as the state and drug cartels, is precisely because they profit from it. However, it is the Mexican state which is punished -although most commonly it is not- for committing crimes according to its own rules. The state uses violence against criminal organizations, and very often ends up committing the same crimes against which it is fighting. The most common of these is torture, which is a widespread problem in the country, but there are also extrajudicial killings, such as the ones that happened in Tanahuato, Tlatlaya and Apatzingan. It must be mentioned that historically speaking it was the state which controlled, for instance, the production of weed. But in spite of it being obvious to everyone that the Mexican government has committed these crimes, this war is very profitable for the Mexican state, which in as much as it spends money in militarizing itself, also receives money and support from the United States and the European Union, who back up the war of the Mexican government against drugs, regardless of its humanitarian cost. It's a very complex topic for which you would have to look at a wide array of factors. We recommend the work of John Gibler, especially the first chapter of To Die in Mexico , and if you can get any more material on his recent speaker tour with Diego Osorno then this would also help. Also see the work of Anabel Hernandez and Diego Osorno, among others. IGD : We're seeing more and more communities in Mexico standing up to mining, fracking, and development. Can you talk more about this? The rich multimillionaires of a few countries continue with their objective to loot the natural riches of the entire world, everything that gives us life, like water, land, forests, mountains, rivers, air; and everything that is below the ground: gold, oil, uranium, amber, sulfur, carbon, and other minerals. They don't consider the land as a source of life, but as a business where they can turn everything into a commodity, and commodities they turn into money, and in doing this they will destroy us completely. EZLN, December 2015 Part of the neoliberal government policy in Mexico is to implement a series of structural reforms to privatize electricity, education, collectively held lands, and the national oil industry and thus erode the mechanisms of redistribution that were established in the post-revolutionary constitution of 1917. More and more these structural reforms are now being seen as part of the war against the original peoples, to strip them of their territory. Not just in Latin America, but throughout the world indigenous movements are standing against these destructive developments, described by David Harvey as "accumulation by dispossession" and by Raul Zibechi as "extractivism." The indigenous peoples tend to be the ones who live on the land most targeted by multinational corporations for the development of megaprojects they describe as "projects of death," such as mines, dams, tourist developments, highways, monocultures, aqueducts, gas and water pipelines, hydroelectric or windpower projects, airports, and the destruction of forests. Their rights as indigenous peoples to their land and territory are ignored and violent attempts to dispossess them are the result. It is clearly laid down in national and international treaties, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Convention 169 of the International Labour Organization, Article 2 of the Constitution of the United States of Mexico, and the San Andres Accords, that indigenous peoples have the right to free, prior and informed consent and consultation in relation to their lands and natural resources, and the right to free determination of their affairs. This absolute right to consultation and consent is violated and ignored time and again, with complete impunity, and more indigenous communities are mounting legal challenges to this violation. Indigenous peoples see themselves as the guardians of the mother earth and her natural resources as they try to resist the plunder and devastation being waged on her. The CNI enables indigenous groups to come together in solidarity in their resistance against these megaprojects, in the spirit of the Sexta, "an injury to one of us is an injury to all of us." As the EZLN and CNI said in their joint statement in October 2014: "Our roots are in the land and the heart of our mother earth lives in the spirit of our peoples." An emblematic example of a heroic struggle against dispossession is the case of the ejido San Sebastian Bachajon, situated in the north of Chiapas, in a very beautiful jungle area, where the Mexican government, and the transnational corporations it serves, plan to build a luxury ecotourism complex beside the beautiful waterfalls of Agua Azul. The indigenous Tseltal ejidatarios (common landholders), adherents to the Sexta since 2007, have since 2006 been defending their common lands against expropriation by the Mexican government. This is in open violation of the rights of the ejido to consultation and to free, prior and informed consent. During this period two of their community leaders have on different occasions been assassinated by multiple shots from high calibre firearms, the ejidatarios have been frequently attacked by local government-supporters and public security forces , and large numbers of people have been imprisoned. On March 21st 2015, more than six hundred members of government security forces burned down the regional headquarters there. "We want to tell the bad government that we are not afraid of their repression, imprisonment and death" said the ejidtarios in a communique on 1 st January, 2016, "we know that we are not alone in this struggle, because there are other people who are embracing and struggling to transform this world into something better, and together, united, we will build a path of peace, freedom and justice." There is also a link with climate change, as many of the measures are adopted by governments ostensibly as a result of climate change, such as the large-scale growing of monoculture crops for fuel, the development of hydroelectric power and large-scale wind-power developments, also result in the dispossession of indigenous peoples, the destruction of forests and end up being just as harmful as what they intend to replace. They are nothing to do with saving the planet, and all to do with the concentration of vast wealth in the hands of the few at the expense of the many. One astonishing new development is the new airport for Mexico City, which involves the dispossession, flooding and deprivation of water supplies from numbers of indigenous communities. To build an airport on the site of a lake, which is not only the site of the water supply for large numbers of people, but also the home for quantities of endangered species and irreplaceable archaeological sites, as well as being unstable, subject to inundation and a totally unsuitable site for an international airport, would seem to be the height of irresponsibility. We hear about more preposterous new schemes on a daily basis: the theft of peoples' sacred sites and the pollution of their land and water in order to develop huge mines, the theft of entire rivers to provide water supplies for industrial developments, the destruction of mangrove swamps.....the list is endless. See also the answers to Question 4 IGD: How is the state responding to autonomous movements? Autonomy is life, submission is death. We understood that it was necessary to build our life ourselves, with autonomy. In the midst of the major threats, military and paramilitary harassment, and the bad government's constant provocations, we began to form our own system of governing--our autonomy--with our own education system, our own health care, our own communication, our own way of caring for and working on mother earth; our own politics as a people and our own ideology about how we want to live as communities, with an other culture, governing ourselves as the collective peoples that we are. EZLN, December, 2015 The short answer to this question is that the state is responding to autonomous movements with repression, because autonomy is what they most fear, what they most want to crush. The national, federal and local governments respond with different forms of repression. By denigrating them, by supporting or not hindering corporations to mess with the territorial claims of autonomous movements, there are allegations of funding and training local groups hostile to autonomous movements, and the governments generally try to buy people out of or away from the autonomous movements. Impunity is about 98-99% in Mexico, so those involved in autonomous movements take significant personal risks. As mentioned before, the state responds to all forms of dissent with a mixture of co-optation (which might be considered violence) and proper violence, and has the particular project of dismantling all forms of alternatives to the system it imposes, such as the obvious example of Zapatista autonomy or other forms of autonomy that are appearing across the country as a result of narco-state violence. Clear examples are not only the Zapatistas, but also Ostula, Bachajon, Xochicuautla, Tila, Atenco, the Yaqui tribe of Sonora, the Magonista movements in Oaxaca, the campaign against the introduction of GMOs, Cheran, independent journalists, women fighting for bodily sovereignty, migrants asking for the right to move, all of these and many more have been brutalized by the state. As an answer many of these movements end up becoming centres with the potential of being autonomous, as in the case of Ayotzinapa. The truth is that the normal rural teaching schools are a problem for the economic plans of the Mexican governments. The Normal Rural Schools were founded in 1922 in post-revolutionary Mexico as part of the government project to bring education to farmers, and with the idea of giving some autonomy to each region to decide on what kind of education they need and want. In fact, after many decades of Callismo, when Lazaro Cardenas, a president recognized for his democratic policies, came into power in 1934, he encouraged the schools and in particular their revolutionary, autonomous character. He did this by emphasizing article 3 of the constitution that states that every Mexican has the right to education at a federal, state and municipal level. But once the Mexican government found these relatively more progressive ideas uncomfortable, and once it started profiting more from other sources such as foreign capital, it started to abandon agriculture and education. Since the neoliberal project took off, pushed by a new economic drive, Mexican politicians, and the Mexican elite have been trying to change article 3, which is the result of class struggle and of the Revolution. But civilians, who have been massively impoverished by this new economic plan, demand their constitutional right. The government is then forced to pass reforms under undemocratic circumstances, facing mass opposition, and ultimately using violence to repress dissent. To exert this power the government needs violence and corruption, and a justification. So what they do is criminalize dissent. Therefore, we see large sections of the teachers' union supporting the movement of Ayotzinapa, and we see that the struggle against the reforms of article 3 is not isolated. The clearest example being the mini-revolution that began in Oaxaca in 2006. It must be said that the teachers' union movement has been brutally oppressed and that many killed and disappeared can be counted among them. The neoliberal project has treated all the poor like criminals, and also all the institutions that have emerged as a way to bring social equality, not only unions and state companies, but also other social agents like student and indigenous movements, like the Zapatistas. Another good example is that of Atenco. The British architect Norman Foster and the British-based company ARUP agreed to collaborate with Pena Nieto to build the world's most expensive airport. During his period as the Governor of the State of Mexico -a State that stands out for its levels of violence and femicide- Pena Nieto used the police forces to repress the communal landholders of Atenco, who were being dispossessed of their land. During the events, the military police killed 2 youths, sexually tortured 26 women and injured many more. 9 Atenco farmers were illegally sentenced to 31 years in prison, 2 for 67 years, and one for 112 years. It was only through a lengthy national and international campaign that called for the liberation of the prisoners that they were finally absolved and freed after 4 years and 59 days. After more than 9 years, the 26 women have taken their complaints of sexual torture to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission and are currently awaiting an in-depth enquiry. The government announces every day that they are about to start building the airport, and yet the Atenco resistance is still there. IGD: The Zapatistas just celebrated their 22nd anniversary. What does the terrain and situation look like for struggles in Chiapas in the coming year? The Zapatistas, along with the CNI, see a storm coming, when everything is going to get much worse. "We, the Zapatistas, see and hear a catastrophe coming, and we mean that in every sense of the term, a perfect storm." (The Storm, the Sentinel and the Lookout Syndrome, Subcomandante Galeano, April 1, 2015). Against this storm, they call on everyone, all of us, to organise. "Because if we don't organize, we will be enslaved." They also call for critical thinking, the expansion of critical thought against the capitalist hydra, based on the ideas proposed at the seminar, which is perhaps better described as a seedbed. There is nothing to trust in capitalism. Absolutely nothing. We have lived with this system for hundreds of years, and we have suffered under its 4 wheels: exploitation, repression, dispossession, and disdain. Now all we have is our trust in each other, in ourselves. And we know how to create a new society, a new system of government, the just and dignified life that we want. Now no one is safe from the storm of the capitalist hydra that will destroy our lives, not indigenous people, peasant farmers, workers, teachers, housewives, intellectuals, or workers in general, because there are many workers who struggle to survive daily life, some with a boss and others without, but all caught in the clutches of capitalism. In other words, there is no salvation within capitalism. A bloody night, worse than before if that is possible, extends over the world. The Ruler is not only set on continuing to exploit, repress, disrespect, and dispossess, but is determined to destroy the entire world if in doing so it can create profits, money, pay. That is why we must better unite ourselves, better organize ourselves in order to construct our boat, our house--that is, our autonomy. That is what is going to save us from the great storm that looms. We must strengthen our different areas of work and our collective tasks. We have no other possible path but to unite ourselves and organize ourselves to struggle and defend ourselves from the great threat that is the capitalist system. Because the criminal capitalism that threatens all of humanity does not respect anyone; it will sweep aside all of us regardless of race, party, or religion. This has been demonstrated to us over many years of bad government, threats, persecution, incarceration, torture, disappearances, and murder of our peoples of the countryside and the city all over the world. EZLN, December 2015 For Chiapas, the current situation suggests that there will be an increase in the criminalisation and repression of any form of dissent or the development of any social movements, following established patterns and no doubt developing new ones. The "leaders" will be targeted, and imprisoned or killed. There will be a continuing attempt to destroy any resistance through the creation of an atmosphere of fear - "bullets of lead," and through bribing with social welfare programmes - "bullets of silver." It is likely that there will be more attacks on groups who do not conform, such Las Abejas, and on those who exercise their right as indigenous peoples, such as the Ejido San Sebastian Bachajon and the Ejido Tila, and the movements among communities to support each other will continue. It is also clear that the structural reforms, and the push for destructive megaprojects resulting in dispossession will continue. There have already been warnings of a renewal of mining activities in several areas, and highway, dam and tourism projects are being developed. No doubt networks and strategies of resistance are being developed also, but there will inevitably be a huge price to pay. It is likely that the Zapatistas' strategy of building 'other geographies' will continue to grow in influence--from the construction of the autonomous municipalities of Cheran and Santa Maria de Ostula in Michoacan, to the reconsolidation of the CNI; from the declaration of twenty-two autonomous municipalities in the state of Guerrero to the explicitly Zapatista-inspired Kurdish movement. "Our struggle is not local, regional, or even national. It is universal. Because injustice, crime, dispossession, disrespect, and exploitation are universal. But so are rebellion, rage, dignity, and the desire to be better." We need to be attentive to attempts at dispossession and to all aspects of counterinsurgency which are being played out there, and which are linked to the mega-projects and the counterinsurgency-based forms of governance which are also becoming more and more dominant in all other parts of the world. Our struggles are different, but they are linked into each other. The word of the original peoples echoes down the centuries: "We must not forget that we are the heirs of more than 500 years of struggle and resistance. The blood of our ancestors runs through our veins, it is they who have passed down to us the example of struggle and rebellion, the role of guardian of our mother earth, from whom we were born, from whom we live, and to whom we will return." IGD: The Zapatista movement continues to inspire us, as does the heroic social struggles and movements in Chiapas. Lastly we wanted to ask, that personally we feel that the use of the language of "rights" to be one of power and is debilitating, although many of the movements that you have talked about use rights as a reference point. Can you speak to this, how would you disagree or agree? We think this is probably two questions really. The use of the language of rights, and the use of rights as a reference point in Chiapas. Rights are a western and not an indigenous concept, though they have become one that can be used as a means of struggle in desperate times, but which will finally become irrelevant. Firstly, yes absolutely the language of rights is one of power and is debilitating. It can also be demeaning, and is very much imposed by a hierarchy, allowing those in positions of power to turn away from careful consideration and reflection of what should be the best behaviour in any situation, because they can pretend that the problem is solved. The concept of human rights is a Western neo-liberal concept which perpetrates divisions, injustices and inequalities, and can also, conversely, be used to justify oppression and repression, as it has been by different authorities in Chiapas. The language of rights can permit the perpetuation of stigma and discrimination, them and us, and is contrary to the principles of solidarity, all of us together, no one over anyone else. Eduardo Galeano famously said: "I don't believe in charity. I believe in solidarity. Charity is vertical. It goes from the top to the bottom. Solidarity is horizontal. It respects the other person." The word 'charity' here could be replaced by 'rights'. The discourse of human rights should be replaced by one of liberties and commons, but also, we would argue, by one of mutual respect and collective responsibility, of moral imperatives, because, as the indigenous peoples have shown us so clearly, we are all part of each other, and cannot separate the individual from the collective. The second part of this question is the use of rights as a reference point in Chiapas. It is important to recognise that different groups, peoples, movements evolve their own particular language according to their needs. The language of rights does not exist within the indigenous languages, which are based on the second person plural, the "we", nor is it part of their cosmovision. This means that when they are first displaced, indigenous peoples lack the tools to make sense of it, their identity has been taken away. Capitalism is inconceivable within a culture and tradition of communality. "It is in Chiapas, with its indigenous roots, its cosmology and ways of thinking about the world, that you have demonstrated the possibility of values that are almost the opposite of what is going on. While in capitalism individualism reigns, here communitarian values respect the person but are developed and flourish in a community." - Luis Villoro. "They weren't going to give us our basic rights. We had to take them."- Pedregales de Coyoacan, Feb 2016 Faced with elimination, with a power to whom they are inconvenient, irrelevant and infinitely disposable, the indigenous have had to learn a whole new language of struggle, and unfortunately also of self-defence, in order to survive at all. As the Zapatistas say, they are not part of the market, they do not buy or sell, so for Power they do not exist. Therefore, tactics and strategies have been developed, especially for those adopting the legal route as one method of struggle, which employ the language of the violation of rights, and international treaties and conventions have been established which enable them to do so more effectively, such as the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples. Rights therefore become a means to explain what has happened. The language of these legal "rights" shows the degree to which the communities' lives and cultures have been devastated. These "rights" should not need to exist, but for the voiceless, faceless and forgotten, those who have nothing, they offer a possible path back to dignity. However, at the same time, the indigenous peoples are developing their own alternatives, the most important of which is the building of their own autonomy, but to do this they need to know they can remain on their land. In Chiapas, among the indigenous groups who are trying to assert their own political autonomy, the state government appears to be using human rights as "another form of colonialism," and it may be that the indigenous peoples can develop their own understanding and their own language to enable them better to deal with this form of marginalisation and exclusion. "Given the devastation and the refusal of the Mexican State to respect the collective rights of indigenous peoples, men and women walk the defence of the ancestral territories from autonomy" - Frayba. "The path is made in community, if there is no justice we must walk making it," the parish priest of las Margaritas said recently. "What is necessary is a proposal for a new life, with respect, organization, discipline, dialogue and agreements, not the vices of the system." The Zapatistas have found it necessary to employ the language of rights, particularly in relation to women's rights. The first articulation of a rights claim made by Zapatista indigenous women was the Women's Revolutionary Law, which was formulated and presented to the EZLN in March 1993. The Law states that women have the right to participate in the army as combatants and to assume leadership in the army; to decide how many children they want to have and when they will have them; to have primary consideration in access to health services; to an education; to choose a marriage partner of their own free will, or to choose not to marry; to hold office if democratically elected in their communities; to work and receive a fair wage; and to be free from physical mistreatment from family members or strangers. This shows that they were using this language of rights even before the uprising. Again, the betrayed San Andres Accords were "for Indigenous Rights and Culture." But perhaps it is the failure of all these claims for basic rights that leads to peoples following the alternative path to autonomy. In this case, the State's lack of real political will to participate in a dialogue, and its decision to initiate a war of low intensity instead, obliged the EZLN to change things for itself. It forced the Zapatistas to demand the construction of alternative perspectives as the only real way to transform relations. It led them to build up, gradually, a social force capable of converting their basic demands into autonomous, popular achievements. Zapatista discourse talks a lot about responsibility, duty, and a moral and ethical basis to action, all of which are essential to their organisation, where everyone has a duty to each other. Certain people have the position of responsables , those who are responsible for something, and this position is taken extremely seriously. "We the Zapatistas will not run from our responsibility, lessen our efforts, or give in to the temptation of giving up." - Marcos, Dec 3 rd 1994. To be a member of a Good Government Council is "a responsibility, not a privilege." This language of duties and responsibilities, of moral obligations is common to indigenous peoples. An example from the Yaqui, which could equally have come from other peoples: "It is our duty to fight for those who fought, who even gave their lives so that we could be here, and it is our duty to leave the conditions so that we will still be here in 200 years. We should be afraid, not for ourselves, but for what we cannot do for the future." In the Sixth Declaration, the Zapatistas define capitalism as the problem, and explain that, with the other "humble and simple people" of the world they are looking and struggling against and beyond neoliberalism, seeking dignity. The Tsotsil indigenous word 'chulel' captures the living quality of life, all the life force or energy involved in the earth, in our own life, even the potentialities latent in objects and things. Capitalism destroys 'chulel', nature and community. It promotes an extreme individualisation and dehumanisation. The Zapatistas are on a path or a way of true living, emerging out of and realising 'chulel.' This is far beyond the artificial language of rights, it speaks to another world, different and better. Support our work! Please donate : Liked it? Take a second to support It's Going Down!

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photo by Sportstwo.com A $10 bag of multicolored Doritos was released to the public on behalf of the It Gets Better Project. Frito Lay's chief marketing officer, Ram Krishnan, told the Daily Mail UK the company is supporting the project to "show our commitment toward equal rights for the LGBT community and celebrate humanity without exception." Some of the profits from the sale will go to the project. The It Gets Better Project's goal is to "prevent homophobic bullying." It was founded by Dan Savage, who is a sex columnist, according to The New York Times. Savage started the project in 2010 after learning that gay youths had committed suicide. In a 2010 column he wrote, titled "Savage Love," he used a letter from a concerned Christian telling him, "F*** your feelings," and went on to discuss how those who practice the gay lifestyle are not sinners. The foul-mouthed Savage regularly swears in his columns, bullies those who oppose same-sex marriage by attacking their beliefs, called conservative radio personality Dr. Laura a "piece of s***," and last year said that Mike Huckabee could "suck his f****** dick," according to the Gay Star News. The Doritos campaign includes sales of a bag of red, orange, green, blue, and purple Doritos, inspired by the gay flag. We know first-hand that censorship against conservative news is real. Please share stories and encourage your friends to sign up for our daily email blast so they are not getting shut out of seeing conservative news. Ian Bayne is a former political consultant, radio talk show host, and small business owner. Latest posts by Ian Bayne ( see all )

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We're living through an interesting moment in modern politics. The left has not reacted well to the election of Donald Trump and has been decrying his violation of norms while also testing the waters for some norm violations of their own. But if the left is attracted to the idea of tossing norms aside to defeat Trump, they are also hesitant about what that might mean. For instance, you have Rep. Maxine Waters calling for the harassment of everyone who works for Trump in private life. But you also have Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi criticizing Waters for crossing a line. You have one far left activist throwing Press Secretary Sarah Sanders out of her restaurant but you also have some people who think that's going too far. The radicals are behaving badly, but they haven't quite convinced the leaders to join them yet, at least not in public. There have been two pieces published by Politico Magazine in the past two days that hover on this question of just how far the left should take this. Yesterday, the site offered an endorsement of crossing the line by a political science professor named Rob Goodman. Goodman discusses a book by another political scientist who has argued the left should do whatever it takes to win and lock Republicans out of power, including packing the Supreme Court and creating several new states. The only caveat Goodman adds to this argument is that the left, or the part of it that is pushing for violating norms to win, should only cross this line if it's sure it can follow through : If the Normal Is Over caucus can imagine a unified, genuinely radical Democratic government in the next four or eight years, they're also responsible for imagining an enraged opposition, strong in the conviction that the Democratic government is illegitimate. We saw exactly that the last time there was a Democratic government. And we can fully expect next time to be worse, because the culture of self-restraint is weakened with each iteration of the cycle. This means that a strategy of Democratic norm-breaking is justifiable only if it can be reasonably expected to result in a lasting political realignment--to break the cycle rather than escalate it. It must so thoroughly disempower the other side that it forestalls serious reprisals. Put simply, the strategy that Faris and others on the left are proposing had better work--because the tit-for-tat conflict that would result from a halfhearted or incomplete attempt would be even worse than the status quo. There's a little nuance in his argument but not much. It basically boils down to the old adage that if you take a shot at the king, you better be sure you kill him. If you're going to start breaking norms, you have to be all in. No doubt there are plenty of folks on the far left cheering that prospect on, but should they be? Today, Politico posted a piece that takes a much dimmer view of the left embracing norm violation. It's titled, " Here's What Happened the Last Time the Left Got Nasty ." The gist of the piece is that Democrats were in a similar mood in the late 1960s and the results were not good: Peaceful protests continued, but growing numbers of militants now styled themselves revolutionaries and adopted tactics to match. Groups like the Weather Underground preached and carried out violence, including lethal violence, which was deemed "as American as cherry pie" by H. Rap Brown, rendering ironic the name of the group he'd come to lead, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. (Brown, who now goes by Jamil Al-Amin, is currently serving a life sentence for murder.) Most activists stopped short of planting bombs and shooting police officers. But many still blew past the boundaries of what nearly everyone considered legitimate protest. Demonstrators not only directed chants of "Hey, hey, LBJ, how many kids did you kill today?" at President Lyndon Johnson; they also accosted officials of his administration when they set out in public. In 1967, when Secretary of State Dean Rusk tried to attend a banquet of the Foreign Policy Association in New York, a radical group called Up Against the Wall Motherfuckers (often called "the Motherfuckers" for short) threw eggs, rocks and bags of cows' blood, though Rusk slipped into the hotel unscathed. Defense Secretary Robert McNamara was spat upon in an airport and called a baby killer; on a visit to Harvard, a hostile mob encircled his car and rocked it back and forth until police spirited him to safety via a tunnel. Antiwar radicals even tried to set fire to McNamara's Colorado vacation home--twice. A few years later, after he'd left government, someone tried to throw him off the Martha's Vineyard ferry. The article adds that this turn away from civility peaked after Nixon's election . A presidential study pointed to a national "crisis of violence," with some 41,000 bombings or bomb threats during his first 15 months in the White House. In this context, the far left continued to directly go after members of the administration and even the first family. Various Nixonites recounted harrowing incidents in their memoirs or interviews. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then a White House domestic policy aide, told Nixon in May 1970 that militants from Students for a Democratic Society had threatened to torch his Cambridge, Massachusetts, house, forcing his family to go underground. His 10-year-old son, John feared his father would be assassinated. We're already seeing some of this now. The families of both FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Sen. Rand Paul have been threatened recently. That's on top of the rash of threats last year against members of Congress. As of last June, the U.S. Capitol Police had investigated more threats against lawmakers in six months than they had in all of 2016. Ultimately, the author of the piece argues not that such behavior is wrong, but that it is ineffective: The taunting of public figures isn't well remembered, and neither will history long record June's showdown at the Red Hen. But insofar as these actions stem from a determination to score political points by violating civil norms, they--and the repellent and violent methods of extreme protesters more generally--engender a backlash and alienate allies. By 1972, we should recall, a majority of Americans had come to oppose the Vietnam War, but greater numbers opposed the antiwar movement. The left already has a toe, or maybe an entire foot, over the line but only now it seems to be hesitating a bit about going all in. It's worth noting that both of the authors of the two pieces mentioned above are clearly on the left and anti-Trump. They aren't interested in protecting the status quo, they are just worried that if the left goes all in they will a) enrage the right in a way that is unpredictable and b) drive up their own negatives and thereby harm their own cause. I think the authors are right about that. The left is playing with fire right now because it imagines that only its opponents will get burned, but that's not how things work in real life. The left may have convinced itself that all the boundaries of civility have been abandoned but they haven't, not yet anyway. Things could get a lot worse if the left decides to go all in.

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Dear Justice Kennedy, June is nigh, and with it will come your ruling on the most contentious political issue of our time: marriage. I write because I am one of many children with gay parents who believe we should protect marriage. I believe you were right when, during the Proposition 8 deliberations, you said "the voice of those children [of same-sex parents] is important." I'd like to explain why I think redefining marriage would actually serve to strip these children of their most fundamental rights. It's very difficult to speak about this subject, because I love my mom. Most of us children with gay parents do. We also love their partner(s). You don't hear much from us because, as far as the media are concerned, it's impossible that we could both love our gay parent(s) and oppose gay marriage. Many are of the opinion I should not exist. But I do, and I'm not the only one. This debate, at its core, is about one thing. It's about children. The definition of marriage should have nothing to do with lessening emotional suffering within the homosexual community. If the Supreme Court were able to make rulings to affect feelings, racism would have ended fifty years ago. Nor is this issue primarily about the florist, the baker, or the candlestick-maker, though the very real impact on those private citizens is well-publicized. The Supreme Court has no business involving itself in romance or interpersonal relationships. I hope very much that your ruling in June will be devoid of any such consideration. Government Should Promote the Well-being of Children Children are the reason government has any stake in this discussion at all. Congress was spot on in 1996 when it passed the Defense of Marriage Act, stating : At bottom, civil society has an interest in maintaining and protecting the institution of heterosexual marriage because it has a deep and abiding interest in encouraging responsible procreation and child-rearing. Simply put, government has an interest in marriage because it has an interest in children. There is no difference between the value and worth of heterosexual and homosexual persons. We all deserve equal protection and opportunity in academe, housing, employment, and medical care, because we are all humans created in the image of God. However, when it comes to procreation and child-rearing, same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples are wholly unequal and should be treated differently for the sake of the children. When two adults who cannot procreate want to raise children together, where do those babies come from? Each child is conceived by a mother and a father to whom that child has a natural right. When a child is placed in a same-sex-headed household, she will miss out on at least one critical parental relationship and a vital dual-gender influence. The nature of the adults' union guarantees this. Whether by adoption, divorce, or third-party reproduction, the adults in this scenario satisfy their heart's desires, while the child bears the most significant cost: missing out on one or more of her biological parents. Making policy that intentionally deprives children of their fundamental rights is something that we should not endorse, incentivize, or promote. The Voices of the Children When you emphasized how important the voices of children with gay parents are, you probably anticipated a different response. You might have expected that the children of same-sex unions would have nothing but glowing things to say about how their family is "just like everyone else's." Perhaps you expected them to tell you that the only scar on their otherwise idyllic life is that their two moms or two dads could not be legally married. If the children of these unions were all happy and well-adjusted, it would make it easier for you to deliver the feel-good ruling that would be so popular. I identify with the instinct of those children to be protective of their gay parent. In fact, I've done it myself. I remember how many times I repeated my speech: "I'm so happy that my parents got divorced so that I could know all of you wonderful women." I quaffed the praise and savored the accolades. The women in my mother's circle swooned at my maturity, my worldliness. I said it over and over, and with every refrain my performance improved. It was what all the adults in my life wanted to hear. I could have been the public service announcement for gay parenting. I cringe when I think of it now, because it was a lie. My parents' divorce has been the most traumatic event in my thirty-eight years of life. While I did love my mother's partner and friends, I would have traded every one of them to have my mom and my dad loving me under the same roof. This should come as no surprise to anyone who is willing to remove the politically correct lens that we all seem to have over our eyes. Kids want their mother and father to love them, and to love each other. I have no bitterness toward either of my parents. On the contrary, I am grateful for a close relationship with them both and for the role they play in my children's lives. But loving my parents and looking critically at the impact of family breakdown are not mutually exclusive. Now that I am a parent, I see clearly the beautiful differences my husband and I bring to our family. I see the wholeness and health that my children receive because they have both of their parents living with and loving them. I see how important the role of their father is and how irreplaceable I am as their mother. We play complementary roles in their lives, and neither of us is disposable. In fact, we are both critical. It's almost as if Mother Nature got this whole reproduction thing exactly right. Click "like" if you support TRADITIONAL marriage. The Missing Parent I am not saying that being same-sex attracted makes one incapable of parenting. My mother was an exceptional parent, and much of what I do well as a mother is a reflection of how she loved and nurtured me. This is about the missing parent. Talk to any child with gay parents, especially those old enough to reflect on their experiences. If you ask a child raised by a lesbian couple if they love their two moms, you'll probably get a resounding "yes!" Ask about their father, and you are in for either painful silence, a confession of gut-wrenching longing, or the recognition that they have a father that they wish they could see more often. The one thing that you will not hear is indifference. What is your experience with children who have divorced parents, or are the offspring of third-party reproduction, or the victims of abandonment? Do they not care about their missing parent? Do those children claim to have never had a sleepless night wondering why their parents left, what they look like, or if they love their child? Of course not. We are made to know, and be known by, both of our parents. When one is absent, that absence leaves a lifelong gaping wound. The opposition will clamor on about studies where the researchers concluded that children in same-sex households allegedly fared "even better!" than those from intact biological homes. Leave aside the methodological problems with such studies and just think for a moment. If it is undisputed social science that children suffer greatly when they are abandoned by their biological parents, when their parents divorce, when one parent dies, or when they are donor-conceived, then how can it be possible that they are miraculously turning out "even better!" when raised in same-sex-headed households? Every child raised by "two moms" or "two dads" came to that household via one of those four traumatic methods. Does being raised under the rainbow miraculously wipe away all the negative effects and pain surrounding the loss and daily deprivation of one or both parents? The more likely explanation is that researchers are feeling the same pressure as the rest of us feel to prove that they love their gay friends. Children Have the Right to Be Loved by Their Mother and Father Like most Americans, I am for adults having the freedom to live as they please. I unequivocally oppose criminalizing gay relationships. But defining marriage correctly criminalizes nothing. And the government's interest in marriage is about the children that only male-female relationships can produce. Redefining marriage redefines parenthood. It moves us well beyond our "live and let live" philosophy into the land where our society promotes a family structure where children will always suffer loss. It will be our policy, stamped and sealed by the most powerful of governmental institutions, that these children will have their right to be known and loved by their mother and/or father stripped from them in every instance. In same-sex-headed households, the desires of the adults trump the rights of the child. Have we really arrived at a time when we are considering institutionalizing the stripping of a child's natural right to a mother and a father in order to validate the emotions of adults? Justice Kennedy, I have long admired your consistency when ruling on the well-being of children, and I implore you to stay the course. I truly believe you are invested in the equal protection of all citizens, and it is your sworn duty to uphold that protection for the most vulnerable among us. The bonds with one's natural parents deserve to be protected. Do not fall prey to the false narrative that adult feelings should trump children's rights. The onus must be on adults to conform to the needs of children, not the other way around. This is not about being against anyone. This is about what I am for. I am for children! I want all children to have the love of their mother and their father. Being for children also makes me for LGBT youth. They deserve all the physical, social, and emotional benefits of being raised by their mother and father as well. But I fear that, in the case before you, we are at the mercy of loud, organized, well-funded adults who have nearly everyone in this country running scared. Six adult children of gay parents are willing to stand against the bluster of the gay lobby and submit amicus briefs for your consideration in this case. I ask that you please read them. We are just the tip of the iceberg of children currently being raised in gay households. When they come of age, many will wonder why the separation from one parent who desperately mattered to them was celebrated as a "triumph of civil rights," and they will turn to this generation for an answer. What should we tell them? Katy Faust serves on the Academic and Testimonial Councils of the International Children's Rights Institute and writes at asktheBigot.com . She is the mother of four, the youngest of whom was adopted from China. This article is reprinted with permission from The Public Discourse .

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I n Paris, the mid-October sky is overcast and a cool breeze announces autumn. I know this only because I've checked the weather report on my smartphone, as I do every morning when I'm in New York, where I now live part of the year. In France, I don't bother to check the New York weather. There's no point, since, swept as it is by marine winds, the city sees its temperature fluctuate from one hour to the next. It's 9 AM in Gotham, and, at least for now, it's sunny and warm, an Indian summer day. To enter the jury room in the courthouse named after former senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, one must go through a fastidious security check, as is the case with all New York public buildings since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. In fact, the courthouse is just down the street from where the Twin Towers stood before their destruction, and where the Freedom Tower, an architectural improvement, rises today. I remove my jacket and belt, empty my pockets, and hand over my mobile phone to a security guard. This morning, in this building, I will add to my French nationality a new, supplementary identity: I will become an American citizen. C itizenship is the key term. I will enter into a moral contract with the Constitution of the United States, while in no way denying my French culture, my Jewish heritage, or my classical liberal commitments; indeed, as authorized by both American and French law, I can also retain my French citizenship as a new American. The upcoming ceremony represents the culmination of a long process, initiated by my father in 1933, when he fled Poland, seeking to escape the Nazis. He wanted to immigrate to the U.S. but only got as far as France. Finally, a bit weary after the wait to get through security, I reach the jury room and find a place on a bench at the back, behind a massive marble column, which obstructs my view of the American flag to which I will be required to pledge an oath of allegiance. (The United States was the first nation to legislate a right to naturalization, as was consistent with the universalizing vocation of its Constitution.) Soon, I'm reciting the oath, repeating word for word the text that the judge first reads to us: "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty." My 300 or so fellow new citizens for the most part seem to speak little English, but they, too, repeat diligently the terms, which date from 1790, doubtless without fully understanding what they're saying. All the participants, I'm sure, do understand that this collective recitation--a patriotic rite of initiation--transports us from darkness into light. In the words of the oath, we cease to be subjects of foreign powers in order henceforth to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States. . . . So help me God." As a secular European, I wonder to myself: What is God doing in this ceremony? It's an American God, though, generic to the point that anyone in the room, even an atheist, can accept His role--an ecumenical God for all occasions. In this multicolored assembly, representing all the continents, I am a rare white European. I see another, a Russian, as he receives his certificate of citizenship, which is about the size of a diploma and adorned with seals and signatures--the kind of thing one frames and hangs on a wall. With a fitting eloquence, akin to that of an evangelical pastor, the presiding judge, Paul Davison, a subtle and affable African-American, congratulates us on attaining U.S. citizenship. He informs us that we hail from 46 different countries; he exhorts us to "contribute to the diversity that makes America strong." It's hard for me to imagine a magistrate from anywhere else inviting you to become a citizen while renouncing nothing of your culture and beliefs. Not all American citizenship ceremonies are alike, however. A month later, on the day after Veterans Day, my wife, Marie-Dominique, in turn becomes an American. The tone for her ceremony was martial. With several soldiers being naturalized as thanks for serving in the American military, the judge praises the armed forces. Even under President Barack Obama, America is not pacifist. It never is. From its founding by George Washington, and with a brief interlude from 1920 to 1940, the U.S. military has been constantly at war--on the frontiers, during the nineteenth century, or far away. Marie-Dominique is invited to wave a little paper flag and to sing "America the Beautiful." She is joining me in my American adventure solely out of faithfulness, as she doesn't share my identity troubles. Her genealogy goes back several centuries, rooted in the loveliest part of France, between Angers and Nantes, with a few family offshoots toward Sable and Bressuire. Marie-Dominique is a contemporary manifestation of those strong women of the Vendee described by Michelet, who, if he is to be believed, laid down all the rules of conduct during the eighteenth century, even pitting their husbands against the Republic when it went crazy during the French Revolution's Terror. Can someone be at once French and American, without conflict? I liked the fact that, in order to become an American, I actually did not have to renounce my French nationality. This right of dual citizenship between France and America goes back to 1778 and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, signed by Conrad Alexandre Gerard (under the direction of Louis XVI's minister Vergennes) and Benjamin Franklin, America's ambassador. The right opened up the possibility, for example, for American Thomas Paine to be elected a French deputy from Pas-de-Calais during the 1798 Convention. It's worth recalling in this context that without the support of Lafayette and of Admiral Rochambeau--the first for public relations in the court of Versailles and the second at sea, off the shore of Yorktown--there would have been no United States. T he Constitution is a central totem of American society, not at all like the French document, which has varied ceaselessly with regimes, majorities, fashions, and partisan calculation. And the American Constitution is what I promised to defend, not the United States itself; if the government somehow broke faith with its founding document, our agreement would be done. (The president, too, is pledged to protect only the Constitution, though you wouldn't know it from recent White House occupants, who claim that they took an oath to defend the American people. They didn't.) This Constitution of 1787, with its first ten amendments, the famous Bill of Rights, is the quintessence of Enlightenment philosophy, completed by two subsequent key amendments--one inscribing formal equality between the races, in 1865, and the other, in 1920, ensuring the civil rights of women. From its first words, the Constitution distinguishes itself from all other political proclamations: "We the people," it begins--that is, you and I, and not the Nation, an abstraction that puts the individual in a box with a label. I'm also moved by the Declaration of Independence of 1776, which Judge Davison reads to us at the beginning of the citizenship ceremony. The Declaration introduces, besides the ideals of liberty and equality--announced 13 years before the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen--another right, previously unknown in human history: the right to the pursuit of happiness, a striking formulation conceived by Thomas Jefferson. These texts, which Americans hold sacred, have protected them from totalitarian ideologies and from the excesses of their presidents, as when Richard Nixon was forced to resign and Bill Clinton barely escaped removal from office for lying under oath. On a video screen, President Obama welcomes us as new citizens, whom he is counting on to help the United States remain a "beacon to all nations." Americans, of course, see themselves as "exceptional," and they are: no other nation had ever been founded on a contract and on the personal will of citizens to adhere to it. We all applaud Obama's short speech--the only spontaneous enthusiasm shown by this calm group. Perhaps the lack of open excitement reflects the culmination of a boring administrative process that had begun years earlier. By the time I found myself in the jury room, I had filled out countless questionnaires, conducted frantic searches for missing documents, and talked with numerous immigration officials, not all of them friendly. Making my way to the end of the bureaucratic marathon took up ten years of my life. At the end of Judge Davison's speech, each candidate gets called up to receive the citizenship certificate. Many fail to respond at first because they don't recognize the American pronunciation of their names. I had once made immense efforts in France to adopt a French name, rather than one that was Jewish or Germanic (from Berl Somann, I became Guy Sorman). Here, I was transformed into an American instantly--I was no longer "Gee" (with a hard g , as the French pronounce my name) but plain old "Guy," rhyming with "eye," which, in America, is also a generic term for a male (or, in groups, males and females). In America, my family name is now pronounced, unlike in France, with the n vocalized. In these different pronunciations, I find confirmed my desire for multiple identities. For many of my fellow new citizens, vital necessity drove them to America: escaping from poverty, civil war, and dictatorial governments, they will now, at last, be able to live normal lives in a civilized country. For me, dual citizenship represents a cultural choice. When my turn comes, I step forward. The pressing crowd leaves me no time to converse with Judge Davison. I manage a single sentence: "Today, I have obtained what my father sought in 1933." The judge held my hand in his for a moment. "You did this for your father," he says. B ecoming an American has indeed been all about waiting. The waiting began in 2005, when Marie-Dominique and I decided that we wanted a new life that only the United States would allow, since it did not require us to renounce our French nationality. Approximately 1 million immigrants come to the U.S. every year, as well as another 1 million undocumented aliens. Because the nation's reopening to large-scale immigration in the mid-1960s was accompanied by a desire to diversify the population, it became easier for people from China, India, or Mexico to become citizens than it would be for Europeans. Half, at least, of the immigrants naturalized during my ceremony were from Central America and South America; the next-largest contingent was probably Indian or African. Most were likely joining family members already in America, which can make the process easier. For my wife and me, Europeans without relatives in America, the path was more arduous, involving legal difficulties that required a lawyer's aid to navigate. In the United States, a lawyer is more than a judicial assistant who manages your legal procedures; he is your counselor, your notary, and your tutor. Europeans pay more in taxes than Americans do, but administrative rules tend to be clearer than in America, where their complexity acts as a hidden tax. Without a lawyer--an expensive one, if he or she is competent--an American or prospective American could easily wind up lost in a legal labyrinth. To compare honestly the costs of government in France and the U.S., legal fees should be added to the known fiscal burden. The fees, which cover the many steps of the immigration process, are onerous enough to explain the booming industry in fake identity papers used by many illegal immigrants. For illegals, the risk of carrying such fraudulent documents is minimal: unless they try to leave American territory, they're unlikely to have their phony papers closely checked. For someone who wants to become a real citizen, however, legal representation is a big help. And over the course of ten years, our lawyer guided Marie-Dominique and me through a snakes-and-ladders game of administrative cases, each step allowing us to stay longer in the U.S. and giving us ever more American rights. From the ordinary visitor's visa of three months, we made our way to a six-month visa, and then to the "0-1" visa, reserved for "exceptional individuals" who can make a significant contribution to American society. The 0-1 visa remains time-limited and does not establish residency, but it enables one to work for longer periods. Never have I considered myself an "exceptional" person in this sense, capable of contributing something that some American would not be able to do just as well. But my lawyer demonstrated that I was the only one in the world in my particular discipline--a discipline she invented for the occasion. After examining my writings and their translations into many languages, including some without global scope, she concluded that I was the leading scholar in the analysis of the relations between rates of economic growth and the culture of poor countries, such as the level of trust among individuals or toward government institutions. This claim wasn't false in describing my work's intention, but it exaggerated my originality and success. The volume of my writing seemed as decisive as its content, however, since this expert in 0-1 visas gathered together all my books, including translations, and a multitude of essays, both by me and about my work, and sent the whole pile to the relevant immigration office. Next comes the Green Card that millions of immigrants dream of obtaining. It confers the rights to reside and work in America, and to leave and return to the country as one desires, though it doesn't allow one to vote. Green Card status also requires one to declare his or her income, whatever its source, to the Internal Revenue Service. One can deduct from federal taxes what one has paid elsewhere, however, and since I pay high French taxes, I never owe the IRS much. The sizable bill that I do have to pay every year stems from what I owe the accountant who sorts out the tangle of U.S. tax rules. Here again, the American government might seem less burdensome for taxpayers than the French one, but its needless complexities amount to a vast hidden charge. One disappointment: the Green Card is only green-ish, not really green. And another: instead of passing into your hands in a solemn ceremony or via a federal agent who'd say, "Welcome to the United States" as he handed it to you, the Green Card arrives in the mail. That means waiting for the daily mail delivery . . . and waiting. My wife, for whatever reason, received her Green Card three weeks before I did. Suffering from a hereditary malady that might be called "Ashkenazi paranoia," I was certain that I'd been forgotten, but my card eventually arrived, mixed in with seasonal catalogs and bills. N ot the least of the Green Card's advantages is that one can now use the airport lines reserved for citizens and residents. Foreigners who, after an eight-hour flight, must stand an hour or longer to get past the customs counters at Kennedy or Newark International Airports understand the value of this privilege. The interminable waiting that I once had to suffer through was an initiation into the phenomenon of the line in the United States. To wait in line is, for Americans, fundamentally democratic. We--and I can say "we" now--wait at the bank, at the post office and other government offices; everywhere. Americans are supposed to keep calm in line, accept that no one has special privileges, and acknowledge the country's egalitarian ethos. When I notice a tourist waiting impatiently, grumbling or trying to cheat ahead a few places, I feel like saying: "This is the United States, and here's your first lesson in democracy." In my experience, some have more trouble than others in adapting--in particular, the Chinese. Coming from a country without law and without orderly lines--since one's rank, including in lines, is determined by power and corruption--they can find it hard to wait their turn in the new, regulated American order. The French aren't far behind the Chinese in their exasperated impatience, as exemplified by the behavior some years ago of Azouz Begag, a minister for then-French president Jacques Chirac. Invited to give a speech in Atlanta on race and integration, Begag faced a long wait to get through customs at Atlanta International Airport. Begag wouldn't tolerate such a delay. After all, what was the point of being a government official if one didn't get served first? Begag had not come to America in his ministerial capacity, though, but to participate in a conference. "Get back in line with everyone else," officials told him. Begag, a sociologist and former student at Cornell University, should have accepted this verdict with greater equanimity than the typical Frenchman, but, alas, he protested vehemently, brandishing his diplomatic passport. Two police officers swept in, handcuffed him, and threw him in the airport's makeshift jail. A few hours later, the French consul liberated him. With hindsight, Begag told me, he recognized that he had offended America's democratic spirit. It's possible to have a complex, plural identity, so long as one loves democracy's diversity and detests nationalism. Through the entire bureaucratic maze I traveled in my quest for citizenship, I have gone through countless scanners and zig-zagged through endless roped-off zones, holding my computer-generated tickets, waiting for my number to come up so that I could sit before a high-ranking officer in charge of my case. In my journey of initiation, I tried not to lose patience and to remain courteous, just as most of my interlocutors were. There seems to be an unspoken rule that the immigration officer, who's never seen you before, calls you by your first name. This is another lesson in American democracy--for a person's family name tends to situate him socially and ethnically more often than does his first name. My first name, in its simple American pronunciation, made it easy for immigration officials; my wife's name, Marie-Dominique, harder to Americanize, led many of them, especially women, to call her "honey," or some variant thereof. One cannot imagine a French immigration official ever calling someone ma cherie . The final barrier to overcome for citizenship is an in-depth interview with an immigration officer. Your lawyer attends, to ensure that the correct procedure is followed, but does not intervene in the examination. And this is indeed an exam. The officer assesses your ability to speak and write English--but only for a small number of words, the list of which is available in advance. Candidates lacking English fluency memorize this list. Some questions follow, to verify that the candidate for citizenship knows something about the country and its political institutions. Out of 100 possible questions--these, too, available in advance--ten will be asked, and the candidate must answer six correctly. Some fail because they didn't take the test seriously enough, or because their English is too poor for them to understand the questions properly, or because the political subject matter escapes them. They can retake the test a few months later. One question I received: How many amendments to the Constitution are there? Correct response: 27. That one was tough, but others were ridiculously easy. What continent did African-American slaves come from? Well, Africa. Name a Native American tribe. I chose the Cherokees. My wife surprised her examiner by knowing that Albany was the capital of New York, something I'd bet half of New Yorkers were in the dark about. A ll this mostly describes, but doesn't fully explain, my presence in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan United States Courthouse on October 16, 2015, my oath to a flag that I couldn't see, and my handshake with Judge Davison. The deepest reason was grasped by the judge at the time: my father's memory. He wanted to become an American, but he didn't make it. I wouldn't rest until I was one, to honor him and complete his journey--or, more precisely, his escape, hunted as he was by Stalin, Hitler, and Marshal Petain. My double citizenship not only fulfills my familial odyssey, however; it also demonstrates that it's possible to have a complex, plural identity, so long as one loves democracy's diversity and detests nationalism, which ruins souls as much as nations. Guy Sorman , a City Journal contributing editor and French public intellectual, is the author of many books, including In Praise of Giving: Understanding the American Heart . Top Photo: The right of French-American dual citizenship goes back to a 1778 treaty between the two countries. (Private Collection/Bridgeman Images)

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Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) once brought an avowed neo-Confederate secessionist she'd known for decades to deliver the opening prayer for the House of Representatives. Blackburn, who is currently running for the Senate, invited the Rev. David O. Jones, a Tennessee pastor and Christian home-school program head who says he's known her since the late 1970s, to give the opening prayer for the House in 2004. Jones, who has long advocated southern secession, told TPM this week that while slavery was abhorrent it was " basically cradle to grave security" for many southern blacks. H is decade-old homeschooling curriculum includes a high school course on the South designed to refute "propaganda imposed from everywhere else" about slavery and the Civil War. Required reading: "Myths of American Slavery" and "The South Was Right." When Blackburn invited him to Congress, Jones was in the middle of a long tenure heading the Tennessee chapter of the League of the South -- an explicitly secessionist group that has been designated a " hate group " by the Southern Poverty Law Center since 2000 because of leader Michael Hill's racist comments as well as its ties to co-founder Jack Kershaw, best known for serving as the lawyer for Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassin and erecting a statue outside Nashville of the Ku Klux Klan founder, Confederate Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest. Rev. David O. Jones poses with Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). Courtesy of Rev. David O. Jones. The League has grown increasingly militant and became explicitly white supremacist in recent years. It was a main organizer of the bloody Charlottesville protests in August and recent "White Lives Matter" rallies in Murfreesboro and Shelbyville, Tennessee, last weekend that spurred at least one violent confrontation in its wake. Jones left the organization in 2015 because of its full embrace of white supremacism, he told TPM, though watchdogs said the League began making the turn towards hardline militancy as early as 2008. He also continued to run a non-profit founded by Kershaw that funded both his homeschooling program and the League of the South (including for "self-defense" gun training classes). His involvement with the non-profit ended this summer after local TV news investigated its ties to the League of the South. Blackburn praised Jones as an influential figure in the state's homeschooling movement as she introduced him on the House floor in 2004. "Reverend Jones has a long and distinguished history of dedication to his faith and to his community. He is a pioneer in the home-school movement who has made a real difference in the lives of thousands of Tennessee children and their families, and has worked to ensure that we protect the sanctity of life as an example to each and every one of us," she said, according to a transcript on the House Clerk's website. He donated more than $1,000 to her in 2005 and 2006 -- his only contribution to a federal candidate in the last three decades. Jones' prayer can be seen below (C-SPAN apparently cut to Jones after Blackburn's introduction): Blackburn's campaign told TPM Thursday that she had no idea about Jones' controversial views and ties and hasn't seen him in a long time, but declined to say whether or not she plans to return his campaign donations or discuss their earlier relationship. "Marsha is appalled by saddened by the actions and words of these hate-filled organizations. Marsha has not seen Rev. Jones in over a decade and was not aware he was affiliated with this organization," Blackburn spokeswoman Andrea Bozek told TPM in an email. Blackburn walked away and ignored TPM's question about Jones after saying hello as she entered the House floor on Wednesday afternoon. Jones agreed it was possible, even probable, that Blackburn wouldn't have known about his views, and while he thought he had last seen her six or seven years he agreed a decade might well have elapsed. But his description of their " moderately close" earlier relationship suggested closer ties than Blackburn wants to acknowledge now. Jones said he and Blackburn had been "friends for a long time, since 1979, " when they were involved with the Williamson County Young Republicans. In the early 2000s, back when she was first a congresswoman, her district office was across the street from his, and they'd pop in to visit each other every few weeks -- "I'd walk in on her, she'd walk in on me, that kind of thing." At one point, Jones said Blackburn called him with a favor to ask. " When her sister got married she called me to officiate the wedding," recalled Jones, saying he'd wedded her sister Karen to Nashville news anchor Dan Miller. He said that years later he also performed the wedding ceremony for Miller's daughter. Around the same time, he recalled, he told Blackburn it was a dream of his to give the opening prayer to Congress, and she happily obliged. "At the time I did the invocation, the time Ms. Marsha invited me to do that, the League was a whole different ballgame. It's not what it is now," he said, stating both he and the League of the South were "secessionist" but not racist and saying he'd long argued with Hill to stress the Christian rather than white roots of southern pride. Blackburn's campaign didn't push back on Jones' description of their relationship. Jones wrote a piece about his prayer in Congress for the Southern Patriot, The League of the South's newsletter, saying he'd been asked not to mention Jesus on the House floor but ignored that request. Jones's article in Southern Patriot, courtesy of the Anti-Defamation League's Mark Pitcavage. Jones' prayer was fairly innocuous, but many of his other views are considerably more controversial. Jones told TPM Martin Luther King Jr. was a "devout womanizer" who "had no morality," while Confederate Generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were "good, righteous men" -- why his homeschool program gives off a day for Lee-Jackson Day but not King's birthday. He blamed the north for starting the Civil War -- " Lincoln kind of set up the firing on Fort Sumter to make it look like the South fired the first shot" -- and said while he opposed segregation, " resolving Jim Crow laws would have been a lot better if the individual states and localities had been encouraged to make the adjustments rather than forced to a one-solution-fits-all type adjustment" by the federal government. His most controversial views are about slavery, which he said was an immoral practice but described as "basically cradle to grave security" for many southern blacks. "You go to an antebellum historical site up in Nashville and they say, 'The slaves lived in these little one-room cabins and all they had to play with was a hoop and a stick...' They don't mention the fact that the white sharecroppers lived exactly the same way, had exactly the same deprivation of substance," he told TPM. " It's like they're trying to paint slavery as this wrong, this burden." Jones said most slave-owners treated their slaves well and provided them medical care. " I'm not going to to defend slavery. But I say look at the historical facts, don't paint something with such a broad sweeping brush," he said. Jones says he feels "r eally bad" about the SPLC's view that he was part of a "hate group" -- "I am not a hater" -- and talked about his efforts to create an integrated church and allowing non-Christian families to join his home-schooling program. " I realize my views aren't necessarily in the mainstream but they're not caused by any animosity or hatred towards anyone. They're views I think can legitimately reconcile people with one another. Christ has called us to a ministry of conciliation and that's what I hope to do with my life," he said. Blackburn, who in her Senate campaign launch video declares she's "politically incorrect -- and proud of it" -- has long taken some controversial stances of her own on charged racial and religious issues, though nothing like Jones' comments. Her early Senate campaign has hit hard on attacking the NFL players who've knelt during the national anthem to protest police brutality against black people. A member of the Trump presidential transition team executive committee, she says she believes in Trump's "immigration ban" and wants to "build the wall." In 2015, she called a Tennessee state curriculum for seventh graders that includes a section in Islam "reprehensible" and warned of "indoctrination." And in 2009, she helped lead the charge against President Obama's openly gay safe-schools chief partially, signing a letter from House Republicans that claimed he was "pushing a pro-homosexual agenda in America's schools." But those views aren't nearly as controversial as Jones'. Those who have long monitored the League of the South were split on whether Blackburn should have known about Jones' ties. "I have no idea how ignorant Marsha might be but there's many public references to the League and what they stood for that predated her invitation," The Southern Poverty Law Center's Heidi Beirich told TPM. " I don't know why she brought him in but it's abhorrent that she did. ... It's completely unacceptable she's showered him with this high honor. You have to wonder about Blackburn's own views." Jones remains a leader of the Southern National Conference, a group that wants "Southern State governments creatively solving our own problems without interference or dictates from sources outside our respective States." While Jones said he doesn't oppose a weak federal government, he wants the South to have significantly more sovereignty. "Let communities, let states figure out for themselves what will work for their community. That's where secession comes in," he told TPM.

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At the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Muhammad Ali suddenly appeared on a platform in the stadium. Janet Evans, a five-time Olympic medalist in swimming, passed the heavy Olympic torch to Ali. Shaking from Parkinson's disease and perhaps from nervousness, he stood for a moment acknowledging the cheering crowd. Then he lit the cauldron that symbolized the official start of the Olympics. His role had not been announced in advance, so his appearance was a surprise to all but a handful of the spectators in the stadium and to the billions around the world watching on television. Already one of the most recognizable figures in the world, Ali had been selected to represent the United States, the host country. This was a long way from the 1960s and 1970s, when, to many white Americans, Ali -- the former Cassius Clay and one-time heavyweight champion of the world -- was vilified as a menacing black man, a symbol of a "foreign" religion (Islam), and a fierce opponent of America's war in Vietnam who defied his government by refusing to be drafted, risking prison and the withdrawal of his boxing title. Ali, who died Friday at 74, is regarded as one of the greatest boxers in history, even though his career was interrupted for more than three years. At his peak, powerful figures in government, media, and sports inflicted great hardship on the boxer-turned-activist for following his religious and political convictions. But eventually, Ali transcended his role as a sports figure to become a man acclaimed around the world as a person of conscience. He was born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky, part of the Jim Crow South. His father was a house painter and his mother was a domestic worker. When he was twelve, Clay's bike was stolen. He told a police officer, Joe Martin, that he wanted to beat up the thief. Martin, who also trained young boxers at a local agym, started working with Clay and quickly recognized his raw talent. Clay won the 1956 Golden Gloves Championship for light heavyweight novices and three years later won the Golden Gloves Tournament and the Amateur Athletic Union's light heavyweight national title. In 1960 the eighteen-year-old Clay won a spot on the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team and returned from Rome a hero with the gold medal. The next week, Clay went to a Louisville restaurant with his medal swinging around his neck and was denied service. He threw his medal in the Ohio River. Clay quickly turned professional and seemed unbeatable. He won his first nineteen bouts, most of them by knockouts. In 1964, in a match in which he was considered an underdog, he knocked out Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world at age twenty-two. Unlike most boxers, Clay was brash, articulate, and colorful outside the ring. He referred to himself as "The Greatest." He wrote poems predicting which round he would knock out his opponents. As a fighter, Ali was incredibly fast, powerful, and graceful. He told reporters he could "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee." In his personal life, however, he was on a spiritual quest. In 1962 Malcolm X recruited him to the Nation of Islam, which was known to the public as the "black Muslims" and was almost universally condemned by the mainstream media, by white politicians, and by most civil rights leaders, who disagreed with the Nation of Islam's belief in black separatism. Clay waited until the day after he beat Liston in 1964 to announce that he had joined the Nation of Islam and that he had changed his name to Muhammad Ali. At that point, the public turned against Ali with even deeper hostility. Most reporters initially refused to call him by his new name and attacked his association with Malcolm X. Even Martin Luther King Jr. told the press, "When Cassius Clay joined the Black Muslims, became a champion of racial segregation and that is what we are fighting against." Many black Americans who disagreed with the Nation of Islam nevertheless admired Ali's defiance. In 1965, when some Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) volunteers in Alabama launched an independent political party, the Lowdes County Freedom Organization, using the symbol of a black panther, the slogan on their bumper stickers and T-shirts came straight from Ali: "We Are the Greatest." Ali's announcement jeopardized many commercial endorsement opportunities. The media pressed Ali to explain his convictions. "I'm the heavyweight champion," he said, "but right now there are some neighborhoods I can't move into." Despite the controversy, he continued to dominate in the ring, besting all opponents who sought to topple him off his heavyweight throne. Ali also found himself in another fight -- a battle within the Nation of Islam between Malcolm X and Elijah Muhammad. When Muhammad suspended Malcolm X, Ali sided with Muhammad and broke off all relations with his mentor, with whom he had become close friends. When Malcolm X was assassinated in February 1965, Ali's public comments were chilling: "Malcolm X was my friend and he was the friend of everybody as long as he was a member of Islam... Now I don't want to talk about him." Despite this break, Ali had absorbed Malcolm X's political views, which were more radical than those of the Nation of Islam. In 1966 Ali was drafted by the U.S. Army. Had he agreed to join the military, he would not have had to fight in Vietnam, but would instead have served as an entertainer for the troops. But Ali refused military service, asserting that his religious beliefs prohibited him from fighting in Vietnam. "I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong," Ali explained. Another Ali explanation -- "No Vietcong ever called me nigger," which suggested that U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia was a form of colonialism and racism -- became one of the most famous one-line statements of the 20th century. "When Ali refused to take that symbolic step forward everyone knew about it moments later," explained Julian Bond, an SNCC leader and later head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). "You could hear people talking about it on street corners. It was on everybody's lips. eople who had never thought about the war -- Black and white -- began to think it through because of Ali." The U.S. government denied Ali's claim for conscientious objector status on the grounds that his objections were political, not religious. Ali reported to the induction center but refused to respond when his name was called. He was arrested and found guilty of refusing to be inducted into the military. He was sentenced to five years in prison, and his passport was revoked. He remained free pending many appeals. Even though he was not in prison, he was banned from boxing after its governing body stripped him of his boxing title and suspended his boxing license--an act that inspired antiwar feelings in the United States and around the world. Ali was not permitted to box for over three years at the height of his athletic ability, from age twenty-five to twenty-eight. During those years he was a frequent speaker on college campuses, speaking out against the ongoing Vietnam War. By 1970 public opinion about Vietnam, and about Ali, was changing, and the boxing establishment allowed Ali to fight again. Ali beat Oscar Bonavena at Madison Square Garden. But on March 8, 1971, also at Madison Square Garden, Ali failed in his attempt to regain the heavyweight title from the undefeated Joe Frazier. Three months later, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 8-0 to reverse his draft evasion conviction. But the Court could not give him back the three years and millions of dollars he lost during his boxing exile. Ali kept fighting. Between 1971 and 1973, he beat Ken Norton, George Chuvalo, Floyd Patterson, and Frazier in a 1974 rematch. In October of that year the underdog Ali defeated the younger, hard-hitting champion George Foreman with an eighth-round knockout and reclaimed the heavyweight crown, in a fight in Zaire that the media called the "Rumble in the Jungle." The next year Ali defeated Frazier in the "Thrilla in Manila," one of the greatest battles in boxing history. In both Africa and the Philippines, Ali was greeted as a hero by people in the streets. In February 1978 an overconfident Ali lost his championship belt to Leon Spinks, the 1976 Olympic champion. Friends urged Ali to retire, but he wanted to keep fighting. That September Ali defeated Spinks, becoming boxing's first three-time heavyweight champion. The next June he announced his retirement. He came out of retirement to fight again, revealing a dramatic decline in his skills. He retired for good in 1981 with an overall professional record of fifty-six wins and five losses. By then, Ali was possibly the most recognized individual in the world, not only for his boxing achievements but also for his political views and courage. He left the Nation of Islam in 1975 (at the death of Elijah Muhammad), converting to Sunni Islam in 1982. He announced that he had Parkinson's disease in 1984. His physical condition quickly deteriorated, but he remained active. After his retirement, he devoted much of his time to world travel and humanitarian work, such as his efforts with Amnesty International. In 1990 Ali traveled to Baghdad to negotiate for the release of U.S. hostages held by Saddam Hussein. After ten days of negotiations, which included Ali's submitting to the indignity of a strip search prior to meeting with Saddam, he returned to the United States with the fifteen former captives. In 1998 he was chosen to be a UN Messenger of Peace because of his work in developing countries. In 2005 he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and in 2009 the President's Award from the NAACP for his public service efforts. His last public appearance was at a fundraising event for Parkinson's fundraiser in April in Phoenix, where he lived. Political activism has never been widespread among athletes. Since the 1950s, only a handful of athletes have challenged the political status quo. Perhaps not surprisingly, most dissident athletes have been African Americans. Jackie Robinson used his celebrity as first black in modern major league baseball as a platform to speak out for civil rights). Bill Russell led his teammates on boycotts of segregated facilities while starring for the Boston Celtics. Olympic track medalists John Carlos and Tommie Smith created an international furor with their black power salute at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City, which hurt their subsequent professional careers. Coaches and team executives told Dave Meggyesy, a white All-Pro linebacker for the St. Louis Cardinals in the late 1960s, that his antiwar views were detrimental to his team and his career. As he recounts in his memoir Out of Their League, Meggyesy refused to back down, was consequently benched, and retired at age 28 while still in his athletic prime. In 1969 All-Star St. Louis Cardinal outfielder Curt Flood refused to accept being traded to the Philadelphia Phillies. He objected to being treated like a piece of property and to the restriction placed on his freedom by the reserve clause, which allowed teams to trade players without their having any say in the matter. Flood, an African American, considered himself a "well-paid slave." With support from the players union, Flood sued Major League Baseball. In 1970 the US Supreme Court ruled against Flood, but five years later the reserve clause had been abolished and players became free agents, paid according to their abilities and their value to their teams. In the 1970s tennis great Arthur Ashe campaigned against apartheid well before the movement gained widespread support. In 1992 he was arrested outside the White House in a protest against American treatment of Haitian refugees. In the 1970s and 1980s, tennis star Billie Jean King, followed by Martina Navratilova, spoke out for women's rights and gay and lesbian rights. In 2003, just before the United States invaded Iraq, Dallas Mavericks guard Steve Nash wore a T-shirt during the National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star weekend that said "No War. Shoot for Peace." Several other pro athletes -- including NBA players Etan Thomas, Josh Howard, Adam Morrison, and Adonal Foyle, baseball's Carlos Delgado, and tennis star Martina Navratilova -- raised their voices against the war in Iraq. In 2010 a number of baseball players publicly opposed Arizona's controversial anti-immigration law. With the exception of Robinson, however, none of these jocks for justice had the impact that Ali had on public opinion. His fame, his sacrifice, and his lifetime commitment to peace and human rights is unequaled in the sports world.

At the opening ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Muhammad Ali suddenly appeared on a platform in the stadium

"It's like Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' speech," he says of early proclamations that the city was ISIS-free. Still jet-lagged from a 16-hour flight back to the United States, the scruffily bearded 29-year-old sips a latte in a coffee shop and scrolls through raw footage of warfare on his laptop. Though he was born and raised in Westchester, Argueta says his Guatemalan heritage helped him blend into the Middle Eastern nation. But he jokes that having Latin roots also meant he couldn't tell his mother he was heading into a war zone. "Latin mothers tend to worry," he says. Standing in front of a burning tanker, freelance photojournalist Jose Argueta photographs the frontlines of war in Mosul. See more of Jose Argueta's photos from Mosul (warning: some images are graphic). Lauren Rooney After graduating from Miami International University of Art & Design, Argueta spent four years as a motion graphics artist for Univision. Though he often shot portraits and short documentaries on the side, his portfolio was limited to low-budget films of nightclubs and a New York barbershop. Inspired by the greats of conflict photography -- among his idols are Tim Hetherington, who was killed in Libya, and Lynsey Addario -- Argueta attended a recent conflict photography workshop led by former soldiers and war reporters in Spain. "We practiced first aid, we learned military tactics, and we slept outside in the mountains of Andalusia for five days," he says. In the midst of it, he became close friends with Sam Lees and Lauren Rooney, two tattooed photographers from London. With an old connection located in Erbil -- an aid volunteer by the name of Mohammed Dylan -- Argueta invited Lees and Rooney on a reporting trip to Iraq. Dylan, whose own house in Ramadi was blown up a couple of years ago, worked for Wasel Tasel, a nonprofit that often partnered with other humanitarian organizations, such as One World Medical Mission in Mosul. With Dylan offering to be their fixer, Argueta decided Iraq was the perfect journalism opportunity. "We were completely self-funded," he says. "We had no protection or support, but for a photographer, this was the dream." After reports early this month that the city was already liberated , Argueta decided he would photograph One World Medical's distribution of care packages to residents in a small town in western Mosul. After flying in on July 12, the crew of three met with Dylan in Erbil, the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, also known as "the Oasis of War." "It's so peaceful there, with the beautiful coffee shops and malls," Argueta says. "You'd never know that a couple miles away is the ISIS capital." In June 2014, leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, stood at the pulpit of al-Nuri, a 12th-century mosque in Mosul, and proclaimed himself caliph of the territory straddling Iraq's and Syria's borders. With that, Mosul, along with de facto capital Raqqa in Syria, became an ISIS stronghold. In October 2016, 100,000 troops, including Iraqi forces, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and U.S.-backed coalitions, led a military offensive to retake Iraq's second-largest city from ISIS militants. By the end of the nine-month campaign, thousands of civilians had died, almost a million others were displaced, and 32,000 houses were destroyed. "In order for an area to get liberated, everything needs to be destroyed," Argueta says. On July 10, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, outfitted in a black military uniform, waved a flag and declared Mosul liberated from the Islamic State. The announcement had been delayed by a day because soldiers reported that a pocket of ISIS fighters still remained in the old city on the western bank of the River Tigris. U.S. forces celebrated with the Iraqis on a strategic victory that signified the extremist organization's waning power, but also noted the city needed to be back-cleared of explosive devices and possible ISIS fighters in hiding. Though the fighting was said to be over, driving into Mosul involved seven checkpoints with an average wait of 15 minutes. On July 15, packed into the back of a small van with their seven cameras, Argueta, Lees, and Rooney sat suited in press jackets, helmets, and Kevlar body armor. At the first checkpoint, the crew noticed that officers of the Kurdish army were examining each vehicle. "Mohammed quickly turns around and tells us: 'By the way, you're not photographers; you're volunteers. Hide your stuff under the chairs.'" Hearing this, the three photographers ripped off their press patches and shoved their equipment under their seats. Checkpoint after checkpoint, the van stopped. By the third, a group of soldiers surrounded the vehicle. While a nervous Dylan tried to explain that his group had already been approved to move forward, a blast rang out. Behind them, an officer had gotten into a squabble with another driver. Warning shots were fired. Distracted, the soldiers cleared the road, and immediately Dylan slammed the gas pedal. As the van sped away, he turned to his three disoriented passengers, smiled, and said, "Welcome to Mosul." By the time the crew reached the last checkpoint, Argueta had already begun to see the remnants of destruction. ISIS had blown up all of the bridges entering Mosul, but one still stood: a bridge that the Iraqi military had rebuilt and now patrolled. "Mohammed looked terrified," Argueta says. "All press had been turned back. Another fixer told us: 'Don't even try.' There was just no way we were getting in." But after a 30-minute detainment, Argueta, Lees, and Rooney found themselves crossing the bridge into Mosul, passing the "point of no return." Creaking over dust and rubble, the van drove deeper into Mosul. On its flanks, fires blazed and blasted cars lay overturned. In the distance, a blackened mountain of rubble replaced what used to be the University of Mosul. Along its perimeter, students sat, reading their textbooks against the ruins. "It was like an apocalypse," Argueta says, "a scene straight out of Mad Max ." A few minutes later, the crew entered the small town in western Mosul. As they exited the van, a distribution truck rolled in. What began as a crowd of 20 soon turned into hundreds. People swarmed the road, flashing their ID cards, and humanitarian workers passed down water bottles and bags of food. Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the compound, little boys in soccer jerseys play-fought near a white car with cracked windows, mothers in black abayas cradled their children, and elderly men in light-blue thawbs rested against brick walls. Hearing the rapid shutter of Argueta's Canon DSLR, an old man hobbled over to speak with him. "He came to make sure that I knew they were decent people, not savages. He wanted to explain that if people were acting wild, it was because they were really hungry," Argueta says. "He told me that they'd been eating cats." Jose Argueta Children scrambled to get their photo taken, and Argueta enthusiastically obliged. But after 40 minutes, Dylan announced it was time to leave. Thinking there might be a security threat, because ISIS often sent drones to target crowds, Argueta and the rest of the crew quickly boarded the van and drove off. Unexpectedly, they pulled up to a three-story house ten minutes later. Spray-painted on the front wall was the phrase, "Fuck ISIS." Dylan told the three photographers to leave their cameras outside and shepherded them toward the mysterious building. Suddenly, a band of muscled men in black T-shirts and camo pants emerged. One fired his rifle into the air, while another swung out an RPG. It was a lighthearted scare, Argueta insists. It was a welcome into the home of an Iraqi special forces general. "It was unbelievable," Argueta says. "Mohammed was trying to get us permission to go into the old city where the fighting was happening." The soldiers offered them a lunch of rice, beans, and pita. Eventually, the soldiers agreed to escort the "volunteers" into the frontlines. Never expecting he'd make it to the warfront, Argueta realized he'd left his helmet behind. With only body armor protecting his torso, he clambered into the back of a decommissioned ambulance. At 1 p.m., the convoy headed into the old city. Jose Argueta First, the soldiers made a quick pit stop. As Argueta climbed down from the ambulance, the sun was strong and the air eerily silent. A few meters away, a charred tanker burned. Shattered rods, wood, and bent rafters wasted in the streets. Despite the desolation, Argueta couldn't help but smile: "There was this feeling that we were where every journalist wants to be." Minutes later, a soldier approached the photographer, asking Argueta to follow him. As the two hiked down the rocky street, they came to a garage with a rounded metal crate. It was an ISIS car bomb, Argueta says, "the kind they drive in a tank to blow up two blocks' worth of people." A couple of steps farther, on a stoop, two legs dangled, stained in fecal matter and blood, the body pinned by a wooden pole and the face ripped off. As the stench of decay wafted from the body, the soldier explained. "Sometimes they leave bodies here on purpose," Argueta says. "They're like trophies, so that ISIS can see." Now seated in the back of a Land Cruiser, Argueta surveyed the bleak landscape as the convoy breached the frontlines. Though he feared he might misstep and activate a landmine, Argueta dismounted the vehicle. His footprints joined those of combat boots and Humvee wheel tracks in the sand. In the distance, he could hear bombs blasting, the faint crackle of gunfire, and the whip of a flag dangling from a twisted pole. "The smell of death was horrendous," Argueta says. "It was fresh destruction." Jose Argueta In every direction, buildings lay in wreckage, and bricks littered the sides of the road. The team sprinted from one sniper camp to another, crouching for safety and avoiding slabs of scalp with long black hair. Every once in a while, Argueta heard the faint slap of bullets hitting walls and windows. If you like this story, consider signing up for our email newsletters. All-access pass to the top stories, events and offers around town. You have successfully signed up for your selected newsletter(s) - please keep an eye on your mailbox, we're movin' in! At the first rooftop, Argueta found a group of marksmen quietly monitoring the land, their fingers ready to shoot at any movement on the ground. Desperate to photograph one shot, Argueta focused on one sniper who had needled the shaft of his gun through a hole in the ledge. More than 200 bullets hung from the rifle's ammunition belt. Though he missed every recoil, Argueta sensed the fact that he'd witnessed persistent gunfire since he arrived was more important than the photo itself. By the time he'd met the second sniper, he was sure of it. Argueta recalls one instance in which one of the soldiers kept repeating " Daesh, Daesh ," the Arabic acronym for ISIS: "Apparently at one point, while we were walking between these walls, ISIS was less than 40 meters away," he says. "He wanted me to see." In just two hours, Argueta had collected a portfolio of photos that captured the final frontier of Mosul's warfront. Having returned from his expedition one week ago on July 19, he finds that his observations contradict what has been widely reported in the American media. "Back in the U.S., we hear that Mosul is liberated based on there being very few ISIS fighters left," he says, "but from what I saw, there is still a lot of fighting going on."

It's like Bush's 'Mission Accomplished' speech," he says of early proclamations that the city was ISIS-free. Still jet-lagged from a 16-hour flight back to the United States, the scruffily bearded 29-year-old sips a latte in a coffee shop and scrolls through raw footage of warfare on his laptop

Feature Image Via Maria Holmer Dahlgren I've lived in London on and off for about a year total, once at 21 and then again at 26. Now I'm pottering around in Brighton, but still go up to London every week. I do love London for many reasons and I think it's a fantastically queer place, but I am slightly bitter about the price you have to pay for being a Londoner. London can be brutal when the rent is due, but it's also incredibly exciting, creative, glittery and beautiful any day of the week. You will definitely either love or hate it and if you come with an open heart and a couple of pounds in your purse, you will make memories to last a lifetime. London at Night and How to Get Laid Dalston/East London, Vauxhall or Soho are the main options for queer nights out. The Most Cake and Planet London are both good sites if you want to make plans and there are generally multiple options even on school nights. DAD (20 Stoke Newington Road, London N16 7XN) Stav Bee's newest adventure and a queer night for people with more advanced musical taste, - think rock n' roll, with 60s garage, garage/punk, psychedelia and some 60s R n' B - DAD is the kind of place where you wear your good shoes. Fourth Friday every month. Candy Bar (4 Carlisle Street, London, W1D 3B) Since its opening in 1996 in Soho, the bar has established itself as "one of the most infamous girl's bars in the world" and attracts popular female DJs. You can still watch previous episodes of the "Candy Bar Girls" show on channel five to get an idea of the madness. Monday - Thursday 3 pm - 3 am, Friday & Saturday 1 pm - 3 am, Sunday 1 pm - 12:30 am Unskinny Bop The Unskinny Bop collective was formed at Ladyfest 2002 and is one of the nicest, most welcoming indie nights in the city. Expect soul, rock'n'roll, country, hip hop, punk and many many cute queers. Every third Friday of the month at Bethal Green Working Man's club (42-44 Pollard Row London E2 6NB) Unskinny Bop Southbank Surfing is an amazing networking night for grown up queer women and their friends. Every third Friday of the month hundreds of nice ladies meet up to get drunk, see old and new friends and dance. Since Benugo's bar was stretched to its absolute limits, the London Wall Bar & Kitchen is the new home of Southbank Surfing. Third Friday of each month, starting at 7pm. Southbank Surfing via Denise O'Brian Bar Wotever (Royal Vauxhall Tavern, 372 Kennington Lane,Vauxhall, SE11 5HY) In a way, I can't quite imagine a world pre-Bar-Wotever. This weekly night has touched so many queer hearts around the world and is the safest go-to haven that anyone with feelings about gender could ever wish for. It's not just about drinks and snogs, it's very much also about performance art, music, poetry and all the feelings. Every Tuesday night from 6pm, free entry. Bar Wotever (via Absolute Queer Photography) The T Club (Dalston Superstore, 117 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PB London) "a club for trans, genderqueers and all in between with their women and men as guests." Probably the most beautiful, colourful and eccentric crowd on a Thursday night in London. Come as you are or dress up, enjoy too many drinks and dance to various DJs who seem to always know what you need. Every third Thursday monthly, 8:30 pm. T club (via Leng Montgomery: lengmontgomery.wordpress.com) Blue Monday (312 Archway Road, N6 5AT London) is a wonderful way to meet arty, creative queer women in north London. The live music is kindly provided by emerging and established female acts and the Irish pub Boogaloo gives the whole thing a very cozy feeling. You can drink mulled wine by the fire place and smile at cute people. Second Monday of every month London's Student Bubble Being a financially challenged student in London is an interesting adventure that should not be explored by the faint-hearted. However, there are plenty of amazing universities with diverse LGBTQ groups. They are scattered all over the city, so there is no specifically student-y area, although Dalston is known to be the home of hipster art students with experimental sexualities. The LGBTQ groups of Goldsmith and Birkbeck University are known for excellent parties and much debate about queer theory and feminism. Oh god, what do I know? I would have totally let you down on this one, so I asked my clever friends. Be safe, little rabbits, sports are for tough people. Goslings Lesbian & Gay Badminton Club Training on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays London Team Cruisers Basketball Ten years ago, the Cruisers formed a women's team to play in the Gay Games in Amsterdam. Now they have four teams, including two for men, which participate in league games. Experienced players are always welcome. Women Bethnal Green Technical College (8 Gosset Road, E2 6NW) / Men Britannia Leisure Centre ( 40 Hyde Road, N1 5JU) Dykes On Bikes On- and off-road lesbian cycling group with regular meet ups in and around London. Ginger Beer also has a more extensive listing of lesbian and bisexual sport groups Food, Coffee, Daytime Dreaming and Venues for First Dates Look mum no hands (49 Old Street, EC1V 9HX) This is such a fantastic idea - the combination of a cafe and a bike workshop! It's not officially a lesbian thing, but gravity pulls all the cute queers to this place. I once had a non-date with the most amazing yellow-hat wearing person there who turned out to be an endless crush and I bet you'll be equally lucky at this place. It might be a good strategy to go there with your bike and look helpless. Monday - Friday 7:30 am - 10 pm, Saturday 9 am -10 pm, Sunday 9:30 am - 10 pm Look mum no hands Dalston Superstore (117 Kingsland High Street) There is no way around this place if you are queer and somewhat close to East London. It's full of cute, sweating hipsters in the night and a more relaxed cafe with wifi and pretty coffee during the day. Try the sweet potato and feta burger. Monday 12 am till late, Tuesday to Sunday 10 am till late Dalston Superstore The Book Club (100 Leonard Street) is the best place if you want to write a novel with artistic inspiration. You can literally spend all day there looking at beautiful people if you have the time and cash. There are various music and art events and so much light and space and feelings. Awww... Monday - Wednesday 8 am - 12 am, Thursday & Friday 8 am - 2 am, Saturday & Sunday 10 am - 2 am Vitao Organic Restaurant (74 Wardour Street) This place is so ridiculously amazing, I make all my friends eat at Vitao at least once in their otherwise malnourished lifetime. Everything is beautiful, yummy, fresh and organic and you can eat all you can stuff into your face for relatively little money. The buffet is rich and varied all day so you don't have to eat things you don't like from a set menu. They also do take aways for dates at the Thames, just saying. Monday - Saturday 12 am - 11 pm, Sunday 12 am to 9 pm. Physical and Emotional Queer Health and Well-being in London London has quite a few charities and resources for LGBTQ healthcare, but then even the tube can be really depressing, so there is much need to balance everything out. PACE is promoting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender well-being in London and can direct you to other services that might be useful. Galop aims to "make life safe, just and fair for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people" and can provide support and services around all the complicated areas of life. Their resources and safe spaces for survivors and victims of abuse are extremely important for the community and have saved many queer lives. Pink Therapy is your best bet if you want to find a queer-friendly therapist in London or the rest of the UK. They also provide training and resources in various areas around gender and sexual diversity. Their amazing research papers are freely available on their website, definitely worth a look! elop is a holistic centre for mental health in the LGBT community based in East London. Activism, Feminism and Protest in London Dyke March 2012 has seen the first Dyke March in London for 25 years with amazing speakers in Soho Square, a march through the city centre and a rather exciting after party. You can get updates for future marches on twitter @dykemarch Dyke March Storm in a Teacup is an amazing feminist art collective with a fanzine, club nights and a record label in the pipeline. You can check for updates and events here Reclaim the Night : The London Feminist Network organizes an annual march to protest all forms of male violence against women since 2004. It's usually the Saturday night closest to the 25th of November. The Feminist Network is an umbrella organization for various feminist groups around London, some of them are known to exclude trans women and sex workers, others are more open. Slutwalk London : Slut Means Speak Up is a campaign that developed out of Slutwalk London with a broad platform for activism against rape culture. You can join the network here . Support for LGBTQ Families Many facilities, especially within the NHS, are unfortunately still not trained and equipped to deal with specific issues that are relevant to queer families. Families Together London can provide support for families with LGBTQ members and Galop is a good starting point if you are looking for more long term support for your queer family. Gaybourhoods and Communities in London One might argue that your choice of neighbourhood is a political statement in London, but I'd say its more a questions of what you can pay and who you meet when you first try to get your foot town in the city. Hackney, Dalston, Camden and Vauxhall are popular places for queers, but this is changing all the time anyway. Best to do a quick poll at your favourite club to see where all the cute people live. Being north or south of the river is an important choice too - one that can make or break relationships. Really, real estate in London is just straight from hell. Get a caravan and park it up in Hackney. Haircuts, Tattoos and Equipment for Queer Mating Rituals Open Barbers (154 Tollington Park, Finsbury Park) is a hairdressing service for all genders and sexualities led by Greygory, Klara, Felix and Clancey. The weekly pop-up salon can make all your hairy wishes come true and has a queer and trans* friendly attitude. Check their website for hair cut Sundays! Barberette (Red Scissors, 65 Chalk Farm Road) offers gender-neutral, affordable hair cuts at the Red Scissors salon. Tuesdays to Saturday, 10 am - 7:30 pm by appointment The Sh Womenstore (57 Hoxton Square) is your best bet for toys, lingerie, costumes, dental dams and all that jazz. It's not exclusively for lesbians, but the Sh Womenstore is known to be a hot spot with queer friendly, knowledgeable staff. Open 12 - 8 pm every day The Happy Sailor Tattoo Studio (17 Hackney Road, Shoreditch) is the platform for a diverse range of tattoo artists and has decorated plenty of cute queer ladies before you. Queer Book Stores and Art Gay's The Word (66 Marchmont Street) is probably one of the best places in London if not the world. It's a heaven for queer book-lovers and is stacked with everything you need to read ever. Monday to Saturday 10 am - 6.30 pm, Sunday 2 pm - 6 pm The Feminist Library (5 Westminster Bridge Road) is a large archive collection of Women's Liberation Movement literature, particularly second-wave materials dating from the late 1960s to the 1990s. Tuesday 10 am-6 pm and Thursday 6.30 - 9.30 pm There is a beautifully diverse and exiting community of queer artists in London and you should definitely check out some exhibitions and readings when you come for a visit. Have a look at the listings of art school LGBTQ societies and check the Camden LGBT forum . Pride in London This is a rather controversial subject. Like London itself, Pride in London is big and many people from around the country and the world come to enjoy it. 2012 became a bit of a disaster with a last minute funding shortfall and the cancellation of floats and music. However, it's great fun and there are plenty of art events and parties around the actual march. June/July every year. London Pride Diversity, Safety and Queer-friendliness London is diverse and so big that you can find like-minded people for any kind of weirdness, but its overall feel is not as liberal and open minded as Brighton, for example. There are, however, support groups and networks for people of any background, ability, gender identity and sexual orientation - you just have to find them, stay close and hold hands. The queer community is big, so you won't run out of dates anytime soon unless you have an astronomical consumption rate. You might be very surprised to hear that it rains a lot in London. This does not necessarily contribute to a friendly, cheerful atmosphere, but British people make up for it by being very expressive and friendly when drunk which is often. Pub culture is a big deal in England, especially in London.In fact, you will be able to observe Londoners racing to "their" pub after work to meet friends. It's easy to make new friends in a good pub and you will probably be welcomed with open arms. On the tube on the other hand, it's strictly forbidden to look at people or dare to smile. If you fail to stare at your shoes you will immediately out yourself as a tourist, so remember my words! In terms of safety - as usual - common sense helps a lot. Since the public transport system is so complex in London, especially at night, you should definitely plan your way home and write it down before you go out. I can't tell you how many times I ended up drunkenly staring at time tables and maps in utter confusion and it still took me three hours to get home because everything is so so complicated when I have too much wine. The Metropolitan Police has a special LGBT liaison officer in every borough and I encourage you to report any kind of hate crime. Cost of Living Living on minimum wage in London has to go hand in hand with a certain level of masochism, be warned. London is one of the most expensive cities in the world with rent prices for a tiny, tiny single room in the outer areas starting from 400 pounds a month. If you want a grown ups double room in a nice area with an actual living room within reach of a zone one or two tube station you are more likely to pay 800 - 1200 pounds a month. Public transport is unfortunately equally expensive, a day pass can cost you 8,40 pounds just for zones one and two. But hey, it's really exciting and you can see Big Ben! If you want to really settle in London, you should plan ahead and be prepared to spend a couple of weeks in a hostel or on someone's couch till you found a cheapish room. In some professional fields your earnings might be considerably higher in London than elsewhere in the UK, but hospitality jobs will keep you and your money on your toes. If you're just coming for a weekend you should have a good think about what you really want to see and do and where you want to stay to avoid long travel time. Pack some sandwiches and you'll be fine. Harmony of L, G, B and T Communities in London I guess because London is so big, you are never really alone, even if you are a really extra special unicorn. Many clubs and bars in Soho are more dominated by gay men than the more queer-friendly places in East London or Vauxhall. Especially in the last years, a very strong counter-movement to mainstream and commercial club culture that seems like a race to the bottom at times has developed with new alternative nights and clubs springing up all the time. I think that awareness for real diversity in gender and sexuality is increasing, although there are unfortunately still "radical feminist" groups that will exclude trans women or clubs who have turned cute gender queers away. Hold the vision, trust the process I say! East London London really is awesome and there is so much more to see and do than Big Ben and red telephone boxes. It might be a bit more expensive, but London definitely has everything you need for your queer adventures.

London at Night and How to Get Laid Dalston/East London, Vauxhall or Soho are the main options for queer nights out.

Fox Nation Allows Racist Comments Directed Towards The Obamas Reported by Priscilla - October 17, 2009 - The title of the thread is "Artists Crucifies Ape, Electrocutes Jesus." It links to an article which describes an art exhibit, in a former British church, in which the crucified gorilla demonstrates "the plight of the Western Lowland Gorilla as well as to challenge the idea that animals have no souls." The electrocuted Jesus was "intended to challenge people's notions of race and religion." Not suprisingly, the Fox Nation readers (?) are responding with the perfunctory "libruls are evil," "end of days" and "Muslims are never insulted like this" rhetoric. One of the geniuses even complained about the use of our tax money - it's in London, hellooo??? But it gets better. There were two racist slurs against Michelle Obama that slipped through the moderators. But what is even more noteworthy is the racist slur towards President Obama (and I don't think the poster is referring to the Jesus likeness) that is repeated and somehow hasn't caught the attention of the moderators. Is this accident or design? I report, you decide! Fox News Phone Number a 1-888-369-4762 e-mail - yourcomments@foxnews.com Stay classy Fox Nation!

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JUAN GONZALEZ : I'm joined now by two guests to discuss Reverend Jeremiah Wright and Senator Barack Obama. Melissa Harris-Lacewell is associate professor of politics and African American studies at Princeton University and the author of Barbershops, Bibles, and BET : Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought . She is a contributing writer at theroot.com and a Barack Obama supporter. She was a member of the Trinity United Church, and Reverend Wright was also her pastor. She joins us now from Princeton, New Jersey. And joining us on the phone is Adolph Reed, Jr. He's a professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of several books, including Class Notes: Posing as Politics and Other Thoughts on the American Scene and Stirrings in the Jug: Black Politics in the Post-Segregation Era . He makes the case against voting for Senator Barack Obama in the latest issue of The Progressive magazine. Welcome to both of you. ADOLPH REED , JR.: Hi. Good morning. How's everybody doing? JUAN GONZALEZ : Good. I'd like to begin with Melissa Harris-Lacewell. Your reaction to the three appearances of Reverend Wright over the weekend and on Monday and to Senator Obama's speech yesterday in reaction to his comments? MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : I suppose more than anything, I find it shockingly painful. I've found this painful since Trinity United Church of Christ, a church where I was not a member but where I did attend for the seven years during the time that I lived in Chicago -- since it's been mischaracterized, since I've heard Jeremiah Wright sound-bited and spoken about in such harsh ways. This has been a difficult process, I think, for all of us who love and care about Jeremiah Wright, but also a difficult process for all of us who are supporters of Barack Obama, who watch these two men, both of whom we care about, trying to figure out how to work out their personal, theological and political differences in public. What I think ultimately is that most of what Jeremiah Wright said, while speaking, while actually speaking during these appearances, are things that I agree with and things that I think represent the very best of who Jeremiah Wright is. But in his question-and-answers, he indicated a kind of egoism and a defensiveness that this is really about him. As much as he said this is not about him, it's about the church, there was this sense of defensiveness that I think ultimately undid so much of the important work that he'd done in the talks themselves. JUAN GONZALEZ : And his saying that the attacks on him are in essence an attack on the black church itself? MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : Well, it certainly is an attack on Trinity United Church of Christ. And over the past month as this has been in the news, many of the members of Trinity have experienced really awful hate mail. They've experienced bomb threats at their church. I mean, it has been an attack on that church. I don't think it's fair to suggest that Jeremiah Wright stands in for the entire African American religious experience. Certainly, the prophetic tradition, the liberation tradition, the transformation tradition that he spoke about are an important element of African American religious thought, but there are lots of other elements. There's no one black church to which we all go on Sunday morning. And so, I think it is unfair for him to imagine that he stands in for the whole black church and for the entire black religious experience. JUAN GONZALEZ : Adolph Reed, I'd like to ask you, again, your reaction to both the appearances of Reverend Wright at this particular time in the campaign in these very public appearances and of Senator Obama's reaction? ADOLPH REED , JR.: Well, hi. Yeah, I guess the first thing I should say is, I certainly agree with Professor Harris-Lacewell's last comment. I think the tendency both on -- well, it's an understandable one as a political move or a move of political rhetoric. I think the tendency to extrapolate from what is clearly a dog pile-on campaign at the national level against Wright and, by implication, his own parish, to extrapolate from that to -- of taking that as a representative of an abstraction called the black church is problematic. But I also -- before I say anything else, I want to correct something in my column. It turns out that I mistakenly identified my old friend Katha Pollitt as one of -- you know, the journalist -- and others who had linked her support for Obama to her daughter. She was not, actually. But anyway, I guess what I'd like to do is take a little bit of a step back from this and to rehearse a question that a colleague of mine, you know, another longtime black political scientist, posed about this issue, which is -- and the question is, why should we be in a debate about whatever goes on in the church that a presidential candidate attends in the first place? And I think that that question, since -- you know, because that question sort of speaks to what -- you know, one of the things that's happened in our politics and the way we talk about politics, and one of the reasons that I think that the Obama campaign is doomed to go down in flames either against McCain -- and frankly, I don't think that Clinton has a better chance of beating McCain, either. But the answer to the question is that Obama opened himself to this by leaning to -- on the premise that he can appeal to Republicans and to conservatives and by parading his personal faith around. And frankly -- this is, I guess, the crux of my argument in The Progressive column -- that this is precisely the tact that has been the undoing of every Democratic candidate since Dukakis, and I would frankly even include Clinton in that, were it not for the fact that Ross Perot siphoned votes away from the Republicans each time. I mean, this is what happened with Gore in 2000, it's what happened with Kerry in 2004. You present yourself as electable because you can appeal to conservative voters, and then the Republicans attack you for not being a true conservative and can characterize you as someone who's trying to put something over on the American people. And when you stir the race factor into the Obama campaign -- I'm sure, as Melissa knows as well as I, probably better, since she's closer to that kind of political science -- you know, I mean, not only have there been only two black people elected governor ever in the United States, none reelected, only three elected to the US Senate since Reconstruction and only one of those, a Republican from Massachusetts, reelected -- and from what we've seen in gubernatorial and other statewide campaigns -- Bradley's campaign for governor in California, Andrew Young's campaign in Georgia, you know, Harvey Gantt campaign -- is that, you know, about this far out from the electorate, you know, where we've seen a number -- a significant segment of white voters who sort of like the idea, like to savor the idea in their heads, like the sound of it in their mouths, that they're prepared to vote for a black candidate, the closer it comes to the election of a black candidate being a reality, the more likely you're going to find people finding ostensibly nonracial reasons to bail and to find him unlikable. And I think that's -- frankly, I think that's -- from the standpoint of the national political race, I think that's the most significant aspect of the Wright contrast now. I mean, I also agree with much, if not the vast majority, of what he had to say, frankly. And I think he's also correct -- Wright, that is -- I think he's also correct that Obama couldn't embrace him, couldn't do anything except distance himself from that largely astute analysis of American power and other contradictions of the governing regime of both parties, because of the warrants of trying to win an election in which the discursive center of gravity is much farther to the right. JUAN GONZALEZ : Well, I'd like to ask Melissa Harris-Lacewell, precisely, the Obama campaign, from the beginning, has represented this viewpoint that America could unite and move beyond race and class divisions, beyond the bitter political divisions of the -- that have separated Americans in the past. But now you have this reality that no matter how much he espoused moving beyond race, racial contradictions have become a centerpiece now of this campaign, and to some degree, his pastor has helped to keep that now in the public eye. Your response to how this whole controversy, in essence, is disproving Obama's original premise? MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : Well, I need to disagree with many of the things that my colleague has said. I do agree with Adolph's points about -- I mean, how could one disagree, they're historical facts -- about the difficulties that African Americans have had in winning statewide office and obviously the possibility of the American presidency. But I think that's precisely why it was so important for Senator Obama to talk about his religious faith. I mean, after all, there had to be some reason that he believed in the possibility of America being a different place. I actually don't think it's a matter of parading around and pretending that he has the capacity to bring together different groups of people. He has built a national, multiracial, intergenerational coalition of men and women, working class and wealthy people. That is what has happened, whereas the other two candidates, John McCain and Hillary Rodham Clinton, have mostly built largely, vastly predominantly white coalitions. And yet, they're not having to answer questions on race. So I think that, in fact, Barack Obama's campaign demonstrates, in its capacity to pull voters from New York to Oregon to Philadelphia, the very capacity of black and white and brown Americans to come together. I also think that when Barack Obama began this process and had to talk about why would he have the audacity of hope to believe that it was possible in this moment to bring together this coalition, regardless of what looked like a bitterly partisan, divided country, he had to talk about his faith in God, because it is exactly that, which I think Jeremiah Wright was leaning towards in his best moments as a minister, is to say that the amazing thing about black America has been that African Americans could look out into a world as enslaved people, as Jim Crowed people, as people who saw no empirical evidence that God in fact loved them, and believe anyway that God loved them, that they had a right to be citizens in this country. There is never a moment on questions of race in America where things are better before they get better. We always have to walk through the difficult process. That was true in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It is true in the Barack Obama campaign. I hate watching this happen. I know that this is about race. Yet I also know, if you're going to be the first black president of the United States, whether it's Barack Obama or some other person later on, you are going to have to learn to govern in the context of racial storms. It is never going to happen that the media and the rest of the country is all going to stand up and give you a standing ovation: "Good job for getting past race." You're going to have to walk through race to be on the other side of it. So I actually think the connection of race and religion are fundamental to how African Americans have the hope to engage in American politics. JUAN GONZALEZ : Adolph Reed, you've been critical of the progressive credentials of Senator Obama and of everything from his community organizing experience to some of his political views. Could you explain your views on that? ADOLPH REED , JR.: Well, yeah. I mean, I want to say a couple things. I mean, one is, yeah, I don't think that what Obama -- well, I tend much more to Doug Henwood's view, that what Obama has put together is not so much a coalition as a fan club, right? I mean, you don't build a movement around a political campaign. I know I've heard people say that, well -- you know, Kool-Aid drinkers have said that, well, you know, this could be -- he could set in motion forces like those that moved FDR in a progressive direction, those that moved JFK in a progressive direction. But as Will Jones, the historian at the University of Wisconsin, has pointed out, you know, that comparison fails, because in each of those cases there were dynamic, rooted social movements that had been pushing for progressive agendas with popular bases on the ground prior to the election of the president. You know, you can't compare --- frankly, I think the comparison of the Obama coalition to either, you know, the Montgomery Bus Boycott or the Greensboro sit-ins or the Gastonia textile strike, you know, just fall completely flat, because this is a candidate-- centered politics. I think it's also the case that -- well, I mean, the connection of race and religion, I think, also very much disturbs me. I mean, there's no intrinsic black American religious experience. I think there are a lot of us who don't have any religion whatsoever and don't really care about it and don't especially want to see it in public life. And I think that's a -- you know, that's a stance and a mood and a disposition that's as culturally authentic among black people as anything else, if there were such a thing as cultural authenticity, which I don't believe. Finally, you know, the premise that our politics is -- at the national level somehow has been characterized by partisan division just flies in the face of everything that we've seen over the last twenty-five years. I mean, what have progressives been complaining about, right? That we have basically two wings of a single party, right? It was the Clinton administration and the Democrats who have led -- who have polished off the destruction of the federal government's sixty-year commitment to direct provision of income support for the poor, to direct provision of low-income housing, that led to the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, that opened up the dotcom boom, and so -- and so on, that's been as committed to a regime of public advocation and service provision as Republicans have. And if anything, the contention that the candidate can bring us all together despite our partisan differences is the same thing that the Democrats have been claiming consistently since at least, you know, Dukakis, to be post-partisan, to be post-political. And frankly, I think it appeals -- it's an appeal that gets greatest traction among people who want to take politics out of politics, ultimately. And I should say, Juan, too, I mean, that I realize that my response was not directly responsive to the question that you put. And that's primarily because I don't think that Obama -- you know, that the questions about his character and his biography are all that meaningful. I mean, as I said in the same column, you know, I don't think anybody who aspires to an office like that is going to be somebody you want to have for your brother-in-law or for your sister-in-law. I mean, I think that ultimately those character questions are misplaced. I mentioned this other perspective in my column partly just to deflate the sense that this guy could walk on water and was a whole new kettle of fish. He's not. He's another Democratic politician, as capable of good as the rest of them and as capable of bad as the rest of them. MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : Sure. And I must say --- JUAN GONZALEZ : Melissa Harris-Lacewell? MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : I do agree with Adolph that there is no question, Barack Obama does not walk on water. It's not even clear to me that that would be the standard by which we would choose a president. I do think that there is a very easy place to stand as a progressive intellectual, and that is on the sidelines of American politics, shaking an angry fist at how the process works. And I understand and respect it. I --- I mean, no one is a more beautiful, critical writer than Adolph Reed. I appreciate the ways in which he pushes us and hopefully drags us towards the left in this country. On the other hand, here are our options: John McCain, a conservative Republican who has moved to the right in order to win his party's nomination; Hillary Rodham Clinton, who is part of this Clinton administration, which Adolph Reed has just told us was part of this kind of entire process of moving the Democratic Party towards the right and who has ruthlessly deployed race and gender in this campaign towards her own benefit; and then there's Barack Obama. Does he walk on water? Certainly not. But are those of us who have decided to be part of the process, to engage in the questions of American electoral politics, simply hoodwinked and bamboozled and drinking the Kool-Aid? Absolutely not. We're making a choice about what we believe is possible in our country. And my only point is that, of course, it is an authentic African American experience to stand without hope on the sidelines, angry about the choices, but it is also an authentic African American experience and an authentic --- ADOLPH REED , JR.: I resent that characterization by --- MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : -- American one to make a choice to be part of the process to choose a candidate, for good or for evil, and to support a campaign, believing that it is the best option that we have within a difficult, difficult American process. JUAN GONZALEZ : Adolph Reed, last word, about a minute? ADOLPH REED , JR.: Yeah, well, look, in the first place, I mean, I find that characterization unacceptable, alright? The only two options aren't, you know, nothing or accept the two sorry choices that one has at one's disposal. I mean, I think it's possible to put the electoral domain in its proper place and to do what everyone has to do in that context, however frequently one has to do it, without losing sight of the fact that what we need to be trying to do at the same time is building beyond the election cycle --- MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : Absolutely. ADOLPH REED , JR.: --- for the kind of movement that we need in this country. MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : I would agree with that. I would join with you in that, absolutely. ADOLPH REED , JR.: And frankly, I mean, you know, I think that the game is over at this point. I don't think that either one of these candidates actually is going to be able to beat McCain. I think they're both vulnerable in precisely the same ways and that if Clinton gets the nomination, she's going to be undone by McCain in the same way that Obama will be. I think that the question really is which one we'll be worse off with as a failed Democratic nominee. And I think partly because of the sort of racial narratives that are likely to attach within rightwing circles in the Democratic Party of an Obama defeat, as well as the subsequent role that he'd be likely to play in public life, that from the standpoint of progressive interests, we will ultimately be worse off with Obama as a defeated candidate than with Clinton as a defeated candidate. MELISSA HARRIS - LACEWELL : Come on, Adolph. You need a little hope. Come on. JUAN GONZALEZ : On that note, we're going to leave the debate. I want to thank Adolph Reed, Jr., professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania, and Melissa Harris-Lacewell, associate professor of politics and African American studies at Princeton University.

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Martin Place's tent city is expected to be dismantled today following a $300,000 resettlement agreement between the City of Sydney and self-appointed camp leader Lanz Priestley. Lord Mayor Clover Moore and Mr Priestley brokered a deal relocate the 100-plus homeless people to a State Government-owned building but significant details are yet to be determined. "It's a huge opportunity for the state and the City to get it right in perpetuity for people that don't actually have anywhere to go," Mr Priestley (pictured) said. Lanz Priestley, known as the mayor of tent city. He was determined to remain onsite until details of the new "safe space" were revealed. "I don't think it's as easy as renting a motel," he said of the process of establishing a permanent place for the people residing in about 50 tents on the thoroughfare. Nigel Brakemore, who has been living at the encampment for six months, said there had been unrest as discussions over what to do with the residents heated up. Lord Mayor Clover Moore. "There is considerable uncertainty; there has been for at least a week," he said. "They keep saying, 'They're going to kick us out tonight, they're going to kick us out tonight'." Mr Brakemore hoped a permanent alternative could be established. "It needs a kitchen where people can get good, fresh food, somewhere safe just to hang out and somewhere for us to sleep," Mr Brakemore said. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. On Monday evening the City committed $100,000 a year for three years to the Government for a round-the-clock communal facility. As a condition of the tents coming down, the City will create a temporary safe space in one of its properties, potentially an unused depot, a community hall or a carpark. The resolution comes after a week during which Cr Moore refused to move the rough sleepers despite pressure from Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Police Commissioner Mick Fuller. A 24-hour safe space has been on the table for several months, following a request by the City that Department of Family and Community Services investigate a service to provide food, showers and other amenities. The tent city in Martin Place. Picture: Christian Gilles "What the homeless people really wanted was to know that there would be a safe place where they could meet and get support in the city," said Cr Moore. However, a Family and Community Services spokeswoman said: "There is no agreement in place with FACS in regards to the City of Sydney safe space, announced by Clover Moore (on Monday)." At a press conference on Tuesday morning, Ms Berejiklian said she would still move to act on the situation and would be speaking with colleagues later in the day.

Martin Place's tent city is expected to be dismantled today following a $300,000 resettlement agreement between the City of Sydney and self-appointed camp leader Lanz Priestley.

(Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) A report showing which of America's colleges have the most hateful tweets has caused such an uproar that its authors took it offline . Collegestats.org looked at all the tweets coming from a 1 or 3 mile radius of a college campus and compared them to a list of "hate" words. These words included everything from slurs against gay people to people of different ethnic groups, such as "junglebunny" or "raghead." Then CollegeStats.org sorted the data to create lists including "Most Derogatory Tweets," "Most Anti-Black Tweets" and "Most Anti-Gay Tweets." The results showed that hateful language used on social media could be seen on campuses across the country. Among the top 10 schools with derogatory tweets were Eastern Michigan University, SUNY Cortland in New York State and Southeast Missouri State University. (CollegeStats.org) The report also measured derogatory language towards women, led again by Southeast Missouri State. When the word "b***h" was removed from the data, two Connecticut schools made the top ten list: Albertus Magnus College and Yale University. The most anti-gay tweets came out of Husson University in Bangor, Maine, and the most anti-black tweets came from the very place that saw one of its first high schools integrated -- Little Rock, Arkansas' University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. But the study's authors say people misconstrued the data. "The recent study on the tweeting of derogatory words on or near college campuses has been removed from our website because some have misinterpreted the data presented," reads a statement online. Critics had pointed out that the study didn't take into account the context of the tweets and the data could have been skewed by tweeters who lived near campus but weren't students. But the study's authors still stand by their work. "The study could have spurred thoughtful discussion of the impact of derogatory language on society. By highlighting the derogatory words tweeted, the affected colleges and universities had an opportunity to address, denounce, and educate. But the findings were misconstrued and sensationalized beyond recognition, undermining the potential useful purpose of the study."

A report showing which of America's colleges have the most hateful tweets has caused such an uproar that its authors took it offline .

Steven P.J. Wood Building 1101 North Highland Street Arlington, VA 22201 CampusReform.org is a project of the Leadership Institute. The Leadership Institute is a non-partisan educational organization approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a public foundation operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue code. The Leadership Institute does not endorse, support, or oppose candidates or proposed legislation. The Institute has an open admissions policy; all programs are open to the public. Contributions to the Leadership Institute by individuals, corporations, and foundations are tax deductible

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- Advertisement - This update is the 30th article in this Opednews series about the Bayou Corne sinkhole. BACKGROUND: In Spring of 2012, Louisiana's Corne and Grand Bayou residents noticed strange bubbling in the bayou for many weeks, and they reported smelling burnt diesel fuel and sulfur. Suddenly a sinkhole estimated to be the size of two or three football fields appeared on Aug. 3, swallowing scores of 100-foot tall cypress trees. The sinkhole resulted from the failure of Texas Brine Company's abandoned underground brine cavern. The Department of Natural Resources issued a Declaration of Emergency on Aug. 6, and 150 families were evacuated. For maps, diagrams and additional information, please see previous installments in this series, listed at the end of this article. - Advertisement - On August 3, 2012, a sinkhole the size of three football fields (approximately 4 acres ) appeared overnight in Louisiana's Bayou Corne, swallowing countless 100-foot tall cypress trees. It was the result of an industrial "accident." Four years later the 180-foot deep sinkhole has displaced scores of residents and engulfed 35 acres. And it hasn't stopped growing. - Advertisement - Victoria Greene is producing and directing a feature documentary film about the sinkhole and its wide-ranging effects, entitled, "Forgotten Bayou." Victoria Greene and Paul LeDoux shooting in the bayou ( Image by Photo courtesy Victoria Greene, used with permission ) Permission Details DMCA The footage has been filmed, and Greene and her crew will be progressing to post-production activities including music, final sound editing, color, animation, graphics "and other finishing touches that will make this film amazing" as soon as their Kickstarter fundraising campaign is finished on Tue, July 26, 2016. "Forgotten Bayou" trailer: - Advertisement - Forgotten Bayou Trailer .Forgotten Bayou: Life on the Sinkhole. is a documentary capturing the resilience of a quaint, bayou Cajun community and how its residents have been so ... ( Image by Victoria Greene, Channel: Victoria Greene ) Permission Details DMCA Greene has a 20-year background with Louisiana Public Broadcasting She notes, "Nearly four years later, the mandatory evacuation order remains in effect and to date, only a handful of families still live in Bayou Corne with the sinkhole as their new permanent neighbor. " Abandoned property at Bayou Corne ( Image by Photo courtesy Victoria Greene, used with permission ) Permission Details DMCA The documentary presents the story of a devastating industrial accident. Could it have been prevented with more industry regulation? Educating the citizenry is the first step in requiring responsible behavior from corporations. Sportsman's Paradise ( Image by Photo courtesy Victoria Greene, used with permission ) Permission Details DMCA Bayou Corne is located in Louisiana's Assumption Parish, about 60 miles from New Orleans and 40 miles from Baton Rouge. At the time of this posting, the Kickstarter project has raised $13,300 of the $14,500 goal, with five days left to reach the goal. They must meet their goal in order to keep any of the funds. Forgotten Bayou info: website, Facebook page . Upcoming event, August 10: Along with NOVAC, a non-profit and fiscal sponsor of Forgotten Bayou, Victoria is hosting an event commemorating the Sinkhole's 4 year anniversary. Tickets are $40 and available thru Kickstarter . *Wednesday, August 10th 6-10pm *Celtic Studios 10000 Celtic Drive, Baton Rouge Includes food, live entertainment, silent auction and more. Plus screening of award winning "Monster in the Bayou" a 2016 short film directed by Victoria about the Sinkhole, along with other Louisiana short films.

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Joe Morino brought an incredulous friend to see the orange street sign he just spotted in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood of Minneapolis. The official-looking metal sign read: "WARNING: TWIN CITIES POLICE EASILY STARTLED." It featured a graphic silhouette of a police officer, a gun in each raised hand, shooting... Read More News Minneapolis , Somali police Leave a comment The discovery of nine dead bodies and more than 30 injured people inside a sweltering tractor trailer in San Antonio shows that a tough anti-sanctuary city law is needed more than ever, top Texas officials said Sunday. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wrote on Facebook that sanctuary cities "entice" people to... Read More News Illegal Aliens , Sanctuary city Leave a comment VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing July 25, Tuesday Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for... Read More Faith Galatians , Proverbs , Thessalonians , Timothy Leave a comment

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By Frida Berrigan | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - Guns. In a country with more than 300 million of them, a country that's recently been swept up in a round of protests over the endless killing sprees they permit, you'd think I might have had more experience with them. As it happens, I've held a [...] By Julia Conley, staff writer | (Commondreams.org ) | - - "Who here is going to vote in the 2018 election? If you listen real close, you can hear the people in power shaking." Taking the stage on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, high school student David Hogg offered hundreds of thousands [...] By Reese Erlich | ( 48Hills.org) | - - A mass shooting created real reform Down Under -- and strict gun control has worked. Progressives aren't supposed to say this. But none of the major gun control proposals now being debated in Washington would actually stop mass shootings. I know that sounds heretical, or even [...] By Belle Chesler | ( Tomdispatch.com) | - - "It was no surprise to anyone who knew him to hear that he was the shooter." -- Emma Gonzalez, Senior, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Over the past three weeks, the impassioned voices and steadfast demands of the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School have [...] Satire By Reese Erlich | (Informed Comment) | - - WASHINGTON DC -- President Donald Trump announced new plans today to combat mass shootings: arming movie theater ushers. "When we've locked down schools by arming teachers," he said at a Rose Garden press conference, "mass shooters will inevitably turn to movie theaters. We've got to [...]

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Raphael A. Sanchez, who was chief counsel at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Seattle when he opened credit cards and took out loans using the personal information of vulnerable immigrants, has been sentenced to four years in prison. He took a plea deal with the Justice Department, which was approved by a judge on Thursday. He has also been ordered to pay more than $190,000 in restitution. Sanchez -- whose responsibilities included overseeing immigration removal cases in several states -- stole and exploited the identities of people who prosecutors say were "particularly vulnerable given their status as deported or otherwise excludable." He also misreported his earnings in his IRS filings. And, the Justice Department said, Sanchez "claimed three aliens as relative dependents on his tax returns for 2014 through 2016." Sanchez, 44, pleaded guilty in February to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. As part of his plea, he also signed a statement of fact acknowledging his actions. That plea came just days after Sanchez resigned in the face of the charges against him. In immigration cases, "government lawyers often point out how unauthorized immigrants use fake Social Security numbers to get jobs," as KUOW has reported. The member station says people who worked with Sanchez were shocked by his behavior. The scheme went on for four years, from 2013 to 2017, prosecutors say. When his career came to a shocking halt, Sanchez was making $162,000 at his ICE job; his total net worth was estimated at more than $700,000, the government said. Sanchez opened bank accounts, utility service accounts and email accounts under immigrants' names -- filling applications with the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other data that he took from ICE computers and files, according to the government. He also used his work computer to create counterfeit documents, such as Washington state drivers' licenses. "Sanchez affixed his own photograph onto the forged identification documents using the information of male Victim Aliens," the Justice Department said in a court filing earlier this month, in which it asked a judge to impose the four-year prison term. "To forge female Victim Aliens' identifications, Sanchez was even more brazen: he used the photograph of a murdered woman published in press accounts and the names of female Victim Aliens." Once the stolen identities were established, Sanchez used them to open lines of credit, write to credit bureaus and transfer funds to his own accounts. In some cases, he bought items for himself using credit cards bearing the names of people his office had either deported or was considering deporting. His victims were "numerous," the Justice Department said in the court filing. The government listed seven people as examples in the case, identifying them only by their initials. Sanchez brought in nearly $200,000 from the scheme, the government said. It added, "Meanwhile, many of the Victim Aliens left the United States unaware of the debts that Sanchez incurred in their names and that these substantial balances were due, owing, and growing." The fraud was complex, involving a corporation and bogus sales between commercial enterprises. From the Justice filing: "Sanchez used a corporation named 'Royal Weddings,' an Amazon Marketplace account, and businesses operating under various trade names, including 'Cool and Quirky Cars,' and 'Integral USA,' to transfer fraudulent proceeds from accounts in the names of the Victim Aliens to his own personal accounts. Sanchez, acting as both merchant and customer, made charges or drew payments in the names of Victim Aliens to himself or to entities that he controlled. Sanchez used mobile payment services such as Square to process the transactions, making it appear as if the Victim Aliens were merely making purchases and to avoid detection." Discussing what he called a duty to honestly enforce the law, Acting Assistant Attorney General John Cronan said, "Raphael Sanchez betrayed that solemn responsibility and abused his official position to prey upon aliens for his own personal gain." Cronan also commended ICE for "quickly and fully investigating this matter and referring it to the Justice Department for prosecution." In 2017, ICE's regional office in Seattle reported making 3,376 arrests in "enforcement and removal" operations, covering a territory that includes Oregon, Alaska and Washington.

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Herd Guard LLC Releases Revolutionary New Products: Herd Guard & Body Guard 360 Body Guard 360 Kentucky - -( Ammoland.com )- Herd Guard is a NEW all natural, vitamin and mineral packed deer block that deer breeders have been using for years. Herd Guard contains 24 trace minerals, 18 percent protein and SUPER ATTRACTANTS! Herd Guard Deer Land Management products is available in 3 forms to feed any herd: a block, a hanging bucket, and loose mineral. The benefits of the ALL NATURAL ingredients in Herd Guard have been well- known to farmers and hunters alike for many years. And now available for the first time to the public these ingredients have been combined with nutritious supplements, minerals and protein are available in a single block. Herd Guard Deer Land Management Blocks afford the hunter the ability to better supplement deer, track grazing and mating patterns to ensure more successful hunts. Herd Guard is available by the block, loose mineral and even Buck on a String. Body Guard 360 is a NEW line of all natural scent suppression products. The secret all natural ingredients are so effective they extinguish pungent onion odor instantly! Hunters will relish the advantage of their scent being invisibly cloaked from prey! Body Guard 360 products include Body Spray, Laundry Detergent, and Body Wash. Each product can be purchased individually or all together in a Travel Pack, which also includes a Wind and Thermal Checker. On top of being ALL NATURAL scent suppressants, Body Guard 360 products repel fleas, ticks, chiggers and are completely safe to be sprayed directly on your skin or your pet?s. In addition to scent suppression products for the hunter, Body Guard also offers an Odor Extinguisher and a Sporting Dog Pet Spray. The Odor Extinguisher is perfect for eliminating common household odors. The Sporting Dog Spray can be sprayed directly on your pets to help repel ticks, chiggers, and fleas plus eliminate any odors that your pet may pick up while in the field or around the yard. Be sure to check out amazing Body Guard 360 product demonstration videos on YouTube.com involving real customers at local trade shows using Body Guard 360 to suppress the intense odor of an onion! Herd Guard LLC is looking forward to a very prosperous year. The company is looking forward to establishing new distributors, retailers and users around the country in the hunting industries. Herd Guard LLC has taken cautious steps to produce the very best products that cater to the needs pet owners, animal enthusiast and hunters around the Globe all while bearing the utmost concern for the overall health and well being of animals and the environment. Herd Guard LLC began as a small family-owned business in the whitetail/elk farming and hunting industries and intimately knows the concerns and needs of a hunter managing a deer herd and being scent free while hunting. Visit the website at www.herdguard.com and www.bodyguard360.com for complete information about these REVOLUTIONARY products. Herd Guard Leave a Comment 1 Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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Writer May 14, 2018 A Colorado university was forced to backtrack after it questionably demanded a student remove Bible passages from a graduation speech she was elected to give by her classmates. Colorado Mesa University nursing student Karissa Erickson was chosen to address graduates at an event days before their commencement this month, but her speech was nearly derailed by school administrators who were concerned about the religious themes of her prepared remarks. As the Daily Sentinel reported , Erickson was to speak at the CMU nursing program's pinning ceremony on May 10. Prior to the ceremony, the student was asked to submit her remarks to school officials -- though no formal guidelines regarding what could and could not be said were reportedly ever given -- and she was soon told that she would not be able to deliver her speech as written because she cited John 16:33. "These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace," the passage reads. "In the world you have tribulation, but take comfort, I have overcome the world." Rather then bend to the school's threatened "repercussions," Erickson alerted the Alliance Defending Freedom, a nonprofit based in Scottsdale, Arizona, to the discrimination. The organization sent a letter to CMU administrators on May 4 , asking the college to reconsider its position. According to the letter , which was sent CMU President Tim Foster and other university officials, Erickson was told to remove the Christian themes "because someone might be offended." As the alliance's letter states, the concerns likely stem from a 2015 incident the school had with the Freedom From Religion Foundation, which criticized the university for allowing Gideon Bibles to be handed out to students at the pinning ceremony. The practice ceased after an onslaught of "negative publicity." "It appears that the officials involved in this matter fundamentally misunderstand what the First Amendment allows and what it requires of them," the letter reads . "Of course, even if CMU is 'tired' or lacks 'energy,' it must respect the fundamental constitutional rights of its students, including Miss Erickson." After receiving the letter from the alliance, it didn't take long for CMU to reverse course. University spokesperson Dana Nunn told the Sentinel that the faculty were "trying to do the right thing, but made a mistake" in telling Erickson to remove religious references. "It was a well-intentioned misunderstanding of what was appropriate," Nunn said. "I think it's fair to say that a lot of people have their own interpretations of the separation of church and state, and the faculty member that initially asked for the change was just trying to do the right thing, she was just not correct legally." Alliance attorney Travis Barham, meanwhile, is pleased with the quick resolution of the matter, though concerned that universities like CMU are trying to censor students. "When they were confronted with what the law required, they quickly backtracked and allowed the student to speak freely," Barham said. "I am genuinely impressed the university corrected its actions so quickly." (H/T: IJR )

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rabble blogs are the personal pages of some of Canada's most insightful progressive activists and commentators. All opinions belong to the writer; however, writers are expected to adhere to our guidelines. We welcome new bloggers -- contact us for details . rabble.ca's staff blog This is [i]rabble.ca[/i]'s staff blog. Visit this blog regularly for updates about rabble, comments and observations from staff members, and occasional visits by board members and volunteers. Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog June 26 Black Lives Matter -- This week on rabble.ca blogs Lenee Son | This week's blogs roundup includes posts on the Charleston Massacre, Black Lives Matter movement, how not to be an ally, Indigenous rights, water protection, and public education. Blog - Elizabeth May June 26 Regardless of faith, Pope Francis's statement on climate change is ambitious and powerful Elizabeth May | The Vatican is now more aware of the science of climate change than Stephen Harper. Galileo would be amazed. Blog - Brent Patterson June 26 Drinking water in B.C. at risk from mine tailings ponds Brent Patterson | The drinking water for hundreds of communities and thousands of kilometres of waterways are at risk from tailings ponds in British Columbia. Blog - Alberta Diary June 26 Reflections on the end of the Alberta NDP's first session: Voters want the government to succeed David J. Climenhaga | The Opposition is going to have to do better than they're doing to make Albertans stop wishing success to their NDP government. Blog - Christopher Majka June 26 Worth the cost? Nova Scotia's Parliamentarians Christopher Majka | There are real insights to be gleaned from analyzing the budgets of MPs. However, cherry-picking data, a lack of critical thinking and questionable graphics mislead readers rather than informing them. Blog - Alberta Diary June 25 Government by sneak: The preferred Harper Conservative response to thorny issues and hard-fought elections David J. Climenhaga | As recent news stories illustrate, both same-sex marriage advocates and poultry and dairy farmers are targets of the government-by-sneak approach favoured by the Harper Conservatives. Blog - Scott Vrooman's blog June 25 Memorialize the victims of our own governments, not victims of communism Scott Vrooman | In the wake of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's report, we ought to be memorializing the victims of our own government rather than the victims of others. Blog - Mickleblog June 25 Let us remember, and teach, labour history in schools Rod Mickleburgh | The Battle of Ballantyne Pier and the Second Narrows bridge disaster in Vancouver are touchstones of B.C.'s and Canada's labour history. Read on and see if you think they are worthy of learning about. Blog - Hill Dispatches June 25 It's Liberal vs. New Democrat as de facto campaign begins Karl Nerenberg | NDPers have been attacking Liberals since Jack Layton skewered Michael Ignatieff for poor attendance. The Liberals' favourite attack on the NDP is the unfair one about "separation based on one vote." Blog - Council of Canadians' blog June 25 A life richly lived: Remembering Vi Morgan Jamian Logue | This past Sunday, in her 100th year and with loving family at her side in Guelph, Ontario, our dear friend Vi Morgan peacefully passed away. Blog - Progressive Economics Forum June 25 Canadian government tools up to crack down on precrime J. Baglow | Aaron Driver has never been charged with a crime. But his liberties have been severely limited by a judge, who made "religious counselling" a condition of release. Expect more of this under C-51. Blog - What's the plan? June 24 We don't have to choose between jobs and climate action John Cartwright | We don't have to choose between the economy and the environment. On July 5, I will join others in Toronto to demand a justice-based transition to a new energy economy from our political leaders. Blog - Council of Canadians' blog June 24 Join the actions for Jobs, Justice and the Climate on July 4 and 5! Andrea Harden-Donahue | Mark your calendars! July 4 and 5 are key dates to hit the streets for Jobs, Justice and the Climate. Blog - Brent Patterson June 24 Canada-EU trade deal would hinder policies to address climate change Brent Patterson | The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) would worsen climate change. Blog - Alberta Diary June 24 Perfesser Dave explains ethics in lobbying and how to manage political marriages David J. Climenhaga | Some stories are just too confusing for ordinary bloggers to explain. That's when we turn to the expert knowledge offered by such distinguished academics as Perfesser Dave. Blog - Campus Notes June 24 Neoliberalism steamrolling public education in B.C. Tyson Kelsall | Public education in B.C. is facing a struggle against neoliberalism. Blog - David Suzuki June 23 Pope Francis offers hopeful perspective on global crises David Suzuki | The Pope joins a diverse global chorus of people calling for changes in our destructive lifestyle to confront crises such as climate change and the ever-growing gap between poor and rich. Blog - The Gaza solidarity blog June 23 Follow the Freedom Flotilla III to Gaza with live map updates Canadian Boat to Gaza | Freedom Flotilla III is an international action that is challenging the blockade on Gaza. Follow the progress of the ships. Blog - Gerry Caplan's blog June 23 Twice bitten, the NDP must meet polls with restrained optimism Gerry Caplan | For the third time in 78 years, the NDP have reached first place in national political polls. But history warns us to please, approach with care. Blog - Activist Communique June 23 Indigenous groups protest the selection of the Black Hills as the location for this year's Rainbow Gathering Krystalline Kraus | Estimates of attendance could be anywhere between 7,000 to 20,000 people, with a peak population expected during the week of July 4th weekend. Blog - Making Waves June 23 Caribou Legs visits rivers threatened by Ruddock Creek mine and hydro dams Emma Lui | Over 400 kilometres into his run to Ottawa, Caribou Legs spent the last few days in Chase, B.C. Chase, Salmon Arm and the local waterways are threatened by the proposed Ruddock Creek mine. Blog - Brent Patterson June 23 Harper government rejects calls to make voting system fairer Brent Patterson | Given our current electoral system produces an unfair reflection of the overall vote, many people feel their vote doesn't count and so don't vote. This is a major concern for the Council of Canadians. Blog - Stephen Kimber's Blog June 23 How driverless cars stand to disrupt Nova Scotia's highway mega-projects Stephen Kimber | With self-driving cars on the horizon, "generational" highway mega-projects like the ones being planned in Nova Scotia may already be past their best-before dates. Blog - Alberta Diary June 23 Rachel Notley offers a dignified argument for healing and acknowledgement of past wrongs against First Nations citizens David J. Climenhaga | Alberta has now joined the chorus of voices calling for a national inquiry into the connected tragedies of residential schools and missing and murdered Aboriginal women. Blog - Time for change June 23 Charleston terror and conservative response show African-Americans their place Gary Shaul | The massacre in Charleston, S.C., is a telling case study on the framing of racism, gender and terrorism in the U.S. which has spilled over into Canada. Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog June 23 You need this book: Best of rabble.ca 2015 edition rabble staff | You know what? Best of rabble, the 2015 edition is on its way, along with your chance to support rabble and read some of our highlights. Blog - rabble.ca's staff blog June 23 Corporate media has lost us too many elections. With your help, we can win it all back. Kim Elliott, Duncan Cameron | rabble.ca has launched a summer fundraising campaign to support our election coverage. Find out how you can join rabble.ca's #WIN2015 campaign. Blog - Activist Communique June 22 5th Indigenous History Month Celebration on June 24th, 2015 in Toronto Krystalline Kraus | Hosted by the Native Canadian Centre Blog - Activist Communique June 22 Indigenous Community Events for June for Indigenous History Month Krystalline Kraus | Thanks to AMMSA, here is the listing of events for the rest of June - Indigenous History Month.

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And the consequence of the climate science is that human production of billions of tons of CO2 a year is causing the climate to warm when all other primary forcings would have us cooling. "What holes? Where have you been?" Funny. As you'll see in a moment: "The hot spot- non existant." Where have you been?David Evans and the 'hot spot'. <--quote--> Dr David Evans: born-again 'alarmist'? Posted on 10 August 2008 by Barry Brook A few weeks ago, self-proclaimed "rocket scientist", Dr David Evans, wrote an Opinion Editorial in The Australian, which was widely circulated across various email distribution lists (I got send the link a couple of times, asking whether what he was saying was valid. I passed them on to these two pieces from Deltoid). But it spawned a life of its own in the non-greenhouse theorist blogosphere, and also drummed up strong support among other Op Ed writers, which have also been thoroughly dissected. In particular, Dr Evans made some very strong statements about the robustness of climate science, including the claim that there was a missing hotspot in the tropical atmosphere, which therefore invalidated the greenhouse theory (and therefore presumably required the development of a new branch of physics). For instance, Dr Evans said: If there is no hot spot then an increased greenhouse effect is not the cause of global warming. So we know for sure that carbon emissions are not a significant cause of the global warming. If we had found the greenhouse signature then I would be an alarmist again. However, Dr Evans must have been unaware that: (1) the hotspot was not a signature of the greenhouse effect - it is a signature of warming from any source, and (2) that the hotspot is not actually missing... <--endquote--> Lional A has posted time and time again about the "hot spot" and you are so deep in denial you haven't read it. http://www.skepticalscience.com/How-Jo-Nova-doesnt-get-the-tropospheric-hot-spot.html Shows that the hot spot HAS been seen, but isn't the fingerprint of AGW . "The Surface temp record corrupted." Where have you been? http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2011/05/anthony_watts_contradicted_by.php Temperature trend estimates vary according to site classification, with poor siting leading to an overestimate of minimum temperature trends and an underestimate of maximum temperature trends, resulting in particular in a substantial difference in estimates of the diurnal temperature range trends. The opposite-signed differences of maximum and minimum temperature trends are similar in magnitude, so that the overall mean temperature trends are nearly identical across site classifications. "The Hokey Schtick completley discredited." Where have you been? http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2006/07/wegman_report_on_hockey_stick.php Wegman's stats were never used by anyone, and subsequent reports using the stats that "The Auditor" insisted should be used gave the same results. "The Models unable to predict anything accruately." http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/2006/06/hansen_et_al_global_climate_ch.php http://www.skepticalscience.com/lindzen-illusion-4-climate-sensitivity.html The temperature change seen so far is above 0.8C. The temperature change from model and theory is 3C per doubling. 35% increase means that a 3C doubling would, at equilibrium, give 0.9C warming. Pretty damn accurate. Especially since the sun is currently quiet. "10 years of not warming while CO2 continues to rise steadily." False. The trend over the last 10 years is up and doesn't exclude a trend of 0.17C per decade. "Sea level rising at the same rate as the last 10,000 years and now slowing." False: sea level rise increasing. http://www.skepticalscience.com/Are-sea-levels-rising.html "Climategate, Glaciergate, amozongate, all the other gates" Wegmangate, you mean? Moncktongate? As to Climategate: nothing found: http://www.skepticalscience.com/a-case-study-in-climate-science-integrity.html but the denialists still denying their failures and lies with no sense of proportion. Glaciergate? You mean a typo? 2350 became 2035. YET NOT ONE "skeptic" found the error. The IPCC did. Shows how hard you guys are looking... Amazongate: doesn't exist. WG1 is all peer reviewed science. Impacts are in WG2 . "The recent cloud experiments at CERN showing solar activity have the majority share of control over the climate." FALSE . CLOUD has shown OVER 4 WEEKS * MERELY * 50 cloud nucleation events. This cannot cause any significant change. Even the paper itself merely says "we've proved that GCR s can be CCN s" which is well known. NOWHERE do they say that this explains the temperature rise. Only denialists misrepresenting the science (as poptart does pathalogically). "The poor corrolateion of CO2 to temps" FALSE 78% of the change can be attributed to CO2 changes. "along side the near perfect corrolation of ENSO to temps." FALSE . You only get this when you remove the trend. Funny how denialists think that removing the trend is supposed to lead to "proof" that the trend isn't caused by CO2 . "The saturation effect of CO2 concentrations." FALSE . The thicker atmosphere insulates the earth, just as putting extra lagging on a pipe keeps the water in there warmer. But again, denialists don't understand even everyday science. If it doesn't prove their desired outcome, that is. "Good Grief, the above is only what came to mind in a couple of minutes." Pity they don't exist. All you've read is the echo chamber walls. Never once checked to see if the screed was right. This is why you're a denialist, not a skeptic.

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Once again science has been mobilized to verify the bloody obvious. In separate studies, researchers with time on their hands, government money to abuse, and little interest in things we don't already know, have verified that men make better combat soldiers than women, cats aren't as loyal to people as dogs are, and Americans don't know much about science. (The kind of science I'm relating here they really don't need to know about -- it would be nice though if more Americans could see the gaping holes in the evidence that is supposed to support the global warming/climate change hustle.) To the surprise of no one outside of feminist red-hots and those who enable them or are hen-pecked by them, a nine month-long study done for the U.S. Marine Corps of 400 co-ed Marines in combat training shows that men Marines shoot their rifles more accurately than women, are able to move faster carrying heavy gear, and are better at removing wounded troops from the battle-field. Men could throw their heavy packs over a wall. The women had to be helped. The men Marines in rigorous training suffered injuries to muscles, tendons, and ligaments at a rate of 18.8 percent. Women Marines suffered these kinds of injuries at a rate of 40.5 percent. Gee, men make better lean, green, fighting machines than women? Who knew? As Private Gomer Pyle, USMC, might have put it, "Sur-prise, sur-prise." But don't expect that just because science has date-stamped the obvious in this arena that our community-organizer-in-chief, who has an absolute and unquenchable lust for the counter-intuitive, will stop pushing to have women placed in military roles to which they are manifestly unsuited. Ideology and identity politics are all. Science only matters when it can be made to support the left-wing agenda. Showing his political loyalty, even when it requires denying reality and endangering the troops, Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus dismissed the study as dishonest, saying that the Marines are just a bunch of male chauvinists. One must say stuff like this to be Obama's SECNAV. It's a good thing that real Marines are more loyal to their country than to their political leadership. How hard would they fight for a capon like Mabus who is so quick to slander them? (Mabus is free to say preposterous stuff like this only because there is no danger that it would ever be Mabus himself wounded on the battle field with only a 120-pound lance corporal named Heather, with the upper-body strength of a summer breeze, to drag him to safety. But I digress.) Speaking of science, after an online survey of 3,200 adults conducted by the Pew Research Center, Pew has given Americans a grade of C in scientific knowledge. Those who took the quiz got fewer than 70 percent of the questions right (making the grade of C another case of grade inflation). Interestingly, supposedly anti-science Republicans did better on the quiz than Democrats. Men did better than women, people with college degrees than people without, whites than blacks, people from the West over people in the South. One in four Americans believes the sun revolves around the Earth. They walk among us. Rush Holt, a former congressman and CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, suggested the survey might have been more useful if it had tested knowledge of the process of science, how scientific knowledge is arrived at, and how it's different from other forms of knowledge. "It's important to know that science is based on evidence, and that (people's) decisions on daily life can also be based on evidence," Holt said. At the University of Lincoln in the UK, researchers have ferreted out what has always been available to even to the most casual observers, which is that cats do not need human owners to feel secure and safe. Unlike dogs, our always reliable pals, cats show no separation anxiety when their people are absent. Cats, as everyone who has ever been around one knows, have their own agendas. And these have nothing to do with what people want. But the researchers try to reassure cat-lovers by adding that cats can have affection for their people. If they didn't want to be with their owners they would leave, the researchers say. Well, maybe. But not until after dinner. I'm not looking for our cat, Peanut, to clear out any time soon. A former stray, he fetched up on our back deck some years ago and has refused to leave. Over the years he has grown fat and sleek on our hospitality. At the last visit to the vet he weighed in at 18 pounds. He can now catch only very old and very slow mice. I'm working on a post-modern play about life with Peanut. I think I'll entitle it "Waiting for Gordo." I can't resist a tip of the sarcastic hat here to these intrepid seekers after the truth. With breakthroughs in knowledge like these, how long will it be before some top-flight scientists verify, with charts and graphs, that the sun comes up in the east every day and that there is some kind of relationship between diet, exercise, and body weight? Total: 1 Facebook Twitter Print Email

In separate studies, researchers with time on their hands, government money to abuse, and little interest in things we don't already know, have verified that men make better combat soldiers than women, cats aren't as loyal to people as dogs are, and Americans don't know much about science. (

Another amazing example of the progress we've made under Barry! Via CNS News : (CNSNews.com) -- In 19.9 percent of American families in 2014, according to data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), no one in the family worked. A family, as defined by the BLS, is a "group of two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. In 2014, there were 80,889,000 families in the United States, and in 16,057,000 of those families, or 19.9 percent, no one had a job. The BLS designates a person as "employed" if "during the survey reference week" they "(a) did any work at all as paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm; (c) or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family." Members of the 16,057,000 families in which no one held jobs could have been either unemployed or not in the labor force. The BLS designates a person as unemployed if they did not have a job but were actively seeking one. The BLS designates someone as not in the labor force, if they did not have a job and were not actively seeking one. Israel, with a population of 8 million sent two jumbo jets carrying a 260-member emergency response team to set up a field hospital, mobile operating rooms and X-ray labs, as well as a military search and rescue team to look for survivors, as it did following the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. The tab will likely run in the millions. The U.S. government initially pledged $1 million in aid and a disaster response team. Secretary of State John Kerry announced Monday the U.S. is providing an additional $9 million for response and recovery efforts. Keep reading... It's almost like liberals are trying to enforce sharia law. Via Raw Story : Six writers have withdrawn from a PEN American Center event over its decision to honor French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo with its Freedom of Expression Courage award. The literary and human rights organization announced Sunday that the writers were disappointed by Charlie Hebdo's representation of Muslims and its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad. The writers -- Peter Carey, Michael Ondaatje, Francine Prose, Teju Cole, Rachel Kushner and Taiye Selasi -- have withdrawn from the gala, which is scheduled to be held on May 5 at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. The Paris-based magazine was attacked in January by Islamic extremists who killed 12 people. Editor-in-chief Gerard Biard, and Jean-Baptiste Thoret, a Charlie Hebdo staff member who survived the attack because he arrived late for work, are scheduled to accept the award. "I was quite upset as soon as I heard about (the award)," Prose, a former president of PEN American, told the Associated Press during a telephone interview on Sunday night, adding that while she was in favor of "freedom of speech without limitations" and "deplored" the attack on the publication, giving an award signified "admiration and respect" for the magazine's work. "I couldn't imagine being in the audience when they have a standing ovation for Charlie Hebdo," Prose said. Kushner reportedly cited her discomfort with the magazine's "cultural intolerance" and promotion of "a kind of forced secular view," as the reason for her withdrawal from the event, according to an email sent Friday to PEN's leadership. Code Pink nods in approval. Via BBC : Islamic State appears to have released a promotional video for its own health service featuring NHS-style branding and an Australian doctor. The video has not been verified but was being circulated by IS-affiliated social media accounts and bears all the hallmarks of previous IS productions. Using an NHS-style logo, it introduces the "ISHS" - or IS Health Service. It appears to have been filmed in Raqqa General Hospital in the Syrian IS stronghold of Raqqa. The first doctor in the video talks about the establishment of a health ministry that regulates medical facilities across IS territory, including the Raqqa hospital, which he says has been refurbished. A second doctor introduces the intensive care unit, which he says treats victims of military conflict and car accidents. A third speaks about the X-ray department, which includes a women-only unit. The Australian doctor, who calls himself Abu Yusuf, says he travelled from his home country to join IS and is using his medical skills "as part of my jihad for Islam". He is shown treating newborn babies in incubators, in a section of the video set in the hospital's apparently well-equipped paediatric ward. Where they learn about the one true prophet, Al Gore. Via WFB : The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is spending $84,000 to study how churches can be used to combat climate change. A taxpayer-funded graduate fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is examining 17 faith-based institutions that have implemented "sustainability initiatives" in the hopes of developing workshops to teach pastors and other religious leaders how to change the behaviors of their congregants. "Climate change--which affects traditional faith-based efforts to improve human health, mitigate poverty and redress social inequity--is inspiring religious organizations to advocate for clean air and water, restore ecosystems, and conserve resources," a grant for the project, which began last fall, states. "This project seeks to understand the empirical experiences of faith-based environmental efforts within communities." "Through what motivations and processes do congregation level sustainability initiatives emerge?" the grant asks. "What factors facilitate and/or hinder implementation of these initiatives? What environmental and community outcomes are perceived to have been achieved through these initiatives?" Baltimore police are warning that there is a "credible threat" to "take-out" law enforcement officers, according a press release from the Baltimore Police Department. "The Baltimore Police Department / Criminal Intelligence Unit has received credible information that members of various gangs including the Black Guerilla Family, Blood, and Crips have entered into a partnership to 'take-out' law enforcement officers," the warning reads. "This is a credible threat. Law enforcement agencies should take appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of their officers. Notification will be sent via NLETS. Further informationw ill be sent through appropriate channels. "Media is requested to distribute this information to the public and law enforcement nationwide." Chris Kyle, an American hero, family still waiting. Family of James Foley, beheaded because he was American still waiting... The White House is sending a delegation to the funeral of Freddie Gray, a black man who died of a spinal cord injury while in police custody in Baltimore. Broderick Johnson, a White House Cabinet secretary and chair of the My Brother's Keeper Task Force, will represent the Obama administration. Broderick, a native of Baltimore, will be joined by Heather Foster, an adviser in the White House Office of Public Engagement, and Elias Alcantara, with the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Gray, 25, died one week after sustaining a spinal injury while he was detained by police in West Baltimore on April 12. His death set off a wave of protests around the city, which turned violent over the weekend. Gray's funeral will take place Monday in Baltimore. Thousands are expected to attend, including relatives of Eric Garner, a black man who died in July, after police in New York City placed him in a chokehold. My favorite part is where Sharpton claims he "resisted personal involvement" in the case. Sharpton press release : "I have been asked by many in the Baltimore area since day one to get involved in the justice for Freddie Gray movement. Though I have discussed it on my daily radio and TV shows and been in touch with our NAN Baltimore chapter, I resisted personal involvement until we saw what the promised May 1 investigation report would bring. I am saddened and disappointed that there now may not be a report released on May 1. It is concerning to me that a deadline that the police themselves had set and announced they have now conveniently changed. Therefore, I will come to Baltimore this week at the invitation or Rev. Westley West, who has led vigils daily there, along with local clergy, and morning radio show host Larry Young who has headed our Baltimore chapter of NAN for the last decade. It is my intention to come and have a meeting with grassroots activists and faith leaders to schedule a two-day march in May from Baltimore to Washington. The march will bring the case of Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Eric Harris to the new Attorney General, Loretta Lynch. Ms. Lynch, in her new role that we all supported, must look and intervene in these cases. Justice delayed is justice denied." Reverend Al Sharpton, President, National Action Network Awwww, Hizzoner is a whiner... Hey Bill, there's a reason it's called a "Bronx cheer." Mayor de Blasio whined to a crowd of hayseeds in the Midwest about how New Yorkers are too mean to him at baseball games -- and said he was jealous how well his Milwaukee counterpart is greeted by fans. "I had the pleasure of taking in a Brewers game with Mayor Tom Barrett last night," de Blasio told a group at a speech Saturday in Milwaukee. "I was struck by how many people kept coming up to the mayor to thank him for his service." "I go to quite a few baseball games in my city of New York, and I gotta admit -- the reception isn't always that cordial," he added. "People recognize me, all right. But oftentimes our exchanges are limited to a few choice words . . . or even a particular finger!" Fans at the Subway Series Sunday night said that New York fans aren't going to pretend to be nice -- and if de Blasio wants to get treated better he better earn it. "He's the worst," said Diane McGrath, 48, a city worker, who has rooted for the Yankees for 30 years. "What kind of reaction does he expect to get? He disrespects this city, disrespects the cops in this city, gets booed at their funerals, and seriously expects to get treated nice when he comes to the baseball games?" she said. "Get out of here. New Yorkers don't forget." Everyday Americans, or something. Hillary Clinton rounded up her first campaign swing with an op-ed in a top Iowa newspaper in which she emphasized her campaign's commitments to regular Americans and echoed the progressive platform she's been touting on the campaign trail. Americans have come back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top," she wrote in The Des Moines Register. "Americans are working harder and getting more productive, but they aren't seeing the reward in their paychecks. So it's time to reshuffle the deck and deal a better hand to the middle class." Clinton's op-ed summarized the main message of her campaign by mentioning stories from a handful of Iowans she met with by name. That strategy seeks to take the emphasis off her political celebrity in favor of more personalized discussions with voters. "When I came to Iowa, I wanted to do something a little different. No big speeches or rallies. Just talking directly with everyday Iowans," she wrote.

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A new poll from PRRI has found wide generational gaps on issues of abortion, reproductive health, and sexual assault. "As this younger generation continues to flex its political muscles--as we saw in the response to the Parkland shooting--they could also reshape the national conversation on women's health issues," said PRRI CEO Robert P. Jones in a statement. The poll, released today, found that nearly all Americans believe that health insurance plans, both private and government-provided, should cover birth control and testing for sexually transmitted infections. Fewer than half of those surveyed, however, believe abortion should be covered under most health-care plans. Though women were generally more in favor of abortion access and wider health-care coverage, and were more likely to prioritize the issue when deciding how to vote, the bigger gaps on questions of abortion were those of age, as well as education level and political affiliation. Of people aged 18 to 29, 65 percent said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. And while most Americans' views on legality have remained relatively unchanged over the past decade, younger Americans were more likely to say their views on abortion have changed in recent years--overwhelmingly to a position of greater support for abortion rights, perhaps mirroring the broad leftward shift of the millennial generation. The poll also uncovered a wide generation gap on perceptions of how difficult abortions are to obtain. Despite the fact that restrictive state policies have closed clinics across the country, sometimes forcing women to travel days or across state lines to get the procedure, nearly half of Americans said that obtaining an abortion in their community was not that difficult. But here, too, age was a stronger predictor of perceptions of availability than even gender or partisan affiliation. Nearly half (49 percent) of young people thought that local abortions were at least somewhat difficult to obtain, compared with just 26 percent of people over the age of 65. And while more than two-thirds (69 percent) of young people believe there should be abortion providers in their community, only 46 percent of seniors felt the same. While the differences between millennials and seniors are the most glaring, the survey also highlighted different levels of support for abortion rights by race and religion, with black Americans generally more supportive and white evangelicals often, predictably, an outlier in their opposition. A pronounced gender divide also exists in perceptions of sexual assault and harassment cases. While the majority of Americans believe unreported or disbelieved cases to be a bigger problem than the specter of false accusations, nearly a third of men think that false accusations are more worrisome, especially Republican men (41 percent). "Given this," PRRI Director of Strategic Engagement Carolyn Davis said in a statement, "the [Republican] party is not likely to prioritize effectively combating sexual harassment or assault unless the women of the party push the GOP to action." Whether that is likely remains a mystery, but it's a safe bet that it will be a while before the Republican Party catches up to the majority of the country--and especially to the younger generation--if it catches up at all.

A new poll from PRRI has found wide generational gaps on issues of abortion, reproductive health, and sexual assault.

It started with a tweet depicting illegal immigrant children sleeping in cages with the headline, "THIS IS HAPPENING NOW!" The picture wasn't from 2018, though. It was actually taken during the Obama years. That didn't matter. The lie raced around the world, the Establishment Media pounced, and now Democrats are actually likening U.S. border security policies to Nazi Germany. It's a complete hoax. ABOVE : The photo used to attack Trump immigration policies was actually taken during the Obama years when the Obama administration held thousands of families in processing centers. And those border security policies Democrats are now likening to "Nazi Germany"? They were enacted during the Clinton years and continued during the Bush and Obama years. The only thing to change during the Trump years is a focus on trying to be even MORE protective of children crossing the border illegally into the United States. Some of these children are being used as cover for people to get into the United States - a situation that started in earnest during the Obama years. Word got out that Border Agents would treat families with children differently. You were quickly given food to eat, a place to sleep, and then after a few weeks, allowed to proceed into the United States on a promise you would return for full processing/vetting. Most never returned. As to what happened to the children being used as "immigration tickets" - who knows? Were they disposed of on the streets? Sold into child sex trafficking? Democrats don't seem to care. The media isn't talking about the potential wrongdoing being done to these children. They focus on photos of "cages" and declare "This isn't what America is about" while pointing the finger of blame at President Trump. Blame for policies that precede him by decades. Blame for wanting to protect children more than previous administrations did. Blame for wanting to make the border safer and more secure. The above photo is from the Obama era. The below photo is from an illegal immigration processing center during the Trump years: Today Nancy Pelosi and other Democrat "leaders" are showing up at the southern border for some photo-op politics. Some spineless Republicans are demanding President Trump "do something" about what they perceive to be a public relations nightmare. None of these politicians, many who have been in Congress for decades, have done anything remotely responsible or right regarding the immigration issue. Children continue to suffer. Women are being brutalized. Innocents on both sides of the border are added to the growing list of casualties. Donald Trump wants to end this horrific status-quo and for that, he is being attacked and vilified. He wants to make sure the children being dragged (often against their will) across the border are in fact with family and not someone only using them to get into the United States. He wants to make sure the women are safe, and that the men are who they say they are. These are reasonable goals. They are moral ones. They exemplify true American values. The leftist media would have you believe different. They would risk the lives of women and children in the hopes of swaying votes. Don't fall for it. And don't forget what they are doing. Make Democrats and spineless Republicans pay the price in 2018. Be what they fear the most - an informed voter. Posted in DC Whispers Tagged 2018 , border wall , children in cages , immigration , obama , Trump

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Actress Jennifer Garner opened up about her faith this week, explaining how her latest film role inspired her to go back to church regularly, taking the children she and Ben Affleck have together with her. During an interview on Monday, February 22 to promote her upcoming movie, Miracles from Heaven , Garner told Good Morning Texas that she grew up going to church every week; however, once she moved to Los Angeles, she became enveloped in its largely secular culture. "When I did move to L.A., it wasn't something that was just part of the culture there in the same way, at least in my life. But it didn't mean that I lost who I was," she said. The actress then explained how the role helped her reconnect with her Methodist roots, PEOPLE magazine reported . Miracles from Heaven is a faith-based film that was adapted from a story by Texas mother Christy Beam. The story tells of how Beam's young daughter not only survived a 30-foot fall, but ended up healed from an ailment. Garner explained, "There was something about doing this film and talking to my kids about it and realizing that they were looking for the structure of church every Sunday. So it was a great gift of this film that it took us back to finding our local Methodist church and going every Sunday." "It's really sweet," she added. Garner was also asked if her faith helps her overcome personal challenges, to which she responded: Of course. I think that's what it's all about. But there's a beautiful line in the movie that really resonates with me; Christy is having a conversation with her pastor and she says, "I just don't understand. I don't know where my faith is right now." She's in the crisis of faith. And he says to her, "You know, everyone is going to struggle and I look at it this way: I've struggled with faith and I've struggled without it. And I'll tell you, it's a whole lot easier with." Garner also agreed with the movie's theme that all things in life are miracles, saying, "It's also what my mother has instilled in my sisters and me so much, that joy comes from the smallest things." She continued: And if you don't see joy in a perfect avocado or in a great conversation or in running into a friend or getting a job - if you don't see joy in a perfectly beautiful tree in autumn - then you are missing your chance at happiness. Because if you don't find it in the small things and you only wait for big moments, then you'll just not be a happy person. Watch a trailer for Miracles from Heaven , which will debut on March 16:

Actress Jennifer Garner opened up about her faith this week, explaining how her latest film role inspired her to go back to church regularly, taking the children she and Ben Affleck have together with her.

A tanker truck carrying liquified natural gas was involved in a traffic accident this morning on a highway in Italy. At first it just caught on fire, but what came next was . . . Looks like Manafort might just be in some hot water here: FOX NEWS - Rick Gates on Monday took the stand in the federal fraud case against his former business partner, ex-Trump . . . A Clinton judge is allowing a lawsuit against the Trump transgender troop ban to continue forward, as the Trump administration sought to get the lawsuit booted out of court: THE HILL - . . . As you may have heard, Alex Jones and Inforwars are under siege from 'Big Tech', that is both major social media giants and tech companies like Apple and Spotify: Facebook and Spotify . . . Tonight at the turn of midnight... NY POST - The Trump administration is within hours of reimposing sanctions on Iran that had been lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which . . . Last night Mark Levin sat down with Rick Harrison from Pawn Stars on his show Life, Liberty, and Levin. In the first part of the interview, Harrison explains some of the back . . . The Resurgent had a gathering this weekend and Ted Cruz was there, having a conservation with Erick Erickson about all things politics. If you were trying to watch it on their live . . . As you should know, Candace Owen was suspended by Twitter over the weekend for essentially retweeting Sarah Jeong's tweets and replacing 'white' with other races. After a backlash against Twitter, they realized . . . Another good guy with a gun saves the day again. This time, at a back-to-school event in Florida with tons of children and parents running around: Watch the latest video at foxnews.com . . . The open source encyclopedia that informs your world, your children, the uneducated press, and even Amazon's Alexa is full of liberal social justice warriors meticulously and relentlessly editing the past out of . . . Yeah, that Abolish ICE thing isn't as 'fringe' as the democrats like to pretend when confronted about it. In fact, at Netroots Nation over the weekend, which celebrated socialism and Elizabeth Warren . . . Sarah Jeong has been a pretty buzzworthy topic this week, even making it onto the Sunday morning talk shows, after a bunch of tweets hating white people and cops were uncovered and . . . In politics, the flip-flop is always a popular topic, and particularly among reporters. They were relentless attacking Romney for it years ago. Not so much with Democrats who flip and flop like . . . "It's always with an African-American when he questions intelligence," said Chuck Todd on Meet the Press today. "That's what makes a lot of people uncomfortable with what he's doing." Todd was talking . . . On Sunday morning the President tweeted about reports from the Washington Post and other sources, which cite anonymous sources who claim the President is "worried" about Donald Jr.'s legal prospects with regard . . . Trump is always letting cats out of bags, but tonight he let the fox out as he referred to the network and its hosts as "we", including them as part of his . . . Remember when a woman climbed the Statue of Liberty and the mainstream media could hardly contain their emotional admiration? She was realy sticking it to Trump or whatever! She got a lot . . . The murderer who shot up a school in Florida needed help. And the state did not provide it. That's the latest development in the tragic story of the horrific school shooting at . . . The Newseum in D.C. has been under fire for two days over their selling of humorous t-shirts and bumper stickers featuring the phrase "Fake News." Journalists and other blue checks FLIPPED OUT . . . This year's Netroots Nation, a gathering of loopy liberals and nutbar activists, is even nuttier and loopier than usual. As expected. So Senator Cory Booker must feel right at home. And it . . .

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A year ago, as the Republican Party was preparing to head to its convention in Cleveland to officially nominate Donald Trump for president, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued an analysis of Trump's policy proposals. That analysis, " Donald Trump: A One-Man Constitutional Crisis ," concluded that his proposals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, ban Muslims from entering the country, surveil American Muslims and their houses of worship, revise libel laws and bring back the Bush-era torture program would blatantly violate the Constitution. It was a terrifying report. Still, many thought that this country - whose ideals have inspired people from all over the world to come here and become Americans, united not by ethnicity, language religion or culture, but by the ideas and ideals laid out in our Constitution - wouldn't elect a man whose proposals were seemingly so in conflict with it. But we did. And the election of a man who is openly hostile to minorities, immigrants and particularly to individuals of Latino descent has struck me, the son of Colombian immigrants, in a personal way. I worry that my parents will be accosted at the grocery store for speaking Spanish. I worry that my two boys will be told by classmates to "go back where they came from" because their skin is brown. As Trump's political rhetoric turns into policy, our fundamental American values are being put to their greatest test. MORE ON TRUMP ON GRAY MATTERS: How Trump's threats have evolved Thankfully, our system of checks and balances is serving to curtail many of the administration's efforts to run roughshod over our constitutional freedoms. Courts throughout the country have ruled against several of the Trump administration's most blatantly unconstitutional efforts - to defund cities that have chosen to limit participation in federal immigration enforcement and ban people from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. But the Trump administration is making headway with some its most problematic proposals. The president's stated goal of deporting millions of undocumented people has already resulted in widespread fear in immigrant communities. In his first week in office, President Trump issued an order giving agents the green light to prioritize the arrest of many immigrants who had been afforded some humanitarian discretion, including parents of U.S. citizen children who had been reporting annually to authorities. But nowhere is this problematic headway more apparent than in Texas, where our legislature has passed Senate Bill 4. The law has been widely criticized by law enforcement and community leaders for harming public safety by removing discretion from local officials to determine how best to use limited police resources. It has effectively mandated that local agencies engage in immigration enforcement, and subjects law enforcement to heavy fines, criminal penalties and even removal from office. Pedro Paredes joins hundreds at the Texas Capitol to protest Senate Bill 4. (Photo: Ricardo Brazziell, MBO) These policies will have devastating consequences for our society -- school attendance rates will decrease, families will be separated and an even greater number of individuals will fear reporting crimes or cooperating with federal or local officials out of concern that they or their family members might be targeted for deportation. Immigration is one thing. But the Trump administration has also adopted retrograde policies on criminal justice. For example, before the election, there was bipartisan recognition that this country had a problem with incarceration; that 2.3 million people behind bars was too many; and the fact that a hugely disproportionate percentage of those people are black or brown was a serious problem. (The rate of imprisonment for black men is nearly six times that of white men.) It was generally accepted by both political parties that we needed to reduce the prison population by eliminating mandatory minimums and reducing sentences for drug offenses. Instead of building on this consensus or paying heed to experts on criminal justice reform, the administration is reducing federal oversight over police departments accused of abuse. Whereas previous administrations - both Republican and Democrat - have responded to reports of systemic police abuse by investigating and entering into consent decrees to assist police departments in developing 21st century best practices, the Trump administration is on the record opposing these decrees, leaving many communities without needed federal protections. In short, it has sent the message that the status quo is acceptable and that black and brown people are not entitled to the same protection. And then there is the most fundamental right to our democracy - the right to vote. In May, Trump created a Presidential Commission on Election Integrity, with the mission of combating purported "voter fraud." Despite that numerous studies have shown that voter fraud is virtually nonexistent here, President Trump continues to insist that he lost the popular vote because 3 million to 5 million undocumented residents cast ballots. Such propaganda about illegal voting has been used to justify unnecessary and discriminatory restrictions on voting. And since Trump appointed Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as vice-chair of that commission, there should be little doubt of his motives: Last year, Kobach was rebuked by a federal court for disenfranchising thousands of motor-voter applicants whom he claimed might not be citizens, based on what the court found was "pure speculation." This list is not exhaustive. We are seeing increased attacks at both the federal and state level on reproductive rights and the rights of the LGBTQ community and people with disabilities. My colleagues and I are doing everything we can to challenge these constitutional violations, but there is a limit to what lawyers and courts can do to protect our constitutional values. On this Independence Day, I hope Texans, who welcomed my parents here with open arms, will speak up against policies that threaten our most fundamental values. This piece originally appeared on The Houston Chronicle .

Donald Trump: A One-Man Constitutional Crisis ," concluded that his proposals to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, ban Muslims from entering the country, surveil American Muslims and their houses of worship, revise libel laws and bring back the Bush-era torture program would blatantly violate the Constitution.

Thanks, everybody. See you next week, when The Flash shows up and tries to punch Goldust. ]]> https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/the-best-and-worst-of-wwe-raw-81015-a-summer-crush/feed/ 112 rusev-bulgarian-flag brandonstroud Rusev Bulgarian flag WWE Raw New Day dancing Sbarro Section Randy Orton Seth Rollins Raw botch In Tribute To John Cena's Face, Here Are Nine Other Memorable WWE Broken Noses https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/john-cena-wwe-broken-noses/ https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/john-cena-wwe-broken-noses/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2015 17:15:36 +0000 http://uproxx.com/?p=1073297 - Final shill until it's relevant to the conversation again: Meet Me There , the movie I wrote starring Goldust and a bunch of independent wrestling notables, is available for purchase in actual retailers . If you pick up a copy, you're automatically my best friend. We're supposed to hang out this weekend! So back when Kane was debuting as a supernatural, fire-throwing monster that could rip the door off the Hell in a Cell and needed three tombstone piledrivers to go down, did you ever picture him as the third most important stooge in a 20-minute product placement gameshow Raw opening? Were you ever like, "wow, I wish Kane would stop burning the graves of his dead parents and make more jokes about going on vacation." Raw seriously opens with a solid quarter-hour of Seth Rollins giving The Authority gifts as a Thank You for helping him beat up Brock Lesnar once. He gives them all Apple watches (because they're good at every form of social media he can remember to list on air), sends Kane on an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii and gives J&J Security a car. To illustrate the effectiveness of the segment, Big Show comes out and honks the car horn for like five minutes. They make an attempt to explain Miz's motivations in a backstage segment, which I appreciate, but Study question: do you ever get the feeling that Kalisto should've just been Sin Cara? Worst: Let's Ask The WWE Universe What They Thought Of The 8-Man Tag Dolph Ziggler and Lana have the romantic chemistry of Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny . I never want a crowd to chant "what," but after listening to Dolph inhumanly mumble through a dozen "ums" and Lana complain about how Rusev made her dress a certain way while wearing the same thing she's always worn might've deserved it. Ziggler and Lana are oil and toilet water, and watching them be way too aware of the crowd's negative response while trying to plow through their declaration of love made me want to be single for the rest of my life. Who would invite this into their life? Love is dead, and Dolph Ziggler killed it with a sleeper. Rusev shows up with Summer Rae and no knowledge of how crutches work and plays the YOU DIDN'T HURT ME, I'M FINE card, calling her a "cold fish" and saying kissing her was like "kissing that ring post over there." The part I like is that Rusev and Lana were never about kissing . They were partners, wrestler and manager, united under the watchful eye of Vladimir Putin and dedicated to the destruction of stupid, low-level American professional wrestlers. Ziggler -- a guy who would NEVER tell Lana how to act but has already changed her hairstyle and downgraded her career from "manager" to "wrestler's girlfriend" -- jumps in with some "hey hey heys" and acts like a total prick, because he's a natural heel and Rusev's always accidentally the babyface. Rusev's feeling are hurt so he tries to leave, but Summer Rae grabs the mic and launches into some EMOTIONAL REAL TALK. She tells Lana that Rusev is a kind-hearted guy who cared about her a lot, but that when he got hurt, Lana jumped ship. Summer knows she's really just an opportunistic phony. Answer me this: did Rusev make Lana become a Bulgarian, or was it the other way around? Hey look, Jack Swagger's back! And he's totally not dead inside. The match is no disqualification, so OF COURSE they stand out on the apron waiting for tags instead of just running in and hitting each other with chairs. Eventually it breaks down, and we find out that the no-DQ stip was there so Bray Wyatt could attack Roman but The Authority could still win the match. See what I mean about match finishes seeming more like booking decisions than match finishes? Best: Top 10 Comments Of The Week That's a nice Tupac hologram of Jamie Noble. AND YOU GET AN APPLE WATCH, AND YOU GET AN APPLE WATCH, AND YOU GET AN APPLE WATCH! And everyone in the audience? Look under your seat! You'll find...PICTURES OF ME BEATING BROCK LESNAR. Seth: now you all make sure to have your beast spayed and neutered. Couple seen making out in the middle of the ring several times to go public. The Real Birdman Thanks, everybody. See you at 5:30 AM on July 4th for Brock Lesnar: Tokyo Drift . ]]> https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/the-best-and-worst-of-wwe-raw-62915-kane-goes-hawaiian/feed/ 80 the-authority-apple-watches brandonstroud dolph-ziggler-darren-young-the-gay-day jack-swagger jack-swagger-closeup SWAGGER-FACE SWAGGER-FACE-2 The Best And Worst Of WWE Money In The Bank 2015 https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/the-best-and-worst-of-wwe-money-in-the-bank-2015/ https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/the-best-and-worst-of-wwe-money-in-the-bank-2015/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2015 18:15:54 +0000 http://uproxx.com/?p=1015307 - To watch this show on WWE Network, click here . - You can find previous years' Best and Worst of WWE Money in the Bank reports at the tag page, conveniently located here . - With Spandex is on Twitter , so follow it. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook . You can also follow me on Twitter . - Share the column! Your shares, likes and other Internet Things are appreciated. And now, the Best and Worst of WWE Money in the Bank 2015. Worst: King Nothing The plight of King Barrett has become so embarrassing it's either on purpose, or we're living in an alternate, fictional world where Ricky Gervais books WWE. The running joke -- for years now, Jesus -- has been that Wade Barrett can't win a match. If he wins the Intercontinental Championship (which happens a lot), he's going to lose a constant stream of non-title matches to build up pay-per-view opponents, then either lose the match and keep the belt on a technicality or just straight-up lose. If he wins, it's because a third party from a more interesting storyline showed up and helped him. He becomes "Bad News Barrett" and gets positioned as a guy who stands around complaining about non-wrestling issues and it miraculously gets over, so they take away everything that worked: the lectern, the nickname, the catchphrase, all of it. He keeps the finish, which is him taking off an elbow pad and putting it back on. Then the dude wins King of the Ring, and you're like, "cool, king gimmicks are a good thing to give a guy who isn't doing much, now he gets to be funny and do some King Booker shit." He gets a crown and a cape, and just keeps losing . He's locked into this endless blood feud with WWE's least serious guy, R-Truth, and he can barely handle it. At Money in the Bank he shows up in a new outfit that makes him look like Bow from She-Ra and loses. Truth rambles on about "Games Of Thrones" and the announce team puts over how he has JUST AS MUCH CLAIM to randomly pretend he's a king as Barrett, and how if he wins OF COURSE he can be King What's Up, because Barrett just made it up, too. That's how much "King of the Ring" means when it's followed by "Wade Barrett." At this point, I want a pay-per-view actually written like an episode of Game Of Thrones. Dean Ambrose tries to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship but gets stabbed in the heart by Roman Reigns halfway through the match. Titus O'Neil brings his kids to the ring and burns them to death so he can win the tag titles, then he doesn't win the tag titles . Women get raped to show that life was hard for women in this imaginary fantasy wrestling show we could've gone in any direction with, Sheamus gets some bad CGI monster eyes or whatever and Barrett just wanders around with a crown on his head and his dick out for 40 minutes. The Mountain gets called up from NXT and gets buried. Best: Happy Trails To You, 'Til We Meet Again We shared this last night , but you'd have to have a stone heart (like Natalya eventually would in our Game of Thrones booking) to get through the Dusty Rhodes tribute video without feeling something. We've written our tributes to The Dream so I'll try not to write 10 more emotional paragraphs, but man, WWE is better at a loving tribute video package than anyone on the planet. It's sad to think that they're good because they've got so much experience. Phillip Phillips Dusty Rhodes goes right alongside Eddie Guerrero 'Hurt' and Coldplay Randy Savage in that elite class of videos that will make your heart break and fall out of your body for the rest of your life. "I have been to the mountaintop, and it will take a hell of a man to knock me off." That's as far as I can get into the video without breaking down. Worst: Renee Having To Talk After That Tribute Video Nobody should have to talk after that video. Just send it back to Tom, guys, give her a minute. Best, But Emotionally Worst: The 10-Bell Salute If you need a visual representation of my emotional state since Thursday afternoon, it's that shot near the end of this clip where Summer Rae's standing there clapping with this hardened, teary resolve in her eyes, and Emma's next to her just staring off into the distance. The interesting and probably most gut-wrenching part of the 10-bell salute is the duality of the people on stage for it. You've got people who've known Dusty for decades and have been dealing with loss like this their entire lives, and then you've got the NXT kids who knew Dusty as a mentor and teacher dealing with it fresh. How the hell do you make it through your first time on stage for a 10-bell salute? What's it like when you've been up there a dozen times? Look at the look on Big Show's face. Look at Kane. Wrestling breaks your heart. All right, back to the pessimism and wrestling jokes. The show started off with the Money In The Bank ladder match, briefly telegraphing a night of fantasy-booked Roman Reigns end-of-the-night cash-ins before slamming us back to reality with Mr. Money In The Bank Sheamus. I'm not claiming I know how the inner wheels of WWE Creative get greased, but is Sheamus the luckiest wrestler ever? Not an Irish joke. The winner of the Royal Rumble is too obvious and the Internet talks about it too much, so boop, now Sheamus wins the Royal Rumble. The winner of Money in the Bank is too obvious and the Internet talks about it too much, so boop, now Sheamus wins Money in the Bank. He just keeps getting booped into these position without any reason or merit, and we're left wondering why nobody really cares about him. As a reminder, I think Sheamus is really great in the ring. When he's motivated (and baby, usually, so he actually does stuff beyond clubbing forearms and posing), he's one of my favorite performers. When he's not, or he's heel and does that stuff I put in parenthesis, he's an entire f*cking loaf of white bread. Just Wonderbread as f*ck. That's not a joke about his skin, either, he is literally a piece of shitty bread, often accompanied by a second shitty bread and filled with the Miracle Whip of professional wrestling. The sad thing is that as much as we complain about Roman, he's been kinda baller recently. They took the emphasis off of him and allowed him to be an overpowered but stuck-in-the-background player, like the Mysterious Stranger in Fallout , and it worked. He's another guy we WANT to like, we just hate his crappy trappings. He's getting booed for just existing now, because fans have gotten attached to this idea that he represents something they hate, and wrestling fans with their minds made up are the most stubborn, ignorant people in the world. I'm absolutely lumping myself into that group. We want HANDSOME PRINCE ROMAN REIGNS OF THE SHIELD, not John Cena pretending to be The Rock in Shield's clothing. We want the previous idea we liked, not the newer one we assume we don't. Roman's easily the best part of this otherwise disjointed and hammy affair, skipping the long setups and goober Ladder Wars spots to just run into folks and powerbomb them out of the ring. By the end I was actively cheering for him to win, because for all his failings he was being a boss, and the rest of the match belonged in the middle of Smackdown. WWE ladder matches are starting to feel like baseball games. It's about the anticipation of action instead of actual action, so it's 80% watching guys set up ladder and carefully position themselves, 10% the actual spot, and 10% us going, "that's it? Okay, what's next." Worst: Nay Wyatt In case you were missing the weekly Promos About Nothing and gaspy closeups, Bray Wyatt returned FROM OUTTA NOWHERE to cost Roman Reigns the match. Roman was climbing the ladder all alone in the ring, so Bray teleported in, knocked him off armpit-first into the top rope -- Roman's armpits are the only exposed part of this torso -- and Sisterly Abigail'd him. It's the kind of thing you want to get excited about because The Shield vs. The Wyatt Family was so legendary, but Bray's less threatening than IRS these days. Seriously, what's Bray going to do? He's going to cut endless promos, get in a few sneak attacks and lose. If he doesn't, his opponent still comes out on top. Bray beat John Cena, then lost to him over and over until Cena was happy. Bray beat up Dean Ambrose a lot, so Dean got a bunch of IC and World Heavyweight title shots. Bray pinned Ryback, so Ryback won the Intercontinental Championship and Bray disappeared. Bray's basically food at this point. He's a Hungry Man dinner in white pants. WWE can salvage anybody. They turned Kofi Kingston into a guy I wanted to see win Money in the Bank. Me , the Internet's leading Kofi Kingston hater from 2011-2015. They can make me cheer for Xavier Woods or Corey Graves, and turn Damien Sandow and Curtis Axel into garbage on a whim. Knowing that, can Bray be saved? I feel like the answer's probably "yes," but I also kinda want to tie his character to a cinderblock and dump it in the ocean. Best: The Divas Championship Match, Before The Finish Okay, so I think I've got this figured out. Someone in our comments section asked why "IWC groupthink" (barf) is so wildly negative about main roster pay-per-views, despite them having good content. I think a lot of it has to do with WWE not being proud enough of its own good material, and never lets is breathe. The live specials and pay-per-views have started to feel more like episodes of Raw and Smackdown than "special events," and outside of WrestleMania there's no longer really a promise that stories will go anywhere or have conclusions. People just wrestle each other in circles forever, so why get excited about the next match? If something good DOES happen, they often will quickly add some kind of modifier or "yeah, but" to it to dull the excitement. Kevin Owens and John Cena had a rematch announced before the show was even over, so we weren't allowed to marinate in the thoughts or possibilities of what we'd want to see next. It was just like "that was cool SO ANYWAY THEY'RE DOING IT AGAIN IN TWO WEEKS, START COMPLAINING ABOUT ALL THE USUAL STUFF." WWE doesn't really give us a reprieve from the constant, numbed lowballing of expectations. Matches are great. They're full of great wrestlers doing great wrestling. Then, seemingly at random, the match ends in the dumbest way anyone could've imagined. It makes the entire process of sitting through the wrestling feel like a chore, because you know all the great shit you're watching will have no bearing whatsoever on how you're left to feel. The Divas match at Money in the Bank was a good example of that. Paige and Nikki Bella were putting together a good match that played to their strengths and went a little over 10 minutes, which is like an Iron Man Match for the Divas Division. We've seen the match a billion times already, but this was a better version of what we'd seen ... there seemed to be a sense of urgency in the action, and while Paige's promo didn't make a lot of historical sense -- the Bellas have been AROUND for 7 years, but they haven't really been doing or accomplishing anything until the last 2 -- it gave the match context. It said, "here's what Paige is trying to accomplish, and what Nikki Bella's trying to maintain." Sometimes, that's enough. Then, because we aren't allowed to connect the dots and are asked to stare at a dotted-ass page in a coloring book no-one intends to color, the finish happened. Worst: The Finish If you missed it, the Bella Twins once again went for Twin Magic. Brie slipped into the ring and small packaged Paige, but she reversed it and won the match. Before Paige could celebrate, Brie pointed out that WHOOPS NOPE SHE'S BRIE, unstuffed her bra, showed off her bikini-line tattoos and had the match restarted. The ref didn't call for a DQ because dot dot dot question mark, and even the announcers point it out. You know it's too obvious when the announce team thinks to say it. Nikki levels Paige with a forearm, hits her with the Big Boobs Joke and gets the win. See what I mean? The wrestling is good, then everything stops and people forget the rules of the universe they're supposed to operate in and everything kinda disqualifies itself. It's not saying "The Bellas broke the rules, aren't they jerks," it's saying "none of the rules we have matter right now, stop paying attention." It's the Reddit Shrug as like 45 seconds of women's wrestling. I've read a few people say that the heels cheating and winning and getting away with this stuff is good, because it's a reaction and you're supposed to be mad when heels win. That's fair from a certain perspective, but I don't think people -- at least people like me -- are mad at the heels winning. I love when heels win, especially when it's conniving and terrible and they get away with murder. What I don't like is when match finishes feel like a booking decision instead of an interaction between wrestlers, and when the stories being told in the ring are so forced and so disrespectful to the cause and effect of pro wrestling. Sometimes stuff doesn't make sense. That's going to happen. But sometimes stuff doesn't make sense and nobody ever intended it to, and they went with it anyway. That's the frustration. The feeling like WWE spend way less time thinking about their product and putting this together than you spent watching it. Best?: GOD MADE ME A CHAMPION The highlight of the night for me (and quite possibly the highlight of my entire life as a wrestling fan) is this weird, post-game interview where Rich Brennan runs into the Bella Twins backstage and they tell him God made two Nikki Bellas so she could fairly utilize a second, identical human in her quest to be Divas Champion. That's some insane serial killer shit. God made her a champion, and she was just born this way. NIKKI BELLA WINNING MATCHES IS LIKE GENDER IDENTITY, YOU GUYS. Worst: Ryback, Your Intercontinental Title Defense, Woof Or, Best: The Miz Is Smart And Ryback Gets What He Deserves Ryback vs. Big Show is not a great match. I was hoping when the match started with Ryback getting a flurry of offense that he'd win in 30 seconds and Show would meekly put him over as the New Giant or whatever (despite him being like, my height), but then Show cut him off and it continued. I know WWE likes one kind of match, but something like Ryback vs. Show needs to be different. It needs to be them showing up and just throwing bombs at each other for 5-7 and maybe breaking stuff until somebody drops. It's the T-Rex fighting Indominus Rex, with Miz running interference as a smart Velociraptor. Bonus points if we can go back and work in Bryce Dallas Sandhoward. This was another match with a f*ck finish, but at least it made some sense. Miz is at ringside on color commentary, and Ryback, being a WWE babyface, attacks him for being there. Miz jumps in a little later and bops Big Show in the head with a microphone, giving Show the DQ win. It doesn't transfer the title -- in fact, it keeps the title on the guy Miz actually wants to beat up, and off the larger, theoretically harder-to-beat guy -- but it gives Ryback a loss as a middle finger. I would be the world's biggest Miz fan if they booked him as the one smart, aware-of-his-environment person in WWE. Just a normal guy who watches the show, observes trends and does things that are jerky and self-serving, but make sense. Basically more of this, less fighting a Swimfan for the rights to his own name. Best: Cena Vs. Owens II 1. I think the Cena/Owens rematch was a little better than their first encounter, which absolutely makes it one of the best WWE matches of the first half of the year. It was more or less the best-possible Ring Of Honor or PWG main-event: tons of kickouts and finisher killing, but timed and paced against the ebb and flow of the crowd for maximum impact. It's a WWE veteran taking what works on the indies and optimizing it for a WWE audience. That's a beautiful thing. 2. It also told a very good story, and helped to put over Owens in a way the first match didn't. The first match had this whole "what's gonna happen" thing to it, with Cena's history of iffy interactions with new talent being weighed against Owens' momentum, and the contrasting pros and cons of going in either direction. Here, the rivalry has been established and the stage is set: Cena is the cagey, aging WWE veteran and Owens is the young(er), upstart indie veteran. It's Big Match John treating a newer guy like a rookie, whether he's actually "new" or not. Owens keeps beating Cena up, putting him down and hitting him with his own moves. Cena keeps popping back up and fighting back, because he Never Gives Up, and also because that's how John Cena wrestles. We've never been able to tell if it's on purpose, or just him forgetting that wrestling moves are supposed to hurt longer than 10 seconds after they've happened. Cena hits two Attitude Adjustments that don't end the match, and getting mad at the ref for it. Owens keeps fighting back, showing that Cena was right about him also operating under a corrupted version of the Never Give Up ethos, and BMJ has to pull out brand new moves to keep up. Eventually it takes Cena's big combo of the springboard stunner into an immediate Attitude Adjustment to keep Owens down. It puts Owens over because the entire match was neck-and-neck, Cena had to go to great lengths to pull it out, and despite Cole's insistence that JOHN CENA IS ACTUALLY THE IMPRESSIVE ONE, Owens showed that he's not a fluke. He's positioned as an actual threat for the future, and not like a Monster Of The Week. There were a couple of issues, though: 1. Cena deciding that everything's cool and wanting to shake Owens' hand and show him respect after the match is the most heel shit I've ever seen. Cena has been saying for months that all he wanted was for a young guy to step up, accept his challenge, defeat him fair and square in the middle of the ring and prove that he's the future. Owens shows up, steps up, accepts the challenge and beats Cena clean as a whistle. A rematch is made before Cena's even out of the ring, and his response isn't "thank you for making my prophecy come true," it's "YOU AREN'T A MAN BECAUSE YOU ONLY BEAT ME ONCE, TRY DOING IT AGAIN." He's a video game offering you continues because he wants you to keep playing. He never expects you to actually remove the arcade machine and replace him with a newer game. That's why I loved Owens' post-match attack so much. Cena f*cking deserved it, man. Owens as a pissed-off hypocrite shithead dad should be the most booable thing in the world, but he always seems like he's right. Cena can only respect you if he beats you? What kind of nonsense is that? That's caring more about keeping your spot than any of the ideas you preach. Lift his ass up and toss his kidneys into the apron. 2. A+ for effort and all, but yo, that is the worst Code Red I've ever seen. 3. Also, how're you gonna take an apron powerbomb and sell it like you sprained your ankle? Best: Sign Of The Night Nobody who speaks German could be evil! Best/Worst: And Now We're ... Wait, The Prime Time Players Won? Are We Gonna ... No? Okay, Sure, Whatever The main event has go to 15 minutes too long, so the tag team championship match just kinda happens and ends on the first hot tag. The pre-match promo with Xavier Woods getting angry about the New Day Sucks chants and being forced to clap to deal with it is amazing, as is Big E finding every available opportunity to work the clap into his moveset. I can't imagine why WWE would want to take the tag titles off The New Day this early into their run, especially when all three guys are getting into a groove and improving dramatically as the weeks go on, but yeah, Darren takes the heat, Titus tags in and it's over. I'm disappointed that we didn't get more, but honestly I'm happy to see the Prime Time Players get some recognition. They've been slowly getting better for years, and they've found a nice dynamic with Darren as the Ricky Morton and Titus as some hybrid of Robert Gibson and Rick Steiner. He doesn't even really wrestle matches, he just comes in dog-yelling and picking people up to throw them. He's like Darren Young's Limit Break, and I'm kinda super into it. So yeah. A missed opportunity at greatness, maybe, but the promise of other greatness in the future. Let's build something on this, and really go somewhere with the tag titles for once. You've got a bunch of hungry guys looking for an opportunity and an Intercontinental Championship division that can't put on more than 5 minutes of a match without completely falling apart. Paste together some tag teams and let's do a damn thing. Worst (Sorry): A Great 15-Minute Match That Takes 36 Important disclaimer you may have already scrolled past without reading to get to our comments section: Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose are both very good at their jobs, I like them as performers (even though I want to throw Dean Ambrose The Character into a volcano) and I like that WWE's making at least some small attempt to position guys who could actually constitute their "future" into positions of prominence. Watching Tyler Black and Jon Moxley main-event WWE pay-per-views is still the weirdest, best thing. The problem -- for me, I should clarify, not to suggest that it's everybody's problem -- is that none of the Rollins/Ambrose one-on-one matches are very good. The Hell in a Cell match was overbooked to hell and ended with a spooky ghost lantern. This match is an AMAZING 15 minute match that takes 36 to happen, and the legitimately great stuff like those buckle bombs into the security railing are padded by 5-minute intervals of nonsense. It took them so long to set up some stuff (the dive spot with the ladder was especially rough), Dean's selling of the leg was suspect at best and kinda looked like Frankenstein's foot fell asleep, and the gimmick finish could've happened at like minute 19 and had the same impact. Did Dean need to no-sell a Liger Bomb onto a ladder covered in chairs? So yeah, I didn't enjoy it. There's a lot (a lot) of stuff about it to like, but like 25 minutes into it I just wanted it to be over. Rollins finally gets a one-on-one win over Ambrose without any bullshit, but there's still bullshit because he only won via technicality. It makes Rollins look like a worm during his speech about how he's the greatest champion ever, sure, but that's really all it does. Ambrose looks like a guy who can't get the job done and always loses via a goof. He got distracted by a ghost! He tried to hit somebody with a TV but it exploded! He pulled down the belt in a ladder match but dropped it! I kinda wish Sheamus had cashed in while they were fighting in the crowd, calmly walked up the ladder that was already set up in the middle of the ring and nonchalantly pulled down the belt. Best: Top 10 Comments Of The Night Welcome....to Ladders (Greendale Class Cheers) Sammy Davis Jr. I'm crying and John Cena hasn't even won yet. Need a Money In The Bank winner? Why not Zoidberg? wife just walks in from running errands, "they still climbing the ladder?" Hunter: "I'm back! Why did Vince suddenly have a craving for a pizza from the other side of town?" Stephanie: "Honey, you better sit down..." Hunter: "Vince changed the match to give Cena the win didn't he?" Out of all the pay per views, that was a good Raw. Danny Lightning Jerry: "I think all women secretly hate each other." JBL: "It's not a secret, it's written on the wall in the writer's room." [cut to the Cena/Bella house in the middle of Business Time] "ROLL OVER" "TO THE LEFT" "VERTICAL SUPLEX" What a tribute. A Busty Finish. Mr. Royal Rumble, TheCensoredMSol The first episode of Swerved is just hidden cameras of us sitting in our houses watching this pay-per-view. Thanks, everybody. BATTLEGROUND STARTS RIGHT NOW! ]]> https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/the-best-and-worst-of-wwe-money-in-the-bank-2015/feed/ 104 cena-vs-owens brandonstroud WWE Money in the Bank 2015 Brie Bella Twin Magic Paige Twin Magic Money in the Bank The Cena The Sign Money in the Bank The Best And Worst Of WWE Raw 6/8/15: Lana Turns Heel https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/the-best-and-worst-of-wwe-raw-6815-lana-turns-heel/ https://uproxx.com/prowrestling/the-best-and-worst-of-wwe-raw-6815-lana-turns-heel/#comments Tue, 09 Jun 2015 19:15:07 +0000 http://uproxx.com/?p=1007151 Last week's column featured a lengthy thing about how close the John Cena vs. Kevin Owens feud had come to creative honesty , and how it had totally chickened out. Cena's statement about how his marketable tenet ("never give up") and the passion and emotions that made Kevin Owens claw his way up from the independents for a decade and explode NXT are one in the same is powerful. It connects characters. It connects generations. It says that if Cena is WWE's big phony representation of garbage pandering, the message he panders is the one that breathes life into the wrestling business and creates superstars. The thing we hate and the thing we love are the same . That's the story. Instead, it became "Kevin Owens beat me at Elimination Chamber but I'm great and he isn't a real man." Cena really emphasized the "real man" stuff. It was ... disappointing, but not unexpected. I know you expect a certain amount of reverence and understanding when you read these jokey, 8,000 word rants about Raw, but sometimes I have to be honest: I looked up at my screen during this, saw Dolph Ziggler and Kane in the ring and realized I'd completely spaced out and missed the entire setup. I had no idea wrestling was happening. That's not a good sign, is it? Best: The New Day Worst: ... Are Not Enough To Make This Interesting Crowd: BOOOOOOOOO! The Real Birdman Dolph: *wipes away tears* Lana: "Don't cry, it's nothing really" Dolph: "Its not that, its just you, you sold a two foot fall like you had been shot, I'm so proud"

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TeleSur | - - Sarkozy has categorically denied receiving any campaign funding from the North African country. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was detained by police officers early Tuesday, Reuters reported. The ex head of state was being questioned by magistrates in relation to allegations he received US$61 million in funding for his 2007 election [...] TeleSur | - - Circulating "violent messages that incite terrorism or pornography or seriously harm human dignity" is a crime punishable in France by up to three years' imprisonment. France's National Assembly has lifted far-right leader Marine Le Pen's immunity from prosecution after she posted pictures on Twitter of Islamic State (IS) atrocities. The decision [...] TeleSur Macron's visit to Iran would be the first by a French head of state or government since 1976. Widening transatlantic divisions are coming into focus as traditional U.S. allies are recoiling at U.S. President Donald Trump's attempts to undermine the nuclear deal with Iran. The divide was underscored Sunday as French President Emmanuel Macron [...] By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - French President Emmanuel Macron and his American counterpart Donald J. Trump consulted on a number of bilateral issues on Wednesday, including cooperation in Syria and Iraq. Trump says he was in France to attend Bastille Day and commemorate the centenary of the entry of the US [...]

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Photo: Getty Images On October 11th, President Donald Trump tweeted that if NBC was going to continue being so mean to him, he could simply have his subordinates "challenge their License," adding that adversarial media was "Bad for country!" In a second tweet, the president claimed that "Network news has become so partisan, distorted and fake that licenses must be challenged, and if appropriate, revoked," in what was apparently some very confused reference to either the long-defunct Fairness Doctrine or the still extant Equal Time rule. The Fairness Doctrine was an Federal Communications Commission policy requiring broadcasters air material relevant to the public interest and devote time to explaining opposing viewpoints--which has not been enforced for decades on First Amendment grounds. It did not require people to be nice to the president, though Trump's blatantly authoritarian call to restrict the broadcast rights of his opponents was met with unseemly silence by FCC chairman Ajit Pai. Pai, whose anti-net neutrality stance has earned him the ire of most of the internet, finally stood up to the president somewhat on Tuesday and said the FCC would not be following his orders, Ars Technica reported . At a Mercatus Center telecom law conference, Pai told the Wall Street Journal 's Greg Ip he did not have that power: I believe in the First Amendment. The FCC under my leadership will stand for the First Amendment. And under the law, the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast. As Ars Technica noted, Democratic lawmakers and other free speech groups had been pressuring Pai to say something about the matter since the original tweets on October 11th, and were not satisfied he merely restated the FCC's powers under law. A Politico article from Monday explained Pai may have felt like publicly responding to Trump would risk getting the FCC bogged down in the White House's ever-spreading swamp of feuds . But the FCC is a nominally independent agency, and Pai does not report to the president. So depending on how charitable one wants to be, Pai's refusal to engage could be refusing to take Trump's bait, an attempt to avoid being distracted from or weighing down his already controversial agenda, or something entirely less savory. Either way, it's not exactly encouraging. Regardless, Pai never had the power to shut down NBC or any other network. The FCC licenses individual stations , not networks, and many of them are owned by massive media conglomerates which stand to benefit from business-friendly oversight regardless. [ Ars Technica ]

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Khizr Khan, father of late Army Capt. Humayun Khan, spoke about the heroism of his son, who sacrificed his life for his country while serving in Iraq in 2004. One of the most poignant moments of the 2016 Democratic National Convention came on its final night when the father of a fallen American Muslim soldier took the stage to deliver the most dignified indictment of Donald Trump to date . "Our son Humayun had dreams ... of being a military lawyer, but he put those dreams aside the day he sacrificed his life to save the lives of his fellow soldiers," Khizr Khan said, standing next to his wife. "Hillary Clinton was right when she called my son 'the best of America.' If it was up to Donald Trump, he never would have been in America." He also called out Trump for smearing the name of Muslims and slammed his Nazi-style proposal to ban Muslim immigrants from entering the country and how the Republican presidential nominee insults other minorities and women. Read More Trump's reaction to the speech was as crass as expected. He spent the entire weekend attacking the parents of the late U.S. army captain. What's more, he went as low as questioning the silence of Ghazala Khan, Hamayun's mother, on the DNC stage, implying she wasn't allowed to speak during the speech because she is Muslim. People over the internet have been bashing Trump for his below the belt response. Donald Trump is "truly shameless" to attack Muslim Khizr Khan and his wife for repudiating the former reality TV... https://t.co/g2AuXxl50c -- Nordic News Center (@Sthlmekot) July 31, 2016 Trump's smear of Ghazala Khan is despicable. And if you don't agree, you're despicable. https://t.co/7RBlRiurRW -- Bret Stephens (@StephensWSJ) July 31, 2016 John Oliver: Trump's comments about Khizr Khan make him a "damaged, sociopathic narcissist" https://t.co/ddSg1lE1VM pic.twitter.com/4YooEfBA1T -- The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) August 1, 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's campaign spokeswoman Karen Finney also responded: Trump is truly shameless to attack the family of an American hero. Many thanks to the Khan family for your sacrifice, we stand with you. -- Karen Finney (@finneyk) July 30, 2016 Clinton herself criticized Trump's rhetoric while traveling in Ashland, Ohio. According to her, his argument with Khizr and Ghazala Khan proved what she's been saying all along -- he's "temperamentally unfit and unqualified" to be president of the United States. "Well, he called Mexicans rapists and criminals, he said a federal judge was unqualified because he had Mexican heritage, someone born in the neighboring state of Indiana. He called women pigs, he mocked a reporter with a disability," Clinton said. Her running mate, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, chimed in that he also "ridiculed a POW, John McCain." "That's right,' Clinton agreed. "And I mean, any one of those things is so offensive, and then to launch an attack as he did on Captain Khan's mother, a Gold Star mother, who stood there on that stage with her husband honoring the sacrifice of their son,"Clinton continued. "I don't know where the bottom is," she said . He did get a response from both the parents as well. "Donald Trump has asked why I did not speak at the Democratic convention. He said he would like to hear from me. Here is my answer to Donald Trump: Because without saying a thing, all the world, all America, felt my pain. I am a Gold Star mother. Whoever saw me felt me in their heart," Ghazala Khan wrote in The Washington Post. "Donald Trump said I had nothing to say. I do. My son Humayun Khan, an Army captain, died 12 years ago in Iraq. He loved America, where we moved when he was 2 years old. He had volunteered to help his country, signing up for the ROTC at the University of Virginia. This was before the attack of Sept. 11, 2001. He didn't have to do this, but he wanted to," she went on. She went on to explain how as a parent, she didn't want her son to get hurt and kept asking him to be careful and not be a "hero." His response according to her was, "Mom, these are my soldiers, these are my people. I have to take care of them." She then tackled Trump's criticism of her silence, "I cannot walk into a room with pictures of Humayun. For all these years, I haven't been able to clean the closet where his things are -- I had to ask my daughter-in-law to do it. Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could? Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak? "Donald Trump said that maybe I wasn't allowed to say anything. That is not true. My husband asked me if I wanted to speak, but I told him I could not. My religion teaches me that all human beings are equal in God's eyes. Husband and wife are part of each other; you should love and respect each other so you can take care of the family. "When Donald Trump is talking about Islam, he is ignorant. If he studied the real Islam and Koran, all the ideas he gets from terrorists would change, because terrorism is a different religion. "Donald Trump said he has made a lot of sacrifices. He doesn't know what the word sacrifice means." Her husband, Khizr Khan, also responded to Trump's rhetoric saying that he has a "black soul," and lacks empathy and compassion. "He is a black soul, and this is totally unfit for the leadership of this country," Khan said . "The love and affection that we have received affirms that our grief -- that our experience in this country has been correct and positive. The world is receiving us like we have never seen. They have seen the blackness of his character, of his soul." "Two things are absolutely necessary in any leader or any person who aspires, wishes, to be a leader. That is moral compass and second is empathy," he added. Trump's VP candidate Mike Pence delivered a formal statement , which appeared as a conspicuous damage control attempt. Here's how it went: There was one glaring mistake in Pence's "clarification" : 2 things about this appalling statement: 1) Khan died 4 years before Obama took office. 2) Pence voted for the war. https://t.co/xgOGIWsZZl -- Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) August 1, 2016 But Trump, being Trump, isn't seeing things that way. He feels victimized and therefore rightful in his attack: 2 things about this appalling statement: 1) Khan died 4 years before Obama took office. 2) Pence voted for the war. https://t.co/xgOGIWsZZl -- Mark Harris (@MarkHarrisNYC) August 1, 2016 I was viciously attacked by Mr. Khan at the Democratic Convention. Am I not allowed to respond? Hillary voted for the Iraq war, not me! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 31, 2016 Mr. Khan, who does not know me, viciously attacked me from the stage of the DNC and is now all over T.V. doing the same - Nice! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2016

Khizr Khan, father of late Army Capt. Humayun Khan, spoke about the heroism of his son, who sacrificed his life for his country while serving in Iraq in 2004

re: #1 The Vicious Babushka Yep, already corrected. All these dictators look alike. 3 thedopefishlives Dec 17, 2016 * 6:29:04pm down 2 up report That's Lenin, not Stalin. Woot! I got one right! 4 The Vicious Babushka Dec 17, 2016 * 6:29:42pm down 6 up report Here are some utterly horrible photos of Trump. DO NOT TWEET! Stalin is inside the Trump one. 6 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 6:30:25pm down 15 up report 7 thedopefishlives Dec 17, 2016 * 6:31:44pm down 0 up report re: #4 The Vicious Babushka Ooh, he's going to get you for that, just you wait. 8 The Vicious Babushka Dec 17, 2016 * 6:31:53pm down 18 up report I have a Russian Leaders Matryoshka set that I got in Moscow in 2007. It has Putin, Yeltsin, Gorbachev, Stalin and a teeny tiny Lenin. I keep it on display with my South Park Matryoshka set. Putin between Kenny and Kyle. 9 thedopefishlives Dec 17, 2016 * 6:34:04pm down 1 up report re: #8 The Vicious Babushka I have a Russian Leaders Matryoshka set that I got in Moscow in 2007. It has Putin, Yeltsin, Gorbachev, Stalin and a teeny tiny Lenin. I keep it on display with my South Park Matryoshka set. Putin between Kenny and Kyle. Gorbachev? Really? I would've expected that Russians had particular disdain for that particular leader. Khruschev, maybe. 10 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 6:39:01pm down 7 up report Almost 0deg F at my twenty. We'll go through 30 pounds of pellets in the pellet stove tonight. Brr. 11 thedopefishlives Dec 17, 2016 * 6:39:59pm down 5 up report Almost 0deg F at my twenty. We'll go through 30 pounds of pellets in the pellet stove tonight. Brr. It's already below 0 here, and rapidly plummeting. I'm just so glad I have the furnace fixed. And I've ordered an upgrade kit for my furnace to change the air filter to a more modern style and do away with the annoying pleat combs that are all broken in my current air filter. 12 The Vicious Babushka Dec 17, 2016 * 6:42:25pm down 5 up report Gorbachev? Really? I would've expected that Russians had particular disdain for that particular leader. Khruschev, maybe. Putin, Yeltsin & Gorby were the most recent leaders in 2007. The Stalin & Lenin figures were probably standard. Most popular Matryoshka sets contain only 5 figures. There are some more expensive sets that contain up to 20 figures. I'd like to get a set to match my avi: an angry Babushka. (the avi I use is Photoshopped) 13 thedopefishlives Dec 17, 2016 * 6:44:37pm down 0 up report re: #12 The Vicious Babushka That's fair enough. I just assumed they'd keep with the Soviet theme and put Khrushchev in place of Gorbachev. After all, the Soviet empire collapsed under Gorbachev, but Khrushchev was pounding the table. 14 stpaulbear Dec 17, 2016 * 6:45:25pm down 5 up report I'm old enough to remember when Amazon music recommendations were stuff I might actually be interested in and not just stuff they want to sell. 15 Dave In Austin Dec 17, 2016 * 6:47:17pm down 2 up report re: #4 The Vicious Babushka Here are some utterly horrible photos of Trump. DO NOT TWEET! [Embedded content] Looks like Michael Moore's older brother 16 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 6:47:48pm down 3 up report re: #12 The Vicious Babushka Putin, Yeltsin & Gorby were the most recent leaders in 2007. The Stalin & Lenin figures were probably standard. Most popular Matryoshka sets contain only 5 figures. There are some more expensive sets that contain up to 20 figures. I'd like to get a set to match my avi: an angry Babushka. (the avi I use is Photoshopped) An angry Babushka set like your avi would be awesome. Hint hint to your kids to pitch in & hire an artist. 17 Eric The Fruit Bat Dec 17, 2016 * 6:53:12pm down 1 up report re: #1 The Vicious Babushka Wasn't Bannon a fan of Lenin? 18 Unshaken Defiance Dec 17, 2016 * 6:56:16pm down 3 up report I'm so old I remember when presidents-elect didn't interfere in US foreign policy with dumb, fatuous, egomaniacal bullshit. All that really takes is 8 years old. https://t.co/BxgLp0hfsf 20 Barefoot Grin Dec 17, 2016 * 6:58:30pm down 5 up report I'm sorry to post the same stupid joke, but Trump as a nesting doll is perfect: so full of himself. 21 Barefoot Grin Dec 17, 2016 * 7:02:27pm down 5 up report And something else I've written before after Pres. Obama's remarks about Russia: he's right; there are incredibly brilliant Russian people, Russia has a rich history, but right now it is a petrostate that basically makes nothing, and Putin is in charge. China has huge problems, too. But it is a dynamic state that will be both adversary and ally as any important state will be. That's where our strategic expertise is most needed--In north and southeast Asia. Fuck Putin. 22 Charles Johnson Dec 17, 2016 * 7:08:12pm down 5 up report Twitter is a pro-Trump egg-fest today. [Embedded content] The CT in me (but at this point, what is CT) thinks this is a Bannon plan to propagandize the whole fucking world in favor of the takeover. 24 Charles Johnson Dec 17, 2016 * 7:14:34pm down 7 up report Donald Trump's Twitter account is a danger to the entire United States. He's reckless and irresponsible and cannot be trusted. 25 Interesting Times Dec 17, 2016 * 7:20:08pm down 13 up report This may be the most damning evidence yet: pic.twitter.com/F4MnhmqUMN 26 Charles Johnson Dec 17, 2016 * 7:26:21pm down 10 up report Trump's egomania and paranoid narcissism is so out of control, he'll tweet anything as soon as it comes into his mind. If you're a random Twitter user, that's annoying. If you're the president-elect of the US, it's potentially catastrophic. 27 lockjawcanbefun Dec 17, 2016 * 7:26:49pm down 6 up report At first glance, I thought that those were those inflatable punch clown thingies. 28 Shiplord Kirel Dec 17, 2016 * 7:31:15pm down 4 up report It's 20 degrees here at the Conspiracy Compound right now, which is damn cold for this neck of the woods (such as they are). My agents behind wingnut lines in Lubbock report that it is 10 there, with a low of possibly 4. There is even a chance of hitting the 0 mark for the first time since 1987. 29 Shiplord Kirel Dec 17, 2016 * 7:33:47pm down 8 up report How cold is it? I just heard a pitiful scratching and whimpering at the front door. It was a brass monkey some thoughtless owner had left out to freeze, and worse. I brought the poor creature in and gave it a blanket and a place by the fire. 30 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 7:35:47pm down 3 up report New avi. Been a while. Fuck Trump & this shit we are going to be dealing with. 31 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 7:37:45pm down 12 up report 11:54AM-- Trump Comms Director credits Trump for getting China to return drone. 7:59PM-- Trump says China can keep it. pic.twitter.com/wqckUce7yl Entire fields of political science have to restart from scratch https://t.co/xAuJgJbZpt 32 Kilroy was here Dec 17, 2016 * 7:40:50pm down 7 up report I know Back to the Future's Biff is based on a younger Trump, but dang. 33 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 7:41:27pm down 12 up report If you're having a bad day here's a GIF of Charlie Brown meeting Snoopy for the first time pic.twitter.com/rSrdCUK7pB 34 bratwurst Dec 17, 2016 * 7:42:11pm down 4 up report New product idea: large wall mounted tablet device designed ONLY to receive and display Trump tweets in the homes of the "economically pressured". Call it a telescreen, real patriotic marketing campaign. Just trying to make some lemonade here. 35 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Dec 17, 2016 * 7:43:18pm down 19 up report Observation: Trump's braying tough guy thing on Twitter is very much like the internal propaganda shoveled by tinpot dictators: even when it's "addressed" to foreign nations, it's really directed at an internal audience: keeping the believers the proper level of smug/angry, and the fearful the correct level of fearful. This is...profoundly stupid...since we're THE superpower, not a barely-making-it petrostate ruled by a guy festooned with fake campaign ribbons. Being boring and less-dramatic than the alternative regional powers is part of our power. But we can't get smug about this. This kind of posturing to maintain a national ferment is usually paired with shit-tons of corruption, scapegoating of the "Snowball fucked this up, not us" variety, and encouraging internal us-them divisions. Bread, circuses, and cathartic acts of misdirected cruelty. It's not genius strategy--it's super fucking basic in a Bugs Bunny cartoon way--but it still works temporarily while the people actually in the kleptocracy strip the fucking cupboards. Long term, it's as healthy for the body politic as open-pit mining asbestos. 36 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 7:46:18pm down 1 up report re: #35 The Ghost of a Flea You are right, this is a PLAN. 37 Weaselone Dec 17, 2016 * 7:46:25pm down 7 up report [Embedded content] Same with J-Schools Honestly, I think at the moment that I hate Trump's propagandists and the national media more than Trump himself. 38 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Dec 17, 2016 * 7:48:30pm down 11 up report re: #36 Stanley Sea It s the most basic of scams, and its a direct continuation of the grift being run by GOP elected officials and the dungpile of ideologues and "pundits." It doesn't need to be a conspiracy, it's not even a heist. It's a bullshitter bullshitting because he never stops working the marks. ETA to clarify: the current GOP leadership includes: (1) people who are wholly cynical profiteers (2) ideologues that see opportunity to rebuild society in their image after shit goes bad, and thus won't stop the scammers (3) people that have no cynicism/idealism spectrum because they only care about themselves. All of the above are always a problem in any organization, and by no means exclusive to the Republican Party. However, the current Republican Party contains almost no conservatism ( in the sense of light-handed goverment, because it simply shifts power opportunistically--see "state's rights"), no conservatism (in the sense of traditional values, since it re-invents "tradition" to its need), and no conservatism (in the sense of genuine thrift or efficiency of allocation of resources). 39 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 7:51:53pm down 7 up report OT, hahahahaha SO fits the stereotype brah When God gives you good looks but no brains. pic.twitter.com/bvf4ZAFhOP 40 Cheechako Dec 17, 2016 * 7:59:39pm down 6 up report re: #35 The Ghost of a Flea Observation: Trump's braying tough guy thing on Twitter is very much like the internal propaganda shovelled by tinpot dictators: even when it's "addressed" to foreign nations, it's really directed at an internal audience: keeping the believers the proper level of smug/angry, and the fearful the correct level of fearful. This is...profoundly stupid...since we're THE superpower, not a barely-making it petrostate ruled by a guy festooned with fake campaign ribbons. Being boring and less-dramatic than the alternative regional powers is part of our power. But we can't guy smug about this. This kind of posturing to maintain a national ferment is usually paired with shit-tons of corruption, scapegoating of the "Snowball fucked this up, not us" variety, and encouraging internal us-them divisions. Bread, circuses, and cathartic acts of misdirected cruelty. It's not genius strategy--it's super fucking basic in a Bugs Bunny cartoon way--but it still works temporarily while the people actual in the kleptocracy strip the fucking cupboards. Long term, it's as healthy for the body politic as strip-mining asbestos. I think a big part of trumps strategy is to stir up animosity toward China so he can "stiff" the hugh amount of $'s he owes Chinese banks. He's creating a position for himself whereby he can claim China is causing all types of problems for the US and therefore he's going to walk away from his debt to punish them. 41 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 8:02:21pm down 5 up report re: #40 Cheechako I think a big part of trumps strategy is to stir up animosity toward China so he can "stiff" the hugh amount of $'s he owes Chinese banks. He's creating a position for himself whereby he can claim China is causing all types of problems for the US and therefore he's going to walk away from his debt to punish them. War threats are just going to be a side dish. 42 Cheechako Dec 17, 2016 * 8:17:30pm down 9 up report re: #41 Stanley Sea War threats are just going to be a side dish. Trump thinks only of himself and how much money he has. Doesn't give a damn about anything else. Notice how many "true" friends he has....just his family and sometimes I wonder about them. 43 Unshaken Defiance Dec 17, 2016 * 8:28:09pm down 1 up report As a new President he will have endless friends. Should he take that one step too far, whatever that may be (shudder) he will have none. 44 Dave In Austin Dec 17, 2016 * 8:30:34pm down 3 up report Watch how the world makes fun of Donald Trump in funny and sometimes weird satire https://t.co/Y532ztIZ6W via @qz 45 Cheechako Dec 17, 2016 * 8:32:42pm down 4 up report re: #43 Unshaken Defiance As a new President he will have endless friends . Should he take that one step too far, whatever that may be (shudder) he will have none. His new "endless friends" will just be opportunists taking advantage of him. He will never learn how separate the two. You are correct...when things turn to shit he will be abandoned and tossed aside. 46 Dave In Austin Dec 17, 2016 * 8:34:21pm down 3 up report SNL is slaying it. With a big helping of Vlad. 47 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 8:37:38pm down 1 up report Trump thinks only of himself and how much money he has. Doesn't give a damn about anything else. Notice how many "true" friends he has....just his family and sometimes I wonder about them. He was always a pariah in cultured upper East side NYC. Until he started promising them zero taxes. Some came on board. Ross/Mnuchin etc. Very very gross. I bet they still cannot stand him but are so fucking greedy. 48 Unshaken Defiance Dec 17, 2016 * 8:39:54pm down 8 up report Los Angeles has no serious weather problem tonight, all respects and best wishes to those in seriously cold zones. Yikes. Shiplord in Texas at 20f? Anyway it will hit the low thirties here so we made a few adjustments. 49 Cheechako Dec 17, 2016 * 8:40:15pm down 7 up report Based on trumps knowledge, skills, and abilities...he is a very small fish in a very big ocean. The sharks will strip him to the bones. 50 Unshaken Defiance Dec 17, 2016 * 8:41:15pm down 1 up report Based on trumps knowledge, skills, and abilities...he is a very small fish in a very big ocean. The sharks will strip him to the bones. We really are counting on our institutions to save us. 51 Cheechako Dec 17, 2016 * 8:42:36pm down 2 up report re: #50 Unshaken Defiance We really are counting on our institutions to save us. The House will be one of the bigger sharks. 52 GlutenFreeJesus Dec 17, 2016 * 8:42:50pm down 3 up report Sometimes cats are sweet. Other times, they absorb the power of a ritual stone so they can finally overthrow and destroy their masters. pic.twitter.com/nuBcLO3oJL re: #48 Unshaken Defiance It's 43 here in the inland empire. Saying it will go to 29!!!!!!!! holy fuck. 54 Eric The Fruit Bat Dec 17, 2016 * 8:44:58pm down 2 up report re: #50 Unshaken Defiance We really are counting on our institutions to save us. With the current crop of GOP (especially the Suicide Caucus) controlling all three barnches of government? Let's see what happens Monday.... 55 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 17, 2016 * 8:45:04pm down 1 up report At first glance, I thought that those were those inflatable punch clown thingies. You could sell Trump versions of those and make a fortune. 56 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 8:45:38pm down 2 up report -18deg C right now in the near-upper Colorado River basin. (Colorado, not Texas) 57 retired cynic Dec 17, 2016 * 8:46:28pm down 1 up report re: #53 Stanley Sea It's 43 here in the inland empire. Saying it will go to 29!!!!!!!! holy fuck. We're at 13, with a good breeze making it feel like 2 below. With snow drifting on top of ice. My thoughts are with everyone that has to be out tonight!!! 58 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 8:46:41pm down 13 up report Clearest indication yet that Canada will outlast all other Western liberal democracies. pic.twitter.com/cF1zVIHqmN Clearest indication yet that Canada will outlast all other Western liberal democracies. 59 Dave In Austin Dec 17, 2016 * 8:46:57pm down 9 up report . @realDonaldTrump apologizes to Putin for not getting him a X-mas gift. Putin says, "Please Mr. Trump, you are the gift." So true! @nbcsnl pic.twitter.com/sA99YpcoVC re: #58 Stanley Sea I love my country so much...and miss it dearly. 61 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 8:49:45pm down 1 up report re: #60 Eclectic Cyborg I love my country so much...and miss it dearly. I knew you'd like that one. 62 Cheechako Dec 17, 2016 * 8:53:57pm down 4 up report AK panhandle weather report. Currently 35* with light rain coming down on about 10" of old snow. The past 2 weeks have been 5* to 24* and mostly sunny. The bad part, on sunny days, daylight is now 6 and a half hours long. Seasonal Adjustment Disorder (SAD) is becoming infectious. 63 Eric The Fruit Bat Dec 17, 2016 * 8:57:46pm down 2 up report Well gang, it's Toonami time! See ya tomorrow! 64 mmmirele Dec 17, 2016 * 8:57:48pm down 4 up report Some of you probably saw that a video of OU player Joe Mixon slugging an 18 YO woman (who, granted, pushed and slapped him) came out yesterday as the result of a suit by local Oklahoma press. Because of the way Mixon hit her, the woman hit the table and then the floor, and her jaw was shattered and had to be wired shut. She's graduating this month, no thanks to all this drama. So apparently Mixon's celebrity pastor, one Carl Lentz of Hillsong NYC, told TMZ that people should forgive Mixon. I tweeted my comments, I think you can follow them here. For the record, there is a Hillsong franchise 2 miles from my house in Arizona, and I actually went there after the acquisition. (Yes, I'm using business terms, because that's the way I see it.) Not because I wanted to, but because someone I knew wanted to see if the auditorium could really fit 2,000 people. (Answer: yes.) I decided I would never attend again, because it was SO NOISY I couldn't even hear my phone ring when the pastor was preaching and I just needed earplugs. (ETA: Yes, someone called me during church. No, I didn't answer. But the only reason I knew he was calling was I was holding the phone in my hand and it vibrated as it rang.) I don't get why, of all the people who tweet at Carl Lentz, he selected my tweets to respond to. Justin Bieber's Pastor Says 'Forgive Joe Mixon' https://t.co/SbwSjEaJt5 @TMZ Really? I wonder if @carllentzNYC would feel the same if Joe Mixon had slugged his wife and broke her jaw. *rolls eyes* @mmmirele @TMZ I understand why U would think that. u can add my wife/2 daughters to that hypothetical, I still believe in forgiveness. @carllentzNYC @TMZ *sigh* I just wish you would remember that a woman got slugged and had her jaw wired for six months. Not consequence free 65 wheat-dogg Dec 17, 2016 * 9:06:00pm down 3 up report No response yet from Trump about SNL and Alec Baldwin. I wonder if they took his phone away. Or maybe he's sleeping. 66 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 9:07:58pm down 1 up report re: #65 wheat-dogg He watched. He's sedated or something. 5 am. Just wait. 67 Dave In Austin Dec 17, 2016 * 9:08:14pm down 8 up report Russian journalist critical of Vladimir Putin found dead on his birthday with gunshot wound to his head https://t.co/RzvJmZYVQg 69 GlutenFreeJesus Dec 17, 2016 * 9:11:56pm down 2 up report Yeah. Back in August... possibly coming to the US. 70 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 9:20:39pm down 6 up report This is horrific. We have lost intelligence & common sense in trying to fight terror. You see a normal woman, she's a normal woman. Following protocol is a cop out submission to fascism. I'm APPALLED. Watch the vid. My #TSA patdown went way too far, by @angela_rye https://t.co/ppmck9xPgw 71 Joe Bacon Dec 17, 2016 * 9:26:56pm down 1 up report re: #53 Stanley Sea It's 43 here in the inland empire. Saying it will go to 29!!!!!!!! holy fuck. Just got home from a very long walk in Koreatown/Hancock Park sections of Los Angeles. Cold winds were whipping up. I'm chilled to the bone wondering how I was able to deliver the Pittsburgh Post Gazette when I was a kid! 72 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 9:29:13pm down 0 up report re: #71 Joe Bacon Just got home from a very long walk in Koreatown/Hancock Park sections of Los Angeles. Cold winds were whipping up. I'm chilled to the bone wondering how I was able to deliver the Pittsburgh Post Gazette when I was a kid! You were a kid! easy! 73 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 9:30:09pm down 3 up report re: #70 Stanley Sea Reading the comments to that story, "she was doing her job" "you must comply" Fascism is going to be so easy here. 74 Joe Bacon Dec 17, 2016 * 9:30:57pm down 2 up report re: #64 mmmirele Some of you probably saw that a video of OU player Joe Mixon slugging an 18 YO woman (who, granted, pushed and slapped him) came out yesterday as the result of a suit by local Oklahoma press. Because of the way Mixon hit her, the woman hit the table and then the floor, and her jaw was shattered and had to be wired shut. She's graduating this month, no thanks to all this drama. So apparently Mixon's celebrity pastor, one Carl Lentz of Hillsong NYC, told TMZ that people should forgive Mixon. I tweeted my comments, I think you can follow them here. For the record, there is a Hillsong franchise 2 miles from my house in Arizona, and I actually went there after the acquisition. (Yes, I'm using business terms, because that's the way I see it.) Not because I wanted to, but because someone I knew wanted to see if the auditorium could really fit 2,000 people. (Answer: yes.) I decided I would never attend again, because it was SO NOISY I couldn't even hear my phone ring when the pastor was preaching and I just needed earplugs. (ETA: Yes, someone called me during church. No, I didn't answer. But the only reason I knew he was calling was I was holding the phone in my hand and it vibrated as it rang.) I don't get why, of all the people who tweet at Carl Lentz, he selected my tweets to respond to. [Embedded content] The BS coming out of that pulpit pimp's mouth is yet another reason why churches should be stripped of their tax-exempt status. 75 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 9:34:06pm down 1 up report OK, I was curious. Now I'm definitely going to see I feel happy. I thank @benjpasek ( @pasekandpaul ), mainly, but LA LA LAND is an absolutely lovely, fantastical version of all of the things. 76 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 9:45:09pm down 5 up report Speaking of Trump's misspelled tweet this morning, I have a number of friends I haven't blocked yet on Facebook that voted for Trump. Their postings are sometimes riddled with stupid spelling errors that Trump is known for on Twitter, as Chez Pazienza points out: Before you step up to defend this idiot or merely give him the benefit of the doubt, it should be noted that this is far from the first time Trump's shown us that an elementary school reading level isn't something he has a real mastery of. Just a couple of weeks ago, when Trump was trying to deny the totally true story that he was planning to be involved in the new season of The Apprentice on NBC, he called the report "rediculous." Last January, he wrote that Ted Cruz would "loose" to Hillary Clinton. In March, he tweeted that a series of commercials taking him on were "payed for" by special interest groups. In a gaffe you couldn't make up if you tried, he once called Lawrence O'Donnell one of "the dummer people on television." And of course earlier this year he said it was an "honer" to supposedly win in the post-debate polling. More: thedailybanter.com This reinforces those poor sap Trump voters I know the idea that he's just a regular guy who can't spell really well, just like us! 77 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 17, 2016 * 9:50:56pm down 1 up report re: #70 Stanley Sea I was going to make a Trump joke here but perhaps that's not appropriate at this juncture. 78 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 9:54:17pm down 0 up report re: #77 Eclectic Cyborg I was going to make a Trump joke here but perhaps that's not appropriate at this juncture. Ya, he'd approve. 79 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 9:55:56pm down 6 up report New from GotNwes: Chuck C. Johnson creates yet another Twitter account, suspended yet again https://t.co/0lKqVnW6rI 80 prairiefire Dec 17, 2016 * 10:06:10pm down 1 up report re: #75 Stanley Sea OK, I was curious. Now I'm definitely going to see [Embedded content] 81 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 10:08:02pm down 11 up report Ima staying up to watch. things snl did; THAT pic.twitter.com/RnJWnMHCaw This realness is what is keeping me up at night #snl https://t.co/EdCcgGlzcs I just put a towel in the dryer for my kit. She's on it. 84 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 10:14:55pm down 2 up report Well, look who came down the chimney! #SNL pic.twitter.com/0R9o81HvlY Hillary Clinton still hasn't given up. #SNL pic.twitter.com/0OtUtwGf7n 86 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 10:22:55pm down 3 up report Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Seats finish 18 global months at the Ogden Theater- OMG what music!! pic.twitter.com/wI1puvJz4g My governor at the Ogden Theater in Denver. That's something else. They've classed up the joint quite a bit since the days I went there to see super-loud punk and metal bands. I saw GWAR on that very stage on Halloween, 1998. 87 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 10:25:05pm down 10 up report The marijuana industry has proven to be a prodigious jobs producer https://t.co/kVSoHXPkH4 pic.twitter.com/vAs1XGnkPI this headline made me laugh. it's incredible how the narrative can shift so quickly when other folks partake in something. https://t.co/Y1bp7IBoOy 88 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 10:26:27pm down 10 up report The marijuana industry has proven to be a prodigious jobs producer https://t.co/kVSoHXPkH4 pic.twitter.com/vAs1XGnkPI when will they free all of the black job producers? https://t.co/Y1bp7IBoOy The white system is the system. 90 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 17, 2016 * 10:29:55pm down 0 up report I wonder if Trump will try to censor SNL. 91 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 10:31:43pm down 3 up report I wonder if Trump will try to censor SNL. I wonder if Trump will put Kurt Eichenwald in jail. 92 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 17, 2016 * 10:43:26pm down 3 up report 93 Anymouse Dec 17, 2016 * 10:49:20pm down 3 up report Almost 0deg F at my twenty. We'll go through 30 pounds of pellets in the pellet stove tonight. Brr. We are on our way home, but my wife wanted to take a scenic side trip to Arches National Park (she has been there, I have not), then to Denver to have our car serviced (saves us a trip). It is 3 F now in Nephi, Utah, where we are parked tonight. At home, it is -26 F and expected to rise to -18 by 5 AM MST, with a wind chill of -35. Nephi is looking like the tropics compared to the Nebraska Panhandle. 94 wheat-dogg Dec 17, 2016 * 10:50:21pm down 3 up report Updinged for promoting my blog. I debated whether I should have shared the screencaps I took of his tweets, but then I decided, why bother? 95 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 10:52:25pm down 1 up report re: #94 wheat-dogg I debated whether I should have shared the screencaps I took of his tweets, but then I decided, why bother? You said it yourself, it's the same shit over and over. He's a white supremacist fascist who would have been a great judge in Stalin's kangaroo courts. 96 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 10:53:55pm down 2 up report Never trust a white dude wearing that red hat 97 Anymouse Dec 17, 2016 * 11:03:19pm down 6 up report Speaking of Trump's misspelled tweet this morning, I have a number of friends I haven't blocked yet on Facebook that voted for Trump. Their postings are sometimes riddled with stupid spelling errors that Trump is known for on Twitter, as Chez Pazienza points out: This reinforces those poor sap Trump voters I know the idea that he's just a regular guy who can't spell really well, just like us! This goes along with an interview of Trevor Noah on NPR I heard this morning. Mr. Noah said when he first heard Mr. Trump, when he announced he was running for President, he was convinced Mr. Trump would win. Not because Trevor Noah is a fan of Donald Trump (far from it). It was because the way he spoke was not "elitist" (his word) -- Mr. Trump was speaking in very basic vocabulary and trying to appeal with both his charm (such as it is) and his showmanship to those who are not-well-versed in usage of vocabulary. Mr. Noah noted he'd seen that particular spiel many times in various African dictators when he lived in South Africa, and was convinced it would work just as well here (when you are trying to communicate your political message, you must shoot for the largest voting base - that being those who do not have a large vocabulary -- I'm bringing jobs back [without much of a plan for that] is much easier to communicate than why jobs are difficult to create in the first place and what must be done to create them.) 98 Single-handed sailor Dec 17, 2016 * 11:06:58pm down 7 up report A popular story is told about Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965) when he was running for president in 1952 (or in 1956). Someone heard Stevenson's impressive speech and said, "Every thinking person in America will be voting for you." Stevenson replied, "I'm afraid that won't do--I need a majority." 99 Stanley Sea Dec 17, 2016 * 11:08:55pm down 9 up report Real peace is a moral decision. Negotiated deals and ceasefires are just ways of waiting until violence is profitable again. 100 retired cynic Dec 17, 2016 * 11:11:43pm down 4 up report re: #99 Stanley Sea To be so profound in 140 characters is genius. 101 Anymouse Dec 17, 2016 * 11:12:37pm down 1 up report Our black car is now almost entirely white after two trips across Lake Bonneville (plus the trips over Donner Pass during salting during snowstorms). Just one trip across Lake Bonneville and tonight I felt like I needed an hour soak to get the salt out. I can't imagine what it would have been like to walk that distance with no modern conveniences like bathtubs. When we get to the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Denver, the car will be given a well-deserved bubble bath by them. 102 wheat-dogg Dec 17, 2016 * 11:13:19pm down 9 up report Trump, like Cruz, went to very good schools. Cruz, I would argue, is inherently smarter than Trump, but knows how to play dumb in order to win over his constituency. Still, he uses "big words," but his message is what they want to hear. Trump, OTOH, is dumb. He doesn't have to play at it. I judge him as one of those full-pay rich kids whose grades wre just enough to get into college, where he maintained a "gentleman's C", and then was able to weasel his way into Wharton. There's no evidence he retained any knowledge from college or business school. Plus, he's overly confident in his abilities and very impulsive. So as soon as he thinks of a "smart idea" he acts on it, whether by spending too much on real estate projects or tweeting about critical foreign policy issues. He doesn't think ahead. He doesn't worry about misspellings, or factual errors, because he's never in his entire life had to suffer dire consequences for his mistakes. Remember, this is a guy who slugged his music teacher as a boy. IOW he doesn't have to pretend to be mediocre. He is mediocre by any objective standards. He makes W look statesman-like. 103 Anymouse Dec 17, 2016 * 11:18:54pm down 4 up report We also went to the California Trail Interpretive Center in Nevada today. They have a much nicer centre there than the one in my own home county at Chimney Rock National Monument. The Park Service gives lifetime free admission passes to disabled veterans; I better use it whilst I can, since both our national parks and VA are likely to become resources to plunder by the small "l" libertarians coming into the government. I imagine Arches National Park will look a whole lot better without strip-mining. 104 Anymouse Dec 17, 2016 * 11:21:21pm down 1 up report The so-called "Pizzagate Shooter" pleaded not guilty on all counts today. Wonkette speculates his defence will be fascinating, since he already admitted he did it and was caught in the act. 105 austin_blue Dec 17, 2016 * 11:30:48pm down 8 up report re: #102 wheat-dogg Trump, like Cruz, went to very good schools. Cruz, I would argue, is inherently smarter than Trump, but knows how to play dumb in order to win over his constituency. Still, he uses "big words," but his message is what they want to hear. Trump, OTOH, is dumb. He doesn't have to play at it. I judge him as one of those full-pay rich kids whose grades wre just enough to get into college, where he maintained a "gentleman's C", and then was able to weasel his way into Wharton. There's no evidence he retained any knowledge from college or business school. Plus, he's overly confident in his abilities and very impulsive. So as soon as he thinks of a "smart idea" he acts on it, whether by spending too much on real estate projects or tweeting about critical foreign policy issues. He doesn't think ahead. He doesn't worry about misspellings, or factual errors, because he's never in his entire life had to suffer dire consequences for his mistakes. Remember, this is a guy who slugged his music teacher as a boy. IOW he doesn't have to pretend to be mediocre. He is mediocre by any objective standards. He makes W look statesman-like. I think you may be slightly missing the point. Any decision he makes is correct because it it his. He is the ultimate narcissist. He has surrounded himself with children who have been raised on his omnipotence (whether they believe it or not) to stroke the ego of a megalomaniac. It is why he continues to hold them so close. They are the ultimate codependents and facilitators of his ego. They profit from it. The wives are just chaff. It is really a horribly sick and totally fucked up family dynamic. Welcome to the First Family, 2017 style. 106 goddamnedfrank Dec 17, 2016 * 11:32:14pm down 13 up report The howdah pistol barrel refinishing went pretty well. Now I'm ready to hunt tigers from the back of an elephant. The Laurel Mountain Forge Barrel Brown worked perfectly. I'd previously tried the Birchwood Casey Plum Brown and that process was a fucking nightmare. 107 retired cynic Dec 17, 2016 * 11:33:29pm down 1 up report I'm not a gun person at all, but that is lovely! 108 austin_blue Dec 17, 2016 * 11:33:57pm down 1 up report The howdah pistol barrel refinishing went pretty well. [Embedded content] The Laurel Mountain Forge Barrel Brown worked perfectly. I'd previously tried the Birchwood Casey Plum Brown and that process was a fucking nightmare. Double trigger? 109 retired cynic Dec 17, 2016 * 11:34:47pm down 3 up report re: #105 austin_blue I think you may be slightly missing the point. ... Welcome to the First Family, 2017 style. I think you are both right, just turning in the driveway from different directions. 110 goddamnedfrank Dec 17, 2016 * 11:36:19pm down 2 up report It's a side-by-side 20 gauge muzzle stuffer. I got it from Cabellas something like seven years ago when they were a lot cheaper. 111 austin_blue Dec 17, 2016 * 11:42:17pm down 5 up report re: #109 retired cynic I think you are both right, just turning in the driveway from different directions. Probably so. Books will be written about the dysfunction of this family and Trump's administration, if we are still capable of printing books in its aftermath. There is a distinct possibility that we will revert to an oral tradition until the background radiation decreases to the point that we can recreate an industrial society again. Good times! 112 Anymouse Dec 17, 2016 * 11:42:39pm down 3 up report Well, I'm off to bed. G'night, y'all. I wanted to check in and find out what dumbassery was going on - gaaa, four years of this is a nightmare. As big a theocrat Gov. Pence is, at least he understands how government is supposed to work. Perhaps an asteroid can fix this. 113 goddamnedfrank Dec 17, 2016 * 11:43:54pm down 5 up report I like it because it's as close as you can legally get to a sawed off shotgun and looks pretty intimidating despite how impractical it is. I also upgraded the ignition system from percussion caps to #209 primers. It goes boom with authority and when empty you just reverse it and swing that grip cap into whatever is still standing. 114 William Lewis Dec 17, 2016 * 11:44:54pm down 4 up report Thinking about Trump, i note that today's Google Doodle honors the birthday of Steven Biko. 115 retired cynic Dec 17, 2016 * 11:44:55pm down 0 up report re: #111 austin_blue I dunno. I may never speak again after January 20th, if the meteor doesn't strike. 116 austin_blue Dec 17, 2016 * 11:45:00pm down 1 up report re: #110 goddamnedfrank It's a side-by-side 20 gauge muzzle stuffer. I got it from Cabellas something like seven years ago when they were a lot cheaper. Ah, an excellent riverboat gambling "under the table" gun, then. Percussion caps, I assume? 117 goddamnedfrank Dec 17, 2016 * 11:47:47pm down 4 up report re: #116 austin_blue Ah, an excellent riverboat gambling "under the table" gun, then. Percussion caps, I assume? It's ridiculous but never fails to draw a crowd at the range. Bonus points: it lays down quite a smoke screen. 118 Anymouse Dec 17, 2016 * 11:49:59pm down 7 up report Ivanka Trump Will Not Fix Women's Issues; She Will Distract from Them (goes to Elle Magazine) It starts (but the whole thing is very good): For those of us who overdosed on Disney princess memorabilia growing up, good news: Thanks to Donald Trump and his legion of terrifying yet well-coiffed children, Americans are now closer to living in a monarchy than we have been since 1776. And Ivanka Trump--blond, pretty, well-mannered, given massive amounts of power over the citizenry thanks to nothing but her genetic makeup--is the closest thing we'll get to a princess. Which is how we'll all get to find out: Princesses are terrifying. 119 Dr Lizardo Dec 17, 2016 * 11:51:01pm down 1 up report re: #111 austin_blue Probably so. Books will be written about the dysfunction of this family and Trump's administration, if we are still capable of printing books in its aftermath. There is a distinct possibility that we will revert to an oral tradition until the background radiation decreases to the point that we can recreate an industrial society again. Good times! 120 austin_blue Dec 17, 2016 * 11:52:06pm down 2 up report It's ridiculous but never fails to draw a crowd at the range. Bonus points: it lays down quite a smoke screen. Saw your #113. Sounds like you should wear a bowling glove/brace before firing the damn thing thing. There's a Big Lebowski reference somewhere in there... 121 William Lewis Dec 17, 2016 * 11:54:27pm down 2 up report re: #113 goddamnedfrank I like it because it's as close as you can legally get to a sawed off shotgun and looks pretty intimidating despite how impractical it is. I also upgraded the ignition system from percussion caps to #209 primers. It goes boom with authority and when empty you just reverse it and swing that grip cap into whatever is still standing. Well, a tax stamp will get you one depending on your state's laws. I've considered a SBS on occasion... 122 austin_blue Dec 17, 2016 * 11:54:40pm down 5 up report 123 teleskiguy Dec 17, 2016 * 11:57:21pm down 2 up report 124 austin_blue Dec 18, 2016 * 12:01:17am down 3 up report That's an *old* gun. Well, it's certainly an old STYLE gun. At 3:30 we were at 78 degrees. An hour ago we were at thirty one, with a 20 degree wind chill. Impressive Calgary Express. 125 teleskiguy Dec 18, 2016 * 12:04:00am down 4 up report re: #124 austin_blue At 3:30 we were at 78 degrees. An hour ago we were at thirty one, with a 20 degree wind chill. Impressive Calgary Express. Temperature gradients rarely get more impressive than this. #okwx #txwx pic.twitter.com/oWz5p2VtUP 126 austin_blue Dec 18, 2016 * 12:13:40am down 0 up report [Embedded content] Yup. it's impressive indeed. How's the high country doing with snowfall in your neck of the woods? Is A-basin going to be good this month? (My favorite hill.) 127 teleskiguy Dec 18, 2016 * 12:17:51am down 2 up report re: #126 austin_blue Yup. it's impressive indeed. How's the high country doing with snowfall in your neck of the woods? Is A-basin going to be good this month? (My favorite hill.) This last storm was a good bounty, covered up all the shit on greens, blues, and some blacks in one fell swoop. Two feet plus was not uncommon in a lot of places. A-Basin has opened Pallavicini and a good lot of the lower East Wall. Ought to be good skiing for the holidays. 128 austin_blue Dec 18, 2016 * 12:27:32am down 2 up report re: #127 teleskiguy This last storm was a good bounty, covered up all the shit on greens, blues, and some blacks in one fell swoop. Two feet plus was not uncommon in a lot of places. A-Basin has opened Pallavicini and a good lot of the lower East Wall. Ought to be good skiing for the holidays. My dad was born and raised in Denver and A-basin was his favorite hill. The drop from the top of the hill was a screaming meemie and the entrances to the tree runs were challenging/ deadly. I had a ski snag a covered branch in heavy powder when I was twelve (1968!) and the roto-mats didn't pop and my right ankle was suddenly turned 145 degrees to the right. Ow. I was back on the a hill year later, with my uncles, dad was back for his second tour in the 'nam. 129 Dave In Austin Dec 18, 2016 * 12:33:30am down 2 up report re: #127 teleskiguy This last storm was a good bounty, covered up all the shit on greens, blues, and some blacks in one fell swoop. Two feet plus was not uncommon in a lot of places. A-Basin has opened Pallavicini and a good lot of the lower East Wall. Ought to be good skiing for the holidays. My Nephew has been to A-Basin the last few days. Sez its been awesome 130 austin_blue Dec 18, 2016 * 12:40:30am down 0 up report re: #129 Dave In Austin My Nephew has been to A-Basin the last few days. Sez its been awesome What's the temp out at Lake Travis? I've got 29 on the front porch. 131 Dave In Austin Dec 18, 2016 * 12:47:52am down 1 up report I re: #130 austin_blue What's the temp out at Lake Travis? I've got 29 on the front porch. I'm seeing 25' in Leander but we are actually out by Jonestown and down in a Holler where it's generally a bit cooler. I'm at work right now over by the airport. and the BMS sez 29'. The wind is horrible. 132 austin_blue Dec 18, 2016 * 12:58:35am down 0 up report re: #131 Dave In Austin I'm seeing 25' in Leander but we are actually out by Jonestown and down in a Holler where it's generally a bit cooler. I'm at work right now over by the airport. and the BMS sez 29'. The wind is horrible. Yeah, we just had a gust that had to be near to 40 mph. Heard some limbs going down in the 'hood. Hell of a cold front blowing through. 133 Dave In Austin Dec 18, 2016 * 1:03:14am down 1 up report I covered up plants before I left the house tonite and had to lay rocks all around the sheet to keep them on. The wood stove will be working overtime for the next week. Winter has arrived in Centex. 134 Single-handed sailor Dec 18, 2016 * 1:03:28am down 0 up report It's even 32.0F here in my Bay Area backyard. Brrrrr 135 Dave In Austin Dec 18, 2016 * 1:06:50am down 1 up report re: #134 Single-handed sailor It's even 32.0F here in my Bay Area backyard. Brrrrr Hope your plants are covered. That will take a toll on that coastal flora... 136 Cheechako Dec 18, 2016 * 1:10:50am down 3 up report Heh...you're colder than SE Alaska. 34F with light rain. 137 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 1:52:11am down 4 up report re: #105 austin_blue I think you may be slightly missing the point. Any decision he makes is correct because it it his. He is the ultimate narcissist. He has surrounded himself with children who have been raised on his omnipotence (whether they believe it or not) to stroke the ego of a megalomaniac. It is why he continues to hold them so close. They are the ultimate codependents and facilitators of his ego. They profit from it. The wives are just chaff. It is really a horribly sick and totally fucked up family dynamic. Welcome to the First Family, 2017 style. I have to admit, I did not address the narcissism very well. You are correct. Trump is a dangerous man, because he believes he is always right, and because whoever last speaks to him can influence him (though he would not admit it). His three older kids have been raised as princelings (as we call such people in China) who believe they are entitled to whatever they want. Barron may be another of this type. Tiffany maybe not so much. She seems to be excluded from most of the family activities. Trump is one of those people who trusts only his own family, especially his kids. Probably the wives are less trustworthy in his mind. That Ivanka will serve as First Lady rather than Melania says a lot. I'd really hate to invited to any of their family gatherings. Good thing I'm safe. 138 boredtechindenver Dec 18, 2016 * 1:55:14am down 1 up report [Embedded content] My governor at the Ogden Theater in Denver. That's something else. They've classed up the joint quite a bit since the days I went there to see super-loud punk and metal bands. I saw GWAR on that very stage on Halloween, 1998. I remember when it was an art movie theater. I saw the 5 hour Beatles movie that included all of their Shea Stadium concert. I went on a date to see "A Clockwork Orange" there in the mid 80s. I haven't been there since it became a concert venue, though. 139 Timothy Watson Dec 18, 2016 * 3:13:19am down 11 up report 140 Timothy Watson Dec 18, 2016 * 3:38:28am down 2 up report If I was as witty as I think I am, I could come with some great captions for this: 141 Timothy Watson Dec 18, 2016 * 4:22:58am down 0 up report Dammit, when did Steam get the original Rogue Squadron in its store? I played that game to death back in the day. I was trying to play it on a N64 emulator about a year ago and couldn't get it to work. :( 142 jeffreyw Dec 18, 2016 * 5:11:11am down 9 up report 143 Rocky-in-Connecticut Dec 18, 2016 * 5:17:48am down 3 up report re: #51 Cheechako The Republican leash on Trump is so short, they will get him out of office within 1 1/2 years. Pence is their man all along. Instead of impeachment, I am actually more inclined to believe Trump will "voluntarily resign" due to his business interests are more important to him. The actual reason is that Republicans will privately threaten him with Treason charges if he does not resign. 144 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 5:20:46am down 0 up report re: #143 Rocky-in-Connecticut The Republican leash on Trump is so short, they will get him out of office within 1 1/2 years. Pence is their man all along. Instead of impeachment, I am actually more inclined to believe Trump will "voluntarily resign" due to his business interests are more important to him. The actual reason is that Republicans will privately threaten him with Treason charges if he does not resign. That thought is the most depressing bit of news that ever came out of 2016. 145 Jayleia Dec 18, 2016 * 5:25:17am down 4 up report re: #143 Rocky-in-Connecticut The Republican leash on Trump is so short, they will get him out of office within 1 1/2 years. Pence is their man all along. Instead of impeachment, I am actually more inclined to believe Trump will "voluntarily resign" due to his business interests are more important to him. The actual reason is that Republicans will privately threaten him with Treason charges if he does not resign. Not going to happen. He's in the big chair now. Now people finally HAVE to respect him, quitting that means that all those losers and haters were right all along... I don't think any threat the Republicans make will be accepted...unless they have dead-girl/live boy stuff on Trump, and even then, I have doubts. Treason wouldn't make Trump flinch...look at the crowd he has now. 146 GlutenFreeJesus Dec 18, 2016 * 5:25:30am down 6 up report Trump's election is rediculously unpresidented. 147 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 5:25:34am down 0 up report re: #143 Rocky-in-Connecticut Given his penchant for inciting international incidents by using Twitter, he may not last three months. Trump is an albatross around the GOP's neck. They need to dump him pronto if they hope of ever winning another election. 148 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 5:26:21am down 1 up report re: #147 wheat-dogg Given his penchant for inciting international incidents by using Twitter, he may not last three months. Trump is an albatross around the GOP's neck. They need to dump him pronto if they hope of ever winning another election. They forget that Trump supporters hate the GOP nearly as much as they hate the Democrats and voted for him to spite both parties. 149 GlutenFreeJesus Dec 18, 2016 * 5:26:25am down 1 up report re: #143 Rocky-in-Connecticut The Republican leash on Trump is so short, they will get him out of office within 1 1/2 years. Pence is their man all along. Instead of impeachment, I am actually more inclined to believe Trump will "voluntarily resign" due to his business interests are more important to him. The actual reason is that Republicans will privately threaten him with Treason charges if he does not resign. They privately threaten him, he will publicly shame them on Twitter. 150 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 5:26:40am down 0 up report Not going to happen. He's in the big chair now. Now people finally HAVE to respect him, quitting that means that all those losers and haters were right all along... I don't think any threat the Republicans make will be accepted...unless they have dead-girl/live boy stuff on Trump, and even then, I have doubts. Treason wouldn't make Trump flinch...look at the crowd he has now. He hasn't packed the Supreme Court yet. 151 GlutenFreeJesus Dec 18, 2016 * 5:27:12am down 3 up report The GOP must be forced to carry Trump full-term. 152 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 5:31:00am down 0 up report re: #148 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) They forget that Trump supporters hate the GOP nearly as much as they hate the Democrats and voted for him to spite both parties. Sure, but they don't know that, and the ones who have been in office forever (McConnell, for example) will be re-elected regardless of who runs against them. Trump's support comes from a disparate, largely disorganized group of soreheads. I don't see them capable of organizing an anti-GOP faction fast enough to save Trump from being removed from office. 153 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 5:31:52am down 3 up report The GOP must be forced to carry Trump full-term. Speaking of which, it's morning in NYC. Has the baby awakened to remark on Alec Baldwin and SNL yet? 154 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 5:34:37am down 0 up report re: #152 wheat-dogg Sure, but they don't know that, and the ones who have been in office forever (McConnell, for example) will be re-elected regardless of who runs against them. Trump's support comes from a disparate, largely disorganized group of soreheads. I don't see them capable of organizing an anti-GOP faction fast enough to save Trump from being removed from office. Only that their rage will become more focused on the GOP than on the Democrats for a while 155 Jayleia Dec 18, 2016 * 5:35:08am down 1 up report re: #148 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) They forget that Trump supporters hate the GOP nearly as much as they hate the Democrats and voted for him to spite both parties. I disagree, he's basically the GOP wet dream as far as policy (grift, screw the poor, supply side, anti-environment, and Cleek's Law) cranked to 11 except with no verbal filter. 156 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 5:41:09am down 0 up report re: #155 Jayleia I disagree, he's basically the GOP wet dream as far as policy (grift, screw the poor, supply side, anti-environment, and Cleek's Law) cranked to 11 except with no verbal filter. The GOP supports a lot of his ideas, but they are aware that they he is a major loose cannon, and his twitter feed could turn into a death ray. So far he has managed to get away with things that no politician has gotten away with before, but there is no telling when his lucky streak will run out. 157 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 5:51:09am down 0 up report re: #156 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) The GOP supports a lot of his ideas, but they are aware that they he is a major loose cannon, and his twitter feed could turn into a death ray. So far he has managed to get away with things that no politician has gotten away with before, but there is no telling when his lucky streak will run out. His legitimacy is hanging by a thread, given the emoluments clause, the GSA contract for the DC hotel, and his apparent refusal to separate himself from his business empire. Interfering with longstanding foreign policy via Twitter is another nail in his coffin. His Twitter feed is quiet so far. I suspect his handlers have seized his phone for a bit. 158 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 5:56:00am down 4 up report Clearest indication yet that Canada will outlast all other Western liberal democracies. pic.twitter.com/cF1zVIHqmN 159 Jayleia Dec 18, 2016 * 6:05:14am down 3 up report re: #156 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) I think the GOP is riding a tiger. They created the necessary conditions for Trumpism, now they're stuck working under Trumpism, or they likely lose their jobs next election, unless some enterprising second-amendment person jumps the gun. re: #157 wheat-dogg His legitimacy was in question long before, and we've gotten crickets from the GOP so far on any issue (we also have McConnell re: the Russian Connection). I have no doubt that the GOP leadership is terrified of what Trump will do next. I also have no doubt that they are terrified of what will happen to them if they cross him. And the GOP leadership is full of Profiles in Courage. 160 Romantic Heretic Dec 18, 2016 * 6:05:38am down 3 up report re: #58 Stanley Sea I do so love my country. And I'm pleased that Stephen Harper seems to have done much less damage than I feared. re: #70 Stanley Sea This is horrific. We have lost intelligence & common sense in trying to fight terror. You see a normal woman, she's a normal woman. Following protocol is a cop out submission to fascism. I'm APPALLED. Watch the vid. [Embedded content] Another DTW incident. Wonderful. I'm flying out of there to LAX next week. Weird story: after we visited Russia in 2007 we had holographic Russian Federation visas in our passports and we got "secondary screening" IN EVERY FREAKING AIRPORT WE PASSED THROUGH SECURITY. This included not only DTW, but also Amsterdam, Frankfurt and of course our favorite Tel Aviv. The special attention stopped when we got new passports that didn't contain the RF visas. Airport etiquette PSA: Tip the wheelchair pusher! 162 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 6:13:30am down 2 up report re: #157 wheat-dogg His legitimacy is hanging by a thread, given the emoluments clause, the GSA contract for the DC hotel, and his apparent refusal to separate himself from his business empire. Interfering with longstanding foreign policy via Twitter is another nail in his coffin. His Twitter feed is quiet so far. I suspect his handlers have seized his phone for a bit. that is a very precedential move 163 freetoken Dec 18, 2016 * 6:14:39am down 1 up report 39F at Montgomery Field... a cold night on Winter's eve eve... 164 BigPapa Dec 18, 2016 * 6:15:01am down 3 up report re: #162 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) that is a very precedential move Quit attaching our dear leader. 165 jeffreyw Dec 18, 2016 * 6:19:08am down 4 up report 166 wheat-dogg Dec 18, 2016 * 6:25:14am down 7 up report 168 Eric The Fruit Bat Dec 18, 2016 * 6:34:20am down 0 up report That used to be classic Unix motd : A large white man with beard arrives at your home bearings gifts. Avoid Him-he's Commie. 169 Barefoot Grin Dec 18, 2016 * 6:41:10am down 2 up report re: #28 Shiplord Kirel It's 20 degrees here at the Conspiracy Compound right now, which is damn cold for this neck of the woods (such as they are). My agents behind wingnut lines in Lubbock report that it is 10 there, with a low of possibly 4. There is even a chance of hitting the 0 mark for the first time since 1987. Well, we said a certain place would freeze over before DT became president..... ;) 170 The Vicious Babushka Dec 18, 2016 * 6:44:16am down 6 up report Ugh. Why is it that the Juice that Trump surrounds himself with always fit the worst anti-Semitic stereotypes? Kushner, Mnuchin and now this guy: Wingnut Israel ambassador pick is lawyer who helped Trump pull one of his best scams: https://t.co/3fOYRzedQi pic.twitter.com/9aEb99afRR 173 BigPapa Dec 18, 2016 * 6:49:15am down 1 up report So well played. So much win. 174 mmmirele Dec 18, 2016 * 6:56:46am down 0 up report Our black car is now almost entirely white after two trips across Lake Bonneville (plus the trips over Donner Pass during salting during snowstorms). Just one trip across Lake Bonneville and tonight I felt like I needed an hour soak to get the salt out. I can't imagine what it would have been like to walk that distance with no modern conveniences like bathtubs. When we get to the Mercedes-Benz dealer in Denver, the car will be given a well-deserved bubble bath by them. I'm pretty sure your car is salted from the salt on the roads, not from Lake Bonneville. I crossed the salt flats going to Nevada and parts west when I lived in Utah (Wendover and casinos FTW) and never had a problem with salt. That's because the salt in the salt flats is frozen into a crust. Environmentalists get unhappy if you step on the salt flats and crack the salt crust. That said, there's always been a ton of salt on the roads in the winter. When the I-15 was being reconstructed through Salt Lake City in preparation for the Olympics, water from the Great Salt Lake was put on the freeway in winter for deicing purposes...yuck. 175 EmmaAnne Dec 18, 2016 * 7:15:09am down 9 up report 176 Shiplord Kirel Dec 18, 2016 * 7:38:37am down 10 up report Another day in America: Arkansas 3-year-old fatally shot in road rage incident while shopping with grandmother LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- A 3-year-old boy being taken on a shopping trip by his grandmother was killed in a road rage shooting on Saturday when a driver opened fire on the grandmother's car because he thought she "wasn't moving fast enough at a stop sign," police said. 177 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 7:48:10am down 1 up report That's one of the weirdest cover versions I've ever heard, hands down. 179 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 7:51:27am down 0 up report That's one of the weirdest cover versions I've ever heard, hands down. Sturgill Simpson"s good. Hear hiim on Outlaw Country quite a bit. Someone tweeted about this so I gave it a listen. 180 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 8:21:29am down 5 up report I heard that on the news this morning. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the actual reason for these shootings is not road rage. The explanation of what triggered the rage seems thin. I think another rage may be behind this and the people saying it was road rage might be using it as a cover. Yeah, I'm being cynical and disbelieving. So many recent public hate displays help lead my thinking. I sure hope I am wrong. Oh yeah...good icy morning. I hate temperatures near 32deg. 181 Joe Bacon Dec 18, 2016 * 8:24:26am down 2 up report Just walked home from the gym. Came home and drank a whole liter of coffee as if it was just iced tea and I still feel like a corpsicle! 182 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 8:25:34am down 2 up report Is Rick Santelli a Yoooouge asshole or not? (Those watching Meat The Press will understand...ugh, what a mess this country is...) 183 Timothy Watson Dec 18, 2016 * 8:26:16am down 2 up report Is Rick Santelli a Yoooouge asshole or not? (Those watching Meat The Press will understand...ugh, what a mess this country is...) Shocker, the founder of the tea party is an asshole? 184 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 18, 2016 * 8:27:29am down 1 up report re: #183 Timothy Watson Shocker, the founder of the tea party is an asshole? This times a million. 185 Timothy Watson Dec 18, 2016 * 8:28:24am down 5 up report Is Rick Santelli a Yoooouge asshole or not? (Those watching Meat The Press will understand...ugh, what a mess this country is...) This might make you feel better: 186 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 8:36:01am down 0 up report Gonna take a whole lot to make me feel better! : | 187 makeitstop Dec 18, 2016 * 8:38:08am down 3 up report It was in the 20s and snowing here yesterday at this time. Now it's flirting with 50 degrees and all the snow is gone. It was actually warmer when I left my gig last night than it was when I got there. I did get in a nice meal with a couple of bandmates before the show at a cool Colombian restaurant before the show and had a good time playing. So there's that. 188 PhillyPretzel Dec 18, 2016 * 8:45:55am down 1 up report Very similar to what is going on here in Philly. forecast.weather.gov 189 Ace-o-aces Dec 18, 2016 * 8:56:10am down 16 up report And now I'm totally trolling coz this is the US Pledge of Allegiance in beautiful Arabic calligraphy. pic.twitter.com/hvtQPCn2R7 re: #189 Ace-o-aces Sad, and infuriating, that so many Americans would misinterpret this. 192 Timothy Watson Dec 18, 2016 * 9:02:43am down 6 up report re: #190 Timothy Watson I know I had to, but I hate reading that shit first thing in the morning. 194 Stanley Sea Dec 18, 2016 * 9:15:05am down 2 up report OK, that helped. Thanks. I heard that on the news this morning. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the actual reason for these shootings is not road rage. The explanation of what triggered the rage seems thin. I think another rage may be behind this and the people saying it was road rage might be using it as a cover. Yeah, I'm being cynical and disbelieving. So many recent public hate displays help lead my thinking. I sure hope I am wrong. Oh yeah...good icy morning. I hate temperatures near 32deg. I'd suggest that it takes MORE cynicism to believe someone would open fire on someone else for such a stupid reason - cynicism in this case meaning a jaundiced view of humanity. Is Rick Santelli a Yoooouge asshole or not? (Those watching Meat The Press will understand...ugh, what a mess this country is...) 197 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 9:24:30am down 4 up report This was an interesting Hillary skit SNL did last night. I thought some might like to see it if they didn't catch the show. Want to REALLY understand what a huge asshole Rick Santelli is? Remember what triggered his 'Tea Party' rant - the idea that the Obama Administration wanted to do something for all the folks who found themselves unable to pay the mortgages they'd taken out during the housing bubble, because then we'd be rewarding bad behavior. He didn't get upset when we bailed out the investment banks that created Collateralized Debt Obligation bonds, or Credit Default Swaps - the folks who pushed the world economy off the cliff. No, he was upset by the idea that the regular folks, who AREN'T paid millions to understand economics and business and shit, had borrowed more than they could afford to pay, and Obama was going to mitigate the consequences of their mistake. Why? Because the perception was that it was Those People who were responsible, and Those People had to be put back in their place. 199 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 9:27:24am down 5 up report "Planless in London - Brexit has become a comedy in the UK", one of Germany's biggest newspapers @SZ writes. pic.twitter.com/w7Yn5zUHSF Russian journalist critical of Vladimir Putin found dead on his birthday with gunshot wound to his head https://t.co/RzvJmZYVQg Decorating for the holidays? 202 PhillyPretzel Dec 18, 2016 * 9:46:50am down 3 up report A Christmas scratching post? 203 klys (maker of Silmarils) Dec 18, 2016 * 9:46:57am down 4 up report Mostly packed. Hate Christmas travel. Wish me sanity as it is once more into the breach with the added bonus of my in-laws first. I have promised him I will not bring up politics and I am walking away if they try to start any discussion along those lines. 204 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 9:47:07am down 4 up report Global warming is a myth...or we got our annual day of frost. 205 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 9:48:38am down 0 up report Global warming is a myth...or we got our annual day of frost. [Embedded content] You can see how the i started melting as I moved my finger too slowly. Frost doesn't last long here. 206 Skip Intro Dec 18, 2016 * 9:52:47am down 5 up report 207 Resistance Is Not Futile Dec 18, 2016 * 9:52:57am down 0 up report re: #203 klys (maker of Silmarils) Mostly packed. Hate Christmas travel. Wish me sanity as it is once more into the breach with the added bonus of my in-laws first. I have promised him I will not bring up politics and I am walking away if they try to start any discussion along those lines. Good plan... but on the way out, you might mention some of DT's idiocies of the last few weeks. Surely there are some they'd find hard to defend. (I'm suggesting this as recreation, but it might also be food for thought, who knows?) 208 Skip Intro Dec 18, 2016 * 9:53:56am down 8 up report Kellyanne Conway is on TV again... #catsjudgingkellyanne pic.twitter.com/ol2TkcsQW0 Kinda, for critics of Putin. 210 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 9:54:26am down 3 up report kind of hypnotic to watch, tbh... [1230 PM] Recently developed patch of flurries/light snow in the Miami Valley - will reduce vsby to a few miles at times. Dusting psbl. pic.twitter.com/atqnQlZxOr 211 Resistance Is Not Futile Dec 18, 2016 * 9:54:54am down 0 up report re: #206 Skip Intro Hey, Kellyanne -- never gonna happen. Think of DT as your personal albatross. 212 klys (maker of Silmarils) Dec 18, 2016 * 9:55:18am down 2 up report re: #207 Resistance Is Not Futile Good plan... but on the way out, you might mention some of DT's idiocies of the last few weeks. Surely there are some they'd find hard to defend. (I'm suggesting this as recreation, but it might also be food for thought, who knows?) If I can't walk away, I have a whole bunch of stuff lined up and ready to trot out. But his parents dismissed what just happened in NC as the "kind of thing that happens every transition" sooooooooooooo... 213 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 9:57:39am down 4 up report Conservative circle-jerk interruptus. @Tequila0341 @SethAMandel @exjon @JayCostTWS Dude...you just ruined a perfectly good conservative mutual masturbation fest. 214 Resistance Is Not Futile Dec 18, 2016 * 9:57:50am down 4 up report re: #212 klys (maker of Silmarils) If I can't walk away, I have a whole bunch of stuff lined up and ready to trot out. But his parents dismissed what just happened in NC as the "kind of thing that happens every transition" sooooooooooooo... "If it's so common, name one where that happened." 215 klys (maker of Silmarils) Dec 18, 2016 * 9:58:23am down 3 up report On a more practical note, extended time release Mucinex and Sudafed both got added to the travel meds kit that I keep in my purse. Hoping for pain-free flights today (two legs) but I am prepared. 216 Resistance Is Not Futile Dec 18, 2016 * 10:00:40am down 1 up report re: #215 klys (maker of Silmarils) On a more practical note, extended time release Mucinex and Sudafed both got added to the travel meds kit that I keep in my purse. Hoping for pain-free flights today (two legs) but I am prepared. Chewing gum ready to deploy? 217 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 10:02:14am down 3 up report Sometimes cats are sweet. Other times, they absorb the power of a ritual stone so they can finally overthrow and destroy their masters. pic.twitter.com/nuBcLO3oJL 218 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 10:03:51am down 0 up report Fuck it...the cat on the glowing stone doesn't need the caption, funny as it was. 219 darthstar Dec 18, 2016 * 10:05:44am down 8 up report Why did @BarackObama let Iran keep our drone? Now it is going straight to the Chinese. He should have taken it out. Chewing gum ready to deploy? ...chocolate covered peppermint marshmellows are the same thing, right? 221 Resistance Is Not Futile Dec 18, 2016 * 10:12:38am down 1 up report re: #220 klys (maker of Silmarils) ...chocolate covered peppermint marshmellows are the same thing, right? If you keep chewing... 222 Romantic Heretic Dec 18, 2016 * 10:18:06am down 1 up report re: #176 Shiplord Kirel 223 Romantic Heretic Dec 18, 2016 * 10:22:02am down 2 up report re: #185 Timothy Watson You can tell Santelli is a severe anger addict. This man mainlines dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline by the litre. 224 retired cynic Dec 18, 2016 * 10:24:49am down 2 up report We could all have said this, and I bet there will be a lot more coming. 225 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 10:27:43am down 2 up report re: #223 Romantic Heretic You can tell Santelli is a severe anger addict. This man mainlines dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline by the litre. He had what seemed to be permanently vertical furrowed anger brows above his glasses the whole time he was on Meat The Chuck today. The rest of his face could easily be considered Bitchy Resting Face. He seems like misery is his happiness. 226 makeitstop Dec 18, 2016 * 10:30:10am down 4 up report New Yorker's Amy Davidson has written a very good analysis of Obama's last press conference. Democrats dismayed by Hillary Clinton's electoral-vote loss despite her popular-vote margin, and by the consensus that Russia was involved in hacking the e-mail systems of the Democratic National Committee and John Podesta, her campaign manager, might have hoped for a little more. Some of the people who thought, eight years ago, that Obama himself would be a silver bullet might have been, too. But, at the end of a week, and a political year, of uproar, his tone and his message in the press conference were the right ones, and sanity-affirming. Saying that the Democrats need to be "showing up in places where I think Democratic policies are needed, where they are helping, where they are making a difference, but where people feel as if they're not being heard" may be less satisfying than repeating that Clinton was robbed by Vladimir Putin. But it likely offers a better route for the Democrats to overcome Donald Trump. 227 A Cranky One Dec 18, 2016 * 10:44:58am down 2 up report But, but, they were good! 228 A Cranky One Dec 18, 2016 * 10:53:36am down 21 up report Got my granddaughter a bike for Christmas. Just found out it's too small. Guess I'll be getting a different one. Was going to return the first bike, but changed my mind. Going to donate it to Toys 4 Tots. Hoping it will give joy to a kid who could use some. I think we can all use a little joy right now. 229 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 10:55:31am down 6 up report re: #228 A Cranky One Got my granddaughter a bike for Christmas. Just found out it's too small. Guess I'll be getting a different one. Was going to return the first bike, but changed my mind. Going to donate it to Toys 4 Tots. Hoping it will give joy to a kid who could use some. I think we can all use a little joy right now. You just made some little kid's Christmas. Good on you! 230 William Lewis Dec 18, 2016 * 11:03:06am down 10 up report re: #228 A Cranky One Got my granddaughter a bike for Christmas. Just found out it's too small. Guess I'll be getting a different one. Was going to return the first bike, but changed my mind. Going to donate it to Toys 4 Tots. Hoping it will give joy to a kid who could use some. I think we can all use a little joy right now. Good for you for thinking of some other child as well. That makes my day better after learning one of our parishioners died suddenly on the 12th. Natural causes, unexpected and only 44. He'd been in a go-cart accident at 16 and was the proverbial simple & gentle kind of guy after that. Requiescat in pace, Eric. 231 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 11:09:40am down 9 up report Flight delay from D.C;missed connections in ATL; miserable travel day. Pretty sure caused by Putin and those dang Russians! Reason number gazillion to never take Mike Huckabee seriously ever, ever, ever again. https://t.co/k33RSOs6Kh 232 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 11:15:24am down 8 up report I don't know if I ever took Mike Huckabee seriously. Seriously. 233 PhillyPretzel Dec 18, 2016 * 11:18:40am down 2 up report Dang. Philly now has some very strong winds moving through. We are also supposed to be getting rain and colder temps. :( I heard something after the election that didn't really sink in until today - in the Rust Belt, "counties that swung most toward Trump" correlates significantly with "counties with the greatest increase in heroin/opiate deaths". As I thought about it, that made sense. I've said before that the people in those towns where the little factory shut down and with it a lot of the hope for the future are the ones most vulnerable to promises to bring back the past, as Trump promised. And what's one of the leading causes of addiction? Loss of hope. Josh Marshall, months ago, made the point that the people most susceptible to Trump's message are the people whose lives depended most on white privilege, though they never knew it. When manufacturing left the big cities of the North East and Midwest, it disproportionately impacted blacks, who tend to be more urban. And the white folks in the little towns with the little factories saw the despair that followed that, and the drug problems that followed THAT, and felt superior - "Those black people," they thought, "are just morally inferior! That's why they all use drugs!" Well, now the little factories have left the little towns, and what do you suppose happened to those white people? Despair, and with it drug addiction. Clinton's message, that we're all in this together and we're stronger if we work together, is right. Now white folks who had felt superior to Those People find themselves in the same boat. And only if we ALL work together can we fix the problems. But Trump's message - that you're still better than Those People, and that it's Mexico's fault, and China's fault, and The Elites' fault, and that all we have to do is bring back the past is easier, and thus more attractive. If you're offered "If we work together, it'll be hard, but the future will be brighter" is more honest, but far less seductive than "I'll fix everything for you so it will be like it was!" It also explains why the message did NOT resonate outside of white people - they were all too acquainted with the despair, and knew that easy fixes weren't possible, and the past they remembered was not really attractive. 235 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 11:26:54am down 7 up report An hour will no doubt arrive when I will stop trying to remedy my hangover by eating cheese but it will not be this hour nor the one after. 236 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 11:31:42am down 10 up report The fall of the Roman Empire was caused in part by a Roman Senate so full of incompetent corruption that it failed to check emperor. I'm just waiting for him to appoint a horse so that the Nero comparison will be complete. https://t.co/NXKliWs3xc 237 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 11:33:15am down 1 up report Dang. Philly now has some very strong winds moving through. We are also supposed to be getting rain and colder temps. :( Good Luck! Sounds like you're getting what has been through central Ohio since Friday night. It sure has caused havoc on the roads...nationwide. For those on the line of warm and cold it has been really really bad. 238 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 11:35:19am down 1 up report The thunderstorms started rolling in here at the Backwoods just after midnight. We woke up to almost 3 inches of rain in the gauge. Then it started sleeting and snowing. Just an all round yucky day now. 239 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Dec 18, 2016 * 11:45:31am down 3 up report re: #236 Backwoods_Sleuth With the perspective provided by time and ectoplasmic existence, I should point out that I was largely in the purse of the oat and carrot lobbies. Neigh. 240 Stanley Sea Dec 18, 2016 * 11:47:17am down 7 up report This story is full of bad, crazy facts. County-level shipments of opioids data in West Virginia. This article.... Awesome research, devastating story. https://t.co/j0BLe2qMU5 241 PhillyPretzel Dec 18, 2016 * 11:50:56am down 1 up report re: #240 Stanley Sea I have no doubt that this is a very sad situation. Is there a way I can read the article without a little pop-up box telling me that I have 9 more articles that I can read for free? 242 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 11:51:10am down 11 up report re: #240 Stanley Sea This story is full of bad, crazy facts. [Embedded content] Just amazing how this didn't become a "national crisis" until it impacted white communities, isn't it? 243 Blind Frog Belly White Dec 18, 2016 * 12:04:54pm down 9 up report 19. I not sure what the answer is, but I believe it can be found by really understanding the frustrations that makes people turn to drugs pic.twitter.com/0YZwaHGOlz This was a tweet storm full of empathy and pain. But I disagree with the underlying notion that "the system" caused it. That's played out. https://t.co/wuJBNQoHwZ The thing is, though, that when people talk about 'The System'. they mean 'forces beyond individual control', which is perfectly freakin' accurate. 244 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 12:09:06pm down 4 up report re: #242 Backwoods_Sleuth Just amazing how this didn't become a "national crisis" until it impacted white communities, isn't it? "Legal" drug abuse does not count. 245 MsJ Dec 18, 2016 * 12:14:57pm down 5 up report re: #240 Stanley Sea That is a devastating article. Sad doesn't cover it. Holy cow. 246 Blind Frog Belly White Dec 18, 2016 * 12:17:11pm down 4 up report re: #244 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) "Legal" drug abuse does not count. It turns illegal when the addicts discover that heroin is cheaper than oxycontin. That was the thing that surprised me. 247 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 12:18:09pm down 4 up report That is a devastating article. Sad doesn't cover it. Holy cow. The unfettered shipments amount to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia. Medical care not just about selling products. It is about treating conditions and improving the health of the population. 248 retired cynic Dec 18, 2016 * 12:20:10pm down 6 up report That is a devastating article. Sad doesn't cover it. Holy cow. The results are horrifying for the people who become addicted, and those who die, and their families. It is also rough on the people who need painkiller to manage their pain, and who can no longer get it reliably because of the worry of addiction. 249 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 12:21:33pm down 7 up report re: #246 Blind Frog Belly White It turns illegal when the addicts discover that heroin is cheaper than oxycontin. That was the thing that surprised me. Heroin made a huge comeback in Kentucky when our AG and law enforcement started shutting down the pill mills. 250 Blind Frog Belly White Dec 18, 2016 * 12:21:55pm down 3 up report re: #247 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) The unfettered shipments amount to 433 pain pills for every man, woman and child in West Virginia. Medical care not just about selling products. It is about treating conditions and improving the health of the population. The Pain Management pendulum swung from "Suck it up, walk it off" to "Here, take this!". 251 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 12:27:43pm down 4 up report re: #250 Blind Frog Belly White The Pain Management pendulum swung from "Suck it up, walk it off" to "Here, take this!". My girlfriend's cousin in a pain management doctor in Texas. She says he just bought himself a new 16,000 sq. ft. house. You see: Obamacare might mean that our pain management professionals can only afford themselves a 11,000 sq. ft. hovel! 252 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 12:28:33pm down 3 up report re: #249 Backwoods_Sleuth Heroin made a huge comeback in Kentucky when our AG and law enforcement started shutting down the pill mills. That is the same with much of the poorer communities in Ohio. Heroin is cheaper than the scripts. And they claim the heroin is more pure than ever causing big problems. re: #248 retired cynic The results are horrifying for the people who become addicted, and those who die, and their families. It is also rough on the people who need painkiller to manage their pain, and who can no longer get it reliably because of the worry of addiction. 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 254 Rocky-in-Connecticut Dec 18, 2016 * 12:30:45pm down 1 up report re: #200 darthstar Coming to our shores very soon, except in full public view thanks to Trump-enabled Police and various random 2nd Amendment "solutions" threatened over and over during the last few years by Trump goons. 255 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Dec 18, 2016 * 12:31:25pm down 5 up report re: #249 Backwoods_Sleuth Best and hardest decision I ever made was to decline opiates ten years ago for a chronic injury. I can compare where I am today to several of my kin who were convinced to take "non-addictive" opiate formulations. A lot of folks I know who started on hydrocodone didn't understand they were experiencing opiate abuse symptoms--and withdrawal--until it was too late. And they weren't given any other options for pain care, and especially not any cheap one. 256 Wendell Zurkowitz ((slave to the waffle light)) Dec 18, 2016 * 12:31:44pm down 2 up report re: #254 Rocky-in-Connecticut Coming to our shores very soon, except in full public view thanks to Trump-enabled Police and various random 2nd Amendment "solutions" threatened over and over during the last few years by Trump goons. Lotsa of Zimmermanns all over again... 257 Pawn of the Oppressor Dec 18, 2016 * 12:33:19pm down 8 up report Kellyanne Riefenstahl hates cats? That tells me everything I already knew. 258 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 18, 2016 * 12:35:29pm down 5 up report re: #248 retired cynic The results are horrifying for the people who become addicted, and those who die, and their families. It is also rough on the people who need painkiller to manage their pain, and who can no longer get it reliably because of the worry of addiction. My wife is in that category. She has a chronic condition for which there is no cure. In some cases she has had to go to 4 pharmacies to get her script filled because the 3 others either didn't have it in stock or don't stock opioids at all. 259 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 12:36:05pm down 2 up report re: #255 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Best and hardest decision I ever made was to decline opiates ten years ago for a chronic injury. I can compare where I am today to several of my kin who were convinced to take "non-addictive" opiate formulations. A lot of folks I know who started on hydrocodone didn't understand they were experiencing opiate abuse symptoms--and withdrawal--until it was too late. And they weren't given any other options for pain care, and especially not any cheap one. Chronic pain management is very difficult. I can only hope there's a lot of basic research going into improvements. My mom had chronic pain issues and a lousy reaction to opiods (which appears to be familial. I don't handle them well either.) 260 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Dec 18, 2016 * 12:36:34pm down 5 up report re: #252 ObserverArt That is the same with much of the poorer communities in Ohio. Heroin is cheaper than the scripts. And they claim the heroin is more pure than ever causing big problems. Lately there's been a problem with heroin cut with other opioids to bump up its strength--but specifically with the very potent fentanyl. There's a rash of fatal overdoses because of it. 261 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 12:38:28pm down 5 up report re: #260 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Lately there's been a problem with heroin cut with other opioids to bump up its strength--but specifically with the very potent fentanyl. There's a rash of fatal overdoses because of it. Also carfentanil. Otherwise known as elephant tranquilizer. Need I say it kills people? 262 Barefoot Grin Dec 18, 2016 * 12:39:59pm down 5 up report re: #260 The Ghost of Senator Incatatus Lately there's been a problem with heroin cut with other opioids to bump up its strength--but specifically with the very potent fentanyl. There's a rash of fatal overdoses because of it. That's the problem here in New Hampshire. Fentanyl. I think we're past the stage of pill-to-heroin addiction. Now people just go straight to heroin--and then get something cut with fentanyl. The sad thing is that when they get revived by cops or EMS techs, even if they still have a needle in their arms, the first thing they do is deny using. 263 Stanley Sea Dec 18, 2016 * 12:41:19pm down 7 up report re: #254 Rocky-in-Connecticut Coming to our shores very soon, except in full public view thanks to Trump-enabled Police and various random 2nd Amendment "solutions" threatened over and over during the last few years by Trump goons. And away we go National police union asks Trump to reverse ban on racial profiling, bring back federal prisons, end DACA, etc. https://t.co/DGLndfgQdt 264 Charles Johnson Dec 18, 2016 * 12:42:03pm down 9 up report Hundreds of angry, racist & homophobic tweets directed at me by Trump fans overnight. I swear they're getting even worse since the election. 265 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 18, 2016 * 12:42:55pm down 3 up report re: #263 Stanley Sea I really hate police unions...and I'm generally a pro union guy. 266 Stanley Sea Dec 18, 2016 * 12:43:02pm down 1 up report re: #263 Stanley Sea 267 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 18, 2016 * 12:43:48pm down 1 up report re: #264 Charles Johnson They are. They'll get even worse after 1/20/17. 268 Barefoot Grin Dec 18, 2016 * 12:48:24pm down 0 up report re: #253 The Vicious Babushka [Embedded content] qvQ4edqrARB5tMlm5gCRaacBYDfBsyGLjgh4zrTPaTajSZ++GR03qZGKQ10GCZQro5YKTfxh8iz47N7DguKc3wqoibvBRpI0NEpoXXeHRq4nUSDMmHBX4qeDpasuDh2swAb3z0IZZ9lQL9CQgEMGqviFuzqf1j1aRzc24vlBlX6B0TswljAes4i5Zx0YwfCYpj3pkAp1oD0D1jOPqz1UHoMn1fDjnkHlUWYjcFrdTFBAgYjmxEpEiniojvB7EYXeiYnQSX30SbHozOF4cjNEg8bXL89nU4FD3G2lbBClRTDR0Az+1UV/8SzRbwHRXXB7gO5Gz0hyqTWS6PBb8Fb1QhyUzTtN2E14D//AdEa/mgbjC2PBk8CAmsJbnodfSfcYJ44v9TwCK+F2NtBHZpjERs1LWBZNstHq0n14IKVROzoQ0pa2pa2VGo1WmRB5w025CI6XPbMMeGkNNX3HSfLCvGGI331YHAm5u1sBvugY9IM= 270 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 12:51:40pm down 4 up report re: #262 Barefoot Grin That's the problem here in New Hampshire. Fentanyl. I think we're past the stage of pill-to-heroin addiction. Now people just go straight to heroin--and then get something cut with fentanyl. The sad thing is that when they get revived by cops or EMS techs, even if they still have a needle in their arms, the first thing they do is deny using. Because "moral failing" rather than "medical problem." No one wants to be seen as a junkie. 271 Jebediah, RBG Dec 18, 2016 * 12:51:41pm down 2 up report Flight delay from D.C;missed connections in ATL; miserable travel day. Pretty sure caused by Putin and those dang Russians! @GovMikeHuckabee Interference in our democracy by a hostile power is DEFINITELY a hilarious joke! Ha ha ha! Oh, and #GFY https://t.co/L49B5iggZ4 272 Ziggy_TARDIS Dec 18, 2016 * 12:53:00pm down 1 up report PSR reported a sharp increase in the number of respondents who stated that they believed the two-state solution was no longer viable, jumping from 56 percent three months ago to 65 percent now, with only 31 percent remaining confident that it was still feasible. A further 62 percent said they supported abandoning the Oslo Accords. This is what happens when you keep taking land and kicking people out of their houses, making Palestinian Territory smaller and more fragmented. Israel painted itself into a corner. I wonder if they can get out. 273 Ziggy_TARDIS Dec 18, 2016 * 12:54:22pm down 1 up report re: #272 Ziggy_TARDIS Not to mention the Israeli Government pushing Arabs out of East Jerusalem. 274 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 12:54:31pm down 1 up report re: #269 William Lewis [Embedded content] NZNkPmUzl4rBYJqdQzj458o159VvwG1I+Pu7oWGoUVE2EtdvKTc834TBl8ag9ZG0Pgt89QObkgHfD1SRrY4QXEvQYuY8RNnt4sSGtCLM8Co7k5BZ6ZjVkk9wD0a2NvLsjJg41DRg8PYd0Ja99ZJvcpN/dPx/tyotW+eEWTgw6jKAarjZ7wamMcHtRvUUMU9FoYOMEio1on2Jo8EuX3WdhXYYNd8WlnodNwVd7hVPZmlhb130UlnfsLAS/r6tUbBPOW3PzGmAG8vWz3BLyuyJTWWkb4ZN4nL7AKDatC6fdkDvfsSWkYOQORlvlytLHZaJylirCge6ckfnRIG+46xrCVShyTA8WR+kPNdzjFgXJtMZlDf3sVOD2g== 275 Barefoot Grin Dec 18, 2016 * 12:54:55pm down 1 up report Because "moral failing" rather than "medical problem." No one wants to be seen as a junkie. Yep. And there are a lot of "live Free or Die" folks who think Narcan just enables the users--"let em die; they're just using taxpayer money." I'm serious. 276 retired cynic Dec 18, 2016 * 12:57:21pm down 3 up report re: #253 The Vicious Babushka BN8Ds32ibMeLbXZASfgH65RApzRXHoknuC6LvHMJVJoiF6Y7D7wKahfx53cxAUMgmbP0aqobzJohdI6g73JB57BfLT38AAvoPV+ThhaD9jFafbSsbuvdD0On6Hc+MkSQnrzp4zuAmr+AdvVCjQr6qwQ8pGfwbyik6bVYt3ekPb5tzuwJUbP3LQvpcce+mQZNYpmq49IioMCh1mOoR5o/FpzlKtp5v8axQVAHxSAmSByhtG0q1O3TEP5OV0dip10YFPSHVNMyHd90QsVww5M+YdvGNkYk7O1M2uCz+enPDe8= 277 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 12:59:05pm down 0 up report re: #275 Barefoot Grin Yep. And there are a lot of "live Free of Die" folks who think Narcan just enables the users--"let em die; they're just using taxpayer money." I'm serious. Oh, I believe you. And I don't get it. But that's just me. I don't think a junkie desperate for a fix is thinking about the availability of Narcan. Also, I hear it's no fun to have it administered. 278 Blind Frog Belly White Dec 18, 2016 * 12:59:35pm down 5 up report BTW, the comments on that Tom Nichols tweet restore my lack of faith in modern Conservatives. Nothing is ever forces beyond your control. It's always your choices. Apparently, you choose to have the factory move out of your town. 279 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 1:01:12pm down 3 up report re: #278 Blind Frog Belly White BTW, the comments on that Tom Nichols tweet restore my lack of faith in modern Conservatives. Nothing is ever forces beyond your control. It's always your choices. Apparently, you choose to have the factory move out of your town. Sure, you and your plucky coworkers could just buy out Giant Mega Corp, inc. And run it at a profit yourselves. Especially if it is a bootstrap manufacturing company. 280 Barefoot Grin Dec 18, 2016 * 1:02:44pm down 1 up report re: #277 calochortus Oh, I believe you. And I don't get it. But that's just me. I don't think a junkie desperate for a fix is thinking about the availability of Narcan. Also, I hear it's no fun to have it administered. The sad bright spot is that I've noticed comments softening somewhat as more people have family or friends impacted by the spread of addiction here. I think we're number 3 per capita for fatalities this year. Slowly--but more people are awakening to your point of addiction being a medical issue and not a moral failing. Sure, you and your plucky coworkers could just buy out Giant Mega Corp, inc. And run it at a profit yourselves. Especially if it is a bootstrap manufacturing company. It's a reminder that the enemy of your enemy might just be yet another enemy. 282 Myron Falwell (no relation) Dec 18, 2016 * 1:03:24pm down 3 up report re: #264 Charles Johnson Get ready for when everything inevitably collapses around the Branch Trumpidian Cult. They have no idea just how ugly it's going to get right from the start. Jim Jones would no doubt be envious of the gullibility of these fools. 283 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 1:07:38pm down 0 up report re: #280 Barefoot Grin The sad bright spot is that I've noticed comments softening somewhat as more people have family or friends impacted by the spread of addiction here. I think we're number 3 per capita for fatalities this year. Slowly--but more people are awakening to your point of addiction being a medical issue and not a moral failing. That's some kind of progress, at least. 284 Myron Falwell (no relation) Dec 18, 2016 * 1:09:36pm down 1 up report re: #281 Blind Frog Belly White It's a reminder that the enemy of your enemy might just be yet another enemy. Kind of how Deadbeat Joe Walsh ripped into Hannity in a public forum yesterday. I am entertained by that godddam wingnut slowly losing it as worthy karma, but really wouldn't bother to give him the time of day. 285 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 1:10:54pm down 6 up report 286 Eclectic Cyborg Dec 18, 2016 * 1:14:43pm down 2 up report re: #285 Backwoods_Sleuth To be fair that's a letter to the Editor and not a statement made by the paper, but it probanly shouldn't have been published. 287 Myron Falwell (no relation) Dec 18, 2016 * 1:17:27pm down 2 up report link to that letter to the editor page Is quality control totally dead now? Allowing that bullshit is inexcusable. 288 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 1:18:18pm down 0 up report Also carfentanil. Otherwise known as elephant tranquilizer. Need I say it kills people? I had heard about the animal tranquilizer in Ohio too. My one brother mentioned it was in my old home town. I never knew the name of the drug. Going to look into that. 289 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 1:19:59pm down 3 up report re: #265 Eclectic Cyborg I really hate police unions...and I'm generally a pro union guy. I like unions too. I don't like gangs. / 290 Backwoods_Sleuth Dec 18, 2016 * 1:21:13pm down 3 up report re: #286 Eclectic Cyborg re: #287 Myron Falwell (no relation) Mr. Duddy is apparently a fairly prolific letter to the editor writer and they are all as unhinged as that one. At least what ones I found doing a google search on him. He appears to be a very unhappy person. 291 GlutenFreeJesus Dec 18, 2016 * 1:21:29pm down 1 up report re: #287 Myron Falwell (no relation) Is quality control totally dead now? Allowing that bullshit is inexcusable. You're assuming it was a mistake... 292 calochortus Dec 18, 2016 * 1:25:36pm down 3 up report I heard something interesting on the radio the other day-the general thesis was that a diverse society does better economically than a homogeneous one, but a homogeneous society, not surprisingly, has closer social ties. The thing is that who is "us" and who isn't changes over time, the example being the history of the US. The English came over and they were "us." Then the Dutch showed up and they were "them," but then the Germans came along, and well, we'd been living with the Dutch for long enough that they became "us." The part of "them" was played by the Germans, until the Irish came along, and the Italians, etc. At which point the Germans (with a brief pause for the World Wars) became "us" and we even invented the concept of Anglo-Saxon to take in all these nice northern Europeans. And so forth. I think this concept can be expanded to include LGBT people, drug addicts, and just about anyone else as we begin to see them in our own families. "Us" isn't just a matter of nationality, religion, or skin color. 293 scottslemmons Dec 18, 2016 * 1:25:53pm down 1 up report re: #290 Backwoods_Sleuth Mr. Duddy is apparently a fairly prolific letter to the editor writer and they are all as unhinged as that one. At least what ones I found doing a google search on him. He appears to be a very unhappy person. I wish these nihilist bastards'd had the decency to commit suicide decades ago. It's too late to exterminate them now. >:( 294 ObserverArt Dec 18, 2016 * 1:28:03pm down 1 up report Sure, you and your plucky coworkers could just buy out Giant Mega Corp, inc. And run it at a profit yourselves. Especially if it is a bootstrap manufacturing company. No problem. All the employees have to do is get their parents to lend them $250,000 to, you know, get a start. Per Mitt Romney. And hey...corporations are people too! [Embedded content] A good friend of mine was punched from behind in the dark and knocked down by a cousin last night as he walked to his car from a family party. The cousin is an angry Trump voter. 296 Jebediah, RBG Dec 18, 2016 * 2:10:52pm down 0 up report re: #295 7-y (Expectation of Great Things in Due Course) 297 MsJ Dec 18, 2016 * 3:15:35pm down 1 up report Kellyanne Riefenstahl hates cats? That tells me everything I already knew. Trump is not an animal lover. That tells me everything I need to know.

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In Seattle, Washington, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Monday over Trump's second Muslim ban, which sought to ban all refugees and citizens of six majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States. Two months ago, a federal judge in Hawaii blocked Trump's revised ban just hours before it was slated to take effect nationwide. This is Neal Katyal, a lawyer representing the state of Hawaii. Neal Katyal : "The government has not engaged in mass, dragnet exclusions in the past 50 years. This is something new and unusual in which you're saying this whole class of people, some of which are dangerous, we can bar them all." We'll go to Seattle later in the broadcast to speak with Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who filed the first lawsuit against Trump's Muslim travel ban.

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By Juan Cole Fears that the historic vote on Sunday in Tunisia might be marred by violence committed by the country's tiny lunatic fringe were not borne out. The interim government of Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa deployed 80,000 police and troops to protect polling stations. Contrary to the breathless reporting one hears in the mass [...] By Max Weiss via The Princetonian I have never met Slav Leibin. Nonetheless, it recently came to my attention that he vetoed, with the approval of the Center for Jewish Life, my right to participate in a proposed panel on the recent hostilities in Gaza. Apparently this preemptive act of exclusion was carried out on [...] By L. Carl Brown What has made Tunisia's transition from authoritarian government, for all its ups and downs, more successful than those of its Arab neighbors? It will soon be four years since December 17, 2010 when Muhammad Bu Azizi from Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia immolated himself in protest against local government officials who barred [...] Received by email attachment) Statement by Professors of Jewish Studies in North America Regarding the AMCHA Initiative We the undersigned are professors of Jewish studies at North American universities. Several of us have also headed programs and centers in Jewish studies. Many of us have worked hard to nurture serious, sustained study of Israeli politics [...] By Lama Fakih, Human Rights Watch In a speech before the European Parliament in 2009, Syrian activist Mazen Darwish warned that unless civil society was strengthened "[the whole] region, not only Syria ... could explode at any moment and leave behind thousands of refugees." A dire warning at the time, Darwish's prophetic words fail to [...] BBC "George Galloway told a former member of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown's cabinets she killed one million people in Iraq. The former Labour MP, now a Respect MP, turned on Jacqui Smith as they looked ahead to Friday's vote in Parliament on possible UK military action in the Middle East." Ed. note: It isn't [...] AJ+ "Hundreds of people attended the #FloodWallStreet demonstration to protest the role big business plays in fueling climate change. The protest was largely peaceful, but police arrested a number of people by the end of the night, including a polar bear." AJ+ : "Protesters Flood Wall Street - And A Polar Bear Is Arrested" News Analysis: Afghan Deal Leaves Room For National Disunity By Frud Bezhan via RFE/RL After months of wrangling and high tension, Afghanistan has finally named a president-elect. Ashraf Ghani's name was officially entered into the books as the winner of the highly contentious, fraud-marred contest, shortly after he and his rival, Abdullah Abdullah, signed a [...] AJ+ interviews Naomi Klein "As people gather in New York City for what organizers are billing as the largest climate-change protest in history, AJ+ asks Naomi Klein about her new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism Vs. The Climate. She tells us why the planet is doomed if we don't change course. And why it's up [...]

Fears that the historic vote on Sunday in Tunisia might be marred by violence committed by the country's tiny lunatic fringe were not borne out. The interim government of Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa deployed 80,000 police and troops to protect polling stations.

50. Jon Voight One of the most outspoken conservative voices in Hollywood is Jon Voight. He has been a strong supporter of Donald Trump and has gone so far as to call out those Republicans who DON'T support Trump; he's called them "Republican Turncoat. Voight continually takes to Twitter to voice his support for Trump and his disappointment to those who have expressed intense anger and disgust of the President. During an interview on Fox Business, he explained what it's like to be a Conservative in Hollywood. He told Stuart Varney, "There are, by the way, many, many conservatives in Hollywood; they just aren't very vocal". 49. 50 Cent Image Credit: 50 Cent, CC BY-ND 2.0, by TigerDirect.com 50 Cent follows the conservative platform. He's pro 1st Amendment (his lyrics are controversial and yet still make him money), he's pro 2nd Amendment (he talks a lot about gun ownership) and he's made a very successful living utilizing the American capitalist system. He has come out and said that he's a Republican but has not placed his opinions anywhere near the forefront. He does identify himself as a Christian and has publically stated that he likes President George W. Bush. 48. Alex Trebek Image Credit: Alex Trebek, CC BY 2.0, by Jim Greenhill Chuck Woolery is probably the most vocal Conservative game show hosts, but Alex Trebek has also revealed that he has donated to the Republican Party. He donated $3,000 to former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. He has not wanted to come out and confirm that he's technically a "Republican" but instead has classified himself as an Independent. But having put his money where his mouth is, seems as though he does have Conservative leanings. 47. Mike Tyson Image Credit: Mike Tyson, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Eduardo Merille Mike Tyson has gone through quite a bit of drama and trauma in his life. His childhood was incredibly tumultuous and his adult life, although successful, was tainted with violence and jail time. He's a devout Muslim and at the same time, a Republican. He has sometimes said very disparaging things about certain Republicans (Sarah Palin) but has also campaigned for Maryland Republican candidate for Senate, Lt. Governor, Michael Steele. Like most Conservatives, he feels that the welfare system is abused and taken advantage of and has praised private education over public education but once actually described Black Republicans as "sell-outs". He's a bit of an enigma. 46. Dennis Rodman Image Credit: ADEK BERRY / AFP / Getty Dennis Rodman may prove to be an instrumental part of the denuclearization of North Korea. Who would have ever thought? Despite cultural differences and thousands of miles between them, Rodman and the current leader of North Korea, Kim Jung-un, have become the closest of friends. Rodman has publicly come out in support of Donald Trump and apparently, they've been friends for many years. He was quoted as saying, "We don't need another politician, we need a businessman like Mr. Trump! Trump 2016." 45. Robert Downey Jr. Image Credit: Robert Downey Jr., CC BY-SA 2.0, Gage Skidmore Iron Man has had struggles in his life; we're all aware of that, but what's less known is that Downey Jr was raised in a partly Catholic and partly Jewish family. Today, he follows Buddhism more than the mainstream religions of the U.S., and credits that theology with helping him overcome alcoholism and drug addiction. He's now a bit outside the Hollywood norm as well with regard to his political affiliation. "I have a really interesting political point of view, and it's not always something I say too loud at dinner tables here, but you can't go from a $2,000-a-night suite at La Mirage to a penitentiary and really understand it and come out a liberal." 44. Bruce Willis Image Credit: Bruce Willis, CC BY-SA 2.0, Gage Skidmore. Bruce Willis became a household name while starring with Cybil Shephard in the hit series, "Moonlighting." He absolutely stole the show and has been on fire ever since. He's also a strong supporter of our troops and was born into a military family. He has gone overseas and entertained the troops - he's actually a great singer and entertainer. He was born in Germany then he and his family settled in New Jersey after his dad left the military. He has not hidden his conservative leanings, he's pro 2nd Amendment and voted for George W. Bush in both the 2000 and 2004 elections. 43. Denzel Washington Image Credit: ANGELA WEISS / Getty Denzel was recently asked who he voted for in the 2016 election. He told the reporter, "None of your business." He seemed visibly annoyed at how aggressive the reporter came at him and it was obvious that he wants to keep his political affiliation to himself, but to his credit, he's also not about to publicly bash either side of the spectrum. His parents were quite religious; his dad was a preacher and his mom, a gospel singer. He's a devout Christian and attends the Church of God in L.A. and says he tries very hard to always "send a good message" through his films and celebrity status. 42. Kanye West Image Credit: Kanye West, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Seher Sikandar / Rehes Creative Kanye recently came under fire for supporting conservative commentator Candace Owens. Back in April, he tweeted, "I love the way Candace Owens thinks." He was harshly criticized by the left. He's never came out and actually identified himself as a conservative. It is obvious that he's evolving in his views. He does support President Trump -- half the time. He has said that it's, "The ability to do what no one said you can do; to do the impossible" that he admires about Trump. His lyrics like, "Make America Great Again had a negative perception/I took it, wore it, rocked it, gave it a new direction" and "See, that's the problem with this damn nation/All blacks gotta be Democrats, man/We ain't made it off the plantation" have people thinking he's leaning right these days. 41. Chris Pratt Image Credit: Chris Pratt, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore Jurassic World star Chris Pratt is a staunch Second Amendment supporter and owns as many as 30 guns. He purchased his (now) ex-wife Anna Faris a handgun when he had to film on location. It's rumored that his marriage fell apart because he voted for Donald Trump. 40. Adam Sandler Image Credit: Adam Sandler, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Angela George Adam Sandler has been a fixture in the entertainment world for years with his starring roles in the comedies "Happy Gilmore" and "Billy Madison," as well as his four years as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live." Sandler is also a registered Republican and, as a Jewish man, strongly appreciates the Republican Party's support of Israel. In the past, Sandler has given to the campaign of former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and he performed at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City. However, Sandler holds socially liberal positions and strongly supports gay marriage. 39. Tom Brady Image Credit: Tom Brady, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Jeffrey Beall Super Bowl-winning quarterback Tom Brady endorsed Donald Trump during the 2016 election, as the two have been friends for many years, and Trump once tried to set up Brady with Ivanka Trump. A photograph of Brady's football locker showed a "Make America Great Again" hat inside. Brady wanted to visit Trump at the White House after winning the Super Bowl, however, he opted not to go after his former supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, advised against it. 38. Vince Vaughn Image Credit: Vince Vaughn, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore Vaughn argued in 2011 for a plan to put armed guards in school, similar to Trump's proposal to arm teachers. Vaughn said: You think the politicians that run my country and your country don't have guns in the schools their kids go to?" he asked British GQ. "They do. And we should be allowed the same rights." Vaughn made headlines when, alongside fellow conservative actor Mel Gibson, he rolled his eyes during Meryl Streep's speech at the Golden Globes awards in which she was critical of conservatives and advocated for immigration. 37. Carrie Underwood Image Credit: Carrie Underwood, CC BY 2.0, by Matthew Wittkopp Country singer and American Idol winner Carrie Underwood is a registered Republican, although she tends to keep her politics to herself, believing it is wrong to push her personal political beliefs on fans. Oklahoma-born Underwood performed at an event honoring former President George W. Bush in 2011 and attributes much of her success to her faith in God. While politically conservative, the Grammy award winner tends to lean liberal when it comes to social issues, including gay marriage and animal rights. Underwood may not be a huge fan of President Donald Trump, however, as during the 2017 Country Music Awards she famously changed her best-selling song "Before He Cheats" to zing Trump with "Before He Tweets." 36. Caitlyn Jenner Image Credit: Caitlyn Jenner, CC BY 2.0, by Stephen McCarthy / Web Summit via Sportsfile People are often surprised to find out that Caitlyn Jenner is a conservative because she is a transgender woman, formerly known as Bruce Jenner, the gold medal winning Olympian. Jenner is a registered Republican, and was a staunch supporter of Donald Trump throughout the election, even suggesting that she could be Trump's "trans ambassador." She also attended Trump's inauguration. Jenner attributes her conservative views to the fact that her father served in the military, and she believes that America is best suited with a "constitutional government." Many in the trans community have criticized Jenner's support for the Trump administration, especially considering Vice President Mike Pence's record on LGBT issues. 35. Mel Gibson Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Mel Gibson is also one of the top conservatives in Hollywood, much of which he ascribes to his strong Catholic faith. Gibson is a registered Republican and has spoken at the commencement ceremonies at the Christian college Liberty University. Gibson also famously rolled his eyes at Meryl Streep's politically charged speech at the 2018 Golden Globe awards. Gibson's career in Hollywood was almost destroyed when he made anti-Semitic remarks to a police officer after he was arrested for a DUI in 2006. Gibson was additionally called racist after a secretly-taped phone call with his ex-girlfriend was released where the actor suggested that if she was "raped by a pack of ni**ers," she would be to blame. 34. Owen Wilson Image Credit: Owen Wilson, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Eva Rinaldi Wilson likes Donald Trump and said during the campaign, "So here's somebody who's not following that script. It's like when Charlie Sheen was doing that stuff -- Like, wow! He's answering a question completely honestly and in an entertaining way." Owen Wilson is what you would certainly call "quiet" about his political views. However, he is known to surround himself with Hollywood conservatives like Vince Vaughn. Wilson tried to attend the Young Republicans Conference in Washington DC, but his friend, Vince Vaughn, wasn't allowed to enter. 33. Gary Oldman Image Credit: Gary Oldman, CC BY-SA 2.0, Gage Skidmore Gary Oldman, recent Best Actor winner, is a notoriously private person, however, some indicators point to a conservative worldview. Oldman objected to the editing of his film 'The Contender', allegedly saying it was liberal propaganda. Oldman's manager called the film a "Goebbels-like piece of propaganda." Oldman defended Mel Gibson's drunken anti-Semitic rant, saying "He got drunk and said a few things, but we've all said those things. We're all f***ing hypocrites. That's what I think about it. The policeman who arrested him has never used the word 'n**ger' or 'that f***ing Jew'? I'm being brutally honest here. It's the hypocrisy of it that drives me crazy." 32. Clint Eastwood Image Credit: Clint Eastwood, CC BY 2.0, by Siebbi Clint Eastwood spoke at both the 2012 and 2016 Republican National Conventions. In his 2012 speech, he spoke to an empty chair that signified Barack Obama. In 2016, he came under fire for calling Pesky Whipper-Snappers "the Pussy Generation." During the 2016 campaign, he never really fully supported candidate Trump, telling The Los Angeles Times, "I'm just astounded ... I think both individuals and both parties backing the individuals have a certain degree of insanity." 31. Tim Allen Image Credit: ADRIAN SANCHEZ-GONZALEZ / Stringer Allen is also an unabashed conservative who has complained that the failure of his most recent TV show, "Last Man Standing," was because of his strong conservative views. His cancelled sitcom was known for its conservative slant and constant anti-Obama jokes. After his show's cancellation, Allen compared being a conservative in Hollywood to the Jews in WW2 Germany. Fans of the show threatened to boycott ABC unless they brought the show back, but ABC confirmed that the show was not cancelled for political reasons, saying "Politics had nothing to do with it." Allen originally supported Ohio Gov. John Kasich for president in 2016, but ultimately voted for Donald Trump and attended his inauguration in 2017. However, Allen has gone on record to say that he's not a fan of some of Trump's extreme rhetoric, especially his anti-Muslim and anti-Mexican views. 30. Ted Nugent Image Credit: Ted Nugent, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore The ultra-conservative rock star was one of the first celebrities to visit Trump at the White House. In his concerts, he said that former President Barack Obama could "suck his machine gun," and he even said that Hillary Clinton should be hanged. After the Congressional baseball shooting, he briefly stopped his harsh rhetoric. "Is this America's breaking point?" he asked on CNN. "It's my breaking point. We've got to end this." Nugent came under heavy criticism after writing a column for a conservative website in which he described Trayvon Martin as a "17-year-old, dope smoking, racist gangsta wannabe." 29. Paris Hilton Image Credit: Paris Hilton, CC BY 2.0, by Joella Marano Most people don't see celebutante Paris Hilton as a political person, but her vote for Donald Trump confirmed her place as a conservative celeb. Mostly famous for her sex tape and red carpet antics, Hilton admitted she voted for Trump in the 2016 election mainly because he is a friend of her family. When Trump confronted charges of sexual assault, Hilton said Trump's accusers were "just trying to get attention and get fame." Hilton's foray into politics got interesting back in 2008 when presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain made a campaign ad comparing Barack Obama to "celebrities like Paris Hilton." Paris responded with an ad of her own where she announced her candidacy for president and said she's 'totally ready to lead. I'll see you at the debates, bitches.' 28. Scott Baio Image Credit: Scott Baio, CC BY-ND 2.0, by ABC / Ida Mae Astute Scott Baio is known worldwide as "Chachi" from the 70s TV show "Happy Days" and his own short-lived sitcom "Joanie Loves Chachi". Now he is mostly known for being a fervent Republican and strong supporter of Donald Trump. Baio was one of the few celebrities to endorse Trump when he was running for president, and Baio was even given the opportunity to speak at the Republican National Convention, where he railed against Hillary Clinton and promised that, should Trump win, he'd "Make America Great Again." Baio is currently often seen on Fox News, praising the president and criticizing Democratic politicians and policies. 27. James Woods Image Credit: JOE KLAMAR/ AFP / Getty James Woods is one of Hollywood's most well-known conservatives. Woods claims he has been "blacklisted" from Hollywood because of his often offensive views. Woods has flat out called former President Barack Obama a "true abomination," and repeatedly accused Obama of being a Muslim (Obama is a Christian). Woods came into a huge controversy in 2017 after insulting the parents of a young child who identifies as neither a boy or girl but as "gender fluid." 26. Jenna Jameson Image Credit: Jenna Jameson, CC BY-SA 3.0, Glenn Francis / PacificProDigital.com Adult film star Jenna Jameson is a conservative known for her love of the alt-right. Jameson originally supported Marco Rubio in the 2016 election, but proudly voted for Donald Trump. The Jewish convert has turned heads for her support of alt-right hero Milo Yiannopoulos, her defense of the KKK, and her anti-Muslim and immigrant views. 25. Tom Selleck Image Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Most famous for his mustache, the Magnum, P.I. star endorsed John McCain in 2008 and George W. Bush in 2000. Selleck is also one of the few Hollywood celebrities who's a member of the National Rifle Association. 24. Pat Sajak The Wheel of Fortune host is very outspoken about his Republican alliances. Sajak is a climate change denier and loves mocking liberals on Twitter, such as saying "Even though I told him it was settled folklore, my young nephew remains a Tooth Fairy denier." 23. Kurt Russell Image Credit: Kurt Russell, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore Russell once said "I wasn't a Republican. I was worse. I was a hardcore libertarian." He later said: "I believe in limited constitutional government, free-market capitalist, reach for the brass ring. There's this place where you can go do that and don't step on anybody's toes and still try to reach for the brass ring." Russell chastised celebrities for bashing President Trump at the Golden Globes. 22. Kelsey Grammer Image Credit: Kelsey Grammer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Tenebrae Grammer started a conservative television network called Right Network; the tagline is "All That's Right in the World." Grammer endorsed George W. Bush, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and, most recently, Michele Bachmann. Though conservative, he supports gay marriage, saying: "I think that marriage is the providence of the church. I think it's a religious rite. I don't understand the civil angle on marriage at all. So am I pro-my friends who love each other getting married? Yes -- gay, straight or otherwise. I don't have an issue with it. Somebody obviously thought it would be fun to tax marriage one day, so they made it a government thing." 21. Sylvester Stallone Image Credit: Sylvester Stallone, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Michael Schilling Stallone supported John McCain in 2008. The action star said he "loves Donald Trump" because "he's a great Dickensian character. You know what I mean? There are certain people like Arnold, Babe Ruth, that are bigger than life. But I don't know how that translates to running the world." Trump wanted Stallone to be the chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts, but he turned it down, saying "I believe I could be more effective by bringing national attention to returning military personnel in an effort to find gainful employment, suitable housing and financial assistance these heroes respectfully deserve." 20. Chuck Norris Image Credit: ROBYN BECK / Getty He blamed academics for "training of students to disdain America, freely experiment sexually, forcefully defend issues like abortion and homosexuality, as well as become cultural advocates for political correctness, relativism, globalization, green agendas and tolerance for all." He's a writer for the ultra-conservative site World Net Daily. He claimed that if Hillary Clinton was elected president, she would "destroy what is left of our republic" 19. Phil Robertson Image Credit: Phil Robertson, CC BY-SA 2.0, by Gage Skidmore The Duck Dynasty paterfamilias isn't just a regular conservative, he's an award-winning conservative. He won the Citizens United "Andrew Breitbart Defender of the First Amendment Award" at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference. A year later, he exercised his First Amendment right to say that the Supreme Court's decision to legalize gay marriage caused 160,000 murders in the U.S. "At the time of [the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars] over the last 13, 14 years, you see going on right here in America, 160,000 were murdered." Robertson continued, "When you allow men to determine ... what's right and what's wrong, you get decisions like the five judges saying, 'I may not know we have 7,000 years of history of men marrying women. A male and a female. For that reason, they'll leave their father and mother and cleave to one and other and become one flesh. I know it's been that way for 7,000 years, but we know best for what's everyone.'" 18. Britney Spears Image Credit: Britney Spears, CC BY 2.0, by marcen27 The singer was one of the few celebrities to defend former President George W. Bush during the beginning of the Iraqi War, despite his false claims that they had weapons of mass destruction. "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision that he makes," she said. "We should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens." In 2001, she did a commercial for Pepsi that co-starred 1996 Republican Presidential candidate Bob Dole. Despite being a registered Republican, she went on to endorse both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. 17. Kid Rock The country rock star is quite the Second Amendment supporter and showed off a semiautomatic with a silencer during a Rolling Stone interview while criticizing Obama. "Guys with the president carry this," he says. "You have to get these pre-1985 with a silencer. I bought it when Obummer came into office, because I'm thinking, 'What if he f***in' bans guns?'" In 2012, he endorsed Mitt Romney, calling him "the most decent motherf***er I've ever met in my life." He also supported Donald Trump and was one of the first celebrities to visit the White House. On some issues, though, he considers himself moderate."I am definitely a Republican on fiscal issues and the military, but I lean to the middle on social issues. I am no fan of abortion, but it's not up to a man to tell a woman what to do. As an ordained minister, I don't look forward to marrying gay people, but I'm not opposed to it," Rock told The Guardian. 16. Cindy Williams Image Credit: Joe Seer / Shutterstock Best known for her role as Shirley on the hit TV series, "Laverne & Shirley", Cindy Williams was married to Bill Hudson who is the father of Kate Hudson, whose stepfather is Kurt Russell, who is also on this list. 6 degrees of separation indeed. She got her first taste of success when she in 1973 when she starred in "American Graffiti" alongside Ron Howard, Harrison Ford and Rich-ard Dreyfuss. In the movie, she played Lori Henderson, also a pretty conservative character who was dating a squeaky clean Ron Howard. 15. Dan Marino Image Credit: Chris Jackson / Getty Dan Marino never actually won a Super Bowl, but that doesn't mean he still isn't considered one of the greats. Marino was on the team for 17 seasons and many feel he was the best quarterback in The Miami Dolphins franchise history; he's absolutely one of the most revered. Marino is a registered Republican who donated to the George Bush re-election campaign in 2004. He's currently one of the spokesmen for the Nutri-System weight loss plan. He has a projected net worth of around $35 million dollars and still holds 16 of the 34 records he set with the Dolphins. He also has a foundation that helps developmentally disabled young adults learn how to run and operate a business. One of the foundations success stories is the Zing Sock Club. 14. Fred Grandy Image Credit: Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock "Gopher" from the beloved sitcom, "The Love Boat" went from acting on television to politics. He became a Republican Congressman for the state of Iowa and served from 1987 - 1993. Before he became an actor, he was an active member of the Republican party; he worked with Republican congressman Wiley Mayne as a speechwriter but he credits his time on "The Love Boat" and the subsequent recognition for his successful election results. He stayed in Congress until 1993 when he decided to run for Governor of Iowa, but lost by nearly 4 points. 13. Tony Sirico Genaro Anthony Sirico Jr. of HBO's "The Soprano's" fame has 27 acting credits to his name, as well as 28 arrests, the first of which was at the young age of 7. He realized he wanted to be an actor while in prison, watching a performance by a group of ex-con actors. He thought, "I can do that". He reportedly donated to Rudy Giuliani's 2008 bid for the presidency. Before that, back in 2004, he attended a fundraiser for President George W. Bush and was quoted as saying, "I'm here because I'm a far-to-the-right- Republican". 12. Heather Locklear Image Credit: GABRIEL BOUYS / Getty Heather grew up in California, which isn't known for spawning conservatives or Republicans. It's written that Heather doesn't like to talk about her political leanings and based on her left wing surroundings, it's no wonder why. She's not as vocal a conservative as say someone like James Woods; in fact, the only real evidence out there as to her affiliation with the Republican Party is the fact that in 1998, she donated $1,000 to a California Republican's unsuccessful bid for Congress. Now, $1,000 isn't going to break the bank, but it's a heck of a lot more than most Hollywood types would ever dream of donating to a Republican. 11. Heidi Montag Image Credit: AFP / Stringer / Getty Back in 2008, Montag came out of the political, Hollywood closet and voiced her support for John McCain. She told Us Weekly, "I'm a Republican and McCain has a lot of experience." She was not altogether swayed by McCain's loss, however. She and her boyfriend at the time, Spencer Pratt came to terms with Obama's win, saying, "We're behind America and America's decision. You win some, you lose some." 10. Jessica Simpson Jessica is not a very political person, however, she was raised Southern Baptist and began her career singing on a Christian record label. Safe to assume there are some right-wing leanings that come with that type of upbringing. She came out as a huge fan of George W. Bush back in 2006, but in 2010, she attended the White House Correspondents Dinner saying, "Everything [Michelle Obama] does, she exudes confidence. I'm really just here to celebrate her." Jessica is a registered Republican, but that doesn't mean she can't appreciate a strong, Democrat woman. 9. David Lynch Image Credit: David Lynch, CC BY 2.0, by Thiago Piccoli President Trump recently quoted a right-wing article that had David Lynch praising the President of the United States. The quote read, "He could go down as one of the greatest presidents in history because he has disrupted the thing so much. No one is able to counter this guy in an intelligent way." Lynch later clarified his statement after receiving a backlash from Hollywood, saying he's still undecided on Trump's legacy. Lynch was a Bernie Sanders supporter but according to a recent tweet, it seems more than willing to support Trump, but only if Trump stop dividing and can start uniting the country. 8. Dorothy Hamill Image Credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock Hamill won an Olympic Gold medal back in 1976 and along with her haircut, took the country by storm. In 2004, the iconic figure skater stepped off the ice and took to fundraisers and rallies to support Republican politicians, George W. Bush and Dick Cheney. Dorothy also came out in 2006 in support of the Mitt Romney / Paul Ryan ticket. She attended the Republican National Convention that year and since then has been an unwavering supporter of Republican candidates. In 2007, she presented first lady Laura Bush with the Academy of Achievement Golden Plate Award. 7. Gloria Estefan Gloria was born in Havana, Cuba but grew up in Miami. Her father was a political prisoner in Cuba for 2 years after Fidel Castro's revolution. She has widely been considered a Republican, but has recently come out to clarify. She says, "I hate boxes, I'm not Republican, I'm not Democrat, I'm not even an independent." She was, however, appointed by George W. Bush to speak at the United Nations Third Committee on Human Rights about Cuba. That is one topic she can be absolutely clear about. She declines to talk about politics, but she will say this: she is 100% against Castro. "I'm pro-embargo...the only embargo in Cuba is Fidel's embargo against the people." She's also a strong supporter of legal immigration and "good security on the border." 6. Hal Holbrook Image Credit: ROBYN BECK / Getty Hal was honored in 2003 at the White House when President George W. Bush presented him with the National Humanities Medal for "charming audiences with the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain as Twain's outlook never fails to give Holbrook a good show to put on." 5. Gretchen Wilson She burst onto the scene in 2004 and every country woman everywhere found their anthem with her hit, "Redneck Woman". In 2008, she proudly put her political preference on display for all to see. She sang The National Anthem at the Republican National Convention and voiced her support for the McCain / Palin ticket. She has recently come out against 'political correctness' and thinks, "we should be more open to speaking to each other", adding, "we should embrace disagreeing, talking, getting to understand each other and working through it." She feels strongly that it's a shame when people get up and walk away if they hear something that rubs them the wrong way, saying "I don't think we're all supposed to agree on everything." 4. Hilary Duff Image Credit: Hilary Duff, CC BY-SA 3.0, by David Shankbone The former Disney star is a registered Republican and performed at George W. Bush's second inauguration. She's currently starring in the TV Land series, "Younger" and has received multiple nominations for People's Choice Awards in 2016 and 2017. Her first album was a Christ-mas themed record and was produced by Walt Disney Records. Her success in music, the big and small screens as well as her merchandise lines have made her a household name and a positive role model. 3. James Ellroy Image Credit: PHILIPPE MERLE / Stringer James Ellroy, an American crime fiction author and has frequently espoused conservative-leaning political views. He's quoted as saying, "I am conservative by temperament...I am very solidly and markedly on the side of authority". His comments have ranged from vague anti-liberalism to authoritarianism. He called his younger self a "f^ck-you right winger" but is relatively ambiguous regarding his overall political stance and voting habits. He says he opposes the death penalty and at the same time, owns 30+ guns. He's denied voting for Obama and that most of his political ramblings are willful misrepresentations. 2. Hunter Tylo Image Credit: Hunter Tylo, CC BY-SA 3.0, Frantogian Born Deborah Jo Hunter, "The Bold and the Beautiful" actress is also an author and former model. She is a 'born again Christian' and credits her faith and prayer in helping her deal with the death of her son and her daughters' cancer. 1. Jennifer Flavin Image Credit: GABRIEL BOUYS / Getty Jennifer Flavin is an actress, most recognized for her role in Rocky V. She's been married to Sylvester Stallone since 1997 and they have 3 children. Sylvester is also a conservative and most recently, the two went to the Whitehouse to witness the pardon of black boxer, Jack Johnson. Johnson was arrested in 1912 for crossing state lines with a white woman. Stallone had been requesting a posthumous pardon for years, Trump issued the pardon this past May after discussing the issue with the Stallones in April.

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(By Tom Giesen) Americans tell us through a recent Gallop poll that upward of 65% of them know global warming is happening. However, only 36% feel that it will pose a serious threat to their way of life. But that conclusion is dead wrong; our way of life is changing dramatically. The physical evidence across [...] Here's an excellent AFP film clip and article from a couple weeks ago that I think deserves a wider audience. Gazans turn to solar power as fuel crisis bites (via AFP) On the roof of Gaza City's children's hospital, a pristine row of solar panels gleams in the sunlight, an out-of-place symbol of modern, clean [...] Solar Power Is A Huge Water Saver (World Water Day Infographic) (via Clean Technica) Every year on this day since 1993, the community of nations has focused on the importance of fresh water and advocated for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. Severe droughts experienced recently in places like the American West, the... --- [...] (By Jacob Chamberlain) An unrelenting increase in energy production, including unconventional methods such as tar sands extraction and fracking, will severely damage the world's already dwindling water supply, the UN warned on Friday. "There is an increasing potential for serious conflict between power generation, other water users and environmental considerations," says the World Water Development [...] (By Juan Cole) Burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil) is putting 32 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually into the atmosphere. Since CO2 is a greenhouse gas that traps heat from the sun on earth and prevents it radiating back out to space, this unprecedented human output is causing climate disruption, a [...] (By Sarah Lazare) Four years after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, oil still washes up on the Gulf Coast shore, and residents and cleanup workers face health hazards from the millions of gallons that spilled and British Petroleum's chemical dispersant that followed. Yet, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday that BP -- after pleading guilty to [...]

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Americas Muslim woman becomes America's first headscarf-wearing TV reporter Tahera Rahman knew her road to becoming the U.S.'s first headscarf-wearing Muslim television reporter would be fraught with obstacles. After graduating from Loyola University... More Americas Venezuelan opposition leader arrested over drone attack on Maduro Venezuela's Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of a prominent opposition leader in connection with an alleged assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro. In... More Americas 'Man was training kids to become school shooters at New Mexico compound' The father of a missing Georgia boy was training children at a New Mexico compound to commit school shootings, prosecutors said in court documents obtained Wednesday. The... More Americas US Senate wants Assange to testify in Russia probe, WikiLeaks says WikiLeaks said Wednesday that its founder Julian Assange was "considering" a request by a U.S. Senate committee to testify about alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S.... More Americas US senator delivers letter from Trump to Putin during Moscow trip Republican U.S. Senator Rand Paul said on Wednesday he delivered a letter from President Donald Trump to the Russian government during a trip to Moscow. "I was honored... More Americas Ex-police chief claims role in Maduro's assassination attempt as evidence points to opposition A former Venezuelan municipal police chief and anti-government activist says he helped organize an operation to launch armed drones over a military rally on Saturday in an... 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More Americas 11 US passengers sue Mexican airline over crash Eleven U.S. passengers who survived an Aeromexico crash in the northern Mexican state of Durango on July 31 filed lawsuits against the airline in Chicago on Monday, according... More Business Monsanto pay $289M to cancer patient over weed killer A California jury ordered chemical giant Monsanto to pay nearly $290 million Friday for failing to warn a dying groundskeeper that its weed killer Roundup might cause cancer. Jurors... More Americas 'Suicidal' mechanic steals plane from Seattle airport Federal authorities were searching on Saturday for what drove an airline worker to steal an empty airplane from Seattle's airport and crashing it into a nearby sparsely populated... More Americas Omarosa claims there are tapes of Trump using racial slurs Former White House staffer Omarosa Manigault Newman claims in a new book that there are tapes of U.S. President Donald Trump using racial slurs and that she saw him behaving... More Americas Brazil suffers record murder tally ahead of elections Brazil had a record number of murders last year, with homicides rising 3.7 percent from 2016 to 63,880 according to a study released on Thursday, just months before a presidential... More Americas US 'doubling' of tariffs violates WTO rules: ministry Turkey's Trade Ministry said Friday additional steel and aluminum tariffs announced by U.S. President Donald Trump violated the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO)... More Americas At least 4 killed in shooting in Canada Four people, including two police officers, were killed in a shooting in eastern Canada on Friday in the latest in a string of gun violence across the country that has led... More Americas US Judge orders plane carrying deported family turned around A federal judge on Thursday halted a deportation in progress and threatened to hold Attorney General Jeff Sessions in contempt if the mother and daughter weren't returned... 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More Americas Details of US Space Force, 6th military branch unveiled The United States will create by 2020 a Space Force, as a sixth branch of the military, Vice President Mike Pence announced on Thursday, conceding the plan still required... More

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Sirsa: The presence of self-styled godman Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh still lingers on near his Dera (ashram) in Sirsa. Every time security officials or policemen stop a farmer from entering his own field, he looks towards the Dera and lets out a curse. Especially now, with the time ripe for harvesting cotton and spraying pesticides on other crops. Residents of Shahpur Begu, Kanganpur, Bajekan, Ali Mohammad, Arniyanwali and Nejia -- all villages falling within a five-kilometre radius of Singh's headquarters of Dera Sacha Sauda (DSS) -- are a troubled lot. The villagers, all farmers, have been facing routine checks, restrictions and some even get barred from stepping into their houses or out of the villages without a proper identity card. Representational image. Image courtesy: Manoj Kumar and Sat Singh The DSS chief was arrested on 25 August after a special CBI court sentenced him to 20 years in prison for raping a female devotee. After the verdict, thousands of DSS followers had resorted to vandalism in Panchkula, with the chaos leaving 32 dead and more than 200 injured. The town of Panchkula was taken over by tens of thousands of DSS followers after their leader was pronounced guilty. Following his arrest and consequent sentencing, the courts have now ordered a seize and search operation at the DSS headquarters in Sirsa. With the lavish ashram spread over 700 acres teeming with security personnel, the life of those living around it has turned upside down. Villagers informed Firstpost that the Sirsa district administration has ordered them and labourers to evacuate the fields. This move, officials say, is being taken to avoid any law and order issues among villagers and Dera followers. Also, they say that through this way, they can ensure the ashram inmates do not escape under the guise of farm hands. Sarpanch of Kanganpur village Gurvinder Singh said they have been asked to keep valid identity cards with them at all times. "We are questioned by the officers as to why we want to go our fields, where it is located. In fact, we can't move in and out of the village without facing these questions and providing them with [our identity] proof," he said. These restrictions have been keeping farmers from tending to their cotton crops, currently in the harvesting stage. "Farmers are not able to go and pick cotton from their own fields. If the police officer has even a little suspicion, he might refuse us entry. Cotton worth lakhs on 10,000 hectares of land is going to be ruined if this continues," Singh rued. Gurjeet Mann, a progressive farmer from Sirsa, said this is also the period in which crops need to be sprayed with pesticides to avoid the onset of diseases like the white fly. He said it's a lengthy process as pesticides need to be sprayed carefully and judiciously. "The farmers need to go to their farms many a time and also need farmhands. It's a matter of life and death for farmers, who have worked tirelessly so that their crop gets picked and sold in market," Mann said. He stressed that the government should not ignore the interests of farmers and come up with a solution so they don't face any loss. Suman Devi, who owns five acres on which she has grown cotton, said that while she was able to harvest cotton before the restrictions were clamped, she has been unable to go to the market and sell it. "There are mounds of cotton at home and it has been filled to its maximum limit. There is no space at home even to walk due to this. But they won't allow us to get a tempo and transport the cotton," she said. Working class taking a hit Shravan Singh of Begu village said that during the harvesting season, the villages teem with labourers from nearby states but this time, nobody turned up. "Even if we force our way to the fields, we can't do much. Men and women from neighbouring districts and state would visit but this time, due to law and order problem, no one is willing to come here and risk their lives," he said. Saroj Devi, who works with a self-help group in Shahpur Begu village, said the tight security has rendered about 1,200 women who worked as farm labourers jobless. Rajbir Singh, a farmer, said the "curfew" did not let him get his buffalo treated. He said his cow would give 10 litres of milk every day but when she fell ill, he could not take her out for treatment because of the "curfew" and the veterinary expert too refused to come to their village. Director General of Police BS Sandhu expressed surprise over the restrictions on villagers' movement. "If something like this is going on, I'd ask the local SP to permit villagers to visit their fields, but they would have to produce their identity card," he said. He insisted that all the restriction are for people's own safety and to avoid any tiff between Dera followers and the local residents. (Sat Singh is a Rohtak-based freelance writer and Manoj Kumar is a Chandigarh-based freelance writer. Both are members of 101Reporters.com , a pan-India network of grassroots reporters.)

Especially now, with the time ripe for harvesting cotton and spraying pesticides on other crops.

Ninety years after the first Academy Awards, Hollywood is still celebrating firsts. Twin Peaks: The Return smashed an unofficial casting paradigm for women. Read more >> July 20, 2017 at 10:23am Younger enthusiasts Cate Young and Andi Zeisler tuned in to see where things go now that the truth is (kind of) out there. Read more >> March 4, 2016 at 7:15am Twenty years after the show's final episode, it's still rare to see women like Jessica Fletcher on TV. Read more >> November 9, 2015 at 5:04pm The dark comedy about nurses working with elderly patients centers on numerous complex women. Read more >> March 29, 2013 at 2:55pm British actress Julie Walters recently complained that despite a long and fruitful career in English TV, movies, and theater, she's been put out to pasture as the "token gran." Read more >> March 25, 2013 at 11:01am Though most women of a certain age in Hollywood can't catch a break, the women who starred on The Mary Tyler Moore Show have proven exceptional even as they age. The news just came out that the ... Read more >> March 18, 2013 at 3:11pm TV has an age problem: Older female writers can't get work, no matter how great they are. "After 40 nobody will talk to you," former Mary Tyler Moore Show writer Susan Silver told me. "I did 14 movies of the week, 16 pilots, then nothing. It's a bad problem."... Read more >> March 11, 2013 at 2:24pm We've already discussed that Betty White isn't the only woman over 60 on TV . But she's certainly the patron saint of older female television stars. Though White's long been a household name -- her... Read more >> March 4, 2013 at 12:48pm The Golden Girls' feminism is self-evident: Four outspoken, post-menopausal women live together and support each other through older age, dealing together with their grown kids, ex-husbands, and dating lives. And they are not the punchline--they make the punchlines. This show,... Read more >> March 1, 2013 at 3:09pm Remember when Cougar Town premiered four years ago and we all made a whole thing of it because of its name, and, oh my God, what was this trying to say about older women's sexuality, and why are we... Read more >>

Twin Peaks: The Return smashed an unofficial casting paradigm for women.

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - President Obama on Friday pledged not to turn Syria into an arena for a proxy war between the US and the Russian Federation. But he went on to criticize president Vladimir Putin for attempting to prop up Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad and predicted that Syria under [...] By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, widely regarded as a war criminal with tens of thousands of deaths on his hands, is nevertheless on a roll. Russia and Iran, the backers of al-Assad, are not eager to see him go. Russia is now putting in more troops and [...] RT | - - "The U.S. military has revealed that American -trained Syrian rebels surrendered equipment to an Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group in exchange for safe passage. They handed over pick-up trucks and ammunition. A spokesman for the military described the move as "very concerning". " RT: "US-trained Syria rebels gave weapons to al-Nusra Islamists, [...] By Joanna Paraszczuk and Barno Anvar | ( RFE/ RL ) An Uzbek militant has carried out a suicide truck bombing in the predominantly Shi'ite town of Fua in Idlib Province, part of a major attack against Bashar al-Assad's Syrian forces by Islamist factions led by Syria's Al-Qaeda affiliate, the Al-Nusra Front. One of a [...] By Alexander Titov | (The Conversation) | - - Evidence is emerging of a significant intensification of Russia's military support for the Assad government. While the exact scale and purpose of Russia's latest deployments remain obscure, the available evidence suggests that the Russians are preparing an airbase near the city of Latakia for possible airstrikes [...] By Omer Tekdemir and Oguzhan Goksel | (Open Democracy) | - - Though often depicted as a relatively stable exception in a turbulent region, the Republic of Turkey has also wrestled with burdens of the Ottoman Empire. Arguably, the most troublesome legacy has been the multi-ethnic and multi-religious character of post-Ottoman society, because even after [...] By Tom Balmforth | ( RFE/ RL ) MOSCOW -- Several Russian soldiers are seeking help from human rights advocates to oppose what they say are secret orders to send them to Syria, according to media reports that add to evidence of a Russian military buildup in the war-torn Middle East country. The Gazeta.ru news [...] By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Jabhat al-Nusra or Support Front is one of the major rebel groups in Syria, holding extensive territory in the hinterland of cities like Homs and Aleppo and in the province of Idlib. The Support Front is just al-Qaeda. It has announced allegiance to Ayman al-Zawahiri, [...] By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Reuters reports, based on sources in Beirut, that Russia is increasing its involvement in Syria, backing the military of beleaguered dictator Bashar al-Assad. Russia appears to be offloading tanks at its Tartous naval base on the Syrian coast, and may also be establishing an interior air [...]

President Obama on Friday pledged not to turn Syria into an arena for a proxy war between the US and the Russian Federation.

Mayor Bill de Blasio signs bills limiting cooperation with immigration detainers. Demetrius Freeman/Mayoral Photography Office Mayor Bill de Blasio proclaimed that cities like New York City that are inclusive of immigrant communities have the opportunity to define a "good, new normal" that demonstrates why inclusive cities succeed and thrive. On Monday, de Blasio gave the keynote address at his New York City Global Mayors Summit at the Grand Hyatt on how cities can and are executing policies that encourage migrant and refugee integration, protection of their rights and civic engagement. The event coincides with the United Nations General Assembly and is part of the 2017 annual Concordia Summit. Program partners were the Mayor's Office for International Affairs, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, Columbia University's Policy Initiative and Open Society Foundations, whose vice president, former U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard--who spoke at the summit--is a close friend of de Blasio's. The mayor warned that the concept of the nation-state "is a bit strained" and asserted that national governments are less able and in many cases less willing "to respond to changing dynamics than ever before." Particularly on issues of migration, he said, the default position is to "let the cities handle it." "We know an essential truth--we handle these issues because it is our job, it's our moral responsibility because if there are human beings in our midst, they become part of our community," de Blasio said. "It may not be the ideal circumstance, but it's something we instantly feel responsibility for." In that challenge--calling the trend of powerful national governments deflecting to cities "galling"--comes an opportunity, de Blasio said, in the form of reshaping the "thinking around migration and what immigrants mean in our society." "We have a chance to define a new normal--a good, new normal--in which inclusive societies are prized and recognized as the most productive, the most modern, the most filled with promise," he said. "That is not the assumption in much of the world. It's certainly not the assumption in many quarters here in my own country. But we're in the process of building that new normal, not through words but through deeds." He said that even though New Yorkers are "crammed together like sardines in a way that should not be a model for humanity," it "still works" because people of all faiths, ethnicities and income levels are ultimately "mixed together." Too much of the current national discourse, he said, incorrectly suggests that immigration causes crime and the loss of jobs for Americans. "We have to show these examples more powerfully than ever in light of the rise of nativist forces and voices of division," he said. "We have to show we have a model that actually works for people. It's not just morally powerful. It's not just something that makes us feel good, it actually works better and it is the future." During his address, de Blasio said that the city has become "the safest big city in America" over the last 25 years and that it has more immigrants at this point in time than in nearly 100 years, noting that his grandparents came from southern Italy more than 100 years ago. He touted the IDNYC program, a government-issued identification card available to all city residents age 14 and older, noting that the city borrowed the idea from Oakland, California and New Haven, Connecticut and that Paris subsequently borrowed it from the city. He also noted that the NYPD does not ask immigrants about their immigration status. The mayor said that Congress has the chance to pass the DREAM Act to protect undocumented youth brought to the United States in their early childhood and "change the whole trajectory of the migration debate in this country." The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which was instituted by former President Barack Obama in 2012, was recently ended by the Trump administration, which has given Congress six months to pass immigration legislation. President Donald Trump is currently hammering out a deal with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi and Schumer have said both sides agreed to a deal that includes tougher border security but no border wall. But Gov. Andrew Cuomo has urged Democrats to "exercise extreme caution" and warned Trump would build a "cyber wall." "They actually would like to see a DREAM Act to give those young people a chance to contribute to this country," he said. "We all now need to do the hard work on the ground, talking to our Senators and our Congress members to make that a reality. That's going to be one of those turnaround points not only for the United States, it's going to send a message all over the world."

Mayor Bill de Blasio signs bills limiting cooperation with immigration detainers.

OMG - this is a note from John - I just watched this video, and OMG. Barbara Garcia, an Oklahoma tornado victim, lost her home (and her poor dog) while huddled with her pet in her bathroom, does an interview with CBS about the experience. She talks about huddling on a stool with her dog in her bathroom, her designated safe room, when suddenly everything came crashing down, she was thrown to the ground and buried in the ruins of her home, seen behind her in the image below. "I hollered for my little dog, and he didn't answer or didn't come, so I know he's in here, somewhere," she says, pointing to the utter devastation around her, that used to be her home. "I hollered for my little dog, and he didn't answer or didn't come, so I know he's in here, somewhere," she says, pointing to the utter devastation around her, that used to be her home. Then suddenly you hear the CBS reporter say "the dog, the dog!" The camera pans, and you see the dog, literally behind the woman, buried in some debris, it's head sticking out, unable to move. With the help of the news crew, they moved the debris and freed the dog. "Well, I thought God answered one prayer, let me be okay. He answered both of 'em. Because this was my lamb." Most pet owners are attached to their animals, and the thought of losing them during such a horrible disaster is something we'd all rather not even think about. This time, thank God, it worked out. Watch this video. It's really something remarkable. The dog pops up around 1:30 or so into the video. LGBT

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Being on the wrong side of suspicion can have extreme consequences where formal justice systems are not fully functional, realizes Amy Booth on a visit to a prison Bolivian prisons. Illustration : Sarah John The patio of San Sebastian women's prison looks for all the world like a food court. The place is tightly packed with families sitting at plastic tables as if to have a picnic. Women hawk bottles of soft drinks and empanadas from little stands: in Bolivia, prisoners need a way of making ends meet, because nothing - not even their cell - is free. My friend Angie guides me through the throng to Florencia. Greeting each other warmly in Quechua, Angie delivers potatoes and vegetables bought fresh from the market, which she stows away on the floor beneath the row of grimy little electric hobs that lines one wall. Florencia is a slim, petite woman in a traditional pollera skirt. She has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder. Florencia is a slim, petite woman in a traditional pollera skirt. She has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder Florencia and her companion Ana are from a remote pastoral community near Capinota, where they used to make a living pasturing goats. In June 2013, a 13-year-old girl was raped and murdered, her body dumped in an irrigation channel. The following night, Florencia and Ana were dragged from their homes by a furious mob: they and their husbands were the prime suspects. Florencia was separated from her husband, but that didn't matter to the mob. For hours, the women were beaten. Men put sacks over their heads and held knives to their throats, threatening: 'We'll do to you what was done to the girl.' The mob lit bonfires and threatened to burn them alive. To save herself from the flames, Florencia confessed. Hours later, the police arrived and took the women into custody. Many people have little faith in the formal justice system; Bolivia was ranked 113 out of 176 in Transparency International's 2016 corruption perception index. Moreover, for people in remote areas who only speak indigenous languages, formal justice can be hard to access. There are legal provisions for community justice in certain circumstances in Bolivia, but lynching is illegal. Nonetheless, cases of violent and gruesome mob killings carried out on the basis of little or no evidence crop up with alarming frequency. It is common to see life-size dolls hung from lamp posts as a warning to would-be criminals, sometimes accompanied by slogans like 'Thief caught, thief lynched'. The women and their husbands spent nearly three years in prison awaiting their fate until, in April 2016, the sentence was handed down. The court concluded that the husbands had been having a relationship with the victim. This had caused Florencia and her husband to split up was the reasoning, and the pair went on to kill the girl. Florencia and her husband were sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, and Ana and her husband to 15 years for being accessories. The women were the last to understand what was to become of them because they only speak Quechua. According to the court documents, Florencia's mother said Florencia went out at around nine on the night of the crime and didn't return until the next day, leaving her with no alibi. However, Florencia and Ana say there was no official translator present to dispute this detail. Although samples of hair were found on the victim's fingers, they were never taken for DNA analysis. The evidence available proved how the girl died, but there was no proof that Florencia, Ana and their husbands were the ones who committed the murder. The defence also points out that forensic evidence shows the victim had had sex with others, including her teenage uncle, before the murder - but at the investigators' discretion, any link between the victim's uncle and sexual abuse suffered by the victim had been left out of the investigation. Florencia and Ana have always protested their innocence. Angie met them while working on a project about prison conditions. Horrified by their story, she has helped them launch an appeal. Following her repeated requests, the public prosecutors in Capinota admitted that they had lost the investigation notebooks and other documents pertaining to the case. Our visit is brief. There are no long chats; it feels like there isn't much to say. Angie offers them a few words of support in Quechua, introduces me and leaves the food she has brought. Then we head back into the outside world. Meanwhile, with the original case documents lost, there is no date for an appeal hearing - and the victim's killers could still be at large. Amy Booth is a freelance journalist and circus instructor living in Cochabamba, Bolivia . This article is from the January/February 2018 issue of New Internationalist . You can access the entire archive of over 500 issues with a digital subscription. Subscribe today >>

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We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. The above preamble to the constitution of the United States was the aspiration of good men. Inasmuch as America was unable to live up to this most wonderful prose from its inception, it has for decades made progress towards it. The genius of the Constitution is its elastic clause, the ability to be modified in an orderly and responsible manner to reflect changes in society as well as to reflect citizens' enlightenment. From the abolishment of slavery to women's suffrage, for the most part, it has been a constant march in approaching the tenets of the preamble. As a naturalized citizen from Central America I am keenly aware of the tools and propaganda used by a select group of elites within a society to mislead a population. That is the battle being fought in America right now. These tactics are all diametrically opposed to the aspirations of the preamble. How can one have a perfect union when one takes a non-compromising posture? How can there be justice when many states are suppressing the vote of those that have fought for and earned it? How can there be justice when society is now dependent on a private prison industrial complex that depends on a constant flow of the human commodity? How can there be domestic tranquility when the body politic depends on false divisions to achieve a goal? How can we promote the general welfare of our citizenry when many are unwilling to establish a humane healthcare system and a humane safety net? How can we ensure that our children will live in a freer America where corporations that may be partially governed by foreigners are considered citizens that have more access to our political representatives than the average citizen? Every 4 th of July, our Independence Day, and throughout the year we must ascertain how close we are to the aspirations codified in the preamble to the United States constitution. Are we closer to achieving real justice for all? Are we closer to living harmoniously with our neighbors? Are we closer to achieving real economic and national security? Are we closer to ensuring that we promote policies that promote the general welfare by ensuring every American has equal access to success and a viable safety net to protect and allow a humane existence during bad times? Are we closer to leaving a better, freer, and self-sustainable country for our children? Over the last 30 years we have taken several steps backwards. It is reflected in the economic state of the middle class where middle class wages have become stagnant, where the middle class have become more indebted by design, and where middle class wealth have been transferred to the very few at the top. After the Bar-B-Q, fireworks, and a day or two of rest and recovery, it is imperative that engagement in the political debate commence. Bring back the full value of the 4 th of July. Make the preamble of the Constitution more than just an aspiration. Move America forward. It begins with you. Liked it? Take a second to support EgbertoWillies.com on Patreon!

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In the Old Testament, Ruth chapter 2, we see a great example of Godonomics. His name is Boaz, a rather wealthy land owner. 1 "There was a relative of Naomi's husband, a man of great wealth, of the family of Elimelech " He is such a successful producer that he is able to both hire lots of employees (reapers for his field), as well as leave the corners of his fields for the poor and needy. Ruth and her mother-in-law are in financial trouble, but are allowed to "work" for their food from the percentage of his field that he left available to the needy. Notice that even in this model, we see Boaz as an example of prosperity and generosity to those in need; however, as he helps the poor, he still requires them to work for their reward and incentive. Ruth, comes ready to work (glean) and asks Boaz's employees for permission (respecting his property rights). His name was Boaz. 2 So Ruth went and gleaned in the field after the reapers. And she happened to come to the part of the field belonging to Boaz, who was of the family of Elimelech. 7 And she said, 'Please let me glean and gather after the reapers among the sheaves.' So she came and has continued from morning until now, though she rested a little in the house. As a boss, Boaz is respected by his employees. He treats them with respect, provides a means for income, and a way for them to be generous with his money, as well as their own. 4 Now behold, Boaz came from Bethlehem, and said to the reapers, "The LORD be with you!" And they answered him, "The LORD bless you!" 5 Then Boaz said to his servant who was in charge of the reapers, "Whose young woman is this?" 8 Then Boaz said to Ruth, "You will listen, my daughter, will you not? Do not go to glean in another field, nor go from here, but stay close by my young women. 9 Let your eyes be on the field which they reap, and go after them." Although Boaz is often generous to the needy, he goes out of his way to reward her hard work. He doesn't treat everyone who comes to him equally, but fairly. And his special treatment is the reward for her hard work and her selfless generosity to her mother-in-law. Notice how the concept of both repayment and reward are on his mind, as he speaks about her reputation in the town . 11 And Boaz answered and said to her, "It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge." Godonomics is about liberty, prosperity, and generosity. It values property rights, pays people fairly not equally, and understands that reward and incentive are critical for both employees and those in need. God's wisdom challenges us to steward the talents and opportunities we've been given to make lots of money and give generously to the poor and needy. Godonomics transcends politics and labels. Some might call Boaz an "evil-conservative" big business rich guy because of his wealth. Others might call him a "bleeding-heart" liberal who champions the cause of the poor, the downtrodden, and the hurting. God calls him a faithful steward. For more information, check out www.godonomics.com

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President Trump spoke for about an hour at CPAC on Friday. There had been a lot of speculation about his reception - he polled 15% at last year's CPAC, as I recall - and the cremation heat of the Trump / Never Trump conflagration seems to be dying down to the embers. Here was a unique opportunity: speaking to a fired-up crowd giddy with the elation of a win after all these horrible, year-after-year litanies of decline and destruction by President Obama. Trump came out to thunderous applause. He may have polled 15% here last year, but this year he got 100% of the room and it was an electric moment for those of us who have been fighting a rear-guard action these last two terms. Here, at last, was a chance to go on the offensive; a chance to tell the base what is happening, why, and what they can do to help him. Credibility is an expensive character trait. I'm not speaking of President Trump now, but rather of myself. I wanted to like that speech very much. But I thought President Trump was terrible today; I personally have never seen him worse. The speech sounded like something from last year, and I mean July of last year. I didn't hear anything new and it seems like he said nothing new three times. I have done something like two hundred live speaking events, and while half of those performances were below average, I nevertheless know what it looks and sounds like to phone one in, and I thought Donald Trump had a golden opportunity today that he simply missed. I was really quite disappointed. But hey. Maybe the man was off because he was exhausted. He's done more actual work in a month than Obama did in eight years. As a matter of fact, maybe I am the one who was exhausted; I'd just done five hours of live commentary for two consecutive days on hamster rations of sleep and the people I spoke to after the event thought he was terrific. But I have seen him terrific, and this was not one of those times. But here's the thing that probably makes my carping about a speech pretty much moot. At this time last year, CPAC had the feel of a hospital visit to a terminally ill patient... something bad was going to happen and you could see it coming and there didn't seem much to be able to do about it except grit your teeth and try to soldier on. Ultimately, the rift between the Trump / Never Trump wings of the formerly deceased and now all-powerful Republican party was not, and was never, going to be bridged by rhetoric. It was going to be settled by actions . Before the election, the question for those of us with serious doubts about this man came down to, basically, this: was Trump a closet Democrat who was pulling a fast one on Republicans? Or were comments like putting his sister on the Supreme Court a kind of media-baiting political genius? Or both. Or neither? Well, we don't have to speculate any more. There is actual data now, and those data points are marked PENCE, TILLERSON, MATTIS, SESSIONS, ACOSTA, CARSON, PERRY, DeVOS, KELLY, COATS, HALEY, POMPEO, PRUITT and McMASTER. If you had told me that if Trump were elected we would get only Mattis, or DeVos, or Gorsuch then that would have been good enough for me. To get all of them (thanks Harry Reid!), each of them strong, no-nonsense personalities and not obsequious political lapdogs, is beyond my wildest imaginings. And when it is said and done, the man who has often fallen so short rhetorically has made a spectacular declaration of nominees that will be echoing through this nation's history long, long after the lights went out in the main ballroom at the Gaylord Hotel on Friday, February 24, 2017.

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Lt. Gen. John Nicholson, the recently nominated commander of American and NATO troops in Afghanistan, has confirmed what many of us have feared. He told the Senate Armed Services Committee during his Jan. 28 confirmation hearing that security in Afghanistan is worsening. The Taliban are emboldened by the prospect of a U.S. withdrawal. On Monday the United Nations reported that 2015 civilian casualties from terrorist attacks in Afghanistan reached an all-time high since 2001, a 4% increase over 2014. The Obama administration pins its hopes on China and Pakistan persuading the fundamentalist Islamist group to negotiate the end of its insurgency. Yet the Taliban's main demand--the establishment of what they deem to be an Islamic order--is nonnegotiable. They talk not with the intention of giving up fighting but to regroup and attack again. Liberal Americans, encouraged by the Taliban's main backer, Pakistan, assume that there is a deal to be made. This is the same mirage the U.S. has pursued since the Taliban emerged in 1993 out of the anti-Soviet mujahedeen movement and initially found favor among many Afghans disenchanted by the corruption and lawlessness of the first post-Soviet regime. The Clinton administration believed the Taliban's aspirations were limited to asserting ethnic Pashtun supremacy and were nationalist, not Islamist, in nature. The Taliban's subsequent ruthlessness and imposition of Islamic law once they took power didn't get the Clinton administration's full attention until 1998, when the group's decision to host Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda resulted in U.N. sanctions. That left Pakistan as the only country with full diplomatic relations with the Taliban regime. Then, as now, a Democratic administration tried to negotiate with the Taliban through Pakistan. This time, too, the Taliban's precondition seems to be that the U.N. withdraw the post 9/11 resolution that froze the movement's assets-- estimated in 2001 to be $100 million in the U.S. alone, with additional assets in Gulf states and in Pakistan--and limited international travel by its leaders. The Taliban have since increased }/s_2012_683.pdf their assets to at least $400 million through drug trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and by extorting U.S. and Afghan-government contractors. Although Pakistan felt compelled to join the international coalition against al Qaeda and the Taliban after 9/11, it never severed ties with the Taliban. Most Taliban leaders ended up on the Pakistani side of the 1,398-mile-long Pakistan-Afghan border. Some of them secured protection from tribes straddling the two countries; and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency ( ISI ) protected others, who lived openly in Quetta and Peshawar. The ISI wanted to keep using the Taliban as an Afghan proxy in Pakistan's perennial competition for influence with India. The U.S. couldn't or wouldn't move against the fugitive Taliban leaders for fear of violating Pakistan's sovereignty. (The search for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was a one-time exception.) The Obama administration initially spoke of coercing Pakistan into giving up support for the Taliban. In 2011 then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that Pakistan couldn't keep "snakes" in its backyard. The very next year, President Obama announced a schedule for U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. That made the Taliban and their Pakistani backers intransigent; they knew that all they had to do was wait. With another U.S. troop drawdown in Afghanistan by the end of 2016, leaving a small force of some 5,500, it is no wonder that Taliban attacks in provinces bordering Pakistan have increased. The Obama administration's decision to negotiate with the Taliban through Pakistan was embraced by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani after his election in 2014. China, Pakistan's major international supporter, was brought in as a facilitator, arranging meetings in Beijing between the Taliban and the Afghan government. China was expected to broker a deal involving Kabul, Islamabad and Pakistan's Afghan proxies. Yet Pakistan may no longer be able even to bring a unified Taliban movement to the negotiating table . The Taliban have splintered, and factions affiliated with ISIS have emerged to compete with groups tied to al Qaeda. Although the Taliban continue to depend upon the ISI for money, training and arms, it is becoming clear that at least some Taliban leaders would rather follow an independent course. Former Taliban negotiator Tayeb Agha reportedly resigned last year after the election of new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour, saying Taliban leaders should relocate to Afghanistan from Pakistan to "preserve their independence." This is not the only reason talks will likely fail. Afghan security forces and intelligence services don't trust Pakistan because of the haven it provides the Taliban. The Taliban look upon ISI with suspicion because of its connection with the U.S.--further diminishing Pakistan's capacity to broker peace in Afghanistan. Faced with international pressure as well as growing internal threats from the Pakistani Taliban, Pakistan has cleared out some known jihadist sanctuaries in the border region of North Waziristan, depriving Afghan groups such as the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani network of their historical base of operations. The assumption in Washington is that Pakistan wouldn't like to see the Taliban return to power in Afghanistan. But a similar assumption in 1993 was shown to be naive as the Taliban marched into Kabul with full Pakistani backing. Neither is there any sign today that Pakistan's military is willing to give up its decades-long pursuit of paramountcy over Afghanistan. So unless the U.S. is willing to keep sufficient troops in Afghanistan, the outcome of the "fight and talk" policy now being pursued by the Taliban and the U.S. will only feed chaos. Or a return of the Taliban as a fait accompli when the troops finally leave. Support Hudson Institute. Donate today

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Zakynthos, GR.--A 22-year-old African man, Bakari Henderson, was beaten to death outside of a bar in Laganas, Greece on July 7, 2017. Various bourgeois U.S. media outlets have reported Bakari's death as a "Brawl that killed American" or "Death of U.S. tourist in Greece"; but Bakari Henderson was killed because he was an African. Bakari was attacked in a local bar named "Bar Code." A surveillance video shows Bakari and a friend posing with a waitress for a selfie when he is slapped in the back of the head by another man. Another video from a nearby shop has surfaced and it shows Bakari trying to flee 8 - 9 attackers, one of which slams him into a parked car. It has been reported that the coroner's findings listed "shock" in regards to the death of Bakari; he was beaten even after he was unconscious. Greek police did not release a motive for the attack but it is clear that even though Bakari was with a group of friends, no one else was attacked but him--the only African. No matter where African people are in the world, we are seen as black people and not "U.S. citizens" or "black brits." Bakari Henderson recently graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2017 with honors. Sources say Bakari went to Greece to celebrate obtaining his degree in business finance and to complete a photo shoot that would help launch his clothing line. Bakari's accomplishments and ambition did not shield him from to his attackers. "As long as you're black, you are an African" According to one source, after a rise in "racist" violence directed toward "persons who, because of their complexion, are perceived to be foreign migrants, in 2012 the U.S. Embassy in Athens issued a security message to U.S. citizens to be aware of "unprovoked harassment and violent attacks." Nine men have been arrested in the killing of Bakari by Greek police and charged with intentional homicide which can carry a sentence of life in prison. Zakynthos Mayor Pavlos Kolokotsas has said that both groups involved had been drinking extensively. The judicial process in Greece is slow and by their law, suspects can only be held for up to 18 months before a trial. African people are part of a dispersed nation, separated by the attack on Africa by white power. Whether African people are in Greece or the U.S., we must be unified for our own security to be protected no matter where in the world we might be. Bakari Handerson's only defense from his attackers might have been in the African Socialist International (ASI). The ASI was created with achieving the objective consolidation of African nationality for all African people wherever we are oppressed and exploited throughout the world. One Africa! One Nation!

A 22-year-old African man, Bakari Henderson, was beaten to death outside of a bar in Laganas, Greece on July 7, 2017.

After 9 years of being a pioneer and leader in alternative news aggregation, RedFlagNews.com closed its doors on December 31, 2017. With more than 10M readers who visited both our app and website, we had built a community of trust and loyalty in online news media; something rare to find in 2018; nevertheless, it was clearly not enough to sustain the onslaught of suppression by Google and Facebook after the 2016 election. To our amazing community, thank you for your generous support and daily visits over the years. It was a good run with you by our side. Thousands have asked us where we will be getting our daily fix. As you continue your journey of seeking both balance and truth in your news diet, we strongly recommend the following two independent and trusted news aggregation websites. In the end, independent thinking is a battle that we cannot afford to lose.

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ADELAIDE duo Brad Crouch and Rory Atkins have been dumped from the team for Friday night's NAB Challenge clash for failing to meet club standards. The midfielders have been disciplined for their off-field behaviour during a club break last weekend. The Crows' decision to drop Crouch and Atkins was made on the recommendation of the senior leadership group, the club said on Thursday morning. "It's disappointing for both of them," Crows coach Don Pyke said at Adelaide Airport as the team prepared to fly to Queensland. "We've got a trademark in place for our players and an expectation around their standards and behaviours and unfortunately they made an error of judgment last weekend." But Pyke said the pair will still be considered for Round 1 despite being sensationally axed from the side to play Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium on Friday night. "Both of those guys have the opportunity to play this weekend, to press their claims for a spot in round one and also to learn a lesson from the expectations we have as a footy club," he said. "They are both disappointed, as you can imagine, but they now have an opportunity to redeem themselves by playing well this weekend to keep themselves in the (selection) mix." Crouch and Atkins will play in the SANFL against South Adelaide at Football Park on Saturday. Pyke said the incidents that led to their axings from the AFL wasn't serious. He would not divulge whether alcohol was involved. "I'm not going to go into details about exactly what it was," he said. "The leadership group, when they became aware of it, approached me with a recommendation which I fully supported." Crouch lives with Crows captain Taylor Walker. The 22-year-old, who has been heralded as a midfield star in the making, was set to make his long-awaited return after missing the 2015 with a foot injury. Read our live blog below for all the details.

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Gisha: Gaza Unemployment Rate Stood At 42% in 2016 80% of Gazans 'depend on humanitarian assistance'. (Photo: via UNRWA USA) By Palestine Chronicle Staff Israeli Legal Center for the Freedom of Movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Gisha said Gaza's unemployment rate stood at 42% in 2016 due to the Israeli siege imposed on the already impoverished Gaza Strip. "In the last quarter of 2016, Gaza's unemployment rate stood at 40.6%, a drop of more than 2% compared to the previous quarter, when it stood at 43.2%. This is still an extremely high rate, even compared to Gaza unemployment rate five years ago," Gisha said, noting that in 2012, "the unemployment rate was 31%." Gisha said about 6% of all employed people worked in farming and fishing sectors in October-December 2016, compared to 4.5% in the third quarter of 2016. "Many of the jobs in these sectors are seasonal and job availability fluctuates over the year, meaning this is not a sustainable increase in employment," Gisha noted. Unemployment in #Gaza continues to be among the highest in the world and to serve as evidence of a stagnant economy https://t.co/y00TintKlv -- Gisha gyshh mslk (@Gisha_Access) March 13, 2017 Gisha stressed that the rate of employment in construction in the first quarter of 2016 was 6.7%. "The figures indicate that the construction materials entering via Israel since 2014, as per the Operation Protective Edge understandings, are bringing a limited construction boom, and fall far short of bringing the anticipated growth and reconstruction," Gisha revealed. Gisha concluded by saying, "Overall, the employment and unemployment figures for the final quarter of 2016 and the figures for the whole year continue to point to a stagnant economy. The noticeable improvements are small and far from meeting Gaza's need for economic development." Gisha added it believes that Gaza's economy needs much more freedom of movement and access to markets. "There is no justification for the delay in implementing the necessary changes." (PalestineChronicle.com) Help the Palestine Chronicle Build a Movement of Truth Please help us continue with this vital mission. To make a contribution using your Paypal account or credit card, please click HERE Or kindly send your contribution to: PO Box 196, Mountlake Terrace, WA, 98043, USA

Gaza Unemployment Rate Stood At 42% in 2016 80% of Gazans 'depend on humanitarian assistance'.

Nobody is perfect. Anybody can be weak when the opportunity presents itself. Even habitual offenders against prevailing mores can be treated with indulgence; after all, they are only human and besides, they happen to be amusing or admirable in other ways, or they have a difficult background to contend with, or... Some people feel like that about the temperamentally and ethically unstable Mel Gibson; enough Californians voted for Arnold Schwarznegger to make him Governor, knowing his Hollywood approach to love and marriage; and Dominique Strauss-Kahn seems to have be notorious for his womanising long before European bigwigs made him head of the IMF. So why do the moral lapses of the Gibsons, Schwarzneggers and DSKs continue to make front-page headlines and cause public conniptions, high-level investigations and -- often -- resignations? Are these public figures doing worse than countless ordinary citizens do? Than one might have expected them to do? Partly, it's titillation, because editors know full well that, no matter how much above such hypocrisy they themselves (ahem) might be, there is an insatiable appetite amongst the public for scandal about the high and mighty. It is also a political game. With elections coming up next year, hardly a day goes by in the United States that some contender or rising star does not have his sins rehearsed in public; this week it is Democrat Anthony Weiner ; last month (Christian) Republican Senator John Ensign was forced to resign as investigations relating to an earlier extra-marital affair proceeded. Strauss-Kahn's friends allege that political opponents were out to get him by setting him up with a hotel maid -- even though his sexual behaviour seems like the last thing that would lose him popularity in France itself. And the current criminal proceedings against Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi for under-age sex have the look of a last-ditch attempt to pin something that sticks on the extraordinarily powerful and unaccountably popular politician. It would be foolish, though, to see all such exposures as cynical political manoeuvres. Sometimes people just get fed up with the unfairness and arrogance of certain powerful figures. This seems to be the case with the FIFA bribing scandal that came to a head this week. You don't have to know a lot about soccer to grasp how much power the president of the World Cup body holds and to understand the temptation to hang onto the job -- by fair means or foul. Again, while there may be a certain amount of envy and political schadenfreude behind reports exposing lavish spending by politicians and officials, extravagance is an injustice -- at least when one is using other people's money, and especially when dealing with a cash-strapped citizenry or with poor and struggling people in developing countries. While the ink is barely dry on stories about the IMF boss's swanky hotel suite in New York, the British are fuming over the profligate spending of the European Commission on jets, parties, resorts and all the rest of the trimmings -- PS8 million over the last few years -- and its demand for a budget increase. The message of this moral indignation is that -- celebrities aside -- we do expect more of our public representatives and officials than if they were characters in the sitcoms on television or in movies about power-crazed dictators; we expect them to measure up to an ethical standard. But what is that standard? Well, it seems to include virtues like moderation in the use of funds, sexual restraint and honesty. As we know from the scandal over Catholic priests who sexually abused minors, if there is one thing on which there is a public consensus it is the inherent wrongness of molesting children. The offenders knew that already, of course, because the Catholic Church is the world expert on moral rules which, based on the Decalogue and the Catechism, leave no-one in doubt. But since there is little consensus on sexual ethics in secular society, other organisations really have to spell out the rules themselves, and not only about sexual behaviour. Politicians usually have their boundaries well-defined, at least in countries like the US and Britain, but things are not so transparent when one gets into the corporate world or international agencies, and the further up the hierarchy the more obscure the ethical accountability seems to become. The IMF, for example, has a two-tier system , with one set of ethics guidelines for the rank-and-file staff and another for the 24 executive members who oversee the organisation. Under the staff code of conduct, complaints about sexual harassment, intimidation or aggressive behaviour can be investigated, detailed in annual reports and lead to dismissal. At board level, however, as a 2007 study found, the rules are vague, and although an ethics committee was established in 1998, by 2007 it had "never met to consider any issues other than its own procedures". Strauss-Kahn's contract has the staff code written into it but he seems to have been answerable only to the board. As the New York Times reports: "In 2008, not long after Mr. Strauss-Kahn assumed the top post, the fund was compelled to investigate him for having an affair with a staff subordinate. In that case, the fund hired an outside law firm to handle the inquiry because the ethics officer was not authorized to investigate at that high level. Although Mr. Strauss-Kahn was found not to have abused his position, he was publicly reprimanded by the board for showing poor judgment, and he apologized." It seems he did not learn much from that slap on the wrist. The board's code speaks in generalities like maintaining "the highest standards of integrity" and treating colleagues and staff "with courtesy and respect, without harassment, physical or verbal abuse", but clearly, people like Strauss-Kahn require more detailed instructions about the meaning of "courtesy" and "harassment". The rest of society, however, will have to give outfits like the IMF a hand. Organisations (democratic ones, anyway) are only as good, ethically, as the people they represent. There is only so much mischief that one person can do by himself, so it's the people who elect the Schwarzneggers and Berlusconis, the governments that promote the Strauss-Kahns, that we should worry about. And on that ethical front there is a lot of work to do. A new Gallup poll on moral issues shows that, while large majorities of Americans are opposed to extra-marital affairs (the harm is too personal to ignore), there is considerable tolerance of behaviour which harms marriage and the family -- including pornography and unmarried sex and parenthood. Moreover the tolerance for these things is greater among young adults than in older age groups. It is doubtful that things are much different in the other rich countries. It is also difficult to see how we can have leaders with high ethical standards when the ground on which they are standing is crumbling away. Carolyn Moynihan is deputy editor of MercatorNet.

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I stand by that. There are lots of valuable skills outside the STEM fields, lots of valuable STEM workers who don't have advanced degrees--Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College, where he studies, among other things, calligraphy--and lots of good institutions of higher education in foreign countries. On the other hand, you can read this as a very lax provision. What it does, in essence, is create a huge incentive for foreign-born college graduates to apply to master's programs in STEM fields. Or looked at the other way, it gives accredited American universities a license to print money by launching foreigner-friendly master's programs in STEM fields. If an Indian computer programmer can increase his salary sixfold by moving to the United States , then why wouldn't he take out $50,000 in loans to obtain a master's degree in computer science from some random American university? The programs would have to be selective enough to avoid totally discrediting the university sponsoring them, but there's absolutely no need for them to engage in any useful educating whatsoever for the value proposition to be enormous.

There are lots of valuable skills outside the STEM fields, lots of valuable STEM workers who don't have advanced degrees--Steve Jobs dropped out of Reed College, where he studies, among other things, calligraphy--and lots of good institutions of higher education in foreign countries.

(Photo: Charles Krupa/AP) V on Bulow was not his real last name: Claus's Danish father, a drama critic who greatly admired the Germans, was convicted as a collaborator after World War II, so Claus took his maternal grandfather's name. Trained as a contracts lawyer, he impressed J. Paul Getty enough to become his personal assistant, and at a party, he met Sunny Crawford, a beautiful heiress unhappy with her royal husband's roving eye. In 1966, after her divorce, they married; by 1979, they weren't as happy, and he was having an affair with a socialite actress. That December, Sunny dipped briefly into a coma; a year later, it happened again. She had suspicious traces of insulin in her system, and after the second time, her son, Alexander von Auersperg, and a P.I. he hired found a black bag in Claus's locked closet that included an insulin-tainted needle. Claus was charged with attempted murder, and in 1982, he was sentenced to 30 years. He then hired Alan Dershowitz to handle the appeal. Truman Capote came forward to swear that Sunny had been an intravenous-drug user. In 1985, Claus was retried, at vast expense (writing in Vanity Fair , Dominick Dunne observed, The powerful defense team assembled by Von Bulow for the second trial so outshone the prosecution that the trial often seemed like a football game between the New York Jets and Providence High). Nine witnesses testified that Sunny's condition might not be consistent with an insulin overdose. Claus was acquitted, Dershowitz wrote Reversal of Fortune, and Jeremy Irons won an Oscar for playing Claus in the film adaptation. Sunny died in 2008.

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1782: General George Washington establishes the Badge of Military Merit, America's first military decoration and perhaps the first-ever decoration awarded to common soldiers. A purple heart, made from a cloth badge, was issued for "instances of unusual gallantry in battle [...] extraordinary fidelity and essential service." Today's Purple Heart medal, awarded to service members killed or wounded in combat, traces its roots to Washington's Badge. During World War II, the military ordered well over 1 million Purple Hearts in anticipation of a grisly invasion of Japan that, thanks to the atomic bombs, never happened. Purple Hearts awarded over the past 70-plus years into today are still drawn from the WWII stockpile. 1794: When farmers in Pennsylvania rebel against the tax on alcohol to repay war debts, President Washington invokes the Militia Act, calling up and federalizing state militias to help enforce the law. The president himself rides in front of the army, marking one of the only times a sitting U.S. president will lead troops in the field. 1917: At Bazhoces, France, Sgt. William Shemin hops out of his trench and crosses 150 yards of coverless, machinegun-swept ground to rescue fellow soldiers on three occasions. Once enemy fire knocks out all of his commissioned and senior non-commissioned officers, Shemin takes command of the platoon and leads them until he is taken out of action by shrapnel and a bullet to the head. He is originally awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, but 96 years later, the military upgrades to the Medal of Honor. William Shemin, circa 1918 1942: The 1st Marine Division streams ashore on Japanese-held Guadalcanal in what was the first major ground combat operation by U.S. forces in World War II. On this day, Marines also land at - and quickly secure - Tulagi and other islands and atolls in the British Solomons. The Marines will slug it out with the Japanese defenders for six months before securing Guadalcanal, using the captured islands as staging bases for the Allied campaign of island hopping through the Solomons. American tanks on Guadalcanal 1944: When enemy machinegun fire halts the progress of his company, Staff Sgt. Stanley Bender climbs to the top of a disabled tank to determine where the enemy positions are. For two minutes, he stands defiant while enemy bullets bounce off his makeshift observation platform. Spotting the machinegun nests on a knoll 200 yards away, he leads his squad through withering fire to an irrigation ditch. As his men provide cover fire, Bender calmly walks around to the rear of the first machinegun crew, avoiding both enemy and friendly fire, and dispatches the Germans with one burst of his weapon. He ignores incoming fire and knocks out a second position. His fellow soldiers rush the remaining enemy soldiers and capture the town of La Fonde, France. Thanks to Bender's incredible bravery, 37 German soldiers are dead, 26 captured along with two anti-tank guns, one town, and three intact bridges across the Maravenne River. Staff Sgt. Bender is awarded the Medal of Honor. 1964: Congress overwhelmingly passes the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, enabling Pres. Lyndon Johnson to increase U.S. involvement in Vietnam - and eventually leading to full-scale war. Lyndon Johnson during a 1965 national security meeting 1990: Pres. George H.W. Bush announces the "wholly defensive" Operation DESERT SHIELD following Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, seeking to prevent the Iraqi dictator from entering Saudi Arabia and seizing control of most of the world's oil reserves. Two carrier battle groups are dispatched to the area, as well as the deployment of Air Force F-15s and F-16s, and the military buildup of over 500,000 troops begins.

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George Rasley, CHQ Editor | 1/26/18 At about 9:00 p.m. yesterday the White House issued a statement outling an immigration proposal that basically gives the Democrats everything they want on amnesty for the illegal aliens presently covered by the unconstitutional Obama DACA program. Here are the relevent points from the release: DACA LEGALIZATION: Provide legal status for DACA recipients and other DACA-eligible illegal immigrants, adjusting the time-frame to encompass a total population of approximately 1.8 million individuals. 10-12 year path to citizenship, with requirements for work, education and good moral character. Clear eligibility requirements to mitigate fraud. Status is subject to revocation for criminal conduct or public safety and national security concerns, public charge, fraud, etc. PROTECT THE NUCLEAR FAMILY: Protect the nuclear family by emphasizing close familial relationships. Promote nuclear family migration by limiting family sponsorships to spouses and minor children only (for both Citizens and LPRs), ending extended-family chain migration. Apply these changes prospectively, not retroactively, by processing the "backlog." While the White House proposal technically ends chain migration and the lottery, it uses ALL those visas to bring in the 4 million people on the visa waiting list. That means current immigration levels will continue for the next 10-15 years or more AND amnesty will be granted to a minimum of 1.8 million illegals currently residing in the United States. While the proposed policy changes will last only until the next Democratic Congress, the amnesty and grants of citizenship are permanent changes to America's electorate. As we noted yesterday, this is the same thing that the hated Gang of Eight "comprehensive immigration reform" bill promoted by failed Republican presidential candidate Senator Marco Rubio (and steered behind the scenes by President Barack Obama) proposed back in 2013, and it led to the defeat of then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and the end of Rubio's presidential ambitions. Some well-meaning conservatives may see the opportunity for some grand conservative sounding deal on immigration reform that would include legislating a pathway to citizenship for DACA recipients and coupling it with a few watered-down elements of the Goodlatte bill or Senator Tom Cotton's RAISE Act. This is a dangerous folly. But establishment Republican "leaders" on Capitol Hill have no interest in honestly pursuing the wishes of the conservative grassroots of the Republican Party who are adamantly opposed to any form of amnesty for any universe of illegal aliens. The establishment Republican leadership is only interested in paying-off the cheap labor wing of the business community and the globalist Silicon Valley oligarchs who have poured millions into keeping low-cost labor pouring into the United States. Democrats likewise have no interest in doing a deal to restrict immigration. They see immigrants from poor countries, especially those who owe their legal status to special treatment from politicians, as a rich source of votes for Big Government Democrats and their liberal welfare dependency programs. And there's a good bit of evidence they are right in that assessment. Back in 2015 the late First Lady of the Conservative Movement Phyllis Schlafly wrote an incisive article on Townhall explaining why conservatives - and establishment Republicans - should oppose amnesty for illegal aliens. Mrs. Schlafly presented an enormous body of survey research that showed that large majorities of recent immigrants, who are mostly Hispanic and Asian, hold liberal views on most policy issues and therefore vote Democratic two-to-one. Their motivation is not our immigration policy; it is economic issues. "The 2008 National Annenberg Election Survey found that 62 percent of immigrants prefer a single government-run health care system. The 2010 Cooperative Congressional Election Study found that 69 percent of immigrants support Obamacare, and the Pew Research Center found that 75 percent of Hispanic and 55 percent of Asian immigrants support bigger government." It is also worth noting a Harris poll Mrs. Schlafly cited that "found that 81 percent of native-born Americans believe the schools should teach students to be proud of being American, compared to only 50 percent of immigrants who had become naturalized U.S. citizens. Only 37 percent of naturalized citizens (compared to 67 percent of native-born citizens) think our Constitution has a higher legal authority than international law. The Pew Research Center reported in 2011 that, of all groups surveyed, Hispanics have the most negative view of capitalism in America -- 55 percent. This is even higher than the supporters of Occupy Wall Street." What's the bottom line in Mrs. Schafly's article? The data do not support the notion that immigrants are social, economic or constitutional conservatives. As Mrs. Schlafly noted in quoting Heather MacDonald of the Manhattan Institute, "It is not immigration policy that creates the strong bond between Hispanics and the Democratic Party, but the core Democratic principles of a more generous safety net, strong government intervention in the economy, and progressive taxation." All you must do is view this video of a group of so-called DREAMERS in action or this one of so-called DREAMERS saying F-ck Senator Thom Tillis or those outside Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer's house to understand the outcome of adding these Far-Left activists to the base of the Democratic Party. Republicans on Capitol Hill must finally get smart and understand that the current level of immigration, even without amnesty, will add nearly 15 million new potential voters by 2036, a large share of whom will favor the Left. Add to that amnesty for 1.8 mostly Mexican and Central American DACA-eligible illegal aliens and you have a formula that will make Republicans a permanent minority party and limited government constitutional conservatism a soon-to-be extinct philosophy of government. We urge CHQ readers and our other friends to contact the White House through this link . Tell President Trump there should be no path to citizenship for illegal aliens, and that if we must do an immigration reform bill, the only game in town is the Securing America's Future Act (H.R. 4760) sponsored by House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and that H.R. 4760 sets a FLOOR for immigration policy below which no legislation should go.

At about 9:00 p.m. yesterday the White House issued a statement outling an immigration proposal that basically gives the Democrats everything they want on amnesty for the illegal aliens presently covered by the unconstitutional Obama DACA program.

The Hayride is reporting that the effort to increase the gas tax in the state of Louisiana has failed in the State's House of Representatives: We heard this morning from several people in the know that at last night's meeting of the Louisiana House Republican Delegation, Rep. Steve Carter admitted... Read More News Gas tax , Louisiana 1 Comment Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit against the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for records on funding awarded to George Soros' Open Society Foundation-Albania, the conservative nonprofit watchdog announced Wednesday. The suit was filed May 26 after both government agencies failed to respond to Judicial... Read More News George Soros Leave a comment State Senator Mae Beavers (R-Mt. Juliet) will announce her campaign for the Republican nomination for Governor of Tennessee at Charlie Daniels Park in Mount Juliet today at 1 pm. In a statement released to the press last Saturday, Beavers said she will make repeal of the 6 cents per gallon... Read More News Mae Beavers 1 Comment State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) released a statement on his Facebook page Friday afternoon that he will not be running for Governor of Tennessee in 2018. "I will not be resuming my campaign for governor. I will instead look to Washington DC to help serve our country and provide real... Read More News Mark Green 2 Comments

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Former comedian Jim Carrey has been one amazing political cartoonist over these past months keeping his followers sane and entertain amid everything that's happening in the country. Carrey's true masterpieces followed after Trump enacted the "zero tolerance policy" back in April, a policy that has seen thousands of immigrant children forcefully separated from their parents and locked in cages. Carrey's first painting on the issue said it all: 1500 innocent children ripped from their mothers' arms at our border. Lost in Trump's "system". Give us your tired, your poor, your huddle masses yearning to breathe free -- and we will torture them for wanting a better life. From Shining City to Evil Empire in under 500 days. pic.twitter.com/Qg07vb0aBg -- Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) May 27, 2018 The shocking art piece depicts Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents separating a mother and her child. White House chief of staff John Kelly, who at the time had defended the policy, appears in the background. "1500 innocent children ripped from their mothers' arms at our border. Lost in Trump's 'system'. Give us your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free -- and we will torture them for wanting a better life," Carrey wrote. As the horror stories continued to emerge, Carrey once again picked up his brush and went to work: So I fixed the controversial TIME Magazine cover. This is much more appropriate. You're welcome @time pic.twitter.com/VMDtGTj5Zy -- Jim Carrey (@JimCarrey) June 25, 2018 Attorney General Jeff Sessions came forth this Tuesday to crack a joke at the expense of the thousands of families separated while speaking before a conservative criminal justice organization in Los Angeles. Sessions made the remarks while attacking the left for it's supposed "hypocrisy" on border security. Trump fan was just charged with attempted murder on Maxine Waters. "The rhetoric we hear from the other side on this issue - as on many others - has become radicalized," Sessions stated. "We hear views on television today that are on the lunatic fringe, frankly." "And what is perhaps more galling is the hypocrisy," he added. "These same people live in gated communities, many of them, and are featured at events where you must have an ID to even come in and hear them speak. They like a little security around themselves." "And if you try to scale the fence, believe me, they'd be even too happy to have you arrested and separated from your children," he suggested. Here is how America reacted: -- LifeOfDrew (@LifeOfDrew1) June 26, 2018 OMG!! Yah, much better. For the record, I think I love Jim Carrey the artist and activist as much if not more than Jim Carrey the actor!! [?][?] -- Dawn[?] #FamilesBelongTogether (@dawnresist) June 25, 2018 let's face it, donald doesn't have the hip flexibility to do this. -- son of soros (@EspinoGrigio) June 25, 2018 He's way fatter

Former comedian Jim Carrey has been one amazing political cartoonist over these past months keeping his followers sane and entertain amid everything that's happening in the country.

In June, the Obama Administration released the Environmental Protection Agency's study on fracking and its impact on drinking water. After more than five years of study, the agency released it to the public under this misleading banner: "Assessment shows hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water resources and identifies important vulnerabilities to drinking water resources." (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [Press release]. "EPA Releases Draft Assessment on the Potential Impacts to Drinking Water Resources from Hydraulic Fracturing Activities." June 4, 2015.) The media ran with the lede. Having cut down the concerns about drinking water resources as "not widespread," the fracking industry, its financiers and a legion of lobbyists thought they had closed the deal. They thought the path was paved for widespread, systematic fracking to maximize the amounts of oil and gas that can be brought to the surface to be burned. But last week, over three marathon days of public testimony on and peer-review of the study, the wheels fell off. The EPA's Scientific Advisory Board review panel -- a group of scientists, engineers and industry representatives -- converged on the landmark retro-chic Washington Plaza Hotel for the meetings. On short notice, and to the surprise of EPA and the assembled panel, residents of Pennsylvania, Wyoming and Texas who have refused to be silenced by the industry also showed up, putting names and faces to the thousands of people harmed by fracking . One by one, Ray Kemble and Craig Stevens from Dimock, Pennsylvania, Ron Gulla from Hickory, Pennsylvania, John Fenton from Pavillion, Wyoming and Steve Lipsky from Parker County, Texas told their stories. Each was forced to condense five to ten years of anguish over the industry's rapaciousness and over their government's neglect into just five minutes. The EPA had long abandoned its investigations in Dimock, Pavillion and Parker County, Texas, leaving the communities with contaminated water. And inexplicably, the EPA had excluded their "high-profile" cases of contamination from the assessment. One by one they demanded that the EPA include the truth about what happened in their communities in the assessment. Their testimonies struck a chord with the panelists. And this chord resonated with the absurdity of the Administration's topline claim that the impacts are not "widespread, systemic." One after another, the scientists, engineers and even some of the industry representatives took issue with the Obama EPA's finding. The panelists saw that "widespread, systemic" was a meaningless phrase. They emphasized the "local" and "severe" impacts that were outlined in the study and that were recounted in the public testimonies by Kemble, Stevens, Gulla, Fenton and Lipsky. And one after another, the panelists noted how the study was plagued at every turn by "uncertainties and data limitations." In a cathartic moment, toward the end of the second day, one of the panelists offered up a rewrite of the study's major findings that captured all of these sentiments, and the panelists erupted in applause. It is safe to say the Obama Administration was not expecting rapturous applause from the panel in support of turning the top line finding on its head. The panelists are also recommending that, at the very least, the EPA provide explicit summaries of what happened in Dimock, Pavillion, and Parker County. That is a far cry from re-opening the investigations, as we and our allies have urged the agency to do . We will continue to push the agency to stop avoiding these cases of contamination, and for Administrator McCarthy to meet with those affected. Kemble, Stevens, Gulla, Fenton and Lipsky went home with their pride, knowing they struck a chord and that they utterly changed the tenor of the peer-review process last week and exposed the assessment as an embarrassment, but that won't give them back the years they've lost fighting the industry and losing faith in their government.

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Perhaps the most surprising development of the recent war between Israel and Gaza was the discovery of the sophisticated network of tunnels that Hamas had quietly developed in the preceding years. The dark, low-tech tunnels running underneath Gaza offered a stark juxtaposition to the modern artillery Israel deployed on the surface. But if the tunnels hinted at an older kind of warfare, that doesn't mean they should be dismissed as a military curiosity. Compared with the most sophisticated weapons systems in use today, tunnels have withstood the test of time: for centuries, they have allowed military units to approach their enemies undetected and helped weaker combatants turn the battlefield to their advantage. There's no way to know how long drones or lasers or anti-missile defense systems will last. But as long as there is warfare, tunnels will almost certainly be part of the fight. FROM ANTIQUITY TO MODERNITY Tunnels and caves, tunnels' geologic predecessor, have a long history in warfare stretching back to biblical times. For at least 3,000 years, embattled populations have used them to hide from, and strike at, stronger enemies. Ironically, this has been especially so in the region where present-day Israel and Palestine are located. Archaeologists have found more than 450 ancient cave systems in the Holy Land, including many that were dug into mountainsides, which the Jews used to launch guerrilla-style attacks on Roman legionnaires during the Great Jewish Revolt from ad 66 to 70. The Romans faced the same tactic around that time in their fight along the Rhine and Danube frontiers in Europe, against Germanic tribes who would dig hidden trenches connected by tunnels and then spring out of the ground to ambush the Roman soldiers. But the use of tunnels hasn't been limited to insurgencies. It wasn't long before the Roman Empire began using them as an offensive weapon in siege warfare. By digging a hidden trench right up to a city's walls, and then tunneling underneath to undermine the walls and force a breach, the Romans discovered that it was possible to end a siege long before the city's population was starved into submission by blockade. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the use of tunnels in this manner soon inspired the development of countertunnels. The ancient Roman historian Polybius described a siege in 189 bc at the Greek city of Ambracia, where the Romans began digging a tunnel parallel to the city wall: For a considerable number of days the besieged did not discover [the Romans] carrying away the earth from the shaft; but when the heaps of earth became too high to be concealed from those inside the city, the commanders of the besieged garrison set to work vigorously digging a trench inside, parallel to the wall. . . . When the trench was made to the desired depth, they next placed in a row along the bottom of the trench nearest the wall a number of brazen vessels made very thin . . . [and] listened for the noise of the digging outside. Having marked the spot indicated by any of these brazen vessels, which were extraordinarily sensitive and vibrated to the sound outside, they began digging from within . . . so calculated as to exactly hit the enemy's tunnel. This is a fine description of the use of countertunnels to intercept and disrupt a tunneling enemy's efforts. (It is also the first description of using acoustics to detect tunnels, a strategy that has become ever more sophisticated, although not necessarily more effective, over time.) The Persian Empire's siege of the Roman city of Dura-Europos in ad 256 led to another new development: when Persian militaries tunneling under the walls of the city hit a Roman countertunnel, they filled it with a poisonous gas made from pitch and sulfur to asphyxiate the soldiers inside -- the first known use of gas warfare. The art of tunneling and countertunneling continued throughout the Middle Ages, with militaries constantly looking for ways to gain the upper hand. At the Siege of Chateau Gaillard (1203-04), the castle built by English King Richard the Lion-Hearted, French soldiers encountered three stout defensive walls. They eventually managed to break through because they found an unguarded toilet chute that emptied into a chapel inside the castle. In the sixteenth century, when gunpowder was added to the tunneling battlefield, the results were literally explosive and increasingly lethal. European armies developed sophisticated techniques for planting barrels of gunpowder in concealed trenches in order to undermine or blow up enemy fortifications, also known as saps (hence the term "sapper" for engineers who did this kind of dangerous work). This technique reached a stupendous climax during the American Civil War at the Siege of Petersburg in July 1864, when Union troops surreptitiously dug a tunnel under Confederate lines, only to fill it with so many barrels of gunpowder that they weren't able to climb out from the resulting crater. In what became known as the Battle of the Crater, Confederate soldiers simply lined up around the edge of the tunnel and poured down deadly fire on their helpless foes. By the beginning of World War I, tunnel engineers' main task was no longer to build tunnels to fortify cities, but to build trenches on the western front. The trenches were essentially a static system of tunnels that served as front lines for each side; it wasn't long before militaries began building tunnels in order to try to blow up the trenches belonging to the enemy. The British proved the most adept at this. At the Battle of the Somme in 1916, they successfully exploded two enormous mines underneath the German trench. In 1917, at Messines Ridge, the British military devised an elaborate strategy to dig 22 separate tunnels or mine shafts underneath German lines over 18 months. The Germans discovered one of the shafts, which had to be abandoned, but the other 21 were finished undetected and stuffed with 450 tons of TNT . On May 30, shortly before the explosives were detonated, the British General Herbert Plumer told his staff, "Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography." The explosion ripped the entire crest off the Messines-Wytschaete Ridge with a blast so enormous that British Prime Minister David Lloyd George claimed to hear it at 10 Downing Street in London. Ten thousand German soldiers were instantly killed or entombed. Plumer, however, was right. Although the British took what was left of the Messines Ridge, the war didn't change course. Instead, it dragged on for another year and a half. UNDERNEATH THE GOOD WAR World War I brought three great innovations to the battlefield -- the land tank, massed artillery firing high-explosive shells, and the airplane -- that made armies feel increasingly vulnerable sitting out in the open. After the war, some military strategists responded by trying to put entire armies underground, in subterranean complexes connected by tunnels to supposedly impregnable casements and fortifications. The most famous (and the most futile) of these efforts was France's so-called Maginot Line, an elaborate underground system of bunkers and supply depots supporting 22 large, aboveground forts and 36 smaller forts, all connected by a railway, pulled by diesel-powered locomotives, that passed through a network of tunnels. In 1940, however, Germany's mobile blitzkrieg tactics completely bypassed the Maginot Line and France had all but lost the war before the thousands of soldiers in the fortresses could even fire a shot. The U.S. Army built something similar, but on a much smaller scale, on the island of Corregidor in Manila Bay, with an 831-foot-long tunnel, some 24 feet wide and 18 feet high, feeding ammunition and supplies to a complex of artillery positions chiseled out of solid rock. An additional 24 lateral tunnels provided storage and sleeping quarters for troops. This was where U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, his family and staff, and Philippine President Manuel Quezon took refuge during the Japanese invasion of the Philippine island of Luzon in December 1941. But like its Maginot Line counterpart, the Malinta Tunnel on Corregidor turned out to be more of a trap than an impregnable fortress, as the new mobile warfare techniques of World War II left it isolated and useless. Today, both are little more than tourist attractions and symbols of military folly. But around the same time that these massive underground complexes were being built, tunnels also experienced a revival as a tool for insurgents. The pioneers in this revival of tunnel warfare were the Chinese during the Sino-Japanese War, especially during the fighting around the village of Ranzhuang in Hebei Province in 1937 and 1938. Chinese guerrillas dug nine miles of tunnels between houses in the village to foxholes on the battlefield, so that they could attack Japanese soldiers from the rear. The tunnel entrances and exits were usually located in a house or in a well, making it easier for guerrillas to enter and leave without being detected. The Japanese soon caught on, however, and began filling the tunnels with water or even poison gas. The Chinese retaliated by installing filtering systems that drew off the water and the gas. This cat-and-mouse game -- which is typical of tunnel warfare -- continued until the Japanese finally withdrew. How important the tunnels of Ranzhuang were to the battle's outcome is a matter of debate. To the Chinese, however, they are a monument to defiant resistance to the Japanese invader and, like the Maginot Line, are a major tourist attraction. What the Japanese learned from the tunnel wars against the Chinese, however, would be invaluable in their fight against the U.S. Marines in World War II. They borrowed the techniques of hidden bunkers and emplacements connected by an elaborate network of tunnels, first on the island of Peleliu and then on Iwo Jima. There, they turned an entire mountain, Mount Suribachi, into a honeycomb of tunnels and bunkers lined with concrete, with multiple exits so that Marines clearing one end of the tunnels would find themselves suddenly under attack from the other end. Clearing the Japanese tunnels was a grim business. Facing Japanese soldiers determined to fight to the death, U.S. Marines favored flamethrowers, explosive charges, and hand grenades (according to U.S. rules of engagement, poison gas was not an option). Marines on Peleliu suffered twice as many casualties as Marines fighting on Tarawa, largely because of the tunnels; the Marines on Iwo Jima were still clearing tunnels two months after the island had fallen. There was method to the Japanese soldiers' madness. They hoped that by inflicting as many U.S. casualties as possible -- and making the United States' path to victory as slow, painful, and costly as possible -- they would deter Washington from attempting a similar full-scale invasion of Japan's home islands. It worked, but not in the way the Japanese had hoped. In order to avoid an invasion, U.S. President Harry Truman chose to end the war by dropping atomic bombs on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. UNDERMINING THE UNITED STATES The dawn of the atomic age forced militaries to dig even deeper underground to protect the chains of command from nuclear attack. So the United States built supposedly nuclear-bomb-proof shelters, including a five-acre network of tunnels buried under 2,000 feet of solid granite built into Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, to house the North American Aerospace Defense Command; and the Presidential Emergency Operations Center, located 120 feet under the East Wing of the White House. Fortunately, neither one has been put to that ultimate test, although the PEOC was used by Vice President Dick Cheney during the 9/11 crisis. But the most adept students of tunnel warfare during the Cold War were the Communist forces in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. In Korea, underground warfare reached a new level of size and sophistication in the 1950s. To evade American air supremacy, North Korean and Chinese forces built underground fortifications so extensive that for every mile of military front on the surface, there were two miles of underground tunnels -- more than 300 miles in total. The tunnels were built largely by prisoners, who ripped out more than two million cubic meters of rock for structures that hid not only tens of thousands of soldiers and supplies, but entire artillery batteries that could be wheeled out of mountain caves to fire on South Korean or UN forces (and then drawn back in to dodge subsequent airstrikes). The tunnels dug by Communist forces in South Vietnam were nowhere near as massive as the North Korean version, but they enabled the Vietcong to maintain a guerrilla war for years against a more numerous and better-armed foe. The biggest underground complex was the tunnels at Cu Chi close to Saigon, initiated during Vietnam's Communist insurgency against the French colonial military in the 1950s. These tunnels extended some 200 miles toward the Cambodian border and came complete with ammunition storage, barracks, workshops, kitchens, hospitals, and even theaters for showing propaganda movies. The U.S. military was so oblivious to the underground threat, at least at first, that in 1966 U.S. troops built a base camp -- a 1,500-acre compound housing 4,500 troops -- at Cu Chi, directly over the Vietcong tunnels. Black-clad guerrillas soon began organizing attacks on the base, popping out at night to blow up planes and steal weapons and equipment, including a tank, before disappearing into the darkness. The U.S. military responded by declaring the area around Cu Chi a "free fire" zone and pounded it with artillery, bombs, and even napalm in hopes of destroying the Vietcong. Yet the raids continued: from their tunnels, the Vietnamese guerrillas could wait out U.S. bombing raids and then prepare to strike again. The tunnels "were like a thorn stabbing the enemy in the eye," a Vietcong officer later remembered, one that had become impossible for the U.S. military to remove. According to one historian, the tunnels had allowed the Vietcong to so deeply infiltrate the U.S. military installation that at one point, all 13 of the base's barbers were members of the Vietcong. When at last an Australian engineer revealed that the tunnels under the base were more extensive than anyone imagined, the U.S. Army realized what a hornets' nest it was sitting on. The effort to clear the tunnels included teams of Australians, Americans, and New Zealanders dubbed "Tunnel Rats" who entered small surface access holes barely two feet wide, usually armed with nothing more than a flashlight, a few grenades, and a small pistol. What they found was a vast labyrinth of communication tunnels leading to caves and caverns built at four separate levels. With nerve and courage, the Tunnel Rats defied the claustrophobic and cramped conditions -- as well as booby traps, snakes, scorpions, hordes of bats, and angry Vietcong fighters -- to clear the Cu Chi complex from the inside. At the same time, B-52 airstrikes pounded the tunnels from above, causing many to collapse. Some 12,000 Vietcong fighters were killed in the Cu Chi operation, but the United States had barely started securing the tunnel complex when the country withdrew from the war. Today, even the Vietnamese honor the Tunnel Rats as the toughest, deadliest foe they ever faced. (The Israeli military has a similar unit, the Samoorim ["Weasels"], as part of the elite Yahalom combat engineers.) Although the Tunnel Rats could not save the U.S. mission in Vietnam, they did write one of the grittiest, if largely forgotten, chapters in the history of the U.S. Army. In Vietnam, the tunnel digging stopped with the end of the war (although the Vietnamese revived their use during the Chinese invasion in 1978). Not so in North Korea. After the Korean War, Pyongyang's appetite for tunnels increased. In preparation for a fresh invasion of South Korea, North Korea designed tunnel complexes across the demilitarized zone between the two countries. Between 1974 and 1990, South Korean authorities discovered four massive tunnels extending from North Korea under the border, each buried more than 100 meters under the surface and measuring two meters high and two meters wide -- wide enough for three North Korean soldiers to march through shoulder to shoulder (sufficient for a full division of North Korean troops, roughly 10,000 soldiers, to march through every hour). One of the tunnels emptied out just 30 miles from the South Korean capital of Seoul. South Korean authorities closed down the tunnels as they found them, but no one knows how many more may remain undiscovered. THE INVISIBLE THREAT The Israel Defense Forces face similar problems in Gaza today. In the IDF's recent incursion into Hamas-governed territory, it has claimed that it destroyed no fewer than 31 military tunnels leading into Israel. But there is no doubt that a large maze of tunnels still exists in Gaza. These tunnels were clearly not the product of improvisation. Indeed, their size and sophistication suggest that, in recent years, North Korea has been providing Hamas both weapons and expertise in digging tunnels. The construction of Hamas' tunnels involved the removal of massive quantities of earth almost entirely with electric jackhammers operating some 60 feet underground, in order not to alert the Israelis. Then the surfaces of the tunnel were lined with concrete, and iron rails were installed down the middle to facilitate the transportation of soldiers, missiles, and weapons in -- and kidnapped Israeli victims out. Some of Hamas' tunnels were large enough to drive a truck through, and nearly all were booby-trapped. They were also positioned so that detecting and clearing the tunnels would cause massive civilian casualties on the surface. Hamas' main underground command center, for example, is situated under a hospital. What the IDF discovered, to its dismay, was that Hamas' tunnels weren't simply extensive -- they were also jam-packed with weapons in preparation for an all-out offensive into Israel that Israeli authorities say was planned to coincide with the Rosh Hashanah holiday on September 24. If Hamas' rocket attacks hadn't triggered a bold Israeli reaction, including ground operations in Gaza, the tunnels might have gone undetected -- and the coming Hamas offensive would have been as much a psychological blow to Israel as the 9/11 attacks were to the United States. This is, of course, the great advantage of tunnels in warfare. They are an invisible and silent threat, unless you know what to look for and where to look. More often than not, countertunnelers have had to rely on luck, instinct, and human intelligence (that is to say, an informer) to find their whereabouts -- and, as history has shown in Cu Chi and Messines Ridge, by the time they find out, it's often too late. Meanwhile, the factor of the unknown can gnaw at an antagonist's imagination, filling an entire community with fear and adding a dimension of psychological warfare to the other challenges tunnel warfare poses. No one in Israel can be sure that the IDF has taken out all of the tunnels Hamas has built, any more than they know how many tunnels Hamas' Shiite counterpart, Hezbollah, has dug into Israel from Lebanon. Reports suggest that the Hezbollah tunnels may be, if anything, even more sophisticated. Likewise, South Koreans cannot be sure they've found every tunnel that their Communist neighbor has burrowed under the demilitarized zone, although no new tunnel has been found since 1991. TECHNOLOGY VS. TUNNELS Even the United States can't rest easy. The recent uncovering of more than 200 tunnels dug across the Mexican-U.S. border -- 95 in Nogales, Arizona, alone -- has spurred fears of an underground assault. Most of these cross-border tunnels are used for smuggling illegal immigrants or drugs; but they could also become conduits for terrorists. That danger has prompted the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) to develop new ways of detecting tunnels that are more systematic than relying on dumb luck or the occasional informant. In January 2011, the U.S. government even set up a Joint Tunnel Test Range at the Yuma Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona, to sample the latest anti-tunneling technologies. High-tech tunnel detection is an inexact science, to say the least. One underground detection expert, Paul Berman, has told the Times of Israel newspaper that electrical resistivity tomography, which measures levels of resistance in the earth under a given patch of ground, can find anomalies that would point to the existence of tunnels -- or again might not. So far, no one has found the magic high-tech formula for finding hidden tunnels. "Tunnels have only been, so far, successfully located by intelligence, not by technology," according to John Verrico of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate. Seismic testing technologies that help oil and gas exploration or the construction trade find the geophysical character of a piece of land aren't designed to look for the distinctive features of tunnels. Sensors that work well in finding gaps or crevasses in one environment may miss significant features of another, including the presence of a man-made tunnel. Ground-penetrating radar has been one promising area of research, using pulses of radio frequency energy to find voids or gaps beneath ground surface. GPR works fine for locating utility lines and minesweeping operations and finding buried historical sites. But looking deeper, to the 10- to 20-meter depths where terrorists like to lay their tunnels, is more difficult. Lockheed Martin is working with the DHS on a lower-frequency version of GPR , using electromagnetic waves to plot tunnels deep underground, but until now the results have been indeterminate. Another promising approach is the prototype Active Acoustic Tunnel Detector, being developed at Idaho National Laboratory, which transmits up to 200 hertz of acoustic waves into the ground. An onboard motion detector measures how the waves move the dirt and rock that those sound waves pass through. If the ground is solid, the resulting graph shows a rapidly rising line. If there's a gap or void, the graph line will appear as a hump or dip. A third approach uses microgravity analysis, measuring minute changes in the planet's gravitational field to locate a tunnel. That requires a higher level of precision than current testing can show and will require a heavy investment in research to get any reliable results. In any case, once a tunnel is found, there still remains the problem of how to clear or secure it safely, especially if it's booby-trapped. The use of robotic vehicles to explore and neutralize a tunnel structure may eventually replace the volunteer "Tunnel Rat." But for now, the old techniques of clearing them with explosives and a handgun remain the standard -- as do the dangers of that approach. In fact, if there's any certain bet to come out of the fighting in Gaza, it's that tunnel warfare in the hands of future insurgencies and militant groups will pose a persistent problem in spite of all the high-tech weaponry and gadgets of traditional militaries. Which side ultimately prevails depends on many factors. But anyone who thinks there's clear light at the end of this tunnel had better think again. Support Hudson Institute. Donate today

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Listening to the some of the reactions from reporters and media commentators over recent events, specifically, the downing of flight MH17 over Ukraine and the ground invasion of Gaza by the Israelis, many of their reactions have been of dismay, akin to what is the President's reaction, what is he going to do, etc. Last week, while thousands of children continued to flood across Harry Reid's "secure" US/Mexico border, we were treated to similar hand-wringing by the press, joined by several members of Congress, when the President had time to shoot pool and attend Democratic fundraisers, but could not visit the Texas or Arizona borders. President Obama at what he does best Newsflash everyone. Barack Obama doesn't care. And to those who say, "he cares about his legacy," my reply is, horse-hockey. Barack Obama is biding his time until 2016, when he can jet off to multi-million home in Hawaii, paid for by his Hollywood pals. Now, he's all about enjoying the perks of office and his most especially beloved, his private jet, courtesy of the American taxpayers. In this age of grave climate change, the President sure doesn't have any problems jetting off all over the country for his $30,000/plate fundraisers. According to the US Energy Information Administration, Air Force One burns five gallons of jet fuel for every mile it flies, and, the burning of the fuel emits 21.1 pounds of CO2 per gallon into the atmosphere. What me, worry? What? Me, worry? It is readily apparent, at least to this author, that our narcissist-in-chief has always believed that the American minions don't truly appreciate him for his mind or his greatness. In 2008, did he not trounce Hillary "you're likable enough" Clinton, then the perceived shoo-in for the Democratic presidential nomination. Did he not win the Nobel Peace Prize awarded for his future undertakings as the world waited with bated breath. Why he even sealed his college transcripts because we wouldn't understand his brilliance and they'd be taken out of context anyway, like the whispering campaign that he used a foreign student exchange scholarship to get into Columbia. Whether Rasmussen or Gallup , or numerous other pollsters, Americans are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the direction our country is going in. According to Gallup, 23% of Americans are satisfied with the direction, while 74% are dissatisfied. June 5-8 Gallup Poll re America's Mood/Direction of the Country Our country has become unrecognizable to so many of us in just the past five and one-half years. We've become a nation where 37.2% of working-age Americans are not in the labor force, a 36-year high . Mortimer Zuckerman, in his July 13 piece for The Wall Street Journal, writes: Full-time jobs last month plunged by 523,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What has increased are part-time jobs. They soared by about 800,000 to more than 28 million. Just think of all those Americans working part time, no doubt glad to have the work but also contending with lower pay, diminished benefits and little job security. Our Saul Alinsky acolyte has been slowly and systematically dismantling America as we know it. He took advantage of the "blame Bush" mantra that propelled him and a Democrat-controlled Congress into office. He's run rough-shod over the Constitution in the guise of Executive Orders; intimidated the US Supreme Court Chief Justice into a favorable ruling for Obamacare, which has been one of the chief culprits in America's anemic economic (non) recovery; lied to the American people and has taken no accountability about Benghazi, the IRS targeting, and the VA scandals; polarized Americans by inferring that if we are pro-life or believe marriage is between a man and a woman, we must be bigots and racists, OR, if we're financially successful, we've done so at the expense of the undeserving poor; and mocks America's exceptionalism on an international stage as he draws down our armed forces to the lowest levels since the 1940's. For the latter, I fear, we will pay a heavy price in the not-too-distant future, as terrorism spreads and fills the vacuum of our departure on the world stage. And now, our legend-in-his own-mind President fills his time making vacuous statements mostly about himself and his accomplishments, while mocking the opposition. His recent 5500-word speech given in Texas (you remember, when he didn't have time to visit the border) contained 199 references to me or I, a record some media outlets report. No, Barack Obama only cares about Barack Obama and always has. And that is becoming increasingly evident to more and more of the voting public every passing day. Some of the sycophantic media denizens are beginning to wake up, and we're even seeing chinks in the armor of that one demographic that can always be counted on for Obama hero worship and votes -- members of the Black community now finding their voices as they see their fair share being given instead to illegal minors crossing the border. We have two and one-half more years of this Presidential farce, and I'm putting the TV on mute from now on whenever I see anything remotely Barack. Clint Eastwood had it right. An empty chair for an empty suit. And Obama doesn't care. Originally published on www.political-woman.com

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Crowd sitting at SFO. Liberation Photos: Gloria La Riva It is critically important that the broad progressive movement, which has dealt the Trump administration its first setback, understand that the Democratic Party did not lead this struggle, and in fact, supported Trump as he prepared to impose the Executive Order that would keep out people from predominantly Muslim countries. Our movement must absolutely expose not only Trump but also the Democrats who have been 100 percent complicit with Trump until now. This is important, because now that the people have secured this partial victory, the Democratic Party leadership is trying to jump in front and opportunistically take advantage of the peoples' struggle. The Democrats voted for and not against the confirmation of Gen. John Kelly as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, the agency which at this moment is enforcing and still championing this illegal order. The vote for the confirmation of Kelly was 88-11 in the US senate. The Democrats knew what Trump was planning with this Executive Order. He had repeated his promise to do this over and over again. The Democrats could have insisted in confirmation hearings with Kelly that he repudiate any support for such a racist and unconstitutional executive order before they would support him. Instead, Sen. Chuck Schumer, (D-NY), who is today holding a press conference to try to appear in opposition to Trump, actually endorsed Kelly just one week ago. "I looked at their records...and I think they'd be very good," Schumer said of Gen. James "Mad Dog" Mattis and John Kelly. Fighting racism and bigotry with solidarity On Jan. 28, tens of thousands of people took action in airports around the country against Trump's racist anti-Muslim ban on refugees and immigrants. Taxi workers in NYC struck, joining the struggle. That combined mass action had an immediate impact -- within hours a federal judge had ruled that the individuals who already landed here, and those in transit, would not be sent back. Approximately 200 detained people who were in transit yesterday will be freed as a consequence. In addition, we salute the progressive lawyers in Boston, Ma., mostly women, who raced to court late on Jan. 28 and won a more reaching temporary stay against Trump's Executive Order, more reaching than the order that had been achieved in New York. "The ruling, according to the attorneys, states that no approved refugee, holder of a valid visa, lawful permanent resident or traveler from the seven majority-Muslim nations can -- for the next seven days -- be detained or removed due solely to Trump's executive order anywhere in the United States."(WBUR). Those outside the U.S. who were targeted by the ban still cannot travel. The ruling is temporary. It is an indication of mass pressure and the true illegality of the executive order. Legality is fluid and it is the mass mobilization of the people that has at least temporarily destabilized the administration's plans. This is evidenced by new, public waffling from the White House on Jan. 29 about the terms of this heinous act. New contradictions are emerging with each passing moment. The overall Executive Order remains in place, however. We have to keep packing the streets, jamming up the airports and the courts to turn this partial victory into a full victory. The people saw a glimpse of their collective power this evening. But the ruling class saw it too. Now we have to keep showing them that power, and for everyone who marched tonight there were far more at home cheering the action. As we keep marching, there are millions more who will swell our ranks. There can be no business as usual. In the face of these bigoted attacks, the people must become ungovernable. We will not retreat -- they must retreat. Keep fighting until victory!

It is critically important that the broad progressive movement, which has dealt the Trump administration its first setback, understand that the Democratic Party did not lead this struggle, and in fact, supported Trump as he prepared to impose the Executive Order that would keep out people from predominantly Muslim countries

Heavy rains have ravaged Georgia's capital Tbilisi, resulting in flooding of low-lying areas. Authorities said 12 people have died and 300 animals from the local zoo escaped, some of them have been reportedly shot dead. Alligator in the streets of Tbilisi after flooding. Photo:@golub Cars are seen among debris at a street hit by a flood in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015. Photo:Reuters Lion on the streets of Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015. Bear climbing in a building of Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015 Photo:@yasharhuseyn Rescuers work among debris at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015. Photo:Reuters A man directs a hippopotamus after it was shot with a tranquilizer dart at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015. Photo:Reuters A man shoots a tranquilizer dart to put a hippopotamus to sleep at a flooded street in Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015. Photo:Reuters Hippo on the streets of Tbilisi, Georgia, June 14, 2015. Photo:@TamarBasilaia

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New York City's Mercury Lounge never felt much like an intimate space to me. It's a weird size--not quite the monumental Terminal 5 scope, but definitely not your buddy's beater practice loft. Foursquare tells me the venue holds 250, but with all the swaying and stomping at Dr. Dog 's sold-out show the other night, I would have bet a higher number. Five years has passed since I last saw the Philly boys play. Then, I felt more drunk under Fate 's spell cast live than the questionably-obtained jaeger soaking my brain. They rocked. A lot has filled those five years. Dr. Dog has released two full-lengths with another due next month. They toured heaps. Festivals absorbed them in countless bills like sexy, strumming hood ornaments. They matured. And so did their audience. (I've since lived in four different cities and am now legally allowed to purchase jaeger [although I never do]). In the past half decade, too, that fan base swelled and spread--so much that Tuesday's show sold out in 30 seconds. Baseball caps, suits and normals alike packed Merc so tightly I still congratulate myself on shapeshifting my way to the front. Although the crowdedness bordered on uncomfortable, nobody looked it. A blanket beam shone from the ecstatic faces, illuminating the dudes on stage. The band was stoked, too. A few members paid homage to all the festivals--perhaps just to irony--and slicked on plastic-framed sunglasses. The lights weren't bright enough to warrant their use. Perhaps it was all those grins. The set zig-zagged across Dog's discography, starting with one from last year's Be The Void ("Heavy Light"), jutting back two years to crowd-crazer "Stranger." "Hang On" possessed palms to smack each syllable of "I don't need a doctor" on plaid chests. The cut sounded tighter but more comfortable than when I saw it last in my small Florida beach town. No longer left with a trace of uncertainty in their bones, Dog stomped the stage as if they were headlining a personal family reunion. And in a way, the surprise show kinda was just that. Sweaty arms cradled willing noggins into human macrame. The braid's components already knew the lyrics to "The Truth," the forthcoming B-Room 's single. This track really sells me on a major group development--they finally have a fully actualized identity. I bought all my friends with summer birthdays in 2008 Fate because I qualified it a crowd-pleaser... then Dr. Dog reminded me of lovely, vanilla Beatlesphiles who sometimes wore rugged blue jeans. "Truth," though, allows some soul shine. Hips animated slowly along to the wispy organ saunter, vocals precipitated in a storm cloud. They played at least two more B-Room tracks that evening: "Broken Heart" and "Distant Light." Both jammier than past releases, cooling greatly on the piano stomp. Songs swirled on and on and I wondered if the band surrendered to the paisley groove, letting the songs tack on extra minutes. I look around me and folks kept taking long blinks, like they might be in an especially mesmerizing Sunday service. Dog drank Tecates and pint glasses filled with water (or maybe vodka? Who knows), soliciting requests. "County Line," an oldie from Toothbrush , won the shouting contest, raising dozens of iPhones and the inevitable Instagram video option. Finally I caught my first whiff of a few someones herbally refreshing themselves. Hopefully related, at that same moment, I found a lone oak leaf stowed away in my hair. Ahh, festival life. Eighteen songs in, my watch read too-close to 1 a.m. The crowd hadn't thinned at all. The band showed no signs of slowing down, leading Mercury in heavier hypnosis. Thankful I'd yanked myself free to note the time--I work a day job, you know--I started the 20-minute crawl from the stage to the club exit. Hardly any smokers breaking from the show stood outside. Everyone was still in there, still thrilled to be, too. I felt thrilled, too. Thrilled Dr. Dog can sell out a NYC venue in less than a minute. And thrilled after 15 years as a band--and endless changes, growth along the way--the crew could collectively chip a unique spot into Philadelphia's musical trunk right now, but also Americana as a whole for all time. Check out photographer Charlene Chae's photos from the show in the gallery below.

New York City's Mercury Lounge never felt much like an intimate space to me. It's a weird size--not quite the monumental Terminal 5 scope, but definitely not your buddy's beater practice loft.

I t's been more than a decade since lawyer and author Ayelet Waldman confessed, in an essay in the New York Times , that she loved her husband, novelist Michael Chabon , more than her kids, and enjoyed a happy marriage and an enviable sex life with him -- "always vital, even torrid" (unlike the poor, sexless moms in her Gymboree group). If her husband should die suddenly, Waldman acknowledged, she'd soldier on. "But my imagination simply fails me when I try to picture a future beyond my husband's death. Of course, I would have to live. I have four children, a mortgage, work to do. But I can imagine no joy without my husband." This disclosure, one of the first shots fired in the soon-to-be-intensifying "mommy wars," helped accelerate the trend toward more exhibitionist memoirs, making Waldman the spiritual godmother of Lena Dunham and Lindy West. The piece led to splashy profiles in Time , the Guardian , and television appearances, including on the Oprah Winfrey show, where Waldman withstood a chorus of infuriated women, attacking her for her offense against her children and motherhood. Waldman went on to publish a collection of essays , Bad Mother , in which she writes, among other things, about aborting a pregnancy after a genetic counselor informs her and Chabon (who initially resisted the idea) that there was a small chance that "Rocketship," as she named her unborn child, could have been born less than perfect. "I begged Rocketship's forgiveness for being so inadequate a mother that I could not accept an imperfect child," she recalled. But she's no wishy-washy sentimentalist: "Rocketship was my baby. And I killed him." She was predictably lauded for her honesty and bravery. Yet joy and happiness apparently have been in short supply for Waldman in the intervening years, despite her publication of successful novels and her continuing marriage to Chabon, with whom she lives, together with their four kids (minus Rocketship, of course) and the family dog, in a multi-million dollar arts-and-crafts home in Berkeley, California. In her new memoir , A Really Good Day , Waldman describes her quest to achieve emotional equilibrium after a long struggle with various mood disorders, which has led her down a pharmacological rabbit hole. Waldman's afflictions are numerous. They include, she says, Bipolar II, PMS, PMDD, PME, insomnia, irritability, and a nasty case of frozen shoulder. She picks horrendous fights with her husband, including when he buys her a couch as a surprise gift -- he wanted her to be comfortable in their shared workspace -- without consulting her first on the style. She yells at her kids and flips out at her dry cleaner. She has a notorious temper tantrum on Twitter after her latest novel fails to make the New York Times list of notable books for 2014. "I've spent the morning on my couch, sobbing about not being included in the NYT Notable Book List! I mean What The F***? I know this book is good!" Her days are filled with rage and despair. Waldman has been prescribed a dizzying array of medication for her volcanic moods, she tells us: Celexa, Lexapro, Prozac, Zoloft, Cymbalta, Effexor, Effexor XR, Wellbutrin, Lamictal, Topomax, Adderall, Adderall XR, Ritalin, Concerta, Strattera, Xanax, Valium, Ativan, Seroquel, Ambien, and Lunesta. "I'm sure I'm forgetting some," she writes. "That can happen when you take a sh**-ton of drugs." But the drugs that seem to have done the trick for Waldman and kept her from destroying her life and marriage were not in the SSRI family but were instead illegal and psychedelic: LSD, which she takes in micro-doses, and the party drug MDMA, or Molly, as the club kids call it, which she and Chabon take together when they feel the need to "recharge" their marriage. A Really Good Day is a slim yet often tedious volume that alternates between Waldman's daily log recording the effects of the LSD on her mood (she's much more "chill," according to her children) and screeds for drug legalization, denunciations of our legal system, and the purported therapeutic benefits of psychedelics. As a policy brief, Waldman's book falls short. The benefits of drug legalization have repeatedly run up against reality ; when liberalization is introduced, it tends to produce unwanted consequences, among them a rise in the number of addicts and social disorder -- leading to a reversal of liberalization. And the medical benefits of psychedelic drugs have yet to be proven, to put it mildly. The interesting question that Waldman leaves unexamined in A Really Good Day is a moral one: What is the role of character in a life? She is a partisan of the very modern, materialist my-chemistry-is-to-blame-for-my-bad-behavior worldview, at least when she's not taking aim at her upbringing, in which case "self-blame" is at the root of her relationship woes. "The problem with self-blame," she says, "is that it launches a vicious cycle. It makes me despondent, and when I'm despondent, I lash out at my husband. Which makes me feel worse." Whether chemistry or self-blame is at fault for Waldman's rages, though, moral agency and personal responsibility have little role. Waldman bears no blame for her actions; her character isn't the result of her choices, her decisions. So much easier to drop acid and get out of the blame business altogether. This is an impoverished understanding of what it means to be human. The true mystery at the heart of this book is how Waldman, with her periodic tirades and hissy fits, has managed to keep her marriage together. Maybe it's the Molly, but it's more likely got something to do with the commitment of her husband -- and isn't that ultimately a moral choice? -- Amy Anderson is a writer for Acculturated , where this piece originally appeared. It is reprinted with permission.

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Moldovan leaders, who have been expressing fear of invasion since Russia occupied and annexed Crimea this month, have called out to Europe, the U.S., and Russia to prevent Russia from invading Moldova's pro-Russian Transdniestria region, and the Moldovan president, Nicolae Timofti, warned Russia that it would be making a mistake to invade the small nation. Moldovan Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said Friday that he was in "active contact" with the leaders of Western countries and made an appeal that "[t]he Europeans, the Americans and the Russians must make every effort to avert the scenario of destabilization." In an interview with Reuters, Leanca urged the EU to make guarantees that Moldova would be protected from a situation like that in Crimea, referring to Moldova's contended Transdniestria region and its capital, Tirasopol. Leanca warned that the annexation of Crimea could "raise expectations" in Transdniestria. Earlier this month, the prime minister had expressed similar concern about separatism, likening the sentiment to a "sickness" which, if a solution was not found, would "become dangerous and contagious." Crimea, Leanca stated, was a "threat to the security of the whole region" and would create direct and indirect problems for Moldova, which, the prime minister said, had the same problem 20 years ago. The prime minister's most recent comments came, however, one day after Transdniestria's separatist parliament speaker Mikhail Burla visited Moscow to urge Russia to consider requests Transdniestria has been making this month for Russia to incorporate Transdniestria into the Russian Federation-a request the region also made in 2006. Russian media quoted Burla as claiming that Transdniestria's already very difficult situation would be made worse if Moldova signed the EU trade agreement that country is pursuing. Burla cited "restrictive economic measures," which, the leader said, Moldova would adopt. Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti addressed Transdniestrians requests publicly earlier this month when he warned Russia that it "will be making a mistake" if Moscow agreed to Burla's requests. Any such act would be "counter-productive," Timofti said, as Transdniestria was "an illegal body." Russia, the president asserted, had repeatedly stood by the territorial integrity of Moldova in regard to Transdniestria, and he expected Russia would continue to observe international norms. Moldova, an ex-Soviet state, is one of Europe's poorest countries. Wedged between Romania and Ukraine, the 4-million person country, which has been governed by pro-Western leaders for the past five years, is aggressively pursuing closer ties with the European Union. Moldova initiated an association agreement-the same type of agreement former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich dropped shortly before the Maidan protests-in October. One month earlier, Russia suspended imports of a main Moldovan produce-wine-and a Russian official made ominous comments about Moldova's dependence on Russian energy-"I hope you won't freeze." Transdniestria, which split away from greater Moldova in 1990 amid fears that Moldova would soon join Romania, a country with which it shares a language, has a population of about half a million mostly-Russian speakers. Sixty percent of Transdniestria's 500,000 people speak Russian, and 30 percent are ethnic Russians-40 percent in the capital city, Tirasopol. In 1992 Transdniestrians fought a short war against the Moldovan government and declared themselves independent. Their declaration has not been recognized by any other nations, including Russia. Russia plays a supportive, patron-like role in Transdniestria, however. Russia stationed a 1,200-strong military contingent in Transdniestria in 1992 and has not removed the force, despite signed agreements. This month, Russia added 800 troops to the force. Although Moldova does not share a border with Russia, it does share a border with the Russian speaking areas of Southern Ukraine, and lies 360 kilometers (225 miles) from Crimea along the Black Sea coast, where Russia has built its military presence up to 25,000 troops, including special forces, and is creating a southern military beachhead. Like Crimea, which held a referendum to validate joining the Russian Federation March 16, Transdniestria held a referendum to join in 2006, with the same result: 97 percent of the vote was found to be pro-Russia. Another minority people in Moldova, the Turkic Gagauz-of which there are around 200,000 in a region in southwestern Moldova-voted Feb. 2 for closer ties with Russia, also with an overwhelming majority wanting to join the Russian Federation. By Day Blakely Donaldson Moldovan Leaders Fear Invasion, Warn Russia added by Day Blakely Donaldson on March 29, 2014 View all posts by Day Blakely Donaldson -

Moldovan leaders, who have been expressing fear of invasion since Russia occupied and annexed Crimea this month, have called out to Europe, the U.S., and Russia to prevent Russia from invading Moldova's pro-Russian Transdniestria region, and the Moldovan president, Nicolae Timofti, warned Russia that it would be making a mistake to invade the small nation.

Downtown Portland, like most large cities nowadays, is largely inhabited by two kinds of people: the poor who idly roam the streets and the well-off who live high above the streets in apartments and condos. How could this have happened? Could this be the result of the policies of the Democrats who run big cities nowadays? Well, of course. Does a bear. . . .? One of those policies, beloved of the Portland mayor and his commissioners, is called the Urban Growth Boundary. That policy means that certain kinds of projects such as low-rise housing developments and shopping malls are not allowed within an arbitrary urban boundary line. Otherwise, the accepted City Hall wisdom goes, the city would just spread willy-nilly, driven by need and profit. "Horrors!" the Portland mayor and his councilors shriek, recoiling at the mention of a profit the way a vampire recoils at the sight of a handful of garlic cloves. According to the official rationale, the urban boundary prevents Portland from "sprawl" (a devil word among city planners) and encourages the building of affordable housing close to jobs. "You care about our quality of life and we love the words you use to leftsplain it to us," says liberal Portland citizens. "Well, that's what we do," replies City Hall. Conservative pundits, ever the killjoys, say that the urban boundary regulations not only infringe on property rights, but increase the cost of housing within the boundary. Many housing projects, these curmudgeons say, are never built because of the restrictions of the policy. Fewer dwellings mean more expensive housing. Drawing a circle around Portland means that the land inside becomes more valuable. And that drives costs up. It's that inconvenient supply and demand thing. So whose ideas have panned out? Quelle surprise!: the conservative naysayers. When Portland's boundary lines were first drawn, Portland's median home prices were around the national average of $63,000. They are now 90% above the national average and rising. I live in the Portland suburb of Tigard. I had hoped to return to Portland someday (when I could talk Marie into it). Now I can't afford it because the cost of living in Portland has risen so fast. Portland apparently wants to emulate San Francisco, the ne plus ultra of left-wing city planning, especially in its hyper-regulated housing policies. The median value of a home in San Francisco is now well over a million dollars. Only the rich can live there--and the street people, of course. Once Portland housing became unaffordable to the middle classes, the progressives at City Hall began to worry. We need more middle-class people walking our streets, they said, in order to dilute the effect of the street people. So how did Portland approach the problem? Simple: City Hall concluded that now that they've driven up housing costs with the Urban Boundry, they ought to do more of the same kind of thing by putting even more restrictions on builders. In gambling, that's called doubling down. Or in Einstein's famous definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. So the Mayor and the city commissioners decreed that large apartment and condo builders must set aside rent-restricted apartments and sell them for lower than market value to middle and low-income Portlanders. Of course, the builders now had to charge more for the rest of the apartments. But wouldn't builders be less likely to build new apartments if they were forced to include rent-controlled apartments? Well, yes. In fact, that's exactly what's happening. Building permits have fallen off dramatically since the policy began. That means fewer apartments for more people. That means housing costs rise. The immutable law of supply and demand wins again. I haven't even talked about burdensome building regulations, always popular among Progressives, which also drive up the cost of housing. For one thing, each builder has to hire a host of expensive lawyers to navigate the numerous and arcane building regulations. That raises the cost of every building that's built in Portland. There are other ways of driving up the cost of living. You might, for instance, pour money into big expensive projects like Portland's new 135-million dollar Tillikum Crossing bridge. But shouldn't Portland build needful things that benefit all Portlanders? Of course. Unfortunately, the new Tillikum Crossing bridge doesn't allow cars on it. It only carries walkers, bikes, buses, and one line of light rail. Portland claims that the bridge "expresses the values that are central to our city." Apparently, those values mean giving it a Native American name (always a safe choice) and excluding cars from the bridge. The bridge's name, Tillikum, comes from the Chinook word for people. So it's the "people's bridge"--though the automobile, the vehicle that the "people" actually want to use to get from place to place, is forbidden. But I'm tired of all this talk about regulations and urban boundaries and car-less bridges. So let's try to sort all of this out. Liberals profess to desire low-cost housing, yet their policies drive up the cost of housing. And liberals profess to l0ve minorities and diversity, yet their policies keep out low-income minorities and thus result in less diversity. Weird, isn't it? What are we to make of this disjunction between what they profess to want and what they get? There are two possibilities: (1) Progressives are not smart enough--or perhaps overly besotted by left-wing ideology--to see that their policies result in the opposite of what they profess to want. Unintended consequences, I think they're called. (2) To be less charitable, those results--high-cost housing and less diversity--are actually intended consequence. But of course, progressives have to keep their actual motives hidden. Who wants to come out and say that they intend to drive up costs so that the poor and middle classes can't afford to live among them in their elite urban enclaves? Published in General

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We covered Sony deciding to give Powers a shot as a series, the next in a long line of comic book adaptations that are saturating the media landscape. Most are well aware of the numerous super hero offerings on both television and at the theater, but the success of The Walking Dead proves that there is room for more mature adaptations of comic properties. That said, it isn't a sure bet. The past hasn't shown that attempts to adapt non-superhero comic properties can be a total failure. Take Human Target or Wanted for example. These were stories that were watered down or changed to the point of becoming generic and essentially failing to grab onto any following that might have existed. Any successes have been scattered, such as The Walking Dead and A History of Violence , and failed to gain the traction needed to really push the field forward, until now. Maybe now the time is changing? With Powers , DMZ and Preacher on the way, does this open the doors for other series or film properties away from the realm of superheroics? With newer avenues of production like Netflix and the growth of the Internet in general and there's never been a better time to take the risk. So with that, I thought I'd take a look at some more personal choices that should see new life in this current era of comic book interest. Now I stress, these are personal choices. We're basically spoiled as comic readers today and there's plenty I've only skimmed or glanced at that should probably be included. Some honorable mentions should be series like Chew , Fables , and Planetary . Fables especially seeing as it has been screwed over by both NBC and ABC who coincidentally would go on to produce Grimm and Once Upon A Time respectively. If you have any suggestions, they are always welcome in the comments. Here is my personal list of comics I'd like to see come to series. The Warren Ellis classic deserves an adaptation more than most. It's probably my favorite series outside of Preacher and my next choice to be kicked around the production avenues and never see the light of day. When I first got the word that Preacher might finally be coming to the screen, this was my next thought. There was a really good comment on the whole Terry Gilliam/Zack Snyder fiasco that mentioned Gilliam needing to be at the helm and I think it's a brilliant idea. Spider Jerusalem is larger than life and needs to be in people's lives via either television or film. There hasn't been word of an adaption since Ellis addressed rumors on Twitter in 2010 and pretty much dashed hopes back beforehand at a convention in London. A man can dream though! Y: The Last Man This was one I was sure was going to be adapted into some sort of project, be it a mini-series or multiple films. But as of January of this year, Brian K. Vaughn noted that the rights were about to revert back to his possession unless New Line went ahead with their adaptation. Nevertheless, Y: The Last Man has to be adapted eventually. It's almost a given. It has the post-apocalyptic feel of The Walking Dead , the political thrills of 24 and all the mystery of Lost in one great tale. It is a testament to the kind of hurdles one has to jump in Hollywood to get anything made. The Last Man it seems like a winner on paper, but is forced to toil in development hell. It's a shame. Mad Man Now this is probably where I go off the beaten path a bit, but I can't deny my oddball fascination with Mike Allred's superhero. Allred has brought his oddity to the mainstream with art on X-Force and currently on FF , but Mad Man is still where it all matters for me. According to the wiki , Robert Rodriguez has owned the film rights since 1998 and the property has been in play since 1992. That's twenty years that the idea has been gestating in someone's mind and hasn't started. Rodriguez went all out with his Sin City adaptations and is a fan of the completely CGI fueled movie set, kinda leaving me wondering why the Mad Man movie isn't a fit for his schedule. Throw it on the El Rey Network or at least do something with it! If they can make a Hellboy movie work, they can make Mad Man work!

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Yesterday, American "pick-up" artist and "executive dating coach" Jeff (Jeffy) Allen had his Australian visa revoked by Immigration Minister Peter Dutton. Allen's tour -- part of a Real Social Dynamics (RSD) global roadshow -- was billed as "Meet Jeffy." Those concerned about rising rates of violence against women and the callous mistreatment of young women and girls -- reflected in groping, street harassment, unwanted sexual demands, and all the other manifestations of everyday sexism -- decided the only "meeting" Jeffy should get was with fierce opposition. When Julien Blanc -- the big name RSD instructor known for his #chokinggirlsaroundtheworld hashtag -- came to Australia in 2014, he didn't last long. A massive campaign (#takedownjulienblanc) saw him booted out of the country. A number of other countries also refused to let him in. But Blanc's sidekick, Jeffy Allen, arrived to finish what Blanc had started. Questions of due diligence must surely be raised: how did a man who was in breach of our character tests get in? (Many women see the activities of RSD as warranting the same approach as accorded to terrorists.) The tour was originally slated to make its way to Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and Brisbane over the coming months. However, due to pressure from activists -- including a 67,000 signature-strong Change.org petition and getting Vibe hotels to cancel two bookings (RSD misled the hotel by using a different name) -- tour dates are now off the RSD website. Allen fled the country before the retrospective visa cancellation, but not before he had passed on RSD's toxic teachings at one Sydney "boot camp" last Thursday. The image of these men in this Sydney hotel room being taught the art of seduction by Allen, was taken by a young man by the name of Josh. Pictures of Josh on his Instagram profile show he is young, most likely not out of his teens. Josh is just starting to make his way in the world. He's learning about masculinity and sexuality and women and how he should treat them. His tutoring now includes the L.A dating company -- billed as the world's biggest dating hub for men -- which evangelizes men with the ideology that men are "beasts" and women are "whores." Josh, along with other young men like him, were indoctrinated into the world of the dominant RSD alpha male. Allen drives a van -- which he fondly calls his "rape van" -- for picking up women. Decals representing women are glued on the van door for every "whore" he's bedded in it. (You can see him talk about it in a video here, along with other video evidence of the raw contempt for the right of women to be treated as something other than a live "f-k doll" -- including Julien Blanc's infamous routine of grabbing the heads of random Japanese women on the street and shoving them into his crotch.) In RSD "boot camps," men dominate and women must be made to submit. All this at a time when there is more focus on the need to address violence against women in Australia; when we have come up with a National Plan of Action to Address Violence Against Women ; when Australia's Prime Minister says violence begins with disrespect. It is remarkable to me that, in the current climate, the RSD cult-leaders are allowed in the country in the first place. These snake oil salesmen cannot help boys like Josh develop healthy respect-based relationships with women. He won't learn how simply to enjoy a woman's company, her conversation, her friendship. He won't learn about care, empathy, how to give and receive love. He will learn how to get into her pants then add her to his total score. Such conquests are marks on the virtual bed-heads of RSD's online forums. RSD doesn't bring men and women together -- it breeds suspicion. For many women, who experience harassment and unwanted attention from men almost daily, RSD will only make them more suspicious about male intentions. In this environment, every man comes to be seen as a potential pickup artist. Fortunately there are men speaking out. Dr Matthew Berryman helped lead the charge against Julien Blanc in the 2014 campaign. This university IT technician and father of two daughters is also tired of the limited and increasingly toxic messages we send men and boys about masculinity. I asked him why he got involved: "If you think that being a creep and/or actually abusive to women in order to sleep with them is a good idea, then you are not only being unnecessarily disrespectful to others, you're actually missing out on having an actual, meaningful relationship, with all the rewards it brings. The tactics adopted by Real Social Dynamics and other 'pick up agencies' are not only harmful to women, they harm the ability of all men to be taken seriously as actual, decent people (and it's that that will help you meet women and form relationships). Men need to have a healthy approach to themselves and to others. To do otherwise diminishes us all." Another, of course, is Matthew Jowett, who initiated the Change.org petition against Blanc. When I asked him why he did it, this politics and communication student at RMIT replied: "Seeing domestic abuse occur within my family shaped an interest in opposing domestic violence and supporting women's rights. But most fundamentally it comes down to my very strong desire to equality, which I think grew from the seed my mother planted with the often repeated axiom 'treat others how you'd like them to treat you.' It seems painfully obvious to me that the only way to achieve a society with any real measure of equality is from a culture where everyone is valued and where respect for others is a central pillar." Let's hope that Josh and other young men like him are persuaded by this philosophy and these examples, rather than by RSD's warped view of women. Melinda Tankard Reist is a writer, speaker and co-founder of Collective Shout . She blogs at www.melindatankardreist.com . One of Feminist Current's amazing guest writers. Like this article? Tip Feminist Current!

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After actor, comedian and "Hollywood moron" D.L. Hughley took a few more cheap shots at black conservatives like Ben Carson and Clarence Thomas than radio host Larry Elder could abide, Elder took Hughley to Twitter school for a crash course on conservatism , including lessons on unemployment, poverty, school vouchers, Social Security reform, out-of-wedlock births and more. Y'all @larryelder took @RealDLHughley to CHURCH last night. His links to studies, facts + Hughley's childish personal insults/no facts = oof -- Lyndsey Fifield (@lyndseyfifield) March 7, 2015 Has there ever been, in Twitter history, a more complete ass-kicking than @larryelder just gave @RealDLHughley ? -- Yes, Nick Searcy! (@yesnicksearcy) March 7, 2015 We'll admit it was thorough, but Elder has more to say, and it's important. But first, let's clear up this business about Elder having "only 12,000 listeners." https://twitter.com/larryelder/status/574142398428680193 Hey, @RealDLHughley , CNN fired you due to "budgetary constraints"? Ouch. My last full week: http://t.co/mZNr40iKgi pic.twitter.com/kdVmzfJKiF -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015 The typeface is a little tiny, but the number isn't: 179,500. . @larryelder here's the fact...u make up lies. If ur #s were as good as the graph says you'd be working instead of podcasting w/1 subscriber -- DL Hughley (@RealDLHughley) March 7, 2015 More childishness @RealDLHughley ? Like boxing smoke. No facts. No knowledge. Not even clever put downs. Jumped the shark. #LeftHatesFacts -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015 Okay @RealDLHughley name one "lie" I you claim I "made up." ONE! #HollywoodMorons #LeftHatesFacts -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015 Here are some highlights of Elder's career to pass the time while we wait. How's my "education working" @RealDLHughley ? Star Hollywd Walk of Fame; Emmy; NYT Bestseller; nat'l column; 20 yrs radio, NewsmaxTV analyst -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015 No, @RealDLHughley , I NEVER worked at FOX. And you said, "Elder only had 12K listeners" Fact check? #HollywoodMorons pic.twitter.com/AYHfAI83WP -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015 -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015 Nothing but the truth here. Amazing how Farrakhan, Jackson, Sharpton, @RealDLHughley got rich-whining about how racism prevents blacks from getting rich. #RaceCard -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015 Victicrats like @RealDLHughley have half the country convinced there's a free lunch-and that republicans are stopping from them eating it. -- Larry Elder (@larryelder) March 7, 2015

After actor, comedian and "Hollywood moron" D.L. Hughley took a few more cheap shots at black conservatives like Ben Carson and Clarence Thomas than radio host Larry Elder could abide, Elder took Hughley to Twitter school for a crash course on conservatism , including lessons on unemployment, poverty, school vouchers, Social Security reform, out-of-wedlock births and more.

(stock photo courtesy of Fotolia) Each year during Black History Month we reflect on the contributions African Americans are making to our great country. It's become customary this month be used to galvanize African Americans around the issues disproportionately impacting our community. African-Americans have always been a strong and resilient people - so I have no doubt that despite the numerous challenges facing our community today, we can also take on another that is more than deserving of our time during this month of reflection and mobilization. The disproportionate number of African American's in foster care must remain in our conscience during Black History Month, and the many more months to come until these disparities are eradicated. Studies show children of color enter foster care at disproportional rates than their share of the general population. The Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care once summarized the state of African American children in the system as facing "the gravest disparities." In 2011, black children made up 14 percent of all children but accounted for 27 percent of foster children. Almost a decade ago, the disparity was even greater with only 15 percent of the child population being black, yet African-Americans made up 38 percent of the foster care population. Once in foster care African-American children remain in the system on average far longer than Caucasian children, lagging behind in key indicators such as maintaining children in their homes, number of placements with adoptive parents and reunifications with their biological families. These disproportionalities have been described as a "chronic crisis" and it's hard to come to any other conclusion knowing what is waiting for foster youth who do not get the proper support that all children need. Foster youth without proper support are at a higher risk for unemployment, poor educational outcomes, health issues, early parenthood, long-term dependency on public assistance, increased incarceration rates and homelessness. Whether it's reflecting on the life of Malcom X or celebrating the achievement of recent Superbowl Champion Michael Oher, the promise of African American foster youth is on full display this month as both of these leaders overcame challenges from living in the foster care system. Now is the moment to galvanize the nation's attention around the need for transformative change within the foster care system. During President Obama 's Inauguration last month we invited former foster youth to share their stories with key lawmakers and advocate for changes in the foster care system. Just like the youth who led the way with peaceful sit ins during the 60's, these youth quietly and persuasively made the case for transformative change. A national dialogue is needed to develop policies so that children spend less time in foster homes and young adults who have grown up in foster care have more support in making the transition to independent living. Ultimately comprehensive federal finance reform is needed in the foster care system. Child welfare agencies should be allowed more flexibility in using federal funding to support innovation so that the very best practices can be brought to bear in assisting foster youth with the numerous challenges they can face. Taking this approach allows child welfare agencies to do more with what they have, instead of relying solely on additional funding that may be hard to come by in these tough fiscal times. Outside of federal finance reform we can also continue to explore legislative fixes such as the Uninterrupted Scholars Act, which was promoted by the House Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and signed into law by President Obama last month. The legislation grants child welfare agencies and caregivers access to foster youth educational records so that when foster youth move throughout the system their school enrollment is not delayed. Before this legislation, foster youth not only faced enrollment delays, but were also forced to repeat coursework over and over again because without their educational records it was difficult to determine what grades they should be placed in. This resulted in several foster youth dropping out of school altogether. So as we reflect this month let us also take a moment to acknowledge the challenges of all foster youth, but particularly African American foster youth. We've seen from our nation's history that transformative change can occur in the face of insurmountable odds. It's time to again come together and raise our voices for foster youth across the nation in need of our love and support. Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-Calif.) serves as Founder and Co-Chair of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, a group of 68 bipartisan members of the House of Representatives working to provide a forum to discuss the challenges facing all foster youth and develop policy recommendations for improving child welfare outcomes.

Each year during Black History Month we reflect on the contributions African Americans are making to our great country.

Prince Andrew's words are a royal slap in the face to thousands of young people On 5 November, leaked documents in the Paradise Papers suggested royal financial investments are linked to "offshore interests and activities". And the following day, the Duke of York presented awards for technical education to young people at St James's Palace. But at the awards ceremony, Prince Andrew claimed that he "did an... As Prince Charles tries to talk sense, his words fail him [VIDEO] On 5 October, Prince Charles spoke at a global conference in Malta about the need to protect our oceans from pollution and overfishing. But then, in an interview with Sky News, he seemed to praise pirates in Somalia for creating a "fantastic explosion" in sea life in the country's surrounding ocean. The comment provoked a... Here's everything that's wrong with the 'third royal baby' announcement On Monday 4 September, Prince William and Princess Kate announced that they're expecting a third child. But along with the usual fanfare, some people have pointed out reasons why this isn't necessarily a cause for celebration. The 'rape clause' As The Canary previously reported, in April 2017 the government introduced a two-child limit... The next king in Britain could be an American called Allan Many British people would like to see an end to the monarchy. But an American named Allan Evans thinks that, if anything, Britain needs more royals. And as such, he is set to claim what (he believes) is rightfully his. Namely, the right to be King of Wales. An unusual lineage Allan claims to be a 10th generation American. His love of... America's beautiful new rulebook under King Donald the Orange Trumptopia is now on the horizon. And it's an ugly world, whose most despicable advocates have only received a quiet mitten-slap on the wrist from King Donald the Orange. Which is weird, because he's got less self-control than a sickly cat vomiting repeatedly on your best carpet. In fact, he's now decided to soften the impact of his... Ex-Newsround presenter slams the Buckingham Palace renovation, but people really aren't happy [TWEETS] On 18 November, the Treasury announced that Buckingham Palace would undergo a 10-year refurbishment, costing the taxpayer PS369m. Swathes of the public were outraged, and a petition to get the Queen to pay for the renovations herself was signed by over 100,000 people. Television presenter Jake Humphrey also spoke out against the cost... New 30 part BBC documentary will prove we've got the wrong Queen THIS POST IS SATIRICAL In a move set to delight royalists, the BBC has announced that nearly every Sunday evening between now and Christmas will be dominated by a new landmark documentary series about the monarchy. But the programme also promises to be controversial, which could ruffle some feathers. Despite the feeling... Australians want to throw another Queen on the barbie. Isn't it time we did the same? It's a funny old thing the monarchy. Beloved by many, reviled by some - the subject of the national anthem and punk anthems alike. Though widely regarded as but a keepsake of past glories, in the UK the royal family enjoys high approval ratings as a patriotic institution and source of identity. But for our close cousins down-under, in... (c) Canary Media Limited 2015-18. All rights reserved. Canary Media Ltd, PO Box 3301, Bristol, BS5 5GD. Registered in England. Company registration number 09788095. Please contact us .

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Black Lives Matter Toronto's stand brings to mind an odd experience a few years ago, which taught me a lot about the nature of the interplay between authorities and marginalized, policed communities. Blog Oh, you don't have to literally drop your pants. Canadian Blood Services doesn't actually want to see your junk (I assume) -- they just want to know what's there. Because that's not invasive at all. Blog Treatment of trans people (particularly trans women) in detention facilities has come under examination recently. There's a solution, it's just a question of whether there is the will to examine it. Blog

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El Presidente Trumpo took to Twitter to make sure everyone knew exactly what he thinks about the attack yesterday on London Bridge. We must stop being politically correct and get down to the business of security for our people. If we don't get smart it will only get worse -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017 At least 7 dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is "no reason to be alarmed!" -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017 Do you notice we are not having a gun debate right now? That's because they used knives and a truck! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2017 Yesterday he used the moment to tout his terror travel ban too. No doubt some will say this rather bare politicization of the event should be beneath the office of the president, while his supporters will say this is amazing and the best thing ever. BUT, it looks like Trump was lying just a teeny tiny bit. He makes it sound like Khan told the Brits not to be alarmed about terrorism, but that's not what he said. Here's what @SadiqKhan actually said. He is right to provide reassurance. I'm standing with resilient London & him. pic.twitter.com/FlsP3n41cZ -- Penny Mordaunt MP (@PennyMordaunt) June 4, 2017 Oh well. Makes for great memes. On the other hand, he has been very defensive of accepting Muslim refugees. London's Mayor Sadiq Khan said President Trump's temporary travel ban was shameful & cruel. Extreme vetting is our only hope! #LondonBridge pic.twitter.com/bF4mkCz7k9 -- Corryn (@Corrynmb) June 4, 2017 Comment Policy: Please read our new comment policy before making a comment. In short, please be respectful of others and do not engage in personal attacks. Otherwise we will revoke your comment privileges. WARNING: Our comment section is being blocked by ad blockers. So if you can't see it, then please disable your ad blocker and it should appear.

El Presidente Trumpo took to Twitter to make sure everyone knew exactly what he thinks about the attack yesterday on London Bridge.

Blackwater Worldwide guards were found guilty Wednesday of killing 14 Iraqis and wounding 17 others after they fired machine guns and threw hand grenades into Baghdad's Nisour Square seven years ago. Jurors ultimately rejected the guards' claims that they were acting in self-defense, as none of the victims were insurgents. The conclusion of the 11-week trial brings a close to one of the darkest chapters of the Iraq War. Despite the new spotlight on Blackwater's botched operation, Erik Prince, the founder of the private security group is just as eager as ever to send hired hands into Iraq. "If the old Blackwater team were still together, I have high confidence that a multi-brigade-size unit of veteran American contractors or a multi-national force could be rapidly assembled and deployed to be that necessary ground combat team," Prince wrote earlier this month in a column on his new company's website. "The longer ISIS festers, the more chances it has for recruitment and the danger of the eventual return of radical jihadists to their western homelands. If the Administration cannot rally the political nerve or funding to send adequate active duty ground forces to answer the call, let the private sector finish the job," he concluded. The "old Blackwater team" disbanded long ago -- and now, with this ruling, is even more maligned. But is there any chance that the U.S. government will call on private security to help fight its battles abroad? American security agencies had no qualms with giving hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to Blackwater in the wake of the 2007 debacle , and private security agencies have only rebranded and relaunched since then. In the wake of the 2007 shootings, Prince changed Blackwater's name to 'Xe Services' in 2009. As Xe Services, the company received a contract worth around $100 million from the CIA. After Prince sold the company in 2010, investors changed the name to ACADEMI. As ACADEMI, the firm has continued to contract with the Department of Defense. And earlier this year, the firm merged with a competitor under the new name 'Constellis Holdings.' But the breakaway companies have tried to keep their distance from Blackwater's image -- even if their work is largely the same. ACADEMI, for instance, has made a deliberate effort to distance themselves from Prince and Blackwater. One FAQ on its website bluntly poses the question , "Is ACADEMI associated with Erik Prince or the Former Blackwater?" The answer begins with an unequivocal, "No," and continues, "Erik Prince took both the Blackwater name and legacy with him when he sold the facility." The Blackwater name is no more, but where, exactly, has Prince taken his legacy? To the Frontier Services Group , a private equity group which offers security services along with "end-to-end expeditionary solutions" in the fields of construction, aviation, and even humanitarian efforts. Does Prince's op-ed mean he wants to get back into the fight on the government dime? He doesn't have to, according to Robert Young Pelton. "It doesn't matter who has the contract, they're all the same people," Pelton told Foreign Policy's Kate Brannen in July . "Constellis represents a clean slate until they f*** up and get thrown under the bus." Pelton would know. He was hired by Prince to help write his memoir. He then sued for not getting paid the amount the former Blackwater head agreed to pay him. His sense is that all of the new companies are just fronts with the same mission as Blackwater. "The government has a bizarre love-hate relationship with these companies," Brannen wrote, in summary of what Pelton told her. "On the one hand, they're reliant on them to outsource political risk and on the other, eager to slap them in public whenever scandal happens."

Blackwater Worldwide guards were found guilty Wednesday of killing 14 Iraqis and wounding 17 others after they fired machine guns and threw hand grenades into Baghdad's Nisour Square seven years ago.

On Wednesday afternoon Andrea Mitchell, MSNBC host of Andrea Mitchell Reports, corrected a guest on her show for using the term pro-life. When the guest, Republican strategist Juleanna Glover, started to define herself as "deeply pro-life," Mitchell immediately countered "What I would call anti-abortion...to use the term that I think is more value neutral." Andrea Mitchell challenging Juleanna Glover's "pro-life" terminology The ideological battle over abortion is at the forefront of our national conversation, to the point that even the underlying terminology is being fervently debated. According to an article on the evolution of popular phrases published in The Ocala Sta r-Banner on September 15, 1990, a 1976 New York Times article featured the first use of the term "pro-life" as we understand it today. The dueling ideologies of "pro-life" and "pro-choice" became firmly cemented in the wake of Roe v. Wade, as defendants of the decision advocated a woman's right to choose, and enraged dissidents argued on behalf of the "life" of the unborn fetus. Free Download: A Feminist Guide to the Resistance Don't give up the fight! Featuring inspiring interviews with resistance leaders; how-tos on community organizing, running for office, and much, more. Plus, get the latest from BUST. "Pro-Lifers" h8 "Baby Killers" The problem with "pro-life" is what it implies about the rest of us: that if you're not pro-life, you're automatically pro-death. By framing the abortion debate as an epic battle between life and death, anti-abortion activists demonize their opponents as baby killers, muting "pro-choicers" cogent pleas for reproductive rights. Recently, Planned Parenthood has identified the many problems inherent to today's reigning abortion terminology. Their studies show that a sizable contingent of women consider themselves "pro-life," and would never consider getting an abortion themselves, but nevertheless do not believe that Roe v. Wade should be overturned. While these women believe in the value of a fetus' life, they also believe in reproductive rights--thus occupying an ideological space that is neither exclusively "pro-life" nor "pro-choice." By abandoning these entrenched terms, Planned Parenthood hopes to appeal to all women on the basis of reproductive rights. I, for one, can't believe it's taken us this long to question rhetoric that necessarily asserts that abortion is murder. Of course, this movement towards unbiased language is unpopular amongst vocal "pro-lifers." Discussing Ms. Mitchell's statements on her show, Jeffrey Meyer, a writer for LifeNews.com, attacked the newscaster's "attempt to inject her liberal bias into a discussion of abortion." Hopefully, someone will explain the definition of "bias" to Mr. Meyer. And, while they're at it, the definition of "irony." Photos via jezebel.com, prolife.com, and aim.org

According to an article on the evolution of popular phrases published in The Ocala Sta r-Banner on September 15, 1990, a 1976 New York Times article featured the first use of the term "pro-life" as we understand it today.

WINNER'S ELIGIBILITY IN QUESTION by Sharon Rondeau Bill Bivens served two terms as Monroe County,TN Sheriff and was said to be participating in a racketeering enterprise through the jail he operated (Aug. 11, 2014) -- According to unofficial election returns from Thursday, August 7, Monroe County, TN Sheriff Bill Bivens was ousted in favor of Republican challenger Randy White in a 5,572 to 4,869-vote contest. Statewide local elections throughout Tennessee included those for county commissioners, sheriffs, district prosecutors , judges and primary contests for the governor and congressional offices. All appellate judges on the ballot for "retention" or "replacement" by a law which contradicts the Tennessee constitution's provisions that all judges are to be voted on directly by the people were retained. Corruption within the Monroe County Sheriff's Department and the judiciary statewide has been reported in detail by The Post & Email over nearly five years. Tenth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Amy Armstrong Reedy was defeated by Seventh Judicial District deputy prosecutor Sandra Donaghy, who told The Post & Email during the primary campaign that she would "follow the law" in all cases if elected. Donaghy, however, has prosecuted cases arising out of grand juries which use a long-serving grand jury foreman appointed by a criminal court judge without a vetting process, a phenomenon not found in Tennessee law or criminal court rules, which are approved by the legislature. Democrats fared poorly overall in elections for State Executive Committeemen. A summary of all Tennessee election results was compiled by Politico . Prior to the election, the Monroe County Democrat Party and Bivens filed a lawsuit challenging White's eligibility to serve as sheriff, which is now pending litigation. While still a candidate, White wrote an open letter to Monroe County residents stating that he was qualified for the position but that he might require a "waiver" by the commission which reviews candidates' documentation to determine eligibility. On a Monroe County candidates' website, White states that he has "worked in the law enforcement field for over 23 years," but the Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission ( POST ), which reviews candidate qualifications, "rescinded" its certification of White's eligibility before the election was held. Tenth Judicial District chief prosecutor Stephen Crump stated that POST asked him to investigate White's background. White said that waivers have been granted to other candidates in the past and that his comparatively small salary as an officer at the Vonore Police Department was not indicative of part-time employment as presumed by his opponent and the Democrat Party. Monroe County Sheriff-Elect Randy White lists extensive police and EMS training in his resume On Monday, The Post & Email contacted Atty. Jerome Melson , who serves as Monroe County attorney, for comment on the lawsuit against White. We also contacted Jerry Ogle, Chairman of the Monroe County Democrat Party, for comment. During the fall of 2009, CDR Walter Francis Fitzpatrick, III (Ret.) submitted a petition naming Barack Hussein Obama in the commission of treason against the United States and as a "foreign born domestic enemy." Article II, Section 1, clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution requires the president and commander-in-chief to be a " natural born Citizen ." After several months of delay, then-grand jury foreman of 28 years Gary Pettway refused to allow the entire grand jury to review the petition, and Judge Carroll Lee Ross declared that "federal" charges, including treason, could not be brought to county grand juries in Tennessee. Dozens of courts across the country have refused to review Obama's eligibility for office over the last six years, bringing the U.S. to a point where Islamic terrorism on U.S. soil is now a stated goal of the brutal organization ISIS, which has been slaughtering Iraqi soldiers, Christians and other minority sects by the thousands over the last two months with virtually no response from the White House. Obama's eligibility is further brought into question by the "computer-generated forgery" of his long-form birth certificate and Selective Service registration form as declared by a law enforcement investigation more than two years ago. In conjunction with the FBI, Southern Poverty Law Center ( SPLC ), TBI, Tennessee Department of Homeland Security and Safety, and U.S. Department of Justice, a law enforcement training program was assembled in 2011 naming anyone doubting the authenticity of Obama's short-form birth certificate as a " Sovereign Citizen " in the pejorative. Fitzpatrick, Darren Huff and George Raudenbush were pictured in the Powerpoint slides used to train sheriffs' deputies and others, appearing in the same category as a known father-and-son murder team. Bivens and the Tenth Judicial District never investigated the murder of Republican Elections Commissioner Jim Miller , which Fitzpatrick described as "a government hit." All three men characterized as "Sovereign Citizens" have been the targets of the Monroe County Sheriff's Department. Huff is serving a four-year sentence for a crime that "never happened;" Raudenbush served two and one-half years on invented traffic violations and was denied a defense attorney by Ross; and Fitzpatrick has spent considerable time in the Monroe County jail after exposing Pettway as an illegal juror in April 2010. The Monroe County jail is known for its overcrowding and substandard sanitation facilities despite Bivens's claim to the contrary. Fitzpatrick described racketeering activity in the Monroe County jail by means of the confiscation of funds donated to prisoners and a "prisoners-for-profit" scheme which incarcerates as many people as possible through a systematic denial of due process in the courts. Bivens employed deputies who were particularly brutal to Fitzpatrick and people arrested without due cause. White promised during the campaign that " Officers will be held accountable for their actions or inaction." Articles of Impeachment have been drafted by the North American Law Center ( NALC ) against Obama on the grounds that he has engaged in "criminal identity fraud," among other "high crimes and misdemeanors." Many members of the public have now joined Fitzpatrick in accusing Obama of treason. In the Articles, Obama is accused of "training, financing, funding and arming" ISIS. Lead attorney Stephen Pidgeon is certain that Obama is a Muslim based on his associations and behavior. The media did not permit any vetting of Obama prior to either the 2008 or 2012 elections and have still refused to report the findings of forgery and fraud in regard to his only proffered documentation. Obama's eligibility was raised in December 2007 by MSNBC commentator Chris Matthews, who stated that Obama was "born in Indonesia." Others have stated, as recently as last week, that Obama is "from Kenya," then hastily corrected themselves to say that Obama's father was Kenyan. Many believe that the meaning of "natural born Citizen" is a person born in the United States to two parents who are citizens at the time of the birth. Obama's claimed father was never a U.S. citizen. The Obama regime has also targeted its political opposition by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), through intimidation, false arrests and incarcerations , and the media . A retired military member has suggested that the military remove Obama from office because of national and international security concerns. Monroe County, TN Sheriff Bill Bivens Loses Re-Election...or Does He? added on Monday, August 11, 2014

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Hello and welcome to our current events Daily Fix! If you want to go grab another cup of coffee before we start it's okay, I'll wait. Law of the Land + Last Thursday, in what is thought to be a "milestone compromise," Utah Governor Gary Herbert signed into law a bipartisan bill that extends employment and housing discrimination protections to LGBT people. But there's a huge catch: religious organizations and their business affiliates are exempt. Womp. Womp. HRC digs it and says it's an "incredible and collaborative victory" while many other LGBT advocates argue the bill sets a precedent for other conservative-leaning states to pass similar legislation that create legal loop-holes for religious institutions to discriminate against LGBT people. Gizzy Fowler + Mallory Antoine Porter turned himself into police on Tuesday after being a suspect in the murder of 24-year-old black trans woman Gizzy Fowler, who was fatally shot by her car in Nashville. + Remember the whole Chick-fil-A debacle in 2012 when CEO Dan Cathy said that redefining marriage was "inviting God's judgment on our nation" and everyone realized that Chick-fil-A had been donating millions of dollars to conservative organizations fighting same-sex marriage? Well apparently, ever since then, it's House Republicans' go-to office food. "Evidently so: Since Cathy made his controversial comments, House Republicans have spent nearly $13,000 in taxpayer money ordering Chick-fil-A , according to expenditure reports filed through July 2014 (the latest available). That's the equivalent of 3,900 original chicken sandwiches, and it represents a 37-fold increase over the paltry $345 the House GOP had spent on Chick-fil-A the previous three years." + Here's a quick little video about the ridiculous (in a I-can't-believe-you're-in-charge kinda way) anti-gay marriage laws conservative lawmakers are trying to pass in Texas, Oklahoma and Alabama. + An Alabama judge granted two lesbians a divorce , even though the state doesn't recognize same-sex marriage anymore. Hate Speech + Facebook released new community guidelines this week that cracks down on hate speech. "Facebook removes hate speech, which includes content that directly attacks people based on their race, ethnicity, national origin, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, sex, gender, or gender identity, or serious disabilities or diseases...Organizations and people dedicated to promoting hatred against these protected groups are not allowed a presence on Facebook. As with all of our standards, we rely on our community to report this content to us." + Elton John and LGBT activists are boycotting Dolce & Gabbana after the two designers expressed their opposition to gay couples having children in a magazine interview. The two men were in a relationship for 23 years before splitting up and said in the past they would never get married because it was against their traditional, Catholic upbringing and beliefs. + A lesbian couple's farewell kiss at Paris's Gare du Nord was interrupted when a train guard, a Thalys International's employee, yelled at them to stop and told them their kissing couldn't be tolerated. Thalys International has featured same-sex couples in their advertising in the past so the women called for LGBT activists to hold the company accountable. Religion + Denise L. Eger is the "first openly gay president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the rabbinical arm of Reform Judaism." She's worked in synagogues since she was 12, about the same age she realized she was a lesbian. + Members of this prominent evangelical church in San Francisco don't have to be celibate anymore as a precondition to joining. Amen.

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Controversial Fox News host Jesse Waters on Wednesday defended his comment about first daughter Ivanka Trump's microphone-handling skills, stating that it was "in no way" intended as a lewd joke about something else. WATCH: Jesse Watters on Fox News re Ivanka Trump: "I really like how she was speaking into that microphone" pic.twitter.com/HoJHLpMtq1 -- Yashar (@yashar) April 26, 2017 "I really like how she was speaking into that microphone," Watters said during a segment of "The Five" Tuesday night. On air I was referring to Ivanka's voice and how it resonates like a smooth jazz radio DJ. This was in no way a joke about anything else. -- Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) April 26, 2017 "On air I was referring to Ivanka's voice and how it resonates like a smooth jazz radio DJ. This was in no way a joke about anything else," Waters posted on Twitter Wednesday morning. Twitter user @Yashar shared a second example of sexual innuendo jokes from the same broadcast. He writes: "Some more sexual innuendo on Fox News' @TheFive last night." WATCH: Some more sexual innuendo on Fox News' @TheFive last night. So much for a culture change. pic.twitter.com/QnOZVglB4q -- Yashar (@yashar) April 26, 2017 Last week, just hours after Fox News cut ties with Bill O'Reilly after the disclosure of a series of sexual harassment allegations against the top-rated host in cable news, the same afternoon round table show, "The Five," delivered another embarrassing 'locker room' incident live on the air. When host Kimberly Guilfoyle got in a heated exchange with Bob Beckel, co-host Greg Gutfeld jumped into the fray by insinuating Guilfoyle's orange dress was giving viewers 'a raise', (and we aren't talking money here folks.)

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Hope and change. (CNSNews.com) - Excluding January 2009, the month when Barack Obama was inaugurated, unemployment has stayed above 8 percent, which is longer than under any other administration since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) started measuring the monthly jobless rate: Over 8 percent for 43 months during Obama compared to a total of 39 months above 8 percent between 1948 and 2008. Over the course of 50 years, the unemployment rate in the United States was above 8 percent for a total of 3 years and 3 months; under Obama alone, the rate has been above 8 percent for 3 years and 7 months. Also, no other president presided over three consecutive years of average annual unemployment of more than 8 percent before Obama, according to the BLS data. The rate was above 8 percent throughout 1975, under President Gerald Ford, and throughout 1982 and 1983, under President Reagan. However, the rate went to 7.8 percent in February 1984 and continued to fall steadily under Reagan - at the end of his second term in 1988, unemployment was down to 5.3 percent.

Excluding January 2009, the month when Barack Obama was inaugurated, unemployment has stayed above 8 percent, which is longer than under any other administration since the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) started measuring the monthly jobless rate: Over 8 percent for 43 months during Obama compared to a total of 39 months above 8 percent between 1948 and 2008.

Enough with the talk from futurists who predict that all financial transactions will soon be purely electronic. Don't bet on it. Bling, jack, scratch, bread, dead presidents, moolah, simoleons--there's just something too viscerally appealing about cold, hard cash. And when was the last time you saw a rapper flash his debit card in a video? The Bureau of Engraving and Printing produces about thirty-eight million notes a day. But who among us has actually taken the time to study the stuff? Here, the highlights. After all, you damn well shelled out three dollars of it for this mag. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Through the ages, money has taken a number of bizarre forms: shells, fishhooks, shares of Enron. The first American national currency was issued in 1775 by the Continental Congress to help pay for the Revolutionary War. Then the government mostly stayed out of the money game until 1861. The mid-nineteenth century is what's kindly known as the Free Banking Era, when money was issued by hundreds of banks with no federal oversight. By 1860, about sixteen hundred different banks were circulating bills--with thousands of different designs. Congress created the Federal Reserve in 1913 to stabilize the monetary system (and get Alan Greenspan laid). Over the next five years, the Fed began issuing bills in denominations of $1 to $10,000. In 1969, the Treasury retired its most serious bling because electronic transactions had reduced demand. Gone are the $500, $1,000, $5,000, $10,000, and $100,000 bills. (This last was used only for transactions between banks, because local quickie marts had a tough time breaking it.) As long as banks have been printing money, crooks have been printing fake money. In the country's earliest days, the proliferation of bogus bills rendered the Continental currency nearly worthless, and during the Civil War, between a third and a half of all the money in circulation was phony. The government finally acted in 1865 and created the Secret Service--an enforcement division within the Department of the Treasury whose sole purpose was to put the kibosh on counterfeiting. (The prez had to take care of his own bad self.) These days, despite advances in digital technology, the Secret Service says counterfeiting is on a slight decline; a March report found just one out of every ten thousand bills was fake. To stay ahead of wily counterfeiters, though, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing plans to redesign the bills every seven to ten years. Our currency last got a major overhaul in 1996, and this fall the Treasury will begin circulating redesigned twenty-dollar bills, with a revamped fifty to follow in 2004 and a hundred in 2005. The new twenty still bears a well-coiffed Andrew Jackson--the frame has been removed and the image enlarged--but has subtle blue, peach, and green designs, and words have been added to the background. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Q&A Rosario Marin was the treasurer of the biggest club of all: the U. S. government. And as such, her signature (along with the Treasury Secretary's) graced every bill printed. ESQ: Did you agonize over your signature? Marin: When I got the job, I realized not even my mother could read my signature, so I practiced and practiced. Where did you sign? The engravers gave me a sheet of paper and said, You'll have the opportunity to sign your name five times, and we'll choose one. They gave me this little sheet of paper with these five boxes. My signature has this flair, and on four out of the five I went outside the box. The one on the bill is the only one that fit. Does it bother you that your signature is probably being crammed into a stripper's G-string right now? Well, I guess you could see it that way. But you could also see the fact that it is a symbol of our nation's economy. In a way, my signature validates the strongest currency in the world. It's an honor. How to Tell if a 20 Is Bogus * 1. The paper--a cotton linen sold only to the government--should be flecked with red and blue fibers. * 2. A watermarked portrait of Andrew Jackson should be visible when the bill is held up to a light. * 3. A security thread reading USA TWENTY runs down the left side. The strip glows green beneath an ultraviolet light. * 4. The numeral in the lower right corner on the front of the bill is printed with color-shifting ink. The "20" should look green when viewed straight on but black when viewed at an angle. * 5. Microprinted words within the numeral in the lower left reading "USA 20" should be barely visible. The words "The United States of America" run along the bottom of the portrait frame. * 6. Fine lines are printed behind the portrait and the White House on the back. If reproduced, the lines run together. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Life sometimes seems like nothing more than one long journey to rid ourselves of every last penny, nickel, dime, and quarter. Is there a greater pleasure than being able to hand a cashier exact change? Still, the U. S. Mint--which was established by the Coinage Act of 1792--continues to pump out the stuff. Facilities in Philly and Denver produce about 52.5 million pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half-dollars, and Sacajawea dollars a day. Almost two thirds of those are pennies, half of which fall out of circulation within a year as they disappear into sofa cushions. Prior to 1965, coins actually contained precious metals like silver, but today they are pressed mostly from copper, zinc, and nickel. Most last for about thirty years, and when they become too worn to pass through counting and vending machines, they're sent back to the mint, melted, and recycled. The world's most valuable coin is the 1933 Double Eagle (shown), a twenty-dollar gold piece that sold for $7.6 million at a July 2002 auction. The mint's stockpile of the coin was ordered destroyed in 1937; a few were stolen and eventually made their way into the hands of collectors. What's on the One? While the reverse of most bills pictures an important American building, the one-dollar note is slapped with what's called the Great Seal. One side depicts an eagle clutching thirteen arrows and an olive branch with thirteen leaves (yes, for those thirteen original colonies). The other side depicts a thirteen-course pyramid crowned with a creepy glowing eye that could have popped straight from the doodle notebook of Aleister Crowley. The seal was created in 1782 by the Founding Fathers, who drafted a vague written description, of which today's seal is a graphic interpretation. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Officially, the pyramid stands for strength and durability and the eye is meant to suggest an omniscient deity, but conspiracy theorists claim that the design is actually a nod to the Freemasons--that shadowy ultrasecret fraternity whose members, paranoid critics maintain, actually run the world. Both the eye and the pyramid are symbols of Freemasonry, and many of the Founding Fathers were members. 60 Seconds of Wisdom >> Prior to 1933, the law imposed limits on how much change you could foist on someone else: twenty-five cents in pennies and nickels and ten dollars in dimes, quarters, and half-dollars. >> American money was printed with green ink because the color was psychologically identified with strength and stability. >> 8,362,522,000 bills, including more than half of the ones in use, were deemed unfit for circulation and shredded in 2002. >> The law prohibits living persons from appearing on money. >> Printed pictures of money must depict the bill at least 50 percent larger or 25 percent smaller than its actual size. >> If you could somehow peel money apart, only the front half of the bill would be considered legal tender. >> Greenbacks issued during the Civil War, which bore Lincoln's portrait on the front, are still redeemable today. >> The Bureau of Engraving and Printing employs five currency designers whose sole job is to fiddle with its look.

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OR IS IT CHANGE FOR THE WORSE? by Sharon Rondeau Obama is the first person in the White House to say that America has a strong history with Islam (Jul. 15, 2012) -- Obama stated during his recent campaign swing in Virginia that he does not believe he has changed the highly politically-charged atmosphere in Washington, DC since entering the White House. Obama perceives it to be "as broken" as it was "four years ago" despite his 2008 campaign promises to change it. When CBS News asked Obama in a recent interview about his 2008 campaign promises, Obama admitted that he had not "been able to change the atmosphere here in Washington to reflect the decency and common sense of ordinary people - Democrats, Republicans, and independents - who I think just want to see their leadership solve problems. And, you know, there's enough blame to go around for that." Over the past three and one-half years, did Obama attempt to unite or divide Americans? Obama claimed that his de facto presidency has made his marriage to Michelle stronger. Author Edward Klein, in his book The Amateur, claims that Valerie Jarrett and Michelle Obama actually make the major decisions and that Obama possesses a "toxic combination of incompetence and arrogance." Klein also claims that the Obamas were considering divorce in 2000, and more recent rumors of discord have been reported. Instead of his previous slogan "Hope and Change," Obama is now "Betting on America." Toby Harnden of the UK Telegraph called it "fear and status quo." Last fall, Harnden reported Obama's approval rating at "just above 40%." Current U.S. polling reports show it between 45 and 50%. About three weeks ago, before the ruling on the health care bill was issued, CBS reported that it was 43%. Today, Rasmussen reports that Obama and Mitt Romney each receive 45% of the vote. At least one Obama supporter has opined that "hope and change" was "too vague" a theme upon which to run. Since taking the presidency under questionable circumstances which included reported rampant voter fraud during the 2008 primaries and caucuses and a reported statement from former President Bill Clinton that Obama was not constitutionally eligible to serve, Obama has signed bills and executive orders which have withheld documentation about Fast & Furious, a gunwalking operation which took the life of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry and ICE Agent Jaime Zapata plus several hundred Mexican citizens; placed more regulations on banks and private firms in the wake of the housing and economic collapse; instituted health care legislation which forces religious institutions to provide abortifacients and other birth control against their beliefs; and refused to prove his constitutional eligibility, resulting in the court-martial of an Army flight surgeon and flouting the U.S. legal system. Although the Dodd-Frank banking reform bill was designed to end "too-big-to-fail bailouts," Obama signed the Stimulus bill early in 2009, joking that " the point " of a stimulus was to spend money: $800 billion -worth, much of which included expansion of food stamp benefits, money to offices of the Inspector General in various government departments, "Child care assistance for low-income families to improve infant and toddler care," and $10,000,000 for "ATF Project Gunrunner." However, putative Attorney General Eric Holder originally told Congress on May 3, 2011 that he had no knowledge of "Project Gunrunner," or "Fast & Furious," as it was later called, until "a few weeks ago." The Stimulus bill also included $300,000,000 for "comparative effectiveness research" in the area of health care. As a result, at least 43 religious institutions have filed suit against the Department of Health and Human Services, which is headed by outspoken abortion proponent Kathleen Sebelius. A reported 53% of Americans want "Obamacare" repealed. The U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of a repeal measure on July 11, 2012. Have those who say they "like Obamacare" read the bill ? Since taking office, Obama has run up the national debt to more than $15 trillion . Unemployment officially remains at 8.2%, with Obama's Labor Secretary blaming economic woes in Europe for the stagnant U.S. job market. Obama has invited members of the terrorist group , The Muslim Brotherhood, to the White House. After claiming to be a Christian, he has hosted Iftar dinners, celebrating Ramadan and falsely stated that "Islam has always been a part of America's history." After promoting last year's " Arab Spring " as a "democracy" movement, the Brotherhood's candidate reportedly won the presidential election in Egypt, and both Obama and Hillary Clinton have congratulated him. Obama's pastor of 20 years recently stated that he assisted Obama in becoming "comfortable" with Christianity while still observing his Muslim background. Wright's church preached Black Liberation Theology, which purports that blacks have been oppressed and need to strive for "social justice." During the 2008 campaign, Obama had denied having worked for ACORN other than representing them in a "motor-voter" action, but his association with the leftist voter registration group ran much deeper. Also having hidden his association with the New Party, anti-capitalist Frances Fox Piven was the speaker on the occasion of Obama's official entry into the organization. Piven is noted for the " Cloward-Piven Strategy ," a plan to overwhelm the capitalist system of the U.S. and usher in socialism. Obama pledged to be the " most transparent " occupant of the White House, but has released little or no information about his background, schooling, and university attendance. Promotional materials have stated that he was born in both Kenya , but since 2007 Obama has said he was born in Hawaii . The discrepancy has fueled the questions over his legitimacy. The U.S. Justice Department has sued Wells Fargo Bank for " discrimination " against non-white homebuyers, alleging that they were forced into "subprime mortgages" and in some cases had to pay higher fees than Caucasians when Holder had reportedly been involved in securing subprime mortgages for minorities in the first place. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, co-chair of Obama's re-election campaign, has also been associated with a company which provided subprime loans after having worked in the Justice Department prosecuting companies involved in the practice. On June 15, 2012, Obama hosted an "LGBT Pride Month Reception" at the White House during which some invitees made obscene gestures at portraits of former presidents. Is this what America wants for another four years? Lawsuits have been filed against the states of Arizona, Alabama, and Utah for having passed illegal immigration laws. Texas has been sued for passing a voter statute requiring photo identification, and South Carolina has filed suit in an attempt to fight the Justice Department about its voter identification law. However, Holder has refused to prosecute blacks for voter intimidation because he considers them " his people ." For several months, the Justice Department had refused to give the state of Florida access to a federal database so that voter registrations in the state could be verified. The Department of Justice has sent taxpayer-funded attorneys to various ballot challenges filed against Obama contending that he does not meet the constitutional requirements to be president. Despite laws allowing for candidate challenges for any reason, every attempt by citizens to vet Obama has been thwarted by a judiciary violating their oaths of office. Is this the kind of "change" people voted for in 2008? Did Obama lie, cheat and steal his way into the White House? Justice has also sued Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, AZ, who has promised to reveal "shocking" new information about Obama in an upcoming press conference on Tuesday. Obama Decries no Change in Washington (PB) added on Sunday, July 15, 2012

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Happy Families gets a makeover for 2007 Last updated at 22:07 15 July 2007 It's the charming parlour game from a gentler age, featuring Mr Bun The Baker and Mr Chalk The Teacher. But how would Happy Families look today? The Mail presents your very own version for 2007 right here. To download part one of Modern Happy Families in a cut-out-and-play printable version, right click here and click Save Link As to save the pdf to your computer. To download part two of Modern Happy Families in a cut-out-and-play printable version, right click here and click Save Link As to save the pdf to your computer. Share or comment on this article: Happy Families gets a makeover for 2007

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Michael Payne 136 POSTS 0 COMMENTS Michael Payne is an independent progressive activist. His writings deal with social, economic, political and foreign policy issues; and especially with the great dangers involved with the proliferation of perpetual war, the associated defense industry, and the massive control that Corporate America holds over this government and our election process; all which are leading this nation down the road to eventual financial ruin if the conditions are not reversed. He is a graduate of Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois and a U.S. Army veteran.

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Over the last few years, "clean eating" has become trendy, or attempting to eat clean/healthy (because donuts and cupcakes are also trendy). Everyone's obese, and we're all going to die unless we eat more fucking kale. So much kale. I, like any trend follower and good mom, try to do my best to feed my family well-balanced, "clean," healthy meals. I want us all to bug the shit out of each other for many, many years to come, and longevity is what you eat evidently. But, fuck, eating healthy is a giant pain in the ass. First of all, if your life is anything like mine then you get the joy of grocery shopping with small children. Small children who are always hungry and whiny and tired beginning the moment the automatic doors open for us. And when they're hungry and see food, they want to eat it because, well, hello, Mom, snacks are everywhere! I sneak them a couple grapes and start looking around. Everything has to be organic, of course. But, seriously, why is it that the most bruised and blemished apples are the healthiest? How does that make sense, Mother Nature? And they cost more. When I take them home I have to explain to my husband why I spent $80 on the ugliest apples to have ever fallen from a tree while the pretty ones would have been $4 and looked like art on our kitchen counter. On top of the organic thing, it all has to be fresh. The fruits and vegetables should never have seen the inside of a bag or a box or anything that could leech toxins all over them. The uglier and the fresher something is, the healthier it must be. That's what I've figured out from Instagram. But sometimes you need a backup plan just in case. So I push my cart past the bulk bins of beans and the Goop-following, "namaste"-whispering bitches look at the few aluminum cans of green beans in my cart hiding under a bushel of ugly apples and stick up their noses at me just like how they stick healing crystals up their vaginas . The judgment is strong when you're shopping anywhere that sells fresh, local, organic food. Everyone is watching you. Then you get home, and you can't just throw it all in the fridge and call it a day. You have to wash it -- all of it. Even if it was carried to the store in a hermetically sealed bubble on a unicorn's back you still have to wash it lest a GMO piece of corn dust fell upon it. Washing is just the beginning though. Then you have to prep it because, obviously, if you don't have a plan for it, if it's not readily available, then the parsnips will get pissed off at you and rot in hell because you didn't put any love and care into them. You peel, you dice, you chop, you mince, you give yourself carpel tunnel from all the knife work you're doing. You place it in color-coded and dated and labeled containers in the front of the fridge so if anyone wants a snack that's what they see first because you're a good mom, dammit. But here's the worst part about trying to eat healthy: After you've shopped and chopped and prepped and planned, you have to attempt to make it in such a fashion that your picky kids will eat it. You turn zucchini into noodles, carrots into fries, and cauliflower into mash, and you know what happens? You're not fooling anyone. They just want everything covered in cheese or ranch, and for the love, if you're going to do that, you might as well go back to buying the pretty produce and save yourself a thousand dollars. Trying to eat healthy is utterly exhausting and underappreciated, but here I am. Getting ready to go shopping once again because nothing says "I love you" quite like spending my kids' college funds on food they'll never eat all in the name of health. Wish me luck.

Over the last few years, "clean eating" has become trendy, or attempting to eat clean/healthy (because donuts and cupcakes are also trendy). Everyone's obese, and we're all going to die unless we eat more fucking kale.

After police in El Cajon, California shot and killed Alfred Okwera Olango earlier this week, dozens of demonstrators took to the street to protest. Olango has become yet another statistic in a long string of recent police-involved shootings of black men whose deaths have drawn serious concerns over allegations of brutality and systemic racism. But the death of Olango-- who came to the country 25 ago as a refugee -- also resonates in a visceral way among immigrants whose deadly confrontations with law enforcement officials often do not get as much national attention. Police said they fired because Olango refused multiple instructions to take his hand out of his pockets and assumed a "shooting stance." But Olango's family insist that he was having a mental breakdown when they called police to help respond to the mental health emergency. Among those protesting Olango's death include immigrant advocates who say his death was tragic because he had come to the country seeking safety, but was instead killed by U.S. police. "It is impossible for our communities to rely on police officers for help when they shoot first and ask questions later," Ginger Jacobs, Chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, said in a statement. "Communities of color and immigrant communities need to know that law enforcement agencies are here to serve and protect ALL people." Olango came to the country in 1991 after living in a refugee camp in Kampala, Uganda in search of better education and future in the United States. In 2002, an immigration judge ordered Olango deported over a conviction for transporting and selling drugs. Uganda refused to issue travel documents to take him back, so Olango was released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in 2003, under an order of supervision. That's because the U.S. Supreme Court Zadvdas v. Davis ruling bars foreigners from being detained indefinitely if their home countries refuse to accept them. Olango was again taken into custody in 2009 after he served a prison sentence for a firearms conviction, but ICE was again unable to deport him. Olango's death perhaps wouldn't have sparked as much attention had he not been black. Though activists have been trying to get an "Immigrant Lives Matter" movement off the ground, it has been far more difficult to rally people to protest when police kill immigrants, particularly when they are Latino. There is virtual silence when Latinos are killed. For instance, in the same week that Alton Sterling and Philando Castile were killed earlier this year, PBS reported on the lack of attention surrounding five Latinos who were killed by police. Last year, both Oscar Ramirez and Ricardo Diaz Zeferino were unarmed when they were killed by California police, in circumstances that generated " very little protest " last year, the Los Angeles Times reported. The same article pointed out that Latinos made up almost half of Los Angeles County's population who were killed by police over the past five years. And a Texas police officer didn't face criminal charges after he killed Ruben Garcia Villalpando , an unarmed Mexican immigrant during a traffic stop after a high-speed car chase. Of course, thanks to the complicated historical context of violent police-on-black interactions and lynchings that continue to reverberate out of this country's heinous slavery past, it's not a perfect comparison. But in similar ways that speak to the profiling of people of color in this country, both black people and immigrants living in the United States are assumed to be dangerous and treated as criminals. In the current election season, for example, immigrants have been generalized as criminals , potential terrorists , drug dealers, and rapists . But advocates, including founders of the Black Lives Matter movement, have increasingly been working to incorporate immigrants into the movement to address police brutality -- particularly because black immigrants are disproportionately punished when they encounter law enforcement officials. In August, the Black Lives Matter movement adopted a 10-point platform that included a call to end deportations.

After police in El Cajon, California shot and killed Alfred Okwera Olango earlier this week, dozens of demonstrators took to the street to protest.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City's first lady, Chirlane McCray, bag meals with Girl Scouts from Brooklyn Troop 2260. (AP Photo/New York Daily News, Susan Watts) Ready to join the resistance? Sign up for Take Action Now and we'll send you three actions every Tuesday. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation , check out our latest issue . Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and we'll send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation's journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation , check out our latest issue . Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine? It says something about the state of the debate these days that Americans now must decide whether they are with the Girl Scouts or against them. As for me, I'm with the Girl Scouts. In the face of the "CookieCott" --not a boycott, mind you--promoted by social-conservative groups that want people to turn away Girl Scouts who this weekend launch their annual cookie sale, I will buy Thin Mints and Trefoils and Tagalongs. Lots of them. Because there are a lot of reasons to support the Girl Scouts. There are 3.2 million Girl Scouts in the United States--2.3 million girl members and close to 900,000 adult members who are active primarily as volunteers. They come from every region, every race, every background. I know because my mother, a Girl Scout volunteer for the better part of 50 years, has organized troops in farm towns, inner city neighborhoods, suburbs and criminal justice facilities. Girl Scouts have a remarkable influence in our society. The majority of women serving in the US Senate were Girl Scouts in their youth. The majority of women serving in the US House were Girl Scouts. The majority of women who own small businesses today were Girl Scouts. Hillary Clinton was a Girl Scout. Laura Bush was a Girl Scout. Nancy Reagan was a Girl Scout. Sandra Day O'Connor was a Girl Scout. First lady Michelle Obama serves as the national honorary president of the Girl Scouts. But the most meaningful influence is not measured by the list of elected leaders, scholars, astronauts, athletes and CEOs who were once Girl Scouts. It is rooted in ideals and a set of values : "Being honest and fair, courageous and strong, using resources wisely, respecting yourself and others, and making the world a better place." That's scary to people who do not want Americans--girls and boys, men and women--to embrace diverse people and diverse ways of thinking. So, for a number of years now, right-wing groups and politicians have been griping about the fact that the Girl Scouts declare they "value inclusiveness and do not discriminate or recruit on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, national origin, or physical or developmental disability." Most Popular When the Boy Scouts were in the midst of their debate over whether to scrap a long-standing policy of discrimination against gay troop leaders and members, Ms.blog headlined an article: "What Boy Scouts Can Learn from Girl Scouts." The author of the piece, Rebecca Nelson , concluded: "For the 59 million American women who have participated in Girl Scouts, it's gratifying to follow the organization's progressive stance. In my troop, Troop 1139, we were a mix of races and religions. We didn't discuss sexual orientation while we made song books, but I'm sure we would have welcomed anyone into our circle." Unfortunately, instead of appreciating the fact that the Girl Scouts are open and welcoming, the right-wing complaint corner has stepped up the attack. Claiming that the Girl Scouts are aligned with "Planned Parenthood and the left," Penny Nance , the president of the group Concerned Women of America, objects that "the Girl Scouts of America went off track years ago." The Girl Scouts don't make political endorsements or take a position on abortion rights debates in the United States. And they are no more left-wing than most organizations that highlight the fact of Nancy Reagan's former membership. But that hasn't stopped the "CookieCott 2014" crew from urging Americans to shut the door on Girl Scouts when they come selling cookies. Why? The most-discussed gripe has to do with a tweet from the organization last year regarding a discussion of "Incredible Ladies Who Should Be Women Of The Year For 2013." Beyonce was mentioned, as was Nobel Peace Prize nominee Malala Yousafzai. But there was also a mention of Texas State Senator Wendy Davis , who engaged in an eleven-hour filibuster to defend reproductive rights. That was too much for critics of the Girl Scouts like John Pisciotta , the director of Pro-Life Waco, in Texas. And now Pisciotta has stirred up the "CookieCott 2014" movement--gaining coverage nationwide for an assault on the Girl Scouts that has less to do with Wendy Davis than with long-standing gripes about the association of the Girl Scouts of the USA with the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts , which at its 2010 world conference expressed support for "comprehensive sexuality education" and reproductive health initiatives. One of the best things about the Girl Scouts is the organization's emphasis on international understanding and cooperation. My mom has taken Girl Scouts on trips to other countries and continents. And she's spent a lot of time organizing support for the global learning initiatives of the Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, with a special focus on the work of Sangam , a World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts center located in Pune, India. Our family has supported Sangam for as long as I can remember. We'll proudly do so this year. When the Girl Scouts come calling as part of this year's cookie campaign, I'll be buying a few extra boxes. John Nichols Twitter John Nichols is The Nation 's national-affairs correspondent. He is the author of Horsemen of the Trumpocalypse: A Field Guide to the Most Dangerous People in America , from Nation Books, and co-author, with Robert W. McChesney, of People Get Ready: The Fight Against a Jobless Economy and a Citizenless Democracy . To submit a correction for our consideration, click here.

Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City's first lady, Chirlane McCray, bag meals with Girl Scouts from Brooklyn Troop 2260.

You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! SANTA FE, N.M. ( ChurchMilitant.com ) - The bishops of New Mexico are speaking out against Catholic politicians who cite their Catholic faith as their reason for backing legislation favoring abortion and doctor-assisted suicide. Statements by a pro-abortion politician in New Mexico, claiming her Catholic faith justified her choice to vote down pro-life legislation, garnered a sudden rebuke from New Mexico's bishops. A statement from the five bishops comprising the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops on March 6 affirmed : [W]e are concerned by public statements by some legislators that seem to say that a faithful Catholic can support abortion or doctor-assisted suicide. Support for abortion or doctor-assisted suicide is not in accord with the teachings of the Church. These represent the direct taking of human life and are always wrong. New Mexico state Rep. Patricia Caballero claimed her Catholic faith led her to follow her conscience and block two pro-life measures. The first bill would have prohibited abortions after 20 weeks gestation. The second bill required parental notification prior to minors procuring an abortion. Defending her choice to derail both measures Caballero claimed : My Catholic faith teaches me women and men have the right to make their own decisions based on the dictum of their own consciences. I respect life in all forms, and I firmly believe these very deep and personal, complex decisions must remain with the woman, her doctors, her family and her faith, and certainly not in the chambers of government. Following Caballero's statement, Allen Sanchez, executive director for the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops, told state legislators that Abp. John Wester of Sante Fe was perturbed. Speaking for Abp. Wester, Sanchez related , "We must use our conscience, and he agrees with that, but it needs to be a formed conscience. A lack of formed conscience can create havoc and problems." Seemingly referring to the fact that such pro-abortion politicians excommunicate themselves from the Church, Sanchez continued, "Especially when a public or elected person identifies themselves as Catholic and uses that to justify a vote for abortion ... that person is themselves separating themselves." In their joint statement, the New Mexico's bishops reiterated Catholic teaching, "It is not morally permissible for a Catholic to support abortion or doctor-assisted suicide." It is not morally permissible for a Catholic to support abortion or doctor-assisted suicide. The bishops in their statement defended their right to be involved in political questions that have moral implications. They said they do this in the following ways: Preaching the Gospel in public and private meetings with legislators Aiding in the formation of consciences Three days after the bishops published their statement, Caballero helped block legislation requiring doctors to provide life-saving medical care for infants who survived botched abortions.

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Chelsea Clinton, daughter of Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, is planning to do her part to oppose the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. July 20, 2018 9:40 am Scott Wallace, a Democratic congressional candidate in Pennsylvania, donated millions of dollars to groups that advocated taxing families for "irresponsible breeding," according to a report from Fox News. July 16, 2018 1:06 pm Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, one of the nation's largest and preeminent pro-life groups, is placing Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) squarely within its crosshairs as the senator weighs whether to support Judge Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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October 5, 2017 Uncategorized In my opinion, Donald Trump is Nuts as demonstrated by the crazy things he says and does. This page contains one of the largest collection of Videos & Articles about his unhinged behavior. Help increase the ranking and exposure of this page for the keyword phrase " Trump is nuts " by posting links to this page on your blog, facebook page and by posting tweets on twitter about this page; New Facebook Page where you can post your comments about Trump - https://facebook.com/Trump-Is-Nuts-326678621035162/ Trump, The Mad King 27 Psychiatrists Assess The Dangerous Case Of Donald Trump In a new book, 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts asses President Donald Trump's behavior. Do his impulses explain his decisions? The book's editor Dr. Brandy Lee and Tony Schwartz, co-author of Trump's "The Art of the Deal A group of psychiatrists has written to Congress to warn Donald Trump poses a "clear and present danger" to the world. Among them is Dr Bandy Lee, of Yale University, who is also reportedly consulting with Democratic members of Congress on setting up an expert panel to give advice on the President's mental health. 8-25-17 Psychiatrists tell Congress Donald Trump is 'a clear and present danger' to the world TRUMP TWO MINUTE ATTENTION SPAN The Washington Post citing inside sources say Trump has the short attention span of a child of 2 to 4 minutes Video Title: Donald Trump's daily 'propaganda document' Not only does Trump have a limited attention span of about 2 minutes as leaked by WH staff, he gets a folder of positive news about himself twice a day. Trump Gets Folder Full of Positive News About Himself Twice a Day Three current and former White House officials tell Vice News that Donald Trump receives a 20 to 25-page packet of positive news coverage and flattering tweets about him twice a day. Donald Trump, the President of 'Fantasyland' Kurt Andersen joins Lawrence O'Donnell to discuss his new book "Fantasyland" that argues Donald Trump's rise can be traced to America's inability to separate fact and fiction. Trump Exhibits Traits of Narcissistic Personality Disorder Experts within the psychological and psychiatric community have expressed concern that Donald Trump is too unstable and impulsive to have access to U.S. nuclear codes. Trump's mental health: 'The elephant in the room' As psychologists and psychiatrists continue to warn about President Trump's mental health, the Columbia Journalism Review called Trump's mental health "the elephant in the room. Lee Siegel, who wrote the CJR column, and Dr. Lance Dodes join Lawrence. Trump has a dangerous disability - George F. Will interview MSNBC 9 Ways Donald Trump Is A Sociopath Psychologists warn that Trump is displaying classic signs of being mentally ill Video: Two SHRINKS talks about TRUMP's Extreme NARCISSISM According to an article from rawstory.com, top U.S. psychologists like Harvard professor and researcher Howard Gardner have stated that Donald Trump is a textbook narcissist. The article states that "he fits the profile so well that clinical psychologist George Simon told Vanity Fair, He's so classic that I'm archiving video clips of him to use in workshops. This puts Trump in the same category as a number of infamous dictators like Muammar Gaddafi, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Saddam Hussein. And although there are narcissists out there who entertain us, innovate, or create great art, when a narcissist is given immense power over people's lives, they can behave much differently". Read the description of Gaslighing below and see if you think it also fits Trump. A favorite tactic of manipulators, used to obstruct and distort their victim's understanding of reality. Intentionally setting up misdeeds, and then questioning the victim's sanity for reacting to those misdeeds. Rewriting history, or blatantly denying that the event ever took place. Dismissing the victim's legitimate concerns with labels like "crazy", "hysterical" and "sensitive". Gaslighters are patronizing, unapologetic , and above all, they are cowardly. They are seeking power and control over compassionate human beings. Psychiatrists Call For Trump Mental Exam, Fear He Might Be Unstable

Uncategorized In my opinion, Donald Trump is Nuts as demonstrated by the crazy things he says and does.

Jacob Rees-Mogg tried to blame socialism for the housing crisis, and people aren't having it On 23 July, Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg launched the Institute for Economic Affairs' (IEA) Richard Koch Breakthrough Prize. He then tweeted the details of the prize: https://twitter.com/Jacob_Rees_Mogg/status/1021349502270177280 Is socialism the problem? The IEA is a 'free-market' thinktank. It's offering a prize for essays... A European country with remarkably similar policies to Jeremy Corbyn's is booming Portugal's economy is growing at its fastest rate for 17 years under a government with policies very similar to those that Jeremy Corbyn's Labour proposes in the UK. Back from the brink Portugal was on the edge of total financial collapse after the global financial crisis of 2007/8. It required a EUR78bn financial bailout to prop up... A big progressive win shows it's time for the Democrats to ditch centrism Progressive Stacey Abrams won a landslide victory in the Georgia gubernatorial primary over 'moderate' Democrat Stacey Evans. And the win shows the Democratic base is ready for a break with centrism in favor of bold, leftist politics. Abrams leans left Abrams ran on a platform of expanding Medicaid, passing a living wage, protecting... The real reason John McDonnell is pushing the right-wing press into overdrive Marxism is back on the agenda, apparently. But it's not the real reason why shadow chancellor John McDonnell is pushing the right-wing press into overdrive. 'MARXIST!!!!' On BBC Question Time on 10 May, work and pensions secretary Esther McVey said McDonnell "agrees in Marxism". Unsurprisingly, this echoed a Daily Mail 'story'... There's good reason everyone's talking about the front page of The Times newspaper today [IMAGES] The front page of today's Times newspaper carries the 'news' that socialists are 'uglier than Tories.' Next time you hear an establishment media journalist waxing lyrical about their fine profession, you might want to refer them to this. Too nice to be pretty Tom Whipple is Science Editor for the Murdoch-owned Times newspaper.... Tim Farron calls Labour a 'Maoist cult'... and Jeremy Corbyn something even stranger [TWEETS] Ex-Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron took to Twitter to weigh in on the current political climate. Farron hasn't been in the news that much lately since he resigned in June after questions about his attitudes towards homosexuality and abortion. But his tweet about the Labour Party is certainly garnering attention. He called the party... Twitter had the perfect response to the right's latest attempt to badmouth socialism Elements of the right wing have tried to use Halloween to discredit socialism. Bashing socialism is something they often feel a need to do. But by dragging Halloween into it, they've shown that, like your common zombie, what they really need is brains. The memester mash A few prominent right-wing figures posted variations on the same... Just when you thought the Tory media's coverage of Corbyn could sink no lower, they've gone and outdone themselves The pro-Tory press have once again used any excuse to discredit Jeremy Corbyn. This time, in response to his very reasonable statement on the current crisis in Venezuela. But by doing so, they've only exposed their own uselessness. Jeremy Corbyn condemns violence on all sides Asked about Venezuela's crisis, the Labour leader said: I... In one fell swoop, this Tory MP exposes HER OWN government's dismal record on social welfare [VIDEO] The current state of the NHS and social welfare in general is not great, to say the least. And it's not every day that a Conservative MP admits that on TV. But that's exactly what happened on BBC Question Time on 8 December - and in Theresa May's own constituency, no less. Damning comments Dr Sarah Wollaston is a Tory MP who... John McDonnell blows the roof off the Labour Party conference, in just one minute [VIDEO] Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell received a standing ovation after concluding his speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool. And although his policy announcements generated much applause, it was his closing comment that brought everyone to their feet. It was then that he invoked one of the city's greatest heroes,... Page 1 of 2 1 2 (c) Canary Media Limited 2015-18. All rights reserved. Canary Media Ltd, PO Box 3301, Bristol, BS5 5GD. Registered in England. Company registration number 09788095. Please contact us .

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People need to get a life and quit looking to be offended by random patterns in sequences of alphanumeric characters. As was said above, folks got bent outta shape at WTF in NC, and idiots in Texas got upset when the sequence there finally generated "FAT" as a combination (I wonder if they didn't get upset that it had to pass through FAG first to get there?) I can also remember fundies in TN getting bent outta shape at all those tags that had "666" in 'em some years ago. Maybe folks wouldn't be so offended if they didn't spend their lives trying to become offended.

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Governments could lose more than $50 billion in dealing with costs associated with malware on pirated software, according to a study by the National University of Singapore (NUS) and research firm IDC. The study, titled 'The Link Between Pirated Software and Cyber security Breaches', expressed concern over the potential impact of cyber security threats on nations. "It is estimated that governments could lose more than $50 billion to deal with the costs associated with malware on pirated software," it said. According to the study, respondents from the government sector were most worried about the loss of business trade secrets or competitive information (59 percent). This was followed by concerns about unauthorised access to confidential government information (55 per cent) and the impact of cyber-attacks on critical infrastructure (55 percent). "Cyber criminals are profiting from any security lapse they can find, with financially devastating results for everyone," Microsoft Cybercrime Centre executive director and associate general Counsel David Finn said. Motivated by money, the cyber criminals have found new ways to break into computer networks so they can grab whatever they want: identity, passwords and money, he added. The study also estimates that enterprises worldwide may have to spend nearly $500 billion this year to deal with issues caused by malware deliberately loaded onto pirated software. Of this, $127 billion is expected to be spent on dealing with security issues, while $364 billion would be spent on dealing with data breaches. Global consumers, on the other hand, are expected to spend $25 billion and waste 1.2 billion hours this year because of security threats and costly computer fixes stemming from malware on pirated software. "Using pirated software is like walking through a field of landmines: You do not know when you will come upon something nasty, but if you do it can be very destructive," IDC chief researcher John Gantz said. The financial hazards are considerable, and the potential losses could leave once-profitable businesses on a shaky ground, he added. "Buying legitimate software is less expensive in the long run - at least you know that you would not get anything 'extra' in the form of malware," he said.

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'It could have been handled in a more compassionate fashion': Homeless man stripped of social benefits after finding and handing in $850 speaks out James Brady, 59, was homeless when he found found $850 and gave it to police Police returned the money to him after it went unclaimed for six months Human Services cut off his benefits because Brady didn't declare 'income' The decision sparked outrage and the public has sent donations Speaking publicly for the first time, Brady told Hackensack City Council that homeless people aren't treated with respect The Hackensack mayor apologized and Brady's payments will be restored A former homeless man who was stripped of his benefits after handing in $850 he found has demanded that authorities stop treating rough sleepers like criminals. James Brady, 59, last night criticized the Hackensack's Human Service Department's 'lack of compassion' in cancelling his General Assistance and Medicaid payments after his good deed. The department controversially denied Brady his $210 monthly assistance until the end of the year because he failed to report his 'income' after police returned the unclaimed money to him in October. Scroll down for video Unfair: Speaking publicly for the first time, James Brady, 59 (left) last night told a Hackensack City Council meeting he was treated unfairly by department officials Not alone: James Brady (front right) was surrounded by supporters before he addressed a council meeting last night The New Jersey resident spoke publicly about the experience for the first time at a Hackensack City Council meeting yesterday. 'Mea culpa on me if I had made a mistake, but it could have been handled in a more compassionate fashion,' Brady said, according to video posted by NorthJersey.com. 'I don't want to tell you what you need to do but I would like you to be a little bit more cognizant of the needs of the homeless. The homeless and criminal are not synonyms. I'm just trying to advocate for the homeless here. 'What I found is the social services in Hackensack sometimes works at odds with what other people are trying to accomplish.' Hackensack mayor John P. LaBrosse, Jr., apologized to Brady for the embarrassing system failure. 'This situation should never have happened. The system itself should have something in place that throws up a red flag when something like this happens, so a person like Mr Brady doesn't get stuck in this situation,' he said. 'People in Mr Brady's situation shouldn't have to go through this. They've already gone through enough. Again I apologize to you, Mr Brady, for this happening.' Sorry: Hackensack mayor John P. LaBrosse, Jr., last night apologized to Brady for the system failure Meanwhile, department officials are investigating the incident and plan to restore Brady's benefits. Bergen County Executive chief of staff Jeanne Barrata said New Jersey's Commissioner of Human Services, Jennifer Velez, was working to rectify the situation. 'I know that this council is not at fault and your human services department is not at fault because everything was done by the book and as it should have been. Could it have been handled a little bit better? Absolutely,' she said, according to video posted by NorthJersey.com. 'She [Velez] wanted me to convey to you tonight that the Governor's office is aware of this and that the department of human services will do whatever they can to rectify the situation for Mr Brady and the state will help him. 'He's got housing now, but they're willing to help him with that. They will help him rectify this situation to get the records right so he can get his Medicaid, he can get his benefits and we can fix this.' Honest: Hackensack Main Street, where a homeless James Brady found an envelope containing $850 and turned it into police Brady's battle with bureaucracy began in October when a public servant read about his 'cash windfall'. Brady made headlines last month for handing in to police $850 he found in an envelope on a sidewalk on April 16, even though he was homeless and unemployed. He turned in the cash because 'he didn't want to take money from anyone who could be worse off' than himself. Police gave him back the money because no-one claimed it. He received praise from well-wishers and a commendation from the City Council, and moved into an apartment with a county housing voucher that paid for all but $5 of his $1,095 rent . But Human Services director Agatha Toomey wasn't impressed. Last month, she called Brady in for a meeting, armed with a print-out of a news story about Brady's good deed and subsequent windfall. Toomey asked Brady how he had spent the $850. He told her he had bought napkins, toilet paper, a bathmat and a sandwich. Of benefit: Brady receives $210 per month as well as medical benefits, both of which have been halted He then received a letter informing him that his $210 per month and his Medicaid had been cut off from 18 October until 31 December. 'I'm sorry but we had to - I had to - follow regulations,' Toomey told the Record . 'He only pays $5 [a month] in rent.' Brady was appalled. 'This is stupid,' Brady said. 'I had already proven my honesty by turning in the $850. They were treating me like I was a dishonest individual, like I was trying to cheat them out of the money.' Shocked by the news, people from across the U.S. rallied to support Brady through social media, letters and donations that have totaled more than $6000. 'I'm amazed. One of the things is: I didn't ask for any of this. I was just putting myself out there because I wanted to help homeless in Hackensack,' he said. 'To see it get picked up by so many papers and the response -- it's tremendous. People are very sympathetic.' Authorities said James Brady's payments would be restored Toomey did not appear at last night's council meeting. But her friend Stefani Pedone told the meeting that Toomey didn't deserve to be bad-mouthed. 'It's a wonderful thing that we have people that are honest in this world and do the right thing,' Pedone said. 'However, what has been going on in the newspaper, on the internet on the blogs against a woman who has devoted 38 years of her life to the City of Hackensack, there is nobody more compassionate than Mrs Toomey. 'So if she went by the books, and according to the books, she did the right thing. The city should not be chastising someone like Mrs Toomey.' Brady's descent into homelessness began after the September 11 terrorist attacks in Manhattan. He had worked as a news photographer before becoming a market data analyst. He lost his job due to a merger and was looking for work in 2001. He had been due to attend a finance and technology exposition at the World Trade Center on September 11 but canceled. Brady was left traumatized by the knowledge he could have been killed in the attacks and sank into depression, using up his savings and retirement fund until he was evicted from him apartment and became homeless.

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Anthony Bagshaw was told by a judge his behaviour to animals was deplorable as he sent him to prison for 10 months. Covert cameras had been placed by animal welfare campaigners inside the family-owned abattoir and caught Bagshaw kicking a pig in the face and throwing a sheep against a gate. When he eventually appeared in court, Bagshaw, 36, admitted nine animal welfare offences, including hitting a sheep on the head with a stungun and also a metal shackle to render the animal unconscious; grabbing animals and throwing them on their backs and against a metal gate as well kicking a pig in the face. Hillside Animal Sanctuary's investigators had been given a tip off that "things were not right" at the 112 year old S Bagshaw and Sons butchers in Butterton, Staffordshire, and launched a six month operation secretly recording with a cameras last summer. Besides being jailed, Bagshaw, of Back Lane, Butterton, was banned from owning, keeping or transporting animals for 15 years when he appeared at Stafford Crown Court on Monday. He was told by Judge Jonathan Gosling that he treated animals deplorably and also had disregarded regulations.

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"Our industry is akin to a G.I. jumping out of a helicopter in Vietnam. We know what hill we want to take. We have an idea how we are going to get there. But, you need to rely on your platoon to get it done." Dallas Mavericks General Manager Donnie Nelson was never a general for the U.S. military, but he knows something about creating a winner. Sports Illustrated and Yahoo! Sports both rated him in the top three of NBA personnel bosses during recent articles and the Mavs have posted 10 consecutive 50-win seasons. "I can't sit here and tell you that there is this magical formula to win an NBA championship," Nelson tells Dime. "Certainly, if you've got superstar players, it certainly helps and sometimes that can seal the deal. But, there are all kinds of different ways to do it." Yes, not every franchise is fortunate enough to land a Michael Jordan , Tim Duncan or Larry Bird . It takes more than bad breaks and tanking. Sometimes, it's just all timing. Cleveland and Orlando struck gold in the 2003 and 2004 NBA Drafts. But, two years later, Toronto got the leftovers. Minnesota General Manager David Kahn , in the midst of his own rebuilding situation, says that makes it difficult because, more than anything, great players make great organizations. "That sounds obvious or simplistic," says Kahn. "But if you go back through history, very rarely will you have a championship team that doesn't have one or sometimes two players who are at the top of their field." Take a look at the champions from the past decade: Lakers back-to-back, Celtics, Spurs, Heat, Spurs, Pistons, Spurs, and a Lakers three-peat. While these ring winners have the formula figured out - get lucky and find a transcendent talent or two, keep them in the mix and surrounded them with veteran role players - the rest of the NBA can't always do it this way. Luck, location and money all play a role in how a team is built. Ask Cleveland and LeBron James . Some of the failed Cavs signings over the past half-decade include Antawn Jamison ($11 million per year), Mo Williams ($8M), Larry Hughes ($13M), Drew Gooden ($7M) and Damon Jones ($4M). $43 million spent and even with a Hall of Fame talent like James, they won as many titles as the Nets. Look at Allen Iverson and the Sixers, Patrick Ewing and the Knicks or Karl Malone and John Stockton with the Jazz. All first-ballot Hall of Famers and they never won rings. This year's Phoenix Suns made the Western Conference Finals sporting rotation players that were second-round picks ( Jared Dudley ), traded-for second-rounders ( Goran Dragic ), a player banished from two teams in four years ( Channing Frye ) and one soon-to-be 38-year old ( Grant Hill ). They had no one averaging 25 points a game and no player who ever proved they could lead a team to the Finals. Even their general manager, Steve Kerr , has more rings as a player than the entire roster combined. Front office financial restrictions forced them to give up Joe Johnson and draft picks that turned out to be Luol Deng , Rudy Fernandez and Rajon Rondo . The luxuries certain franchises enjoy don't always work in places like Phoenix, let alone Memphis, Charlotte and Minnesota. "Everyone's got a blueprint and it very seldom pans out the way that you script it," Nelson said. "This is an industry that can change on a dime and you've got to go into it with an open mind. When things present themselves, you just have to hope that you make more great decisions than not." All of this year's conference finalists got there with differing game plans. Besides the Suns money-strapped method, the Boston Celtics made the final four on the basis of a few monster trades. They blew up a young, lottery team to have a shot at a few despondent stars. The Orlando Magic drafted a cornerstone at number one overall six years ago and spent the past few seasons easing from first-round flameouts to Finals participants. Every move GM Otis Smith made was done to complement Dwight Howard. And finally, there are the Lakers. Besides the Pau Gasol gift, L.A. used the post- Shaq years building consistency and familiarity within their roster. But what happens when your team doesn't have Superman or the Black Mamba? Teams like Atlanta, Utah and Houston are stuck in the middle. They are all good enough to win a round or two in the playoffs but none look like championship contenders. Is it enough to make the playoffs every year? Will the fans keep coming if someone decides to blow a squad up and start over? "It's huge (trying to find those 1 or 2 truly special players)," Kahn said. "It's just huge." Of course, building from the bottom guarantees nothing. The Clippers teams of the first half of the decade assembled a flood of talent through yearly-scheduled trips to the lottery. From 1998 until 2004, L.A. never once held a draft position below eight. Those seven picks netted them multiple high school All-Americans ( Darius Miles, Tyson Chandler, Shaun Livingston ), some seasoned collegiate big men ( Michael Olowokandi, Chris Wilcox, Chris Kaman ) and one of the best multi-talented forwards of the past few decades ( Lamar Odom ). Yet, despite it all, the Clips franchise struggled to a winning percentage of .358 during that time. Nelson says the selection process is like predicting real estate values. Kahn believes the draft would be the preferred method of rebuilding if it wasn't so unpredictable. "I think it's hard if you are not picking near the top for a couple of years," says Kahn. "Most of the teams that tend to have the great players were fortunate to have either the first or a very high pick during a year in which it really mattered like Cleveland with LeBron (James) and Orlando with Dwight Howard." Recently, the Oklahoma City Thunder also remade themselves through the draft. Their four best players were all high lottery picks, although the Celtics initially chose Jeff Green and traded him to the Thunder on draft night. Another probable starter next season, Serge Ibaka , was a first round pick of theirs as well. GM Sam Presti refused to give large contracts to proven players like David Lee and Paul Millsap in free agency. Instead, he's focused on developing his young talent and saving cap space. Now, Oklahoma City is considered the best young team in the league. Yet, the presence of 21-year old Kevin Durant may be the only difference between this unit and those Clippers teams of the past decade. "Their whole team is a different team without Durant," Kahn said. "Building through the draft would be the preferred method, but it is easier said than done." Nelson reiterates there is no scout in the league batting 1.000. "The landscape of this industry changes daily, sometimes hourly," he said. "You have to know the market cold, whether it's the college kids or the current NBA players, players overseas, players in the minor leagues." No team represents that unpredictability better than the Celtics. After a few successful playoff runs behind Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker in the first half of this decade, Boston thought their roster had hit its ceiling. They blew it up and tried stockpiling draft picks. Walker was shipped out to Dallas and Pierce became the centerpiece. Despite constant attempts to rationalize first-round picks like Gerald Green and Marcus Banks, GM Danny Ainge eventually realized he had to make a splash to save his job. Even with talents like Pierce, Al Jefferson, Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo , Boston stumbled to a 24-58 finish in 2007. Once the lottery balls determined there would be no Greg Oden or Durant in Beantown, the outlook appeared even bleaker. But after missing out in the draft, Ainge turned two first-round picks and some young talent that had yet to make any all-star games, and still haven't, into Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and a championship banner. Now, Boston just played in their second Finals in the past three years after catapulting from 24 to 66 wins in 2008. "In our industry, you could get a phone call that could change the complete task of your franchise," Nelson said. "Major transactions are certainly in this current climate we are in. There are some big pieces that potentially could be moving around the board which has a trickle affect on everything." Since finishing with just 34 wins in 2005, the Lakers have improved much more slowly. They haven't had the cap space to land a big name free agent nor have they been open to shredding their core. But, GM Mitch Kupchak made due with the draft picks he could. They drafted Jordan Farmar in the back end of the first round and found rotation players Luke Walton, Ronny Turiaf and later Marc Gasol in the second round. Their lone lottery venture netted Andrew Bynum . Other than that, L.A. made subtle moves to complement their core. Derek Fisher was brought back in 2008. Trevor Ariza was uncovered in a small trade with Orlando. He was eventually "swapped" for Ron Artest. Also, Shannon Brown was a thrown-in for a trade where the main attraction for L.A. was getting rid of Vlad Radmanovic's contract. "I think (familiarity) is a balancing act," Kahn said. "On the one hand, you don't want to do things impulsively or impatiently. If you have a core nucleus, then you would ideally like it to grow together. "But, you also have to be opportunistic. If an opportunity occurs to change the team and it might even involve a small amount of risk, but there is a payoff perhaps of adding that really singular piece to the team, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do it." L.A.'s acquisition of Pau Gasol often overshadows the other work put in. His presence was the final piece to a core that was together for multiple years. In 2005, the Lakers failed to make the playoffs. The next two seasons ended in first round losses. Since then, they've been to three straight Finals. Unlike football or baseball, only the few teams with legitimate superstars begin every NBA season with a chance to win a title. It's just that everyone has a different way of getting there. "I think it is no accident," Kahn said. "I think the best teams are typically the ones that have the one or two players who are capable of doing things that everybody else can't do."

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Survivors pulled from Oklahoma tornado debris as toll falls By Carey Gillam and Ian Simpson Reuters May 21. 2013 2:24PM Abby Madi (L) and Peterson Zatterlee comforts Zaterlee's dog Rippy, after a tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, May 20, 2013. (Reuters) MOORE, Oklahoma (Reuters) - Emergency workers pulled more than 100 survivors from the rubble of homes, schools and a hospital in an Oklahoma town hit by a powerful tornado, and officials lowered the death toll from the storm to 24, including nine children. The 2-mile (3-km) wide tornado tore through Moore outside Oklahoma City on Monday afternoon, trapping victims beneath the rubble, wiping out entire neighborhoods and tossing vehicles about as if they were toys. Seven of the nine children who were killed died at Plaza Towers Elementary School, which took a direct hit, but many more survived unhurt. "They literally were lifting walls up and kids were coming out," Oklahoma State Police Sergeant Jeremy Lewis said. "They pulled kids out from under cinder blocks without a scratch on them." The Oklahoma state medical examiner's office said 24 bodies had been recovered from the wreckage, down from the 51 they had reported earlier. The earlier number likely reflected some double-counted deaths, said Amy Elliott, chief administrative officer for the medical examiner. "There was a lot of chaos," she said. Thunderstorms and lightning slowed the rescue effort on Tuesday, but 101 people had been pulled from the debris alive, Oklahoma Highway Patrol spokeswoman Betsy Randolph said. "We are absolutely positive that there are still people that could be trapped under the rubble and in shelters," Randolph said. The National Guard and firefighters from more than a dozen fire departments as well as rescuers from other states worked all night under bright spotlights trying to find survivors. AS LONG AS IT TAKES President Barack Obama declared a major disaster area in Oklahoma, ordering federal aid to supplement state and local efforts in Moore after the deadliest U.S. tornado since 161 people were killed in Joplin, Missouri, two years ago. "The people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground, there for them, beside them, as long as it takes," Obama said at the White House. Glenn Lewis, the mayor of Moore, said the whole town looked like a debris field and there was a danger of electrocution and fire from downed power lines and broken natural gas lines. "It looks like we have lost our hospital. I drove by there a while ago and it's pretty much destroyed," Lewis told NBC. On Tuesday morning, a helicopter was circling overhead and thunder rumbled from a new storm as 35-year-old Moore resident Juan Dills and his family rummaged through the remains of what was once his mother's home. The foundation was laid bare, the roof ripped away and only one wall was still standing. They found a few family photo albums, but little else. "We are still in shock," he said. "But we will come through. We're from Oklahoma." The National Weather Service assigned the twister a preliminary ranking of EF4 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, meaning the second most powerful category of tornado with winds up to 200 mph. Authorities warned the town 16 minutes before the tornado touched down at 3:01 p.m. Central time (2001 GMT), which is more than the average eight to 10 minutes of warning, said Keli Pirtle, a spokeswoman for the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center. SCHOOLS DESTROYED U.S. Representative Tom Cole, who lives in Moore, said the Plaza Towers school was the most secure and structurally strong building in the area. "And so people did the right thing, but if you're in front of an F4 or an F5 there is no good thing to do if you're above ground. It's just tragic," he said on MSNBC-TV. Five schools were hit by the tornado and hospital officials said at least 60 of the 240 people injured were children. Miguel Macias and his wife, Veronica, had two children at the Plaza Towers school and found 8-year-old Ruby first after rescue workers carried the girl from the destruction. But their son, 6-year-old Angel, was nowhere to be found, said Brenda Ramon, pastor of the Faith Latino Church in Moore where the Macias family are members. Ramon and several congregation members spent hours helping the family search for Angel and calling area hospitals. The boy was finally located at a medical center in Oklahoma City about five hours after the tornado hit. "It was heart-breaking," Ramon said. "We couldn't find him for hours." The boy had wounds to his face and head, but was not badly hurt, Ramon said. "Their little bodies are so resilient." Witnesses said Monday's tornado appeared more fierce than the giant twister that was among the dozens that tore up the area on May 3, 1999, killing more than 40 people and destroying thousands of homes. That tornado ranked as an EF5 tornado with wind speeds of more than 200 mph. The 1999 tornado ranks as the third-costliest tornado in U.S. history, having caused more than $1 billion in damage at the time, or more than $1.3 billion in today's dollars. Only the devastating Joplin and Tuscaloosa tornadoes in 2011 were more costly. Monday's tornado in Moore ranks among the most severe in the United States link.reuters.com/gec38t Diana Tinnin, 60, was at home with her brother when the storm hit. Her three-bedroom ranch-style home had no basement, so they huddled in a bathtub. "I lost my house. Everything fell on top of us," said Tinnin. Jeff Alger, 34, who works in the Kansas oil fields on a fracking crew, said his wife, Sophia, took their children out of school when she heard a tornado was coming and then fled Moore and watched it flatten the town from a few miles away. "They didn't even have time to grab their shoes," said Alger, who has five children ages 4 to 11. The storm tore part of the roof off of his home. He was with his wife at Norman Regional Hospital to have glass and other debris removed from his wife's bare feet. The dangerous storm system threatened more twisters on Tuesday in several southern Plains states, especially northern and central Texas. SAVED BY CELLPHONE Speaking outside Norman Regional Hospital Ninia Lay, 48, said she huddled in a closet through two storm alerts and the tornado hit on the third. "I was hiding in the closet and I heard something like a train coming," she said under skies still flashing with lightning. The house was flattened and Lay was buried in the rubble for two hours. She was able to call her husband Kevin on her cellphone and rescuers came to dig her out. Her 7-year-old daughter Catherine, a first-grader at Plaza Towers Elementary School, took shelter with classmates and teachers in a bathroom when the tornado hit and destroyed the school. She escaped with scrapes and cuts. Briarwood Elementary School was all but destroyed. On the first floor, sections of walls had been peeled away, giving clear views into the building; while in other areas, cars hurled by the storm winds were lodged in the walls. At Southmoore High School in Moore, about 15 students were in a field house when the tornado hit. Coaches sent them to an interior locker room and made them put on football helmets, and all survived, the Oklahoman newspaper said. Additional reporting by Alice Mannette, Lindsay Morris, Nick Carey, Brendan O'Brien and Greg McCune; Writing by Nick Carey, Jane Sutton and Claudia Parsons; Editing by W Simon, Grant McCool and Leslie Gevirtz.

Survivors pulled from Oklahoma tornado debris as toll falls

Ben Shapiro's new ebook How To Debate Leftists And Destroy Them: 10 Rules For Winning The Argument comes complete with eleven rules about how (and three more about when) conservatives should act like mean, nasty bullies, in order to help them defeat liberals, who have a tendency to make conservatives look like mean, nasty bullies. Shapiro, the founder of TruthRevolt.com and editor-at-large for Breitbart.com, would rather be known as a debating champ than as the guy who fabricated a terror group to smear Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. He begins the book by claiming the real reason conservatives lost the 2012 election was that President Obama was "considered the more empathetic of the two candidates. Why? Because Romney was perceived as so darn mean." His solution is not for conservatives to follow Obama's lead and appear more empathetic in the future; his solution is to double down on looking mean. But how? First, Shapiro offers a list of three rules for when to debate a leftist, including 1) you have to ("your grade depends on it, or your waiter threatens to spit in your food"); 2) you found the only leftist in the world ready to have a reasoned debate ("Then you ride off on your separate unicorns"), or 3) You have an audience, allowing you to publicly humiliate your opponent : Third, you should debate a leftist if there is an audience. The goal of the debate will not be to win over the leftist, or to convince him or her, or to be friends with him or her. That person already disagrees with you, and they're not going to be convinced by your words of wisdom and your sparkling rhetorical flourishes. The goal will be to destroy the leftist in as public a way as is humanly possible. [emphasis added] To be clear, one of Shapiro's primary rules for debating people with liberal values is to shame them in front of others, because President Obama won 2012 by looking too darn nice. Next, Shapiro offers his list of "ten rules" for how to debate your leftist opponent, which includes eleven rules, because copy-editing your book before publication is not a rule. Rule #1 : " Walk Toward the Fire." According to Shapiro, conservatives must learn to "embrace the fight" and know that they will be attacked, because this is war. His advice is simple: "You have to take the punch, you have to brush it off. You have to be willing to take the punch." Rule #2 : " Hit First. Don't take the punch first." Rule number two is: ignore rule number one, if their punch is coming first. Hit first, then brush it off. Just like Gandhi always said. Rule #3 : " Frame Y our O pponent ." Your leftist opponent will, according to Shapiro, call you a racist and a sexist, so in response call them a "liar and a hater." This third rule is described as "the vital first step. It is the only first step." That's why it comes third. Rule #3 : " Frame the debate ." This is the second Rule #3, but who's counting? Rule #4: " Spot Inconsistencies in the Left's Arguments ." See: Both Rule #3s. Rule #5: " Force Leftists to Answer Questions. This is really just a corollary of Rule #4." According to Shapiro, forcing the left to answer questions is like "trying to pin pudding to the wall - messy and near-impossible." If Ben Shapiro can teach us how to pin pudding to a wall even some of the time, liberals have no hope. Rule #6: " Do Not Get Distracted ." Just one page after the pudding analogy, Shapiro tells us that "Arguing with the left is like attempting to nail jello to the wall. It's slippery and messy and a waste of resources." If only he hadn't gotten distracted. Rule #7: " You Don't Have To Defend People on Your Side." Here, Shapiro comes out in defense of not always defending your allies when you don't agree with them on everything, or when they get something wrong. Shapiro's friends were no doubt grateful for this rule back when he reported on the imaginary group "Friends of Hamas" in order to smear Chuck Hagel. Rule #8: " If You Don't Know Something, Admit It ." Unfortunately, Shapiro doesn't seem to have taken his own advice here: he still refuses to admit he has zero evidence "Friends of Hamas" ever existed. Rule #9: " Let The Other Side Have Meaningless Victories ." This "parlor trick" involves making it look like you're giving the other side space, while forcing them to define their terms. Terms like 'bullying' (the premise of Shapiro's book) and 'the number ten' are not listed as examples. Rule #10: " Body Language Matters ." According to Shapiro, McCain lost one of his 2008 debates because he was "angry-looking," and "Whomever looks angriest in debate loses. Immediately." So to recap, the only way conservatives can win debates is to not look angry , while publicly shaming their opponent, punching first, and calling their opponents liars and haters. And remember: all of this is equivalent to futilely pinning some kind of gelatinous dessert to a wall. Conservatives should be soaring to victory any day now. UPDATE: Sometime after the publication of this post, Shapiro's ebook title was changed to "11 Rules For Winning The Argument."

Ben Shapiro's new ebook How To Debate Leftists And Destroy Them: 10 Rules For Winning

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the American federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security. ICE has two primary components: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). ICE Enforcement In Action The mission of the Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) is to identify, arrest, and remove aliens who present a danger to national security or are a risk to public safety, as well as those who enter the United States illegally or otherwise undermine the integrity of our immigration laws and our border control efforts, using its deportation officers to find any aliens who violate U.S. immigration law. Deportation officers are responsible for the transportation and detention of aliens in ICE custody to include the removal aliens to their country of origin. ICE Raid In Dallas ERO transports removable aliens from point to point, manages aliens in custody or in an alternative to detention program, provides access to legal resources and representatives of advocacy groups and removes individuals from the United States who have been ordered to be deported. This video shows footage of two such operations of ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Fugitive Operations Teams while targeting criminal aliens, illegal re-entrants, and immigration fugitives in Dallas, TX and New York City on April 3, 2017. Check it out:

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the American federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security.

Yup, that's a direct quote. Bambang Bayu Suseno, a legislator in Jambi, a province of Indonesia, is floating an idea among his colleagues and constituents that all girls would have to pass a virginity test in order to attend state-funded schools. Bambang told the Jakarta Post that he "deemed that parental and school supervision on youth interaction was weak, so there was no other choice but to hand over supervision completely to the child. Hence, the idea of drafting the virginity test draft bylaw." So let me get this straight-because parents and schools aren't adequately policing young people's interactions with one another, young women have to suffer the human rights violation of being forcibly tested for a socially-constructed, non-medical "stauts" in order to get fundamental access to an education? This is one more heinous example of education access being linked to outdated and inhumane notions of acceptable femininity, especially as it relates to sex and our bodies. This kind of shaming, of course, goes on all over the world, and in more subtle but still damaging ways, in the U.S., where pregnant teens or those labeled as sluts are often compelled to leave school. Hopefully Sec. Clinton, who took a trip over to Indonesia last year to encourage stronger relations with the government there, can let her new friends know that this kind of sexist legislation is just plain wrong and that their boy Bambang needs to be checked. Thanks to Tommy for the heads up.

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David Clarke called for border security and the construction of a border wall during his speech Friday at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). The former Sheriff of Milwaukee County Wisconsin said that the nation is "under siege because of our broken immigration system." "It is broken, it needs to be fixed and it needs to be fixed now," Clarke declared later in his speech. He said that Constitutionally, Congress wields the power to address the issue but many legislators fear tackling it because "they're thinking of it in terms of their electoral possibilities in the next election cycle." Securing the border should be the top priority according to Clarke because "everything regarding what needs to be fixed flows from that." The quantity of deportations remains irrelevant because people return to the US illegally Clarke said: "It's not going to matter how many people you deport, they're coming back in." Clarke staunchly supports constructing a wall in order to secure the border. "President Trump is right, we need a wall along our southern border and the wall will work," Clarke asserted. Jeff Crouere Clarke delivered his speech during a section titled "We Refuse to Be Suckers: The New Trump Doctrine." Some of the items that Clarke said "we're being suckered by," included "sanctuary cities," "sanctuary states," "Democrats in Congress" and "the fake news media." Clarke urged people to contact their legislators to demand action, "money makes them dance but constituent pressure makes them feel the heat," he said.

David Clarke called for border security and the construction of a border wall during his speech Friday at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

York LGBT History Month, with York Civic Trust, have just unveiled a blue plaque on the wall on the church where Anne Lister made her vows to her partner, Ann Walker. This is a wonderful moment, except that the plaque calls Anne (an iconic figure to lesbians throughout West Yorkshire particularly) "gender non conforming". A gender nonconforming woman can be many things because it only means that you do not conform to societal expectations. It has nothing to do with sexuality. Anne Lister was, most definitely, gender non conforming all her life. She was also however, a lesbian. That is why she took vows with her girlfriend in that church, because they were in love with each other and wanted to express that same sex love - the very definition of lesbianism. Don't let them erase this iconic woman from our history. Anne Lister was a lesbian.

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Back in October 2011 rabble.ca ran an interview I conducted with Karen DeVito , a Canadian activist and participant in that summer's Freedom Waves to Gaza. Freedom Waves is an international effort by activists to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza. Since 2010 the activists have launched three flotillas carrying humanitarian aid. The first met with tragedy when Israeli forces stormed the ship called the Mavi Mamara on May 31, 2010, killing nine activists and wounding dozens more. Karen DeVito joined the following year's flotilla, which was scheduled to sail from Greece. Under Israeli diplomatic pressure, the Greek government tried to keep the ship she was on, the Tahrir , docked in the town of Agios Nikolaus. When the Tahrir made a break for international waters, it was boarded by the Greek Coast Guard. I first met with Karen after her return from Greece. During that original interview I was impressed by the depth of her courage and compassion, and so I wasn't surprised when the news broke in early November 2011 that she was on board the Tahrir again, heading straight to Gaza from Turkey. I met with her at her home shortly after her return to Canada, and over tea we talked about her experience. Michael Nenonen: Tell me about your second journey aboard the Tahrir . Karen DeVito: We arrived in Istanbul at the end of October. We then converged discreetly near the port. We travelled without publicity to avoid sabotage, as happened on the last mission, to allow the Turkish government to be uninvolved officially and not to embarrass them as our host country. The objective was to leave quietly if we could. In the end, the Turkish government did enforce a regulation that privately owned boats may sail with only 12 people aboard. And so we were 12. When we did sail a coast guard ship followed us into international waters. It was more like a shepherding action. We had been delayed a couple of days, but not prevented from sailing. "We set out on November 2 in the afternoon-our boat would take three days to reach Gaza. On the evening of November 3 we slowed down to avoid approaching that 100 mile line at night and risking a more dangerous nighttime interception. We knew the Mavi Mamara had been attacked somewhere about 85 miles offshore. In the morning we had a delusional moment, thinking we might make it. We had reviewed our nonviolent training as we sailed to make sure nobody resisted in any way. That afternoon, about 2 p.m., we saw a huge grey shape on the horizon and then two more. We knew what was coming. We continued preparing the boat by putting nets around the stern to slow boarding and prevent a rapid onslaught. As the other ships neared, we threw overboard anything that remotely resembled a weapon. And we waited. The Israeli Navy contacted us by radio. There was some discussion. About 15 other small craft, landing crafts and a number of inflatables, approached, each carrying a dozen fully battle-garbed, masked commandos. Repeatedly they asked, "what is your destination?" We told them we're sailing to Gaza, we have no weapons, we have no cargo, we have a small amount of medical aid, we are 12 people. We're non-violent and we don't approve of your boarding but we won't resist. Shortly after that they demanded we congregate in the bow and then water cannoned us, so we tried to stay dry behind the wheel house. They had a scissor lift, and they lifted several troops onto the boat and water cannoned the wheel house. Commandos then rushed onto the deck with weapons pointed at our heads. They shouted conflicting orders. It was very chaotic. We did our best to comply. We were just standing there with our hands visible. They were yelling "Shut up!", though I don't remember anybody's voice until after David Heap was tasered. A couple people objected quite strongly but standing still, visible, with their hands up. MN: Where did the Israeli Navy take you? KD: We were taken to the port of Ashdod, where Gaza's confiscated fishing boats are taken. There is now a three-mile limit from Gaza for anyone sailing from shore. Fishermen often get shot at one and a half miles offshore. Now the Tahrir is in Ashdod with other confiscated flotilla boats and a lot of rickety old Gazan fishing boats. The port of Gaza, by the way, can't be used. The port cannot be improved, it cannot be repaired. Israel forbids this. We were then processed. It took several hours. By about 3:30 a.m. we were taken to Givon Prison, which is a detention centre for people about to be deported. Men and women were separated. In our cell block we were five: two Irish women in one cell, me and two American women in another. 3:30 in the morning, frost on the ground, really cold. All the windows had been opened for our reception in the cell. We couldn't reach them; they were 15 feet above the ground. We each got one dirty wool blanket. MN: Describe the prison for me. KD: The women's wing has two cell blocks. The rest of the detainees, in the adjoining one, were with a couple of exceptions, African and Asian women. We call them refugees, but Israel calls them work infiltrators. And their children were in prison with them. At night you would hear things: doors slamming, guards shouting, locks, big bunches of keys. And we were lucky because we were foreign nationals with embassies that would speak for us. But at night I heard a door slamming and a child screaming, then a mother scream and guards shouting, more noise, and then quiet. Another night I heard screams from the men's part of the prison. I heard automatic gunfire somewhere outside. You don't un-hear those things. So how do ordinary Palestinians of Gaza un-hear and un-see the things they've had to hear and see? MN: How were you treated by the guards? KD: The guards generally spoke to us in one-word orders, but occasionally you had a chance for some human contact if you were being taken out to see the representative of the embassy, when we could talk to the guard about why we were there. Some guards clearly didn't want to hear it, others were hearing it for the first time, I think. One of the guards told me she was a child of immigrants and that she had a daughter. I said, "Your daughter will have a beautiful future. Children in Gaza have no future. They can't get an education. They can't travel outside. I did it for those children. They all have post-traumatic stress syndrome, not just from being bombarded and having drones fly by overhead every day, but from Operation Cast Lead, from supersonic flights-some of them are deafened. I would like to see that stopped, and I did this so that people would see that Palestinians and Israelis all deserve to live in peace in the presence of justice." The guard said, "That is not a bad thing to do." She held out her hand and said, "Karen DeVito, I am very glad to have the opportunity to meet you." I took her hand and said, "I'm very glad I had the opportunity to meet you too." MN: What happened to the Tahrir ? KD: The boat is being held in the port of Ashdod as far as I know. We've had no word on its return. It's about an 85-foot steel-hulled day ferry with two really powerful diesel engines. We had put on a lot of extra food, cooking oil, dried beans and supplies, rice, the kind of things that don't spoil to share with the people in Gaza when we got there. If we were able to leave again, we would have left with some export, but if we couldn't we would have donated that boat to the people of Gaza. The boat itself is an aid package, and to take it away is a cruelty. The diesel engines could generate electricity, and could be really useful in Gaza. MN: What is next for your movement? KD: The next part of Freedom Waves is to make a political statement and to make people aware of the Canadian government's role in this and their complicity in the siege and blockade of Gaza. It's crazy to think that the Canadian government did and said nothing. They suggested we should not do this called our actions "provocation," and I have to say that is true: we mean to provoke thought on this matter. I can't imagine why the Canadian government isn't concerned that a foreign government sent out such a huge military force to apprehend 12 peaceniks. It was 15 boats with 10 to 15 commandos on each, heavily armed, who boarded our ship and put automatic weapons in our faces. And then when they were holding us, turning the laser sights on and off on our heads and our bodies. Why is that acceptable? There were so many ships, there were fighter jets flying above. This was a huge military exercise. That they would turn an aid and peace mission into a military exercise is just beyond belief. The Canadian government knows this. How could they allow this? And why are they allowing Israel to hold our ship? Her questions hung in the air between us, shining brightly with her commitment to her cause. I sipped my tea and thought to myself, "Karen DeVito, I am very glad to have the opportunity to meet you." Michael Nenonen is a social worker and freelance writer who lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. His work has appeared in The Republic of East Vancouver, PopMatters.com, and Information Clearing House. Dear rabble.ca reader... Can you support rabble.ca by matching your mainstream media costs? Will you donate a month's charges for newspaper subscription, cable, satellite, mobile or Internet costs to our independent media site ?

Back in October 2011 rabble.ca ran an interview I conducted with Karen DeVito , a Canadian activist and participant in that summer's Freedom Waves to Gaza.

Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announces the recipients of the 2016 Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent. The 2016 laureates are Iranian cartoonist Atena Farghadani, Russian performance artist Petr Pavlensky, and Uzbek photojournalist Umida Akhmedova. They will be honored in a ceremony during the 2016 Oslo Freedom Forum on Wednesday, May 25 at 9:30 CET. HRF founded the Havel Prize with the endorsement of Dagmar Havlova, widow of the late poet, playwright, and statesman Vaclav Havel. The prize celebrates those who, with bravery and ingenuity, unmask the lie of dictatorship by living in truth. Past laureates include Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, Russian punk protest group Pussy Riot, North Korean democracy activist Park Sang Hak, Saudi women's rights advocate Manal al-Sharif, and Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Atena Farghadani was a prisoner of conscience of the Iranian regime. She received a 12-year prison sentence for a cartoon she posted on social media depicting Iran's parliamentarians with animal heads. Farghadani was charged with "colluding against national security," "spreading propaganda against the system," and "insulting members of the parliament." When she was briefly released in 2015, Farghadani publicized the abuse that prisoners suffer in Iranian jails and was promptly put back behind bars. Farghadani then went on hunger strike and suffered a heart attack while in prison. Her case sparked the social media campaign #Draw4Atena, with cartoonists from all over the world sharing their work in support of her case. Farghadani was released on May 3, 2016. Petr Pavlensky is a Russian artist, best known for a series of performances in which he used self-mutilation to protest the government's political crackdown. On the night of November 9, 2015 Pavlensky set fire to the front door of the building that historically houses the FSB, Russia's security services, and its predecessor, the KGB. The door is not in use, so the protest was largely symbolic. Pavlensky explained "The FSB uses unending terror to hold power over 146 million people. The Lubyanka burning door is a glove that society throws in the face of the terrorist threat." Pavlensky made no attempt to flee and patiently waited for the police in front of the flaming doors with the gasoline tank still in his hands. The resulting image of the FSB's burning doors came to be seen as a metaphor for the gates of hell. Pavlensky is currently on trial and facing charges of "damaging a cultural heritage site." "Petr's artistic precision and courage are remarkable. A lone artist standing up against the most powerful institution of Vladimir Putin's Russia is an important symbol - both politically and artistically. His act also reminds us that we should have burned down the entire accursed building in 1991 when the USSR collapsed," said HRF chairman Garry Kasparov. Umida Akhmedova is a photojournalist and the first female documentary filmmaker in Uzbekistan. She specializes in subjects that have historically been regarded as taboo in the country: gender, poverty, and ethnic issues. She has been accused of "slander" and "damaging the country's image" for publishing a series of photos about life in rural Uzbekistan. "Umida's work is an inspiration to a new generation of photographers in Uzbekistan. Despite the government's attempts to manufacture a polished, happy image of the country, she exposes the reality of life in one of the world's most closed societies" - said John Peder Egenaes, Amnesty International Norway Secretary General. The three Havel Prize Laureates will receive an artist's representation of the "Goddess of Democracy," the iconic statue erected by Chinese students during the Tiananmen Square protests of June 1989. Each sculpture embodies the spirit and literal reality of creative dissent at its finest, representing the struggle of truth and beauty against brute power. The Laureates will also share a prize of 350,000 Norwegian kroner. The Havel Prize is jointly funded by grants from the Brin Wojcicki Foundation and the Thiel Foundation. The Brin Wojcicki Foundation was established by Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google, and his wife Anne Wojcicki, co-founder of 23andMe, a leading personal genetics company. The Thiel Foundation, established and funded by entrepreneur and venture capitalist Peter Thiel, defends and promotes freedom in all its dimensions: political, personal, and economic. Vaclav Havel was chairman of HRF from 2009 until his death in December 2011. The Havel Prize ceremony will be broadcast live online at oslofreedomforum.com beginning at 9:30 CET on Wednesday, May 25. The event will take place at Oslo's Nye Theater. Registration is open to the public. Please email secretariat@havelprize.org for more information, and follow @HRF and @OsloFF on Twitter for updates. Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit organization that promotes and protects human rights globally, with a focus on closed societies. HRF's International Council includes human rights advocates Garry Kasparov, George Ayittey, Palden Gyatso, Mutabar Tadjibaeva, Elie Wiesel, and Harry Wu.

Human Rights Foundation (HRF) announces the recipients of the 2016 Vaclav Havel International Prize for Creative Dissent.

NORTH VALLEY - Temperatures are dropping and many of us are turning our thoughts to outdoor adventures in our beautiful Sonoran Desert. One of the local organizations working to conserve these landscapes is Desert Foothills Land Trust. Founded in 1991, the nonprofit Land Trust has protected nearly 700 acres on 23 preserves in the North Valley, some of which are open to the public for recreation and exploration. The Land Trust connects people to nature through land acquisition and long-term stewardship, as well as events and activities that allow the community to experience these special places. Our children and grandchildren will benefit from this incredible legacy of conserved land! One of the Land Trust's most important community events will be held on November 19, 2016 at the Jewel of the Creek Preserve in Cave Creek. The fifth annual Desert Discovery Day will include a "scavenger hunt" of activity stations along the Harry Dalton Trail. Children will receive a passport stamp at each station, and be given a goody bag for collecting the stamps. There will be live animals, crafts, rehabilitated raptor releases and refreshments! Other participating organizations include the Arizona Archaeological Society, Cave Creek Museum, Desert Awareness Committee, Desert Foothills Family YMCA, Rural/Metro Fire Department, Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center, Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area and Wild At Heart. "This event is one of the most anticipated days of the season in our community," says Land Trust executive director Patrick McWhortor. "With great weather on hand, we love to get families and kids out on the land, celebrating the unique Sonoran Desert experience that is in our own backyard. It is a great way to support conservation and healthy outdoor living." Join Desert Foothills Land Trust and other nonprofit partners for this incredible day of free learning and exploration. As many as 400 people typically attend the event, so you won't want to miss the fun! Wear your hiking shoes and come prepared for fun, hands-on desert adventures. Details about the Land Trust and Desert Discovery Day are available at www.dflt.org .

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My Leaky Body: Tales from the Gurney reviewed by Emily Turnette Reviews September 24, 2013 My Leaky Body: Tales from the Gurney Goose Lane Editions, 2012 Canadian author Julie Devaney is an activist who has been involved in demonstrations calling for the end to dictatorships and the G8 summits. In her book, she tells her personal story, her journey, and ultimately -- crusade as a woman with an excruciatingly painful chronic illness, ulcerative colitis. "Sometimes I clutch the bathroom walls or turn the taps on hot or cold and scorch or freeze my hands, just wincing and moaning, trying to do anything to distract myself from the pain". While Devaney admits that her type of illness is one that is uncomfortable for some people to think about -- never mind talk about -- her book is a true example where "the personal is political". It needs to be told. Her detailed account of landing in Emergency rooms in dire need of immediate medical care speaks volumes about our Canadian medical system. It may be "free", but the consequences you pay -- especially if you have a medical condition that gets worse, then gets better and then gets worse again -- are very high. Even if you are taken in right away, you wait for hours to see an actual doctor because there are never enough doctors on shift. Also, depending on which province you live in, "universal health care" doesn't actually exist! You still often have to pay for coverage of some treatments and drugs through an insurance company. If you don't have insurance, well, you have to pay out of pocket. Julie and her boyfriend Blair live in Vancouver where, when Julie is feeling well enough, she attends demonstrations and works on her Master's degree, while lecturing. Unfortunately, the majority of the time her illness overrides everything else in her life and she ends up in Emergency. She describes each devastating visit, where she inevitably sees a different doctor each time, and each of these doctors has a different opinion of what her medical condition is (Crohn's? Colitis? All in her head?) -- and how to "fix" it. And then there is the time when she is rolled on a stretcher into a closet because there's no more room in the hallway ('hallway medicine', indeed!) and all the rooms are full. Devaney also describes the various treatments that she endures (each treatment from a different doctor) for her condition, including high doses of steroids which have dreadful effects on her body, including swelling of her joints that become arthritic and very painful. Out of desperation, she even goes to see a naturopath, without success. She does all of this while trying to finish her Master's program, do some teaching, and maintain a relationship. Julie's parents live in Toronto, and she and Blair visit them quite often. She describes herself as feeling much better when she's there, even though her illness hasn't changed. She is able to visit her friends and she is much more relaxed in a familiar and nurturing environment. However, she has certainly seen the inside of Emergency departments in Toronto, too! One day, following another demoralizing visit with yet another uninformed doctor in the ER who has a trail of Residents behind him, Julie realizes in a moment of clarity that she knows her own body better than any doctor or nurse, and she should be teaching them - not the other way around. That's when the idea comes to her and she decides to create a performance piece about her illness and her experiences with the healthcare system, with a workshop to follow -- and to take it on the road! She begins with healthcare professionals in hospitals and personal care facilities in Vancouver. Initially, the response is lukewarm. The audience members are, understandably, feeling defensive, but Julie continues to tell them that all that she wants is for all of them to learn about her story and to come together and talk about what's missing in the system, and to build a better one. She takes her performance and workshops to universities and medical conferences across the country. With great optimism, Julie will be like her hero, Tommy Douglas who said, "Courage, my friends; 'tis not too late to build a better world!" Julie Devaney weaves a powerful story of devastating illness and great strength in the face of a system that lacks the sensitivity needed to heal the sick. Her experiences lead her to a determination to transform something that is so fundamental to Canadians' everyday lives - our medical system. Emily Ternette is a freelance writer and is involved with the disability community in Winnipeg. After a successful surgery, Julie Devaney now lives -- feeling quite well most of the time -- in Northern Ontario with her husband Blair, their dog Gracie and two cats, Willow and Saffy.

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Blacks and Jews were the most likely victims of hate crimes driven by racial or religious intolerance in the United States last year, the FBI said Monday in an annual report. An annual report from the FBI reveals that blacks and Jews were the most likely victims of hate crimes driven by racial or religious intolerance in the United States last year Out of 6,604 hate crimes committed in the United States in 2009, some 4,000 were racially motivated and nearly 1,600 were driven by hatred for a particular religion, the FBI said. Blacks made up around three-quarters of victims of the racially motivated hate crimes and Jews made up the same percentage of victims of anti-religious hate crimes, the report said. Anti-Muslim crimes were a distant second to crimes against Jews, making up just eight percent of the hate crimes driven by religious intolerance. Hate crimes include not only attacks on a person or property motivated by racism or anti-religious sentiments, but also by prejudices based on a person's or group's sexual orientation, ethnic origins or disability, the report said. "Just in the past month, three men were indicted in New Mexico for assaulting a disabled Navajo man," the report says. In another hate crime, a person placed a hangman's noose on the house of a Honduran immigrant in Louisiana, while in another, a man was sentenced for torching a predominantly African-American church in Massachusetts. Overall, some 8,300 people fell victim to hate crimes in 2009, down from 9,700 the previous year. Two-thirds of the 6,225 known perpetrators of all US hate crimes last year were white, but they represented only 16 percent of victims, the report said.

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Location Reporters : Patrick Henningsen and Brian Viziondanz Authors' Note: There were approximately 4,000 peaceful protesters at the City's second main demonstration area at Bishopsgate dubbed the "Climate Camp" Wednesday afternoon. This was a relatively mild affair compared to the larger and more pressurized gathering outside the Bank of England. - Advertisement - From the morning onwards, Climate Camp was clearly a festival atmosphere complete with live music, food, street theatre and dozens of small camping tents erected on the road in front the European Climate Exchange building on Bishopsgate. Activities included seminars being held to highlight some of the problems with Carbon Trading . See video footage of the Climate Camp festivities here . - Advertisement - From approximately 5pm, hundreds of auxiliary police in riot gear began to seal the entire encampment, including all entrances and exits along this city block. Any peaceful protester who requested exit from the area were flatly refused on the grounds which police repeatedly told people including, "It is not safe to leave the area", and "We do not want people to leave and go on to join the other demonstration sites" and "We cannot risk you leaving the area and then throwing projectiles from behind our police lines." What ensued after 7pm can only be described as a total ' Lock Down ' of the public, after which protesters were hounded by a series of random forward surges by riot police, including incursions deep into the gathering. Note that by this point in the evening police forces had successfully "penned-in" approximately 4,000 peace protesters from both sides of this city block in a tactic which has come to be known as "Kettling". This restriction of the public's movement was extended to all protestors including anyone under physical duress, children, elderly, members of the Press and even passers by who happened into the area. The thousands who crowded at the four corners of the exits were in effect, forced to stand waiting for more than 4 and a half hours. - Advertisement - This eventually caused frustration in the crowds and inevitable pushing into police lines, followed by police retaliating by pushing back into the crowds. A recipe for disaster. We witness such an incident at 11pm at the north end of Bishopsgate where pushing nearly triggered a full scale brawl, narrowly averted, as cooler head prevailed. At 11:30pm police finally allowed the public at the north end to exit one by one. Just prior to 12am, Police moved to clear the peaceful sit-in with a further series of symmetrical surges, where a number of people and innocent bystanders were injured, including some hospitalised for injuries from falls and police baton blows . An April 2nd article in the Guardian newspaper notes one eyewitness testimony: "Another protester recounts the way that police at the end forced them out without giving them time to get their tents or belongings, after holding them there for five hours. 'It was all done in a mood of violence,' she said. 'It had been really peaceful all day, so I don't understand why it had to end like that.'" Also, there are multiple reports of police getting climate campers and press with video cameras to delete images and tapes on the spot, or face threat of seizure. See a full analysis these incidents at UK Indy Media . What these reporters experienced at the Climate Camp protest was those whose job it was to ' keep the peace ' and ensure public safety, behaved in a totally opposite way- with police repeatedly instigating crowds, in effect stimulating a breach of the peace. Predictably, this created a climate in which public health and safety was indeed compromised- and in many cases, endangered. Similar operations were also used on crowds out in 2005 at the G8 Summit in Edinburgh . The question for the public remains why would police follow through with a technique that is shown time and time again to create an obvious pressure cooker? The results of this were in plain sight and are by now well documented in the mainstream media . It would be a gross oversight for apologists to describe such crowd control tactics as the result of multiple instances of rogue police, or police under stress. These apparent crowd control tactics of "sealing in" the public were in fact consistent throughout the main demonstrations in the City that day, which would lead the casual observer to conclude that this show of force was clearly a predetermined police plan, with command and control-level orders executed on the day. Police officials had apparently summoned Climate Camp organizers in the days ahead of the April 1st demonstrations, but judging by the results of the day, this dialogue was completely ineffectual. The fundamental question still remains: how can Police foster a healthy relationship between the public and the police, especially between young people (who are the majority of demonstrators) and the police? Is this the shape of things to come, or can police and demonstrators coexist in public spaces without the pressure created by "Kettling" crowds? More importantly, are civil liberties still applicable in 2009? The public and rights advocates will be expecting answers to these important before the next big demonstration.

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Who is Siham: Siham Tinhinan Byah is a beloved community member and activist from the Boston area. On November 7, 2017 she was detained by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine check-in at the Burlington, Massachusetts ICE office. Furthermore, upon Siham's detention her son, Naseem, was taken into state custody. Despite repeated requests to have her son placed with family members living in Massachusetts, ICE and DCF told Siham that her son could not stay with the family that she had because they did not have a multi-thousand dollar pool cover. 8 year old Naseem remains in state custody and his contact with Siham is extremely limited. Ripping Siham and Naseem apart provides yet another stark example of the gestapo-like tactics employed by ICE. The official press release produced by the Boston-based Justice4Siham campaign detailed ICE's mistreatment of Siham, stating, "While in custody, she had been in and out of solitary confinement, given unhealthy food, and received virtually no medical care when it caused stomach cramps." Moreover, as the press release states, ICE repeatedly lied to Siham about her deportation status. She was unexpectedly transferred to a detention center in Virginia by ICE officials without the knowledge of neither her attorney nor family. She was then promptly deported, flown out of the country to Morocco in shackles and handcuffs. When she asserted her right to a reasonable fear interview before being flown to Morocco, which she had been granted earlier, she was beaten down and placed on the plane. ICE officials did not even let Siham contact her family or lawyer during the entire ordeal January 9 On January 9th at 1 PM in front of the immigrant court at the John F. Kennedy Federal Building in Boston, more than 50 people convened to demand the return of Siham Byah to the United States and the reunification of her and her son Naseem. The demonstration took place at the same time as the arraignment of immigrant teenagers in the JFK building. Several people spoke, including Siham's lawyer, Matt Cameron, giving detail to Siham's case as well as other asylum seeking individuals facing deportation. Siham herself through a live phone call addressed the group of demonstrators. Siham stressed the point that her struggle is one that many other families are experiencing throughout the country. A member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation emphasized that Siham was not only targeted because she was seeking political asylum but also because she was an organizer; one that fought against injustices like police brutality after she was brutalized by Chelsea police and who beat erroneous charges of assault and battery on a Chelsea police officer. After the speakout, the group marched to the Massachusetts Department of Children & Families chanting "DCF have a heart, don't tear families apart," demanding that Naseem and Siham be allowed to communicate freely. Demonstrators also called on ICE and DCF to respect Siham's wishes to have her son live with family members instead of remaining in foster care. Signs read "Justice for Siham, Justice for Naseem'" as well as "Don't tear families apart." What has become clear is that the situation happening to Siham is in fact, as she said, not isolated. On January 12, detained immigrant activist Ravi Ragbir, leader of the New Sanctuary Coalition in New York City, was detained by ICE. Inquiries to ICE from both his wife and lawyer regarding his location were unanswered. This seems to have become a formula for deporting immigrant activists that are on ICE's radar. Justice4Siham Justice4Naseem Several organizations in the Boston area are continuing to build a campaign demanding justice for Siham and her son Naseem. Organizations including Boston Feminists for Liberation, The Party for Socialism and Liberation, Democratic Socialists of America and others have come together to fight diligently alongside Siham, and her partner Aziz, to achieve justice. The Jan. 9 demonstration is just the beginning. The campaign has organized several mass call in dates to decision makers across the state of Massachusetts demanding Siham be given the rights to communicate with her son, to provide a passport for Naseem, and to honor Siham's request for asylum. Additionally, Siham's input has been integrated into every decision the campaign makes. She has called into every organizing meeting from Morocco, and has worked tirelessly with the campaign to ensure that the messaging, strategies, and tactics of the campaign are broad enough to garner mass support but uncompromising of her anti-racist, liberatory politics. Siham has not stopped fighting for her own freedom, and the freedom of others. The Justice4Siham campaign will continue to fight with Siham in the struggle to obtain justice for her, her son, and for all immigrants suffocating under the boot of ICE suppression. "Without a concerted and organized escalation campaign we will never achieve justice for Siham and Naseem." says Michael Flowers, one of the organizers of the Justice4Siham campaign. The Justice4Siham campaign is organizing another demonstration slated for January 27 in order to continue to build public support, awareness, and outrage over Siham's case. There is no doubt that achieving Justice for Siham will be an arduous task. However, organizers involved in the campaign are prepared to continue building enough public pressure to achieve justice for Siham so she can be reunited with her family and do what she has always done: struggle to get justice for others.

Who is Siham: Siham Tinhinan Byah is a beloved community member and activist from the Boston area. On November 7, 2017 she was detained by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a routine check-in at the Burlington, Massachusetts ICE office. Furthermore, upon Siham's detention her son, Naseem, was taken into state custody.

It's curious that conservatives, who are usually quite sympathetic to religious faith, demean belief in climate change as a religion and a faith. Michael Crichton, the author of Jurassic Park , once said in a speech to the Commonwealth Club of San Francisco that environmentalism had morphed into "a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths," transforming it into "one of the most powerful religions in the Western World." "There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature," Crichton said. "There's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge; and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability." Calling environmentalism a form of religion goes back at least to the 1960s, but Crichton's reputation and precise formulation gave the equation a new power and stickiness. The meme has become one of the Right's favorite digs at the green movement, and especially at belief in climate change. Conservatives waste few opportunities to trot it out. A writer for The National Review argued in response to the March for Science, for example, that "this is the dirty little secret of the Left's sudden embrace of Science--it's not science they support, but religion. They support that which they believe but cannot prove and do not care about proving." The New York Times' newly minted opinion-page writer, Bret Stephens, wrote for the The Wall Street Journal two years ago that belief in climate change is "a religion without God." And on the day that Donald Trump announced that the United States would abandon the Paris climate-change accord, conservative pundit Mark Steyn appeared on the show Fox and Friends . When a panelist asked why climate change had become "the religion of the Left," Steyn said that it's because "it's so meaningless." In 2012, The Yale Forum on Climate Change and the Media (now renamed Yale Climate Connections ) did a deep dive into the Right's religion argument. The Forum looked at 100 climate-themed pieces written by conservatives over the previous year, and found that 10 of them raised it. The rate had once been even higher: In the years after Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth , 2006 to 2008, about 40 percent of conservative essays "framed concern for climate change as a religious belief." It's curious that conservatives, who are usually quite sympathetic to religious faith, demean belief in climate change as a religion and a faith. What's usually left unstated is the deal-breaking modifier: It's not a faith but a false faith, a golden calf, an idol that must be denied by conservatives who are faithful to true religion, generally meaning evangelical Christianity. This either/or choice between being a conservative Christian and believing in human-caused climate change is troubling, to say the least. Via the GOP, evangelicals block meaningful action while the problem accelerates. March was "the latest freakishly hot month after three years in a row of record heat," according to Climate Central . And the trajectory is steadily, remorselessly upward. Every month since the mid-1960s has been warmer than the 1881 to 1910 average for that month. To prevent the kind of runaway warming that will unravel human civilization, we're left with two options: sharp and immediate reductions in our carbon emissions, or a game-changing technological solution at some future point, such as capturing carbon and storing it underground. More or less by default, we're betting "our collective future on being able to bury millions of tons of carbon," as David Roberts notes in Vox . The Right is correct that it requires an element of faith to accept such facts, since most of us don't have the expertise or resources to verify them. But the alternatives involve a much greater leap of faith, and land us on wild theories about the total incompetence of climate scientists or a global, leftist conspiracy that has successfully duped the entire world, save for one political movement and one political party in the United States. "Who can accept it?" For all that, there is at least one key similarity between religious questing and the problem of climate change, since confronting it involves wrestling with some basic questions about human existence. Take Christianity, and the Jesus of the gospels. What did he mean when he said that he came to bring, not peace, but a sword, and to set fathers against sons, mothers against daughters? When he told the rich man that, to gain eternal life, he should sell all he had and give his money to the poor? When he said that the faith of a mustard seed can move mountains? Or that his followers must love their enemies and hate their families? That the meek are blessed, and will inherit the earth? I have no idea what he meant. As far as I can tell, the "family values" conservatives who claim to follow Jesus don't know either. I take him to be a revolutionary who posed questions that still have the power to haunt us. There is a priceless, disquieting passage in which Jesus says that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood "remains in me, and I in him." To which, as the account has it, his disciples replied, "This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?" Many of them then abandoned him. And not without reason--a lot of what he said sounded pretty much insane. Taking him seriously would raise basic questions about our ways of being the world, and would force a revolution in our ways of relating to one another and sharing resources. The same is true of climate change. At its core, there is a teaching as difficult as that of prophets and revolutionaries, and no less difficult to get your mind around. We face a crisis that demands a revolution in our traditional ways of thinking--a conversion, if you will. The stakes may not be eternal life, but they are substantial: life on this planet for this species, and for the millions of other species whose fate depends on our behavior and choices. These things are true. They demand action and focus. Whether we're up to that challenge is another matter. You can say that the idea that carbon emissions will destroy human civilization is a secular substitute for sin, as Michael Crichton thought. Really, it's just a matter of physics that presents us with the most fearsome spiritual challenge of all: Not whether a divine being will transform and save our souls, but whether we can find the political imagination and will to transform and save ourselves. Theo Anderson, an In These Times writing fellow, has contributed to the magazine since 2010. He has a Ph.D. in modern U.S. history from Yale and writes on the intellectual and religious history of conservatism and progressivism in the United States. Follow him on Twitter @Theoanderson7 and contact him at theo@inthesetimes.com. Only $20/year--that's only $1.67 per month! Get the Latest News & Updates The stories behind the inequality crisis--from In These Times and Verso Books Learn More COPYRIGHT (c)2016 IN THESE TIMES AND THE INSTITUTE FOR PUBLIC AFFAIRS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

's curious that conservatives, who are usually quite sympathetic to religious faith, demean belief in climate change as a religion and a faith.

The Taranto Principle strikes again. A Republican debate this was not. Thus far the GOP has held two debates: the Fox debate in Cleveland and the CNN debate at the Reagan Library. And whether the immediate audience was huge (with those thousands in Cleveland) or small and intimate (as it was with a few hundred at the Reagan Library), Republican candidates were in a fighting mood. They turned on Donald Trump, and they turned on each other. If there were not a single additional GOP debate the nation's memory book has already etched Donald Trump scalding Jeb or Carly or Rand or Marco. And getting it dished back. There were Chris and Rand getting it on. And so on. And there was the media. I'm not talking about the media acting as the GOP debate moderators (although it was hard to ignore Megyn Kelly on Donald Trump). I mean the media not on the stage covering the debates and the ongoing campaign. Who can forget the blistering back and forths between The Donald and Fox, the whomps from conservative media on Trump, Cruz, Jeb, and this or that one in the rest of the crowd. By the time whoever-it-turns-out-to-be takes the Cleveland podium next summer to accept the Republican presidential nomination, they will have been through media hell to get there -- not to mention run a media gauntlet no reality TV show including anything hosted by Donald Trump could possibly simulate. But the Democrats? It was truly an amazing sight to watch CNN's Anderson Cooper (and yes, full disclosure, I am a CNN political commentator) tell Senator Bernie Sanders something that neither Sanders or his fellow candidates on the stage seemed to have considered. Here again that exchange: COOPER: Senator Sanders. A Gallup poll says half the country would not put a socialist in the White House. You call yourself a democratic socialist. How can any kind of socialist win a general election in the United States? SANDERS: Well, we're gonna win because first, we're gonna explain what democratic socialism is. And what democratic socialism is about is saying that it is immoral and wrong that the top one-tenth of 1 percent in this country own almost 90 percent -- almost -- own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. That it is wrong, today, in a rigged economy, that 57 percent of all new income is going to the top 1 percent. That when you look around the world, you see every other major country providing health care to all people as a right, except the United states. You see every other major country saying to moms that, when you have a baby, we're not gonna separate you from your newborn baby, because we are going to have -- we are gonna have medical and family paid leave, like every other country on Earth. Those are some of the principles that I believe in, and I think we should look to countries like Denmark, like Sweden and Norway, and learn from what they have accomplished for their working people. (APPLAUSE) COOPER: Denmark is a country that has a population -- Denmark is a country that has a population of 5.6 million people. The question is really about electability here, and that's what I'm trying to get at. You -- the -- the Republican attack ad against you in a general election -- it writes itself. You supported the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. You honeymooned in the Soviet Union. And just this weekend, you said you're not a capitalist. Doesn't -- doesn't that ad write itself? SANDERS: Well, first of all, let's look at the facts. The facts that are very simple. Republicans win when there is a low voter turnout, and that is what happened last November. Sixty-three percent of the American people didn't vote, Anderson. Eighty percent of young people didn't vote. We are bringing out huge turnouts, and creating excitement all over this country. Democrats at the White House on down will win, when there is excitement and a large voter turnout, and that is what this campaign is doing. COOPER: You don't consider yourself a capitalist, though? SANDERS: Do I consider myself part of the casino capitalist process by which so few have so much and so many have so little by which Wall Street's greed and recklessness wrecked this economy? No, I don't. I believe in a society where all people do well. Not just a handful of billionaires. (APPLAUSE) COOPER: Just let me just be clear. Is there anybody else on the stage who is not a capitalist? To borrow from Jefferson, Anderson Cooper was the media version of a fire bell in the night. Suggesting to Sanders that once out of the cocoon of liberalism, Sanders as a nominee would be savaged by a Republican campaign, a fact so striking to Anderson that he correctly noted "the ad writes itself." I would take this one step further. Notice that once Anderson was done raising this issue to Sanders, he turned to Hillary Clinton. She realized the instant danger she faced if she openly attacked capitalism head on in the style of Sanders. Doubtless she could already envision the commercials swamping her campaign if she in any way appeared to agree with Sanders' blunt denial of capitalism. So the follow-up Cooper/Hillary exchange went like this: CLINTON: Well, let me just follow-up on that, Anderson, because when I think about capitalism, I think about all the small businesses that were started because we have the opportunity and the freedom in our country for people to do that and to make a good living for themselves and their families. And I don't think we should confuse what we have to do every so often in America, which is save capitalism from itself. And I think what Senator Sanders is saying certainly makes sense in the terms of the inequality that we have. But we are not Denmark. I love Denmark. We are the United States of America. And it's our job to rein in the excesses of capitalism so that it doesn't run amok and doesn't cause the kind of inequities we're seeing in our economic system. But we would be making a grave mistake to turn our backs on what built the greatest middle class in the history... COOPER : Senator Sanders? Well. What to make of this? Back there in the mists of October 2012, the first debate between President Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney had been had. It wasn't pretty. While Obama would bring his A-game to later debate settings and, inexplicably, Romney would yield his, for the first Obama/Romney showdown the win went decidedly to Romney. In a column at the time here in this space I noted this: The great James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal and The American Spectator long ago posited what is called the "Taranto Principle." In short, it means that the liberal media so coddles liberal politicians that they have no idea how to cope outside that liberal media bubble. It's safe to say that Barack Obama tonight came face-to-face with the latest embodiment of the Taranto Principle -- which is to say, Mitt Romney. Barack Obama has been so totally coddled by the liberal media that he looked absolutely shell-shocked in this debate. Stunned, unhappy, angry, sour -- and at some points genuinely incoherent. Romney has had nowhere near that kind of treatment. He had serious opponents in the primaries -- all of whom in their own way forced him to confront his ideas in a serious fashion. Conservatives were on his heels. The Obama media never let up. The man went through the political equivalent of boot camp. Tonight, the Taranto Principle kicked in. Big time. Outside the liberal bubble -- forced to be alone on a stage with a very serious, very prepared candidate -- Barack Obama was in trouble. Big Trouble. And he has no one but himself -- and his media coddlers -- to blame. Anderson Cooper did no coddling Tuesday night. He won praise even in conservative quarters from Rush Limbaugh to the Media Research Center's Brent Bozell to Red State's Erick Erickson. Deservedly so, as was predicted in this space. He was terrific. But in the media universe beyond those on the stage? Without doubt the Taranto Principle had kicked in. The near universal sentiment was that Hillary Clinton had carried the day, yada yada yada. But carried the day for what? To non-liberal ears it seemed glaringly obvious that today's Democratic Party has tacked so far Left as to wonder not only about the party's political health but its sanity- with their media cheerleaders clueless. Can you imagine that Hillary Clinton -- Hillary Clinton! -- had the felt need to defend... capitalism! And no one in the media universe off that stage seemed to think this just a tad bit crazy? For a seriously prospective nominee of one of America's two major parties to feel the need to defend capitalism is somewhat akin to a prospective pope feeling the need to defend Catholicism and Christianity to the College of Cardinals. Not to mention that once her defense of capitalism was out of the way, the candidate whose campaign coffers are filled with capitalism's financial fruits was back to joining her fellow candidates in imagining all the ways to -- socialize America. There would be free education and clean energy, they will take from the rich and give to everybody else who has the inside track with their leftist pals, raise the minimum wage, bring Wall Street to heel and reel in the banks, provide family leave, give illegals health care and... and...and... And on. The Socialist Utopia beckons. In truth? I thought I was shot back in time to my late '60s, early '70s college days listening to a gripe session with the Students for a Democratic Society. This was socialism running rampant -- and running straight in the direction of Greece. But in the media? Here's the Taranto Principle at work in liberal headlines: New York Times : Hillary Clinton Debate Performance Chills Biden Movement New Yorker : Hillary Clinton Wins Big in Vegas Politico : Hillary Clinton wins Dem debate Raw Story : Scholars give Hillary the win -- but Bernie definitely hit a nerve One could go on -- and on. Nary a liberal media headline to be found that even whispers something like: Democratic Candidates: We're All Socialists Now. Tellingly, there was this in the New York Times , quoting Rep. Dina Titus, Democrat of Nevada, on Hillary's proud declamation that she was a progressive. Progressive in the Clinton vernacular defined as someone who will defend capitalism -- but then quickly unroll the laundry list of more and more socialist-style programs. Or in other words, being Bernie without the out front socialist chutzpah. "I think that kind of cemented it. She (Rep. Titus) said, 'I'm a progressive who can get things done.' That's the perfect combination that we need." The Times was delighted. The rest of the liberal media is delighted. No one in the mainstream media with the sole exception, apparently, of Anderson Cooper, seems to understand what this debate really signals. The Democratic Party is hell and gone from JFK and even Bill Clinton. The GOP's commercials will in fact write themselves. But where are the media headlines? The probing stories of the party's leftward lurch? They aren't there. And, one suspects -- OK one is certain -- they aren't there because the liberal media is itself hell and gone from the skeptical media of an earlier generation. There is no originality here in saying that the modern liberal media is of a piece with the leftist politicians it covers. They find Bernie Sanders and his socialist view of the world -- a view that was clearly shared by his fellow candidates in one form or another -- charming. Inviting. Utopian. To wax Marxian? Inevitable. But as with that first Obama/Romney debate, the notion that a majority of Americans agrees with the socializing of America is a political mistake of the first order. Not that these pro-socialism politicians and journalists understand this. They won't. They can't. Out there in America, Texas Senator Cruz watched the debate in Iowa and said this : It was more socialism, more pacifism, more weakness & less Constitution. It was a recipe to destroy a country. We're seeing our freedoms taken away every day and last night was an audition for who would wear the jackboot most vigorously. Last night was an audition for who would embrace government power for who would strip your and my individual liberties. Suffice to say, there wasn't a single candidate on that Las Vegas stage who has any clue there are Americans aplenty who think like Ted Cruz, regardless of their candidate. And there's a reason for it. The Taranto Principle has struck again.

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President Trump added a chapter to a now on-going saga involving Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the UCLA basketball team, and the NBA's controversial Ball family. Last week, the UCLA freshman LiAngelo Ball was arrested for shoplifting in China, along with two teammates. Trump then spoke with Xi during a visit to China, in an apparent publicity stunt involving the much-watched Ball family. Now, Trump is continuing the spectacle, as he has suggested that LiAngelo Ball and his bombastic father, Lavar Ball, were not appreciative enough of his diplomatic favor. "Do you think the three UCLA Basketball Players will say thank you President Trump? They were headed for 10 years in jail!" President Trump tweeted. There had yet been no details released to the public about the kind of punishment the UCLA players were set to face. "Our president said to Xi, 'Do you know anything about these knuckleheads that got caught allegedly stealing?'" said Chief of Staff John F. Kelly about the matter. "The president was saying, 'It's not too serious. We'd love to see this taken care of in an expeditious way.'" "To say the least, they were very apologetic," Kelly said when asked about how the players behaved after the fact. "They were just profuse in their apologies for embarrassing the country and embarrassing the team." He continued, "I bet they learned a lesson in their lives." Lavar Ball has drawn comparisons to President Trump for his bombastic rhetoric. He built a huge brand - called the Big Baller Brand - by using similar means that President Trump used to build a political following. Both said outlandish things that drew criticism, but also a ton of free advertising. As such, it's almost ironic that Ball and Trump are now engaged with each other directly. At least, it should make for entertaining television.

President Trump added a chapter to a now on-going saga involving Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the UCLA basketball team, and the NBA's controversial Ball family.

A sensitive animal lover driving down the highway strikes a rabbit. The driver pulls over and discovers a basket of eggs and candy scattered all around. Several yards away lies the crumpled body of a large rabbit clad in a blue pastel waistcoat. The man weeps. A woman sees the man sobbing on the side of the road and pulls over. "What's wrong?" she asks. "I've killed the Easter Bunny!" he cries, pointing to the dead rabbit. The woman runs back to her car and returns with a spray can that she sprays all over the lifeless rabbit. The Easter Bunny suddenly springs back to life, waves its paw at the two of them and hops down the road. Ten feet away he turns and waves again, hops another 10 feet and waves and repeats until he hops out of sight. The man is astonished. "What is in that can? What did you spray on the Easter Bunny?" The woman turns the can around so that the man can read the label. "Hair Spray -- Restores life to dead hair, adds permanent wave." Devalued by Democrat Debt stamp Add a little bit of fun to our country's current financial cesspool. While we would not advocate defacing currency, we know you will think of many amusing and satisfying uses for our red self-inking stamper, Devalued by Democrat Debt. Don't miss our other great red ink stamps: Property of Barack Hussein Obama, Tax Evader and Payable to Red China! All purchases at The Patriot Shop support our mission of service to America's Armed Forces. And now for a cartoon

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Dove parent company Unilever has made yet another condescending video based on the idea that grown women are as gullible and as obsessed with their looks as 7th graders (and a lot of 7th grade girls would be as insulted by this video as I am). In interviews with a psychologist, supposedly real women and not actors voice their insecurities with the barely restrained hysteria we've come to expect from a Dove Real Beauty video, saying things like, "I almost kind of avoid mirrors lately, because I've been a little uncomfortable with things," and, "If I was more confident, I'd have the ability to like, approach a guy, maybe." All of the kind-of-sad-sounding participants are asked to test a revolutionary new product, RB-X, a patch mysteriously described only as "developed to enhance the way women perceive their own beauty." In addition to wearing the patch 12 hours a day, the women were required to keep daily video diaries in which they detailed their feelings. Day 1 predictably elicited gripes that nothing had changed; they all still felt sad and unattractive. But by Day 4, one (frankly, gorgeous) young woman says, "One of my co-workers said I look really pretty today, and that was really cool." Another woman enthuses that she actually chose to wear something that exposed her arms, which is remarkable since she's super-insecure about her arms. Other inexplicable positive reports describe such earth-shattering strides as smiling at a stranger and shopping for a dress. The women show up for their follow-up interviews in more brightly colored clothes than before and less shrouded by scarves and face-obscuring hairstyles as they enthuse about the life-changing experience of RB-X. "I've definitely opened up something inside me to make me feel this great," one says. Then the lady asks them all if they want to know what's in the patch, and of course they all do. They turn over the patch label as instructed to see the word "nothing." They all laugh as though being duped on camera is a delightful experience. And of course, the tears start rolling. "I was really expecting there to be something in it," one says. Yeah? Like what, seriously? What magical beautifying mushroom growing out of a clump of unicorn dung would a grown woman conceivably expect to be absorbed into her skin to such miraculous effect? As annoying and insulting as this video is, it appears, at least, that more women are starting to recognize the Real Beauty campaign for the pandering tripe that it is. This latest effort is drawing some criticism, unlike that dumb police sketch artist one that according to at least one source is the fourth most-viewed online video of all time. But still - every time Dove spews one of these stupid things, women will share it on Facebook and argue with anyone who criticizes it, insisting that we all "need this message," and trumpet the importance of reiterating the idea that beauty is about how you feel, not how you look. I am completely on board with the idea that self-confidence plays a big role in how attractive we appear to others. And I even concede that given how much women are bombarded with objectified, sexualized media images of unattainable ideals, many of us can stand to be reminded that beauty comes from within. But I also think we need to consider the source of such a message. Before we get teary and overly appreciative of the Real Beauty campaign, let's remember that as a multinational corporation, Unilever has tremendous power to institute actual life-changing benefits to women. But these manipulative videos are produced to make us choose Dove products over other products - and that's it. It's also offensive that this campaign subtly blames women for their insecurities and ignores its own role in helping create them. The message seems to be, "We don't need to make better products or change our advertising; it's you who needs to change your thinking." Why attack Unilever, a company that consistently garners headlines for its commitment to sustainability and humanitarian efforts? It's true that Unilever has professed a commitment to urging government to address climate change, but CEO Paul Polman is pretty candid about his nonaltruistic reasons for doing so. In a recent speech at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change, he said: "This is no longer just a moral case but an economic one. When I say that we can't afford not to act, I mean it literally. ...In the last decade, the world spent $2.7 trillion more on natural disasters than usual. The OECD predicts that, by 2050, over $45 trillion of assets could be at risk. Accenture found that significant supply chain disruptions can cut the share price of impacted companies by 7 percent, whilst KPMG estimates that the total profit of the food industry is at risk by 2030." And some of this recent "action" might be little more than symbolic. The Guardian 's Marc Gunther reported Friday that "Sprint and Starbucks have both signed the Climate Declaration, joining such companies as eBay, Gap, GM, Intel, Microsoft, Nestle and Unilever. But the declaration is an anodyne call for a 'coordinated effort to combat climate change,' without specifying what that effort will entail. An insider described it to me as 'a gateway drug,' designed to start a conversation that will progress as momentum builds. "Similarly, this week's lobbying effort focused not on an economy-wide program to curb climate pollution but on an obscure piece of legislation known as the Master Limited Partnership Parity Act, which is intended to lower the cost of financing clean energy." Unilever is incredibly adept at publicizing its humanitarian initiatives, such as the "Help a Child Reach 5" campaign in India that encourages hand washing to help reduce rates of diarrhea- with its Lifebuoy soap. Another effort that is indeed helpful but also obviously self-serving is Project Shakti, an entrepreneurial nonprofit supported by Hindustan Unilever that helps women push Unilever products in rural markets previously untapped by the company. "Launched in 2001, the initiative, Project Shakti, helped HUL reach the so-called media-dark regions by turning rural women into direct-to-home distributors of its mass-market products," reported The Economic Times in 2009. "With emerging markets contributing roughly 44 percent to global revenues, Unilever--a Fortune 500 foods, home and personal care product giant with operations in about 100 countries--is betting on Project Shakti to reach to the bottom of the pyramid in Asian, African and Latin American markets. "The rural micro-enterprise has helped ... Hindustan Unilever to push growth rates in several categories such as personal wash, fabric wash, shampoos, oral care and skin care. Brands like Annapurna, Lux, Lifebuoy, Breeze, Wheel, Fair & Lovely, Lakme, Ponds, Clinic Plus and Pepsodent have sold good numbers in smaller markets, company sources said. Overall, around 50 percent of HUL's revenues came from the rural markets in India." Obviously, it's much more rare that change occurs as the result of altruism; "What's in it for me?" is pretty much the guiding principle of society, not just for corporations. But it galls me that Unilever is so often applauded for its commitment to "sustainable growth," a notion that is absolutely absurd. Corporations can't produce the continual increase in profits expected of them without blazing through more natural resources and exploiting an ever-growing workforce. Reconciling profit maximization with environmental preservation just isn't possible. The best Unilever can profess to do is mitigate the harm it does to people and the Earth; purporting anything beyond that is disingenuous. George Monbiot expressed a similar sentiment in an editorial last week for The Guardian , in which he wrote, "[Unilever's] efforts to reduce its own use of energy and water and its production of waste, and to project these changes beyond its own walls, look credible and impressive. Sometimes its initiatives look to me like self-serving bullshit. ...As the development writer Lou Pingeot points out, their analysis of the world's problems is partial and self-serving, casting corporations as the saviours of the world's people, but never mentioning their role in causing many of the problems (financial crisis, land grabbing, tax loss, obesity, malnutrition, climate change, habitat destruction, poverty, insecurity) they claim to address. Most of their proposed solutions either require passivity from governments (poverty will be solved by wealth trickling down through a growing economy) or the creation of a more friendly environment for business." Here, though, are some things I think Unilever can do, particularly for the women it insists it's trying to uplift: 1. Stop pushing skin-lightening products in India. Brown is beautiful, right? Not according to Unilever, which pushes its Fair & Lovely skin-lightening line of products to women in India. "Real beauty," my ass. 2. Stop selling gross diet-powder meal replacements. Unilever bought Slim-Fast in 2000 and according to reports early this year, it's considering selling it . But not because it could be perceived as hypocritical for a corporation with such a huge decade-long "real beauty" campaign that strives to bolster women's self-esteem to sell a diet aid. No, it's because telling people to replace meals with a cup of powder-water masquerading as a shake has simply not proved to be enough of a cash cow for Unilever: According to Reuters, "The Anglo-Dutch maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Dove soap is in the process of reviewing all its underperforming assets and analysts have long pegged Slim-Fast as a candidate for disposal. Bernstein Research estimated late last year that Slim-Fast had 2012 sales of 300 million euros ($406.3 million), 34 percent lower than when Unilever agreed to buy the business in 2000 for $2.3 billion." 3. Stop being hypocrites and objectifying women and (literally) making them cartoons. Unilever actually made a line of Axe products for women called "Anarchy," the ads of which objectify women just as much as the products marketed to men. Commenting on the marketing campaign , a representative for the British firm that created it said, "While over the last decade the women in Axe ads who throw themselves at men have consistently been stunning, the men have tended to be more average-looking, the message to male consumers being that the fragrances would attract women who would otherwise be out of their league. In the new commercials, the actresses are no less attractive, but are not sold so short: some male actors have the chiseled features of GQ models. "'Girls in Axe advertising will always be a little better-looking than the guys, but the question is to what degree,' said Mr. Kolbusz, of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, adding that the more conventionally handsome actors in the Anarchy ads will still appeal to typical Axe users. 'The guys can look a little more aspirational in the lead roles without the average guy feeling threatened,' Mr. Kolbusz said." Because even in ads targeted to women, it's all about the male ego. And here, some more realistic body images for women: Pretty empowering, eh? 4. Better monitor working conditions for women that pick tea leaves for you in India and Kenya. Nonprofit SOMO interviewed 100 workers on eight Unilever tea plantations (seven in India, one in Kenya) about their working conditions in a 2011 report on the impact of Rainforest Alliance certification. SOMO concluded, in part, "On all the RA certified estates in India there were issues with wages either including too few benefits or partly being paid in kind and not in cash. Also women workers are being discriminated against (promotion, benefits), many casual workers remain permanently casual and workers are applying pesticides without protective gear. Moreover, most of these issues constitute violations of Indian labour legislation and ILO standards as well as Unilever's own standards for suppliers. All of them are violations of RA standards and should lead to withdrawal of RA certification." SOMO's report also found that the audits were found to be "thoroughly manipulated (by which producers ensured that the auditors received a flawed and badly informed view of the actual living and working conditions of workers), to be too shallow (not picking up many issues raised in this study) and being biased (centered only on the industry or dominant trade union perspective and apparently not looking further). "In addition it was noted that at least in Kenya there is a fundamental lack of trust and confidence amongst workers to speak openly and freely to auditors (and other authorities for that matter). Casuals are entitled to less benefits and the job insecurity that comes with it creates a climate that is conducive to favouritism, with elements such as bribery, sexual harassment, ethnic and gender discrimination." Workers said that conditions were not demonstrably different after RA certification and that they were required to pay union dues despite not knowing what they were for and not feeling represented by the organization. Women reported being forced to take pregnancy tests and refused employment if the tests were positive. Some women also reported that they were refused employment unless they had sex with supervisors and had to bribe supervisors to keep their jobs. In its closing comments, SOMO said, "The most relevant comments by Unilever and RA to the findings presented in the chapters above can broadly be categorised as 'true, but could find no evidence'; 'true, but there is no problem'; 'no comment' and 'not true.'" Unilever later issued a more committed-sounding response to shareholders on its corporate site, however. It's clear that company representatives will need to rigorously follow up to see that working conditions for tea plantation employees live up the RA and Unilever's own corporate labor standards. 5. Remove hormone-disrupting chemicals from your products. Dove's pro-age line, Dove Cream Oil Shea Butter Intensive body lotion and Dove Hair Therapy line contain propylparaben, a hormone disruptor suspected of contributing to developmental and reproductive toxicity, and many of its other products contain BHT (a suspected carcinogen), formaldehyde and fragrance, which are suspected allergens and sources of organ system toxicity. Thanks for the sappy platitudes, Dove, but women would find some of these concrete actions much more inspiring. Ben Cohen is the editor and founder of The Daily Banter. He lives in Washington DC where he does podcasts, teaches Martial Arts, and tries to be a good father. He would be extremely disturbed if you took him too seriously.

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Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, center, warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday, December 9, in Los Angeles. The team wore "I Can't Breathe" shirts during warm-ups in support of the family of Eric Garner. Since a grand jury declined to indict a New York police officer in the death of Garner, demonstrators across the country have taken to the streets to express their outrage. Garner, a 43-year-old asthmatic, died in July after he was put in a chokehold by the officer, Daniel Pantaleo. Protesters gather in front of the Barclays Center during an NBA game in New York on Monday, December 8. Police clash with demonstrators at the entrance of a Target near the Barclays Center on December 8. Seven-year-old Elijah Owens, left, stands by people participating in a "die-in" demonstration outside the Philadelphia Eagles' stadium in Philadelphia on Sunday, December 7. People protest in the streets of Chicago on December 7. Demonstrators retreat in Berkeley, California, after police deploy tear gas during a protest that turned violent before dawn on December 7. Protesters shut down all eastbound and westbound lanes on Interstate 195, which links Miami Beach to the mainland, on Friday, December 5. Demonstrators gather in New York's Foley Square on December 4. Demonstrators block traffic on Interstate 395 in Washington on December 3. Protesters rally near Rockefeller Center during a ceremony to light the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York. Protesters face off with police in Oakland. Demonstrators lie in the streets of St. Louis on December 3. Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision Protests after Eric Garner grand jury decision (CNN) -- More than a week after the grand jury's decision in Ferguson, protests continue nationwide. On campuses, in malls, on streets and in stadiums, Americans young and old are voicing their anger about the non-indictments in the deaths of Michael Brown and now Eric Garner in New York -- and about the rigged system that makes such results all too common.

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Revolution #514 October 23, 2017 Setting the Record Straight on Communism and Socialist Revolution REFUTING THE BIGGEST LIES AGAINST COMMUNISM October 23, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us LIE #2. Because Socialism-Communism Goes Against Human Nature, It Resorts to State Violence and Mass Killing to Enforce Its Ideals The Lie About Stalin and the Ukraine Famine of 1932-1933 A big line of attack on the socialist revolution in the Soviet Union of 1917-56 concerns the famine that took place in Ukraine in 1932-1933. Anti-communist historians, Ukrainian nationalists, and the Western media in general charge that Joseph Stalin, who led the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953, deliberately starved the people of Ukraine. The charge that Stalin wanted to punish and wipe out large numbers of Ukrainian peasants by denying them grain is a lie. There was a terrible famine in Ukraine and other regions of the Soviet Union. And many died. But this famine was mainly caused by a decline in grain production, which was mainly caused by weather and other natural factors. The food shortages, however, became worse because of errors in government policy. The actual facts of the situation, and analysis of Soviet agricultural policy under Stalin, are set out on the Set the Record Straight website, in the research paper: " The Famine of 1933 in the Soviet Union: What Really Happened, Why it was NOT an 'Intentional Famine.' " A major line of attack against communism--and one of the biggest lies about communism--is that millions and millions of people have been persecuted and killed by communist states, notably in the former Soviet Union and Maoist China (1949-1976). A whole industry of anticommunist books and articles pumps out staggering and horrifying death tolls. These claims are repeated endlessly... and then presented as established, un-debatable fact. All this is for the purpose of convincing people that communism may have noble ideals... but leads to nightmare. Why They Lie About Communism... and Who Is Lying There is a basic reason that the capitalist-imperialist system churns out all kinds of lies and misrepresentations of communism. Because communism is completely opposed to the savage exploitation, oppression, and inequalities that the capitalist system is rooted in, thrives on, and extends and deepens all over the world . Further: this memo on the "horrors of communism" is coming from the most barbaric economic-social system in human history. A system whose mother's milk was the transatlantic slave trade, with millions upon millions torn from Africa and enslaved in the "New World" of the Americas to produce the wealth vital to the development of world capitalism--suffering constant, unspeakable terror and brutality for generations. This narrative about "communism as unrestrained state violence" is coming from a system that has functioned through systematic and grisly state violence--including two world wars in the 20th century that led to more than 100 million deaths. Point 1: Communist Revolutions Saved and Enriched Lives... and Imperialism Set Out to Strangle These Revolutions You Don't Know What You Think You "Know" About... The Communist Revolution and the REAL Path to Emancipation: Its History and Our Future Interview with Raymond Lotta Read entire Interview--and more-- here As to the charge of mass loss of life under communism, the truth is that these revolutions saved lives . The victorious 1917 October Revolution in Russia immediately withdrew Russia from World War 1--in which millions of ordinary people engaged in mutual slaughter in the interests of the imperialists, including Russia's tsar (autocratic royal ruler), who ruled using secret police, jails, and surveillance. Under its program of "land, bread, and peace," the Bolshevik revolution (the revolutionary communists in Russia were known as "the Bolsheviks") led people to change the dire condition of society--the brutal poverty and persecution of workers in the cities, the crushing traditions, enforced ignorance and superstition weighing down the majority peasantry. The humanity and liberation of bitterly oppressed women and minority nationalities were put front and center in society--through measures such as access to safe and legal abortion and full social-political rights, through outlawing and campaigning against patriarchal violence, like wife beatings; and an end to vigilante violence (e.g., pogroms--persecution and massacres common against Jewish people in the old Russia). But revolution does not take place in a vacuum. No sooner had the Russian revolution come to power than the imperialists moved against it--arming and assisting counter-revolutionary forces in Russia, leading to the brutal civil war of 1918-20 that resulted in massive deaths, disease, and near economic collapse. And the imperialists never let up, with Germany invading the Soviet Union in 1941, leading to the loss of over 25 million Soviet lives. China before the 1949 revolution was a society wracked by famines in the countryside, with desperate poverty and deprivation in the cities too; in Shanghai, 25,000 bodies were picked up off the streets each year--a country of 500 million with only 12,000 doctors trained in modern medicine. The killing of girl babies was widespread, as was the practice of women being forced into arranged marriages. The communist revolution led by Mao Zedong ended these and countless other nightmares. "Women hold up half the sky" became society's orientation and their full participation in society was fought for. From 1949 to 1976, when China was socialist, life expectancy rose from 32 to 65 years. Resources were developed and channeled to serve the great majority. A universal health care system, the world's most egalitarian, was created with the active participation of masses of people. Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, calculated that if capitalist India had the same health care system as China did under Mao, then four million fewer people would have died in India in a given year. That works out to some 100 million needless deaths in India from 1947 to 1979. Point 2: Slaves Have a Right to Rebel THE NEW COMMUNISM by Bob Avakian The science, the strategy, the leadership for an actual revolution, and a radically new society on the road to real emancipation ABOUT THE BOOK, ORDER HERE Updated pre-publication PDF of this major work--now including the appendices--available HERE Insight Press has announced that in addition to the print book, THE NEW COMMUNISM is now available as an eBook at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble and other retail and library websites . Bob Avakian provides a basic point of orientation in his essay "A Question Sharply Posed: NAT TURNER OR THOMAS JEFFERSON?": Slave rebellion or slave master? Do you support the oppressed rising up against the oppressive system and seeking a radically different way, even with certain errors and excesses--or do you support the oppressors, and the leaders and guardians of an outmoded oppressive order, who may talk about "inalienable rights" but bring down wanton brutality and very real terror, on masses of people, to enforce and perpetuate their system of oppression? Yes, in the Russian and Chinese revolutions, there was death and destruction--and excesses, even grievous ones, occurred. But all this was in the context of the oppressed and exploited fighting to get free and creating the world's first socialist societies... while facing internal and external threat, and having very little experience to learn from. But we are not in the same place. With the new communism developed by Bob Avakian, there is the scientific framework to understand the great achievements and the mistakes of these revolutions... and the scientific framework to go further and do better in a new stage of even more emancipatory communist revolution. Point 3: "History by Body Count" Is Unscientific SCIENCE AND REVOLUTION On the Importance of Science and the Application of Science to Society, the New Synthesis of Communism, and the Leadership of Bob Avakian An Interview with Ardea Skybreak READ THE ENTIRE INTERVIEW HERE See excerpts HERE . Suppose you were told that 650,000 people died during the American Civil War of 1861-65 (equal to 7.5 million deaths in today's U.S. population). Incredibly high, and true. But then you are told: Abraham Lincoln was a "mass murderer," having stubbornly presided over the slaughter of hundreds of thousands. That is not a scientific statement. The body count doesn't tell you what the causes and clashing objectives of the Civil War were--what it was fought over--that slavery was the central question. So, too, with the Russian and Chinese revolutions. You can't start with "body counts." And you can't start "in the middle of the movie"--like the battles of the American Civil War. What were the socio-economic and political situations of the Russian and Chinese revolutions, the threats and real imperialist invasions, the counter-revolutions and civil wars, epic natural disasters, and the oppressive and exploitative societies that gave rise to these revolutions and the millions who literally cried out for emancipation? And how did the revolutionary leadership respond to challenges and obstacles, and what mistakes were made in dealing with these challenges? To get to what's objectively true requires historical and all-sided analysis, including of the forces in collision. Point 4: The Imperialists Are World-Class Liars. They Systematically Lie About Particular Episodes in the History of Communism When the U.S. massively escalated the war in Vietnam in 1964, it manufactured a lie about an attack on a U.S. warship. That lie was repeated by the media to justify a war that ultimately killed three million Vietnamese. When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, it manufactured a lie, that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, to justify the war--and hundreds of thousands died and millions were displaced. In terms of communism, the bourgeois method is to twist and distort particular events and movements in the history of communism--especially those that involved great turmoil and great upheaval, and great struggle and transformation. Like the collectivization of agriculture in Russia in the late 1920s, or the Cultural Revolution in China of 1966-76. The actual aims of these movements are distorted, and then the "death toll" machine goes to work--inflating body counts to serve an official story line of communism's supposed "indifference to human life." One example of this is the Great Leap Forward that took place in socialist China in 1958-1960 . We will say more in upcoming "Refutations" about the tremendously liberating character of this movement and struggle to establish food security, to revolutionize economic and social life in China's countryside, and to overcome inequalities, including longstanding patriarchal barriers facing women. This gets ignored, and what gets pumped out by mainstream media and by ideologues of the capitalist system is that during the Great Leap Forward, 65 million people starved to death because the revolutionary leader Mao Zedong was so hell-bent on keeping to his radical economic and social policies. The story continues, that this led to a famine--and since Mao didn't care about human life, tens of millions died. This is a complete and scandalous lie. What is the truth? In 1959-1960, there were food shortages and deaths from famine. But this was mainly caused by unprecedented weather conditions--terrible drought and flooding, natural disasters that were common in China's history. In response, famine relief measures were taken, and resources mobilized, by the socialist government to deal with the disaster and meet the needs of the people. The charge that 65 million died is based on unreliable data and statistical manipulation to attack socialism in China from 1949-1976. You can find out more about this and other ways that "death tolls" are inflated at the Set the Record website . But just because something is widely repeated and popularly believed does not make it true. Point 5: How Dare the Capitalists Point Their Blood-Dripping Fingers Again: the historical reality is that no system has been as barbaric as capitalism--not only in numbers of needless and continuous deaths and human suffering, but in the crushing of the human spirit. Capitalism rules by an inherent and fundamental logic of ruthless competition and profit-driven expansion. Capitalism is based on a handful privately appropriating that which is produced through the interconnected efforts of hundreds of millions worldwide in socialized production. It operates on the basis of exploitation and the most vicious oppression. Capitalism worldwide brought exterminations and enslavement of indigenous/aboriginal populations. What of the colonial expansion and colonial wars such as Belgium's conquest of the Congo that slashed the population by 10 million, or the four million and more killed in the recent civil wars in Congo fueled by imperial grab for resources? The "triumph" and maintenance of Western imperialist control in Asia, Africa, and Central and South America have "required" military conquest, invasions, coups, death squads, and drone wars. It has "required" the killing of three million during the Korean War... chemical and biological weapons in Vietnam... the slaughter of 500,000 to a million communists and sympathizers in Indonesia in 1965. Then there are the countless "routine" deaths caused by this system: women dying because of lack of access to safe abortion; the 16,000 children, mainly in the poor countries of the Third World, who die each and every day from preventable disease and malnutrition. And we now face, under Trump, the real and growing danger of nuclear war against North Korea that could spiral into global devastation. But we are fed the lie that this is the best and only of all possible worlds. * "A Question Sharply Posed ," by Bob Avakian, April 14, 2013 * BA Speaks: REVOLUTION--NOTHING LESS! , film of a talk by Bob Avakian, 2012; see chapter "Which System: Capitalism or Communism, Is the Nightmare for Humanity?" Go here for the Introduction to the Set the Record Straight series, and a listing of refutations of more LIES. Get a free email subscription to revcom.us: Revolution #514 October 23, 2017 Case #57: The 1973 CIA Coup In Chile October 22, 2017 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us Bob Avakian recently wrote that one of three things that has "to happen in order for there to be real and lasting change for the better: People have to fully confront the actual history of this country and its role in the world up to today, and the terrible consequences of this." (See " 3 Things that have to happen in order for there to be real and lasting change for the better .") In that light, and in that spirit, American Crime is a regular feature of revcom.us. Each installment will focus on one of the 100 worst crimes committed by the U.S. rulers--out of countless bloody crimes they have carried out against people around the world, from the founding of the U.S. to the present day. See all the articles in this series. September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, with political guidance and secret backing from the U.S., carried out a military coup, dropping bombs on La Moneda, the Chilean presidential palace, murdering President Salvador Allende. In the weeks that followed the coup, tens of thousands of officials of Allende's government and the Unidad Popular governing coalition, along with workers, union leaders, activists, students, progressive intellectuals, artists and people who just happened to be on the streets on the morning of September 11, were rounded up and imprisoned in institutions and concentration camps. The essence of what exists in the U.S. is not democracy but capitalism-imperialism and political structures to enforce that capitalism-imperialism. What the U.S. spreads around the world is not democracy, but imperialism and political structures to enforce that imperialism. Bob Avakian, BAsics 1:3 U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger visits with Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet in 1976. Pinochet led the Chilean military to overthrow the elected government of Salvador Allende in 1973, a coup fully backed by the CIA. Thousands of Chileans were executed, tortured and "disappeared" under this regime. Photo: Archivo General Historico del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Republica de Chile The Crime: Beginning in the early morning hours of September 11, 1973, the Chilean military, with political guidance and secret backing from the U.S., carried out a military coup against the government of Chilean president Salvador Allende. With U.S. Navy ships offshore and U.S. spy planes overhead as backup, the Chilean Air Force and tanks and soldiers from the Chilean Army dropped bombs and launched artillery and small-arms fire in a furious, coordinated assault on La Moneda palace, the central government building in Chile's capital, Santiago. Allende, a social democrat elected on a platform of social reform three years previously, was killed along with a small group of defenders. Meanwhile, the Chilean military seized control of the radio and TV stations and key institutions of the country, bringing to power a ruthless military junta led by General Augusto Pinochet. The new regime enjoyed the widespread support of Chile's top military leadership. But more crucially, it had the full support of the U.S. government at its highest levels. It was the culmination of years of U.S. covert intervention against the Allende government. It was, in every sense, a U.S.-manufactured coup. The CIA had collected "arrest lists" and "key government installations which need to be taken over," according to a 1975 U.S. Senate investigation. In the hours, days and weeks that followed the coup, tens of thousands of officials of Allende's government and the Unidad Popular governing coalition, along with workers, union leaders, activists, students, progressive intellectuals, artists and people who just happened to be on the streets on the morning of September 11, were rounded up, then held in Santiago's National and Chile stadiums and in military installations and facilities converted to concentration camps in locations around the country. They were subjected to brutal physical and psychological torture, or just outright murdered. Among the thousands brutalized and murdered in Santiago stadiums was Victor Jara, a well-known and much-loved singer, song writer and supporter of the popular movement. Jara was beaten and tortured, his hands broken, before he was murdered. His body was sent to a morgue to be buried in an unmarked grave. Only the intervention of a mortuary worker who risked his life to tip off Jara's wife kept him from being among the many who "disappeared" this way. Over 140,000 people were rounded up during the coup and in the few years that followed. A 1991 Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation reported that many of those detainees were held in military prisons and special camps, and that sadistic forms of torture were the norm. Rape and other forms of sexual violence against women arrestees were nearly universal. A special Chilean death squad that came to be known as the "Caravan of Death" was transported by military helicopter to various military garrisons where they carried out horrific executions. Descriptions by survivors of their imprisonment by the U.S. armed and trained Chilean military rival in sadistic brutality the stories from Nazi concentration camps. As many as one million people out of Chile's population of 11 million were forced into exile. Some of those who fled were hunted down in other countries by death squads organized by the Chilean military. Upon taking power, the military government of Augusto Pinochet dissolved Chile's Congress, dismantled democratic institutions, abolished elections, made strikes illegal and broke up Chile's largest union, the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores. The government imposed strict censorship of books, the press and school curriculum. Entire university departments were shut down. Covert CIA operations against Allende and his movement had been going on since 1958. In September 1970, Allende was elected president. He promised to break the stranglehold of U.S. corporations on Chile's economy by nationalizing foreign copper and other companies and using the proceeds to improve the conditions of Chile's impoverished masses, half of whom were malnourished. Land taken from a handful of wealthy landowners would go to landless farmers. Planning for the 1973 coup began in mid-October, 1970. The CIA was unable to prevent Allende's election but was determined to block Allende from becoming president even though he had won the vote. A CIA deputy director sent a secret cable to the CIA station chief in Santiago conveying orders from President Nixon's national security adviser, Henry Kissinger: "It is firm and continuing policy that Allende (Chile's president elect) be overthrown by a coup... It is imperative that these actions be implemented clandestinely and securely so that the USG [U.S. government] and American hand be well hidden." The CIA set in motion a coup effort by a group of right-wing Chilean military officers. They assassinated Chile's army commander in chief General Rene Schneider, who stood against the coup, with machine guns secretly supplied by the CIA. But their plan failed, and Allende assumed the presidency on November 3 after the Chilean parliament overwhelmingly ratified his election. In the three years that Allende served as Chile's president and leader of the governing coalition, Unidad Popular, the U.S. maneuvered to undermine the Chilean economy and create political divisions to, in Kissinger's words, "help prevent the consolidation of his [Allende's] regime." U.S. bank credit and government economic aid to Chile were frozen. The World Bank and other U.S.-controlled international financial institutions shut off loans. A committee of U.S. corporations worked out an anti-Allende strategy in consultation with the Nixon administration. CIA operatives were sent to organize sabotage of the Chilean economy. In one operation, the CIA organized and bankrolled a strike by truck owners that paralyzed the country's transportation system. They also carried out acts of sabotage in factories and against railroads, highways, bridges, pipelines, schools and hospitals. Meanwhile, the U.S. orchestrated a massive anti-Allende propaganda campaign through many forms of media, including subsidizing wire services, magazines and right-wing newspapers. The U.S. increased its arming and training of the Chilean military, while developing a network of CIA "assets" in all its branches, and pushed forward preparations for a military coup. Yet, even as these moves were being made, there were political groups in Chile, including the pro-Soviet Communist Party (a revisionist, non-revolutionary party that was "communist" in name only), which widely promoted the idea that Allende's government represented a "peaceful road to socialism" through elections, and that the Chilean military, or at least key parts of it, could be won over to the side of the people or, at least, somehow "neutralized." When a general who proved to be unfavorable to U.S. coup plans was forced out as the commander in chief of the armed forces, Allende appointed General Pinochet in his place. Illusions about the nature of the Chilean military and its loyalty to the Chilean Constitution left people tragically unprepared for the U.S.-instigated blood bath that followed. The Criminals: U.S. president Richard Nixon and his national security adviser Henry Kissinger were the main U.S. authorities behind the September 11, 1973 coup. Both made clear they would welcome Allende's assassination. In 1970 Kissinger told other officials, "I don't see why we need to stand by and watch a country go communist because of the irresponsibility of its own people." CIA Director Richard Helms, Attorney General John Mitchell and Secretary of State William Rogers were members of the so-called "40 Committee" chaired by Kissinger and made up of various U.S. military and intelligence operatives in charge of reviewing covert operations. The CIA was the main organization that prepared for and carried out the coup. The U.S. military helped arm and train the Chilean military, and stationed ships and planes nearby. Anaconda Copper, Ford Motor Company, First National City Bank, Bank of America, Ralston Purina and ITT were among the U.S. corporations that directly conspired with the Nixon regime to economically strangle the Chilean economy in the lead-up to the coup. The military leader of the coup was Augusto Pinochet. 1 The military leaders of Chile's army, navy and air force were active participants in the coup. The Alibi: Opponents of Allende claimed that the Popular Unity government, in an attempt to impose "socialism," mismanaged Chile's economy and caused such disruption and chaos that the military had no choice but to step in and impose order. The U.S. immediately denied it had any hand in the coup. A year later, President Gerald Ford claimed the U.S. had acted to help preserve opposition newspapers and political parties. The Real Motive: The 1973 coup was the culmination of U.S. efforts to undermine, then crush, the nationalist, reform movement that coalesced around Salvador Allende. That reform movement, the Unidad Popular, arose in opposition to U.S. economic and political domination of Chile and was part of a worldwide struggle against colonialism and imperialism in the 1960s and 1970s. The coup was also motivated by the growing rivalry between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. In the mid-1950s, those leading the Soviet Union had abandoned revolution, socialism and communism; and by the 1970s, they had become the main rival to the U.S. imperialists. Posing as a friend to the nations and peoples exploited and dominated by the U.S. and other colonial powers, the Soviet Union was making inroads in areas the U.S. had long dominated, including Cuba and other countries in Latin America. The growing influence of Chilean parties friendly to the Soviet Union fed U.S. imperialist fear of further Soviet inroads into what they considered their "back yard." A secret 1970 CIA memo warned that Allende's victory could lead to "tangible economic losses" for U.S. capital, and, more importantly, big "political costs" to U.S.-dominated "Hemispheric cohesion" and a "psychological set-back" and "advantage for the Marxist idea." All this made the brutal and bloody destruction of the Allende government an urgent matter for the U.S. rulers. Upon seizing power, the Pinochet government dismantled the nationalization of foreign-owned enterprises; reversed the land redistribution to landless farmers and other social welfare measures; privatized Chile's economy; and restored direct U.S. domination. 1. In 1998 Pinochet was indicted for human rights violations by a Spanish magistrate. He was later arrested in London and held for a year and a half before being released in March 2000. Upon return to Chile, Pinochet was indicted by a judge there and charged with a number of crimes. He was never tried because of "health" reasons. Pinochet died in 2006, without being convicted in any case. [ back ] Sources: Lubna Z. Qureshi, Nixon, Kissinger and Allende , Lexington Books, 2008 Pilar Aguilera and Ricardo Fredes, Chile , the Other September 11 , Ocean Press, 2006 Bradford Burns, " The True Verdict on Allende: Nixon and Kissinger fiddle and Chile burns ," The Nation , April 3, 2009 1991 Chilean National Commission on Truth and Reconciliation, Part 3, Chapter 1 William Blum, Killing Hope, U.S. Military and CIA Interventions Since World War II , Common Courage Press, 1995

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Kutcher is chairman of Thorn, which fights child trafficking. In addition to being an outspoken advocate of refugees , Ashton Kutcher spends a good deal of his time fighting to end sex trafficking of children online. And this week he informed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the progress his organization has made in combating modern slavery. "I'm here today to defend the right to pursue happiness," Kutcher shared at the beginning of his testimony. "It's a simple notion, the right to pursue happiness. It's bestowed upon all of us by our Constitution... and I believe that it is incumbent upon us as citizens of this nation, as Americans, to bestow that right upon others upon each other and on the rest of the world." He added: "But the right to pursue happiness for so many is stripped away. It's raped. It's abused. It's taken by force, fraud or coercion. It is sold for the momentary happiness of another." The actor went on to explain the incredibly horrific things he's witnessed while working with law enforcement to end sex trafficking."As part of my anti-trafficking work, I've met victims in Russia, I've met victims in India, I've met victims that have been trafficked from Mexico, victims from New York and New Jersey and all across our country. I've been on FBI raids where I've seen things that no person should ever see," he said while holding back tears. Kutcher is a father of two children under the age of 3. "I've seen video content of a child that's the same age as mine being raped by an American man that was a sex tourist in Cambodia. And this child was so conditioned by her environment that she thought she was engaging in play." Kutcher is a co-founder and chairman of Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children , which makes software that fights the online components of human trafficking. Thorn built Spotlight, a software program that has had dramatic results when it comes to fighting modern day slavery. "In six months, with 25% of our users reporting, we've identified over 6,000 trafficking victims, 2,000 of which are minors," Kutcher explained of Spotlight's progress. "This tool has enhanced 4,000 law enforcement officials in 900 agencies. And we're reducing the investigation time by 60%." Thorn also built Solis, a software program that helps law enforcement with investigations involving dark web content. It reduces police case times from three years to just three weeks. "The technology we're building is efficient, nimble [and] enduring, and it only gets smarter with time," he reported. "It's taking the internet, which is largely anonymous, and making it far less anonymous." And while Kutcher's work is making tremendous efforts to end sex trafficking, he reminded the politicians that there's still plenty to be done. He asked for additional funding for new technology, continued partnership from elected officials, and more effort to be made in reducing potential victims from the foster care system. Kutcher explained how foster kids are targets for traffickers and how crucial mental health programs are for survivors of human trafficking. "When people are left out, when they're neglected, when they're not supported, and when they're not given the love they need to grow, it becomes an incubator for trafficking," Kutcher explained. "And this refugee crisis, if we want to be serious about ending slavery, we cannot ignore them, we cannot ignore our support for this issue in that space, because otherwise, we're going to have to deal with it for years to come." Watch his full speech below.

Kutcher is chairman of Thorn, which fights child trafficking. In addition to being an outspoken advocate of refugees , Ashton Kutcher spends a good deal of his time fighting to end sex trafficking of children online.

Your Guide To Socially Conscious Sex Can our sex lives save the world? Published: 2018.04.04 01:21 AM Credit: Volha Flaxeco Sex. It's something that a lot of us spend a lot of time thinking about, from daydreaming about Paget Brewster to worrying if we're doing it right to listening to your more adventurous friend brag about their exploits. But I bet that you've never thought about whether your sex life is ethical. Now, I know this seems like it's going to an article where I lecture you about what you are doing 'wrong' in your sex lives. It's not, I promise. I'm just going to look at some ways to make our sex lives more ethical - and possibly even better! After all, we're always looking to make other areas of their lives more ethical (i.e. going flexitarian), why not the bedroom as well? Sex Toys Source: Wikipedia I'll be honest, this whole article was pitched after I tried to find a more eco-friendly way to clean my favorite vibrator. I'm trying to cut down on the amount of trash that I create, so I wanted to stop buying the special wipes.Then I ended up down an internet rabbit (pun intended) hole and found out that cleaning might be the least of my sex toys' eco problems... It turns out that the average sex toy is made in China (as with most consumer products) to cut down on labor costs, so it could have a large carbon footprint by the time it reaches you. It may even contain some nasty chemicals or animal products, which you probably don't want near your private parts. Then, there's the issue of disposing of your sex toy . You can't exactly chuck it in with the curbside recycling, can you? What should you do? 1. Keep your sex toys for as long as possible, as ditching older ones before their time will only exacerbate your environmental impact. But when you are ready to retire them don't throw them into a landfill; there are some recycling schemes available, like Vavven in Australia and Sex Toy Recycling in Canada. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an operational US-based recycling scheme, but if you can then comment below. 2. Clean your sex toys with warm water and white vinegar or, in the case of non-electric toys, simply boil them 3. When looking for a new sex toy, look for ones that are made in your country (to decrease your carbon footprint) and choose ones made from medical-grade silicone, glass, metal or wood. If you do opt for a plastic one, stay away from any that contain phthalates, a potentially carcinogenic chemical. You could even find a solar powered sex toy to cut down on battery and electrical use. I swear that you won't have to leave the whole thing out in plain view; just the battery. What porn you consume - and how - can make a big difference to how ethical your sex life is, mainly because of how the industry treats its actors. And as the #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have taught us, big, powerful companies - and the (mostly) men at the heads of them - generally suck at controlling themselves. Most mainstream porn has problems with: - unsafe sex, which some actors report being forced into - a lack of rights for workers, including unfair wages - the fetishisation of its actors, particularly POC, LGBTQ+ people, plus size people, and mature people All of that is appalling and it doesn't even cover the fact that in most mainstream porn the female actors are forced to fake their orgasm, which creates an unrealistic view of sex for the consumer. If the person making my veggie burger was working under unsafe conditions, I'd be furious, so why should I care less about the people making my porn? Now, this isn't to say you should stop watching porn. I didn't stop eating eggs when I found out about battery hens, I switched to free-range. Instead, look into a more ethical type of porn that treats workers fairly and promotes intersectionality. Also, it could do wonders for your sex life by showing real sex acts that actually get women off and that you could try at home- mainstream porn seems awfully scared of a genuine female orgasm doesn't it? So how can we make sure that the porn we're watching is ethical? There are no consumer reports on how ethical porn is, so it's mostly up to you to decide for yourself, but here is my advice. Pay: I know that we're so used to getting our porn for free that it seems absurd to suggest you start paying for it again, but I swear there's a good reason. When you don't pay for porn, the industry can cut corners, which can hurt the performers. Play favorites: Find a porn star that you like (and if she looks like Mariska Hargitay all the better). Do your research on them, listen to what they say about their work, and find out if they have more control over what they do with whom. Some performers may even have a website (perhaps with free clips and photos!) and those actors are more likely to have control over their content. Trust your instincts: The next time you're watching porn, ask yourself if you think the actors are enjoying themselves and if the scene seems safe. You can still explore fantasies that may not look safe on the surface (i.e. BDSM), but it's important that the performers are safe and happy to be in the scene. I know this can seem like a lot, but considering how exploitative some porn can be to its actors, isn't it worth it to support the performers who have done so much for you? Did you know that your lubes and contraceptives could contain animal by-products? Or that they may have been tested on animals? It's something that I naively assumed was only true in contraceptives from the distant past , but unfortunately, it's something that is just as true in the 21 st century. What can you do? Simply, it's a case of being a more informed consumer. Organizations like PETA and the Leaping Bunny keep track of vegan and cruelty-free brands, but you should know that obtaining these certifications isn't exactly common among the makers of lubes and contraceptives. Otherwise, you can always check the ingredients list on your lube for ingredients like glycerin and your barrier contraceptives for casein (or ask the manufacturer). Now, I know that some of you are waiting for me to talk about how barrier contraceptives contribute to our landfills and that no one knows how long they take to biodegrade. However, I'm not going to tell anyone to ditch barrier contraceptives as they're the only things that protect against STDs. The only thing I'll say is - DON'T FLUSH THEM DOWN THE TOILET! They're really hazardous to marine life. Okay, so this is how I'm pursuing a more ethical sex life, but now I'd like to hear from you. Are you trying to get a more socially conscious sex-life? How's it going? Let me know in the comments section below.

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...over-used counseling centers, and hand-holding-coddling-BS. There used to be a time where two people could have different opinions and have an intelligent, educational conversation about it. Nowadays, two people have different opinions and all of a sudden it's World War freaking 3. People used to be able to tell a joke without 4327852795 activist groups breathing down their throat. People used to be able to exist without offending someone. So, here's a lollipop of opinion: 99% of the time, people are just talking and... Ah, yes, the past, when no-one was ever offended! And so perfectly timed to remind us that America's real problem, this week, is entitled children. I suspect this post, in all its unselfaware ALLCAPS glory, may be satire. Assuming otherwise, think on this: for all that energy, all that shrieking, foot-stamping rage, it is likely the only shot its author will ever get at shaping the world. That was their moment . It's something we could all bear in mind in the age of "everyone's offended": don't blow it. Build something. At least get paid . But Rob, why even write about it, I hear you ask? Because the presence of every hot millenial-hatin' keyword made me believe at first that it was generated by a computer program. No-one has claimed responsibility on Hacker News. The thing is, it could be... Would an "Anti-Millenial Rant Generator" be neat? (I'm pretty good at these ) It could have settings, so you could dial from, say, "blackout drunk on Facebook" all the way up to " The Atlantic ." You could even have images from the first page of Google results for "crybaby" randomly sprinkled therein, etc. Read the rest You're probably familiar with Scratch, the introductory programming language that allows kids (and adults) to create interactive stories, games, and animations. Scratch doesn't require lines of code to write programs. Instead, you build programs by snapping together colored blocks. (My book, Maker Dad , has an introduction to Scratch that shows how to make retro-style video games). Scratch is perfect for kids 8 and up. Recently, MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten Lab announced the release of ScratchJr , an even simpler programming language for young children (ages 5-7) to create interactive stories and games. It's free and runs on iPads and Android tablets. Mitchel Resnick, who runs MIT Media Lab's Lifelong Kindergarten Lab, and Marina Umaschi Bers, a professor in the Computer Science Department at Tufts University, have a new book out called, The Official ScratchJr Book: Help Your Kids Learn to Code . The publisher sent me a copy, and it looks like a great way for parents to learn about ScratchJr so they can get their kids up to speed and let them go off on their own. With full color screenshots on every page, it provides a thorough overview of everything ScratchJr is capable of doing. Mexican artist Renato Garza Cervera sculpts freakish rugs in the form of skinned gang members. "Years ago I was watching TV at the house of an ex-girlfriend," he told The Creators Project . "We were watching an animation shortcut where a funny monster had in the floor of its house a green and red dotted hippopotamus rug. So I thought, 'That rug is quite anomalous: it's not made out of a typical beast. It's not a lion nor a tiger nor a bear. Those rugs apparently no longer represent fierce creatures, now they are endangered species: So what would nowadays be a beast or represent an animal-like, barbaric kind of bestiality?'" The "skins" of the Latino male are tattooed with phrases connected to the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs of Los Angeles. "They represent a group of Latin American and US-established societies who live in a difficult set of circumstances due to an odd system of political, economical, social issues, which are out of my reach and comprehension," Cervera says.

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UC Berkeley's Sather Gate Shut Down-- Again ! April 20, 2015 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us Photos: Special to revcom.us Three days after students at UC Berkeley closed down Sather Gate as part of the nationwide Shut It Down actions on April 14, the Black Student Union (BSU) shut things down at Sather Gate again for more than an hour. Saturday, April 18, was "CalDay"--a day to "showcase" the University for thousands of prospective students and their families. The BSU and supporters, carrying a gigantic "BLACK LIVES MATTER" banner, first occupied Sproul Plaza and then blocked Sather Gate. According to the Daily Cal , "In addition to protesting in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement -- which emerged following police killings of unarmed black men in various places across the country -- the students spoke of 10 demands made by the BSU to Chancellor Nicholas Dirks." Finally, the BSU and other students and supporters marched through campus and down Telegraph Avenue. This past week showed a new combative spirit among students at Cal--keep it up! If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.

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At least 13 people have been killed and dozens injured after a van in Barcelona Spain ploughed into pedestrians in a busy tourist street. The attack happened in the area around Las Ramblas, a busy shopping and business promenade in the center of the city. Local and national media are reporting that one suspect named Driss Oukabir, apparently from Morocco, has been arrested. A second suspect was been killed after a shootout on the outskirts of the city with police. It remains unclear how many attackers were involved in the incident, which is being treated by police as a terrorist attack. Horrific footage recorded at the scene shows dozens of victims lying injured on the pavement. Police have confirmed that at least 64 people are hurt. Catalonia's interior minister Joaquim Forn stated it is 'very possible' the number of dead will rise because of the 'very serious' wounds to victims. The Spanish civil guard has said the van used in the attack was rented by Oukabir in the town of Santa Perpetua de la Mogada. A second van was found parked in the town of Vic some 50 miles north of Barcelona after police said it could have been used as a getaway vehicle. The Las Ramblas promenade runs through Spain's second-largest city, stretching from its center to the sea at Port Vell. The restaurants, shops and street performers are crowded with tourists and local people on a typical summer afternoon. The United States condemns the terror attack in Barcelona, Spain, and will do whatever is necessary to help. Be tough & strong, we love you! -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 17, 2017 Thoughts and prayers to #Barcelona

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Pastor Robert Jeffress, the head of megachurch First Baptist Dallas and a member of President Trump's evangelical advisory board, said Sunday during an interview on Fox News that schools should teach students to memorize the Ten Commandments to end gun violence. Jeffress criticized a "crusade by secularists to remove any acknowledgment" of God from the country's schools. He said people have put forth the idea "that we can be good without God." "Well, that's been a dismal failure," Jeffress added. "I'd remind our viewers that for the first 150 years of our nation's history, our schoolchildren prayed, they read Scripture in school, they even memorized the Ten Commandments, including the commandment 'Thou shall not kill.'" "Teaching people, starting with our children, that there is a God to whom they're accountable is not the only thing we need to do to end gun violence, but it's the first thing we need to do," he added. Jeffress also praised Trump, saying he is doing an "exceptional job" and has "accomplished more in his first year than any president in history." The Hill added : His comments come after hundreds of thousands of people rallied in cities across the country on Saturday to protest gun violence and call for change. The marches came more than a month after a gunman opened fire at a high school in Parkland, Fla., killing 17 people. Students who survived the shooting have been leading the charge against gun violence, demanding lawmakers pass new gun laws to prevent shootings. Several Parkland students spoke during the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., giving emotional speeches where they warned lawmakers they would be voted out of office if they didn't take action. . @robertjeffress : " @POTUS is the most faith-friendly president we've ever had, and that includes Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush." pic.twitter.com/EQqMt1KACu -- Fox News (@FoxNews) March 25, 2018

Pastor Robert Jeffress, the head of megachurch First Baptist Dallas and a member of President Trump's evangelical advisory board, said Sunday during an interview on Fox News that schools should teach students to memorize the Ten Commandments to end gun violence

September 4, 2016 vivaliberty 0 Dr. Drew Pinsky is so afraid of Hillary Clinton and her supporters, he won't blame them for the cancellation of his show on HLN, the sister channel of CNN. "No, no, no. I just want [...] Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lost several mobile telephones carrying e-mails from her private server during her time in office, according to newly-released FBI documents on the investigation into her mishandling of classified information. "[Huma] [...] By John Contadi - To fund construction of a new U.S. border wall, Donald Trump and senior advisers are considering various ideas, including the use of assets seized from drug cartels and others in the [...] August 31, 2016 vivaliberty 1 A newly-leaked memo from the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee offers new insights into how leading Democrats view and discuss Black Lives Matter when no cameras are rolling and the microphones are turned off. The memo, dated November 19, [...] In a previously little-noticed video from February at the Clinton Global Initiative, former President Bill Clinton suggested that the U.S. use Syrian refugees to rebuild Detroit. "The truth is that the big loser in this over [...] Humiliated Huma FINALLY dumps sexting Weiner: Hillary aide separates from husband just hours after it is revealed he sent photo of his crotch while their four-year-old son slept beside him as child services looks into [...] August 25, 2016 vivaliberty 0 A prominent member of the Ku Klux Klan confirmed that the RACIST KKK HATE GROUP has donated over $20k to their favorite candidate, Hillary Clinton. Mr. Quigg, the leader of the Klan's California chapter announced [...] While many liberals and the media complain about the cash in politics, witness Citizens United, they look past Hillary Clinton's drive for record amounts of cash. By Evan Halper - If there were a [...] August 24, 2016 vivaliberty 1 Instead of flying between New York and Washington, DC, like a common traveler, Hillary Clinton wanted the Air Force to fly her -- because she didn't feel well enough to fly commercial, newly released emails [...] WASHINGTON (AP) -- More than half the people outside the government who met with Hillary Clinton while she was secretary of state gave money -- either personally or through companies or groups -- to the [...]

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Wishful Thinking One of the central demands of the anti-Trump movement is impeachment. The demand seems rooted in a belief that the president will willingly step down or be forced out if his popularity plummets or his actions are deemed to be illegitimate. Such a line of thinking is familiar to me. Countless times, I heard activists predict the disintegration of Britain's coalition government when the anti-austerity movement was at its height. Indeed, one of the strategies of the student element in the movement was to target the Liberal Democrats, the smaller and weaker partner in the coalition government with the Tories. The Lib Dems had reneged on their promise not to increase university tuition fees, and the theory was that we could use this as a way of peeling them off and fracturing the coalition altogether; the ruling coalition would then collapse. Somehow, we neglected to ask ourselves some very basic questions about this theory. Why exactly did we think a party who had never been in government would give up its one taste of power simply out of a sense of shame? It was nonsensical. "Power itself is actually quite a stabilizing force," notes Novara Media presenter James Butler, who was involved in the student occupation at University College London in 2010. "Perhaps we didn't realize that because we had been away from power for so long." Why do activists think Trump will step down or be impeached? His presidency gives his advisers the kind of power they've always craved. Why would they tell him to give that up? And who would bring him down anyway? The Republicans, who see in him a chance to finally dispense with the remaining scraps of the New Deal, or the lickspittle Democrats who failed to collectively oppose his nomination picks? And even if impeachment was successful, the president would simply be replaced by Mike Pence, a true-believing reactionary to Trump's fair-weather fascism. Is this victory? Another parallel between the two movements is the assumption that both will become a permanent fixture of the political landscape, with massive crowds fueled by limitless anger continually turning out for street-level demonstrations. But both are and were rooted in a kind of spontaneous, visceral reaction of horror -- and as we learned in the UK, visceral reactions eventually peter out. The anti-austerity movement had deteriorated significantly by 2012. First, because activists themselves became demoralized by losses. Tuition fees were introduced despite protests; most of the spending cuts we were fighting took place. And because we had no long-term strategy for how to continue the fight in the wake of such defeats, it was hard to overcome the exhaustion and sadness that short-term losses engendered. Secondly, several elements of the movement experienced internal conflicts. For some, the insistence on non-hierarchical structures led to the ascendance of de facto leaders ( as it often does ). This drew recriminations and bitterness, causing some activists to bow out. Other elements of the movement ran into ideological differences over questions like black bloc tactics that quickly became heated. Movement debates became both personal and painful for many involved. Finally, we underestimated the extent to which we would be crushed by state repression. Some students were arrested at protests for absurd reasons and went to prison for long stretches of time, like Francis Fernie who was given a twelve- month prison sentence for throwing two sticks in the general direction of a police officer. Others were subject to legal action by their universities , or threatened with suspension. I was arrested along with 145 other people as part of an occupation of a department store . In our case, the experience was so chaotic and unnerving that many of those involved just wanted to forget that the whole thing had happened at all. This led to a situation where activists were going to court with very few friends to accompany them. Many dropped out of activism altogether as a result, taking their skills and energy with them.

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I was sent a copy of Angels in Disguise by Phyllis Hobe to read. What a wonderful book! It is a collection of stories about animals in their role as angels. I laughed, I cried and read the book in one sitting. It is a great book to have at your bedside or in the bathroom for those moments you could use a spiritual pick me up. Guidepost was generous enough to offer me a few free copies to give away to my readers. I only have a few copies and will give them away in the next few weeks to the readers who post their stories in the comment section. It only needs to be a heartfelt story about your angel encounter with an animal. Have you ever encountered a life-changing moment in which animals played an important role? Tell me your story of disguised pet angels for your chance to win a copy of Angels in Disguise ! This would make a great gift for all those pet lovers out there. There is even a story about a chicken and her remarkable return after a winter in Vermont. Here is what the publisher says about this great book: Learn how animals can help strengthen your faith in God! Angels in Disguise is a compact hardcover collection of 32 true stories from the bestselling Guideposts Book Their Mysterious Ways , that reveal how God sends animals to comfort, guide and heal us. Each page shows how God shares his unconditional love with us through the animals that are a part of our daily lives, and the ones that briefly cross our paths. Angels in Disguise will help you discover that God's messengers come in many surprising forms--from dogs to cats--parrots to horses. There is Barney, a dog who shows up to save a woman from freezing to death; A rabbit named Jellybean who helps a cat become part of the family; And a group of hummingbirds who remind one woman of God's love when she needs it the most. With love and aloha, Susan Angels are everywhere just open your mind and your heart to the signs. Make Angels on Your Shoulder part of your daily routine and share it with a friend!

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The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival is offering various lavender-oriented films. Artists connected to some of them will be in attendance and they can be seen at various locations. St. Anthony Main is the primary location for the festival. The Blessing, courtesy of The Blessing. The Blessing . USA. Navajo spirituality, ecological crisis and gender nonconformance are central themes. The Cakemaker, photo courtesy of Strand Releasing. The Cakemaker . Israel, Germany. A closeted German pastry chef suffers a tragedy and travels to Jerusalem. Disobedience, photo courtesy of Bleecker Street. Disobedience . Ireland, UK, USA. An attraction between two women is rekindled after a father's death. Mr. Gay Syria, photo courtesy of Taskovski Films. Mr. Gay Syria . Turkey, Germany, Malta, France. An unlikely combination of Syrian refugees and the Mr. Gay World Pageant. A Moment in the Reeds, photo courtesy of Film Collaborative. A Moment in the Reeds . Finland. UK. Love between two men: one from Syria, one from Finland. Not in My Lifetime, photo courtesy of Pam Colby Productions. Not in My Lifetime . USA. Beloved lesbian Twin Cities filmmaker Pam Colby looks into the bonds within communities. Silicon Beach photo by Stephen Tringali. Silicon Beach . USA. A love story with a variety of people of various sexual orientations. TransMilitary . USA. The problem of discriminatory agendas against transgender service members is examined. Minneapolis St.Paul International Film Festival Though Apr. 28 Various Locations (612) 331-7563 mspfilm.org

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Tuesday, October 9, 2007 (2 comments) Fearful Americans: In Disbelief We Are A Dying Nation Power, money and greed have destroyed many empires in the past, what makes us think we are inoculated from it ever happening again. Republican Religious have Double Standard Ways There was a test conducted on those that appeared to be most homophobic, the result showed they were aroused the most by same sex pornography, now go figure. Sunday, August 26, 2007 (2 comments) Diseased and Fanatics these are The Warriors of God They appear to be the normal ones trying to make others feel less than worthy. However, when we look closely their deranged behavior, obsessive compulsive attitude reveals that the extremists, the religious fundamentalist are not dealing with a full deck. It's time to turn the tables around and get their world to realize that religion is like a drug, and those that practice it are drug addicts. Saturday, December 23, 2006 We Believe My views on the world, peotically placed and written from the heart. Attached my video performance of the piece.

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By Peter Van Buren, TomDispatch This piece first appeared at TomDispatch. Read Tom Engelhardt's introduction here . In the 1960s, John Kerry was distinctly a man of his times. Kennedy-esque, he went from Yale to Vietnam to fight in a lost war. When popular sentiments on that war shifted, he became one of the more poignant voices raised in protest by antiwar veterans. Now, skip past his time as a congressman, lieutenant governor of Massachusetts, senator, and presidential candidate ( Swift Boated out of the race by the Republican right). Four decades after his Vietnam experience, he has achieved what will undoubtedly be the highest post of his lifetime: secretary of state. And he's looked like a bumbler first class. Has he also been -- once again -- a true man of his time, of a moment in which American foreign policy, as well as its claim to global moral and diplomatic leadership, is in remarkable disarray? In his nine months in office, Kerry's State Department has one striking accomplishment to its name. It has achieved a new level of media savvy in promoting itself and plugging its highest official as a rock star, a world leader in his own right (complete with photo-ops and sophisticated image-making). In the meantime, the secretary of state has been stumbling and bloviating from one crisis to the next, one debacle to another, surrounded by the well-crafted imagery of diplomatic effectiveness. He and his errant statements have become global punch lines, but is he truly to blame for his performance? If statistics were diplomacy, Kerry would already be a raging success. At the State Department, his global travels are now proudly tracked by the mile, by minutes flown, and by countries visited. State even has a near-real-time ticker page set up at its website with his ever-changing data. In only nine months in office, Kerry has racked up 222,512 miles and a staggering 482.39 hours in the air (or nearly three weeks total). The numbers will be going up as Kerry is currently taking a 10-day trip to deal with another NSA crisis , in Poland this time, as well as the usual hijinks in the Middle East. His predecessor, Hillary Clinton, set a number of diplomatic travel records. In fact, she spent literally a full year , one quarter of her four years in office, hopscotching the globe. By comparison, Cold War Secretary of State George Schultz managed less than a year of travel time in his six years in office. Kerry's quick start in racking up travel miles is the most impressive aspect of his tenure so far, given that it's been accompanied by record foreign policy stumbles and bumbles. With the thought that frenetic activity is being passed off as diplomacy and accomplishment, let's do a little continent hopping ourselves, surveying the diplomatic and foreign policy terrain the secretary's visited. So, fasten your seatbelt, we're on our way! We'll Be Landing in Just a Few Minutes... in Asia Despite Asia's economic importance, its myriad potential flashpoints, and the crucial question of how the Sino-American relationship will evolve, Kerry has managed to visit the region just once on a largely ceremonial basis. Diplomatically speaking, the Obama administration's much ballyhooed " pivot to Asia" seems to have run out of gas almost before it began and with little to show except some odd photos of the secretary of state looking like Fred Munster in Balinese dres s at the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference. With President Obama then trapped in Washington by the shutdown/debt-ceiling crisis, Kerry seemed like a bystander at APEC, with China the dominant presence. He was even forced to suffer through a Happy Birthday sing-along for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the meantime, the economy of Washington's major ally, Japan, remains sleepy, even as opposition to the U.S.-backed Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact grows and North Korea continues to expand its nuclear program seemingly unaffected by threats from Washington. All in all, it's not exactly an impressive picture, but rest assured that it'll look as fetching as a bright spring day, once we hit our next stop. In fact, ladies and gentlemen, the pilot now asks that you all return to your seats, because we will soon be landing... ... in the Middle East If any area of the world lacks a single bright spot for the U.S., it's the Middle East. The problems, of course, extend back many years and many administrations. Kerry is a relative newcomer. Still, he's made seven of his 15 overseas trips there, with zero signs of progress on the American agenda in the region, and much that has only worsened. The sole pluses came from diplomatic activity initiated by powers not exactly considered Washington's closest buddies: Russian President Putin's moves in relation to Syria (on which more later) and new Iranian President Rouhani's "charm offensive" in New York, which seems to have altered for the better the relationship between the two countries. In fact, both Putin's and Rouhani's moves are classic, well-played diplomacy, and only serve to highlight the amateurish quality of Kerry's performance. On the other hand, the Obama administration's major Middle East commitment -- to peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians -- seems destined for a graveyard already piled high with past versions of the same. Meanwhile, whatever spark remained of the Arab Spring in Egypt was snuffed out by a military coup, while the U.S. lamely took forever just to begin to cut off some symbolic military aid to the new government. American credibility in the region suffered further damage after State, in a seeming panic , closed embassies across the Middle East in response to a reputed major terror threat that failed to materialize anywhere but inside Washington's Beltway. Prince Bandar bin Sultan of Saudi Arabia was once nicknamed "Bandar Bush" for his strong support of the U.S. during the 1991 Desert Storm campaign and the Bush dynasty. He recently told European diplomats, however, that the Kingdom will launch a " major shift " in relations with the United States to protest Washington's perceived inaction over the Syria war and its overtures to Iran. The Saudis were once considered, next to Israel, America's strongest ally in the region. Kerry's response? Fly to Paris for some "urgent talks." Meanwhile, the secretary of state has made no effort to draw down his fortress embassy in Baghdad, despite its " world's largest " personnel count in a country where an American invasion and nine-year occupation resulted in a pro-Iranian government. Memories in the region aren't as short as at the State Department, however, and Iraqis are unlikely to forget that sanctions, the U.S. invasion, and its aftermath resulted in the deaths of an estimated 4% of their country's population. Kerry would be quick to condemn such a figure as genocidal had the Iranians or North Koreans been involved, but he remains silent now. State doesn't include Turkey in Kerry's impressive Middle Eastern trip count, though he's traveled there three times , with (again) little to show for his efforts. That NATO ally, which refused to help the Bush administration with its invasion of Iraq , continues to fight a border war with Iraqi Kurds. (Both sides do utilize mainly American-made weapons.) The Turks are active in Syria as well, supporting the rebels, fearing the Islamic extremists, lobbing mortar shells across the border, and suffering under the weight of that devastated country's refugees. Meanwhile -- a small regional disaster from a U.S. perspective -- Turkish-Israeli relations, once close, continue to slide. Recently, the Turks even outed a Mossad spy ring to the Iranians, and no one, Israelis, Turks, or otherwise, seems to be listening to Washington. Now, please return your tray tables to their upright and locked position, as we make our final approach to... ... Everywhere Else Following more than 12 years of war with thousands of lives lost, Kerry was recently reduced to begging Afghanistan's corrupt president, Hamid Karzai, to allow a mini-occupation's worth of American troops to remain in-country past a scheduled 2014 tail-tucked departure by U.S. combat troops. (Kerry's trip to Afghanistan had to be of the unannounced variety, given the security situation there.) Pakistan, sporting only a single Kerry visit, flaunts its ties to the Taliban while collecting U.S. aid. As they say, if you don't know who the patsy is at a poker game, it's you. Relations with the next generation of developing nations, especially Brazil and India, are either stagnant or increasingly hostile, thanks in part to revelations of massive NSA spying. Brazil is even hosting an international summit to brainstorm ways to combat that agency's Internet surveillance. Even stalwart Mexico is now lashing out at Washington over NSA surveillance. After a flurry of empty threats, a spiteful passport revocation by Kerry's State Department, a bungled extradition attempt in Hong Kong, and a diplomatic fiasco in which Washington forced the Bolivian president's airplane to land in Austria for a search, Public Enemy Number One Edward Snowden is settling into life in Moscow. He's even receiving fellow American whistleblowers as guests. Public Enemy Number Two, Julian Assange, continues to run WikiLeaks out of the Ecuadoran embassy in London. One could argue that either of the two men have had more direct influence on America's status abroad than Kerry. Now, please return to your seats, fasten your seat belts, and consider ordering a stiff drink. We've got some bumpy air up ahead as we're... ... Entering Syrian Airspace The final leg of this flight is Syria, which might be thought of as Kerry's single, inadvertent diplomatic accomplishment (even if he never actually traveled there.) Not long before the U.S. government half-shuttered itself for lack of funds, John Kerry was point man for the administration's all-out efforts to attack Syria. It was, he insisted , "not the time to be silent spectators to slaughter." That statement came as he was announcing the recruitment of France to join an impending U.S. assault on military facilities in and around the Syrian capital, Damascus. Kerry also vociferously beat the drums for war at a hearing held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. His war diplomacy, however, quickly hit some major turbulence, as the British parliament, not eager to repeat its Iraq and Afghan misadventures, voted the once inconceivable -- a straightforward, resounding no to joining yet another misguided American battle plan. France was soon backing out as well, even as Kerry clumsily tried to soften resistance to the administration's urge to launch strikes against Bashar al-Assad's regime with the bizarre claim that such an attack would be "unbelievably small." (Kerry's boss, President Obama, forcefully contradicted him the next day, insisting, "The United States military doesn't do pinpricks .") Kerry had his moment of triumph, however, on a quick stop in London, where he famously and offhandedly said at a news conference that war could be avoided if the Syrians turned in their chemical weapons. Kerry's own State Department issued an instant rejoinder, claiming the statement had been " rhetorical ." In practically the same heartbeat, the Russians stepped into the diplomatic breach. Unable to walk his statement back, Kerry was humiliatingly forced to explain that his once-rhetorical remark was not rhetorical after all. Vladimir Putin then arose as an unlikely peacemaker and yes, Kerry took another trip, this time to "negotiate" the details with the Russians, which seems largely to have consisted of jotting down Russian terms of surrender to cable back to Washington. His "triumph" in hand, Kerry still wasn't done. On September 19th, on a rare stopover in Washington, he claimed a U.N. report on Syria's chemical weapons stated that the Assad regime was behind the chemical attack that had set the whole process in motion. (The report actually said that there was not enough evidence to assign guilt to any party.) Then, on October 7th, he effusively praised the Syrian president (from Bali) for his cooperation, only on October 14th to demand (from London) that a "transition government, a new governing entity" be put in place in Syria "in order to permit the possibility of peace." But, But... As for Kerry's nine-month performance review, here goes: he often seems unsure and distracted, projecting a sense that he might prefer to be anywhere else than wherever he is. In addition, he's displayed a policy-crippling lack of information, remarkably little poise, and strikingly bad word choice, while regularly voicing surprising new positions on old issues. The logical conclusion might be to call for his instant resignation before more damage is done. (God help us, some Democratic voters may actually find themselves secretly wondering whether the country dodged a bullet in 2004 when George W. Bush won his dismal second term in office.) In his nine months as secretary of state, Kerry, the man, has shown a genuine capacity for mediocrity and an almost tragicomic haplessness. But blaming him would be like shouting at the waiter because your steak is undercooked. Whatever his failings, John Kerry is only a symptom of Washington's lack of a coherent foreign policy or sense of mission. Since the end of the Cold War, the U.S. has been adrift, as big and dangerous as an iceberg but something closer to the Titanic. President Bush , the father, and President Clinton , the husband, had at least some sense of when not to overdo it. They kept their foreign interventions to relatively neat packages, perhaps recognizing that they had ever less idea what the script was anymore. Waking up on that clear morning of September 12, 2001, the administration of Bush, the son, substituted a crude lashing out and an urge for total domination of the Greater Middle East, and ultimately the planet, for foreign policy. Without hesitation, it claimed the world as its battlefield and then deployed the Army, the Marines, the Navy, the Air Force, growing Special Operations forces, paramilitarized intelligence outfits, and drone technology to make it so. They proved to be good killers, but someone seemed to forget that war is politics by other means. Without a thought-out political strategy behind it, war is simply violent chaos unleashed. Diplomacy had little role in such a black-and-white world. No time was to be wasted talking to other countries: you were either with us or against us . Even our few remaining friends and allies had a hard time keeping up, as Washington promoted torture, sent the CIA out to kidnap people off the streets of global cities, and set up its own gulag with Guantanamo as its crown jewel. And of course, none of it worked. Then, the hope and change Americans thought they'd voted into power in 2008 only made the situation worse. The Obama administration substituted directionless-ness for idiotic decisiveness, and visionless-ness for the global planning of mad visionaries, albeit with much the same result: spasmodic violence. The United States, after all, remains the biggest kid on the block, and still gets a modicum of respect from the tiny tots and the teens who remember better days, as well as a shrinking crew of aid-bought pals. The days of the United States being able to treat the world as its chessboard are over. It's now closer to a Rubik's Cube that Washington can't figure out how to manipulate. Across the globe, people noted how the World's Mightiest Army was fought to a draw (or worse) in Iraq and Afghanistan by insurgents with only small arms, roadside bombs, and suicide bombers. Increasingly, the world is acknowledging America's Kerry-style clunkiness and just bypassing the U.S. Britain said no to war in Syria. Russia took over big-box diplomacy. China assumed the pivot role in Asia in every way except militarily. (They're working on it.) The Brazilian president simply snubbed Obama, canceling a state visit over Snowden's NSA revelations. Tiny Ecuador continues to raise a middle finger to Washington over the Assange case. These days, one can almost imagine John Kerry as the wallflower of some near-future international conference, hoping someone - anyone -- will invite him to dance. The American Century might be said to have lasted from August 1945 until September 2001, a relatively short span of 56 years. (R.I.P.) John Kerry's frantic bumbling did not create the present situation; it merely added mirth to the funeral preparations. Peter Van Buren blew the whistle on State Department waste and mismanagement during Iraqi reconstruction in his first book, We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People . A TomDispatch regular , he writes about current events at his blog, We Meant Well . Van Buren's next book, Ghosts of Tom Joad: A Story of the #99Percent , will be available in April 2014 . Follow TomDispatch on Twitter and join us on Facebook or Tumblr . Check out the newest Dispatch book, Nick Turse's The Changing Face of Empire: Special Ops, Drones, Proxy Fighters, Secret Bases, and Cyberwarfare .

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"You can't treat human beings this way" New York residents speak out against police violence By a WSWS reporting team 30 July 2014 The killing of Staten Island resident Eric Garner by New York City police officers a week and a half ago has once again exposed the brutality regularly unleashed on the city's working people by the police. Far from an aberration, the police barbarism expressed in Garner's killing is a common experience for masses of working class New Yorkers, which has continued unrelentingly under Democratic mayor Bill de Blasio. World Socialist Web Site reporters spoke with workers and youth in East Flatbush, Brooklyn, last weekend about Garner's killing and their own experiences with police violence. East Flatbush is a working class, central Brooklyn neighborhood of about 80,000 residents, primarily African-American, with a large population of Caribbean immigrants. The neighborhood has been the site of multiple police killings, including that of 16 year-old Kimani Gray last year. Outraged residents protesting Gray's killing were violently dispersed by the police, who arrested dozens and laid siege on the neighborhood in the aftermath. As in other working class neighborhoods across the city, police continue to harass and brutalize workers and youth in East Flatbush on a daily basis. Greg Johnson, a worker at Catholic Charities, was riding a bus in Staten Island at the time of a rally protesting Eric Garner's murder. "We went by the area where he was shot, it changed the whole vibe. The whole conversation on the bus changed. Everyone was talking about it. Greg Johnson "This happens all the time and we're tired of it. I can walk down the street and cops will harass me now. Garner was selling cigarettes. It's going to make us - what's the word - rebel. It's going to be like that Martin Luther King stuff all over again. "I think police use force depending on race. We get harassed so much. I'm not doing anything, but they want to use all that force, and for what? Selling some Newports. It's a crazy situation. Rest in peace to that guy." "It's an emotional thing," he continued. "I've had so many experiences with cops. When you're constantly being harassed, asked questions: where you going, where's your ID. I'm not doing anything, there's no problem. But the cop has a problem with it. "I've yet to watch the whole video of Garner's killing . I'm starting to cry thinking about it. Now imagine, eight million people feeling the same way." Lionel Cassetana, a Tattoo artist and formalwear salesman, said, "Police are out of control. They get a badge and a gun and it is like they can do whatever they want. Lionel Cassetana "On January 4th, the police raided my house and kicked everyone out. The only charge was unlawful possession of ammo, no one even had a gun. They just found a shotgun shell, and the judge heard this and threw out the case. "When they did the raid it was not ordinary police, they came in with helmets and shields at 5:30 in the morning. They threatened my dogs with guns, and I was on the ground just asking to get up to put the dogs away. They dragged everyone out of the house. My brother was there and he was not even allowed to put on clothes. This happened in January and it was freezing outside. The police did not even present me with a search warrant until after the raid. Lionel said the police raided his home for a second time last month. "The detective leading these raids is an African-American guy. He is just going to keep doing this to my house. I am jumpy now especially at night. If it is between 5 and 5:30AM and I hear a noise, or one of my dogs starts barking I get out of bed. I look out the window, sometimes I get dressed as if I am going out, just in case a raid happens. This is a mental thing, and no one should be doing this to us. Marquis Mack "If everyone got together we are more people than the cops are. They know this, which is why the police use military grade weapons," he added. Marquis Mack said, "I think the police have to go after the real criminals, not people who are involved in petty crime. They want to fill up the jails so the state makes money." "Personally, I hold Obama responsible. He's changed the laws. You can get locked up if you speak your mind. He's got drones that can bomb you if he says so. But we have to protest, to speak out. They want to make it like China or Russia, but we can't be afraid to speak." Isaiah, a student and retail worker, said, "It is like the world is full of gangs, and the police are just the biggest gang. What they do is an abuse of power, and since they don't get punished for it they just keep doing it again and again. "During the Civil Rights movement we had leaders who fought for us. Now what do we have, Al Sharpton? He just shows up and makes a spectacle. He turns it into a big show, and he gets paid and he is fine with that." Shane, a hotel worker, said, "It's sad to see Eric Garner's murder, it's really sad. It could have been me or any one of us. I work late shifts, sometimes till 11:30 or 12:30. The police will come up to you for just walking down the street. Some justice needs to be done, it's not right. You can't treat human beings this way." Asked what he thought can be done about police violence, Shane responded, "All we can do is voice our opinion. Cops aren't there to protect us; they end up killing us. Everybody is scared." As the discussion turned to the connection between police violence and social inequality, Shane added, "The wealthy are not going to give up their riches, they're going to fight to get more. They're never satisfied. You go to work and all management talks about is work ethic, but we get no raise. Prices are always going up. Subway tickets are going up, food is going up. But I got a 25 cent raise this year. This is New York, how can we live? Come on." Fight Google's censorship! Google is blocking the World Socialist Web Site from search results. To fight this blacklisting: Share this article with friends and coworkers Facebook Twitter E-Mail Reddit

The killing of Staten Island resident Eric Garner by New York City police officers a week and a half ago has once again exposed the brutality regularly unleashed on the city's working people by the police.

International Women's Day March 3, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us Download PDF posters of this feature: page 7 || pages 8-9 || page 10 The fabric of women's oppression is carved deeply into the calloused hands of women in the sweatshops of China and Honduras. It is draped over the faces of young women in Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. It is stripped off the bodies of girls of Moldova and Bangkok who are put up for sale in brothels worldwide, and it is worn like a prize by pre-teens in the U.S. and Europe who are taught to dress and move like sex objects long before they understand what sex even is. This fabric ropes back into history, it winds its way around the globe, braided into all the dominant religions and "moral codes" and woven into every aspect of human societies. It is a heavy veil that casts the darkness of humanity's first oppressive divisions over the lives, the dreams, and the prospects of every corner of humanity in the 21st century. To live like this on this planet in the 21st century cannot be justified and should not be accepted. None of this can be tolerated or excused away with counsel of patience.. WE DECLARE: NO MORE! Woman and her children haul garbage in India. Forty percent of India's 1.1 billion people live on $1 U.S. a day. Photo: AP Former school teacher in Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq, 2004. Photo: AP "Did You Know..." Criminalization or stigmatization of abortion forces women to seek abortions under dangerous conditions--creating a situation where 47,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions. A girl born in South Africa is more likely to be raped during her lifetime than to learn how to read. More than a third of all women in prison in the world are imprisoned in the United States. In just the last three years in the U.S., 203 new restrictions to abortion were passed in different states and there are no abortion clinics in 97 percent of rural counties. One in three women on the planet will be raped or beaten in her lifetime--that is one billion women. In recent decades pornography has become increasingly violent and degrading towards women, even as it has become even more mainstream. The average age when females enter into prostitution or pornography in the U.S. is 12 years. Two hundred people confront the anti-abortion march in San Francisco, January 25, 2014. Photo: AP Liberating Women, and Fighting for a Whole New World Download the PDF of this pamphlet: A Declaration: For Women's Liberation and the Emancipation of All Humanity The first socialist societies--the short-lived Paris Commune of 1871, and the radical and far-reaching transformations that took place under socialism in Russia from 1917 to 1956, and in China from 1949 to 1976 were aimed at liberating humanity and ending all oppression. An outstanding element of this earthshaking change was the unprecedented transformation in the status and role of women. For the first time in modern human history, the chains of patriarchy began to shatter, and women were unleashed as a tremendous force for radical change throughout society. (For an in-depth discussion of these revolutions, see the special revcom.us/ Revolution issue--" You Don't Know What You Think You 'Know' About... The Communist Revolution and the REAL Path to Emancipation: Its History and Our Future .") World's First Socialist State Pre-revolutionary Russia was a dark and viciously oppressive place for women, crushed by the patriarchal family, the church, law and tradition. But after the old rulers were overthrown in Russia in 1917, the revolutionary state power immediately implemented radical changes that broke the hold of millennia of women's oppression. Marriage was made secular, and equal. The church-based system of enforced male authority over women and children in the family was abolished. Divorce was made easy to obtain. Equal pay for work was enacted. The Soviet Union became the first country in modern Europe to make abortion and same-sex relations legal. New revolutionary communal and collective institutions gave women the freedom to function as full human beings, even when that meant going up against deeply entrenched tradition. Women were enabled and encouraged to take an active role in all spheres of society, including in government and other leading bodies. There were struggles against brutally oppressive Islamic Sharia law in Central Asian republics, where the revolutionary state power backed heroic struggles against burkha-like coverings that women had been forced to wear. Open and lively debate over sex roles, marriage, and family took place in the schools and society. Radical changes transformed Russia after the revolution in 1917. Among them, a major offensive against forcing women in areas dominated by Islamic fundamentalism to wear hijab-like coverings. Above left: A woman before the revolution; right: a young woman in Central Asia after liberation (photo by Langston Hughes). Revolution in China In pre-revolutionary China, the status of the vast majority of women was little better than that of slaves. Very young girls were sold by their desperate starving families as "wives" for men of privilege. Millions of women, from the upper classes to prostitutes, had the bones in their feet crushed ("foot binding") to create what was supposed to be a more "dainty," sexually-appealling look. Women had little or no legal rights. When the revolution came to power in China in 1949, the masses of people were mobilized to change all that. New laws banned child and arranged marriages. Divorce was made legal and accessible. Foot binding was ended. The shame was lifted from those who had previously been forced into prostitution, and a new, productive life was opened up for them--in a short time, prostitution disappeared as a social phenomenon. Social and economic barriers that kept women from being full participants in changing the world were torn down. Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Communist Party that led the revolution, popularized the slogan "Women Hold Up Half the Sky"--a call to fight for the emancipation of women as a crucial part of liberating all of humanity. While great changes in the role of women took place immediately with the revolutionary seizure of power in China, even more radical changes were needed. The struggle against the oppression of women was a big part of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution--an unprecedented mass political struggle, led by Mao and other revolutionaries, to beat back attempts by "capitalist roaders" intent on bringing back capitalism, and to further transform all of society. In pointing to remaining influences of traditional oppressive ideas and the need to shatter them, Mao said that unless it was radically transformed, the state ministry of culture "should be renamed the Ministry of Emperors, Kings, Generals, and Ministers, the Ministry of Talents and Beauties or the Ministry of Foreign Mummies." In striking contrast to the way women are portrayed today in culture in the world--as subservient to men in society and in relationships--new works of art and theater portrayed women as daring, strong, and on the front lines of revolutionary change. Women and men in their millions took part in broad campaigns to criticize feudal and capitalist thinking that uphold exploitative and unequal divisions in society and in how people related to each other--one participant in the Cultural Revolution described how, as a young girl, she waged a cultural revolution in her family against patriarchal values and rules. The struggle against the oppression of women was a big part of the 1966-76 Cultural Revolution--an unprecedented mass political struggle, led by Mao Zedong and other revolutionaries, to beat back attempts by "capitalist roaders" intent on bringing back capitalism, and to further transform all of society. Women stepped forward as leaders at all levels, and were supported in doing so. Above, women use big character posters to further political debate and raise consciousness. Fighting for a Whole New World This experience was a first step in humanity breaking all the chains of oppression. It included missteps and even serious errors, but it showed that the world does not have to be this way, that there is nothing inherent in human nature that dooms us to this, nor are the forces of the current oppressive world order all-powerful. But the first stage of communist revolution came to an end with the defeat of socialism in Russia in 1956 and in China in 1976. The world today is deeply and profoundly stamped with the brutal degradation and oppression of women. It is a world dominated by imperialism--of unjust wars, savage poverty and inequality, the accelerating environmental crisis that threatens all life on the planet, and many other outrages. It is a world crying out for urgent, radical change--for communist revolution. And because of Bob Avakian and the work he has done over several decades, summing up the positive and negative experience of the communist revolution so far, and drawing from a broad range of human experience, there is a new synthesis of communism that has been brought forward--there really is a viable vision and strategy for a radically new, and much better, society and world, and there is the crucial leadership that is necessary to carry forward the struggle toward that goal. A visionary, as well as very concrete, plan for how the new synthesis of communism would apply to organizing a whole new society exists in the Constitution for the New Socialist Republic in North America (Draft Proposal) , from the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA. There is, right now, a movement for revolution being built right in the heart of the U.S. empire, with the Revolutionary Communist Party as its leading core--a movement that is fighting the power, and transforming the people, for revolution. The struggle against the oppression of women and for the emancipation of half of humanity is a crucial element of this movement. What is needed is for you, and many others like you, to jump in and become a part of this movement for revolution right now. To stand up to and fight against all forms of enslavement and degradation of women--most especially the intensifying emergency confronting women's right to abortion and the mass brainwashing of society with violent and degrading pornography. To shake off the ways of thinking and relating to each other that this system puts on us, including the message they preach about it being "human nature" that women are dominated and controlled by men. To dig into the theory and spread the leadership of BA and the RCP everywhere. To struggle for the understanding that this is not a fight only for women, but for everyone who is serious about fundamental change. And to do all this as part of building the movement to overthrow all exploitation and oppression and liberate all of humanity. On this International Women's Day, March 8, 2014--stand up and join with protests and other actions around the U.S. and across the world. Break the Chains! Unleash the Fury of Women as a Mighty Force for Revolution! You cannot break all the chains, except one. You cannot say you want to be free of exploitation and oppression, except you want to keep the oppression of women by men. You can't say you want to liberate humanity yet keep one half of the people enslaved to the other half. The oppression of women is completely bound up with the division of society into masters and slaves, exploiters and exploited, and the ending of all such conditions is impossible without the complete liberation of women. All this is why women have a tremendous role to play not only in making revolution but in making sure there is all-the-way revolution. The fury of women can and must be fully unleashed as a mighty force for proletarian revolution. Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party, USA BAsics 3:22 If you like this article, subscribe, donate to and sustain Revolution newspaper.

The fabric of women's oppression is carved deeply into the calloused hands of women in the sweatshops of China and Honduras.

It remains unclear whether the BBC intends to waste licence fee payers' money writing about every Change.org petition that gets 10,000 signatures, or whether they reserve that privilege of publicly funded publicity for things with the word "racist" in the headline. Either way, they've gone off the deep end again today, publishing 600 words pondering a manga cartoon that has apparently "offended" a proportionately very small number of " Japan's netizens ". Are you keeping up with this so far? Because you're paying for it. Here's the story, in brief: Some magna artist in Japan drew a cartoon of a Syrian migrant child. The text behind the toon implied that she was a freeloader. Some Japanese internet users called it racist. Then the BBC went mental. But the cartoon is obviously not "racist". I mean, its not even close. Let's look at the Oxford English Dictionary definition of "racism": "Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior" So why does the BBC's Michael Wendling feel the need to pump up the issue, and ask the question on the BBC Trending website? I'll try not to be Captain Obvious . Here's what the text of the cartoon says: "I want to live a safe and clean life, have a gourmet meal, go out freely, wear pretty things and luxuriate. I want to live my life the way I want without a care in the world -- all at the expense of someone else. "I have an idea. Why don't I become a refugee?" At worst... at the very worst... this is insensitive. At its best, it is actually pretty accurate of what some of the migrants have themselves said or implied they're trying to do, with a little artistic licence, because, let's face it... it's art. I mean, swap out "gourmet meal" and "wear pretty things" for " beer " and " wifi " and you've got the truth behind some of the migrants' behaviour and demands. Some of them have even done some research into the types of prisons they might end up in. And at someone else's expense? Is that untrue? With natives being evicted from their life-long homes, and Germany now declaring that it may have to raise the retirement age to accommodate migrants? Oh yeah, and the want to scrap the minimum wage , and it'll cost the German tax payer well in advance of half a billion euros to pay for all this. Perhaps the only part of the cartoon that isn't true is the "safe and clean life" part. As we've seen, a lot of the young men (for that is the majority, despite what the BBC might try and tell you ) don't seem that interested in cleanliness and safety. A German local authority has even had to issue guidance for migrants reminding them that Germany is a clean country. Their words, not mine. And safety? Ha . I mean HA ! So yes, they do get the idea to become "refugees" as the cartoon so kindly put it. Syria's Google search history identifies as much. And this guy let the mask slip by claiming that unless he got to go to Germany, he'd just pop back over to war-torn Syria, no problem. In conclusion, I leave you with the words of the artist, Toshiko Hasumi: "It is my understanding that most of the refugees fleeing Syria this time are bogus asylum seekers. Instead of traveling around furtively like before, those illegal migrants are now inundating other countries through the front door... I have no problem with genuine refugees who really are unfortunate. This illustration is supposed to be a dig at those 'bogus refugees' who are exploiting the world's sympathy for those truly in trouble." So is the cartoon racist? No, of course it bloody well isn't.

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There is a coup underway in Venezuela. The pieces are all falling into place like a bad CIA movie. At every turn, a new traitor is revealed, a betrayal is born, full of promises to reveal the smoking gun that will justify the unjustifiable. Infiltrations are rampant, rumours spread like wildfire, and the panic mentality threatens to overcome logic. Headlines scream danger, crisis and imminent demise, while the usual suspects declare covert war on a people whose only crime is being gatekeeper to the largest pot of black gold in the world. A fair portion of the more than 1600 United States State Department documents WikiLeaks had published by mid-December referred to the ongoing US efforts to isolate and counter the left-wing, anti-imperialist Venezuelan government. After Hugo Chavez was elected president in 1998, Washington engaged in numerous efforts to overthrow him. These have included a failed coup d'etat and an oil industry lock-out in 2002, worldwide media campaigns and various electoral interventions. As Venezuela's September 26 National Assembly election time approaches, international media have increased negative coverage of the South American nation. The bombardment of negative, false, distorted and manipulated news about Venezuela in US media has increased in volume and intensity during the last few days. Venezuela is subjected to this every time an election nears. This international media campaign against the left-wing government of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez appears to have a clear and coordinated objective: removing the Chavez from power. Despite US President Barack Obama's promise to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez that his administration wouldn't interfere in Venezuela's internal affairs, the US government-funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is channelling millions to anti-Chavez groups. Foreign intervention is not only executed through military force. The funding of "civil society" groups and media outlets is one of the more widely used mechanisms by the US government to achieve its strategic objectives. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered a maximum alert on Venezuela's border with Colombia after the administration of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe accused the Chavez government of harbouring terrorists and running terrorist training camps on July 22. Uribe's government gave a shameful presentation before member states of the Organisation of American States (OAS) on July 22. It was similar to former US Secretary of State Colin Powell's 2003 "weapons of mass destruction" Power Point evidence to the United Nations Security Council to justify the war in Iraq.

There is a coup underway in Venezuela. The pieces are all falling into place like a bad CIA movie. At every turn, a new traitor is revealed, a betrayal is born, full of promises to reveal the smoking gun that will justify the unjustifiable.

On any given night, David Goren can tune into more than 30 underground radio stations from his apartment in Flatbush, Brooklyn. "About a dozen of them broadcast in Creole, to the Haitian community," Goren, a local journalist and producer who researches the city's pirate stations, told The Outline . "A lot of the stations will air news from home." In addition to news and politics updates, Goren said, these stations feature Caribbean music that doesn't get airtime on mainstream stations, advertisements for local businesses, and occasional call-in sessions with immigration attorneys. For some immigrant communities across the country, these underground radio stations are an easy way of staying connected to one's roots. In New York City, there may be more unlicensed broadcasters than licensed ones . Some of these clandestine broadcasters are small enterprises, while others are full-fledged stations that run advertisements and generate revenue. All of them run the risk of being fined -- or in some states, including New York, New Jersey, and Florida, having their operators imprisoned -- if they're caught by the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC has been chasing down unlicensed pirate stations for decades -- in 1987, The New York Times reported on a raid of a pirate station that was operating from a boat off the coast of Long Island. But with the recent appointment of Ajit Pai, President Donald Trump's pick for FCC chairman, the federal government seems to be taking a new zero-tolerance approach to pirate stations, one that may drive these broadcasters off the air for good. In late March, federal authorities raided the headquarters of two Boston-based pirate radio stations and seized their equipment. And last fall, the popular Miami-based pirate station Touche Douce was hit with a proposed $144,344 fine , the maximum allowed under FCC regulations at the time. A map of enforcement actions on the FCC's website illustrates the crackdown. The FCC has undertaken 306 pirate investigations since Pai took office in January 2017. The majority of these actions -- 210, according to a press release issued by the agency on Wednesday -- were Notices of Unauthorized Operations, warnings from the FCC telling the unlicensed stations to immediately shut down or risk fines and prison time. The release also notes that the FCC "took more than twice as many actions against pirate broadcasters" in 2017 than it did the previous year. (For the first time since its inception, the agency said, it has begun holding property owners liable for "supporting this illegal activity on their property.") Five of the 224 actions issued since January 2017 were Notices of Apparent Liability, a "preliminary decision" to fine stations that have "willfully or repeatedly" ignored FCC warnings, the map shows. This is the kind of notice Touche Douce received last September. Last month, New Jersey Rep. Leonard Lance and New York Rep. Paul Toko introduced the Preventing Illegal Radio Abuse Through Enforcement (PIRATE) Act, which would increase the maximum fine for operating an illegal radio station from $19,639 per day to $100,000. Under current laws, the FCC can fine licensed stations up to $147,290; the PIRATE Act would increase the cap to $2 million. In addition to raising fines, the legislation would require the FCC to conduct at least two annual raids in the cities with the highest concentration of pirate broadcasters -- often immigrant communities of color -- and to seize any illegal radio equipment from underground stations. According to Lance, pirate radio operators don't only compete with licensed operators for airspace, but also pose "significant harm to public safety and public health," because their signals can interfere with emergency broadcasts. "By disrupting and interfering with licensed broadcasters, these 'pirate radios' can cause radio listeners to miss important updates during times of emergency by blocking the Emergency Alert System," Lance said during a March 22 hearing regarding the PIRATE Act. Lobbying groups including the National Association of Broadcasters, the Massachusetts Broadcasters Association , and the New York State Broadcasters Association have spoken out in favor of the PIRATE Act. David Donovan, president of the New York group, called private stations a "vexing problem" and suggested that some "may be part of a larger criminal activity" in a statement endorsing the legislation. Donovan claimed that, unlike legal radio stations that "are licensed by the FCC to serve the public interest," pirate stations "do not serve their communities" and instead "often prey on the most vulnerable communities." What these stations are doing is serving their communities in ways that they don't get from licensed stations. -- David Goren, a local journalist and producer who researches the NYC-based pirate stations Inside Radio reported last year that broadcasting associations across the country have found an ally in Pai. "What I see is a determination by the Commission to go after this issue," the president of the New York broadcasting association told the website. In a statement announcing Touche Douce's fine notice, Pai issued a statement making it clear that he would be ramping up enforcement against pirate stations: One week ago was International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which is probably the only holiday that can trace its origin to a racquetball game. When the two co-founders were playing, one of them suffered an injury and screamed out 'Aaarrr!' By contrast, there's nothing funny about pirate radio, which interferes with the lawful use of the airwaves and can disrupt public safety communications. Since becoming Chairman, I've made it quite clear that the FCC won't tolerate the unauthorized and illegal use of the radio spectrum. Towards that end, I've made it a Commission priority to crack down on pirate radio operations. Pirate radio's defenders say the unlicensed broadcasters serve communities that are often ignored by mainstream stations, both in the U.S. and abroad. In the UK, pirate radio played a pivotal role in the rise of grime , enabling upstart MCS and beatmakers without access to a traditional label or PR team to connect with audiences and get the word out about new records. Over in Miami --which, according to the FCC map , has the highest concentration of pirate radio stations after New York -- the format has been similarly instrumental for certain local hip-hop artists. Shortly after moving to Miami, DJ Khaled tried to get radio stations to play his songs; the only one that agreed was Mixx 96 , a Caribbean pirate station on Biscayne Boulevard. "What these stations are doing is serving their communities in ways that they don't get from licensed stations," Goren said. "You can hear soca music, dancehall, reggae, konpa, Caribbean gospel." He notes, however, that the pirate stations can interfere with broadcasts from licensed ones. In Miami, fans of Touche Douce are wondering what they'll do if popular pirate stations get taken off the air. "We need it," Touche Douce listener Wilky Saint-Hilaire told the Miami Herald after the station was fined last October. "This was probably the only station that played our music genre, konpa , exclusively on a daily basis." The Herald reported that other pirate stations in the region are currently under investigation. After the FCC fined Touche Douce, some Haitian pirate radio fans wondered if the Haitian community would purchase its own FM station, the Herald reported. But FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat who supports the fine on Touche Douce but is sympathetic to underground operators, wrote that underserved communities of color often turn to pirate radio because of the high costs associated with being licensed. "If those unlicensed operators were ever afforded the opportunity to transition to a licensed station, would they take it?" Clyburn wrote. "Unfortunately, in most large media markets, that opportunity may never exist, both because of the lack of an available license and high financial hurdles." FCC spokesperson Will Wiquist told The Outline that a few options exist for pirate stations that want to comply with the law. "The FCC has licensed low power radio stations in markets where licensing can be done without causing interference," he said in an email. "Also, obviously there are online resources like streamed radio services and podcasts." According to Goren, it's possible that some pirate stations may choose to go completely digital to evade the FCC crackdown -- and that some of those that do get forced off the air will just resurface again later. He said he was in touch with the operator of one Spanish-language station in Brooklyn, which streams both digitally and over the radio, who was concerned about getting caught by the FCC. (Goren didn't suggest that this operator was worried about getting caught because of the increased enforcement, but rather that fines and prison time are always a risk for pirate broadcasters in New York.) The Outline reached out to Radio Unidad and Radio Independans , two pirate stations that were recently issued notices by the FCC. Radio Unidad, a Spanish-language Christian station, is located in Connecticut; Radio Independans is based in Brooklyn. Both stations' phone numbers appear to have been disconnected. For these pirate stations and others across the country, it's unclear what the future holds. Update: This piece was updated to reflect official statistics on FCC enforcement of pirate radio stations released on Wednesday, April 11. Get The Outline in your inbox Nice email address!

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In Israel, a country stolen from the Palestinians, fanatics control the government. One of the fanatics is the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. Last week Netanyahu called for "crippling sanctions" against Iran. The kind of blockade that Netanyahu wants qualifies as an act of war. Israel has long threatened to attack Iran on its own but prefers to draw in the US and NATO. Why does Israel want to initiate a war between the United States and Iran? Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Is Iran attacking other countries, bombing civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure? No. These are crimes committed by Israel and the US. Is Iran evicting peoples from lands they have occupied for centuries and herding them into ghettoes? No, that's what Israel has been doing to the Palestinians for 60 years. What is Iran doing? Iran is developing nuclear energy, which is its right as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran's nuclear energy program is subject to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which consistently reports that its inspections find no diversion of enriched uranium to a weapons program. The position taken by Israel, and by Israel's puppet in Washington, is that Iran must not be allowed to have the rights as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty that every other signatory has, because Iran might divert enriched uranium to a weapons program. In other words, Israel and the US claim the right to abrogate Iran's right to develop nuclear energy. The Israeli/US position has no basis in international law or in anything other than the arrogance of Israel and the United States. The hypocrisy is extreme. Israel is not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and developed its nuclear weapons illegally on the sly, with, as far as we know, US help. As Israel is an illegal possessor of nuclear weapons and has a fanatical government that is capable of using them, crippling sanctions should be applied to Israel to force it to disarm. Israel qualifies for crippling sanctions for another reason. It is an apartheid state, as former US President Jimmy Carter demonstrated in his book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. The US led the imposition of sanctions against South Africa because of South Africa's apartheid practices. The sanctions forced the white government to hand over political power to the black population. Israel practices a worse form of apartheid than did the white South African government. Yet, Israel maintains that it is "anti-semitic" to criticize Israel for a practice that the world regards as abhorrent. What remains of the Palestinian West Bank that has not been stolen by Israel consists of isolated ghettoes. Palestinians are cut off from hospitals, schools, their farms, and from one another. They cannot travel from one ghetto to another without Israeli permission enforced at checkpoints. The Israeli government's explanation for its gross violation of human rights comprises the greatest collection of lies in world history. No one, with the exception of American "christian zionists," believes one word of it. The United States also qualifies for crippling sanctions. Indeed, the US is over-qualified. On the basis of lies and intentional deception of the US Congress, the US public, the UN and NATO, the US government invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and used the "war on terror" that Washington orchestrated to overturn US civil liberties enshrined in the US Constitution. One million Iraqis have paid with their lives for America's crimes and four million are displaced. Iraq and its infrastructure are in ruins, and Iraq's professional elites, necessary to a modern organized society, are dead or dispersed. The US government has committed a war crime on a grand scale. If Iran qualifies for sanctions, the US qualifies a thousand times over. No one knows how many women, children, and village elders have been murdered by the US in Afghanistan. However, the American war of aggression against the Afghan people is now in its ninth year. According to the US military, an American victory is still a long ways away. Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, declared in August that the military situation in Afghanistan is "serious and deteriorating." Older Americans can look forward to the continuation of this war for the rest of their lives, while their Social Security and Medicare rights are reduced in order to free up funds for the US armaments industry. Bush/Cheney and Obama/Biden have made munitions the only safe stock investment in the United States. What is the purpose of the war of aggression against Afghanistan? Soon after his inauguration, President Obama promised to provide an answer but did not. Instead, Obama quickly escalated the war in Afghanistan and launched a new one in Pakistan that has already displaced 2 million Pakistanis. Obama has sent 21,000 more US troops into Afghanistan and already the US commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, is requesting 20,000 more. Obama is escalating America's war of aggression against the Afghanistan people despite three high profile opinion polls that show that the American public is firmly opposed to the continuation of the war against Afghanistan. Sadly, the ironclad agreement between Israel and Washington to war against Muslim peoples is far stronger than the connection between the American public and the American government. At a farewell dinner party last Thursday for Israel's military attache in Washington, who is returning to Israel to become deputy chief of staff of the Israeli military, Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Undersecretary of Defense Michele Flournoy, and and Dan Shapiro, who is in charge of Middle East affairs on the National Security Council, were present to pay their respects. Admiral Mullen declared that the US will always stand with Israel. No matter how many war crimes Israel commits. No matter how many women and children Israel murders. No many how many Palestinians Israel drives from their homes, villages, and lands. If truth could be told, the true axis-of-evil is the United States and Israel. Millions of Americans are now homeless because of foreclosures. Millions more have lost their jobs, and even more millions have no access to health care. Yet, the US government continues to squander hundreds of billions of dollars on wars that serve no US purpose. President Obama and General McChrystal have taken the position that they know best, the American public be damned. It could not be made any clearer that the President of the United States and the US military have no regard whatsoever for democracy, human rights, and international law. This is yet another reason to apply crippling sanctions against Washington, a government that has emerged under Bush/Obama as a brownshirt state that deals in lies, torture, murder, war crimes, and deception. Many governments are complicit in America's war crimes. With Obama's budget deep in the red, Washington's wars of naked aggression are dependent on financing by the Chinese, Japanese, Russians, Saudis, South Koreans, Indians, Canadians and Europeans. The second this foreign financing of American war crimes stops, America's wars of aggression against Muslims stop. The US is not a forever "superpower" that can indefinitely ignore its own laws and international law. The US will eventually fall as a result of its hubris, arrogance, and imperial overreach. When the American Empire collapses, will its enablers also be held accountable in the war crimes court?

In Israel, a country stolen from the Palestinians, fanatics control the government. One of the fanatics is the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

You are not signed in as a Premium user; we rely on Premium users to support our news reporting. Sign in or Sign up today! DUBLIN ( ChurchMilitant.com ) - An Irish senator is playing "victim" after being blasted for her tweet criticizing an elderly priest's Easter homily on abortion. After Easter Sunday Mass, pro-abortion Fine Gael Senator Catherine Noone ignited a fire on Twitter after she tweeted , "Easter mass [sic] in Knock Basilica this afternoon with my parents -- an octogenarian priest took at least three opportunities to preach to us about abortion -- it's no wonder people feel disillusioned with the Catholic Church." After immediate backlash Noone deleted her tweet. Cora Sherlock, a spokesperson for Pro-Life Campaign , wrote, "Senator Noone claims she deleted her offensive tweet not because she didn't stand over it but because she did not need the negativity that came in response to it." Screenshot of deleted Tweet Noone defended her tweet, telling the Irish Independent , "When I do go to Mass, I don't expect to be confronted with the issue. Maybe that's naivety on my part." Father Richard Gibbons, the rector of Knock Shrine, told the media , "I haven't been talking to the priest, and I doubt he knows anything about this Twitter storm." The Knock Shrine is the site of the Apparition of Our Lady of Knock, where 15 people witnessed a vision of the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph and St. John the Evangelist in 1879. It is a site of pilgrimage for millions and considered to be one of the most prominent Marian Shrines in the world. The Knock Shrine has five churches on its grounds and Fr. Gibbons said, "We have a lot of chaplains working at the shrine and quite a number of them are retired." He added, "They don't go out to give offense to anybody. They would just state the Catholic position on life which is important to all of us." He said these priests are "very measured, intelligent men" and explained that the right to life issue is commonly brought up in Catholic churches. Noone claimed she "should have known better" to have sent the tweet after negative reactions to her tweets are a daily issue for her. "Certain people are trying to take anything I say and construe it in a certain way," she said. Noone chaired the committee to review the repeal Ireland's Eighth Amendment prohibiting abortion. In 2013, Ireland legalized abortion in cases where the mother's life was in danger but repealing the Eighth would allow for abortion on demand up to 12 weeks. Critics claim the committee was biased with six pro-abortion experts called to testify for every one pro-life expert. Others cite that the committee was only used to justify the referendum, noting the proceedings ended only three weeks after they began, without many of the experts' testimony being heard. Sherlock called it "a grubby exercise not worthy to lay claim to the title 'deliberative democracy.'" A poll from March is showing that support for repealing Ireland's constitutional protections for the unborn is dropping. Niamh Ui Bhriain, a member of the Save the Eighth Campaign, said of the poll, "One trend is clear both in polling and from our experience talking to real voters -- the more the public finds out about this abortion proposal, the less they like it. That is reflected in today's poll which is welcome news." Ui Bhriain explained there is much more work to be done to educate voters on the referendum. Noting it is a "carbon copy of the U.K. model," she warned, "Ireland is being asked to copy England's mistake." The vote to legalize abortion in Ireland is set for May 25. Church Militant contacted Senator Noone for comment but did not receive a response by press time. --- Campaign 31544 ---

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Last weekend, I was proud to stand up in Dubuque and endorse Martin O'Malley for President of the United States. So much of what O'Malley stands for has struck a chord with me -- his progressive values, his commitment to equality, fairness, and opportunity. But more than that -- Martin O'Malley has an impressive record to back it up. This endorsement came down to three key issues for me. And on every one, I believe Iowa needs new leadership, from Martin O'Malley, to rebuild the American Dream. Immigration In 2009, I spent some time in Postville after what was, at [...] Posted in Democrats , Iowa Caucus Tagged , Martin O'Malley Leave a comment The Santa Maria Winery in Carroll, Iowa is a lovely place. Great food, good atmosphere, an elegant events center. (I'm not much of a wine drinker, so I can't attest to their signature product.) If you live in the area, I imagine you have attended all kinds of events at the Winery; weddings, wine tastings, anniversary parties, book clubs, and meetings with amateur film makers about their latest cold war documentaries. Now, it is possible you may be saying to yourself, "meetings with filmmakers?" If so, you clearly forgot famous film producer Newton Leroy Gingrich (N.L.G. to his friends). Gingrich [...] Posted in Democrats , Iowa Caucus Tagged , Jim Webb 1 Comment Every Iowa Caucus season brings in the big names running for president, but it also attracts a lot of issue-based groups who organize for the caucus as well. One of the most visibly active this cycle has been NextGen Climate, which is ramping up in Iowa this summer. You've probably seen their signature orange shirts and signs at community events across the state and surrounding candidate visits, where the activists are calling on presidential hopefuls to address climate change. Starting Line often spots their volunteers and staff out at events more often than any other organization. With at least one [...] Posted in Iowa Caucus Leave a comment Presidential candidate Marco Rubio should be pleased with his recent visit to Des Moines. Young professionals packed the house at the Exile Brewing Company to hear him speak July 7. Later that day, nearly 200 people turned out to State Representative Chris Hagenow's 2015 Summer Cookout in Windsor Heights, where Rubio made a guest appearance. Yesterday morning, a record number of people attended the Westside Conservative Club's breakfast at the Machine Shed to see the senator. The venue filled up quickly and turned away 40 people by 6:50 a.m, said Iowa State Senator Jack Whitver, who is the chair for [...] Posted in Iowa Caucus , Republicans Tagged , Marco Rubio Leave a comment A few months ago, Democrats eagerly waited for Hillary Clinton to announce her campaign for president of the United States. Clinton has an impressive resume and name recognition, and many pegged her as a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination. Any suggestion that a 73-year-old independent senator from Vermont could seriously challenge Clinton may have elicited laughter from some. Fast forward to July to see presidential candidate Bernie Sanders catching up to Clinton in the polls and drawing a lot less scorn. In New Hampshire, Clinton had a 21 percentage point lead on Sanders two months ago, but he has since [...] Posted in Democrats , Iowa Caucus Tagged , Bernie Sanders Leave a comment Since taking over the reigns of the Republican Party of Iowa in 2014, Jeff Kaufmann has impressed Republican insiders and frustrated Democrats' electoral efforts. He took over a state party driven to near-bankruptcy and dysfunction by Ron Paul supporters and willed it back to life, contributing to the party's overwhelming success in the 2014 elections. And in the span of just a few hours yesterday, he did national Republicans two major solids, both on race issues, by securing a major high-profile opportunity for Republicans to discuss issues important to minority communities and by killing a potentially disastrous Confederate flag controversy [...] Posted in Iowa Caucus , Republicans 1 Comment If you are plugged into caucus coverage, there is no bigger story right now than Bernie Sanders. His come-from-nowhere campaign is the only novel thing happening on the Democratic side of the ledger, and Bernie may well be the solitary viable non-Hillary candidate. He is drawing huge crowds of young people in liberal enclaves across the country. So, since the Senator from the great maple-flavored state of Vermont recently finished an Iowa swing, I think it is a good time to talk about his campaign. I attended his event in Sheldon on Friday. But before I begin, I feel like [...] Posted in Democrats , Iowa Caucus Tagged , Bernie Sanders 1 Comment Chris Christie officially kicked-off his campaign today, branding himself as the "Telling It Like It Is" candidate. A Governor who's built a following based on his charisma and combative personality, Christie becomes the 14th official Republican candidate in the race. He hopes his tough-talking persona will win over Republicans wanting someone with a little more toughness in the Oval Office, but it may be rubbing some the wrong way as his star has significantly fallen in recent years. There's also plenty of signs that competing in the Iowa Caucus won't be high on his list of priorities. He's skipped nearly [...] Posted in Iowa Caucus , Republicans 11 Comments It was a tough week for conservatives in America. They saw the Supreme Court give decisive victories on issues they've fought against with the gay marriage and Obamacare rulings. And while no major Republican leaders came to the defense of the Confederate flag, plenty of conservatives in the South will see the quick abandonment of it as an attack on their heritage. So to say that many rank-and-file conservative voters are in a state of shock after last week would be an understatement. Just a few presidential cycles ago, Republicans were using anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives to help defeat Democrats. [...] Posted in "Best Of" Posts , Iowa Caucus , Republicans 2 Comments

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Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren appeared on "The Daily Show" to discuss her incendiary views on Black Lives Matter and Colin Kaepernick. For many Jon Stewart fans, Trevor Noah hasn't quite lived up to the high expectations that are associated with "The Daily Show." However on Wednesday, the South African comedian might have finally had his "Jon Stewart moment" with the appearance of conservative blowhard Tomi Lahren for an extended 25-minute interview. The Ann Coulter wannabe is an anchor for Glen Beck's multimedia platform, The Blaze. She made a name for herself for criticizing President Barack Obama following the Chattanooga, Tenn., terrorist attack that killed five U.S. servicemen. She caused another media firestorm when she slammed Beyonce for her politically-charged performance at Super Bowl 50. Recently, Lahren's incendiary rants about Black Lives Matter and her condemnation of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick -- who has protested social injustice buy refusing to stand during the national anthem before NFL games -- have garnered biting rebukes. Lahren obviously knew that she was walking into a liberal "lion's den," but it's doubtful that she was prepared for what Noah had in mind. "Why are you so angry?" Noah asked the Dallas-based host. Lahren's response was as tone-deaf as her usual vitriol as she insisted that she wasn't angry, which was glaringly contrary to clips of her viral " Final Thoughts " rants. In one clip, she calls anti-Trump protesters "crybabies with nothing better to do than meander around the streets with their participation trophies and false sense of purpose." Later in the interview, Noah pointed out that, "For somebody who is not racist, you have to spend a lot of time saying 'I am not racist.'" The conservative commentator said that she criticizes Black Lives Matter because of the "rioting" and "looting" that occurs at some of the protests, insisting that the entire movement ascribes to an aggressive anti-police narrative. Noah responded by saying, "You're the same person who argued on your show that just because Donald Trump has supporters from the KKK doesn't mean he's in the KKK." He argued that Lahren was guilty of a double standard because, by her own logic, all police would be considered racist because some officers discriminate against black people. Typically, she evaded the question and instead resorted to pulling out a dubious statistic that black men are "18.5 times more likely to shoot a police officer than a police officer is to shoot a black man." "Those are the statistics no one wants to talk about," Lahren said while arguing that she's not racist because she "doesn't see color." Noah's answer was quick and biting as he quipped, "So what do you do at a traffic light?" Turning to Lahren's criticism of Kaepernick, Noah asked her about how black people in America should meaningfully assert their First Amendment rights if, in her opinion, peaceful protests and marches are inappropriate. "Here's a black man in America who says, 'I don't know how to get a message across. If I march in the streets, people say I'm a thug. If I go out and I protest people say it's a riot.' What's the right way for a black person to get attention in America?" Noah asked. Lahren didn't have a cogent answer to the question. For the past year, Noah has found it difficult to capture the aura left by Stewart. Interviews have not been Noah's forte. He's been quick to soften the mood with light jokes if things get heated. Noah turned the corner with his interview with Lahren. He was clear and incisive in his responses. He pressed her about her controversial and incendiary views, yet at the same time looked to find common ground wherever he could. Often when Stewart manned the desk, we wished that mainstream news outlets would conduct their interviews with the same adversarial spirit as he did. Noah's interview with Lahren recalled that sentiment. After a little more than a year since taking over "The Daily Show," Noah may have finally found his voice; unfortunately for Lahren, it came at her expense. Read More

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Header by Rory Midhani It's time for another voting guide, snowflakes, because the election is so close! So close! A woman is gonna be president so soon! Get the fuck into it! And while you're at it, vote for these queer and trans women. They're lower down on the ballot, like a little bit below these Congressional candidates you should also vote for , but way up there in my heart. ( You might recognize some of them from here .) JoCasta Zamarripa (Wisconsin House) I have so much love for JoCasta, who came out as bisexual in 2012 while serving in the Wisconsin state legislature. While there, she's waged wars for LGBT rights and proudly centered her working-class roots. She won one term in the closet and one out. Help her win another one, please. Kate Brown (Oregon Governor) Kate Brown, amazing and badass Governor of Oregon, cannot be ousted. She's the first LGBT governor, second woman to ever serve in her position, and one of six women nationwide to hold her title. She's a fighter for equality, the environment, and gun reform -- and would not rest when women's health and rights were at stake in her state. Also, I love her glasses. Kelly Cassidy (Illinois House) via A Wider House Kelly Cassidy spent two decades working as an organizer and legislative director, in which she developed domestic violence programs, tackled hate crimes and human trafficking, and fought back against laws that limited justice in cases of violence against women. She's running for re-election after having spent five years now fighting for LGBT rights in the Illinois House --including not only of marriage equality but of the rights and safety of LGBT youth and trans policies statewide. Kim Coco Iwamoto (Hawaii Senate) FYI FIlms Kim Coco Iwamoto has already made history. In 2006, she became the first openly trans candidate ever elected to statewide office when she clinched a spot on Hawaii's Board of Education -- a spot she won once more in 2010. Now, she wants to make the same kind of history by becoming the first open trans candidate to win a legislative race, and she plans to wield her power for endless good -- continuing her fights for equality as well as pushing for support for the homeless and policies that make healthcare more accessible and protect natural resources. Leslie Herod (Colorado House) Leslie Herod, inspired by her mother's time in the Army Nurse Corps, has dedicated her life to public service. She tackled LGBT inclusivity at her college. She spent years in the Colorado State Capitol addressing poverty and mental health. When dabbling in philanthropy, she married issues of LGBT rights and racial justice. She's currently serving in several organizational bodies that focus on issues of gender, race, homelessness, and youth engagement. Don't let her get away. She's gonna stay golden and we're gonna be better for it. Mary Gonzalez (Texas House) New Statesman Mary Gonzalez, a life-long activist from Clint, Texas, comes from a mixed professional background: She's worked in politics, academia, and the non-profit sector. But throughout all of it, she has centered her communities -- queer folks, Latinas, and women. You may have seen her at any number of high-profile totally gay / feminist conferences, but if you haven't yet, go ahead and take a minute to fall in love with her now and maybe give her all of your money. Park Cannon (Georgia House) Park Cannon! At this point, Park Cannon feels like an old friend. At 24, she became the youngest person ever elected in Georgia and the third openly gay member of the state House. She's still there fighting the good fight, and I stand by my previous claim that she's the one we've been waiting for. The bonus? No more waiting! Just go out there and vote your heart out and she'll be ready and willing to serve like the badass queer, feminist woman of color with a grassroots background you've loved for so long. Sabrina Cervantes (California Assembly) Sabrina Cervantes has used her time in the California Assembly to push for college affordability, accessible government services, environmental conservation, and improved civic engagement. When she's not busy getting shit done in the Golden State's legislative body, she can be spotted making change with a number of feminist and queer non-profits. If someone had told me about her before I picked up and moved and changed my life forever, maybe I would have moved to the Inland Empire and become her best friend. (JK, but I'd still like to be her best friend.) Susan Eggman (California Assembly) Sacramento Bee Susan Eggman became the first Latina and first openly gay person ever elected to the Stockton City Council in 2012, where she brought to the table some military experience and other experience working in the mental health and social work sectors. Now, she's a public servant focused on issues of LGBT equality and consumer protection. She's also raising her niece with her partner of over 30 years in Stockton Victory Park as we live and breathe, which is just to idyllic not to savor. Toni Atkins (California Senate) Times of San Diego Toni Atkins, or as I now would like to demand we call her, Lucky 69, is currently the 69th Speaker of the California Assembly representing San Diego, a city which holds a special place in my heart and I'd like to tell her more about. She was previously on the City Council and served as Acting Mayor -- and now, she's a champion for women, LGBTQ folks, and the homeless in the state Senate. Her accomplishments include improving state non-discrimination laws, expanding STD and HIV care access, and authoring legislation helping make legal name changes easier for trans folks. Rebel Girls is a column about women's studies, the feminist movement, and the historical intersections of both of them. It's kind of like taking a class, but better - because you don't have to wear pants. To contact your professor privately, email carmen at autostraddle dot com. Ask questions about the lesson in the comments!

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"One year, my twin sons drew pictures and wrote poems. Granted, I did have blue streaks in my hair, but, for the record, I did not have orange skin. I also have never played tennis or any other sport. It doesn't matter! These are still my favorite gifts." -- Brittany, 28, mom of two, Pennsylvania. Check out these unique and easy DIY Mother's Day gift ideas . Host a photoshoot Courtesy, Hayley Miller "One of the best Mother's Day gifts my daughter Hayley gave me was a photo shoot with her, my other daughter, and my granddaughter. A professional photographer took our photos in a beautiful park. We laughed a lot during the shoot. I loved that we captured such a special time in our lives. I still have the photos in my house." -- Judy, 60, mom of two, grandmother of two, Connecticut

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I have not seen very much on Twitter or in the news about the mass murders that happen across the border in Mexico. We hear about it in general but rarely are specific instances talked about, yet America's lax gun laws and drug policy make these mass murders happen so I care about them more since they are something we can stop. People care about the Colorado shooting because it is something they can relate to. They can relate to being a middle class white 20 something going to the midnight release of a children's comic book movie, so the shootings have more emotional weight. I don't think many of us can relate to the victims of the mass murders in Mexico or the thousands of murders that happen in America's cities as much. Yet, it is things like what happens in Colorado that drive the conversation and any public policy discussions even though these instances represent a very small percentage of the horrors that these tragedies bring. My tweet was in context of the politics / public policy discussion and was meant to illustrate those points and to do so in 140 characters. So, yes, I care about what happened in Colorado. I just ask that everyone also care about tragedies that happen to people that don't look like you do and to think about the day to day horrors that many people live through. Don't focus on the individual tragedies when we can do so much to make this world a better place if we were all to just think about those that didn't look and act like us. Thinking that I don't care about the victims misunderstands what I was trying to say just as much as my accusing everyone here of not caring about any number of tragedies that happen every day because they don't talk or acknowledge them. I hope you understand that and appreciate the time I've put into typing this out. I would hate if this was just about you sharing something I said on Twitter to just try to make me look bad!

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Accusations of cocaine use have been flung far and wide at Donald Trump since his campaign. The late night Twitter rampages. The nonstop sniffing during the debates. Governor Howard Dean, a medical doctor, said he thought Trump was high. The late great Carrie Fisher said she was sure Trump was high, based on her own... Read More Donald Trump has spent the past two days tweeting toxic garbage in the direction of the co-hosts of the cable news program Morning Joe, either because he's trying to distract from the burgeoning Trump-Russia collusion story, or because he enjoys being a piece of crap, or both. As Rachel Maddow suggested last night, we shouldn't... Read More

Accusations of cocaine use have been flung far and wide at Donald Trump since his campaign. The late night Twitter rampages. The nonstop sniffing during the debates. Governor Howard Dean, a medical doctor, said he thought Trump was high.

Monday January 11 is the 8th anniversary of the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo. The emblematic symbol of the Bush regime's "war on terror," in which men were openly tortured, kept in isolation, force-fed, and for years deprived of any legal respresentation or contact with the outside world, is still open. It's being called "Obama's prison" now. On January 22, 2009, the new president announced that he would close Guantanamo in a year because it's existence was a public relations nightmare for U.S. foreign policy makers. As of this week, there's no closing date, but a vague indication it could be closed in 2011. I learned when reading the new book The Guantanamo Lawyers; Inside a Prison Outside the Law, edited by Mark Denbeaux and Jonathan Hafetz, that the Bush regime opened it on the grounds of a former prison where Haitians and others fleeing poverty were kept in the 80's and 90's. The first detainees were kept in open cages, with almost no shelter from the elements. Building new structures allowed the jailers to keep some men in complete isolation. Book TV is showing a talk by the authors twice on Sunday January 10. Andy Worthington, in Guantanamo: The Definitive Prisoner List (Updated for 2010) , called it a prison in which the overwhelming majority of those held -- at least 93 percent of the 779 men and boys imprisoned in total -- were either completely innocent people, seized as a result of dubious intelligence or sold for bounty payments, or Taliban foot soldiers, recruited to fight an inter-Muslim civil war that began long before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and that had nothing to do with al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden or international terrorism. Andy wrote this week about Attorney General Holder's announcement that Obaidullah, an Afghan held in Guantanamo, will be tried by the Obama-style military commission for "war crimes" in Tortured Afghan Man Faces Trial by Military Commission. Andy spoke with World Can't Wait activists in early 2009, stating his hope, and some confidence, that the Obama administration would establish a process to release the innocent. But he ends the current column on this note With the news that Obaidullah is to be charged again, when he is not actually accused of harming a single American, and when he may, in fact, have been tortured, through sleep deprivation and " Palestinian hanging ," to produce false confessions against himself and at least one other prisoner, leads me not only to repeat the question, but to actively call for the open mockery of Attorney General Eric Holder and the lawyers and bureaucrats in the Justice Department and the Pentagon who thought that reviving the charges against him was a good idea. The administration is fighting in federal court on many fronts to continue the Bush detention policies, and just won a victory. According to Stephen Webster, the decision in al-Bihani v Obama "upholds the Bush administration's broad claims of executive power to detain non-citizens. See D.C. Court of Appeals: Obama's Detention Powers not Limited by Laws. But we are not just complaining on this anniversary. There's a Call to Action to Shut Down Guantanamo . I'll be joining Witness Against Torture in protests outside the White House Monday. We will march to the National Press Club, where some of the lawyers defending detainees in Guantanamo will speak about their clients, organized by the Center for Constitutional Rights. That evening, we'll have a public meeting at Georgetown Law School. I hope you'll join in. On a last note, the Obama administration has proposed the idea of relocating the detainees to an unused super-max federal prison in Thompson Illinois. World Can't Wait is completely opposed to the indefinite detention of anyone without legal rights, no matter what the location. Prisoners are held in super-max American prisons already in complete isolation, and I can only imagine that the Guantanamo prisoners could disappear in plain sight along the Mississippi. Margaret Kimberly, editor at the Black Agenda Report, went on a righteous rant, ending her piece called Guantanamo, Illinois with In less than one year in office, Barack Obama has firmly established the continuation of Bush regime domestic, foreign and economic policy. While Guantanamo is unseen, Illinois is right in the middle of the United States. None of us can now claim absolution from our government sin. Obama and his supporters have made us all accomplices. The ongoing Guantanamo crime now belongs to the Nobel Peace Prize winner and to every American citizen.

Monday January 11 is the 8th anniversary of the U.S. detention center in Guantanamo. The emblematic symbol of the Bush regime's "war on terror," in which men were openly tortured, kept in isolation, force-fed, and for years deprived of any legal respresentation or contact with the outside world, is still open.

Color me not surprised that the only time Laura Bush speaks out about a presidential administration, it's the Trump Administration. The former First Lady spoke out about President Trump's 'zero tolerance' immigration policy, that has resulted in the separation of families at the southern border. In The Washington Post, Laura Bush wrote the following: "I appreciate the need to enforce and protect our international boundaries, but this zero-tolerance policy is cruel. It is immoral. And it breaks my heart." Strong words from a strong woman. And, no doubt, her voice will be fodder to liberals looking to hammer Trump even more for a policy that is a mere continuation of what the Obama Administration enforced. ( RELATED: Democrat Rep Admits - Obama Tried to Keep Child Migrant Problem Quiet ). The Trump Administration was never going to let a criticism from the Bush family go unmet. So Sarah Sanders, the White House's resident attack dog, was sicced on Bush's overwrought claim. And I say overwrought, because, as Sanders brilliantly points out, Laura Bush has absolutely no place to complain about the current practices at the southern border. Here's how Sarah Sanders responded, pulling no punches: Sanders to Laura Bush: "Frankly this law was actually signed into effect in 2008 under her husband's leadership. Not under this administration" pic.twitter.com/PFxfi5eFtU -- Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 18, 2018 "Not under this administration" is right! The media will try to spin it, but Sanders made a great point when you follow the laws to their logical conclusions. As Julie Davis of the New York Times reports , there is no law dictating that families be separated at the border. But there are a number of factors that actually result in families being separated at the border. A legal settlement known as the Flores settlement stipulates that children can only be held at immigration detention centers for up to 20 days. A judge ruled in 2016 that the same standard applies to families. Likewise, the law Sanders cited is actually a statute that stipulates that "at certain unaccompanied alien minors be transferred out of immigration detention in 72 hours." The statute 8 U.S. Code SS 1325 of the federal code outlines the punishment for unlawful entry at the border, which can carry a prison sentence up to two years. And here's where the separation comes in, in Davis's words: "It is the Trump administration's decision this year to prosecute all unlawful immigrants as criminals that has forced the breakup of families; the children are removed when the parents are taken into federal custody." An unfortunate consequence of enforcing the law as it currently stands means that some families are separated. ( RELATED: The Trump Admin's Enforcement Of Family Separation Makes Sense Without An Immigration Fix ). Sanders is right that President George W. Bush helped precipitate this crisis. Perhaps his wife should be more careful with her words and history before speaking out against a policy she, by extension of being the government official closest to the man signing the legislation into law, helped create. It's the executive branch's job to enforce the law. It's up to Congress to change the laws, which it can do, if only it acts. Let's hope Congress acts soon and cleans this mess up, for our country's sake and the children's.

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The cost and size of today's student loans are the subject of dinner table discussions across our nation because without congressional action interest rates on federally subsidized student loans will increase on July 1. As is often the case with bread-and-butter issues such as the cost of college education, the size of education debt and the potential for higher debt payments warrant the increased public attention. The most recent data on outstanding education loans during the Great Recession of 2007-2009 reveal that in both good and bad economic times the cost of a college education only increases, as does the debt burden of borrowers. The number of borrowers and the typical loan amount grew amid the most recent economic and financial crisis. This is especially stunning since the expansion of education debt occurred at the same time that other credit markets, especially mortgages and credit cards, contracted. Households went deeper into education debt during the crisis as other forms of credit became less prevalent. The result is even less economic security today for those who went deeper into debt to pay for their education in those years. The numbers tell the tale. The Federal Reserve conducted a survey of the same group of households in 2007 and 2009 to paint a comprehensive picture of household assets and debt during the financial and economic crisis.[1] This data set contains information on education debt--all private and publicly subsidized installment loans that the household has taken out to pay for education--in addition to other crucial variables, such as the household's age, income, total wealth, total other debt, and race and ethnicity, among others. The underlying household data was released in April 2012 and are thus the most recent data with this level of detailed household information.[2] The financial and economic crisis of those years marked a period of widespread declines in household debt levels. Mortgages and credit cards declined as households repaid their debt and banks foreclosed on bad debt. But the same was not the case for education loans. Education loans typically cannot be discharged in bankruptcy, which may explain why education debt didn't fall like other forms of debt did. But there are other factors at work, too. The summary data illustrate that education loan borrowers became economically less secure during the crisis because they had more debt--education and noneducation--after the crisis than before. There were also generally more households with education loans and the amount owed on education loans went up during the crisis. Education loan borrowers in 2009 were less wealthy after the crisis than in 2007. The inflation-adjusted wealth amount of the median borrower went from $45,280 (in 2009 dollars) in 2007 to $28,160 in 2009.[3] And the share of education loan borrowers with no wealth--defined as either debt equal to total assets or, more likely, no assets and no debt--or negative wealth went from 28.7 percent in 2007 to 35.6 percent in 2009. (see Table 1) The drop in wealth among education loan borrowers resulted in part from more noneducation debt, even though debt in the overall economy went down during this period. The median noneducation debt amount of education loan borrowers increased from $53,851 in 2007 to $62,000 in 2009. (see Table 1) One possibility for this trend is that those who owed education loans were still more likely to have a job or get a job than other households, and thus they were more likely to access the more limited credit markets. Other factors made it harder for households to get out of the deepening economic security hole. Borrowing households, for instance, had less time to recover their wealth losses as the median age of education borrowers went from 35 years old in 2007 to 39 years old in 2009. This could mean that older households borrowed more education loans to pay for additional education to get a leg up in a tougher labor market. Debt payments stayed constant and incomes rose, making it easier to bear the increasing debt burden, at least until interest rates rise again. Education debt accumulates alongside higher educational attainment. And people with greater educational attainment experienced lower unemployment rates and thus more stable incomes during the Great Recession than people with less educational attainment. But the wealth of the well educated still fell substantially due to the massive house and stock price losses and increasing amounts of debt. Education borrowers' total debt payments grew by .5 percent from an annual $12,300 (in 2009 dollars) in 2007 to $12,360 in 2009, while their median income grew by 10 percent from $60,704 in 2007 to $66,746 in 2009. (See Table 1) Debt payments grew at about the same rate as income, even though interest rates fell during the period. Households had additional incomes, but their growing debt levels limit the benefit of those additional resources as rising interest rates could quickly take a bigger bite out of incomes, making it harder for households to recover the economic security lost during the Great Recession. More households owed education loans in 2009 than in 2007. The total share of households with education debt went from 16.2 percent in 2007 to 17.6 percent. The share of households with education loans increased for almost all groups except for Hispanics and households headed by someone without a high school degree. (see Table 3) The median amount owed by borrowers also grew during the Great Recession. The median education debt amount increased by $2,573, from $12,427 in 2007 to $15,000 in 2009.[4] And almost all groups of households saw rising education debt levels, except for households without high school degrees. The largest increase in the median education debt amount--$5,715--occurred among African-American households. Households of other races and households with a high school degree also saw comparatively large increases in education debt. That is, households that disproportionately struggled due to higher unemployment, lower wages, and fewer benefits than their counterparts, such as African Americans, saw faster debt increases than their counterparts. It is possible that struggling groups were more willing to go deeper into debt than their counterparts in an effort to regain some economic security during the difficult labor market during and after the Great Recession. The summary data show that rising education loans put many student loan borrowers, especially vulnerable households, into an economic bind, making it more difficult to climb out of a deepening hole. Allowing interest rates on new student loans to climb without countervailing measures will thus put additional pressures on an increasingly struggling middle class that continues to need to borrow to attend ever more costly colleges and universities. Christian E. Weller is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and an associate professor, Department of Public Policy and Public Affairs, at the University of Massachusetts Boston. [1] The Federal Reserve conducted its regular triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, or SCF, in 2007. The Federal Reserve contacted the sample of households from its 2007 SCF in 2009 for a reinterview to capture the effect of the worst recession since the Great Depression, and almost 90 percent of households participated. The result is a unique, nationally representative panel data set that captures the crisis' impact. [2] The Federal Reserve Bank of New York publishes another data set, which offers data with much less detail on the borrowers, but is available each quarter. See Federal Reserve Bank of New York, "Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit," (2012). [3] All dollar amounts are in 2009 dollars. The median is the data point that splits the number of observations, in this case households, exactly in half. [4] The data in Table 3 showing the distribution of education loans by size also show that education loans above $10,000 grew, while the share of education loans below $10,000 shrank between 2007 and 2009. That is, the rise in the median loan amount was driven by rather widespread growth of education loans in the upper 60 percent of the loan distribution.

The cost and size of today's student loans are the subject of dinner table discussions across our nation because without congressional action interest rates on federally subsidized student loans will increase on July 1. As

Marco Rubio is reasserting his conservative street cred. The Florida Senator is saying he will not support any effort to fund Obamacare, and will not vote for a short-term spending bill to keep the government open unless it cuts funding to the Affordable Care Act. In a new web video released by his office, Rubio urged Americans to unite behind his effort. His office produced after the president visited Jacksonville, FL yesterday to continue pushing his economic agenda. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below "The most pressing economic threat we face now is Obamacare and its implementation," he says. "This September we need the American people to stand with us in demanding not another cent be wasted on implementing Obamacare." "Mr. President, it's not that Washington has taken its eye off the ball; it's that you refuse to see Obamacare's failings," Rubio continues. "Several of my colleagues and I have made it clear that we won't fund Obamacare as part of the short-term spending bill that's going to be considered in Congress in September." The once Tea Party favorite has suffered in the polls after his prominent role with the Senate "Gang of 8'' immigration bill. A recent NBC News/ Wall Street Journal poll shows a decline in his numbers, particularly among key conservative groups. The percent of conservatives who have an unfavorable view of Rubio has risen from 7 percent in February to 13 percent in July. Among tea party voters, his unfavorable view rose from 8 percent to 15 percent. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below Rubio initially threatened that he won't back a short-term budget that funds the healthcare overhaul at a breakfast for conservative groups earlier this month. He is already seeing support from some of his fellow conservative senators and formed a coalition with Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Rand Paul (R-Ky). "We should refuse to raise the debt limit by one single cent unless we pass and the President agrees to sign a budget that shows us how we're going to get to balance in at least 10 years." he said. In another part of his effort to repair his image with conservatives, Rubio renewed his outreach to Tea Party supporters earlier this week. He joined about 50 conservative activists and lawmakers Tuesday at a meeting with the Senate's tea party caucus. Political scientist Dr. Gabriel Sanchez , who serves as director of research for Latino Decisions and interim executive director of the Center for Health Policy at the University of New Mexico , told NBCLatino earlier this month that Rubio's tough comments are a risky move. "I think it's a move to help deal with some of the aftermath of immigration and that definitely could help him," Sanchez said. "If his goal is to win favor with Latino voters overall, he's in a tough spot because Latino voters have consistently been in favor of the Affordable Care Act throughout the process. He 's trying to solidify the base while also being a Latino candidate." Related:

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One of the signature issues defining today's society is the changing attitudes on religion, God, and traditional Christianity. Evidence of this fluctuation was most recently seen in a Pew survey on morality . According to Pew, respondents were asked whether or not belief in God was necessary in order to live a moral life. As the chart below shows, there was about a 50-50 split on this question in 2011. Six years later, an ever-growing majority said that it is possible to live a moral life without believing in God. Finding this interesting, I turned to Mere Christianity to see what C.S. Lewis, one of the foremost Christian thinkers in modern history, had to say about this subject. In what might be a surprise to some, Lewis actually agrees with today's majority opinion, arguing that it is possible to live a good, moral life without believing in God. But Lewis also throws in a caveat, stating that Christians have a far easier time living a moral life because of their belief in God. To illustrate this, Lewis describes the difference in healing power between that of a dead man and a living one: "As long as the natural life is in your body, it will do a lot towards repairing that body. Cut it, and up to a point it will heal, as a dead body would not. A live body is not one that never gets hurt, but one that can to some extent repair itself." Lewis continues by saying: "In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble - because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out. That is why the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good. They hope, by being good, to please God if there is one; or - if they think there is not - at least they hope to deserve approval from good men. But the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us ; just as the roof of a greenhouse does not attract the sun because it is bright, but becomes bright because the sun shines on it." In other words, Lewis believes that living a moral life is an easier go for the Christian because he has an internal power to rely upon in the quest to become a better individual. But while this sounds like a perk, one can't help but wonder how many American Christians actually believe this is possible. Given recent surveys showing Christians rejecting the basic tenets of their faith, it appears that many Christians are trying to live "moral lives" without the power that Lewis claims they have access to. If so, it would make sense why America is seeing an ever-growing population of " religious-nones ." After all, if Christians live, as the Christian Scriptures say , as if they have a "form of godliness" while "denying the power" that aids in living that moral life, then what difference is there between a life lived as a Christian or as a basic moral person? [Image Credit: Max Pixel ]

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Doug Bandow, Senior Fellow Cato Institute | 3/20/17 The Trump Administration has made another attempt to revamp U.S. visa and refugee policy. The latest effort appears to be far better planned and executed than before. At least no one will be turned away in mid-flight. Still, the terrorist threat posed by visa holders and certified refugees is quite small. Moreover, perfect safety is impossible, and the U.S. pays a price if it increasingly walls itself off from the world. Americans should rethink a policy of unnecessarily promiscuous military intervention, which creates enemies around the world. One of the most controversial provisions in the original executive order was offering priority to Christian refugees. This was taken as a form of religious discrimination and was dropped in the latest iteration. Washington should take refugees, including Muslims, from all countries. Mideast Christians have urged America to remain open to all. However, religions are not equal when it comes to evaluating refugees. There are non-sectarian reasons to favor members of minority faiths. First, religious minorities have suffered disproportionately across the region. Last year Secretary of State John Kerry described ISIS as committing "genocide." Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil (Kurdistan, Iraq) said "We are an ancient people on the verge of extinction because of our commitment to faith." Sectarian conflict first erupted in Iraq after the counterproductive U.S. invasion and botched occupation; since then two-thirds or more of the roughly 1.5 million Christians were forced from their homes. The initial exodus was intensified by the Islamic State's murderous military campaign across Iraq's north. After Iraq's implosion Syria became a refuge for the religiously vulnerable, especially Christians. But as the latter country collapsed into civil war they suffered a fate similar to that of Iraqi believers. More than 60 percent of the 1.25 million Christians in Syria in 2011 have been forced to flee. What separates religious minorities from surrounding Muslim populations is that the former are targets of oppression, not merely inadvertent victims of violence. Second, non-Muslims have essentially nowhere to go in the Middle East when they flee violence. There are few safe places available. Kurdistan, Muslim but moderate, and Lebanon, with a substantial Christian minority, have been the main options. But the former has more than a million refugees and the latter may have twice as many or more. As international agencies trim funding, neither country wants more costly dependents. Religious minorities remain outsiders in Jordan and Turkey. Moreover, refugee camps in both nations are dangerous for members of other faiths. This experience discourages Christians from seeking refuge there. Other countries in the Mideast, despite possessing abundant oil wealth, refuse to accept those fleeing civil war and conflict. And none of these nations want more non-Muslims. Finally, non-Muslims are extraordinarily unlikely to commit terrorism or other acts of violence against Americans. While martyrdom is lauded, it is a willingness to accept hardship and death while standing for one's faith, not while murdering others. The human carnage from the Iraq and Syria conflicts has been extraordinary. Washington bears an unusual share of blame for the horror, having triggered Iraq's sectarian conflict, which in turn spawned ISIS. Unfortunately, the Trump administration cannot turn back time. However, the U.S. should join other nations in offering refuge to vulnerable people seeking to escape war, especially ones which Washington helped start. That doesn't mean ignoring security concerns. But Americans should be willing to accept a small risk for doing great good to those in need. In implementing its new regulations the Trump administration should clearly state that it will not discriminate against any faith, including Islam. Americans should help people in need, irrespective of their beliefs. However, Washington should recognize the unique attributes of non-Muslims in the Mideast. As Archbishop Warda observed: "I do not understand why some Americans are now upset that the many minority communities that faced a horrible genocide will finally get a degree of priority in some manner." Indeed, federal law encouraged the emigration of Jews from the Soviet Union and today does the same for Christian, Baha'i, Jewish, and other religious minorities seeking to leave Iran. Congress should apply that principle more broadly today. In 2015 Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) introduced The Save Christians from Genocide Act to enhance the refugee status of Christians and Yazidis. Whatever the exact means, Washington should act on behalf of people facing death and destruction at the hands determined killers. America should do more in the face of extraordinary tragedy to help the least among us.

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Rostami said a hematology and oncology congress will be held from April 25 to 28 in Tehran to discuss the latest progresses in treating cancer-related diseases. Cancer specialists, including 20 foreign experts, will participate in the congress, he said. He went on to say that in addition to cancer experts, health officials would also participate in the conference in order to take practical steps for treating cancer diseases. He said unfortunately cancer diseases are progressing at an alarming rate in Iran so that two third of diseases are untreatable as they are diagnosed late. In developed countries most of cancer-related diseases are diagnosed in initial stages and treated in due time, while in Iran these diseases are diagnosed while a high costs is imposed on the patient, Rostami added. Rostami said that the treatment of cancer requires public education and team work by specialists. He also said an exhibition of foreign and domestically-produced drugs and medical equipment would be put on display on the sidelines of the congress. ASP/PA END MNA

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U.S. President Donald Trump will not be among the nearly 100 heads of state and government invited to next month's climate summit in Paris, a French presidential aide said Tuesday. "For now, President Donald Trump is not invited," he said, while noting that representatives of the US government would attend. Around 800 organizations and public stakeholders will be on hand for the Dec. 12 event to be held on Ile Seguin, an island in the Seine River southwest of Paris. The meeting will follow the 23rd UN climate conference (COP23) that opened in Bonn, Germany, on Monday. The Bonn meeting is dealing with mainly technical issues such as ensuring transparency and compliance, the reporting of emissions, and procedures for allocating climate funds. The aide to French President Emmanuel Macron said the upcoming summit would aim to "build coalitions" involving cities, investment funds and development banks to further the goals of the accord. "The idea is to show that there is action, that we must accelerate actions and find new sources of financing for very concrete projects," he said, calling the meeting "very complementary" to the COP23. Trump announced his decision to withdraw the United States from the historic 2015 Paris Agreement on limiting carbon emissions in June. The pact calls for capping global warming at "well under" two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, and 1.5 C if possible. Syria said on Tuesday that it intends to join the Paris agreement for slowing climate change, further isolating the United States as the only country opposed to the pact. Syria and Nicaragua were the only two nations outside the 195-nation pact when it was agreed in 2015. Nicaragua's left-wing government, which originally denounced the plan as too weak, signed up last month. "I would like to affirm the Syrian Arab Republic's commitment to the Paris climate change accord," deputy Environment Minister Wadah Katmawi told a meeting of almost 200 nations at Nov. 6-17 climate talks in Bonn, Germany. The U.N.'s weather agency said on Monday that this year is on track to be the second or third warmest since records began in the 19th century, behind a record-breaking 2016, and about 1.1 Celsius (2F) above pre-industrial times.

U.S. President Donald Trump will not be among the nearly 100 heads of state and government invited to next month's climate summit in Paris, a French presidential aide said Tuesday. "For now, President Donald Trump is not invited," he said, while noting that representatives of the US government would attend.

Animal trainers in China brutally tied down an endangered Siberian tiger for customers to ride on its back and take pictures. In yet another disturbing video of animal abuse, Chinese circus trainers can be seen treating a Siberian tiger heartlessly to entertain visitors. The trainers tied the poor animal aggressively on to a metal table with ropes, encouraging visitors to sit on its back to click pictures. A frightened child can be heard in the video telling his mother, "I'm scared, I'm scared," as she tried to make him sit on the wild animal. The cruel workers forced the cat to lie on the table and pressed its head downward, inviting visitors with a circus ticket in to the cage to sit atop it. "How cool is it to sit on a tiger. Perhaps this can keep you away from the devils and bring you wealth too," remarked one of circus staff members. Apparently, a number of people in China believe the god of wealth is reminiscent of a tiger and those who get in contact with him directly will obtain good fortune. The video that was originally posted on Chinese video sharing platform iqiyi.com with almost 88,000 views caused a huge outrage on social media with people concerned about the safety of the Siberian tiger. Aghast at footage appearing to show circus in China tying down tiger for visitors to be photographed sitting on https://t.co/zfAVKtwbCH -- Animal Welfare Party (@AnimalsCount) January 11, 2017 THIS NEEDS TO BE STOPPED! Endangered #Tiger brutally tied down so visitors can sit on it for photos!! @BFFoundation https://t.co/cQinwzp8cE -- Sharon (@sharonwrdl) January 11, 2017 "No tiger would trade freedom for captivity, to be caged, dominated, tied down, whipped, and used as a prop for a tacky photo," commented Elisa Allen, director of PETA U.K. "The only way to make these highly intelligent and powerful hunters pose for the camera is to keep them under constant threat of punishment, intimidate them and restrain them." "This tiger was bound and strapped so tightly that he couldn't even lift his head, while a caged bear paced around and around in the background, showing the psychological damage that's commonly seen in animals used in circuses," she added. Siberian tigers, also known as Amur tigers, are endangered species. Only about 540 of the species are thought be left in the wild since 1980. While animals continue to lose their lives due to abuse by humans , it seems no one particularly cares. In fact, it seems all we care about now are selfies and pictures. The activity of making people, especially children ride on tigers, is hideous to say the least. It portrays a disgusting picture of animal abuse along with the heartless nature of humans in general who aren't bothered about the well being of the animal because all they want to do is look adventurous. By the end of the video, the tiger rushed back in its cage after getting untied by its cruel owners. Read More

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Forth from the cave-like, gloomy gate Crowds a motley and swarming array. Everyone suns himself gladly today. The Risen Lord they celebrate, For they themselves have now arisen From lowly houses' mustiness, From handicraft's and factory's prison, From the roof and gables that oppress, From the bystreets' crushing narrowness, From the churches' venerable night, They are all brought out into light. Posted by b on April 12, 2009 at 10:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) Links April 12 09 Similar customs: Easter eggs in Germany ( Xinhua ) Nowruz eggs in Iran ( Flickr ) Economy: Serious satire: Letter to FDIC on Geithner's PPIP ( FDIC ) pdf Top talent? Then how did we get into this mess? Crisis Altering Wall Street as Big Banks Lose Top Talent - ( NYT ) The real numbers are even higher China's foreign reserves hit $1.95 trillion at end of March - ( Xinhua ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 12, 2009 at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) Links April 12 09 Happy fertile springtime: Easter eggs in Germany ( Xinhua ) Nowruz eggs in Iran ( Flickr ) Only one? - Darwin's egg found at Cambridge - ( PressTV ) Not so fertile: - Uptick in Vasectomies Seen as Sign of Recession - ( NYT ) Afghanistan supplies: The Karachi-Peshawar-Kabul route - Ten Nato supply containers torched in Peshawar - ( The News ) The Karachi-Quetta-Kandahar route - 16 killed on second day of strike in Balochistan - ( Dawn ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 12, 2009 at 02:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) In a huge embarrassment for the right-wing government in Thailand, a meeting of 16 Asian state leaders today had to be canceled after demonstrators stormed the convention hall. Let us look back for some context. In September last year I wrote about The Coup Attempt in Thailand : [The] 'People's Alliance for Democracy' (PAD) is demonstrating against the government that was elected last December and is ruling within a six party coalition with two-third of the seats in parliament. The PAD followers demand that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej steps down, but have little else that one could describe as a political program. The prime minister, like his predecessor Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in 2006 in an army coup, has his base in the poor rural parts of Thailand in which the majority of the population lives. Samak has introduced cheap health care and village development programs in the agricultural areas. Are these programs partially corrupt? Sure. Are these programs designed to buy votes? Yes. But that is part of any democracy. What else are tax policies and earmarks in the U.S.? Leader of PAD is the right-wing media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul who's newspapers, websites and TV stations drive the protests. He has support from largely middle class urbanites including a union for well payed government employees and part of the army establishment. To gain some popularity the PAD claims to act for the king who has so far stayed neutral and did not intervene on either side. Despite its name, the 'People's Alliance for Democracy' is very undemocratic ... Then in December I thought that the PAD had overreached because the demonstrations of its 'yellowshirts' shut down the tourist business. But I was wrong. Eventually and with the prodding from the Thai king a court declared the elected government illegal and some lawmakers were bribed to change sites. The parliament then elected the current Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. But the balance changed again as Taksin's supporters in red shirts took to the streets. There was a huge demonstrations in Bangkok last week with over 100,000 participants. This morning demonstrators in Pattaya, where the ASEAN countries' plus China's, Japan's and South Korea's leaders were supposed to meet, stormed the convention hall. Some of the state leaders are now holed up in blockaded hotels, others get flown out by helicopter. The meeting and a followup tomorrow will not take place.It is unheard of that a high level international meeting gets such a treat. This is an incredible international embarrassment and loss of face for the Abhisit Vejjajiva government. It will have to step down. For now the government has declared an emergency for Pattaya and shutdown the media and communication means. But that will not end the conflict. The 'yellow-shirt' and 'red-shirt' sides may increase the level of their conflict and start to use more violence. The (also embarrassed) army may get involved too. The best for now would probably be a caretaker government and new elections. Let's hope the reverted king is wise enough to push for them. Posted by b on April 11, 2009 at 10:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (6) Africa Comments (2) Pirates, natural resources and Africom ... The antecessor thread is here . Posted by b on April 11, 2009 at 02:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (59) Links April 11 09 Not a rational argument - Why Israel Will Bomb Iran - ( Slate ) Ahmadinejad interview - 'We Are Neither Obstinate nor Gullible' - ( Spiegel ) Stephen Walt - Can the United States put pressure on Israel?: A user's guide - ( FP ) Huh? American victims of Hezbollah rockets sue North Korea - ( Haaretz ) A true cartoon - ( Harpers ) Record car sales - in China ( London Times ) Cool Aid - More Quickly Than It Began, The Banking Crisis Is Over - ( Time ) But we need to bomb ... - Pentagon preps for economic warfare - ( Huffington Post ) Predicted here - Japan to scrap plan for North Korea resolution - ( WaPo ) In - He wants to stay - General Ray Odierno: we may miss Iraq deadline to halt al-Qaeda terror - ( London Times ) Out - Syria's Ahmed Chalabi - Farid Ghadry's Leadership of the Reform Party of Syria Expires - Syria Comment ) The result will not change - Protests Wane in Moldova as Vote Recount Is Announced - ( NYT ) Embarrassing for the host - Thai protests disrupt Asean summit - ( Al Jazeera ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 11, 2009 at 02:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (25) Looking into Obama's promises and policies on transparent government I was not able to find anything about the issue through the menus of the whitehouse.gov website. Then, using Google, I found that the White House published a MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES SUBJECT: Transparency and Open Government The URL to that memo is: Rechecking the higher level page http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/ I am again unable to find a link to the transparency memorandum. But back to the memo. The memorandum is displayed with a date "FRI, APRIL 10, 10:33 AM EST". Huh? They issued that just now? No. Searching for "transparency" at the whitehouse.gov site the first two search result are to the link above but the third result leads to the same document under the slightly different URL: where it has a timestamp of "January 21st, 2009 at 12:00 am". How transparent is a government that even hides its own proclamation about "Transparency and Open Government" and even tags it with the wrong timestamp? Not very much. My Administration is committed to creating an unprecedented level of openness in Government. We will work together to ensure the public trust and establish a system of transparency , public participation, and collaboration. Openness will strengthen our democracy and promote efficiency and effectiveness in Government. Transparency and Open Government --- The U.S. Federal Reserve has told Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other banks to keep mum on the results of "stress tests" that will gauge their ability to weather the recession, people familiar with the matter said. Fed Said to Order Banks to Stay Mum on 'Stress Test' Results --- Panetta said the CIA will cooperate with the reviews of "past interrogation practices" and reiterated his insistence that agency officials who acted on Justice Department guidance " should not be investigated , let alone punished." CIA Has Quit Operating Secret Jails, Chief Says --- But last Friday, his Justice Department filed a motion in a warrantless wiretapping lawsuit, brought by the digital-rights group EFF. And the Obama-ites took a page out of the Bush DOJ's playbook by demanding that the suit, Jewel v. NSA, be dismissed entirely under the state secrets privilege , arguing that allowing it go forward would jeopardize national security. Expert Consensus: Obama Mimics Bush On State Secrets --- At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance on Tuesday, two oversight chiefs delivered harsh criticism of the Treasury Department's lack of accountability and transparency in its Troubled Asset Relief Program Treasury Resisting TARP Transparency, Oversight Not much change there one might say. But there is some. The Bush White House had a decent website where one could find the issues one was looking for. So evidently something has changed and there is no reason to be disappointed. The promise was change , not change to something better . Posted by b on April 10, 2009 at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (23) Are Crowbars Weapons of Mass Destruction? Iran does not build Weapon of Mass Destruction it buys them. The 118-count indictment charges the Chinese businessman, Li Fang Wei, a Limmt executive, and the company with conspiring to conceal its transactions and with entering false information on bank transactions that went through Manhattan. The Manhattan district attorney, Robert M. Morgenthau, announced the indictment at a news conference Tuesday. ... "What we're trying to do and what we are doing is to make every effort to prosecute the company, which is perhaps the largest supplier of weapons of mass destruction to the Iranian government ," ... In one instance, in February 2007, a Limmt subsidiary billed a Defense Industries shell company 89,000 euros, or about $115,700 (dollars in 2007), for 200 graphite cylinders , Mr. Morgenthau said. And in another case, Mr. Morgenthau said, in June 2008, Limmt used the letterhead of a front company to send a Defense Industries subsidiary an invoice for 1.4 million euros, or about $1.8 million, for 24,500 kilograms of high-strength maraging steel rods . Okay - one can get killed when a high strength maraging steel crowbar comes down on ones head and maybe even with graphite electrodes used in metal furnaces. But how those would constitute weapons of mass destruction is beyond me. Posted by b on April 10, 2009 at 07:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) Links April 10 09 Which does not mean that they will stop to torture C.I.A. to Close Secret Prisons, Scenes of Harsh Interrogations - ( NYT ) Producing fuel pellets will lower the 'dangerous' stockpile Iran touts nuclear technology gains - LAT Interesting collection of authors How to Approach the Iran Nuclear Dilemma - ( American Foreign Policy Project (pdf) ) The last resort of 'western' colonialism The Larger Meaning of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - ( Bernard Chazelle ) Zionist justice - All he did was kill an Arab - ( Haaretz ) Guess why they do this (btw - it is illegal to withhold such material information) Fed Said to Order Banks to Stay Mum on 'Stress Test' Results - ( Bloomberg ) The Second Great Depression The Decade of Darkness - ( Counterpunch ) Latecomer - Making Banking Boring - ( Krugman, NYT, today ) - to make banking as boring again as it should be - ( me, Oct 2008 ) Sunnis and Sadrists Thousands of Iraqis rally against U.S. - ( McClatchy ) Nir Rosen "We Didn't Create a Paradise in Iraq; We Created a Hell" - ( Democracy Now ) Dangerous development Furore in Balochistan over killing of nationalist leaders - ( Dawn ) Posted by b on April 10, 2009 at 02:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) Opposition Rally in Georgia Thirteen opposition parties in Georgia called for a public rally today to oust President Mikheil Saakashvili. They expect 100,000 demonstrators in Tbilisi. A equivilant would be a rally with 6.5 million protesters in Washington. Saakashvili is especially blamed for starting and losing last years war against Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, but also for a general bad economy, cronyism, undemocratic behavior and special massages . The oppositions asked foreign countries to stay back and let it happen. It will be interesting to see how Washington reacts. The official State Department statement is fairly neutral . But Saakashvili recently spent over a million dollars to hire new lobbyists in Washington. He no longer relies on McCain's adviser Scheuneman but payed up for better connection with Democrats.He also bought off the Georgian Orthodox Church with a $15 million 'grant' eliminating a possibly strong moral voice that could be a danger for him. The opposition will try to have a peaceful rally but it could be in the interest of some folks, including probably Saakashvili, to give it a violent bend. Stay tuned ... Posted by b on April 9, 2009 at 06:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (8) Billmon: Scalia's Nightmare I've suspected for some time that conservatives would eventually have serious reservations about where Norm and his mouthpieces are trying to take them. Maybe it's finally dawning on some of them that making a federal case out this election contest risks a long-term disaster for the GOP -- one that would completely outweigh the short-term benefits of depriving the Democrats of their 59th vote. Billmon: Scalia's Nightmare Posted by b on April 9, 2009 at 02:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (13) Links April 09 09 It is legal: Iran's 'Outlawed' Nuclear Program ( FP Journal ) Fake negotiations: U.S. to Join Iran Talks Over Nuclear Program NYT "By showing a readiness to engage Iran, American officials said, the administration is trying to build support among allies like Germany and France, and more skeptical players, like Russia, so that if diplomatic efforts fail, it can marshal support for tougher sanctions against Tehran." Also: How the corporate media alienate Iran: Prof. Mojtahedzadeh ( FP Journal ) Buffet is old: Moody's downgrades Berkshire Hathaway ( FT ) Nassim Nicholas Taleb: Ten principles for a Black Swan-proof world ( FT ) "In France in the 1980s, the socialists took over the banks. In the US in the 2000s, the banks took over the government." What was his share of the loot? Former FBI chief defends flow of money to Saudi ambassador ( LAT ) Defense pork propaganda: US electricity grid hit by cyber attacks: report ( AFP ) Only chimps? Study shows chimps exchange meat for sex ( UPI ) Racist writing: "At least one is believed to be a student, the others were born in Pakistan." Met blunder prompts terror arrests ( Guardian ) Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 9, 2009 at 01:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (22) The Pakistani government finally had enough of U.S. meddling and took a stand : Two top US officials, presidential envoy for the region Richard Holbrooke and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, had come to Islamabad with the idea of doing some tough talking and pressuring both the political and the military leadership to step up their efforts in the war on terror. Instead, what they got was a barrage of criticism of the American position and the allegations constantly levelled against Islamabad about either protecting some Taliban elements or not doing enough to eliminate what the United States believes are the main elements carrying out attacks on Nato forces in Afghanistan. According to a source in the US delegation, the stance taken by the Pakistani side came as a rude shock to the Americans, who had so far been taking the civilian and military leadership for granted . ... [Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood] Qureshi's message perhaps could not have been more unequivocal; he stated that cooperation could continue only if balance and respect were restored to the relationship. "We can only work together if we respect each other and trust each other. There is no other way and nothing else will work," he said rather bluntly. ... "We have certain expectations from the Friends of Democratic Pakistan. Most importantly, these expectations are not cents and dollars; rather it is the political support that Pakistan expects from them." The last sentence is a demand for support against India where Holbrooke arrived today and where he will not achieve anything. The U.S. asked for common military operation in Pakistan's tribal areas, wanted to increase the nearly daily drone attacks and offered Pakistan a bit of money with lots of conditions attached. Meanwhile it admits that is no idea who it is fighting against in Afghanistan. Pakistan says no to any common military operations, wants control over the drones and asks for $30 billion unconditional money over five years. President Zardari, Chief of Staff Kiani, Prime Minister Gilani and his cabinet all agree with the new position. A bipartisan parliament committee on National Strategy also supports this : [A] senior member of the committee, who also belongs to the PPP, said to Dawn that 'The committee proposes substantial changes in the national strategy of combating terror which would reflect collective will of the parliament rather than continuation of a policy that was given by a military dictator under American dictates '. That is quite a sea change in Pakistani behavior and I suspect that it has a lot to do with the general abusive U.S. behavior against Pakistan as reinforced by the arrogance of Holbrooke: The normally urbane and mild-mannered Pakistani Foreign Minister, Shah Mahmood Qureshi, was firm and spoke in categorical terms. Meanwhile, Richard Holbrooke chatted quietly with Admiral Mike Mullen - an act that, whatever the intention, was perceived as rude and contemptuous by those present. The great new U.S. AfPak strategy is now in shambles and will have to be taken back to the drawing board. Pakistan will not play along and will not allow the planed widening of the Afghan war onto its grounds.If the U.S. tries to go there it will have to fight the Pakistani army. That is good in my view. U.S. pressure on the tribal areas already brought the fight from there into Pakistan's main cities. More pressure and more fighting could easily lead to the destruction of the Pakistani state. That is not something anyone should wish for. Posted by b on April 8, 2009 at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (9) Moldova - A Private Color Revolution? Following elections in Moldova violent protests broke out and some youth NGOs and the opposition is trying to overthrow the reelected government. While this looks like a color revolution, the otherwise usual support for it from the U.S. and EU seems to be missing. Moldova is a small landlocked and very poor country between Romania and Ukraine in south east Europe. Throughout history ownership of Moldova changed several times between Romania and Russia. Since 1991 it is independent but the Russophon part east of the river Dniester split off and is now the effectively independent Transnistria. The official language in the rest of the country is Romanian. The 1990s were economically catastrophic for Moldova. The GDP per person is the lowest in Europe. Out of 4.2 million Moldovans 600,000 live and work abroad. Since 2001 the communist party, essentially social-democrats more or less friendly with Russia, is ruling the country and two days ago again won elections. International election observers from the OECD confirmed the results. Allegations of election fraud led to opposition demonstrations in the capitol Chisinau where some youth groups stormed (video) and set fire to (video) the parliament and the president's office. The police came out and the government now has again the upper hand. Youth protests after elections with demands of re-voting seem to follow the typical scheme of a U.S. engineered color revolution . A good, though a bit partisan chronology of the last days is here . Additionally some links through twitter . What is missing from a normal color revolution is the support from 'western' countries and their media. But there are some hints that this is a privately arranged coup, probably with support from Romania, that uses the color revolution tools. The conflict here has several layers. The young city folks voted for the opposition for economic reasons and the elder rural majority voted for the 'communists'. Something weird: Photos from the riots show lots of people with very short hair - Skinheads? Hooligans? Police? There is movement from Romania to essentially annex Moldova and some of the protesters indeed carried Romanian (and EU) flags. Moldova's government recalled its ambassador to Romania, told the Romanian ambassador to Moldova to leave and closed the border. Another conflict layer is a personal spat between the oligarch Anatol Stati, Moldova's richest man , and the 'communist' president Vladimir Voronin, father of another rich oligarch . Voronin accuses Stati of financing the opposition party and of dubious business practices. Stati allegedly made $2 billion within a few years by drilling for oil in Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. He recently made a contentious production sharing agreement deal with the authorities of south Sudan. (Someone should ask him about those T-72 tanks south Sudan got from Ukraine.) Stati's main company is ASCOM but most of the business runs through Tristan Oil residing in the tax haven British Virgin Islands. The second man in Stati's business is one Artur Lungu: Prior to joining Ascom, Mr. Lungu served as the Assistant Director of a USAID Contractor to the Romanian government from 2003 to 2005 where he was responsible for strategic planning and budgeting. ... Mr. Lungu holds a degree from the Academy of Economic Studies, Chisinau, Moldova and received a Masters degree, in Public Administration from the University of Delaware. Lungu is named as project manager for several issues in this (pdf) old Soros foundation activity report and as a ' fellow ' in a British equivalent, the John Smith Memorial Trust. Before the election the son of Stati, Gabriel, a Vice President of ASCOM and owner of a major soccer club once arrested for hooliganism, called for the youth to vote for the opposition block. He is identified as: Chairman of the International Youth Movement, President of the Federation of International Combat Arts Voievod, ... The chronology linked above says: A number of youth NGOs and movements went out in the streets at the same time with the Liberal Democratic Party, one of the most vociferous protesters of the election results. The demonstrations look like a color revolution but the lack of support form the 'west' lets me assume that they are not an 'official' one. Instead the money of Anatol Stati, his son's friends and/or Romanian sources may be the main forces behind these events with the U.S. trained Artur Lungu being the operational brain. For additional coverage see Moldova.org and the Romanian Hotnews.ro sites. Posted by b on April 8, 2009 at 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (11) Links April 08 09 Annie linked this yesterday: Baghdad, City of Walls by Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, four parts. Please watch at least part 3 and remember that those instigated this are still being payed by U.S. taxpayers or this or that lobby. FDIC preparing for the big one: 'FDIC Job Postings are Bad News For Big Banks' ( FDL ) 'Communities print their own currency to keep cash flowing' ( USA Today ) In the late 1920s in Germany this was called Notgeld , 'Emergency Money', and every city or bigger county had its own. 'Default Count Rises to Highest Since Great Depression' ( Bloomberg ) US, UK to default? 'The green shoots are weeds growing through the rubble in the ruins of the global economy' ( Willem Buiter ) Unsuccessful color revolution attempt? 'Protests in Moldova Explode, With Help of Twitter' ( NYT ) 'What's the Problem With Pakistan? ( Foreign Affairs ) One big problem is Indian mangling in Afghanistan: "Having visited the Indian mission in Zahedan, Iran, I can assure you they are not issuing visas as the main activity! Moreover, India has run operations from its mission in Mazar (through which it supported the Northern Alliance) and is likely doing so from the other consulates it has reopened in Jalalabad and Qandahar along the border. Indian officials have told me privately that they are pumping money into Baluchistan. Kabul has encouraged India to engage in provocative activities such as using the Border Roads Organization to build sensitive parts of the Ring Road and use the Indo-Tibetan police force for security." Please add your news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 8, 2009 at 02:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (28) Geithner Plan Worse Than You Think The more people think about the Paulson Geithner plan the more they start to see the scam behind it. Laurence J Kotlikoff and Jeffrey Sachs explain the scheme in a Financial Times online piece. A bank has a 'toxic asset' (a legacy securities in Treasury newspeak) with a notional value of $1,000 million, a marked-to-fantasy book value of $900 million but a real value of $100 million. It sets up a special purpose vehicle (SIV) that is not on its balance sheet. The SIV joins Geithner's Public Private Investment Plan (PPIP). The bank lends $70 million to the SIV. Under PPIP the Treasury joins the SIV with additional capital of $70 million. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (FDIC) then gives a 1:6 non-recourse loan to the PPIP SIV. That has now $140 million + 6 * $140 million = $980 million and offers that money to buy up the banks 'toxic asset'. The bank sells the 'bad asset' for $980 million to the SIV. Eventually the SIV will have to acknowledge the real value of the paper and, as it can not pay back the FDIC loan, go bankrupt. The bank makes a $70 million loss on the SIV but got $980 net for something that was only worth $100 million. In total it even makes a book profit of $10 million, a good reason to pay out an additional management bonus. The Treasury will lose its $70 million capital investment. The FDIC will get the 'toxic asset' worth $100 million for the $840 million loan it gave. It may eventually sell that 'toxic asset' to a bank for the real market value and will have to eat the losses. Eventually it will be bankrupt too and the taxpayer will have to pay up for it. In total there will hundreds of transactions as described above and future taxpayers will have to come up with millions of millions to pay for them. Even if the above scheme is not carried out as openly as described above, with such high incentives it is certain to happen. A few phone calls and a Bank of America SIV will buy Citigroup's 'toxic assets' while a Citigroup SIV will buy BoA's 'toxic assets'. They are already preparing for this and aquiring extra 'toxic assets' from others to increase their possible loot in the scheme. That alone shows of course that there are markets for such 'toxic assets' and that they do have a market price . The official reasoning for Geithner's plan is that there is no such market and that the assets are undervalued. The real reason for the PPIP is of course different. After robbing the last penny from private households the banks ran out of prey. They are now going after the state as a whole. Geithner and Summers are their tools in this and Congress is complicit. Something is deeply wrong with the world when such open robbery is allowed without a public outcry. Posted by b on April 7, 2009 at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (19) Who Is Again Bombing Baghdad? Yesterday seven car bombs killed 37 across Baghdad. These bombs were hidden in parked cars and not suicide attacks. So far nobody has claimed responsibility. The U.S. blames 'Al-Qaeda'. Maliki blames Baath party elements. Disgruntled Son of Iraq groups that are now without pay may be another possibility. Some of the thousands of prisoners the U.S. is currently releasing may also have a motive. And of course one should never exclude the possibility of a false flag/black operation by some other interested side. Maliki? Iran? The U.S. military? Who do you you think is most likely responsible for these attacks? Posted by b on April 7, 2009 at 08:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (21) War Of Terror: Graham Usher on Pakistan vs. India in Afghanistan: Taliban v. Taliban ( LRB ) More Drone Attacks in Pakistan Planned ( NYT ) Slowly reality sets in: From Bubble to Depression, ( WSJ ) Why this will not be a normal cyclical recovery, ( FT ) Toxic debts could reach $4 trillion, IMF to warn, ( London Times ) Debtor's Prison NYT Media manipulation: Gates proposes US defence cuts Al Jazeera Gates unveils sweeping defence cuts ( FT ) Gates cuts US defence spending ( Reuters ) Overall, Obama has said he would seek roughly $534 billion for the Pentagon's core budget in 2010, not including war funding, about 4 percent more than the $513.3 billion Congress provided for 2009. Gates' proposal would change the makeup of the spending, not the overall figure. On food: G8 report says food crisis may threaten stability ( Reuters ) It's Not Rocket Science: Land Productivity, Food Rights ( DeAnander) Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 7, 2009 at 02:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (27) April 06, 2009 Erdogan Please Note: The U.S. Is A Secular State On visit in the United States of America the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to the majority-Christian population in a speech to the Joint Session of the United States Congress: I know there have been difficulties these last few years. I know that the trust that binds Turkey and the United States has been strained, and I know that strain is shared in many places where the Christian faith is practiced. So let me say this as clearly as I can: Turkey is not, and will never be, at war with Christianity. In fact, our partnership with the Christian world is critical not just in rolling back the violent ideologies that people of all faiths reject, but also to strengthen opportunity for all its people. I also want to be clear that Turkey's relationship with the Christian community, the Christian world, cannot, and will not, just be based upon opposition to terrorism. We seek broader engagement based on mutual interest and mutual respect. We will listen carefully, we will bridge misunderstandings, and we will seek common ground. We will be respectful, even when we do not agree. We will convey our deep appreciation for the Christian faith, which has done so much over the centuries to shape the world -- including in my own country. Turkey has been enriched by Christian Turks. Many other Turks have Christians in their families or have lived in a Christian-majority country. Link and questions: How would you have reacted to the above? How would the U.S. public react to it? How would the media react? Posted by b on April 6, 2009 at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (17) The NoKo Missile and UNSC Sanctions While Russia had first confirmed a North Korean satellite launch, it now says that no satellite reached the orbit. According to U.S. information the third stage never separated from the second one and both fell into the sea south of Japan. The 'west', i.e. the U.S., is trying to get additional UN sanctions on North Korea but the Chinese and Russians will likely block those. The 'western' argument is that the North Korean launch violated UN Security Council resolution 1718 (pdf) established in 2006 after NoKo exploded a nuclear device. China and Russia have a good formal reason to dispute that. As the 'western' media will not spell that out I will do so here. In UNSCR 1718 the Security Council: 2. Demands that the DPRK not conduct any further nuclear test or launch of a ballistic missile ; ... 5. Decides that the DPRK shall suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile programme and in this context re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on missile launching; The term ballistic missile is quite specific: A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering a warhead (often nuclear) to a predetermined target. A satellite, by definition, is an orbital object and the launch of satellites is thereby not forbidden under UNSCR 1718. There are signs that this was indeed an attempted satellite launch. North Korea took all the necessary steps in international law that are required for a satellite launch like informing the international air and shipping organizations about the flight path and drop zones. A picture of the missile shows a big nosecone which is typical for a satellite launcher and atypical for a ballistic missile. Of course the launch of such a satellite carrying missile will also bring experience for the further development of ballistic missiles. As the FAS security blog remarks : The reason the world is worried about this test is not because we are worried about competition in the satellite launch business. (Good luck to them!) The world worries because the launcher the North Koreans used is a Taepodong-2, which most everyone believes is their next step up toward a long-range ballistic missile. By taking a warhead off and putting a small third stage and a satellite on top, they might call it a space launcher but the first two stages are exactly the same. As the third stage never separated, it either failed or it was only a mock up to start with. But as South Korea plans to launch its first satellite this summer, a North Korean satellite now would have been a great point in the permanent North-South propaganda war. That is why I personally believe that this was a real satellite launch attempt. The question of satellite launch or ballistic missile launch with a mock third stage is for now undecidable. The sea where the second and third stage landed is about 20,000 feet deep. Unless Captain Nemo's Nautilus brings the wreckage to the surface, the UNSC will have to agree to disagree over what the missile really was and if the launch was a breach of UNSCR 1718 or not. Posted by b on April 6, 2009 at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (9) Links April 06 09 Wet: North Korean satellite on subaquatic orbit ? Lauding the exception: Israeli army unit receives citation for not committing war crimes. It ain't over ...: U.S. bank woes just the start, Whitney says Pesticide industry to White House: Please use our stuff (via Tiny Revolution ): Mrs. Barack Obama [sic!] The White House Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mrs. Obama, ... As you go about planning and planting the White House garden, we respectfully encourage you to recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply. America's farmers understand crop protection technologies are supported by sound scientific research and innovation. Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 6, 2009 at 02:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) Pat Lang is outraged the Obama bowed to the Saudi King as is the Agonist's Sean Paul Kelly: Repeat after me: American presidents do not bow to kings. Hey - the bow will lower oil prices and sell lots of Treasuries. What is bad about that? And where was the outrage when Obama lowered his head to the queen of England? I wonder why U.S. people are so touchy on this issue. Both royals are much older than Obama is and to lower the head while greeting them is simply good manners. Meanwhile Obama held a pretty noteworthy speech in Prague. Besides the usual nonsense he said: "To put an end to Cold War thinking, we will reduce the role of nuclear weapons in our national security strategy and urge others to do the same," Mr. Obama said. "Make no mistake, as long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a safe, secure and effective arsenal to deter any adversary and guarantee that defense to our allies, including the Czech Republic. But we will begin the work of reducing our arsenal, to reduce our warheads and stockpiles. We will negotiate a new strategic arms reduction treaty with the Russians this year. " Reducing the number of nuclear weapons and a new treaty with Russia are significant policy changes. The big public announcement in Prague will make it difficult to step back from these promises. Of course some will get outraged about that too as it likely includes a (reciprocal) bow to Medevev. Posted by b on April 5, 2009 at 12:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (31) The Flogging Video In February I wrote about Pressure on Zardari : [Zardari's] recent peace offer to opposition fighters in Swat was a smart move. But in the 'west' it was immediately criticized and he will now be pressured to continue the fighting there. ... The fighting over a local justice system has continued since the early 1990s and has little to do with the Taliban issues in Afghanistan. A compromise in Swat could actually help to take away support from Wahabbi/Deobandi hardliners that are at the core of the Taliban. Pressure on Zardari on this issue can only increase the strife in Pakistan and speed up his downfall. Even without 'western' interference a compromise as now in negotiation will not be easy to achieve as there are already many other possible spoilers. One spoiler has now appeared in form of a cellphone video that shows the flogging of a women. The cellphone video of the flogging will be used to step back from the compromise deal and that move may well reignite fighting in Swat. The short cellphone video is part of this Channel 4 report: As you can see men get flogged too for 'moral crimes'. The flogging in both shown cases is rather symbolic through at least two layers of cloth and without much pain. The whole flagellation punishment in this form seems to be more about inducing shame then inducing pain. The genuineness of the video is denied by the Taliban and there is only one person who claims to have witnessed this. The cellphone video will put pressure on Zardari to turn away from the deal that reintroduced a local justice system in Swat and to thereby restart the fighting with the locals just as the U.S. would like him to do. Which makes me wonder a bit about the timing of the videos emergence. Posted by b on April 5, 2009 at 11:49 AM | Permalink | Comments (15) Links April 05 09 We don't care what Congress says: Administration Seeks an Out On Bailout Rules for Firms It's fraud, fraud, fraud ... Bill Moyers sits down with William K. Black Challenge: US drone attack kills tribal children, women Response: Suicide Blast in Islamabad Kills Eight More response: Militants hit NATO terminal in Pakistan Peer reviewed paper on 9/11 in The Open Chemical Physics Journal - Volume 2 . Look for " Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Catastrophe " Israeli religious nuts: Women in Israeli govt? Not if Photoshop can help Tony Karon on Israel's tactic: Netanyahu, America and the cow in the house Nato drags its feet over forces for Obama's Afghan offensive Swoop : A Pentagon official told us: "We have effectively abandoned our hopes that NATO will provide extra fighting strength. This war, and in Pakistan, is now almost an American monopoly. " Ignatius : The Saudis hope that if Obama's charm offensive toward Iran fails, it will be followed by tough action. " He's building a case against Iran ," predicts the Saudi source. Congrats to the people of North Korea for launching their version of Sputnik. This is the 11th nation with satellite launch capability. The NYT writes: North Korea's missiles have ranked among its few profitable exports -- Iran, Syria and Pakistan have all been among its major customers. If this long-range test ends up a success, it would presumably make the design far more attractive on the international black market . The NoKo government sells something to the Syrian government. Why is that characterized as 'black market'??? Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 5, 2009 at 02:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (20) End NATO NATO is celebrating its sixties birthday in disunity. There is lots of quarrel over the operation in Afghanistan. Turkey is against the election of the right-wing Danish premier as NATO secretary. There is no common strategic view of what NATO is supposed to be. Meanwhile its original commitment is no longer credible. Consider this scenario: Estonia has been hit hard by the economic crisis. It had a quite extreme housing bubble with the mortgages financed mostly in foreign currency. Inflation during earlier years had increased wages and made its exports uncompetitive. A flat tax limits state income but created a class of oligarchs. GDP has fallen nearly 10% year over year. As most debt is in foreign currency to Nordic banks to devalue the Estonian krooni would increase the money that will have to be payed back. The other way to regain some competitiveness is internal deflation, i.e. wage decrease by some 20%. The government decided to take the second path and to thereby impoverish its population. Some 25% of the 1.2 million people in Estonia are ethnic Russians and speak Russian as their first language. In the fall of 2009 the ever increasing economic troubles lead to the rise of nationalism and some right-wing populist politician/oligarch redirects the peoples anger over the economy towards the minority. Cases of ethnic violence against Russian shops and workers start to appear. Leaders of the Russian minority party publicly ask Moscow to step in. After a local slaughter during which a mob kills some 20 ethnic Russians in front of running international news cameras, the government in Moscow comes under heavy internal pressure to react. After additional violence three Russian divisions cross the borders and occupy Estonia. The Estonian army has only one brigade size force and after a day of small skirmishes resistance ends. How will NATO react? The right in the U.S. as well as liberal interventionists may well call for war. The public opinion, wary of war in Iraq and Afghanistan and also under economic stress does not favor this. NATO countries will have to sit down and decide if they want to invoke article 5 and start a war with Russia to liberate Estonia. They look at their maps and find that any land force would have to go through a small border strip between Poland and Lithuania which has on one side the Russian enclave Kalingrad and on the other the Russian ally Belarus. Additionally Latvia, the only NATO country with land borders with Estonia drags its feet. It is itself an economic basket case and 30% of its inhabitants are also ethic Russian - a potent guerrilla force against any NATO column crossing its country. Russia could easily occupy it too. Winter is approaching and half of western Europe and all of eastern Europe is heated with Russian gas. Does anyone believe that NATO would really be willing to react in this case? Would it really stand up the million soldiers army needed to retake Estonia against Russian? Would it really risk all out war over the issue? I believe it would not do so. The promise that NATO made to its new members in Eastern Europe are mere symbolic. If the hard case comes, NATO will do nothing or break apart. The U.S. wants to use NATO as a global force that furthers its aim. The populations of the European NATO members do not want this. At the same time NATO is no longer able to do its original task. Andrew J. Bacevich has a good proposal on how to proceed from here: Present-day NATO is a shadow of what it once was. Calling it a successful alliance today is the equivalent of calling General Motors a successful car company -- it privileges nostalgia over self-awareness. ... Salvation requires taking a different course. However counterintuitive, the best prospect for restoring NATO's sense of purpose and direction lies in having the U.S. announce its intention to exit the alliance. ... Salvaging NATO requires reorienting the alliance back to its founding purpose: the defense of Europe. ... The difference between 1949 and 2009 is that present-day Europe is more than capable of addressing today's threat, without American assistance or supervision. Collectively, the Europeans don't need U.S. troops or dollars, both of which are in short supply anyway and needed elsewhere. I agree with most of Bacevich's recommendations here. But unlike him, I do not see Russia as a potential enemy of a future pure European NATO replacement. Europe needs a serious formal European security cooperation with the purpose of prevention of inner-European strife and strict defense-only preparation against potential outer enemies. Additionally a common division could provide expeditionary forces under UN command. Such a European security cooperation requires the inclusion of Russia. But as long as the U.S is part of NATO that inclusion is impossible. Under a European security cooperation the above scenario in Estonia could have been solved by a common political intervention, not a Russian military one. The U.S. leaving NATO would be a good start for something new that could than really guaranty security for and by Europeans. Posted by b on April 4, 2009 at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (25) Links April 04 09 At Wired Sharon Weinberger has a major scoop: How To: Get a No-Bid Contract for Russian Choppers . Helicopters for Iraq - a shady Pentagon office, a $500 million no-bid contract to a dubious U.S. company. Hundreds of millions payed to a Russian company that does not deliver ... William Pfaff compares the 'Long War' with Europe's Thirty Years' War. Realist Stephen Walt doesn't like the AfPak Muddle It is hard to get Urdu language books in Pakistan because they are 'Indian'. It is hard to get Urdu language books in India because ... - A funny story from Sepoy at Chapati Mystery. Did Israel really bomb Sudan? We don't think so. Even Debka doubts the story (and adds its own spin.) Pat Lang on Ambassador Feltman and Lebanon. As elections approach, Lebanon will heat up again. Hedge Fund Paid Summers $5.2 Million in Past Year plus $2.7 million for 'speeches' at Wall Street Banks he now oversees ... The Economist with a series on the rich and income distribution . "... the richest 10% of the American population own 85% of all stocks." 14 people get killed in a Mumbai like attack. Why isn't this called terrorism? Please add your links, news and views in the comments. Posted by b on April 4, 2009 at 01:43 AM | Permalink | Comments (94) Africa Comments (1) On the left side of the homepage is a new category box titled ' b real 's Africa Comments'. b real posts lots and lots of Africa news items in the comments here, mostly on the countries around the Horn. One can not find such a collection elsewhere and his work deserves a permanent link from the homepage. There will be a new thread for Africa Comments when the older one has 50 or so comments. The newest one will always be the top one linked in that category box. Of course everyone is welcome to add relevant thoughts, news or cheers for b real in those threads. So what are all these navies really doing around the Horn of Africa? We are told they are there to protect against piracy. Somali fishermen tell a very different story. From b real 's latest item in the older thread. NAIROBI, 2 April 2009 (IRIN) - Somalia has revoked fishing licences for foreign vessels and is planning a new law to regulate fishing in its waters, a minister told IRIN on 2 April. ... Abdullahi Sheikh Hassan, head of a fishing cooperative in the southern coastal town of Merka, told IRIN that livelihoods were being destroyed. "Fishing is the only thing we know and without it we have nothing," he said, adding that lack of support, combined with the foreign fishing vessels , was ruining fishing communities. ... Reports of crews of foreign-owned ships harassing and intimidating local fishermen had been made by Somali fishermen. "They are not only taking our fish, but they are also stopping us from fishing," said Mohamed Abdirahman, a fisherman in Brava, 200km south of Mogadishu. "They have rammed boats and cut nets." He said a number of Somali fishermen were missing and presumed dead after encounters "with these big ships". Abdirahman said the number of foreign ships in the south had increased after they were chased from the north by pirates. He said the foreign ships were now being protected by the navies of their countries and "do whatever they want to us". Local fishermen go out late at night to set their nets, but discover in the morning that they have been cut or stolen. "They are no longer satisfied to take our fish, but they are forcing us to abandon fishing altogether," he said. He claimed some of the foreign navies were treating Somali fishermen as if they were pirates and had occasionally opened fire on Somali fishing boats. "We are forced to avoid going far and stay within sight of towns to avoid them and this means our catches are much smaller," Abdirahman said. "We are being driven out of business by foreign vessels protected by their navies . Who is protecting us? Our existence depends on the fish." He said the international community was only "talking about the piracy problem in Somalia, but not about the destruction of our coast and our lives by these foreign ships". Posted by b on April 3, 2009 at 02:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (64) Links April 03 09 Interesting ...: German firms in talks with Iran over supply routes Afghanistan Good piece - James Traub on Mr. 10%, Asif Ali Zardari: Can Pakistan Be Governed? As expected: Geithner's Plan: Loopholes Galore Good for PIMCO, bad for the taxpayer: Geithner's Non-Recourse Gift Keeps on Giving to Gross Citigroup to buy toxic assets from Citigroup with Geithner plan subsidy: Bailed-out banks eye toxic asset buys Clean up the banks as Japan eventually did - Keiichiro Kobayashi: President Obama must squarely face the bad asset problem Judge Rules Some Prisoners at Bagram Have Right of Habeas Corpus Please add your remarks and links of the day in the comments. Posted by b on April 3, 2009 at 02:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (40) April 02, 2009 Carte Blanche For Lying Years ago accounting rules were amended to demand that banks and other financial institutions account for the real value of their 'assets' by marking them to market prices. That was a good move as investors in banks and other companies could have a more bit trust that their balance sheets showed some approximation to the real value of these. Now, after heavy lobbying (with TARP money) by financial institutions Congress pressed the Financial Standard Accounting Board to change the rules : The changes to so-called mark-to-market accounting allow companies to use "significant" judgment when gauging the price of some investments on their books, including mortgage-backed securities. So from now on all banks etc will again lie about the real value of their assets. The management will show 'significant judgment' to boost the profit and loss statements and to increase its bonuses. The books will again show inflated values and all numbers derived from that will essentially be fake. The Bloomberg writer obviously did not get that: Analysts say the measure may reduce banks' writedowns and boost their first-quarter net income by 20 percent or more. The 'net income' of the liars will not 'boost'. What will boost are the income numbers they will present to to the public. The real net income will no longer be shown on the profit and loss statements. This rule change pumped up financial stocks today. With the fake numbers that are now again allowed some idiots can obviously be convinced to buy into these companies again.Rest assured - those stock prices will come down again. What this move really achieves is a prolonging of the World Depression II we are in. A return of trust is essential to get back to some functioning financial markets and a sane banking system. Hiding insolvency behind marked-to-fantasy 'assets' will not further that. The powers that be today handed out a carte blanche for lying. We all will have to pay for it. Posted by b on April 2, 2009 at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (22) Magic U.S. Troop Increase in Afghanistan Why doesn't Obama tell tell the public how many troops he really sends to Afghanistan? The official announcements were for 59,000 U.S. troops deployed. The real number now crept up to 68,000. This was the news on February 18: President Obama has ordered the first combat deployments of his presidency, saying yesterday that he had authorized an additional 17,000 U.S. troops "to stabilize a deteriorating situation" in Afghanistan. ... The new deployments, to begin in May, will increase the U.S. force in Afghanistan by nearly 50 percent, bringing it to 55,000 by mid-summer, along with 32,000 non-U.S. NATO troops. ... Months ago, the commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, Gen. David D. McKiernan, requested more than 30,000 additional troops this year, and an initial 6,000 arrived last month under orders signed by the Bush administration. Note the 55,000 include the 6,000 Bush sent. That number was still valid on March 21: The United States is adding 17,000 troops to the 38,000 it has in Afghanistan, and may send further reinforcements when a policy review by Obama's administration is finished. Note: 38,000 + 17,000 = 55,000. Fine. On March 27 an additional 4,000 troops deployment was announced : Along with the 17,000 additional combat troops authorized last month, he said, Obama will send 4,000 more this fall to serve as trainers and advisers to an Afghan army expected to double in size over the next two years. ... The total of 21,000 new troops, added to a combat brigade authorized by the Bush administration and deployed in January, will exceed the 30,000 that Gen. David D. McKiernan, the U.S. and NATO commander, had requested for this year in Afghanistan and will bring the total U.S. force to more than 60,000 . Non-U.S. NATO troops there currently total about 32,000. Note: 55,000 + 4,000 suddenly added up to "more than 60,000" !?! And only five days later the March 27 numbers magically increased again : The U.S. military has 38,000 troops in Afghanistan, and the number is projected to rise to 68,000 with deployments scheduled for this year . Those deployments include a 4,000-strong contingent of trainers from the 4th brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, 17,000 other combat troops, a 2,800-strong combat aviation brigade and thousands of support forces whose placement was not publicly announced , the Pentagon said. What was 55,000 + 4,000 = "more than 60,000" is now suddenly 68,000. Those are 9,000 more troops than officially announced. That is the strength of more than two full fledged combat brigades that somehow were ordered into Afghanistan without any public notice. How come? And yesterday Petraeus requested even more troops: If approved, the additional 10,000 troops -- including a combat brigade of about 4,000 troops and a division headquarters of about 2,000 -- would bring the total approved for next year to 78,000, officials say. Seeing such mission creep I find it more likely that next year will see a total of 120,000+ U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The number known to the public then might well be somewhat different. But what are the troops to do and what would be considered a success in Afghanistan? Can we measure that? No : Michele Flournoy, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said the administration hasn't yet developed benchmarks to measure progress, but she predicted high human and financial costs for the U.S. in the campaign against Islamic militants in the two countries. So there are more troops in Afghanistan than was known to fight Al-Qaeda which is said to be in Pakistan and without any benchmark to measure success. Again my question: Why doesn't Obama tell tell the public how many troops he really sends to Afghanistan? Posted by b on April 2, 2009 at 07:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (14) Links April 02 09 Articles mentioning a 'threat' in today's New York Times: 22 The Economist's frightening new amusement park: Econoland Jim Lobe interviews Chas Freeman More than doubling: U.S. troop numbers in Afghanistan A public database: Who profits from the Israeli occupation? Julie Flint and Alex de Waal on Luis Moreno Ocampo - Case Closed: A Prosecutor Without Borders Novels : There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: "The Lord of the Rings" and "Atlas Shrugged." One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs. Please add your remarks and links of the day in the comments. Posted by b on April 2, 2009 at 01:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (38) April 01, 2009 Spaghetti Harvest Sadly, those good old times are gone. BBC report on the spring Swiss spaghetti harvest, April 1 1957: Posted by b on April 1, 2009 at 03:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (12) The False Darfur 'Genocide' Numbers Headlined In Defense of Genocide the neoconned WaPo editors condemn the Arab league for hosting Sudan's President Bashir while at the same time accusing Israel of war-crimes. The polemic includes this sentence: T]he United Nations has reported more than 300,000 civilian deaths in Darfur as a result of the genocidal campaign sponsored by Mr. Bashir. There are three false claims in this one sentence. As these false claims are often repeated from the far right to the interventionist left, let me try to dispel them once and for all. The number of 300,000 is false. The UN did not 'report' that number. There was no genocide in Darfur. The 300,000 number is simply taken from hot air. It is based on a exaggerated statement by the UN's humanitarian chief John Holmes : Up to to 300,000 people may have died from the combined effects of war, famine and disease in Sudan's Darfur region since 2003, UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said Tuesday although he conceded this was just an "extrapolation." "A study in 2006 suggested that 200,000 had lost their lives from the combined effects of the conflict," John Holmes told the UN Security Council. "That figure must be much higher now, perhaps half as much again." Queried about how he arrived at the new figure, Holmes later told reporters: "I am not saying I am sure. I said it's a reasonable hypothesis , a reasonable extrapolation from the previous figures from studies done elsewhere." "I am not trying to suggest this is a very scientifically-based figure. It is not a very scientifically-based figure , except on the basis of extrapolation ,' he added. ... Holmes recalled that the figure of 200,000 dead had been used by the United Nations in 2006 based on extrapolation contained in a study by the World Health Organization. That vague statement by Holmes is what the Washington Post characterizes as the 'UN reported'. Holmes extrapolated to 300,000 from a 2006 UN figure of 200,000 which itself was a not justifiable extrapolation from studies that found less excess death. The Belgium Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) did a comparison study of the various studies done by the World Health Organization and others and concluded: In summary, the CRED method estimated approximately 134,000 total deaths in Darfur and Eastern Chad over the 17 months from September 2003 to January 2005. Of these deaths, 120,000 were excess deaths directly attributable to the conflict, 35,000 of which were violent deaths . The US State Department method estimated a possible range of 98,000 - 181,000 total deaths over 23 months - from March 2003 to January 2005. Estimates of excess deaths due to the conflict ranged from 63,000 - 146,000 over the same period. For a November 2006 report to Congress the Government Accountability Office asked twelve experts in epidemiology about such studies and concluded : The experts we consulted did not consistently rate any of the death estimates as having a high level of accuracy and noted that all of the studies had methodological strengths and shortcomings. Most of the experts had the highest overall confidence in the estimates by the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) , which relied primarily on a statistical analysis of about 30 mortality surveys, and they rated the CRED estimates' accuracy and methodological strengths highest among the six . The experts had a slightly lower level of confidence in the State estimate and gave it slightly lower ratings for accuracy and methodological strengths. So the most acclaimed study on Darfur came away with "120,000 were excess deaths directly attributable to the conflict, 35,000 of which were violent deaths". From there all higher numbers are simply taken from the air by 'extrapolating' on the fly. Such extrapolations are not justified. Since mid 2004 the various UN agencies are fully engaged in Darfur and, while there is still strife, no major slaughter has taken place since then. According to the Darfur timeline the major violence there took place in 2003 and early 2004. There is thereby no ground to extrapolate the excess death numbers from that time of hard violence into the time of relative calm. Would it be justified to estimated World War II casualties in 1946/47 from casualty numbers in 1944/45? Certainly not, but that is similar to what John Holmes and others are doing. Now onto the genocide claim. In early 2005 the Report of the International Commission of Inquiry on Darfur to the United Nations Secretary-General (pdf) found: The Commission concluded that the Government of the Sudan has not pursued a policy of genocide . Arguably, two elements of genocide might be deduced from the gross violations of human rights perpetrated by Government forces and the militias under their control. These two elements are, first, the actus reus consisting of killing, or causing serious bodily or mental harm, or deliberately inflicting conditions of life likely to bring about physical destruction; and, second, on the basis of a subjective standard, the existence of a protected group being targeted by the authors of criminal conduct. However, the crucial element of genocidal intent appears to be missing , at least as far as the central Government authorities are concerned. Generally speaking the policy of attacking, killing and forcibly displacing members of some tribes does not evince a specific intent to annihilate, in whole or in part, a group distinguished on racial, ethnic, national or religious grounds. Rather, it would seem that those who planned and organized attacks on villages pursued the intent to drive the victims from their homes, primarily for purposes of counter-insurgency warfare. Still the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, tried to get President Bashir charged for genocide. Given the above report he could not claim that genocide happened in 2003 and 2004. He therefore argued that some hindrances of access to refugee camps and problems with food distribution in 2005 and 2006 were willful acts by the Sudanese government with the intent of genocide. The pre-trial chamber of the ICC rejected (pdf, para 110ff) that view as implausible: [T]he Prosecution acknowledges that (i) it does not have any direct evidence in relation to Omar Al Bashir's alleged responsibility for the crime of genocide, and that therefore (ii) its allegations concerning genocide are solely based on certain inferences that, according from the Prosecution, can be drawn from the facts of the case. The pre-trial ICC chamber rules that there is not enough 'reasonable grounds to believe' - the pre-trial standard - that a genocide happened. A conviction in a full fledged trial in court would require the much higher standard of proof 'beyond all reasonable doubt'. The prosecutor now tries to have the pre-trial ruling overruled by an appeal chamber. Alex De Waal, an expert on the Darfur conflict, asked three legal experts who all conclude that the chances of that appeal are very low. There is simply no proof for any intent that is require to designate some slaughter as genocide. Still we should note that others do not agree with the pre-trial chambers arguments and decision. See for example legal scholar Kevin Jon Heller's various posts on the ICC trial at Opinio Juris. Bashir was charged by the ICC with several war-crimes. One day a court may decide about those charges and may find Bashir guilty. Until it does Bashir has the right to be seen as innocent. The prosecutor is only wasting time over an issue that is, in the bigger picture, irrelevant. But back to where we started. Likely much less than 300,000 people died in Darfur. It is possible that some 35,000 died there due do violence in 2003 and 2004 from the several sides of the conflict and more due to hunger and other circumstances. Currently there is no major fighting but a long term refugee problem that somehow will have to be solved. The UN never 'reported' 300,000 death. One UN person unjustifiable 'extrapolated' numbers from a time of violence to a time of relative calm. The case for 'genocide' was never convincing and a major UN commission as well as the International Criminal Court have found it without merit. So why are the neocon WaPo editors still offering this claptrap? Two theories: 1. There is a lot of oil under the sands of Darfur and Sudan is friendly with China - a combination that is automatically seen as hostile by an empire that strives to control all world energy resources. 2. Another possible motivation behind the hostile position towards Sudan are Israeli considerations like the "Yeor plan" which envisions water supply for Israel through pipelines from the Nile: Ethiopia and the Sudan have already reacted with alarm to published reports that there are plans to divert Nile water to Israel. Ethiopia provides Egypt with 86% of its Nile water and is desperately in need of water development projects on its own territory in order to feed its growing population of more than 62 million. (In 1960 Egypt's population was under 30 million.) From the point of view of the Nile's main riparians, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, the great danger of sharing Nile water with Israel is that, however small the initial amount may be, and even if nominally the water were for Palestinian use, once Israel begins to take water from the Nile it may then contend, under international law, for larger shares in future. Supporting the suspicion that water for Israel is a motive for the false claims against Sudan is the fact that the "Save Darfur" movement is driven by Jewish interest groups. As the Jerusalem Post reported : Little known, however, is that the ["Save Darfur"] coalition, which has presented itself as "an alliance of over 130 diverse faith-based, humanitarian, and human rights organization" was actually begun exclusively as an initiative of the American Jewish community. And even now, days before the rally, that coalition is heavily weighted with a politically and religiously diverse collection of local and national Jewish groups. In reality I suspect a mixture of motives that drive the general hostile U.S. position towards Sudan, the false accusations of genocide and the overstatements of casualty numbers in the Darfur conflict. The simple fact that Sudan does not do what the U.S. says it should do is probably enough for the Washington Post editors to condemn it. They are free to do so. But besides false numbers and wrong claims they have little to make their case. Posted by b on April 1, 2009 at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (29) Links April 01 09 Netan-Yahoo to Obama: Bomb Iran or I will Richard Sale: Israel's Covert War on Iran Faces Disapproving White House Soon to die: NATO turns 60 Useful: The Idiot's Guide to Pakistan Margolis: Beware those treacherous AfPaks War Pigs - Cost Of A Global Empire Financing the Empire - Does US Face G20 Mutiny? Buiter on bad stimulus: Please torch my car This piece looks a bit into the bankruptcy proceedings of GM and Chrysler. It would take two years at least for GM to go through these. The piece misses the $1 trillion in Credit Default Swaps written on GM debt.Those will be 'triggered' by a the bankruptcy. Who will have to pay? Obama Said to Find Bankruptcy Likely for GM, Chrysler Stiglitz: Obama's Ersatz Capitalism Please add your remarks and links of the day in the comments. Posted by b on April 1, 2009 at 01:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (29)

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Written by Christine Erickson over 6 years ago The Mashable Meme Machine is a daily look at five hilarious viral topics spreading across the web right now. In case you missed our latest series, here are our picks for the funniest of the funniest in the meme machine. It was a hard decision, but so... Written by Brandon Smith over 6 years ago Everyone likes to cut a rug now and then, and successful TV shows like So You Think You Can Dance and America's Best Dance Crew further prove that the U.S. has a healthy interest in the art form. Dance is a major part of musical culture; people push ... Written by Christine Erickson over 6 years ago By now, you're probably familiar with Saturday Night Live's skit in which Jesus visits the Denver Broncos locker room after their win against the Chicago Bears. It's one among many, many spoofs, satires and weird mashups to have hit the Internet sinc... Written by Frank Marquardt over 6 years ago Frank Marquardt is director of content strategy at The Barbarian Group, a digital services and creation company. Find him on Twitter @tralition. Traditional advertising worked through distraction -- an interruption to our sitcom, a page between magaz... Written by Amy-Mae Elliott over 6 years ago With more than 3 billion views every single day, YouTube is currently the undisputed king of online video. But how well do you know the site? We have spent some time coming to grips with the world's largest video-sharing service and here offer you 10... Written by Todd Wasserman over 6 years ago Each day, Mashable highlights one noteworthy YouTube video. Check out all our viral video picks. Old Spice is continuing its experimentation with new approaches and rotating spokesmen with a new campaign breaking on YouTube and Facebook that features...

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UNRWA: Nearly 80% of Gazans are Aid-dependent 80% of Gazans 'depend on humanitarian assistance'. (Photo: via UNRWA USA) By Palestine Chronicle Staff The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has stated that 80% of Gaza's Palestinians "depend on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs." UNRWA has distributed some hot meals for a total of 26,557 poor refugees in the Gaza Strip during the holy month of Ramadan, sponsored by the UAE-based Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation. "Due to the deteriorated economic situation and high unemployment rates in Gaza, many poor Palestine refugee families do not have access to hot meals, especially in Ramadan. Thanks to the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation we were able to provide thousands of families with a festive meal," said Mohammed Abu Daya, a Program Officer of the UNRWA Relief and Social Services Program. Top story: @UNRWA : ' #Gaza blockade has led to unemployment, poverty, aid depend... pic.twitter.com/hqzoFi4el4 , see more https://t.co/ckYECnhwmB -- harlechnnorfolk (@harlechnnorfolk) June 17, 2016 UNRWA added, "The blockade on Gaza, now in its tenth year, and repeated cycles of armed conflict, have crippled the enclave's trade sector and forced a large part of the population into poverty and misery. The unemployment rate in Gaza stood at 41.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2016, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. It is practically unchanged from the unemployment rate for 2015 overall (41.1 per cent). This is higher than any other economy of the world, as reported by the World Bank." The situation in the Gaza Strip has deteriorated since the Israeli blockade which prevents many items needed for survival from getting in or out. The restrictions also impacted the movement of people and have affected all walks of life in the coastal enclave. Gaza, life under siege: How has the Israeli and Egyptian blockade affected Palestinians' lives in Gaza? https://t.co/CuTbeLx4X6 by @AJLabs -- Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) June 28, 2016 Commenting on the situation in the Gaza Strip since 2007, UNRWA said, "Today, approximately 80 percent of the population in Gaza depend on humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. While in the year 2000, UNRWA provided approximately 80,000 refugees in Gaza with food assistance, this number has increased to more than 930,000 today - almost 70 per cent of the refugee population and over 50 per cent of the total population. Basic in-kind food assistance enables poor households to allocate their limited resources to other relevant items such as fresh vegetables, meat or school stationary for their children." Help the Palestine Chronicle Build a Movement of Truth Please help us continue with this vital mission. To make a contribution using your Paypal account or credit card, please click HERE Or kindly send your contribution to: PO Box 196, Mountlake Terrace, WA, 98043, USA

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In his official portrait , Nintendo's iconic hero Mario poses with confident insouciance, hands placed jauntily on his hips, gut projecting outward. This is the look of a man who knows he can get away with anything, no matter how internally contradictory or tacky, including a pair of white gloves that ill befit his blue overalls with their oversize gold buttons. Even a red cap with his own logo emblazoned on it--a true sign of class if ever there was one, I'm sure . Greetings, Future Tensers, For our monthlong series, Future of the Future, we're writing about the future of prediction. This week, Lawrence Krauss reminds us that there are some things we just can't see coming. He makes the case as he explains why science-fiction writers couldn't imagine the internet . "Their job is not to predict the future," he writes, "it's to imagine it based on current trends." Margaret Atwood, a speculative fiction author known for writing all-too-near tales of the future, affirms this assessment in a delightful interview with Ed Finn. " ... No, I didn't predict the future because you can't really predict the future," the author of The Handmaid's Tale and Oryx and Crake said. "There isn't any 'the future.' There are many possible futures, but we don't know which one we're going to have. We can guess. We can speculate. But we cannot really predict." That said, autocomplete seems like it's doing a decent job--for better or worse . Something else that has proven hard to predict: the end of the world. As Joshua Keating writes, it's turning out to be a problem for ISIS , which recruits using apocalyptic prophecies that haven't been coming true. But as he explains, the terrorist organization is hardly the first movement that's had to adapt because of a false alarm about the End Times. As previous examples show, a failed prediction won't necessarily mean the end of ISIS. Returning to the present, here are some pieces we read this week while trying to figure out how bad the Equifax hack actually is : Preparing for the next natural disaster : As we seek the best way to offer assistance to those devastated by recent extreme weather, Jason Lloyd and Alex Trembath consider how we can prevent suffering and loss from disasters like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the future. Tesla helps drivers flee Irma : Florida Tesla drivers got a surprise earlier this week when the electric car company remotely extended vehicle battery ranges to help with evacuation efforts--a humane response to disaster that also serves as a reminder that we don't own our devices the same way we once did. Russian political ads : Last week, Facebook admitted to congressional investigators that it found evidence that Russian operatives bought $100,000 worth of ads targeted at U.S. voters between 2015 and 2017. Will Oremus explains why this is a big deal. Time capsules : Rebecca Onion takes a look inside time capsules from America's past to discover how our culture and values have changed over time. Events: From chatbots that provide therapeutic conversation to apps that can monitor phone use to diagnose psychosis or manic episodes, medical providers now have new technological tools to supplement their firsthand interactions with patients. Join Future Tense in Washington D.C. on Sept. 28 to consider how these and other innovations in technology are reimagining the way we treat mental illness. RSVP to attend in person or watch online here . Future Tense is a partnership of Slate , New America , and Arizona State University .

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I t's time to come out of the closet: I am a cisgender woman. I can see that you have a quizzical look on your faces. I suppose you don't know what cisgender means. It is one of the 27,956 genders one can choose for oneself on a Facebook profile. A cisgender person identifies as the gender he or she was assigned at birth. "If a doctor said, 'It's a boy!' when you were born, and you identify as a man, then you could be described as cisgender," says the website BasicRights.org . Wait, you are saying to yourselves, then aren't you just a straight person? What is the difference between straight and cisgender ?#ad# According to a Tumblr blog called What-Does-Cis-Mean: terms like cis allow us to identify when we mean cis men/women instead of always using men/women to mean cis men/women while always distinguishing trans men/women as the other. It places cis and trans people on equal ground. I agree, that explanation was needlessly complicated. I will dumb it down for you. A cisgender is basically a non-transgender. But wait, you can't say non-transgender. It is offensive for some reason. According to BasicRights, "referring to cisgender people as 'non trans' implies that cisgender people are the default and that being trans is abnormal." This is the main reasoning behind the existence of the word "cisgender." It was created so as not to offend the trans community. (Although this reasoning doesn't really apply elsewhere: Referring to minorities as non-whites means that the white people are the norm and the minorities are not. So, in the same vein, calling a group of people non-trans means that transgenders are the norm.) The earliest mentions of the word "cisgender" in academia go back to a 1995 article by sexologist Volkmar Sigusch in which he discussed "transsexual desire and cissexual defense." Most recently, even though the term in effect refers to straight people, "cisgender" can be found only on websites catering to the trans community. In fact, when researching the definition of the word, I came across an article called "Trans 101: Cisgender." If the word is meant for non-trans people, then why is it primarily found on trans websites? The "cis" term has been popularized in, among other places, a book called Whipping Girl, which is not, as you might have guessed, about a dominatrix but about the transsexual experience. Why is the transgender community creating words for what I should call myself? So that the trans community will feel better about themselves? In the words of a Tumblr blogger called "Nerd is my gender": Do not call me cisgender. You have no right or authority to name me without my consent. . . . It does not come from us, as its origins are from a trans perspective. . . . Do not call me cisgender. That is offensive to me. I am offended that you consider that you have power over me, and can name me. Maybe I should come up with a new word for people who reject the cisgender label and make that the 27,957th gender choice on Facebook. Please leave any ideas in the comments section below. -- Christine Sisto is an editorial assistant at National Review .

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- Advertisement - "It's impossible to effectually outlaw guns," I wrote in 2015 , "without also outlawing writing, speaking and thinking about guns." I was referring to a US State Department censorship order requiring Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed to remove 3D printing files for the plastic "Liberator" pistol from the Internet. With the help of the Second Amendment Foundation, Wilson and his firm sued against the order. With the help of the First Amendment, they won. The US government realized it had a losing case and settled. Effective August 1, America goes back to having a free press vis a vis guns. A free press plus rapidly proliferating DIY production technology equals the final nail in the coffin of "gun control" as a practical notion. Not that it ever really was one, what with more than 250 million guns already in the hands of more than 100 million Americans. But now it's no longer just a lop-sided contest, it's a done deal. "Gun control" is over. Wilson hasn't been idle while awaiting his big win. He's gone from plans for 3D gun printing in plastic to offering a consumer-priced CNC milling machine -- the Ghost Gunner -- with software that can turn a block of metal into the frame of an AR-15 rifle or a .45 semi-automatic pistol right in anyone's home workshop. No serial number. No permit. No background check. That's that. We're done here. - Advertisement - As the clock runs forward, it's now also going to run backward. Because 3D printers and CNC mills will make whatever they're programmed to make, consider the National Firearms Act of 1934 repealed. If there aren't already CAD files out there telling home milling machinery how to turn out machine guns and silencers, there soon will be. You don't have to like it. That's how it is whether you like it or not. For decades, "gun control" advocates have, from behind the sturdy shield of the First Amendment, agitated for willful misinterpretation of, or even repeal of, the Second. They still have that shield, as well they should. What they no longer have is any plausible case that they can get their way. So, are "gun control" advocates ready for a ceasefire? Are they willing to start discussing real ways of achieving their supposed goal -- reducing violence in American society -- instead of continuing to pursue their lost cause? - Advertisement - I doubt it. Lost causes are both more fun and more profitable than getting serious. But let's hope.

It's impossible to effectually outlaw guns," I wrote in 2015 , "without also outlawing writing, speaking and thinking about guns." I was referring to a US State Department censorship order requiring Cody Wilson and Defense Distributed to remove 3D printing files for the plastic "Liberator" pistol from the Internet.

Managing Editor May 18, 2017 At least two quick thinking heroes are emerging from the crazy and tragic scene that unfolded in Times Square today, where one innocent pedestrian was killed and at least 20 other people were injured. 26-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a lengthy criminal history, inexplicably made a u-turn and began mowing down people walking on the sidewalk in New York's busy Times Square. When the car smashed into barriers and stopped, Rojas exited the vehicle and attempted to flee. One incredible photo was snapped of Rojas attempting to flee the scene: Rojas attempting to flee after killing one pedestrian and injuring many more. That's when a ticket agent, Alpha Balde, and a Planet Hollywood security guard leapt into action. Alpha Balde....thank you for being a hero today & risking your life by stopping Richard Rojas before he could hurt others in Times Square. pic.twitter.com/P2YpIjKc7u -- Vince 22 (@VinceGagliardi) May 18, 2017 "The bouncer from Planet Hollywood knocked him out. He knocked him out so bad you could see the blood coming out of his face. That's when I jumped in, I grabbed him from his neck and within about one minute everybody's there." Balde said he didn't want to take any chances. "I ripped off his shirt," Balde said. "We watch TV all the time, You have to make sure this guy doesn't have anything under his shirt that's going to damage you. So I ripped the shirt to find out no gun, no knife, no belt." Very heroic actions, considering the unknowns at play. Rojas could easily have been a terrorist wearing a suicide belt, or someone about to go on a massive shooting spree. There was just no way of knowing, and these brave bystanders didn't hesitate to put their lives on the line to help make sure no one else got hurt. Incredible actions. Balde also told reporters that he was so angry he wanted to punch Rojas, but authorities quickly descended on the scene before he could do so. New reports are emerging that claim Rojas was hoping to commit suicide by cop. The New York Post has this quote from Rojas: The Bronx man who plowed his car into a Times Square crowd, killing a teen tourist and injuring 22 others, wanted to commit murder, and then wanted cops to kill him, police sources said. "You were supposed to shoot me! I wanted to kill them," Richard Rojas, 26, told police, according to sources. The killer, who's been arrested twice for DWI, wasn't drunk when he went on the rampage in the heart of the Big Apple, a high-ranking police official said. Rojas is currently being tested for drugs, as he appeared to be high, according to sources. The one person killed in the melee was 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman, whose 13-year-old sister was also hit by the crazed driver. Elsman was in town visiting NYC. PICTURED: 18-year-old Alyssa Elsman who was killed in horrific Times Square crash https://t.co/glE8M4I3xZ pic.twitter.com/7TnqT5lraf -- Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) May 18, 2017 A horrible tragedy for this family to endure, they will definitely need prayers and love to get through this. (h/t CrimeOnline )

-year-old Richard Rojas, who has a lengthy criminal history, inexplicably made a u-turn and began mowing down people walking on the sidewalk in New York's busy Times Square. When the car smashed into barriers and stopped, Rojas exited the vehicle and attempted to flee.

By George Rasley, CHQ Editor | 10/30/13 This week's much anticipated grilling of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and various other Obama administration officials about the disastrous rollout of the ObamaCare website will provide Republicans with all kinds of opportunities to thump their chests about how bad ObamaCare is and how much they oppose it. But we don't expect anyone in the establishment media to ask the chest thumpers the obvious question. If you oppose ObamaCare why would you fund it? While the establishment GOP's opposition to the efforts of Ted Cruz and Mike Lee to defund ObamaCare really goes to the heart of why limited government constitutional conservatives have had their fill of the Republican establishment - and its Capitol Hill leadership - the question applies to a host of other issues as well. There's nothing Obama does that the Republican establishment won't inveigh against - but nothing they will actually do to defeat or better yet rollback Obama's policies. The constitutional power of the purse is the one tool that the Republican House majority has to fight President Obama and his policies. We have yet to hear Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Eric Cantor, Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy or any of the other establishment Republican leaders stand up and say "There's nothing in the Constitution that requires us to fund programs with which we disagree. In fact the Framers gave us the power of the purse because they wanted Congress to act as a check on an overambitious President." And giving the power of the purse to the House in particular to rein-in an overambitious executive branch was not an accident of history - it was intended by the Framers of the Constitution as an essential part of the system of checks and balances they designed in anticipation of the election of a power hungry President like Barack Obama. At the beginning of the fight to defund ObamaCare we thought the problem was that the House GOP leaders were so unfamiliar with arguing their position from the limited government constitutional conservative perspective that they didn't think to make the argument that they are doing the job the Framers of the Constitution envisioned for the House by refusing to fund programs with which they disagree. Now we're not so sure. As they caved-in on defunding ObamaCare the Republican establishment quickly fell back to making a process argument that Obamacare isn't ready to go and thus its implementation should be postponed for a year. That tells us that they are happy to give Obama time to fix ObamaCare, but opposed to actually doing the one thing that would stop ObamaCare before it becomes another welfare addiction - defunding it. The Republican establishment can't have it both ways. Either you are for ObamaCare and its implementation, or you are against it and are willing stand on principle and use every opportunity available to fight it until you win.

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LGBTQ workers & militants take to the streets By Gerry Scoppettuolo Published Jun 15, 2012 9:18 PM Ever since the Los Angeles Compton Cafeteria and New York City Stonewall rebellions of the 1960s, Pride marches have brought lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, and their friends and supporters into the streets in the month of June, and in some areas in July or August, to honor and carry on the traditions of struggle. The commercialization and corporatization of Pride over the years has not been able to dim the essential spirit of fightback. WW photos: Steve Kirschbaum That spirit was on full display in the Boston Pride march on June 9. Well-organized and forceful contingents representing Free CeCe McDonald, ACT UP Boston, Local 26 of UNITE HERE, the Stonewall Warriors and the Anarcho Queer Bloc marched one after the other through the streets, passing hundreds of thousands of onlookers. These contingents consciously planned and organized to march together in a spirit of unity and militancy. They did not march to elect sellout Democrats to office. They did not march to advertise beer, luxury gay vacations or the Bank of America. The workers, unemployed and youth who took to the streets were there to raise up and organize around life-and-death issues that face the most oppressed among us. Chants of "Free CeCe McDonald!" boomed from the open microphone of the Stonewall Warriors float, which led the contingents. McDonald had just been sentenced to 41 months in prison for fighting back in self-defense against a gang of openly fascist thugs just over a year ago in Minneapolis. The trans community and other supporters have been galvanized in defense of McDonald in recent months all over the U.S. Acclaimed trans activist and author Leslie Feinberg was arrested last week in Minneapolis for demonstrating support for McDonald and was released from jail just two days before Boston Pride. Stonewall means Fight Back! Members of the newly reorganized ACT UP Boston raised high their banners as well, their placards demanding: "Tax Wall Street! ACT UP! Fight Back! Fight AIDS!" More than 1,000 people living with HIV are homeless in eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, and ACT UP Boston is planning direct action to demand affordable housing. Many marchers carried placards for Pvt. Bradley Manning, who is on trial in a military court for allegedly revealing the Pentagon's war crimes in Iraq. Others carried signs for Tarek Mehanna, a 29-year-old Egyptian man from Stoughton, Mass., who was wrongly charged with terrorism in federal court after refusing to participate in a violent action by undercover FBI "sting" agents. The largest contingent numerically was that of the hotel and restaurant workers of UNITE HERE Local 26. Their members, one after the other, took the Stonewall Warriors' microphone to proclaim their recent union victories. The union and its student and community supporters recently won a resounding election victory for Northeastern University cafeteria workers by an unheard-of majority vote of 299-46! The national union has organized its locals to march in Pride every year across the country as part of the LGBT/Labor "Sleep With the Right People" campaign, which urges the communities to boycott hotels where there is an organizing campaign or a strike. This effort was initiated several years ago by Harvey Milk colleague and AIDS Quilt originator, Cleve Jones. The spirited Anarcho Queer Bloc organized dozens of their numbers from Occupy Boston and elsewhere in a rousing rebuke to assimilationists, gay and straight monied forces and, above all, the bourgeoisie. They and Workers World Party Boston proudly carried banners for CeCe McDonald with revolutionary commitment and homage worthy of the sacrifice of the first Stonewall combatants, true leaders in the struggle for LGBTQ liberation such as Sylvia Rivera and Marsha Johnson. Articles copyright 1995-2012 Workers World. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved. Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011 Email: [email protected] Subscribe [email protected] Support independent news DONATE

LGBTQ workers & militants take to the streets

The Senate voted to override President Barack Obama's veto of a bill that allows families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia, which means lawyers have started to move ahead with cases already pending in court: James Kreindler, whose New York firm represents hundreds of victims' families, said attorneys would soon file... NBC Entertainment has pulled Mail Order Family only 72 hours after executives announced the TV show. Jackie Clarke developed the show "based on her own experiences growing up in a home with the mail-order Filipina bride her father 'purchased' from a catalog, just a few years after her mother's death." But people... Aleister recently noted that the White House is struggling to make Obamacare appeal to millennials. 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You may remember Joy Karega, the Oberlin College Social Justice Writing professor (yes, there is such a position) who, when not helping organize anti-Israel BDS events with Students for a Free Palestine, posted bizarre Jewish conspiracy theories on Facebook. Like this image of how the Rothschild family controls the world: Karega also pushed... The Senator and Congressman were just driving along and saw people in need of assistance, so they stopped to help. The Wheeling News Register reports: Around 9:30 p.m. Thursday, two members of Congress, Sen. Marco Rubio and Rep. Joe Heck, stopped along Interstate 70 near The Highlands after seeing the wreckage of the... I discussed yesterday how GOP Super PACs have poured more money into saving its senate seats even though it appears the party will maintain its majority. Yet the GOP may lose a seat in Missouri as Democrat Jason Kander moves up in the polls and displays fresh confidence against incumbent Roy... Banning the burka is catching on in Europe, as we reported the other day, Swiss Parliament Votes to Ban Burqas in Public. Here is another report, this time from Bulgaria. Via The Express, Bulgaria bans the burka - and offenders will LOSE their benefits: Bulgaria's parliament banned the wearing of face veils on Friday...

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"Al Jazeera now broadcasts to the region the words of Senator Durbin, certainly putting America's men and women in uniform in greater danger. No more needs to be said about the motives of liberals." Karl Rove , 06/21/05 "It's outrageous that the same Democrats who stood by Dick Durbin's libeling of our military are now expressing faux outrage over Karl Rove's statement of historical fact ." RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman , 06/23/05 Open Thread 05-61 News, views, opinions ... Punch Drunk Billmon: All along, the bedrock of Rove's political "philosophy" has been the conviction that propaganda will always trump reality -- as long as the desired message is consistent with existing popular myths and prejudices. Missing a run-away Caucasian bride, Mr. Rove yesterday tried his new communication concept to divert the public from the administrations disasters with the Bolton nomination and Social Security legislation, Iraq and Afghanistan. Rove said : "Liberals saw the savagery of the 9/11 attacks and wanted to prepare indictments and offer therapy and understanding for our attackers," [...] "Conservatives saw the savagery of 9/11 and the attacks and prepared for war." Liberals were right. Diligent criminal investigations and harsh indictments against anybody proven to be connected to 9/11 and other terror incidents would have brought the responsible people to jail by now. How many people were rightfully indicted and convicted for terrorism by the Bush administration? None that I know of. Therapy for the victims and the nation would have gone a long way to find a rational answer to the attack. Instead of such an answer the Americans did get duct tape, stinking socks at airport gates and a $320 billion bill (and counting) for an unjustifiable war. Understanding the motives of the attackers, how false these may have been, would have helped to correct the course of future attackers. If there was grievance that these attackers felt the need to avenge, the long term strategy has to be to avoid such grievance and to take away the motives for future attacks. Rove also said: "Conservatives saw what happened to us on 9/11 and said we will defeat our enemies. Liberals saw what happened to us and said we must understand our enemies." Liberals were right. One can not defeat people who are willing to die for their cause, when each of their death creates two more of such people. One can take away their cause. But that first requires to understand that cause and some willingness to reflect your own attitude and the feeling of others . So what is all the fuzz about? Liberals were right. And they should say so. What the establishment media covering Iraq have utterly failed to make clear today is this central reality: With the exception of periodic flare-ups in isolated corners, our struggle in Iraq as warfare is over. Egregious acts of terror will continue--in Iraq as in many other parts of the world. But there is now no chance whatever of the U.S. losing this critical guerilla war. ... But in the longer run, I'd still like to believe that the more tenaciously the Republicans cling to power, the more they rig the system to protect themselves from the wrath of the voters, the more sweeping will be their eventual defeat. Making Up Excuses Some on the left of the U.S. politic spectrum are trying to excuse their sorry administration, compatriots and themselves from the Iraq disaster. E.J. Dione, Brookings scholar and Washington Post OpEd contributor, writes today : The notion that the president led the country into war through indirection or dishonesty is not the most damaging criticism of the administration. The worst possibility is that the president and his advisers believed their own propaganda. Dionne goes on to prove they believed their propaganda by citing it. Sure E.J., they were just dumb and not liars ... aren't they just terrible? Blogger hero Atrios chips in his two cents: We need to distinguish between the "WMD" and "the threat." Without a real investigation we'll never know to what degree they hyped WMD claims they thought were false instead of simply hyping claims they did not know were true. ... Believed in WMDs they hyped? Perhaps . Believed in the threat they hyped? Nope. Repeat: "Without a real investigation we'll never know to what degree they hyped Poles attack Gleiwitz claims they thought were false instead of simply hyping claims they did not know were true." Yes, perhaps Hitler just did believe that, and yes E.J., if he did believe it and told his people so, it's much worse than if he just would have lied? Dione, Atrios you must be kidding me. Like me, you did listen to, or read Mohamed El Baradei's report to the U.N., Feb. 14, 2003: As I have reported on numerous occasions, the IAEA concluded, by December 1998, that it had neutralized Iraq's past nuclear programme ... We have to date found no evidence of ongoing prohibited nuclear or nuclear related activities in Iraq. or Hans Blix's presentation : So far, UNMOVIC has not found any such weapons , only a small number of empty chemical munitions, which should have been declared and destroyed. Another matter - and one of great significance - is that many proscribed weapons and items are not accounted for. [...] One must not jump to the conclusion that they exist. .. This was the very, very best intelligence anybody could get. Baradei and Blix had several hundred experts on the ground in Iraq with access to everything they demanded to see, to smell or to touch. All Blix and Baradei could come up with, under very significant pressure, were possible accounting problems . Now Atrios thinks maybe BushCo were just 'hyping claims they did not know were true.' No Duncan, they did know their claims were false , as you would have, if you would have cared to listen. There was nothing in doubt about Iraqi WMDs, not a bit. Neither for those common people, like me, who did listen, nor to Bush or Cheney. Duncan, may I cite the head of the British Intelligence reporting to Tony Blair directly after coming back from a meeting with the CIA director in 2002? Now please grow up and stop making up excuses. Dining With the Devil + by Billmon I. If some idiot with a blog could see this fiasco coming two years ago, why couldn't the world's most powerful military -- and its most expensive and sophisticated intelligence agency -- see it as well? Invisible Means of Support by Billmon Finally, there's always the chance the past few months have been a fluke -- a case of lingering denial by voters who don't want to accept just how badly Bush has fucked up. The Duke in Stir by Billmon So, while my conscience won't allow me to gloat over the sight of the Cheney administration hopelessly impaled on its own Iraq lies, and I'm far too pessimistic to take much comfort in Shrub's falling poll numbers, I have absolutely no objections whatsoever to savoring the public humiliation (and, with luck, multiple felony convictions) of Duke Cunningham, conservative asshole extraordinaire. Just Another OT News, views, visions ... open thread Looking for a Scapegoat II by Billmon Next on Fox News : Liberals conspire to poison military water supply; smuggle plutonium to bin Ladin; sacrifice disabled Christian babies to Allah. Dreaming of Blue Helmets by Billmon But the neocons are even more fanatical about this than their paleo cousins. I really think they would prefer to see Iraq sink into complete chaos, and pay the price of another 1,700 American deaths, rather than pass even nominal military control to the United Nations. Rewarding Failure by Billmon I've heard military guys refer to this as the "fuck up and move up" school of personnel management. Which I guess we can modify to "fuck up, help cover the Defense Secretary's ass from potential criminal charges, and then move up." Slander by Billmon "Some people say Baker's reckless charges have severely damaged Spc. Baker's morale and crippled his ability to extract information from Al Qaeda prisoners -- information that could save American lives," reported Fox News personality Brit Hume. "They're demanding that Baker retract his allegations and offer a full apology to Spc. Baker." Going to Tehran by Billmon But the American people apparently missed all those White House warnings about "generational commitments." Too busy watching the Michael Jackson trial, I guess. But what happens if (or, more likely, when ) the voters decide that one generation of dead and maimed American soldiers is one too many? What if they don't want to go to Tehran? From: cbaily@ lincolngroup.com To: psyops@ centcom.mil Copy to: puppets-list-iraq, puppets-list-afghanistan Subject: Message Ready to Read (MRR) Expanding our exiting 'Message Ready to Read' (MRR) supply , we are proud to deliver the new agreed-upon format for the body count campaign. (We have now succeeded in a single format for the eastern and western campaign!) This will help you to achieve reporting the recommended 10:1 ratio of casualties in any future incident. Thank$ Christian B. Scathing or Real? Atrios pointed ; to a Boston Globe piece about Iraq, that has an interesting bit on Iran. A former Pentagon official, journalist, and president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Leslie Gelb, a man with considerable political and military knowledge, came back from a fact-finding trip in Iraq ... In a report to the council, Gelb was scathing about America efforts to train an Iraqi army. ''If you ask any Iraqi leader, they will tell you these people can't fight. They just aren't trained. And yet we're cranking them out like rabbits." As for plans to train a 10 division Iraqi army by next year, Gelb was scathing . ''It became very apparent to me that these 10 divisions were to fight some future war against Iran. It had nothing to do, nothing to do," with taking Iraq over from the Americans and fighting the insurgents. The Boston Globe author refers to Gelb's CFR talk 10 days in Iraq . There Gelb says: If you ask any Iraqi leader, they will tell you these people can't fight. They just aren't trained. And yet we're cranking them out like rabbits. I'm going to leave the names out of here because I really do admire the people involved, and I know what political pressure is. I said, "Well, where is all this heading?" And no kidding, he said to me, "A 10-division Iraqi armed force." And I lost it at that point, the only time in the whole trip I just lost it. I said, "Ten divisions! The United States Army has 10 divisions!" And he said, "And two mechanized divisions." I said, "We have two mechanized divisions! You're going to create an Iraqi army as big as the American Army? Are you nuts?" And then the next PowerPoint chart comes up: "Well, we need a division here and we need a division here and we need a division"-- it became very apparent to me that these 10 divisions were to fight some future war against Iran. It had nothing to do--nothing to do--with taking that country over from us and fighting the insurgents. It made no sense to me. It was the single-most disturbing conversation I had .. Why doesn't this make sense? And is Gelb really scathing here or did he miss his portion of Kool Aid and this is for real? A bit late friday art blogging. Two Cows by Wolfgang Ohlhaver (detail) 40''x55'', acrylic on canvas, ( full view ) Wolfgang is a former art teacher and local known artist living in my part of Hamburg. I meet him today and photographed this one. He has made a bunch of similar pictures of cows against just a white background and nearly lifesize. He is engaged in animal rights and working for better herding conditions. Some miles north from here are the roots of these Holsteiner-Frisians, also named 'Schwarzbunte' (black-colorful ones). Big, pretty and peaceful animals. Those coded markers in the left ears were introduced after the BSE panic. You will get yours with Patriot Act III. As a child I did seriously believe that black-white mottled cows made milk and brown-white mottled cows, uncommon in my hometown, made chocolate. I really bitched to my mother about letting me keep this believe after I milked my first brown checkered one. ("hits" in these statistics are actually "pageviews" or "pageimpressions") Form Over Substance by Billmon There appear to be enough "top Al Qaeda aides" in Iraq to fill Shea Stadium. Zarqawi's inner circle alone would probably take up the entire upper deck. This is not only bad news, but bad storytelling. The Biggest Bubble Ever Remember 1990? The Japanese economy was invincible. They were invading the markets with their cars, semi-conductors, and buying assets all over the place, what with the land in Tokyo being worth more than the whole of the USA (or something like that). Remember how it ended? Well, now have a look at this: Posted by Jerome a Paris at 11:55 AM | Comments (13) Dateline: ( some date ) ( some place in Iraq ) Body: [ Iraqi | US | US and Iraqi ] forces have [ nabbed | captured | arrested ] [ a | one | two ] [ senior | middle ] [ figure | operations chief | terrorist operative ] of [ Jordanian | al-Qaeda-linked | Iraq's most wanted ] terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi . ( arabic name ) , also know as ( other arabic name ) , was [ detained | picked up ] on ( some date ) during an [ Iraqi police | US military | US and Iraqi ] [ raid | road block | operation ] in ( some place in Iraq ). A [ spokesman | US General | Iraqi minister ] talked of a [ "major catch" | "significant impact" | "big step forward" ]. Getting Traction by Billmon .. if the pink tutu Democrats see that the hearings are not a bad way to get their preening mugs on the tube, they might be more inclined to show up, giving the hearings a little more heft, if only through weight of numbers. Which might draw more media coverage. Rep. John Conyers just finished today's 'hearing' on the Downing Street Memo. Thanks to bloggers the memo now has gotten some serious traction in the U.S. too. You will read the details and takes on that 'hearing' in tomorrows papers and I am not eloquent enough in English to give a decent short take of the C-SPAN stream, but some remarks may be allowed: There were some 10 cameras in the room of that 'hearing', which was not an official Congress Hearing, but a pure Dem show in some basement room. Truth and Consequences by Billmon .. And these are just the things we know about. What happens on the remoter flyspecks in the American archipelago (much less the affiliated islands of our Saudi or Egyptian or Pakistani "allies" in the war against terrorism) remains largely a closed book. We know prisoners have died in American custody, some appear to have been brutalized before they died. We don't know how many were murdered. .. The End of the War on Terror From yesterdays White House press briefing : Q Can you define for me the end of the war [on terror]? MR. McCLELLAN: Terry, the President has talked about this. There are those who espouse an ideology of hatred and oppression. What we are working to do is defeat the ideology of hatred and oppression by spreading freedom and by taking the fight to the enemy. That's why we're staying on the offensive and going after those who seek to do us harm. We're fighting them abroad so we don't have to fight them here at home. So there's a comprehensive strategy that we have for winning the war on terrorism, which I think is what you are getting at. But it is a war that continues. Posted by b at 06:25 AM | Comments (49) Looking for a Scapegoat by Billmon .. since the antiwar movement has been effectively blacked out in the media and is rarely visible in the streets, it certainly can't be rationally blamed for failure in Iraq - which means it almost certainly will be blamed, and not just by Tom Friedman. by John Everyone knows that Thatcher fell in 1990. Some know that this fall was pre-ordained at Bilderberg . But how many know that a constitutional coup took place? When Thatcher fell she was replaced by Major . But the mechanism was not a popular vote. Rather a poll of Conservative Party MPs gave the leadership of the Party to Major, along with a working majority. That makes Major the Prime Minister, right? Wrong! See my piece on Friedman' s OpEd here . Which boot-camp are his daughters in? also Billmon The good news, of course, is that replicants don't live very long, and Howie's already past his pull date. The Post is about due for a replacement. .. and check the elder one too for lots of good links With Diplomats Like These .. This Financial Times Observer column is funny: Senator Bill Frist, the US Senate Republican majority leader, yesterday held a press conference to urge Democrats to stop blocking the nomination of John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations. Appearing with John McCain, the maverick Republican, Frist emphasised that it was crucial to fill quickly the UN position, which he said had remained vacant for 200 days since the resignation of John Danforth, the previous US ambassador. In an attempt to reinforce the urgency of the UN position, Frist listed a series of significant events that had occurred in those 200 days. "We have seen the orange revolution in Ukraine, the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon, the vote in Iraq, the vote in Palestine, the hope of opening the presidential elections in Egypt." That just leads Observer to wonder whether the US should even bother sending an ambassador to the UN. Democracy seems to have fared better when the US chair has been empty. But really, the FT observer is right. The just should not restrict this to the UN. The U.S. will send car salesman Robert Tuttle as ambassador to the U.K. and Bush's cousin and real estate expert Craig Stapleton to France. With "diplomats" like these, one might be better off without. "The Burdon Is On Iraqis" Flat Earth Friedman says Let's Talk About Iraq . He finally points out, who is to blame for the disaster in Iraq. Ever since Iraq's remarkable election, the country has been descending deeper and deeper into violence. ... So far the Iraqi political class has been a disappointment. .. No Shiite Hamid Karzai has emerged. ... True Lies by Billmon You have to admit: He's got us coming and going. By insisting that the media cover the story of Bush's illegal rush to aggressive war, we've demonstrated we're just a bunch of unreasonable extremists peddling a paranoid conspiracy theory -- one that "everybody" already knows is true. When Evil Empires Collide by Billmon You know, I used to think this was just a little over the top: [pic] Now I don't. Throwing in the Towel by Billmon Under the circumstances, the "bitter enders" could very well carry the day in any internal political debate within the community. War, even a protracted struggle that leaves Iraq in ruins (that is, in even more ruins) could be seen as preferable to a compromise peace that ultimately leaves the Sunnis (from their point of view) at the mercy of their enemies. And this might be true not just of the jihadis and the hard-line neo-Baathists, but of many non-ideological fighters and their popular supporters -- exactly the people that have to be peeled away if a political solution is to work. Why DID we invade Iraq? (Elevated from a comment ) Why DID we invade Iraq? Bush gave one reason, Cheney another, Condi another, the Pentagon another, the press another, Rummy and Crew another, each Congress critter cited his or her own, the tubefed multitudes all had their reasons, and new reasons are added almost daily as this thing boils over . . . Ohhhh, Richard! It's just too complex to ever figure out, to ever finally know -- why DID we invade Iraq? Unless . . . we talk about what goal every one of those myriad reasons points to. Let's cook it down. What did everybody's individual pot of justification stew have as a common ingredient? What was in every pot? Blowback by Billmon For some time now, one of my pet suspicions has been that the Pentagon's psywar budget is also a hidden piggy bank and an R&D laboratory for the GOP's own political propaganda operations.

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The programme aims to provide 100 million families, or about 500 million people, with health coverage of 500,000 rupees per year for the treatment of serious ailments. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, India. January 29, 2018. ( Reuters ) India has allocated $1.54 billion for its ambitious health programme aimed at providing insurance coverage for about half the population, the health minister said on Thursday, labelling it the largest such scheme in the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government, which has dubbed the scheme "Modicare", announced in February the programme would provide 100 million families, or about 500 million poor people, with health coverage of 500,000 rupees per year for treatment of serious ailments. The federal budget had made an allocation of 20 billion rupees for the scheme for 2018-19, but officials had said more funds would be made available as the programme was rolled out. Health Ministry officials said the government has allocated 100 billion rupees ($1.54 billion) for the "National Health Protection Mission" for 2018/19 and 2019/20. "It's a historic step and a bold decision. It will be the largest public funded health protection scheme in the world," Health Minister JP Nadda said at a news briefing. The measures are Modi's latest attempt to reform a public health system that faces a shortage of hospitals and doctors. The government has also in recent years capped prices of critical drugs and medical devices and increased health funding. Still, India spends only about 1 percent of its GDP on public health, among the world's lowest, and the health ministry estimates such funding leads to "catastrophic" expenses that push 7 percent of the population into poverty each year. "This will give underprivileged families the financial support required when faced with illnesses requiring hospitalisation," Nadda said.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks with the media inside the parliament premises on the first day of the budget session, in New Delhi, India.

Three decades later, Italian-Canadian Luisa Bucci still can't come to terms with the car accident that left her a paraplegic at the age of 19. With her manual wheelchair, Bucci needs an accessible apartment with a no-step entry, wider doorways and an altered bathroom and kitchen. Her current housing situation is not fully accessible, leaving her with constant safety concerns. At first, Vancouver, didn't fit within my plans. Honestly, I've only been able to locate it on a map for about three years now, and it's all thanks to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Let's face it, Canada's West Coast remains a mystery to most French people, whereas Quebec has a reassuring ring to it because they speak French, and we are "related". My arrival to Canada was consequently via what some people call "our cousins' province" and, more precisely, through Montreal. Columns , Verbatim In a previous column, I wrote that Obama sorely needed the votes of young Americans if he were to win the election. With sixty per cent of their votes favoring him, it happened. In fact, and we know this now, Obama got the highest score with pretty well everybody, except with men, whites and the elderly. Columns , My Turn Mary Murphy, 64, is an American-born blogger who writes about the experiences of Americans in Canada. She has lived in British Columbia for 41 years, but has yet to obtain her Canadian citizenship. Despite her lengthy residency in Canada, she does not fully distinguish herself as either Canadian or American. However, for Murphy, like a lot of Americans living north of the 49th parallel, American issues and politics remain an important part of their lives. Culture , Political Old Hands, a traditional aboriginal medicine practitioner, is a descendant of the Shoshone Tribe in California. He has been working for years to integrate aboriginal medicine with western medicine in Vancouver. He joins an evolving trend towards integrating these practices through programs, movements and facilities. Social Lorie Corcuera is a Canadian-born Filipino, who first began volunteering her time with the Filipino Student Association at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in her undergraduate years. Since then she feels that she gained significant skills from various volunteer jobs that have transferred towards her career as a human resources specialist. Social Photographer Jan Hilario is somewhere in South East Asia. Before heading over the Pacific ocean, Hilario wrapped up her time in the Americas by hitting the beaches and streets of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These pictures are meant to highlight polar opposite aspects of Brazil that make up one of the most diverse countries in the world. Columns , Photo Mosaic A year ago, Aileen Ellis, 82, moved into one of two cutting-edge, city-owned buildings reserved for low-income earners in Vancouver's Olympic Village (The Village). Since then, using her complicated, high-tech condo energy system has been a challenge, and she's not alone. Community , Social Get ready for the holidays with some seasonal festivities. The Vancouver Men's Chorus will be performing at Making Seasons Bright. There are also craft fairs for unique gift ideas at the Portobello West Holiday Market and at Got Craft? Other notable events are: the International Day of Persons with Disabilities and the International Day of Solidarity with Palestinians. Events A new world awaits when you walk through the door of Vancouver Olive Oil Company (VOOC). First you're taken in by the beautifully arranged dark-stained shelves made of pine beetle wood and filled with cylindrical stainless steel containers called fustis. The fustis have spigots which dispense exotic olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Lower shelves contain tasting utensils and empty, labeled bottles waiting to be filled. The central table in this photo is made from reclaimed acacia wood and sits atop wheels from India. On the surrounding walls are framed photo prints by Robert Doisneau, a French photographer who took the famous 1950 photo of two lovers kissing near the Town Hall in Paris. The VOOC photos are of Italian villagers harvesting olives and producing olive oil. Columns , Street Photography by Denis Bouvier

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Here Are The Memes That Cost 10 Students The Chance To Attend Harvard 12:06 PM 06/06/2017 Rob Shimshock | Education Reporter Harvard rescinded the offers of at least ten incoming freshmen mid-April for sharing what it termed "offensive" memes and messages, as reported Sunday. The memes pertained to the Holocaust, suicide, racism, pedophilia, and bestiality. Incoming freshmen sent pictures of the memes, as well as accompanying dialogue to The Tab . Students' admission offers were likely retracted for "engag[ing] in behavior that brings into question [their] honesty, maturity, or moral character," a provision Harvard states on its official Facebook page for the Class of 2021. (RELATED: Ten Students Get Harvard Offers Rescinded For Sharing Memes In Private Chat) Here are some of the memes that appeared in the group chat, which went by the names "Harvard memes for bourgeois teens" and "General Fuckups": Other memes joked about beating dead Mexicans who hanged themselves like pinatas and wondering if one's disabled after not getting an erection at a funeral. "The Admissions Committee was disappointed to learn that several students in a private group chat for the Class of 2021 were sending messages that contained offensive messages and graphics," said Harvard in an email sent to students in the group. "We are asking that you submit a statement by tomorrow at noon to explain your contributions and actions for discussion with the Admissions Committee." Send tips to rob@dailycallernewsfoundation.org . Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org .

Here Are The Memes That Cost 10 Students The Chance To Attend Harvard

Those of you who have followed the Undocumented Alien Children (UAC) story, which began in the summer of 2014, will note the nationality of two UAC's who brutally raped a 14-Year-Old Rockville Maryland Student. Henry Sanchez, 18, originally from Guatemala and Jose Montano, 17, a native of El Salvador, brutally raped a 14-year-old high school student on Thursday. Sanchez had a pending illegal alien removal case (deportation order) pending, which was not carried out while immigration activists tried to block the deportation. Sanchez and Montano dragged the 14-year-old victim into a school bathroom where they repeatedly gang raped her during school session. The sickening story is partially explained in the local news coverage: You might also remember Glenn Beck, Dana Loesch and Senator Ted Cruz going to the Texas border during the summer of 2014 to bring teddy bears and soccer balls to the future rapists. ( See Here and also See HERE ) I wonder how they feel about this story now? Maryland - [...] The victim told police she was walking in a school hallway on March 16 at about 9 a.m. when the two male students approached her, according to charging documents. Montano asked her twice to have sex, and after she refused, he forced her into a boys' bathroom and then into a stall, according to police. The student told police that Montano and Sanchez raped her multiple times, according to the court documents. She cried out in pain and repeatedly told the two students to stop, she told police. Forensic investigators said an inspection of the boys' bathroom later turned up suspected blood "that may be mixed with male fluid," the court documents stated. Sanchez and Montano were arrested at school, police said, and have been held since Thursday. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says they have a detainer on Sanchez, a citizen of Guatemala. The agency could not comment on Montano's case since he is a minor. In a letter to parents, Montgomery County Public Schools said school officials notified police immediately after the student reported the assault to a staff member. (read more) The 2014 UAC Crisis was specifically an out of control influx of "Unaccompanied Alien Children" that were not children, and were not unaccompanied. There were entire families relocating illegally, and thousands of South American gang members including MS13 gang members, all teenage or early twenties males, who crossed the border under the auspices of being children. They were categorized as "refugees" and settled in numerous communities throughout the U.S. UAC Distribution Map by President Obama and HHS CTH was one of a small group of websites that began tracking the location of all the UAC's that were being disbursed by the Obama administration throughout the U.S. ( See Here ) We also tracked the amount of taxpayer money being used at the time. Specifically to Maryland the South American UAC's were sent to: 2014 Windsor Mill, Maryland - 1 Facility - BOARD OF CHILD CARE OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH, INC [Residential Emergency Housing and Care for UAC's] Address: 3300 Gaither Road BALTIMORE, MD 21244 HHS Grant $2,387,200 2014 Baltimore, Maryland - 1 facility - LUTHERAN IMMIGRATION & REFUGEE SERVICE [Foster Care Placement] Address: 700 LIGHT ST BALTIMORE, MD 21230-3850 HHS Grant $14,957,523 2014 Staunton, Virginia - 1 facility - Shenandoah Valley Juvenile Detention Home [Residential ORR/DCS Secure and Staff Secure] Address: 300 Technology Drive STAUNTON, VA 24401 HHS Grant $3,282,893 2014 Bristow, Virginia - 1 facility - Youth For Tomorrow [Residential Shelter UAC Program ] Address: 11835 Hazel Circle Drive BRISTOW, VA 20136 HHS Grant $8,314,702 What makes all of this worse is that the influx of these "UAC refugees" was not organic in nature. Exhaustive research discovered there was a specific program in place by the Obama Administration to seed the exodus and create a manufactured UAC crisis at the border - Outlined Here - That young rape victim in Maryland is a specific victim of the damage caused by the UAC crisis initiated by President Obama and the blind idiots like Glenn Beck, Dana Loesch and Senator Ted Cruz who were codependent enablers allowing the Obama administration to carry out the scheme. Dana Loesch presents herself as a womens rights and gun rights activist. She is currently a leading spokesperson for the NRA. However, Loesch's activity with Beck and Cruz on behalf of President Obama in 2014 is what has inevitably, and predictably, culminated in the victimization and rape of a 14-year-old high school student in Maryland - and hundreds more rapes and murders throughout the country. They too own this outcome.

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Dear diary, many of my colleagues are unhappy about the recent events in Syria. They are unhappy that Assad is still in power. However, I see the metaphorical glass as being half full. In a recent poll , 58% of Americans support the bombing of Syria and 19% have "no opinion." This is wonderful news, since it shows how the vast majority of people are easily manipulated and are simply apathetic. In a democracy, the most important but least understood tool is propaganda. Let me share with you the fundamentals of a successful propaganda campaign. Here are the five rules of public relations a.k.a propaganda: Keep the message simple Make it emotional Don't allow nuances or debates Demonize the opposition Keep repeating the message Rule #1 : The principle message has to be simple so that even a 5-year-old can understand. In this case, it was, "Assad used chemical weapons to kill innocent Syrians." The secondary message was we should do something about it. Everyone who watched TV or read the mainstream/social media got this message loud and clear. Rule #2 : Make it emotional. Propaganda is just marketing. (In fact, the phrase Public Relations was coined to replace Propaganda when the latter became a dirty word after World War I). Every good commercial has an emotional aspect to it. Emotions stop you from thinking and analyzing. Thus, while selling Pepsi, marketers use sexy women, selling a war requires evoking fear and/or anger. About 120 years ago, when the U.S. wanted to steal Cuba from Spain, it relied upon the exact playbook. "You furnish the pictures, and I'll furnish the war," said the newspaper oligarch William Randolph Hearst to his cartoonist. The pictures portrayed dying children and brutal Spanish authorities. (Although Spain is white, the picture on the right used a monstrous person with African American features, since a warmonger could also be racist in those days). Today, the U.S. government tells the White Helmets, "You furnish the videos, we'll furnish the war." It's the same technique used over and over. Remember during Iraq War 1, when a girl testified before the Congress that Iraqi soldiers were killing newborn babies in incubators? Of course, it turned out to be fake news; and the girl turned out to be the daughter of the Kuwaiti Ambassador . The Syrian war is also a great study in use of emotional language: "worst chemical attack in Syria in years" (a lie from NY Times that forgot its own article about 52+ chemical attacks by ISIS); "international outrage," "shocked the world," "horrific/deadly/ghastly/heinous chemical attack" etc. Also, the Syrian government is always referred to as "regime" and Assad is always a "dictator" or a "butcher" who "kills his own people." Every word and phrase is designed to have an emotional impact. Rule #3 : No debate allowed. The media and the pundits left absolutely no doubt who the culprit was. Within minutes after the release of pictures/videos, everyone was blaming Assad. So it didn't matter if you listened to ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox, or read the NY Times, WaPo or HuffPo ... everyone was singing the same tune. Tucker Carlson was the only mainstream person who went off the script, but we are taking care of him. This kind of consistency is really important in a successful propaganda campaign. No one should be allowed to consider other alternatives - could the attack be staged, could it be a false flag, could it be fake, how do we know when/where the videos were taken, why is it that Assad's chemical weapons kill only children and civilians and never the jihadists, why do the attacks happen only when Assad is winning etc.? There was also no discussion of evidence or proofs. We see pictures and videos, and that's enough. We have a doctor on site who says it's Sarin or chlorine gas ... end of story. Nobody discusses options such as should we send an international team of doctors and experts to the site, should we wait for an autopsy, should we get Assad to answer these charges (gasp!) and so on. The U.S. Establishment is the jury, judge and the prosecutor. The witness is Al Qaeda who supplies the pictures and the videos, but the average person doesn't know that either. The secondary message was also never debated. Even if you assume that the Syrian government used chemical weapons, why should the U.S. do something about it? Is it a moral obligation that only falls on the U.S.? Is it a legal obligation? Does the U.S. intervene every time and anytime some country uses chemical weapons? How about non-chemical weapons? No such discussions are permitted. Even the bombing was so ridiculous, but the average person doesn't notice anything suspicious. For example, we bombed the Barzeh research facility that has been inspected and cleared by the OPCW many times, including once in Nov 2017. The fact is that it's a civilian research and educational center: Furthermore, the OPCW team had just arrived in Syria on April 13 when the trio of U.S./U.K./France bombed the sites. Wouldn't it make sense to send the OPCW team to inspect the buildings before bombing them? Also, if the buildings really had chemical weapons, wouldn't bombing them disperse the chemicals and kill thousands of civilians near by? The real proof for the civilian nature of these buildings is that within a couple of hours after the bombing, there were Syrian journalists and soldiers walking through the rubbles of these lethal "chemical weapons factories." Thinking only complicates matters and ruins everything. That's why propaganda has to keep everything simple. Rule #4 : You have to viciously attack anyone who questions the official narrative. We did a great job of attacking independent journalists and bloggers. Vanessa Beeley, Eva Bartlett and Twitter influencers such as @PartisanGirl and @Ian56789 were all maligned as "Russian bots." Ian even got banned from Twitter for a few days. Sites such as 21 st Century Wire and Russia Insider were brought down by our hackers during the strikes on Syria. Rule #5 : Repetition is key in any successful campaign - selling a product, a politician or a war. Thus the media saturated the airwaves and the Internet with shocking language and pictures and videos. The West really has only one media outlet, but it comes in 100's and 1000's of different names in order to give the illusion of choice and diversity. Thus when the same message is repeated so many times by so many people, it comes becomes the truth. So, you see, it doesn't matter if Assad is still in power. The most important thing is that people are gullible and malleable, since that allows us to keep the war going and eventually achieve our goals. I assure you, we will get Syria and then we will get Iran. Yes, it will be a humanitarian disaster of epic proportion, but rest assured that the people of the West will feel good about it. That's the power of propaganda! Chris Kanthan is the author of a three new books: Deconstructing the Syrian war, Geopolitics for Dummies and What the heck happened to the USA? Chris lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, has traveled to 35 countries, and writes about world affairs, politics, economy and health. His other book is Deconstructing Monsanto. Follow him on Twitter: @GMOChannel

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Weather on steroids: What to expect from a changing climate Clare Demerse | Even if you don't live in Alberta or Mississauga, floods are fodder for conversations across the country right now. And more and more Canadians are asking whether what we're seeing is climate change. briefly July 10 Vancouver's Grandview-Woodland urban development plan: Whose options are really on the table? Tania Ehret | In what seems to be the year of the developer, the recently drafted Grandview/Woodland Community plan brings a new take on density to Vancouver's Broadway and Commercial neighbourhood. rabble series July 10 Made on Haida Gwaii: Men, mentors and mental health April Diamond Dutheil | Alan Lore works with the Haida Family and Child Services Society (HFCSS) to counsel and mentor island youth. satire July 9 Where's the Mulk when you need him? Andreas Krebs, Suzanne Gallant | We don't want calm Tom. We want the raging, seething, forehead-vein-popping apoplectitude we were promised. So we decided to rewrite the past in hopes it will provide some guidance for the future. politics July 9 Canadians on Capitol Hill to lobby for a revenue neutral carbon tax Cheryl McNamara | We were in Washington, D.C., for the fourth annual Citizens Climate Lobby Conference and Lobby Days. We met with 439 congressional offices that week. rabble series July 9 Made on Haida Gwaii: Entrepreneur Erica Ryan-Gagne launches her vision April Diamond Dutheil | In October 2010 Erica launched her first enterprise, Eri-Cut & Nailed, a one-stop salon providing manicure, pedicure and hair-cutting services to the residents of Haida Gwaii. rabble news July 9 Oil and blood in Lac-Megantic Michael Lee-Murphy | Oil and gas flow throughout the Canadian economy like blood through the body, powering the industries which depend on those resources. politics July 5 Under Ataturk's gaze: On the ground in Taksim Square Samuel Ramos | Taksim Square is starting to resemble life before May 31. But a mild unease can be felt, as Turkey's two main cities start to resemble a police state. in their own words July 4 Ten days of Pride: Lighting candles for Pride High Holy Week Roy Mitchell | For Pride High Holy Week 2013, I lit a candle each day and contemplated being Queer and Pride. The following are those contemplations. politics July 4 Why Canada's Wheat Board will be missed Gavin Fridell | In 2012, the Conservatives ended the 70-year monopoly seller status of the Canadian Wheat Board, one of the world's largest and most successful "state trading enterprises." politics July 3 Sustaining revolutionary spirit from Tahrir to Emilie Gamelin Stefan Christoff | Egypt today illuminates possibilities that can inspire and inform social movements in Quebec and Canada. in their own words July 3 Tar Sands Healing Walk is part of process of fundamental transformation Brigette DePape | This is not a traditional protest, but a walk led by First Nations communities to call for an end of the destruction of the oil sands, and to start the healing. politics July 2 Conservatives fail to take human rights seriously in Canada-Colombia deal Raul Burbano | For the second year in a row, the Conservative government has failed to live up to its moral obligation to analyze the impact of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (CCOFTA) on human rights. in their own words July 2 The importance of the Tar Sands Healing Walk Clayton Thomas-Muller | This year's Healing Walk will be number four, which in many native circles is a very significant number: four directions, four nations of the earth. rabble interview July 1 Idle No More co-founder Sheelah McLean on Canada Day and Sovereignty Summer Derrick O'Keefe | When you don't explain Canada's real history "then what happens is that people blame the victim." in their own words June 28 Decolonization: The fundamental struggle for liberation Robert Lovelace | The three most important factors that reinforce Idle No More in Canada are emerging communications technologies, urbanization and growing connections with international decolonization movements. press release June 28 Unmasking Bill C-309: Newly passed legislation threatens freedom of expression Sana Malik | Last week, Bill C-309, the 'Preventing Persons from Concealing Their Identities During Riots and Unlawful Assemblies Act,' was given royal assent. in their own words June 27 Colonialism for Dummies (a story about chickens to help explain Canadian history) Robert Lovelace | Sometimes a truth is revealed in a strange way. Elders have told me that when a song or teaching has been lost it will find a way to be sung or told again when it is needed. briefly June 27 Senate blocks anti-union Bill C-377; CLC says scrap it altogether rabble staff | Sixteen Conservative Senators voted with Liberal Senators to block Bill C-377, which means that the controversial legislation has to go back to the House of Commons. politics June 27 The trouble with Obama's plan for the climate crisis: Too much fracking, too little urgency Sarah Lazare | President should renounce "all of the above" energy strategy and nation's reliance on dirty fossil fuels, say environmentalists. rabble news June 26 Water, water everywhere: Will storms and floods like this become the new normal? Sarah Boon | This type of storm may be the new normal. The hydrologic cycle is 'speeding up' with climate change, as there's more moisture in a warmer atmosphere politics June 26 Obama endorses green energy, divestment from polluters Tom Hayden | In one of the the most significant policy proposals of his presidency, Barack Obama committed his administration to global leadership against severe climate change Tuesday. rabble news June 25 Midnight confiscation of drilling equipment at New Brunswick anti-fracking protest Claire Stewart-Kanigan | A midnight confrontation, alleged drilling on private property, and confiscation of company equipment -- report from New Brunswick. rabble news June 25 U.S. acting the global bully as it scrambles to detain whistleblower Edward Snowden Jon Queally | Supporters of Snowden say that the U.S. government's aggressive pursuit of the confessed NSA whistleblower is what should most trouble those concerned about international law and civil liberties. politics June 25 From Turkey with love: On tear gas and Taksim Square Belen Fernandez | The protests in their current form can be understood without the invocation of previously-labeled phenomena: they are, quite simply, an assertion of humanity in the face of inhumanity. opinion June 25 Chronicle of a disaster foretold: Calgary and the floods Andrew Nikiforuk | Most Albertans still can't believe the scale of the multi-billion disaster that has dampened Calgary and environs because affluence tends to dull the senses. rabble news June 25 New Brunswick: Tensions rise as anti-fracking protests dig in Claire Stewart-Kanigan | Tensions are rising at the Highway 126 anti-fracking camp near Elsipogtog First Nation in Kent County, New Brunswick. Here's our first report from the front lines. in their own words June 25 Genocide, racism and Canada Day: An Algonquin-Anishinaabekwe love letter Lynn Gehl Gii-Zhigaate-Mnidoo-Kwe | Living in Canada as I do, I encounter proud Canadians all the time, more so around the time of Canada Day celebrations. press release June 24 BC Civil Liberties Association: 'CBSA should give up its Hollywood dream and focus on its job' rabble staff | In less than a month, over 1400 people have signed forms refusing permission to be filmed at border crossings by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) or its private film crew partners.

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This is that "international community" President Obama and his Democrat minions are always carping about. After images of riot police in Missouri were broadcast around the world, the United Nations is accusing the United States police of rampant racism against minorities and demanding it review self-defense laws. Photo Credit: Police State USA At a meeting Friday of something called the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination , members criticized the U.S for "racial and ethnic discrimination ... from de facto school segregation, access to health care and housing," Noureddine Amir, CERD committee vice chairman, said at a news conference after the meeting, according to Breitbart. "The excessive use of force by law enforcement officials against racial and ethnic minorities is an ongoing issue of concern and particularly in light of the shooting of Michael Brown," Amir said. Well, now. Before reading any further, it's important to know who else is on this panel. Two of the biggest members, for instance, are China and Pakistan - veritable Shangri-Las of racial justice and religious tolerance, as long as you're a majority Han Chinese or devout Muslim, respectively. As for Mr. Amir, he's an Algerian. And guys from places like Algeria know a thing or two about excessive use of force by law enforcement - since it's the kind of policing you need when a country's young people have been making a habit of storming professional soccer matches and stoning players to death - literally. The man's country is so riven with corruption that it's one of the biggest Europe's biggest natural gas suppliers with a state-run hydrocarbon industry that brings in billions for the crooks at the top -- but has basically nothing in the way of actual civilization unless you count murderous soccer matches. Or, as the Associated Press reported in a story just written Sunday: "there's little entertainment to lighten such a bleak picture, with movie theaters, malls and social clubs scarce." In other words, it's a savage North African hell hole that's a hair's breath daily from turning into another one of those theocratic wonderlands where American ambassadors get killed over rogue videos. And this Amir person managed to escape it long enough to land a sinecure in New York and criticize American racial practices? To be fair to these ignorant opportunists, the ammunition they're firing was made in the good old USA, by MSNBC, The New York Times, and mainstream media outlets that use incidents like the Brown shooting to devote a fair amount of time and manpower to perpetuating the myth that America is incorrigibly racist and irredeemably corrupt. But that doesn't change the fact that they're wrong -- as wrong as wrong can be. Cliched it might be, but there are some phrases that really are irreplaceable, and this one particularly fits the hypocritical elites from China, Pakistan and Algeria (for God's sake!) who roam around New York issuing pointless reports by day and soaking up the American club scene by night: Go back where you came from -- and good luck surviving it. Not surprisingly, sensible Twitter users agree: Leftist, Anti-America United Nations Censures American Law Enforcement as Racist Following Ferguson http://t.co/zKEjLLo2gE @BreitbartNews -- Chris Angelini (@ConserValidity) September 1, 2014 @ConserValidity @BreitbartNews U must be kidding, but UN does want 2 disarm US. -- Ed Lyke (@StrongRThan) September 1, 2014 @ConserValidity @BreitbartNews The UN needs to remove itself from American soil. They seem to love China, let the Chinese support their ass -- Donna (@donnalashe) September 1, 2014 Frankly, I don't recall asking the UN their opinion. ~cj United Nations Censures American Law Enforcement as... http://t.co/YthRExVpKg -- Not On This Watch (@NotOnThisWatch) August 31, 2014 That one is obviously not a Democrat. We know first-hand that censorship against conservative news is real. Please share stories and encourage your friends to sign up for our daily email blast so they are not getting shut out of seeing conservative news. Joe Saunders, a 25-year newspaper veteran, is a staff writer and editor for BizPac Review who lives in Tallahassee and covers capital and Florida politics. Email Joe at [email protected] . Latest posts by Joe Saunders ( see all )

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How Illegal Weapons of Mass Surveillance are Sold (Milicent) Al Jazeera has produced an extremely engrossing, visually powerful documentary , exposing the covert sales of sophisticated surveillance equipment to the highest bidder, no matter how corrupt. And how they circumvent the rules. Facebook to Expand Artificial Intelligence to Help Prevent Suicide (Trevin) The social media giant joins other tech firms that try to help in this area . Google, for example, displays a suicide hotline phone number in response to some searches. When deemed appropriate, Facebook will go so far as to actually alert the authorities. Life in the Amazon (Chris) When he went undercover at an Amazon warehouse , British journalist Alan Selby "found workers falling asleep on their feet as they struggled to keep up with seemingly impossible targets, with a new parcel expected to be packed and ready every 30 seconds." What Do the Koch Brothers Want Out of 'Time' Magazine? (Jimmy) The author writes , "That Charles and David Koch are putting $650m into Meredith Corp's purchase of Time would ordinarily be cause for great soul-searching in media. But these are not ordinary times." Comcast Hints at Plan for Paid Fast Lanes After Net Neutrality Repeal (Jimmy) The author writes , "With Republican Ajit Pai now in charge at the Federal Communications Commission, Comcast's stance has changed. While the company still says it won't block or throttle Internet content, it has dropped its promise about not instituting paid prioritization." Where else do you see journalism of this quality and value? Our Comment Policy Keep it civilized, keep it relevant, keep it clear, keep it short. Please do not post links or promotional material. We reserve the right to edit and to delete comments where necessary.

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