OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The wife of an imprisoned Saudi blogger, sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes on charges that he insulted Islam, said Thursday that her husband can't endure another flogging.
Raif Badawi's wife Ensaf Haidar, now a refugee living in Quebec, went to Parliament Hill on Thursday to join lawmakers in urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to intervene personally with the Saudis.
They want the prime minister to push for the release of Badawi who is set to receive 50 more lashes on Friday. The 32-year-old father of three was lashed 50 times on Jan. 9, but his second scheduled beating was postponed last week for medical reasons.
"Raif's health condition is getting worse and worse," Haidar said through a translator. "I am very concerned about him. It is impossible for a human being to be able to withstand 50 lashes weekly."
Badawi was charged with insulting Islam after he urged Saudis to share opinions about the role of religion in the country on his Free Saudi Liberals website. Saudi Arabia follows a strict form of Islam that includes harsh punishments for challenging customs.
The Jiddah Criminal Court also ordered Raif Badawi to pay a fine of 1 million Saudi riyals, or about $266,000.
Badawi has been held since mid-2012, and his Free Saudi Liberals website is now closed. Full Story
Thursday, January 29, 2015
You can earn $13,000 a year selling your poop
(washintonpost) - You can donate blood, plasma, eggs, and sperm. Why not poop? Yes, your feces are perhaps your greatest untapped monetary resource. Thanks to a nonprofit organization called OpenBiome, you can cash in to the tune of $13,000 a year -- and save lives while you're at it.
Since 2013, OpenBiome has been processing and shipping loads of it all over the country. The frozen stool is administered to patients who are very sick with infections of a bacteria called C. difficile. The bacteria can cause extreme gastrointestinal distress, leaving some sufferers housebound. Antibiotics often help, but sometimes the bacteria rears back as soon as treatment stops. That leads to a miserable, continuous course of antibiotics.
By introducing healthy fecal matter into the gut of a patient (by way of endoscopy, nasal tubes, or swallowed capsules) doctors can abolish C. difficile for good. Finding a donor is tough business, and some patients grow so desperate that they treat themselves with fecal matter from friends and family. That's what happened to a friend of OpenBiome's founders, inspiring them to open up the first nationwide bank. So far they've shipped about 2,000 treatments to 185 hospitals around the country.
And yes, they pay for healthy poop: $40 a sample, with a $50 bonus if you come in five days a week. That's $250 for a week of donations, or $13,000 a year. Read the rest
Since 2013, OpenBiome has been processing and shipping loads of it all over the country. The frozen stool is administered to patients who are very sick with infections of a bacteria called C. difficile. The bacteria can cause extreme gastrointestinal distress, leaving some sufferers housebound. Antibiotics often help, but sometimes the bacteria rears back as soon as treatment stops. That leads to a miserable, continuous course of antibiotics.
By introducing healthy fecal matter into the gut of a patient (by way of endoscopy, nasal tubes, or swallowed capsules) doctors can abolish C. difficile for good. Finding a donor is tough business, and some patients grow so desperate that they treat themselves with fecal matter from friends and family. That's what happened to a friend of OpenBiome's founders, inspiring them to open up the first nationwide bank. So far they've shipped about 2,000 treatments to 185 hospitals around the country.
And yes, they pay for healthy poop: $40 a sample, with a $50 bonus if you come in five days a week. That's $250 for a week of donations, or $13,000 a year. Read the rest
U.S. jobless claims drop sharply to near 15-year low
(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits tumbled last week to its lowest level in nearly 15 years, adding to bullish signals on the labor market.
Though the decline probably exaggerates the jobs market's strength given a holiday-shortened week, Thursday's report suggested the economy was fairly healthy and weathering weakening global growth.
"Claims are a welcome shot in the arm for those believing the economy is strong. The U.S. remains an oasis of prosperity in the world and will continue to do so," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 265,000 for the week ended Jan. 24, the lowest since April 2000, the Labor Department said. It was the biggest weekly decline since November 2012.
The drop exceeded economists' expectations for a fall to only 300,000, but last week also included the Martin Luther King holiday, which means fewer claims were likely processed.
The fall unwound the prior weeks' increases, which had pushed claims above the key 300,000 threshold.
Economists had largely dismissed that rise as "noise," given difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations at the start of the year.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 8,250 last week to 298,500. Full Story
Though the decline probably exaggerates the jobs market's strength given a holiday-shortened week, Thursday's report suggested the economy was fairly healthy and weathering weakening global growth.
"Claims are a welcome shot in the arm for those believing the economy is strong. The U.S. remains an oasis of prosperity in the world and will continue to do so," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at MUFG Union Bank in New York.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 43,000 to a seasonally adjusted 265,000 for the week ended Jan. 24, the lowest since April 2000, the Labor Department said. It was the biggest weekly decline since November 2012.
The drop exceeded economists' expectations for a fall to only 300,000, but last week also included the Martin Luther King holiday, which means fewer claims were likely processed.
The fall unwound the prior weeks' increases, which had pushed claims above the key 300,000 threshold.
Economists had largely dismissed that rise as "noise," given difficulties adjusting the data for seasonal fluctuations at the start of the year.
The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out week-to-week volatility, fell 8,250 last week to 298,500. Full Story
Sunday, January 25, 2015
'War on Alaska'? Obama seeks federal wilderness protection for oil exploration hotspot
(01/25/15) JUNEAU, Alaska -- President Barack Obama is proposing to designate the vast majority of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a wilderness area, including its potentially oil-rich coastal plain, drawing an angry response from top state elected officials who see it as a land grab by the federal government.
"They've decided that today was the day that they were going to declare war on Alaska. Well, we are ready to engage," said U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and chair of the Senate energy committee.
The refuge's coastal plain has long been at the center of the struggle between conservationists and advocates of greater energy exploration in the U.S. Political leaders in Alaska have supported drilling and opposed attempts to further restrict development on federal lands, which comprise about two-thirds of the state.
A bipartisan resolution passed the state Legislature last year, urging Congress to allow for exploration and development on the coastal plain. A federal lawsuit brought by the state over the Interior Department's refusal to consider a proposed exploration plan for the refuge's coastal plain is pending.
Italian Foreign Minister: Serbia, Albania EU Membership Important
ROME – Serbia’s and Albania’s EU membership is of strategic importance for the stabilization and security of the entire Western Balkans, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni has said after meeting with Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dacic and Albanian Foreign Minister Ditmir Bushati in Rome.
Italy has always fought for the goal and will continue to play a major role in this regard, Gentiloni added, the Italian news agency Ansa reported on Friday. He said the two countries “membership in the EU” was a “strategic commitment” for the government in Rome, one stressed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the end of Italy’s six-month EU presidency. Minister Ivica Dacic, who is on an official visit to Rome, took part in a three-way meeting between the Italian, Serbian and Albanian foreign ministers, and the three officials agreed that those talks would help stabilize relations between Belgrade and Tirana. The trilateral meeting was organized at the initiative of Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said in a release on Friday. Dacic said at the meeting that efforts should be made to overcome differences and strengthen the dialogue and friendly relations between Serbia and Albania.
Read More at inserbia.info/today/2015/01/italian-foreign-minister-serbia-albania-eu-membership-important/ © InSerbia News
Italy has always fought for the goal and will continue to play a major role in this regard, Gentiloni added, the Italian news agency Ansa reported on Friday. He said the two countries “membership in the EU” was a “strategic commitment” for the government in Rome, one stressed by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at the end of Italy’s six-month EU presidency. Minister Ivica Dacic, who is on an official visit to Rome, took part in a three-way meeting between the Italian, Serbian and Albanian foreign ministers, and the three officials agreed that those talks would help stabilize relations between Belgrade and Tirana. The trilateral meeting was organized at the initiative of Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, the Serbian Foreign Ministry said in a release on Friday. Dacic said at the meeting that efforts should be made to overcome differences and strengthen the dialogue and friendly relations between Serbia and Albania.
Read More at inserbia.info/today/2015/01/italian-foreign-minister-serbia-albania-eu-membership-important/ © InSerbia News
Doctors Confirm first Human Death officially caused by GMOs
(WorldNewsDailyReport) Madrid| Doctors of the Carlos III hospital confirmed this morning in a press conference, the first case of human death caused by the ingestion of genetically modified food. Juan Pedro Ramos died from anaphylaxis after eating some recently developed tomatoes containing fish genes, which provoked a violent and lethal allergic reaction.
This surprising announcement comes after the autopsy of the 31-year old Spanish man who died at the Madrid hospital in the beginning of January. The young man’s health rapidly deteriorated after he suffered an unexplained allergic reaction, and all the drugs used to refrain the anaphylaxis were entirely inefficient. The team of experts claims to have been able to determine that the genetically modified tomatoes that the victim ingested at lunch were the cause of the allergic reaction that caused his death. Read more
This surprising announcement comes after the autopsy of the 31-year old Spanish man who died at the Madrid hospital in the beginning of January. The young man’s health rapidly deteriorated after he suffered an unexplained allergic reaction, and all the drugs used to refrain the anaphylaxis were entirely inefficient. The team of experts claims to have been able to determine that the genetically modified tomatoes that the victim ingested at lunch were the cause of the allergic reaction that caused his death. Read more
Thursday, January 22, 2015
Family Dollar shareholders approve Dollar Tree deal
(Reuters) - Family Dollar Stores Inc's (FDO.N) shareholders approved the discount retailer's deal to be bought by Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR.O), scuppering a higher hostile offer from larger rival Dollar General Corp (DG.N).
About 74 percent of the total outstanding shares of Family Dollar, the No.2 U.S. discount retailer, were voted in favor of the deal on Thursday.
Family Dollar accepted its smaller rival's cash-and-stock offer of $8.5 billion in July and later rejected a $9.1 billion all-cash offer from Dollar General, citing antitrust concerns. The biggest U.S. discount retailer then took its offer directly to Family Dollar shareholders.
Dollar Tree later threatened to walk away after Family Dollar shareholders twice postponed voting to approve the deal.
"... today was the drop dead day. Shareholders got nervous," Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough said.
The Dollar Tree deal was the right one for shareholders as it has a better chance of passing regulatory muster, Family Dollar Chief Executive Howard Levine said, showing little emotion in discussing the sale of the company his father founded.
Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling called the vote a loss for consumers and Family Dollar shareholders.
About 74 percent of the total outstanding shares of Family Dollar, the No.2 U.S. discount retailer, were voted in favor of the deal on Thursday.
Family Dollar accepted its smaller rival's cash-and-stock offer of $8.5 billion in July and later rejected a $9.1 billion all-cash offer from Dollar General, citing antitrust concerns. The biggest U.S. discount retailer then took its offer directly to Family Dollar shareholders.
Dollar Tree later threatened to walk away after Family Dollar shareholders twice postponed voting to approve the deal.
"... today was the drop dead day. Shareholders got nervous," Edward Jones analyst Brian Yarbrough said.
The Dollar Tree deal was the right one for shareholders as it has a better chance of passing regulatory muster, Family Dollar Chief Executive Howard Levine said, showing little emotion in discussing the sale of the company his father founded.
Dollar General CEO Rick Dreiling called the vote a loss for consumers and Family Dollar shareholders.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
Nebraska Lawmakers Working Toward Paid Family & Sick Leave
(NBCNebraska) LINCOLN, Neb.-- Thousands of don't get paid when they take time off work because they're sick or have a new baby in the family. It's something President Obama said in his State of the Union he wants to see change. Nebraska lawmakers are working to make it happen.
It's a story we've told you about in the past. The difficulties families go through when a family member gets sick, or they have a baby. All reasons many of us take off work. But for some families it's the choice between taking the time and making ends meet.
Now your lawmakers are working to make the change so families don't have to chose. Omaha Senator Jeremy Nordquist introduced a bill this session that would change that.
"You get essentially one work week of sick leave provided to each worker," said Nordquist. He said this bill serves as a base line for paid time off.
While Senator Nordquist is working on this bill here at Nebraska's capital, a similar policy is gaining traction at the union's capital.
President Obama urged lawmakers in his State of the Union address to write a law to provide paid family & sick leave to Americans.
"Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave," said President Obama. "It's the right thing to do," he said.
Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer does have a bipartisan bill in Washington she said will give employers incentive to offer paid time off.
"Our bipartisan plan provides a balanced measure that respects employers' costs of doing business with employee needs. It also creates a meaningful incentive structure to encourage employers to provide working families, including hourly workers, the chance to take paid time off," she said.
State Senator Nordquist said that bill goes well with what's going on here in Nebraska.
"I think it's something that we should even look into at the state level going forward, but as far as just a basic requirement of sick leave going forward I think that's something that can be done at the state level," he said. Full Story
It's a story we've told you about in the past. The difficulties families go through when a family member gets sick, or they have a baby. All reasons many of us take off work. But for some families it's the choice between taking the time and making ends meet.
Now your lawmakers are working to make the change so families don't have to chose. Omaha Senator Jeremy Nordquist introduced a bill this session that would change that.
"You get essentially one work week of sick leave provided to each worker," said Nordquist. He said this bill serves as a base line for paid time off.
While Senator Nordquist is working on this bill here at Nebraska's capital, a similar policy is gaining traction at the union's capital.
President Obama urged lawmakers in his State of the Union address to write a law to provide paid family & sick leave to Americans.
"Send me a bill that gives every worker in America the opportunity to earn seven days of paid sick leave," said President Obama. "It's the right thing to do," he said.
Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer does have a bipartisan bill in Washington she said will give employers incentive to offer paid time off.
"Our bipartisan plan provides a balanced measure that respects employers' costs of doing business with employee needs. It also creates a meaningful incentive structure to encourage employers to provide working families, including hourly workers, the chance to take paid time off," she said.
State Senator Nordquist said that bill goes well with what's going on here in Nebraska.
"I think it's something that we should even look into at the state level going forward, but as far as just a basic requirement of sick leave going forward I think that's something that can be done at the state level," he said. Full Story
Political tremors: Kansas officials link earthquakes to fracking-related process
(foxnews.com) - Kansas officials for the first time have said a sharp increase in earthquakes may be tied to a process connected to fracking -- stoking debate in the state over the controversial drilling practice.
Reports of earthquakes in Kansas have shot up recently, particularly in the state's south-central region. Now, scientists are connecting them to the disposal of wastewater that is a byproduct of the oil-and-gas extraction process.
Rick Miller, geophysicist and senior scientist for the Kansas Geological Survey, told the Lawrence Journal-World, “we can say there is a strong correlation between the disposal of saltwater and the earthquakes.”
During hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” operators use a mixture of saltwater and chemicals to break underground rock formations in order to release oil and gas. Then, to get rid of the water, operators inject it deep into disposal wells.
The comments linking that to the Kansas quakes quickly fueled opposition to the drilling practice from its loyal foes, including the Sierra Club, whose local chapter is using the recent finding to call for a moratorium.
According to the Lawrence Journal-World, Joe Spease, chairman of the Kansas Sierra Club's fracking committee and owner of a renewable energy company, said the state’s chapter supports a bill, not yet introduced, to impose the moratorium to give the industry time to develop a solution to the saltwater disposal issue.
....
Fracking is not a new practice, but the recent spike in seismic activity is. According to the Kansas Geological Survey, the state recorded more than 120 quakes in 2014, up from none in 2012.
Gov. Sam Brownback, appointed a task force a year ago to study the problem. Its report, released in September, said there is not enough evidence to link Kansas earthquakes to the hydraulic fracturing process.
The Kansas Geological Survey and scientists around the country are working to figure out, though, how to address the wastewater disposal process. Full Story
Reports of earthquakes in Kansas have shot up recently, particularly in the state's south-central region. Now, scientists are connecting them to the disposal of wastewater that is a byproduct of the oil-and-gas extraction process.
Rick Miller, geophysicist and senior scientist for the Kansas Geological Survey, told the Lawrence Journal-World, “we can say there is a strong correlation between the disposal of saltwater and the earthquakes.”
During hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” operators use a mixture of saltwater and chemicals to break underground rock formations in order to release oil and gas. Then, to get rid of the water, operators inject it deep into disposal wells.
The comments linking that to the Kansas quakes quickly fueled opposition to the drilling practice from its loyal foes, including the Sierra Club, whose local chapter is using the recent finding to call for a moratorium.
According to the Lawrence Journal-World, Joe Spease, chairman of the Kansas Sierra Club's fracking committee and owner of a renewable energy company, said the state’s chapter supports a bill, not yet introduced, to impose the moratorium to give the industry time to develop a solution to the saltwater disposal issue.
....
Fracking is not a new practice, but the recent spike in seismic activity is. According to the Kansas Geological Survey, the state recorded more than 120 quakes in 2014, up from none in 2012.
Gov. Sam Brownback, appointed a task force a year ago to study the problem. Its report, released in September, said there is not enough evidence to link Kansas earthquakes to the hydraulic fracturing process.
FYR Macedonia: Lawmakers approve same-sex marriage ban
01/21/15 (washingtoblade.com) - Macedonian lawmakers on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between a man and a woman.
Amendment XXXIII passed in the former Yugoslav republic’s assembly by a 72-4 margin less than a year after Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s government introduced the proposal.
“Marriage shall be a life union solely of one woman and one man,” reads the proposed amendment.
Macedonian law already defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Amendment XXXIII states the country “requires a clear and precise constitutional definition of marriage as a union solely of one woman and one man.”
“Marriage exclusively defined as the union between one woman and one man is an integral part of human history, a constant and centuries-long tradition in this region,” reads the proposed amendment. “Marriage is one of the fundamental pillars of society. Thus, marriage constitutionally defined exclusively as a union between one woman and one man shall contribute to marriage as an institution being further acknowledged and promoted in our society.”
The LGBT Support Center, an advocacy group based in Skopje, the Macedonian capital, is among the organizations in the former Yugoslav republic to criticize the proposed amendment.
“These constitutional changes are not only completely unnecessary and redundant, but discriminatory and undemocratic to their very core,” said the LGBT Support Center in a statement. “The only real effect would be enhancing the negative social stigma on LGBTI people, further marginalizing this already deeply marginalized community and unnecessarily increasing the burden of everyday life of LGBT people in Macedonia.” Continue Reading
Amendment XXXIII passed in the former Yugoslav republic’s assembly by a 72-4 margin less than a year after Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski’s government introduced the proposal.
“Marriage shall be a life union solely of one woman and one man,” reads the proposed amendment.
Macedonian law already defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
Amendment XXXIII states the country “requires a clear and precise constitutional definition of marriage as a union solely of one woman and one man.”
“Marriage exclusively defined as the union between one woman and one man is an integral part of human history, a constant and centuries-long tradition in this region,” reads the proposed amendment. “Marriage is one of the fundamental pillars of society. Thus, marriage constitutionally defined exclusively as a union between one woman and one man shall contribute to marriage as an institution being further acknowledged and promoted in our society.”
The LGBT Support Center, an advocacy group based in Skopje, the Macedonian capital, is among the organizations in the former Yugoslav republic to criticize the proposed amendment.
“These constitutional changes are not only completely unnecessary and redundant, but discriminatory and undemocratic to their very core,” said the LGBT Support Center in a statement. “The only real effect would be enhancing the negative social stigma on LGBTI people, further marginalizing this already deeply marginalized community and unnecessarily increasing the burden of everyday life of LGBT people in Macedonia.” Continue Reading
Tootsie Roll Industries Chief Executive Dies at 95
01/21/15 (abcnews) - Melvin Gordon, who led Tootsie Roll Industries Inc. for more than five decades, has died at age 95.
Gordon, the company's chairman and CEO, died Tuesday in Boston after a brief illness, said Brooke Vane, a spokeswoman for the company's public relations firm. Gordon ran the Chicago-based confectioner for 53 years, overseeing the manufacture of 64 million Tootsie Rolls a day and other favorites including Junior Mints, Charleston Chews and Tootsie Pops.
Gordon worked a full schedule until last month, the company said. Read on..
Gordon, the company's chairman and CEO, died Tuesday in Boston after a brief illness, said Brooke Vane, a spokeswoman for the company's public relations firm. Gordon ran the Chicago-based confectioner for 53 years, overseeing the manufacture of 64 million Tootsie Rolls a day and other favorites including Junior Mints, Charleston Chews and Tootsie Pops.
Gordon worked a full schedule until last month, the company said. Read on..
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Americans: One Small Emergency Away From the Street
(thetrumpet) - Most Americans are only one paycheck away from the street, according to a new survey by personal finance website Bankrate.com.
The survey of 1,000 adults found that approximately 62 percent of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair.
A U.S. Federal Reserve survey conducted on more than 4,000 adults in 2014 had remarkably similar discoveries. “Savings are depleted for many households after the recession,” it found, with 57 percent having used up some or all of their savings during and after the recession. Only 39 percent said they had enough money in a “rainy day” fund to cover three months of expenses. Furthermore, more than half of the respondents said they could not finance a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 unless they sold something or borrowed the money.
Andrew Meadows, the producer of Broken Eggs, a documentary about retirement, found that one of the biggest reasons people aren’t saving is because they’re in debt from the 2007 recession. “People are still feeling the heat from the Great Recession,” he said.
Pew Research Center released a report in December 2014 that calculated the net worth of American families—that is, their total assets minus their liabilities—since the recession began. In 2007 it was $135,700, but in 2013 it plummeted to $81,400—a 40 percent decrease in wealth!
Most Americans still keep a household budget though. The Bankrate survey showed that in 2012, 60 percent of Americans had a budget. Now that figure has jumped to 82 percent. Claes Bell, a banking analyst at Bankrate, said this is good, but he also pointed out that “too few have the ability to cover expenses outside their budget without going into debt or turning to family and friends for help.” This means a critical element of their budget is missing—an emergency fund. Full Story
The survey of 1,000 adults found that approximately 62 percent of Americans have no emergency savings for things such as a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair.
A U.S. Federal Reserve survey conducted on more than 4,000 adults in 2014 had remarkably similar discoveries. “Savings are depleted for many households after the recession,” it found, with 57 percent having used up some or all of their savings during and after the recession. Only 39 percent said they had enough money in a “rainy day” fund to cover three months of expenses. Furthermore, more than half of the respondents said they could not finance a hypothetical emergency expense costing $400 unless they sold something or borrowed the money.
Andrew Meadows, the producer of Broken Eggs, a documentary about retirement, found that one of the biggest reasons people aren’t saving is because they’re in debt from the 2007 recession. “People are still feeling the heat from the Great Recession,” he said.
Pew Research Center released a report in December 2014 that calculated the net worth of American families—that is, their total assets minus their liabilities—since the recession began. In 2007 it was $135,700, but in 2013 it plummeted to $81,400—a 40 percent decrease in wealth!
Most Americans still keep a household budget though. The Bankrate survey showed that in 2012, 60 percent of Americans had a budget. Now that figure has jumped to 82 percent. Claes Bell, a banking analyst at Bankrate, said this is good, but he also pointed out that “too few have the ability to cover expenses outside their budget without going into debt or turning to family and friends for help.” This means a critical element of their budget is missing—an emergency fund. Full Story
Monday, January 19, 2015
Tens of thousands protest against Mohammed cartoons in Russia Occupied Chechnya
Hundreds of thousands of people rallied Monday at a state-sponsored protest in Russia's Muslim North Caucasus province of Chechnya against the publication of Prophet Mohammed cartoons in the wake of Islamist attacks in France.
(France24) = An AFP journalist at the event put the attendance figure at several hundred thousand, while Russia's interior ministry said over 800,000 people had flooded into central Grozny for the demonstration.
"This is a protest against those who support the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed," Ramzan Kadyrov, who has ruled Chechnya with an iron fist since being installed by President Vladimir Putin a decade ago, told the rally.
Kadyrov has turned Chechnya, where tens of thousands of civilians were killed in two Kremlin wars to crush a separatist movement, into a showcase for loyalty to Putin.
The martial arts fan attacked the French government for backing Charlie Hebdo magazine's right to run a Mohammed cartoon on its front cover days after two Islamist gunmen -- saying they were avenging the publication of previous Mohammed caricatures -- massacred 12 people at its office in Paris.
"We say firmly that we will never allow anyone to go unpunished for insulting the name of the Prophet and our religion," Kadyrov said.
Demonstrators chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest) and released balloons into the sky at the highly-choreographed event, as speakers harangued Western governments' argument that printing caricatures of Islam's prophet is a matter of free speech.
Authorities in Chechnya, which has a total population of around 1.25 million, said they had expected some 500,000 people to attend the rally and appealed for believers to come from around the North Caucasus region.
Live footage on Russian state television showed demonstrators filling the main square in Grozny, which only has a population of around 250,000. Full Story
Missouri baby killed in accidental shooting
Florida Boy's Circumcision Spurs Lengthy Legal Battle, Protests
ugh stfu already..
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — An estranged Florida couple's fight over whether to circumcise their son has become a rallying cry for those who denounce the procedure as barbaric. The dispute between Heather Hironimus, the mother opposing circumcision, and Dennis Nebus, the father favoring it, has sparked a prolonged court battle, protests and the rapt attention of a movement of self-proclaimed "intactivists."
Volumes of court filings tell the story: Hironimus and Nebus had a six-month relationship that resulted in a pregnancy, the birth of a boy named Chase, and a fight over nearly everything since. The circumcision of the child was agreed to by both parents, but when it came time to schedule the procedure, the mother resisted, having researched the subject further. Judges have ruled in favor of the father, meaning the surgery is likely to happen — but the possible closure of the legal chapter has done little to quiet the case's most passionate followers. Opponents have been bolstered by the overall waning popularity of circumcision, and the fact this fight has gone on so long the boy at its center is now 4 years old. Full Story
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. — An estranged Florida couple's fight over whether to circumcise their son has become a rallying cry for those who denounce the procedure as barbaric. The dispute between Heather Hironimus, the mother opposing circumcision, and Dennis Nebus, the father favoring it, has sparked a prolonged court battle, protests and the rapt attention of a movement of self-proclaimed "intactivists."
Volumes of court filings tell the story: Hironimus and Nebus had a six-month relationship that resulted in a pregnancy, the birth of a boy named Chase, and a fight over nearly everything since. The circumcision of the child was agreed to by both parents, but when it came time to schedule the procedure, the mother resisted, having researched the subject further. Judges have ruled in favor of the father, meaning the surgery is likely to happen — but the possible closure of the legal chapter has done little to quiet the case's most passionate followers. Opponents have been bolstered by the overall waning popularity of circumcision, and the fact this fight has gone on so long the boy at its center is now 4 years old. Full Story
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Obama Will Seek to Raise Taxes on Wealthy to Finance Cuts for Middle Class
The proposal faces long odds in the Republican-controlled Congress, led by lawmakers who have long opposed raising taxes and who argue that doing so would hamper economic growth at a time the country cannot afford it. And it was quickly dismissed by leading Republicans as a nonstarter.
But the decision to present the plan during Tuesday’s speech marks the start of a debate over taxes and the economy that will shape both Mr. Obama’s legacy and the 2016 presidential campaign.
It is also the latest indication that the president, untethered from political constraints after Democratic losses in the midterm elections, is moving aggressively to set the terms of that discussion, even as he pushes audacious moves in other areas, like immigration and relations with Cuba.
The president’s plan would raise $320 billion over the next decade, while adding new provisions cutting taxes by $175 billion over the same period. The revenue generated would also cover an initiative Mr. Obama announced this month, offering some students two years of tuition-free community college, which the White House has said would cost $60 billion over 10 years. Read the rest
Test Finds College Graduates Lack Skills for White-Collar Jobs
(wsj.com) - Four in 10 U.S. college students graduate without the complex reasoning skills to manage white-collar work, according to the results of a test of nearly 32,000 students.
The test, which was administered at 169 colleges and universities in 2013 and 2014 and released Thursday, reveals broad variation in the intellectual development of the nation’s students depending on the type and even location of the school they attend.
On average, students make strides in their ability to reason, but because so many start at such a deficit, many still graduate without the ability to read a scatterplot, construct a cohesive argument or identify a logical fallacy.
“Even if there is notable growth over four years, many students are starting at such a low point they may still not be proficient at the point of graduation,” said Jessalynn K. James, a program manager at the Council for Aid to Education, which administered the test. The CAE is a New York-based nonprofit that once was part of Rand Corp.
The exam, known as the Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus, measures the intellectual gains made between freshman and senior year. The test doesn’t cover subject-area knowledge; rather it assesses things like critical thinking, analytical reasoning, document literacy, writing and communication—essentially mimicking the baseline demands for professionals.
“These are the skills that are important no matter what you are doing; if you’re serving on a jury or looking for a good candidate to vote for, these are highly transferrable skills,” Ms. James said.
The test comes at a time of rising tuition and student debt and a broad rethinking of the value of a college degree in a changing job market. Last month, President Barack Obamaspelled out plans for a college-rating system that aims to assess how well schools prepare students for the work world, among other criteria. Full Story
The test, which was administered at 169 colleges and universities in 2013 and 2014 and released Thursday, reveals broad variation in the intellectual development of the nation’s students depending on the type and even location of the school they attend.
On average, students make strides in their ability to reason, but because so many start at such a deficit, many still graduate without the ability to read a scatterplot, construct a cohesive argument or identify a logical fallacy.
“Even if there is notable growth over four years, many students are starting at such a low point they may still not be proficient at the point of graduation,” said Jessalynn K. James, a program manager at the Council for Aid to Education, which administered the test. The CAE is a New York-based nonprofit that once was part of Rand Corp.
The exam, known as the Collegiate Learning Assessment Plus, measures the intellectual gains made between freshman and senior year. The test doesn’t cover subject-area knowledge; rather it assesses things like critical thinking, analytical reasoning, document literacy, writing and communication—essentially mimicking the baseline demands for professionals.
“These are the skills that are important no matter what you are doing; if you’re serving on a jury or looking for a good candidate to vote for, these are highly transferrable skills,” Ms. James said.
The test comes at a time of rising tuition and student debt and a broad rethinking of the value of a college degree in a changing job market. Last month, President Barack Obamaspelled out plans for a college-rating system that aims to assess how well schools prepare students for the work world, among other criteria. Full Story
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Retailer Target to close all of its 133 stores in Canada
(BBC) The US discount store Target is to shut all of its 133 stores in Canada two years after launching there.
On current trading performance, Target Canada, which employs 17,600 people, would not be profitable before 2021, its US parent said in a statement.
Target Canada, which has filed for bankruptcy protection, faced tough competition from Walmart and Costco, which opened in the country years ago.
Target said the closure was in the "best interest of the business".
Chairman and chief executive Brian Cornell said in a statement: "After a thorough review of our Canadian performance and careful consideration of the implications of all options, we were unable to find a realistic scenario that would get Target Canada to profitability until at least 2021,"
He said the focus now would be on "driving growth" in the US, where it has 1,801 stores. Full Story
Related: Why Target’s Canadian Expansion Failed
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts says US special forces carried out Paris attack, not Kouachi brothers
I can has conspiracy theory?
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, who was Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Department in the Reagan Administration and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, made the remarks in an articlepublished on Tuesday.
He said that “yet the suspects who were later corralled and killed seemed bumbling and unprofessional. It is like two different sets of people.”
He wondered how the so-called Islamic terrorists were “prepared to die in the attack; yet the two professionals who hit Charlie Hebdo were determined to escape and succeeded, an amazing feat.”
A spate of violent incidents, including the attack at the Paris office of the controversial magazine Charlie Hebdo, left at least 17 people dead last week in the French capital.
Two days after the Charlie Hebdo attack, Said and Cherif Kouachi were killed after being cornered at a printing workshop in the French town of Dammartin-en-Goele.
Dr. Roberts stated that the terrorist attack in Paris was certainly a false flag operation, which was carried out by the CIA with the collaboration of French intelligence since the US spy agency “has more control over French intelligence than does the President of France.”
He slammed the US media for its lack of journalistic objectivity and said it is “serving as a ministry of propaganda for Washington” instead of investigating Washington’s faulty version of the Paris incident.
The widely read American columnist criticized US citizens for their gullibility, saying, “Americans are a pitifully misinformed people. All of history is a history of false flag operations. Yet Americans dismiss such proven operations as ‘conspiracy theories,’ which merely proves that government has successfully brainwashed insouciant Americans and deprived them of the ability to recognize the truth.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, he also questioned the veracity of the September 11, 2001 attacks that left about 3,000 people dead in the United States.
“If we believe the official story, the 9/11 attack on the US shows that 19 Muslims, largely Saudis, without any government or intelligence service support, outwitted not only all 16 US intelligence agencies, the National Security Council, Dick Cheney and all the neoconservatives in high positions throughout the US government, and airport security, but also the intelligence services of NATO and Israel’s Mossad,” he said. (Source)
(beforeitsnews) - A former White House official says the January 7 terrorist attack that killed 12 people in Paris was carried out by highly trained special forces from the United States, not by the two “bumbling” brothers who were later killed by the French police.
Dr. Paul Craig Roberts, who was Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Department in the Reagan Administration and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal, made the remarks in an articlepublished on Tuesday.
He said that “yet the suspects who were later corralled and killed seemed bumbling and unprofessional. It is like two different sets of people.”
He wondered how the so-called Islamic terrorists were “prepared to die in the attack; yet the two professionals who hit Charlie Hebdo were determined to escape and succeeded, an amazing feat.”
A spate of violent incidents, including the attack at the Paris office of the controversial magazine Charlie Hebdo, left at least 17 people dead last week in the French capital.
Two days after the Charlie Hebdo attack, Said and Cherif Kouachi were killed after being cornered at a printing workshop in the French town of Dammartin-en-Goele.
Dr. Roberts stated that the terrorist attack in Paris was certainly a false flag operation, which was carried out by the CIA with the collaboration of French intelligence since the US spy agency “has more control over French intelligence than does the President of France.”
He slammed the US media for its lack of journalistic objectivity and said it is “serving as a ministry of propaganda for Washington” instead of investigating Washington’s faulty version of the Paris incident.
The widely read American columnist criticized US citizens for their gullibility, saying, “Americans are a pitifully misinformed people. All of history is a history of false flag operations. Yet Americans dismiss such proven operations as ‘conspiracy theories,’ which merely proves that government has successfully brainwashed insouciant Americans and deprived them of the ability to recognize the truth.”
Elsewhere in his remarks, he also questioned the veracity of the September 11, 2001 attacks that left about 3,000 people dead in the United States.
“If we believe the official story, the 9/11 attack on the US shows that 19 Muslims, largely Saudis, without any government or intelligence service support, outwitted not only all 16 US intelligence agencies, the National Security Council, Dick Cheney and all the neoconservatives in high positions throughout the US government, and airport security, but also the intelligence services of NATO and Israel’s Mossad,” he said. (Source)
U.S. retail sales post largest decline in 11 months
Jan/14/2015 (Reuters) - U.S. retail sales recorded their largest decline in 11 months in December as demand fell almost across the board, tempering expectations for a sharp acceleration in consumer spending in the fourth quarter.
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday retail sales fell 0.9 percent last month after a 0.4 percent increase in November.
It was the biggest decline since last January and exceeded economists' expectations for only a 0.1 percent drop and implied a slower pace of consumer spending at the end of 2014.
Still, economists saw the decline as temporary, citing a strengthening labor market and lower gasoline prices.
"This isn't the start of a collapse in activity as that doesn't fit with the strength of employment growth and consumer confidence. Retail sales will strengthen again before too long," said Paul Diggle, an economist at Capital Economics in London.
Economists at BNP Paribas in New York blamed the decline on difficulties adjusting the numbers for seasonal fluctuations in December because of volatility in holiday spending.
Other economists said consumers were saving the extra income from lower gasoline prices.
Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, sales fell 0.4 percent last month after a 0.6 percent rise in November.
Economists had expected the so-called core retail sales, which correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, to rise 0.4 percent last month. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Full Story
The Commerce Department said on Wednesday retail sales fell 0.9 percent last month after a 0.4 percent increase in November.
It was the biggest decline since last January and exceeded economists' expectations for only a 0.1 percent drop and implied a slower pace of consumer spending at the end of 2014.
Still, economists saw the decline as temporary, citing a strengthening labor market and lower gasoline prices.
"This isn't the start of a collapse in activity as that doesn't fit with the strength of employment growth and consumer confidence. Retail sales will strengthen again before too long," said Paul Diggle, an economist at Capital Economics in London.
Economists at BNP Paribas in New York blamed the decline on difficulties adjusting the numbers for seasonal fluctuations in December because of volatility in holiday spending.
Other economists said consumers were saving the extra income from lower gasoline prices.
Excluding automobiles, gasoline, building materials and food services, sales fell 0.4 percent last month after a 0.6 percent rise in November.
Economists had expected the so-called core retail sales, which correspond most closely with the consumer spending component of gross domestic product, to rise 0.4 percent last month. Consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. Full Story
Tuesday, January 13, 2015
Cadbury's Creme Egg anger: Owners cause fury after 'secretly' changing recipe
(Jan 12, '15) [mirror.co.uk] Cadbury’s Creme Egg fans are fuming after its owners “secretly” changed the recipe for the popular treat.
Chocolate lovers have slammed makers Mondelez International after the company admitted it had swapped the traditional Dairy Milk shell for a standard cocoa mix chocolate.
A spokesman said: “It's no longer Dairy Milk. It's similar, but not exactly Diary Milk. We tested the new one with consumers.
"It was found to be the best one for the Creme Egg, which is why we've used it this year. "The Creme Egg has never been called the Cadbury's Dairy Milk Creme Egg. We have never played on the fact that Dairy Milk chocolate was used.”
The company, which is a spin-off firm from Kraft Foods which bought Cadbury in 2010, is thought to sell more than 200 million Creme Eggs each year but the new recipe has left many customers fuming. Full Story
Chocolate lovers have slammed makers Mondelez International after the company admitted it had swapped the traditional Dairy Milk shell for a standard cocoa mix chocolate.
A spokesman said: “It's no longer Dairy Milk. It's similar, but not exactly Diary Milk. We tested the new one with consumers.
"It was found to be the best one for the Creme Egg, which is why we've used it this year. "The Creme Egg has never been called the Cadbury's Dairy Milk Creme Egg. We have never played on the fact that Dairy Milk chocolate was used.”
The company, which is a spin-off firm from Kraft Foods which bought Cadbury in 2010, is thought to sell more than 200 million Creme Eggs each year but the new recipe has left many customers fuming. Full Story
Beyond the minimum: What’s next for raising wages?
(1/09/15) [msnbc.com] - In a year of major Republican victories, the campaign to raise the minimum wage has been the rare success story for the left. Twenty states will see a minimum wage increase in 2015—more than half because state legislatures passed a law or voters approved a ballot initiative to do so.
Progressive advocates say other, broader reforms need to be in the spotlight as well. And the pressure to focus on middle-class incomes and wages will only grow as the 2016 election draws nearer, and candidates work to court the broader electorate.
“Raising the minimum wage is great, but it’s not going to solve the problem of massive inequality in this country,” said Jennifer Epps-Addison, a Wisconsin labor organizer, speaking at an AFL-CIO event on Wednesday. “We need a living wage for everyone.”
The AFL-CIO has its own plans for moving forward. At Wednesday’s event, the labor union announced a new campaign in four states holding early presidential contests—Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada—intended to hold 2016 candidates accountable for their position on income inequality and proposals that would help raise ordinary workers’ wages.
“Raising wages is the single standard by which leadership will be judged,” AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in a speech at the summit. Full Story
Progressive advocates say other, broader reforms need to be in the spotlight as well. And the pressure to focus on middle-class incomes and wages will only grow as the 2016 election draws nearer, and candidates work to court the broader electorate.
“Raising the minimum wage is great, but it’s not going to solve the problem of massive inequality in this country,” said Jennifer Epps-Addison, a Wisconsin labor organizer, speaking at an AFL-CIO event on Wednesday. “We need a living wage for everyone.”
The AFL-CIO has its own plans for moving forward. At Wednesday’s event, the labor union announced a new campaign in four states holding early presidential contests—Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada—intended to hold 2016 candidates accountable for their position on income inequality and proposals that would help raise ordinary workers’ wages.
“Raising wages is the single standard by which leadership will be judged,” AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka said in a speech at the summit. Full Story
Monday, January 12, 2015
Four teens charged with murdering Kansas gun shop owner during robbery attempt: police
(nydailynews.com) Four Missouri teens face murder charges for shooting dead a gun store owner during a robbery-gone-wrong Friday outside Kansas City.
The shootout at the She’s A Pistol shop in Shawnee, Kansas, around 2:10 p.m. left 44-year-old Jon Bieker dead and three of the four suspectswith nonlife-threatening wounds.
Hakeem Willie Malik, 18; Nicquan Ke-Aaron Midgyett, 19; Londro Emanuel Patterson III, 19; and Deanthony Armond Wiley, 19, were all arrested and charged Sunday with felony murder.
The shootout at the She’s A Pistol shop in Shawnee, Kansas, around 2:10 p.m. left 44-year-old Jon Bieker dead and three of the four suspectswith nonlife-threatening wounds.
Hakeem Willie Malik, 18; Nicquan Ke-Aaron Midgyett, 19; Londro Emanuel Patterson III, 19; and Deanthony Armond Wiley, 19, were all arrested and charged Sunday with felony murder.
Saudi cleric condemns snowmen as anti-Islamic
DUBAI – A prominent Saudi Arabian cleric has whipped up controversy by issuing a religious ruling forbidding the building of snowmen, described them as anti-Islamic.
Asked on a religious website if it was permissible for fathers to build snowmen for their children after a snowstorm in the country’s north, Sheikh Mohammed Saleh al-Munajjid replied: “It is not permitted to make a statue out of snow, even by way of play and fun.”
Quoting from Muslim scholars, Sheikh Munajjid argued that to build a snowman was to create an image of a human being, an action considered sinful under the kingdom’s strict interpretation of Sunni Islam.
Read the rest HERE
Saturday, January 10, 2015
Macy’s and J.C. Penney to Close Stores
Jan 8 2015 (nytimes) - Macy’s said on Thursday that it would close 14 stores but also open two new locations, resulting in annual savings of about $140 million. The retailer said it planned to reinvest the savings in a revamping of its merchandising and marketing operations in response to changes in the way customers shop in stores and online. “We must continue to invest in our business to focus on where the customer is headed — to prepare for what’s next,” Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s chief executive, said in a statement. Macy’s said it aimed to increase the number of its outlet stores but was also looking to explore opportunities for an off-price business, like T. J. Maxx. In a separate announcement, J. C. Penney said that it would close about 40 stores this year and cut about 2,250 jobs. Last January, the company announced plans to close 33 stores. Full Story
Fourth graders in upper New York planned to kill teacher with hand sanitizer because they thought she was ‘mean’
HAHAHAHA
Jan 8 2015 (nydailynews.com) - Three 9-year-old students in upstate New York plotted in December to kill their fourth grade teacher with hand sanitizer, according to a police report.
The report, obtained by WLTX 19 in Buffalo, said the conniving classmates in Elba, a small town between Buffalo and Rochester, told fellow students they were going to kill their teacher right before winter break “by putting antibacterial products around the classroom.”
The Elba Elementary School teacher is highly allergic to hand sanitizer and banned it from the classroom, so the students planned to poison her with it.
The names of the students and the teacher have not been released.
The pupils’ plot unraveled when a student who heard about it told parents, who referred it to the school board.
Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department told the Daily News police found little motive for the murder plot beyond the fact that the students said the teacher “is mean.”
He told the Daily News police considered the school scheme “idle chatter” and did not charge the students with any crimes. Police referred the case to the school district, which is treating the threats “very seriously,” Brewster said.
The Batavia Daily News reports two of the students were suspended, but the school board wouldn’t release any other information about the case, citing privacy of student records. Read On
The teacher at Elba Elementary School told students she is highly allergic to hand sanitizer. Three of her students planned to spread it around the classroom before winter break and poison her.
Jan 8 2015 (nydailynews.com) - Three 9-year-old students in upstate New York plotted in December to kill their fourth grade teacher with hand sanitizer, according to a police report.
The report, obtained by WLTX 19 in Buffalo, said the conniving classmates in Elba, a small town between Buffalo and Rochester, told fellow students they were going to kill their teacher right before winter break “by putting antibacterial products around the classroom.”
The Elba Elementary School teacher is highly allergic to hand sanitizer and banned it from the classroom, so the students planned to poison her with it.
The names of the students and the teacher have not been released.
The pupils’ plot unraveled when a student who heard about it told parents, who referred it to the school board.
Chief Deputy Jerome Brewster of the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department told the Daily News police found little motive for the murder plot beyond the fact that the students said the teacher “is mean.”
He told the Daily News police considered the school scheme “idle chatter” and did not charge the students with any crimes. Police referred the case to the school district, which is treating the threats “very seriously,” Brewster said.
The Batavia Daily News reports two of the students were suspended, but the school board wouldn’t release any other information about the case, citing privacy of student records. Read On
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Missouri: Estimates show 3 counties Over 30% impoverished
(01/08/2015) JEFFERSON CITY, MO (KFVS) - New poverty statistics released by the federal census bureau shows three Missouri counties with poverty rates exceeding 30 percent, according to one group.
According to Missouri Association for Community Action, Pemiscot County rose to 31.4%, Shannon County went up to 31.5% and the highest poverty rate of the state came in at 36.3% in Mississippi County.
The group says the only area with that high a rate of poverty last year was Pemiscot County in the Bootheel.
MACA says research in recent years has shown a strong correlation between childhood poverty and chronic developmental, educational, and health problems.
"One of the key issues here is that over the long term, poverty impacts more than just an individual." said Heather Lockard, executive director of the Missouri Association for Community Action. "Poverty creates toxic stress for children, which in turn impacts their developmental abilities and creates cycles of poverty which are difficult to break. Entire communities are affected by our society's failure to look at poverty as critical issue we need to face."
The Missouri Association for Community Action and its network of 19 non-profit Community Action Agencies throughout the state have worked to find solutions and provide assistance to low income individuals and families in every county and the City of St. Louis. Full Story
According to Missouri Association for Community Action, Pemiscot County rose to 31.4%, Shannon County went up to 31.5% and the highest poverty rate of the state came in at 36.3% in Mississippi County.
The group says the only area with that high a rate of poverty last year was Pemiscot County in the Bootheel.
MACA says research in recent years has shown a strong correlation between childhood poverty and chronic developmental, educational, and health problems.
"One of the key issues here is that over the long term, poverty impacts more than just an individual." said Heather Lockard, executive director of the Missouri Association for Community Action. "Poverty creates toxic stress for children, which in turn impacts their developmental abilities and creates cycles of poverty which are difficult to break. Entire communities are affected by our society's failure to look at poverty as critical issue we need to face."
The Missouri Association for Community Action and its network of 19 non-profit Community Action Agencies throughout the state have worked to find solutions and provide assistance to low income individuals and families in every county and the City of St. Louis. Full Story
South Dakota leads Union with most life terms for trafficking
(bismarcktribune.com) - Since 2009, prosecutions through the office of Brendan Johnson, U.S. attorney for South Dakota, have put three traffickers in prison for life - the most of any federal district.
Johnson said the business and population growth in the Bakken oilfields doesn’t appear to have had much direct effect on trafficking in South Dakota, where the problem exists but has been more home-grown. But prosecutors have heard several victims from South Dakota say they were brought to North Dakota.
Johnson’s office has seen several dozens of victims, but most “are South Dakota kids, and they’re very vulnerable kids,” he said. “That’s how these traffickers -- they move into the community, they’re part of the community -- and that’s how they identify” and target people.
Many of the victims come from the American Indian reservations in the state, including the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which straddles North and South Dakota. In one case there, a woman would offer “johns” a trade: sex with her niece in exchange for gas and beer money.
Johnson’s first sex trafficking case -- also South Dakota’s first -- came in 2009, six months after he became the state’s U.S. attorney. Six months later, another case popped up, and investigators and prosecutors saw evidence of organized trafficking in their interviews with women caught up in the sex trade.
“There really was a network of these traffickers in Sioux Falls. These girls went from multiple traffickers and these traffickers sometimes worked together,” Johnson said.
Of the 15 people sentenced to life for sex trafficking minors since 2003, South Dakota’s three represent the most of any federal district, said Michael Osborn, chief of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children unit. Full Story
Johnson said the business and population growth in the Bakken oilfields doesn’t appear to have had much direct effect on trafficking in South Dakota, where the problem exists but has been more home-grown. But prosecutors have heard several victims from South Dakota say they were brought to North Dakota.
Johnson’s office has seen several dozens of victims, but most “are South Dakota kids, and they’re very vulnerable kids,” he said. “That’s how these traffickers -- they move into the community, they’re part of the community -- and that’s how they identify” and target people.
Many of the victims come from the American Indian reservations in the state, including the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, which straddles North and South Dakota. In one case there, a woman would offer “johns” a trade: sex with her niece in exchange for gas and beer money.
Johnson’s first sex trafficking case -- also South Dakota’s first -- came in 2009, six months after he became the state’s U.S. attorney. Six months later, another case popped up, and investigators and prosecutors saw evidence of organized trafficking in their interviews with women caught up in the sex trade.
“There really was a network of these traffickers in Sioux Falls. These girls went from multiple traffickers and these traffickers sometimes worked together,” Johnson said.
Of the 15 people sentenced to life for sex trafficking minors since 2003, South Dakota’s three represent the most of any federal district, said Michael Osborn, chief of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children unit. Full Story
Obama to propose two free years of community college for students
- President Barack Obama will need the approval of Congress to realize his proposal for making two years of community college free for students.
So far, that plan doesn’t have an official price tag — other than “significant,” according to White House officials. If all 50 states participate, the proposal could benefit 9 million students each year and save students an average of $3,800 in tuition, the White House said.
Story Continued Below
But administration officials insisted on a call with reporters Thursday evening that “this is a proposal with bipartisan appeal.”
Case in point: Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, whose brainchild Tennessee Promise program strongly influenced Obama’s proposal. Beginning this year, any high school graduate in that state is eligible for two years of free community college tuition under the Tennessee Promise.
Obama, alongside Vice President Joe Biden and second lady Jill Biden, will tout his proposal dubbed “America’s College Promise” during a visit Pellissippi Community College in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday.
“What I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it,” Obama said in a White House video posted Thursday evening. “It’s something we can accomplish, and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world.”
The president’s proposal would make two years of community college free for students of any age with a C+ average who attend school at least half-time and who are making “steady progress” toward their degree.
To be eligible, community colleges would have to offer academic programs that fully transfer credits to local public four-year colleges and universities or training programs with high graduation rates that lead to in-demand degrees and certificates. Community colleges must also adopt “promising and evidence-based institutional reforms” to improve student outcomes.
Federal funding would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college, and Obama is asking states to pick up the rest of the tab — assuming Congress agrees to the plan in the first place
Read more: politico.com/
So far, that plan doesn’t have an official price tag — other than “significant,” according to White House officials. If all 50 states participate, the proposal could benefit 9 million students each year and save students an average of $3,800 in tuition, the White House said.
Story Continued Below
But administration officials insisted on a call with reporters Thursday evening that “this is a proposal with bipartisan appeal.”
Case in point: Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, whose brainchild Tennessee Promise program strongly influenced Obama’s proposal. Beginning this year, any high school graduate in that state is eligible for two years of free community college tuition under the Tennessee Promise.
Obama, alongside Vice President Joe Biden and second lady Jill Biden, will tout his proposal dubbed “America’s College Promise” during a visit Pellissippi Community College in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday.
“What I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for everybody who’s willing to work for it,” Obama said in a White House video posted Thursday evening. “It’s something we can accomplish, and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anybody in the world.”
The president’s proposal would make two years of community college free for students of any age with a C+ average who attend school at least half-time and who are making “steady progress” toward their degree.
To be eligible, community colleges would have to offer academic programs that fully transfer credits to local public four-year colleges and universities or training programs with high graduation rates that lead to in-demand degrees and certificates. Community colleges must also adopt “promising and evidence-based institutional reforms” to improve student outcomes.
Federal funding would cover three-quarters of the average cost of community college, and Obama is asking states to pick up the rest of the tab — assuming Congress agrees to the plan in the first place
Read more: politico.com/
U.S. jobless claims dip; 2014 layoffs lowest in 17 years
(Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell last week and job cuts declined sharply in December, suggesting the labor market is tightening.
Thursday's reports support views of faster growth this year, driven by consumer spending, despite a faltering global economy.
"Labor market conditions continue to improve, providing support for consumers and contributing to a virtuous cycle for the economy," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 for the week ended Jan. 3, the Labor Department said. Full Story
Thursday's reports support views of faster growth this year, driven by consumer spending, despite a faltering global economy.
"Labor market conditions continue to improve, providing support for consumers and contributing to a virtuous cycle for the economy," said Jim Baird, chief investment officer at Plante Moran Financial Advisors in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits slipped by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 294,000 for the week ended Jan. 3, the Labor Department said. Full Story
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
The return of the lira? This year, Italy’s fate hangs in the balance
(Reuters) FLORENCE, Italy – Italian Prime Minster Matteo Renzi, the youngest leader in Europe, faces a national economic morass that, if not decisively addressed in the coming months, could bring down the entire 17-nation eurozone.
Indeed, if he does not tackle the staggering national debt and woeful unemployment numbers, Italians this time next year could find themselves back using the lire – and the Germans marks, French francs, Spanish pesetas and Dutch guilders too.
When the 89-year old president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, announced this week that he is stepping down soon because of his age, he urged Italians to embrace something that has always been in short order here: national unity and trust in each other and in Italy’s institutions.
Giannelli, the cartoonist of the Corriere della Sera, could not help but comment on the symbolism of the departure of Napolitano, who it depicted throwing a crown over his head that was caught by a smiling Renzi, who turns just 40 on Jan. 11. “Grazie, Giorgio!” Renzi exclaims in the cartoon.
Napolitano’s looming departure creates an immediate political quandary for Renzi: Can he bring Italy’s famously fractious political factions together to choose an acceptable presidential successor? If he navigates that battle successfully, there may hope for the coming war to remake the Italian economy and reduce its out-of-control debt, which stood at 132.6 percent of GDP in 2013 and is expected to hit 138 percent for 2014. Forcing it off its steady rise is the largest job of the center-left government: and a grinding, horrible, unpopular one it will be. Full Story
Indeed, if he does not tackle the staggering national debt and woeful unemployment numbers, Italians this time next year could find themselves back using the lire – and the Germans marks, French francs, Spanish pesetas and Dutch guilders too.
When the 89-year old president of Italy, Giorgio Napolitano, announced this week that he is stepping down soon because of his age, he urged Italians to embrace something that has always been in short order here: national unity and trust in each other and in Italy’s institutions.
Giannelli, the cartoonist of the Corriere della Sera, could not help but comment on the symbolism of the departure of Napolitano, who it depicted throwing a crown over his head that was caught by a smiling Renzi, who turns just 40 on Jan. 11. “Grazie, Giorgio!” Renzi exclaims in the cartoon.
Napolitano’s looming departure creates an immediate political quandary for Renzi: Can he bring Italy’s famously fractious political factions together to choose an acceptable presidential successor? If he navigates that battle successfully, there may hope for the coming war to remake the Italian economy and reduce its out-of-control debt, which stood at 132.6 percent of GDP in 2013 and is expected to hit 138 percent for 2014. Forcing it off its steady rise is the largest job of the center-left government: and a grinding, horrible, unpopular one it will be. Full Story
Thousands Flee Homes as Clashes by India-Pakistan Border Escalate
Local official says around 10,000 people have abandoned their homes in the past week.
(Time) - Thousands of people living on the border between Indian and Pakistan have fled their homes in the past week, as clashes between the two countries continue to escalate.
About 6,000 people in the disputed region of Kashmir abandoned their homes late Monday, joining approximately 4,000 others who had fled when skirmishes began last week, a local official told Reuters.
Border clashes between the two regional rivals have intensified this year, with firefights and cross-border shelling taking place intermittently since October.
“We had a narrow escape and there is a warlike situation,” said 54-year-old Sham Kumar, a resident of Sherpur village. Kumar said he left his village following the shelling of a nearby school, about 2 miles (3 km) from the frontier.
This week’s fighting has seen at least 10 casualties, including soldiers and civilians on both sides.
Monday, January 5, 2015
U.S. stands by plan to pull troops from Afghanistan
(Reuters) - The United States on Monday stood by plans to halve the number of its troops in Afghanistan this year and reduce them further in 2016 following Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's suggestion that President Barack Obama review his deadline.
But Ghani's comment adds to a growing debate over whether the White House will stick to its plans, already amended twice, of cutting U.S. troops to about 5,000 by the end of this year and drawing down to a "normal" U.S. embassy presence in Kabul at the end of 2016.
Ghani may have also given political cover to Obama should the president decide he needs to renege on his withdrawal pledge to preserve shaky gains made over 13 years of war and to avoid a collapse of local forces that Iraq witnessed last year.
"My guess is that he probably will re-evaluate these decisions in due course," said James Dobbins, who was Obama's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan until July.
Among the factors at play are the course of the war itself; reconciliation efforts between the government and Taliban; U.S. public opinion and the 2016 U.S. presidential debate.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
With Obamacare under siege, Biden takes to airwaves to urge Americans to enroll
(NationalMonitor) = Looking for a New Year’s resolution? Maybe it should be to sign up for Obamacare, Vice President Joe Biden said while filling in for President Obama in the White House’s weekly radio address this week.
In an effort to boost enrollment of the Affordable Care Act, the White House is trying to get people to sign up for health insurance with just weeks to go before the enrollment deadline, according to the Washington Times.
Noting that this is the typical time of year for New Year’s resolutions, Biden suggested that, rather than focus merely on long-term goals like getting healthier, one should also do something “right now that will also make a big difference in your health” — sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Biden noted that enrollment numbers are rising and medicare benefits were generous under the act. Also, the cost would be lower, he argued.
He said the act, which has been under siege by Republicans lately, has been working, and “we’re just getting started because there are millions more of you who can get quality and affordable health insurance” if people sign up by the Feb. 15 deadline.
The employer healthcare mandate took effect on the first day of the year, which requires companies that have more than 100 full-time workers to offer affordable health insurance to at least 70 percent of their staff, or they could get hit with a stiff penalty.
It was originally supposed to take effect in 2014, but it was delayed a year. It will cost companies $174 per month per full-time employee — minus 80 employees — that do not comply. The act will further penalize employers $261 per month for each employee if it provides insurance that is not considered affordable or comprehensive.
In an effort to boost enrollment of the Affordable Care Act, the White House is trying to get people to sign up for health insurance with just weeks to go before the enrollment deadline, according to the Washington Times.
Noting that this is the typical time of year for New Year’s resolutions, Biden suggested that, rather than focus merely on long-term goals like getting healthier, one should also do something “right now that will also make a big difference in your health” — sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act.
Biden noted that enrollment numbers are rising and medicare benefits were generous under the act. Also, the cost would be lower, he argued.
He said the act, which has been under siege by Republicans lately, has been working, and “we’re just getting started because there are millions more of you who can get quality and affordable health insurance” if people sign up by the Feb. 15 deadline.
The employer healthcare mandate took effect on the first day of the year, which requires companies that have more than 100 full-time workers to offer affordable health insurance to at least 70 percent of their staff, or they could get hit with a stiff penalty.
It was originally supposed to take effect in 2014, but it was delayed a year. It will cost companies $174 per month per full-time employee — minus 80 employees — that do not comply. The act will further penalize employers $261 per month for each employee if it provides insurance that is not considered affordable or comprehensive.
Germany believes euro zone could cope with Greece exit: report
(Reuters) - The German government believes that the euro zone would now be able to cope with a Greece exit if that proved to be necessary, Der Spiegel news magazine reported on Saturday, citing unnamed government sources.
Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble believe the euro zone has implemented enough reforms since the height of the regional crisis in 2012 to make a potential Greece exit manageable, Der Spiegel reported.
"The danger of contagion is limited because Portugal and Ireland are considered rehabilitated," the weekly news magazine quoted one government source saying.
In addition, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the euro zone's bailout fund, is an "effective" rescue mechanism and was now available, another source added. Major banks would be protected by the banking union.
The German government in Berlin could not be reached for comment. Read the rest via Reuters.com
Both Chancellor Angela Merkel and Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble believe the euro zone has implemented enough reforms since the height of the regional crisis in 2012 to make a potential Greece exit manageable, Der Spiegel reported.
"The danger of contagion is limited because Portugal and Ireland are considered rehabilitated," the weekly news magazine quoted one government source saying.
In addition, the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), the euro zone's bailout fund, is an "effective" rescue mechanism and was now available, another source added. Major banks would be protected by the banking union.
The German government in Berlin could not be reached for comment. Read the rest via Reuters.com
Thursday, January 1, 2015
New Year 2015
Wishing you all a happy, safe joy filled 2015.
(Image is not mine no infringement intended)
(Image is not mine no infringement intended)
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