Nice?: Does Iowa need a new state slogan, image?

(DesMoinesRegister) - An iconic image of state economic development is disappearing from the Iowa Capitol grounds, generating debate on whether a new state slogan and symbol are needed.

The Iowa Capitol Planning Commission has approved plans to remove the "Iowa ... A Place to Grow" monument on Southeast 14th Street near East Grand Avenue, where it has stood since 1984.

The slogan and cloverleaf figure are well-known to many Iowans as part of a state, local and national marketing campaign launched in 1970 by Gov. Robert Ray to create jobs and business. The campaign continued through at least the late 1980s.

Similar symbols were placed at the Iowa State Fairgrounds and at the former westbound rest area in Dallas County on Interstate Highway 80. But the Capitol complex monument — it is in deteriorating condition, although still structurally sound — is believed to be the only one that still exists. Commission Chairman William Dikis, of Clive, a retired architect, said state historical officials have assured him that the remaining structure will be retained.

State Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, who serves on the Capitol Planning Commission, said he supports removal of the monument because of its diminished physical condition and because the slogan is no longer used by Gov. Terry Branstad's administration. The fiberglass symbol on the structure has been removed, but the concrete base, which includes the slogan, was in place as of Friday.

Newspaper editorials, along with full-page advertisements in state and national publications, sold the campaign to the public. The symbol also appeared on Iowa road maps and on stickers, and a central Iowa jewelry store created a necklace with the symbol as a pendant, state historical officials said.

Since then, Iowa has had a host of other slogans to promote business and tourism. They include "Discover Iowa Treasures," introduced in 1987 by state tourism officials, and "Iowa, You Make Me Smile" in 1994.

But the Iowa Department of Transportation dropped a controversial 1983 plan to put the slogan "Iowa: A State of Minds" on license plates. While the slogan was intended to be a compliment to Iowa's schools, the late DOT Commissioner Austin Turner, of Corning, said he worried that some out-of-state people might get the impression "we're a bunch of pompous asses."

When Gov. Tom Vilsack assumed office in 1999, he frowned on the "You Make Me Smile" slogan, saying it did little to entice outsiders to move to Iowa or persuade young people to stay.

"I am open to replacing this with a new monument. I do feel that from a branding perspective that the state of Iowa should adopt a new slogan," McCoy said.

The "Iowa ... A Place to Grow" concept was created for state economic development officials by Creswell, Munsell, Schubert and Zirbel of Cedar Rapids, one of the premier marketing firms in Iowa. It was part of a larger 1970s effort to promote rural development nationally. Many Iowa communities adopted the symbol and slogan for local marketing initiatives.

Europe Putin tests West’s sanctions resolve on visit to (Former Yugoslav Republic of) Slovenia

(WashingtonPost) VRSIC, Slovenia — Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a conciliatory tone Saturday on a visit to Slovenia, shaking hands and honoring dead soldiers as he tested Western resolve in maintaining crippling sanctions against the Kremlin for its role in Ukraine.

Slovenia, a small Alpine nation where U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s wife Melania was born and grew up, is a member of both the 28-nation European Union and NATO. It has kept friendly relations with Russia even as it joined EU sanctions against Moscow for its 2014 annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula and its support for insurgents in eastern Ukraine.

On only his third visit to an EU nation this year, Putin attended the centenary commemoration of a chapel in the Julian Alps that was erected in honor of over 100 Russian and other World War I prisoners of war who died in an avalanche while building a winding mountain road for their Austrian army captors in 1915.

At the small, Orthodox-style wooden church named St. Vladimir chapel, Putin was met by Slovenian President Borut Pahor. Thousands of people packed in front of the chapel in the blazing heat as a chorus sang old Russian church songs. They greeted Putin with a long applause and loud cheers. He waved back and shook their hands.

“This chapel has become a symbol of the friendship of the Russian and Slovenian peoples, a symbol of our mutual striving for peace, cooperation and prosperity,” Putin said. (FullText)

He also said Russia was ready to help strengthen security in the world.

“So that we not only remember the horrors of war, but together work on strengthening mutual understanding, trust and security in Europe and the world,” he said.

He thanked Slovenians for “caring about our common history, for remembering the Russian citizens whose fate was connected with these tragic events on Slovenian soil.”

Security was tight for the visit and included closing the country’s main highway to Austria, which caused huge traffic backups.

Slovenian officials portrayed Putin’s visit as strictly informal and ceremonial, but said he would talk with officials on economic and bilateral issues.

Putin said the talks focused on “mutual economic projects important for both countries.” He said Russian trade with the EU has dropped almost in half because of sanctions “and not that much” with the United States.

“Both things are not good,” he told the Slovenian leader.

Russia is Slovenia’s top non-EU trading partner but trade between the two has dropped nearly 30 percent since the Western sanctions and Russian counter-sanctions.

US: After a $3 million lottery win, man decides to invest in meth

Living the dream!

(msn.com) - The question of whether to take the annuity or the lump sum for a lottery winner is an important one. Each has its advantages: The annuity guarantees moderation and the lump sum can maximize total windfall thanks to investing.

But one man in Georgia has gone down a unique path that involved neither squandering on toys or success in the stock market. Instead, Ronnie Music Jr. took his $3 million dollar check from the Georgia Lottery and decided to invest in methamphetamine, federal prosecutors say. In terms of an investment, the New York Times called his business “thriving,” but after being caught with over $1 million worth of guns, drugs, and vehicles, Mr. Music is now facing amused contempt and jail time from justice department.

“Defendant Music decided to test his luck by sinking millions of dollars of lottery winnings into the purchase and sale of crystal meth,” US Attorney Ed Tarver said in a statement. “As a result of his unsound investment strategy, Music now faces decades in a federal prison.”

This cautionary tale may provide more evidence that the annuity is the best option, given that the moderation it provides prevents losing it all due to mismanagement, because there’s always future payments. We humans may not always make the most rational investing decisions, especially if we’re people who enjoy the lottery, literally a game of chance and luck. And if luck brought the riches, why not use it again?

For Mr. Music, who has pleaded guilty, there’s no reason to think it would have been any different with the annuity. It seems likely that a smaller payout would have simply reduced the scale of the operation. In fact, the relative paucity of the annuity could have resulted in a greater lust for return on his illegal investment. Though it’s impossible to say for sure, the lump sum may have been one of the few correct decisions he made.

Indonesia executes three Nigerians, one local, despite protests

(Reuters) - Indonesia executed four convicted drug traffickers, three of them Nigerians, in the early hours of Friday, leaving the fate of 10 others uncertain.

The Africans and an Indonesian man were shot by firing squad during a thunderstorm shortly after midnight on Nusakambangan Island in Central Java, as the government ignored international calls for clemency and pushed ahead with what it considers a war on drugs.

The attorney general said on Wednesday that 14 prisoners, including citizens of India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe, would be executed this weekend.

An official said on Friday the planned executions would go ahead "in stages" but declined to give a timeframe.

Security was stepped up at the Indonesian embassy in Nigerian capital Abuja on Thursday as protesters gathered to urge Indonesia to halt the executions. Indian and Pakistani officials said they were making last-minute efforts to save their citizens.

"We considered several factors and decided that for now four death row inmates would be executed," Noor Rachmad, an official at the attorney general's office, told reporters shortly after Friday's executions.



Just over a year ago, Indonesia executed 14 prisoners, mostly foreign drugs offenders, causing diplomatic outrage.

Under strict gun laws, Japan's mass killers must rely on knives instead

There goes the narrative..

(USAToday) - His only weapons were a few knives and some straps to tie down his victims. Yet in less than an hour, he had killed 19 people. That's as many homicides as most districts in Japan see in five years.

Japan’s homicide rate makes the United States look like a war zone. Consider that Tokyo is five times larger than Chicago. And yet, in 2014, Tokyo tallied a mere 11 homicides. Chicago racked up 416 — a difference of more than 3,500%.

When mass killings do strike Japan, the killer is unlikely to carry a gun. He is invariably armed with a knife. It's one of the few lethal weapons that a homicidal Japanese person can acquire. Tuesday's tragedy occurred in Kanagawa, a pristine prefecture between Tokyo and Mount Fuji. The killer broke into a center for the disabled where he reportedly used to work, which is alongside a tree-lined river.

His name, according to Japanese media, is 26-year-old Satoshi Uematsu. In the early hours Tuesday, he targeted residents with mental disabilities as they slept and stabbed as many as 50 people, 19 fatally — killing or injuring almost a third of the center's 150 patients in a matter of 40 minutes, the Associated Press reported.

It was Japan’s deadliest mass killing since World War II.

Unlike the Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof, Uematsu was not a racial supremacist. Unlike attackers in Brussels and Paris, he was not linked to religious extremists. His motive, confessed to police, was to purge disabled people from society.

Several of Japan’s mass killings — rare as they may be — have also involved misanthropes with knives.

In 2008, a man “tired of life” killed seven in a hip Tokyo shopping enclave with his speeding truck and a knife. As a shopper told The Guardian at the time: “Japanese people are not used to this kind of thing. This isn’t the U.S.”

In 2001, a man “sick of life” fatally stabbed eight children at an elementary school. And in 1995, Japan reeled from its most infamous mass murder — a sarin gas attack, set loose in a subway by a doomsday cult, that left 12 dead.

There is a reason none of these attacks involve guns: Practically all types of firearms are outlawed in Japan, which has practiced strict gun control since its post-feudal era in the late 1800s.

Want a handgun in Japan? Possession can land you in prison for 10 years. How about a rifle? Only if you acquired it before 1971 — and when you die, your kids must hand it over to the police.

Legal firearms in Japan are largely limited to shotguns. But buying one requires submitting to a regulatory gauntlet that would cause NRA devotees to palpitate.

You have to undergo a battery of shooting tests, written exams and a yearly gun inspection by the police. The cops also insist on knowing exactly where you keep your weapon inside your home.

There’s also a hurdle that would likely have prevented the Kanagawa killer from ever obtaining a shotgun: a mental health evaluation. Earlier this year, according to The Japan Times, he was forcibly admitted to a mental hospital under suspicions that he wanted to harm others.

The Kanagawa attack is extremely gruesome and arrives amid a seemingly nonstop spree of mass killings in the United States and Europe. Yet on the macro level, Japan, like the United States, is seeing murder rates fall.

One of Japan’s leading news outlets, NHK, posted frequent updates from Kanagawa. But alongside reports on the massacre, another breaking crime story appeared. The reported offense? A purse snatched from a 22-year-old girl distracted by "Pokémon Go" — a crime worthy of nationwide news in one of the world’s safest countries.

Skin Cancer Screenings Don’t Reduce Deaths: Expert Panel

(Time) - A government group says giving people a visual test for possible skin cancer lesions isn’t warranted

Early detection is critical with skin cancer, but how, exactly, abnormal growths should be screened for is up for debate. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) says that there isn’t enough evidence that screening can lower incidence of skin cancer or deaths from the disease.

That doesn’t mean that the visual test of the entire body is not useful; the USPSTF periodically reviews the available data on a particular topic and evaluates whether the data is strong enough to support a recommendation or not. At this point, there just isn’t enough data to advise doctors either way.
“The stream of evidence for skin cancer screening compared to other types of cancer screening for cervical, colorectal and breast cancers doesn’t exist,” says Dr. David Grossman, vice chair of USPSTF. “Skin cancer screening hasn’t been a highly active area with regard to data answering questions about potential harms and benefits.”

Some limited studies in Europe hint that after public awareness campaigns to educate people about whole body visual screening for skin cancer, rates of melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer, and non-melanoma skin cancers went down. In the U.S., says Grossman, “there hasn’t been a lot of investment in studies like this.”

For now, the USPSTF isn’t recommending whole body visual screening for healthy people, but it’s not discouraging such scans either.

The bottom line, for now, is that people should focus on preventing possible skin cancers in the first place — by wearing sunscreen, avoiding sun exposure during peak UV hours in the middle of the day, and avoiding tanning beds. “The first action people should be thinking about is protecting their skin,” says Grossman. And of course, if your doctor recommends an annual skin exam, you should do it, and if you notice any abnormal skin growths, you should see a dermatologist.

Germany reconsiders refugee welcome after week of attacks

(cbsnews) BERLIN - Four attacks in a week - three of them carried out by asylum seekers - have left Germany on edge and Chancellor Angela Merkel's policies of welcoming refugees under renewed criticism.

Anxiety over Germany's ability to cope with last year's flood of more than 1 million registered asylum seekers first surged following a series of sexual assaults and robberies in Cologne during New Year celebrations.

But in the last seven days, the violence has become even more deadly.

The unprecedented bloodshed began July 18, when a 17-year-old from Afghanistan wielding an ax attacked people on a train near Wuerzburg, wounding five people before he was shot to death by police. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility.

On Sunday, a 21-year-old Syrian used a machete to kill a 45-year-old Polish woman in the southern city of Reutlingen. Authorities said assailant and victim knew each other from working in the same restaurant, and the incident was not related to terrorism.

Also Sunday, a 27-year-old Syrian who was denied asylum detonated a backpack of explosives and shrapnel at the entrance to an outdoor music festival in Ansbach, killing himself and wounding 15 people. ISIS claimed responsibility, and German security officials said a video on the attacker's phone shows him pledging allegiance to the extremists.

The deadliest attack came Friday night in Munich. The German-born, 18-year-old son of Iranian asylum seekers went on a shooting spree and killed nine people. The youth had obsessively researched mass shootings, and authorities said the attack does not appear to be linked to Islamic extremists.

The violence followed an attack in the French Riviera by a Tunisian truck driverwho plowed his vehicle into a Bastille Day crowd, killing 84 people in Nice.

Experts say the attacks are likely to inflame anti-foreigner sentiment in Germany, creating a challenge for Merkel's government.

Merkel could now face increased calls for tighter border security and greater vetting of arrivals, even though the flow of migrants and asylum seekers has slowed drastically, said Florian Otto, an analyst with the risk consultants Verisk Maplecrof. The influx diminished after the European Union and Turkey agreed on a deal aimed at stopping people from reaching the continent by sea.

Although it's too soon to say whether these attacks would threaten Merkel's chances of staying in power after federal elections next year, "she will face more pressure and scrutiny for her immigration policies," Otto said.

"The motives of the ... attacks differ widely; they were not linked. But to some extent, that won't matter in the public debate, which will be focused on the outcomes," he said. (FullText)

Trade Wars: Beijing slaps Japan, EU with steel duties

(business-standard.com) - China on Sunday said it has started imposing anti-dumping tariffs on certain steel imports from the European Union, Japan and South Korea, as Beijing itself comes under fire for similar trade practices.

Duties on the materials, used in power transformers and electric motors, will range from around 37 to as high as 46.3 per cent, the commerce ministry said on its website.

The measures are intended to prevent the sale of the product at below cost, a practice known as dumping, it added. The world’s second largest economy, which makes more than half the world’s steel, finds itself under attack by EU countries for allegedly flooding world markets with steel and aluminium in violation of international trade agreements.

On Friday, Premier Li Keqiang told a group of visiting leaders from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and other organisations that China “will not engage in a trade war or currency war”.

Nevertheless, the EU sees itself under attack. Earlier this month in Beijing, EU Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker pledged to defend the group’s steel industry against China using “all the means at our disposal”.

He also said there was a “clear link” between the steel issue and the EU’s decision on whether to grant China “market economy status” — a prize eagerly sought by Beijing. China has been pressing the EU to grant it the status — which would make it harder for the bloc to levy anti-dumping tariffs — before the year’s end, citing World Trade Organisation rules. China’s announcement is the latest in a tit-for-tat fight with other countries over the special metal known as oriented electrical steel.

In May last year the EU imposed similar duties on imports of Chinese oriented electric steel as well as products from other countries, in a move which Bloomberg News said was intended to curb competition for EU producers.

The decision prompted China to launch an investigation into imports from the European manufacturers.

China has imposed such duties before. In 2012 the World Trade Organisation ruled that Chinese duties on high-tech steel from the US violated trade rules. In 2015 the organisation censured Beijing for continuing the practice despite the judgement against it. (Full Text)

Earth stays on track for the hottest year ever

(japantimes.co.jp) GENEVA – The Earth is on track for its hottest year on record and warming at a faster rate than expected, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.

Temperatures recorded mainly in the Northern Hemisphere in the first six months of the year, coupled with an early and fast Arctic sea ice melt and “new highs” in heat-trapping carbon dioxide levels, point to quickening climate change, it said.

June marked the 14th straight month of record heat, the United Nations agency said. It called for speedy implementation of a global pact reached in Paris last December to limit climate change by shifting from fossil fuels to green energy by 2100.

“What we’ve seen so far for the first six months of 2016 is really quite alarming,” David Carlson, director of the WMO’s Climate Research Programme, told a news briefing.

“This year suggests that the planet can warm up faster than we expected in a much shorter time. … We don’t have as much time as we thought.”

The average temperature in the first six months of 2016 was 1.3 degree Celsius (2.4 degree Fahrenheit) warmer than the pre-industrial era of the late 19th Century, according to space agency NASA.

Under the Paris Agreement, nearly 200 governments agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels, while “pursuing efforts” for a ceiling of 1.5 degres C — a lower limit already close to being reached.

The last month with global temperatures below the 20th century average was December 1984, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

“There’s almost no plausible scenario at this point that is going to get us anything other than an extraordinary year in terms of ice (melt), CO2, temperature — all the things that we track,” Carlson said.

“If we got this much surprise this year, how many more surprises are ahead of us?”

A strong El Nino weather event from 2015/2016 in the Pacific Ocean, a phenomenon associated with extreme droughts, storms and floods, contributed to the record temperatures in the first half of 2016 before disappearing in May, WMO said.

“Climate change, caused by heat-trapping greenhouse gases, will not (disappear). This means we face more heat waves, more extreme rainfall and potential for higher impact tropical cyclones,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

Repeated extremes, such as heat waves, downpours or droughts, could encourage more action to limit greenhouse gas emissions.

“Research shows that for the general public extremes make climate change more tangible, more understandable,” said Joeri Rogelj, a climate expert at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna.

“It could help to motivate people to engage in climate action, and do something.” (FullStory)

9 Dead in Shooting Rampage in Munich, Police Say

Possible psyop?

(nytimes) MUNICH — At least one gunman opened fire near a shopping mall in Munich just before 6 p.m. on Friday, killing eight people and wounding a number of others in an assault that the German police said they were treating as a suspected terrorist attack.

A manhunt shut down traffic and public transportation across Munich, Germany’s third-most-populous city and the capital of the state of Bavaria. Police said they had found the body of a ninth person near the mall, and were investigating the possibility that he was an attacker.

A state of emergency was declared in the city, plunging much of the metropolis into a desolate and fearful state of lockdown. As the transit system was shut down, commuters held their hands up in the air as they walked past police officers.

“At this point, we believe there are three perpetrators, there are conflicting reports, but there are as many as three perpetrators on the run,” said Marcus da Gloria Martins, a spokesman for the Munich police. He said the suspects were armed with “long guns.”

But a short while later, Peter Altmaier, the chief of staff for Chancellor Angela Merkel, said that security officials had specific information about only one individual, who was believed to be still at large. “We are certain about one person,” Mr. Altmaier said, adding that there was no information regarding the motive of the attack.

Police officers from Munich and from elsewhere in Bavaria flooded the city. An elite counterterrorism unit of the federal police has also been deployed to Munich, officials said.

Brazilian police arrest 10 suspected of planning terrorist acts during Olympics

Rio de Janeiro (CNN) Brazilian police have arrested 10 people suspected of planning terrorist acts during next month's Rio Olympics, Brazil's Justice Ministry said Thursday.

The group was inspired by ISIS and mostly organized online, Justice Minister Alexandre de Moraes said.
He said no specific targets were mentioned, but the Justice Ministry is still investigating the suspects' computers and cell phones to learn more about the possible plans.
De Moraes said the suspects are all Brazilian nationals, and that one minor was mentioned in the conversations.

Another two people have warrants out for their arrests. Authorities said they believe those suspects will be arrested soon.

De Moraes said the group was not an organized cell, calling it "absolutely amateur -- with no preparation."

The group essentially said, "Let's start training in martial arts, let's start learning how to shoot," the justice minister said.

He noted the group tried to buy a gun online, which no organized cell would do. (FullText)

Why a hashtag isn't enough for a revolution in Zimbabwe

(financialreview) - Zimbabwe is in turmoil. For the past two weeks, workers have been striking and angry citizens have been taking to the streets to express their discontent with unpaid public-sector wages, proliferating corruption, declining living standards, and police injustice. President Robert Mugabe's government is broke, the result of decades of financial mismanagement, and so far it has conspicuously failed in its desperate efforts to find new sources of international financial aid. Failing new support from outside, the country's economic collapse is almost sure to accelerate.

Many disgruntled citizens – particularly urban young people – have turned to social media, venting their frustration at the 36-year reign of Mugabe and his patent inability to resuscitate the failing economy. Indeed, the recent protests and work stoppages have been encouraged by social media activists, most prominently Pastor Evan Mawarire, founder of the #ThisFlag movement. Full Text

Researchers develop first widely protective vaccine for chlamydia

(consumeraffairs.com) - A study conducted at McMaster University may prove to be the first step towards effectively preventing chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection (STI) that affects more than 100 million people around the world.

Researchers at the university have produced the very first widely protective vaccine against the most common strain of the infection, called Chlamydia trachomatis. Those who have the infection are known to suffer from upper genital tract infections, pelvic inflammatory disease, and infertility. If proven to be effective, the vaccine could prevent all of these issues, in addition to Trachoma, an eye infection that is the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world.

“Vaccination would be the best way to prevent a chlamydia infection, and this study has identified important new antigens which could be used as part of a vaccine to prevent or eliminate the damaging reproductive consequences of untreated infections,” said Dr. David Bulir, co-author of the study.

Improving vaccine efforts
The researchers began working towards a vaccine by studying a chlamydial antigen called BD584. They observed that this particular antigen worked amazingly well at counteracting C. trachomatis.

Under laboratory settings, they found that BD584 was able to prevent chlamydial shedding – a symptom of chlamydia -- 95% of the time. Additionally, it was able to prevent hydrosalpinx – another symptom which involves the fallopian tubes being blocked by fluids – 87.5% of the time.

These results could not have come at a better time, since the scientific community had struggled with vaccine efforts in recent years. “Vaccine development efforts in the past three decades have been unproductive and there is no vaccine approved for humans,” said Bulir.

Worldwide solution
In addition to preventing strains of C. trachomatis, the researchers say that their new vaccine could be integral to preventing trachoma – the leading cause of preventable blindness in the world. This is especially important for resource-poor nations that would otherwise have no answer to this health crisis.

“The vaccine would be administered through the nose. This is easy and painless and does not require trained health professionals to administer, and that makes it an inexpensive solution for developing nations,” said Steven Liang, co-author and PhD student at McMaster.

The researchers plan to keep working with their vaccine to see if its effectiveness can be extended to other strains of chlamydia. (Full Text)

Nation Struggling To Keep Track Of How Far Along It Is In All Its Ongoing Grieving Processes

BATON ROUGE, LA—In response to the spate of shootings that have erupted across the country in recent weeks, the U.S. populace told reporters Monday it was struggling to keep track of how far along it was in all the various grieving processes it was currently going through. “It’s getting really hard to juggle all the different stages of grief I’m in—I’m pretty sure there were at least four tragedies I was trying to come to grips with yesterday when I learned about the senseless attack on police officers in Baton Rouge, which plunged me right back into the earliest stage of shock and despair,” said Gaithersburg, MD resident Katelyn Robbins, echoing the sentiment of millions of Americans who, after witnessing the slew of horrific events, have frequently had to pause to remind themselves of the extent of their emotional progress in their overlapping mourning processes. “Right now, I’m trying to finally reach some closure regarding the Orlando nightclub shooting while also still resolving my anger from last week’s Dallas massacre. And this whole time, I feel like I’ve been stalled on working through my sadness over Philando Castile’s shooting because I’ve been so busy dealing with all the new tragedies that keep popping up. Honestly, it’s a bit overwhelming trying to keep all of my feelings straight.” The nation then expressed its wish for at least a solid week without an unconscionable act of violence so it could make some headway on all its grieving, but admitted that was probably unrealistic.

It's Not That Social Security Will Run Out Of Cash - It's Whether Taxes Will Rise To Fund It

(Forbes.com) - We’re getting the usual scare stories about Social Security and Medicare running out of cash in a couple of decades’ time. This isn’t going to happen, it really just isn’t going to happen. The story is not at all whether those trust funds get spent or not. It’s whether anyone will raise taxes to pay for the benefits already promised or not. The two government programs simply are not in a position akin to a private or lower level government program which has overpromised benefits and under reserved to pay for them. It is true that the promises have been over generous and that the current taxation and reserves to pay for them too little but the system is underpinned by the full financial might of the US Government. And if we’re about to worry about the solvency of that then we’ve all got much greater problems than whether pensions continue to be paid. The true point is that the Federal government has taxing rights on the entirety of the US economy. The question is not whether there’s enough they can raise from that to pay the bills due, it’s whether they’ve the political will to do so.

These concerns come up every time the Social Security and Medicare trustees revise their actuarial predictions:

Each year the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds report on the current and projected financial status of the two programs. This message summarizes the 2016 Annual Reports.

Both Social Security and Medicare face long-term financing shortfalls under currently scheduled benefits and financing. Lawmakers have a broad continuum of policy options that would close or reduce the long-term financing shortfall of both programs. The Trustees recommend that lawmakers take action sooner rather than later to address these shortfalls, so that a broader range of solutions can be considered and more time will be available to phase in changes while giving the public adequate time to prepare. Earlier action will also help elected officials minimize adverse impacts on vulnerable populations, including lower-income workers and people already dependent on program benefits.

The essential background here. Ever since the last major reform of the tax rates in the Reagan era tax revenue collected to pay for these benefits has been higher than the expenses paid out. Well, it was for a long time at least. The bulk of that collected this month is paid out next month as benefits to those currently receiving them. There is no true investment fund here, this is what is called a “pay as you go” pension scheme. In those years that revenue was greater than costs then the surplus was invested in Treasury bonds. This is that “trust fund” we hear so much about. More recently payouts have been higher than current revenues so that trust fund has been declining. and at some point in a couple of decades time that fund will be exhausted. No, this does not then mean that Social Security will go bust:

Here’s When Social Security and Medicare Will Officially Run Out of Spare Cash
The clock is ticking on Social Security and Medicare.

No, not really.

In the case of Social Security, the ongoing retirement of baby boomers is straining the program. As more boomers leave the workforce, there simply won’t be enough payroll tax revenue generated to cover the cost of benefits being paid out. Between 2015 and 2035, the worker-to-beneficiary ratio is expected to fall from 2.8-to-1 to 2.1-to-1.

The other issue for Social Security is that people are living longer than ever. I don’t want to misconstrue this as a bad thing — a longer life expectancy is great news for everyone. But for a program that’s been designed to pay out benefits for a certain period of time, longer life expectancies are proving to be a strain.

Many of the same problems are apparent for Medicare.

Now that is true. The demographic bulge of the baby boomers is moving through the system into retirement and we’re all living longer to boot. The taxes we are currently charging to people currently working won’t be enough to cover those bills. And the amount we’ve got saved from the past will delay that a bit but we’ll still end up in the same place – the current tax revenue won’t cover the costs of what has been promised. (Full Text)

US-Led Economic War, Not Socialism, Is Tearing Venezuela Apart

The following post is for informational purposes only & is in no way meant to express, or support the political views of the LSRBlog & its subsidiaries.

globalresearch.ca/ - Images and portrayals of Venezuelans rioting in the streets over high food costs, empty grocery stores, medicine shortages, and overflowing garbage bins are the headlines, and the reporting points to socialism as the cause.

The Chicago Tribune published a Commentary piece titled: “A socialist revolution can ruin almost any country.” A headline on Reason’s Hit and Run blog proclaims: “Venezuelan socialism still a complete disaster.” The Week’s U.S. edition says: “Authoritarian socialism caused Venezuela’s collapse.”

Indeed, corporate-owned, mainstream media advises Americans to look at the inflation and food lines in Venezuela, and then repeat to themselves clichés they heard in elementary school about how “Communism just doesn’t work.”

In reality, millions of Venezuelans have seen their living conditions vastly improved through the Bolivarian process. The problems plaguing the Venezuelan economy are not due to some inherent fault in socialism, but to artificially low oil prices and sabotage by forces hostile to the revolution.

Starting in 2014, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia flooded the market with cheap oil. This is not a mere business decision, but a calculated move coordinated with U.S. and Israeli foreign policy goals. Despite not just losing money, but even falling deep into debt, the Saudi monarchy continues to expand its oil production apparatus. The result has been driving the price of oil down from $110 per barrel, to $28 in the early months of this year.The goal is to weaken these opponents of Wall Street, London, and Tel Aviv, whose economies are centered around oil and natural gas exports.

And Venezuela is one of those countries. Saudi efforts to drive down oil prices have drastically reduced Venezuela’s state budget and led to enormous consequences for the Venezuelan economy.

At the same time, private food processing and importing corporations have launched a coordinated campaign of sabotage. This, coupled with the weakening of a vitally important state sector of the economy, has resulted in inflation and food shortages. The artificially low oil prices have left the Venezuelan state cash-starved, prompting a crisis in the funding of the social programs that were key to strengthening the United Socialist Party.

Corruption is a big problem in Venezuela and many third-world countries. This was true prior to the Bolivarian process, as well as after Hugo Chavez launched his massive economic reforms. In situations of extreme poverty, people learn to take care of each other. People who work in government are almost expected to use their position to take care of their friends and family. Corruption is a big problem under any system, but it is much easier to tolerate in conditions of greater abundance. The problem has been magnified in Venezuela due to the drop in state revenue caused by the low oil prices and sabotage from food importers.

The Bolivarian experience in Venezuela

Americans have been trained by decades of Cold War propaganda to look for any confirmation that “socialism means poverty.” A quick, simplistic portrait of the problems currently facing Venezuela, coupled with the fact that President Nicolas Maduro describes himself as a Marxist, can certainly give them such a confirmation. However, the actual, undisputed history of socialist construction around the world, including recent decades in Venezuela, tells a completely different story.

Hugo Chavez was elected president of Venezuela in 1999. His election was viewed as a referendum on the extreme free market policies enacted in Venezuela during the 1990s. In December, when I walked through the neighborhoods of central Caracas, Venezuelans spoke of these times with horror.

Demonstrators gather in Bolivar Square to show their support of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. The demonstrators gathered as the Organization of American States is meeting to discuss a report from Secretary General Luis Almagro denouncing violations of the Venezuela’s constitution.

Venezuelans told of how the privatizations mandated by the International Monetary Fund made life in Venezuela almost unlivable during the 1990s. Garbage wouldn’t be collected. Electricity would go off for weeks. Haido Ortega, a member of a local governing body in Venezuela, said: “Under previous governments we had to burn tires and go on strike just to get electricity, have the streets fixed, or get any investment.”

Chavez took office on a platform advocating a path between capitalism and socialism. He restructured the government-owned oil company so that the profits would go into the Venezuelan state, not the pockets of Wall Street corporations. With the proceeds of Venezuela’s oil exports, Chavez funded a huge apparatus of social programs.

After defeating an attempted coup against him in 2002, Chavez announced the goal of bringing Venezuela toward “21st Century Socialism.” Chavez quoted Marx and Lenin in his many TV addresses to the country, and mobilized the country around the goal of creating a prosperous, non-capitalist society.

In 1998, Venezuela had only 12 public universities, today it has 32. Cuban doctors were brought to Venezuela to provide free health care in community clinics. The government provides cooking and heating gas to low-income neighborhoods, and it’s launched a literacy campaign for uneducated adults.

During the George W. Bush administration, oil prices were the highest they had ever been. The destruction of Iraq, sanctions on Iran and Russia, strikes and turmoil in Nigeria — these events created a shortage on the international markets, driving prices up.

Big oil revenues enabled Chavez and the United Socialist Party to bring millions of Venezuelans out of poverty. Between 1995 and 2009, poverty and unemployment in Venezuela were both cut in half.

After the death of Chavez, Nicolas Maduro has continued the Bolivarian program. “Housing Missions” have been built across the country, providing low-income families in Venezuela with places to live. The Venezuelan government reports that over 1 million modern apartment buildings had been constructed by the end of 2015.

The problems currently facing Venezuela started in 2014. The already growing abundance of oil due to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, was compounded by Saudi Arabia flooding the markets with cheap oil. The result: massive price drops. Despite facing a domestic fiscal crisis, Saudi Arabia continues to expand its oil production apparatus.

The price of oil remains low, as negotiations among OPEC states are taking place in the hopes that prices can be driven back up. While American media insists the low oil prices are just the natural cycle of the market at work, it’s rather convenient for U.S. foreign policy. Russia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and the Islamic Republic of Iran all have economies centered around state-owned oil companies and oil exports, and each of these countries has suffered the sting of low oil prices. (Full Story)

We are world: Terrorist Attack in Nice, France, Leaves 84 Dead and 202 Injured

(nytimes.com)

NICE, France — The toll of an attack on a Bastille Day fireworks celebration in the southern French city of Nice rose on Friday to 84 dead and 202 injured, as the government identified the assailant as a 31-year-old native of Tunisia, extended a national state of emergency and absorbed the shock of a third major terrorist attack in 19 months.

“We will not give in to the terrorist threat,” Prime Minister Manuel Valls said Friday morning after a cabinet meeting led by President François Hollande. But Mr. Valls also offered a grim observation for his countrymen: “The times have changed, and France is going to have to live with terrorism.”

Starting around 10:45 p.m. Thursday, the attacker mowed down scores of victims in Nice with a rented 19-ton refrigerated truck before engaging in a gunfight with three police officers, who pursued him down a storied seaside promenade before finally killing him.

The Paris prosecutor, François Molins, identified the man as Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel, who was born on Jan. 3, 1985, and raised in Msaken, a town in northeastern Tunisia.

The police searched two locations in Nice on Friday, including a home with Mr. Bouhlel’s name outside it, and workers in hazardous-materials suits searched a truck, one much smaller than the one used in the attack. His ex-wife was held for questioning.

No organized group has claimed responsibility for the attack, although online accounts associated with the Islamic State and Al Qaeda have cheered it.

Kashmir protests: Another person succumbs to injuries, death toll reaches 37

(indianexpress.com) - After one more injured succumbed at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Medical College Hospital (SKIMS), the death toll in Kashmir has reached 37. Meanwhile, restrictions and curfew continue in most parts of the Valley for the sixth consecutive day on Thursday.

Irfan Ahmad Dar from South Kashmir’s Kulgam district died in the morning at SKIMS, he was admitted in the hospital on Monday. A senior doctor at SKIMS confirmed the death of Dar in the morning.

“It was a critical case of assault and was brought to hospital on Monday, today morning he succumbed to his injuries,” he said.

Meanwhile, restrictions and curfew continue in place across Kashmir, the South Kashmir’s Anantnag and Kulgam district are under curfew. In the old city areas curfew like restrictions are in place.

So far more than 1600 persons including security force personnel suffered injuries since the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander, Burhan Wani on Friday. More than 100 civilians have received eye pellet injuries and many of them have lost their vision.

CM Mehbooba Mufti appealed for peace and said, “We have to jointly safeguard our state and our people from further bloodshed and destruction.”

Japanese Emperor Akihito 'wishes to abdicate'

(BBC) - Japan's Emperor Akihito has expressed his desire to abdicate in the next few years, public broadcaster NHK reports.

The 82-year-old, who has had health problems in recent years, reportedly does not wish to remain emperor if he has to reduce his official duties.

But a palace spokesman denied that there is any official plan for the monarch to abdicate in what would be an unprecedented move in modern Japan.

Crown Prince Naruhito, 56, is next in line to the Chrysanthemum Throne.

An unnamed government source told Japan's Kyodo news agency that the emperor, who plays a largely ceremonial role but is respected deeply by many Japanese, has been contemplating the move for about a year.

His family had accepted his decision, an unnamed palace source told NHK.

However, both palace and government sources say the Imperial Household Law would have to revised to allow for the abdication to take place.

A change to the Imperial Household Law, which stipulates the rules of succession, would require approval by Japan's parliament.

Despite a categorical denial of the reports by imperial palace spokesman Shinichiro Yamamoto, the emperor's reported wishes are being given prominent attention in the Japanese media.

Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Can't Pass a Basic Test of Financial Literacy

According to a FINRA study.

(fortune,com) - Quick: If you take out a $1000 loan that has a 20% rate, how much will you owe a year in interest?

Answer: $200. But if you got that wrong, you’re not alone. Nearly two thirds of Americans can’t calculate interest payments correctly, according to a new study. About a third said they didn’t even know how.

One of the silver linings of the financial crisis was that it was supposed to have taught many Americans a lesson, albeit painful, about the dangers of debt, and financial issues in general. Apparently, the message, though, didn’t get across.

All told, a new study, which was released today, estimated that nearly two-thirds of Americans couldn’t pass a basic financial literacy test, meaning they got fewer than four answers correct on a five-question quiz. Worse, the percentage of those who can pass the test has fallen consistently since the financial crisis to 37% last year, from 42% in 2009.

These findings come from the National Capability Study by the FINRA Foundation, which surveyed 27,564 Americans, from June through October of last year. FINRA in an quasi-government organization that regulates brokers and Wall Street.

Bonds presented one of the biggest problems for respondents of the survey. Just 28% knew what happens to bond prices when interest rates fall. (They rise.) And less than half of all Americans appear to be able to answer basic questions about financial risk.

Beyond financial literacy, the study found that many Americans have recovered from the financial crisis. Respondents to the survey who reported no difficulty in covering monthly expenses and bills increased 12 percentage points, to 48% in 2015 from 36% in 2009. The percentage of respondents with emergency funds has increased to 46% from 35% in the same years. Additionally, more than half of those using credit cards reported that they pay off their balance each month—the highest percentage since the survey began, the study found.

David Cameron to resign July 13 as Theresa May to become British PM

London (CNN) British Prime Minister David Cameron is to resign Wednesday, paving the way for Home Secretary Theresa May to take the reins.

May was officially named Conservative Party leader and successor to Cameron "with immediate effect" Monday, said Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee, a collection of Conservative members of Parliament key to electing the party leader. She will replace Cameron on Wednesday evening.

In remarks shortly after her leadership was affirmed, May said her priorities will be to administer Britain's exit from the European Union, a move approved by voters last month, to unite the country and to create a "strong, new, positive vision for the future," not just for the privileged few, but for everyone.

Cameron had already announced he would step down by October after failing to convince the country to remain in the EU in the divisive June 23 referendum that sent shockwaves through Britain's political establishment.

But Monday, May's only remaining rival to replace Cameron -- Energy Minister Andrea Leadsom -- pulled out of the race following controversy over comments she made about motherhood and leadership.

"Obviously, with these changes, we now don't need to have a prolonged period of transition. And so tomorrow I will chair my last Cabinet meeting. On Wednesday I will attend the House of Commons for Prime Minister's questions," Cameron told reporters Monday outside 10 Downing Street.
"And then after that I expect to go to the palace and offer my resignation. So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening."

The vote between May and Leadsom was supposed to go to the wider Conservative Party of 150,000 people, but being the sole candidate, May sidestepped the party rule.

Cameron welcomed Leadsom's decision to drop out of the race and said he was confident May would steer the country in the right direction, calling her strong and competent, and offering her his full support.

Italian baby kept on vegan diet taken into care after being found malnourished

(Telegraph) - A 14-month-old Italian baby, who was reportedly fed a vegan diet, has been removed from his parents after arriving at a Milan hospital seriously malnourished.

The baby, whose name has not been released, was taken to a hospital by his grandparents a week ago and doctors were shocked to see the poor state of the baby’s health and a body weight only just slightly higher than a newborn.

Blood tests revealed the child, who was born in May 2015, was severely malnourished with calcium levels barely adequate to survive. The baby was also suffering from a congenital heart condition which required emergency surgery. He is now recovering in hospital.

Diversity is our strength: U.N. chief urges US to deal with racial disparity in law enforcement

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday the United States needed to comprehensively address discrimination, including racial disparities in law enforcement, after police killed two black men in the Louisiana and Minnesota.

Ban also condemned the killing of five police officers in Dallas, his spokesman Farhan Haq said in a statement.

"There is no justification for such violence," Haq said. "Those responsible compounded the suffering that many in the United States feel following the killing of two African-American men over two days."

At least one sniper killed five Dallas police officers and wounded another seven at the end of a protest on Thursday night over this week's pair of fatal shootings of black men by police in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Ban called for a "thorough and impartial" investigation into the deaths of the black men, Haq said.

"They once again put the focus on the need to address discrimination, including racial disparities in law enforcement, in a comprehensive manner," he said.

A long string of killings of black men by police in cities including Ferguson, Missouri, New York, Baltimore and Chicago has given rise to the Black Lives Matter movement against excessive police force. The killings have spurred almost two years of mostly peaceful street protests in the United States.

Texas: Dallas sniper attack: 5 officers killed, suspect identified

inside job..

(CNN) - The ambush began with gunshots that killed five officers and sent screaming crowds scrambling for cover. It ended when a Dallas police bomb squad robot killed a gunman after negotiations failed.

Investigators have identified the dead suspect: 25-year-old Micah Xavier Johnson of Mesquite, Texas. But they're still trying to answer key questions. Chief among them: Are any other suspects on the loose?

Federal law enforcement officials believe Johnson was the only shooter in the ambush that began Thursday night, according to law enforcement officials briefed by the Dallas police.
Dallas police Chief David Brown earlier suggested that other suspects played a role, too.

"Through our investigation of some of the suspects, it's revealed to us that this was a well-planned, well-thought-out, evil tragedy by these suspects," Brown said at a prayer vigil for the victims Friday afternoon. "We won't rest until we bring everyone involved to justice."

The deadly gunfire erupted in Dallas as videos showing two African-American men shot by police in Louisiana and Minnesota spurred protests and debate over police use of force across the country.

HAHA: Credit Card Hackers Strike More Than 1,000 Wendy’s Restaurants

NEW YORK (CBS / AP) — Wendy’s said hackers were able to steal customers’ credit and debit card information at 1,025 of its U.S. restaurants, far more than it originally thought.

The hamburger chain said Thursday hackers were able to obtain card numbers, names, expiration dates and codes on the card, beginning in late fall. Some customers’ cards were used to make fraudulent purchases at other stores.

Wendy’s Co. urged customers to check their accounts for any fraudulent purchases.

The Dublin, Ohio, company first announced it was investigating a possible hack in January. In May, it said malware was found in fewer than 300 restaurants. About a month later, it said two types of malware were found and the number of restaurants affected was “considerably higher.”

There are more than 5,700 Wendy’s restaurants in the U.S.

The U.S. Is a World Leader in Car Crash Deaths

(usnews.com) - Public health experts often cite reduced car crash deaths as one of the most successful examples of how common-sense laws can dramatically reduce injuries and deaths. Through strategies like enforcing seat belt usage and drunken driving laws, the U.S. from 2000 to 2013 reduced its rate of crash deaths by 31 percent. Some who herald such an achievement even use it as an example of how similar approaches could be applied to curb gun violence.

But it turns out the U.S. isn't doing as well as it could be when it comes to crash deaths – or certainly not as well as many of its counterparts. In fact, the U.S. had the worst rate of crash deaths in 2013 per 100,000 people when compared with 19 other high-income countries, according to a Vital Signs report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 32,000 people in the U.S. died in car crashes that year – the latest covered by the report – and an additional 2 million people were injured.

These deaths continue to occur because of alcohol-impaired driving, speeding, and failing to use seat belts, car seats or booster seats. According to the report, about half of drivers or passengers who died in crashes in the U.S. in 2013 were not wearing a seat belt.

Causes of car crash deaths in the U.S.
Erin Sauber-Schatz, a transportation safety team lead with the CDC and an author of the report, said in a call with reporters Wednesday that distracted driving – which includes texting while driving – contributes to about 10 percent of fatal accidents and 18 percent of injury accidents.

To assemble its report, the CDC analyzed data compiled by the World Health Organization and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Study authors admitted that it's difficult to quantify all the reasons for differences between countries, noting that the U.S. has a significantly higher population than the countries it was being compared to, as well as a greater dependence on cars. But they partially adjusted for these differences by controlling for population size, miles traveled and number of registered vehicles.

The researchers found that the U.S. had both the most motor vehicle crash deaths per 100,000 people and per 10,000 registered vehicles. Other than the U.S., countries included in the study were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

The U.S. scored so poorly in part because so many drivers and passengers still do not buckle up. Among countries for which seat belt use data were available, the U.S. ranked 18 out of 20 for front-seat use – at 87 percent – and 13 out of 18 for seat belt use among backseat passengers.

On average, 94 percent of people in the studied high-income countries wore seat belts while in the front seat. France had the highest adherence to front seat belt use, at 99 percent, and Austria had the lowest – just shy of the U.S. – at 86 percent.

Authors of the CDC report noted that countries differ in auto safety enforcement actions. For instance, in some U.S. states, a seat belt is only required if you are sitting in the front of an automobile.

Alcohol use also contributed to the mortality rates, with the U.S. tied for the second-highest percentage of deaths involving alcohol-impaired driving among 19 countries evaluated. (FullText)

Is Cannabis Part of an Alzheimer’s Cure?

(leafly.com) - Scientists at the Salk Institute labs in San Diego have published preliminary evidence that tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and other compounds found in cannabis can remove amyloid beta, the toxic protein most commonly associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Officials at the Salk Institute cautioned that the results, published in the June issue of the journalAging and Mechanisms of Disease, shouldn’t be taken as a sign that cannabis is a panacea for Alzheimer’s. The studies were conducted in neurons grown in a laboratory, and may eventually offer insight into the role inflammation plays in the disease. The Salk Institute’s work could end up providing clues about developing novel therapeutics for the disorder.

“Although other studies have offered evidence that cannabinoids might be neuroprotective against the symptoms of Alzheimer’s,” said David Schubert, the study’s senior author, “we believe our study is the first to demonstrate that cannabinoids affect both inflammation and amyloid beta accumulation in nerve cells.”

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder that leads to memory loss and can seriously impair a person’s ability to carry out daily tasks. According to the National Institutes of Health, it affects more than 5 million Americans, is the nation’s most common cause of dementia, and is a leading cause of death. Alarmingly, the incidence of Alzheimer’s is expected to triple during the next 50 years. (FullText)

Why is July 4 US Independence Day?

(TodayIFoundOut) - While it is often said that the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, this isn’t actually correct. In fact, nobody signed it on the 4th. This is contradictory to Thomas Jefferson’s, John Adams’, and Benjamin Franklin’s account of events. On top of their accounts, the public congressional record of events back their story. So how do we know it didn’t happen this way?

To begin with, the Secret Journals of Congress that were eventually made public in 1821 paint a different story. They contain an entry stating, on August 2nd: “The declaration of independence being engrossed & compared at the table was signed by the Members.”

Now if this was the only evidence, one might lean towards a typo in the journal and believing the aforementioned three individuals and public congressional record. However, one of the other signers of the declaration, Thomas McKean, denied the July 4th signing date and backed it up by illustrating a glaring flaw in Jefferson’s, Adams’, and Franklin’s argument- namely, that most of the signers were not members of congress on July 4th and thus wouldn’t have been there to sign it. As McKean said in 1796: “No person signed it on that day nor for many days after.”

Further evidence comes from the interesting fact that the parchment version of the Declaration of Independence that is on display and kept in the United States National Archives wasn’t actually written until July 19th; this being a copy of the approved text that was announced to the world on July 4th, with about 150-200 copies being made on paper and distributed on that date (26 of which are still around today, thus pre-dating what is now generally thought of by most as the “original”).

This little tidbit also came from the Secret Journals of Congress which has an entry on July 19th stating: “Resolved that the Declaration passed on the 4th be fairly engrossed on parchment with the title and stile of ‘The unanimous declaration of the thirteen united states of America’ & that the same when engrossed be signed by every member of Congress.”

So, in the end, this signed document probably would have been copied by Timothy Matlack, Jefferson’s clerk, rather than penned by Jefferson himself, and certainly couldn’t have been signed on July 4th.

It’s also interesting to note that John Adams thought that July 2nd, not July 4th, would be celebrated in the future in the United States. On July 3, 1776, in a letter to his wife, Abigail, Adams noted:

The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America. I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival. It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.

So why did he think July 2nd would be Independence Day and how did July 4th end up getting the nod instead? Because July 2nd is when the Second Continental Congress voted to approved a resolution of independence. Although nobody voted on or signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, that was the date the Declaration was announced to the world, and why it was ultimately chosen as Independence Day.

What if every worker received minimum wage?

Here is the thought question for today:

   Via marshallbrain.com - What if every worker in the United States got paid minimum wage for the work they do?
It doesn't matter who you are or what you do. Whether you are working in McDonald's mopping the floor or you are the CEO of McDonald's. Whether you deliver the mail for the President or you are the President of the United States. No matter who you are, you make $5.15 an hour for the work you do, and everyone's total income is capped at $11,000 per year. What would happen if we did that?
The reason why we might choose to do that is because the wages of most workers are headed in that direction anyway. Corporations all over the nation have been pushing worker wages down to the minimum wage level:

We all know about the burger places. They have created a burger assembly line where millions of restaurant workers now make minimum wage.

In the 1990s, HMOs started pushing the wages paid to physicians downward for the first time ever. Minimum wage can't be far away for doctors.

Southwest Airlines built a new discount travel model by paying pilots and flight attendants less than industry norms for the work they do. Now the whole industry is following Southwest's lead because they have no choice if they want to compete. Wages across the airline industry are falling. Once that becomes the norm, someone else will come along to beat Southwest and cut wages again. Many commuter airline pilots make near minimum wage already. It's just a matter of time before everyone in the airline industry is making minimum wage.

Wal-Mart took away business from the small town downtown and hired all those store owners for minimum wage.

Wages everywhere are under pressure and headed toward minimum wage anyway. Why don't we simply short circuit the process and take everyone down to minimum wage now, in one fell swoop? It would be a lot less painful that way. And let's include CEOs, executives and politicians in the process. If a major corporation cannot afford to pay a clerk more than minimum wage because of pressure from competitors, then there is certainly no way the same corporation can afford to pay the CEO and other executives $10 million a year. The practicalities and realities of our business environment should apply to every part of the business, not just to one segment of the workers. Everyone, from the CEO on down, should make minimum wage to maximize the corporation's competitiveness.
No one is spared: The president of the United States, all the politicians and bureaucrats, CEOs and executives, business owners, lawyers, doctors and dentists… everyone. If you get a paycheck, you get minimum wage. No exceptions.

What would happen if we did that?

Perhaps most importantly, it would save the economy a lot of money. According to the New York Times Almanac, businesses hire 105 million people per year and pay them just over $3 trillion per year (the figure does not include government employees), for an average wage of roughly $30,000 per year. At $5.15 an hour and 40 hours a week, all 105 million of these employees would start making a uniform $10,700 per year at minimum wage. By doing that, the $3 trillion figure would fall to $1 trillion. The economy would save $2 trillion every year. The drop in prices would be spectacular, because $2 trillion represents $20,000 per U.S. household. Something that costs $10 today might see its price drop to $4.00 or less. Even though we would all be making minimum wage, that wage would buy far more in the economy than it does today. Everyone in the country would be able to live a comfortable middle class lifestyle.

What would happen to highly paid people like TV/movie stars, corporate executives, sports stars, radio personalities and so on? Their salaries would go from millions of dollars a year to $10,700 a year. Would it be a catastrophe? No. In all likelihood, absolutely nothing would happen. Is Rush Limbaugh going to give up his soapbox if he got paid less? Probably not. I imagine he likes the fame and influence his show gives him. He is going nowhere. Are Peter Jennings, Dan Rather and Tom Brockaw going to quit? Probably not. They like the fame too. The stars of popular TV shows? No… they cannot get into the best restaurants, have adoring fans or get Emmy awards unless they appear on their shows.

But if they do quit, it is not a problem. Johnny Carson left the Tonight Show, and we got Jay Leno. It was not a catastrophe. If Dave Letterman leaves Late Night because he does not like the pay, we'd get another host. It would be OK. There are thousands and thousands of people who would love to have Dave's, Rush's or Jay's jobs.

Would CEOs leave? Maybe. But if they are good CEOs, they love what they are doing building companies and leading people. If they don't want to do it unless they get paid $15 million a year, that probably tells us something about them. We probably don't want them leading a company anyway if they are only in it for the money. If we replace them with people who actually care about the job and the company, we would all be better off. We could have completely avoided Enron, Worldcom, etc. and the resulting stock market collapse if we had had good, honest people filling the CEO roles in those companies.

As you start to think about this new minimum wage reality, you begin to realize something. Most people -- especially the ones who are highly paid today -- would stay in their current jobs. The perks of fame and power would keep them there. So here's the question: Why isn't supply and demand governing the pay of CEOs, TV celebrities, sports stars and supermodels, driving their wages down just like everyone else? (Full Text)

After Brexit, U.S. Congressman Promotes #Amexit from UN

The USA is a failed state

- As the pro-national sovereignty movement continues to surge in Europe following the historic British “Brexit” vote to exit the European Union, a growing push for a United States “Amexit” from the United Nations and other international institutions is gaining steam. After the Brexit, Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (shown being sworn in), a leading constitutionalist, pointed to his support for the American Sovereignty Restoration Act and asked if it is now “Time for #amexit?” Yes, he says. Conservative commentator Sarah Palin also called for a U.S. withdrawal from the UN following Brexit, saying Americans should take a lesson from the British on restoring independence and stopping "special-interest globalists." Former Congressman Ron Paul, meanwhile, the author of the original legislation to get the United States out of the UN, called for getting out of NATO and the “various phony 'free trade' agreements” that benefit the elite but harm everyone else. And the movement to restore self-government is only growing.

Czech President Calls for Referendum on EU, NATO Membership

(Bloomberg) Czech President Milos Zeman called for a referendum on the country’s membership in the European Union and NATO, adding to concern that more European countries will copy Britain’s Brexit vote even as he said he supported remaining in both blocs.

The Czech Republic benefits as an EU member because it receives more funds than it contributes, while NATO provides security guarantees in fighting international terrorism, Zeman said on public Czech Radio on Friday. Still, he said he would do everything in his power to initiate a referendum “so people can express themselves.” The government rejected the president’s suggestion.

“I disagree with those who support leaving the EU,” Zeman said. “But I’ll do everything I can to make a referendum happen.”

Often at odds with official government policy, the president has angered EU leaders by openly criticizing the bloc’s economic sanctions against Russia. He has publicly supported Vladimir Putin, strengthened Czech ties with China and derided the bloc’s leadership as “totally incompetent.” He has also alienated many European allies with his hard-line stance against refugees, whom he has repeatedly and publicly linked to terrorism.

Because Zeman’s role is largely ceremonial, and he has no power to call a referendum, he is commenting only to shape public opinion, according to Jan Outly, a political scientist at the Metropolitan University in Prague. The country doesn’t have a law allowing such a ballot, so any attempt to hold one would be a long process, he said.

“This is just one of many public announcements Mr. Zeman makes to make himself visible in the media,” Outly said by phone. “He has absolutely no authority to make it happen.”

Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka’s administration considers membership in the EU and and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization guarantees of stability and security, according to a statement that it e-mailed after Zeman’s comments.

“The government isn’t considering taking any steps that could in any way question our memberships and the long-term direction of the Czech Republic’s foreign policy, and therefore it doesn’t expect any referendums,” the government said. (FullStory)

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Related (Reuters) Czech government rejects president's call for referendum on EU, NATO