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How will Pope Francis deal with abuse in the Catholic Church? | Image copyright Getty Images In an effort to deal with the sex scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope has convened an extraordinary summit of bishops in Rome. This follows his recent, unprompted, admission that priests had exploited nuns as "sex slaves" at a convent in France. Pope Francis decided to call this global conference after discussions with the so-called C9. This is the group of nine cardinal advisers who were appointed soon after Francis was elected. The Pope is under serious pressure to provide leadership and generate workable solutions to what is the most pressing crisis facing the modern Church. Stories of abuse have emerged in every corner of the world. And the Church has been accused of covering up crimes committed by priests, leaving its moral authority in tatters. Pope Francis must also confront the assumptions, attitudes and practices that have allowed a culture of abuse to flourish. The extent of this challenge may prove overwhelming. Image copyright Jason Berry Image caption Journalist Jason Berry was one of the first people to expose the extent of abuse in the Church The summit, to be attended by the heads of all national bishops' conferences from more than 130 countries, is only the beginning of an attempt to address a sickness that has been poisoning the Church since at least the 1980s. When Jason Berry, a local newspaper reporter in the US state of Louisiana, began following the story of an abusive priest called Father Gilbert Gauthe, he did not expect his work to ignite an international scandal that is still ablaze more than 30 years later. Mr Berry's work led to the 1992 book Lead Us Not Into Temptation, based on civil legal actions that the Church settled with multiple accusers towards the end of the 1980s. In 2002, Mr Berry's work was followed by an investigation at the Boston Globe newspaper that provided an even more extensive narrative of clergy abuse and cover-up. The journalists won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize and their work was dramatised in the film Spotlight. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The work of the Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes, (left), Walter V Robinson, and Sascha Pfieffer (right) led to the Academy Award-winning film Spotlight The scandals kept coming. Consider six of the eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state of Pennsylvania, which were the subject of scrutiny last year. The State Attorney, Josh Shapiro, subpoenaed and reviewed half a million internal diocesan documents. Dozens of witnesses gave evidence, some clergy admitted to their offences. Mr Shapiro's report, published in December, was devastating. "Over 1,000 child victims were identifiable from the Church's own records," he wrote, with "credible allegations against over 300 predator priests". The report, which is more than 1,000 pages long, covers the past 70 years - and the examples are horrific. In the diocese of Scranton, a priest raped a girl and when she became pregnant arranged for an abortion. The priest's line manager, his area bishop, wrote a letter. "This is a very difficult time in your life and I realise how upset you are," he wrote. "I too share your grief." The letter was not addressed to the girl, but the priest. In another diocese, a priest visited a seven-year-old girl in hospital after she had undergone a tonsillectomy - and raped her. In another, a priest abused a nine-year-old and then rinsed out the boy's mouth with holy water "to purify him". The report concluded that predatory paedophiles had been able to abuse children because the Church hid their activities by moving accused clerics on to other parishes and not reporting their offences to the police. Rape claims The Rt Rev Franco Mulakkal had risen from small-town Kerala, on India's south-west coast, to become a bishop in the north of the country. He was arrested in September 2018, following allegations from a nun that he regularly visited her convent in order to rape her. The bishop, who has temporarily stood down from ministry, has denied all the charges, telling reporters the accusations are "baseless and concocted". Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Catholic nuns in Kerala, India, are calling for the arrest of the Rt Rev Franco Mulakkal, of Jalandhar, for alleged rape In a letter, written by the nun to her superiors, she claimed the first rape had happened in May 2014 and the last in September 2016. In January, the nuns appealed to the chief minister of Kerala to intervene on their behalf, after Church officials allegedly ordered them to leave the state, in an effort to clean up the mess. Nuns have complained that they are exploited because they are often reliant upon priests and bishops for their accommodation and fear abandonment if they fight back against abusive clergy. In Malawi, where HIV prevalence among adults up to the age of 64 is more than 10%, nuns are also alleged to have been targeted because they are regarded as "pure" and much less likely to be carrying the virus. 'Never again' pledge In 2012, the Australian government announced a Royal Commission, which was charged with investigating institutional responses to child abuse. The organisations involved included residential care centres for young people, schools, sports, arts and other community groups, and the Church. The commission concluded that 7% of Australia's Roman Catholic priests had allegedly abused children between 1950 and 2010. In one religious order, the St John of God Brothers, 40% of its leaders were accused of abusing children. Chrissie Foster, the mother of two children who were abused by priests in Melbourne, complained to the authorities. She told BBC News that instead of addressing her concerns, the family became the subject of a whispering campaign. "They said that we were liars, that we were after money," she said. "That's what they would say to parishioners. It was much easier to believe that lie than the truth that priests were sexually abusing children." In August 2018, the Roman Catholic Church in Australia published its formal response to the Royal Commission. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Chrissie Foster is the mother of two children who were abused by priests in Melbourne, Australia Archbishop the Most Reverend Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said that "far too many" clergy, religious and lay people within the Church in Australia had "failed in their duty to protect and honour the dignity of all including and especially the most vulnerable, our children and our young people". "With one voice, the bishops and the leaders of religious orders here this morning make the pledge, 'Never again,'" he said. 'Appalling abuse' Last summer, Britain's Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published a report on two of the most prestigious Roman Catholic schools in the UK: Ampleforth College, in North Yorkshire, and Downside School, in Somerset. According to the report, the schools "prioritised the monks and their own reputations over the protection of children" and "appalling abuse was inflicted over decades on children as young as seven at Ampleforth and 11 at Downside". The inquiry heard witness testimony from those who were forced into sexual acts, sometimes in the presence of fellow pupils. In conclusion, the report found that "many perpetrators did not hide their sexual interests from the children". "The blatant openness of these activities demonstrates there was a culture of acceptance of abusive behaviour," it said. Following publication, Ampleforth said the "abbey and college wishes to repeat their heartfelt apology to all victims and survivors of abuse". Downside expressed similar regret, saying: "The abbey and school fully acknowledges the serious failings and mistakes made in both protecting those within our care and responding to safeguarding concerns." Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Downside Abbey and school apologised for failing its pupils For an organisation that numbers more than 1.2 billion adherents and is present in virtually every country on Earth, the focus is now firmly fixed on Pope Francis. When he was elected, in March 2013, the Pope was fully aware of the impact of clerical abuse scandals on the Church. Within a year, in July 2014, he met six victims from three countries - two people each from Ireland, Britain and Germany. At a private Mass, with the six victims among the congregation, he offered an explicit apology. "Before God and his people, I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you," Pope Francis said during his homily, published later by the Vatican. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A demonstration near the Vatican in support of the victims of paedophile priests "And I humbly ask forgiveness. I beg your forgiveness, too, for the sins of omission on the part of Church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse made by family members, as well as by abuse victims themselves." Soon after, Pope Francis added eight new members to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, from Africa, Oceania, Asia, and South America. But this body was soon hit by defections. The only two individuals on the commission who'd been victims of abuse, Marie Collins and Peter Saunders, resigned. Marie Collins, who was molested by a priest when she was 13, wrote a letter saying that while the Pope may have wanted to address clerical abuse, the Vatican's bureaucracy kept obstructing proposals for change. After the commission made a recommendation that all correspondence from victims and survivors should receive a response, she discovered that none had received replies. "I find it impossible to listen to public statements about the deep concern in the Church for the care of those whose lives have been blighted by abuse," she wrote, "yet to watch privately as a congregation in the Vatican refuses to even acknowledge their letters." She concluded with these words: "It is a reflection of how this whole abuse crisis in the Church has been handled: with fine words in public and contrary actions behind closed doors." Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins resigned from the Church's commission for the protection of minors Pope Francis has decided to open the doors, convening an unprecedented summit to address the issue. But he's already tried to reduce expectations by warning the media, during the flight back to Rome from the United Arab Emirates, that a three-day conference represents only the beginning of a conversation. Others have argued that he should simply issue an edict for the Church to follow. But implementing universal protocols is challenging because the Church exists in a range of cultures and judicial systems. It's hard to imagine a more pressing challenge for the 82-year-old pontiff. His pontificate began with widespread enthusiasm for a man who chose pastoral appeal over pomp and ceremony, humility and compassion over the trappings of status. But how it ends is likely to depend on the action he takes, and the protocols he implements, to deal with the scourge of abuse. If you have been affected by any of the issues regarding sexual abuse raised in this article, help and support are available. Find out more at BBC Action Line. | The Pope has convened a summit of bishops in Rome to address the sex abuse scandal. The Church has been accused of covering up crimes committed by priests, leaving its moral authority in tatters. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47201647 | 0.119373 |
How will Pope Francis deal with abuse in the Catholic Church? | Image copyright Getty Images In an effort to deal with the sex scandals rocking the Roman Catholic Church, the Pope has convened an extraordinary summit of bishops in Rome. This follows his recent, unprompted, admission that priests had exploited nuns as "sex slaves" at a convent in France. Pope Francis decided to call this global conference after discussions with the so-called C9. This is the group of nine cardinal advisers who were appointed soon after Francis was elected. The Pope is under serious pressure to provide leadership and generate workable solutions to what is the most pressing crisis facing the modern Church. Stories of abuse have emerged in every corner of the world. And the Church has been accused of covering up crimes committed by priests, leaving its moral authority in tatters. Pope Francis must also confront the assumptions, attitudes and practices that have allowed a culture of abuse to flourish. The extent of this challenge may prove overwhelming. Image copyright Jason Berry Image caption Journalist Jason Berry was one of the first people to expose the extent of abuse in the Church The summit, to be attended by the heads of all national bishops' conferences from more than 130 countries, is only the beginning of an attempt to address a sickness that has been poisoning the Church since at least the 1980s. When Jason Berry, a local newspaper reporter in the US state of Louisiana, began following the story of an abusive priest called Father Gilbert Gauthe, he did not expect his work to ignite an international scandal that is still ablaze more than 30 years later. Mr Berry's work led to the 1992 book Lead Us Not Into Temptation, based on civil legal actions that the Church settled with multiple accusers towards the end of the 1980s. In 2002, Mr Berry's work was followed by an investigation at the Boston Globe newspaper that provided an even more extensive narrative of clergy abuse and cover-up. The journalists won a prestigious Pulitzer Prize and their work was dramatised in the film Spotlight. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The work of the Boston Globe's Michael Rezendes, (left), Walter V Robinson, and Sascha Pfieffer (right) led to the Academy Award-winning film Spotlight The scandals kept coming. Consider six of the eight Roman Catholic dioceses in the state of Pennsylvania, which were the subject of scrutiny last year. The State Attorney, Josh Shapiro, subpoenaed and reviewed half a million internal diocesan documents. Dozens of witnesses gave evidence, some clergy admitted to their offences. Mr Shapiro's report, published in December, was devastating. "Over 1,000 child victims were identifiable from the Church's own records," he wrote, with "credible allegations against over 300 predator priests". The report, which is more than 1,000 pages long, covers the past 70 years - and the examples are horrific. In the diocese of Scranton, a priest raped a girl and when she became pregnant arranged for an abortion. The priest's line manager, his area bishop, wrote a letter. "This is a very difficult time in your life and I realise how upset you are," he wrote. "I too share your grief." The letter was not addressed to the girl, but the priest. In another diocese, a priest visited a seven-year-old girl in hospital after she had undergone a tonsillectomy - and raped her. In another, a priest abused a nine-year-old and then rinsed out the boy's mouth with holy water "to purify him". The report concluded that predatory paedophiles had been able to abuse children because the Church hid their activities by moving accused clerics on to other parishes and not reporting their offences to the police. Rape claims The Rt Rev Franco Mulakkal had risen from small-town Kerala, on India's south-west coast, to become a bishop in the north of the country. He was arrested in September 2018, following allegations from a nun that he regularly visited her convent in order to rape her. The bishop, who has temporarily stood down from ministry, has denied all the charges, telling reporters the accusations are "baseless and concocted". Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Catholic nuns in Kerala, India, are calling for the arrest of the Rt Rev Franco Mulakkal, of Jalandhar, for alleged rape In a letter, written by the nun to her superiors, she claimed the first rape had happened in May 2014 and the last in September 2016. In January, the nuns appealed to the chief minister of Kerala to intervene on their behalf, after Church officials allegedly ordered them to leave the state, in an effort to clean up the mess. Nuns have complained that they are exploited because they are often reliant upon priests and bishops for their accommodation and fear abandonment if they fight back against abusive clergy. In Malawi, where HIV prevalence among adults up to the age of 64 is more than 10%, nuns are also alleged to have been targeted because they are regarded as "pure" and much less likely to be carrying the virus. 'Never again' pledge In 2012, the Australian government announced a Royal Commission, which was charged with investigating institutional responses to child abuse. The organisations involved included residential care centres for young people, schools, sports, arts and other community groups, and the Church. The commission concluded that 7% of Australia's Roman Catholic priests had allegedly abused children between 1950 and 2010. In one religious order, the St John of God Brothers, 40% of its leaders were accused of abusing children. Chrissie Foster, the mother of two children who were abused by priests in Melbourne, complained to the authorities. She told BBC News that instead of addressing her concerns, the family became the subject of a whispering campaign. "They said that we were liars, that we were after money," she said. "That's what they would say to parishioners. It was much easier to believe that lie than the truth that priests were sexually abusing children." In August 2018, the Roman Catholic Church in Australia published its formal response to the Royal Commission. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Chrissie Foster is the mother of two children who were abused by priests in Melbourne, Australia Archbishop the Most Reverend Mark Coleridge, president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, said that "far too many" clergy, religious and lay people within the Church in Australia had "failed in their duty to protect and honour the dignity of all including and especially the most vulnerable, our children and our young people". "With one voice, the bishops and the leaders of religious orders here this morning make the pledge, 'Never again,'" he said. 'Appalling abuse' Last summer, Britain's Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published a report on two of the most prestigious Roman Catholic schools in the UK: Ampleforth College, in North Yorkshire, and Downside School, in Somerset. According to the report, the schools "prioritised the monks and their own reputations over the protection of children" and "appalling abuse was inflicted over decades on children as young as seven at Ampleforth and 11 at Downside". The inquiry heard witness testimony from those who were forced into sexual acts, sometimes in the presence of fellow pupils. In conclusion, the report found that "many perpetrators did not hide their sexual interests from the children". "The blatant openness of these activities demonstrates there was a culture of acceptance of abusive behaviour," it said. Following publication, Ampleforth said the "abbey and college wishes to repeat their heartfelt apology to all victims and survivors of abuse". Downside expressed similar regret, saying: "The abbey and school fully acknowledges the serious failings and mistakes made in both protecting those within our care and responding to safeguarding concerns." Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Downside Abbey and school apologised for failing its pupils For an organisation that numbers more than 1.2 billion adherents and is present in virtually every country on Earth, the focus is now firmly fixed on Pope Francis. When he was elected, in March 2013, the Pope was fully aware of the impact of clerical abuse scandals on the Church. Within a year, in July 2014, he met six victims from three countries - two people each from Ireland, Britain and Germany. At a private Mass, with the six victims among the congregation, he offered an explicit apology. "Before God and his people, I express my sorrow for the sins and grave crimes of clerical sexual abuse committed against you," Pope Francis said during his homily, published later by the Vatican. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A demonstration near the Vatican in support of the victims of paedophile priests "And I humbly ask forgiveness. I beg your forgiveness, too, for the sins of omission on the part of Church leaders who did not respond adequately to reports of abuse made by family members, as well as by abuse victims themselves." Soon after, Pope Francis added eight new members to the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors, from Africa, Oceania, Asia, and South America. But this body was soon hit by defections. The only two individuals on the commission who'd been victims of abuse, Marie Collins and Peter Saunders, resigned. Marie Collins, who was molested by a priest when she was 13, wrote a letter saying that while the Pope may have wanted to address clerical abuse, the Vatican's bureaucracy kept obstructing proposals for change. After the commission made a recommendation that all correspondence from victims and survivors should receive a response, she discovered that none had received replies. "I find it impossible to listen to public statements about the deep concern in the Church for the care of those whose lives have been blighted by abuse," she wrote, "yet to watch privately as a congregation in the Vatican refuses to even acknowledge their letters." She concluded with these words: "It is a reflection of how this whole abuse crisis in the Church has been handled: with fine words in public and contrary actions behind closed doors." Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Clerical abuse survivor Marie Collins resigned from the Church's commission for the protection of minors Pope Francis has decided to open the doors, convening an unprecedented summit to address the issue. But he's already tried to reduce expectations by warning the media, during the flight back to Rome from the United Arab Emirates, that a three-day conference represents only the beginning of a conversation. Others have argued that he should simply issue an edict for the Church to follow. But implementing universal protocols is challenging because the Church exists in a range of cultures and judicial systems. It's hard to imagine a more pressing challenge for the 82-year-old pontiff. His pontificate began with widespread enthusiasm for a man who chose pastoral appeal over pomp and ceremony, humility and compassion over the trappings of status. But how it ends is likely to depend on the action he takes, and the protocols he implements, to deal with the scourge of abuse. If you have been affected by any of the issues regarding sexual abuse raised in this article, help and support are available. Find out more at BBC Action Line. | Pope Francis has called an extraordinary summit of bishops in Rome. It follows his recent admission that priests exploited nuns as "sex slaves" The Church has been accused of covering up crimes committed by priests. Pope Francis must also confront the assumptions, attitudes and practices that have allowed a culture of abuse to flourish. | bart | 2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-47201647 | 0.166183 |
Will Trump's National Emergency Declaration Help Him In 2020? | DAVID GREENE, HOST: Well, as President Trump predicted, he is getting sued. Sixteen states are arguing that he can't redirect military and other spending to build a border wall without congressional approval. The president is trying this by declaring a national emergency at the border, but he is entering a legal battle here without clear support from the American people. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds a majority of Americans disapprove of the president's emergency declaration. Six in 10 Americans actually don't think there is any emergency. That said, the president's political base is behind him overwhelmingly. Let's turn to conservative writer Jonah Goldberg, who's senior editor at National Review and frequently comes on our program. Welcome back, Jonah. JONAH GOLDBERG: Hey. It's always great to be here. GREENE: Well, it's always great to have you. GOLDBERG: Spelunking too deep into Donald Trump's cranium may not be the greatest (laughter) use of my time. GREENE: OK. GOLDBERG: But I think... GREENE: Does it matter - let me rephrase. GOLDBERG: Yeah. GOLDBERG: It clearly doesn't matter. He's been underwater - you know, the guy's never broken 50 in the approval ratings in any polls. It hasn't stopped him from doing - from going with his gut on all sorts of things. And I think that on this, this is one of these things where he - you know, he, basically, has always thought that his base are the only voters who truly matter, you know, the ones he refers to as my people. And he is convinced that - and it's been reported that he thinks this is his no new taxes pledge and that he cannot go back on the wall. And anything he does to get the wall is self-justifying. And this also - just to be blunt and cynical about it, this was a smart political move in the sense that the headlines would've been Trump gets taken to the cleaners in the budget deal that he signed to - you know, he lost that entire exchange for two months of wasted time. He lost the government shutdown fight. And he came out worse the other end with the budget deal. And those headlines... GREENE: Yeah. GOLDBERG: ...Were completely erased by the fact that... GREENE: Changed the narrative. GOLDBERG: ...He - yeah, because he changed narrative. GREENE: Well, let's talk through, I mean, whether or not he needs the base. I mean, the wall was a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign. He won that election. But you could argue - right - that he might have hurt congressional Republicans when he focused on the wall ahead of the midterms. GOLDBERG: I don't think so. I've never thought so. I think it has been bizarre to me that the guy who ran as - I alone can fix it. And I'm going to make deals. And I'm going to work with Democrats - that he is - he's the first president in modern memory who has governed as if he only cares about his base. Normally, presidents at least pretend to care about being president for the whole country. And normally, presidents try to expand their coalition that got them elected once they get into office. He's never pursued that strategy. It's been a base strategy in office the entire time. I don't see how it helps him for re-election, unless there's some third-party candidate. But that is the gamble that they made. They think that if they can churn up the intensity, it will work for him. And I think it's misguided, but that's - it seems apparent that that's either the strategy or that Donald Trump doesn't know how to behave any other way. GREENE: I want to highlight one other finding in our new poll. Eighty-four percent of Republicans and 90 percent of Trump supporters think there is a national emergency at the border. Democrats and independents don't agree with that. I mean, I know these are polarized times. I'm sure you know these are polarized times. GOLDBERG: Yeah. I think you can find some very similar findings about things like climate change and all sorts of stuff. There's an enormous amount of motivated reasoning going on there. And for a lot of voters, this was not - there really isn't an emergency at the border. There was a political emergency for Donald Trump. And this solved that emergency. The comparison, I think, that makes the most sense to me is during the Iraq War, there was a time when only Republicans who were backing President Bush thought the war was going better than it really was. They believed that it was going to get better. And they gave Bush whatever approval ratings he could get. And I think that's a very similar scenario to what we have today. I don't believe that every single Trump supporter thinks there's an actual crisis at the border. I'm not sure that every Trump opponent is really opposed to, say, 50 miles more fence. But this is a polarized time. And support for what Trump does is support for Trump, and it's also opposition to your enemies. And it's going to manifest itself across a wide array of policy issues because they're all wrapped up. I mean, Trump is in everybody's head space. GREENE: You say support for Trump - and maybe not necessarily support for conservative values here. I mean, if the president goes forward with this, he might have to pull money away from improving military housing to build the wall. He may have to take property rights - private property rights along the border - through eminent domain. I mean, supporting service members, protecting property rights - those are some conservative causes. GOLDBERG: (Laughter) I think it does in private conversations. Look. This is why I've felt like I've been taking crazy pills for the last couple years. On trade, you have people who lost their livelihoods because of the various tariffs and protectionist policies that the president put in. And yet, they supported the president for doing it. You can go down a list of things, where people - their self-interest, their longstanding principles are violated by things that the Trump White House is doing. And they still support Donald Trump because they support Donald Trump. It's - we're in a kind of love-me, love-my-president kind of mode on the right these days. And it's very hard to, you know, coordinate with the past that we've all come to expect from conservatives. GREENE: Jonah Goldberg is senior editor at National Review. Jonah, always great to have you. Thanks so much. GOLDBERG: Great to be here - thank you. Copyright 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. | Jonah Goldberg: Will Trump's National Emergency Declaration help him in 2020? Goldberg: It clearly doesn't matter. He says the president has always thought that his base are the only voters who truly matter. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/695874062/will-trumps-national-emergency-declaration-help-him-in-2020?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=morningedition | 0.135836 |
Will Trump's National Emergency Declaration Help Him In 2020? | DAVID GREENE, HOST: Well, as President Trump predicted, he is getting sued. Sixteen states are arguing that he can't redirect military and other spending to build a border wall without congressional approval. The president is trying this by declaring a national emergency at the border, but he is entering a legal battle here without clear support from the American people. A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds a majority of Americans disapprove of the president's emergency declaration. Six in 10 Americans actually don't think there is any emergency. That said, the president's political base is behind him overwhelmingly. Let's turn to conservative writer Jonah Goldberg, who's senior editor at National Review and frequently comes on our program. Welcome back, Jonah. JONAH GOLDBERG: Hey. It's always great to be here. GREENE: Well, it's always great to have you. GOLDBERG: Spelunking too deep into Donald Trump's cranium may not be the greatest (laughter) use of my time. GREENE: OK. GOLDBERG: But I think... GREENE: Does it matter - let me rephrase. GOLDBERG: Yeah. GOLDBERG: It clearly doesn't matter. He's been underwater - you know, the guy's never broken 50 in the approval ratings in any polls. It hasn't stopped him from doing - from going with his gut on all sorts of things. And I think that on this, this is one of these things where he - you know, he, basically, has always thought that his base are the only voters who truly matter, you know, the ones he refers to as my people. And he is convinced that - and it's been reported that he thinks this is his no new taxes pledge and that he cannot go back on the wall. And anything he does to get the wall is self-justifying. And this also - just to be blunt and cynical about it, this was a smart political move in the sense that the headlines would've been Trump gets taken to the cleaners in the budget deal that he signed to - you know, he lost that entire exchange for two months of wasted time. He lost the government shutdown fight. And he came out worse the other end with the budget deal. And those headlines... GREENE: Yeah. GOLDBERG: ...Were completely erased by the fact that... GREENE: Changed the narrative. GOLDBERG: ...He - yeah, because he changed narrative. GREENE: Well, let's talk through, I mean, whether or not he needs the base. I mean, the wall was a centerpiece of his 2016 campaign. He won that election. But you could argue - right - that he might have hurt congressional Republicans when he focused on the wall ahead of the midterms. GOLDBERG: I don't think so. I've never thought so. I think it has been bizarre to me that the guy who ran as - I alone can fix it. And I'm going to make deals. And I'm going to work with Democrats - that he is - he's the first president in modern memory who has governed as if he only cares about his base. Normally, presidents at least pretend to care about being president for the whole country. And normally, presidents try to expand their coalition that got them elected once they get into office. He's never pursued that strategy. It's been a base strategy in office the entire time. I don't see how it helps him for re-election, unless there's some third-party candidate. But that is the gamble that they made. They think that if they can churn up the intensity, it will work for him. And I think it's misguided, but that's - it seems apparent that that's either the strategy or that Donald Trump doesn't know how to behave any other way. GREENE: I want to highlight one other finding in our new poll. Eighty-four percent of Republicans and 90 percent of Trump supporters think there is a national emergency at the border. Democrats and independents don't agree with that. I mean, I know these are polarized times. I'm sure you know these are polarized times. GOLDBERG: Yeah. I think you can find some very similar findings about things like climate change and all sorts of stuff. There's an enormous amount of motivated reasoning going on there. And for a lot of voters, this was not - there really isn't an emergency at the border. There was a political emergency for Donald Trump. And this solved that emergency. The comparison, I think, that makes the most sense to me is during the Iraq War, there was a time when only Republicans who were backing President Bush thought the war was going better than it really was. They believed that it was going to get better. And they gave Bush whatever approval ratings he could get. And I think that's a very similar scenario to what we have today. I don't believe that every single Trump supporter thinks there's an actual crisis at the border. I'm not sure that every Trump opponent is really opposed to, say, 50 miles more fence. But this is a polarized time. And support for what Trump does is support for Trump, and it's also opposition to your enemies. And it's going to manifest itself across a wide array of policy issues because they're all wrapped up. I mean, Trump is in everybody's head space. GREENE: You say support for Trump - and maybe not necessarily support for conservative values here. I mean, if the president goes forward with this, he might have to pull money away from improving military housing to build the wall. He may have to take property rights - private property rights along the border - through eminent domain. I mean, supporting service members, protecting property rights - those are some conservative causes. GOLDBERG: (Laughter) I think it does in private conversations. Look. This is why I've felt like I've been taking crazy pills for the last couple years. On trade, you have people who lost their livelihoods because of the various tariffs and protectionist policies that the president put in. And yet, they supported the president for doing it. You can go down a list of things, where people - their self-interest, their longstanding principles are violated by things that the Trump White House is doing. And they still support Donald Trump because they support Donald Trump. It's - we're in a kind of love-me, love-my-president kind of mode on the right these days. And it's very hard to, you know, coordinate with the past that we've all come to expect from conservatives. GREENE: Jonah Goldberg is senior editor at National Review. Jonah, always great to have you. Thanks so much. GOLDBERG: Great to be here - thank you. Copyright 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. | Jonah Goldberg: Will Trump's National Emergency Declaration help him in 2020? Goldberg: It clearly doesn't matter. He says the president has always thought that his base are the only voters who truly matter. Goldberg: This was a smart political move in the sense that the headlines would've been Trump gets taken to the cleaners in the budget deal. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.npr.org/2019/02/19/695874062/will-trumps-national-emergency-declaration-help-him-in-2020?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=morningedition | 0.227313 |
Will a New Port Make Tanzania Africas Dubai? | Bagamoyo, a small fishing port about 45 miles north of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, may become Africas biggest container port in the next 10 years. Chinas largest public-port operator, China Merchants Holdings, is about to start what the Ecofin Agency called the most significant construction project in the last four decades of Chinese-Tanzanian relations. Ad Policy Translated by George Miller. This essay continues our exclusive collaboration with Le Monde Diplomatique, monthly publishing jointly commissioned and shared articles, both in print and online. To subscribe to LMD, go to mondediplo.com/subscribe. Part of the $10 billion funding will come from the Sultanate of Omans sovereign-wealth fund and Chinas Exim Bank. There will be a special economic zone modeled on Shenzhen, China. The piers and docks will extend along 10 miles of coastline, and handle 20 million containers a year, more than Rotterdam, Europes biggest port. Tanzanian authorities say it will create an industrial revolution in a mainly rural country where 70 percent still live below the poverty threshold. Tanzania, a rare example of stability in this region, has been governed by John Magufuli since late 2015. He is the political heir of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM or the Party of the Revolution), founded in 1977 by Julius Nyerere. According to Daudi Mukangara, a political scientist at the University of Dar es Salaam, the CCMs original brand of socialism did not withstand the neoliberal assault of the late 1980s and 90s, which denationalized the very notion of nationalism. Tanzania has one of Africas strongest growth rates5.8 percent in 2018, with a forecast of 6 percent in 2019, according to the IMFand has begun a massive infrastructure-development program. The Bagamoyo project will let Oman regain a foothold in Africa; the nearby island of Zanzibar was Omani territory from 1698, and a major center of the slave trade supplying the Gulf states. China, too, is extending its influence in East Africa in Tanzania, which has been a pillar of Sino-African cooperation. Until the mid-19th century, Bagamoyo was an important transit point for copra (dried coconut), ivory, and slaves. Many expeditions, including those of Richard Burton and Henry Morton Stanley, set off inland from Bagamoyo, following routes established by Arab slavers. It was also the base for East Africas first Catholic mission, and later briefly the capital of German East Africa before the territory passed to the UK. In 1964 Zanzibar was united with Tanganyika, independent since 1961, and the new state elided the two names into Tanzania. Related Articles Brexit Is Deadlocked as the Countdown Continues Paul Mason Discipline and Punish: The Birth of Chinas Social-Credit System Ren Raphael and Ling Xi Forgotten France Rises Up Serge Halimi The Anger of the Gilets Jaunes Alexis Spire China, a pioneer in Global South relations, is bringing Africas globalization full circle in opening the way for Turkish, Egyptian, Indian, and Gulf operators. The new port agreement was made public in March 2013 during the second official visit of Chinas President Xi Jinping to Africa; Tanzania was his first stop. No Chinese leader has visited this region as often since Deng Xiaoping launched his open-door policy in 1978. Nyerere visited China 30 times, and the Soviet Union only once. Charles Sanga, his last personal assistant, remembers that At the end of his life in 1999, he believed we had only one true friend: China. Sanga was Tanzanias ambassador in Beijing at the time of the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in September 2000, attended by just four African heads of state, including the thenTanzanian president, Benjamin Mkapa. China is Africas biggest trading partner, ahead of the United States. At the eighth China-Africa summit in Beijing last September, under the New Silk Roads banner, China promised $60 billion: Reuters reported that this would be $15 billion of aid, interest-free loans and concessional loans, a credit line of $20 billion, a $10 billion special fund for China-Africa development and a $5 billion special fund for imports from Africa. President Xi said he would not fund any vanity projects: Chinas cooperation with Africa is clearly targeted at the major bottlenecks to development. In 200016, China loaned Africa $125 billion, according to the China Africa Research Initiative in Washington. In 2017 bilateral trade was worth an estimated $180 billion, $75.3 billion of it Chinese imports from Africa. US-African bilateral trade is worth less than $39 billion. Current Issue View our current issue Tanzania and the New Silk Road President Magufuli was elected in 2015 on a program of reclaiming Tanzanias economic sovereignty from Western investors, said Rwekaza S Mukandala, former deputy rector of the University of Dar es Salaam; in his view, China is best placed to help him do this. Octavian Mshiu, head of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, agrees. He recognizes Bagamoyos strategic role in enabling Tanzanias clear integration in the New Silk Road project and making it a bridgehead for Chinese manufacturing businesses relocating to East Africa. China views Kenya, Tanzanias rival as a transit country for commodities from East Africas landlocked states, as too problematic. It has become a key US ally in Africa, and is unstable, affected by terrorism and tribalism. As Tanzanias main trading partner, China has stayed silent on Magufulis slide toward authoritarianism, while the United States and other Western nations have become concerned about the erosion of human rights and the threat to development. They have criticized restrictions on press freedom and freedom of assembly, a cyber-crime act that curtails freedom of information, and a statistics act that prevents the publication of any figures not produced by the government. There has also been criticism of assassination attempts against opponents and the 2017 disappearance of journalist Azory Gwanda. Magufuli was explicit in November 2018, opening the new Dar es Salaam University libraryan elegant building funded by China, alongside the Confucius Institute: China [is a] true friend who offers help without any conditions. Free things are really expensive. The only free things that wont cost you anything are those provided by China. In 2016, the United States canceled $470 million in funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a bilateral development fund, over Tanzanias violations of public freedoms. Tanzania and neighboring Zambia are focal points in the war of influence being fought in Africa by the planets two biggest economies. Its Beijing consensus versus Washington consensus: aid without conditions, on the margins of international rules of engagement, in the form of trade agreements dictated by China, versus loans from the IMF and the World Bank, with social and political conditions such as privatizations and reductions in public spending. Donald Trumps administration now clearly wants to block China, which it accuses of deliberately and aggressively targeting their investments in the region to gain a competitive advantage over the United States, as National Security Adviser John Bolton told the Heritage Foundation on December 13. He accused China of resorting to bribes, opaque agreements, and the strategic use of debt to hold states in Africa captive to Beijings wishes and demands. China is unperturbed by US accusations and has reaffirmed its promise to contribute to Africas development by putting its own development to good use. Erratic and unpredictable Bolton mentioned East Africa in his speech on the new US strategy for the continent: Public debt, particularly in Zambia, would leave countries at Chinas mercy. That began a war of words between the United States and China. Tanzania, with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Egypt, is officially a country China identified in 2015 for business delocalizations. Magufuli aims to make it a semi-industrialized nation by 2025. He hopes the manufacturing sector will by then generate at least 40 percent of its wealth, not less than 10 percent as it does now. To finance this program, the government has targeted corruption, misuse of public money, and large-scale theft in the mining industry. Tanzania, Africas fourth-biggest gold producer, has altered mining companies exploitation contracts, giving the government the right to renegotiate or sever them in instances of proven fraud. The new legislation also does away with mining companies right to settle disputes through international arbitration. The tax dispute with Acacia Mining, a subsidiary of the giant London-listed Barrick Gold, which is accused of having understated production for years to save billions in taxes, has ended with an out-of-court agreement with terms and conditions still to be set. Tanzania will receive a 16 percent share in three of Barrick Golds mines and 50 percent of the revenue they generate. Related Article How the Left Should Respond to Ethnic Cleansing in China Daniel Bessner and Isaac Stone Fish Magufulis blunt style of politics, as erratic as it is unpredictable according to a local journalist, initially won support from local young intellectuals. Then in 2016 the regime began to slide towards authoritarianism, said former parliamentarian Zitto Kabwe, 42, who leads the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT), to the left of the opposition party, Chadema. Kabwe is critical of the patriotic rhetoric of a government that still hasnt had an impact on Tanzanians daily lives and believes that Magufulis policy, though it raises the fundamental question of resource ownership, has weakened growth in the mining sector and scared off investors, who are now afraid of having to deal with the Tanzanian justice system. ACTs manifesto, the Tabora Declaration, is inspired by the 1967 Ashura Declaration, which began the policy of Ujamaa (Brotherhood), and aims to lay the foundations of a socialism adapted to 21st-century Tanzania. Kabwe is critical of the World Bank and the IMF, which imposed the 1998 mining code, which favors multinational extraction companies, and forced us into a debt trap. China is no better: It is advancing its pawns in Africa in its own interest. He warned against falling into anti-Chinese rhetoric that serves Western interests: Sixty percent of our external public debt is to multilateral organizations such as Bretton Woods and only 10 percent to China. Andrew Huang, a tax consultant with a Tanzanian-registered business, is typical of the several thousand Chinese entrepreneurs in the private sector. Hes been here since the late 1990s, and acknowledges that the governments measures to tackle the mining sector have disheartened some compatriots, who he admits paid no tax: Showing firmness, as President Magufuli has done, is a good thing for this country. A flood of Chinese companies is coming, he insists: Tanzanias development is just beginning. Because of Bagamoyo, this country will soon be Africas Dubai. | Bagamoyo, a small fishing port north of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, may become Africas biggest container port in the next 10 years. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.thenation.com/article/tanzania-china-bagamoyo-port/ | 0.114208 |
Will a New Port Make Tanzania Africas Dubai? | Bagamoyo, a small fishing port about 45 miles north of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, may become Africas biggest container port in the next 10 years. Chinas largest public-port operator, China Merchants Holdings, is about to start what the Ecofin Agency called the most significant construction project in the last four decades of Chinese-Tanzanian relations. Ad Policy Translated by George Miller. This essay continues our exclusive collaboration with Le Monde Diplomatique, monthly publishing jointly commissioned and shared articles, both in print and online. To subscribe to LMD, go to mondediplo.com/subscribe. Part of the $10 billion funding will come from the Sultanate of Omans sovereign-wealth fund and Chinas Exim Bank. There will be a special economic zone modeled on Shenzhen, China. The piers and docks will extend along 10 miles of coastline, and handle 20 million containers a year, more than Rotterdam, Europes biggest port. Tanzanian authorities say it will create an industrial revolution in a mainly rural country where 70 percent still live below the poverty threshold. Tanzania, a rare example of stability in this region, has been governed by John Magufuli since late 2015. He is the political heir of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM or the Party of the Revolution), founded in 1977 by Julius Nyerere. According to Daudi Mukangara, a political scientist at the University of Dar es Salaam, the CCMs original brand of socialism did not withstand the neoliberal assault of the late 1980s and 90s, which denationalized the very notion of nationalism. Tanzania has one of Africas strongest growth rates5.8 percent in 2018, with a forecast of 6 percent in 2019, according to the IMFand has begun a massive infrastructure-development program. The Bagamoyo project will let Oman regain a foothold in Africa; the nearby island of Zanzibar was Omani territory from 1698, and a major center of the slave trade supplying the Gulf states. China, too, is extending its influence in East Africa in Tanzania, which has been a pillar of Sino-African cooperation. Until the mid-19th century, Bagamoyo was an important transit point for copra (dried coconut), ivory, and slaves. Many expeditions, including those of Richard Burton and Henry Morton Stanley, set off inland from Bagamoyo, following routes established by Arab slavers. It was also the base for East Africas first Catholic mission, and later briefly the capital of German East Africa before the territory passed to the UK. In 1964 Zanzibar was united with Tanganyika, independent since 1961, and the new state elided the two names into Tanzania. Related Articles Brexit Is Deadlocked as the Countdown Continues Paul Mason Discipline and Punish: The Birth of Chinas Social-Credit System Ren Raphael and Ling Xi Forgotten France Rises Up Serge Halimi The Anger of the Gilets Jaunes Alexis Spire China, a pioneer in Global South relations, is bringing Africas globalization full circle in opening the way for Turkish, Egyptian, Indian, and Gulf operators. The new port agreement was made public in March 2013 during the second official visit of Chinas President Xi Jinping to Africa; Tanzania was his first stop. No Chinese leader has visited this region as often since Deng Xiaoping launched his open-door policy in 1978. Nyerere visited China 30 times, and the Soviet Union only once. Charles Sanga, his last personal assistant, remembers that At the end of his life in 1999, he believed we had only one true friend: China. Sanga was Tanzanias ambassador in Beijing at the time of the first Forum on China-Africa Cooperation summit in September 2000, attended by just four African heads of state, including the thenTanzanian president, Benjamin Mkapa. China is Africas biggest trading partner, ahead of the United States. At the eighth China-Africa summit in Beijing last September, under the New Silk Roads banner, China promised $60 billion: Reuters reported that this would be $15 billion of aid, interest-free loans and concessional loans, a credit line of $20 billion, a $10 billion special fund for China-Africa development and a $5 billion special fund for imports from Africa. President Xi said he would not fund any vanity projects: Chinas cooperation with Africa is clearly targeted at the major bottlenecks to development. In 200016, China loaned Africa $125 billion, according to the China Africa Research Initiative in Washington. In 2017 bilateral trade was worth an estimated $180 billion, $75.3 billion of it Chinese imports from Africa. US-African bilateral trade is worth less than $39 billion. Current Issue View our current issue Tanzania and the New Silk Road President Magufuli was elected in 2015 on a program of reclaiming Tanzanias economic sovereignty from Western investors, said Rwekaza S Mukandala, former deputy rector of the University of Dar es Salaam; in his view, China is best placed to help him do this. Octavian Mshiu, head of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture, agrees. He recognizes Bagamoyos strategic role in enabling Tanzanias clear integration in the New Silk Road project and making it a bridgehead for Chinese manufacturing businesses relocating to East Africa. China views Kenya, Tanzanias rival as a transit country for commodities from East Africas landlocked states, as too problematic. It has become a key US ally in Africa, and is unstable, affected by terrorism and tribalism. As Tanzanias main trading partner, China has stayed silent on Magufulis slide toward authoritarianism, while the United States and other Western nations have become concerned about the erosion of human rights and the threat to development. They have criticized restrictions on press freedom and freedom of assembly, a cyber-crime act that curtails freedom of information, and a statistics act that prevents the publication of any figures not produced by the government. There has also been criticism of assassination attempts against opponents and the 2017 disappearance of journalist Azory Gwanda. Magufuli was explicit in November 2018, opening the new Dar es Salaam University libraryan elegant building funded by China, alongside the Confucius Institute: China [is a] true friend who offers help without any conditions. Free things are really expensive. The only free things that wont cost you anything are those provided by China. In 2016, the United States canceled $470 million in funding from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a bilateral development fund, over Tanzanias violations of public freedoms. Tanzania and neighboring Zambia are focal points in the war of influence being fought in Africa by the planets two biggest economies. Its Beijing consensus versus Washington consensus: aid without conditions, on the margins of international rules of engagement, in the form of trade agreements dictated by China, versus loans from the IMF and the World Bank, with social and political conditions such as privatizations and reductions in public spending. Donald Trumps administration now clearly wants to block China, which it accuses of deliberately and aggressively targeting their investments in the region to gain a competitive advantage over the United States, as National Security Adviser John Bolton told the Heritage Foundation on December 13. He accused China of resorting to bribes, opaque agreements, and the strategic use of debt to hold states in Africa captive to Beijings wishes and demands. China is unperturbed by US accusations and has reaffirmed its promise to contribute to Africas development by putting its own development to good use. Erratic and unpredictable Bolton mentioned East Africa in his speech on the new US strategy for the continent: Public debt, particularly in Zambia, would leave countries at Chinas mercy. That began a war of words between the United States and China. Tanzania, with Ethiopia, Kenya, and Egypt, is officially a country China identified in 2015 for business delocalizations. Magufuli aims to make it a semi-industrialized nation by 2025. He hopes the manufacturing sector will by then generate at least 40 percent of its wealth, not less than 10 percent as it does now. To finance this program, the government has targeted corruption, misuse of public money, and large-scale theft in the mining industry. Tanzania, Africas fourth-biggest gold producer, has altered mining companies exploitation contracts, giving the government the right to renegotiate or sever them in instances of proven fraud. The new legislation also does away with mining companies right to settle disputes through international arbitration. The tax dispute with Acacia Mining, a subsidiary of the giant London-listed Barrick Gold, which is accused of having understated production for years to save billions in taxes, has ended with an out-of-court agreement with terms and conditions still to be set. Tanzania will receive a 16 percent share in three of Barrick Golds mines and 50 percent of the revenue they generate. Related Article How the Left Should Respond to Ethnic Cleansing in China Daniel Bessner and Isaac Stone Fish Magufulis blunt style of politics, as erratic as it is unpredictable according to a local journalist, initially won support from local young intellectuals. Then in 2016 the regime began to slide towards authoritarianism, said former parliamentarian Zitto Kabwe, 42, who leads the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT), to the left of the opposition party, Chadema. Kabwe is critical of the patriotic rhetoric of a government that still hasnt had an impact on Tanzanians daily lives and believes that Magufulis policy, though it raises the fundamental question of resource ownership, has weakened growth in the mining sector and scared off investors, who are now afraid of having to deal with the Tanzanian justice system. ACTs manifesto, the Tabora Declaration, is inspired by the 1967 Ashura Declaration, which began the policy of Ujamaa (Brotherhood), and aims to lay the foundations of a socialism adapted to 21st-century Tanzania. Kabwe is critical of the World Bank and the IMF, which imposed the 1998 mining code, which favors multinational extraction companies, and forced us into a debt trap. China is no better: It is advancing its pawns in Africa in its own interest. He warned against falling into anti-Chinese rhetoric that serves Western interests: Sixty percent of our external public debt is to multilateral organizations such as Bretton Woods and only 10 percent to China. Andrew Huang, a tax consultant with a Tanzanian-registered business, is typical of the several thousand Chinese entrepreneurs in the private sector. Hes been here since the late 1990s, and acknowledges that the governments measures to tackle the mining sector have disheartened some compatriots, who he admits paid no tax: Showing firmness, as President Magufuli has done, is a good thing for this country. A flood of Chinese companies is coming, he insists: Tanzanias development is just beginning. Because of Bagamoyo, this country will soon be Africas Dubai. | Bagamoyo, a small fishing port north of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, may become Africas biggest container port in the next 10 years. Part of the $10 billion funding will come from the Sultanate of Omans sovereign-wealth fund and Chinas Exim Bank. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.thenation.com/article/tanzania-china-bagamoyo-port/ | 0.144256 |
Can Flipdaddy's go national with new, less-expensive burgers? | Buy Photo The Philly steak burger at Flipdaddy's, with onion rings and a wedge salad (Photo11: Enquirer/Polly Campbell) In December, the local burger chain Flipdaddy's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, eight years after its first location opened. But the Flipdaddy's CEO, on the job since March, thinks they can easily reorganize and continue. Not only that, he thinks the small local chain can go national. CEO Tom Sacco invited me to lunch at the Newport location, and as we tried some of the new items he's added to the menu, he told me how he's applying the chain restaurant management lessons he has learned over a long career. He has helped other chains, most notably Red Robin (he invented their bottomless fries) and BJ's Brewhouse, grow from small businesses to multi-state chains. Later, I visited Flipdaddy's in Mariemont on my own. "I think the concept of Flipdaddy's, gourmet burgers and craft beer, is underrepresented nationally," said Sacco. It's a combination that can be pitched to millennials. Bob Dames founded Flipdaddy's in 2010, and then opened three more stores in three years. "Founders often have brilliant ideas and creativity," said Sacco. "But sometimes a founder hits a wall at a certain number of restaurants when things like systems and processes became very important." He said that the financial difficulties that Flipdaddy's had run into were mostly centered on one location, in Orange Beach, Alabama, now closed. Never go news-hungry: Get it all for just $1 for the first three months To turn things around, he first focused on the burgers. They had gotten to be expensive, at $14, and downsized from 7 to 5 ounces. So he renegotiated his beef supply, changed the custom mix a little, so they are now 50 percent chuck, with some brisket and short rib, and went with a butcher who would be able to supply any restaurant they open in the future. He was able to take them back to 7 ounces. He got rid of cheap Budweiser. "We don't really want the people who come in for that," he said, and pointed out that women feel comfortable in the bar, even bringing their laptops and working. He began hiring service people for their personalities rather than their experience, creating a training model based on the slogan "Servant's Heart, Warrior's Spirit." Then he went about adding variety to the menu. "You've got to make sure no one has a veto vote," he said. In other words, there has to be something for everyone, so no one person steers a group away to somewhere else. Buy Photo Deviled eggs from Flipdaddy's (Photo11: Enquirer/Polly Campbell) This change is what most makes the menu feel like a chain. While there is a trend toward tightly focused or even single-item menus in newer restaurants, the menu at Flipdaddy's has broadened. Sacco added some trendy items like deviled eggs, a banana and Nutella sandwich, loaded shakes. There's even a version of avocado toast in an unusual avocado-egg sandwich. He also added entrees like Nashville hot chicken, steak and ribs. He also added more kinds of burgers. "You want something that's best in class. Some part of your menu where you can go up against the best anywhere," he said. In addition to the burgers and beer, he has chosen desserts as that best-in-class category. New thick shakes are made with ice cream, loaded with whipped cream and garnishes. He also added a super-tall chocolate cake that is enough for three or four people, and an ice cream pie that is mostly ice cream, with an afterthought crust and some chocolate syrup. These seemed like throwbacks to me, the kind of surprise dessert that wowed people in the '90s. And the Shanghai Mama teriyaki salad, made with bok choy but topped with fried chow mein noodles, was a real blast from the past. The "flip sticks" were tasty for sure, but are a very chain-y choice. NEWSLETTERS Get the Things To Do newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Everything entertainment from weekend plans to showbiz news. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-876-4500. Delivery: Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Things To Do Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters But the deviled eggs were good, whether with blue cheese or a chili sauce. So was the chili, the pretzel nuggets that looked like buckeyes, the fries. At an earlier time in my life, I would have happily polished off either the strawberry or the Oreo shake So for me, the new variety didn't really enhance the experience. I wouldn't order ribs here, for instance. I'd go to a barbecue restaurant for that. If it's a burger restaurant, I'll get a burger. But I had never put Flipdaddy's at the top of my burger lists because I thought they were kind of dry and overly firm. The one we had at lunch didn't make me change my opinion. Buy Photo A strawberry shake from Flipdaddy's (Photo11: Enquirer/Polly Campbell) But an important piece of information Sacco shared was that, while they cook burgers to medium, you can get them to order if you ask. So when I went to the Mariemont location a few weeks after our conversation, I ordered the Philly steak burger medium rare. What a huge difference it made. Now that was a good burger. It was a warm pink inside. It wasn't dripping with juice and fat, but it was tender and you could taste the beef through the peppers and onions that topped it. I got two sides, $3 each: a wedge salad with lots of blue cheese, hard-boiled egg, tomatoes and bacon, and onion rings the way I like them, with a textured coating that crunches and doesn't get too greasy. The beer selection still has some excellent picks, both national crafts and local, along with a few generics. They had Rheingest's newly-released Van Hunks, for instance. I had a glass of the Grand Mimosa from Ciderboys The other thing about that burger: it was $8. I hadn't expected to get out of there for less than $30. But the bill for burger, two sides and a beer was $18.46. And, they still have their genius griddled mac and cheese. They pile some cheddar on the grill, let it melt, put a spoonful of mac and cheese on top so you get a combination of the crisp cheese and the creamy mac. Eating that, I could really see Flipdaddy's going national. 165 Pavilion Parkway, Newport, 859-431-2337. 7453 Wooster Pike, Mariemont, 513-272-2337. 12071 Mason-Montgomery Road, Symmes Township, 513-677-2337. 8863 US 42, Union, 859-371-2337. Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. www.flipdaddys.com. Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/dining/2019/02/19/can-flipdaddys-go-national-new-less-expensive-burgers/2805155002/ | The local burger chain Flipdaddy's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December. CEO Tom Sacco thinks the small local chain can go national. Sacco has helped other chains grow from small businesses to multi-state chains. | bart | 1 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/dining/2019/02/19/can-flipdaddys-go-national-new-less-expensive-burgers/2805155002/ | 0.240205 |
Can Flipdaddy's go national with new, less-expensive burgers? | Buy Photo The Philly steak burger at Flipdaddy's, with onion rings and a wedge salad (Photo11: Enquirer/Polly Campbell) In December, the local burger chain Flipdaddy's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, eight years after its first location opened. But the Flipdaddy's CEO, on the job since March, thinks they can easily reorganize and continue. Not only that, he thinks the small local chain can go national. CEO Tom Sacco invited me to lunch at the Newport location, and as we tried some of the new items he's added to the menu, he told me how he's applying the chain restaurant management lessons he has learned over a long career. He has helped other chains, most notably Red Robin (he invented their bottomless fries) and BJ's Brewhouse, grow from small businesses to multi-state chains. Later, I visited Flipdaddy's in Mariemont on my own. "I think the concept of Flipdaddy's, gourmet burgers and craft beer, is underrepresented nationally," said Sacco. It's a combination that can be pitched to millennials. Bob Dames founded Flipdaddy's in 2010, and then opened three more stores in three years. "Founders often have brilliant ideas and creativity," said Sacco. "But sometimes a founder hits a wall at a certain number of restaurants when things like systems and processes became very important." He said that the financial difficulties that Flipdaddy's had run into were mostly centered on one location, in Orange Beach, Alabama, now closed. Never go news-hungry: Get it all for just $1 for the first three months To turn things around, he first focused on the burgers. They had gotten to be expensive, at $14, and downsized from 7 to 5 ounces. So he renegotiated his beef supply, changed the custom mix a little, so they are now 50 percent chuck, with some brisket and short rib, and went with a butcher who would be able to supply any restaurant they open in the future. He was able to take them back to 7 ounces. He got rid of cheap Budweiser. "We don't really want the people who come in for that," he said, and pointed out that women feel comfortable in the bar, even bringing their laptops and working. He began hiring service people for their personalities rather than their experience, creating a training model based on the slogan "Servant's Heart, Warrior's Spirit." Then he went about adding variety to the menu. "You've got to make sure no one has a veto vote," he said. In other words, there has to be something for everyone, so no one person steers a group away to somewhere else. Buy Photo Deviled eggs from Flipdaddy's (Photo11: Enquirer/Polly Campbell) This change is what most makes the menu feel like a chain. While there is a trend toward tightly focused or even single-item menus in newer restaurants, the menu at Flipdaddy's has broadened. Sacco added some trendy items like deviled eggs, a banana and Nutella sandwich, loaded shakes. There's even a version of avocado toast in an unusual avocado-egg sandwich. He also added entrees like Nashville hot chicken, steak and ribs. He also added more kinds of burgers. "You want something that's best in class. Some part of your menu where you can go up against the best anywhere," he said. In addition to the burgers and beer, he has chosen desserts as that best-in-class category. New thick shakes are made with ice cream, loaded with whipped cream and garnishes. He also added a super-tall chocolate cake that is enough for three or four people, and an ice cream pie that is mostly ice cream, with an afterthought crust and some chocolate syrup. These seemed like throwbacks to me, the kind of surprise dessert that wowed people in the '90s. And the Shanghai Mama teriyaki salad, made with bok choy but topped with fried chow mein noodles, was a real blast from the past. The "flip sticks" were tasty for sure, but are a very chain-y choice. NEWSLETTERS Get the Things To Do newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Everything entertainment from weekend plans to showbiz news. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-876-4500. Delivery: Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Things To Do Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters But the deviled eggs were good, whether with blue cheese or a chili sauce. So was the chili, the pretzel nuggets that looked like buckeyes, the fries. At an earlier time in my life, I would have happily polished off either the strawberry or the Oreo shake So for me, the new variety didn't really enhance the experience. I wouldn't order ribs here, for instance. I'd go to a barbecue restaurant for that. If it's a burger restaurant, I'll get a burger. But I had never put Flipdaddy's at the top of my burger lists because I thought they were kind of dry and overly firm. The one we had at lunch didn't make me change my opinion. Buy Photo A strawberry shake from Flipdaddy's (Photo11: Enquirer/Polly Campbell) But an important piece of information Sacco shared was that, while they cook burgers to medium, you can get them to order if you ask. So when I went to the Mariemont location a few weeks after our conversation, I ordered the Philly steak burger medium rare. What a huge difference it made. Now that was a good burger. It was a warm pink inside. It wasn't dripping with juice and fat, but it was tender and you could taste the beef through the peppers and onions that topped it. I got two sides, $3 each: a wedge salad with lots of blue cheese, hard-boiled egg, tomatoes and bacon, and onion rings the way I like them, with a textured coating that crunches and doesn't get too greasy. The beer selection still has some excellent picks, both national crafts and local, along with a few generics. They had Rheingest's newly-released Van Hunks, for instance. I had a glass of the Grand Mimosa from Ciderboys The other thing about that burger: it was $8. I hadn't expected to get out of there for less than $30. But the bill for burger, two sides and a beer was $18.46. And, they still have their genius griddled mac and cheese. They pile some cheddar on the grill, let it melt, put a spoonful of mac and cheese on top so you get a combination of the crisp cheese and the creamy mac. Eating that, I could really see Flipdaddy's going national. 165 Pavilion Parkway, Newport, 859-431-2337. 7453 Wooster Pike, Mariemont, 513-272-2337. 12071 Mason-Montgomery Road, Symmes Township, 513-677-2337. 8863 US 42, Union, 859-371-2337. Open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. www.flipdaddys.com. Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/dining/2019/02/19/can-flipdaddys-go-national-new-less-expensive-burgers/2805155002/ | Flipdaddy's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, eight years after its first location opened. CEO Tom Sacco thinks the small local chain can go national. Sacco has changed the menu to make it more appealing to millennials. He has also cut back on the cost of the burgers. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/dining/2019/02/19/can-flipdaddys-go-national-new-less-expensive-burgers/2805155002/ | 0.394617 |
How does the Ontario Teachers pension plan stack up against the federal public servants version? | Frederick Vettese is the former chief actuary of a large actuarial firm and the author of Retirement Income for Life: Getting More without Saving More. As secure workplace pensions continue to die out across the Canada, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) and the federal Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) are two gold-plated retirement plans that remain intact. Size These plans are large by any measure. At last count, the OTPP has 323,000 active members and pensioners while the corresponding figure for the PSPP is 590,000. Based on 2017 asset figures, that comes out to $587,000 per person in the OTPP and $327,000 per person in the PSPP. Story continues below advertisement Retirement age Most Canadians think of age 65 as normal retirement age. In the public sector, there is nothing normal about retiring that late. The median retirement age in the public sector has been as low as 57.2 in the past, though it has since risen to 61.3. In the case of the OTPP, teachers can retire without penalty once their age plus qualifying years total 85 or more. For example, a teacher with 32 qualifying years can retire without penalty at age 53. The early retirement rules within the PSPP are also generous though they dont quite match the OTPP. Civil servants used to be able to retire without penalty as early as 55 if they had 30 years of pensionable service. During the government of Stephen Harper, the age 55 condition was changed to 60 for new hires. In both plans, members can retire even earlier subject to a modest penalty. Pension benefits When combined with CPP, the PSPP provides a pension of 70 per cent of the final five years average earnings if the member contributed for 35 years. After 65, the pension (including CPP) is actually a little more than 70 per cent because integration with the CPP is not perfect. In addition, members receive OAS pension. The pension for OTPP members is virtually the same except that the pension payable after 65 is even higher than it is under the PSPP. Members with 35 years of service under either plan will be very comfortable in retirement. For workers who were raising families or paying off mortgages, which means almost everyone, a 70-per-cent pension (plus OAS) translates into a standard of living in retirement that is significantly higher than what they enjoyed while they were working. With the CPP being enhanced, this can only go up. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Inflation protection Both plans strive to provide 100-per-cent inflation protection of pensions, meaning that pensions rise each year in line with the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI). For convenience, this feature is referred to as indexation. The difference between the two plans is that indexation is guaranteed in the PSPP but conditional in the OTPP, depending on the funding level. The full, uncapped indexation within the PSPP is a rarity, even in the public sector. Employee contributions Cost-sharing in the public sector has been evolving in recent years. Most plans now split pension costs 50-50. This is one reason why employee contributions have been rising over the past decade. Another reason is to pay for the investment losses that occurred during the global financial crisis. In the OTPP, employees contribute 10.4 per cent on their earnings below $57,400 and 12 per cent on earnings over $57,400 (which we refer to as 10.4/12). Contributions under the PSPP are a little lower at 9.49/11.67 (same threshold of $57,400). When we add in the employers share, total contributions in both plans exceed 20 per cent of pay. In addition, employees can still contribute another 4 per cent or 5 per cent of pay to a registered retirement savings plan. Note that the federal government restricts tax-assisted saving by workers who are not in defined benefit plans (which describes 90 per cent of private sector workers) to only 18 per cent of pay. Another instance of Do as I say, not as I do." The federal government should be called upon to explain this double-standard or better still, to level the playing field. Even though the contribution formulas are similar, the 50-50 cost-sharing mentioned above is applied very differently in the two plans. In the OTPP, the active members and the employers share all costs 50-50. In the PSPP, the cost of deficits is borne purely by the government (i.e., the taxpayer). This can be a big deal since a federal plan deficit arising of $20-billion or more is not out of the question. Approach to funding In the OTPP, the actuary assumes that the fund will earn a nominal return of just 4.8 per cent. Under the PSPP, the assumed fund return is 6 per cent. The PSPP is thus taking a far more aggressive stance, which can become a problem if future returns are lower than past returns. (There are demographic reasons why this will actually be the case; aging societies Japan, for example tend to have lower interest rates.) This is largely why the PSPPs assets per member are so much lower than under the OTPP. Story continues below advertisement Overall assessment The two plans are fairly similar in most respects except for cost-sharing. The fact that PSPP does not extend the 50-50 cost-sharing principle to the sharing of deficits makes the PSPP considerably more generous overall. In both plans, the contributions being made exceed what private sector workers can contribute to RRSPs or defined contribution pension plans. In both plans, the early retirement rules are quite generous. This might have made some sense in a previous era when the country had more potential workers than the economy could absorb. That is no longer the case, and in fact, we are on the brink of a time when workers will be scarce, even with high levels of immigration. For at least the next two or three decades, it is in the public interest to encourage people to work longer. The PSPP and the OTPP do exactly the opposite. | The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and the federal Public Service Pension Plan are two gold-plated retirement plans that remain intact. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/retirement/article-how-does-the-ontario-teachers-pension-plan-stack-up-against-the/ | 0.160212 |
How does the Ontario Teachers pension plan stack up against the federal public servants version? | Frederick Vettese is the former chief actuary of a large actuarial firm and the author of Retirement Income for Life: Getting More without Saving More. As secure workplace pensions continue to die out across the Canada, the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) and the federal Public Service Pension Plan (PSPP) are two gold-plated retirement plans that remain intact. Size These plans are large by any measure. At last count, the OTPP has 323,000 active members and pensioners while the corresponding figure for the PSPP is 590,000. Based on 2017 asset figures, that comes out to $587,000 per person in the OTPP and $327,000 per person in the PSPP. Story continues below advertisement Retirement age Most Canadians think of age 65 as normal retirement age. In the public sector, there is nothing normal about retiring that late. The median retirement age in the public sector has been as low as 57.2 in the past, though it has since risen to 61.3. In the case of the OTPP, teachers can retire without penalty once their age plus qualifying years total 85 or more. For example, a teacher with 32 qualifying years can retire without penalty at age 53. The early retirement rules within the PSPP are also generous though they dont quite match the OTPP. Civil servants used to be able to retire without penalty as early as 55 if they had 30 years of pensionable service. During the government of Stephen Harper, the age 55 condition was changed to 60 for new hires. In both plans, members can retire even earlier subject to a modest penalty. Pension benefits When combined with CPP, the PSPP provides a pension of 70 per cent of the final five years average earnings if the member contributed for 35 years. After 65, the pension (including CPP) is actually a little more than 70 per cent because integration with the CPP is not perfect. In addition, members receive OAS pension. The pension for OTPP members is virtually the same except that the pension payable after 65 is even higher than it is under the PSPP. Members with 35 years of service under either plan will be very comfortable in retirement. For workers who were raising families or paying off mortgages, which means almost everyone, a 70-per-cent pension (plus OAS) translates into a standard of living in retirement that is significantly higher than what they enjoyed while they were working. With the CPP being enhanced, this can only go up. Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Inflation protection Both plans strive to provide 100-per-cent inflation protection of pensions, meaning that pensions rise each year in line with the annual change in the consumer price index (CPI). For convenience, this feature is referred to as indexation. The difference between the two plans is that indexation is guaranteed in the PSPP but conditional in the OTPP, depending on the funding level. The full, uncapped indexation within the PSPP is a rarity, even in the public sector. Employee contributions Cost-sharing in the public sector has been evolving in recent years. Most plans now split pension costs 50-50. This is one reason why employee contributions have been rising over the past decade. Another reason is to pay for the investment losses that occurred during the global financial crisis. In the OTPP, employees contribute 10.4 per cent on their earnings below $57,400 and 12 per cent on earnings over $57,400 (which we refer to as 10.4/12). Contributions under the PSPP are a little lower at 9.49/11.67 (same threshold of $57,400). When we add in the employers share, total contributions in both plans exceed 20 per cent of pay. In addition, employees can still contribute another 4 per cent or 5 per cent of pay to a registered retirement savings plan. Note that the federal government restricts tax-assisted saving by workers who are not in defined benefit plans (which describes 90 per cent of private sector workers) to only 18 per cent of pay. Another instance of Do as I say, not as I do." The federal government should be called upon to explain this double-standard or better still, to level the playing field. Even though the contribution formulas are similar, the 50-50 cost-sharing mentioned above is applied very differently in the two plans. In the OTPP, the active members and the employers share all costs 50-50. In the PSPP, the cost of deficits is borne purely by the government (i.e., the taxpayer). This can be a big deal since a federal plan deficit arising of $20-billion or more is not out of the question. Approach to funding In the OTPP, the actuary assumes that the fund will earn a nominal return of just 4.8 per cent. Under the PSPP, the assumed fund return is 6 per cent. The PSPP is thus taking a far more aggressive stance, which can become a problem if future returns are lower than past returns. (There are demographic reasons why this will actually be the case; aging societies Japan, for example tend to have lower interest rates.) This is largely why the PSPPs assets per member are so much lower than under the OTPP. Story continues below advertisement Overall assessment The two plans are fairly similar in most respects except for cost-sharing. The fact that PSPP does not extend the 50-50 cost-sharing principle to the sharing of deficits makes the PSPP considerably more generous overall. In both plans, the contributions being made exceed what private sector workers can contribute to RRSPs or defined contribution pension plans. In both plans, the early retirement rules are quite generous. This might have made some sense in a previous era when the country had more potential workers than the economy could absorb. That is no longer the case, and in fact, we are on the brink of a time when workers will be scarce, even with high levels of immigration. For at least the next two or three decades, it is in the public interest to encourage people to work longer. The PSPP and the OTPP do exactly the opposite. | The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (OTPP) and the federal Public Service Pension Plan are two gold-plated retirement plans that remain intact. At last count, the OTPP has 323,000 active members and pensioners while the corresponding figure for the PSPP is 590,000. | bart | 2 | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/retirement/article-how-does-the-ontario-teachers-pension-plan-stack-up-against-the/ | 0.509061 |
Is West Island ready for Bixi bikes? | The city of Montreal recently announced it planned to extend the bike-sharing service beyond the inner city to suburban boroughs such as Lachine, St-Laurent, Montral-Nord, Anjou and St-Lonard. All city boroughs are to be included by 2028. Rivire-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles is slated to come on board in 2020, while Pierrefonds-Roxboro is still two years away. There is no firm date yet for le-Bizard-Ste-Genevive. Although Pierrefonds-Roxboro is not expected to see Bixi bikes till 2021, Pierrefonds-Roxboro Mayor Jim Beis said the Plante administrations plan to expand Bixi to the West Island came as news to him. Weve heard nothing, Beis told the West Island Gazette. We read about it in the press. Nothing has been discussed locally. I think the announcement is premature, he added. I think there should have been a lot of discussion before something like this was launched. Beis said he is open to discussing bringing Bixi to Pierrefonds-Roxboro, but cautioned it will require a lot of planning at the local level. Anytime we can improve different transport options, its a good thing. I cant deny that. But if this is announcement theyve made, its strictly for political purpose Beis, who is part of the opposition party Ensemble Montral at city hall, said he has more questions than answers at this point. I need secure bike paths. I need other bike paths, connecters that bring us to different points of assembly. Not just put a bike there and expect people to use it safely without incident. Beis said a bike-sharing program designed for the inner city might need to be tweaked for the suburbs. Its not like Montreal where they have all these designated bike lanes, completely separated from cars. Thats not (something) we can do necessarily everywhere on the West Island. The only thing Im thinking is if people used it to commute to the train station. But that would be the only thing, and youd have to start from a point of assembly. You got to park it somewhere and you have pick it up somewhere, so theres a lot of planning that has to take place before an announcement is made. The Plante administration, being what it is, they havent discussed anything with us and I dont expect they will moving forward. While Beis is skeptical about a Bixi expansion, Montreal Mayor Valrie Plante is bullish on the bike-sharing program that will expand to 11 to 19 boroughs as it enters its 11th year of operation. Bixi is also available in Westmount and Longueuil. Bixi set a record with more than 5.3 million rides last year, an increase of 11.3 per cent over 2017. Since its inception, 1.3 million Bixi users have taken some 38 million rides. jmeagher@postmedia.com | The city of Montreal recently announced it planned to extend the bike-sharing service beyond the inner city to suburban boroughs such as Lachine, St-Laurent, Montral-Nord, Anjou and St-Lonard. The West Island is not expected to see Bixi bikes till 2021. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/west-island-gazette/is-west-island-ready-for-bixi-bikes | 0.567164 |
Who are the three Tory defectors? | Anna Soubry The former barrister and television presenter was a senior figure in David Camerons government, in which she sat in cabinet as a business minister. Representing Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, she has long expressed concern over Theresa May pursuing a hard Brexit and taking the party too far to the right. Soubry is known for being extremely outspoken, once telling television viewers that Nigel Farage looks like somebody has put their finger up his bottom and he really rather likes it. Three Tory MPs defect to fledgling Independent Group Read more In a letter to her local party, she said: My decision to leave the Conservative Party, which I first joined over 40 years ago, has not been easy but I believe it is the right decision. On Monday a group of MPs resigned from the Labour Party and they are now sitting as members of the Independent Group and I will be sitting with them in parliament. My decision will come as not much of a surprise to regular readers of this email newsletter. I have written of my belief that the Conservative party is drifting to the right wing of British politics. I have also recognised that many constituents feel their views are not represented by either of the two main parties. Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie said on Monday in his resignation speech, enough is enough. I agree with him; in the last few years I have come to the firm view that I have more in common with his values and principles than many people in the Conservative Party. It is time to realign British politics and get back to the centre moderate ground. Sarah Wollaston Wollaston is a former GP known for her centrist views within the Conservative party, after she became the first candidate in the party to win nomination via an open primary in Totnes, Devon. We need reform of the NHS to avoid a decade of misery | Sarah Wollaston, Liz Kendall and Norman Lamb Read more She has repeatedly accused the prime minister of turning the Tories into Blukip and also delivered numerous warnings over NHS funding. As an independent-minded MP, she was elected to the role of the chair of the Commons liaison committee, in charge of scrutinising the work of the prime minister. Wollaston initially said she would back leaving the EU but changed her mind during the campaign and has now become an anti-Brexit campaigner. She told her constituents: At a national level the Conservative Party appears to have abandoned attempts to modernise or to broaden its appeal and has instead become less tolerant and more inward-looking. I can no longer remain a member of a party whose leadership has become so driven by the demands of the European Research Group and the Democratic Unionist party. I do not share their right wing values or those of the UKIP supporters who have been urged to join the Conservative Party via aggressive and well-funded social media campaigns in order to deselect moderate MPs. Heidi Allen The MP for South Cambridgeshire has marked herself out as a moderate within the Tory party since she was elected in 2015. She took a stand against proposed welfare cuts and recently embarked on an anti-poverty tour of Britain with the former Labour MP Frank Field. She has not released a separate statement, but in her joint letter of resignation with Soubry and Wollaston, she said: | Anna Soubry, Sarah Wollaston and Heidi Allen defect to Independent Group. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/20/who-are-the-three-tory-defectors | 0.422056 |
Who are the three Tory defectors? | Anna Soubry The former barrister and television presenter was a senior figure in David Camerons government, in which she sat in cabinet as a business minister. Representing Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, she has long expressed concern over Theresa May pursuing a hard Brexit and taking the party too far to the right. Soubry is known for being extremely outspoken, once telling television viewers that Nigel Farage looks like somebody has put their finger up his bottom and he really rather likes it. Three Tory MPs defect to fledgling Independent Group Read more In a letter to her local party, she said: My decision to leave the Conservative Party, which I first joined over 40 years ago, has not been easy but I believe it is the right decision. On Monday a group of MPs resigned from the Labour Party and they are now sitting as members of the Independent Group and I will be sitting with them in parliament. My decision will come as not much of a surprise to regular readers of this email newsletter. I have written of my belief that the Conservative party is drifting to the right wing of British politics. I have also recognised that many constituents feel their views are not represented by either of the two main parties. Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie said on Monday in his resignation speech, enough is enough. I agree with him; in the last few years I have come to the firm view that I have more in common with his values and principles than many people in the Conservative Party. It is time to realign British politics and get back to the centre moderate ground. Sarah Wollaston Wollaston is a former GP known for her centrist views within the Conservative party, after she became the first candidate in the party to win nomination via an open primary in Totnes, Devon. We need reform of the NHS to avoid a decade of misery | Sarah Wollaston, Liz Kendall and Norman Lamb Read more She has repeatedly accused the prime minister of turning the Tories into Blukip and also delivered numerous warnings over NHS funding. As an independent-minded MP, she was elected to the role of the chair of the Commons liaison committee, in charge of scrutinising the work of the prime minister. Wollaston initially said she would back leaving the EU but changed her mind during the campaign and has now become an anti-Brexit campaigner. She told her constituents: At a national level the Conservative Party appears to have abandoned attempts to modernise or to broaden its appeal and has instead become less tolerant and more inward-looking. I can no longer remain a member of a party whose leadership has become so driven by the demands of the European Research Group and the Democratic Unionist party. I do not share their right wing values or those of the UKIP supporters who have been urged to join the Conservative Party via aggressive and well-funded social media campaigns in order to deselect moderate MPs. Heidi Allen The MP for South Cambridgeshire has marked herself out as a moderate within the Tory party since she was elected in 2015. She took a stand against proposed welfare cuts and recently embarked on an anti-poverty tour of Britain with the former Labour MP Frank Field. She has not released a separate statement, but in her joint letter of resignation with Soubry and Wollaston, she said: | Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston are the three defectors. The three are known for their outspoken views on immigration, the NHS and the EU. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/20/who-are-the-three-tory-defectors | 0.554965 |
Who are the three Tory defectors? | Anna Soubry The former barrister and television presenter was a senior figure in David Camerons government, in which she sat in cabinet as a business minister. Representing Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, she has long expressed concern over Theresa May pursuing a hard Brexit and taking the party too far to the right. Soubry is known for being extremely outspoken, once telling television viewers that Nigel Farage looks like somebody has put their finger up his bottom and he really rather likes it. Three Tory MPs defect to fledgling Independent Group Read more In a letter to her local party, she said: My decision to leave the Conservative Party, which I first joined over 40 years ago, has not been easy but I believe it is the right decision. On Monday a group of MPs resigned from the Labour Party and they are now sitting as members of the Independent Group and I will be sitting with them in parliament. My decision will come as not much of a surprise to regular readers of this email newsletter. I have written of my belief that the Conservative party is drifting to the right wing of British politics. I have also recognised that many constituents feel their views are not represented by either of the two main parties. Nottingham East MP Chris Leslie said on Monday in his resignation speech, enough is enough. I agree with him; in the last few years I have come to the firm view that I have more in common with his values and principles than many people in the Conservative Party. It is time to realign British politics and get back to the centre moderate ground. Sarah Wollaston Wollaston is a former GP known for her centrist views within the Conservative party, after she became the first candidate in the party to win nomination via an open primary in Totnes, Devon. We need reform of the NHS to avoid a decade of misery | Sarah Wollaston, Liz Kendall and Norman Lamb Read more She has repeatedly accused the prime minister of turning the Tories into Blukip and also delivered numerous warnings over NHS funding. As an independent-minded MP, she was elected to the role of the chair of the Commons liaison committee, in charge of scrutinising the work of the prime minister. Wollaston initially said she would back leaving the EU but changed her mind during the campaign and has now become an anti-Brexit campaigner. She told her constituents: At a national level the Conservative Party appears to have abandoned attempts to modernise or to broaden its appeal and has instead become less tolerant and more inward-looking. I can no longer remain a member of a party whose leadership has become so driven by the demands of the European Research Group and the Democratic Unionist party. I do not share their right wing values or those of the UKIP supporters who have been urged to join the Conservative Party via aggressive and well-funded social media campaigns in order to deselect moderate MPs. Heidi Allen The MP for South Cambridgeshire has marked herself out as a moderate within the Tory party since she was elected in 2015. She took a stand against proposed welfare cuts and recently embarked on an anti-poverty tour of Britain with the former Labour MP Frank Field. She has not released a separate statement, but in her joint letter of resignation with Soubry and Wollaston, she said: | Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen and Sarah Wollaston are the three defectors. The three are known for their outspoken views on issues such as the NHS and the EU. They will now sit as members of the Independent Group in parliament. The Independent Group is an offshoot of the Labour Party. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/feb/20/who-are-the-three-tory-defectors | 0.602961 |
Can Auto Tariffs Pry Open Foreign Markets? | The Commerce Departments much-anticipated report on the national security threat posed by auto imports has reportedly arrived at the White House. The contents have not been disclosed, but it seems a safe bet they provide the President with the excuse he has wanted to slap tariffs on auto trade. Whether or not President Trump decides to proceed with protection, he thinks the potential serves an important purpose. Per Axios, Trump tells everyone who'll listen that the threat of car tariffs is his best source of leverage in negotiations with foreign leaders. Setting aside for a moment the wisdom of applying car tariffs (deeply unwise), it is not at all clear that the threat will even give the President leverage. Last summer President Trump used the threat of these auto tariffs as a means to draw Europe and Japan to the negotiating table. This seemed to be evidence of their value as leverage. Yet that accomplishment comes with important caveats. First, the European Union and Japan had not been fundamentally opposed to negotiating trade deals with the United States; they were doing so throughout the Obama administrations last term. Second, the agreements struck during Summer 2018 were remarkably devoid of content. The U.S. promised to hold off on auto tariffs, while Europe promised to let its citizens keep buying U.S. soybeans. They agreed to start new trade talks as well, but that just means President Trump persuaded bureaucrats to issue position papers and attend meetings not a remarkable feat. And it quickly developed that the European position papers were generally at odds with the U.S. conception of the upcoming talks. As soon as Japan realized the easy deal on offer just agree to talk in exchange for avoiding a tariff threat it signed up too. So the car tariff ploy did not buy much the first time around, when it was meant to compel participation in talks. If the same threat is then used to compel particular trade offers, countries may balk at paying for auto peace several times over. Beyond the Presidents unfortunate tendency to use the same threat multiple times, the national security rationale raises a deeper question. The underlying reasoning economic security is national security is so expansive that it implies complete freedom for the United States to deviate from any trade agreement whenever it likes. Normally such agreements involve countries each agreeing to constrain their baser protectionist instincts in a mutually beneficial way. Countries may retaliate rather than capitulate. While it may have seemed harmless to accommodate President Trumps demand for negotiations last summer, even that gave the European Union pause. There were some voices that argued against talks with the United States until U.S. national security tariffs on steel and aluminum were lifted and until the U.S. rejoined the Paris climate agreement. The relevant European parliament committee just this week backed the start of trade talks, but the text calls for talks to be suspended if President Trump imposes auto tariffs. The European Commission, meanwhile, threatened swift and adequate retaliation, should the U.S. apply auto tariffs. Appeasement looks less appealing when it clearly will not buy peace, so it is more palatable to strike back instead. To be effective, a threat has to be credible. President Trump is encouraged in his enthusiasm for auto tariffs by the ease with which he was able to indulge in steel and aluminum protection last year. In that case, a transparently flimsy national security argument was put forward and it went largely unchallenged. To start, autos trade is roughly nine times as big as steel and aluminum trade. Protection would hit consumers directly, rather than indirectly through industrial users. Further, the last time around, there was a sense among the public and members of Congress that protection might be temporary. Yet dismay has grown as the protection and the ensuing retaliation have both lasted even with Canada and Mexico after a new NAFTA deal was concluded. This frustration has prompted new bipartisan legislative proposals to limit the Presidents authority to pose tariffs under the guise of national security. In the context of negotiating leverage, a threatened measure that is increasingly unpopular at home may not appear credible to foreign countries. If the President pursues this path, it would hardly be the first time he has misread the international trade negotiation landscape. He predicted that he would get U.S. farmers better access to the Japanese market than the TPP offered. His team assured the public that China would not retaliate against U.S. tariffs. His negotiators anticipated that Canada would quickly sign on to a fait accompli deal between the United States and Mexico. The Presidents misguided devotion to auto tariffs as a source of negotiating leverage could be an important addition to his growing list of international policy misjudgments. | Frida Ghitis: Report on auto tariffs provides President with excuse to impose them. She says it's not clear that the threat will even give the President leverage. Ghitis asks: Can Auto Tariffs Pry Open Foreign Markets? She says the answer is yes, but it's unclear if they will work. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/phillevy/2019/02/20/can-auto-tariffs-pry-open-foreign-markets/ | 0.290492 |
Can Amazon's Whole Foods Afford Price Hikes? | Prices are on the rise at your local grocery store as consumer packaged goods companies pass along increases to retailers, citing higher commodity costs as the primary factors behind their decisions; and that means prices are going up at Whole Foods, too. A Wall Street Journal article published earlier in February pointed to plans by national brand manufacturers including Church & Dwight, Colgate-Palmolive, Clorox and Procter & Gamble to put through increases on a wide variety of everyday staples. The inflationary pressures facing major CPG brands also extend to other suppliers, including those filling smaller niches, such as organic groceries. Another Journal article cited internal documents from Whole Foods showing the chain had raised prices to consumers in response to increases put through by suppliers. While higher prices at the supermarket may not get the attention of shoppers, upward changes could have an impact on the image of Whole Foods. Since its acquisition in 2017 by Amazon, the chain has made a big show of lowering some prices. Not long after being acquired, John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods, said that Amazon had saved the grocery chain from the trap of its Whole Paycheck image. That's an image that some on the RetailWire BrainTrust saw returning. "Theres a huge myth about Amazon lowering prices at Whole Foods that the media sucks up without investigating," wrote consultant Ken Lonyai in a RetailWire online discussion last week. "Sure, they did lower some prices, but in a token sense only, not in a way that would positively impact many shoppers, if any. Going the opposite way is a failure." The post-Amazon Whole Foods acquisition shopping experience has not lived up to its promise of increased savings, Prime benefits and an improved assortment," wrote retail strategist Brandon Rael. "While higher pricing is often a necessary reaction to the increasing cost of goods, in the case of Whole Foods it will have a yo-yo effect on their customers," wrote Liz Adamson, founder of Egility. "After making a big to-do on lowering prices, to turn around and increase them will erode customer trust. As in the past, the CPG brand price increases force retailers to make some decisions. The first is whether they can accept a higher cost in the first place. Assuming that delisting a particular item is not the answer, grocers are left with either passing the full increase along to their customers and protecting their own profits or doing some investment spending i.e., eating some of the cost in an effort to keep consumer prices down. According to the Journal, a Whole Foods spokesperson said the chain was passing along some of the increases it has received while absorbing others. BrainTrust panelist Ryan Mathews, CEO of Black Monk Consulting, didn't see the price hike as being out of kilter with Whole Foods branding. "Pricing was never the issue at Whole Foods," wrote Mr. Mathews. "Shoppers went there despite the pricing and they are not likely to defect en masse because of it assuming the chain doesnt start a policy of insult pricing. So I think Whole Foods does have the ability to raise prices more easily than a Kroger or Walmart." For Mr. Lonyai, though, the price hike was only one factor in a downward trend. ), poor quality produce, and absolutely higher prices than area competitors on a SKU for SKU basis," wrote Mr. Lonyai. "So whats the end game here: totally destroy the brand and usurp the locations for use as Amazon fulfillment centers/commodity food stores?" wrote Mr. Lonyai. | Price hikes at Whole Foods could have an impact on the chain's image. Some experts say Whole Foods can raise prices more easily than a Kroger or Walmart. Others say the price hike will erode customers' trust in Whole Foods' brand. A Whole Foods spokesperson said the chain is passing along some of the increases it has received while absorbing others. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2019/02/20/can-amazons-whole-foods-afford-price-hikes/ | 0.112748 |
What are the differences between vinegars? | Open this photo in gallery istock Vinegar is among the worlds oldest prepared foods. The Chinese have been making rice vinegar for more than 3,000 years. It can be a luxurious ingredient (aged balsamic and sherry vinegars command high prices), and a practical one vinegar can add flavour to salads, tenderize meats, preserve pickles and make sauces shine. Importantly, vinegar also perks up flavours. A few drops can rescue a dish that may seem a little underwhelming. Red wine vinegar and its lighter, less commonly used counterpart, white wine vinegar, are among the most basic and versatile of vinegars. But they also have the highest levels of acidity pucker power. Commercial brands are usually around 5-per-cent acidity, and traditionally prepared wine vinegar can be as high as 7 per cent. Mix it with caution in salad dressings so as not to overwhelm the other ingredients. Also, keep its acidity in mind when selecting a wine to pair with your dish. Story continues below advertisement Rice vinegar, made from fermented rice, is most commonly associated with Asian cooking, but it adds a nice touch to many Western dishes as both a finishing vinegar and for less-sharp pickling. It is less acidic (about 4 per cent) and has a sweeter, milder taste. There are several types of rice vinegar. Japanese rice vinegar is a subtle, very low acidity golden vinegar; seasoned Japanese rice vinegar is preseasoned with sugar and salt, often used to flavour sushi rice; and there are three Chinese vinegars: red, a curious mix of sweet and sour flavours, used in sauces and noodle dishes, white, the most acidic of the three, used for sweet and sour dishes and pickling, and black, a rich vinegar that works well with braised dishes. Substitute black with balsamic. Apple cider vinegar is made from crushed apples, sugar and yeast, it is fermented, strained and bottled. The vinegar is best for making pickles and in salad dressings. Balsamic vinegar originates in Modena, Italy, and the best ones are still made there. Artisans reduce white grapes to a syrup, and then keep the resulting must in wooden barrels. A small quantity of older balsamic vinegar is added to encourage acetification. It is kept for a minimum of 12 years; each year, the vinegar is moved to a smaller barrel made of a different kind of wood. As you can imagine, this intensive process adds up to a very high price for authentic balsamic vinegar (to confirm authenticity, look for the codes API MO or API RE on the bottle, indicating that the vinegar was made in Modena or Reggio). There is no comparison in taste between the real thing and the commercial imitation. Moderately priced commercial balsamic is fine for everyday cooking. Many of them are essentially wine vinegar sweetened with sugars, but their sweeter, less acidic taste still makes them an excellent choice for dishes that might be overwhelmed by too much acid. Salad dressings and sauces are their best use. Spain has been making sherry vinegar for at least 500 years, and it is a process that has been honed to an art. Sherry vinegar is the result of painstaking efforts and a highly refined process. It is regarded by many as the finest of vinegars. Sherry vinegars are traditionally aged between 30 and 75 years, and high-quality sherry vinegar is more expensive than sherry itself. It is sweet with a sharp, sour aftertaste that is excellent in sauces and salads. Send your questions to lwaverman@globeandmail.com. | Vinegar can add flavour to salads, tenderize meats, preserve pickles and make sauces shine. Red wine vinegar and its lighter, less commonly used counterpart, white wine vinegar, are among the most basic and versatile of vinegars. Apple cider vinegar is made from crushed apples, sugar and yeast, it is fermented, strained and bottled. | bart | 2 | https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/article-what-are-the-differences-between-vinegars/ | 0.142369 |
Do Jails Kill People? | There may be no worse place to live in New York City than on Rikers Island, and it is an even worse place to dielocked inside of a jail, forcibly separated from family and friends. Most people whose lives end on Rikers die of natural causes, but there is no doubt that some deaths there have been caused by the culture and conditions of Rikers itself. This tally of preventable deaths includes: Jason Echevarria, twenty-five, who swallowed a packet of soap in his cell, screamed in agony for hours, and died after guards refused to take him to the medical clinic; Carlos Mercado, forty-five, a diabetic in desperate need of insulin, who collapsed in a hallway his first day in jail; Ronald Spear, fifty-two, a kidney-dialysis patient, who died after being kicked in the head by a guard. Every year, several thousand people across the country die while imprisoned. Local officials report the number of deaths to the Department of Justice, but very little attention is paid to the question of how many of these deaths could have been prevented. Several years ago, Homer Venters, a physician and the former chief medical officer for New York Citys Correctional Health Services, sought to answer this question. Between 2010 and 2016, there were a hundred and twelve deaths in New York City jails. Venters and his team found that ten to twenty per cent of those deaths each year were caused by actions taken inside the walls of a jail. He calls these jail-attributable deaths, and writes that some years the percentage of such deaths rose to half or more. Reporters have virtually no access to the jails on Rikers Island, but, for many years, Venters had a rare vantage point from which to observe its inner workings. He started working on Rikers in 2008, overseeing health care for thousands of people imprisoned there. On an island known for abuse and violence, Venters became a legendary figure; he often spoke about human rights and was known for his persistent advocacy on behalf of inmates. He left the citys jail-health service in 2017, and now he has written a crucially important book, Life and Death in Rikers Island, in which he examines one of the most overlooked aspects of mass incarceration: the health risks of being locked up. Eight jails now operate on Rikers, each with its own medical clinics, where incarcerated people go if they feel sick or need follow-up care, often for diseases like diabetes or asthma. But part of what makes jails such health risks for the people confined there is the insidious way that the environment undermines the ability of medical staff to perform their jobs. In 2013, officials at Rikers stopped allowing incarcerated people to walk to clinics alone; now a guard had to escort themand, suddenly, inmates were missing their appointments nearly half the time. Venters writes, We would give security staff list after list of the must see patients whom we feared might die without receiving care. This strategy worked, but only temporarily. We might make a brief improvement, he writes, and then a friendly deputy warden would be promoted, transferred, or fired, and we would fall back to half or fewer of our patients being produced. Although the situation has improved, the problem persists. This conundrum is known as dual loyalty, and Venters writes that, on Rikers, the most dramatic and tortured aspect of dual loyalty involves the role that medical staff play in sending people to solitary confinement. Jail managers who wanted to lock an individual in solitary first had to obtain clearance from a mental-health workerassurance that the inmate would not harm himself if isolated for twenty-three hours a day. Venters is a fierce critic of the process. Health clearance for solitary is not based on any reliable science and violates basic medical ethics because, of course, that patient is supposed to suffer, he writes. Its punishment, after all. Rikers has long been notorious for its culture of brutality, and, soon after Venters started working there, he sought to determine exactly why so many inmates were being injured. The main cause of injuries was fights with other incarcerated people, but the secondary causeaccounting for about a quarter of injurieswas listed as slip and falls, according to official records. Venters and his team developed an injury-surveillance system, with drop-down menus where medical staff could document how and where the injuries had occurred. Soon a pattern of abuse by guards emergedand the prevalence of slip and falls made more sense. If an incarcerated person had his nose broken by an officers fist, he was unlikely to tell the truth when brought to the medical clinic; fearing retaliation from guards, he might instead say that he had slipped in the shower. Venters began combing this electronic database each week, identifying patients whose records showed that they had sustained serious injuries during an interaction with correctional officers, or whose stories of how they got hurt did not match their injuries (like a jaw fracture from falling on a toilet). Then, at about 5:00 pm on Fridays, I would take my list and go to the jails where these patients were being held, he writes. At that hour, he knew that hed be able to move around with more freedom and less scrutiny, and he always made a point of wearing his stethoscope. But, he writes, Within a few weeks of starting these Friday night encounters, the inmates and DOC [Department of Correction] staff alike came to recognize that I was coming to these housing areas and intake pens for reasons that went beyond simple checkups. He continues, Correctional officers would stiffen and slow-walk my requests to see patients. In some instances, officers would outright refuse to produce patients for me to see. Sometimes, Venters would encounter a patient whose injuries were more serious than the medical staff had initially thought, and he would try to correct the record. But when he would send an e-mail to D.O.C. officials asking to upgrade an injury, he recalls that he would get back a flood of responses intended to derail his efforts. Venters recounts one visit from a D.O.C. investigator with zero clinical training who tried to poke holes in his diagnosis. Her challenging of my clinical assessment that a patient had suffered a nasal fracture was maddening, he writes. But had I been one of our hundreds of physician assistants or physiciansinstead of a senior officialthe message would have been clear: this isnt a path you want to go down. To conceal the extent of the abuse toward inmates, Venters discovered, guards would sometimes hide individuals with suspicious injuries in remote jail cells. Venters describes receiving a call one day from a doctor who reported that guards had just beaten a patient in a waiting area at a clinic and that the patient had been dragged away without receiving care and had not been seen since. Venters went searching for him. After failing to find him in any of the normal hiding spots in this jail, I went to another facility where problematic patients were often sent, he writes. I found him in a remote part . . . and heard him sobbing before I saw him in his cell. Even more haunting is a story Venters recounts about a night, in December, 2012, when officers attacked incarcerated people inside a clinic. The next morning, Venters found a doctor there beginning her work shift by wiping blood off of cabinet doors. The night before, guards had brought in two young men, restrained on gurneys, then yelled at the medical staff to get in the back of the clinic, after which the beatings began, Venters writes. I got the stories of several staff, some of whom made it clear they would not repeat their observations to others out of fear for their own safety. But Venters did find one employee who was willing to relay details of the beatings to his boss, Dr. Tom Farley, who was then the commissioner of the New York City Department of Health. Venters writes, She said something to Dr. Farley that revealed the normalization of abuse in jails: Im new here and I didnt know that when this happens, were supposed to go in the back and stay out of the way. The Times investigated the incident, in 2014, and the U.S. Attorneys office for the Southern District of New York mentioned it in a report that year about Rikers, but no criminal charges were filed against the officers. Meanwhile, the worker who spoke up endured retaliation. She was verbally harassed by DOC staff and started to receive calls from currently incarcerated patients to her cell phone, Venters writes. Despite our best efforts to create a safe work environment by transferring her to alternate facilities, she left her job shortly thereafter. Medical workers told Venters that after speaking up about other incidents, they, too, faced retaliation, including slashed tires and dead flowers on their computers. Late one night, during the same month that the clinic beatings occurred, Ronald Spear, a kidney-dialysis patient, at the North Infirmary Command repeatedly demanded to see a doctor. He was feeling ill and, around 5 A.M., he snuck out of his dorm to go to the medical office next door. A jail guard named Brian Coll stopped him. The doctor on duty said that he was busy and Spear would have to wait. Then Coll and Spear got into a scuffle. Two other guards pinned Spear to the floor, following the usual procedure. But the incident did not end there; while Spear was restrained, Coll repeatedly kicked him in the head. Spear died minutes later. When Venters arrived later that day, D.O.C. investigators and a homicide detective were present, and Spears body was still on the floor. Venters doesnt write about Colls subsequent criminal prosecution, but, at Colls trial, in 2016, three medical staff took the witness stand. Their testimony revealed Rikers unofficial rule about medical workers averting their eyes when guards have a physical altercation. Despite the commotion in the hallway outside the medical officeswhich one person said sounded like bodies hitting the groundthe nurse on duty did not investigate. I opened the door and I immediately closed it, she said. The doctor on duty testified that he did not open his office door or peer out the window. Instead, he remained seated at his desk, where, he said, he was trying to finish my paperwork before his overnight shift ended. Eventually, a captain knocked on the door and asked the doctor to evaluate Spear, who was lying face down, wrists cuffed behind his back. He was right in front of the door, the doctor testified. He has no pulse. The usual response to preventable deaths that occur inside a jail is to pin the blame on a few rogue guards (or incompetent medical workers), but Venters argues that the truth is far more complicated. Because jails are chaotic and concealed from outside view, we only become aware of them when very bad outcomes occur, such as deaths, he writes. As a result, our periodic glimpses into this area miss the systemic failings of the systems weve designed, and we make the repeated error of blaming individuals for outcomes that weve essentially predetermined. According to Venters, these systemic failures include not only Rikers culture of brutality but also something more surprising: guards used paper logbooks to record when an inmate arrives and leaves a housing area, which meant that the medical staff did not always know where their patients were located. There were times when an incarcerated person would be moved from one spot to another without any new information being entered into the security system, Venters writes. As a result, medical, mental health, pharmacy, and nursing staff would be forced to roam the halls of the jails every day physically looking for their patients. Jail officials have begun trying to track inmates with wristbands, but the paper logbooks are still in use, and, in Venters view, this archaic paper-based approach to information management . . . may be the single greatest contributor to abuse and neglect in the jails. Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised that Rikers Island will eventually be closed, and, in preparation, New York City has been working to reduce the number of people held in its jails. In January, de Blasio announced that the jail population had dropped to less than eight thousand people for the first time in almost forty years. Now the number of guards on the citys payroll actually exceeds the number of incarcerated people. But Rikers culture of brutality persists, and many of its jails are falling apart. The medical infirmary was literally the DOC bus garage before they decided to upgrade their bus fleet to another site and hand the space over to us for our sickest patients, Venters writes. Ive often heard complaints about inmates who would file lawsuits about bits of the ceiling material falling down on them, but the scope of the problem became clear to me when we received a report that a rotting animal carcass had fallen into the patient area. In the end, Venters places the blame for the slow-rolling disaster of the citys jails at the very top, with City Hall. New York City, like many cities and counties, he writes, turned its back on jail conditions for years, and a culture of mismanagement and brutality took hold that has not been removed. He makes few distinctions between de Blasio and his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. Having led the health service across two mayoral administrations, one a centrist Republican and the other a progressive Democrat, Venter writes, I have seen remarkable consistency in how the incompetence of the correctional service was not only tolerated but also supported. Now, with Life and Death in Rikers Island, Venters reveals the true human cost of these colossal management failures. | Between 2010 and 2016, there were a hundred and twelve deaths in New York City jails. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/do-jails-kill-people | 0.18876 |
Do Jails Kill People? | There may be no worse place to live in New York City than on Rikers Island, and it is an even worse place to dielocked inside of a jail, forcibly separated from family and friends. Most people whose lives end on Rikers die of natural causes, but there is no doubt that some deaths there have been caused by the culture and conditions of Rikers itself. This tally of preventable deaths includes: Jason Echevarria, twenty-five, who swallowed a packet of soap in his cell, screamed in agony for hours, and died after guards refused to take him to the medical clinic; Carlos Mercado, forty-five, a diabetic in desperate need of insulin, who collapsed in a hallway his first day in jail; Ronald Spear, fifty-two, a kidney-dialysis patient, who died after being kicked in the head by a guard. Every year, several thousand people across the country die while imprisoned. Local officials report the number of deaths to the Department of Justice, but very little attention is paid to the question of how many of these deaths could have been prevented. Several years ago, Homer Venters, a physician and the former chief medical officer for New York Citys Correctional Health Services, sought to answer this question. Between 2010 and 2016, there were a hundred and twelve deaths in New York City jails. Venters and his team found that ten to twenty per cent of those deaths each year were caused by actions taken inside the walls of a jail. He calls these jail-attributable deaths, and writes that some years the percentage of such deaths rose to half or more. Reporters have virtually no access to the jails on Rikers Island, but, for many years, Venters had a rare vantage point from which to observe its inner workings. He started working on Rikers in 2008, overseeing health care for thousands of people imprisoned there. On an island known for abuse and violence, Venters became a legendary figure; he often spoke about human rights and was known for his persistent advocacy on behalf of inmates. He left the citys jail-health service in 2017, and now he has written a crucially important book, Life and Death in Rikers Island, in which he examines one of the most overlooked aspects of mass incarceration: the health risks of being locked up. Eight jails now operate on Rikers, each with its own medical clinics, where incarcerated people go if they feel sick or need follow-up care, often for diseases like diabetes or asthma. But part of what makes jails such health risks for the people confined there is the insidious way that the environment undermines the ability of medical staff to perform their jobs. In 2013, officials at Rikers stopped allowing incarcerated people to walk to clinics alone; now a guard had to escort themand, suddenly, inmates were missing their appointments nearly half the time. Venters writes, We would give security staff list after list of the must see patients whom we feared might die without receiving care. This strategy worked, but only temporarily. We might make a brief improvement, he writes, and then a friendly deputy warden would be promoted, transferred, or fired, and we would fall back to half or fewer of our patients being produced. Although the situation has improved, the problem persists. This conundrum is known as dual loyalty, and Venters writes that, on Rikers, the most dramatic and tortured aspect of dual loyalty involves the role that medical staff play in sending people to solitary confinement. Jail managers who wanted to lock an individual in solitary first had to obtain clearance from a mental-health workerassurance that the inmate would not harm himself if isolated for twenty-three hours a day. Venters is a fierce critic of the process. Health clearance for solitary is not based on any reliable science and violates basic medical ethics because, of course, that patient is supposed to suffer, he writes. Its punishment, after all. Rikers has long been notorious for its culture of brutality, and, soon after Venters started working there, he sought to determine exactly why so many inmates were being injured. The main cause of injuries was fights with other incarcerated people, but the secondary causeaccounting for about a quarter of injurieswas listed as slip and falls, according to official records. Venters and his team developed an injury-surveillance system, with drop-down menus where medical staff could document how and where the injuries had occurred. Soon a pattern of abuse by guards emergedand the prevalence of slip and falls made more sense. If an incarcerated person had his nose broken by an officers fist, he was unlikely to tell the truth when brought to the medical clinic; fearing retaliation from guards, he might instead say that he had slipped in the shower. Venters began combing this electronic database each week, identifying patients whose records showed that they had sustained serious injuries during an interaction with correctional officers, or whose stories of how they got hurt did not match their injuries (like a jaw fracture from falling on a toilet). Then, at about 5:00 pm on Fridays, I would take my list and go to the jails where these patients were being held, he writes. At that hour, he knew that hed be able to move around with more freedom and less scrutiny, and he always made a point of wearing his stethoscope. But, he writes, Within a few weeks of starting these Friday night encounters, the inmates and DOC [Department of Correction] staff alike came to recognize that I was coming to these housing areas and intake pens for reasons that went beyond simple checkups. He continues, Correctional officers would stiffen and slow-walk my requests to see patients. In some instances, officers would outright refuse to produce patients for me to see. Sometimes, Venters would encounter a patient whose injuries were more serious than the medical staff had initially thought, and he would try to correct the record. But when he would send an e-mail to D.O.C. officials asking to upgrade an injury, he recalls that he would get back a flood of responses intended to derail his efforts. Venters recounts one visit from a D.O.C. investigator with zero clinical training who tried to poke holes in his diagnosis. Her challenging of my clinical assessment that a patient had suffered a nasal fracture was maddening, he writes. But had I been one of our hundreds of physician assistants or physiciansinstead of a senior officialthe message would have been clear: this isnt a path you want to go down. To conceal the extent of the abuse toward inmates, Venters discovered, guards would sometimes hide individuals with suspicious injuries in remote jail cells. Venters describes receiving a call one day from a doctor who reported that guards had just beaten a patient in a waiting area at a clinic and that the patient had been dragged away without receiving care and had not been seen since. Venters went searching for him. After failing to find him in any of the normal hiding spots in this jail, I went to another facility where problematic patients were often sent, he writes. I found him in a remote part . . . and heard him sobbing before I saw him in his cell. Even more haunting is a story Venters recounts about a night, in December, 2012, when officers attacked incarcerated people inside a clinic. The next morning, Venters found a doctor there beginning her work shift by wiping blood off of cabinet doors. The night before, guards had brought in two young men, restrained on gurneys, then yelled at the medical staff to get in the back of the clinic, after which the beatings began, Venters writes. I got the stories of several staff, some of whom made it clear they would not repeat their observations to others out of fear for their own safety. But Venters did find one employee who was willing to relay details of the beatings to his boss, Dr. Tom Farley, who was then the commissioner of the New York City Department of Health. Venters writes, She said something to Dr. Farley that revealed the normalization of abuse in jails: Im new here and I didnt know that when this happens, were supposed to go in the back and stay out of the way. The Times investigated the incident, in 2014, and the U.S. Attorneys office for the Southern District of New York mentioned it in a report that year about Rikers, but no criminal charges were filed against the officers. Meanwhile, the worker who spoke up endured retaliation. She was verbally harassed by DOC staff and started to receive calls from currently incarcerated patients to her cell phone, Venters writes. Despite our best efforts to create a safe work environment by transferring her to alternate facilities, she left her job shortly thereafter. Medical workers told Venters that after speaking up about other incidents, they, too, faced retaliation, including slashed tires and dead flowers on their computers. Late one night, during the same month that the clinic beatings occurred, Ronald Spear, a kidney-dialysis patient, at the North Infirmary Command repeatedly demanded to see a doctor. He was feeling ill and, around 5 A.M., he snuck out of his dorm to go to the medical office next door. A jail guard named Brian Coll stopped him. The doctor on duty said that he was busy and Spear would have to wait. Then Coll and Spear got into a scuffle. Two other guards pinned Spear to the floor, following the usual procedure. But the incident did not end there; while Spear was restrained, Coll repeatedly kicked him in the head. Spear died minutes later. When Venters arrived later that day, D.O.C. investigators and a homicide detective were present, and Spears body was still on the floor. Venters doesnt write about Colls subsequent criminal prosecution, but, at Colls trial, in 2016, three medical staff took the witness stand. Their testimony revealed Rikers unofficial rule about medical workers averting their eyes when guards have a physical altercation. Despite the commotion in the hallway outside the medical officeswhich one person said sounded like bodies hitting the groundthe nurse on duty did not investigate. I opened the door and I immediately closed it, she said. The doctor on duty testified that he did not open his office door or peer out the window. Instead, he remained seated at his desk, where, he said, he was trying to finish my paperwork before his overnight shift ended. Eventually, a captain knocked on the door and asked the doctor to evaluate Spear, who was lying face down, wrists cuffed behind his back. He was right in front of the door, the doctor testified. He has no pulse. The usual response to preventable deaths that occur inside a jail is to pin the blame on a few rogue guards (or incompetent medical workers), but Venters argues that the truth is far more complicated. Because jails are chaotic and concealed from outside view, we only become aware of them when very bad outcomes occur, such as deaths, he writes. As a result, our periodic glimpses into this area miss the systemic failings of the systems weve designed, and we make the repeated error of blaming individuals for outcomes that weve essentially predetermined. According to Venters, these systemic failures include not only Rikers culture of brutality but also something more surprising: guards used paper logbooks to record when an inmate arrives and leaves a housing area, which meant that the medical staff did not always know where their patients were located. There were times when an incarcerated person would be moved from one spot to another without any new information being entered into the security system, Venters writes. As a result, medical, mental health, pharmacy, and nursing staff would be forced to roam the halls of the jails every day physically looking for their patients. Jail officials have begun trying to track inmates with wristbands, but the paper logbooks are still in use, and, in Venters view, this archaic paper-based approach to information management . . . may be the single greatest contributor to abuse and neglect in the jails. Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised that Rikers Island will eventually be closed, and, in preparation, New York City has been working to reduce the number of people held in its jails. In January, de Blasio announced that the jail population had dropped to less than eight thousand people for the first time in almost forty years. Now the number of guards on the citys payroll actually exceeds the number of incarcerated people. But Rikers culture of brutality persists, and many of its jails are falling apart. The medical infirmary was literally the DOC bus garage before they decided to upgrade their bus fleet to another site and hand the space over to us for our sickest patients, Venters writes. Ive often heard complaints about inmates who would file lawsuits about bits of the ceiling material falling down on them, but the scope of the problem became clear to me when we received a report that a rotting animal carcass had fallen into the patient area. In the end, Venters places the blame for the slow-rolling disaster of the citys jails at the very top, with City Hall. New York City, like many cities and counties, he writes, turned its back on jail conditions for years, and a culture of mismanagement and brutality took hold that has not been removed. He makes few distinctions between de Blasio and his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. Having led the health service across two mayoral administrations, one a centrist Republican and the other a progressive Democrat, Venter writes, I have seen remarkable consistency in how the incompetence of the correctional service was not only tolerated but also supported. Now, with Life and Death in Rikers Island, Venters reveals the true human cost of these colossal management failures. | Between 2010 and 2016, there were a hundred and twelve deaths in New York City jails. These deaths were caused by actions taken inside the walls of a jail, says Homer Venters. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/do-jails-kill-people | 0.255093 |
Do Jails Kill People? | There may be no worse place to live in New York City than on Rikers Island, and it is an even worse place to dielocked inside of a jail, forcibly separated from family and friends. Most people whose lives end on Rikers die of natural causes, but there is no doubt that some deaths there have been caused by the culture and conditions of Rikers itself. This tally of preventable deaths includes: Jason Echevarria, twenty-five, who swallowed a packet of soap in his cell, screamed in agony for hours, and died after guards refused to take him to the medical clinic; Carlos Mercado, forty-five, a diabetic in desperate need of insulin, who collapsed in a hallway his first day in jail; Ronald Spear, fifty-two, a kidney-dialysis patient, who died after being kicked in the head by a guard. Every year, several thousand people across the country die while imprisoned. Local officials report the number of deaths to the Department of Justice, but very little attention is paid to the question of how many of these deaths could have been prevented. Several years ago, Homer Venters, a physician and the former chief medical officer for New York Citys Correctional Health Services, sought to answer this question. Between 2010 and 2016, there were a hundred and twelve deaths in New York City jails. Venters and his team found that ten to twenty per cent of those deaths each year were caused by actions taken inside the walls of a jail. He calls these jail-attributable deaths, and writes that some years the percentage of such deaths rose to half or more. Reporters have virtually no access to the jails on Rikers Island, but, for many years, Venters had a rare vantage point from which to observe its inner workings. He started working on Rikers in 2008, overseeing health care for thousands of people imprisoned there. On an island known for abuse and violence, Venters became a legendary figure; he often spoke about human rights and was known for his persistent advocacy on behalf of inmates. He left the citys jail-health service in 2017, and now he has written a crucially important book, Life and Death in Rikers Island, in which he examines one of the most overlooked aspects of mass incarceration: the health risks of being locked up. Eight jails now operate on Rikers, each with its own medical clinics, where incarcerated people go if they feel sick or need follow-up care, often for diseases like diabetes or asthma. But part of what makes jails such health risks for the people confined there is the insidious way that the environment undermines the ability of medical staff to perform their jobs. In 2013, officials at Rikers stopped allowing incarcerated people to walk to clinics alone; now a guard had to escort themand, suddenly, inmates were missing their appointments nearly half the time. Venters writes, We would give security staff list after list of the must see patients whom we feared might die without receiving care. This strategy worked, but only temporarily. We might make a brief improvement, he writes, and then a friendly deputy warden would be promoted, transferred, or fired, and we would fall back to half or fewer of our patients being produced. Although the situation has improved, the problem persists. This conundrum is known as dual loyalty, and Venters writes that, on Rikers, the most dramatic and tortured aspect of dual loyalty involves the role that medical staff play in sending people to solitary confinement. Jail managers who wanted to lock an individual in solitary first had to obtain clearance from a mental-health workerassurance that the inmate would not harm himself if isolated for twenty-three hours a day. Venters is a fierce critic of the process. Health clearance for solitary is not based on any reliable science and violates basic medical ethics because, of course, that patient is supposed to suffer, he writes. Its punishment, after all. Rikers has long been notorious for its culture of brutality, and, soon after Venters started working there, he sought to determine exactly why so many inmates were being injured. The main cause of injuries was fights with other incarcerated people, but the secondary causeaccounting for about a quarter of injurieswas listed as slip and falls, according to official records. Venters and his team developed an injury-surveillance system, with drop-down menus where medical staff could document how and where the injuries had occurred. Soon a pattern of abuse by guards emergedand the prevalence of slip and falls made more sense. If an incarcerated person had his nose broken by an officers fist, he was unlikely to tell the truth when brought to the medical clinic; fearing retaliation from guards, he might instead say that he had slipped in the shower. Venters began combing this electronic database each week, identifying patients whose records showed that they had sustained serious injuries during an interaction with correctional officers, or whose stories of how they got hurt did not match their injuries (like a jaw fracture from falling on a toilet). Then, at about 5:00 pm on Fridays, I would take my list and go to the jails where these patients were being held, he writes. At that hour, he knew that hed be able to move around with more freedom and less scrutiny, and he always made a point of wearing his stethoscope. But, he writes, Within a few weeks of starting these Friday night encounters, the inmates and DOC [Department of Correction] staff alike came to recognize that I was coming to these housing areas and intake pens for reasons that went beyond simple checkups. He continues, Correctional officers would stiffen and slow-walk my requests to see patients. In some instances, officers would outright refuse to produce patients for me to see. Sometimes, Venters would encounter a patient whose injuries were more serious than the medical staff had initially thought, and he would try to correct the record. But when he would send an e-mail to D.O.C. officials asking to upgrade an injury, he recalls that he would get back a flood of responses intended to derail his efforts. Venters recounts one visit from a D.O.C. investigator with zero clinical training who tried to poke holes in his diagnosis. Her challenging of my clinical assessment that a patient had suffered a nasal fracture was maddening, he writes. But had I been one of our hundreds of physician assistants or physiciansinstead of a senior officialthe message would have been clear: this isnt a path you want to go down. To conceal the extent of the abuse toward inmates, Venters discovered, guards would sometimes hide individuals with suspicious injuries in remote jail cells. Venters describes receiving a call one day from a doctor who reported that guards had just beaten a patient in a waiting area at a clinic and that the patient had been dragged away without receiving care and had not been seen since. Venters went searching for him. After failing to find him in any of the normal hiding spots in this jail, I went to another facility where problematic patients were often sent, he writes. I found him in a remote part . . . and heard him sobbing before I saw him in his cell. Even more haunting is a story Venters recounts about a night, in December, 2012, when officers attacked incarcerated people inside a clinic. The next morning, Venters found a doctor there beginning her work shift by wiping blood off of cabinet doors. The night before, guards had brought in two young men, restrained on gurneys, then yelled at the medical staff to get in the back of the clinic, after which the beatings began, Venters writes. I got the stories of several staff, some of whom made it clear they would not repeat their observations to others out of fear for their own safety. But Venters did find one employee who was willing to relay details of the beatings to his boss, Dr. Tom Farley, who was then the commissioner of the New York City Department of Health. Venters writes, She said something to Dr. Farley that revealed the normalization of abuse in jails: Im new here and I didnt know that when this happens, were supposed to go in the back and stay out of the way. The Times investigated the incident, in 2014, and the U.S. Attorneys office for the Southern District of New York mentioned it in a report that year about Rikers, but no criminal charges were filed against the officers. Meanwhile, the worker who spoke up endured retaliation. She was verbally harassed by DOC staff and started to receive calls from currently incarcerated patients to her cell phone, Venters writes. Despite our best efforts to create a safe work environment by transferring her to alternate facilities, she left her job shortly thereafter. Medical workers told Venters that after speaking up about other incidents, they, too, faced retaliation, including slashed tires and dead flowers on their computers. Late one night, during the same month that the clinic beatings occurred, Ronald Spear, a kidney-dialysis patient, at the North Infirmary Command repeatedly demanded to see a doctor. He was feeling ill and, around 5 A.M., he snuck out of his dorm to go to the medical office next door. A jail guard named Brian Coll stopped him. The doctor on duty said that he was busy and Spear would have to wait. Then Coll and Spear got into a scuffle. Two other guards pinned Spear to the floor, following the usual procedure. But the incident did not end there; while Spear was restrained, Coll repeatedly kicked him in the head. Spear died minutes later. When Venters arrived later that day, D.O.C. investigators and a homicide detective were present, and Spears body was still on the floor. Venters doesnt write about Colls subsequent criminal prosecution, but, at Colls trial, in 2016, three medical staff took the witness stand. Their testimony revealed Rikers unofficial rule about medical workers averting their eyes when guards have a physical altercation. Despite the commotion in the hallway outside the medical officeswhich one person said sounded like bodies hitting the groundthe nurse on duty did not investigate. I opened the door and I immediately closed it, she said. The doctor on duty testified that he did not open his office door or peer out the window. Instead, he remained seated at his desk, where, he said, he was trying to finish my paperwork before his overnight shift ended. Eventually, a captain knocked on the door and asked the doctor to evaluate Spear, who was lying face down, wrists cuffed behind his back. He was right in front of the door, the doctor testified. He has no pulse. The usual response to preventable deaths that occur inside a jail is to pin the blame on a few rogue guards (or incompetent medical workers), but Venters argues that the truth is far more complicated. Because jails are chaotic and concealed from outside view, we only become aware of them when very bad outcomes occur, such as deaths, he writes. As a result, our periodic glimpses into this area miss the systemic failings of the systems weve designed, and we make the repeated error of blaming individuals for outcomes that weve essentially predetermined. According to Venters, these systemic failures include not only Rikers culture of brutality but also something more surprising: guards used paper logbooks to record when an inmate arrives and leaves a housing area, which meant that the medical staff did not always know where their patients were located. There were times when an incarcerated person would be moved from one spot to another without any new information being entered into the security system, Venters writes. As a result, medical, mental health, pharmacy, and nursing staff would be forced to roam the halls of the jails every day physically looking for their patients. Jail officials have begun trying to track inmates with wristbands, but the paper logbooks are still in use, and, in Venters view, this archaic paper-based approach to information management . . . may be the single greatest contributor to abuse and neglect in the jails. Mayor Bill de Blasio has promised that Rikers Island will eventually be closed, and, in preparation, New York City has been working to reduce the number of people held in its jails. In January, de Blasio announced that the jail population had dropped to less than eight thousand people for the first time in almost forty years. Now the number of guards on the citys payroll actually exceeds the number of incarcerated people. But Rikers culture of brutality persists, and many of its jails are falling apart. The medical infirmary was literally the DOC bus garage before they decided to upgrade their bus fleet to another site and hand the space over to us for our sickest patients, Venters writes. Ive often heard complaints about inmates who would file lawsuits about bits of the ceiling material falling down on them, but the scope of the problem became clear to me when we received a report that a rotting animal carcass had fallen into the patient area. In the end, Venters places the blame for the slow-rolling disaster of the citys jails at the very top, with City Hall. New York City, like many cities and counties, he writes, turned its back on jail conditions for years, and a culture of mismanagement and brutality took hold that has not been removed. He makes few distinctions between de Blasio and his predecessor, Michael Bloomberg. Having led the health service across two mayoral administrations, one a centrist Republican and the other a progressive Democrat, Venter writes, I have seen remarkable consistency in how the incompetence of the correctional service was not only tolerated but also supported. Now, with Life and Death in Rikers Island, Venters reveals the true human cost of these colossal management failures. | Between 2010 and 2016, there were a hundred and twelve deaths in New York City jails. These deaths were caused by actions taken inside the walls of a jail, says Homer Venters. In 2013, officials at Rikers stopped allowing incarcerated people to walk to clinics alone. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/do-jails-kill-people | 0.246702 |
Why Did West Virginia Teachers Just Walk Out Again? | If there's one thing we know about a teacher strike, it's that once the sturm and drang end, we can look forward to a few years of peace and quiet. These statewide strikes (see also Oklahoma, Arizona, et. al.) have been different than a "typical" teacher strike because they have been about more than just the size of a teacher paycheck. But they have also been different because instead of trying to get a local school board to the bargaining table, teachers have been striking against state legislatures. When teachers strike against a local school district, the strike ends when both sides sit down, agree on a new contract, put it all in writing, and sign it. When teachers strike against a state legislature, the strike ends when politicians make some promises, and some politicians' promises are just as reliable as a tired donkey in Manhattan traffic. So as the dust has settled from last year's wave of #Red4Ed teacher walkouts, a pattern has emerged. In Oklahoma, teachers achieved some of their goals and emerged from their walkout in April feeling that they had sent a message to the legislature. But one of the first bills proposed in the opening 2019 session was HB 2214, which proposed to close a loophole in Oklahoma law. In Oklahoma, it has been illegal for teachers to strike--but it's only a "strike" if teachers walk out against their local district. HB 2214 proposed that a walkout aimed at the legislature was also illegal, and it further proposed that any teachers who participated in a strike would lose their certification and could never teach in the state again. For good measure, SB 592 proposed that any group of more than 100 persons that wished to hold a demonstration at the capitol must post a $50,000 bond. Neither bill has made it out to the floor yet. Arizona also had a feisty response to its teacher strike, in the form of a proposed Teacher Code of Ethics. Sponsor Mark Finchem claimed that the bill came out of grass roots concerns, but it turns out to be just one of several proposals across the country that trace their origins back to David Horowitz. It's a straightforward gag rule that proposes that teachers not be allowed to speak for or against elected officials, candidates for office, or proposed legislation. Plus, they must always present both sides of any controversial issue in the classroom (get those Flat Earth lessons ready). Then Kelly Townsend proposed to make it illegal to close schools in the event of a strike, so that teachers can never shut down the state again. But these pieces of legislative retaliation pale in comparison to what West Virginia's lawmakers attempted. West Virginia teachers launched the 2018 wave of teacher strikes, walking out not just for better wages and health insurance, but to fight back against charter expansion into the state, stripping of seniority rules, and "paycheck protection" measures designed to hobble the union. The governor and legislature agreed, and history was made. But it was not too long before the GOP members of the legislature were busy trying to unmake history. By the end of January, an omnibus education bill was floating about that included the promised raises--along with paycheck protection measures, big money for charter schools, big money for Education Savings Accounts (a sort of super-voucher), an end for seniority as a factor in staffing decisions, and fines for teachers who chose to strike in the future. The kindest view of the bill is that legislators simply missed the point of the strike and figured that as long as the teachers got a raise, they didn't really care about any of the rest of it. The least generous view is that the West Virginia GOP decided to play hardball with a little legislative extortion, betting that teachers wouldn't endanger their raises in order to protect public education. They also moved quickly, perhaps betting that the teachers could not mobilize quickly enough to respond. They lost both bets. The legislature killed the bill Tuesday, just hours after the walkout began. The teachers expected to stay out again Wednesday (today), just to make sure the bill stays dead. The legislature wanted to play hardball, and hardball is what they got. In the meantime, all parties will keep paying attention. There are many lessons to be learned from the 2018 rounds of strikes, and one, apparently, is that when you're negotiating with a legislature, you can never be sure that negotiations are really over. | Sally Kohn: West Virginia teachers are striking against state legislatures. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/petergreene/2019/02/20/why-did-west-virginia-teachers-just-walk-out-again/ | 0.141014 |
Do Private School Teachers Have A Skills Gap? | When I interview leaders of innovative schools for my Cool Schools podcast, the topic of talent always comes up. Finding great teachers and great leaders is key to running any kind of school, cool or otherwise. Particularly if a school wants to do something new or different, trying to find educators with the necessary knowledge, skills and talents can be a challenge. I just released a study attempting to answer that question. More broadly, I set out to look at the human capital pipeline into private schools. There are currently more than 34,500 private schools in the United States enrolling 4.9 million kids and employing almost 482,000 teachers. To answer these questions, I did something radical and asked them. The study was a survey of 447 private school educators across three states. I asked a detailed battery of questions about their preservice preparation, skills they believe are important and skills they had to learn on the job. Perhaps most interestingly, 51% of the survey respondents had taught at some point in public schools, so they were able to compare and contrast the skills and talents needed to be successful in each sector. Lets start with the good news. Overwhelmingly, the teachers and leaders surveyed believed that their preservice preparation, whether a certificate, bachelors degree, or otherwise, was helpful. Of those with a bachelors degree in education, the most popular form of preservice preparation, 44% said that their preparation was extremely helpful while 36% said it was very helpful. Educators also identified the skills and dispositions that they believed were most important for teaching in a private school. Teachers identified passion for teaching, modeling faith in action, managing classrooms, creating a comfortable learning environment, and communication skills as the five most important. Administrators identified communication skills, strong interpersonal and team building skills, leadership skills, setting academic goals and strategic vision, and organization and planning skills as their five most important. While educators felt generally well prepared for success in private schools, there were some gaps in their preparation. When asked what skills they had to learn on the job, teachers identified skills like managing classrooms, communication skills, and modeling faith in action. For those paying close attention, those are some of the skills they identified as being most important to success. The picture is particularly interesting for private school administrators. Private schools often operate as small independent organizations with little outside managerial support. School principals have to be business leaders in addition to instructional leaders. This is why we should be worried that the most identified skills and knowledge that they had to learn on the job were school budgeting, understanding legal compliance, understanding accounting and finance, and navigating bureaucracy. There is an important point here, illustrated by the answers of those educators who have taught in both private and public schools. Educators who taught in both sectors identified being entrepreneurial, budgeting, public relations skills, accounting and finance, teaching multiple subjects, modeling faith in action, and religious instruction as the major skills needed in private schools that were not needed in public schools. I dont think any of these should really surprise us. Private schools operate more independently and are much more likely to be religious in orientation. These data present an opportunity for entrepreneurial educator preparation programs. The list of missing skills is not that extensive. Its a straightforward set that is probably taught somewhere else on campus. Programs could cross-list courses in non-profit budgeting, accounting and finance, and public relations from business or non-profit management schools or majors. They could work with religious studies departments to cross-list theology courses. Cobble these together in a certificate program or concentration and theyre made a valuable credential that can help preservice private school educators. Private schools, particularly in states with large private school choice programs, are a big potential market for educator preparation programs. Some simple changes to preparation programs geared towards those who are planning to work in private schools can be a win-win-win. It can be a win for educator preparation programs who differentiate themselves, a win for preservice educators who can get the skills they need to succeed in a wider swath of the marketplace, and it can be a win for the millions of students in private schools who can benefit from better instruction and school leadership. | The study was a survey of 447 private school educators across three states. While educators felt generally well prepared for success in private schools, there were some gaps in their preparation. Data present an opportunity for entrepreneurial educator preparation programs. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemcshane/2019/02/20/do-private-school-teachers-have-a-skills-gap/ | 0.225624 |
Do Private School Teachers Have A Skills Gap? | When I interview leaders of innovative schools for my Cool Schools podcast, the topic of talent always comes up. Finding great teachers and great leaders is key to running any kind of school, cool or otherwise. Particularly if a school wants to do something new or different, trying to find educators with the necessary knowledge, skills and talents can be a challenge. I just released a study attempting to answer that question. More broadly, I set out to look at the human capital pipeline into private schools. There are currently more than 34,500 private schools in the United States enrolling 4.9 million kids and employing almost 482,000 teachers. To answer these questions, I did something radical and asked them. The study was a survey of 447 private school educators across three states. I asked a detailed battery of questions about their preservice preparation, skills they believe are important and skills they had to learn on the job. Perhaps most interestingly, 51% of the survey respondents had taught at some point in public schools, so they were able to compare and contrast the skills and talents needed to be successful in each sector. Lets start with the good news. Overwhelmingly, the teachers and leaders surveyed believed that their preservice preparation, whether a certificate, bachelors degree, or otherwise, was helpful. Of those with a bachelors degree in education, the most popular form of preservice preparation, 44% said that their preparation was extremely helpful while 36% said it was very helpful. Educators also identified the skills and dispositions that they believed were most important for teaching in a private school. Teachers identified passion for teaching, modeling faith in action, managing classrooms, creating a comfortable learning environment, and communication skills as the five most important. Administrators identified communication skills, strong interpersonal and team building skills, leadership skills, setting academic goals and strategic vision, and organization and planning skills as their five most important. While educators felt generally well prepared for success in private schools, there were some gaps in their preparation. When asked what skills they had to learn on the job, teachers identified skills like managing classrooms, communication skills, and modeling faith in action. For those paying close attention, those are some of the skills they identified as being most important to success. The picture is particularly interesting for private school administrators. Private schools often operate as small independent organizations with little outside managerial support. School principals have to be business leaders in addition to instructional leaders. This is why we should be worried that the most identified skills and knowledge that they had to learn on the job were school budgeting, understanding legal compliance, understanding accounting and finance, and navigating bureaucracy. There is an important point here, illustrated by the answers of those educators who have taught in both private and public schools. Educators who taught in both sectors identified being entrepreneurial, budgeting, public relations skills, accounting and finance, teaching multiple subjects, modeling faith in action, and religious instruction as the major skills needed in private schools that were not needed in public schools. I dont think any of these should really surprise us. Private schools operate more independently and are much more likely to be religious in orientation. These data present an opportunity for entrepreneurial educator preparation programs. The list of missing skills is not that extensive. Its a straightforward set that is probably taught somewhere else on campus. Programs could cross-list courses in non-profit budgeting, accounting and finance, and public relations from business or non-profit management schools or majors. They could work with religious studies departments to cross-list theology courses. Cobble these together in a certificate program or concentration and theyre made a valuable credential that can help preservice private school educators. Private schools, particularly in states with large private school choice programs, are a big potential market for educator preparation programs. Some simple changes to preparation programs geared towards those who are planning to work in private schools can be a win-win-win. It can be a win for educator preparation programs who differentiate themselves, a win for preservice educators who can get the skills they need to succeed in a wider swath of the marketplace, and it can be a win for the millions of students in private schools who can benefit from better instruction and school leadership. | A study of 447 private school educators across three states found some gaps in their preparation for success in private schools. The survey also found that 51% of the survey respondents had taught at some point in public schools, so they were able to compare and contrast the skills and talents needed to be successful in each sector. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/mikemcshane/2019/02/20/do-private-school-teachers-have-a-skills-gap/ | 0.350507 |
Will Maryland College Athletes Be Unionized? | Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. There is a bill in the Maryland state House that would give college athletes the right to unionize. It comes in the aftermath of the death of University of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair during the 2018 offseason. The bill, according to its early language, would require the State Higher Education Labor Relations Board to adopt regulations authorizing and establishing the process for collective bargaining for student athletes on or before July 1, 2020. Ad Policy I spoke with one of the bills sponsors, State Delegate Brooke Lierman, who represents District 46 in Baltimore City and was moved by McNairs death to introduce this legislation. It was horrific, she said. In addition to the negligence, recommended medical staff had been turned away by the athletic department. Lierman cited the an ESPN story by Heather Dinich that exposed the details of the event and the culture of the football program at the school. What was happening was shocking I realized that I was angry, in part, at myself for not doing more to help our college athletes. Because, if the University is not going to correct the situation, then I think its up to state legislatures to step in and to say, This is not acceptable. These are Marylanders. These are our kids. We need to be taking better care of them. Delegate Lierman said that she first started thinking about the injustices of the NCAA in 2011 when reading The Shame of College Sports by Taylor Branch. She said, When it came out, it was the first time I started thinking about the power imbalance and the inherent unfairness of what was going on at our colleges. The article made Lierman reflect on her own history as a student-athlete at Dartmouth where she rode crew: I was given the Best Freshman award. But I decided I didnt want to keep rowing because it was so demanding. So I decided that I wanted to do something else and my coach was furious. I mean, he basically said You owe us, you have to stay. I remember feeling sort of afraid. I was 19 years old, feeling really guilty. And then when I wasnt rowing anymore and he was still angry at me I started remembering the power imbalance, even at such a small level, and I cant even imagine how different it is for scholarship athletes playing football or playing basketball. After McNairs tragic death, Lierman thought about the best way to help correct the balance of power between the Universities and the athletes and landed on the idea of player unionization. Every year, theres a bill introduced to give graduate student assistants collective bargaining rights. So I thought, if graduate student assistants have bargaining rights, why couldnt student athletes?I think that something like having a collective bargaining agreement, having a union or having an advocate on your side, as a student athlete, would make a difference. This bill would allow for that. It would help them establish protections on scholarship terms, on health benefits, on other issues. There are already people saying that they dont think this legislation has much chance of passing. But Lierman believes that the events of the past year shocked people and awakened in them a desire to really step up to the plate and really do more for student athletes. The first hearing on this bill will be February 26. This issue is not going anywhere and neither is the memory of Jordan McNair. Unionization or some form of collective protection needs to become part of the reality of college sports. Bills like this, supported by demonstrations, rallies, and movements by students and athletes on the ground, are how we are going to get there. | There is a bill in the Maryland state House that would give college athletes the right to unionize. | bart | 0 | https://www.thenation.com/article/university-maryland-jordan-mcnair-union-ncaa/ | 0.437372 |
Will Maryland College Athletes Be Unionized? | Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. There is a bill in the Maryland state House that would give college athletes the right to unionize. It comes in the aftermath of the death of University of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair during the 2018 offseason. The bill, according to its early language, would require the State Higher Education Labor Relations Board to adopt regulations authorizing and establishing the process for collective bargaining for student athletes on or before July 1, 2020. Ad Policy I spoke with one of the bills sponsors, State Delegate Brooke Lierman, who represents District 46 in Baltimore City and was moved by McNairs death to introduce this legislation. It was horrific, she said. In addition to the negligence, recommended medical staff had been turned away by the athletic department. Lierman cited the an ESPN story by Heather Dinich that exposed the details of the event and the culture of the football program at the school. What was happening was shocking I realized that I was angry, in part, at myself for not doing more to help our college athletes. Because, if the University is not going to correct the situation, then I think its up to state legislatures to step in and to say, This is not acceptable. These are Marylanders. These are our kids. We need to be taking better care of them. Delegate Lierman said that she first started thinking about the injustices of the NCAA in 2011 when reading The Shame of College Sports by Taylor Branch. She said, When it came out, it was the first time I started thinking about the power imbalance and the inherent unfairness of what was going on at our colleges. The article made Lierman reflect on her own history as a student-athlete at Dartmouth where she rode crew: I was given the Best Freshman award. But I decided I didnt want to keep rowing because it was so demanding. So I decided that I wanted to do something else and my coach was furious. I mean, he basically said You owe us, you have to stay. I remember feeling sort of afraid. I was 19 years old, feeling really guilty. And then when I wasnt rowing anymore and he was still angry at me I started remembering the power imbalance, even at such a small level, and I cant even imagine how different it is for scholarship athletes playing football or playing basketball. After McNairs tragic death, Lierman thought about the best way to help correct the balance of power between the Universities and the athletes and landed on the idea of player unionization. Every year, theres a bill introduced to give graduate student assistants collective bargaining rights. So I thought, if graduate student assistants have bargaining rights, why couldnt student athletes?I think that something like having a collective bargaining agreement, having a union or having an advocate on your side, as a student athlete, would make a difference. This bill would allow for that. It would help them establish protections on scholarship terms, on health benefits, on other issues. There are already people saying that they dont think this legislation has much chance of passing. But Lierman believes that the events of the past year shocked people and awakened in them a desire to really step up to the plate and really do more for student athletes. The first hearing on this bill will be February 26. This issue is not going anywhere and neither is the memory of Jordan McNair. Unionization or some form of collective protection needs to become part of the reality of college sports. Bills like this, supported by demonstrations, rallies, and movements by students and athletes on the ground, are how we are going to get there. | There is a bill in the Maryland state House that would give college athletes the right to unionize. It comes in the aftermath of the death of University of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair during the 2018 offseason. | bart | 1 | https://www.thenation.com/article/university-maryland-jordan-mcnair-union-ncaa/ | 0.446728 |
Will Maryland College Athletes Be Unionized? | Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. There is a bill in the Maryland state House that would give college athletes the right to unionize. It comes in the aftermath of the death of University of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair during the 2018 offseason. The bill, according to its early language, would require the State Higher Education Labor Relations Board to adopt regulations authorizing and establishing the process for collective bargaining for student athletes on or before July 1, 2020. Ad Policy I spoke with one of the bills sponsors, State Delegate Brooke Lierman, who represents District 46 in Baltimore City and was moved by McNairs death to introduce this legislation. It was horrific, she said. In addition to the negligence, recommended medical staff had been turned away by the athletic department. Lierman cited the an ESPN story by Heather Dinich that exposed the details of the event and the culture of the football program at the school. What was happening was shocking I realized that I was angry, in part, at myself for not doing more to help our college athletes. Because, if the University is not going to correct the situation, then I think its up to state legislatures to step in and to say, This is not acceptable. These are Marylanders. These are our kids. We need to be taking better care of them. Delegate Lierman said that she first started thinking about the injustices of the NCAA in 2011 when reading The Shame of College Sports by Taylor Branch. She said, When it came out, it was the first time I started thinking about the power imbalance and the inherent unfairness of what was going on at our colleges. The article made Lierman reflect on her own history as a student-athlete at Dartmouth where she rode crew: I was given the Best Freshman award. But I decided I didnt want to keep rowing because it was so demanding. So I decided that I wanted to do something else and my coach was furious. I mean, he basically said You owe us, you have to stay. I remember feeling sort of afraid. I was 19 years old, feeling really guilty. And then when I wasnt rowing anymore and he was still angry at me I started remembering the power imbalance, even at such a small level, and I cant even imagine how different it is for scholarship athletes playing football or playing basketball. After McNairs tragic death, Lierman thought about the best way to help correct the balance of power between the Universities and the athletes and landed on the idea of player unionization. Every year, theres a bill introduced to give graduate student assistants collective bargaining rights. So I thought, if graduate student assistants have bargaining rights, why couldnt student athletes?I think that something like having a collective bargaining agreement, having a union or having an advocate on your side, as a student athlete, would make a difference. This bill would allow for that. It would help them establish protections on scholarship terms, on health benefits, on other issues. There are already people saying that they dont think this legislation has much chance of passing. But Lierman believes that the events of the past year shocked people and awakened in them a desire to really step up to the plate and really do more for student athletes. The first hearing on this bill will be February 26. This issue is not going anywhere and neither is the memory of Jordan McNair. Unionization or some form of collective protection needs to become part of the reality of college sports. Bills like this, supported by demonstrations, rallies, and movements by students and athletes on the ground, are how we are going to get there. | Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. There is a bill in the Maryland state House that would give college athletes the right to unionize. It comes in the aftermath of the death of University of Maryland offensive lineman Jordan McNair during the 2018 offseason. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.thenation.com/article/university-maryland-jordan-mcnair-union-ncaa/ | 0.422729 |
Could new group reshape political tribes? | Image copyright EPA Image caption Anna Soubry resigned from the Conservatives on Wednesday to join The Independent Group Only a notion three days ago, The Independent Group now has more members than the DUP and the same number as the Lib Dems. The Tory trio's defection matters for three big reasons, way beyond the enormous personal decision taken by each individual. First, when a government has no majority on its own, even shy of a dozen MPs can wield political strength. The defections change not just the official arithmetic in Parliament, but its alchemy and atmosphere. While none of those who have made the jump are likely to back the prime minister's Brexit deal, they are a new block for the government, and the Labour front bench, to contend with - ultimately, whose votes are up for grabs, and whose numbers are likely to swell in the coming days. Splinter, not split Second, today's departures are evidence of how serious Conservative divisions have become. Right now, as with Labour, it's a splinter, not a split. But don't underestimate how hard a decision it is for any MP to abandon their tribe. These departures illustrate, therefore, a real problem for the governing party. For a very long time, before the referendum even, a clash was apparent in the Conservative Party with those who wanted to accelerate, make real and more relevant David Cameron's so-called modernisation project. In other words, it was an effort to respond to the hopes and desires of floating voters in the middle, rather than the traditional Tory base, and to be more of a mirror of the country and how it was changing. Those questions have, of course, been drowned out by the clamour over Brexit. The split in the Tory party over Europe is not a perfect reflection of that division, but it is certainly one of its contours. Fears over Brexit and the party drifting to the right - and away from relevance - are held far beyond today's "three amigos", but by dozens of MPs privately, including ministers in the government. If, as is likely, more MPs move across, those private pleas to stay in the centre ground have more weight. Like Labour, the Tories have big questions they can't answer at the moment - profound quandaries that it's not clear their leaderships are ready, or perhaps even capable right now of meeting. Huge hurdles Lastly, today's departures mean there is now a group in Parliament who hope to escape the traditional party lines. Of course, there are huge hurdles to that. We know what they all don't like - but we're not sure yet what they all do. It's not remotely clear that the group will actually become a political party. We can't know yet if they will ever be able to agree common cause to produce a whole manifesto, far less that they would become a big enough force to put forward multiple candidates in the hope of actually winning elections. But Brexit, which criss-crosses party lines in Parliament, has already shaken the stability of our two main Westminster parties, and it's always had the potential to reshape our political tribes. This group's potential is easy to dismiss, but unwise for the established parties to ignore. | The Independent Group now has more members than the DUP and the Lib Dems. The new group has the potential to reshape our political tribes. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47309514 | 0.437189 |
Could new group reshape political tribes? | Image copyright EPA Image caption Anna Soubry resigned from the Conservatives on Wednesday to join The Independent Group Only a notion three days ago, The Independent Group now has more members than the DUP and the same number as the Lib Dems. The Tory trio's defection matters for three big reasons, way beyond the enormous personal decision taken by each individual. First, when a government has no majority on its own, even shy of a dozen MPs can wield political strength. The defections change not just the official arithmetic in Parliament, but its alchemy and atmosphere. While none of those who have made the jump are likely to back the prime minister's Brexit deal, they are a new block for the government, and the Labour front bench, to contend with - ultimately, whose votes are up for grabs, and whose numbers are likely to swell in the coming days. Splinter, not split Second, today's departures are evidence of how serious Conservative divisions have become. Right now, as with Labour, it's a splinter, not a split. But don't underestimate how hard a decision it is for any MP to abandon their tribe. These departures illustrate, therefore, a real problem for the governing party. For a very long time, before the referendum even, a clash was apparent in the Conservative Party with those who wanted to accelerate, make real and more relevant David Cameron's so-called modernisation project. In other words, it was an effort to respond to the hopes and desires of floating voters in the middle, rather than the traditional Tory base, and to be more of a mirror of the country and how it was changing. Those questions have, of course, been drowned out by the clamour over Brexit. The split in the Tory party over Europe is not a perfect reflection of that division, but it is certainly one of its contours. Fears over Brexit and the party drifting to the right - and away from relevance - are held far beyond today's "three amigos", but by dozens of MPs privately, including ministers in the government. If, as is likely, more MPs move across, those private pleas to stay in the centre ground have more weight. Like Labour, the Tories have big questions they can't answer at the moment - profound quandaries that it's not clear their leaderships are ready, or perhaps even capable right now of meeting. Huge hurdles Lastly, today's departures mean there is now a group in Parliament who hope to escape the traditional party lines. Of course, there are huge hurdles to that. We know what they all don't like - but we're not sure yet what they all do. It's not remotely clear that the group will actually become a political party. We can't know yet if they will ever be able to agree common cause to produce a whole manifesto, far less that they would become a big enough force to put forward multiple candidates in the hope of actually winning elections. But Brexit, which criss-crosses party lines in Parliament, has already shaken the stability of our two main Westminster parties, and it's always had the potential to reshape our political tribes. This group's potential is easy to dismiss, but unwise for the established parties to ignore. | The Independent Group now has more members than the DUP and the Lib Dems. The new group has the potential to reshape our political tribes, says Lord Tebbit. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47309514 | 0.366756 |
Could new group reshape political tribes? | Image copyright EPA Image caption Anna Soubry resigned from the Conservatives on Wednesday to join The Independent Group Only a notion three days ago, The Independent Group now has more members than the DUP and the same number as the Lib Dems. The Tory trio's defection matters for three big reasons, way beyond the enormous personal decision taken by each individual. First, when a government has no majority on its own, even shy of a dozen MPs can wield political strength. The defections change not just the official arithmetic in Parliament, but its alchemy and atmosphere. While none of those who have made the jump are likely to back the prime minister's Brexit deal, they are a new block for the government, and the Labour front bench, to contend with - ultimately, whose votes are up for grabs, and whose numbers are likely to swell in the coming days. Splinter, not split Second, today's departures are evidence of how serious Conservative divisions have become. Right now, as with Labour, it's a splinter, not a split. But don't underestimate how hard a decision it is for any MP to abandon their tribe. These departures illustrate, therefore, a real problem for the governing party. For a very long time, before the referendum even, a clash was apparent in the Conservative Party with those who wanted to accelerate, make real and more relevant David Cameron's so-called modernisation project. In other words, it was an effort to respond to the hopes and desires of floating voters in the middle, rather than the traditional Tory base, and to be more of a mirror of the country and how it was changing. Those questions have, of course, been drowned out by the clamour over Brexit. The split in the Tory party over Europe is not a perfect reflection of that division, but it is certainly one of its contours. Fears over Brexit and the party drifting to the right - and away from relevance - are held far beyond today's "three amigos", but by dozens of MPs privately, including ministers in the government. If, as is likely, more MPs move across, those private pleas to stay in the centre ground have more weight. Like Labour, the Tories have big questions they can't answer at the moment - profound quandaries that it's not clear their leaderships are ready, or perhaps even capable right now of meeting. Huge hurdles Lastly, today's departures mean there is now a group in Parliament who hope to escape the traditional party lines. Of course, there are huge hurdles to that. We know what they all don't like - but we're not sure yet what they all do. It's not remotely clear that the group will actually become a political party. We can't know yet if they will ever be able to agree common cause to produce a whole manifesto, far less that they would become a big enough force to put forward multiple candidates in the hope of actually winning elections. But Brexit, which criss-crosses party lines in Parliament, has already shaken the stability of our two main Westminster parties, and it's always had the potential to reshape our political tribes. This group's potential is easy to dismiss, but unwise for the established parties to ignore. | The Independent Group now has more members than the DUP and the Lib Dems. The new group has the potential to reshape our political tribes, says Lord Tebbit. But it's not clear yet if the group will become a political party, he says. He says the group's potential is easy to dismiss, but unwise for established parties to ignore. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-47309514 | 0.564457 |
Is it Bad to Sleep with Wet Hair? | If you shower before bed, youve probably wondered whether sleeping with damp hair is a problem. Maybe youve heard it could make you sick, or that it can damage your hair or skin. Lets address the it can make you sick myth first. This idea seems to fit into the old bit of folklore that getting yourself chilled and wet will cause you to come down with a cold, says Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. While this idea persists, Schaffner says it was long ago disproved. Its true that youre much more likely to catch a common cold during the winter months. But this has to do with the ways respiratory viruses proliferate and spread, he says. You cannot catch a cold from being cold, he adds. Another wet-hair rumor is the idea that harmful bacteria will colonize your pillow. Illness-causing bacteria and viruses dont appear spontaneously, and so youre not going to make yourself ill by getting your pillow a little damp at night, Schaffner says. But there is a possible exception. Some research has shown that pillowsespecially those made with synthetic materialscan harbor asthma- or allergy-triggering molds and fungus. These microorganisms tend to do well in damp environments, and so do dust mites, says Dr. Payel Gupta, a board-certified allergist and spokesperson for the American Lung Association. Gupta says theres no evidence that people who sleep with wet hair experience more allergy or asthma symptoms, so any concerns about wet hair are theoretical. But if you wake up with a stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, breathing problems or other allergy or asthma symptomsor even if you dontyou should wash your pillow cases and sheets in hot water at least once a week to reduce your exposure to any potential irritants. When it comes to the health of your hair and skin, there may be a few other legitimate reasons to worry about water-logged locks. TIME Health Newsletter Get the latest health and science news, plus: burning questions and expert tips. View Sample Sign Up Now Generally, its thought not to be good for hair to sleep with it wet, says Dr. George Cotsarelis, a professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine. Over timeanywhere from a few days to weeks or monthswater can degrade a hair follicles protective outer layer, which is called the cuticle, he explains. Once that cuticle breaks down, water can penetrate it and rupture the follicles inner cortex. The resulting damage can lead to breakages, he says, as well as a loss of shine and elasticity. But its worth noting that almost anything you do to your hairfrom brushing and blow-drying it to coloring it or exposing it to the suncan damage it. While sleeping with wet hair may not be optimal, using conditioner can help restore and repair it, says Dr. Adam Friedman, professor and interim chair of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Friedman says the same is true of any potential skin issues that could arise from sleeping with wet hair. If youre a side or stomach sleeper, pinning wet hair between your pillow and the skin of your face could cause some irritation, he says. Also, as the water in your hair evaporates, this could promote dryness on your face or scalp, he adds. But a lot of people sleep with wet hair and dont seem to have any problems, he says. And in some cases, wet hair may actually be a helpful sleep aid. Research has shown that cooling your head at night helps calm the brains metabolic activity in ways that promote sleep onset and restorative ZZZs. There may be some mild risks associated with going to bed with wet hair. But of all the health concerns you could worry about, this one shouldnt keep you up at night. Contact us at editors@time.com. | Sleeping with wet hair can make you sick, or damage your hair or skin. | bart | 0 | http://time.com/5532533/is-it-bad-to-sleep-with-wet-hair/ | 0.566453 |
Is it Bad to Sleep with Wet Hair? | If you shower before bed, youve probably wondered whether sleeping with damp hair is a problem. Maybe youve heard it could make you sick, or that it can damage your hair or skin. Lets address the it can make you sick myth first. This idea seems to fit into the old bit of folklore that getting yourself chilled and wet will cause you to come down with a cold, says Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. While this idea persists, Schaffner says it was long ago disproved. Its true that youre much more likely to catch a common cold during the winter months. But this has to do with the ways respiratory viruses proliferate and spread, he says. You cannot catch a cold from being cold, he adds. Another wet-hair rumor is the idea that harmful bacteria will colonize your pillow. Illness-causing bacteria and viruses dont appear spontaneously, and so youre not going to make yourself ill by getting your pillow a little damp at night, Schaffner says. But there is a possible exception. Some research has shown that pillowsespecially those made with synthetic materialscan harbor asthma- or allergy-triggering molds and fungus. These microorganisms tend to do well in damp environments, and so do dust mites, says Dr. Payel Gupta, a board-certified allergist and spokesperson for the American Lung Association. Gupta says theres no evidence that people who sleep with wet hair experience more allergy or asthma symptoms, so any concerns about wet hair are theoretical. But if you wake up with a stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, breathing problems or other allergy or asthma symptomsor even if you dontyou should wash your pillow cases and sheets in hot water at least once a week to reduce your exposure to any potential irritants. When it comes to the health of your hair and skin, there may be a few other legitimate reasons to worry about water-logged locks. TIME Health Newsletter Get the latest health and science news, plus: burning questions and expert tips. View Sample Sign Up Now Generally, its thought not to be good for hair to sleep with it wet, says Dr. George Cotsarelis, a professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine. Over timeanywhere from a few days to weeks or monthswater can degrade a hair follicles protective outer layer, which is called the cuticle, he explains. Once that cuticle breaks down, water can penetrate it and rupture the follicles inner cortex. The resulting damage can lead to breakages, he says, as well as a loss of shine and elasticity. But its worth noting that almost anything you do to your hairfrom brushing and blow-drying it to coloring it or exposing it to the suncan damage it. While sleeping with wet hair may not be optimal, using conditioner can help restore and repair it, says Dr. Adam Friedman, professor and interim chair of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Friedman says the same is true of any potential skin issues that could arise from sleeping with wet hair. If youre a side or stomach sleeper, pinning wet hair between your pillow and the skin of your face could cause some irritation, he says. Also, as the water in your hair evaporates, this could promote dryness on your face or scalp, he adds. But a lot of people sleep with wet hair and dont seem to have any problems, he says. And in some cases, wet hair may actually be a helpful sleep aid. Research has shown that cooling your head at night helps calm the brains metabolic activity in ways that promote sleep onset and restorative ZZZs. There may be some mild risks associated with going to bed with wet hair. But of all the health concerns you could worry about, this one shouldnt keep you up at night. Contact us at editors@time.com. | Sleeping with wet hair can make you sick, or damage your hair or skin. Some research has shown that pillows can harbor asthma- or allergy-triggering molds and fungus. | bart | 1 | http://time.com/5532533/is-it-bad-to-sleep-with-wet-hair/ | 0.614328 |
Is it Bad to Sleep with Wet Hair? | If you shower before bed, youve probably wondered whether sleeping with damp hair is a problem. Maybe youve heard it could make you sick, or that it can damage your hair or skin. Lets address the it can make you sick myth first. This idea seems to fit into the old bit of folklore that getting yourself chilled and wet will cause you to come down with a cold, says Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. While this idea persists, Schaffner says it was long ago disproved. Its true that youre much more likely to catch a common cold during the winter months. But this has to do with the ways respiratory viruses proliferate and spread, he says. You cannot catch a cold from being cold, he adds. Another wet-hair rumor is the idea that harmful bacteria will colonize your pillow. Illness-causing bacteria and viruses dont appear spontaneously, and so youre not going to make yourself ill by getting your pillow a little damp at night, Schaffner says. But there is a possible exception. Some research has shown that pillowsespecially those made with synthetic materialscan harbor asthma- or allergy-triggering molds and fungus. These microorganisms tend to do well in damp environments, and so do dust mites, says Dr. Payel Gupta, a board-certified allergist and spokesperson for the American Lung Association. Gupta says theres no evidence that people who sleep with wet hair experience more allergy or asthma symptoms, so any concerns about wet hair are theoretical. But if you wake up with a stuffy nose, itchy or watery eyes, breathing problems or other allergy or asthma symptomsor even if you dontyou should wash your pillow cases and sheets in hot water at least once a week to reduce your exposure to any potential irritants. When it comes to the health of your hair and skin, there may be a few other legitimate reasons to worry about water-logged locks. TIME Health Newsletter Get the latest health and science news, plus: burning questions and expert tips. View Sample Sign Up Now Generally, its thought not to be good for hair to sleep with it wet, says Dr. George Cotsarelis, a professor of dermatology at the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine. Over timeanywhere from a few days to weeks or monthswater can degrade a hair follicles protective outer layer, which is called the cuticle, he explains. Once that cuticle breaks down, water can penetrate it and rupture the follicles inner cortex. The resulting damage can lead to breakages, he says, as well as a loss of shine and elasticity. But its worth noting that almost anything you do to your hairfrom brushing and blow-drying it to coloring it or exposing it to the suncan damage it. While sleeping with wet hair may not be optimal, using conditioner can help restore and repair it, says Dr. Adam Friedman, professor and interim chair of dermatology at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Friedman says the same is true of any potential skin issues that could arise from sleeping with wet hair. If youre a side or stomach sleeper, pinning wet hair between your pillow and the skin of your face could cause some irritation, he says. Also, as the water in your hair evaporates, this could promote dryness on your face or scalp, he adds. But a lot of people sleep with wet hair and dont seem to have any problems, he says. And in some cases, wet hair may actually be a helpful sleep aid. Research has shown that cooling your head at night helps calm the brains metabolic activity in ways that promote sleep onset and restorative ZZZs. There may be some mild risks associated with going to bed with wet hair. But of all the health concerns you could worry about, this one shouldnt keep you up at night. Contact us at editors@time.com. | Sleeping with wet hair can make you sick, or damage your hair or skin. Some research has shown that pillows can harbor asthma- or allergy-triggering molds and fungus. Water can degrade a hair follicles protective outer layer, which is called the cuticle. | bart | 2 | http://time.com/5532533/is-it-bad-to-sleep-with-wet-hair/ | 0.658953 |
Is Rob Gronkowski already a first-ballot Hall of Famer? | By Daniel Tran Rob Gronkowski's time in the NFL appears to be coming to close soon. The New England Patriots tight end's resume is Hall of Fame-worthy as it stands now and many would be surprised if he wasn't a first-ballot inductee because of his production in a relatively short period of time. Still, others feel his nine, injury-plagued seasons are not enough to be inducted in his first try. PERSPECTIVES In 115 games, Gronkowski has 7,861 yards and 80 total touchdowns. How this is even a question is ridiculous. Gronkowski has been one of the most dominating players in the NFL for years and deserves the honor of being a first-ballot inductee. Gronk has appeared in less than half of the games Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates have and yet he is third behind them in receiving touchdowns. He also averages more yards and touchdowns per game than both. He blows both out of the water in terms of playoff numbers. And let's not forget the three Super Bowls he helped the Patriots win. His resume speaks for itself. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Hall of Fame hypocrisy continues with new Gronkowski first-ballot debate Gronkowski is worthy of the Hall of Fame. His dominance in nine years has been amazing, but that's the problem. Nine years in the NFL is good, but that's not the ideal length for Hall of Fame voters. They like to see production over ten or more years. Both Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates have more than 15 seasons of playing. Gronkowski has 7,861 receiving yards, which is way behind Gonzalez's 15,127, a total that got the NFL legend the first, and so far only, first-ballot nod for a tight end. Gronk might leave the game in his prime which would hurt his case in the voters' eyes. He will definitely be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but getting in on the first try is not in the cards for him. Probably not, say voters The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | Rob Gronkowski has been one of the most dominating players in the NFL for years. Many would be surprised if he wasn't a first-ballot inductee because of his production in a relatively short period of time. | bart | 1 | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/02/is_rob_gronkowski_already_a_fi.html | 0.134249 |
Is Rob Gronkowski already a first-ballot Hall of Famer? | By Daniel Tran Rob Gronkowski's time in the NFL appears to be coming to close soon. The New England Patriots tight end's resume is Hall of Fame-worthy as it stands now and many would be surprised if he wasn't a first-ballot inductee because of his production in a relatively short period of time. Still, others feel his nine, injury-plagued seasons are not enough to be inducted in his first try. PERSPECTIVES In 115 games, Gronkowski has 7,861 yards and 80 total touchdowns. How this is even a question is ridiculous. Gronkowski has been one of the most dominating players in the NFL for years and deserves the honor of being a first-ballot inductee. Gronk has appeared in less than half of the games Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates have and yet he is third behind them in receiving touchdowns. He also averages more yards and touchdowns per game than both. He blows both out of the water in terms of playoff numbers. And let's not forget the three Super Bowls he helped the Patriots win. His resume speaks for itself. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Hall of Fame hypocrisy continues with new Gronkowski first-ballot debate Gronkowski is worthy of the Hall of Fame. His dominance in nine years has been amazing, but that's the problem. Nine years in the NFL is good, but that's not the ideal length for Hall of Fame voters. They like to see production over ten or more years. Both Tony Gonzalez and Antonio Gates have more than 15 seasons of playing. Gronkowski has 7,861 receiving yards, which is way behind Gonzalez's 15,127, a total that got the NFL legend the first, and so far only, first-ballot nod for a tight end. Gronk might leave the game in his prime which would hurt his case in the voters' eyes. He will definitely be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but getting in on the first try is not in the cards for him. Probably not, say voters The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | Rob Gronkowski has been one of the most dominating players in the NFL for years. Some feel his nine, injury-plagued seasons are not enough to be inducted in his first try. He's a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but that's not the ideal length for voters. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cleveland.com/sports/index.ssf/2019/02/is_rob_gronkowski_already_a_fi.html | 0.303775 |
What do experts think of revoking Shamima Begum's citizenship? | [Begums] criminality is very relevant We have a wide array of legislative power in this country, many specifically designed to deal with returning fighters and sympathisers. The problem seems to be that [Javid] believed there was insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution. The alternative was to deprive her of citizenship, meaning that the only way she can appeal against this decision is via the special immigration appeals commission, which is largely based on closed evidence, and which she will not have any access to (and neither will her lawyers). It seems that it is an easy way out for the home secretary without having to prove her criminality in a court of law. One problem with the entire policy ... is that it is inherently discriminatory and racist in how it is applied. If you have two British citizens, one white English and born to white English parents, and one like Shamima Begum, who was born in the UK and has no links to Bangladesh apart from her parental heritage, the white English person cannot be deprived of their citizenship on the basis that they do not have another nationality to fall back on. In the legacy of this policy, it is unlikely that any cases have involved a white English person. It can only be used against children of immigrant parents. There is one case Jack Letts, who has been accused of being involved with Isis in Syria and has dual Canadian-British citizenship. He has not been deprived of his statehood yet. At the moment Begum is living in a refugee camp in a war zone in Syria with no consular access to the Bangladeshi authorities and no ability at all to evidence her nationality or benefit from it. For all intents and purposes she is stateless at the moment. | Home Secretary Sajid Javid has decided to deprive Shamima Begum of citizenship. Home Office says there is insufficient evidence to bring a prosecution. Begum was born in the UK and has no links to Bangladesh apart from her parental heritage. The policy is inherently discriminatory and racist in how it is applied, says Lord Tebbit. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/20/what-do-experts-think-of-revoking-shamima-begums-citizenship | 0.146443 |
Will Hamilton County see more diverse juries? | Hamilton County has formed a special commission to review how people are chosen to be called for jury duty. Common Pleas Judge Charles Kubicki, the courts administrative judge, said in a statement that the commission will review practices used to select people for jury service to ensure the end result is representative and inclusive juries. The announcement comes as civil rights groups have called on the county to take steps to increase the diversity of juries. The issue was raised around the time of Ray Tensing's first trial. The former police officer, who is white, was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a black man, Sam DuBose. Ray Tensing enters the courtroom of Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan in the Hamilton County Courthouse Tuesday, November 1, 2016. (Photo11: Carrie Cochran) Typically, juries in the county are mostly white, and the panel in Tensing's first trial was made up of 10 whites and two blacks. The county's population is approximately 26 percent black. The 2016 trial ended with the jury unable to agree on a verdict. For the second trial, which also ended with a deadlocked jury, there were three blacks. Ohio is one of the few states that draws its jurors only from lists of registered voters. Kentucky, for example, uses lists drawn from voter registrations, driver's license records and people who filed individual tax returns. More: 'I want him to rot in hell,' murder victim's sister tells judge More: Oral arguments: Juror with 'extreme bias' served in death penalty case The Hamilton County commission will collect and analyze information to evaluate whether the lists of potential jurors that are generated are representative of the countys population. It will also look at how well citizens respond to summons for jury duty. The commission will be chaired by Richard Niehaus, a retired common pleas judge who served for 40 years. Other members include current common pleas and municipal court judges, a county assistant prosecutor and a member of the countys public defender commission. It will issue a report with findings and any recommendations. The commission will not look at the process of selecting jurors in individual trials. That process is governed by U.S. Supreme Court decisions. SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Subscribe now for access to all our coverage Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/02/20/hamilton-county-see-more-diverse-juries/2873975002/ | Hamilton County has formed a special commission to review how people are chosen to be called for jury duty. The announcement comes as civil rights groups have called on the county to take steps to increase the diversity of juries. | bart | 1 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/02/20/hamilton-county-see-more-diverse-juries/2873975002/ | 0.24273 |
Will Hamilton County see more diverse juries? | Hamilton County has formed a special commission to review how people are chosen to be called for jury duty. Common Pleas Judge Charles Kubicki, the courts administrative judge, said in a statement that the commission will review practices used to select people for jury service to ensure the end result is representative and inclusive juries. The announcement comes as civil rights groups have called on the county to take steps to increase the diversity of juries. The issue was raised around the time of Ray Tensing's first trial. The former police officer, who is white, was charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a black man, Sam DuBose. Ray Tensing enters the courtroom of Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan in the Hamilton County Courthouse Tuesday, November 1, 2016. (Photo11: Carrie Cochran) Typically, juries in the county are mostly white, and the panel in Tensing's first trial was made up of 10 whites and two blacks. The county's population is approximately 26 percent black. The 2016 trial ended with the jury unable to agree on a verdict. For the second trial, which also ended with a deadlocked jury, there were three blacks. Ohio is one of the few states that draws its jurors only from lists of registered voters. Kentucky, for example, uses lists drawn from voter registrations, driver's license records and people who filed individual tax returns. More: 'I want him to rot in hell,' murder victim's sister tells judge More: Oral arguments: Juror with 'extreme bias' served in death penalty case The Hamilton County commission will collect and analyze information to evaluate whether the lists of potential jurors that are generated are representative of the countys population. It will also look at how well citizens respond to summons for jury duty. The commission will be chaired by Richard Niehaus, a retired common pleas judge who served for 40 years. Other members include current common pleas and municipal court judges, a county assistant prosecutor and a member of the countys public defender commission. It will issue a report with findings and any recommendations. The commission will not look at the process of selecting jurors in individual trials. That process is governed by U.S. Supreme Court decisions. SUPPORT LOCAL JOURNALISM: Subscribe now for access to all our coverage Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/02/20/hamilton-county-see-more-diverse-juries/2873975002/ | Hamilton County has formed a special commission to review how people are chosen to be called for jury duty. Civil rights groups have called on the county to take steps to increase the diversity of juries. The commission will not look at the process of selecting jurors in individual trials. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2019/02/20/hamilton-county-see-more-diverse-juries/2873975002/ | 0.265183 |
Who has been stripped of UK citizenship before Shamima Begum? | The home secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced plans to revoke the citizenship of the Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum. If the order proves successful, she will join the ranks of around 120 suspected jihadists and criminals since 2016 who have been stripped of their British nationality and banned from returning to the UK. El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have been part of an Isis terror cell, known as the Beatles, responsible for the brutal killings of western captives in Syria and Iraq, including the British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and the US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. The security minister, Ben Wallace, confirmed both men had been stripped of their citizenship in July 2018. Sudan-born Elsheikh, a mechanic from White City in London, came to the UK as a child when his family were granted refugee status. He travelled to Syria in 2012 and joined al-Qaida and later a splinter group that became Isis. Kotey, born in London, is half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot, and grew up in Shepherds Bush. Believed to have converted to Islam in his early 20s, he left behind two young children in Britain. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alexanda Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh talk to the Associated Press at a security centre in Kobani, Syria, in 2018. The men said their home countrys revoking of their citizenship denied them fair trial. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP Mahdi Hashi Mahdi Hashi came to the UK from Somalia when he was five with his parents. The family were granted asylum and subsequently became British citizens. He grew up in Camden, north London, and became a care worker after finishing school. He subsequently became involved in the al-Shabaab group. In 2009, aged 19, Hashi claimed MI5 was trying to blackmail him into becoming an informer. Later that year, he moved to Somalia. He was never charged with any crime in the UK. In 2012, the then home secretary, Theresa May, ordered that he be stripped of British citizenship on the grounds that he was involved in Islamic extremism. Hashi is currently in jail in New York on terror charges. Read more Bilal al-Berjawi Bilal al-Berjawi was born in Lebanon and grew up in St Johns Wood. He was suspected of being involved with al-Qaida militants in Somalia. In 2006, at the age of 22, he attended an al-Qaida training camp in Mogadishu where he learned to use explosives and was thought to be part of an extremist group known as the London boys. He was detained on suspicion of terrorist offences in 2009 with another Briton, Mohammed Sakr, following a trip to Kenya. His British citizenship was revoked in 2010, at which point he and Sakr were thought to hold senior positions in a militant group linked to al-Qaida. A terror suspect, he was subject to strict surveillance from US services and MI5, and at one point was on a US kill list. He died in a drone strike, shortly after his wife in London gave birth to their first son. Mohamed Sakr Mohamed Sakr was born and brought up in London. He attended Quintin Kynaston Academy, the same west London school as Mohammed Emwazi, commonly known as Jihadi John. Sakr was deprived of his citizenship in 2009 following a trip to Somalia, while he was still out of the country. He was suspected of being involved with militant group al-Shabaab, although his parents deny this. His was the first known modern instance of a British-born citizen being stripped of their nationality. Sakr was killed in Somalia in 2012 during a US-led drone strike. His Egyptian-born parents have since renounced the dual citizenship of their children, in order to protect them. | Sajid Javid has announced plans to revoke the citizenship of Shamima Begum. She will join the ranks of around 120 suspected jihadists and criminals who have been stripped of their British nationality and banned from returning. | bart | 1 | https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/20/who-has-been-stripped-of-uk-citizenship-before-shamima-begum | 0.22151 |
Who has been stripped of UK citizenship before Shamima Begum? | The home secretary, Sajid Javid, has announced plans to revoke the citizenship of the Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum. If the order proves successful, she will join the ranks of around 120 suspected jihadists and criminals since 2016 who have been stripped of their British nationality and banned from returning to the UK. El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, who were raised in Britain, are alleged to have been part of an Isis terror cell, known as the Beatles, responsible for the brutal killings of western captives in Syria and Iraq, including the British aid workers Alan Henning and David Haines and the US journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff. The security minister, Ben Wallace, confirmed both men had been stripped of their citizenship in July 2018. Sudan-born Elsheikh, a mechanic from White City in London, came to the UK as a child when his family were granted refugee status. He travelled to Syria in 2012 and joined al-Qaida and later a splinter group that became Isis. Kotey, born in London, is half-Ghanaian, half-Greek Cypriot, and grew up in Shepherds Bush. Believed to have converted to Islam in his early 20s, he left behind two young children in Britain. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Alexanda Kotey, left, and El Shafee Elsheikh talk to the Associated Press at a security centre in Kobani, Syria, in 2018. The men said their home countrys revoking of their citizenship denied them fair trial. Photograph: Hussein Malla/AP Mahdi Hashi Mahdi Hashi came to the UK from Somalia when he was five with his parents. The family were granted asylum and subsequently became British citizens. He grew up in Camden, north London, and became a care worker after finishing school. He subsequently became involved in the al-Shabaab group. In 2009, aged 19, Hashi claimed MI5 was trying to blackmail him into becoming an informer. Later that year, he moved to Somalia. He was never charged with any crime in the UK. In 2012, the then home secretary, Theresa May, ordered that he be stripped of British citizenship on the grounds that he was involved in Islamic extremism. Hashi is currently in jail in New York on terror charges. Read more Bilal al-Berjawi Bilal al-Berjawi was born in Lebanon and grew up in St Johns Wood. He was suspected of being involved with al-Qaida militants in Somalia. In 2006, at the age of 22, he attended an al-Qaida training camp in Mogadishu where he learned to use explosives and was thought to be part of an extremist group known as the London boys. He was detained on suspicion of terrorist offences in 2009 with another Briton, Mohammed Sakr, following a trip to Kenya. His British citizenship was revoked in 2010, at which point he and Sakr were thought to hold senior positions in a militant group linked to al-Qaida. A terror suspect, he was subject to strict surveillance from US services and MI5, and at one point was on a US kill list. He died in a drone strike, shortly after his wife in London gave birth to their first son. Mohamed Sakr Mohamed Sakr was born and brought up in London. He attended Quintin Kynaston Academy, the same west London school as Mohammed Emwazi, commonly known as Jihadi John. Sakr was deprived of his citizenship in 2009 following a trip to Somalia, while he was still out of the country. He was suspected of being involved with militant group al-Shabaab, although his parents deny this. His was the first known modern instance of a British-born citizen being stripped of their nationality. Sakr was killed in Somalia in 2012 during a US-led drone strike. His Egyptian-born parents have since renounced the dual citizenship of their children, in order to protect them. | Home secretary Sajid Javid has announced plans to revoke the citizenship of the Islamic State recruit Shamima Begum. If the order proves successful, she will join the ranks of around 120 suspected jihadists and criminals who have been stripped of their British nationality and banned from returning to the UK. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/feb/20/who-has-been-stripped-of-uk-citizenship-before-shamima-begum | 0.222609 |
Will former President Barack Obama attend Duke-North Carolina game? | Duke University officials have increased security with the likelihood that former President Barack Obama will attend tonight's game against archrival North Carolina in Durham, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. Obama was the talk of Tuesday's news conference with the teams, with Duke's R.J. Barrett thrilled about the possibility of the former president possibly attending. "If he comes, I'm going to be very excited," Barrett told reporters. "This is a legendary game. Many people want to watch. It's going to be a great game." USA TODAY Sports confirmed other reports that Obama planned to appear at the game, although his attendance was not certain. ESPN's Jay Williams and a local ABC11 station reported that Obama was likely to attend. Duke officials have not confirmed his attendance. The Tar Heels (20-5, 10-2) are looking to upset the heavily favored Blue Devils (23-2, 11-1) in the first of two clashes in the next three weeks. Behind Barrett and projected No. 1 NBA draft pick Zion Williamson, Duke is currently the top overall No. 1 seed in USA TODAY Sports' latest bracketology. North Carolina is a projected No. 2 seed. Former president Barack Obama has close ties with UNC coach Roy Williams. (Photo11: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images) Obama has close ties to UNC coach Roy Williams and often favored the Tar Heels in his NCAA tournament picks while he was president. I never know who is coming, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters Tuesday. I try not to let that be what Im thinking of. Look, anybody can show up here because it is a bucket-list thing. Its a bucket-list just to come to a game in Cameron. But Duke and Carolina at Cameron is one of those great sporting events. So we can expect anything here." Tipoff for the game is 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, and tickets were nearing the price of Super Bowl tickets. | Duke University officials have increased security with the likelihood that former President Barack Obama will attend tonight's game. "This is a legendary game. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/acc/2019/02/20/barack-obama-attend-duke-north-carolina-basketball-game/2928677002/ | 0.109804 |
Will former President Barack Obama attend Duke-North Carolina game? | Duke University officials have increased security with the likelihood that former President Barack Obama will attend tonight's game against archrival North Carolina in Durham, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. Obama was the talk of Tuesday's news conference with the teams, with Duke's R.J. Barrett thrilled about the possibility of the former president possibly attending. "If he comes, I'm going to be very excited," Barrett told reporters. "This is a legendary game. Many people want to watch. It's going to be a great game." USA TODAY Sports confirmed other reports that Obama planned to appear at the game, although his attendance was not certain. ESPN's Jay Williams and a local ABC11 station reported that Obama was likely to attend. Duke officials have not confirmed his attendance. The Tar Heels (20-5, 10-2) are looking to upset the heavily favored Blue Devils (23-2, 11-1) in the first of two clashes in the next three weeks. Behind Barrett and projected No. 1 NBA draft pick Zion Williamson, Duke is currently the top overall No. 1 seed in USA TODAY Sports' latest bracketology. North Carolina is a projected No. 2 seed. Former president Barack Obama has close ties with UNC coach Roy Williams. (Photo11: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images) Obama has close ties to UNC coach Roy Williams and often favored the Tar Heels in his NCAA tournament picks while he was president. I never know who is coming, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters Tuesday. I try not to let that be what Im thinking of. Look, anybody can show up here because it is a bucket-list thing. Its a bucket-list just to come to a game in Cameron. But Duke and Carolina at Cameron is one of those great sporting events. So we can expect anything here." Tipoff for the game is 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, and tickets were nearing the price of Super Bowl tickets. | Duke University officials have increased security with the likelihood that former President Barack Obama will attend tonight's game. Obama has close ties to UNC coach Roy Williams and often favored the Tar Heels in his NCAA tournament picks while he was president. | bart | 1 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/acc/2019/02/20/barack-obama-attend-duke-north-carolina-basketball-game/2928677002/ | 0.191717 |
Will former President Barack Obama attend Duke-North Carolina game? | Duke University officials have increased security with the likelihood that former President Barack Obama will attend tonight's game against archrival North Carolina in Durham, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA TODAY Sports. The person requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak on the matter. Obama was the talk of Tuesday's news conference with the teams, with Duke's R.J. Barrett thrilled about the possibility of the former president possibly attending. "If he comes, I'm going to be very excited," Barrett told reporters. "This is a legendary game. Many people want to watch. It's going to be a great game." USA TODAY Sports confirmed other reports that Obama planned to appear at the game, although his attendance was not certain. ESPN's Jay Williams and a local ABC11 station reported that Obama was likely to attend. Duke officials have not confirmed his attendance. The Tar Heels (20-5, 10-2) are looking to upset the heavily favored Blue Devils (23-2, 11-1) in the first of two clashes in the next three weeks. Behind Barrett and projected No. 1 NBA draft pick Zion Williamson, Duke is currently the top overall No. 1 seed in USA TODAY Sports' latest bracketology. North Carolina is a projected No. 2 seed. Former president Barack Obama has close ties with UNC coach Roy Williams. (Photo11: Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images) Obama has close ties to UNC coach Roy Williams and often favored the Tar Heels in his NCAA tournament picks while he was president. I never know who is coming, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski told reporters Tuesday. I try not to let that be what Im thinking of. Look, anybody can show up here because it is a bucket-list thing. Its a bucket-list just to come to a game in Cameron. But Duke and Carolina at Cameron is one of those great sporting events. So we can expect anything here." Tipoff for the game is 9 p.m. ET on ESPN, and tickets were nearing the price of Super Bowl tickets. | Duke University officials have increased security with the likelihood that former President Barack Obama will attend tonight's game against North Carolina. Obama has close ties to UNC coach Roy Williams and often favored the Tar Heels in his NCAA tournament picks while he was president. Tipoff for the game is 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. | bart | 2 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/acc/2019/02/20/barack-obama-attend-duke-north-carolina-basketball-game/2928677002/ | 0.295396 |
How bad is Disney's 'Aladdin' blue Genie problem after the Will Smith reveal tanked? | Will Smith stars as Genie in "Aladdin." It hasn't been all smiles. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) If Walt Disney Studios and director Guy Ritchie were granted three wishes, one of them would surely be that Will Smith's Genie in the live-action "Aladdin" would find a little love. So far, there's been overwhelming vocal consternation over the pivotal character in the remake that flies into theaters May 24. It was always going to be a bumpy ride for anyone stepping into the curled genie shoes after Robin Williams voiced his iconic, exhilarating role in 1992's animated "Aladdin." Fans rejoiced when the Genie-less first teaser arrived last October. "I fangirled so hard ... It looks so good!" one tweeted. "I'm legit over here sobbing," another wrote. But the very blue unveiling of Smith's Genie in a Grammy Awards telecast "special look" was skewered on social media. We are supposed to sleep after this???" We could go on about the chorus of social media barbs, which became such a thing that John Oliver used the blue Genie image as a punchline on "Last Week Tonight," comparing it to the looming "disaster" when Britain leaves the European Union. "You know how Twitter is. Theres a pitchfork army out there and they all join in. And right now, Will Smiths blue Genie is out in front of this army, in a negative way," says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "The Genie just looked odd. And while it's called 'Aladdin,' all the attention since Robin Williams' role is focused on the Genie." First photo: The Internet is fixated on Will Smith's Genie, and not in a good way The backlash: Twitter rips Will Smith's 'too blue' Genie after 'Aladdin' trailer airs Disney wouldn't comment on the marketing aspects of the film, which has stoked excitement with fans who made 2016's live-action "The Jungle Book" a major hit. The studio stood behind its Genie in a statement to USA TODAY: We have one of the most anticipated films of the year and are confident that audiences will fall in love with the Genie and all of the characters when it hits the big screen this May. Bringing out the Will Smith Genie, and the blue, has been a slow, deliberate rollout for Disney after two teaser trailers as if to ease fans into the full live-action blueness against the formidable history of Williams' cartoon creation. I have never known peace pic.twitter.com/zUzl8X1Axw Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) February 11, 2019 In December, a smiling Smith was unveiled on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, minus his CGI blue coloring. After fans reacted badly, the star assured them on Instagram, "Im gonna be BLUE! :-) This is how the Genie is in Human / Disguise Form." They didn't know how blue. However awkward the first look, the negative reaction shouldn't be a surprise, according to director Raja Gosnell, who unveiled his own bright blue update of beloved animated characters in 2011's live-action "The Smurfs." "We didnt have the Twitter world back then that we have now, thank God. But that unveiling was met with levels of horror and gnashing of teeth by the online community," says Gosnell. "There is always going to be some sort of outcry by the keyboard warriors. It was going to be the same thing with the blue Genie from 'Aladdin.' " "The Smurfs" went on to find its audience, make $563.7 million in the worldwide box office, and Gosnell brought the live-action creations brought back for a 2013 sequel, "The Smurfs 2." But there are many voices who contend Disney missed the vital opportunity to make a strong first impression that Smith's Genie could hold his own against Williams' legacy. Critics loathed "Kazaam." But Shaq looked the part of a genie. (Photo11: TOUCHSTONE PICTURES) Paul Michael Glaser conceptualized and directed 1996's "Kazaam" around 7-foot-1 superstar center Shaquille O'Neal. While the fantasy musical was disparaged by critics, visualizing Shaq as a genie was spot-on casting. Glaser says the decision to depict Smith as blue and physically pumped up, like a live-action version of Williams' character, wasn't "a smart thing to do." "Making him blue was a bit of cop-out. But even more than that was the big, muscular look makes this Genie more comparable to the animated version. Why does a Genie have to be all of that?" says Glaser. He would have preferred seeing more of what the superstar leading man could bring. "They missed the boat in terms of trying to really explore what it would be like to rub a bottle and have Will Smith come out of it," says Glaser. Smith has made clear he will make the part his own in the final film, which EW described in the first look story as part Fresh Prince, part Hitch." Smith, who acknowledged he was "terrified" to go up against Williams' "iconic" role, said in the piece his character was "different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane." There's still time for the formidable Disney marketing machine, with the powers of charismatic PR power player Smith, to right the spilled bottle. "Disney has its own magic lamps," says Bock. "And 'Aladdin' is fortunate to pretty much own Memorial Day weekend for family entertainment. So it's in good shape there." Robin Williams' Genie in 1992's animated "Aladdin" is a tough act to follow. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) Part of the marketing blitz will include a full trailer, which still hasn't been released yet. Perri Nemiroff, senior producer of movie site Collider.com, suggests "scaling back on Genie in the marketing, that might be the smartest move after what we've seen." The emphasis could focus on other "Aladdin" aspects such as Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and their adventure story. Then Smith will have an entire movie to unfurl his full Genie. "I just want to see Will Smith own that look and make that role his own," says Nemiroff. "I'm hoping my optimism will not be misplaced." Randall Jaynes, who has made a career as a deep-hued member of Blue Man Group and is now its artistic director, believes people will come to love this Genie and his vibrant coloring. "You could already hear this Genie is Will Smith. It had his jingle and pizzazz, but the color is so evocative, it changed the look. Of course, people are going to get used to it," says Jaynes. "Welcome, Will Smith: Blue is a wonderful world to be in." Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Will Smith as Genie in an early shot. Smith assured freaked-out fans he would be blue. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/02/20/disney-reveals-aladdin-blue-genie-now-what/2877176002/ | Will Smith's Genie in the live-action "Aladdin" remake has been criticized for being too blue. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/02/20/disney-reveals-aladdin-blue-genie-now-what/2877176002/ | 0.156698 |
How bad is Disney's 'Aladdin' blue Genie problem after the Will Smith reveal tanked? | Will Smith stars as Genie in "Aladdin." It hasn't been all smiles. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) If Walt Disney Studios and director Guy Ritchie were granted three wishes, one of them would surely be that Will Smith's Genie in the live-action "Aladdin" would find a little love. So far, there's been overwhelming vocal consternation over the pivotal character in the remake that flies into theaters May 24. It was always going to be a bumpy ride for anyone stepping into the curled genie shoes after Robin Williams voiced his iconic, exhilarating role in 1992's animated "Aladdin." Fans rejoiced when the Genie-less first teaser arrived last October. "I fangirled so hard ... It looks so good!" one tweeted. "I'm legit over here sobbing," another wrote. But the very blue unveiling of Smith's Genie in a Grammy Awards telecast "special look" was skewered on social media. We are supposed to sleep after this???" We could go on about the chorus of social media barbs, which became such a thing that John Oliver used the blue Genie image as a punchline on "Last Week Tonight," comparing it to the looming "disaster" when Britain leaves the European Union. "You know how Twitter is. Theres a pitchfork army out there and they all join in. And right now, Will Smiths blue Genie is out in front of this army, in a negative way," says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "The Genie just looked odd. And while it's called 'Aladdin,' all the attention since Robin Williams' role is focused on the Genie." First photo: The Internet is fixated on Will Smith's Genie, and not in a good way The backlash: Twitter rips Will Smith's 'too blue' Genie after 'Aladdin' trailer airs Disney wouldn't comment on the marketing aspects of the film, which has stoked excitement with fans who made 2016's live-action "The Jungle Book" a major hit. The studio stood behind its Genie in a statement to USA TODAY: We have one of the most anticipated films of the year and are confident that audiences will fall in love with the Genie and all of the characters when it hits the big screen this May. Bringing out the Will Smith Genie, and the blue, has been a slow, deliberate rollout for Disney after two teaser trailers as if to ease fans into the full live-action blueness against the formidable history of Williams' cartoon creation. I have never known peace pic.twitter.com/zUzl8X1Axw Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) February 11, 2019 In December, a smiling Smith was unveiled on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, minus his CGI blue coloring. After fans reacted badly, the star assured them on Instagram, "Im gonna be BLUE! :-) This is how the Genie is in Human / Disguise Form." They didn't know how blue. However awkward the first look, the negative reaction shouldn't be a surprise, according to director Raja Gosnell, who unveiled his own bright blue update of beloved animated characters in 2011's live-action "The Smurfs." "We didnt have the Twitter world back then that we have now, thank God. But that unveiling was met with levels of horror and gnashing of teeth by the online community," says Gosnell. "There is always going to be some sort of outcry by the keyboard warriors. It was going to be the same thing with the blue Genie from 'Aladdin.' " "The Smurfs" went on to find its audience, make $563.7 million in the worldwide box office, and Gosnell brought the live-action creations brought back for a 2013 sequel, "The Smurfs 2." But there are many voices who contend Disney missed the vital opportunity to make a strong first impression that Smith's Genie could hold his own against Williams' legacy. Critics loathed "Kazaam." But Shaq looked the part of a genie. (Photo11: TOUCHSTONE PICTURES) Paul Michael Glaser conceptualized and directed 1996's "Kazaam" around 7-foot-1 superstar center Shaquille O'Neal. While the fantasy musical was disparaged by critics, visualizing Shaq as a genie was spot-on casting. Glaser says the decision to depict Smith as blue and physically pumped up, like a live-action version of Williams' character, wasn't "a smart thing to do." "Making him blue was a bit of cop-out. But even more than that was the big, muscular look makes this Genie more comparable to the animated version. Why does a Genie have to be all of that?" says Glaser. He would have preferred seeing more of what the superstar leading man could bring. "They missed the boat in terms of trying to really explore what it would be like to rub a bottle and have Will Smith come out of it," says Glaser. Smith has made clear he will make the part his own in the final film, which EW described in the first look story as part Fresh Prince, part Hitch." Smith, who acknowledged he was "terrified" to go up against Williams' "iconic" role, said in the piece his character was "different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane." There's still time for the formidable Disney marketing machine, with the powers of charismatic PR power player Smith, to right the spilled bottle. "Disney has its own magic lamps," says Bock. "And 'Aladdin' is fortunate to pretty much own Memorial Day weekend for family entertainment. So it's in good shape there." Robin Williams' Genie in 1992's animated "Aladdin" is a tough act to follow. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) Part of the marketing blitz will include a full trailer, which still hasn't been released yet. Perri Nemiroff, senior producer of movie site Collider.com, suggests "scaling back on Genie in the marketing, that might be the smartest move after what we've seen." The emphasis could focus on other "Aladdin" aspects such as Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and their adventure story. Then Smith will have an entire movie to unfurl his full Genie. "I just want to see Will Smith own that look and make that role his own," says Nemiroff. "I'm hoping my optimism will not be misplaced." Randall Jaynes, who has made a career as a deep-hued member of Blue Man Group and is now its artistic director, believes people will come to love this Genie and his vibrant coloring. "You could already hear this Genie is Will Smith. It had his jingle and pizzazz, but the color is so evocative, it changed the look. Of course, people are going to get used to it," says Jaynes. "Welcome, Will Smith: Blue is a wonderful world to be in." Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Will Smith as Genie in an early shot. Smith assured freaked-out fans he would be blue. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/02/20/disney-reveals-aladdin-blue-genie-now-what/2877176002/ | Will Smith's Genie in the live-action "Aladdin" remake has found a little love. But the blue unveiling of the character was skewered on social media. The negative reaction shouldn't be a surprise, says director Raja Gosnell. | bart | 1 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/02/20/disney-reveals-aladdin-blue-genie-now-what/2877176002/ | 0.147234 |
How bad is Disney's 'Aladdin' blue Genie problem after the Will Smith reveal tanked? | Will Smith stars as Genie in "Aladdin." It hasn't been all smiles. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) If Walt Disney Studios and director Guy Ritchie were granted three wishes, one of them would surely be that Will Smith's Genie in the live-action "Aladdin" would find a little love. So far, there's been overwhelming vocal consternation over the pivotal character in the remake that flies into theaters May 24. It was always going to be a bumpy ride for anyone stepping into the curled genie shoes after Robin Williams voiced his iconic, exhilarating role in 1992's animated "Aladdin." Fans rejoiced when the Genie-less first teaser arrived last October. "I fangirled so hard ... It looks so good!" one tweeted. "I'm legit over here sobbing," another wrote. But the very blue unveiling of Smith's Genie in a Grammy Awards telecast "special look" was skewered on social media. We are supposed to sleep after this???" We could go on about the chorus of social media barbs, which became such a thing that John Oliver used the blue Genie image as a punchline on "Last Week Tonight," comparing it to the looming "disaster" when Britain leaves the European Union. "You know how Twitter is. Theres a pitchfork army out there and they all join in. And right now, Will Smiths blue Genie is out in front of this army, in a negative way," says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. "The Genie just looked odd. And while it's called 'Aladdin,' all the attention since Robin Williams' role is focused on the Genie." First photo: The Internet is fixated on Will Smith's Genie, and not in a good way The backlash: Twitter rips Will Smith's 'too blue' Genie after 'Aladdin' trailer airs Disney wouldn't comment on the marketing aspects of the film, which has stoked excitement with fans who made 2016's live-action "The Jungle Book" a major hit. The studio stood behind its Genie in a statement to USA TODAY: We have one of the most anticipated films of the year and are confident that audiences will fall in love with the Genie and all of the characters when it hits the big screen this May. Bringing out the Will Smith Genie, and the blue, has been a slow, deliberate rollout for Disney after two teaser trailers as if to ease fans into the full live-action blueness against the formidable history of Williams' cartoon creation. I have never known peace pic.twitter.com/zUzl8X1Axw Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) February 11, 2019 In December, a smiling Smith was unveiled on the cover of Entertainment Weekly, minus his CGI blue coloring. After fans reacted badly, the star assured them on Instagram, "Im gonna be BLUE! :-) This is how the Genie is in Human / Disguise Form." They didn't know how blue. However awkward the first look, the negative reaction shouldn't be a surprise, according to director Raja Gosnell, who unveiled his own bright blue update of beloved animated characters in 2011's live-action "The Smurfs." "We didnt have the Twitter world back then that we have now, thank God. But that unveiling was met with levels of horror and gnashing of teeth by the online community," says Gosnell. "There is always going to be some sort of outcry by the keyboard warriors. It was going to be the same thing with the blue Genie from 'Aladdin.' " "The Smurfs" went on to find its audience, make $563.7 million in the worldwide box office, and Gosnell brought the live-action creations brought back for a 2013 sequel, "The Smurfs 2." But there are many voices who contend Disney missed the vital opportunity to make a strong first impression that Smith's Genie could hold his own against Williams' legacy. Critics loathed "Kazaam." But Shaq looked the part of a genie. (Photo11: TOUCHSTONE PICTURES) Paul Michael Glaser conceptualized and directed 1996's "Kazaam" around 7-foot-1 superstar center Shaquille O'Neal. While the fantasy musical was disparaged by critics, visualizing Shaq as a genie was spot-on casting. Glaser says the decision to depict Smith as blue and physically pumped up, like a live-action version of Williams' character, wasn't "a smart thing to do." "Making him blue was a bit of cop-out. But even more than that was the big, muscular look makes this Genie more comparable to the animated version. Why does a Genie have to be all of that?" says Glaser. He would have preferred seeing more of what the superstar leading man could bring. "They missed the boat in terms of trying to really explore what it would be like to rub a bottle and have Will Smith come out of it," says Glaser. Smith has made clear he will make the part his own in the final film, which EW described in the first look story as part Fresh Prince, part Hitch." Smith, who acknowledged he was "terrified" to go up against Williams' "iconic" role, said in the piece his character was "different enough and unique enough that it would be in a different lane." There's still time for the formidable Disney marketing machine, with the powers of charismatic PR power player Smith, to right the spilled bottle. "Disney has its own magic lamps," says Bock. "And 'Aladdin' is fortunate to pretty much own Memorial Day weekend for family entertainment. So it's in good shape there." Robin Williams' Genie in 1992's animated "Aladdin" is a tough act to follow. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) Part of the marketing blitz will include a full trailer, which still hasn't been released yet. Perri Nemiroff, senior producer of movie site Collider.com, suggests "scaling back on Genie in the marketing, that might be the smartest move after what we've seen." The emphasis could focus on other "Aladdin" aspects such as Mena Massoud as Aladdin, Naomi Scott as Jasmine and their adventure story. Then Smith will have an entire movie to unfurl his full Genie. "I just want to see Will Smith own that look and make that role his own," says Nemiroff. "I'm hoping my optimism will not be misplaced." Randall Jaynes, who has made a career as a deep-hued member of Blue Man Group and is now its artistic director, believes people will come to love this Genie and his vibrant coloring. "You could already hear this Genie is Will Smith. It had his jingle and pizzazz, but the color is so evocative, it changed the look. Of course, people are going to get used to it," says Jaynes. "Welcome, Will Smith: Blue is a wonderful world to be in." Mena Massoud as Aladdin and Will Smith as Genie in an early shot. Smith assured freaked-out fans he would be blue. (Photo11: WALT DISNEY) Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/02/20/disney-reveals-aladdin-blue-genie-now-what/2877176002/ | Will Smith's Genie in the live-action "Aladdin" remake has been criticized for being too blue. The studio stands behind its Genie in a statement to USA TODAY. "The Genie just looked odd," says one box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2019/02/20/disney-reveals-aladdin-blue-genie-now-what/2877176002/ | 0.154492 |
Can New Rules Curtail Evolution Of Sign Stealing? | The concept of stealing signs in baseball has a long, unique and sometimes even shocking history, especially in the early days of the practice. Now it is a matter of who uses their technology and on Wednesday a report by Sports Illustrated emerged stating MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is implementing new rules to guard against the high-tech gamesmanship of recent seasons. Last season after there were several instances of alleged sign stealing from catchers, Manfred vowed to get new rules in place. Existing rules prohibited stealing a sign from any place besides a runner on second base and now the rule updates to include measures that address using new technology to gain an advantage. According to Sports Illustrated's report, the new rules include the following: Banning in-house outfield cameras from foul pole to foul pole Limiting live broadcasts to the team's designated replay official, who gets monitored by a security expert Putting any other TV monitors, including those in the clubhouse and bullpens on an eight-second delay. Making each club provide to MLB an audit of every in-house camera, its purpose, its wiring and where it can be viewed. The new rules are a reaction to what has resulted in recent seasons with numerous mound visits that slowed down games and resulted in last season being the first year with a six mound visit limit per game until extra innings. And even during those mound visits, the impact of technology is revealed since any mound visit includes a player holding a glove over his mouth to avoid any lip reading. According to Sports Illustrated, approximately six teams installed centerfield cameras focused on opposing catchers' signs. Other teams were suspected of the practice and it forced most teams to adopt multiple sets of signs even with nobody on base and then often change them sometimes during at-bats. Among incidents in recent years such as the Houston Astros being accused of stealing the signs of the Cleveland Indians in the ALDS. The Indians reportedly warned the Red Sox of an Astros employee of photographing the dugout. Another was the Apple Watch incident where the Yankees accused the Red Sox of using the device to relay pitch calls to runners on second base, who would pass to hitters during their at-bats. The Red Sox then countered by accusing the Yankees of utilizing an in-house television feed to do the same. Another allegation involved the Toronto Blue Jays going back to 2010 when it was believed a man in white was accused of raising his arms above his head when a breaking ball was being called and engaging in no motion when a fastball was coming. Among those who suggested some sign stealing was taking place was former Yankees manager Joe Girardi and Red Sox broadcaster Jerry Remy but back then even after ESPN reported it MLB said it had never received a complaint about it. While putting rules on the book may limit some things, it is likely teams will find a way around. They and just may do it in a way to avoid detection and avoid the penalties of forfeiting a draft pick or international pool money. The reason these rules are going in place are more because some of the recent incidents are a case of teams not being discreet about it. The gamesmanship has been going on for over a century but even with potentially helpful information it still comes down to executing. It has evolved from low-tech ways of the early 20th century to the enhanced technology of recent seasons that leaves teams paranoid, especially after former St. Louis Cardinals employee Chris Correa was sentenced to federal prison for hacking into the Houston Astros database. There are several notable and primitive examples of sign stealing going back to the earliest days of the game. Some of the practices included electrical pulses with a different buzz signaling what pitch was coming (one for fastball, two for curveball and three for changeup). It was a practice that occurred in 1900 in a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and Cincinnati Reds according to an edition of the SABR Baseball Research Journal. In last year's book on the early days of the Yankees, "A Franchise on the Rise" by Dom Amore, another example of the gamesmanship is revealed from back in 1909 at Hilltop Park, now the site of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital. The Yankees were suspected of movement in a sign advertising men's hat and how the sign was slanted indicated whether a fastball or a curveball was coming. And then of course perhaps the most famous instance in 1951 when the Giants erased a 13-game deficit from the Dodgers in the NL Race. As later revealed in the book "The Echoing Green", the Giants led by former Dodgers manager Leo Durocher devised a plan to steal signs by putting a spy near the clubhouses in center field. From nearly 500 feet away, the Giants used high-powered binoculars and sent signals to the bullpen. The Giants won 37 of their last 44 games and won the NL pennant over the Dodgers on Bobby Thomson's home run off Ralph Branca. The art of stealing signs has evolved from primitive electrical pulses to technology. Whether MLB can actually enforce the practice is something to observe as games get underway next month. | The concept of stealing signs in baseball has a long, unique and sometimes even shocking history. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is implementing new rules to guard against the high-tech gamesmanship of recent seasons. The new rules are a reaction to what has resulted in recent seasons with numerous mound visits that slowed down games. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/larryfleisher/2019/02/20/can-new-rules-curtail-evolution-of-sign-stealing/ | 0.231686 |
How Difficult Is It For Pilots To Fly In Formation? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Ron Wagner, USAF pilot in Presidential Wing at Andrews, on Quora: If youre a pilot with an instrument rating, you can pick up the skill to fly an aircraft in formation pretty quickly. As a CFI, I have taught non-military pilots to fly formation and I found that by using the analogy of flying an ILS, they got it right away. The key is to demonstrate it for them by showing them two points on the lead aircraft that they need to line up. One point is usually a wing tip and the other is some distinct point on the side of the fuselage. All you have to do it keep those points lined up, just like the cross bars on an ILS indicator. Within minutes, the newbies were hanging in there. Back in my USAF days I thought it was really special to be able to fly formation. At first I was shocked at how quickly a lifetime civilian pilotadmittedly they were good and experienced instrument-rated private pilotspicked it up. So, the truth is, its just not that hard. BRIEFINGS, BRIEFINGS, and MORE BRIEFINGS But dont be mislead! When you fly an ILS, youre out there all alone. When you fly formation, youre within a few feet of a life-ending midair collision. I was in a little flying group that we called The Beech Boys that consisted of four Beech Barons that overflew air shows. Three of us were former military. I trained the fourth Baron owner, a guy with a solid IFR background and he fit right in. But no matter how much formation experience you have you always conduct a long and thorough briefing before every flight! Between us we had a massive number of formation hours, which is precisely why we knew enough to always spend at least an hour in preflight briefing. Every day we flew. No exceptions. No short cuts. You can find videos of briefings by the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. These are the best formation pilots in the worldwho fly the same show more than 100 times per year and thats after practicing it for monthsand yet they conduct detailed briefings before every show and then reconvene after the show for a detailed debrief. So, like a lot of things, the actual doing of the thing is not that hard. Think of driving a car. A 16-year-oldwith all the video games theyve playedcan jump into a car and start driving it very quickly. But the trick is to learn how to flow with other cars, learn the rules of the game, communicate with drivers in other cars through signals, and handle things when they go wrong. Same with flying formation. Its easy, but if you get lax, itll kill you quick! This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | If youre a pilot with an instrument rating, you can pick up the skill to fly an aircraft in formation pretty quickly. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/02/20/how-difficult-is-it-for-pilots-to-fly-in-formation/ | 0.249124 |
How Difficult Is It For Pilots To Fly In Formation? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Ron Wagner, USAF pilot in Presidential Wing at Andrews, on Quora: If youre a pilot with an instrument rating, you can pick up the skill to fly an aircraft in formation pretty quickly. As a CFI, I have taught non-military pilots to fly formation and I found that by using the analogy of flying an ILS, they got it right away. The key is to demonstrate it for them by showing them two points on the lead aircraft that they need to line up. One point is usually a wing tip and the other is some distinct point on the side of the fuselage. All you have to do it keep those points lined up, just like the cross bars on an ILS indicator. Within minutes, the newbies were hanging in there. Back in my USAF days I thought it was really special to be able to fly formation. At first I was shocked at how quickly a lifetime civilian pilotadmittedly they were good and experienced instrument-rated private pilotspicked it up. So, the truth is, its just not that hard. BRIEFINGS, BRIEFINGS, and MORE BRIEFINGS But dont be mislead! When you fly an ILS, youre out there all alone. When you fly formation, youre within a few feet of a life-ending midair collision. I was in a little flying group that we called The Beech Boys that consisted of four Beech Barons that overflew air shows. Three of us were former military. I trained the fourth Baron owner, a guy with a solid IFR background and he fit right in. But no matter how much formation experience you have you always conduct a long and thorough briefing before every flight! Between us we had a massive number of formation hours, which is precisely why we knew enough to always spend at least an hour in preflight briefing. Every day we flew. No exceptions. No short cuts. You can find videos of briefings by the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. These are the best formation pilots in the worldwho fly the same show more than 100 times per year and thats after practicing it for monthsand yet they conduct detailed briefings before every show and then reconvene after the show for a detailed debrief. So, like a lot of things, the actual doing of the thing is not that hard. Think of driving a car. A 16-year-oldwith all the video games theyve playedcan jump into a car and start driving it very quickly. But the trick is to learn how to flow with other cars, learn the rules of the game, communicate with drivers in other cars through signals, and handle things when they go wrong. Same with flying formation. Its easy, but if you get lax, itll kill you quick! This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | If youre a pilot with an instrument rating, you can pick up the skill to fly an aircraft in formation pretty quickly. When you fly an ILS, youre out there all alone. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/02/20/how-difficult-is-it-for-pilots-to-fly-in-formation/ | 0.228079 |
How Difficult Is It For Pilots To Fly In Formation? | originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. Answer by Ron Wagner, USAF pilot in Presidential Wing at Andrews, on Quora: If youre a pilot with an instrument rating, you can pick up the skill to fly an aircraft in formation pretty quickly. As a CFI, I have taught non-military pilots to fly formation and I found that by using the analogy of flying an ILS, they got it right away. The key is to demonstrate it for them by showing them two points on the lead aircraft that they need to line up. One point is usually a wing tip and the other is some distinct point on the side of the fuselage. All you have to do it keep those points lined up, just like the cross bars on an ILS indicator. Within minutes, the newbies were hanging in there. Back in my USAF days I thought it was really special to be able to fly formation. At first I was shocked at how quickly a lifetime civilian pilotadmittedly they were good and experienced instrument-rated private pilotspicked it up. So, the truth is, its just not that hard. BRIEFINGS, BRIEFINGS, and MORE BRIEFINGS But dont be mislead! When you fly an ILS, youre out there all alone. When you fly formation, youre within a few feet of a life-ending midair collision. I was in a little flying group that we called The Beech Boys that consisted of four Beech Barons that overflew air shows. Three of us were former military. I trained the fourth Baron owner, a guy with a solid IFR background and he fit right in. But no matter how much formation experience you have you always conduct a long and thorough briefing before every flight! Between us we had a massive number of formation hours, which is precisely why we knew enough to always spend at least an hour in preflight briefing. Every day we flew. No exceptions. No short cuts. You can find videos of briefings by the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. These are the best formation pilots in the worldwho fly the same show more than 100 times per year and thats after practicing it for monthsand yet they conduct detailed briefings before every show and then reconvene after the show for a detailed debrief. So, like a lot of things, the actual doing of the thing is not that hard. Think of driving a car. A 16-year-oldwith all the video games theyve playedcan jump into a car and start driving it very quickly. But the trick is to learn how to flow with other cars, learn the rules of the game, communicate with drivers in other cars through signals, and handle things when they go wrong. Same with flying formation. Its easy, but if you get lax, itll kill you quick! This question originally appeared on Quora - the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. You can follow Quora on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. More questions: | If youre a pilot with an instrument rating, you can pick up the skill to fly an aircraft in formation pretty quickly. When you fly an ILS, youre out there all alone. When you fly formation, youre within a few feet of a life-ending midair collision. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2019/02/20/how-difficult-is-it-for-pilots-to-fly-in-formation/ | 0.23528 |
Is Trump a Racist? | Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. The short answer is yes, but the question itself actually misses the mark and is dangerously misdirected for those who want to redress the ongoing consequences of racism in America. Ad Policy Since January, a number of national leaders have asserted that Trump is a racist. First, when asked on CBSs 60 Minutes whether she believes President Trump is a racist, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded, Yeah, no question. More recently, Senator Sherrod Brown followed suit, telling Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that We have a president who is racist. Bernie Sanders has also forcefully said, We now have a President of the United States who is a racist. These statements were met with surprise by white male reporters. During the 60 Minutes interview, Anderson Cooper immediately challenged Ocasio-Cortez by asking, How can you say that? Chuck Todd, host of one of the most important television political platforms in the country, quickly cut off Brown with the rejoinder, Let me pause you there. You believe in his heart, hes a racist? Related Article The Appalling Clarity of Donald Trump Gary Younge Since that specific question is in the national conversation, we should give it a clear answer: Yes, Donald Trump is racist. My colleagues at Democracy in Color have catalogued 242 separate actions, statements, or policies from the first 18 months of the administration. Both Vox and The New York Times recently provided historical summaries of Trumps racism going back decades. While its important and a good sign that some of our nations leaders, and media, are coming forward to call out Trump as a racist, focusing on that narrow question is problematic and could be counterproductive in many ways to the larger goals of ending inequality and injustice in America. First, it diverts attention from the manifestations of racism that are most destructive. The emphasis on one individuals personal views, actions, or statements misses the point, if the goal is to dismantle racism. Martin Luther King clarified the distinction in 1963 when he challenged the idea that legislation has no great role to play in this period of social change because youve got to change the heart and you cant change the heart through legislation. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me. The problem in this country isnt the backward views of individuals, even if one of those individuals occupies the Oval Office. What plagues this nation is a vast array of public policies and practices that perpetuate a status quo that is grossly unequal and unjust after centuries of explicit racialized economic exploitation that is maintained by widespread, contemporary implicit bias. It is those public policies and practices that are the problem and that need to be addressed. Current Issue View our current issue Far more dangerous than Trumps personal beliefs are his public actions to make America white againhis political efforts to consolidate the support of millions of individuals who fervently believe that white Americans are under siege from people of color, especially Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and Muslims. At a recent Trump rally in El Paso, Texas, a Trump supporter articulated the public-policy priorities of far too many Americans when he said, Build the wall, deport them all. Which leads to the second shortcoming of focusing on whats in Trumps hearta diversion of energy and efforts from the immediate and most important challenges before us. The solution to a racist individual in the White House is to remove that individual (which absolutely has to happen). But our countrys problem is bigger than that. Much bigger. In order to transform this status quo, we need sophisticated electoral and social change strategies that are executed with a narrow focus and pinpoint precision. In light of the significant opposition to increasing racial diversity and enthusiasm for returning to the days when white was legally and unapologetically right, the moral and political imperative of this moment is to build a larger, more powerful, and more effective movement than the one that propelled Trump to power and continues to cower most of the Republican Party. Journalist Ron Brownstein, one of the clearest analysts of this situation, describes what is happening right now as a struggle between the Coalition of of Restoration versus the Coalition of Transformation. Fortunately, there are more people in the Coalition of Transformation, what I call the New American Majoritypeople of color and progressive whites. The challenge is ensuring that those in the transformation coalition turn out to vote so that there are more voters in each upcoming election. Naming racismespecially systemic and structural racismcan in fact be an important and motivating signal to the multiracial base of the Democratic Party. To maximize our prospects for victory, we should also work to attract moderate whites who are repulsed by Trumps behavior but have managed to excuse and overlook what he is doing to the country. In order to attract those voters, a singular focus on what goes on in Trumps heart rather than what comes out of his mouth and how those words represent the sentiments of a hateful and hostile movement of people would be a serious electoral mistake. Democrats and progressives made a fatal miscalculation in 2016 when they emphasized Trumps personality over his policies. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent by the Clinton campaign and progressive allies highlighting the shortcomings of Trumps temperament, sending the message that something was wrong with him. Had they highlighted his racially hateful and harmful agenda, then voters, especially moderate white voters, would have had to wonder if something was wrong with them if they chose to side with his candidacy. With the 2020 presidential campaign now underway, it would be electorally disastrous for progressives to replicate that strategic emphasis. The better answer to the question, Is Trump a racist? is that its not about who he is, its about who we are as a country. Whatever is in his heart, his actions plainly show that hes trying to return this country to a time when racism and white supremacy was the law of the land. But we are a better people than that, and if we make the right strategic decisions today, we can reclaim the political power necessary to build a country that reflects our highest and best values and ideals. | Since January, a number of national leaders have asserted that Trump is a racist. | bart | 0 | https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-racist-democratic-party/ | 0.2524 |
Is Trump a Racist? | Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. The short answer is yes, but the question itself actually misses the mark and is dangerously misdirected for those who want to redress the ongoing consequences of racism in America. Ad Policy Since January, a number of national leaders have asserted that Trump is a racist. First, when asked on CBSs 60 Minutes whether she believes President Trump is a racist, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded, Yeah, no question. More recently, Senator Sherrod Brown followed suit, telling Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that We have a president who is racist. Bernie Sanders has also forcefully said, We now have a President of the United States who is a racist. These statements were met with surprise by white male reporters. During the 60 Minutes interview, Anderson Cooper immediately challenged Ocasio-Cortez by asking, How can you say that? Chuck Todd, host of one of the most important television political platforms in the country, quickly cut off Brown with the rejoinder, Let me pause you there. You believe in his heart, hes a racist? Related Article The Appalling Clarity of Donald Trump Gary Younge Since that specific question is in the national conversation, we should give it a clear answer: Yes, Donald Trump is racist. My colleagues at Democracy in Color have catalogued 242 separate actions, statements, or policies from the first 18 months of the administration. Both Vox and The New York Times recently provided historical summaries of Trumps racism going back decades. While its important and a good sign that some of our nations leaders, and media, are coming forward to call out Trump as a racist, focusing on that narrow question is problematic and could be counterproductive in many ways to the larger goals of ending inequality and injustice in America. First, it diverts attention from the manifestations of racism that are most destructive. The emphasis on one individuals personal views, actions, or statements misses the point, if the goal is to dismantle racism. Martin Luther King clarified the distinction in 1963 when he challenged the idea that legislation has no great role to play in this period of social change because youve got to change the heart and you cant change the heart through legislation. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me. The problem in this country isnt the backward views of individuals, even if one of those individuals occupies the Oval Office. What plagues this nation is a vast array of public policies and practices that perpetuate a status quo that is grossly unequal and unjust after centuries of explicit racialized economic exploitation that is maintained by widespread, contemporary implicit bias. It is those public policies and practices that are the problem and that need to be addressed. Current Issue View our current issue Far more dangerous than Trumps personal beliefs are his public actions to make America white againhis political efforts to consolidate the support of millions of individuals who fervently believe that white Americans are under siege from people of color, especially Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and Muslims. At a recent Trump rally in El Paso, Texas, a Trump supporter articulated the public-policy priorities of far too many Americans when he said, Build the wall, deport them all. Which leads to the second shortcoming of focusing on whats in Trumps hearta diversion of energy and efforts from the immediate and most important challenges before us. The solution to a racist individual in the White House is to remove that individual (which absolutely has to happen). But our countrys problem is bigger than that. Much bigger. In order to transform this status quo, we need sophisticated electoral and social change strategies that are executed with a narrow focus and pinpoint precision. In light of the significant opposition to increasing racial diversity and enthusiasm for returning to the days when white was legally and unapologetically right, the moral and political imperative of this moment is to build a larger, more powerful, and more effective movement than the one that propelled Trump to power and continues to cower most of the Republican Party. Journalist Ron Brownstein, one of the clearest analysts of this situation, describes what is happening right now as a struggle between the Coalition of of Restoration versus the Coalition of Transformation. Fortunately, there are more people in the Coalition of Transformation, what I call the New American Majoritypeople of color and progressive whites. The challenge is ensuring that those in the transformation coalition turn out to vote so that there are more voters in each upcoming election. Naming racismespecially systemic and structural racismcan in fact be an important and motivating signal to the multiracial base of the Democratic Party. To maximize our prospects for victory, we should also work to attract moderate whites who are repulsed by Trumps behavior but have managed to excuse and overlook what he is doing to the country. In order to attract those voters, a singular focus on what goes on in Trumps heart rather than what comes out of his mouth and how those words represent the sentiments of a hateful and hostile movement of people would be a serious electoral mistake. Democrats and progressives made a fatal miscalculation in 2016 when they emphasized Trumps personality over his policies. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent by the Clinton campaign and progressive allies highlighting the shortcomings of Trumps temperament, sending the message that something was wrong with him. Had they highlighted his racially hateful and harmful agenda, then voters, especially moderate white voters, would have had to wonder if something was wrong with them if they chose to side with his candidacy. With the 2020 presidential campaign now underway, it would be electorally disastrous for progressives to replicate that strategic emphasis. The better answer to the question, Is Trump a racist? is that its not about who he is, its about who we are as a country. Whatever is in his heart, his actions plainly show that hes trying to return this country to a time when racism and white supremacy was the law of the land. But we are a better people than that, and if we make the right strategic decisions today, we can reclaim the political power necessary to build a country that reflects our highest and best values and ideals. | Since January, a number of national leaders have asserted that Trump is a racist. The emphasis on one individuals personal views, actions, or statements misses the point, if the goal is to dismantle racism. | bart | 1 | https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-racist-democratic-party/ | 0.322247 |
Is Trump a Racist? | Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. Fight Back! Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nations journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and well send you three meaningful actions you can take each week. Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue Travel With The Nation Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Be the first to hear about Nation Travels destinations, and explore the world with kindred spirits. Sign up for our Wine Club today. The short answer is yes, but the question itself actually misses the mark and is dangerously misdirected for those who want to redress the ongoing consequences of racism in America. Ad Policy Since January, a number of national leaders have asserted that Trump is a racist. First, when asked on CBSs 60 Minutes whether she believes President Trump is a racist, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responded, Yeah, no question. More recently, Senator Sherrod Brown followed suit, telling Chuck Todd on Meet the Press that We have a president who is racist. Bernie Sanders has also forcefully said, We now have a President of the United States who is a racist. These statements were met with surprise by white male reporters. During the 60 Minutes interview, Anderson Cooper immediately challenged Ocasio-Cortez by asking, How can you say that? Chuck Todd, host of one of the most important television political platforms in the country, quickly cut off Brown with the rejoinder, Let me pause you there. You believe in his heart, hes a racist? Related Article The Appalling Clarity of Donald Trump Gary Younge Since that specific question is in the national conversation, we should give it a clear answer: Yes, Donald Trump is racist. My colleagues at Democracy in Color have catalogued 242 separate actions, statements, or policies from the first 18 months of the administration. Both Vox and The New York Times recently provided historical summaries of Trumps racism going back decades. While its important and a good sign that some of our nations leaders, and media, are coming forward to call out Trump as a racist, focusing on that narrow question is problematic and could be counterproductive in many ways to the larger goals of ending inequality and injustice in America. First, it diverts attention from the manifestations of racism that are most destructive. The emphasis on one individuals personal views, actions, or statements misses the point, if the goal is to dismantle racism. Martin Luther King clarified the distinction in 1963 when he challenged the idea that legislation has no great role to play in this period of social change because youve got to change the heart and you cant change the heart through legislation. It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me but it can keep him from lynching me. The problem in this country isnt the backward views of individuals, even if one of those individuals occupies the Oval Office. What plagues this nation is a vast array of public policies and practices that perpetuate a status quo that is grossly unequal and unjust after centuries of explicit racialized economic exploitation that is maintained by widespread, contemporary implicit bias. It is those public policies and practices that are the problem and that need to be addressed. Current Issue View our current issue Far more dangerous than Trumps personal beliefs are his public actions to make America white againhis political efforts to consolidate the support of millions of individuals who fervently believe that white Americans are under siege from people of color, especially Mexicans, Mexican-Americans, and Muslims. At a recent Trump rally in El Paso, Texas, a Trump supporter articulated the public-policy priorities of far too many Americans when he said, Build the wall, deport them all. Which leads to the second shortcoming of focusing on whats in Trumps hearta diversion of energy and efforts from the immediate and most important challenges before us. The solution to a racist individual in the White House is to remove that individual (which absolutely has to happen). But our countrys problem is bigger than that. Much bigger. In order to transform this status quo, we need sophisticated electoral and social change strategies that are executed with a narrow focus and pinpoint precision. In light of the significant opposition to increasing racial diversity and enthusiasm for returning to the days when white was legally and unapologetically right, the moral and political imperative of this moment is to build a larger, more powerful, and more effective movement than the one that propelled Trump to power and continues to cower most of the Republican Party. Journalist Ron Brownstein, one of the clearest analysts of this situation, describes what is happening right now as a struggle between the Coalition of of Restoration versus the Coalition of Transformation. Fortunately, there are more people in the Coalition of Transformation, what I call the New American Majoritypeople of color and progressive whites. The challenge is ensuring that those in the transformation coalition turn out to vote so that there are more voters in each upcoming election. Naming racismespecially systemic and structural racismcan in fact be an important and motivating signal to the multiracial base of the Democratic Party. To maximize our prospects for victory, we should also work to attract moderate whites who are repulsed by Trumps behavior but have managed to excuse and overlook what he is doing to the country. In order to attract those voters, a singular focus on what goes on in Trumps heart rather than what comes out of his mouth and how those words represent the sentiments of a hateful and hostile movement of people would be a serious electoral mistake. Democrats and progressives made a fatal miscalculation in 2016 when they emphasized Trumps personality over his policies. Hundreds of millions of dollars were spent by the Clinton campaign and progressive allies highlighting the shortcomings of Trumps temperament, sending the message that something was wrong with him. Had they highlighted his racially hateful and harmful agenda, then voters, especially moderate white voters, would have had to wonder if something was wrong with them if they chose to side with his candidacy. With the 2020 presidential campaign now underway, it would be electorally disastrous for progressives to replicate that strategic emphasis. The better answer to the question, Is Trump a racist? is that its not about who he is, its about who we are as a country. Whatever is in his heart, his actions plainly show that hes trying to return this country to a time when racism and white supremacy was the law of the land. But we are a better people than that, and if we make the right strategic decisions today, we can reclaim the political power necessary to build a country that reflects our highest and best values and ideals. | A number of national leaders have asserted that President Trump is a racist. Gary Younge: The short answer is yes, but the question itself misses the mark. He says focusing on one individuals personal views, actions, or statements misses the point, if the goal is to dismantle racism. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.thenation.com/article/donald-trump-racist-democratic-party/ | 0.33586 |
Should the Seattle Seahawks pursue a trade for WR Antonio Brown? | originally appeared on nbcsportsnorthwest.com The Seattle Seahawks are loaded with salary cap space this offseason (maybe as much as $50 million) and could use a super star, true No. 1 wide receiver (who couldn't?) but they should, and probably will, stay far away from Antonio Brown. The last thing the Seahawks need is a diva wide receiver on their young roster. Scroll to continue with content Ad Brown, arguably the best receiver in football, is officially on the trade market after he met with Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II and the two agreed that it's time to part ways. Had a great meeting with Mr.Rooney today we discussed a lot of things and we cleared the air on several issues! We both agreed that it is time to move on but I'll always have appreciation and gratitude towards the Rooney family and @steelers organization! #CallGod #Boomin pic.twitter.com/DEgURchvhW Antonio Brown (@AB84) February 19, 2019 Story continues From a talent standpoint, every team in the NFL would want Brown, who is uncoverable. He has the rare combination of being an elite route runner that can also blow the top of the defense with his speed and maneuver in the open field following a reception like a seasoned running back. Brown, 30, has already put up more than 11,000 receiving yards with 74 touchdowns and should have at least two or three elite-level years remaining in his body. He just shouldn't spend those years in Seattle. Brown is only available because of his well-publicized rift with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and coach Mike Tomlin. The goal here is not to determine who is right or wrong in that debacle, but the entire ordeal smacks of Terrell Owens vs. Donovan McNabb in 2005. Regardless of fault, the Seahawks aren't about that drama. That's why they moved on from running back Marshawn Lynch and later, cornerback Richard Sherman. Granted, both were past their prime when Seattle cut them loose, but the reality is that Seattle isn't about to seek out a potential headache. Seattle already has two good receivers in Tyler Lockett, 26, and Doug Baldwin, 30. Lockett is truly a class act. A humble, hard-working receiver who is coming off of his best season. Baldwin has the makings of a future politician as a very intelligent, thoughtful and inspiring individual. He has one year remaining on his contract, and although it would be possible to cut him loose and his salary to fit in Brown, that probably wouldn't go over well in a locker room where Baldwin is so well respected. Then there is the Russell Wilson factor. Wilson has shown that he can get along with anyone, even if they don't like the Pro Bowl quarterback (see Richard Sherman). Wilson takes the high road in all potential personality conflicts and is about as classy as they come. Doubtful. Lastly, coach Pete Carroll would probably love to have Brown's talent, but one has to wonder if he would want to deal with such a high-maintenance player. On one hand, Carroll could take the stance that Brown would give him a good shot at winning a second Super Bowl title before the 67-year-old coach calls it a career. On the other hand, Brown could cause Carroll to age 10 years over the next three. Also, Seattle is committed to the running game so much that Brown would likely see a dip in production while playing with Seattle unless the team altered its offensive approach. On the other hand, the idea of Wilson operating a pass-first offense with Brown, Baldwin and Lockett is rather enticing. Hmmm. Not gonna happen. None of this is to say that Brown is a bad person, a bad teammate or even 100 percent wrong in his situation with Roethlisberger and Tomlin. The point here is that acquiring Brown for at least a first-round pick and then giving him the guaranteed money he is demanding while rolling the dice that he would fit into what Seattle has going with a young, up-and-coming team coming off of a 10-6 playoff season doesn't appear to be a smart gamble. It will be fascinating to see which NFL team will make a move for Brown and how it turns out. It just doesn't seem likely that this saga will play out in Seattle. | Antonio Brown is officially on the trade market after he met with Pittsburgh owner Art Rooney II and the two agreed that it's time to part ways. The Seattle Seahawks don't need a diva wide receiver on their young roster. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://sports.yahoo.com/seattle-seahawks-pursue-trade-wr-204331710.html?src=rss | 0.138801 |
Why do retailers going out of business like Bibelot bring in new goods? | Roxy Freese announced late last year that she was retiring and closing her four Bibelot retail shops in St. Anthony Park, St. Paul on Grand Avenue, and Minneapolis in Linden Hills and the Northeast neighborhood. It represented the end of an era for the 86 year old who opened her first store more than half a century ago. The sad news was tempered in January when Tyler Conrad, owner of GoodThings gift shops in White Bear Lake and Maple Grove, announced he was buying the Linden Hills and Grand Avenue stores and renaming them Bibelot-GoodThings. Freese said at the time that another potential buyer was looking at the St. Anthony Park location. The Northeast store closed Feb. 3, and St. Anthony Park store closed Feb. 15. In an email, Freese said, "While Bibelots doors on Como in Saint Anthony Park have now closed, there are positive signs that a similar shop will open in that space sometime this year." A new retailer hasn't come forward yet. Although it may a gift shop, but it will not bear the Bibelot name. The Grand Avenue and Linden Hills stores that Conrad purchased will be re-named Bibelot-GoodThings when the official takeover begins March 1. (All Bibelot gift cards must be redeemed by Feb. 28.) The Grand Avenue Bibelot is now split with half of the merchandise being with new GoodThings items at regular price and the other half being liquidated merchandise at 50-70 percent off. Much of the liquidated merchandise was brought in just for the retirement sale. Asked why retailers bring in new merchandise during a closing sale, Conrad said, "When a store is going out of business, they're losing money on the things they're selling from their regular stock, so they offset it with more profitable consignment goods and off-price dealer incentive merchandise." It's a "mark it up to mark it down" strategy. All of the unsold merchandise from the four Bibelot stores has now been sent to the Grand Avenue store, Gifts are 50-60 percent off, jewelry 60 percent off, and clothing 70 percent off. Everything gets an additional 20 percent off at the register. The liquidation is expected to end by Feb. 28, with ongoing fill-ins of new GoodThings items. On April 13 the new look of the stores will be unveiled for an event called the Good Brunch. From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. the stores will feature samples and demonstration ideas for Easter, brunch and spring. Formal grand re-openings for the two stores will be held in September after a refresh of the St. Paul store and an expansion of the Minneapolis location. | Roxy Freese announced late last year that she was retiring and closing her four Bibelot retail shops. The Grand Avenue Bibelot is now split with half of the merchandise being with new GoodThings items at regular price. The new look of the stores will be unveiled for an event called the Good Brunch. | pegasus | 2 | http://www.startribune.com/why-do-retailers-going-out-of-business-like-bibelot-bring-in-new-goods/506105592/ | 0.226332 |
Why does New Orleans have (or need) a statue of Simn Bolvar? | In a city as tradition-bound and yesterday-fond as New Orleans, locals are endlessly fascinated by things -- whether buildings, people, objects or events -- that no longer exist. So it shouldnt have come as a shock to anyone that a photo published earlier this week on NOLA.com of the 1955 demolition of the Southern Railway Terminal at Canal and Basin streets, once the front porch of Storyville, captured many a readers attention. For at least one, however, it wasn't the razing of the strikingly designed train station that was of paramount interest. Rather, it was what now occupies the space: a 12-foot, granite statue of Venezuelan military and political icon Simn Bolvar. Just what does he have to do with New Orleans?" It's a fair question. Bolvar, while revered throughout South America as "The Liberator" -- the man who led modern-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia (which was named after him) to independence from Spain -- wasn't from New Orleans, nor did he ever live here. There's no firm evidence I could find that he even ever visited. His prominent presence on Canal Street, however, in the form of that towering likeness in Italian marble, speaks volumes about his importance to people of Latin America, who see him as the South American George Washington. It speaks just as much to the historic economic importance to New Orleans of Latin America, as well as standing as a celebration of the citys diversity. That importance wasn't lost on city leaders of yesterday. Even as far back as 1883, locals were celebrating Bolvar, when the Washington Artillery launched an honorary fusillade of cannon fire at the foot of Canal Street to mark the centennial year of The Liberator's birth. "I do not pretend to dwell upon the merits of this famous patriot," Venezuelan Consul E. Martinez said of Bolvar at a gathering that day at the upper rooms of Kuntz's confectionary on Canal Street, according to a write-up in The Daily Picayune, "for I firmly believe that every true American is quite familiar with all his achievements in the path of freedom and independence, which made him the foremost of all men born in South America. Were I to speak about him, I feel that it would not be a difficult matter to call attention to the great deeds which distinguished him as a solider and hero, a legislator, an orator and a poet, a man born to defend the cause of justice and liberty. " (On that same day, in a nicely conceived international display of mutual affection and respect, a monument to the American George Washington, who was such an inspiration to Bolvar, was unveiled in Caracas, Venezuela.) Nearly 70 years later, it was New Orleans Mayor Chep Morrison's turn to pay his respects to Bolvar when -- as a reformist mayor eager to push the city's stature as "The Gateway to the Americas" -- he became the driving force behind an effort to rename a section of Loyola Avenue, as well as a yet-to-be-build extension leading to what would soon become the Union Passenger Terminal, in honor of Bolvar. That roadway still carries the name of Simn Bolvar Avenue today. Fitting then, that Morrison was still in office in November 1957 when the government of Venezuela gifted that Bolvar statue -- all 7 tons of it, crafted by Venezuelan sculptor Abel Vallmitjana -- to the city of New Orleans. It wasn't just a big statue. It was a big affair, the kind of weekend-long to-do that included a special Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, a luncheon for visiting Venezuelan dignitaries aboard the Dock Board yacht the Good Neighbor, publication of a special section in the New Orleans Item, and a pre-unveiling military parade down Canal Street. The stars of the day, of course, were the statue and its sweeping pedestal -- which featured iron highlights in representation of Venezuela's natural resources -- but they were just one part of the show. At the same ceremony, the city unveiled what it called "the Garden of the Americas," a landscaped swath of Basin Street neutral ground that, in addition to the Bolvar statue, includes seven flagpoles -- one for the flag of each of the six Bolivian countries and one for the U.S. flag. As those flags were raised on Nov. 25, 1957, the New Orleans Police Department band played the nation anthems of all the countries represented. That was followed by no small amount of speechifying, including from Morrison, who essentially answered Roscoe's question. "The sea lanes of foreign trade have bound our city in ties of friendship with nations and cities and peoples everywhere," Morrison was quoted as having said in the next day's Times-Picayune. "None of these has been more strong and enduring than that which exists with our friends and neighbors through the Americas. Politically, we are joint products of the great age of revolution and of a common thirst for independence. Simn Bolvar was a leader who could consolidate a thousand people yearning for pollical separation into a crusade for independence." In an editorial, the New Orleans States built on that theme: "The monument, a gift from the Venezuelan people to New Orleans, denotes the esteem this city enjoys in the eyes of its Latin neighbors and stresses, once more, our enviable position at the crossroads of hemispheric trade and culture. But more important is the monument's significance as a hopeful symbol in the troubled world of today. "That Simn Bolvar, the 'father and liberator' of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Panama, should be revered in New Orleans attests to the veracity of the proposition that nations can, through mutual respect, live in peace with one another." As part of the Garden of the Americas concept, Morrison invited other Latin American countries to erect statues of their own national heroes alongside that of Bolvar. In the mid-1960s, Mexico and Honduras did just that, with statues of Benito Juarez and Francisco Morazan -- respectively -- being added, adorning the Basin Street neutral ground between the Bolvar monument and the Municipal Auditorium. Mike Scott writes about New Orleans history for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Reach him via email at mscott@nola.com or on Twitter at @moviegoermike. The cover of a special section published in November 1957 by The New Orleans Item marking the dedication of the Simon Bolivar monument at Canal and Basin streets. | A statue of Simn Bolvar stands in front of a former train station in New Orleans. The statue speaks to the city's historic importance to Latin America, and to New Orleans of Latin America. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.nola.com/entertainment/2019/02/why-does-new-orleans-have-or-need-a-statue-of-simon-bolivar.html | 0.447091 |
Why does New Orleans have (or need) a statue of Simn Bolvar? | In a city as tradition-bound and yesterday-fond as New Orleans, locals are endlessly fascinated by things -- whether buildings, people, objects or events -- that no longer exist. So it shouldnt have come as a shock to anyone that a photo published earlier this week on NOLA.com of the 1955 demolition of the Southern Railway Terminal at Canal and Basin streets, once the front porch of Storyville, captured many a readers attention. For at least one, however, it wasn't the razing of the strikingly designed train station that was of paramount interest. Rather, it was what now occupies the space: a 12-foot, granite statue of Venezuelan military and political icon Simn Bolvar. Just what does he have to do with New Orleans?" It's a fair question. Bolvar, while revered throughout South America as "The Liberator" -- the man who led modern-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Panama and Bolivia (which was named after him) to independence from Spain -- wasn't from New Orleans, nor did he ever live here. There's no firm evidence I could find that he even ever visited. His prominent presence on Canal Street, however, in the form of that towering likeness in Italian marble, speaks volumes about his importance to people of Latin America, who see him as the South American George Washington. It speaks just as much to the historic economic importance to New Orleans of Latin America, as well as standing as a celebration of the citys diversity. That importance wasn't lost on city leaders of yesterday. Even as far back as 1883, locals were celebrating Bolvar, when the Washington Artillery launched an honorary fusillade of cannon fire at the foot of Canal Street to mark the centennial year of The Liberator's birth. "I do not pretend to dwell upon the merits of this famous patriot," Venezuelan Consul E. Martinez said of Bolvar at a gathering that day at the upper rooms of Kuntz's confectionary on Canal Street, according to a write-up in The Daily Picayune, "for I firmly believe that every true American is quite familiar with all his achievements in the path of freedom and independence, which made him the foremost of all men born in South America. Were I to speak about him, I feel that it would not be a difficult matter to call attention to the great deeds which distinguished him as a solider and hero, a legislator, an orator and a poet, a man born to defend the cause of justice and liberty. " (On that same day, in a nicely conceived international display of mutual affection and respect, a monument to the American George Washington, who was such an inspiration to Bolvar, was unveiled in Caracas, Venezuela.) Nearly 70 years later, it was New Orleans Mayor Chep Morrison's turn to pay his respects to Bolvar when -- as a reformist mayor eager to push the city's stature as "The Gateway to the Americas" -- he became the driving force behind an effort to rename a section of Loyola Avenue, as well as a yet-to-be-build extension leading to what would soon become the Union Passenger Terminal, in honor of Bolvar. That roadway still carries the name of Simn Bolvar Avenue today. Fitting then, that Morrison was still in office in November 1957 when the government of Venezuela gifted that Bolvar statue -- all 7 tons of it, crafted by Venezuelan sculptor Abel Vallmitjana -- to the city of New Orleans. It wasn't just a big statue. It was a big affair, the kind of weekend-long to-do that included a special Mass at St. Louis Cathedral, a luncheon for visiting Venezuelan dignitaries aboard the Dock Board yacht the Good Neighbor, publication of a special section in the New Orleans Item, and a pre-unveiling military parade down Canal Street. The stars of the day, of course, were the statue and its sweeping pedestal -- which featured iron highlights in representation of Venezuela's natural resources -- but they were just one part of the show. At the same ceremony, the city unveiled what it called "the Garden of the Americas," a landscaped swath of Basin Street neutral ground that, in addition to the Bolvar statue, includes seven flagpoles -- one for the flag of each of the six Bolivian countries and one for the U.S. flag. As those flags were raised on Nov. 25, 1957, the New Orleans Police Department band played the nation anthems of all the countries represented. That was followed by no small amount of speechifying, including from Morrison, who essentially answered Roscoe's question. "The sea lanes of foreign trade have bound our city in ties of friendship with nations and cities and peoples everywhere," Morrison was quoted as having said in the next day's Times-Picayune. "None of these has been more strong and enduring than that which exists with our friends and neighbors through the Americas. Politically, we are joint products of the great age of revolution and of a common thirst for independence. Simn Bolvar was a leader who could consolidate a thousand people yearning for pollical separation into a crusade for independence." In an editorial, the New Orleans States built on that theme: "The monument, a gift from the Venezuelan people to New Orleans, denotes the esteem this city enjoys in the eyes of its Latin neighbors and stresses, once more, our enviable position at the crossroads of hemispheric trade and culture. But more important is the monument's significance as a hopeful symbol in the troubled world of today. "That Simn Bolvar, the 'father and liberator' of Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Panama, should be revered in New Orleans attests to the veracity of the proposition that nations can, through mutual respect, live in peace with one another." As part of the Garden of the Americas concept, Morrison invited other Latin American countries to erect statues of their own national heroes alongside that of Bolvar. In the mid-1960s, Mexico and Honduras did just that, with statues of Benito Juarez and Francisco Morazan -- respectively -- being added, adorning the Basin Street neutral ground between the Bolvar monument and the Municipal Auditorium. Mike Scott writes about New Orleans history for NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Reach him via email at mscott@nola.com or on Twitter at @moviegoermike. The cover of a special section published in November 1957 by The New Orleans Item marking the dedication of the Simon Bolivar monument at Canal and Basin streets. | A statue of Simn Bolvar stands in front of a former train station in New Orleans. The statue speaks to the city's historic importance to Latin America, and to New Orleans of Latin America. It also stands as a celebration of the citys diversity. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.nola.com/entertainment/2019/02/why-does-new-orleans-have-or-need-a-statue-of-simon-bolivar.html | 0.552457 |
Can Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor be an asset in her presidential run? | We know Amy Klobuchar can handle a snowstorm. Now lets see if she can weather storms of a different type: like the criticism of those who believe she cannot credibly argue for criminal justice reform because of her record as a prosecutor. Just as preparation is key to facing a Minnesota winter, an early and clear definition of what Klobuchar would do as president to transform criminal law could be one key to her success. As Klobuchar merges into the center lane of a raceway crowded with candidates, she has probably already noticed the dents to Kamala Harris campaign. Harris made the mistake of looking backward rather than forward. She declared herself to have been a progressive prosecutor as a district attorney and attorney general in California, and was quickly and heatedly reminded of her decidedly mixed record in those jobs. Klobuchar, who is also a former prosecutor, has not made that misstep. Instead, she has hardly mentioned criminal law at all. In her announcement speech (which I watched among the huddled masses on Boom Island in Minneapolis), she lightly glanced on the subject, saying I always believe in doing my job without fear or favor. Thats what I do as a senator and thats what I did as a prosecutor. And that means not only convicting the guilty but protecting the innocent. Thats why I have and why I will always continue to advocate for criminal justice reform. Klobuchars statement might be read to imply that criminal justice reform is about protecting the innocent, but that is only a small part of it. The meat of reform is going to be found in reducing incarceration rates, changing policing practices and re-thinking myriad other issues, including bail policy in the thousands of jurisdictions across the country. Its complicated. The fact that it is complicated, though, does not mean it cant be addressed. In fact, it must be addressed by any candidate who seriously wants the support of Democrats in the primaries. There is a way for Klobuchar to present her knowledge of criminal law as a strength when paired with a genuine commitment to reform. Klobuchar needs to insist on looking forward at what she proposes rather than backward at what she did as the Hennepin County attorney. Yes, she can and should recognize that her experience as a prosecutor gives her unequaled expertise in criminal law among the Democratic field (with the possible exception of Harris). But she needs to pair that recognition with the plain fact that things have changed since she served Hennepin County from 1998-2006. Many of the new initiatives on the agenda of reformers have built on successes over the past decade in states that have lowered incarceration rates while simultaneously lowering crime rates. Lock-em-up justice is properly being rejected based on data, not politics. Twelve years ago is a long time, and the idea of a progressive prosecutor as we now talk of it did not really exist until the recent election of a handful of DAs including Kim Foxx in Chicago and Larry Krasner in Philadelphia. There is room for Klobuchar to lead in this current reality. When she does talk about criminal justice, Klobuchar should focus on the important but limited role a president plays. The overwhelming majority of criminal cases unfold in state courts. The federal government does influence state policies through partnerships and funding, and that lever should be used to push for changes in discrete areas such as bail reform. Still, it is within her own administration that Klobuchar would have the most influence, and it is there that she could make the most difference. First, she could go far toward achieving reforms if she removed the Department of Justice from its current role as the only institutional adviser to the president on criminal justice. The DOJ is inherently conflicted, since nearly any reform is to some degree a rebuke of its current practices. We shouldnt be surprised at its consistent resistance to even the most basic changes. Klobuchar should commit to creating an advisory body within the White House, drawing on experts from a variety of backgrounds. In other fields (intelligence, the economy and the environment, for example), the president employs independent advisers who stand apart from the agencies that implement policy. The same should be done with criminal law. Second, Klobuchar can and should commit to a much broader diversity in appointing judges and high officials in the Department of Justice. Of course, that commitment must embrace the currently neglected need for far more minorities and women in those positions. But it should also seek greater diversity of vocational background. Right now, 43 percent of federal judges are former prosecutors, while only 10 percent served as public defenders, a disparity that matters in the way justice is dispensed. Finally, Klobuchar can reform the federal clemency process. Currently, petitions for clemency (unless they are the subject of intercession by Fox News or a Kardashian) go through a tortuous process that includes seven levels of sequential review, much of it mired in the hopelessly conflicted DOJ. That stymies the pardon power that the framers of the Constitution intentionally put in the hands of the president. The past may be prologue, but it is not determinative. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by a white president (Lyndon Johnson) from a former slave state, and the first female justice of the Supreme Court, Sandra Day OConnor, was appointed by a president (Ronald Reagan) who had been fiercely opposed by feminist groups. Leaders, at their best, are more than the sum of their own pasts. Amy Klobuchar may become that kind of leader. Mark Osler is the Robert and Marion Short professor of law at the University of St. Thomas and a former federal prosecutor. | Dean Obeidallah: Amy Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor is an asset in her presidential run. | ctrlsum | 0 | http://www.startribune.com/can-klobuchar-s-record-as-a-prosecutor-be-an-asset-in-her-presidential-run/506124342/ | 0.349764 |
Can Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor be an asset in her presidential run? | We know Amy Klobuchar can handle a snowstorm. Now lets see if she can weather storms of a different type: like the criticism of those who believe she cannot credibly argue for criminal justice reform because of her record as a prosecutor. Just as preparation is key to facing a Minnesota winter, an early and clear definition of what Klobuchar would do as president to transform criminal law could be one key to her success. As Klobuchar merges into the center lane of a raceway crowded with candidates, she has probably already noticed the dents to Kamala Harris campaign. Harris made the mistake of looking backward rather than forward. She declared herself to have been a progressive prosecutor as a district attorney and attorney general in California, and was quickly and heatedly reminded of her decidedly mixed record in those jobs. Klobuchar, who is also a former prosecutor, has not made that misstep. Instead, she has hardly mentioned criminal law at all. In her announcement speech (which I watched among the huddled masses on Boom Island in Minneapolis), she lightly glanced on the subject, saying I always believe in doing my job without fear or favor. Thats what I do as a senator and thats what I did as a prosecutor. And that means not only convicting the guilty but protecting the innocent. Thats why I have and why I will always continue to advocate for criminal justice reform. Klobuchars statement might be read to imply that criminal justice reform is about protecting the innocent, but that is only a small part of it. The meat of reform is going to be found in reducing incarceration rates, changing policing practices and re-thinking myriad other issues, including bail policy in the thousands of jurisdictions across the country. Its complicated. The fact that it is complicated, though, does not mean it cant be addressed. In fact, it must be addressed by any candidate who seriously wants the support of Democrats in the primaries. There is a way for Klobuchar to present her knowledge of criminal law as a strength when paired with a genuine commitment to reform. Klobuchar needs to insist on looking forward at what she proposes rather than backward at what she did as the Hennepin County attorney. Yes, she can and should recognize that her experience as a prosecutor gives her unequaled expertise in criminal law among the Democratic field (with the possible exception of Harris). But she needs to pair that recognition with the plain fact that things have changed since she served Hennepin County from 1998-2006. Many of the new initiatives on the agenda of reformers have built on successes over the past decade in states that have lowered incarceration rates while simultaneously lowering crime rates. Lock-em-up justice is properly being rejected based on data, not politics. Twelve years ago is a long time, and the idea of a progressive prosecutor as we now talk of it did not really exist until the recent election of a handful of DAs including Kim Foxx in Chicago and Larry Krasner in Philadelphia. There is room for Klobuchar to lead in this current reality. When she does talk about criminal justice, Klobuchar should focus on the important but limited role a president plays. The overwhelming majority of criminal cases unfold in state courts. The federal government does influence state policies through partnerships and funding, and that lever should be used to push for changes in discrete areas such as bail reform. Still, it is within her own administration that Klobuchar would have the most influence, and it is there that she could make the most difference. First, she could go far toward achieving reforms if she removed the Department of Justice from its current role as the only institutional adviser to the president on criminal justice. The DOJ is inherently conflicted, since nearly any reform is to some degree a rebuke of its current practices. We shouldnt be surprised at its consistent resistance to even the most basic changes. Klobuchar should commit to creating an advisory body within the White House, drawing on experts from a variety of backgrounds. In other fields (intelligence, the economy and the environment, for example), the president employs independent advisers who stand apart from the agencies that implement policy. The same should be done with criminal law. Second, Klobuchar can and should commit to a much broader diversity in appointing judges and high officials in the Department of Justice. Of course, that commitment must embrace the currently neglected need for far more minorities and women in those positions. But it should also seek greater diversity of vocational background. Right now, 43 percent of federal judges are former prosecutors, while only 10 percent served as public defenders, a disparity that matters in the way justice is dispensed. Finally, Klobuchar can reform the federal clemency process. Currently, petitions for clemency (unless they are the subject of intercession by Fox News or a Kardashian) go through a tortuous process that includes seven levels of sequential review, much of it mired in the hopelessly conflicted DOJ. That stymies the pardon power that the framers of the Constitution intentionally put in the hands of the president. The past may be prologue, but it is not determinative. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by a white president (Lyndon Johnson) from a former slave state, and the first female justice of the Supreme Court, Sandra Day OConnor, was appointed by a president (Ronald Reagan) who had been fiercely opposed by feminist groups. Leaders, at their best, are more than the sum of their own pasts. Amy Klobuchar may become that kind of leader. Mark Osler is the Robert and Marion Short professor of law at the University of St. Thomas and a former federal prosecutor. | Dean Obeidallah: Amy Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor could be an asset in her presidential run. He says she should focus on what she would do as president to transform criminal law. | ctrlsum | 1 | http://www.startribune.com/can-klobuchar-s-record-as-a-prosecutor-be-an-asset-in-her-presidential-run/506124342/ | 0.543887 |
Can Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor be an asset in her presidential run? | We know Amy Klobuchar can handle a snowstorm. Now lets see if she can weather storms of a different type: like the criticism of those who believe she cannot credibly argue for criminal justice reform because of her record as a prosecutor. Just as preparation is key to facing a Minnesota winter, an early and clear definition of what Klobuchar would do as president to transform criminal law could be one key to her success. As Klobuchar merges into the center lane of a raceway crowded with candidates, she has probably already noticed the dents to Kamala Harris campaign. Harris made the mistake of looking backward rather than forward. She declared herself to have been a progressive prosecutor as a district attorney and attorney general in California, and was quickly and heatedly reminded of her decidedly mixed record in those jobs. Klobuchar, who is also a former prosecutor, has not made that misstep. Instead, she has hardly mentioned criminal law at all. In her announcement speech (which I watched among the huddled masses on Boom Island in Minneapolis), she lightly glanced on the subject, saying I always believe in doing my job without fear or favor. Thats what I do as a senator and thats what I did as a prosecutor. And that means not only convicting the guilty but protecting the innocent. Thats why I have and why I will always continue to advocate for criminal justice reform. Klobuchars statement might be read to imply that criminal justice reform is about protecting the innocent, but that is only a small part of it. The meat of reform is going to be found in reducing incarceration rates, changing policing practices and re-thinking myriad other issues, including bail policy in the thousands of jurisdictions across the country. Its complicated. The fact that it is complicated, though, does not mean it cant be addressed. In fact, it must be addressed by any candidate who seriously wants the support of Democrats in the primaries. There is a way for Klobuchar to present her knowledge of criminal law as a strength when paired with a genuine commitment to reform. Klobuchar needs to insist on looking forward at what she proposes rather than backward at what she did as the Hennepin County attorney. Yes, she can and should recognize that her experience as a prosecutor gives her unequaled expertise in criminal law among the Democratic field (with the possible exception of Harris). But she needs to pair that recognition with the plain fact that things have changed since she served Hennepin County from 1998-2006. Many of the new initiatives on the agenda of reformers have built on successes over the past decade in states that have lowered incarceration rates while simultaneously lowering crime rates. Lock-em-up justice is properly being rejected based on data, not politics. Twelve years ago is a long time, and the idea of a progressive prosecutor as we now talk of it did not really exist until the recent election of a handful of DAs including Kim Foxx in Chicago and Larry Krasner in Philadelphia. There is room for Klobuchar to lead in this current reality. When she does talk about criminal justice, Klobuchar should focus on the important but limited role a president plays. The overwhelming majority of criminal cases unfold in state courts. The federal government does influence state policies through partnerships and funding, and that lever should be used to push for changes in discrete areas such as bail reform. Still, it is within her own administration that Klobuchar would have the most influence, and it is there that she could make the most difference. First, she could go far toward achieving reforms if she removed the Department of Justice from its current role as the only institutional adviser to the president on criminal justice. The DOJ is inherently conflicted, since nearly any reform is to some degree a rebuke of its current practices. We shouldnt be surprised at its consistent resistance to even the most basic changes. Klobuchar should commit to creating an advisory body within the White House, drawing on experts from a variety of backgrounds. In other fields (intelligence, the economy and the environment, for example), the president employs independent advisers who stand apart from the agencies that implement policy. The same should be done with criminal law. Second, Klobuchar can and should commit to a much broader diversity in appointing judges and high officials in the Department of Justice. Of course, that commitment must embrace the currently neglected need for far more minorities and women in those positions. But it should also seek greater diversity of vocational background. Right now, 43 percent of federal judges are former prosecutors, while only 10 percent served as public defenders, a disparity that matters in the way justice is dispensed. Finally, Klobuchar can reform the federal clemency process. Currently, petitions for clemency (unless they are the subject of intercession by Fox News or a Kardashian) go through a tortuous process that includes seven levels of sequential review, much of it mired in the hopelessly conflicted DOJ. That stymies the pardon power that the framers of the Constitution intentionally put in the hands of the president. The past may be prologue, but it is not determinative. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was signed by a white president (Lyndon Johnson) from a former slave state, and the first female justice of the Supreme Court, Sandra Day OConnor, was appointed by a president (Ronald Reagan) who had been fiercely opposed by feminist groups. Leaders, at their best, are more than the sum of their own pasts. Amy Klobuchar may become that kind of leader. Mark Osler is the Robert and Marion Short professor of law at the University of St. Thomas and a former federal prosecutor. | Dean Obeidallah: Amy Klobuchar's record as a prosecutor could be an asset in her presidential run. He says she should focus on what she would do as president to transform criminal law as well as what she did as prosecutor. Obeitallah: She needs to show that she is committed to criminal justice reform. | ctrlsum | 2 | http://www.startribune.com/can-klobuchar-s-record-as-a-prosecutor-be-an-asset-in-her-presidential-run/506124342/ | 0.684795 |
Will any NFL team sign Colin Kaepernick? | Yes, Kaepernick is eligible to play, and eager to get a shot. Sadly for the Kaepernick-haters who pounced on the narrative that his settlement with the league meant he signed away his football future for a big payday, that is not the case. Kaepernicks lawyer, Mark Geragos, indicated last Saturday in a CNN interview that his client is free to play in the NFL and is open to offers. However, Geragos might have been overly optimistic when he said he expects Kaepernick to draw interest from multiple teams. The vast majority of NFL teams want nothing to do with Kaepernick. Most owners either dislike him or fear him, or both. Same with a lot of coaches. Owners and coaches will be verrry careful not to collude via e-mail or other traceable means. They simply wont call. Im guessing Kaepernick is a leper to all but three or four teams. His politics and his style of play definitely work against him. So Kaepernicks market is definitely limited. But a lot of teams are working with very shaky backup quarterbacks, and QBs get hurt a lot. So some team might take a shot on an experienced, healthy, versatile guy. First of all, Kaepernick can read a defense. He read the NFLs defense expertly. He (and his lawyer) stared down the mighty NFL at the very heart of its power, at the corporate and legal level, and picked it apart. The critics would have us believe that Kaepernick is a drooling football doofus who cant tell a linebacker from a limburger. Lets all agree: Kaepernick is not Tom Brady or Drew Brees. But even if he was the slack-jawed yokel many folks claim he is, he did drool the 49ers to a Super Bowl, and he fooled one of the games great coaches, Jim Harbaugh, who called Kaepernick a savant. And Harbaugh worked with Andrew Luck. But lets give Kaepernick a C on reading defenses. That means half the quarterbacks in the league are dumber. When Kaepernicks new teammates arrive for work, he will be there waiting for them. With the 49ers, he was always the first player to arrive for practice. Always. He will be in shape and prepared, thats a given. With the 49ers, he wasnt always. There were reports of Kaepernick putting on his headphones and sinking into his own world, far from his teammates. His silly name-rank-serial-number press conferences made him and his team look bad. But the post-protest Kaepernick was a completely different dude. He dealt with the media on an intelligent, human level. More importantly, he reached out to his teammates, explaining his protest and creating an open dialogue, accepting of those who disagreed with his beliefs. In his final season, Kaepernicks teammates voted him the Len Eshmont Award for inspirational and courageous play. That doesnt mean they all loved him, but for the most part his teammates respected and understood him. Kaepernick became a rare breed, a person who can, as they say in government, reach across the aisle. He learned that he has the power to unite a team. That will be vital when he drops into a team that will surely be divided on the protest issue. Unknown. Well see. His team will be getting a guy who likely has gained wisdom and maturity from two years out of a job, time spent on the streets, working with various charities and with young people. His new team will not be signing up for a media circus. As a 49er, Kaepernick the protester handled media sessions in a dignified and non-distracting manner. He was comfortable in the spotlight, but didnt take over the locker room. As much as Kaepernick wants to further his cause of promoting social justice and fair treatment for minorities at the hands of police, he also wants to play football, and win. When he shows up for work, he will show up for work. Kaepernick might tear up the league with his determination and fire, and with his arm and legs, or he might fall on his face, as many predict. But he will be ready. Kaepernicks new team will get a quarterback who is committed and passionate. Grab your popcorn. Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler | Howard Kurtz: Colin Kaepernick is eligible to play in the NFL, but few teams will sign him. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/ostler/article/Will-any-NFL-team-sign-Colin-Kaepernick-13631848.php | 0.244405 |
Will any NFL team sign Colin Kaepernick? | Yes, Kaepernick is eligible to play, and eager to get a shot. Sadly for the Kaepernick-haters who pounced on the narrative that his settlement with the league meant he signed away his football future for a big payday, that is not the case. Kaepernicks lawyer, Mark Geragos, indicated last Saturday in a CNN interview that his client is free to play in the NFL and is open to offers. However, Geragos might have been overly optimistic when he said he expects Kaepernick to draw interest from multiple teams. The vast majority of NFL teams want nothing to do with Kaepernick. Most owners either dislike him or fear him, or both. Same with a lot of coaches. Owners and coaches will be verrry careful not to collude via e-mail or other traceable means. They simply wont call. Im guessing Kaepernick is a leper to all but three or four teams. His politics and his style of play definitely work against him. So Kaepernicks market is definitely limited. But a lot of teams are working with very shaky backup quarterbacks, and QBs get hurt a lot. So some team might take a shot on an experienced, healthy, versatile guy. First of all, Kaepernick can read a defense. He read the NFLs defense expertly. He (and his lawyer) stared down the mighty NFL at the very heart of its power, at the corporate and legal level, and picked it apart. The critics would have us believe that Kaepernick is a drooling football doofus who cant tell a linebacker from a limburger. Lets all agree: Kaepernick is not Tom Brady or Drew Brees. But even if he was the slack-jawed yokel many folks claim he is, he did drool the 49ers to a Super Bowl, and he fooled one of the games great coaches, Jim Harbaugh, who called Kaepernick a savant. And Harbaugh worked with Andrew Luck. But lets give Kaepernick a C on reading defenses. That means half the quarterbacks in the league are dumber. When Kaepernicks new teammates arrive for work, he will be there waiting for them. With the 49ers, he was always the first player to arrive for practice. Always. He will be in shape and prepared, thats a given. With the 49ers, he wasnt always. There were reports of Kaepernick putting on his headphones and sinking into his own world, far from his teammates. His silly name-rank-serial-number press conferences made him and his team look bad. But the post-protest Kaepernick was a completely different dude. He dealt with the media on an intelligent, human level. More importantly, he reached out to his teammates, explaining his protest and creating an open dialogue, accepting of those who disagreed with his beliefs. In his final season, Kaepernicks teammates voted him the Len Eshmont Award for inspirational and courageous play. That doesnt mean they all loved him, but for the most part his teammates respected and understood him. Kaepernick became a rare breed, a person who can, as they say in government, reach across the aisle. He learned that he has the power to unite a team. That will be vital when he drops into a team that will surely be divided on the protest issue. Unknown. Well see. His team will be getting a guy who likely has gained wisdom and maturity from two years out of a job, time spent on the streets, working with various charities and with young people. His new team will not be signing up for a media circus. As a 49er, Kaepernick the protester handled media sessions in a dignified and non-distracting manner. He was comfortable in the spotlight, but didnt take over the locker room. As much as Kaepernick wants to further his cause of promoting social justice and fair treatment for minorities at the hands of police, he also wants to play football, and win. When he shows up for work, he will show up for work. Kaepernick might tear up the league with his determination and fire, and with his arm and legs, or he might fall on his face, as many predict. But he will be ready. Kaepernicks new team will get a quarterback who is committed and passionate. Grab your popcorn. Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler | LZ Granderson: Colin Kaepernick is eligible to play, and eager to get a shot. The vast majority of NFL teams want nothing to do with Kaepernick, he says. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/ostler/article/Will-any-NFL-team-sign-Colin-Kaepernick-13631848.php | 0.182312 |
Will any NFL team sign Colin Kaepernick? | Yes, Kaepernick is eligible to play, and eager to get a shot. Sadly for the Kaepernick-haters who pounced on the narrative that his settlement with the league meant he signed away his football future for a big payday, that is not the case. Kaepernicks lawyer, Mark Geragos, indicated last Saturday in a CNN interview that his client is free to play in the NFL and is open to offers. However, Geragos might have been overly optimistic when he said he expects Kaepernick to draw interest from multiple teams. The vast majority of NFL teams want nothing to do with Kaepernick. Most owners either dislike him or fear him, or both. Same with a lot of coaches. Owners and coaches will be verrry careful not to collude via e-mail or other traceable means. They simply wont call. Im guessing Kaepernick is a leper to all but three or four teams. His politics and his style of play definitely work against him. So Kaepernicks market is definitely limited. But a lot of teams are working with very shaky backup quarterbacks, and QBs get hurt a lot. So some team might take a shot on an experienced, healthy, versatile guy. First of all, Kaepernick can read a defense. He read the NFLs defense expertly. He (and his lawyer) stared down the mighty NFL at the very heart of its power, at the corporate and legal level, and picked it apart. The critics would have us believe that Kaepernick is a drooling football doofus who cant tell a linebacker from a limburger. Lets all agree: Kaepernick is not Tom Brady or Drew Brees. But even if he was the slack-jawed yokel many folks claim he is, he did drool the 49ers to a Super Bowl, and he fooled one of the games great coaches, Jim Harbaugh, who called Kaepernick a savant. And Harbaugh worked with Andrew Luck. But lets give Kaepernick a C on reading defenses. That means half the quarterbacks in the league are dumber. When Kaepernicks new teammates arrive for work, he will be there waiting for them. With the 49ers, he was always the first player to arrive for practice. Always. He will be in shape and prepared, thats a given. With the 49ers, he wasnt always. There were reports of Kaepernick putting on his headphones and sinking into his own world, far from his teammates. His silly name-rank-serial-number press conferences made him and his team look bad. But the post-protest Kaepernick was a completely different dude. He dealt with the media on an intelligent, human level. More importantly, he reached out to his teammates, explaining his protest and creating an open dialogue, accepting of those who disagreed with his beliefs. In his final season, Kaepernicks teammates voted him the Len Eshmont Award for inspirational and courageous play. That doesnt mean they all loved him, but for the most part his teammates respected and understood him. Kaepernick became a rare breed, a person who can, as they say in government, reach across the aisle. He learned that he has the power to unite a team. That will be vital when he drops into a team that will surely be divided on the protest issue. Unknown. Well see. His team will be getting a guy who likely has gained wisdom and maturity from two years out of a job, time spent on the streets, working with various charities and with young people. His new team will not be signing up for a media circus. As a 49er, Kaepernick the protester handled media sessions in a dignified and non-distracting manner. He was comfortable in the spotlight, but didnt take over the locker room. As much as Kaepernick wants to further his cause of promoting social justice and fair treatment for minorities at the hands of police, he also wants to play football, and win. When he shows up for work, he will show up for work. Kaepernick might tear up the league with his determination and fire, and with his arm and legs, or he might fall on his face, as many predict. But he will be ready. Kaepernicks new team will get a quarterback who is committed and passionate. Grab your popcorn. Scott Ostler is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: sostler@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @scottostler | LZ Granderson: Colin Kaepernick is eligible to play, and eager to get a shot. The vast majority of NFL teams want nothing to do with Kaepernick, he says. He says Kaepernick's politics and his style of play definitely work against him. Granderson: Kaepernick learned that he has the power to unite a team. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/ostler/article/Will-any-NFL-team-sign-Colin-Kaepernick-13631848.php | 0.209358 |
Did Tyler Henry Predict the Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods Drama? | Tyler Henry sure has a unique gift of keeping up with the Kardashians. Earlier this week, pop culture fans were shocked when they read the rumors surrounding Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods. And while fans are still trying to wrap their heads around the headlines and drama, some have been reminded of a special message Tyler delivered to Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. "There's a situation where someone tries to get with one sister," Tyler shared with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians stars as he let out an anxious laugh. "Someone tries to get with one sister and then tries to get with the other. Does that make any sense?" While the sisters stay mum about how they understand the message, Tyler is just happy they can comprehend what he's trying to say. | Tyler Henry predicted the Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods drama. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1016795/did-tyler-henry-predict-the-tristan-thompson-and-jordyn-woods-drama?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories | 0.159984 |
Did Tyler Henry Predict the Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods Drama? | Tyler Henry sure has a unique gift of keeping up with the Kardashians. Earlier this week, pop culture fans were shocked when they read the rumors surrounding Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods. And while fans are still trying to wrap their heads around the headlines and drama, some have been reminded of a special message Tyler delivered to Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. "There's a situation where someone tries to get with one sister," Tyler shared with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians stars as he let out an anxious laugh. "Someone tries to get with one sister and then tries to get with the other. Does that make any sense?" While the sisters stay mum about how they understand the message, Tyler is just happy they can comprehend what he's trying to say. | Tyler Henry predicted the Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods drama. He told Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner that someone tries to get with one sister and then tries toget with the other. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1016795/did-tyler-henry-predict-the-tristan-thompson-and-jordyn-woods-drama?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories | 0.420637 |
Did Tyler Henry Predict the Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods Drama? | Tyler Henry sure has a unique gift of keeping up with the Kardashians. Earlier this week, pop culture fans were shocked when they read the rumors surrounding Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods. And while fans are still trying to wrap their heads around the headlines and drama, some have been reminded of a special message Tyler delivered to Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner. "There's a situation where someone tries to get with one sister," Tyler shared with the Keeping Up With the Kardashians stars as he let out an anxious laugh. "Someone tries to get with one sister and then tries to get with the other. Does that make any sense?" While the sisters stay mum about how they understand the message, Tyler is just happy they can comprehend what he's trying to say. | Tyler Henry predicted the Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods drama. He told Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner that someone tries to get with one sister and then tries toget with the other. The sisters are yet to respond to his message. He also shared a photo of himself with the couple. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.eonline.com/ca/news/1016795/did-tyler-henry-predict-the-tristan-thompson-and-jordyn-woods-drama?cmpid=rss-000000-rssfeed-365-topstories&utm_source=eonline&utm_medium=rssfeeds&utm_campaign=rss_topstories | 0.521913 |
Will New Yahoo Site Be A Hit With Paying Sports Fans? | Verizons interest in digital media may have cooled considerably since it took a $4.5 billion write-down last year on the value of the business which includes Yahoo, AOL, and the Huffington Post but it hasnt been extinguished entirely. Indeed, Yahoo Sports today announced that it will launch a site for fans of the New York Mets called the Queens Baseball Club on March 28, Opening Day of the baseball season. Unlike other Yahoo sites, however, Queens Baseball Club, which will offer exclusive editorial content and fan experiences, wont be free. Memberships to the site will cost $5.99 a month though Yahoo Sports will experiment with a variety of price points and promotions throughout the year, according to a company spokesperson. Queens Baseball will have three writers covering the team who will give members access to batting practices, press conferences and interviews with the Mets front office, according to the New York Post. Yahoo Sports is focused on creating the ultimate experience for active and passionate fans, according to a company statement. Over the course of the year, Yahoo Sports plans to announce around a dozen similar partnerships with other professional sports teams and more into 2020. Whether Mets fans will flock to Queens Baseball is hard to say. Given the competitive New York media market, there is no shortage of content on the hapless team, which last made the playoffs in 2015. Yahoo also runs the Rivals Network of sites geared toward fans of college football and basketball, so it's not new territory for the Verizon business. Yahoo is hoping to emulate the success of The Athletic, a subscription-based sports news site launched in 2016 that has raised $70 million from investors. The Athletic has 325 full-time writers including Hall of Fame Baseball Writer Jayson Stark and NFL pundit Jay Glazer and covers 47 markets in the U.S. and Canada. According to a spokesman, the Athletic has more than 100,000 subscribers and publishes on average 1,200 stories a week. Media companies are increasingly relying on subscription revenue to offset declines in online advertising revenue caused by the stranglehold that Alphabets Google and Facebook have on the digital ad market that has resulted in layoffs at news organizations including BuzzFeed and USA Today corporate parent Gannett. Yahoos corporate parent Verizon reportedly is cutting 1,000 jobs at its media operations which includes The Huffington Post and AOL during the current quarter after writing down half of their value, essentially saying that its foray into the media business was a flop. | Yahoo Sports will launch a site for fans of the New York Mets called the Queens Baseball Club on March 28. Memberships to the site will cost $5.99 a month though Yahoo Sports will experiment with a variety of price points and promotions throughout the year. | bart | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonathanberr/2019/02/20/will-new-yahoo-site-be-a-hit-with-paying-sports-fans/ | 0.143045 |
Can A City Council Regulate What Real Estate Agents Are Paid? | The New York City Council proposal, introduced last week by Council members Keith Powers and Carlina Rivera, intends to cap real estate agent commissions for rental properties at one months rent. We, in the New York brokerage community, object strongly to this proposal as should agents throughout the country. Here are a few reasons why: Arbitrary cuts. In this era of the Internet, any home seeker can find the vast majority of rental inventory online. They need not retain an agent if they prefer to conduct the search themselves. Commissions are by definition negotiable by each individual. Consumers can always vote for or against our services with their feet, walking away if they feel they are being overcharged. The fact that, for most agents, their business is built on referrals from past clients serves as proof that more often than not, the opposite holds true. Home seekers feel gratitude and appreciation for what we do, which they express by passing our names along to others. Outdated regulations. Since the introduction of antitrust legislation during the first half of the 20thcentury, we have been a country acutely sensitive to the issue of price fixing. Consumers should not, the reasoning goes, be subject to the vicissitudes of predatory capitalism as imposed by monopolistic or colluding entities which have the power to fix prices without being subject to the give and take of competition and the marketplace. Focus on only one profession. Somehow real estate brokerage has been cast in the public eye as a predatory practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. The role of agents, to advise consumers and facilitate transactions, remains a critical part of the house hunting process for the vast majority of home seekers. Real estate agents, like other independent contractor professionals across the spectrum of areas of employment, experience great variation from agent to agent and year to year in earnings. Nonetheless, studies conducted by the National Association of Realtors indicate that the average real estate professional in 2018 earned less than $50,000 per year. Like other working people, we work to support our families. Many agents either lack health insurance or must pay for it, at very high rates since they do not get the discounts provided to large companies. This group of hardworking professionals doesnt ask for special protections. Do Mr. In short, if we as citizens of New York City permit this imposition of arbitrary limits on our professional relationships with our clients, next it will show up in Houston, or Chicago, or Los Angeles. Regulation of sales commissions will not be far behind. Consumers always have the right NOT to hire us if they believe our fees are too high. Unless they make that decision, we in the industry would prefer that the government stay out of it! | The New York City Council proposal would cap real estate agent commissions for rental properties at one months rent. | bart | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/fredpeters/2019/02/20/can-a-city-council-regulate-what-real-estate-agents-are-paid/ | 0.190369 |
Can A City Council Regulate What Real Estate Agents Are Paid? | The New York City Council proposal, introduced last week by Council members Keith Powers and Carlina Rivera, intends to cap real estate agent commissions for rental properties at one months rent. We, in the New York brokerage community, object strongly to this proposal as should agents throughout the country. Here are a few reasons why: Arbitrary cuts. In this era of the Internet, any home seeker can find the vast majority of rental inventory online. They need not retain an agent if they prefer to conduct the search themselves. Commissions are by definition negotiable by each individual. Consumers can always vote for or against our services with their feet, walking away if they feel they are being overcharged. The fact that, for most agents, their business is built on referrals from past clients serves as proof that more often than not, the opposite holds true. Home seekers feel gratitude and appreciation for what we do, which they express by passing our names along to others. Outdated regulations. Since the introduction of antitrust legislation during the first half of the 20thcentury, we have been a country acutely sensitive to the issue of price fixing. Consumers should not, the reasoning goes, be subject to the vicissitudes of predatory capitalism as imposed by monopolistic or colluding entities which have the power to fix prices without being subject to the give and take of competition and the marketplace. Focus on only one profession. Somehow real estate brokerage has been cast in the public eye as a predatory practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. The role of agents, to advise consumers and facilitate transactions, remains a critical part of the house hunting process for the vast majority of home seekers. Real estate agents, like other independent contractor professionals across the spectrum of areas of employment, experience great variation from agent to agent and year to year in earnings. Nonetheless, studies conducted by the National Association of Realtors indicate that the average real estate professional in 2018 earned less than $50,000 per year. Like other working people, we work to support our families. Many agents either lack health insurance or must pay for it, at very high rates since they do not get the discounts provided to large companies. This group of hardworking professionals doesnt ask for special protections. Do Mr. In short, if we as citizens of New York City permit this imposition of arbitrary limits on our professional relationships with our clients, next it will show up in Houston, or Chicago, or Los Angeles. Regulation of sales commissions will not be far behind. Consumers always have the right NOT to hire us if they believe our fees are too high. Unless they make that decision, we in the industry would prefer that the government stay out of it! | The New York City Council proposal intends to cap real estate agent commissions for rental properties at one months rent. Commissions are by definition negotiable by each individual. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/fredpeters/2019/02/20/can-a-city-council-regulate-what-real-estate-agents-are-paid/ | 0.188625 |
Can A City Council Regulate What Real Estate Agents Are Paid? | The New York City Council proposal, introduced last week by Council members Keith Powers and Carlina Rivera, intends to cap real estate agent commissions for rental properties at one months rent. We, in the New York brokerage community, object strongly to this proposal as should agents throughout the country. Here are a few reasons why: Arbitrary cuts. In this era of the Internet, any home seeker can find the vast majority of rental inventory online. They need not retain an agent if they prefer to conduct the search themselves. Commissions are by definition negotiable by each individual. Consumers can always vote for or against our services with their feet, walking away if they feel they are being overcharged. The fact that, for most agents, their business is built on referrals from past clients serves as proof that more often than not, the opposite holds true. Home seekers feel gratitude and appreciation for what we do, which they express by passing our names along to others. Outdated regulations. Since the introduction of antitrust legislation during the first half of the 20thcentury, we have been a country acutely sensitive to the issue of price fixing. Consumers should not, the reasoning goes, be subject to the vicissitudes of predatory capitalism as imposed by monopolistic or colluding entities which have the power to fix prices without being subject to the give and take of competition and the marketplace. Focus on only one profession. Somehow real estate brokerage has been cast in the public eye as a predatory practice. Nothing could be further from the truth. The role of agents, to advise consumers and facilitate transactions, remains a critical part of the house hunting process for the vast majority of home seekers. Real estate agents, like other independent contractor professionals across the spectrum of areas of employment, experience great variation from agent to agent and year to year in earnings. Nonetheless, studies conducted by the National Association of Realtors indicate that the average real estate professional in 2018 earned less than $50,000 per year. Like other working people, we work to support our families. Many agents either lack health insurance or must pay for it, at very high rates since they do not get the discounts provided to large companies. This group of hardworking professionals doesnt ask for special protections. Do Mr. In short, if we as citizens of New York City permit this imposition of arbitrary limits on our professional relationships with our clients, next it will show up in Houston, or Chicago, or Los Angeles. Regulation of sales commissions will not be far behind. Consumers always have the right NOT to hire us if they believe our fees are too high. Unless they make that decision, we in the industry would prefer that the government stay out of it! | New York City Council wants to cap real estate agent commissions for rental properties at one months rent. Realtors object to the proposal as should agents throughout the U.S. The average real estate professional in 2018 earned less than $50,000 per year. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/fredpeters/2019/02/20/can-a-city-council-regulate-what-real-estate-agents-are-paid/ | 0.255455 |
What's The Future Hold For The World's Best Bars? | Some of the world's most celebrated bar talents convened in Manhattan last week, to discuss trends within the industry. The World's 50 Best Bars, a London-based organization which produces a yearly ranking of the top global bars, is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. In honor of the milestone, the organization recently held a panel discussion and a cocktail party with current winners and mixology luminaries. As the industry matures, bartenders are digging into topics such as sustainability and no-proof drinking, as well how bars can foster positive work culture and how drinks can borrow from culinary techniques. There's also a growing sophistication, as more industry professionals delve into in-depth questions about the impact of the cocktail industry, Ryan Chetiyawardana argues. Chetiyawardana, who goes by "Mr. Lyan," is the scientist turned bartender behind Dandylan at London's Mondrian Hotel, the ranking #1 bar in the world. That curiosity ultimately results in more choices for the consumer. "[People are saying,] I want to know the impact [this drink] having," Chetiyawardana explains. "Why can't I have a great cocktail but also feel I didn't also destroy part of the rain forest?" "Where does that sustainability stop?" Chetiyawardana, who gave a presentation on that topic, adds. "[Bartenders] are now considering where things are coming from, and what the impact is on the farmers behind it. It's really nice to see people going down that rabbit hole a little bit." But as much as things change, there will always be fundamentals common to the world's best bars. "Trends come and go but I think the common denominator is about people having a good time," Declan McGurk, bar manager at London's American Bar at the Savoy (2017's #1 title holder). "You have to make sure that over the short time you have with your guests that you get them to enjoy their time, and get them to become the storytellers." Successful bars are "memorable" and "personable," McGurk adds. "Compared to 10 years ago, the bar has gone through different periods," Alex Kratena, the former head bartender of London's Artesian (named World's Best Bar in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015), says. Just as the culinary world oscillates between mannerist and minimalism, so too does the bar world. "Now, the focus is on flavor, great produce and simple plating styles." Another trend that's sure to keep going strong: the rise of the no-proof cocktail. Sophisticated non-alcoholic drinks have been featured on the menus of the world's top bars, including Dandylyan, The Artesian and the American Bar. Leading hospitality experts say that no-proof drinks are here to stay, in part because they are integral to the service ethos. "Every bar has to think about the full experience," The Savoy's McGurk says. "Just because someone isn't drinking alcohol, you still have to consider their experience." | The World's 50 Best Bars is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The bar industry is maturing, with more focus on sustainability and no-proof drinks. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/elvaramirez/2019/02/20/whats-the-future-hold-for-the-worlds-best-bars/ | 0.107198 |
Is Trump Changing His Policy On High-Skilled Immigration? | The first two years of the Trump administration has seen a series of actions to reduce immigration. These efforts have included the travel ban against citizens of several predominately Muslim countries, low levels of refugee admissions, supporting legislation to reduce legal immigration by 50% and numerous administrative measures to make it more difficult for employers to hire or retain high-skilled foreign nationals in the United States. Given this track record, journalists followed up the day after the State of the Union address to determine if the remarks about increasing legal immigration represented a shift in policy. President Donald Trump said Wednesday he wants to see more legal immigration because additional workers are needed by companies moving back to the United States, reported USA Today. I need people coming in because we need people to run the factories and plants and companies that are moving back in, said Trump in response to questions from journalists. We need people. Mr. Trump has made some supportive comments about demand for foreign labor from U.S. industries before, reported Louise Radnofsky in the Wall Street Journal. But his recent remarks stood in contrast to his longstanding backing of restrictions to favor Americans jobs, wages and security. The White House said Friday that Mr. Trumps focus was on high-skilled labor. If its true the Trump administration is looking to increase legal immigration, including with a focus on high-skilled immigrants, then here are the clues to look for to determine if the administration has changed its mind and now favors pro-immigration policies: We may find out soon whether the Trump administration is serious about increasing or at least maintaining the current level of high-skilled foreign-born professionals, since reversing its plan to rescind the 2015 rule on H-4 EAD would send a clear signal of the administrations intentions on legal immigration. The H-4 EAD (employment authorization document) regulation has allowed up to 100,000 spouses of H-1B visa holders to obtain work authorization. H-4 EAD recipients generally have similar education levels to their H-1B spouses. Removing tens of thousands of well-educated individuals from the workforce does not make economic sense and would go directly against the recent statements by Donald Trump that We need people. The next item on the calendar may be rules that affect the employment of high-skilled foreign nationals on H-1B and L-1 visas. Due to the long waits to obtain an employment-based green cards, H-1B and L-1 temporary visas are often the only practical way for a high-skilled foreign national to work long-term in the United States. Multiple sources confirm that the agency is far along in drafting the H-1B strengthening rule, according to Berry Appleman & Leiden. The rule would revise the definition of specialty occupation and employment and employer-employee relationship, and aims to better protect U.S. workers and wages. USCIS is also drafting an L-1 regulation that would revise the definition of specialized knowledge. (L-1 visas are used to transfer existing employees into the United States.) If new regulations make the H-1B and L-1 visa categories more restrictive, then that will send a clear signal that the presidents remarks in the State of the Union on increasing legal immigration should not be taken seriously. The annual refugee ceiling is announced around October 1 every year and raising the number of refugees admitted to the country would show the administration is serious about increasing legal immigration. Refugee admissions to the United States have reached historic lows since the Refugee Act of 1980 under administration policies. If Donald Trump wants to fill jobs in plants and factories, then according to employers refugees are ideal workers for both plants and factories and are willing to move wherever available jobs are located. If Donald Trumps statement in the State of the Union was sincere that he wants people to come into our country in the largest numbers ever, then another item to check on the calendar is the public charge rule. The National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) recently submitted comments on the regulation and concluded, The proposed regulation could reduce legal immigration by more than 200,000 immigrants a year. (See here for an analysis.) The NFAP comments focused on the rules flawed methodology for excluding immigrants and the regulations impact. Withdrawing the public charge rule before the end of 2019 would show the administration is no longer interested in reducing legal immigration. The most obvious way for the administration to show it intends to increase legal immigration is to support a bill that would admit more legal immigrants. Absent that, the administration could support H.R. 1044, a bipartisan bill that would not increase legal immigration but would eliminate the per-country limit for employment-based immigrants, which would help retain scientists and engineers whose wait times for green cards can stretch longer than a decade. (See here for an analysis of the bill.) Concrete steps the Trump administration could take to implement a more welcoming policy on legal immigration include allowing the spouses of H-1B visa holders to continue working in the United States, raising refugee admissions and proposing no new restrictions on H-1B and L-1 visa holders. Actions speak louder than words, even if those words were spoken during a State of the Union address. | The first two years of the Trump administration have seen a series of actions to reduce immigration. The White House said Friday that Mr. Trumps focus was on high-skilled labor. We may find out soon whether the Trump administration is serious about increasing or at least maintaining the current level of high-skilled foreign-born professionals. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/02/21/is-trump-changing-his-policy-on-high-skilled-immigration/ | 0.198361 |
Will wild weather wipe out Auckland's three big gigs? | A tropical cyclone bringing bad weather to New Zealand could impact three music festivals being held over the weekend. Six60 are expecting 50,000 people at their sold out show at Western Springs on Saturday night, while Hidden Festival, an outdoor hip-hop and dance event, debuts tomorrow in Ellerslie, and Splore, a three-day event, takes place at Tapapakanga Regional Park. While Australia was expected to get the brunt of Cylone Oma, New Zealand is also bracing for a weekend of wet and windy weather. MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said the weather watchdog was likely to issue a spate of weather watches and warnings over the next 24 hours. Advertisement Murray warned: "Regardless of Oma, there is significant weather on the way," Murray said. "On Friday things take a turn from some of the wet weather from the north, there will be some bands of rain and some heavy showers." Event organisers all say they're watching the weather carefully, and say they have plans in place should the weather take a turn for the worse. Brent Eccles, who is behind the Six60 show, says the weather is unlikely to be a show-stopper. "We'll definitely play in the rain; a cyclone might be a different story," he said. Organisers of Splore, which is being headlined by Rudimental, took to Facebook to tell punters to pack wet weather gear. WEATHER UPDATE Cyclone Oma has moved in another direction so the Splore weekend forecast is looking a whole lot better!... Posted by Splore Festival on Tuesday, 19 February 2019 Organisers of the first Hidden Festival - at Ellerslie Events Centre and being headlined by Shapeshifter - told attendees they were aware of the cyclone warning. "Don't stress we have a plan B to keep you safe and dry," they said. | Cyclone Oma could impact three music festivals being held over the weekend. Six60, Hidden Festival and Splore are all set to be held in Auckland. All three organisers say they have plans in place should the weather take a turn for the worse. The weather is expected to get worse over the next 24 hours. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12206005&ref=rss | 0.230725 |
Why do onscreen publicists get such a bad rap? | Some of the screens most disreputable characters are press agents, despite being the profession best placed to improve its own image. In film and TV, PRs tend to be venal and corrupt at worst, damaged or ditzy at best. Robin, played by Anna Paquin in new TV series Flack, is a classic screen publicist, a cynical schemer who can manipulate public opinion like a master, but whose private life is in freefall. Between cheating on her boyfriend and snorting coke, she spends her working hours salvaging the mangled reputations of her celebrity clients arranging lavender marriages and teenage sex tapes without sweating too much over the moral implications. PR, she says, makes the most of my natural talents: lying and drinking. Anna Paquin: Ive had some horrific experiences Read more Hollywood didnt look far for its first PR villains. The dishonest studio press agent is a popular stock character in most films about movie-making and right from the beginning their job is as much about covering up stars bad behavior as it is posting florid biographies to fan magazines. Matt Libby, who runs damage control on Norman Maines drunken exploits in 1937s A Star is Born, is introduced as our demon press agent with a heart of gold, only harder. In fact, entertainment PRs are some of the nastiest in the movies. Fred MacMurrays lovestruck studio press agent in 1948s The Miracle of the Bells, who arranges a headline-grabbing memorial for his dead girlfriend, is an exception to the rule. The most famous movie publicist of all time is surely the ruthless Sidney Falco, fully up to all the tricks of his very slimy trade, played by Tony Curtis in 1957s The Sweet Smell of Success a film that Flacks Robin must surely have seen and studied. Falcos latter-day successor is Colin Farrells Stuart Shepard in 2002s Phone Booth, the two-timing publicist cornered by a serial killer into a grisly mea culpa: I lie to newspapers and magazines who who sell my lies to more and more people. I am just a part of a big cycle of lies, I should be fuckin president. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tony Curtis in The Sweet Smell of Success. Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext PR professionals will tell you thats not quite how the job works, but its a consistent feature of screen PR that the job is intrinsically opaque, and not a little shifty. Youre more likely to see a screen PR procuring drugs for a contact than perfecting a press release. According to a 1999 study by Karen Miller at the University of Georgia, fictional PR falls into two categories. Sometimes it is a matter of complex strategy that cannot be understood by mere law-abiding mortals, the smoke and mirrors that Robin and Falco excel at. Alternatively, its a breeze, a mere matter of having a drink with the right reporter or placing the right call. Youve got a clean shirt and you bathe every day. Thats all there is to it. Both representations feed into the idea that publicity is fundamentally dishonest, and certainly not a real job, which means PR agents are twice as untrustworthy when they enter politics. In 1972s The Candidate, Peter Boyles campaign adviser does such a good job at marketing a reluctant Robert Redford as a Democratic challenger that he creates a monster. As a TV pundit warns, the campaign is dominated by socko salesmanship with no moral considerations involved. Its just a short step from there to, say, the ruthless efficiency of Ryan Goslings junior campaign manager in The Ides of March in 2011 and the gleeful lobbyists for tobacco, firearms and alcohol who nickname themselves the merchants of death in 2005 satire Thank You For Smoking. See also Robert de Niro as the spin doctor who hires a movie producer to stage a phony war in 1997s Wag the Dog just to distract the nation from the presidents philandering. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kerry Washington in Scandal. Photograph: Craig Sjodin/ABC The idea of political PR as crisis management fueled the TV shows Spin City and The West Wing, the latter of which presented the most right-on and morally upright team of communications professionals in screen history: a group of concerned liberals led by unflappable press secretary CJ Gregg and fretful communications director Toby Ziegler. Now that allegations of fake news flay back and forth across the White House press room, these shows seem to represent a faraway political civilization. If youre thinking that most of those job titles arent strictly in the realm of PR, thats almost the point. On screen, hype, spin, propaganda and marketing get muddled with each other and all kinds of other jobs, and a new breed of multitalented publicity professional has arisen: the fixer. Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington in the TV series Scandal, epitomizes the type. She and her posse of gladiators in suits have the capacity to make all the problems of the rich and sleazy in Washington DC go away PR as a magic trick, but taken to extremes. See also Sandra Bullock as a political strategist shipped into Bolivia in 2015s Our Brand is Crisis and Jodie Foster in 2006s Inside Man, the fearsome power broker who is covering up a Manhattan bankers Nazi past. Although she works for B-list celebrities rather than leaders of corporations and countries, Robin follows in their footsteps, finding creative, often illegal solutions to her clients problems whether its a comedians transphobic standup set or a movie stars incriminating hard drive. Not that Robins friends and family know quite how low shell stoop, or hard she works. Her brother-in-law admits that he thought she just flounced around drinking white wine and air-kissing, showing that his idea of female PR agents is badly out of date. in 1964 or her small-screen descendants Edina in Absolutely Fabulous and Samantha Jones in Sex and the City. Robin, however, practises the dark arts of extreme PR, Olivia Pope-style. As Miller writes, although they are often shown to be breathtakingly effective at their jobs, PRs are regularly presented as despicable or morally lax. Throughout their screen history, PRs are seen drinking, smoking, snorting and screwing on the job, when they are not procuring drugs or escorts for clients in the line of work. Robins vodka and cocaine habit recalls Jack Lemmons portrayal of an alcoholic PR in Days of Wine and Roses (1962), except somehow she manages to keep her job, and her dishonesty at work bleeds damagingly into her relationship with boyfriend Sam. Every so often, a PR is shown doing good, as with the mental health campaign in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, or that way that a corporate publicist rehabilitates a raddled superhero and helps to save a city in 2008s Hancock, but screen depictions of the job tend to disprove the idea that no publicity is bad publicity. More seriously, PR insiders regularly say the industry needs a makeover, and after the headlines made by the Bell Pottinger scandal of 2017, those calls have increased. Sounds like a job that Robin could really get her teeth into. | Onscreen publicists get such a bad rap, despite being the profession best placed to improve its own image. Hollywood didn't look far for its first PR villains: Sidney Falco in 1957s The Sweet Smell of Success. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/feb/21/flack-anna-paquin-publicist-pr-film | 0.229293 |
Why do onscreen publicists get such a bad rap? | Some of the screens most disreputable characters are press agents, despite being the profession best placed to improve its own image. In film and TV, PRs tend to be venal and corrupt at worst, damaged or ditzy at best. Robin, played by Anna Paquin in new TV series Flack, is a classic screen publicist, a cynical schemer who can manipulate public opinion like a master, but whose private life is in freefall. Between cheating on her boyfriend and snorting coke, she spends her working hours salvaging the mangled reputations of her celebrity clients arranging lavender marriages and teenage sex tapes without sweating too much over the moral implications. PR, she says, makes the most of my natural talents: lying and drinking. Anna Paquin: Ive had some horrific experiences Read more Hollywood didnt look far for its first PR villains. The dishonest studio press agent is a popular stock character in most films about movie-making and right from the beginning their job is as much about covering up stars bad behavior as it is posting florid biographies to fan magazines. Matt Libby, who runs damage control on Norman Maines drunken exploits in 1937s A Star is Born, is introduced as our demon press agent with a heart of gold, only harder. In fact, entertainment PRs are some of the nastiest in the movies. Fred MacMurrays lovestruck studio press agent in 1948s The Miracle of the Bells, who arranges a headline-grabbing memorial for his dead girlfriend, is an exception to the rule. The most famous movie publicist of all time is surely the ruthless Sidney Falco, fully up to all the tricks of his very slimy trade, played by Tony Curtis in 1957s The Sweet Smell of Success a film that Flacks Robin must surely have seen and studied. Falcos latter-day successor is Colin Farrells Stuart Shepard in 2002s Phone Booth, the two-timing publicist cornered by a serial killer into a grisly mea culpa: I lie to newspapers and magazines who who sell my lies to more and more people. I am just a part of a big cycle of lies, I should be fuckin president. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tony Curtis in The Sweet Smell of Success. Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext PR professionals will tell you thats not quite how the job works, but its a consistent feature of screen PR that the job is intrinsically opaque, and not a little shifty. Youre more likely to see a screen PR procuring drugs for a contact than perfecting a press release. According to a 1999 study by Karen Miller at the University of Georgia, fictional PR falls into two categories. Sometimes it is a matter of complex strategy that cannot be understood by mere law-abiding mortals, the smoke and mirrors that Robin and Falco excel at. Alternatively, its a breeze, a mere matter of having a drink with the right reporter or placing the right call. Youve got a clean shirt and you bathe every day. Thats all there is to it. Both representations feed into the idea that publicity is fundamentally dishonest, and certainly not a real job, which means PR agents are twice as untrustworthy when they enter politics. In 1972s The Candidate, Peter Boyles campaign adviser does such a good job at marketing a reluctant Robert Redford as a Democratic challenger that he creates a monster. As a TV pundit warns, the campaign is dominated by socko salesmanship with no moral considerations involved. Its just a short step from there to, say, the ruthless efficiency of Ryan Goslings junior campaign manager in The Ides of March in 2011 and the gleeful lobbyists for tobacco, firearms and alcohol who nickname themselves the merchants of death in 2005 satire Thank You For Smoking. See also Robert de Niro as the spin doctor who hires a movie producer to stage a phony war in 1997s Wag the Dog just to distract the nation from the presidents philandering. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kerry Washington in Scandal. Photograph: Craig Sjodin/ABC The idea of political PR as crisis management fueled the TV shows Spin City and The West Wing, the latter of which presented the most right-on and morally upright team of communications professionals in screen history: a group of concerned liberals led by unflappable press secretary CJ Gregg and fretful communications director Toby Ziegler. Now that allegations of fake news flay back and forth across the White House press room, these shows seem to represent a faraway political civilization. If youre thinking that most of those job titles arent strictly in the realm of PR, thats almost the point. On screen, hype, spin, propaganda and marketing get muddled with each other and all kinds of other jobs, and a new breed of multitalented publicity professional has arisen: the fixer. Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington in the TV series Scandal, epitomizes the type. She and her posse of gladiators in suits have the capacity to make all the problems of the rich and sleazy in Washington DC go away PR as a magic trick, but taken to extremes. See also Sandra Bullock as a political strategist shipped into Bolivia in 2015s Our Brand is Crisis and Jodie Foster in 2006s Inside Man, the fearsome power broker who is covering up a Manhattan bankers Nazi past. Although she works for B-list celebrities rather than leaders of corporations and countries, Robin follows in their footsteps, finding creative, often illegal solutions to her clients problems whether its a comedians transphobic standup set or a movie stars incriminating hard drive. Not that Robins friends and family know quite how low shell stoop, or hard she works. Her brother-in-law admits that he thought she just flounced around drinking white wine and air-kissing, showing that his idea of female PR agents is badly out of date. in 1964 or her small-screen descendants Edina in Absolutely Fabulous and Samantha Jones in Sex and the City. Robin, however, practises the dark arts of extreme PR, Olivia Pope-style. As Miller writes, although they are often shown to be breathtakingly effective at their jobs, PRs are regularly presented as despicable or morally lax. Throughout their screen history, PRs are seen drinking, smoking, snorting and screwing on the job, when they are not procuring drugs or escorts for clients in the line of work. Robins vodka and cocaine habit recalls Jack Lemmons portrayal of an alcoholic PR in Days of Wine and Roses (1962), except somehow she manages to keep her job, and her dishonesty at work bleeds damagingly into her relationship with boyfriend Sam. Every so often, a PR is shown doing good, as with the mental health campaign in The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, or that way that a corporate publicist rehabilitates a raddled superhero and helps to save a city in 2008s Hancock, but screen depictions of the job tend to disprove the idea that no publicity is bad publicity. More seriously, PR insiders regularly say the industry needs a makeover, and after the headlines made by the Bell Pottinger scandal of 2017, those calls have increased. Sounds like a job that Robin could really get her teeth into. | Onscreen publicists get such a bad rap, despite being the profession best placed to improve its own image. Hollywood didnt look far for its first PR villains: Sidney Falco in 1957s The Sweet Smell of Success and Fred MacMurray in 1948's The Miracle of the Bells. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/feb/21/flack-anna-paquin-publicist-pr-film | 0.309156 |
Has the Sun lost its shine? | Fifty years ago, an Australian businessman named Rupert Murdoch took control of the Sun, then a failing Labour-supporting broadsheet, and turned it into a hugely successful tabloid so successful that it became the countrys best-read paper. The formula was seemingly simple: a relentless focus on celebrities, competitions and sex. Half a century later, the newspapers masthead is celebrating with the slogan: The Peoples Paper For 50 Years. But behind the hype, there is a feeling that the Sun has lost its common touch. It certainly remains the UKs best-selling newspaper, but it has not escaped the general collapse in sales across the industry, and in the past decade circulation has more than halved, to 1.4m copies a day. It is investing heavily in its website, but came late to the party, by which time its natural audience was already hooked on the celebrity pictures of the Daily Mail website, MailOnline. At the start of this year, the Suns parent company declared a headline-grabbing pre-tax loss of 91m, weighed down by issues including the stream of legal cases relating to allegations of historic phone hacking. Most worrying for the newspaper and to the delight of its critics there is a nagging fear that the Sun may have lost its swagger. Staff describe an outlet struggling with its identity in a changing Britain, and worry that a newspaper that was able to successfully surf a strand of public opinion for decades could now be losing its touch. Many of those currently at the paper complain that under the leadership of editor Tony Gallagher, the newspapers tone has become far more vicious and politics-heavy. They say he has a penchant for obsessively covering minor political rows and stars posing in vintage glam shots, with hard news prioritised at the expense of current celebrities. One recently departed journalist describes the atmosphere in the newsroom as anarchic, intense and a bit sad, with old-time Sun executives trying to recreate the intensity of the old newspaper operation on a substantially reduced budget. Theres a Last Days of Rome mentality, that the best days are behind us, says one. The problem is that Tony has no sense of humour, says one individual who worked with Gallagher at the Sun. And you cant learn that. (Gallagher declined to be interviewed for this article.) Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Suns front page story in 1986 about Freddie Starr later turned out to be concocted. Murdochs Sun rose by giving the public what they wanted: humour, irreverence and a daily figure to hate, all inside a tightly edited print newspaper filled with puns and giveaways. Stick It Up Your Punter!, one of the definitive books on British journalism, describes the chaos and relentless focus of the newspaper in the 80s under the editorship of Kelvin MacKenzie when sales boomed. Peter Chippindale and Chris Horries book describes how the paper chased whatever trend was in vogue that morning, with the editor ordering his aggressive reporters to put a ferret up the trousers of whoever was making the news that day, before ordering a reverse ferret when it became apparent that this editorial line was unpopular with readers or Murdoch himself. Reporters were despatched to buy donkeys in Spain, while readers were treated to stories such as Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster, an article concocted with the approval of the publicist Max Clifford. Puns ranged from Its Paddy Pantsdown (on coverage of Paddy Ashdowns marital woes), Up Yours Delors (the papers response to Brussels bureaucrat Jacques Delors), and Swedes 2 Turnips 1(following Englands defeat to Sweden in Euro 92). They were no less bullish in terms of politics, notoriously declaring on the day of the 1992 general election that the last person in Britain should turn out the lights if Neil Kinnock were elected prime minister. The same year, MacKenzie allegedly told John Major: Ive got a large bucket of shit lying on my desk and tomorrow morning Im going to pour it all over your head. In 1995, the papers influence was such that Tony Blair flew to Australia to convince Murdoch to throw the Suns support behind New Labour. Years later there were claims that David Cameron had done the same for the Tories ahead of the 2010 general election. More recently, in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, which saw the Sun enthusiastically backing leave, a victorious Gallagher told the Guardian: So much for the waning power of the print media. The former Sun editor and passionate remainer David Yelland says Gallagher is far more responsible for the Brexit disaster than [Irish Taoiseach] Leo Varadkar and has published half-truths and no truths. Yet old-time Sun executives treat politics with caution as something liable to bore readers. Journalists at the paper trade the tale of one reader who rang to complain that it was still running stories about Brexit even though the referendum was won in 2016. James Graham, who wrote the play Ink, based on the newspapers early days, said that, despite its reputation for swinging elections, it has followed rather than led its readers since the start and bent with the prevailing wind ever since. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Feminist campaigners protesting in 2012 against the Suns use of topless women on its Page 3. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images One centrist Labour MP describes the Suns political power as a generational divide; colleagues first elected in the Blair years may be concerned about scrutinising the papers editorial lines, but younger MPs focus on Twitter reaction and are aware of the papers negative reputation among party activists. This negativity is because, in the papers 50th year, its past weighs heavily. Its most high-profile mistake publishing lies about the 1989 Hillsborough disaster under the headline The Truth (which led to a boycott of the newspaper across Liverpool) has become more rather than less toxic over the years with the recent inquest reviving memories. Even the publics attitude to sex one of the Suns main selling points has changed, forcing it into more nuanced coverage. For years, Page 3 was a national institution, and one that could turn the likes of Samantha Fox or Katie Price into celebrities. Despite defending its Page 3 topless models to the end at one point even mocking up the then Labour MP Clare Short as a model in 2015, the newspaper realised the game was up and moved the feature online. In business terms, the paper has struggled to catch up with the online world. In 2013, it erected a paywall, hoping readers would be willing to cough up for a package offering Premier League goal highlights on their phone. They werent. Instead, illegal goal clips were uploaded to social media, while MailOnline rewrote the Suns celebrity scoops. After two years, the experiment was abandoned, leaving the paper to build an online audience from scratch, a decade after its rivals. Today, the newspaper boasts its website reaches more Britons than any other, but industry insiders say they are often lured in with a clickbait headline, and stay for a very short time, before bouncing out. Audit Bureau of Circulations figures show Britons clicked on 86m MailOnline articles a day in January 2019 compared with just 15m a day at the Sun. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Suns website (pictured here in 2012) has failed to keep pace with the MailOnline site. Photograph: Alamy David Dinsmore, a former Sun editor who is now chief operating officer of ultimate parent company News UK, says the Suns regular online audience the people who come back every day is several million strong. Yet in a recent libel case, which saw Labours shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, successfully sue the paper over false claims he performed with a band that delights in Nazi imagery, the Suns defence partly rested on the argument that limited damage had been caused because a mere 7,000 people read the political scoop on its website in the space of six months many of whom were lawyers. In a reversal of fortune, it is now the historically loss-making Times that is now the star financial performer in Murdochs UK newspaper business. All of this is prompting nervousness at the Sun about what happens if Murdochs son Lachlan takes over the family business, especially given revenues at the newspaper have fallen from 456m to 401m in three years, a situation made worse by the tens of millions of pounds put aside to deal with the phone-hacking allegations. The Sun has always strongly insisted that phone hacking took place only at sister paper the News of the World. At the same time, it has paid out millions of pounds to those who claim hacking was widespread at the daily paper, in order to settle cases before the accusations can be tested in open court, with legal proceedings over the issue now well into their second decade. Then there are the accusations of racism, whether over coverage of immigration, which has led to countless complaints to the press regulator IPSO, or its treatment of Raheem Sterling. At the end of last year, the newspaper defended itself from claims that its coverage of the England player was unfair. Its always difficult for editors when it comes to these situations, because you know it is a story that needs to be told but you know theres going to be a reaction. We must be able to address thorny difficult subjects. Dinsmore has a plea to his critics: If you took your blinkers off and read it cover to cover you would like it and it understand it better. | The Sun is celebrating 50 years as the UK's best-selling newspaper. But there is a feeling that the Sun has lost its common touch. Staff describe an outlet struggling with its identity in a changing Britain. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/feb/21/has-the-sun-lost-its-shine | 0.169189 |
Has the Sun lost its shine? | Fifty years ago, an Australian businessman named Rupert Murdoch took control of the Sun, then a failing Labour-supporting broadsheet, and turned it into a hugely successful tabloid so successful that it became the countrys best-read paper. The formula was seemingly simple: a relentless focus on celebrities, competitions and sex. Half a century later, the newspapers masthead is celebrating with the slogan: The Peoples Paper For 50 Years. But behind the hype, there is a feeling that the Sun has lost its common touch. It certainly remains the UKs best-selling newspaper, but it has not escaped the general collapse in sales across the industry, and in the past decade circulation has more than halved, to 1.4m copies a day. It is investing heavily in its website, but came late to the party, by which time its natural audience was already hooked on the celebrity pictures of the Daily Mail website, MailOnline. At the start of this year, the Suns parent company declared a headline-grabbing pre-tax loss of 91m, weighed down by issues including the stream of legal cases relating to allegations of historic phone hacking. Most worrying for the newspaper and to the delight of its critics there is a nagging fear that the Sun may have lost its swagger. Staff describe an outlet struggling with its identity in a changing Britain, and worry that a newspaper that was able to successfully surf a strand of public opinion for decades could now be losing its touch. Many of those currently at the paper complain that under the leadership of editor Tony Gallagher, the newspapers tone has become far more vicious and politics-heavy. They say he has a penchant for obsessively covering minor political rows and stars posing in vintage glam shots, with hard news prioritised at the expense of current celebrities. One recently departed journalist describes the atmosphere in the newsroom as anarchic, intense and a bit sad, with old-time Sun executives trying to recreate the intensity of the old newspaper operation on a substantially reduced budget. Theres a Last Days of Rome mentality, that the best days are behind us, says one. The problem is that Tony has no sense of humour, says one individual who worked with Gallagher at the Sun. And you cant learn that. (Gallagher declined to be interviewed for this article.) Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Suns front page story in 1986 about Freddie Starr later turned out to be concocted. Murdochs Sun rose by giving the public what they wanted: humour, irreverence and a daily figure to hate, all inside a tightly edited print newspaper filled with puns and giveaways. Stick It Up Your Punter!, one of the definitive books on British journalism, describes the chaos and relentless focus of the newspaper in the 80s under the editorship of Kelvin MacKenzie when sales boomed. Peter Chippindale and Chris Horries book describes how the paper chased whatever trend was in vogue that morning, with the editor ordering his aggressive reporters to put a ferret up the trousers of whoever was making the news that day, before ordering a reverse ferret when it became apparent that this editorial line was unpopular with readers or Murdoch himself. Reporters were despatched to buy donkeys in Spain, while readers were treated to stories such as Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster, an article concocted with the approval of the publicist Max Clifford. Puns ranged from Its Paddy Pantsdown (on coverage of Paddy Ashdowns marital woes), Up Yours Delors (the papers response to Brussels bureaucrat Jacques Delors), and Swedes 2 Turnips 1(following Englands defeat to Sweden in Euro 92). They were no less bullish in terms of politics, notoriously declaring on the day of the 1992 general election that the last person in Britain should turn out the lights if Neil Kinnock were elected prime minister. The same year, MacKenzie allegedly told John Major: Ive got a large bucket of shit lying on my desk and tomorrow morning Im going to pour it all over your head. In 1995, the papers influence was such that Tony Blair flew to Australia to convince Murdoch to throw the Suns support behind New Labour. Years later there were claims that David Cameron had done the same for the Tories ahead of the 2010 general election. More recently, in the aftermath of the Brexit referendum, which saw the Sun enthusiastically backing leave, a victorious Gallagher told the Guardian: So much for the waning power of the print media. The former Sun editor and passionate remainer David Yelland says Gallagher is far more responsible for the Brexit disaster than [Irish Taoiseach] Leo Varadkar and has published half-truths and no truths. Yet old-time Sun executives treat politics with caution as something liable to bore readers. Journalists at the paper trade the tale of one reader who rang to complain that it was still running stories about Brexit even though the referendum was won in 2016. James Graham, who wrote the play Ink, based on the newspapers early days, said that, despite its reputation for swinging elections, it has followed rather than led its readers since the start and bent with the prevailing wind ever since. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Feminist campaigners protesting in 2012 against the Suns use of topless women on its Page 3. Photograph: Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images One centrist Labour MP describes the Suns political power as a generational divide; colleagues first elected in the Blair years may be concerned about scrutinising the papers editorial lines, but younger MPs focus on Twitter reaction and are aware of the papers negative reputation among party activists. This negativity is because, in the papers 50th year, its past weighs heavily. Its most high-profile mistake publishing lies about the 1989 Hillsborough disaster under the headline The Truth (which led to a boycott of the newspaper across Liverpool) has become more rather than less toxic over the years with the recent inquest reviving memories. Even the publics attitude to sex one of the Suns main selling points has changed, forcing it into more nuanced coverage. For years, Page 3 was a national institution, and one that could turn the likes of Samantha Fox or Katie Price into celebrities. Despite defending its Page 3 topless models to the end at one point even mocking up the then Labour MP Clare Short as a model in 2015, the newspaper realised the game was up and moved the feature online. In business terms, the paper has struggled to catch up with the online world. In 2013, it erected a paywall, hoping readers would be willing to cough up for a package offering Premier League goal highlights on their phone. They werent. Instead, illegal goal clips were uploaded to social media, while MailOnline rewrote the Suns celebrity scoops. After two years, the experiment was abandoned, leaving the paper to build an online audience from scratch, a decade after its rivals. Today, the newspaper boasts its website reaches more Britons than any other, but industry insiders say they are often lured in with a clickbait headline, and stay for a very short time, before bouncing out. Audit Bureau of Circulations figures show Britons clicked on 86m MailOnline articles a day in January 2019 compared with just 15m a day at the Sun. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Suns website (pictured here in 2012) has failed to keep pace with the MailOnline site. Photograph: Alamy David Dinsmore, a former Sun editor who is now chief operating officer of ultimate parent company News UK, says the Suns regular online audience the people who come back every day is several million strong. Yet in a recent libel case, which saw Labours shadow justice secretary, Richard Burgon, successfully sue the paper over false claims he performed with a band that delights in Nazi imagery, the Suns defence partly rested on the argument that limited damage had been caused because a mere 7,000 people read the political scoop on its website in the space of six months many of whom were lawyers. In a reversal of fortune, it is now the historically loss-making Times that is now the star financial performer in Murdochs UK newspaper business. All of this is prompting nervousness at the Sun about what happens if Murdochs son Lachlan takes over the family business, especially given revenues at the newspaper have fallen from 456m to 401m in three years, a situation made worse by the tens of millions of pounds put aside to deal with the phone-hacking allegations. The Sun has always strongly insisted that phone hacking took place only at sister paper the News of the World. At the same time, it has paid out millions of pounds to those who claim hacking was widespread at the daily paper, in order to settle cases before the accusations can be tested in open court, with legal proceedings over the issue now well into their second decade. Then there are the accusations of racism, whether over coverage of immigration, which has led to countless complaints to the press regulator IPSO, or its treatment of Raheem Sterling. At the end of last year, the newspaper defended itself from claims that its coverage of the England player was unfair. Its always difficult for editors when it comes to these situations, because you know it is a story that needs to be told but you know theres going to be a reaction. We must be able to address thorny difficult subjects. Dinsmore has a plea to his critics: If you took your blinkers off and read it cover to cover you would like it and it understand it better. | The Sun is celebrating 50 years as the UK's best-selling newspaper. But there is a feeling that the Sun has lost its common touch. Staff say the paper's tone has become more vicious and politics-heavy. It is investing heavily in its website, but came late to the party. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.theguardian.com/media/2019/feb/21/has-the-sun-lost-its-shine | 0.207082 |
Could electric scooters like Bird, Lime help ease traffic congestion, save riders money? | CLOSE The good: a new breed of electric scooter is easy to obtain, via an app, and can be dropped anywhere. The bad: streets are littered with stray scooters and pedestrians are upset. Jefferson Graham reports from Santa Monica USA TODAY In the rush to demonize electric scooters as dangerous nuisances, we might be missing an opportunity. Transportation experts say scooters could be part of a solution to relieve urban congestion and address global warming. Scooters could also help riders save money and arrive at the office without needing to hit the showers. For example, say you have an important meeting 3 miles away, but city streets are jammed with motionless cars. Uber or Lyft would also sit in traffic and could easily cost $15. Instead, you rent a nearby electric scooter for $1 to start and 15 cents a minute. You cruise past cars and arrive in time for your meeting. Total cost: $3. Environmental impact: infinitesimal. A user rides a Bird scooter on April 17, 2018 in San Francisco. (Photo11: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Bumpy ride so far Dockless electric scooters, so-called because riders can leave them wherever their trip ends, began popping up in cities nationwide in 2018. With a smartphone app, riders locate and unlock rental scooters (offered by companies with zippy names like Bird, Lime, Scoot, Jump and Razor) making for a great solution for a gridlocked city. Wrong. With fellow urbanites annoyed by scooter riders dive bombing pedestrians and leaving scooters strewn across sidewalks, an internet sensation emerged: Scooter haters finding new ways including set to music on YouTube to destroy them. Security concerns: Hackers can gain full control over Xiaomi electric scooter, group finds Study: Electric scooters sending lots of riders to emergency rooms with injuries But any time you see someone on a scooter, they arent in a car and we should be hugging and kissing them for that, says Jim McPherson, a San Francisco Bay area lawyer specializing in transportation technology. He says both human-propelled and motorized scooters were popular a century ago, while the current electric scooter rental boom is thanks to powerful lithium-ion batteries and GPS connectivity. Scooters are an attractive addition to the transportation matrix since they travel the same speed as cyclists and in many cities can use the bike lanes already built, Heather Hamilton, an elected official in Brookline, Massachusetts, and a transportation-focused project manager with engineering firm BSC Group, tells NerdWallet. Scooters could be one puzzle piece in efforts to attain carbon neutrality, Hamilton wrote in a recent Boston Globe opinion piece. On the topic of inner city congestion, its clear we cant drive our way out of this problem, says Alissa Walker, urbanism editor for real estate site Curbed. Instead, she says we need micro-mobility, a variety of small, lightweight transportation devices, like electric scooters and bikes. Scooter sharing services also could save riders money. A recent study estimated that a 3-mile journey in Chicagos traffic would cost $6 in a car versus $5.07 by scooter. The study by DePaul University was partially funded by scooter company Bird. Road to acceptance Walker believes scooters are really just a part of a suite of options for helping people get around, she says. For example, Ubers app now also connects you with bikes and scooters through partnerships with Jump and Lime. You open up your phone and you see that this method (of transportation) will take this long and cost this much and be zero emissions, Walker says. You can gauge your decision based on the information in front of you. Although electric scooters, which cost $350-$500, are cheaper than cars, they fill a different need and likely wont replace cars for most people. However, easy access to scooters could mean driving less. Over time, that could help reduce ones total car ownership costs, which include gas, parking, maintenance and insurance. And whether scooter haters like it or not, the urban transportation market is exploding. Bird scooters are available in over 100 cities, including Paris and Tel Aviv, Israel. Meanwhile, Lyft introduced scooters in a test program in Denver and bought the countrys biggest bike-share operator, Motivate. Experts say electric scooters offer a number of advantages over other forms of transportation: Cheaper. With rides starting at about $1, electric scooters are much less expensive than driving, paying for gas and parking. User-friendly. Theyre easier to get on and off compared with a bike. Effortless. You dont work up a sweat. Less hassle. You can park almost anywhere (but dont block sidewalks). But there are drawbacks: More risks. Electric scooter sharing has a higher rate of fatal injuries compared with bike sharing. Best for short jaunts. Theyre less efficient for trips over 3 miles. Costs can rise. All-day rentals get pricey. You have to go to it. You have to walk to a scooter rather than being picked up (but soon, scooters might be delivered to you). In the rapidly evolving world of mobility, the electric scooter, used responsibly, seems to have a place. But as Walker says, Next year theyll have some other new device that everyone is talking about. More from NerdWallet: Philip Reed is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: preed@nerdwallet.com. NerdWallet is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the web. Its content is produced independently of USATODAY. Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/02/21/electric-scooters-could-bird-lime-rentals-ease-traffic-congestion/2926267002/ | Experts say electric scooters could be part of a solution to relieve urban congestion and address global warming. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/02/21/electric-scooters-could-bird-lime-rentals-ease-traffic-congestion/2926267002/ | 0.262334 |
Could electric scooters like Bird, Lime help ease traffic congestion, save riders money? | CLOSE The good: a new breed of electric scooter is easy to obtain, via an app, and can be dropped anywhere. The bad: streets are littered with stray scooters and pedestrians are upset. Jefferson Graham reports from Santa Monica USA TODAY In the rush to demonize electric scooters as dangerous nuisances, we might be missing an opportunity. Transportation experts say scooters could be part of a solution to relieve urban congestion and address global warming. Scooters could also help riders save money and arrive at the office without needing to hit the showers. For example, say you have an important meeting 3 miles away, but city streets are jammed with motionless cars. Uber or Lyft would also sit in traffic and could easily cost $15. Instead, you rent a nearby electric scooter for $1 to start and 15 cents a minute. You cruise past cars and arrive in time for your meeting. Total cost: $3. Environmental impact: infinitesimal. A user rides a Bird scooter on April 17, 2018 in San Francisco. (Photo11: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Bumpy ride so far Dockless electric scooters, so-called because riders can leave them wherever their trip ends, began popping up in cities nationwide in 2018. With a smartphone app, riders locate and unlock rental scooters (offered by companies with zippy names like Bird, Lime, Scoot, Jump and Razor) making for a great solution for a gridlocked city. Wrong. With fellow urbanites annoyed by scooter riders dive bombing pedestrians and leaving scooters strewn across sidewalks, an internet sensation emerged: Scooter haters finding new ways including set to music on YouTube to destroy them. Security concerns: Hackers can gain full control over Xiaomi electric scooter, group finds Study: Electric scooters sending lots of riders to emergency rooms with injuries But any time you see someone on a scooter, they arent in a car and we should be hugging and kissing them for that, says Jim McPherson, a San Francisco Bay area lawyer specializing in transportation technology. He says both human-propelled and motorized scooters were popular a century ago, while the current electric scooter rental boom is thanks to powerful lithium-ion batteries and GPS connectivity. Scooters are an attractive addition to the transportation matrix since they travel the same speed as cyclists and in many cities can use the bike lanes already built, Heather Hamilton, an elected official in Brookline, Massachusetts, and a transportation-focused project manager with engineering firm BSC Group, tells NerdWallet. Scooters could be one puzzle piece in efforts to attain carbon neutrality, Hamilton wrote in a recent Boston Globe opinion piece. On the topic of inner city congestion, its clear we cant drive our way out of this problem, says Alissa Walker, urbanism editor for real estate site Curbed. Instead, she says we need micro-mobility, a variety of small, lightweight transportation devices, like electric scooters and bikes. Scooter sharing services also could save riders money. A recent study estimated that a 3-mile journey in Chicagos traffic would cost $6 in a car versus $5.07 by scooter. The study by DePaul University was partially funded by scooter company Bird. Road to acceptance Walker believes scooters are really just a part of a suite of options for helping people get around, she says. For example, Ubers app now also connects you with bikes and scooters through partnerships with Jump and Lime. You open up your phone and you see that this method (of transportation) will take this long and cost this much and be zero emissions, Walker says. You can gauge your decision based on the information in front of you. Although electric scooters, which cost $350-$500, are cheaper than cars, they fill a different need and likely wont replace cars for most people. However, easy access to scooters could mean driving less. Over time, that could help reduce ones total car ownership costs, which include gas, parking, maintenance and insurance. And whether scooter haters like it or not, the urban transportation market is exploding. Bird scooters are available in over 100 cities, including Paris and Tel Aviv, Israel. Meanwhile, Lyft introduced scooters in a test program in Denver and bought the countrys biggest bike-share operator, Motivate. Experts say electric scooters offer a number of advantages over other forms of transportation: Cheaper. With rides starting at about $1, electric scooters are much less expensive than driving, paying for gas and parking. User-friendly. Theyre easier to get on and off compared with a bike. Effortless. You dont work up a sweat. Less hassle. You can park almost anywhere (but dont block sidewalks). But there are drawbacks: More risks. Electric scooter sharing has a higher rate of fatal injuries compared with bike sharing. Best for short jaunts. Theyre less efficient for trips over 3 miles. Costs can rise. All-day rentals get pricey. You have to go to it. You have to walk to a scooter rather than being picked up (but soon, scooters might be delivered to you). In the rapidly evolving world of mobility, the electric scooter, used responsibly, seems to have a place. But as Walker says, Next year theyll have some other new device that everyone is talking about. More from NerdWallet: Philip Reed is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: preed@nerdwallet.com. NerdWallet is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the web. Its content is produced independently of USATODAY. Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/02/21/electric-scooters-could-bird-lime-rentals-ease-traffic-congestion/2926267002/ | Experts say electric scooters could be part of a solution to relieve urban congestion. Scooters could also help riders save money and arrive at the office without needing to hit the showers. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/02/21/electric-scooters-could-bird-lime-rentals-ease-traffic-congestion/2926267002/ | 0.485619 |
Could electric scooters like Bird, Lime help ease traffic congestion, save riders money? | CLOSE The good: a new breed of electric scooter is easy to obtain, via an app, and can be dropped anywhere. The bad: streets are littered with stray scooters and pedestrians are upset. Jefferson Graham reports from Santa Monica USA TODAY In the rush to demonize electric scooters as dangerous nuisances, we might be missing an opportunity. Transportation experts say scooters could be part of a solution to relieve urban congestion and address global warming. Scooters could also help riders save money and arrive at the office without needing to hit the showers. For example, say you have an important meeting 3 miles away, but city streets are jammed with motionless cars. Uber or Lyft would also sit in traffic and could easily cost $15. Instead, you rent a nearby electric scooter for $1 to start and 15 cents a minute. You cruise past cars and arrive in time for your meeting. Total cost: $3. Environmental impact: infinitesimal. A user rides a Bird scooter on April 17, 2018 in San Francisco. (Photo11: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Bumpy ride so far Dockless electric scooters, so-called because riders can leave them wherever their trip ends, began popping up in cities nationwide in 2018. With a smartphone app, riders locate and unlock rental scooters (offered by companies with zippy names like Bird, Lime, Scoot, Jump and Razor) making for a great solution for a gridlocked city. Wrong. With fellow urbanites annoyed by scooter riders dive bombing pedestrians and leaving scooters strewn across sidewalks, an internet sensation emerged: Scooter haters finding new ways including set to music on YouTube to destroy them. Security concerns: Hackers can gain full control over Xiaomi electric scooter, group finds Study: Electric scooters sending lots of riders to emergency rooms with injuries But any time you see someone on a scooter, they arent in a car and we should be hugging and kissing them for that, says Jim McPherson, a San Francisco Bay area lawyer specializing in transportation technology. He says both human-propelled and motorized scooters were popular a century ago, while the current electric scooter rental boom is thanks to powerful lithium-ion batteries and GPS connectivity. Scooters are an attractive addition to the transportation matrix since they travel the same speed as cyclists and in many cities can use the bike lanes already built, Heather Hamilton, an elected official in Brookline, Massachusetts, and a transportation-focused project manager with engineering firm BSC Group, tells NerdWallet. Scooters could be one puzzle piece in efforts to attain carbon neutrality, Hamilton wrote in a recent Boston Globe opinion piece. On the topic of inner city congestion, its clear we cant drive our way out of this problem, says Alissa Walker, urbanism editor for real estate site Curbed. Instead, she says we need micro-mobility, a variety of small, lightweight transportation devices, like electric scooters and bikes. Scooter sharing services also could save riders money. A recent study estimated that a 3-mile journey in Chicagos traffic would cost $6 in a car versus $5.07 by scooter. The study by DePaul University was partially funded by scooter company Bird. Road to acceptance Walker believes scooters are really just a part of a suite of options for helping people get around, she says. For example, Ubers app now also connects you with bikes and scooters through partnerships with Jump and Lime. You open up your phone and you see that this method (of transportation) will take this long and cost this much and be zero emissions, Walker says. You can gauge your decision based on the information in front of you. Although electric scooters, which cost $350-$500, are cheaper than cars, they fill a different need and likely wont replace cars for most people. However, easy access to scooters could mean driving less. Over time, that could help reduce ones total car ownership costs, which include gas, parking, maintenance and insurance. And whether scooter haters like it or not, the urban transportation market is exploding. Bird scooters are available in over 100 cities, including Paris and Tel Aviv, Israel. Meanwhile, Lyft introduced scooters in a test program in Denver and bought the countrys biggest bike-share operator, Motivate. Experts say electric scooters offer a number of advantages over other forms of transportation: Cheaper. With rides starting at about $1, electric scooters are much less expensive than driving, paying for gas and parking. User-friendly. Theyre easier to get on and off compared with a bike. Effortless. You dont work up a sweat. Less hassle. You can park almost anywhere (but dont block sidewalks). But there are drawbacks: More risks. Electric scooter sharing has a higher rate of fatal injuries compared with bike sharing. Best for short jaunts. Theyre less efficient for trips over 3 miles. Costs can rise. All-day rentals get pricey. You have to go to it. You have to walk to a scooter rather than being picked up (but soon, scooters might be delivered to you). In the rapidly evolving world of mobility, the electric scooter, used responsibly, seems to have a place. But as Walker says, Next year theyll have some other new device that everyone is talking about. More from NerdWallet: Philip Reed is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: preed@nerdwallet.com. NerdWallet is a USA TODAY content partner providing general news, commentary and coverage from around the web. Its content is produced independently of USATODAY. Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/02/21/electric-scooters-could-bird-lime-rentals-ease-traffic-congestion/2926267002/ | Experts say electric scooters could be part of a solution to relieve urban congestion and address global warming. Scooters could also help riders save money and arrive at the office without needing to hit the showers. The current electric scooter rental boom is thanks to powerful lithium-ion batteries and GPS connectivity. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2019/02/21/electric-scooters-could-bird-lime-rentals-ease-traffic-congestion/2926267002/ | 0.587777 |
Will council finally approve FC Cincinnati zoning change? | CLOSE Aerial footage above the future site of FC Cincinnati's new stadium in the West End neighborhood. (Sam Greene & Albert Cesare/The Enquirer) Sam Greene and Albert Cesare, Cincinnati Enquirer FC Cincinnati continues to work on deals to help a black restaurateur keep her business in the West End and with its tenant, the Cincinnati Ballet issues Cincinnati City Council urged the team to work out before it would approve a zoning change for the team's stadium. That vote is set for Thursday and a deal is close to help Monica Williams and her Just Cookin' restaurant, said Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman. Negotiations with the ballet continue Thursday. It's unclear this morning. The stadium is already behind schedule, costing it a half million dollars and construction officials fretted any further delays could push back the planned 2021 opening. Cincinnati City Council hit the pause button last week, after supporters of Williams turned out in droves during public comment protesting how her business was shuttered to make way for the stadium. And council members were concerned about how the Cincinnati Ballet, which sits on land owned by the team and whose parking lot is slated for part of the development, and the team would co-exist. FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding argued those issues were outside council's control. But still council members sent everyone back to the negotiating table. More: FC Cincinnati stadium: Issues with ballet, restaurant prompt Cincinnati City Council to delay key vote More: Key dates in FC Cincinnati's lurching effort to get a stadium approved Monica Williams of Just Cookin' sits in a city council meeting on Wednesday Feb. 13 to hear the outcome of a vote regarding FC Cincinnati's West End stadium. Williams and her restaurant were displaced by the plans to build the stadium (Photo11: Phil Didion) More: Cincinnati Ballet's 'Sleeping Beauty' tutus are something special FC Cincinnati is building a $250 million stadium in the West End, which council gave the go-ahead for last year in a 5-4 vote. And it approved nearly $35 million in incentives for infrastructure purposes. But that approval still had to go through the city's planning commission and get zoning approval from council. Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/21/fc-cincinnati-stadium-zoning-change-city-council/2924882002/ | Cincinnati City Council urged the team to work out issues before it would approve a zoning change for the team's stadium. A deal is close to help Monica Williams and her Just Cookin' restaurant, said Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/21/fc-cincinnati-stadium-zoning-change-city-council/2924882002/ | 0.187018 |
Will council finally approve FC Cincinnati zoning change? | CLOSE Aerial footage above the future site of FC Cincinnati's new stadium in the West End neighborhood. (Sam Greene & Albert Cesare/The Enquirer) Sam Greene and Albert Cesare, Cincinnati Enquirer FC Cincinnati continues to work on deals to help a black restaurateur keep her business in the West End and with its tenant, the Cincinnati Ballet issues Cincinnati City Council urged the team to work out before it would approve a zoning change for the team's stadium. That vote is set for Thursday and a deal is close to help Monica Williams and her Just Cookin' restaurant, said Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman. Negotiations with the ballet continue Thursday. It's unclear this morning. The stadium is already behind schedule, costing it a half million dollars and construction officials fretted any further delays could push back the planned 2021 opening. Cincinnati City Council hit the pause button last week, after supporters of Williams turned out in droves during public comment protesting how her business was shuttered to make way for the stadium. And council members were concerned about how the Cincinnati Ballet, which sits on land owned by the team and whose parking lot is slated for part of the development, and the team would co-exist. FC Cincinnati President and General Manager Jeff Berding argued those issues were outside council's control. But still council members sent everyone back to the negotiating table. More: FC Cincinnati stadium: Issues with ballet, restaurant prompt Cincinnati City Council to delay key vote More: Key dates in FC Cincinnati's lurching effort to get a stadium approved Monica Williams of Just Cookin' sits in a city council meeting on Wednesday Feb. 13 to hear the outcome of a vote regarding FC Cincinnati's West End stadium. Williams and her restaurant were displaced by the plans to build the stadium (Photo11: Phil Didion) More: Cincinnati Ballet's 'Sleeping Beauty' tutus are something special FC Cincinnati is building a $250 million stadium in the West End, which council gave the go-ahead for last year in a 5-4 vote. And it approved nearly $35 million in incentives for infrastructure purposes. But that approval still had to go through the city's planning commission and get zoning approval from council. Read or Share this story: https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/21/fc-cincinnati-stadium-zoning-change-city-council/2924882002/ | A vote is set for Thursday on a zoning change for FC Cincinnati's stadium. A deal is close to help Monica Williams and her Just Cookin' restaurant, said Cincinnati City Councilman Greg Landsman. The stadium is already behind schedule, costing it a half million dollars. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/2019/02/21/fc-cincinnati-stadium-zoning-change-city-council/2924882002/ | 0.195832 |
Which U.K. Tech Companies Now Hire More People For Non-Tech Than Tech Roles? | The number of non-tech jobs in the U.K.s biggest and most high-profile tech businesses has risen by 11% points in just the last seven months - from 43% to 54%. It means that high-profile employers, such as Salesforce, Amazon and Apple, are now more likely to appoint an account manager than a solutions architect, a marketing manager than a systems engineer, according to a survey compiled by Glassdoor. The changing profile of their recruitment needs reflects a sector that is maturing from the fewer functions required by startups and scaleups to those of more traditional SMEs or corporates. For those with ambitions to work in a tech company, but put off by the view that they only employ geeks, it might be the time to look again. Non-tech jobs by employer Overall, Salesforce hired the highest percentage of non-tech roles at 83%. While we may be a technology company, we hire across a range of roles and skills to support customer success in the region, says Ana Recio, Executive Vice President, Global Recruiting, Salesforce. Its peers, SAP, Oracle and Amazon, were pretty close behind with more than half of their roles for non-tech workers. Even Google, Apple and Expedia have between more than two fifths to a half of their jobs open to non-tech workers. Facebook comes in at 47% but for each of its individual tech roles on offer, it might appoint several of those who apply not something it does for non-tech jobs. There is no correlation between the number of generic listings on recruitment platforms and the number of people we hire, says Alexandru Voica, EMEA Communications Manager, Engineering. Top 10 non-tech jobs Account manager, operations manager, project manager, account executive and marketing managers are the roles most in demand by the tech companies. Sales executive, support technician, business development manager, recruiter and security officer come next. Yet these top 10 non-tech jobs account for only one in five of the non-tech jobs on offer suggesting there is a real multitude of non-tech jobs on offer in the tech companies. The median salary for non-tech roles is 38,100 per year compared to the 40,440 per year for tech jobs, a relatively insignificant difference of 2000. Tech companies in Exeter, Slough Reading, Birmingham and Leeds are all cities more likely to hire more non-tech employees than those companies in London. In fact, 68% of employees appointed by tech companies in Exeter are joining to do non-tech jobs. More diverse functions Modern tech companies started out as startups, raising funds not based on income but potential. As they scaled, new waves of investors expected to see those promises turn into revenue and profit. A more diverse workforce is required to deliver it. So it becomes necessary to appoint sales. With these appointments come the need for marketers to join the team to supply the leads. Both functions get the job based not on whether they have worked for a startup or a scaleup but because they can deliver revenue. Tech companies have also come under increasing scrutiny on a number of public affairs issues such as tax and data protection. It means that whereas once a dynamic founder might have been able to bat for the company alone, he or she now needs a phalanx of professionals to see the growing company through the twists and turns of public opinion. And, most importantly, customers. As startups become scaleups and then global technology companies, they need to find mainstream, paying customers beyond the early adopters that first used their products and made the companys name. Polish up that C.V. Last year, we announced plans to hire 900 employees in the UK over five years, with a strong mix of technical and non-technical roles, including sales, customer success, solution engineering, support, partner engagement, legal, marketing and more, concludes Recio. | Tech companies in Exeter, Slough Reading, Birmingham and Leeds are all cities more likely to hire more non-tech employees than those in London. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwelsheurope/2019/02/21/which-u-k-tech-companies-now-hire-more-people-for-non-tech-than-tech-roles/ | 0.304385 |
Which U.K. Tech Companies Now Hire More People For Non-Tech Than Tech Roles? | The number of non-tech jobs in the U.K.s biggest and most high-profile tech businesses has risen by 11% points in just the last seven months - from 43% to 54%. It means that high-profile employers, such as Salesforce, Amazon and Apple, are now more likely to appoint an account manager than a solutions architect, a marketing manager than a systems engineer, according to a survey compiled by Glassdoor. The changing profile of their recruitment needs reflects a sector that is maturing from the fewer functions required by startups and scaleups to those of more traditional SMEs or corporates. For those with ambitions to work in a tech company, but put off by the view that they only employ geeks, it might be the time to look again. Non-tech jobs by employer Overall, Salesforce hired the highest percentage of non-tech roles at 83%. While we may be a technology company, we hire across a range of roles and skills to support customer success in the region, says Ana Recio, Executive Vice President, Global Recruiting, Salesforce. Its peers, SAP, Oracle and Amazon, were pretty close behind with more than half of their roles for non-tech workers. Even Google, Apple and Expedia have between more than two fifths to a half of their jobs open to non-tech workers. Facebook comes in at 47% but for each of its individual tech roles on offer, it might appoint several of those who apply not something it does for non-tech jobs. There is no correlation between the number of generic listings on recruitment platforms and the number of people we hire, says Alexandru Voica, EMEA Communications Manager, Engineering. Top 10 non-tech jobs Account manager, operations manager, project manager, account executive and marketing managers are the roles most in demand by the tech companies. Sales executive, support technician, business development manager, recruiter and security officer come next. Yet these top 10 non-tech jobs account for only one in five of the non-tech jobs on offer suggesting there is a real multitude of non-tech jobs on offer in the tech companies. The median salary for non-tech roles is 38,100 per year compared to the 40,440 per year for tech jobs, a relatively insignificant difference of 2000. Tech companies in Exeter, Slough Reading, Birmingham and Leeds are all cities more likely to hire more non-tech employees than those companies in London. In fact, 68% of employees appointed by tech companies in Exeter are joining to do non-tech jobs. More diverse functions Modern tech companies started out as startups, raising funds not based on income but potential. As they scaled, new waves of investors expected to see those promises turn into revenue and profit. A more diverse workforce is required to deliver it. So it becomes necessary to appoint sales. With these appointments come the need for marketers to join the team to supply the leads. Both functions get the job based not on whether they have worked for a startup or a scaleup but because they can deliver revenue. Tech companies have also come under increasing scrutiny on a number of public affairs issues such as tax and data protection. It means that whereas once a dynamic founder might have been able to bat for the company alone, he or she now needs a phalanx of professionals to see the growing company through the twists and turns of public opinion. And, most importantly, customers. As startups become scaleups and then global technology companies, they need to find mainstream, paying customers beyond the early adopters that first used their products and made the companys name. Polish up that C.V. Last year, we announced plans to hire 900 employees in the UK over five years, with a strong mix of technical and non-technical roles, including sales, customer success, solution engineering, support, partner engagement, legal, marketing and more, concludes Recio. | Salesforce hired the highest percentage of non-tech roles at 83%. Tech companies in Exeter, Slough Reading, Birmingham and Leeds are all cities more likely to hire more non- tech employees than those in London. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwelsheurope/2019/02/21/which-u-k-tech-companies-now-hire-more-people-for-non-tech-than-tech-roles/ | 0.30108 |
Which U.K. Tech Companies Now Hire More People For Non-Tech Than Tech Roles? | The number of non-tech jobs in the U.K.s biggest and most high-profile tech businesses has risen by 11% points in just the last seven months - from 43% to 54%. It means that high-profile employers, such as Salesforce, Amazon and Apple, are now more likely to appoint an account manager than a solutions architect, a marketing manager than a systems engineer, according to a survey compiled by Glassdoor. The changing profile of their recruitment needs reflects a sector that is maturing from the fewer functions required by startups and scaleups to those of more traditional SMEs or corporates. For those with ambitions to work in a tech company, but put off by the view that they only employ geeks, it might be the time to look again. Non-tech jobs by employer Overall, Salesforce hired the highest percentage of non-tech roles at 83%. While we may be a technology company, we hire across a range of roles and skills to support customer success in the region, says Ana Recio, Executive Vice President, Global Recruiting, Salesforce. Its peers, SAP, Oracle and Amazon, were pretty close behind with more than half of their roles for non-tech workers. Even Google, Apple and Expedia have between more than two fifths to a half of their jobs open to non-tech workers. Facebook comes in at 47% but for each of its individual tech roles on offer, it might appoint several of those who apply not something it does for non-tech jobs. There is no correlation between the number of generic listings on recruitment platforms and the number of people we hire, says Alexandru Voica, EMEA Communications Manager, Engineering. Top 10 non-tech jobs Account manager, operations manager, project manager, account executive and marketing managers are the roles most in demand by the tech companies. Sales executive, support technician, business development manager, recruiter and security officer come next. Yet these top 10 non-tech jobs account for only one in five of the non-tech jobs on offer suggesting there is a real multitude of non-tech jobs on offer in the tech companies. The median salary for non-tech roles is 38,100 per year compared to the 40,440 per year for tech jobs, a relatively insignificant difference of 2000. Tech companies in Exeter, Slough Reading, Birmingham and Leeds are all cities more likely to hire more non-tech employees than those companies in London. In fact, 68% of employees appointed by tech companies in Exeter are joining to do non-tech jobs. More diverse functions Modern tech companies started out as startups, raising funds not based on income but potential. As they scaled, new waves of investors expected to see those promises turn into revenue and profit. A more diverse workforce is required to deliver it. So it becomes necessary to appoint sales. With these appointments come the need for marketers to join the team to supply the leads. Both functions get the job based not on whether they have worked for a startup or a scaleup but because they can deliver revenue. Tech companies have also come under increasing scrutiny on a number of public affairs issues such as tax and data protection. It means that whereas once a dynamic founder might have been able to bat for the company alone, he or she now needs a phalanx of professionals to see the growing company through the twists and turns of public opinion. And, most importantly, customers. As startups become scaleups and then global technology companies, they need to find mainstream, paying customers beyond the early adopters that first used their products and made the companys name. Polish up that C.V. Last year, we announced plans to hire 900 employees in the UK over five years, with a strong mix of technical and non-technical roles, including sales, customer success, solution engineering, support, partner engagement, legal, marketing and more, concludes Recio. | Tech companies in Exeter, Slough Reading, Birmingham and Leeds are all cities more likely to hire more non-tech employees than those in London. For those with ambitions to work in a tech company, but put off by the view that they only employ geeks, it might be the time to look again. | pegasus | 2 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwelsheurope/2019/02/21/which-u-k-tech-companies-now-hire-more-people-for-non-tech-than-tech-roles/ | 0.456765 |
Is Bernie Sanders too old to run for president in 2020? | By Cait Bladt Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to run for president in 2020. If he were to win the presidency, he would become the oldest person to hold the office in American history, celebrating his 80th birthday in office. Sanders, at age 77, argues he is in impeccable health and has a sharp mind. Not only that, but our current president is 72 years old and frequently faces concerns about his health. Others say Sanders is too old to connect with the country as a whole. At 77-years-old, Sanders is by far the oldest candidate running for president. Former Vice President Joe Biden who is expected to join the race, would be younger than Sanders by only a year. Many pundits worry Sanders' age could not only negatively affect his performance in office but hurt his chances of ever winning the seat. Per New York Magazine: [I]ts no secret that when people, particularly men, get to that age, the risk of mortality rises significantly (a 75-year-old man has a 22 percent chance of dying within six years), and along with it the possibility of cognitive deterioration (an estimated 15 percent of people between the ages of 80 and 84 suffer from some form of dementia). If voters fear any of that happening, it could (particularly with some encouragement from the kind of intensely hostile conservative media that Sanders and Biden were spared in 2016) affect their electability in ways that are not easy to anticipate in scope and power. And even more obviously, if a 77- or 79-year-old candidate suffers from any real or perceived impairment, the issue could take over the campaign to an extent that makes Hillary Clintons email problem look minor. Sanders supporters are quick to point out that Sanders appears to maintain a far healthier lifestyle than the current sitting president. Not only that, but he would not be the oldest person holding elected office in the federal government. Per the Intercept: Yet his likely Republican opponent, Trump, will be the previous record-holder. He was 70 in 2016 and will be 74 in 2020. Yes, the overweight sitting president, who eats junk food, doesnt exercise, and refuses to release his medical records. In terms of the Democratic primaries, Sanders will be 79 in 2020, but Biden will be 77 and Elizabeth Warren will be 71. Sanders himself has acknowledged that his age could be a concern for some voters. However, he told Politico that he is of excellent health and his age would in no way affect his performance. Its part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished, Sanders, who is 77, told POLITICO. Youve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and well being of the individual. Sanders has been questioned about his age several times since entering the race. During an interview with Vermont Public Radio, he responded: "We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age," Sanders said. "I mean, I think we have got to try to move us toward a non-discriminatory society which looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for." The hosts of FiveThirtyEights Politics Podcast felt the response was self-serving and somewhat defensive, lumping real concerns about his age in with unfair racial biases and gender being held against other candidates. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, wed love to hear what you have to say. | At 77-years-old, Sanders is by far the oldest candidate running for president. | pegasus | 0 | https://www.cleveland.com/nation/2019/02/is-bernie-sanders-too-old-to-run-for-president-in-2020.html | 0.158919 |
Is Bernie Sanders too old to run for president in 2020? | By Cait Bladt Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to run for president in 2020. If he were to win the presidency, he would become the oldest person to hold the office in American history, celebrating his 80th birthday in office. Sanders, at age 77, argues he is in impeccable health and has a sharp mind. Not only that, but our current president is 72 years old and frequently faces concerns about his health. Others say Sanders is too old to connect with the country as a whole. At 77-years-old, Sanders is by far the oldest candidate running for president. Former Vice President Joe Biden who is expected to join the race, would be younger than Sanders by only a year. Many pundits worry Sanders' age could not only negatively affect his performance in office but hurt his chances of ever winning the seat. Per New York Magazine: [I]ts no secret that when people, particularly men, get to that age, the risk of mortality rises significantly (a 75-year-old man has a 22 percent chance of dying within six years), and along with it the possibility of cognitive deterioration (an estimated 15 percent of people between the ages of 80 and 84 suffer from some form of dementia). If voters fear any of that happening, it could (particularly with some encouragement from the kind of intensely hostile conservative media that Sanders and Biden were spared in 2016) affect their electability in ways that are not easy to anticipate in scope and power. And even more obviously, if a 77- or 79-year-old candidate suffers from any real or perceived impairment, the issue could take over the campaign to an extent that makes Hillary Clintons email problem look minor. Sanders supporters are quick to point out that Sanders appears to maintain a far healthier lifestyle than the current sitting president. Not only that, but he would not be the oldest person holding elected office in the federal government. Per the Intercept: Yet his likely Republican opponent, Trump, will be the previous record-holder. He was 70 in 2016 and will be 74 in 2020. Yes, the overweight sitting president, who eats junk food, doesnt exercise, and refuses to release his medical records. In terms of the Democratic primaries, Sanders will be 79 in 2020, but Biden will be 77 and Elizabeth Warren will be 71. Sanders himself has acknowledged that his age could be a concern for some voters. However, he told Politico that he is of excellent health and his age would in no way affect his performance. Its part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished, Sanders, who is 77, told POLITICO. Youve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and well being of the individual. Sanders has been questioned about his age several times since entering the race. During an interview with Vermont Public Radio, he responded: "We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age," Sanders said. "I mean, I think we have got to try to move us toward a non-discriminatory society which looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for." The hosts of FiveThirtyEights Politics Podcast felt the response was self-serving and somewhat defensive, lumping real concerns about his age in with unfair racial biases and gender being held against other candidates. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, wed love to hear what you have to say. | Sen. Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to run for president in 2020. At 77-years-old, Sanders is by far the oldest candidate running for president. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.cleveland.com/nation/2019/02/is-bernie-sanders-too-old-to-run-for-president-in-2020.html | 0.493762 |
Is Bernie Sanders too old to run for president in 2020? | By Cait Bladt Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to run for president in 2020. If he were to win the presidency, he would become the oldest person to hold the office in American history, celebrating his 80th birthday in office. Sanders, at age 77, argues he is in impeccable health and has a sharp mind. Not only that, but our current president is 72 years old and frequently faces concerns about his health. Others say Sanders is too old to connect with the country as a whole. At 77-years-old, Sanders is by far the oldest candidate running for president. Former Vice President Joe Biden who is expected to join the race, would be younger than Sanders by only a year. Many pundits worry Sanders' age could not only negatively affect his performance in office but hurt his chances of ever winning the seat. Per New York Magazine: [I]ts no secret that when people, particularly men, get to that age, the risk of mortality rises significantly (a 75-year-old man has a 22 percent chance of dying within six years), and along with it the possibility of cognitive deterioration (an estimated 15 percent of people between the ages of 80 and 84 suffer from some form of dementia). If voters fear any of that happening, it could (particularly with some encouragement from the kind of intensely hostile conservative media that Sanders and Biden were spared in 2016) affect their electability in ways that are not easy to anticipate in scope and power. And even more obviously, if a 77- or 79-year-old candidate suffers from any real or perceived impairment, the issue could take over the campaign to an extent that makes Hillary Clintons email problem look minor. Sanders supporters are quick to point out that Sanders appears to maintain a far healthier lifestyle than the current sitting president. Not only that, but he would not be the oldest person holding elected office in the federal government. Per the Intercept: Yet his likely Republican opponent, Trump, will be the previous record-holder. He was 70 in 2016 and will be 74 in 2020. Yes, the overweight sitting president, who eats junk food, doesnt exercise, and refuses to release his medical records. In terms of the Democratic primaries, Sanders will be 79 in 2020, but Biden will be 77 and Elizabeth Warren will be 71. Sanders himself has acknowledged that his age could be a concern for some voters. However, he told Politico that he is of excellent health and his age would in no way affect his performance. Its part of a discussion, but it has to be part of an overall view of what somebody is and what somebody has accomplished, Sanders, who is 77, told POLITICO. Youve got people who are 90 years of age who are going to work every day doing excellent work. And obviously, age is a factor. But it depends on the overall health and well being of the individual. Sanders has been questioned about his age several times since entering the race. During an interview with Vermont Public Radio, he responded: "We have got to look at candidates, you know, not by the color of their skin, not by their sexual orientation or their gender and not by their age," Sanders said. "I mean, I think we have got to try to move us toward a non-discriminatory society which looks at people based on their abilities, based on what they stand for." The hosts of FiveThirtyEights Politics Podcast felt the response was self-serving and somewhat defensive, lumping real concerns about his age in with unfair racial biases and gender being held against other candidates. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, wed love to hear what you have to say. | Sen. Bernie Sanders has announced his intention to run for president in 2020. At 77-years-old, Sanders is by far the oldest candidate running for president. Many pundits worry Sanders' age could not only negatively affect his performance in office but hurt his chances of ever winning the seat. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.cleveland.com/nation/2019/02/is-bernie-sanders-too-old-to-run-for-president-in-2020.html | 0.568926 |
How Will The Model 3 Price Cuts Impact Tesla? | Tesla has cut the price of its Model 3 sedan twice this year. After slashing prices of all its vehicles by $2,000 following the reduction of the federal tax credit for its cars in January, the company dropped Model 3 prices by another $1,100 earlier this month after ending its customer referral program. In this note, we take a look at the potential impact of the price cuts on Tesla. We have created an interactive dashboard analysis that breaks down our price estimate for Tesla, based on key drivers including Model 3, S, X average selling prices and deliveries. You can modify inputs for Teslas pricing, volumes, and margins to arrive at your own valuation for the company. In addition, you can view all Trefis Consumer Discretionary company data here. Why The Price Cuts Are Necessary At the start of 2019, the federal tax credit for Tesla buyers fell to $3,750 from $7,500, as the company crossed the sales threshold of 200k cars set by the government. The total price cut of $3,100 over the past few weeks largely helps to offset this, and now the least expensive version of the Model 3 sells for $42,900 for a car offering mid-range battery capacity (264 miles) along with the premium interior package. However, it will become important for the company to move further down the price curve in early July, as the tax credit again drops by half, effectively making Teslas more expensive by $1,875. The credit will go away entirely in January 2020. With Tesla being the first automaker to lose access to the full credit, and competition in the broader EV market heating up, the company will have to launch the standard version of the Model 3 ($35,000) to mitigate the impact. However, it appears that Tesla will have some work to do on this front. Towards the end of last year, Tesla indicated that it would cost about $38,000 to make the standard range Model 3, implying that it would still need to make meaningful cost cuts to make the vehicle profitably. Tesla has been taking multiple steps to cut costs. Firstly, the scale-up of Model 3 production could help the company improve economies of scale and reduce costs. Tesla is likely to be producing over 5,500 Model 3 vehicles per week currently according to the Bloomberg Model 3 tracker, up from less than 2,500 units a week in mid-2018, and the metric is expected to approach 10k vehicles by the end of this year. Moreover, the production process for the Model 3 uses a significant amount of automation, which helps it drive down costs. For example, in Q4 Tesla has said that the number of labor hours per Model 3 declined by roughly 20% compared to Q3 and by about 65% in the second half of 2018. The company also decided to cut 7% of its full-time workforce in January to save costs. Tesla also has an advantage in terms of battery costs, with the company aiming for battery cell costs of less than $100/kWh last year, which is well below the broader industry. Separately, Tesla also ended its customer referral program which offered new buyers six months of free supercharging, while offering existing owners other perks and this could also help the company cut costs. Explore example interactive dashboards and create your own | Tesla has cut the price of its Model 3 sedan twice this year. At the start of 2019, the federal tax credit for Tesla buyers fell to $3,750 from $7,500. The credit will go away entirely in January 2020. | bart | 1 | https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2019/02/21/how-will-the-model-3-price-cuts-impact-tesla/ | 0.1674 |
How do brokers Tal and Oren Alexander keep setting sales records? | Heres how to start off your new year with a bang: Since Jan. 1, brothers Tal and Oren Alexander, who oversee a 10-person team of brokers at Douglas Elliman Real Estate, have closed on three deals worth nearly a half-billion dollars. First came the Jan. 21 sale of a mansion at 3 Carlton Gardens in London to billionaire Ken Griffin for $122 million the highest recorded purchase in that city since 2011. Two days later, the brothers brokered the sale of a New York City penthouse at 220 Central Park South for a whopping $238 million, the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S., also to Griffin. Then on Feb. 1, the Alexanders represented the seller in the $50 million sale of a mansion at 3 Indian Creek Island Road the highest price ever paid for a single-family home in Miami-Dade County to an undisclosed buyer. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald Sitting poolside at their sprawling Miami Beach mansion, Tal, 32, and Oren, 31, acknowledge their record-setting real estate hat trick has been a little surreal. Just dont call them lucky. People often say weve had beginners luck, Oren says. But weve been doing this for over a decade. There were deals that weve been working on for the past three years, using relationships that weve cultivated over the last decade. Weve been able to grow a network that is unprecedented. Theres not a person or a client we cant get to. In just 10 years, the Alexanders have established themselves as major players in an industry that often takes decades to crack: The competitive world of ultra-high-end real estate. After growing up in Miami Beach, the brothers separated to attend college. Oren went to the University of Colorado Boulder, and Tal attended Hofstra University in Long Island. Upon graduation, the pair moved to New York City to launch their careers in 2008 just as the real estate market imploded. Still, they pushed forward. Oren landed a job with Douglas Elliman Realty and focused on sales. He was only 21 when he brokered his first major deal, an $8.2 million penthouse at the Park Imperial in Manhattan in the summer of 2009. The buyer was the well-known Miami attorney Jim Ferraro. Real Estate Brokers Tal (right) and Oren Alexander at their home on Miami Beach on Friday, February 1, 2019. PATRICK FARRELL pfarrell@miamiherald.com Four years later, Ferraro paid $7.75 for the adjacent penthouse in the same building, again hiring Oren as his broker. It definitely crossed my mind at the time that Oren was so young, Ferraro says today. But I started my law firm three years out of law school, so I started young too. He got me a great deal. The numbers were really good and they got a write-up in the New York Post, because the market was dead at that time. And my place today is worth more than double what I paid for it. While Oren concentrated on sales, Tal started his own company in 2009 focusing on luxury rentals. I was showing apartments to an elderly couple who were looking to sell their place and move downtown, Tal says. They owned a seven-room apartment at The Eldorado on 90th and Central Park West, and I told them they had to meet my brother. That $7.5 million unit became Orens first listing in 2011 and made the brothers to realize they should be working together. Since then, the pair have negotiated sales for everyone from the state of Qatar to the unnamed Russian buyer who paid $47 million in cash for the estate at 3 Indian Creek Island Road in 2012 the former record for the most expensive single-family home sale in Miami-Dade. Other famous clients have included footwear magnate Steve Madden, designer Tommy Hilfiger and Hamilton producer Sander Jacobs. The Alexanders currently represent more than $1 billion of properties in New York and Florida. Word of mouth is the most important kind of marketing, Oren says. It makes up 90 percent of our business. The other 10 percent: Showing their potential clients they can play and vacation at their same level, they say. The Alexanders various Instagram accounts, which have a combined 65,000 followers, are filled with photos of the brothers frolicking in the Bahamas, Aspen, Cambodia and West Maui. They travel constantly, whether its bouncing back and forth between Manhattan or Miami or visiting Art Basel fairs in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and wherever else their clientele might be. Oren and Tal have a knack for being at the right event during Art Basel, at the right camp at Burning Man and at the right party at the Oscars, says Jay Parker, CEO of Douglas Ellimans Florida brokerage . They have the gift of gab, they work very hard, theyre very disciplined and theyve been able to leverage their previous successes. The squeaky wheel gets the oil, and these guys never stop squeaking. The family connection Parker says he first met the Alexanders at a Shabbat dinner at their parents home a familial connection that remains intact today. Their father Shlomi Alexander, a developer who specializes in building high-end mansions and spec homes, says the real estate bug bit his sons early. They would run around with me when they were still kids at the construction sites, already negotiating with people, says Shlomi, who built the 3 Indian Creek Island Road spread that first sold in 2012. They used to run after me to see who was coming to see the property. They had this great dynamic from a very young age. Theres nothing better than when you can work with your own kids and build a beautiful company. I build the homes and the boys sell them. The Alexander brothers represented the seller in the recent sale of this mansion at 3 Indian Creek Island Road for $50 million. DOUGLAS ELLIMAN REAL ESTATE Another plus: Each of the brothers strengths complements the other. Oren is the ambassador, the one who speaks about architecture and design and stonework. Tal is the salesman, the one with the encyclopedic knowledge of statistics and market trends. Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of the New York-based Miller Samuel Inc. real estate consulting firm, says he was walking down Madison Avenue last fall when he ran into Tal. He started grilling me about the market, and in return shared a lot of intel with me, Miller says. It was a very rapid-fire, off-the-cuff conversation. Hes really into pricing and is very knowledgeable about the international buyers coming in. I dont know what their secret sauce is, but they have something that gets them in the middle of many high-profile deals other brokers cant touch. Part of that secret sauce may be the confidence the brothers exude the kind of self-assurance that only comes with success. Our deals do the talking for us, and were a lot younger than the competition by far, Tal says. We look forward to settling down and starting families one day, but right now this is a 24/7 job for us. And our parents taught us to be equal partners and work together from an early age. We bring a different perspective into the industry because of that. For the price of one, youre getting the best of both. | Brothers Tal and Oren Alexander have closed on three deals worth nearly a half-billion dollars. The Alexanders brokered the sale of a New York City penthouse for $238 million and the most expensive home ever sold in the U.S. In just 10 years, the Alexanders have established themselves as major players. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/real-estate-news/article225291390.html | 0.144388 |
Are we all peeling bananas wrong? | By Jessie Blaeser You may think the way to peel a banana is one of life's universal truths. Of course, you take the stem of a banana, snap it, and peel -- it's simple. But some are saying there is an easier way: Peeling from the bottom. This camp points out that monkeys peel bananas from the bottom, so it must be the way nature intended. Banana-traditionalists call this heresy. There's only one right way to peel a banana. PERSPECTIVES Of course, you peel a banana from the top. The stem is there to provide the perfect handle for peeling. You just grab, snap and peel -- easy enough. Be honest with yourself: The function of the stem is to act as your gateway to the banana fruit itself. No. Peeling a banana from the bottom is the more efficient route. You simply pinch the bottom and peel. There's no concern about wiggling the stem back and forth to get it to snap -- you get it right every single time, and your banana will never suffer in the process. If this feels like sacrilege to you, take solace in the fact that this is the way nature intended; monkeys peel bananas from the bottom. Flip your banana upside down and enjoy your un-mushed fruit. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | No. There's only one right way to peel a banana. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.cleveland.com/food/index.ssf/2019/02/are_we_all_peeling_bananas_wro.html | 0.210089 |
Are we all peeling bananas wrong? | By Jessie Blaeser You may think the way to peel a banana is one of life's universal truths. Of course, you take the stem of a banana, snap it, and peel -- it's simple. But some are saying there is an easier way: Peeling from the bottom. This camp points out that monkeys peel bananas from the bottom, so it must be the way nature intended. Banana-traditionalists call this heresy. There's only one right way to peel a banana. PERSPECTIVES Of course, you peel a banana from the top. The stem is there to provide the perfect handle for peeling. You just grab, snap and peel -- easy enough. Be honest with yourself: The function of the stem is to act as your gateway to the banana fruit itself. No. Peeling a banana from the bottom is the more efficient route. You simply pinch the bottom and peel. There's no concern about wiggling the stem back and forth to get it to snap -- you get it right every single time, and your banana will never suffer in the process. If this feels like sacrilege to you, take solace in the fact that this is the way nature intended; monkeys peel bananas from the bottom. Flip your banana upside down and enjoy your un-mushed fruit. The Tylt is focused on debates and conversations around news, current events and pop culture. We provide our community with the opportunity to share their opinions and vote on topics that matter most to them. We actively engage the community and present meaningful data on the debates and conversations as they progress. The Tylt is a place where your opinion counts, literally. The Tylt is an Advance Local Media, LLC property. Join us on Twitter @TheTylt, on Instagram @TheTylt or on Facebook, we'd love to hear what you have to say. | Peeling a banana from the bottom is the more efficient route, some say. The stem is there to provide the perfect handle for peeling. If this feels like sacrilege to you, take solace in the fact that this is the way nature intended. Flip your banana upside down and enjoy your un-mushed fruit. | bart | 2 | https://www.cleveland.com/food/index.ssf/2019/02/are_we_all_peeling_bananas_wro.html | 0.126515 |
Why do white supremacists, racists and other fringe characters love Kelli Ward? | Opinion: Arizona's Republican Party Chairman attracts the darndest people. Kelli Ward greets supporters during a primary election night party at Embassy Suites Scottsdale, Aug. 28, 2018. Last year, it was then-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who once described his Breitbart News website as the platform for the alt-right. Bannon was on the stage at the kickoff to Wards second unsuccessful Senate campaign, announcing that Republicans would reap the whirlwind and that whirlwind is Kelli Ward. It wasnt until months later, when Bannon had a falling out with President Donald Trump, that Ward announced she wasnt even sure if Bannon had endorsed her. Then there was Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump national security aide who some have linked to a quasi-Nazi Hungarian nationalist group. (Gorka has disputed that he is a member of Vitzi Rend. He also has explained that white supremacists are "not the problem" in America when it comes to battling terrorism -- this just a few days before the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left one woman dead and 19 injured -- and that there has never been a serious attack or a serious plot that was unconnected from ISIS or al Qaeda.) Ward paid Gorka to come to Phoenix last year to attend a campaign rally. Dont forget Wisconsin congressional candidate Paul Nehlen, who cheerfully describes himself as apro white Christian American candidate. In 2016, Ward supported his unsuccessful bid to unseat House Speaker Paul Ryan and in 2017 she was seen palling around with him at the #Deploraball. It was great to see him in #DC at the #DeploraBallpic.twitter.com/cXDXY9actQ Dr. Kelli Ward (@kelliwardaz) January 31, 2017 Breitbart cut ties with Nehlen later that year, given his anti-Semetic tweets. The Wisconsin Republican Party has said hes not welcome there. In early 2017, he published a list of journalists who are Jewish and went on former Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Dukes podcast to offer his vision for Trump's border wall. Armed machine gun turrets every 300 yards, he said in February 2017. And you can automate those. Anyone who approaches that barrier will be treated as an enemy combatant. Man, woman or child. In early 2018, he was banned from Twitter after posting a racist tweet about Meghan Markle, Strangely, it would take until June 2018 before Ward distanced herself from Nehlen, calling his comments outrageous. Now comes a report that Ward, the Arizona Republican Partys new chairwoman, has enlisted the help of a volunteer who just a few years ago was tweeting racist and homophobic bilge. Shialee Grooman invoked the N-word, used a disgusting term for Hispanics and repeatedly tweeted homophobic slurs. Now shes helping Wards transition team over at state GOP HQ. She even has a state-party email address. Grooman, now in her early 20s, tells The Republics Yvonne Wingett Sanchez the tweets date to high school and that she is not that person today. "I'm one of the people who now have their childhood mistakes opened to public debate and are not allowed to grow or mature," Grooman wrote, via email. "Those tweets don't reflect who I am and I won't allow them to define me as a person." Grooman was associated as recently as earlier this week, according to her Linked In Profile -- with Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit organization led by Charlie Kirk. Kirk has come under fire for allegations involving racial bias. Meanwhile, the groups communications director, Candace Owens, earlier this month was criticized for remarks she made about nationalism and Adolf Hitler. NEWSLETTERS Get the Opinions Newsletter newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Our best and latest in commentary in daily digest form. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-332-6733. Delivery: Mon-Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Opinions Newsletter Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Huffpost, in an April 2018 story about Turning Point USA, reported Groomans tweets, which have since been removed from the Internet. Several of the tweets arent fit even to be paraphrased in a family publication. Lets just say her remarks showed a propensity toward racism, homophobia and a disturbing interest in the anatomy of a certain race of males. If youre a race other than white I promise to make racist jokes towards you, she wrote in December 2012. Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. MORE FROM ROBERTS: Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2019/02/21/why-do-racists-and-other-fringe-characters-love-kelli-ward/2937481002/ | Kelli Ward is the new chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party. Ward has attracted the attention of white supremacists, racists and other fringe characters. She has also drawn the ire of the GOP for her support of Paul Nehlen. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2019/02/21/why-do-racists-and-other-fringe-characters-love-kelli-ward/2937481002/ | 0.455666 |
Why do white supremacists, racists and other fringe characters love Kelli Ward? | Opinion: Arizona's Republican Party Chairman attracts the darndest people. Kelli Ward greets supporters during a primary election night party at Embassy Suites Scottsdale, Aug. 28, 2018. Last year, it was then-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon, who once described his Breitbart News website as the platform for the alt-right. Bannon was on the stage at the kickoff to Wards second unsuccessful Senate campaign, announcing that Republicans would reap the whirlwind and that whirlwind is Kelli Ward. It wasnt until months later, when Bannon had a falling out with President Donald Trump, that Ward announced she wasnt even sure if Bannon had endorsed her. Then there was Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump national security aide who some have linked to a quasi-Nazi Hungarian nationalist group. (Gorka has disputed that he is a member of Vitzi Rend. He also has explained that white supremacists are "not the problem" in America when it comes to battling terrorism -- this just a few days before the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., that left one woman dead and 19 injured -- and that there has never been a serious attack or a serious plot that was unconnected from ISIS or al Qaeda.) Ward paid Gorka to come to Phoenix last year to attend a campaign rally. Dont forget Wisconsin congressional candidate Paul Nehlen, who cheerfully describes himself as apro white Christian American candidate. In 2016, Ward supported his unsuccessful bid to unseat House Speaker Paul Ryan and in 2017 she was seen palling around with him at the #Deploraball. It was great to see him in #DC at the #DeploraBallpic.twitter.com/cXDXY9actQ Dr. Kelli Ward (@kelliwardaz) January 31, 2017 Breitbart cut ties with Nehlen later that year, given his anti-Semetic tweets. The Wisconsin Republican Party has said hes not welcome there. In early 2017, he published a list of journalists who are Jewish and went on former Klu Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Dukes podcast to offer his vision for Trump's border wall. Armed machine gun turrets every 300 yards, he said in February 2017. And you can automate those. Anyone who approaches that barrier will be treated as an enemy combatant. Man, woman or child. In early 2018, he was banned from Twitter after posting a racist tweet about Meghan Markle, Strangely, it would take until June 2018 before Ward distanced herself from Nehlen, calling his comments outrageous. Now comes a report that Ward, the Arizona Republican Partys new chairwoman, has enlisted the help of a volunteer who just a few years ago was tweeting racist and homophobic bilge. Shialee Grooman invoked the N-word, used a disgusting term for Hispanics and repeatedly tweeted homophobic slurs. Now shes helping Wards transition team over at state GOP HQ. She even has a state-party email address. Grooman, now in her early 20s, tells The Republics Yvonne Wingett Sanchez the tweets date to high school and that she is not that person today. "I'm one of the people who now have their childhood mistakes opened to public debate and are not allowed to grow or mature," Grooman wrote, via email. "Those tweets don't reflect who I am and I won't allow them to define me as a person." Grooman was associated as recently as earlier this week, according to her Linked In Profile -- with Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit organization led by Charlie Kirk. Kirk has come under fire for allegations involving racial bias. Meanwhile, the groups communications director, Candace Owens, earlier this month was criticized for remarks she made about nationalism and Adolf Hitler. NEWSLETTERS Get the Opinions Newsletter newsletter delivered to your inbox We're sorry, but something went wrong Our best and latest in commentary in daily digest form. Please try again soon, or contact Customer Service at 1-800-332-6733. Delivery: Mon-Fri Invalid email address Thank you! You're almost signed up for Opinions Newsletter Keep an eye out for an email to confirm your newsletter registration. More newsletters Huffpost, in an April 2018 story about Turning Point USA, reported Groomans tweets, which have since been removed from the Internet. Several of the tweets arent fit even to be paraphrased in a family publication. Lets just say her remarks showed a propensity toward racism, homophobia and a disturbing interest in the anatomy of a certain race of males. If youre a race other than white I promise to make racist jokes towards you, she wrote in December 2012. Reach Roberts at laurie.roberts@arizonarepublic.com. MORE FROM ROBERTS: Read or Share this story: https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2019/02/21/why-do-racists-and-other-fringe-characters-love-kelli-ward/2937481002/ | Kelli Ward is the new chairwoman of the Arizona Republican Party. Ward has attracted the attention of white supremacists, racists and other fringe characters. She has also drawn the ire of the GOP for her support of Paul Nehlen, who is a white Christian American candidate. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/laurieroberts/2019/02/21/why-do-racists-and-other-fringe-characters-love-kelli-ward/2937481002/ | 0.554935 |
How long should it take to get my tax refund this year? | CLOSE Tax filing season is here, and the overhaul of tax laws means some potentially big changes for your budget. Josmar Taveras, USA TODAY Many taxpayers are anxiously awaiting this years tax refund that they hope to use to pay down debt, pad their savings or make a big purchase. Historically, almost three-quarters of Americans receive a refund, which has averaged just under $3,000, a big sum for many families. This year, the Internal Revenue Service expects most refunds to be issued in less than 21 days, as long as the return doesnt require further review. Some USA TODAY readers have reported getting their refunds in as fast as one week. Heres how to find out the status of your refund if youre still waiting for it. Tax troubles: Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills Tax filing tips: Taxes 2019: 10 common filing mistakes to avoid this year (Photo11: GETTY IMAGES) Track it If you havent received your tax refund, you can track its progress using the Wheres My Refund? app online or the free IRS mobile app IRS2Go. Information on your tax refund typically will be available within 24 hours after you filed an electronic return or four weeks after mailing a paper return. The app updates once a day usually overnight. Tax stress: Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills To check your refund status, you will need provide your Social Security number, filing status and exact refund amount. The tool will show one of three statuses: Return Received, Refund Approved and Refund Sent. If you dont have internet access, you can call 800-829-1954 for an audio version of Wheres My Refund? Tax refunds for EITC and ACTC filers The Wheres My Refund tool was also updated this week for the majority of early filers who claimed either the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). Before that, those filers may have received a projected date or message saying the IRS was still processing their return. Tech tips: 10 tech tips for Google, Instagram and Facebook to get your digital life in order Taxpayers who claimed the EITC or ACTC will see their tax refunds in their bank accounts or debit cards starting the week of Feb. 27, if they chose direct deposit. Thats because, by law, the IRS couldnt begin issuing those refunds before Feb. 15 to give the agency more time to detect possible fraud. Its time to call the IRS about your tax refund if it has been more than 21 days since you e-filed, more than six weeks since you mailed your return, or the Wheres My Refund? tool directs you to contact the agency. CLOSE Its tax time again. In your rush to get your taxes done, dont make these six mistakes. Josmar Taveras, USA TODAY Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/where-my-tax-refund-2019-how-long-does-take-irs/2938220002/ | The Internal Revenue Service expects most refunds to be issued in less than 21 days. | bart | 0 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/where-my-tax-refund-2019-how-long-does-take-irs/2938220002/ | 0.202048 |
How long should it take to get my tax refund this year? | CLOSE Tax filing season is here, and the overhaul of tax laws means some potentially big changes for your budget. Josmar Taveras, USA TODAY Many taxpayers are anxiously awaiting this years tax refund that they hope to use to pay down debt, pad their savings or make a big purchase. Historically, almost three-quarters of Americans receive a refund, which has averaged just under $3,000, a big sum for many families. This year, the Internal Revenue Service expects most refunds to be issued in less than 21 days, as long as the return doesnt require further review. Some USA TODAY readers have reported getting their refunds in as fast as one week. Heres how to find out the status of your refund if youre still waiting for it. Tax troubles: Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills Tax filing tips: Taxes 2019: 10 common filing mistakes to avoid this year (Photo11: GETTY IMAGES) Track it If you havent received your tax refund, you can track its progress using the Wheres My Refund? app online or the free IRS mobile app IRS2Go. Information on your tax refund typically will be available within 24 hours after you filed an electronic return or four weeks after mailing a paper return. The app updates once a day usually overnight. Tax stress: Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills To check your refund status, you will need provide your Social Security number, filing status and exact refund amount. The tool will show one of three statuses: Return Received, Refund Approved and Refund Sent. If you dont have internet access, you can call 800-829-1954 for an audio version of Wheres My Refund? Tax refunds for EITC and ACTC filers The Wheres My Refund tool was also updated this week for the majority of early filers who claimed either the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). Before that, those filers may have received a projected date or message saying the IRS was still processing their return. Tech tips: 10 tech tips for Google, Instagram and Facebook to get your digital life in order Taxpayers who claimed the EITC or ACTC will see their tax refunds in their bank accounts or debit cards starting the week of Feb. 27, if they chose direct deposit. Thats because, by law, the IRS couldnt begin issuing those refunds before Feb. 15 to give the agency more time to detect possible fraud. Its time to call the IRS about your tax refund if it has been more than 21 days since you e-filed, more than six weeks since you mailed your return, or the Wheres My Refund? tool directs you to contact the agency. CLOSE Its tax time again. In your rush to get your taxes done, dont make these six mistakes. Josmar Taveras, USA TODAY Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/where-my-tax-refund-2019-how-long-does-take-irs/2938220002/ | Taxpayers are anxiously awaiting this year's tax refund. Historically, almost three-quarters of Americans receive a refund. The IRS expects most refunds to be issued in less than 21 days. | pegasus | 1 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/where-my-tax-refund-2019-how-long-does-take-irs/2938220002/ | 0.342649 |
How long should it take to get my tax refund this year? | CLOSE Tax filing season is here, and the overhaul of tax laws means some potentially big changes for your budget. Josmar Taveras, USA TODAY Many taxpayers are anxiously awaiting this years tax refund that they hope to use to pay down debt, pad their savings or make a big purchase. Historically, almost three-quarters of Americans receive a refund, which has averaged just under $3,000, a big sum for many families. This year, the Internal Revenue Service expects most refunds to be issued in less than 21 days, as long as the return doesnt require further review. Some USA TODAY readers have reported getting their refunds in as fast as one week. Heres how to find out the status of your refund if youre still waiting for it. Tax troubles: Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills Tax filing tips: Taxes 2019: 10 common filing mistakes to avoid this year (Photo11: GETTY IMAGES) Track it If you havent received your tax refund, you can track its progress using the Wheres My Refund? app online or the free IRS mobile app IRS2Go. Information on your tax refund typically will be available within 24 hours after you filed an electronic return or four weeks after mailing a paper return. The app updates once a day usually overnight. Tax stress: Some Americans face a costly surprise this tax season: tiny refunds or bigger bills To check your refund status, you will need provide your Social Security number, filing status and exact refund amount. The tool will show one of three statuses: Return Received, Refund Approved and Refund Sent. If you dont have internet access, you can call 800-829-1954 for an audio version of Wheres My Refund? Tax refunds for EITC and ACTC filers The Wheres My Refund tool was also updated this week for the majority of early filers who claimed either the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) or the Additional Child Tax Credit (ACTC). Before that, those filers may have received a projected date or message saying the IRS was still processing their return. Tech tips: 10 tech tips for Google, Instagram and Facebook to get your digital life in order Taxpayers who claimed the EITC or ACTC will see their tax refunds in their bank accounts or debit cards starting the week of Feb. 27, if they chose direct deposit. Thats because, by law, the IRS couldnt begin issuing those refunds before Feb. 15 to give the agency more time to detect possible fraud. Its time to call the IRS about your tax refund if it has been more than 21 days since you e-filed, more than six weeks since you mailed your return, or the Wheres My Refund? tool directs you to contact the agency. CLOSE Its tax time again. In your rush to get your taxes done, dont make these six mistakes. Josmar Taveras, USA TODAY Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/where-my-tax-refund-2019-how-long-does-take-irs/2938220002/ | The Internal Revenue Service expects most refunds to be issued in less than 21 days. If you haven't received your tax refund, you can track its progress using the Wheres My Refund? app online or the free IRS mobile app IRS2Go. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/02/21/where-my-tax-refund-2019-how-long-does-take-irs/2938220002/ | 0.261952 |
Is the rodeo ready for Cardi B? | Joel Cowley admits that RodeoHouston disappointed black fans with last years inclusion of Leon Bridges on the lineup. RodeoHouston president and CEO Cowley isnt just blowing smoke. Fort Worth native Bridges performance on Black Heritage Day drew 51,870 paid attendance, the lowest of 2018. Large pockets of seats were empty throughout the stadium, and the uppermost sections were almost completely bare. Previous Black Heritage Day performers fared much better, including Alicia Keys (73,660 in 2017), Jason Derulo (59,236 in 2016), John Legend (69,583 in 2015) and Usher (75,067 in 2014). Bridges inclusion on the 2018 lineup was met with sustained criticism from black fans because his music appeals to a largely white audience. RodeoHouston lineup Feb. 25: Kacey Musgraves Feb. 26: Prince Royce Feb. 27: Brooks & Dunn Feb. 28: Luke Bryan March 1: Cardi B (Black Heritage Day) March 2: Turnpike Troubadours March 3: Panic! At the Disco March 4: Old Dominion March 5: Camila Cabello March 6: Luke Combs March 7: Tim McGraw March 8: Zedd March 9: Kane Brown March 10: Los Tigres del Norte (Go Tejano Day) March 11: Zac Brown Band March 12: Kings of Leon March 13: Santana March 14: Chris Stapleton March 15: Cody Johnson March 16: Brad Paisley March 17: George Strait with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen Read More Thats not what the African-American community wanted to see, Cowley says. We heard about that. We saw it in the stadium, and we saw it on the grounds. DON'T MISS THESE: The 7 RodeoHouston shows you need to see Cowley says last years tepid reaction factored into this years decision to book Cardi B on Black Heritage Day. She makes her debut Friday, less than three weeks after winning a Grammy for best rap album. She is the first solo female to ever win the award. Given the opportunity to book her, to really make a statement to the African-American community, who we disappointed last year, we decided we needed to (do) that, Cowley says. Cardi B was named Billboards top new artist of 2018, and her bilingual tune I Like It was one of the biggest songs of the year. The rapper, who is Trinidadian and Dominican, is the jewel atop one of the most diverse RodeoHouston lineups in years. She previously performed a 15-minute set at the Day for Night festival and canceled a headlining slot at Jmblya last year because of her pregnancy. This show, then, is a long time coming for local fans. Local rapper Genesis Blu calls Bridges a brilliant and talented artist but thinks RodeoHouston put him in a losing situation. It makes me think that people still dont understand that booking someone on Black Heritage Day just because they are black isnt going to cut it, she says. I am stoked about Cardi B performing because she continues to break down barriers for women, people of color and rap music. Keeping it clean Indeed, Cardi Bs name has kept RodeoHouston a popular topic across social media since January. But theres also been concern about her explicit lyrics, which arent what were used to hearing on the revolving stage. Theres risk, of course, anytime you put a microphone in someones hand. Maroon 5s Adam Levine let loose a barrage of foul language in 2006 when he noticed every word he spoke was picked up by the stadiums captioning screens. He issued an apology on the rodeos website and again when the band returned in 2014. Cowley promises Cardi B will keep it PG. Or PG-13, a challenge he says shes ably handled during TV appearances. We talked to her folks, and they tell us she can do a clean show. Shes played on Saturday Night Live and the American Music Awards, and shes been clean in those live performances, Cowley says. We emphasized that we strive to be a family-friendly environment. Thats very important to us. Language or not, Cardi B is one of this years hottest shows. Tickets sold out in 40 minutes, even faster than George Straits season-closing performance. So much attention is likely why an online petition targeted Cardi B, asking her to withdraw because of RodeoHoustons treatment of animals. More than 18,000 people have signed it as of mid-February. Horrible news, animal lovers: Cardi B is headlining an event chock-full of animal abuse: the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the petition begins. Cardi B has 11 dogs, thats how much she loves animals. She may not know all the ways animals are being abused to make this Houston event go on though. Thats why its up to us, her fans, to ask her not to use her name and popularity to support such gruesome behavior. The petition criticizes the calf scramble and other rodeo events. There are no petitions asking other performers to step down. RodeoHouston officials responded in a statement, stressing that the organization strongly believes in the importance of animal welfare. We take great pride in the care and attention our livestock receive throughout the rodeo. We work closely with veterinary professionals and the Houston SPCA, who are on-site daily. We are looking forward to welcoming Cardi B on March 1 and would be happy to show her how we treat all animals. Many noncountry acts As always, the inclusion of so many genre-busting performers has stirred up the usual This aint country! arguments. The rapper is one of several noncountry acts on the lineup alongside bachata heartthrob Prince Royce, Havana singer Camila Cabello, pop/rock band Panic! At the Disco, EDM superstar Zedd, Kings of Leon and Santana. Cowley has one word for the haters: 1974. The RodeoHouston lineup that year included The Jackson 5, Sonny & Cher, Doc Severinson, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Vicki Carr and Elvis Presley. Even 2017 featured Fifth Harmony, Blink-182, The Chainsmokers, Demi Lovato and Alicia Keys mixed in with the usual country acts. When we put an act out there that is not country, we tend to draw a younger audience, we tend to draw a more diverse audience and we tend to draw a higher proportion of people who have never been to our event, Cowley says. Historically, its really not that big of a departure. Its kind of whats hot at the time. In other words, buckle up, yall. joey.guerra@chron.com | Cardi B makes her debut Friday at RodeoHouston. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/Is-the-rodeo-ready-for-Cardi-B-13633724.php | 0.108809 |
Is the rodeo ready for Cardi B? | Joel Cowley admits that RodeoHouston disappointed black fans with last years inclusion of Leon Bridges on the lineup. RodeoHouston president and CEO Cowley isnt just blowing smoke. Fort Worth native Bridges performance on Black Heritage Day drew 51,870 paid attendance, the lowest of 2018. Large pockets of seats were empty throughout the stadium, and the uppermost sections were almost completely bare. Previous Black Heritage Day performers fared much better, including Alicia Keys (73,660 in 2017), Jason Derulo (59,236 in 2016), John Legend (69,583 in 2015) and Usher (75,067 in 2014). Bridges inclusion on the 2018 lineup was met with sustained criticism from black fans because his music appeals to a largely white audience. RodeoHouston lineup Feb. 25: Kacey Musgraves Feb. 26: Prince Royce Feb. 27: Brooks & Dunn Feb. 28: Luke Bryan March 1: Cardi B (Black Heritage Day) March 2: Turnpike Troubadours March 3: Panic! At the Disco March 4: Old Dominion March 5: Camila Cabello March 6: Luke Combs March 7: Tim McGraw March 8: Zedd March 9: Kane Brown March 10: Los Tigres del Norte (Go Tejano Day) March 11: Zac Brown Band March 12: Kings of Leon March 13: Santana March 14: Chris Stapleton March 15: Cody Johnson March 16: Brad Paisley March 17: George Strait with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen Read More Thats not what the African-American community wanted to see, Cowley says. We heard about that. We saw it in the stadium, and we saw it on the grounds. DON'T MISS THESE: The 7 RodeoHouston shows you need to see Cowley says last years tepid reaction factored into this years decision to book Cardi B on Black Heritage Day. She makes her debut Friday, less than three weeks after winning a Grammy for best rap album. She is the first solo female to ever win the award. Given the opportunity to book her, to really make a statement to the African-American community, who we disappointed last year, we decided we needed to (do) that, Cowley says. Cardi B was named Billboards top new artist of 2018, and her bilingual tune I Like It was one of the biggest songs of the year. The rapper, who is Trinidadian and Dominican, is the jewel atop one of the most diverse RodeoHouston lineups in years. She previously performed a 15-minute set at the Day for Night festival and canceled a headlining slot at Jmblya last year because of her pregnancy. This show, then, is a long time coming for local fans. Local rapper Genesis Blu calls Bridges a brilliant and talented artist but thinks RodeoHouston put him in a losing situation. It makes me think that people still dont understand that booking someone on Black Heritage Day just because they are black isnt going to cut it, she says. I am stoked about Cardi B performing because she continues to break down barriers for women, people of color and rap music. Keeping it clean Indeed, Cardi Bs name has kept RodeoHouston a popular topic across social media since January. But theres also been concern about her explicit lyrics, which arent what were used to hearing on the revolving stage. Theres risk, of course, anytime you put a microphone in someones hand. Maroon 5s Adam Levine let loose a barrage of foul language in 2006 when he noticed every word he spoke was picked up by the stadiums captioning screens. He issued an apology on the rodeos website and again when the band returned in 2014. Cowley promises Cardi B will keep it PG. Or PG-13, a challenge he says shes ably handled during TV appearances. We talked to her folks, and they tell us she can do a clean show. Shes played on Saturday Night Live and the American Music Awards, and shes been clean in those live performances, Cowley says. We emphasized that we strive to be a family-friendly environment. Thats very important to us. Language or not, Cardi B is one of this years hottest shows. Tickets sold out in 40 minutes, even faster than George Straits season-closing performance. So much attention is likely why an online petition targeted Cardi B, asking her to withdraw because of RodeoHoustons treatment of animals. More than 18,000 people have signed it as of mid-February. Horrible news, animal lovers: Cardi B is headlining an event chock-full of animal abuse: the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the petition begins. Cardi B has 11 dogs, thats how much she loves animals. She may not know all the ways animals are being abused to make this Houston event go on though. Thats why its up to us, her fans, to ask her not to use her name and popularity to support such gruesome behavior. The petition criticizes the calf scramble and other rodeo events. There are no petitions asking other performers to step down. RodeoHouston officials responded in a statement, stressing that the organization strongly believes in the importance of animal welfare. We take great pride in the care and attention our livestock receive throughout the rodeo. We work closely with veterinary professionals and the Houston SPCA, who are on-site daily. We are looking forward to welcoming Cardi B on March 1 and would be happy to show her how we treat all animals. Many noncountry acts As always, the inclusion of so many genre-busting performers has stirred up the usual This aint country! arguments. The rapper is one of several noncountry acts on the lineup alongside bachata heartthrob Prince Royce, Havana singer Camila Cabello, pop/rock band Panic! At the Disco, EDM superstar Zedd, Kings of Leon and Santana. Cowley has one word for the haters: 1974. The RodeoHouston lineup that year included The Jackson 5, Sonny & Cher, Doc Severinson, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Vicki Carr and Elvis Presley. Even 2017 featured Fifth Harmony, Blink-182, The Chainsmokers, Demi Lovato and Alicia Keys mixed in with the usual country acts. When we put an act out there that is not country, we tend to draw a younger audience, we tend to draw a more diverse audience and we tend to draw a higher proportion of people who have never been to our event, Cowley says. Historically, its really not that big of a departure. Its kind of whats hot at the time. In other words, buckle up, yall. joey.guerra@chron.com | Cardi B makes her debut Friday at RodeoHouston. The rapper's performance was met with sustained criticism from black fans last year. Last year's performance drew 51,870 paid attendance, the lowest of 2018. | ctrlsum | 1 | https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/Is-the-rodeo-ready-for-Cardi-B-13633724.php | 0.125026 |
Is the rodeo ready for Cardi B? | Joel Cowley admits that RodeoHouston disappointed black fans with last years inclusion of Leon Bridges on the lineup. RodeoHouston president and CEO Cowley isnt just blowing smoke. Fort Worth native Bridges performance on Black Heritage Day drew 51,870 paid attendance, the lowest of 2018. Large pockets of seats were empty throughout the stadium, and the uppermost sections were almost completely bare. Previous Black Heritage Day performers fared much better, including Alicia Keys (73,660 in 2017), Jason Derulo (59,236 in 2016), John Legend (69,583 in 2015) and Usher (75,067 in 2014). Bridges inclusion on the 2018 lineup was met with sustained criticism from black fans because his music appeals to a largely white audience. RodeoHouston lineup Feb. 25: Kacey Musgraves Feb. 26: Prince Royce Feb. 27: Brooks & Dunn Feb. 28: Luke Bryan March 1: Cardi B (Black Heritage Day) March 2: Turnpike Troubadours March 3: Panic! At the Disco March 4: Old Dominion March 5: Camila Cabello March 6: Luke Combs March 7: Tim McGraw March 8: Zedd March 9: Kane Brown March 10: Los Tigres del Norte (Go Tejano Day) March 11: Zac Brown Band March 12: Kings of Leon March 13: Santana March 14: Chris Stapleton March 15: Cody Johnson March 16: Brad Paisley March 17: George Strait with Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen Read More Thats not what the African-American community wanted to see, Cowley says. We heard about that. We saw it in the stadium, and we saw it on the grounds. DON'T MISS THESE: The 7 RodeoHouston shows you need to see Cowley says last years tepid reaction factored into this years decision to book Cardi B on Black Heritage Day. She makes her debut Friday, less than three weeks after winning a Grammy for best rap album. She is the first solo female to ever win the award. Given the opportunity to book her, to really make a statement to the African-American community, who we disappointed last year, we decided we needed to (do) that, Cowley says. Cardi B was named Billboards top new artist of 2018, and her bilingual tune I Like It was one of the biggest songs of the year. The rapper, who is Trinidadian and Dominican, is the jewel atop one of the most diverse RodeoHouston lineups in years. She previously performed a 15-minute set at the Day for Night festival and canceled a headlining slot at Jmblya last year because of her pregnancy. This show, then, is a long time coming for local fans. Local rapper Genesis Blu calls Bridges a brilliant and talented artist but thinks RodeoHouston put him in a losing situation. It makes me think that people still dont understand that booking someone on Black Heritage Day just because they are black isnt going to cut it, she says. I am stoked about Cardi B performing because she continues to break down barriers for women, people of color and rap music. Keeping it clean Indeed, Cardi Bs name has kept RodeoHouston a popular topic across social media since January. But theres also been concern about her explicit lyrics, which arent what were used to hearing on the revolving stage. Theres risk, of course, anytime you put a microphone in someones hand. Maroon 5s Adam Levine let loose a barrage of foul language in 2006 when he noticed every word he spoke was picked up by the stadiums captioning screens. He issued an apology on the rodeos website and again when the band returned in 2014. Cowley promises Cardi B will keep it PG. Or PG-13, a challenge he says shes ably handled during TV appearances. We talked to her folks, and they tell us she can do a clean show. Shes played on Saturday Night Live and the American Music Awards, and shes been clean in those live performances, Cowley says. We emphasized that we strive to be a family-friendly environment. Thats very important to us. Language or not, Cardi B is one of this years hottest shows. Tickets sold out in 40 minutes, even faster than George Straits season-closing performance. So much attention is likely why an online petition targeted Cardi B, asking her to withdraw because of RodeoHoustons treatment of animals. More than 18,000 people have signed it as of mid-February. Horrible news, animal lovers: Cardi B is headlining an event chock-full of animal abuse: the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the petition begins. Cardi B has 11 dogs, thats how much she loves animals. She may not know all the ways animals are being abused to make this Houston event go on though. Thats why its up to us, her fans, to ask her not to use her name and popularity to support such gruesome behavior. The petition criticizes the calf scramble and other rodeo events. There are no petitions asking other performers to step down. RodeoHouston officials responded in a statement, stressing that the organization strongly believes in the importance of animal welfare. We take great pride in the care and attention our livestock receive throughout the rodeo. We work closely with veterinary professionals and the Houston SPCA, who are on-site daily. We are looking forward to welcoming Cardi B on March 1 and would be happy to show her how we treat all animals. Many noncountry acts As always, the inclusion of so many genre-busting performers has stirred up the usual This aint country! arguments. The rapper is one of several noncountry acts on the lineup alongside bachata heartthrob Prince Royce, Havana singer Camila Cabello, pop/rock band Panic! At the Disco, EDM superstar Zedd, Kings of Leon and Santana. Cowley has one word for the haters: 1974. The RodeoHouston lineup that year included The Jackson 5, Sonny & Cher, Doc Severinson, Tony Orlando & Dawn, Vicki Carr and Elvis Presley. Even 2017 featured Fifth Harmony, Blink-182, The Chainsmokers, Demi Lovato and Alicia Keys mixed in with the usual country acts. When we put an act out there that is not country, we tend to draw a younger audience, we tend to draw a more diverse audience and we tend to draw a higher proportion of people who have never been to our event, Cowley says. Historically, its really not that big of a departure. Its kind of whats hot at the time. In other words, buckle up, yall. joey.guerra@chron.com | Cardi B makes her debut Friday at RodeoHouston. The rapper's performance was met with sustained criticism from black fans last year. Last year's Black Heritage Day drew 51,870 paid attendance, the lowest of 2018. The rodeo's president and CEO says he's "stoked" about the rapper's debut. | ctrlsum | 2 | https://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/music/article/Is-the-rodeo-ready-for-Cardi-B-13633724.php | 0.106921 |
Will Louisiana GOP hand John Bel Edwards a second term? | Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards prospects for re-election have never looked rosier than they do this third week of February, a little less than eight months away from the Oct. 12 primary. By every objective measure, the Democratic governor holds the edge over his announced Republican challengers and just about anyone else who might be thinking about getting in. That is all the more remarkable given that Edwards was not expected to win four years ago, Republican Donald Trump carried the state with 58 percent of the vote two years ago, and Edwards remains the only Democratic governor in the Deep South. But here he is, looking for all the world like a heavy favorite while Republicans look panicked if not yet desperate. If inmates were being released too early, you can bet folks would pay attention The Louisiana Department of Corrections says complex calculations are to blame for keeping prisoners past their release date. Some of Edwards' advantages come from being the incumbent, some come from his aggressive campaign, and some are the result of the fractured and so-far feckless GOP efforts to throw him off his game. His first big break came late last year when state Republicans failed to settle on a single candidate to carry the banner into the fall. U.S. Sen. John Kennedy, one of the states best-known elected officials, said he preferred to stay in Washington. U.S. Rep. Steve Scalise, decided to bide his time in hopes of a shot at someday becoming speaker of the House. State Attorney General Jeff Landry, who gamely tried to organize the united-front strategy, also announced he would seek re-election instead of going after Edwards. That leaves Baton Rouge businessman Eddie Rispone and north Louisiana Congressman Ralph Abraham as the only declared Republicans in the race. Rispone, who co-founded ISC Constructors, a specialty contractor with annual revenues of $350 million, has never run for elected office and is all but unknown to Louisiana voters. Abraham was just elected to his third term representing the 5th Congressional District from his home base in Alto, an unincorporated community in Richland Parish. Others could jump in before the Aug. 6-8 qualifying period, but there doesn't appear to be anyone left in the bullpen with the kind of name recognition of financial resources to make up ground on Edwards. The climb looked even steeper last week with the release of the candidates' first meaningful campaign finance reports. Rispone, who launched his bid in October, reported $5.5 million in his account but only $550,000 from donors, which reflects popular support. The other $5 million is his own money. Abraham, who didnt get started until early December, raised nearly $357,000 in a holiday-shortened month and reported having about $350,000 in the bank. Not shabby, but not awe-inspiring. The governor meanwhile reported having about $8.4 million cash on hand with another $2.1 million in the pro-Edwards Gumbo PAC. That prompted one high-ranking state Republican to hit the panic button this week. Ive been getting a lot of chatter about, Is this the field?" state GOP rules chairman Scott Wilfong said in a radio interview Tuesday (Feb. 19). "Theres definitely some movement to try to get another candidate into the race. Wilfong didn't speculate on who that would be and whether he or she would be able to clear the field or reduced to throwing elbows with Rispone and Abraham for a spot in the runoff. It's also not clear how this newcomer will be able to raise enough money when the current contenders couldn't even scratch up $1 million between them. The money discrepancy is huge," Wilfong said. "I know there is a movement to get another candidate in the race. If that will be successful or not, I dont know. Gunfight at the City of Yes Corral New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell wants to reassure the public that this is not the "Wild, Wild West." The state GOP issued a statement Thursday, noting that Wilfong does not speak for the party or its leadership" and that his claims of a new candidate search are unfounded. From the partys perspective, we feel very confident that we have two great candidates in the race for Governor, either of whom would bring real leadership and reform to Louisiana, state GOP Chairman Louis Gurivch said. Convincing either Rispone or Abraham to bow out might help, but theres not a clear-cut case for who should stay and who should go. And there is no clear party authority to make that decision. Tim Morris is a columnist on the Latitude team at NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Latitude is a place to share opinions about the challenges facing Louisiana. Follow @LatitudeNOLA on Facebook and Twitter. Write to Tim at tmorris@nola.com. | Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards is a heavy favorite to win a second term. | ctrlsum | 0 | https://www.nola.com/opinions/2019/02/will-louisiana-gop-hand-john-bel-edwards-a-second-term.html | 0.227769 |
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