No Agenda Episode 595 - "Ottomania"
- Direct [link] to the mp3 file
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- Executive Producers:Sir Michael Allen Knight of the Railroad conductors, Sir Kraut Brothers of 89th and Bluegrass
- Associate Executive Producers:Sir Nate Wilson, Anonymous, Sir Funk
- Become a member of the 596 Club, support the show here
- Knighthoods: Sir Michael Allen Knight of the Railroad connductors and mover of homeless and drunks
- Titles: Sir Funk -->> Baronet
- New: Directory Archive of Shownotes (includes all audio and video assets used) nashownotes.com
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- PR
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- SF Cyber Force Meetup
- ITM Gents, just a quick PR mention and report out from the San Francisco meetup.
- It was a smashing success -- with a great mix of knights, supporters, skeptics, and new recruits!
- If you read this on the show, The Baron of Placer County and I may even sent pictures. :-)
- http://www.meetup.com/No-Agenda-2030-Cyber-Force/
-
- TODAY
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- Dentist
- Dental Dam - never caught on
-
- House of Cards Presstitutes
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- Ukraine
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- The financials
- Ukraine does have plenty of external debt. Capital Economics
- estimates there is a total of $66bn that matures this year - in other
- words it will either have to be repaid or "rolled over", financed with
- Most of that is private sector, but even so, the government will need more than $9bn this year, according to the consultancy.
- There have also been comments about the financial situation from Russian officials that might be seen as ominous.
- The Ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, said that Ukraine owes about $3bn to the Russian gas company Gazprom.
- "The gas is still flowing" he said "but the money is not coming back".
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- Russian Bank exposure
- While other foreign lenders have cut their Ukraine exposure
- in the five years since - to 20 percent of Ukraine banking
- sector assets in 2012 from 40 percent in 2008, according to a
- Raiffeisen Research survey - Russian banks have maintained a
- strong market presence, still accounting for 12 percent.
- Among foreign banks, the Russians have easily the biggest
- exposure, more than twice that of Austrian lenders, the next
- In a credit outlook note this week, ratings agency Moody's
- cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying Ukrainian
- borrowers owed around $28 billion to four Russian banks and
- named Gazprombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), Sberbank
- and Bank VTB as creditors.
- "We estimate that these banks' exposure to Ukrainian risk is
- $20-$30 billion, a sizeable amount indeed, considering that
- their combined Tier 1 capital was $105 billion in June," Moody's
- Moody's, which estimated that 35 percent of all bank loans
- in Ukraine were problem loans, said the country's severe
- economic problems would keep local borrowers under pressure and
- could result in higher loan losses for the Russian lenders.
- Perhaps Russia doesn't mind soaking the EU to get their money back?
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- Kyev - Chernobyl only 144km
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- UKRAINE-Statement by the Press Secretary on Ukraine | The White House
- Office of the Press Secretary
- The United States strongly supports Ukrainian leaders' ongoing work to form an inclusive, multiparty government to represent all the people of Ukraine as they prepare for May elections, and to restore order, stability, and unity to the country. As the process moves forward, the United States again calls on all parties in Ukraine and in the region to support reconciliation and the country's return to political and economic health, and will work with the international community in building an economic assistance package based upon Ukraine's achievements in crafting a unity government. An inclusive, broad-based government committed to reconciliation and to economic reform is the necessary foundation for international assistance. We call on Ukraine's leaders to do their utmost to protect the security and human rights of all their citizens, including the rights of minorities, to recommit to honor the state's international obligations, and to avoid divisive policies. We urge outside actors in the region to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity, to end provocative rhetoric and actions, to support democratically established transitional governing structures, and to use their influence in support of unity, peace, and an inclusive path forward. We remind all governments of their political commitments to transparency about military activities under the Vienna Document 2011 and other OSCE principles designed to ensure peace and security in the Euro-Atlantic region.
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- Luxembourg minister urges Moscow to join financial support to Ukraine - News - Politics - The Voice of Russia: News, Breaking news, Politics, Economics, Business, Russia, International current events, Expert opinion, podcasts, Video
- Ukraine is on the brink of a financial meltdown and Russia should join the international campaign for financial assistance to this country, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said, the Voice of Russia correspondent Kira Kalinina reports.
- He said after negotiations with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov that the matter concerned the International Monetary Fund, the European Union, other countries and organizations but they also thought that Russia should join that consortium for helping Ukraine's economic and financial advancement.
- The Luxembourg minister said they realized that Ukraine was very close to a financial disaster.
- It would be ideal to create a group of states for rendering assistance to Ukraine and Russia should also make a contribution, he said. In the opinion of the minister, there is a need for very active cooperation between Russia and Ukraine and other international organizations.
- As of now, Ukraine needs 25 billion euro, the minister recalled.
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- Factbox: Ukraine's history with IMF bailouts
- Factbox: Ukraine's history with IMF bailoutsTop News
- Factbox: Ukraine's history with IMF bailouts
- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine appealed for urgent international aid this week after the fall of Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovich cast doubt on whether it could get the remaining $12 billion from a bailout deal he struck with Moscow.
- Ukraine's acting president, Oleksander Turchinov, said Kiev would need $35 billion over the next two years, and warned the economy was "heading into the abyss.
- The United States and European Union said they were looking at how to help Ukraine, but they indicated any comprehensive package was likely to only take shape after elections in May and in coordination with the International Monetary Fund.
- Here are some facts about the IMF and Ukraine:
- The IMF, made up of 188 member countries, is charged with policing global economic stability. It pools its members' money to lend to countries in difficulty, but only if they promise to implement rigorous reforms to prevent such crises from occurring again. An IMF bailout sends a signal to investors and other donors that a country's economy is on the right track, and often catalyzes bilateral aid.
- The IMF has strict lending conditions to ensure that the funds are not wasted and that a country will be able to fix its economy and keep it healthy. The Fund also wants to ensure any loans get paid back so it can maintain its own solvency.
- The IMF has consistently said that Ukraine's economic policies would create unsustainable large external and fiscal imbalances. It has called on Kiev to cut its large fiscal deficit, phase out energy subsidies, strengthen the banking sector, and allow the exchange rate to fall. A freely floating hryvnia currency and higher domestic gas prices are unpopular steps previously rejected by the Kiev government. Similar conditions are expected to be attached to any new IMF bailout.
- UKRAINE AND IMF'S SHARED HISTORY
- The IMF loaned newly independent Ukraine about $3.5 billion in the mid-1990s, several years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and another $2.2 billion in 1998, an amount it later increased.
- Another one-year $600 million loan followed in 2004, and a two-year $16.4 billion loan was provided in 2008.
- The IMF last agreed to loan Ukraine $15 billion in 2010, but froze the deal in 2011 after Kiev failed to implement the required reforms, including removing gas price subsidies.
- After reviewing why the last bailout went off track, the IMF's board in December said Kiev should get less money in any future bailout, and should be required to implement more economic reforms before it gets any IMF money.
- Ukraine and the IMF launched talks early last year to nail down a new aid package, but the Kiev government later indicated it did not require fresh IMF funds yet because it was able to borrow in the markets. But desperate for cash to cover a big external funding gap, Kiev in December received a $15 billion bailout from Russia after spurning a trade deal with the EU.
- The closer relations with Moscow that this bailout represented sparked weeks of sometimes violent street protests, destabilizing Yanukovich's government and leading parliament to finally strip him of his powers on February 22.
- HOW IMF BAILOUTS ARE IMPLEMENTED
- Under its rules, the IMF cannot begin discussions with Kiev until the government requests an IMF bailout. The IMF says it has not received a request so far, and Ukraine's parliament does not plan to vote on the formation of a government until February 27.
- After getting such a request, IMF staff would go to Kiev to analyze the government's finances, see how much money would be required, and set timelines for implementing key reforms. The IMF's board would have to sign off on any new bailout before the Fund could disburse money. The whole process could be done within a month, but usually takes longer.
- The key question is whether Ukraine's new leaders are more likely to agree to difficult economic changes than the former leaders. The government would have to command strong popular support from all parts of Ukraine to push through difficult reforms. Because of that, any IMF bailout may have to wait until after the May 25 elections.
- On the other hand, some analysts say Ukraine's economic situation is so dire, it cannot wait three months and has no choice but to agree to IMF conditions now.
- HOW LONG UKRAINE CAN WAIT
- Ukraine's government says it needs to start getting money in the next week or so.
- Ukraine has around $6.5 billion in foreign debt payments to make before the end of 2014 and needs a further $6.5 billion to cover its current account deficit, according to estimates from Commerzbank, which says the nation is also $1 billion in arrears to Russia for gas supplies.
- Estimates vary but Goldman Sachs reckons that the central bank's currency reserves are down to between $12 billion and $14 billion, a sum which its current obligations could wipe out.
- The Institute of International Finance, a global financial industry lobby group, says Ukraine would need at least $20 billion this year to avoid a default. If it does not undertake reforms, Kiev may require about $30 billion, according to the
- "With Russia unlikely to disburse more funds, at least for now, the collapse can come as early as March, unless the recent acceleration of capital flight is not reversed," the IIF said in a report on Monday.
- The hryvnia fell to an all-time low of 9.70 to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, reflecting the political uncertainty.
- (Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Paul Simao)
- Factbox: Ukraine's history with IMF bailoutsTop News
- Factbox: Ukraine's history with IMF bailouts
- WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ukraine appealed for urgent international aid this week after the fall of Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovich cast doubt on whether it could get the remaining $12 billion from a bailout deal he struck with Moscow.
- Ukraine's acting president, Oleksander Turchinov, said Kiev would need $35 billion over the next two years, and warned the economy was "heading into the abyss.
- The United States and European Union said they were looking at how to help Ukraine, but they indicated any comprehensive package was likely to only take shape after elections in May and in coordination with the International Monetary Fund.
- Here are some facts about the IMF and Ukraine:
- The IMF, made up of 188 member countries, is charged with policing global economic stability. It pools its members' money to lend to countries in difficulty, but only if they promise to implement rigorous reforms to prevent such crises from occurring again. An IMF bailout sends a signal to investors and other donors that a country's economy is on the right track, and often catalyzes bilateral aid.
- The IMF has strict lending conditions to ensure that the funds are not wasted and that a country will be able to fix its economy and keep it healthy. The Fund also wants to ensure any loans get paid back so it can maintain its own solvency.
- The IMF has consistently said that Ukraine's economic policies would create unsustainable large external and fiscal imbalances. It has called on Kiev to cut its large fiscal deficit, phase out energy subsidies, strengthen the banking sector, and allow the exchange rate to fall. A freely floating hryvnia currency and higher domestic gas prices are unpopular steps previously rejected by the Kiev government. Similar conditions are expected to be attached to any new IMF bailout.
- UKRAINE AND IMF'S SHARED HISTORY
- The IMF loaned newly independent Ukraine about $3.5 billion in the mid-1990s, several years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and another $2.2 billion in 1998, an amount it later increased.
- Another one-year $600 million loan followed in 2004, and a two-year $16.4 billion loan was provided in 2008.
- The IMF last agreed to loan Ukraine $15 billion in 2010, but froze the deal in 2011 after Kiev failed to implement the required reforms, including removing gas price subsidies.
- After reviewing why the last bailout went off track, the IMF's board in December said Kiev should get less money in any future bailout, and should be required to implement more economic reforms before it gets any IMF money.
- Ukraine and the IMF launched talks early last year to nail down a new aid package, but the Kiev government later indicated it did not require fresh IMF funds yet because it was able to borrow in the markets. But desperate for cash to cover a big external funding gap, Kiev in December received a $15 billion bailout from Russia after spurning a trade deal with the EU.
- The closer relations with Moscow that this bailout represented sparked weeks of sometimes violent street protests, destabilizing Yanukovich's government and leading parliament to finally strip him of his powers on February 22.
- HOW IMF BAILOUTS ARE IMPLEMENTED
- Under its rules, the IMF cannot begin discussions with Kiev until the government requests an IMF bailout. The IMF says it has not received a request so far, and Ukraine's parliament does not plan to vote on the formation of a government until February 27.
- After getting such a request, IMF staff would go to Kiev to analyze the government's finances, see how much money would be required, and set timelines for implementing key reforms. The IMF's board would have to sign off on any new bailout before the Fund could disburse money. The whole process could be done within a month, but usually takes longer.
- The key question is whether Ukraine's new leaders are more likely to agree to difficult economic changes than the former leaders. The government would have to command strong popular support from all parts of Ukraine to push through difficult reforms. Because of that, any IMF bailout may have to wait until after the May 25 elections.
- On the other hand, some analysts say Ukraine's economic situation is so dire, it cannot wait three months and has no choice but to agree to IMF conditions now.
- HOW LONG UKRAINE CAN WAIT
- Ukraine's government says it needs to start getting money in the next week or so.
- Ukraine has around $6.5 billion in foreign debt payments to make before the end of 2014 and needs a further $6.5 billion to cover its current account deficit, according to estimates from Commerzbank, which says the nation is also $1 billion in arrears to Russia for gas supplies.
- Estimates vary but Goldman Sachs reckons that the central bank's currency reserves are down to between $12 billion and $14 billion, a sum which its current obligations could wipe out.
- The Institute of International Finance, a global financial industry lobby group, says Ukraine would need at least $20 billion this year to avoid a default. If it does not undertake reforms, Kiev may require about $30 billion, according to the
- "With Russia unlikely to disburse more funds, at least for now, the collapse can come as early as March, unless the recent acceleration of capital flight is not reversed," the IIF said in a report on Monday.
- The hryvnia fell to an all-time low of 9.70 to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday, reflecting the political uncertainty.
- (Reporting by Anna Yukhananov; Editing by Paul Simao)
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- Ukraine Cannot Escape Russia '' The CarpathiansOmegaShock.com | OmegaShock
- Yay! No terrorism at the Sochi Olympics!
- We can breathe a sigh of relief. Everything is wonderful. The sun is shining. The birds are singing. The world is'... '...wait'...
- We're at war with Russia in Kiev?
- Yeah. US-backed protest groups have taken over the capital of Ukraine and deposed the president '' dividing the country into the pro-EU west and pro-Russia east. And, Putin CANNOT allow this to happen, and the biggest reason has everything to do with mountains '' the Carpathian Mountains.
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- Ukraine Cannot Escape RussiaHave you ever wondered why Switzerland has never been conquered?
- Do you know why the US has been so reluctant to invade Iran?
- Mountains have been one of the most effective barriers to invasion in all of history, and Russia suffers from an extreme lack of them. In fact, Russia is flat '' very, very flat. And, the Mongols used that 'flatness' to dominate Russia.
- Take a good hard look at Russia's borders. Do you notice what is at the edge of those borders?
- Mountains, water, or strongly allied (i.e., subjugated) countries with mountains and water.
- However, there are two exceptions '' Finland and Europe. Finland is a lovely country, but they haven't been a military threat for a long, long time (although they DID help Hitler in 1941). The same cannot be said about Europe.
- When Napoleon invaded Russia, he did it through Poland.
- When Hitler invaded Russia, he did it through Poland.
- Because of the Carpathian Mountains.
- The Carpathians extend from Poland to almost the Black Sea and make it virtually impossible to invade Russia from Europe without going through Poland. That is'... if you're coming from the European side of the Carpathians. But, what if Ukraine joins Europe, which they seem to want to do?
- Well, since Ukraine is on the Russian side of the Carpathians'... those mountains would no longer be a barrier to invasion and would double Russia's vulnerability. Russia would need twice the army to guard that border. And, Russia cannot afford to support an army of that size.
- That is why Russia CANNOT allow Ukraine to fall into the hands of the European Union. So, expect Russia to quietly and firmly up the pressure. If Putin can take back Ukraine by covert means, he'll do that. If the US and EU block covert action, Putin will send in troops.
- Whatever happens, one thing is completely certain. Russia WILL get Ukraine back, no matter what the cost.
- Now, how much will the US and EU make Russia pay to get Ukraine back?
- I'm not sure that we want to know the answer to that question.
- Are you ready for this? (Seriously, think about clicking that link.)
- If you find a flaw in my reasoning, have a question, or wish to add your own viewpoint, leave a comment. Your input is truly welcome.
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- Categories: Russia, War | Tags: Carpathian Mountains, Carpathians, EU, Geopolitics, Hitler, Napoleon, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, US, War | Permalink
- Author: John Little - OmegaShock.comJohn Little passionately believes that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation. A writer who currently lives in Taipei, John still considers southern Jerusalem home. He holds an MBA and is married to the most beautiful woman on the planet. John has lived in Asia for more than 18 years and strongly dislikes writing doom-and-gloom articles.
-
- Carpathian Mountains - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians are a range of mountains forming an arc roughly 1,500 km (932 mi) long across Central and Eastern Europe, making them the second-longest mountain range in Europe (after the Scandinavian Mountains, 1,700 km (1,056 mi)). They provide the habitat for the largest European populations of brown bears, wolves, chamois and lynxes, with the highest concentration in Romania,[2][3][4] as well as over one third of all European plant species.[5] The Carpathians and their piedmont also concentrate many thermal and mineral waters, with Romania having over one-third of the European total.[6][7] Romania is likewise home to the largest surface of virgin forests in Europe (excluding Russia), totaling 250,000 hectares (65%), most of them in the Carpathians,[8] with the Southern Carpathians constituting Europe's largest unfragmented forested area.[9]
- The Carpathians consist of a chain of mountain ranges that stretch in an arc from the Czech Republic (3%) in the northwest through Slovakia (17%), Poland (10%), Hungary (4%) and Ukraine (11%) to Romania (53%) in the east and on to the Iron Gates on the River Danube between Romania and Serbia (2%) in the south. The highest range within the Carpathians is the Tatras, on the border of Poland and Slovakia, where the highest peaks exceed 2,600 m (8,530 ft). The second-highest range is the Southern Carpathians in Romania, where the highest peaks exceed 2,500 m (8,202 ft).
- The Carpathians are usually divided into three major parts: the Western Carpathians (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia), the Central Carpathians (southeastern Poland, eastern Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania), and the Eastern Carpathians (Romania, Serbia).[1]
- The most important cities in or near the Carpathians are: Bratislava and KoÅice in Slovakia; Krak"w in Poland; Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu and BraÅov in Romania; and Miskolc in Hungary.
- The name "Carpathian" may have been derived from Carpi, a Dacian tribe. According to Zosimus, this tribe lived until 381 on the eastern Carpathian slopes. The word could come from an Indo-European word meaning "rock". In Thracian Greek ÎαÏÏάÏáÏ ÏÏÎÏ (Karpates oros) means "rocky mountain",[10]
- The range is called Karpaty in Czech, Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian, CarpaÈi[karËpatÍsʲ] in Romanian, Karpaten in German and Dutch, Krptok in Hungarian (krptok means "Carpaths", krpti means "Carpathian"), Karpati in Serbian and ÐаÑÐаÑи in Bulgarian .
- The name Carpates may ultimately be from the Proto Indo-European root *sker-/*ker-, from which comes the Albanian word karp (rock), and the Slavic word skla (rock, cliff), perhaps via a Dacian cognate[which?] which meant mountain,rock, or rugged (cf. Germanic root *skerp-, Old Norse harfr "harrow", Middle Low German scharf "potsherd" and Modern High German Scherbe "shard", Old English scearp and English sharp, Lithuanian kar~pas "cut, hack, notch", Latvian c¬rpt "to shear, clip"). The archaic Polish word karpa meant "rugged irregularities, underwater obstacles/rocks, rugged roots or trunks". The more common word skarpa means a sharp cliff or other vertical terrain. The name may instead come from Indo-European *kwerp "to turn", akin to Old English hweorfan "to turn, change" (English warp) and Greek καÏÏÏÏ karp"s "wrist", perhaps referring to the way the mountain range bends or veers in an L-shape.[11]
- In late Roman documents, the Eastern Carpathian Mountains were referred to as Montes Sarmatici (meaning Sarmatian Mountains). The Western Carpathians were called Carpates, a name that is first recorded in Ptolemy's Geographia (2nd century AD).
- In the Scandinavian Hervarar saga, which relates ancient Germanic legends about battles between Goths and Huns, the name Karpates appears in the predictable Germanic form as Harva°a fj¶llum (see Grimm's law).
- "Inter Alpes Huniae et Oceanum est Polonia" by Gervase of Tilbury, has described in his Otia Imperialia ("Recreation for an Emperor") in 1211. Thirteenth to 15th century Hungarian documents named the mountains Thorchal, Tarczal or less frequently Montes Nivium.
- Geography[edit]The Carpathians begin on the G"ra ÅwiÄtego Marcina 384 m. in Tarn"w - northern edge of Pog"rze CiÄżkowickie. They surround Transcarpathia and Transylvania in a large semicircle, sweeping towards the southeast, and end on the Danube near OrÅova in Romania. The total length of the Carpathians is over 1,500 km (932 mi) and the mountain chain's width varies between 12 and 500 km (7 and 311 mi). The highest altitudes of the Carpathians occur where they are widest. The system attains its greatest breadth in the Transylvanian plateau and in the south of the Tatra group '' the highest range, in which Gerlachovsk½ Ått in Slovakia is the highest peak at 2,655 m (8,711 ft) above sea level. The Carpathians cover an area of 190,000 km2 (73,359 sq mi) and, after the Alps, form the next most extensive mountain system in Europe.
- Although commonly referred to as a mountain chain, the Carpathians do not actually form an uninterrupted chain of mountains. Rather, they consist of several orographically and geologically distinctive groups, presenting as great a structural variety as the Alps. The Carpathians, which attain an altitude of over 2,500 m (8,202 ft) in only a few places, lack the bold peaks, extensive snowfields, large glaciers, high waterfalls, and numerous large lakes that are common in the Alps. It was believed that no area of the Carpathian range was covered in snow all year round and there were no glaciers, but recent research by Polish scientists discovered one permafrost and glacial area in the Tatra Mountains.[12] The Carpathians at their highest altitude are only as high as the middle region of the Alps, with which they share a common appearance, climate, and flora.
- The Carpathians are separated from the Alps by the Danube. The two ranges meet at only one point: the Leitha Mountains at Bratislava. The river also separates them from the Balkan Mountains at OrÅova in Romania. The valley of the March and Oder separates the Carpathians from the Silesian and Moravian chains, which belong to the middle wing of the great Central Mountain System of Europe. Unlike the other wings of the system, the Carpathians, which form the watershed between the northern seas and the Black Sea, are surrounded on all sides by plains, namely the Pannonian plain to the southwest, the plain of the Lower Danube (Romania) to the south, and the Galician plain to the northeast.
- Cities and towns[edit]Important cities and towns in or near the Carpathians are, in approximate descending order of population:
- Highest peaks[edit]This is an (incomplete) list of the highest peaks of the Carpathians (limited to summits over 2,500 m), their heights, geologic divisions and locations.
- PeakGeologic divisionsNation (Nations)County (Counties)Height (m)Gerlachovsk½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,655Gerlachovsk vežaFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,642Lomnick½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,633Ľadov½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,627PyÅn½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,623Zadn½ GerlachFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,616Lavnov½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,606Mal½ Ľadov½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,602Kotlov½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,601Lavnov vežaFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,600Mal½ PyÅn½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,591Veľk Litvorov vežaFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,581Strapat vežaFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,565Kežmarsk½ ÅttFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,556VysokFatra-Tatra AreaSlovakiaPreÅov Region2,547MoldoveanuFÄgÄraÅ MountainsRomaniaArgeÅ2,544NegoiuFÄgÄraÅ MountainsRomaniaArgeÅ2,535ViÅtea MareFÄgÄraÅ MountainsRomaniaBraÅov2,527LespeziFÄgÄraÅ MountainsRomaniaSibiu2,522Parngu MareParng MountainsRomaniaAlba, Gorj, Hunedoara2,519PeleagaRetezat MountainsRomaniaHunedoara2,509PÄpuÅaRetezat MountainsRomaniaHunedoara2,508VnÄtoarea lui ButeanuFÄgÄraÅ MountainsRomaniaArgeÅ2,507Omu (mountain)Bucegi MountainsRomaniaPrahova, BraÅov, DmboviÅ£a2,505Cornul CÄlÅ£unuluiFÄgÄraÅ MountainsRomaniaSibiu2,505Ocolit (Bucura)Bucegi MountainsRomaniaPrahova, BraÅov, DmboviÅ£a2,503RysyFatra-Tatra AreaPoland, SlovakiaLesser Poland Voivodeship, PreÅov Region2,503DaraFÄgÄraÅ MountainsRomaniaSibiu2,500Highest peaks by country[edit]This is a list of the highest national peaks of the Carpathians, their heights, geologic divisions, and locations.
- Mountain passes[edit]In the Romanian part of the main chain of the Carpathians, the most important mountain passes are (starting from the Ukrainian border): the Prislop Pass, Rodna Pass, TihuÅ£a Pass (also known as Borgo Pass), TulgheÅ Pass, Bicaz Canyon, GhimeÅ Pass, Uz Pass and Oituz Pass, BuzÄu Pass, Predeal Pass (crossed by the railway from BraÅov to Bucharest), Turnu RoÅu Pass (1,115 ft., running through the narrow gorge of the Olt River and crossed by the railway from Sibiu to Bucharest), Vulcan Pass, Teregova Pass and the Iron Gate (both crossed by the railway from TimiÅoara to Craiova).
- Geology[edit]The area now occupied by the Carpathians was once occupied by smaller ocean basins. The Carpathian mountains were formed during the Alpine orogeny in the Mesozoic[13] and Tertiary by moving the ALCAPA, Tisza and Dacia plates over subductingoceanic crust (see maps).[14] The mountains take the form of a fold and thrust belt with generally north vergence in the western segment, northeast to east vergence in the eastern portion and southeast vergence in the southern portion.
- The external, generally northern, portion of the orogenic belt is a Tertiary accretionary prism of a so-called Flysch belt created by rocks scraped off the sea bottom and thrust over the North-European plate. The Carpathian accretionary wedge is made of several thin skinned nappes composed of Cretaceous to Paleogene turbidites. Thrusting of the Flysch nappes over the Carpathian foreland caused the formation of the Carpathian foreland basin.[15] The boundary between the Flysch belt and internal zones of the orogenic belt in the western segment of the mountain range is marked by the Pieniny Klippen Belt, a narrow complicated zone of polyphase compressional deformation, later involved in a supposed strike-slip zone.[16] Internal zones in western and eastern segments contain older Variscan igneous massifs reworked in Mesozoic thick and thin-skinned nappes. During the Middle Miocene this zone was affected by intensive calc-alkaline[17]arc volcanism that developed over the subduction zone of the flysch basins. At the same time, the internal zones of the orogenic belt were affected by large extensional structure[18] of the back-arc Pannonian Basin.[19]
- Iron, gold and silver were found in great quantities in the Western Carpathians. After the Roman emperor Trajan's conquest of Dacia, he brought back to Rome over 165 tons of gold and 330 tons of silver.[20]
- Divisions of the Carpathians[edit]The largest range is the Tatras.
- A major part of the western and northeastern Outer Carpathians in Poland, Ukraine and Slovakia is traditionally called the Beskids.
- The geological border between the Western and Eastern Carpathians runs approximately along the line (south to north) between the towns of Michalovce, Bardejov, Nowy SÄ
cz and Tarn"w. In older systems the border runs more in the east, along the line (north to south) along the rivers San and OsÅawa (Poland), the town of Snina (Slovakia) and river Tur'ia (Ukraine). Biologists, however, shift the border even further to the east.
- The border between the eastern and southern Carpathians is formed by the Predeal Pass, south of BraÅov and the Prahova Valley.
- Ukrainians sometimes denote as "Eastern Carpathians" only the Ukrainian Carpathians (or Wooded Carpathians), meaning the part situated largely on their territory (i.e., to the north of the Prislop Pass), while Romanians sometimes denote as "Eastern Carpathians" only the part which lies on their territory (i.e., from the Ukrainian border or from the Prislop Pass to the south), which they subdivide into three simplified geographical groups (north, center, south), instead of Outer and Inner Eastern Carpathians. These are:
- Notable people[edit]See also[edit]References[edit]Notes^ abAbout the Carpathians - Carpathian Heritage Society^Peter Christoph S¼rth. "Braunb¤ren (Ursus arctos) in Europa". Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2011. ^Peter Christoph S¼rth. "Wolf (Canis lupus) in Europa". Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2011. ^Peter Christoph S¼rth. "Eurasischer Luchs (Lynx lynx) in Europa". Archived from the original on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 10 March 2011. ^"Carpathian montane conifer forests - Encyclopedia of Earth". Retrieved 4 August 2010. ^BucureÅti, staÅ£iune balnearÄ '' o glumÄ bunÄ? in Capital, January 19th, 2009. Retrieved: April 26th, 2011^Ruinele de la Baile Herculane si Borsec nu mai au nimic de oferit in Ziarul Financiar, May 5th, 2010. Retrieved: April 26th, 2011^SalvaÅ£i pÄdurile virgine! in Jurnalul NaÈional, October 26th, 2011. Retrieved: October 31st, 2011^Europe: New Move to Protect Virgin Forests in Global Issues, May 30th, 2011. Retrieved October 31st, 2011.^Douglas Harper. "Carpathian". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 10 March 2011. ^Room, Adrian. Placenames of the World. London: MacFarland and Co., Inc., 1997.^GÄDEK, GRABIECZ, Bogdan, Mariusz. "GLACIAL ICE AND PERMAFROST DISTRIBUTION IN THE MEDENA KOTLINA (SLOVAK TATRAS): MAPPED WITH APPLICATION OF GPR AND GST MEASUREMENTS". L A N D F O R M E V O L U T I O N I N M O U N T A I N A R E A S. S T U D I A G E O M O R P H O L O G I C A C A R P A T H O - B A L C A N I C A. Retrieved 3 February 2013. ^PlaÅienka, D., 2002, Origin and growth of the Western Carpathian orogenetic wedge during the mesozoic. (PDF) in Geologica Carpathica Special Issues 53 Proceedings of XVII. Congress of Carpathian-Balkan Geological Association Bratislava, September 1st - 4th 2002^Mantovani, E., Viti, M., Babbucci, D., Tamburelli, C., Albarello, D., 2006, Geodynamic connection between the indentation of Arabia and the Neogene tectonics of the central''eastern Mediterranean region. GSA Special Papers, v. 409, p. 15-41^Nehyba, S., Å ikula, J., 2007, Depositional architecture, sequence stratigraphy and geodynamic development of the Carpathian Foredeep (Czech Republic). Geologica Carpathica, 58, 1, pp. 53-69^MiÅk, M., 1997, The Slovak Part of the Pieniny Klippen Belt After the Pioneering Works of D. Andrusov. Geologica Carpathica, 48, 4, pp. 209-220^Pcskay, Z., Lexa, J., Szkacs, A., 2006, Geochronology of Neogene magmatism in the Carpathian arc and intra-Carpathian area. Geologica Carpathica, 57, 6, pp. 511 - 530^Dolton, G.L., 2006, Pannonian Basin Province, Central Europe (Province 4808)'--Petroleum geology, total petroleum systems, and petroleum resource assessment. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 2204''B, 47 p.^Royden, L.H., Horvth, F., Rumpler, J., 1983, Evolution of the Pannonian basin system. 1. Tectionics. Tectonics, 2, pp. 61-90^"Dacia-Province of the Roman Empire". United Nations of Roma Victor. Retrieved 2010-11-14. External links[edit]
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- USUF Mission Statement | U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
- The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation is a nonprofit, non-governmental organization established in 1991 to support democracy, a free market and human rights for Ukraine. The Foundation creates and sustains an exchange of information between the United States and Ukraine in order to build peace and prosperity. The Foundation is dedicated to strengthening U.S.-Ukraine relations and therefore the mutual objectives of both nations, advancing Ukraine as a cornerstone of regional stability and as a full partner in the community of nations.
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- CIA HELPED UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT ESCAPE?
- "Anonymous government sources said Thursday (27 February 2014) that Russia had accepted Yanukovych's request for security and that the fugitive leader was currently on Russian territory."
- Defiant Yanukovych Requests Russia Protection RIA Novosti
- "A respected Russian news organization reported that Yanukovych was seen in a Moscow hotel and was now staying in a Kremlin sanatorium just outside the city."
- Russia Grants Protection for Ukrainian President
- According to Vladimir Putin's official newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, missing Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych may have been smuggled out of Ukraine by the CIA.We should remember that Saddam Hussein reportedly escaped to Belarus, Gaddafi reportedly escaped to Zimbabwe and Hitler reportedly escaped to Argentina.According to Rossiyskaya Gazeta, 'many people thought it strange how easily Yanukovych raised the white flag...
- 'Yanukovych would definitely have continued to resist if he had not received sufficiently weighty guarantees of safety for himself, his family, and his innermost circle...'The State Department could have given Yanukovych any safety guarantees, so long as he disappeared from the Ukrainian political stage.
- 'The Americans are past masters at disappearing people. Take the episode of the CIA's flying prisons alone...
- 'The thugs who have seized power in the Ukrainian capital simply need to inquire about the whereabouts of the disappeared president from the US ambassador, who is becoming an ever more important figure on the political Olympus of "independent" Ukraine.
- Viktor Yanukovych 'has been smuggled out of Ukraine ....
- It is possible that Yanukovych has long had links to the CIA.Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi were reportedly put into power by the CIA.
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- USA and EU Are Erecting a Nazi Regime on Ukrainian Territory TARPLEY.net
- Events in Ukraine are exciting the whole world. We need to understand the essence of what is happening. The Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, as a party of the Left Opposition, which fought and is fighting against the course of the domestic and foreign policies pursued under the direction of the Orange destabilization and Yushchenko, and against the Alliance Party of Regions and the Communist Party led by Yanukovych, considers it necessary to give an assessment.
- On February 22, militants and terrorists of the Euromaidan Parliament [i.e. the Kiev fascist mob] executed a neo-Nazi coup using armed force.
- Violating all norms of the Constitution, international law, and trampling European values, Parliament exceeded its authority and committed criminal acts. Washington and Brussels '-- who told the world and all mankind that Euromaidan is a nonviolent action of the Ukrainian people, to make a European choice and protect democracy and European values '-- should now honestly admit that the Ukrainian people got nothing. They used a Nazi coup, carried out by the insurgents, terrorists and politicians of Euromaidan to serve the geopolitical interests of the West.
- Indisputable evidence for that is:
- 1) The change of government happened in an unconstitutional way. This violated the European rule of law. In violation of the XIIIth section of the Constitution (which describes in detail the procedure for changing the Constitution), without the participation of the Constitutional Court, the state system of our country has been changed by the Supreme Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine;
- 2) Going beyond the powers of the Parliament of Ukraine, violating article 19 of the Constitution, Parliament appointed overseers over
- the Ministry of the Interior ,the Security Service of Ukraine, andthe Prosecutor General's Office.These supervisors are installed with the aim of exerting the political violence of Euromaidan over the constitutional institutions of the state to promote the interests of the West in an unconstitutional way;
- 3) Ukrainian President Yanukovych (whom our party has opposed as we have made clear for the last four years) was deprived of his constitutional powers in gross violation of the Constitution. The Constitution does not provide for a right of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine to deprive the president of power in the way this has just been done. The Constitution provides a detailed impeachment procedure which is specified in writing. But again, not guided by the rule of law, but rather by alleged revolutionary expediency, while flouting the European principle of the presumption of innocence, Yanukovych was removed from office and a new president was appointed in violation of the Constitution;
- 4) The Parliament, eager to defend the militants and terrorists of Euromaidan, pardoned and made heroes of all its members, beginning the process of giving them the presidency. This means that there will be no accountability for those who use armed force to kill civilians or innocent law enforcement officers, who seize and smash office buildings and warehouses with armed force, who carry out lynchings, or exercise blackmail and kidnapping. This creates a basis for the formation of a neo-Nazi repressive state machinery.
- Washington and Brussels should hear our warnings. We hold them responsible for all they have done to transfer power to the political forces responsible for establishing this totalitarian Nazi regime in Ukraine, with the inevitable gross violation of the rights and freedoms of millions of our fellow citizens.
- The U.S. and EU should know that this power grab by political parties and movements including neo-Nazi forces (such as ''Svoboda '' Freedom'' and ''Right Sector'') , announced the implementation of a national revolution under the slogans ''Ukraine for Ukrainians,'' '' Glory to the nation '' death to enemies, '' '' Muscovite tools and Communists to the gallows ! '' and others.
- Starting on February 22, this new government must assume all responsibility throughout Ukraine for the violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens.
- Insurgents and terrorists continue to capture Euromaidan administrative buildings and local authorities in the South and East of Ukraine. Using terrorist methods, voters have been deprived of their rights and of the authority of their elected representatives in local councils. Civilians defending their choices have been mercilessly shot by gunmen armed with Kalashinkovs, rifles, and other combat weapons, as for example on February 22 in Lugansk.
- Militants not endowed with any legitimate police authority have arrogated emergency police powers to themselves, using axes and sticks to block central thoroughfares, halting cars to carry out inspections and verification of documents of passengers, and arresting people. They have blocked the entrance to the airport and thus grossly violated the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which guarantees the inviolability of the person, freedom of movement, the presumption of innocence, and the right to security and life. All the people of Ukraine have been humiliated and denied their dignity and rights.
- Already on February 23 representatives of the new government announced the formation of the Ukrainian nation: they proclaim that anyone who uses the Russian language will be subjected to deprivation of their native-born status of Ukrainian ethnicity and will be discriminated against in civil and political rights.
- The new regime has already announced their intention to ban the broadcast channels of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, branding them as the TV channels of a hostile state . This is the way the new government defends the European values of freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
- The regime is preparing lists of enemies who are subject to proscription. This mechanism will deprive of civil and political rights all those who do not share the neo-Nazi views of the new Ukrainian authorities.
- Across the country, ghoulish lynchings continue. People are being beaten and stoned, while undesirable members of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine are subject to mass intimidation and local officials see their families and children targeted by death threats if they do not support the installation of this new political power. The new Ukrainian authorities are massively burning the offices of political parties they do not like, and have publicly announced the threat of criminal prosecution and prohibition of political parties and public organizations that do not share the ideology and goals of the new regime.
- Euromaidan militants are seizing Orthodox shrines like the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra, seeking to transfer them to dissenting churchmen like Filaret. The intention is to grab all the churches of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate to conform them to the Vatican.
- On behalf of the Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine, we declare that we do not recognize the legitimacy of this coup, and do not recognize as legitimate the activities of the new Ukrainian authorities. We condemn the total violation of the rights and freedoms of the citizens of Ukraine on national, ethnic and cultural, religious and political grounds.
- We appeal to the European Parliament and the UN Security Council, calling for their immediate intervention into what is happening in Ukraine, to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens, to prevent the unleashing by the new Ukrainian government of World War III on the Eurasian continent.
- '--Natalia VitrenkoChairman of the Progressive Socialist Party
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- Inside the Ring: All eyes on Moscow's military moves in Ukraine - Washington Times
- U.S. intelligence agencies are stepping up their spying on Russia's military amid concerns that Moscow is preparing to use force against Ukraine in the wake of the pro-democracy revolution in Kiev.
- Earlier this week, intelligence agencies reported that two Ural-4320 trucks full of armed Russian troops were observed arriving in the Black Sea port of Yalta. Photographs made by a Ukrainian civilian were posted online as the troop transports entered a Russian military facility in Yalta, on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine.
- Other activities in recent days have included the movement of armored personnel carriers observed at Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in nearby Sevastopol.
- U.S. officials said the purpose of the troops is not known, but speculation centers on the possibility of the troops being used as part of an advance force for a future Russian military operation.
- U.S. intelligence agencies also are tracking possible covert infiltration of Russian Spetsnaz commandos. One concern is that Moscow will provoke a conflict by using the undercover commandos to attack ethnic Russians and then launch an invasion under the guise of protecting those Russians.
- Some 8 million Russians reside in Ukraine, making up about 17 percent of the population.
- Tensions remain high between Moscow and Kiev over the recent ouster of Ukraine's pro-Russia president, Viktor Yanukovych, who now is being sought on murder charges.
- In a sign of Moscow's concern over losing what it regards as a strategic neighbor, President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian forces on a higher state of alert Tuesday. The mobilization includes forces some 200 miles from Russia's southern border with Ukraine.
- The mobilization could indicate a future military operation, although Moscow's Defense Ministry said the troop movements are not related to the unrest in Ukraine.
- The Obama administration has issued indirect warnings to Russia not to intervene militarily, the latest signal made by Deputy Secretary of State William Burns during a visit Tuesday to Kiev.
- ''We strongly support Ukraine's territorial integrity and its unity,'' Mr. Burns told reporters at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev.
- Asked about the Russian military activities in the Crimea, and how far the United States is prepared to go to prevent military intervention, Mr. Burns said: ''All that I would stress is what I said before, and that is that the United States strongly supports the unity and the territorial integrity of Ukraine.''
- Mr. Burns said speculation over splitting Ukraine into pro-Russian and pro-European regions ''is not in Ukraine's interest.''
- ''And the United States will continue to reinforce that very firm position,'' he said.
- Gates on Obama vS. military
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- Ukraine's parliament appoints new central bank chief | Reuters
- Mon Feb 24, 2014 5:27pm GMT
- KIEV Feb 24 (Reuters) - Ukraine's parliament appointed Stepan Kubiv, a member of parliament with experience in banking, as the new chairman of the central bank.
- A total of 310 deputies in the 450 seat chamber backed Kubiv after his predecessor, Ihor Sorkin, resigned following the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovich as Ukraine's president.
- "I promise ... the transparency of the National Bank. We want to say that Ukraine is a huge market, it is a platform for investments," Kubiv, 51, who was born and lives in western Ukraine, told the parliament after the appointment.
- Kubiv headed several commercial banks before he was elected to the parliament. He is a member of the Batkivshchyna party headed by former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's bitter rival.
- Earlier on Monday Ukraine appealed for urgent international help to stop the economy "heading into the abyss" after the fall of Russian-backed president doubt on a bailout deal with Moscow.
- Acting President Oleksander Turchinov raised the possibility of Kiev defaulting on its debt, and said the country needed $35 billion over the next two years.
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- Attempts of EU, far-right opposition to set up Ukraine government collapse - World Socialist Web Site
- By Alex Lantier26 February 2014Attempts to set up a government by the Western-backed Ukrainian opposition forces that seized power in Saturday's fascist putsch have collapsed amid rising demands for social attacks on the working class from Washington and the European Union (EU), and military tensions with Russia.
- EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton left Kiev yesterday after two days of fruitless talks attempting to bring the different opposition parties together in a government. The putsch, cynically hailed by the Western media as a struggle for democracy, is proving to be an operation to forcibly install a filthy dictatorship of imperialist finance capital. Opposition officials estimated this week that Ukraine needs up to $35 billion to refinance its debts. However, the major international banks have effectively cut off credit to Ukraine, charging ruinously high interest rates that it cannot afford. Meanwhile, Russia has withdrawn its offer of $15 billion in aid after the putsch toppled Russian-backed President Viktor Yanukovych.
- EU and International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials are demanding austerity measures, such as deep cuts to state subsidies for consumer energy prices, in exchange for a $1or 2 billion payment to stave off immediate bankruptcy. Yanukovych rejected a planned association agreement with the EU entailing such cuts last autumn'--the decision which led to the opposition protests against him'--fearing that the cuts might lead to social upheavals that would bring down his regime.
- Now, the pro-Western opposition, supported by gangs of fascist thugs from the Svoboda party and the neo-Nazi Right Sector group, is trying to push this reactionary, anti-democratic agenda through. Arseniy Yatsenyuk of billionaire oligarch Yulya Tymoshenko's Fatherland Party, whom Washington has identified as its preferred right-wing figurehead in Ukraine, called on the opposition to join government and do the banks' bidding despite popular opposition. ''This is about political responsibility. You know to be in this government is to commit political suicide, and we need to be very frank and open,'' Yatsenyuk told reporters outside Parliament.
- Such remarks underscore that the opposition aims to run roughshod over the Ukrainian people, trying to use violently anti-working class forces like Svoboda or Right Sector, which openly glorify Nazism and the Holocaust, to crush whatever popular opposition emerges.
- Reports of broader public opinion in Ukraine indicate popular hostility not only to Yanukovych, but also to the leading opposition oligarch, Tymoshenko. One woman told the Neue Z¼rcher Zeitung, ''They are all crooks, the ones like the other, and Yulya [Tymoshenko] is no better.''
- Tensions are escalating with Russia over the Western powers' move to snatch Ukraine from Russia's sphere of influence. In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry attacked US and EU policy in Ukraine as driven ''not by a concern for the fate of Ukraine, but by unilateral geopolitical calculations '... A course has been set to use dictatorial and sometimes terrorist methods to suppress dissenters in various regions.''
- Speaking to Interfax on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev denounced the putsch in Kiev. He said, ''Strictly speaking, there is no one to talk to there. The legitimacy of a whole host of government bodies raises huge doubts '... If people crossing Kiev in black masks and Kalashnikov rifles are considered a government, it will be difficult for us to work with such a government.''
- Medvedev added, however, that Russia would honor legally-binding energy contracts to provide Ukraine with natural gas. ''Those agreements which are legally binding must be honored. We are not cooperating with personalities or isolated individuals. These are inter-state relations. We are neighbors, close nations, and we cannot run away from one another. Whatever has been signed must be honored. For us, Ukraine remains a serious and important partner.''
- The opposition has abolished the status of Russian'--which is widely spoken, particularly in the east of Ukraine'--as an official language. There is widespread fear of possible fighting, including Russian intervention, if opposition forces in Kiev attempt to conquer the east or take over Russian military installations in the Crimea.
- NATO commander in Europe General Philip Breedlove spoke with Russian Chief of General Staff General Valery Gerasimov in a tense exchange on Monday, in which both ''expressed concern over the situation in Ukraine.''
- Such remarks highlight the bankruptcy of the Russian regime of President Vladimir Putin, and the disastrous geo-strategic implications of the Stalinist bureaucracy's dissolution of the USSR, 23 years ago. Dependent on Ukrainian pipelines to transport its natural gas to European markets, the Kremlin oligarchy has no more popular base than the corrupt Yanukovych regime. It is vulnerable to similar right-wing provocations by middle class opposition forces or internal ethnic conflicts, such as the one in Chechnya, fueled by the United States and its allies. To the extent that it tries to use its military machine to block the offensive of imperialism's far-right proxies, Moscow only runs the risk of triggering all-out war with NATO.
- The only way forward is to mobilize the working class in Ukraine and internationally against the imperialist powers' drive to impose far-right, neo-colonial regimes throughout the former USSR. In the absence of this, the imperialist powers will simply press ahead with mobilizing right-wing, middle class forces to destabilize the entire region, ultimately aiming to dismember Russia. The ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, whose US-backed government fought a brief war with Russia in 2008 after attacking Russian peacekeepers in South Ossetia, is now applying for a EU association agreement like that turned down in Ukraine by Yanukovych.
- In yesterday's S¼ddeutsche Zeitung, Lilia Shevtsova of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think-tank in Moscow indicated that pro-Western opposition forces are preparing for operations like the Ukrainian putsch throughout the territories of the former USSR, including in Russia itself.
- Praising the fascist-led putsch in Kiev in Orwellian fashion as ''a new form of national self-realization, with its own leaders and heroes,'' and calling for Ukraine to join NATO, she wrote: ''Ukraine proved to be the weakest link in the post-Soviet chain. One must keep in mind that similar uprisings are also possible in other countries.''
- Pointing to the foreign policy of German President Joachim Gauck, who has called for Germany to abandon restraints on its foreign and military policies observed since the fall of the Nazi regime, Shevtsova raised the possibility that Berlin might support similar operations against Russia.
- She wrote, ''One can therefore hope that the Ukrainians will not be disappointed in Europe again, and also that the democratic forces in Russia will be able to overcome their current disappointment with Europe.''
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-
- Asia Times Online :: Central Asian News and current affairs, Russia, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan
- SPENGLERCareful what you wish for in UkraineBy SpenglerWestern governments are jubilant over the fall of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, a Russian ally. They may be underestimating Vladimir Putin: Russia has the option to hasten Ukraine's slide into chaos and wait until the hapless European Union acquiesces to - if not begs for - Russian intervention.
- That leaves the West with a limited number of choices. The first is to do nothing and watch the country spiral into chaos, with Russia as the eventual beneficiary. The second is to dig deep into its
- pockets and find US$20 billion or more to buy near-term popularity for a pro-Western government - an unlikely outcome. The third, and the most realistic, is to steer Ukraine towards a constitutional referendum including the option of partition.Judging from Russian press coverage, Moscow already has washed its hands of the feckless Yanukovich. Russia Today whimsically observed on February 22 that Yanukovich lacked the sangfroid of Mikhail Saakashvili, the former president of Georgia and an ally of the West:
- Yanukovich could also have dispersed the protesters and maintained public order in the country, whatever criticism it might have brought. This is how the then Georgian president, Mikhail Saakashvili, acted in 2007. He brutally suppressed a peaceful protest and called an early presidential election, which he won, instead of an early parliamentary election, which the opposition demanded and which his party could well have lost. Unlike the Georgian leader, Yanukovich hesitated even when the Ukrainian protest turned Kiev into a battlefield. [1]
- Moscow has no need of allies with weak stomachs. But it will withdraw the offer of $15 billion worth of Ukrainian debt purchases and subsidies for natural gas exports to Ukraine and leave the nearly bankrupt country to the ministrations of the West. Careful what you wish for, Russia is telling the West.Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said that Ukraine should get money from the International Monetary Fund: "We consider that such a situation would meet the interests of Ukraine, would put the country on the path toward major structural reforms. We wish them success in this undertaking and in the rapid stabilization of the political and social situation."
- Siluanov is being mischievous. Twice in the past six years, the IMF suspended promised loans to Ukraine after the country refused to cut salaries and pensions and raise energy prices. Russia had offered a loan without conditions; any money the West offers will require austerity measures that no Ukrainian government is capable of enforcing.
- The fall of Yanukovich is an embarrassment to Russia, and a well-deserved one, but that does not leave Russia entirely without options. Russia most likely will adopt the same stance towards pro-European Union politicians that the Egyptian military and its Saudi backers took toward Egypt's the Muslim Brotherhood: let the opposition take the blame for economic and social chaos, and then move in when the country is on its knees. The Brotherhood ruled Egypt for a year, and then the food and fuel ran out, 30 million Egyptians, more than half the country's adult population, demonstrated to oust it. The military obliged in August 2013 and immediately obtained emergency loans from the Saudis.
- The IMF meanwhile offered Egypt small amounts of money in return for big cuts in government subsidies and got nowhere. It is possible, to be sure, that the European Union and Washington will cough up $15 billion for Ukraine, but this seems most unlikely given aversion of all their governments to further bailouts. As Walter Russell Mead put it, the West brought a baguette to a knife fight; the problem is that even the baguette comes with IMF conditionality. [2]
- If the European Union had a vibrant economy, matters might be different. But Europe is barely showing vital signs after the Great Crash of 2008 and the Great European Recession of 2011-2012. Unemployment is stuck above 12%, and industrial production remains 15% below the pre-2008 peak.
- Euro Area Unemployment Rate
- Europe Industrial Production IndexSource: European Central Bank
- Europeans, moreover, are of two minds about prospective Ukrainian membership in the EU. Some European countries, notably the UK, already are fending off unwanted Eastern European immigrants from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. Germany's Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer came under fire in 2005 after critics claimed that his relaxation of visa requirements allowed a million Ukrainians into Germany, including large numbers of prostitutes and criminals. [3] With some justification, the Europeans suspect that the main reason that Ukrainians want EU membership is that they want to leave their country as quickly as possible.
- In the industrialized, Russian-speaking eastern half of the country, EU membership is viewed skeptically. In most of Eastern Europe, Soviet-era heavy industry was closed but not replaced, leading to chronic unemployment. Ukraine's heavy industry may not be the world's most competitive, but it has steady business in Russia. The Ukraine's agricultural West never derived much economic benefit from the economic ties to Russia and understandably feels no loyalty to its former imperial occupier.
- When the Europeans sup with Ukrainian leaders, they bring a long spoon. There are no knights in shining armor in Ukrainian politics. Former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, now free after being jailed when she lost by 2010 election to Yanukovych, is a problematic personality, to say the least. During the mid-1990s, in the Wild East free-for-all following the collapse of the Soviet Union, she became one of Ukraine's richest oligarchs.
- The country also is a demographic deader. At its present fertility rate (1.3 children per female), its 47 million people will shrink to only 15 million by the end of the century. There are at present 11 million Ukrainian women aged 15 to 49 (although a very large number are working abroad); by the end of the century this will fall to just 2.8 million. There were 52 million Ukrainian citizens when Communism fell in 1989. Its GDP at about $157 billion is a fifth of Turkey's and half of Switzerland's.
- Ukraine is barely a country, rather an amalgam of provinces left over from failed empires - Russian, Austrian, Lithuanian, Ottoman - cobbled together into a Soviet "republic" and cast adrift after the collapse of Communism. Lviv (Lemberg) was a German-speaking city, part of Austrian Silesia; before World War II a quarter of its people were Jews. Jews were two-fifths of the population of Odessa. A fifth of the population, mainly in the east, are ethnic Russians; a tenth, mainly in the west, are Uniate Catholics, who have a special place in Catholic policy since the papacy of John Paul II.
- Ukrainian nationality is as dubious as Byelorussian nationality: neither of them had a dictionary of their language until 1918.
- US Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, whose "F*** the Europeans" remark on an outed tape recording earned her 15 minutes of fame recently, ought to be fired for being plain dumb. Europe will have to pay a good part of the bill for Ukraine's problems one way or the other. The United States Congress won't offer $15 billion to support Ukraine's foreign debt as Russia did last month.
- Russia will not abandon Russian-speakers cut off from the Motherland by the collapse of the Soviet Union. One may assume that when local officials in Eastern Ukraine urge the local population to form militias, they may count on some professional assistance. [4] Time is on the side of whomever has the highest pain tolerance, and that is Russia, not the West.
- Notes:1. Ukraine downfall: Lack of leadership to blame?, Russia Today, February 22, 2014.2. The Great Ukrainian Knife Fight, December 3, 2013.3. German visa scandal rattles foreign minister, The Guardian, February 15, 2005.4. Ukraine's Southeast seeks to restore constitutional order, thousands gather in Kharkov, Russia Today, February 22, 2014.
- (Some parts of this essay were published previously at PJ Media.)
- Spengler is channeled by David P Goldman. He is Senior Fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum. His bookHow Civilizations Die (and why Islam is Dying, Too)was published by Regnery Press in September 2011. A volume of his essays on culture, religion and economics,It's Not the End of the World - It's Just the End of You, also appeared that fall, from Van Praag Press.
- (Copyright 2014 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)
-
- Russia says doubts legitimacy of Ukrainian authorities | Reuters
- MOSCOWMon Feb 24, 2014 1:50pm GMT
- MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's prime minister voiced grave doubts on Monday over the legitimacy of the authorities in Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovich's ouster, criticising Western states for recognising officials he said came to power in an "armed mutiny".
- In some of Russia's strongest statements condemning the toppling of the Moscow-backed leader, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev made clear he was not yet ready to engage with the former opposition figure appointed acting leader by parliament.
- "We do not understand what is going on there. There is a real threat to our interests and to the lives of our citizens," Medvedev was quoted as telling Russian news agencies, explaining why Moscow had recalled its Kiev ambassador on Sunday.
- "Strictly speaking there is no one to talk to there. There are big doubts about the legitimacy of a whole series of organs of power that are now functioning there," he said.
- Medvedev described some of the opposition activists involved in the street protests that led to Yanukovich's demise as "men in black masks with Kalashnikovs who are carving up Kiev," the reports said.
- "It will be hard for us to work with such a government," state-run RIA quoted him as saying. "Some of our foreign partners think differently ... it seems to me it is an aberration to call legitimate what is essentially the result of an armed mutiny," he added.
- (Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel; Editing by Steve Gutterman)
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- Russia recalls ambassador to Kiev for 'consultations'
- MOSCOW: Russia is calling its ambassador to Ukraine back to Moscow for "consultations", the foreign ministry said Sunday, after tumult in Kiev led to pro-Russian leader Viktor Yanukovych being toppled and replaced with a pro-EU leadership from the opposition.
- "Due to the escalation of the situation in Ukraine and the necessity of analysing the existing situation from all sides, a decision has been made to recall the Russian Ambassador to Ukraine (Mikhail) Zurabov to Moscow for consultations," the foreign ministry said in a statement late Sunday.
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- Oleksandr Turchynov - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Oleksandr Valentynovych Turchynov (Ukrainian: ÐÐ>>екÑÐ°Ð½Ð´Ñ Ð'аÐ>>енÑÐ¸Ð½Ð¾Ð²Ð¸Ñ ÐÑÑÑинов) (born March 31, 1964) is a Ukrainian politician, screenwriter, and Doctor of Economic Sciences. Turchynov is the current Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament and acting President and Prime Minister of Ukraine after Viktor Yanukovych left the office on Febuary 21, 2014. [2] He is the first deputy chairman of the political party Batkivshchyna (All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland").[3][4][5] Turchynov was ex officio acting Prime Minister, as being the First Vice Prime Minister in absence of a prime minister after Yulia Tymoshenko's government was dismissed on 3 March 2010;[6] till the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) appointed Mykola Azarov as Prime Minister on 11 March 2010.[7][8]
- Biography[edit]Oleksandr Turchynov was born in Dnipropetrovsk. He graduated from the Dnipropetrovsk Metallurgical Institute in 1986, after which he worked at Kryvorizhstal.[9] From 1987 to 1990, he served as head of the agitation and propaganda division of the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Komsomol (Communist Youth League) Committee, which was led by Sergei Tigipko.[9] Tigipko and Turchynov became political patrons of Leonid Kuchma, then head of Dnipropetrovsk-based Pivdenmash missile manufacturer.[9] Kuchma and his entire team, including Tigipko and Turchynov moved to Kiev in 1992, after Kuchma was appointed Prime Minister.[9] In 1993 Turchynov was formally appointed an advisor on economic issues to Prime Minister Kuchma.[9]
- Turchynov is an old ally of Yulia Tymoshenko, another prominent Ukrainian political figure from Dnipropetrovsk. They used to have a common business in Dnipropetrovsk. In December 1993, Turchynov co-founded and became Vice President of Ukrainian Union of Industrialist and Entrepreneurs. In 1994 he created the political party Hromada together with Pavlo Lazarenko, a business ally of Tymoshenko.[9] Turchynov was also director of the Economic Reforms Institute from January 1994 to March 1998 and was head of the Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences' Laboratory of Shadow Economy Research.[10][11]
- Political life[edit]In 1998, he was elected to parliament as a member of Hromada but after the scandal around Lazarenko, he left the faction and party (during May 1999) together with Yulia Tymoshenko's All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland". He was re-elected to parliament in 2002 and 2006 as part of the BYuT.
- On 4 February 2005, Turchynov was appointed and served as the first'ever civilian head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). In February 2006 state prosecutors opened a criminal case against Turchynov and his SBU deputy Andriy Kozhemyakin for destroying a file about FBI Ten Most Wanted FugitiveSemyon Mogilevich from the SBU archive. The case was dismissed four months later.[12]
- In the spring of 2008 he was the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and the Our Ukraine''People's Self-Defense Bloc candidate[13] for the Mayor of Kiev election he placed second at the election with 218,600 votes (19.13% of total vote).[14]
- In December 2009 during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election-campaign Turchynov accused PresidentViktor Yushchenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych of coordinating their actions in their attempts to topple the Second Tymoshenko Government.[15]
- On March 4, 2010, after the fall of the second Tymoshenko Government, former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko resigned from that post on March 4, 2010[6] and Turchynov was empowered to fulfill the Prime Minister's duties until a new government was formed.[16] On 11 March 2010 the Azarov Government was elected[17] and Mykola Azarov was appointed Prime Minister the same day.[7][8]
- In 2012 he was re-elected into parliament on the party list of "Fatherland".[18]
- On February 22, 2014 he was elected as speaker of Verkhovna Rada[2] and, in addition, Turchynov was designated as acting President of Ukraine and acting Prime Minister of Ukraine following the impeachment of Viktor Yanukovych.[19]
- Controversy[edit]In August 2007, Turchynov replied to the accusation that his stance on same-sex marriage is typically conservative, "I do not agree. If a man has normal views, then you label him a conservative, but those who use drugs or promote sodomy '' you label them a progressive person. All of these are perversions.''[20]
- Wikileaks documents mention Turchynov, then head of Ukraine's SBU, as having destroyed secret documents evidencing Yuliya Tymoshenko's connections to organized crime boss Semion Mogilevich. [2]
- Non-official activities[edit]In 2004 Turchynov published a book "Illusion of fear".[9] In 2005 he also wrote a script to the same name movie that is based on the book.[21] The movie was released in Ukraine in September 2008 and was the 2008 Ukrainian submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.[22]
- Personal[edit]His wife is Hanna Turchynova (born 1970), Ph.D., Head of Foreign Languages at National Pedagogical Dragomanov University. They have one son, Kyrylo (born 1994), a student.[citation needed]
- Turchynov does not drink or smoke. He is said to sometimes give sermons at his church, the Word of Life Center, which is a member of the Evangelical Baptist Union of Ukraine.[9]
- References[edit]External links[edit]
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- Ukraine charts course to Europe, wants better Russia ties
- KIEV: Acting President Oleksander Turchinov said on Sunday Ukraine would try to improve relations with Russia but made clear that Kiev's return to European integration would be the priority.
- In an address to the nation, Turchinov spelled out the enormity of the task facing Ukraine's new leadership following the fall of Viktor Yanukovich, including stabilising an economy which he said was close to default and "heading into the abyss".
- "We recognise the importance of relations with the Russian Federation and are ready for dialogue with the Russian leadership in order to build relations with this country on a new, truly equitable and good-neighbourly basis," he said.
- But he added: "Another priority is the return to the path of European integration ... We must return to the family of European nations."
- Turchinov, the parliamentary speaker, was handed the president's duties temporarily in a vote in the chamber earlier on Sunday.
- He portrayed the economy as in dire straits and said economic recovery was a key task.
- "Against the background of global economic recovery, the Ukrainian economy is heading into the abyss and is in a pre-default state," he said.
- "The task of the new government is to stop the country's slide into the abyss, to stabilize the exchange rate, guarantee the timely payment of salaries, pensions and stipends, and to regain the confidence of investors, promote the development of enterprises and the creation of new jobs."
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- EU's Ashton to visit Ukraine on Monday
- BRUSSELS: EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton will visit Ukraine on Monday for talks with key players after the weekend's dramatic events, which saw parliament appoint an interim leader and ousted president Viktor Yanukovych flee.
- She will meet "key stakeholders and discuss the support of the European Union for a lasting solution to the political crisis and measures to stabilise the economic situation," a statement from her office said Sunday.
- The European Union "follows the situation in Ukraine closely," the statement said, calling on all sides in Ukraine to engage in "meaningful and inclusive dialogue leading to a lasting solution of the crisis".
- It also stressed that the solution must "protect the unity and territorial integrity of the country" and usher in a stable and democratic future.
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- U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland says Washington has spent $5 billion trying to subvert Ukraine -- Puppet Masters -- Sott.net
- (C) Andrew Kravchenko / ReutersPhoto-op: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian affairs Victoria Nuland distributing bread to protesters at the circus her imperial portfolio created, Independence Square, Kiev, Ukraine, Dec. 11, 2013
- US Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Nuland said: "Since the declaration of Ukrainian independence in 1991, the United States supported the Ukrainians in the development of democratic institutions and skills in promoting civil society and a good form of government - all that is necessary to achieve the objectives of Ukraine's European. We have invested more than 5 billion dollars to help Ukraine to achieve these and other goals." Nuland said the United States will continue to "promote Ukraine to the future it deserves."International Business Conference, sponsored by Chevron. Ukraine-in-Washington lobby group
- National Press Club - December 13, 2013
- Speech by Victoria Nuland - Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs
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- Russia Concerned About Pollution From Ukraine Fracking | Business | The Moscow Times
- 17 January 2014 | Issue 5291
- Russia said Friday that gas drilling technology likely to be used by Ukraine could pollute water supplies for Russians living near the border between the two countries.
- Ukraine is expected to employ hydraulic fracturing, a widely used but controversial process that involves blasting a chemical solution into rock formations to release gas, Russia's Natural Resources and Environment Ministry said in a statement.
- Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, near Ukraine's border with Russia could pollute surface and underground water reserves used by local people, the ministry said.
- Ukraine depends on Russian imports of natural gas, but in recent years has been attempting to diversify its supplies by financing alternative sources of the fuel, particularly domestic reserves of shale gas.
- The exploitation of shale gas, which is locked in shale rock formations, has revolutionized the world gas market in recent years and threatened the traditional dominance of fixed pipeline suppliers like Russia.
- Ukraine signed two major shale gas deals with international oil giants Shell and Chevron last year worth a combined $20 billion.
- Russia slashed the price Ukraine pays for gas by about a third last month in a deal concluded by President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart. The agreement marked a renewal of economic ties between Kiev and Moscow that some analysts suggested could jeopardize Ukraine's appetite for shale gas development.
- Russia's abundant natural gas reserves mean that it does not need to use fracking in the gas industry, but the process has for decades been employed widely by Russian oil companies to maximize crude production.
- A boom in natural gas output in the United States in recent years has been underwritten by the use of fracking, which has come under fire from environmentalists for its allegedly harmful ecological consequences.
- Fracking plans have caused public outcries in several European countries, and the technology was banned by France in 2011.
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- Ukraine | Freedom House
- Freedom House, the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), Article 19, Open Society Foundations (OSF), and the Ukraine Association of Press Publishers compiled a joint report on Ukraine's press freedom situation. The reoprt outlines the findings of a mission conducted in early April that ultimately found serious corruption issues and other problems. The report recommended a number of steps in order to improve freedom of expression in the country.
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- Russia says the Ukrainian protesters are fascists and Nazis. Are they?
- Svoboda head Oleh Tyagnybok pays his final respects to activist Mikhail Zhiznevsky during a funeral service in Kiev on Jan. 26, 2014.Photo by Genya Savilov/AFP/Getty Images
- If the increasingly bloody turmoil in Ukraine is primarily viewed in the West as a struggle between pro-European supporters of democracy and an increasingly authoritarian government under the influence of Moscow, the official Russian line on the events presents an alternate reality: Western governments are na¯ve dupes supporting violent extremists with far-right fascist tendencies.
- The Russian foreign ministry has dubbed the protests the ''Brown Revolution,'' comparing it to the Nazis' rise to power in the 1930s. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has asked, ''Why do we not hear statements of condemnation toward those who seize government buildings, attack and burn police officers, and voice racist and anti-Semitic slogans?''
- The Russian government has a habit of throwing around labels like this a bit casually, but in this case'--while undoubtedly self-serving'--it's not completely inaccurate.
- One of the three figures who form the Maidan movement's unlikely leadership coalition, along with boxer Vitali Klitschko and former Foreign Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, is Oleh Tyahnybok, the leader of the nationalist Svoboda party who has a habit of doing things like referring to the country's government as a ''Jewish-Russian mafia.'' The party traces its roots to a Nazi-allied partisan army during World War II and was known as the Social-National Party'--in reference to National Socialism'--until 2004. Last month the party held a torch-lit march in honor of Stepan Bandera'--a controversial figure viewed by some as a Nazi collaborator.
- The rebranded party's election to parliament for the first time in 2012 concerned many Ukrainian Jews, though Tyahnybok has unconvincingly defended himself from charges of anti-Semitism, saying, "I personally have nothing against common Jews, and even have Jewish friends, but rather against a group of Jewish oligarchs who control Ukraine and against Jews-Bolsheviks [in the past].''
- It's clear that the protests against the government by supporters of European integration started before Svoboda showed up and that the party's presence does not represent all'--or even most'--of the protesters in Kiev, which include a fair number of Jews. But Tyahnybok's role has certainly made things awkward for the movement's international supporters.
- The Svoboda leader was conspicuously absent at last week's meeting in Berlin between Chancellor Angela Merkel and the far more palatable Klitschko and Yatsenyuk. Sen. John McCain was criticized for sharing a stage with him when he visited Kiev in November. More recently Tyahnybok has met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and EU foreign affairs representative Catherine Ashton.*
- All the same, the charges that Euromaidan is defined primarily by fascism and anti-Semitism is a little rich coming from the people making it, as Timothy Snyder discusses in the New York Review of Books:
- The protests in the Maidan, we are told again and again by Russian propaganda and by the Kremlin's friends in Ukraine, mean the return of National Socialism to Europe. The Russian foreign minister, in Munich, lectured the Germans about their support of people who salute Hitler. The Russian media continually make the claim that the Ukrainians who protest are Nazis. Naturally, it is important to be attentive to the far right in Ukrainian politics and history. It is still a serious presence today, although less important than the far right in France, Austria, or the Netherlands. Yet it is the Ukrainian regime rather than its opponents that resorts to anti-Semitism, instructing its riot police that the opposition is led by Jews. In other words, the Ukrainian government is telling itself that its opponents are Jews and us that its opponents are Nazis.
- The strange thing about the claim from Moscow is the political ideology of those who make it. [Vladimir Putin's proposed] Eurasian Union is the enemy of the European Union, not just in strategy but in ideology. The European Union is based on a historical lesson: that the wars of the twentieth century were based on false and dangerous ideas, National Socialism and Stalinism, which must be rejected and indeed overcome in a system guaranteeing free markets, free movement of people, and the welfare state. Eurasianism, by contrast, is presented by its advocates as the opposite of liberal democracy.
- Some have also accused Yanukovych of deliberately facilitating Svoboda's rise to prominence in western Ukraine as a useful political foil. If true, that now appears to have been a massive miscalculation on the president's part.
- Svoboda's prominence within the opposition movement is certainly concerning, not only because of the possibility it could now play a more prominent role in the future politics, but because it has allowed an increasingly authoritarian leader and his blatantly authoritarian international backers to make the case that their opponents are the ones who pose a threat to democracy.
- *Correction, Feb. 20, 2014: This post originally misspelled Victoria Nuland's first name.
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- LGBBTQQIAAP
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- THE strategy against GOP in elections
- Arizona SB1062-Reigious freedom, crazy GOP!
- Uganda hate bill by crazy christians
- Patriot Hate groups Christians
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- Scott Lively | Southern Poverty Law Center
- A veteran of the anti-gay movement, Lively has been actively propagandizing against LGBT people since the early 1990s, but he's perhaps best-known for co-writing the thoroughly discredited, Holocaust revisionist book The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party (1995), which claims that the Nazi party was full of gay men who, because of their "savagery," were able to carry out the Holocaust. In 2007, he co-founded the virulently anti-gay Watchmen on the Walls, an organization currently active more in Eastern Europe than the U.S. More recently, he got a new claim to fame when he presented his virulent views about homosexuality at a 2009 anti-gay conference in Uganda that is widely believed to have played a role in the drafting of Uganda's notorious "kill the gays" bill. Lively is president of Abiding Truth Ministries and director of Redemption Gate Mission Society, both currently based in Springfield, Mass.
- In His Own Words"Because no matter what, [homosexuality] is still abnormal, wrong, harmful and perverse."'' Eugene Register-Guard, Nov. 1, 1992
- "There is no question that homosexuality figures prominently in the history of the Holocaust. '... The first years of terrorism against the Jews were carried out by the homosexuals of the SA."'' The Pink Swastika, 1996
- "It is not mere coincidence that the emperors of Rome in its horrific final days were homosexual; that Adolf Hitler's inner circle were mostly homosexual; and that nearly all of the most prolific serial killers in U.S. history were homosexual. It is not mere coincidence that America's cultural decline parallels the rise of 'gay rights.'"'' "Agents of the Death Agenda," May 1996 edition of Life Advocate magazine, quoted in "Northwest Update," Coalition for Human Dignity, June 1996.
- "Homosexuality is thus biologically (and to varying degrees morally) equivalent to pedophilia, sado-masochism, bestiality and many other forms of deviant behavior."'' ''Deciphering 'Gay' Word-Speak and Language of Confusion," May 2002
- "Homosexuality is a personality disorder that involves various, often dangerous sexual addictions and aggressive, anti-social impulses."'' ''Letter to the Russian People," 2007
- "The gay movement is an evil institution [whose] goal is to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity in which there's no restrictions on sexual conduct except the principle of mutual choice."'' Conference in Kampala, Uganda, March 2009
- ''We need to bring back public discussion of AIDS as a 'gay' disease, pederasty as [sic] major subculture of male homosexuality, mental health problems and domestic violence as major problems associated with lesbianism, the increasing recruitment of children into a homosexual identity through experimentation with 'gay' sex, etc. '' all the truths we stopped telling because the other side screamed so loudly about them.'''' WorldNetDaily, September 2012
- BackgroundScott D. Lively first came to light as an anti-LGBT activist in the early 1990s in Oregon, when he was involved with the Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) in a variety of capacities: executive director, finance coordinator, finance director, and communications director. The OCA had (and still has) a reputation as a vitriolic and virulently anti-LGBT organization under the leadership of ex-hippie and Vietnam veteran Lon Mabon, who left his leftist roots and became a born-again Christian.
- The OCA was supported by Oregon's branch of Pat Robertson's Christian Coalition and worked constantly to put draconian and far-reaching anti-LGBT measures on the state ballot. The most notorious of those was Ballot Measure 9 (1992), which would have amended the state constitution to prohibit "all governments in Oregon" from using monies or properties to "promote, encourage or facilitate homosexuality, pedophilia, sadism or masochism." These behaviors, the text of the measure said, "are abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse and they are to be discouraged and avoided."
- To support its stance, the OCA and its supporters disseminated inflammatory pamphlets and videos, like "The Gay Agenda," which linked homosexuality to evil, sickness, and disease. The group took out radio and newspaper ads that often linked homosexuality to pedophilia, and claimed that LGBT people were seeking "special rights" and that homosexuality is a "public health menace."
- The tactics used by Lively, the OCA and its supporters were encouraged by the months-earlier passage of a stringent anti-LGBT ordinance in Springfield, Ore. Measure 9, however, engulfed the entire state in a bitter and brutal political battle that galvanized both sides, divided communities, unleashed anti-LGBT harassment and acts of violence, and finally ended with the measure falling to defeat, 56.5 percent to 43.5 percent.
- Lively became known as a prominent spokesman for the OCA during its bruising campaigns, and he was earning a reputation for belligerence, as well. In a 1991 incident, he allegedly threw lesbian photographer Catherine Stauffer against a wall at a screening of an OCA video and then dragged her out of the room by her hair. She sued both Lively and the OCA, and a jury ruled that Lively used unreasonable force and awarded Stauffer $30,000.
- In the wake of the Measure 9 loss, the OCA drafted yet another anti-gay ballot initiative. Measure 13 toned down the rhetoric of its predecessor, but its intent was roughly the same. It would have prohibited state and local governments from protecting LGBT people from discrimination, and it would have overturned anti-discrimination ordinances in four Oregon cities.
- Lively was active in this campaign, as well, and this as well as other OCA campaigns proved the inspiration for what would become his Holocaust revision book, The Pink Swastika. According to the Eugene Register-Guard, Lively had allegedly been making public statements that linked gay men to the Holocaust, and supporters of the OCA had included wording in a voters' guide that urged voters to "stand with the true victims of the holocaust [sic]" and vote yes on the measure.
- Amid a backlash over these claims, the OCA released a statement in which Mabon claimed that Lively had "gotten tired" of being called "Nazi" because of the OCA's opposition to LGBT rights. So, Mabon claimed, Lively began to research the history of the Nazi Party and found, according to Mabon, "that many Nazi leaders were homosexuals and that the Nazi Party was closely tied to pre-Nazi Germany's gay-rights movement." Mabon denied, however, that Lively had linked the Holocaust to gay men, though according to the Register-Guard, Lively stated in a program that had aired several months earlier on public access television that "Homosexuals created the Nazi Party, and everything that we think about when we think about Nazis actually comes from the minds and perverted ideas of homosexuals." Gay men, Lively continued in the program, "were the foundation of the Nazi Party."
- Lively eventually published these ideas in The Pink Swastika with co-author Kevin Abrams, who had published an article titled "The Other Side of the Pink Triangle" in 1994 in Peter LaBarbara's Lambda Report (now defunct; LaBarbera currently heads Americans for Truth about Homosexuality). Abrams is a Canadian Orthodox Jew who was last living in Israel. The book made Lively's career as an anti-LGBT activist, and though actual historians have dismissed it and refuted it, the anti-LGBT right continues to peddle it and its ideas.
- The idea that homosexuality has been a "dark force" in history is one that Lively fervently believes and put into print in his 1997 book The Poisoned Stream. In the introduction, he states that he has "come to discover, through various leads, a dark and powerful homosexual presence in other historical periods: the Spanish Inquisition, the French ''Reign of Terror,'' the era of South African apartheid, and the two centuries of American slavery. '... I have come to believe '... that homosexuality has truly been a 'poisoned stream' in human history." This theory has fueled much of Lively's activism since his days with the OCA.
- Eventually, Lively moved on from Oregon to Sacramento, Calif., where he was active as the state director for the American Family Association (AFA). While there, Lively helped launch the "California Campaign to Take Back the Schools," which was supposed to "stop the homosexualization" of public schools. Lively launched his Abiding Truth Ministries during his California years. A side project of it was the Pro-Family Law Center, through which he involved himself in litigation on behalf of conservative Christian causes.
- From Sacramento, Lively ended up in Temecula Calif., where he continued to run Abiding Truth Ministries, but a new side project had presented itself through his connections in Sacramento, which has a large population of evangelical Christian Russian immigrants. Lively found a receptive audience for his theory about gay men and the Nazis. Russians and other immigrants from Eastern Europe remembered only too well the atrocities committed at the hands of the Nazis, and Lively's Holocaust revisionism resonated among some in the immigrant communities. In 2007, Lively launched the virulently anti-LGBT group Watchmen on the Walls along with Sacramento-based Russian radio host Vlad-Kusakin, Seattle megachurch pastor Ken Hutcherson, and Latvian megachurch pastor Alexey Ledyaev. Thus began the overseas dimension of Lively's anti-LGBT outreach.
- Lively promoted Watchmen on the Walls as an international network of Christian activists dedicated to fighting the "homosexual agenda." In 2007, he traveled to Riga, the capital of Latvia, and spoke at Ledyaev's church, where he railed against the gay rights movement, calling it "the most dangerous political movement in the world."
- In early March 2009, he went to Uganda to deliver what would become known as his infamous talk at the Triangle Hotel in Kampala at an anti-LGBT conference organized by Family Life Network leader Stephen Langa. The conference, titled "Exposing the Truth behind Homosexuality and the Homosexual Agenda," also included Don Schmierer, a board member of the ex-gay therapy group Exodus International, and Caleb Brundidge Jr., a self-professed ex-gay man with ties to the ex-gay therapy group Healing Touch.
- Thousands of Ugandans attended the conference, including law enforcement, religious leaders, and government officials. They were treated to a litany of anti-LGBT propaganda, including the false claims that being molested as a child causes homosexuality, that LGBT people are sexual predators trying to turn children gay by molesting them, and that gay rights activists want to replace marriage with a culture of sexual promiscuity. Lively met with Ugandan lawmakers during the conference, and in a blog post later he likened his campaign against LGBT people to a "nuclear bomb" against the "gay agenda" that had gone off in Uganda.
- A month later, the Ugandan parliament was considering legislation that included the death penalty for LGBT people in some instances and life imprisonment for others. According to Rev. Kapya Kaoma, an Episcopal priest from Zambia (now in Boston) who went to the conference under cover, Lively's talking points were included in the bill's preamble.
- In the ensuing international backlash against the bill, Lively claimed that he did not support the death penalty for homosexuality but that if the "offending sections" were modified, the proposed law criminalizing homosexuality "would be an encouraging step in the right direction." In a 2010 documentary about the Uganda bill titled "Missionaries of Hate," broadcast journalist Mariana van Zeller asked Lively about it. He responded that the lesser of two evils would be to allow the bill to go through as is, because, he claimed, not letting it be enacted allowed "the American and the European gay activists to continue to do to that country what they've done here [in the U.S.]."
- It wasn't Lively's first visit to Uganda. In a March 2012 appearance on AFA spokesman Bryan Fischer's radio show, Lively explained that he first went to Uganda in 2002 as a keynote speaker in order to stave off a threat from what he called "the globalists who use the sexual revolution and the Planned Parenthood Federation and the global homosexual movement" to accumulate power and control population. So, according to Lively, these forces started "infiltrating" Uganda. The ''forces'' included George Soros, who supposedly went into the country and started setting up grassroots networks and "introducing pornography" to the country.
- Though Lively was unable to attend a January 2012 protest outside the Southern Poverty Law Center's office in Montgomery, Ala., fellow anti-LGBT activist Peter LaBarbera read a statement from him asking God to ''destroy'' the SPLC.
- Lively's work in Uganda led to a lawsuit against him under the Alien Tort Claims Act, filed March 14, 2012, by Sexual Minorities Uganda, an LGBT rights group in that country, and the Center for Constitutional Rights in the U.S. The lawsuit claims that Lively conspired with political and religious leaders in Uganda beginning in 2002 to incite anti-LGBT hysteria with warnings about the dangers of LGBT people to children and homosexuality to Ugandan culture. The Liberty Counsel, based in Virginia, announced that it would defend Lively in the case, and moved to have it dismissed. However, U.S. District Judge Michael Ponser rejected the Liberty Counsel's motion on August 15, 2013, allowing the case to proceed.
- Currently, Lively is based in Springfield, Mass., where he moved in January 2008. He started a new project, "Redemption Gate Mission Society," which is engaged in "bringing a better quality of life" to the city's residents through biblical principles. The center of the project is his Holy Grounds coffee house, which serves as a meeting place for the Mission Society. It seemed he was getting out of the anti-LGBT business, because in early 2011, Lively told the Boston Globe that his new focus was serving the needy.
- Lively's hiatus from anti-LGBT activism was short-lived. In March 2011, only two months after his interview with the Globe, Lively was in the Eastern European country of Moldova to oppose a human rights bill. In a statement that was posted on a Canadian website regarding the bill, Lively said, "What I know now, and have taught the Moldovans, is that the anti-discrimination law is the seed that contains the entire tree of the homosexual agenda, with all of its poisonous fruit." One of Lively's other theories about homosexuality can be found on a Moldovan website. According to the translation, Lively claimed, again, that lobbying for the legalization of homosexuality originates from outside the country, by agents of millionaire George Soros.
- Lively has also toured and spoken at venues in Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, Belarus, and the Ukraine, where he says he has spoken at a variety of universities and conference halls and has met with politicians and religious leaders. His goals, as he stated in an open letter to the Russian people that he posted in 2007 and continues to bring up on his blog, include the criminalization of the advocacy of homosexuality and training doctors, psychologists, and therapists to help LGBT people ''recover.''
- Lively has continued to promote outrageous claims about LGBT people here and overseas, often referring to them with terms such as ''predators'' and ''disordered.'' After Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill that outlaws ''homosexual propaganda'' in the country, Lively expressed pleasure and support for such a bill, and claimed in a September 2013 interview with NBC that he influenced Russian lawmakers who implemented it. On his blog, he posted an open letter to Putin, and claimed that ill send him the first Russian translation of his debunked Holocaust revisionist book,The Pink Swastika.
- Since the implementation of the anti-LGBT law in Russia, violence against LGBT people appears to have increased and includes incidents in which neo-Nazis use social media websites to lure young gay men to torture and beatings. There are allegations that one man died of injuries he sustained in one of those beatings. When questioned in the September interview about whether his rhetoric has incited anti-LGBT violence over the years, Lively called such suppositions ''a leap.''
- Speaking on Sept. 18, 2013, on Pastor Rick Wiles' TruNews, Lively claimed that the person ''heading the largest superpower of the world today'' (President Obama) is the Antichrist, and that homosexuality is at the heart of the apocalypse. According to Lively, Putin is the world's last hope, and other nations should follow in his footsteps by implementing more anti-LGBT laws.
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- Scott Lively for Govenor
- PRESS RELEASEFor Immediate Release, 2/17/14Scottlively2014@gmail.comLively Challenges President Obama on Uganda Criticism
- The Associated Press published a story today about President Obama½s criticism of the Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill which featured my picture and included comments about my case. The story was picked up by MassLive, the online version of the Springfield Republican, my home-town newspaper, and likely by other Massachusetts newspapers.Obama: Anti-gay bill step backward for UgandansRead the article hereThis is my response:Click here to continue reading ...
- I was not interviewed for this story even though my name and picture are being used in it.Although I am portrayed here as a pastor, I am also a lawyer. I majored in International Human Rights in law school and have practiced as a human rights consultant in numerous countries. I also hold a Certificate in human rights (1997) from the U.N. administered Institute of International Human Rights in Strasbourg.
- I agree that the Ugandan law is overly harsh on its face, but this is typical of African criminal law across the continent. Poor countries with limited criminal justice systems tend to rely on the harshness of the letter of the law to be a deterrent to criminals. In practice, the sentencing is usually pretty lenient. Kenya, for example, has the death penalty for burglary, but burglars are definitely not being executed there. I've explained this phenomenon to over two dozen journalists at top media outlets that have interviewed me over the past couple of years, but none have included this perspective in their stories. I guess it would undermine their efforts to bolster the "gay" cause.
- As for Obama's veiled threat to Uganda, I'd like to remind him of the actual international law (as opposed to the imagined law I've supposedly violated):
- "(1) U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, (A/RES/25/2625) containing the Declaration of Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, provides as follows:
- The principle concerning the duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, in accordance with the Charter
- No State or group of States has the right to intervene, directly or indirectly, for any reason whatever, in the internal or external affairs of any other State. Consequently, armed intervention and all other forms of interference or attempted threats against the personality of the State or against its political, economic and cultural elements, are in violation of international law.
- No State may use or encourage the use of economic political or any other type of measures to coerce another State in order to obtain from it the subordination of the exercise of its sovereign rights and to secure from it advantages of any kind½.
- Every State has an inalienable right to choose its political, economic, social and cultural systems, without interference in any form by another State."Finished reading
- Press StatementFor Immediate Release, 2/7/14Contact Scott Lively scottlively2014@gmail.comHarvard Retracts Invitation for Pro-Family Candidate to Speak at Law School
- Statement by Independent Candidate for Governor, Pastor Scott Lively, J.D., Th.D.
- My invitation to speak on criminal justice at Harvard Law School as part of a panel of Massachusetts gubernatorial candidates has been withdrawn by lead organizer David Harris. The justification offered was that the Center for Constitutional Rights lawsuit against me (for ½Crimes Against Humanity½) would be a distraction.Continue reading here
- Lively Responds to Coakley Defense of No-Free-Speech Zones at Massachusetts Abortion Clinics See Press Release of January 16, 2014TOP SEVEN REASONS I AM PRO-LIFE
- I, Pastor Scott Lively, am Pro-Life½BECAUSE GOD WANTS ME TO BE:Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live.BECAUSE SCIENCE PROVES THAT EVERY BABY IS A UNIQUE HUMAN BEING FROM CONCEPTION.½To accept the fact that after fertilization has taken place a new human has come into being is no longer a matter of taste or opinion ½ it is plain experimental evidence. Each individual has a very neat beginning, at conception.½Dr. Jerome Lejeune, Father of Modern Genetics.BECAUSE THE DELIBERATE CHOICE OF ABORTION IS JUST ANOTHER NAME FOR MURDER.According to The Model Penal Code of The American Law Institute, murder is ½purposefully or knowingly killing another human being.½BECAUSE AMERICAN LAW AND GOVERNMENT REST UPON A PRO-LIFE PREMISE.BECAUSE LEGALIZED ABORTION ROBS FATHERS OF THEIR FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS AS PARENTS, AND THEIR BIBLICAL AUTHORITY AS HEADS OF THEIR HOUSEHOLDS.BECAUSE WOMEN ARE DEGRADED AND HARMED BY THE CHOICE TO KILL THEIR OWN CHILDREN.BECAUSE EVEN IN THE CASE OF RAPE OR INCEST, A CHILD MUST NEVER BE REQUIRED TO PAY FOR THE SINS OF HIS FATHER.Earlier messages from Pastor Lively
- Time for a New Coalition in the GOPRead PDF file hereI'm running for Governor of Massachusetts for just one reason -- to bring Biblical values back into the political arena here. These are the same values that still define the grassroots of the Republican Party.....Click here to continue reading ...But the Mass GOP is controlled at the top by misguided souls who hate the light of Biblical truth. In every election they beguile the grassroots foot-soldiers with the same old "lesser-of-two-evils" deception, who then dutifully offer their life's-blood to try to elect another RINO out of fear that "the Democrat will be worse."The last so-called "conservative" the GOP establishment backed was Scott Brown, who campaigned hard on family values, then turned Benedict Arnold and voted to homosexualize the U.S. military -- publicly celebrating his treachery in a ceremony with the leadership of the Massachusetts "gay" lobby!!
- No wonder so many true conservatives have left the GOP, and like myself, become Independent. Yet, despite our frustration, we still believe that the best hope for this state and for America is a Republican Party that is re-grounded in Biblical values.
- All across America there is a war raging today in the GOP as the elitist big-money liberals make their move to turn the Tea Party and other conservatives back into compliant, subservient serfs.
- It is time for conservatives to FIGHT BACK and PURGE THE RINOS instead!
- As I said, my main goal in running for Governor is to advocate Biblical values in the political arena. But my secondary goal is to MAKE THE RINO LOSE as a warning to the GOP that the conservatives will NEVER AGAIN BACK AN ANTI-FAMILY LIBERAL REPUBLICAN.
- I am offering my candidacy as the way for conservatives to prove to the Mass GOP that they have the means and the will to force the GOP to run and back true conservatives -- or lose every future election.
- If conservatives have the courage to do this we can break the power of the RINOS and make the conservatives King-Makers in the Mass GOP, or empower them to just take the party over.
- If the Mass GOP decides to wise up and run a bona-fide pro-life, pro-family conservative in the 2014 election, I will drop out of the race. If they run another RINO or a phony "conservative" who lacks the courage to speak boldly in defense of the unborn and the natural family, I will stay in the race and run to win it. In my view, the role of a candidate is to inspire the voters by honestly articulating their own clear vision of a plan to create a better future. That is the antithesis of the establishment system (of both parties) of pandering to what people want to hear, which is nothing less than lying to get votes. If you have to lie or hide your real views to win, you shouldn't be running. And we conservatives who claim to live by our principles shouldn't be winking at a system in which dishonesty has become the norm -- by backing people we know are lying to win votes just because they're on "our team."
- Please sign my NO MORE RINOS petition and circulate it to your friends.
- Blessings,Pastor Scott LivelyIndependent Candidate for Governor of Massachusetts.Finished reading
- After long contemplation and prayer I am convinced that I should run for Governor of Massachusetts. I will run as an independent.The people of this state need a candidate who can clearly and unapologetically articulate Biblical values without fear or compromise. They need a candidate who will tell the simple truth that abortion is murder, and homosexuality is condemned by God (but that Jesus forgives and heals those who repent). That parents and not the state have authority over their children, because government is our servant and not our master. That socialism is slavery and humanism breeds corruption. But mostly they need a leader who will remind the people that Massachusetts was founded upon Jesus Christ and the Bible and that our future security and prosperity depend on restoring our trust in Him. "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!" Psalm 33:12......Click here to continue reading ...
- These are very dark days in Massachusetts and across America, and growing steadily darker. I believe it is time for Christians with a strong Biblical worldview to rise up and preach the whole truth of the Bible as widely and boldly as possible. Massachusetts is the bluest of the blue states: the first to adopt socialized medicine and "gay marriage," the national model for promoting homosexuality to children in the public schools, and the most aggressive defender of child-killing through abortion. The Mass Republican Party is solidly controlled by moderate to liberal "progressives" and the Democrats are virtual communists. They both embrace and champion the culture of death. With these two liberal parties splitting the liberal vote, a true conservative independent could win the governorship.I feel both called and well prepared to meet this challenge. I am a fifth-generation Bay-Stater, born and raised in the Village of Shelburne Falls, with roots in the region going back to the early 1600s. I am a former left-wing liberal, who has learned by hard experience the folly of those ways. I am a constitutional lawyer and internationally-recognized authority on family and human rights issues from a Christian perspective. I have run my own successful businesses and know how to keep a budget. I am a missionary pastor with a doctorate in theology who for the past five years has founded and run an inner-city mission serving the poor and disadvantaged -- a mission that is a model of racial harmony and community service -- without accepting a dime of government funding.
- My personal life theme of "redemption theology" is clearly reflected in all of my endeavors, and exactly what Massachusetts needs to recover from four decades of decline under Godless socialism.
- As a long-time favorite target of extreme "gay" and leftist slander I have skin thicker than a rhinoceros and cannot be intimidated or manipulated by critics or the media. As someone who voluntarily gave up a lucrative and growing law practice in preference for a non-materialistic missionary lifestyle, I cannot be corrupted by money or big-spending lobbyists. As a church and university lecturer and government consultant on family issues and human rights with service in more than 30 countries, I interact comfortably with leaders from widely diverse backgrounds and cultures, and can draw from a deep reservoir of personal experience for problem-solving. As an author of five books and veteran of more than 700 radio and television interviews, I know how to communicate effectively. As the founder and lead attorney of the Christian Mediation Center I know how to bring hostile opposing parties to a mutually agreeable compromise. These are all valuable skills that a chief executive mu st possess.
- I am not a politician and will not become one to run for office. I will conduct no polling. I will not lie about my positions to earn votes I don't deserve. I will plainly say what I believe and what I would do as governor. On the many issues on which I do not have a strong opinion I will say so, and yield to the views that seem most beneficial to the state. Where my views differ from the majority on issues that are most important to me I will try to win the voters to my reasoning rather than pander to the majority. I will not compromise my principles to win political office. I expect this approach will be appealing to a great many people.
- In the next few days I will file my paperwork with the state and open a bank account. I will then begin raising money with which to campaign.
- I expect to often be asked by reporters what I think my prospects are for winning this election. To this I reply that it would take a miracle from God for Scott Lively to become Governor of Massachusetts -- and I wouldn½t want it any other way. God should get the glory for any good thing that comes from this campaign. So don½t expect me to campaign like a politician. I will do nothing more than travel the state to offer what I believe are Biblical solutions to Massachusetts½ problems -- and leave the rest to Almighty God.
- May He Heal this Commonwealth
- Pastor Scott LivelyFinished reading
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- Leadership | About IHOPKC
- Mike BickleDirector, International House of Prayer
- Mike Bickle directs the International House of Prayer, an evangelical missions organization based on 24/7 prayer with worship. Mike is also the founder of International House of Prayer University, which includes full-time schools of ministry, music, media, and missions. He is the author of several books, including Passion for Jesus, Growing in the Prophetic, The Pleasures of Loving God, After God's Own Heart, and Prayers to Strengthen Your Inner Man. Mike's teaching emphasizes growing in passion for Jesus through intimacy with God, doing evangelism and missions work from the place of night-and-day prayer, and the end times. Mike and his wife, Diane, have two married sons and four grandchildren.
- Visit Mike Bickle's free, online teaching library >>
- Daniel LimCEO, International House of Prayer
- Daniel Lim trained at a Baptist seminary (MA in world missions) and served as a Baptist pastor in South-East Asia. With a passion for the gospel of the kingdom of God and the glory of Jesus Christ, Daniel teaches at conferences, churches, universities, and seminaries across the nations. The Lord blessed Daniel and his wife, Levi, with two children, Samuel and Emmanuel. Emmanuel went home to be with Lord in 2008 while they were ministering in Myanmar during the crisis relief effort following Cyclone Nargis.
- Allen HoodPresident, International House of Prayer University (IHOPU)Associate Director, International House of Prayer
- Allen Hood (MDiv, Asbury Theological Seminary) serves as associate director of the International House of Prayer. He is deeply committed to promoting the establishment of unceasing corporate worship and intercession in every tribe, tongue, and nation. His highest call as an intercessory missionary and a leader in the prayer movement is to intercede for the fullness of God to be released in the Church worldwide and to labor for the strengthening of the global prayer and missions movement. Allen also serves as president of International House of Prayer University. The school's mandate is to equip and send out missionaries as dedicated intercessors and evangelists who will work to see revival within the Church and a harvest among those searching for God. Allen resides in Kansas City with his wife, Rachel, and their three sons.
- Misty EdwardsSenior Leader, Worship Leader, International House of Prayer
- Misty Edwards helped start the International House of Prayer in 1999 and has been a worship leader and songwriter here ever since. She serves on the senior leadership team and gives oversight to the 24/7 prayer room and all the worship leaders, musicians, and singers. Misty's hunger for reality and encounter with Jesus fuels her worship leading, songwriting, and preaching. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, her music has impacted thousands. Misty desires that her worship would bring people into the place of encounter with the heart of the Lord. Her passion is to see singers and songwriters step into their role as forerunners who have a message concerning God's personality and the return of His Son.
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- The Dangers of the International House of Prayer (IHOP) | Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry
- The International House of Prayer (IHOP) was started on May 7, 1999 by Mike Bickle in Kansas City. [1] It is well known for its 24/7 worship and prayer ministry. Now it has grown substantially to include international ties, its very own seminary, and undergraduate program. People from around the globe are flocking to IHOP, but do they actually know what they are getting into?
- Cultic Origins and GoalsIt is clear that almost all of the participants in IHOP do not have an understanding of what they are getting into. Many of the participants, including many genuine Christians who are being deceived, believe it is a place to go pray and worship, while not knowing what the theological distinctives are that make IHOP unique. The true origin started in 1982 after a man named Augustine approached Mike Bickle and said an audible voice told him to prophesy to his congregation. Later that year, Mike Bickle claimed to hear an audible voice speaking to him while on a trip in Cairo, Egypt. The voice told him, ''I am inviting you to raise up a work that will touch the ends of the earth. I have invited many people to do this thing and many people have said yes, but very few have done my will.'' [2]
- This is parallel to how many other cults of Christianity are born. They follow the basic formula:
- (Blank 1) said God told him/her a message, and he/she and starts the (Blank 2) church.
- Joseph Smith said God told him a message, and he started the Mormon church.Ellen G. White said God told her a message, and she started the Seventh Day Adventist church.Mary Eddy Baker said God told her a message, and she started the Christian Scientist church.Sun Myung Moon said God told him a message, and he started the Unification church.Witness Lee/Watchman Nee said God told him a message, and he started the Local Church.Mike Bickle said God told him a message, and he started the International House of Prayer.Not only is IHOP origin akin to many other aberrant groups, but their ultimate goals follow suit. Mike Bickle has been quoted to say the church brings on the great tribulation:
- We're not absent for the great tribulation, now listen carefully, the church causes the great tribulation. What I mean by that '' it's the church, it's the praying church under Jesus' leadership that's loosing the judgment in the great tribulation in the way that Moses stretched forth his rod and prayed and loosed the judgments upon Pharaoh. The church in the tribulation is in the position that Moses was before Pharaoh but it won't be a Pharaoh and Egypt, it'll be the great end time Pharaoh called the antichrist and the book of Revelation is a book about the judgments of God on the antichrist loosed by the praying church. [9]
- Even worse, Bickle proposes that an elite end-time church defeats God's enemies, and Jesus is "held in the heavens" until it happens.
- Right now the prayer movement is growing fast'....really fast! But when I say it's growing fast instead of one percent of the Body of Christ taking hold of it, maybe 10 percent. It's'....you know it's like 10 times bigger than it was a generation ago, but beloved as fast as the prayer movement is growing, where people are getting hold of it, still for 90 percent of the Body of Christ it's not even on their mind. Jesus is not coming until the Body of Christ globally is crying out "Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord Jesus, Come Lord Jesus" and they don't just say "come and forgive me" they are crying out in the understanding of who they are as the one that is cherished by Jesus in the bridal identity. [9]
- The Power of Emotionalism, Mysticism, and GnosticismThe major draw of IHOP is experience. People often come to me citing their experience and go back again and again to experience "God" and the "Spirit" - no different than an emotional high. This is analogous to mysticism, which is defined as ''the pursuit of deeper or higher subjective religious experience,'' and ''that spiritual reality is perceived apart from the human intellect and natural senses.'' [13] They practice what is known as centering or contemplative prayer. This is defined as ''the practice of relaxing, emptying the mind, and letting one's self find the presence of God within.'' [10] In fact, they had an article titled ''Contemplative Prayer'' on their website, but after much negative press they have taken it down. [13] However, the contents of the article have been preserved by a former IHOP staff member's website and is available for all to see here: (http://gospelmasquerade.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/contemplative-prayer-continued/)
- One of the highest criticisms would be IHOP's insidious Gnosticism. Gnosticism is derived from the greek word gnosis, meaning ''knowledge.'' The hallmark of Gnosticism is the idea of having ''hidden knowledge'' of the spiritual realm that is unavailable to others. This knowledge comes via prophecies, visions, and dreams that God specifically gives to a certain privileged group of people - in this case IHOP. In fact, IHOP has their own ''prophecy rooms'' where one can receive ''prophecies,'' and they used to have a practice of mailing out recorded tapes, of which I was asked by my friend's mother to translate!
- This is something the Apostle Paul discusses in Colossians 2:18. ''Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind'' (NASB) [11].
- Great experiences with our Lord are a gift from God, but one needs to exercise caution concerning the authority he/she gives personal experiences. More often than not, the people who go to IHOP do not have a strong theological foundation and so they rely on their experiences to dictate what the Bible says and not the other way around. Here are some words (from Dr. John MacArthur's sermon "Are Experiences a Valid Source of Truth?) of wisdom regarding experiences:
- There is the ploy they use, "Well, we would expect you to be against it since you haven't had the experience." That is Gnosticism. That is believing that you have been elevated to a higher level of comprehension which the uninitiated have no understanding. Rodman Williams, who has written a number of books and who was once the president of a local Charismatic school, and I quote said, "Any vital information concerning the Gifts of the Spirit, the Pneumatic Charismata, predisposes a participation in them. Without such a participation, whatever is said about the Gifts may only result in confusion and error." If you haven't had it, you have no right to talk about it. One pastor said to me, "You talk exactly like one who never had the experience. You are speaking out of ignorance." I wonder if they feel that way talking about Heaven, Hell, murder, adultery, homosexuality, and numerous other subjects. Do we have to have that experience too? [5]
- The IHOP DilemmaWhen someone comes to you and say that God gave him a clear audible and/or visual revelation (dream, vision, prophecy, etc.), you are now in what I will call the IHOP Dilemma.
- Due to the seriousness of disobeying genuine prophecy and the heinousness of proclaiming a false one, you are in an IHOP Dilemma when you are now forced to choose:
- 1) If this person is actually speaking truth from God. If so, we are bound to listen or face incurring the steep penalty of disobeying God's very own commands via His prophet.
- 2) Whether or not a person is proclaiming falsehood in God's name and thus incurring the steep penalty of false prophesying and being a false prophet.
- Unfortunately, this puts the rest of Christianity in a hard situation, because we now have to make the determination whether IHOP is full of false prophets or true prophets and to treat them as such. We cannot merely remain neutral. How can we be neutral on God's revelation or on such an egregious sin as false prophecy within the church? It is like someone saying the pastor cheated on his wife or that he murdered someone and saying, "Hmm... let me think about that and get back to you later." No, you're now in a tough situation and you now have to make a hard decision!
- Unfortunately, many of those in IHOP have no idea what they are doing when they are supposedly "prophesying." As I said before, they do not have a strong Biblical foundation and do not pause to think of the gravity of what they are actually proclaiming. [8]
- A Sampling of the PropheciesLest you think the prophecies at IHOP are like ones in other mainstream charismatic churches or similar to prophecies noted men like John Piper, Vern Poythress, or Wayne Grudem believe, please read the following quotes other authors have noted:
- 1. On disc 7 of The Prophetic History, Bickle describes a visitation to the throne-room of God as he is told that God will be restoring the apostles to the church. Let me preface this by saying that before getting to this point in his message, Bickle described the experience as being on par with the Apostle Paul's experience in the Third Heaven in 2 Cor. 12 as well as John's visions.
- They've been told by church leadership that it is up to them to ''usher in'' the Second Coming of Jesus. They've been encouraged to do away with discernment concerning mystical experiences. They've been told that they are ''forerunners'' of Christ in the same way that John the Baptist was. They've been told that the orthodox views of Christianity are weak and it's up to them to restore the ''true'' message of the Gospel, using their new ''powers from God'' to start a revival that will win souls for the Kingdom." [6]
- 2. They could hear from God, and speak forth God's words, prophesying of great events soon to transpire on planet earth. And they could have flipped a coin as to whether what God allegedly told them would actually come true. Often they didn't come true. Some of the main prophets and/or leaders in the movement included Paul Cain, Mike Bickle, Bob Jones, Rick Joyner, John Paul Jackson, Francis Frangipane, and others...However, he was quoted as saying that the general level of prophetic revelation in the movement's "prophets" had an accuracy level of about 65 percent. Some prophets were as low as 10 percent accurate, he said, with some of the "most mature" prophets having a rating "approaching 85 percent to 95 percent. " (Steven F Cannon, "Old Wine in Old Wineskins: A Look at Kansas City Fellowship," The Quarterly Journal 10, no. 4 (October-December 1990): 8. [7]
- 3. Bickle claims that a "voice" spoke to him in September 1982, directing him to a ministry to touch the ends of the earth. ( Albert James Dager, Vengeance is Ours. Redmond, Wash.: Sword Publishers, 1990, pg. 127.) Bickle's account is as follows: "The Lord simply said, 'I will change the understanding and expression of Christianity in the earth in one generation.'" (Mike Bickle, Growing in the Prophetic. Lake Mary, Fla.: Creation House, 1996, pg. 30) [7]
- 4. Bickle speaking, ''...but the fact is God showed me that it was truly a healing anointing. It was a tremendously, ah, dynamic dream for my own personal history and what I can understand for the life of this church. There's a healing anointing He said would be second to no other movement. That's what He told me directly, it would be second to no other movement in this whole generation, the healing anointing that will come upon this people. . .He (BJ) [Bob Jones] says 'They took a banner and He (God) put a banner upon you last night and it spoke of the entire movement.' Then he told me the dream I had and he said the Lord says there will be no movement that will be superior to the healing power that comes forth from this movement . He goes, 'There will be nothing in the earth that this thing will be second to in the generation.' I said, 'God, this is incredible.''' (P.His 2, p. 15 - 17) [3]
- 5. ''I (Mike Bickle) stood there and I was at the Lord's left hand, and it was not a dream--this was as real as life here and like I said, I don't know that realm... He (God) was speaking so sternly to me, He said, 'If you are impatient...you will cause great turmoil and much trouble for many people.' I was ashamed and I was broken with sorrow that He said that so harshly to me. And then what happened is that I start falling so rapidly--I mean like--S-H-O-O-O-M, it takes about five or six seconds, and fall down to my bed, right through the ceiling--I mean it was right through the walls and things--S-H-O-O-O-M, I hit my bed and it wasn't like an instant I was there--I had knowledge of travel for five or six seconds. Have you had that?''
- MB: ''And I was falling so rapidly and I was going like 'A-H-H-H-H.' I was coming right down through the black sky...And I come right through the ceiling and I hit my bed and I looked for like a half a second, I goes S-H-O-O-O-M right back up again, I go. . . right through the ceiling again! And I understood immediately the impatience was of setting in leadership premature without permission. He said...'You cannot put leadership in that I do not say, because the leadership will divide and cause much division and many people will suffer great harm and I will hold you accountable for it. '...So what happens is this golden chariot, it appears--S-W-O-O-O-P-and it comes right there. . . and I under--I knew intuitively, instantly--it was an apostolic ministry, though it's only the invitation. It was not a commission. The Lord was not calling me an apostle. He said He was thinking, 'The days to come, if you're faithful, you have an opportunity in the grace of God to fill an apostolic calling if you're faithful to the full measure.' And I set in the chariot and I went shooting right into a blue sky and I knew as I was going up that it was revelation. He said, 'I'm going to bring you to divine revelation in the days to come.'...There would be an end-time measure of apostolic ministry that would come out of the fruit of the intercession...so like it's a number of years down the road. But the Lord said that I'm going to bring forth apostles'--champions--if the people will live in intercession and ask for them to come...And so that was no small visitation in terms of the promise of what God said to this movement...And the Lord says, 'Now you have the word in yourself now and you will not go running after other movements and other places because I have spoken to you face-to-face. '...But I know that at that time I owned,..from the voice of God--face-to-face (but I never saw His face), but I mean standing next to Him, I owned the word myself and it was not just a matter of me believing Him. It was amazing how the revelation turned after that time.'' (F88, p. 81 - 84) [3]
- The Denigration of the Bible and Sola ScripturaOne of the biggest issues of this movement is their denial of one of the bedrock doctrines of the Reformation and evangelical Christianity: Sola Scriptura, or Scripture Alone. Sola Scriptura is the notion that the Bible is the revealed will of God and all that is necessary for faith (all teachings are contained within the Bible) and practice (the things we need to govern our church and everyday life). For an excellent explanation of this by Dr. Greg Bahnsen go here: (http://www.christiantruth.com/articles/bahnsen.html). Basically, God does not need to give us anymore revelation, and this was first used in the Reformation against the Roman Catholic church that said we needed their traditions and clergy, but now it is under attack by IHOP. They might say they believe in it, but their actions outright deny it.
- When people from IHOP make decisions, they do not use the Bible as the only revealed revelation from God because they supposedly still get direct revelations from Him. They deny this very doctrine that defines the protestant and evangelical faith. Sadly, this is rampant at IHOP.
- Indexed as a Cult by Multiple MinistriesThere are certainly many different theological distinctives in the Christian church, and many of us do differ. However, we do not go so far as to label each other cults or heretics. On the other hand, IHOP has been labeled dangerous, cultic, false, and heretical by many ministries, former members, apologetic groups, and Godly men. In fact, other charismatic Christians have stood up to oppose them as well. A small listing of these groups include:
- The Apologetics IndexApologetics Resource CenterCritical Issues CommentaryPastor Ernie Gruen (a Charismatic preacher) who was written a manuscript entitled ''Documentation of the Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas City Fellowship (Grace Ministries).'' Kansas City Fellowship (Grace Ministries) is Mike Bickles former ministry prior to founding IHOP.Pastor Bill Randles (a Pentecostal preacher) has written a book titled ''Weighed and Found Wanting.''The Gospel Masquerade is a website created by a former staff member of IHOP.All these resources are available in the references section. I especially recommend The Gospel Masquerade website, Pastor Gruen's manuscript, and Pastor Randles' book.
- ConclusionA quick review of the main offenses include:
- Cultic origin, worship style, and goalsEmotionalismMysticismGnosticismThe IHOP dilemmaFalse Prophecies Effective Denial of Sola ScripturaOpposition by multiple Godly Christian GroupsThough it may seem like a place that is on fire and passionate for God, this is simply not the case. Many of the people that do go there are sincere Christians, but they have been overcome by the lies and experiences they have there. In short, the people I have communicated with ignore the things above and simply hold on to what they have experienced and point the finger at me saying, ''you don't know about us.'' Unfortunately I do know, and I hope this article persuades or helps you convince someone else who is going down a destructive path. It breaks my heart to see so many young people fall victim to this place, and all the people who waste their lives and God given talents to expand IHOP's kingdom and not God's Kingdom.
- [1] http://www.ihop.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000036203
- [2] Randle, Bill. ''Weighed and Found Wanting: The Toronto Experience Examined in the Light of the Bible. Cambridge, UK. 1996. http://www.apologeticsindex.org/docs/WeighedAndFoundWanting.pdf
- [3] Gruen, Ernie. Documentation of the Aberrant Practices and Teachings of Kansas City Fellowship (Grace Ministries). Shawnee, KS. No date. http://www.deceptionbytes.com/AberrentDoctrinesKCF
- [4] http://www.apologeticsindex.org/b56.html
- [5] http://www.biblebb.com/files/MAC/CHAOS1.HTM
- [6] http://signofjonah.wordpress.com/2006/07/13/ihop-and-cultural-influences
- [7] http://www.pfo.org/growingpains.htm
- [8] http://thepredestinedblog.blogspot.com/2008/10/ihop-manifesto.html
- [9] http://cicministry.org/commentary/issue107.htm
- [10] http://carm.org/centering-prayer
- [11] The Lockman Foundation. New American Standard Bible. La Habra, CA. 1995.
- [12] MacArthur, John. The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Colossians and Philemon. Chicago, IL. 1992.
- [13] http://gospelmasquerade.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/contemplative-prayer-continued/
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- Tea Party Speaker: Gays Are Fascists And Anarchists Who Will Kill Civilization | The New Civil Rights Movement
- Scott Lively, an invited speaker at a Tea Party rally in Boston, Massachusetts on Sunday, called gays ''anarchists'' who use ''fascist tactics'' to ''prevent you from being able to have civilization for yourself and your children.'' Lively, one of the most virulently anti-gay activists on the planet, told the Tea Party audience that gays ''lie, they cheat, they steal, they do whatever they can because they're not bound by the rules that we're bound by. They don't live according to the rules of civilization.'' Lively added, ''we will not be silenced by fascists,'' and told the Tea Party crowd, ''our constitution was made only only only for a moral and religious people.'' Later, Lively said, ''I beg you in the name of God, do not allow moles from the Republican Party to drive social issues out of the Tea Party movement.''
- While not in the video below, one Tea Party invited speaker told the crowd on Sunday, ''we will not be silenced by faggots,'' referring, presumably, to the LGBT activists who came to protest Lively and another anti-gay speaker. Also attending the Sunday rally was GOP Congressman Louie Gohmert.
- READ: GOP Congressman Key Speaker At 'We Will Not Be Silenced By Faggots' Tea Party Rally
- Scott Lively is widely credited for sowing the seeds that created the ''Kill The Gays'' bill in Uganda, and amplifying anti-gay hate on the African continent. Lively is the head of Abiding Truth Ministries, one of the two Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) certified anti-gay hate groups that were invited to speak. The other certified anti-gay hate group invited to speak was Mass Resistance.
- Asked what the consequence of same-sex marriage would be, Lively told the interviewer, ''fire and brimstone falling from the sky.''
- There can be no more doubt that the Tea Party, whose popularity is quickly waning among the American people according to a brand new ABC News poll, is not a political movement but a conservative social one.
- Protestors at Sunday's Mass Tea Party rally waved confederate flags, while others held iconic yellow ''Don't tread on me'' Gadsden flags.
- In the video below, released by the Boston Observer, Tea Party members can be seen verbally attacking LGBT activists who were there to protest the presence of Scott Lively, who is being sued in U.S. federal court for crimes against humanity.
- The first half of the video focuses on Lively and the Tea Party members, the second half includes Brian Camenker, the founder of Mass Resistance, also an SPLC-vertified anti-gay hate group.
- Several speakers, in addition to Lively and Camenker, read from the bible over the P.A. system.
- The interviewer also asked Camenker, ''What's the downside of gay marriage'','' but Camenker could not offer a response, except to say, ''If you gotta ask, there's no use me trying to tell you.''
- Later, Camenker told the interviewer, ''I once asked on TV how they consummated marriage. What do you think? What does it involve, what part of the body?''
- Camenker apparently is unaware that almost half of all heterosexuals under the age of 45 practice anal sex, according to a CDC report.
- Hat tip: Will Kohler at Back2Stonewall, who also has ''an exclusive first hand account of the hate and police brutality that protestors against Lively, Camenker and the Tea Party experienced not long after this vide was shot.''
- Tagged as: anarchist, anarchists, civilization, Discrimination, faggot, fascists, Gay, Gay Marriage, gays, kill, lively, Politics, politics of the united states, Rally, republican party, scott lively, social issues, southern poverty law center, speakers, tea, Tea Party, tea party invites, united states
- We invite you to sign up for our new mailing list, and subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email or RSS.
- Also, please like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter!
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- Alec Baldwin: Good-bye, Public Life -- Vulture
- Alec Baldwin, photographed by Steve Schofield.As told to Joe Hagan.
- I flew to Hawaii recently to shoot a film, fresh on the heels of being labeled a homophobic bigot by Andrew Sullivan, Anderson Cooper, and others in the Gay Department of Justice. I wanted to speak with a gay-rights group that I had researched and admired, so I called its local Honolulu branch.
- The office number turned out to be some guy's cell phone. I left him a message'--I said, ''I'm from out of town, I'm visiting Hawaii on business, I'd like to get some information on your group.'' After two or three more calls, he answered the phone. I said, ''Yeah, I'm the guy that called about your organization.'' And he said, somewhat impatiently, ''Okay, well, what did you want?'' I said, ''Well, let me put it to you this way, Nick. Your name is Nick? Nick, let me begin by asking you a question. Who would you say, by your estimation, is the most homophobic member of the entertainment industry currently in the media?'' And he paused for a long count of four and said, ''Um '... Alec Baldwin?''
- And I said, ''Ding, ding, ding, ding! Bingo, Nick, bingo! That's who you're talking to.''
- I said, ''Nick, I want to come in and talk.''
- I met with Nick and others from two LGBT organizations. We talked for a while about the torment of the LGBT life many of them have lived while growing up in traditional Hawaiian families. Macho fathers. Religious mothers. We talked a lot about words and their power, especially in the lives of young people.
- One young man, an F-to-M tranny, said, ''Are you here to get dry-cleaned, like Brett Ratner?'' Meaning I could do some mea culpa, write them a six-figure check, go to a dinner, sob at the table, give a heartfelt speech, beg for forgiveness. I thought to myself: Beg for forgiveness for something I didn't do?
- I said, ''No. I don't want to get dry-cleaned. I don't want to be decontaminated by you, Karen Silkwood''wise, scrubbed down. I want to learn about what is hurtful speech in your community. I want to participate in some programs about that. Or underwrite one. And then, like you, I just want to be left alone.''
- I've read where a number of people have felt that 2013 was a shitty year. For me, it was actually a great year, because my wife and I had a baby. But, yeah, everything else was pretty awful. And I find myself bitter, defensive, and more misanthropic than I care to admit. And I'm trying to understand what happened, how an altercation on the street, in which I was accused'--wrongly'--of using a gay slur, could have cascaded like this. There's been a shift in my life. And it's caused me to step back and say, This is happening for a reason.
- I've had a relatively charmed life. I loved to be out in the city. New York was my town. I've had people come up to me and say, ''You're a great New Yorker. You've given your time and money to so many New York charities. You're a great supporter of the arts. I like some of your movies'--and some of your movies suck, actually.'' (It's New York, so people give you their unvarnished opinion.) But people in general had been very kind to me for years.
- And then, last November, everything changed.
- Am I a homophobe? Look, I work in show business. I am awash in gay people, as colleagues and as friends. I'm doing Rock of Ages one day, making out with Russell Brand. Soon after that, I'm advocating with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Cynthia Nixon for marriage equality. I'm officiating at a gay friend's wedding. I'm not a homophobic person at all. But this is how the world now sees me.
- I haven't changed, but public life has.
- It used to be you'd go into a restaurant and the owner would say, ''Do you mind if I take a picture of you and put it on my wall?'' Sweet and simple. Now, everyone has a camera in their pocket. Add to that predatory photographers and predatory videographers who want to taunt you and catch you doing embarrassing things. (Some proof of which I have provided.) You're out there in a world where if you do make a mistake, it echoes in a digital canyon forever.
- And this isn't the days of Rona Barrett and Ron Galella, who were viewed as outcasts or peripheral at best. Paparazzi today are part of a network that includes the Huffington Post and, much to my dismay, even NBC News, in their reliance on tabloid reporting.
- Photographers today get right up in your face, my wife's, my baby's. They are baiting you. You can tell they want to get into it with you. Some bump into me or block the entrance to my apartment, frustrating my neighbors (some of whom may regret that I live in their building).
- I'm self-aware enough to know that I am to blame for some of this. I definitely should not have reacted the way I did in some of these situations. I don't have these issues with waiters, traffic cops, store clerks. I know there's an impression that I'm someone who seeks to have violent confrontations with people. I don't. Do I regret screaming at some guy who practically clipped my kid in the head with the lens of a camera? Yeah, I probably do, because it's only caused me problems.
- But'--I'm sorry, I can't let go of this'--do people really, really believe that, when I shouted at that guy, I called him a ''faggot'' on-camera? Do you honestly believe I would give someone like TMZ's Harvey Levin, of all people, another club to beat me with?
- What happened is, a TMZ videographer ambushed me as I was putting my family in a car, and I chased him down the block and said, ''Cocksucking motherfucker'' or whatever (when I have some volatile interaction with these people, I don't pull out a pen and take notes on what I said). I knew that guy. This was a guy who is on a bike usually, and when we get in a car, he follows us. Very aggressive. The same guy who followed my wife on a bicycle, and when she slipped and fell trying to dodge him and hurt her leg, he laughed at her and said, ''See what I made you do?'' At my wife. How would that make you feel?
- Art by Raymond Pettibon, courtesy of David Zwirner Gallery, New YorkLast year began with making plans to do a play called Orphans, on Broadway. I was filled with hope. I had spent six and a half years on a television sitcom. I won every award you could win in television. I got paid well. And people loved 30 Rock. And I loved 30 Rock. I mean, sometimes you do a show that's a hit show and you hate it. As my agent used to say, you don't want to be walking down an alleyway with a flashlight in your hand for ten years, doing some police procedural. We had a ball. And everybody was funny. And I'll never laugh that way again. And I miss that show terribly. I know we all had to move on because it's Tina Fey's show and Tina had worked herself to death. She's a mom with two kids. Eventually, it had to end. But I'll never have it that good again, professionally.
- Getting back onstage seemed like a good idea. I loved Lyle Kessler's play and was anxious to work with director Dan Sullivan. Then Shia LaBeouf showed up. I'd heard from other people that he was potentially very difficult to work with, but I always ignore that because people say the same thing about me. When he showed up, he seemed like a lot of young actors today'--scattered, as he was coming from making six movies in a row or whatever.
- There was friction between us from the beginning. LaBeouf seems to carry with him, to put it mildly, a jailhouse mentality wherever he goes. When he came to rehearsal, he was told it was important to memorize his lines. He took that to heart and learned all his lines in advance, even emailing me videos in which he read aloud his lines from the entire play. To prove he had put in the time. (What else do you do in jail?) I, however, do not learn my lines in advance. So he began to sulk because he felt we were slowing him down. You could tell right away he loves to argue. And one day he attacked me in front of everyone. He said, ''You're slowing me down, and you don't know your lines. And if you don't say your lines, I'm just going to keep saying my lines.''
- We all sat, frozen. I snorted a bit, and, turning to him in front of the whole cast, I asked, ''If I don't say my words fast enough, you're going to just say your next line?'' I said. ''You realize the lines are written in a certain order?'' He just glared at me.
- So I asked the company to break. And I took the stage manager, with Sullivan, to another room, and I said one of us is going to go. I said, ''I'll tell you what, I'll go.'' I said don't fire the kid, I'll quit. They said no, no, no, no, and they fired him. And I think he was shocked. He had that card, that card you get when you make films that make a lot of money that gives you a certain kind of entitlement. I think he was surprised that it didn't work in the theater.
- But firing LaBeouf didn't help things. Sullivan played both sides. In emails, he coddled Shia. To me, he spoke differently. I was working with an older, more enervated Sullivan, who didn't have the energy for any of this. I don't think Sullivan liked the play'--I don't think he liked me. Sullivan agreed to do something that, once he realized what it was, he had lost interest in it. We closed early. I'll forever be indebted to Ben Foster for stepping in for Shia. He is one of the good guys.
- My ''career'' as a talk-show host started with a perfectly simple ambition. In my WNYC podcast, ''Here's the Thing,'' I wanted to conduct interviews based on appreciation of my guests and their work. Or, in the case of those like George Will, a respect for their careers, whether I agreed with them or not. To think that something as uncomplicated and innocent as that led to the MSNBC debacle is still surreal to me. My goal was always to take a talk show to the network. I never wanted to be on MSNBC. My contacts at the network said to me, ''We don't have a slot for you on the network right now.'' And I told them that was fine. And they said, ''Maybe you go on MSNBC for a year and we'll hone and refine the show?'' And I said okay.
- I watched MSNBC, prior to working there, very sporadically. Once I had signed a contract with them, I wanted to see more of what they were about. It turned out to be the same shit all day long. The only difference was who was actually pulling off whatever act they had come up with. Morning Joe was boring. Scarborough is neither eloquent nor funny. And merely cranky doesn't always work well in the morning. Mika B. is the Margaret Dumont of cable news. I liked Chris Jansing a lot. Very straightforward. I like Lawrence O'Donnell, but he's too smart to be doing that show. Rachel Maddow is Rachel Maddow, the ultimate wonk/dweeb who got a show, polished it, made it her own. She's talented. The problem with everybody on MSNBC is none of them are funny, although that doesn't prevent them from trying to be.
- My pitch to them was: I'm going to bring the WNYC podcast to MSNBC. And that show is going to be eclectic'--guests who don't often get the microphone. I want to keep it simple. I get somebody in a chair and I shoot the shit with them for an hour and a half and we cut it into a one-hour show. Dick Cavett was my hero who allowed there to be pauses in the show. He put people on who were somewhat unconventional.
- So I'm going to go on MSNBC, and people are speculating, ''Oh, here he comes! Crazy liberal! And what's he going to do? Is he going to try to give Bill Maher a run for his money? Is he going to try to give Jon Stewart a run for his money?'' And I think, Are you out of your fucking mind? Those men are stars of established, highly successful shows. That's never going to happen. My show was meant to be as harmless and inoffensive as could be. There was one theme to the 52 episodes of the WNYC podcast and only one way it worked'--the show was about appreciation. I wasn't out to get anybody or make anybody look bad, because I know what that's like.
- MSNBC assigned a producer to me, Jonathan Larsen. Like Sullivan with Orphans, Larsen didn't get me or the show and didn't want to be there. When I told him I wanted to interview Debra Winger, Larsen looked like, We're here on a set, with an expensive crew and studio time, and you want to talk to Debra Winger? There was nothing less interesting to him. Most of the guests I suggested'--Ellen Barkin, Neal Barnard from PCRM, JFK-conspiracy icon Mark Lane'--he couldn't care less. As we went along, Larsen would simply stare at me after everything I'd suggest and say, ''Well, let's see what Phil says.'' Larsen was sent there to babysit me.
- Phil Griffin is the head of MSNBC, and when I saw that Griffin didn't have a single piece of paper on his desk, meeting after meeting after meeting, that should have been my first indication there was going to be a problem. Phil is a veteran programmer who knows well the corridors and chambers of television programming'--and couldn't give a flying fuck about content. All he wanted to talk about was Giants tickets, Super Bowl tickets, restaurants, movies. The conversations about the set, about the physical production of the show, cameras, lighting'--it seemed like he wanted to get those over with as quickly as possible. He didn't care. He had four monitors on the wall. They were all on, muted. He never listened to them. He never watched them.
- The meetings with Phil were brisk and convivial. Eventually, however, we got to the point where he asked, ''So you really meant it when you said you wanted to do your podcast on the air, on TV?'' And I told him, yes, that was my idea. That was when he explained to me that TV, with its visual component, was different. When viewers turn the channel, they want to see something. They want to see Robert Redford. They want to see Justin Timberlake. TV ''captures'' the audience with the visual.
- He said that we needed to change it up. At first I thought, This is not working. It was a mistake and I need to get out of here. And I told Phil so. Then I stopped and I said to myself, They might be right. I would try it their way.
- The first name they came up with was Rob Lowe. They said, Rob Lowe's going to be in the building. Do you want to interview Rob? I said, ''Not particularly.'' Rob's a famous star of films, TV. He's Rob Lowe. He's famous. But there's no shortage of outlets for him. And they looked at me like, You really don't get it. I think they thought, You should have just said yes, simply to play the game.
- I should have simply said, ''Sure, bring in Rob Lowe.''
- Just prior to all of this, there was Jimmy Gandolfini's funeral. I was despondent about his death. Jimmy was a ''showbiz friend,'' one with whom I had worked and greeted warmly whenever our paths crossed. His death hit me somewhat hard, considering his baby daughter and the fact that he was younger than me. I ended up attacking a reporter who wrote in the Daily Mail online that my wife was tweeting from Jimmy's funeral. He was wrong'--in fact, at a later time, she had retweeted items whose original time code matched the time of the funeral.
- In my rage, however, I called him a ''toxic little queen,'' and, thus, Anderson Cooper, the self-appointed Jack Valenti of gay media culture, suggested I should be ''vilified,'' in his words. I didn't feel bad about the incident. He lied about my wife. They say this is what comes with stardom'--I don't agree with you. A journalist isn't supposed to write a lie about you. If he was in New York, I might have had the impulse to beat the shit out of the guy. At the time, I didn't view ''toxic little queen'' as a homophobic statement. I didn't realize how those words could give offense, and I'm sorry for that.
- Then this other thing happens with TMZ and then it becomes a one-two punch. All this is based on the fact of them believing what I said on a video.
- Harvey Levin exists in his own universe. He's this kind of cretinous barnacle on the press. Levin told the world that that muffled sound on the video'--Levin wanted everyone to know he knows what it is. You don't know, and I don't know, but Levin knows, and he tells the world that it's ''faggot.''
- I get angry, and I've said all sorts of things in anger, but I'd never use that word. Levin has so little regard for the truth, which is odd, knowing he was once a legal correspondent for the CBS affiliate in L.A. He's also the one who revealed the tape that my ex-wife's lawyers provided of me yelling at my daughter seven years ago. Knowing that none of it would have transpired if I hadn't left the message in the first place, I think he hurt my daughter more than anyone.
- In the recent video, you see me completely riled up and going after this guy and you hear me saying ''cocksucker'' and then some bisyllabic word that sounds like ''faggot'''--but wasn't. Still, it doesn't matter. glaad comes after me and Anderson Cooper comes after me and Andrew Sullivan comes after me, all maintaining that I'm a hateful homophobe. All based on what Harvey Levin told them.
- Immediately prior to this, I'd go see Phil and I'd say, ''What are the ratings?'' If I had 15 meetings with Phil Griffin, 5 of them were after the show, with me saying, ''What do you make of these ratings?'' He'd say, ''Don't worry. It takes time.'' (We beat Cooper two of three Fridays at ten.) Although he appeared to have some buyer's remorse, he told me to hang in there. After the TMZ event, he said, ''Don't worry. I have to suspend you. But this will blow over.'' I have all the emails to prove it. And then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, MSNBC said, ''You're fired.''
- Once they fired me, a former MSNBC employee I knew emailed me. He said, ''You watch now, Phil is going to start leaking left and right to bury you.'' When I left, ''Page Six'' was flooded with lies about me. Another told me, regarding the ''toxic little queen'' comment, that Rachel Maddow was the prime mover in my firing, as she was aghast that I had been hired and viewed me as equivalent to Mel Gibson. Another source told me, ''You know who's going to get you fired, don't you? Rachel. Phil will do whatever Rachel tells him to do.'' I think Rachel Maddow is quite good at what she does. I also think she's a phony who doesn't have the same passion for the truth off-camera that she seems to have on the air.
- They invoked a morals clause and refused to pay my contract. Later, when Martin Bashir resigned, I was disappointed. Bashir brought a depth of experience and polish that I imagined might help get MSNBC to a higher place, content-wise, in spite of Griffin and his episodes of Lockup and To Catch a Predator. I suppose the end of the show was inevitable. And the Conan O'Brien treatment came as no surprise. What hurt was that several of the writers and segment producers I worked with were wonderful and talented people. As I meandered through the ill-conceived process, I had grown very fond of them and hopeful about our possibilities once Larsen was replaced.
- I went to the opening of the play Machinal, put on by Roundabout, where I'm on the board, and I can't tell you how frosty the reception was toward me. These are all people who are heavy-hitting theatrical artists in that community and many of them are gay. And I was thinking to myself, These people think I'm a homophobe. And that makes me incredibly sad.
- Every time people throw this mud on me, there are very serious consequences in my life. The single most painful episode for me was last year when a New York Post photographer, an ex-cop, accused me of calling him a ''coon.'' This was totally false, as was revealed on his own tape. A D.A. in the hate-crimes unit called me in. At the time, I had just been asked to join the board of the Arthur Ashe Learning Center, so I had to call Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe and ask her, now that I was on the cover of the New York Post labeled as a racist, if she still wanted me to attend a coming event. Jeanne was her ever-gracious self and said yes, but that broke my heart.
- I spent 25 years working hard for the issues I care about. When 30 Rock went into syndication, I sensed that I was going to be on TV for a bit, so I crafted my arrangement with Capital One Bank to fund my foundation for charitable giving. They paid me $15 million over nearly five years. After taxes and accounting fees, I will have given all of it, $14.125 million, to charity. After the TMZ event, Capital One did not renew my contract, although it politely said the two things were unrelated. AT&T had booked me for a paid speech in Orlando'--and then canceled. WNYC lost funding for my radio show. Bill de Blasio, who apparently gets his news from TMZ, too, distanced himself from me.
- Now I loathe and despise the media in a way I did not think possible. I used to engage with the media knowing that some of it would be adversarial, but now it's superfluous at best and toxic at its worst. If MSNBC went off the air tomorrow, what difference would it make? If the Huffington Post went out of business tomorrow, what difference would it make? Arianna Huffington accomplished what she wanted to accomplish. She created this wonderful thing. And what have they done with that? They want clicks, I get it. They've gotta have clicks for their advertisers, so they're going to need as much Kim Kardashian and wardrobe malfunctions as possible. The other day, they had a thing on the home page about pimples. Tripe. Liberal and conservative media are now precisely equivalent.
- I'm aware that it's ironic that I'm making this case in the media'--but this is the last time I'm going to talk about my personal life in an American publication ever again.
- When this whole thing happened, Warren Beatty, who is mystifyingly intelligent and wise, said to me: Your problem is a very basic one, and it's very common to actors. And that's when we step in front of a camera, we feel the need to make it into a moment. This instinct, even unconsciously, is to make the exchange in front of the camera a dramatic one. Perhaps I fell for that.
- In the New Media culture, anything good you do is tossed in a pit, and you are measured by who you are on your worst day. What's the Boy Scout code? Trustworthy. Loyal. Helpful. Friendly. Courteous. Kind. Obedient. Cheerful. Thrifty. Brave. Clean. Reverent. I might be all of those things, at certain moments. But people suspect that whatever good you do, you are faking. You're that guy. You're that guy that says this. There is a core of outlets that are pushing these stories out. Breitbart clutters the blogosphere with ''Alec Baldwin, he's the Devil, he's Fidel Baldwin.''
- Broadway has changed, by my lights. The TV networks, too. New York has changed. Even the U.S., which is so preposterously judgmental now. The heart, the arteries of the country are now clogged with hate. The fuel of American political life is hatred. Who would ever dream that Obama would deserve to be treated the way he has been? The birth-certificate bullshit, which is just Obama's version of Swiftboating. And all for the electoral nullification that seems like a cancer on the American system. But this is Roger Ailes. And Fox. And Breitbart. And this is all about hate. It's Hate Incorporated. But the liberals have taken the bait and run in the same direction'--and it's just as corrosive. MSNBC, in its own way, is as full of shit, as redundant and as superfluous, as Fox.
- I think America's more fucked up now than it's ever been. People are angry that in the game of musical chairs that is the U.S. economy, there are less seats at the table when the music stops. And at every recession, the music is stopping.
- Am I bitter about some of the things that have happened to me in the past year? Yes, I'm a human being. I always had big ambitions. I had dreams of running for office at some point in the next five years. In the pyramid of decision-making in New York City politics, rich people come first, unions second, and rank-and-file New Yorkers come dead last. I wanted to change that. I wanted to find a way to lower the cost of the city government and thus reduce New York's shameful tax burden. I would have decentralized the schools. My father was a public-school teacher. He always told me that although you could encourage a child to work hard, you could only go so far; that half the goal had to be achieved at home. As progressive as I've been in my politics, there are other things I don't think of as liberal or progressive, just common sense. Of course, another thing I would have done'--and this will not surprise anyone'--is change the paparazzi law.
- Photo: Christopher Anderson/Magnum Photos/New York MagazineI've lived in New York since 1979. It was a place that they gave you your anonymity. And not just if you were famous. New Yorkers nodded at you. New Yorkers smiled at you at the Shakespeare & Co. bookshop. New Yorkers would make a terse comment to you. ''Big fan,'' they'd say. ''Loved you in Streetcar,'' they'd say. They signaled their appreciation of you very politely. To be a New Yorker meant you gave everybody five feet. You gave everybody their privacy. I recall how, in a big city, many people had to play out private moments in public: a woman sobbing at a pay phone (remember pay phones?), someone studying their paperwork, undisturbed, at the Oyster Bar, before catching the train. We allowed people privacy, we left them alone. And now we don't leave each other alone. Now we live in a digital arena, like some Roman Colosseum, with our thumbs up or thumbs down.
- My uncle was a lifelong New Yorker. He said, ''New York is the place where if you really are one in a million, there's seven other people just like you right here in town!'' And I used to laugh at that. He'd say, ''New York, millionaires and whores shoulder to shoulder on 57th Street. Some of them millionaires and whores!''
- There was a time the entire world didn't have a camera in their pocket'--the first thing that cell phones did was to kill the autograph business. Nobody cares about your autograph. There are cameras everywhere, and there are media outlets for them to ''file their story.'' They take your picture in line for coffee. They're trying to get a picture of your baby. Everyone's got a camera. When they're done, they tweet it. It's '... unnatural.
- I did not have a happy family life a few years ago. I was divorced and I was very alienated from my daughter and I was out there cutting every ribbon and running around New York hosting events for different causes to supplant my loss, because I didn't have a family to go home to. Now I don't want to be Mr. Show Business anymore. I want the same thing everybody else wants. I want a happy home, and for the first time in my adult life, I have one. I love my wife more than anything in the world and I love my child more than anything else in the world and I don't want that to change in any way.
- I probably have to move out of New York. I just can't live in New York anymore. Everything I hated about L.A. I'm beginning to crave. L.A. is a place where you live behind a gate, you get in a car, your interaction with the public is minimal. I used to hate that. But New York has changed. Manhattan is like Beverly Hills. And the soul of New York has moved to Brooklyn, where everything new and exciting seems to be. I have to accept that. I want my newest child to have as normal and decent a life as I can provide. New York doesn't seem the place for that anymore.
- It's good-byeto public life in the way that you try to communicate with an audience playfully like we're friends, beyond the work you are actually paid for. Letterman. Saturday Night Live. That kind of thing. I want to go make a movie and be very present for that and give it everything I have, and after we're done, then the rest of the time is mine. I started out as an actor, where you seek to understand yourself using the words of great writers and collaborating with other creative people. Then I slid into show business, where you seek only an audience's approval, whether you deserve it or not. I think I want to go back to being an actor now.
- There's a way I could have done things differently. I know that. If I offended anyone along the way, I do apologize. But the solution for me now is: I've lived this for 30 years, I'm done with it.
- And, admittedly, this is how I feel in February of 2014.
- Shia LaBeouf went to a film screening recently and he wore a bag over his head and the bag says I AM NOT FAMOUS ANYMORE. And there was truly a part of me that felt sorry for him, oddly enough.
- *This article appeared in the February 24, 2014 issue of New York Magazine.
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- LGBTI Uganda Fights Back! | Center for Constitutional Rights
- SynopsisSexual Minorities Uganda v. Scott Lively
- On March 14, 2012, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed a federal lawsuit on behalf ofSexual Minorities Uganda,a non-profit umbrella organization for LGBTI advocacy groups in Uganda, against Abiding Truth Ministries President Scott Lively. Filed in the United States District Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, the suit alleges that Lively's involvement in anti-gay efforts in Uganda, including his active participation in the conspiracy to strip away fundamental rights from LGBTI persons, constitutes persecution. This is the first knownAlien Tort Statute (ATS) case seeking accountability for persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.StatusThe Court denied the Defendant's Motion to Dismiss. Discovery phase scheduled to commence in January 2014. Defendant's petition to the First Circuit for a Writ of Mandamus is pending. DescriptionSexual Minorities Uganda, an umbrella organization located in Kampala, Uganda, which represents the interests of its constituent member organizations in advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people (''LGBTI'') in Uganda, brought this case against against defendant Scott LIVELY, a U.S.-based attorney, author, and self-described world-leading expert on the ''gay movement,'' for the decade-long campaign he has waged, in agreement and coordination with his Ugandan counterparts, to persecute persons on the basis of their gender and/or sexual orientation and gender identity.
- The case is brought under the Alien Tort Statute (''ATS''), 28 U.S.C. §1350, which provides federal jurisdiction for ''any civil action by an alien, for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.'' United States Supreme Court has affirmed the use of the ATS as a remedy for serious violations of international law norms that are widely accepted and clearly defined. Persecution, as a crime against humanity that is universally proscribed and clearly defined in international law, is such a violation. Persecution is defined in international law as the ''intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights contrary to international law by reason of the identity of the group or collectivity.''
- FactsheetLGBTI Uganda Fights Back: The Case Against Scott Lively
- Media Mentions"A Ugandan gay rights group filed suit against an American evangelist, Scott Lively, in federal court in Massachusetts on Wednesday, accusing him of violating international law by inciting the persecution of homosexuals in Uganda." read more
- "We hope that he will be held accountable for what he did in Uganda," said Mugisha, who won the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award last year. "We want to send out a clear message to him and to others." read more
- "The complaint claims Lively issued a call in Uganda to fight against a "genocidal" and "paedophilic" gay movement which he "likened to the Nazis and Rwandan murderers". It seeks a judgment that Lively's actions violate international law and human rights." read more
- "He long ago set out a very specific and detailed methodology for stripping away the most basic human rights protections, to silence and ultimately disappear LGBT people," Pam Spees, an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights, said in a statement. read more
- ''Can you imagine that the worst place in the world to be gay is having Gay Pride?'' Kasha Jacqueline Nabagesera asked a crowd of cheering gay men, lesbians, transgendered men and women, and queers somewhere in between. It was Saturday afternoon, and we were on the shores of the giant, cloudy Lake Victoria in the Ugandan city of Entebbe, where L.G.B.T. activists had decided to stage the country's first Pride Parade."read moreTimelineMarch 14, 2012: Sexual Minorities Uganda filed its complaint against Scott Lively in the Springfield Division of United States District Court, District of Massachusetts.
- May 11, 2012: Lively, represented by Liberty Counsel, filed aMotion to Stay the case pending the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell, a case also brought under the Alien Tort Statute.
- June 1, 2012: Court denied Lively's Motion to Stay and ordered him to answer or otherwise respond to the complaint.
- January 7, 2013: Court heard oral arguments on Defendant's Motion to Dismiss.
- May 7, 2013: Sexual Minorities Uganda filed a Response to Defendant's April 17 Notice regarding Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell.
- August 14, 2013: The Court issued a Memorandum & Order, denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss and referring the case for pretrial scheduling.
- September 23, 2013: Court promptly denies Defendant's Motion to Amend and Certify Non-Final Order for Interlocutory Appeal.
- October 9, 2013: Court promptly denies Defendant's Motion for Reconsideration.
- November 6, 2013: Court held a scheduling conference to set the timeline for the pre-trial phase of the case.
- November 20, 2013: Defendant filed his Answer to SMUG's complaint.
- December 5, 2013: Defendant filed a Petition requesting that the First Circuit appellate court issue a Writ of Mandamus directing the District Court to vacate its Order Denying Lively's Motion to Dismiss. The next day, the Defendant also filed a Motion to Stay the case pending the First Circuit's review of the writ petition.
- December 10, 2013: District Court denied Defendant's motion for a stay, allowing the discovery phase to proceed.
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- Center for Constitutional Rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Center for Constitutional RightsTypeNon-profitFoundedJuly 1966 by Arthur Kinoy, William Kunstler, Ben Smith and Morton StavisHeadquartersNew York City, New York, U.S.Key peopleMichael Ratner, President Emeritus; Jules Lobel, President; Alex Rosenberg and Peter Weiss, Vice-Presidents; Vincent Warren, Executive Director; Baher Azmy, Legal Director; William P. Quigley, Associate Legal Director[1]Service(s)Advocacy, litigation, public educationWebsiteCCRJustice.orgThe Center for Constitutional Rights[2] (CCR) is a non-profit legal advocacy organization based in New York City, U.S., co-founded in 1966 by William Kunstler and others.
- CCR has focused on civil liberties and human rights litigation and activism, as well as providing legal assistance to people imprisoned in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp.
- History[edit]The Center, originally the Law Center for Constitutional Rights, was set up to give legal and financial support to lawyers who were representing civil rights movement activists in Mississippi at the height of the struggle against racial segregation and economic injustice. Its founders were Morton Stavis, Arthur Kinoy, Ben Smith[disambiguation needed] and William Kunstler. The Center conceived of itself as a "movement support" organization'--that is, an organization that concentrated on working with political and social activists to use the courts to promote the activists' work. Cases were chosen not necessarily because they could be won, but also because they would raise public awareness of an issue, generating media attention, or energizing activists harassed by local law enforcement in the southern US. In this regard, the Center differed from more traditional legal non-profits such as the ACLU, which was more focused on bringing winnable cases in order to extend precedents and develop the law, as well as pursuing First Amendment issues.
- The current organization was formed from the merger of the original Center for Constitutional Rights (formed in 1966 by Kunstler, Kinoy, Stavis and Smith) and the Emergency Civil Liberties Committee (ECLC).
- During the 1960s and 1970s, the Center brought scores of cases on behalf of civil rights activists, many of which made their way to the Supreme Court. Despite the Center's ready embrace of litigation strategies promising "success without victory" (as the title of CCR President Jules Lobel's book put it), many of these lawsuits resulted in victories and set lasting precedents.
- The 1980 decision in Filrtiga v. Pe±a-Irala, using the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) of 1789 (unearthed by CCR attorney and current Vice-President Peter Weiss), opened U.S. courts for victims of human rights crimes to bring suit against perpetrators from anywhere. From the early 1980s through 9/11, the Center was known for bringing such claims for violations of international law in United States courts.
- Since 9/11, CCR has been known for bringing a variety of cases challenging the Bush administration's extraordinary rendition, detention and interrogation practices in the so-called "Global War on Terror". According to CCR's website, primary issues for advocacy and public education include: illegal detentions,[3] particularly with regards to the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp; surveillance and attacks on dissent,[4] which fights the U.S. government's involvement in unlawful surveillance, monitoring and intimidation of activists such as the Black Panthers; criminal justice and mass incarceration,[5] including jail expansions and unjust detentions; corporate and human rights abuse both domestic and international; government abuse of power,[6] primarily encompassing CCR's challenge to the Bush administration's policy of extraordinary rendition; racial, gender and economic justice;[7] and international law and accountability.[8] In 2005 the organization was recognized with the Domestic Human Rights Award by Global Exchange, in San Francisco.[9]
- Activities and litigation[edit]Al Odah v. United States, 127 S. Ct. 3067 (2007):[10] the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system's suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at Guantanamo. It was consolidated under Boumediene v. Bush, which was decided by the US Supreme Court in 2008, ruling that the MCA was unconstitutional.
- Arar v. Ashcroft, 585 F. 3d 559 (2009):[11] challenges U.S. government's extraordinary rendition policies and highlights the experience of Maher Arar, a Canadian citizen allegedly sent by the United States to be tortured in Syria. He has never been charged, and has been found by the Canadian government not to be involved with terrorism. He and CCR seek an acknowledgment of the U.S.'s alleged involvement and an end to the rendition program.
- Abtan v. Blackwater, 611 F.Supp.2d 1 (2009):[12] CCR filed suit on behalf of the civilian victims of the September 16, 2007, Blackwater Baghdad shootings in Nisoor square, Baghdad, by Blackwater USA's armed contractors. The suit charges that Blackwater ''created and fostered a culture of lawlessness amongst its employees, encouraging them to act in the company's financial interests at the expense of innocent human life.'' Blackwater is also accused of extrajudicial killing and war crimes, assault and battery, wrongful death, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, and negligent hiring, training and supervision.
- CCR v. Bush:[13] This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the NSA's surveillance of people within the United States without warrant or prior court approval.
- Daniels v. City of New York, 291 AD 2d 260 (2002) / Floyd v. City of New York, 739 F. Supp. 2d 376 (2010):[14][15] This case forced the New York City Police Department to end their practice of stopping and frisking people solely on the basis of their race or national origin. The case also highlighted the practices of the NYPD Street Crimes Unit (responsible for the 1999 shooting of Amadou Diallo), leading to its disbandment. The case's settlement created an internal audit system of officers engaged in stop and frisks, the results of which are turned over to CCR on a quarterly basis. In addition, the settlement required the NYPD to begin ''know your rights'' public education programs. CCR is currently attempting to compel the NYPD to comply with the terms of the settlement.
- Estate of Ali Hussamalde Albazzaz v. Blackwater Worldwide:[16] This case is a civil suit filed on behalf of the family of an Iraqi man. CCR is charging Blackwater Worldwide with war crimes.
- Khan v. Bush:[17] This suit is filed on behalf of Majid Khan, a U.S. asylum-holder who was held in secret detention at a C.I.A. "black site" for three years, after which he was transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. CCR has filed a habeas corpus submission on his behalf.
- Kunstler v. City of New York, 439 F.Supp.2d 327 (2006):[18] This lawsuit charges the New York Police Department with unlawfully arresting allegedly peaceful anti-war protesters and holding them for allegedly excessively long periods of time.
- Mamani v. Sanchez de Lozada / Mamani v. Sanchez Berzain, 636 F.Supp.2d 1326 (2009):[19] These two suits have been filed against the former President of Bolivia, Gonzalo Daniel Snchez de Lozada Snchez Bustamante and former Minister of Defense, Jose Carlos Snchez Berzan for their alleged roles in the deaths of civilians during popular protests against the government of Bolivia in September and October 2003.
- Matar v. Dichter, 500 F. Supp. 2d 284 (2007):[19] CCR presented a federal class action lawsuit against the former Director of Israel's General Security Service (GSS), Avi Dichter, on behalf of Palestinians killed or injured in a 2002 ''targeted killing'' air strike in Gaza. It charged him with extrajudicial killing, war crimes and other gross human rights violations. The case was dismissed, and the dismissal upheld on appeal.
- Saleh v. Titan, 361 F. Supp. 2d 1152 (2005):[20] Saleh is a federal class action lawsuit against Titan and CACI International Incorporated, contractors who provided interrogation services at Abu Ghraib. The lawsuit accuses the contractors of cruel and humiliating treatment during interrogations.
- Turkmen v. Ashcroft:[21] This suit, filed on behalf of a class of Muslim, South Asian, and Arab non-citizens, is a class action civil rights lawsuit contesting their being swept up by the INS and FBI in a racial profiling dragnet following 9/11.
- United States v. City of New York (formerly Vulcan Society v. City of New York):[22] This is an Equal Opportunity Commission charge filed by CCR on behalf of the Vulcan Society, an organization of Black firefighters in New York City. The lawsuit charges Fire Department of New York with discriminatory hiring practices.
- Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, 626 F.Supp.2d 377 (2009), Wiwa v. Anderson, and Wiwa v. Shell Petroleum Development Company:[23] These are three lawsuits focusing on the human rights abuses against the Ogoni people in Nigeria. They are being brought against the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and Shell Transport and Trading Company (Royal Dutch/Shell), the head of its Nigerian operation, and Royal Dutch/Shell's Nigerian subsidiary for their complicity in the abuses.
- Zalita v. Bush, 127 S. Ct. 2159 (2007):[24] This case forwards a habeas corpus petition for Al Qassim, a Libyan refugee currently detained in Guantanamo after almost six years. It challenges the U.S. government plan to transfer him to his native country despite his risk of torture and persecution there.
- International Criminal Court Complaint, 2011[25] On September 13, 2011, attorneys from the Center for Constitutional Rights and leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, formally filed a complaint with the International Criminal Court (ICC) charging top Vatican officials for tolerating and enabling the concealment of rape and child sex crimes worldwide. At least 20,000 pages of reports, policy papers, and crime evidence by Catholic clergy supplemented the complaint.
- The Amicus Brief in Ragbir v. Holder (2011)[26] The Amicus Brief in Ragbir v. Holder was submitted on May 23, 2011. Amici are several community, immigrant justice, and civil rights organizations who argue that the Second Circuit interfered with Ragbir's right to introduce relevant evidence. The Second Circuit wrongfully did not remand Ragbir v. Holder to the Board of Immigration Appeals to apply broader evidentiary standards established in the Nijhawan v. Holder case.[27]
- Brown, et al. v. Snyder, et al. (2011) This June 22, 2011 case was filed on behalf 28 Michigan residents, and it effectively challenges the Emergency Manager law and Local Government and School Fiscal Accountability Act under the State Supreme court of Michigan. The amended complaint, filed by the CCR on September 14, 2011, challenged the constitutionality of the application of the Emergency Manager law.[28]
- Civic Association of the Deaf of New York City, Inc. v. Rudolph Giuliani, et al. (1995) When New York City introduced a plan to remove fire alarm boxes and replace them with payphones, the Civic Association of the Deaf of New York City filed this suit under the Americans with Disabilities Act to block that action because pay phones are not easily accessible to the deaf or the hard of hearing. This federal class action lawsuit resulted in a victory for the Plaintiffs. When the New York City Fire Department and the City of New York requested that the court modify or dispose of the injunction in June 2010, the court again ruled in favor of the Civic Association of the Deaf of New York City on August 15, 2011.[29]
- Doe, et al. v. Jindal, et al. (2011) On February 16, 2011 the CCR filed a suit that challenged the need for "Crime Against Nature" convictions to result in a registration on the state sex offenders list. The defendants in this case were several Louisiana state officials.[30] On October 31, 2011, the CCR moved for a Summary Judgement.[31]
- Amicus Brief in Glik v. Cunniffe, et al. (2011) On January 25, 2011, CCR submitted an amicus brief on behalf of Glik and several Copwatch groups. The essential argument is that recording police activities by individuals or organizations within a community is protected by the First Amendment. In September 2011, the judge ruled in favor of Glik stating that his First Amendment rights had been violated.[32]
- Aref, et al. v. Holder, et al. (2010) This case, filed on March 30, 2010, challenged policies and conditions of experimental prisons in Indiana and Illinois. Exactly one year later, the court partially dismissed the case, but allowed the CCR to pursue procedural due process and retaliation claims.[33]
- Notable cases[edit]Dombrowski v. Pfister, 380 US 479 (1965):[34] The Center for Constitutional Rights' first major case was a successful suit against the Louisiana Un-American Activities Committee to invalidate the use of state anti-subversion laws to intimidate civil rights workers. CCR won the case in the Supreme Court and established that such intimidation had a ''chilling effect'' on First amendment rights and was therefore unconstitutional.
- Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz, (1972):[35]Abramowicz challenged New York state laws that restricted abortion, and served as a model for challenges to similar laws in other states. This case marks the first instance of challenge to abortion statutes being argued by women plaintiffs in terms of women's right to choice rather than a doctor's right to practice.
- United States v. Dellinger, (1972):[36] CCR attorneys William Kunstler and Leonard Weinglass defended the ''Chicago 8'', a group of social movement figures, after the 1968 Democratic National Convention demonstrations and consequent police repression. The eight defendants, David Dellinger, Rennie Davis, Tom Hayden, Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, and Bobby Seale, were anti-war, civil rights and human rights activists, and Students for a Democratic Society and Black Panther Party members. The eight were found not guilty of their conspiracy charges, but five were found guilty of crossing state lines to incite a riot. However, the Center was able to appeal and then overturn these charges, based on the judge's bias and the refusal to screen jurors for possible cultural and/or racial bias'.
- Monell v. Department of Social Services, 357 F.Supp. 1051 (1972):[37] Although this case began as a challenge to New York City's forced maternity leave policies, its resolution created a precedent that established local government accountability for unconstitutional acts and created the right to obtain damages from municipalities in such cases. Since 1978, this precedent has been used by lawyers and non-profits as a tool to challenge police misconduct, civil rights violations, and other local unconstitutional acts.
- United States v. Banks and Means (Wounded Knee), (1974)[38]
- Filrtiga v. Pe±a-Irala, 630 F. 2d 876 (1980):[39]Filrtiga established a precedent for the use of the Alien Tort Statute to allow foreign victims of human rights abuses to seek justice in U.S. courts. CCR represented the family of Joelito Filrtiga, the son of a left-wing Paraguayan dissident who had been tortured and killed by Paraguayan police. The precedent created by this case has facilitated subsequent international human rights cases, including Doe v. Karadzic, and Doe v. Unocal, cases which established that multinational corporations and other non-state actors can be held responsible for their complicity in human rights violations.
- Crumsey v. Justice Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, (1982):[40]
- Paul v. Avril, (1994): In 1991, on behalf of six Haitian political activists including Mayor of Port-au-Prince Evans Paul, and under the Alien Tort Statute, the Center for Constitutional Rights sued former military dictator Proper Avril for human rights violations. The suit sought compensation for damages that the plaintiffs suffered under Avril's rule. In November 1993, CCR attorneys moved for a default judgment. In July 1994, in an unprecedented decision in which a Haitian dictator or member of the military was held accountable for human rights abuses, a federal magistrate awarded a $41 million damage judgment to the victims of Prosper Avril.[41]
- Doe v. Karadzic, (2000): In 1993, the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel filed a lawsuit seeking compensation for victims and survivors of Serb leader Radovan Kardzic's campaign of genocide and torture in Bosnia. Karadzic defaulted in 1997. On September 25, 2000, the jury decided on a verdict of $4.5 billion.[42]
- Rasul v. Bush, 215 F. Supp. 2d 55 (2004):[43] CCR represented Guantanamo detainees seeking fair trials and an end to their indefinite imprisonment without charge. The Supreme Court case established precedent for U.S. courts' jurisdiction over the Guantanamo Bay prison camp, affirming detainees' right to habeas corpus review. This right was later putatively revoked when President Bush signed the Military Commissions Act into law. CCR brought many of the same habeas corpus petitioners to the Supreme Court again in Boumediene v. Bush, decided in 2008, in which the Supreme Court declared the relevant parts of the MCA unconstitutional and restored the rights won in Rasul.
- See also[edit]References[edit]^"Respected Activist Lawyer Bill Quigley Will Be New CCR Legal Director | Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. February 20, 2009. Retrieved November 28, 2010. ^The Center for Constitutional Rights.^"Illegal Detentions and Guantanamo; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Surveillance and Attacks on Dissent; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Criminal Justice and Mass Incarceration; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Government Abuse of Power; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Racial, Gender and Economic Justice; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"International Law and Accountability; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Global Exchange Human Rights Awards Ceremony to be Held on May 12 in San Francisco" May 4, 2005^"Boumediene v. Bush / Al Odah v. United States; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Arar v. Ashcroft et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Abtan, et al. v. Prince, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"CCR v. Obama, formerly CCR v. Bush; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Daniels, et al. v. the City of New York; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Floyd et al v City of New York et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Albazzaz, et al. v. Prince, et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Khan v. Obama/ Khan v. Gates; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Kunstler v. City of New York; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^ ab"Mamani, et al. v. Snchez de Lozada / Mamani, et al. v. Snchez Berzain; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Saleh et al v. Titan et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Turkmen v. Ashcroft; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"United States of America and Vulcan Society, Inc. v. City of New York; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Wiwa et al v. Royal Dutch Petroleum et al; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Zalita v. Obama; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^Center for Constitutional Rights : ICC Vatican Prosecution^"Amicus Brief in Ragbir v. Holder". ^"Amicus Brief in Ragbir v. Holder PDF". ^"Brown et. al. v. Snyder et. al". ^"Civic Association of the Deaf of New York City, Inc. v. Rudolph Giuliani, et al.". ^"Doe, et al. v. Jindal, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Statement of Facts Not In Dispute in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgement; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Amicus Brief in Glik v. Cunniffe, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Aref, et al. v. Holder, et al.; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Dombrowski v. Pfister; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Abramowicz v. Lefkowitz; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"United States v. Dellinger; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Monell v. Department of Social Services; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"United States v. Banks and Means (Wounded Knee); Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Filrtiga v. Pe±a-Irala; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Crumsey v. Justice Knights of the Ku Klux Klan; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Paul v. Avril; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Doe v. Karadzic; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. ^"Rasul v Bush; Center for Constitutional Rights". Ccrjustice.org. External links[edit]
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- Judge allows landmark case against anti-gay religious leader to proceed '' LGBTQ Nation
- SPRINGFIELD, Mass. '-- In a first-of-its kind case brought by a Ugandan LGBTI advocacy organization against a prominent U.S. anti-gay extremist, a federal judge on Wednesday ruled that persecution on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a crime against humanity and that the fundamental human rights of LGBTI people are protected under international law.
- The ruling means that the case brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on behalf of Sexual Minorities of Uganda (SMUG), a Uganda-based coalition of LGBTI rights and advocacy groups, can move forward over defendant Scott Lively's request to dismiss the lawsuit.
- ''Widespread, systematic persecution of LGBTI people constitutes a crime against humanity that unquestionably violates international norms,'' said U.S. District Judge Michael Ponsor.''The history and current existence of discrimination against LGBTI people is precisely what qualifies them as a distinct targeted group eligible for protection under international law. The fact that a group continues to be vulnerable to widespread, systematic persecution in some parts of the world simply cannot shield one who commits a crime against humanity from liability,'' Ponsor rule.
- The lawsuit alleges that Lively's actions over the past decade, in collaboration with key Ugandan government officials and religious leaders, are responsible for depriving LGBTI Ugandans of their fundamental human rights based solely on their identity, which is the definition of persecution under international law and is deemed a crime against humanity.
- This effort resulted in, most notably, the introduction of the notorious Anti-Homosexuality Bill '-- widely know at the ''Kill the Gays'' bill '-- which Lively allegedly helped engineer.
- Lively is also alleged to have been active in countries like Russia where a new law criminalizing gay rights advocacy was recently passed. In 2007, Lively toured 50 cities in Russia, where he reportedly recommended many of the measures that are now law.
- ''Today's ruling is a significant victory for human rights everywhere but most especially for LGBTI Ugandans who are seeking accountability from those orchestrating our persecution,'' said Frank Mugisha, the director of SMUG.
- ''We are gratified that the court recognized the persecution and the gravity of the danger faced by our clients as a result of Scott Lively's actions,'' said Pam Spees, and attorney for CCR. ''Lively's single-minded campaign has worked to criminalize their very existence, strip away their fundamental rights and threaten their physical safety.''U.S. law allows foreign citizens to sue for violations of international law in U.S. federal courts under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS).
- The case, Sexual Minorities Uganda v. Lively, was originally filed in federal court in Springfield, Mass., in March 2012.
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- Scott Lively - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Scott LivelyBornScott Douglas Lively(1957-12-14) December 14, 1957 (age 56)NationalityAmericanOccupationAuthor, attorney, and activistKnown foropposition to LGBT rightsScott Douglas Lively (born December 14, 1957), an American author, attorney, and activist. He is noted for his opposition to LGBT rights and his involvement in the ex-gay movement. He is the president of Abiding Truth Ministries, a conservative Christian organization located in Temecula, California,[1] and the former state director of the California branch of the American Family Association. Lively has called for the criminalization of "the public advocacy of homosexuality" as far back as 2007,[2][3] and is allegedly involved in anti-gay legislation in Uganda.[4]
- Lively formed Watchmen on the Walls, an evangelical ministry, in Riga, Latvia.[5]
- According to a January 2011 profile, Lively "has not changed his view that gays are 'agents of America's moral decline', but has refocused his approach to fit his flock in Springfield, Massachusetts" and "is toning down his antigay rhetoric and shifting his focus to helping the downtrodden".[6]
- On August 14, 2013, a federal judge ruled that the case against Scott Lively, by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) on behalf of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), a Uganda-based coalition of LGBTI rights and advocacy groups, can move forward against him. This is a first-of-its kind case in which the lawsuit alleges that Lively's actions over the past decade, in collaboration with some Ugandan government officials and Ugandan religious leaders, are responsible for depriving LGBTI Ugandans of their fundamental human rights based solely on their identity, which the lawsuits alleges falls under the definition of persecution under international law and is a crime against humanity. This effort resulted in the introduction of the Anti-Homosexuality Bill which Lively allegedly helped engineer.[7]
- The Pink Swastika[edit]Along with Kevin E. Abrams, Lively co-authored the book The Pink Swastika, which states in the preface that "homosexuals [are] the true inventors of Nazism and the guiding force behind many Nazi atrocities".[8]
- The premise of Lively and Abrams' book has been heavily criticized as a "pernicious myth",[9] "utterly false"[10] and "a flat-out lie",[11] and several historians have questioned the book's claims and selective use of research.[9][12][13][14][15]
- Lawsuit[edit]In 1991, Lively assaulted Catherine Stauffer, throwing her against a wall and dragging her across the floor of a Portland church, at an Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) event she had been trying to film.[16] Stauffer received a judgement of over $31,000 against Lively and the OCA in 1992.[17][18]
- Anti-homosexuality activism in Uganda[edit]In March 2009, Lively, along with evangelical activists Don Schmierer and Caleb Lee Brundidge, arrived in Kampala to give a series of talks. "The theme of the event, according to Stephen Langa, its Ugandan organizer, was 'the gay agenda '-- that whole hidden and dark agenda' '-- and the threat homosexuals posed to Bible-based values and the traditional African family".[4]
- "[T]housands of Ugandans, including police officers, teachers and national politicians", reportedly attended the conference.[4] Lively and his colleagues "discussed how to make gay people straight, how gay men often sodomized teenage boys and how 'the gay movement is an evil institution' whose goal is 'to defeat the marriage-based society and replace it with a culture of sexual promiscuity'".[4] Lively wrote days later that "someone had likened their campaign to 'a nuclear bomb against the gay agenda in Uganda'".[4]
- The talks inspired the development of a private member's Anti-Homosexuality Bill in the Ugandan parliament.[19] The bill, submitted in November 2009, called for the death penalty in some cases, and received international opprobrium.[19][20][21]
- Lively expressed disappointment that "the legislation was so harsh".[4] "Lively says he recommended an approach rooted in rehabilitation, not punishment and says an anti-gay bill being considered by the Ugandan Parliament goes too far":[22]
- [M]y advice to the parliament was to go the other direction from what they did to actually go on a proactive positive message promoting the family, promoting marriage, etcetera, through the schools, and that if they were going to continue to criminalize homosexuality that they should focus on rehabilitation and not punishment. And I was very disappointed when the law came out as it is written now with such incredibly harsh punishments.[22]
- Lively has said that he will endorse the bill if the death penalty is removed.[23]
- In March 2010, Lively wrote:
- In my view, homosexuality (indeed all sex outside of marriage) should be actively discouraged by society -- but only as aggressively as necessary to prevent the mainstreaming of alternative sexual lifestyles, and with concern for the preservation of the liberties of those who desire to keep their personal lifestyles private. Marriage-based culture served humanity very favorably during the centuries when homosexuality was disapproved but tolerated as a sub-culture in America, England and elsewhere. It has obviously not fared well in the decades since the so-called sexual revolution kicked open Pandora's Box and unleashed both rampant heterosexual promiscuity and "Gay Pride" on the world.
- In March of this year I had the privilege of addressing members of the Ugandan parliament in their national assembly hall when the anti-homosexuality law was just being considered. I urged them to pattern their bill on some American laws regarding alcoholism and drug abuse. I cited my own pre-Christian experience being arrested for drunk driving. I was given and chose the option of therapy which turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. I also cited the policy in some U.S. jurisdictions regarding marijuana. Criminalization of the drug prevents its users from promoting it, and discourages non-users from starting, even while the law itself is very lightly enforced, if at all.[24]On March 14, 2012, Lively was sued in U.S. Federal Court by gay rights group Sexual Minorities Uganda under the Alien Tort Statute, who accused Lively of inciting the persecution of gay men and lesbians. Lively responded "[t]hat's about as ridiculous as it gets. I've never done anything in Uganda except preach the Gospel and speak my opinion about the homosexual issue".[25]
- Pam Spees, a staff attorney for the organization representing Sexual Minorities Uganda in the case against Lively, the Center for Constitutional Rights, said, "This is not just based on his speech. It's based on his conduct. Belief is one thing, but actively trying to harm and deprive other people of their rights is the definition of persecution".[25][26][27]
- In August 2013, a federal judge rejected an attempt by the defense to dismiss the case against Lively. U.S. District Court Judge Michael A. Ponsor rejected the jurisdictional claims by the defendant, ruling that the plaintiffs were on solid ground under international and federal law and that First Amendment arguments were "premature".[28]
- Criticism[edit]The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) regards Abiding Truth Ministries as a hate group.[29] Lively has responded in his blog.[30]
- The American Family Association, the California branch of which Lively has directed, is also an SPLC-designated hate group.[31]
- Publications[edit]The Pink Swastika (1996)[32]Seven Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child: A Parent's Guide to Protecting Children from Homosexuality and the "Gay" Movement (1998)[33]Why and How to Defeat the "Gay" Movement (2000)[34]Redeeming the Rainbow: A Christian Response to the "Gay" Agenda (2009)[35]See also[edit]References[edit]^"Scott Lively's Bio". The Pro-Family Resource Center of Abiding Truth Ministries. Abiding Truth Ministries. 2002-2008. Retrieved 13 November 2008. ^"Letter to the Russian People". Abiding Truth Ministries. 15 October 2007. Retrieved 12 September 2010. ^"Scott Lively Advocated 'Criminalizing Homosexuality' as Far Back as 2007". The Huffington Post. 13 March 2010. Retrieved 12 September 2010. ^ abcdefGettleman, Jeffrey (January 3, 2010), "Americans' Role Seen in Uganda Anti-Gay Push", The New York Times: A1, retrieved 2010-02-09 ^"Watchmen Not a Hate Group". Abiding Truth Ministries. 7 November 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2010. ^"Shift in mission for religious firebrand - Antigay pastor refocuses on aiding Springfield". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 2012-03-16. ^"Judge allows landmark case against anti-gay religious leader to proceed". LGBTQ Nation. Retrieved 2013-08-14. ^The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party: Preface to the Fourth Edition, retrieved 2010-04-17^ abErik N. Jensen (January/April 2002). "The Pink Triangle and Political Consciousness: Gays, Lesbians, and the Memory of Nazi Persecution". Journal of the History of Sexuality11 (1/2): 319''349, pp. 322''323 and n. 19. doi:10.1353/sex.2002.0008. ^Bob Moser (Spring 2005). "Making Myths". Intelligence Report (Southern Poverty Law Center) (117). ^Zimmerman, Jonathan (August 27, 2011). "Did Nazis persecute gays, or were they gay themselves?". The Bakersfield Californian/History News Service. ^Dorthe Seifert (Fall 2003). "Between Silence and License: The Representation of the National Socialist Persecution of Homosexuality in Anglo-American Fiction and Film". History and Memory15 (2): 94''129, p. 94. doi:10.2979/HIS.2003.15.2.94. ^"The Other Side of the Pink Triangle: Still a Pink Triangle". October 24, 1994. Retrieved 2008-11-08. ^"A historian's analysis of The Pink Swastika, part 1". Wthrockmorton.com. Retrieved 2012-03-16. ^"A historian's analysis of The Pink Swastika, part 2". Wthrockmorton.com. Retrieved 2012-03-16. ^Dunn, Katia (October 5, 2000). "Honor Thy Debts: Prying Open the OCA's Wallet". The Portland Mercury. ^"Alliance spokesman guilty of using unreasonable force", The Bulletin, October 6, 1992, retrieved 2009-12-01 ^Oregon Judicial Department Appellate Court Opinions - Catherine Stauffer v. Oregon Citizen's Alliance^ abAlsop, Zoe (Dec 10, 2009), "Uganda's Anti-Gay Bill: Inspired by the U.S.", TIME Magazine (Time), retrieved 2010-03-01 ^"Helping Hand For Homophobia From U.S. Christians". Inter Press Service. 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2012-03-16. ^Xan Rice in Kampala. "Uganda considers death sentence for gay sex in bill before parliament". The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-03-16. ^ abMichel Martin (18 December 2009). "U.S. Evangelical Leaders Blamed For Uganda Anti-Gay Sentiment". NPR. Retrieved 1 March 2010. ^"Anti-Homosexual Bill In Uganda Causes Global Uproar". ABC News. 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2012-03-16. ^"The Death Penalty in Uganda". Abiding Truth Ministries. 11 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-09-20. ^ abGoodstein, Laurie (March 14, 2012). "Ugandan Gay Rights Group Sues U.S. Evangelist". The New York Times. ^Halper, Katie (March 15, 2012). "Ugandan LGBTQ org sues U.S. evangelist for inciting persecution". Feministing. ^Weiss, Debra Cassens (March 15, 2012). "Suit Alleges Evangelist Violated International Law by Waging an Anti-Gay Campaign in Uganda". ABA Journal. ^Barry, Stephanie (August 19, 2013). "Crimes against humanity lawsuit against anti-gay evangelist Pastor Scott Lively, of Springfield, advances in federal court". The Republican/MassLive.com. ^Waddington, Lynda (November 23, 2010). "Groups that Helped Oust Iowa Judges Earn 'Hate Group' Designation; SPLC Adds American Family Association, Family Research Council to List". Iowa Independent. Retrieved 25 November 2010. ^HatewatchWatch. Blogspot.^Bohon, Dave (December 3, 2010). "SPLC Targets 18 "Anti-Gay" Pro-family Groups". The New American. Retrieved April 21, 2011. ^Lively, Scott; Kevin E. Abrams (1996). The Pink Swastika. Founders Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0-964-76091-6. ^Lively, Scott (1998). Seven Steps to Recruit-Proof Your Child. Founders Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0-9647609-5-9. ^Lively, Scott (2000). Why and How to Defeat the "Gay" Movement. Abiding Truth Ministries. ^Redeeming The Rainbow. Defend The Family.External links[edit]PersondataNameLively, ScottAlternative namesLively, Scott Douglas (full name)Short descriptionAmerican author, attorney, and activistDate of birthDecember 14, 1957Place of birthDate of deathPlace of death
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- Bill Text: AZ SB1062 | 2014 | Fifty-first Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced | LegiScan
- Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
- Section 1. Section 41-1493, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
- START_STATUTE41-1493. Definitions
- In this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
- 1. "Demonstrates" means meets the burdens of going forward with the evidence and of persuasion.
- 2. "Exercise of religion" means the practice or observance of religion, including the ability to act or refusal to act in a manner substantially motivated by a religious belief, whether or not the exercise is compulsory or central to a larger system of religious belief.
- 3. "Government" includes this state and any agency or political subdivision of this state.
- 4. "Nonreligious assembly or institution" includes all membership organizations, theaters, cultural centers, dance halls, fraternal orders, amphitheaters and places of public assembly regardless of size that a government or political subdivision allows to meet in a zoning district by code or ordinance or by practice.
- 5. "Person" includes a religious assembly or institutionany individual, association, partnership, corporation, church, religious assembly or institution, estate, trust, foundation or other legal entity.
- 6. "Political subdivision" includes any county, city, including a charter city, town, school district, municipal corporation or special district, any board, commission or agency of a county, city, including a charter city, town, school district, municipal corporation or special district or any other local public agency.
- 7. "Religion'neutral zoning standards":
- (a) Means numerically definable standards such as maximum occupancy codes, height restrictions, setbacks, fire codes, parking space requirements, sewer capacity limitations and traffic congestion limitations.
- (i) Synergy with uses that a government holds as more desirable.
- (ii) The ability to raise tax revenues.
- 8. "Suitable alternate property" means a financially feasible property considering the person's revenue sources and other financial obligations with respect to the person's exercise of religion and with relation to spending that is in the same zoning district or in a contiguous area that the person finds acceptable for conducting the person's religious mission and that is large enough to fully accommodate the current and projected seating capacity requirements of the person in a manner that the person deems suitable for the person's religious mission.
- 9. "Unreasonable burden" means that a person is prevented from using the person's property in a manner that the person finds satisfactory to fulfill the person's religious mission. END_STATUTE
- Sec. 2. Section 41-1493.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
- START_STATUTE41-1493.01. Free exercise of religion protected; definition
- A. Free exercise of religion is a fundamental right that applies in this state even if laws, rules or other government actions are facially neutral.
- B. Except as provided in subsection C, governmentof this section, state action shall not substantially burden a person's exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability.
- C. GovernmentState action may substantially burden a person's exercise of religion only if itthe opposing party demonstrates that application of the burden to the personperson's exercise of religion in this particular instance is both:
- 1. In furtherance of a compelling governmental interest.
- 2. The least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest.
- D. A person whose religious exercise is burdened in violation of this section may assert that violation as a claim or defense in a judicial proceeding,and obtain appropriate relief against a governmentregardless of whether the government is a party to the proceeding. The person asserting such a claim or defense may obtain appropriate relief. A party who prevails in any action to enforce this article against a government shall recover attorney fees and costs.
- E. InFor the purposes of this section, the term substantially burden is intended solely to ensure that this article is not triggered by trivial, technical or de minimis infractions.
- F. For the purposes of this section, "state action" means any action by the government or the implementation or application of any law, including state and local laws, ordinances, rules, regulations and policies, whether statutory or otherwise, and whether the implementation or application is made or attempted to be made by the government or nongovernmental persons.END_STATUTE
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- Religious Freedom Restoration Act: SB 1062
- The attacks against this bill are as numerous as they are absurd. We need YOUR help to ensure it passes! Take time today to click here and send a short note to your legislators, encouraging them to vote YES on SB 1062.
- Arizona's Religious Freedom Restoration Act has been on the books since 1999 and has not been updated during that time. In light of increasing threats to religious liberty at all levels of government, SB 1062 makes important clarifications to ensure religious liberty is further protected in our state.
- Our nation and state have a rich heritage of religious freedom. The Arizona Constitution specifically protects each citizen's liberty of conscience, and the Legislature has passed laws to affirm religious freedom in specific contexts.
- In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Employment Division v. Smith that a law that burdened the free exercise of religion was not unconstitutional if it was a neutral law of general applicability.[i] This decision weakened protections for religious beliefs. Previously, the Court had required a burden on religious exercise to pass the strict scrutiny test.[ii] Strict scrutiny is the highest standard for evaluating government infringement of a constitutional right. The test asks whether the government has a compelling interest in restricting the religious exercise and whether the restriction the government has placed on the religious exercise is the least restrictive means of accomplishing that interest.
- After Smith, Congress responded by passing the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act (''RFRA''), reinstating the strict scrutiny test for all infringement of religious exercise by the government.[iii] However, the Supreme Court struck down the federal RFRA as applied to the states, on the grounds that Congress had acted beyond the scope of its powers under the Constitution.[iv] In response, most states, including Arizona, passed state-level Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, applying the strict scrutiny test to all government action by the state and its political subdivisions.[v]
- In recent years, the Arizona Legislature has added specific applications of religious freedom to the law, including protection for religious land use and protection for professional licensees.[vi] However, the core of Arizona's RFRA has not been updated since its enactment in 1999.
- SB 1062 will provide two much-needed updates to Arizona's RFRA statute. First, the bill clarifies that the definition of ''person'' includes all types of businesses and legal entities. Although the question of whether private business owners should be afforded First Amendment protection should be a non-issue, opponents of religious freedom continue to argue that for-profit businesses do not have consciences. They argue that businesses cannot operate according to a sincerely held religious belief and make a conscientious objection to a government mandate. Further, the updated definition is similar to what already exists in Arizona law defining a person as including corporations and other business entities.[vii]
- An example of these outrageous claims can be seen in the legal filings opposing businesses like Hobby Lobby and Conestoga Wood who are simply trying to operate their businesses according to their consciences. Such a narrow view flies in the face of the fact that the First Amendment has no limitation on its protections, which is why SB 1062 makes it clear that all individuals and business owners are protected.
- Finally, the bill also ensures that a government enactment is not permitted to infringe on religious belief merely because the enactment allows for enforcement by a private individual.
- The critical need for this change came to light in a case recently ruled on by the New Mexico Supreme Court. On August 22, 2013, the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously ruled in Elane Photography v. Willock that the state's RFRA did not apply in a case where a private party sought to enforce a state law against another private party.[viii] New Mexico's RFRA is similar to Arizona's, and Arizona's law includes the same deficiency that was revealed by the Elane Photography case. SB 1062 seeks to ensure that state laws that violate the religious liberty of private persons cannot be enforced simply because the government is not technically a party to the case.
- As an example of just how serious the threats to religious liberty are and of the mindset of some opposed to religious liberty, a New Mexico justice in a concurring opinion to the ElanePhotography case stated that the ''price of citizenship'' is being forced to compromise one's religious beliefs. This is not what the founders of this nation had in mind when they drafted the First Amendment, yet America and Arizona continue to witness religious liberty shrink as organizations like the Freedom From Religion Foundation attempt to undermine our nation's first freedom. In order to better protect religious freedom for all Arizonans, it is essential that Arizona strengthen the state RFRA.
- Arizona needs SB 1062 to protect the religious freedom rights of every citizen.In America, people should be free to live and work according to their faith. Our nation was founded upon the ideal of religious freedom and the right to freely walk your faith.People don't forfeit their religious freedom rights simply because they go to work or start a business.No one should ever be forced to choose between their conscience or religious beliefs and their profession. The Constitution doesn't only guarantee our ''freedom to worship'' but our freedom to practice and promote our faith. Americans don't have to leave their faith and convictions at their church door; we have the right to carry it with us in all aspects of our lives.Arizona's Religious Freedom Restoration Act needs to be updated. Due to the growing hostility towards religious freedom in our nation, it is vital that Arizona law clearly protects the religious liberty of every citizen.Participation in religious communities should be celebrated, not penalized. Persecuting individuals or groups for their religious beliefs creates second-class citizens who are seen as less valuable because of their faith.This law clarifies and strengthens existing law protecting religious freedom. In recent years, Arizona has taken significant steps to ensure the religious freedom rights of every individual. Updating the state's RFRA is an important piece of this effort.Conclusion
- SB 1062 is necessary to update Arizona's Religious Freedom Restoration Act and to close loopholes that might jeopardize a person's free exercise of religion in Arizona.
- [i]Employment Division v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990).[ii]SeeSherbert v. Verner, 374 U.S. 398 (1963).[iii] 42 U.S.C. §§ 2000bb through 2000bb-4.[iv]City of Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997).[v]Arizona's RFRA is found in Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 41-1493 through 41-1493.02.[vi]See Ariz. Rev. Stat. §§ 41-1493.03 and 1493.04.[vii] Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 1-215(28).[viii] Elane Photography v. Willock, No. 33,687, (N.M. 2013).
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- Arizona SB 1062 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Arizona SB 1062 is a legislative Act in the U.S. state of Arizona, introduced by Senator Steve Yarbrough. The bill is one of several state bills that would allow anyone in the state to legally refuse business or service to any person based on religious freedom.[1] The bill was passed by the Republican-controlled Senate, along party lines, it was also passed by the Republican-controlled state House.[1] Governor Jan Brewer, also Republican has until February 28 to act. The bill will become law if she does not either sign or veto the bill, only once has she allowed a bill to become law without her signature.[2]
- It would be a first-of-its-kind amendment to religious freedom laws in the U.S.[3]
- BackgroundEditThe bill was established, in part, to address public accommodation laws that prohibit denying services based on a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.[3] Twenty-one states have similar laws.[3] Arizona does not have a public accommodation law, but state lawmakers were concerned about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which was cited in a recent New Mexico case.[3] The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that it could not be invoked between two parties, if the government was not a party to the legal proceedings.[3]
- Section 41-1493 of the Arizona Revised Statutes regulates who can claim religious freedom or exercise thereof as a defense in a lawsuit. AB 1062 revises that law by expanding the definition of who is a person to "any individual, association, partnership, corporation, church, religious assembly or institution, estate, trust, foundation or other legal entity",[4] and allows for religious-freedom lawsuits "regardless of whether the government is a party to the proceeding."[4]
- CriticismEditCritics say that the bill would allow religious-based discrimination against any group of people for any religious reason.[5] While the intended target of the bill is to allow businesses to refuse to serve the LGBT community, specifically in the cases of same-sex couples,[6][7] the language of the bill would allow any business to use any religious belief to discriminate against any group. Critics also note that targeting LGBT people was redundant as under Arizona law, they have no special protections, so businesses do not need protection for something they cannot be sued for.[3]
- Business elders, civil rights groups, and gay rights groups have opposed the bill.[3] As state law already allows discrimination against LGBT people, business owners have noted they would only be losing business by discriminating, and do not need extra protections.[3] Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Irvine law school, noted the bill is harmful, "because it sends a message that the state is bigoted."[3] Supporters of the bill include two conservative groups, the Center for Arizona Policy, and the Defending Freedom Alliance, both of whom worked on the bill.[3] The Arizona Catholic Conference has called on its congregants to support the bill.[3] Three lawmakers that initially voted for the bill, including Senate Majority Whip Adam Driggs, have since encouraged Governor Brewer to veto it. [8]
- Similar legislation in other statesEditThe bill is similar to bills in five other states'--South Dakota, Kansas, Idaho, Tennessee, and Maine'--that all failed or faced major setbacks in February 2014.[9][10][11] Similar bills were proposed in Georgia[12] and Ohio,[13] along with a state constitutional amendment in Pennsylvania.[14] A ballot initiative along similar lines was started in Oregon.[15]
- ReferencesEdit^ abAshtar, Shadee. Arizona Senate Passes Bill Allowing Discrimination On Basis Of Religious Freedom. Huffington Post. 02-20-2014.^Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne. SB 1062 forcing Brewer to consider issues tied to faith, discrimination. The Arizona Republic. 02-23-2014.^ abcdefghijkDave, Paresh. Q&A: What's behind Arizona plan to let businesses refuse to serve gays? Los Angeles Times. 02-22-2014.^ abText of the Senate Bill 1062^Fischer, Howard. Arizona Senate: Business owners can cite religion to refuse service to gays. Arizona Daily Star. 02-19-2014.^Fischer, Howard. Bill allowing discrimination on religious grounds is offered. Arizona Daily Star. 01-16-2014.^Sanchez, Ray and Miguel Marquez. Arizona lawmakers pass controversial anti-gay bill. CNN/cnn.com. 02-21-2014.^Pitzl, Mary Jo. 3 GOP senators who voted for SB 1062 asking Brewer to veto bill. The Republic | azcentral.com. 02-24-2014.^Merevick, Tony (February 19, 2014). "In One Day, Bills Allowing Anti-LGBT Discrimination Fail In Four States.". Buzz Feed. ^Merevick, Tony (February 19, 2014). "Arizona Senate Passes Bill Allowing Religious-Based Discrimination". Buzz Feed. ^"Maine Senate nixes bill aimed at protecting religious freedom; opponents say it's unnecessary". The Republic. February 18, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014. ^Bookman, Jay (February 24, 2014). "Georgia may follow Arizona's anti-gay lead". ^Mains, Brian (February 24, 2014). "Could 'religious freedom' bill come to Ohio?". Knoxnews. Retrieved February 25, 2014. ^"Watch Your Language". Lancaster Online. February 2, 204. Retrieved February 25, 2014. ^Honan, Edith (February 2, 2014). "Gay-marriage debate takes new twist in Oregon: religious exemption". WHTC. Retrieved February 24, 2014. External linksEdit
- Last modified on 25 February 2014, at 07:30
-
- Arizona passes controversial anti-gay bill
- NEW: Not sure this needs to be a law, governor tells CNNBill allows business owners to deny service to gays, lesbiansCritics say the measure sanctions discriminationProponents of the bill say it protects people against activist federal courts(CNN) -- Arizona's Legislature has passed a controversial bill that would allow business owners, as long as they assert their religious beliefs, to deny service to gay and lesbian customers.
- The bill, which the state House of Representatives passed by a 33-27 vote Thursday, now goes to Gov. Jan Brewer, a Republican and onetime small business owner who vetoed similar legislation last year but has expressed the right of business owners to deny service.
- "I think anybody that owns a business can choose who they work with or who they don't work with," Brewer told CNN in Washington on Friday. "But I don't know that it needs to be statutory. In my life and in my businesses, if I don't want to do business or if I don't want to deal with a particular company or person or whatever, I'm not interested. That's America. That's freedom."
- As expected, the measure has drawn criticism from Democrats and business groups who said it would sanction discrimination and open the state to the risk of damaging litigation.
- On Friday, the LGBT group Wingspan staged a protest march to the governor's office that drew about 200 people. Some carried signs with messages "God created us all equal" and "Shame on Arizona."
- Tucson-based Rocco's Little Chicago Pizzeria posted a photo on its Facebook page of a sign with a message for state lawmakers: "We reserve the right to refuse service to Arizona legislators."
- "It's a ridiculous bill," pizzeria manager Evan Stevens told CNN on Friday. "Arizona has much bigger problems than allowing businesses to discriminate against people."
- In a statement, Anna Tovar, the state senate Democratic minority leader, said: "With the express consent of Republicans in this Legislature, many Arizonans will find themselves members of a separate and unequal class under this law because of their sexual orientation. This bill may also open the door to discriminate based on race, familial status, religion, sex, national origin, age or disability."
- The Greater Phoenix Economic Council, in a letter to Brewer on Friday, urged the governor to veto Senate Bill 1062, saying the "legislation will likely have profound, negative effects on our business community for years to come."
- "The legislation places businesses currently in Arizona, as well as those looking to locate here, in potentially damaging risk of litigation, and costly, needless legal disputes," council President Barry Broome wrote, adding that four unidentified companies have vowed to locate elsewhere if the legislation is signed.
- He added, "With major events approaching in the coming year, including Super Bowl XLIX, Arizona will be the center of the world's stage. This legislation has the potential of subjecting the Super Bowl, and major events surrounding it, to the threats of boycotts."
- On CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper," Arizona state Rep. John Kavanagh, a Republican, said the bill would not allow hotel clerks or waiters, for instance, to turn away customers, unless there was a "substantial burden on their sincerely held religious beliefs."
- The bill is being pushed by the Center for Arizona Policy, a conservative group opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage. The group has justified the measure on grounds that the proposal protects people against increasingly activist federal courts.
- "As we witness hostility towards people of faith grow like never before, we must take this opportunity to speak up for religious liberty," the group said on its website, asking people to contact Brewer and urge her to sign the bill. "The great news is that SB 1062 protects your right to live and work according to your faith."
- Cathi Herrod, the center's president, told CNN on Friday, "The Arizona bill has a very simple premise, that Americans should be free to live and work according to their religious faith. It's simply about protecting religious liberty and nothing else."
- Herrod said the bill's opponents are "showing unbelievable hostility toward religious beliefs."
- "America still stands for the principle that religious beliefs matter (for) something in this country, that we have the right to freely exercise our religious beliefs," she said.
- But Robert Boston, a spokesman for the Washington-based Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told CNN the legislation would "fling the door wide open to discrimination, not just against gay people, but basically to any class of individuals that a religious fundamentalist decides he or she doesn't want to deal with."
- He added, "A woman who is pregnant out of wedlock, for example, 'Well, out the door, you don't get served in my business.' "
- The Arizona legislation was passed as conservative states work to counter laws legalizing same-sex marriage. Arizona voters approved a ban on same-sex marriage as a state constitutional amendment in 2008.
- The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona called the bill "unnecessary and discriminatory."
- "What today's bill does is allow private individuals and businesses to use religion to discriminate, sending a message that Arizona is intolerant and unwelcoming," the group said in a statement.
- Some Republican legislators have defended the bill as a First Amendment issue. Democrats dismissed it as an attack on gays and lesbians.
- "It's a very bad day for Arizona," Rep. Chad Campbell, a Phoenix Democrat who voted against the legislation, told CNN Friday.
- He added, "Let there be no doubt about what this bill does. It's going to allow people to discriminate against the gay community in Arizona. It goes after unprotected classes of people and we all know that the biggest unprotected class of people in the state is the LBGT community. If we were having this conversation in regard to African-Americans or women, there would be outrage across the country right now."
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- Sochi Olympics: How the international LGBTQ rights movement failed Russian gays.
- People place candles at the Homomonument in Amsterdam during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Sochi on Feb. 7.Photo by Koen van Weel/AFP/Getty Images
- What an awesome sight it was, all those Olympians holding hands with teammates of the same gender, in quiet but unmistakable defiance of Russia's anti-gay laws and the International Olympic Committee's stated ban on political protest. Every time the camera zoomed in on an athlete, you could see that almost everyone was wearing at least one item of red "Principle 6" clothing'--a T-shirt, a hat, or a scarf bearing the words of the Olympic Charter's nondiscrimination guarantee. The rainbow-colored gloves everyone wore were also a nice touch.
- All right, none of that is true or even particularly funny. Last summer'--about half a year before the Olympic Games opened in Sochi and soon after the American gay rights establishment became aware of the Kremlin's unprecedented campaign of anti-gay hate'--a number of people debated how the West, and the United States in particular, should act during the games. Some activists argued for a boycott. Chess champion Garry Kasparov said the athletes should go, but others should stay away. ''The Sochi boycott that is required is a boycott by world leaders, by celebrities and sponsors, by CEOs and fans,'' he wrote. ''Do not come to Sochi to sit next to Putin in his stately pleasure dome, pretending it is a world apart from the police state he has created. Let the stadiums sit vacant, especially the VIP sections Putin hopes to fill with presidents and prime ministers.'' Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, two members of Pussy Riot, called for an all-out boycott as soon as they were released from prison last December. I also argued for a boycott whenever I had the opportunity.
- A majority of Russian activists, however, found it impossible to advocate for a boycott of the games. Some thought it was defeatist, and others argued such a stand would be perceived as unpatriotic and cause a backlash. With their guidance, Western organizations that were starting to focus on Russia opted for a ''speak out, don't walk out'' strategy. In interminable meetings and conference calls, they tried to devise ingenious ways of getting around Russian and IOC prohibitions and get pro-gay messages out. A group called Pride House International floated the idea of a movable pride house in the Olympic Village. An organization called Athlete Ally and others talked about devising a hand gesture to symbolize gay solidarity. Human Rights Campaign and All Out teamed with American Apparel to make and market Principle 6 apparel. Human Rights Watch and others lobbied the major Olympic sponsors to use their merchandise and advertising space in Russia to speak out against anti-gay discrimination. Melissa Etheridge wrote a song called ''Uprising of Love'' and sang it in Times Square on New Year's Eve, and a whole coalition of celebrities gathered under this name to help LGBTQ Russians.
- It all failed. Sure, American Apparel sold the T-shirts, hats, and bags, and Etheridge sold the song, and money was raised, and representatives of Athlete Ally and Human Rights First went to Sochi. But nothing happened there. The movable Pride House idea was nixed by both the Russians and the IOC. None of the competing athletes agreed to wear Principle 6 clothing. Olympic sponsors politely took meetings with human-rights advocates and proceeded to do nothing. (AT&T, which got a lot of cheap, good publicity for its LGBTQ-supportive ad, is a sponsor of the U.S. team, not of the Olympic Games itself and did not run the ad in Russia, where it happens not to be represented'--unlike the actual Olympic sponsors, most of whom have major interests in the country.) Etheridge canceled a scheduled pre-Olympic appearance on Russia's only independent TV channel. Indeed, international media attention to the Kremlin's homophobic campaign seems to have had a major chilling effect on Olympic athletes and spectators, who traveled to Sochi with a set of largely unfounded fears, which kept them from doing anything at all.
- Oh, and the multicolor-tipped gloves, which some members of the Greek team wore during the opening and closing ceremonies, turned out to be the colors of the Olympic rings, not the rainbow flag.
- On the day of the opening ceremony, LGBTQ activists in Moscow and St. Petersburg staged protests in their own cities. In Moscow, a dozen hard-core direct-action veterans went to Red Square and sang the Russian national anthem while holding small rainbow flags. They were hauled in to the police precinct, where, over the course of the next four hours, at least four of them were beaten and threatened with rape. Some of the people who came out in St. Petersburg had never before taken part in street protests. Their low-key picket also ended in police detention. Now many of those who were detained will face fines of between $285 and $570 and, quite possibly, further legal and extralegal persecution.
- These brave Russian activists came out to protest because they thought that the eyes of the world were fixed on them that day and that their American activist allies in Sochi would support them by word and deed, staging their own protests and ensuring that the thousands of international correspondents in Sochi would hear of their protest and the treatment they faced. They were wrong. Their American allies watched the opening ceremony, socialized with Team U.S.A., and visited the famed Sochi gay bar. Their American allies failed them.
- Trying to help activists who are putting themselves in danger in a police state is different from supporting the fight for, say, marriage equality in the United States. For Americans, the kind of activism required is not much more difficult and is not at all scary'--but it is definitely not about selling American Apparel T-shirts or singing songs. First and foremost, working with LGBTQ activists in Russia has to involve ensuring that their names and their individual arrests and court hearings are well-publicized in the Western media. It also means ensuring that their fines are paid: The point of those extremely high fines is to open the way for further prosecution for nonpayment. Only if Russian authorities know that the world is watching the specific individuals they are targeting will the LGBT activists on the ground be relatively safe'--which is to say, alive and unlikely to face long prison sentences in the near future. Meanwhile, as the founder of an online community for LGBTQ youth faced a court hearing on charges of ''homosexual propaganda'' on Feb. 20, American groups strategized about their social-network presence during the closing ceremony. (The State Department, however, spoke out about the case, which is the likely reason the court dropped the charges.)
- The Sochi Games were the U.S. gay rights movement's first real attempt to venture into international work. It was an embarrassment. If U.S. groups continue to do nothing but stage fundraisers and strategy sessions, it will be a disgrace.
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- Masha Gessen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Masha GessenMasha Gessen at the 6 Moscow International Book Festival, 2011
- Born(1967-01-13) 13 January 1967 (age 47)Moscow, Soviet UnionResidenceNew York City, USA[1]NationalityRussian, AmericanOccupationJournalist, authorMaria Alexandrovna Gessen, better known as Masha Gessen (born 13 January 1967), is a Russian and American journalist and author.
- Early life[edit]Gessen was born into an Ashkenazi Jewish family in Moscow. In 1981 Gessen moved with her family to the United States.[2] She returned in 1991 to Moscow.[2] She holds both Russian and US citizenship. Her brothers are Keith Gessen, Daniel Gessen and Philip Gessen.[citation needed]
- Activism[edit]Gessen is openly gay and an activist for the rights of sexual minorities. She served as a member of the board of directors for the Moscow LGBT rights organization "Triangle" from 1993 to 1998.[3]
- She has written on LGBT rights and Russian affairs. She writes in both Russian and English, and has contributed to The New Republic, New Statesman, Granta, Slate and Vanity Fair, and US News & World Report.
- Her 2012 book The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin is a political biography of Vladimir Putin, whom she describes as a dictator.[4]
- Gessen covered Pussy Riot and their punk rock protest against Putin in her 2014 book Words Will Break Cement: The Passion of Pussy Riot. [5]
- She was dismissed from her position as the chief editor of Russia's oldest magazine, Vokrug Sveta on 1 September 2012 after she refused to send a reporter to cover a Russian Geographic Society event featuring President Putin, claiming that it had become a mouthpiece of Putin's government.[6][7]
- In September 2012, Gessen was appointed as director of the Russian Service for Radio Liberty, a US government funded broadcaster based in Prague.[8][9] Shortly after her appointment was announced and a few days after Gessen met with Russian President Vladimir Putin, more than 40 members of Radio Liberty's staff were fired. Radio Liberty also lost its Russian broadcasting license several weeks after Gessen took over. Gessen's role in both of these events is unclear but has caused controversy.[9]
- In December 2013 she moved to New York to avoid legislation in Russia that bans "homosexual propaganda". [10][11]
- Personal life[edit]Gessen has two children: a boy Vova and a girl Yolka; both are US citizens. Vova was born in 1997 in Russia and was adopted by her from an orphanage in Kaliningrad. Yolka was born to her in the US in 2001. In 2004 she was married in the US to Svetlana Generalova, a Russian citizen who was also involved in the LGBT movement in Moscow.[3][12] She is however opposed to the existence of marriage at all, and advocates for the fundamental change of the institution of marriage, including her three children being legally able to have five parents. [13]
- Bibliography[edit]See also[edit]References[edit]^http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/10/opinion/gessen-a-kind-of-racism-were-not-used-to.html?_r=2^ abJoanna Smith Rakoff. Talking with Masha Gessen. Newsday, 2 January 2005.^ abBiography of Maria Hessen.(Russian)^Stephen Romei (18 May 2012). "Putin the elected dictator is doomed, biographer claims". The Australian. Retrieved 18 May 2012. ^National Public Radio (United States). 8 January 2014 http://www.npr.org/2014/01/08/260746432/the-pussy-riot-arrests-and-the-crackdown-that-followed/ . |title= The "Pussy Riot" Arrests, and the Crackdown That Followed^Amos, Howard (10 September 2012). "Vladimir Putin,Animals (News),Endangered species (Environment),Wildlife (Environment),World news,Conservation (Environment),Environment,Russia (News),Europe (News),Birds (environment)". The Guardian (London). ^Gessen, Masha (10 September 2012). "Flying Putin, Fired Editor". The New York Times. ^"Radio Liberty Hires Gessen". The Moscow Times. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2013. ^ abCohen, Ariel; Helle Dale (December 13, 2012). "How to Save Radio Liberty". The Heritage Foundation. Retrieved 5 January 2013. ^http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/11/anti-gay-laws-russia^http://www2.macleans.ca/2014/01/18/russian-dissident-masha-gessen-on-pussy-riot-putin-and-sochi/^ÐемÑÑ Ð'енеÑаÐ>>овÑÑ
(ÑÑаÑÑники ÐÐÐ'Ð'Ð), ÐÑ
о Ð'оÑквÑ>>, 09.06.2002.(Russian)^[1]External links[edit]PersondataNameGessen, MashaAlternative namesShort descriptionAmerican journalistDate of birth13 January 1967Place of birthMoscow, Soviet UnionDate of deathPlace of death
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- LGBBTQQIAAP being abused to fight GOP in mid-terms: Scott Lively
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- Statement by the Press Secretary on Uganda
- Office of the Press Secretary
- Instead of standing on the side of freedom, justice, and equal rights for its people, today, regrettably, Ugandan President Museveni took Uganda a step backward by signing into law legislation criminalizing homosexuality. As President Obama has said, this law is more than an affront and a danger to the gay community in Uganda, it reflects poorly on the country's commitment to protecting the human rights of its people and will undermine public health, including efforts to fight HIV/AIDS. We will continue to urge the Ugandan government to repeal this abhorrent law and to advocate for the protection of the universal human rights of LGBT persons in Uganda and around the world.
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- Uganda: Museveni Signs Anti-Gay Law
- Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni has signed the country's anti-gay bill into law, rejecting protests issued by leaders ranging from President Barack Obama to retired South African archbishop Desmond Tutu.
- The Ugandan government's Media Centre tweeted on Monday that Museveni signed the bill at State House, Entebbe, thus banning the promotion of a gay lifestyle in Uganda and providing for life imprisonment in certain cases.
- His decision to approve the law came after a prominent group at Makerere University's law school had made it clear that it would protect the rights of gays and lesbians - thus running the risk of being charged under the new law with "promoting" homosexuality.
- The government Media Centre quoted Museveni as saying he had not signed the bill earlier because he thought that people were born gay.
- "I did not understand why a man is not attracted to a beautiful woman," he said. So he had consulted Ugandan and foreign scientists. They had indicated that some were gay "by nurture," he said. Also, "there are those recruited because of poverty."
- Museveni added, according to the Media Centre: "Can someone be purely homosexual by nature? Their (the scientists') answer is No!"
- In an impassioned appeal to Museveni at the weekend, Tutu said the Ugandan president had assured him last month that he would not sign the bill into law.
- Tutu drew an analogy between the bill and the laws of Nazi Germany and apartheid South Africa, saying: "There is no scientific justification for prejudice and discrimination, ever. And nor is there any moral justification."
- Tutu added: "We must be entirely clear about this: The history of people is littered with attempts to legislate against love or marriage across class, caste and race. But there is no scientific basis or genetic rationale for love. There is only the grace of God."
- In a statement also issued before Museveni signed the bill, the Refugee Law Project at Makerere University's School of Law said human rights groups and activists were already feeling the impact of the bill: "Some individuals and organisations have already been threatened, silenced and branded as promoters of homosexual orientations ...
- "Refugee Law Project does not believe that it is possible to promote a particular sexual orientation," the statement added. Citing Uganda's Ministry of Health, the project said homosexuality "has existed throughout history in all corners of the globe" and committed itself to protecting "the rights of sexual and gender minorities in the belief that they are as important as the rights of any other human being."
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- Ghana: Govt Urged to Impose Taxes On Actors, Actresses
- A KUMASI-based Actor has started a debate by calling on government to impose taxes on actors and actresses in the country.
- Nana Osei Kwame Brempong, known in showbiz as Sharpiro, has started a crusade urging the government to tax actors and actresses in Ghana.
- Nana Osei Kwame has revealed that actors and actresses in Ghana, including himself, have not been paying tax to the government of Ghana, and this does not help to develop the country.
- According to him, there should be a need for the government or the industry to tax actors in the country to sustain the film industry.
- He said, "it is very worrying, looking at the colossal amount of money some of the actors and actresses earn after shooting three or four movies, without paying any tax to the government or the entertainment industry.
- "The producers even don't issue any VAT receipt when they are paying them, which is wrong, it can never happen in Nigeria, I learn that the producers and other sectors in the industry pay taxes for the sustainability of the industry, and why is it that actors don't pay?" he queried. Nana Osei Kwame said, if his colleague actors and actresses want the sustainability of the film industry, they should start paying taxes to the government or contribute financially to the industry to secure the industry's future.
- "I think if we are able to implement this suggestion, it will help us all because the money that we pay as taxes will help develop the country."
- Speaking about the current state of the Ghanaian film industry on ASHH FM Entertainment Zone, Sharpiro suggested that the Ghana Actors Guild must create a fund that will take care of ageing actors and actresses who fought for the industry and are now in bad conditions.
- He also agreed with Majid Michel that the Ghanaian movie industry cannot be compared to the Nigerian Film Industry.
- "The Ghana Actors Guild is not effective as the Nigerian Actors Guild, so I agree with Majid totally for what he said about our movie industry. He shouldn't be blamed for that. We must work to improve on the current state of our industry than to hold peoples neck for their comments," he noted. Pix: Nana Osei Kwame Brempong
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- AFRIKA-Pentagon chief proposes $115 billion increase in military spending - World Socialist Web Site
- By Patrick Martin26 February 2014US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel released a five-year budget plan for the Pentagon Monday which calls for restoring all the cuts in future military spending contained in the current spending deal between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans.
- The plan takes as its point of departure the $496 billion in spending authorization for Fiscal Year 2015, which begins October 1, 2014, set under the bipartisan budget deal last December. This does not include an additional $80 billion in spending on the war in Afghanistan, set aside in an overseas contingency operations fund.
- Thereafter, however, the budget plan assumes that the sequester cuts for FY 2016 and subsequent years will not take effect. Hagel and Dempsey warned that those cuts would dramatically worsen the readiness and effectiveness of the US military, essentially demanding that Congress rescind them, which would add $115 billion to military spending over the five-year period.
- While the Hagel plan has been portrayed in the American media as a drastic scaling back of the US military'--with headlines focusing on the cutback in total Army personnel to a level last seen before World War II'--the real content of the budget is a shift in the military strategy of American imperialism.
- Instead of protracted wars of occupation like Iraq and Afghanistan, involving hundreds of thousands of ground troops stationed overseas for many years, the Pentagon restructuring is geared to different types of warfare envisioned in coming decades.
- The Pentagon plan would reduce the size of the active-duty military by 13 percent and the reserve force by 5 percent, but it would increase the size of US Special Forces by 6 percent, adding about 3,000 troops. These are the units that have been deployed to Somalia, Yemen, Libya, and other strife-torn countries in Africa and the Middle East, in addition to the ongoing war in Afghanistan.
- At the other end of the combat spectrum, the Pentagon plan is geared to a major war against China, which would involve attacks by sea, air and cyberspace, with less emphasis on significant ground combat on the Asian mainland, the only form of battle in which China, with its enormous manpower, might have an advantage.
- A war against Iran would be a lesser example of the same type of conflict and could perhaps serve as a trial run: instead of a land invasion of a country four times the size of Iraq, with three times the population, the preferred strategy of US imperialism involves crippling the country with air, sea and cyberwar attacks, accompanied by a blockade to strangle its economy and starve the Iranian people.
- Such strategic considerations explain many of the decisions outlined by Hagel and General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a press conference Monday.
- Hagel proposed, for example, to eliminate the entire fleet of Air Force A-10 attack aircraft, originally designed to destroy Soviet tanks in the event of a full-scale conventional war in central Europe. The A-10 is currently used as air support for ground troops in Afghanistan, but this capability would be replaced by increasing the number of Apache helicopter gunships, shifting all those now in use by the National Guard to the regular Army.
- The Navy is being reconfigured for military operations in the Western Pacific, as part of the overall ''pivot to Asia,'' which will increase the proportion of US military assets deployed in the Asia-Pacific region from the present 50 percent to 60 percent or more.
- Hagel proposes to develop a new frigate design that would likely replace the littoral combat ship, or LCS, which was originally developed for naval operations in critical waterways like Strait of Malacca, through which much of China's trade and fuel supplies pass. Four US littoral combat ships were stationed last year at Singapore, but new orders for such ships are being halted.
- At the press conference, Hagel hinted that the modernization of Chinese naval forces had made the LCS obsolete. ''We need to closely examine whether the LCS has the protection and firepower to survive against a more advanced military adversary and emerging new technologies, especially in the Asia Pacific,'' he said.
- Hagel warned more generally that many US military advantages were being eroded. ''The development and proliferation of more advanced military technologies by other nations mean that we are entering an era where American dominance on the seas, in the skies and in space can no longer be taken for granted,'' he told reporters.
- Hagel proposed the retention of all 11 US aircraft carriers, rejecting a proposal to mothball one carrier for budgetary reasons. But he warned that if Congress did not rescind the sequester cuts, such a reduction in carrier strength would be unavoidable. To underscore this blackmail threat, he ordered the carrier USS George Washington to enter long-term refitting this year, a process that could become an outright scrapping in the unlikely event Congress fails to pay up.
- In addition, the Pentagon plan would retain 11 naval cruisers, previously scheduled for retirement, and modernize them to extend their life as air-defense platforms.
- At the press conference and in subsequent meetings with congressional leaders, Hagel and Dempsey focused attention on the need for fiscal discipline, by which they meant, not significantly scaling back the gargantuan American military machine, and limiting its worldwide operations, but carrying out a program of military aggression more cheaply and efficiently. ''This is a time for reality,'' Hagel said. ''This is a budget that recognizes the reality of the magnitude of our fiscal challenges '...''
- In practice, this means cutting subsidies and benefits for military servicemen and veterans. ''Personnel costs reflect some 50% of the Pentagon budget and cannot be exempted in the context of the significant cuts the department is facing,'' Adm. John Kirby, the Defense Department's top spokesman, told the press. ''Secretary Hagel has been clear that, while we do not want to, we ultimately must slow the growth of military pay and compensation.''
- The Pentagon plan calls for a symbolic one-year pay freeze for general and flag officers, while the 1 percent raise for lower ranks, provided in December's budget deal, will go forward. Retired military personnel will pay more for their health care, up from 8 percent to 11 percent of the total cost, although this figure remains far below the share that most civilian workers pay. Other changes in retirement benefits will await the outcome of a special commission studying military pensions, to report in 2015.
- There will be significant cuts in subsidies for military commissaries at US bases, which will fall from $1.4 billion to $500 million. Housing subsidies will be capped, meaning that military personnel will begin to pay a greater share of the cost, as rents and utility charges rise.
- Meanwhile, the gravy train continues for the giant corporations that have drunk deeply at the Pentagon's trough. Notably, stock prices for defense contractors like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics rose Monday in the wake of Hagel's press conference.
- According to one analysis, the Pentagon will end a four-year scaling back in weapons purchases and research and development, areas where most of the spending goes to US-based corporations. One key initiative is for a new and more fuel-efficient jet engine, where General Electric is a prime contractor. Hagel also reaffirmed future purchases of Lockheed's F-35 jet fighter, the most expensive warplane ever built.
- Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.
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- Defender of the Fatherland Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- First celebrated in 1919 the holiday marks the date in 1918 during the Russian Civil War when the first mass draft into the Red Army occurred in Petrograd and Moscow (on 17 February).[2] In January 1919 it was decided to combine the celebration that day with the anniversary of the publication of the decree on the establishment of the Red Army (of 18 February 1918).[2] In 1919 February 17 fell on Monday; so it was decided to move the holiday to the nearest Sunday - 23 February.[2] Since then it stayed that day.[2] It was originally known as Red Army Day (Russian: Ð--ÐµÐ½Ñ ÐÑаÑной ÐÑмии).[2] In 1923 it was officially named the Day of the Red Army and the Navy.[2]
- In 1949, it was renamed Soviet Army and Navy Day (Russian: Ð--ÐµÐ½Ñ ÐовеÑÑкой ÐÑмии и Ð'оенно-Ð'оÑÑкоÐ"о ÑÐ>>оÑа / Dyen' Sovyetskoy Armii i Voyenno-Morskogo flota).[2] Following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, the holiday was given its current name in 2002 by Russian PresidentVladimir Putin who decreed it a state holiday (in Russia).[3]
- CelebrationsEditIn RussiaEditOfficially, as the name suggests, the holiday celebrates people who are serving or were serving the Russian Armed Forces (both men and women), but unofficially, nationally it has also more recently come to include the celebration of men as a whole, and to act as a counterpart of International Women's Day on March 8.
- The holiday is celebrated with parades and processions in honor of veterans, and women also give small gifts to the Russian men in their lives, especially husbands (or boyfriends), fathers and sons. As a part of the workplace culture, women often give gifts to their male co-workers. Consequently, in colloquial usage, the holiday is often referred to as Men's Day (Russian: Ð--ÐµÐ½Ñ Ð'ÑжÑин, Den' Muzhchin).
- In KazakhstanEditIn Kazakhstan Defender of the Fatherland Day is celebrated on 7 May.
- In TajikistanEditIn Tajikistan, the holiday is known as Tajik National Army Day (Tajik: Рӯзи ÐÑÑиÑи Ð'иÐ>>Ð>>Ó£ Ðоҷик), celebrating the Tajik National Army. However, it has been known that other military units, such as the Tajik Air Force, have taken part in the celebration.[4]
- In UkraineEditIn Ukraine it was never celebrated as a state holiday.[5] In 1999 PresidentLeonid Kuchma recognized February 23 as Defenders of the Motherland Day.[1][5] Today, even though it is not a public holiday, most women will still give some extra attention to male relatives, friends, husbands and boyfriends.[6][7] The Ukrainian army has its own Army Day on December 6.[7]
- ^ abLaw regarding Defender of the Motherland Day Legislation of Ukraine^ abcdefg(Ukrainian)ÐаÑ--мниÑÑ 23 Ð>>ÑÑоÐ"о. УкÑаÑнÑÑм Ñ-- Ñо ÑвÑÑкÑваÑи Mystery February 23. Ukrainian is something to celebrate, Ukrayinska Pravda (23 February 2013)^Russian Nationalism and the National Reassertion of Russia by Marl¨ne Laruelle, Taylor & Francis, 2009, ISBN 0415484464 (page 245)^[1]^ abUncertain Defenders of the Motherland Day, Kyiv Weekly (27 February 2012)^Ukrainian Holidays, Optima ToursFeminists Contest Politics and Philosophy (Philosophy and Politics), Peter Lang, 2005, ISBN 978-90-5201-252-0 (page 197)^ abCulture Smart! Ukraine by Anna Shevchenko, Kuperard, 2006, ISBN 978-1-85733-327-5External linksEdit
- Last modified on 23 February 2014, at 20:41
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- Be wary of Vladimir Putin '' not frightened of him - Telegraph
- There still remains the possibility that Mr Putin will take similar action against parts of Ukraine, such as the Crimea and other eastern areas with a high density of Russian inhabitants. One former Kremlin official has even warned of the possibility of Mr Putin adopting the same tactics used by the Nazis in Austria during the Anschluss, and ordering the annexation of Crimean territory such as Sebastopol, which is home to Russia's vast and decaying Black Sea fleet.
- Yet as Mr Putin weighs his options, he will find his room for manoeuvre far more circumscribed than it was six years ago when he orchestrated the Georgia offensive. For a start, the Russian economy, which has provided the springboard for Mr Putin's resurgent nationalism, is no longer the powerhouse it was a few years ago.
- In 2009, the last time Moscow squared up to Kiev, it simply ordered Gazprom, the state-owned supplier of natural gas, to turn off the taps. The move sent shivers through Europe, which relies on Ukraine as a transit point for its gas supplies.
- But Gazprom, like the rest of the Russian economy, is far weaker than it was the last time the Kremlin threatened to turn out the lights all over Europe. A combination of America's shale gas boom, together with a reduction in production from Russia's ageing gas fields, has prompted its European customers to seek new and cheaper alternatives.
- Indeed, this gloomy picture is replicated across Russia's entire energy-dependent economy, placing the national budget under intense strain. To balance its books, the Kremlin needs a Brent crude price of $118 per barrel, a figure that has not been reached for two years. This has had an adverse impact on the value of the ruble, Russia's national currency '' a trend that will be exacerbated if Mr Putin initiates either punitive military or economic measures against Ukraine.
- Nor, for all the Kremlin's sabre-rattling, does Russia's once-vaunted military pose much of a threat. While there has been a real-terms increase in the defence budget, most experts regard Russia's armed forces as unwieldy and poorly trained, relying on equipment that is for the most part obsolete. A case in point is the country's sole aircraft carrier, the 65,000-ton Admiral Kuznetsov, a Soviet-era rust bucket that can make the occasional forays to Russia's naval base at the Syrian port of Tartus, but would be no match for its more powerful US counterparts.
- The weakness of Russia's position will not, of course, dissuade Mr Putin from trying to reclaim a country the Kremlin sees as being part of the ''near abroad'' '' ie under Russia's traditional sphere of influence. You only have to look at Georgia, where the pro-democracy movement spearheaded by former president Mikheil Saakashvili has been replaced by a pro-Russian government, to see just what can be achieved. Russia's SVR '' the overseas intelligence service '' remains a powerful and malignant force that has no qualms about poisoning Moscow's opponents and secretly financing pro-Russian political parties. At the very least, we can expect Mr Putin to reduce '' or attempt to reduce '' post-Yanukovych Ukraine to a level where it can no longer function as a unified state.
- That said, I have long believed that one of the West's great miscalculations in its handling of the Syrian crisis has been its belief that, even while trying to halt the bloodshed, it must do nothing to provoke Russia's ire. Yes, we should be wary of Mr Putin and his mafia state '' but should we fear them so? Increasingly, I think not. Whatever retaliatory action it takes against Ukraine, we may ultimately discover that the great Russian bear is little more than a paper tiger.
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- BBC News - Mass arrest of protesters at rallies in Russia
- 25 February 2014Last updated at 06:47 ET Russian police have made nearly 500 arrests at opposition rallies in the country's two main cities, including several well-known protest figures.
- Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was among those picked up in Moscow on Monday evening, as he attended an unapproved rally near the Kremlin.
- He and others have appeared in court, charged with offences that entail a fine or detention of up to 15 days.
- The rallies were called to protest at sentences passed on other activists.
- Seven people had received prison terms of up to four years on Monday, for rioting and attacking police at a demonstration against Vladimir Putin's inauguration for a third presidential term in May 2012, in Bolotnaya Square, Moscow.
- Human rights organisation Amnesty International condemned the sentences as a "hideous injustice", at the end of a "show trial".
- An eighth defendant, the only woman on trial, received a suspended sentence.
- While the rallies on Monday in Moscow and St Petersburg were called to protest at the Bolotnaya sentences, some demonstrators also made shows of solidarity with the protesters in Ukraine, who brought down President Viktor Yanukovych last week.
- 'Maidan'Police arrested 420 people in Manege Square, under the walls of the Kremlin, hours after picking up some 200 people outside the court where the Bolotnaya defendants were being tried.
- It appears that many of those detained near the court were released shortly afterwards, and at least some of them went to Manege Square for the bigger rally.
- Among those detained in Moscow were Pussy Riot punk band members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, both recently freed from prison under an amnesty, and former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov.
- Those held overnight were apparently being charged with either disobeying a police request or breaching the rules on holding rallies.
- In St Petersburg, 60 people were arrested at a similar protest rally.
- Outside the court in Moscow, some demonstrators had shouted "Maidan" - a reference to the square in Kiev where Ukrainian protesters camped out before finally toppling the country's elected president.
- However, Mr Navalny distanced himself from events in Ukraine, saying that Russia had its own battle for freedom.
- Russian state TV coverage of the Bolotnaya trial drew analogies with the unrest in Ukraine, the Associated Press notes.
- "With the events on the Maidan as a background, it's even more obvious what all of this could have led to, had it not been for the government's clear, tough response," one unnamed TV presenter was quoted as saying.
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- Pussy Riot members attack bandmates for appearing at Amnesty concert | Music | The Guardian
- Madonna introduces Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova at an Amnesty International concert in New York. Photograph: Jason Szenes/EPA
- Members of the Russian punk collective Pussy Riot have accused their previously imprisoned bandmates of undermining the group's ideals by appearing at a charity concert introduced by Madonna.
- A letter posted on the group's blog lambasted Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina for taking part in the concert organised by Amnesty International in New York on Wednesday night.
- Madonna introduced the pair, who were dressed in tunics with crucifixes emblazoned on the front. They then delivered a scathing attack about the regime of the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, chanting: "Russia will be free!" to the audience at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn.
- But their appearance was poorly received by others in the punk collective, which has a fluctuating membership that has never been fully revealed.
- Selling concert tickets "is highly contradictory to the principles of Pussy Riot", said the letter signed with six nicknames: Cat, Garadzha, Fara, Shayba, Serafima and Shumakher.
- "We're a female separatist collective," it said. "We never accept money for our performances '... we only stage illegal performances in unexpected public places."
- The letter also took issue with concert posters showing a male guitarist in a balaclava, a trademark of the feminist group.
- Tolokonnikova, 24, and Alyokhina, 25, were freed in December three months before the end of their two-year sentences for staging an anti-Putin "punk prayer" performance in a Moscow cathedral. On their release the said they would focus on campaigning for the rights of prisoners.
- Wednesday's concert also included performances by the Flaming Lips and Blondie. Ticket prices started at $27 (£17).
- "They have said in every interview that they have quit the group and no longer represent Pussy Riot," said the letter. "But all of their appearances are announced as appearances by Pussy Riot.
- "They are no longer Pussy Riot. We have lost two friends, two ideological teammates, but the world has gained two brave rights activists," said.
- Five members in colourful tights and balaclavas staged the cathedral performance in February 2012. Three were arrested the following month.
- One, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was freed with a suspended sentence after a successful appeal. The other two performers have never been identified.
- Since the arrests, there have been no more guerrilla Pussy Riot performances in public places, although a music video targeting Russia's oil industry appeared last July, apparently by a splinter group that had set up a new website.
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- Lithuania Considers Revising Shale-Gas Laws After Chevron Quits - Bloomberg
- Lithuania should revise laws on shale-gas works that led Chevron Corp. (CVX) to abandon its bid for exploration rights, Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius said.
- New environmental approval procedures and plans to raise taxes on shale hydrocarbons were behind the U.S. energy company's decision yesterday to withdraw its lone bid in a tender for exploration rights, Butkevicius said today.
- ''It's worth a fresh look at those laws with an eye to preparing and eventually announcing a new tender,'' the prime minister said on Laisvoji Banga radio in Vilnius, the Lithuanian capital. ''I can't say how long that might take.''
- The Baltic nation wants to develop shale resources as an alternative to energy imports from Russia. Some local communities oppose the technology as environmentally unsafe. The government is negotiating with and suing Russia's Gazprom (GAZP) OAO, the country's only natural-gas supplier, seeking to reduce what it calls ''unfair'' prices.
- Chevron submitted the only bid in a January tender for shale-hydrocarbon exploration and production rights in the western Lithuanian region of Silute-Taurage. The U.S. company last year bought half of Lithuanian oil and gas recovery company LL Investicijos, which holds a license to explore for hydrocarbons in Rietavas, contiguous to Silute-Taurage.
- ''Because of the changing regulatory and legislative landscape, Chevron believes that its business interests in Lithuania are best served focusing on our existing investment in the Rietavas block,'' Chevron said in a statement yesterday.
- Chevron was put off mainly by a legal demand that it get local-government approval for an environmental impact assessment before starting exploration, Butkevicius said. It was also concerned by a proposal in Lithuania's parliament to increase the tax rate on income from shale-hydrocarbon production to as much as 40 percent, he said.
- The prime minister said he'd support a tax rate as low as 15 percent if that would help attract investments.
- ''Lithuania's unfounded fears have cost it investments worth many millions as well as new jobs and a chance to move toward energy independence,'' Environment Minister Valentinas Mazuronis said on the ministry's website today. ''I hope that in the future we'll make better decisions.''
- To contact the reporter on this story: Bryan Bradley in Vilnius at bbradley13@bloomberg.net
- To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at bpenz@bloomberg.net
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- Candidates to Lithuanian president's office start collecting signaturesThe Lithuania Tribune
- Please highlight any error in the textand then click on it with your left mouse button [to leave a suggestion]
- DELFI, Photo by Š. Mažeika
- The candidates that aim at take part in the presidential election, which will take place on 11 May 2014, in Lithuania have already begun collecting signatures. Voters may support candidates by signing once either online or in signature sheets, The Baltic Course reports with reference to the news agency ELTA.According to the Central Electoral Commission, signatures are being collected by ten aspirants: the Labour Party's nominee ArtÅras Paulauskas; the leader of the Lithuania's Green Party Linas Balsys; social democratic nominee MEP Zigmantas BalÄytis; Vilnius Mayor ArtÅras Zuokas; signatory Rolandas Paulauskas; leader of the Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania Valdemar TamoÅevski; Lithuanian Peasant and Greens Union's nominee Bronis RopÄ; current President Dalia GrybauskaitÄ; MP Naglis Puteikis; and the Chair of the Democratic Labour and Unity Party Kristina BrazauskienÄ, widow of former President Algirdas Brazauskas.
- Based on the data received by 11 am on 24 February, the incumbent President GrybauskaitÄ has, so far, received most signatures online (2,120). The second was Vilnius Mayor ArtÅras Zuokas (260 signatures) and the third was the Chair of the Lithuania's Green Party Linas Balsys (123 signatures).
- Meanwhile, MP Puteikis has collected 96 signatures, Signatory Paulauskas '' 71 signatures, MP Paulauskas '' 57 signatures, MEP BalÄytis '' 55 signatures, Ignalina Mayor RopÄ '' 44 signatures, BrazauskienÄ '' 19 signatures, and the leader of the LLRA party Tomasevski '' 10 signatures. These pretenders received signature sheets from the Central Electoral Commission on Saturday.
- The last day to issue signature sheets is 10 April; the last day to bring them back to the Electoral Commission is 27 April. The shortest set term to collect signatures is two weeks.
- The Central Electoral Commission registers a person as candidate to the Office of President of the Republic of Lithuania only if that person is supported at least by 20,000 voters.
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- For a cartoon with Soviet symbols '' to the dockThe Lithuania Tribune
- Please highlight any error in the textand then click on it with your left mouse button [to leave a suggestion]
- DELFI, Drawing by R. Daukantas
- A citizen of KlaipÄda, Vytautas Tenkutis, who belongs to the Conservative Party, is accused of propagation of Soviet symbols. The accused will face the fine from 50 to 1,000 Litas for this crime, writes www.delfi.lt.The elder of the seaport town, V. Tenkutis, is surprised to receive a lawsuit for a cartoon drawing that appeared in his Facebook account. The drawing features the letters 'USSR', a Soviet star and a portrait similar to Vaidas Lekstutis '' an activist who is said to be well-known in the KlaipÄda district. There is also a sentence, written in the Russian language, saying: ''His life was much better under Russians''.
- When asked why he created the cartoon with V. Lekstutis´ portrait, Tenkutis said he was outraged after reading the opponent's words publihsed on Facebook that ''Landsbergis should be fed to the dogs, because he destroyed Lithuania''.
- ''This person once said he is proud of having been born in the USSR. I found the cartoon on the Internet and put it on my Facebook account. I do not know why Lekstutis did not like this piece of art. Moreover, I was brought to the police,'' said Tenkutis in an interview to the daily 'KlaipÄdos diena'. He claims that he had captured the words of the opponent, however after sometime they disappeared from V. Lekstutis´s account.
- The man in the cartoon, Lekstutis, denied the words quoted by Tenkutis. According to him, ''There are no proof that I am proud of being born in the USSR. Maybe once I have mentioned that I like the song 'Sdelan v SSSR' [Made in the USSR] by Oleg Gazmanov. However, I do not idealise the Soviet regime. The fact that I was born in the Soviet Union is undeniable. So, should I now hang myself for the fact that my parents were born in the USSR?'' Lekstutis defended his opinion emotionally.
- The accused, Tenkutis, says the cartoon is a piece of art. The member of the Conservative Party tried to convince the court that the demonstration of Soviet symbols, when used as an art, is not a crime.
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- Scramble for Cuba begins with shifts among US ruling elite
- By Alexander Fangmann24 February 2014The opening of a free trade and manufacturing zone at the newly upgraded port of Mariel, along with moves towards expansion of market relations and private property by the petty-bourgeois nationalist regime in Havana have opened up a ''scramble'' for Cuba. Business and political figures in the United States have signaled a new willingness to do business with the Cuban regime in order to undercut the European Union, whose relationship with the Caribbean island nation is much more advanced, as well as Venezuela, Brazil, and China'--Cuba's top trading partners.
- Since the December handshake between US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raºl Castro at Nelson Mandela's funeral, a flurry of reports have appeared indicating increased support among business and financial interests for an end to the US embargo and a resumption in trade relations between the two countries.
- These sentiments were bolstered by an Atlantic Council-commissioned survey conducted in January. The survey revealed support among 56 percent of US residents for either normalizing relations with or engaging more directly with Cuba. Among residents of the state of Florida, which is less than 100 miles from Cuba and to which it traditionally has had close ties, the figure jumped to 63 percent. In Miami-Dade county, home to a large portion of Cuban exiles, that number is 64 percent.
- Several significant Cuban exile figures recently broke from longstanding support for the embargo, and indicated a desire for shifts in US policy that would allow for more normalized trade relations with and investment in Cuba.
- Jorge Per(C)z, a billionaire real estate developer, heavily involved in the recently opened Perez Art Museum Miami, spoke of his desire to see more Cuban art in the museum, and more developed artistic exchanges, even with artists considered close to the Cuban regime.
- Alfonso Fanjul, a member of the ultra-wealthy family which owns Fanjul Corp., the enormous sugar and real estate holding company'--whose subsidiaries include Domino Sugar and Florida Crystals'--has undertaken several visits to Cuba in the past few years, which have included meetings with Cuba's ministers for foreign affairs and agriculture. Speaking to the Washington Post, Fanjul indicated that the embargo has frustrated business deals, saying ''Right now there's no way for us to consider investing in Cuba. How can you work a deal if you're not legally allowed to do it?''
- Fanjul also revealed a desire to go back to Cuba at some point, no doubt at the summit of a Cuba fully integrated into the world capitalist system. He said, ''Yes, at the end of the day, I'd like to see our family back in Cuba, where we started. '... But it has to be under the right circumstances.''
- The position now more openly advocated by Perez, Fanjul, and others has been held for some time by Paul Cejas, a Cuban-born business figure and former US ambassador, who has for a number of years advocated a shift on the grounds that the embargo has not furthered US national interests and should be reconsidered. In a recent restatement of his position, he noted, ''If you set a policy in place to seek a certain set of objectives, after a while, if those objectives are not achieved, you either changed your policies or you change your objectives.''
- In a February 7 appearance on Bill Maher's television show on HBO, former Florida governor Charlie Crist explicitly laid out the concern that the embargo was freezing the United States, and particularly Florida and its business interests, out of new opportunities emerging in Cuba as a result of recent privatization and austerity initiatives.
- Crist said: ''If we want to bring democracy to Cuba, we need to encourage American values and investment there, not block ourselves out and cede influence to China. It will take time, and we must do it in a way where American investment helps people, not the dictatorship. But the reality is that no state's economy is hurt more by America's Cuba policies than Florida. Changing these policies to allow Florida's farmers, manufacturers, and construction industry to sell goods and services in Cuba would boost Florida's economy and help businesses create more jobs in our state.''
- Crist's worry is animated by a recent announcement that the European Union will seek to negotiate an agreement on trade and investment, a move agreed to by all 28 of the EU's foreign ministers. A Reuters report quoted an unnamed person involved in the talks, who said in regard to the aims of the accord, that ''Cuba wants capital and the European Union wants influence,'' in other words, a political and business foothold independent of the United States.
- In January, the head of the Cuban Interests Section in Washington, DC, Jos(C) Ram"n Caba±as Rodrguez, the top Cuban diplomat in the United States, was invited as a guest of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce in Florida by US House member Kathy Castor. The Tampa business group sent a delegation of 38 business and political leaders to Cuba in 2013, hoping to make the city a center for trade and travel with the island.
- Major interests in the United States, including Fanjul, see enormous opportunities to swoop in and make huge profits exploiting Cuba's low-paid and impoverished yet highly educated workers, as well as new outlets for US exports from which they are currently excluded. US food sales to Cuba have fallen by half since 2008, from a high of $710 million, largely due to preferential terms being offered by Canada, Brazil, Vietnam, Russia, and France.
- Cuba's overall top trading partner is currently Venezuela, which sends approximately 100,000 barrels of crude oil per day to Cuba at subsidized rates in exchange for around 30,000 physicians and other health professionals being sent to work in Venezuela. Both countries recently signed bilateral trade pacts worth $1.25 billion for cooperation in oil, energy, and petrochemicals.
- Just behind Venezuela is Brazil, which Washington sees as a major regional rival. Brazil financed the $957 million overhaul of the port in Mariel through the investment bank BNDES. Construction of the port project was conducted by the Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht, and Brazilian firms are already among the first companies to take advantage of the newly opened special economic zone in the port area. The special economic zones allow Cuban labor to be employed by foreign companies, with the Cuban government acting as a labor contractor.
- The figures currently clamoring for change in US-Cuba relations see in the Cuban reforms an opportunity to get a foot in the door in order to reestablish untrammeled domination over the island, just as they enjoyed prior to Castro's seizure of power nearly 55 years ago.
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- Message -- Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Cuba and of the Emergency Authority Relating to the Regulation of the Anchorage and Movement of Vessels
- Office of the Press Secretary
- TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
- Section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)) provides for the automatic termination of a national emergency unless, within 90 days prior to the anniversary date of its declaration, the President publishes in the Federal Register and transmits to the Congress a notice stating that the emergency is to continue in effect beyond the anniversary date. In accordance with this provision, I have sent the enclosed notice to the Federal Register for publication, stating that the national emergency declared on March 1, 1996, with respect to the Government of Cuba's destruction of two unarmed U.S.-registered civilian aircraft in international airspace north of Cuba on February 24, 1996, as amended and expanded on February 26, 2004, is to continue in effect beyond March 1, 2014.
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- Argentina on the brink of a social explosion
- By Rafael Azul24 February 2014At the beginning of February, Argentine President Cristina Fernndez announced a cost of living adjustment for government pension recipients of 11.31 percent. This increase is woefully inadequate and substantially below the 2013 rate of inflation, estimated at 28.4 percent. The increase barely reflects the inflation that occurred in the last three months of last year.
- The president also said that since 2009 until now pensions have risen by 300 percent in nominal terms, the best performance relative to all wage increases in the intervening four years. In real terms, however, pensioners and workers have lagged behind the cost of living as more and more Argentines slide below the poverty line.
- Price increases continue to accelerate; between November and December, prices rose 5.4 percent. In January alone, prices rose by 5 percent. When one considers the more volatile food and fuel prices, the increase was nearly double that amount.
- Beginning next month, the minimum monthly pension will rise to 2557 pesos and will remain at that level for six months; the median pension will be 4804 pesos. By comparison, the cost of a basic ''family basket'' went up in 2013 by more than 50 percent, roughly twice the rate of inflation. The General Labor Confederation (Confederaci"n General del Trabajo, CGT) issued a report that points out that this ''basket of poverty'' continues to rise at an alarming rate. According to this report, a family of four required in December 6100 pesos to afford life's basic necessities, up from 4500 12 months earlier.
- The CGT report also found that 550,000 Argentines were added to the poverty rolls just in the last trimester of 2013. For the entire year, the number of poor shot up by 1.25 million people. Twelve million Argentines now live below the official poverty line (over 29 percent of the population of 41 million); 5.5 million of those in poverty are under the age of 18.
- In the speech announcing the pension increase, president Fernndez confirmed that the government would cut transportation, energy, and fuel subsidies. The Department of Economics and the Department of Planning are already at work on a proposal to reduce the subsidies, or to eliminate them altogether, a measure that will surely add to the accelerating rate of inflation, as consumers confront ever higher utility, fuel, transit and food prices.
- In January, as the price of black market dollars was exploding, the government allowed the official controlled peso to float against the US dollar, resulting in a devaluation of nearly 20 percent''the peso lost 15 percent of its value in just two hours on January 23.
- The devaluation was accompanied by new rules that partially lift the controls over the purchase of dollars by ordinary Argentines. This week, the Fernndez government imposed controls on the borrowing of dollars by large importers, who will be required to borrow their dollars from outside the country.
- In response to this steady deterioration of living standards, and expecting inflation to rise, Argentines purchase US dollars in the black market, widening the gap between it and the official price. The rise of dollar balances in the hands of the public, combined with the flight of financial capital, triggered by the decision of the US Central Bank, the Federal Reserve Board, to begin winding down its quantitative easing measures that injected liquidity into financial institutions, left the Argentine Central Bank no choice but to allow the peso to devaluate.
- It is an open secret that, since 2007, the government has deliberately lied about inflation rates. Non-governmental statistics and provincial statistics indicate that the real rate of price increases has been about three times what government figures indicate. Those figures, once factored into real GDP, show that Argentina's GDP growth was as low as 0.5 percent, belying exaggerated reports of 10 percent growth.
- To temper the bad news the president also announced a 200 percent increase in education subsidies to families that earn less than 30,000 pesos. This payment, which averages 813 pesos, affects 1.9 million households at an annual cost of 1.56 billion pesos, a paltry amount, in comparison to the 140 billion pesos in energy and transit subsidies to be slashed.
- Government chief of staff Jorge Capitanich has called for the elimination of subsidies to anyone who saves dollars. Fernandez seconded his suggestion: ''It is evident,'' declared do±a Cristina, ''that there are layers in the population that receive subsidies without needing them. It is unjust for workers that buy dollars to have their electricity, gas, and other things subsidized.''
- These measures are being taken with the approval of the International Monetary Fund. If Argentina's Central Bank is forced to borrow dollar reserves from the IMF, it will be in exchange for so-called orthodox monetary and fiscal policies, cutting back on the money supply and drastically gutting government social spending.
- The government has launched a demagogic campaign of shaming supermarkets that raise prices excessively; the president has met with housewives who participated in the campaign. The Peronist youth movement La Campora has been enlisted in this project. The program is ineffective; prices for staples, such as flour, bread and fruit continue to rise. The price of bread in 2013 increased 105 percent, dragged up by a whopping 170 percent in the price of flour. Many of the poor find themselves unable to afford domestically grown apples and citrus fruits.
- It is very possible that 2014 will see the beginning of hyperinflation in Argentina (monthly price increases of 50 or more percent), devastating those with fixed incomes. Income for pensioners and those that depend on government handouts are adjusted every six months on the basis of figures from a year before
- Beyond the Peronist demagoguery, since 2003 the governments of Nestor Kirchner and Cristina F(C)rnandez de Kirchner, have relied on the trade unions to buffer working class reaction to the steady deterioration of living standards and working conditions. Both wings of the CGT (Gemeral Confederation of Workers), as well as the pro-government Argentine Workers Central ( Central de Trabajadores Argentinos, CTA) step forward once again to manage the popular response. In this, they count with the support of the nation's various pseudo-left organizations.
- In her speech president Cristina Fernndez had asked the trade unions, now poised for national wage negotiations, to be ''responsible'' in their wage demands. They have agreed. In essence, unionized workers will be forced to accept inadequate increases in money wages, while their real wages lag further and further behind price increases. All three federations are united in a strategy of betrayal.
- The official CGT leadership responded positively to Fernandez, first by announcing that it would involve itself in negotiations between the government and four teacher unions to make sure that the teachers, first in line in the negotiations, lower any expectations to below 30 percent, down from 60 percent that many teachers demand (the government offer stands at 23 percent.) Public schools come back into session after summer vacation on March 5 under a threat of strike. CETERA, the teachers union of the CTA, has asked for a 35 percent raise.
- The labor movement also agreed to Fernandez's request not to makes public comments while negotiations are taking place. Truck driver's union leader Hugo Moyano, leader of the dissident faction of the CGT, has called for a ''social pact'' between the government and the trade unions.
- All the pseudo-left organizations are fostering the illusion that the union federations can be pushed to the left, part of a maneuver to prevent the building of independent workers organizations of struggle. Typical is a February 20 statement by the Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas (PTS) calling for a ''plan of struggle'' for the teachers. This plan consists of attempting to convince workers that the union bureaucracies can be pressured from below. Even as these same bureaucracies are fully collaborating with the government in imposing austerity and cuts in real wages, the PTS calls on them to organize ''rank-and-file assemblies'' and a general strike.
- ''We need to organize the struggle from the bottom up, forcing a plan of struggle on the bureaucracy,'' the article states. Such a perspective serves only to divert working class anger back into the safe channels controlled by the Peronist bureaucrats and impede the building of the new revolutionary leadership that is required.
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- Common Core
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- Big Education Ape: NYC Public School Parents: inBloom to testify on Friday & state plans to upload your child's private data in July
- NYC Public School Parents: inBloom to testify on Friday & state plans to upload your child's private data in July:nBloom to testify on Friday & state plans to upload your child's private data in July Last week, the Commissioner King revealed that, despite the calls for an indefinite delay by legislators of both parties, he intends to start uploading student data to inBloom in July, with the full launch of the data dashboards in September. We are the only state in the country in which the State Commissioner has been impervious to the objections of parents, educators, school board members and administrators, and has refused to pull out of this egregious project.Not to mention inBloom and the data dashboards will start charging for their "services" in January, and all districts will be able to cancel the inBloom-linked data dashboards at that time. Many will likely do so. So why does inBloom need to have all this student data for three or four months of data dashboards?On Friday the NYS Assembly will be resuming its hearings on privacy, and reps from inBloom are expected to testify. Their refusal to show up last time really backfired and angered the legislators. The hearings will take place Friday, Feb. 28 at 10:30 AM at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan; livestream here. More info and a form you can fill out if you want to testify is here. See also the RT video interview from NYC parent activist Karen Sprowal on why she opposes inBloom and feels it will put at risk her child's privacy and security on our blog below; please also sign the MoveOn petition to stop inBloom in New York state here. See the video below and also the discussion/debate on NPR today between Aimee Guidera of the Gates-funded Data Quality Campaign and Superintendent Mary-Fox Alter of Pleasantville NY.
- Last week, the Commissioner King revealed that, despite the calls for an indefinite delay by legislators of both parties, he intends to start uploading student data to inBloom in July, with the full launch of the data dashboards in September. We are the only state in the country in which the State Commissioner has been impervious to the objections of parents, educators, school board members and administrators, and has refused to pull out of this egregious project.Not to mention inBloom and the data dashboards will start charging for their "services" in January, and all districts will be able to cancel the inBloom-linked data dashboards at that time. Many will likely do so. So why does inBloom need to have all this student data for three or four months of data dashboards?On Friday the NYS Assembly will be resuming its hearings on privacy, and reps from inBloom are expected to testify. Their refusal to show up last time really backfired and angered the legislators. The hearings will take place Friday, Feb. 28 at 10:30 AM at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan; livestream here. More info and a form you can fill out if you want to testify is here. See also the RT video interview from NYC parent activist Karen Sprowal on why she opposes inBloom and feels it will put at risk her child's privacy and security on our blog below; please also sign the MoveOn petition to stop inBloom in New York state here. See the video below and also the discussion/debate on NPR today between Aimee Guidera of the Gates-funded Data Quality Campaign and Superintendent Mary-Fox Alter of Pleasantville NY.
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- EngageNY Portal | EngageNY
- The Education Data Portal (EDP) is now called the EngageNY Portal. Educators, students, and parents/guardians will access the Portal through EngageNY.org.
- The goals of the EngageNY Portal are to:
- Make student data available to New York's educators, students, and students' families to support improved instruction and student learning outcomes;Make curriculum and instructional resources available to New York's educators to support improved instruction and student learning outcomes, and evaluate the effectiveness of instructional initiatives;Make curriculum and instructional resources available to students and their families to support improved learning outcomes;Create sustainable and open technology that promotes innovation, flexibility, and choice, thereby enabling local educational agencies (LEAs), schools, and regional organizations to develop or procure additional applications or new functionality more rapidly and at reduced cost;Create a secure environment with stringent data security and privacy protections under guidelines consistent with FERPA; andLeverage emerging technology interoperability standards for education applications to remove barriers to innovation and support the scaling of successful tools that personalize learning.The EngageNY Portal will provide a secure content management system, collaboration platform, and dashboard reports so that educators, students, and families can access and analyze educational data, make decisions, and take actions to improve student outcomes. For the first time, teachers and parents will be able to view achievement and other instructional information using a state-supported system. School personnel will have much quicker access to educational records as students move between P-12 programs and districts. This core functionality is scheduled for deployment in the winter.
- New York's comprehensive procurement strategy includes issuing contracts to multiple vendors for Data Dashboard Solutions that provide educators, students, and families with access to dashboard reports that include early warning system and electronic transcript features. In addition, the State has awarded a contract for Content Management and System Services to provide a single sign-on point of entry for users of the EngageNY Portal, as well as a content management system and collaboration environment to support online professional learning communities.
- All educational data for the EngageNY Portal will be provided through inBloom, formerly known as the Shared Learning Collaborative, from either the State or school districts (see December 2011 Board of Regents Item). inBloom is a non-profit entity supported by a consortium of states and is organized to help increase the benefits and long-term sustainability of secure data, curriculum, and instructional improvement initiatives. The formation of inBloom was facilitated by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) and has received initial funding from the Carnegie Corporation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
- A primary purpose of inBloom is to help promote the efficient expenditure of taxpayer funds by providing for the common needs of all participating states, including shared, secure infrastructure and services (the Shared Learning Infrastructure, or SLI) that integrate, deliver, and display educational data and curriculum resources for educators, students, and families. Participation will allow New York to focus its limited resources on the delivery of innovative data tools and curriculum/instructional resources to support our professional development and student learning goals.
- Each SLC participating state and school/district will retain sole ownership of its data. Data security will be protected through legally binding agreements that ensure compliance with FERPA, provide the strictest rules for authorized access, require the collection and retention of access audit records, and are aligned with the data security policies of New York, the federal government, and the inBloom governance board. The protection of student privacy is and will remain the priority throughout the development and implementation of the EngageNY Portal. For more information about privacy and the EngageNY Portal, please see our EngageNY Portal FAQ and our Parent Privacy FAQ.
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- Who We Are
- The Council of Chief State School Officers is a nonpartisan, nationwide, nonprofit organization of public officials who head departments of elementary and secondary education in the states, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions. CCSSO provides leadership, advocacy, and technical assistance on major educational issues. The Council seeks member consensus on major educational issues and expresses their views to civic and professional organizations, federal agencies, Congress, and the public.
- To view the financial statements of the Council for fiscal year 2010, click here.To view the financial statements of the Council for fiscal year 2011, click here.To view the financial statements of the Council for fiscal year 2012, click here.
- Our PromiseOur promise is to lead chiefs and their state education agencies by focusing on state-driven leverage points that they are uniquely positioned to address and increasing their capacity to produce students ready to succeed as productive members of society.
- Meet the ChiefsThis is our online membership directory. Our membership is composed of every chief state school officer in United States of America, the District of Columbia, the Department of Defense Education Activity, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and five U.S. extra-state jurisdictions.
- Board of DirectorsOur board of directors manage the overall business affairs of the Council and are the governing body of the organization. The board is composed of the president, the president-elect, the past president, and six directors elected by the members from the CCSSO membership.
- Leadership TeamOur leadership team is composed of senior staff in the organization that meet regularly to discuss issues and make decisions related to the overall operation of the Council. They are responsible for establishing and monitoring the strategic goals of the organization; creating or improving Council processes; determining future needs and directions of the Council; and providing guidance and overall leadership to Council staff.
- Staff DirectoryOur staff is committed to transforming our nation's public education system through the Council's four strategic initiative areas. Our staff has experience working in state education agencies, in education policy, as educators, and in the business community.
- CareersThe Council's employment page.
- Business & Industry PartnershipsThe Council's Business and Industry partners are a select group of institutions and organizations that engage in the work of the Council and participate in CCSSO's membership meetings.
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- Data Quality Campaign
- Our MissionThe Data Quality Campaign supports state policymakers and other key leaders to promote the effective use of data to improve student achievement. See the links below for more about us.
- Take ActionStates can take action now to ensure their data efforts meet today's policy demands. See the sections below for more on how states can move the needle.
- Aimee's DeskYour source for the latest in education policy and data from Data Quality Campaign Executive Director Aimee Rogstad Guidera.
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- Funders | Data Quality Campaign
- Early Warning Indicator System
- Georgia Information Tunnel
- Georgia Information Tunnel Linking District Ingenuity with State Resources to Make Data Matter
- Georgia's Information Tunnel
- Kentucky Hitting a Home Run with High School Feedback Reports
- Kentucky Hitting a Home Run with Timely and Actionable High School Feedback Reports
- Lonestar Leads the Charge for State of the Art State-Level Reports
- Maryland Using Data to Ensure Student Success in College and Careers
- Massachusetts Early Warning Indicator System
- New Mexico Taking Accountability from Hammer to Flashlight
- Oregon Teachers Creating Student Achievers with DATA
- TVAAS Using Data to Ensure Student Growth in Tennessee
- Tennessee Using Data to Support Policy Priorities
- Texas Leads the Charge for State of the Art Education Data Reporting
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- Board of Directors | Data Quality Campaign
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- Peg Luksik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Marguerite "Peg" Ann McKenna Luksik is a conservative politician, perennial candidate, pro-life campaigner, and Constitution Party activist in Pennsylvania.[1]
- Luksik was born on August 11, 1955 in Huntsville, Alabama, where her father was in the Army. A 1976 magna cum laude graduate of Clarion University with a bachelor of science degree in special education and elementary education, she married James Luksik on June 23 1979. The couple have six children.[2] In a 1998 interview with John Mallon, contributing editor of Inside the Vatican, Luksik described how her devout Roman Catholicism informs her views, including opposition to abortion. In 1997 Luksik had received an honorary doctorate from Stonehill College.[3]
- Peg Luksik entered the 1990 gubernatorial Republican primary election 6 weeks before election day and received 46 percent of the vote (Republicannomination for governor of Pennsylvania).[4] Her highest vote total came in Pennsylvania's general election for governor in 1994 when, as the candidate of the Constitution Party, she received 460,269 votes (12.8 percent). That total was also the greatest number of votes ever received by the Constitution Party in Pennsylvania.[5]
- In Pennsylvania's 2010 United States Senate election, she unsuccessfully challenged Pat Toomey for the Republican Party nomination.[6]
- Luksik and Jason E. High founded the Center for American Heritage, a non-profit dedicated to restoring America's unique heritage. Initially through the use of one-day seminars named the American Heritage Academy, the Center is dedicated to teaching political activists and interested citizens about America's history, the political process, and how to be an effective advocate for a return to limited government.[7]
- ^Pennsylvania Senate race, in CQ Politics, 31 March 2010 (accessed 7 May 2010). See also List of third party performances in United States elections, Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1998, Ivan Itkin, Mark S. Schweiker, United States gubernatorial elections, 1998, and List of Conservative Roundtable episodes.^Luksik bio on Pennsylvania Constitution Party site (accessed 17 May 2010).^John Mallon, Interview with Peg Luksik, 1998 (accessed 17 May 2010).^Luksik personal bio (accessed 17 May 2010)^See Jim Clymer, United States gubernatorial elections, 1994, and Electoral history of the Constitution Party (United States).^Mike Faher (9 March 2010). "Luksik to oppose Specter". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 17 May 2010. ^The Center for American Heritage Website, RestoreHeritage.org,(accessed 18 August 2010).PersondataNameLuksik, PegAlternative namesShort descriptionDate of birth1955Place of birthHuntsville, AlabamaDate of deathPlace of death
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- Staff | Educate Texas
- Postsecondary Access and SuccessTexas students should graduate with the tools they need to begin pursuing their dreams for the future. At Educate Texas, we know that postsecondary education will jumpstart their progress. That's why we work closely with our partners to ensure that all Texas high school students '-- regardless of income, geographic location or family background'-- have the opportunities and resources necessary to apply to, enter and succeed in college. Educate Texas also promotes the proven practices that will increase the number of students who complete a technical, two-year or four-year degree at any Texas college or university.
- To generate long-term, positive impact for Texas students, Educate Texas proudly connects a diverse group of organizations dedicated to quality education and links them in a powerful and unprecedented way. Working together, we champion the policies and programs that will help students succeed in their postsecondary endeavors, in their career goals, and throughout their lives.
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- Chilean Regulators Say No to Clinton-Backed University (Correct) - Businessweek
- Chilean Regulators Say No to Clinton-Backed University (Correct)
- By Michael Smith and Mina KimesFebruary 04, 2014 2:58 PM EST
- (Corrects wording in 10th paragraph.)
- A Chilean university owned by Laureate Education Inc., a global chain with former President Bill Clinton as honorary chancellor, was stripped of its accreditation, cutting off its access to government loans for new students.
- The National Education Council ruled Wednesday it won't reaccredit Santiago-based Universidad de las Americas, the second-largest university in Chile with more than 33,000 students. The council upheld an October decision by Chile's higher education accreditation commission, which cited declining academic quality in withdrawing recognition of the university.
- ''In spite of its efforts, the university hasn't shown the ability to identify important problems with internal management,'' the council, known as CNED, said in a statement released today.
- UDLA Chancellor Jose Underraga, in a statement posted on the school's website, said the school will make changes necessary to restore accreditation.
- ''The denial by the CNED hurts, but it doesn't change an objective truth, recognized by the university community,'' Undurraga said. ''We are an institution that has strengthened and improved substantially over the last few years.''
- Baltimore-based Laureate is America's largest for-profit college company by enrollment, with more than 800,000 students. The company, spawned from tutoring chain Sylvan Learning Systems, operates 75 schools in 30 countries. Clinton has made more than a dozen appearances on behalf of Laureate since becoming honorary chancellor in 2010.
- Controversial GrowthLaureate's founder and CEO, Doug Becker, took it private in 2007 with the help of investors including Henry Kravis, George Soros, Steve Cohen and Paul Allen in a deal worth $3.8 billion. Since then, Laureate's annual revenue has more than tripled to $4 billion and its enrollment has almost quadrupled.
- As Bloomberg Markets reported in its February issue, that rapid expansion has stirred controversy in countries such as Turkey, Chile and Brazil. After Laureate struck a deal in March with Thunderbird School of Global Management in Glendale, Arizona, some alumni complained that the business school's reputation would be tainted, and five board members resigned.
- Laureate considered going public in 2012 and then decided against it, apparently because of regulatory issues in Chile, Trace Urdan, an analyst at Wells Fargo & Co. who covers the company, said in the Markets story. Urdan and the company both declined to comment Thursday on whether the latest setback would affect plans for a public offering.
- Enrollment RiskIn Chile, for-profit education is technically illegal. Laureate says it has legally operated by acquiring seats on the boards of colleges and then selling services to its schools. When Laureate bought UDLA in 2000, the school's enrollment was 5,500.
- UDLA's loss of accreditation could jeopardize its enrollment growth because incoming students won't be eligible for government student loans. In 2012, 13 percent of new students enrolled with such financing, UDLA told the commission. In a 2012 bond memorandum, Laureate said that shutting students out of government finance programs could have a material impact on its business.
- In its October decision, Chile's National Accreditation Commission wrote that UDLA's academic standards have suffered since 2010 as it has added almost 10,000 students while reducing the number of full- and half-time teachers to 399 from 408. It said graduation rates were as low as 15 percent in some majors.
- 'Massive Admission'''This is an important issue since the university has defined itself as offering unselective and massive admission,'' CNED said in the statement. ''That needs to be accompanied with the teaching capacity to attend to the increasing number and diversity of students.''
- The 10-member national council rejected the university's appeal, cutting off the last avenue to reverse the decision, Undurraga said. The university can reapply for accreditation in two years.
- Becker, in an interview in December, said UDLA deserved to be accredited because academic standards had improved in recent years. He said the Chilean commission misunderstood Laureate's nontraditional approach to education.
- Laureate spokesman Matthew Yale said the company will do all it can to help UDLA meet regulator's recommendations for improvement.
- ''For more than 25 years, UDLA has played a significant role in expanding access to quality higher education for tens of thousands of students who would otherwise not have had the opportunity to pursue a university degree,'' Yale said in a statement. ''This ruling will not stop UDLA from continuing to provide its students with strong academic and career-oriented programs.''
- UDLA officials declined to comment.
- To contact the reporters on this story: Michael Smith in Santiago at mssmith@bloomberg.net; Mina Kimes in New York at mkimes@bloomberg.net
- To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Golden at dlgolden@bloomberg.net
-
- Common Core Is The New Agenda 21
- By Charles P. Pierce on February 24, 2014
- Cyrus McCrimmon/Denver Post via Getty Images
- A woman protests the Common Core educational standards February 12 in front of the Colorado Department of Education.
- It appears that the battle against Common Core is replacing the battle against our old friend Agenda 21, the secret Illuminati plot to steal all our golfs, in the fever swamps of the energized Right. (Note: there are reasons to be wary of Common Core, as the invaluable Diane Ravitch has explained, but that's not what we're talking about here.) Witness the debate in the state legislature of where-the-fk-else? Arizona, where the issue has been well and truly batshit-a-sized.
- Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, who championed SB 1310, said he believes the concept of some nationally recognized standards started out as a "pretty admirable pursuit by the private sector and governors." "It got hijacked by Washington, by the federal government," said Melvin, a candidate for governor, and "as a conservative Reagan Republican I'm suspect about the U.S. Department of Education in general, but also any standards that are coming out of that department." Melvin's comments led Sen. David Bradley, D-Tucson, to ask him whether he's actually read the Common Core standards, which have been adopted by 45 states. "I've been exposed to them," Melvin responded. Pressed by Bradley for specifics, Melvin said he understands "some of the reading material is borderline pornographic." And he said the program uses "fuzzy math," substituting letters for numbers in some examples.
- Which is what the rest of us used to call "algebra," perhaps?
- However, further research has revealed that Common Core and Agenda 21 are actually two fangs of the same cobra! Wake up, sheeple!
- This is actually how policy is being made in our country these days. Party of ideas, people.
-
- Peg Luksik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Marguerite "Peg" Ann McKenna Luksik is a conservative politician, perennial candidate, pro-life campaigner, and Constitution Party activist in Pennsylvania.[1]
- Luksik was born on August 11, 1955 in Huntsville, Alabama, where her father was in the Army. A 1976 magna cum laude graduate of Clarion University with a bachelor of science degree in special education and elementary education, she married James Luksik on June 23 1979. The couple have six children.[2] In a 1998 interview with John Mallon, contributing editor of Inside the Vatican, Luksik described how her devout Roman Catholicism informs her views, including opposition to abortion. In 1997 Luksik had received an honorary doctorate from Stonehill College.[3]
- Peg Luksik entered the 1990 gubernatorial Republican primary election 6 weeks before election day and received 46 percent of the vote (Republicannomination for governor of Pennsylvania).[4] Her highest vote total came in Pennsylvania's general election for governor in 1994 when, as the candidate of the Constitution Party, she received 460,269 votes (12.8 percent). That total was also the greatest number of votes ever received by the Constitution Party in Pennsylvania.[5]
- In Pennsylvania's 2010 United States Senate election, she unsuccessfully challenged Pat Toomey for the Republican Party nomination.[6]
- Luksik and Jason E. High founded the Center for American Heritage, a non-profit dedicated to restoring America's unique heritage. Initially through the use of one-day seminars named the American Heritage Academy, the Center is dedicated to teaching political activists and interested citizens about America's history, the political process, and how to be an effective advocate for a return to limited government.[7]
- ^Pennsylvania Senate race, in CQ Politics, 31 March 2010 (accessed 7 May 2010). See also List of third party performances in United States elections, Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1998, Ivan Itkin, Mark S. Schweiker, United States gubernatorial elections, 1998, and List of Conservative Roundtable episodes.^Luksik bio on Pennsylvania Constitution Party site (accessed 17 May 2010).^John Mallon, Interview with Peg Luksik, 1998 (accessed 17 May 2010).^Luksik personal bio (accessed 17 May 2010)^See Jim Clymer, United States gubernatorial elections, 1994, and Electoral history of the Constitution Party (United States).^Mike Faher (9 March 2010). "Luksik to oppose Specter". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 17 May 2010. ^The Center for American Heritage Website, RestoreHeritage.org,(accessed 18 August 2010).PersondataNameLuksik, PegAlternative namesShort descriptionDate of birth1955Place of birthHuntsville, AlabamaDate of deathPlace of death
-
- InBloom
-
- FAQ's
- Q: Will inBloom sell student data to anyone?
- No, inBloom does not and will never sell any student data to anyone.
- Q: What information will be available to third-party vendors?
- Districts that use inBloom in conjunction with applications and
- services may choose to disclose certain student information to trusted
- third-party providers to power the learning applications that are
- implemented in their classrooms. Those disclosures are controlled by the
- school district, not inBloom. Application providers are only permitted
- to use selected data for the purposes for which they were contracted and
- specifically authorized by the district.
- Q: What assurances do we have that student information is protected?
- inBloom understands that security is of the utmost concern for states
- and school districts as well as parents and students. It has always
- been – and continues to be – inBloom's top priority to develop and
- deliver best-in-class security protections for its systems and
- information that passes through them. As such, inBloom has a full
- complement of security controls to prevent, detect and respond to
- possible security problems. For example, because continually monitoring
- for attacks is essential, inBloom has logging and monitoring safeguards
- in place, and routinely scans for changes, possible vulnerabilities or
- system weaknesses with a variety of industry-standard security tools. In
- addition, inBloom uses encryption technologies, which scramble
- information into an unreadable format in an effort to prevent
- Q: Who monitors inBloom’s privacy and security policies?
- inBloom’s policies are closely monitored by its management team, its
- Board of Directors and the independent Privacy & Security Advisory
- Board. inBloom is committed to inform users directly if there is any
- change in its privacy policy. The inBloom team also includes a Chief
- Privacy Officer (CPO) and a Director of Security and Compliance to
- oversee the security and privacy measures of its operations.
- Q: How is inBloom funded?
- inBloom was established as an independent, nonprofit organization to
- carry forward the mission of the Shared Learning Collaborative (SLC) and
- make personalized learning a reality for every student in America.
- inBloom is funded with initial philanthropic support from the Bill &
- Melinda Gates Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
-
- faq | inBloom
- Q: What is inBloom?inBloom is an independent, non-profit organization whose mission is to provide a valuable resource to teachers, students and families, to improve education. We solve a common technology issue facing school districts today: the inability of electronic instructional tools used in classrooms to work in coordination with (or ''talk to'') one another.
- Q: How does inBloom work?inBloom's technology enables widely varied instructional tools to work together so that teachers can more easily tailor education to the needs, skill level and learning pace of each individual student. We also enable districts to engage parents more deeply in their children's learning, to save teachers time and to save schools money. In addition, inBloom offers a substantial security upgrade to the common resources being used, including paper records or disconnected and antiquated databases with few security features.
- Q: How are inBloom's services different from what districts are already doing?Currently, student information regularly collected by school districts is housed in paper files and electronic systems. In many cases, the multiple systems are incompatible with one another. Teachers often bear the burden of either printing numerous files or accessing numerous databases to view and interpret information. This process can present obstacles for teachers who are trying to maximize their insight into learning and suggest the best strategies for success. inBloom connects disparate existing systems with a single-access point where teachers can view and easily match students' specific needs with tailored instruction. inBloom can also help districts provide parents with user-friendly dashboards that show real-time updates on data selected and controlled by the districts, such as grades, assignments and academic progress. Without inBloom, implementing such dashboards and tools is more costly and time-intensive.
- Q: How does inBloom help teachers?inBloom makes it easier for teachers to see a more complete picture of individual student progress than what most currently have access to through its secure, single-access point. With this information teachers are able to better identify where each student needs extra attention, and to tailor education materials that maximize the one-on-one time they spend with students.
- Further, currently it's difficult for teachers to find the many valuable instructional materials that exist across the country or even in their own school districts. Additionally, teachers in most school districts are burdened by having to gather student information from multiple databases in order to track student progress. Through its resource index, inBloom saves teachers valuable time by helping them more easily search for and share these materials.
- Q: How does inBloom help parents to better engage in their child's education?Through inBloom, districts can provide parents with user-friendly dashboards that show real-time updates on their child's grades, assignments and academic progress. In this way teachers and parents can more easily communicate regarding each child's progress, allowing them to engage each other and the child's learning progress more deeply.
- Q: How does inBloom handle information about students?States and districts are responsible for protecting student information. In accordance with both law and inBloom policies, inBloom is a third party service provider covered by FERPA, responsible for being an information steward to these public officials. inBloom provides each participating school district with its own protected storage space, so that district can continue to manage and control access to its own data, just as it always has.
- Q: Who determines what data is stored on inBloom's technology?States and school districts decide what student information is stored, and how that data is used.
- Q: What information can states and districts store about students using inBloom?States and districts determine what student information is stored, how this information is used, and who gets access to the records, just as they always have. inBloom simply gives each district its own protected storage area, with the ability to organize information based on a set of education data elements called the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS), which was developed by the U.S. Department of Education, with input from local education agencies, vendors and teachers. CEDS lists more than 400 possible data fields that states and districts can choose to collect when using a service like inBloom. The decision on what data fields to store is made by the states and districts, and is based on the solutions they wish to provide to teachers, students and parents.
- Q: Will inBloom sell student data to anyone?No, inBloom does not and will never sell any student data to anyone.
- Q: What information will be available to third-party vendors?Districts that use inBloom in conjunction with applications and services may choose to disclose certain student information to trusted third-party providers to power the learning applications that are implemented in their classrooms. Those disclosures are controlled by the school district, not inBloom. Application providers are only permitted to use selected data for the purposes for which they were contracted and specifically authorized by the district.
- Q: What assurances do we have that student information is protected?inBloom understands that security is of the utmost concern for states and school districts as well as parents and students. It has always been '' and continues to be '' inBloom's top priority to develop and deliver best-in-class security protections for its systems and information that passes through them. As such, inBloom has a full complement of security controls to prevent, detect and respond to possible security problems. For example, because continually monitoring for attacks is essential, inBloom has logging and monitoring safeguards in place, and routinely scans for changes, possible vulnerabilities or system weaknesses with a variety of industry-standard security tools. In addition, inBloom uses encryption technologies, which scramble information into an unreadable format in an effort to prevent unauthorized access.
- Q: Who monitors inBloom's privacy and security policies?inBloom's policies are closely monitored by its management team, its Board of Directors and the independent Privacy & Security Advisory Board. inBloom is committed to inform users directly if there is any change in its privacy policy. The inBloom team also includes a Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) and a Director of Security and Compliance to oversee the security and privacy measures of its operations.
- Q: How is inBloom funded?inBloom was established as an independent, nonprofit organization to carry forward the mission of the Shared Learning Collaborative (SLC) and make personalized learning a reality for every student in America. inBloom is funded with initial philanthropic support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Carnegie Corporation of New York.
-
- CENTER SITE ABOUT US
- The Center for Innovation in Education is one of the leading providers of mathematics inservice and training in the country. Center workshops are open to teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and parents. Over 500,000 teachers word-wide have participated in Center workshops.
- The Center for Innovation in Education, a nonprofit organization, was co-founded in 1975 by two classroom teachers, Mary and Bob Baratta-Lorton. They shared a philosophy based upon the belief that all children can learn and that every child matters. Their commitment was to find ways that helped teach the way children learn. Mary and Bob translated the curriculum they developed in their own classrooms into the books Mathematics Their Way (K-2) and Mathematics a Way of Thinking (3-6).
- A page of abstract symbols, no matter how carefully designed or simplified, cannot involve the student's senses in the way actual materials can. Symbols are not the concept. They are only a representation of the concept and as such are abstractions describing something which is not visible to the student. Materials allow the child to manipulate objects to gain a full understanding of the concepts behind the abstract symbols. Understanding a concept, as opposed to memorizing it, allows the child to construct meaning. Meaning makes concepts useful to the child. Memorizing as a main teaching tool is only useful in training parrots.
- The Center offers two math workshops:Math Their Way (K-2)Math a Way of Thinking (3-6)
-
- about inBloom | inBloom
- inBloom is an independent nonprofit organization resulting from efforts within the education community beginning in 2011 to solve a common technology issue facing school districts: the inability of widely varied electronic instructional technology tools used in classrooms to work in coordination with (or ''talk to'') one another.Our technology enablesthese tools to work together so that teachers can more easily tailor education to the needs, skill level and learning pace of each individual student. It can also help engage parents more deeply in their children's learning, and save teachers time and schools money. In addition, inBloom's technology offers a substantial security upgrade to the common resources being used, including paper records or disconnected and antiquated databases with few security features.
- To succeed in today's global economy, students need learning experiences that meet their individual needs, engage them deeply and let them learn at their own pace. This requires teachers to have an up-to-date picture of a student's progress; an understanding of where he or she needs extra attention; and access to materials that will help progress their students' learning. inBloom is a nonprofit organization helping to make this possible by providing efficient and cost-effective means for school districts to give teachers the information and tools necessary to strengthen their connection with each student.
- Tailor Learning: Enable teachers to more easily tailor education to the needs, skill levels and learning pace of each individual student;Inform Parents: Engage parents more deeply in the learning process;Save Time & Money: Save teachers time and their schools money; andEnhance Data Privacy & Security: House student information more safely and securely than it would be otherwise.inBloom helps districts enable teachers to more easily tailor instruction to the needs, skill levels and learning pace of each individual student.
- inBloom helps school districts make it easier for teachers to quickly access a complete picture of individual student progress and identify where each student needs extra attention.With a clearer picture of student progress at their fingertips, teachers can more easily tailor learning materials to each student and increase one-on-one time they spend with students.Through inBloom, districts can help teachers to quickly identify appropriate instructional materials to strengthen and supplement classroom instruction.Teachers depend on a variety of sources for classroom materials. Currently, it's difficult to find the many valuable instructional materials which exist across the country or even in their own school districts. Through its learning resource index, inBloom saves teachers valuable time by helping them more easily search for, find and share these materials. Today, teachers in most school districts around the country are burdened by gathering student information from multiple databases and downloading it to spreadsheets on their personal. inBloom provides a secure, single-access point where teachers can view student data all on one computer screen to get a more complete picture of student progress.With inBloom, teachers can more easily communicate with parents about their child's progress through frequent, detailed updates. Back to topinBloom helps districts engage parents more deeply in the learning process.
- inBloom can help districts provide parents throughout the year with user-friendly dashboards that show their child's grades, assignments and academic progress. Such ongoing updates allow teachers to engage parents more deeply and keep them thoroughly looped in to the education process.Frequent, detailed updates allow parents to more deeply engage in the learning process by providing more valuable information about their child's progress than the traditional A-F report cards sent infrequently throughout each year. Back to topinBloom helps districts save teachers time and their school's money.
- inBloom connects the currently disparate '' and often outdated '' systems used to store student information with a secure, single-access point where teachers can quickly find the data they need.In many districts today, existing systems are incompatible with instructional tools because of inconsistent technical requirements. inBloom standardizes that connection between tools and district systems and creates a secure, single-access point.The secure, single-access point allows districts to procure great instructional tools for teachers to pilot without spending unnecessary time and dollars to make those tools work with outdated systems.inBloom is an open-source platform, enabling developers to create instructional tools compatible with its platform and districts to purchase cutting-edge instructional tools more affordably. Back to topinBloom helps districts house student information in a safe and secure way.
- inBloom provides districts access to a secure system that meets state and federal standards for security.Through inBloom, districts will be able to more securely store student data through a single-access point, which uses security measures that exceed those currently used by most districts.Each participating school district will have its own protected storage space and continue to own, manage and control access to its data, just as it always has.Participating states and districts decide how much data will be collected and stored in the system, and the states and districts maintain control over that data at all times.inBloom uses the latest in encryption technology, which separates the information districts choose to store into small pieces across multiple servers to prevent unauthorized access.inBloom does not and will never sell any student data to anyone. Back to top
-
- Peg Luksik - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Marguerite "Peg" Ann McKenna Luksik is a conservative politician, perennial candidate, pro-life campaigner, and Constitution Party activist in Pennsylvania.[1]
- Luksik was born on August 11, 1955 in Huntsville, Alabama, where her father was in the Army. A 1976 magna cum laude graduate of Clarion University with a bachelor of science degree in special education and elementary education, she married James Luksik on June 23 1979. The couple have six children.[2] In a 1998 interview with John Mallon, contributing editor of Inside the Vatican, Luksik described how her devout Roman Catholicism informs her views, including opposition to abortion. In 1997 Luksik had received an honorary doctorate from Stonehill College.[3]
- Peg Luksik entered the 1990 gubernatorial Republican primary election 6 weeks before election day and received 46 percent of the vote (Republicannomination for governor of Pennsylvania).[4] Her highest vote total came in Pennsylvania's general election for governor in 1994 when, as the candidate of the Constitution Party, she received 460,269 votes (12.8 percent). That total was also the greatest number of votes ever received by the Constitution Party in Pennsylvania.[5]
- In Pennsylvania's 2010 United States Senate election, she unsuccessfully challenged Pat Toomey for the Republican Party nomination.[6]
- Luksik and Jason E. High founded the Center for American Heritage, a non-profit dedicated to restoring America's unique heritage. Initially through the use of one-day seminars named the American Heritage Academy, the Center is dedicated to teaching political activists and interested citizens about America's history, the political process, and how to be an effective advocate for a return to limited government.[7]
- ^Pennsylvania Senate race, in CQ Politics, 31 March 2010 (accessed 7 May 2010). See also List of third party performances in United States elections, Tom Ridge, Pennsylvania gubernatorial election, 1998, Ivan Itkin, Mark S. Schweiker, United States gubernatorial elections, 1998, and List of Conservative Roundtable episodes.^Luksik bio on Pennsylvania Constitution Party site (accessed 17 May 2010).^John Mallon, Interview with Peg Luksik, 1998 (accessed 17 May 2010).^Luksik personal bio (accessed 17 May 2010)^See Jim Clymer, United States gubernatorial elections, 1994, and Electoral history of the Constitution Party (United States).^Mike Faher (9 March 2010). "Luksik to oppose Specter". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved 17 May 2010. ^The Center for American Heritage Website, RestoreHeritage.org,(accessed 18 August 2010).PersondataNameLuksik, PegAlternative namesShort descriptionDate of birth1955Place of birthHuntsville, AlabamaDate of deathPlace of death
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- Seattle Schools Community Forum: Student Data Privacy Debate
- It's heating up.There was a great debate on Here and Now on NPR between Mary Fox-Alter, superintendent of schools in Pleasantville, N.Y., and Aimee Rogstad Guidera, executive director of the Data Quality Campaign (and note, DQC is a Gates group).
- A hugely important article appeared in the NY Times about a California legislator who is introducing a student data privacy bill.
- Who can truly argue with this statement regarding students and their student data?
- ''We just think the public policy of California should be that the information you gather from students should be used for their educational benefit and for nothing else.''I believe Arne Duncan will be speaking on this issue today so I will have an update when details come in.
-
- SnowJob
- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
- Greenwald is the very disinfo he is now writing about on the intercept.
-
- 6 YEARS LATE-How Covert Agents Infiltrate the Internet to Manipulate, Deceive, and Destroy Reputations - The Intercept
- One of the many pressing stories that remains to be told from the Snowden archive is how western intelligence agencies are attempting to manipulate and control online discourse with extreme tactics of deception and reputation-destruction. It's time to tell a chunk of that story, complete with the relevant documents.
- Over the last several weeks, I worked with NBC News to publish a series of articles about ''dirty trick'' tactics used by GCHQ's previously secret unit, JTRIG (Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group). These were based on four classified GCHQ documents presented to the NSA and the other three partners in the English-speaking ''Five Eyes'' alliance. Today, we at the Intercept are publishing another new JTRIG document, in full, entitled ''The Art of Deception: Training for Online Covert Operations.''
- By publishing these stories one by one, our NBC reporting highlighted some of the key, discrete revelations: the monitoring of YouTube and Blogger, the targeting of Anonymous with the very same DDoS attacks they accuse ''hacktivists'' of using, the use of ''honey traps'' (luring people into compromising situations using sex) and destructive viruses. But, here, I want to focus and elaborate on the overarching point revealed by all of these documents: namely, that these agencies are attempting to control, infiltrate, manipulate, and warp online discourse, and in doing so, are compromising the integrity of the internet itself.
- Among the core self-identified purposes of JTRIG are two tactics: (1) to inject all sorts of false material onto the internet in order to destroy the reputation of its targets; and (2) to use social sciences and other techniques to manipulate online discourse and activism to generate outcomes it considers desirable. To see how extremist these programs are, just consider the tactics they boast of using to achieve those ends: ''false flag operations'' (posting material to the internet and falsely attributing it to someone else), fake victim blog posts (pretending to be a victim of the individual whose reputation they want to destroy), and posting ''negative information'' on various forums. Here is one illustrative list of tactics from the latest GCHQ document we're publishing today:
- Other tactics aimed at individuals are listed here, under the revealing title ''discredit a target'':
- Then there are the tactics used to destroy companies the agency targets:
- GCHQ describes the purpose of JTRIG in starkly clear terms: ''using online techniques to make something happen in the real or cyber world,'' including ''information ops (influence or disruption).''
- Critically, the ''targets'' for this deceit and reputation-destruction extend far beyond the customary roster of normal spycraft: hostile nations and their leaders, military agencies, and intelligence services. In fact, the discussion of many of these techniques occurs in the context of using them in lieu of ''traditional law enforcement'' against people suspected (but not charged or convicted) of ordinary crimes or, more broadly still, ''hacktivism'', meaning those who use online protest activity for political ends.
- The title page of one of these documents reflects the agency's own awareness that it is ''pushing the boundaries'' by using ''cyber offensive'' techniques against people who have nothing to do with terrorism or national security threats, and indeed, centrally involves law enforcement agents who investigate ordinary crimes:
- No matter your views on Anonymous, ''hacktivists'' or garden-variety criminals, it is not difficult to see how dangerous it is to have secret government agencies being able to target any individuals they want '' who have never been charged with, let alone convicted of, any crimes '' with these sorts of online, deception-based tactics of reputation destruction and disruption. There is a strong argument to make, as Jay Leiderman demonstrated in the Guardian in the context of the Paypal 14 hacktivist persecution, that the ''denial of service'' tactics used by hacktivists result in (at most) trivial damage (far less than the cyber-warfare tactics favored by the US and UK) and are far more akin to the type of political protest protected by the First Amendment.
- The broader point is that, far beyond hacktivists, these surveillance agencies have vested themselves with the power to deliberately ruin people's reputations and disrupt their online political activity even though they've been charged with no crimes, and even though their actions have no conceivable connection to terrorism or even national security threats. As Anonymous expert Gabriella Coleman of McGill University told me, ''targeting Anonymous and hacktivists amounts to targeting citizens for expressing their political beliefs, resulting in the stifling of legitimate dissent.'' Pointing to this study she published, Professor Coleman vehemently contested the assertion that ''there is anything terrorist/violent in their actions.''
- Government plans to monitor and influence internet communications, and covertly infiltrate online communities in order to sow dissension and disseminate false information, have long been the source of speculation. Harvard Law Professor Cass Sunstein, a close Obama adviser and the White House's former head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, wrote a controversial paper in 2008 proposing that the US government employ teams of covert agents and pseudo-''independent'' advocates to ''cognitively infiltrate'' online groups and websites, as well as other activist groups.
- Sunstein also proposed sending covert agents into ''chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups'' which spread what he views as false and damaging ''conspiracy theories'' about the government. Ironically, the very same Sunstein was recently named by Obama to serve as a member of the NSA review panel created by the White House, one that '' while disputing key NSA claims '' proceeded to propose many cosmetic reforms to the agency's powers (most of which were ignored by the President who appointed them).
- But these GCHQ documents are the first to prove that a major western government is using some of the most controversial techniques to disseminate deception online and harm the reputations of targets. Under the tactics they use, the state is deliberately spreading lies on the internet about whichever individuals it targets, including the use of what GCHQ itself calls ''false flag operations'' and emails to people's families and friends. Who would possibly trust a government to exercise these powers at all, let alone do so in secret, with virtually no oversight, and outside of any cognizable legal framework?
- Then there is the use of psychology and other social sciences to not only understand, but shape and control, how online activism and discourse unfolds. Today's newly published document touts the work of GCHQ's ''Human Science Operations Cell,'' devoted to ''online human intelligence'' and ''strategic influence and disruption'':
- Under the title ''Online Covert Action'', the document details a variety of means to engage in ''influence and info ops'' as well as ''disruption and computer net attack,'' while dissecting how human beings can be manipulated using ''leaders,'' ''trust,'' ''obedience'' and ''compliance'':
- The documents lay out theories of how humans interact with one another, particularly online, and then attempt to identify ways to influence the outcomes '' or ''game'' it:We submitted numerous questions to GCHQ, including: (1) Does GCHQ in fact engage in ''false flag operations'' where material is posted to the Internet and falsely attributed to someone else?; (2) Does GCHQ engage in efforts to influence or manipulate political discourse online?; and (3) Does GCHQ's mandate include targeting common criminals (such as boiler room operators), or only foreign threats?
- As usual, they ignored those questions and opted instead to send their vague and nonresponsive boilerplate: ''It is a longstanding policy that we do not comment on intelligence matters. Furthermore, all of GCHQ's work is carried out in accordance with a strict legal and policy framework which ensures that our activities are authorised, necessary and proportionate, and that there is rigorous oversight, including from the Secretary of State, the Interception and Intelligence Services Commissioners and the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee. All our operational processes rigorously support this position.''
- These agencies' refusal to ''comment on intelligence matters'' '' meaning: talk at all about anything and everything they do '' is precisely why whistleblowing is so urgent, the journalism that supports it so clearly in the public interest, and the increasingly unhinged attacks by these agencies so easy to understand. Claims that government agencies are infiltrating online communities and engaging in ''false flag operations'' to discredit targets are often dismissed as conspiracy theories, but these documents leave no doubt they are doing precisely that.
- Whatever else is true, no government should be able to engage in these tactics: what justification is there for having government agencies target people '' who have been charged with no crime '' for reputation-destruction, infiltrate online political communities, and develop techniques for manipulating online discourse? But to allow those actions with no public knowledge or accountability is particularly unjustifiable.
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- Obama Asks Court To Make NSA Database Even Bigger
- When a hypertotalitarian banana republic takes another turn for the gigasurreal, even Elon Musk is speechless.
- In the most glaring example of how farcical idiocy has become the new normal, we will remind readers (especially those who do not follow us on twitter), of the following blurb from last night:
- Obama Weighs Four Options for Revamping NSA Surveillance - WSJ. Will pick the fifth one that makes it even bigger
- '-- zerohedge (@zerohedge) February 26, 2014
- Sure enough, this attempt at comedy has just failed once more, as less than 24 hours later, it describes an increasingly surreal reality. Just out from the WSJ:
- The Obama administration has asked a special court for approval to hold onto National Security Agency phone records for a longer period''an unintended consequence of lawsuits seeking to stop the phone-surveillance program.
- The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Justice Department was considering such a move, which would end up expanding the controversial phone records database by not deleting older call records.
- Under the current system, the database is purged of phone records more than five years old. The Justice Department, in a filing made public Wednesday, said it needs to hold onto the older records as evidence in lawsuits brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and others.
- Under the proposal made to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, the older data would continue to be held, but NSA analysts would not be allowed to search it.
- The gruesome irony of course is that after his so heartfelt, if completely scripted and rehearsed, appearance before the US public one month ago, when Obama promised he would do everything in his power to reform the NSA, including the ending of the Section 215 metadata collection, and the retenion of bulk phone records, the president certainly kept his promise. Just not quite in the way that everyone had assumed.
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- Brazil, Europe plan undersea cable to skirt U.S. spying - Yahoo News
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- George Clooney takes WikiLeaks' Julian Assange's lawyer Amal Alamuddin for White House date | Mail Online
- Oscar winner has publicly denied dating Amal Alamuddin - and said they're working together on a 'satellite program over Syria'But the couple looked close at private White House event last weekThe pair were seen together at posh D.C. hotel following the event which Clooney's parents Nick and Nina also attendedMiss Alamuddin has been representing Julian Assange over his sexual assault extradition proceedingsShe was voted No.1 on London's 'Hottest Barrister' list last yearThe White House will make no comment on Miss Alamuddin's attendanceBy Sara Nathan
- PUBLISHED: 13:49 EST, 25 February 2014 | UPDATED: 15:28 EST, 25 February 2014
- George Clooney has taken striking British barrister Amal Alamuddin '' who represents WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange - to meet President Obama at the White House, MailOnline can reveal.
- In a move that will provoke yet more questions over his close friendship with the human rights lawyer, Oscar winner George, 52, took Miss Alamuddin to the private screening of his latest movie Monuments Men last week, in a group that included his parents Nick and Nina Clooney.
- The stunning brunette is currently representing Assange - who has made no secret of his anger at President Obama's White House - in his extradition proceedings with Sweden.
- Cosy: George Clooney stands next to British barrister Amal Alamuddin at the Willard Hotel's exclusive Round Robin and Scotch Bar in Washington D.C. after they both attended a private screening of his latest movie, Monuments Men, with President Obama at the White House on Tuesday, February 18. His friend and co-producer Grant Heslov is seen sitting down
- Meet my friends: George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin have a late-night drink with, from left, Matt Damon, his wife Luciana (sitting down), actor Bill Murray, and producer Grant Heslov
- Friends in high places: George Clooney speaks at the private White House screening of his new film, Monuments Men on Tuesday, February 18, with President Barack Obama watching on
- The Oscar winner and the lawyer were said to be looking extremely close at the event, and although it's not known whether Miss Alamuddin met President Obama, Clooney is pictured standing by the Commander-in-Chief.
- Just hours after the small screening on Tuesday, February 18, Clooney and Miss Alamuddin were pictured standing intimately together at the Round Robin and Scotch Bar at the Willard Hotel in Washington D.C. in a group that included Clooney's pal and co-star Matt Damon and his wife Luciana, and fellow actor and co-star Bill Murray.
- An onlooker at the bar told MailOnline: 'They looked very much together, George had his arm around her and she appeared to be a girlfriend.
- 'They were in a small group of about 10 people, it's really a small venue and there were maybe only about 30 people in the bar, and they were sitting at a table off to the side.
- Bizarrely, the group can all be seen wearing mardi-gras style necklaces in the snapshot.
- Striking: British barrister Amal Amaluddin speaks three languages and was last year voted London's 'hottest barrister'
- Miss Alamuddin was not on the official White House guest list that was issued last week.
- However, in pictures seen by MailOnline, Miss Alamuddin - who donned a slinky black dress for the night - beams as she sips on champagne while having her hair done ahead of the screening, with Luciana Damon and Lysa Heslev looking on.
- The presence of Julian Assange's lawyer in the White House, even on a movie star's arm for a private screening, is bound to have put the White House on tenterhooks.
- Last June, Assange attacked President Obama and the White House in an open letter over its treatment of fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
- When asked about Miss Alamuddin's presence at the screening, the White House press office had no official comment.
- However, two White House sources told MailOnline that Miss Alamuddin came to the event with Clooney, according to their colleagues who were present.
- One said she and Clooney were the talk of the junior staff on the next day since they had been seen cozying up to each other as they arrived, walking behind the star's parents, Nick and Nina Clooney.
- The film follows an allied group, the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program, tasked with finding and saving pieces of art and other culturally important items before their destruction by Hitler during World War II.
- And the official guest list from the White House shows just what an intimate screening it was. Invited were Clooney, his parents NIck and Nina, Bill Murray, Matt Damon, Grant Heslov, Robert Edsel, writer of the book The Monuments Men and Harry Ettlinger, a surviving member of the original Monuments Men group.
- Bill Burns, Deputy Secretary of State, was on the list as was Heather Higginbottom, Deputy Secretary of State and David Wade, State Department Chief of Staff. They were joined by Richard Stengel, Under Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Evan Ryan, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs and Bill McHugh, Secretary of the Army.
- Sara Bloomfield, Director the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, was invited as was Rabbi Jack Moline, Agudas Achim Congregation, Susan Hildreth, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services and David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States
- Friendly: Oscar winner George Clooney was first seen with British barrister Amal Alamuddin as they left dinner at Berners Tavern in London in October 2013. He later denied a romance with the striking lawyer
- Cosy dinner: George Clooney and Amal Alamuddin smile as they're caught leaving the Berners Tavern. The actor took the raven-haired barrister to the White House last week
- No romance, really? George Clooney denied dating Amal Alamuddin after the couple were pictured together at dinner in London in October. His spokesman said: 'He wants Amal to be able to prosecute cases without being hassled because she had one dinner with George and four others'.
- Miss Alamuddin, who works from London's Doughty Street Chambers, specialises in international law, human rights, extradition and criminal law. She speaks three languages - French, Arabic and English - and was voted No. 1 on London's Hottest Barrister list of 2013.
- She has been appointed to a number of UN commissions including as adviser to Special Envoy Kofi Annan on Syria and her high profile human rights cases have included representing former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
- She is currently representing Assange in his extradition proceedings with Sweden. The Australian hacker and rogue online publisher is currently wanted for questioning in Sweden in a sexual assault case.
- When the UK's Supreme Court turned down his appeal of an order to enforce the European arrest warrant against him, Assange fled to the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Ecuador granted him political asylum in June 2012.
- If he should leave the embassy, the British government will likely send him to Sweden. From there, Assange fears, he could be extradited later to the United States to face even more fearsome charges.
- His U.S. criminal case stems from his 2010 decision to publish a collection of American diplomatic cables '' the largest cache of classified documents ever made public at once '' on the WIkileaks website.
- Assange received the material from Bradley Manning, an American soldier who was later convicted of violating the federal Espionage Act. A judge sentenced Manning last year to 35 years in Fort Leavenworth military prison, although he could be paroled in just eight years.
- Representing: Human rights barrister Amal Alamuddin (on the right) leaves London's High Court with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange following a court hearing on July 13, 2011
- The day after his sentencing, the disgraced Army private announced that he had changed his name to Chelsea, and that he wanted to live as a woman.
- From his sanctuary in the Ecuadorian Embassy, Assange wrote an open letter last June on the occasion of his first anniversary in hiding, slamming the Obama White House for its treatment of the fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden.
- 'The word "traitor" has been thrown around a lot in recent days,' Assange wrote. 'But who is really the traitor here?'
- 'Who was it who promised a generation "hope" and "change," only to betray those promises with dismal misery and stagnation? '... Who is it that promised to preside over The Most Transparent Administration in history, only to crush whistleblower after whistleblower with the bootheel of espionage charges?'
- Oscar winner Clooney and Miss Alamuddin were first pictured together after enjoying dinner at the Berners Tavern in London last October and then seen sharing a cab as they left the restaurant.
- However, just days later, Clooney was at pains to stress he was still single after splitting with long-time love Stacy Keibler last summer.
- After being linked with actress Katie Holmes and Croatian model Monika Jakisic as well as Miss Alamuddin, Clooney told People magazine in October: 'Three different stories in three weeks. I should be an athlete. But, no of course, it's all made up.'
- At work: Amal Alamuddin and high-profile human rights activist, Geoffrey Robertson QC, with Eugenia Tymoshenko, daughter of formerly imprisoned Ukranian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in London on November 5, 2012
- Enemies of the state: Fugitive NSA leaker Edward Snowden (left) and Bradley Manning (right) an American soldier who was later convicted of violating the federal Espionage Act.
- According to Clooney's spokesman, Stan Rosenfield, the actor finally felt moved to put a stop to the gossip.
- 'George wants this Monika crap to stop. He wants Katie to get a break, and he wants Amal to be able to prosecute cases without being hassled because she had one dinner with George and four others '... I even asked George if these [rumors] were true and he said he never comments on his private life, but in the interest of stopping the harassment of all three of these women, he felt he should.'
- A source close to the actor added: "George is not dating, nor has he dated Monika in several years, nor is he dating Katie Holmes '' he simply hugged her at a premiere '' nor is he the new boyfriend of Amal, who he is working with on a [surveillance] satellite program over Syria.'
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- Turkey - Ottomania
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- OTTOMANIA-Elif Batuman: ''Magnificent Century'' Reimagines Turkey's Ottoman Past : The New Yorker
- On the way to the Sultan's harem, I saw two beautiful slave girls walking across a parking lot clutching their tiaras and squinting unhappily into the sun. It was a hot August day in Istanbul, with an intermittent gusting wind. An attendant ushered me into a warren of royal chambers. I crossed the marble flagstones of a capacious Turkish bath, and proceeded down the passageway known as the Golden Road, through which a lucky concubine, having received the purple handkerchief indicative of the Sultan's favor, approaches the privy chamber. On a gilt desk lay an imperial seal and two sticks of wax. An adjacent bedroom, lavishly appointed, had been occupied by the Sultan's mother, until her death, toward the end of Season 2.
- ''Magnificent Century,'' a soap opera set in the court of Sultan S¼leyman the Magnificent, has been breaking Turkish television records since its premi¨re, in 2011. Every Wednesday, more than a third of prime-time viewers tune in to watch the latest ninety-minute episode. S¼leyman, who reigned from 1520 to 1566, is known in Turkey as the Lawmaker, renowned for his innovative legal code, for the opulence of his court, and for expanding the Ottoman Empire from Transylvania to the Persian Gulf. It was S¼leyman's Army that defeated the Hungarian forces at the Battle of Mohcs and launched the first Ottoman siege of Vienna, though the plot of ''Magnificent Century'' focusses more on the life of the harem, and the intrigues among S¼leyman's wife, concubines, mother, sisters, children, and viziers.
- ''Magnificent Century'' is part of a Turkish trend called Ottomania, manifested in such diverse phenomena as Burger King's Sultan meal combo (a 2006 TV spot featured a Janissary devouring a Whopper with hummus), a proliferation of Ottoman cookbooks, Ottoman-style bathroom consoles, wedding invitations with Ottoman calligraphy, and graduation gowns and flight-attendant uniform designs inspired by caftans and fezzes. In the past ten years, there have been increasingly elaborate commemorations of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople, in 1453, along with the construction of new Ottoman-style mosques and the renovation of old Ottoman buildings, some of which have been repurposed as hotels or shopping malls. Last spring, protests were triggered by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan's decision to raze Gezi Park, in central Istanbul, in order to build a shopping mall in the style of an Ottoman barracks. The Gezi protests subsequently escalated into the most widespread civil unrest in Turkey in more than a decade. Five protesters were killed and five thousand detained. Many remain in custody. . . .
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- ErdoÄan's Looming Downfall: Turkey at the Crossroads :: Middle East Quarterly
- The year 2013 was supposed to be momentous for Turkey's strongman, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan. Having established himself as the single most powerful Turkish politician since Kemal Atat¼rk, he sought to transform Turkey into a presidential republic in 2013 then accede to the presidency in 2014 where he could remain until the republic's centenary in 2023. But toward the end of the year, the tables turned. Far from looking forward to a decade of uninterrupted rule, ErdoÄan's hold on Turkey looked increasingly fragile, and many began asking how long he could stay in power.
- Massive protests broke out across the country against ErdoÄan's heavy-handed repression of demonstrators seeking to preserve Gezi Park, one of the last green areas in Istanbul. Some analysts are comparing recent events in Turkey to those in Egypt's Tahrir Square in 2011, which brought down Hosni Mubarak.
- Below the surface, dark clouds had gathered for some time as ErdoÄan's domestic and foreign policies combined to alienate important sections of his own ruling coalition. But things came to a head in the summer of 2013 when massive protests broke out across the country against the prime minister's heavy-handed repression of demonstrators seeking to preserve one of the last green areas of Istanbul, Gezi Park. Only weeks later, Turkey's increasingly sectarian foreign policy in the Middle East collapsed when Muhammed Morsi was ousted from power in Egypt. Turkey's interventionist stance on Egypt, coming on the heels of a regime change policy in Syria, had led it to regional isolation. Then in December 2013, ErdoÄan's regime cracked when prosecutors leveled serious corruption charges against four of his closest cabinet members.
- ErdoÄan's year of crisis raises two important questions: First, what led to the series of crises that undermined his hold on power and thwarted his presidential plans? And second, can the prime minister restore control or has his hold on power irrevocably crumbled?
- The Making of an AutocratErdoÄan's political evolution can basically be described as a ride from radical to moderate, and back again. He emerged as a young firebrand Islamist, famous for his scathing disdain for Turkey's secular order. In the 1990s, he styled himself "the imam of Istanbul" in an interview and once remarked that, contrary to Atat¼rk's famous dictum, "sovereignty belongs unconditionally to Allah," not to the people. Most famously perhaps, he referred to democracy as a streetcar: "[W]e will go to wherever we're going, and then get off."[1]
- Meanwhile, he showed talent as a manager and was widely praised during his tenure as mayor of Istanbul'--that is, until one of his vitriolic speeches landed him in jail on charges of inciting hatred following the 1997 military-led ouster from power of the Islamist Welfare Party. This was a crucial turning point in two ways: First, it built an aura of victimization that enabled ErdoÄan to emerge as leader of the Islamic conservative forces that similarly styled themselves as having been victimized by seventy years of secular rule. Second, it led him to adopt a considerably more moderate style and rhetoric. Gone was the firebrand, replaced by the moderate democrat.
- This more collegial approach persisted through the first term of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). ErdoÄan was prime minister, but Foreign Minister Abdullah G¼l wielded nearly as much influence and played a crucial role as a balancing and moderating force on ErdoÄan. Two others were also part of what was in effect a quadrumvirate running the government: B¼lent Arın§, perhaps the most outspoken Islamist in the ruling elite and speaker of parliament, and in the initial phases, Deputy Prime Minister Abd¼llatif Åener, who was out of decision-making within a year.
- In the AKP's second term, various circumstances led ErdoÄan to emerge as the sole leader of the government and party. G¼l was elected president, which removed him from day-to-day politics, and Arın§ fell out with ErdoÄan over the presidential election. ErdoÄan did not want a person with as strong a profile as G¼l in the presidency. In order to avoid the wrath of a military that he still feared at the time, he agreed to the top brass's demand to nominate a candidate without an Islamist past. Arın§, however, threatened to run himself unless the AKP nominated a "religious" candidate, forcing ErdoÄan's hand and leading to G¼l's nomination. However, in the AKP's second term, Arın§ was not re-elected speaker and failed to get a cabinet post.
- ErdoÄan was now in sole command of the party. As early as 2008, the change in leadership style was visible. Gone was the ErdoÄan who patiently allowed debate even on small issues; instead, another appeared, increasingly intolerant of criticism and deaf to advice and debate inside or outside the party. Observers noted that most AKP deputies lacked the courage to demand an appointment with ErdoÄan. Party group meetings were turned into a private stage for ErdoÄan, and deputies were not expected to speak or ask questions. The same pattern developed in the council of ministers.
- Outside government, the prime minister began taking a harsh tone toward any criticism directed to him from media. This began with his outbursts against secular-minded media that criticized a new amendment to the constitution opening the way for greater wearing of the Islamic veil in official situations. It continued over allegations of corruption involving an AKP-affiliated charity in Germany, the Deniz Feneri.[2] Whether spontaneous or planned, ErdoÄan's outbursts against journalists and media owners became commonplace, and a form of self-censorship rapidly descended over the media. Gradually, a disturbing pattern emerged of journalists being fired after having been publicly criticized by the prime minister.
- By early 2010, ErdoÄan had his eyes set on a new post, the presidency, but not under Turkey's semi-presidential system of government. As early as April 2010, he declared his interest in a presidential system.[3] ErdoÄan's appetite was whetted by the constitutional amendments approved by referendum in September 2010, whose effect was to overturn the secular establishment's control over the judiciary. Immediately following this referendum, supported by 58 percent of the population, ErdoÄan publicly announced that he now aimed to write an entirely new constitution following the June 2011 parliamentary elections.[4]
- Just as ErdoÄan succeeded in removing the threat to his power posed by the secular establishment in the military and the judiciary, he capitalized on this not to usher in the promised liberal order but to single-mindedly concentrate power in his own hands. In so doing, he rapidly changed the main fault line in Turkish politics. Gone was the traditional Islamic-secularist divide; the struggle was now between advocates and opponents of one-man rule. This also opened a fault line within the Islamic conservative movement itself. Indeed, the movement was far from united behind the idea of another decade of ErdoÄan as strongman and president.
- ErdoÄan's increasingly authoritarian traits had already begun to cause concern within the movement. An important, centrist faction loyal to the more conciliatory posture of President G¼l opposed ErdoÄan's ambitions. Even more importantly, so did Turkey's largest social movement: the Fethullah G¼len community, popularly known as the cemaat. Over the past three decades, this community has grown into a globalized movement involved in education, business, and media, led by its founder from a resort in rural Pennsylvania. Moreover, its representatives are known to have influence in key areas of the bureaucracy, such as the police and judiciary'--but importantly, also in the middle ranks of the military.
- These rifts would combine to thwart ErdoÄan's ambitions. It is important to note, however, that from late 2011, ErdoÄan's rhetoric turned more rash and overbearing. The 2011 election campaign was based almost exclusively on ErdoÄan. He also purged the party lists of most supporters of President G¼l and the G¼len movement. Following the elections where the AKP won 50 percent of the vote, ErdoÄan seemed to conclude that he had a personal mandate to rule Turkey as he saw fit. He began to return to the radicalism of his youth, exhibiting strong Islamist tendencies that had been absent or suppressed for close to a decade. ErdoÄan thus began engaging in frequent emotional diatribes on social issues. He vowed to raise "pious generations," urged women to have at least three children, a number he later raised to four, and issued plans to outlaw abortion as well as cesarean sections, and to reintroduce capital punishment. He also began commenting on the veracity of historical television shows. Perhaps most infamously, in spring 2012, he pledged allegiance to "one nation, one flag, one religion, one state." As Gareth Jenkins has observed,
- ErdoÄan appears to regard himself as the embodiment of the national will'--with the result that his tastes, prejudices, and opinions become those of the nation, regardless of whether or not the nation is aware of the fact.[5]
- ErdoÄan summed up the rationale behind his interest in this broad range of issues: "I am the country's prime minister. Every issue is my concern."[6] The reasons behind this personal journey remain debated. Some suggest that power simply went to ErdoÄan's head. Others believe he is merely becoming the politician he once was, implying that his caution and moderation from 2001 to 2008 was mainly tactical. And indeed, there is a direct correlation between ErdoÄan's consolidation of power and the resurgence of his authoritarian and Islamist pronouncements. ErdoÄan's increasingly conspiratorial worldview should also be mentioned. His lashing out at imagined foreign foes for Turkey's problems is often viewed as tactical, but there is reason to believe that ErdoÄan and his key advisors truly believe many of their conspiracy theories, particularly those involving world Jewry. To note but one example, in 2013, ErdoÄan hired YiÄit Bulut as a chief advisor, best known for his assertion that people around the world were trying to kill ErdoÄan using telekinesis.[7]
- There is one further element to the ErdoÄan puzzle: the state of his health. In November 2011, the prime minister underwent complex surgery that, according to the official version, removed a benign growth on his colon. A further minor surgery was performed in February 2012. While not publicly confirmed, several sources report informally that ErdoÄan underwent a third surgery in April 2013. While Turkish media sources have been circumspect on the issue given the prevalent self-censorship, there is a widespread consensus that ErdoÄan is undergoing treatment for colon cancer. He has repeatedly rejected these notions, but in a video clip on a visit to a hospital in Adana in May 2012, ErdoÄan can be seen telling a woman receiving colon cancer treatment "we share the same illness."[8]
- As in any political system dependent on one individual, ErdoÄan's health is a crucial factor in Turkish politics. This is true both for understanding his rhetoric and policies but also for understanding the ongoing power struggle. In early 2012, various media reports citing Western diplomatic sources observed that ErdoÄan appeared to be "acting with a sense of urgency." Many attributed this to his deteriorating health and to an expectation he may not be politically active for very long.[9] Indeed, his health appeared weak during 2012, and he regularly cancelled or missed appointments. However, in 2013, his health seemed to improve again, leading some of the speculation to subside.
- Politically, it is notable that the first time that President G¼l vetoed a law passed by ErdoÄan's government was in December 2011, coinciding with the prime minister's first surgery.[10] Similarly, a prosecutor's attempt to interrogate ErdoÄan's intelligence chief Hakan Fidan occurred at the time of the second surgery, in February 2012. These may be pure coincidences but raise the question regarding the extent other forces in Turkey's politics plan their moves on the basis of assumptions and information about ErdoÄan's health.
- A power struggle over Turkey's presidency has developed between ErdoÄan and his one-time ally, current president Abdullah G¼l (above). Where ErdoÄan has become increasingly authoritarian, G¼l has refashioned himself as a spokesman for democratization and reform. As ErdoÄan has retreated from integration with Europe, G¼l has emerged as an advocate for closer ties with the EU.
- The ErdoÄan-G¼l RiftIn his ambitions to turn Turkey into a presidential republic and accede to the presidency, ErdoÄan faced one key obstacle: his long-time brother-in-arms, Abdullah G¼l, who held the post. When the constitution was amended in late 2007 to have the president directly elected, the amendment made no reference to whether the incumbent president would serve under the old or new system. Thus, until 2012, no one knew whether G¼l's term would end in 2012 or 2014 and whether he could be re-elected. But ErdoÄan did not wait. Having purged G¼l supporters from the party ranks ahead of the 2011 elections, he made his first direct move against the president in January 2012. Parliament passed a law stating that G¼l was bound by the old rules, implying he could not stand for re-election. Yet the same summer, the Constitutional Court handed ErdoÄan a blow, resolving that G¼l's term was seven years but that he could be re-elected for a further five-year term. From that point, the space for compromise between the two men shrank considerably. The episode also indicated that ErdoÄan was not in control of the courts.
- Presidential politics explain much of the two men's posturing since then. ErdoÄan has kept pushing for a presidential system, and his posturing on the Kurdish issue is largely conditioned by his need for further support to reach the qualified parliamentary majority to send a new constitution to referendum. The Kurdish party in parliament, not coincidentally, held enough seats to help ErdoÄan over that threshold. Provided its demands were met, it was the only party willing to even consider the option.
- As for G¼l, he began to emphasize the public contrast between his vision for Turkey and ErdoÄan's. Where ErdoÄan became increasingly authoritarian, G¼l made himself the spokesman for further democratization and reform.[11] As ErdoÄan has veered further away from Turkey's European integration'--famously suggesting not only that Turkey should join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization but that the SCO is "stronger" than the EU and has "common values" with Turkey[12]'--G¼l has emerged as the spokesman of Turkey's continued European vocation.
- Developments have not been limited to posturing. Most important is the consolidation of the Fethullah G¼len movement's support for G¼l. Given the financial and media resources available to the G¼len movement, such support is crucial for G¼l's chances of standing up to ErdoÄan. Indeed, during 2012, organizations associated with the movement, such as the influential journalists and writers unions, began aligning with G¼l's positions. During the Gezi Park protests of June 2013, for example, G¼l sought to counter Erdogan's harsh stance by making conciliatory statements to protesters.
- In 2013, G¼l and his advisors also appeared to be building an independent political structure to support the president and his agenda, scouting the political scene for potential allies. Indeed, it is possible to draw a profile of the emerging political forces loyal to G¼l. One group consists of frustrated AKP members who have tired of ErdoÄan, in particular the more pro-European and democratically minded. Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan is widely believed to be a leading force in this group. A second consists of people close to the G¼len movement, and a third comprises former politicians aligned with the center-right Anavatan (ANAP) and DoÄru Yol (DYP) parties in the 1990s but who have not been active in politics since then.
- In other words, G¼l's political support base is more centrist than the current AKP. Under G¼l's leadership, whether as a party of its own or a revamped AKP, this political force would for all practical purposes resemble Turgut zal's ANAP, which unified religious conservatives, liberals, and Turkish nationalists. zal may be an example in more than one way. Just like G¼l, zal came from the Orthodox Sunni Naqshbandi tradition, but was conciliatory and strongly pro-Western.
- The G¼len MovementWhen the AKP won power in the 2002 elections, its newfound position of influence brought together a tactical alliance of two Islamic movements from very different traditions: the Naqshbandi-dominated core of the AKP and the movement of the preacher Fethullah G¼len. That alliance was consolidated by the military's electronic memorandum preceding the 2007 presidential elections. Both groups feared that the military'--and subsequently the judiciary'--were poised to move against them with full force, leading them to work jointly to reduce the military through judicial processes, particularly with the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer plot investigations.[13]
- The alliance brought concrete results. It was instrumental in helping the AKP survive the closure case in the Constitutional Court in 2008 and in the trials that neutralized forces that opposed the AKP within the state bureaucracy and in civil society. The costs were substantial violations of due process including the outright fabrication of evidence, which undermined the credibility of these cases. Yet these events opened the way for the AKP to schedule and win the September 2010 referendum to amend the 1982 constitution, which transferred control of the judiciary to the ruling Islamic conservative coalition. But the tactical alliance between the AKP and the G¼len movement began to fade once their common enemies had been neutralized. The split between the two has become the central fault line in Turkish politics and merits a closer look at the differences between the groups.
- The core AKP leadership is a product of the political tradition of the Milli G¶r¼Å movement, founded by Necmettin Erbakan, and consists of members and followers of the Iskender PaÅa wing of the Khaledi branch of the Naqshbandi order, an order that is unique in tracing its lineage to Caliph Abu Bakr rather than Ali. The Khaledi branch is best known for having reinforced traditional Islamic tenets of the order and for its fierce resistance to the westernizing reforms of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century.
- The Naqshbandis were driven underground by the proclamation of the Turkish republic and the closure of the religious orders but became increasingly involved in politics after Atat¼rk's death, seeking to revive religious values in Turkey. This move into politics led to a cross-fertilization with the growing political Islamic movement in the Middle East. Figures like Jamal al-Din Afghani and Sayyid Qutb and the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood movement formed the intellectual inspiration for the developing Turkish political, Islamic movement. The broader Islamic movement of the Middle East was brought to Turkey by publications edited by EÅref Edip, who had lived in Egypt, was deeply influenced by the Brotherhood, and provided Erbakan's intellectual underpinnings. Milli G¶ruÅ is deeply rooted in political Islam, and its members pay less attention to the Turkish ethnic bond than to the broader Muslim identity. Furthermore, after 1979, a considerable portion of Turkish Islamists developed admiration for the Iranian revolution.
- The G¼len community, in contrast, stems from the Nur movement, which has a tradition of strongly objecting to direct involvement in politics. Its members believe that such involvement would create a conflict of interest and weaken the movement's main aim: to instill in its members, imana hizmet, or "service to the faith." The movement's founder, Bedi¼zzaman Said Nursi, remained loyal to this tradition and even overtly expressed his disapproval of his friend Edip's establishment of an Islamic Democratic Party in 1951. Some followers of the Nur and Qadiri movements joined with Erbakan in the late 1960s but fell out with him by the mid-1970s.
- The G¼len movement, however, has traditionally refrained from supporting political Islam and from direct participation in politics: It terms itself "civil Islam" in contrast to "political Islam." It, nevertheless, offered passive support to Turkey's successive center-right parties'--the Democrat, Justice, Motherland, and True Path parties, as well as B¼lent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party when Ecevit moved to the center in 1999-2002. While these parties included people close to the movement, one would be hard-pressed to identify any core G¼lenists in active politics. These parties supported religious freedom and sought to appeal to conservative Muslims and allowed the G¼len movement to expand its role in society, particularly in the areas of education, business, and media. Importantly, the G¼len movement never extended any support to Erbakan.
- G¼len also developed a new outlook. His movement sought to synthesize traditional Islam and Turkey's modernization. Moreover, his movement was warm to Turkish nationalism, and many of its members had a past in the ¼lk¼c¼ or "idealist" nationalist organizations prior to the 1980 military coup. Many nationalists were also profoundly impressed by the growing international reach of G¼len's schools, in which the Turkish language had a prominent role. This led the G¼len movement to be perfectly placed when the military junta developed the concept of a Turkish-Islamic synthesis to counter what it saw as the main threat, Soviet-supported leftist movements. When the military endorsed the synthesis between Turkish nationalism and Sunni Islam as an official ideology, the main, if inadvertent, effect was to propel the G¼len movement to prominence.
- The G¼len movement, with its strong objection to direct involvement in politics, has clashed with ErdoÄan (left) on a number of domestic and international issues. The movement's leader, Fethullah G¼len (right), criticized the Gaza flotilla incident, which he termed a "defying of authority" for failing to seek Israeli approval for its delivery of aid. ErdoÄan, on the other hand, defended the operation, accusing Israel of using excessive force against the flotilla.
- The ErdoÄan-G¼len Falling OutGiven these diverging perspectives, ErdoÄan and the G¼len movement eventually clashed on a number of domestic and international issues. The first public rift was in the realm of foreign affairs. The G¼len movement had expanded its horizons beyond Turkey and became globalized, making it increasingly sensitive to the broader balances and nuances of world politics'--in sharp contrast to the narrow mindset characterizing the Milli G¶r¼Å movement. As a result, the G¼len movement is notable for the absence of the anti-Western, anti-Zionist, and anti-Semitic reflexes that are prevalent among other Islamic political groups worldwide, including the core AKP. This divergence became evident following the 2010 Gaza flotilla incident, which led to sharp and enduring anti-Israel rhetoric from AKP leaders. But in an interview to The Wall Street Journal that even surprised many of his supporters, G¼len stated his disapproval of the flotilla initiative, which he termed a "defying of authority" for failing to seek Israeli approval for its delivery of aid.[14]
- Iran developed as another bone of contention. The G¼len movement's media outlets have long been scathing in their rhetoric against the Iranian theocratic regime, in a way that has often generated disbelief among traditional Islamists in the AKP. G¼lenists even worked to undermine AKP foreign minister Ahmet DavutoÄlu's efforts to improve ties with Iran. It is no coincidence that the December 2013 corruption scandal targeted the Iranian money laundering activities of the AKP government.
- Domestically, the Kurdish question was the most consequential issue. The AKP's Islamist and liberal wings supported ErdoÄan's Kurdish opening as they shared a tendency to downplay Turkish ethnic identity. However, the G¼lenists shared the unwillingness of their secular Kemalist predecessors to compromise on the country's unitary structure and the primacy of the Turkish language. The February 2012 crisis was prompted by G¼lenist opposition to the AKP's peace talks with Abdullah calan, imprisoned leader of the PKK (Partiya Karkerªn Kurdistan'--Kurdistan Workers' Party).
- But more than anything else, the main source of the declining relationship was ErdoÄan's personal ambition. The September 2010 constitutional amendments had empowered the G¼lenists' influence in judicial institutions because as a movement focused on education, the G¼len movement'--unlike the parochial Naqshbandi whose members train mainly in religious imam-hatip schools'--could provide qualified candidates for high judicial positions. As a result, the G¼lenists' growing influence began to rattle ErdoÄan.
- When ErdoÄan prepared the party list ahead of the June 2011 election, few of the estimated sixty or seventy G¼len supporters were left in place, leading to serious dissonance within the movement. Simultaneously, the wholesale reform of public administration by the AKP government was used as an excuse to remove or reposition many G¼lenists in the state bureaucracy'--particularly in the Ministry of Education, which is dear to the movement's heart.
- A final element of discord has been in the realm of business. Businesses close to the AKP profited tremendously from public procurement, and the levels of corruption involved in this sector became staggering, particularly after 2011. In this context, G¼len-aligned businesses have increasingly felt left out of state contracts that have gone largely to ErdoÄan loyalist companies. G¼lenists have also balked at the outright demands for cash kickbacks required to obtain contracts. As the movement is relatively devoid of corruption, it became increasingly alienated by the massive corruption in the leading circles of the AKP.
- By late 2011, the battle lines had been drawn. In November, columnists close to G¼len warned ErdoÄan of the consequences of his "arrogance." To drive home the point on November 23, a full-page article by G¼len himself was published on the concept of arrogance. ErdoÄan was not mentioned, but everyone got the message.[15]
- In February 2012, a prosecutor believed to be affiliated with the movement called in ErdoÄan's intelligence chief Hakan Fidan and two of his predecessors for questioning over their role in negotiations with the PKK. This was a direct shot across ErdoÄan's bow, and he later indicated his conviction that the G¼len movement sought to arrest him at the time. Since then, ErdoÄan has conducted further purges of G¼len followers in key positions in the state. In return, the movement's media outlets have grown openly critical of the government. The rift worsened with the Gezi Park protests of May-June 2013 when G¼len-affiliated media stood out by reporting fairly and critically about the government's repression. The movement's official mouthpiece, the Writers' and Journalists' Union, has since issued several statements featuring sharp criticism of the government's restrictions of the freedom of expression.[16]
- In ErdoÄan's conspiratorial mindset, the G¼len movement was seen as complicit in planning and organizing these protests at the behest of global forces, especially the Jewish world conspiracy ErdoÄan believes is plotting his downfall.[17]
- Any remnants of civility ended in November 2013 when the newspaper Zaman reported that a draft bill was being prepared to close down the private preparatory schools that help Turkish students prepare for the centralized university entrance examination. The G¼len movement operates up to a third of the estimated 4,000 prep schools in Turkey. The schools are an important recruiting tool, and it is there that many if not most of the movement's past, present, and future followers have been identified and cultivated.
- ErdoÄan soon confirmed that he indeed intended to close down the prep school system. He portrayed the move as part of a general overhaul of the educational system and as a step to combat the inequality resulting from students unable to attend such schools being disadvantaged. But had that been the intention, the government would have begun by addressing the problem of which the prep schools are a symptom: a centralized examination system that requires a level and type of knowledge and test skills that the public education system does not provide. The move was thus a transparent attack on the G¼len movement, one the movement interpreted, probably correctly, as the first step in ErdoÄan's plan to finish off its influence in Turkey.
- There is little doubt that this in turn prompted prosecutors to launch the wave of arrests on December 17, 2013, which targeted four of ErdoÄan's closest cabinet members, plunging Turkey into a deep, political crisis.
- Gezi Park and the Corruption ScandalThe Gezi Park protests of summer 2013 and the December 2013 corruption probe that led to the resignation of four ministers may seem on the surface quite different. The former was a set of popular, spontaneous protests, the latter, a calculated effort to inflict as much damage as possible on ErdoÄan's legitimacy. Yet they must be understood as part of the same political process, a reaction from various parts of Turkish society to the growing autocratic tendencies of ErdoÄan's rule and its ever more blatant corruption.
- In both instances, ErdoÄan's opponents, whether the millions from all walks of life in the summer protests, or the prosecutors in the corruption probe, targeted neither the AKP as a party nor Islamic conservatism as a movement. Instead they specifically opposed ErdoÄan personally and, especially, his autocratic and arbitrary exercise of power. The Gezi Park protests initially arose out of frustration with the AKP administration's plans to demolish one of Istanbul's few remaining green areas to construct yet another shopping mall. Shopping malls and the construction industry are known to be major sources of elite corruption. But the explosion of the protests around the country had nothing to do with the park per se; rather, these demonstrations were a reaction to ErdoÄan's harsh and overbearing attitude toward peaceful protests and, particularly, the police brutality committed at his direct orders.
- As for the anti-corruption raid, there can be little doubt that it was a response triggered by supporters of Fethullah G¼len to ErdoÄan's plans to eliminate their clout within the Turkish state. G¼len denies any form of contact with the prosecutors in the case. While that is plausibly true, it is clear through his public statements and sermons that he has taken a more public and aggressive political stance than ever before. His much-noted December 23 mubahala'--an Islamic prayer calling for a curse from God on anyone who has committed a transgression'--was unprecedented and constituted a direct challenge to ErdoÄan's legitimacy. Similarly, newspapers linked to the G¼len movement such as Zaman and Taraf have published incriminating evidence, often obtained in undisclosed ways. Yet crucially, as in the Gezi protests, G¼len's followers are targeting not the AKP as a party but ErdoÄan as a person. It is notable that the prosecutors in question undoubtedly possess vast troves of evidence implicating government officials in wrong-doing, yet they specifically chose to target four ministers known to be the closest to ErdoÄan.
- The second commonality tying the Gezi protests and the corruption probe are ErdoÄan's reactions. In both instances, the prime minister made stunning miscalculations that worsened his predicament and showed that he is no longer able to read Turkish public opinion. During the summer protests, ErdoÄan repeatedly poured fuel on the fire with harsh and degrading statements, on several occasions, breathing new life into a protest movement that showed signs of faltering.[18] As one former AKP member of parliament told this author, ErdoÄan's behavior was a textbook case of how not to handle a crisis. And following the corruption probe, he had the bad judgment to hold on to ministers accused of wrongdoing for far too long. Stunningly, he has also failed to reject the allegations, seeking instead to paper them over and explain them away'--a tall order when the evidence includes things such as four million dollars in shoe boxes in a state bank director's home. Similarly, ErdoÄan's clumsy attempts to prevent the execution of justice by removing police chiefs and prosecutors from their cases and initiating blatantly unconstitutional regulations undermining the separation of powers suggests guilt and a cover-up.
- Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip ErdoÄan addresses his supporters in the Black Sea province of Samsun, December 2013. His reaction to the corruption probe against four of his closest cabinet members was to label it a vast, international conspiracy, which included the United States. At the Black Sea rally, ErdoÄan even threatened to expel the U.S. ambassador, Francis Ricciardone, as a result.
- ErdoÄan on both occasions showed how dangerously conspiratorial and paranoid his worldview has become. After Gezi, he and his allies infamously blamed the "interest rate lobby,"[19] sometimes openly referring to a Jewish world conspiracy and unnamed Western forces seeking to thwart Turkey's rise. And his reaction to the corruption probe was simply to term the G¼len movement agents of this vast international conspiracy against Turkey, which by now included the United States itself. At a public rally, ErdoÄan even went as far as threatening to expel the U.S. ambassador, Francis Ricciardone. These were acts of desperation but, unfortunately, appear to reflect the worldview of Turkey's leader.
- A final common element linking the Gezi protests and the corruption probe are their economic impacts. Turkey is highly dependent on foreign capital inflows, and the government's reaction to both crises appeared to maximize the damage to the Turkish economy. Turkey fared much worse in the second half of 2013 compared to other large emerging economies, which have all been reeling from the expected consequences of the Federal Reserve's "tapering" of its bond-buying scheme. But blaming Western capitalism for Turkey's woes is hardly a way to secure investor confidence.
- Of course, the important differences between the Gezi protests and the corruption probe should be underlined. Most obviously, Gezi was a spontaneous mass outpouring of frustration, and because it was unorganized, it failed to translate into a political force. The corruption probe, by contrast, was highly organized and driven by a determined force within the Turkish bureaucracy with a clear purpose'--undermining and eventually toppling ErdoÄan's rule. It raises obvious questions about this force, which in turn has rekindled a growing debate about the nature of the G¼len movement, its ultimate goals, and not least, the methods it uses.
- It must be noted that the growth of the G¼len movement's influence stands in contrast to its public assurances of being a non-political, civil society organization solely dedicated to service to society. Similarly, the well-documented judicial excesses of the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer investigations, which the movement unreservedly endorsed and championed, stand in contrast to its stated commitment to the rule of law and Turkey's EU membership process. On the other hand, the G¼len movement is a dynamic social force, which appears to be in continuous evolution, another factor that distinguishes it from the intellectual stagnation and decay of the core AKP.
- Importantly, the G¼len movement appears acutely aware that direct involvement in politics would doom its cohesion and standing in society. This provides an asymmetry to the current struggle between the movement and the AKP that implies it cannot be interpreted simply as a power struggle between two contenders. Many Turkish experts correctly point out that the risk is instead a return to a form of indirect elite tutelage over Turkish democracy, this time from the G¼len movement rather than the Kemalists, involving unelected forces limiting the workings of the political system. And indeed, if the G¼len movement manages effectively to help topple Turkey's strongest politician since Atat¼rk after having helped topple the military tutelage regime, all political forces in Turkey are likely to think twice before defying the movement.
- That said, the G¼len movement is a reality in Turkish society. As a strongly rooted network without parallel in the country, no one should doubt its staying power, or that regardless of the outcome of the current crisis, it stands to wield significant influence over Turkey's direction in coming decades. The same cannot be said about ErdoÄan.
- Toward a Post-ErdoÄan Turkey?For nearly a decade, ErdoÄan's control over Turkey has been taken for granted. Observers routinely (and correctly) decry the absence of a viable opposition and have concluded that ErdoÄan is likely, health permitting, to rule Turkey unopposed for another decade. From that vantage point, the recent crises may seem like mere bumps in the road. But analysis points to a diametrically different conclusion. In fact, over the past several years, ErdoÄan's autocratic tendencies have had the inadvertent effect of hollowing out his own coalition. It should be recalled that ErdoÄan himself, in 2002, received 36 percent of the vote with a party that was barely a year old. In Turkey, political fortunes can change fast.
- Moreover, ErdoÄan seems to have increasingly concluded that he embodies Turkey's public opinion. Thus, he projects and imposes his own views and values on Turkey. But a country that only just emerged from the Kemalist republic's top-down social engineering has little appetite for an Islamist variant of the same, certainly not a one-man version. This explains the Gezi protests but also why so much of the Islamic conservative movement in Turkey opposes ErdoÄan's ambitions. Unlike ErdoÄan, many appear to understand that the country is too diverse to be fitted into any ideological straitjacket, and many view him as outright counterproductive'--even dangerous'--to their aim of a more pious society. The corruption charges are likely to broaden that assessment as they pierce the veneer of piety that has been ErdoÄan's key political asset.
- Since the point when ErdoÄan decided to become, in effect, an elected sultan'--or an Islamic caudillo'--his days at the helm of the state were numbered. With every move to concentrate power, he has lost further legitimacy and support within society as well as in his own power base. His irrational behavior and conspiratorial worldview, furthermore, make him seem increasingly a liability to his erstwhile political allies. These supporters will follow him and support him only as long as they calculate this is in their political interest over the medium to long term. So far, that equation has been simple: ErdoÄan has been unmatched as a leader of the conservative movement and as a campaigner in elections. But in 2013, his aura of invincibility and his very legitimacy were pierced by the Gezi protests and severely shaken by the corruption probe.
- In addition, it is crucial to note that ErdoÄan's international legitimacy as a democrat and statesman has been shattered. Both Turkey's Islamists and their opponents believe that the West's backing was a key factor keeping ErdoÄan in power, preventing both a military coup in 2007 and the judiciary's efforts to close down the party in 2009. That belief is what has made Turkey's secularists so deeply anti-American. As they see ErdoÄan lash out against the West, they conclude that such support is no longer forthcoming. That, in turn, makes ErdoÄan all the more vulnerable in the public perception.
- It is a safe bet that Turkey's Islamists (and their fellow travelers) must be calculating whether or not it is in their interest to see ErdoÄan continue in power. He has not yet reached the tipping point where most conclude they are better off without him, but he may be approaching it rapidly. The number of resignations from the AKP parliamentary group is mounting. Importantly, it is an open secret that a considerable minority of the cabinet as well as the parliamentary group may be willing to switch its allegiance from ErdoÄan to President G¼l. Not least, AKP internal rules prohibit anyone, including ErdoÄan, from being re-elected to a fourth term. While that rule could still be changed, several dozen parliamentarians would be unable to seek re-election under the current rules, fomenting discontent.
- The December 2013 corruption probe was just the beginning of damaging allegations targeting ErdoÄan. His situation is likely to worsen. When the tipping point is reached, events are likely to unravel very fast as the AKP rank and file seek to save the party's position of power.
- ErdoÄan is a talented politician and may yet find ways to survive this crisis as a weakened leader. His main asset is the sense of unity within the core AKP that provides a strong antidote to an overt split; no one including G¼l wants to bear responsibility for splitting the party of power. Even the G¼lenists appear to see a united AKP'--but without ErdoÄan'--as the ideal outcome. But even if ErdoÄan succeeds in staying in power, his chances of achieving one-man rule are now largely illusory. He could change party rules and seek a fourth term or, more likely, open an escape hatch and seek to be elected president under the current constitution. This would lead to his gradual loss of influence over day-to-day politics. In any case, it is more than likely that the Islamist movement that he led to unprecedented dominance over Turkish politics will soon conclude that ErdoÄan has done his part. It is, therefore, important for Western observers to begin thinking of the post-ErdoÄan period, even if that may not be imminent.
- What, then, would a post-ErdoÄan Turkey look like? This will be the moment of truth for Turkish "moderate" Islam. At first sight, Turkey's trajectory over the past several years suggests that even in the best possible circumstances, political Islam will be unable to shake its undemocratic, authoritarian, and intolerant characteristics. Even Turkey's largest Islamist community, the G¼len movement, now implicitly acknowledges this, opposing the very notion of political Islam. But so far, Islamists have been able to say with some justification that the problem is not political Islam but ErdoÄan as a person. The track record of ErdoÄan's successors will determine whether political Islam can redeem itself.
- Svante E. Cornell is director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute and Silk Road Studies Program, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies and the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. He is the editor-in-chief of the center's biweekly, The Turkey Analyst.
- [1]Milliyet (Istanbul), July 16, 1996.[2] M.K. Kaya and Svante E. Cornell, "Turkish Political Corruption: The AKP, Too?" Turkey Analyst, Sept. 25, 2008.[3]Today's Zaman (Istanbul), Apr. 20, 2010.[4] Halil Karaveli, "Referendum Victory Opens the Way for Erdogan's Presidency," Turkey Analyst, Sept. 15, 2010.[5] Gareth Jenkins, "ErdoÄan's Volatile Authoritarianism: Tactical Ploy or Strategic Vision?" Turkey Analyst, Dec. 5, 2012.[6]Ibid.[7] Tobias Brunner, "Verschw¶rungstheoretiker wird Erdogans Chefberater," Der Spiegel (Hamburg), July 10, 2013.[8]AkÅam (Istanbul), May 7, 2012.[9]The World Tribune (Washington, D.C.), Mar. 24, 2012.[10]Today's Zaman, Dec. 4, 2011.[11]Halil M. Karaveli, "ErdoÄan's Way: Confrontation at Home and Abroad May Be Backfiring," Turkey Analyst, Nov. 21, 2012.[12]The Diplomat (Tokyo), Dec. 1, 2013.[13] For more information on Sledgehammer, see Gareth Jenkins, "The Snake That Doesn't Touch Me: Turkey's Special Authority Courts," Turkey Analyst, Mar. 5, 2012; for Ergenekon, see idem, Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey's Ergenekon Investigation (Washington, D.C.: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute/Silk Road Studies Program, 2009).[14]The Wall Street Journal, June 4, 2010.[15] Fethullah G¼len, "aÄın Ruh HastaliÄı Kibir," Today's Zaman, Nov. 23, 2011.[16] See, for example, Reuters, Feb. 7, 2014.[17]YNet News (Tel Aviv), June 14, 2013.[18] See, for example, The World Post (New York), June 9, 2013.[19] Marc Champion, "Does Erdogan Really Believe in an Interest-rate Lobby?" Bloomberg News Service (New York), June 28, 2013.
- Related Topics: Turkey and Turks | Svante E. Cornell | Spring 2014 MEQreceive the latest by email: subscribe to the free mef mailing listThis text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete and accurate information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.
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- Turkey Plans 'Istanbul Canal' for Russian Oil Shipments to Bypass Bosporus - Bloomberg
- Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will build a canal from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea, turning the city of Istanbul into ''two peninsulas and an island'' and diverting shipping traffic from the Bosporus.
- The ''Istanbul Canal,'' which will be up to 50 kilometers (30 miles) long, 150 meters wide and 25 meters deep, will carry as many as 160 ships per day including the largest oil tankers, Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul today. Planning will take two years, he said.
- Erdogan declined to give a cost estimate or exact location for the canal, saying they would be kept secret to ''avoid any kind of negativity or injustice'' before the project begins. In response to a reporter's question, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbas said the project would cost more than $10 billion and take eight years to build.
- Turkey is seeking to keep shipping away from the Bosporus, a winding waterway that runs through the middle of the city of 12 million people. The U.S. Energy Information Administration calls the strait ''one of the world's busiest chokepoints'' and ''most difficult waterways to navigate.''
- Around 2.9 million barrels of oil a day were transported through the Bosporus in 2009, down from 3.4 million in 2004, according to the U.S. agency's list of world oil transit chokepoints. The decrease came as Russia shifted crude oil exports from the Black Sea toward Baltic ports, it said.
- The biggest ships to navigate the Bosporus strait today are known as suezmaxes, so called because they are also the largest to transit Egypt's Suez Canal fully loaded. They can haul 1 million barrels of oil.
- The Istanbul bypass would allow very large crude carriers, or VLCCs, which can transport twice as much, to enter the Black Sea, potentially curbing demand for the smaller vessels seeking consignments of Russian oil.
- ''If this canal is built and if the infrastructure in the Black Sea follows in terms of port expansion, bigger vessels could absorb the volumes of smaller ships,'' Luis Mateus, an analyst at Riverlake Shipping SA in Geneva, said by e-mail today. ''The canal would also alleviate the congestion and have faster transit times, but the industry needs to follow and adapt itself to a change in transport dynamics.''
- New bridges and highways will be built over the planned Istanbul Canal, which will be flanked by hotels and new apartment buildings, Erdogan said.
- Erdogan said there would be no trouble funding the canal.
- ''Turkey deserves a crazy, magnificent project like this by 2023,'' Erdogan said, referring to the 100th anniversary of the declaration of the Turkish Republic.
- A former mayor of Istanbul, Erdogan is seeking re-election for a third term on June 12.
- To contact the reporter on this story: Benjamin Harvey in Ankara at bharvey11@bloomberg.net
- To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net
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- Edogan call with Son
-
- Translated
- Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Are you home son?
- Bilal Erdogan (son): Yes father
- RTE: Now! This morning [they] made an operation. Ali Agaoglu, Reza Zerrab, Erdogan's [Bayraktar-ex minister] son, Zafer's [Caglayan ex-minister] son, Muammer's [Guler ex-minister] son, etc.. All their houses are being searched now.
- RTE: I'm saying that Muammer's son, Zafer's son, Erdogan's son, Ali Agaoglu, Reza Zerrab etc they are searching the houses of 18 people under a big corruption operation thing.
- RTE: OK? Now, what I say is, you take everything that you have in the house out. OK?
- BE: What do I have at home? There is your money in the safe
- RTE: That's what I am saying. Now, I am sending your sister. OK?
- RTE: Your sister, I'm saying.
- RTE: Then,... She has the information, OK. Talk with your big brother
- RTE: On him,,, Let's do..., talk with your uncle too, he should also take out, also talk to your [maternal] uncle, he should also...
- BE: What should we do with these daddy, where should we put them?
- RTE: To specific places, to some specific places... do it
- (A woman's voice on background saying Berat )
- RTE: That's what I am saying. Now, get together, go get your uncle, I don't know if Uncle Ziya has some, OK? Also immediately [inform] your brother Burak too.
- NE: OK father. You mean Sumeyye [The Sister], I mean take out, Sumeyye will tell me where to take them?
- RTE: Yes, fine. C'mon now, do [it] think about yours among yourselves with your uncle, etc
- RTE: Yes, yes, let's contact fast, until 10.00. Because the issue is...
- NE: Father, We got together with Brother Hasan etc. Brother Berat, my uncle, we are together, thinking about it. Berat has another idea. He says that let's give some of it to Faruk [Kalyoncu] for the other business/thing so he can process them like the previous ones. Shall we do it, we can solve a big amount with this.
- NE: OK. For the other part, because we started a business partnership with Mehmet Gur, we thought of giving it to him saying keep it, as the projects come you can use from that. This way, we will be able to dissolve and move the rest to somewhere else.
- RTE: OK, fine, as long as you do...
- NE: She arrived home, she'll now come here. OK daddy, we will sort this out today, inshallah (Godwilling). Anything else?
- RTE: It would be good if you do... If you can dissolve them all.
- BE: Yes, we will dissolve them all, inshallah
- RTE: Did you do the other tasks I gave you?
- BE: We will finish them in the evening. We sorted some out; We sorted the Berat part, now we will first handle the part with Mehmet Gur and the rest, we will do that when it gets dark.
- RTE: What did Sumeyye do?
- BE: She took them out, brought, we talked, etc.
- RTE: Did she sort both sides?
- BE: I think so daddy, she said she emptied both.
- BE: Yes, she said both of them, but you mean this by saying both sides, right?
- BE: What time will you arrive?
- RTE: Do not talk on the phone
- BE: Hi daddy, I am calling to... we did [it] mostly. Eee, did you call me daddy?
- RTE: No I did not, you called me
- BE: I was called from a secret number
- RTE: By saying mostly, did you fully dissolve it
- BE: We did not zero it yet daddy. Let me explain.. We still have a 30 million euros that we could not yet dissolve. Berat thought of something.. There was an additional 25 million dollars that Ahmet Calik should receive. They say let's give this [to him] there. When the money comes, we do [something], they say. And with the remaining money we can buy a flat from Sehrizar, he says. What do you say, father?
- RTE: Is Sumeyye with you?
- BE: Yes with me, should I call her?
- RTE: No, there was another sound, that's why I asked
- BE: Umm.. I mean, he can transfer 35 million dollars to Calik and buy a flat from Sherizar with the remaining.
- RTE: Whatever, we will sort it
- BE: Should we do it like this?
- BE: Do you want them all dissolved father, or do you want some money for yourself
- RTE: No, it cannot stay, son. You could transfer that to the other, with Mehmet you could transfer it there...
- BE: Yes, we gave to them. We gave 20 [million] to them
- RTE: For God's sake, first you should've transferred you could then do...
- BE: we were able to give this much for now, it is hard already, it takes too much space. We are putting some of it to another place, we gave part of it to Tunc, and then...
- RTE: did you transfer all to Tunc?
- BE: (Sumeyye, can you come) Where, father?
- RTE: To Tunc, I say, did you transfer all to Tunc?
- BE: They asked, I guess he said that he could take 10 million euros.
- RTE: Whatever. Do not talk like this on the phone.
- BE: OK, then, we will sort it as such
- RTE: Ok do it. I am not able to come tonight, I will stay in Ankara
- BE:OK, we are sorting it out. Don't worry
- RTE. I wondered if everything is fine, so I called
- BE: No, nothing. We finished the tasks you gave us, with the help of the God
- BE: Fully, I mean saying zeroed, how should I put it? I had Samandira and Maltepe's money, 730.000 USD and 300.000 TL. I will handle these too. We owe 1 million TL to Faruk İsik (AKP MP); I will give those to him and tell him to transfer the rest to the academy.
- RTE: I mean, do not keep anything on you, whatever it is Samandira or whatever... Send it to where it needs to be, where do you keep it?
- BE: OK daddy, but I think currently we are under surveillance
- RTE: What have I been telling to you since the very beginning!
- BE: But is it the bodyguard team? Who is following us father?
- RTE: Son, you are being tapped
- BE: But they are also visually monitoring, they say
- RTE: That may be true. Now, we did some things (meaning intervention) in Istanbul Police Headquarters.
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- Sandy Hook
-
- CT News Junkie | Because You Need It. Bad.
- by James H. Smith | February 23, 2014 11:11pm
- by Don DeCesare | February 20, 2014 10:11am
- The strong, specific recommendations of the Connecticut Task Force on Victim Privacy & The Public's Right to Know have now been submitted to the legislative leadership. The votes for them were overwhelmingly affirmative, no less than 14-3 in a group where many observers thought the split would likely, at best, be 9-8.
- Continue reading "OP-ED | Balancing Act" >>
- Tags: Don DeCesare, Right to Know, FOIA, Sandy Hook, task forceby Terry D. Cowgill | February 14, 2014 5:30am
- The cause of freedom of information in Connecticut went through a bleak period last year. The ghastly school massacre in Newtown had prompted frantic lawmakers to pass laws restricting FOI in the dead of night and without public hearings. And just when open-government advocates thought things had quieted down, along came the ''Task Force on Victim Privacy and the Public's Right to Know.''
- Continue reading "OP-ED | Lawmakers Should Stiff-Arm The Secrecy Crowd" >>
- Tags: freedom of information, Freedom of Information Commission, FOI, Task Force on Victim Privacy and the Public's Right to Know, Donald Williams, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, James H. Smith, Ella Grasso, dhby Hugh McQuaid | February 14, 2014 5:30am
- Freedom of Information advocates and historians are hoping lawmakers will agree this year to repeal a last-minute 2011 law that historical researchers say has stifled their work in Connecticut.
- Continue reading "FOI Advocates Seek To Gain Access To Historical Documents" >>
- Tags: Freedom of Information, transparency, secrecy, PTSD, Civil War, Matthew Warshauer, dhby Hugh McQuaid | February 3, 2014 12:00pm
- Proposals to change the Freedom of Information Act are on the legislative table again this year in addition to the recommendations of the recently-concluded task force on privacy and public disclosure.
- Continue reading "Groups Seek Exemptions To Connecticut's Public Records Law" >>
- Tags: Colleen Murphy, Freedom of Information Commission, James Smith, Ed Jutila, Ed Meyer, Anthony Musto, General Administration and Elections Committee, dhby Christine Stuart | January 20, 2014 5:30am
- The state of Connecticut's official website ct.gov is about to get a makeover and state officials say it will increase its functionality and usability.
- Continue reading "State Plans A Website Makeover" >>
- Tags: NIC USA, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, Denise Merrill, Mark Raymond, ct.gov, website, dhby Christine Stuart | December 26, 2013 5:22pm
- by Hugh McQuaid | December 17, 2013 7:24pm
- A proposal adopted Tuesday during the lengthy final meeting of a panel on privacy and public disclosure asks the legislature to approve policies to allow residents to inspect '-- but not copy '-- law enforcement records of homicides.
- Continue reading "'It Shifts the Burden from the Government to the People'" >>
- Tags: privacy, secrecy, public disclosure, FOI, task force, James Smith, Reuben Bradford, Kevin Kane, dhby Heath W. Fahle | December 6, 2013 11:56am
- Making government more open and accessible is easy for politicians to say but usually hard to implement. At the same time, government transparency is often difficult to see, though its effects are plainly evident. In recent days, these truths have been as brightly displayed as holiday decorations.
- Continue reading "OP-ED | What We See With Government Transparency" >>
- Tags: Board of Regents, Sandy Hook, 911 calls, transparency, payroll, salary, heath w. fahle, dhby Hugh McQuaid | December 2, 2013 4:26pm
- State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III will not appeal a judge's ruling ordering the Wednesday release of the 911 calls made during the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
- Continue reading "Sedensky Won't Appeal Order To Release 911 Tapes" >>
- Tags: 911, Newtown, Judge Eliot Prescott, Associated Press, Freedom of Information, dh
-
- Victims' Privacy Task Force Proposes FOI Changes - Hartford Courant
- January 24, 2014|By JENNY WILSON, jenwilson@courant.com, The Hartford Courant
- A state task force that spent months studying how best to balance victims' privacy and the public's right to know Friday proposed new limits on what records must be disclosed to the public under Connecticut's Freedom of Information Act.
- The panel's recommendations sets up a heated legislative battle and clashes in the upcoming session over the public's right to information. Debate on the proposed changes to the FOI law are expected when lawmakers return to the state capitol next month.
- In a 15-2 vote Friday, the panel approved four recommendations, the most significant of which would restrict public access to crime scene media, including recordings of 911 calls, dispatch tapes, and photos or videos depicting homicide victims. Members of the public could view the media and obtain transcripts of recordings, but would be prevented from obtaining a copy unless they could prove that the release does not invade privacy. Victims' family members would be notified of any requests for copies, and would have an opportunity to object. The task force also suggested making unauthorized reproduction of the records a crime.
- Last year, controversy surrounding the release of investigative records from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings led to a new law that blocks release of Newtown crime scene photos and videos to the public. The law also restricts the release of images of murder victims, portions of emergency call recordings in which law enforcement officers discuss murder victims, and records identifying witnesses younger than 18. The 17-member state task force on Victims' Privacy and the Public's Right to Know was created under that law.
- The first recommendation tweaks the law passed last year preventing the release of records that identify minors who witness crimes. The current statute applies to all crimes; the proposed change would only apply to violent crimes, drug offenses, and sexual offenses. Records identifying minors who witnessed a shoplifting, for example, would be public '' but the law would largely remain unchanged.
- The recommendation to block the release of 911 calls and dispatch tapes related to a homicide would apply to all records that conveyed "impaired physical condition or mental anguish of the caller or another person."
- The task force also recommended that lawmakers study the issue of victim privacy and the fiscal impact of the proposed changes. This year, legislators will likely will introduce some form of the recommendations as legislation, as well as other proposals not recommended by the task force.
- The AFT Connecticut, a labor union, is pushing for legislation that would block the release of parole officers' files, including those concerning a department investigation or a discrimination complaint. This proposal is sure to be met with backlash from open government activists, some of whom have already vowed to testify against the panel's recommendations at public hearings.
- "I voted yes to this report '... because I think the report is an accurate reflection of what happened in this room. But it is not my intention to support the recommendations," said chief public defender Susan Storey, a member of the task force.
- The two members of the panel who voted against the report were Colleen Murphy, executive director of the Freedom of Information Commission, and veteran newspaper editor James Smith.
- Smith said during the hearing that journalists have "grave concerns" about the vote. "Journalists do not want more and more cut off from what the public should know," he said.
-
- Agenda 21
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- Global Warming 'Hiatus' Caused By Volcanoes' 'Cooling Effect,' Study Says Eruptions Slow Global Temperature Rise
- Since 1998, the average rate of Earth's rising global surface temperature has relaxed, much to the chagrin of climate scientists whose climate-model predictions told a different story. Now, researchers say they've found the cause of Earth's global warming ''hiatus.''
- According to a new study, published in the journal Nature Geoscience, volcanoes are the reason the average rate of warming dropped from .31 degrees Fahrenheit per decade between 1970 and 1998 to .072 degrees Fahrenheit per decade between 1998 and 2012. This ''muted surface warming'' was the result of a series of 17 small volcanic eruptions, beginning in 2000, that spewed enough aerosols into the atmosphere to explain the disparity between climate change models and actual warming trends.
- The reason is what researchers call the ''cooling influences'' of volcanic gases. Sulphur has a sun-blocking effect, scattering incoming sunlight and offsetting emissions of heat-trapping gases. The influence of these volcanic ejections has been largely ignored, researchers claim. Scientists say the effect accounts for about 15 percent of the difference between predicted and observed warming since 2000.
- "Part of the lack of the increase in warming for the last 15 years may be due to the cooling effect of volcanoes," C(C)line Bonfils, a climate scientist at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California and co-author of the study, told Live Science.
- The cooling impact of volcanic eruptions, including the 2011 Nabro eruption in Eritrea, the 2008 Kasatochi eruption in Alaska and the 2010 Merapi eruption in Indonesia, could explain why Earth's warming climate has paused. According to Reuters, large volcanic eruptions can dim global sunshine for years. But scientists are increasingly learning that even small eruptions can have a dimming effect.
- ''This is a complex detective story,'' Benjamin Santer, a climate researcher at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and lead author of the study, told Reuters. ''Volcanoes are part of the answer but there's no factor that is solely responsible for the hiatus.''
- This is hardly the first study to suggest that volcanic eruptions can significantly alter the planet's climate. A 2013 study by a team of scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder found that small amounts of sulfur dioxide emitted from Earth's surface eventually make it into Earth's stratosphere where the particles reflect sunlight back into space. Researchers estimated that these aerosols have offset up to 25 percent of the warming scientists attribute to human greenhouse gas emissions.
- "The biggest implication here is that scientists need to pay more attention to small and moderate volcanic eruptions when trying to understand changes in Earth's climate," Brian Toon, of CU-Boulder's Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, said in a statement. "But overall these eruptions are not going to counter the greenhouse effect. Emissions of volcanic gases go up and down, helping to cool or heat the planet, while greenhouse gas emissions from human activity just continue to go up."
- It's not just volcanoes that scientists believe are partially responsible for Earth's global warming slowdown. A 2013 study by the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change argued that natural variations in the Earth's climate, such as the ocean's absorbing of extra heat, could account for our planet's slowing surface temperature rise, according to The Guardian.
- Despite the global warming hiatus, global temperatures continue to rise. Last November was the warmest November on record since 1891, according to a report by the National Climate Data Center. Not to mention that overall, 13 of the 14 warmest years on record have been in this century, the World Meteorological Organization reports.
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- Returning families to Fukushima
- Feb. 25, 2014 - 07:05AM JST
- The government will lift an exclusion order on an area around the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, allowing some residents to return to live for the first time since the disaster, officials said Monday.
- ''The formal lifting of the evacuation order will come on April 1, affecting around 300 people'' whose homes are in part of Tamura, a town situated around 20 kilometers west of the wrecked plant, a Cabinet Office official told AFP.
- Over the next two years, up to 30,000 people will be allowed to return to their homes in the original exclusion zone, thrown up in a bid to protect people from the harmful effects of leaking radiation, he added.
- The decision comes despite sharp divisions among residents over whether or not they should return, with many still concerned over the persistent presence of low-level radiation, despite decontamination efforts.
- Under government guidelines, areas are declared suitable for habitation if someone living there is exposed to a maximum of 20 millisieverts of radiation per year.
- Officials have said they would like to get radiation exposure down to one millisievert a year.
- The International Commission on Radiological Protection recommends a dosage limit of one millisievert per year from all sources of radiation, but says exposure to less than 100 millisieverts per year presents no statistically significant increase in cancer risk.
- A single CT hospital scan delivers around 10 millisieverts, according to the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Japan.
- Once the evacuation order is lifted, people will be free to choose whether or not to return home, the official said.
- ''Compensation (paid by the government and Fukushima operator Tokyo Electric Power Co) will continue, in terms of properties and the disaster-led joblessness,'' he said.
- ''But the monthly pay of 100,000 yen to address emotional distress caused by the accident will end if residents decide to return home,'' he said.
- Nearly three years after the tsunami and nuclear disaster, around 100,000 people remain displaced because of evacuation orders, according to Japan's Reconstruction Agency.
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- Some residents to return to Fukushima
- By Yoko Wakatsuki and Paul Armstrong, CNN
- February 24, 2014 -- Updated 2136 GMT (0536 HKT)
- 350 people from the Miyakoji district of Tamura city will be allowed to head home20-kilometer (12-mile) exclusion zone declared around crippled nuclear plant since 2011Devastating earthquake and tsunami knocked out the Fukushima nuclear plantMany residents remain concerned about radiation levels despite decontamination efforts(CNN) -- Japan's government is to allow some residents around the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant to return to their homes to live for the first time since the March, 2011 disaster.
- Tens of thousands of people were evacuated and a 20-kilometer (12-mile) exclusion zone declared around the plant after a devastating earthquake and tsunami triggered a reactor meltdown -- the world's worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl in 1986 -- causing high levels of radioactive contamination.
- Once bustling communities in this pocket of eastern Japan were turned into ghost towns.
- Google Street View maps Fukushima nuclear ghost town
- But on April 1, some 350 people from the Miyakoji district of Tamura city will be allowed to head back to their homes permanently, according to the country's Reconstruction Agency. Some 31,000 people could eventually return home, it added.
- The government says about 138,000 Fukushima residents are still living in temporary accommodation.
- At a meeting Sunday, Miyakoji residents were told that radiation contamination levels had lowered sufficiently for their return to the area -- though some voiced concern over existing radiation levels despite decontamination efforts around some communities.
- Life goes on despite uncertainty in Fukushima region
- Areas are declared suitable for habitation if residents are exposed to a maximum of 20 millisieverts of radiation per year. Officials have said they would like to get radiation exposure down to one millisievert a year.
- The containment effort at the wrecked Fukushima-Daichi plant has been beset by problems, with regular reports of leaks of contaminated material. Last week, an estimated 100 metric tons of highly contaminated water flowed over a barrier around a containment tank and is being absorbed into the ground, plant operators, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), said in a statement -- though it denied there was any leakage into the nearby Pacific Ocean.
- Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government vowed to step in to deal with the toxic water crisis at the plant that caused concern in Japan and abroad about the scale of the problem faced by TEPCO.
- The leak reported Thursday is one of the largest since TEPCO reported last summer that about 300 tons of radioactive water had leaked from a tank.
- Low radiation risks outside Fukushima zone, study finds
- Part of complete coverage on
- February 24, 2014 -- Updated 1801 GMT (0201 HKT)
- In an exclusive interview, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni urges the West to "respect African values."
- February 25, 2014 -- Updated 1019 GMT (1819 HKT)
- Beijingers are once again choking as smog levels hit "heavy or even worse" levels in the capital and a number of other cities across the country.
- February 24, 2014 -- Updated 1900 GMT (0300 HKT)
- James Nixey says President Vladimir Putin's bad week may be good for Russia.
- February 25, 2014 -- Updated 1025 GMT (1825 HKT)
- Augmented reality, 3D printing, nanorobots: Which trends are most likely to change our lives, now or in the near future?
- CNN and CNN Money have a team on the ground, bringing you all the latest news and insights where mobile might go next.
- February 24, 2014 -- Updated 1654 GMT (0054 HKT)
- Ukrainians got their first glimpse of the grounds of President Viktor Yanukovich's residence outside Kiev.
- February 24, 2014 -- Updated 2303 GMT (0703 HKT)
- The drug lord had an assault rifle handy when authorities raided his beachside hideaway over the weekend, but never got to open fire.
- February 25, 2014 -- Updated 0016 GMT (0816 HKT)
- Dancing sensation Akshat Singh says it doesn't matter what you look like if you want to dance. Mallika Kapur reports.
- February 25, 2014 -- Updated 1525 GMT (2325 HKT)
- A look back at 100 years of power dressing for women.
- February 25, 2014 -- Updated 1438 GMT (2238 HKT)
- Browse through images you don't always see on news reports from CNN teams around the world.
- February 25, 2014 -- Updated 1155 GMT (1955 HKT)
- CNN's Richard Quest and the CNN Freedom Project look at the controversial issue of child labor in the cocoa industry.
- February 25, 2014 -- Updated 1538 GMT (2338 HKT)
- From a sheep ranch in Western Australia comes the oldest slice of Earth we know.
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- The US Navy knew: Fukushima's 'hard rain' on USS Ronald Reagan - News - The Ecologist
- You picked up stuff that was ambient which indicated that you actually were in the plume? 'That's correct.' And this was - this was 30 times higher than what you would have expected? 'Yes sir.'
- The revelations cast new light on the $1 billion lawsuit filed by the sailors against Tokyo Electric Power.
- Many of the sailors are already suffering devastating health impacts, but are being stonewalled by Tepco and the Navy.
- The Reagan had joined several other U.S. ships in Operation Tomodachi ("Friendship") to aid victims of the March 11, 2011 quake and tsunami.
- Photographic evidence and first-person testimony confirms that on March 12, 2011 the ship was within two miles of Fukushima Dai'ichi as the reactors there began to melt and explode. In the midst of a snow storm, deck hands were enveloped in a warm cloud that came with a metallic taste.
- Sailors testify that the Reagan's 5,500-member crew was told over the ship's intercom to avoid drinking or bathing in desalinized water drawn from a radioactive sea.
- The huge carrier quickly ceased its humanitarian efforts and sailed 100 miles out to sea, where newly published internal Navy communications confirm it was still taking serious doses of radioactive fallout.
- A wide range of ailments have been reported
- Scores of sailors from the Reagan and other ships stationed nearby now report a wide range of ailments reminiscent of those documented downwind from atomic bomb tests in the Pacific and Nevada, and at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.
- A similar metallic taste was described by pilots who dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and by central Pennsylvanians downwind of Three Mile Island. Some parts of the atolls downwind from the South Pacific bomb tests remain uninhabitable six decades later.
- Among the 81 plaintiffs in the federal class action are a sailor who was pregnant during the mission, and her 'Baby A.G.' born that October with multiple genetic mutations.
- Officially, Tepco and the Navy say the dose levels were safe. But a stunning new report by an American scholar based in Tokyo confirms that Naval officers communicated about what they knew to be the serious irradiation of the Reagan.
- Written by Kyle Cunningham and published in Japan Focus, "Mobilizing Nuclear Bias" describes the interplay between the U.S. and Japanese governments as Fukushima devolved into disaster.
- Cunningham writes that transcribed conversations obtained through the Freedom of Information Act feature naval officials who acknowledge that even while 100 miles away from Fukushima, the Reagan's readings are highly elevated.
- Admiral Donald:(...) Earlier this evening, as the USS Ronald Reagan was operating off the coast of Japan, we - the ship just arrived. We had given the ship some guidance as far as positioning was concerned to stay clear of the area of the potential plume, basically told her to stay 50 miles outside of the radius of the - 100 miles - excuse me - 50 miles radius outside of the plant and then 100 miles along the plume with a vector of 45 degrees. The ship was adhering to that requirement and detected some activity about two and a half times above normal airborne activity using on-board sensors on the aircraft carriers. So that indicated that they had found the plume and it was probably more significant than what we had originally thought. The second thing that has happened is we have had some helicopters conducting operations from the aircraft carrier and one of the helicopters came back from having stopped on board the Japanese command ship in the area, and people who had been on - were on the helicopter who had walked on the deck of the ship, were monitored and had elevated counts on their feet, 2500 counts per minute. But I wanted to get you guys on the line and my expert on the line so we can get the data and then the proper people notified.Mr Poneman:Okay, I have a couple of questions. Number one, in terms of the level of radiation that you are picking up, what's the delta between that and any information we have from the Japanese or other sources of what the level of radiation would be, given the venting and so forth that we know has occurred?Mr Mueller:So - this is Mueller - the sample that was taken and then what we detected, we were 100 nautical miles away and it's - in our terms it's - compared to just normal background it's about 30 times what you would detect just on a normal air sample out at sea. And so we thought - we thought based on what we had heard on the reactors that we wouldn't detect that level even at 25 miles. So it's much greater than what we had thought. We didn't think we would detect anything at 100 miles.Mr Poneman:You didn't think you'd detect anything at 100 miles. Okay, and then in terms of the regulations and so forth of people operating in these kinds of areas, I forget some you know, acronym for it, PAG (Protective Action Guidelines) or something, how do the levels detected compare with what is permissible?Mr Mueller:If it were a member of the general public, it would take - well, it would take about 10 hours to reach a limit, a PAG limit.Mr Mueller:Right. For a member of the public.Mr Poneman:Right. You mean, at the level you detected?Mr Mueller:Yes sir. But 10 hours, it's a thyroid dose issue.Mr Poneman:Okay, but the net of all this is that the amount of release that is detected by these two episodes whatever you would call them, is significantly higher than anything you would have expected what you have been reading from all sources?Mr Mueller:Yes sir. The number specific number we detected was 2.5 the times 10 to the 88 minus nine microcuries per milliliter, airborne, and that's particulate airborne. It is - we did not take radioiodide samples so I don't know that value, but this is particulate airborne...Mr Poneman:Tell me again exactly how you picked up these two forms of samples.Mr Mueller:We have automatic detectors in the plant that picked up - picked up the airborne, and all of our continuous monitors alarmed at the same level, at this value. And then we took portable air samples on the flight desk and got the same value.Admiral Donald:These are normally running continuous detectors, continuous monitors that run in the engine room all the time, monitoring our equipment.Mr Poneman:These are detectors on the Reagan?Admiral Donald:On the Ronald Reagan, correct.Mr Mueller:Yes sir.Mr Poneman:On the Ronald Reagan. They are there because you have got equipment there that you know, it could emit stuff and while you were there, you picked up stuff that was ambient which indicated that you actually were in the plume?Mr Mueller:That's correct.Mr Poneman:And this was - this was 30 times higher than what you would have expected?Mr Mueller:Yes sir.
- This is an extract from Mobilizing Nuclear Bias: The Fukushima Nuclear Crisis and the Politics of Uncertainty. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (2011, March 13). Freedom of Information Act document NRC-944.
- Serious fallout was also apparently found on helicopters coming back from relief missions. One unnamed U.S. government expert is quoted in the Japan Focus article as saying:
- "At 100 meters away it (the helicopter) was reading 4 sieverts per hour. That is an astronomical number and it told me, what that number means to me, a trained person, is there is no water on the reactor cores and they are just melting down, there is nothing containing the release of radioactivity. It is an unmitigated, unshielded number." Confidential communication, Sept. 17, 2012.]
- Tepco and the Navy contend the Reagan did not receive a high enough dose to warrant serious concern. But Japan, South Korea and Guam deemed the carrier too radioactive to enter their ports. Stock photographs show sailors working en masse to scrub the ship down.
- It's not getting any better
- The $4.3 billion boat is now docked in San Diego. Critics question whether it belongs there at all. Attempts to decontaminate U.S. ships irradiated during the Pacific nuclear bombs tests from 1946-1963 proved fruitless. Hundreds of sailors were exposed to heavy doses of radiation, but some ships had to be sunk anyway.
- Leaks at the Fukushima site continue to worsen. Despite its denials, Tepco recently admitted it had underestimated certain radiation releases by a factor of 500 percent. A new report indicates that particles of radioactive Cesium 134 from Fukushima have been detected in the ocean off the west coast of North America.
- Global concerns continue to rise about Fukushima's on-going crises with liquid leaks, the troubled removal of radioactive fuel rods, the search for three missing melted cores, organized crime influence at the site and much more.
- The flow of information has been seriously darkened by the pro-nuclear Abe Administration's State Secrets Act, which imposes major penalties on those who might report what happens at Fukushima.
- Sailors 'barred' from suing
- But if this new evidence holds true, it means that the Navy knew the Ronald Reagan was being plastered with serious radioactive fallout and it casts the accident in a light even more sinister than previously believed.
- The stricken sailors are barred from suing the Navy, and their case against Tepco will depend on a series of complex international challenges. But one thing is certain: neither they nor the global community have been getting anything near the full truth about Fukushima.
- Harvey Wasserman is editor of the Nuke Free website.
- This article was originally published on Nuke Free under the title 'Documents Show the Navy Knew Fukushima Dangerously Contaminated the USS Reagan'
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- EFI Report: Government Advisors Recommend to Discontinue EEG German Energy Blog
- While the government is in the process of revising the Renewable Energy Sources Act (EEG), the Commission of Experts on Research and Innovation (Expertenkommission Forschung und Innovation '' EFI), recommends to abolish the EEG. Neither was it a cost-efficient climate protection tool, nor did it have a positive effect on innovation, the experts concluded in their 2014 report, presented to Chancellor Merkel today.
- The EFI expert commission has been appointed by the federal government to provide scientific policy advice. A key objective of the commission is to point out strengths and weaknesses of the German innovation system and to develop proposals for national research and innovation policy. Its latest and very critical report contributes to the controversial EEG reform debate.
- The increase of renewable energy sources in the gross electricity production from 7% in 2000, the year the EEG entered into force, to about 23% had resulted in high costs. EEG feed-in tariff payments rose from EUR 883 million in 2000 to EUR 23 billion in 2013, the Committee points out. EEG surcharge transfer payments on average accounted for one fifth of the average electricity price for consumers.
- 1. EEG As Climate Protection ToolThe EEG was not a suitable instrument for climate protection, since CO2 emissions for industries covered by the European Emissions Trading System EU ETS were capped, the expert commission says. Hence, the expansion of renewables triggered by the EEG would not lead to additional CO2 avoidance, but only to a shift of emissions (carbon leakage effect). 'The EEG does not help increase climate protection, furthermore it increases costs'', the experts say.
- 2. Impact of the EEG on InnovationAccording to the commission, empirical studies for the period 1990 to 2005 could only find an impact of the fixed feed-in tariffs paid under the EEG on innovation for wind power plants. A new study that specifically examines the effects of EEG feed-in tariffs for the period 2000 to 2009 did not find a positive correlation in any renewable energy sector at all, the professors say.
- Fixed feed-in tariffs did not provide the incentive to develop new technologies, the expert committee explains the findings. With feed-in tariffs that reflect average costs, an investor did not earn more by investing in a new technology than for an investment in an existing technology, while at the same time having a higher risk. Besides, market barriers for new technologies were likely to be created by the fast growth of old technologies that lead to cost reductions.
- 3. More R&D FundingAlready last year they had pointed out the imbalance between the EEG support and the promotion of research and development and advised to correct the imbalance in favour of R&D support.
- Regarding the government's schedule for the EEG reform, which shall enter into force on 1 August 2014, please see here.
- Source:Commission of Experts on Research and Innovation
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- USDA | OCE | Climate Change | USDA Regional Climate Hubs
- USDA Regional Climate Hubs
- What are USDA's Regional Climate Hubs?USDA's regional hubs will deliver information to farmers, ranchers and forest landowners to help them adapt to climate change and weather variability. The Hubs will build capacity within USDA to provide information and guidance on technologies and risk management practices at regional and local scales. To learn about how climate change and weather variability are affecting agriculture in your area, click on a region of the map above. For more information on the Climate Hubs, check out the following resources:
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- Andr(C) Heinz finding sustainable profit in the Nordics - nordiccleantechnews.com '' the leading Nordic cleantech news service
- InterviewPublished on September 28th, 2012 | by Erica Landin
- In his native USA, Andr(C) Heinz might be known to many as part of the prominent Heinz family and son to Teresa Heinz-Kerry, wife of former presidential candidate Senator John Kerry. However, Andr(C) Heinz has created his profile outside of pure politics '' as an environmentalist and long time advocate of sustainability.
- Heinz first started working with Sweden in 1995 when he opened the US branch of the Swedish non-profit organization The Natural Step. His move to Stockholm came in 1999, with the same organization, and ever since then he has maintained a presence in the country's capital. In 2007, in the midst of the first cleantech hype of the new century, Andr(C) Heinz stepped up his game by opening Scandinavia's first dedicated Venture Capital fund. The Sustainable Technologies Fund I (STF) was created to invest in early-stage cleantech companies in the Nordic countries.
- LIFETIME ADVOCATE OF SUSTAINABILITYWe meet Andr(C) Heinz in new offices, in a protected heritage building on the beautiful inner city island of Skeppsholmen in Stockholm. Over a black cup of coffee and his American intern's homemade banana bread, he explains why he made the decision to set up the Sustainable Technologies Fund together with investment directors Anders Frisk (former CEO of The Natural Step and Speed Ventures), Klas Gustafsson (formerly responsible for venture investments at Traction AB) and Hans Lundgren (former VP for Strategy of Vattenfall).
- ''I have been a lifetime advocate of sustainability and felt it was time to put my money where my mouth is,'' Heinz says with a broad smile. He was already a board member of The Heinz Endowment where he had overseen the creation of a program of environmental grants, but he wanted to do more. Heinz himself is a major co-investor in the fund, which raised 58M before it closed fundraising in 2008. ''The biggest argument I kept hearing against sustainability at the time was that green technologies cost more and that green energy can only function with government subsidies. I don't believe it and saw this as an opportunity to show that green technology development can be profitable.''
- POSITIVE ATTITUDE IN SWEDENSo with his strong us connections, why set up the fund in Sweden? ''There were several reasons,'' says Heinz. ''Having worked in Sweden before I had first-hand knowledge of the positive attitude toward sustainability. Attitudes, law and leadership in the field equaled interesting green practices and expertise.'' He pauses. ''In addition, the us market was fairly saturated but in the Nordics I did not get the same impression,'' says Heinz.
- ''We definitely had a bubble in the cleantech field in the us and eu in 2007-2008,'' he emphasizes, in regards to the time when the fund was set up. ''Still, there were many valuable companies around and good reasons for investing in cleantech.'' The fundamental market drivers were '' and are '' there but now the cleantech investment market has matured. ''There are always bumps along the road in the development of a new sector,'' he explains, ''The company failings we are seeing now are to be expected.''
- CLEANTECH IN NEXT STAGE OF DEVELOPMENTWe discuss the similarities to the IT bubble. When looking back, many of the futuristic plans from the IT hype have become reality, it just took a little more time than expected. Additionally, it was not always the initial companies that profited from the development.The cleantech field seems to have stepped through the door of the next development stage.
- ''One of the main things going on right now is that prices for solar energy are coming down drastically, which hasn't been pain-free for all players,'' says Heinz. He credits the German system of feeding tariffs with providing a progressive manner to make ''green'' energy more cost efficient and competitive, driving the development forward. Green energy prices in some parts of the world are soon competitive with the grid. A technology revolution is in the works.
- THE QUESTION OF RISKHowever, for a venture capital fund, the most interesting technologies and the most interesting investments are not necessarily the same thing. There is the question of stage, risk and timing.
- ''Risk often means something else to an entrepreneur than to an investor,'' says Heinz. ''For us 'risk' is not only the chance of the product being developed or making it to the market. It is also a question of the ability to meet deliverables, timelines and to run the finances effectively. Or, a great inventor might have a challenge in being able to work well with other people,'' he expounds.
- If those factors do not match with the funds requirements, it might not be a good investment case. This difference in risk perception between entrepreneurs and investors leads to the biggest set-backs according to Heinz. But it is clear that he cherishes the meetings with the creators of the next generation of clean technology solutions.
- ''The worst part about running a vc is having to say no to so many cool things,'' he smiles. ''But unfortunately, our job is not just to help companies succeed '' it's to find the ones with management teams that are most likely to do it.''The fund has now allocated its finances and it now remains to be proven if the investment strategy was effective. Companies like Triventus, Eco2Energy and Reac Fuel are part of the first fund. Heinz is quite positive and says the team will start raising money for a second fund in fall. Obviously, if Andr(C) Heinz continues to 'put his money where his mouth is' it is because he sees continued opportunity in Nordic cleantech. And this, we'd say, is the very best of reviews.
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- Andr(C) Heinz - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Andr(C) Thierstein Heinz (born December 9, 1969) is an American environmentalist.
- Heinz is a son of Senator Henry John Heinz III and businesswoman/philanthropist Maria Teresa Thierstein Simµes Ferreira. He has a younger brother named Christopher and an elder brother Henry IV. Andr(C) is a stepson of current U.S. Secretary of StateJohn Kerry, and stepbrother of Alexandra Kerry and Vanessa Kerry.
- Andr(C) Heinz has been active in the field of sustainable development since 1993, when he began working for William McDonough, the noted green architect and designer, on sustainable design issues and projects. At the same time, Heinz joined the board of The Heinz Endowments, where he oversaw the creation of an environmental grant-making program through a series of 14 topical environmental colloquia that convened leaders from around the world. He continues to serve on the Endowments board and on its Joint Investment Committee, which overseas the management of the $1.5 billion endowment.
- Following a six-month urban redevelopment project for the City of Pittsburgh, where he applied his knowledge together with colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University, Heinz began research for Paul Hawken on his latest book titled "Natural Capitalism." It chronicles examples of 75 percent or greater resource productivity at zero-to-negative cost, and suggests principles to help replicate those successes. Simultaneously, Heinz co-founded in 1995 the first U.S. office of The Natural Step, a Sweden-based nonprofit organization specialized in education and consulting around sustainable development.
- In 1999, after receiving a masters in environmental management at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where he specialized in industrial environmental management and industrial ecology, Heinz accepted a job offer to run the international office of The Natural Step in Stockholm. In 2004, Heinz left The Natural Step to focus on U.S. presidential politics as a surrogate spokesperson specializing in environmental policy and issues. Since then, he has turned his attention yet again to Scandinavia as the founder of Sustainable Technology Capital, a growth-stage, private equity management firm focused on Nordic Cleantech.
- External links[edit]References[edit]PersondataNameHeinz, AndreAlternative namesShort descriptionDate of birth9 December 1969Place of birthDate of deathPlace of death
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- [Jonathan H. Adler] Climate change goes back to the Supreme Court
- Climate change policy is back at the Supreme Court. This morning, the Supreme Court will hear 90 minutes of oral argument (as opposed to the usual 60) in Utility Air Regulatory Group v.EPA and consolidated cases. The case involves a challenge to an Environmental Protection Agency decision to regulate greenhouse gases under certain portions of the Clean Air Act. Though styled by many as a challenge to EPA's judgment, the case is really about the judgment of the High Court itself, as it forces the Court to consider some of the ramifications of its decision in Massachusetts v. EPA.
- A bit of background: In 2007, in Massachusetts, a closely divided Court concluded that greenhouse gases constitute air pollutants under the Clean Air Act, at least for purposes of Section 202, which requires the EPA to control emissions from new motor vehicles if it concludes that such emissions contribute to pollution that may be reasonably anticipated to threaten public health or welfare. In its opinion, the Court rejected the EPA's argument that recognizing GHGs as air pollutants would create implementation problems for the agency. As I and others argued at the time, this was a naive reading of the Act.
- In response to the Court's Massachusetts decision, the EPA concluded the GHGs did pose the requisite threat and adopted regulations limiting emissions from motor vehicles. The EPA also concluded that the Court's conclusion that GHGs are air pollutants under the Act required it to regulate emissions from stationary sources as well. This created a problem. As the EPA quickly concluded, it lacks the staffing and resources to regulate GHGs in accordance with the statutory text.
- The source of the problem is that the stationary source provisions of the Act require the regulation of all facilities that emit more than set levels of covered pollutants, either 250 or 100 tons per year. These thresholds make perfect sense for traditional air pollutants, such as sulfur dioxide. Applied to GHGs, however, these thresholds increase the universe of regulated facilities many times over '-- so much so that the EPA estimated that it would require $21 billion and 230,000 more employees to fulfill the relevant statutory obligations. Given that neither the EPA nor cooperating state regulatory agencies have anywhere near the requisite resources for this undertaking, the EPA created an out. It redefined the statutory thresholds for regulation under the relevant provisions of the Act, substituting 75,000 and 100,000 tons per year for 100 and 250 tpy, and reserved the authority to redefine these thresholds further as circumstances allow. This rule was challenged in the D.C. Circuit, along with the EPA's other GHG-related actions, to no avail. (For my posts on the D.C. Circuit litigation, see here, here, and here.)
- Focusing EPA's efforts on the largest emitters of GHGs may make more sense than a literal application of the Clean Air Act's text (though not as much sense as would a carbon tax), but that's not what Congress told EPA to do. If the EPA is required to treat GHGs as air pollutants for the relevant provisions of the Act, it has no choice but to do as the statute commands. What's the alternative? One possibility is to conclude that what constitutes an ''air pollutant'' under one portion of the Act need not necessarily constitute an ''air pollutant'' for other portions of the Act, at least where adopting a uniform interpretation would either produce absurd results or require the EPA to take liberties with other provisions of the Act. After all, if the word ''modification'' can mean different things in different parts of the Act, why can't ''air pollutant''? Such a decision would not take the EPA completely out of the climate change business, but it would prevent the agency from exercising authority unmoored from the statutory text.
- By way of disclosure, let me also note that I participated in an amicus brief of administrative law professors calling upon the Court to reconsider the implications of Massachusetts v. EPA, at least insofar as it is necessary to constrain the EPA's ad hoc rewriting of statutory text. Treating the definition of ''air pollutant'' differently in different portions of the Act is far less disruptive than allowing an agency to rewrite the plain numerical thresholds contained in the Act. Such statutory revision is the job of Congress, not the EPA '-- and I say this as someone who would like the federal government to do more (albeit different) things to address the threat of climate change.
- For additional perspectives and background on the case, see these posts at Legal Planet by Dan Farber, Ann Carlson, and Richard Frank. The full range of briefs, and additional commentary, are also available on SCOTUSBlog.
- Also on The Volokh Conspiracy'A weekend is not a surface'
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- Global-warming potential - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Global-warming potential (GWP) is a relative measure of how much heat a greenhouse gas traps in the atmosphere. It compares the amount of heat trapped by a certain mass of the gas in question to the amount of heat trapped by a similar mass of carbon dioxide. A GWP is calculated over a specific time interval, commonly 20, 100 or 500 years. GWP is expressed as a factor of carbon dioxide (whose GWP is standardized to 1). For example, the 20 year GWP of methane is 86, which means that if the same mass of methane and carbon dioxide were introduced into the atmosphere, that methane will trap 86 times more heat than the carbon dioxide over the next 20 years.[1]
- The substances subject to restrictions under the Kyoto protocol either are rapidly increasing their concentrations in Earth's atmosphere or have a large GWP.
- The GWP depends on the following factors:
- Thus, a high GWP correlates with a large infrared absorption and a long atmospheric lifetime. The dependence of GWP on the wavelength of absorption is more complicated. Even if a gas absorbs radiation efficiently at a certain wavelength, this may not affect its GWP much if the atmosphere already absorbs most radiation at that wavelength. A gas has the most effect if it absorbs in a "window" of wavelengths where the atmosphere is fairly transparent. The dependence of GWP as a function of wavelength has been found empirically and published as a graph.[2]
- Because the GWP of a greenhouse gas depends directly on its infrared spectrum, the use of infrared spectroscopy to study greenhouse gases is centrally important in the effort to understand the impact of human activities on global climate change.
- Calculating the global-warming potential[edit]Just as radiative forcing provides a simplified means of comparing the various factors that are believed to influence the climate system to one another, global-warming potentials (GWPs) are one type of simplified index based upon radiative properties that can be used to estimate the potential future impacts of emissions of different gases upon the climate system in a relative sense. GWP is based on a number of factors, including the radiative efficiency (infrared-absorbing ability) of each gas relative to that of carbon dioxide, as well as the decay rate of each gas (the amount removed from the atmosphere over a given number of years) relative to that of carbon dioxide.[3]
- The radiative forcing capacity (RF) is the amount of energy per unit area, per unit time, absorbed by the greenhouse gas, that would otherwise be lost to space. It can be expressed by the formula:
- where the subscript i represents an interval of 10 inverse centimeters. Absi represents the integrated infrared absorbance of the sample in that interval, and Fi represents the RF for that interval.[verification needed]
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides the generally accepted values for GWP, which changed slightly between 1996 and 2001. An exact definition of how GWP is calculated is to be found in the IPCC's 2001 Third Assessment Report. The GWP is defined as the ratio of the time-integrated radiative forcing from the instantaneous release of 1 kg of a trace substance relative to that of 1 kg of a reference gas:
- where TH is the time horizon over which the calculation is considered; ax is the radiative efficiency due to a unit increase in atmospheric abundance of the substance (i.e., Wm''2 kg''1) and [x(t)] is the time-dependent decay in abundance of the substance following an instantaneous release of it at time t=0. The denominator contains the corresponding quantities for the reference gas (i.e. CO2). The radiative efficiencies ax and ar are not necessarily constant over time. While the absorption of infrared radiation by many greenhouse gases varies linearly with their abundance, a few important ones display non-linear behaviour for current and likely future abundances (e.g., CO2, CH4, and N2O). For those gases, the relative radiative forcing will depend upon abundance and hence upon the future scenario adopted.
- Since all GWP calculations are a comparison to CO2 which is non-linear, all GWP values are affected. Assuming otherwise as is done above will lead to lower GWPs for other gases than a more detailed approach would. Clarifying this, while increasing CO2 has less and less effect on radiative absorption as ppm concentrations rise, more powerful greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide have different thermal absorption frequencys to co2 that are not filled up (saturated) as much as co2, so rising pmms of these gases are far more significant.
- Use in Kyoto Protocol[edit]Under the Kyoto Protocol, the Conference of the Parties decided (decision 2/CP.3) that the values of GWP calculated for the IPCC Second Assessment Report are to be used for converting the various greenhouse gas emissions into comparable CO2 equivalents when computing overall sources and sinks.[4]
- Importance of time horizon[edit]Note that a substance's GWP depends on the timespan over which the potential is calculated. A gas which is quickly removed from the atmosphere may initially have a large effect but for longer time periods as it has been removed becomes less important. Thus methane has a potential of 25 over 100 years but 72 over 20 years; conversely sulfur hexafluoride has a GWP of 22,800 over 100 years but 16,300 over 20 years (IPCC TAR). The GWP value depends on how the gas concentration decays over time in the atmosphere. This is often not precisely known and hence the values should not be considered exact. For this reason when quoting a GWP it is important to give a reference to the calculation.
- The GWP for a mixture of gases can not be determined from the GWP of the constituent gases by any form of simple linear addition.
- Commonly, a time horizon of 100 years is used by regulators (e.g., the California Air Resources Board).
- Carbon dioxide has a GWP of exactly 1 (since it is the baseline unit to which all other greenhouse gases are compared).
- GWP values and lifetimes from 2007 IPCC AR4 p212 [2](2001 IPCC TAR [3] in parentheses)Lifetime (years)GWP time horizon20 years
- Methane12 (12)72 (62)25 (23)7.6 (7)Nitrous oxide114 (114)289 (275)298 (296)153 (156)HFC-23 (hydrofluorocarbon)270 (260)12,000 (9400)14,800 (12,000)12,200 (10,000)HFC-134a (hydrofluorocarbon)14 (13.8)3,830 (3,300)1,430 (1,300)435 (400)Sulfur hexafluoride3200 (3,200)16,300 (15,100)22,800 (22,200)32,600 (32,400)Although water vapour has a significant influence with regard to absorbing infrared radiation (which is the green house effect; see greenhouse gas), its GWP is not calculated. Its concentration in the atmosphere mainly depends on air temperature. There is no possibility to directly influence atmospheric water vapour concentration.
- The values given in the table assume the same mass of compound is released. This must not be confused with chemical reactions in which masses change from reactants to products. For instance, burning methane to carbon dioxide would indeed reduce the global warming impact, but by a smaller factor than the one given in the table because the mass of methane burning is lesser than the mass of carbon dioxide released (ratio 1:2.75).[5] If you started with 1 tonne of methane which has a GWP of 25, after combustion you have 2.75 tonnes of CO2, each tonne of which has a GWP of 1. The effect of this burning is to reduce the Global warming effect of the gas released in the ratio 25:2.75 or by about 9. Similarly, for each tonne of methane burned to CO2, the release of tonne CO2 equivalent is reduced by 25 - 2.75 = 22.25.
- The global warming potential of Perfluorotributylamine (PFTBA) over a 100'year time horizon has been estimated to be approxiately 7100.[6] It has been used by the electrical industry since the mid-20th century for electronic testing and as heat transfer agents.[7] PFTBA has the highest radiative efficiency (relative effectiveness of greenhouse gases to restrict long-wave radiation from escaping back into space[8]) of any molecule detected in the atmosphere to date.[9] The researchers found an average of 0.18 parts per trillion of PFTBA in the Toronto air samples, whereas carbon dioxide exists around 400 parts per million.[10]
- See also[edit]References[edit]^"Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis". IPCC, 2013: Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Ch.8, p.714, Table 8.7. 2013. Retrieved 2014-02-13. ^Matthew Elrod, "Greenhouse Warming Potential Model." Based on Journal of Chemical Education, Vol 76, pp. 1702''1705, December 1999^"Glossary: Global warming potential (GWP)". U.S. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 2011-04-26. "An index used to compare the relative radiative forcing of different gases without directly calculating the changes in atmospheric concentrations. GWPs are calculated as the ratio of the radiative forcing that would result from the emission of one kilogram of a greenhouse gas to that from the emission of one kilogram of carbon dioxide over a fixed period of time, such as 100 years." ^Conference of the Parties (25 March 1998). "Methodological issues related to the Kyoto Protocol". Report of the Conference of the Parties on its third session, held at Kyoto from 1 to 11 December 1997 Addendum Part Two: Action taken by the Conference of the Parties at its third session. UNFCCC. Retrieved 17 January 2011. ^This is so, because of the reaction formula: CH4 + 2O2 '' CO2 + 2 H2O. As mentioned in the article, the oxygen and water is not considered for GWP purposes, and one molecule of methane (molar mass = 16.04 g mol-1) will yield one molecule of carbon dioxide (molar mass = 44.01 g mol-1. This give a mass ratio of 2.74. (44.01/16.04'2.74).^Hong, Angela C.; Cora J. Young, Michael D. Hurley, Timothy J. Wallington, Scott A. Mabury (28 November 2013). "Perfluorotributylamine: A novel long-lived greenhouse gas". Geophysical Research Letters40 (22): 6010''6015. doi:10.1002/2013GL058010. ^http://www.ibtimes.com/new-greenhouse-gas-discovered-pftba-has-higher-global-warming-impact-co2-1503600^http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Radiative+efficiency^http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/dec/10/new-greenhouse-gas-powerful-chemical-perfluorotributylamine^http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/12/11/new_greenhouse_gas_discovered_by_u_of_t_chemists.htmlExternal links[edit]
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- Why Aren't We Buying Insurance Against Global Warming? | Allen Frances
- Every responsible person carries insurance against all sorts of life's potential catastrophes. We don't think twice about buying health insurance, home insurance, car insurance, life insurance, liability insurance, and it goes on and on.
- From a gambler's perspective, these are all sucker bets. Insurance companies make their big bucks by tipping the actuarial odds in their favor so that they can pay off far less in reimbursements than they receive in premiums.
- We are willing to richly reward insurance companies in this way because they spread the risks across a large group. The individual pays the extra price to gain security and peace of mind. Which brings us to the two life or death questions now facing our species: Why we are failing to take out an insurance policy against global warming? Can we wise up before it is too late? The risks that we are causing and will suffer from a future environmental catastrophe couldn't be clearer. Atmospheric and oceanic carbon dioxide is rising at an alarming rate. Computer models predict drastic temperature and sea level changes with increasing certainty. The population explosion and the rapid growth in per capita consumption are together befouling our atmosphere and draining irreplaceable supplies of fossil water.
- And the effects of global warming are likely already upon us. Year after year of record-setting world mean temperatures. Unprecedented droughts in California. Unprecedented rains in England. Atlanta colder in January than Anchorage. Supposedly once-in-a- hundred-year weather disasters happening every few years.
- Perhaps these are all flukes, but should we complacently bet the species on the blind hope that someday we can work out a technological fix. Prevention is much better than cure, especially since there may not be a cure or the cure may be too late to save the day.
- We should be taking out an insurance policy. Why aren't we? Why are we the selfish generation that failed to save the earth for our grandchildren and their children. The times they are fast a changing and clearly we are not changing fast enough to keep up with them.
- Part of the problem is human nature. Living in a harsh world, our ancestors faced an uphill battle for day-to-day survival and couldn't anticipate or plan for the prospect of a long-term future. Evolution has therefore favored short-term, short-sighted decision-making. It is not within human psychology to be very good at really long-term planning -- especially for things that are difficult to visualize.
- Part of the problem is corporate psychology. Executives and shareholders think in terms of quarters, not decades or centuries. The smart short-term profit play is to spend hundreds of millions casting doubt on environmental science, electing science denying politicians who can't see past election day, and propagandising the public into numb inaction.
- The basic pitch is 'do nothing' until we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are irrevocably ruining our environment. Of course, this is brutal and ruthless cynicism -- by then it will be too late to save ourselves and prevent the environmental catastrophes, famine, war, and pestilence that will inevitably follow. 'Apres moi, le deluge'. Let the grandchildren suffer. We don't wait to develop an illness before taking out health insurance, or an accident for car insurance, or apply for fire insurance after the fire starts. The whole meaning of insurance is that you buy it early and without certainty you will ever need to use it.
- The same foresight should inform our approach to global warming insurance. This would take the form of paying the price now for systematically reducing the risk of future catastrophes for our children and their children. This needs to be done immediately -- before we can be absolutely certain how grave are the risks and how far in the future is the tipping point. That's what insurance is all about.
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- Six Week Cycle
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- Top DHS Official: Boston Bombing Could Be 'Sign of the Future'
- Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson on Wednesday warned that the Boston Marathon bombing may be a sign of things to come as the U.S. attempts to defend itself from terrorist attacks.
- "I think the Boston Marathon bombing maybe a sign of the future. And in many respects those threats are harder to detect," Johnson told the House Homeland Security Committee. "I am also concerned about those who self-radicalize ... about the so-called lone wolf."
- Specifically, Johnson was referring to individuals who work alone to plan or carry out a terrorist attack without instructions from a terrorist organization. Officials have said that with the rise of the Internet a person can "radicalize" without traveling to a country where a terrorist group is active.
- The alleged Boston Marathon bombers, Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, are considered "lone wolves" because they allegedly planned and carried out the attack on their own, rather than with the support of a broad network such as al-Qaida.
- Johnson said his department must continue to boost its ties with state and local officials "to address the threats we face from those who self-radicalize to violence, the so-called lone wolf who may be living quietly in our midst, inspired by radical, violent ideology to do harm to Americans -- illustrated last year by the Boston Marathon bombing."
- The April 2013 bombing killed three people and left at least 260 injured. The trial for one of the alleged bombers, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is expected to start in November.
- "We've got to be vigilant. I think the terrorist threat is becoming more diffuse," Johnson said.
- His comments echo those made by FBI Director James Comey, who has repeatedly warned of the offshoot of al-Qaida-aligned groups, radicalization within the United States, and the potential threat from Americans and Europeans who have traveled to Syria and possibly been recruited by terrorist groups to carry out attacks back in their home countries.
- "We have to be constantly vigilant in looking out for those efforts and preventing them," Johnson said in response to questions about Syria becoming a breeding ground for terrorism because it has large ungoverned areas.
- Committee Chairman Michael McCaul noted that "the events in Syria are now threatening to become issues for us at home."
- Johnson was confirmed to DHS's top spot in December with bipartisan support. During the confirmation process he named morale, leadership vacancies, and terrorism as his top concerns.
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- AP Exclusive: Phone system failed in LAX shooting
- LOS ANGELES (AP) '-- A Los Angeles International Airport police dispatcher who received a call seconds after a gunman opened fire last year didn't know where to send officers because no one was on the line and the airport communications system didn't identify that the call was coming from a security checkpoint emergency phone, two officials told The Associated Press.
- A screening supervisor in the sprawling airport's Terminal 3 picked up the phone but fled before responding to a dispatcher's questions because the gunman was approaching with a high-powered rifle and spraying bullets, according to two officials briefed on preliminary findings of a review of the emergency response to the Nov. 1 incident. They spoke only on condition of anonymity because the final report won't be released until next month.
- One of the officials likened the situation to a 911 call but police not knowing what address to go to. Airport dispatchers knew something was wrong but didn't know where to send help because the system didn't identify locations of its emergency phones. After asking questions and receiving no answers, the dispatcher hung up. An airline contractor working in the terminal called dispatch directly from his cellphone, and officers were dispatched 90 seconds after the shooting.
- Douglas Laird, a former security director for Northwest Airlines who owns an aviation security consulting business, said most emergency phone systems he's seen indicate the origin of a call.
- If "dispatch doesn't know where the call is coming from, that shows there's a serious flaw, obviously," said Laird, who has conducted security surveys at about 100 airports around the world. He was not involved in the review of the LA airport shooting.
- Officials with Los Angeles World Airport, the agency that runs LAX, declined to comment on any aspects of the review until the report is issued next month.
- The broad review of the emergency response included interviews with airport staff, law enforcement and first responders, reviews of camera footage, dispatch logs and 911 calls. While it found that the response was swift, the investigation conducted by airport staff and an outside contractor also identified a number of problems. Among them:
- '-- Broken "panic buttons" that when hit are supposed to automatically call for help and activate a camera giving airport police a view of the area reporting trouble. Two of the dozen or so buttons in Terminal 3 weren't working and several others around the airport were defective. Later testing revealed that another terminal's system of buttons was down and airport police beefed up patrols until it was fixed, one of the officials said. Though TSA officers told airport officials that an officer hit the panic button, there's no evidence '-- video or electronic '-- it happened.
- '-- Anyone calling 911 at the airport is routed to the California Highway Patrol or Los Angeles Police Department, not airport police dispatchers.
- '-- The airport has no system allowing for simultaneous emergency announcements throughout the complex.
- '-- Most cameras in the terminal provided fixed and often limited views of areas or weren't located at key spots such as curbs, making it difficult for investigators to learn how and where the gunman arrived at the airport.
- The attack killed Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo Hernandez and injured two other TSA officers and a passenger.
- Paul Ciancia, 24, who'd moved from Pennsville, N.J., to Los Angeles two years prior, is accused of targeting TSA officers. He has pleaded not guilty to 11 federal charges, including murder of a federal officer.
- Earlier AP reporting revealed that the only two armed airport police officers assigned to the area of the shooting weren't in Terminal 3 at the time. Both were on breaks and had yet to notify dispatchers, as required, so neither was in position to call in the shooting.
- Once dispatchers put out the call for help 90 seconds later, it took nearly two more minutes before armed officers arrived. Ciancia was shot and taken into custody near gate 35, deep inside the terminal, soon afterward.
- The AP also found that it took 33 minutes for Hernandez to be wheeled out of the terminal to waiting medical personnel. He was pronounced dead at the hospital after surgeons worked on him for an hour. A coroner's news release later said he likely was dead within two to five minutes after being shot multiple times.
- In response to the shooting, the Los Angeles Fire Department already has announced it will train more tactical paramedics who can more quickly enter dangerous areas. Los Angeles police are training their officers on how to use combat-style trauma kits.
- TSA Officer Victor Payes, who has worked at LAX for six years and is former president of the local union, said the inability of dispatchers to locate the origin of the emergency call highlights local TSA officers' concerns about overall communication with airport police. He said no general instruction on how to use the phones has been provided.
- "A lot of these protocols that have been set up, we find, at least on the TSA end, it's supervisor-driven, and the employees, the subordinates, do not necessarily know many of the protocols," Payes said. "If someone told me to pick up the phone, I wouldn't know what to say."
- The review recommends instituting emergency protocol and evacuation training for all airport employees.
- "We realize in incidents like this, how quick you are or how fast you are at responding to incidents is generally going to be the difference between how many people get hurt or don't get hurt," Airport Police Chief Patrick Gannon said in a recent interview. He said the airport in its review had looked at ways to speed up notification from TSA, dispatch and also within the airport itself.
- Since the shooting, Gannon said airport staff worked to ensure that all airport employees have the airport police dispatch number in their cellphones.
- Tami Abdollah can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/latams
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- Southern Africa's Beer Boom | Zalkind Notes
- My feature, ''Southern Africa's Beer Boom: A Look at the Heart of Africa's Beer Scene,'' is in the May edition, #64, of Beer Advocate. I cover the commercial explosion, the burgeoning craft industry, and centuries old non-barley brewing techniques. Download it!
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- Susan Zalkind, Author at Boston Magazine
- Visit Susan's blog at zalkindnotes.com.
- Susan Zalkind'S latest storiesThe Murders Before the MarathonCould solving a triple homicide case in Waltham have prevented the Boston Marathon bombings?
- Ibragim Todashev's Father Makes A PleaHe's calling for justice for his son, the Tamerlan Tsarnaev associate killed by the FBI. [Warning: Graphic photos.]
- What the Waltham Murders Have To Do With DzhokharTsarnaev's trial may take years to arrive, but events unfolding now may decide whether he lives or dies.
- Tatiana Gruzdeva: I Want to Move OnNew details emerge in the circumstances that led to the deportation of a Tsarnaev associate's girlfriend.
- Tatiana Gruzdeva Spent Her 20th Birthday Behind BarsHer worst fear? Never getting out.
- Martha Coakley Hasn't Followed ThroughHer promise to the families of the Waltham triple-murder victims remains unfulfilled.
- Girlfriend of Alleged Tamerlan Tsarnaev Accomplice ArrestedTatiana Gruzdeva says she's going to be deported.
- FBI Reportedly Denied Ashurmamad Miraliev An AttorneyA Muslim rights group alleges Constitutional rights violations against Ibragim Todashev's friend.
- New Details in the FBI Shooting Death of Tamerlan Tsarnaev AssociateIbragim Todashev's live-in girlfriend, Tatiana Gruzdeva, reveals what happened in the days leading up to the shooting in their Florida apartment.
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- The Murders Before the Marathon
- A collaboration withThis American Life, airing Fri., March 7
- It's nearly midnight in a nondescript condo complex a few blocks from Universal Studios in Orlando, and Tatiana Gruzdeva has been crying all day. Though neither of us knows it yet, as she sits on the corner of her bed and sobs in tiny convulsions, the fact that she's talking to me will lead to her being arrested by federal agents, placed in solitary confinement, and deported back to Russia.
- Next to us on the bed are nine teddy bears. Eight of them came with her from Tiraspol, Moldova. The ninth was a gift from her boyfriend, Ibragim Todashev. Today would have been Ibragim's 28th birthday, but he is not here to see it, because in the early hours of May 22, 2013, a Boston FBI agent shot and killed him in this very apartment, under circumstances so strange that a Florida state prosecutor has opened an independent investigation. According to the FBI, just before Ibragim was shot'--seven times, in two bursts, including once in the top of the head'--he was about to write a confession implicating himself and alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev in a brutal triple homicide that took place in Waltham, Massachusetts, in September 2011.
- I'm sitting awkwardly at one end of the twin bed. She's crying quietly, cross-legged at the other end, wearing shorts and a white shirt with sequins. Most of her outfits have sequins or rhinestones. She's 19. I'm 26. We both have long blond hair. We've both been close to men who were in trouble with the law, and lost them violently. We've been talking for about an hour, mostly about men, and parties, and moving forward after a tragedy. Ibragim was a good man, she says. He could never have committed a murder.
- ''I'm here alone,'' she cries. ''I hope it never can be worse than this.''
- I try to comfort her, but it's complicated. We both want to know why Ibragim Todashev was killed. She wants to clear his name. For me, and for the families of the Waltham murder victims, Ibragim's shooting may have snuffed out the last chance at finding out what really happened that night. In the back of my mind is this question: Did her dead boyfriend kill my friend Erik?
- September 11, 2011 was a Sunday, and at twilight Erik Weissman was looking for somewhere to spend the night. That afternoon he'd visited his younger sister Aria at a diner down the street from their parents' home, but he didn't have a place of his own'--he'd been couch-surfing since the cops busted him on drug charges back in January. He kept his belongings at his friend Brendan Mess's apartment on a dead-end street in Waltham, and that's where he usually stayed. Erik and Brendan were established pot dealers who occasionally worked together and shared an interest in sports, personal fitness, and designer weed. But Erik had cleared out of the apartment while Brendan was going through a dramatic breakup with his live-in girlfriend, Hiba Eltilib. He had recently been staying with a friend in Newton. ''That chick is crazy,'' Erik had repeatedly told the friend.
- That night his friend in Newton was busy, so around 7:30 p.m. Erik drove his Mercedes SUV back to Brendan's place in Waltham. It was a warm night, cloudless. Brendan and Hiba had finally broken up, and Hiba had split for Florida, so the coast was clear. Brendan had invited another friend, Rafi Teken, to come over, too. Like Erik, Rafi had been avoiding Brendan's place while Hiba was there. Rafi and Hiba were known to get into arguments of their own.
- At 7:30, Erik sent a text to his friend in Newton. Shortly thereafter, all three men stopped answering their phones.
- The bodies were found the next day. Erik was 31. Brendan was 25. Rafi was 37.
- It was Hiba who found them, of all people. On September 12, she returned unexpectedly from Florida'--most of Brendan's friends were under the impression that she wasn't coming back'--and after she couldn't reach Brendan on her cell phone, she showed up at the apartment and asked the landlord to open the door. The bodies were inside. One news report says that Hiba left the house and screamed, ''They're all dead!'' Another says she went outside, crying, with blood on her feet, and calmly asked for a cigarette.
- Their throats had been slashed with such force that their heads were nearly decapitated. A veteran Waltham investigator called it ''the worst bloodbath I have ever seen,'' and compared the victims' wounds to ''an Al-Qaeda training video.'' About a pound and a half of high-grade marijuana covered two of the corpses. Rafi Teken's face was left untouched. Erik Weissman had a bloody lip. But Brendan Mess, an experienced mixed martial artist who trained in jujitsu, had real fighting wounds. His arms were covered in scratch marks. He had puncture marks on his temple and the top of his head, another mark by his ear, and he was bruised around the lips. It didn't scan like a robbery: There were eight and a half pounds of pot left in bags and glass jars, and $5,000 dollars left on the bodies'--enough for a cheap funeral, for one of them.
- Hours later, Middlesex County District Attorney Gerry Leone stood amid a scrum of reporters on the dead-end street outside Brendan's home at 12 Harding Avenue. State police had found a ''very graphic crime scene'' in the second-floor apartment, he said. ''It does not appear to be a random act.'' He told reporters that there was no evidence of a break-in'--that it was likely the assailants and dead men knew one another. Assailants, plural? a reporter asked. Leone replied that there were ''at least two people who are not in the apartment now, who were there earlier.''
- ''This is a fluid, ongoing investigation,'' he said. ''We will have information as we develop the facts.''
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- AIDS cured! (says Egypt's military) | The Times of Israel
- More than 36 million people worldwide have died from the AIDS virus across the globe, and another 35.3 million are currently living with the disease.
- But they no longer have any reason to worry. The Egyptian Army has defeated the disease.
- Or so claimed Egyptian Gen. Dr. Ibrahim Abdel-Atti, chief of the medical branch. ''We defeated AIDS, and rest assured, we defeated AIDS,'' Abdel-Atti said Sunday at a press conference.
- ''And indeed,'' he said, according to a translation provided by Egyptian protest group We Are All Khaled Said. ''I conquered AIDS with the blessings of my Lord, glory to him, with a rate of 100%.''
- The country's military leader Gen. Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and President Adly Mansour were present at the conference, according to an official statement.
- Abdel-Atti said he had pioneered a method by which he could extract the disease and break it into amino acids, ''so that the virus becomes nutrition for the body instead of disease. This is a miracle in scientific research.''
- ''I take AIDS from the patient, and feed the patient on AIDS, I give it to him as a kebab skewer to feed on,'' he said, presumably metaphorically. ''I take the disease, and I give it to him as food, and this is the top of scientific miracles.''
- ''And I conquered the 'C,''' Abdel-Atti added, referring to the Hepatitis C.
- ''You will never find a patient suffering from the Hepatitis C virus after today, God willing!''
- Hepatitis C is widespread in Egypt, with 18 million Egyptians suffering from the disease.
- ''This is the first jump, God willing. Conquering AIDS worldwide, conquering AIDS worldwide, God willing.''
- The army said that patients could be completely cured within 20 days, but some unfortunate souls would have to wait up to six months.
- Egypt has approved the treatment, said CCTV Africa, and is seeking approval in Europe and the United States. However, the country intends to delay exporting the technology in order to attract medical tourism to the country.
- Abdel-Atti gave credit to early detection devices develop by the military.
- The announcement comes as the military, which ousted the Muslim Brotherhood government in July 2013, maneuvers to strengthen its standing as Egypt's leaders. On Monday, Egypt's interim prime minister announced the resignation of his cabinet, a surprise move that could be designed in part to pave the way for the nation's military chief to leave his defense minister's post to run for president.
- Sunday's press conference could be part of the campaign to convince Egyptians to trust the military's ability to care for the country's citizens and offer them a brighter future.
- A CCTV Africa report about the announcement showed Abdel-Atti telling a patient, ''Your lab report says you had AIDS. And now you don't. You are cured.''
- ''We thought that until today, there was no cure for the disease,'' said Dr. Nadia Ragab at a press conference. ''But the research was so strong that our medical consultants gave us the green light for the human trial. We precisely followed the patients every three months. The results were astonishing to the extent that we had to repeat the lab work in different locations just to be sure.''
- The new Complete Cure device developed by the military purifies the patient's blood in a manner similar to a dialysis machine.
- There are no side effects, the development team said.
- A year ago, Egyptian authorities announced the development of a device called C-fast, which it claimed could detect AIDS and Hepatitis C without taking blood samples. The device, developed from bomb detection technology, is meant to identify the molecular signature of the virus.
- The scientific community outside of Egypt seems rather underwhelmed.
- ''I can find no evidence to support the claims that this device detects hepatitis C or any other viruses as mentioned in the patent, nor any clear theoretical rationale for how it would work,'' University of Glasgow infectious disease specialist Emma Thomson told the BBC.
- According to Egyptian media, President Adly Mansour also pumped the brakes on the device, ordering a review by ''specialized scientific committees.''
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- Doctors Bash New Pain Pill Zohydro - Business Insider
- Doctors and addiction treatment groups are calling for the Food and Drug Administration to revoke its approval of a painkiller they say could be deadly and lead to another spike in opioid addiction.The FDA approved the drug Zohydro in the fall, and it's expected to be available to patients with chronic pain starting in March, according to CNN.
- The pills contain a high dose of hydrocodone, a narcotic drug that has effects similar to heroin, according to an explainer in MedPage Today. Other hydrocodone painkillers, such as Vicodin, contain a dose five to 10 times lower than Zohydro and are combined with over-the-counter pain relievers like acetaminophen (Tylenol) or ibuprofen.
- "It's a whopping dose of hydrocodone packed in an easy-to-crush capsule. It will kill people as soon as it's released," Dr. Andrew Kolodny, president of the advocacy group Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, told CNN. He signed onto a letter submitted by dozens of health care, consumer, and addiction treatment groups asking the FDA to revoke its approval of the drug.
- Zohydro is an extended-release pill with a high dose of hydrocodone that is supposed to be released slowly into the system over a 12-hour period. But since the pill packs so much hydrocodone, it could be appealing to addicts and opioid abusers looking for a quick and dramatic high that comes from crushing or chewing the pill to release all the hydrocodone at once.
- Respiratory depression can happen when someone consumes too high a dose of a painkiller. It causes people to stop breathing and die.
- Zohydro's website acknowledges the dangers of the drug, saying it "exposes users to risks of addiction, abuse, and misuse, which can lead to overdose and death" if the patient's pill regimen is not monitored closely.
- Attorneys general in more than two dozen states have expressed concern that this drug could lead to a repeat of the past, when new painkillers entered the market without clear guidance on how they should be prescribed.
- With the rise of opioid pain management over the past two decades has come a spike in addiction to both pain pills and heroin. Painkillers were the second-most abused drug in America in 2012, with 2.1 million people admitting to dependence or abuse that year, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- Zogenix, the pharmaceutical company that makes the drug, sent us this statement about Zohydro: "Zogenix is fully engaged in implementing abuse deterrence initiatives, including developing an abuse deterrent formulation of Zohydro ER. We are currently evaluating two different technologies to ensure we develop the most effective formulation to minimize misuse and abuse."
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- Hospital records of all NHS patients sold to insurers - Telegraph
- It boasts that ''uniquely'' they were able to combine these details with information from credit ratings agencies, such as Experian, which record the lifestyle habits of milllions of consumers.
- The calculations were used to advise companies how to refine their premiums, resulting in increased premiums for most customers below the age of 50, according to the report dated last March.
- The 274-page report describes the NHS Hospital Episode Statistics as a ''valuable data source in developing pricing assumptions for 'critical illness' cover.''
- It says that by combining hospital data with socio-economic profiles, experts were able to better calculate the likelihood of conditions, with ''amazingly'' clear forecasts possible for certain diseases, in particular lung cancer.
- Phil Booth, from privacy campaign group medConfidential, said: ''The language in the document is extraordinary; this isn't about patients, this is about exploiting a market. Of course any commercial organisation will focus on making a profit '' the question is why is the NHS prepared to hand this data over?''
- He added: ''We have been categorically told that it would be illegal for GP data to be handed over to insurers, yet already all this hospital data has been extracted. It blows out of the water the idea that patients' privacy is being protected.''
- Last week Tim Kelsey, director for patients and information at NHS England, said it will be ''a criminal offence'' for any information entered into the new giant database, which will combine GP and hospital records, to be sold for insurance purposes. However, a database which only contains hospital records remains a separate entity, with its own rules allowing greater access to third parties.
- There has been a growing backlash against the scheme with family doctors and privacy campaigners raising fears that data could be misused.
- Those behind the £50'million data-sharing plan say it will improve healthcare and help medical research.
- Last week NHS officials announced a six-month delay to the plans, to address concerns and improve publicity. Speaking after the delay was announced, Mr Kelsey said the database needed to go ahead because it was ''vital'' to improving Britain's cancer survival rates.
- Tomorrow, the Commons health select committee is due to question NHS officials leading the scheme and to hear concerns from privacy campaigners.
- In the report based on hospital data, actuaries used the information as the basis for detailed calculations about the incidence of common health conditions.
- It describes a falling market in 'critical illness' insurance cover, with sales dropping by almost half in a decade, and suggests estimates of prevalence for major conditions including Alzheimer's disease are likely to be significantly underestimated, because they are based on the hospital figures, when most care is provided outside hospitals.
- The Department of Health said: "The rules changed last year so this would no longer be allowed. Information like this can only be accessed now if there is a clear benefit to improving health or health systems."
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- Dutch Ritalin
- maandag 24 februari 2014, 13:30 '-- 31 reactiesKinderen met ADHD of aanverwante aandoeningen worden steeds vaker verplicht door scholen en/of hulpverleners om medicijnen te slikken. Soms worden ouders voor een duivelse keuze gesteld: of je kind aan de Ritalin of het gaat van school af.Noortje* (51) is moeder van Dennis. Zij kreeg twee jaar geleden te maken met een onvermurwbare schoolleiding, die eiste dat haar 15-jarige zoon Dennis Ritalin tot zich zou nemen of anders maar van school moest gaan.
- ConcentratieproblemenBij Dennis begonnen de problemen rond zijn dertiende, vertelt zijn moeder. "Hij had concentratieproblemen, was erg druk en had conflicten met zijn leraren. Na een test bij het RIAGG werd uiteindelijk ADHD bij hem geconstateerd."
- Natuurlijk werd er Ritalin voorgeschreven. "Dennis heeft zich er nooit happy bij gevoeld. Hij kreeg hoofdpijn, werd duizelig en had verminderde eetlust. Ook kon hij heel slecht slapen."
- Na twee jaar was de zoon van Noortje het zat. Hij stopte zelf met Ritalin. "Er was ondertussen steeds meer bekend geworden over de nadelen van Ritalin. Hij haalde veel informatie van het internet. Toen hij 15 werd, is hij er mee gestopt. Hoe ik ook op hem inpraatte; het hielp niet.'
- Het gevolg was wel dat de puber weer in zijn oude gedrag verviel. "Hij werd weer erg druk en zette een grote mond op. De school wilde dat hij weer aan de medicijnen ging. Wat Dennis niet wilde. Er onstond een conflict."
- Zijn docenten gingen zelfs zo ver dat ze de ouders voor een keuze stelden. "Of Dennis zou weer Ritalin moeten gaan slikken of hij zou van school af moeten. Je kan een kind van 15 en van 1 meter 85 niet dwingen om iets te doen wat hij niet wil."
- Pillen slikkenEn zo kwam het dat Dennis van school werd gestuurd. "Hij zat een paar maanden thuis, want geen enkele school wilde hem aannemen. Uiteindelijk hebben we wel weer een school voor hem gevonden. Echter, ook daar eisten ze dat hij aan de Ritalin zou gaan. Gelukkig was Dennis inmiddels wel zover dat hij zelf ook inzag dat - wilde hij zijn diploma nog halen - hij wel weer moest beginnen met pillen slikken."
- Ondanks de moeilijk tijd die Noortje heeft gehad, snapt zij ook de scholen wel. "Ze zitten met 30 kinderen in de klas. En als er dan een kind tussen zit die erg veel aandacht vraagt, dan gaat dat niet. Je voelt je alleen wel machteloos, vooral als geen enkele school je kind wil hebben. Maar ik heb de keuze altijd aan mijn zoon gelaten. Het is zijn lichaam."
- Toegang ontzegdDe vraag is: hoeveel kinderen wordt de toegang tot de klas ontzegd als ze geen pillen zoals Ritalin of Concerta willen slikken? Ook hulpverleners eisen vaak eerst dat een kind aan de medicijnen gaat voordat ze een behandeling willen starten.
- Met Dennis is alles goed afgelopen. Hij heeft inmiddels zijn diploma gehaald en is zo ver dat hij alleen Ritalin slikt tijdens een tentamenperiode.
- Mogen scholen eisen dat kinderen bepaalde medicijnen moeten slikken? Mogen hulpverleners dit eisen? Zou er een speciale budget moeten komen om dit soort kinderen te begeleiden?
- *vanwege privacyoverwegingen zijn de namen van Noortje en Dennis gefingeerd
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- FDA Weighs Risks of 3-Person Embryo Fertilization - ABC News
- Federal health regulators will consider this week whether to green light a provocative new fertilization technique that could eventually create babies from the DNA of three people, with the goal of preventing mothers from passing on debilitating genetic diseases to their children.
- The Food and Drug Administration has framed its two-day meeting as a "scientific, technologic and clinical" discussion about how to test the approach in humans. But the technique itself raises a number of ethical questions, including whether the government should sanction the creation of genetically modified humans.
- The FDA panel will hear from several prominent critics who oppose any human testing of the approach, arguing that it could be a slippery slope toward "designer babies," '-- in which parents customize traits like eye color, height and intelligence.
- But the field's leading U.S. researcher will be on hand to explain and defend his work, which he describes as "gene correction," rather than "gene modification."
- "We want to replace these mutated genes, which by nature have become pathogenic to humans," says Dr. Shoukhrat Mitalipov, who will present on Tuesday. "We're reversing them back to normal, so I don't understand why you would be opposing that."
- The FDA meeting was prompted by Mitalipov's research at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, where he and his staff have produced five healthy monkeys using the DNA-replacement technique. He is seeking FDA approval to begin testing in a handful of women who carry defective genes that can lead to devastating diseases in children, including blindness, organ failure and epilepsy.
- An estimated 1 in 5,000 U.S. children inherit such conditions because of defective DNA in their mitochondria, small energy-producing organs found in the cell. Unlike most DNA '-- located in the nucleus of the cell '-- mitochondrial DNA is passed along only by the mother, not the father.
- The experimental technique, if approved for use, would allow a woman to give birth to a baby who inherits her normal nucleus DNA but not her defective mitochondrial DNA.
- To accomplish this, researchers would remove the nucleus DNA from a healthy female donor's eggs and replace it with the nucleus DNA of the prospective mother. After fertilization, the resulting child would inherit the mother's nucleus DNA '-- which contains most inherited traits like eye color and height '-- but the donor's healthy mitochondrial DNA.
- The technique initially made headlines as a way to create babies with three parents, but scientists say that's an overstatement, since the child would have only trace bits of DNA from the donor.
- No matter how it's described, the technique faces opposition from a broad spectrum of critics who say it presents serious medical, ethical and societal dilemmas.
- Chief among these concerns is that the genetic changes created using the technique would be passed down to future generations, potentially spreading unintended health consequences throughout the population.
- In a letter to the FDA, the Center for Genetics and Society points out that more than 40 countries '-- including Germany and France '-- have laws banning human gene modification that is passed on to future offspring.
- The group's director says mitochondrial replacement would help only a tiny fraction of patients affected by such disorders, and they have other options like egg donation to create healthy children.
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- Obama Nation
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- Essay: Anatomy of the Deep State | Blog, Perspectives | BillMoyers.com
- Rome lived upon its principal till ruin stared it in the face. Industry is the only true source of wealth, and there was no industry in Rome. By day the Ostia road was crowded with carts and muleteers, carrying to the great city the silks and spices of the East, the marble of Asia Minor, the timber of the Atlas, the grain of Africa and Egypt; and the carts brought out nothing but loads of dung. That was their return cargo.
- '' The Martyrdom of Man by Winwood Reade (1871)
- There is the visible government situated around the Mall in Washington, and then there is another, more shadowy, more indefinable government that is not explained in Civics 101 or observable to tourists at the White House or the Capitol. The former is traditional Washington partisan politics: the tip of the iceberg that a public watching C-SPAN sees daily and which is theoretically controllable via elections. The subsurface part of the iceberg I shall call the Deep State, which operates according to its own compass heading regardless of who is formally in power. [1]
- During the last five years, the news media has been flooded with pundits decrying the broken politics of Washington. The conventional wisdom has it that partisan gridlock and dysfunction have become the new normal. That is certainly the case, and I have been among the harshest critics of this development. But it is also imperative to acknowledge the limits of this critique as it applies to the American governmental system. On one level, the critique is self-evident: In the domain that the public can see, Congress is hopelessly deadlocked in the worst manner since the 1850s, the violently rancorous decade preceding the Civil War.
- Yes, there is another government concealed behind the one that is visible at either end of Pennsylvania Avenue, a hybrid entity of public and private institutions ruling the country'...
- As I wrote in The Party is Over, the present objective of congressional Republicans is to render the executive branch powerless, at least until a Republican president is elected (a goal that voter suppression laws in GOP-controlled states are clearly intended to accomplish). President Obama cannot enact his domestic policies and budgets: Because of incessant GOP filibustering, not only could he not fill the large number of vacancies in the federal judiciary, he could not even get his most innocuous presidential appointees into office. Democrats controlling the Senate have responded by weakening the filibuster of nominations, but Republicans are sure to react with other parliamentary delaying tactics. This strategy amounts to congressional nullification of executive branch powers by a party that controls a majority in only one house of Congress. Despite this apparent impotence, President Obama can liquidate American citizens without due processes, detain prisoners indefinitely without charge, conduct dragnet surveillance on the American people without judicial warrant and engage in unprecedented '-- at least since the McCarthy era '-- witch hunts against federal employees (the so-called ''Insider Threat Program''). Within the United States, this power is characterized by massive displays of intimidating force by militarized federal, state and local law enforcement. Abroad, President Obama can start wars at will and engage in virtually any other activity whatsoever without so much as a by-your-leave from Congress, such as arranging the forced landing of a plane carrying a sovereign head of state over foreign territory. Despite the habitual cant of congressional Republicans about executive overreach by Obama, the would-be dictator, we have until recently heard very little from them about these actions '-- with the minor exception of comments from gadfly Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. Democrats, save a few mavericks such as Ron Wyden of Oregon, are not unduly troubled, either '-- even to the extent of permitting seemingly perjured congressional testimony under oath by executive branch officials on the subject of illegal surveillance.
- These are not isolated instances of a contradiction; they have been so pervasive that they tend to be disregarded as background noise. During the time in 2011 when political warfare over the debt ceiling was beginning to paralyze the business of governance in Washington, the United States government somehow summoned the resources to overthrow Muammar Ghaddafi's regime in Libya, and, when the instability created by that coup spilled over into Mali, provide overt and covert assistance to French intervention there. At a time when there was heated debate about continuing meat inspections and civilian air traffic control because of the budget crisis, our government was somehow able to commit $115 million to keeping a civil war going in Syria and to pay at least £100m to the United Kingdom's Government Communications Headquarters to buy influence over and access to that country's intelligence. Since 2007, two bridges carrying interstate highways have collapsed due to inadequate maintenance of infrastructure, one killing 13 people. During that same period of time, the government spent $1.7 billion constructing a building in Utah that is the size of 17 football fields. This mammoth structure is intended to allow the National Security Agency to store a yottabyte of information, the largest numerical designator computer scientists have coined. A yottabyte is equal to 500 quintillion pages of text. They need that much storage to archive every single trace of your electronic life.
- Yes, there is another government concealed behind the one that is visible at either end of Pennsylvania Avenue, a hybrid entity of public and private institutions ruling the country according to consistent patterns in season and out, connected to, but only intermittently controlled by, the visible state whose leaders we choose. My analysis of this phenomenon is not an expos(C) of a secret, conspiratorial cabal; the state within a state is hiding mostly in plain sight, and its operators mainly act in the light of day. Nor can this other government be accurately termed an ''establishment.'' All complex societies have an establishment, a social network committed to its own enrichment and perpetuation. In terms of its scope, financial resources and sheer global reach, the American hybrid state, the Deep State, is in a class by itself. That said, it is neither omniscient nor invincible. The institution is not so much sinister (although it has highly sinister aspects) as it is relentlessly well entrenched. Far from being invincible, its failures, such as those in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, are routine enough that it is only the Deep State's protectiveness towards its higher-ranking personnel that allows them to escape the consequences of their frequent ineptitude. [2]
- How did I come to write an analysis of the Deep State, and why am I equipped to write it? As a congressional staff member for 28 years specializing in national security and possessing a top secret security clearance, I was at least on the fringes of the world I am describing, if neither totally in it by virtue of full membership nor of it by psychological disposition. But, like virtually every employed person, I became, to some extent, assimilated into the culture of the institution I worked for, and only by slow degrees, starting before the invasion of Iraq, did I begin fundamentally to question the reasons of state that motivate the people who are, to quote George W. Bush, ''the deciders.''
- Cultural assimilation is partly a matter of what psychologist Irving L. Janis called ''groupthink,'' the chameleon-like ability of people to adopt the views of their superiors and peers. This syndrome is endemic to Washington: The town is characterized by sudden fads, be it negotiating biennial budgeting, making grand bargains or invading countries. Then, after a while, all the town's cool kids drop those ideas as if they were radioactive. As in the military, everybody has to get on board with the mission, and questioning it is not a career-enhancing move. The universe of people who will critically examine the goings-on at the institutions they work for is always going to be a small one. As Upton Sinclair said, ''It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.''A more elusive aspect of cultural assimilation is the sheer dead weight of the ordinariness of it all once you have planted yourself in your office chair for the 10,000th time. Government life is typically not some vignette from an Allen Drury novel about intrigue under the Capitol dome. Sitting and staring at the clock on the off-white office wall when it's 11:00 in the evening and you are vowing never, ever to eat another piece of takeout pizza in your life is not an experience that summons the higher literary instincts of a would-be memoirist. After a while, a functionary of the state begins to hear things that, in another context, would be quite remarkable, or at least noteworthy, and yet that simply bounce off one's consciousness like pebbles off steel plate: ''You mean the number of terrorist groups we are fighting isclassified?'' No wonder so few people are whistle-blowers, quite apart from the vicious retaliation whistle-blowing often provokes: Unless one is blessed with imagination and a fine sense of irony, growing immune to the curiousness of one's surroundings is easy. To paraphrase the inimitable Donald Rumsfeld, I didn't know all that I knew, at least until I had had a couple of years away from the government to reflect upon it.
- The Deep State does not consist of the entire government. It is a hybrid of national security and law enforcement agencies: the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the Central Intelligence Agency and the Justice Department. I also include the Department of the Treasury because of its jurisdiction over financial flows, its enforcement of international sanctions and its organic symbiosis with Wall Street. All these agencies are coordinated by the Executive Office of the President via the National Security Council. Certain key areas of the judiciary belong to the Deep State, such as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, whose actions are mysterious even to most members of Congress. Also included are a handful of vital federal trial courts, such as the Eastern District of Virginia and the Southern District of Manhattan, where sensitive proceedings in national security cases are conducted. The final government component (and possibly last in precedence among the formal branches of government established by the Constitution) is a kind of rump Congress consisting of the congressional leadership and some (but not all) of the members of the defense and intelligence committees. The rest of Congress, normally so fractious and partisan, is mostly only intermittently aware of the Deep State and when required usually submits to a few well-chosen words from the State's emissaries.
- I saw this submissiveness on many occasions. One memorable incident was passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act of 2008. This legislation retroactively legalized the Bush administration's illegal and unconstitutional surveillance first revealed by The New York Times in 2005 and indemnified the telecommunications companies for their cooperation in these acts. The bill passed easily: All that was required was the invocation of the word ''terrorism'' and most members of Congress responded like iron filings obeying a magnet. One who responded in that fashion was Senator Barack Obama, soon to be coronated as the presidential nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. He had already won the most delegates by campaigning to the left of his main opponent, Hillary Clinton, on the excesses of the global war on terror and the erosion of constitutional liberties.
- As the indemnification vote showed, the Deep State does not consist only of government agencies. What is euphemistically called ''private enterprise'' is an integral part of its operations. In a special series in The Washington Post called ''Top Secret America,'' Dana Priest and William K. Arkin described the scope of the privatized Deep State and the degree to which it has metastasized after the September 11 attacks. There are now 854,000 contract personnel with top-secret clearances '-- a number greater than that of top-secret-cleared civilian employees of the government. While they work throughout the country and the world, their heavy concentration in and around the Washington suburbs is unmistakable: Since 9/11, 33 facilities for top-secret intelligence have been built or are under construction. Combined, they occupy the floor space of almost three Pentagons '-- about 17 million square feet. Seventy percent of the intelligence community's budget goes to paying contracts. And the membrane between government and industry is highly permeable: The Director of National Intelligence, James R. Clapper, is a former executive of Booz Allen Hamilton, one of the government's largest intelligence contractors. His predecessor as director, Admiral Mike McConnell, is the current vice chairman of the same company; Booz Allen is 99 percent dependent on government business. These contractors now set the political and social tone of Washington, just as they are increasingly setting the direction of the country, but they are doing it quietly, their doings unrecorded in the Congressional Record or the Federal Register, and are rarely subject to congressional hearings.
- Washington is the most important node of the Deep State that has taken over America, but it is not the only one. Invisible threads of money and ambition connect the town to other nodes. One is Wall Street, which supplies the cash that keeps the political machine quiescent and operating as a diversionary marionette theater. Should the politicians forget their lines and threaten the status quo, Wall Street floods the town with cash and lawyers to help the hired hands remember their own best interests. The executives of the financial giants even have de facto criminal immunity. On March 6, 2013, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Eric Holder stated the following: ''I am concerned that the size of some of these institutions becomes so large that it does become difficult for us to prosecute them when we are hit with indications that if you do prosecute, if you do bring a criminal charge, it will have a negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy.'' This, from the chief law enforcement officer of a justice system that has practically abolished the constitutional right to trial for poorer defendants charged with certain crimes. It is not too much to say that Wall Street may be the ultimate owner of the Deep State and its strategies, if for no other reason than that it has the money to reward government operatives with a second career that is lucrative beyond the dreams of avarice '-- certainly beyond the dreams of a salaried government employee. [3]The corridor between Manhattan and Washington is a well trodden highway for the personalities we have all gotten to know in the period since the massive deregulation of Wall Street: Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, Henry Paulson, Timothy Geithner and many others. Not all the traffic involves persons connected with the purely financial operations of the government: In 2013, General David Petraeus joined KKR (formerly Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) of 9 West 57th Street, New York, a private equity firm with $62.3 billion in assets. KKR specializes in management buyouts and leveraged finance. General Petraeus' expertise in these areas is unclear. His ability to peddle influence, however, is a known and valued commodity. Unlike Cincinnatus, the military commanders of the Deep State do not take up the plow once they lay down the sword. Petraeus also obtained a sinecure as a non-resident senior fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard. The Ivy League is, of course, the preferred bleaching tub and charm school of the American oligarchy. [4]
- Petraeus and most of the avatars of the Deep State '-- the White House advisers who urged Obama not to impose compensation limits on Wall Street CEOs, the contractor-connected think tank experts who besought us to ''stay the course'' in Iraq, the economic gurus who perpetually demonstrate that globalization and deregulation are a blessing that makes us all better off in the long run '-- are careful to pretend that they have no ideology. Their preferred pose is that of the politically neutral technocrat offering well considered advice based on profound expertise. That is nonsense. They are deeply dyed in the hue of the official ideology of the governing class, an ideology that is neither specifically Democrat nor Republican. Domestically, whatever they might privately believe about essentially diversionary social issues such as abortion or gay marriage, they almost invariably believe in the ''Washington Consensus'': financialization, outsourcing, privatization, deregulation and the commodifying of labor. Internationally, they espouse 21st-century ''American Exceptionalism'': the right and duty of the United States to meddle in every region of the world with coercive diplomacy and boots on the ground and to ignore painfully won international norms of civilized behavior. To paraphrase what Sir John Harrington said more than 400 years ago about treason, now that the ideology of the Deep State has prospered, none dare call it ideology. [5] That is why describing torture with the word ''torture'' on broadcast television is treated less as political heresy than as an inexcusable lapse of Washington etiquette: Like smoking a cigarette on camera, these days it is simply ''not done.''
- After Edward Snowden's revelations about the extent and depth of surveillance by the National Security Agency, it has become publicly evident that Silicon Valley is a vital node of the Deep State as well. Unlike military and intelligence contractors, Silicon Valley overwhelmingly sells to the private market, but its business is so important to the government that a strange relationship has emerged. While the government could simply dragoon the high technology companies to do the NSA's bidding, it would prefer cooperation with so important an engine of the nation's economy, perhaps with an implied quid pro quo. Perhaps this explains the extraordinary indulgence the government shows the Valley in intellectual property matters. If an American ''jailbreaks'' his smartphone (i.e., modifies it so that it can use a service provider other than the one dictated by the manufacturer), he could receive a fine of up to $500,000 and several years in prison; so much for a citizen's vaunted property rights to what he purchases. The libertarian pose of the Silicon Valley moguls, so carefully cultivated in their public relations, has always been a sham. Silicon Valley has long been tracking for commercial purposes the activities of every person who uses an electronic device, so it is hardly surprising that the Deep State should emulate the Valley and do the same for its own purposes. Nor is it surprising that it should conscript the Valley's assistance.Still, despite the essential roles of lower Manhattan and Silicon Valley, the center of gravity of the Deep State is firmly situated in and around the Beltway. The Deep State's physical expansion and consolidation around the Beltway would seem to make a mockery of the frequent pronouncement that governance in Washington is dysfunctional and broken. That the secret and unaccountable Deep State floats freely above the gridlock between both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue is the paradox of American government in the 21st century: drone strikes, data mining, secret prisons and Panopticon-likecontrol on the one hand; and on the other, the ordinary, visible parliamentary institutions of self-government declining to the status of a banana republic amid the gradual collapse of public infrastructure.
- The results of this contradiction are not abstract, as a tour of the rotting, decaying, bankrupt cities of the American Midwest will attest. It is not even confined to those parts of the country left behind by a Washington Consensus that decreed the financialization and deindustrialization of the economy in the interests of efficiency and shareholder value. This paradox is evident even within the Beltway itself, the richest metropolitan area in the nation. Although demographers and urban researchers invariably count Washington as a ''world city,'' that is not always evident to those who live there. Virtually every time there is a severe summer thunderstorm, tens '-- or even hundreds '-- of thousands of residents lose power, often for many days. There are occasional water restrictions over wide areas because water mains, poorly constructed and inadequately maintained, have burst. [6] The Washington metropolitan area considers it a Herculean task just to build a rail link to its international airport '-- with luck it may be completed by 2018.
- It is as if Hadrian's Wall was still fully manned and the fortifications along the border with Germania were never stronger, even as the city of Rome disintegrates from within and the life-sustaining aqueducts leading down from the hills begin to crumble. The governing classes of the Deep State may continue to deceive themselves with their dreams of Zeus-like omnipotence, but others do not. A 2013 Pew Poll that interviewed 38,000 people around the world found that in 23 of 39 countries surveyed, a plurality of respondents said they believed China already had or would in the future replace the United States as the world's top economic power.
- The Deep State is the big story of our time. It is the red thread that runs through the war on terrorism, the financialization and deindustrialization of the American economy, the rise of a plutocratic social structure and political dysfunction. Washington is the headquarters of the Deep State, and its time in the sun as a rival to Rome, Constantinople or London may be term-limited by its overweening sense of self-importance and its habit, as Winwood Reade said of Rome, to ''live upon its principal till ruin stared it in the face.'' ''Living upon its principal,'' in this case, means that the Deep State has been extracting value from the American people in vampire-like fashion.
- We are faced with two disagreeable implications. First, that the Deep State is so heavily entrenched, so well protected by surveillance, firepower, money and its ability to co-opt resistance that it is almost impervious to change. Second, that just as in so many previous empires, the Deep State is populated with those whose instinctive reaction to the failure of their policies is to double down on those very policies in the future. Iraq was a failure briefly camouflaged by the wholly propagandistic success of the so-called surge; this legerdemain allowed for the surge in Afghanistan, which equally came to naught. Undeterred by that failure, the functionaries of the Deep State plunged into Libya; the smoking rubble of the Benghazi consulate, rather than discouraging further misadventure, seemed merely to incite the itch to bomb Syria. Will the Deep State ride on the back of the American people from failure to failure until the country itself, despite its huge reserves of human and material capital, is slowly exhausted? The dusty road of empire is strewn with the bones of former great powers that exhausted themselves in like manner.
- But, there are signs of resistance to the Deep State and its demands. In the aftermath of the Snowden revelations, the House narrowly failed to pass an amendment that would have defunded the NSA's warrantless collection of data from US persons. Shortly thereafter, the president, advocating yet another military intervention in the Middle East, this time in Syria, met with such overwhelming congressional skepticism that he changed the subject by grasping at a diplomatic lifeline thrown to him by Vladimir Putin. [7]Has the visible, constitutional state, the one envisaged by Madison and the other Founders, finally begun to reassert itself against the claims and usurpations of the Deep State? To some extent, perhaps. The unfolding revelations of the scope of the NSA's warrantless surveillance have become so egregious that even institutional apologists such as Senator Dianne Feinstein have begun to backpedal '-- if only rhetorically '-- from their knee-jerk defense of the agency. As more people begin to waken from the fearful and suggestible state that 9/11 created in their minds, it is possible that the Deep State's decade-old tactic of crying ''terrorism!'' every time it faces resistance is no longer eliciting the same Pavlovian response of meek obedience. And the American people, possibly even their legislators, are growing tired of endless quagmires in the Middle East.
- But there is another more structural reason the Deep State may have peaked in the extent of its dominance. While it seems to float above the constitutional state, its essentially parasitic, extractive nature means that it is still tethered to the formal proceedings of governance. The Deep State thrives when there is tolerable functionality in the day-to-day operations of the federal government. As long as appropriations bills get passed on time, promotion lists get confirmed, black (i.e., secret) budgets get rubber-stamped, special tax subsidies for certain corporations are approved without controversy, as long as too many awkward questions are not asked, the gears of the hybrid state will mesh noiselessly. But when one house of Congress is taken over by tea party Wahhabites, life for the ruling class becomes more trying.
- If there is anything the Deep State requires it is silent, uninterrupted cash flow and the confidence that things will go on as they have in the past. It is even willing to tolerate a degree of gridlock: Partisan mud wrestling over cultural issues may be a useful distraction from its agenda. But recent congressional antics involving sequestration, the government shutdown and the threat of default over the debt ceiling extension have been disrupting that equilibrium. And an extreme gridlock dynamic has developed between the two parties such that continuing some level of sequestration is politically the least bad option for both parties, albeit for different reasons. As much as many Republicans might want to give budget relief to the organs of national security, they cannot fully reverse sequestration without the Democrats demanding revenue increases. And Democrats wanting to spend more on domestic discretionary programs cannot void sequestration on either domestic or defense programs without Republicans insisting on entitlement cuts.
- So, for the foreseeable future, the Deep State must restrain its appetite for taxpayer dollars. Limited deals may soften sequestration, but agency requests will not likely be fully funded anytime soon. Even Wall Street's rentier operations have been affected: After helping finance the tea party to advance its own plutocratic ambitions, America's Big Money is now regretting the Frankenstein's monster it has created. Like children playing with dynamite, the tea party and its compulsion to drive the nation into credit default has alarmed the grown-ups commanding the heights of capital; the latter are now telling the politicians they thought they had hired to knock it off.
- The House vote to defund the NSA's illegal surveillance programs was equally illustrative of the disruptive nature of the tea party insurgency. Civil liberties Democrats alone would never have come so close to victory; tea party stalwart Justin Amash (R-MI), who has also upset the business community for his debt-limit fundamentalism, was the lead Republican sponsor of the NSA amendment, and most of the Republicans who voted with him were aligned with the tea party.
- The final factor is Silicon Valley. Owing to secrecy and obfuscation, it is hard to know how much of the NSA's relationship with the Valley is based on voluntary cooperation, how much is legal compulsion through FISA warrants and how much is a matter of the NSA surreptitiously breaking into technology companies' systems. Given the Valley's public relations requirement to mollify its customers who have privacy concerns, it is difficult to take the tech firms' libertarian protestations about government compromise of their systems at face value, especially since they engage in similar activity against their own customers for commercial purposes. That said, evidence is accumulating that Silicon Valley is losing billions in overseas business from companies, individuals and governments that want to maintain privacy. For high tech entrepreneurs, the cash nexus is ultimately more compelling than the Deep State's demand for patriotic cooperation. Even legal compulsion can be combatted: Unlike the individual citizen, tech firms have deep pockets and batteries of lawyers with which to fight government diktat.This pushback has gone so far that on January 17, President Obama announced revisions to the NSA's data collection programs, including withdrawing the agency's custody of a domestic telephone record database, expanding requirements for judicial warrants and ceasing to spy on (undefined) ''friendly foreign leaders.'' Critics have denounced the changes as a cosmetic public relations move, but they are still significant in that the clamor has gotten so loud that the president feels the political need to address it.
- When the contradictions within a ruling ideology are pushed too far, factionalism appears and that ideology begins slowly to crumble. Corporate oligarchs such as the Koch brothers are no longer entirely happy with the faux-populist political front group they helped fund and groom. Silicon Valley, for all the Ayn Rand-like tendencies of its major players, its offshoring strategies and its further exacerbation of income inequality, is now lobbying Congress to restrain the NSA, a core component of the Deep State. Some tech firms are moving to encrypt their data. High tech corporations and governments alike seek dominance over people though collection of personal data, but the corporations are jumping ship now that adverse public reaction to the NSA scandals threatens their profits.
- The outcome of all these developments is uncertain. The Deep State, based on the twin pillars of national security imperative and corporate hegemony, has until recently seemed unshakable and the latest events may only be a temporary perturbation in its trajectory. But history has a way of toppling the altars of the mighty. While the two great materialist and determinist ideologies of the twentieth century, Marxism and the Washington Consensus, successively decreed that the dictatorship of the proletariat and the dictatorship of the market were inevitable, the future is actually indeterminate. It may be that deep economic and social currents create the framework of history, but those currents can be channeled, eddied, or even reversed by circumstance, chance and human agency. We have only to reflect upon defunct glacial despotisms such as the USSR or East Germany to realize that nothing is forever.
- Throughout history, state systems with outsized pretensions to power have reacted to their environments in two ways. The first strategy, reflecting the ossification of its ruling elites, consists of repeating that nothing is wrong, that the status quo reflects the nation's unique good fortune in being favored by God and that those calling for change are merely subversive troublemakers. As the French ancien r(C)gime, the Romanov dynasty and the Habsburg emperors discovered, the strategy works splendidly for a while, particularly if one has a talent for dismissing unpleasant facts. The final results, however, are likely to be thoroughly disappointing.The second strategy is one embraced to varying degrees and with differing goals, by figures of such contrasting personalities as Mustafa Kemal Atat¼rk, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles de Gaulle and Deng Xiaoping. They were certainly not revolutionaries by temperament; if anything, their natures were conservative. But they understood that the political cultures in which they lived were fossilized and incapable of adapting to the times. In their drive to reform and modernize the political systems they inherited, their first obstacles to overcome were the outworn myths that encrusted the thinking of the elites of their time.
- As the United States confronts its future after experiencing two failed wars, a precarious economy and $17 trillion in accumulated debt, the national punditry has split into two camps. The first, the declinists, sees a broken, dysfunctional political system incapable of reform and an economy soon to be overtaken by China. The second, the reformers, offers a profusion of nostrums to turn the nation around: public financing of elections to sever the artery of money between the corporate components of the Deep State and financially dependent elected officials, government ''insourcing'' to reverse the tide of outsourcing of government functions and the conflicts of interest that it creates, a tax policy that values human labor over financial manipulation and a trade policy that favors exporting manufactured goods over exporting investment capital.
- Mike Lofgren on the Deep State Hiding in Plain Sight
- All of that is necessary, but not sufficient. The Snowden revelations (the impact of which have been surprisingly strong), the derailed drive for military intervention in Syria and a fractious Congress, whose dysfunction has begun to be a serious inconvenience to the Deep State, show that there is now a deep but as yet inchoate hunger for change. What America lacks is a figure with the serene self-confidence to tell us that the twin idols of national security and corporate power are outworn dogmas that have nothing more to offer us. Thus disenthralled, the people themselves will unravel the Deep State with surprising speed.[1] The term ''Deep State'' was coined in Turkey and is said to be a system composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services, military, security, judiciary and organized crime. In British author John le Carr(C)'s latest novel, A Delicate Truth, a character describes the Deep State as '''... the ever-expanding circle of non-governmental insiders from banking, industry and commerce who were cleared for highly classified information denied to large swathes of Whitehall and Westminster.'' I use the term to mean a hybrid association of elements of government and parts of top-level finance and industry that is effectively able to govern the United States without reference to the consent of the governed as expressed through the formal political process.[2] Twenty-five years ago, the sociologist Robert Nisbet described this phenomenon as ''the attribute of No Fault'.... Presidents, secretaries and generals and admirals in America seemingly subscribe to the doctrine that no fault ever attaches to policy and operations. This No Fault conviction prevents them from taking too seriously such notorious foul-ups as Desert One, Grenada, Lebanon and now the Persian Gulf.'' To his list we might add 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.[3] The attitude of many members of Congress towards Wall Street was memorably expressed by Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-AL), the incoming chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, in 2010: ''In Washington, the view is that the banks are to be regulated, and my view is that Washington and the regulators are there to serve the banks.''[4] Beginning in 1988, every US president has been a graduate of Harvard or Yale. Beginning in 2000, every losing presidential candidate has been a Harvard or Yale graduate, with the exception of John McCain in 2008.[5] In recent months, the American public has seen a vivid example of a Deep State operative marketing his ideology under the banner of pragmatism. Former Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates '-- a one-time career CIA officer and deeply political Bush family retainer '-- has camouflaged his retrospective defense of military escalations that have brought us nothing but casualties and fiscal grief as the straight-from-the-shoulder memoir from a plain-spoken son of Kansas who disdains Washington and its politicians.[6] Meanwhile, the US government took the lead in restoring Baghdad's sewer system at a cost of $7 billion.[7] Obama's abrupt about-face suggests he may have been skeptical of military intervention in Syria all along, but only dropped that policy once Congress and Putin gave him the running room to do so. In 2009, he went ahead with the Afghanistan ''surge'' partly because General Petraeus' public relations campaign and back-channel lobbying on the Hill for implementation of his pet military strategy pre-empted other options. These incidents raise the disturbing question of how much the democratically elected president '-- or any president '-- sets the policy of the national security state and how much the policy is set for him by the professional operatives of that state who engineer faits accomplis that force his hand.
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- Mike Lofgren - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Mike Lofgren is an American who is a former RepublicanU.S. Congressional aide. He retired in May 2011 after 28 years as a Congressional staff member. His writings, roundly critical of the Republican Party, were published after his retirement and garnered widespread attention.
- Personal life[edit]Lofgren has a B.A. and M.A. in history from the University of Akron. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to study European history at the University of Bern and the University of Basel in Switzerland. He also completed the strategy and policy curriculum at the Naval War College.[1]
- Political career[edit]Lofgren began his legislative career as a military legislative assistant to then Republican House representative John Kasich in 1983. In 1994, he was a professional staff member of the Readiness Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee.
- From 1995 to 2004, he was budget analyst for national security on the majority staff of the House Budget Committee. From 2005 until his retirement in 2011, Lofgren was the chief analyst for military spending on the Senate Budget Committee.
- Since his retirement, Lofgren has written about politics, budgets, and national security issues. His work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, Washington Monthly, Truthout, and CounterPunch.
- Writings[edit]In September 2011, Lofgren published an essay entitled Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult on the website Truthout. In it he explains why he retired when he did, writing that he was "appalled at the headlong rush of Republicans to embrace policies that are deeply damaging to this country's future; and contemptuous of the feckless, craven incompetence of Democrats in their half-hearted attempts to stop them." He charged that both major American political parties are "rotten captives to corporate loot", but that while Democrats are merely weak and out of touch, the Republican Party is "becoming more like an apocalyptic cult". He particularly described Republicans as caring exclusively about their rich donors; being psychologically predisposed toward war; and pandering to the anti-intellectual, science-hostile, religious fundamentalistfringe. Lofgren wrote that the Tea Party is "filled with lunatics" and that lawmakers used the "routine" vote to raise the debt limit'--which Congress has done 87 times since the end of World War II'--to create "an entirely artificial fiscal crisis".[2] The essay received widespread media attention because of Lofgren's status as a long-term, respected Republican civil servant. Truthout reported the piece received "over a million views".[3][4][5][6][7]
- Lofgren called the reaction to his essay "bewildering", saying he wrote it not to settle scores, but because he felt he had a uniquely privileged view of the machinery of government which Americans deserved to know about. He added that he'd had "a good career" and no personal problems on Capitol Hill.[8]
- In 2012, Lofgren published the book The Party Is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless and the Middle Class Got Shafted, receiving a starred review from Booklist, which described the book as a "pungent, penetrating insider polemic".[9] The Washington Post called it "forceful, hard-hitting and seductive".[10] "I wrote the book", he said in a 2012 bookstore appearance, "because I am a concerned citizen."[11]
- Since the publication of his book, Lofgren has appeared in various news media, discussing a number of issues regarding the Republican Party and current American politics.[12][13][14]
- References[edit]^Seligman, Lara (11 September 2011). "The Quiet Staffer Who Went Nuclear on the GOP". National Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Lofgren, Mike (3 September 2011). "Goodbye to All That: Reflections of a GOP Operative Who Left the Cult". Truth Out. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Thatcher, Leslie (3 August 2012). "An Interview With Mike Lofgren, Author of "The Party Is Over"". Truth Out. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Fallows, James (3 September 2011). "A Harsh Case Against Obama (and His Opponents)". The Atlantic. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Fallows, James (5 September 2011). "'People Don't Realize How Fragile Democracy Really Is'". The Atlantic. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Seligman, Lara (11 September 2011). "The Quiet Staffer Who Went Nuclear on the GOP". National Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Benen, Steve (4 September 2012). "Mike Lofgren leaves 'the cult'". Washington Monthly. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Seligman, Lara (11 September 2011). "The Quiet Staffer Who Went Nuclear on the GOP". National Journal. Retrieved 30 August 2012. ^Booklist: 2010 review by Mary Carroll.^Woodard, Colin (14 September 2012). "The Party is Over: How Republicans Went Crazy, Democrats Became Useless, and the Middle Class Got Shafted". Retrieved 6 August 2013. ^Vlahos, Kelley (9 August 2012). "Mike Lofgren's Lament". The American Conservative. Retrieved 6 August 2013. ^"Mike Lofgren on Dysfunction in Our Political Parties". Bill Moyers & Company. 31 August 2012. Retrieved 6 August 2013. ^Spitzer, Eliot (24 August 2012). "ViewPoint with Eliot Spitzer". Current TV. Retrieved 6 August 2013. ^Masters, Ian (13 March 2013). "Backgrounder Briefing". Pacifica Radio for Southern California. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
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- Click to email this video:Feb. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. Army is giving away 13,000 armored trucks, worth about $500,000 each. The 20-ton MRAPs, or Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected trucks, were built specifically to save U.S. soldiers from roadside bombs in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Now the trucks are patrolling U.S. city streets. U.S. law enforcement agencies have received the lion's share of this high-powered military surplus. (Source: Bloomberg)
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- Wealthy & Well Connected
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- FBI called after anti-wealth graffiti rattles rich - Yahoo Finance
- The Occupy movement seems to have moved West.
- After a wave of anti-wealth protests in San Francisco, the nearby, posh town of Athertond, Calif., is having its brush with populism.
- The Atherton Police Department said it's investigating graffiti that was spay-painted on vehicles, garage doors, fences and gates in the town's Lindenwood neighborhood. Atherton is one of the richest towns in California, with manicured lawns, sprawling mansions and billionaire residents that have included Charles Schwab , Eric Schmidt and Meg Whitman .
- The Atherton Police said the vandalism occurred early in the evening on Sunday, Feb. 16, and included "anti-wealth" phrases like "F--- the 1 percent."
- (Read more: Wealthy's worry: Don't hate me because I'm rich )
- The graffiti may just be another case of a few kids making mischief, but because of the heated political climate over wealth, and rising class tensions in San Francisco, the police informed the FBI.
- The bureau commonly tracks activist movements like Occupy Wall Street. Atherton Town Manager George Rodericks said that because the language in the graffiti is "similar to the Occupy folks," the town wanted to alert the FBI.
- "The nature of the graffiti was the 1 percent issue," Rodericks said. "So they wanted to alert the FBI."
- (Read more: The poor should stop whining, says luxury CEO )
- The Atherton Police advised locals to "keep your property gates closed, your house doors and windows secured, your exterior lights on during hours of darkness, and your vehicles locked with no valuables kept inside the passenger compartment. Also, make sure to use your home security system on a regular basis. "
- The vandalism follows a controversial letter in TheWall Street Journal last month by San Francisco venture capitalist Tom Perkins, saying that the American wealthy are being persecuted like the German Jews were before World War II.
- Perkins later apologized for the comment, but it brought into sharp focus growing tensions in the Bay Area over rising tech wealth and its impact on the community.
- (Read more: Five tycoons who mind the gap )
- Rodericks said people in Atherton are generally not worried about the graffiti issue, since Atherton is one of the safest towns in America. But he said he hoped Athertonians would maintain their level of vigilance.
- "We would hope our residents are at that (high) level of awareness every day," he said.
- -By CNBC's Robert Frank.Follow him on Twitter @robtfrank.
- Society & CulturePolitics & Governmentgraffiti
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- Syria
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- Cleric issues fatwa telling starving Syrians to eat cats and dogs | Mail Online
- Muslims around the world are marking the Eid al-Adha holidaySyrian children in the capital are going hungry, activists and medics sayFood has all but run out and doctors lack the means to treat their patientsBy Jill Reilly
- PUBLISHED: 09:24 EST, 17 October 2013 | UPDATED: 09:24 EST, 17 October 2013
- A cleric has issued a fatwa allowing starving people in Syria to eat cats and dogs.
- As Muslims around the world mark the Eid al-Adha holiday, sharing festive meals, children trapped in besieged areas around the Syrian capital are going hungry, activists and medics say.
- 'We issued a religious edict allowing people to eat dog and cat meat. Not because it is religiously permitted, but because it is a reflection of the reality we are suffering,' said Sheikh Saleh al-Khatib, who has been on hunger strike for nine days.
- 'People here have nothing for their children. I am on strike because I want to help save food for others.'
- Hunger: A boy eats maize as people shop ahead of the Muslim festival of Eid-al-Adha in Aleppo
- Rubble: A girl pushes plastic containers of water past rubble and damaged buildings in Homs
- Hard life: Children play with plastic guns in Aleppo
- In some areas children have died from severe malnutrition, according to one NGO.
- For Muslims, Eid is a time for children to receive new clothes and play with friends after sharing a festive meal with their families.
- But in a string of rebel-held areas under a months-long army siege south and east of Damascus, activists say food has all but run out and doctors lack the means to treat their patients.
- 'Of course there is no Eid for the children here' in Moadamiyet al-Sham, a suburb southwest of Damascus, said activist Abu Malek.
- 'For them, Eid will come when they see a plate of rice and bulgur,' he added, speaking to AFP via the Internet.
- Residents of Moadamiyet al-Sham are surviving on herbs and vegetables they have planted.
- Shelling: A Syrian girl blows a balloon beside ruins her family fled to in fear of shelling in Jabal Al-Zawiya near Idlib
- Supplies: In a string of rebel-held areas under a months-long army siege south and east of Damascus, activists say food has all but run out and doctors lack the means to treat their patients
- 'We no longer have any food in the stockpiles. Everyone is planting in the orchards and the streets,' said activist Abu Hadi, adding that no bread had entered the area for months.
- But harvesting the food is dangerous, 'and people have died in the orchards because of the shelling', he said.
- Rami Abdel Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said many children in Moadamiyet al-Sham were malnourished.
- 'Children are worst off because they need the right kinds of food in order to grow. Adults can survive on whatever they can find, but what about the children?'
- The army says 'terrorists,' its term for the rebels, have trapped civilians against their will.
- But activists accuse the military of using the siege to try to turn people against the rebels.
- 'It is a war crime to besiege civilians,' Abdel Rahman said.
- Shocking amateur videos have been distributed by activists from the town, showing visibly malnourished children.
- Free Syrian Army fighters gathered inside a cave in Maaret al-Naaman village, in Idlib
- A Free Syrian Army fighter prepares ammunition inside a cave
- Free Syrian Army fighters sleep in their makeshift home
- One video shows a boy identified as Ibrahim Khalil laid out on a stretcher. His ribs and cheekbones protrude from underneath his pale skin, and dark circles surround his eyes.
- Another video shows a girl with her two baby siblings, appealing for help so her family can secure baby milk.
- 'There is no road... The road is closed... What are we going to do?... We are feeding them milk but it's expired,' says the little girl, as the babies cry.
- For some, relief came earlier this week, when the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Syrian Red Crescent evacuated 3,500 people from Moadimayet al-Sham with the agreement of the authorities.
- But only children, women and old men were able to leave, with the wounded left behind and aid workers prevented from entering the area.
- An opposition fighter holds a position on the front line in Syria's northeastern city of Deir Ezzor
- Civilians and firefighters try to put out a fire at the roof of a building which activists said was shelled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, in Raqqa, eastern Syria
- 'There are many more, including children, who remain in the town,' said Magne Barth, head of the ICRC delegation in Syria.
- The situation is just as bad for children in other rebel-held areas near Damascus.
- 'On any given day in the emergency room, some four out of 10 patients I see are malnourished children,' said Abu Mohammad, a doctor working in a field clinic in the Marj area east of the capital.
- 'Many children have very low blood pressure, fatigue, dizziness, and a reduced (disease-fighting) white blood cell count. The worst affected by the food shortages are children aged under two years,' he added.
- The hardest part is not having the right medical equipment or food to fight malnutrition, he told AFP.
- 'I get depressed in the clinic, because we don't have what we need to fight this.'
- Also affected is Yarmuk, a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus that has turned into a battleground in recent months.
- 'Nothing, not even bread or flour has been allowed in for 96 days,' according to Palestinian-Syrian activist Ali Abu Khaled, who said he is 'lucky to get one small meal a day.'
- Share or comment on this articleEXCLUSIVE - An 'affair' with white sheriff's daughter, drugs...'I couldn't believe my luck!': 17-year-old's boast as...'If it seems too good to be true, it probably is': Ex-NFL...Five kids in nine months! Couple who adopted triplets became...Girl, 11, shoots cougar that was following her brother, 14,...American woman, 31, was found 'painted in blood from head to...An unexpected punchline! The JOKE that got a man banned for...It's almost a shame you have to land! Pilots reveal the 26...Woman, 35, 'had sex with schoolboy, 12, in the back of her...Bieber can't walk the line: Newly-released video shows...Body of missing pregnant student, 26, investigating murdered...How Shirley Temple helped her daughter get sober: Former...
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- Chiner$
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- Afghanistan to keep its China policy unchanged: Karzai | TwoCircles.net
- Kabul : Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said his country's policy of keeping good relations and deepening mutually beneficial cooperation with China will not change.
- Karzai told visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi that the government and the people of Afghanistan are satisfied with the growth and deepening of their relations with China over the past few years, and treasure the bilateral ties, reported Xinhua.
- Wang, who arrived here for an official visit Saturday, said he made the visit in the crucial year of Afghanistan's transition to convey that China attaches great importance to relations with Afghanistan.
- China will continue its policy towards Afghanistan and firmly support the country's political reconciliation and reconstruction, Wang said.
- He hoped that Afghanistan will realize a peaceful transition and make continuous progress in political reconciliation and reconstruction.
- In a separate meeting with Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Karzai's national security advisor, Wang said security cooperation has become a major part of the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.
- Noting that this year is crucial for Afghanistan's transition, Wang said the development in the situation of Afghanistan has a direct bearing on the fundamental interest of the Afghan people and regional peace and stability.
- "China firmly supports Afghanistan to realize a smooth transition and hopes Afghanistan's general election will go ahead smoothly as scheduled. China is willing to keep close communication with Afghanistan and work hard to facilitate Afghanistan's political reconciliation."
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- BTC
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- Mt. Gox CEO Resigns From Bitcoin Foundation
- Mark Karpel¨s, chief executive officer of Mt. Gox, resigned on Sunday from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation, according to a person familiar with the situation, reports WSJ.The move comes after Mt Gox froze accounts at its bitcoin exchange, prompting some protesters to camp out in front of the Japanese-world headquarters of Mt Gox.
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- Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox disappears in blow to virtual currency - Yahoo News
- HomeMailNewsSportsFinanceWeatherGamesGroupsAnswersScreenFlickrMobileMoreCelebrityShineMoviesMusicTVHealthShoppingTravelAutosHomesYahoo NewsSearch NewsSearch WebSign InMailHelpAccount InfoHelpSuggestionsYahoo
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- MtGox Situation: Crisis Strategy Draft
- To avoid a chaotic situation, we propose:
- 1- Immediately reduce liabilities as much as possible with partners
- With actual assets using arbitrage/ injecting new coins to erase them from the books. Informing andasking selected Bitcoin main players to ask for their help. The MtGox price is low, making it possibleto erase a significant portion of the debt, but it needs to be done quickly. Injections in coin are mostuseful (enough to run the exchange) but some cash is also needed to not run a fractional reserve.
- 2- Switch off the MtGox exchange temporarily (1 month) while announcing a restructuring andre-branding
- On a freshly branded static homepage, post a letter from Mark Karpel¨s stepping down as CEO ofMtGox, bringing in transition advisors, and citing poor organization and technology. Moving to a newcountry (Singapore?) could be helpful.
- 3- Push the new branding (ready) and reset all SNS channels for communication:
- Using Facebook, Twitter, etc with the new branding, we will give constant updates, changing the toneof communications and informing stakeholders on all progress: new advisors, team members,location, fee structure. We need to inspire confidence.
- 4- Set up a competent team and redesign the service and codebase:
- Announce a new CEO, talented developers, and trusted business people to establish a new businessmodel. ( Finance, marketing strategy, IT, developers, Customer support). Build a low-cost, profitablebusiness again that gives customers a reason to stay (low fees, stability, etc) while we work off ourdebts to stakeholders.
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- The Coinbase Blog '-- Joint Statement Regarding MtGox
- The purpose of this document is to summarize a joint statement to the Bitcoin community regarding Mt.Gox.
- This tragic violation of the trust of users of Mt.Gox was the result of one company's actions and does not reflect the resilience or value of bitcoin and the digital currency industry. There are hundreds of trustworthy and responsible companies involved in bitcoin. These companies will continue to build the future of money by making bitcoin more secure and easy to use for consumers and merchants. As with any new industry, there are certain bad actors that need to be weeded out, and that is what we are seeing today. Mtgox has confirmed its issues in private discussions with other members of the bitcoin community
- We are confident, however, that strong Bitcoin companies, led by highly competent teams and backed by credible investors, will continue to thrive, and to fulfill the promise that bitcoin offers as the future of payment in the Internet age.
- In order to re-establish the trust squandered by the failings of Mt. Gox, responsible bitcoin exchanges are working together and are committed to the future of bitcoin and the security of all customer funds. As part of the effort to re-assure customers, the following services will be coordinating efforts over the coming days to publicly reassure customers and the general public that all funds continue to be held in a safe and secure manner: Coinbase, Kraken, BitStamp, Circle, and BTC China.
- We strongly believe in transparent, thoughtful, and comprehensive consumer protection measures. We pledge to lead the way.
- Bitcoin operators, whether they be exchanges, wallet services or payment providers, play a critical custodial role over the bitcoin they hold as assets for their customers. Acting as a custodian should require a high-bar, including appropriate security safeguards that are independently audited and tested on a regular basis, adequate balance sheets and reserves as commercial entities, transparent and accountable customer disclosures, and clear policies to not use customer assets for proprietary trading or for margin loans in leveraged trading.
- The following industry leaders stand by this statement:
- Fred Ehrsam and Brian Armstrong '-- Founders ofCoinbase
- Jesse Powell '-- CEO ofKraken
- Nejc KodriÄ '-- CEO ofBitstamp.net
- Bobby Lee '-- CEO ofBTC China
- Nicolas Cary '-- CEO ofBlockchain.info
- Jeremy Allaire '-- CEO ofCircle
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- Bank$ters
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- JPMorgan Boosts Profit Goal to $27 Billion Amid Job Cuts - Bloomberg
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) said the bank can increase profit 50 percent in the next four to five years as higher rates boost interest margins and the firm cuts 5,500 more jobs from retail units than it had forecast.
- Profit can reach $27 billion if legal costs subside and income from loans and investments improves, the New York-based company said today in a slide presentation for its annual investor day. The bank now plans to eliminate about 8,000 jobs in consumer and mortgage banking this year as demand wanes for refinancings. Hiring in areas such as compliance and risk management will offset some of the cuts, the company said.
- Managers led by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon are laying out strategy at the biggest U.S. bank by assets after a year marred by clashes with regulators and $23 billion in legal costs. Dimon, 57, is seeking to accelerate growth and trim unwanted units while fending off allegations that the firm misled buyers of mortgage bonds, rigged markets and ignored suspicious activity by clients.
- ''We now have clarity on most of the regulatory rules, and we believe that we, more than others, will successfully adapt to the new financial architecture and will emerge where we started -- with best-in-class margins and returns,'' Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said at the investor conference.
- Photographer: Matthew Lloyd/BloombergJPMorgan Chase & Co. said it expects $3.5 billion of net income by 2017 from expansions... Read More
- JPMorgan Chase & Co. said it expects $3.5 billion of net income by 2017 from expansions in businesses including middle-market lending and private banking. Close
- OpenPhotographer: Matthew Lloyd/BloombergJPMorgan Chase & Co. said it expects $3.5 billion of net income by 2017 from expansions in businesses including middle-market lending and private banking.
- JPMorgan slipped 0.8 percent to $57.55 at 1:15 p.m. in New York. The company has gained 21 percent in the past 12 months, trailing the 24 percent rally in the Standard & Poor's 500 Index.
- Business ExpansionJPMorgan said it expects $3.5 billion of added net income by 2017 from expansions in businesses including middle-market lending and private banking. The net income target can be achieved over four to five years, the lender said. A year ago, the firm laid out a scenario where earnings could increase to $27.5 billion, while saying its target was $24 billion.
- The forecast for return on equity was little changed as the company holds higher levels of capital in all of its divisions. Return on tangible common equity is expected to be 15 percent to 16 percent, compared with an earlier forecast of 16 percent, according to the presentation. JPMorgan posted an 11 percent return in 2013.
- Banks have been hobbled by narrow profit margins on loans as interest rates hovered near record lows. The Federal Reserve began phasing out a policy designed to suppress rates last year, and yields on 10-year Treasuries almost doubled over the last eight months of 2013.
- Bankers and analysts have said an increase in short-term rates would be more helpful for margins. The average forecast among economists in a Bloomberg survey is that the central bank won't start raising its short-term rate until at least 2015.
- Staff CutsThe consumer and mortgage job reductions would bring total staff cuts to 24,500 in the two divisions since the start of 2013, JPMorgan said in today's presentation. Last year, the firm said it would eliminate as many as 19,000 in the two divisions by the end of 2014. Reductions in retail banking are expected to happen through attrition, the bank said.
- JPMorgan's asset-management business, led by Mary Erdoes, said market gains and growth in international operations and retail sales are fueling expansion. The unit plans to oversee $3 trillion for clients in three or more years, up from about $2 trillion, according to the company. That will help boost pretax income at the business to about $5 billion from last year's $3.2 billion.
- Commercial banking, led by Doug Petno, set its long-term target for return on equity at about 18 percent, compared with the 19 percent it earned last year. Low deposit spreads and a slow economic recovery may pressure near-term results, while the unit expects to benefit eventually from an increase in international banking and more fees tied to mergers and acquisitions.
- To contact the reporters on this story: Michael J. Moore in New York at mmoore55@bloomberg.net; Hugh Son in New York at hson1@bloomberg.net
- To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Eichenbaum at peichenbaum@bloomberg.net
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- Benghazi
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- Google ordered to remove anti-Islamic film from YouTube - Yahoo News
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- NA-Tech
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- AARP-WTF-Facebook says makes progress targeting users | Reuters
- Wed Feb 26, 2014 3:15pm EST
- Facebook Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg smiles in the stage before delivering a keynote speech during the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona February 24, 2014.
- Credit: Reuters/Albert Gea
- (Reuters) - Facebook highlighted on Wednesday two ad campaigns in an attempt to persuade advertisers that its massive membership base and ability to home in on specific audiences makes it a more effective advertising platform than broadcast TV.
- The No. 1 social network revealed in a blog post some details about marketing campaigns from AARP and the American Legacy Foundation to show how Facebook can target specific age groups among its audience of more than 1 billion global users, which rivals the number of people watching TV.
- Facebook is hoping to tap some of the billions of dollars that advertisers dedicate to television commercials to reach large groups of people.
- "For an advertiser, in Facebook's view their users are more engaged than when they are watching TV," said Debra Aho Williamson, principal analyst at research firm eMarketer. "It's not just sitting on the couch and watching something go by."
- Still TV gets the lion's share of ad dollars with more than $66 billion in 2013 in the U.S. alone, according to eMarketer. Facebook generated roughly $7 billion in global ad revenue during the same year.
- The AARP, an association for older Americans, sought to target ads to Facebook members over 45 in order to build awareness that the organization is for more than just retired people, Facebook said in its blog post, while the American Legacy Foundation wanted to reach teenagers for its Truth campaign to curb smoking.
- Both campaigns ran in Facebook's News Feed interspersed among a user's stream of news and other updates.
- "One of the things we wanted to test is if there a better result when you air a TV ad spot and support it on social media," said Tammy Gordon, AARP vice president of social strategy.
- A survey conducted by Nielsen Online suggested that 14 percent of 45-to-64-year-old Americans said they saw the AARP campaign.
- "You don't just do a TV commercial, you have to be looking at multi-media campaign," Gordon said.
- In the case of the Truth campaign, almost half of all Americans between the age of 13 and 19 saw at least one ad in their News Feed stream, the Nielsen survey found.
- Investors have been concerned that teenage users may be drifting away from Facebook in favor of alternative online services such as Snapchat and WhatsApp, which Facebook recently acquired for $19 billion. But the survey results suggest marketers still view Facebook's social network as an important channel for reaching teenagers.
- Christine Dela Rosa, senior brand manager of marketing at the American Legacy Foundation, said that Facebook was still a good way to expose teens to brands. She noted, however, that the foundation also adjusted its marketing campaign to run on other platforms like deviantART, a social network for artists that is attracting teens.
- "Facebook is really huge and people tend to want to converse with us in that space," Dela Rosa said. "We are in other places too because teens aren't using Facebook for expression. Every single platform has a different purpose. We want to be there in all those different places."
- (Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)
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- Netflix Said to Agree to Pay Comcast for Broadband Access - Bloomberg
- Netflix Inc. (NFLX) has agreed to pay for more-direct access to Comcast Corp. (CMCSA)'s broadband network to improve speed and reliability for its video-streaming customers, according to three people familiar with the matter.
- The companies announced a multiyear agreement in a statement today, without disclosing terms. Faced with complaints about quality and speed, Netflix agreed to pay Comcast millions of dollars annually to deliver its content more efficiently, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the terms are private.
- Netflix, the world's largest subscription video-streaming service, joins companies such as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Facebook Inc. (FB) that already pay Comcast for content-delivery network access. The agreement is a surprise because Netflix could have used the issue as leverage while Comcast attempts to acquire Time Warner Cable Inc., an industry researcher said.
- ''I would have thought Netflix would have held out with the Time Warner Cable deal looming,'' Craig Moffett, founder of research firm MoffettNathanson LLC, said in an interview. ''Netflix can ask for whatever it wants and has a reasonable shot at getting conditions put on the merger that could provide it with long-term benefit. On the other hand, that could be precisely what spurred this deal -- that Comcast was willing to settle with Netflix for a relatively low price to make the Netflix problem go away ahead of the regulatory review.''
- New FeesThe agreement is part of an effort by broadband providers to collect millions in new fees from content providers who increasingly are using the Web networks to deliver movies, sports and live programs to televisions, tablets and computers.
- ''The deal confirms that if you're a video company that wants to get your stuff from point A to point B through a broadband pipe, you have to pay a tariff,'' Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles, said in an interview.
- Netflix declines to comment beyond the statement, Jonathan Friedland, a spokesman for the Los Gatos, California-based company said. Charlie Douglas, a spokesman for Comcast, declined to comment. Philadelphia-based Comcast has more than 20 million broadband subscribers and provides Internet service to about 23 percent of all U.S. households. Netflix has more than 51 million customers worldwide.
- Because so much traffic occurs during prime-time viewing hours, some Netflix users reported seeing grainy or jittery video. By connecting Netflix content directly to Comcast's network, the new delivery method removes a middle layer, speeding the video to the end-user.
- Step RemovedNetflix previously connected to Comcast and other broadband providers by paying companies such as Cogent Communications Group Inc., much like a consumer would pay a service provider to access the Internet. The new connections to Comcast will take place in data centers called open Internet exchanges that are run by Equinix Inc. and other companies around the world, one of the people said.
- The agreement will deliver a better experience to customers ''while also allowing for future growth in Netflix traffic,'' the companies said in the statement.
- The talks, which included phone conversations between Netflix Chief Executive Officer Reed Hastings and Comcast Chief Executive Officer Brian Roberts, occurred over the last year and were essentially concluded before Comcast's surprise $45.2 billion bid to buy Time Warner Cable announced Feb. 13, one of the people said.
- No PreferenceNeither side may have gotten everything it wanted in part because of pending rules on so-called net neutrality. For example, Comcast declined to install Netflix content-caching servers called Open Connect in its own centers, one person said.
- The agreement is a private business relationship between Comcast and Netflix -- known as ''peering'' -- and doesn't run afoul of so-called net neutrality, the people said. The Federal Communications Commission plans to write rules that will forbid content blocking and ensure Internet providers treat Web traffic equally, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said last week.
- Comcast, under terms of its deal to acquire NBCUniversal, signed a consent degree ending in 2018 in which it agreed not to give its own content preferential streaming treatment over other video providers.
- Netflix ''receives no preferential network treatment'' under the terms of the contract, according to the statement.
- The connections began late last week and will probably be completed in the next week for noticeable improvements to Comcast customers, one of the people said.
- New ServicesNetflix, which streamed more than 2 billion hours of content in January, plans to begin adding bandwidth-intensive ultra high-definition content later this year and needed to have the nation's largest broadband provider on board.
- The company, helped by its public visibility and complaints about its video quality declining in consumer homes, negotiated lower rates than Facebook and Google because it incurs more bandwidth, the person said.
- While Netflix could pay other large broadband companies such as Verizon Communications (VZ) similar fees, it does not plan to begin paying Cox Communications Inc., Charter Communications Inc. and others who already use Open Connect, the person said.
- To contact the reporters on this story: Alex Sherman in New York at asherman6@bloomberg.net; Edmund Lee in New York at elee310@bloomberg.net; Cliff Edwards in San Francisco at cedwards28@bloomberg.net
- To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mohammed Hadi at mhadi1@bloomberg.net
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- Netflix Comcast Agreement
- PHILADELPHIA and LOS GATOS, CALIF. (February 23, 2014) Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) and Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX) today announced a mutually beneficial interconnection agreement that will provide Comcast's U.S. broadband customers with a high-quality Netflix video experience for years to come. Working collaboratively over many months, the companies have established a more direct connection between Netflix and Comcast, similar to other networks, that's already delivering an even better user experience to consumers, while also allowing for future growth in Netflix traffic. Netflix receives no preferential network treatment under the multi-year agreement, terms of which are not being disclosed.About Comcast Corporation
- Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone provider to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates 30 news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.
- Netflix is the world's leading Internet television network with over 44 million members in 41 countries enjoying more than one billion hours of TV shows and movies per month, including original series. For one low monthly price, Netflix members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on nearly any Internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
- Comcast: Charlie Douglas, (215) 531-3296, Charlie_Douglas@comcast.com
- Netflix: Joris Evers, (408) 658-0980, jevers@netflix.com
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- Netflix is paying Comcast for direct connection to network | Ars Technica
- Netflix has agreed to pay Comcast for a direct connection to the cable and Internet service provider's network, a move that will improve streaming video quality for Comcast customers, the Wall Street Journal reported today.
- The deal was subsequently confirmed by the companies, but financial details were not disclosed.
- News of a paid peering deal comes two days after a traceroute showed that the two companies were exchanging traffic with each other directly. Netflix performance on Comcast had been getting worse for months, suggesting a feud between Comcast and Netflix or between Comcast and Cogent, one of Netflix's Internet transit providers.
- Further ReadingLatest Netflix data shows some ISPs struggling, while Google Fiber soars.
- Netflix has tried to convince ISPs to join its Open Connect program, which involves either peering, caching, or both. Video caches inside an ISP's network bring content closer to customers, while peering involves a direct connection between Netflix and an ISP, potentially improving quality by eliminating middlemen traffic providers.Numerous ISPs have turned down this offer, saying Netflix should pay for direct connections, and it appears Comcast has had its way.
- A source close to Netflix told Ars that the company will not confirm whether there is any payment changing hands, but that a compromise was reached. Comcast and Netflix are interconnecting at Internet exchanges, the source said, suggesting a peering agreement.
- "In exchange for payment, Netflix will get direct access to Comcast's broadband network," the Journal wrote today, quoting sources. "The multiyear deal comes just 10 days after Comcast agreed to buy Time Warner Cable Inc., which if approved would establish Comcast as by far the dominant provider of broadband in the US, serving 30 million households."
- "Under the deal, Netflix won't be able to place its servers inside Comcast's data centers, which Netflix had wanted," the Journal wrote. "Instead, Comcast will connect to Netflix's servers at data centers operated by other companies."
- The story noted that Netflix had been sending traffic primarily through Cogent, and then said that "Comcast presented Netflix with more attractive deal terms than the operator had been offering," suggesting that Comcast either bettered Cogent's pricing or lowered its previous demands.
- Netflix's business relationship with Cogent will continue, since Netflix doesn't have direct agreements with Verizon and other ISPs.
- Update: After this story published, the companies released a joint statement that said, "Comcast Corporation and Netflix, Inc. today announced a mutually beneficial interconnection agreement that will provide Comcast's US broadband customers with a high-quality Netflix video experience for years to come. Working collaboratively over many months, the companies have established a more direct connection between Netflix and Comcast, similar to other networks, that's already delivering an even better user experience to consumers, while also allowing for future growth in Netflix traffic. Netflix receives no preferential network treatment under the multi-year agreement, terms of which are not being disclosed."
- The companies' plan is for all traffic to eventually pass through the direct Netflix/Comcast connection. Until that happens, Netflix could still send some of the traffic through intermediaries like Cogent or Level 3. Still, redirecting even some traffic should at least reduce the stress on the congested Cogent/Comcast connections, potentially benefiting all Netflix users who are also Comcast subscribers.
- Netflix and Cogent are still at odds with Verizon, apparently resulting in deteriorating quality of streams on Verizon's network.
- The Netflix source told Ars that the sheer amount of customers hooked up to Comcast's network played a role in Netflix's willingness to make a compromise. Negotiations with other ISPs were not confirmed, but the source said it wouldn't be surprising to see Netflix seek compromises with other major ISPs.
- Today's agreement comes after a court decision that gutted US network neutrality rules, allowing ISPs to block or degrade third-party traffic such as Netflix's. Comcast is still bound by those net neutrality rules until 2018 because of a condition on its 2011 purchase of NBCUniversal. However, the net neutrality rules only governed the path from consumer ISP networks to home customers.
- The peering and transit agreements that cover interconnections further away from consumer homes weren't covered by the net neutrality rules or the Comcast/NBCUniversal merger agreement. Thus, Netflix traffic could still be degraded when ISPs like Comcast and Verizon don't invest properly in upgrading connections with network operators like Cogent that serve a lot of Netflix traffic.
- The Federal Communications Commission hasn't given any sign it plans to regulate peering and transit, but could examine the issue as part of its investigation into the Comcast/Time Warner Cable merger.
- The Journal called the Netflix/Comcast deal "the latest sign that broadband providers are gaining leverage in their dealings with content companies. Over the past several years, technology companies like Microsoft Corp., Facebook Inc. and Google Inc. have also started paying major broadband providers for direct connections to their networks that would provide faster and smoother access."
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- AFP: Comcast, Netflix reach agreement on smoother streaming
- Comcast, Netflix reach agreement on smoother streaming
- New York '-- Netflix has reached an agreement with cable and internet giant Comcast so that the US video-streaming service's programming can be viewed more smoothly, the two announced Sunday.
- The companies "have established a more direct connection between Netflix and Comcast, similar to other networks, that's already delivering an even better user experience to consumers," their statement said.
- The financial details of the deal -- in which Netflix will pay Comcast -- were not disclosed.
- A Netflix spokesperson told AFP that the agreement would help restore optimum streaming for some American Comcast broadband subscribers who had difficulty viewing Netflix's programming.
- Until now, Netflix and its heavy traffic flow reached Comcast's network via bandwidth intermediaries, sometimes resulting in non-fluid streaming.
- The agreement comes 10 days after Comcast unveiled plans to swallow rival Time Warner Cable in a $45.2 billion mega-deal that triggered debate on the creation of a cable-Internet behemoth.
- The planned merger was seen by analysts as Comcast positioning itself to fend off threats from streaming video services like Netflix, Amazon and HBO, which can offer an alternative to cable.
- Copyright (C) 2014 AFP. All rights reserved. More >>
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- Comcast/Netflix Deal Means Bye Bye, Net Neutrality
- For example: Suppose so many large media companies pay for "interconnection" that smaller political blogs like this one are very slow to load? It could happen:
- For the past two decades, the Internet has operated as an unregulated, competitive free market. Given the tendency of networked industries to lapse into monopoly'--think of AT&T's 70-year hold over telephone service, for example'--that's a minor miracle. But recent developments are putting the Internet's decentralized architecture in danger.
- In recent months, the nation's largest residential Internet service providers have been demanding payment to deliver Netflix traffic to their own customers. On Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Netflix has agreed to the demands of the nation's largest broadband provider, Comcast.
- The change represents a fundamental shift in power in the Internet economy that threatens to undermine the competitive market structure that have served Internet users so well for the past two decades.
- The deal will also transform the debate over network neutrality regulation. Officially, Comcast's deal with Netflix is about interconnection, not traffic discrimination. But it's hard to see a practical difference between this deal and the kind of tiered access that network neutrality advocates have long feared. Network neutrality advocates are going to have to go back to the drawing board.
- [...] But in a world where Netflix and Yahoo connect directly to residential ISPs, every Internet company will have its own separate pipe. And policing whether different pipes are equally good is a much harder problem than requiring that all of the traffic in a single pipe be treated the same. If it wanted to ensure a level playing field, the FCC would be forced to become intimately involved in interconnection disputes, overseeing who Verizon interconnects with, how fast the connections are and how much they can charge to do it.
- At this point, the FCC doesn't have any good options. Regulating the terms of interconnection would be a difficult, error-prone process. Trying to reverse the decade-old mergers that allowed America's broadband market to become so concentrated in the first place would be even more so. But the growing power of residential broadband providers will put growing pressure on the FCC to do something to prevent the abuse of that power.
- '' Story continues below ''
- One clear lesson, though, is that further industry consolidation can only make the situation worse. The more concentrated the broadband market becomes, the more leverage broadband providers like Comcast and Verizon will have over backbone providers like Cogent. That gives the FCC a good reason to be skeptical of Comcast's proposed acquisition of its largest rival, Time Warner Cable. Blocking that transaction could save the agency larger headaches in the future.
- Rep. John Dingell To Resign; Wife Expected To Run For Seat
- Can Getting Medicaid On State Ballots Save The Senate For Dems?
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- Trains Good, Planes Bad (whoo Hoo!)
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- TRAINS-President Obama: We've Got 100,000 Bridges that Could Qualify for Medicare - WNYC
- Speaking at Union Depot train station in St. Paul, Minnesota, the president called on Congress to act on transportation funding. "If Congress doesn't finish a transportation bill by the end of the summer," he said, "we could see construction projects stop in their tracks."
- The president was on hand to unveil his four-year, $302 billion surface transportation reauthorization proposal. He said his proposal would save jobs while rebuilding the nation's crumbling infrastructure, which he painted as being in dire need of help.
- "We've got more than 100,000 bridges that are old enough to qualify for Medicare," he said, and pointed out that the harsh winter had also wreaked havoc on the region's roads. Repeating a now familiar refrain, he added that ''roads and bridges should not be a partisan issue."
- His plan calls for a sixth round of TIGER grants, and increasing transit spending by 70 percent. The president said funding for his plan would come from closing tax loopholes.
- "This is one of Congress' major responsibilities," he said, "helping states and cities fund new infrastructure projects."
- Prior to making his remarks, the president toured Metro Transit's light rail operations facility, where he got a glimpse of the new Green Line trains.
- "I love trains," he said. "Who doesn't love trains? Now this is a spiffy looking train."
- The current transportation bill expires in September.
- Read the president's proposal below, or read it online here.
- On February 26th, the President will speak at the historic Union Depot train station in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he will launch a competition for $600 million in competitive transportation funding and outline his vision for investing in America's infrastructure with a $302 billion, four year surface transportation reauthorization proposal. The President will continue to act when he can to promote job growth in the transportation sector and put more Americans back to work repairing and modernizing our roads, bridges, railways, and transit systems, and will also work with Congress to act to ensure critical transportation programs continue to be funded and do not expire later this year.
- Launching competition for $600 million in TIGER competitive grants to fund transformative transportation infrastructure projects. Since the President took office, America has made historic investments to improve our nation's infrastructure ''including the highly successful Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program that has invested $3.5 billion in 270 projects across the country. Today the President is announcing that the U.S. Department of Transportation is making available $600 million in TIGER competitive grants to fund transportation projects. The TIGER grant program, which was initially funded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was recently funded in the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act, signed by the President on January 17th, 2014.Proposing an aggressive four-year plan to modernize our nation's surface transportation infrastructure. Despite progress over the last five years, there's more work to do. Later this summer, the nation's transportation system will be facing a funding crisis, which is why the President is committed to working with Congress, including Senators Boxer and Vitter and Representatives Shuster and Rahall, on a bipartisan solution. Today the President is outlining his vision for a comprehensive, long term plan that puts people back to work repairing our nation's transportation infrastructure. The President will propose a four-year reauthorization of our surface transportation programs that will modernize our nation's infrastructure and ensure the health and growth of these critical programs for the future while supporting millions of jobs.Proposing a pro-growth, bipartisan approach to financing the President's surface transportation plan. The President's Budget will outline his proposal to dedicate $150 billion in one-time transition revenue from pro-growth business tax reform to address the funding crisis facing our surface transportation programs and increase infrastructure investment. This amount is sufficient to not only fill the current funding gap in the Highway Trust Fund, but increase surface transportation investment over current projected levels by nearly $90 billion over the next four years. When taking into account existing funding for surface transportation, this plan will result in a total of $302 billion being invested over four years putting people back to work modernizing our transportation infrastructure. The President is putting forward this pro-growth financing plan to encourage bipartisan efforts to support a visionary infrastructure plan, but is open to all ideas for how to achieve this important objective, and will work closely with Members of Congress of both parties on a solution that will invest in more job creating transportation projects. The President is also looking forward to working with Congress on bipartisan ideas to attract more private investment, such as a national infrastructure bank or the recent infrastructure financing authority proposal from Senators Warner and Blunt.Launching Competition for $600 in TIGER Grants
- Today, the President is announcing that the U.S. Department of Transportation is making available $600 million to fund transportation projects across the country under a sixth round of the highly successful TIGER competitive grant program. This funding and opportunity for governors, mayors, and other local leaders to partner with the Federal government is a result of the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act the President signed in January and an example of what progress is possible when Washington works together across partisan lines.
- Since 2009 when the President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that launched the program, the TIGER grant program has awarded $3.5 billion to 270 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico '' including 100 projects to support rural communities. These high impact investments have improved the nation's road, rail, transit, and port systems, and supported multi-modal projects that efficiently connect these varying types of transportation modes. Demand for TIGER funds has been overwhelming, and the quality of applications has been high. During the previous five rounds, the U.S. Department of Transportation received more than 5,300 applications requesting nearly $115 billion for transportation projects across the country.
- Supporting High-Value Transportation Projects Across the Country. The highly competitive TIGER program supports a range of projects, including roads, bridges, transit, rail, and ports, and offers one of the few Federal funding sources for game-changing projects that integrate different modes of transportation. The TIGER program invests in projects that will have a significant impact on the nation or a region, and Federal funds are used to make such projects possible and leverage additional funding from private sector partners, States, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and transit agencies. Encouraging Improved Job Access and Increased Economic Opportunity. In an effort to expand economic opportunities for all Americans, the 2014 TIGER program will place an emphasis on projects that support reliable, safe, and affordable transportation options that improve connections for urban, suburban, and rural communities. While continuing to support projects of all types, a priority will be placed in this 6th round of applications on projects that make it easier for Americans to get to jobs, school, and other opportunities, promote neighborhood revitalization and business expansion, and reconnect neighborhoods that are unnaturally divided by physical barriers such as highways and railroads.Prioritizing Transformative Projects. Successful projects in the highly competitive process will be those with the potential to improve economic competitiveness and create jobs, improve the condition of existing transportation systems, improve quality of life by increasing transportation options, improve energy efficiency, reduce fuel consumption and encourage resiliency, and/or improve the safety of our transportation systems.$35 Million to Help Communities Design Economic Development Plans. In addition to supporting capital grants, Congress provided the U.S. Department of Transportation with the flexibility to use up to $35 million of the 2014 TIGER funds for planning grants for the first time since 2010. These funds can be used to support the planning of innovative transportation solutions, as well as regional transportation planning, freight and port planning, housing and land use development, and resiliency efforts that improve efficiency and sustainable community development.The President's Vision for 21stCentury Transportation Infrastructure
- The Highway Trust Fund that provides critical funding for repairing roads, bridges, and transit systems is projected to become insolvent later this summer, and the existing surface transportation bill expires in September. Moreover, the current way we fund our transportation investments is insufficient to meet the nation's transportation infrastructure needs and grow our economy.
- The President is committed to working on a solution that not only avoids a near-term funding crisis, but also provides stability and meet the pent-up transportation needs to help American families and workers and businesses in rural, suburban, and urban communities across the country.
- The President's vision, which will be described in his FY2015 Budget request, will create jobs, grow our economy, attract private investment, facilitate American exports, reduce commute times and increase access to jobs, make our roads and bridges safer, cut red tape, and increase the return on investment of transportation infrastructure for American taxpayers. The President is calling for a $302 billion, four year transportation reauthorization proposal that increases and provides stable funding for our nation's highways, bridges, transit, and rail systems. The President is proposing one way to pay for this investment, by using $150 billion in one-time transition revenue from pro-growth business tax reform, but will work closely with Congress and listen to their ideas for how to achieve this important objective.
- Proposing a $302 billion, Four Year Transportation Reauthorization Bill, Providing States, Local Governments, and Construction Workers with Certainty. The President's proposal for a $302 billion, four year transportation reauthorization will not only allow States and local units of government to effectively plan their project pipelines, supporting millions of good paying jobs over the next several years, but also will enable more transformative transportation projects that improve our global competitiveness.$63 billion to fill the funding gap in the Highway Trust Fund. The proposal will meet our nation's essential highway, bridge, and transit needs in the near term by providing $63 billion to address the insolvency of the Highway Trust Fund for four years. Prioritizing ''Fix-it-First'' investments. The proposal will include policies and reforms to prioritize investments for much needed repairs and to improve the safety of highways and bridges, subways and bus services, with particular attention to improving roads and bridges in rural and tribal areas. Matching Transportation Infrastructure Investments to the Current and Future Needs of American Communities. Bringing a one-time infusion of investment into our transportation infrastructure programs would enable projects that address the diverse needs of American communities today. $206 billion to invest in our nation's highway system and road safety. The proposal will increase the amount of highway funds by 22 percent annually, for a total of about $199 billion over the four years. The proposal would also provide more than $7 billion to improve safety for all users of our highways and roads.$72 billion to invest in transit systems and expand transportation options. The proposal increases average transit spending by nearly 70 percent annually, for a total program of $72 billion over four years, which will enable the expansion of new projects (e.g., light rail, street cars, bus rapid transit, etc.) in suburbs, fast-growing cities, small towns, and aging rural communities, while still maintaining existing transit systems. $19 billion in dedicated funding for rail programs. The proposal also includes nearly $5 of billion annually for high performance and passenger rail programs with a focus on improving the connections between key regional city pairs and high traffic corridors throughout the country. $9 billion in competitive funding to spur innovation. The proposal will make permanent and provide $5 billion over four years, an increase of more than 100 percent, for the highly successfully TIGER competitive grant program and propose $4 billion of competitively awarded funding over four years to incentivize innovation and local policy reforms to encourage better performance, productivity, and cost-effectiveness in our transportation systems.Encouraging coordination and local decision making. The proposal includes policy reforms to incentivize improved regional coordination and strengthen local decision making in allocating Federal funding so that local communities can better realize their vision for improved mobility. Expanding Economic Growth, Jobs, and Opportunity. The President is dedicated to enhancing opportunity for all Americans and our businesses by investing in transportation projects that better connect communities to centers of employment, education, and services.More than $2.6 billion and policy reforms to support the creation of ladders of opportunity. The proposal will include policy reforms to enhance existing highway and transit programs that help to create ladders of opportunity. Within the overall transit spending, the proposal provides $2.2 billion for a new bus rapid transit program for rapidly growing regions. It also includes $400 million to enhance the size, diversity, and skills of our nation's construction workforce, while providing support for local hiring efforts and encouraging States to use their On-the-Job training funds more effectively.$10 billion for a new freight program to strengthening America's exports and trade. Recognizing the importance of efficient and reliable freight networks to support trade and economic growth, the President's proposal will also create a new $10 billion multimodal freight grant program '' in partnership with State and local officials and private sector and labor representatives '' for rail, highway, and port projects that address the greatest needs for the efficient movement of goods across the country and abroad. More Bang-for-the-Buck by Boosting Efficiency and Taxpayers Return on Our Transportation Investments. In a time of tight fiscal and budgetary constraints, the President's proposal includes a number of measures to ensure that the American public is getting most out of Federal transportation infrastructure investments that lead to better outcomes for all Americans.Improving project delivery and the Federal permitting and regulatory review process. The proposal will further advance and introduce new reforms to the project delivery system through a range of activities that institutionalize best practices and insights from the President's previous Executive Orders and Presidential Memorandums to cut project timelines in half for major infrastructure projects by modernizing the Federal government's infrastructure permitting and regulatory review process.Building more resilient communities. Building on the Sandy Task Force recommendations, the proposal will also encourage more resilient designs for highway, transit, and rail infrastructure, and smarter transportation planning to reduce fuel use and conserve energy.Encouraging and incentivizing cost effective investments. The proposal will strengthen the performance incentives to maintain safety and conditions of good repair, and expand research and technology activities in order to improve the productivity of our transportation systems, thereby increasing taxpayer return on investment.$4 billion to attract private investment in transportation infrastructure. The proposal calls for continued funding of $1 billion in annual credit subsidy for the successful TIFIA loan program that, similar to other Administration proposals such as capitalizing a National Infrastructure Bank, creating American Fast Forward bonds, or enacting Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) reforms, will facilitate increased private investment in transportation infrastructure while protecting taxpayer interests.
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- Religion
- When discussing Climate Change - A shitstorm of emails erupted
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- 2030
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- reddit
- donating $20.30 monthly. Moreover, I found this article from 2009 that I
- thought you may find interesting, where the WHO (the NGO, not the band)
- said depression will be the #1 'burden of all health conditions' by 2030.
- Thank you for your courage
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- VIDEOS
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- VIDEO- Common Core Results in Behavior Change without Protest - YouTube
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- VIDEO-Nuclear Energy Institute - Advertising
- In 2014, NEI is pursuing a Future of Energy advertising campaign focusing on nuclear energy as a clean source of electricity that provides jobs, contributes to a more secure energy future and enhances energy diversity.
- It features four prominent voices: Dr. Leslie Dewan, co-founder and chief science officer of Transatomic Power; Mark Verbeck, nuclear operations training manager at Georgia Power's Vogtle 3 & 4 reactors; Vicky Bailey, energy leader and entrepreneur and former commissioner of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission; and Dr. Patrick Moore, Greenpeace co-founder.
- The campaign involves advertising in print, on television and radio and with digital ads in the Washington, D.C., area together with web-based and social media outreach.
- TV Ads and VideosPrint AdsPrint Ad: Mark Verbeck'--Jobs, February 2014New nuclear construction and existing nuclear plants create thousands of quality jobs. Mark Verbeck, reactor operator training manager at Georgia Power's Vogtle 3 & 4, is preparing trainees for new jobs.
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- AUDIO-Ezili on Haiti, four years after quake | Ezili Danto . Haiti news
- Ezili Dant² interviewed on Uhuru Radio by Africa Live host Dedan Sakara, Feb. 4, 2014
- 4 years after the earthquake*Listen to the counter-colonial narrative on Haiti. Learn the truth rarely, if ever, published by the international media. The international media, from the Left and Right political game, mostly maintains the colonial narrative on Haiti to elevate the white establishment's profit-over-people barbarity and to promote the US hidden war, resource extraction plunders, imported famine, diseases, terrors and Western imperialism in Haiti.
- Haiti : In a State of Permanent War and Cholera January 12, 2014 marks the 4 year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. It is a disaster of unparalleled dimensions in the human history. Haiti '' the beacon of African liberation has been in constant assault since they beat the French imperialist in the early 1800'²s. In a recent article '' Ezili Dant² comments on the history and contemporary moment in Haiti she says: ''Haiti has been a reflection of European and US inhumanity towards the poor and African since their ''New World'' and updated feudal social order began. At this moment in Haiti '...It's still an international crime scene hidden behind false benevolence, false brotherhood, false charity, false aid. Those billed as the ''do-gooders'' are about initiating or exacerbating catastrophe then capitalizing on catastrophe. That's the profitable, parasitic formula.
- On Uhuru Radio website, this Africa Live interview with Ezili Dant² of HLLN starts at 49:06- ''Haiti : In a State of Permanent War and Cholera'... 4 year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti''***********************
- ''Ezili '' thank you being a GREAT interview on Africa Live!! People were amazed at the clarity and insight that you brought to a part of the world that seems confusing because of the dominance of the colonial narrative, which you exposed in the contemporary and historical context.
- Here is the link to the show. This link starts where your segment begins:
- https://soundcloud.com/burningspearmedia/africa-live-2-2-2014-know-your#t=49:06
- There is always room for you on Africa Live and Uhuru Radio.
- ********************************************************Forwarded by Ezili's Haitian Lawyers Leadership Network********************************************************
- The Science of Vodun/Vodou '' Professor James Smalls
- ***Ezili Dant² on hidden US occupation, DR apartheid and Haiti resistance***-The three Haiti questions all Haitians and world citizens should have an answer for:1. QUESTION: What's so important in Haiti that the US would built its fourth largest embassy in the world there, while funding a UN proxy occupation force for over 10-years now?
- Haiti homicide rate is 6.9 per 100,000. But the Dominican Republic has FOUR times more violence than Haiti at 25.0 per 100,000. Why is the UN not bringing stability to the more violent DR? Or, in Brazil, Detroit, Washington DC, Jamaica, Mexico, Bahamas '' all with greater violence than Haiti?
- 2. QUESTION: Why is there a UN, Chapter 7 peace enforcement mission in Haiti for nearly 10 years? A country not at war, without a peace agreement to enforce and with less violence than most countries in the Western Hemisphere?
- 3. QUESTION: Haiti has trillions of dollars in natural resources '' gold, oil, natural gas, iridium, copper, et al'' why does Haiti need Obama/Bush/Clinton's meager 41cent an hour sweatshop jobs or US charity (false aid) with so much of its own resources to develop the local economy?
- Help create a new paradigm for Haiti: Some HLLN suggestionsCREATE A NEW PARADIGM '' http://bit.ly/1fnneVj'''...help build our Campaign Five action plans by sending to HLLN names and list of companies '' their addresses, products, directors, how involved with Haiti, their Haitian subcontractors/black overseers, et al , '' supporting, maintaining the US occupation behind UN multinational guns, perpetual chaos and Coup d'etat/regime change (rule of the 1 to 3% percenters in garnering Haitian votes and their appointees.) '' and generally collaborate with Ezili's HLLN to expose how, for all the unscrupulous and shady businessmen and governments of the world, Haiti has always been a fiscal paradise because the Neocolonialists' manufactures fear, racists myths and false stereotypes about Haitian brutality, inherent poverty, lack of natural resources, inherent violence, incompetence (the common neocolonial storyline/media lies), decontextualizes Haiti's legacy of impunity/corruption and lies about Haiti not having a viable indigenous culture. These myths, stereotypes, racist lies and self-serving fears, control, promote and maintains the world's negative perceptions of Haiti so that empire, their predatory ''charitable'' and ''benevolent'' NGOs and the world's corporate oligarchs may contain-Haiti-in-poverty the better to rob it blind.'' (See, HLLN Campaign Five Action Plan -http://bit.ly/1f2tHIU ; See also '' Nov 20, 2010 '' What Can YOU Do to Help Haiti? To Stop the Neo-feudalism in Haiti? http://on.fb.me/1jG47wY)
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- VIDEO-Navy Lieutenant: Power Plant Mission Ruined My Health CBS Baltimore
- Affordable Care Act Updates:CBSBaltimore.com/ACA
- Health News & Information:CBSBaltimore.com/Health
- BALTIMORE (WJZ) '-- A historic earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, causing a nuclear power meltdown. The US Navy rushed in to help'--but are those sailors now paying the price? Nearly 100 believe that mission ruined their health.
- Vic Carter reports a Navy lieutenant from Maryland who can no longer walk is demanding someone take responsibility for what's happened.
- On March 11, 2011, one of the largest earthquakes ever shook Japan. It triggered a tsunami. Waves more than 100 feet high slammed into the coast, killing thousands.
- When the wall of water smashed into the Fukishima Nuclear Power Plant, an explosion spewed radiation into the air and water, creating yet another tragedy.
- The United States military sped into the disaster zone to help, not knowing it was headed into the path of a radiation plume.
- Now, three years after that exposure, at least 100 of those first responders are suffering from unexplained illnesses like cancer, leukemia, bleeding and hair loss'--and they're blaming it on radiation poisoning from Fukushima.
- ''When you've got a nuclear power plant that's melting down, how can you not expect health risks to come from that?'' said Lt. Steve Simmons.
- Lt. Steve Simmons was on board the USS Ronald Reagan, the first ship to arrive for Operation Tomodachi'--the Japanese word for friends.
- ''I don't think anybody on board really knew the full scope of what was going on,'' Simmons said.
- Seven months after arriving home to his family in Maryland from his deployment, Simmons' health started to deteriorate.
- ''One day, I was coming out of the bathroom and my legs just buckled on me and that was pretty much it,'' he said.
- Simmons and more than 100 others from the Ronald Reagan are fighting back. They're suing the Tokyo Electric power company, claiming it hid the truth about radiation leaks at Fukushima.
- ''The TEPCO people who ran the power plant never warned their government. Their government never warned the world. The command never got the order, `Don't go 'cause you're going to get cooked,''' said attorney Paul Garner.
- WJZ contacted TEPCO at its offices here in Washington and in Tokyo and got a ''No comment.''
- Clearly, Simmons' health has taken a drastic turn for the worse, but the problem is linking the sailors' many medical problems to the Fukushima leak.
- At the Pentagon, the Department of Defense has been answering numerous questions from sick sailors about what happened at Fukushima, but government reports indicate that radiation levels on board the USS Ronald Reagan were well below what's considered dangerous.
- ''Drawing a cause and effect for individuals is exceedingly difficult,'' said Johns Hopkins University Prof. Wayne Biddle.
- Radiation exposure experts say even if there is a connection, it's hard to prove.
- ''They're suffering. Clearly these individuals are suffering but they have no way of showing necessarily that their symptoms are related to that instance of radiation exposure,'' Biddle said.
- ''The hardest part is the family because we have three children,'' Simmons said. ''Our oldest daughter struggles with `Dad's going to die' kind of thing.''
- Congress is now asking the Department of Defense for information about the medical conditions of crew members who were aboard the Ronald Reagan and what's being done to treat them.
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- VIDEO-IBM's invention hopes to solve Africa's issues | eNCA
- LAGOS - An American supercomputer system will soon start examining Africa's issues.
- IBM's Watson is to help solve infrastructure and development problems on the continent.
- The company has called its invention cognitive computing. IBM said governments have little choice but to embrace it if they want to save money.
- IBM began rolling its Watson supercomputer system across Africa this week.
- It's called 'Project Lucy' and it will take 10 years and 100 million US dollars to implement.
- The system uses artificial intelligence that can analyse huge amounts of data.
- Although it hasn't been that successful in the United States, IBM hopes Africa will be different.
- "With Watson, Africa is going to become the cognitive continent of the world. Africa really has not choice but to embrace cognitive, otherwise government will have to look for that extra billions of dollars. What Watson is going to do is create new markets through cognitive computing," said IBM chief Africa research scientist Uyi Stewart.
- IBM said the technology will enable poorer parts of Africa to leapfrog some development stages - much the same way mobile phones took off across the continent in places where landlines were scarce.
- Phones will also play a huge role in connecting with the Watson system through smartphone apps, which could be beneficial for education.
- "Did you know that in Nigeria 10 to 15 million kids have never stepped foot in a classroom? What does that mean? It means that we got to think outside of the box, we need new approaches to content delivery, the traditional brick model won't work..." concluded Stewart.
- While Watson's potential is undeniable, it will take time to implement the system across the continent - and time will tell if it's viable or just another pipe dream.
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- VIDEO-"Global cooling" raised during propane crisis debate in Minnesota legislature | Twin Cities Daily Planet
- Poor people in Minnesota may run out of money to pay for heat in a winter that has seen skyrocketing propane costs and a record number of plunging subzero days. So the first act of the Minnesota legislature as it reconvened this year was to add 20 million dollars to the emergency low income assistance heat fund that could run out soon.
- During the debate, Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) decided it was appropriate to question the author of the emergency relief bill about climate change.
- "Tell us how this bill fits into really kind of into the whole discussion about global warming and our experiencing global cooling and I'm curious how these really fit together?" said Drazkowski
- Rep. Joe Radinovich (DFL-Crosby) shrugged his shoulders and then said:
- "I appreciate your comments and the comments of all of the legislators who got up to speak to this bill today. Certainly that's not a question I anticipated being asked (laughter from other legislators) I'm willing to admit as much. You know I can't speak to that right now. I think that what is important is the here and now, which is that there are Minnesotans across the state who are facing a very difficult situation whether it is cooling or warming or heating or not, they wrestle with their own finances and putting heat in their homes. That's probably a discussion for another time. I appreciate the question Rep. Drazkowski."
- "Rep. Radinovich, thank you for the animated response. I do support your bill. Thank you for bringing and I look forward to more discussion about what we're now seeing here as global cooling in Minnesota. Thank you."
- Our primary commenting system uses Facebook logins. If you wish to comment without having a Facebook account, please create an account on this site and log in first. If you are already a registered user, just scroll up to the log in box in the right hand column and log in.
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- VIDEO-Sandy Hook Hoax-Privacy Panel Slips in 5 Year Sentence for Release of Info - YouTube
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- VIDEO-John Kerry On Russia Mobilizing Troops: "This Isn't Rocky IV" | Video | RealClearPolitics
- ANDREA MITCHELL: Vladimir Putin has issued an order for a drill mobilizing troops in the west of Russia. How worried should we be about any kind of military action from Russia into Ukraine?
- KERRY: Well, Andrea, first of all, let me just say that what has happened in Ukraine is quite remarkable. It's a -- it's a demonstration of the rapidity with which the people's will will be, uh, heard or felt, uh, in today's society. And I think the rapidity with which it has moved should frankly be a message to Russia.
- And Mr. Putin should listen carefully to Ukrainians who have voiced their desire for change. That's number one.
- Number two, the -- President Putin, in a telephone conversation with President Obama just the other day, committed to respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. And I think that's incredibly important.
- It's -- it would be very difficult for me to understand how Russia would reconcile its position on Libya, its position on Syria, its warnings against intervention in another country and then not respect the sovereignty of Ukraine and the will of the people there.
- So we're hoping that Russia will not see this as a sort of a continuation of the cold war. We don't see it that way. We do not believe this should be an East-West, Russia-United States. This is not Rocky IV, believe me. We don't see it that way.
- We see this as an opportunity for Russia, the United States and others to strengthen Ukraine, help them in this transition. And there's no reason that they can't look East and West and be involved as a vital cog in the economy of all of us going forward. And that's what our hope is, that there's a transition going, that there are reforms put in place, that the IMF becomes involved and that the Ukrainian people have an opportunity to decide their future after they've formed a new government.
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- VIDEO-"F#@K THE 1 PERCENT" IS THERE A WAR ON THE WEALTHY? - YouTube
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- VIDEO-ARIZONA GOVERNOR VETOS "RELIGIOUS FREEDOM" BILL - YouTube
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- VIDEO- "The NSA Could Not Do What It Does The CIA Could Not Do What It Does Without Silicon Valley - YouTube
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- VIDEO- "We've Set Up A Task Force To Help Communities Prepare For Intensifying Impacts Of Climate Change" - YouTube
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- VIDEO- Turkey's PM Erdogan Says Recording Of Him Telling His Son To Dispose Of Large Sums Of Money Are Fake - YouTube
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- VIDEO- MSNBC Begins CALL THE GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA Campaign - YouTube
