{"id":21703,"date":"2018-07-15T00:26:33","date_gmt":"2018-07-15T08:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=21703"},"modified":"2018-07-15T00:26:33","modified_gmt":"2018-07-15T08:26:33","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-how-do-rulers-reconcile-the-irreconcilable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-how-do-rulers-reconcile-the-irreconcilable\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: How Do Rulers Reconcile the Irreconcilable?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>We Say Fight Back!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<nav class=\"wide_2_V1y\">\n<div class=\"folio_2-Liq\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/newpix\/2018\/07\/09\/15\/4E0C2E1000000578-0-When_President_Trump_comes_to_Britain_later_this_week_a_giant_20-a-12_1531146867342.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for orange trump baby\" width=\"304\" height=\"182\" \/><\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"carousel-container_3NcEP wide_2_V1y\">\n<div class=\"inner_Fn_gM single_175p5\">\n<div class=\"item_15rWG wide_2_V1y show-caption_2PpOA\">\n<div class=\"inner_Fn_gM\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"container_1Z7A0\">\n<div class=\"image_1KsYy contain_1lB3Y fallback_2kFne\">\n<p>Around 1,000 people gathered to watch the blimp launch in Parliament Square, with organizers of the stunt wearing red boiler suits and baseball caps emblazoned with \u201cTRUMP BABYSITTER\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Nicola Tanner, a 33-year-old public official from the southwestern city of Bristol, took the day off work to demonstrate. Wearing a t-shirt with the word \u201cRESIST\u201d on it, she said it was great that the blimp had \u201ctouched a nerve\u201d with Trump.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s embarrassing how much our government is falling over themselves to try to appease someone who has no interest in any sort of give-and-take in the UK-U.S. relationship at all, and is so capricious he can change his mind between the end of one tweet and the start of the next one,\u201d she told Reuters.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-trump-britain-blimp\/snarling-orange-trump-baby-blimp-flies-outside-british-parliament-idUSKBN1K30Z3\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-trump-britain-blimp\/snarling-orange-trump-baby-blimp-flies-outside-british-parliament-idUSKBN1K30Z3<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DJTNotMyPresident\/videos\/2189100304693008\/?t=2\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/DJTNotMyPresident\/videos\/2189100304693008\/?t=2<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.reutersmedia.net\/resources\/r\/?m=02&amp;d=20180713&amp;t=2&amp;i=1282775305&amp;r=LYNXMPEE6C0O7&amp;w=940\" alt=\"Image result for orange trump baby\" width=\"304\" height=\"198\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bbcscotlandnews\/videos\/2037375576286650\/?t=59\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/bbcscotlandnews\/videos\/2037375576286650\/?t=59<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"node__title managed-node-title\">Brits Don&#8217;t Mince Words: The Most Irreverent and Radical Signs From UK&#8217;s Historic Anti-Trump Protest<\/h1>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-subtitle field--type-text-long field--label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field__items\">\n<div class=\"field__item even\">\n<div>\n<p>From &#8220;Nazi Trump F**k Off&#8221; to &#8220;Pussy Grabbing Pervert,&#8221; the U.K. didn&#8217;t hold back in its massive demonstrations against the American president<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/cd_large\/public\/headlines\/front2.jpg?itok=DU08CCUI\" alt=\"\" width=\"955\" height=\"500\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"caption-processed\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/sites\/default\/files\/users\/user20544\/gettyimages-9978201941.jpg\" width=\"692\" height=\"362\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2018\/07\/13\/brits-dont-mince-words-most-irreverent-and-radical-signs-uks-historic-anti-trump\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.commondreams.org\/news\/2018\/07\/13\/brits-dont-mince-words-most-irreverent-and-radical-signs-uks-historic-anti-trump<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/colbertlateshow\/videos\/1461163514028395\/?t=10\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/colbertlateshow\/videos\/1461163514028395\/?t=10<\/a><\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sex Pistols - God Save The Queen\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/02D2T3wGCYg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/theroyalwatch\/videos\/263999977461185\/?t=138\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/theroyalwatch\/videos\/263999977461185\/?t=138<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>They are shooting at a church\u2019: Inside the 15-hour siege by Nicaraguan paramilitaries on university students<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text \" data-elm-loc=\"1\">\u00a0The first student I met outside the Church of the Divine Mercy had a fresh bullet hole in his lower back.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"2\">\u201cIt\u2019s ugly in there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"3\">\u201cIn there\u201d was the vast, jungly campus of the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN), which by Friday afternoon had become a battleground. Far from the initial fighting was the Catholic church, a supposedly safe place for triage, and beleaguered and wounded students were arriving from the front lines by pickup truck, by motorbike and on foot.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"4\">\u201cWe had to evacuate,\u201d Jonas Cruz, 18, said. \u201cThey are invading the barricades. They are already inside.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"5\">These students, and much of Nicaragua, have been in\u00a0<a title=\"www.washingtonpost.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/the_americas\/the-people-lost-their-fear-how-nicaraguas-new-revolution-took-shape\/2018\/04\/26\/5e48b40c-48e8-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html\">revolt against President Daniel Ortega\u2019s government<\/a>\u00a0for the past three months, enraged by how he has consolidated near total power over his four terms as president, undermined democratic institutions and allowed his security apparatus to employ deadly force against protesters. More than 300 people have been killed since the conflict began in April, the vast majority civilians.<\/p>\n<p>Starting Friday afternoon, a new crisis emerged. Pro-government militias set out to crush the student rebellion at the university, one of the last strongholds of open resistance in the capital. During a 15-hour siege, some 200 university students and others were pinned down by gunfire inside this small Catholic church compound. Two students were killed and at least 10 were injured before top Catholic clergy were able to negotiate their release on Saturday morning and escort the surviving students across police lines.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/students-in-nicaragua-trapped-in-church-amid-gunfire-by-pro-government-militias\/2018\/07\/14\/c7f04512-86e3-11e8-9e06-4db52ac42e05_story.html?noredirect=on&#038;utm_term=.781257732acb\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/students-in-nicaragua-trapped-in-church-amid-gunfire-by-pro-government-militias\/2018\/07\/14\/c7f04512-86e3-11e8-9e06-4db52ac42e05_story.html?noredirect=on&#038;utm_term=.781257732acb<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhotographyisNotaCrime\/videos\/1910327405657002\/?t=51\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/PhotographyisNotaCrime\/videos\/1910327405657002\/?t=51<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a id=\"label\" href=\"https:\/\/www.blackagendareport.com\/index.php\/bought-black-caucus\" rel=\"bookmark\">The \u201cBought-Off\u201d Black Caucus<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey won\u2019t do anything for us and, in fact, they\u2019ll vote alongside our enemies,\u201d said BAR editor and senior columnist <strong>Margaret Kimberley<\/strong>, referring to the Congressional Black Caucus\u2019s overwhelming support for a bill to make police a protected class. \u201cThey are actively supporting a group of people that have a license to kill,\u201d said Kimberley.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.blackagendareport.com\/index.php\/bought-black-caucus\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.blackagendareport.com\/index.php\/bought-black-caucus<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Congratulations to Detroiter Charlie Leduff on the publication of &#8220;Shit Show&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Charlie LeDuff, reporting from America&#039;s working class\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/sD8V7YhrXzE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/37203644_1061090707374465_3540729381934596096_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&amp;oh=eff04d4fa0f316942928bf80a2dc9f21&amp;oe=5B9FE943\" alt=\"No automatic alt text available.\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The Little Red Schoolhouse<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/36957620_1743934525721857_368186582550708224_n.png?_nc_cat=0&amp;oh=f6f4c884f99d8c4871f37cde48ea6b39&amp;oe=5BEAC52B\" alt=\"Image may contain: text\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"articleTitleFull\" class=\"title\">How the Startup Mentality Failed Kids in San Francisco<\/h1>\n<p class=\"dek\">Huge contributions from tech titans, a STEM-packed curriculum, gadgets everywhere: Willie Brown Middle School was supposed to set the bar. Then it opened.<\/p>\n<p>Willie Brown Middle School was the most expensive new public school in San Francisco history. It cost $54 million to build and equip, and opened less than two years earlier. It was located less than a mile from my house, in the city\u2019s Bayview district, where a lot of the city\u2019s public housing sits and 20 percent of residents live below the federal poverty level. This new school was to be focused on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/tag\/stem\/\">science, technology, engineering, and math<\/a>\u2014STEM, for short. There were laboratories for robotics and digital media, Apple TVs for every classroom, and Google Chromebooks for students. A \u201ccafetorium\u201d offered sweeping views of the San Francisco Bay, flatscreen menu displays, and free breakfast and lunch. An on-campus wellness center was to provide free dentistry, optometry, and medical care to all students. Publicity materials promised that \u201cevery student will begin the sixth grade enrolled in a STEM lab that will teach him or her coding, robotics, graphic\/website design, and foundations of mechanical engineering.\u201d The district had created a rigorous new curriculum around what it called \u201cdesign thinking\u201d and a \u201cone-to-one tech model,\u201d with 80-minute class periods that would allow for immersion in complex subjects.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/willie-brown-middle-school-startup-mentality-failed\/#nws=mcnewsletter\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.wired.com\/story\/willie-brown-middle-school-startup-mentality-failed\/#nws=mcnewsletter<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-headline col ten push-two\">\n<h1>Pressure builds to change how California measures student progress on state tests<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article-subhead\">USC professor leads chorus of objections to current method<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<p>The current measure takes last year\u2019s average scores by grade and subtracts it from this year\u2019s average scores by grade to derive a schoolwide average. The difference becomes a key factor on the <a class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.caschooldashboard.org\/#\/Home\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California School Dashboard,<\/a> the system that creates color-coded ratings for schools, districts and student ethnic, racial and demographic groups.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat doesn\u2019t work for a lot of reasons,\u201d Polikoff said. One reason is that this model fails to consider student mobility. Particularly in high-poverty neighborhoods, large numbers of students move, so a cohort of students by grade is often different from the year before, undermining the validity of the comparison. Paul Warren, research associate for the Public Policy Institute of California, reached a <a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.ppic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/r-0618pwr.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">similar conclusion in a report<\/a> released late last month.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, more than 40 states track the growth in individual students\u2019 scores from year to year on standardized tests like Smarter Balanced, which students take in grades 3 to 8 and again in grade 11. Ed Source July 18<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article-headline\">Ex-schools police chief keeps high pay to patrol elementary school<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"lt-responsive-img\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mypalmbeachpost.com\/rf\/image_medium\/Pub\/p9\/MyPalmBeachPost\/2018\/07\/13\/Images\/newsEngin.22505644_20180406-forum-club-school-safety-004.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Posted: 6:03 a.m. Friday, July 13, 2018<\/p>\n<div class=\"article\">\n<hr class=\"cm-thick-thin\" \/>\n<div class=\"article-content\">\n<p>Former School District Police Chief Lawrence Leon will stay on the job as a captain in the department, patrolling the halls of a north county elementary school at the same base salary he earned in the top job: $137,732.<\/p>\n<p>The move makes him the second highest paid cop in the department, ranking behind only his replacement,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mypalmbeachpost.com\/news\/local\/breaking-jupiter-chief-tapped-lead-school-district-police\/rZZRefgnQ7swQucAmdH5vK\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" shape=\"rect\">Chief Frank Kitzerow<\/a>, who took over the job July 2 at a $167,500 salary. Leon declined to comment for this story. Kitzerow did not responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>School district leaders, who have been strapped to meet new state requirements that an officer be posted on every campus, assigned Leon to Marsh Pointe Elementary in Palm Beach Gardens over the summer and Jupiter Farms Elementary in the fall, district officials said this week.<\/p>\n<p>The move is nearly a full circle for Leon, who began his school policing career in Palm Beach County in 1991 and was posted at Jupiter High at one point before leaving to helm the school police department in Sarasota County in 2005.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mypalmbeachpost.com\/news\/local-education\/schools-police-chief-keeps-high-pay-patrol-elementary-school\/NpdSd7UV0i05nG7xNa1e6N\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.mypalmbeachpost.com\/news\/local-education\/schools-police-chief-keeps-high-pay-patrol-elementary-school\/NpdSd7UV0i05nG7xNa1e6N\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1><a class=\"postid-12735301\" href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2018\/07\/14\/nycs-private-school-headmasters-rake-in-huge-salaries\/\">NYC\u2019s private school headmasters rake in huge salaries<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" id=\"standard-article-image\" src=\"https:\/\/thenypost.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/07\/headmasters-split.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=618&amp;h=410&amp;crop=1\" sizes=\"(max-width: 639px) 100vw, 618px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/thenypost.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/07\/headmasters-split.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300&amp;h=200&amp;crop=1 300w, https:\/\/thenypost.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/07\/headmasters-split.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=618&amp;h=410&amp;crop=1 618w, https:\/\/thenypost.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/07\/headmasters-split.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=600&amp;h=400&amp;crop=1 600w, https:\/\/thenypost.files.wordpress.com\/2018\/07\/headmasters-split.jpg?quality=90&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1236&amp;h=820&amp;crop=1 1236w\" alt=\"NYC\u2019s private school headmasters rake in huge salaries\" \/><\/p>\n<p>They are masters of the fat paycheck.<\/p>\n<p>The headmasters of New York City\u2019s toniest private schools are raking in salaries, bonuses and benefits up to $1 million \u2014 five times what the leaders of the city\u2019s best public high schools get annually.<\/p>\n<p>Many also get perks like free housing, housekeeping, or reimbursement for gym and country-club dues.<\/p>\n<p>Topping the list of elite earners is Bruce Dennis, head of school at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, whose total 2016 compensation came to $1,002,643, including base pay of $702,450 and a $186,656 payout from his retirement plan, according to the school\u2019s latest tax filing.<\/p>\n<p>The Brooklyn Heights school enrolls about 1,000 students in grades K-12, charged tuition in 2017-18 ranging from $43,700 to $44,700 and counts \u201cGood Day New York\u201d anchor Rosanna Scotto and \u201cTrue Blood\u201d actress Deborah Ann Woll among its alumni. Its Gothic buildings also served as a set for \u201cGossip Girl.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Close behind Dennis was Thomas Kelly, head of school at Horace Mann, whose total 2016 compensation came to $996,136, including base pay of $951,498.<\/p>\n<p>The Riverdale, The Bronx, school, whose graduates include Eliot Spitzer and Jack Kerouac, has been rocked in recent years by revelations of past sexual abuse of students by faculty, prompting Kelly and the school\u2019s board chairman in 2013 to issue an apology letter.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2018\/07\/14\/nycs-private-school-headmasters-rake-in-huge-salaries\/?utm_campaign=iosapp&#038;utm_source=facebook_app\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">nypost.com\/2018\/07\/14\/nycs-private-school-headmasters-rake-in-huge-salaries\/?utm_campaign=iosapp&#038;utm_source=facebook_app<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"lead__headline\">Temple business dean forced out over falsified MBA data used in rankings<\/h1>\n<p><img srcset=\"http:\/\/media.philly.com\/images\/600*400\/dixon-602936-f-wp-content-uploads-2018-07-1219927_b8e3b349dbc2c7d-1200x803.jpg\" alt=\"rrxcollege10-a\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.philly.com\/philly\/education\/temple-business-school-dean-resigns-mba-rankings-u-s-news-and-world-report-20180709.html?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.philly.com\/philly\/education\/temple-business-school-dean-resigns-mba-rankings-u-s-news-and-world-report-20180709.html?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"lead__headline\">The teacher supply is plummeting. Pa. will spend $2M to stem the tide<\/h1>\n<p>Pennsylvania used to license more than 14,000 new teachers annually. Now, it issues certificates to fewer than 5,000. The state is aiming to do something about that.<\/p>\n<p>Gov. Wolf announced grants Thursday to eight universities around the commonwealth \u2014 including Drexel, Cabrini, Lehigh, and the University of Pennsylvania \u2014 to develop and implement residency programs for educators.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile Pennsylvania\u2019s educator preparation system is one of the largest in the country, the commonwealth faces significant challenges, including a steep decline in the number of qualified teaching candidates,\u201d Wolf said in a statement. \u201cThese grants will benefit our students by providing advanced training to better prepare teachers and school leaders to serve in our most high-need areas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The number of education majors in Pennsylvania colleges and universities has dropped 55 percent since 1996, officials said.\u00a0And the number of new teaching certificates issued in the state sunk 71 percent between 2009-10 and 2016-17, to just 4,412 from 14,247.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.philly.com\/philly\/education\/teacher-supply-plummeting-pa-governor-wolf-grants-2m-recruitment-retention-20180712.html?mobi=true\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.philly.com\/philly\/education\/teacher-supply-plummeting-pa-governor-wolf-grants-2m-recruitment-retention-20180712.html?mobi=true<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"trb_ar_hl_t\">S.D. school district board sends $3.5 billion bond to November ballot (after spending last bond $ on football fields)<\/h1>\n<p>The <a id=\"OREDU00837\" title=\"San Diego Unified School District\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/topic\/education\/san-diego-unified-school-district-OREDU00837-topic.html\">San Diego Unified School District<\/a> will ask taxpayers to approve borrowing $3.5 billion to improve school safety, technology and infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>It is the largest bond request in the district\u2019s history and the third in the last 10 years&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>San Diego Unified\u2019s capital improvement projects are already funded by two measures known now as Proposition Z and Proposition S.<\/p>\n<p>Proposition Z, the most recent measure, passed in 2012 as a similar property tax hike. Totaling $2.8 billion, its main purpose was to repair deteriorating classrooms, libraries, wiring, plumbing, bathrooms and leaky roofs, according to ballot language at the time.<\/p>\n<p>If passed, all three bonds total $8.4 billion, leaving some to question where previous money has gone and why more funds are necessary.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still paying off the last two,\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/education\/sd-me-sdunified-bonds-20180709-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/education\/sd-me-sdunified-bonds-20180709-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/highschool2college.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/sat-cartoon-1.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for sat test cartoon\" width=\"304\" height=\"176\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"headline\">Pencils down: Major colleges drop essay test requirement<\/h2>\n<div class=\"article-head\">\n<h2 class=\"headline\">requirement<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-text\">\n<p>One by one, major schools this year are dropping their requirements for prospective students to submit an essay score from the national testing services. Princeton and Stanford universities last week became the latest to end the mandate, following Dartmouth College and Harvard and Yale universities.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.houstonchronicle.com\/news\/articleComments\/Pencils-down-Major-colleges-drop-essay-test-13064788.php\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.houstonchronicle.com\/news\/articleComments\/Pencils-down-Major-colleges-drop-essay-test-13064788.php<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The International Hot War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"strip\" src=\"http:\/\/assets.amuniversal.com\/b8b219606045013640c0005056a9545d\" alt=\"Doonesbury\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"lede-headline\"><span class=\"lede-headline__highlighted\">Analysis of Latest Developments in U.S.-China Trade War <\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"liveblog__post__post\">\n<div>\n<div>Markets have had a pretty clear pattern since President Trump started threatening tariff increases on various imports to the U.S. back at the start of March. Stocks fall, longer-term Treasury yields drop somewhat and the yen climbs.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Then we will sometimes see a further move in the same direction when the target country threatens retaliation. After a day or a few days, those moves fade IF there&#8217;s no further escalation.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/live-blog\/2018-07-10\/analysis-of-latest-developments-in-u-s-china-trade-war\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bloomberg.com\/news\/live-blog\/2018-07-10\/analysis-of-latest-developments-in-u-s-china-trade-war<\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<h1 class=\"video-single__title\">American-made bombs in Yemen are killing civilians, destroying infrastructure and fueling anger at the U.S. (video too)<\/h1>\n<p>War rains down from the sky in Yemen, where an aerial bombing campaign by Saudi-led and American-backed coalition hammers much of the north. The U.S. military supports the campaign against the Houthi rebels with logistics and intelligence, and sells the Saudis many of the bombs it drops on that country. Special correspondent Jane Ferguson smuggled herself across front lines to report this series.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/american-made-bombs-in-yemen-are-killing-civilians-destroying-infrastructure-and-fueling-anger-at-the-u-s?utm_source=frontline&#038;utm_term=social&#038;utm_source=FBPAGE&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_term=20180709&#038;utm_content=1660531093&#038;utm_campaign=Frontline%20Season%2036&#038;linkId=54044239\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.pbs.org\/newshour\/show\/american-made-bombs-in-yemen-are-killing-civilians-destroying-infrastructure-and-fueling-anger-at-the-u-s?utm_source=frontline&#038;utm_term=social&#038;utm_source=FBPAGE&#038;utm_medium=social&#038;utm_term=20180709&#038;utm_content=1660531093&#038;utm_campaign=Frontline%20Season%2036&#038;linkId=54044239<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<h1 id=\"page-title\" class=\"title\">Blackwater founder makes new pitch for mercenaries to take over Afghan war<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Way Forward in Afghanistan\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qjhPSaqBj1c?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"blogs-social-wrp\">\n<div class=\"addthis_inline_share_toolbox_ru82\" data-url=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/396714-blackwater-founder-proposes-mercenary-takeover-in-afghanistan-amidst-mueller-probe\" data-title=\"Blackwater founder makes new pitch for mercenaries to take over Afghan war\" data-description=\"Erik Prince,\u00a0the founder of the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater, is making a new pitch for his proposal to turn U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan over\u00a0to mercenaries.\">\n<div id=\"atstbx\" class=\"at-resp-share-element at-style-responsive addthis-smartlayers addthis-animated at4-show\" role=\"region\" aria-labelledby=\"at-13d6bffe-a607-44b6-b5ea-ce7ac2217c49\">\n<div class=\"at-share-btn-elements\">\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"column\">\n<article class=\"node-396714 node node-article view-mode-full clearfix\">\n<div class=\"content-with-sidebar-wrp\">\n<div class=\"content-wrp\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p>Erik Prince,\u00a0the founder of the private security firm formerly known as Blackwater, is making a new pitch for his proposal to turn U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan over\u00a0to mercenaries.<\/p>\n<p>Price promoted the plan in a YouTube video released Tuesday that coincided with the recent NATO summit in Belgium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Pentagon does what it does and wanted to keep doing the same thing it has done for the last 17 years,\u201d Prince said in the video. He said\u00a0CIA officers and 6,000 mercenaries should take charge in the conflict.<\/p>\n<p>Prince also said that <span class=\"rollover-people\" data-behavior=\"rolloverpeople\"><a class=\"rollover-people-link\" href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/donald-trump\" data-nid=\"261287\">President Trump<\/a><\/span> has \u201cstayed the course\u201d in Afghanistan so far and that continuing a conventional war in the region\u00a0is\u00a0\u201creckless and it\u2019s irresponsible.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"share-additional\">\n<p>Prince&#8217;s comments come as he faces scrutiny from Special Counsel <span class=\"rollover-people\" data-behavior=\"rolloverpeople\"><a class=\"rollover-people-link\" href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/robert-mueller\" data-nid=\"364882\">Robert Mueller<\/a><\/span> in his probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.<\/p>\n<p>In late June, it was reported that Mueller had acquired Prince&#8217;s communications. Prince, who\u00a0is the brother of Education Secretary\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/people\/elizabeth-betsy-devos-0\">Betsy DeVos<\/a>, has said he is cooperating with the special counsel.\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/396714-blackwater-founder-proposes-mercenary-takeover-in-afghanistan-amidst-mueller-probe\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/396714-blackwater-founder-proposes-mercenary-takeover-in-afghanistan-amidst-mueller-probe<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"share\">\n<h1 class=\"story-body__h1\">Counting the cost of Trump&#8217;s air war in Afghanistan<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"content\" class=\"column\">\n<article class=\"node-396714 node node-article view-mode-full clearfix\">\n<header><\/header>\n<div class=\"content-with-sidebar-wrp\">\n<div class=\"content-wrp\">\n<div class=\"field field-name-field-free-html field-type-text-long field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/660\/cpsprodpb\/FF28\/production\/_101802356_b5165174-b505-4cc7-96da-7c277f1b358d.jpg\" alt=\"An Afghan child receives treatment at a hospital after Monday's airstrike in Kunduz province, Afghanistan April 3, 2018.\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"660\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden\">\n<div class=\"field-items\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">The helicopters arrived shortly after midday and sent a rocket hurtling into an area at the back of the crowd where children were sitting.<\/p>\n<p>As people began to flee, witnesses said, heavy machine gun fire followed them.<\/p>\n<p>It was the latest deadly example of how a ferocious new air campaign against the Taliban has caused a spike in civilian casualties from US and Afghan air operations.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"story-body__link-external\" href=\"https:\/\/unama.unmissions.org\/sites\/default\/files\/unama_protection_of_civilians_special_report_2_april_aerial_operations_final.pdf\">This Afghan Air Force attack<\/a> on 2 April in north-eastern Kunduz province killed at least 36 people and injured 71, the UN says. Although witnesses said Taliban fighters and senior figures were in the crowd, 30 of those killed were children.<\/p>\n<p>Hundreds of people had gathered outside a madrassa in the Taliban-controlled district of Dasht-e-Archi to watch a group of students have turbans tied around their heads in a traditional ceremony to recognise their memorisation of the Koran.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/10EDA\/production\/_101783396_chart-afghan_airstrikes-1s5yj-nc.png\" alt=\"Civilian casualties from air operations from 2009-2017 - rate drops from 2009-2014 and then begins rising steeply\" width=\"624\" height=\"395\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Heavy bombing against the Taliban and IS saw more Afghan civilians killed and injured from the air in 2017 than at any time since the UN began counting in 2009. In the first quarter of this year &#8211; before the Dasht-e-Archi incident &#8211; 67 people were killed and 75 injured by the strikes, more than half of them women and children. There was no let-up in the bombardment even during the bitter Afghan winter, a time when fighting usually draws down before picking up again in the spring. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-44282098\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bbc.com\/news\/world-asia-44282098<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The International Economic War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalist-Wages.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21727\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalist-Wages.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"559\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalist-Wages.jpg 559w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalist-Wages-116x150.jpg 116w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalist-Wages-388x500.jpg 388w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalist-Wages-500x644.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 559px) 100vw, 559px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"article__hed\" data-editable=\"overrideHeadline\">Goldman Sachs Warns That Rising Wages Could Cut Into Corporate Profits. <em>The Horror!<\/em><\/h1>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cjjegi56b002f3g5tkvdpunon@published\" data-word-count=\"55\">Corporate executives and Wall Street types come up with all sorts of reasons why it\u2019s supposedly dangerous to let the unemployment rate drop too low. They talk about how the economy might \u201coverheat,\u201d leading to a dreaded bout of inflation. They may talk about \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/business\/2018\/07\/the-u-s-keeps-adding-new-jobs.html\">worker shortages<\/a>\u201d that make it hard to find the right talent.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cjjeh58o500313g5t7uaw4ibq@published\" data-word-count=\"105\">But in the end, most of this is just verbiage meant to skirt the real concern: Companies are worried that if unemployment falls far enough, they\u2019ll have to pay workers more, and that will cut into their profits. With the official jobless rate at 4 percent, that\u2019s already beginning to happen at some companies, the <em>Wall Street Journal <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/wage-gains-threaten-to-squeeze-retail-industrial-profits-1531134000?mod=hp_lead_pos3\">reports today<\/a>. Ten percent of companies in the S&amp;P 500 have claimed that higher wages hurt their earnings in the first quarter, it notes. Goldman Sachs is predicting that \u201cevery percentage-point increase in labor-cost inflation will drag down earnings of companies in the S&amp;P 500 by 0.8%.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cjjehi88q003m3g5t3kgfojs6@published\" data-word-count=\"45\">This, of course, is considered a nightmare. \u201cAt the end of the day, I haven\u2019t heard this many CEOs talk about shortages in skilled labor and wage increases to attract talent in a long time\u2014in at least a decade,\u201d one money manager told the paper.<\/p>\n<p class=\"slate-paragraph\" data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cjjeg7vm4001p3g5t69bwa0d9@published\" data-word-count=\"92\">Keep that quote in mind the next time you read an <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CNBC\/status\/1014933008816791553\">overwrought article<\/a> about ill-defined \u201cworker shortages.\u201d C-suiters have created an entire coded language that lets them spin a strong labor market as a threat to the economy, when in reality it mostly just poses a marginal threat to their bottom line. A CEO can go on CNBC and say that his company is coping with a \u201clabor shortage\u201d without seeming like a self-interested capitalist, when in reality, he\u2019s just trying to explain why a healthy economy is bad for his shareholders.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/slate.com\/business\/2018\/07\/goldman-sachs-warns-that-rising-wages-could-cut-into-corporate-profits-the-horror.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">slate.com\/business\/2018\/07\/goldman-sachs-warns-that-rising-wages-could-cut-into-corporate-profits-the-horror.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Paychecks Lag as Profits Soar, and Prices Erode Wage Gains<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/14\/business\/14WAGE-1\/merlin_141233550_99b11c7a-bd17-4bfb-95fa-fe8783e9f3ed-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-1h6whtw\">\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Corporate profits have rarely swept up a bigger share of the nation\u2019s wealth, and workers have rarely\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hamiltonproject.org\/charts\/the_share_of_economic_output_that_workers_receive_has_fallen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">shared a smaller one.<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The lopsided split is especially pronounced given how low the\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/06\/business\/economy\/jobs-report.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">official unemployment rate<\/a>\u00a0has sunk. Throughout the recession and much of its aftermath, when many Americans were grateful to receive a paycheck instead of a pink slip, jobs and raises were in short supply. Now, complaints of labor shortages are as common as tweets. For the first time in a long while, workers have some leverage to push for more.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Yet many are far from making up all the lost ground. Hourly earnings have moved forward at a crawl, with higher prices giving workers less buying power than they had last summer. Last-minute scheduling,\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/12\/business\/fast-food-wages-no-poach-deal.html?action=click&amp;module=In%20Other%20News&amp;pgtype=Homepage&amp;action=click&amp;module=Latest&amp;pgtype=Homepage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">no-poaching<\/a>and\u00a0<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/05\/13\/business\/noncompete-clauses.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">noncompete clauses<\/a>, and the use of independent contractors are popular tactics that put workers at a disadvantage. Threats to move operations overseas, where labor is cheaper, continue to loom.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">And in the background, the nation\u2019s central bankers stand poised to raise interest rates and deliberately rein in growth if wages climb too rapidly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-14jsv4e\"><\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"css-18sbwfn StoryBodyCompanionColumn\">\n<div class=\"css-1h6whtw\">\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Workers, understandably, are asking whether they are getting a raw deal.\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/13\/business\/economy\/wages-workers-profits.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness&#038;action=click&#038;contentCollection=business&#038;region=stream&#038;module=stream_unit&#038;version=latest&#038;contentPlacement=6&#038;pgtype=sectionfront\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/13\/business\/economy\/wages-workers-profits.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fbusiness&#038;action=click&#038;contentCollection=business&#038;region=stream&#038;module=stream_unit&#038;version=latest&#038;contentPlacement=6&#038;pgtype=sectionfront<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-editable=\"text\" data-uri=\"slate.com\/_components\/slate-paragraph\/instances\/cjjeg7vm4001p3g5t69bwa0d9@published\" data-word-count=\"92\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Boss-is-not-your-friend.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21725\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Boss-is-not-your-friend.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"676\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Boss-is-not-your-friend.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Boss-is-not-your-friend-106x150.jpg 106w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Boss-is-not-your-friend-352x500.jpg 352w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Boss-is-not-your-friend-500x710.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"wsj-article-headline\">Wage Gains Threaten to Squeeze Retail, Industrial Profits<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"sub-head\">Higher labor costs pose risk to some U.S. companies already facing trade-related tensions, limited pricing power<\/h2>\n<p>Rising wages are beginning to eat into the profits of some U.S. companies.<\/p>\n<p>Businesses from dollar stores to hotel operators to fast-food chains have warned in recent months that higher labor costs have been a drag on their profits\u2014a potential headwind for the nine-year stock-market rally as it struggles for momentum ahead of the second-quarter earnings season.<\/p>\n<p>Average hourly earnings <a class=\"icon none\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/u-s-hiring-strong-in-june-unemployment-rate-rises-as-more-enter-labor-force-1530880292?mod=article_inline\">increased 2.7% in June<\/a> from a year earlier, according to the Labor Department\u2019s monthly jobs data released Friday. Although that is below the 2.8% economists expected, wages have risen at least 2.5% for 16 of the past 17 months, a faster pace than recorded earlier in the economic expansion.<\/p>\n<p>That is good news for U.S. workers who have seen tepid wage increases over the past few years and may benefit some businesses as consumers become more willing to open their wallets for discretionary purchases.<\/p>\n<p>But the higher costs pose a threat to some U.S. companies that are already facing trade-related tensions and a limited ability to raise prices to keep up with inflation. Fears about rising wages sparked concerns back in February and sent stocks tumbling as investors worried the tightening labor market may finally trigger higher inflation.<\/p>\n<p>Economists at Goldman Sachs predict that every percentage-point increase in labor-cost inflation will drag down earnings of companies in the S&amp;P 500 by 0.8%. In total, the bank estimates labor costs equate to 13% of revenue for companies in the S&amp;P 500.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/wage-gains-threaten-to-squeeze-retail-industrial-profits-1531134000\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.wsj.com\/articles\/wage-gains-threaten-to-squeeze-retail-industrial-profits-1531134000<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>CONSUMER PRICE INDEX \u2013 JUNE 2018<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/div>\n<div>The Consumer P rice Index for All Urban Consumers (CP I-U) increased 0.1 percent in June on a<\/div>\n<div>seasonally adjusted basis after rising 0.2 percent in May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported<\/div>\n<div>today. Over the last 12 months, the all items index rose 2.9 percent before seasonal adjustment.<\/div>\n<div>The indexes for shelter, gasoline, and food all rose to lead to the seasonally adjusted increase in the all items index. The food index increased 0.2 percent in June, with the indexes for food at home and food away from home both rising 0.2 percent. Despite a 0.5-percent increase in the gasoline index, the energy index declined 0.3 percent, with the indexes for electricity and natural gas both falling.<\/div>\n<div>The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2 percent in June. The shelter index rose 0.1 percent,and the indexes for medical care, used cars and trucks, new vehicles, and recreation all increased. Theindexes for apparel, airline fares, and household furnishings and operations all declined in June.<\/div>\n<div>The all items index rose 2.9 percent for the 12 months ending June; this was the largest 12-month<\/div>\n<div>increase since the period ending February 2012. The index for all items less food and energy rose 2.3<\/div>\n<div>percent for the 12 months ending June. The food index increased 1.4 percent, and the energy index rose12.0 percent, <strong>its largest 12-month increase since the period ending February 2017. (This eviscerates the 2.9 wage hike the WH brags about)\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/pdf\/cpi.pdf\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bls.gov\/news.release\/pdf\/cpi.pdf<\/a><\/div>\n<div><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-greed.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21728\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-greed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"456\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-greed.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-greed-99x150.jpg 99w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<div>\n<h1 class=\"title\">Worker wages drop while companies spend billions to boost stocks<\/h1>\n<p>Six months after the Tax Cut and Jobs Act became law, there&#8217;s still little evidence that the average job holder is feeling the benefit.<\/p>\n<p>Worker pay in the second quarter dropped nearly one percent below its first-quarter level, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.payscale.com\/payscale-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PayScale Index<\/a>, one measure of worker pay. When accounting for inflation, the drop is even steeper. Year-over-year, rising prices have eaten up still-modest pay gains for many workers, with the result that real wages fell 1.4 percent from the prior year, according to PayScale. The drop was broad, with 80 percent of industries and two-thirds of metro areas affected.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Now, economic confidence has been good, we&#8217;re in a strong economy, GDP is growing, but the question has been, where&#8217;s the paycheck?&#8221; said Katie Bardaro, vice president of data analytics at PayScale.<\/p>\n<p>The answer is, largely, in the companies&#8217; coffers. Businesses are spending nearly $700 billion on repurchasing their own stock so far this year, according to research from TrimTabs. Corporations set a record in Q2, announcing $433 billion worth of buybacks \u2014 nearly doubling the previous record, which was set in Q1.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When a company buys back some of its outstanding shares, the effect is usually to boost the value of the rest of its stock, sometimes making the company appear more valuable on paper. Because many senior executives are paid in company shares, buybacks temporarily boost their pay (as well as other shareholders&#8217; portfolios), sometimes at the expense of investments in infrastructure or workers.<\/p>\n<p>The popularity of stock buybacks in the wake of the corporate tax cuts has drawn lawmakers&#8217; attention. A group of senators <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baldwin.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/Senators%20Letter%20to%20Clayton%20on%20Buyback%20Rules%20FINAL.SIGNED.6.28.18.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote to the SEC<\/a> late last month, asking the agency to review the rules around buybacks. &#8220;The explosion of stock buybacks has funneled corporate profits to wealthy shareholders and corporate executives instead of workers and long-term investments that spur sustained economic growth,&#8221; they wrote.<\/p>\n<p>The money that has trickled down to workers this year hasn&#8217;t been permanent, PayScale found.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/worker-wages-drop-while-companies-spend-billions-to-boost-stocks\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.cbsnews.com\/news\/worker-wages-drop-while-companies-spend-billions-to-boost-stocks\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"row pxl-margin-bottom-lg pxl-margin-top-md\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<h2 class=\"pxl-margin-bottom-md\" style=\"text-align: center;\">Real Wage Index<\/h2>\n<p>Since 2006, wages have risen 12.9 percent overall in the US. But when you factor in inflation, &#8220;real wages&#8221; have actually fallen 9.3 percent. In other words, the income for a typical worker today buys them less than it did in 2006. The PayScale Real Wage Index incorporates the Consumer Price Index (CPI) into The PayScale Index (which tracks nominal wages) and looks at the buying power of wages for full-time private industry workers in the U.S.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.payscale.com\/payscale-index\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.payscale.com\/payscale-index\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalists-and-Workers.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21729\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalists-and-Workers.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"931\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalists-and-Workers.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalists-and-Workers-116x150.jpg 116w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalists-and-Workers-387x500.jpg 387w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Capitalists-and-Workers-500x647.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"trb_ar_hl_t\">For the biggest group of American workers, wages aren&#8217;t flat. They&#8217;re falling.<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p>The average hourly wage paid to a key group of American workers has fallen from last year when accounting for inflation, as an economy that appears strong by several measures continues to fail to create bigger paychecks, the federal government said Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>For workers in &#8220;production and nonsupervisory&#8221; positions, the value of the average paycheck has actually declined in the past year. For those workers, average &#8220;real wages&#8221; &#8211; a measure of pay that takes inflation into account &#8211; fell from $22.62 in May 2017 to $22.59 in May 2018, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.<\/p>\n<p>This pool of workers includes those in manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as all &#8220;nonsupervisory&#8221; workers in service industries such health care or fast food. The group accounts for about four-fifths of the privately employed workers in America, according to BLS.<\/p>\n<p>Without adjusting for inflation, these &#8220;nonsupervisory&#8221; workers saw their average hourly earnings jump 2.8 percent from last year. But that was not enough to keep pace with the 2.9 percent increase in inflation, which economists attributed to rising gas prices. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/business\/ct-american-workers-wages-20180616-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.chicagotribune.com\/business\/ct-american-workers-wages-20180616-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"lede-text-v2__hed\">World Bank CEO Adds to Voices of Worry Over Global Debt Pileup<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p>Global debt is becoming a bigger worry as the global policy tightening cycle takes hold, a top boss at the <a title=\"Company Overview\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/quote\/7915Z:US\">World Bank<\/a> warned Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfter a decade of low interest rates, the corporate and public debt in many places has ballooned to a staggering $164 trillion,\u201d Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the World Bank, said in an interview in Singapore on Monday with Bloomberg Television\u2019s David Ingles and Haidi Lun. \u201cWith interest rates going up, that attention on debt sustainability has to be stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Central banks across the world are under pressure to follow a Federal Reserve that\u2019s raising interest rates faster than initially anticipated, putting particular stress on emerging markets and developing economies. The need for structural policy changes, including responses to waves of anti-globalization, remains great as policy makers in most\u00a0economies haven\u2019t taken sufficient action during the extended period of low borrowing costs, Georgieva said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t see many countries taking advantage of this period of strong economic growth to carry forward structural reforms,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd our advice to countries is, do not wait. Good times may not last &#8212; they usually do not last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>World debt, including household debt, <a title=\"Global Debt Jumped to Record $237 Trillion Last Year (1)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-04-10\/global-debt-jumped-to-record-237-trillion-last-year\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ballooned<\/a> to $237 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2017,<\/strong> \u00a0https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-07-09\/world-bank-ceo-adds-to-voices-of-worry-over-global-debt-pileup<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Detroit-Blight-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21730\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Detroit-Blight-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Detroit-Blight-2.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Detroit-Blight-2-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Detroit-Blight-2-500x333.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Detroit-Blight-2-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"articleHeadline\" class=\"p-name\">Detroit is America&#8217;s worst big city to drive in, report says<\/h1>\n<p>&#8211; Detroit may be the Motor City, but its not one you want to be motoring around in, according to one study.<\/p>\n<p>WalletHub, a personal finance website that has become known for producing surveys on a wide variety of topics, released a study on Tuesday, July 10 titled\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/wallethub.com\/edu\/best-worst-cities-to-drive-in\/13964\/\">&#8220;Best and worst cities to drive in.&#8221;<\/a><\/p>\n<p>As part of the study, WalletHub analysts compared the 100 largest cities across 29 key indicators of driver-friendliness including average gas prices, average annual hours of traffic delays and auto-repair shops per capita. Detroit finished dead last at No. 100 with a cumulative score of 35.13.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, Detroit&#8217;s highest ranking was in the access to vehicles and maintenance rank, but at a surprisingly low ranking of 47. Other ranks included cost of ownership and maintenance (86), traffic and infrastructure (94) and safety (99). The safety category includes car theft, a metric in which Detroit is one of the highest in the nation.<\/p>\n<p>San Francisco, Oakland, Philadelphia, Seattle and Boston are the cities just ahead of Detroit.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mlive.com\/news\/detroit\/index.ssf\/2018\/07\/detroit_is_americas_worst_big_1.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.mlive.com\/news\/detroit\/index.ssf\/2018\/07\/detroit_is_americas_worst_big_1.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 tabindex=\"0\">Ivanka Trump&#8217;s Chinese-made products spared from tariffs<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/s15858.pcdn.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Trump-Ivanka-awkward-kiss-gurn.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for ivanka trump kissing dad\" width=\"304\" height=\"203\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/topic\/donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"212\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:212,&quot;p&quot;:69,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:29}\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s tariffs on Chinese goods won\u2019t touch Ivanka Trump\u2019s foreign-made products for her fashion line.<\/p>\n<p>While Trump rails at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/topic\/harley-davidson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"213\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:213,&quot;p&quot;:69,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:30}\">Harley-Davidson<\/a> motorcycles for moving some production to Europe to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/trump-rips-harley-davidson-over-overseas-operation-like-trump-has_us_5b396a24e4b007aa2f810ed1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"214\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:214,&quot;p&quot;:69,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:31}\">dodge EU tariffs<\/a>, the first daughter and senior White House adviser has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2017\/politics\/ivanka-trump-overseas\/?utm_term=.93c4f7cd8227\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"215\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:215,&quot;p&quot;:69,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:32}\">never manufactured a single product<\/a> for her Ivanka Trump brand on American soil.<\/p>\n<p>Trump enacted tariffs Friday morning on $34 billion worth of Chinese goods, affecting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/4516419-List-of-1-102-exports-the-US-will-hit-with.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"216\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:216,&quot;p&quot;:69,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:33}\">hundreds of products<\/a> from <a href=\"http:\/\/money.cnn.com\/2018\/07\/06\/news\/economy\/us-china-trade-war-tariffs\/index.html?iid=EL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"217\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:217,&quot;p&quot;:69,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:34}\">boats to medical devices and auto parts<\/a>. Products spared include those manufactured by his daughter.<\/p>\n<p>That means Chengdu Kameido Shoes in Sichuan province can continue to supply shoes for the Ivanka Trump brand as it has in the past. It\u2019s currently bidding for a new contract to manufacture 140,000 pairs of shoes for Trump\u2019s company, a spokesman told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scmp.com\/news\/china\/diplomacy-defence\/article\/2154219\/trade-war-rages-shoe-biz-goes-ivanka-trump-and-her\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-id=\"218\" data-m=\"{&quot;i&quot;:218,&quot;p&quot;:69,&quot;n&quot;:&quot;partnerLink&quot;,&quot;y&quot;:24,&quot;o&quot;:35}\">The South China Morning Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Hangzhou HS Fashion in Zhejiang province also said it\u2019s filling orders for orders for the G-III Apparel Group, which supplies shoes to Trump\u2019s brand.<\/p>\n<p>Until January 2017 all of Ivanka Trump\u2019s products were made in factories in China and Hong Kong,\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/companies\/ivanka-trump-s-chinese-made-products-spared-from-tariffs\/ar-AAzLWEH?ocid=ob-fb-enus-280\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/companies\/ivanka-trump-s-chinese-made-products-spared-from-tariffs\/ar-AAzLWEH?ocid=ob-fb-enus-280<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moneybags-democracy.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21731\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/moneybags-democracy.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"372\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 data-pb-field=\"custom.topperDisplayName\">Trump\u2019s fight with federal employee unions gets real on Monday (idiot union bosses turn to courts)<\/h1>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"1\">Federal agencies on Monday begin implementing executive orders from President Trump on how to confront employee unions, following strict guidelines likely to escalate tensions that have been building since the president took office.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"2\">The administration describes Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/trump-takes-aim-at-federal-bureaucracy-with-new-executive-orders-altering-civil-service-protections\/2018\/05\/25\/3ed8bf84-6055-11e8-9ee3-49d6d4814c4c_story.html?utm_term=.0068c3c4b23e\">new rules<\/a>, issued in May, as an effort to streamline a bloated bureaucracy and improve accountability within the federal workforce of 2.1 million. The unions counter that the orders are only the latest in Trump\u2019s aggressive actions intended to weaken their bargaining power and make it easier to fire government workers.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"3\">Jeff Pon, chief of the Office of Personnel Management, gave agencies details late last week for implementing the presidential orders.<\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"4\">The administration wants agencies to reopen collective bargaining agreements to reduce the on-duty time union representatives spend representing employees. Managers are directed to \u201cmonitor and carefully report\u201d on the time and make the information publicly available. And agencies are directed to move swiftly to fire poor performers, renegotiating any contracts that allow for progressive discipline.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/largest-federal-employee-union-sues-trump-over-rollback-of-union-protections\/2018\/05\/31\/335da8c8-64e6-11e8-a69c-b944de66d9e7_story.html?utm_term=.c1c5883ee91c\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/largest-federal-employee-union-sues-trump-over-rollback-of-union-protections\/2018\/05\/31\/335da8c8-64e6-11e8-a69c-b944de66d9e7_story.html?utm_term=.c1c5883ee91c<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline_2zdFM\">J&amp;J vows to overturn $4.7 billion talc verdict but experts see hurdles<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/VSJWDcb1blM\/maxresdefault.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for johnson poison baby powder\" width=\"304\" height=\"171\" \/><\/p>\n<p data-elm-loc=\"4\">Johnson &amp; Johnson has vowed to appeal a $4.7 billion verdict awarded to 22 women who claim asbestos-contaminated talc in the company\u2019s products gave them ovarian cancer by arguing the plaintiffs\u2019 science was flawed and the case should not have been heard in Missouri.<\/p>\n<p>But several legal experts said that even though J&amp;J has been successful in winning appeals of other talc cases in Missouri, it will face a challenging road in appealing the verdict handed down on Thursday in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis.<\/p>\n<p>John Beisner, a lawyer for Johnson &amp; Johnson, said, \u201cOne of the hardest things will be prioritizing what to appeal first.\u201d He described to Reuters the company\u2019s jurisdictional and scientific arguments for overturning Thursday\u2019s verdict.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement responding to the verdict, J&amp;J reiterated its position that its products never contained asbestos and were not carcinogenic.<\/p>\n<p>Thursday\u2019s verdict is the largest to date arising from lawsuits alleging talc-based products like J&amp;J\u2019s baby powder have caused cancer. The jury reached its decision in less than a day, following five weeks of expert testimony from both sides.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-johnson-johnson-cancer-lawsuit-analys\/jj-vows-to-overturn-4-7-billion-talc-verdict-but-experts-see-hurdles-idUSKBN1K32T8?il=0\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.reuters.com\/article\/us-johnson-johnson-cancer-lawsuit-analys\/jj-vows-to-overturn-4-7-billion-talc-verdict-but-experts-see-hurdles-idUSKBN1K32T8?il=0<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"lede-text-v2__hed\">Trump\u2019s Personal Driver for 25 Years Sues for Unpaid Overtime<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/trumptoon063.jpg?w=620\" alt=\"Image result for cheap trump cartoon\" width=\"304\" height=\"203\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"body-copy-v2 fence-body\">\n<aside class=\"left-column\">\n<div class=\"text-to-speech\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"share-article-button \" data-variation=\"basic-article\">\n<div class=\"share-article-button__option\"><a title=\"Billionaire Profile\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/billionaires\/id\/1252249\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Donald Trump<\/a>\u2019s personal driver for more than 25 years says the billionaire real estate developer didn\u2019t pay him overtime and raised his salary only twice in 15 years, clawing back the second raise by cutting off his health benefits.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Noel Cintron, who is listed in public records as a registered Republican, sued the Trump Organization for about 3,300 hours of overtime that he says he worked in the past six years. He\u2019s not allowed to sue for overtime prior to that due to the statute of limitations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn an utterly callous display of unwarranted privilege and entitlement and without even a minimal sense of noblesse oblige,\u201d Trump and his businesses exploited the driver, Cintron says in the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>The driver\u2019s allegations echo those of other Trump employees or contractors who have sued the president or his businesses over the years\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-07-09\/trump-s-personal-driver-for-25-years-sues-for-unpaid-overtime\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-07-09\/trump-s-personal-driver-for-25-years-sues-for-unpaid-overtime<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The Emergence of Fascism as a Popular Mass Movement and <\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The War on Reason<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"spaced spaced-xl spaced-top spaced-bottom\">Paul Manafort&#8217;s VIP jail treatment: A private phone line, a laptop and his own shower<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/resizer\/10LjIzLv1hIN2f7ak1-zfg0lkB8=\/1400x0\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b463e2c\/turbine\/la-1531330088-lawjdzozzs-snap-image\" alt=\"Paul Manafort's VIP jail treatment: A private phone line, a laptop and his own shower\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p data-page=\"1\">When President Trump&#8217;s former campaign chairman wants to call his lawyers from jail, he doesn\u2019t have to line up at a pay phone. He just picks up the private line in his cell.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>Paul Manafort also doesn\u2019t wear an orange jumpsuit or any other prison uniform. He has his own laptop computer, complete with an extension cord. Not to mention a private toilet and shower.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>The jailhouse accommodations are plush enough that Manafort boasted of his \u201cVIP\u201d treatment during a recorded phone call. The conversation and other details of his confinement were cited by prosecutors in an unusual court filing on Wednesday aimed at convincing the judge to reject Manafort\u2019s demand to delay his trial, now scheduled to begin July 25.<\/p>\n<p>His cushy arrangement could be coming to an end, however, as Manafort is relocated over his objections to another jail closer to the courthouse in Alexandria, Va.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III has obtained criminal charges against 20 individuals so far, but Manafort is the only one facing trial. Five defendants have pleaded guilty, another has not yet pleaded, and 13 Russians were indicted for their alleged role in Moscow\u2019s covert campaign to boost Trump in the presidential election but are outside the reach of U.S. courts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>Manafort, once a high-flying Republican operative who earned tens of millions of dollars as a consultant to foreign leaders, was indicted in October on a dozen financial charges, including fraud and money laundering, stemming from his work in Ukraine. He pleaded not guilty to those \u2014 and about a dozen subsequent charges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>He was out on $10-million bail until last month when he was ordered jailed for what prosecutors alleged was attempted witness tampering.\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/politics\/la-na-pol-manafort-jail-trial-20180711-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.latimes.com\/politics\/la-na-pol-manafort-jail-trial-20180711-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h1>The Price of Freedom: What Happens to the Wrongfully Convicted?<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"i-amphtml-fill-content i-amphtml-replaced-content aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/thumbor.forbes.com\/thumbor\/300x236\/http:\/\/b-i.forbesimg.com\/kellyphillipserb\/files\/2013\/05\/300px-Wisconsin_State_Prison_Cell_BlockWisconsin_State_Prison_Cell_Blocks.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Katherina Reitz Brow was stabbed to death in her home in Ayer, Massachusetts. Three years later, the man accused of the crime was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. That man, Kenneth (\u201cKenny\u201d) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/companies\/waters\/\" target=\"_self\">Waters<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.innocenceproject.org\/Content\/Kenny_Waters.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:http:\/\/www.innocenceproject.org\/Content\/Kenny_Waters.php\">would serve eighteen years in jail for a crime he didn\u2019t commit<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Kenny\u2019s story doesn\u2019t end there. He appealed his sentence a number of times unsuccessfully. Frustrated at the process and convinced of his innocence, his older sister, Betty Anne Waters, went back to school and earned her college degree and a law degree. Nearly two decades after his conviction, Kenny Waters was set free.<\/p>\n<p>At trial, most of the evidence against Kenny had been circumstantial and, it was alleged, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.boston.com\/ae\/movies\/articles\/2010\/10\/10\/the_courage_of_betty_anne_waterss_conviction\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:http:\/\/www.boston.com\/ae\/movies\/articles\/2010\/10\/10\/the_courage_of_betty_anne_waterss_conviction\/\">marred by false testimony and bungled police work<\/a>. Betty Anne believed that DNA evidence, which had previously been withheld from the defense team, would be the key factor in his release. She worked with lawyers from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.innocenceproject.org\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:http:\/\/www.innocenceproject.org\/about\/\">Innocence Project, a non-profit legal clinic affiliated with the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University<\/a>, to have an independent lab examine the evidence. That DNA proved what Betty Anne knew: her brother did not kill Katherina Brow&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>What happens to those folks whose lives have been turned upside down after a wrongful conviction? In addition to the years of lost time with friends and family, they walk into a world that may be completely different than before they were sent away. Some have never seen or used a cell phone and are wowed by a world that includes gadgets like iPads and Nooks. Others may be looking forward to things you don\u2019t expect:<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/10\/13\/movies\/13waitress.html?_r=1&amp;pagewanted=all\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-ga-track=\"ExternalLink:http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/10\/13\/movies\/13waitress.html?_r=1&amp;pagewanted=all\"> in Kenny\u2019s case<\/a>, \u201cHe couldn\u2019t wait to go to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/companies\/home-depot\/\" target=\"_self\">Home Depot<\/a>. He had never been to such a big store before.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/kellyphillipserb\/2012\/05\/01\/the-price-of-freedom-what-happens-to-the-wrongfully-convicted\/amp\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.forbes.com\/sites\/kellyphillipserb\/2012\/05\/01\/the-price-of-freedom-what-happens-to-the-wrongfully-convicted\/amp\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TheOther98\/videos\/1973370192673949\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/TheOther98\/videos\/1973370192673949\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"hed\" data-reactid=\"169\">China\u2019s Terrifying Surveillance State Looks a Lot Like America\u2019s Future<\/h1>\n<div class=\"dek\" data-reactid=\"170\"><span data-reactid=\"171\">To Silicon Valley idealists, technology promises greater freedom. But in China, innovation is shepherding in an authoritarian hellscape.<\/span><\/div>\n<p>Until recently in Silicon Valley, it was taken as an article of faith that technology could enhance democracy. \u201cOne could change the world with one hundred and forty characters,\u201d Twitter C.E.O. <strong>Jack Dorsey<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/magazine\/2013\/10\/21\/two-hit-wonder\">declared<\/a> in 2007. That may be true to some extent\u2014in many countries, services like Twitter and Facebook have made it easier than ever to organize, and have eliminated many media gatekeepers. But in China, which is undergoing a tech boom, innovation seems to be expanding in the opposite direction: instead of allowing for free and open platforms, the country is implementing an authoritarian tech dystopia. Already, local Chinese <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/parallels\/2018\/04\/03\/598012923\/facial-recognition-in-china-is-big-business-as-local-governments-boost-surveilla\">governments<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/china-school-facial-recognition-technology-2018-5\">schools<\/a> have employed surveillance technology to do everything from <a href=\"https:\/\/futurism.com\/facial-recognition-china-social-credit\/\">fine residents<\/a> for jaywalking to pinpoint an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/business\/technology\/la-fi-tn-facial-recognition-china-20180522-story.html\">alleged thief<\/a> in a 20,000-person crowd. It is, as <em>The New York Times<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/08\/business\/china-surveillance-technology.html\">reports<\/a>, a chilling alternative vision of the future\u2014and one that will almost certainly go global. While the use of facial-recognition\u00a0 glasses to apprehend drug smugglers at train stations. In the western part of the country, mass-surveillance technology is used to track members of the Uighur Muslim minority, mapping out relationships with friends and family. Information on plane trips and hotel stays is readily available. A start-up called Eyecool gives more than 2 million facial images every day to a big-data policing system called\u2014perhaps a bit heavy-handedly\u2014Skynet.<\/p>\n<p>The human psyche has played a crucial role in the success of China\u2019s new system. Last summer, when police posted a large, outdoor screen showcasing the photos, names, and government I.D. numbers of people who sped or jaywalked at a certain intersection, the number of incidents quickly declined. \u201cIf you are captured by the system and you don\u2019t see it, your neighbors or colleagues will, and they will gossip about it,\u201d <strong>Guan Yue,<\/strong> a spokeswoman, told the <em>Times.<\/em> \u201cThat\u2019s too embarrassing for people to take.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2018\/07\/china-surveillance-state-artificial-intelligence\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.vanityfair.com\/news\/2018\/07\/china-surveillance-state-artificial-intelligence<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Children-prison-fascism-section.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21723\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Children-prison-fascism-section.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"960\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Children-prison-fascism-section.jpg 678w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Children-prison-fascism-section-106x150.jpg 106w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Children-prison-fascism-section-353x500.jpg 353w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Children-prison-fascism-section-500x708.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"Post-title\" data-reactid=\"163\"><a class=\"Post-title-link\" href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2018\/07\/08\/msnbc-does-not-merely-permit-fabrications-against-democratic-party-critics-it-encourages-and-rewards-them\/\" data-reactid=\"164\">MSNBC Does Not Merely Permit Fabrications Against Democratic Party Critics. It Encourages and Rewards Them.<\/a><\/h1>\n<div data-reactid=\"185\">\n<p><u>During the 2016<\/u> primary and general election campaigns, various MSNBC\u00a0hosts were openly campaigning for Hillary Clinton.\u00a0One of the network\u2019s programs featured Malcolm Nance (pictured above), whose background is quite sketchy but is presented by the cable network (and now by NBC News) as an \u201cintelligence expert\u201d and former intelligence officer for the U.S. Navy.<\/p>\n<p>On August 20, 2016, weekend host Joy Reid asked Nance\u00a0about the supposed \u201caffinity\u201d for Russia harbored by Jill Stein supporters. In response, Nance told MSNBC viewers: \u201cJill Stein has a show on Russia Today.\u201d You can still watch the video of this\u00a0claim\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/MSNBCW_20160820_140000_AM_Joy\/start\/2460\/end\/2520\">here<\/a>\u00a0on MSNBC\u2019s own website or see it here:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Whatever your views might be about Stein and her third-party candidacy, there is no disputing the fact that Nance\u2019s statement was a falsehood, a fabrication, a lie. Stein did not have a show on RT, nor did she ever host a show on RT. What Nance said was made up out of whole cloth \u2014 fabricated \u2014 in order to encourage MSNBC viewers to believe that Stein, one of the candidates running against Clinton, was a paid agent of the Kremlin and employee of RT.<\/p>\n<p>Reid allowed Nance\u2019s lie to stand. Perhaps she did not realize at the time that it was a lie. But subsequently, a campaign was launched to urge MSNBC to correct the lie it broadcast, based on the assumption that MSNBC \u2014 which is part of NBC News \u2014 was a normal news outlet that functions in accordance with basic journalistic principles and would, of course, correct a false statement\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2018\/07\/08\/msnbc-does-not-merely-permit-fabrications-against-democratic-party-critics-it-encourages-and-rewards-them\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">theintercept.com\/2018\/07\/08\/msnbc-does-not-merely-permit-fabrications-against-democratic-party-critics-it-encourages-and-rewards-them\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Solidarity for Never<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/content\/dam\/slate\/articles\/life\/education\/2016\/06\/160706_EDU_RTX2JU7U.jpg.CROP.promovar-mediumlarge.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for eskelsen hillary\" width=\"304\" height=\"164\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"single_title\">NEA Budget Cuts Don\u2019t Include Executives\u2019 Salaries<\/h1>\n<p>We reported exclusively in May that the National Education Association planned\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/exclusive-largest-union-to-slash-budget-by-50-million-in-advance-of-supreme-court-decision-300000-members-will-leave-within-2-years-leaders-predict\/\">to cut $50 million from its budget<\/a>, anticipating that it would lose 300,000 members in the wake of a Supreme Court decision ruling agency fees unconstitutional.<\/p>\n<p>NEA\u2019s national headquarters took in $385 million last year, and its proposed two-year budget will affect virtually every aspect of operations. Vacant staff positions will go unfilled, leading to a reduction of 16 percent of spending on compensation. No layoffs are planned.<\/p>\n<p>Spending on travel will be cut 4 percent. Publication costs cut 27 percent. Office expenses cut 15 percent. And so on.<\/p>\n<p>Even the national union\u2019s largest and most important expense, cash grants to its state and local affiliates, will be cut by 9 percent.<\/p>\n<p>But one line item in the budget will actually increase: salaries for the union\u2019s executive officers.<\/p>\n<p>The base salary for NEA president Lily Eskelsen Garc\u00eda will increase to $293,434. NEA\u2019s vice president and secretary-treasurer will each receive $257,954. Additionally, all three executive officers receive cash allowances equal to 40 percent of their base salary \u2014 at least $103,182 each \u2014 to cover benefits and living expenses.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/analysis-the-national-education-association-a-1-6-billion-enterprise-with-a-red-ink-problem\/\">NEA and its affiliates had money problems before the Supreme Court ruling<\/a>. Their ability to adapt to a new environment depends less on their political and organizing skills and more on their willingness to reform themselves financially. They are not off to a good start.<\/p>\n<p>NEA barely headed off a staff strike last month. State affiliates will have similar labor problems when they try to cut costs. All public-sector unions will have to re-evaluate how much they spend on themselves in order to devote the necessary resources to their remaining members, who now have the option of taking their business elsewhere. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/nea-budget-cuts-dont-include-executives-salaries\/?utm_source=The+74+Million+Newsletter&#038;utm_campaign=5a4b3be635-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_11_08_39&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_term=0_077b986842-5a4b3be635-176109065\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.the74million.org\/article\/nea-budget-cuts-dont-include-executives-salaries\/?utm_source=The+74+Million+Newsletter&#038;utm_campaign=5a4b3be635-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_07_11_08_39&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_term=0_077b986842-5a4b3be635-176109065<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"_4on7 _3mk2 img\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t31.0-8\/27500179_10154890094327924_9110200234979856468_o.jpg?_nc_cat=0&amp;oh=6d4c73a33738b0c621ba596b2715ddfb&amp;oe=5BCE2364\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">But these opportunists won&#8217;t create it.<\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>Put about 2000 people in a room at the Hyatt under the leadership of the International Socialist Organization and the Democratic Socialists of America and you get identity politics, the Democratic party (much love for Hillary\u2019s fishhook, Bernie), nationalism (especially in support for US imperialism), and high offices in completely corrupt and sold out trade unions like the Chicago Teachers Union. ISO and DSA hope to feed off one another. Skimpy meal each way. Which form of opportunism will win? Even Karl Kautsky would scoff.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ayers-Au-So-happy-he-is-my-mentor.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21721\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ayers-Au-So-happy-he-is-my-mentor.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"720\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ayers-Au-So-happy-he-is-my-mentor.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ayers-Au-So-happy-he-is-my-mentor-150x113.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ayers-Au-So-happy-he-is-my-mentor-500x375.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Ayers-Au-So-happy-he-is-my-mentor-768x576.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a>Here we have Billy Ayers, once a liberal with a bomb whose Weatherman terrorists destroyed the largest radical student organization in the US, SDS, on the eve of the biggest outpouring of anti-war and strike activity of that era. The crux of Ayers&#8217; life activity is his dishonest self absorption on the one hand, and his consistent opposition to the creation of a mass class conscious movement on the other hand. Now, he&#8217;s a grant seeking liberal and &#8220;Chicago Citizen of the Year.&#8221; He&#8217;s joined by the Rethinking Schools member who Ayers mentored. That makes sense.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.substancenews.net\/articles.php?page=5958\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.substancenews.net\/articles.php?page=5958<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/nrtwc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Monica-Morgans-Facebook-page-Hillary-Clinton-610x343.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for monica morgan holiefield clinton\" width=\"304\" height=\"171\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">UAW widow&#8217;s lawyer rips feds in sentencing spat<\/h1>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The case against Morgan-Holiefield offered a detailed look at how, according to the government, officials at Fiat Chrysler tried to tilt contract negotiations in the automaker\u2019s favor by lavishing labor leaders with first-class airfare, expense accounts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal payments. Some of the illegal payments to Morgan-Holiefield coincided with 2011 labor negotiations between Fiat Chrysler and the UAW, and were hidden behind an alias and sham companies, including a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/2017\/09\/19\/fake-hospice-laundered-cash-fca-uaw-scandal\/105799814\/\" data-track-label=\"story pages|news|inline|intext|n\/a\">fake hospice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The payments are central to an ongoing federal investigation that\u00a0has led to criminal charges against\u00a0seven people, caused <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/general-motors\/2017\/12\/13\/ex-uaw-vp-ashton-resigns-gm-board\/108582808\/\" data-track-label=\"story pages|news|inline|intext|n\/a\">upheaval at the top ranks of the auto industry<\/a>\u00a0and raised questions about the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/chrysler\/2018\/02\/01\/feds-eye-pricey-party-honoring-embattled-uaw-leader\/110026950\/\" data-track-label=\"story pages|news|inline|intext|n\/a\">sanctity of labor negotiations<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Morgan-Holiefield pleaded guilty seven months after being indicted in the conspiracy.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/detroit-city\/2018\/07\/09\/monica-morgan-holiefield-fca-uaw-scandal\/768692002\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/local\/detroit-city\/2018\/07\/09\/monica-morgan-holiefield-fca-uaw-scandal\/768692002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/twitter\/statuses\/981923384354312192\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">twitter.com\/twitter\/statuses\/981923384354312192<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">Holiefield widow gets 18 months in auto industry corruption scandal (wrist slap)<\/h1>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">The widow of United Auto Workers Vice President General Holiefield was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Friday for a tax crime intertwined in a\u00a0widening federal investigation\u00a0of the auto industry and labor movement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">Monica Morgan-Holiefield, 55, of Harrison Township, is the first person sentenced in a scandal that has led to criminal charges against seven people and reshaped the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/general-motors\/2017\/12\/13\/ex-uaw-vp-ashton-resigns-gm-board\/108582808\/\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">top ranks<\/a> of the auto industry as FBI agents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/general-motors\/2017\/11\/02\/uaw-training-center-investigation-expands-big-detroit-three\/107251546\/\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">investigate all three Detroit automakers<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Wearing\u00a0a funeral black dress, she stared straight ahead as U.S. District Judge Paul Borman issued the sentence that capped the downfall of an accomplished photographer who prosecutors say succumbed to greed, living a high-flying lifestyle with money flowing from\u00a0a conspiracy involving Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and the UAW.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;This was not some slip-up,&#8221; Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gardey told the judge. &#8220;It was a cold and calculated effort to get money for herself and her husband &#8230; to satisfy simple greed.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The scandal has aired damning allegations about Fiat Chrysler and the UAW conspiring to violate the Labor Management Relations Act, which prohibits employers or those working for them from paying, lending or delivering money or other valuables to officers or employees of labor organizations \u2014 and makes it illegal for labor leaders to accept such items.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/2018\/07\/13\/monica-morgan-holiefield-sentenced-uaw-fiat-chrysler\/781882002\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.detroitnews.com\/story\/business\/autos\/2018\/07\/13\/monica-morgan-holiefield-sentenced-uaw-fiat-chrysler\/781882002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>This is Adam Urbanski. He&#8217;s been president of the Rochester Teachers Association (AFT) since 1981. Enough said.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aft.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/scale_100\/public\/biography-pictures\/urbanski_bio.jpg?itok=2VO3tFQG\" alt=\"Image result for adam urbanski rochester\" width=\"200\" height=\"259\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aft.org\/about\/leadership\/adam-urbanski\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.aft.org\/about\/leadership\/adam-urbanski<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h1>Capitalist Caudillo Cuba&#8217;s New Constitution Will Recognize Private Property: Report<\/h1>\n<div class=\"col-620 cont\">\n<div class=\"vworldtop cont\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"bloque-multimedia world-1\">\n<div id=\"fotos\">\n<ul class=\"slides\">\n<li class=\".itemscope flex-active-slide\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" title=\"Granma said the draft enshrined recognition of both the free market and private property in Cuba's new Magna Carta. | Foto: Commons Wikimedia\" draggable=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/www.telesurtv.net\/__export\/1531608177031\/sites\/telesur\/img\/news\/2018\/07\/14\/streets-with-people-in-havana-cuba.jpg_1718483346.jpg\" alt=\"Granma said the draft enshrined recognition of both the free market and private property in Cuba\" width=\"600\" height=\"340\" \/>\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<h2>Granma said the draft enshrined recognition of both the free market and private property in Cuba&#8217;s new Magna Carta. | Photo: Commons Wikimedia<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-300\">\n<div class=\"row clear\">\n<div class=\"contRightC\">\n<div class=\"subtitle\">Ruling Communist Party newspaper Granma published a summary of the new constitution on Saturday, saying a draft it had seen included 224 articles, up from 137 previously.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-six\">\n<div class=\"cont bordercountry\">\n<div class=\"dest cont\">\n<div class=\" row clear\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1530065278101-0\" data-google-query-id=\"CICihfaroNwCFU4MrQYdPZoHRw\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18910235\/Notas_interno_1x1_en_0__container__\"><iframe id=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18910235\/Notas_interno_1x1_en_0\" title=\"3rd party ad content\" name=\"google_ads_iframe_\/18910235\/Notas_interno_1x1_en_0\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" data-inf-script-frame=\"\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"><\/iframe><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telesurtv.net\/english\/news\/Cubas-New-Constitution-Will-Recognize-Private-Property-Report-20180714-0012.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.telesurtv.net\/english\/news\/Cubas-New-Constitution-Will-Recognize-Private-Property-Report-20180714-0012.html<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"txt_newworld\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Spy versus Spy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Best Of Boris And Natasha The Contest\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/4txmBNCAXg8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"title\">Indictment of Russian Intelligence Operatives Should Quell Harebrained Conspiracy Theories on DNC Hack<\/h1>\n<div class=\"original-url\">This paragraph almost at the end of the story!&#8230;&#8230;.<\/div>\n<div class=\"original-url\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"original-url\">But the indictment strongly suggests that even as the Russians hacked the American political system, the U.S. intelligence community was hacking the Russians in return. It includes accounts that appear to have been drawn from real-time U.S. intelligence surveillance of Russian computers watching, searching, and infecting with malware computers belonging to Democratic operatives and staffers.<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2018\/07\/13\/indictment-of-russian-intelligence-operatives-should-quell-harebrained-conspiracy-theories-on-dnc-hack\/\">theintercept.com\/2018\/07\/13\/indictment-of-russian-intelligence-operatives-should-quell-harebrained-conspiracy-theories-on-dnc-hack\/<\/a><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The Magical Mystery Tour<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/HuffPostPerspectives\/videos\/1820530418014581\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/HuffPostPerspectives\/videos\/1820530418014581\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">The \u2018King\u2019 of Shambhala Buddhism Is Undone by Abuse Report<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/12\/nyregion\/11shambhala01\/merlin_141009645_42f4b8c4-ba51-47be-a656-544ba241cc5e-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale\" sizes=\"((min-width: 600px) and (max-width: 1004px)) 84vw, (min-width: 1005px) 60vw, 100vw\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/12\/nyregion\/11shambhala01\/merlin_141009645_42f4b8c4-ba51-47be-a656-544ba241cc5e-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/12\/nyregion\/11shambhala01\/merlin_141009645_42f4b8c4-ba51-47be-a656-544ba241cc5e-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/12\/nyregion\/11shambhala01\/merlin_141009645_42f4b8c4-ba51-47be-a656-544ba241cc5e-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">In a shrine on the sixth floor of a Manhattan office building, a photo of a man in golden robes hangs above an altar. Another photo of him sits upon a throne.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">He is the head of one of the largest Buddhist organizations in the West, Shambhala International, a network of more than 200 outposts in over 30 countries where thousands come for training in meditation and mindfulness and some delve into deeper mysteries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The man is Mipham Rinpoche. He is known as the Sakyong, a Tibetan word that translates roughly as king, and his students take vows to follow him that are binding across lifetimes. These days, they are feeling sad, confused, angry and betrayed.<\/p>\n<p>Late last month, a former Shambhala teacher released a report alleging that the Sakyong had sexually abused and exploited some of his most devoted female followers for years. Women quoted in the report wrote of drunken groping and forcefully extracted sexual favors. The report said that senior leaders at Shambhala \u2014 an organization whose motto is \u201cMaking Enlightened Society Possible\u201d \u2014 knew of the Sakyong\u2019s misconduct and covered it up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\"><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/mailchi.mp\/1cedc6001e4a\/kalapa-council-quarterly-update-767203?e=c0b519322c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Sakyong apologized<\/a> a few days before the report was formally released, admitting to \u201crelationships\u201d with women in the community, some of whom \u201cshared experiences of feeling harmed as a result.\u201d Followers and Shambhala groups around the world demanded more action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">On Friday, it came: The governing council of <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/shambhala.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Shambhala International<\/a>, which is based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, resigned en masse, \u201cin the interest of beginning a healing process for our community.\u201d NYT July 1418)<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The Best and Worst Things in the History of the World<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dive-route.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21712\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dive-route.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"334\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dive-route.png 640w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dive-route-150x78.png 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Dive-route-500x261.png 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>In late 2016, Kamol founded the Wild Boar soccer club \u2014<em>\u00a0Moo Baa<\/em>\u00a0in Thai \u2014 to give local schoolboys in this impoverished community a place to go after their teachers had gone home. It is a grassroots club, funded by a community that sits on the edge of the Golden Triangle, one of the world\u2019s most notorious drug-smuggling regions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>At least three of the rescued boys and their assistant coach, Ekapol Chanthawong, are stateless \u2014 members of ethnic minorities seen as easy prey for nefarious actors looking to sweep children into the drug trade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>In a nation obsessed with soccer, most of the 84 members are rejects from their school teams.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>No one \u2014 not those from ethnic minorities facing persecution in Myanmar or discrimination in Thailand \u2014 was turned away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are the club that would welcome and train anyone that wanted to play football,\u201d said Kamol, his eyes covered by sunglasses after two weeks of sleepless nights spent fearing for the safety of the team. \u201cNow the whole world knows about us. Our boys are resilient \u2014 just like the wild boar.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/resizer\/_nsMtAUIt6jj0LSorWZzg31wRxc=\/1400x0\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b4634e0\/turbine\/la-1531327708-ncsljatyez-snap-image\" alt=\"The banner of the Wild Boars soccer team.\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"pb-root\" class=\"c o l l a p s e d - n a v\">\n<div data-role=\"close-tray\">\n<article class=\"grid container padded-container\">\n<section id=\"left\" class=\"left guttered width-100\">\n<div id=\"fbJAgN162HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-body\" data-pb-name=\"Article Body (Elements)\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\">\n<div class=\"collection collection-cards\">\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>For the team, being tough and resilient is not just in the name. Part of it comes from fighting to win. Victories have been rare for the Boars, who are usually defeated in regional tournaments, where their squad of onetime discards take on teams for whom soccer is part of the school curriculum.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>But the run of defeats ended in May, when the boys won a regional tournament, boosting their pride and confidence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>\u201cThey say we are just delicious pigs, but look what we got,\u201d Kamol said, flashing an image on his phone showing him and the head coach, Nopparat Kanthawong, holding giant trophies \u2014 the spoils of victory in the May competition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>As Kamol flicked through photos of himself out cycling with some of his young Boars, he explained that tortuous 60-plus-mile rides along hilly roads in tropical heat were regular outings for the boys, some of them as young as 11.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"card collection-item\" data-type=\"text\">\n<div class=\" card-content \">\n<p>There is no doubt, he said, that gritty upbringings in this wild outpost had hardened the boys for any challenge they might face in life \u2014 including being stranded in a dark cave with no food to eat, dank air to breathe and no sign of escape before their discovery.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <button class=\"button-comments-view button-solid button-accent full-width\" name=\"show-comments\" aria-label=\"show-comments\" data-comments=\"show\" data-role=\"toggle-comments\" data-arctrack=\"commentsOpened\">COMMENTS (12)<\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"f0Edf6H62HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-list-recommender\" data-pb-name=\"Recommender\" data-pb-curated=\"automated\" data-pb-id=\"recommender-latest-news\">\n<div class=\"card flex-container-column align-items-stretch\">\n<div class=\"card-content \">\n<div class=\"flex-container-column align-items-start flex\">\n<div>\n<h6><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/36971552_10156709763264060_5399286289260347392_n.jpg?_nc_cat=1&amp;oh=ffa84c58c2c0a1df16c82b5448fab7ac&amp;oe=5BA11664\" alt=\"No automatic alt text available.\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"right-element image-xs img-container aspect-ratio-1x1\"><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"flex-container-column align-items-start flex\">\n<div>\n<h6><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/37033789_10212422539025159_1161320368988749824_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&amp;oh=d9c8493764ab0b1fbef385215808ddd6&amp;oe=5BD78CC5\" alt=\"No automatic alt text available.\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"\"><\/figure>\n<div class=\"flex-container-column align-items-start flex\">\n<div>\n<h6><\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"timestamp collection-bottom-element\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"\">\n<div class=\"right-element image-xs img-container aspect-ratio-1x1\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"b-lazy full-width\" src=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/pb\/resources\/images\/tinygif.gif\" alt=\"Judge orders release of woman who served 11 years behind bars in grandson's death\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/resizer\/6P83CAocoSt2D9MlaqgCVQZP0OE=\/1400x0\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-tronc.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/PGYCHAVELNHLXAEWNMTZBI4EC4.jpg\" \/><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pb-container\"><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<aside id=\"right-rail\" class=\"right right-rail guttered flex-container-column\">\n<div id=\"f0kcpqh62HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"article-desktop-cube-right-rail\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"f0bgfOD62HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-correction\" data-pb-name=\"Correction\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"fD5TEi262HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-list-recommender\" data-pb-name=\"Recommender\" data-pb-curated=\"automated\" data-pb-id=\"recommender-site\">\n<div class=\"card flex-container-column align-items-stretch\">\n<div class=\"card-header flex-container-row align-items-center\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"card-content \">\n<div class=\"flex-container-column align-items-start flex\">\n<div class=\"timestamp collection-bottom-element\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<figure class=\"\">\n<div class=\"right-element image-xs img-container aspect-ratio-1x1\"><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"fLBZFc262HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-dynamic-rail-ads\" data-pb-name=\"Dynamic Rail-ads\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"article-dynamic-rail-ads\">\n<div id=\"dynamic-rail-ads\" class=\"dynamic-rail-wrapper hidden-tablet hidden-mobile\" data-slot-name=\"news\/natworld\/sf\" data-ad-canonical=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-ad-site=\"latimes\" data-ix=\"true\" data-a9=\"true\">\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-1043154403\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"2\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,loadImmediately,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,true,2,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loads-immediately=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-65394992\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"3\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,loadImmediately,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,true,3,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loads-immediately=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-812528822\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"4\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,loadImmediately,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,true,4,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loads-immediately=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-1266274336\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"5\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,loadImmediately,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,true,5,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loads-immediately=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-1232554824\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"6\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,,6,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loaded=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-1915261515\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"7\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,,7,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loaded=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-1894229198\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"8\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,,8,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loaded=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"dynamic-ad-421388062\" class=\"spaced spaced-bottom spaced-lg dynamic-rail-ad-item\" data-href=\"\/pb\/api\/v2\/render\/feature\/ads\/dfp\" data-feature-grouping=\".pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-position=\"9\" data-custom-field-keys=\"slotName,adType,site,deviceToShowOn,,positionOverride,includeInIndexExchange,includeInA9\" data-custom-field-values=\"news\/natworld\/sf,300x250,latimes,d,,9,true,true\" data-content-uri=\"\/world\/la-fg-thai-soccer-team-20180711-story.html\" data-rail-ad-loaded=\"true\">\n<div id=\"\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pb-container\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<aside id=\"left-bottom\" class=\"left guttered\">\n<div id=\"f0dgGew62HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-taboola\" data-pb-name=\"Taboola\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"article-taboola\">\n<div id=\"below-article-thumbs_ARC\" class=\"taboola-container \" data-vendor-taboolacontenttype=\"article\" data-ad-loadimmediately=\"true\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"pb-container\"><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/article>\n<section id=\"bottom\" class=\"full-columns container\">\n<div id=\"f0Mnqo862HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"article-desktop-bottom-leaderboard\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"fflYV2162HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"article-responsive-teads-tout\"><\/div>\n<div id=\"f0pALWf62HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"article-responsive-oop\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"pb-container\">\n<div id=\"flsVrD162HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix col col-desktop-6 col-tablet-6 col-mobile-6 pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-ads-dfp\" data-pb-name=\"DFP Ad\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"article-amp-sticky\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"fM9LGe262HSSSq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix full pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-global-footer\" data-pb-name=\"Global Footer\" data-pb-curated=\"curated\" data-pb-id=\"latimes-footer\">\n<footer class=\"card card-dark card-accent flex-container-column align-items-stretch relative\">\n<div class=\"card-content flex\">\n<div class=\"footer-grid-container\">\n<figure class=\"logo logo-stacked footer-logo hidden-tablet hidden-mobile\"><\/figure>\n<h3 class=\"text-color-light\"><\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"text-color-light\"><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"spaced spaced-md spaced-left flex-container-row align-items-start footer-menu-container\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"met-flyout met-rule-1201\">\n<div class=\"met-toast-varB\">\n<div class=\"met-toast-right\">\n<div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>So Long<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><em><strong>Candy Dowell, class warrior, clinical social worker, courageous and honest friend. <\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/SWOC-Strike.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21716\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/SWOC-Strike.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"480\" height=\"640\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/SWOC-Strike.png 480w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/SWOC-Strike-113x150.png 113w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/SWOC-Strike-375x500.png 375w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, 480px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We Say Fight Back! Around 1,000 people gathered to watch the blimp launch in Parliament Square, with organizers of the stunt wearing red boiler suits and baseball caps emblazoned with \u201cTRUMP BABYSITTER\u201d. Nicola Tanner, a 33-year-old public official from the southwestern city of Bristol, took the day off work to demonstrate. Wearing a t-shirt with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21703"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21733,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21703\/revisions\/21733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}