{"id":21735,"date":"2018-07-22T00:16:08","date_gmt":"2018-07-22T08:16:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=21735"},"modified":"2018-07-22T00:16:08","modified_gmt":"2018-07-22T08:16:08","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-the-old-mole-of-reality-trumps-fantasyland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-the-old-mole-of-reality-trumps-fantasyland\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: The Old Mole of Reality Trumps Fantasyland."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>We Say Fight Back!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ajplusenglish\/videos\/271855766915613\/?t=361\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/ajplusenglish\/videos\/271855766915613\/?t=361<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Congratulations on the re-publication of:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.russbellant.us\/index_files\/bk01p.jpg\" alt=\"Old Nazis by Bellant\" width=\"195\" height=\"313\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>From <i>Library Journal<\/i><\/h3>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" data-a-expander-collapsed-height=\"300\">\n<div aria-expanded=\"false\">\n<p>Bellant convincingly documents three arguments in this short, journalistic book.<\/p>\n<p>First, many people who had been active in Nazi or pro-Nazi groups in Eastern Europe in the 1930s and 1940s subsequently came to this country, often under the auspices of the Displaced Persons Commission.<\/p>\n<p>Second, many of these emigres then became active in political and ethnic groups affiliated with the Republican Party, providing financial and electoral support and crusading relentlessly against Communism.<\/p>\n<p>Third, and most important, some of the most unsavory elements of the anti-Communist right gained a foothold in official foreign policy circles under Reagan. Bellant&#8217;s case is strong and disturbing&#8230;.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.russbellant.us\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.russbellant.us\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>-Timothy Christenfeld, Columbia Univ.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/democracynow\/videos\/10156503008613279\/?t=87\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/democracynow\/videos\/10156503008613279\/?t=87<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Forty Years Ago, the Post Office wildcat strike<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/37578804_10214207387993544_3646098287053766656_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&amp;oh=6b3eb279290a8b93b4f068a4395556ff&amp;oe=5BD2DD5A\" alt=\"Image may contain: 2 people, people smiling\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A presentation about the importance of fighting racism to this strike is here <a href=\"http:\/\/www.jeffreybperry.net\/blog.htm?post=871484\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.jeffreybperry.net\/blog.htm?post=871484<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Signed, Sealed and Delivered:1978 Postal Strike Against Mandatory Overtime, Speedups &amp; Union Busting\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rzQxmSst-dw?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>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"comicImg\" title=\"If you think poor people are poor because they were too stupid to invest in property...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think that without entrepreneurs no one would bother to do any work...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think &quot;freedom&quot; means having more power to boss around your employees...you might be bourgeoisie. If you the person who should get credit for a new technology is the guy who hired people to make it...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think the people on welfare are the ones sponging off society...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think the &quot;homeless problem&quot; is that if there are too many of them around it lowers property values...you might be bourgeoisie. If someone asks you what you do for a living, and you describe your investment portfolio...you might be bourgeoisie.\" src=\"http:\/\/static.existentialcomics.com\/comics\/karlMarxStandup2.png\" alt=\"If you think poor people are poor because they were too stupid to invest in property...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think that without entrepreneurs no one would bother to do any work...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think &quot;freedom&quot; means having more power to boss around your employees...you might be bourgeoisie. If you the person who should get credit for a new technology is the guy who hired people to make it...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think the people on welfare are the ones sponging off society...you might be bourgeoisie. If you think the &quot;homeless problem&quot; is that if there are too many of them around it lowers property values...you might be bourgeoisie. If someone asks you what you do for a living, and you describe your investment portfolio...you might be bourgeoisie.\" \/><\/p>\n<p>More here <a href=\"http:\/\/existentialcomics.com\/comic\/243\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">existentialcomics.com\/comic\/243<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"ArticleHeader_headline\">Amazon workers strike in Germany, joining action in Spain and Poland<\/h1>\n<p>FRANKFURT (Reuters) &#8211; Thousands of workers will walk off the job on Tuesday at Amazon warehouses in Germany to demand better working conditions, joining colleagues in Spain and Poland in taking action that coincides with a major sales promotion&#8230;The one-day strike at six facilities in Germany coincides with Seattle-based Amazon\u2019s Prime Day promotion. Workers in Spain are out on a three-day strike, meanwhile, while in Poland they are staging a work to rule, Verdi said.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-amazon-com-germany-strike\/amazon-workers-strike-in-germany-joining-action-in-spain-and-poland-idUSKBN1K61OY\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.reuters.com\/article\/us-amazon-com-germany-strike\/amazon-workers-strike-in-germany-joining-action-in-spain-and-poland-idUSKBN1K61OY<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PeopleForBernie\/videos\/10157163754382908\/?t=32\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/PeopleForBernie\/videos\/10157163754382908\/?t=32<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The Little Red Schoolhouse<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/assassinmeta.files.wordpress.com\/2015\/08\/school-is-hell-3.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for groenig school is hell\" width=\"304\" height=\"277\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\" class=\"container\" data-role=\"content\">\n<div id=\"main-content\" class=\"page page--sticky-sidebar page--sticky-sidebar-v2\" role=\"main\">\n<div class=\"layout__container layout-sticky column-30\">\n<div class=\"layout__content layout-sticky__larger-content\">\n<div id=\"column-31\" class=\"portlet-area column-31\">\n<div id=\"layout-column_column-31\" class=\"portlet-dropzone portlet-column-content\">\n<div id=\"p_p_id_101_INSTANCE_F7hUrM0ZvB5p_\" class=\"portlet-boundary portlet-boundary_101_ portlet-static portlet-static-end portlet-borderless portlet-asset-publisher \">\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"portlet-body\">\n<div class=\"portlet-borderless-container\">\n<div class=\"portlet-body\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"asset-full-content default-asset-publisher no-title\">\n<div class=\"asset-content\">\n<div class=\"journal-content-article\">\n<article class=\"module module--story videoplayer2 template--scripps_responsive_story\" data-articleid=\"2649830998\" data-template=\"SCRIPPS_RESPONSIVE_STORY_AJAX\" data-ajaxurl=\"\/web\/wfts\/refresh-article\/190075139\/2649830998\/SCRIPPS_RESPONSIVE_STORY_AJAX\" data-primary-category=\"I-Team Investigates\">\n<header class=\"header\">\n<h1 class=\"headline\">At least 920 Florida teachers out of jobs after failing state test, despite &#8216;effective&#8217; evaluations<\/h1>\n<\/header>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The state revised the FTCE in 2015.\u00a0Our series, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abcactionnews.com\/longform\/teachers-failing-state-certification-test-at-alarming-rates\">&#8220;Florida teachers: failing and frustrated&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0began nearly two years ago.\u00a0 We\u00a0learned examinees were failing the tests at unprecedented levels.\u00a0 We discovered failure rates on some parts of the exam increased by nearly 30% since the revisions.\u00a0 Despite a spokesperson from the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.abcactionnews.com\/news\/local-news\/i-team-investigates\/fls-education-commissioner-stands-by-tests-teachers-keep-flunking\"> FL Department of Education<\/a> telling us early on that they expected the increase in failure rates but that scores would, \u201cincrease over time,\u201d the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abcactionnews.com\/longform\/florida-teachers-failing-frustrated-teacher-test-scores-not-improving-new-state-numbers-show\">latest scores<\/a> we obtained show there hasn\u2019t been much improvement.<\/p>\n<p>The summer 2018 terminations aren&#8217;t easy for school districts already struggling to fill vacant teacher slots in time for the first day of school next month.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.abcactionnews.com\/news\/local-news\/i-team-investigates\/at-least-920-florida-teachers-out-of-jobs-after-failing-state-test-despite-effective-evaluations-?page=2\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.abcactionnews.com\/news\/local-news\/i-team-investigates\/at-least-920-florida-teachers-out-of-jobs-after-failing-state-test-despite-effective-evaluations-?page=2<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"trb_ar_hl_t\">Battling an image problem, Broward schools seeks public relations exec for up to $175,000 a year<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-school.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21749\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-school.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"486\" height=\"260\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-school.jpg 486w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-school-150x80.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 486px) 100vw, 486px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Broward County school district is looking for better PR and is willing to pay someone up to $174,870 to make that happen.<\/p>\n<p>The school district is advertising for a chief public information officer who can find ways to \u201cchampion a favorable public image and brand for the district\u201d and can \u201cbring to life the many stories\u201d of the school district, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/g.co\/kgs\/okrdqj\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">job posting<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The job pays between $104,836 and $174,870.<\/p>\n<p>The school district has suffered a number of public relations hits since the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Feb. 14 massacre<\/a> at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, which left 17 people dead.<\/p>\n<p>The South Florida Sun Sentinel has reported on how Stoneman Douglas <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/fl-florida-school-shooting-discipline-reporting-20180607-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">under-reported crime<\/a> on campus, how the school failed to provide <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/fl-school-shooting-model-student-20180517-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">adequate special education services<\/a> to killer Nikolas Cruz; and how a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/fl-florida-school-shooting-discipline-20180510-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">culture of leniency<\/a> has allowed unruly students to receive countless second chances.<\/p>\n<p>The school district also struggled to defend its controversial PROMISE program, which offers alternatives to arrests for some misdemeanors. The district initially said Cruz was never eligible for the program, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/fl-florida-school-shooting-cruz-promise-20180507-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">only to backtrack<\/a> and said he started the program but failed to complete it for reasons <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/fl-florida-school-shooting-cruz-promise-participation-20180709-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">no one could explain<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/fl-broward-school-pio-salary-20180717-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/parkland\/florida-school-shooting\/fl-broward-school-pio-salary-20180717-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline\">Detroit&#8217;s board of education gives the green light to hire teachers without classroom experience<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.educationnext.org\/files\/ednext_XV_1_lake_img01.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for failed closed detroit school\" width=\"304\" height=\"186\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">above, abandoned Jane Cooper Elementary in Detroit<\/p>\n<p>Being a teacher is a tough job. Between interfering parents, state-mandated benchmarks, and smelly pre-adolescents that haven&#8217;t learned to put down the Axe body spray yet, education can be a stressful career path.<\/p>\n<div>And in Detroit, it&#8217;s even harder.<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Pepper in a lack of funds, a shortage of counseling resources, and a body of students who have slipped through the cracks of the education system, and you find a school district in desperate need of bodies. Summertime is peak hiring season for the upcoming school year, which is why Detroit school districts are pursuing a controversial new strategy to fulfill staffing needs.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Detroit Public Schools board of education approved a plan proposed by Superintendent Nikolai Vitti to hire certified teachers without prior classroom experience. As reported by <i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chalkbeat.org\/posts\/detroit\/2018\/07\/10\/detroit-schools-will-hire-teachers-without-classroom-experience-sparking-debate\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chalkbeat<\/a>, <\/i>the new hiring plan will include a wide-ranging search to recruit candidates who come from other school districts and historically black colleges, as well as candidates who have received certification from alternative programs such as <a href=\"https:\/\/michigan.teachersoftomorrow.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Teachers for Tomorrow<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Although programs like Teachers for Tomorrow guarantee candidates that meet state mandates for certification, the for-profit online program raises concerns about the quality of instruction. As part of its admission policy, Teachers of Tomorrow only requires a Bachelor&#8217;s Degree in any field with a minimum 2.95 GPA. To become certified, the program condenses the standard 3 years of post-secondary coursework into a streamlined 200-hour online curriculum.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/m.metrotimes.com\/news-hits\/archives\/2018\/07\/11\/detroits-board-of-education-gives-the-green-light-to-hire-teachers-without-classroom-experience\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">m.metrotimes.com\/news-hits\/archives\/2018\/07\/11\/detroits-board-of-education-gives-the-green-light-to-hire-teachers-without-classroom-experience<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">You\u2019ve Heard of Berkeley. Is Merced the Future of the University of California?<\/span> (the steam valve to protect racist admissions)<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/20\/us\/19merced-01-print\/merlin_137598240_095b617d-44dd-4442-8568-2cb17adbb3c5-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\/20\/us\/19merced-01-print\/merlin_137598240_095b617d-44dd-4442-8568-2cb17adbb3c5-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/20\/us\/19merced-01-print\/merlin_137598240_095b617d-44dd-4442-8568-2cb17adbb3c5-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/20\/us\/19merced-01-print\/merlin_137598240_095b617d-44dd-4442-8568-2cb17adbb3c5-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">As he walks to class at the University of California, Merced, Freddie Virgen sees a sea of faces in various shades of brown. He is as likely to hear banda corridos blaring out of his classmates\u2019 earphones as hip-hop. With affectionate embraces, he greets fellow members of <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/catlife.ucmerced.edu\/organization\/hermanosunidos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hermanos Unidos<\/a>, a peer support group for Latinos that is one of the largest student organizations on campus.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">\u201cWhen I looked at other campuses, I would find myself feeling that I didn\u2019t belong, like I\u2019d stick out,\u201d he said. \u201cThis was the only place where I saw so many students I could connect to, who would get where I was coming from. Even if it felt like academic shock, it wouldn\u2019t feel like culture shock.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">In the decades since a ballot measure banned affirmative action in California\u2019s public institutions, the University of California has faced persistent criticism that it is inadequately serving Latinos, the state\u2019s largest ethnic group. The disparity between the state\u2019s population and its university enrollment is most stark at the state\u2019s flagship campuses: at University of California, Los Angeles, Latinos make up about <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"http:\/\/www.admission.ucla.edu\/campusprofile.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">21 percent<\/a> of all students; at Berkeley, they account for less than <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/opa.berkeley.edu\/campus-data\/uc-berkeley-quick-facts\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">13 percent<\/a>. (NT 7\/2018)<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"section-theme-background-indicator publication-font\">&#8216;Super&#8217; headteacher paid over \u00a3200,000 &#8211; while &#8216;money ran out for pens and textbooks&#8217;<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i2-prod.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/incoming\/article11212852.ece\/ALTERNATES\/s615b\/JS87474147.jpg\" alt=\"Heather Mullaney, The Heath School executive principal who fought a behind-the-scenes battle to persuade the Government to reinstate funds for a major rebuilding project at the Runcorn secondary.\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A former &#8216;super-head&#8217; was paid in excess of \u00a3200,000 at a cash-strapped academy trust \u2013 while teachers claimed they had to buy their own pens and textbooks to teach kids.<\/p>\n<p>An ECHO investigation found millions had been lost after a catastrophic failure to budget, at an academy trust responsible for schools in some of the most deprived areas in Britain.<\/p>\n<p>The Heath Family North West Multi-Academy Trust (MAT), which runs schools in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/litherland-high-school\">Litherland<\/a> , <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/knowsley-park-centre-for-learning\">Prescot<\/a> , <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/all-about\/the-heath-school\">Runcorn<\/a> and Cheshire, has since been propped up by emergency funding from the government.<\/p>\n<p>As the trust&#8217;s grip on its finances disintegrated, now retired executive principal, Heather Mullaney, received increases of up to \u00a360,000 between 2013 and 2017, according to company accounts.<\/p>\n<p>Current bosses say they are &#8220;not aware&#8221; of teachers paying for their own resources, but admit the trust paid Mrs Mullaney \u201ctoo much.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/super-headteacher-paid-over-200000-14907563\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.liverpoolecho.co.uk\/news\/liverpool-news\/super-headteacher-paid-over-200000-14907563<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">The New Toll of American Student Debt in 3 Charts (within)<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/assets4.bigthink.com\/system\/tinymce_assets\/7529\/original\/Screen_Shot_2017-12-30_at_3.26.19_PM.png?1514668965\" alt=\"Image result for student loan debt chart 2017\" width=\"304\" height=\"227\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"css-1h6whtw\">\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">It\u2019s a sign of the times: A new <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trutv.com\/shows\/paid-off-with-michael-torpey\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">game show<\/a>, \u201cPaid Off,\u201d debuted on Tuesday offering winners not dream vacations or new cars, but a pile of cash to help lessen the crushing weight of their student debt.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The reach of America\u2019s student loan problem \u2014 total debt is now about $1.4 trillion \u2014 is vast. Millions of people are in <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/06\/business\/how-to-clean-up-the-student-loan-mess.html\">default<\/a>, and many young people are graduating into <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/05\/25\/business\/how-student-debt-can-ruin-home-buying-dreams.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fnatalie-kitroeff&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=undefined&amp;region=stream&amp;module=stream_unit&amp;version=latest&amp;contentPlacement=5&amp;pgtype=collection\">adulthood<\/a> facing payments that limit their ability to <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/05\/25\/business\/how-student-debt-can-ruin-home-buying-dreams.html?rref=collection%2Fbyline%2Fnatalie-kitroeff&amp;action=click&amp;contentCollection=undefined&amp;region=stream&amp;module=stream_unit&amp;version=latest&amp;contentPlacement=5&amp;pgtype=collection\">buy homes<\/a> and to start <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/05\/upshot\/americans-are-having-fewer-babies-they-told-us-why.html\">families<\/a> of their own. Some <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/03\/26\/your-money\/medical-dental-401-k-now-add-school-loan-aid-to-job-benefits.html\">employers<\/a> have even begun dangling student loan repayment benefits as a <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/26\/your-money\/student-loan-repayment-benefit.html\">perk<\/a> to potential workers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">A new analysis of federal loan data indicates that the average student\u2019s debt load is plateauing, and perhaps even declining slightly, at least when adjusted for inflation.<\/p>\n<p>That should be welcome news, except that it comes with a major asterisk: College has not become more affordable, but more students seeking bachelor\u2019s degrees, especially at higher-cost colleges, have borrowed as much as they can under the federal loan program.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">As a result, the analysis suggests, many parents are going deeper into debt to pay for their children\u2019s education.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 ehxkw330\">[Try our <\/em><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/interactive\/2017\/your-money\/student-loan-repayment-calculator.html\"><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 ehxkw330\">student loan calculator<\/em><\/a><em class=\"css-2fg4z9 ehxkw330\"> for a guide to the borrowing picture at various institutions, and what it takes to repay the loans after graduation<\/em>.<em class=\"css-2fg4z9 ehxkw330\">]<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">For students receiving bachelor\u2019s degrees, the average debt load at graduation was $30,301 in 2015-16, about the same as estimates for the previous three years, according to the analysis, which is based on data from the <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/nces.ed.gov\/surveys\/npsas\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Postsecondary Student Aid Study<\/a>.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/11\/your-money\/student-loan-debt-parents.html?emc=edit_th_180714&#038;nl=todaysheadlines&#038;nlid=748180660714\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/11\/your-money\/student-loan-debt-parents.html?emc=edit_th_180714&#038;nl=todaysheadlines&#038;nlid=748180660714<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h1 class=\"trb_ar_hl_t\">A popular SDSU executive reclaims her job as mysteriously as she lost it<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-57cafdbb\/turbine\/sdut-fighting-to-tell-her-mormon-story-2012feb18\" alt=\"Related image\" width=\"304\" height=\"203\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Brooks, 46, was removed from that post last year without public explanation. It sparked anger from scores of professors who said that Brooks has a gift for representing the views of educators to the university\u2019s management.<\/p>\n<p>Brooks, who could not immediately be reached for comment on Wednesday, is an English professor who has earned high acclaim for her writing and talks about faith, race and human justice.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;SDSU welcomes the return of Joanna Brooks who will resume her role as Associate Vice President for Faculty Advancement during the 2018-19 academic year focused primarily on responsibilities related to faculty development,\u201d said Joseph F. Johnson, the school\u2019s interim provost.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson was appointed to that job on June 6, not long after the university provost Chukuka Enwemeka, announced, without explanation, that he was leaving the position.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s still unclear whether Brooks was removed from her job by Enwemeka or by then-President Elliot Hirshman, or both. When word of her apparent dismissal began to circulate last summer, faculty pressed interim President Sally Roush to reinstate her but it didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n<p>The Union-Tribune reported that Enwemeka\u2019s resignation might have stemmed, in part, from a scathing letter that he sent to a faculty member who was suspected of questioning his performance as provost, the second highest position on campus.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/education\/sd-me-joanna-brooksreturns-20180718-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/education\/sd-me-joanna-brooksreturns-20180718-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"catboxphoto aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/thedailyaztec.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Provost-Enwemeka-New.jpg\" alt=\"Chukuka S. Enwemeka's portrait on the Office of the Provost's webpage.\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"content-item__title\">Read the Bizarre Email That May Have Prompted a Provost to Step Down Mysteriously<\/h1>\n<p>Enwemeka wrote, in part, \u201cAll said, if in the course of our time and interactions, I willfully sought to harm or perpetrate evil against you,<strong> may my Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I have given my entire life, see your action as well deserved by me \u2026\u201d<\/strong> Enwemeka says the Sept. 11, 2017 email to Deutschman.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the other hand, if all I have ever done was to promote your well-being and progress as previously detailed, and in return you willfully sought to harm or hurt me, <strong>may my Lord Jesus Christ ensure that you reap what you sowed. So that instead of blessings, you are showered with unending curse and harmed, hurt and visited by evil a million fold in everything you do throughout the rest of your life.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u201cPlease note that in stating the foregoing, I am not necessarily cursing or wishing you evil. I am simply invoking the natural Law of Karma; the Law of Retributive Justice.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.chronicle.com\/article\/Read-the-Bizarre-Email-That\/243527\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.chronicle.com\/article\/Read-the-Bizarre-Email-That\/243527<\/a><\/p>\n<h1>Districts Struggle to Stay Afloat Despite Increased State Funding<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/bento.cdn.pbs.org\/hostedbento-prod\/blog\/20161031_030017_032466_web_schoolcuts_blairemegan.png\" alt=\"Image result for school cutbacks\" width=\"304\" height=\"249\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The state plans to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lao.ca.gov\/Publications\/Report\/3716\">steadily increase education funding<\/a>\u00a0through 2022, giving school districts with higher numbers of\u00a0low-income students, English-learners, foster youth and homeless children\u00a0more money and\u00a0control over how to spend it.<\/p>\n<p>But despite the cushion of financial support, school districts across the state,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.voiceofsandiego.org\/topics\/education\/san-diego-unified-will-face-millions-more-in-budget-cuts-next-year\/\">including San Diego Unified<\/a>, are preparing to make big budget cuts to stay afloat.<\/p>\n<p>Jason Willis and Kelsey Krausen, education researchers at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wested.org\/\">WestEd<\/a>, say the rising cost of pensions, declining enrollment and increased special education\u00a0costs are some of the reasons why school districts are being forced to cut back.\u00a0\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.voiceofsandiego.org\/topics\/education\/good-schools-for-all-districts-struggle-to-stay-afloat-despite-increased-state-funding\/?utm_source=Voice+of+San+Diego+Master+List&#038;utm_campaign=1ae0154571-VOSD_Podcast&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_term=0_c2357fd0a3-1ae0154571-81862829&#038;goal=0_c2357fd0a3-1ae0154571-81862829\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.voiceofsandiego.org\/topics\/education\/good-schools-for-all-districts-struggle-to-stay-afloat-despite-increased-state-funding\/?utm_source=Voice+of+San+Diego+Master+List&#038;utm_campaign=1ae0154571-VOSD_Podcast&#038;utm_medium=email&#038;utm_term=0_c2357fd0a3-1ae0154571-81862829&#038;goal=0_c2357fd0a3-1ae0154571-81862829<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/37381173_1756034454511864_2581546597850546176_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&amp;oh=5a9ad63fe32afab4eb36d7368038a421&amp;oe=5BD7B43C\" alt=\"Image may contain: one or more people and text\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">OSU: 100 ex-students report sex misconduct by doctor<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand-img-horiz\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/29ba7214088b34fc5643ebd6cd17bae0654a1396\/c=20-0-3880-2895\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/07\/20\/DetroitNews\/B99681449Z.1_20180720151311_000_GQO23E3GU.1-0.jpg?width=534&amp;height=401&amp;fit=crop\" alt=\"AP18198519052583\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2018\/07\/20\/DetroitNews\/B99681449Z.1_20180720151311_000_GQO23E3GU.1-0.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/fe9b19c16f0669d3fe57b9777663b2e3cf99e44d\/r=500x371\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/07\/20\/DetroitNews\/B99681449Z.1_20180720151311_000_GQO23E3GU.1-0.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">More than 100 former students have provided firsthand accounts of sexual misconduct by the now-dead Ohio State University team physician at the center of an ongoing investigation, the university said on Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">Over 200 former students and university employees have been interviewed by independent investigators reviewing allegations against Richard Strauss involving male athletes from 14 sports as well as his work at the student health center and his off-campus medical office, University President Michael Drake said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">\u201cWe are grateful to those who have come forward and remain deeply concerned for anyone who may have been affected by Dr. Strauss\u2019 actions,\u201d Drake said. \u201cWe remain steadfastly committed to uncovering the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Ohio State has urged anyone with information to contact the investigators from Seattle-based law firm Perkins Coie, who are looking into the allegations, what university officials knew and how they responded to any concerns about Strauss.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The university said investigators plan 100 or more additional interviews. Those interviewed include Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, who denies some wrestlers\u2019 claims that he knew about abuse when he was an assistant coach at Ohio State.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2018\/07\/20\/ohio-state-team-doctor-sex-misconduct-investigation\/37019077\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/nation\/2018\/07\/20\/ohio-state-team-doctor-sex-misconduct-investigation\/37019077\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"report-title\">Is the high school graduation rate really going up?<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/jarche.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/CampbellsLaw.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for campbells law image\" width=\"304\" height=\"228\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The reported rate has been going up. This seems like a positive trend and good news, but, maybe not. Recent reports suggest some states and districts have counted students as graduates who should not have been counted. A nagging question is how much of this behavior is happening. Graduating from high school is an important education milestone, but we would like graduates to meet standards for graduation and not simply leave the system with a piece of paper and deficient skills&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Still, social scientists know that when it comes to numbers and accountability, Campbell\u2019s Law needs to be kept in mind: \u201cThe more any quantitative\u00a0<a class=\"js-external-link\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Social_indicator\">social indicator<\/a>\u00a0is used for social decision-making, the more subject it will be to corruption pressures and the more apt it will be to distort and corrupt the social processes it is intended to monitor.\u201d<a id=\"footref-3\" class=\"smooth-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/is-the-high-school-graduation-rate-really-going-up\/#footnote-3\"><sup class=\"endnote-pointer\">[3]<\/sup><\/a> Campbell\u2019s Law is cited regularly in discussions of achievement-test scores, but high schools are accountable for their on-time graduation rate, so the law would apply to it&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>In June 2017, in the District of Columbia, Ballou High School announced remarkable good news. One hundred percent of its graduates had enrolled in college. For a struggling high school in one of the poorest sections of DC with a reported cohort graduation rate of 64 percent<a id=\"footref-8\" class=\"smooth-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/is-the-high-school-graduation-rate-really-going-up\/#footnote-8\"><sup class=\"endnote-pointer\">[8]<\/sup><\/a> to have 100 percent of its graduates enrolled in college was likely to draw attention one way or the other\u2014either the school had done the nearly impossible and others would want to know the ingredients of its success, or something was amiss in the numbers. The local National Public Radio affiliate, WAMU, decided to take a closer look.<a class=\"smooth-scroll\" href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/is-the-high-school-graduation-rate-really-going-up\/#_ednref1\" name=\"_edn1\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>What it found focused on the reported graduation rate: many students who graduated had been absent more than <em>three months<\/em> of their senior year. Under district policies, even 30 days of absences should have triggered automatic failure of courses and students should have been short of credits to graduate. Two months before the date of graduation, an internal e-mail between staff in the school noted that 57 students were on track to\u00a0graduate\u2014but 164 students graduated. Speaking mostly off the record, teachers told NPR that they were pressured to pass students, such as by giving students grades of 50 percent on assignments they did not hand in, instead of the more accurate grade of zero. And some students were placed in credit-recovery programs before they had even failed the course for which credit needed to be recovered (more on credit recovery below), in violation of district policies.<\/p>\n<p>In the aftermath of the NPR report, the Office of the State Superintendent commissioned an audit to examine graduation and attendance practices at all (non-charter) high schools in the district. The audit reported that 34 percent of graduates from DCPS in 2017 had irregularities that should have precluded their graduation\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/research\/is-the-high-school-graduation-rate-really-going-up\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.brookings.edu\/research\/is-the-high-school-graduation-rate-really-going-up\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/viralmotion\/videos\/1405229599606483\/?t=35\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/viralmotion\/videos\/1405229599606483\/?t=35<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\"><span class=\"dfm-title optimizely-1554195\">Montebello Unified\u2019s adult school accused of fraud, mismanagement\u00a0and misappropriation <\/span><\/h1>\n<p>An audit released Tuesday questioned $268,000 paid to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whittierdailynews.com\/2017\/02\/11\/montebello-unified-is-in-crisis-can-the-district-be-saved\/\">Montebello Unified<\/a> employees at its adults schools \u2014 some for working when no class was in session or for classes with as few as one student; it recommends further review by prosecutors.<\/p>\n<p>The payments were made over the last five years without district and\/or board approval, <a href=\"http:\/\/fcmat.org\/extraordinary-audits\/\">according to the audit<\/a>. It described an almost shadow human resources department, in which select teachers and non-teaching employees were tapped for extra assignments in Adult Education.<\/p>\n<p>The report \u2014 prepared by the state Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistant Team \u2014 called on Los Angeles County Superintendent Debra Duardo to notify the Montebello school board, state controller, state schools superintendent and Los Angeles County District Attorney\u2019s Office that fraud \u201cmay have occurred.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on the findings\u00a0and analyses in this report, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that fraud, mismanagement\u00a0and misappropriation of the district\u2019s funds and assets may have occurred,\u201d the audit said. Its authors regularly are called in to scrutinize public school districts.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whittierdailynews.com\/2018\/07\/17\/montebello-unifieds-adult-school-accused-of-fraud-mismanagement-and-misappropriation\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.whittierdailynews.com\/2018\/07\/17\/montebello-unifieds-adult-school-accused-of-fraud-mismanagement-and-misappropriation\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"arwu-show\" class=\"bg-white\">\n<h2>World Top 500 Universities: Shanghai List<\/h2>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li><em>1 Harvard<br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>2 Stanford<br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>3 Cambridge<br \/>\n<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>4 MIT<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>5 UC Berkeley<br \/>\n<\/em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.shanghairanking.com\/ARWU2017.html\">More\u00a0\u00a0 www.shanghairanking.com\/<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Bring-out-your-dead-education-section.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21758\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Bring-out-your-dead-education-section.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Bring-out-your-dead-education-section.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Bring-out-your-dead-education-section-129x150.jpg 129w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Bring-out-your-dead-education-section-429x500.jpg 429w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The International Hot War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/78.media.tumblr.com\/d5510cb959c9c5104fdedf2bf33d254c\/tumblr_onr4gn99eA1tzgg1ao1_1280.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for groenig school is hell\" width=\"304\" height=\"333\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"content__headline-standfirst-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"content__header tonal__header\">\n<div class=\"u-cf\">\n<h1 class=\"content__headline \">Reminder: &#8216;Staggering&#8217; loss of civilian life from US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, says UN<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tonal__standfirst u-cf\">\n<div class=\"content__standfirst\" data-link-name=\"standfirst\" data-component=\"standfirst\">\n<p>War crimes investigators say US-backed campaign to reclaim Syrian city from Islamic State has led to at least 300 deaths<\/p>\n<div class=\"content__headline-standfirst-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"content__header tonal__header\">\n<div class=\"u-cf\">\u00a0<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.irishnews.com\/picturesarchive\/irishnews\/irishnews\/2017\/03\/22\/165316098-2da46047-1ca0-4adb-8350-8d6ab62c968b.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for raqqa after air attack\" width=\"304\" height=\"192\" \/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>UN war crimes investigators have denounced a \u201cstaggering loss of civilian life\u201d caused by the US-backed campaign to reclaim Raqqa, the de facto capital of <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/isis\" data-link-name=\"auto-linked-tag\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Islamic State<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The independent commission of inquiry tasked with investigating violations of international law, war crimes and crimes against humanity in <a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/syria\" data-link-name=\"auto-linked-tag\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Syria<\/a> said the intensification of airstrikes by the US-led coalition had led to the deaths of at least 300 civilians in the city.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"u-underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/jun\/06\/syrian-forces-launch-offensive-to-recapture-raqqa-from-islamic-state\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">The Raqqa operation began last week<\/a> with a ground assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group comprising Kurdish and Arab militiamen armed by the US and supported by coalition airstrikes.<\/p>\n<p>They have already pushed into Raqqa from the east and west, reportedly approaching the old city walls. Citizens have reported intense combat in areas of the city.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/jun\/14\/staggering-civilian-deaths-from-us-led-airstrikes-in-raqqa-says-un\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.theguardian.com\/world\/2017\/jun\/14\/staggering-civilian-deaths-from-us-led-airstrikes-in-raqqa-says-un<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-4k02h2 ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">As ISIS Fighters Fill Prisons (schools for jihad) in Syria, Their Home Nations Look Away<\/span><\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/19\/us\/politics\/19dc-detainees1\/00dc-detainees1-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\/19\/us\/politics\/19dc-detainees1\/00dc-detainees1-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/19\/us\/politics\/19dc-detainees1\/00dc-detainees1-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/19\/us\/politics\/19dc-detainees1\/00dc-detainees1-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The two-story building here still looks much like the school it once was. But the classrooms are closed off by reinforced black doors, padlocked from the outside. And the campus is surrounded by men with machine guns seeking refuge from the desert heat in the shade of towering concrete perimeter walls.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The visitors\u2019 echoing footsteps and voices were the only sounds on a recent day in a dusty pink-and-white hallway once filled with schoolchildren. But when a guard slid open a small window in a classroom door, a man\u2019s face pressed against the opening. Behind him, about 15 others, sitting on mats in black sleeveless shirts, stared back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The old school is one of about seven makeshift wartime prisons in northern Syria housing suspects accused of fighting for the Islamic State and captured by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The S.D.F. prisons for male detainees \u2014 about 1,000 men from nearly 50 countries \u2014are generally off limits, but a New York Times reporter accompanied a congressional delegation touring two of them, the first such visit to either.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The prisoners pose a dilemma that has no easy solution and that is growing urgent. Their home countries have been reluctant to take back the men. Their governments are leery that battle-hardened members of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, might radicalize domestic prisoners. Some countries face legal hurdles to prosecuting militants if they take custody of them from a nonstate militia, as opposed to extraditing them from another government.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/18\/world\/middleeast\/islamic-state-detainees-syria-prisons.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/18\/world\/middleeast\/islamic-state-detainees-syria-prisons.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1>Initial cost for Trump military parade comes in at $12 million, DoD says<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/content\/dam\/news\/2018\/02\/07\/TELEMMGLPICT000151541023_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqwD2sfO9joeQ6RY-qlTATNB2cSHopZMn-aCc647VHTAY.jpeg?imwidth=450\" alt=\"Image result for trump bastille day parade\" width=\"304\" height=\"190\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">President Donald Trump\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/02\/07\/what-would-a-trump-military-parade-look-like\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">requested military parade<\/a> is expected to cost about $12 million, according to initial planning estimates, the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The parade was initial set for Nov. 11, Veterans Day, but now will take place Nov. 10 to accomodate international celebrations on Nov. 11 set to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I. The parade costs were<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2018\/07\/18\/politics\/trump-military-parade-cost\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> first reported by CNN<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The initial price tag could easily change, and no final plan has been approved yet, a defense official said on the condition of anonymity. The price would depend on the final numbers of troops and type of equipment involved, and how those troops will need to be transported to Washington, such as whether they would need to be moved by train.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-sm-9 text-wrap-stack\">\n<h5 class=\"\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/02\/08\/89-of-readers-say-no-parade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> We asked, you voted: 89 percent said no to Trump\u2019s military parade<\/a><\/h5>\n<p class=\"excerpt\">More than 51,000 Military Times readers have expressed their views on President Donald Trump&#8217;s parade request.<\/p>\n<div class=\"byline\"><span class=\"by\">\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div id=\"fdZIsA1s5IEbYq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-mco-body\">\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"article-body article-body-elements\">\n<article>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<div class=\"element element-interstitial-link\">\n<article class=\"story-item story-teaser story-teaser-normal\">\n<header class=\" header-spacer\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-3\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"lazy-wrapper promo-img-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/02\/08\/89-of-readers-say-no-parade\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/TKC4J674TREPLD4RAMKD46T2QI.jpg\" alt=\"We asked, you voted: 89 percent said no to Trump\u2019s military parade\" data-original=\"https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/TKC4J674TREPLD4RAMKD46T2QI.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">White House budget director Mick Mulvaney previously told Congress the price tage could be between $10 million and $30 million.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The parade date is just four months away, which raised questions on how Washington would be able to execute the needed security and planning, such as getting the permits and public bathrooms, that is required to accomodate a large public gathering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<div class=\"element element-interstitial-link\">\n<article class=\"story-item story-teaser story-teaser-normal\">\n<header class=\" header-spacer\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-sm-3\">\n<figure>\n<div class=\"lazy-wrapper promo-img-container\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/02\/14\/trumps-military-parade-could-cost-up-to-30-million\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/E4FFXK3K4NDCRNWWCOOZSMYFCM.jpg\" alt=\"Trump\u2019s military parade could cost up to $30 million\" data-original=\"https:\/\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/E4FFXK3K4NDCRNWWCOOZSMYFCM.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The $12 million cost is roughly the same amount the military had planned to spend on its now-cancelled military exercises with South Korea. Trump <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/06\/12\/pentagon-assessing-trump-directive-to-cancel-korea-military-exercises\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">directed the exercises to be cancelled<\/a> citing their cost and saying the exercises were \u201cvery provocative\u201d to North Korea.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\"><em><strong>&#8220;We stopped playing those \u2018war games\u2019 that cost us a fortune,\u201d Trump said last month. The exercises were cancelled after his meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/07\/18\/initial-cost-for-trump-military-parade-comes-in-at-12-million-dod-says\/?utm_source=facebook.com&#038;utm_campaign=Socialflow&#038;utm_medium=social\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.militarytimes.com\/news\/your-military\/2018\/07\/18\/initial-cost-for-trump-military-parade-comes-in-at-12-million-dod-says\/?utm_source=facebook.com&#038;utm_campaign=Socialflow&#038;utm_medium=social<\/a><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"trb_outfit_primaryItem_article_title trb_outfit_featuredArticleTitle\"><a class=\"trb_outfit_primaryItem_article_title_a\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/military\/sd-me-broken-destoyer-20180719-story.html#nt=oft12aH-4la1\">Navy&#8217;s new $4.6 billion destroyer was accepted despite need for new engine<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"trb_em_ic_img\" title=\"Navy's new $4.6 billion destroyer was accepted despite need for new engine\" src=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b50c09c\/turbine\/sd-me-broken-destoyer-20180719\/600\/600x338\" alt=\"Navy's new $4.6 billion destroyer was accepted despite need for new engine\" data-baseurl=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b50c09c\/turbine\/sd-me-broken-destoyer-20180719\" data-c-nd=\"2000x1125\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"trb_outfit_primaryItem_article_content_text\">When the Navy accepted delivery of the newly-built $4.6 billion Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyer Michael Monsoor (hull DDG 1001) in April, it marked the occasion with a signing ceremony and a news release. \u201cDelivery of DDG 1001 marks the culmination of years of dedication and hard work from our Navy and industry team,\u201d Capt. Kevin Smith, the Zumwalt destroyer program manager, said at the time. \u201cWe have incorporated many lessons learned from DDG 1000 and are proud of the end result.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The only problem was the Navy already knew \u2014 and had known since February \u2014 that the condition of the Monsoor was far from ship-shape.<\/p>\n<p>It already needed a new engine.<\/p>\n<p>That information would not be disclosed for another three months.<\/p>\n<p>News of the engine troubles broke on July 11, when Rear Adm. William Galinis \u2014 the program executive officer of ships at the Naval Sea Systems Command \u2014 acknowledged the issue at a Navy League breakfast.<\/p>\n<p>His comments were first <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/2018\/07\/11\/second-zumwalt-destroyer-needs-new-engine-turbine-blades-damaged-sea-trials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> by the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.usni.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">U.S. Naval Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"trb_outfit_primaryItem_article_content_text\">One of the Monsoor\u2019s two $20 million engines would need to be replaced before the ship could transition to its future homeport of San Diego, he said. The engine was damaged during sea trials early this year, and will be replaced at the General Dynamics Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. &#8230;The <em><strong>Navy would not say whether the engines, manufactured by Rolls-Royce, were covered under warranty.<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 <\/span><span class=\"trb_outfit_primaryItem_article_content_text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/military\/sd-me-broken-destoyer-20180719-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/military\/sd-me-broken-destoyer-20180719-story.html<\/a><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<h1>Marine general who IG says forced his aide-de-camp into personal servitude punished<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.armytimes.com\/resizer\/m4QhZA7WqYMZf0bpBA3e3N3Sbqo=\/1200x0\/filters:quality(100)\/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-mco.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/ZPHL4XCMOVGUXDNY5ESQ4YZFPU.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">A Marine general who was cited for treating an aide like a servant has been hit with an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/02\/26\/the-corps-delays-opening-of-new-hard-labor-camp-in-okinawa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">administrative punishment<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">The Corps took \u201cappropriate administrative action\u201d against Brig. Gen. Rick Uribe following a Defense Department inspector general report that found that the former deputy commanding general and director of the Combined Joint Operations Center in Baghdad had misused his aide, spokesman for Marine Corps Forces Pacific Chuck Little told Marine Corps Times in an email.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cWe take all allegations of misconduct seriously,\u201d Little said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"f0PJKuEkjHgbYq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix col-lg-12 col-md-12 col-sm-12 col-xs-12 pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-article-mco-body\">\n<div id=\"article-body\" class=\"article-body article-body-elements\">\n<article>\n<div id=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Following Uribe\u2019s deployment to Iraq that spanned May 2016 to June 2017, the DoD received a tip that the general had an officer aide-de-camp carrying out personal chores for the commander.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Uribe was also found to have accepted gifts, chocolates and loans from subordinates amounting to nearly $782.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">\u201cBrig. Gen. Uribe made a personal choice to voluntarily provide repayment in order to address concerns of any perception of impropriety raised by the report,\u201d 1st Lt. David Morris, a spokesman for I MEF, told <a href=\"http:\/\/Military.com\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">Military.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-md-12 col-xs-12 col-print-12\">\n<p class=\"element element-paragraph\">Uribe is currently the deputy commanding general of I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton, California. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/07\/18\/marine-general-who-ig-says-forced-his-aide-de-camp-into-personal-servitude-punished\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/07\/18\/marine-general-who-ig-says-forced-his-aide-de-camp-into-personal-servitude-punished\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"addthis_inline_share_toolbox\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.marinecorpstimes.com\/news\/your-marine-corps\/2018\/07\/18\/marine-general-who-ig-says-forced-his-aide-de-camp-into-personal-servitude-punished\/\" data-title=\"Marine general who IG says forced his aide-de-camp into personal servitude punished\" data-description=\"The one-star general was hit with an administrative punishment.\"><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"f0snqOQs5IEbYq\" class=\"wrapper clearfix pb-feature pb-layout-item pb-f-global-mco-recommend\">\n<div id=\"recommendations\">\n<div class=\"clearfix visible-xs-block visible-md-block\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The International Economic War of the Rich on the Poor<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"oembed-asset-photo-image aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2018\/07\/18\/DetroitFreeP\/DetroitFreePress\/636675182480465942-alpine-map-webFINAL2.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<section id=\"module-position-RCOHSmXGMXY\" class=\"longformcovertop-bucket longform-headline-module longform-longform-headline-module\">\n<h1 class=\"longform-intro-headline speakable-headline\">Dead bodies, wild dogs, squatters in government-owned Detroit houses<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"image-selector aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/0c42793d61cf85ea31d231a590272865abeee6e6\/c=155-0-2283-1600\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/07\/18\/DetroitFreeP\/DetroitFreePress\/636675446092996949-alpine-laverta-3.jpg?width=2352&amp;height=1764&amp;fit=crop\" alt=\"A burned house next to LaVerta Washington's place on Alpine Street in Detroit. (Photo taken May 25, 2018)\" width=\"400\" data-wide-src=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-RCOHSmXBHg8\" class=\"longformcovertop-bucket longform-subheadline-module longform-longform-subheadline-module\">\n<p class=\"longform-intro-text\">The Detroit Land Bank Authority&#8217;s problem with unauthorized occupants is like no other in the nation<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">At one end of Alpine Street, near Joy Road on Detroit&#8217;s west side,\u00a0Georgeia Elder and a friend live\u00a0in a leaky trailer, their yard cluttered with a boat\u00a0and a\u00a0Cadillac Escalade with four ladders on the roof, a shopping cart and a lawn mower, a folding chair and a metal headboard.\u00a0A pit bull, Lady, laps up spaghetti and gravy from a takeout container.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">At the other end of this short stretch of\u00a0Alpine, near Tireman Avenue, a\u00a0woman known as Spankie\u00a0lives\u00a0in a\u00a0house\u00a0with a dog\u00a0she calls &#8220;my baby.&#8221; A heart-shaped sign hangs from the front door that says &#8220;Bless Our Home.&#8221; A handwritten sign instructs the postal carrier to put her mail in a box tucked into a milk crate next to the porch stairs. A scent\u00a0of\u00a0straw and animals\u00a0hangs in\u00a0the air.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">These occupants don&#8217;t own\u00a0the\u00a0properties where\u00a0they live. They&#8217;re not paying rent to the owner either. Their homes on Alpine Street, a Free Press analysis shows,\u00a0bookend\u00a0one of the City\u00a0of Detroit&#8217;s highest concentrations of squatters,\u00a0people who live\u00a0in homes owned by the Detroit Land Bank Authority.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">There are as many as 4,300 houses just like these across\u00a0the city&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Squatters are\u00a0a tricky problem: remove them\u00a0and add to the city&#8217;s homeless population and its massive inventory of abandoned buildings. Let them stay, and the land bank is summoned often to investigate\u00a0what some of<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>its occupants\u00a0may be up to:\u00a0dog fighting, prostitution, drug dealing, overdoses, gambling, gun possession or\u00a0running a chop shop.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Detroit police also are called regularly to land bank properties to investigate\u00a0dead bodies \u2014\u00a0at least 50 homicides over the last four years.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">In one case, remains were found in a garbage can in a garage. At another house, police found the bodies of a mother and her 4-year-old daughter stashed in a\u00a0basement.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/videos\/news\/local\/michigan\/detroit\/2018\/07\/19\/detroits-squatter-problem-worst-country\/724923002\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.freep.com\/videos\/news\/local\/michigan\/detroit\/2018\/07\/19\/detroits-squatter-problem-worst-country\/724923002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/moneybags-shoot-not-people.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for shoot moneybags not people\" width=\"304\" height=\"197\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"lede-text-v2__hed\">Jeff Bezos Becomes the Richest Man in Modern History, Topping $150 Billion<\/h1>\n<p>The <a href=\"http:\/\/Amazon.com\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon.com<\/a> Inc. founder\u2019s net worth cracked $150 billion in New York on Monday, according to the <a title=\"Bloomberg Billionaires Index\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/billionaires\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bloomberg Billionaires Index<\/a>. That\u2019s about $55 billion more than Microsoft Corp. co-founder <a title=\"Billionaires Profile\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/billionaires\/id\/1390479\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bill Gates<\/a>, the world\u2019s second-richest person.<\/p>\n<p>Bezos, 54, also has topped Gates in inflation-adjusted terms. The $100 billion mark that Gates hit briefly in 1999 at the height of the dot-com boom would be worth about $149 billion in today\u2019s dollars. That makes the Amazon chief executive officer richer than anyone else on earth since at least 1982, when Forbes published its inaugural wealth ranking.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-07-16\/happy-prime-day-jeff-amazon-ceo-s-net-worth-tops-150-billion\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2018-07-16\/happy-prime-day-jeff-amazon-ceo-s-net-worth-tops-150-billion<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"headline\">Gov. Rick Snyder comments on deal allowing Nestle to take thousands of gallons of Great Lakes water<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/www.globalgreatlakes.org\/static\/gglws\/images\/lakes\/LGL\/LGL%20Lakes.png\" alt=\"Image result for Michigan great lakes\" width=\"304\" height=\"183\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"sub-headline\">Nestle pays $200 per year to take 400 gallons of water per minute<\/h2>\n<p>Snyder said Nestle followed all the rules and that this isn&#8217;t about business, but a lot of people think it&#8217;s simply bad business.<\/p>\n<p>Nestle got approval from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to pump out 400 gallons of water per minute, and the Swiss-based company bottles that water to sell it for a huge profit.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan only makes Nestle pay $200 per year for the permit fee.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Snyder was at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Gordie Howe International Bridge, and Local 4 asked about the water deal.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If you look at it, it was done based on science,&#8221; Snyder said. &#8220;It&#8217;s not about business versus being anti-business. It was sound science to say those withdrawals won&#8217;t have adverse impacts, and there&#8217;s follow-up testing that has to take place to make sure they stay in compliance. If they don&#8217;t, things would change.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;How can it not be about business when they&#8217;re only paying $200 a year for a permit and making hundreds of millions of dollars off our natural resource?&#8221; Hank asked.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s an issue for the legislature to decide about fee structures,&#8221; Snyder said. &#8220;But as a practical matter, they followed the rules as they exist, they followed sound science, so the permit was issued.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s important to remember that before the MDEQ approved the permit request, more than 80,000 Michigan residents spoke out during public comment, saying it was a bad idea. Only around 70 people were in favor of the deal, yet it still got the green light.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.clickondetroit.com\/consumer\/help-me-hank\/gov-rick-snyder-comments-on-deal-allowing-nestle-to-take-thousands-of-gallons-of-great-lakes-water\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.clickondetroit.com\/consumer\/help-me-hank\/gov-rick-snyder-comments-on-deal-allowing-nestle-to-take-thousands-of-gallons-of-great-lakes-water<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">Trump&#8217;s &#8216;incredible&#8217; Air Force One to be red, white and blue, cost $3.9 billion<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"gallery-photo horizontal aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/c590ce4c186030069a8a6db09df0ccb7bac7beb1\/c=535-0-4771-3185\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/07\/12\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636669830092031051-AP-Trump.jpg?width=520&amp;height=390&amp;fit=crop\" alt=\"President Donald Trump, accompanied by White House\" data-mycapture-src=\"\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"\" data-byline=\"Andrew Harnik, AP\" data-large-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/c590ce4c186030069a8a6db09df0ccb7bac7beb1\/c=535-0-4771-3185\/local\/-\/media\/2018\/07\/12\/USATODAY\/USATODAY\/636669830092031051-AP-Trump.jpg?width=1920&amp;height=1440&amp;fit=crop\" data-id=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">The next generation of Air Force One\u00a0will abandon the planes&#8217; traditional color scheme in favor of red, white and blue, President Donald Trump told CBS News, confirming <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/onpolitics\/2018\/07\/12\/air-force-one-design-possibilities\/779318002\/\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">reports about changes to the planes&#8217;\u00a0iconic look<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">The interview came the same day that the Department of Defense announced that\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.defense.gov\/News\/Contracts\/Contract-View\/Article\/1577476\/\" data-track-label=\"inline|intext|n\/a\">Boeing had secured a $3.9 billion<\/a>\u00a0contract to build two new Air Force One planes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">&#8220;Boeing gave us a good deal,&#8221; Trump told CBS, adding that he saved $1.5 billion on the project.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Trump &#8220;has emphasized the need to minimize the cost of replacing the two existing Air Force One aircraft,&#8221; the White House said in a statement Wednesday. The statement said the contract saved taxpayers about $1.4 billion over the initial contract.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">However, Trump had previously criticized an estimate\u00a0close to the final cost:<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"story-body__h1\">Burberry burns bags, clothes and perfume worth millions<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"http:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/-Rlv2FZVggzE\/UP0z4_DBOpI\/AAAAAAAAABw\/5NzSJYQuWQs\/s1600\/emma+watson.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for burberry advertisement model\" width=\"304\" height=\"206\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">Burberry, the upmarket British fashion label, destroyed unsold clothes, accessories and perfume worth \u00a328.6m last year to protect its brand.<\/p>\n<p>It takes the total value of goods it has destroyed over the past five years to more than \u00a390m.<\/p>\n<p>Fashion firms including Burberry destroy unwanted items to prevent them being stolen or sold cheaply.<\/p>\n<p>Burberry said that the energy generated from burning its products was captured, making it environmentally friendly.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Burberry has careful processes in place to minimise the amount of excess stock we produce. On the occasions when disposal of products is necessary, we do so in a responsible manner and we continue to seek ways to reduce and revalue our waste,&#8221; a spokesperson for the company said.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-44885983\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-44885983<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/State-vs-Workers-Econ-section.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21753\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/State-vs-Workers-Econ-section.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"552\" height=\"774\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/State-vs-Workers-Econ-section.jpg 552w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/State-vs-Workers-Econ-section-107x150.jpg 107w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/State-vs-Workers-Econ-section-357x500.jpg 357w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/State-vs-Workers-Econ-section-500x701.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 552px) 100vw, 552px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"post-headline \">How Amazon gets away with not paying tax<\/h1>\n<p>Meanwhile, Amazon is looking for even more sweet tax deals. You&#8217;ve probably heard of HQ2, the new campus that it&#8217;s trying to build somewhere in the United States, and cities are tripping over themselves to come up with new incentives to get Amazon to come into their town. New Jersey, for example, is offering $7 billion in tax breaks if Amazon builds its new campus somewhere around Newark, New Jersey. Those aren&#8217;t the only tax deals Amazon has gotten. From 2005 to 2014, it&#8217;s gotten over $600 million in tax breaks to build warehouses in certain states. It got another $147 million in tax breaks for building data centers around the country. Keep in mind Amazon is valued at over $700 billion, it&#8217;s not like the company is struggling to save money. Amazon may be getting a lot of attention right now because of President Trump&#8217;s attacks, but its tax practices aren&#8217;t unique. A lot of big companies find ways to pay as little tax as possible.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/amazon-not-paying-taxes-trump-bezos-2018-4\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.businessinsider.com\/amazon-not-paying-taxes-trump-bezos-2018-4<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"ArticleHeader_headline\">U.S. Treasury moves to protect identities of &#8216;dark money&#8217; political donors<\/h1>\n<p>The U.S. Treasury said on Monday that it will no longer require certain tax-exempt organizations including politically active nonprofit groups, such as the National Rifle Association and Planned Parenthood, to identify their financial donors to U.S. tax authorities. The policy change, heralded by conservatives as an advance for free speech, maintains donor disclosure requirements for traditional charity groups organized to receive tax-exempt donations under a section of the Internal Revenue code known as 501(c)(3), the Treasury said.\u00a0But <strong>the move frees labor unions, issue advocacy organizations, veterans groups and other nonprofits<\/strong> that do not receive tax-exempt money from meeting confidential disclosure requirements set in place decades ago.\u00a0https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-usa-tax-groups\/us-treasury-moves-to-protect-identities-of-dark-money-political-donors-idUSKBN1K704F<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"story-body__h1\">Las Vegas shooting: Mandalay Bay hotel owner sues 1,000 victims<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/660\/cpsprodpb\/FDCD\/production\/_98237946_reutersofficermandalay.jpg\" alt=\"An officer stands outside of Mandalay Bay hotel\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"660\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">The owner of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas has filed a lawsuit against more than 1,000 victims of a mass shooting that killed 58 people in 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The MGM Resorts International&#8217;s lawsuit does not seek money and appears to be a judicial bid to avoid liability and dismiss claims against it.<\/p>\n<p>A lawyer for several victims called the lawsuit &#8220;outrageous&#8221; and &#8220;verging on unethical&#8221;, according to US reports.<\/p>\n<p>Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on festival-goers before killing himself.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-44859238\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-44859238<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-18irvwu ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Luxury Lounge Wars Heat Up as Airlines Vie for High-End Passengers<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.pinimg.com\/originals\/15\/21\/75\/1521750d01475ebe1978ea46078ace22.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for exclusive airport lounge\" width=\"304\" height=\"195\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Lounge access has become paramount for business travelers, especially those on overnight flights from the Northeastern United States to Europe, experts say. They want to shower and eat fresh food in the lounge, and then sleep on their flight, so when they arrive in Europe they can head directly to their meeting.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">For other travelers, lounges can provide \u201ca reprieve from the chaos of the airport, an oasis from the storm,\u201d said Jack Ezon, president of New York-based <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ovationvacations.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ovation Vacations<\/a>, an upscale leisure travel agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">To Michael Holtz, owner of <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/smartflyer.com\/agent\/michael-holtz\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">SmartFlyer<\/a>, another upscale travel agency, a lounge can extend a luxury hotel experience. Guests staying in certain high-end suites at the Rosewood London, for example, qualify for free access to the V.I.P. private terminal at London\u2019s Heathrow Airport. Qatar Airways\u2019 Al Safwa first-class lounge at Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, offers 12 private bedrooms. (NYTimes 7\/16\/18)<\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Ex-Health Secretary Tom Price Wasted $341,000 on Improper Travel, Inquiry Finds<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/14\/us\/politics\/14dc-price\/merlin_123793031_9cb75963-8841-4f87-993b-271b77d40fe7-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\/14\/us\/politics\/14dc-price\/merlin_123793031_9cb75963-8841-4f87-993b-271b77d40fe7-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/14\/us\/politics\/14dc-price\/merlin_123793031_9cb75963-8841-4f87-993b-271b77d40fe7-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/14\/us\/politics\/14dc-price\/merlin_123793031_9cb75963-8841-4f87-993b-271b77d40fe7-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Tom Price, the former secretary of health and human services, repeatedly violated government travel rules and wasted at least $341,000 by billing taxpayers for his use of chartered jets and military aircraft, federal investigators said Friday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, Daniel R. Levinson, documented the abuses in a blistering report on what he described as Mr. Price\u2019s \u201clack of compliance with federal requirements.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">He said the government should try to recoup the money improperly spent on <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2017\/09\/29\/us\/politics\/tom-price-travels.html\">Mr. Price\u2019s travels<\/a> to such places as Florida, Colorado and Texas, as well as China, Germany, Japan, Liberia, Switzerland and Vietnam.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The inspector general examined 21 trips for which Mr. Price had used chartered aircraft, military aircraft, commercial aircraft or the fleet of planes equipped for use by the president and the vice president. He found that 20 of the 21 flights did not comply with federal requirements<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The total cost of the 21 trips was $1.2 million, the report said. The most expensive trips were an eight-day visit to Asia on military aircraft, which cost $432,400; a weeklong visit to Africa and Europe on military planes, which cost $234,400; and a charter flight from Seattle to Washington, D.C., which cost $121,500.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Mr. Price took chartered aircraft to many cities in the United States when lower-cost commercial flights were available, Mr. Levinson said. He found that Mr. Price had spent $14,955 on a round-trip charter flight between Washington and Philadelphia. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/13\/us\/politics\/health-secretary-tom-price-wasted-money-improper-travel.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/13\/us\/politics\/health-secretary-tom-price-wasted-money-improper-travel.html<\/a><\/p>\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=\"trb_ar_hl_t\">Reports tally internal misuse of powerful police data network<\/h1>\n<p><img class=\"trb_em_ic_img\" title=\"Keyboard\" sizes=\"(min-width: 1260px) 750px, (min-width: 1060px) calc(100vw - 559px), (min-width: 840px) calc(100vw - 419px), (min-width: 800px) 800px, 100.1vw\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/350\/350x197 350w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/400\/400x225 400w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/450\/450x253 450w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/500\/500x281 500w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/550\/550x309 550w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/600\/600x338 600w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/650\/650x366 650w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/700\/700x394 700w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/750\/750x422 750w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/800\/800x450 800w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/850\/850x478 850w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/900\/900x506 900w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/950\/950x534 950w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1000\/1000x563 1000w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1050\/1050x591 1050w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1100\/1100x619 1100w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1150\/1150x647 1150w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1200\/1200x675 1200w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1400\/1400x788 1400w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1600\/1600x900 1600w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/1800\/1800x1013 1800w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/2000\/2000x1125 2000w, http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\/2046\/2046x1151 2046w\" alt=\"Keyboard\" data-baseurl=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b511262\/turbine\/sd-1532039774-4o7uuq3db9-snap-image\" data-c-nd=\"2046x1151\" data-role=\"imgsize_srcsetdisplayitem\" \/><\/p>\n<p>For decades, law enforcement officials across California have had access to a powerful computer network that, with a few keystrokes from a desk terminal or patrol car, can access information on any Californian with a drivers license, registered car, parking ticket, restraining order or dozens of other digital records.<\/p>\n<p>The sprawling California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, or CLETS, also gives police access to national databases maintained by the <a id=\"ORGOV000008\" title=\"FBI\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/topic\/crime-law-justice\/fbi-ORGOV000008-topic.html\">FBI<\/a> and the neighboring state of Oregon. It\u2019s a little known and widely used police tool \u2014 officials estimated it\u2019s used by law enforcement about 2.8 million times every day.<\/p>\n<p>But sometimes law enforcement workers tap into the vast trove of information improperly, breaking the rules about when the detailed information can be properly accessed, according to a batch of records of CLETS misuse held by the state Attorney General and collected by a privacy rights group.<\/p>\n<p>In 2017, the San Diego County Sheriff\u2019s Department investigated 19 suspected incidents of misuse of the network by department employees. Records show four were determined to have violated CLETS-use policies: two people received reprimands, one was suspended, and one resigned over the misuse. The other 15 cases resulted in no administrative action taken.<\/p>\n<p>That wasn\u2019t an unusual year. In 2015, there were 22 investigations that resulted in one termination and one suspension. And in 2014, there were 28 investigations that found four violations. Three people resigned; one was fired that year.\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/public-safety\/sd-me-clets-misuse-20180718-story.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.sandiegouniontribune.com\/news\/public-safety\/sd-me-clets-misuse-20180718-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/17\/opinion\/17dorey-stein-illo\/17dorey-stein-illo-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\/17\/opinion\/17dorey-stein-illo\/17dorey-stein-illo-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/17\/opinion\/17dorey-stein-illo\/17dorey-stein-illo-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/17\/opinion\/17dorey-stein-illo\/17dorey-stein-illo-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-gxjr0k ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">I Was a White House Stenographer. Trump Wasn\u2019t a Fan.<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>Mr. Trump likes to call anyone who disagrees with him \u201cfake news.\u201d But if he\u2019s really the victim of so much inaccurate reporting, why is he so averse to having the facts recorded and transcribed?\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/17\/opinion\/trump-recording-press-news.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/17\/opinion\/trump-recording-press-news.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CBSEveningNews\/videos\/10160549281345721\/?t=45\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/CBSEveningNews\/videos\/10160549281345721\/?t=45<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-gxjr0k ejekc6u0\">Democrats: Party of Capital and Empire<\/h1>\n<p>Tom Malinowski, who served in the State Department during the Obama administration, working on issues related to democracy and human rights, is taking on Republican Rep. Leonard Lance. Malinowski is eloquent during an interview in describing \u201cthe all-American middle-ground issues that the Trump Republicans\u201d have ceded to Democrats in moderate districts.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re now the party of fiscal responsibility in America. We didn\u2019t just add $2 trillion to the national debt for that tax cut that <a title=\"www.cnbc.com\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/10\/04\/billionaire-warren-buffett-i-dont-need-a-tax-cut.html\">Warren Buffett didn\u2019t want<\/a>,\u201d he tells me. \u201cWe\u2019re the party of law enforcement in America; we don\u2019t vilify the Federal Bureau of Investigation every single day. We\u2019re the party of family values. We don\u2019t .\u2009.\u2009. take kids from their parents at the border. We\u2019re the party of patriotism in America that wants to defend this country against our foreign adversaries.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/does-the-blue-wave-start-in-jersey\/2018\/07\/15\/db44a0b2-86e4-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html?utm_term=.7dc095e7980b\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.washingtonpost.com\/opinions\/does-the-blue-wave-start-in-jersey\/2018\/07\/15\/db44a0b2-86e4-11e8-8f6c-46cb43e3f306_story.html?utm_term=.7dc095e7980b<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Attacks on Roma Force Ukraine to Confront an Old Ethnic Enmity<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/22\/world\/22roma\/merlin_140221851_8ed963f7-5360-4edd-9c34-8fd0ef4a1490-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\/22\/world\/22roma\/merlin_140221851_8ed963f7-5360-4edd-9c34-8fd0ef4a1490-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/22\/world\/22roma\/merlin_140221851_8ed963f7-5360-4edd-9c34-8fd0ef4a1490-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/22\/world\/22roma\/merlin_140221851_8ed963f7-5360-4edd-9c34-8fd0ef4a1490-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The Roma who live in tarpaulin camps and abandoned buildings in and around Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, say they make their money harmlessly by picking wildflowers and selling the bouquets to lovers on the city\u2019s streets.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">But members of Ukrainian nationalist groups say that, instead, the Roma pick pockets, steal scrap metal and foul the city with their presence, often dressed in rags or hand-me-downs while begging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Tensions over the Roma are as old as Ukraine, and run as deep here as anywhere in Eastern Europe, but the ancient enmity has taken a twist recently.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Beginning in April, Ukrainian nationalist groups that were given free rein four years ago to fight the Russian military incursion have taken instead to attacking the softer targets of Roma camps, saying they are \u201ccleaning\u201d Ukraine\u2019s cities.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">After an attack in April on a camp in Lysa Hora park outside Kiev, when a nationalist group threw rocks, squirted pepper spray and burned down tents, it seemed like an outbreak of <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2016\/08\/31\/world\/europe\/ukraine-roma.html\">the old ethnic scourge<\/a>, and the episode drew criticism from Western governments and rights groups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">The Ukrainian government seemed to see the assault differently, at least at first. Far from prosecuting the nationalist group, known as C14, which filmed the attack and posted photographs on the internet, the government gave it a state grant in the form of free rent for auditoriums to support \u201cpatriotic education.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/21\/world\/europe\/ukraine-roma-attacks.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/21\/world\/europe\/ukraine-roma-attacks.html<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Seduced by Hate, Indian Politician Embraces a Lynch Mob<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-1h6w7uo e1t57l6r0\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/21\/world\/21india-politics-3\/21india-politics-3-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\/21\/world\/21india-politics-3\/21india-politics-3-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/21\/world\/21india-politics-3\/21india-politics-3-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/21\/world\/21india-politics-3\/21india-politics-3-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\"><a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.india.gov.in\/my-government\/indian-parliament\/jayant-sinha\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jayant Sinha<\/a> is a Celtics fan. He graduated from Harvard. He worked for McKinsey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Born and raised in India but minted in the United States, he found wealth and success in the Boston area. His American friends say his politics were moderate, maybe even progressive.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Then he returned to India.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">He ditched the suits he had worn as a partner at <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/06\/26\/world\/africa\/mckinsey-south-africa-eskom.html\">McKinsey &amp; Company, an elite management consulting firm<\/a>, in favor of traditional Indian kurtas. He joined the governing Hindu right political party and became a member of Parliament and then a minister, leading Hindu parades and showering worshipers with flower petals from a helicopter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">This month, he also <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.firstpost.com\/india\/union-minister-jayant-sinha-garlands-eight-ramgarh-lynching-convicts-hemant-soren-calls-it-despicable-4685811.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">feted and garlanded eight men<\/a> who were part of a Hindu lynch mob that the authorities said beat an unarmed and terrified Muslim man to death. His embrace of the attackers, who were convicted of murder, has become the political stunt that Indians can\u2019t stop talking about.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Across the country, the images of Mr. Sinha draping wreaths of marigolds around the men\u2019s necks have started a conversation about whether the state of Indian politics has become so poisoned by sectarian hatred and extremism that even an ostensibly worldly and successful politician can\u2019t resist its pull.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/20\/world\/asia\/india-jayant-sinha-lynch-mob.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/20\/world\/asia\/india-jayant-sinha-lynch-mob.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Solidarity for Never<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>She&#8217;s back! Hillbillary speaks at the AFT Convention in Pittsburgh, successfully steering a rank and file wildcat strike movement back into voting booths.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=A7QHuhQwsUk\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com\/watch?v=A7QHuhQwsUk<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>AFT&#8217;s Millionaire boss (beloved to intersectionality saps) introduces Hillary&#8217;s fishhook, Bernie Sanders, at the AFT convention, 2018 ( video link below at 14 minutes)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aft.org\/convention\/live\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.aft.org\/convention\/live<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mut aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRaxKbnHiDTNWiHij2BF4BpDTrDH17TO53ZI_80czxcrW53rR3Mvw\" alt=\"Image result for randi weingarten bernie sanders\" width=\"304\" height=\"203\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"single_title\">NEA\u2019s Gambit to Increase Membership Is Defeated in Vote; Leadership Pledges to Try Again Next Year<\/h1>\n<p><span class=\"drop-cap\">F<\/span>aced with the loss of hundreds of thousands of members due to the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s <em>Janus<\/em> ruling, the National Education Association sought to throw open membership to the general public, only to see the measure fail to achieve the necessary two-thirds majority at the union\u2019s representative assembly, held over the July 4th holiday.<\/p>\n<p>NEA leaders presented a constitutional amendment that would have created a new \u201ccommunity ally\u201d category of membership for a person who does not work in public education but \u201cdemonstrates support in advancing the cause of public education\u201d and \u201cwho advocates for the mission, vision, and core values of the Association.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.the74million.org\/article\/neas-gambit-to-increase-membership-is-defeated-in-vote-leadership-pledges-to-try-again-next-year\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.the74million.org\/article\/neas-gambit-to-increase-membership-is-defeated-in-vote-leadership-pledges-to-try-again-next-year\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>NEA boss Garcia rigged NEA&#8217;s Internal processes for Hillbillary<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/wikileaks.org\/podesta-emails\/emailid\/3695\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">wikileaks.org\/podesta-emails\/emailid\/3695<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Eskelsen Garcia Drops Knowledge About Hillary Clinton Campaign - DNC 2016 Coverage\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/h4Q2_1VXpEw?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>Analysis: UTLA attempts to move American Federation of Teachers to the left (but the bottom line at AFT was Hillbillary)<\/h1>\n<p class=\"p1\">Last week we highlighted how the California Teachers Association and its largest local affiliate, United Teachers Los Angeles, <a href=\"http:\/\/laschoolreport.com\/california-teachers-association-wields-outsized-influence-over-national-teacher-union-policies\/\"><span class=\"s1\">wield a disproportionate amount of power<\/span><\/a> over the policies of their parent union, the National Education Association.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">UTLA is also affiliated with the smaller of the two national teacher unions, the American Federation of Teachers. AFT just concluded it four-day convention in Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">AFT and NEA are structured differently, due to the geographic areas they represent. NEA is much larger and present in all 50 states, therefore it is internally organized around its state affiliates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">AFT is made up of large urban locals in New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, and elsewhere. These locals act as independent fiefdoms for the most part. In turn, AFT national headquarters is not particularly beholden to them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">AFT\u2019s formula for representation at the national convention is byzantine, but the results let you know clearly who holds the reins. Chicago sent 144 delegates. UTLA sent 22. The United Federation of Teachers in New York City sent 732.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">With no hope of overriding the wishes of New York individually, other locals must team up to move their agenda. The prime example this year concerned AFT\u2019s political endorsements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As was also the case within NEA, there was a significant faction within AFT that was unhappy with the union\u2019s early and full-throated endorsement of Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2016. Many preferred Bernie Sanders or at least thought to use the endorsement process to angle for concessions from the Clinton campaign.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">With this in mind, last weekend delegates from the Chicago Teachers Union, UTLA, and the Professional Staff Congress, which represents faculty at the City University of New York, joined forces to submit a resolution that directed AFT to support the following demands nationally:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"p3\">1. Single-payer healthcare\/Medicare for All;<br \/>\n2. Free college for all;<br \/>\n3. Universal\/full-day and cost-free child care;<br \/>\n4. Double the per-pupil expenditures for low-income K-12 districts; and<br \/>\n5. Tax the rich to fully fund the IDEA and Title I.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p class=\"p1\">AFT\u2019s convention rules dictate that resolutions must first clear the relevant committee before reaching the floor for a vote. In committee, the resolution was amended and altered, but this version made it to the floor and passed with a unanimous vote:\u00a0 <a href=\"http:\/\/laschoolreport.com\/analysis-utla-attempts-to-move-american-federation-of-teachers-to-the-left\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">laschoolreport.com\/analysis-utla-attempts-to-move-american-federation-of-teachers-to-the-left\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-gxjr0k ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-Union.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21743\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-Union.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"183\" height=\"115\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-Union.jpg 183w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/capitalist-Union-150x94.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 183px) 100vw, 183px\" \/><\/a><\/span>Corruption is endemic in the capitalist unions of the empire<\/h1>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>On June 27th, 2018,<\/strong>\u00a0in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Annette Jones, former Secretary-Treasurer of American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) Local 331 (located in Perry Point, Md.), was indicted on one count of bank fraud, two counts of mail fraud, and two counts of aggravated identity theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 1344, 18 U.S.C. 1341, and 18 U.S.C. 1028A, respectively.<\/li>\n<li><strong>On June 26th, 2018,<\/strong>\u00a0in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News Division, Dorian Nicely, former business agent of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 264 (located in Hampton, Va.), was charged in a criminal information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and embezzle labor union assets for embezzling $57,310 from the union, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371.<\/li>\n<li><strong>On June 26th, 2018,<\/strong>\u00a0in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Newport News Division, Dennis Nicely, former Vice President of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 264 (located in Hampton, Va.), was charged in a criminal information with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and embezzle labor union assets for embezzling $57,310 from the union, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 371.<\/li>\n<li><strong>On June 18th, 2018,<\/strong>\u00a0in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, Daniel Ross, former Treasurer of Transportation and Communications Union\/International Association of Machinists (TCU\/IAM) Lodge 6721 (located in Oakland, Calif.), pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of Grand Theft of Personal Property in the amount of $4,607, in violation of California Penal Code Section 487(a). Ross was immediately sentenced to 30 days of incarceration (suspended) and three years of probation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>On June 18th, 2018,<\/strong>\u00a0in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Cheryl Angell, former Treasurer of United Steelworkers of America Local 2-144 (located in Combined Locks, Wisc.), was sentenced to 13 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Angell was also ordered to pay $98,711 in restitution and a $100 special assessment. On March 22, 2018, Angell pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling $98,711 in union funds, in violation of 29 U.S.C 501(c). The sentencing follows an investigation by the OLMS Detroit-Milwaukee District Office.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>Spy versus Spy<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"spotlight\" src=\"https:\/\/scontent.fsan1-1.fna.fbcdn.net\/v\/t1.0-9\/37340851_278537239545706_7634005069549010944_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&amp;oh=ceef41aec9b1c48ebe788718fddd70ae&amp;oe=5BCFFB0E\" alt=\"Image may contain: text\" aria-busy=\"true\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"story-body__h1\">Maria Butina: Alleged Russia agent &#8216;offered sex for job&#8217;<\/h1>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/660\/cpsprodpb\/3B3D\/production\/_102556151_captugsdfgfre.jpg\" alt=\"Maria Butina\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"660\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">An alleged Kremlin agent offered sex for a job with an American special interest organisation she targeted, say US officials.<\/p>\n<p>Maria Butina&#8217;s ties with Russian intelligence make her a flight risk, a federal judge ruled, and she will be held until her trial.<\/p>\n<p>A lawyer for the 29-year-old said she has been co-operating with the US government for several months.<\/p>\n<p>The case is not part of the US inquiry into alleged Russian election meddling.<\/p>\n<p>US Magistrate Judge Deborah Robinson ruled that the government had proved there are no conditions of her release that would guarantee her return to court for trial.<\/p>\n<p>She is facing charges of failing to register as a foreign agent and conspiring against the US government. She is not charged with espionage.<\/p>\n<p>On Wednesday, Moscow&#8217;s foreign ministry said Ms Butina&#8217;s arrest was designed to undermine the &#8220;positive results&#8221; of a summit between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on Monday.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-44865626\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/world-us-canada-44865626<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/19\/opinion\/19stewart\/19stewart-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\/19\/opinion\/19stewart\/19stewart-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/19\/opinion\/19stewart\/19stewart-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/19\/opinion\/19stewart\/19stewart-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1783w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-1ixnm1o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">What Was Maria Butina Doing at the National Prayer Breakfast?<\/span><\/h1>\n<p class=\"css-p2vh5c ewc5vgb0\">America\u2019s Christian nationalists have been finding common cause with the Russian government for a while now.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Does it seem strange that, <a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/press-release\/file\/1080766\/download\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">according to a criminal complaint<\/a> unsealed on Monday by the Justice Department, a Russian woman stands accused of \u201cacting as an agent of a foreign government\u201d in part because she hoped \u201cto establish a back-channel of communication\u201d with American politicians at the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington?<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">It shouldn\u2019t. As Jeff Sharlet, an associate professor of English at Dartmouth, has pointed out, the National Prayer Breakfast has long offered \u201c<a class=\"css-1g7m0tk\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JeffSharlet\/status\/1018974387427594246\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a backdoor to American power<\/a>.\u201d And America\u2019s homegrown Christian nationalists have evinced an admiration for Russia\u2019s authoritarian leader that appears to have grown apace with his brutality.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/18\/opinion\/maria-butina-putin-infiltration.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/18\/opinion\/maria-butina-putin-infiltration.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Bullwinkle &quot;Goof Gas&quot; Outtakes (1963)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/UfmphOjSO64?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=\"css-ifnb0o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">U.S.-Funded Broadcaster Directed Ads to Americans<\/span> (remember Wurlitzer? Mockingbird?)<\/h1>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">A broadcasting organization backed by the federal government has used Facebook to target ads at United States citizens, in potential violation of longstanding laws meant to protect Americans from domestic propaganda.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-1i0edl6 e2kc3sl0\">Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty, which typically broadcasts to audiences in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, bought several ads on Facebook in recent days that were targeted at users in the United States. The ads included several human-interest stories about Russia and a graphic about NATO\u2019s popularity. As with other state-funded media organizations, Radio Free Europe\/Radio Liberty is mostly restricted by law from promoting its content in the United States except on request&#8230;.\u201cI\u2019m concerned that we\u2019re seeing the beginning of government efforts to try to influence public opinion in the United States through the B.B.G. and its affiliate entities,\u201d Mr. Sager said. \u201cIt\u2019s one thing to read a tweet by Donald Trump. It\u2019s another to receive a very polished news story from an organization that holds itself out as objective and fact-based.\u201d\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/19\/technology\/facebook-ads-propaganda.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nytimes.com\/2018\/07\/19\/technology\/facebook-ads-propaganda.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The Magical Mystery Tour<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"expand-img-vertical\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/93ec0537e21d15b92d4c2ad82f324ca9cf31a500\/c=0-0-1992-2656\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/09\/01\/MIGroup\/Lansing\/636398699051584887-wehrle7-MG-9612.jpg?width=534&amp;height=712&amp;fit=crop\" alt=\"636398699051584887-wehrle7-MG-9612.jpg\" data-mycapture-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/media\/2017\/09\/01\/MIGroup\/Lansing\/636398699051584887-wehrle7-MG-9612.jpg\" data-mycapture-sm-src=\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/-mm-\/b2e9b23cd767d8a10443c055f0220c24d0200e88\/r=266x400\/local\/-\/media\/2017\/09\/01\/MIGroup\/Lansing\/636398699051584887-wehrle7-MG-9612.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\">Police: $63K found stashed above the ceiling in priest&#8217;s basement<\/h1>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-1 p-text\">Police said they found\u00a0more than $63,000 in cash during a second\u00a0search of\u00a0the home of a Catholic priest charged with embezzling more than $5 million from an Okemos parish.<\/p>\n<p class=\"speakable-p-2 p-text\">The money was found above ceiling tiles in the basement of the Rev. Jonathan Wehrle&#8217;s lavish home on Noble Road, Michigan State Police said Wednesday in a news release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Investigators obtained a search warrant based on information gathered by Lansing police who were\u00a0working with MSP&#8217;s Special Investigation Section, according to the news release.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The search was conducted Tuesday and turned up $63,392, most of\u00a0it in $2,000 bundles of $20-bills, police said. The bundles of bills were wrapped in paper bands stamped with the words: &#8220;For deposit only &#8211; St. Martha Parish and School,&#8221;\u00a0police said. Other evidence related to the investigation also was seized, although police did not specify what that evidence includes.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/2018\/07\/18\/father-wehrle-embezzlement-police-find-more-than-63-k-stashed\/797883002\/\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.freep.com\/story\/news\/local\/2018\/07\/18\/father-wehrle-embezzlement-police-find-more-than-63-k-stashed\/797883002\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"articleHeadline\" class=\"p-name\">Could &#8216;culture of cover-up&#8217; force Pope Francis to defrock McCarrick?<\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"css-11cwn6f\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/20\/nyregion\/20mccarrick1\/merlin_141451428_d4c78a60-8e41-4e94-aabd-4b75762cdeeb-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\/20\/nyregion\/20mccarrick1\/merlin_141451428_d4c78a60-8e41-4e94-aabd-4b75762cdeeb-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/20\/nyregion\/20mccarrick1\/merlin_141451428_d4c78a60-8e41-4e94-aabd-4b75762cdeeb-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w,https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2018\/07\/20\/nyregion\/20mccarrick1\/merlin_141451428_d4c78a60-8e41-4e94-aabd-4b75762cdeeb-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 2048w\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Revelations that one of the most respected U.S. cardinals allegedly sexually abused both boys and adult seminarians have raised questions about who in the Catholic Church hierarchy knew &#8212; and what Pope Francis is going to do about it.<\/p>\n<p>If the accusations against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick bear out &#8212; including a new case reported Friday involving an 11-year-old boy &#8212; will Francis revoke his title as cardinal? Sanction him to a lifetime of penance and prayer? Or even defrock him, the expected sanction if McCarrick were a mere priest?<\/p>\n<p>And will Francis, who has already denounced a &#8220;culture of cover-up&#8221; in the church, take the investigation all the way to the top, where it will inevitably lead? McCarrick&#8217;s alleged sexual misdeeds with adults were reportedly brought to the Vatican&#8217;s attention years ago.<\/p>\n<p>The matter is now on the desk of the pope, who has already spent the better part of 2018 dealing with a spiraling child sex abuse, adult gay priest sex and cover-up scandal in Chile that was so vast the entire bishops&#8217; conference offered to resign in May.<\/p>\n<p>And on Friday, Francis accepted the resignation of the Honduran deputy to Cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga, who is one of Francis&#8217; top advisers. Auxiliary Bishop Juan Jose Pineda Fasquelle, 57, was accused of sexual misconduct with seminarians and lavish spending on his lovers that was so obvious to Honduras&#8217; poverty-wracked faithful that Maradiaga is now under pressure to reveal what he knew of Pineda&#8217;s misdeeds and why he tolerated a sexually active gay bishop in his ranks.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nj.com\/news\/index.ssf\/2018\/07\/revelations_of_us_cardinal_mccarrick_sex_abuse_wil.html\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.nj.com\/news\/index.ssf\/2018\/07\/revelations_of_us_cardinal_mccarrick_sex_abuse_wil.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>The Best and Worst Things in the History of the World<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-1ixnm1o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Fantasyland: Del Mar Race Track opened<br \/>\n<\/span><\/h1>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"trb_em_ic_img\" title=\"Opening Day at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club\" src=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b5021b1\/turbine\/sd-pg-opening-day-del-mar-thoroughbred-20180718\/600\/600x338\" alt=\"Opening Day at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club\" data-baseurl=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b5021b1\/turbine\/sd-pg-opening-day-del-mar-thoroughbred-20180718\" data-c-nd=\"2048x1541\" \/><\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"trb_em_ic_img\" title=\"Del Mar Thoroughbred Club 2018\" src=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b501ae0\/turbine\/sd-pg-opening-day-del-mar-thoroughbred-2018071-022\/700\/700x394\" alt=\"Del Mar Thoroughbred Club 2018\" data-baseurl=\"http:\/\/www.trbimg.com\/img-5b501ae0\/turbine\/sd-pg-opening-day-del-mar-thoroughbred-2018071-022\" data-c-nd=\"2048x1365\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"css-1ixnm1o ejekc6u0\"><span class=\"balancedHeadline\">Fantasyland: <\/span>Comicon San Diego Opened And the mass hysterical conversion crisis in the US continued apace.<\/h1>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f4heXY31sO4\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.youtube.com\/watch?v=f4heXY31sO4<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"irc_mi aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/welkresorts.com\/wpd\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Comic-Con-header.jpg\" alt=\"Image result for comiccon\" width=\"304\" height=\"203\" \/><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/InspiredLifePage\/videos\/1853912244731320\/?t=76\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/InspiredLifePage\/videos\/1853912244731320\/?t=76<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/BadParentingPresents\/videos\/1700863846603474\/?t=83\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/BadParentingPresents\/videos\/1700863846603474\/?t=83<\/a><\/p>\n<p>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Grabbed-him-by-presidency-best-worst.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-21754\" src=\"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Grabbed-him-by-presidency-best-worst.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"960\" height=\"697\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Grabbed-him-by-presidency-best-worst.jpg 960w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Grabbed-him-by-presidency-best-worst-150x109.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Grabbed-him-by-presidency-best-worst-500x363.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Grabbed-him-by-presidency-best-worst-768x558.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>So Long<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/660\/cpsprodpb\/5DFE\/production\/_102626042_gettyimages-515427636.jpg\" alt=\"Adrian Cronauer, pictured in a 1988 black and white photograph\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"660\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"story-body__h1\">Adrian Cronauer &#8211; the real Good Morning, Vietnam DJ<\/h1>\n<p class=\"story-body__introduction\">Adrian Cronauer, who served as inspiration for Robin Williams&#8217; breakout character in the 1987 film Good Morning, Vietnam, has died in Virginia aged 79.<\/p>\n<p>Like his eponymous character, Cronauer was a radio presenter in Saigon in 1965 and 1966 known best for his enthusiastic early morning greeting and penchant for playing rock&#8217;n&#8217;roll tunes to raise American troops&#8217; morale during the Vietnam War.<\/p>\n<p>But Hollywood took a lot of liberties in its depiction of the air force sergeant.<\/p>\n<p>Cronauer was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in September 1938, to a steelworker father and teacher mother.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"story-body__link-external\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/D8Pr0\">He told the Fayetteville Observer in 2011 that his initially timid &#8220;Good Morning, Iraklion&#8221; gradually became &#8220;wilder and wilder&#8221;<\/a> into the dramatic, booming and protracted form he would become notorious for in Vietnam.<\/p>\n<p>Keen to travel, Cronauer says he actually volunteered for a transfer to Vietnam, where he was hired initially as a news director for Armed Forces Radio there.<\/p>\n<p>After his morning presenter left, he took up the 06:00 Dawn Buster show mantle, greeting troops with an enthusiastic yell of: &#8220;GOOOOOOOOD morning, Vietnam!&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"responsive-image__img js-image-replace\" src=\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/624\/cpsprodpb\/13FBC\/production\/_102625818_gettyimages-932243422.jpg\" alt=\"Robin Williams in DJ booth in role of Adrian\" width=\"976\" height=\"549\" data-highest-encountered-width=\"624\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Cronauer soon found out while interviewing troops that his ironic salute was often met with &#8220;the GI equivalent of: Get stuffed Cronauer&#8221; on bad days, he recounted at a veterans event in 2008.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"story-body__link-external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=V8FkXRgA4Sg&amp;t=152s\">&#8220;On one occasion, a guy picked up his M16 and blew away his radio,&#8221; he told the Americans Veterans Centre conference<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The famous greeting would be adopted by the show&#8217;s presenters after him.<\/p>\n<p>Cronauer shunned traditional favourites and shelved them for music of the time: treating US troops to jams from the Righteous Brothers, Tom Jones and the Beatles.<\/p>\n<p>He told the Fayetteville Observer he wanted to serve as an antidote to the homesickness and culture shock affecting thousands of young American men over in Vietnam, who in their teens and twenties had been picked up and &#8220;dumped in a totally alien environment&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The crowning achievement for me was when I heard from some guys that when they tuned into Dawn Buster for the first time, they assumed they had picked up some radio station from the States,&#8221; <a class=\"story-body__link-external\" href=\"http:\/\/articles.chicagotribune.com\/1988-01-19\/features\/8803230431_1_vietnam-war-army-morning\">he would tell the Chicago Tribune<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But Cronauer was never the local celebrity or subversive that late comedy star Robin Williams made him out to be.<\/p>\n<p>The role instead became a showcase for the frenetic Williams, who ad-libbed much of the broadcast depictions.<\/p>\n<p>Williams acknowledged that the real-life Cronauer was not the &#8220;radio desperado&#8221; he portrayed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In real life he never did anything outrageous. He did witness a bombing in Saigon. He wanted to report it &#8211; he was overruled. He didn&#8217;t want to buck the system, because you can get court-martialled for that,&#8221; Williams told Rolling Stone magazine.<\/p>\n<p>Cronauer was keen to point out the drastic changes: &#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of Hollywood exaggeration, and outright imagination.&#8221;\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-44897634\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.bbc.com\/news\/world-us-canada-44897634<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Coming Soon&#8211;the 50th Anniversary of the 1968 Chicago DEMOCRATIC Convention police riot. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"1968 Democratic Convention\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1Iye1NQy1NY?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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We Say Fight Back! <a href=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ajplusenglish\/videos\/271855766915613\/?t=361\" class=\"autohyperlink\" target=\"_blank\">www.facebook.com\/ajplusenglish\/videos\/271855766915613\/?t=361<\/a> Congratulations on the re-publication of: From Library Journal Bellant convincingly documents three arguments in this short, journalistic book. First, many people who had been active in Nazi or pro-Nazi groups in Eastern Europe in the 1930s and 1940s subsequently came to this country, often under the auspices of the Displaced [&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-21735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21735","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=21735"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21735\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21765,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21735\/revisions\/21765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}