Just guessing from some of the messages that have reached me overnight, that a few of the good folks out there are now rattled. A number of readers are asking the unknowable, such as "Where is the bottom?" or "When will it end?" Gang, I've got some news for you. I don't know the answers to questions like this. I do however... know how to show up for a fight.
For those looking for actual guidance, I do know more than that. Environments like this hurt. We all know that the central bank has caused a lot of harm to both the economy as well as the marketplace. I have warned on that for months. Now, that is the condition. We can not look to the committee for help. They are not doing their homework. In addition, the probability of an escalation in the trade war with China is now being more fully priced into the tech sector, and even names with nearly no overseas exposure are being badly impacted on no news. Passive investment... anything but passive in nature. Technical support levels have failed as the "Buy the dip" crowd has taken a walk. Oh, and the global growth story is not quite there either.
Now, I also know something else, and this is really important because this is about you. Everyone gets knocked down. What is different about you is that you are as tough as these markets. Thinking about paper losses does you no good whatsoever. You are pragmatic. What matters is only what is. The only obstacle is the one to your front. What might have been? Let some fancy poet type worry about that crap. We worry only about how to best save our tail while not alarming the people that count on us. Now rise and fight. Let the hate build. Let the wicked know fear, for we shall not.
Take that field today with honor. You've been punched in the mouth. So what. You'll be punched in the mouth again and again. Allow the weakness to exit. Embrace the challenge. Embrace the pain. Let the hatred turn to focus. They have tried to rattle you. You have not broken, nor will you. Ever. They have already lost. Glory.
There was some actual strength across the Utilities and the REITs. That makes some sense as traders sought the protection of safe haven while traversing rough terrain. What does not line up with the story-line very well would be the performance of Gold. Unlike other market scares, investors have not looked to the yellow metal for solace. Delayed reaction? Do they not understand? Do I not understand? Even as crypto-currencies continue to collapse, the only alternative currency that human hands can actually hold merely can hold it's ground in dollar terms. Then again, the dollar has steadily increased in value versus a basket of dollar peers since April. My thoughts? Investors still need some gold. On the day that we hope never comes, gold will buy water. You'll need water.
While the Fed was mindlessly drawing liquidity out of the economy while simultaneously pushing short term rates up against long term yields, (If only someone would have warned them !!! This was not hard to figure out.) debt has continued to consistently grow... at the household, corporate, municipal, federal, and even global levels. What could possibly go wrong?
Anyone read Ray Dalio's interview at Bloomberg on Tuesday? "The whole world leveraged long." He's not wrong about that. "Late stages of this short-term business cycle." Without a more sentient understanding of how to manage monetary policy, without serious progress on trade, without a more responsible approach to fiscal policy, without renewed or sustained economic growth elsewhere, Dalio could be right about that too.
Tuesday morning, the Census Bureau will lay down data on October Housing Starts as well as Building Permits. Does anyone really see these numbers printing at anything close to impressive levels in the wake of a November Homebuilder Optimism Index that printed at it's lowest level in more than two years on Monday? In fact, it looks to me that this was the largest one month drop in headline optimism in almost five years. I mean if October went well for builders, they probably would not be miserable in November. Know what I mean, Vern?
Want more? Seventeen consecutive months of increased household debt. Increased student loan debt. Increased auto loan balances. Increased credit card balances. Some folks my age scoff at 5% mortgage rates. Time for us to get off of our high horse. These younger folks grew up in a tougher economic time than we did. Stop pretending that they did not. Five percent is an awful lot if it's the highest rates that you have ever seen, you already have some debt, and you were raised in an era where your parent were forced to forgo things like heat and electricity. Remember, personal debt was much smaller "back in the day". Our parents did not have credit cards, we barely used them ourselves, and borrowing to further one's education was not really a thing just yet. As a youngster, I had heard of people going away to college, but honestly... I had never met one until I already worked on Wall Street.
By now, we all know that reports of iPhone production cuts have put the whammy on not only Apple (AAPL) , but a bevy of semiconductor names as well. The news on Monday was that Apple had cut intended production for all three current models, and according to the Wall Street Journal, had cut orders for the iPhone XR twice just in October. The headline stock led the Monday retreat for the tech sector and for the major indices as well. Yes, I am still long Apple. Yes, the company did sort of signal this in the earnings call when the announcement came down that the firm would no longer provide unit sales figures for hardware sales. They also did guide the revenue range for the current quarter slightly lower.
On the bright side, there has often been negative news around new launches. In addition the firm is driving an ever increasing portion of it's revenue through the sale of subscription services, and that is a significant positive. Not every analyst has yet weighed in, and the drumbeat of negativity had started earlier this year. My thoughts on Apple are the following. I do still want to own the greatest consumer electronics company (perhaps the greatest company) of all-time. I would bless a sale for an investor that may have allowed him or herself to become overly exposed to this name. One thing that I think investors of this era do need to improve on is balancing a portfolio. The skew in recent years has been toward growth, and younger investors may have misinterpreted the group's past performance as offering a perception of safety. Again, this can be blamed directly on perverse monetary policy.
On a year to date chart, the $180 panic point that I had given you a few weeks ago is still the story. For me that level is probably an add. Yesterday, the lower low for the equity coupled with a higher low for Relative Strength could technically provide for today's trade a bullish divergence. From my perch at zero-dark thirty, the stock is still trading lower, but we'll see how this all shakes out soon enough.
Now step back. The overhead view is more comforting. It would appear that trends going back three years may be unbroken. While a Pitchfork model covering that time frame does indeed show signs of being under pressure in recent days, a Raff Regression model contains the volatility over that time frame quite comfortably. Keep in mind, this stock is relatively cheap at 12 times forward looking earnings.
Apple will report Q1 earnings results on January 30th. Why not write a January 18th $200 call against your holdings. At one contract sold per 100 shares held, this puppy will still knock more than four bucks off of a trader's net basis. The risk associated? The trader has to sell the shares at $200 in two months. Worse things have happened to much better people. Sell puts? Not in this environment, Tex.
08:30 - Housing Starts (Oct): Expecting 1.233M, Last 1.201M SAAR.
08:30 - Building Permits (Oct): Expecting 1.263M, Last 1.241M SAAR.
08:55 - Redbook (Weekly): Last 6.1% y/y.
16:30 - API Oil Inventories (Weekly): Last +8.79M.
At the time of publication, Stephen Guilfoyle was Long AAPL, KSS equity.


In case you need an excuse to drink wine, Feb. 18 is National Drink Wine Day.
In case you need another excuse, red wine in moderation could be good for you, according to research and the Blue Zones Project.
A glass of wine or two each day with friends and food contributes to longevity, according to Dan Buettner, founder of the Blue Zones Project.
Peter Rizzo, the owner of Natural Wines in Naples, advises wine lovers to pursue healthy wines produced with a combination of green farming and natural yeasts.
“Seek out wines that are unfiltered, because that is where the good stuff resides for heart,” Rizzo said.
There is a worldwide movement of clean farming with wine-making, similar to how wine was made before World War II without additives or chemicals, Rizzo said. His store, at 4949 U.S. 41 N., Unit 102, carries 250 wines and ships to customers, and his website, www.naturalwinesnaples.com, contains articles on the health benefits of natural wines.
The Blue Zones project was introduced to Southwest Florida in 2015 based on the travels of Buettner, a National Geographic explorer.
He identified communities worldwide where people share lifestyle traits and live to 100 or older. He wrote a New York Times best-seller about the nine principles of longevity.
The “Power Nine” include moving naturally by being physically active, eating a plant-slant diet, eating until you are 80 percent full and knowing your purpose in life. The other concepts are taking time to relax, having a healthy social network, belonging to a faith-based community and putting loved ones first.
The philosophy is that people can make simple changes in their daily practices to be healthier and, over time, the changes become natural.
Some examples are parking farther away at work to add daily steps, removing the bread basket at restaurants, removing the salt shaker from tables and substituting fruit for sugary snacks.
Organizations that are central to daily living — such as employers, government entities, grocery stores, restaurants, residential communities, churches and civic organizations — are changing practices to be healthier and have become Blue Zones-recognized.
To date, 234 organizations have gained Blue Zones Project recognition or approval in Collier and Lee counties, and more than 500 organizations are participating in the initiative, according to Kate Walter, with the local Blue Zones Project.
Part of the reasoning behind “wine @ 5” as one of the Power 9 is that the compound resveratrol, found in the skin of grapes, is known to protect the body against damage to blood vessels, may reduce the “bad” cholesterol of low-density lipoprotein and may prevent blood clots, according to the Mayo Clinic.
In 2017, Medical News Today published an article that referenced numerous studies about resveratrol and how it may offer health benefits, from boosting heart health to preventing some kinds of cancer.
Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found resveratrol may protect the brain from stroke damage.
Still, a global study published in 2018 in the international medical journal The Lancet concluded there is no safe level of drinking alcohol.
The study, part of the annual Global Burden of Disease, assessed alcohol-related health outcomes and patterns from 1990 to 2016 in 195 counties. Nearly 3 million deaths globally were attributed to alcohol use. The study did not distinguish among beer, wine and hard liquor.
The Blue Zones Project website shares how the residents of Sardinia, Italy, are famous for their daily consumption of a regional red wine called Cannonau, which has two times the level of flavonoids, or antioxidants, that may lower risk of heart attacks.
Wine in moderation also may be beneficial if it is consumed with a Mediterranean diet that includes greens, beans, nuts, olive oil and whole grains, and low consumption of meat, according to The Blue Zones.
Buettner teamed up with Healthways, a health consulting firm, in 2009 to develop and launch a detailed program to help guide communities to better health and wellness practices. The Blue Zones Project now works with Sharecare, a digital health company in Atlanta.
Early adopters of the Blue Zones Project include Albert Lea, Minnesota; and Spencer and Waterloo, Iowa, along with other cities in Iowa. In addition, projects are underway in Hawaii, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wisconsin. All told, more than 42 communities in nine states have launched Blue Zones Projects.
The NCH Healthcare System is underwriting the costs of the Blue Zones Project in Southwest Florida.


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About 10 years ago, residents in the La Loma area began dreaming about what they could do to make their neighborhood safer. The vision included working with law enforcement and city and county officials, but more importantly, they asked around to find out what assets their neighbors could offer.
These efforts are spreading throughout the city as similar neighborhood groups develop. As they grow, so do the feelings of connection and safety.
Today, a neighborhood business can amplify this sense of community, security and connection for those living nearby. A good business is also a good neighbor.
Together, they create a thriving, vital sense of community.
From the success of the La Loma residents’ work, a nonprofit called Modesto Neighborhoods Inc. (MNI) was formed to support the development of new neighborhood groups and connect with existing groups to create a hub where all neighborhoods can find mutual support and encourage each other.
▪ Develop a sense of well-being for individuals and collectively through shared goals and interests.
The mission and vision of Modesto Neighborhoods Inc. is “Making Modesto Better, One Neighborhood at a Time.” Naturally, we have an acronym: Promote, Empower, Assist, Connect and Equip – creating PEACE in Modesto’s diverse neighborhoods.
Promote the “neighboring movement” to law enforcement, government officials, neighbors, nongovernmental organizations, all city residents, schools, churches and businesses.
Empower those with unique gifts, abilities, talents and assets of neighbors and neighborhoods through leadership, training, encouragement, mentoring, support, cross-learning and materials.
Assist neighborhoods to meet their unique goals.
Connect neighborhoods, groups and resources citywide.
Equip all with tools needed to be successful by working through volunteers and the media to provide communication tools, meeting assistance, event organization and even a Guidebook to help organize neighborhood groups.
We also want to develop youth leadership and service, work cooperatively, delegate and provide information to bring together interested neighbors to make these activities sustainable.
We’re already seeing results. Trust and partnerships are being built between neighbors and the Modesto police and fire departments, the county sheriff’s office, and city and county staff. We’re also partnering with other like-minded groups. Simply encouraging neighbors to report suspicious activities is helping reduce criminal activity.
Training sessions are planned to enhance neighborhood leadership and gatherings will strengthen each neighborhood and our entire community. We need everyone to be involved in neighborhoods, schools and wherever help is needed.
Our success will be seen in the growth of new neighborhood groups.
It’s a big task, but with each person doing what they can, the vision can happen if we work together.
As we clarify what works, and what doesn’t, for our community and share our skills with each other, we will get to know each other and build trust.
Individuals, parents, business owners, elected officials – we are the ones who make each other feel safe by our actions toward each other; by looking out for one another.
Citywide conversations are going on about an approach to collaboration. Why duplicate services or skills when organizations, businesses, government and individuals can simply share resources?
It is time to revision; recognize what is not working, then focus on new ideas and insights that might not have been considered before. It is a creative process that can help our city and neighborhoods become safer.
Think about how you can do something each day to create a safer, supportive place to live. It can be as simple as a smile or as bold as a new vision of what your neighborhood can become.
You will be a part of making the change for the better. All of Modesto is our resource. We are here to help.
Brad Hawn is a former Modesto city councilman; the Rev. Marvin Jacobo is executive director of City Ministry Network; Twainhart Hill is on the Modesto Neighborhoods Inc. board of directors and Neighborhood Watch captain.


No one could imitate Patrice O'Neal, Gregg "Opie" Hughes of "The Opie & Anthony Show" said ahead of a marathon satellite-radio weekend memorial for the late stand-up comic. Fortunately for fans, O'Neal himself was set to release new material, the sale of which will benefit the mother, sister, wife and child who survive him.
"Patrice was working on a CD, getting ready to release, everything was complete," the Sirius XM host said Friday. "This is something he wanted out there."
Veteran New York-based comic O'Neal, who suffered a stroke on Oct. 19, died Tuesday. He was 41.
The show was the first to play "Hate People Touching Me," a new O'Neal clip, which will air throughout the weekend as part of a marathon tribute broadcast by Opie, Anthony and Jim Norton, and other comedy folks, as they celebrate O'Neal's life and work on the Opie & Anthony Channel, XM 105/Sirius 206.
The upcoming album "Mr. P," unlike other posthumous releases that might be cobbled together from partially complete work, "is Patrice's CD that he was proud of," Opie said, talking about the album in the wake of the Thursday visit from O'Neal manager Jonathan Brandstein. Recorded in April at the Improv in Washington, D.C., the album has a February release date, according to LaughSpin.
"The family gets the money and trust me, without getting into it," he said, "they need the money." Anyone who wants to help can "simply ... order the CD."
Opie predicted O'Neal would be a "massive star" posthumously, saying it was too bad he didn't get to that next level of fame before he died.
"We all knew Patrice very well, and he used to want fame to call on his terms," he said. "And we used to joke about it. We used to go, 'Patrice, did fame call?' He's like, 'Getting close! Heard a little shaking of the phone, it's getting ready!'"
The tribute, in addition to featuring classic "Opie & Anthony Show" appearances by O'Neal over the years, starting in 2004, will also include comedians such as Louis C.K., Colin Quinn, Dane Cook, Bill Burr, Bob Kelly and Jim Florentine paying tribute to their friend.
"One of a kind. In heaven right now, charming half and infuriating half, then reversing," Quinn said of O'Neal on Tuesday on Twitter. Norton posted a picture of himself and O'Neal online, captioning it, "I couldn't possibly love a friend more than I love you. Goodbye brother."
Cook, for the memorial, recalled invaluable advice he got from O'Neal when the two were starting out in Boston at the same time. Patrice, known in 1991 as "Bruiser," told Cook: "Be the truth, always ... and everything will roll off."
The memorial is billed as "extensive and colorful"-- which, as anyone who's listened to comedy on satellite radio knows, means they use all the words -- but the Ministry has a few cleaned-up clips to give you a taste of the Patrice O'Neal memorial weekend.
"Mr. P," by the way, was the name O'Neal's stepdaughter Aymilyon called him. Funeral arrangements are being handled by the Walter B. Cooke Funeral Home in New York.


Outing to follow recording session for next album.
Singer/songwriter Elliott Smith kicks off a 26-date U.S. tour this month that will take him from his home in the Pacific Northwest, down the West Coast and across the South before closing in the Northeast.
The tour, which begins Feb. 23 in Seattle, will follow a week of recording with producers Tom Rothrock and Rob Schnapf -- one of several planned sessions for Smith's fifth solo album.
"We're going to keep doing this throughout the year," Rothrock said last month of the studio sessions. "When it's time for him to have a new record, we'll have 20 songs ready to go, and we'll put a record together out of it."
Rothrock and Schnapf co-produced Smith's breakthrough XO (1998), which included such songs as "Amity" (RealAudio excerpt) and "Baby Britain" (RealAudio excerpt).


Bangalore's performance space Ranga Shankara does not believe in restricting theater to the auditorium.
In the Ranga Shankara Theatre Fest '11, Bangaloreans will not only get to watch plays by city theatre groups but also have students from various colleges in the city put up street performances on social and political issues that touch our lives in contemporary society.
One such is the Kananda play Kattepurana (Story of a donkey that will be presented by students of National College, Basavangudi. "It is a 20-minute long story about the present political scenario.
Through the story of a donkey, we see how the politicians, chief ministers and various leaders try to mould society and create pressure on public," says Professor Venugopal, the director of Kattepurana.
Venugopal shares that the play revolves around a donkey which goes to a city with his master. The donkey helps the master earn money but in turn is made to stand at one corner of the city without food and water.
Ultimately the donkey runs away and after a lot of search it is found dead. The donkey, according to Venugopal, is a metaphor that brings out the oppression that exists in the sociopolitical system.
Venugopal believes that street theatre is a unique way of reaching out to the audience and says, "The students come out on the streets to make people aware of what's happening in society. Also, in a street play, you instantly get the audience's reaction."


Whatever it was, it didn't come from two area military bases.
A mystery that riled the Tri-State Monday night had been solved – or so we thought.
When large, storm-like blips flashed across radar in Southern Illinois and Western Kentucky, the National Weather Service was stunned – because it wasn’t raining a drop.
ll kinds of bizarre guesses flared up on social media: a flock of birds; aliens; residue the government uses to control the weather, etc.
But a tweet from Eyewitness News meteorologist Wayne Hart on Tuesday morning seemingly cleared the fog.
Citing an unnamed pilot, he said Evansville air traffic control claimed a military C-130 released a stream of chaff – radar-jamming material sometimes used during training exercises – a few miles northwest of Evansville.
A story from the Courier & Press pointed out that military bases sat near the areas where the blips appeared: Fort Campbell in Kentucky and Scott Air Force Base in Western Illinois.
But if this was a case of military chaff, and it did come from a C-130, that plane didn’t come from either of those bases.
“Whatever aircraft it was, it was not a Scott Air Force Base craft,” Master Sgt. Thomas Doscher said Tuesday morning.
A spokesman for Fort Campbell wasn’t as unequivocal, but said he didn’t know of any such operation. The only way the plane could have come from Fort Campbell, he said, is if it was involved in a secret special forces exercise.
Requests for comment from the Federal Aviation Administration and the Evansville airport weren’t returned as of Tuesday afternoon.
So questions remain: where did the plane come from? And why was someone supposedly releasing chaff into our atmosphere (aside from the obvious, which is that they were providing cover for a fleet of flying saucers)?
Maybe we’ll find out in the next couple of days. But some mystery still lingers.


Flagstaff officers were deemed justified for fatally shooting a 29-year-old-man suffering from depression who fired at police Oct. 12, officials said.
Flagstaff police officers were deemed justified this week for fatally shooting a 29-year-old-man reportedly suffering from depression who fired at officers Oct. 12 in a Walmart parking lot.
In a written announcement Wednesday, Navajo County Attorney Brad Carlyon provided new insight into what preceded the death of Sean Brady. The incident was caught on body-mounted cameras, and the Navajo County Attorney's Office reviewed the shooting at the request of the Coconino County Attorney's Office.
Brady and his son moved to Flagstaff from California, and they were living with one of Brady's sisters. Before the shooting, Brady asked if the child's mother, who lives out of state, would take custody of the boy. She apparently declined, investigators wrote.
On Oct. 12, Brady took his son unannounced to a babysitter and "indicated he was upset and having a hard time with life," Carlyon wrote in his report.
Later that night, he parked his truck at the Walmart at 2601 E Huntington Ave., and began blasting his music, according to the report. A woman told him to turn it down and eventually went with her husband to store management to ask if there was something they could do; Brady's music was disrupting people sleeping in the parking lot.
As the couple returned, Brady tried to pick a fight with them and pulled out a gun, Carlyon wrote. They ran back to their car, called 911 and sped to the other side of the parking lot.
Police arrived moments later, and the interaction was caught on camera.
Officer William Condon arrived first and asked Brady to turn the truck off, to which Brady replied, "I just have music playing, man."
Officers Dustin Hemp and Ryan Sherf, who were together in a patrol car, arrived seconds later. As Brady again told police he only had music playing, gunshots rang out, sending officers ducking for cover.
and then saw a muzzle flash from the truck and heard the whizzing of bullets," investigators wrote.
Condon returned fire toward Brady, whose truck rolled forward before hitting a light pole and stopping in some parking-lot landscaping.
Officers waited for SWAT members to arrive. The team deployed a flash-bang device on the hood of the truck and pulled Brady from the vehicle.
Inside the truck, police said they found two rifles, a handgun, boxes of ammunition and several spent casings.
"It would be disingenuous to argue that pointing a gun towards a law enforcement officer and firing would not place the officer at a risk of serious bodily harm or death," Carlyon wrote. "In fact, such an act violates numerous Arizona criminal laws."


Lehigh Acres Post office has once again experienced thievery. For some odd reason, a female Miskovy duck decided to nest and lay eggs in the garden by the bicycle rack at the entrance to the post office. She laid 14 eggs. I was hoping that people would enjoy seeing them, but leave them alone. Well, 14 eggs went down to 12, which I am certain other animals got to. But, as it got closer to the time for the eggs to hatch, and overnight, it went from 12 eggs to five! I am pretty sure this had nothing to do with animal predators, as, like last time, there was evidence. i.e. the shell.
Last Thursday, March 15, two chicks were hatched, leaving three more to still hatch. All was good. Friday morning, I checked on them, there were still two chicks and three eggs. By noon on Friday, both the mother and two chicks were gone! I thought maybe she took them for a walk, so wasn't too worried.. Friday, still no sign of chicks or mother, but three eggs still in the nest..Saturday, same thing. No ducks, no chicks, but still three unattended eggs.
Now it is Monday, and there is no sign of chicks or mother, with three eggs still in nest!
I have been watching these ducks from the very beginning, and know that she would not leave eggs unattended.
What I'm getting at is why, oh, why can't people just leave wildlife alone?!?! I am pretty sure that someone not only took the ducks and her chicks, but took the seven eggs the prior week.
The post office is federal property, and stealing from it is a federal offense!
I just don't understand why people feel the need to interrupt the wildlife that exist here, but then will dump kittens on postal property that are NOT part of the wildlife here!


Immigrants have created some of America’s most valuable privately held companies. Several of these companies are soon to become publicly traded and available to any American who wants to invest in these billion-dollar startups.
The news of potential initial public offerings (IPOs) for many immigrant-founded companies comes at a time when a study from the National Foundation for American Policy finds that 55%, or 50 of 91, of the country’s $1 billion startup companies had at least one immigrant founder. Many of these immigrant-founded companies are valuable. “The collective value of the 50 immigrant-founded companies is $248 billon, which is more than the value of all the companies listed on the stock market of many countries, including Argentina, Columbia, Peru, Portugal and Ireland,” according to the research. The $248 billion figure likely underestimates the underlying value of these 50 companies.
Uber, cofounded by Canadian immigrant Garrett Camp, is the most valuable U.S. billion-dollar company with at least one immigrant founder, with a valuation of $72 billion. However, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that if Uber proceeds with an anticipated initial public offering in 2019, its value could reach $120 billion. “That eye-popping figure is nearly double Uber’s valuation in a fundraising round two months ago and more than General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles are worth combined,” reported the newspaper.
SpaceX, founded by South African immigrant Elon Musk, and WeWork, co-founded by Israeli-born immigrant Adam Neumann, are the second and third most valuable U.S. billion-dollar startups with an immigrant founder, valued at $21 billion and $20.2 billion respectively. Neither company is expected to have an initial public offering in 2019.
Source: National Foundation for American Policy; valuations from "Billion Dollar Startup Club," Wall Street Journal, taken at various dates prior to October 1, 2018.
Other valuable immigrant-founded billion-dollar companies include Stripe ($20 billion), Slack ($7.1 billion), Moderna Therapeutics ($7 billion), Robinhood ($5.6 billion), Wish ($4.3 billion), Instacart ($4.2 billion), Houzz ($4 billion), Credit Karma ($3.5 billion), Tanium ($3.5 billion), Zoox ($3.2 billion), CrowdStrike ($3 billion), Unity Technologies ($2.8 billion), Oscar Health Insurance ($2.7 billion), Zenefits ($2 billion) and Avant ($2 billion). Note: These valuations are as of October 1, 2018. Instacart completed a round of funding in mid-November that values the company at $7.87 billion, according to Reuters.
“Other big tech startups in the 2019 IPO queue, according to people familiar with the matter, include workplace-messaging platform Slack Technologies Inc. as well as a raft of smaller but closely watched companies including food-delivery service Postmates Inc., security firms CrowdStrike Inc. and Cloudflare Inc., and videoconferencing-software provider Zoom Video Communications Inc.,” reported the Wall Street Journal.
All five of the companies mentioned above have at least one immigrant founder. There is no startup visa that allows a foreign-born individual to obtain permanent residence (a green card) for founding a business. That’s why immigrant entrepreneurs are almost always refugees or first sponsored by employers or family members. Even then, an individual in H-1B status may wait years for his or her green card before setting off to start a new business.
Immigrant-founded billion-dollar companies employ an average of more than 1,200 employees per company (the vast majority of the jobs in the United States), according to the National Foundation for American Policy. These companies are also among the most exciting and valuable privately held businesses in America. Many are about to become even more valuable.


FORT COLLINS – Fort Collins police cited a Windsor teen Thursday in connection with a July crash that took the life of his younger brother.
Michael Agnew, 17, was cited for careless driving and for not wearing a seat belt. Careless driving that results in a death is a Class 1 traffic misdemeanor, according to a Fort Collins police press release.
The crash happened about 12:30 p.m. July 2 when a 2005 Toyota Corolla driven by Agnew was westbound on Harmony Road and made a left turn at Lady Moon Drive. A Chevrolet Tahoe, in the left lane of eastbound Harmony, avoided a collision with the Corolla, but a 2004 Jeep Cherokee traveling in the right lane of eastbound Harmony collided with the passenger side of the Corolla.
The driver of the Cherokee, James Kriewall, 68, of Fort Collins, suffered minor injuries. His wife, Nancy Kriewall, 66, was seriously injured. Both were taken to Medical Center of the Rockies in Loveland, where they were treated and released.
Agnew’s brother Mitchell Agnew, 16, died at the scene. Michael was taken to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins with minor injuries.


LAPD APOLOGIZES TO BIGGIE'S FAMILY OVER AUTOPSY REPORT!
(AllHipHop News) Representatives for the Los Angeles Police Department have issued an apology to the family of the Notorious B.I.G., over the unexpected release of the slain rapper's autopsy report.
Captain Billy Hayes issued a statement in regards to the autopsy, which revealed that B.I.G., born Christopher Wallace, was shot four times, with one of the bullets ripping through his colon, left lung and heart.
B.I.G. was rushed to Cedars Sinai Hospital in full cardiac arrest and despite attempts to revolve the rapper, he died shortly after arriving at the hospital on March 9, 1997.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the autopsy was released prematurely due to "an administrative error," the LAPD said in the statement.
"Our detectives personally spoke with the Wallace family (Friday) night, and apologized for not notifying them prior to the release" said Captain Billy Hayes, head of the Robbery/Homicide Division. "Obviously this has been a challenging case for us to solve. We hope that witnesses or other people with information will come forward and give us the clues we need to solve this case."
A security hold on the autopsy and other documents relating to B.I.G.'s murder were released after a security hold on the 23 page report was lifted last week.
The LAPD claims they are looking for new leads in the murder case of Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in front of the Petersen Automotive Museum on Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Los Angeles.
His rival, Tupac Shakur, was shot on the Las Vegas Strip on September 7, 1996. He died from his wounds on September 13.


Max Melanson says he cannot wait to get started at his new club Stowmarket Town this summer, writes Alex Moss.
The 20-year-old joined the Old Gold and Blacks on a two-year deal last week, making the switch from Stow’s Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division rivals Thetford Town.
The central midfielder scored an impressive 28 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions last season, and the former Yeovil Town trainee is hoping he can take his goalscoring form from 2017-18 into the next campaign.
“Rick (Andrews, Stow manager) got in contact with me and told me about the direction the club wants to go in,” Melanson said.
“He told me about what they want to do, the improvements happening to the pitch and when you add everything up it’s something I wanted to be a part of.
“I’m only 20-years-old and hopefully I can get a long term thing going here and be successful.
“I’ve heard great things about the club and I’m looking forward to working with the gaffer and Toasty (Tom Parke, first team coach).
Melanson is the second of three new post-season signings so far at Greens Meadow, with his arrival following that of Wroxham defender Tom Matthews last month.
Needham Market defender Sam Nunn has also joined the club, while 15 of last season’s squad have also committed to the club for next season.
Captain Ollie Brown, 56-goal striker Josh Mayhew, Luke Read, Ace Howell, Remi Garrett, Ellis Murrell, Jack Baker, Anton Clarke, Phill Weavers, Leon Ottley-Gooch, Amar Lewis, Angelo Harrop, Craig Brand, Jon Carver and David Kempson have all agreed to stay at Greens Meadow for the 2018-19 campaign.
Stow have confirmed four of their pre-season friendlies this summer. The Old Gold and Blacks will have home games against Leiston (July 21) and Maldon & Tiptree (July 31) and trips to Romford (July 7) and Ipswich Wanderers (July 28).


BEST supplements for weight loss: Shedding the pounds is no easy feat, and while diet and exercise are two things you should prioritise to achieve your goal, some experts have shown taking an amino acid based supplement can offer some assistance.
Weight loss is best achieved by making long-term changes to diet and exercise. A healthy balanced diet consists of at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day, fibre, some dairy, some protein, and small amounts of unsaturated oils and spreads. The exercise guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64 is 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, both mixed with strength exercises on two or more days a week.
But many researchers have dedicated time looking into other weight loss aids.
A 1998 study carried out on 20 people found those who took 5-HTP consumed fewer calories from carbohydrates and fat than those taking a placebo.
5-HTP, its full name 5-Hydroxytryptophan, is a naturally occurring amino acid found in foods like turkey, salmon, seeds and eggs.
Holland & Barrett explains its benefits: “Our bodies use 5-HTP to make the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is involved with the regulation of mood, appetite and gut function.
“5-HTP does not occur naturally in any foods, which means we can’t get it from our diet. So, the idea of supplementing with 5-HTP is to remove the need to create it from tryptophan, which, in turn, is believed to raise serotonin levels in the body.
A 2016 trial by researchers from Brunel University, found using brain imaging scan, 5-HTP can alter our brain activity when we look at food, shifting our focus away from high calorie and high carbohydrate foods, and towards healthier higher protein foods.
There is no recommended daily amount to take for 5-HTP, but studies have shown amounts raging from 50mg a day to 3300mg to be effective.
The high street health store further advises: “Do not take 5-HTP without seeing your GP first, especially before taking higher doses.
Another supplement proven to aid weight loss is apple cider vinegar.
Available as a liquid to add in drinks and in supplement form, apple cider vinegar has been found to reduce weight loss and appetite.
A study published in 2018 looked at people who were actively trying to lose weight.
The research published in Journal of Functional Foods found dieters who had 1.5 tablespoons a day of apple cider vinegar lost more weight than those who only followed the diet.
Researchers concluded apple cider vinegar may aid weight loss by helping to reduce appetite - its acetic acid content has been shown to reduce the absorption of starches in food and slow digestion, which in turn can help keep you fuller for longer.
Glucomannan has also been found to aid weight loss.


The El Paso County and Denver bar associations have three free events coming up open to people affected by the wildfire, says EPCBA executive director Claire Anderson.
“We are saddened to see our community again face a devastating wildfire," she says in a press release, "but we hope to offer clarity and guidance for those who have been impacted by the Black Forest Fire."
Ask-A-Lawyer—The El Paso County Bar Association will host Ask-A-Lawyer for victims of the Black Forest Fire from noon to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19, at the Disaster Assistance Center at the Citizens Service Center, located at 1675 W. Garden of the Gods Road. No appointment is required.
Lawline 9—The Denver Bar Association will dedicate its Lawline 9, a call-in program at 9News, to answering legal questions related to the wildfires. The Lawline 9 will run from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 19. Callers can reach attorneys at 303-698-0999.
Call-A-Lawyer—The EPCBA will also host a call-in program from 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 20. Callers can reach attorneys at 719-471-0380, and they will answer general legal questions and those related to the wildfire.


Shea Patterson is coming to Michigan.
The former five-star prospect and No. 1-ranked quarterback in the class of 2016 announced his decision to transfer from Ole Miss to Michigan on Monday via Twitter.
Patterson, who was on campus for an official visit this weekend, threw for 2,259 yards (63.8 percent completion rate), 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions at Ole Miss last season. His season was cut short after seven games.
Whether or not Patterson will be allowed to play for the Wolverines in 2018 is unclear.
Ole Miss was handed NCAA sanctions due to recruiting infractions recently and the NCAA has permitted the program's senior players to transfer without having to sit out a season. Patterson is a sophomore.
However, a handful of Ole Miss players have alleged they were misled by now former Rebel coach Hugh Freeze and the athletic department during their recruitment about the severity of violations and potential punishment the program was facing.
Ole Miss safety Deontay Anderson, who is also considering a transfer to Michigan, and several other Ole Miss players have retained legal counsel and have petitioned to Ole Miss, the Southeastern Conference and the NCAA for instant transfer eligibility.
If Patterson is cleared, he'll be in competition with Michigan redshirt freshman Brandon Peters and true freshman Dylan McCaffrey next year. The Wolverines also are expected to sign quarterback commits Joe Milton and Kevin Doyle for the 2018 recruiting class.
If he isn't eligible in 2018, he'd be a redshirt junior starting in 2019.
Peters became Michigan's third starting quarterback in 2017 after the Wolverines lost Wilton Speight to a vertebrae injury in Week 4 and were forced to sit fifth-year senior John O'Korn due to ineffective play.
An Indiana native, Peters threw for 486 yards and four touchdowns in games against Rutgers, Minnesota, Maryland and Wisconsin. He was knocked out of the Wisconsin loss with a concussion, which forced him to miss the regular season finale against Ohio State. Peters has since cleared concussion protocol and is expected to start for the Wolverines in the Outback Bowl against South Carolina on Jan. 1.
Speight has announced his decision to take a graduate transfer after this season. Third-year sophomore Alex Malzone also will transfer.
The No. 4-ranked player in the 2016 recruiting class and a Toledo native, Patterson committed to Ole Miss roughly two months after Jim Harbaugh became Michigan's head coach in 2015.
A noted Michigan fan as a youngster, Patterson's grandfather, George Patterson, played in the NBA for the Detroit Pistons. His older brother, Sean, left a quality control job at LSU to join his brother at Ole Miss as a senior player personnel analyst shortly after Patterson committed to the Rebels in 2015.
After sitting out most of his true freshman season, Patterson started Ole Miss' final three games after starter Chad Kelly suffered a season-ending injury. Patterson threw for 880 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions over those games, and rushed for 169 yards. Ole Miss went 1-2 in those games.
Patterson won Ole Miss' starting quarterback job out of camp this season, starting the team's first seven games before going down with a torn PCL in October. Ole Miss was 3-4 when Patterson suffered the knee injury.
Junior quarterback Jordan Ta'amu went 3-2 for the Rebels in place of Patterson, throwing for 1,682 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions.
Patterson was on campus last weekend along with Anderson and Ole Miss receiver Van Jefferson. All three were joined by the entire Michigan coaching staff, including coach Jim Harbaugh, at the Crisler Center for the Wolverines' overtime win over UCLA on Saturday afternoon.
Several Michigan players were on hand to mingle with Patterson and company. Many have been asked over the past week for their thoughts on Harbaugh's decision to entertain transfers.
And whether or not any of them might feel threatened by an outside player coming into the program to compete for their spots.
"More competition makes each other better," said freshman center Cesar Ruiz, who was Patterson's prep quarterback at IMG Academy. "I don't think anyone feels threatened."


US authorities must alleviate the harsh pre-trial detention conditions of Bradley Manning, the soldier accused of leaking information to Wikileaks.
The US army private, 23, has been held for 23 hours a day in a sparsely furnished solitary cell and deprived of a pillow, sheets, and personal possessions since July 2010.
Amnesty International last week wrote to the US Defence secretary, Robert Gates, calling for the restrictions on Bradley Manning to be reviewed. In the same week, the soldier suffered several days of increased restrictions by being temporarily categorized as a ‘suicide risk’.
We’re concerned that the conditions inflicted on Bradley Manning are unnecessarily severe and amount to inhumane treatment by the US authorities. Manning has not been convicted of any offense, but military authorities appear to be using all available means to punish him while in detention. This undermines the United States’ commitment to the principle of the presumption of innocence.
Last Tuesday, Manning was placed on ‘suicide risk’, which resulted in him being stripped of his clothes apart from underwear, and the confiscation of his prescription glasses for most of the day, which Manning says left him in “essential blindness”.
Following protests from Manning and his lawyers, the ‘suicide risk’ restrictions were lifted on Thursday.
Manning is classed as a “maximum custody” detainee, despite having no history of violence or disciplinary offences in custody. This means he is shackled at the hands and legs during all visits and denied opportunities to work, which would allow him to leave his cell.
Manning is also detained under a Prevention of Injury (POI) assignment, despite a recommendation from his official military psychiatrist that this is not necessary. Detainees with POI status are subjected to extra restrictions such as checks by guards every five minutes and bars on sleeping.
There have been no formal reasons given for Manning’s maximum custody and POI status, yet his lawyers’ attempts to challenge the restrictions have been ignored by the authorities.
The repressive conditions imposed on Manning breach the US’s obligations to treat detainees with humanity and dignity. Further, isolation and prolonged cellular confinement, which evidence shows can cause psychological impairment, may undermine Bradley Manning’s ability to defend himself.
In April 2010, Wikileaks released leaked footage of attacks by US Apache helicopters, which killed two Reuters news staff in Iraq in 2007.
Manning was arrested the following month and then charged with “transferring classified data” and “delivering national defense information to an unauthorized source”.
Wikileaks has also since released large batches of information on the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war, and US diplomatic communications.
Manning could face a maximum sentence of 52 years in jail.
Help us end the punitive detention of Bradley Manning by taking action now.
This entry was posted in Security and Human Rights, USA and tagged bradley manning, Julian Assange, wikileaks by The Editors. Bookmark the permalink.
Thanks for this excellent column, demand and call to action.
Manning’s treatment is horrendous and seems to be worsening as support for him grows. The Marines are getting more extreme in their arbitrary detention of David House and Jane Hamsher on Sunday and putting him on suicide watch last week, even though the psychiatrist at Quantico told them he did not need it. This led to him being denied everything except underwear for two days.
It is also important to re-think Manning’s alleged crime. He is not accused of giving documents to Iran, China or Russia, but to the media. He is not accused of selling documents to the highest bidder to become wealth, he gave them away. According to the chat logs, if they are accurate, Manning wanted to expose crimes and start a debate. He wanted the U.S. to live up to its highest ideals. Isn’t that patriotism rather than being a traitor?
The Bradley Manning Support Network, http://www.BradleyManning.org, put out the statement below this morning.
QUANTICO, VA, 23 January 2011 — Military officials at Marine Corps Base Quantico today increased the isolation of accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower U.S. Army Pfc. Bradley Manning by detaining Manning’s friend and regular visitor David House at the base entrance until visiting hours were over. House was accompanied by Jane Hamsher of Firedoglake.com, a website that has collected 42,000 signatures on a petition calling for improvements to the conditions of Manning’s detention, which constitute extreme and illegal pre-trial punishment.
David House has been making regular trips from his home in the Boston area to visit Manning at the Marine Corps brig since he was transferred there from Kuwait last summer. While detained at the base gate, House posted to Twitter that “one of the many MPs around the car says his orders to stop us come from on high.” House and Hamsher were held on entry to the base for nearly the entire period of visiting hours, repeatedly demanded to provide information and documents the MPs already had, and threatened with arrest. Hamsher’s car was towed away under the pretext that she lacked proof of insurance, despite having presented a digital copy.
“This is a bizarre action by the Marines. I think they see the growing support for Bradley Manning, they see more and more people realizing that he is being treated unfairly, and that as the facts of the case come out more and more people see that he is a patriot and not a traitor,” said Kevin Zeese, Director of Voters for Peace and member of the Bradley Manning Support Network’s steering committee.
In a letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates last week, Amnesty International stated that “the restrictions imposed in PFC Manning’s case appear to be unnecessarily harsh and punitive.” The letter also suggests that Manning’s confinement is in contravention of international law, and calls upon the military to conduct a review.
House intends to return to Quantico next weekend to once again attempt to visit Manning and to deliver the petition.
In addition to petitions and public protests across the nation, the Bradley Manning Support Network has asked supporters to speak out against Manning’s inhumane treatment by contacting officials at Quantico. The Support Network encourages concerned individuals to phone Quantico public affairs at +1-703-432-0289, to write to base commander Colonel Choike at 3250 Catlin Avenue, Quantico, VA 22134, and to write to brig commander CWO4 Averhart at 3247 Elrod Avenue, Quantico, VA 22134. We are asking that Bradley Manning’s human rights be respected while he remains in custody; specifically, that he be allowed social interaction with other inmates, that he be allowed meaningful physical exercise, that approved visitors be allowed to see him without interrogation and harassment, and that the “Prevention of Injury” order (the military’s basis for the extreme pre-trial punishment regime) be lifted.
A plan to ruin someone's psychological health so that they cannot withstand trial is despicable. The consequences of such a policy extend far beyond the time in jail or the trial date, through the rest of his life.
The actions this man took seem to have been an attempt to make the world a more fair, just place. To treat him so blatantly unjustly is to prove yourselves worse than the crime you accuse him of committing.
I had never in my LIFE been afraid to speak my mind in my own country until this past year. The US's behavior is unbeLIEVEable to me right now. I'm in shock.
Who would have thought that Dubya would be better on Human Rights then Obama. What a sad day for America. Truly headed towards the socialism/communism that Hitler/Stalin/Pol Pot believed in.
While I'm reading this, I wonder what progress we are making.
Most of these soldiers are just kids, between 18 and 25 years, without any kind of ethical or spiritual formation. They only have one virtue, to serve the country or to any corporation, in which one must have an empty brain, as the ideas they fill their heads with building bigger and better idiots, so far EU is winning.
It is impossible trust anyone that can not think for itself. For this reason, I am fully convinced that Soldier Bradley Manning is not only an exception if not a hero.
The states use false training standards as the false development of the race or love of country by underestimating what is of true value in life.
It saddens me deeply that these children going to war believe that this is a game, and that humans are just toys.
An intelligent and mature man would never go to war or kill anyone. Wars are human blood factories. and unfortunately, our hero Bradley discovered it too late.
Good luck getting the US to respect human rights. If they can justify kidnappings, torture, illegal executions, secret prisons, illegally spying on civilians, illegal wars, recklessly sabotaging nuclear installations, assisting in Israel's land grabs and using predator drones to monitor civilians, they can find a way to justify torturing a soldier so he can psychologically no longer defend himself. Apparently it's the new American way.
Well of course Iran, the country Bradley Manning hoped and intended would be the main beneficiary of his treason does not bother to keep its prisoners in such "terrible conditions" as poor little traitor Bradley suffers in.
Nope, Iran just tortures and executes them.
50 executions in Iran in the last week, many of them political prisoners or activists for oppressed ethnic groups. I am sure all you people who wrote in outraged apparently because Bradley Manning is not being kept in a 5 start hotel with room service, are equally upset at the 50 executions in the last week in Iran.
Very simply put, a man named Obama has learned to manipulate liberals by imitating MLK, among others in everything but deed, so he can do anything he ultimately wants. He has gotten liberals to forsake every principal they once claimed to stand for, from the indiscriminate and horrifically cruel killing of families via the sterile but apparently to Obama humorous Predator drones, to the obvious torture of Bradley Manning in order to get him to turn on Wikileaks and indict Assange. Frank Rich and the other liberals are silent on this and their silence is a condonation of the Nazi-like cruelty. They are mesmerized by their own image of themselves as liberal crusaders behind the reincarnation of MLK even though, as it turns out, Obama is a vicious right wing narcissist who has but one goal and that's the extension of his power. He is utterly immoral. On New Year's eve of this year, his drones killed five people in Pakistan who were carrying their dead from an earlier drone strike. Apparently, Mr. Obama either likes the idea of bloodshed or he believes he's doing this to gain yet more power. No doubt Hitler would be capable of this horrific behavior but few leaders, other than Obama himself, have been willing to go this far.
Jim, you're an idiot. A zealot. But an idiot just the same.
Iran has criticized the WikiLeaks documents. They do not like what they say either.
If Manning wanted to benefit Iran he would have leaked or sold the documents to Iran! He didn't and is not accused of doing so. He is accused of giving the documents to the media.
The main beneficiary of the leaks Manning is accused of making would be the United States. The American people are lied to about U.S. foreign policy. Now that the truth is known we can work to change U.S. foreign policy so we operate within the law and not as a rogue state.
There should be a way to protect human beings who put their citizenship to the world, above any citizenship. Bi-nationals feel sometimes sort of teared up with conflicting loyalties, but in fact, if one did think, profundly think, there is no possibility of being disloyal to nothing if one follows simple basic human rights and ideals.
I'm sure the US Constitution is not contradictory with the basic principles of humanity this soldier tried to follow. He should be decorated as a man of honour who tried to protect the honour and Ideals of his Country.
Freedom of speech and of the press are among the fundamental personal rights and liberties. He had a duty, as a soldier. He did his duty, toward his people, his Nation. If the people in charge were twisted, they should be questionned. Not this man who went to fight for Liberty, Rights, Ideals … and refused to see them trashed. Save this young guy, and the Spirit some try to forget.
The reason why Manning is going to get a well deserved sentence of life in prison without parole under full military discipline till the day he dies in the Leavenworth Maximum Security Federal Military penitentiary.
The wordings of the current oath of enlistment for the United States Army, and oath Manning swore to only 3 years ago.
I, Bradley Manning, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
(Title 10, US Code; Act of 5 May 1960 replacing the wording first adopted in 1789, with amendment effective 5 October 1962).
A plan to ruin someone’s psychological health so that they cannot withstand trial is despicable. The consequences of such a policy extend far beyond the time in jail or the trial date, through the rest of his life.
I had never in my LIFE been afraid to speak my mind in my own country until this past year. The US’s behavior is unbeLIEVEable to me right now. I’m in shock.
Finally, some sort of action from Amnesty. But why has AI refused to declare Manning as a Prisoner of Conscience?
The President of the United States certainly didn't ask his army to act shamefully. To follow international law, and international Humanitarian Law is an obligation for all States and their armies.
No State can't be above these basic principles of Human Rights and Laws of War… The law is mandatory for nations bound by this panel of laws, treaties, and basic simple customary unwritten rules of war. So this soldier remained true to President(s) who, whatever the President, didn't declare war on Human Rights, Justice and international Community (which has the duty to ensure compliance to these rules). I'm sure the President(s) of the United STates love freedom, democracy too much to ask the army to be outlaws.
Sorry you don't use your name. It would be good to see where you are coming from.
So, with that oath, what is a soldier supposed to when s/he sees crimes being committed by his military? Under the Nuremberg Principles hiding the crimes makes him complicit. Just following orders is no excuse. So, what should he or she to do?
And is it defending the Constitution when we allow a citizen that has not been found guilty of anything (who is innocent until proven guilty) to be tortured by solitary confinement pre-trial. What should those Marines guarding him do? Should they remain silent and complicit to violations of the 8th Amendment?
It is not as simple as you make it out to be. It the U.S. were a law abiding foreign policy player, not fighting illegal wars, not torturing people, not killing civilians wantonly etc. — you'd be right. But that is not the case. The U.S. is in illegal wars and committing war crimes regularly then lying to the people about it.
We are a representative Democracy that is a republic (i.e. laws matter). How are civilians supposed to take responsibility for the actions of their elected representatives when we are lied to? Isn't getting the truth to the American people consistent with a government of, by and for the people.
While I’m reading this, I wonder what progress we are making.
"I, Bradley Manning, do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, -foreign and domestic-; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God."
Sorry, not in the mood to experiment with html in this, but notice the portion in dashes, the words, 'foreign AND domestic'. Notice also that this is preceding the section about following orders. It is phrased this way -very- carefully because it is possible that a domestic enemy could, quite possibly, be the enemy.
Would you also support a soldier who, under orders, massacred 300 US citizens because his commanding officer turned terrorist without warning his soldiers? Or would you expect that soldier to turn on his commander? Be careful how you answer…if you bother to do so.
Good luck getting the US to respect human rights. If they can justify kidnappings, torture, illegal executions, secret prisons, illegally spying on civilians, illegal wars, recklessly sabotaging nuclear installations, assisting in Israel’s land grabs and using predator drones to monitor civilians, they can find a way to justify torturing a soldier so he can psychologically no longer defend himself. Apparently it’s the new American way.
Very simply put, a man named Obama has learned to manipulate liberals by imitating MLK, among others in everything but deed, so he can do anything he ultimately wants. He has gotten liberals to forsake every principal they once claimed to stand for, from the indiscriminate and horrifically cruel killing of families via the sterile but apparently to Obama humorous Predator drones, to the obvious torture of Bradley Manning in order to get him to turn on Wikileaks and indict Assange. Frank Rich and the other liberals are silent on this and their silence is a condonation of the Nazi-like cruelty. They are mesmerized by their own image of themselves as liberal crusaders behind the reincarnation of MLK even though, as it turns out, Obama is a vicious right wing narcissist who has but one goal and that’s the extension of his power. He is utterly immoral. On New Year’s eve of this year, his drones killed five people in Pakistan who were carrying their dead from an earlier drone strike. Apparently, Mr. Obama either likes the idea of bloodshed or he believes he’s doing this to gain yet more power. No doubt Hitler would be capable of this horrific behavior but few leaders, other than Obama himself, have been willing to go this far.
"Would you also support a soldier who, under orders, massacred 300 US citizens because his commanding officer turned terrorist without warning his soldiers?"
One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter!
Jim, you’re an idiot. A zealot. But an idiot just the same.
Well of course Iran, the country Bradley Manning hoped and intended would be the main beneficiary of his treason does not bother to keep its prisoners in such “terrible conditions” as poor little traitor Bradley suffers in.
If Manning wanted to benefit Iran he would have leaked or sold the documents to Iran! He didn’t and is not accused of doing so. He is accused of giving the documents to the media.
I’m sure the US Constitution is not contradictory with the basic principles of humanity this soldier tried to follow. He should be decorated as a man of honour who tried to protect the honour and Ideals of his Country.
Til now i tink whe life in a free world and i was never in my LIFE afraid to speak my mind in my own country until this past year. The US’s behavior is unbeLIEVEable to me right now.
The President of the United States certainly didn’t ask his army to act shamefully. To follow international law, and international Humanitarian Law is an obligation for all States and their armies.
No State can’t be above these basic principles of Human Rights and Laws of War… The law is mandatory for nations bound by this panel of laws, treaties, and basic simple customary unwritten rules of war. So this soldier remained true to President(s) who, whatever the President, didn’t declare war on Human Rights, Justice and international Community (which has the duty to ensure compliance to these rules). I’m sure the President(s) of the United STates love freedom, democracy too much to ask the army to be outlaws.
Sorry you don’t use your name. It would be good to see where you are coming from.
It is not as simple as you make it out to be. It the U.S. were a law abiding foreign policy player, not fighting illegal wars, not torturing people, not killing civilians wantonly etc. — you’d be right. But that is not the case. The U.S. is in illegal wars and committing war crimes regularly then lying to the people about it.
We are a representative Democracy that is a republic (i.e. laws matter). How are civilians supposed to take responsibility for the actions of their elected representatives when we are lied to? Isn’t getting the truth to the American people consistent with a government of, by and for the people.
Sorry, not in the mood to experiment with html in this, but notice the portion in dashes, the words, ‘foreign AND domestic’. Notice also that this is preceding the section about following orders. It is phrased this way -very- carefully because it is possible that a domestic enemy could, quite possibly, be the enemy.
If you truly want to make a difference here's how.
The link below is to a new website that I am involved with. It allows people to share opinions about concepts within news stories and do so anonymously, but in measurable ways. It's like a consumer reports for the news with an American Idol style voting process. The idea is that when enough people rise up and voice their opinions measurably other people, corporations, and politicians take notice. There aren't a lot of users on the site and you still need to be approved to join, but I think this is going to benefit society as it grows!
In the closing weeks of 2010 I wrote a number of letters asking why, after more than 7 MONTHS Amnesty International had said and done nothing. 7 months of an unlawful, unjust and inhumane incarceration of Bradly Manning. Well at last, they have decided that public opinion must have swung against them enough for them to be seen to be doing something. Let us hope that they ACTUALLY do more than just be seen to advocate his release. All I can say now. IS IT'S ABOUT BLOODY TIME.
One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter!
If I was Bradley I would have prepared myself better to kill anyone trying to arrest me after Risking my Life for the Common People.
You're a Soldier of Fortune and you do what you've been trained to Do and that is Fight 'till your last Breath.
Bradley have Served All who Love Justice, including God.
Bradley Manning almost 2 years ago, before the release of the diplomatic cables, released to wikileaks the horrific video of the massacre of the Iraqi civilians, women, children from a US Blackhawk helicopter firing missiles and machine guns.
Manning could have stopped right there and never released another thing in his life and most people even in the US military and government would have privately respected his actions. Sure, he may have gone to prison for a few months but that is about it. The Blackwawk massacre was a cover up of a terrible killing of civilians, and even though the pilot and crewman who pulled the trigger were under an honestly mistaken belief that they were killing armed soldiers, they in fact killed women and children.
But Manning did not stop this the Blackhawk video . He continued to also release hundreds of thousands of other documents, 99% of which had absolutely no relevance what so ever to US war crimes or illegal acts, and did not help expose any wrongdoings. Many of these secret documents include the names of people who had confidential contact with the US, like for example human rights activists under oppressive regimes secretly asking the US for help.
The thousands of innocent people named in the documents Manning released had the right to have their names be kept secret but now many of them, exactly the kinds of people Amnesty International would otherwise support, face serious risk of arrest, torture and execution all thanks to Manning.
In the closing weeks of 2010 I wrote a number of letters asking why, after more than 7 MONTHS Amnesty International had said and done nothing. 7 months of an unlawful, unjust and inhumane incarceration of Bradly Manning. Well at last, they have decided that public opinion must have swung against them enough for them to be seen to be doing something. Let us hope that they ACTUALLY do more than just be seen to advocate his release. All I can say now. IS IT’S ABOUT BLOODY TIME.
If you truly want to make a difference here’s how.
The link below is to a new website that I am involved with. It allows people to share opinions about concepts within news stories and do so anonymously, but in measurable ways. It’s like a consumer reports for the news with an American Idol style voting process. The idea is that when enough people rise up and voice their opinions measurably other people, corporations, and politicians take notice. There aren’t a lot of users on the site and you still need to be approved to join, but I think this is going to benefit society as it grows!
You’re a Soldier of Fortune and you do what you’ve been trained to Do and that is Fight ’till your last Breath.
For Kevin Zeese – and 'ANONYMOUS' – I kinda agree to both those posts. I used to see in aviator's circles a magazine I don't remember the name of offhand; but there was a column or article in it called 'ANYMOUSE'. The gist of it was that any pilot, engineer, or passenger could point out flaws in aviation – under the pseudonym 'ANYMOUSE', with no fear of reprisal or discovery.
This is the Land of the 'Free' which goes about criticizing others, like China and Russia about treating their citizens inhumanely, even as recent as Hu Jin Tau's visit. The US Administration attracts derision, talking about human rights having kidnapped, tortured and killed innocents in their so-called war on terror, not to mention illegal invasions that cause hundreds of thousands of civilians! The US is a laughable terror state that preaches a war on terror; the nation that created this terror in the first place!
Amnesty International should show the same relentlessness to the US about human rights as it does with China and others. Otherwise it is just another hypocritical Western organization!
Every 5 minutes during the waking hours, Brad has to verbally respond to a call from his jailors.
A tactic aimed to break him.
Over 7 months in prison … & still no charges!
Mr Zeese, go to a blog on this same page of Amnesty's, the one on the Palestinian prisoner of conscience, Abu Rahma.
There you'll see blogs by the Zionist, "Judonimh", who defends israel on every issue, from the Mavi Marmara to the latest demolitions of Palestinian homes.
He changes his name all the time… Judo, Judo Nimh, Juddooo, Jewdo… why ?
Why not name a single solid name that can be verified ?
The diplomatic cables Wikileaked reveal illegal US activities against the UN … against elected Governments throughout the world … against people struggling for justice….
Wikileaks' revelations continue to uncover a global picture of US criminality in the environmental ( oh, yes ! ), diplomatic, intelligence & every other sphere involving the sovereignties of nations, peoples, & life forms.
Those exposed are among the criminals in these spheres… the very ones who OUGHT TO BE exposed.
Why would an innocent person be harmed, if he wasn't implicated in a criminal enterprise whose revelation would affect his name alone ?
Or how exactly would harm come to those exposed ? We are never told !
& the Zionist blogger Judonimh plays his usual games of smearing the actual innocents… & protecting the guilty.
You'll notice he'll rarely point at the real criminals .. those who trashing all the laws, who keep a man without charges in conditions that will wear him down & destroy him.
Sometimes Judonimh will talk of a past crime … like he mentions the Iraq massacre video !
But he mentions it to only to CAST DOUBT ON Brad … to say he should have stopped his disclosures with that video.
The Zionist Judonimh has his sights on stopping the support welling up for Brad, .. by confusing the people speaking up for him.
Judonimh's aim here is to stop the broad movement toward the revelation of the truth today.
The movement towards making secretive governments & government practices transparent & ACCOUNTABLE.
Judonimh will divert your attention from this real issue with shadow accusations about "thousands", & even throw in one real issue ( about the Iraq video ) … to monkeywrench the people's movement toward their broad goals.
Be warned about the real & actual USraeli psyops operations aimed at confusing the people today.
& let's move onward to free Brad, free ourselves.
For Kevin Zeese – and ‘ANONYMOUS’ – I kinda agree to both those posts. I used to see in aviator’s circles a magazine I don’t remember the name of offhand; but there was a column or article in it called ‘ANYMOUSE’. The gist of it was that any pilot, engineer, or passenger could point out flaws in aviation – under the pseudonym ‘ANYMOUSE’, with no fear of reprisal or discovery.
This is the Land of the ‘Free’ which goes about criticizing others, like China and Russia about treating their citizens inhumanely, even as recent as Hu Jin Tau’s visit. The US Administration attracts derision, talking about human rights having kidnapped, tortured and killed innocents in their so-called war on terror, not to mention illegal invasions that cause hundreds of thousands of civilians! The US is a laughable terror state that preaches a war on terror; the nation that created this terror in the first place!
Mr Zeese, go to a blog on this same page of Amnesty’s, the one on the Palestinian prisoner of conscience, Abu Rahma.
There you’ll see blogs by the Zionist, “Judonimh”, who defends israel on every issue, from the Mavi Marmara to the latest demolitions of Palestinian homes.
Wikileaks’ revelations continue to uncover a global picture of US criminality in the environmental ( oh, yes ! ), diplomatic, intelligence & every other sphere involving the sovereignties of nations, peoples, & life forms.
Why would an innocent person be harmed, if he wasn’t implicated in a criminal enterprise whose revelation would affect his name alone ?
You’ll notice he’ll rarely point at the real criminals .. those who trashing all the laws, who keep a man without charges in conditions that will wear him down & destroy him.
Judonimh’s aim here is to stop the broad movement toward the revelation of the truth today.
Judonimh will divert your attention from this real issue with shadow accusations about “thousands”, & even throw in one real issue ( about the Iraq video ) … to monkeywrench the people’s movement toward their broad goals.
& let’s move onward to free Brad, free ourselves.
BRADLEY MANNING is a hero! FREE NOW!
What happened to the rights of US citizens stating innocent until proven guilty. This young man won’t even have a chance to prove his innocent.
And isn’t the first motto of America freedom of press, speech and off course now that all sounds like lots of BLA BLA BLA coming from our government. This all does not feel even like a democracy we brag about in our country any more.
Manning is a soldier, a freedom fighter and a defender of his country, he witnessed low , illegal ethical standards of his military and wanted the truth out there because it went against his belief of what America stands by. To me, he is a hero and deserves nothing but respect, after all ,soldiers like him risk their lives for democracy and freedom. I think that people forget that the government serves the people, not the other way around! This legalised unjust treatment of Manning just shows what the government really think of their soldiers, sheep, to follow through orders, keep their mouths shut and be sacrificial lambs for what ever political agenda. The government are traitors to their own people if they don't allow the truth to be known, it goes against every moral and human instinct. Its the 21st century! this is not supposed to happen, I feel like people have "dumbed" down and because of that our rights are being taken away bit by bit.
Selina : This is the larger truth that has been said so far:The government are traitors to their own people. Those who "really move the interests of this world are the big corporations (electricity, gas, oil and nuclear energy) And goverments are serving them and their interests by participating in wars. For this reason governments and especially the large corporations are brain-dead sheep makers,in the name of the country or any false ideal; to follow through orders.
This policy is currently being implemented in all supposedly democratic countries, both the military and citizens, to the point of annulling the freedom and peoples rights and force individuals to obey, through the fear of unemployment, hunger and misery.
This is what is currently happening around the world.Despit all people are not blind and people through virtual media, and social movements are calling for a historic changes. The big lie of the modern world is sinking.
Manning is a soldier, a freedom fighter and a defender of his country, he witnessed low , illegal ethical standards of his military and wanted the truth out there because it went against his belief of what America stands by. To me, he is a hero and deserves nothing but respect, after all ,soldiers like him risk their lives for democracy and freedom. I think that people forget that the government serves the people, not the other way around! This legalised unjust treatment of Manning just shows what the government really think of their soldiers, sheep, to follow through orders, keep their mouths shut and be sacrificial lambs for what ever political agenda. The government are traitors to their own people if they don’t allow the truth to be known, it goes against every moral and human instinct. Its the 21st century! this is not supposed to happen, I feel like people have “dumbed” down and because of that our rights are being taken away bit by bit.
Selina : This is the larger truth that has been said so far:The government are traitors to their own people. Those who “really move the interests of this world are the big corporations (electricity, gas, oil and nuclear energy) And goverments are serving them and their interests by participating in wars. For this reason governments and especially the large corporations are brain-dead sheep makers,in the name of the country or any false ideal; to follow through orders.
There is only one crime and punishment actually spelled out in The Constitution. Treason. This slimebag went out of his way to betray the trust and position he had been given. He put many peoples lives at risk, and you are mad he does not have a pillow?
He deserves a fair trail, a rope, and a short drop with a sudden stop. Nothing more.
He committed treason. He loses his rights. Too many of you are living in fantasy land.
zeezero: He was accused, not proven. So far, there is NO trial to set up. The military said they will set it up — whatever happened to the speedy trial? The truth is: They have NO proof. Treason or not, one must be proven guilty.
THAT IS THE LAW. The same idea that serves us all in this country for the last 300 years. You, sir, are living in fantasy land if you chose to imprison a US citizen based on lack of evidence & lack of speedy trial.
I for one am horrified by the gov't's inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning and I echo the sentiments of the previous commentator who expressed a first-time fear of speaking-out now in the USA. Were things this out-of-order in the US in the immediate post-Nuremberg era of the late-1940s?
I for one am horrified by the gov’t’s inhumane treatment of Bradley Manning and I echo the sentiments of the previous commentator who expressed a first-time fear of speaking-out now in the USA. Were things this out-of-order in the US in the immediate post-Nuremberg era of the late-1940s?
Unfortunately, the truth will neither set you free, nor make you feel safe.
There are some things the government has to lie about, because you, as a citizen, can not be trusted to do what is right for your fellow citizens, and that is the unfortunate truth.
Sure, if everyone in the United States of America could be trusted, diplomats wouldn't lie and keep secrets.
But, it turns out, some of the citizens in this country (most, even) will eventually leak that information to foreign enemies (yes, we do have them, and yes, some of them are way more evil and disgusting than we are), most liekly with harmless, lofty, or good motives, and the first manipulative foreigner who has their eye on an immoral prize will abuse that weakness and attempt to bring this country to its knees..
This is the painful reality of an international country, the citizens are security risks.
I'd like to hear your thoughts on the topic, but please address my points directly if you do, because I would really like to know if I am wrong.
Manning is military personnel, and that changes his rights.
Just thought that should be discussed in more detail, as most of you seem to be intentionally brushing past or over that point without any discussion on the topic.
Sure, if everyone in the United States of America could be trusted, diplomats wouldn’t lie and keep secrets.
I’d like to hear your thoughts on the topic, but please address my points directly if you do, because I would really like to know if I am wrong.
They are mesmerized by their own image of themselves as liberal crusaders behind the reincarnation of MLK even though, as it turns out, Obama is a vicious right wing narcissist who has but one goal and that's the extension of his power. He is utterly immoral. On New Year's eve of this year, his drones killed five people in Pakistan who were carrying their dead from an earlier drone strike. Apparently, Mr. Obama either likes the idea of bloodshed or he believes he's doing this to gain yet more power. No doubt Hitler would be capable of this horrific behavior but few leaders, other than Obama himself, have been willing to go this far.
If they can justify kidnappings, torture, illegal executions, secret prisons, illegally spying on civilians, illegal wars, recklessly sabotaging nuclear installations, assisting in Israel's land grabs and using predator drones to monitor civilians, they can find a way to justify torturing a soldier so he can psychologically no longer defend himself. Apparently it's the new American way.
In April 2010, Wikileaks released leaked footage of attacks by US Apache helicopt.


Play of the Day: Where Can Kirstjen Nielsen Eat In Peace?
Play of the Day: Did The Flag Consent to That Hug?
According to a new book about the Trump family, Donald Trump Jr. was called "Diaper Don" derisively while attending college. Late Night's Seth Meyers joked about the news, saying "like father, like son."
With an executive order this week, President Donald Trump reversed his administration's policy of separating undocumented children at the border from their parents. However, the plan does not have a clear path to reunifying the families, prompting Last Week Tonight's John Oliver to joke that plan is like a recipe for cake that just says "you will enjoy some cake." The Break's Michelle Wolf joked that this plan is like a popular nursery rhyme, saying "You think Humpty Dumpty had trouble getting put back together, just imagine if all the king's men were disinterested racists," adding that they'd probably just ask "is the wall okay?"


Congress may not have declared outright that pizza is a vegetable, but the whole debate over pizza sauce in public schools was still quite foolish.
It was about as foolish as saying pizza qualifies as a veggie in any way, shape or form.
How much pizza sauce does it take to equal a serving of vegetables? Essentially that was the question being asked.
According to Reuters, Congress was debating changes to a spending bill that would have eliminated pizza's status as a vegetable and limited how often French fries could be served in federally subsidized school lunches.
It all stemmed from a 2010 child nutrition law that wanted to influence schools to improve the nutrition in lunches served to almost 32 million US school children.
The obesity warriors in the U.S. were disappointed when the changes were shot down, pizza and French fries will continue to be served at the current rate. These items are currently served at a rate of everyday, which is probably too often.
The Washington Post made sure to let everyone know that the government did not declare that pizza is a vegetable. Their defenses of the government’s attempts to control school children’s lunches do not make what went down seem any less foolish.
It also makes you wonder what the Post’s motivations as a news organization are when they defend government buffoonery so strongly.
No, the government does not believe that pizza is the same thing as a scoop of broccoli or carrots. However, a stupid loophole has allowed the tomato sauce on pizza to count as a serving of vegetables for years.
Currently, two tablespoons of tomato paste on a piece of pizza is enough for it to pass through the legal loophole as a serving of vegetables. The child obesity crusaders wanted the amount of tomato sauce to be raised to a half-cup of tomato paste to qualify pizza as a vegetable serving.
Of course this was shot down, and the lesser amount of tomato sauce will still qualify the sauce on pizza as a vegetable.
The real stupidity of this situation is how lobbyists like the American Frozen Food Institute (AFFI) did the work to get the changes shot down. The Star Tribune in Minnesota has it on record that one of AFFI’s members - Schwan Food Co - has donated money to the campaigns of many members of the Minnesota congressional delegation.
How much do you want to bet that they donated money in several other states too?
This whole pizza situation has benefitted the makers of frozen pizza who have nice fat deals with the government’s public school system. Because the changes were shot down, ConAgra Foods Inc. and Schwan Food Co will not have to make any changes to their products. This means that they can watch the money continue to roll in while kids continue to eat substandard frozen pizza every day.
The government and the First Lady make all of these claims that obesity is an epidemic and that something needs to be done. They all act like they care about the health of children, yet they allow money to win out once things get serious.
Luckily most parents can still send their kids to school with a lunch from home that is actually crafted with nutrition in mind. Enjoy that freedom while you can because one school in Chicago has banned lunches from home unless there is a doctor’s note.
Who really cares about the nutrition kids are receiving in public schools? Not your government and their friends in the frozen pizza industry. They've shown that their only concern is continuing to use the health of kids in public school as a political tool. They could have switched from pizza to something more healthy, yet they choose to carry on a petty battle over tomato sauce.


A country boy with a punk-rock heart, Cory Branan fires twin barrels of barroom boogie woogie and honky-tonk twang on “You Make Me,” the kickoff track from his upcoming release, The No-Hit Wonder.
Like most of his music, “You Make Me” is a left-of-center tune regardless of where you’re standing. It’s too rockin’ for country and too drawling for rock & roll, shot through with a guitar riff stolen from Ron Wood’s mid-Seventies wheelhouse and a piano solo steeped in the Old West vibe of a border town saloon. In other words, the song is thoroughly Cory Branan, a rootsy rave-up tailored to the shape of someone who’s made a habit of shrugging off most normal outfits. To sweeten the deal, Jason Isbell stops by for a cameo, harmonizing with Branan’s boozy baritone during each refrain.
The No-Hit Wonder, Branan’s second release for the country-punk label Bloodshot Records, hits stores on August 19th. Two weeks later, the no-hit wonder himself will kick off his fall tour in Little Rock, Arkansas, remaining on the road through mid-October.


The future of Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet is set to become a major election issue this week amid concern that billions of pounds is being spent on a successor before parliament has approved an upgrade.
MPs will not vote on Trident’s replacement, the largest UK submarine project in a generation, until 2016. But a Ministry of Defence report, slipped out over Christmas, reveals that spending on the project’s “assessment phase” is to increase by a further £261m this year. Of this money, which will be drawn down from the project’s future budget, £206m will be spent on new facilities at the BAE Systems shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness.
On Tuesday the SNP and Plaid Cymru will force a debate on the Trident upgrade, which is expected to cost £20bn in total.
Angus Robertson, the SNP’s Westminster leader and defence spokesman, said: “When Labour MPs have voted with the Tories for another £30bn of austerity cuts, it is frankly scandalous that a further quarter of a billion pounds of taxpayers’ money is to be spent on Trident before parliamentarians even get a vote on whether or not to replace the system.
The MoD report, The UK’s future nuclear deterrent: 2014 update to Parliament, reveals that more than half a billion pounds – some £1.4m a day – was spent on the project in the last financial year alone. Much of this went on “long lead” items to build specialist parts for the new submarines, such as their propulsion and missile launching systems.
It is estimated that £1.24bn has been spent on the project so far, the same amount as chancellor George Osborne pledged to find in new money for the NHS. The MoD claims that its spending decisions will reduce the overall cost of the replacement programme by £42m.
But the report reveals that the total cost of the project’s assessment phase, at the end of which a decision on whether to proceed with Trident’s successor will be taken, will rise to £3.3bn, nearly £300m more than the MoD originally indicated.
The revelation has prompted fury from pro-disarmament parties, which could play a crucial role in any future coalition government.
They accuse the MoD of spending so much on the project that the next government will find it impossible to abandon.
The Greens joined the SNP and Plaid in accusing the government of seeking to bury a key issue for voters.
The MoD and the Conservatives are believed to want the UK to have four submarines in any future deterrent fleet.
The Lib Dems suggest that the UK could get by with fewer submarines, which would not have to be on constant patrol as is the case now.
Labour leader Ed Miliband has indicated that he wants Trident replaced with a cheaper system. Many in his party would like it scrapped altogether. “This is a useless, hugely expensive virility symbol which will never be used,” said Labour MP Paul Flynn.


Microsoft has released Social Share, a free plug-in for PowerPoint that lets you share your slides to Facebook and Twitter as images or video.
The tool lets you share individual slides as images and your entire presentation as a photo album.
If you like, you can package your entire deck as a video. This keeps your transitions and other animations intact.
The plug-in also adds a pane to PowerPoint, where you can see comments people leave on your shared presentations without leaving the app.
In addition, Social Share automatically uploads your presentation to OneDrive so you can share a link to download the file.
If you’re in a conference, you could post your PowerPoint to Twitter and present to an audience and then you could look up the comments in the social activity pane and address them during the Q&A part of the session.
Social Share is the latest product to come out of Microsoft Garage, the company’s program for inventive employees to launch experimental projects.
It has previously released Arrow, an Android launcher, a lock screen replacement app as well as Home Team, a Windows Phone service to recommend maintenance professionals to your contacts.


HONOLULU, May 30 (Reuters) - Molten rock from several lava-spewing fissures opened by Kilauea Volcano crept toward clusters of homes and vacation rentals on the eastern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island on Wednesday, as authorities ushered residents from the area as a precaution.
On Tuesday, a lava stream crossed a larger east-west route, Highway 132, as it advanced toward Kapoho. A separate flow of red-hot molten rock was headed in the direction of the Vacationland Hawaii community to the south.
Civil defense officials also cited the problem of widespread communication outages in the area due to downed power and phone lines, reinforcing the decision to proceed with evacuation plans immediately rather than wait for a potential emergency.
Residents of the area, part of the Island of Hawaii’s Puna district, were urged to stay tuned to local radio stations for further updates.
The numbers of people and homes affected by the evacuation were not immediately known. They join some 2,000 residents displaced due to lava flows and toxic sulfur dioxide gas emissions at the outset of the eruption nearly four weeks ago farther west, in and around the Leilani Estates community.


Diane has done a huge amount of community work during her life, and she's currently Deputy Chair of the charitable fund Greater Good and a board member of Hands Across Canberra.
Both organisations reflect Diane's outlook of giving back to the Canberra community, a community she loves.
Originally from Adelaide, Diane has lived in Canberra since 1965 when she was only 18.
She was influenced by parents who instilled in her a sense of looking after those less fortunate, with her first real job in Canberra setting up the Childcare Centre at Belconnen Mall.
From there, she worked for Legal Aid, ATSIC, and was appointed as Public Trustee of the ACT.
As Administrator of the Canberra Bushfire Recovery Appeal in 2003, Diane discovered Canberra had a big heart and that "we are a very caring community".
Diane was ACT Local Hero in 2004 and in 2007 was recognised by the International Woman's Day Award for services to the ACT Community.