LAHORE: Begum Kulsoom Nawaz, wife of former premier Nawaz Sharif, was laid to rest in Jati Umra, Raiwind after offering of her funeral prayers by relatives, senior political figures and hundreds of party workers on Friday.
The funeral prayers, led by Maulana Tariq Jameel, were offered at Sharif Medical City in Raiwind. The prayers were attended by Sharif family members excluding Begum Kulsoom’s sons Hassan and Hussain Nawaz.
She was laid to rest in Jati Umra next to the resting place of her father-in-law Mian Sharif and brother-in-law Abbas Sharif.
The leadership of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf including Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar and NA Speaker Asad Qaiser attended the funeral prayers. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) leaders Khursheed Shah, Qamar Zaman Kaira were also in attendance. MQM-P leader and federal minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, MQM-P leader Farooq Sattar and PkMAP chief Mehmood Khan Azhakzai, Punjab Assembly speaker Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and PML-Q leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain were also present.
Kulsoom Nawaz, the wife of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif passed away in London on September 11 after a year-long battle with cancer. Her funeral prayers were offered in London on Thursday following which Kulsoom Nawaz’s body was flown to Lahore.
Earlier on Friday, after her body arrived at Sharif Medical City, Nawaz, daughter Maryam Nawaz and Capt (retd) Mohammad Safdar who have been released on parole, were taken to the medical facility to pay their last respects.
On Thursday night, the Punjab home department issued a notification announcing an extension in the parole already awarded to Nawaz, Maryam and Safdar from September 12 (4pm) to September 17 (4pm).
Nawaz, Maryam and Capt Safdar had been sentenced to jail by an accountability court weeks before the July 25 polls in the Avenfield property reference.
Since her passing, PML-N and representatives of other political parties have been visiting the Sharif family at their residence in Lahore and in London.
Visitors who offered their condolences included former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, Malik Pervaiz, former president Mamnoon Hussain among others in Lahore. In London, the son of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Rakish Elahi and former Balochistan chief minister Sardar Sanaullah Zehri offered their condolence’s.


Wilson Pineda, a heroin user in Dosquebradas, Colombia, whose president is in favour of drugs reform.
Police officers seize packages of cocaine at the airport in Lima in 2014.
A poppy field in the state of Guerrero, Mexico.


Edina couple looking forward to a fourth medical mission with Children's Surgery International.
They’re monsters. They’re demons. They’re outcasts.
About one in 1,000 children is born with a cleft lip or palate. But in some parts of the world, these babies are shunned — not only by society, but by their own blood.
“In some cultures, they’re thought of as monsters or demons. Many of these kids are abandoned by their families,” said Dr. Dan Sampson, an Edina resident and associate chief of surgery at Minneapolis Children’s Hospital.
Sampson and his wife, Melanie McCall, have helped improve the lives of dozens of babies born with cleft lips and palates through Children’s Surgery International, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit that sends volunteer medical teams to a half-dozen countries around the world.
Sampson, an oral-maxillofacial surgeon, has made an annual surgical trip to Hermosillo, Mexico, for the past three years. On each trip, McCall has accompanied him to handle logistics, medical records and photography. Hermosillo, a city of about 900,000, was chosen for the trips because it serves a large rural region yet has relatively modern medical facilities for the bone-graft procedures that Sampson specializes in.
Edina residents Dr. Dan Sampson and his wife, Melanie McCall, have gone on three medical missions to Mexico as part of Children’s Surgery International. Sampson’s specialty is fixing cleft lips and palates; McCall handles medical records, logistics and photographic documentation of the work.
Most of the children Sampson sees are from poor families. The Children’s Surgery International medical missions may be their only chance to have their issue addressed. The medical teams typically do more than 50 surgeries on each weeklong trip. Even so, the volunteers can’t see all the young patients who vie for a spot.
Children’s Surgery International was formed in 2001 as an offshoot of Operation Smile, a national medical group that specializes in cleft lip and palate surgery. The Minneapolis group wanted to expand its mission to other forms of surgery, although cleft lip and palate remains a key focus.
Last year, a Children’s Surgery International trip to Liberia was canceled because of the Ebola outbreak. But the group is sending a team to Bangladesh next month and is preparing for its first-ever trip to Vietnam later this year.
Children’s Surgery International, which is not affiliated with any religious group, runs on a tight budget. All participants donate their time and pay a portion of their expenses. The group will hold its main annual fundraiser, the Passport to Smiles Gala, in April.
The rewards are great, McCall said. One teenage girl with a cleft palate was unable to speak clearly. After surgery, she spoke clearly for the first time in her life.
“You could say this is just a cosmetic surgery, but it’s not,” McCall said. “In many cases, it’s integral to having an opportunity to be successful and have a happy life.
For Sampson, the trips are an opportunity for the pure practice of medicine, freed of any worries about insurance, staffing or budgets.


After shifting away from 'traditional' games in favour of mobile title and pachinko machines, Japanese developer Konami has announced a return to the world of Metal Gear for 2017.
Metal Gear Survive is a very different Metal Gear game though. Pitched as a "co-op stealth game", it takes place in an alternate timeline branching off from the end of Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, and there's no sign of the series' iconic leading man, Snake.
The divergent continuity occurs when wormholes appear in the sky, transporting a handful of Mother Base soldiers to a blasted, desolate world full of half formed structures and military ruins. While the franchise is no stranger to weird enemies – looking at you, Psycho Mantis – Survive will see players teaming up to take on rampaging hordes infected with what looks like some sort of silicate mutation, turning them into crystalline monsters.
"We are delighted to announce another exciting addition to the Metal Gear franchise," said Tomotada Tashiro, Konami's European president, via statement. "Metal Gear Survive will offer a fresh take on the series' famed stealth elements but within a unique co-op setting that is designed for a truly engrossing multi-player experience."
Our impressions from a hands-off presentation at Gamescom in Cologne are that Metal Gear Survive may be similar to Left 4 Dead – a team based survival game with elements of story. It does appear to factor in Metal Gear's traditional stealth mechanics though, with the introduction of new weaponry such as high-tech bows and drill arrows, designed to take down the rocky monsters silently, from afar.
Set for release on PS4, Xbox One, and Steam in 2017, Konami brand manager Jen Tsang confirmed to WIRED that the game would not be a full-priced release. However, Tsang could not say whether there would be a single-player component to the game.
Survive will be the first Metal Gear game to be released without any involvement of series creator Hideo Kojima, who departed Konami in 2015 following the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Konami has not confirmed which studio or creators are heading up development of Survive.


LIVERPOOL legend Kenny Dalglish has warned the Anfield club that if anyone can knock them off fourth spot, it could be Manchester United.
He admits that it's Liverpool's to lose, but an in-form United could give them a serious run for their money.
Brendan Rodgers' side dropped two points at West Brom and David Moyes' United lost at Stoke over the weekend, increasing the gap to seven points between the great rivals.
Dalglish said: "Liverpool are in fourth spot right now and someone has to come and take it off them because they are not going to give it up.
"They are two points better off than the team below them (Everton) and they have a massively better goal difference.
"They have all the big teams apart from United to come to Anfield and as the team immediately below them found out last week they are pretty awesome at Anfield.
"You have to play one game at a time but they are in a very good position at a good time.
"United have been one of the top-four teams for a long time and although they have not run their race yet it is very difficult for them.
"Manchester United in top form can achieve it but they've not been in top form.
"There are seven or eight teams at the top and they all have an opportunity to get one of the top four spots and Manchester United are one of them."


Bangkok – Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha, together Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi presided Tuesday over the opening ceremony of the 2nd Thai–Myanmar Friendship Bridge crossing between Moei and Thaung YinRiver in Mae Sod district of Tak province.
General Prayut and Aung San Suu Kyi praised the success of the project for facilitating connectivity between the two countries, following the original Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge built in 1997.
The premier also inspected the progress of the construction of a border control building and discussed with the Myanmar leader ways to tackle smog and PM2.5.


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REBECCA ANN LITTON, 6, 1443 Lone Palm Road, Orlando, died Tuesday. She was born in Orlando and was a student. Survivors: mother, Joyce B., Orlando; father, Burdell Girstle Sr., Orlando; brother, Dell, Orlando; paternal grandmother, Nannie, Orlando; maternal grandmother, Mrs. Leona Bailey, Candor, N.C.; maternal great-grandmother, Mrs. Narva Hamilton, Candor. Colonial Guardian Chapel, Orlando.


Making money: Terrence Kelleman started making nifty items in his living room in 2002.
Board stiff: Dynomighty is furnished with these neat cardboard chairs.
In the fold: Artist Miss Zukie with the Dynomighty wallet featuring her work.
This guy is chairman of the cardboard.
Terrence Kelleman, the founder of Dynomighty, a company best known for its paper-thin wallets, opened a storefront and shared artist work-space in Dumbo on April 16 and decked the place out with cardboard seating. The chairs are made from three pieces of thick cardboard cut with lasers and can be shipped flat and assembled in a jiffy. The engineering feat came out of Kelleman’s dissatisfaction with the seat-us quo when trying to furnish the shop.
Kelleman started Dnynomighty 12 years ago in his living room, with a box of magnets that his father lent him $300 to buy. He made link-less bracelets out of the magnets and sold them to his employer, the Museum of Modern Art Design Store in Manhattan.
Kelleman trained as a painter at the Cleveland Institute of Art, but said his work in the public relations department at the Museum of Modern Art got him into drawing fanciful products.
“It germinated an appreciation for industrial design and design in general,” he said.
Today, the company’s trademark product the Mighty Wallet is sold in 60 countries, bringing in $4 million per year, according to Kelleman.
The unique billfolds are made from a material called Tyvek, which the postal service uses for its express mail envelopes. Tyvek is paper-thin, but its plastic-like fibers make it durable, waterproof, and possible to fold into a wallet without a single stitch.
The first version of the Mighty Wallet hit the market in 2005 with a few basic designs, including one resembling a newspaper and one with the first 3,000 digits of the number pi printed on it. Once Kelleman got the process perfected, he started seeing new possibilities for the product.
“I realized that the Mighty Wallet was really a canvas,” he said.
Dynomighty now works with a network of 500 artists who all come up with graphics that can be printed on the wallets. And customers can now have their own images printed on wallets at the new store, on John Street between Bridge and Jay streets.
The Dumbo space is a place for Kelleman to test out new products, which is where the cardboard chairs come in.
He plans to show the chairs at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair next month in Manhattan and hopes to eventually sell them at the store. Other products on tap include change purses and clutches.
As for the shared work space, Kelleman wants the shop to become a hub for aspiring designers to work and share ideas.
“It’s a place where people can get advice and problem solve collectively,” he said.
Anyone is allowed to just drop in and use the space, Kelleman said.
Dynomighty store and work space [80 John St. between Jay and Bridge streets in Dumbo, www.dynomighty.com, (212) 431–3005]. Monday–Friday, 10 am–5 pm.
Do they ship these in a corrugated box?
They do, in fact. I kept opening it, and opening it until there was nothing left, unfortunately.
Fortunately, after talking to them on the telephone, they very pleasantly offered to send me a new one with handwritten instructions on the OUTSIDE of the box.
I simply love the piece, if you don't mind my saying so.
Call Telecharge now and catch John Wasserman in the off off off off off Broadway smash hit "John Wasserman: Still ain't funny!" Call now!
A 7am comment, up at the crack of mom to say nothing.
We DO ship them in cardboard - a flat shipment of 3 sheets of cardboard. The chairs themselves are made with a honey comb construction that makes them incredibly strong.


U.S. Added 213,000 Jobs In June The government's June jobs report beat expectations with another 213,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4 percent with more people entering the workforce.
Joana Dudley looks at a list of job prospects at a job fair in Miami Lakes, Fla., in January. In the government's June jobs report, the unemployment rate ticked up to 4 percent with more people entering the labor force.
The Labor Department on Friday reported another big month for job growth, with a larger than expected addition of 213,000 jobs for June.
The unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 4 percent as some people who had been on the sidelines moved back into the labor force.
The report underscores a familiar refrain: There are lots of jobs being created, but not enough people to fill them. That continues as employers consistently hire at robust rates and the unemployment rate keeps falling.
The economy has now been adding jobs for nearly eight years — its longest streak on record. The U.S. is considered at near full employment, and the biggest challenge in the job market is the lack of available workers — a record 6.7 million jobs remain unfilled. In many industries, including trucking, construction and information technology, this labor shortage is becoming increasingly acute.
For workers, a hot job market is a good thing, resulting in what so far have been modest increases in wages. And companies have been offering more benefits to attract and retain their workers. That trend is likely to continue through 2018, with some economists predicting the jobless rate will keep falling to 3.5 percent by year end. The last time it was that low was in 1969.
For employers, however, a hot job market is costly. It increases pressure to raise wages, and even curbs business growth if there are not enough people to do the work.
For the month of June, wages increased at a relatively solid annual rate of 2.7 percent.
Is The U.S. Headed For Recession?
An ADP/Moody's Analytics survey out Thursday showed private hiring rose by 177,000 last month, slightly below expectations. "Business' number one problem is finding qualified workers," says Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi. The problem, he says, will get worse if hiring continues at its current pace. "These labor shortages will only intensify across all industries and company sizes."
As hiring continues unabated, the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates two more times this year, as it weighs concerns that the economy could overheat. The Fed has twin goals of controlling inflation while promoting maximum employment.
Last month, President Trump broke with long-standing practice and tweeted about the jobs report prior to its official 8:30 a.m. release, prompting markets to move. That did not happen in advance of the June report.


TOKYO — Sony is in talks to sell its troubled personal computer business and Thursday lowered its earnings forecast for the business year ending March to a 110 billion yen loss ($1.1 million).
The company also said it’s cutting its global workforce by about 3 percent or 5,000 people by the end of March 2015 as it restructures its PC, television and other businesses. Some 3,500 of the job losses will be overseas and 1,500 in Japan. That comes on top of the 10,000 jobs cuts Sony announced over the previous year.
The Japanese electronics and entertainment maker, battered by stiff competition from Samsung Electronics of South Korea and Apple, the U.S. maker of the hit iPod and iPad, acknowledged it won’t be able to stop losing money in its Vaio PC or Bravia TV operations as it had repeatedly promised.
Tokyo-based Sony said it will split off its money-losing TV division and run it as a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Sony is talking with investment fund Japan Industrial Partners, which specializes in turnarounds and buyouts in manufacturing, to reach an agreement by the end of March to sell its PC business, both sides said in a statement.
Sony declined to give a monetary estimate for the deal, saying a final agreement had not been reached. If the PC deal comes together, a new company will be established, both sides said.
Sony has often been criticized as having too much under its wing, and analysts and investors have urged it to sell some of its operations for years. The moves announced Thursday might even be too little too late.
The maker of the Walkman portable recorder and Spider-Man movies kept its fiscal year sales projection unchanged at 7.7 trillion yen ($76 billion).
But it lowered its earnings forecast, saying it will post a loss instead of the 30 billion yen ($295 million) profit expected in October.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2013, Sony had recorded a 43 billion yen profit.
Sony Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai told reporters the company’s electronics business was gradually improving, but restructuring costs would send the company into losses for the fiscal year.
He pointed to cloud-based gaming and TV services, a way of projecting images directly on walls for entertainment and other “Sony-like products,” designed to not only deliver on basic gadgetry but also “woo people’s emotions.” In such network services, Sony faces tough competition from Apple, Google Inc. and other companies.
Sony posted a 27 billion yen ($266 million) profit for the fiscal third quarter, helped by improved sales, especially of its smartphones, and the launch of the PlayStation 4 video-game console, in addition to the favorable exchange rate.
The dollar has been trading at above 100 yen lately, up from 80 yen levels a year earlier. A weak yen is a boon for Japanese exporters such as Sony, rival Panasonic Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. by boosting the value of overseas earnings. It reported a 24 percent surge in quarterly sales to 2.41 trillion yen ($23.8 billion).
Sony had suffered a loss of 10.8 billion yen in the October-December quarter of 2012.
Restructuring the PC and TV operations will cost Sony 20 billion yen ($197 million) in expenses for the current fiscal year, and another 70 billion yen ($689 million) in fiscal 2014, it said.
But it’s expected to bring annual fixed cost reductions of more than 100 billion yen ($984 million) from fiscal 2015.
In Sony’s entertainment business, the TV series “Breaking Bad” continued to be extremely popular, and its movie “Captain Phillips,” starring Tom Hanks, has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar, although it did not have as many blockbusters as in 2012.
Its music business contributed to earnings through releases such as Beyonce’s new album which sold 2.3 million units globally in December, when it went on sale.
The PlayStation 4 has been doing well, totaling 4.2 million units of console sales and 9.7 million in software sales. It went on sale outside Japan in November, and is set to arrive in Japanese stores Feb. 22.


God’s Politics: Frist Fights Filibuster on Judicial Nominees in “Justice Sunday” | Democracy Now!
The battle over President Bush’s judicial nominees reached new heights this past weekend. Senate Majority leader Bill Frist delivered a taped speech in which he again threatened to ban Democrats from filibustering Bush’s court nominees. While the Republican leader’s rhetoric was the same, it was the venue of his address that grabbed national headlines.
The speech was part of an event organized by Christian conservative groups called “Justice Sunday: Stopping the Filibuster Against People of Faith.” It was held at a packed Baptist church east of Louisville, Kentucky and was simultaneously broadcast to churches around the country, as well as to 61 million households.
In his speech, Frist threatened again to use what is known as the “nuclear option,”–changing Senate rules to ban filibusters of judicial nominees.
Democrats have said they would retaliate by bringing most Senate business to a halt. But now, the Senate’s top two Democrats–Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Minority Whip Richard Durbin of Illinois said for the first time yesterday that they would consider a compromise in which some of the seven stalled nominees would be confirmed and the others withdrawn.
Frists speech comes as a new Washington-Post-ABC News poll finds that Americans are opposed to changing the Senate rules by a 2-1 margin. Meanwhile, the group, MoveOn.org, says it will finance TV commercials criticizing the rule change and organizers will hold 120 rallies around the country on Wednesday, including one in Washington with a speech by former Vice President Al Gore.
Jim Wallis , author of “God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It.” He is a founder of the Sojourners Community and editor of Sojourners Magazine.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined in our firehouse studio by Jim Wallis. He’s author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get it. He is founder of Sojourners Community and editor of Sojourners magazine. Welcome to Democracy Now!
JIM WALLIS: Thanks, Amy. Great to be here.
AMY GOODMAN: It’s good to have you with us. So let’s talk about this event that took place on Sunday called “Justice Sunday,” and Senator Frist’s participation, the Senate Majority Leader.
JIM WALLIS: It was pretty amazing. You know, I have looked through my Bible, and I can’t find filibuster anywhere. I really looked hard. But it’s not there. A bit of historical perspective, after he was arrested once, Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote a very famous letter from a Birmingham jail to white clergy who opposed him, and it was about racial segregation and violence against black people. Never once did he say they weren’t people of faith. He challenged their faith. He wanted them to go deeper with their faith, but he never said my opponents are not people of faith. That’s what they’re saying. Now, if King wouldn’t say his opponents weren’t people of faith over racial segregation and violence, how can the right do this over a filibuster? There’s something crossing a lot of boundaries here.
AMY GOODMAN: What really is the big deal? It’s their opinion versus yours.
JIM WALLIS: Well, I think it’s fine for people to bring their moral conviction, even their religious conviction in the public life. King did that. I do that. The religious right does that, but when you say those who oppose us, who have a different view, are not people of faith, or Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson said during the campaign, you can only vote for George W. Bush. Now they’re saying you must also agree with all of his judicial nominees. Now this is really the hijacking of religion. It’s making it into a partisan wedge and a weapon to divide us, not a bridge to bring us together. This is really the abuse and misuse of religion. We’re having these town meetings across the country disguised as book signings. And what I’m learning is people are tired of the monologue of the religious right. And the good news, having been to the East and the Mid-West and the South and even Texas and the West, is the monologue of the religious right is now over. And a new dialogue has finally begun.
AMY GOODMAN: And yet, isn’t it at the height of their power?
JIM WALLIS: Well, it’s interesting because they’re in the White House now. So you can say, yes, it’s at the height of their power. But more than ever before, it’s almost like the rise of the non-religious right, which isn’t much of a name for a movement, but that’s what I’m sensing and feeling all over the country. So a lot of people are saying, wait a minute, the way faith is portrayed in the election, in the media, and invoked in the White House isn’t my faith. I’ve got faith, too. I’ve got moral values, too. They don’t speak for me. So, a lot of other people are saying, I want my voice to be heard, as well.
AMY GOODMAN: This event that took place just this Sunday, filibustering people of faith, took place in Louisville, Kentucky. You were there that day.
JIM WALLIS: Well, there was another service, a counter-service. 1,200 people showed up on about a week’s notice. And that’s what I’m finding all over the country, packed churches, to say, well, their faith isn’t our faith, and the monologue doesn’t represent the dialogue we now need to have. So, it was lots of energy in the room. Good preaching, good choirs. And people said, wait a minute, I don’t agree, and they can’t say this. One guy from Kentucky said, he said, I have been an evangelical Christian my whole life. Imagine my surprise when I woke up and found the newspaper saying I’m not a person of faith. Imagine my surprise. It was great — a great event to say, wait a minute — because someone doesn’t agree with the judicial nominee or a Senate procedure, you know, filibusters have been used for good and for ill. But, my goodness, this is not a theological matter here. So, they’re really overstepping, they’re overreaching. Last night, we had a debate. I was on with Dobson and Moler.
AMY GOODMAN: Explain who Dobson and Mohler are.
JIM WALLIS: Well, James Dobson, the head of Focus on the Family, one of the organizers of this event, and Albert Mohler be the president of the Southern Baptist Seminary, also one of the planners of this event, and they’re already beginning to back off, which they should. We never said this is not about people of faith. What they said, this is a filibuster against people of faith. They said that the Democratic Party is hostile to people of faith. That would be news to Barack Obama, for example, who is a deeply Christian person, member of a black church the south side of Chicago. So, this kind of rhetoric is really getting very old for a lot of people. I have often said when people steal your faith in the public realm, it’s time to now take it back.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to read you the beginning of a piece that was in The New York Times a couple months ago, New York Times Magazine. “Faith, Certainty and the Presidency of George W. Bush” by Ron Suskind. And it says, “Bruce Bartlett, a domestic policy adviser to Ronald Reagan and treasury official for the first President Bush told me recently if Bush wins, there will be a civil war in the Republican Party starting November 3. The nature of that conflict, as Bartlett sees it, essentially the same as the one raging across much of the world, a battle between modernists and fundamentalists, pragmatists and true believers, reason and religion. Just in the past few months, Bartlett said, I think a light has gone off for people who have spent time up close to Bush, that this instinct he’s always talking about is this sort of weird messianic idea of what he thinks God has told him to do. Bartlett is a 53-year-old columnist and self-described libertarian republican who has lately been a champion for traditional republicans concerned about Bush’s governance. He went on to say, this is why George W. Bush is so clear-eyed about al Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist enemy. He believes you have to kill them all, they can’t be persuaded, that they’re extremists driven by a dark vision. He understands them, because he’s just like them. He goes on to say, this is why he dispenses with people who confront him with inconvenient facts. Bartlett went on to say, he truly believes he’s on a mission from God, absolute faith like that, overwhelms a need for analysis. The whole thing about faith is to believe things for which there is no empirical evidence, Bartlett paused, then said, but you cannot run the world on faith.” Can you talk about that?
JIM WALLIS: You know, religion is being used by some to provide us with what we really long for, which is a kind of easy certainty. But the better use of religion is to provide us a deeper reflection. For example, if we can’t see the face of evil on September 11, I suppose we’re suffering from some kind of a post-modern relativism or something, but to say they’re evil and we are good is bad theology. Jesus said don’t just see the log in your adversary’s eye, but also the one in your own eye. So that kind of bad theology, they’re evil and we’re good, leads to bad foreign policy, to preemptive, unilateral and endless war. Fundamentalism exists in all of our religious traditions, and the antidote to it, I think, is prophetic faith. The answer to bad religion, I think, is not secularism but better religion. So, how do we talk about a prophetic faith? In my Christian tradition, I want to talk about Jesus. How did Jesus become pro-rich, pro-war and only pro-American? It doesn’t make sense. And yet, that’s what we’re faced with. So, really, a rescue operation is what I think is required now, to take back our faith from those who have made it into a kind of a political weapon and a wedge. The religious right is the political seduction of religion. The religious right was the idea of the political right. They created it. There were meetings. Republican political operatives, TV preachers, a deal was made. Give me your lists. I’ll make you famous. It was a Faustian bargain. But what happens is when the progressives concede the entire territory of religion and values and faith to the right, then they get to define it however they want to, and they have in this very narrow, partisan, ideological way. So that’s what I want to take back here.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Reverend Jim Wallis, and we’ll be back with him. He is author of God’s Politics: Why the Right Gets it Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get it.
AMY GOODMAN: Our guest in the studio is Reverend Jim Wallis. He’s an evangelical preacher, a founder of Sojourners magazine more than thirty years ago, and has a new best-selling book out; it is called, God’s Politics — Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It: A New Vision for Faith and Politics in America. I bring up best-selling, Reverend Wallis, because — I mean, you’ve been doing this over three decades and — What is it? Suddenly this has caught on? I mean, at a time when people are saying that the right is in control, the religious right is at its height, your vision of religion, secular religion, has caught on?
JIM WALLIS: You know, it’s almost because of their success a lot of people are saying: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. I’m a person of faith, too, and they don’t speak for me. I was on Meet the Press with Jerry Falwell and he said one of his usual crazy, outlandish things, and I just looked at him and I said: “Jerry, when you say those things millions and millions of American Christians want to say to you, say to the nation: You don’t speak for me.” And I felt — I almost felt like the millions saying: “Yes! Yes! Yes!” And all across the country, we just packed houses every night because people — It isn’t about a book. It’s about a desire to have their faith heard, too. Their voice heard, too. And you know, we’re — Religion doesn’t have a monopoly on morality. Never has, never will. But we’ve had in our history progressive, prophetic movements of faith that have fueled every major social reform movement, abolition of slavery, child labor law reform, women’s suffrage, of course, civil rights. To take back that prophetic faith when we need it right now, is something people are very excited about.
AMY GOODMAN: How do you see the invasion and occupation of Iraq?
JIM WALLIS: When I was on Jon Stewart he said: “You want to apply the teachings of Jesus to politics?” And I said, “Yeah. And I don’t think his first two priorities would have been a capital gains tax cut and the occupation of Iraq. You know, the truth is, and the media never told the story, that every major religious body around the world was opposed to the war in Iraq except our American Southern Baptists. The Pope was — The Pope is hardly a liberal religious leader, but he shook his finger at George W. Bush in the Vatican. The White House didn’t get the photo op they wanted that day. This Pope was against the war in Iraq.
AMY GOODMAN: Yet this hardly got that kind of attention from the media.
JIM WALLIS: No, it didn’t at all. And I was stunned because I’ve never seen such a unity among religious leaders around the world. In fact, every evangelical group around the world, even in our allied countries like the U.K., they were all against the war in Iraq. And yet that never got reported here. Tony Blair met with a number of us before the war, at the run-up.
AMY GOODMAN: You met with Tony Blair?
JIM WALLIS: With Tony Blair, five American church leaders. The President — President Bush — would never meet with any of us who had questions about the war in Iraq. There was a powerful — The majority of Christians around the world were opposed to the war in Iraq, because by any criteria, this was not a just war.
AMY GOODMAN: And so what do you think needs to happen right now, and what about the situation for Muslims in this country?
JIM WALLIS: Well, you know, there will never be a resolution in Iraq until the American occupation is over. The American occupation is not the solution; it’s the problem. And, you know, there’s a — You know, Reza Aslan who’s got a great new book out called, No God But God. He’s a young Islamic scholar. He was on Jon Stewart just this past week or so. He says there’s a big battle internally going on within Islam. It’s not the clash of civilizations, like Samuel Huntington says, the West and Islam. It’s within Islam, fighting for the hearts and souls. I feel that way about my Christian faith. We’re fighting for the heart and soul of our traditions against a fundamentalist sort of takeover that really wants to take over all of them, and then a prophetic faith which is the counter to it. So, in every religious tradition there’s a prophetic, progressive tradition stream, energy movement flowing; and I’m finding young people all over the country who want to join that. They want to sign up. They want to be part of a move — They want a — Faith does big things. It’s supposed to change the things that no one else thinks can be changed. The things that have no hope and the odds are against us. That’s why we have faith. Three billion people living on less than two dollars a day. That’s a big thing. Thirty thousand people, children, dying every day in a silent tsunami because of lack of clean drinking water and lack of food. That’s a big thing. These are the big things faith is supposed to change. Instead, we’re debating filibusters.
AMY GOODMAN: We’re talking to Reverend Jim Wallis. He has written God’s Politics, a new book, but he has been the editor of Sojourners magazine for many decades. Can you talk about the founding of _Sojourners_magazine, why you did it in early 1970s, and the difference between the climate then and the climate today?
JIM WALLIS: I was fresh out of the movement. I had been kicked out of my little evangelical church at 14 over the issue of race, and I joined the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement. And I came back, really, to Jesus. I find Jesus the most radical historical figure I’d ever known, and I was captivated, converted, by this radical Jesus, who turned the world upside-down. So I went to seminary. I found a different kind of religion there than I had found in the gospels. We started this thing and we said, you know, we want to be as radical — try to be — as Jesus was, and so, we started this. At first it was aimed at movement folks like us; and it attracted all these Christians who were tired of a private faith (either just me and the lord, not the world) or a very kind of reactionary right-wing faith. And so, we began this movement a long time ago. It’s been like speaking in a stadium without a microphone. You can reach a section at a time. We’ve been going around the country and we have a serious constituency. But now the time has come that the microphones are now open to a different kind of voice. So, now the right doesn’t have the monologue anymore. And it’s — it drives them crazy. There’s a dialogue now and they don’t want — they don’t know what to do with that. So, we’re going to have a serious debate with the religious right about what faith means and with the progressive side. You know, the right gets it wrong because they want to narrow all the moral values issues. There’s just two: abortion, gay marriage. That’s it. You know, what about 3,000 verses in the Bible on poverty. Fighting poverty is a moral value. Protecting the environment, otherwise known as God’s creation, that’s a moral value issue. And as you said, the ethics of war. When you go to war, how you go to war, and whether you tell the truth about going to war. These are profoundly religious matters. The left, I think, needs to recover its own progressive history, its heart and soul, its moral vocabulary and not give the right that whole territory of religion, values and politics. We can’t ever do that again. That was a mistake.


More from L. Ian MacDonald available here.
Ed Broadbent on the left, as Preston Manning has on the right, has not only re-invented himself as a thought leader, he too has created a think tank that is a valuable source of ideas and public discourse.
The annual Broadbent Institute and Manning Centre conferences have become two of the most important events on the Ottawa calendar, tents where political soulmates can gather. Both conferences are notable for networking in the hallways, training sessions for young political activists, and partying well into the night.
“The idea is to have a good conversation,” Broadbent was saying Saturday afternoon as he sat in on a lively debate on Spending vs. Austerity. On the left were author and columnist Linda McQuaig, running for the NDP in Toronto Centre, and economist Armine Yalnizyan of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. On the right were former Conservative cabinet minister Monte Solberg and former StatsCan chief economist Philip Cross.
The boys in their blue suits were definitely the visiting team, while the ‘girls’ rocked the joint.
In a similar vein after a Saturday morning keynote on diversity and secularism, philosopher Charles Taylor blasted Stephen Harper for his comments about niqabs being anti-women.
One of the tests of any political policy conference is the ability of organizers to attract participants from outside the country, to avoid the Canadian syndrome of navel-gazing.
The Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit demonstrated a movement and a party clearly united behind the leader.
Broadbent and his institute’s executive director Rick Smith did very well in landing Jennifer Granholm, the Canadian-born former two-term Democratic governor of Michigan from 2002 through 2010.
In the opening keynote on Friday, she simply blew the doors off the place.
Cruz is the Calgary-born first term U.S. Senator from Texas who, at 44, is running for the Republican presidential nomination. Because his mother was a U.S. citizen, he’s not disqualified under the U.S. constitution from running for president for being born outside the country.
She, on the other hand, can’t run for president because both her parents and grandparents were Canadian. “I have a constitutional ceiling of how far I can go because of my great Canadian birth,” she said.
It’s a good thing for Hillary Clinton that she can’t. A graduate of Harvard Law, Granholm is articulate, attractive and has managed a major industrial state through an economic crisis—the Great Recession of 2008-09.
Between December 2008 and June 2009, she said, 1,000 Michigan companies announced layoffs. And in Detroit, both GM and Chrysler had to be saved from bankruptcy by the 2009 bailout led by the U.S. and Canadian governments.
She also noted that 60,000 factories closed in the U.S. between 2000 and 2013. This isn’t all cell phones from China, or auto plants moving from Michigan to Mexico. Still, in a hall packed with trade union members, NAFTA we didn’t hafta is always a popular message with the brothers and sisters.
By the time NDP Leader Tom Mulcair arrived for a mid-day keynote, the crowd of 800 was ready to march, especially after Broadbent introduced him as “our leader.” But instead of giving a barn-burner, Mulcair was oddly subdued in his delivery. His speech was on a Teleprompter, which he doesn’t use very much, and he was clearly struggling with it.
He also had an idea for ending income inequality and child poverty. Wait for it: Tax the rich.
On his other populist themes– from $15-a-day child care to repealing the Conservative income splitting scheme—Mulcair has the makings of a core speech for the campaign trail.
The Broadbent Institute’s Progress Summit demonstrated a movement and a party clearly united behind the leader. For the rest, it was weekend rich in content.
Kudos to Broadbent on the left, and to Manning on the right. Their brands are built to last.
L. Ian MacDonald is editor of Policy, the bi-monthly magazine of Canadian politics and public policy. He is the author of five books. He served as chief speechwriter to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney from 1985-88, and later as head of the public affairs division of the Canadian Embassy in Washington from 1992-94. The views, opinions and positions expressed by all iPolitics columnists and contributors are the author’s alone. They do not inherently or expressly reflect the views, opinions and/or positions of iPolitics.


HireRight has announced the appointment of Marcellus Solomon to General Manager of India, effective immediately. Marcellus is a business leader with a proven track record in charting strategic business growth and delivering customer success. Having spent more than two decades in various leadership roles, Marcellus’ strong understanding and knowledge of the local market will play a crucial role mapping out HireRight’s development and growth across India.
Marcellus has more than 6 years of experience in the background screening industry under his belt. In his previous role, he was instrumental in developing product and service enhancements for candidates and optimising the hiring lifecycle for employees and HR professionals by establishing innovative solutions that allowed for faster onboarding and processing. Prior to this, Marcellus held a variety of leadership and sales positions in companies including Kelly Services and ManpowerGroup.
A leading innovator in the HR industry, HireRight recently announced the launch of HireRight Global, the industry’s first truly global background screening solution. Centred around an enhanced, unified technology platform, HireRight Global provides a screening programme that has a consistent look and feel around the world while also tailored for local cultures and languages. With industry recognised information security certifications and dynamic compliance functionalities, the platform adapts to the screening needs of our clients, and respects candidates’ rights to privacy.


Carly Howe scored off an assist from Ashlyn Nelson early in overtime on Saturday to lift the Douglas girls lacrosse team to a dramatic 13-12 win at home against Spanish Springs.
Douglas surged to a 10-7 halftime lead and then wrapped up its High Sierra Lacrosse League win 1 minute, 35 seconds into the sudden death overtime at Gardnerville Elementary School. Nelson, an eighth grader, received a pass and then relayed the ball to Howe for the game-winning shot.
The Tigers were coming off a closely contested 8-5 loss on Friday on the Gardnerville Elementary field. Peri Buck scored a goal in the final 15 seconds before halftime to tie the score at 5-all going to the intermission.
The first-year Douglas club team is now 3-9 for its season with a home game Friday at 5 p.m. against Truckee and Saturday at 10 a.m. against Coyote (McQueen).
Note: Douglas also will be hosting a fundraiser at Yogurt Beach, located on Waterloo Lane next to Lampe Park, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday. A percentage of proceeds from sales of yogurt will be donated to the non-profit Douglas lacrosse club — customers need only to say they are supporting Douglas girls lacrosse when purchasing their dessert. In conjunction with the fundraiser on Saturday, the lacrosse club will hold a car wash in the parking lot of Yogurt Beach from noon to 3 p.m.


What was Gazan airforce doing? They keep their combat aircraft grounded & hidden to gain sympathy.Crafty folks.
Gaza doesn't have an airforce they're too oppressed.
Stop firing rockets and this won't happen.
Palestinians should have learned by now. Decades of oppression,brutal occupation,genocide, annexation of their land and homes should have turned them catatonic.
Why do people struggle for their rights? I can't understand.
World would be so a better place if that didn't happen.
Ummm @ BOMBO, did you not read the whole story? This was the 1st airstrike since the ceasefire in november. And we sure havent heard of any in all that time either cuz i dbl checked it. So Israel is out of line AGAIN.


SUMMIT, N.J., June 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Specialty Program Group, a leading holding company for specialty insurance underwriting facilities, announced today that it has acquired the assets of Paul Hanson Partners (PHP) and its affiliate, PHP International. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Established in 1993 and based in Napa, California, PHP is a national program administrator specializing in providing risk management and insurance solutions to the transportation industry, specifically the moving and storage and last mile delivery segments. PHP operates under the Movers Choice and Biz Choice brands. Since its inception, PHP has created value added solutions for its customers including onboarding of employees, independent contractors, and contract carriers. These solutions are well received by the transportation industry, across the entire US supply chain. PHP has been a leader in the use of technology and strategic outsourcing.
"At Paul Hanson Partners we have always focused on providing new and innovative solutions for our customers. The acquisition by Specialty Program Group allows us to access a wider group of insurance carriers that will serve our customers better and fully utilize our technology and business solutions. We will continue to operate with our experienced management team and employees on the service and value propositions we have become known for, while expanding our insurance products and solutions. We will continue to delight our customers and broker distribution network," said Lisa Paul, CEO of PHP.
"Lisa and her team are rock stars!" said Chris Treanor, President and CEO of Specialty Program Group. "They have built an outstanding business and continue to grow in new and exciting ways. Not only will our partnership help them achieve their long term goals, but their leadership and creative thinking will help us as we grow our broader platform."


Other than unsuccessfully bidding $1 billion to acquire Facebook and squandering photo service Flickr’s early lead, Yahoo hasn’t done much of substance in social networking. Maybe that will change, if recent comments by CEO Marissa Mayer are anything to go by.
Mayer also reportedly said she’d rather partner with Facebook than build new products. But you don’t have to build new products to make a splash in social networking; Mayer’s old employer Google made its mark with Google+, a social layer integrated with existing products like Gmail and Google search. It would be interesting to see what Yahoo could do with a similar approach.


As trade gap with China widens, Trump's strategy is isolating the U.S.
The Trump administration remains determined to double down on its China trade strategy by escalating tariffs from 10% to as much as 25% on consumer goods, electronics and automobiles by the end of the year. The strategy aims to further reduce America's $500 billion in annual imports from China.
The big picture: While this may cost China as many as 2 to 3 million jobs, it's not clear that it will reduce China’s overall exports. In fact, Trump’s trade war is exacerbating the trade deficit. Perhaps most troublingly for long-term U.S. economic growth, it's steering Asian countries — and their billions of consumers — toward non–U.S. trading partners.
Where it stands: As its economy and consumer confidence grow, the U.S. continues to buy more equipment and finished products from China and others, even as higher import costs have been passed on to American consumers. Meanwhile, a weaker renminbi has contributed to China's recording a much-larger-than-expected trade surplus in September.
Between the lines: Rather than disciplining these trade partners, Trump’s policies are encouraging them to increase trade that bypasses the U.S. For example, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership last year, but Canada promptly ratified a revised version of the agreement and recently announced a major new liquefied natural gas plant that will directly compete with U.S. gas exports to Asia.
Trump’s trade strategy may not have its intended effect In the automotive sector either. His 11th-hour deal with Canada and Mexico to update NAFTA expanded “rules of origin” requirements, but these quotas will actually benefit cheaper steel and auto-part manufacturers, particularly from Asia, while reducing investment in the U.S. and its neighbors. As it is, the administration's tariff hikes have raised costs for U.S. industrial and automotive companies, from Caterpillar to Ford, squeezing their margins.
The same pattern is occurring in the tech industry. Trump claimed a victory in blocking Qualcomm, Google, and other tech companies and software producers from selling components to Chinese telecom giant ZTE in order to thwart China’s “Made in China 2025” initiative. But most of China’s high-tech imports don't come from the U.S in the first place.
The bottom line: The more Trump tries to isolate China, the more other countries will move to capture the U.S. market share in China and Asia more broadly. "America First" cannot succeed when the world economy and global supply no longer bow to the U.S.
Parag Khanna is the founder of FutureMap and the author of "The Future is Asian: Commerce, Conflict, and Culture in the 21st Century."


'Travel Guy' Jim Gordon interviewing Caroline Wilson from Belfast Food Tour during filming in St George's Market, Belfast.
One of Canada’s top TV travel shows will showcase the superb food and drink scene in Northern Ireland to more than 2,000,000 viewers next year.
This week, The Travel Guys, Jim Gordon and Darren Parkman, have been visiting Northern Ireland, filming in Belfast and along the Causeway Coastal Route for their programme, which airs on two networks in British Columbia.
Their visit was arranged by Tourism Ireland and supported by Tourism NI.
In the episode filmed here, viewers will see The Travel Guys explore some of the traditions and tastes unique to Northern Ireland. Their culinary road-trip included a visit to St George’s Market, where they interviewed Caroline Wilson from Belfast Food Tour and Alan Coffey from Something Fishy. They also took part in the Belfast Gin Map tour and visited ABV Beer Fest, Curated Kitchen and Co Couture.
The following day, the Canadian broadcasters headed North along the Causeway Coastal Route to Ballygally Castle, taking in some of the Game of Thrones filming locations. They also filmed at the Giant’s Causeway and stopped for a cheese toastie at nearby Maegden – Grilled Cheese, from the eye-catching 1950s caravan. The final filming stop was at Hillstown Brewery, near Randalstown.
Tourism Ireland is rolling out an extensive programme of promotions in Canada this autumn – which includes co-operative promotions with key airline and tour operator partners, email marketing and social media promotions, as well as online advertising on popular websites.
Tourism Ireland is the organisation responsible for promoting Northern Ireland overseas.


NEW YORK, April 17 Major automakers are bullish on the outlook for the U.S. economy and auto sales, but one big question remains - will President Donald Trump throw a grenade into the sector by imposing sweeping tariffs of up to 25 percent on car and auto parts imports?
NEW YORK Major automakers are bullish on the outlook for the U.S. economy and auto sales, but one big question remains - will President Donald Trump throw a grenade into the sector by imposing sweeping tariffs of up to 25 percent on car and auto parts imports?
DETROIT, April 15 General Motors Co has spent five years re-writing its playbook for making money in Latin America and the interior of China. Now, it's show time for the first results of a project code-named GEM, for Global Emerging Market.
TOLEDO, Ohio Lots of workplaces have a hot seat. At the Jeep assembly plant in Toledo, Ohio, there is a "sweet seat."


Turnovers, and the lack thereof: that, Lobos football coach Bob Davie said on Tuesday, is the factor that most explains why his 2013 team has three victories through nine games and his 2012 squad had four at the same juncture.
“I think we’re a better team right now (than last year at this time),” Davie said at UNM’s weekly fall-sports luncheon. “In fact, I know we’re a better team than we were a year ago, even on defense.
Last year after nine games, the Lobos (4-5) had 20 turnovers to their credit: 13 defensive fumble recoveries (of 20 fumbles), seven interceptions.
This year, UNM (3-6) has 10: six fumble recoveries (of 13 possible), four interceptions.
As for the deficit in interceptions and fumble-recovery opportunities, perhaps the explanation is youth.
Strong safety Matt Raymer, last season’s leader in forced fumbles with four, is gone. Also departed is cornerback Destry Berry, last year’s co-leader (with linebacker and current Lobo Dallas Bollema) in interceptions with three.
As for defensive fumble-recovery percentage – 65 percent after nine games last year, 46 percent this year – well, oblong spheroids take peculiar paths.
“It’s a little good fortune (involved), Davie said. “As coaches you hate to ever say that, because last year we were really proud of our emphasis on creating turnovers and forcing turnovers.
The poster child for fumble futility might have occurred at Wyoming, when at least three Lobos had a shot at a Brett Smith fumble before any Wyoming player did. Yet, the ball eluded the Lobos.
Wyoming didn’t score on that possession, but the Lobos started their next drive on their 8-yard line instead of the Cowboys 32. They did not score on that drive and lost, 38-31.
No amount of turnovers could have prevented UNM’s lopsided loss to Utah State. It didn’t help, however, that the Lobos couldn’t corral an Aggies fumble in the first quarter. Utah State scored on that drive to go up 14-0.
Against Air Force, the Lobos led 14-0 when outside linebacker Rashad Rainey forced a Falcons fumble. But Air Force recovered and scored on that drive.
In the three games that remain on UNM’s schedule, starting Saturday with Colorado State (5-5, 3-2), the Lobos will be decided underdogs. It stands to reason that UNM cannot be minus-turnovers and win any of the three.
“We’ve known since we walked in here,” Davie said, “that to run the ball was important, and to cause turnovers on defense was important.
IT WAS BRANCH: The official statistics from the Air Force game did not identify the UNM player who recovered the Falcons’ surprise onside kick attempt in the third quarter, with the game tied at 21.
That player was sophomore safety Brandon Branch, and Davie on Tuesday called the former Albuquerque Academy Charger’s play the biggest of a game the Lobos won, 45-37.
“They take the first drive of the second half (for a touchdown), they get even with us … then they surprise onside,” Davie said. “If they get the ball there, they probably score.


City centre workers parking in Holbeck are causing stress for residents in the area, it has been claimed.
A group of residents, with support from Holbeck councillor Gohar Almass launched a campaign on Friday to encourage non-residents to park elsewhere.
Following the introduction of a residents permit-only area to the east of Domestic Street in 2018, cars parking in the streets to the west and on Domestic Street itself have dramatically increased according to a residents' group.
People in the area have begun a campaign encouraging non-residents to use the Elland Road park and ride by leaving posters on offending vehicles.
A civil enforcement officer from Leeds Council attended a walkabout with Coun Almass and the residents' group on Friday morning.
Coun Almass said: "At the moment this area is not a residents permit only area so people are taking advantage of that loophole.
"I just want to encourage people to be considerate and empathetic.
"I would ask people, how would you feel if people used your street like a car park and blocked your access?"
Holbeck resident Christine Davies, 75, explained that the situation had caused safety concerns: "This is an area with a lot of elderly people. I've seen the emergency services have to park at the top of a street in the middle of the road because they couldn't get closer to the house.
"They had to carry the person up the road to the ambulance."
Coun Almass added: "If there was an emergency situation and the houses and streets are blocked it could cost someone their life, or their safety."
Steve Peacock is secretary of the Cross Inghams Area Residents Association and attended the walkabout on Friday morning.
He said: "The roads are effectively one lane because people park on both sides.
"They park half on the footpaths which is dangerous for people trying to get past, especially in wheelchairs.
"We would like the residents parking zone extended further to cover Domestic Street and the streets to the west.
"The only way this will truly be solved is when the resident permit gets pushed so far that it's too far for people to walk into the city centre."
Malcom Halse, 72, another member of the residents' association explained that the vehicles causing issues disappear on weekends, leading him to believe they do not belong to residents.
He said: "I've counted 46 cars on Shafton Lane Monday to Friday and on a weekend there'll only be one.
"From 5pm to 7pm during the week the road never stops, it's become a cut through for people."
Coun Almass added: "Residents shouldn't be doing this, it's not their job but it's a good initiative.
"They're taking a proactive approach, it's the only thing we can do at the moment.
The group are now awaiting an update from the council over the possibility of extending the residents permit zone.


Scenic view in the city. Beautiful wooded lot sloping down to Governors Creek. Enjoy the deer & other wildlife that wonder through the creek. Property almost one acre.


Last Sunday, I attended the wake for Archie R. Brown Jr., who was gunned down after tragically hitting and killing 2-year-old Damani Terry. Later in the week, I attended the wake for Terry, his 15-year-old brother, Rasheed Chiles, and their uncle Ricky Chiles Jr. I saw two families who were absolutely devastated by a horrible accident and senseless violence.
As a community, we must do more to reduce the epidemic of gun violence. We are all affected and it's going to take all of us to make real and lasting change.
I will continue to advocate for common sense modifications to our state's laws to make it harder for criminals to carry and use guns. Opponents to any changes in state gun laws like to say," the problem isn't guns; it's the criminals who use them." If they really believe that, then why aren't we making it harder for criminals to access firearms?
In 2013, Milwaukee police seized and traced 195 handguns that had a time of purchase to crime committed of less than six months; in 2014, that number was 237, an increase of 22%. In 2013, 311 handguns had a time to crime of less than one year; in 2014, that number was 352, a 13% increase over 2013. What does this mean? More guns are being purchased and used in Milwaukee crimes faster each year. Criminals who buy, carry and use guns are not being deterred by our current system.
We need universal background checks for all private guns sales. We need to make carrying a gun without a permit a second time a felony and provide certainty in sentencing for individuals who violate the law. We need certainty in sentencing for all offenders who commit a crime using a gun.
The state should direct resources to create a fully staffed second gun court in Milwaukee and provide the state attorney general with the necessary resources to tackle, head-on, illegal straw purchases.
Our police do a phenomenal job helping to stabilize our neighborhoods. Last year, our department took almost as many guns off our streets as the New York Police Department took off of New York's streets.
I have budgeted 43% ($248.6 million) of the city's general operating budget to the Milwaukee Police Department. I am adding additional overtime resources to the Department to increase neighborhood deployments and to increase the investigation and prosecution of crime.
I have convened — and will continue to convene — our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that the most focused policing, prosecution and supervision is being applied to those criminals who have earned our heightened attention. I am committed to full cooperation and communication throughout the criminal justice system.
We are recruiting businesses to locate in Milwaukee, giving people a fresh start through our transitional jobs program and teaching the value of having a job though my summer youth jobs program Earn & Learn, which has put more than 22,000 teens to work since its inception.
With all we have done, I still need help from every sector of our community.
My request is simple: get involved.
There are opportunities through churches, through youth-serving agencies and by helping neighbors get to know each other and building civic participation, ownership and pride in neighborhoods.
Connect and cooperate with police officers. Sharing information can save lives.
From our neighborhoods to City Hall to the state Capital, we all have a stake in this. Most people don't know the victims of gun violence; the killings aren't taking place in their neighborhoods. But it defies common decency to stand idly by while human life is lost.
These lives lost, disproportionately African-American lives, matter. Black lives matter. All lives matter.
More than ever, I remain committed to neighborhoods where grandparents can sit on the porch on a warm summer day and watch their grandchildren play without fear of violence.
Violence is preventable — not inevitable.
Tom Barrett is the mayor of Milwaukee.


Sharon Yandell from the National Group Leisure and Travel Show, Tom Pridmore, Tourism and Events Officer Ribble Valley Borough Council, and Travel Consultant Steve Reed.
The partnership, created by Ribble Valley Council and the Ribble Valley Tourism Association, also involves a number of others committed to increasing group visits to attractions, food venues and accommodation providers.
Co-ordinator is council tourism and events officer Tom Pridmore and the show was attended by some of the leading group travel and tour operators from Britain and overseas, the promotion follows the themes of heritage, food and quality experiences.


I relaxed later with a four-hour dinner at Grappa with the owners and chef from the Forge in Miami who flew their whole team out to prepare a dinner for OK! and Harvey Weinstein tonight. I did my first shots of Grappa. The dinner was good. We didn’t make it down the block to Colin Farrel’s movie premiere party for "The Bruges" at Village at the Life. Mary Kate Olsen did.


Demi Lovato sent out a body-positive message to fans on Sunday, when the 22-year-old singer showed off a whole lot of leg in an Instagram post encouraging fans to embrace their curves.
And it also wouldn't be Demi if she somehow didn't find a way to shout out her love, 35-year-old Wilmer Valderrama.
"Learn to lurrrrrvveee yerrrrr currrrrvveees," she wrote. "I actually used to hate them... But then a special someone helped me learn how to love them... And he sure loves them.... #squats."
Demi certainly hasn't been shy about showing off her fit body while promoting her new single, "Cool For the Summer."
Obviously, Demi's banging body requires some dedication. The former Disney stars also makes it no secret that she works our regularly and eats healthy.
Demi, who's been open about struggling with bulimia in the past, toldFitness magazine earlier this year that exercise has been important for her recovery, both physically and mentally. She also dished on her intense workout schedule.
"On show days I count my concert as a workout, but on my off days I try to work out once in the morning and again at night," she shared. "It can be a lot between performing and traveling, so I'm careful not to push myself too hard. ... We all have problem areas. I'm always going to have thick thighs. I can't change that, and obsessing over it will only make me miserable. Learning to be grateful for our bodies and taking care of them are the best ways for us to empower ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually."
Watch the video below to see Demi showing off her slim figure in April.


Shortly before 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, multiple Japanese Twitter users sent out tweets saying there was a naked woman running through Tokyo’s Shibuya Station, a major rail hub that connects several train and subway lines and serves as the gateway to the Shibuya neighborhood, one of the city’s most popular entertainment districts.
At about the same time as the tweets were being sent, someone also thought to call the police. Officers arrived on the scene and quickly spotted the woman, who no doubt stuck out like a sore/naked thumb, and took her into custody.
However, something they didn’t do was arrest her. The woman was not in possession of any weapons or dangerous items, and didn’t seem to have any intent of harming anyone. Apparently she simply wanted to run, and to be naked while doing it. “The woman had no criminal intent, so please put your minds at ease,” said a spokesperson for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police’s Shibuya precinct.
The lack of criminal charges rubbed a few online commenters the wrong way, with some grumbling about a double standard. “Why didn’t they arrest her? They’d have arrested a man who did that, wouldn’t they?” asked one Twitter user who was appalled at the lack of justice. Others, though, simply lamented the fact that they hadn’t been there to witness the woman’s splendor in person, or the lack of photos on social media.
Surprisingly, the police say the woman did not appear to be under the influence of drugs, and so it remains unclear what prompted her high-speed streaking session, making her decision as baffling as the man elsewhere in Japan this week who broke into someone’s house just to take off his pants and go to sleep on the living room floor.
-- Shibuya’s Hachiko has a new feline pal, and they look absolutely adorable together!
Hang on! There was guy arrested and charged with public indecency just a couple of weeks ago for doing exactly the same thing. He was running through the streets to purge himself of bad spirits or something like that. Perhaps he was charged coz he was an old guy and it was considered offensive, but a youngish lady running through a train station is not offensive (to the cops).
I wonder if he was arrested under a prefectural law that doesn't exist in Tokyo.
I would guess he was arrested for the breaking and entering, not the nakedness.
Training for the Olympics naked marathon event mayhaps?
Dammit! I knew I should have locked the back of my van.
So where did the streaker keep her Suica?
I would of tackled her to the ground and slowly called the proper authorities.
What....hundreds of people with a mobile phone and cameras all around and not one image along with the article?
However, something they didn’t do was arrest her.
who no doubt stuck out like a large moving hourglass.
What's so scary about a naked woman running through Shibuya station? Is this the same kind of fright that some people get when seeing tattoos? Tattoos equal yakuza. Naked woman equals what?
Pictures, or it didn't happen!
What's so scary about a naked woman running through Shibuya station?
For many people, the idea that someone could cast off the normalcies of society and allow themselves to be seen naked in somewhere as public and crowded as Shibuya is scary - they wonder what could drive someone to do that, and worry that the same thing could happen to them.
Maybe she was doing her laundry?
Or at least found someone's recreation of the incident.
Sannomiya Kobe watch out, the meat and veg is coming!!!!
What exactly is so scary about a running naked woman?
@ILoveCoffee She might run right into you and knock you down?
She wasn't charged because she's a woman, plain and simple. Any man would be arrested for the same thing. At the very least she was causing a nuisance, and there are public nuisance laws this goes against. Hell, the police will arrest a woman for showing are that depicts vaginas, but here you have a fully naked woman running around the police just let her go. The double standards are amazing.
Huh... so, people are frightened by the sight of a naked woman running around because whatever possessed her to shed her clothes and run could be catching? Lord have mercy, the demon could jump from her to me!
Wonderful. The sight of a naked woman is pleasurable to all surely. this sort of thing is only to be encouraged. I hope this continues.
I wouldn't mind being ran over by a naked woman.
I'm not sure why some of you are getting so excited with so few details. I mean, a 76 year old woman with a hunch and a bad limp running naked through the station isn't quite my cup of tea. Yesssss, picture that.
Nothing really surprises me anymore. Most people are looking at their phones so I'm surprised anyone noticed.
Bobolicious, your speculation ("I'm not sure why some of you are getting so excited with so few details. I mean, a 76 year old woman with a hunch and a bad limp running naked through the station isn't quite my cup of tea. Yesssss, picture that") fully answers the question of Ilovecoffee ("What exactly is so scary about a running naked woman?"). I did give both of you point.
I think the Japanese comment of 'Kowa-sugi' brings up shivering pictures of Hannya she-demons and ghosts, those who have lost their reason in a fury of revenge.
The people who think it's crazy are even crazier for not believing the true nature.


Bring your dog to the ballpark to celebrate with the city of Jackson in winning the Dog Park Dash grand prize grant of $100,000.
Everyone is invited (and don’t forget Fido) to the Ballpark at Jackson, beginning at 10:45 a.m. July 27.
Sarge has cleared his schedule and is looking forward to getting the pawty started. Coyote Blues will be on site, and there will be a few surprises for attendees.
The $100,000 Dog Park Dash grant provided by The Boyd Foundation will help create a new dog park in Jackson. Plans include a small dogs area and a large dogs area with an agility course and water feature. The park will be located next to the Jackson Generals Ballpark at 4 Fun Place, making it the most pet friendly ballpark in the United States.
The grant is a collaborative project of the City of Jackson, Jackson Generals, Visit Jackson TN and the Jackson Chamber.


Four Ravens will represent the AFC North champions at Sunday’s Pro Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
Three members of the NFL’s top-ranked defense will suit up in the annual all-star showcase, as will one of the league’s top linemen.
The game kicks off at 3 p.m. at Camping World Stadium and will be broadcast on ESPN and ABC (Chs. 2, 7).


Typical customer would pay $132 more by 2018.
Electric bills of Xcel Energy customers in Minnesota are going up — again.
The state’s largest power company on Monday requested a 9.8 percent electric rate hike phased in over three years. By 2018, a typical electric customer’s annual electric charges would be $132 higher if state regulators approve the increase.
Xcel’s 1.2 million Minnesota electric customers face an almost-certain interim rate hike of 5.5 percent in January, or about $60 per year, plus a smaller bump in 2017, bringing the total to 7 percent. Interim rate hikes are almost always approved but are subject to refund if the final authorized increase is less.
The next increase will follow five consecutive years of rate hikes by the Minneapolis-based utility, and consumer advocates said it is too much for people with stagnant incomes.
Xcel is proposing to increase the residential basic charge, which all customers pay regardless of power usage, from $8 to $10 per month. Xcel said that increase would bring the basic charge in line with the cost of service.
But AARP, the advocacy group for older people, and other consumer interests successfully fought Xcel’s last effort to raise the basic rate, and that battle looms again.
Xcel said the major drivers of the request are upgrades to the power grid and nuclear power plants, investments in cleaner energy, higher property taxes and normal business cost increases. About half the investments have been made but not yet recovered in rates, Xcel said.
The utility said the investment cycle fueling recent rate hikes is winding down, and the 2017 and 2018 increases would be less than the projected rate of inflation. By offering a multiyear rate plan, customers get some predictability on electric rates, the company said.
“It’s not zero, but it is down more toward the rate of inflation, in fact below it,” said Laura McCarten, an Xcel regional vice president.
The new rate hike request also includes $103 million to address accounting shifts used to moderate Xcel’s last rate hike. In effect, customers are being called on to pay in 2016 and 2017 for rate relief in the prior two years.
Since the Great Recession, Xcel and other utilities have experienced flat or declining growth in power sales and revenue. Sales growth once cushioned customers from some effects of long-term investments. But declining power use per customer is flattening Xcel’s revenue even when it adds customers — a trend Xcel says is bound to continue with emerging energy-efficient technologies.
“We are aware of the impact of recent rate increases on our customers, especially the impact of these increases on our low-income customers,” Aakash Chandarana, Xcel regional vice president for rates and regulatory affairs, said in testimony filed with state regulators.
Xcel wants to up funding for low-income energy assistance programs from $11 million to $14 million a year and expand eligibility for seniors and those with chronic or severe medical conditions who don’t currently qualify for utility, state or federal energy assistance programs.
It is the first time any Minnesota utility has sought a three-year rate hike, an option made possible by a 2015 change in state law that Xcel supported at the Legislature.
The rate-hike request to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission is likely to take 18 months to review. On average, regulators have cut Xcel’s four most recent rate hike requests by 55 percent amid pushback from business and consumer groups and state agencies representing ratepayers.
Altogether, Xcel seeks a $297 million permanent increase in rates over three years. For any single year in the period, the biggest request is for $195 million or 6.4 percent in 2016. That ranks as the second-largest one-year rate hike Xcel has ever requested.
For 2017, Xcel seeks an additional boost of $52 million or 1.7 percent, followed by another $50 million or 1.7 percent in 2018. The utility also offered regulators the option of rolling out rate hikes over a five-year period, reducing the impact in 2016 and other years.
Xcel has raised Minnesota electric rates each year since 2011. With the latest request, that string would be extended to eight in a row. Xcel also raised rates in 2006 and 2009.
The most recent regulator-approved increase, for 2014-2015, was 5.3 percent overall, and slightly more for residential customers because of the higher cost of serving them. But that two-year increase of $149 million was half what Xcel requested.
Because regulators pared back that request, Xcel customers overpaid for electricity in 2014 under an interim rate hike and will get a one-time refund with interest in December or January. Xcel said it will be just under $20 for a typical residential customer.
If Xcel wins approval for its requested permanent rate hikes through 2018, the total increase for a typical residential customer averaging 675 kilowatt-hours per month would be $11 per month or $132 per year, according to the filing.


MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Milwaukee man who tried to join and fight for the Islamic State has been sentenced to seven years in a federal prison.
The Journal Sentinel says U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman settled on seven years Tuesday, followed by 10 years of supervised release.
The 38-year-old Ludke and Yosvany Padilla-Conde were charged in 2016 with attempting to provide support to a foreign terrorist organization. Court records say the two defendants had a series of online conversations with an undercover FBI employee in which they professed allegiance to the Islamic State.


THEY were imposters, all of them. Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry, Ashley Cole – the core of the England national team for years and world-class players allegedly.
They were imposters wearing England football shirts on Friday night in Cape Town, pretending to be committed, controlled and clever international sportsmen at the World Cup finals.
They were nothing of the kind.
Vast multi-million-pound salaries should mean these are superstar footballers to rely on. Yet they played like paupers against Algeria, the poverty of their football astonishing to neutrals and enraging to supporters who had paid thousands of pounds to travel halfway across the world to watch them.
There was a poverty of spirit, a poverty of passing, a poverty of imagination and a poverty of technique.
Lampard played a wayward pass within two seconds of the kick-off to give the ball away, a simple 15-yard pass carelessly misdirected. Gareth Barry did the same with his first touch half a minute later. It would have been embarrassing on a Sunday morning parks pitch.
Who does Wayne Rooney think he is?
The reaction of Rooney to jeering from England fans at the final whistle symbolised the shambles. He sneered into a TV camera and with unlovely sarcasm questioned the loyalty of supporters.
This was the most abject England performance anyone could recall, whether they be travelling fans, veteran TV commentators or former national team managers like Graham Taylor, whose deep anger was plain.
Rooney appears to have lost touch with reality, though he is not the only one. Gerrard, Lampard, Terry and Cole have all had their moments in that regard.
Current England manager Fabio Capello has made his mistakes, and they have been well chronicled here – on selection, tactics and goalkeepers – and we probably all agree now that he is monstrously overpaid at £6million a year.
But he was not on the pitch in Cape Town. The players were out there, and they must take responsibility for their feeble football and forget all the feeble excuses that England players lazily fall back on.
It was not about the dodgy ball, the dodgy pitch or the dodgy weather. It was not about a manager who was too strict or one whose discipline was too lax. It was not about the wags, the endless platefuls of pasta at dinner or the boredom of life at the remote training camp.
Friday night was about the players giving up the ghost – and they should take a hard look in the mirror.
If Rooney and the anonymous Lampard, in particular, do that with honesty they would be horrified at what they see.
It has long been the view here that the weak mentality of modern English footballers is a problem at tournaments, notably in penalty shoot-outs, but also in the matter of not playing the brave pass and instead lumping an aimless long ball upfield. How many times did we see that against Algeria?
Players love the praise but instantly resent any criticism from fans and media. They hide away too often and look for excuses.
There is a phrase used by John Giles about what good football requires. He calls it ‘moral courage’.
It is about doing the right thing on the field, even when it’s the toughest option mentally or physically.
It is what Group C rivals the USA showed so impressively when they recovered from 2-0 down at half-time to draw with Slovenia a few hours before England played.
Can England’s imposters now summon up the moral courage to play with similar daring, dignity and diligence in the match they must win on Wednesday against Slovenia?
Will they take personal responsibility for making England play well? Will they put aside whatever beefs they have with the Capello regime and just play properly?
Capello could quite legitimately drop any of the senior England players from the next game after such hopeless displays. Aaron Lennon, David James, Emile Heskey and Gareth Barry could all go too. It could not be any worse with all of them missing against Slovenia.
Drop Rooney? Oh yes, Capello could. And he probably should. Rooney was a pale, stale shadow of his bullish best in Cape Town, even before his wretched behaviour at the end.
The manager is unlikely to take this option, and said as much in the wake of the debacle.
No, the many millions of Englishmen and women who harboured fond hopes of their team playing with some glory and success at this World Cup will have to rely on the character and spirit and moral courage of the players who are currently imposters.
It’s not a good place to be, but there we are.
And it can be done. Hope is not lost. I have seen an amazing and swift switch of mood several times on England cricket tours abroad, when the players lifted themselves up from the deepest depths of incompetence.
We saw it in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, when England climbed from utter shambles to nearly win the final.
I happen to believe that Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, John Terry and Ashley Cole are good enough.
But are they responsible enough? Are they intelligent enough? Are they brave enough?
It is their team. It is their time. It is their reputations and their honour that are on the line this week.


The Bethlehem Township Board of Education (BTBOE) is pleased to announce that collective negotiations have successfully concluded and an agreement has been reached with the Bethlehem Township Education Association (BTEA) for the period July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2020.
On June 7th, the agreement was signed by both parties. The agreement will be retroactive to July 1, 2017.
The Bethlehem Township School District has the benefit of highly qualified, dedicated and experienced educators always willing to challenge our students to maximize their individual potential. The BTBOE would like to continue to attract such educators to maintain this high standard.
A change in healthcare providers from the School Employees Health Benefits Plan (SHBP) to the School Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), will provide cost savings to both the BTBOE and its employees and benefits equal to or better than the previous coverage. Also, the parties agreed that one instructional day will be added to the school calendar. Extracurricular stipends and other cost items will remain unchanged.
The three year aggregate salary increase is 9.50% over three years. Including changes in employee health benefit contributions, the aggregate increase in cost to the board is 10.55%. Providing an excellent, state of the art education without imposing an undue tax burden on the community remains a delicate balancing act. The Board was fiscally responsible in maintaining a zero percent budget this year with no added school tax increase for the residents of Bethlehem Township.
Our district is committed to continually improving the education offered to the students of Bethlehem Township while continuing to be fiscally responsible to our residents. The BTBOE thanks everyone for their continued support of our students, staff and schools.


BURLINGTON, N.C. -- Two hundred-and-fifty dogs of all breeds, shapes and sizes will be competing this weekend in Burlington to become the next Flyball champion.
The North American Flyball Association is hosting the Sweet Tea Classic at the Fairchild Community Center at 827 South Graham Hopedale Road.
The event is free and open to the public for those who wish to spectate.
It will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday and from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday.


JOE Swash shared footage of the critter being removed from his ear.
Joe Swash revealed he has finally had the cockroach removed from his ear two days after it got stuck.
The I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here! Extra Camp presenter left fans concerned on Saturday as one of the critters got stuck in his ear during a Bushtucker Trial – and doctors were unable to remove it.
However, he updated fans with a series of videos on Tuesday as a doctor tried for the second time to dig it out.
Walking to the hospital, Joe told his 435,000 Instagram followers: "Hopefully today's the day I get rid of my little squatter who's been in my ear for two days.
"Let's keep our fingers crossed because my ear is starting to stink."
The host then looked at a screen which showed the cockroach deep within his eardrum.
Visibly grossed out by what he saw, he gasped: "Oh my God look at the size of him...ugh get him out of my ear as quick as possible."
Stacey Solomon's boyfriend then reclined in the hospital bed while the doctor attempted to remove the critter for the second time, joking "it feels quite nice," as he dug around.
After it was finally removed, a baffled Joe couldn't quite believe how big the critter was.
"This little fella guys is the little squatter that was in my ear," he exclaimed. "Look at the size of him!"
"That was in my earhole, that was in my ear! OMG!"
The removal will have been a happy moment for Joe, whose Extra Camp colleague Scarlett Moffatt revealed that the insect had been inside his ear so long that it made it stink.
"It stinks. He keeps getting everyone to sniff it," she said.
Before Joel Dommett added: "Oh mate that's actually rank. I don't understand how you can live with that in your ear, it's so intense."


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is calling on Republicans to revive the effort to quash the Affordable Care Act, handing Democrats an opportunity to unite in defence of the law as they try to move past the Russia investigation and win the White House in 2020.
Save The Children said a missile struck a petrol station near the entrance to Kitaf rural hospital, about 100 kilometres (62 miles) from the city of Saada at 9:30 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
“The missile was said to have landed within 50 metres of the facility’s main building,” it said.
NEW YORK (AP) — Former Vice-President Joe Biden condemned “a white man’s culture” Tuesday night as he lashed out at violence against women and, more specifically, lamented his role in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings that undermined Anita Hill’s credibility nearly three decades ago.
A Nike spokesman declined to answer questions about Avenatti’s tweets. The company released a statement Monday saying it will “not be extorted or hide information that is relevant to a government investigation.” It also said it has been co-operating with a federal investigation into NCAA basketball for a year.


After posting a shocking new photoshoot along with a message denouncing her critics on Facebook, "Human Barbie" model Valeria Lukyanova has confirmed that her recent pictures were Photoshopped.
However the 29-year-old tells Cosmopolitan.com it was mostly "color correction."
"The pictures are Photoshopped to achieve smoothness and color correction," writes Valeria. "They were not high quality. I had to edit them in order to correct the defects of the phone picture."
That's right -- according to Valeria, the photos were taken by a friend with a camera phone!
"Beautiful people are often envied," says Valeria in response to the negative feedback she has received. "That's why negativity does not surprise me. Instead, it touches me."
"To have an ideal body is important to every self-respecting girl."
In the message posted Thursday, Valeria claimed she had been attacked, and that her new workout regimen was in order to make her stronger to ward off any potential future attackers.
"I was inspired by the Queen of the Amazons - Medusa," wrote Valeria. "Her body is perfect, I think."
Watch Jennifer Lawrence explain why "Barbie Girl" is the soundtrack to her life.


Finance Mongolia 2013, the first financial exhibition and conference of its kind in Mongolia, took place at the Misheel Expo Centre over the weekend. At the event, several financial sector organizations provided the public with information about the financial sector and stock market.
The organizations displaying their services at the event were eager to explain the benefits of the financial market to the participants at the event. The information they provided gave visitors a general understanding of what stocks and shares are and how the equity market works. Most of the participants were brokers and dealers.
Mongolia’s top banks, including Khan Bank, the Trade and Development Bank of Mongolia, Khas, and Khadaglamj, along with insurance savings companies such as Mongol Daatgal, MIG Insurance, and Soyombo Insurance, exhibited their services and products at the weekend event.
Brokers at the conference said at the conference that since the distribution of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi stock to the public, interest in the stock market has grown and many people are now seeking to learn more about the sector. They noted, however, that the number of accounts being opened at the Mongolian Stock Exchange has declined recently, along with trade.
According to the Manager of Khan-Uul branch of insurance company Mongol Daatgal, the people of Mongolia have yet to learn the importance of insurance, as the sector hasn’t seen much development in the past. At the conference he said, “By passing a law regarding driver responsibility, the public has become more informed about (accident) insurance and its significance. After receiving compensation from insurance companies, drivers are realizing the importance of insurance.” Mongol Daatgal provided 5.9 billion MNT in compensation payments last year.
Participants at the Coal Mongolia 2013 conference last week noted that the financial and banking sector in Mongolia is underdeveloped compared to other developing nations. They also observed that in most developed countries information about the financial sector is widely accessible and available to the public.
Bankers at the Finance Mongolia 2013 event noted that although the banking sector in Mongolia has seen much progress in recent years due to the country’s enviable economic growth, the size of the sector is still not large enough to absorb the inflow of capital. They further noted that the event would have been more effective in informing the public if it had been organized near the centre of the city.


As Verizon Communications gets closer to introducing its FiOS TV video product in New York City, two potential competitors offered their take on how to battle the telephone giant at an industry conference last week.
At the Deutsche Bank Media & Telecommunications conference June 9, Time Warner Cable chief operating officer Landel Hobbs said that the No. 2 cable operator will counter the telco TV threat with advanced services and innovative pricing plans.
New York is Time Warner's second-largest system with about 1.4 million subscribers (Los Angeles is No. 1 with 1.7 million customers).
Verizon hopes to start offering FiOS later this year in all five boroughs of New York, including four controlled by Time Warner Cable: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. Cablevision Systems is the incumbent cable operator in the Bronx.
Hobbs said that Time Warner Cable is prepared, readying its plant — it is already all-digital in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens and will be all-digital in Manhattan by the end of the year — for additional HDTV channels and its Start Over service. Hobbs said Time Warner will nearly double its HDTV capacity in New York from 55 channels to about 100 channels by the end of the year, when its Start Over service should also be available.
On the pricing front, Time Warner has been rolling out a “price-lock guarantee” package which enables customers to lock in a set price for video, voice and data service if they agree to a two-year contract.
One cable operator that has already weathered a FiOS onslaught in one of its key markets — overbuilder RCN — said that the tide is beginning to turn.
At the Deutsche Bank conference on June 10, RCN CEO Peter Aquino said that despite losing subscribers initially, RCN and even Comcast are beginning to rebound. “I don't think they [FiOS] got the 30% share they were shooting for,” he said.
Aquino added that the introduction of its “Analog Crush” all-digital initiative in Boston July 4, which will substantially increase HD channel capacity, should continue keep that momentum going.
But Verizon COO Denny Strigl, speaking at the same conference on June 10, said that the nationwide build out of the network could exceed the 18 million homes passed target set for 2010.