Posts Tagged ‘Buddhist’
American Imperialism Aiding the Saudi and Israeli Ethnic Cleansing of Indigenous Middle Eastern Christians
There’s been some coverage here in the west of the underground Christian church in China. China’s a Communist state, and although religion has been allowed to re-emerge after its ferocious persecution under Mao, it is heavily regulated. There’s an official church, which has to agree to and abide by the various conditions set down by the Communist authorities. Alongside this is a growing underground church, that meets in secret and is heavily persecuted because it is outside the control of the Communist party.
Fewer people, however, are aware that there’s also a growing underground church in Iran. The Anglican church in Tehran, which is recognised and tolerated, is remarkable for a Christian church in a Middle Eastern, Islamic country, in that most of its members are indigenous Iranians. About three per cent of the Iranian population is composed of Armenian Christians, who have their own churches. But outside these official, tolerated churches, there is a secret church of indigenous Iranians, who are turning from Islam to Christ. Apostasy is banned under Islamic, sharia law. The penalty has traditionally been death, although some law schools were of the opinion that the death penalty could only be imposed if the apostate then blasphemed against Islam. Other legal scholars stated that the apostate from Islam should be imprisoned for three days so that they could reconsider their decision to abandon Islam. If they repented during this time, they would be spared. This means that those Iranians converting to Christianity do so at the risk of their own lives. They are savagely persecuted and imprisoned. At the same time, the Iranian authorities surround the Armenian churches with armed police to make sure that only Armenians go there to worship. The Armenians have adopted a series of tactics to help their Iranian co-religionists avoid the police. One of these is teaching them a few words or phrases of Armenian, so that they can pass themselves off as Armenian Christians, and so avoid arrest, imprisonment and torture.
This isn’t widely known in the West, and I don’t think this is an accident. America is a profoundly religious country, but I think the support of religious freedom by the American military-industrial complex is, and has always been, cynically utilitarian. There was a massive campaign of Christian evangelism and preaching in America itself during the Cold War. You think of all the extreme right-wing Christian movements that emerged in the 50s, like Moral Re-Armament, and so on, that were dedicated not just to spreading Christianity, but also combatting Communism. Or, for that matter, just about any other left-wing, progressive movement. Even if it was led by other Christians. Communism is an aggressively materialistic political system. Marx actually wrote little about religion, beyond his famous words that it was ‘the opium of the people’, but he certainly believed his system was an extension of the materialist doctrines of the ancient world and the Enlightenment philosophes. He took over their critique of religion and that of Ludwig Feuerbach, which viewed religion as a projection of humanity’s own alienated essence, and extended it. Lenin himself was bitterly anti-religious, and the persecution of religious believers – Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Taoists, the followers of indigenous shamanic religions and so on – was state policy in many Communist countries.
Hence the promotion of Christianity and the defence of religious freedom against a persecuting, literally Satanic, evil empire was a useful ideological tool for the capitalist leaders of society during the Cold War. Thus much of the religious literature published during the Cold War stressed the anti-Christian nature of Communism to the point where this overshadowed the other atrocities and crimes against human rights committed by these regimes. Such as the artificial famines Stalin created during the collectivisation of agriculture, the deportation of ethnic minorities to Siberia and the persecution of dissenting socialist and Communist intellectuals.
But very little is said about the persecution of the underground Iranian church. And I don’t think this is an accident. I think it’s because it doesn’t serve American geopolitical interests, and those of its allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia. China’s a Communist country, and so atheism is the official state dogma, even if it is not as rigorously enforced as it has been. But Iran and the other Middle Eastern countries are religious states to a greater or lesser degree. And American foreign policy in the Middle East has consisted of supporting theocratic and Islamic fundamentalist regimes and movements against secular Arab nationalism or socialism, as these are seen as too close to Communism. Hence the hostility to Gamal Nasser’s Egypt, which was socialist, but not Communist. In the case of Saudi Arabia, America and the West forged an alliance that goes back to the 1920s. In return for the right to exploit the country’s oil, America and the West pledged themselves to support the country and its rulers. Saudi Arabia is an extremely intolerant state, where the only permitted religion is Wahhabi Islam. No other religions are tolerated. There are indigenous Shi’a Muslims, but they are also savagely persecuted. Their villages do not have running water or electricity, and their religious literature and holy books will be confiscated if they are discovered by the authorities. A few years ago the Grand Mufti, the religious head of Saudi Arabia, declared that the Shi’a were heretics ‘worthy of death’, a chilling endorsement of religious genocide. And the Shi’a aren’t the only non-Wahhabi community to be subjected to his prayers for pious violence. The other year he also led prayers calling on Allah to destroy Jews and Christians.
Saudi Arabia is one of the main sponsors of Islamist terrorism. It is not Iran, nor Saddam Hussein’s Iraq, which had nothing to do with 9/11. 17 out of the 19 hijackers were Saudis, and the trail from them goes all the way to the top of Saudi society. They were active sponsors of the Mujahideen in Afghanistan, which became the Taliban. The current Saudi king and his head of intelligence were also responsible for funding and aiding al-Qaeda and ISIS in their attacks on the other Islamic nations of the region. In continuing to support Saudi Arabia, America, Britain and the other western countries are supporting a viciously intolerant state that persecutes other religions, including Christians.
The other pillar of western interests and foreign policy in the Middle East is Israel. Israel is a White, European/American settler state, and it looks towards Europe and America rather than the Middle East. And it’s also religiously intolerant. The official state religion is Orthodox Judaism. Israel defines itself as the Jewish state, and the Law of Return stipulates that only Jews may become citizens. The Israeli government has also repeatedly refused calls to allow the Palestinians, who fled the country in 1948 fearing massacre by the Israelis to return, as this would upset the ethnic composition of the country. At the same time the Israeli state has pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing, expelling and massacring the indigenous Palestinian population. And this includes Christians.
Before the foundation of Israel in 1948, 25 per cent of the population of Palestine was Christian. Now it’s only one per cent. The literature on the dwindling Christian community states that this is because of pressure from both Israel and Islam. The Christian community has suffered persecution from Muslims, as they are seen as traitors, even though many Palestinian Christians are as bitterly opposed to the Israeli occupation as their compatriots. However, other historians have also pointed out that traditionally, Muslims and Christians coexisted peacefully in Palestine. In one of the papers on Israel and Palestine in Albert Hourani’s book, The Modern Middle East, it is stated that Muslim Palestinians traditionally regarded Christian churches as mawsin, an Arabic term which means holy, sacrosanct, and were thus treated with respect. Palestinian Christians, however, have complained about their treatment by the Israeli authorities. Special permits are required before new churches may be built, and the authorities are not keen to give them.
And like Muslims, Christians have also been attacked by Israeli racist extremists. A little while ago a Christian monastery in Israel was the subject of a price-tag attack by Israeli extremists. The price-tag attacks are acts of destruction in retaliation for Palestinian attacks on Jews or Jewish property. They’re called ‘price-tag’ because the attackers leave a mock price-tag behind giving some cost for the damage done. The Israeli authorities were keen to distance their country from the attack, and tried to present it as somehow unique. But I got the distinct impression that this is far from the case. About ten or so years ago Channel 4 screened a programme by a Black presenter, in which he went to Israel and covered the maltreatment of Christians there. This included an attempt by a group of Orthodox Jews to terrorise the members of a church of Messianic Jews. In fact, the Messianic Jews were saved by the Muslim doorman, who effectively blocked the Orthodox posse from coming in. And the programme gave the impression that this was actually quite common, and that it was frequently Muslims, who saved Christians from violence at the hands of Jewish settlers.
This is all kept very hidden from the American Christian public. The tours of Israel arranged by right-wing Christian Zionist groups in America and the Israeli authorities will not allow American or western Christians to meet their Palestinian co-religionists. And while there’s a considerable amount of information on the web about Israeli intolerance and persecution of Christians, in the mainstream western media it is always presented as the fault of Muslims. And the right-wing press, such as the Times and Telegraph, have published any number of articles presenting Israel as the protector of the region’s Christians, often with quotes from a Christian Arab to that effect. Thus the Christian Zionist right in America are supporting a state, which has expelled the majority of its indigenous Christians from its borders and continues to limit their freedom of worship. Just as it does Muslims.
Some of the motivation behind this Christian Zionism is based in apocalyptic theology. Christian Zionism started in the 19th century, when some Christians decided that they wanted to refound the ancient state of Israel in order to bring about Christ’s Second Coming. This now includes a final battle between good and evil. This used to be between the forces of capitalism and Communism, but has now morphed into the forces of the Christian West and Israel versus Islam. At the same time, the American Conservatives started supporting Israel in compensation for the defeats America had suffered in the Vietnam War, so that American Christian leaders declared that the Israelis shared their values.
I also think there’s an element of religious imperialism here as well. In the 19th century British explorers to other parts of the Christian world, including Greece when it was dominated by the Ottoman Empire, and Abyssinia, declared that these nations’ traditional churches were backwards and obstacles to their peoples’ advancement. They therefore recommended that they should be destroyed, and the Greeks, Ethiopians or whoever should embrace one of the western forms of Christianity instead. it wouldn’t surprise me if the same attitude permeated American Zionist Christian attitudes towards Middle Eastern Christians. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the same kind of Christian fundamentalist pastors, who rant about how ‘Satanic’ Roman Catholicism is, also don’t believe that the ancient churches of the Middle East – the Syriac and Coptic Churches – are also not really Christian.
Thus American imperialism, and the Christian Zionists in the case of Israel, are supporting states dedicated to removing the indigenous Christian communities from their parts of the Middle East.
And American Christians are more fervent in their Zionism than American Jews. Norman Finkelstein has repeatedly stated and demonstrated how American Jews were traditionally uninterested in Israel. And Tony Greenstein, a Jewish British critic of Zionism, has also shown that the majority of Jews around the world wished to remain in the Diaspora, but live as equal, respected citizens of the countries in which they were born. There are a growing number of Jewish Americans, who despise Israel because of the way it persecutes its indigenous Arab population. This includes Jews, who have suffered genuine anti-Semitism abuse and violence.
Within Israel itself, there is opposition to the official religious policy of the state. There is a sizable minority that would like a total separation between synagogue and state. Other Israelis don’t go this far, but do want Israel to become more secular. And there is tension between Reform Jews, and the Orthodox, who do not regard their theologically more liberal co-religionists to be proper Jews, and may even regard them as anti-Jewish.
But American Conservatives are unable or unwilling to understand Middle Eastern Christians, or why they would not want to support Israel. A few years ago Ted Cruz addressed a meeting of Middle Eastern Christians in America. This went well, until he started urging them to support Israel, at which point he was surprised to find that he was being booed. Part of his speech urged them to support the Israelis, because of the terrible persecution of Jews in the past. But the Palestinians have repeatedly rejected this argument, pointing out that they are being persecuted by the Israelis because of the way Europeans persecuted Jews. Cruz walked off, making comments about anti-Semitism, if I recall correctly. He failed to understand that to his audience, the Israelis were those doing the persecuting.
And this ignorance and the views and political situation of indigenous Middle Eastern Christians seems to be common to elite America. It’s shown by Trump’s decision to relocate the American embassy to Jerusalem, which has been supported by the leader of the Democrats in Congress, Chuck Schumer, and Barak Obama and Hillary Clinton. All of whom will stress their identity as Christians when it suits them.
It isn’t just rising Islamism and Muslim intolerance in the Middle East that is a threat to the indigenous Christian communities there. It is also American imperialism, and the country’s alliance with the ethnic and religiously intolerant regimes of Israel and Saudi Arabia. Thus, the media only covers Christian persecution when they can blamed it on Islam, But when it’s awkward for the American, and western military-industrial complex, the media is silent about it.
Tags:'Military-Industrial Complex', 'The Modern Middle East', 'The Telegraph', 9/11, Abyssinia, al-Qaeda, Albert Hourani, American Embassy, Anglican Church, anti-semitism, Apostasy, Arab Nationalism, Armenian Language, Armenians, Atrocities, Barak Obama, Blacks, Blasphemy, Buddhist, Chairman Mao, Channel 4, Christian Zionism, Christianity, Chuck Schumer, Churches, Cold War, Collectivisation, Congress, Conservatives, Coptic Church, Death Penalty, Democrat Party, Deportations, Diaspora, Donald Trump, Enlightenment, Ethnic Cleansing, Famine, Gamal Nasser, Genocide, Grand Mufti, Hillary Clinton, Imperialism, Intelligence Agencies, Internet, ISIS, Jerusalem, Jesus, Karl Marx, lenin, Ludwig Feuerbach, Massacres, Messianic Jews, Middle East, Monsteries, Moral Re-Armament, Mujahideen, Norman Finkelstein, Oil Industry, Orthodox Jews, Ottoman Empire, Philosophes, Reform Jews, Saddam Hussein, Second Coming, Shamanism, Sharia Law, Shi'a, Siberia, stalin, Syriac Churches, Taoists, Ted Cruz, Tehran, The Times, Tony Greenstein, Torture, Underground Church, Vietnam War, Wahhabism, Zionism
Posted in Afghanistan, Agriculture, America, Arabs, Armenia, Atheism, communism, Crime, Economics, Egypt, Electricity, Greece, History, Industry, Iran, Iraq, Islam, Israel, Judaism, Languages, Law, LIterature, OIl, Persecution, Politics, Poverty, Prayers, Roman Catholicism, Saudi Arabia, Secularism, Socialism, Syriac, Television, Terrorism, The Press, Water | 1 Comment »


By Simeon on September 3, 2015 • ( 1 Comment )
Kurara Chibana – The real winner for beauty pageant fans
“During my childhood I was outside a lot doing sports such as swimming and tennis. I was a tomboy when I was small, full of energy and even when I was small, I was always curious and would often go on my own to discover new places…. My career ambition for the future is to become a world-renowned reporter, travelling around the world and interviewing influential people in all kind of areas.” This is how the smart and bubbly personality, Kurara Chibana described her childhood and ambitions in Miss Universe 2006 contestants profile interview. No wonder she is now travelling all over the world as a model, TV reporter and a humanitarian. She is a fashion icon and role model for the youth of Japan.
Kurara is an intellectual woman with an interest in global education, language and cultures. She is an education philosophy graduate from Sophia University, lived in France for nine months and Spain for three months. As someone who is interested in languages, she learnt French and Spanish. She can speak English, French Spanish and Japanese. Isn’t that incredible? She entered beauty pageant with a mission and to use the platform for bigger opportunities. Even before entering Miss Universe Japan pageant, Kurara, was hired as a features’ reporter for a top fashion magazine in Japan. Her duty was to fly around the world to interview unique people in the entertainment world and to report about them and about their personal lifestyles. After winning Miss Universe Japan 2006, she was appointed as Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission Refugees). She is the prodigy of the well-known French fashion and beauty expert, Ines Ligron – the then National Director of Miss Universe Japan who revamped the contest and gave a new life to the almost non-existent contest.
At the Miss Universe pageant in 2006, she became a heavy favourite of fans all over the world. She presented herself as a well-educated woman with international aspirations who wanted to become an international journalist or writer. Her striking looks and intelligent personality, many thought, was enough for her to win the crown. She was smart and epitomizes someone who is sassy and cosmopolitan. During the contest, Chibana was the crowd favourite and her flirty winks drew an unusually enthusiastic response from the audience. At the preliminaries, she sported a unique red and pink-hued gown with silver corseting designed by Novespazio. The gown looks good on her and the colour combination definitely match up to her soft demeanour.
Then the final night came. She definitely was a top contender to walk away with the title and who knew there could be a disappointment later. She had an amazing stage presence, can connect with the audience and of course, she was stunning. Who would forget the Best national costume of the night! That year Japan experimented with its national costume. Not that it had ever experimented with its national costume before. But it was different that time. It wasn’t just the dress but also the sword that made it unique. I would call her the Samurai Warrior. I have seen many national costumes round of Miss Universe before and every time it would be more or less the same – from bird wings inspired feathers costume to flower inspired costume to the bride’s dress costume. Japan had the most interesting and unique costume that made it stood out among the various national costumes and from her own previous representative costumes. The Samurai Costume instantly became a hit all over the globe. No wonder it won the Best National Costume Award.
The opening of Miss Universe 2006 started with the pre taped introduction of the delegates in their national costumes. Japan worked it out like a true warrior. Her costume from top to bottom was simply amazing. The bun hair with the front hair falling smoothly made her looked so edgy and sharp while the way she swings the sword was a solid performance for an introduction. Then the top 20 were called for swimsuit round. When Japan was called out, her happiness and joy was sweet and cute. Kurara in swimsuit round rocked the stage with her spunky, lively, bold and spirited energy. She dazzled in swimsuit round. Then came the top 10 evening gown round. As expected she made it to the top 10. For evening gown round, she wore a black evening gown exhibiting intricate latticework designed by Olivier Theyskens for Rochas. Looking at her black gown from far, it looked so simple but then looking closer one see’s the embroidery on the dress; It was simplicity meet with intricate embellishment. The gown had its own charm and Chibana walked unlike her swimsuit round. In evening gown round she chose to walk in a calm and composed manner. The gown in fact suited that style of walk. She knows how to project herself and that’s her plus point. Her soft demeanour and unique style projection presented a sophisticated and high culture classy woman. As the night progressed, she became the audience favourite and the audiences were cheering for her. She was very good at acknowledging the crowd.
The top 5 came and this is the controversy everyone has been talking about. Kurara was the third contestant to be called on stage. Miss Switzerland congratulated her and she reciprocated the same by closely leaning and gave her a peck on the cheek. She also congratulated Paraguay. That gesture of reciprocating back and being excited for her competitor was truly sweet of her. It only shows her how humble and warm she is. One doesn’t get to see that alot on stage. Kurara was asked how she learned French and Spanish. It was very funny and humorous when she started speaking French and her translator couldn’t translate it. She had to translate herself. The audience at that time was definitely impressed and cheered for her. It was the night for Japan. She acknowledged the audience and the energy of the room and said it made her happy. The audience cheered with delight as she became the crowd’s darling. The final question was “If you could change something in the history of humanity, what would you change and why?” Responding in Japanese and translated into English, she answered: “I believe there is not so much difference between men and women… only biggest difference will be the physical power of a man and sometimes men exploit his power and if we can only relinquish that kind of violence and also the kind of exploitation, we’ll be better.” Everyone thought she would be the one to win and there was no doubt about that. But the unexpected happened and she became 1st runner-up to Miss Puerto Rico Though Zuleyka was at her best and she shined, but many thought Kurara was more deserving. And many blamed it on the translator. It was alleged that the official Miss Universe interpreter missed out the feminist element of her answer, which apparently cost her the crown.
She has done the best she could. Though she might have won the crown but she has won the hearts and minds of pageant fans. It wouldn’t have been possible without a realistic and practical National Director who knows what she is doing. From the elegant and glamorous gown to an innovative national costume, from a ramp-walk skills for swimsuit and evening gown round to the way a beauty queen should conduct herself, Ines has a lot to play in this. She is the one who is responsible for making Miss Universe Japan relevant again giving it a glamorous touch to the contest. Having said that the credit also goes to Japanese beauty queens who worked hard and learned all they could with dedication and sincerity.
Coming back to Kurara Chibana, after the miss universe competition she has appeared regularly on the NTV show “NEWS ZERO”, reporting from both domestic and international locations, and launched her endorsement career as a spokesperson for more than four world-famous brands in 2007. She is the new spokeswoman for Maybelline New York’s Angel fit Make-Up. As a high-profile model – she has been gracing the cover of Domani magazine for the past six years – Chibana has become someone to whom many young Japanese women look up to her as a role model.
The smart, educated, gorgeous and global minded is also working for a worthy cause. Since 2007 Kurara has been a supporter of World Food Programme (WFP) which has taken her to African countries such as Tanzania and Zambia. In 2013 Kurara Chibana was appointed the first Japanese National Ambassador against Hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) She is involved in the WFP’s school project that provides meals at schools in areas hit by poverty or disaster. She has actively spread the word about hunger and WFP’s mission to end it through media and public events. “I always wanted an opportunity to go to impoverished countries and see for myself the conditions and encounter locals,” she said. “It has become such an important part of me that I can’t talk about my life without mentioning it. In Japan, not many people experience starvation at that level, so what really shocked me was seeing children who look young but their weight isn’t up to their age level. I’d ask them what they had for breakfast and they’d say the root of a tree.”
On her experiences on social works, Chibana says she learned the power of a smile. “Children are the same all over the world. They are lively and can have fun even when there is a food shortage. I go to visit them in schools and they are studying cheerfully. That’s why I like the school meal project that I am involved in. It actually gives me energy.” She is aware that she would be scrutinize of her work and there would be people sceptical about her involvement in the project. “I was a little conflicted at first as to whether I should take part in humanitarian projects,” she tells Weekender. “I was aware of the scepticism that surrounds celebrity charity work and I knew there was a chance I would be criticized. I felt there would be some people here in Japan who might question my reasons and possibly suggest I was doing it for the fame or to sell something. It made me feel uneasy, yet at the same I had longed to engage in NGO and NPO activities. That was the reason I decided to take part in Miss Universe in the first place, so I was determined not to let negative thoughts kill those dreams”. She continued, “I couldn’t devote my whole time to visiting developing countries as I had work commitments in Japan, yet at the same time I wanted to do something. The Miss Universe pageant gave me a huge opportunity, it put me in the spotlight; people suddenly knew who I was and were interested in what I had to say. I realized I could use that fact to try and inform the public about problems and critical situations in various places around the world. Being famous gives you a huge platform to pass on your message to a large number of people; I think we should use that platform to help worthwhile causes as much as we can.” “I travel to at least one destination per year, visiting people affected by hunger,” she says.
“I’ve been to Zambia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Tohoku region, Tanzania and Ethiopia. I think it is necessary to see the situation up-close and be able to talk to parents and children directly. I’m particularly passionate about the school feeding program. Seeing the joy on the kids faces as they eat their lunch, I just love it. “Of course there are times when you feel helpless. Speaking to children in Zambia who have lost both their parents to AIDS, it is heartbreaking. All I can really do is try to spread their message to as many people as possible in the hope that something can be done about this kind of thing in the future.”
She had in the past declined a lucrative job from a publishing company so as to be able to participate in Miss Universe pageant and opened a bigger opportunities for herself so that she could use it for the benefit of the society. It is this stint of her as the ambassador of UNWFP that she was referring to when she talked about bigger opportunities. From the way she talks, it is evident that she means it when she talked about working for the underprivileged and her role as an ambassador for WFP. She might not have won Miss Universe but she is Miss Universe for many hearts. She has already showed her capabilities with her bubbly personality, intelligent answers, runway skills and unique styles. Miss Universe 2006 has long gone but to these days she still impresses and charms everyone with her personality, style, sincerity, multilingual skills, and of course, beauty. She has this ability to connect with people and enchant them. She is here to see and hear people’s story and learn from them to be able to share it to the rest of the world. One of the best Miss Universe Japan and a true gem.
Sources: http://www.missuniverse.com, www.wfp.org, www.japantoday.com, http://www.borgenproject.org , Wikepedia etc.
Categories: OPINION, WORLD PAGEANT
Tagged as: Ines Ligron, Kurara Chibana, MISS UNIVERSE, Miss Universe Japan
Frankie Cena – The Talented Mr World Canada 2012
Priyanka Chopra – Her fairy tale journey from a small town girl to a Global star
1 reply	›
Pingback: A striking viking: Miss Universe’s national costume contest and nationhood. – Gudrun D Whitehead


January 9, 2020 / 7:53 PM / 8 days ago
Fed's Kaplan says rates 'appropriate,' flags balance sheet concern
Ann Saphir
DALLAS (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve has interest rates just about where they need to be to keep the U.S. economy growing, push down on unemployment and coax inflation back up to 2%, Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan said on Thursday.
Dallas Federal Reserve Bank President Robert Kaplan speaks during an interview in his office at the bank's headquarters in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 9, 2020. REUTERS/ Ann Saphir
But the central bank’s massive balance sheet, at $4 trillion and growing? That’s a potential problem for Kaplan, a former Goldman Sachs banker whose expertise in markets may give him an influential voice in deliberations at the Fed over what, if anything, to do about it.
To Kaplan, figuring out how to temper growth in the Fed’s securities holdings will be a major focus for him and his staff in the new year.
His goal, he told Reuters, is to keep an expanding portfolio from fueling excesses in a financial system that — amid historically low interest rates, optimism on trade and other factors — is already showing some signs of elevated asset prices.
“I’m going to be wanting to actively explore options that would allow us to restrain from here growth in the Fed balance sheet,” Kaplan told Reuters in an interview at his bank’s Dallas headquarters. “I do think the growth in the balance sheet is having some impact on the financial markets and on the valuation of risk assets...I want to be cognizant of not adding more fuel that could help create further excesses and imbalances.”
Possible options, he said, include a “hard look” at the differences between how regulators treat banks’ holdings of Treasuries and reserves, and establishing a so-called standing repo facility that would allow banks to tap liquidity when needed.
Last fall an unexpected spike in short-term funding costs put the central bank on notice that its balance sheet might have gotten too small to accommodate banks’ need for liquidity. It had previously been systematically trimming its balance sheet as part of its pursuit of a more normal footprint in financial markets, following its large bond purchases after the crisis.
But the spike in short-term rates forced it to do an about face. It began injecting billions of dollars into the so-called repo market that banks tap for cash lending, and has been buying $60 billion a month in U.S. Treasury bills to expand its balance sheet to make sure there are ample reserves in its system to control its key target for lending rates.
Setting up a standing repo facility, Kaplan said, “might allow us to be more efficient with the overall size of our balance sheet, and it might also change (banks’) thinking about their need to hold reserves.” Such a facility would allow banks to easily trade their Treasuries for cash.
Kaplan declined to say how big he thinks the Fed’s balance sheet should be. And, he said, the central bank has a lot to debate on how exactly to structure a standing repo facility, including counterparties, where rates should be set, and what eligible collateral should be.
RATES AND INFLATION
After three rate cuts last year, the Fed’s current target range of 1.5% to 1.75% for short-term borrowing costs is “a roughly appropriate setting,” Kaplan said in the interview.
U.S. GDP, he said, looks to grow about 2% to 2.25% this year, “and if anything my growth outlook has firmed a bit in the last several weeks.”
That solid pace of growth - faster than his 1.75% to 2% estimate of the economy’s long-run sustainable pace — is driven largely by a strong consumer. Global growth and U.S. manufacturing he projected would remain sluggish but stable, and U.S. business investment should firm.
The Fed has indicated it will leave rates where they are unless there is a “material” change in the outlook, a view that Kaplan said he backed.
“If I saw growth running above potential... I’d be willing also to tolerate inflation running above 2% for some period of time, but I’m going to take into account other factors, including financial stability and the building of excesses and imbalances, and I will weigh all those factors in determining whether I think there should be an adjustment to monetary policy.”
(This story has been refiled to add dropped word in 8th paragraph)
Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama


PhotoSPEAK
You MUST Respect the Greatness!
If Tom Brady rated his performance, nothing more, it was ho-hum at best.
In fact, going strictly by the numbers, it was the worst Super Bowl showing of his brilliant career.
Brady will gladly trade stats for championships.
On a night when the defenses ruled, Brady did just enough to win his sixth Super Bowl ring , leading the New England Patriots to an aesthetically unpleasing 13-3 victory Sunday over the Los Angeles Rams.
In last year’s Super Bowl, Brady threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns but walked off the field with his head down as the Philadelphia Eagles celebrated a 41-33 victory.
“We just couldn’t put points on the board for one reason or another,” he said. “But in the end, it feels a lot better than last year when we did get some points on the board.”
Brady completed 21 of 35 passes for 262 yards with one interception, leaving him with a rather measly passer rating of 71.4. That is the worst figure of his nine Super Bowl appearances, and marked the first time he failed to throw for at least one touchdown pass in the championship game.
Again, no problem.
“We obviously could have played better offensively,” Brady said, “but the reality is (when) you get in these games, you just have to find a way to win. We played well in the end and that’s what we needed.”
Indeed, Brady finally found his vintage form on the lone touchdown drive of the night. He hit four straight passes for 67 yards — the best of them a pinpoint tossthreaded amid three defenders that dropped into the hands of Rob Gronkowski for a 29-yard gain to the Los Angeles 2.
“Incredible catch,” Brady said. “He’s an awesome player, great teammate, friend, and I’m just so proud of everything that he’s done for our team.”
On the very next play, Sony Michel darted into the end zone to break a 3-all tie.
Not long after, Brady was taking a knee to become the first player in NFL history to win six Super Bowl titles.
The first one came against the Rams, way back in 2002, when that franchise was still St. Louis and known as the “The Greatest Show On Turf.”
Now, at age 41, Brady has gotten started on a ring for every finger on his other hand.
“There’s been a lot of guys be part of this journey with this team and it’s just been so fun to be a part of it,” Brady said. “It’s a challenging football environment, the pressure is always on, and for moments like this, you have to rise to the occasion.”
Sure, it was the lowest-scoring Super Bowl ever, a game that won’t be remembered fondly by anyone outside of New England.
For Brady, it might be the favorite of all his titles.
This one took a team.
The whole team.
“We needed everyone out there,” he said. “The defense played so well, and we finally helped them out by getting a touchdown.”
Image NFL on ESPN twitter
Mentioned In This Post:
The Mighty Has Fallen
NFL Players Are Tired of His Shit
AB Has a Message For Patriots Owner
Is Tom Trolling All Of us?
The Champagne Is Flowing In NYC Once Again
So Long Gronk, See You in Canton!
I'm Sorry But I'm Not Guilty
If You Are About It, Gamble on Yourself!
Patriots Owner Charged in Prostitution Sting
Running Out of Money Already?
Romeo Miller and the Ex's on the Beach
A Holiday Special Unlike The Rest
We Just De-Stressed Your Holidays
The BFF's Are Back To Host The Soul Train Awards
There's a New Hero in Town to Fight Against Bullying
Tubi Has A Message for the Bachelor Nation
Fall Fashion Hacks (Video)
Black Ink Chicago Crew Is Back And Shit Done Changed!
Sign up for The Weekly Trending Report List
The Trending Report
Your new digital destination for Authentic content in the world of News, Entertainment and Sports.


TransCanada says spill clean up underway in South Dakota as pipeline vote looms
Ian Bickis CP
CALGARY — TransCanada Corp. said Friday that work is well underway to clean up a sizable oil leak at its Keystone pipeline in South Dakota that occurred days before a vote on the fate of the company's flagship pipeline proposal.
The company said about 75 crew members, as well as government officials, are on site near Amherst, S.D., with a full complement of clean-up equipment to contain the 795,000-litre spill in a farmer's field.
"TransCanada has taken this incident very seriously and is working with federal and state regulatory agencies," the company said in an update.
The company said it has observed no further environmental impacts and no threat to public safety, though the nearby Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate of the Lake Traverse Reservation has expressed concern the spill might contaminate water supplies.
Thursday's spill comes four days before Nebraska is set to vote on whether TransCanada can go ahead with Keystone XL pipeline, which would take a more direct route than the existing Keystone pipeline by going through Montana and South Dakota to Nebraska, where it would connect with pipelines that feed Texas Gulf Coast refineries.
Environmentalists were quick to point to the spill as reason to reject the Keystone XL project, but state officials said Friday the spill won't affect their decision.
A spokeswoman for the Nebraska Public Service Commission said commissioners will base their decision solely on evidence presented during public hearings and from official public comments.
A Nebraska law approved in 2011 prevents the commissioners from factoring pipeline safety or the possibility of leaks into their decisions. Lawmakers argued at the time that pipeline safety was a federal responsibility that pre-empts state law. Opponents say oil interests lobbied for the restriction.
The news might not sway the vote, but will bring greater focus to the issue, said James Coleman, an energy law expert at Southern Methodist University’s Dedman School of Law.
"It's the worst possible timing, and it's a reasonably big spill....I think most people expect the commissioners to approve it regardless, but nonetheless, it's not helpful."
Among other concerns, opponents of Keystone XL say the pipeline would pass through the Sandhills, an ecologically fragile region in Nebraska of grass-covered sand dunes, and would cross the land of farmers and ranchers who don't want it.
"There's some states where the big issue is climate change, but Nebraska, the issue has been those local land-use impacts, and so I'm sure the commissioners will have that in mind," said Coleman.
The spill near the border of Minnesota and the source of the Minnesota River has certainly raised concerns about Enbridge's (TSX:ENB) Line 3 pipeline replacement project in the state, said Coleman.
He said he wasn't sure, however, whether this Keystone spill will have an impact on current review of the pipeline in the state that's already approved elsewhere, but it certainly will add fodder to those campaigning against oil pipelines.
"I think that this will continue to be a bigger and bigger political issue because, as climate campaigners haven't had success in other areas, they feel like this is one area where they've been reasonably successful."
Protesters have already started setting up camps and planning direct action to stop Enbridge's Line 3 construction, which is already underway in Canada.
Pipeline opponents have also vowed to stop the Keystone XL pipeline if it is approved, having once declared victory on the project when Barack Obama rejected it in 2015, only for President Donald Trump to give the go-ahead earlier this year.
Shares of TransCanada (TSX:TRP) were down 1.2 per cent in early afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, as the energy sector rose half a percentage point.
-With files from AP
MORE: cp canada


Mission and HistoryTim Norris2018-10-17T14:23:06-07:00
A Contemporary Theatre (ACT) is dedicated to producing relevant works on contemporary themes. ACT nurtures new and seasoned artists, collaborates with promising playwrights and local performing artists working in a variety of media, and connects audiences to many stages of the creative process.
A Contemporary Theatre – ACT was founded in the summer of 1965 by Gregory A. Falls (1922-1997), head of the University of Washington’s theater department at the time. The theatre thrived in a former community hall at the base of Queen Anne Hill until 1996 when they moved into their new home, the historic Eagles Auditorium in downtown Seattle. The Eagles Auditorium Building is an eight-story historic theatre and apartment building built in 1924-25. Designed by noted local architect Henry Bittman, it was erected by the Fraternal Order of Eagles, Seattle Aerie No. 1 in 1924-25. Since its construction, the Eagles Temple was in continuous use as the lodge for F.O.E. Aerie No. 1 until August, 1981. The building also has a national history for those who have spoken or held concerts at this location. The Eagles Auditorium is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke at his one and only visit to Seattle on November 10, 1961. The building served as a major rock concert venue from the mid-1960s until 1970. Some of the legendary rock bands that utilized the venue included The Grateful Dead, The Doors, Chicago, Richard Berry, Pink Floyd, Duran Duran, and more. For ACT, the building provides five performance spaces, supporting our mission to nurture new and seasoned artists and connecting audiences to many stages of the creative process.
ACT produces five primary programs: Mainstage, ACTLab, Young Playwrights Program (YPP), Core Company, and the New Work initiative to fulfill our mission and supports these with multiple complementary initiatives to engage audiences, develop new works, and keep the art accessible.
Six plays each year with over 300 in our rich history including 49 World Premieres. The Mainstage Plays epitomize ACT’s reputation for presenting innovative, challenging, entertaining and relevant work. We are a contemporary theatre because of our contributions to new works and because of the relevant, contemporary themes we explore in classic material. Our 2017 Season premiered Moby Pomerance’s play Alex & Aris, a play that was commissioned by ACT, developed, workshopped and then produced. Likewise, King of the Yees by Lauren Yee, began in the ACTLab in 2015, went on to a World Premiere at the Goodman Theatre and returned to ACT for our 2017 Season.
ACTLab is a curated partnership program that fills our multi theatre venue with innovative theatrical experiences off the path traveled by the mainstage. By forming financial and artistic partnership. ACTLab serves as Seattle’s incubator for individual artist and theatre companies to experiment, grow, and reach new audiences by cultivating new ideas and experimentation in a collaborate environment.
ACT's Young Playwrights Program (YPP)
YPP started in 2002 and upgraded the curriculum to meet state learning standards in 2015. The YPP is an integrated 10-week, 20 class program that serves 6th through 12th grade students in both public and private schools in the Puget Sound area. Our program embeds teaching artists in school classrooms teaching the art of play writing. YPP builds confidence which, research suggests, positively impacts other areas of learning. Every student writes a play. Many of the plays are read at school events including evening programs and school day assemblies. Eight plays are selected for ACT’s Young Playwrights Festival produced in March and as many as ten additional plays are selected for production at our partner theatres.
Launched in 2016, the Core Company is an annually selected group of actors. Its purpose is to encourage an environment of artistic excellence, while creating a home for local actors to experiment and grow over the course of the season. Core Company Members are guaranteed at least two shows in the season, and serve as artistic ambassadors. They represent ACT at audience and community engagement events, serve as spokespeople for ACT’s Mainstage productions, and support the greater mission of ACT.
Holiday Classic
A Christmas Carol: In 1976, ACT inaugurated an annual Seattle holiday tradition with Gregory Falls’s own adaptation of the classic script by Charles Dickens and has continued every holiday season since. This classic favorite has become a holiday tradition for many in Seattle.
Complementary Programming
ACT supports our primary programs with our Core Company, Engagement Programs, the New Works Initiative, and Discount Ticketing.
Click here for the full production history


UN torture expert to launch new human rights book at Amnesty event
The United Nations expert on combating torture - Juan Mendez - will launch his new book on human rights at a special event at the east London headquarters of Amnesty International UK on Monday 14 November.
Mr Mendez, who is the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Torture, will be in conversation with Philippe Sands, professor of law at University College London at a public event.
Juan Mendez, 66, an Argentinian national and former Amnesty “prisoner of conscience” who himself suffered torture during the country’s “dirty war” military, is expected to comment on the significance of the forthcoming inquiry into allegations of the UK’s involvement in torture and other human rights violations during the “war on terror”.
He will also be talking about his book, Taking A Stand: the evolution of human rights (Palgrave Macmillan), and taking part in an audience question-and-answer session.
Who: Juan Mendez, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture; Philippe Sands, Professor of Law, UCL, London; Kate Allen, Amnesty International UK Director (chair of event)
What: “in conversation” event, with audience questions; followed by book-signing and drinks
When: 6.30 for 7pm start, Monday 14 November 2011
Where: Amnesty International UK, 17-25 New Inn Yard, London EC2A 3EA
More information: https://www.amnesty.org.uk/events_details.asp?ID=1976
View latest press releases


Saleem Safi
TV Anchor
PrideofPakistan
Hailing from District Mardan of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Saleem Safi graduated from the University of Peshawar. He started his career as a reporter for NNI (News Network International) in Mardan. Due to his exceptional skills and
Professional Achievements
Hailing from District Mardan of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, Saleem Safi graduated from the University of Peshawar. He started his career as a reporter for NNI (News Network International) in Mardan. Due to his exceptional skills and keen eye for news, he was quickly promoted to the post of Beauru Chief of NNI in the key city of Peshawar, from where he was covering all of Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa, FATA and Afghanistan. He was one of the youngest journalists ever appointed to this position.
Being a successful and impact full journalist, Saleem Safi also started writing columns for national newspapers. His columns in Daily Mashriq, Daily Aaj and Daily Pakistan were not only widely read but also were appreciated for uncovering the true facts and for in depth coverage of an emerging situation in the pre and post 9/11 scenario.
Through his writings in more than one thousand columns, Saleem Safi discussed Pakistani politics, foreign policy, Afghanistan and socio religious issues. His in depth understanding of the issues in the region made him a valuable reservoir of knowledge especially in the post 9/11 context.
He also started writing books and in 2004, his first book, Afghanistan: The Role of US, Taliban and Pakistani Religious Parties, received wide spread acclaim and he became a successful author. He is in the process of writing his second book.
Saleem Safi also started working for electronic media following the electronic media boom in Pakistan. He hosted his own prime time Pushto talk show, Jirga from PTV Peshawar from 2002 to 2004. Due to popular demand he again started show but on PTV World, ‘Saleem Safi Kay Saath’ in Urdu in 2005 from Islamabad, which he hosted till 2008. From 2007 to 2008 he also hosted a talk show, ‘Siyasat’ on the Pushto language TV channel, Khyber.
At the end of 2008, he joined Pakistan’s largest media group Jang and Geo TV as an anchor, columnist and analyst. He is currently hosting a show with the name of Jirga, and writes in the News and Jang with the same name.
Saleem’s talk shows and documentaries are widely seen across the country. He has conducted hard hitting interviews of many national and international leaders and stakeholders in the region such as Nawaz Sharif, Pervez Musharraf, Asif Ali Zardari, Hamid Karzai, Fazal-ur-Rehman, Gulbadin Hikmatyar, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Abdullah Abdullah and other political, religious and jihadi leaders.
Saleem Safi is working on new initiatives to further his work.
Prideofpakistan.com


Egyptian FM hands over G77 chairmanship to Palestine
Ahram Online , Tuesday 15 Jan 2019
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry attending on Tuesday in New York the Group 77 (G77) ceremony (Photo: Egyptian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson)
Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry is attending on Tuesday in New York the Group 77 (G77) ceremony to mark the handover of the group’s chairmanship from Egypt to Palestine, Shoukry’s spokesperson Ahmed Hafez tweeted.
"Egypt strove to represent the interests of the G77... we pushed forward the group’s objectives and values of equality and justice for which we aspire in the international system and the United Nations," Shoukry said during the opening speech at the ceremony.
The ceremony is held at the UN headquarters in the presence of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
During his speech, Shoukry highlighted that "G77 exerted tremendous efforts to reinforce the organisation’s ability to deal with challenges related to peace & security; especially, through developing preventive diplomacy, addressing roots of conflicts, and supporting cooperation with regional organisations."
"We further focused on the priorities of eradicating poverty, youth employment and production capabilities ... and we succeeded in advancing our vision."
Egypt's third time chairing the G77 is part of the country's leading role in serving the interests of developing countries and its belief in the principles and goals of the group, Hafez said.
The G77 and China is the main negotiating bloc in the UN for developing countries that works on boosting the economic and development interests of its members.


Meredith Shur, MD
Clinical instructor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology
Practicing doctor at East Side Women’s Ob-Gyn Associates
Board-certified medical examiner
Meredith Shur, MD, is a former Medical Review Board member with Verywell. She is board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology and she is a clinical instructor at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Since 2004, Dr. Shur has practiced at east Side Women’s Ob-Gyn Associates in New York, New York.
Dr. Shur is a graduate of University of Virginia and Albany Medical College. She completed her residency and chief residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Verywell is a caring and trusted partner that provides comprehensive, actionable, and medically reviewed information to assist you in understanding your health and wellness concerns. Our medical review team is comprised of leading board-certified physicians in the fields of cardiology, oncology, neurology, internal medicine, gastroenterology, psychiatry, gynecology and obstetrics, rheumatology, pulmonology, dermatology, and pediatrics. To provide our readers with the most thorough and accurate content, Verywell strongly believes that all of these specialities must work together.


Tag Archives: Congress
This is a revised post from 2010. So much of it is still relevant, but a lot has changed since then. And not for the better. I’ll repost it more or less as is and use it as a starting point for my current political thoughts as we get closer to the election….
I’ve thought a lot about this over the last few days as we head to the 2010 election. For Progressive’s like me, it’s forecast to be a rough one who’s results may lead us backward as opposed to foreward.
And, once again, the South will lead us there. We’ve always been good at looking fondly backward in the South–whether the facts support it or not. That makes for fertile ground for the Republicans. I’ve always said: “Republicans look backwards with Fear while Democrats look forward with Hope.
That got me thinking. Why is it the South is such a stronghold for the Republicans? Here are my thoughts:
The South is heavy with fundamentalists and evangelical religions. These people have been played by the Republican Party like a cheap violin. Here is what I would say to them: Open your eyes. Under Bush, the Republicans controlled the government and did not ban abortion or execute any of the other points of your agenda. If they didn’t do it then, they won’t do it now. They are using you. Wise up.
There is a history of Patriarchy in the South that is not dead. Many people, especially in smaller towns and rural areas, still follow the leadership of local political leaders with little thought. They are used to being led without questions or taking time to check the facts because they think they “know” the person and he/she is “one of us.”
Education is not really valued by a large portion of Southerners. They are suspicious of the overly educated and think they don’t understand them. The Republicans are very good at playing dumb and coming off as one of the “good ole boys” while they use the votes of the poor whites in the South to channel money and benefits to their rich friends on Wall Street.
Southerners resists looking at anything too deeply. Introspection is not valued in the South. Action is….The Republican’s play on this very well.
Facts don’t mean much in the South. Truth has always been conceptual rather than a reality. Any region that can convince itself for over 150 years that the Civil War was about “states rights” rather than slavery is capable of any kind of self-delusion.
The South tends to hate the idea of Big Government, even if they enjoy the benefits. They can over look little things like Social Security, Medicare, new bridges and highways, and insurance that covers pre-existing conditions and college kids. They somehow don’t make the connection that the federal government provides these things…
Southerners value personal freedom above all else, as long as you are a straight white man.
The President is Black and he’s a Democrat. To a large group of folks in the South, this alone is enough reason to vote Republican. Although you may never get them to admit it…
What can Democrats do to change all this and win the South?
Learn to fight. The South and most of the Country values people who stand up for their principles. The GOP has Balls and the Democrats have Brains. You have to have both to win in the South.
Push for independent, bipartisan redistricting commissions.
Get out your message. We’ve got to publicize the benefits of the legislation we do pass and how it helps the poor and middle class as opposed to the Rich. The Democrats and The President have failed miserably at this for the few years. We have real achievements, but no one knows it.
Take on the bullies at Fox News. We have got to make people realize this is not a news organization, but a propaganda machine that provides entertainment to the ignorant. We should be pushing companies not to advertise on Fox News. We should be telling the Management to turn it off in Public places like restaraunts and gyms.
Call a liar a liar. This relates to number 1, but I can’t stress this enough. The Republicans look right in the camera and lie. And no one calls them on it. We have to start making people aware that there are things called “Facts” and stand up for them.
Make this about Class Warfare. A class war is going on for years and most of the country just started to realize this. And the Republicans started it. Call’em on it.
Make it clear: Unless you have an individual income of greater than $200,000 or a combined Family income of over $300,000, there is absolutely no financial reason to vote for the Republicans. If you want to vote for what is best for your pocketbook, vote for the Democrats. The Republicans really only answer to the Corporations and the wealthy.
Make Obama white. That’s about the only way you can get about 35% of white Southerners to support the Democrats. We have to focus on the remaining 65% of the South with open minds.
Wait it out….The older, closed minded, prejudiced Southerners are dying off. The younger ones are more open minded, better educated and have seen more of the world. These are the Southern Democrats of tomorrow.
Make your Democratic friends vote. Even if you have to go to their house or job and throw them in the car and take them to the polls. There are more Democrats than Republicans in many parts of the South. The problem is Republicans always vote and Democrats don’t. If more Democrats would actually just show up at the polls, we would win a lot more races.
Those are my thoughts for now.
All I have left to say is:
If you are a Democrat, get off your butt and vote. There are no excuses.
If you are a Republican-why don’t you just book a spa day for Tuesday and let the election go? That would really be best for all of us….
Filed under Elections, North Carolina, Politics, Scott's Commentary, The South
Tagged as Congress, Democrats, Elections, GOP, North Carolina, politics, Republicans, Tea Party, the south
Let’s Face the Music and Dance
Government shut down…impending debt defaults that could drive us into a recession, if not depression…. idiots in Congress with no grasp of reality or social conscience…..
Sounds like we need Fred and Ginger, to me!
Filed under Broadway, Congress, Entertainment, Politics
Tagged as Arts, Congress, GOP, Music, Musical Theatre, politics, Republicans, theatre
October 14, 2013 · 11:15 am
Shutdown 2013: The Deal That Will End It
There is a lot of press about the Government shutdown brought upon us by the out of control Tea Party Loonies in Congress. However, this is the best single write up I have seen….
This excellent article, by Noam Scheiber in the “New Republic”, summarizes where we are and how we got there with the Government shutdown- and just how desperate the GOP is becoming to find a way to end it.
It also very well points out the fractures in the GOP between the few pragmatic Republicans left in Congress and the Tea Party that, protected by heavily gerrymandered districts, is running rampantly crazy in Washington.
The best thing to come out of this is that the GOP Establishment has seen that they have created a monster with the Tea Party and that they are going to have to deal with it- or let it destroy the GOP.
I’m fine, either way….
Here is an excerpt from and a link to the full article. It’s fascinating reading….
The problem for the GOP is that, as insulated as the House jihadis are from national trends, Senate Republicans and House pragmatists emphatically are not. When the approval rating for Republicans drops nationally, these people are badly exposed. They begin to fear for their jobs. They become desperate to cut a deal—any deal—that will end their political pain. And once they do—once there is a deal that a large chunk of Republicans either explicitly sign onto or tacitly endorse—then it is game over for the House. There is simply no House Republican leader who can resist a bill that many if not most Republicans want to see pass, a bill that has passed the Senate, and to which the only alternative is the complete annihilation of both the Republican Party and the global economy.
As we enter the home stretch, the dynamic is only reinforcing itself. The Tea Partiers have become steadily more delusional, reminding the pragmatists how insane it was to lock arms with them in the first place. “When I was home, I talked with people in our office that called in, I don’t get the sense that 70 percent [of people blame us],” House conservative Jim Jordan told Politico last week. (Good point!) On Sunday, the loonies in the House seized on a report that a mob of patriots overran the World War II Memorial and reclaimed it for … well, for whom isn’t entirely clear. But the loons in the House promptly labeled it a “game changer,” according to National Review’s Robert Costa. To them, it was the latest sign that the country sees things their way.
The pragmatists are, in turn, only becoming more anxious. Costa reports that aides to Mitch McConnell now worry they’ll have to make concessions on the sequester just to end the current crisis, whereas they’d previously assumed they could leave the sequester in place and trade it for entitlement cuts in a future grand bargain.
What Costa doesn’t discuss is the Republican leadership’s incentives, which is the final, poetic wrinkle in all of this. McConnell and Boehner, in addition to understanding how badly the Tea Partiers have hurt their party, have yet another reason to sue for peace. McConnell is facing a Tea Party primary challenge in his re-election campaign. Boehner has been repeatedly embarrassed by the Tea Partiers in his caucus, who have actively sabotaged his leadership (egged on/manipulated by Texas Senator Ted Cruz). Both men know their side has lost. Both men also know their party’s fanatics are to blame. Do you think they don’t want to see the Tea Party humiliated before all is said and done? Do you think they might want to see the Tea Partiers stuck with all the blame?
At the very least, it’s hard to believe they’ll fight too hard against any deal that accomplishes those goals. As I say, those intra-party rifts are a bummer.
via Shutdown 2013: The Deal that will end it | New Republic.
Filed under Politics, Tea Party
Tagged as Congress, GOP, Government Shutdown, Republicans, Tea Party
State by State Impacts of Sequestration: Or How Bad GOP Policy Will Hurt You and Your Friends
There is a great page at the Washington Post showing the real, state by state, impacts of the Sequester that kicked in yesterday.
The Sequester which no one seems to be paying much attention to yet.
This is another one of those unnecessary crises that Washington Republicans specialize in creating.
And, of course, they don’t care in the least about the impacts on people or government services that help and protect us all. All they care about is choking off as many of these government services as possible to align with their doctrinaire, Conservative ideologue, Washington-bubble induced vision that all government is bad….
Maybe it will take the people feeling the impacts of these arbitrary cuts to realize how important government programs are for all of us….
It’s a shame when people only realize the importance of what they have when they lose it…
But that may just be human nature…..
Maybe it has to be personal…
The impacts to the Economy from the resulting job and income loses don’t mean much to most people unless it hits them directly….
Maybe this is what it will take for people to put some pressure on the GOP to stop acting like selfish, spoiled children and vote them out of office in the House and Senate in 2014.
Here is a link to the information at the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/politics/sequestration-state-impact/
Filed under Congress, The Economy
Tagged as Congress, GOP, Republicans, Sequester, The Economy
February 1, 2013 · 9:00 pm
Beer Merger Challenged By Justice Department
I’m so relieved to know our Justice Department has it’s priorities in order…
I’m sure they don’t have anything more pressing than this to consider…
Of course, this does impact a large portion of the population that has to drink to deal with the fact that we have a bunch of incompetents (AKA: The GOP) in Washington focusing on irrelevant issues instead of addressing the most pressing needs of the country.
Forget the Tea Party, let’s start the Beer Party!
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Thursday filed a lawsuit to stop Anheuser-Busch InBev’s proposed $20.1 billion purchase of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo, which would unite the ownership of popular beers like Budweiser and Corona.
The government said the deal could lead to higher beer prices in this country because it would substantially reduce competition in the U.S. beer market, particularly in 26 metropolitan areas. It said the merged firm would control nearly half the beer sales in the U.S.
In response, Anheuser-Busch InBev promised a court fight to preserve its deal.
Americans spent at least $80 billion on beer last year. ABI’s Bud Light is the best-selling beer in the nation and Modelo’s Corona Extra is the best-selling import.
via Anheuser-Busch-Grupo Modelo Merger Challenged By Justice Department.
Filed under Congress, Politics, Uncategorized
Tagged as Beer, Congress, GOP, Justice Department, Republicans
Bye Bye to the Crazy Grand Dames of the GOP
How sweet it would be to be rid of Michelle Bachmann and Sarah Palin in the same year! God knows, they have both had more than their allocated 15 minutes of fame….
People are sick of Sarah and it looks like Fox News isn’t even going to renew her contract. The GOP certainly didn’t want her around their convention…
And now, it looks like Michelle Bachmann has a very good chance at losing her Congressional seat….
Maybe people really are finally getting tired of mean, crazy people in Politics.
From Salon via Politicususa.com:
A new poll suggests that tea party darling Michele Bachmann is in serious danger of losing her House seat to Democrat Jim Graves.The poll, which was first shared with Salon, found that Bachmann now leads Graves, 48%-46%. Bachmann has gone from a 45%-41% lead with Independents to now trailing 52%-37%. The biggest indicator of how much voters have soured on Bachmann is that 57% of those surveyed gave a fair/poor job approval rating. Almost as many responded rated her as poor 35% as did excellent/good. Respondents also had cool feelings towards Rep. Bachmann as a person. Forty one percent said they had warm feelings towards Bachmann while 46% expressed cool feelings towards the incumbent Republican.After winning her 2010 bid for reelection by twelve points, her 2012 campaign is looking like a return to the norm. Bachmann first won election to the House in 2006 in a three person race by a 50%-42%-8% margin. Bachmann won another three way contest in 2008, 46%-43%-10%. Bachmann’s margin of victory in both 2006 and 2008 combined was less than her margin in the Republican wave year of 2010.Even though her popularity is on the wane in her district, Rep. Bachmann will be difficult to beat because of the massive war chest $15 million she has accumulated. Bachmann also has been heavily supported and funded by the national Republican Party. Michele Bachmann is a right wing media darling who is welcome to go on Fox News, Glenn Beck, or any other conservative media outlet and beg for dollars at any time.
via Bye Bye Crazy Eyes: Poll Finds Democrat in Position to Defeat Michele Bachmann.
Filed under Elections, Politics
Tagged as 2012 Elections, Congress, GOP, Michelle Bachmann, politics, Republicans, Sarah Palin, Tea Party
Republicans Do Remember That Women Vote, Right?
I’m not so sure they do remember that women vote….or they are planning to try to roll back that basic right next….
One of the reasons I’m blogging so seldom right now is that between the GOP Presidential Primary Campaign and the GOP War on Women, I am speechless at the stupidity of the GOP and really don’t see the point in commenting on a bunch of crazy old white men who think it is still 1952 and would obviously prefer to be having cocktails with Joe McCarthy and J Edgar Hoover…..
Then along comes a true rarity: A good column from Dana Milbank in the Washington Post….
It really has become obvious the GOP is starting to lose its War on Women- and its collective mind- when even DC insiders like Milbank recognize it and feel free to state it publicly….
The Republicans have really alienated women over the last few weeks with their drive back to the 1950’s. It’s becoming more and more obvious they are a bunch of rich, old, white men who want to keep their patriarchy alive- and feel threatened by uppity Gays, Blacks, Latinos, Asians and most especially Uppity, Slatternly Women- which to them seems to mean all women who aren’t their wives or, in some, but not all cases, their daughters…
They obviously seem to think women are all either sluts, who should have no rights, or Ladies, who should mindlessly support their husbands and do their bidding without question.
This is the 1950’s mindset they have and just assume everyone else has also….
Rush Limbaugh is justifiably catching hell right now for actually having the nerve- and stupidity- to concisely articulate the Republican position on women. It’s so obvious, he must be surprised at the blow back directed at him instead of Congress….
My favorite quote is from the female Oklahoma Lawmaker who said: “If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d f*#k a Senator.”
The Republicans are driving women over to the Democratic Party in droves with their intrusive anti-abortion legislation in Virginia- among other states- their anti contraception amendments in the Senate and the assault on Planned Parenthood and Women’s healthcare.
Can anything be more indicative of how out of touch the Republican Party is than the fact that we are actually discussing anti-contraception legislation in the 21st Century????
I’m starting to think there must be a lot more retro-closet cases than Ken Mehlman in the GOP if they are this afraid of “lady parts”…..
From Dana Milbank in the Washington Post:
When will Republicans stop their vagina monologue?
March is federally recognized as Women’s History Month, and Republicans have been celebrating the occasion in a most unusual style: with a burst of interest in women’s private parts.
On Thursday, the Senate took up an amendment proposed by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) that would allow employers to deny women birth-control coverage if the employer found contraception morally objectionable.
About 100 miles south of Washington on that same day, Virginia legislators passed a measure requiring a woman to be offered an ultrasound image of her fetus before aborting it. The legislation, which opponents say could also require some women who have miscarriages to be offered ultrasonic images of their dead fetuses, is the successor of a bill that would have required women to undergo an invasive “transvaginal ultrasound.”
Still on Thursday, the industrious Virginia House of Delegates also approved legislation bestowing rights on people, including a father, to bring a lawsuit over the death of the fetus.
On Wednesday, conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, a powerful influence among Republican lawmakers, described as a “slut” the law-school student invited by House Democrats to testify in support of birth control. “It makes her a prostitute,” Limbaugh said of the woman, blocked last month by House Republicans from testifying on what became an all-male panel. “She wants to be paid to have sex.”
On Tuesday, Oklahomans held a protest at the state capitol to oppose a bill, passed by the state Senate and now being taken up by the House, that would bestow “personhood” on fetuses — one of many such efforts across the nation. Democrat Judy McIntyre, one of just four women in the 48-member state Senate, was so upset that, according to the Oklahoman newspaper, she held a protest sign proclaiming: “If I wanted the government in my womb, I’d [expletive] a senator.”
via Republicans do remember that women vote, right? – The Washington Post.
Filed under Congress, Politics
Tagged as Abortion, birth control, Congress, Contriception, GOP, politics, Republicans, Virginia, women's rights


MultiLing Appoints David Urry as Chief Financial Officer
Expanded Role to Support Company’s Strong Growth – and Continued Global Expansion – In IP Translations and Related Services
March 4, 2014 | Brian Chaney
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – March 4, 2014—MultiLing, the innovative leader in intellectual property (IP) translations and related services for foreign patent filings, today announced the appointment of David Urry as the company’s chief financial officer. Urry, who spent the last 13 years as the CFO of Aetna Insurance Company subsidiary Medicity, Inc., will drive MultiLing’s financial strategy to manage the notable growth of its IP translation services worldwide.
“With the increasing demand for MultiLing’s IP translation services over the past few years and the growth capitalreceived from Frontier Capital this past summer, Urry will help us strategically manage our financial resources for continued growth initiatives,” said Michael Sneddon, president and CEO, MultiLing. “Urry’s vast global experience across a wide spectrum of companies – from start-ups to mid-range to Fortune 100 firms – gives him a unique business perspective that will benefit both MultiLing and our Global 500 clients as we provide the best IP translation services possible.”
While at Medicity, Urry led the development of financial, legal, risk management and administrative infrastructure to provide disciplined control and accountability during rapid company growth. In 2010, he helped the company through a $500 million acquisition by Aetna based on a solid record of growth and financial performance. Post-merger, he successfully managed the integration of Medicity’s healthcare IT business with Aetna’s processes and departments.
Before joining Medicity in 2000, Urry spent 10 years at American Airlines, in successive positions of responsibility. As a director, he developed accounting procedures for both American and Canadian Airlines. Earlier in his career, Urry worked with Hewlett Packard as a financial analyst in the United States and as a marketing engineer in Japan after the startup venture he joined was acquired by HP. Urry received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Utah and his master’s of business administration from the Wharton School of Business.
MultiLing’s Worldwide Growth Continues
MultiLing has global offices in seven countries – China, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Peru and the United States – with another international office planned to open in the next quarter. The growth results from significant management, operational and sales improvements implemented in the past two years during a global market increase in the number of U.S., European and Asian enterprises spending millions of dollars per year on patent translations despite the global economic downturn. In fact, according to the World Intellectual Property Organization, the industry is seeing the strongest growth in global patent filings in 18 years.
Founded in 1988, MultiLing is the innovative leader in IP translation and related services for foreign patent filings by Global 500 legal teams. The company defined and continues to drive best practices for foreign patent filings, which include in-country native linguists, scientists, engineers and legal specialists who interact through processes and technologies that increase quality, consistency and on-time delivery at a fair value. After partnering with MultiLing, multinational clients such as Procter & Gamble, Yokohama Rubber and Dow Corning experienced increased patent filings, decreased office actions, reduced invalidation risk and faster time to grant.
Kelly Wanlass
Snapp Conner PR
kelly @ snappconner.com
← MultiLing Invests in Growth With New Sales & Marketing Leaders MultiLing Opens New Office in Taiwan →