| Iranian protesters angry over the downing of Ukrainian Flight 752 claim they were met with bullets and tear gas, as police deny shooting demonstrators Posted: 13 Jan 2020 04:47 AM PST  Protesters took aim at Iran's leadership over the weekend after Iran admitted to shooting down a commercial plane, killing 176, after days of denial.
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| Ex-U.S. Treasury employee pleads guilty to leaks linked to Russia probe Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:17 PM PST |
| AOC’s Reelection Campaign Keeps Half of All Donations to ‘Working-Class Champions’ PAC Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:48 AM PST  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's creation of a new progressive PAC to "elect working-class champions who have lived the hardships we seek to eliminate" funnels half of every donation to her own campaign.After accusing the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee of "blacklisting" progressive candidates and refusing to pay $250,000 in dues to the organization, Ocasio-Cortez (D., N.Y.) framed the "Courage to Change" PAC as a progressive alternative to the DCCC."We are pushing the envelope in DC by rewarding those who reject lobbyist money, fight for working families,& welcome newcomers," she wrote on Twitter, making no mention of the fact that half of all donations go to her own campaign.> The rumors are true. Today we're announcing the Courage to Change PAC - and we need your help.> > We are pushing the envelope in DC by rewarding those who reject lobbyist money, fight for working families,& welcome newcomers.> > Change takes courage. Let's go: https://t.co/F01JmYaR7w> > -- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 11, 2020Her campaign echoed the message. "We're paving a different path," it wrote in its first fundraising email. "The DCCC has been an entrenched tool in a system that blocks working-class candidates from running for office, and protects out of touch incumbents."The PAC's website says its goal is to "elect working-class champions who have lived the hardships we seek to eliminate — people who have experienced racial, economic, environmental, or social injustice firsthand."In fine print, it notes that donations will be split evenly between Ocasio-Cortez and the PAC's war chest, while an additional option allows for one to change the allocation, but not eliminate it.The Washington Post reported that as of Sunday afternoon, the PAC raised more than $107,000 from over 7,300 contributions since its launch on Saturday, potentially bringing in over $50,000 to Ocasio-Cortez's own campaign."There is a robust infrastructure set up to maintain and defend the Democratic majority, and to support moderate Democrats, and often that infrastructure is running against progressives in blue districts," said campaign spokesman Corbin Trent. "So what we're looking to do is to make sure that progressive candidates and incumbents have the support that they need to back policies that are going to improve the lives of everyday Americans."Ocasio-Cortez's campaign raised nearly $150,000 over the weekend, according to data it provided to the Post.In the third quarter, Ocasio-Cortez raked in over $1.4 million, the most of any Democrat in the House.
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| Death row inmate requests execution by firing squad instead of lethal injection Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:04 AM PST  A man on death row has filed a lawsuit in an effort to have himself executed by firing squad, rather than lethal injection.Michael Wade Nance, who shot and killed a man during a botched bank robbery in 1993, is due to be killed shortly.
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| Potent winter storm turns deadly as it wreaks havoc across the Middle East Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:49 AM PST  An Afghan man removes snow from his shelter in Kabul, Afghanistan January 12, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sobhani A deadly winter storm brought severe impacts to millions of people from parts of the Arabian Peninsula to Pakistan beginning late last week and through the weekend.At least 54 people were killed by the combination of heavy snowfall, brutal cold and severe flooding in Afghanistan and Pakistan, according to the Associated Press (AP).The storm got underway on Thursday with scattered showers and a few thunderstorms from eastern Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and far northern Oman into southern Iran.The heaviest rain arrived across the UAE, far northern Oman and southeastern Iran late on Friday and continued into Saturday.> dubairain tried all the ways to Sharjah Airport. Couldn't make it! pic.twitter.com/dJhOKWp1y4> > -- Onur Yalcin (@Onrylcn33) January 11, 2020Widespread rainfall totals reached between 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) from Thursday to Sunday across the Middle East.Dubai, UAE, reported 60 mm (2.35 inches) and Muscat, Oman, reported 42 mm (1.64 inches).This magnitude of rainfall caused severe flooding and widespread travel disruptions.Locations from Doha to Dubai and Muscat typically average 75-150 mm (3-6 inches) of rainfall for an entire year.Across the Persian Gulf, torrential rainfall caused flooding chaos and also resulted in at least one death, according to Iran Front Page.More than 1,000 people were rescued amid the flooding which has left some towns completely isolated due to inundated roadways.The worst flooding occurred in Sistan-Baluchestan province where 186 mm (7.32 inches) was reported. The yearly average total rainfall is only 119 mm (4.69 inches).CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APPLocally heavy rainfall also spread across the lower elevations of Afghanistan and southwestern Pakistan through the end of the weekend causing significant flooding. In this Sunday, Jan. 12, 2020, photo, people walk on a road during heavy snow fall in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province. Much of the damage was caused in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province where Imran Zarkon, the head of provincial disaster management authority, said 14 people were killed in the past 24 hours because of collapsed roofs amid winter's unusual snowfall, which also blocked highways and disrupted normal life. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt) This storm also produced heavy snow across higher elevations from Iran into Afghanistan and northern Pakistan.At least 30 deaths have been reported in Pakistan due to the flooding and heavy snowfall.Eleven people died in Punjab province due to flooding while at least 16 people were killed in snow-related events across the country as many locations reported more than 30 cm (12 inches) of heavy wet snow which caused roofs to collapse.Multiple avalanches were also reported in northern Pakistan. The threat for avalanches will remain high into the middle of the week. People sit around a fire to warm themselves after a heavy snowfall in Quetta, capital of Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, Monday, Jan. 13, 2020. Severe winter weather has struck parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan, with heavy snowfall, rains and flash floods that left more than 40 dead, officials said Monday as authorities struggled to clear and reopen highways and evacuate people to safer places. (AP Photo/Arshad Butt) Severe cold weather is also a concern across Pakistan and Afghanistan.As of Saturday, frigid cold ushered into the area has been blamed for four deaths in Ghazni, Afghanistan.At least 24 totals deaths have been confirmed due to the winter storm in Afghanistan. The government added that 131 homes had been destroyed due to flooding in southern parts of the country, according to the AP.Improved weather is forecast for the region on Tuesday before another storm targets parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan with rain and snowfall late this week.
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| Here's Why George Patton Sent American Bombers To Attack A Hawaiian Volcano Posted: 12 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST  A crazy plan.
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| 30 Bathroom Storage Solutions to Satisfy Your Inner Neat Freak Posted: 13 Jan 2020 08:05 AM PST |
| Mexican president vows justice in visit to town scarred by massacre Posted: 12 Jan 2020 04:53 PM PST  Mexico's president pledged on Sunday that those behind a massacre that killed nine members of a U.S.-Mexican family of Mormon origin will be punished and that the truth surrounding the crime will eventually come out. In a speech before extended family members near the U.S. border, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also promised to keep relatives appraised of the investigation into the ambush carried out by cartel gunmen two months ago. "There will be justice," he declared, addressing the small crowd from an outdoor stage set against the rugged mountains that surround the town of La Mora, home to the victims.
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| Trump Admin Walks Back Anti-MEK Memo Posted: 13 Jan 2020 04:07 PM PST  At whiplash speed, the State Department is walking back an order barring American diplomats from meeting with controversial Iranian dissident groups—including one close with Trump World allies and previously designated as a terror group, the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq (MEK). The initial memo, greenlit by a career State Department employee, angered Congressional Iran hawks. And the Department's move to change its guidance has drawn cheers from them. The first memo, first reported by Bloomberg and reviewed by The Daily Beast, included sober warnings against meeting with the MEK, pointing to its terrorist past and saying most everyday Iranians have a low view of the group. The memo also warned about interactions with the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, highlighting its attacks on Iranian military targets; and directed diplomats to get permission from State Department headquarters before meeting with members of an Azeri separatist group. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sent out the memo on January 7, and it cautioned that meetings with these groups could undermine U.S. efforts to reach a deal with Tehran. Joey Hood, a senior career State Department official, approved the memo, according to the document The Daily Beast reviewed. But now, the memo is being overridden. The Daily Beast obtained a cable, sent to U.S. diplomats Sunday night, superseding the week-old directive. "Posts should welcome opportunities to meet with and learn from members of the Iranian diaspora community," said the cable, which explicitly noted it "supersedes" the January 7 missive. "After 40 years of repression and violence at the hands of the Ayatollahs, the Iranian people's pride in their history has not diminished nor has their resolve to celebrate it in the face of the Islamic republic's abuses." Rudy Giuliani Calls Former Iranian Terrorists 'My People'The cable went on to say that U.S. diplomats should consider hosting members of the diaspora for "Persian cultural events," while noting that "not all Iranian opposition groups' interests and objectives align with U.S. policy priorities." "While it is up to the Iranian people to determine the future course of their nation, the United States will continue to stand with them and echo their calls for justice and accountability," the cable said.While the new memo did not mention MEK or the other groups, it said diplomats should simply "use good judgement when receiving invitations or meeting with opposition groups" and should raise questions and concerns with senior State officials––an apparent revocation of the order that they only take such meetings with Foggy Bottom's explicit approval. State Department spokespersons did not respond to multiple requests for comment on the cable.Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani—who the MEK hired to help it get off the U.S. list of foreign terrorist groups and who recently called the group "my MEK people"—welcomed the reversal. "[The MEK] is very supportive of a free…Iraq. It's run by a great woman who is committed to ending suppression of women and in a non-nuclear Iran," the president's personal lawyer messaged The Daily Beast. "They were of great assistance to us during [the] Iraq invasion and are supported by a very non-partisan group of American former and present public officials."The MEK is close with several other hawkish Trumpworld figures, including retired Gen. Jack Keane and former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Giuliani's longtime friend and former law partner, is a pro bono adviser to the group's political wing. The group has a controversial past. For, among other things, its alleged role in assassinating three U.S. Army officers and three more civilian contractors, the MEK found itself on the American government's official list of foreign terrorist organizations. It's also been accused of acting as a death squad for the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein. A 2009 Rand Corporation paper described the MEK's "near-religious devotion to [its leaders], public self-deprecation sessions, mandatory divorce, celibacy, enforced separation from family and friends, and gender segregation." The group and its allies vehemently deny all these charges. The fast-paced walk-back came after the initial State Department memo drew ire from Congressional Iran hawks. One noted that the memo went out to diplomats just days after a U.S. strike killed Soleimani, and as senior political officials at the State Department were presumably bracing for Tehran's retaliation. "It's a pretty significant 180 for State," said Christian Whiton, formerly a senior advisor to the Department under Presidents Trump and George W. Bush. "Even if it's worded diplomatically, it's not that common to have something issued and then rescinded almost immediately. And I think it just goes to show that the original statement was something done at a junior level that didn't have support or buy-in from senior political officials."It was the second time in recent months that Hood, the career official who greenlit the memo, angered Hill hawks. In Congressional testimony on December 4, he had a tense exchange with Sen. Ted Cruz about funding for the Lebanese government and whether that money went to Hezbollah. A transcript of the hearing indicates that Hood laughed in response to a question from Cruz; the episode left raw nerves. "They're undermining the president's policy when nobody's watching," said a Hill staffer for member pushing for a tougher policy toward Iran. Others, meanwhile, pointed to the reversal as the latest struggle by the Trump administration to clearly explain its stance on conflict with Iran. A Congressional staffer working on Iran policy and who favored the reversal noted that it comes as the administration has sent mixed messages on the legal basis for the Soleimani strike and the number of U.S. embassies threatened by Iranian-allied Shiite militias. "I think there's a lot of fog of war-type messages that have come out," said the staffer, who spoke anonymously to discuss the sensitive matter. "I think there's still a lot of fog of war."The State Department reversal, as reflected in the cable, comes as Pompeo and other U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Mark Esper, have struggled to publicly articulate the U.S.' next steps after killing Soleimani and to reconcile their accounts of the intelligence that precipitated that strike.For years, the Trump administration had maintained a campaign of "maximum pressure," leveling crippling sanctions on Iran's economy in an effort to re-open talks with Tehran on a nuclear deal. Since the Soleimani strike, Trump administration officials have struggled to define the administration's Iran policy. Some have said the maximum pressure campaign always included a military option. Others say the U.S. has long communicated to the Iranians that if Tehran killed Americans, there would be military consequences.Now, it seems, the State Department is shifting its thinking on how to approach Iran on a diplomatic level following the Soleimani strike. In the hours immediately following the assasination, U.S. officials, in an attempt to de-escalate, described the hit as a warning and insisted that America was still interested in working with Iran on conversations about the nuclear deal. The U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook appeared on BBC World, saying that killing Soleimani was designed to "advance the cause of peace." Sunday's cable, meanwhile, will cheer Iran hawks––and frustrate Obama administration alums."There are at least two problems with this reversal," said Jarrett Blanc, a former Obama administration official who worked on Iran policy. "The first is that the policy is wrong. U.S. diplomats should not be meeting with MEK or its affiliates. They represent a dangerous cult. We should avoid all the mistakes of the Iraq war including being hoodwinked by purported diaspora opposition with no links at home. The second problem is that it reflects the total incompetence and chaos of this administration's policy making —to send out an instruction and less than a week later countermand it. They just don't know what they are doing."For years in the United States, lobbyists and advocates for the MEK have operated an aggressive, sustained, and successful campaign to have the group removed from the State Department's terror list, a move that was finalized in the Obama era. The organization's stateside backers also include Democratic figures such as retired Gen. Wesley Clark and Howard Dean, as well as attorneys Victoria Toensing and Joseph diGenova, two informal legal advisers to Trump.Read more at The Daily Beast.Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast hereGet our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.
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| Experts made safe two WWII bombs in Germany Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:50 AM PST  Two World War II-era bombs were made safe in the western German city of Dortmund after about 14,000 people were evacuated, the city said Sunday. Officials there warned on Saturday that unexploded bombs dropped by Allied forces during the war might be buried in four sites in a heavily populated part of the city center.
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| 12 People Shot, 5 Killed in Single Day of Shootings in Baltimore Posted: 13 Jan 2020 03:19 PM PST  The shootings happened throughout the day, and in locations across the city.
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| Trudeau cites US ratcheting up tensions with Iran in plane's downing Posted: 13 Jan 2020 04:10 PM PST  Victims of an Iran-downed jetliner would still be alive if not for a recent escalation of tensions partly triggered by the United States, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday. "I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families," Trudeau said in an interview with Global television, according to a transcript shared with other media. Long-standing US-Iran tensions have soared since January 3 when missiles fired from a US drone killed a top Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, near Baghdad's airport.
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| 'I wished I was on that plane': Iranian general apologizes; missiles pound Iraq base. What we know now Posted: 13 Jan 2020 08:28 AM PST  Fallout from Iran-U.S. tensions intensified Sunday as missiles pounded an Iraqi air base hosting U.S. troops.
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| Australia airdrops food for starving wildlife Posted: 13 Jan 2020 01:07 AM PST  Dubbed Operation Rock Wallaby, this is the most widespread food drop yet to help save the endangered brush-tailed rock wallabies.
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| Does China or America Have Better Missiles in the South China Sea? Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:00 AM PST  A new arms race?
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| The True Aim of the Gun Sanctuary Movement Posted: 13 Jan 2020 05:30 AM PST |
| U.S. confirms 'avoidable' death of Egyptian-American Kassem in custody Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:36 PM PST |
| Former Cuban judge launches broadside against its government for imprisoning thousands on dubious charges Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:03 AM PST  A former top judge from Cuba has taken the unprecedented step of joining a campaign to highlight the government's imprisonment of thousands of citizens on dubious charges. Edel González made an emotional appeal to Havana alongside campaigners in Madrid as they published documents that suggest around 11,000 people are in jail for "antisocial conduct." "I don't want to see blood on the streets of Cuba. I want peace but I am very afraid about the future," Mr González said in front of an audience including politicians from the Spanish and European parliaments. It is thought to be the first time a high-ranking member of Cuba's judiciary has spoken out in such a public way. Alongside Mr González, Javier Larrondo, a campaigner against the Cuban government who leads an organisation called Prisoners Defenders, revealed internal judiciary documents that show the country has the highest proportion of its population in the world behind bars, with a total of more than 90,000 inmates. According to the documents seen by The Telegraph around 11,000 Cubans are currently in jail because they have been deemed to have shown "antisocial conduct". This procedure does not require any specific offence to have been committed, and the conviction rate in highly summary trials is 99.5 per cent, according to the papers. "We believe hundreds or thousands of these 'antisocial' convicts are political prisoners," said Mr Larrondo, adding to the 126 Cuban political prisoners his NGO recognises officially. Mr González said most of those convicted in such procedures are individuals who have connections with criminal circles, but he believes they should have the right to a proper defence. The 41-year-old Mr González was a rising star of Cuba's judiciary until he was stripped of his post in 2018, accused of a series of what he calls trumped-up minor misdemeanours. He told the Telegraph he was fired because he found contradictions in cases brought against people considered undesirable by the regime on "an uncomfortable number of occasions". "I am expecting to return to Cuba, and I see no reason why I shouldn't as I am simply voicing the opinions I have heard from thousands of people," said Mr González, choking back tears as he said that his wife had urged him not to speak out. The office of the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, Spanish politician Josep Borrell, told The Telegraph it took note of Mr González's initiative. Cuba's international press centre was approached for comment.
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| Push to ban assault weapons in Virginia meets resistance Posted: 13 Jan 2020 12:12 PM PST  Some top Virginia Democratic senators are expressing reservations about plans to ban assault weapons — a key part of the new Democratic majority's gun-control proposals and one that's drawn fierce resistance from gun-rights advocates. "A lot of people don't really understand assault weapons and how complicated the issue really is," said Democratic Sen. John Edwards. Chap Petersen, Creigh Deeds and Lynwood Lewis — who are skeptical of plans to ban assault weapons.
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| The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from Michelle Carter, who encouraged her suicidal boyfriend to kill himself when she was 17 Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:21 AM PST  Michelle Carter is serving a 15-month sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III.
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| Iran denies 'cover-up' as anger mounts over downed airliner Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:00 PM PST  Iran denied a "cover-up" Monday after taking days to reveal an airliner was accidentally shot down last week, a disaster that sparked demonstrations and calls for a fully transparent investigation. The Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was brought down by a missile shortly after taking off Wednesday from Tehran, killing all 176 passengers and crew on board. Videos on social networks on Monday purported to show protests occurring in Iran for a third consecutive day, including at Tehran's Sharif University, with demonstrators apparently shouting slogans against the Islamic republic.
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| More than 100,000 homes still without power after deadly winter storm ravages US Posted: 12 Jan 2020 03:22 PM PST  Hundreds of thousands of people remain without electrical power after weekend storms ravaged parts of the southeast and Midwest United States, causing 11 deaths, overturning cars, uprooting trees and reducing buildings to rubble.The PowerOutage.US website, which tracks outages, reported over 100,000 outages across the country on Sunday afternoon, with 40,000 in New York alone. More than 28,000 were without electricity in South and North Carolina on Sunday morning.
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| The Trump administration is warning allies to stay away from Huawei — but not everyone's listening Posted: 13 Jan 2020 05:38 AM PST  The US has been lobbying allies like the UK and Germany to reject Huawei's 5G technology with mixed success.
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| Here’s 5 things you should know about the US Navy’s plans for big autonomous missile boats Posted: 13 Jan 2020 03:14 PM PST  Here's everything you need to know about the Navy's effort to field a large unmanned surface vessel and what's ahead in 2020.
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| Man caught a 350-pound fish believed to be at least 50 years old Posted: 13 Jan 2020 11:43 AM PST  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently posted a photo on Facebook of a 350-pound Warsaw grouper that a man caught off the coast at the end of December.
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| Lawyer: Giuliani associate's documents turned over to House Posted: 13 Jan 2020 12:42 PM PST  A close associate of President Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, has provided a trove of text messages and photos to the House committee leading the impeachment inquiry. Joseph Bondy, the lawyer for Lev Parnas, tweeted Monday that they had "worked through the night" to provide provide data from two of his client's smartphones to the House Intelligence Committee. The Democrat-led committee subpoenaed Parnas for documents on Oct. 10, the day after news broke that he and business partner Igor Fruman had been arrested by federal authorities while trying to board a one-way flight to Europe.
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| She Was 92 and Loved Cats. An Attack Left Her Dead on the Street. Posted: 12 Jan 2020 08:40 AM PST  NEW YORK -- It was hard to miss Maria Fuertes in her neighborhood. She was 92 years old and could be seen at all hours of day, shoulders hunched, slowly pushing her black cart filled with bottles and cans through the streets of South Richmond Hill, Queens.On Monday evening, while taking what neighbors described as one of her regular strolls, Fuertes was attacked just steps from her home by a 21-year-old man who approached her from behind and knocked her to the ground, police said.Fuertes was found lying in the street and later pronounced dead. Investigators are now seeking to determine whether she was sexually assaulted, police said at a news conference Friday.The suspect, Reeaz Khan, also a resident of South Richmond Hill, fled the scene and was later arrested and charged with murder and sex abuse.The fatal attack has jolted the area and left residents mourning a beloved character. Across the street from her house, neighbors set out a memorial with burning candles, two small white crosses and fresh flower bouquets.About a block away, another memorial with flowers and candles was outside of Deli & Grill, a bodega that Fuertes used to frequent, sometimes three times a day."I miss her coming to my store," said Abdul Alamari, 30, the owner of the bodega.Fuertes, who neighbors say was from the Dominican Republic and had lived in the area with her son for years, collected cans and plastic bottles for a living. She also used her cart to ferry food to her more than 10 cats, neighbors said.This earned her the nickname "cat lady." Neighbors also called her "abuelita," grandma in Spanish."Everybody knew her," said Shantie Ram, 57. "It's sad the way it happened."Ram, who has lived in South Richmond Hill for nine years, said she would often advise Fuertes not to leave her house at night."She said she had to go for the cats," Ram said.Neighbors said they took it upon themselves to help care for her. If Fuertes needed help crossing the road, her neighbors would not hesitate to walk with her. They often gave her food and snacks.A knock on Fuertes' door went unanswered Friday.Jean Hiralal, 76, another neighbor, was visibly shaken. "I am afraid," she said. "The whole neighborhood loved her."As unsettled as Fuertes' neighbors seemed, killings of older people in New York City are relatively rare.In 2018, 23 people who were 65 or older were murdered in the city, according to data provided by the police. Last year, the figure was 20 New Yorkers for that age range.There were roughly 320 murders in New York City in 2019, officials said.Suraj Budhram, a flight coordinator at John F. Kennedy International Airport, would sometimes bump into Fuertes between 3 and 4 a.m. whenever he returned from work. The last times he saw her, Budhram said, Fuertes appeared sick, and her feet looked swollen."I have a grandmother -- she's 64," said Budhram, 20. "She goes to work. It scares me.""It's crazy that you could harm somebody like that."This article originally appeared in The New York Times.(C) 2020 The New York Times Company
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| ‘Moderate’ Michael Bloomberg Is an Authoritarian Nightmare Posted: 13 Jan 2020 01:33 PM PST  While discussing the Texas church shooting last week, Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg said that we "just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place.""It may be true — I wasn't there; I don't know the facts — that somebody in the congregation had their own gun and killed the person who murdered two other people, but it's the job of law enforcement to have guns and to decide when to shoot," Bloomberg said in Montgomery, Ala., on December 30, as reported by Conservative Review. "You just do not want the average citizen carrying a gun in a crowded place."Bloomberg is, of course, correct. Although the shooting at the West Freeway Church of Christ in White Settlement tragically took two lives, it could have been much worse had an armed, trained volunteer security guard not been there to shoot the gunman dead before he could do even greater damage.This incident was about as clear an example as you could get for how maintaining our Second Amendment rights can save lives — and, therefore, it might seem like a pretty odd thing to reference when you're arguing against gun rights. The Second Amendment, after all, worked in this case; people are alive because of it, and Bloomberg is going to say that he wished the situation had been different?It's truly shocking in terms of stupidity — but it's also par for the Michael Bloomberg course. It's hardly surprising for Bloomberg to have expressed such an unyielding stance on gun rights; he's been doing so for years.What's more, the right to self-defense is far from the only individual right that Bloomberg has a history of disrespecting. In fact, despite the fact that he's somehow managed to brand himself as a moderate choice, Michael Bloomberg's record is actually that of an authoritarian nightmare.Throughout his career, Bloomberg has repeatedly shown blatant disrespect for individual rights and civil liberties. The first thing that comes to mind is probably the way he tried to micromanage New Yorkers' food choices during his time as mayor. His most famous effort in this area, of course, was his failed attempt to protect us from drinking too much soda — but it wasn't the only one. During his time as mayor, he also launched a campaign called the "National Salt Reduction Initiative," reportedly even going so far as to compare the common ingredient to "asbestos."Bloomberg also has a pretty dismal record when it comes to allowing Americans the freedom to make their own decisions about marijuana use. In fact, according to CNN's DJ Judd, Bloomberg referred just last year to marijuana legalization as "perhaps the stupidest thing we've ever done." Now, to be fair, Bloomberg has (only) recently "evolved" on this issue: Last month, a campaign spokesman said that Bloomberg now "believes in decriminalization and doesn't believe the federal government should interfere with states that have already legalized" and that "no one should have their life ruined by getting arrested for possession." But this is, quite simply, too little too late. The conversation, after all, has progressed — with one of Bloomberg's primary opponents, Pete Buttigieg, openly professing a truly pro-freedom, pro-individual rights stance: Decriminalize them all.What's more, I actually find it astounding that Bloomberg's campaign spokesman would even have the balls to complain about people having their lives "ruined by getting arrested for possession." Bloomberg was, after all, a long-standing supporter of "stop and frisk" — which directly led to thousands of people being arrested for marijuana possession — and he remained one even as the truly totalitarian impacts of the policy were being reported. In fact, at the beginning of last year, he was still defending it. Of course, much like his stance on marijuana, his position on this issue has also conveniently "evolved" with his pursuit of the presidency; he apologized for the practice a couple of months ago.This is also, frankly, too little too late. For one thing, you'd have to be pretty stupid not to notice how his stances on these issues have conveniently just happened to "change" just in time for his presidential run. What's more, his "apology" does nothing to change the damage that stop-and-frisk has already done: People who got roughed up by police for no reason still live with that trauma, and people who were arrested for victimless crimes still had to live with those consequences.Worse, Bloomberg's support of stop-and-frisk isn't the only example of him demonstrating a complete disregard for the Fourth Amendment. No — he's also supported the secret surveillance of U.S. citizens. Under his mayorship, the NYPD was secretly spying on Muslim Americans, and Bloomberg defended it as being necessary to "keep this country safe." The truth? The NYPD has since admitted that the program did not lead to discovering even a single terrorism plot. For this one, Bloomberg has yet to apologize.With several members of the Democratic party (including multiple Democratic candidates) openly promoting socialist policies, a businessman like Bloomberg might seem like a nice choice. But as bad as a socialist president would be for the country (and it would be bad), I can't say that I see an established authoritarian as a great choice, either — our individual rights and civil liberties are too important.
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| Hours of forewarning saved U.S., Iraqi lives from Iran's missile attack Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:28 AM PST  AIN AL-ASAD AIR BASE, Iraq (Reuters) - Nearly eight hours before Iran's Jan. 8 missile attack on U.S. forces at bases in Iraq, American and Iraqi soldiers at Ain al-Asad air base scrambled to move personnel and weaponry to fortified bunkers, two Iraqi officers stationed at the base told Reuters. Such accounts add to the evidence that the Iranian attack was among the worst kept secrets in modern warfare – but the reasons why remain mysterious after days of conflicting statements from officials in Iran, Iraq and the United States. After the missiles landed, several major U.S. media outlets quoted U.S. officials saying the attack had been little more than a warning shot, allowing Iran to satisfy calls for revenge at home - after the U.S. air strike on Jan. 3 that killed an Iranian general - without much risk of provoking further U.S. attacks.
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| Myanmar sends nearly 200 Rohingya captured at sea to Rakhine camps Posted: 13 Jan 2020 06:49 AM PST  Nearly 200 Rohingya Muslims arrested at sea last month by Myanmar's navy after a voyage of hundreds of kilometres have been sent back to Rakhine state, officials said Monday. Images taken on Monday showed 17 men, women and children looking exhausted from their ordeal as they climbed down from a wooden boat on to a beach near western Rakhine state's capital, Sittwe. Wearing identification numbers around their necks, they lined up on the sand clutching their meagre belongings before being escorted away by armed police.
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| Ex-US Treasury worker pleads guilty in Russia probe leak Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:04 PM PST |
| China's latest move in its Uighur crackdown is forcing Muslims to redecorate their homes to make them look more Chinese Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:16 AM PST  The US estimates China has up to three million Uighur people in internment camps camps, where those who left speak of torture and medical experiments.
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| Japanese Women Face a Future of Poverty Posted: 13 Jan 2020 06:55 AM PST  (Bloomberg) -- At first glance, things seem to be getting better for Japanese women. In an economy that's historically lagged other developed nations when it comes to female workforce participation, a record 71% are now employed, an 11 point leap over a decade ago.The Japanese government boasts one of the most generous parental leave laws in the world and recently created a "limited full-time worker" category aimed primarily at mothers looking to balance job and family. And one of the most important needs for working families—child daycare—is slowly being expanded.But even with these advantages, Japanese women—whether single or married, full-time or part-time—face a difficult financial future. A confluence of factors that include an aging population, falling birth rates and anachronistic gender dynamics are conspiring to damage their prospects for a comfortable retirement. According to Seiichi Inagaki, a professor at the International University of Health and Welfare, the poverty rate for older Japanese women will more than double over the next 40 years, to 25%.For single, elderly women, he estimated, the poverty rate could reach 50%.In Japan, people live longer than almost anywhere else and birth rates are at their lowest since records began. As a result, the nation's working-age population is projected to have declined by 40% come 2055.With entitlement costs skyrocketing, the government has responded by scaling back benefits while proposing to raise the retirement age. Some Japanese responded by moving money out of low-interest bank accounts and into 401(k)-style retirement plans, hoping investment gains might soften the blow. But such a strategy requires savings, and women in Japan are less likely to have any.Japan's gender pay gap is one of the widest among advanced economies. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, Japanese women make only 73% as much as men. Japan's demographic crisis is making matters worse: Retired couples who are living longer need an additional $185,000 to survive projected shortfalls in the public pension system, according to a recent government report.A separate study did the math for Japanese women: They will run out of money 20 years before they die. Dire pension calculations published by Japan's Financial Services Agency in June 2019 caused such an outcry that the government quickly rejected the paper, saying it needlessly worried people. But economic observers said the report was dead-on: Japan's pension system is ranked 31st out of 37 nations due in part to underfunding, according to the Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index. Takashi Oshio, a professor at the Institute of Economic Research at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo, said private pensions and market-based retirement investments are now much more important than they once were. Machiko Osawa, a professor at Japan Women's University, was more blunt: The days of being "totally dependent on a public pension" are over.But there are additional obstacles for Japanese women. Although 3.5 million of them have entered the workforce since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in 2012, two-thirds are working only part-time. Japanese men generally see their compensation rise until they reach 60. For women, average compensation stays largely the same from their late twenties to their sixties, a fact attributable to pauses in employment tied to having children or part-time, rather than full-time, work. Since the mid-2000s, part-time employment rates have fallen for women in more than half the countries that make up the OECD. But in Japan, the trend is reversed, with part-time work among women rising over the past 15 years.One of Abe's stated goals is to encourage more women to keep working after giving birth, part of his so-called Womenomics initiative. But according to a recent government study, almost 40% of women who had full-time jobs when they became pregnant subsequently switched to part-time work or left the workforce. Machiko Nakajima's employment trajectory is typical of this state of affairs. Nakajima, who used to work full time at a tourism company, left her position at age 31 when she became pregnant. "I had no desire to work while taking care of my kid," she said in an interview. Instead, Nakajima spent a decade raising two children before returning to work. Now 46, the mother of two works as a part-time receptionist at a Tokyo tennis center. Though her husband, who also is 46, has a full time job, Nakajima said she fears for her future, given the faltering pension system. "It makes me wonder how I'm going to live the rest of my" life, she said. "It's not easy to save for retirement as a part-time worker." According to government data, the monthly cost of living for a Japanese household with more than two people is 287,315 yen ($2,650). Some 15.7% of Japanese households live below the poverty line, which is about $937 per month. More than 40% of part-time working women earn 1 million yen ($9,100) or less a year, according to Japan's Internal Affairs and Communications Ministry. The lack of benefits, job security and opportunity for advancement—hallmarks of full-time employment in Japan—make such women financially vulnerable, particularly if they don't have a partner to share expenses with. Yanfei Zhou, a researcher at the Japan Institute for Labor Policy & Training and author of a book on the subject, "Japan's Married Stay-at-Home Mothers in Poverty," contends there's a gap of 200 million yen ($1.82 million) in lifetime income between women who work full-time and women who switch from full-time to part-time at the age of 40."It's not easy to save for retirement as a part-time worker," she said. Single mothers need to make at least 3 million yen annually, or about $27,600—numbers you can't hit "if you work part-time." In Japan, public pensions account for 61% of income among elderly households. The system provides basic benefits to all citizens and is funded by workers from age 20 to age 59—and by government subsidies. Many retirees get additional income from company pension plans. While widows can claim some portion of a deceased spouse's pension, the number of unmarried Japanese is steadily rising, having more than tripled since 1980. The latest survey showed the rate for women is 14% versus 23% for men.One "reason why women's retirement savings is lower than men's is that the lifetime salary is low," said Yoshiko Nakamura, a financial planner and president of Alpha and Associates Inc. "Traditionally, many women chose to limit their workload in order to take advantage of social security spousal benefits, and that created many 'women's jobs' that pay less than 1 million yen." Japan has historically created incentives for married women to limit their employment to such non-career track jobs; lower pay means they (and their husbands) can take advantage of spousal deduction benefits. For example, the government gives a 380,000 yen ($3,133) tax deduction to a male worker if his wife earns less than about 1.5 million yen ($13,700) per year.The private sector does it, too. Many companies give employees a spousal allowance as long as their partner earns less than a certain amount. Some 84% of private companies in Japan offer workers about 17,282 yen per month ($159) as long as their spouse earns less than a certain amount annually—usually 1.5 million yen, though the ceiling is lower for most companies.Yumiko Fujino, who works as an administrative assistant, should have been happy when the government raised the minimum wage. But she wasn't: In order for her husband to keep receiving spousal benefits, she had to cut back on her hours. These limits are known among married women in Japan as the "wall." Unless a wife is making enough money on a part-time basis to afford income taxes and forgo spousal benefits, it doesn't make sense to work additional hours. But to work those kind of hours means less time for kids, which is usually the point of working part-time in the first place. Women who qualify for the spousal benefit, Fujino said, "think less about retirement security and more about the current cost of living." Abe's government is considering changes that would require more part-time workers to contribute to the pension program and mandate that smaller companies participate as well. Takero Doi, professor of economics at Keio University, said the expansion would be a small step toward giving women a financial incentive to work more.Yoko Kamikawa, a former gender equality minister, agreed that the current pension system—last updated in the 1980s—should be expanded to include part-time workers. Forty years ago, single-income households made up the overwhelming majority in Japan. Since then, Kamikawa said families have become more diverse.Machiko Osawa, a professor at Japan Women's University, went farther, saying social security should be based around individuals, not households. "Marriage doesn't last forever," she said. "Women used to rely on their husbands for financial support, but now there's the danger of unemployment, and more men are in jobs where their pay doesn't rise." "It's not easy to save for retirement as a part-time worker." However, one of the biggest reforms proposed by Abe, "limited full-time worker" status, doesn't always work as advertised. "Limited full-time" employees often face the same workload they would if they were full-time. Junko Murata, 43, a mother of two, said juggling both work and taking care of her children proved too difficult, so she eventually returned to a part-time job with spousal benefits. While an increasing number of companies have been giving women the opportunity to work more flexible hours after they return from maternity leave, some women complain of being marginalized, with few opportunities for career growth and advancement. A government survey released last year offered a bleak outlook. It showed no improvement in gender equality in the workplace, with some 28.4% of women saying they are treated equally at work, up only 0.2 percentage points since 2016. Yasuko Kato, 42, returned to work as limited full-time accountant three years ago, but said there's been little change in her responsibilities.Because she drops off and picks up her kids, she works from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. "I have no extra time at work," she said. But because of a chronic staff shortage, she doesn't get any help from full-time employees. As a result, Kato said "it's difficult to raise my hand for a new role."(Adds spousal benefits in the 33rd paragraph. An earlier version corrected a yen conversion.)\--With assistance from Isabel Reynolds, Lisa Fleisher and Kurumi Mori.To contact the author of this story: Marika Katanuma in Tokyo at mkatanuma@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: David Rovella at drovella@bloomberg.netFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
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| Trump impeachment: Text messages and images that could expose president's Ukraine dealings handed over to inquiry Posted: 13 Jan 2020 08:05 AM PST  One of Trump attorney Rudolph Giuliani's Ukrainian-American allies has handed the House Intelligence Committee a trove of information that could shed more light on alleged efforts by the president to influence US foreign policy to his own political benefit.Lev Parnas, one of two Giuliani associates who was arrested for alleged campaign finance violations in October, has given the committee a cache of "WhatsApp messages, text messages and images" which detail "interactions with a number of individuals relevant to the impeachment inquiry," his attorney Joseph Bondy said on Twitter Monday morning.
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| Lebanon’s Air Force to arm newly refurbished AB 212 helicopters Posted: 13 Jan 2020 08:34 AM PST  The Lebanese Air Force has refurbished an Agusta-Bell AB 212 helicopter as part of a proof of concept, and will now begin a five-year project to revive the fleet with five operational helicopters.
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| Anti-Semitic Attacks Shine Spotlight on Long-Simmering Tri-State Tensions Posted: 13 Jan 2020 03:30 AM PST  In the wake of the recent anti-Semitic shooting in Jersey City, N.J. and the machete attack at the home of a rabbi in Monsey, N.Y., news of anti-Semitism in the tri-state area has begun to pierce the mainstream-media bubble. But tensions have existed for decades in the Jewish enclaves that surround New York City.Grafton Thomas, who attacked visitors at the home of rabbi Chaim Rottenberg, has been charged by the Rockland County district attorney with six counts of attempted murder and three counts of assault. One of the victims, Rabbi Josef Neumann, was left in a coma, and his family says he will have permanent brain damage.On Thursday, Thomas was indicted on federal hate-crime charges."I'm begging you . . . please stand up and stop this hatred," Neumann's daughter Nicky Kohen said at a press conference at the beginning of January. "It cannot keep going on. We want our kids to go to school and feel safe, we want to go our synagogues and feel safe."While Thomas's lawyer and his mother insist his attack was the product of mental illness rather than anti-Semitism, Ramapo chief of police Brad Weidel said the attack was clearly motivated by anti-Jewish animus, citing the rather compelling evidence that Thomas had searched for "why did Hitler hate the Jews" and "Zionist temples near me" on his cell phone in the days before the attack.The attack in Monsey came on the heels of the anti-Semitic shooting at a Jersey City kosher supermarket, during which the perpetrators, David Anderson and Francine Graham, killed three people. Anderson was alleged to have followed Black Hebrew Israelite theology, which claims that African Americans are the true descendants of the ancient Israelites and that Jews are essentially pretenders to the faith.Anti-Semitism has flared up periodically throughout New York City history, especially in areas such as Crown Heights with a large ultra-Orthodox population. During the Crown Heights Riots in 1991, marchers chanted "Heil Hitler!" and "Death to the Jews!" and vandalized Jewish storefronts and homes. The ultra-Orthodox, who dress in distinctive styles for both men and women, seem to be the primary targets of anti-Semitic attacks, many of them by African-American or Hispanic perpetrators. Thomas's mother said he was born and raised in Crown Heights, and even acted as a "Shabbos goy" for Jewish residents. He was eight years old at the time of the riots, although it is not clear if he and his mother were present during the period of violence.In any case, Anderson and Graham targeted a budding community of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Jersey City, who had moved to the area from Brooklyn for lower housing prices and less-crowded living conditions. Rockland County, where Monsey is located, is another area in which a large ultra-Orthodox population has settled after leaving the city. Orthodox Jews now constitute over 31 percent of the population there, the largest Jewish population by percentage of any county in the U.S. Grafton Thomas and his mother moved to Rockland County from Crown Heights.There is no indication that Anderson, Graham, and Thomas attacked Jewish targets for reasons related to outmigration from New York City to the surrounding region. Yet the attacks have rattled ultra-Orthodox in those areas nonetheless, owing in part to preexisting disputes between some ultra-Orthodox communities and the neighboring non-Jewish population in those areas.The various ultra-Orthodox denominations that have settled in towns in upstate New York and northern New Jersey have specific religious practices that affect their living habits. They generally live in close proximity to one another due to restrictions on driving during Shabbat and the necessity of the participation of ten adult males in certain prayers. Following the commandment in Genesis to "be fruitful and multiply," ultra-Orthodox families can regularly reach eight or more children, leading to swift increases in population.The subsequent population explosion has increased demand for housing development in the area, worrying non-Jewish residents who say they want to keep their rural way of life intact. At the same time, the ultra-Orthodox community typically constructs developments of townhouses, ensuring that community members live within walking distance of one another and that there are enough Jews in the area to form a prayer congregation.One of the most crucial features of these communities is that ultra-Orthodox Jews vote en masse as a bloc in elections for candidates agreed upon by community leaders. This can transform the local political landscape in their favor. Rural and suburban towns have fought against what they see as development for one specific religious group out of fear that the ultra-Orthodox voting bloc will render longtime residents politically powerless. This can be seen particularly in the realm of public education: Non-Jewish residents question why ultra-Orthodox representatives may sit on a public-school board when ultra-Orthodox children generally use private yeshivas, and only use public-school funds for busing and special-education purposes. (New York state law requires the public-education budget to provide busing services for private schools.)The ultra-Orthodox population is also a heavy user of government resources such as Medicaid and food stamps. This is due to the fact that many of the men either don't work or make low salaries, choosing instead to devote their time to studying religious texts."Many in the community look at the Hasidim as locusts, who go from community to community . . . just stripping all the resources out of it," said a Jewish, but not ultra-Orthodox, resident of upstate New York. The resident, who vociferously objects to ultra-Orthodox development and asked not to be named for fear of retribution by the ultra-Orthodox community, added that "nobody here doesn't like them because they're Jews. People don't like them because of what they do. Rural, hardworking people also want to live our lives too."Because opposition to new residents is directed toward ultra-Orthodox Jews, small towns that resist development risk running afoul of anti-discrimination laws. In only the latest instance, the town of Chester in Orange County has been waging a years-long battle to prevent a development of townhouses that residents charge will be populated only by ultra-Orthodox Jews. In December, New York attorney general Letitia James filed a motion alleging that the town was engaged in discriminatory housing practices, calling the town's actions "blatantly anti-Semitic.""If town officials brainstorm in public about how to 'keep the Hasidic out' and then go ahead and fabricate the text of documents to create unprecedented restrictions on a fully approved project, you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out what's going on," Livy Schwartz, one of the developers of the project in Chester, told National Review.The Rockland County GOP created controversy in August after airing an ad titled "A Storm is Brewing in Rockland County." Using ominous music and footage of storm clouds, the video accused ultra-Orthodox politician Aron Wieder and his supporters of "plotting a takeover" with a bloc vote and driving overdevelopment in the county."This video is absolutely despicable," the Republican Jewish Coalition, a nation-wide advocacy group, wrote on Twitter. "It is pure anti-Semitism, and should be immediately taken down."Other instances of conflict between ultra-Orthodox and non-Jewish residents have cropped up in the past, along with accusations of anti-Semitism.Shulem Deen, a former ultra-Orthodox Jew who lived in Rockland County for a time, criticized the county GOP ad as having "a flavor of classic anti-Semitism." Deen also pointed out that he had experienced anti-Semitic incidents in his former town of New Square, when teenagers would sometimes drive through the town shouting slurs at ultra-Orthodox residents. However, he said that the issue of ultra-Orthodox development can lead to legitimate concerns."Whether people have a right to say, 'you cannot change my environment:' that's an interesting question," he said. "Do others have a right to settle in a certain vicinity, in a region, and make that place their own?"State assemblyman Colin Schmitt, a Republican whose district in Orange County includes Chester, argues that the allegations of anti-Semitism are unfounded and are meant to conceal the attorney general's more cynical motive for interceding in the Chester lawsuit, namely that she wants to protect politically potent special-interest groups."The attorney general, by her action here, is not representing the residents of Chester," Schmitt told National Review. "All of a sudden there's an interest shown by her to benefit one private developer. Now that is what this is about." Schmitt emphasized that the town of Chester is a rural, "long-time agricultural" community that would be altered by the proposed development."There have been longstanding tensions within the community, in Chester and in the larger region . . . many dealing with housing issues," Schmitt went on. "We have . . . a welcoming, loving community here that has for years worked on preservation efforts — land preservation, natural-resource preservation, preserving the character of the community."The attacks in Jersey City and Monsey may fade from the national conversation over time. But one thing seems certain: These simmering local conflicts, which have existed now for several decades, are not going away.
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| Iranian protesters call for Ayatollah to step down following plane strike admission Posted: 12 Jan 2020 04:59 AM PST  Iran's admission that it accidently shot down a Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people this week has sparked unrest in the country.Protesters — including many students — gathered in Iran on Saturday and Sunday, criticizing the government and demanding the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down. Iran initially denied involvement in the incident, but later said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, fearing retaliation from the U.S. for a strike Tuesday against an American military base in Iraq, mistook the plane for hostile aircraft and launched a missile that brought the plane down, killing everyone on board.A candlelit vigil in Tehran for the victims Saturday evening morphed into a protest before police broke up the gathering with tear gas. Iranian security forces deployed in large numbers in Tehran on Sunday, patrolling the city on motorbikes and stationing at various landmarks in anticipation of more protests.Iran has also faced criticism outside its borders. The United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned Tehran for briefly detaining British Amabassador to Iran Rob Macaire after he attended the vigil (Macaire said he wasn't aware it would turn into a protest.) Raab said Iran was on its way toward "pariah status." Officials from Ukraine, Canada, and the United States also expressed dismay over how Iran handled the situation.More stories from theweek.com MLB issues historic punishment for Astros following sign-stealing investigation White House press secretary claims Democrats are 'almost taking the side of terrorists' after Trump tweet Jennifer Lopez, Frozen 2, and more shocking snubs from the 2020 Oscar nominations
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| Plea for New Zealand to house fire-threatened koalas Posted: 12 Jan 2020 05:45 PM PST  Thousands of people have signed a petition for koalas to be introduced to New Zealand to escape Australia's devastating bush fires, but the proposal has been given the thumbs down by officials. A group calling itself the Koala Relocation Society said koalas were "functionally extinct in Australia" but could thrive in New Zealand which has nearly 30,000 hectares planted in eucalypts. There have been estimates of up to a billion koalas and other animals affected by the fires raging across Australia and there are concerns about how the survivors will cope given the loss of vegetation.
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| Israel Wants to Kill Rockets and Drones with Lasers Posted: 12 Jan 2020 11:52 PM PST  Is this possible or just science fiction?
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| President Trump unleashes tweetstorm on Democrats over Iran strike Posted: 13 Jan 2020 09:38 AM PST  In a series of tweets and retweets featuring typos and offensive images, President Trump lashed out Monday morning against criticism over the way he and his administration have handled the killing of a top Iranian general.
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| Report: Feds to bill fire victims if utility doesn't pay $4B Posted: 12 Jan 2020 11:10 AM PST |
| The fugitive and former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says Hollywood has contacted him about his unbelievable escape from Japan Posted: 12 Jan 2020 12:58 PM PST  Former Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn says he's a 'fugitive of injustice' and won't comment on whether any Americans helped him escape from Japan in a box.
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| U.S. presidential campaign probes to require top officials' approval: Barr Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:12 PM PST  U.S. Attorney General William Barr said on Monday that he would raise the threshold needed to open counterintelligence investigations of presidential campaigns, a move that follows complaints by President Donald Trump about government surveillance of his 2016 election campaign. Any future investigations will need the signatures of both the U.S. Attorney General and the head of the FBI, Barr said at a news conference.
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| Pope ends a secrecy rule for Catholic sexual abuse cases, but for victims many barriers to justice remain Posted: 13 Jan 2020 05:55 AM PST  Pope Francis recently removed one of the barriers facing sex abuse victims looking for justice – the "Rule of Pontifical Secrecy." The rule is an obligation under the church's laws to keep sensitive information regarding the Catholic Church's governance strictly confidential. This rule allowed church officials to withhold information in sexual abuse cases, even where there was an alleged cover-up or a failure to report allegations. The clergy could claim secrecy even from victims or legal authorities.Pope Francis stated on Dec. 17, 2019, in a press release "On the Topic of Confidentiality in Legal Proceedings," that his intention in ending papal secrecy was to increase transparency in child abuse cases. As a legal scholar, I have extensively analyzed the use of evidence rules that shield confidential communications with clergy. I argue that even with the removal of the papal secrecy rule, transparency might remain illusive for abuse victims. The Catholic Church has other practices it can rely on to conceal information. Papal secrecy ruleThe Rule of Pontifical Secrecy is part of the church's canon laws – ordinances that regulate the church and its members. It traces its roots to the twelfth century, when the church set up the institution of Inquisition for punishing heresy. This quest was rooted in secrecy and led to the torture and execution of thousands of people throughout Europe and the Americas.The rule is the church's highest level of secrecy. Historically, it applied primarily to issues of church governance. This includes drafts of canon law, papal conclaves and also internal church investigations of misconduct by clergy. The rule is intended, in part, to protect the names of accusers and the accused in church-related disputes until there had been some clear finding of wrongdoing. The penalty for disclosing information can include excommunication. Rule hindered justiceIn application, though, the rule of secrecy has hindered efforts by child abuse victims to seek justice against the church. It became a way for church officials to avoid reporting allegations of abuse to law officials. Officials also relied on the rule to refuse to cooperate with legal authorities investigating allegations of wrongdoing. Critics also feared the rule hindered victims from coming forward. For those who did come forward, the rule made it more difficult to obtain information pertinent to any subsequent litigation.When the pope issued the instruction to remove the rule from the canon law in December, his decision lifted only the veil of pontifical secrecy from three categories of cases: sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable persons; failure to report or efforts to cover up such abuse; and possession of pornography by a cleric. All other matters previously covered by this rule, such as diplomatic correspondences and personal issues, remain subject to papal secrecy. Other confidential communicationHowever, Catholic sexual abuse victims face other barriers to seeking justice. Victims often seek information regarding what church officials knew about particular instances of abuse, including whether other victims made similar accusations against a particular cleric or details of any internal church investigation. Lifting the rule of pontifical secrecy does not clarify church official's obligations to comply with such requests. Further, as my research shows, the pontifical secret is only one avenue for shielding information about wrongdoing in the church. The seal of confession prevents priests from sharing information received during confession at risk of excommunication. This has included information that victims of abuse have sought to build their cases. The privilege has also been asserted as a workaround to mandatory reporting obligations for clergy. Additionally, every state in the United States recognizes clergy privilege – a legal rule that shields clergy from forced disclosure of confidential spiritual communication. This protection applies not only to confessions but also to conversations in which clergy provide solace, comfort or aid. In practice, clergy privilege means priests can refuse to testify, at any stage of litigation, regarding protected conversations. Yet in these conversations, abusers may well admit to harming children. Inconsistent privilege assertionsReligious institutions have been inconsistent in their assertion of the clergy privilege. In some instances, clerics willingly forgo the privilege. For example, in the 2014 Tennessee state case, State v. Cartmell, a chaplain testified about a conversation in which the defendant disclosed details about a murder. The defendant asserted the communication was privileged, but the chaplain maintained he could testify. The chaplain acknowledged he was with the defendant in his religious capacity but framed the conversations not as being spiritual. He claimed it was a means to assist the defendant "make peace" with what happened. In other cases, clergy have asserted the privilege to shield confidential communications in alleged child abuse cases. In Commonwealth v. Cane, a 1983 decision from the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, a Roman Catholic priest withheld evidence in a murder and child abuse case. The defendant waived any privilege over his conversation with the priest. Nonetheless, the priest refused to testify. Despite the pope's efforts, the transparency the Catholic Church seeks will take far more chipping away at the remaining obstacles to justice.[ Like what you've read? Want more? Sign up for The Conversation's daily newsletter. ]This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts.Read more: * Why it's so hard to hold priests accountable for sex abuse * The Catholic Church is tightening rules on reporting sexual abuse – but not swearing off its legal privilege to keep secretsChristine P. Bartholomew does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
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| America dreams of Chinese state capitalism Posted: 12 Jan 2020 04:00 AM PST  The U.S. economy is in the 11th year of a record-long expansion. Unemployment is at a 50-year low. And most of the biggest, most innovative companies in the world hail from America. Given such abundant good news, one might think that American policymakers would exude deep confidence in the American Way of Capitalism.Not so much. Democrats are making their usual arguments about inequality, saying the economy has been failing workers for decades. No surprise there. What's new is the skepticism coming from some Republicans who, not so long ago, enthusiastically extolled the wonder-working power of free-market economics. As Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) said in a speech at Catholic University last month, "The market will always reach the most efficient economic outcome, but sometimes the most efficient outcome is at odds with the common good and the national interest."One aspect of the national interest that concerns Rubio and many other conservatives is the geopolitical threat from China. They're worried that the Chinese Way of Capitalism — particularly government backing of key sectors such as AI and robotics — might actually work and make China the economic and technological leader of the 21st century.So maybe it's time for Washington to play China's game. Chinese capitalism with American characteristics. Rubio, for instance, wants a "pro-American industrial policy" that would target funding to "strategically important" sectors such as aerospace and telecommunications. Others on the right would greatly expand basic research funding, as well as applied research fields like advanced materials. At the core of these approaches is an acceptance that if China can successfully pick winners and losers, so can America.But maybe China can't. It may seem like the central planners in Beijing have figured a new and better way to do capitalism. After all, their managed version continues to produce high economic growth growth rates — though many observers think they're overstated — as well as some large and innovative tech firms such as Tencent and Huawei. But a deeper dive shows a troubled economic model. Compared to the U.S., China is an old country and a poor country, at least on a per capita basis. It needs to become far more productive, which is one reason Beijing massively funds cutting-edge technology.But state capitalism isn't working so well anymore. As The Economist recently noted, "There is evidence that China's heavy-handed intervention is becoming increasingly ineffective. Total factor productivity growth in China in recent years has been a third of what it was before the 2008 global financial crisis." Indeed, some analyses see no productivity growth at all. A recent article in the Harvard Business Review concludes that "absent a major pivot in thinking and approach, [Chinese firms] will be unable to deliver the productivity gains needed to offset the consequences of the steepening decline in the country's working-age population." And as Reuters recently reported, "Chinese productivity growth has gone into reverse for the first time since the Cultural Revolution tore the country apart in the 1970s, according to a new study, highlighting the failure of recent reforms to set China on a sustainable development path."The bottom line here is that for China to succeed over the long-term, it must return to the pro-market path. It must become a lot more like America where companies rise and fall based on market forces, not the whims of politicians. And while America could surely use more science investment, that's far different than creating a massive new system of business interventions and subsidies directed from Washington and influenced by all manner of interest groups.America has a history of overestimating the economic strength of rival nations. Back in the 1980s, the U.S. also flirted with industrial policy because Japan seemed so successful at it. That was just before Japan entered a long period of stagnation. Then there was the Soviet Union. And after the Evil Empire's sudden implosion, some in Washington attacked the Central Intelligence Agency for producing analysis that overestimated the USSR's economic strength. With more accurate estimates, some critics suggested, perhaps the United States would have avoided its expensive military buildup during the Reagan era.Maybe there's again more reason for confidence and optimism than we think.Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here.More stories from theweek.com Bernie Sanders fires back on CNN report saying he told Elizabeth Warren a woman can't be president: 'Ludicrous' The death of rock's master craftsman Bloomberg's campaign spending could possibly 'upend every model of every presidential race in history.'
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