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Thursday, December 03, 2015
Car Dealers Have Their Way With Congress
With a crush of must-pass bills coming at the end of the year, it’s a lobbyist feeding frenzy on Capitol Hill. The prize: a rider tacked onto one of those bills that’s worth big bucks.
And the biggest winner so far is not the industry you’d normally think of as the most powerful in Washington — not banking, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, or telecommunications. Arguably the most successful group when it comes to building bipartisan coalitions to protect their profits and avoid federal scrutiny is auto dealers.
Last Wednesday, 88 Democrats joined 244 Republicans in the House to advance a bill that amounts to a stand-down order to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If it becomes law, CFPB will no longer be able to crack down on racial discrimination in auto lending that costs individual African-American and Hispanic consumers hundreds of dollars, while earning dealers hundreds of millions in ill-gotten profits.
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And the biggest winner so far is not the industry you’d normally think of as the most powerful in Washington — not banking, pharmaceuticals, oil and gas, or telecommunications. Arguably the most successful group when it comes to building bipartisan coalitions to protect their profits and avoid federal scrutiny is auto dealers.
Last Wednesday, 88 Democrats joined 244 Republicans in the House to advance a bill that amounts to a stand-down order to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If it becomes law, CFPB will no longer be able to crack down on racial discrimination in auto lending that costs individual African-American and Hispanic consumers hundreds of dollars, while earning dealers hundreds of millions in ill-gotten profits.
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Powellville VFC Bull and Oyster Roast
Specter of Drones Firing Tear Gas on Crowds Worries Human Rights Group
The tools that governments could use to contain public demonstrations by remote control – firing tear gas from drones, for example – are advancing at a troubling and unregulated rate, says a new report from researchers in the U.K.
These technologies are either fully automatic or semi-automatic, according to the report, and can be used at a distance from the target.
Without further study and regulation, these detached methods of crowd control could lead to serious human rights violations, the report says. “This could include the blanket application of significant quantities of [remote control agents] against large peaceful gatherings or demonstrations resulting in en masse infliction of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The report, titled “Tear Gassing By Remote Control”, was commissioned by the Remote Control Project, a branch of the Oxford Research Group, a think tank partly focused on modern warfare and its long-term consequences.
Its publication comes as almost 200 member states are meeting in The Hague in the Netherlands at the annual Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Conventions, to discuss the progression of chemical warfare worldwide.
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These technologies are either fully automatic or semi-automatic, according to the report, and can be used at a distance from the target.
Without further study and regulation, these detached methods of crowd control could lead to serious human rights violations, the report says. “This could include the blanket application of significant quantities of [remote control agents] against large peaceful gatherings or demonstrations resulting in en masse infliction of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
The report, titled “Tear Gassing By Remote Control”, was commissioned by the Remote Control Project, a branch of the Oxford Research Group, a think tank partly focused on modern warfare and its long-term consequences.
Its publication comes as almost 200 member states are meeting in The Hague in the Netherlands at the annual Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Conventions, to discuss the progression of chemical warfare worldwide.
More
Five Elementary School Students Arrested Over ‘Legitimate Plan’ to Blow Up High School
The five fifth-graders, ages 10 and 11, attend Clifton Elementary School #11 and were targeting a school assembly set to be held at Clifton High School Wednesday, WABC-TV reported.
School officials at the elementary school contacted police after finding notes on how the attack would be carried out.
Authorities said there was vinegar and cinnamon inside the device in question, but nothing to cause an explosion. Regardless, authorities are concerned about the intent.
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Larry Hogan Still Riding High In Maryland, Even With Democrats
We all knew Republican Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan had a lot on his plate. Personally, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in June. Politically, he was a Republican governor in a deep-blue state with an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature. Yet, somehow, he’s managed to draw praise from across the political spectrum in a new Baltimore Sun/University of Baltimore poll, where Marylanders also feel that their state is finally heading in the right direction. A far cry from the numbers seen during the O’Malley administration:
Israel Honors US Soldier Who Protected Jews At Nazi POW Camp
JERUSALEM – The Nazi soldiers made their orders very clear: Jewish American prisoners of war were to be separated from their fellow brothers in arms and sent to an uncertain fate.
But Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds would have none of that. As the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer held in the German POW camp, he ordered more than 1,000 Americans captives to step forward with him and brazenly pronounced: "We are all Jews here."
He would not waver, even with a pistol to his head, and his captors eventually backed down.
Seventy years later, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native is being posthumously recognized with Israel's highest honor for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II. He's the first American serviceman to earn the honor.
"Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds seemed like an ordinary American soldier, but he had an extraordinary sense of responsibility and dedication to his fellow human beings," said Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and memorial. "The choices and actions of Master Sgt. Edmonds set an example for his fellow American soldiers as they stood united against the barbaric evil of the Nazis."
It's a story that remained untold for decades and one that his son, the Rev. Chris Edmonds, only discovered long after his father's death in 1985.
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But Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds would have none of that. As the highest-ranking noncommissioned officer held in the German POW camp, he ordered more than 1,000 Americans captives to step forward with him and brazenly pronounced: "We are all Jews here."
He would not waver, even with a pistol to his head, and his captors eventually backed down.
Seventy years later, the Knoxville, Tennessee, native is being posthumously recognized with Israel's highest honor for non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during World War II. He's the first American serviceman to earn the honor.
"Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds seemed like an ordinary American soldier, but he had an extraordinary sense of responsibility and dedication to his fellow human beings," said Avner Shalev, chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum and memorial. "The choices and actions of Master Sgt. Edmonds set an example for his fellow American soldiers as they stood united against the barbaric evil of the Nazis."
It's a story that remained untold for decades and one that his son, the Rev. Chris Edmonds, only discovered long after his father's death in 1985.
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FBI Report Shows More Americans Are Buying Guns
Amy Yensi has more on what’s behind the spike in sales.
Gun owners we spoke to say it’s a combination of things: mass shootings becoming all too common and the possibility that terror could be at our doorstep.
At the Pasadena Gun Pawn and Gunshop, more people than usual are coming in to buy guns.
“Probably for the last month and a half, I’ve had a lot of gun sales here lately,” said William Loane.
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School District Bans the Word 'Christmas' From Flyer
The school superintendent in Marlborough, New Hampshire issued a Yuletide edict to the local American Legion post: you can’t call a Christmas tree a Christmas tree.
John Fletcher, the commander of the local American Legion post, said he was banned from using the word “Christmas” to promote the town’s upcoming Christmas tree lighting.
The event is sponsored by the American Legion and the Monadnock Lions Club.
“He wanted to change it to say ‘holiday tree lighting’ instead,” Mr. Fletcher told FOX25 in Boston.
Needless to say, Supt. Robert Malay’s decision went over about as well as replacing Santa’s milk and cookies with tofu and a shot of wheatgrass.
“It’s not a holiday tree, it’s a Christmas tree,” said Mr. Fletcher.
“I was very upset, I really was,” he told the television station.
More here
John Fletcher, the commander of the local American Legion post, said he was banned from using the word “Christmas” to promote the town’s upcoming Christmas tree lighting.
The event is sponsored by the American Legion and the Monadnock Lions Club.
“He wanted to change it to say ‘holiday tree lighting’ instead,” Mr. Fletcher told FOX25 in Boston.
Needless to say, Supt. Robert Malay’s decision went over about as well as replacing Santa’s milk and cookies with tofu and a shot of wheatgrass.
“It’s not a holiday tree, it’s a Christmas tree,” said Mr. Fletcher.
“I was very upset, I really was,” he told the television station.
More here
Concerned citizen didn’t report shooter’s suspicious behavior for OUTRAGEOUS reason
As authorities continue to investigate the home tied to one of the suspects, Syed Farook, one man who reportedly worked near the home is saying he’d grown suspicious of activity surrounding the home leading up to yesterday’s massacre.
So, you ask, why didn’t this concerned citizen report the suspicious activity to authorities — who may have then been able to investigate and potentially avert tragedy? The man reportedly didn’t want to appear racist.
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Rev. Jesse Jackson Wants Special Prosecutor in Chicago Police Killing
Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson said he remains incensed about what he claims was an elaborate cover-up by Chicago officials of the police shooting death of a black teen.
This week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired police Superintendent Garry McCarthy days after an officer there was charged with murder and a court order forced the release of a dashcam video of Officer Jason Van Dyke allegedly shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times. The 17-year-old had a knife, but did not appear to be lunging at police in the video. Jackson spoke by phone Wednesday with C4.
"The police chief, the mayor, and the state's attorney had the tape and they covered it up," Jackson said.
The video and autopsy report conflicted with the initial police story that claimed McDonald died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, as the Chicago Reporter reports.
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This week, Mayor Rahm Emanuel fired police Superintendent Garry McCarthy days after an officer there was charged with murder and a court order forced the release of a dashcam video of Officer Jason Van Dyke allegedly shooting Laquan McDonald 16 times. The 17-year-old had a knife, but did not appear to be lunging at police in the video. Jackson spoke by phone Wednesday with C4.
"The police chief, the mayor, and the state's attorney had the tape and they covered it up," Jackson said.
The video and autopsy report conflicted with the initial police story that claimed McDonald died from a single gunshot wound to the chest, as the Chicago Reporter reports.
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Obama in Paris on 'Mass Shooting' at Planned Parenthood: ‘This Just Doesn’t Happen in Other Countries’
At a press conference in Paris on Tuesday, where he had been attending the international climate summit, President Barack Obama said that "mass shootings" like the one that took place at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado last week just do not happen in countries other than the United States.
“With respect to Planned Parenthood, obviously, my heart goes out to the families of those impacted. I mean … I say this every time we’ve got one of these mass shootings. This just doesn’t happen in other countries,” Obama said in a news conference at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
On Friday, a gunman, Robert Lewis Dear, opened fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., killing three people and injuring nine in an hourslong standoff. A police officer was one of the victims who were slain, along with two civilians.
The president’s remarks come just over two weeks after members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched multiple terrorist attacks in Paris, which is hosting the COP21 climate change summit, killing 130 people. In January, members of ISIS (also known as ISIL or the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) attacked and killed 12 people in a mass shooting at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris.
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“With respect to Planned Parenthood, obviously, my heart goes out to the families of those impacted. I mean … I say this every time we’ve got one of these mass shootings. This just doesn’t happen in other countries,” Obama said in a news conference at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
On Friday, a gunman, Robert Lewis Dear, opened fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., killing three people and injuring nine in an hourslong standoff. A police officer was one of the victims who were slain, along with two civilians.
The president’s remarks come just over two weeks after members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) launched multiple terrorist attacks in Paris, which is hosting the COP21 climate change summit, killing 130 people. In January, members of ISIS (also known as ISIL or the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant) attacked and killed 12 people in a mass shooting at the Charlie Hebdo satirical magazine in Paris.
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Md. police officer found guilty after video shows him pointing gun at man’s head
Officer Jenchesky Santiago, a three-year veteran of the department, was been found guilty on charges of assault, the use of a firearm in a crime of violence and misconduct in office.
Santiago will be sentenced in January.
In May 2014, prosecutors say that while patrolling a Bowie neighborhood, Santiago approached a car which he claimed was illegally parked. William Cunningham testified on Tuesday that he and his cousin were sitting in a car parked on the street outside of Cunningham’s home.
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Wow: What Just Surfaced Will Have Trump Claiming A HUGE Victory Over Media
When the media howled for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s head and an apology for claiming that Muslims in America celebrated as the Twin Towers burned, he stood tall and refused to back down.
New evidence shows he was right.
Amid silence from the media giants who claimed Trump was wrong, the truth emerges in the form of a New York Post article from September of 2011, in which writer Fred Siegel recalls the events of 9/11.
“Here in New York, it was easy to get angry listening to Egyptians, Palestinians and the Arabs of nearby Paterson, N.J., celebrate as they received word of the murderous attack in New York and Washington,” Siegel wrote.
“But Mayor Giuliani (who has been tireless and magnificent in this crisis) rightly warned New Yorker-ers that is would be wrong to take their anger our on the city’s Arab and Muslim residents. Attacks on Arab-Americans in Paterson or elsewhere are utterly indefensible,” Siegel wrote.
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New evidence shows he was right.
Amid silence from the media giants who claimed Trump was wrong, the truth emerges in the form of a New York Post article from September of 2011, in which writer Fred Siegel recalls the events of 9/11.
“Here in New York, it was easy to get angry listening to Egyptians, Palestinians and the Arabs of nearby Paterson, N.J., celebrate as they received word of the murderous attack in New York and Washington,” Siegel wrote.
“But Mayor Giuliani (who has been tireless and magnificent in this crisis) rightly warned New Yorker-ers that is would be wrong to take their anger our on the city’s Arab and Muslim residents. Attacks on Arab-Americans in Paterson or elsewhere are utterly indefensible,” Siegel wrote.
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UMD FAT STUDIES COURSE LABELS DIETING ‘SPECIAL ENEMY’ OF DIVERSITY
Students at the University of Maryland will have the chance to “engage fatness” next term as part of a “Fat Studies” course offered by the school’s American Studies department.
“Introduction to Fat Studies” will not engage “fatness” as a social or medical problem, according to a syllabus for the course posted online. Instead, the course will approach fatness as “an aspect of human diversity, experience, and identity.”
The syllabus goes on to say that the course “will function as an introduction to the recent (and growing) field known as Fat Studies.” The field of Fat Studies, the syllabus claims, is “a field that is not concerned with the eradication of fatness, but with offering a sustained critique of anti-fat sentiment, discrimination, and policy.”
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How to calm a crying baby: Pediatrician's video goes viral
He calls it "The Hold." And Dr. Robert Hamilton, a pediatrician and father of six from Santa Monica, California, says it's the secret to quieting a crying baby.
Hamilton's demonstration of the technique in a video posted on YouTube has quickly gone viral, with more than 1.6 million views in its first three days.
In the video, the doctor shows how he folds a baby's arms across its chest, then holds the child with one hand around its chest and one hand under its bottom, gently rocking back and forth. It takes just moments for baby Ashton, who'd just gotten a shot, to stop crying.
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'White Student Unions' Springing Up At Universities
White student unions are reportedly being created at universities across Australia. The unions claim to support white students, which they say have been marginalized.
Seven of the unofficial unions popped up in the last week of November at the University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland, Macquarie University, Western Sydney University, University of NSW, University of Western Australia and University of Technology, Sydney, notes News.com.au.
The question has been raised if these are legitimate student unions, or online farcical unions created by Internet trolls who hang out at right-wing social media sites such as 4chan and 8chan.
Snopes.com noted on Nov. 24 that white student unions formed on social media pages in the U.S. were probably all fake. The myth-busting site cited an article by The Daily Stormer, a reportedly racist website, which instructed readers to "Make more of these White Student Union pages on Facebook for various universities. You don’t have to go there. Make one for Dartmouth, Princeton, etc."
Seven of the unofficial unions popped up in the last week of November at the University of Queensland, University of Southern Queensland, Macquarie University, Western Sydney University, University of NSW, University of Western Australia and University of Technology, Sydney, notes News.com.au.
The question has been raised if these are legitimate student unions, or online farcical unions created by Internet trolls who hang out at right-wing social media sites such as 4chan and 8chan.
Snopes.com noted on Nov. 24 that white student unions formed on social media pages in the U.S. were probably all fake. The myth-busting site cited an article by The Daily Stormer, a reportedly racist website, which instructed readers to "Make more of these White Student Union pages on Facebook for various universities. You don’t have to go there. Make one for Dartmouth, Princeton, etc."
The site told readers to "Go, do it now. If they won’t let it on Facebook, put it on tumblr or wordpress or whatever. Get it up, then forward links to the local media."
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