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Monthly archive

May 2016 - page 4

Senators Press Obama Admin on “Free Pass” For African Counterterror Allies

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The ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee raised concerns Tuesday about the US enabling ongoing human rights abuses in Africa. Noting recent acts of repression committed by US allies, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) asked State Department officials about American influence on the continent. He enumerated events that have taken place since the start of last year, and asked if American partners were getting a “free pass.” “In Ethiopia, they just had a parliamentary election, not a single opposition leader was elected. We have…

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Policymakers at Fed Clash on Interest Rate Hikes

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A pair of top ranking Federal Reserve officials recently made divergent assessments on the ideal trajectory of interest rates. New York Fed President William Dudley told The New York Times that the central bank should soon raise interest rates for the second time in a year. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, meanwhile, said that it could be better to encourage higher-than-normal inflation rather than hike interest rates. The Fed body that sets monetary policy, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), is scheduled to meet next…

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National Parks to Seek Out, Recognize Corporate Funding Under New Plan

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The National Park Service (NPS) is proposing a relaxation on rules governing corporate partnerships in a move that could see parks increasingly commercialized and dependent on the whims of private donors. Some park superintendents will be asked to help raise up to $5 million in individual gifts, according to the NPS proposal. In return, the service will allow the use of park names and imagery in corporate advertising campaigns. NPS will also allow the display of corporate logos in park infrastructure through “donor recognition.” NPS…

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Twitter Tells U.S. Spies to Do Their Own Data Analysis From Now On

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A firm granted special access to Twitter’s universe of data was instructed by the social media company to stop sharing information with US intelligence agencies, according to a report published over the weekend by the Wall Street Journal. The move effectively cuts off domestic spy outfits from data analysis conducted by the private firm Dataminr. The company sifts through countless tweets for breaking news, patterns, and other useful information on behalf of both private sector and government clients. In a statement to the WSJ, Twitter…

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Fracking Now Accounts for Two-Thirds of Gas Produced in U.S.

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Two out of every three cubic meters of natural gas produced in the United States is extracted from the earth via hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The Energy Information Administration said Thursday that the controversial technique now yields the vast majority of gas produced in the US. In 2010, fracked natural gas accounted for roughly half of all domestic production. “For decades, hydraulic fracturing had been referred to as an unconventional completion technique, but over the past 10 years it has become the technique by which…

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Lawmakers to Obama: Don’t Give Syrian Rebels Plane-Targeting Rockets

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A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to President Obama on Thursday, urging him to shoot down a report which claims that the CIA has planned to arm Syrian rebels with anti-aircraft weaponry. Led by Reps. John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Ted Yoho (R-Fla.), the lawmakers sent the missive in response to an April story in the Wall Street Journal. That article stated the CIA is considering providing vetted rebels with shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles known as MANPADS, if the fragile Syrian ceasefire breaks down further. The…

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C.F.P.B. Proposes Class Action Boost for Bank Victims

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A long-anticipated regulation proposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) aims to restore the ability of customers to sue misbehaving banks and credit card companies. The rule would prohibit so-called “forced arbitration” clauses, which firms have used to deny customers an opportunity to file class action lawsuits. Forced into one-on-one proceedings, cheated Americans are often over-matched by their corporate abuser’s legal resources, and unlikely to recoup any damages. “Signing up for a credit card or opening a bank account can often mean signing away your right to take the company to court if…

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Fed Proposes Rules to Prevent Lehman-Style Panic

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The Federal Reserve on Tuesday put forward a rule aimed at preventing “asset fire sales” like the one that preceded the global financial collapse of 2008. Firms that deal with the largest banks would be forbidden from canceling deals with them in the event of their bankruptcy, under the draft approved by the Fed’s Board of Governors. The hold on transactions would last for 48 hours. “The proposed rules we are considering today are important elements of the Board’s strategy to ensure our financial system…

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Ryan Fires Another Shot Across the Bow on Gitmo Closure

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The Speaker of the House gave a heads up to the administration on Tuesday, warning President Obama to lawyer up if he is thinking about closing the military prison at Guantanamo Bay without Congress’ permission. Speaker Ryan seized on comments made by the President in a radio interview on WMUR this week. Obama said he would prefer to work with Congress on a plan he submitted earlier this year to close the Gitmo facility, but noted he’s “going to look at everything.” “President Obama admitted…

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Sanders Wins Indiana, #NeverTrump Crowd Suffers Death Blow

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Indiana voters didn’t get the memo from the Democratic and Republican establishments on Tuesday, handing victories to the two candidates that make party leadership especially uneasy. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton by five points with nearly all the votes counted. The senator was buoyed by the state’s open primary rules, which allow independents to participate in the nomination process—a group that Sanders won with 73 percent of on Tuesday. Despite the victory, Sanders and Clinton are walking away from the…

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White House Follows C.I.A. Lead, Discredits 28 Pages Alleging Saudi Involvement in 9/11

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Administration spokesman Josh Earnest is changing his tune regarding the release of a classified portion of the congressional 9/11 report, just days after the Director of the CIA claimed the section should not be disclosed to the public. The 28 pages in question could implicate elements of Saudi Arabian society in assisting the hijackers, according to the reports’ authors. “Those 28 pages are essentially unvetted law enforcement and investigative materials,” Earnest told the press on Tuesday, reiterating statements made over the weekend by CIA Director…

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