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Sam Knight - page 54

Sam Knight has 859 articles published.

Fed Grants Workers Reprieve — Delays Interest Rate Hike

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its intentions to pump the brakes on expected key interest rate increases. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee revealed that in June it decided global economic headwinds and less-than-ideal levels of unemployment should decrease the possibility of an imminent hike. It singled out fixed investments and net exports as having “stayed soft.” “The Committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen some further improvement in… Keep Reading

Saudis Can Immediately Cancel Impact of US Export Ban, Reed Gets A.E.I. Witness to Admit

The ban on US crude oil exports has recently become a particularly hot button issue, with Iran, the Islamic State and the conflict in Ukraine adding increased geopolitical importance to energy and petrodollars. But as a Democratic member of the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday teased out of a Republican witness, the impact of any reversal is at the mercy of Tehran’s foremost regional adversary—a country that moved to harm global competitors last year by drastically upping its output. “I have already argued that lifting… Keep Reading

Cecil The Lion Act? House Committee Passed Global Anti-Poaching Bill in June

The killing of a lion in Zimbabwe by a Minnesota dentist that sparked worldwide outrage this week is something Congress could use to pass legislation with 65 cosponsors that has already been advanced by the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The panel last month approved of the Global Anti-Poaching Act, a bill introduced in May by Committee Chair Ed Royce (R-Calif.). The Congressional Budget Office scored the legislation on Tuesday–the same day that news of Cecil the Lion’s slaying went viral. The proposal, the CBO predicted,… Keep Reading

Kerry: Dropping Bombs “The Easiest Decision in the World” if Iran Violates Nuke Deal

Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday flogged the Obama administration’s militarist credentials, stressing that the President is prepared to use force if Iran flagrantly violates the nuclear deal it signed with the permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany. Kerry made the remarks before the House Judiciary Committee, while stressing his belief that the agreement, if implemented, will prevent the longtime US adversary from secretly acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities. “President Obama is the only president who has actually commissioned the development of… Keep Reading

Discontent Index Ends Four Month Slide in April

The District Sentinel Discontent index increased in April for the first time in 2015, ending a downward trend that had started in December. The measure increased slightly to 105.01 from a post-2008 collapse low of 104.89. The uptick was largely caused by a gain in Consumer Discontent that did more than neutralize a decline in Labor Discontent. Driving the Consumer Discontent gains were a drop in the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index and a slight decrease in the weekly wage earnings of non-supervisory workers. Labor… Keep Reading

The District Sentinel’s Social Network

Here’s information about our new social network. We’ll be using a platform called Your Priorities for our first iteration of the network—the beta version of our website. An online deliberation-by-committee tool developed by activists in Iceland in the wake of the country’s infamous 2008 financial collapse, Your Priorities is an award-winning open source program that has been used by parliamentarians, city councilmembers, and other public servants to engage with citizen stakeholders. It has been used by: The city of Reykjavik, to allocate about 2 million… Keep Reading

Obama Admin Boosts T.P.P. Membership for Slave Labor Hotbed

The State Department has greased the wheels for Malaysia to join the Trans Pacific Partnership after it upgraded the country’s status in the agency’s annual report on human trafficking. The tier two designation–which, along with the report, was revealed on Monday—was made despite the fact that the State Department itself concluded that Malaysia does not meet “the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.” “The government increased investigations and prosecutions, but obtained only three trafficking convictions—a disproportionate number of convictions compared to the large scale… Keep Reading

Bid to Cut $1.7 Billion for Victims of Mortgage Crisis Thwarted By Senate Revolt

A move to pay for part of a transportation funding bill by cutting almost $2 billion in aid to states most impacted by the 2008 financial collapse was thwarted after senate leaders faced opposition from the rank-and-file. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday acknowledged the resistance and announced “one additional modification” to the bipartisan deal. “It removes provisions that would have terminated the $1.7 billion Hardest Hit Fund mortgage program,” he said. “Several senators on both sides of the aisle–and in particular, Sen.… Keep Reading

Congressional Republicans Lining Up Multiple Backdoor Attacks on Net Neutrality

Senate Republicans voted on Thursday to advance an appropriations proposal that would hobble President Obama’s Net Neutrality regulations. The GOP-controlled Senate Appropriations Committee marked up a financial services spending bill with a policy rider that would stop the Federal Communications Commission from using the rules to dictate what internet service providers can charge customers. It would also only allocate $320 million to the FCC–$20 million less than what the commission received last year from Congress. Although the FCC has said it has no intention of… Keep Reading

“Our Negotiators Got An Awful Lot” — Crucial Undecided Senator Praises Iran Deal

The ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday lavished praised upon the results of the Iran nuclear deal, despite being unsure if he will support it. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), who is being intensely lobbied by both opponents and supporters of the agreement, lauded the efforts of US envoys during the first major oversight hearing examining the final deal. “Our negotiators got an awful lot,” he said in his opening statement, also remarking that critics made claims about the draft agreement that were… Keep Reading

Dem Reps Call For Justice Department to Probe Sandra Bland Death

Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Al Green (D-Texas) on Wednesday asked the Justice Department to investigate the death of Sandra Bland, a black activist who was found dead on July 13 in a Texas prison, days after being arrested during a routine traffic stop. The pair issued the call following the public release of surveillance footage of her July 10 arrest in Waller County, just outside of Houston. Green appealed for federal intervention from the floor of the House, while Jefferies sent a tweet simply… Keep Reading

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