| Tensions between president Rouhani and Iran's Revolutionary Guard spill into open Posted: 13 Jan 2020 09:14 AM PST  Tensions between the Iranian government and the Revolutionary Guard spilled into the open on Monday as the president's office accused the elite military force of misleading them over the accidental shooting down of a civilian airliner. As protesters took to the streets for a third consecutive day, allies of Hassan Rouhani, the democratically elected president, appeared to be directing the public's anger towards their more hardline rivals in the Revolutionary Guard. A spokesman for Mr Rouhani said the Revolutionary Guard had falsely told the president they were not involved as he tried to explain why Iran spent the first days after the crash denying any responsibility for the 176 deaths. "All relevant authorities had assured us that there had been no missile involved in the downing of the Ukrainian plane," said Ali Rabiei, the government spokesman. Meanwhile, a leaked recording appeared to show a Revolutionary Guard officer complaining that Mr Rouhani's administration was leaving them out to dry as they faced widespread fury over the downing of Flight PS752. Hassan Rouhani's government has been at odds with the Revolutionary Guard for years Credit: PRESIDENT OFFICE HANDOUT/EPA-EFE/REX The recording, published by the Iranian opposition site Pyk Net, purports to capture an unnamed Revolutionary Guard commander addressing a room full of his comrades and urging them to weather the political storm. "The statement by the government admitting the cause of air crash was disgraceful," he said. "The statement should not have blamed the entire Revolutionary Guard and could have just said it was the fault of one individual." The commander goes on to suggest that the government could have waited "two or three months" before announcing the real cause of the crash to allow the Guard more time to bask in public support after the killing of Qassim Soleimani and the missile barrage fired against US forces in Iraq. He added that the Rouhani administration was failing to show gratitude to the Revolutionary Guard for crushing anti-government protests late last year. Several hundred civilians, maybe as many as a thousand, were killed during the crackdown. "The November protests were caused by the Rouhani government but the Revolutionary Guard sacrificed itself and put them down, but this time the government is so passive in the face of the attacks on the Revolutionary Guard," he said. Iranians shout slogans against the government after a vigil held for the victims Credit: Photo by Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Gelare Jabbari, an Iranian state television anchor, also dramatically resigned from her post amid the outrage. "It was very hard for me to believe the killing of my countrymen. I apologise for lying to you on TV for 13 years," she said. Two female protesters were reportedly shot and wounded in Tehran on Sunday night while students staged a large protest on Monday on the campus of Sharif University in Tehran, widely considered one of Iran's top academic institutions. Netblocks, an internet freedom group, said the internet appeared to be partially cut off at Sharif University, in what appeared to be an attempt by authorities to stop news of the protests spreading. Tensions between the relatively moderate government and the more hardline Revolutionary Guard have been building for years as Mr Rouhani advocated diplomacy with the West, and Guard commanders called for continuing isolation. Javad Zarif, Iran's foreign minister, threatened to resign last year after Soleimani took his place in a meeting with Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian ruler. But faced with widespread public anger over the fate of Flight PS752 - and with parliamentary elections looming in February - the two sides appear to be at particularly bitter odds. "For Rouhani, I think this really represents quite a unique chance to get back at the Guard, the first since President Trump withdrew from the Iran deal, which invalidated Rouhani's strategy of negotiating with the West," said Michael Horowitz, head of intelligence at Le Beck geopolitical consulting firm. "The Revolutionary Guard have been gaining even more influence since the US withdrawal, and Rouhani will not pass this opportunity to discreetly hit the powerful Revolutionary Guards where it hurts."
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| Court Taps Lawyer Who Defended Carter Page Warrant to Advise FBI on FISA Reform Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:16 AM PST  Judge James E. Boasberg, head of the FISA court, appointed ex-Department of Justice official David Kris as an adviser to help review the FBI's handling of the Carter Page FISA warrants, which were exposed as deeply flawed by Inspector General Michael Horowitz last year.Kris, a frequent contributor to the left-leaning Lawfare blog and a former assistant attorney general in the Obama DOJ's national security division, has been an outspoken critic of President Trump's claims that a "deep-state coup" was orchestrated to undermine his 2016 election. He has also had extensive experience with the FISA Court, having served as an amicus curiae, or special adviser, since March 2016.Kris has also extensively defended the use of FISA applications to surveil Trump-campaign adviser Carter Page, telling MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in July 2018 that "it seems to me very likely that if we get below the tip of the iceberg into the submerged parts and more is revealed, it will get worse, not better" for Page, who was accused of being a Russian agent.Writing for Lawfare at the time, Kris took aim at Representative Devin Nunes's memo on the use of the Steele dossier in the FBI's FISA application process following the release of heavily-redacted FISA applications used to surveil Page. "Now we have some additional information in the form of the redacted FISA applications themselves, and the Nunes memo looks even worse," Kris wrote.Horowitz's report last month revealed that many of Nunes's claims were correct, including his allegation that the FBI knowingly omitted exculpatory evidence that Page was an informant for the CIA in its FISA application, and then doctored an email to reinforce the impression that Page was a Russian agent.Following the release of the report, Kris admitted that Nunes's "basic point that this behavior was highly irregular was correct." But he also slammed attorney general William Barr and U.S. attorney John Durham for undercutting "the absence of evidence of political bias in Crossfire Hurricane" after they announced that they didn't agree with Horowitz's conclusion that the probe was properly predicated."These FBI errors weren't political, the IG concluded," Kris wrote on Twitter, despite Horowitz himself admitting "we did not reach that conclusion" as to whether the FBI was unaffected by political bias during its 2016 Russia investigation.President Trump tweeted Sunday that Kris had "zero credibility" given his previous comments.> You can't make this up! David Kris, a highly controversial former DOJ official, was just appointed by the FISA Court to oversee reforms to the FBI's surveillance procedures. Zero credibility. THE SWAMP! @DevinNunes @MariaBartiromo @FoxNews> > -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 12, 2020Both Nunes and Page told the Daily Caller they were disgusted by Kris's appointment."It's hard to imagine a worse person the FISC could have chosen outside Comey, McCabe, or Schiff," Nunes (R., Calif.) said."If there were any hope for the system fixing this FISA mess, it extinguished with David Kris' appointment," Page added.Kris also postulated repeatedly that former special counsel Robert Mueller's probe into allegations of collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign would result in serious convictions."He's almost like a venture capital incubator who has spun out multiple lines of business," Kris said of Mueller ahead of the report's release — which found "no evidence of any collusion.""He's shown us an awful lot, and yet I think there's an awful lot more to come," Kris warned."I suspect that POTUS and his closest advisors are and should be worried that, depending on the evidence, Mueller's next steps will make it feel like the walls are closing in," Kris tweeted in July 2018.> I suspect that POTUS and his closest advisors are and should be worried that, depending on the evidence, Mueller's next steps will make it feel like the walls are closing in. 6/6> > -- David Kris (@DavidKris) July 13, 2018
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| 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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| Girl dead, boy missing after wave sweeps family out to sea on Oregon coast Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:08 AM PST |
| 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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| First case of mystery SARS-like virus found outside China Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:27 AM PST  A new virus from the same family as the deadly SARS disease has spread beyond China's borders for the first time with a case emerging in Thailand, UN and Thai officials said on Monday. Thai doctors diagnosed a Chinese traveller with mild pneumonia on January 8 later confirmed to have been caused by the so-called novel coronavirus -- which has already given rise to 41 pneumonia-like cases and one death in China. The outbreak has caused alarm because of the link with SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome), which killed 349 people in mainland China and another 299 in Hong Kong in 2002-2003.
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| Supreme Court rejects appeal in texting suicide case Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:05 AM PST  The Supreme Court on Monday left in place the conviction of a Massachusetts woman who sent her boyfriend text messages urging him to kill himself. Michelle Carter is serving a 15-month sentence after being convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2014 death of her boyfriend, Conrad Roy III. A judge determined that Carter, who was 17, caused the death of the 18-year-old Roy when she ordered him in a phone call to get back in his carbon monoxide-filled truck that he'd parked in a Kmart parking lot. The phone call wasn't recorded, but the judge relied on a text Carter sent her friend in which she said she told Roy to get back in.
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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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| 30 Bathroom Storage Solutions to Satisfy Your Inner Neat Freak Posted: 13 Jan 2020 08:05 AM PST |
| 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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| Trump says he 'saved' protections for pre-existing healthcare conditions — but he's actually tried shredding them for 3 years Posted: 13 Jan 2020 07:57 AM PST  Trump has tried dismantling Obamacare since 2017, first in Congress and now a GOP-led lawsuit that could yank health coverage for 20 million people.
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| 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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| U.S. confirms 'avoidable' death of Egyptian-American Kassem in custody Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:36 PM PST |
| 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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| 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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| 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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| 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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| 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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| The True Aim of the Gun Sanctuary Movement Posted: 13 Jan 2020 05:30 AM PST |
| European leaders issue defiant support for Iran nuclear deal after Trump tells them to drop 'foolish' agreement Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:21 AM PST  France, Germany, and the UK issued bullish support for the Iran nuclear deal despite President Donald Trump telling them to walk away from it.
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| Tom Steyer had a rough endorsement interview with The New York Times Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:05 AM PST  There are many ways to describe Tom Steyer's interview with The New York Times — the same interview every presidential candidate is going through in hopes of receiving the paper's 2020 endorsement. And with the billionaire ending his interview admittedly "upset," well, "rough" might just be an understatement.Steyer, the oft-donor to Democratic politicians, starts the interview on a less-than-perfect note. He's asked about "policy breakdowns that have led to there still being Americans who are hungry today," and meets it with an "um." It's an admittedly tough question, and Steyer says he'll start by discussing "where people are living" before stumbling to "young people." He eventually recovers to discuss the charitable program he built with his wife.Things get a little snippy when Steyer is asked if "running for president is the best use of your wealth?," given that the money he's planning to spend on his campaign could fund an estimated five Senate campaigns. "As I'm sure you know since you work for The New York Times and have done your research," Steyer testily begins before describing his voter registration effort NextGen America.By the end of the interview, Steyer is admittedly "upset" after being asked what he'll likely "fail at as president." He says he's trying to "make sure I keep my temper" and "keep my self-discipline because otherwise I'm going to get very mad," but then calls the Times a "fancy newspaper" that talks to "fancy people," suggesting it's out of touch with what's happening "around this country." Steyer then declares "I'm not sitting here just running my mouth," and the interview ends before the Times can even ask about his tie.More stories from theweek.com Former Rep. Chris Collins recommended for 57-month prison term for insider trading charges White House expects Republican senators to join Democrats in vote to call impeachment witnesses Bernie Sanders fires back on CNN report saying he told Elizabeth Warren a woman can't be president: 'Ludicrous'
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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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| 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-U.S. Treasury employee pleads guilty to leaks linked to Russia probe Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:17 PM PST |
| Iraq in Talks to Purchase Russian Missile Defense System amid Soleimani Fallout Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:06 AM PST  The Iraqi ambassador to Iran said on Monday that the country is in negotiations to purchase the Russian S-300 missile defense system.Iraq has sought to purchase such a system from Russia since 2017, but has been held back by pressure from the U.S. Turkey has purchased the S-400 system from Russia, a move that caused considerable tension between the country and the Trump administration."It's possible that Iraq will buy the [S-300] system," said Iraq's ambassador Saad Jawad Qandil, adding that it was part of a push to diversify the country's military.The killing of Soleimani "clearly shows the need for Iraq to improve its air defenses," said Igor Kurushchenko, a member of the Russian defense ministry general council, in comments to The National, a Dubai-based outlet. "Iraq must be able to protect itself from missiles fired from the US and Iran."The negotiations continue after the U.S. airstrike at Baghdad International Airport on January 2 that killed senior Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani. The strike came just days after Soleimani orchestrated a violent riot outside the American embassy in Baghdad and, according to administration officials, was timed to prevent an "imminent attack" on U.S. forces in the region.In response to the strike, Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi has repeatedly called for U.S. forces to leave the country. The U.S. State Department has dismissed Mahdi's proposal.The Iraqi Parliament passed a non-binding resolution on January 5 calling for all foreign troops to leave Iraq, but almost half of the body's lawmakers didn't show up to the vote, including representatives of Sunni Arab and Kurdish voters.The Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, signed by President Trump in 2017, allows the U.S. to impose sanctions on countries that complete "significant transaction[s]" with Russian defense bodies. Iraq is currently bound by a strategic agreement to the U.S. that allows the American military to maintain a significant presence in the country.
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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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| 'Inequality in a nutshell': AOC says the Dow's record high is meaningless for many Americans Posted: 13 Jan 2020 03:34 PM PST  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued in a tweet on Saturday that a record high for the Dow Jones industrial average underlined the problem of stagnant U.S. wages and the wealth gap between investors and salaried workers.
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| Iranian official tells Trump not to 'dishonor' Persian language by tweeting in Farsi Posted: 13 Jan 2020 11:44 AM PST  President Donald Trump has kept up the social media component of his maximum-pressure campaign against Iran.
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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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| Injured baby right whale given grim prognosis after 2nd look Posted: 13 Jan 2020 01:02 PM PST  An endangered newborn right whale spotted with grievous injuries to its head off the Georgia coast is unlikely to survive, though scientists may try to inject the calf with antibiotics using a syringe fired from an air gun if they can safely get close enough, government experts said Monday. Foggy weather along the coast was delaying efforts to locate the wounded baby whale and its mother by plane Monday. "If you talk about an animal having an uphill climb, this one has a climb up Mt. Everest," said Barb Zoodsma, who oversees the right whale recovery program in the U.S. Southeast for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
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| Human Rights Watch head denied entry to Hong Kong ahead of report launch Posted: 12 Jan 2020 09:33 AM PST  The global head of Human Rights Watch said he was denied entry on Sunday to Hong Kong, where he was scheduled to launch the organization's latest world report this week. Kenneth Roth, the group's executive director, said he was blocked at Hong Kong airport from entering for the first time, having entered freely in the past.
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| Pakistan court annuls Musharaff's death sentence Posted: 13 Jan 2020 05:01 AM PST  A Pakistan court on Monday annulled the death sentence handed to former military ruler Pervez Musharraf, ruling a special court which found him guilty of treason last year was unconstitutional, a government prosecutor told AFP. The original ruling had marked the first time a former leader of the armed forces had faced such a sentence for treason in Pakistan, where the military maintains strong influence and senior officers are often considered immune from prosecution. It caused huge controversy, with Musharraf -- exiled in Dubai -- slamming it as a "vendetta", and the military expressing its disappointment.
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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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| 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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| 'Collateral damage': Canadian CEO says 'narcissist' Trump to blame after Iran downs Ukraine airliner Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:11 AM PST  "I am very angry, and time isn't making me less angry," tweeted Maple Leaf Foods CEO Michael McCain, whose colleague was killed on the downed flight.
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| 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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| U.S. troops describe 'miraculous' escape at Iraqi base attacked by Iran Posted: 13 Jan 2020 01:29 PM PST  Troops at the Iraqi air base that bore the brunt of Iran's first direct missile attack against U.S. forces said they were shocked by its intensity and grateful to emerge unscathed.
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| Lawyers ask Georgia panel to spare condemned man's life Posted: 13 Jan 2020 08:30 AM PST  Lawyers for a Georgia man set to be executed this week want the state parole board to convert his sentence to life without the possibility of parole, arguing that's what the jury would have chosen if given the chance. Jimmy Fletcher Meders, 58, was convicted of murder and sentenced to die for the October 1987 killing of convenience store clerk Don Anderson in coastal Glynn County. The board is the only authority in Georgia that can commute a death sentence.
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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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| Microsoft CEO Nadella says saddened by India's citizenship law: BuzzFeed Posted: 13 Jan 2020 02:16 PM PST  "I think what is happening is sad, primarily as sort of someone who grew up there... I think it's just bad," Nadella told https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/pranavdixit/microsoft-ceo-satya-nadella-harshly-criticizes-indian-law BuzzFeed at a Microsoft event in Manhattan. Nadella grew up in Hyderabad, a technology hub in India that is home to the biggest Microsoft research and development center outside of the United States.
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| Taiwan's anti-Beijing election could result in a more forceful China Posted: 13 Jan 2020 09:23 AM PST  Don't expect China to be deterred after Taiwan's pro-independence President Tsai Ing-wen secured her re-election in a decisive victory over pro-Beijing challenger Han Kuo-yu on Saturday despite China's efforts to sway the vote.Tsai has pointed to the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong as a possible future for Taiwan should China refuse to scale back its attempts to interfere with Taiwan's governance. But experts think China and its President Xi Jinping may be emboldened by Saturday's results."This administration of Xi Jinping, but I would say more broadly the DNA of the Communist Party, does not do well to reflect and recalibrate in a way that signals reconciliation, compromise, or what they would frame as weakness," Jude Blanchette, the Freeman Chair in China Studies at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, told Reuters. "I thoroughly expect that the conversation right now in Beijing is about turning the screws even more."A Monday editorial in the Chinese state-backed Global Times said "we need to plan to crack down on Tsai's new provocative actions, including imposing military pressure."Zheng Zhenqing, a Taiwan expert at Beijing's Tsinghua University, agreed that military coercion is a "realistic" tactic for China. "For the mainland, 'one country, two systems' is a basically policy of the state," he said. "How can it be changed because of just one election on Taiwan?" Read more at Reuters.More stories from theweek.com Former Rep. Chris Collins recommended for 57-month prison term for insider trading charges White House expects Republican senators to join Democrats in vote to call impeachment witnesses Bernie Sanders fires back on CNN report saying he told Elizabeth Warren a woman can't be president: 'Ludicrous'
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| Journalist falls for 'drop bear' prank as she dons protective gear to handle cuddly koala Posted: 13 Jan 2020 10:16 AM PST |
| 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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| Puerto Ricans hoping Trump signs major disaster declaration Posted: 12 Jan 2020 10:39 PM PST  Four thousand people are still in shelters and many others are sleeping outside after yet another earthquake on Saturday.
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| 'Shouldn't have to marry a sugar daddy': Teachers, outraged over pay, rally in Florida capital Posted: 13 Jan 2020 03:21 PM PST  Florida is 26th in the nation for starting pay for teachers. Teachers rallied in Tallahassee Monday over their salaries and money for schools.
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| America Should Be Wary Of A China-Japan Naval Showdown Posted: 12 Jan 2020 07:00 AM PST  It could escalate out of control.
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