Datasets:
Recag
/
C4_26

Dataset card Data Studio Files
xet
Community
1
text
stringlengths
12
57.6k
Bardos, prior to joining the office of Senate President Haridopolos in early 2011, had worked since 2005 for the Florida law firm of GrayRobinson as an attorney specializing in governmental affairs.
Bardos’ former colleague, GrayRobinson attorney Fred Leonhardt, is currently on the board of directors of the FCoC, of which he was the former chair. Leonhardt is a member of Enterprise Florida, Inc., a “public-private partnership” that works as the economic development arm of the state.
Another director of Enterprise Florida is former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense (R-Panama City). Bense is the present chairman of FCoC, who derives a large portion of his annual income from a company he co-owns: GAC Contractors, Inc. As reported on his 2009 statement of financial interests (filed pursuant to his membership on the board of the quasi-public Enterprise Florida), Bense held nearly $5 million in GAC asssets, much of which was money earned from contracts to repair state and federal highways.
In addition to his FCoC, GAC and ABC connections, Bense is chair of the Florida-based, Koch-funded, ALEC-member public policy foundation, the James Madison Institute (JMI). FCoC baord member Leonhardt serves on the JMI board with Bense.
When asked why the FCoC was so deeply concerned with protecting the paychecks of public employees (to the point where FCoC top lobbyists were drafting legislation to such effect), FCoC Director of Public Affairs Edie Ousley declined to comment.
Both HB 1021 and SB 830 died in their respective chambers following pressure exerted on the FCoC by public employee union members.
According to materials obtained through a public records request, news of a large-scale opposition action made its way back to Dorworth in the form of an e-mail from Ousley, with the terse subject line “here’s the issue.” That e-mail contained a press release from a coalition of unions known as Floridians Outraged at the Chamber of Commerce’s Attack on Workers, which read in part: “Wednesday, April 20…Workers respond to attacks from the Chamber of Commerce… Labor organizations and members withdrew close to $10 million in funds from the Chamber’s largest banks.” The press release went on to indicate that the group was prepared to issue further “wave(s) of withdrawals” and other actions.
Weeks later, on May 7, the bills’ sponsors withdrew both bills from legislative hearings calendars.
In my opinion, ALEC is doing very well. Education is the primary right of every person in the state since birth and if someone help in this regard, he/she must be appreciated. Resident of this world must take care of this world as their own home. We all must keep an eye on our environment quality. Good environment give good health to the livings. I would like to strongly vote to ALEC.
It's not going to go away, but at this time The State, anywhere above the municipal level, where some examples of sane government still exist here and there, is so hopelessly befouled by corruption and incompetence that it is best to just stay out of its way, and depend on it for as little as possible. Only when the working class and underclass take responsibility for defending their own interests as vigorously as the elite do theirs will any real change come. The sooner we stop believing that the government can solve our problems, the sooner real solutions can be found. This is fascism, as defined by Mussolini, pure and simple, and the arcane "left vs. right" paradigm allows for a divided populace to be conquered and ruled. If we don't get serious about our rights, we won't even be allowed to have these online debates anymore.
That's all true terrible. But until we stop pretending that our elections are legitimate, how seriously can you expect me to take their complaints about thieves? bradblog.com good reports about our rigged elections, and is more important than partisan sniping. You are supporting a ruling, the hopelessly compromised system. Stop monitoring the truth. Testking 000-108 Fox is bad enough. Do not join them.
Every other organization asks their members of voluntarily contribute. Rotary or Elks or Shriners don't deduct dues off your paycheck. With electronic banking it is dead simple for union members to have their dues come out of their bank accounts like condo dues or mortgage payments or car loan payments. The union members fill out one form and its done. There is absolutely no reason for dues to come straight off a paycheck.
That's all real terrible stuff. But until you stop pretending our elections are legitimate, how seriously can you expect me to take your complaints about the usurpers? bradblog.com reports well on our fake elections, and is more important than partisan sniping. You're supporting a failed, hopelessly compromised system. Stop monitoring the truth. Fox is bad enough. Don't join them.
How could I have forgotten John Kasich? Piyush Jindal in Louisiana tried to sell off four state prisons to ostensibly raise funds for Medicare, but even the very Republican legislalture wasn't buying. Kasich tried to do him one better by selling off five state prisons to the corrupt for-profit operators. The Kochs also have propaganda factories in virtually every state, pretending to be "research" non-profits, churning out mendacious public relations. Calling themselves variously "institutes" or "foundations," they include Buckeye (OH), Allegheny and Commenwealth (PA), the Kansas Policy Foundation, Heartland Institute (IL), Mackinac Center (MI), Rio Grande (NM), Heritage (DC), Independent, Reason and Cato (CA), etc. Three are 85 in all, operated by Koch whores, and they are joined by various academics from around the U.S., either individually, or as departments or institutes within universities (i.e., the Mercatus Institute at George Mason U.).
Another astounding investigative piece from Beau Hodai! Why can't the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post do this sort of work? They certainly have the budget and the talent, but those mountains groan and bring forth mice. One of the Koch's prime objectives is to keep poor people, working class and lower middle class people, but particularly union members, away from the polls. If workers don't vote in their own interests, the Kochs can buy politicians so much more cheaply. Here's part of the list of their recent gubernatorial purchases, all with anti-union legislation, prison privatization, pension fund destabilizaton, deregulation of workplace and environmental safety, etc. Wisconsin: Scott Walker Florida: Rick Scott Michigan: Rick Snyder New Jersey: Chris Christie Pennsylvania: Tom Corbett Kansas: Sam Brownback South Carolina: Niki Haley Arizona: Jan Brewer Maine: Paul LePage Holdovers include: Louisiana: Piyush Jindal Mississippi: Haley Barbour Indiana: Mitch Daniels Essentially, anyplace you find more one of the key items on the Koch brothers "to do" list becoming a gubernatorial priority, you can find their direct and indirect contributions to campaigns: Anti-union (i.e., ending collective bargaining or dues checkoff) Anti-regulaltion (ending oversight on investments, environmental safeguards, etc.) Anti-tax (their bottom line) Anti-voter (i.e., "Real I.D. acts) Money comes from therm personally (David H. and/or Charles de Ganahl Koch and Richard Fink), from their corporations (Flint Hills refineries, Georgia Pacific paper and lumber, Koch Industries, etc.), and through their "independent" front groups, for media buys for candidates, ballot measures, etc. (Americans for Prosperity, Forward America, the Tea Party, Club for Growth, Citizens for a Sound Economy, etc.).
Canonical is privately beta testing a DRM-free Ubuntu music store, slated to debut with the Lucid Lynx distro in late April.
According to an Ubuntu wiki FAQ, the Ubuntu One Music Store will offer DRM-free and watermark-free MP3s provided by the London-based online music outfit 7digital. The store will integrate with the existing Ubuntu RhythmBox music player, and at some point, it will also be available as a plug-in for Banshee, Amarok, and "a few other" third-party applications.
The existing Jamendo and Magnature music services will remain part of RhythmBox. "These are both great sources for creative commons and open licensed songs. The Ubuntu One Music Store extends the catalog of music available to Ubuntu users and will include mostly songs from minor and major label artists," the FAQ reads. "These are songs that you typically find on the shelves of your favorite record shop...except in a downloadable format."
Songs will generally use 256 kbps (or higher) MP3 encoding. You may also find some encoded in the WMA format, but Ubuntu is working to remove them and doesn't recommend purchases. WMA is Microsoft's Windows Media format.
A drunken reveler tried to set fire to a nightclub in the Chuvashia republic over the weekend after being refused entry by security guards, police said Monday.
"The man didn't pass face control, security didn't even let the drunken man into the building," Chuvashia police said in a statement on their official website, without naming the suspect. "So he decided to have fun in another way."
The Novocheboksarsk resident ran into the foyer of the nightclub and sprayed a five-liter canister of petrol over the floor of the premises while holding out a cigarette lighter, the statement said.
The 27-year-old man was then knocked from his feet before being detained by police. At the time, there were almost 600 people in the nightclub, police said, adding that the man admitted his guilt.
The reveler, who said he "simply wanted to scare the security guards and those visiting the nightclub," faces up to five years in prison on charges of attempting to deliberately damage property.
Police investigating a large Sydney park brawl before Sydney FC's A-League match against Melbourne Victory intend to charge more people and have them banned from games.
Four Victorian men have so far been charged over the Ward Park brawl at Surry Hills on Friday, which involved around 30 people and allegedly the use of road works equipment as weapons.
Superintendent Allan Sicard said the charged men were part of a group of 15 people in the Allianz Stadium stands identified as possibly being linked to the incident.
"We are working closely with the A-league and Sydney Cricket Ground Trust to identify who these other people are," he told reporters on Saturday. "With the intent of pursuing criminal charges and also with the intent of banning them from future A-League games."
A Football Federation Australia spokesperson said the group would consider its own action including whether people should be put through the banning process.
Sup Sicard said the charged men supported the one team but it's thought fans from both sides were involved in the fight.
The three 18-year-olds and one 19-year-old arrested at the game after video analysis was used were granted conditional bail to appear in court at various dates in April.
A 24-year-old man, who was seated with the four charged, was searched and found to be in possession of a small amount of ecstasy.
He was given a court attendance notice for possession of a prohibited drug.
Sup Sicard said there was no violence during the game and that the alleged brawlers represented a "small group" of fans that wanted to make trouble.
The behaviour was "totally unacceptable for any street, any town, any community", he said.
Dissatisfied consumers are forcing advertising and marketing execs to overhaul their outdated strategies. In this opinion piece, Noah Abelson the CEO and co-founder of ShareRoot, a Silicon Valley-based marketing tech firm that’s listed on the ASX, argues that brands need to seriously re-think their marketing strategies.
The way users connect with brands is evolving rapidly. In an advertising landscape over-saturated with irrelevant content, consumers are increasingly using ad-blockers to escape the grim reality of boring advertising that means nothing to them.
With the mass consumer movement towards ad-blockers, brands must seriously re-think their marketing strategies. In my opinion, this isn’t a bad thing.
Necessity is a catalyst for change and dwindling ad revenues, tough consumers and the peak in ad-blocking software use means the industry’s in dire need of a necessary wake up call.
No longer can brands rely on pop-ups and banner ads. Some of the more innovative players have cottoned onto this and they’re introducing really creative strategies, like real estate site Domain’s recent launch of a messenger bot so consumers can view property information via Facebook messenger.
Similarly, Uber’s introduced “big bot” integration with Facebook messenger as a part of its mission to be “everywhere”.
Not traditional advertising by all means but brand omnipresence is arguably the best way to sell its service, so it’s an inventive and effective attempt. Unfortunately, we’re also seeing the opposite. Organisations threatened by the consumers’ push-back against traditional advertising are hastily adopting anti ad-blocking software, forcing consumers to view ads to access site content.
Internationally in France – Le Monde, L’Equipe, Le Parisien – and here in Australia – SBS Demand and Ten’s streaming sites -, a number of organisations will no longer allow consumers to view streaming content if they have ad-blockers in place.
This is a disappointing race to the bottom, where the only losers are the consumers. It will further alienate customers and that’s hardly a viable long-term solution. The widespread adoption of ad-blocking software – 55 per cent of millennials already use ad-blockers – should be sending a message: it’s time to change the ads, not punish consumers.
I’m not saying all brands should follow Uber and Domain’s lead, but they should certainly start to think outside the box when it comes to connecting with consumers.
In the media space, Buzzfeed and Junkee have banned display advertising. Both companies feature only native content advertising (for Junkee, this already made up more than half its revenue prior to its new ban on display) or user generated content (UGC).
For example, Junkee has previously launched a campaign in collaboration with Singapore Airlines that saw four aspiring writers travel overseas at the airline’s expense to write content for the site.
This shows an innovative flair. Given peers, family and friends outrank even bloggers and influencers as trusted sources of content, why not collaborate with the peers of your customers and use the outcome as advertising?
Yes, this is a creative example, but top-notch advertising and marketing that resonates with consumers doesn’t have to involve a partnership between a big name brand and a major publisher.
My company works in the UGC space and we’ve had some interesting findings. We provide a platform for businesses and brands to connect with consumers through which brands request access to users’ social posts and use them in marketing campaigns.
In perhaps the strongest demonstration of the potential of UGC, 50 per cent of contacted users permitted brands to use their content.
People actually want to engage with advertising that is relevant to them, i.e. produced by their peers, family or friends. According to Nielsen, 92 per cent of users trust recommendations from peers – it’s less intrusive and it’s tailored to interests.
It’s becoming clear that to keep up with today’s consumers, brands need to use UGC and other innovative strategies to retain consumers’ attention. But let’s not celebrate too soon, while it’s great to see brands connecting with consumers in new and novel ways, far too many are falling into the frustrating anti ad-blocking trap.
Organisations and brands are shooting themselves in the foot if they force consumers to view ads. With a huge range of options and a quick click of the mouse, fickle consumers can simply look elsewhere for content.
Instead, let’s push for the innovative strategies that empower consumers to contribute to more meaningful advertising and marketing content.
Canada's foreign policy follows rules of guanxi, but does it work?
OTTAWA—Prime Minister Stephen Harper did his duty to Canada’s business community last week, flying to China to glad-hand senior members of the Chinese Communist Party and presiding over the inking of deals.
But now that the belief trade would bring rights and rule of law to China has proven false, how to move forward? Canadian businesses face state-sanctioned IP theft, China is still jailing Christians, and the People’s Liberation Army was even bold to show off new military hardware designed for conflict with our closest ally, the United States, when world leaders were there for the recent APEC summit.
Is there anything Canada can do to steer China in a better direction, or must our dealings there keep benefiting a regime believed to kill prisoners of conscience in order to sell their organs?
Some experts, like Charles Burton, believe there is very little Canada can do because we don’t have much leverage over the Chinese regime.
“Canada is a relatively minor player and they are able to obtain what they want from us from other countries,” said Burton, a professor at Brock University widely held as one of Canada’s foremost China experts.
He’s not sure there is a way to approach China that would move the needle on human rights or the rule of law while balancing the needs of Canadian prosperity. But he also believes Canada can’t keep silent over widespread abuses and reports of forced organ harvesting.
“If we don’t speak publicly, it looks like we are giving tacit consent for regime behaviour that we don’t approve of,” he said.
That’s the risk Harper faces every time he’s in a staged photo-op with Chinese officials. Burton believes the government is aware it could be legitimizing the regime with state visits and the media coverage surrounding them.
“I think it’s something that we’re very hesitant to do, because Canadian values don’t support the kind of values that uphold that regime,” he said.
The challenge for Harper is that any move to speak publicly about human rights brings on a tirade of criticism from Canada’ China business lobby.
Those companies have made sizeable investments to move manufacturing to China, or set up joint ventures with Chinese firms on promises of market access. They’re also counting on Chinese demand to offset dependence on the U.S. market for our natural resources. The last thing they want is a prime minister upsetting their hard-won gains in China.
Punishment can be arbitrary in China, and the rules don’t apply evenly. Relationships are everything.
But a bit over 10 years ago he was in China, working the angles for the American business community.
Gutmann was a senior counsellor at APCO, the premier public affairs firm in Beijing. It’s basically a guanxi company, he said. Guanxi is the Chinese idea of building relationships you can use to get favours.
APCO would lobby officials, build relationships, and partake in the usual disguised forms of bribes which are important tools of influence—all in the name of guanxi.
The problem is, it only works for businesses. When applied as a general approach to foreign affairs, it translates into Canada kow-towing to China and never raising a fuss about espionage, copyright violations, or that the Chinese regime is torturing people for their beliefs.
Canadian companies don’t see any of that as their responsibility. They want their government to get them access and protection, and guanxi is how it’s done.
But even guanxi won’t get the regime to go against its own interests, said Gutmann. He learned that when APCO lobbied Beijing on IP rights and counterfeiting. The cadres he spoke to pledged dramatic reforms.
Absorbing the IP and technical know-how from foreign companies is critical for the regime’s long-term economic and military development. By promising reforms, it keeps foreign investors appeased, but the regime has never had much interest in curtailing a practice seen as critical to its own economic fortunes.
And even though rule of law would help foreign companies in China, it is seen as a far-off solution, and they have immediate investments they need to recoup, including sunk costs building up guanxi with the current Chinese leadership, said Gutmann.
One of the few tools Canada has, given its rather generic exports and relatively small market, is its reputation. Gutmann calls it a powerful tool if used to embarrass the Chinese Communist Party.
While Burton thinks Canada has relatively little sway in China, Gutmann gives Canada a little more weight. He thinks conferring legitimacy or withholding it matters to the CCP.
The Chinese regime is “is very concerned about perception, particularly for domestic purposes, and they look to Canada as an ethical or moral weathervane of the world in a sense,” he says.
Unfortunately, he adds, Canada has given its blessing far too easily, and with few strings attached.
That said, Harper’s ploy to skip APEC stirred urgent requests for his attendance from the Chinese leadership for exactly that reason, argued Burton in a recent op-ed.
It may be that Harper was withholding his presence to secure the release of Kevin and Julia Garratt, the two evangelical Christians who ran a coffee shop near the North Korean border arrested on allegations of espionage in August.
Regardless of the opinions of the business community, Burton thinks raising human rights or other matters is unlikely to hurt trade, and export figures back him up.
Former Canadian Ambassador to China David Mulroney argued in a Globe and Mail op-ed in July that Canada needn’t be so timid about speaking up about the ongoing problems.
“Chinese officials are not afraid of frank talk. I was summoned for finger-wagging lectures whenever the Chinese government wanted to send a tough message to Ottawa. China’s ambassador to Canada typically gets the kid gloves treatment. He’s a tough and experienced professional. If we’re angry, he needs to feel our pain,” he wrote.
Mulroney was arguing that Canada should engage China, but with its eyes open and its self-interest firmly front and centre.
But thinking also about the how Chinese people are affected by our trade or how we confer legitimacy on the CCP isn’t beyond reason, suggests Gutmann.
“The first step is not to pretend you are balancing trade and human rights by following what business dictates,” he said.
Vintage Trouble brought their much talked about live show back to The Tonight Show with Jay Leno for the second time in three months yesterday, captivating audiences with an impressive performance of their new song "Pelvis Pusher." Watch HERE.
Vintage Trouble's world tour continues with upcoming performances at Coachella, Glastonbury and Rock In Rio, a Japanese headlining run and The Who's European Tour. The band will continue their run of US headlining shows in August. Dates below.
NPR's Mountain Stage will air a performance by the band on May 10. Visit http://www.mountainstage.org/mtnstagebroadcast.aspx for more details.
"Imagine James Brown singing lead for Led Zeppelin, and you'll get an idea of Vintage Trouble's muscular, in-the-pocket sound."
"Even before the Who hired them, Vintage Trouble were rocketing toward success ... what separates VT from a copycat soul revue is its muscle ... Ty Taylor's exhortations and yowls [are] reminiscent of the kind Brown, Joe Tex and Wilson Pickett once unleashed."
"Endlessly endearing--not to mention energizing."
Visit www.vintagetrouble.com for tour dates, videos and more.
The state of Palestine on Wednesday was officially welcomed as a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in a move many hope will be the first step toward justice after the prolonged occupation and last summer’s attack by Israel.
During a ceremony at the Hague in the Netherlands, Palestinian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Riad Al-Malki was presented the Rome Statute to symbolize the state becoming the 123rd party to join the court, which is charged with prosecuting the most serious crimes of concern to the international community..
Now that Palestine has become a sworn member of the court, the ICC has the authority to probe and prosecute alleged war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem.
Ahead of their formal joining, the Palestinian government on January 1 lodged a declaration, granting the court jurisdiction over events dating back to June 13, 2014 in order to cover the 2014 war in Gaza. On January 16, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened a preliminary examination into the situation.
The 2014 war in Gaza killed an estimated 1,500 civilians, including over 500 children. Further, more than 100,00 Palestinian homes, as well as hospitals and other critical infrastructure, were destroyed.