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Gary's past of abuse and violence nearly got him killed. But then he turned to God, enrolled in classes, and embraced a new purpose.
Famed skater Scott Hamilton redefines winning and discusses the value of failure.
People live in a world of relationships.
When one hears "relationship," that person may think boyfriend, spouse or girlfriend. Alan Semrow's latest book seeks to expand one's understanding of what a relationship actually is.
Ripe: Letters is a collection of missives to menactual men, fantasy men, men Semrow knows, men Semrow wished he'd known. Beginning with a letter to "Birthday Guy," Semrow immediately invites the reader deeply into his own life. His description of a liaison the morning of his birthday is honest and says exactly what many others might think but never admiteven though this is a one-off meeting, they really like the guy.
Semrow's letters seem to grow in maturity right along with him. Later, we meet the "Great White Buffalo." Whoever this man is, Semrow is smitten and although their time together is notably brief and long-distance, he acknowledges it with the same kind of respect often accorded long-term relationships: "Even if it was the last time, it was the perfect ending." Semrow gives respect to his feelings and candidly admits that yes, he may have fallen in love and that's okay.
"I noticed the moments we share with people," Semrow told Windy City Times. "Many men I know could be very flippant about their one-night stands, but I just didn't see that as being realistic." Semrow admitted that he could not disregard others in that way, saying, "We are going to have those real moments. They should be humanizing and vulnerable."
Semrow added, "Even in very brief interactions with another, you have some kind of feeling. This collection of letters is just how I felt."
The inspiration for Ripe was not a singular event, saying, "I had read Dear Mr. You by Mary-Louise Parker, a book where she writes letters to the men in her life that have changed and influenced it, and I liked that style." Semrow acknowledged that after his first book he felt misunderstood and out of place, "I wrote three books in between my first book, Briefs, and Ripeand none had what I wanted." Semrow found that letter-writing seemed easier than typical prose or a novel. "I wrote a letter for Chosen Magazine and the editor, Christopher Hyde, encouraged me to go with them," he said. "So I did."
When asked if the men who anonymously appear in Ripe would be reading the letters, he said, "They are aware of it and will likely be reading them," adding as a joke, "Here's my Taylor Swift song." Yet, Semrow's work is nothing like a Taylor Swift song. They are positive tributes to men who have made an impact on his life during a time of significant self-discovery. Ripe's narrative arc follows a man looking for his voice. Both the author of these letters and Semrow himself seem to have found it.
Ripe: Letters is currently available on Amazon. Alan Semrow's work can also be read at ChosenMagazine.com .
Despite healthy exports the rising cost of importing foreign oil caused the US trade deficit to widen 7.8% in April to 60.9 billion US dollars, the largest for 13 months.
London has been named the most influential financial centre in the world for the second consecutive year in spite of competition from fast rising hubs in Asia, according to MasterCard's second annual survey.
Canada's GAP Adventures is set to re-launch its polar expedition programme following the purchase of a replacement for the sunken Explorer ship, according to a company release.
Argentina's Supreme Court accepted competence on the sliding export taxes on grains and oilseeds question, which triggered the farmers' conflict, and will consider a demand presented by an Argentine province which argues they undermine federal taxes co-participation, according to Justice sources quoted in Buenos Aires La Nacion.
The Falkland Islands' economy is flourishing and its future promises even greater potential. This was the encouraging assessment given by Falklands Councillor Mike Summers at the Falklands Government annual reception in London marking the anniversary of liberation from the 1982 Argentine invasions and restoration of democracy.
Boosted by strong exports of agricultural commodities and domestic demand for communications services the Uruguayan economy expanded 10.9% in the first quarter of this year, compared to the same period a year ago.
Public opinion perception and expectations about the Argentine economy are currently going through the most serious declination since the Kirchner couple first reached government in 2003.
FULL agreement has been reached between the Falklands Legislative Council and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the content of the new Falklands draft Constitution, announced Councillor Mike Summers in London this week.
Blumhouse Productions will produce eight feature thrillers exclusively for Amazon–and none of them will be helmed by the people who almost always get the job.
Producer Jason Blum is making good on his promise to hire directors who aren’t white males. On Wednesday, it was announced that his film and TV production company, Blumhouse Productions, made a deal with Amazon Studios to produce a series of eight feature-length thrillers that will all be made by “underrepresented” filmmakers. That includes Asians, African-Americans, women, and essentially any demographic that veers from the typical résumé of a Blumhouse writer and director: white dude.
The news comes a few weeks after Blum found himself in hot water over comments he made when asked in an interview about the absence of female directors in projects from his company, which include the horror hits The Purge, all three of which were written and directed by James DeMonaco; Jordan Peele’s Oscar-winning Get Out; and the latest installment of Halloween, directed by David Gordon Green.
At the Fast Company Innovation Festival in October, Blum again addressed the issue–this time sitting on stage next to Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke–reiterating that he’d been misunderstood and saying that “I would like to work with more” female directors.
Salke came to his defense, interrupting him mid-sentence to say, “We have to be careful about going after people who are defenders. He’s a friend of this movement.
Salke went on to say that at Amazon, as at NBC when she was head of programming there, she makes gender parity in front of and behind the camera a priority. She’s even brought over the pilot program she started at NBC, Female Forward, which creates a pipeline for female directors. Since joining Amazon earlier this year, she has inked deals with the likes of Nicole Kidman, Blake Lively, and Jordan Peele.
No writers or directors have been hired yet for the Blumhouse Amazon series. But the idea is that all eight of them will be thematically connected and will be exclusive to the platform. They will also only be available for streaming, although Amazon doesn’t typically–unlike Netflix–give films a theatrical release. This presumably gives the films, and the filmmakers, more creative freedom, and less pressure to rack up box office grosses.
WASHINGTON (JTA) — The Democratic Party platform drafting committee is top heavy with veterans of political battles over Israel — some friendly, some critical, and including at least one major backer of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The Democratic National Committee named the committee on Monday, a day after reports emerged that Bernie Sanders, an Independent senator from Vermont running for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, wants the platform to elevate the issue of Palestinian rights.
Sanders, the first Jewish candidate to win major party nominating contests, named five of the committee’s members, while Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state and front-runner in the party’s presidential primaries, named six. The remaining four were named by the DNC’s chairwoman, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., among the most prominent Jewish leaders in the party.
Among the six Clinton backers is Wendy Sherman, the former deputy secretary of state who was a lead negotiator in the Iran nuclear talks. Sherman, who has spoken lovingly of her involvement in Jewish life in suburban Maryland, was wounded by the tough criticisms of the deal from Israel’s government and centrist pro-Israel organizations.
Another Clinton appointee is Neera Tanden, the president of the Center for American Progress who last year hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at an event, stirring controversy among progressives who objected to his strident opposition to the Obama adminsitration’s Middle East policies.
“Hillary Clinton’s views on Israel and the U.S.-Israel relationship are well documented and she’s confident that her delegates will work to ensure that the party platform reflects them,” said Jake Sullivan, a senior policy adviser to the candidate.
Another of her picks is former Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., who is also close to the pro-Israel community. Berman shepherded through far-reaching Iran sanctions in 2010 when he was chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee.
Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., also a Wasserman Schultz pick, has been critical of Israel in her career, joining 59 House members, including Ellison, in a letter after the 2009 Gaza War urging the Obama administration to pressure Israel to allow increased humanitarian relief into the strip. She also joined Ellison in speaking against a resolution condemning the 2009 U.N. report on the war, which was reviled by Israel’s government and the mainstream pro-Israel community.
Wasserman Schultz also named Bonnie Schaefer, the former CEO of Claire’s, the mall jewelery chain, and a philanthropist who is involved with the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the Weizmann Institute of Science.
All four of the Congress members on the drafting committee – Cummings, Lee, Ellison and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., a Clinton appointee – are endorsed by the political action committee affiliated with J Street, the liberal Middle East policy group.
Is the focus on “global warming” immoral?
Are we ready for an attack on the power grid?
Report: So, that Chevy Volt still isn’t doing too hot, is it?
Huh. That’s an — er — unique business model you’ve got there.
Another green-tech stimulus recipient going under?
It takes years to recoup the upfront costs.
Plus, a reminder from Ramirez.
Shocking. Another electric car recall.
Now that we’ve finally gotten over the colossal disappointment known as NBC’s Heroes, we can criticize the show without wanting to ram our fists into television screens. Aside from our qualms with Ali Larter’s lack of skin-bearing moments, our biggest complaint about Heroes remains this: Why did the producers put so much investment into a one-note actor like Ventimiglia? Looking at his limp IMDB profile, we’re guessing that movie casting agents have asked themselves the same question. His exit-at-35 wouldn’t exactly crash the Internet’s busiest gossip blogs. Well, maybe a few Milo Ventimiglia fansites would hit code-red, but those haven’t been updated since Heroes was cancelled, anyway.
President Pervez Musharraf, in a move long feared by opponents, imposed emergency rule Saturday, plunging the country deep into political crisis and drawing swift condemnation at home and abroad.
Musharraf, an army general who seized the presidency in a coup eight years ago, but has seen his grip on power falter in recent months, wasted little time in asserting his broad new authorities.
He sent troops into the streets, expelled Pakistani Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry and jammed private TV channels that have been critical of his rule. Telephone service in Islamabad, the capital, was cut shortly after the announcement of the emergency.
The declaration suspends Pakistan's constitution and throws into doubt elections that had been set to occur by mid-January.
The U.S. was quick to condemn Musharraf's actions.
"The U.S. has made clear that it does not support extra-constitutional measures, because those measures would take Pakistan away from the path of democracy and civilian rule," U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told reporters while traveling from Turkey to Israel Saturday. Musharraf's step came days before an expected Supreme Court ruling on whether his election last month to a new presidential term was valid. Opponents said the vote should be thrown out because Musharraf, under the constitution, was not eligible to run while serving as chief of the army.
In recent days, Musharraf's aides had appeared to lay the groundwork for an emergency declaration, citing intensified attacks by Islamic militants in the volatile area along the Afghan border, together with a spate of suicide bombings in major cities. Critics said Musharraf was looking for a pretext to assume emergency powers in case the court ruling went against him.
Word of the declaration of emergency rule came in a terse announcement on official Pakistani television.
"The chief of the army staff has proclaimed a state of emergency and issued a provisional constitutional order," a grim-faced newscaster announced.
Witnesses reported that military vehicles patrolled Islamabad's main avenues and blocked roads including Constitution Avenue, leading to the Supreme Court building. At least some of the Supreme Court justices were believed to be inside the compound.
Musharraf has been considered a crucial U.S. ally since his decision, in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, to break with the radical Taliban movement and side with the United States in the war against Islamic militants including al-Qaida. But many observers have questioned the depth of his commitment to fighting the radicals.
Pakistan's political scene has been increasingly tense in recent weeks. Former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto returned from eight years in exile, greeted by a devastating attack on her homecoming procession that killed more than 140 people.
Bhutto and Musharraf have been in power-sharing talks. But analysts said the emergency declaration would make it difficult, if not impossible, for Bhutto, who advocates a return to civilian rule, to cooperate with Musharraf.
Bhutto quickly flew back to Pakistan from Dubai, where she had been visiting family .
Police said they were readying security for Bhutto's arrival and the drive to her house.
The United States and other Western nations had urged Musharraf not to assume emergency powers.
Musharraf has conducted large-scale roundups of political opponents, and his foes feared that mass arrests were inevitable. "GOING INTO HIDING," one said in a text message sent moments after emergency rule was declared.
Before going off the air, private GEO television reported that Aitzaz Ahsan, a Musharraf critic and the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, had been taken into custody.
A declaration of emergency, which is similar to martial law, gives the government the right to suspend basic civil liberties. Judges also can be required to take a new oath of office, swearing allegiance to the regime.
Opposition parties expressed shock and condemnation over Musharraf's move.
The party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who was deported when he tried to return to Pakistan in October, denounced the emergency rule declaration and vowed to resist it.
The Supreme Court immediately issued a ruling, signed by seven judges, saying that the government did not have grounds to declare an emergency.
Taipei, April 13 (CNA) Taiwan's wetlands need to be better protected, as unstable populations of black-faced spoonbills have been recorded in recent years in the country, the main wintering destination for the endangered species, conservationists said Saturday.
According to the 2019 International Black-faced Spoonbill Census, 2,407 black-faced spoonbills overwintered in Taiwan this year, an increase of 212 from last year, with the global population of the species breaking 4,000 for the first time to reach 4,463.
While it is a remarkable conservation success for the migratory bird worldwide, its population in Taiwan remains lower from the peak in 2017, when there were 2,601 of the birds, according to the Taiwan-based Chinese Wild Bird Federation, which is responsible for the bird counts in Taiwan.
Fluctuations in the populations in Taiwan suggest a bottleneck in conservation efforts, especially as the country is seeing shrinking wetland areas, said Lee Yi-hsin (李益鑫), secretary-general of the federation.
The wetlands along Taiwan's southwestern coast are major habitats for the bird, which is included on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a globally endangered species, Lee said.
However, development projects in those areas, including an expansion of the Hsinta Power Plant in the Yongan Wetlands in Kaohsiung, and road developments in the city's Cieding Wetlands, could put the bird's habitats at risk, he said.
Lee cautioned against overdevelopment in areas where various migratory waterbirds overwinter.
According to the annual census, Taiwan's black-faced spoonbill population accounted for 53.9 percent of the global population, with Tainan, Chiayi and Kaohsiung in southwestern Taiwan their main habitats.
Among the 2,407 birds observed in Taiwan, 1,572 (65.3 percent) were spotted in Tainan, mostly in the Qigu and Sicao wetlands, with 488 (20.3 percent) in Chiayi's Budai and Aogu wetlands, as well as 245 (10.2 percent) in Kaohsiung, respectively, the data shows.
The census, launched in 2003 to monitor the species whose population once dropped to under 300 in the 1980s, was conducted Jan. 26-27 in countries in East and Southeast Asia, including Japan, China, Thailand and the Philippines.
WASHINGTON — The envelope declared that the 90-year-old man in suburban Fairfax County, Va., had won $2.5 million in a sweepstakes and that he needed to send in only some small “fees” and “taxes” to collect. When the man from Jamaica kept calling to tell him that he needed to cover only a few more “costs” to collect the jackpot, the man thought that was reasonable. And send money he did.
When the man”s adult children tried to intervene, telling their father he was being scammed, he went around them. At one point, at the children”s request, U.S. postal inspectors intercepted an envelope from the man bound for Jamaica. Inside: a cashier”s check for $18,000.
The children said they think they have stopped about $40,000 from being sent by their father. The 90-year-old is not being named here because he is the victim of a crime, and because investigators do not want others to prey on him.
Inspector Jeanne Graupmann has a thousand stories just like this. From a set of hidden offices behind the suburban regional post office, Graupmann and about two dozen other investigators for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service track fraud from around the world that involves the mail and winds up in Northern Virginia.
The office also investigates mail theft, identity fraud, mortgage fraud, dangerous mailings and other crimes involving the Postal Service.
Lately, those most often targeted are the elderly, Graupmann said.
Once you respond to a phony sweepstakes or lottery mailing, almost always from another country, your name goes on a list that is circulated among other devious schemers in the underworld, Graupmann said. The veteran inspector has spent hours with victims, trying to convince them that they shouldn”t send money to Nigeria or Canada or Jamaica.
“They don”t believe me,” she said. “They believe the scammer,” who might have spent weeks or months on telephone calls and mailings to convince the victims that their money is well spent elsewhere.
So the Postal Inspection Service is trying to alert the adult children and grandchildren of the elderly to monitor the mail and the spending habits of their parents or grandparents before their life savings disappear. Key points to remember: By law, sweepstakes cannot charge any fees in this country, and if someone is receiving a lot of sweepstakes mailings, something is wrong.
Postal inspectors also try to investigate the source of fraud schemes. In 2005, Graupmann traveled to Nigeria to meet with government officials. In addition to finding numerous cyber cafes with nearby money transfer shops, Graupmann found legitimate printing companies that reopened late at night to print tens of thousands of mailings, including high-quality counterfeit checks and postal money orders.
Although legitimate money orders and checks often have embedded security features to defeat counterfeiters, the scam artists are trying to match that technology. Graupmann showed a recent phony U.S. Treasury check, with watermarks, that looked amazingly real.
Although banks are well aware of the schemes, front-line tellers often can”t catch a counterfeit check, Postal Inspector Brian Vranizan said. The check might be cashed, but when the originating bank receives the phony check, it calls foul. And the cashing bank then comes back to the customer, often weeks later, demanding its money back.
Vranizan said this is a particular problem with online services such as eBay or other places where people send checks after winning an auction or agreeing to buy an item. The seller receives the check and cashes it. Vranizan said many scam artists insist on receiving their items by next-day mail, so they can nab it before the check bounces.
People who meet through online chats, games or services also are susceptible to scams when the person they have only e-mailed or messaged starts asking for money. Graupmann told of one person who had sent thousands of dollars to an online friend in Africa and was found waiting in vain for hours for the friend to arrive at an airport.
But sweepstakes mailings remain surprisingly successful for scam artists. Graupmann said inspectors found that one sweepstakes had mailed 10 million notifications in which winners had to send a $20 check for processing costs. Experts estimate that 5 percent of recipients might respond to these.
In the case of the Fairfax man, his son found “voluminous mailings” in his parents” house, “maybe 20 to 40 a week.” And in looking at caller ID on his parents” phone, he saw that his father had received 20 calls in one day from Jamaica.
Trump signed the ‘Forever GI Bill.’ Here are 11 things you should know.
President Trump signed the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017 into law Wednesday. The new "Forever GI Bill" marks a significant expansion of veterans' education benefits.
Editor’s note: An older version of this article misstated when VA will change the way it uses time in service to calculate GI Bill eligibility. This provision will go into effect in August 2020. The story has also been updated to clarify changes to the Survivors’ and Dependents’ Educational Assistance Program and the start date of the STEM scholarship.
President Trump has just put his signature on a new law that will bring significant changes to education benefits for service members, veterans and their families.
The legislation known as the “Forever GI Bill” garnered strong bipartisan support in Congress, passing unanimously in both the House and Senate.
“Today our commitment to support and care for the men and women who have served our great nation has been reinforced with the signing of the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017,” Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., chair of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, said in a statement. “This legislation will enable veterans to use the education benefits they’ve earned through the GI Bill when and how it suits them best, setting them up for future success in whatever career they pursue.
Here are 11 things you should know about the new GI Bill benefits.

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