Conservative Blogger
Friday, March 20, 2015
Student group demands California university rename building after convicted cop killer
A black student organization at the University of California at Berkeley is demanding the university rename a building on campus after Assata Shakur, a former Black Panther, convicted cop killer and the first woman named to the FBI's Most-Wanted Terrorist List.
A jury convicted Shakur of killing a New Jersey State Trooper in 1979. She escaped prison and fled to Cuba. The FBI calls her a domestic terrorist. In 2013, the agency added her to the FBI's Most Wanted Terrorist List, alongside several members of Al Qaeda, airline hijackers and bombers.
But to the Black Student Union at Berkeley, Shakur is an "icon of resistance within oppressed communities (who) represents black resilience in the face of state-sanctioned violence." They demanded the university rename Barrows Hall, named after former Chancellor David Barrows, "Shakur Hall." In 2013, Shakur declared her innocence and called her trial in 1979 a legal lynching by an all-white jury. Shakur, formerly known as Joann Chesimard, belonged to the Black Liberation Army at the time of the shooting.
"We want the renaming for someone -- Assata Shakur -- who we feel like represents us as black students," said Black Student Union spokesman Cori McGowens. "Black students on campus have a feeling of isolation, marginalization. We're at a crisis on campus."
The renaming of Barrows Hall is just one of 10 demands the Black Student Union delivered to Berkeley Chancellor Nick Dirks last month.
They're also demanding a meeting place solely for black students, $300,371 for two black admissions staff focused on black recruiting, $113,932 for another staffer to handle black retention, two black psychologists who understand the "racially hostile campus," two black advisers to mentor black athletes and a fully-funded 'Get into Graduate School' mentoring program.
"I came to Berkeley and I thought that it was a progressive liberal environment, but the N-word was written on the dorm wall and my white professors were openly using the N-word," said senior Blake Simons. "So that's part of my experience here is feeling marginalized."
University officials met with the groups last week. While not agreeing to honor Shakur, Chancellor Dirks did apologize, saying, "Too many (black) students have told us about being excluded from study groups, ignored during class discussions, verbally harassed at parties and social events, and feeling, in a general sense, vulnerable, isolated and invisible. This is something we deplore."
African-American students at Berkeley already have 33 campus organizations dedicated to their well-being, from fraternities and sororities, to a African Theme Program, an African American Studies Department, an African Arts Society, a Black Campus Ministries, Finance Guild and Pre-Law Society.
But that isn't the point, say students.
"We definitely need more resources for underrepresented minorities on campus," says senior Amanda Burke. "I know personally people who suffer micro-aggressions on a daily basis at Cal and it's something that's kind of gone ignored by a lot of people."
Some black students cite a mock lynching last year at one fraternity. However, a police investigation later revealed the hanging effigy on Halloween was meant to be a zombie, not an African-American.
Still, McGowens said it was difficult to succeed academically because of the anti-black atmosphere.
"There are a lot of black students that apply --get into Cal -- who don't want to come for that reason," he said. "Because the environment isn't welcoming. It isn't safe for black students. So we feel like as black students we are the most marginalized on campus."
After Chancellor Dirks "defaulted" on the group's March 6 deadline, the Black Student Union said it would "persevere" until they get what they "deserve."
Of UC Berkeley's 36,000 enrolled students, roughly 3 percent are black, 40 percent are Asian, 30 percent are white and 13 percent are Hispanic. By comparison, the statewide population is 7 percent black, 14 percent Asian, 37 percent Hispanic and 42 percent white.
Hawaiian tropic: Are Obamas privately eyeing Magnum, P.I. home?
Magnum, P.I. is not on the case, but plenty of amateur sleuths are trying to figure out if the mysterious buyer of the Hawaiian mansion where the 1980s detective show was shot is none other than President Obama.
The 11,054-square-foot home on three acres of Honolulu beach front was sold Monday for $8.7 million in a tricky transaction that includes some tantalizing clues. The official buyer is listed as "Waimanalo Paradise," which turns out to be a Delaware corporation set up by a Chicago attorney and longtime Obama supporter. The deed and mortgage are signed by Judy Grimanis, an executive assistant at a a Chicago private equity firm run by another Obama pal, and a former employee of Penny Pritzker, the real estate millionaire Obama tapped to be Secretary of Commerce in 2013.
“It is hard to imagine a president living there."- Linda Ryan, Magnum, P.I. actressNo one is confirming that the home known as "Pahonu" will be the First Family's post-Pennsylvania Avenue address, but then no one would be expected to, either. The Obamas own a home in Chicago, but recent reports have said they may relocate to New York when his second term ends. Hawaii, however, where the president lived his teenage years, has been a recurring vacation spot for the Obamas since moving to Washington.
A spokesperson for the administration would only say they had no comment because the President is not a party to the transaction.
Pahonu is one of Oahu's most recognizable properties, even if it is a fixer-upper at this point.
“It is hard to imagine a president living there,” Linda Ryan, who appeared on several episodes of the show, told FoxNews.com.
Related Image
Actor
Tom Selleck, (l.), starred in the hit 1980s show Magnum, P.I., on which
Linda Ryan appeared several times. Now there is speculation the Obamas
are the buyers of the spectacular estate where the show was set. (Linda
Ryan, AP)
“It’s gone into disrepair since Magnum P.I. days. It’s an 80-year-old house that has not been cared for for a while – an $8 million fixer upper,” said Michael W. Perry, Hawaii’s most well-known radio personality of KSSK’s Perry & Price Show. “However, it is a great area, between Sea Life Park and Kailua, with the most spectacular views you can possibly get. If the place was good enough for Magnum and his friends, then it is definitely good enough for a President.”
Waimanalo Paradise was formed Feb. 6 with the help of Chicago lawyer and Obama supporter Seth Madorsky, who specializes, according to his web site, in commercial real estate and counseling real estate investors, real estate investment funds and sponsors on capital investment and the formation of joint ventures to develop, own and operate commercial real estate.
Grimanis, now an executive assistant at The Vistria Group, signed the deed and $9.5 million mortgage, a larger amount than the sale price and one which could allow for repairs or security upgrades befitting a retired leader of the free world. Martin Nesbitt, founder of Vistria, served as national treasurer for Obama’s two presidential campaigns and is a board member of the Barack Obama Foundation. One more possible clue is that the realtor who brokered the deal is Joel Cavasso, the same realtor who helped facilitate the rental of the so-called “Winter Whitehouse” in Kailua, where the President has stayed while on Oahu.
Scott Carvill, principal broker of Carvill Sotheby's' International Realty, who sold one of the $10 million homes that Obamas’ friends rent while in Hawaii with the First Family, said the beachfront properties in the area are coveted.
“Waimanalo and windward Oahu have some of the best beaches in Hawaii sought by people all around the world," Carvill said.
The home was purchased from former Republican state representative and environmental activist, Eve Anderson, a well-known figure in the political and windward communities, who is the step-daughter of Cox Communications heiress Barbara Cox Anthony. Anderson’s grandfather was the original owner of the property.
Ryan recalled shooting five episodes of the show, but said filming was done outside the house, and all interior scenes were shot in a studio. Still, she remembers the home fondly.
“It was a beautiful setting and an exquisite property,” Ryan said.
There may be security concerns, however, should the President live at the home, because it sits on the heavily-trafficked Kalanianaole Highway and on a public beach and is easily accessed from either.The home is just five minutes from the popular Sea Life Park, Makapuu Beach and Makapuu Light House trail, popular tourist attractions.
The surrounding Waimanalo community, home to many native Hawaiians, is diverse in terms of income of its residents, with some of the state’s most impoverished people living just behind some of the island’s wealthiest.
While no official ties to the Obamas have been confirmed, because all people involved in the transaction reportedly signed confidentiality agreements, analysts speculate this could be a similar deal to one hatched on behalf of the Clintons, whose 11-room Dutch Colonial home in Chappaqua, N.Y., was purchased for $1.7 million in 1999 with the help of Clinton's chief fund-raiser, Terry McAuliffe, now the governor of Virginia.
Judge: Sanctions possible in Obama immigration court case
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A federal judge who has blocked President Obama's immigration executive action suggested on Thursday that he could order sanctions against the Justice Department if he rules it misled him about when exactly the administration began implementing one of the measures.
During a sometimes testy court hearing, U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen went back and forth with the Justice Department over whether it had mislead him into believing that a key part of Obama's program would not be implemented before he made a ruling on a request for a preliminary injunction. In fact, federal officials had given more than 108,000 people three-year reprieves from deportation before that date and granted them work permits under a program that protects young immigrants from deportation if they were brought to the U.S. illegally as children.
Obama's executive actions would spare from deportation as many as 5 million people who are in the U.S. illegally. Many Republicans oppose the actions, saying only Congress has the right to take such sweeping action. Twenty-six states led by Texas joined together to challenge them as unconstitutional. Hanen on Feb. 16 sided with the states, issuing a preliminary injunction blocking Obama's actions.
Hanen chided Justice Department attorney Kathleen Hartnett on Thursday for telling him at a January hearing before the injunction was issued that nothing would be happening with regard to one key part of Obama's actions, an expansion of the 2012 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, until Feb. 18.
"Like an idiot I believed that," Hanen said.
A flustered Hartnett repeatedly apologized to Hanen for any confusion related to how the reprieves and work permits were granted.
"We strive to be as candid as possible. It truly became clear to us there was confusion on this point," she said.
Hartnett continued to insist that the 108,081 reprieves had been granted under 2012 guidelines, which were not stopped by the injunction, and that government attorneys hadn't properly explained this because they had been focused on other parts of the proposed action.
But Hanen pointed out that the 2012 guidelines only granted two-year reprieves and that three-year reprieves are being proposed under the program now on hold.
"Can I trust what the president says? That's a yes or no question," Hanen asked.
"Yes your honor," Hartnett replied.
The states asked that Hanen consider issuing sanctions because Justice Department attorneys had made "representations (that) proved not to be true or at a minimum less than forthcoming," said Angela Colmenero, a lawyer with the Texas Attorney General's Office, the lead attorney for the states.
Colmenero said the three-year reprieves that were granted might have caused the states economic harm as the states may have already issued various benefits, including driver's licenses, to immigrants who received a reprieve.
"There is absolutely no basis for sanctions here," Hartnett said. "The government is absolutely trying to do the right thing."
Hanen said he would issue a ruling "promptly" on what action, if any, he will take against the Justice Department.
The federal government has asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans to lift Hanen's injunction while the case is appealed.
The other states seeking to block Obama's orders are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Iran nuclear talks reportedly hit snag over lifting of sanctions as Obama makes appeal to Iran's people
A dispute over when international sanctions against Iran would be lifted following a potential nuclear agreement reportedly is the latest issue to bog down negotiations.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Iran's negotiators say that sanctions must be lifted almost immediately after a deal is concluded. U.S. and European diplomats, for their part, hold that sanctions should only be lifted once Tehran accounts for its past nuclear activity and is confirmed to be using nuclear energy for peaceful means by the United Nations' nuclear watchdog.
One European diplomat was quoted by the Journal as saying there was "no way" Western negotiators would budge from their position, which the diplomat said the Iranians considered a "deal-breaker. They don't want it at all."
According to the paper, both sides believe that the U.S. and European Union can lift some of the sanctions each has unilaterally imposed on Iran's energy and finance sectors. However, the issue of lifting sanctions imposed by the U.N. is more complex and according to negotiators, is likely to take years, not weeks or months, to accomplish.
For its part, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says that Iran has failed to turn over key documents about its nuclear program, and has also denied access to scientists and nuclear sites.
Both sides are working to meet a March 31 deadline to construct the framework of a permanent agreement. The final deadline for all the details to be worked out is June 30. On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met face-to-face for the fourth straight day in Lausanne, Switzerland.
The Associated Press reported late Thursday that elements of a draft deal had been agreed that would commit Iran to a 40 percent cut in the number of machines it could use to make an atomic bomb. In return, the Iranians would get quick relief from some crippling economic sanctions and a partial lift of a U.N. embargo on conventional arms.
Officials told the AP that the tentative deal imposes at least a decade of new limits on the number of centrifuges Iran can operate to enrich uranium, a process that can lead to nuclear weapons-grade material. The sides are zeroing in on a cap of 6,000 centrifuges, officials said, down from the 6,500 they spoke of in recent weeks.
That's also fewer than the 10,000 such machines Tehran now runs, yet substantially more than the 500 to 1,500 that Washington originally wanted as a ceiling. Only a year ago, U.S. officials floated 4,000 as a possible compromise.
It's unclear how complete the draft is. Iran's deeply buried underground enrichment plant remains a problem, officials said, with Washington demanding the facility be repurposed and Tehran insisting it be able to run hundreds of centrifuges there. Iran says it wants to use the machines for scientific research; the Americans fear they could be quickly retooled for enrichment.
A planned heavy water reactor will be re-engineered to produce much less plutonium than originally envisioned, relieving concerns that it could be an alternative pathway to a bomb. U.S. officials believe they can extend the time Tehran would need to produce a nuclear weapon to at least a year. Right now, Iran would require only two to three months to amass enough material to make a bomb.
President Barack Obama appealed directly to Iranian citizens in a message commemorating Nowruz, the Persian New Year.
"Our negotiations have made progress, but gaps remain," Obama said Thursday in a video message posted online.
"If Iran's leaders can agree to a reasonable deal, it can lead to a better path — the path of greater opportunities for the Iranian people," he said.
The pressure in Congress on the administration over Iran remained intense, with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee saying he would move ahead with legislation giving lawmakers a say over any nuclear deal. And 360 House Republicans and Democrats — more than enough to override any presidential veto — sent a letter to Obama saying if an agreement is reached, Congress will decide on easing sanctions it has imposed.
"Congress must be convinced that its terms foreclose any pathway to a bomb, and only then will Congress be able to consider permanent sanctions relief," the lawmakers wrote.
Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told administration officials at a hearing Thursday that Congress cannot be marginalized and "any attempts to sidestep Congress will be resisted on both sides of the aisle."
Thursday, March 19, 2015
New rift opens between Obama, Netanyahu after election victory
After staying mum on Israeli issues in the run-up to the election, the White House on Wednesday broke its silence -- answering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory with fresh criticism and making clear that a new rift has opened between U.S. and Israeli leaders, this time over Palestinian statehood.
In its first public response to Netanyahu's election triumph, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Obama still believes in a two-state solution. This was after Netanyahu, shortly before the vote, reversed his stance and stated he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state.
Earnest acknowledged Wednesday that the U.S. would have to "re-evaluate" its position on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in light of those comments. But he stressed that Obama believes a two-state solution is best. And State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki clarified that the administration "absolutely" will continue to push for this.
Further, Earnest chided Netanyahu's Likud Party on Wednesday, saying the White House was "deeply concerned" about divisive language emanating from Likud. He said the party had sought to marginalize Israel's minority Arabs, an apparent reference to social media posts the Likud distributed that warned Israelis about the danger of high turnout by Arab voters.
"These are views the administration intends to convey directly to the Israelis," Earnest said.
While tensions have flared for years between the two leaders, the last several weeks have seen their relationship further fray.
In the run-up to the election, Netanyahu took a hardline stance on the two issues on which his government and the Obama administration are most intertwined -- Iran nuclear talks and the seemingly far-off prospects for an agreement with the Palestinians.
Netanyahu pronounced earlier this week he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state -- something which not only Obama supports but is a key demand of the Palestinians for any peace agreement.
Netanyahu also infuriated the White House early this month when he delivered a speech to the U.S. Congress criticizing an emerging nuclear deal with Iran.
Secretary of State John Kerry and other international negotiators are scrambling to reach the framework for an Iran deal by the end of the month. Netanyahu, though, has warned that the details he's seen provide for Iran to eventually pursue a nuclear weapon years down the road, and has urged the U.S. to scrap the pending deal.
With the victory of his Likud Party, Netanyahu is stronger-positioned to keep making that case on the international stage -- and needle Obama administration efforts to etch an agreement with Tehran.
Earnest said Wednesday that Kerry has called to congratulate Netanyahu. Obama has not yet, but will in the coming days, according to Earnest. A day earlier, he insisted that Obama has "no doubt" that the strong U.S.-Israel bond will endure "far beyond this election" no matter the result.
But David Axelrod, a former top adviser to Obama, tweeted overnight as returns were coming in: "Tightness of exits in Israel suggests Bibi's shameful 11th hour demagoguery may have swayed enough votes to save him. But at what cost?"
Speaking on CNN on Wednesday, White House Director of Political Strategy David Simas congratulated the Israeli people -- but notably, not Netanyahu personally.
"We want to congratulate the Israeli people for the democratic process of the election they engaged in with all of the parties that engage in that election," he said. "As you know the hard work of coalition building now begins. Sometimes that takes a couple of weeks and we're going to give space to the formation of that coalition government and we're not going to weigh in one way of the other except to say that the United States and Israel have a historic and close relationship and that will continue going forward."
Indeed, Netanyahu's next step would be to build a coalition government.
With nearly all the votes counted, Likud appeared to have earned 30 out of parliament's 120 seats and was in a position to build with relative ease a coalition government with its nationalist, religious and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies.
The election was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu, who has governed the country for the past six years. Recent opinion polls indicated he was in trouble, giving chief rival Isaac Herzog of the opposition Zionist Union a slight lead. Exit polls Tuesday showed the two sides deadlocked but once the actual results came pouring in early Wednesday, Likud soared forward. Zionist Union wound up with just 24 seats.
Even before the final results were known, Netanyahu declared victory and pledged to form a new government quickly.
"Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud," Netanyahu told supporters at his election night headquarters. "I am proud of the people of Israel, who in the moment of truth knew how to distinguish between what is important and what is peripheral, and to insist on what is important."
Netanyahu focused his campaign primarily on security issues, while his opponents instead pledged to address the country's high cost of living and accused the leader of being out of touch with everyday people.
While his victory may rattle the Obama administration, conservatives worried about the Iran talks saw Netanyahu's election as a strong sign.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who is weighing another presidential bid, said in a written statement that "it is time for the U.S. government to stand with Israel once again." He told Fox News on Wednesday that Netanyahu has a clear "mandate" and argued this is good not only for the U.S. but also other Middle Eastern countries worried about the prospect of a nuclear Iran.
"The worst thing that can happen is to trust Iran," Huckabee said.
Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who also is flirting with another Republican presidential bid, likewise said in a statement Wednesday that, "It is my great hope that our next President will be able to stand side-by-side with Israel and Prime Minister Netanyahu" to "defeat this Radical Islamist enemy and ensure Iran never develops a nuclear weapon."
First government-owned pot store opens in Washington state
The city of North Bonneville, Wash. -- population 1,000 -- sits along the Columbia River a stone’s throw from one of the world’s largest hydroelectric dams. On the other side of the Columbia River Gorge is the state of Oregon.
It may seem an unlikely place for the nation’s first city-owned marijuana shop, which opened Saturday. The Cannabis Corner sold $8,000 worth of pot on the first day.
“The economy has been tough for everybody, for small towns like this, it’s been especially tough,” said North Bonneville Mayor Don Stevens. “And I think after people got over the initial shock of how we were going about it, they realized that what we’re doing is trying to create new revenue streams at a time not a lot of them are available.”
Dubbed the "marijuana mayor" by detractors, Don Stevens has been smoking pot since he was a sophomore in high school. When Washington state voters legalized the drug in 2012, Stevens got the City Council to form a Public Development Authority for the sole purpose of selling pot, pipes and marijuana-infused edibles. All the business profits from The Cannabis Corner will now be kicked back to City Hall.
Residents did not get a vote on the move, which has plenty of opposition.
“I think it’s sad for the city,” said Skamania County Sheriff Dave Brown. “I think it’s sad for the county and the residents, and I think it’s sad for society as a whole.”
While it’s legal for adults to buy marijuana and consume it in private, it is illegal to carry it across the state line. But in the course of one hour, Fox News saw half of The Cannabis Corner customers had Oregon license plates. One buyer concealed his weed in the spare tire wheel well of his car’s trunk. Brown says he doesn’t have the resources to enforce the law prohibiting interstate transport.
City employees who run the pot shop say the more the merrier.
“We’re trying to be sustainable within this small community,” said Cannabis Corner’s manager Robyn Legun, “and we hope people will travel to the community enjoying themselves here and then come back.”
Stevens says marijuana revenue will allow North Bonneville to keep its street lights on, water its grass all summer and make improvements to a playground. But critics, who believe a large majority of residents oppose the city-run pot store, argue it gives the town a black eye.
“How do I justify that to my kids? That we’re making money by selling a drug that’s still illegal under federal law,” said North Bonneville resident Brad Anderson.
Others worry about North Bonneville’s reputation. The city’s best-known business is the Bonneville Hot Springs Resort, a 78-room upscale health spa resort which opened in 2002. Marfa Scheratski, whose father built the resort, doesn’t think people coming to the area to buy pot will help her business at all. And she sees a potential problem hiring and keeping employees.
“It’s always a challenge for us to find help that is clean,” said Scheratski. “We’re a no-tolerance workplace, so this just makes it a little more challenging.”
Consultants expect sales to reach up to $3 million a year at The Cannabis Corner. The nearest competitors are over a 30-minute drive away. If that sales projection holds, the city could see an annual windfall of close to $500,000. It’s a huge sum considering the current budget is $1.2 million.
The pot shop also employs 10 workers and supports local marijuana growers who employ up to 35 people. But the weed window of opportunity may not stay wide open for long. Last fall, Oregon voters legalized marijuana. Possession and home grows will be legal July 1 and Oregon’s first pot retailers are expected to open for business in January of 2016.
North Bonneville’s mayor isn’t all that concerned. He sees his shop as having a price advantage over every other pot store, whether in Washington or Oregon. Why? His store pays no federal income tax because it’s a city-owned business.
Stevens makes no apologies for trying to profit off of pot.
“It’s legal," he said. "You don’t have to like it, but there’s a lot of stuff about government that all of us don’t like.”
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