Daily Archives: June 29, 2017

Judge approves initial motions in Takata bankruptcy – The Seattle Times

Posted: June 29, 2017 at 11:55 am

DOVER, Del. (AP) A Delaware bankruptcy judge on Tuesday granted several preliminary orders allowing Japanese auto parts supplier Takata to move forward with its reorganization plan, which includes the sale of most of its assets to a Chinese-owned rival for $1.6 billion.

Takata was forced into bankruptcy this week amid lawsuits, multimillion-dollar fines and crushing costs related to the recall and replacement of tens of millions of lethally defective air bag inflators.

At a first-day hearing, Judge Brendan Shannon granted various motions allowing Takata to continue paying its bills and working with suppliers and customers.

Shannons rulings include approval of a key agreement between Takata and major automobile manufacturers, who are both the companys largest customers and largest creditor group, that Takata hopes will provide sufficient near-term liquidity as it moves through the bankruptcy and sale process.

In providing liquidity to Takata, the automakers have agreed to forego certain rights, including exercising setoffs against their existing accounts payable to Takata. Takata, in exchange, has agreed to continue to manufacture and supply parts and replacement kits during the bankruptcy and to offer the carmakers certain protections, including replacement liens and super-priority claims.

An attorney representing the U.S. Virgin Islands, which has sued Takata and Honda over the faulty airbags, expressed concern Tuesday that the bankruptcy case seems to have been set primarily for the benefit of the automakers, adding that its not clear whether their purported setoff rights have been properly established. He also objected to Takatas request for confirmation of an automatic stay, a routine bankruptcy provision that halts litigation or enforcement of judgments against a debtor during its bankruptcy.

Shannon overruled the objection, suggesting that the automatic stay is aimed primarily at private parties and foreign entities, and that the interests of the Virgin Islands would be sufficiently protected.

It is meaningfully different when a United States government entity seeks to move forward, the judge said.

Takata has acknowledged that a chemical used in the air bag inflators, ammonium nitrate, can degrade over time, especially in hot, humid climates. The defect can cause the inflators to rupture, spewing deadly shrapnel inside a vehicle. The problem has been blamed for scores of injuries and at least 16 deaths.

Takata deeply regrets that this has occurred and regrets the harm that has been done to injured parties and the pain suffered by families who have lost loved ones, Marcia Goldstein, an attorney representing Takata, said Tuesday.

The next hearing in the bankruptcy case is scheduled for July 26.

In the meantime, the U.S. bankruptcy trustee has scheduled a creditor committee formation meeting for July 6.

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Empowering Women in Developing Economies – HuffPost

Posted: at 11:55 am

Co-authored by Mathilde Mukantabana, Ambassadorof the Republic of Rwanda to the United States of America.

Economic opportunity is vital to strengthening peace and stability, especially in fragile states and post conflict societies.Developing sustainable employment entails a strong partnership between the private and public sectors, as well as multilateral organizations. Kate Space & Companys social enterprise investment in Rwandawhich enables women to be part of its supply chainis an innovative example of that partnership.

Rwanda suffered one of the worst genocides in history in 1994. The Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda claimed more than one million lives and left in its wake a near total collapse of political and socio-economic institutions. The leadership of Rwanda and its people embarked on an arduous journey to mend the fabric of their society, and out of the ashes of destruction rose a new and prosperous nation.

Today, Rwanda is one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. There are several reasons for Rwandas economic and social progress. A growing body of research demonstrates that womens economic participation is essential for economic progressand for post conflict reconstruction and recovery. Women entrepreneurs drive GDP and create jobs, and the way women spend their income has a multiplier effect, as they invest it in education, nutrition, and other needs; this in turn improves the well-being of families and grows the standard of living. Rwandas leadership in gender equality has fostered a positive environment for womens political participation and entrepreneurship. Women comprise over 60% of the Parliamentthe highest in the world. Inheritance and land rights have been advanced, and there have been significant improvements on a range of indicators from education and literacy to health care.

We have observed the impact that the private sector can have on womens economic empowerment in Masoro, a village of twenty thousand people roughly twelve kilometers away from Rwandas capital, Kigali. Like many rural communities, Masoro suffered from higher unemployment and lower earnings than the national average. On the positive, local artisans were skilled in embroidery and sewing.

Officials from Kate Spade & Company decided to make a social enterprise investment in this small community to test if this investment could produce economic and social returns. The company recruited 150 of the villages most talented and committed female artisans in 2013, and helped them set up their own worker-owned, for-profit social enterprise: Abahizi Dushyigikirane, Ltd. or ADC. Kate Spade & Company has worked to build the capacity of the workers and has been using them as a supplier for its related brands. In that way, the women and their families can prosper and Kate Spade & Company can have a dependable supplier.

According to a recently released study by Georgetowns McDonough School of Business, in partnership with the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security, Kate Spade & Companys initiative has already contributed to the empowerment of the women in Masoro. They are flourishing economically and socially. The women have improved their spending on necessities and are investing in the future. They are earning a decent and steady wage and receiving opportunities for training and development from ADC. The average woman working on the initiative has also reported higher levels of decision-making within her family related to personal finances.

This is evidenced by Appolinaire, a team leader in ADCs beading department. Appolinaire first applied to be a temporary worker at ADC in order to supplement her households income. To her surprise, she positively adjusted to the position right away, and especially enjoyed the camaraderie with other women. ADC offered Appolinaire an opportunity to take the sewing test required for a permanent position, which she passed.

With her new income from the factory, Appolinaire and her husband have been able to invest in a new kitchen, and they are gradually replacing their mud brick walls and dirt floor with bricks. Appolinarie says her voice is heard on all of the important household decisions. She no longer tends the land or cares for the cows. As she progressed at ADC and her salary increased, a young man was hired to do those chores. Clearly, she is becoming economically empowered.

On the business investment, the Georgetown study found that Kate Spade & Company has created a financially viable business model in Rwanda. The Masoro supplier will become more competitive as production increases. The increases are set to occur over the course of 2017 with the acquisition of another client. Kate Spade & Company is actively assisting in the search for a second client and potential investors to support their growth trajectory.

This innovative social enterprise investment offers a model approach for creating economic opportunity that is sustainable in marginalized communities. Other companies can also contribute to their bottom line and help to transform fragile and war-torn societies. Its a win-win approach: one that is good for business and good for society.

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SA’s central bank row points to dangerous levels of intolerance – South African Broadcasting Corporation

Posted: at 11:54 am

Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago. (REUTERS)

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Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago. The role of South Africas central bank is at the centre of a heated debate. Reuters/Siphiwe Sibeko Steven Friedman, University of Johannesburg

What kind of financial system is sure to collapse if the central bank cares about peoples well-being?

The recommendation by South Africas Public Protector that the Reserve Banks mandate change, says much about Busisiwe Mkhwebane, none of it flattering. It says just as much about mainstream economic debate - and none of that is flattering either.

Mkhwebane recommended that the central banks constitutional mandate, which makes protecting the currency its primary goal, be changed to one which requires it to promote balanced and sustainable economic growth while ensuring that the socio-economic well-being of the citizens are protected. She also said the constitution should require the bank to achieve meaningful socio-economic transformation.

This triggered a wave of protests, as well as an announcement from the South African Reserve Bank that it would take the matter to court. The Reserve Bank had no option. The constitutional court has ruled that the Public Protectors findings are binding unless they are challenged in court. Her recommendation wildly exceeded what she is allowed to do by the constitution or democratic good sense - and the Reserve Bank could not allow it to stand.

Democratic constitutions are changed by large majorities of the people or their elected representatives not by individuals. By making a binding recommendation that the constitution be changed, Mkhwebane signalled that she either doesnt understand or does not care for democracy.

Her report is also very useful to a faction of the governing party which wants to deflect charges of state capture by claiming that white monopoly capital already controls the state. There are real questions about the fitness for office of a Public Protector whose report seems more interested in protecting connected politicians and business people than with taking the peoples will seriously.

But the reaction did not stop at insisting that Mkhwebane has no business telling the people what the constitution should say. Much of it objected not only to her saying what the Reserve Banks mandate should be, but to anyone at all doing that.

The prize for the wildest reaction went to the commentator who declared that Mkhwebanes ideas on the Banks mandate were inspired by someone who denied that the Nazi genocide happened. Others stopped short of tarring constitutional change with the same brush as mass murder but were united in claiming that to suggest that the Reserve Banks mandate be broadened is economically illiterate and deeply damaging.

Absa, who was the subject of a separate finding by the public protector on the issue of a controversial bailout, asked a court to rule that her proposed change posed a serious risk to the financial system. For its part the rating agency Standard & Poors, happy as ever to police the boundaries of economic correctness, warned that any interference with the Reserve Banks independence could trigger new downgrades.

To insist that anyone who proposes changing the Reserve Banks mandate is economically damaging and stupid is as contemptuous of democracy and dangerous to the economy as Mkhwebanes excess. It is undemocratic because it seeks to close down policy debate by declaring that only one view of the Reserve Banks mandate can ensure a healthy economy. It is dangerous because it blocks the search for economic remedies by seeking to bully even those who propose only mild changes to what the country now has.

The idea that the Reserve Bank should have a broader mandate is neither radical nor dangerous. The most famous central bank, the US Federal Reserve, has a broader mandate. Its dual mandate requires it to seek maximum employment as well as price stability.

The Australian equivalents mandate includes maintenance of full employment and economic prosperity and welfare of the people. The European Central Bank, famed for its love of austerity, has a mandate to seek sustainable growth.

And the the Bank of Englands website says that, subject to its goal of price stability, it aims to support the governments economic objectives.

In South Africa, not only has the view that the central banks mandate is too restrictive been repeated periodically but it may well have been implemented for a while. In 2010, then finance minister Pravin Gordhan wrote to then Reserve Bank governor, Gill Marcus, proposing a mandate which included growth and employment. Marcus reacted positively, which suggests that the bank acted on Gordhans letter. The financial system survived.

The US, European and Australian financial systems have also not collapsed. Their mandates have not triggered a downgrade and no one has accused these societies of economic illiteracy.

So either double standards are being applied or we are being told that restrictive central bank mandates are essential only if countries are in particular parts of the world (such as Africa) and governed by particular types of people (Africans).

And why does a change in the Banks mandate undermine its independence? A central bank loses its independence if politicians (or anyone else) can tell it what to do, not if its mandate changes.

For all its flaws, the Public Protectors proposal would retain the Reserve Banks independence, leaving it to the bank to decide what promotes the well-being of the people or transformation.

None of this means that the Reserve Banks mandate must change. Or that central bank independence must go. But it does mean that no one should be discouraged from debating the issue, as people routinely do in other democracies and market economies. What, besides that prejudice which we prettify by the term Afropessimism, explains the insistence that we may not debate what is freely discussed in most other places?

Closing down debate in this way is common in South Africa. It also lies behind complaints of policy uncertainty which does not mean, as it does elsewhere, that government keeps changing its mind and sending mixed messages the macro-economic framework has been stable for more than two decades. It means, rather, that some people who some others may take seriously raise policy ideas the economic mainstream does not like.

This demand that people can say anything they like about economic policy as long as the mainstream likes it too offers a misleading view of the economy. It says that there is nothing wrong with it except political interference and that it will flourish if politicians simply leave alone what is done now.

The contrary evidence is offered by mainstream organisations such as the International Monetary Fund and the South African Reserve Bank itself which have shown that the current economic rut is a product of problems in the private economy as well as what government does.

This means that the economy must change. This, in turn, requires new ideas. They will not emerge unless everything is up for debate and ideas are not silenced because they trigger the fears and prejudices of a few.

Steven Friedman, Professor of Political Studies, University of Johannesburg

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

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China would prefer Hong Kong forget about another historic anniversary that falls this year – Quartz

Posted: at 11:53 am

As China prepares to celebrate its 20th year of recovered sovereignty over Hong Kongwhich until the 1997 handover had been a British colony for a century and a halfanother historic anniversary that falls this year is largely out of sight.

In 1967, Hong Kong saw its deadliest public disturbance ever, with riots and a spate of bombings that left 51 people dead and hundreds injured. The riots are skimmed over in school history books, and tucked away at the local Museum of History. Even more alarmingly, they appear to have all but disappeared from the governments archives, a discovery that film-maker Connie Lo said she made as she was researching her documentary on the riots, aptly called Vanished Archives.

All I could find were bits of yellowed old newspapers, that crumbled as you touched them, she says. But there was hardly any footage. At the end of her search, all she could lay her hands on were 9 sections of 21 seconds each, kept on different DVDs. Questions to the archivists went unanswered, she said, and nobody seemed to know the exact details of what footage had existed and what had been lost.

Growing increasingly intrigued by the scarcity, Lo decided to look in London. There she was luckier than in Hong Kong, but the difficulty in finding local historical government records of these watershed events 50 years ago made her strongly determined to find out more.

Lo set out to collect evidence of what had happened through interviews of eyewitnesses and participantsmost of whom were not willing to speak in front of the camera, she saysand started a four-year long chase to shed light on a very murky chapter of Hong Kongs past. It was an episode that brought blood to the streets of Hong Kong, as communists in China saw a chance in anger over labor and housing grievances to subvert the colonial government through local sympathizers. These included the media, such as the still existing Communist Party-financed newspaper Ta Kung Pao, pro-China trade unions, and leftist school and college students.

The local branch of the Chinese state-controlled news agency Xinhua functioned as the headquarters for many of those subversive activities, as they promoted Cultural Revolution-style struggle sessions and hung large character posters or dazibao, on their walls. Meanwhile, in Beijing, Red Guards burned down the British Embassy, in an attack against British colonialism in Asia and elsewhere.

When I asked why there was no archival record and no footage of the riots and all that had happened in 1967 here in Hong Kong, I was told that in 1997 some intern was transferring the data, and that while doing so the copy was botched, says Lo, with a puzzled look that doesnt entirely reveal how much of this explanation she believes. At the same time, the footage for the riots in 1956, which were inspired by right-wing elements, are all there. You have all the archives accessible, she says.

To add to the sense that theres a willful denial of the past taking place, her documentary, completed earlier this year, hasnt obtained a commercial release in Hong Kong. As with the popular and lucrative dystopian feature film Ten Years, which left theaters even as interest in it was growing, and the documentary Raise the Umbrellas, theaters havent been keen on showing a political movie critical of the local and mainland authorities.

Even the Hong Kong Film Festival, while denying censorship, refused to screen the movie (link in Chinese). But as has happened for other films deemed too sensitive, Vanished Archives, too, is being successfully screened at packed privately rented venues, and show dates can be found on the movies Facebook page, which has 20,000 followers, or on its website.

As the Cultural Revolution was raging all over China, a labor strike against crushing conditions and the dismissals of some workers took place in front of a plastic flower factory owned by Li Ka-shing, now Hong Kongs richest man, in the Kowloon area. Days into the strike, it was hijacked by pro-Communist sympathizers. The next few weeks saw an all-out series of anti-British protests and bomb attacks that killed randomly. In one bombing, siblings aged 8 and 2 were among the dead, papers overseas reported.

The attacks only ended in late 1967, when Chinese premier Zhou Enlai finally condemned the violence, leaving the local leftists feeling stranded. From one day to the next, we were discarded, and made useless, says one of the riot participants interviewed by Lo.

After the riots, the British authorities decided to establish a series of measures to diminish social frictions, by implementing major reforms, like public housing and free education. In 1978, after the Cultural Revolution, as Deng Xiaoping took power in China and introduced his reformist policies, the role played by China in fomenting the riots was denounced as wrong.

Over the years, scholars have occasionally revisited that contested moment of history. In 2015, though, while Lo was working on her film, the issue of how to remember the riots provoked public outrage when people in Hong Kong found the police website was edited to make way for a new description of clashes, with communist militiamen changed to the more generic gunmen, for example. The revamped police story also omitted that it all had started from a labor dispute.

There is a clear attempt at whitewashing history in Hong Kong, says Ching Cheong, a veteran Hong Kong journalist who witnessed the events first hand. Ching adds that history is being rewritten because of Chinas sovereignty over Hong Kong and ever-increasing influence in the territory. After the handover, Hong Kong has been governed by administrations often filled with people considered close to Beijing. And this episode of local history isnt very flattering to the Party.

At the time, Hong Kong leftists were carrying out acts of urban terrorism with the support of the Chinese authorities, says Ching. Now, he said, They want to be seen as heroes.

Some of the more radical organizers of 1967 already have found redemption from Hong Kongs political elite. In 2001, Yeung Kwong, a trade unionist who was a leader of the riots, was awarded the Golden BauhiniaHong Kongs greatest official honorby then Hong Kong leader Tung Chee-hwa. On the eve of the ceremony, Yeung side-stepped a question about responsibility for the bombings, blaming the British governments oppression instead. In 2015 current chief executive Leung Chung-yin attended his funeral, together with a number of high officials from Hong Kong and the mainland.

Many leftists today are hoping to be exonerated for the violence they unleashed, says Lo, the film-maker. They know the direction the wind is blowing.

Only 20 years after the handover to China, history is proving once again one of the most contentious issues that shape Hong Kongs post-British identity. It provoked acute protests when the post office announced a plansince put on holdto delete the remaining British insignia from old post-boxes to avoid confusion. Its also spurred civic activism, with the formation of a number of concern groups, among them the Conservancy Association (which also launched the campaign to protect the post-boxes) and the Archives Action Group, which is concerned with the lack of an archives law in Hong Kong. Some of that activism has drawn criticism from the mainland Chinese officials, one of the organizers says.

We have been told we are not decolonized enough, says Peter Li, of the Conservancy Association.

Read Quartzs complete series on the 20th anniversary of the Hong Kong handover.

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Government gets rules for treatment of suspected illegal foreigners – Times LIVE

Posted: at 11:53 am

The Legal Resources Centre has welcomed a Constitutional Court judgment handed down on Thursday which held that the detention of alleged or suspected illegal foreigners without prompt judicial intervention was unconstitutional.

The LRC represented the People Against Poverty Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) as a friend of the court.

The case involved the procedures and safeguards governing the detention of people suspected of being illegal foreigners under the Immigration Act. The High Court had declared sections 34(1)(b) and (d) of the Act constitutionally invalid. The Constitutional Court upheld the declarations of constitutional invalidity.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) had challenged these sections because the Act does not require that a detained person be automatically brought before a court within 48 hours in order for the court to confirm the lawfulness of their detention which is the case for other detained people.

The LHR also argued that while the Act envisages a warrant being obtained from a Magistrates Court for the continued detention of the suspected illegal foreigner the Department of Home Affairs interpreted this in a way that meant that the detained person did not have to appear in person before the Magistrate concerned.

PASSOP supported LHRs arguments challenging these sections of the Act.

"We are pleased that the court embraced the constitutional considerations. We welcome the judgment as a vindication of constitutional principles and human rights for everyone in South Africa including foreigners whose dignity and liberty must be respected by the state" the LRC said.

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Syed Salahuddin declared global terrorist: Kashmiri separatists to protest against US move tomorrow – Firstpost

Posted: at 11:53 am

Srinagar: Kashmiri separatists and another organisation United Jihad Council (UJC) based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on Thursday called for protests after Friday's prayers against the US decision to declare Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a "global terrorist".

Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Reuters

Chairman of the Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani, head of moderate Hurriyat Conference Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and JKLF chief Yasin Malik said protests will also be held against the "illegal and arbitrary" arrests and detention of the separatist leaders, activists and youth and raids being conducted across the valley.

"This unjustified move (of declaring Salahuddin as global terrorist) by the US government to appease the Government of India and their (US) silence regarding the oppression and human rights situation in Kashmir, is not acceptable to the people of Kashmir who will strongly protest against it across the valley post Friday prayers tomorrow," the separatists said in a statement.

The separatist leaders expressed "deep regret and dismay over the complete silence by the US over the brutal oppression in Kashmir and failure to initiate any serious steps towards the resolution of the Kashmir dispute and for restoration of lasting peace and stability in the highly volatile region".

UJC, a conglomerate of over a dozen militant groups active in the valley, also called for protests after Friday prayers against the US government's decision against its chief.

In a statement issued here, the UJC said, "the people of Kashmir reject the US decision and will hold demonstrations tomorrow to convey a message to the outside world that their struggle will continue till the achievement of the goal."

Meanwhile, High Court Bar Association also denounced the US decision and said "Salahuddin is a symbol of resistance movement and the US decision will have no impact on the indigenous and legitimate struggle of the people of Kashmir."

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Don Winslow has a best seller, slams Trump’s ‘War on Drugs’ – USA TODAY

Posted: at 11:53 am

'The Force' by Don Winslow(Photo: William Morrow)

Heres a look at whats new on USA TODAYs Best-Selling Books list

'The Force' is with him: Riding strong reviews and movie buzz, Don Winslow has his highest debut ever as his new cop novel, The Force (William Morrow), lands at No. 17. (The full list will be published on Thursday.)

Oh yeah, there was also that full-page ad (and tweet) in Sundays New York Times, in which Winslow blasted President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions for wanting to drag us back into one of the most catastrophic social policies in this nations history: #TheWaronDrugs.

As Winslow points out in his lengthy open letter, he spent two decades researching and writing about the failed War on Drugs in his novels The Power of the Dog and The Cartel. (Winslow had his previous best showing on the list withThe Cartel, which peakedat No. 54 in 2015.)

Sessionshas directed federal prosecutors to charge defendants with the most serious "provable"crimes that carry the stiffest penalties, a reversal of President Obama's more lenient policy toward drug offenders.

So far, Trump has not tweeted a response or taken out his own full-page ad.

Winslow tells USA TODAY that he placed the ad at his own expense because "I feel so strongly that this (drug) policy is wrong. (It) seeks to expand a disastrous policy that has ripped our nation apart."

As for a response from the White House, he says: "After writing about the drug wars for two decades I have developed a number of high-ranking officials as sources. I have heard from so many people cops, congressmen, senators, governors that agree with my position but fear saying so publicly. I have not heard a formal response from the White House but I do know for a fact that Attorney General Sessions and Trump were shown the ad."

The Force is about a good NYPD cop who becomes corrupt. In a **** (out of four stars) reviewfor USA TODAY, Don Oldenburg called the novel intoxicating" and "riveting.

Ridley Scott has bought the film rights to The Force (with James Mangold set to direct) and Scott is directing an adaptation of The Cartel, based on the escapades of (now incarcerated) Mexican drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

In the ad, Winslow also criticized the Trump administrations gun-control policy and plugged his new book: My most recent novel, The Force, deals with the NYPD's struggle against drugs and guns. My research shows that most of the weapons used in gang violence originate in states that have weak gun laws and unrestricted gun shows.

Winslow is in the midst of a national book tour.

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COLUMN: Jeff Sessions’ war on drugs would continue a failed approach – Indiana Daily Student

Posted: at 11:53 am

Last week, United States Attorney General Jeff Sessions wrote in an op-ed for the Washington Post that drug trafficking is an inherently dangerous business. If you want to collect a drug debt, you cant, and dont, file a lawsuit in court. You collect it by the barrel of a gun.

He has used this thinking to resurrect the long-failed War on Drugs that goes against the growing bipartisan support for criminal justice reform. He has announced his intention to imprison more non-violent drug offenders, expand the police state, and crack down on medical marijuana users.

These things would happen in a country that already runs the largest prison system in the developed world, according to Prison Policy Initiative, and commits its penal labor, unprotected by the 13th amendment, to a life of modern slavery.

Where Sessions logic fails is his misunderstanding of the nature of black markets.

Drug trafficking is violent for the same reason liquor trafficking was violent in the Prohibition era. When markets arent protected by the states monopoly on violence, parties can afford to renege on their contracts and promises.

Illegality motivates traffickers to take enforcement into their own hands. Decriminalizing and taxing dispensaries, like what Massachusetts, Washington and Colorado have done with marijuana, undercuts the illicit market, weakening the power of criminals and reducing violence.

A revived tough on crime stance that attacks suppliers would do little to stop illicit drug consumption. Any economics teacher can tell you reducing supply in a market with inelastic demandlike the market for addictive substanceswouldnt reduce the quantity bought and consumed.

Rather, its more likely that a crackdown on suppliers would simply raise prices. Similarly, researchers continue to find that tougher penalties and longer jail time does little difference in deterring crime than lighter sentences, according to the Sentencing Project.

It would be wiser of Sessions to realize that the worst drug epidemic of our time is not marijuana, methamphetamines, or even heroin, but prescription opioids.

Over two million Americans suffer from debilitating addictions to pain relievers, which is more than meth and heroin addicts combined, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

And the rate in Indiana is higher than the national average.

Perverse fiscal incentives for doctors and aggressive ad campaigns by big pharma companies have pushed opioids like Vicodin, OxyContin, and fentanyl onto millions of desperate people.

Sessions and our own state prosecutors could better spend their time taking on big pharma and the pain industry for things like false advertising, as the state legislature in Kentucky is doing, according to the Kentucky Law Journal.

A better drug policy would focus on the demand of drug consumption by supporting educational programs, supervised injections and rehabilitation.

Progressive public programs in Portugal, Canada, and the United Kingdom offer medical-grade heroin to addictswhich undercuts the black marketsupervise injection sites, and mandate the inclusion of substance abuse treatment in public insurance programs, none of which is addressed in the Republican health care proposals, according to Mother Jones.

We could go a long way to a healthier, more secure public by transitioning opioid-based painkillers to cannabinoids and rewriting the fiscal incentives that lead doctors to over-prescribe, according to the Washington Post.

To be clear, I support a drug policy that reduces dependency, violent crime and minimizes risks to public health.

Sessions, however, has failed to offer policies that achieve these goals. Rather, it seems that people like him sacrifice the well-being of vulnerable Americans on the altar of wishful thinking.

Its time for change.

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Rebranded Gambling.com targets affiliate dominance – Totally Gaming (press release)

Posted: at 11:52 am

Charles Gillespie, CEO for the re-branded Gambling.com Group, has targeted a level of growth to ultimately dominate the online gambling affiliate space.

The affiliate marketing specialist recently changed its holding company name from KAX Media to better represent its legacy domain Gambling.com and to improve communicate of its services.

Following the $2.5 million acquisition of the domain name in April 2011, Gambling.com became the groups largest website in 2012, and remains the companys leading publishing asset having grown substantially year on year for each of the last three years.

Despite this change, Gambling.com Group will continue to use the KAX Media brand as the name of its internal digital agencies located in Dublin, Ireland and in Tampa, US.

Gillespie told TotallyGaming.com: Gambling.com continues to go from strength to strength in the affiliate industry and doing anything other than putting it forward as our company name would not have taken full advantage of the value of the asset.

We see it continuing to grow and ultimately dominate the online gambling affiliate space globally, in both English and non-English markets."

Totally Gaming says: With a network of over 30 casino focused news and review portals across 14 national markets in eight languages, the group continues to deliver a deep source of players for operators across the online gambling industry. However, Gambling.com is undoubtedly the companys leading asset, as demonstrated by this recent rebrand.

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Online gambling profits: The numbers don’t lie – Augusta Free Press

Posted: at 11:52 am

Published Thursday, Jun. 29, 2017, 8:51 am

Front Page Sports Online gambling profits: The numbers dont lie

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The global online gambling industry is pretty large (even though its far from being as large as the land-based one). The value of the global online gambling market was close to $40 billion last year, and it is estimated to grow further in the years to come, thanks to many jurisdictions regulating the industry. The United States could be one of these jurisdictions if more states follow the example of New Jersey and regulate rather than ban online poker, casino games, and lotteries. Aside from satisfying a demand for online gambling thats present in all states the success of social casino games in the US and the number of offshore casino operators in a legal gray zone is attesting this such a move would also mean extra income for the states budgets. And not a small amount either the numbers published by the New Jersey authorities have demonstrated that.

Unlike Canadian players, who can use loopholes to play at the best online Canadian casino vegaspalmscasino.com, US players are left out thanks to the restrictive laws in force. Since the passing of the UIGEA in 2006, the majority of international operators, both independent like the Vegas Palms and major gaming groups have closed their virtual doors in front of US-based players. Only a handful of operators remained open for US players, and many of these have proven to be shady operations over the years. There was no legal way to gamble online for American citizens until 2011 when an opinion issued by the Department of Justice changed things completely.

Today, individual states have the right to regulate their online gambling market much like they can do with their land-based one. This means that they are free to issue gambling licenses if they like or ban any and all forms of online gambling the decision is theirs to make. Three states have acted on their newfound liberty in the early 2010s Delaware and Nevada legalized online poker, and New Jersey did the same with online casinos. For them, the decision has proven to be the right one, at least from a budget point of view: the states online casinos are generating quite a lot of revenue for the state while having little to no effect on the states problem gambling numbers.

In the first five months of 2017, New Jersey received over $100 million from online casino operators, in the form of taxes.

Several US states are working on online gambling bills as we speak. Pennsylvania is considered to be the closest to finalizing such a bill the piece of legislation, amended by the local House of Representatives, is now waiting for the Senates approval to be pushed through. Other states, like Illinois, are attempting to push their own online gambling regulations through as we speak. California and New York are also on the verge of regulating some forms of online gambling most notably online poker and other states are considering similar moves for the near future.

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Online gambling profits: The numbers don't lie - Augusta Free Press

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