text:
Kim Tong-Hyung, Associated Press Kim Tong-Hyung, Associated Press
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/north-korea-calls-trump-erratic-old-man-over-tweets-about-kim-jong-un
North Korea calls Trump 'erratic old man' over tweets about Kim Jong Un
World Dec 9, 2019 9:29 AM EST
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea insulted U.S. President Donald Trump again on Monday, calling him a "heedless and erratic old man" after he tweeted that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wouldn't want to abandon a special relationship between the two leaders and affect the American presidential election by resuming hostile acts.
A senior North Korean official, former nuclear negotiator Kim Yong Chol, said in a statement that his country wouldn't cave in to U.S. pressure because it has nothing to lose and accused the Trump administration of attempting to buy time ahead of an end-of-year deadline set by Kim Jong Un for Washington to salvage nuclear talks.
In a separate statement, former Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong said Trump's comments were a "corroboration that he feels fear" about what North Korea might do when Kim's deadline expires and warned Trump to think twice if he wants to avoid "bigger catastrophic consequences."
On Sunday, Trump tweeted: "Kim Jong Un is too smart and has far too much to lose, everything actually, if he acts in a hostile way … North Korea, under the leadership of Kim Jong Un, has tremendous economic potential, but it must denuclearize as promised."
He was referring to a vague statement issued by the two leaders during their first summit in Singapore in June last year that called for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when or how it would occur.
Trump added that Kim "does not want to void his special relationship with the President of the United States or interfere with the U.S. Presidential Election in November."
Kim Yong Chol said Trump's tweets clearly show that he is an irritated old man "bereft of patience."
"As (Trump) is such a heedless and erratic old man, the time when we cannot but call him a 'dotard' again may come," Kim Yong Chol said.
"Trump has too many things that he does not know about (North Korea). We have nothing more to lose. Though the U.S. may take away anything more from us, it can never remove the strong sense of self-respect, might and resentment against the U.S. from us."
Kim Yong Chol traveled to Washington and met with the U.S. president twice last year while setting up the summits with Kim Jong Un.
In his statement, Ri, currently a vice chairman of the ruling Workers' Party's Central Committee, said Trump would be well advised to stop using "abusive language" that may offend Kim.
"Trump might be in great jitters but he had better accept the status quo that as he sowed, so he should reap, and think twice if he does not want to see bigger catastrophic consequences," Ri said.
"Our final judgment and decision which will soon be made at the end of this year are to be done by the chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and he has neither clarified any stand yet nor made any ironic and irritating expressions toward the other party as done by someone," Ri added, referring to Kim by one of his government titles.
Nuclear negotiations faltered after a February meeting between Trump and Kim in Vietnam broke down when the U.S. side rejected North Korean demands for broad sanctions relief in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
Kim has said North Korea will seek a "new way" if the U.S. maintains its sanctions and pressure, and issued the deadline for the Trump administration to offer mutually acceptable terms for a deal.
Trump and Kim met for a third time in June at the border between the two Koreas and agreed to resume talks. But an October working-level meeting in Sweden broke down over what the North Koreans described as the Americans' "old stance and attitude."
Kim Yong Chol's statement came days after North Korea's first vice foreign minister, Choe Sun Hui, issued a similar threat to resume insulting Trump after he spoke during a NATO summit in London of possible military action toward the North and revived his "rocket man" nickname for Kim Jong Un.
In 2017, Trump and Kim traded threats of destruction as North Korea carried out a slew of high-profile weapons tests aimed at acquiring an ability to launch nuclear strikes on the U.S. mainland. Trump said he would rain "fire and fury" on North Korea and derided Kim as "little rocket man," while Kim questioned Trump's sanity and said he would "tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire."
The two leaders avoided such words and developed better relations after North Korea entered nuclear negotiations with the U.S. last year. Trump even said he and Kim "fell in love," but his comments on Kim have become sharper in recent weeks amid the standoff in nuclear negotiations.
North Korea in recent weeks has said it is unwilling to continue rewarding Trump with meetings and summits he could chalk up as foreign policy wins unless it gets something substantial in return. The North's stance has raised doubts about whether Kim will ever voluntarily give away a nuclear arsenal he may see as his biggest guarantee of survival.
On Sunday, North Korea's Academy of National Defense said a "very important test" was conducted at a long-range rocket facility on the country's western coast, touching off speculation that the North could have tested a new rocket engine for either a satellite-launch vehicle or a solid-fuel intercontinental-range missile.
Left: A senior North Korean official said in a statement that his country wouldn't cave in to U.S. pressure because it has nothing to lose and accused the Trump administration of attempting to buy time ahead of an end-of-year deadline set by Kim Jong Un for Washington to salvage nuclear talks.
N. Korea conducts 'important test' at once-dismantled site
By Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press
America's influence, once so dominant, waning under Trump
By Tim Sullivan, Associated Press
North Korea threatens to again call Trump a 'dotard'
North Korea fired two short range projectiles, Seoul reports


text:
Q: How to resolve this "unreachable code after return statement" warning? I'm trying to learn the basics of angularjs and am working with the tutorial app and ng-js v1.6.6. Although the items show up (localhost), the browser shows a warning as seen in the screengrab. Chrome doesn't show the error-firefox does. Is the code okay or are there errors on line 17 / line 50?
   'use strict';

    angular.module('components.phone')
    .factory('Phone', ['$resource', function($resource,) {
    return $resource('components/phone/data/phones/:phoneId.json', {}, {
        query: {
            method:'GET',
            params: { phoneId:'phones' },
            isArray: true
            }
        }
      )

     return factory;//<======LINE 17 -IS THE REST OF THE CODE 'UNREACHABLE'?
     }])

.service('PhoneService', ['$q','$http', '$resource', function($q, $http) {
    var service = {
        get: function() {
            var deferred = $q.defer();

            $http.get('components/phone/data/phones/phones.json', {
                params: { phoneId:'phones' }
            })
            .then(function(response){
                deferred.resolve(response.data);
            })
            .catch(function(response){
                deferred.resolve(response);
            });

            return deferred.promise;
        },

        getAllPhones: function() {
            return $http.get('components/phone/data/phones/:phoneId.json', {
                cache:   true }
            ).then(function(resp) {
                return resp.data;
            });
        },

        getPhone: function(phoneId) {
                for (i = 0; i < phones.length; i++) {
                    if(phones[i].id == phoneId){
                    this.phone = phones[i];
                     break; <==== THIS SYNTAX IS NOW CHANGED, THANKS@SYNCRO!

        return  $http.get('components/phone/data/phones/' +    $stateParams.phoneId + '.json')
                    .then(function(response) {
                        self.phone = response.data;

                    })
            }

            return service.getAllPhones().then(function (getPhone) {
                return selected.phone;
            })
        }
    }

    return service;
}])

.run(['$rootScope', '$state', '$stateParams',
    function ($rootScope, $state, $stateParams) {
        $rootScope.$state = $state;
        $rootScope.$stateParams = $stateParams;
    }
])

A: In your getPhone method, if you return inside a for loop, the code after the for loop will be not executed, that's why your browser is alerting you with this warning message.
You can see this message also in Chrome, you just have to change the Log priority in your Chrome DevTools.
You can see that return problem in this little script that I wrote for you: https://jsfiddle.net/kmy7hq8q/
To leave the loop you just have to use break, not return.
if(phones[i].id == phoneId){
    this.phone = phones[i];
    break;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Out of the 925
Social Media Made Simple
Free YouTube SEO Course
Free YouTube Optimization Checklist
Private YouTube Consulting Session
Instagram Growth Course
Start Profitable Blogging Course
9 Ways to make money on YouTube in 2020
As YouTube continues to grow and new people join the network, the opportunities to make money and earn a side income, or even a good living, off of … [Read more...] about 9 Ways to make money on YouTube in 2020
The Best Free Tools for YouTubers in 2021
Let's take a look at the very best free tools for YouTubers & how they can help you grow your channel & create better videos.There's an … [Read more...] about The Best Free Tools for YouTubers in 2021
Why YouTube SEO is the best way to grow your YouTube Channel in 2021
Ever since YouTube started, there have been a number of different ways to grow a channel and build an audience. In 2021 it's no different, this year … [Read more...] about Why YouTube SEO is the best way to grow your YouTube Channel in 2021
How to get views on YouTube with 0 Subscribers
They say that the most difficult part of starting something new is to actually just get started. When it comes to YouTube, this can be very true. … [Read more...] about How to get views on YouTube with 0 Subscribers
How to Start a YouTube Channel and Make Money
If you want to know how to start a YouTube channel and make money, then you've come to the right place. First though, how about some context as to how … [Read more...] about How to Start a YouTube Channel and Make Money
How to get monetized on YouTube FAST in 2020
One of the first things that come to mind when starting a YouTube channel is the question of "How long". How long will it take to get 1000 … [Read more...] about How to get monetized on YouTube FAST in 2020
YouTube Playlists: 3 Reasons why you need to use them
When you are trying to grow your YouTube Channel, it can seem like there are a thousand and one different things you need to do and pay attention to. … [Read more...] about YouTube Playlists: 3 Reasons why you need to use them
7 Incredible Premiere Pro Tutorials for Beginners
In this article, we're going to take a look at 7 incredible Premiere Pro tutorials for beginners.Premiere Pro is one of the most powerful video … [Read more...] about 7 Incredible Premiere Pro Tutorials for Beginners
20 Most Popular YouTube Channel Types that you can start in 2021
In this article, we're going to be looking at some of the most popular YouTube channel types. What makes them successful & can you start a YouTube … [Read more...] about 20 Most Popular YouTube Channel Types that you can start in 2021
Let's work together: 1-on-1 YouTube Consulting
Grow your YouTube Channel with a 1 hour private session with me for $100/session.
Sign up below for FREE access to all tips & strategies directly to your inbox!
Copyright © 2021 Out of the 925 · All Rights Reserved · Outofthe925.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Any chance you could be an ambivert?
Have you heard of the Kolbe strengths index? I'd be interested to hear where you fell on that, and there's not a specific dimension for this but I felt like it was a more accurate overall picture! I also liked how the numbers were built into the result rather than Meyers-Briggs where you're one thing, but would have to know your own results to tell others whether you were barely an E (me) or "strongly" I, etc.
No, I had never heard of this inventory. It sounds intereting. There is an online questionnaire based on the MBTI that does tell you whether you're strongly, moderately or slightly introverted/extraverted etc.
Thanks for linking up again with us. I must say I'm an introvert, and I agree with you in that I too become extraverted online… I think I've become less introverted the older and more confident I get, but I still can't stand large crowds. Never will!


This article comes from Bible Study classes that I taught in January 2012. I got the idea from an excellent article that I had read a few years earlier by Pastor David Jeremiah of Turning Point Ministries.
The most popular New Year's resolutions usually fit into three categories: Health (exercise, eat healthier, stop smoking, drinking or other bad habits), Finances (save more, pay off debts, take some classes, look for a better job), or Personal (spend more time with family and friends, take a vacation, manage stress, start a new hobby, do volunteer work, get better organized). In addition to those just mentioned, Christians may add reading the Bible daily, praying and/or going to church more often, tithing, getting involved in a new ministry etc.
Unfortunately, many of us don't have a very good record when it comes to keeping these resolutions. For example, most folks are familiar with many of the principles mentioned above for maintaining good physical and mental health. Yet, even with this awareness coupled with advances in modern medicine, exercise equipment, training techniques, nutritional insights and other developments, typical studies indicate that a majority of Americans regularly develop habits that are harmful to their physical well-being.
Likewise, when it comes to our spiritual health, many Christians face the same impasse between knowing and doing. Furthermore, just as our physical health suffers when we neglect certain activities, our spiritual health is negatively impacted when we neglect the basic activities of the Faith. Considering our busy schedules and the everyday pressures and distractions of our modern times, it's not difficult to get temporarily side-tracked and to allow unhealthy habits to creep in. When this happens in either the physical or spiritual realm (or both), the best cure is to get back to the basics.
With that in mind, we've listed ten foundational activities to help inoculate us from spiritual illness, re-focus our spiritual vision, and allow God to continue to mold us into the image of Christ.
Prayer should be our first reaction to any sign of trouble (and even when things are going well). Fervent prayer sets God into action. It closes the mouths of lions and alters the course of nations. We can pray for strength, wisdom, endurance, faithfulness, guidance and much more. God cares about both our spiritual and physical needs (Mt 7:7-11).
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Php 4:6-7). Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you (1Th 5:16-18 ESV).
We've heard the old saying, "when all else fails, read the instructions". I must admit that I often do so only as a last resort. The Bible is not only God's instruction manual for living, it also gives us the theological foundations for doing so. It is God's self-revelation to us. It answers the basic questions in life. Who are we? Why are we here? Where are we going? etc. It searches us, corrects us, lights our pathways, and equips us for good works.
Just as we require regular exercise and good nutrition to maintain our bodily fitness, we must be consistent in our reading and study of the Scriptures. We can't expect to preserve or strengthen our spiritual health by opening our Bible upon occasion. We should read our Bible on a daily basis and we encourage everyone to take advantage of the many reading plans available on our site or elsewhere.
On a personal note, I've found it advantageous to split my "reading" and "study" times. Of course, reading and studying can't be totally separated, but during my "reading" time, I pause only to jot down an occasional note for later study. This keeps me on a steady pace and allows me to cover more material without getting bogged down (we actually retain more of what we read than we initially think). Then, during my "study" time, I dig deeper into the more complex and difficult issues, using a different Bible translation and supporting dictionaries, commentaries, lexicons etc.
Everyone must find their best reading/study system, but once again, consistency is the key. In addition, we should not only read and study for increased head and heart knowledge, but we should also apply what we learn accordingly. See Effective Bible Reading for additional tips and information on getting more out of our reading and study times.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2Tim 3:16-17). For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Heb 4:12).
Another popular saying is "garbage in, garbage out". This is commonly uttered in regard to computers, but can certainly apply to our minds as well. What we allow into our minds affects our thoughts, attitudes and actions. The more we incorporate Scripture into our hearts and minds, the more we think like God. Psalm 119:11 (ESV) says, "I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against You".
Therefore, in addition to our Bible reading and study times, we should make time for memorizing and meditating on Scripture. If our minds are filled with the Word of God, instead of trying to think of a Scripture verse when troubles or temptations come, the Word will be there for us. When Jesus was tempted in the desert, he didn't reply with "let me consult my concordance". He immediately rebuked Satan with "It is written…", and we should be prepared to do likewise.
Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful (Jsh 1:8).
Our spiritual gifts are a blessing from God, but they are not given so that we can sit back and enjoy them. Instead, we are to use our gifts to pass the blessings on to others by our service. This comes naturally only when we are walking in the Spirit by continually yielding to the Spirit's control in our lives. Even though we are not saved by good works, we are saved in order to do good works for others (Eph 2:8-10).
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms (1 Pe 4:10).
Just as it takes a certain investment (exercise, healthy diet, proper rest etc) to maintain a healthy lifestyle, we should also invest our time, talents (gifts as mentioned above), and monetary resources in God's kingdom agenda. God does not need the money since all things belong to him, but He uses our earthly gifts and responsibilities as a test of our faithfulness.
After Jesus told the parable of the shrewd manager, He said, "Whoever can be trusted with very little [money and material things] can also be trusted with much [spiritual things], and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" (Lk 16:10-11). So, we are to be good stewards of all that has been entrusted to us by giving and serving faithfully and cheerfully.
Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2Cor 9:7).
The Psalms are great source for expressing ourselves in worship. Yet, worship should not be confined only to the "religious sphere". We should worship God not only in our prayers and songs, but in our normal everyday attitude, thoughts and action. In its simplest form, worship is giving God the honor and position in our lives that He truly deserves.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness (Ps 29:2). Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship (Rom 12:1).
Just as we wouldn't choose to hang around unnecessarily with a person who has a highly contagious physical condition, we should likewise avoid associating regularly with those that would adversely affect us spiritually. To develop close ties with certain people is to expose ourselves to many temptations and bad attitudes that we might otherwise avoid. This of course does not mean we should avoid the lost altogether. Jesus had frequent contact with spiritually "unclean" people while on earth, but never participated in their sins. Thus we should associate with unbelievers for the purpose of winning the lost, but must draw certain boundaries in our relationships.
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? (2 Cor 6:14). Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them (Eph 5:11 ESV).
We should also consider our relationships with Christian friends, and with our triune God. These interrelations are commonly referred to as fellowship. God did not create us to act as "lone rangers", but to share our lives and ministries with other believers.
The Greek word koinonia, translated "fellowship" or "communion" in our English bibles, denotes a sense of unity that manifests itself in joint participation or sharing in common interests, activities or experiences such as the sacraments, various ministries, and even our position in Christ.
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). Our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ… if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:3,7).
In the New Testament, the word "saint" never appears in the singular. It is always in the plural "saints." Likewise, in the Apostle Paul's letters, he almost always uses the pronoun "you" in the plural to address his recipients. These recipients are not a relational or universal body of believers, but individuals belonging to a local corporate body. In the 12th chapter of 1Corinthinans, Paul speaks of the church body as a unit made up of many body parts (diverse individual members), each bringing their own gifts to the body. Just as a physical body part can't function on its own, members of the church body must rely on and act in unity with other members for the spiritual well-being of the corporate body.
In recent years, a new attitude that says "We love Jesus but not the church" has spread widely among professing Christians. This movement rejects organized religion, and promotes the "Church at Starbucks" or the "Church of the 18th Green" instead of traditional churches. Most people subscribing to this lack of structure typically complain of boring structured corporate worship services. Yet, the worship services are only a part of their overall ministry at most biblical Christ-centered churches. We should also realize that many ministries require a certain amount of corporate planning and organization in order to be effective. Furthermore, regular organized activities lead to the exhortation, encouragement, accountability and equipping of the attending saints.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Heb 10:24-25). Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us (Rom 12:4-6).
The last instructions that Jesus gave to his disciples (and to us by extension) before leaving earth was to witness and make disciples of all nations (Mt 28, 18-20, Ac 1:1-9). Witnessing is simply sharing the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ, both by our words and lifestyle. Sadly, only a small percentage of professing Christians regularly share their faith with others. Some try to make it very complicated, but Adrian Rogers used to say, "Witnessing is nothing more than one beggar telling another beggar where to find food". There are few things in life more exciting than to be an instrument of the Holy Spirit as He saves another of the lost.
Yet, our efforts should not end with the salvation of another. Jesus didn't command us to make converts, but to make disciples. The word disciple comes from the Latin discipulus (Gk mathétés) meaning a pupil, learner, or follower. In secular Greek culture, it was also used for an apprentice learning a trade. The 1913 Webster's Dictionary defines the verb as "to teach or train... in doctrines or principles". The apostle John tells us that being a disciple of Jesus also involves obeying His teachings (Jn 8:31) and loving fellow believers (Jn 13:34-35).
Jesus made it clear that a trained student would be like his or her teacher. If the teacher is not knowledgeable and righteous, the student will be led astray (Lk 6:39-40). Thus, in order to disciple others, we must be true disciples of Jesus ourselves. We must continue striving toward the ultimate goal, that of allowing the Spirit to transform us into the image of Christ, while teaching and encouraging others to do the same.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not an absolute guarantee that we will live a long life with hardly any health issues. We all know someone (even highly conditioned athletes) who developed physical problems at relatively young ages. Nevertheless, it significantly improves our prospects and decreases our risks. Similarly, a practical and wise spiritual lifestyle is a pre-requisite for good spiritual health.
We should not think that wisdom can be acquired only by philosophers, professors, and other "intellectuals". We tend to equate or confuse "wisdom" with intelligence, learning or knowledge. The terms are related, but we've all known people of scolarly intelligence who possessed very little wisdom, and vice versa. The root of the Hebrew word for "wisdom" (hokmah) actually means "skill", so we often define wisdom as the correct application of knowledge; that is, applying right knowledge to living our lives. Nor is wisdom ultimately obtained under our own power. Knowledge is acquired, but true wisdom is granted by God. We can of course gain wisdom by studying God's word, particularly the OT Books of Wisdom and the NT Epistle of James, but ultimate true wisdom is granted by God (ala Solomon, 1Kg 3:1-14) through prayer (Ja 1:5).
How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver (Pr 16:16). If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him (Ja 1:5).
We should be diligent to practice these principles and disciplines throughout the year. As we face various challenges and pressures associated with daily living however, it's certainly easy to neglect one or more of these activities in our spiritual lives. Whenever this happens, it's usually time to get back to the basics. In some cases, this might require us to merely re-focus on these and other basic teachings of the Bible. In other cases, it might require us to take additional steps, such as rearranging our priorities, or throwing off something that is preventing us from properly running the race that God has set before us. It may not be easy but it will be well worth it to receive the crown of righteousness for faithful ministry.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us (Heb 12:1). I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing (2Tim 4:7-8).


text:
Energy & Infrastructure >
AkzoNobel and Gasunie to produce green hydrogen on large-scale
electrolysisEuropeGreen EnergyHydrogenNetherlandsrenewables
The Netherlands may soon see Europe's largest green hydrogen plant. It only depends whether AkzoNobel and Gasunie find their plans for a 20 MW facility to be feasible. If so, they would generate 3,000t of green H2 a year.
AkzoNobel Specialty Chemicals and Gasunie New Energy are jointly investigating the large scale conversion of sustainable electricity into green hydrogen via the electrolysis of water.
Intended for Delfzijl in the Netherlands, the installation would use a 20 megawatt water electrolysis unit, to convert electricity from renewables into 3,000 tons of green hydrogen a year.
A final decision is expected by 2019. But if the plant would go live, it could produce enough hydrogen to fill 300 fuel cell buses, or enough for one such bus to drive around the earth more than 1,100 times.
Moreover, the planned 20 megawatt facility would help the industry in scaling up electrolysis technology. The largest planned electrolysis unit in the Netherlands has a capacity of one megawatt so far but the long-term goal is to be able to build installations that convert and store hydrogen on an even larger scale, i.e. from 100 megawatts.
greencarcongress.com, akzonobel.com
Hubject partners with Volta Charging in the States
BluePoint to add 1,000 charge points in London this year
https://www.electrive.com/2018/01/10/akzonobel-gasunie-produce-green-hydrogen-large-scale/


Please be aware of the following alerts. Be sure to check product labels for the Crescent-M logo for halal certified products. If you have any questions, please contact IFANCA at halal@ifanca.org..
Alert : The company halal certification for various bakery products expired on June 30, 2017, and has not been renewed. Libanais products produced after June 30, 2017, are no longer halal certified by IFANCA, and Libanais is no longer authorized to use the Crescent-M logo on any products produced after that date. Corrective actions are being taken. Consumers and companies should verify the halal authenticity of products to be sure they are properly certified.
Alert : The company has passed a fraudulent IFANCA International halal certificate claiming IFANCA halal certification. IFANCA has not certified any Foodchem International Corporation products. Corrective actions are being taken. Reputable companies should avoid doing business with companies passing fraudulent halal certificates.
Alert : The company has passed a fraudulent halal certificate claiming IFANCA halal certification. IFANCA has not certified any Ashland Singapore Pte Ltd. Corrective actions are being taken.
Alert : The company website and social media fraudulently claims IFANCA certification of their product (Fit Solution). IFANCA has not certified any Total Swiss products. Corrective actions are being taken.
Company : Halal Peru and H.A.L.A.
Alert : The company website lists the IFANCA contact information, states an association with IFANCA, and that IFANCA has authorized them to assist companies in obtaining halal certification. IFANCA had an agreement with Halal Peru that expired in 2014. IFANCA is not associated with Halal Peru; has not authorized Halal Peru to use the IFANCA name or logo; and does not authorize the listing of IFANCA information on their websites or any other media. Corrective actions are being taken.
Alert : The company is using a product sheet with the IFANCA International logo on it. IFANCA has not certified any Luohe Wulong Gelatin Co. Ltd. products. Corrective actions are being taken.
Alert : The company altered an IFANCA certificate issued to another company to claim their products were certified by IFANCA. IFANCA has not certified any products made by Samin Chemicals Inc. (Saminchem Inc.). Corrective actions have been taken.
Alert : A fraudulent certificate claiming IFANCA has certified Snowhite Chemical Co. Ltd. Is circulating. IFANCA has not certified any Snowhite Chemical Co. Ltd. products. Snowhite disclaims any responsibility for this.
Alert : The company is using a fraudulent certificate to claim it is certified by IFANCA. IFANCA has not certified any products made by Inter Chemical (Shijiazhuang) Co. Ltd. Corrective actions are being taken.
Alert : A fraudulent certificate claiming IFANCA has certified a product called D'Trim has surfaced in Malaysia and perhaps other countries. IFANCA has not certified any product under the name D'Trim.


Britannia awaits you, moored in the capital and cruise port, Bridgetown. Enjoy a day of water sports or stunning nature walks before you set sail. It's not unusual to feel a bit blue when leaving Curaçao, but a day of snorkeling in Bonaire will cheer you up no end. One of the Caribbean's prettiest harbours awaits in Grenada. Spend a day enjoying its waterfalls, rainforests, volcanic craters and beaches. St Vincent won't disappoint – with its fresh seafood, gentle calypso and unspoilt coves, it has an allure all of its own. In St Lucia, a tour to the dramatic Soufrière volcano shows off the island's full beauty. Sail to picture-perfect St Kitts, blessed with deserted white beaches, sugar cane fields and lush rainforest. Antigua is the Caribbean spirit in a nutshell. It's all about relaxation and reveling in good times. Finally, it's back to beautiful Barbados via the French-Dutch charms of St Maarten. Then, hard as it may be, you'll fly home.


SetBack stand will automatically drop your handpiece's temperature, saving energy and extending tip life. Temperature rapidly heats back up as soon as it's removed from the cradle.
At the heart of the ADS200 lies PACE's new AccuDrive™ Technology. AccuDrive™ allows you to set honest, highly-accurate temperatures, without the need to change cartridges or calibrate. Its advanced electronics provide instantaneous load sensing and on-demand power to quickly reflow solder joints at safe, low temperatures, regardless of the mass of the application.
AccuDrive™ delivers consistent, repeatable results in both light and heavy-use environments and provides the operator with the flexibility that is essential in today's demanding production operations. Regardless of your application, AccuDrive™ delivers unsurpassed thermal performance, productivity and bottom-line cost savings!
Dimensions: 4.1" x 5.1" x 6"


In this workshop students will explore techniques and concepts in painting with emphasis on individual development of style and theme. We will investigate various approaches to representational and abstract painting, and the metaphorical meaning in figure and landscape paintings. Students will work from live models and landscape, and will discover how a basic image can be transformed into a personal statement through the process of painting and the artist's imagination. Students are encouraged to experiment with ideas and techniques with the purpose of developing a personal expression.
This workshop is designed for artists of all levels and for both abstract and representational.


text:
1. Clone this repository

## Trello
To use this project, we need a trello token to create the hook and receive each events from your board.

1. Connect to your trello account
2. Generate a token [Here](https://trello.com/app-key)
 * Note the Key (TRELLO_APIKEY)
 * Manually generate a Token (TRELLO_TOKEN)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Ruby/Obj-C require command fails I'm currently trying to port twurl, a Ruby client for the Twitter API, into a OS X command line application using MacRuby. My goal is to "tweet" a NSString, but this turned out harder than expected. At first I was using native cocoa libraries, but I ended up not exactly knowing what to do.
However, twurl is capeable of simply "tweeting" a string and should be called to tweet the string passed to it as argument.
I am aware that this is far away from a good solution, but after 7 days of trying to get any of the native Obj-C libraries to work, I'm really close to tears and this is my last chance of getting close to what I want. If anybody can show me a working command-line solution with native code, please do so. I'd really appreciate that.
However, my concrete problem is that, as soon as I run my project, I get the following error: /Users/User/Library/Developer/Xcode/DerivedData/projectname-.../Build/Products/Debug/project.app/Contents/Resources/rb_main.rb:11:in `': no such file to load -- oauth (LoadError)


text:
Kopf: Federal District Judges Should Keep the Hell Away From "Originalism"
Modern day "originalism" is a method (in my view, a narrow tool and not an expansive religion) of understanding the Constitution. No longer pursuing the fool's errand of attempting to ascertain "original intent," the modern-day originalist judge looks to the ordinary public meaning of the words of the Constitution at or about the time of the Founding to make decisions about the lives of litigants. This notion has within it an effort to understand the structure of our Constitution with reference to the writings of the Founders and the ordinary public meaning of the words they used. OK, the table has now been set.
While I am not a legal historian, I know something about legal history. I have long served as Chairman of the Board of the Historical Society of the United States Courts in the Eighth Circuit. In that capacity I have come to know and deeply appreciate distinguished (and always humble) legal historians such as Jeffrey Morris, John Wunder and Mark Scherer. These fellows have law degrees and PhD degrees in history. One of their history books has even been dedicated to me. Forgive the self-promotion, but it has a point beyond merely massaging my massive ego.
Now I turn to the essay that caught my eye and prompted this response. See How Originalism Changes Legal Analysis by law professor John O. McGinnis, in Law and Liberty. Frankly, it shocked me because it is nothing short of revolutionary when comes to federal district judges.
Here's the backstory:
In Collins v. Mnuchin, the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, advanced the concept of the unitary executive by holding that the structure of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was unconstitutional, because its director did not serve at the pleasure of the President. The opinion is very important for showing how lower court judges should address precedent in tension with their view of the original meaning of the Constitution—in this case, that Article II vests the entire executive power in the President and thus gives him control over agencies exercising executive functions. Led by judges recently appointed by President Trump, the Fifth Circuit is asserting that the original meaning should cabin Supreme Court precedent averse to original meaning. That is, such precedent should control the outcome of a case when it is directly on point, but should be narrowly read.
Id. (Emphasis added.)
McGinnis makes his point clearly and without the slightest qualification. He asserts,
Conventional legal analysis in high stakes constitutional cases looks nothing like it did a generation ago. At that time it could be fairly said that Supreme Court precedents were all important. Thus, briefs that emphasized original meaning were a waste of time. But today no lawyer can afford to ignore original meaning, even in areas where the Supreme Court has rendered many non-originalist decisions and even in the lower courts. The essential nature of law is changing as originalism meaning takes precedence over precedent.
At least in this post, I don't care to address how appellate judges ought to rule. Indeed, I don't care one whit about how the Fifth Circuit reached the decision that McGinnis describes as his launching point. I don't care about the outcome of that case either. But I do care, and deeply so, about the thesis that McGinnis presents insofar as it is applicable to federal district judges.
When it comes to federal district judges, I have two problems with the argument that McGinnis makes. One is practical. The other is theoretical.
As for the practical, McGinnis does not appreciate that the great majority of federal district judges have little or no training as legal historians. They are simply not trained to engage in the exegesis that McGinnis' assumes that federal district judges would be required to engage in should it be true that "originalism . . . takes precedence over precedent."
Now you, the sophisticated reader, may respond in the following way. You may say that McGinnis was only speaking for appellate judges. If so, then his argument is far too narrow. After all, somebody must make the first decision that appellate judges review. Even if he wasn't thinking of federal district judges, he should have. We are not potted plants. And, as a group, I argue that we are simply not up to the task. We run assembly lines that, because of the press of business, require us to spit out decisions as fast as we can. We resolve disputes using conventional methods. Next case!
I would argue that same practical point for most of the lawyers who appear before us. Maybe someday trial lawyers will be trained as "originalists," although I doubt it. Except for a few, if you asked most lawyers to direct their pleadings, arguments and briefs to originalism, they would fail. At the level of the district courts, there are simply not enough trial practitioners with training as serious originalists to form a critical mass.
And I pray that the Gods will save me and my colleagues from appellate lawyers who parachute in to try cases. They are like ducks out of water, and most think the Federal Rules of Evidence are far too mundane to master. (It is, however, great fun to pimp them around.)
There is yet another practical objection. Very few cases come before the federal district courts that require, or are suited to, the application of originalism. So, federal district judges simply lack that day in, and day out experience to grapple with the ordinary public meaning of the text of the Constitution. If practice makes perfect, we don't have enough cases calling for an understanding of originalism to perfect that trade, assuming the doubtful proposition that we have the nascent ability in the first place.
Let me now turn to my primary objection. "[O]riginalism . . . takes precedence over precedent." Really? Who says? Certainly not the Supreme Court.
Take the case of Hutto v. Davis, 454 US 370 (1982) (summarily reversing in per curiam opinion the Fourth Circuit, sitting en banc, who affirmed the grant of a writ of habeas corpus by the district court on Eighth Amendment grounds for a prisoner who had been given 40 years in prison for 9 ounces of marijuana). The Supreme Court chastised the Fourth Circuit for failing to follow precedent.
The Court said:
[T]he Court of Appeals could be viewed as having ignored, consciously or unconsciously, the hierarchy of the federal court system created by the Constitution and Congress. Admittedly, the Members of this Court decide cases "by virtue of their commissions, not their competence." And arguments may be made one way or the other whether the present case is distinguishable, except as to its facts, from [the prior decision] Rummel. But unless we wish anarchy to prevail within the federal judicial system, a precedent of this Court must be followed by the lower federal courts no matter how misguided the judges of those courts may think it to be.
Id. at 374-375. (Emphasis added).
As I have argued before[i], this means we district judges follow the precedents of the Supreme Court (and the Courts of Appeal) without guile. We don't look for holes in reasoning. We don't try to wiggle out from precedents that we detest. We don't look for the "original public meaning" that was ignored or overlooked by the Supreme Court. We simply apply the precedents in good faith. No matter the value one places on originalism, to the district judge, precedent does and should take precedence over originalism.
Richard G. Kopf
Senior United States District Judge (Nebraska)
[i] This link also has a certain irony to it. For the rest of the story, see here and here.
This entry was posted in Uncategorized on September 23, 2019 by Hon. Richard G. Kopf.
← Locked And Loaded This Is All Wrong →
18 thoughts on "Kopf: Federal District Judges Should Keep the Hell Away From "Originalism""
B. McLeod September 23, 2019 at 10:01 am
What McGinnis says only really makes sense at the Supreme Court level, where the justices are allowed to make things upas they go along. Lower courts should follow precedent until the Supreme Court itself makes up something different.
Richard Kopf September 23, 2019 at 10:39 am
B. McLeod,
Let me add also that following precedent can be fun too.
Buck v. Bell has never been overruled. So, I can still cite Oliver Wendell Holmes for the proposition that: "Three generations of imbeciles are enough." Ollie had an unmatched way with words.
Robert A. McReynolds September 24, 2019 at 8:55 am
I disagree. The lower courts can take these opportunities to push–for lack of a better word–SCOTUS to adopt the reasoning behind their legal opinions. If memory serves this is how John Roberts came up with his majority opinion in the Obamacare Case. He took the minority opinion of one Brett Kavanaugh and ran with it. I also think that this is how many of the cases in the Civil Rights Era were pushed a certain direction. People were taking the dissent from Plessy and changing the sentiments at the lower court levels, which finally won over a majority of the SCOTUS.
SHG September 24, 2019 at 9:25 am
I think you raise an important point. While precedent matters for the sake of legal stability, a little nudge against it can end up moving the law to where it needs to be. And if the nudge is deemed to be wrong, it gets reversed.
Richard Kopf September 24, 2019 at 4:21 pm
Your nudge, like my mileage, may vary.
More seriously, when it comes to the third tier toilet, it is ultimately a matter of judgment. You certainly have it, and perhaps Mr. McReynolds does too. But I have been in this business long enough to seriously doubt whether I do. Thus, I tend to view my proper role as a district judge to be quite limited. I'd rather be reversed for being too cautious rather than reversed for being insufficiently cautious.
I could go on and on about this, but ultimately it is my opinion that a "weak" federal district judge can do less harm than a "strong" one. Or as my pal Ollie once put it, "I always say, as you know, that if my fellow citizens want to go to Hell I will help them. It's my job."
SHG September 24, 2019 at 5:10 pm
As Judge Jack Weinstein once said, "what are they gonna do to me?"
Wrong question. The right question is "what is my proper role?"
You and Judge Jack Weinstein, one of the greatest district judges of all times, and you, who I esteem most highly, are concerned with justice. I am concerned (mostly) with law (and the proper role of judges in a democratic republic).
Me? Concerned with "justice"? ME?!?
Ray September 23, 2019 at 12:16 pm
The problem with constitutional interpretation is that no one can remember the words.. like the national anthem…
https://youtu.be/kAhKZ-n3bes
MonitorsMost September 23, 2019 at 4:40 pm
"If a precedent of this Court has direct application in a case, yet appears to rest on reasons rejected in some other line of decisions, the Court of Appeals should follow the case which directly controls, leaving it up to this Court the prerogative of overruling its own decisions." Rodriguez de Quijas vs. Shearson/American Exp., Inc., 490 U.S. 477, 484 (1989).
You've been told directly how to handle this. Do what you're told. It sucks that SCOTUS won't keep its end of the bargain and explicitly overrule cases as opposed to faux distinctions and "limiting cases to their precise circumstances." You have my sympathies. But that's SCOTUS' prerogative. It doesn't excuse you're non-compliance.
I agree. Thus, I hope the use of "you've" and "you" and "you're" in the comment refers to some other moron. While I admit to being a moron, it is not rocket science to do what one had been told to do. Even a moron can do it.
PS While I am thinking about it, for those who are aficionados of original public meaning as the be-all and end-all I love to remind them that at one time "awful" and "awesome" were synonymous.
MonitorsMost September 24, 2019 at 10:25 am
The "you're" was a typo. My apologies.
Andrew Garland September 23, 2019 at 6:25 pm
I'm not a lawyer. Is the following summary wrong?
We judges don't know what the Constitution or statute law "really" means. Especially, we don't know about the old stuff. But, we get along by comparing the fine points of one case to another and ruling the same way as the last time. We may be wrong, but at least we are sort-of consistent.
The Supreme Court doesn't know either, but occasionally will rule on something in a surprising way. However surprised, we all follow that new reasoning. It isn't our role to question.
Are judges wise analysts, or merely detailed bureaucrats? Does government care? What stops a slow (or fast) decline in standards, such as happened to Rome?
I have absolutely no responsibility for the rise and fall of Rome. Sorta consistent is correct. Some judges do old stuff. Most judges are just old. That makes a difference, I think.
By the way, you are very perceptive. All the best.
I struggled with whether to post or trash AG's comment, wondering how you would deal with it. Your subtlety suggests I made the right call.
Jardinero1 September 23, 2019 at 9:06 pm
Whenever I see the word anarchy, I wonder if the speaker or the author really means anarchy or means chaos but doesn't know the difference. Broadly speaking, anarchy is the opposite of hierarchy. Anarchy is the reduction or destruction of the social or legally enforced levels in society. Anarchic systems are quite orderly, because they are flat, and the herd effect keeps each piece in its place. The entire animal kingdom, exclusive of certain primates is anarchic. Pre-technological humans functioned nearly in a state of anarchy. There were very few levels between the lowest member of a tribal group and the highest. But chaos is something else. Chaos is the absence of order. This brings us to the Supreme Court in Hutto v Davis. When the authors wrote, "But unless we wish anarchy to prevail within the federal judicial system…"; did they mean a reduction in the levels of the judicial system ; or did they mean a reduction of order in the judicial system? If the latter, they should have written chaos.
Jardinero1,
I am just a district judge. But, if I were to guess I think anarchy is the right word choice when speaking of a judicial hierarchy. Interesting point you make, however.
I was adding an additional wrinkle to your point. What I was hinting at was, how can we trust judges, especially the judges of the Supreme Court, to use "the ordinary public meaning of the words of the Constitution at or about the time of the Founding to make decisions", if they can't correctly utilize the ordinary public meanings of words in contemporary usage?
Howl on Kamala Harris In MLK's Mind
Howl on Seaton: John Drinks At The End (Yet Again)


Today's honorary bat boy is Rolando Roomes.
Hey Sunday shut ins, I'll be covering our little round up today while Derwood is back from his vacation and had to go back to earning money. If you're in the Atlanta area, stop by the interstate and buy a sack of oranges from him. He needs the money. Crazy ain't cheap and he buys it in bulk from Costco. Let's take a spin through some of yesterday's games and if you're good, maybe I'll buy you some cotton candy.
Reds 8, Rockies 1. Edison Volquez made his first start after a little, good ole fashioned Tommy John surgery. And if he's going to pitch like this, the Cardinals need to start sweating. Volquez went 6 innings and gave up 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 9. The Reds offense smacked 4 home runs including another pair from Drew Stubbs. Cincinnati is starting to look pretty dangerous and they still have Aroldis Chapman waiting in the minors.
Red Sox 3, Rangers 2. Cliff Lee's second Ranger start went much better than his first one. Lee pitched, wait for it, 9 innings but allowed 2 runs and a walk. Another walk? I'm starting to doubt Derwood's robot theory. Youkilis drove in the tying run in the 9th against Lee and the Sox won in the 11th off of a Youkilis sac fly.
Twins 3, White Sox 2. There was no wasted pitching in this game. Blog enemy Carl Pavano went all 9 innings and only allowed 2 runs on 7 hits while striking out 6. Mark Buehrle went all 8 innings but allowed 3 runs on 9 hits to take the loss. Paul Konerko continued his above average season hitting his 21st homer of the year. That always makes Paul Konerko dog smile.
Marlins 2, Nationals 0. Josh Johnson thew another 6 scoreless innings and ran his record to 10-3. Just between us, Johnson's ERA is now 1.62 and he's the best pitcher in the National League. That's just our secret. I'm not sure anyone else has noticed yet.
Giants 8, Mets 4. Blog favorite Buster Posey hit another home run. That's 8 home runs and a .356/.391/.591 slash line for the Giants' clean-up hitter. Which begs the age old question, Bengie Molina?
Rays 10, Yankees 5. I covered A.J. Burnett's bad day in Shot of the Night.
Labels: blog enemy carl pavano, Buster Posey, Curveballs for Jobu, MTD's obsession with dogs in hats, paul konerko dog, the age old question bengie molina?
Finally, the debut of Paul Konerko Dog.


text:
Bill Maher | January 11 2008
9/11, Afghanistan, Bin Laden, Broadcatching, Consensus Journalism, D.C., Giuliani, Hillary, Imus, Obama, Oil, Politics, Rove
January 18, 2008 JT Tagged Barack Obama, BILL MAHER, Brittney Spears, Catherine Crier, Caucus, DEBATE, Dennis Kucinich, Hillary Clinton, IRAN, Iraq, John Edwards, John McCain, Lindsey Lohan, Los Angeles, Matt Taibbi, Mike Huckabee, MITT ROMNEY, Nevada, P.J. O'Rourke, Real Time, RON PAUL, Rudy Giuliani, The Grove, Tom Cruise, Tony snow Leave a comment
PEGGY NOONAN'S ACID TRIP
9/11, Bin Laden, Rove
A Time for Grace
America needs unity in dealing with Iraq. That means the president must lead.
Friday, August 31, 2007 12:01 a.m.
What will be needed this autumn is a new bipartisan forbearance, a kind of patriotic grace. This is a great deal to hope for. The president should ask for it, and show it. Gen. David Petraeus, the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq, will report to Congress on Sept. 11. From the latest metrics, it's clear the surge has gained some ground. It is generally supposed that Gen. Petraeus will paint a picture of recent decreases in violent incidents and increases in safety. In another world, that might be decisive: It's working, hang on.
At the same time, it's clear that what we call Iraq does not wholly share U.S. objectives. We speak of it as a unitary country, but the Kurds are understandably thinking about Kurdistan, the Sunnis see an Iraq they once controlled but that no longer exists, and the Shia–who knows? An Iraq they theocratically and governmentally control, an Iraq given over to Iran? This division is reflected in what we call Iraq's government in Baghdad. Seen in this way, the non-latest-metrics way, the situation is bleak.
Capitol Hill doesn't want to talk about it, let alone vote on it. Lawmakers not only can't figure a good way out, they can't figure a good way through.
But we're going to have to achieve some rough consensus, because we're a great nation in an urgent endeavor. The process will begin with Gen. Petraeus's statement.
Particular atmospherics, and personal dynamics, are the backdrop to the debate. People are imperfect, and people in politics tend to be worse: "Politics is not an ennobling profession," as Bill Buckley once said. You'd better be pretty good going in, because it's not going to make you better. Politicians are individuals with a thirst for power, honors, and fame. When you think about that you want to say, "Oh dear." But of course "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."
All sides in the Iraq debate need to step up, in a new way, to the characterological plate. From the pro-war forces, the surge supporters and those who supported the Iraq invasion from the beginning, what is needed is a new modesty of approach, a willingness to admit it hasn't quite gone according to plan. A moral humility. Not meekness–great powers aren't helped by meekness–but maturity, a shown respect for the convictions of others.
What we often see instead, lately, is the last refuge of the adolescent: defiance. An attitude of Oh yeah? We're Lincoln, you're McClellan. We care about the troops and you don't. We care about the good Iraqis who cast their lot with us. You'd just as soon they hang from the skids of the last helicopter off the embassy roof. They have been called thuggish. Is this wholly unfair?
The antiwar forces, the surge opponents, the "I was against it from the beginning" people are, some of them, indulging in grim, and mindless, triumphalism. They show a smirk of pleasure at bad news that has been brought by the other team. Some have a terrible quaking fear that something good might happen in Iraq, that the situation might be redeemed. Their great interest is that Bushism be laid low and the president humiliated. They make lists of those who supported Iraq and who must be read out of polite society. Might these attitudes be called thuggish also?
Do you ever get the feeling that at this point Washington is run by two rival gangs that have a great deal in common with each other, including an essential lack of interest in the well-being of the turf on which they fight?
Not only hearts and minds are invested in a particular stand. Careers are, too. Candidates are invested in a position they took; people are dug in, caught. Every member of Congress is constrained by campaign promises: "We'll fight" or "We'll leave." The same for every opinion spouter–every pundit, columnist, talk show host, editorialist–all of whom have a base, all of whom pay a price for deviating from the party line, whatever the party, and whatever the line. All this freezes things. It makes immobile what should be fluid. It keeps people from thinking. What is needed is simple maturity, a vow to look to–to care about–America's interests in the long term, a commitment to look at the facts as they are and try to come to conclusions. This may require in some cases a certain throwing off of preconceptions, previous statements and former stands. It would certainly require the mature ability to come to agreement with those you otherwise hate, and the guts to summon the help of, and admit you need the help of, the other side.
Without this, we remain divided, and our division does nothing to help Iraq, or ourselves.
It would be good to see the president calming the waters. Instead he ups the ante. Tuesday, speaking to the American Legion, he heightened his language. Withdrawing U.S. forces will leave the Middle East overrun by "forces of radicalism and extremism"; the region would be "dramatically transformed" in a way that could "imperil" both "the civilized world" and American security.
Forgive me, but Americans who oppose the war do not here understand the president to be saying: Precipitous withdrawal will create a vacuum that will be filled by killing that will tip the world to darkness. That's not what they hear. I think they understand him to be saying, I got you into this, I reaped the early rewards, I rubbed your noses in it, and now you have to save the situation.
His foes feel a tight-jawed bitterness. They believe it was his job not to put America in a position in which its security is imperiled; they resent his invitation to share responsibility for outcomes of decisions they opposed. And they resent it especially because he grants them nothing–no previous wisdom, no good intent–beyond a few stray words here and there.
And here's the problem. The president's warnings are realistic. He's right. At the end of the day we can't just up and leave Iraq. That would only make it worse. And it is not in the interests of America or the world that it be allowed to get worse.
Would it help if the president were graceful, humble, and asked for help? Why, yes. Would it help if he credited those who opposed him with not only good motives but actual wisdom? Yes. And if he tried it, it would make news. It would really, as his press aides say, break through the clutter. I don't see how the president's supporters can summon grace from others when they so rarely show it themselves. And I don't see how anyone can think grace and generosity of spirit wouldn't help. They would. They always do in big debates. And they would provide the kind of backdrop Gen. Petraeus deserves, the kind in which his words can be heard.
Ms. Noonan is a contributing editor of The Wall Street Journal and author of "John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father" (Penguin, 2005), which you can order from the OpinionJournal bookstore. Her column appears Fridays on OpinionJournal.com.
September 5, 2007 JT Tagged Bad Pundits, Blog Bashing, Bremer, Bush Apologists, Cheney, CIA, Consensus Journalism, Constitution, Coulter, District Of Corruption, Framing, Freepers, Gonzales, Iraq, Luntz, Petraeus, Republic_Party, Right-Wing Conspiracy, Rumsfeld, Shiite, Six_months, Sunni, Surge, War Criminals, Wingnuttia, Wolfowitz Leave a comment
CHARLIE RANGEL SMACKS TUCKER CARLSON:"WAR IS OVER"
9/11, MSNBC, Rove
Tucker tries out all the talking points. Charlie ain't having it.
July 9, 2007 JT Tagged Al Qaeda, Bad Pundits, Broadcatch, Carlson, Consensus Journalism, Iraq, Rangel, Rumsfeld, Shiite, Sunni, Wingnuttia, Youtube Leave a comment
GREAT MOMENTS IN TELEVISION PUNDITRY:: SCOOTER LIBBY EDITION
June 14, 2007 JT Tagged Al Qaeda, Ashcroft, Attorney, Bad Pundits, Barnicle, Berger, Blitzer, Blog Bashing, Broadcatch, Bush Apologists, Cheney, CIA, Consensus Journalism, Conservatism, Constitution, DEMOCRATS, District Of Corruption, Film And Videos, Framing, Freepers, Habeas Corpus, Iraq, Republic_Party, Rumsfeld, Shiite, Six_months, Sunni, Surge Leave a comment
BILL O'REILLY ACCUSES MSNBC OF PLOT AGAINST GEORGE BUSH
9/11, Bin Laden, MSNBC, Rove
BILL O'REILLY ACCUSES MSNBC OF PLOT AGAINST GEORGE BUSH
June 13, 2007 JT Tagged Al Qaeda, Ashcroft, Attorney, Bad Pundits, Bremer, Broadcatch, Bush, Bush Apologists, Cheney, Consensus Journalism, Conservatism, Film And Videos, Framing, Freepers, Gonzales, Habeas Corpus, IRAN, Iraq, Kurds, NBC, Rumsfeld, Shiite, Six_months, Soldiers, Sunni, veterans, War Resolution, Wingnuttia, Wolfowitz, Youtube Leave a comment
Lewis Scooter Libby was sentenced to jail today in Washington D.C.
9/11, Rove
Lewis Scooter Libby was sentenced to jail today in Washington D.C. for his role in covering up the illegal leaking of a C.I.A. undercover agents' identity and lying to and misleading federal investigators from the F.B.I. and Justice Department about this activity.
June 5, 2007 JT Tagged Al Qaeda, Attorney, Bremer, Britain, Broadcatch, Bush, Bush Apologists, Cheney, CIA, CNN, District Of Corruption, Framing, Gonzales, IRAN, Iraq, Libby, Novak, Plame, politics, Rumsfeld, Shiite, Sunni, War Criminals, Wilson, Wolfowitz Leave a comment
What Modern Conservatism Is Really All About
THEY ARE US May 27, 2007
The Sociopathic Disease of Conservatism
By F. Vyan Walton
I've made this argument – that Conservatism is a Disease – for quite sometime, but this will be one of the first times I really get down to the nitty gritty of it. It's been my feeling that the modern day conservative cult that thrives in America is fueled by a low-grade form of anti-social pathology and compulsive-addictive disorder. They're like Hate-Junkies. And the number one thing they hate are Liberals.
Recently the following screed was posted as a comment on my lonely little blog.
Anonymously – of course.
It began with "Liberalism is a Mental Disorder" – and went downhill from there.
Liberalism is a mental disorder,
This is the agenda of the Left. And they don't even try to hide it:
1. Re-establish the "Fairness Doctrine" to silence Conservative Talk Radio
2. Insure the success of the Mexican (and other Third World) invasion and conquest of White America.
3. Disarm all law-abiding citizens
4. Silence all speech of which they disaprove by expanding the definition of "Hate Speech", and pass laws to make such speech punishable by imprisonment.
5. Immediately surrender to the enemy in the Islamic War.
6. Establish Islam as a State-Protected Religion with assistance by CAIR and government schools.
My immediate response was the following.
If they "don't try to hide it" could you find any single respected "Liberal" who openly, or even on the sly – endorses any of that crap?
My own view is…
1. Re-establish the "Fairness Doctrine" to silence Conservative Talk Radio.
The Fairness Doctrine would do no such thing. It would actually require that the News, be the News – while Equal Time for Commentary and Editorialism would be enforced.
By what – making them American too? I'd say that's America conquering them.
Short 2nd Amendment Lesson, there's nothing in there about law abiding citizens, law enforcement or even hunting. The 2nd Amendment is directed specifically at "a well regulated militia" being neccesary for the maintainance of freedom from tyranny. You in a Militia? No? Then it doesn't apply to you.
I do support enforcement and some moderate expansion of Hate Speech and FCC regulation of same. But not to stop such speech, simply to make it painful to be an asshole in public. If we can fine ABC for Janet Jackson's titty we could fine Imus or Limbuagh, but they'd both still be on the air.
Which Islamic War? – the one between the Sunni and the Shia in Iraq or the one in Afghanistan and Pakistan aginst Al Qaeda? In the former case, we've got no hunt in that fight. Do we side with the Sunni or the Shia? In the later case I've heard NO ONE suggest we should surrender to Al-Qeada or Hezbollah for that matter, in fact Democrats have been struggling to get Bush to send more troops to Afghanistan by taking them out of Iraq..
Ok, that's just ridiculous. Liberals and Progresses want protection from a state sponsored religion, y'know like the Pilgrims and the Quakers who were trying to escape the persecution of Henry VIII's Anglican Church. Or for that matter – the Taliban.
Now I'd like to take my response a bit further, and rather than address the tit-for-tat points of Mr. Anonymous, consider exactly how anyone could come to believe such drivel. I understand of course, that these were merely boiler-plate cut-and-paste straw-man B.S. right-wing talking points. In understand that this person clearly hasn't been reading my blog, or it's crossposts on Dkos, Democratic Underground or OpedNews and hasn't seen what I've already discussed concerning The I-Mess or Immigration or Hate Crimes Legislation. (Cuz y'know… Facts are for Pussies!) It's clear that this just typical right-wing radio blather. I know that this is a form of Projection, making accusations of others that are simply fun-house mirror reflections of their own actual positions. (Liberlism is accused of being a "mental disorder", when in all likelyhood it is Rabid Neo-Conservatism that is based on abnormal pathology),
I know he's just a troll!.
I understand all this, but what I've always felt disturbing is how many people are more than willing to eat this stuff up and spew it right back out. Normally I wouldn't care, except for one thing – I'm pretty sure all these deeply deluded people vote!
As I've written before on Hating the Enemy, (namely Liberals) the leaders of the right-wing movement are not at all shy about telling us how they feel and who we should be hating.
Let's do a quick review (thanks to Media Matters) of some of the things that Republicans, including Hannity, regularly say about Democrats and Liberals.
Sean Hannity suggested that the DNC may have been behind the Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos, asking: "Was that a DNC plot too?" (The Sean Hannity Show, 9/10/04)
Laura Ingraham stated that Democratic Sens. John Kerry (MA), Joseph R. Biden Jr. (DE), and Barbara Boxer (CA) are "on the side of" North Korea leader Kim Jong Il because they were opposed to John R. Bolton's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. (Hannity & Colmes, 4/11/05).
Ann Coulter on Bill Clinton, "he was a very good rapist" and "molested the help" and on Al Gore, "Before we knew he was clinically insane" – "He seemed kinda gay"
Bill O'Reilly says he doesn't do "personal attacks", except of course for when he does.
On The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly has referred to media writer and Fox News Watch panelist Neal Gabler as a "rabid dog" and said of New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, "How nuts is this guy?" O'Reilly also said guest Christopher Murray "sounds like a fascist" for saying that that public institutions should not display religious symbols and called former Public Broadcasting System host Bill Moyers a "totalitarian." Students at the University of Connecticut who heckled right-wing pundit Ann Coulter during her campus appearance there earned the title of "far-left Nazis" from O'Reilly. He's also called John Kerry a "sissy", and claimed that Bill Clinton would be welcomed as president by Osama bin Laden.
Jonah Goldberg has distorted comments by Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), called syndicated columnist Helen Thomas a "thespian carbuncle of bile," and accused former President Jimmy Carter of engaging in a "mildly ghoulish exploitation of Coretta Scott King's funeral."
Then of course there's Michelle Malkin whose has claimed that "the vast majority of Hispanic politicians" believe that "the American Southwest belongs to Mexico;" has referred to certain Californian politicians as "Latino supremacists;" and characterized recent immigration protests as "militant racism" marked by "virulent anti-American hatred."
All of these people, are playing The Fear Card. Fear the brown-skins and the darkies. Fear the muslims. Fear the fags. Fear the ACLU. And Fear the Liberals who somehow have this crazy idea that America is supposed to be somekind of "Land of the Free" where all kinds of weird and different and disgusting people are supposed to be able to "Seek the American Dream" or some such nonesense.
John Dean has written about this strategic re-writing of Americas History in his book "Conservatives without Conscience"
In their efforts to present conservatism as an American tradition, conservatives have also reinterpreted the U.S. Constitution. One of the key elements of the Constitution is the establishment of a unique republic, in that a federal system would coexist with state and local governments. Before it was ratified many opponents attacked its progressive and innovative nature, for far from representing teh status quo, the Constitution was dramatically liberal.
James Madison defended it in The Federalist Papers by explaining that the founders "have not suffered a blind veneration for antiquity, for custom" but rather employed "numerous innovations… in favor of private rights and public happiness." Madison sid that "precedent could not be discovered," for there was no other government" on the face of the globe" that provided a model. Madison, the father of the Constitution, clearly saw his work as the opposite of conseratism.
Yet conservatives today continue to exploit xenophobia and paranoia of all things "progressive" all tucked up in nice neat American Flag wrapper of gingoism. Dean also argued that what currently drives the conservative movement is nothing less than Totalitarian Authoritarism. From his appearance on the Daily Show with John Stewart.
Dean: In dealing with that, in the Milgram experiments, where he brought people in off the street, and indeed found that he could get them to administer high voltage — what they thought was high voltage, and it wasn't. I deal with that to show how people can set their conscience aside. In other words, how do people go into the CIA every day and carry out some of the orders for torture? How do people go into NSA and turn that incredible apparatus against Americans? This is a typical Milgram situation. I actually go beyond that to find the nature of the authoritarian personality that will follow a leader who is an authoritarian.
In Milgram it was shown that otherwise normal people would submit their own conscience to the will of an authority figure and would, if continually pushed to do so, administer a lethal level electric shocks despite the screams and protests of the intended victim. Compare this with the definition of a Sociapath.
Sociopaths are very egocentric individuals that lack a sense of personal responsibility and morality. They may be impulsive, manipulative, reckless, quarrelsome, and consistent liars. Sociopaths are usually unable to sustain relationships and have a total lack of remorse for their actions. The sociopath may also be very prone to aggressive, hostile, and sometimes violent behavior. This aggression may or may not lead to criminal behavior and often takes the form of domestic violence. Along with these other actions, sociopaths often engage in self-destructive behavior such as alcoholism or addiction to drugs. This, of course, usually worsens many aspects of the sociopathic behavior. Despite these previous symptoms, the sociopath may be an excellent actor, always appearing charming, calm, and collected. They usually have a normal or above normal intelligence level and good verbal fluency. It is these qualities that sometimes place the sociopath in leadership positions within their social groups and often make it hard to spot their "black side".
Essentially Sociopaths have no conscience, no morality as we would describe it. Whereas Dean discusses the ability for ones conscience to be selectively suppressed under specific situations and in regards to specifics types or groups of individuals when directed by a "trusted authority". Clearly, a true sociopath doesn't need to be directed by others – and frankly wouldn't allow it – yet their behaviors remain markedly similar.
We can see it in the way the Bill O'Reilly can be so charming at one moment and then a raging lunatic the next. We can see it in Douglas Feith as smilingly twists reality and facts regarding Saddam and Al-Qaeda into logical linguini. We can see it with Bill Kriston, Michelle Malkin, Katie O'Beirn and Ann Coulter. These people are the standard bearers of the right-wing. The "Authorities" to which many for which many of our fellow citizens are willfully neutered their own conscience in aquiesence to. Here's an example from Dr. Bob Altemeyer, one of Dean's primary sources, intoducing his new book – The Authoritarians.
For example, take the following statement: "Once our government leaders and the authorities condemn the dangerous elements in our society, it will be the duty of every patriotic citizen to help stomp out the rot that is poisoning our country from within." Sounds like something Hitler would say, right? Want to guess how many politicians, how many lawmakers in the United States agreed with it? Want to guess what they had in common?
Or how about a government program that persecutes political parties, or minorities, or journalists the authorities do not like, by putting them in jail, even torturing and killing them. Nobody would approve of that, right? Guess again.
The idea that "All Men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with inalienable rights" is lost on these people. All rights become optional, based on whether that person passes the proper litmus test. Maintaining Habaes Corpus is "giving terrorists special rights." Monica Goodling did "nothing wrong" when she attempted to achieve ideological purity within the Justice Dept, that's the way it should be. Tim Griffin did nothing wrong by systematically caging the votes of African-American Troops while their were serving in Iraq. Who said their opinion and vote should matter? War Crimes and Torture are good for our intelligence, that is if we did do the torture. Karl Rove is just so misunderstood. I need my tax money for the down payment on my second condo. The poor are just lazy and deserve what they get. Iraq had it coming. The President has the "inherent power" to do any damn thing he feels like. That Vanity Fair Media Whore Valerie Plame-Wilson had it coming too. Good healthcare is for those who can afford it. Whose Bin Laden, that Obama guy running for President? Free Libby! Climate Change is just a hoax and even if it's not we didn't do it – it was sunspots, or volcanos, or maybe all the animals in the rain-forest farted – so there's nothing we can do to stop it. Stop bugging me, I need to refill the tank on my new Cadillac Escrapade, anyone got change for $1000?
See, I can do The Running-Man (from the 80's) and the "Straw-man" too. I'm like Ambidextrous and stuff.
All of these arguements are about shifting blame and responsibility for all the ills of the world – to someone else. Anyone but us. It's Them, always Them!
The real truth about being liberal is simply that you realize that we are all connected. Economically. Bio-chemically. Thermo-dynamically. What happens at the bottom of the ocean can change weather patterns across half the globe. What happens in a cave in Afghanistan can change an entire National pathology on the other side of the world. The truth about Liberals isn't that we "Hate America First", we love America's promise and potential and are angered and disgusted when we see her fail to live up to that promise – that All Men Really Are Created Equal and that preserving and protecting those rights from government overreach – beside being "Really Hard Work" – is the primary goal of our nation,
With that view in mind we don't fear or even really hate conservatives, we only hate what they've done to regress this nation back toward the type of totalitarian and repressives states that predated the Great Elightenment and the truly progressive vision that birthed this nation. Those regressive forces will always be there, but the tide of history is not on their side – it's on ours.
We are the True Sons of Liberty (oh, look a Punk Rock reference!) – not them.
I don't hate conservatives. I for one, pity them. They need help. (Treatment, Rehab, Deprogramming, a Colonic – anything!) Even if they don't deserve it, certainly won't seek it and won't return it. If they honestly and openly ask for it, Liberals will provide it.
Does anyone believe conservatives would do the same?
Vyan
Authors Website: http://www.truth2powerproject.com
Born and Bred in South Central LA. I spent 12 years working in the IT Dept. for federal contractor Northrop-Grumman on classified and high security projects such as the B2 Bomber. After Northrop I became an IT consultant with the state of California in Sacramento and worked on projects with the Dept of Consumer Affairs and CalTrans, as well as projects for Kaiser Permanente in Oakland. Now living in Los Angeles on my own independant web design company.
May 28, 2007 JT Tagged Al Qaeda, Ashcroft, Bremer, Britain, Broadcatch, Bush, Bush Apologists, California, Children, CIA, Consensus Journalism, Conservatism, Constitution, Debates, DEMOCRATS, District Of Corruption, Evolution, Framing, Freepers, Global Warming, Gonzales, Gootube, Guns, Habeas Corpus, Healthcare, Hillary, Immigration, IRAN, Iraq, Kerry, Luntz, Media Landscape, Moonbats, New York, Obama, Olbermann, politics, Politics Rundown, Poverty, Republic_Party, Right-Wing Conspiracy, Rosie, Rumsfeld, Shiite, Soldiers, Sunni, Surge, Taxes, veterans, War Criminals, web 2.0, Wingnuttia, Wolfowitz, Youtube Leave a comment
MICHAEL MOORE TELLS IT LIKE IT IS IN HIS FIRST LIVE INTERVIEW IN TWO YEARS
This is the first 17 minutes of the show including the opening video and monologue plus Bill gets the first interview with Michael Moore since his movie "Sicko" premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Tags include: Michael Moore Bill Maher Sicko health insurance pharmaceutical doctor hospital coverage corporate greed patient Slovenia
Fahrenheit 9/11 Bowling For Columbine Roger And Me
May 26, 2007 JT Tagged Al Qaeda, Ashcroft, Attorney, Blacksburg, Blog Bashing, Bremer, Broadcatch, Bush, Cheney, CIA, Consensus Journalism, Debates, DEMOCRATS, District Of Corruption, Evolution, Film And Videos, Global Warming, Gonzales, Gootube, Guns, Healthcare, Immigration, IRAN, Iraq, Pharmaceutical, politics, Poverty, Republic_Party, Rumsfeld, Shiite, Sunni, Virginia Tech, web 2.0, Wolfowitz, Youtube Leave a comment
BILL MAHER REAL TIME FRIDAY APRIL 27
Dennis Kucinich acts presidential, the Republican on the panel admits to not REALLY knowing how it's going in Iraq, and Bill defends Alec Baldwin's right to yell at his daughter. The model for "A Few Good Men", former US Attorney David Iglesias, has a live sitdown with Bill and is promptly and rightly called a hero by Maher. It seemed like Mr. Iglesias was a little emotional and it was a very good moment. Richard Belzer was great, not interrupting with cute jokes right in the middle of great discussions like Dana Carvey did a few weeks back. The Baghdad bureau chief for NPR, Jamie Tarabay, told of how the Green Zone is a myth in that it's more dangerous than the (red zone) and so she and her staff don't stay there.
Republican Lisa Schiffren, the former speech-writer for Newt Gingrich among other things, tried to talking point her way out of a discussion involving Iraqi oil revenue and the money supposedly going towards reconstruction of the infrastructure…. "Well maybe things haven't gone on line as fast…well I haven't actually been there so I can't speak for how things are" after the Baghdad bureau chief flatly says: "that's just not true"
It's sad how completely and utterly full of SHITE "these" people are.
http://broadcatching.wordpress.com
REAL TIME PART FOUR
REAL TIME PART THREE
REAL TIME PART TWO
█ THEY'RE ALL BELOW █Post to del.icio.us and Digg it and puff tough
April 28, 2007 JT Tagged 420, Al Qaeda, Ashcroft, Attorney, Bad Pundits, Bees, Biden, Bremer, Broadcatch, Bush, Bush Apologists, Cheney, CIA, Consensus Journalism, DEMOCRATS, District Of Corruption, Film And Videos, Global Warming, Gonzales, Gootube, Hillary, IRAN, Iraq, Kucinich, Media Landscape, NBC, NEW RULES, New York, Obama, Petraeus, politics, Politics Rundown, Pranksters, Republic_Party, Review/Renew: Research, Rosie, Six_months, Surge, US, web 2.0, Wolfowitz, Youtube Leave a comment


The thermometer goes up, then maybe it is the right time to go in a mountain destination. Where temperatures are still low.
Ancient Delphi, perched high on the slopes of Mt. Parnassos, was not a city. It was the site of the oracle of Apollo, god of the sun. People would journey here from all over the known world to seek wisdom from the gods on vital affairs of state. Tourists today zig-zag up the ancient Sacred Way to the Temple of Apollo. The path is flanked by the remains of Delphi's famous treasuries — monuments erected by city-states in gratitude for the oracle's advice.


text:
Title 17 - Commodity and Securities Exchanges
CHAPTER I - COMMODITY FUTURES TRADING COMMISSION
PART 23 - SWAP DEALERS AND MAJOR SWAP PARTICIPANTS
Subpart H - Business Conduct Standards for Swap Dealers and Major Swap Participants Dealing With Counterparties, Including Special Entities
Appendix A to Subpart H of Part 23 - Guidance on the Application of §§ 23.434 and 23.440 for Swap Dealers That Make Recommendations to Counterparties or Special Entities
17 CFR Appendix A to Subpart H of Part 23 - Guidance on the Application of §§ 23.434 and 23.440 for Swap Dealers That Make Recommendations to Counterparties or Special Entities
The following provides guidance on the application of §§ 23.434 and 23.440 to swap dealers that make recommendations to counterparties or Special Entities.
Section 23.434 - Recommendations to Counterparties - Institutional Suitability
A swap dealer that recommends a swap or trading strategy involving a swap to a counterparty, other than a swap dealer, major swap participant, security-based swap dealer or major security-based swap participant, must undertake reasonable diligence to understand the potential risks and rewards associated with the recommended swap or trading strategy involving a swap - general suitability (§ 23.434(a)(1)) - and have a reasonable basis to believe that the recommended swap or trading strategy involving a swap is suitable for the counterparty - specific suitability (§ 23.434(a)(2)). To satisfy the general suitability obligation, a swap dealer must undertake reasonable diligence that will vary depending on, among other things, the complexity of and risks associated with the swap or swap trading strategy and the swap dealer's familiarity with the swap or swap trading strategy. At a minimum, a swap dealer's reasonable diligence must provide it with an understanding of the potential risks and rewards associated with the recommended swap or swap trading strategy.
Recommendation. Whether a communication between a swap dealer and a counterparty is a recommendation will turn on the facts and circumstances of the particular situation. There are, however, certain factors the Commission will consider in reaching such a determination. The facts and circumstances determination of whether a communication is a "recommendation" requires an analysis of the content, context, and presentation of the particular communication or set of communications. The determination of whether a "recommendation" has been made, moreover, is an objective rather than a subjective inquiry. An important factor in this regard is whether, given its content, context, and manner of presentation, a particular communication from a swap dealer to a counterparty reasonably would be viewed as a "call to action," or suggestion that the counterparty enter into a swap. An analysis of the content, context, and manner of presentation of a communication requires examination of the underlying substantive information transmitted to the counterparty and consideration of any other facts and circumstances, such as any accompanying explanatory message from the swap dealer. Additionally, the more individually tailored the communication to a specific counterparty or a targeted group of counterparties about a swap, group of swaps or trading strategy involving the use of a swap, the greater the likelihood that the communication may be viewed as a "recommendation."
Safe harbor. A swap dealer may satisfy the safe harbor requirements of § 23.434(b) to fulfill its counterparty-specific suitability duty under § 23.434(a)(2) if: (1) The swap dealer reasonably determines that the counterparty, or an agent to which the counterparty has delegated decision-making authority, is capable of independently evaluating investment risks with regard to the relevant swap or trading strategy involving a swap; (2) the counterparty or its agent represents in writing that it is exercising independent judgment in evaluating the recommendations of the swap dealer; (3) the swap dealer discloses in writing that it is acting in its capacity as a counterparty and is not undertaking to assess the suitability of the recommendation; and (4) in the case of a counterparty that is a Special Entity, the swap dealer complies with § 23.440 where the recommendation would cause the swap dealer to act as an advisor to a Special Entity within the meaning of § 23.440(a).
To reasonably determine that the counterparty, or an agent to which the counterparty has delegated decision-making authority, is capable of independently evaluating investment risks of a recommendation, the swap dealer can rely on the written representations of the counterparty, as provided in § 23.434(c). Section 23.434(c)(1) provides that a swap dealer will satisfy § 23.434(b)(1)'s requirement with respect to a counterparty other than a Special Entity if it receives representations that the counterparty has complied in good faith with the counterparty's policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that the persons responsible for evaluating the recommendation and making trading decisions on behalf of the counterparty are capable of doing so. Section § 23.434(c)(2) provides that a swap dealer will satisfy § 23.434(b)(1)'s requirement with respect to a Special Entity if it receives representations that satisfy the terms of § 23.450(d) regarding a Special Entity's qualified independent representative.
Prong (4) of the safe harbor clarifies that § 23.434's application is broader than § 23.440 - Requirements for Swap Dealers Acting as Advisors to Special Entities. Section 23.434 is triggered when a swap dealer recommends any swap or trading strategy that involves a swap to any counterparty. However, § 23.440 is limited to a swap dealer's recommendations (1) to a Special Entity (2) of swaps that are tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity. Thus, a swap dealer that recommends a swap to a Special Entity that is tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity may comply with its suitability obligation by satisfying the safe harbor in § 23.434(b); however, the swap dealer must also comply with § 23.440 in such circumstances.
Section 23.440 - Requirements for Swap Dealers Acting as Advisors to Special Entities
A swap dealer "acts as an advisor to a Special Entity" under § 23.440 when the swap dealer recommends a swap or trading strategy involving a swap that is tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity. A swap dealer that "acts as an advisor to a Special Entity" has a duty to make a reasonable determination that a recommendation is in the "best interests" of the Special Entities and must undertake "reasonable efforts" to obtain information necessary to make such a determination.
Whether a swap dealer "acts as an advisor to a Special Entity" will depend on: (1) Whether the swap dealer has made a recommendation to a Special Entity; and (2) whether the recommendation concerns a swap or trading strategy involving a swap that is tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity. To determine whether a communication between a swap dealer and counterparty is a recommendation, the Commission will apply the same factors as under § 23.434, the suitability rule. However, unlike the suitability rule, which covers recommendations regarding any type of swap or trading strategy involving a swap, the "acts as an advisor rule" and "best interests" duty will be triggered only if the recommendation is of a swap or trading strategy involving a swap that is "tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity."
Whether a swap is tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity will depend on the facts and circumstances. Swaps with terms that are tailored or customized to a specific Special Entity's needs or objectives, or swaps with terms that are designed for a targeted group of Special Entities that share common characteristics, e.g., school districts, are likely to be viewed as tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity. Generally, however, the Commission would not view a swap that is "made available for trading" on a designated contract market or swap execution facility, as provided in Section 2(h)(8) of the Act, as tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity.
Safe harbor. Under § 23.440(b)(2), when dealing with a Special Entity (including a Special Entity that is an employee benefit plan as defined in § 23.401(c)(3)), 1 a swap dealer will not "act as an advisor to a Special Entity" if: (1) The swap dealer does not express an opinion as to whether the Special Entity should enter into a recommended swap or swap trading strategy that is tailored to the particular needs or characteristics of the Special Entity; (2) the Special Entity represents in writing, in accordance with § 23.402(d), that it will not rely on the swap dealer's recommendations and will rely on advice from a qualified independent representative within the meaning of § 23.450; and (3) the swap dealer discloses that it is not undertaking to act in the best interests of the Special Entity.
1 The guidance in this appendix regarding the safe harbor to § 23.440 is limited to the safe harbor for any Special Entity under § 23.440(b)(2). A swap dealer may separately comply with the safe harbor under § 23.440(b)(1) for its communications to a Special Entity that is an employee benefit plan as defined in § 23.401(c)(3).
A swap dealer that elects to communicate within the safe harbor to avoid triggering the "best interests" duty must appropriately manage its communications. To clarify the type of communications that they will make under the safe harbor, the Commission expects that swap dealers may specifically represent that they will not express an opinion as to whether the Special Entity should enter into a recommended swap or trading strategy, and that for such advice the Special Entity should consult its own advisor. Nothing in the final rule would preclude such a representation from being included in counterparty relationship documentation. However, such a representation would not act as a safe harbor under the rule where, contrary to the representation, the swap dealer does express an opinion to the Special Entity as to whether it should enter into a recommended swap or trading strategy.
If a swap dealer complies with the terms of the safe harbor, the following types of communications would not be subject to the "best interests" duty: 2 (1) Providing information that is general transaction, financial, educational, or market information; (2) offering a swap or trading strategy involving a swap, including swaps that are tailored to the needs or characteristics of a Special Entity; (3) providing a term sheet, including terms for swaps that are tailored to the needs or characteristics of a Special Entity; (4) responding to a request for a quote from a Special Entity; (5) providing trading ideas for swaps or swap trading strategies, including swaps that are tailored to the needs or characteristics of a Special Entity; and (6) providing marketing materials upon request or on an unsolicited basis about swaps or swap trading strategies, including swaps that are tailored to the needs or characteristics of a Special Entity. This list of communications is not exclusive and should not create a negative implication that other types of communications are subject to a "best interests" duty.
2 Communications on the list that are not within the meaning of the term "acts as an advisor to a Special Entity" are outside the requirements of § 23.440. By including such communications on the list, the Commission does not intend to suggest that they are "recommendations." Thus, a swap dealer that does not "act as an advisor to a Special Entity" within the meaning of § 23.440(a) is not required to comply with the safe harbor to avoid the "best interests" duty with respect to its communications.
The safe harbor in § 23.440(b)(2) allows a wide range of communications and interactions between swap dealers and Special Entities without invoking the "best interests" duty, including discussions of the advantages or disadvantages of different swaps or trading strategies. The Commission notes, however, that depending on the facts and circumstances, some of the examples on the list could be "recommendations" that would trigger a suitability obligation under § 23.434. However, the Commission has determined that such activities would not, by themselves, prompt the "best interests" duty in § 23.440, provided that the parties comply with the other requirements of § 23.440(b)(2). All of the swap dealer's communications, however, must be made in a fair and balanced manner based on principles of fair dealing and good faith in compliance with § 23.433.
Swap dealers engage in a wide variety of communications with counterparties in the normal course of business, including but not limited to the six types of communications listed above. Whether any particular communication will be deemed to be a "recommendation" within the meaning of §§ 23.434 or 23.440 will depend on the facts and circumstances of the particular communication considered in light of the guidance in this appendix with respect to the meaning of the term "recommendation." Swap dealers that choose to manage their communications to comply with the safe harbors provided in §§ 23.434 and 23.440 will be able to limit the duty they owe to counterparties, including Special Entities, provided that the parties exchange the appropriate representations.