Gift...

 

New York has endured nearly eight years under its worst mayor ever, but Bill de Blasio aims to do even more damage on his way out the door. His plan to end all Gifted and Talented programs in the public schools represents another assault on merit and would further dumb down a system already drowning in mediocrity and failure. 

The mayor, thankfully term-limited on Jan. 1, wants to replace achievement with a politically correct concoction called Brilliant, which appears to be based on the notion that every child is a little bit Gifted and Talented. 

But just a little bit because students identified as having the ability to learn faster would get accelerated instruction in specific subjects while remaining with their initial classmates, which sounds like a formula for lots of chaos and very little learning. 

Pick...

 

New Jersey residents are fuming over New York’s pending new Manhattan congestion tax — and threatening to exhaust every option to stall the plan.

“It’s taxation without representation,” Ron Simoncini, executive director of the new Fair Congestion Pricing Alliance. Members of the alliance are upset by what they say is a New York plan to pick the pockets of thousands of New Jersey residents.

“We’re not going to relent if New Jersey commuters are discriminated against, period,” Gov. Murphy said at a recent meeting of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce.  

At odds are fees New Jersey drivers will be forced to pay the state of New York to drive into Manhattan’s “congestion zone” below 60th Street. New York’s goal is to implement the plan in 2023.

Hearings by New York officials with New Jersey residents to discuss congestion fees are “a dog and pony show,” Simoncini said. Just a thought.

Bombing...

 

At least 100 worshippers have been killed or injured in a suicide bombing that targeted a packed Shia mosque in Afghanistan during Friday prayers.

The blast took place in Kunduz, the capital city of Kunduz province in the north-east of the country. There was speculation that the attack was carried out by Islamic State (IS), which has a long history of attacking Afghanistan’s Shia minority.

 There was speculation that the attack was carried out by Islamic State (IS), which has a long history of attacking Afghanistan’s Shia minority.

Huawei...

 

When she was detained in Canada nearly three years ago, Meng Wanzhou was crisscrossing the globe as finance chief of all-conquering Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co.

She arrived back home in late September to a very different company, one forced into retreat by American sanctions that have left it fighting for its future.

Huawei is in the midst of a deep slump.  Its revenue has dropped for three straight quarters. The company has fallen to No. 9 in smartphone sales, with buyers evaporating from Europe to China. Its global telecom market share is shrinking as it loses out in key markets, a result of U.S. pressure designed to halt the spread of Huawei’s 5G technology..

Components are running scarce for lines of business such as mobile phones, the result of far-reaching rules enacted by Washington that curbed the ability of Huawei—which the U.S. has accused of stealing trade secrets and violating sanctions—to obtain parts and software made using American technology. Just a thought.

Wroten...

 

Eighteen former NBA players were charged with attempting to defraud the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan of nearly $4 million, officials said Thursday.

The defendants include Terrence Williams,  ......

For example, Davis, Allen and Wroten filed for root canals, all allegedly performed on the same six teeth on the same day of April 30, 2016, the prosecutor said. That trio also put in for payments for crowns done on the same six teeth, also on the same day of May 11, 2016, according to Strauss.

Anthony Wroten and Allen filed for root canals done on the same 13 teeth on the same day of Sept. 6, 2018, Strauss added.

No Fuel...

 

Surging energy prices are stoking tensions in Europe over the green transition, with European Union countries fractured in their views on climate change policies. Wealthier nations want to keep up the pressure to quit fossil fuels while poorer ones, worried about the cost to the consumer, are wary.

The United States has not ruled out tapping into its strategic petroleum reserves, which it typically only does after major supply disruptions such as hurricanes, or pursuing a ban on oil exports to bring down the cost of crude oil,  or bad decision by the administration.

Britain's energy regulator warned that energy bills are likely to rise significantly in April.

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban blamed European Union action to combat climate change for the current crisis and said Poland and Hungary would present a united front at the next EU summit.

Analysts have said rising gas prices are the main driver of European electricity costs, while the soaring cost of permits on the EU carbon market has contributed around a fifth of the power price increase.  Just a "no energy" thought.

Misused ..

 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has not paid back nearly $320,000 in public money used to fund the security detail that traveled with him during his aborted presidential campaign, a new report said.
The city investigators looking into the use of de Blasio's security detail also concluded that the officer in charge of the mayor's security unit "actively obstructed and sought to thwart" their probe.

The 47-page report from the New York City Department of Investigations came more than two years after the investigators launched a probe into allegations that de Blasio's security detail had been misused for personal or political benefit. The probe looked at the use of security resources by de Blasio's children and staff members, as well as whether the city had been stuck with the bill for de Blasio's use of the security detail during his presidential bid.

The report arrived as de Blasio, who will step down as mayor when his final term ends this year, is reportedly planning a run for governor.

The report concluded that the EPU was misused when its members helped the mayor's daughter, Chiara de Blasio, lift a futon into and out of an NYPD sprinter van during her move to Gracie Mansion from her apartment.       Just a thought.

Taxing...

 

 A group of 136 countries have agreed to a global treaty that would tax large multinationals at a minimum rate of 15% and require companies to pay taxes in the countries where they do business.

Estonia, Hungary and -- most notably -- Ireland joined the agreement. It is now supported by all nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the G20. The countries that signed on to the international treaty represent more than 90% of global GDP. Four countries that participated in the talks -- Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sri Lanka -- have not yet joined the agreement.

The Biden administration breathed new life into the global initiative earlier this year and secured the support of the G7 countries in June, paving the way for a preliminary deal in July.

With that done, there are many other benefits Ireland can offer the various International Businesses looking for a tax haven.  Just a thought.

Prohibited...

 

California became the first state to prohibit “stealthing,” or removing a condom without permission during intercourse, after Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law Thursday.

The new measure amends the state's civil code, adding the act to the state’s civil definition of sexual battery. That makes it clear that victims can sue perpetrators for damages, including punitive damages.

It makes it illegal to remove condoms without obtaining verbal consent.   Legislative analysts said then that it could already be considered misdemeanor sexual battery, though it is rarely prosecuted given the difficulty in proving that a perpetrator acted intentionally instead of accidentally.

The Erotic Service Providers Legal Educational Research Project supported the bill, saying it could allow sex workers to sue clients who remove condoms.

Pitman

 

A federal judge has blocked enforcement of Texas' controversial new abortion law, granting an emergency request from the Justice Department.
The department sought the preliminary injunction just days after it sued Texas over its new abortion law. Known as SB 8, the law bans almost all abortions in the state after about six weeks.

In his 113-page ruling, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Pitman said that from the moment SB 8 went into effect last month, "women have been unlawfully prevented from exercising control over their lives in ways that are protected by the Constitution."

He added: "[O]ther courts may find a way to avoid this conclusion is theirs to decide. This Court will not sanction one more day of this offensive deprivation of such an important right."

Attorney General  Garland said in a statement. "We will continue to protect constitutional rights against all who would seek to undermine them."