NYC Mayor Wants to Close Rikers Island Jail Over Next Decade

The mayor said Friday that he wants to close the city’s troubled Rikers Island jail complex, though he cautioned that doing so would be difficult and take at least a decade.

“It will take many years and it will take many tough decisions along the way, but it will happen,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

Among those challenges: The mayor said the jail’s daily population would have to be slashed to half of what it was just a few years ago. New, smaller jails would also have to be opened elsewhere in the city — a potentially lengthy process considering the possibility of neighborhood opposition.

Key details of the plan, including the cost and the location of alternative jails, are still a long way from being worked out, the mayor said.

The announcement comes two days ahead of the planned unveiling of recommendations by an independent commission established by the City Council after a string of brutality cases that exposed poor supervision, questionable medical care and corruption at Rikers. The commission has been considering options for Rikers as part of a broad examination of the city’s criminal justice system.

Previously, the mayor, a Democrat, had called proposals to close Rikers “noble” but too expensive.

On Friday, he said he had changed his mind because the jail system was housing fewer and fewer people, dropping to under 10,000 from a high of 15,000 just a few years ago, according to city figures. Most of the city’s jail population is at Rikers; there are about 2,400 inmates in other locations. De Blasio said the jail population would have to be at 5,000 in order to shut it.

De Blasio credited the drop partly to shifts in how law enforcement handles lower level crimes, like smoking marijuana in public.

Rikers is a 400-acre (162-hectare) former dump near the runways of LaGuardia Airport. It is accessible only by a narrow bridge between it and Queens. For decades, the city has sent its inmates there while they await trial, where they’re housed in 10 jail facilities.

Advocates for prisoners have been arguing that smaller jails, based in the city’s neighborhoods, would be better able to provide services and reduce delays getting criminal suspects to and from court.

Glenn Martin, an inmate advocate who has pushed a campaign to persuade the mayor to close the jail, called de Blasio’s decision “a step in the right direction.”

“Countless failed attempts at incremental reform have proven that the only viable solution is to close Rikers,” he said.

Neighborhood groups and others have resisted previous attempts to build or expand existing jails in the boroughs. City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Friday that city officials should be thinking about how to help people entangled in the criminal justice system.

“Are we going to give these people another chance or are we going to write them off?” she asked.

Violence, mismanagement and corruption have been the subject of intense scrutiny by the media and federal prosecutors in recent years.

A 2015 settlement of civil litigation over pervasive brutality led to the installation of a monitor responsible for overseeing the city’s progress in adding thousands of surveillance cameras and stricter policies on use of force.

The Associated Press and other news outlets first exposed conditions on Rikers in a series of reports in 2014. Those reports included the suicide of Kalief Browder, who hanged himself after spending three years jailed — mostly in solitary — without trial and a homeless ex-Marine who essentially baked to death in a hot cell.

Source: newsmax

US Defense Chief Mattis: North Korea Has 'Got to be Stopped'

North Korea must be stopped on its path toward being able to threaten the United States with nuclear attack, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Friday in a stark expression of America’s top national security concern at the moment. He emphasized diplomatic means of changing Pyongyang’s “reckless” agenda.

On his first visit to Britain as Pentagon chief, Mattis also took rhetorical jabs at Russia and said America’s priority in Syria is defeating the Islamic State group rather than bringing down President Bashar Assad.

At a joint news conference with his British counterpart, Michael Fallon, Mattis was reminded by a reporter that as commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East several years ago, he considered Iran to be the biggest threat to U.S. interests. Asked how he would deal with Iran as secretary of defense, Mattis called Tehran a problem but quickly pivoted to condemning North Korea and described the isolated, communist country as the more immediate threat.

“This is a threat of both rhetoric and growing capability,” Mattis said, alluding to the North’s recent progress in building nuclear bombs and developing an intercontinental ballistic missile to deliver such weapons to U.S. soil. Experts believe

North Korea will develop such capability in the next years, despite an array of international sanctions on the country. The Trump administration has been conducting a broad policy review of North Korea that includes military options, but Mattis stressed other approaches.

“We are working diplomatically, including with those that we might be able to enlist in this effort to get North Korea under control,” he said. “But right now it appears to be going in a very reckless manner.”

“That’s got to be stopped,” he concluded.

Mattis made clear he still worries about Iran’s involvement in what the U.S. sees as destabilizing activities across the Middle East. But he suggested that he now sees the world through a wider lens and that makes North Korea the more urgent problem.

He also aimed strong criticism at Russia, saying its “violations of international law are now a matter of record.” He was referring to its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and “mucking around insider other people’s elections and that sort of thing.” He also cited Russian outreach to Afghanistan’s Taliban as a concern.

Mattis hinted the Trump administration was close to deciding how to respond to Russia’s recent deployment of a ground-based medium-range cruise missile — an action the Pentagon recently declared a violation of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty.

Britain’s Fallon said he and Mattis discussed the INF issue in their private talks Friday. More broadly, he said the NATO alliance cannot return to business as usual with Russia.

“There is a pattern of interference by Russia,” Fallon said. When the West does engage with Moscow, he added, “we need to be wary of what Russia is up to.”

On Syria, which has been wracked by years of civil and IS’ insurgency, Mattis said the U.S. government is “working this one day at a time.” He said the focus is IS’ stated intention of attacking the West, including Europe.

“We’re going to have to keep them on their back foot, and that’s where we’re concentrating at this point,” he said, alluding to U.S.-supported offensives in Mosul, Iraq, and Raqqa, Syria.

Source: newsmax

Sessions: Ferguson Emblem of Tense Relationship with Police

Ferguson, Missouri, has become “an emblem of the tense relationship” between law enforcement and those it serves, especially minority communities, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Friday during a visit to St. Louis.

Sessions, speaking to a gathering of law enforcement leaders at the federal courthouse that sits roughly 12 miles from Ferguson, said the Justice Department will work with them to battle the rising tide of violent crime in America. He said he supports “proactive, up-close policing — when officers get out of their squad cars and interact with everyone on their beat — that builds trust, prevents violent crime, saves lives and creates a good atmosphere.”

But Sessions said that sort of police work has become increasingly difficult in what he called “an age of viral videos and targeted killings of police.”

“Unfortunately, in recent years law enforcement as a whole has been unfairly maligned and blamed for the crime and unacceptable deeds of a few in their ranks,” Sessions said. “Amid this intense public scrutiny and criticism, morale has gone down, while the number in their ranks killed in the line of duty has gone up.”

Ferguson, he said, has become “an emblem of the tense relationship between law enforcement and the communities we serve, especially our minority communities.”

Ferguson became a flashpoint after 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was black and unarmed, was killed by white officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. Months of often violent protests followed the shooting. A St. Louis County grand jury and the Justice Department cleared Wilson of wrongdoing in November 2014, and he resigned that same month.

But the Justice Department investigation under then-Attorney General Eric Holder found significant racial profiling and bias in both Ferguson’s police department and municipal court. The city and the Justice Department settled a lawsuit last year that requires significant changes in policing. That process is ongoing.

Sessions is taking a far different approach than Holder. Civil rights investigations of police were common during the Obama administration. Sessions has suggested that civil rights investigations hinder police, causing them to back off out of fear of scrutiny of their every move. In fact, some have labeled the phenomenon the “Ferguson Effect.”

Ferguson Police Chief Delrish Moss, who attended the speech, said he was encouraged by Sessions’ commitment to battling violent crime. And Moss believes the Justice Department remains steadfast in working with Ferguson leaders to eliminate racial bias.

“We’re working with the Department of Justice, in fact, on a weekly basis,” Moss said. “They remain as committed as they always have been to the reforms we’ve agreed upon.”

President Ronald Reagan chose Sessions for a federal judgeship in the 1980s, but the nomination was rejected amid concerns about racially charged comments and his failed prosecution of three black civil rights activists on voting fraud charges.

Denise Lieberman, a St. Louis lawyer with the civil rights group Advancement Project, said Sessions’ approach is concerning at a time when allegations of violence by police are at an all-time high.

“We also know that the role of the Department of Justice is absolutely critical to ensuring that policing agencies are complying with the law, and they are a crucial step in bringing accountability to policing,” Lieberman said. “We see that right here in Ferguson.”

Sessions told the St. Louis audience he has ordered the creation of a crime-fighting task force that brings together the leaders of the FBI, DEA, ATF and U.S. Marshals Service. He said battling the heroin and opioid epidemic is a crucial element of the fight to stem violent crime.

Source: newsmax

Former Marine Security Expert: 'We Already Are in a Cyberwar' With Russia

A former U.S. Marine Corps cyber security expert said the U.S. is already in a cyber war with Russia. 

“Hacking, especially when it comes to different countries, is nothing new. The United States hacks Russia,” David Kennedy said in a video for Business Insider. “Russia hacks the United States. We hack China, China hacks us.

It’s literally a game where we don’t want to impact them because they can impact us and vice versa,” he continues.

“So in the event that Russia decides to launch a cyberattack that directly impacts our economy, or our power grid, or our water treatment facilities, things that we rely on for core day-to-day life.

“We have the exact same foot-holds into their environment and we can do the exact same thing. So right now it’s really a pain game on who wants to withstand the most about of main and who has the most capabilities. So everybody is scared of each other.”

Former Vice President Dick Cheney said Monday that Russian actions during the election could be an “act of war,” but according to Kennedy, “we don’t know what classifies a cyber war or what would cause an act of war, right now there’s no definition of that.”

According to CBS News, Cheney said at the Economic Times’ Global Business Summit in New Delhi: “There’s not any argument at this stage that somehow the election of President Trump was not legitimate, but there’s no question that there was a very serious effort made by Mr. Putin and his government, his organization, to interfere in major ways with our basic, fundamental democratic processes.

“In some quarters, that would be considered an act of war.”

Source: newsmax

Verizon: Android Spyware Coming Soon to Your Device

Verizon has announced it will install spyware called AppFlash on all of its users’ Android devices within the next few weeks, just days after the House of Representatives passed legislation that would allow internet providers to sell people’s browser histories to advertisers.

AppFlash works to connect content and services between different apps, and suggests restaurants, music, movies, etc., that might interest users, according to TechCrunch. To be able to make relevant suggestions, the spyware gathers data about your preferences from your searches and apps.

Not only does the spyware collect your phone number, it also records your location and everything stored on your device, including the information for all of your contacts, Engadget reported.

Verizon said the information would be shared with all of the companies Verizon owns or is partnered with, including AOL.

The revelation caused privacy watchdog the Electronic Frontier Foundation to initially decry AppFlash as “the first horseman of the privacy apocalypse,” according to PhoneArena.

The digital rights group did back off from their strong opposition to the software, pending further investigation, when Verizon clarified users would have to opt in to the software.

“You can easily disable the app,” a Verizon spokeswoman said, CNET reported. “Nobody is required to use it.

Twitter users seem universally opposed to the spyware addition, with many saying they plan to seek other ISPs and cell phone service providers.

Hey @verizon, your new mandatory Appflash spyware is a great way to encourage your customers to dump you for @ATT.http://bit.ly/2nTHMnB

— Northern Cali-Gator (@microdile) March 31, 2017

Dear Verizon,
You were my 1st, have been my only. I trusted you. I plan to see other ISPs. You and your spyware deserve each other.
Irene

— Irene Koehler (@IreneKoehler) March 31, 2017

Source: newsmax

Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown on Running for President: 'Don't Rule It Out'

California Gov. Jerry Brown  may be leaving open the possibility of a run for the presidency, according to SFGate. 

“I don’t think I’m running for office. All I’ve got left is lieutenant governor, treasurer, and controller,” he said at a Thursday press conference.

A person in the crowd then yelled,”Or president,” according to the Los Angeles Times. 

“I’d be 82 then. But you know, don’t rule it out,” Brown said.

An aide later clarified Brown’s comment for the LA Times, saying, “He was joking.”

The governor on Wednesday proposed raising $52 billion with a gasoline tax increase to fix California’s roads, Los Angeles Daily News reported. 

Source: newsmax

Commerce's Wilbur Ross Hopes for Cooperation From Chinese President

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said Friday he hopes President Donald Trump’s upcoming meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping will result in a commitment toward the two countries working collaboratively.

“What I would hope would come out would be a commitment to start abiding by the rules and a commitment to working collaboratively to help reduce our deficit,” Ross told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends” program.

Trump on Thursday tweeted that the session will be a “very difficult one” because “we can no longer have massive trade deficits and job losses.”

Friday, Trump plans to sign two executive orders aimed at reshaping U.S. trade policy, aiming the orders at foreign trade abuses. The signings come a week before Trump will meet with the Chinese leader.

Ross told Fox News that the first order will commission the Commerce Department to perform a 90-day study, “country by country, of the causes for our deficits with them.”

“As you know, we have $500 billion of total deficit,” Ross said. “This will be a real analytical pinpointing so it can form the basis of policy decisions. For the first time, there will be a systemic analysis of the problem, so that we can have very detailed and very accurate solutions.”

The research wille result in a public report, said Ross, as will Trump’s responses.

The second executive order will strengthen the nation’s anti-dumping rules, in hopes of slowing how China and other nations dump their products onto the international market a lower rates than U.S. companies can match.

“What the second order does is it corrects the problem we’ve had in collecting the anti-dumping duties,” Ross said. “There are $3 million worth of duties that have never been collected, because they set up straw man importers that don’t have any financial substance. By the time the case ends, there is nobody against whom you can asses the fine.”

The order will require that letters of credit, insurance company bonds, or cash be put up by companies, so that fines can be assessed and levied for dumping, said Ross.

Source: newsmax

NBC News: Obama Admin. Created List of Russia Probe Docs

Officials within former President Barack Obama’s administration created a list, using serial numbers to document all of the classified files related to the Russia-election investigation, NBC News reported.

The purpose — get the documents in front of Senate Intelligence Committee members before President Donald Trump took office for fear they might get buried come Jan. 20, NBC reported.

A former Obama official told NBC they wanted “to share it with those on the Hill who could lawfully see the documents” and keep them in a second safe outside of CIA headquarters.

The report echoes what a former Obama Defense Department official has been saying in recent weeks.

Evelyn Farkas, former deputy assistant secretary of defense and now a national security analyst for NBC News, said she had urged the Obama administration as well as lawmakers to gather and preserve intelligence about the Trump-Russia probe.

“I got worried that the process wasn’t being followed with regard to Capitol Hill, with regard to Congress, because it wasn’t clear to me that the White House was keeping them in the loop, Farkas said during an MSNBC segment Thursday.

“And that was really important, especially since we were about to have a transition in the government.”

Source: newsmax

Sessions Speeding Up Deportation of Illegal Immigrants in Federal Prisons

Attorney General Jeff Sessions is moving to quickly deport imprisoned immigrants.

Sessions is expanding the Institutional Hearing Program that uses in-person and video-conference hearings so judges can determine if any illegal immigrants in federal prisons should be deported after their sentences are up, The Daily Caller is reporting.

“We owe it to the American people to ensure that illegal aliens who have been convicted of crimes and are serving time in our federal prisons are expeditiously removed from our country as the law requires,” Sessions said.

“This expansion and modernization of the Institutional Hearing Program gives us the tools to continue making Americans safe again in their communities.”

The program is designed to speed up the process rather than releasing the inmates to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility for further determination of their status.

Under the expanded program, 14 federal prisons and six contract facilities will now be included. Each of the facilities will have their video teleconference abilities increased, Fox News reported.

The Justice Department believes the improved procedures will also reduce costs to taxpayers, according to the news network.

Source: newsmax

Hillary Clinton Slams Proposed Trump Budget Cuts for Diplomacy in Georgetown Speech

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is criticizing President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts to international programs, saying “turning our backs on diplomacy won’t make our country safer.”

The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee made the comments in a speech at Georgetown University on Friday. She also took a veiled swipe at the Trump administration — and drew applause from the crowd — when she remarked, “here I go again, talking about research, evidence and facts.”

Senior Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway earlier this year defended disputed numbers on the inaugural crowd from the White House as “alternative facts.”

Clinton stressed the need for spending on diplomacy by quoting Defense Secretary James Mattis, who said cutting funds for the State Department means he has to buy more ammunition.

Source: newsmax

DHS Marks California, Connecticut as Sanctuary States

The Department of Homeland Security has designated the states of California and Connecticut to their list of areas where law enforcement decline to assist Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Law enforcement in those states are able to decline ICE requests to detain illegal immigrants who’ve been arrested for unrelated crimes due to “Trust Acts,” though they are still required to detain illegal immigrants with criminal records.

Both California and Connecticut agree to comply with ICE detainers for illegal immigrants who fall within certain criteria, including gang members and convicted felons.

Since President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 13768, the DHS is required to release weekly reports on areas of the country where law enforcement refuse to cooperate with ICE.

According to this report, Connecticut law enforcement have ceased cooperating with detainers based “solely on the basis of a final order of removal, unless accompanied by a judicial warrant, or past criminal conviction, unless the conviction is for a violent felony.”

“ICE is continually reviewing this report. It’s a living document, and as we become aware of more public-facing policies, more jurisdictions will be added to the list,” an ICE spokesperson told The Washington Times. 

In a press release earlier this month, Rep. Luis Gutiérrez, D-Ill., decried the list as an attempt “to paint all immigrants as killers and rapists. Trump and his team incorrectly see Fourth Amendment policies that require warrants to hold prisoners for the Feds as a threat to public safety, but the reality is that in most cities, the police have found that acting as deportation police makes it harder to keep their cities safe.”

Source: newsmax

Tillerson: US Will Uphold Russia Sanctions Until it Respects Pledges

BRUSSELS — U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson says Washington will ease sanctions against Russia over the conflict in Ukraine only when Moscow respects commitments to help restore peace.

Tillerson said Friday that “the United States sanctions will remain until Moscow reverses the actions that triggered our sanctions.”

He said separate sanctions imposed over Russia’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula “must remain in place until Russia returns control of the peninsula to Ukraine.”

Tillerson called on Moscow to use its influence over separatists to help stop the violence and attacks on peace monitors.

Fighting between Ukraine government forces and separatist rebels has killed more than 9,800 people since April 2014.

A 2015 peace deal helped reduce the scale of fighting, but violence has continued and attempts at a political settlement have failed.

Earlier Friday, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis aimed strong criticism at Russia, saying its “violations of international law are now a matter of record.” He was referring to its annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea region in 2014 and “mucking around insider other people’s elections and that sort of thing.” He also cited Russian outreach to Afghanistan’s Taliban as a concern.

Mattis hinted the Trump administration was close to deciding how to respond to Russia’s recent deployment of a ground-based medium-range cruise missile — an action the Pentagon recently declared a violation of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces treaty.

Source: newsmax

Jobs Departing US for Mexico Again as Trump's Threats Ignored

After Donald Trump’s election, the flow of manufacturers setting up shop south of the border dwindled to a trickle. Ford Motor Co. and Carrier Corp., caught in Trump’s Twitter crosshairs, scrapped plans to move jobs to Mexico in two very public examples of the slowdown.

But now the pace is picking back up. Illinois Tool Works Inc. will close an auto-parts plant in Mazon, Illinois, this month and head to Ciudad Juarez. Triumph Group Inc. is reducing the Spokane, Washington, workforce that makes fiber-composite parts for Boeing Co. aircraft and moving production to Zacatecas and Baja California. TE Connectivity Ltd. is shuttering a pressure-sensor plant in Pennsauken, New Jersey, in favor of a facility in Hermosillo.

While Trump hasn’t stopped pounding his America First bully pulpit, and the future of Nafta remains uncertain, “there’s cautious optimism and a hopeful attitude that cooler heads will prevail in Washington,” said Ross Baldwin, chief executive officer of Tacna Services Inc., which facilitates relocations.

Baldwin has seen the evidence: After business ground to a halt back in November, he’s now juggling two Mexico-bound clients. San Diego-based Tacna helps manage 4,500 workers in Mexico, where factory wages are about a fifth of those in the U.S. That may explain why Mexican manufacturing jobs rose 3.2 percent in January from a year ago as they dropped 0.3 percent in the U.S.

The renewed exodus shows how difficult it will be for Trump to turn the macroeconomic tide just by jawboning alone. This week, he trumpeted a Ford investment in Michigan plants with a cap-lock fanfare: “JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!” The $1.2 billion will create or retain only 130 positions, though. (While Ford canceled plans in November for a new $1.6 billion facility in Mexico, winning Trump’s praise, it employs more than 7,000 workers in that country.)

Trump’s plans to renegotiate Nafta and talk of punitive tariffs can’t erase the need to manufacture in lower-cost countries, said Alan Russell, CEO of El Paso, Texas-based Tecma Group., which also helps open and operate factories in Mexico. European companies tap the Czech Republic for low wages and Asia has Vietnam, and the U.S. needs Mexico to remain competitive with labor-intensive products, he said.

“This isn’t about taking jobs from the U.S. — It’s about saving companies.”

Russell helped Firstronic LLC open a factory in Juarez in 2014 to make circuit boards for customers including Audi and Tesla Inc. Workers, sporting maroon lab coats and wearing rubber straps on their shoes to ward off static electricity, make about $10 a day running computer-driven machines that insert capacitors and resistors onto green boards and solder them into place. 

The Juarez expansion — and joint ventures in the Czech Republic and China — was a factor in Grand Rapids, Michigan-based Firstronic winning larger contracts from producers of auto parts and medical supplies, said CEO John Sammut. His sales are surging at a 30 percent annual clip.

Grow and Thrive

In Spokane, Triumph Group dismissed almost 80 production workers in January and plans to eliminate another 30 jobs by August as it moves work to Mexican plants, said Steve Warren, a local official of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

“They are being pressured to supply parts as low cost as possible,” he said.

Tapping cheap labor sometimes isn’t just about lowering costs, but accelerating growth. Large purchasers, including Kongsberg Automotive and Dura Automotive Systems, prefer to deal with a few global suppliers rather than a myriad of local companies.

“If we were only producing in the U.S., we would lose out on the vast majority of the contract opportunities,” Sammut said. With the increase in business, Firstronic has added revenue and jobs in Grand Rapids, he said.

Businesses haven’t dismissed a Nafta renegotiation or policies being considered in Washington that might prove costly. A plan by House Republicans to implement a 20 percent border adjustment tax has raised concerns, especially among retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. that import many of their wares. The tax would be applied to sales of imported goods to reduce the U.S. trade deficit, which reached $734 billion in 2016.

Trump repeated to a joint session of Congress last month his refrain that he will make it “much, much harder for companies to leave our country.” But his recent stumbles — travel bans blocked by courts and a health-care bill scuttled by his own party — underscore the limitations on presidential power and the difficulty he may have punishing companies or overhauling Nafta.

At a February conference in El Paso to discuss how Trump’s policies may affect trade, most in the room of plant managers, supply-chain officers and suppliers predicted Nafta would likely be changed but not discarded, and that the changes might not be harmful.

Whatever happens, Russell said his business fostering Mexican manufacturing will grow this year. The pressure to reduce costs is that relentless.

“When you dissect the worst-case scenarios, it still makes sense to go forward with their business plans,” he said. “It’s a competitive world.”

Source: newsmax

Share your unique style with new Blogger themes

If you’re one of the millions of people who uses Blogger to share your views on current affairs, teach the world how to make sushi, or just offer a peek into your day, then you know how important it is to be able to put your personal stamp on your blog. After all, your blog isn’t just a place you share, it’s a reflection of who you are and the impression you’d like to leave with your readers.

To make it easier for you to express your unique style, we’ve created a new set of blog themes for you to choose from. Each theme comes in a variety of colors, is fully customizable, and can be added to your blog with just a few clicks.

These themes aren’t only designed to look great, they’re designed to work great too. Each one has been built to automatically adjust to any screen and load quickly, so you can rest assured that your readers will be able to easily see your work whether they’re on a computer, phone or tablet.

Here’s a quick look at the new designs:


Contempo
As good for a photo as it is for a story, Contempo puts a fresh, modern spin on life’s many adventures.

(view sample blog)

Soho

Spare and simple, Soho is a gallery built to showcase your latest photos, designs or musings in their best light.

(view sample blog)

Emporio

From projects to objects, Emporio can take any array of posts and display them in a neat and tidy way.

(view sample blog)

Notable

Whether you’re feeling pithy or profuse, Notable is your notepad for scribbles, stories, and so much more.

(view sample blog)

To see all of the different theme variations, and to try on a new one for your blog, visit your blog dashboard and select the Theme tab. 

We hope this latest update makes it even easier to publish the things you’re passionate about in a way that fits your style. Let us know what you think and stay tuned for more updates for Blogger.

Happy blogging!

Posted by Guy Ronen, Product Manager

from Official Blogger Blog http://bit.ly/2nMwdMu
via IFTTT

International Women’s Day went well at Frankie’s Diner in Bridgeport Connecticut

Group Of Bitches Fighting in Frankies Diner Bridgeport CT

Fight Breaks Out Between A Group Of Bitches inside Frankie's Diner in Bridgeport, Connecticut
#bridgeport #connecticut #fight

Posted by K.R on Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Read on about International Women’s Day Festivities

Pussy hats and vagina costumes be damned! Ladies get your fight on when it comes to checking for that last tampon in the stall by the wall.
International Women’s Day was a great day to get a fight on in the diner. Notice all of the lovely diverse women bashing and scraping for women’s rights at the Frankie’s Diner in lovely Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Use the Disqus box below to share your opinions on how this latest brawl for it all went down. It’s Friday, who really gives a shit about women’s rights when you’re fighting for that last mini pad? Right.

The post International Women’s Day went well at Frankie’s Diner in Bridgeport Connecticut appeared first on .@tonygreene113.

Currently updated YouTube Playlist of Instagram Fabulous Members

Instagram Fabulous Members Informational page

Welcome Instagram Business users! This group is to simply help increase your likes and comments and followers for your IG Business or Blog accounts.

For the Facebook Equivalent of this Group Join Here:
http://bit.ly/2mjqv3e

Only admins post the discussion threads so if you’d like a chat help Instagram/Facebook group please join it here:
http://bit.ly/2mDUXrx

If you are looking for more info on how to grow your instagram check me out on Instagram. Or join us on Facebook in the Instagram Fabulous Group

The post Currently updated YouTube Playlist of Instagram Fabulous Members appeared first on .@tonygreene113.

Why Gazelle Is a Service You Can Believe In When Reselling Gadgets

 

Gazelle makes gadget migration from one mobile tech device to another is something millions of do today. Usually these mergers from one device to another usually takes the form of using a service like Gazelle. The Gazelle service has been around for nearly a decade and has served millions of consumers. From Ipads to Iphones to Android to Blackberry, a trade-in service like Gazelle helps navigate the electronic gadget environment.

Gazelle is the nation’s leading consumer electronics reCommerce site, providing an easy, fast and safe way for consumers to get cash for their used electronics or buy certified pre-owned devices. Gazelle pays you cash for your used gadgets when you’re ready to get new ones – cash you can use towards a new certified pre-owned device on Gazelle. In essence, Gazelle rewards people for approaching consumption in a smart, environmentally responsible way. Rather than discard a device you no longer value or use, Gazelle provides original owners with an opportunity to exchange it for cash and then put that cash towards a certified pre-owned device.

Since 2008, Gazelle has paid out more than $200 million for unwanted technology and bought and resold more than 2 million devices, helping consumers upgrade to the latest technology. It truly is a win-win-win business. Gazelle buys high-end, used consumer electronics, and sell it to those who otherwise couldn’t afford buying new. It’s called reCommerce, and Gazelle helped pioneer the category. Gazelle is recognized by an A+ Better Business Bureau rating and a 9.5/10 Reseller Ratings review average. Visit Gazelle today, and see what your device is worth or buy a certified pre-owned device!

Currently, I’m using the Gazelle service to keep an eye out for my LG-V10 smartphone replacement or backup. Would you use a service like Gazelle as a backup plan to expensive carrier insurance deductibles? Use the disqus box below to share and express your own experiences when it comes to reselling your tech.

**FTC Disclosure Statement: This post contains affiliate links which means that I may receive a commission if you click a link and make a purchase.

The post Why Gazelle Is a Service You Can Believe In When Reselling Gadgets appeared first on .@tonygreene113.

What does Rebekah Radice and PostPlanner know about Facebook page virality

The 10-Part Process to Grow Your Facebook Page by 193% Hi Tony, Your Facebook Page won’t just grow on it’s own. You have to be savvy and agile to get seen in the Facebook news feed and noticed by your audience. Grab your copy of our FREE ebook where we share exactly what we did at Post Planner to grow our page by 193% in 12 months.

The post What does Rebekah Radice and PostPlanner know about Facebook page virality appeared first on .@tonygreene113.

Navy SEALs Make You SEALFIT in several intense sessions

 

If you’ve been crushing the first 7 days of workouts, you know that the programming is designed to get you in the best possible shape. There are many reasons for putting maximal effort into your fitness: taking care of yourself, your teammates or your family in chaotic situations, general health, a sculpted physique, all of the above or something else that helps you form your “why”. The only person responsible for this development is you. The commitment to physical training provides a game changing perspective that will open up doors previously closed.

We want you to be able to take full advantage of our programming and the SEALFIT lifestyle which is why we’re willing to give you an introductory offer of SEALFIT Online Elite for FREE for the next 14 days with code: 14ELITE 

Our training is constantly being tested and tweaked in our laboratory that we call “the grinder”. Men and women of all shapes and sizes, varying ages and fitness levels have walked onto the grinder with a sense of the unknown, butterflies in their stomach and doubts in their mind. All of them have left with a new sense of purpose and a spirit galvanized through physical training. They have upped their game and now realize that they are 20x more capable than they previously knew possible.

We developed SEALFIT Online Elite for those that desire to be harder to kill. Today is your opportunity to change the rest of your life. Many have started this journey already and are reaping the rewards that come with SEALFIT training. Get in now and experience what so many people that dare to be uncommon experience: peak fitness, mental clarity, emotional control, sharp intuition and an indomitable spirit.

CLICK HERE and use coupon code: 14ELITE to get access to tried and true SEALFIT programming.

SEALFIT HQ

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Alana Pratt texted me a relationship prayer emoji

Find the prayer that Alana Pratt sent to my by way of en emotional emoji breakthrough!!

 

Dear exquisitely cherished Tony Greene,

Something’s about to burst through.

I used to call this intense feeling ANGER.

I know now that it’s the brewing of POTENCY.

Yet it still feels ‘cranky’ mixed with dollops of sizzling joy.

For example:

1. One client flattered me by calling me a “Femme Fatale” as she asked me, How do I get a guy to ask me for my phone number?

 

2. Another client, in response to my freaky capacity to perceive what’s going on beneath the surface, called me a “Freaky Guru.”

 

3. Then my ex literally texted me, Thanks for continuing to work with him with acts of kindness in regard to our relationship, (OMFG??) that he appreciates my support and hopes we can continue. I responded, Ain’t no stopping me now!!! He responded with this! I am so grateful!

4. Another client who signed up got tested immediately (which pretty much ALWAYS happens because THAT’S how the Universe ‘grows’ you cultivating your demand for change, seeing if you’ll still cave to circumstances and make excuses… or not). This guy wasn’t willing to create beyond his circumstances   My huge wave of fierce love and unwavering commitment to him… got dammed up within me because he wouldn’t receive it… so I danced it out to his Soul, to the Earth and headed to the grocery store.

 

5. When I was done shopping, an employee in the grocery store parking lot came up to me to offer to take my buggy away. My head was in the back of my truck, making room for my groceries by organizing my 5 pairs of 7” sparkly heels. I thought to hide them from him, then thought, WTF!! So I turned around showing him my sparkly silver ones and said, “YES! As soon as I get my shoes organized!” Delighted he said, “OMG I just started dating this woman who strips down in Orange County on Thursdays cuz there aren’t as many drunks on Thursday nights.”

There’s something about me…

People tell me everything.

They subconsciously sense I don’t judge.

They can somehow tell that I love unconditionally.

So they tell me their deepest secrets…even in parking lots.

He proceeded to tell me that he doesn’t think it’s going to work because she’s 29 and he’s 46, she’s up all night but he works in a radio station every day, she’s into rap and he’s into country, yet Wow, when she did that lap dance for me…Wow.

I smiled and told him I get it Then told him I don’t strip but I do pole dance, yet I did dance at amateur night at Cheetahs for my B-Day and made $365 dollars!

He told me that’s nothing! I should go to Orange County cuz she makes $1500 CASH a night, every Thursday. $6K non taxable, not bad at all.

Then he told me it’s weird to know all these other guys are putting their hands on her during lap dances… that he’s having trouble staying hard with her, cuz he really needs to love someone for “it” to work.

I told him that’s amazing, that some of my clients can only stay hard when they DON’T love someone… that when things get too intimate, connected or vulnerable that they can’t keep it up. He told me his body knows she’s not the one. But he got Viagra. So it’s going to be OK.

I smiled again.

I gave him my card.

He was so pure. So kind. So true. So delightful. So real. So open.

Such a treat to profoundly intimately respectfully joyfully connect with a stranger.

How did I get so lucky to be on the planet during this most wild intense miraculous time in history?

Nonetheless, there was still a potency, a capacity for SOMETHING brewing inside me…a feistiness!

So I checked my Vedic Astrology Calendar from my friend and colleague Carol Allen because  some days I am a DOUBLE Dinosaur… which means, “tension and stress can be high, you are more vulnerable than usual to hostility from others. Avoid confrontations, people who make you angry, doing things too quickly, take your time and be deliberate.”

But there were no dinosaurs that day.

In fact a yellow happy face, a heart AND a money sign! Ha!

So something ELSE was brewing and I’d HATE for my brewing to get cranky on Gabe or hurt the wonderful reunion I’m having with my ex-husband!

In fact, Carol has amazing information of how NOT to FREAK OUT on men.

Don’t you hate it when men pull away, ladies?

(And don’t you hate it men, when we become needy or angry when you need space?)

Disconnection is inevitable in any relationship.  And it strikes sheer, utter terror in the hearts and minds of most women. 

Good news – you can override this and instead impress a man. (All while honoring yourself and not being a door mat.)

Carol knows that

HOW you handle times of disconnection with a man,

DETERMINES if you’ll ever get (or keep!)

the love you seek with him.

One freak out can cause

irreparable harm to a relationship

that’s been happy or close for years…

Don’t let this happen to you, my love.

Don’t let your insecurities, fears or negative emotions ruin your dreams of love.

You can be happy anyway!

And if you are, he’ll be impressed

(Right guys?)

I am an eternal sponge of life-changing information my colleagues provide for F*REE!

You can register for this rare chance to learn directly from Carol here:

http://bit.ly/2mxW38F

“Navigating the GAP- 

What To Do When He Pulls Away- 

Be Happy Anyways & LURE Him Back…” 

Don’t let a temporary disconnection with a man lead to a PERMANENT disconnection!

And LMK what delicious conversations you have in parking lots or other unexpected places, because you’re willing to be you and savor magical connected moments.

LOVE YOU! Deliciously,

A xoxox

p.s. Among several other secrets Carol’s going to share, you will learn why even we ‘cool girls’ lose our shit when men shut down. It’s not our fault! says Carol. Whew!

It’s apparently a brain thing… and she’s going to show us how to calm our nerves and support ourselves.

xox A

Carol’s THE best

Don’t miss this rare chance to learn directly from Carol.

Sign up now for the Call at www.AllanaPratt.com/navigating

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Google Cloud upcoming webinar is open for registration

Hi Anthony,

Tune in to watch Google Cloud Next ’17, the most influential cloud conference of the year, via livestream on March 8th, 9th and 10th. Get exclusive insight on the future of cloud from experts like Google Cloud SVP Diane Greene, Google CEO Sundar Pichai, and Chairman of Alphabet Eric Schmidt.

Register now to join the livestream on March 8‑10

Log on to the Next ’17 homepage on March 8th, 9th and 10th to join the livestream.

8:30am PT: Join a pre-show curated special for livestream viewers

9:00am PT: Keynotes begin

Happy viewing, The G Suite Referral Team

P.S. Want to do more than watch? Plan a viewing party

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Bill Paxton Succumbs to Complications During Heart Surgery

 

 

 Bill Paxton lost the fight of his life during the past month. He was always the guy in the area that looked and acted like the bully. However, many of Bill Paxton’s roles that he played over the years were very varying and humble. I initially remember him as the bully brother in the his cult move, Weird Science of the mid-80’s. In that move he is transformed into something that his personality portrayed in the film. It was classic Bill Paxton.

There are hundreds of other films that Mr. Bill Paxton will be remembered for. There was recently a touching tribute given to him from one of his latest starring roles in the television show Training Day. I’m sure his experience will be missed on the set of that particular new show. Have a peak below at some of the Bill Paxton content I was able to find in the Google-verse.

 

Hollywood Mourns Bill Paxton by tvguide

The post Bill Paxton Succumbs to Complications During Heart Surgery appeared first on .@tonygreene113.

Kids can still use VR with a watchful eye

You aren’t going to harm your child by letting them check out VR.

There are few adults out there who climb inside of a VR headset and aren’t smiling the whole time. Fully immersing yourself in a virtual environment is an incredible experience, and the wonder we see from those experiences is a big part of why we’re here. Everyone should have the opportunity to explore VR, especially right now when developers are trying so hard to encourage new experiences at every turn. What about our kids, though? Is it safe for children to use any of these VR headsets? If so, what are the rules for making sure they are using these headsets safely? We’ve asked these questions repeatedly over the last year, especially with Google cardboard headed to classrooms and headsets like the View-Master VR specifically targeting children.

Read more at VRHeads

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#BREAKING Are you getting the most out of your social traffic strategy

 

Ever wonder why some social messages drive tons of traffic…

…while others look like puny lil’ blips on the social radar?

Yah, all that hard work…for what?

It’s defeating…

It’s tedious…

And if people aren’t seeing your social messages…

What’s the point in spending time creating them?

Cuz…it’s IMPORTANT.

And while social promotion may seem like a HUGE grab bag of guesses..

It really isn’t.

It comes down to a series of repeatable steps.

A strategy, if you will.

Let’s make your social strategy work for you, shall we?

Join us LIVE, Thursday March 2 @ 1PM CST for an intensive 9 MINUTE webinar on how to “Maximize Your Social Engagement with Algo-Rhythm” with NYT best-selling author + marketing extraordinaire, Jay Baer!

>> register here <<

Learn how to post the right content at precisely the right time AND how to maximize your social posting success on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Grab your seat today!

What you’ll learn…

• Why knowing when and how often to post in social media is CRUCIAL to your success
• When to post to Facebook (and how many times per day)
• When to post to Instagram (and how many times per day)
• When to post to Twitter (and how many times per day)
• Where to find more great data-backed insights about social media optimization

Don’t miss out! Join us this Thursday.

Kat (+Jay Baer)

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