Kenyan president leads challenger in partial vote results

Source: Washington Post

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta led challenger Raila Odinga by a significant margin in partial election results, Kenya’s election commission said Wednesday.

The commission’s website showed Kenyatta with just over 55% and opposition leader Odinga with nearly 44% after votes were counted from more than two-thirds of the 40,833 polling stations. However, the commission did not release information about which constituencies had been counted, so it was unclear whether Kenyatta strongholds or opposition centers, or some combination, had yet to be tallied.

Authorities hope to avoid the post-election violence of a decade ago when ethnic divisions fueled unrest that killed more than 1,000 people.

Kenyatta and Odinga also faced off in the mostly peaceful 2013 election. Kenyatta won that contest with just over 50% of the vote; Odinga, who had served as prime minister since 2008, alleged voting irregularities but Kenya’s highest court ruled in Kenyatta’s favor by validating the results.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/kenyans-choose-next-president-in-fiercely-contested-vote/2017/08/07/c8dfe5fc-7be7-11e7-b2b1-aeba62854dfa_story.html?utm_term=.6772ea1b3da9

Raila Odinga, and the incumbent (and more conservative) Uhuru Kenyatta

Robertson says homosexuality will destroy America: Gays will force Christians to have sex w/animals

Televangelist Pat Robertson warned that the backlash to Indiana’s anti-LGBT law signaled a renewed assault on Americans’ sexual practices and “deeply held Christian beliefs.”

Robertson used last night's broadcast of the “700 Club” to bring up a pizza shop owner in Indiana who made national news when she told a TV reporter that she would not cater food at a same-sex wedding, Right Wing Watch reported.

“I’m not sure I would serve pizza for a gay wedding,” Robertson said. “Most gays, if they’re having a wedding, don’t want pizzas – they want cake. It’s the cake makers that are having the problem.”

The “700 Club” host warned that if gay couples were permitted to serve Christian-baked cakes during their wedding reception, there’s no telling where they would stop. Pat Robertson claims gay people will force Christians to embrace anal sex, endorse sex with dogs.

At: http://www.nova-magazine.net/pat-robertson-homosexuality-destroy-america-christians-endorse-bestiality/

Too late, Pat.

Argentina's Macri revealed to be a business partner of disgraced contractor Odebrecht since 1998

An investigation published in the Buenos Aires daily Página/12 revealed that Argentine President Mauricio Macri is a partner of the disgraced Brazilian construction company Odebrecht through the investment fund Blackwood Group.

The fund was created in 1998, when Macri was executive vice president of the family holding company Sociedades Macrì (Socma).

"Since 1998, when Mauricio Macri was its executive vice president, Sideco Americana has been a partner of Odebrecht in the Blackwood Group," Página/12 senior writer Horacio Verbitsky said. "They are involved in businesses as diverse as energy, construction, oil and gas, consulting, mining, finance, and mergers and acquisitions, with interests in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, North America, and Latin America."

The Blackwood Group, registered in an unspecified offshore tax haven was never declared in Macri's financial disclosures, as required by Argentine law. Its entire client portfolio, besides Odebrecht, were part of the Macri Group.

The partnership, according to the report, was also used by Macri to lessen his family's liabilities dating from their control of the Argentine Postal Service from 1997 to 2003. "The Antigua & Barbuda branch of Austria's Meinl Bank bought $400 million worth of IDB and World Bank loans to the Argentine Post during the Macri era for $8 million and then impeded efforts to collect said debt."

Meinl Bank's Antigua and Barbuda headquarters was also used by Odebrecht to deposit over $1.6 billion in bribes to officials and influential individuals in 12 countries through 40 shell companies. CEO Marcelo Odebrecht is currently serving a 19-year prison sentence for his role in the Lava Jato scheme.

Macri came under fire last February for using his office to write off at least $230 million owed by his family to the Postal Service. The resulting uproar forced Macri to backtrack; but the case remains stalled in the courts.

The Open Corporates and Panama Papers revelations published in April 2016 have linked the Macri family to at least 50 offshore accounts, most of which were undeclared to local authorities.

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pagina12.com.ar%2F54788-emerge-el-iceberg

Televangelist demands all Christian leaders include Trump's name in prayer

The group of so-called Christian evangelists who support Trump are conmen pandering to a base that will blindly support them and line their pockets with money. One such ‘Christian’ named David Lane is teaming up with Newt Gingrich to urge pastors in Lane’s American Renewal Network to include Trump’s name in prayer.

Lane also wants them to pray for a hefty tax cut this fall. He and Gingrich believe the tax cut is the key to keeping Republicans’ seats in 2018 and beyond.

Gingrich and Lane don’t believe in the separation of church and state. Lane is known for linking Republican candidates up with conservative pastors to boost candidates’ popularity.

Gingrich believes Trump has already made a “huge difference” and is “starting to turn America in the right direction.” He then glorified Trump as a “remarkably powerful but complex person.” Gingrich also highlighted the appointment of Neil Gorsuch as a major Trump accomplishment.

At: http://realtimepolitics.com/2017/08/05/trumpvangelist-demands-trumph/

David Lane. Praise the Lawd and Pass the Loot.

Supporter of Mapuche protest camp disappears after being arrested in Argentina

Members of rural Mapuche community of Cushamen, in southwestern Argentina, and the Chubut Province Remembrance Commission (CPM) reported yesterday that an activist has disappeared after a protest crackdown last Tuesday by the National Gendermerie, the country's federal militarized police force.

The activist, 28 year-old Santiago Maldonado, had arrived at the site the previous day to lend his support to the Mapuche protest camp, which had been organized last week to demonstrate against the arrest of their leader Facundo Jonas Huala in June.

Witnesses report seeing Maldonado beaten by officers as he clung to a tree, and then taken away in a Gendarmerie vehicle.

The protest camp was ordered cleared on the day of Maldonado's arrest by Judge Guido Otranto. Otranto had been condemned by the Mapuche Community and human rights groups for ordering a similar crackdown in January which injured numerous protesters with rubber bullets.

Nine other protesters had been arrested that day; but were later released. Despite inquiries by his family, Maldonado's whereabouts remain unknown.

The CPM filed a Habeas Corpus petition for Maldonado, and wrote a formal letter of inquiry to Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and President Mauricio Macri. Bullrich's chief adviser, Pablo Nocetti, personally supervised the August 1 crackdown, according to witnesses.

"Santiago's disappearance is the responsibility of the national and provincial governments," CPM president Víctor Mendibil said.

Argentina's Mapuche community has protested over the last two years against ongoing land purchases in ancestral areas by Italian businessman Luciano Benetton. Benetton has reportedly purchased over 3,400 mi² across the windswept Patagonia region since 1991; the disputed area covers around 1,500 acres (2.3 mi²).

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.politicargentina.com%2Fnotas%2F201708%2F22064-una-comunidad-mapuche-de-chubut-denuncia-que--hay-un-desaparecido-tras-represion-de-gendarmeria.html

Santiago Maldonado

Robert Hardy: Harry Potter and All Creatures Great and Small star dies

The actor Robert Hardy, star of TV series All Creatures Great and Small, has died aged 91, his family has said.

Hardy, they said, had a "tremendous life" and "a giant career in theatre, television and film spanning more than 70 years".

He was also known for numerous portrayals of Winston Churchill. In more recent years, he appeared as Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic, in four of the Harry Potter films.

Hardy, from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, started his acting career at the age of 24 with the Shakespeare Memorial Company in Stratford, later the Royal Shakespeare Company

With his instantly recognisable voice and British bulldog manner, Robert Hardy enjoyed a distinguished acting career which spanned seven decades.

By the time he endeared himself to television audiences in the BBC's All Creatures Great and Small in 1978, he had already carved out a reputation as one of Britain's most versatile actors.

At: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-40818839

Robert Hardy, 1925-2017

Following the IACHR's ruling, Argentine political prisoner Milagro Sala to be granted house arrest

Argentine indigenous activist Milagro Sala, whose imprisonment without charges 19 months ago has been ruled arbitrary by numerous international bodies, has been granted a transfer to house arrest by the government of Jujuy Province.

The decision comes days after a July 28 ruling by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) ordered Argentina to respond promptly to a formal request by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for Milagro Sala's immediate release.

Imprisoned without charges in January 2016 on orders from Jujuy Province Governor Gerardo Morales, Sala, 53, remains in prison on "illicit association" charges over a 2009 egg-lobbing incident against Morales which has not been linked to Sala and in which there were no injuries.

Citing lack of evidence and serious irregularities such as the use of bribed witnesses, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention ruled on October 21 that Sala's detention is in fact arbitrary, and urged Argentine President Mauricio Macri (a close ally of Morales) to release her immediately.

Crtitics noted that Macri ally José Potocar, the disgraced Buenos Aires police chief indicted on bribery and extortion charges, was granted house arrest yesterday after just 3 months in prison.

Sala's defense attorney, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, noted that the ruling by the IACHR - to which Argentina is a signatory - "leaves no room for the Government not to comply: it must comply and respect Sala's rights under the laws governing pre-trial detention."

Calls for her release by the OAS, the IACHR, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and other human rights organizations intensified after Sala reported mistreatment on May 14.

The report stated that her fellow Tupac Amaru colleagues at the prison - all women - have suffered repeated beatings, have sustained fractures, and vomit blood. They, according to Sala, "often scream at night to plead for a stop to the torture."

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ambito.com%2F891895-tras-fallo-de-la-cidh-darian-prision-domiciliaria-a-milagro-sala&edit-text=

Milagro Sala and Pope Francis in happier days

Facebook Shuts Down AI Robots After They Invent Their Own Language

Source: Pittsburgh CBS

Facebook has shut down a pair of artificial intelligence robots after they invented their own language.

Earlier this year, the research team at Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research built a “chatbot” that was supposed to learn how to negotiate by observing and imitating human trading and bartering practices.

But when the researchers pit two of the AI programs, nicknamed Alice and Bob, against each other to trade, the bots began to engage in their own form of communication. The researchers tasked the robots with trading hats, balls and books, by determining the value of each object and bartering them with each other.

However, since Facebook’s researchers provided no incentive for trading in English, the programs immediately created their own terms for cutting deals.

After shutting down the robot conversation, Facebook said the AI project marked important progress toward “creating chatbots that can reason, converse, and negotiate, all key steps in building a personalized digital assistant.”

Read more: http://cwpittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/08/01/facebook-shuts-down-ai-robots-after-they-invent-their-own-language/

Edward Hopper archive goes to Whitney Museum

The Whitney Museum of American Art in New York is the recipient of a major gift of archival materials relating to the career and life of Edward Hopper, Artforum reports.

Around 4,000 items, ranging from letters and notebooks to photographs and dealer records, are included in the donation from the Arthayer R. Sanborn Hopper Collection Trust, which will be known as the Sanborn Hopper Archive and housed at the Whitney’s Frances Mulhall Achilles Library.

The Whitney already holds the largest collection of Hopper’s artworks in the world.

At: https://www.apollo-magazine.com/edward-hopper-archive-goes-to-whitney-museum/



Early Sunday Morning (1930)



And of course, Nighthawks (1942)

Argentine Central Bank board member fired for opposing "financial bicycle" bubble

Argentine President Mauricio Macri ordered the removal of Central Bank board member Pedro Biscay for making "diverse manifestations" in opposition to Central Bank policies.

Biscay has expressed concern over an ongoing financial bubble in Argentina known as the "bicycle."

A specialist in prosecuting financial fraud, Biscay, 38, spearheaded investigations into alleged HSBC money laundering and tax evasion revealed by SwissLeaks in 2015 - a case dropped by the Macri administration last year.

He had been publicly critical of economic policy under Macri's right-wing administration, its promotion of the financial bicycle in particular.

Biscay, appointed in 2014 by former President Cristina Kirchner, was the sole remaining Central Bank board member not appointed by Macri, and the only one confirmed by the Senate (Macri installed the other nine by decree). His term was due to expire in 2020.

Pedal to the metal

The financial bicycle refers to the ongoing boom in carry-trade transactions made possible by financial deregulation enacted by Macri and his Central Bank president, Federico Sturzenegger, since taking office 18 months ago.

This trend has been largely financed by the Central Bank itself through short-term bills known as Lebacs.

The Lebacs, issued in pesos and typically purchased for a 28 or 35-day term, pay an annualized 26% rate - or 10 to 15% in dollar terms. Attracting mostly domestic speculators, Lebacs are typically rolled over, with the profits used to buy dollars that are then wired overseas.

The value of Lebacs outstanding has more than tripled under Macri to 940 billion pesos ($54 billion).

The largest recent maturity, on June 19, suggests growing market unease over the Lebacs: a record 23% ($8 billion) were cashed in and wired overseas, rather than rolled over. The dollar has since risen 9%, to 17.50 pesos.

Central Bank data show that of $60 billion in public foreign debt added in the last 18 months, $37 billion have gone to finance the "bicycle" and other capital flight.

The scheme has drawn comparisons to the bubble created at the height of Argentina's last dictatorship in 1980, when the Central Bank issued Lebacs paying up to 60% interest in dollar terms to attract investment - only to end in a financial collapse in 1981 after insiders "bicycled" some $20 billion of the profits to offshore accounts.

Tax cuts decreed by Macri within days of taking office raised already high budget deficits by 62% in 2016, and higher interest payments have pushed deficits up another 43% in the first half of 2017. Cutbacks in utility subsidies for households and businesses have meanwhile led to a severe recession - but not lower deficits.

The OECD earlier today called on Macri to reduce Argentina's budget deficit, which may reach a record $40 billion this year (6% of GDP).

At: https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ambito.com%2F891537-el-gobierno-echo-al-director-del-bcra-pedro-biscay-por-opinar-distinto&edit-text=

Pedro Biscay