.
7/25/15, "German prosecutor to charge eight Deutsche Bank staff in carbon tax case -Spiegel," Reuters, Frankfurt
"A German prosecutor is set to
charge eight Deutsche Bank employees following an
investigation into tax fraud linked to trading of carbon
certificates, Der Spiegel magazine reported on Saturday, without
disclosing any sources.
Frankfurt's chief prosecutor will accuse them of securing
fees and bonuses from participating in a carbon emission
certificate scam that resulted in tax evasion worth 136 million
euros ($149 million), the magazine reported.
At least 14 people have been jailed in three countries so
far for their involvement in carbon trading VAT fraud. European
police agency Europol has estimated such crime has cost
taxpayers more than 5 billion euros in lost revenue since 2008.
The Frankfurt prosecutor said in May that they were
investigating 26 current or former employees at Deutsche, 17 on
suspicion of tax evasion, five for money laundering and four for
obstruction of justice.
Der Spiegel referred to around 21 staff in its report,
including the eight to be charged. It said the Frankfurt
prosecutor had decided not to charge three people following the
investigation and was continuing to investigate a dozen or so
other employees at the bank. It did not say whether they were
current or former employees.
The Frankfurt chief prosecutor declined to comment when
contacted by Reuters.
A spokesperson for Deutsche Bank, contacted by Reuters, said
that the bank's investigation into CO2-related matters was
continuing. "We are cooperating with the relevant authorities."
The carbon trading scandal emerged in 2009 when British
authorities notified Deutsche Bank about suspicious deals, known
as "carousel fraud", designed to generate tax refunds when no
tax had been paid.
The cases involved buyers importing contracts for CO2
emissions rights into one EU member state from another, free of
VAT. The buyers then did not sell them for use in that market
but sold them on to an untraceable series of companies in an
agreed chain, which ultimately re-exported them, pocketing a
rebate from tax authorities, sources familiar with the matter
have said.
The carbon tax fraud was one of a long list of scandals and
other issues that eventually led to a purge of Deutsche Bank's
leadership in June, including the resignation of co-Chief
Executive Anshu Jain.
The bank's largest shareholder, Blackrock, denied
that it had pushed for Jain to step down, German daily
Tagesspiegel said on Saturday, quoting the head of Blackrock's
German operations, Christian Staub.
"Members of our global board have made it clear that we did
not exercise influence in this case," Staub was quoted as
saying, adding that Blackrock would, in general, make itself
heard when things get out of hand. "We do exercise influence,
but we work behind the scenes.""
A Deutsche Bank spokesperson declined to comment on the
Tagesspiegel report.
($1 = 0.9101 euros)."
"(Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Alexander Hübner; Editing by
Susan Fenton)"
...................
Monday, July 27, 2015
Arctic Sea Ice extent, July 26, 2015, DMI
.
7/26/15, "Arctic Sea Ice Extent, The Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice coverage," DMI, Danish Meteorological Institute
"Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice extent"
"Total sea ice extent on the northern hemisphere during the past years, including climate mean; plus/minus 1 standard deviation. The ice extent values are calculated from the ice type data from the Ocean and Sea Ice, Satellite Application Facility (OSISAF), where areas with ice concentration higher than 15% are classified as ice.
The total area of sea ice is the sum of First Year Ice (FYI), Multi Year Ice (MYI) and the area of ambiguous ice types, from the OSISAF ice type product. The total sea ice extent can differ slightly from other sea ice extent estimates. Possible differences between this sea ice extent estimate and others are most likely caused by differences in algorithms and definitions."...
...................
7/26/15, "Arctic Sea Ice Extent, The Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice coverage," DMI, Danish Meteorological Institute
"Northern Hemisphere Sea Ice extent"
"Total sea ice extent on the northern hemisphere during the past years, including climate mean; plus/minus 1 standard deviation. The ice extent values are calculated from the ice type data from the Ocean and Sea Ice, Satellite Application Facility (OSISAF), where areas with ice concentration higher than 15% are classified as ice.
The total area of sea ice is the sum of First Year Ice (FYI), Multi Year Ice (MYI) and the area of ambiguous ice types, from the OSISAF ice type product. The total sea ice extent can differ slightly from other sea ice extent estimates. Possible differences between this sea ice extent estimate and others are most likely caused by differences in algorithms and definitions."...
...................
After being caught cheating on Common Core exams, West Harlem school Principal commits suicide by jumping onto subway tracks, NY Dept. of Ed. says-NY Post
.
7/26/15, "Principal commits suicide amid Common Core test scandal," NY Post, by Susan Edelman, Amber Jamieson, Jamie Schram
"The principal of an innovative West Harlem public school killed herself the day after her students took the state Common Core exams--which were later tossed out because she cheated, The Post has learned.
Jeanene Worrell-Breeden, 49, of Teachers College Community School, jumped in front of a B train in the 135th Street station on St. Nicholas Avenue on April 17, police said.
She was pulled out from under the train and taken to Harlem Hospital, where she died eight days later. The city Medical Examiner’s Office ruled it a suicide.
The leap came at 9:20 a.m., less than 24 hours after her 47 third-graders wrapped up three days sweating over the high-stakes English exam — the first ever given at the fledgling school.
It was also the same day a whistleblower reported the cheating to DOE officials.
Parents were shocked and saddened to learn Worrell-Breeden died but were given no details at the time. It was rumored she was killed in a car crash.
Parents were in for another shock in June. Superintendent Gale Reeves told them in a meeting that all the third-grade English exams had been “red-flagged” and “invalidated.”...
In a June 22 letter to families, Reeves wrote, “The integrity of the assessment was compromised due to actions outside your child’s control.”
Parents grew frustrated. No one from the city Department of Education or the state Education Department, which administers the exams, answered questions. They asked for help from politicians, including Assemblyman Keith Wright, whose staff also hit a wall.
On Friday, the DOE blamed the dead principal.
“Principal Worrell-Breeden was the subject of allegations of testing improprieties,” spokeswoman Devora Kaye said. “An investigation substantiated these allegations, and we closed the investigation following her tragic passing.”
Kaye would not say how Worrell-Breeden allegedly tampered with the tests.
Asked whether Worrell-Breeden was told of the April 17 allegations against her, DOE officials did not answer.
The DOE invalidated all 47 English exams. Third-graders took the state math exams April 22 to 24.
Those scores will be released this summer, but Tinsley said the superintendent assured parents that all the kids would be promoted to the fourth grade.
The tough Common Core exams have raised anxiety. In 2014, only 34.5 percent of city students passed the math tests, and 29.4 percent passed English tests.
“A lot of people are getting sick and leaving the system because of the pressure the high-stakes tests are putting on them,” a veteran educator said.
But Worrell-Breeden seemed “relaxed,” Tinsley said.
“She was reassuring us parents,” Tinsley said. “Her whole attitude was that they’re going to breeze through this test, and that she had prepared them to ace any test.”
Each morning of the three-part exam--given April 14 to 16--Worrell-Breeden served the kids breakfast and held a pep rally.
“She had them run around the gym cheering to get rid of their nervousness,” Tinsley said.
A family friend described Worrell-Breeden as a driven leader struggling with personal setbacks.
“Her grandmother died last year. Her husband moved out last year. He had a child with another woman. She was under a lot of pressure at home,” the friend said.
“She was the first principal at that school so she was trying to make...a good impression. “Maybe all that pressure, added to what was going on at home, got to her.”
Worrell-Breeden, who made $135,000 a year, was the founding principal of the school, which the DOE opened in 2011 in partnership with Columbia University’s Teachers College. It promised access to Columbia facilities, student interns and researchers. While planning to grow, it served only pre-K to grade 3 last school year.
Worrell-Breeden got the job despite a scandal at her former school, PS 18 in The Bronx. In 2009, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools found she had clocked in for overtime pay while working out with a personal trainer three times a week in the school gym.
Her time card “disappeared” after investigators visited the school.
The probe found she altered her time card and coerced subordinates to say she had offered them hundreds of OT hours first--as required--before taking them herself.
In a six-month period she collected more than $9,500 in OT pay, records say.
An arbitrator dismissed charges of a coverup. She was docked two weeks’ pay."
Image caption: "Rescue workers examine the tracks where Principal Jeanene Worrell-Breeden met her tragic end. Photo: Robert Miller," NY Post
................................
7/26/15, "Principal commits suicide amid Common Core test scandal," NY Post, by Susan Edelman, Amber Jamieson, Jamie Schram
"The principal of an innovative West Harlem public school killed herself the day after her students took the state Common Core exams--which were later tossed out because she cheated, The Post has learned.
Jeanene Worrell-Breeden, 49, of Teachers College Community School, jumped in front of a B train in the 135th Street station on St. Nicholas Avenue on April 17, police said.
She was pulled out from under the train and taken to Harlem Hospital, where she died eight days later. The city Medical Examiner’s Office ruled it a suicide.
The leap came at 9:20 a.m., less than 24 hours after her 47 third-graders wrapped up three days sweating over the high-stakes English exam — the first ever given at the fledgling school.
It was also the same day a whistleblower reported the cheating to DOE officials.
Parents were shocked and saddened to learn Worrell-Breeden died but were given no details at the time. It was rumored she was killed in a car crash.
Parents were in for another shock in June. Superintendent Gale Reeves told them in a meeting that all the third-grade English exams had been “red-flagged” and “invalidated.”...
In a June 22 letter to families, Reeves wrote, “The integrity of the assessment was compromised due to actions outside your child’s control.”
Parents grew frustrated. No one from the city Department of Education or the state Education Department, which administers the exams, answered questions. They asked for help from politicians, including Assemblyman Keith Wright, whose staff also hit a wall.
On Friday, the DOE blamed the dead principal.
“Principal Worrell-Breeden was the subject of allegations of testing improprieties,” spokeswoman Devora Kaye said. “An investigation substantiated these allegations, and we closed the investigation following her tragic passing.”
Kaye would not say how Worrell-Breeden allegedly tampered with the tests.
Asked whether Worrell-Breeden was told of the April 17 allegations against her, DOE officials did not answer.
The DOE invalidated all 47 English exams. Third-graders took the state math exams April 22 to 24.
Those scores will be released this summer, but Tinsley said the superintendent assured parents that all the kids would be promoted to the fourth grade.
The tough Common Core exams have raised anxiety. In 2014, only 34.5 percent of city students passed the math tests, and 29.4 percent passed English tests.
“A lot of people are getting sick and leaving the system because of the pressure the high-stakes tests are putting on them,” a veteran educator said.
But Worrell-Breeden seemed “relaxed,” Tinsley said.
“She was reassuring us parents,” Tinsley said. “Her whole attitude was that they’re going to breeze through this test, and that she had prepared them to ace any test.”
Each morning of the three-part exam--given April 14 to 16--Worrell-Breeden served the kids breakfast and held a pep rally.
“She had them run around the gym cheering to get rid of their nervousness,” Tinsley said.
A family friend described Worrell-Breeden as a driven leader struggling with personal setbacks.
“Her grandmother died last year. Her husband moved out last year. He had a child with another woman. She was under a lot of pressure at home,” the friend said.
“She was the first principal at that school so she was trying to make...a good impression. “Maybe all that pressure, added to what was going on at home, got to her.”
Worrell-Breeden, who made $135,000 a year, was the founding principal of the school, which the DOE opened in 2011 in partnership with Columbia University’s Teachers College. It promised access to Columbia facilities, student interns and researchers. While planning to grow, it served only pre-K to grade 3 last school year.
Worrell-Breeden got the job despite a scandal at her former school, PS 18 in The Bronx. In 2009, the special commissioner of investigation for city schools found she had clocked in for overtime pay while working out with a personal trainer three times a week in the school gym.
Her time card “disappeared” after investigators visited the school.
The probe found she altered her time card and coerced subordinates to say she had offered them hundreds of OT hours first--as required--before taking them herself.
In a six-month period she collected more than $9,500 in OT pay, records say.
An arbitrator dismissed charges of a coverup. She was docked two weeks’ pay."
Image caption: "Rescue workers examine the tracks where Principal Jeanene Worrell-Breeden met her tragic end. Photo: Robert Miller," NY Post
................................
31 Catholic Churches to close in NY City diocese, last service held July 26, financial reasons cited-CBS NY
.
7/26/15, "Dozens Of Catholic Churches Hold Final Sunday Masses," newyork.cbslocal.com
"Dozens of Catholic churches in the New York City area have celebrated Sunday Mass for the final time.
The parishes are slated to be merged with others as part of a large reorganization by the Archdiocese of New York.
As CBS2’s Ilana Gold reported, a special processional was held at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church on the Upper East Side, one of the churches holding their final Mass.
“It’s sad for a lot of people” said Father Patrick McCale. “For me, it’s just kind of getting through it, encouraging people to have hope.”
St. Elizabeth is the only church in the archdiocese that offers masses in sign langugage, and deaf worshipers come from far and wide to attend.
“That’s the most difficult of all — we’re dealing with people who don’t understand why it’s happening, and I can’t explain why either,” McCale said.
The church is slated to close and merge with St. Monica’s. It’s one of 31 parishes affected by the major reorganization because of financial
issues. The archdiocese is hoping the move will lead to fewer but stronger churches.
“I’m depressed,” one woman at the Church of Holy Rosary in East Harlem told 1010 WINS’ Roger Stern. “I love this church. This is like a family church.”
“The decisions were made for us, not by us,” said another worshiper there. “But we talked to each other and we prayed. And so the majority of us, for now, will be going to Mount Carmel, and if it’s God’s will — we were doing a lot of prayer — for us to come back, we will be here.”
Nearby at St. Lucy’s Church, Monsignor Oscar Aquino was saying goodbye to his parishioners.
“We have to see brighter light because we always have to look at the future,” he said.
At the Church of the Holy Agony in East Harlem, parishioners have been fighting to keep the doors open. And at the Church of the Nativity on the Lower East Side, they’ve appealed to the Vatican.
“We are working together,” said parishioner Mercedes Sanchez. “We are being united, and thankfully we have a cannon lawyer who’s guiding us about what we should be doing legally.”
They’re hoping Cardinal Timothy Dolan hears their pleas.
Dolan said he understand how difficult it is for parishioners, but said the diocese will function more efficiently.
“What I hope they understand deep down — and I think they do — that as important as a building is, that’s not the church, and that everything they cherish there — the Mass, the sacrament, the prayer, the community, the works of charity and love that they do — that can now go on in a new structure.”"
==================
....................
5/8/15, "Mergers Of 31 Additional NY Catholic Churches Announced," newyork.cbslocal.com
"“For too long we have been in the business
of maintaining buildings and structures that were established in the
19th and early 20th centuries to meet the needs of the people of that
time, but which are not necessary to meet the needs of the church and
its people as it exists today,” he (Cardinal Dolan) added."....
......................................
7/26/15, "Dozens Of Catholic Churches Hold Final Sunday Masses," newyork.cbslocal.com
"Dozens of Catholic churches in the New York City area have celebrated Sunday Mass for the final time.
The parishes are slated to be merged with others as part of a large reorganization by the Archdiocese of New York.
As CBS2’s Ilana Gold reported, a special processional was held at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Church on the Upper East Side, one of the churches holding their final Mass.
“It’s sad for a lot of people” said Father Patrick McCale. “For me, it’s just kind of getting through it, encouraging people to have hope.”
St. Elizabeth is the only church in the archdiocese that offers masses in sign langugage, and deaf worshipers come from far and wide to attend.
“That’s the most difficult of all — we’re dealing with people who don’t understand why it’s happening, and I can’t explain why either,” McCale said.
The church is slated to close and merge with St. Monica’s. It’s one of 31 parishes affected by the major reorganization because of financial
issues. The archdiocese is hoping the move will lead to fewer but stronger churches.“I’m depressed,” one woman at the Church of Holy Rosary in East Harlem told 1010 WINS’ Roger Stern. “I love this church. This is like a family church.”
“The decisions were made for us, not by us,” said another worshiper there. “But we talked to each other and we prayed. And so the majority of us, for now, will be going to Mount Carmel, and if it’s God’s will — we were doing a lot of prayer — for us to come back, we will be here.”
Nearby at St. Lucy’s Church, Monsignor Oscar Aquino was saying goodbye to his parishioners.
“We have to see brighter light because we always have to look at the future,” he said.
At the Church of the Holy Agony in East Harlem, parishioners have been fighting to keep the doors open. And at the Church of the Nativity on the Lower East Side, they’ve appealed to the Vatican.
“We are working together,” said parishioner Mercedes Sanchez. “We are being united, and thankfully we have a cannon lawyer who’s guiding us about what we should be doing legally.”
They’re hoping Cardinal Timothy Dolan hears their pleas.
Dolan said he understand how difficult it is for parishioners, but said the diocese will function more efficiently.
“What I hope they understand deep down — and I think they do — that as important as a building is, that’s not the church, and that everything they cherish there — the Mass, the sacrament, the prayer, the community, the works of charity and love that they do — that can now go on in a new structure.”"
==================
....................
5/8/15, "Mergers Of 31 Additional NY Catholic Churches Announced," newyork.cbslocal.com
"“For too long we have been in the business
of maintaining buildings and structures that were established in the
19th and early 20th centuries to meet the needs of the people of that
time, but which are not necessary to meet the needs of the church and
its people as it exists today,” he (Cardinal Dolan) added."..........................................
Sunday, July 26, 2015
Donald Trump leads Republican field in new CNN poll conducted July 22-25, 2015
.
==================
CNN poll dates July 22-25:
p. 2, "Which Republican presidential candidate do you most want to see on the stage during the upcoming debates?
Trump 18%, Bush 13%, Walker 8%, Cruz 7%-Based on 460 Republicans incl. 208 independent leaners
Trump 18%, Bush 14%, Walker 7%, Cruz 7%-Based on 419 Republicans including 230 registered Republicans and 189 independent leaners
==================
7/26/15, "Donald Trump, at helm of 'movement', leads Republican field in new poll," Reuters via UK Telegraph
............
............
"Mr Trump's support among Republicans increased 6 percentage points since late
June despite criticism of John McCain's war record"
.............
.............
"Real estate magnate Donald Trump moved to the top of the 2016 Republican
presidential field in a CNN poll released on Sunday, edging out rival
Jeb Bush and gaining support from Republicans in the last month despite a
series of controversial statements.
Mr Trump was backed by 18 per cent of Republicans in the CNN poll, which was conducted entirely after his July 18 criticism of Republican Senator John McCain's war record. His lead over Mr Bush, a former Florida governor who was at 15 per cent, was within the poll's margin of error.
"There is a movement going on. This is more than me," Mr Trump said on CNN's "State of the Union," saying the poll results were not surprising. "People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington that can't get anything done."...
Separately, two NBC News-Marist polls released on Sunday showed Mr Trump doing well in a pair of states holding key early contests in the Republican nomination race.
In New Hampshire, Mr Trump leads the Republican field with the support of 21 per cent of potential primary voters, followed by Bush at 14 percent. In Iowa, Walker leads the Republican field at 19 per cent among potential Republican caucus participants, with Mr Trump in second place at 17 per cent."...
..........................
"There is a movement going on. This is more than me," Mr Trump said on CNN's "State of the Union," saying the poll results were not surprising. "People are tired of these incompetent politicians in Washington that can't get anything done."...
Separately, two NBC News-Marist polls released on Sunday showed Mr Trump doing well in a pair of states holding key early contests in the Republican nomination race.
In New Hampshire, Mr Trump leads the Republican field with the support of 21 per cent of potential primary voters, followed by Bush at 14 percent. In Iowa, Walker leads the Republican field at 19 per cent among potential Republican caucus participants, with Mr Trump in second place at 17 per cent."...
..........................
..................................
New polls show 'Iowa has a horse race,' NBC and NH poll embargoed til 9am' Sun., 7/26. 'Golf course entrepreneur and ex-reality star will be pleased,' Trip Gabriel twitter
.
7/25/15, "NBC Iowa and NH poll is embargoed until 9 am but a golf course entrepreneur/ex reality star is going to be pleased and IA has a horse race" Trip Gabriel twitter, 7:22pm
===========
7/25/15, "NBC Iowa and NH poll is embargoed until 9 am but a golf course entrepreneur/ex reality star is going to be pleased and IA has a horse race" Trip Gabriel twitter, 7:22pm
===========
Laredo border patrol: 'Make no mistake, our border with Mexico is not secure,' July 23, 2015
.
7/23/15, "National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 Statement"
Excerpt from statement:
"Make no mistake, our border with Mexico is not secure and there's no doubt that we need to have an honest discussion about that with the American people."...
Hector Garza, President Local 2455"
---------
Via Trip Gabriel twitter, via Nick Corasaniti twitter
.
7/23/15, "National Border Patrol Council Local 2455 Statement"
Excerpt from statement:
"Make no mistake, our border with Mexico is not secure and there's no doubt that we need to have an honest discussion about that with the American people."...
Hector Garza, President Local 2455"
---------
Via Trip Gabriel twitter, via Nick Corasaniti twitter
.
Saturday, July 25, 2015
French government slaps Nature in the face, allows Saudi King and his 1000+ entourage private use of public beach for 3 weeks while banning French citizens-BBC
.
7/25/15, "Petition as French Riviera beach closed for Saudi king," BBC
The petition insists the public beach in Vallauris should be "available for the benefit of all".
Authorities sealed off the beach early on Saturday to prevent any protesters from occupying it as King Salman was due to arrive in the area.
The Saudi monarch is expected to stay at his villa for three weeks.
He and his entourage of about 1,000 people arrived at Nice airport on Saturday on board two Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747s.
The king's inner circle is staying at the villa - between Antibes and Marseille - while about 700 others will stay at hotels in Cannes.
Michel Chevillon, president of an association of Cannes' hotel managers, said the visit was "clearly good news" for hotels and the local economy.
"These are people with great purchasing power," he said.
However, the closure of a section of La Mirandole beach beneath the king's villa has outraged many local residents.
"We recall that this natural zone, like all maritime public estates, is an intrinsic public property that should be available for the benefit of all, residents, tourists, French, foreigners or people passing through," the petition says.
"We ask the state to guarantee the fundamental principle of the equality of all citizens before the law."
The mayor of Vallauris has also written to President Francois Hollande in protest at unauthorised work carried out at the property.
A cement platform has been poured on to the beach to provide a lift up to the king's villa, although the Saudis have promised to remove it when they leave.
"We understand the security reasons and the nation's greater interest. But nobody can exonerate himself from the laws of the land," Mayor Michelle Salucki wrote.
There is also a ban on coming within 300m of the villa by sea.
"We're sick and tired of this messing around," one local woman said, quoted by AFP news agency.
"I can see it's normal that you need to guarantee their security, but they should let us go for a swim.""
Image caption: "Notices of the beach closure have been posted, amid tight security for the royal visitor," BBC
...................
7/25/15, "Petition as French Riviera beach closed for Saudi king," BBC
"More than 100,000 people have signed
a petition against the closure of a beach on the French Riviera to
allow Saudi King Salman to holiday in private.
Authorities sealed off the beach early on Saturday to prevent any protesters from occupying it as King Salman was due to arrive in the area.
The Saudi monarch is expected to stay at his villa for three weeks.
He and his entourage of about 1,000 people arrived at Nice airport on Saturday on board two Saudi Arabian Airlines Boeing 747s.
The king's inner circle is staying at the villa - between Antibes and Marseille - while about 700 others will stay at hotels in Cannes.
Michel Chevillon, president of an association of Cannes' hotel managers, said the visit was "clearly good news" for hotels and the local economy.
"These are people with great purchasing power," he said.
However, the closure of a section of La Mirandole beach beneath the king's villa has outraged many local residents.
"We recall that this natural zone, like all maritime public estates, is an intrinsic public property that should be available for the benefit of all, residents, tourists, French, foreigners or people passing through," the petition says.
"We ask the state to guarantee the fundamental principle of the equality of all citizens before the law."
The mayor of Vallauris has also written to President Francois Hollande in protest at unauthorised work carried out at the property.
A cement platform has been poured on to the beach to provide a lift up to the king's villa, although the Saudis have promised to remove it when they leave.
"We understand the security reasons and the nation's greater interest. But nobody can exonerate himself from the laws of the land," Mayor Michelle Salucki wrote.
There is also a ban on coming within 300m of the villa by sea.
"We're sick and tired of this messing around," one local woman said, quoted by AFP news agency.
"I can see it's normal that you need to guarantee their security, but they should let us go for a swim.""
Image caption: "Notices of the beach closure have been posted, amid tight security for the royal visitor," BBC
...................
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