United States: New York City mayoral swear-in to pair potential 2020 presidential prospects

Sunday, December 31, 2017

On New Years Day 2018, on the steps of New York City Hall, U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, runner-up for the Democratic Party’s 2016 presidential nomination and potential 2020 presidential candidate, is to conduct the swearing-in of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, himself a potential 2020 presidential contender. In a statement, de Blasio, who was re-elected as Mayor this past November, claims to have invited Sanders due to the progressive icon’s Brooklyn, New York roots and advocacy on behalf of working people. Analysts say the invitation is a calculated political move on behalf of de Blasio to take advantage of Sanders’ popularity.

Sanders, 76, a self-identified Socialist, was born in Brooklyn before relocating to his current home of Vermont. After running for various public offices in the 1970s as a member of the anti-war Liberty Union Party, Sanders won election as Mayor of Burlington in 1981, serving three successive terms. In 1990, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives as an Independent, serving for 16 years before winning election to the U.S. Senate, again as an Independent. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Sanders garnered grassroots support, finishing second at the Democratic National Convention to Hillary Clinton, whose husband, former President Bill Clinton, administered de Blasio’s oath for Mayor in 2014.

Sanders’ 2016 performance and ensuing popularity within the Democratic Party has led to speculation about his plans in 2020. According to Politico, Sanders is taking steps toward a 2020 run. Referencing Sanders’ advanced age, incumbent President Donald Trump, who has already announced plans to run for re-election in 2020, said he expects Sanders to run “even if he’s in a wheelchair.”

News outlets have also speculated about de Blasio’s 2020 prospects. Last week, de Blasio delivered a speech in the first-in-the-nation caucus state of Iowa, prompting publications such as The Week and Newsweek to discuss whether the speech, delivered before about 200 progressive activists in Des Moines concerning the direction of the Democratic Party, was a way for de Blasio to test the waters for a potential run. De Blasio himself has denied he is running for President, though speculation persists.

Congressman John Delaney of Maryland is currently the only prominent Democrat officially running for President. Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are also expected to run.

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Scientists have uncovered the largest Neolithic settlement in the United Kingdom at the Durrington Walls and believe that the village was inhabited by the people who built the Stonehenge monument.

Scientists say that the village was built around 2,600 B.C., roughly when Stonehenge was believed to have been constructed, and housed over 100 people.

Inside the areas which would have been the interior of houses at the time, scientists also found outlines of what they think were beds and cupboards or dressers. Pieces of pottery and “filthy” rubbish around the site. Animal bones, arrowheads, stone tools and other relics were also discovered.

“We’ve never seen such quantities of pottery and animal bone and flint. In what were houses, we have excavated the outlines on the floors of box beds and wooden dressers or cupboards,” said Sheffield University archaeologist Mike Parker Pearson.

So far, the dig has revealed at least 8 houses roughly 14-16 feet square, but scientists say that they think there may have been at least 25 altogether.

The site was likely to have been occupied only seasonally rather than year-round and evidence suggests that a lot of “partying” went on at the location.

“The animal bones are being thrown away half-eaten. It’s what we call a feasting assemblage. This is where they went to party – you could say it was the first free festival. The rubbish isn’t your average domestic debris. There’s a lack of craft-working equipment for cleaning animal hides and no evidence for crop-processing,” added Pearson.

The Durrington Walls are approximately 2 miles from the Stonehenge site.

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

A National Academy of Sciences report (.pdf) last year said that while the milk and meat from cloned animals would not likely make anyone sick, more research should be performed. Now, a new US-Japan study published in the April 11 online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says that milk and meat from cloned cattle does indeed appear to meet industry standards and appears to be safe for human consumption.

As BBC News reports, the scientists, led by Professor Jerry Yang from the University of Connecticut, compared the produce from two beef and four dairy clones, all derived from a single Holstein dairy cow and a single Japanese black bull, with the produce from normal animals of similar age and breed.

The meat was analysed against more than 100 physiological, tissue and cellular components, while the milk was analysed for protein, fat and other variables. No significant differences between the produce of cloned and normal cattle were found. Higher levels of fat and fatty acids were found in the cloned cow meat, but they still fell within beef industry standards.

While the study showed the cloned produce to be within the range approved for human consumption, the scientists stressed that the research was still in its early stages. Their findings, they said, provide “guidelines” for further research with larger numbers of clones from different genetic backgrounds.

Cloning livestock may one day increase yields by copying those animals that are especially productive and especially resistant to disease.

“The milking production levels in the US are three to four times higher than levels in China; maybe even five times or more compared to cows in India and some other countries,” Professor Jerry Yang told BBC News. “Therefore cloning could offer technology for duplicating superior farm animals. However, all the products from these cloned animals must be safe for human consumption. …and it is a major issue for scientists to provide a scientific basis for the data and information to address this question.”

As USA Today reports, there is currently no law governing the sale of meat or milk from the estimated 1,000 to 2,000 cloned farm animals in the USA. But since 2003, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has asked producers to voluntarily keep the meat and milk of these animals, and that of their offspring, out of the food supply.

Wired News reports that companies like ViaGen and Cyagra, which offer livestock-cloning services, have also been waiting for several years for a final say from the FDA.

“For the United States agricultural industry, (cloning) can reduce the number of cows necessary for milking,” said Jerry Yang “They can have a pleasant environment and produce even more milk.” He also said that cloning cattle from the United States, where genetic breeding is more advanced, could save developing countries 50 years of breeding.

The idea of cloning animals for human consumption is not without its critics. First, there are the welfare concerns, as most cloned animals do not make it to term before being born, and many of those that do are born deformed or prone to illness. The Humane Society of the United States has asked for a ban on milk and meat from clones for just this reason. Second, there is still the concern that healthy clones may have subtle defects that could make their food products unsafe to eat.

As the Washington Post reports, some critics are asking why it is necessary to clone cows that produce huge amounts of milk when surpluses, rather than shortages, are the main problem facing the U.S. dairy industry today.

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Tuesday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper was filming a cameo appearance on the popular sitcom Corner Gas. Corner Gas is filmed about 40 km south of Regina in the tiny farming community of Rouleau.

Harper was filmed in a scene where he was surrounded by a large group of actors playing reporters and photographers. After completing the scene, he got back into his car and a motorcade left the town, which is called Dog River on the show.

“We can’t say much about cameo appearances, because they’re supposed to be a surprise for the viewers, but yes, there was press scrum,” Corner Gas executive producer Virginia Thompson said. “That’s all I can reveal.” “It works well for the show, actually … We were told by the Prime Minister’s Office that he had a sense of humour, but we thought we would wait and see and sure enough, yeah, he delivered.”

When Paul Martin was the leader of the government, he had a cameo on the show last season. Saskatchewan Premier Lorne Calvert has also made an appearance on the show last season.

“The prime minister was not paid for his appearance and had other reasons for coming to Saskatchewan beyond being part of the show”, said Thompson.

Reporters were kept back and not allowed to see how he performed in front of the cameras.

Harper waved goodbye to small town of Rouleau while travelling down Highway 39 away from the set after spending about 1 1/2 hours there. After, Harper planned to meet with members of his Saskatchewan caucus at a barbeque at Sherwood Forest Country Club Tuesday night. Harper is scheduled to tour the RCMP training academy in Regina today.

The episode featuring Harper will air sometime next spring.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

LONDON – The big-budget Hollywood movie The Aviator and the low-budget Brit flick Vera Drake have scooped the main prizes at the 2005 Orange BAFTA Film Awards. Four gongs went to The Aviator with the top ones being Best Film and Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress. Vera Drake got three gongs with Best Director, Best Actress & Costume Design. Jamie Foxx got Best Actor with Ray and Clive Owen got Best Supporting Actor with Closer.

Thursday, December 25, 2008

The US Food and Drug Administration has written a warning letter to The Coca-Cola Company that Diet Coke Plus violates the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act‘s guidelines. The December 10 letter, signed by Roberta Wagner, director of the office of compliance at the Center of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, says Coca-Cola should “take prompt action to correct these violations.”

The product’s label describes the drink as “Diet Coke with Vitamins and Minerals.” FDA said the soft drink does not have enough nutrients to justify the use of the word “plus” in its trade name. According to statute, foods must contain at least 10 per cent more of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI) or Daily Reference Value (DRV) for a given nutrient “than an appropriate reference food” in order to be called “plus” legally.

The FDA also advised “it is inappropriate to add extra nutrients to snack foods such as carbonated beverages.” The FDA warns Coca-Cola and asks it to revise the drink’s labeling and inform the agency of its reply regarding how it plans to fix the violation, within 15 days of receiving the warning. Coca-Cola says it will submit a reply to the FDA in early January, but currently has no plans to alter the label.

The US Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA, FDCA, or FD&C), is a set of laws passed by Congress in 1938 giving authority to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the safety of food, drugs, and cosmetics. A principal author of this law was Royal S. Copeland, a three-term U.S. Senator from New York, whose concerns about drug safety stemmed from the fact that he was also a homeopathic physician. The act has been amended many times, most recently to add requirements about bioterrorism preparations.

The Coca-Cola Company issued a statement saying, “This does not involve any health or safety issues, and we believe the label on Diet Coke Plus complies with FDA’s policies and regulations.”

The Coca-Cola Company is the world’s largest beverage company, largest manufacturer, distributor and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups in the world, and one of the largest corporations in the United States. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in 1886. Diet Coke Plus (also known as Coca Cola Light Plus) was released in the United Kingdom in October 2007.

Forbes has reported that “Coca-Cola has been on a crusade to revamp its image from a purveyor of highly sweetened, fattening products to a more family-friendly image of low-calorie, nutritional drinks. Its violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act could mean hefty fines and a seizure of product from the pop king, but often these sorts of issues are resolved without incident.”

Monday, June 12, 2006

Two brothers who were arrested in London last week on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities were released without any charges by the UK police on Friday.

Twenty year old Abul Koyair and twenty three year old Mohammed Abdul Kahar were arrested during a police raid on June 2 at a house at Lansdown Road, Forest Gate, during which Mohammed Kahar was shot in the shoulder. They were detained under the Terrorism Act 2000 on suspicion of being involved in terrorist activities. Both the men denied any such involvement.

Police sources had earlier said that they had information that a chemical device might be found there, the Assistant Commissioner Andy Hayman had earlier said the police had received “specific intelligence” regarding the location. Police found no such device.

The Police Complaints Commission is investigating the circumstances of the shooting of Mohammed Kahar.

A compilation of brief news reports for Saturday, August 8, 2009.