"Roughly seven out of every 10 adults worldwide now have some form of a bank account, the World Bank said Thursday, largely due to the proliferation of cellphone-based bank accounts and other simple bank account programs in places like India and Sub-Saharan Africa. The finding is a sign of the improved financial well-being of those living in developing countries and particularly women, who increasingly have a safe place to store their savings and are able to participate in the growing digitalization of the global economy. But women still lag behind their male counterparts in bank account ownership, the World Bank report said....."
Making more women slaves to debt is a good thing, and don't put it in a Wells Fargo:
"The penalty, part of an expected settlement Friday between the bank and two regulators, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, is the latest blow to Wells Fargo. For years, it was regarded as one of the country’s best-run banks but lately has been reeling from a string of self-inflicted crises. At the same time, the industry is extraordinarily profitable. Wells Fargo, for example, said last week that it earned $5.9 billion in the first three months of the year. Other big banks reported similarly booming results....."
Yeah, the poor bank reeling from a string of self-inflicted crises (?????!!) where they made money on both ends of their looting schemes, now making record profits. I feel so bad for them.
Even as stocks posted their first loss of the week and banks bucked the trend, jitters are growing over the durability of Apple Inc.’s iPhone business as earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund said the industry may have peaked.
Have no fear, ‘Fearless Girl’ is here!
"‘Fearless Girl’ to move, ‘Charging Bull’ could follow" by Shirley Leung Globe Staff April 19, 2018
The “Fearless Girl” statue has found a new home in Manhattan, and the “Charging Bull” she faced off with may follow her there.
The statues may move together to a spot by the New York Stock Exchange. Boston-based State Street Corp. commissioned the “Fearless Girl” statue to mark International Women’s Day last year as well as the firm’s efforts to put more women on corporate boards.
All they give you is a day (like Labor)?
They give everyone else a month.
Fearless Girl’s new location, from Bowling Green Park a short walk down Broadway from the NYSE, was announced Thursday by the company and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, who vowed to make her a fixture in the city.
“We are proud to be home to the Fearless Girl. She is a potent symbol of the need for change at the highest levels of corporate America — and she will become a durable part of our city’s civic life,” de Blasio said in the statement. “This move to a new location will ensure that her message and impact will continue to be heard, as well as improve access for visitors.”
Part marketing, part corporate declaration of intent, “Fearless Girl” became an overnight sensation last year, when State Street’s investment arm installed the 50-inch bronze statue to defiantly face off the “Charging Bull” of Wall Street.
State Street commissioned “Fearless Girl” to draw attention to the firm’s new policy that companies it invests in must have gender diversity in the boardroom. If companies with all-male boards did not act, State Street — with its $2.78 trillion in assets under management — voted against them.
Related:
"Wynn Resorts Ltd., the casino operator coping with a sexual-harassment scandal tied to its former chief executive officer, named three new board members — all of them women. Dee Dee Myers, president Bill Clinton’s former spokeswoman; Betsy Atkins, a corporate-governance advocate; and Wendy Webb, former investor-relations chief at Walt Disney Co., were appointed to the Wynn Resorts board, according to a company filing Tuesday....."
Ummm, awkward! She was her generations version of Huckabee Sanders!
And they call it progre$$!
Since the statue has been put up, 152 public companies in State Street’s portfolio have added a female director to their boards and another 34 companies have pledged to do so.
This year, on International Women’s Day, State Street called on companies in its portfolio to share data about the number of women at all levels of management. State Street will begin to screen and engage public companies, starting in Europe and the United Kingdom.....
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What do you call a female bull?
"Remembering a ’91 campaign stop where Barbara Bush got fired up for husband" by Felice Belman Globe Staff April 18, 2018
For reporters covering the 1992 New Hampshire presidential primary — the one in which the governor of Arkansas was dogged by accusations of dodging the draft and cheating on his wife (and his wife was suspected of not being enough like Tammy Wynette) — the reelection campaign of George H.W. Bush was not the most exciting game in town. Not by a long shot.
That’s what I thought, at least, until the day Barbara Bush came to town.
George Bush was running for reelection amid a terrible economic downturn, one that had hit New Hampshire particularly hard. Seven of the state’s banks had failed. The power company had filed for bankruptcy. Jobs were hard to come by. And to top it off, Bush had broken his “no new taxes” pledge, an unconscionable breach to many former supporters.
Was it any wonder some Republicans seemed drawn to Bush’s unlikely primary challenger, Patrick Buchanan? Bush was having a hard time making the case for reelection.
Barbara Bush arrived at the State House that morning wearing her trademark pearls and a sensible royal blue dress. She was surrounded by the state’s leading political poohbahs who, as evidenced by the quarter-century-old photographs that captured the moment, smiled at her with just a hint of condescension. The state’s press corps was expecting typical first lady chitchat, devoid of hard news, undeserving of major headlines.
Instead, we got a fired-up GOP call to action.
“Although I was warned by everybody that I shouldn’t say this, I think I will,” she started.
“For three years, George has presented a growth package and asked the Congress to do something about it. And for three years, they’ve done nothing,” she said, her frustration evident.
“The Congress ought to do something. They should stop moaning and whining — and do something!” she said.
Barbara Bush said her husband had proposed capital gains tax cuts, economic enterprise zones, and the use of individual retirement accounts to help struggling Americans buy homes — to no avail.
“George has worked very, very hard, and I think it’s a very difficult time. No one suffers more than George over the economy, worries more about people who are hurt, and works harder to get something done about it,” she said.
Blaming Congress isn’t necessarily the most novel campaign message, but — trust me — in the moment it seemed that the Bush campaign had found its fire and its heart. It seemed possible to imagine the president channeling his wife’s energy and finally finding his own voice, speaking out for those who’d been hurt, helping them find a way back.
Barbara Bush then swept out of the State House. She and her entourage barreled down the interstate to the Mall of New Hampshire in Manchester, just in time for lunch at Arby’s. She sat down with a local family and ate a roast beef sandwich. At the Toys for Tots Christmas display, she donated a stuffed Babar the elephant doll.
Arby's has the meats, and this progenitor and wife of war criminals was such an everywoman.
Her message to the holiday shoppers who were delighted to meet her or even get close to her: Don’t believe the polls, the ones that suggested voters blamed her husband for the rotten economy. Long before anyone used the current lingo, she seemed to imply that the bad news was all just fake news. The mall broke out into cheers.
This is GREAT STUFF!
Rather than get angry, this sycophantic fawning over these despicable excuses for human beings, you gotta laugh. Barb Bush coined the term fake news.
We know how it ended, of course. Bush fended off Buchanan but went on to lose to Bill Clinton in the general election, serving just a single term as president.
Bush actually served almost three terms if you considering the fact that after the attempted assassination by Hinckley (who had connections to the Bush family and may have been a Manchurian candidate like so many of that era), most of the policies ran through the VPs office as Reagan was then out of the loop. The damn healthy and tough sob survived!
Think about it: Bush wrote a note to Ollie North thanking him for the whole Central American thing while Reagan was in the throes of dementia that would lead to Alzheimers.
As for Buchanan, he was another in a long line of candidates who had elections stolen from them by the Bush machine (somebody page Al Gore).
But at least on that one chilly day in New Hampshire, for just a few hours really, it seemed that by her sheer will and charm and determination, Barbara Bush might just turn things around — for her husband and maybe for the country, too.....
We had already kicked the Vietnam syndrome, remember?
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Anybody get a whiff of dog sh*t?
In taking a second look at Vennochi's pile, it's a brilliant piece of opinion, digging at her and thus them in the only way that is acceptable for that platform. I missed the tongue in cheek.
Related: "President Trump’s magnanimous comments stood in contrast to the fractious words that flew between Trump and the Bush family when the businessman-turned-presidential candidate effectively conducted a hostile takeover of a Republican Party once ruled by the Bush family. During his anti-establishment presidential campaign, Trump often held out the Bush family as an example of the political status quo, and wielded anti-dynastic sentiment against both Jeb Bush, one of Trump’s vanquished Republican rivals, and Hillary Clinton, his Democratic opponent. Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barack and Michelle Obama all plan to attend Barbara Bush’s funeral....."
Well, that shows you the falsity of all the political bickering (Obama did not attend the funeral of Nancy Reagan or Betty Ford, though?). They are even letting that #MeToo pariah Clinton float above it all (maybe H.W. will Cop-a Feel for the adopted son he never had).
What is even better is Trump not wanting to go, but seizing the moral high ground by citing the security logistics that would be needed.
I guess it's King George now (with the Prince in waiting).
"At Patriot’s Day festivities, a group of musket-toting women make a statement" by Laney Ruckstuhl Globe Correspondent April 20, 2018
When Kim Nuttall Woolf started participating in historical interpretation, roles for women were scarce.
“I was planning an event with a committee, and they would always look at me and say, ‘Well what are the girls gonna do?’ ” Woolf said. “I was out of ideas and I was like ‘You know what, I want to shoot at people. Can I shoot at people?’ And they said, ‘I don’t see why not.’ ”
Thus, the Molly Cutthroats were born — an all-women, skirt-wearing, musket-toting group of Revolutionary War enthusiasts.
On Thursday morning, Woolf and a few other women fired a ceremonial shot on the North Bridge at Minute Man National Historical Park in Concord to honor the role of women in the war during the park’s weeklong celebration of Patriots Day.
The name of the ceremony was “Remember the Ladies,” which Woolf said comes from a letter Abigail Adams wrote to her husband, future president John Adams, in 1776. “I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors,” Adams wrote. “Do not put such unlimited power into the hands of the husbands.”
Or anyone, for that matter.
The women have shot muskets at similar ceremonies before, but not without controversy.
“One of the things about the Battle Rose ceremonies people do is that they’re all about the soldiers and the men,” Woolf said. “We get that — but women made a lot of sacrifices, and they knew how to fire muskets. Occasionally, they had to in battles.”
Woolf said she and other members of the Sudbury Minute Men & Militia, a group of Colonial re-enactors, founded the Cutthroats in 2013. When the Cutthroats started, they would march and fire muskets with the Minute Men — but about four years ago, she said, there was a schism.
“They threw us out,” Woolf said, claiming the men cited historical inaccuracy.
Minute Men Colonel John Kelly, who was not the leader at the time of the groups’ division, said that from his perspective “there’s no bad blood’’ between them. Because there was no historical basis for it, we felt that it was better for them to have their own scenario.’’
Today, about 10 women participate, although Woolf said there are three core women, including herself, who make up its bulk.
“We’re trying to get more and more re-enactors to come,” she said. “There’s nothing else to honor women whose lives had been changed just as drastically as the men, we don’t ever talk about them.”
The military should set up a recruiting table for them so they could enjoy a real war.
Just be sure to wear the red coat this time.
--more--"
Oh, I like the hat!
Members of the William Diamond Junior Fife & Drum Corp watched the ceremony in Bedford on Saturday (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)."
They are just playing and “we’ll see if he’s still so into it in a few years.”
Wait, let me take one more photograph of you in the foxhole.
Time to take the $ilver Line up to the $eaport.
"MBTA executive named head of state housing and community development"by Tim Logan Globe Staff April 19, 2018
Massachusetts has a new chief of housing.
The Baker administration Thursday named Janelle Chan as undersecretary for Housing and Community Development, overseeing the state’s affordable housing programs, community service, and assistance for homeless people.
Since 2016, Chan has been chief of real estate at the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, working on that agency’s push to boost development near T stations. Before that, she spent nearly a decade at the Asian Community Development Corp., a housing and development nonprofit based in Chinatown, including six years as its executive director.
Adding housing — especially affordable housing — in one of the nation’s priciest markets has emerged as a top priority of the Baker administration.....
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"State names 138 neighborhoods as ‘Opportunity Zones’" by Tim Logan Globe Staff April 19, 2018
The Baker administration Thursday designated 138 neighborhoods across Massachusetts as eligible for a new federal program designed to draw investment to low-income neighborhoods.
The state asked for census tracts stretching from Boston to Pittsfield, Haverhill to Fall River, to be named federal “Opportunity Zones,” where investment in businesses or real estate could be rewarded with hefty breaks on federal capital gains taxes. Federal officials have 30 days to certify the zones.
The $1.5 billion program, which has bipartisan support, is designed as a way to drive investment in places left behind in the economic recovery. It was tucked into the federal tax overhaul passed late last year. It allowed states to select up to one-quarter of their lower-income census tracts for the program.
In Massachusetts, the Baker administration asked cities and towns to propose tracts. It then selected 138 of them for federal designation. Nearly half — 48 percent — are in so-called “Gateway Cities,” and another 18 percent are in rural communities. There are 13 scattered around Boston and a handful in neighboring cities such as Cambridge, Somerville, Everett, Chelsea, and Quincy, where investments in real estate have surged in recent years.....
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I don't $ee the Globe complaining, do you?
"Mass. RMV mistakenly tells thousands their licenses are being suspended" by Joshua Miller Globe Staff April 19, 2018
The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles sent notices to more than 9,700 people in recent weeks incorrectly warning them that their license and right to operate a motor vehicle would soon be suspended because they had not paid outstanding fees.
“The RMV recently identified a technical glitch in the new software system that resulted in letters being sent in error to customers, and the RMV immediately corrected this issue on the same business day to notify impacted customers,” said Jacquelyn Goddard, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation, which includes the RMV.
RELATED:
"The Internal Revenue Service announced late Tuesday that it will let taxpayers submit tax returns without penalty through Wednesday, after a long day of technical problems that fueled confusion about what is already one of Americans’ most frustrating interactions with their government. A computer glitch at the IRS knocked offline the agency’s ability to process many tax returns filed electronically, a breakdown that left agency officials flummoxed and millions of Americans baffled. Senior government officials were at a loss to explain what happened, even as close to 5 million Americans were expected to try to file their taxes before the midnight deadline. IRS officials did not specify exactly what went wrong, saying only that they would undertake a ‘‘hard reboot’’ of their systems. By late Tuesday, the IRS said its systems were back online, and taxpayers could proceed to file returns through the end of Wednesday....."
Yeah, about that software:
"The major practical problem it had identified — that it would be burdensome for out-of-state retailers to calculate and collect taxes for thousands of state and local jurisdictions — has been solved by modern software....."
OMG!
In their greedy grab for loot they are ignoring the never-ending instances of software problems in this state and on a national level, from unemployment and the DoR to the Obummercare rollout that crashed the state's health site, etc, etc, etc.
(That was a recording)
Officials said the letters were the result of a problem in the Registry’s ATLAS system, which went online last month. And they said the agency identified the problem April 12 and sent out correction letters within 24 hours. They also said that the “glitch” did not prevent the Registry from suspending the licenses of those who actually shouldn’t be able to drive.
Of course, officials have been caught minimizing problems before changing course when caught.
The Boston Globe became aware of the erroneous letters after being forwarded an apparent copy of one.
A prerecorded message on the Registry’s automated telephone system offers an apology.
That's all?
But the remedial measures haven’t calmed everyone’s nerves. Matt Patton, a nonprofit executive, law student, and onetime Democratic operative, said he received one of the notices Saturday. It warned the Boston resident his license would be suspended because of “payment default,” and he could be responsible for a fee of as much as $1,200.
“My wife opened it and said, ‘Why is your license suspended?’ ” he said, recalling her.
Patton said he spent the holiday weekend racking his brain, trying to figure out what the issue could be. They have only one car, and it’s in his wife’s name. He couldn’t think of any unpaid parking tickets. And the letter was very vague, he said.
He called first thing Tuesday morning and was directed to the automated message telling him that the suspension notice may have been in error.
But, he said Thursday, he never got another letter letting him know the first was in error.
“Honestly, I’m still a little concerned,” Patton said. “We’re having a kid over summer, so it’s not a great thing to have this might-be $1,200 fee hanging over our head.”
The is not the first springtime struggle at the Registry.
Motorists faced grinding waits of as long as five hours at RMV branches last month, as the agency rolled out the new licensing system and transitioned to Real ID, licenses that comply with stricter federal rules on identification documents. ATLAS replaced an RMV system that had been in operation for more than 30 years.
The problems at the Registry come in the context of several other customer service struggles within the administration of Governor Charlie Baker.
A data breach at the state Department of Revenue made private information from about 39,000 business taxpayers visible to other companies, potentially competitors, and lasted from August through Jan. 23, the agency has said.
The department acknowledged in March that it had failed to deliver timely child support payments to about 1,500 parents since the beginning of the year.
And just last week the tax-collecting agency said the personal information of thousands who pay child support was inadvertently sent to companies that do not employ them.
They are leaving out the political patronage portion.
Baker, a Republican, faces reelection this fall. He is poised to campaign heavily on his careful oversight of state agencies, among other issues.....
Why NO LOVE for Baker?
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What they do, hire Accenture again?
Related:
"MassHealth, the state Medicaid program, overpaid up to $4.4 million over nearly four years to laboratories that improperly billed for drug testing, according to a report Thursday by state Auditor Suzanne M. Bump. The erroneous payments represent a tiny fraction of MassHealth’s $15.3 billion annual costs, but suggest a failure to catch mistakes and overbilling at a time when spending on urine screening is exploding nationally as addiction treatment providers monitor their patients’ drug use....."
Who knew there was gold in pi$$?
Also see: New details emerge on State Police payroll head’s alleged theft scheme
All of a sudden the front-page railroad job is making sense as the Globe says goodbye to Gil Santos and Maine's Native American population who finally have a voice.
Maybe they would prefer this guy?
"Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s official portrait will cost $85,000, which is more than taxpayers shelled out for paintings of his three predecessors combined. The Record reports that Australian artist Paul Newton will paint the portrait of the Republican who left office after eight years in January. The former governor appreciated luxury, watching the Dallas Cowboys from owner Jerry Jones’s box and going to Jordan on the King Abdullah II’s dime....."
He's a friend of Baker's, isn't he, from endorsement to their General Catalyst days?
They still have one of the financial criminal Democrat Jon Corzine on the wall?
"The New Hampshire House on Thursday rejected a measure to protect intoxicated people from drunken-driving charges while they are sobering up in their cars. The bill passed the Senate last month, but House members voted it down, 209-122. It would have specified that sleeping or resting in a parked car would not be considered driving or attempting to drive under drunken-driving laws. Supporters of the bill argued that the current law is overly broad and unfairly punishes people who are trying to do the right thing. “Sleeping in your car to sober up after the bars close is not attempting to drive, it’s attempting not to kill someone,” said Rep. Brian Stone, R-Northwood. Rep. Dan Hynes, R-Merrimack, a defense attorney, said he has represented clients who have been arrested for falling asleep while drunk in their cars. He said the current law encourages them to drive in order to avoid arrest, putting lives in danger. “We want people to stay safe and safe for others by not driving,” he said. “We want people to do the right thing, sleep it off and not put the public at risk.” Opponents argued the bill would have unintended consequences, in part because it also would exempt behavior outside of a car. They said that could allow someone who drives drunk and then crashes to avoid charges if he or she exits the vehicle. Rep. Kate Murray, D-New Castle, said police should be trusted to decide whether to charge someone sleeping off “their drunken stupor in their presumably non-moving car.” “DWI is a serious issue that often results in unnecessary fatalities,” she said. “We should allow such determinations to be made by law enforcement,” she said."
Maybe the problem isn't passing out in the car, but the drinking itself. One has to wonder at the (self-serving?) mindset by Stone and Hynes (Mike!).
At least they are on the right side of a certain issue (begging the question of why am I still doing this?).
"Puppies. Pints. And ice cream at City Hall Plaza. Oh my!" by Milton J. Valencia Globe Staff April 19, 2018
In the latest effort to enliven the brick expanse outside City Hall, officials and organizers announced plans Thursday for “The Patios” — a public gathering spot on City Hall Plaza that will, starting next month, feature a brew yard, a creamery, and mini-golf stations, flanked by nine different patio areas with decorated greenery.
“We’re excited to welcome the next round of family-friendly and fun activations to City Hall Plaza as the weather continues to get warmer here in Boston,” said Mayor Martin J. Walsh in a statement.
See: Hey — what happened to spring?
That's really becoming a barrier to the narrative, too.
Festival organizers, led by the Boston Garden Development Corporation, “have shown the potential in making the plaza a downtown destination for all,” Walsh said.
The patio, sponsored by Berkshire Bank and designed in collaboration with Boston artist Jeff Smith, will debut May 4.....
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Any question regarding the agenda?
"After prosecutors rested their case, the defense immediately asked Judge Steven O’Neill to acquit Cosby and send jurors home. O’Neill refused....."
They hoped the incident would spur a dialogue about race, in what is looking like a staged event for agenda-pushing purposes (did you see who they brought in to teach about diversity)?
“Night Court,” which ran from 1984 to 1992, more than held its own against juggernauts like “Cheers,” “The Cosby Show,” and “The Golden Girls” during a storied period for television sitcoms....."
It's been ruined by Weinstein.
Syracuse fraternity suspended after racist videos released Video showing a group of men laughing uproariously at performances punctuated by racist language against blacks, Jews and Hispanics and simulated sex acts has roiled the campus of Syracuse University, and a fraternity there has been suspended. Some students claim the videos illustrate larger issues of racism and sexism at Syracuse.
At least it is not an issue at Suffolk or Ida.
Power restored to those hit by Puerto Rico blackout
They even provided an explanation for the neglect.
What is 4/20?
It's linked to marijuana, and thus to domestic terrorism, and thus to mass casualty school shooting events, and thus to rape, and thus to matricide of a pregnant mother!
Hey, don't ask, don't tell -- and the Globe didn't:
Trump Administration Seeks to Expand Sales of Armed Drones
I'm told "the Obama administration embraced armed drones like the Predator and Reaper and was also enthusiastic about foreign weapons sales, which soared during its tenure," and that "the policy changes were announced two days after a hearing on Capitol Hill during which senators from both parties expressed anguish at the vast humanitarian crisis in Yemen, caused in part by Saudi Arabia's use of US weapons."
Crocodile tears that can't see Syria and are blind to what Is (the) real Lobby.
Time to head on over to the cafeteria:
Crocodile tears that can't see Syria and are blind to what Is (the) real Lobby.
Time to head on over to the cafeteria:
E. Coli Outbreak Tied to Romaine Lettuce Expands to 16 States
So much for the egg salad sandwich I was planning for lunch!
Going to have to take a pill and pee to flush it.
Who Is Miguel Díaz-Canel, Cuba's New President?
NYT doesn't know.
Macron Had a Big Plan for Europe. It's Now Falling Apart
For "fans of Europe, [it]'s too bad" that Macron has lost face and the Germans now rule Western Europe.
"Italian Reinhold Messner has been a critic of the large number of people climbing Everest. He has suggested Nepal give the mountain a rest to allow it to recover, but Nepal did not listen. He said Thursday climbing Everest is no longer an adventure and instead has become a tourism activity....."
If your plane makes it in (a two-day blip and then it was gone), and did you jwho see who are the tourists that are running it!? The challenge of hauling material away is so vast means it is literally a mountain of sh*t up there (it's what they leave in their wake).
Speaking of Gaza:
‘‘Jews, Catholics, Poles, Americans. All free people should stand together now to make sure that our children and grandchildren never know the true horrors that took place right here.’’
What is that, some sort of joke (as Gaza has disappeared from the pre$$ coverage)?
The Swedish Erotica has been sent from Russia with Love.
UPDATE:
"As the spring home-buying season begins, house shoppers are facing higher prices and fierce competition for a limited inventory of available homes. But a strong job market has given American consumers, including an influx of younger millennials, the confidence to shop for homes anyway....."