Archive for July, 2017

Why NHL’s communism works, just look at the alternative – New York Post

Gary Bettman longs for parity and Adam Silver strives for excellence. This is the fundamental difference between the NHL and NBA and their respective commissioners, and that difference is never more clear than right now in the aftermath of each final and on the eve of free agency.

But for all the faults of Bettman and the NHL none more short-sighted than limiting revenue by constantly undercutting big-market teams through more ways than the salary cap it is still a preferable system. The NHL Players Association has fought tooth and nail for more freedom, but look to the NBA to see what too much player freedom can look like.

There are, what, 20 teams in the NBA that have absolutely no chance to sign a big-name free agent? And apparently you need three or four stars now just to be in the conversation for making a conference final. Forget actually winning a championship.

So lets say youre the general manager of the Nuggets or Blazers, or a fan of the Kings or the Magic now what? Is the only way to build a winner by tanking, picking a terrifically talented and totally inexperienced kid in the draft, and then hoping that people want to come play with him?

How many NBA players are getting max contracts who dont deserve them, too? Then they have these opt-out clauses, so they pretty much can go play wherever they want. From what I can gather, Chris Paul didnt just demand a trade from the Clippers, but demanded he be sent to the Rockets. He said either he was going to opt out of his contract and sign with the Rockets as a free agent, meaning the Clippers would get nothing in return, or hed opt in and they could trade him. Hows that for owner Steve Ballmers $2 billion investment?

Meanwhile, the NHL salary cap enforces a strict system of communism. Last season, 25 of the 30 teams spent within $4 million of the $73 million cap, which goes up to just $75 million this season. The Predators, out of small-market Nashville, were a blast to watch while losing just four games in the first three rounds before losing to the Penguins pseudo-dynasty in the Stanley Cup finals. The Predators also had the seventh-lowest payroll in the league.

For even more contrast, Thursday was the one-year anniversary of the Predators making the biggest trade in franchise history and one of the biggest trades the league has seen in years. They sent their indomitable captain, Shea Weber, to the Canadiens in a one-for-one deal bringing back the electric P.K. Subban. For the longest time, Montreal general manager Marc Bergevin denied he was ever shopping Subban. Yet despite the enduring love of the majority of the fans, Subbans flashy style never quite fit the current culture of the organization. So despite all the protests that he wasnt going to be traded, he was shipped out and it changed the face of both franchises.

Now if Subban was moved to, say, Carolina, and he lost a lot in a dreary environment, it might be pointed out that the teams have too much control and the players too little. But there are no-trade clauses now all around the NHL too many, actually. The market has come to bear that marginally good players are in line for at least some sort of movement protection, and it limits teams mobility, and hence their ability to compete.

The balance has to be struck between the want of a full-league competition and that of a few teams that are so much better than the rest of the league. People might point to the NHL as a model for parity goodness knows Bettman does but they still have had three teams combine to win eight of the past nine titles. Theyve done that through generational players such as Sidney Crosby (Penguins, three Cups), Jonathan Toews (Blackhawks, three Cups) and Drew Doughty (Kings, two Cups). But their general managers have had to make moves on the fly to keep up, and thats what makes it interesting.

Meanwhile, the NBA has one two-week period to look forward to the NBA Finals. For the past three years, everyone knew it was going to be the Warriors versus the Cavaliers, so why would there be any interest for the first three rounds of the postseason? Forget having any interest in the regular season.

The difference is in the amount power the players hold, and it creates a league that is either competitive for nine months or competitive for two weeks. Put aside the entertainment value of the game itself, and Id still go for the former.

Its been a dramatic fall for Scott Hartnell, from his days as a heart-and-soul player for the 2009-10 Flyers who made it to the Stanley Cup final to now getting bought out by the Blue Jackets. The 35-year-old had just 13 goals and 37 points this past season in 78 games for John Tortorellas club, which finished in third place in the cutthroat Metropolitan Division with 108 points. The No. 6-overall pick from 2000 is now an unrestricted free agent, and he is going to have to prove hes still got more in the tank.

. . . to the opening of free agency on Saturday at noon. Its not exactly the strongest free-agent class, and thats exemplified by defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk being the No. 1 name out there. Someone is going to give him a huge deal and likely end up regretting it down the road. There are also questions with the Sharks big two, Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau. If they move on (and to different places), then things around the league might start to get interesting.

RIP to Dave Semenko, who for years was Wayne Gretzkys bodyguard with the Oilers. From all accounts, Cement Head was a true character, and he even once fought Muhammad Ali for a charity event in 1983.

Read more:
Why NHL's communism works, just look at the alternative - New York Post

Against Thomas Piketty & Creeping Socialism – HuffPost

Thomas Piketty seems to be the darling of 21st century intellectuals as Ortega y Gasset was of the 20th century. His masterly researched and written magnum opus Capital in the Twenty-First Century has been touted by both the European and the American left, and it is essentially Marx 2.0, or one might say Marx for the 21st Century. He showcases his erudition throughout the text, and one should note that his tone is not radical or revolutionary, but rather composed, intellectual and academic. He comes to us as the scholar, the professor, not the angry radical with his fist in the air, but one should not be seduced by his cerebral and congenial manner, as his ideas and sentiments are as pestilential as Mao Zedong, Karl Marx, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and others of their ilk.

His aims are, among others, global registry of financial assets, global coordination of wealth taxation, and progressive wealth tax rates. One in The United States of America and in the West should be as concerned of this as others seem to be of Islamism and Sharia, and one might label his oeuvre Creeping Socialism. All elements of privacy would be eradicated in Pikettys dystopia (though he would term it a Utopia, I am sure), and the spirit of collectivism would triumph over the spirit of rugged individualism that we so cherish. Americans should always be on guard against the type of phrases that he uses such as the common good, the general interest and of course the oft-used the people, as all are precursors of Socialism. He notes, A tax on capital would promote the general interest over private interests while preserving economic openness and the forces of competition. (Piketty, 471) It should be stated that Frances 75% wealth tax that Piketty gushes over was a complete and abysmal failure and had to be rescinded, as the wealthy, the professional, and the accomplished French fled to Russia (Gerard Depardieu), the U.K. Belgium and Switzerland, among others. This same scenario played out here in America when California raised its taxes. The wealthy and accomplished hightailed it for Nevada, Texas and Florida.

Socialists and progressives seem to thrive in what The Great One at Yale Harold Bloom termed The School of Resentment though he meant it in a Literary sense against those who have attacked great works of Art based upon gender, race and class, but let us leave Literary matters aside and return to Piketty. One can well imagine Piketty, Cornell West, Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders standing on a street corner together, having a cup of coffee, complaining about Trumps latest vulgar tweet, when a gleaming Ferrari pulls up to the light. Undoubtedly, they would resent the selfish capitalist showing off his wealth in such an ostentatious way and mention the struggle of working people and so on and so forth. Yet is not the spirit of America, the spirit of capitalism, to see that car and say Wow - how did this person attain that sense of success and how can I achieve it too? Maybe they could offer some economic-advice? The difference is that the Socialist resents whereas the Capitalist aspires, and is not economic aspiration in our blood as Americans? Did not our ancestors flee the class-based stratified societies of the Old World to seek economic opportunity - to go from being the help to having help - to go from toiling on the land as a serf to being the landowner - to go from paying rent to collecting rent? Sam Zell, the successful American capitalist, commented accurately that the 1% should be emulated, not resented, and I could not agree more.

If one studies the Cultural Revolution in China, one sees that the enemies of the Chinese communists were intellectuals, individual exceptionalism, rich farmers, rich landowners and private business interests. I remember when studying this thinking to myself that I aspired to be everything that the Chinese Communists and Piketty resent and despise. To read voraciously in my spare time so as to rival the intellectual habits of Oxford dons, to train maniacally in the gymnasia to attain physical exceptionalism that equals an ancient Greek sculpture, to one day own land as a landlord and/or farmer and to have private business interests. And I strongly believe that all Americans, and all men/women, should at least have some of these aims, be it to think for oneself not as part of a collectivist herd, to be an independent farmer like Jefferson or Thoreau, to be a rich landlord like Trump (even though you may not like him personally or approve of his political persuasions), or to be a rich investor like Warren Buffett/Charlie Munger. For to be rich is to be free. Munger himself comments, Like Warren (Buffett, not Elizabeth) I had a considerable passion to get rich. Not because I wanted Ferraris - I wanted the independence. I desperately wanted it. (Lowenstein, 75)

One should note however that the sentiments of Piketty, Warren and Sanders are not novel as this spirit of resentment is referenced by Napoleon Hill in his seminal Think and Grow Rich where he states, For more than twenty years it has been a somewhat popular and growing pastime for radicals, self-seeking politicians, racketeers, crooked labor leaders, and on occasion religious leaders, to take pot-shots at Wall Street, The Money-Changers, and Big Business. The practice became so general that we witnessed during the business depression, the unbelievable sight of high government officials lining up with the cheap politicians, and labor leaders, with the openly avowed purpose of throttling the system which has made Industrial America the richest country on Earth. (Hill, 60) Was he describing 1937 or 2017 ?

As America moves forward into the the 21st century it would seem obvious that we are going to face many threats with perhaps the top three being The Rise of China, Creeping Sharia (Islamism in general), and Creeping Socialism and while the first two will likely be more problematic, one should not discount the threat of Piketty and other academics/politicians who come not with all the Gold of Asia, with dirty nukes, but rather with a smile, a friendly mien, clutching Marx under one arm and Lenin under the other.

-Pietros Maneos, The American Capitalist,

The Morning Email

Wake up to the day's most important news.

View original post here:
Against Thomas Piketty & Creeping Socialism - HuffPost

Socialism and GOP health bill – Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

If immigrants ultimately voted mostly Republican, the Republican Party would be defending illegal immigration and Democrats would be demanding a wall and threatening sanctuary cities.

With this example of blatant hypocrisy and its implications in mind, we can frame a question: Why do we have a health system? We dont have a food system and people would die without food. We have mostly a free market for food, and the major health issue of the poor is not lack of food but obesity.

We have a health system because of the desire to create a socialist paradise and the demand of some incumbents to stay in office and consolidate as much power as possible irrespective of the outcome of the means.

We have a health system because of the constant propaganda and education of almost three generations of Americans that health is somehow different from all other life events and must be protected by a socialist state.

Many Americans still recoil at the idea, and so our elites keep coming up with health schemes that are bastardized bureaucratic nightmares so bad we can only assume they were designed to fail.

The major problem with health care in America is misplaced insurance. Surprised? Think about it. The elites solution: Nationalize health insurance and tie it up with hundreds of pages of bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo.

This is like solving the problem of young boys throwing rocks at windows by making sure they have smoother rocks.

There are only two solutions to health care. 1) Socialize it, or 2) reduce government interference and turn it into a free market.

A socialized health system would create the largest bureaucracy on the planet. Keep in mind bureaucracies do process, they do not do outcomes.

Consider some basic realities. Those who can pay have the power to choose. In a free market that is you. In socialized systems, that is not you. Why would a person want an unnamed bureaucrat leafing through thousands of pages of regulations making decisions that influence your well being and maybe even your life?

Where are the feminists on this issue? They have demanded control over their own bodies. In a one-payer system, you have no ultimate control over your body. You control nothing except who you vote for, and as recent history has shown that changes almost nothing.

In a free market a person has control over what happens to their own bodies when they pay the bills, not when insurance is paid for by your employer and especially not when it is paid for by a faceless government bureaucrat.

The cost of health care is now outrageously expensive, mostly because patients have been led to believe someone else is paying the bills. Obamacare and the Republican plan simply compound this misperception and rachet up the cost.

In a one-payer system, it appears no one pays the cost directly, even though the cost will bankrupt the nation in the long run. The immediate cost will literally be taken out of our bodies, and on this July 4th weekend, out of our freedom to choose.

Dennis Clayson is a marketing professor at the University of Northern Iowa.

See the rest here:
Socialism and GOP health bill - Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier

The socialist temptation – Power Line (blog)

Marxism appeared to have suffered a knockout with the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1989. It looked at the time like the postscript to Ronald Reagans long struggle against Communism, the struggle Peter Schweizer called Reagans War.

Now in what seems like the blink of an eye, Bernie Sanders has somehow become the most popular politician in the United States. By contrast with Reagan, here is a guy who has deeply felt what Vivian Gornick called The Romance of Communism. As we all have learned, Sanders merged the personal and the political when he spent his honeymoon in the Soviet Union. No honeymoon in Vegas for the class warrior from Burlington by way of Brooklyn.

In a recent column of great interest Joel Kotkin purported to explain Why socialism is back. Kotkin seemed to offer some political advice along with his explanation. These [leftist] economic positions could gain a majority, Kotkin counseled, but not if the progressives maintain their polarizing embrace of the most radical aspects of social identity and environmental policy.

The lefts identity politics replicates Marxist class struggle with racial categories. The lefts environmental policy serves up the rationale for state control of the means of production. They are both extensions of what the late Harry Jaffa the long arm of socialism. Kotkin advice to the contrary notwithstanding, they arent going anywhere. Kotkin to the contrary notwithstanding, under Democratic rule we are destined to get the full catastrophe good and hard.

The late Harry Jaffa cogently warned that the socialist temptation would survive the fall of the Soviet Union. If anything, the fall of the Soviet Union would enhance its appeal. The defeat of communism in the USSR and its satellite empires by no means assures its defeat in the world, Jaffa argued. Indeed, the release of the West from its conflict with the East emancipates utopian communism at home from the suspicion of it affinity with an external enemy. The struggle for the preservation of western civilization has entered a newand perhaps far more deadly and dangerousphase.

And here we are. Kotkin raises the question for the current popularity of of socialism or socialist remedies.

Socialism has certain permanent advantages over freedom. It preys on such enduring features of our character as ignorance and envy. See, for example, Publius in Federalist 10.

But what is behind the resurgence now? According to Kotkin, The primary driver is the global ascendency of neo-liberal capitalism, which in virtually all countries has accelerated inequality.

Americans, however, have rarely begrudged our fellow citizens their success so long as we have had something like an equal opportunity to achieve it. It seems to me that current barriers to opportunity have much more to do with the resurgence of the appeal of socialist bromides than what Kotkin calls neo-liberal capitalism except insofar as neo-liberal capitalism has erected such barriers.

Reaganite policies fostered the fantastic economic growth of its era. Reagan prevailed politically before the fall of the Soviet Union with the great economic growth that his policies fostered. We can achieve such economic growth again if we can lighten the governments heavy hand and continue to press the case for freedom against the claims urged on behalf of the same old serpent that says you work and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it.

NOTE: For much more on Jaffas contribution on the point above, see a certain new book by our own Steven Hayward.

Continued here:
The socialist temptation - Power Line (blog)

Russia was behind global cyber attack, Ukraine says – The Independent

Protesters carry a large image of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo as they march during the annual pro-democracy protest in Hong Kong. Thousands joined an annual protest march in Hong Kong, hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping wrapped up his visit to the city by warning against challenges to Beijing's sovereignty.

AP

Jockey Andrea Coghe of "Selva" (Forest) parish rides his horse during the first practice for the Palio Horse Race in Siena, Italy June 30, 2017

Reuters

A man takes pictures with a phone with a Union Flag casing after Chinese President Xi Jinping (not pictured) inspected troops at the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Hong Kong Garrison as part of events marking the 20th anniversary of the city's handover from British to Chinese rule, in Hong Kong, China June 30, 2017

Reuters

A protester against U.S. President Donald Trump's limited travel ban, approved by the U.S. Supreme Court, holds a sign next to protesters supporting the ban, in New York City, U.S., June 29, 2017

Reuters

Israeli Air Force Efroni T-6 Texan II planes perform at an air show during the graduation of new cadet pilots at Hatzerim base in the Negev desert, near the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva, on June 29, 201

AFP/Getty Images

A woman gestures next to people spraying insecticide on a vehicle during a mosquito-control operation led by Ivory Coast's National Public and Health Institute in Bingerville, near Abidjan where several cases of dengue fever were reported on June 27, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

An aerial view shows women swimming in the Yenisei River on a hot summer day, with the air temperature at about 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 degrees Fahrenheit), outside Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, June 28, 2017

Reuters

A Libyan coast guardsman watches over as illegal immigrants arrive to land in a dinghy during the rescue of 147 people who attempted to reach Europe off the coastal town of Zawiyah, 45 kilometres west of the capital Tripoli, on June 27, 2017. More than 8,000 migrants have been rescued in waters off Libya during the past 48 hours in difficult weather conditions, Italy's coastguard said on June 27, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

Investigators work at the scene of a car bomb explosion which killed Maxim Shapoval, a high-ranking official involved in military intelligence, in Kiev, Ukraine, June 27, 2017

Reuters

A man leaves after voting in the Mongolian presidential election at the Erdene Sum Ger (Yurt) polling station in Tuul Valley. Mongolians cast ballots on June 26 to choose between a horse breeder, a judoka and a feng shui master in a presidential election rife with corruption scandals and nationalist rhetoric

AFP/Getty Images

People attend Eid al-Fitr prayers to mark the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at a play ground in the suburb of Sale, Morocco

REUTERS

A plain-clothes police officer kicks a member of a group of LGBT rights activist as Turkish police prevent them from going ahead with a Gay Pride annual parade on 25 June 2017 in Istanbul, a day after it was banned by the city governor's office.

AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan army soldiers stands guard while rescue workers examine the site of an oil tanker explosion at a highway near Bahawalpur, Pakistan. An overturned oil tanker burst into flames in Pakistan on Sunday, killing more than one hundred people who had rushed to the scene of the highway accident to gather leaking fuel, an official said.

AP

Rescue workers search for survivors at the site of a landslide that occurred in Xinmo Village, Mao County, Sichuan province, China

REUTERS

Student activists shout anti martial law slogans during a protest in Manila on June 23, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

A diver performs from the Pont Alexandre III bridge into the River Seine in Paris, France, June 23, 2017 as Paris transforms into a giant Olympic park to celebrate International Olympic Days with a variety of sporting events for the public across the city during two days as the city bids to host the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games

Reuters

Debris and smoke are seen after an OV-10 Bronco aircraft released a bomb, during an airstrike, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who have taken over parts of Marawi city, Philippines June 23, 2017

Reuters

Russian President Vladimir Putin (C) stands under pouring rain during a wreath-laying ceremony marking the 76th anniversary of the Nazi German invasion, by the Kremlin walls in Moscow, on June 22, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

Smoke rises following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa, on June 22, 2017

AFP/Getty Images

Iraqis flee from the Old City of Mosul on June 22, 2017, during the ongoing offensive by Iraqi forces to retake the last district still held by the Islamic State (IS) group

AFP/Getty Images

Girls stand in monsoon rains beside an open laundry in New Delhi, India

Reuters

People take part in the 15th annual Times Square yoga event celebrating the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, during classes in the middle of Times Square in New York. The event marked the international day of yoga.

Reuters

Faroe Islanders turn the sea red after slaughtering hundreds of whales as part of annual tradition

Rex

A firefighting plane tackles a blaze in Cadafaz, near Goes, Portugal

Reuters

A person participates in a journalists' protest asking for justice in recent attacks on journalists in Mexico City, Mexico, 15 June 2017

EPA

Poland's Piotr Lobodzinski starts in front of the Messeturm, Fairground Tower, in Frankfurt Germany. More than 1,000 runners climbed the 1202 stairs, and 222 meters of height in the Frankfurt Messeturm skyscraper run

AP

A runner lies on the ground after arriving at the finish line in Frankfurt Germany. More than 1,000 runners climbed the 1202 stairs, and 222 meters of height in the Frankfurt Messeturm skyscraper run

AP

A troupe of Ukrainian dancers perform at Boryspil airport in Kiev, on the first day of visa-free travel for Ukrainian nationals to the European Union

Getty Images

A troupe of Ukrainian dancers perform on the tarmac at Boryspil airport in Kiev, on the first day of visa-free travel for Ukrainian nationals to the European Union

Getty Images

French President Emmanuel Macron with his wife Brigitte Trogneux cast their ballot at their polling station in the first round of the French legislatives elections in Le Touquet, northern France

EPA

A Thai worker paints on a large statue of the Goddess of Mercy, known as Guan Yin at a Chinese temple in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Guan Yin is one of the most popular and well known Chinese Goddess in Asia and in the world. Guan Yin is the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism and also worshiped by Taoist

EPA

A Thai worker paints on a large statue of the Goddess of Mercy, known as Guan Yin at a Chinese temple in Ratchaburi province, Thailand. Guan Yin is one of the most popular and well known Chinese Goddess in Asia and in the world. Guan Yin is the Bodhisattva of Great Compassion in Mahayana Buddhism and also worshiped by Taoists

EPA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem. An Israeli court has ordered a journalist to pay more than $25,000 in damages to Netanyahu and his wife Sara for libeling them. The magistrate court in Tel Aviv ruled Sunday that Igal Sarna libeled the couple for writing a Facebook post that claimed the prime minister's wife kicked the Israeli leader out of their car during a fight

AP

Parkour enthusiasts train on Ipanema beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Originally developed in France, the training discipline is gaining popularity in Brazil

Mario Tama/Getty Images

Volunteers spread mozzarella cheese toppings on the Guinness World Record attempt for the Longest Pizza in Fontana, California, USA. The pizza was planned to be 7000 feet (2.13 km) to break the previous record of 6082 feet (1.8 km) set in Naples, Italy in 2016

EPA

Jamaica's Olympic champion Usain Bolt gestures after winning his final 100 metres sprint at the 2nd Racers Grand Prix at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica

REUTERS/Gilbert Bellamy

Usain Bolt of Jamaica salutes the crowd after winning 100m 'Salute to a Legend' race during the Racers Grand Prix at the national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bolt partied with his devoted fans in an emotional farewell at the National Stadium on June 10 as he ran his final race on Jamaican soil. Bolt is retiring in August following the London World Championships

Getty Images

Usain Bolt of Jamaica salutes the crowd after winning 100m 'Salute to a Legend' race during the Racers Grand Prix at the national stadium in Kingston, Jamaica. Bolt partied with his devoted fans in an emotional farewell at the National Stadium on June 10 as he ran his final race on Jamaican soil. Bolt is retiring in August following the London World Championships

Getty Images

Police officers investigate at the Amsterdam Centraal station in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A car ploughed into pedestrians and injured at least five people outside the station. The background of the incident was not immediately known, though police state they have 'no indication whatsoever' the incident was an attack

EPA

Police officers investigate at the Amsterdam Centraal station in Amsterdam, Netherlands. A car ploughed into pedestrians and injured at least five people outside the station. The background of the incident was not immediately known, though police state they have 'no indication whatsoever' the incident was an attack

EPA

Protesters stand off before police during a demonstration against corruption, repression and unemployment in Al Hoseima, Morocco. The neglected Rif region has been rocked by social unrest since the death in October of a fishmonger. Mouhcine Fikri, 31, was crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season and his death has sparked fury and triggered nationwide protests

Getty Images

A man looks on at a migrant and refugee makeshift camp set up under the highway near Porte de la Chapelle, northern Paris

Getty Images

Damaged cars are seen stacked in the middle of a road in western Mosul's Zanjili neighbourhood during ongoing battles to try to take the city from Islamic State (IS) group fighters

Getty

Smoke billows following a reported air strike on a rebel-held area in the southern Syrian city of Daraa

Getty Images

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures next to Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto during a welcome ceremony at the National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico

REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Soldiers and residents carry the body of a Muslim boy who was hit by a stray bullet while praying inside a mosque, as government troops continue their assault against insurgents from the Maute group, who has taken over large parts of the Marawi City, Philippines

REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Opposition demonstrators protest for the death on the eve of young activist Neomar Lander during clashes with riot police, in Caracas

Getty Images

Neomar Lander, a 17-year-old boy was killed during a march in the Chacao district in eastern Caracas on Wednesday, taking the overall death toll since the beginning of April to 66, according to prosecutors

Getty Images

Former FBI director James Comey is sworn in during a hearing before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

Getty Images

Former FBI Director James Comey testifies during a US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC

Getty Images

Read the original here:
Russia was behind global cyber attack, Ukraine says - The Independent