by tyler | Apr 4, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of former US Representative Michele Bachmann.
Birth date: April 6, 1956
Birth place: Waterloo, Iowa
Birth name: Michele Marie Amble
Father: David Amble, an engineer
Mother: Arlene Jean (Johnson) Amble
Marriage: Marcus Bachmann (September 10, 1978-present)
Children: Sophia, Caroline, Elisa, Harrison and Lucas
Education: Winona State University, B.A., 1978; Oral Roberts University, J.D., 1986; College of William and Mary, L.L.M., 1988
Religion: Lutheran
Bachmann, a conservative Republican, worked for Jimmy Carter’s 1976 presidential campaign.
Has said that she switched parties while reading Gore Vidal’s novel, “Burr.”
Bachmann and her husband Marcus own a mental health care practice.
1988-1992 – Tax litigation attorney.
2000-2006 – Minnesota state senator.
November 7, 2006 – Is the first Republican woman from Minnesota to be elected to the House of Representatives.
January 4, 2007-January 3, 2015 – Serves as Republican representative from the 6th District of Minnesota.
October 17, 2008 – Tells MSNBC’s Chris Matthews, “I’m very concerned that he [US President Barack Obama] may have anti-American views.”
November 4, 2008 – Is elected to a second term.
July 2010 – Establishes the House Tea Party Caucus.
November 2, 2010 – Is elected to a third term.
January 25, 2011 – Delivers the Tea Party response to President Obama’s State of the Union address.
June 13, 2011 – At a CNN-sponsored debate of Republican candidates, Bachmann announces that she has filed the papers necessary to run for president and will formally announce her candidacy soon.
June 27, 2011 – Formally announces her candidacy for president during an appearance in Waterloo, Iowa.
November 21, 2011 – Her memoir “Core of Conviction: My Story” is published.
January 4, 2012 – Suspends her presidential campaign after her sixth-place finish in the Iowa Republican caucuses.
November 6, 2012 – Wins reelection to the House of Representatives for a fourth term.
May 29, 2013 – Announces in a video posted to her campaign website that she will not seek reelection.
January 3, 2015 – Last day in office.
June 21, 2016 – Announced as an adviser on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s Evangelical Executive Advisory Board.
December 22, 2019 – Signs an open letter to Dr. Timothy Dalrymple, the president of Christianity Today, pushing back against an op-ed in the magazine that called for Trump to be removed from office. The letter, signed by nearly 200 evangelical leaders, praises Trump for seeking advice from “Bible-believing Christians and patriotic Americans.”
December 22, 2020 – Is announced as the dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University, effective January 1, 2021.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2024 | CNN, world
Much divides us, but one thing that knows no cultural bounds is the human desire to pull some silly, goofy little tricks.
April Fools’ Day has a shockingly global history, for a holiday devoted fully to mild deception. For some cultures, it’s not even relegated to one day in April, cracking the calendar wide open for multi-seasonal chaos.
Of course, whether such prankery even crosses your path has more to do with the company you keep than the places you live, but it’s fun to see what other countries are up to when they’re feeling a little Fools-ish. What you do with this information is beyond our control. Take it as inspiration, or as a simple warning that you are never truly safe from April Fools’ thrall.
While the origins of April Fools’ Day aren’t unanimously known, historians are pretty certain Ancient Romans, Western Europeans and people from the British Isles had a lot to do with it. In France, a longstanding tradition is to stick paper fish on other people’s backs, kind of like an elevated “kick me” sign. This harmless bit of mischief is accompanied by the phrase “Poisson d’Avril” which means, of course, “April Fish.” As one French site noted, it’s not exactly the latest trend or anything, but if people are charitable, maybe they’ll give you a half-hearted laugh for your efforts.
Interestingly enough, fish are also considered a lucky symbol in many areas of the world, and are important in a lot of New Year’s traditions. If you really want to go down an April Fools’ rabbit hole, one apocryphal origin theory suggests that when France switched from the Julian calendar to the current Gregorian calendar in the 1500s, people thought it would be funny to jokingly celebrate the old “New Year’s” and make fun of people who forgot the change. That old New Year’s Day was … April 1.
Much of Latin America celebrates “El Dia de los Inocentes,” or “Day of the Innocents,” a late December Catholic feast with extremely un-silly origins that somehow became a day of jokes and pranks. So for those cultures, the day to watch out for is December 28. In Brazil, however, April 1 is still the prank day of choice, and they cut straight to the chase by calling it “Dia das Mentiras,” or “Day of Lies.”
In Ibi, Alicante, Spain, they mark “El Dia de los Inocentes” (a.k.a. April Fools’ Day in December) by having a town-wide food fight, complete with military strategy and historical lore. The “Els Enfarinats” tradition is reportedly more than 200 years old and involves a mock military-style “takeover” of the town, where the new rulers get to make up strange laws that others have to abide by. If they don’t, they get “fined”and the money goes to charity. A little flour throwing, a little dancing, and the day of Risk-inspired LARPing is complete.
Iran could boast the oldest April Fools’ traditions with its observance of Sizdah Bedar, which also has a prank-playing element. It’s celebrated on the thirteenth day of the Persian New Year (are you sensing a pattern here?), on April 1 or 2. Sizdah Bedar, which is said to have been celebrated as far back as the 5th century BC, is translated as “getting rid of 13,” so it has an appropriately superstitious air. It’s also considered a spring festival, which ties in to some other April Fool’s predecessors, like the ancient Roman celebration of Hilaria.
In Scotland, it’s just … a lot
Oh, is one April Fools’ Day not enough? Historically, in Scotland, they stretch the torture/festivities out over two days. First, there’s Hunt the Gowk Day, which actually isn’t as ominous as it sounds. “Gowk” is term for a type of bird, but is also slang for “fool,” and on this day, pranking Scots send unsuspecting gowks (the people, not the birds) on fool’s errands just to waste their time. If you don’t get gowked, there’s always an opportunity for humiliation the next day, which is “Tailie Day.” Tailie Day is for largely harmless derrière-related pranks, like pinning a tail on someone or sticking a sign on their back.
In Poland, they always have the last word
Prima Aprilis, or April 1, goes about the same in Poland as it does in any other pro-April-Fools’ place. However, research did turn up a fantastic parting phrase for prankers: Prima Aprilis, uważaj, bo się pomylisz! (April Fools’ Day, be careful — you can be wrong!)
Truly, advice to take throughout the year.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2024 | CNN, us
Here’s a look at the life of Bill Gross, founder of PIMCO, Pacific Investment Management Company.
Birth date: April 13, 1944
Birth place: Middleton, Ohio
Birth name: William Hunt Gross
Father: Sewell “Dutch” Gross, a steel company sales executive
Mother: Shirley Gross
Marriages: Amy Schwartz (2021-present); Sue (Frank) Gross (1985-2017, divorced); Pamela Roberts Gross (divorced)
Children: with Sue Frank: Nick; with Pamela Roberts: Jeff and Jennifer
Education: Duke University, B.A. in Psychology, 1966; University of California at Los Angeles, M.B.A, 1971
Military: US Navy, 1966-1969
Billionaire, bond investor, philanthropist and avid stamp collector.
Founder, former co-chief investment officer and managing director of PIMCO, one of the world’s largest mutual funds. Under Gross, PIMCO became the world’s largest bond fund manager.
1966 – While recuperating from injuries suffered in a serious car accident, Gross teaches himself to count cards in blackjack. After college graduation, he turns $200 into $10,000 in four months.
1971 – Is hired as a junior bond analyst for Pacific Mutual Insurance Company.
1971 – PIMCO is formed as a division of Pacific Mutual with colleagues William Podlich and James F. Muzzy.
1985 – PIMCO formally splits from Pacific Mutual.
2003 – Founds the William and Sue Gross Family Foundation, through which millions of dollars are donated to universities, hospitals and organizations.
2005 – Gross and his wife, Sue, give $23.5 million to Duke University for undergraduate and medical school students and for the Fuqua School of Business.
2006 – Donates $10 million to the University of California at Irvine for stem cell research and to help build a new research lab. The lab opens in 2010 and is named in their honor, Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center.
2007 – A stamp collector since childhood, Gross auctions his collection of British stamps for $9.1 million and donates the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders.
2009 – Donates $8 million for the establishment of a stamp gallery at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC. The gallery is named in his honor, the William H. Gross Stamp Gallery, and opens in September 2013.
September 2014 – Gross unexpectedly resigns from PIMCO to join Janus Capital Group, where he manages the Janus Unconstrained Bond Fund.
July 1, 2015 – The Smithsonian Institution includes Gross’s old Bloomberg keyboard in its American Enterprise exhibition at the National Museum of American History. The keyboard, used by Gross during the 1990s and 2000s, has function keys for accessing real-time financial information.
October 8, 2015 – Gross sues former employer PIMCO for hundreds of millions of dollars, alleging he was wrongfully ousted from the firm as part of a vast conspiracy. The lawsuit claims a “cabal” of PIMCO executives driven by a “lust for power, greed” and self-interest plotted for Gross’s demise. On March 27, 2017, Gross and PIMCO announce they reached an “amicable settlement.”
February 4, 2019 – Announces he will retire. Janus Henderson (formerly Janus Capital Group) says he will leave the firm on March 1.
October 13, 2020 – Gross and his partner Amy Schwartz sue their neighbors, Mark Towfiq, CEO of data center development company Nextfort Ventures, and his wife Carol Nakahara. Towfiq and Nakahara file a countersuit the next day, on October 14. According to court filings, Gross and Schwartz installed a large art installation along the property line, partially blocking Towfiq and Nakahara’s ocean views. After an investigation, the city of Laguna Beach determined the installation, netting and lights were a violation of city code and did not have the proper permits. Shortly after, Towfiq and Nakahara allege Gross began retaliating against them by harassing and disturbing them with “loud music and bizarre audio recordings at excessive levels” during various hours of the day and night – including pop or rap music, and often a series of television theme songs, according to the lawsuit, including the “Gilligan’s Island” theme on a loop.
October 1, 2021 – Gross and his wife are found guilty in contempt of court after violating a 2020 order that prohibited them from playing loud music outside their home. The two are fined $1,000 each and face five days in jail as well as a ban on outdoor music. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, however, their jail sentences are suspended and replaced with two days of community service.
March 2, 2022 – Self-publishes his memoir “I’m Still Standing: Bond King Bill Gross and the PIMCO Express.”
by tyler | Apr 4, 2024 | CNN, world
Here’s a look at the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
The purpose of OPEC is to “coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.”
OPEC members collectively supply about 28.89% of the world’s crude oil production.
Together, OPEC members control about 79.49% of the world’s total proven crude reserves.
OPEC member countries monitor the market and decide collectively to raise or lower oil production in order to maintain stable prices and supply.
A unanimous vote is required on raising or lowering oil production.
Each member country controls the oil production of its country, but OPEC aims to coordinate the production policies of member countries.
Oil and energy ministers from OPEC member countries usually meet twice a year to determine OPEC’s output level. They also meet in extraordinary sessions whenever required.
Read More: Oil and Gasoline Fast Facts
Algeria – 1969-present
Congo – 2018-present
Equatorial Guinea – 2017-present
Gabon – 1975-1995; 2016-present
Iran – 1960-present
Iraq – 1960-present
Kuwait – 1960-present
Libya – 1962-present
Nigeria – 1971-present
Saudi Arabia – 1960-present
United Arab Emirates – 1967-present
Venezuela – 1960-present
Angola – 2007-2024
Ecuador – 1973-1992; 2007-2020
Indonesia – 1962-2009; 2016
Qatar – 1961-2019
September 14, 1960 – OPEC is formed in Baghdad, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
November 6, 1962 – OPEC is registered with the United Nations Secretariat (UN Resolution No. 6363).
1973-1974 – Due to United States support of Israel in the Arab-Israeli conflict, the members of OPEC decide to raise the cost of oil from $3/barrel to around $12/barrel.
October 1973 – OPEC issues an embargo against the United States, halting oil exports. Customers in the United States experience long lines at gas stations and shortages.
March 18, 1974 – At an OPEC meeting, seven members lift the ban on exports to the United States: Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt and Abu Dhabi. Libya and Syria refuse to drop the ban, and Iraq boycotts the talks.
December 31, 1974 – Libya lifts its oil embargo against the United States.
November 2007 – Ecuador rejoins OPEC after a 15-year absence.
May 2008 – Indonesia announces that it will leave OPEC in 2009.
January 1, 2009 – Indonesia suspends its membership in OPEC.
January 1, 2016-November 30, 2016 – Indonesia rejoins OPEC, but suspends its membership after 11 months.
July 2016 – Gabon rejoins OPEC.
May 25, 2017 – Equatorial Guinea joins OPEC.
June 22, 2018 – OPEC announces that the Republic of the Congo has joined the organization.
December 3, 2018 – Qatar’s state oil company, Qatar Petroleum, announces that the country will leave OPEC on January 1, 2019. One of OPEC’s oldest members, Qatar says it plans to focus on natural gas production.
January 1, 2020 – Ecuador leaves OPEC.
March 2020 – To offset the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic, OPEC unveils a plan to reduce output among its members by 1 million barrels per day, and says it will seek an additional 500,000 barrels per day in cuts from longstanding allies, including Russia.
April 1, 2021 – OPEC and allied producers announce that they have agreed to gradually increase their output over the next three months. The move follows a sharp increase in oil prices, and a call from the United States to keep energy affordable.
October 5, 2022 – OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, announce they will cut oil production by 2 million barrels per day, the biggest cut since the start of the pandemic.
January 1, 2024 – Angola leaves OPEC. Oil minister Diamantino Azevedo said earlier that membership was not serving Angola’s interests.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2024 | CNN, us
Here is a look at the life of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Birth date: April 16, 1962
Birth place: Yonkers, New York
Birth name: Antony John Blinken
Father: Donald Blinken, investment banker and US ambassador to Hungary
Mother: Judith (Frehm) Pisar, UNESCO Special Envoy for Cultural Diplomacy
Marriage: Evan Ryan
Children: Two
Education: Harvard College, A.B., 1984; Columbia Law School, J.D., 1988
Religion: Jewish
His stepfather, Samuel Pisar, was a famed lawyer and Holocaust survivor.
Attended grade school and high school in Paris.
Was a writer for The Harvard Crimson. Worked as a reporter at The New Republic and has written about foreign policy for publications such as The New York Times and Foreign Affairs.
Before his career in government, Blinken practiced law in New York and Paris.
Former CNN global affairs analyst.
Blinken is visible in the famous photo of the “Situation Room” during the raid which killed Osama bin Laden in 2011.
1987 – His thesis, “Ally Versus Ally: America, Europe and the Siberian Pipeline Crisis,” is published.
1993-1994 – Special assistant to the assistant secretary of state for European and Canadian Affairs at the State Department.
1994-2001 – Holds multiple roles in the administration of President Bill Clinton, including special assistant to the president, senior director for speech writing and member of the National Security Council staff.
2001-2002 – Senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a policy research institute in Washington.
2002-2008 – Democratic staff director for the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
2008 – Works on Sen. Joe Biden’s presidential campaign.
2009-2013 – National security adviser to Vice President Biden.
January 2013-2015 – Deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama.
January 9, 2015-2017 – Deputy secretary of state.
2017 – Co-founds WestExec Advisors, a consulting firm that offers geopolitical risk advisement.
January 26, 2021 – Is sworn in as the 71st secretary of state.
April 15, 2021 – Blinken arrives in Kabul, Afghanistan, in an unannounced visit less than 24 hours after the United States and the NATO coalition formally announced they would withdraw their troops from the country after nearly two decades. During remarks to Afghan political leaders, Blinken underscores the United States’ commitment to the people and the country.
May 25, 2021 – Blinken meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior Israeli officials, marking his first official visit to the Middle East. His trip will take him to Israel, the West Bank, Egypt and Jordan. Blinken pledges that the United States will make “significant contributions” to rebuild Gaza and reopen its consulate in Jerusalem following the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas.
March 23, 2022 – In a statement, Blinken announces the US government has formally declared that members of the Russian armed forces have committed war crimes in Ukraine.
April 24, 2022 – Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin make an unannounced trip to Kyiv and meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
May 4, 2022 – Blinken tests positive for Covid-19, according to State Department spokesman Ned Price.
September 8, 2022 – Blinken makes an unannounced visit to Kiev – his second since the war with Russia began more than six months ago – which coincides with the announcement of an additional $625 million tranche of security assistance to support Ukraine, as well as an intended $2.2 billion in long-term investments to bolster the security of Ukraine and 18 other regional countries.
January 30-31, 2023 – Blinken makes his first visit to Israel since the new Israeli government, which includes ultra-nationalists and ultra-religious parties, took power.
March 2, 2023 – Blinken meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov for the first time since the war in Ukraine began more than a year earlier.
March 28, 2023 – House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul subpoenas Blinken for a dissent cable written by US diplomats in Kabul criticizing the Biden administration’s plans to withdraw troops in 2021. On March 7, 2024, McCaul announces the House Foreign Affairs Committee has postponed a meeting for the markup to consider holding Blinken in contempt of Congress after Blinken agrees to deliver documents pertaining to the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan.
by tyler | Apr 4, 2024 | CNN, us
Here is some background information about the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995.
The blast killed 168 people, including 19 children, and injured several hundred more.
Timothy J. McVeigh and Terry L. Nichols were convicted of the attack.
The federal building was later razed and a park and memorial were built on the site.
The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum has 168 stone and glass chairs placed in rows on a lawn, one for each victim.
Both McVeigh and Nichols were former US Army soldiers and were associated with the extreme right-wing and militant Patriot movement.
The Patriot movement rejects the legitimacy of the federal government and law enforcement.
April 19 marked two anniversaries. Patriots’ Day is the anniversary of the American rebellion against British authority at Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1775. It is also the date that federal agents raided the compound of a religious sect in Waco, Texas, after a 51-day standoff in 1993. At least 75 members of the Branch Davidian sect died in a fire that began during the raid.
McVeigh claimed he targeted the building in Oklahoma City to avenge the raid on Waco.
April 19, 1995 – At 9:02 a.m. CT, a rental truck filled with explosives is detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
April 19, 1995 – Near Perry, Oklahoma, Army veteran McVeigh is arrested during a traffic stop for driving a vehicle without a license plate.
April 21, 1995 – McVeigh’s alleged co-conspirator Nichols turns himself in.
May 23, 1995 – The remaining parts of the Murrah federal building are imploded.
August 11, 1995 – McVeigh and Nichols are indicted on murder and conspiracy charges.
April 24, 1997 – McVeigh’s trial begins in Denver.
June 2, 1997 – McVeigh is convicted on 11 counts of murder, conspiracy and using a weapon of mass destruction. He is later sentenced to death.
November 2, 1997 – Nichols’ trial begins in McAlester, Oklahoma.
December 23, 1997 – Nichols is convicted on federal charges of conspiracy and eight counts of involuntary manslaughter. He is later sentenced to life in prison. He is serving his sentence at USP Florence ADMAX federal prison, nicknamed “Supermax,” in Florence, Colorado.
June 11, 2001 – McVeigh is executed by lethal injection. He is the first person executed for a federal crime in the United States since 1963.
May 26, 2004 – Nichols is found guilty in Oklahoma state court on 161 counts of murder. The jury spends five hours deliberating before announcing the verdict.
August 9, 2004 – District Judge Steven Taylor sentences Nichols to 161 consecutive life terms, without the possibility of parole.
