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As we mentioned in this week’s newsletter, the market is getting dangerously ahead of itself. Navistar (NAV) reached a high of $31.29 on Wednesday, closing at $31.07. Oshkosh (OSK) virtually reached the $70 level, with a high today of $69.97, closing at $69.93. Paccar (PCAR) reached a high of $62.22, closing at $61.98. We account the market’s significant and rapid advance to a combination of irrational exuberance AND unknown market forces that should be feared. We fully expect insiders to take profits from this market advance, and fear a future drop, as there is little rational underlying support for the S & P’s current record high level. Closing at record highs for three consecutive days, the S & P closed at 2,204.72 on Wednesday. Note: BMT Investors COO Barry Holden announced this week that we have again secured the BlackRock property within the Ocean Reef Club on Key Largo from our investment partner for our winter retreat. BMT Investor members will receive further details over the coming weeks.

New API Diesel Engine Oil Categories Arrive Dec. 1 Heavy Duty Trucking / November 22, 2016 The American Petroleum Institute's new diesel engine oil-service categories, API CK-4 and FA-4, will begin appearing in the marketplace on December 1. New API Donuts denoting the categories will appear on licensed products and marketing materials allowing consumers to identify oils meeting CK-4 or FA-4, which are expected to be recommended in new owner’s manuals and by engine manufacturers. The new specifications were designed to address the varying needs of engine technologies in aging, new, and in-use on- and off-highway applications to help diesel engine manufacturers meet stringent emissions and fule-mileage requirements. “December 1 is an industry milestone as it marks the first day new API CK-4 and FA-4 engine oils can be marketed and sold on retail shelves or in bulk,” said Kevin Ferrick, senior manager of API’s Engine Oil Licensing and Certification System. “The time between approval of the categories last winter and the first licensing on December 1 gave large, medium, and small oil marketers the ability to test their new formulations and ready them for market. This signals the culmination of almost nine years of cross-industry collaboration in the development of the new standards.” API CK-4 oils will replace current API CJ-4 engine oils and will be backwards-compatible for most applications for which engine manufacturers currently recommend CJ-4. The new CK-4 oils will provide a number of improvements over CJ-4, including improved shear stability, oxidation resistance, and aeration control. API FA-4 oils will provide similar improvements over CJ-4 oils, but it is important to note that FA-4 oils are only intended for use in newer on-highway diesel engines. FA-4 oils will have limited or no backwards compatibility with on- and off-highway diesel engines for which engine manufacturers have recommended CJ-4. While not specifically backwards-compatible, FA-4 oils are expected to play an important role in some current and new diesel engines by protecting those engines and at the same time helping them meet more stringent emissions anf fuel-mileage requirements. CK-4 and FA-4 oils are designed for different applications. This means technicians and consumers will need to check their owner’s manuals or with engine manufacturers to determine which oil is right for their vehicle. API developed two visually different API Service Symbol Donuts so that consumers can easily distinguish between the two categories. The new API FA-4 Donut features a shaded section to differentiate API FA-4 oils from CK-4 oils. The API CK-4 Donut will look the same as the current CJ-4 Donut. To find out if you are supposed to use CK-4 or FA-4 oil, check with your owner’s manual and your engine manufacturer. You can also visit the API website www.DieselOilMatters.com for more information about the new API CK-4 and FA-4 service categories and their use in on- and off-highway diesel vehicles and equipment. .

Betsy DeVos Post: Secretary of Education Previous experience in education: NONE Age: 59 in January 2017 Schooling: DeVos attended Holland Christian High School and graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan with a bachelor's degree in business administration and political science. A Trump critic: This past March, DeVos said "I don't think he [Trump] represents the Republican party. I think he is an interloper." Background: A billionaire republican donor from Michigan and former Michigan republican party chairwoman. Her husband, who unsuccessfully ran for Michigan governor in 2006, is heir to the Amway fortune. DeVos is described as an American politician, businesswoman, philanthropist, and “education activist”. DeVos is an advocate of Republican-favored charter schools, which are publicly funded and set up - outside the state school system - by teachers, parents, or community groups. Devos has also previously supported the Common Core education standards that Trump has vowed to eliminate, a federal maths and reading syllabus set up in most states. Trump calls the Common Core program a "disaster".

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley Post: US ambassador to the United Nations Previous Experience in foreign affairs: NONE Age: 45 in January 2017 Schooling: Nikki attended Orangeburg Preparatory Schools. She graduated from Clemson University with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Background: Born Nimrata "Nikki" Randhawa to Indian parents, Nikki Haley was raised in a Sikh household. She is currently governor of South Carolina. During the presidential campaign, Haley supported Florida Senator Marco Rubio and then Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Haley criticizes Trump: Haley strongly attacked Trump's proposal to ban Muslim immigrants, describing it as "un-American". Trump criticizes Haley: "She’s weak on illegal immigration, and she certainly has no trouble asking me for campaign contributions because over the years she’s asked me for a hell of a lot of money in campaign contributions. So, it’s sort of interesting to hear her. Perhaps if I weren’t running, she would be in my office asking me for money," Trump said.

Deutz Press Release / November 23, 2016 At Bauma China 2016, Asia’s biggest trade fair for construction equipment, Deutz has unveiled their new TCD 9.0 four-cylinder diesel engine. The 9.0-liter engine is the first in a new generation of engines that DEUTZ is planning as part of an alliance with the Liebherr Group. As well as the TCD 9.0, the new engine family will also include six-cylinder diesel engines. Production of TCD 9.0 will begin initially at Deutz’s plant in Dalian, China. The larger engine models produced by Liebherr within this cooperation will be sold by DEUTZ under its own brand. The TCD 9.0 is rated at 300 kW (402 hp) and 1,700 N·m (1,254 lb-ft) of torque. It features a highly compact design for easy installation in a wide range of applications including excavators and wheel loaders. The new engine series is being developed for the EU Stage V, US Tier 4, China IV and EU Stage IIIA emissions standards and will be ready to go into series production in 2019. “By adding new engines from the alliance with Liebherr, we are enhancing our product portfolio and can now cover further power output ranges and applications. Furthermore, having the TCD 9.0 made in Dalian will give us the proximity to our Chinese partners that we need. We continue to see a great deal of growth potential in this market when it comes to advanced technology,” said Deutz board of management Michael Wellenzohn. .

Associated Press / November 23, 2016 Wal-Mart intentionally failed to pay hundreds of truck drivers in California the minimum wage, a federal jury decided Wednesday, awarding the drivers more than $54 million in damages and opening up the retail giant to additional penalties. The seven jurors returned the verdict in a lawsuit accusing the company of not properly paying drivers in accordance with California law for activities that included inspecting and washing their trucks and for layovers. The company argued that the drivers are paid for activities that include those tasks and that they are not working during layovers. Scott Edelman, an attorney for Wal-Mart, said he was pleased to win seven of 11 claims. "The findings on the other claims were dictated, we believe, by juror instructions that the court gave that were wrong and will be the subject of post-trial motions and, if necessary, an appeal," he said. A spokesman said Arkansas-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is likely to appeal. Randy Hargrove said in a statement that the company's drivers are among the highest-paid in the industry, earning from about $80,000 to over $100,000 per year. Wal-Mart believes "that our truck drivers are paid in compliance with California law and often in excess of what California law requires," Hargrove said. More than 800 drivers who worked for Wal-Mart between October 2005 and October 2015 sought $72 million in damages, the bulk of it for layovers when they say they are required to stay with their trucks. Their attorneys said at trial that additional damages and penalties could push the total Wal-Mart owed to more than $150 million. A judge will determine civil penalties. "The facts in the law clearly show that these drivers were not paid for all the duties they did, like the pre-and post-trip inspections, and they were not paid for their rest breaks," said Butch Wagner, attorney for the drivers. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. — the nation's largest private employer — has faced other criticism over its pay and treatment of U.S. employees. The company announced last year that it was giving a raise to about a half-million U.S. workers. The raises were part of a $1 billion investment that the retailer said also was intended to give workers more opportunities to advance and more consistent schedules. Wal-Mart drivers are not paid by the hour. Wages are based on mileage and specified activities. The drivers' attorneys pointed to a ruling in their favor from U.S. District Judge Susan Illston, who said last year that Wal-Mart would be in violation of California law if it enforced its driver pay manuals because they say no pay is earned for certain tasks. The company argued that it paid drivers for activities that included other, smaller tasks and could not have a separate payment designation for everything they did, some of which took just minutes. At trial, Edelman likened what the plaintiffs were asking for to a baker who charges a flat fee for a cake, not the individual tasks of buying the eggs, putting the cake in the oven or cleaning the dishes after. "When you pay a baker $20 to bake a cake, what are you paying that baker to do?" Edelman said during his closing argument. "Is it just to put the cake in the oven for however long? Because that's essentially what the plaintiffs are arguing." Wal-Mart pays drivers $42 for 10-hour overnight layovers as an extra benefit, but it does not control their time during that period, Edelman said. Drivers are free to go to the movies, exercise or do other activities, he said.

From what I heard, an inconsiderate and uncultured local was either blocking the entrance to his driveway or was in it. Tact doesn't really work, in the sense that another local will be doing the same thing there tomorrow or the next.

Reuters / November 22, 2016 Daimler has apologized and reassigned a senior executive from his job after he made disparaging comments in a row over a parking space in China. Rainer Gaertner, Daimler's trucks and buses president in the country, also used pepper spray on bystanders who intervened. The incident took place in a Beijing car park on Sunday. Daimler said it was "a purely private issue, which has now been resolved in an amicable manner". The argument, involving strong language, began when Gaertner drove his car into a parking space in the Beijing suburb of Shunyi ahead of a local driver. A quarrel ensued during which the Daimler executive said: "I have been in China one year already; the first thing I learned here is: All you Chinese are bastards." Gaertner’s dispute was with a Chinese driver at a residential community in Beijing's northeastern Shunyi District. Passersby were drawn to the quarrel and tried to defend the Chinese driver. In a statement, Daimler said: "Such an incident reflects in no way the values of Daimler and we sincerely apologize for the concerns raised by this matter. "The nature of the dispute and in particular the manner in which it was conducted, irrespective of any comments alleged to have been made, is adjudged to be not only of concern to the public but viewed by us as detrimental to the standing of our company, unbecoming of a manager of our brand and prejudicial to our good name," Daimler said. Daimler added that Chinese authorities have closed their investigation into the incident. Despite the fallout, Daimler said Gaertner remains an employee of Daimler and will be moved to a new role. .

Volkswagen CEO sees no diesel in future of U.S. business Reuters. /. November 23, 2016 Volkswagen will no longer offer diesel vehicles in the U.S., its global brand chief said on Tuesday, ending speculation the company might return to the technology after its emissions scandal fades from memory. The comments by Volkswagen brand CEO Herbert Diess, first reported by European business daily Handelsblatt and confirmed to Reuters by a VW spokesman, were the strongest yet to deny the possibility that diesel -- once a quarter of the brand's U.S. sales -- could be a part of Volkswagen's future U.S. lineup. Volkswagen reached a $14.7 billion settlement with 475,000 U.S. owners of diesel vehicles and federal and California regulators in October after admitting to installing secret software in its diesel cars to cheat emissions tests. In September, Diess told Reuters at the Paris Auto Show the company was not yet ready to abandon diesel technology, and could continue to offer diesel models for the U.S. market. Just last week at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the CEO of Volkswagen Group of America, Hinrich Woebcken, told reporters he did not believe diesel would ever "come back in the same magnitude as we've seen it up to now" in the U.S. market. "Emissions standards in following years are getting tougher and tougher," Woebcken said. "Why don't you put the money and investments ... to comply with these standards, why don't you put the money on the spot where the future is?" he asked, speaking of VW's new focus on electric vehicles. Luxury car brand Audi, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, still sees a diesel vehicle as possible, its Americas president said last week. "Once we hopefully get past everything, I see an opportunity for potentially, probably to offer it on one model, and that model would probably be the Q7 SUV," Audi of America President Scott Keogh told Reuters.

The day one itinerary appears to have been reduced from 21 items to 6. No mention of a wall, and he will not prosecute Hillary Clinton (21 item list at beginning of thread) .

I had my heart set on a US market Everest (diesel). But based on this article, we're not getting the global market Everest. The Bronco, in concept, is as signature a Ford product as the Mustang. However, I wanted an Everest.

Trailer/Body Builders / November 18, 2016 The Detroit DT12 automated manual transmission (AMT) is now available with a power take-off (PTO) option for its automated manual transmission. Both the Direct Drive and Over Drive DT12 transmissions are available for order with a proprietary rear mounted PTO on original Freightliner Cascadia models with or without the Evolution aerodynamic package, and Western Star 5700XE models. This option is scheduled to be available for the new Freightliner Cascadia on January 1, 2018. The Detroit DT12 AMT has gained rapid customer acceptance with customers since it was launched with approximately 65% of customers ordering the DT12 in the Cascadia and approximately 85% of customers ordering the DT12 in the 5700XE for 2016. “The introduction of this PTO will allow us to offer customers in the Bulk Haul tractor trailer segment a Detroit DT12 automated manual transmission with a PTO option in certain applications,” said Kelly Gedert, Manager of Detroit Powertrain and Component Marketing. “The majority of these customers are more weight sensitive, which helps make the Detroit DT12 more attractive than other competitor automated manual transmissions.” The DT12 PTO is for use in the bulk haul tractor trailer market specifically and tailored for stationary operation on 100% pavement only. Targeted applications include liquid trailers, dry goods, wet goods and moving floors.

First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. There is no part of the first amendment that allows for any form of desecration of the United States flag. It's against the law, under 18 U.S. Code § 700, i.e. Desecration of the flag of the United States; penalties: "Whoever knowingly mutilates, defaces, physically defiles, burns, maintains on the floor or ground, or tramples upon any flag of the United States shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both." (reference - https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/700) The Necessary and Proper Clause within Article One of the U.S. Constitution that you "adamantly" defend clearly states" The Congress shall have Power ... To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. One law made my congress prohibits desecration of the United States flag. You can peaceably protest all you want (the right of the people to peaceably assemble), voicing your thoughts (freedom of speech) while doing somersaults if you like, but you can't burn the flag. If you come to Macungie next June and illegally burn a flag in front of everyone, I don't think you'll make a lot of new friends.

Ford Australia leads Bronco development Motoring Australia / November 9, 2016 Ford’s most anticipated SUV, the reincarnated Bronco, is being developed right here in Australia alongside the next-generation Ranger on which it will be based. Much has been written about the new-generation Bronco, an iconic off-road SUV not produced for 20 years, since a US union official let slip last month (see below) that it will be built alongside the Ranger ute in Detroit. Now, motoring.com.au sources have confirmed that Ford’s Victorian-based Asia-Pacific Product Development Centre is deep into the development of the reborn Bronco, which will be a direct rival for next year’s new-generation Jeep Wrangler. Apart from developing a series of key regional models like the Figo, Escort and next Taurus, Ford’s Aussie-based design and engineering operation is the ‘homeroom’ for the T6 ladder platform that underpins the Blue Oval’s global Ranger. As such, it is responsible for engineering all T6-based products including the Ranger ute (aka. pickup, bakkie), which is built in Thailand, South Africa, Brazil and, from 2018, North America — but won’t be shared with other manufacturers, including Mazda, in its next generation. The T6 platform also underpins the Everest SUV. Indeed, Ford has made no secret other vehicles will be born of the program and a number of heavily camouflaged Ranger and Everest vehicles are already being tested at the company’s You Yang proving ground at Lara near Geelong (Victoria). These vehicles are largely early engineering prototype versions of the next-generation Ranger. But some are also early mules for the all-new Bronco, which will follow Ranger into production in the USA around 2020. Both models will be based on a reworked version of the current Ranger/Everest T6 platform. At this stage, it’s unclear whether the new-age Bronco, a model that was produced over five generations in the US between 1966-96, will be produced in right-hand drive for markets outside North America. However, given the world’s penchant for SUVs and the fact both the T6 Ranger and Everest are sold worldwide, the sixth-generation Bronco is almost certain to be a global model. It could also be produced alongside our Ranger in Thailand, which has a free-trade agreement with Australia. This would aid Ford’s intention to position the 2020 Bronco as an affordable 4×4 wagon positioned between Ford’s belated Territory replacement, the 2018 Edge, and the $55,000-plus Everest. In the spirit of its predecessor, which was originally based on a shortened F-Series ladder frame, the 21st Century Bronco is expected to be based on a short-wheelbase version of the revised T6 ladder frame and will likely share all of the Ranger’s mechanicals. That should mean four- and five-cylinder diesel engines (and potentially a petrol V6 for the US market) matched to manual and automatic transmissions comprising a low-range transfer case, which would make it an instant hit with off-road enthusiasts. Ford is yet to officially confirm the existence of a new Bronco. Letting the cat of the bag, however, United Automobile Workers union boss Bill Johnson did it for the Blue Oval when he defended the moving of Focus production from Michigan to Mexico. “We hate to see the products go to Mexico, but with the Ranger and the Bronco coming to Michigan Assembly, that absolutely secures the future for our people a lot more than the Focus does,” he told the Detroit Free Press. All five generations of the Bronco were built at Ford’s Michigan Truck Plant in Wayne outside Detroit – the same plant where Ford will produce the Aussie-developed Ranger from 2018 and the born-again Bronco from 2020. The new Bronco’s final exterior design, which will be different to the Everest, is likely to be signed off at Ford’s Dearborn HQ in the US. Ford has purchased Rubicon versions of Jeep’s existing Wrangler two-door and Wrangler Unlimited four-door for benchmarking purposes. This suggests the new Bronco will not only be available in both two-door and four-door body styles, but that Ford is targeting class-leading off-road capabilities for its all-new off-road SUV. Previous Broncos (which were produced in Australia between 1981 and 1987, and powered by locally-made 4.0-litre six-cylinder and 5.8-litre V8 engines) were available in half-cab, roadster and wagon forms.

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Why Are State Sponsors of Terrorism Receiving U.S. Taxpayer Dollars? The National Interest / November 19, 2016 How a President Trump will approach relations with Russia — and especially what that means for U.S. policy in the Syrian civil war — has become one of the most discussed issues during a tumultuous transition. But we should be paying at least as much attention to what America’s putative partners — including those groups currently receiving U.S. taxpayer funding — are doing to prolong a brutal conflict that has claimed nearly 500 thousand lives, and driven more than ten million from their homes. During the campaign, Trump even tangled with his running mate Mike Pence over Syria. When Pence suggested during the vice presidential debate that the United States institute a no-fly zone over Syria, Trump promptly swatted the idea away. “He and I haven’t spoken, and I disagree.” Late last week, Trump admitted that he “had an opposite view of many people regarding Syria,” and suggested that he would withdraw support for anti-Assad rebels, and focus on fighting ISIS. Members of the GOP foreign policy establishment, however, are doubling down on the status quo. On Tuesday, in one of the first post-election warning shots fired across Team Trump’s bow, Senator John McCain warned the president-elect not to trust “a former KGB agent who has plunged his country into tyranny, murdered his political opponents, invaded his neighbors, threatened America’s allies and attempted to undermine America’s elections.” “At the very least, the price of another ‘reset’ would be complicity in Putin and Assad’s butchery of the Syrian people. “That is an unacceptable price for a great nation. When America has been at its greatest, it is when we have stood on the side [of] those fighting tyranny,” McCain added. “That is where we must stand again.” Alas, finding those who are “fighting tyranny” but not secretly committed to imposing it once they prevail is the tricky part. The abundant evidence from Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya — not to mention the Cold War — shows that legitimate freedom fighters are often indistinguishable from charlatans and thugs. Despite this unhappy track record, McCain retains his childlike optimism in the United States’ ability to find the “good guys” and help them to reshape fractured foreign polities. Few Americans are so inclined. President Obama was caught between wanting to see Bashar al-Assad’s regime overthrown, but not wanting to see violent extremists take its place, for example, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham (Conquest of Syria Front), the one-time Al Qaeda affiliate formerly known as Jabhat al-Nusra. Unsurprisingly, the president’s efforts to arm the few factions that cleared the vetting process were an abject failure, in part because the tools available to protect the U.S.-approved anti-Assad factions are deeply problematic. A no-fly zone, for example, may forestall the complete annihilation of certain groups, but only at the risk of widening the war. Since Assad’s Russian ally is also operating from time-to-time in Syrian airspace, a no-fly zone would necessarily threaten Russian planes and pilots. And U.S. planes and pilots would also be at risk. At a meeting of the Council on Foreign Relations last month, National Intelligence Director James Clapper told CBS's Charlie Rose, “I wouldn't put it past them to shoot down an American aircraft.” Some in Congress have pushed back against the executive branch’s occasional zeal for intervention in Syria. In the late summer and fall of 2013, members of Congress were flooded with phone calls urging them to block U.S. military action there. Obama got the message too, and backed away from his ill-advised red line that would have entailed direct U.S. military action in the civil war. But the Obama administration continued to funnel money to some anti-Assad rebels. Since then, a few in Congress have tried to cut off funds for the so-called “Syrian Train and Equip” program. An amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill sponsored by Reps. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and Austin Scott (R-GA) garnered 135 votes from both Republicans and Democrats, despite opposition from party leaders and the White House. It is reasonable to believe that a similar effort would fare even better in the post-election environment. For now, U.S. law bars the federal government from providing support to terrorist organizations, but the United States’ putative allies and de facto clients operate under a very different set of rules. They have been fueling the civil war by plowing money and material support to a host of organizations that couldn’t survive the U.S. government’s vetting processes. In other words, other countries, some of whom are recipients of U.S. foreign assistance, are funding terrorist organizations, including ISIS. We might even call them state sponsors of terrorism. And, in any other context, that fact alone would and should disqualify them from receiving U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Fleet Owner / November 18, 2016 A recent infographic making the rounds of the web has some driver advocates worried. It shows that the states with the most work-related fatalities for trucks are also the states that are cutting benefits for those workers. "Is it a coincidence?" asks attorney Dean Dominick, partner at Katherman Briggs & Greenberg, LLP in York, Pennsylvania, who placed the infographic and an analysis on his blog. "I think that if you look at the states that are involved, a lot of them are fairly large states, fairly populous states that have a lot of workers in addition to truck drivers coming through their states. There has been a national movement over the last several years to reduce what's called 'workers' compensation exposure.'" He adds: "In my opinion, one of the biggest problems that we have is that the insurance industry and the pro-business industry have very strong lobbying groups. Employees do not." Dominick notes that some states have been successful in putting caps on the length of time that people can receive benefits. States also try to limit the nature of injuries that are covered especially trying to exclude repetitive trauma injuries as opposed to an actual acute trauma. "An example for a truck driver would be an elbow injury – like a lateral epicondylitis – tennis elbow, which could occur from repetitively turning the steering wheel," he says. Still another technique to reduce benefits is limiting the choice of physician that an injured worker can see. "In Pennsylvania, for example, for the first 90 days, if the employer has a list of designated physicians, the employee [must see that health provider] and if they don’t, worker’s comp doesn’t pay the bills. There’s legislation under foot in Pennsylvania to extend that to 180 days. That would mean for six months the employee has no choice in who they get to see." Still another method for employers to limit their workers' comp exposure is to classify drivers as independent contractors instead of employees. "Instead of having them be in the workers' compensation system, they arrange for what's called an 'occupational accident policy.' It's a group policy, and so then the drivers, who are called independent contractors, but are often misclassified, get certificates of coverage, but it's a policy that doesn't provide the level of benefits you get under workers' comp," says Joshua Haffner, a Los Angeles-based lawyer specializing in personal injury, insurance bad faith, class actions, and other civil and business litigation. "It has a really pernicious provision in that if you try and assert your employee status and make a workers' comp claim, you either forfeit the benefits under the occupational accident policies, or they're suspended… I'm seeing a lot of this kind of thing." Not everyone agrees that the cards are being stacked against workers. Kim Fernandes, a Tallahassee, FL–based attorney for firm Kelley Kronenberg says that in her state, "there are groups out there, interest groups that have been trying to challenge workers compensation laws saying that they don't give injured workers enough benefits." She notes that a recent Florida case, which would ask that all states workers comp laws be compared, was brought before the U.S. Supreme Court but they declined to hear it. This case was supported by unions, employee groups and personal injury groups. She says Florida workers' comp laws can sometimes be unreasonably broad. "Where else in the nation are you going to have your cancer treatment paid for if it's getting in the way of your knee that you injured at work getting treated under workers comp? Because that's how broad Florida benefits can go." All sides agree that the issue of workers' comp is exacerbated for interstate carriers because laws are state-by-state and not uniform. In fact, a Department of Labor report released in October questioned whether the federal government should provide supervision. The report said that one area that deserves exploration is "whether to increase the federal role in oversight of workers’ compensation programs, including the appointment of a new National Commission and the establishment of standards that would trigger increased federal oversight if workers’ compensation programs fail to meet those standards." The Labor Department report maintained that many state systems are leaving workers unprotected. "Some state legislatures continue to attempt to reduce workers’ compensation costs, and proposals for statutory amendments that restrict workers’ benefits or access have become increasingly bold. Notably, there have been legislative efforts to restrict benefits and increase employer control over benefits and claim processing, most dramatically exemplified by the opt-out legislation enacted, and recently struck down by the state supreme court, in Oklahoma and considered in Tennessee and South Carolina, among other states." Increasingly, workers left with large medical bills not covered by workers' comp are seeking payment from other federal programs. "Despite the sizable cost of workers’ compensation, only a small portion of the overall costs of occupational injury and illness is borne by employers," the report stated. "Costs are instead shifted away from employers, often to workers, their families and communities. Other social benefit systems – including Social Security retirement benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), Medicare, and, most recently, health care provided under the Affordable Care Act – have expanded our social safety net, while the workers’ compensation safety net has been shrinking. There is growing evidence that costs of workplace-related disability are being transferred to other benefit programs, placing additional strains on these programs at a time when they are already under considerable stress." The cost of uncovered work-related medical care is so high, the report noted, that some workers have become impoverished because of it. "…working people are at great risk of falling into poverty as a result of workplace injuries and the failure of state workers’ compensation systems to provide them with adequate benefits."

Heavy Duty Trucking / November 18, 2016 Net Class 8 orders were weak in October, driven by a high number of cancellations in the month. October Class 8 orders totaled 13,907 units for the month while cancellations totaled 8,610 units. Seasonally adjusted, orders for the month were at 12,060 units. “The driving factor behind the weak net orders number was an unusually high level of cancellations booked in the month,” said one truck industry analyst. “The cancellations offset a total orders number of 22,517 that reflected, to some degree, the traditional strength of this kickoff month.” Medium-duty Class 5-7 truck orders fared better in October with a slight drop compared to September but overall strong numbers. Medium-duty truck orders hit 201,922 units for the month, 18,250 when seasonally adjusted. Strong medium duty orders were partly a result of strength in the retail sales, services and construction industries. “Medium duty statistics continue to reflect the underlying health of the consumer and closely related segments of the economy,” said the analyst. “While this was a drop from September SA results, it does sustain a year-to-date increase compared to the like 10 months in 2015.”

Jim, this is the 3 million dollar question. I would like to know the answer as well. And always remember, 99 percent are NOT refugees, rather they are economic migrants.

I agree. But I would say that businessmen, alike politicians, are all owing of favors.

Bannon, Kushner and Priebus: rivals for power at the heart of Trump's team The Guardian / November 19, 2016 One by one they came, walking by the marble walls, the cascading waterfall, the ogling tourists and the eager cameras, into the shiny lifts and up to the 26th floor to kiss the ring of the new king. This week, TrumpTower was a hive of scurrying courtiers, from a prime minister, media mogul and nonagenarian diplomat to senators, congressmen and businessmen. And as the palace intrigue deepened, it was apparent that three men, in particular, had the ear of President-elect Donald Trump. “I am Thomas Cromwell in the court of the Tudors,” says Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist, likening himself to Henry VIII’s right hand man and master manipulator (who, in a fact he may have overlooked, was ultimately executed for treason). Bannon did not propose historical roles for Reince Priebus, chief of staff, or Jared Kushner, an intimate adviser married to Trump’s daughter, but they are his rivals for Trump’s attention. Shaun Bowler, associate dean of political science at the University of California, likened the plot to Hilary Mantel’s historical novel Wolf Hall. “Her account of people tiptoeing around a character like Henry VIII strikes me as providing lots of insight into what life for advisers will be like inside the White House from now on,” he said. “What we probably can say is that – whatever the actual pattern of influence – we can be pretty sure that at least one of them will end up leaving after a blow-up.” Last Sunday, the president-elect made his first move. He announced that Bannon would be chief strategist, triggering a fierce backlash because of the adviser’s executive role at the website Breitbart, which has run white nationalist and anti-Semitic headlines. At the same time, Trump appointed the more conventional Priebus to the more conventional role of chief of staff. The chairperson of the Republican National Committee (RNC) had been unswervingly loyal ever since the end of the primaries, even while the candidate ignored pleas to tone down the rhetoric. But there is also a third centre of power, unofficial but no less important. Kushner, a property developer, investor and newspaper publisher married to Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, is said to have called the shots throughout the campaign and is now doing the same in the transition. Kushner was present at Thursday’s meeting with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and behind a “Stalinesque purge” of the transition team. There are other major players in the Trump universe. They include Vice-President-elect Mike Pence, a vital bridge to Congress and the conservative movement; Jeff Sessions of Alabama, the first senator to endorse Trump and now the nominee for attorney general; Paul Ryan, the House speaker with whom Trump has made a fragile peace; and Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader in the Senate [age 75 next February]. But it is Priebus, Bannon and Kushner, vying for 70-year-old Trump’s infamously short attention span, who could form the most potent triumvirate in the Oval Office since the days when Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and Karl Rove counseled George W Bush. Given Trump’s track record of pitting rivals against each other, they probably face an uncertain future. “Apparently Trump likes to manage with concentric circles of chaos,” said Michael Steele, Priebus’s predecessor as RNC chair. “He doesn’t mind that. He likes the tension between the different sectors of influence. So far you’ve got the Kushner circle, you’ve got the Bannon circle, they all interrelate into Trump’s circle but when they have to work with each other, that’s where the challenge is going to be because their interests are very different interests.” Priebus, a technocrat and consummate party man, will be the voice of the Republican establishment, and a vital conduit to Congress, including Ryan, a fellow Wisconsinite. “Reince is not Donald Trump’s guy,” Steele added. “Bannon is. Reince is Paul Ryan’s guy and so Trump is doing what he thinks he needs to do to create some olive branches to the establishment types because he knows he needs them. But, quite honestly, they need him just as much. I suspect, as much as they will try to play it down, there will be some tough times where those interests will conflict.” During the campaign, Kushner, well-mannered but guarded, emerged as operational guru, helping with recruitment, online fundraising, drafting policy and even selecting a running mate. Over the past week, Kushner orchestrated the removal of transition team leader Chris Christie and his allies; Christie had successfully prosecuted his father for tax evasion 11 years ago. Kushner, 35, is taking legal advice on whether he can get around anti-nepotism laws to join the new administration, the New York Times reported. Like Trump, Kushner is steeped in the property world and has no political experience. “I’m sure he’s a very smart young man, a very successful businessman,” Steele said. “But he doesn’t know foreign policy, he doesn’t know national security, that’s not the world in which he has operated. “Trump has to be very careful how close in he has someone and the advice he’s taking from someone who has no real background or appreciation or understanding of the obvious stuff, let alone the nuances of policy and government.” Kushner and 62-year-old Bannon are, in many respects, polar opposites. One is clean cut and favors crew-neck sweaters; the other is disheveled and looks in need of a shave. One is the son of a multimillionaire; the other was born into a working-class family. One is an Orthodox Jew (Ivanka converted before their marriage), the other a Catholic who has been accused of anti-Semitism. “Jared Kushner’s the most interesting to me,” said Rick Tyler, a former member of Ted Cruz’s campaign team. “Billionaires don’t trust everyone who walks through the door but Trump trusts Kushner and Kushner trusts Bannon. They believe in Bannon and the advice he’s given. People can complain about it, then get over it.” This week, guests to TrumpTower included 93-year-old Henry Kissinger, secretary of state under Richard Nixon; and Rupert Murdoch, 85, the media tycoon and another bete noire of the liberal left. On Friday, Trump nominated Sessions as attorney general, congressman Mike Pompeo as CIA director and retired lieutenant-general Michael Flynn as national security adviser. Before departing on his last meeting with European leaders, Obama, said Trump was a “pragmatist”, not an “ideologue”. The same could be said of Kushner and Priebus, both of whom are valued for organisational sense. But Bannon is different. After careers as an investment banker and naval officer, and before becoming Trump’s campaign chief executive, Bannon ran Breitbart, notorious for rightwing dog-whistles and anti-globalist themes that surfaced in Trump speeches and ads. Its headlines have included “Hoist it high and proud: The Confederate flag proclaims a glorious heritage”, “Birth control makes women unattractive and crazy”, and “Clinton aide Huma Abedin ‘most likely a Saudi spy’.” Bannon has denied allegations of racism. “I’m not a white nationalist, I’m a nationalist,” he says. “I’m an economic nationalist. The globalists gutted the American working class and created a middle class in Asia. The issue now is about Americans looking to not get f*cked over.” “If we deliver”, Trump’s team will win most white voters and a near majority of black and Hispanic voters. “We’ll govern for 50 years.” Democrats, he said, had “lost sight of what the world is about”. Dan Cassino, a political scientist at FairleighDickinsonUniversity, said it was unclear whether business or ideology was Bannon’s priority at Breitbart. “He’s willing to use racist and anti-Semitic content to make money off it, whether or not he’s racist or anti-Semitic himself. He’s willing to tolerate it.” Cassino argued that whereas Fox News covers familiar issues from a conservative perspective, Breitbart pursues an entirely different agenda. “We should be concerned to the extent Steve Bannon controls what information goes in and goes out of the White House. Traditionally information is controlled by the chief of staff but every administration is different.” He noted that Breitbart typically gives official figures no credence, and that Trump appeared surprised, in a recent TV interview, to learn about actual hate crime totals. “If he’s getting facts from Breitbart just as Bush got facts from Fox News, we have a problem,” Cassino said. “We want a president to make data-based decisions.” It may then fall to Priebus, a 44-year-old whom Trump called “a superstar” on election night, to provide a reality check. Henry Barbour, who helped run his 2010 campaign to chair the RNC, said the committee was in so much debt at the time that Priebus had to make payments on his personal credit card. “He was an easy guy to work with even when we didn’t agree on everything,” he recalled. “His ability to work with people and cut through the crap will serve him well. He does not have a big ego. He’s not interested in self-promotion and will be interested in giving good, candid advice to the president. He’s not a yes-man but he will be loyal.” Barbour, now a lobbyist with Capitol Resources, insisted: “Reince has told me directly he has developed a good working relationship with Bannon and gets on well with him. I have no doubts Reince will work well with Jared Kushner.” Terry Sullivan, a Republican strategist, said Priebus was “Wisconsin nice” but also “a smart hire”. “He can bring multiple factions together,” he said. “He might be the only figure who is still liked by the establishment of the party who spent so much time defending Trump.”

BBC / November 19, 2016 An asylum seeker from Myanmar has been identified as the man who set himself alight in a bank in the Australian city of Melbourne on Friday. The 21-year-old is under guard in hospital after the incident that injured 26 others. He arrived by boat three years ago and had been released from detention pending a decision on his case. His benefits had not been in his account when he tried to withdraw them on Wednesday. The man, known to his friends as Noor, set himself alight using gasoline at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia branch in the Melbourne suburb of Springvale. Five bystanders suffered burns and 21 more smoke inhalation. Video taken by eyewitnesses of the immediate aftermath showed flames inside the bank branch and thick black smoke. The suspect had arrived in Australia as an unaccompanied minor and was awaiting receipt of a refugee visa. The man was reportedly of mixed Muslim parentage. Although he is partly Rohingya - the Muslim community that lives in Rakhine state near the Bangladesh border and which has been denied citizenship and freedom of movement by the government - he reportedly lived in southern Myanmar. He had been detained in a camp on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean before being moved to Melbourne. The president of the Australian Burmese Rohingya Organisation, Habib Habib, told the Melbourne Age: "He has been suffering and his friends say his welfare payment was not received and he couldn't pay his rent." He had returned to the bank each day after finding his money was not available on Wednesday. Mr Habib said: "This system makes all of them crazy. They're in legal limbo." Refugee and asylum seeker advocate Pamela Curr told the Age the man was also was known to have mental health problems. The department of immigration has set up a fast-track system to process about 30,000 asylum claims.