Saturday, February 14, 2009

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Jodi Lipper and Cerina Vincent: This V-Day, Get the Love You Deserve! Top
Since last month's release of How to Love Like a Hot Chick , we've been talking to women all over the country about their dating trials and relationship tribulations as we help them find the love that they want and deserve. One of the most inspiring things we've heard came from a woman in her 40's who told us, "I'm getting married this year!" We congratulated her and asked about the lucky man, but instead she said, "I haven't found my future husband yet, but I'm tired of waiting for him to find me, so I've decided that I'm going to use the techniques in your book and find him myself!" This woman has it right. She knows what she wants but she isn't desperate to get it. Instead, she's positive and determined and willing to do the necessary work in order to get the love that she deserves - the love that all you ladies deserve. If you are single this Valentine's Day and unhappy about it, we want you to do something to change that. Don't get all negative and depressed and walk around feeling sorry for yourself or talking about how much you hate Valentine's Day. Instead, start putting positive, loving energy out into the universe, and see how much more quickly you will get it back. If you want to find a relationship, take a cue from this woman and decide to make it happen yourself. Tonight, put on something cozy or sexy, pour yourself a glass of champagne, and nibble on chocolates while you complete the foolproof Build a Boyfriend Workshop in How to Love Like a Hot Chick . This unique process walks you step by step through figuring out exactly want you want in a man, in a relationship, and in your love life. It is a great way for you to figure out not only what you don't want in a man but exactly what type of relationship will make you feel happy and fulfilled. Once you've completed the program, you can put it away, never think about it again, and go back out into the world knowing that you've taken a huge step towards finding love. You'll notice that you'll attract different types of men than before and you'll even become attracted to different men, too. Even better, it will be easier for you to know right off the bat when a man isn't right for you, because he won't have the qualities on your list. You won't have to waste your time going on date after date with a man before you realize that he's simply not the one for you. Making the decision to be pro-active in order to get something you want can be incredibly powerful, so treat yourself this Valentine's Day by giving yourself that gift. And once you've built your very own boyfriend, you can celebrate the fact that by next year, you'll have found the love you truly do deserve. More on valentine's day
 
Anne Naylor: 5 Ways To Turn On The Power Of Your Love Top
"We look forward to the time when the Power of Love will replace the Love of Power. Then will our world know the blessings of Peace." William E. Gladstone Around the middle of February, I feel the first signs of spring taking place. The days have been gradually getting longer. As a northern hemisphere person, I notice new growth happening in nature, green shoots, buds on trees. It is an invitation to me to bring forward more of my life, my optimism, my joy. Through a response to my recent Possible Dream post I had the pleasure of meeting June Sarpong whose website, Politics And The City , is presently up for a Hansard Society award. She brought together a group of inspiring friends for a Possible Dream meeting in London. It was humbling to meet people, from many parts of the world, offering some incredible gifts of service, Global Angels being one. Nowhere in the discussion was mention of the downside of global change. The conversation focussed on what was important for each person, and how they might move forward to accomplish it. The afternoon's gathering reaffirmed for me, once again, that no matter what is going on in news of the world around us, the human spirit is indomitable. And more than that: it will look at a "bad" situation and make something really good of it. Another word for the human spirit I see as loving. "A simple choice to be loving, even just for yourself, changes your life forever." John Morton from You Are the Blessings Through the power of our loving, we can turn our lives around. Here are 5 ways to do so. 1. The Power of Acceptance Are you a self-saboteur, someone who focusses more on your faults, weaknesses, limitations or self-doubt? What if you were to recognize the strengths of your natural God-given life force? In difficult times, we need to fully accept our qualities - things like kindness, persistence, faith - the good we have going for us, to enable us to best cope. With acceptance of yourself, another person, or the uncertainties you may be facing, you place yourself in a position to be capable, creative and to take the next positive step forward, even if it is only a small one. "Love the one you are with. That will always include you." John Morton from You Are the Blessings 2. The Power of Imagination The beauty of being in a period of profound change is that you are freer to create more of what you really want. There is less holding you back. The computer you are now sitting at was once a figment of someone's imagination. What improvements can you imagine for, say, your family life - more time simply doing things together perhaps? In a better world, what would you like to see taking place - and how can you get involved in bringing it about? "The man who has no imagination has no wings." Muhammad Ali 3. The Power of Gratitude With so much loss happening, it is more important than ever to focus on being grateful for all that we do have. Above all, we need to appreciate ourselves and one another and to express our appreciation. You notice a job well done? Tell the person. You got through a difficult day? Pat yourself on the back. You observe a kindness being extended? Appreciate the giver. The amazing thing is the more you appreciate how little you may have, the less you have need for more. You will find yourself feeling happier, more peaceful and content. It is within your power. "The deepest craving of human nature is the need to be appreciated." William James 4. The Power of Humour Have you ever suffered a sense of humour failure? When we are feeling stressed, it is all too easy to lose perspective, to perhaps feel self-important or self-righteous. To turn on the power of humour, take a deep breath, relax and look for the funny side of life. Laughter can lift you above a situation that seems catastrophic. The "hu" in humour has the sanskrit meaning of "God". With humour, we bless ourselves and others with gifts of divinity. If you feel in need of a boost of humour now, you might like to visit Dr Robert Holden's Inspiration Room : "Don't take life too seriously - you will never get out of it alive." 5. The Power of Forgiving When forgiveness is difficult, it invites the deepest reaches of our loving. The pain of my divorce caused me to explore self-forgiving. The energy of forgiving in my experience is very pure, gentle and in this way penetrates and dissolves the hardest of places we may have locked away inside ourselves. For 10 years, I held the vision that 15th March be celebrated annually and globally as International Forgiving Day. It was an idea - still yet to find its time. Holding the vision each year taught me a lot about the process of forgiving. I discovered how very powerful it is. "It is by forgiving that one is forgiven." Mother Teresa Have you found any ways to transform difficult circumstances into blessings of some kind? Have you noticed with all of the challenges people are meeting that there is more loving being expressed? How are you using your loving to get you through the issues you are facing. I would love to hear from you, either as a comment here or contact me at Clear Results .
 
Congress Sets New Limits On Wall Street Bonuses Top
A provision buried deep inside the $787 billion economic stimulus bill would impose restrictions on executive bonuses at financial institutions that are much tougher than those proposed 10 days ago by the Treasury Department. The provision, inserted by Senate Democrats over the objections of the Obama administration, is aimed at companies that have received financial bailout funds. It would prohibit cash bonuses and almost all other incentive compensation for the five most senior officers and the 20 highest-paid executives at large companies that receive money under the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
 
Julia Moulden: A Valentine's Day Inspiration: To Sir, With Love Top
Looking for a great movie for Valentine's Day? Something to help you believe again in the power of love to save people's lives and change the world? You can't go wrong with the 1967 classic, "To Sir, With Love", starring Sidney Poitier. I saw it recently and highly recommend it. The story line (plot spoiler warning) is simple: an educated man who can't get work in his chosen field finds himself teaching a bunch of rowdy teens in east end London. Pushed to his limits, he has a breakthrough, and ends up ditching the curriculum altogether. Instead, he engages his students in conversation, and helps them develop moral intelligence as they move toward adulthood. (If you're a boomer, you may get all choked up listening to the title song , sung by Lulu.) Watching it again after all these years, I was surprised and delighted to draw parallels between Poitier's character and another rather more contemporary leader who is also calling on us to become our best selves. In his inauguration speech, President Obama said that, "The time has come to set aside childish things...". And reawakened us to the age-old notion that there is meaning in contributing to something greater than ourselves. What does this have to do with New Radicals? Stay with me. (For more on how people are putting skills acquired in their careers to work on the world's greatest challenges, please see archived articles .) Behavioral science tells us that human beings want to be part of a group. Being part of a group makes us feel secure. And one way to continually establish whether we are part of the group is to compare our behavior to that of others in the group. In short, we want to emulate other people. One progressive energy company, Positive Energy , is using behavioral science to help people change their consumption habits. PE wanted to encourage the residents of Sacramento, California to use less energy. It knew that traditional approaches, such as financial incentives (use less power, save money) were only moderately effective. So the firm decided to try what's known as "normative messaging" instead. "We used sophisticated data analysis to give 35,000 residents information about their individual energy consumption," founder Daniel Yates says. "And to compare this data to other community members. The result is that overall energy use dropped by two percent." It turns out that knowing you're keeping up with the Joneses - in this rather more positive take on that phrase - is incredibly powerful. PE is already ahead of their projections, and is moving rapidly toward reducing energy consumption in Sacramento by 15 percent over the next decade. Clearly, it's human nature to want to be like others. So, please, let's have more positive role models. Like Positive Energy. President Obama. And "To Sir, with love." This is my valentine to you all. It's wonderful to know that there are so many smart, compassionate people out there who are doing good works - or who are eager to begin. Please continue to share your stories. By all means, email me directly at julia@wearethenewradicals.com . And consider commenting below so that more people can learn about what you're doing to make the world a better place - your struggles and successes will inspire others to act. More on valentine's day
 
Al Norman: Wal-Mart's Love Valentine To Its Women Workers Top
"Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps." --Hero, Much Ado About Nothing Wal-Mart sent a snarling Valentine's card yesterday to 2 million of its past and present female employees. For eight years, the retail giant has been trying to shoot arrows through a class action sex discrimination lawsuit that will cost the corporation billions of dollars if settled or tried in court. Yesterday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco gifted Wal-Mart with another opportunity to stick it to their female "associates." This massive lawsuit, known as Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. goes back to June of 2001. According to Wal-Mart, "the case was brought on behalf of all past and present female employees in all of the company's retail stores and warehouse clubs in the United States." The litigants in this class action suit are as large as the number of people who currently work for the company anywhere in the world--2 million women. These women charge that Wal-Mart has engaged in a pattern and practice of discriminating against women in promotions, pay, training and job assignments. The women want Wal-Mart to pay them injunctive relief, front pay, back pay, punitive damages, and lawyer's fees. Wal-Mart's main strategy from the outset has been to bust up the class action status of this complaint, and force the plaintiffs to pursue their case against the retailer one-by-one. This would be financially impossible for most women who ever worked for Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart can bust the class, they can bust the case. It's just another business decision to keep expenses down. In June of 2004, a District Court Judge ruled in favor of class action certification for all women employed at any Wal-Mart domestic retail store at any time since Christmas of 1998, who had been, or may be, subjected to the company's pay and management track promotions, policies and practices. Wal-Mart charged that the 2004 ruling was "incorrect," and for almost four years now, has spent a fortune in legal bills to break up this class of women. In February of 2007, a 3 judge panel of the Court of Appeals issued a decision upholding the district court's certification of the class. Fourteen days after that ruling, Wal-Mart submitted a petition asking that the Appeals ruling be reconsidered by a larger panel of judges. In December of 2007, the 3 judge panel withdrew its opinion of ten month's earlier, and put out a revised opinion. Wal-Mart then had to file a new rehearing request in January of 2008. Wal-Mart has warned its shareholders that if it was not sucessful in its appeal of class action certification, "the resulting liability could be material to the company." But because of the uncertainty of class action status, or what would happen if the case was tried on its merits, Wal-Mart simply told shareholders, "the company cannot reasonably estimate the possible loss or range of loss that may arise from the litigation." A majority of the judges of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco voted yesterday to give Wal-Mart a new hearing in its appeal---this time before an 11-judge panel---instead of 3 judges. A date for that hearing has not been set. This reprieve does not change the facts. The District Court judge in 2004 found evidence that Wal-Mart had, in fact, paid women less than men all across the country, and promoted men more rapidly than women to management. Betty Dukes, one of the lead plaintiffs, says she was paid just $8.44 per hour during her first nine years working at a variety of positions at Wal-Mart's store in Pittsburg, California, while several men holding similar jobs but less seniority earned $9 per hour. Wal-Mart tried to argue that its stores were all autonomous, like independent businesses, with different management styles that affect the way women are paid and promoted. But the women plaintiffs argued that Wal-Mart stores are "virtually identical in structure and job duties". The judge found that "pay disparities exist in most job categories, that the salary gap widens over time, that women take longer to enter management positions, and that the higher one looks in the organization the lower the percentage of women." As a result of the 2004 ruling, Wal-Mart said it was examining its employment practices. The company announced a new job classification and pay structure for hourly associates. "This new pay plan was developed with the assistance of third-party consultants and is designed to ensure internal equity and external competitiveness." But the company's actions were too little, too late. In a terse press release after the 2004 class action ruling, Wal-Mart said: "Let's keep in mind that today's ruling has absolutely nothing to do with the merits of the case." The same can be said for the Court's ruling yesterday. This battle is really over class action status, which will determine if the merits of the case are ever heard. As we consider this eight year civil rights struggle on a day focused on lovers, it is clear that Wal-Mart's Cupid kills with arrows, traps---and any other means at hand. Betty Dukes and 2 million other Wal-Mart women will eventually find justice---but not on this Valentine's Day. By delaying justice for their own workers, Wal-Mart's public relations efforts to present itself as The Good Employer just took another arrow to the heart. Al Norman is the author of "Slam Dunking Wal-Mart: How You Can Stop Superstore Sprawl In Your Hometown." His website is: http://www.sprawl-busters.com
 
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Shawn Amos: Eternal Flame: 10 Questions with Susanna Hoffs Top
Twenty years ago the Bangles' preeminent Valentine's Day ballad "Eternal Flame" was released. It was global hit, reaching #1 in the U.S., the U.K., Australia, and most of Europe. For a moment in 1989, everyone embraced the song with their Bics held high. The Bangles are still going strong. Their harmonies are as paisley-pretty as ever (check out their 2008 Shout! Factory DVD "Return To Bangleonia: The Bangles Live In Concert" for evidence), and Susanna Hoffs continues to defy her age. She proves that 50 is indeed the new 30. No one looks better with a Rickenbacker slung over their shoulder. Just back from an Australian tour and putting the finishing touches on a second volume of cover songs with power pop guru Matthew Sweet, Susanna took time to answer 10 questions for me before she spent Valentine's Day with her husband, director Jay Roach. Watch "Eternal Flame" Check out over 20 years of Bangles glory in our gallery . This week marks the 20th anniversary of "Eternal Flame." Are you surprised at its popularity all these years later? I am happy, amazed, and totally flattered that "Eternal Flame" continues to be popular. My favorite songs from childhood have been like constant and reliable friends to me, so it is gratifying as a singer and songwriter that people still connect with "Eternal Flame" in an emotional way. It's fun knowing that the song is on a lot of top wedding song and karaoke lists! How easy was it to write? I was collaborating with Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly. Billy and I were together one morning writing lyrics, and the title sprung out of a very long story I was recounting about the Bangles' tour of Graceland. I was describing the band standing in the rain in the Meditation Garden, singing "Heartbreak Hotel" (a la Spinal Tap) in front of Elvis's eternal flame. Once we had the title and some lyrics, we worked with Tom on the music, and the song took shape organically into a kind of very pure lullaby. What was the recording session like? We wanted the track to have a very minimalist, music box feel. We built it around a little tick-tock rhythm, carefully orchestrating the harmonies, strings, and other elements. There is a long and complicated story I could tell about how I sang the lead vocal in a state of semi-undress, but I will save that for another time. What's the most romantic evening you've ever had? Too private to tell! What's your favorite romantic song other than "Eternal Flame?" There are so many amazing romantic songs, a few that just popped into my mind are "I Feel Fine‚" by the Beatles, "Sit Down I Think I Love You‚" by the Buffalo Springfield, "Wouldn't It Be Nice‚" by the Beach Boys, and "Go All the Way" by the Raspberries. What's your secret to defying age? Most rock chicks have not aged nearly as well as you. Listening to and playing music constantly. Mental stimulation. Exercise and moisturizer! You have a new covers album with Matthew Sweet coming later this year. Give us a sneak peak at track list. We still want to keep it a secret but I can tell you we recorded "I've Seen All Good People: Your Move" by Yes, and got Steve Howe to play guitar on it! What's the secret to singing beautiful harmony? Blending. What's next for the Bangles this year? We are making a new record and touring. What's your favorite Jay Roach film? I love them all!
 
Fed Chief Bernanke's Childhood Home Sold After Foreclosure Top
Travis Jackson walks through his modest ranch house, admiring the kitchen's built-in spice rack and the red-oak floors. He draws back the curtains, and sunlight illuminates the pride on his face. The young banker just bought Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's childhood home at a foreclosure sale. More on Ben Bernanke
 
Fallon Breaking In His "Late Night" Chair Top
NEW YORK — Jimmy Fallon says he's sat in the "Late Night" chair. Fallon talked excitedly Friday about his upcoming gig hosting NBC's "Late Night" from the front row at the Rag & Bone presentation at New York Fashion Week. "I sat in my actual chair tonight," said Fallon, who takes over March 2 for Conan O'Brien. Sporting a cozy-yet-stylish gray sweater, the 34-year-old said preparations are well under way: "We're writing monologues, writing guest pieces (and) building the set," he said. While Fallon settles in, O'Brien heads to Los Angeles to replace Jay Leno as "Tonight Show" host in June, with Leno moving to a 10 p.m. slot. Fallon is mum about the debut's guest lineup. "We got 'em," he teased. "We got the first show. It's gonna be good."
 
G7 Finance Ministers Reject Protectionist Measures Top
ROME — Rejecting protectionism, the Group of Seven finance ministers pledged Saturday to work together to support growth and employment and to strengthen the banking system so the world can overcome its worst financial crisis in 50 years. But the bad news continues. The final statement on their two-day meeting in Rome also predicts a gloomy forecast, with the severe economic downturn continuing through most of 2009. The G-7 ministers warned that any protectionist measures to boost national economies would only undermine global prosperity. They also stressed the need to support developing countries to prevent the world's poorest from being the biggest losers in the downturn. "The stabilization of the global economy and financial markets remains our highest priority," the statement said, noting that the world's seven most industrialized countries have "collectively taken exceptional measures" to address the challenges. The statement endorses the U.S. and British approach to fixing the banking system by recapitalizing banks. The ministers also said a way must be found to deal with the banks' toxic assets, however no prescription was laid out. The meeting marked the international debut of new U.S Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who conferred with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke as the session began Saturday at the Italian Finance Ministry. Geithner smiled at cameras, but declined to respond, when asked if any progress was being made. The G-7 countries urged China to continue allowing its currency to rise in value to even out the world's massive trade imbalances. But there was no reference to comments Geithner made in Washington that were seen as a strong rebuke of China's currency policy, which many believe keeps the yuan artificially low to boost exports. Geithner, who arrived after a week of widespread criticism over the rollout of the administration's new bank bailout plan, got a boost with Friday's passage of President Barack Obama's $787 billion plan to resuscitate the economy. But new economic data out Friday in Europe showed the continent's recession deepening, lending urgency to the ministers' task. The ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, along with their central bankers, are looking for agreement on common approaches to the crisis, with the United States pushing for a bold approach to match its stimulus package. World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who is also attending the meeting, told Italian bankers on Friday that any effort to keep bailout money at home would only worsen the global crisis, not resolve it. "In this moment, economic nationalism is neither economic nor nationalistic ... what might be politically correct might be economically incorrect," Zoellick said. "The pull of national politics is very sharp but it's clear that the issues we are dealing with don't stop at national borders." Among the grim new economic data, the German economy, Europe's engine, plunged by 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarter _ the sharpest downturn since the country reunified in 1990. Italy and France also reported sharp downturns of 1.8 percent and 1.2 percent. Looking ahead, the ministers hoped to have written, common principals of transparency within four months, in time for the Group of Eight summit in Sardinia in July. The recommendations from Saturday's G-7 meeting are also expected to influence a gathering in April of the G-20 leaders _ the G-7 nations plus the world's most important developing economies like China and India. ___ AP Economics Writer Marty Crutsinger contributed to this report.
 
Chris Brown's Dad: He's "Remorseful" About Rihanna Situation Top
Speaking out for the first time since his son's arrest, Chris Brown's biological father, Clinton Brown, tells PEOPLE his son is at home, reflective and filled with concern. "He's reflecting on this situation," Brown, 44, a corrections officer, tells PEOPLE in an interview at his home outside Tappahannock, Va. "He's very remorseful. He's very concerned about the situation and he wants to make sure that [Rihanna's] okay.
 
James Franco Gets Bar Mitzvahed At Hasty Pudding Top
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — James Franco got a spoof bar mitzvah and was forced to milk a "gay" cow on Friday to earn his pudding pot as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Man of the Year. The 30-year-old Franco, who played Harvey Milk's first love in "Milk," also received a fake bag of marijuana for his role as a clueless pot dealer in "Pineapple Express" at the roast by Harvard's student drama group. Franco, whose mother is Jewish, said he was not raised Jewish. He said he once told The New York Times he felt deprived because he never had a bar mitzvah. "Yeah, I guess I wasn't a man until tonight," he joked Friday. The fake ceremony featured a "Rabbi Spider Man" and "Yentl Express" dancers who performed in drag to "Havah Nagila." "I don't know if this counts in rabbinical law or whatever, but if it doesn't, I do plan to have a bar mitzvah," Franco said. He wore a blond wig, gold sparkly bra and purple high-heeled pumps to accept the award. "I couldn't ask for anything more. I've made it," he said. Franco starred in the "Spider Man" trilogy, appeared in TV's "Freaks and Geeks" and portrayed James Dean in the TNT biopic. The Harvard group honored Renee Zellweger last week as its woman of the year. The 2008 awards went to Charlize Theron and Christopher Walken.
 
Madonna And Guy Ritchie File Joint Custody Papers In NY Top
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Hugh Jackman Plans For More "Intimate" Oscars Top
LOS ANGELES — Hugh Jackman says he knows the Oscars ceremony isn't about him, but he'd better enjoy it all the same. "Celebration is the key. I'm certainly going to have a good time. If I'm not going to have a good time, how the hell is anybody else?" said Jackman, who sounded up for the job in a phone interview Friday, less than two weeks before the Feb. 22 ceremony airing on ABC. Academy Awards producers Laurence Mark and Bill Condon have said they plan to take the ceremony in a new direction. Asking the multitalented star of "Australia" and the "X-Men" films to host was their first apparent step. The rest of the details have been under wraps, but Jackman, who thrice soared as host of the Tony Awards, dropped a few hints _ including a more "intimate" look for the ceremony's home, the Kodak Theatre. Jackman declined to give his favorites among the contenders, with one emotional exception: the late Heath Ledger, a best supporting actor nominee for "The Dark Knight." Ledger died of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs last year at the age of 28. "I can't hide the fact that I would really love for that honor to be bestowed upon him," Jackman said of his fellow Australian. "It would be fitting and I think he deserves it." AP: How would you compare your Tony experience to that of the Oscars? Jackman: The Oscars is obviously a very different beast. There's a lot of hype. There's so much anticipation. ... I chatted with Steve Martin on the phone who gave me some great tips. The first five or six minutes you're going to have possibly the best audience you've ever had in your life, because all of them know they're going be on camera at any moment, none of them have lost yet and they're all sort of generally ready for a good time. He said from that point on, just move it on quickly. Just be quick. In terms of style, there's a quantum shift happening this year, and fingers crossed we get a lot of it right. ... There's an obvious amount of business that has to happen in the night. There's 24 awards; you can't change that. But I think Oscars could do a little more of the show in show biz. I think there's been a little too much business. AP: The producers intend to try different things. Does that add to your excitement or trepidation? Jackman: I think it's great. ... Obviously I'm not a standup comedian and generally there's been comedians who are actors as well (who) have been doing it for the last however many years. So there's not the same pressure. I don't think people expect me to come out and do seven minutes of bang-bang-bang jokes. ... They really just encourage me to do what I feel I do best. It's a night to have a feeling of celebration, of community. The look of the theater is very different. It's more like the nightclub of your dreams. It's very intimate. ... It's got to be a lot closer. It's been a little austere in the past. You know, there's that stage, the host being up above the stalls, looking down at everybody. ... But this is a lot more intimate. It's still spectacular, being in the Kodak Theatre. But it's a real difference in the way things are laid out. ___ On the Net: http://www.oscars.org More on The Oscars
 
US Envoy Holbrooke Meets With Afghan President Top
KABUL — President Barack Obama's new envoy to Afghanistan met with President Hamid Karzai on Saturday amid a downturn in U.S.-Afghan relations. Karzai says he still has not spoken with Obama almost a month after his inauguration, a sign the Afghan president no longer enjoys the favored status he had under former President George W. Bush. "There is tension between us and the U.S. government on issues of civilian casualties, arrests of Afghans, nightly raids on homes and the casualties they cause," Karzai told al-Jazeera television in an interview Friday. Obama has said the U.S. will increase its attention on Afghanistan under his tenure as the U.S. transitions out of Iraq. But the administration is still debating how to stem the Taliban tide and tackle the endemic corruption in Karzai's government more than seven years after the 2001 invasion. Taliban militants have increased attacks and swept up wide areas of countryside over the last three years. The U.S. is contemplating sending up to 30,000 more American forces to back up the 33,000 already in Afghanistan. Richard Holbrooke, Obama's new envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, met with Karzai at the heavily guarded presidential palace in central Kabul on Saturday. Neither Holbrooke nor Karzai made any public statements. Holbrooke earlier met with Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta, whose spokesman said Holbrooke reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to the anti-terrorism fight, reconstruction projects and the training of Afghan forces. Holbrooke has met with Afghan officials, international military leaders and U.N. diplomats during a fact-finding trip that began Thursday. Holbrooke has made no public comments during the Afghan leg of his trip. He previously visited Pakistan and also is to stop in India. Karzai in recent weeks has publicly pressed the U.S. to use Afghan troops on nighttime raids in order to prevent civilian casualties. Karzai's public criticism of the raids and the civilian deaths caused by U.S. troops has added to recent tensions in the U.S.-Afghan relationship. The U.S. military and Afghan Defense Ministry announced Thursday that Afghan officials and troops would take greater part in U.S. missions, particularly night raids. "There will be better coordination to minimize risk of civilian casualties and ensure Afghans search Afghan homes and conduct arrest operations," a joint U.S.-Afghan statement said. It wasn't yet clear how soon Afghans would be placed on those missions. U.S. Special Operations Forces conduct targeted night raids against known militant leaders, but the operations have resulted in many Afghan civilian deaths, an issue that has increasingly angered Karzai. The specially trained U.S. forces typically enter Afghan villages at night and call out for their target to surrender. But innocent villagers often try to defend their neighbors' homes from what they fear are Taliban attackers or hostile tribesmen, and the U.S. forces end up killing innocent Afghans. In the latest civilian deaths case, Australia's ambassador to Afghanistan sent a letter of apology on Saturday to Karzai for the deaths of five Afghan children in an Australian military mission Thursday. In the latest violence, three separate roadside bombs killed seven police and a government official in a spate of attacks around Afghanistan, officials said. A bomb in Khost province on Saturday killed the chief government official in Nadir Shah Kot district. A day earlier, a bomb elsewhere in Khost killed three border police while four policeman were killed by a roadside bomb in Kandahar province to the south. Taliban militants frequently target Afghan police in their attacks. Police have less training and carry fewer weapons than the Afghan army or U.S. or NATO troops. Close to 900 police have died in militant attacks in each of the last two years. More on Afghanistan
 
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Obama: Stimulus Bill "Major Milestone On Our Road To Recovery" Top
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, savoring his first major victory in Congress, said Saturday that newly passed $787 billion economic stimulus legislation marks a "major milestone on our road to recovery." Speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said, "I will sign this legislation into law shortly, and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done." At the same time, he cautioned, "This historic step won't be the end of what we do to turn our economy around, but rather the beginning. The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread, and our response must be equal to the task." The bill passed Congress on Friday on party-line votes, allowing Democratic leaders to deliver on their promise of clearing the legislation by mid-February. Obama "now has a bill to sign that will create millions of good-paying jobs and help families and businesses stay afloat financially," said Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who was a leading architect of the measure. "It will shore up our schools and roads and bridges, and infuse cash into new sectors like green energy and technology that will sustain our economy for the long term," he added in a statement. Hours earlier, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell offered a different prediction for a bill he said was loaded with wasteful spending. "A stimulus bill that was supposed to be timely, targeted and temporary is none of the above," he said in remarks on the Senate floor. "And this means Congress is about to approve a stimulus that's unlikely to have much stimulative effect." In a struggle lasting several weeks, lawmakers in the two political parties both emphasized they wanted to pass legislation to revitalize the economy and ease frozen credit markets. But the plan that the administration and its allies eventually came up drew the support of only three Republicans in Congress _ moderate Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania. Their support was critical, though, in helping the bill squeak through the Senate on a vote of 60-38, precisely the number needed for passage. Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown cast the 60th vote in favor in a nearly deserted Senate, hours after the roll call began. He arrived after a flight aboard a government plane from Ohio, where he was mourning the death of his mother earlier in the week. The House vote was 246-183. The legislation, among the costliest ever considered in Congress, provides billions of dollars to aid victims of the recession through unemployment benefits, food stamps, medical care, job retraining and more. Tens of billions are ticketed for the states to offset cuts they might otherwise have to make in aid to schools and local governments, and there is more than $48 billion for transportation projects such as road and bridge construction, mass transit and high-speed rail. Democrats said the bill's tax cuts would help 95 percent of all Americans, much of the relief in the form of a break of $400 for individuals and $800 for couples. At the insistence of the White House, people who do not earn enough money to owe income taxes are eligible, an attempt to offset the payroll taxes they pay. In a bow to political reality, lawmakers included $70 billion to shelter upper middle-class and wealthier taxpayers from an income tax increase that would otherwise hit them, a provision that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said would do relatively little to create jobs. Also included were funds for two of Obama's initiatives, the expansion of computerized information technology in the health care industry and billions to create so-called green jobs the administration says will begin reducing the country's dependence on foreign oil. Friday's events capped an early period of accomplishment for the Democrats, who won control of the White House and expanded their majorities in Congress in last fall's elections. Since taking office on Jan. 20, the president has signed legislation extending government-financed health care to millions of lower-income children who lack it, a bill that President George W. Bush twice vetoed. He also has placed his signature on a measure making it easier for workers to sue their employers for alleged job discrimination, effectively overturning a ruling by the Supreme Court's conservative majority. ___ On the Net: Obama: http://www.whitehouse.gov More on Barack Obama
 
US Missile Strike Kills 27 In Pakistan Top
ISLAMABAD — A suspected U.S. missile strike by a drone aircraft flattened a militant hide-out in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, killing 27 local and foreign insurgents, intelligence officials said. Several more purported militants were wounded in the attack in South Waziristan, a militant stronghold near the Afghan border where al-Qaida leaders Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahri are believed to be hiding. The new U.S. administration has brushed off Pakistani criticism that the missile strikes fuel religious extremism and boost anti-American sentiment in the Islamic world's only nuclear-armed nation. Pilotless U.S. aircraft are believed to have launched more than 30 attacks since July, and American officials say al-Qaida's leadership has been decimated. Pakistani officials say the vast majority of the victims are civilians. Taliban fighters surrounded the compound targeted Saturday in the village of Shrawangai Nazarkhel and carried away the dead and wounded in several vehicles. Intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media, said the victims included about 15 ethnic Uzbek militants and several Afghans. Their seniority was unclear. Two of the officials said dozens of followers of Pakistan's top Taliban leader, Baitullah Mehsud, were staying in the housing compound when it was hit. Pakistan's former government and the CIA have named Mehsud as the prime suspect behind the December 2007 killing of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto near Islamabad. Pakistani officials accuse him of harboring foreign fighters, including Central Asians linked to al-Qaida, and of training suicide bombers. The accounts of Saturday's incident could not be verified independently. The tribally governed region is unsafe for reporters. The U.S. Embassy had no comment, while Pakistani government and army spokesman were unavailable. Pakistani leaders told visiting American envoy Richard Holbrooke earlier this week that the missile strikes kill too many civilians and undermine the government's own counterinsurgency strategy. Still, many analysts suspect that Pakistan has tacitly consented to the attacks in order not to endanger billions of dollars in American and Western support for its powerful military and its ailing economy. Pakistan's pro-Western government, led by Bhutto widower Asif Ali Zardari, has signed peace deals with tribal leaders in the northwest while launching a series of military operations of its own against hard-liners. However, government forces are bogged down in several regions and Taliban militants have sustained a campaign that has included a string of kidnappings and other attacks on foreigners. On Friday, the kidnappers of an American employee of the United Nations warned they would kill him within 72 hours and issued a grainy 20-second video of the blindfolded captive saying he was "sick and in trouble." Gunmen seized John Solecki on Feb. 2 after shooting his driver to death as they drove to work in Quetta, a city near the Afghan border. The kidnappers identified themselves as the Baluchistan Liberation United Front, indicating a link to local separatists rather than the Taliban or al-Qaida. Officials say the group is unknown and has yet to contact the United Nations. Fears for Solecki's safety are intense after Taliban militants apparently beheaded an abducted Polish geologist. If confirmed, the Pole's slaying would be the first killing of a Western hostage in Pakistan since American journalist Daniel Pearl was killed in 2002. Interior Ministry chief Rehman Malik on Saturday dismissed the group's demand for the release of 141 women allegedly held in Pakistan. "I have shared that list of 141 women with authorities and all intelligence agencies. It does not have any reality," Malik told reporters in Quetta. He said authorities trying to free Solecki were following strong leads and he was "hopeful" they would succeed. Zardari said in a television interview that the Taliban had expanded their presence to a "huge amount" of Pakistan and were even eyeing a takeover of the state. He sought to counter the view of many Pakistanis that the country is fighting Islamist militants, who have enjoyed state support in the past, only at Washington's behest. "We're fighting for the survival of Pakistan. We're not fighting for the survival of anybody else," Zardari said, according to a transcript of his remarks that CBS television said it would air Sunday. ___ Associated Press writer Ishtiaq Mahsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Abdul Sattar in Quetta contributed to this report. More on Pakistan
 
Raymond J. Learsy: The "Nightmare Scenario": Thank You Saudi Arabia for Looking After our Future Top
Saudi Arabia has such concern and respect for The United States and the perceptiveness of its citizenry that they feel compelled to ply us with instruction and advice. The very same nation that through its loquacious Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi regaled us back in December that it was Saudi Arabia's "Noble Cause" to see to it that the price of oil be clawed back to at least $75 a barrel as soon as possible (please see "OPEC's Noble Cause" 12.17.08 ) . You see, anything less will discourage investment in new production according to our friend in Riyadh, not to speak of curtailing the purchase of yachts, palatial residencies and Ferraris, and billions upon billions to Wahhabi schools, madrassasas, mosques, social centers and charitable organizations throughout the world, teaching civility and good citizenship. All this came about almost concurrently this week as our new President's Secretary of Energy Steven Chu's postulated that a "revolution" in science and technology would be required if the world is to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and curb the emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat gases linked to global warming ( NYTimes 2.12.2009 ). He thereby set forth a key goal of the new administration, this, while our friends in Saudi Arabia were instructing us otherwise. At an oil industry conference in Houston earlier this week Mr. Ali al-Naimi, whose full title is Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources for Saudi Arabia, ran roughshod over our concerns about global warming and energy independence, with feigned lack of self interest, cautioning us, according to his clearly self serving tenets, that we were veering toward a "nightmare scenario" if we sought to speed up development of alternative fuels. Thank you so much, Oil Minister al-Naimi. This wisdom coming from the world's largest oil exporter, "...we must be mindful that efforts to rapidly promote alternatives could have a chilling effect on investment in the oil sector". And then of course a litany of projects that have been or may be cancelled. Fasten your seat belts, it will be a reprise that will be heard over and over again from the OPEC and the oil patch boys in the days, months, years to come. The true "nightmare scenario" would be if we let Saudi Arabia and the oil industry flacks sway us one iota from the course our new President has set, to turn us away from fossil fuels for once and forever! More on Saudi Arabia
 
Presidential PDA: Past And Present (SLIDESHOW) Top
It might seem as though every day is Valentine's Day when your last name is Obama...especially when even the Associated Press is taking note, as they did in this article on Thursday : Just in time for Valentine's Day, it's the season of the PDA in the White House _ and we're not talking about President Obama's prized BlackBerry. The first couple's constant Public Displays of Affection have many people across the country fascinated, charmed and even a little jealous of this 21st-century White House marriage. ...But to many, the Obama marriage represents a much more modern kind of White House romance: Two people who've both had important careers, who are trying to balance professional success with family stability, who are both playful with each other and mutually respectful, and who aren't afraid to display their affection and chemistry _ again and again. But what about the First Couples that came before them? Did they get down? Here are the answers. And check out our new Obama PDA Big News Page . More on Obama PDA
 

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